Syabas has threatened to impose water rationing in Selangor but many suspect that it is a ploy to create an artificial water crisis to pressure the Selangor State Government to proceed with what many claimed is an unneccesary Langat 2 water treatment plant plus to cause Selangor voters to be angry with the Pakatan state government and thus vote BN in the coming 13th General Election.
If the so-called water crisis is false, then all Selangor residents should support the Selangor state government to take over the water distribution and water treatment from Syabas and sack its CEO, Rozali Ismail, who is drawing an extravant RM5 million salary.
If there really is a treated water crisis (there is an abundance of raw water), then it means Syabas is inefficient and thus also deserve to be taken over by SSG (Selangor State Government). Either way, the efforts of the SSG to take over Syabas is justified and deserve support.
PKR is organizing a protest and memorandum handover at Wisma Rozali, Section 13 Shah Alam at on July 23 at 12pm. Hope all you Selangor residents will join me. Below is a location map to Wisma Rozali:
View Larger Map
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
PENGUMUMAN PENTING OLEH BERSIH 2.0 KEPADA SEMUA MANGSA KEGANASAN POLIS PADA 28 APRIL 2012
PENGUMUMAN PENTING OLEH BERSIH 2.0 KEPADA SEMUA MANGSA KEGANASAN POLIS PADA 28 APRIL 2012
via Bersih 2.0 by BERSIH 2.0 media on 05/06/12
Salam Bersih ,
Permintaan Membantu Siasatan Panel Bebas oleh Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM)
Dengan ini perkara di atas adalah dirujuk.
2. Kami Bersih 2.0 menyeru kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang telah hadir pada 28 April 2012 yang lalu dan telah mengalami kecederaan untuk tampil membantu kami dalam memberi kenyataan anda kepada Panel Khas Suhakam.
3. Untuk pengetahuan anda, Bersih 2.0 telah menghantar satu Memorandum kepada Suhakam untuk meminta Suhakam menjalankan satu penyiasatan bebas diadakan berkaitan insiden yang telah berlaku pada 28 April 2012 yang lalu. Dan untuk pengetahuan umum, Suhakam telah bersetuju untuk menjalankan siasatan bebas ini.
4. Justeru, Bersih 2.0 memohon rakyat Malaysia untuk membantu kami dan kami menegaskan bahawa siasatan oleh pihak Suhakam ini adalah jauh lebih bebas, telus dan adil berbanding dari siasatan Polis. Anda juga diminta untuk tampil kehadapan untuk memberi kenyataan kepada Suhakamdi mana butiran peribadi anda tidak akan didedahkan kepada mana-mana pihak.
5. Kerjasama rakyat Malaysia adalah amat diperlukan untuk membuktikan kepada Kerajaan Malaysia bahawa peserta-peserta yang hadir pada 28 April 2012 adalah rakyat yang menyayangi keamanan dan keharmonian sejagat dan bukanlah seperti apa yang digembar-gemburkan oleh Kerajaan Malaysia dengan menyatakan perserta-peserta telah bertindak ganas pada 28 April 2012.
6. Untuk mengetahuan umum, walaupun tarikh terakhir untuk melaporkan apa-apa kes kepada Suhakam adalah pada 4 Jun 2012 ini, BERSIH 2.0 masih menggalakkan anda untuk melaporkan kejadian anda kepada BERSIH 2.0. Setakat ini, sudah ada sebahagian mangsa telah melaporkan kes mereka kepada Suhakam, namum kami merayu kepada semua yang cedera mahupun yang ada gambar atau rakaman video untuk tampil membantu siasatan ini.
Akhir sekali,Bersih 2.0 mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada rakyat Malaysia yang telah tampil untuk memberi kenyataan dan juga kepada yang sudi memberi kenyataan. Kerjasama dari rakyat Malaysia adalah amat diperlukan dalam perjuangan demi mendapat satu pilihanraya yang bebas dan adil untuk negara tercinta ini.
Sila menghubungi SUHAKAM langsung: complaints@suhakam.org.my.
Untuk bantuan sila menghubungi 428victims@gmail.com atau 012-3496013.
Sekian,
Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections 2.0 (BERSIH 2.0)
The Steering Committee of BERSIH 2.0 comprises:
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan (Co-Chairperson), Datuk A. Samad Said (Co-Chairperson), Ahmad Shukri Abdul Razab, Andrew Ambrose, Andrew Khoo, Anne Lasimbang, Arul Prakkash, Arumugam K., Awang Abdillah, Dr Farouk Musa, Hishamuddin Rais, Liau Kok Fah, Maria Chin Abdullah, Matthew Vincent, Niloh Ason, Richard Y W Yeoh, Dr Subramaniam Pillay, Dato’ Dr Toh Kin Woon, Dr Wong Chin Huat, Dato’ Yeo Yang Poh and Zaid Kamaruddin.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Rentokil Initial local offices telephone numbers
Rentokil Initial toll free: 1 300 882 911
| State | Telephone number |
| Kuala Lumpur | 03-6157 8843 |
| Negri Sembilan | 03-6157 8843 |
| Selangor | 03-6156 8850 |
| Penang | 04-644 8036 |
| Perak | 05-254 6604 |
| Malacca | 06-317 3588 |
| Johore | 07-554 8218 |
| Pahang | 09-573 7333 |
Sunday, June 3, 2012
EC in cohort with government agencies condoning registration of questionable voters?
Read what Dr. Ong Kian Ming have found in his research below in his article Questionable foreign-born citizens in voters roll, courtesy of Malaysiakini and decide for yourself if that is true or not:
Questionable foreign-born citizens in voters roll
- Ong Kian Ming
- 8:14AM Jun 2, 2012
COMMENT The Election Commission (EC) produced a booklet entitled ‘The Truth Behind the Accusations and Lies towards the Election Commission' on its website. In this booklet, the EC tried to defend itself against 12 allegations made with regard to the electoral roll.
I have written here and here to show that:
1) The EC has not been consistent in its boundary ‘correction' exercise.
2) That the EC had deleted 14,577 names in Quarter 2, 2011 because the records of these voters were not active in the National Registration Department (NRD).
3) That the EC should be greatly concerned by the fact that 56 out of the 57 voters registered in the past year in Kampung Melayu Majidee in Johor Bahru did not have house numbers or street names and were foreign-born, meaning the 7th and 8th digits in their IC number is ‘71'.
In this article, I want to show that the EC cannot reassure us that there are no foreigners/non-citizens in the electoral roll because it is the NRD which issues the ICs and not the EC.
Specifically, I want to focus on voters in Selangor without house numbers and street addresses which have been registered by government agencies since the 2008 general election. 
And instead of investigating these cases or questioning the NRD and these government agencies, the EC has chosen to stay silent.
The EC assigns a code number to each voter registration application so that it can keep track of these applications. These applications are divided into various categories with a specific letter assigned to each category.
For example, applications which come through the post office electronically start with the letter ‘G', those which come in through the police start with the letter ‘K' and those which come in through the army start with the letter ‘Z'.
Table 1 below lists the categories belonging to each letter. 
In this article, I want to focus on voters in Selangor without house numbers and street names whose applications start with the letter ‘J', indicating that they have been registered by a government agency which is not the Election Commission.
Informal reports from different sources have indicated that these government agencies include the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas (Jasa), a unit under the Ministry of Information and Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (Kemas), a unit under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.
The primary reason I chose to focus on applications beginning with the letter ‘J' is because of the newly-registered voters in the Kampung Melayu Majidee locality in the Johor Bahru constituency, almost all whom do not have house numbers and street names and had application codes beginning with the letter ‘J'.
I choose the state of Selangor because this is expected to be one of the key battleground states which the BN is desperately trying to win back and which Pakatan Rakyat is desperately trying to hold on to.
My methodology was very simple. I managed to obtain a complete electoral roll for Selangor that was updated to Quarter 3 of 2011.
This electoral roll included voter registration application codes for newly-registered voters from 2008 onwards. I filtered out all those applications with Kod 71 in their IC and then narrowed my search to those applications without house numbers and street names. 
The EC would of course try to explain this away by saying that they want to empower government agencies to increase voter registration rates across the country. The fact that many of these Kod 71 voters do not have house numbers or addresses is because they live in kampongs without house numbers or street names.
These would not be valid explanations for similar reasons as the Kampung Melayu Majidee case. All of these voters are registered to vote in urban areas and all of them are registered to localities where almost everyone else has a house number and street name.
For example, of the 967 voters registered in the Kampung Sri Gombak Indah locality in the Gombak parliamentary seat, 96% have house numbers and street names. Of those who do not have house numbers or street names, 80% have Kod 71 in their ICs, all of them have voter registration applications starting with the letter ‘J' (Table 2 below).
What is even more disturbing is that a large number of these applications were submitted at the same time - in March 2011- with the ‘nosiriborang' numbers running sequentially, meaning that they were most probably registered by the same person from a government agency.
Among these applications, I also found voters with a single name, which raises the question of whether these are similar cases to'Mismah', who was alleged to have been recently granted citizenship so that she could be included in the electoral roll. (Table 3 below)
As an additional check, I examined the Quarter 4 (Q4) 2011 electoral roll update to see if there had been new registrations in the localities with a large number of Kod 71 ‘J' applications without house numbers. My findings confirmed my initial suspicion.
Of those voters in the Q4 2011 update without house numbers, all of them had Kod 71 IC numbers. A sample from Kg Sri Gombak Indah in P98 Gombak is reproduced in Table 4 below.
Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain the registration application code for the Q4 2011 electoral roll update but I am fairly confident that application codes for these voters begin with the letter ‘J'.
Where does this leave us?
Some might say that the small number of voters identified in this article is not a cause for concern given that it is but a small percentage of the 400,000 newly-registered voters in Selangor since the 2008 general elections. This would be a mistake for two reasons.
Firstly, if the NRD can issue ICs to foreign-born ‘citizens' without proper addresses in urban areas, could it also issue ICs to other individuals with proper house numbers and street names and state codes which do not show that they are not born overseas?
After all, there have been many well-documented cases fitting this description in Sabah under ‘Project IC' where non-citizens of Indonesian and Filipino descent were given ICs which indicated that they were born in Malaysia.
Could there be a ‘Project IC' happening right now in Selangor - to give ICs to the many non-citizens who are working in the Klang Valley so that they can vote? 
As of Q3 of 2011, new voter applications with the registration code ‘J' numbered 42,540 in the state of Selangor, many of them in marginal constituencies.
In other words, what I have discovered here are the more obvious cases, using rather strict criteria - no house addresses, code ‘J' voter applications, Kod 71 in the IC numbers. There could easily be many other cases of non-citizens being given ICs with proper house address and non-71 state codes and they could easily register through other channels including political parties or by going to the post office.
The cases which can be easily detected are probably the tip of the iceberg.
The EC, instead of shifting the focus to harmless caricatures which appear during the campaign period, should instead do a proper audit of these cases and call out the NRD if it was found that many of the ICs were irregularly issued.
Without these steps, we cannot have the assurance that our electoral roll is not being populated by non-citizens.
ONG KIAN MING is a lecturer and political analyst at UCSI University. He is also the Project Director of the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (Merap). He can be reached at im.ok.man(at)gmail.com.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Boycott Sekinchan Ikan Bakar for Ambiga's sake
This is one of the hoodlums that had threaten a pasar malam outside Datuk Ambiga's house. You can see him painting the yellow lines on the road outside her house in the pictures.
BOYCOTT his business! We do not need to eat Ikan Bakar at his outlets to survive but see whether he can survive without business patronage from the good supporters of Datuk Ambiga!
You reap what you sow!
Show support for Datuk Ambiga and BERSIH!
BOYCOTT SEKINCHAN IKAN BAKAR!
P.S. I wonder whether the Income Tax fellows know that ikan bakar business can be so lucrative that one can afford driving Ferraris and other sports cars from it!
Or is he one of the privileged UMNO cronies receiving "favours" from a munificent UMNO!
Sekinchan ikan bakar
The owner of the above restaurant outlet is the bloody moron who proposes
to organize a pasar malam in front of Datuk Ambiga's house.
BOYCOTT his business! We do not need to eat Ikan Bakar at his outlets to survive but see whether he can survive without business patronage from the good supporters of Datuk Ambiga!
You reap what you sow!
Show support for Datuk Ambiga and BERSIH!
BOYCOTT SEKINCHAN IKAN BAKAR!
P.S. I wonder whether the Income Tax fellows know that ikan bakar business can be so lucrative that one can afford driving Ferraris and other sports cars from it!
Or is he one of the privileged UMNO cronies receiving "favours" from a munificent UMNO!
Sekinchan ikan bakar
The owner of the above restaurant outlet is the bloody moron who proposes
to organize a pasar malam in front of Datuk Ambiga's house.
Pakatan Rakyat 10 resolutions - preliminary manifesto
Pakatan Rakyat Convention - 10 resolutions
You won't get this in the newspapers, only online news portals and blogs will print this:
Racial policies rejected, preliminary 10-point manifesto unveiled.
In a rousing opening address, Guan Eng warned Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party not to 'hijack' the federal constitution and misinterpret the controversial Article 153 to divide the ethnic groups in the country.
"Somehow Umno always fails to mention that Article 153 also states that the legitimate interests of other communities must also be protected, Guan Eng said.
Guan Eng also unveiled a ten-point document to be signed by all the top Pakatan leaders and which is set to become the coalition's preliminary manifesto in the coming general election. The resolutions outlined in detail the changes Pakatan will introduce within the first 100 days of its taking over Putrajaya if it wins the next general election expected
to be held early next year.
The resolutions are:
1. A restructure of institutions including the Elections Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Royal Malaysian Police. During a debate on the policy framework, DAP's Anthony Loke requested PR bring the MACC under the purview of Parliament.
2. A repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA)
3. Instruct Khazanah Berhad, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and other government bodies to take over highway assets from the concessionaires in order to abolish the toll system.
4. A restructure of the country's subsidies, to lessen subsidies given to the private sector (such as the RM19 billion in gas subsidies given to independent power producers) and transferring these to subsidies for the
Man on the street.
5. Acknowledging the role and sacrifices of civil servants by studying the current pay schemes and increasing the incentives for teachers by RM500 a month
6. Transferring private water concessions to the government
7. Offering free wireless Internet access to those in urban
and semi-urban areas
8. Cancelling Felda Plantations and opening up its farms to second- and third generation Felda settlers.
9. Increasing oil royalty payments to Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan to 20 per cent from 5 per cent currently.
10. Formation of a Royal Commission to solve the problem of illegal immigrants and citizenship issues in Sabah and Sarawak .
Don't you think Pakatan Rakyat deserves your vote for a change for the better at the next 13th G. E.?
Evidence? Look at the improvements in Penang and Selangor.
" It Only Takes A Spark To Make A Fire Going ".
Please forward this message to your contacts to make them aware of what is happening in this country.
You won't get this in the newspapers, only online news portals and blogs will print this:
Racial policies rejected, preliminary 10-point manifesto unveiled.
In a rousing opening address, Guan Eng warned Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party not to 'hijack' the federal constitution and misinterpret the controversial Article 153 to divide the ethnic groups in the country.
"Somehow Umno always fails to mention that Article 153 also states that the legitimate interests of other communities must also be protected, Guan Eng said.
Guan Eng also unveiled a ten-point document to be signed by all the top Pakatan leaders and which is set to become the coalition's preliminary manifesto in the coming general election. The resolutions outlined in detail the changes Pakatan will introduce within the first 100 days of its taking over Putrajaya if it wins the next general election expected
to be held early next year.
The resolutions are:
1. A restructure of institutions including the Elections Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Royal Malaysian Police. During a debate on the policy framework, DAP's Anthony Loke requested PR bring the MACC under the purview of Parliament.
2. A repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA)
3. Instruct Khazanah Berhad, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and other government bodies to take over highway assets from the concessionaires in order to abolish the toll system.
4. A restructure of the country's subsidies, to lessen subsidies given to the private sector (such as the RM19 billion in gas subsidies given to independent power producers) and transferring these to subsidies for the
Man on the street.
5. Acknowledging the role and sacrifices of civil servants by studying the current pay schemes and increasing the incentives for teachers by RM500 a month
6. Transferring private water concessions to the government
7. Offering free wireless Internet access to those in urban
and semi-urban areas
8. Cancelling Felda Plantations and opening up its farms to second- and third generation Felda settlers.
9. Increasing oil royalty payments to Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan to 20 per cent from 5 per cent currently.
10. Formation of a Royal Commission to solve the problem of illegal immigrants and citizenship issues in Sabah and Sarawak .
Don't you think Pakatan Rakyat deserves your vote for a change for the better at the next 13th G. E.?
Evidence? Look at the improvements in Penang and Selangor.
" It Only Takes A Spark To Make A Fire Going ".
Please forward this message to your contacts to make them aware of what is happening in this country.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Najib's song: I BOUGHT it my way, parody
Folks, here is a video/song titled I BOUGHT it my way by "Najib Razak", a parody of Frank Sinatra's famous MY WAY
And lyrics to make the song easier to follow:
Najib Razak's song: I BOUGHT it my way
Frank Sinatra: I DID it my way
Credit to
Lyric parodied by: Adelene Wee
Sung by: Chom Lee
I heard my end is near
And so I face my final burden
BERSIH, I'll say it clear
I'll fight your cause of which I am certain
I've lived a life that's BULL
I've trampled foes and kept them at bay
An more, much more than this
I bought it my way
Regrets, now that's taboo
I'm warning you proceed with caution
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step with lots of foul play
And more, much more than this
I bought it my way
Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
Pisang goreng was all I could CHEW
But through it all when there was doubt
NST's there to edit out, I faced it all
I had the gall and bought it my way
I've urged, I've asked and cried
I've had my fill of London's calling
And now I'm PISSED insider
I'm begging you stop interrupting
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I bought it my way
For what is a man, what has he got
If not Ah Jib Kor, then he has naught
To suppress the things he truly feels
'bout tyranny and dodgy deals
The records showed, I've got cash flow
And bought it my way
And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Regrets I've had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/f/frank-sinatra-lyrics/my-way-lyrics.html -]
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all
And I stood tall and did it my way
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes it was my way
And lyrics to make the song easier to follow:
Najib Razak's song: I BOUGHT it my way
Frank Sinatra: I DID it my way
Credit to
Lyric parodied by: Adelene Wee
Sung by: Chom Lee
Najib's I bought it my way
I heard my end is near
And so I face my final burden
BERSIH, I'll say it clear
I'll fight your cause of which I am certain
I've lived a life that's BULL
I've trampled foes and kept them at bay
An more, much more than this
I bought it my way
Regrets, now that's taboo
I'm warning you proceed with caution
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step with lots of foul play
And more, much more than this
I bought it my way
Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
Pisang goreng was all I could CHEW
But through it all when there was doubt
NST's there to edit out, I faced it all
I had the gall and bought it my way
I've urged, I've asked and cried
I've had my fill of London's calling
And now I'm PISSED insider
I'm begging you stop interrupting
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I bought it my way
For what is a man, what has he got
If not Ah Jib Kor, then he has naught
To suppress the things he truly feels
'bout tyranny and dodgy deals
The records showed, I've got cash flow
And bought it my way
Frank's Sinatra: I did it my way
And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Regrets I've had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/f/frank-sinatra-lyrics/my-way-lyrics.html -]
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all
And I stood tall and did it my way
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes it was my way
Censored news: Aljazeera's Harry Fawcett full report on BERSIH 3.0
Below is the video showing in full the report by Aljazeera's Harry Fawcett on the brutality of the police during BERSIH 3.0 rally particularly the report that he was attacked by the Malaysian police and his camera wrecked by them resulting in him having to report via his iPad:
SUARAM: Scorpene submarine corruption case in French court
Here is the shocking video of the press conference by Cynthia Gabriel of SUARAM revealing shocking correspondences and circumstances regarding the multi-billion purchase of the Scorpene submarines in the French court:
Cynthia revealed that Najib Razak had written a letter demanding RM1 billion for Perimekar stay in Paris prior to his arrival in Paris.
Cynthia revealed that Najib Razak had written a letter demanding RM1 billion for Perimekar stay in Paris prior to his arrival in Paris.
Monday, May 14, 2012
CIJ Annual Report: Freedom of Expression in Malaysia 2011
The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia would like to invite members of the public to the launch of its annual report, “Freedom of expression in Malaysia in 2011”, at Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, on 16 May 2012 (Wed).
Besides the highlights of the 2011 FoE report, there will be an additional presentation on media coverage of Bersih 3.0 compared with Bersih 2.0. It includes analyses of how different media reported on, among others:
the numbers of those who turned up; and
the numbers of those injured and which side - protesters or police - is allegedly responsible.
We invite everyone to come in the T-shirt that expresses their most pressing cause. This is another opportunity for all to state whatever they espouse.
We have an exciting, interactive launch in store. Major protest groups of 2011 will come together to share their core messages as one giant human microphone!
Please find below the programme:
Launch of Centre for Independent Journalism's (CIJ) annual report “Freedom of Expression in Malaysia in 2011"
Date Time: 16 May 2012 (Wed); 8pm
Venue: Auditorium (1st Flr), Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, 1 Jalan Maharajalela, KL
Programme:
8.00pm Welcome by CIJ executive officer Masjaliza Hamzah
8.05pm Curtain-raiser for presentation of Freedom of Expression in Malaysia 2011 report
8.10pm Presentation of Freedom of Expression in Malaysia 2011 report (by CIJ media monitor Ding Jo-Ann)
8.30pm Presentation of Bersih 3.0 media coverage (by Jo-Ann)
8.50pm Q&A
9.10pm Launch: Human microphone by major protester groups of 2011
9.40pm Ends
Besides the highlights of the 2011 FoE report, there will be an additional presentation on media coverage of Bersih 3.0 compared with Bersih 2.0. It includes analyses of how different media reported on, among others:
the numbers of those who turned up; and
the numbers of those injured and which side - protesters or police - is allegedly responsible.
We invite everyone to come in the T-shirt that expresses their most pressing cause. This is another opportunity for all to state whatever they espouse.
We have an exciting, interactive launch in store. Major protest groups of 2011 will come together to share their core messages as one giant human microphone!
Please find below the programme:
Launch of Centre for Independent Journalism's (CIJ) annual report “Freedom of Expression in Malaysia in 2011"
Date Time: 16 May 2012 (Wed); 8pm
Venue: Auditorium (1st Flr), Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, 1 Jalan Maharajalela, KL
Programme:
8.00pm Welcome by CIJ executive officer Masjaliza Hamzah
8.05pm Curtain-raiser for presentation of Freedom of Expression in Malaysia 2011 report
8.10pm Presentation of Freedom of Expression in Malaysia 2011 report (by CIJ media monitor Ding Jo-Ann)
8.30pm Presentation of Bersih 3.0 media coverage (by Jo-Ann)
8.50pm Q&A
9.10pm Launch: Human microphone by major protester groups of 2011
9.40pm Ends
Sarawak Election Campaign: Buy a long boat
The Sarawak rural constituencies are very difficult constituencies to service and campaign in because of its vast area and difficult communications. I have read that one of the dastardly tactics of the BN is to rent all the available long boats, helicopters, etc, to make it unavailable for the opposition to rent
So Free Sarawak has launched the latest Buy a longboat campaign to collect donations to enable them to purchase longboats.
I have contributed and hope you will too.
So Free Sarawak has launched the latest Buy a longboat campaign to collect donations to enable them to purchase longboats.
I have contributed and hope you will too.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Election Offences Act Amendment bill withdrawn
It is fortunate that public pressures have cause the Election Offences Act Amendment bills to be withdrawn with probably the size of the participants in BERSIH 3.0 also contributing to the decisions.
Article Gov't withdraws Election Offences Amendment Bill below courtesy of Malaysiakini:
Gov't withdraws Election Offences Amendment Bill
Aidila Razak
4:07PM May 9, 2012
In a rare move, the Election Offences Amendment Bill will be withdrawn from the Dewan Negara tomorrow following “a lot of resistance”.
According to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, the decision to abort the Bill was arrived at today after a 10-minute meeting between the government, the opposition and the Election Commission (EC).
"I will table the motion in the Dewan Negara tomorrow," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
The means that the Election Offences Act remains at status quo for the next general election. 
The Dewan Rakyat passed the Bill last month but with changes, including holding back the amendment which disallowed political parties from assisting voters to check their names and voting streams.
Another amendment rejected by the Dewan Rakyat was one which allowed the Election Commission to dictate when and how long a candidate's polling and counting agents can stay in the polling stations.
Amendments passed include the proposal to remove the candidate's agents from the Election Commission registration booth (barong) and to remove requirement for all printed materials to have printers and publishers' details.
"Amendments made to the Bill by the Senate would have to go back to the lower house and withdrawing is a neater, better way," he said.
'More public consultation next time'
Nazri added that the EC had agreed to withdraw the Bill in entirety as more amendments made would render it pointless.
He said that the government had only acted as a "postman" in tabling the Bill to Parliament, and did not know the contents of the Bill which was proposed by the EC.
Nazri, who said that the Bill saw resistance from both government and opposition lawmakers, added that the government had tabled the Billin toto as it had respected the EC's independence.
The minister said that the last time something like this happened was three years ago, when a Bill was sent back to the Dewan Rakyat.
"But the Dewan Rakyat did not take it up within three months and it lapsed," he said. 
In an immediate response, the EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (left) denied the withdrawal was a slap in the face for the commission, who mooted the amendments.
"Not really. We had our meeting chaired by Speaker of the Dewan Negara and attended by Nazri and Lim before the press conference.
"We consulted each other and finally all agreed to abort it," he toldMalaysiakini in a text-message.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Podcast: Puisi Unggun Bersih, oleh A Samad Said
Puisi: Unggun Bersih, oleh Abdul Samad bin Muhammad Said, poet, novelist & Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate)
BERSIH 3.0: Seeking victims of police brutality
BERSIH is asking victims of police brutality to contact them with evidences. You can contact them via
hotline at 012-3496013,
SUARAM at 03 77843525 or
info@bersih.org
428victims@gmail.com
hotline at 012-3496013,
SUARAM at 03 77843525 or
info@bersih.org
428victims@gmail.com
13th General Election nomination and polling date
From a friend's reliable source ( but don't take my word for it!):
Nomination day 3 June Sunday
polling day 16 June Saturday
Nomination day 3 June Sunday
polling day 16 June Saturday
Mathias Chang: The Rakyat Has Finally Crossed The Rubicon
The Rakyat Has Finally Crossed The Rubicon
The Countdown To Defeat For BN Has Begun
Will Najib Be The First Unelected Prime Minister of Malaysia?
By Christopher Chang
3rd May 2012, Future Fastforward
This article follows from a discussion with my father who is now recuperating at home. My father was admitted to hospital on the 23rd April on the initial diagnosis of having a stroke but was discharged late afternoon on the 28th April after his condition stabilised. His concerns for the country prompted him to discuss with me his views and he has directed that I post them to the website asap.
“If people lose their trust in the government, then the country has lost its basis” - Confucius
Christopher Chang (Chris): What is your reaction to the police brutality as shown
in several YouTube video clips?
Matthias Chang (Matthias): I am not surprised at all. I had concluded in the early morning of Tuesday, 24th April that excessive force would be used. My mind was focused on the Bersih Rally on the 28th April. I was contemplating writing an article to warn the BN government not to repeat the mistakes made in previous Bersih rallies even though deep down in my heart I know that my appeals would be ignored. But, I could not pen my article as I was rushed by an ambulance (following a 999 call) to the KL General Hospital.
Chris: But the Home Minister on the 22nd April, and as reported in NST was quoted as stating:
NST: The home ministry will allow next week’s Bersih rally and similar peaceful gatherings AS THEY DO NOT jeopardise national security. The minister, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, said the ministry’s initial monitoring indicated that the Bersih assembly did not require excessive presence of the police, such as the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) as the rally was not a security threat.
Matthias: This minister (who is a lawyer by profession) as well as the Prime Minister must explain why the City Police Chief applied ex-parte (i.e. without the knowledge and presence of the Bersih organizers) for an order that Bersih cannot gather at Dataran Merdeka (the Independence Square), as inter-alia it posed a threat to public order and security. This is inconsistent and contradictory to the press statement of the Home Minister. Either the “right hand is not aware of what the left hand is doing” or it is the “good cop, bad cop” routine and the Home Minister hopes to be absolved from any potential fall-out. It would be utterly naïve for him to think of that, and that the public would fall for it.
Chris: Were you surprised by the turnout, estimated to be between 200,000 and 300,000?
Matthias: The exact number is not important but, if as reported by international media and independent observers as over 200,000 and comprising a crosssection of our people then this is historic and this means that the Malaysian people have crossed the Rubicon – the threshold has been crossed. It is a clear message to the BN government that the people are fed-up, pushed to the wall and their limits of tolerance have been breached. THEY DO NOT TRUST THE BN GOVERNMENT ANYMORE.
What I did not expect was that the threshold was crossed at this juncture, at this point in time. I had expected that if the BN Government called for a snap election before the clean up of the electoral roll, the rakyat would come out in droves to punish the BN government and ensure its defeat. The turnout would surpass all previous elections!
There have always been irregularities in our electoral roll as well as incidents of phantom voters, but in the past the people put up with the irregularity as it would not be sufficient to determine the outcome in a major way.
This reality and perception no longer hold true. This has been buttressed by the fact that electoral reforms were only considered after the massive turnout of Bersih 2.0. But for Bersih 2.0, the status quo would remain and this has really stirred the hornet’s nest. The fundamental issue is one of trust. And as Confucius said, once there is no trust in the government, the country has lost its basis!
Only the die-hard UMNO and BN supporters would not acknowledge this and or fail to see the writing on the wall. I had warned as such in my numerous articles before and after Bersih 2.0. The irony is that, the Home Minister before 28th April acknowledged that the government over-reacted when dealing with Bersih 2.0. But, the people treated it as propaganda or in local parlance, sweet talk. The government is no longer able to command the trust of the rakyat. And this is the death knell for the BN government.
I say this without any fear of contradiction. As a lawyer and as a former political secretary to the fourth prime minister, I have always stated the facts objectively without fear or favour. If I am wrong, I stand to be corrected but do not throw profanities at me. Prove me wrong and debate with me.
Chris: Dad, there are so many versions as to what happened, what is your take?
Matthias: First lesson in politics, when advising a politician – Don’t get emotional and be distracted from the principal issue(s).
The starting point must be that any law or court order must be just and seen to be so. And that the military, police and security personnel (Special Branch etc.) must be the protector and defender of the people.
Screw up this fundamental principle and the ability of the government to govern is undermined and the trust of the people is forfeited. The legitimacy of the government is brought into question. It is a Herculean task to recover the trust and legitimacy – unless the government is changed or the leadership of the government is changed.
Invariably, within the government, daggers would be drawn and sharpened as no leader is ever indispensable. Who, at the material time would have thought Edward Heath would be replaced by a shopkeeper’s daughter in the person of Margaret Thatcher and she (the Iron Lady) at the peak of her powers would in turn fall victim to a political coup. She did not even know what hit her, as on
that fateful day she went to Paris for an EU meeting in full confidence of her powers on the world’s stage! On her return, the plotters thrust the dagger into her bosom. The rest, as they say is history.
There will be the usual blame game and the more the BN government and their spin doctors indulge in such nonsense, the worse it will be for them. Police brutality cannot be excused under any circumstances (even if provoked) as the police are trained to handle such a scenario and to exercise restraint. There are standard operating procedures (SOP) under which strict orders are issued as to how to handle and control such a situation (especially one which the Home Minister has declared that Bersih is not a security threat to the country. There were no warnings before tear gas and water cannons were used on the crowd at the barricade near Dataran Merdeka.
Elsewhere, the crowd was peaceful, yet we have videos showing police brutality – several policemen beating a single protester in one instance. Then, we have a video of traffic police on their motorbikes in formation chasing the crowd when their role is to control traffic! And more!
Let us take the bulls by the horn. Let’s accept the official version that some protesters broke through a specific barricade. Does that justify the police brutality????
And if the police were to say that the brutality inflicted on the protesters was the action of a few renegade policemen and that the entire police force should not be criticized or condemned, then my reply is, sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander – the alleged actions of a handful of so-called renegade protesters and or provocateurs cannot be blamed on the entire gathering as from the beginning it was peaceful. In any event, the upper hand is with the security forces as they are trained and properly equipped.
I was informed that someone propagated a lie that a policeman was killed by the protesters when there were no fatalities at all. This could very well be a provocation by someone to inflame the police to react in a negative way. It is hoped that whoever is responsible for this false information be brought to book.
This issue must be thoroughly investigated. But, I stand to be corrected. Chris: But, Dad how do you respond to the assertion that a Court order was contravened?
Matthias: There are court orders and court orders. The order by the Magistrate, Encik Zaki Asyraf bin Zubir is a “lawful order” but was it just in the circumstances or an abuse of power? Can it be said that the magistrate was unaware of the press statement by the Home Minister that Bersih 3.0 was not a security threat to the country. What were the grounds / evidence stated in the supporting affidavit in the ex-parte application to contradict the Home Minister? This should be made known to the public. I hope that the Bar Council and concerned lawyers and human rights groups would file the relevant application to challenge the grounds for the said application, being an application made ex-parte. Hence, utmost good faith and full disclosure of all relevant facts (including the press statement by the Home Minister) is required. Was the magistrate misled?
Be that as it may, I take the view that the Court order is unjust in its scope and purport. Dataran Merdeka, in spite of its haloed name, has been used for all sorts of functions, from rock concerts to other social gatherings. Even Mat Rempits have used the surrounding roads for their illegal racing and getting away with it, but the ordinary folks cannot even use the said road parallel to the square. When hundreds of thousands of people gather there to express their democratic right for a clean electoral roll, they were barred from using the place by a Court order. That order is manifestly unjust, when it has been expressly stated by the Home Minister that it posed no security threat to the country.
The likely retort is that, Matthias, this is a Court order and must be obeyed! I will cite a few examples why it can be disobeyed, even at the risk of contempt of court.
1. During the British colonial rule, several laws were enacted to suppress the people, yet it is UMNO who never ceased to tell us that they “led the demonstrations against the British for independence and justice for the people”. Newspapers were shut down and people imprisoned for defying British colonial rule. There were laws and court orders but they were defied. So the laws and the court orders must be examined whether they are just or unjust laws.
2. South Africa had Apartheid laws and court orders. But they were defied by the Black majority and Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for over 20 years when he defied these inhumane and unjust laws. Malaysians and the Malaysian government supported the struggle of the Black majority.
3. The Palestinians have been humiliated and imprisoned for opposing Zionist Israel’s occupation of their land. Today, over ten thousand are incarcerated in Israeli prisons including young children below the age of 14 years. They have been imprisoned in accordance with Israeli laws and court orders. Have the Palestinians no right to demonstrate against these unjust laws?
4. During the civil rights movement in the USA, there were “legitimate” laws forbidding “Blacks and dogs” from public places, e.g. in parks and blacks must sit at the back of buses, segregated from the whites who were seated in the front and any contravention is a criminal offence attracting custodial sentences. But, it took a brave woman to defy the law and demand that she be treated equally. The woman is none other than Rosa Parkes. She has been referred to as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement" by the US Congress. Parkes' act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement and Parkes became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organised and collaborated with civil rights leaders,
including boycott leader Martin Luther King, Jr., helping to launch him to national prominence in the civil rights movement.
5. I would like to quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on defying unjust laws: “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law”.
And I say, Amen to that.
6. From Yahoo, I found this posting – “In India, the Salt Satyagraha was a campaign of non-violent protest against the British salt tax (an unjust law) in colonial India which began with the Salt March to Dandi on March 12, 1930. It was the first act of organised opposition to British rule after Purna Swaraj, the declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress. Mahatma Gandhi led the Dandi march from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat to produce salt without paying the tax, with growing numbers of Indians joining him along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws in Dandi at the conclusion of the march on April 6, 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians.
“Gandhi was arrested on May 5, 1930, just days before his planned raid on the Dharasana Salt Works. The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana Satyagraha drew worldwide attention to the Indian
independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost a year, ending with Gandhi's release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference. Over 80,000 Indians were jailed as a result of the Salt Satyagraha. The campaign had a significant effect on changing world and British attitudes toward Indian independence, and caused large numbers of Indians to actively join the fight for the first time.”
And even though I may not agree with the Opposition parties, I will oppose any attempt to stifle such expression of the democratic will of the people. Election with a clean electoral roll is a legitimate way of making political changes, including the change of a government. But when the legitimacy of the means to effect change is undermined by fraud, irregularities etc. we are inviting
the public to effect change by other means.
Let me remind the powers that be that Republican France was as a result of the French revolution. The American War of Independence was a revolution against British Colonial rule and the Americans today proudly celebrate on the 4th July as their Independence Day, following the success of the American Revolution. It may be wise for the BN leaders to restudy history. I am not here advocating
revolution, but when legitimate means for change are denied to the people, be prepared for the inevitable as history has demonstrated repeatedly. BN, you are forewarned. A clean and fair election is the only way.
Chris: Why has the government not come out openly that they will ensure a clean electoral roll?
Matthias: The government has established a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the electoral reforms but I take the view that it has not and or failed to address the issue of the registration of fraudulent voters and other malpractices. By opposing Bersih 2.0 and 3.0 in the manner in which it did, it is the perception that the government is aware of these fraudulent voters and malpractices but is not willing to clean up the electoral roll.
All it takes is for the government, specifically the Prime Minister to declare that he is against fraudulent voters and other forms of registration malpractices highlighted thus far, and will leave no stone unturned to ensure a clean electoral roll to regain the trust of the people and take the wind out of the sails of the Opposition parties.
Why Najib and for that matter all senior politicians in the Barisan Nasional have not done so openly and categorically is the Trillion dollar question. I leave it to you to draw the necessary conclusions. I am exhausted, I must stop here……. The dizzy spells are getting bad.
Chris: Thank you Dad.
The Countdown To Defeat For BN Has Begun
Will Najib Be The First Unelected Prime Minister of Malaysia?
By Christopher Chang
3rd May 2012, Future Fastforward
This article follows from a discussion with my father who is now recuperating at home. My father was admitted to hospital on the 23rd April on the initial diagnosis of having a stroke but was discharged late afternoon on the 28th April after his condition stabilised. His concerns for the country prompted him to discuss with me his views and he has directed that I post them to the website asap.
“If people lose their trust in the government, then the country has lost its basis” - Confucius
Christopher Chang (Chris): What is your reaction to the police brutality as shown
in several YouTube video clips?
Matthias Chang (Matthias): I am not surprised at all. I had concluded in the early morning of Tuesday, 24th April that excessive force would be used. My mind was focused on the Bersih Rally on the 28th April. I was contemplating writing an article to warn the BN government not to repeat the mistakes made in previous Bersih rallies even though deep down in my heart I know that my appeals would be ignored. But, I could not pen my article as I was rushed by an ambulance (following a 999 call) to the KL General Hospital.
Chris: But the Home Minister on the 22nd April, and as reported in NST was quoted as stating:
NST: The home ministry will allow next week’s Bersih rally and similar peaceful gatherings AS THEY DO NOT jeopardise national security. The minister, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, said the ministry’s initial monitoring indicated that the Bersih assembly did not require excessive presence of the police, such as the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) as the rally was not a security threat.
Matthias: This minister (who is a lawyer by profession) as well as the Prime Minister must explain why the City Police Chief applied ex-parte (i.e. without the knowledge and presence of the Bersih organizers) for an order that Bersih cannot gather at Dataran Merdeka (the Independence Square), as inter-alia it posed a threat to public order and security. This is inconsistent and contradictory to the press statement of the Home Minister. Either the “right hand is not aware of what the left hand is doing” or it is the “good cop, bad cop” routine and the Home Minister hopes to be absolved from any potential fall-out. It would be utterly naïve for him to think of that, and that the public would fall for it.
Chris: Were you surprised by the turnout, estimated to be between 200,000 and 300,000?
Matthias: The exact number is not important but, if as reported by international media and independent observers as over 200,000 and comprising a crosssection of our people then this is historic and this means that the Malaysian people have crossed the Rubicon – the threshold has been crossed. It is a clear message to the BN government that the people are fed-up, pushed to the wall and their limits of tolerance have been breached. THEY DO NOT TRUST THE BN GOVERNMENT ANYMORE.
What I did not expect was that the threshold was crossed at this juncture, at this point in time. I had expected that if the BN Government called for a snap election before the clean up of the electoral roll, the rakyat would come out in droves to punish the BN government and ensure its defeat. The turnout would surpass all previous elections!
There have always been irregularities in our electoral roll as well as incidents of phantom voters, but in the past the people put up with the irregularity as it would not be sufficient to determine the outcome in a major way.
This reality and perception no longer hold true. This has been buttressed by the fact that electoral reforms were only considered after the massive turnout of Bersih 2.0. But for Bersih 2.0, the status quo would remain and this has really stirred the hornet’s nest. The fundamental issue is one of trust. And as Confucius said, once there is no trust in the government, the country has lost its basis!
Only the die-hard UMNO and BN supporters would not acknowledge this and or fail to see the writing on the wall. I had warned as such in my numerous articles before and after Bersih 2.0. The irony is that, the Home Minister before 28th April acknowledged that the government over-reacted when dealing with Bersih 2.0. But, the people treated it as propaganda or in local parlance, sweet talk. The government is no longer able to command the trust of the rakyat. And this is the death knell for the BN government.
I say this without any fear of contradiction. As a lawyer and as a former political secretary to the fourth prime minister, I have always stated the facts objectively without fear or favour. If I am wrong, I stand to be corrected but do not throw profanities at me. Prove me wrong and debate with me.
Chris: Dad, there are so many versions as to what happened, what is your take?
Matthias: First lesson in politics, when advising a politician – Don’t get emotional and be distracted from the principal issue(s).
The starting point must be that any law or court order must be just and seen to be so. And that the military, police and security personnel (Special Branch etc.) must be the protector and defender of the people.
Screw up this fundamental principle and the ability of the government to govern is undermined and the trust of the people is forfeited. The legitimacy of the government is brought into question. It is a Herculean task to recover the trust and legitimacy – unless the government is changed or the leadership of the government is changed.
Invariably, within the government, daggers would be drawn and sharpened as no leader is ever indispensable. Who, at the material time would have thought Edward Heath would be replaced by a shopkeeper’s daughter in the person of Margaret Thatcher and she (the Iron Lady) at the peak of her powers would in turn fall victim to a political coup. She did not even know what hit her, as on
that fateful day she went to Paris for an EU meeting in full confidence of her powers on the world’s stage! On her return, the plotters thrust the dagger into her bosom. The rest, as they say is history.
There will be the usual blame game and the more the BN government and their spin doctors indulge in such nonsense, the worse it will be for them. Police brutality cannot be excused under any circumstances (even if provoked) as the police are trained to handle such a scenario and to exercise restraint. There are standard operating procedures (SOP) under which strict orders are issued as to how to handle and control such a situation (especially one which the Home Minister has declared that Bersih is not a security threat to the country. There were no warnings before tear gas and water cannons were used on the crowd at the barricade near Dataran Merdeka.
Elsewhere, the crowd was peaceful, yet we have videos showing police brutality – several policemen beating a single protester in one instance. Then, we have a video of traffic police on their motorbikes in formation chasing the crowd when their role is to control traffic! And more!
Let us take the bulls by the horn. Let’s accept the official version that some protesters broke through a specific barricade. Does that justify the police brutality????
And if the police were to say that the brutality inflicted on the protesters was the action of a few renegade policemen and that the entire police force should not be criticized or condemned, then my reply is, sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander – the alleged actions of a handful of so-called renegade protesters and or provocateurs cannot be blamed on the entire gathering as from the beginning it was peaceful. In any event, the upper hand is with the security forces as they are trained and properly equipped.
I was informed that someone propagated a lie that a policeman was killed by the protesters when there were no fatalities at all. This could very well be a provocation by someone to inflame the police to react in a negative way. It is hoped that whoever is responsible for this false information be brought to book.
This issue must be thoroughly investigated. But, I stand to be corrected. Chris: But, Dad how do you respond to the assertion that a Court order was contravened?
Matthias: There are court orders and court orders. The order by the Magistrate, Encik Zaki Asyraf bin Zubir is a “lawful order” but was it just in the circumstances or an abuse of power? Can it be said that the magistrate was unaware of the press statement by the Home Minister that Bersih 3.0 was not a security threat to the country. What were the grounds / evidence stated in the supporting affidavit in the ex-parte application to contradict the Home Minister? This should be made known to the public. I hope that the Bar Council and concerned lawyers and human rights groups would file the relevant application to challenge the grounds for the said application, being an application made ex-parte. Hence, utmost good faith and full disclosure of all relevant facts (including the press statement by the Home Minister) is required. Was the magistrate misled?
Be that as it may, I take the view that the Court order is unjust in its scope and purport. Dataran Merdeka, in spite of its haloed name, has been used for all sorts of functions, from rock concerts to other social gatherings. Even Mat Rempits have used the surrounding roads for their illegal racing and getting away with it, but the ordinary folks cannot even use the said road parallel to the square. When hundreds of thousands of people gather there to express their democratic right for a clean electoral roll, they were barred from using the place by a Court order. That order is manifestly unjust, when it has been expressly stated by the Home Minister that it posed no security threat to the country.
The likely retort is that, Matthias, this is a Court order and must be obeyed! I will cite a few examples why it can be disobeyed, even at the risk of contempt of court.
1. During the British colonial rule, several laws were enacted to suppress the people, yet it is UMNO who never ceased to tell us that they “led the demonstrations against the British for independence and justice for the people”. Newspapers were shut down and people imprisoned for defying British colonial rule. There were laws and court orders but they were defied. So the laws and the court orders must be examined whether they are just or unjust laws.
2. South Africa had Apartheid laws and court orders. But they were defied by the Black majority and Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for over 20 years when he defied these inhumane and unjust laws. Malaysians and the Malaysian government supported the struggle of the Black majority.
3. The Palestinians have been humiliated and imprisoned for opposing Zionist Israel’s occupation of their land. Today, over ten thousand are incarcerated in Israeli prisons including young children below the age of 14 years. They have been imprisoned in accordance with Israeli laws and court orders. Have the Palestinians no right to demonstrate against these unjust laws?
4. During the civil rights movement in the USA, there were “legitimate” laws forbidding “Blacks and dogs” from public places, e.g. in parks and blacks must sit at the back of buses, segregated from the whites who were seated in the front and any contravention is a criminal offence attracting custodial sentences. But, it took a brave woman to defy the law and demand that she be treated equally. The woman is none other than Rosa Parkes. She has been referred to as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement" by the US Congress. Parkes' act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement and Parkes became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organised and collaborated with civil rights leaders,
including boycott leader Martin Luther King, Jr., helping to launch him to national prominence in the civil rights movement.
5. I would like to quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on defying unjust laws: “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law”.
And I say, Amen to that.
6. From Yahoo, I found this posting – “In India, the Salt Satyagraha was a campaign of non-violent protest against the British salt tax (an unjust law) in colonial India which began with the Salt March to Dandi on March 12, 1930. It was the first act of organised opposition to British rule after Purna Swaraj, the declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress. Mahatma Gandhi led the Dandi march from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat to produce salt without paying the tax, with growing numbers of Indians joining him along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws in Dandi at the conclusion of the march on April 6, 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians.
“Gandhi was arrested on May 5, 1930, just days before his planned raid on the Dharasana Salt Works. The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana Satyagraha drew worldwide attention to the Indian
independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost a year, ending with Gandhi's release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference. Over 80,000 Indians were jailed as a result of the Salt Satyagraha. The campaign had a significant effect on changing world and British attitudes toward Indian independence, and caused large numbers of Indians to actively join the fight for the first time.”
And even though I may not agree with the Opposition parties, I will oppose any attempt to stifle such expression of the democratic will of the people. Election with a clean electoral roll is a legitimate way of making political changes, including the change of a government. But when the legitimacy of the means to effect change is undermined by fraud, irregularities etc. we are inviting
the public to effect change by other means.
Let me remind the powers that be that Republican France was as a result of the French revolution. The American War of Independence was a revolution against British Colonial rule and the Americans today proudly celebrate on the 4th July as their Independence Day, following the success of the American Revolution. It may be wise for the BN leaders to restudy history. I am not here advocating
revolution, but when legitimate means for change are denied to the people, be prepared for the inevitable as history has demonstrated repeatedly. BN, you are forewarned. A clean and fair election is the only way.
Chris: Why has the government not come out openly that they will ensure a clean electoral roll?
Matthias: The government has established a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the electoral reforms but I take the view that it has not and or failed to address the issue of the registration of fraudulent voters and other malpractices. By opposing Bersih 2.0 and 3.0 in the manner in which it did, it is the perception that the government is aware of these fraudulent voters and malpractices but is not willing to clean up the electoral roll.
All it takes is for the government, specifically the Prime Minister to declare that he is against fraudulent voters and other forms of registration malpractices highlighted thus far, and will leave no stone unturned to ensure a clean electoral roll to regain the trust of the people and take the wind out of the sails of the Opposition parties.
Why Najib and for that matter all senior politicians in the Barisan Nasional have not done so openly and categorically is the Trillion dollar question. I leave it to you to draw the necessary conclusions. I am exhausted, I must stop here……. The dizzy spells are getting bad.
Chris: Thank you Dad.
BERSIH 3.0: Letter from teacher to former student
From a teacher to her former student:
My thoughts after Bersih 3 : what I think Bersih 4 will be about
Hi Sushmita,
When you asked me to share my Bersih 3 experience, I did not feel like writing at all because I had nothing terribly exciting to report. My friend and I were among those who got the message to disperse at about 3 pm, and we were walking past Central Market heading towards Brickfields when we saw the cloud of teargas rolling along the Klang river beside Central Market. We had heard earlier shouts of “Tear gas !” and some muted sounds of explosions in the distance, but mercifully, we were quite a distance from the attacks. It was only later that we heard reports and saw videos carrying stories about the unwarranted aggression and violence inflicted upon our fellow Bersih comrades.
So what is there to tell you? The tables are now turned. The teacher now has to submit a piece to a former student. The teacher who had kept insisting on responses and opinions from docile and clueless undergrads is now required to submit her response to a momentous event, and I find myself searching for something worthwhile to say. I could tell you that Bersih has debunked the myth that Malaysians can never be punctual because I know many of us started out at hours ahead for an event that was to start at 2 pm ! I cannot bring myself to repeat what so many others have already written about – the carnival-like atmosphere, the camaraderie, the sense of being united with fellow Malaysians of all shapes and sizes, ages and ethnicities. I’d felt more of that at my first experience at Bersih 2, when I was with the crowd in front of Menara Maybank and when, with each new surge of a river of supporters from different directions swelling the crowd, I’d felt an inexplicable sense of pride and triumph swelling in me. This time my Bersih 3 experience seems rather tame. We had walked, chanted, sat, and then, without having heard any speech (we were too far from the main action), we were told to disperse. And I returned home without suffering a whiff of teargas this time.
It has taken some time to sort out my thoughts – reeling from a mixture of horror, helpless disbelief and sadness at the brutality inflicted on fellow Malaysians by thugs in police uniforms. Bersih 3 was intended to show the government that we , the rakyat, were firm in our demand that they needed to clean up the electoral roll (among other things) before calling for the next general elections. How it was overturned to end in chaos and brutality simply indicates one thing – that the government has absolutely no intention to attend to our demands. The reason is clear - there is too much at stake for BN , and to entertain our Bersih demands would simply mean political suicide for BN. The cheating and manipulation has been staged so well, why should they bother with us, the rakyat? No, they are going to ride roughshod over us, and teach us a lesson to cow us into submission .
We the rakyat have come this far. We have discovered how strong we are in our determination to save our beloved country from further ruin, and we have discovered, when push comes to shove, how courageous and united we can be.
We shall have Bersih 4, but it may not be a walk, nor a sit-in. We have our creative imagination to make Bersih 4 more powerful and effective . No, no more walking, chanting, or sitting, since, clearly the government is not interested in our message. No, Bersih 4 shall no longer be about drumming up the message again. Bersih 4 shall be about achieving what we want in our own way. Bersih 4 shall be for each individual Malaysian to achieve.
As various voices have exhorted, we need to keep our eye on the ball. What is our goal? To have clean and fair elections. If the BN government is not willing to go clean, we shall have to work hard at making it so ourselves. How shall we counter the cheating, the numbers of instant citizens and phantom voters who will swell the votes for BN? I believe the only peaceful alternative we have is to individually knuckle down to real hard work. No more carnivals, no more strolling or sitting down. No more being dependent on someone else to tell us what to do. If we can’t make the government clean up its act, we need to prevent it from cheating us further. We’ve got to use our own initiative now. Bersih has brought us together into this solidarity, and shown us how strong we really are, now let us do things individually but in solidarity, towards a greater goal: to save Malaysia. One important way is by volunteering to become polling agents – get ourselves trained for the job. Another equally important way is to go around and convince fence-sitters that it’s time to change. We have to do what does not come easy to us – for the sake of saving our country!
To me this will be Bersih 4 – the quiet, non-violent, but powerful and aggressively industrious individual effort, consolidating and energizing into a tsunami-like movement to crash the old, the corrupt, the tyrannical. We need to do this if we want to build a new Malaysia. And pray. Pray hard. God will surely help us if we really try hard to help ourselves.
Will the new government be better? We have to take a chance. An informed chance. But we will be wiser in dealing with the new administration. Bersih has taught us well.
mrsb
My thoughts after Bersih 3 : what I think Bersih 4 will be about
Hi Sushmita,
When you asked me to share my Bersih 3 experience, I did not feel like writing at all because I had nothing terribly exciting to report. My friend and I were among those who got the message to disperse at about 3 pm, and we were walking past Central Market heading towards Brickfields when we saw the cloud of teargas rolling along the Klang river beside Central Market. We had heard earlier shouts of “Tear gas !” and some muted sounds of explosions in the distance, but mercifully, we were quite a distance from the attacks. It was only later that we heard reports and saw videos carrying stories about the unwarranted aggression and violence inflicted upon our fellow Bersih comrades.
So what is there to tell you? The tables are now turned. The teacher now has to submit a piece to a former student. The teacher who had kept insisting on responses and opinions from docile and clueless undergrads is now required to submit her response to a momentous event, and I find myself searching for something worthwhile to say. I could tell you that Bersih has debunked the myth that Malaysians can never be punctual because I know many of us started out at hours ahead for an event that was to start at 2 pm ! I cannot bring myself to repeat what so many others have already written about – the carnival-like atmosphere, the camaraderie, the sense of being united with fellow Malaysians of all shapes and sizes, ages and ethnicities. I’d felt more of that at my first experience at Bersih 2, when I was with the crowd in front of Menara Maybank and when, with each new surge of a river of supporters from different directions swelling the crowd, I’d felt an inexplicable sense of pride and triumph swelling in me. This time my Bersih 3 experience seems rather tame. We had walked, chanted, sat, and then, without having heard any speech (we were too far from the main action), we were told to disperse. And I returned home without suffering a whiff of teargas this time.
It has taken some time to sort out my thoughts – reeling from a mixture of horror, helpless disbelief and sadness at the brutality inflicted on fellow Malaysians by thugs in police uniforms. Bersih 3 was intended to show the government that we , the rakyat, were firm in our demand that they needed to clean up the electoral roll (among other things) before calling for the next general elections. How it was overturned to end in chaos and brutality simply indicates one thing – that the government has absolutely no intention to attend to our demands. The reason is clear - there is too much at stake for BN , and to entertain our Bersih demands would simply mean political suicide for BN. The cheating and manipulation has been staged so well, why should they bother with us, the rakyat? No, they are going to ride roughshod over us, and teach us a lesson to cow us into submission .
We the rakyat have come this far. We have discovered how strong we are in our determination to save our beloved country from further ruin, and we have discovered, when push comes to shove, how courageous and united we can be.
We shall have Bersih 4, but it may not be a walk, nor a sit-in. We have our creative imagination to make Bersih 4 more powerful and effective . No, no more walking, chanting, or sitting, since, clearly the government is not interested in our message. No, Bersih 4 shall no longer be about drumming up the message again. Bersih 4 shall be about achieving what we want in our own way. Bersih 4 shall be for each individual Malaysian to achieve.
As various voices have exhorted, we need to keep our eye on the ball. What is our goal? To have clean and fair elections. If the BN government is not willing to go clean, we shall have to work hard at making it so ourselves. How shall we counter the cheating, the numbers of instant citizens and phantom voters who will swell the votes for BN? I believe the only peaceful alternative we have is to individually knuckle down to real hard work. No more carnivals, no more strolling or sitting down. No more being dependent on someone else to tell us what to do. If we can’t make the government clean up its act, we need to prevent it from cheating us further. We’ve got to use our own initiative now. Bersih has brought us together into this solidarity, and shown us how strong we really are, now let us do things individually but in solidarity, towards a greater goal: to save Malaysia. One important way is by volunteering to become polling agents – get ourselves trained for the job. Another equally important way is to go around and convince fence-sitters that it’s time to change. We have to do what does not come easy to us – for the sake of saving our country!
To me this will be Bersih 4 – the quiet, non-violent, but powerful and aggressively industrious individual effort, consolidating and energizing into a tsunami-like movement to crash the old, the corrupt, the tyrannical. We need to do this if we want to build a new Malaysia. And pray. Pray hard. God will surely help us if we really try hard to help ourselves.
Will the new government be better? We have to take a chance. An informed chance. But we will be wiser in dealing with the new administration. Bersih has taught us well.
mrsb
Monday, May 7, 2012
Understanding the Lynas Rare Earth plant in 13 questions
Q1: What is rare earth (RE)?
Rare earth (RE) is just a metal, as ordinary as other metals like iron, silver and gold. The difference between them is we don’t encounter RE in daily life, e.g. you don’t wear RE bracelets, you don’t build the bridge with RE. It’s precious, valuable and essential for many high-tech industries.
Q2: Who is LYNAS?
LYNAS is the owner of the RE mine and Gebeng plant, incorporated and listed in Australia. LYNAS (M) Sdn. Bhd is wholly owned by LYNAS Inc.
Q3: Where does the RE come from? What is it like?
Like other metals, RE is found in ore (rock) in West Australia. The ore is mined, cleaned and crushed into sand or powder form, before being shipped to Kuantan. The journey is about 5000 km. The size of a single grain of powder can be 100 times smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair.
Q4: Why do they take the RE from Australia and process it here?
The official statement said that Australia cannot provide high-skilled manpower, and that Australia cannot supply enough water, acids and natural gas to process RE.
Q5: What do we get in terms of income?
Malaysia was offered 12 years tax break by LYNAS, which means they do not pay us anything during the first 12 years of operation. Eventually, all revenue generated here will probably be channeled back to the LYNAS Inc. share holders in Australia, and not to LYNAS (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Q6: What do we get in terms of job opportunities?
Only a total of 350 employees are needed, including expatriate, skilled and unskilled workers. The number of employees in a mid-size supermarket is greater than this.
Q7: What do we get in terms of new, world-class technology?
Malaysia is not a traditional, major RE-producing county. Transferring RE processing knowledge to Malaysia does not benefit the country and its people considerably.
Q8: So, what actually do we get?
Save the “jobs created, new technology and sales revenue of chemicals, water and natural gas”, strictly speaking, in the first 12 years – nothing! Except large quantities of waste. To be more precise, 500 cubic meters/hour of waste water, 100,000 cubic meters/hour of waste gas and 280,000 tonnes/year of solid waste.
Q9: Is RE dangerous?
Most RE metals are harmless, but in natural ore RE is normally mixed with the radioactive substances. During the separation process, valuable RE is extracted and exported to US, Europe and Japan, leaving behind harmful substances in Kuantan.
Q10: How dangerous is it?
The radioactive substances release radiation and two major toxic materials – radon gas and lead. Radon is a colorless, odorless toxic gas. When it gets into the human body through inhalation, it can damage cells and cause cancer. As for lead, many years ago petrol gas been changed from leaded to unleaded, as we didn’t want lead to be released to the air through our car exhaust. Lead can harm the nervous system, and cause brain and blood diseases. In short, two key hazards can be found in Gebeng RE plant – the radiation and the toxic materials.
Q11: Where and when can the radiation, radon and lead be found?
The RE raw material (in powder or sand form) arrives at the Kuantan port, then gets transported to Gebeng by truck, where it is unloaded, transferred and processed. Waste gas from chimneys, the waste water disposed into the Balok River, the solid wastes that are stored in Gebeng – possibly in all of the above we can find the radioactive substances, which can emit radiation, radon and lead, wherever and whenever they are present.
Q12: Mr. A lives in Balok, 3km from Gebeng. Mr. B lives in Kuantan, 30km from Gebeng. Mr. C lives in KL, 300km from Gebeng. Can the radioactive materials endanger them?
In short, the answer is NO for all of them if they stay more than 100 metres away from radioactive materials. But, the answer is YES for all three if they consumed these harmful substances, even if they stay hundreds of kilometres away. WHY? The radiation emitted in Gebeng doesn’t travel long distance to harm us, hence if you stand a short distance away from the materials without consuming it, all you will get is a slight radiation. Radon gas and lead in general do not affect our body externally, as we are protected by our skin. However, if these radioactive materials contaminate the solid waste, waste water and waste gas, they will be released to the atmosphere, water streams and eventually the food chain. Once the radioactive materials enter the human body via inhalation, ingestion and wound penetration, the radiation, radon and lead will be released inside the body and these can cause very serious consequences.
Q13: Why did they say that it is safe? Why did they say that the radioactivity is low? Who should I listen to?
You decide who you should listen to! It’s your life, it’s your family, it’s your home. See above to understand why they said the radioactivity is low. The media, authorities and LYNAS have failed to report the consequences of consuming radioactive materials.
The questions were answered by Dr. Lee Chee Hong, Chemical Engineering Expert on Metals.
LYNAS proposal to recycle radioactive waste into commercial products outdated
Malaysians do not want the LYNAS rare earth plant and here is one more reason why it should not be allowed to operate.
A China expert on rare earth claims that LYNAS plans to dispose of its radioactive waste by diluting it then recycle it into commercial products, is OUTDATED:
China expert: Lynas' waste recycle proposal outdated
Lee Long Hui
6:17PM May 7, 2012
Although Lynas had given an assurance that the radioactive waste from its rare earth refinery in Gebeng will be recycled into non-hazardous commercial products, a prominent chemist from China commented that it is an outdated method abandoned by China.
Chun-Hua Yan, who is Cheung Kong professor of the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, part of Peking University, said that recycling radioactive waste from a rare earth plant into gypsum, fertiliser and material for road construction, was the method adopted by China rare-earth plants in the early days.
“I’m not an expert in this field but I believe that was the road travelled by China before but not now,” he told the media after attending an international symposium on rare earth today in Kuala Lumpur.
Yan claimed that radioactive leakage is not the most hazardous risk of a rare earth plant because if the operator is willing to inject huge funds to bury the waste far from habitation and seismic areas, as well as isolated from groundwater and sealed, it would not be a problem.
“It can be done from the technological perspective but the key lies in your investment, cost and management, whether you are committed in addressing it,” he stressed.
Generally the most pressing problem for a rare earth plant, said Yan, is to deal with the fluorine gas produced during the fusion process. 
Presenting his paper entitled ‘The Asian Rare Earth Experience and Related Research Activities by Nuclear Malaysia’, Meor Yusoff Meor Sulaiman (right) claimed that Mitsubishi Chemicals chose to close the plant on Jan 14, 1994, because the market price of rare earth was way below its production cost of US$4.25 per kg.
The plant failed to compete in the international market when the market price of light rare-earth chloride dropped to US$2.60 in 1996.
Developing a rare-earth course at UMP
Speaking at a press conference later, the former Science Academy of Malaysia (ASM) vice-president Ahmad Zaidee Laidin said that the academy is planning to develop a rare-earth related course at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP).
He said that ASM is currently preparing a memorandum of agreement to sign with the Chinese Rare Earth Society (CRES) to develop the curriculum.
On top of that, he also said that the university can become the third-party monitoring unit for Lynas’ rare-earth plant, which is similar with the situation in Germany where the nuclear plants are monitored by non-governmental organisations.
“(We are) trying to work with UMP to provide that kind of monitoring service using the latest equipment they have and working with China’s Peking University as well in order to develop the know-how, the understanding.
“This is something we have been working on and it’s a work in progress,” said Ahmad Zaidee.
The chairperson of the Unesco International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC) Lee Yee Cheong, who also a speaker, said that the academy wanted to see UMP come up with a rare-earth research and development facility.
“But UMP is only the hub, we are having a consortium of universities with rare-earth expertise to pool their resources, and we are asking China to help us to develop the curriculum for the research and development and also to train mining engineers and technicians.”
The foreign rare-earth experts who attended today’s symposium also urged Lynas to enhance its transparency and public engagement.
“The first thing you are going to do is to tell everybody what are you going to do,” said Jack Lifton, the founding principal of the US-based Technology Metals Research.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
BERSIH 3.0: Hotline for those sought by police
Are you one of those 91 individuals being sought and whose photos have been published by police for participating in BERSIH 3.0? If so, help is at hand. Contact PKR Youth hotline at
amkbersih248@gmail.com or 012-6541415
for legal aid and assistance.
amkbersih248@gmail.com or 012-6541415
for legal aid and assistance.
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