CMS Mahmud Taib Crony Capitalism Sarawak

Perak Democracy Tree Plaque Auction

When the Perak State Assembly was shut out from the State Secretariat, they met under a rain tree which has now become famous as the Tree of Democracy.



Pakatan Rakyat decided to commemorate the historical sitting and the tree by erecting a marble plaque.



The plaque was however vandalized.



However, not all is lost. The broken pieces will be put up for auction on Sunday 22^th March 2009 at 11am.

Zaid Ibrahim appeal to King not to appoint Najib as PM

Zaid Ibrahim at a Rotary Club meeting appealed to the King not to appoint Najib Abdul Razak as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia as the public has a poor perception of Najib and that there are many unanswered question. Read the full report at Malaysia Insider.

So will this be a likely scenario? Come April, Abdullah Badawi resigned as Prime Minister, Najib requested the King to be appointed the new Prime Minister, King turned down request and asked for a vote of confidence in the Parliament.

Public briefing - restructuring of Water Services Industry in Selangor

There will be a public briefing for Selangor residents on the proposed takeover of water concessionaires by the Selangor Government.

Please come and listen to the facts and figures, and show your support for the Selangor Govt who is trying desperately to stave off the SABOTAGE being orchestrated by the Federal Govt who is offering the four companies - Syabas, ABBAS, Splash and Puncak Niaga - a BAILOUT by buying up their assets, as well as huge loans worth RM6.4 billion.

PUBLIC BRIEFING / TAKLIMAT

Issue: Pengstrukturan semula Industri Perkhidmatan Air Selangor / Restructuring of Water Services Industry in Selangor

Date: 13 March 2009 (Friday)
Time: 8.30pm
Venue: Lecture Room, Civic Hall, MBPJ
Jalan Yong Shook Lin

PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE!

Regards,
Erica Hew Li Huang
Special Assistant to MP for Petaling Jaya Utara
0162208867

Location map of Civic Center

Landmark, Menara MBPJ, Amcorp Mall, Armada Hotel, PJ Hilton. If you are taking public transport, disembark at Taman Jaya LRT Station or Asia Jaya LRT Station.

Click on map to enlarge:

Guessing game - how thick is Samy Vellu's skin?

To break the monotony, let's us have a guessing game. It was reported that Semi Value @ Samy Vellu @ (more accurate no value) went singing and crying on his by-election campaign. After the fact that he had robbed the Indians instead of helping them, he still had guts to go round campaigning. He came upon some Indians living in squalid conditions (these same Indians were robbed by Samy Vellu @ no value their share of prosperity) saying "At one estate Samy Vellu said: "I don't know why your living conditions are so bad. I want to find out. I will act on it but after the by-election," thus indirectly telling voters that the goodies will only flow if the BN wins the by-election.

Now here is the game. How thick is Samy Vellu @ no value's skin?
A. 1 micron
B. 1 mm
C. 1 cm
D. 1 kilometer

Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (SIAP)

The SCC (Special Complaints Commission) which was tabled last year in place of the IPCMC (Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission) was criticized as a "post box" in that it is toothless (no power to persecute) and it just act to receive complaints and forward the complaints to relevant enforcement agencies thus essentially acting like a "post box" and add another layer to cumbersome bureaucracy. Now Syed Botak has tabled another bill in Parliament today the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission or SIAP (Suruhanjaya Integriti Agensi Penguatkuasa). SIAP will also have no persecution power. Will SIAP meet the same fate as SCC? Let's wait for more details about SIAP to be revealed.

BN's tyranny and citizens' response

The Barisan Nasional's government has become a tyrant. Why is that so? Read about BN's tyranny at REPRESSION, RACE, RELIGION AND ROYALTY. Here are some extracts:

UMNO used the ISA to detain the HINDRAF leaders, blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, Selangor Exco member, Teresa Kok and the Sin Chew reporter. This was not done to protect the common good but to protect UMNO’s rule.

The Police are used to arrest and prohibit the people from exercising their constitutional freedoms of assembly and free speech. Peaceful demonstrations are brutally stopped by tear gas and water cannons of chemicals. Ceramahs in Perak are banned. Candle light vigils in Petaling Jaya are declared illegal. Lodging police reports are prohibited.

Government institutions are perverted and subverted. Senior Civil Servants by disingenuous arguments make shamelessly biased decisions to panda to their political masters’ desires.

In Perak, the Election Commission refused to call for bye-elections after the Perak Speaker declared the 3 seats vacant. The State Secretary booted out the Menteri Besar and the Exco when a motion of no confidence on the Menteri Besar has yet to be tabled in the Assembly. The Police cordoned off the State Assembly Building to prevent the elected representatives from attending. The assembly secretary countermands the Speaker’s call for a sitting, then locks the doors of the assembly hall and throws away the keys for good measure. The state assembly has to be held under a refuge of a rain tree. We now have Rain Tree Democracy. The Judicial Commissioner disqualified a litigant’s duly appointed lawyer and appointed the opponent’s lawyer for the litigant against his wish. This is a kangaroo court dispensing Palm Tree Justice.

In Selangor, MACC issued a public statement that it had found there was a good case of corruption against the Selangor Menteri Besar, YAB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. If putting petrol into his car used for state official functions and donating cows to the poor are corrupt acts, why is receiving RM530 Million for buying a submarine not?! The Commissioner has violated the first principle of justice that a man is presumed innocent until he is convicted. The Commissioner had become prosecutor, judge and jury. In the case of Elizabeth Wong, there was a media frenzy in violating her privacy as the media rushed in like sharks to kill her political career. That was not journalism. That was gutter politics.

In Kedah, YB Arumugam had to resign as the state exco member and state assemblymen to safeguard his family from harm. After attempted bribery failed they threatened and kidnapped him to coerce him to crossover. Although he identified the perpetrator, the police released the perpetrator allowing him to make further threats. YB Lim Soo Nee and YB Tan Wei Xu received bullets when they rejected offers of several million Ringgit to cross over. Although a video had been taken by the then BPR officer of the negotiations and offer the only action taken by the MACC was to transfer the officer.

UMNO has betrayed the peoples’ trust in transgressing the powers given for its own ends. It has become a tyrannical regime.

What should Malaysians do?

The people then have a moral duty to rise up and oppose the illegitimate regime.

Low Life Club

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ADUN Lompat Changkat Jering

Malaysian Institutions Credibility Gap Huge

Things are not going well in Malaysia. Even the highly respectable Malaysian Bar Council warns of a breakdown of Malaysian Institutions which I would include the Police, MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission better known now as the Malaysian Agency for Cows and Cars), the Judiciary and many branches of the Malaysian Civil Service.

Take this for example. The CID (Criminal Investigations Department) director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin claimed that with regards to the Kugan murder case, there is NO COVER UP. This is despite the fact that the first post-mortem attributed the cause of death to fluids in the lungs while the second post-mortem painted a completely different picture - death through beatings and kidney failure.

This is what Mohd Bakri said: "In Kugan’s case, we just received the second post-mortem report yesterday, and we had promptly acted on it by consulting the Attorney-General’s Chambers."

Would the mere consultation with the Attorney-General on receiving the second post-mortem means there was no cover up? How can there be no cover up when the picture painted by the authorities initially were so completely different from the picture obtained from the second post-mortem?

Believe it or not - MACC found no proof of money politics in UMNO

It seems the head honcho of MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission now better known as the Malaysian Agency for Cows and Cars) Ahmad Said has found no evidence of money politics in UMNO. With so many reports of money politics in UMNO, I think that this can easy earn a place in the famous "Believe it or not" series.

Appeal from Puspa - Manoharan's wife

Appeal by Pushpa, M. Manoharan's Wife

Dear Fellow Malaysians,

It is not easy for me to write this appeal but I am compelled to as a result of what is happening to me and my family.

One of the reasons for the Government to put people away under the ISA is to break the spirit of the detained and at the same time create trepidation amongst family members thus disrupting the harmony therein.

Manoharan is a good son, son in-law, husband and a good father to our lovely three kids ranging from 9-11 years. My husband has aged parents and his mother is wheel-chair bound. They are both dependant on him for monthly expenses as well.

One year and two months have passed since my husband's detention. His recent appeal was rejected by the court, and we are told that he shall be in detention for two years.

Our three children are deprived of their social activities, love, guidance and they have lost confidence and constantly living in fear. They are also having nightmares so they are not themselves anymore. I am worried for them as I feel that they are scarred for life with this stigma that their father is a ‘prisoner’ what the future holds for them.

As you are aware my husband M. Manoharan was a legal adviser to the banned Hindraf and is currently under detention under ISA, without trial. He is a graduate in Economics from UM and also a law graduate from UK. He was having a reasonably successful legal practice in Suite B-4-1, Tower B.Plaza Pantai, Off Jalan Pantai Baru, Kuala Lumpur, under the name M. Manoharan & Co. He started his practice in 2001 with very little funds. I stopped work as a teacher and helped out in my husband’s legal firm. There have been many occasions when his firm has performed legal work free of charge for poor and destitute people.

I am a homemaker and now at a loss as to how to manage his law practice as there are no funds or new cases coming in. I tried to downsize his legal firm from ten staff to six staff from 1st Jan 2007 and have used up all our savings to maintain the office. I have also been issued a summons to settle the arrears in rental amounting to RM120K plus interest. Thus, I am in urgent need of financial assistance to help save his firm which is on the verge of closing down. His allowance as Member of Parliament puts food on the table but is far short of the monthly minimum required to pay bills.

I need to keep the firm afloat as this is important to keep my husband sane and give him a reason to push on. It will definitely break his heart and he will be devastated if the firm is closed down. I have exhausted and stretched my resources to the maximum to keep the firm running but cannot cope with the mounting pressure any more.

My husband has laid down his life, his career and his personal life to fight for the basic rights of right - thinking Malaysians and I am now appealing to the generosity of the same kind-hearted people to help us tide over this difficult period of settling our debts, which have chalked up due to my husband’s unfair detention without trial. I shall be grateful to receive whatever assistance to sustain the legal firm as well as to start paying up our outstanding debts.

Sincerely Yours,

Pushpa

MACC Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency is dead

The MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency) is dead. First is its feet dragging and reluctance to investigate reports of corruptions of Barisan Nasional and Government agencies. The reporters who were given envelopes containing RM300 had given the name (from the name tag) of the Ministry of Information staff who gave them the envelopes. And yet MACC refused to investigate on the excuse that the reporters could not identify the staff who gave them the envelope.

However, the MACC were super efficient in investigating the Selangor Menteri Besar after reports about his personal car and the donation of cows and its Chief Ahmad Said made a statement that they have strong proof of corruption thereby implying guilt even before it has gone to the court. The MACC were also super efficient in calling for investigation of the Perak Speaker for abuse of power while not investigating the Perak Secretary for acting beyond his power. Now the MACC is even threatening to question the lawyers for the Perak Speaker which smack of intimidation of lawyers acting on behalf of their clients.

All this goes to show that MACC is dead as an independent institution. RIP.

Najib offered Fauzi Muda bribe defection

Malaysiakini reported PKR Ipoh Barat division chief Fauzi Muda had been offered RM50 million to engineer defections to Barisan Nasional by Prime Minister in waiting Najib Abdul Razak. Fauzi Muda claimed that he has the proof and challenged MACC (Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission now better known as the Malaysian Agency for Cars and Cows) to charge either himself or Najib so that he can produce the proof in court. Fauzi had earlier made a statutory declaration stating that he had been offered a bribe of RM50 million to help engineer defections to the Barisan Nasional when he met the the deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak at his official residence on March 11, 2008.

Perak Selangor Political Crisis Future Malaysia

Perkembangan Terkini Krisis Politik Perak dan Selangor serta Masa Depan Politik Malaysia.

Panelis : YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiausaha Politik Menteri Besar)
: Prof Aziz Bari ( Universiti Islam Antarabangsa )
: Sdr Ibrahim Suffian ( Merdeka Centre )

Moderator : Sdr Hafez Sabri ( BERSATU PERAK )

Tempat: Bilik Andalas, Tingkat 15, Menara PKNS, Petaling Jaya.
( Berhampiran Hotel Hilton, PJ, Tingkat bawah menara adalah pejabat Celcom)

Tarikh/ Masa : 6 Mac 2009, jam 8 malam

Semua dijemput hadir, dan mohon disebarkan undangan.

Translation

Current Political Crisis in Perak and Selangor: Future of Politics in Malaysia

Panelist: YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Political Secretary for Selangor Chief Minister)
: Prof Aziz Bari (International Islamic University)
: Sdr Ibrahim Suffian ( Merdeka Centre )

Moderator : Sdr Hafez Sabri ( BERSATU PERAK )

Place: Andalas Room, 15th Floor, PKNS Tower, Petaling Jaya.
(behind Hotel Hilton, PJ)
(The ground floor of the tower is Celcom Office)

All are invited

Location map of PKNS Tower, Persiaran Barat

If you are taking public transport, the nearest LRT Stations are Asia Jaya LRT Station and Taman Jaya LRT Station.

Public Briefing Selangor Water Restructuring Process

PUBLIC BRIEFING OF
SELANGOR WATER RESTRUCTURING PROCESS
DATE: ON WEDNESDAY 4/3/2009, 8pm
LOCATION: CRYSTAL CROWN HOTEL, Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya.

This is to inform you that DAP PJ Utara will be organizing a Public Briefing on the “Restructuring Process of Selangor Water Industry” on 4th March 2009 in Crystal Crown Hotel, Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya.

The briefing is to provide detailed explanations to the public about the restructuring effort of the water services industry in Selangor. Of late, four major water concessionaires, namely Syabas, Slash, Puncak Niaga and Abass have decided to turn to the Federal Government to negotiate for a better deal which could result in higher water tariff (as high as 37% according to agreement) for the people of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

The public briefing will be conducted in Bahasa Malaysia and English. In view of the short notice, I appreciate if you and your organizations could assist to mobilize and inform your members, friends and neighbors to attend the public briefing. Our panelists from the Water Review Panel appointed by the Selangor State Government will be present to brief the public. Speakers: MP for PJU Tony Pua and MP Charles Santiago have confirmed. It is a bilingual event in English and Bahasa, predominantly in English.

Location map of Crystal Crown Hotel, Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya

Click map to enlarge:

Test Live Coverage of events unfolding in Perak

Note: This is only a test/demonstration "Live Coverage" using CoverItLive.com:

Media Awareness Workshop - Penang

Media Awareness Workshop:

Media, Democracy and Human Rights
Sunway Hotel Georgetown,
Lorong Baru,
10450 Pulau Pinang,
Saturday,7th March 2009 from 8.30am -5.30pm,
sponsored by the Canadian High Commission.

The workshop is primarily for young people, from upper secondary schools and colleges and higher learning institutions, given that this is the generation that is most exposed to and influenced by the media in their daily lives.

The workshop aims to raise the level of awareness of participants in 3 areas
· the various aspects of the media industry in Malaysia ,
· the laws and other restrictions that affect the media industry and democracy,
· how to critically ‘read’ the media.
The workshop is structured in a manner which will allow for input from the speakers as well as active participation by the participants. There will be break-up sessions to encourage participants ‘read critically’ the content of the media. Comparisons will also be made between mainstream media and the Internet media

It is hoped that such ‘media awareness’ or ‘media literacy’ would empower young people as active citizens of a democracy to demand real changes in the way the news is reported.

As places are limited, registration prior to the workshop is required. The registration fee for the workshop is RM10/- only. This can be given as cash or in a cheque made out to Aliran and sent to Aliran at 103 Medan Penaga, Jelutong 11600, Penang by the 28th of February, 2009.

For further information please contact Evelyn at the Aliran office at 04-6585251.

Location Map of Sunway Hotel, Penang

(Click map to enlarge):

Location map of Sunway Hotel, zoom in:

MACC Chief practicing double standards

Malaysia badly need a thorough spring cleaning of its many institutions and agencies. The Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission have ever since it was formed reeks of bias and double standards and one can safely say now "reform my foot":

Rotting MACC Chief photo courtesy of Malaysiakini

Welcome ladies and gentlemen. I am Sankara Nair, the lawyer for Yang Berhormat the Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. I have a press statement here. It is in respect of a statement by the MACC Chief today which was carried online. And I will read it from the text. As lawyer for Yang Berhomat Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, I deeply regret the release of the statement by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) Chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan today where he is quoted as saying in theStar Online, I am taking theStar Online as the reference here, that there was strong evidence to show that the Selangor Menteri Besar misused his powers over the maintenance of his personal car and the distribution of 46 cows. It has been the norm in MACC practice, either to, not to make statement indicating or stating the culpability, meaning that someone did it or didn't do it, of a person who is being investigated, or at the end of the investigation.

In this particular case, the MACC have chosen to depart from the time honored norm and as such it clearly reeks of double standards. Why was the MACC Chief was non-committal when he completed the investigations of Tan Sri Musa Hassan, the IGP (Inspector General of Police) and Tan Sri Ghani Patil before. He didn't say a word about anything, whether there was evidence or no evidence. So that should have been the way this time as well. It is as such quite disturbing that the MACC has in this instance in respect of my client, being an opposition politician, is being singled out to look guilty in the eyes of the public before, even before he is charged or being convicted in court. Why did the MACC Chief prejudged the matter of the culpability of my client at this stage. That is the question we will like to know.

Let me read through it that the protocol on the decision to prosecute places a heavy burden on the persecution, and the mere stating the technicalities without the essential elements of criminal intent that certainly does not the standard before we proceed with persecution. I therefore urge the MACC to act professionally at all time and not to appear to be discriminatory. Thank you.

Now YB Teresa Kok will give her version.

The statement of the Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission Chief on the ongoing investigation Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim appears to be politically motivated and smacks of double standards. The whole episode seem to be linked to the political situation in Perak where the Barisan Nasional is being frustrated by a political impasse of its own doing. The strong hints of action against Abdul Khalid also seemed to be linked to the revelation of Datuk Anwar Ibrahim who disclosed the unlawful tactics being used by the Barisan Nasional to coerce and induce the Pakatan Rakyat representatives to switch camp. The fact that the authorities concerned moved with such speed on what at most is a minor technical infraction leads one to wonder on the purported independence and fearlessness of the Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission.

I am sure Malaysians are outraged by this turn of events and join me in condemning the use of Government agencies and personnel for political vendetta.

Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim made a couple of police reports against them, and this was widely reported during the trial the sodomy case. There was clear indication even in the trial where we mentioned such report from me and we wanted swift and fast investigation. So that is what we were referring to. Allegations that the investigations when he was er er, where there was conspiracy that was allerged where Tan Sri Abdul Ghani and Musa Hassan conspired in the framing and the charges of Datuk Seri Anwar.

(in answer to reporter questions) earlier charges too.

Proof MACC not impartial double standards

MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), Abdullah Badawi's weak answer to the world famous Hong Kong Anti-corruption agency ICAC, is not impartial. Proof is its tardiness in investigation reports of corruption committed by the Federal Government and its agencies, but amazing speed in investigating allegations of corruption by the opposition. Witness MACC tardiness in investigating Karpal Singh's report of corruption by the current Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, but was amazingly quick to investigate police reports against Karpal Sing. Witness too the recent report of MACC sayng there is "strong evidence" to show Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had misused his powers over the purchase of 46 cows and maintenance of his own cars. Apparently, the MACC was super efficient and now it is reported that the investigation papers have been forwarded to the Attorney-General's Chambers. What else can it be except that MACC practices double standards.

Right to Redress Campaign Launch

Right to Redress Campaign Launch
Dewan Sri Pinang, Rooms A/B
10am-12pm, 28 February 2009

Programme
10.00am Opening statement: JUMP
10.05am Video presentation
10.15am Official Launch;
YB Prof. Ramasamy
Penang Deputy Chief Minister and State EXco
10.25am 4 short dramas highlighting the need for the Right to Redress
10.45am Discussion of joint actions
11.15am Refreshments

RSVP
Please confirm your attendance with
Eric 016-4865 854
Stanley 016-4455 678
email: jampot at gmail dot com

It would be helpful if you can give your name, organization, address and contact telephone and email. Thanks

All are welcome!

What is JUMP
JUMP is the Malay acronym for Jaringan Utara Migrasi dan Pelarian which means Northern Migration & Refugees Network. JUMP is a network of NGOs and individuals interested in issues affecting migrant workers and refugees. JUMP coordinates services (welfare and legal), organises training sessions, pursues advocacy initiatives and creat awareness about the situation facing all migrants.

Everyone of us is entitled to the protection and enhancement of our basic human rights.

This is a fundamental principle, enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Many other international convenants and declarations have further elaborated the human rights to which everyone of us, every member of our human race, is entitled.

One part of these fundamental rights is the right to redress.

This means that where a right is not recognised, or where there is abuse of human rights, there is an avenue where a complaint is speedily and impartially heard and justice can be done or a remedy obtained.

The 5 Rights to Redress

• The Right to be Heard


• The Right to Stay


• The Right to Work


• The Right to Timely Redress


• The Right to Enforceable Compensation

For migrants (who include migrant workers, refugees, victims of human trafficking and stateless persons), their basic human rights are often utterly abused, and their right to redress often non-existent.

That is why we are launching this campaign.

Location map of Dewan Sri Pinang

Click to enlarge: