Why PAS lost in the Bagan Pinang by-election

Looks like we know now why Pakatan lost to BN in the by election at Bagan Pinang. Look at the goodies that BN dished out.
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In the run-up to the Bagan Pinang by-election there were allegations that BN offered many 'sweeteners' to win over the voters.

PAS had even threatened to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the alleged 'goodies' offered by Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan to entice army personnel to vote for BN.

Below are the promises made to the Bagan Pinang folk in the run-up to the landslide victory for BN's Isa Samad in the Oct 11 by-election.

Sept 27: Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen announces that the Negri Sembilan state government will cooperate with the Tourism Ministry to attract more than six million transit passengers from the KL International Airport (KLIA) to the state.

Click here to read Malaysiakini report.

Policeman vs Penan girl: who is worth more?

This statement was written by Katrina Jorine Maliamauv, daughter of Irene Fernandez. It’s her respond the article in Malaysiakini: “No budget, so no to rape probe”.
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The bile is rising in my throat.

For more than ten years at least, Penan girls have been raped, violated and sexually abused. The Penan women in the community have been at dire risk of various forms of sexual assault and harassment.

Young, young, school going girls have made the difficult step to come forward and say that they have been raped by members of the logging companies.

The life and dignity of a Penan woman, however, appears to be worth less than RM3600.

Investigations into the allegations of rape and abuse by loggers in Sarawak against the Penan girls have led nowhere.

Today, the Sarawak police say they can only afford the RM100 000 needed to pay for police personnel, and not the RM3600 proposed to pay for the much-needed Penan-Malay translators, if the 6-day investigation into these allegations were to be carried out.

The police can spend RM15 million on a by-election in Kuala Terengganu, but RM3600 to pay for an essential part of an investigation into rape of children is too much?

By the way, how much was spent by the police on “guarding public interest” during the recent peaceful assembly in Kuala Lumpur?

Is the interest of the people in power worth more than the safety, security and basic rights of the Penans?

The Sarawak Contingent –where the blame is being placed now- is certainly being reflected in a despicable light.

To read more click here on Suan Loone's Blog

Yasmin Ahmad we shall miss you.

Director Yasmin Ahmad, who provoked controversy with films that dealt with subjects like interracial relations and teenage angst in this conservative mostly Muslim country, has died aged 51. We shall miss her. Her talents showed that she was one of the best creative directors. She ventured into flims that touched the human soul.

We shall miss her. Goodbye Yasmin, you will not be forgotten. You will remain in our hearts.

For a fuller report read Malaysiakini's website report.

I CANNOT BE NEUTRAL ABOUT ISSUES OF MORALITY by Goh Keat Peng

I CANNOT BE NEUTRAL ABOUT ISSUES OF MORALITY

Goh Keat Peng

As a Christian, I cannot keep to my seat, or shut my mouth and stay neutral over issues of morality.

So I emerge today from my several months of silence and non-involvement to say that what transpired yesterday is immoral, unacceptable and unconscionable.

Why was a witness being held for questioning for ten hours and only released at 3.45am? What kind of case is it and what is the urgency of the case in question that the witness had to be deprived of sleep and forcibly kept awake till 3.45am? Was the nation deemed to be in grave danger had the witness in question been sent home at a respectable time and asked to report again for questioning the next morning? The nation could endure long years of waiting over so many other much longer pending cases involving so much more public money and have much greater weight in public interest but this particular case could not wait for the next morning when the witness in question would have been fresher and better rested? What kind of interrogation was he subjected to on the fateful night without end? Why was it that a witness had to be isolated from his lawyer and forced to be in the sole company of officers with no other neutral person/s present? Because he was in the sole company of officers who were interrogating him, how would his side of the story be ever told? And how would, why should the officers in question be trusted when they tell the nation what actually transpired during that fateful night the witness lost his life? There were no other witness/es present so how would these officers in question clear their own involvement or clear their own names in this sad story?

Isn’t it true that a medical doctor should carry out the examination of a patient of the opposite sex in the presence of at least one other person? This is a wise procedure so that should any allegation of wrongful conduct be raised against him or her, the doctor would have some neutral testimony to defend him or her.

There have been too many instances of contravention against natural justice in this country involving the agencies and instruments of state. There have been too many victims. The neutrality of these instruments of state is questionable.

I CANNOT REMAIN NEUTRAL ABOUT ISSUES OF MORALITY.

This is not about partisan politics. I expect my friends from both sides of the parliamentary divide to speak up. I expect to hear from all political parties and all who hold public office at all levels to speak up. I want especially to hear from Maximus Ongkili, Bernard Dompok, Lee Hwa Beng, Loh Seng Kok who publicly profess the Christian Faith to speak up.

I expect the churches and the church leadership to speak up including those I know personally such as Hwa Yung, Ng Moon Hing and many others.

Of course all of the above persons should state their own views and even fault my manner of speaking or reasoning. But silence is not an option. Leaders do not have the option of keeping their opinion to themselves. They must lend their voices to voices which have been silenced.

A young life has been lost on the very eve of his wedding. Siblings, parents, colleagues and a fiance are in inconsolable grief. WHY SO? WHO WILL BE NEXT?

A reflection

I was looking at this passage from Isaiah chapter 33:1.

How terrible it will be for you who destroy others but have not been destroyed yet. 

How terrible it will be for you, traitor whom no one has turned yet.

When you stop destroying, other will destroy you.

When you stop turning against others, they will turn against you.

[Isaiah 33:1, New Century Version]

I began to think of political dramas, scandals and betrayals in our Malaysian politics as I reflected on this verse. An endless and vicious cycle of hatred and the quest for power for selfish gain. How true it speaks about most of our Malaysian politicians and their devious methods. Do they not realise that what they do to others, will ultimately be their own downfall.

Sayings of George W Bush

• 'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
  
• 'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
  
• 'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
  
• 'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
  
• 'The future will be better tomorrow.'
  
• 'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
  
• 'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
  
• 'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe . We are a part of Europe'
  
• 'Public speaking is very easy.'
  
• 'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
  
• 'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.'
  
• 'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
  
• 'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
  

Pieces in life

A journey

Friends we are on a journey

Time has been our judge

It seems it will never end

Neither death nor life are victors

But partners of a greater plan

 

Show me then your life

Must it be cradled with greatness?

What do you seek then?

A moment in life

When you found the meaning of life

 

Walk with me then

Hold me close to you

Will you not cradle me in your arms

When you welcomed me and forgave me

 

Seek not the one, who crushes you

But be the one who forgives

And shows the meaning of life

Friendship…

- P. Sakthivel

What a mess

 Read here Malaysiakini's article.

 Decision on sultan's 'absolute power' unprecedented

Humayun Kabir | May 23, 09 3:39pm

The Court of Appeal judgment giving the sultan absolute power to dismiss the menteri besar is setting a dangerous precedent for a non-elected monarch to dismiss an elected head of state without going through the  process of the state legislative assembly, said Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s lawyer .

 Leong said: “The power to dismiss (by the sultan) has always been believed not to exist but now the Court of Appeal has enlarged the monarch’s power to dismiss the head of  the state government

 “What happens if another sultan takes over (Perak) or for that matter any sultan of any state is given such powers which can be abused by the monarch?,” he asked.

 He said: “The Court of Appeal judgment has set a dangerous precedent which will lead to the abuse of the separation of powers between the monarchy, the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.”

 “This means the menteri besar can be dismissed by the sultan without going through the state assembly merely by a group of assemblymen going to the palace and informing the ruler that a majority no longer supports the menteri besar.”

 Leong’s arguments are:

 (1) Although the sultan has the power to determine whether or not to grant a dissolution, there is no express power for him to dismiss the menteri besar even after he has determined that the menteri besar has lost the confidence of the majority of the assemblymen.

 (2) The sultan’s discretionary powers are to be found in Article 16 of the Perak Constitution only and no where else.

 (3) Article 18 of the Perak constitution provides that: “In the exercise of his functions under the Constitution of this state or any law or as a member of the Conference of Rulers, his Royal Highness shall act in accordance with the advice of the executive council…”

 (4)  In 1994, the Federal Constitution was amended to stress that: “Where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is to act in accordance with advice, on advice, or after considering advice,” he must act in accordance with that advice.

 Court of Appeal is plainly wrong in its judgment

 (5) Professor RH Heckling’s “Malaysian Public Law” in page 76 has written that the pivot on which the whole of the constitution turns is that the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Sultan) can only as a general rule be exercised in accordance with the advice of democratically-elected ministers (exco).

 (6) The Court of Appeal therefore has interpreted the Perak constitution to allow the sultan to act without advice and without any such express power in the Perak constitution and therefore is plainly wrong in its judgment.

 (7) We will submit to the Federal Court that if the sultan has no such power to dismiss, he also has no power to deem the office vacant.

 Leong said: “How can the High Court findings of fact that Nizar has not lost the confidence of the majority of the aduns be reversed by the Court of Appeal? For what reason? We want to know so we are going to appeal against the decision to the Federal Court soon.”

 He said: “It is a long and established principle of law that an appeal court does not reverse the High Court’s findings of fact. In this case, it was an express finding that Nizar had not lost the confidence of the majority.

 “The High Court judge made the decision after seeing and hearing the witnesses.

 “However, the Court of Appeal is substituting its own finding for that of the High Court despite not having had the advantage of first hand evidence of the witnesses,” he added.

A thot

As I was putting my daughter to sleep, she came by me and hugged me and said, "Papa, I love you". Now that beats anything. Imagine a father's feelings. 

As I looked back at the cross where Jesus was died, he knew that His Father loved him. Do I know that God my Father loves me despite who I am?

TRUE PEACE

True peace is not for the spineless or self-absorbed. It has nothing to do with passivity or resignation. Peace demands honesty. It entails the burden of duty. Peace requires deeds of love.

Reproduced here from Tunku Razaleigh's blog

What is at stake in Perak - Tunku Razaleigh

The Perak crisis is a tragic comedy of errors and bad political judgment that reflects a failure of political leadership. As it continues to spin out of control, it damages our democratic system of governance. To all intents and purposes, one of our most prosperous and developed states has been reduced to a failed state, with a possibly illegal state government in place. This is a condition that can propagate outwards to the rest of the country.

I stated at the beginning of this crisis that by our Constitution, a change of government can only be brought about by democratic means, which is to say, through the ballot box or through a formal vote of confidence in the elected Legislative Assembly. These are the constitutionally mandated means by which the people decide on their government. Any other means of changing the government is unconstitutional and undemocratic, and subverts the basis upon which we are a civilised society.

We now have reason to fear the loss of the people’s confidence in the Constitution, in democracy  and in our constitutional monarchy. Responsible political leadership must support rather than destroy the confidence of the people in these practices and institutions. In particular,  powers reserved for the Legislative Assembly, which represents the sovereign will of the people, cannot be taken away under any circumstances by anyone. This foundational constitutional principle has been affirmed by the Court. We are all sworn to uphold it. Those who do not understand or accept this principle have no place in government.

Some issues can be solved by a court of law, but the Perak crisis is not one of them. The back and forth events of the past week demonstrate this fact abundantly. The Perak crisis cannot be solved by a decision of the Court because it is at heart a political rather than a constitutional problem. There is really no doubt about what the Constitution says. What is now unclear as a result of an ugly series of manoeuvres is whether Perak has a legitimate government, and there is only one way to resolve that issue. Perhaps our political leadership has not understood how important it is that the people’s voice must prevail, and be seen to prevail, in the choice of their government.

The only solution to the Perak crisis now is for the State Legislative Assembly to be dissolved and free and fair elections held. At this stage there is no other way to restore both public confidence and constitutional legality to the Perak state government, and by extension to our entire system of government. Our survival as a democratic and constitutional monarchy depends on our acceptance of the judgment of the people as expressed in free and fair elections. Any attempt to circumvent that  judgment betrays the basic principles and values upon which our nation and incidentally, UMNO itself, stand. I appeal for wisdom and a broader concern for the wellbeing of our country.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Member of Parliament, Gua Musang

Bukit Gantang: Photo the newspapers didn’t show you (from Anil Netto's Blog)

A massive crowd pouring into the streets of Taiping on Nomination Day yesterday - Photo courtesy of Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi (Click to expand)

My contact at the scene yesterday estimated the crowd at 30,000-50,000. It was a huge show of support for Nizar.

Another Perakian reports:

Taiping was jammed and packed with supporters. The police presence was felt with a helicopter above. Pakatan had 30,000 supporters compared to 5,000 for BN. We had fun with the Mexican wave, Indian dancing, crowd singing, families on an outing, young adults and old retirees. All converged into melting pot of Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Malays holding DAP flags. Indians wearing Pas T-shirts. Chinese chatting with one and all. People came from as far as Trengganu, Tampin, Damansara, Shah Alam, etc. Only sour note was when Karpal’s was pelted with water bottles by Umno Youth.

Source : http://anilnetto.com/malaysian-elections/bukit-gantang-photo-the-newspapers-didnt-show-you/