No rest for putra pests

DEAN JOHNS

It’s becoming increasingly and excitingly evident these days that perennial campaign by the members, cronies and supporters of the criminal BN regime to pose as the ‘defenders’ of Islam, the Malay people, the Malaysian constitution and even Malaysia itself is, as always, nothing but a cynical sham.

Or, in other words, a preposterous scam by a coterie of poisonous self-styled putras to cling to power for the sole purpose of feathering their nests at the expense of the rest.

And especially at the expense of Malaysia’s brightest and best, as currently following the tragic death of legal tiger, political titan and towering and tireless opponent of all that’s rotten about the BN regime, Karpal Singh.

Hudud: Mind your own business is still the best policy

Ng Kee Seng

When you point a finger, there are three fingers pointing back to you. This is infinite wisdom.

Since Merdeka in 1957, Malaysians of different faiths have been doing just that to one another over “Hukum Hudud” or the implementation of hudud laws.

Non-Muslim politicians, especially those from DAP, MCA and Gerakan, have been fiercely voicing objections against hudud.

Both sides of the political divide and Malaysians of different faiths claim to be championing freedom of speech and religion.

Karpal’s roaring spirit lives on

JOSH HONG 

Like many, I belong to the generation who grew up hearing the great name and deeds of Karpal Singh who fought tirelessly for a just Malaysia that would adhere to constitutionalism at all costs.

The fact that I had never met the man personally did not stop me from developing a profound admiration for his fighting spirit. In the past 15 years especially, the borderless Internet has made access to news and information far easier, and I enjoy thoroughly watching Karpal’s public speeches and listening to his uplifting messages that he was hammering home.

Most importantly, coming from a generation when legal practice was highly respected and in which lawyers and judges must work strenuously, arduously and judiciously to prove their worth, Karpal has clearly left a deep imprint in Malaysian society.

One of modern Malaysia’s great men

P GUNASEGARAM

Taking an overview of his own tempestuous life, Karpal Singh believes he has been able to achieve more via the law than he has as the perennial hardball opposition DAP politician.

- author Tim Donoghue in his book, ‘Karpal Singh, Tiger of Jelutong.

It seems like he has been in politics forever but it was in law where he made his mark first. History will likely remember him more for his achievements in that arena and the truly tireless efforts he made towards the cause of human rights and equality, the last nine years in a wheelchair.

Bible Society jumps from frying pan into the fire?

Hazlan Zakaria

When the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) announced its move from Selangor to Kuala Lumpur, some saw it as political theatrics. Others deemed it a desperate act of desperate men, but perhaps it was jumping from the hot frying pan into the burning fire.

The society believes that the federal government may or can provide better protection to religious minorities, but it may have moved under a false sense of security.

Looking at it from another perspective, perhaps not all the hue and cry lamenting the organisation’s “self-exile” is for BSM but is by those seeking to profit from its woes.

Divert military spending to human development

Kua Kia Soong

Today, April 14 marks the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS), an initiative coordinated by the International Peace Bureau in Geneva.

On this day, more than a hundred organisations across the globe focus their attention on raising awareness about the waste of precious resources on military spending. This date is chosen because it coincides with the release of the annual report for 2013 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

These latest statistics by Sipri for 2013 show that military spending continues to fall in the West but rises everywhere else. World military expenditure totalled US$1.75 trillion in 2013, a fall of 1.9% in real terms since 2012. The fall in the global total comes from decreases in Western countries, led by the United States, while military spending in the rest of the world excluding the USA increased by 1.8%.

In the name of God, go

DEAN JOHNS

As you may or may not recall, in my column last week I made the blindingly obvious point that Malaysia’s perennially crooked, incompetent and thus altogether pathetic apology for a government should get real or get out.

But I also realistically conceded that the Barisan Nasional gangster-regime will never so much as consider getting real, let alone getting out, as long as there is anything left for it and its cronies to steal.

A dismal truth that has been even more pressingly and depressingly evident in the week since, due to fresh revelations of BN’s stealing on regardless, as in robbing the rakyat blind as ever, and no sign whatever that it has any intention of stealing away as in getting lost.

Don’t follow Umno’s racial profiling, Adenan told

Dukau Papau

Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem should cease and desist from his inclination towards the racial profiling practised by the Umno-dominated BN in Peninsular Malaysia, says state PKR vice-chairperson See Chee How.

“Sarawakians, no matter their race or ethnicity, should live as one. We must make the most of our potentials in our diverse society and contribute towards the greatness of this beautiful state.

“To be a Sarawakian, and even more so as a leader, we should reject racial profiling in politics,” said See (left), who is the Batu Lintang assemblyperson.

Hudud and the basic structure doctrine in constitutional law

Art Harun

Not many people know about this piece of history of our country.

Allow me to recount this so that this passage of our history would not just fade away from the recesses of our memory.

The Malaysia Agreement was signed on July 9, 1963 between the Federation of Malaya, the United Kingdom, Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore. Under this agreement, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak would federate with the existing 11 states of the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia with effect from September 16, 1963.

That is common knowledge.

Is the Umno-led BN government really weak?

Ng Kee Seng

A survey that found the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) weak in handling the economy after the 13th general election (GE13) is both an understatement and inadequate.

The survey, commissioned by news portal Malaysian Insider (MI), shows that more than half the 1,005 respondents polled described BN’s performance after GE13 as “very weak” and 45 per cent felt Umno fared just as poorly.

The survey is an understatement because the ruling BN is still as powerful as ever. It can do whatever it wants with impunity.

A Saif-Nurul-Rafizi combo is unwise

TERENCE NETTO

The formal announcement today that incumbent secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution, vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, and director of strategy Rafizi Ramli are banding together to contest in the PKR polls sends out the wrong signal to the party’s half-a-million members.

Of these 50 percent are Malays, 25 percent are Indian Malaysians, and the remainder are almost equally divided between Chinese Malaysians and the ethnicities of Sabah and Sarawak.

The Saifuddin-Nurul-Rafizi combo for the PKR polls scheduled for late April-early May is unwise because of the impression it helps reinforce that PKR is a Malay-dominant party, whereas its composition suggests it is multi-racial and its goal of a more egalitarian polity is reliant for its realisation on the country shedding its obsession with race.

Déjà vu, mystery of MH370

Myles Togoh

In 1976, Malaysia asked Australia to investigate the plane crash which killed then CM Fuad Stephens and his cabinet. The result was kept a secret.

In a curious twist to the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australian authorities have again been drawn into an aircraft mystery with its roots in Malaysia.

More than 37 years ago, a Nomad aircraft, a twin-engine turboprop that can seat 12 passengers and two crew, plunged to the ground on its approach to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here killing all 11 on board.

‘Get real or get out’

DEAN JOHNS

If current events are a message for Malaysia’s BN regime from fate, karma, God, Allah or whatever else anyone chooses to call the alleged almighty, “get real or get out” seems to me to pretty accurately express the gist of it.

In this, ironically ‘Visit Malaysia’ year, it seems that all the righteous spirits of the universe have accepted the invitation with a vengeance, and have arrived not so much to revel in the country’s Truly Asian delights, but to restore its former and future beauty by ridding it of its disgusting government.

But so far, despite the gutting it’s getting, this gang of BN goons and buffoons is still hanging around like grim death or the proverbial ghost at the party, and showing not a glimmer of intention to get real, or even a single sign of knowing or caring what ‘real’ might possibly signify.

‘Yes men’ must know that one can love the country without loving the gov’t

V Shuman

It has happened again. Yet another small mind has crawled out of the woodwork to call for “traitors” who criticise the country (read the ruling coalition) overseas, to have their citizenships revoked.

Such calls have become a norm lately, with everyone from leaders of the country to NGOs, spouting the nonsense towards anyone who “dares” to question acts by the ruling coalition.

These so-called leaders often equate dissatisfaction against the ruling coalition, to insulting the country. But they are unable to dissect the huge difference between the two. One can love the country, without loving the government.

Top MACC officer rebuts MP Ko’s criticism

Mustafar Ali

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which was established on Jan 1, 2009 as the sole anti-corruption agency that is independent, transparent and professional as signified in the ‘Aspiration of MACC’, requires the support from everyone to ensure the vision, mission and objectives of its establishment are achieved.

The support may be through collaborations and support in the noble effort to combat and eradicate the crime of corruption, or in terms of financial support from the government.

As an agency that is persistently working towards carrying out various operations and prevention activities, as well as constantly reinforcing its capability, MACC needs sufficient budget and financial allocations.

Non-Muslims have no right to question implementation of hudud, says Isma

LOOI SUE-CHERN

Non-Muslims have no right to question the right of Muslims to implement shariah laws in the country, said non-governmental organisation Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).

Its president Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman (pic) said Malaysia has been a sovereign land for Islam and the Malay race since ages ago.

“Non-Muslims have their right to politics so they can speak up for the interest of their respective races.

“But there is a limit to that,” he said in a statement posted on the Isma website today.

Remarks on Petronas’s role in the country

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

I am honoured at having been invited by Anas Alam Faizli to launch his book, “Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysians”, a collection of essays reflecting his thoughts on energy, the economy and education of our beloved country. I applaud Anas for his intellectual discipline to pursue writing which demands mental toughness, quiet tenacity and absolute patience. Indeed, he deserves our admiration.

He deserves our respect given that Malaysians are notoriously apathetic to reading, let alone writing. I respectfully submit that we do not write enough, both fiction and otherwise in comparison to, say, our sprawling archipelagic neighbour to the south. It is in this context that our author deserves our commendation – my commendation in particular – for a task well done, even though the themes are serious and difficult. Well done, Anas.

Giving sanctity to unholy contracts?

P GUNASEGARAM

The Oxford Dictionary defines sanctity as this: “The state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly”. In terms of contracts then, that begs the question of what contracts are holy, sacred and saintly and whether the term “sanctity” is being used in vain by those who want to preserve them.

At a time when the taps of some seven million people in the KL/Klang Valley area are running dry for two days and then are on for two days and dire forecasts are being made for the coming months, one can be forgiven for thinking that at least some contracts which contribute to this sad state of  affairs are unholy and therefore not to be sanctified.

Giving sanctity to unholy contracts?

P Gunasegaram

The Oxford Dictionary defines sanctity as this: “The state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly”. In terms of contracts then, that begs the question of what contracts are holy, sacred and saintly and whether the term “sanctity” is being used in vain by those who want to preserve them.

At a time when the taps of some seven million people in the KL/Klang Valley area are running dry for two days and then are on for two days and dire forecasts are being made for the coming months, one can be forgiven for thinking that at least some contracts which contribute to this sad state of  affairs are unholy and therefore not to be sanctified.

Sarawak’s RM559Million ‘Schools For Votes’ Scandal!

Sarawak Report

Sarawak Report has acquired damning evidence of a deliberate vote-buying ploy to approve 15 new schools in Sarawak, rushed through just before the last General Election by BN.

The project was approved both by the Prime Minister, Najib Razak and by the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Directly implicated was the then Energy Minister and Sarawak SUPP President Peter Chin, working in clear collaboration with a company called One BU Redha Services Sdn Bhd, which is closely linked to the now Governor and then Chief Minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud.

School-Based Assessment system implemented despite reservations

Alyaa Alhadjri

The School-Based Assessment (SBA) which was temporarily halted for review was implemented at all secondary schools nationwide on April 1 although certain issues raised by its detractors have yet to be addressed.

One area of concern yet to be resolved is the high number of students in a class which might render the system ineffective.

Suara Guru Masyarakat Malaysia (SGMM) chief Mohd Nor Izzat Johari maintained that while there are improvements in the revised SBA system, it should not be implemented before a pilot study is conducted for a minimum of three years.

Opposition cannot compete on equal terms with BN, reveals US report

Sonia Ramachandran

Gerrymandering and unfair delineation exercises are criticisms often levelled against the Election Commission (EC).

But when another country is the one criticising Malaysia, does this not mean the nation’s credibility in the eyes of the world takes a beating?

On Feb 27, US Secretary of State John Kerry officially released the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices to Congress.

The reports, which are in their 38th year, document human rights violations and abuses in almost 200 countries and territories, including Malaysia, in 2013.

Anwar and PKR placing too much faith on BN’s ‘fair play’ conscience

Alyaa Alhadjri

For a party that has been denouncing the alleged institutionalised corruption of the BN government, PKR does not appear to take the “worst case scenario” into account and is putting too much faith in the impartiality of a federal agency.

A recent string of charges (and convictions) against PKR and Pakatan Rakyat leaders were labelled as attempts by the judiciary at practising “political prosecution” on behalf of the federal government, despite repeated denials by the authorities.

These charges and convictions include offences that could disqualify a person from being an elected representative or officer bearer of a registered society.

Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali on Sarawak’s blacklist, says chief minister

TMI

Ibrahim Ali (pic) is the latest politician to be put on the list of those barred from entering Sarawak, said Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

“Don’t ever try to enter Sarawak,” the Sarawak chief minister told Ibrahim, after reports that the Perkasa president had slipped through Immigration checks into the state recently.

In a veiled threat to the Malay rights group chief, Adenan said: “He (Ibrahim) will find out what happens next time he comes to Sarawak”.

Adenan was answering questions today why the state barred opposition leaders from the state for the Balingian by-election, but allowed Ibrahim in.

Kassim Ahmad: One Christian response

Rama Ramanathan

Dr Kassim Ahmad is a Muslim. I am a Christian. Kassim Ahmad is a Malaysian. I am a Malaysian. Kassim Ahmad is a human. I am a human.

Kassim Ahmad has been controversial. Some of his views about Islam are not approved by the religious authorities in Malaysia.

Now frail and in his eighties, the one-time leader of PSRM (Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia) has held his controversial views for decades – in 1981 he was released after 5 years of detention without trial; Kassim later joined Umno.

Time for Sabah and Sarawak to twist federal government’s arm?

theantdaily team

Talk of Sabah and Sarawak being shortchanged by the federal government is not new. Nevertheless, calls for the two states to demand a better deal from the federal government seem to be gaining momentum.

But has anybody thought of using the two Borneo states’ electoral strength now to twist the arm of the federal government?

Maverick politician Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan certainly has. He challenged the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak to seize the opportunity to force the federal government to concede to the 20% royalty the people in the two states are demanding.

PTPTN education lifeline abused

Pauline Wong

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (or PTPTN by its Malay acronym) has served as a lifeline for many students seeking tertiary education since it was established in 1997.

The loan is especially helpful for those who are not born with a silver spoon. They rely on the PTPTN loan to take them through university and earn a degree, which is crucial in securing a job and eventually a steady income. In short, the fund is there for them in their hour of need, providing them the opportunity to complete their studies.

However, many treat it as a grant and fail to repay when they graduate, thus depriving others from enjoying the same benefits.

‘Allah’ ban hurting prayer services

William Mangor 

Bolly Lapok, who is the Association of Churches Sarawak chairman, said the community had ‘gone the extra mile’ on reconciliation efforts.

Prohibiting the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Christians is “affecting” the practice of the faith in Sabah and Sarawak where Bahasa Melayu is an integral language.

Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) chairman, Archbishop Bolly Lapok said the ban is hurting the prayer process and wants the federal government must recognise Sarawak Christians’ cultural heritage and constitutional rights without undue interference and intervention.

BN tail-spin and tale-spin

Dean Johns

Let me first make it very clear than any criticisms I have about the (mis)handling of disappearance and probable crash of MAS flight MH370 is directed, not at Malaysia itself or the majority of the Malaysian people, but specifically at Malaysia’s ever-incompetent, corrupt, criminal and above all deceitful Barisan Nasional regime.

That this distinction has to be made is a damning criticism in itself, of course, in that it highlights the fact that BN is arguably an illegitimate government, as it was only by means of its massive gerrymandering of electoral boundaries that it clung onto a majority of seats in the May 2013 general election with only 47 percent of the national vote.

And then there’s the even more damning fact that even BN’s 47 percent minority vote was achieved by every dirty trick in the book, from blatant, barefaced bribery to its illicit co-option of support from the mainstream media, police, judiciary, civil services and the very organisation whose sworn purpose is supposedly to ensure clean and fair elections, the Electoral Commission (EC).

Let’s reject extremism: Time to build bridges, not walls

Sonia Ramachandran

It takes years to build friendship and understanding, but just a careless or callous act to destroy it. In the current atmosphere of religious and racial tensions, it is clear that the free reign given to extremists is doing the damage.

It is hard to dispute that the actions of these unscrupulous individuals and groups were calculated to destroy the bridges of friendship, peace and tolerance between the people of various races and religions in the country.

Constitutional expert Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi put it succinctly when he said that extremism existed everywhere but what made Malaysia unique was that extremists are not allowed to be condemned.

A bittersweet victory in Kajang?

Bridget Welsh

As expected, the opposition PKR won the Kajang by-election. It did so with a smaller majority in number of voters, 5,379, but a larger share of the overall vote, up from 56.8 percent to 59.1 percent.

This was an important win for the opposition. Yet, the results did not send the decisive signal of a growing groundswell of support for Pakatan Rakyat nor did it send a signal of gains for the incumbent BN government, which ordinarily in a time of national crisis would have won stronger support.

Rather it points to minor shifts in voting behaviour that suggest both sides need to improve their strategies of engagement with voters.

Retired judges should stay out of politics, say lawyers, ex-judge

V. ANBALAGAN

Retired judges must refrain from making remarks of a political nature or get involved in politics as such conduct touched on their integrity, said lawyers and a former judge.

They said unlike retired civil servants, the public still expected retired judges to have the traits of serving judges.

Their response came following the revelation that retired Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah had campaigned for Barisan Nasional in the Kajang by-election.

On Wednesday, Noor (pic) told a group of Umno members at a ceramah in Taman Koperasi, Kajang that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not have absolute power to influence the judiciary to set aside the sodomy acquittal of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Hijacking humanity

DEAN JOHNS

As I write this on the evening of Thursday March 20, the latest Malaysian government press conference is being shown live on the round-the-clock TV news channel ABC24.

And aside from the fact reported earlier elsewhere that debris that may be from an aircraft has been sighted by a satellite, and aircraft from the US, New Zealand and Australia are proceeding to the area to examine it, Hishammuddin Hussein and several attending lackeys appear as much in the dark as ever.

Not just figuratively, but literally in the dark, as the lighting of all the MH370 press conferences I’ve seen has been so dim and murky as to seem almost deliberately symbolise the shadiness of the ruling Malaysian Barisan Nasional regime.

Wan Junaidi: I didn’t say non-Malays ‘less touchy’

Mkini

What Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Wan Jaafar meant in Parliament on Tuesday was that non-Malays are not sensitive, thus fewer police reports are lodged on statutory rape cases.

He did not say that non-Malays are less sensitive to rape, a private secretary to Wan Junaidi, Wan Hamzah Wan Paie, said in a statement today.

According to Wan Hamzah, the deputy minister “never said” that non-Malays are less sensitive to underaged rape.

It has politics written all over it

Lim Mun Fah

Almost a hundred vessels and aircraft from 26 nations launched the largest ever search and rescue mission for a missing plane in human history, encompassing millions of square miles of unfathomable oceans and expansive terrains, with the most sophisticated satellite and radar surveillance systems.

Unfortunately, nothing about the missing MH370 airliner or the 239 people on board has been brought to light.

More than 12 days now, and the public are getting increasingly frustrated as relatives of passengers on board become agitated and infuriated. Modern technology does not seem to work in the face of the most mysterious aircraft disappearance in modern history. The Malaysian government and MAS have repeatedly come under fire, with the Chinese media hitting out at the Malaysians government for concealing the truth and poor efficiency in search effort, demanding that Malaysia surrender the dominance over search mission.

Dr M: It’s not cronyism, we need rich people

Lawrence Yong

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad today said that Malaysia needs rich people who can pay taxes, and this is not cronyism even if some of them are now his friends.

Mahathir said that since the British left in 1957, Malaysia has mostly taken a ‘pragmatic’ approach to its economy – neither free-market capitalist nor socialist – and he therefore shot down critics who said he enriched only an elite class of people during his 22 years as prime minister.

He said that while government borrowed some socialist ideas – backing affirmative action for Malays, created state enterprises and gave land away, it also gave businesses a free hand to profit handsomely.

Let not Syed Mokhtar take Bernas private

Roger Kinkladze

How much rice can one person eat? Based on figures from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, the average Malaysian consumes around 75kg of rice a year.

Malaysian rice consumption per capita was 95kg in 2010 and this does not account for foreign workers and tourists. A more realistic figure is estimated to be between 72kg and 75kg

An article in The Jakarta Globe puts the figure at 63kg, compared with 60kg for Japan, 100kg for China, 139kg for Indonesia and a whopping 200kg for Myanmar.

Beware, conspiracy theories galore on social media

CHII FEN HIU

People often say that information is power, and with the multitude of social media platforms available at the tip of our fingers today, many of us don’t realise just how much of it we have.

The beauty of accessible information that the Internet has brought us runs in parallel to a responsibility that many of its users have yet to come to grips with. And this has become pronouncedly evident during the 13 days since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing.

Over this period, I have scoured news sources diligently enough to witness the descent of reporting from timely live updates to sensationalistic disaster porn pieces and controversial conspiracy theories, as well as shameless politicking by both international and Malaysian news sources alike.

M’sia isn’t looking very good right now

Anthony SB Thanasayan

It has been 12 days since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished into the night sky – and we have not found the aircraft or its 239 passengers on board. The mystery surrounding the exact location of the ill-fated Boeing 777-200ER has all but deepened the intrigue as to its whereabouts since it went off the radars on March 8.

Like scores of Malaysians, I woke up to the news on a Saturday morning. A SMS from a friend at 11.04am read: “Beijing-bound MAS plane shockingly missing-in-action!” My first reaction was to immediately check my phone to confirm the breaking news story. Both of the SMS news alerts which I subscribe to were already screaming out the headlines.

My next reaction was to tune in to international radio broadcasters on the Internet via my mobile phone and on shortwave. The Voice of America, BBC and CNN on Astro were already thick with reports and speculations on what might have happened to the plane and what was being done to look for its passengers.

‘Malaysia, what else are you hiding?’

AFP

The Chinese premier told Najib to provide more details about the missing flight.

Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane voiced fury Monday, accusing the Malaysian government of “talking nonsense” as Premier Li Keqiang backed their demand for more information.

Li in a phone call asked his Malaysian counterpart Najib Tun Razak to provide more details about the missing flight “in a timely, accurate and comprehensive manner”, state news agency Xinhua reported.

After Anwar and Karpal, now Tian Chua. ‘Persecution’ of Pakatan continues

Hazlan Zakaria

After the Appellate Court’s overturning of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy acquittal, and DAP chairperson Karpal Singh’s sedition conviction, now PKR vice-president Tian Chua is probed by police over a supposedly seditious document.

“I was arrested for a brief period in IPK KL, for the purpose of seizing my iPad. Released after half an hour,” read a tweet by Tian Chua today.

According to the notice sent by police to him that Tian Chua posted on Twitter yesterday, he was being called up for interview in relation to a police investigation under Section 4 (1) (c) of the Sedition Act.

Judicial independence – a matter of perception?

Dr Abdul Aziz Bari

The question of whether judges have the required integrity or independence is largely a matter of perception. That is why it is often said that justice is always on trial. Be that as it may, perception is the key to whether the public in general have confidence in the courts and the system. Hence the requirement that justice must not only be done but more importantly must be seen to be done.

Another issue that is related to the matter of perception is the notion of bias. The law dictates that what matters in deciding whether there is bias is the likelihood: what the complainant needs to point out is the likelihood of being biased. This means what the law requires to disqualify a judge on this ground is the possibility of being biased: one does not need to show that there is actual bias

A reply to MTUC Sarawak

Medecci Lineil, via e-mail

I refer to The Borneo Post article ‘Step up raids without fear and favor, law enforcers told‘ on March 12, 2014.

Given MTUC strong position on illegal workers, i.e. “to eradicate the scourge of illegal workers once and for all”, it demonstrates its prevailing aggressive attitude against voluntary agreement and exchange between employer and employee and more importantly, the spirit of entrepreneurship.

This could be the reason why more than 500 restaurants and coffee shops in Miri are putting pressure on authorities.

If I were an owner of coffee shop I would be frustrated too. Why? Because hiring illegal workers is merely humans acting on two of the most basic desires – economic survival and improving one’s condition. What is so wrong with that? No individual rights have been violated and no real crime has been committed. They are fellow human beings after all.

‘Beware of the dark forces of politics and business’

B Nantha Kumar

Stoking religious or racial enmity is a classic tactic that oppressive governments often resort to in trying to quell discontent over their policies and administration, according to Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

If the discontent happened to threaten capitalistic interests, then the business class would fund the oppression, said PSM treasurer A Sivarajan in a recent interview with FMT.

He said that countries like Malaysia were particularly exposed to such “Fascist tendencies” because of what he called the “close intertwining” of political power with business interests.

Poll: 95% want independence for Sarawak

Winston Way

An independent online poll has shown that Sarawakians are not supportive of Pakatan Rakyat’s objections to an independent Sarawak.

A recent independent online survey showed that 95% of those polled voted for Sarawak to move out of the Federation of Malaysia.

The 10-day poll commencing Feb 14 to Feb 24 was organised by Facebook page Hornbill Talks and attracted the participation of 2,107 voters.

Greed and the breakup of Malaysian society

B Nantha Kumar

This is the first of a two-part article giving PSM’s view of what ails our nation.

Sentul, which lies just 3km north of the heart of Kuala Lumpur, is fast becoming a city of contrasts, with some of the nation’s poorest citizens living side by side with the very rich.

During colonial times, the town was a major industrial hub for the nation. It earned the nickname Railway Town because most of its residents were employed by Malayan Railway, which had a depot and a huge engineering workshop there.

BN and Pakatan should prove ‘people come first’ in water deal

Alyaa Alhadjri

The ongoing water restructuring exercise in Selangor is a golden opportunity for the Pakatan Rakyat state government and Barisan Nasional federal administration to rise above partisan politics and prove to all that the people come first in their political struggle.

Pakatan should stop using the matter for political mileage while the BN should stop dragging its feet in reaching a solution and avoid being seen as punishing the Pakatan-held state for the people’s electoral decision to kick the federal ruling coalition out.

This is to ensure that a long-term solution to the state’s water woes, made worse by current weather conditions, can be achieved within the shortest possible time and to prevent such situations from arising in future.

MH370 exposes to the world Malaysia’s WEAKNESSES after 5 decades of UMNO-BN MISRULE

Sarawak Report

Malaysians are used to suffering under third rate leaders, promoted because of family not merit, and they are used to incompetence (or worse) being ignored or covered up by a compliant media.

However, others are not.

As the days have rolled by since the disappearance of Flight MH370, more and more countries with citizens on board have been left in askance over the apparent ineptness of the people supposedly running Malaysia and their crony civil service.

Is Kajang suffering from election fatigue?

Aidila Razak

At 10pm on Day 2 of the much-talked about Kajang by-election, there were hardly 50 people milling about at the Selangor government-sponsored carnival right smack in the middle of the constituency of about 39,000 people.

Down the road, another Selangor government carnival at the Kajang Stadium was not faring any better. With floodlights bathing the arena, it was obvious there were more traders than patrons that Wednesday night.

Minimising harm in reporting on MH370

Eric Loo

I occasionally cite A Current Affairs (ACA) programme on the Nine Network in Australia to show students the unanticipated consequences of ‘gotcha journalism’ on the source and the reporter – especially when the little guy, entrapped by the media to expose their flawed character, kill themselves.

The ACA story I cite is about a Filipino television repairman, Benny Mendoza, who was caught on a hidden camera by ACA for ripping off his customers. Shamed by the expose, Mendoza publicly apologised but later committed suicide, leaving behind his wife and two children. (Read here on how the reporter, Jane Hansen, dealt with the tragic consequences of her story, and how it changed her takes on ethical journalism).