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Showing posts with label Royal Commissions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal Commissions. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

Najib’s “No Egypt here” statement reveals guilty conscience

For Najib to have made a statement that people’s power in forcing Mubarak out of power in Egypt will not be allowed to happen in Malaysia reveals that in his mind, the circumstances that caused the Egyptians to rise up against the oppressive regime exists too in Malaysia.

Mariam Mokhtar says he must be afraid of being hauled up and put on trial for a string of crimes including capital crimes so in desperation try to preempt by his warning statement. Read her article below courtesy of Malaysiakini: Najib’s state of desperation:

Najib's state of desperation

Mariam Mokhtar
Feb 14, 11
1:19pm

When the Egyptian people finally drove their president from power on Feb 11, our Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was quick to try to quash any lingering thoughts we harboured, about similarities between Egypt and Malaysia.
He musnajib egypt democracy crisist be desperate and the news must have given him nightmares. His first thought must have been of losing office and being put on trial for a string of crimes - some of these capital crimes.
He said: “Firstly, we cannot equate what is happening in Egypt with Malaysia because things are very different in the two countries.”
Then he stressed that the crucial difference between the two countries was that BN practises 'People First' policies.
He said: “We have known since early on that we need to put the people first. So whatever we do in our plans and our policies, we prioritise the people. And if we do that, the people will be with the government.
“The people will also understand that as long as we put the people's interest first and understand the desires of the people, they will feel the effects and benefits by the government.”
Earlier in the week, he had warned Malaysians that he would crush any copycat attempts to overthrow his administration.
He said: “Currently, there are demonstrations and activities to bring down the government by force in certain countries. These things need not happen here. We (the government) will not allow (this) to happen here.”
President Hosni Mubarak did not want it to happen in Egypt either - but it did!
Najib knows his average Malaysian very well. Some are consumed by apathy and will plod on in unfavourable conditions rather than fight for improvement. Others are controlled by a mixture of fear and division.
'Disuniting' factors
Therefore, Najib is right to say that an Internet-driven revolution, like that in Egypt, will not happen in Malaysia.
First. We are not united, unlike the Egyptians. Both Muslim and Christian Egyptians had one common goal; to force Mubarak out of office.
Malaysians, both Malay and non-Malay, are guided by racial and religious intolerance at every stage and station of their lives. From the time a non-Malay is born, he can expect discrimination in his schooling, choice of jobs, purchase of a house and more.
azlanEven buying roses on Feb 14 is misconstrued as championing Christian beliefs, according to one misguided and ignorant Malay motivational speaker on television.
This is Najib's '1Malaysia' which he once claimed is Malaysia's “strength and remains our best hope for the future”.
Where most people see racial barriers, Najib and his administration only visualise “unity through diversity”.
Najib's '1Malaysia' is nothing but institutionalised racism. Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his successors have managed to drive a wedge between all of us. Their motto might as well be 'Divide and rule'.
Second. The army was behind the people and it stepped in when Mubarak instructed his police force to use violence. Egyptians loathe their police and especially their secret police. Can we place the same trust in our army to protect us?
MalayNONEsians try to hold peaceful protests, but they cannot prevent the police from starting violence. Water cannon and tear gas are routinely used in peaceful demonstrations.
Only yesterday, the police detained 59 Hindraf and Human Rights Party members in Negri Sembilan, Perak, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for running a convoy to protest against 'Interlok'.
Najib and his cronies, have everything to lose. He will not hesitate to unleash the police and his reserve of 2.5 million Rela members to keep us in check.
Didn't Mahathir recently claim that he had no control over the police? Perhaps Najib will pass the buck in the same way, when things go drastically wrong.
Plainclothes policemen and Rela members will try to infiltrate the peaceful demonstrations. They will intimidate and injure those protesting against the system, to teach them a lesson in repression. There will be chaos and violence. It happened in Egypt. It has happened in Malaysia.
Perhaps, government-paid extremists might also hold counter-marches. We would then have a potentially lethal mix of pro- and anti-government demonstrations. Najib will then bring in 'emergency law' and lock up opposition leaders.
He pre-warned us that he will come down hard on protesters when he said: “We will stop any attempt to bring such trouble into Malaysia or Sarawak.”
putrajayaAt the Umno general assembly last October, he said: “Even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost, brothers and sisters, whatever happens, we must defend Putrajaya.”
Third. There are huge slush funds to be distributed to buy off those who might cause the eventual downfall of the BN government.
Those in power know that if one of them falls, the others will fall too. It is not just politicians. There are people outside the political parties; the cronies of the politicians who have built up theirbusiness empires from being friendly with the politicians. They, too, have as much to lose.
The politicians, their cronies, the tainted judiciary and police, have many secrets to keep hidden. If the BN politicians are displaced, their soiled linen will be laundered in public. It looks like our corrupt government and its cronies are more united than the rakyat.
Main difference
Nevertheless, Najib is wrong to say there are no similarities between Egypt and Malaysia.
The Egyptian demonstrations were started by the young, who were mainly students. They galvanised the people using Twitter, Facebook and Google.
In both Tunisia and Egypt, the revolution did NOT start because they were instigated or motivated by an opposition party.
egypt the day after mubarak overthrow celebration 1The uprising happened as a spontaneous reaction because the people were fed up with their repressive governments. The reasons were mainly financial. They were angry with life in the autocratic police state and of poor living conditions, economic stagnation, unemployment, corruption and police abuses.
The Egyptians had voting irregularities, just like us. We have vote-rigging and vote buying, but our government ignores complaints about this corruption.
Our ministers who are allegedly guilty of serious crimes like assault, murder and rape, go unpunished.
Ministers, who are implicated in corruption and siphon vast sums of money out of the country, are rarely investigated.
So, until we become more politically and socially mature there will be no uprising, peaceful or otherwise. We are also selfish and just want to get on with our lives. We refuse to take charge of our lives to make life better for everyone.
The terrible social and economic conditions which galvanised the Egyptians are similar to ours. The difference between the two countries, is its people.
The Egyptians proved that, with a desire for change and an Internet connection, anything is possible.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Documents missing: Should we demand for a Royal Commission to investigate?

The things that many feared had happened if theStar online is to be believed:

"All documents from the offices of the Mentri Besar and executive councillors in Kedah have gone missing."

Source:
http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/17/election2008/20668461&sec=election2008


Now if proven true in both Kedah as well as other States which the non-Barisan parties have wrested control, should concerned Malaysians, NGOs (non-Government orgarnizations), private citizen intiatives demand for a Royal Commission to force suspects to testify under oath and get to the bottom of the situation?

Hoping for feedback.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Kelana Jaya Constituency: Who should you vote for?

To People's Parliament and Kelana Jaya voters, who feels that Loh Gwo-Burne is not a credible candidate because they do not know enough about him. May I ask, how much time do you have to get to know candidates within such short period of time. I would say that for the Barisan, we know enough. For Loh Gwo-Burne, we should take the interim stand that we know sufficient to give him his chance, that he risked all to come out into the open to testify. After all, Haris said in the SS2 Petaling Jaya (click BACK button to get back to this page) that "if we can put them in, we can take them out. Give him one chance. Throw him out if he does not perform in the next 4 to 5 years. We do not have the luxury of time to dig into every nooks and corners of a candidate. Even if we are given 4 years, I doubt anyone can find out all about any candidate.

Yes we should know about our Candidates. What do we know about Loh Gwo-Burne? Not much, but he was brave enough enough to come forward and testify in the Royal Commission for the VK Lingam tape. How many Malaysians are prepared to do that? They will be afraid of getting black listed. If he is prepared to risk his future by coming out in the open, this at least we can expect of him. He, I believe could be counted upon to defy the Executive, to not vote for bills and proposals that are against the nation's interest and against his conscience.

How about the Barisan candidate? Will he go against the whip? Will he be brave enough to go vote against party lines? You know the answer. For a more detailed answer, refer to this post where this issue was discussed and where you can find out more about Billi Lim, the other candidate in the 3 corner contest: Interview with Billi Lim of UNIF (click BACK button to get back to this page)

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Scrap Special Complaints Commission (SCC or fake IPCMC)

A Facebook group Scrap Special Complaints Commission (SCC or "fake IPCMC)

I posted a message in the Discussions of fast growing Facebook group Deny Barisan National A 2/3 Majority in the Upcoming Election! hoping to get members to join the first group, and this was the response from one member:

"I really wish you can answer the 6 questions, please note I'm NOT asking Lim Guan Eng's perspective, as the creator of "scrap SCC", you MUST be able to answer them at any time, because the answer should be on your finger tip. If not, how do you expect other to relate to your cause."

Now my response to his response:

OK,

From own ears and mouth plus MEMORY:

There are many concerned Malaysians demanding a special body be set up to handle complaints against Police some of whom (this is from mouth of lawyers who deal with those detained) have been accused of abuse, physical plus verbal, of those detained. You must have also heard complaints of corruption or maybe even came across it before. It is of great importance that public have confidence in the Police and therefore one more objective is to help clear those Police wrongly accused. That was how the pressure groups got the government to set up the Royal Commission to study this matter. All very noble.

Again from the mouth of one of the member of the Royal Commission, they took their sacred duties very seriously, traveled all over the places, did a lot of hard work, and finally came up with a very comprehensive report with, if I remember correctly, 100 plus recommendations, some very crucial. They recommended setting up of the IPCMC (Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission.)

The Executive (Cabinet headed by Prime Minister) sat on the report for years, then out of the blues, a bill was hastily tabled in the Parliament to set up the Special Complaints Commission (SCC) instead the IPCMC (more about this later), and this, with election just around the corner. 3 members of the Royal Commission came out in public to voice their utter disgust. Tunku Aziz described the SCC as in insult and a slap in the face. He said the most crucial recommendations had been left out, one of which is that no serving or retired Police should be appointed to the IPCMC. Now this is from my ears direct from a former member of Royal Commission, but from memory as I am not a trained journalist or reporter. You know who are supposed to sit in the SCC (or fake IPCMC)? The IGP (Inspector General of Police) and the head honcho of the ACA (Anti Corruption Agency). This means we are going to get a Commission to deal with its own misdeed, if any. Now if there is any basis for complaints against the IGP, anybody wants to bring that to the attention of the SCC on which the IGP himself sits in? Can someone be expected to "police" himself or those belonging to his own agency?

One more thing, again direct from mouth of the Chairman of the Malaysia Bar Human Rights committee (Malaysia Bar is the body to which all practicing lawyers must be members), Edmund Bon, described the SCC as a post box. What it does is to receive complaints, study it, and then forward it to whatever department they consider relevant to further act on it. The SCC has no power. It just add another layer of bureaucracy plus extra time and cost, and actually does not do much, but act as a "post box" to which "mails" are sent and redirected (now I think a more accurate description would be a "telephone exchange" or the "Post Office sorting room"). Now will the SCC do what the pressure groups wants done? To control abuse and corruption within the Police plus clear Police who genuinely had been wrongly accused so that the public will have confidence in our police?

Now back to what I said I will leave till later. As many of you knows, Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights lawyer, set up the People's Parliament. Objectives: To get MPs that really represent the interest of their Constituents, not the Executive, plus to get to know your MP (or what I would put more accurately, the likely candidates for your Constituent) so that when you vote, you vote with eyes opened. As part of that. I interviewed the current MP of my Constituent. My first question: "How can a Barisan MP represent their Constituent when they are under the whip ALL THE TIME?" To put it in layman's term, the Barisan MPs are obliged to vote FOR ALL proposals from the Executive and the ruling Barisan in Parliament, and AGAINST ALL proposals from the oppositions, IRRESPECTIVE OF MERITS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR CONSCIENCE (what they should feel is right or wrong).

Cleaver reply: "All proposals must go through a long process of consultations before they are tabled at the Parliament. The Cabinet members are consulted, the NGOs, the stakeholders, etc. (unfortunately I did not hear the word "voter"). When this proposal to amend the Constituent to extend the retirement age of the Chairman of the Election Commission (current chairman Rashid whose term had recently been extended because the amendment was successfully passed in Parliament whose photo was torn, crumbled and threw into a rubbish bin in from of the press) was hurriedly tabled at the Parliament, I requested for an urgent appointment, kindly granted. I asked: "In this case, did the consultations take place, if so, how long and who or which NGO were consulted?"

Another clever answer: "When I told you about long consultations, I was only referring to MY Ministry".

So obviously from that answer plus the 2 bills tabled in a hurry - bill to amend the Constituent to extend retirement age of Chairman of Election Commission plus bill to set up SCC, obviously did not go through any real consultation process before being tabled in the Parliament because a lot of people who should know were caught by surprise.

Forgot to add, there is another similar Facebook group who must have a creator or creators who have more time and resources than me:

Malaysian for IPCMC

Hope you will join both, the above more active one, and hopefully the one below too:

Scrap Special Complaints Commission (SCC) campaign

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Dr, Mahathir mudah lupa: Not true

We have read about the selective amnesia of Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad at the "Royal Commission on VK Lingam tape" with his numerous "cannot remember". However, he was reported by MySinchew.com as having "remembered" a gentlemen agreement for a one term premiership for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia and successor to Tun Dr. Mahathir.

So people saying Dr. Mahathir lupa lupa (Dr. Mahathir easily forget) is not true.

Source:
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/6552?tid=14

Friday, February 1, 2008

Song dedicated to Dr. Mahathir who had the chance to redeem himself but blown it

When Dr. Mahathir testified at the Royal Commission on the VK Lingam tape and scandal, he chose selective amnesia. Dr. Mahathir was reputed to be very sharp when he was Prime Minister of Malaysia, but at the Royal Commission, he showed a poor deterioration, real or not, we do not know. There were lots of "I don't remember". Had he chosen to remember, he would have done our nation a great service by helping to start to right the rot in the Malaysian Judiciary that started with his sacking of the then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas. Instead, he chose selective amnesia. So Farida rendered her own version of the popular song of the 70s - "I started a joke""

I started the rot
That sent this nation crumbling
But I wouldn't see
That the rot was in me.

I took all the power
And had the nation crying
But I didn't care
That my rule was unfair.

I started it all
Caused all this mess
And people had less
But I, I'm on my throne
I don't care two hoots
I can go it alone.

I've started a scheme
That'll make you want me back
A pity you can't see
That Malaysia needs me.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

VK Lingam says he looks like me but....

From Yahoo group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beritamalaysia/message/99825


Here is the infamous VK Lingam answering a question in the Royal Commissiion to investigate the VK Lingam tape that triggered the Long March for Justice. Short, sweet and meaningful:


>"It looks like me," said Lingam when asked whether he was the man having a
>telephone conversation in the video clip.
>
>"You (Nordin) can ask me a hundred questions (on the same matter), I will
>tell you the same answer. It looks like me," he reiterated.


If you see shit floating in the toilet bowl, and it looks like shit, and smells like shit... do you send it for analysis before concluding that it is shit?