Free Anwar Ibrahim - Swampland - TIME.com

Free Anwar Ibrahim - Swampland - TIME.com

Free Anwar Ibrahim

Posted by Joe Klein Monday, February 15, 2010 at 12:31 pm

17 Comments

Jerusalem

There were lots of fascinating developments at the Brookings US-Islamic forum in Doha over the weekend, which I'll be writing about in detail over the next few days--and one very depressing development. Anwar Ibrahim, the charismatic Malaysian reformer, came to Doha directly from a Kuala Lumpur courtroom, where he is being tried for sodomy; he returned to Malaysia Sunday night. The Malaysian government has been after Ibraham for the past decade now, jailing him, convicting him of sodomy (that is, of homosexuality) once--a verdict that was partially overturned--and is now trying him again.

Let's leave aside the human rights outrage...well, maybe not--anti-sodomy laws are barbaric. Period. In any case, using claims of homosexual activity to discredit a political opponent is disgraceful. Ibrahim is married; his wife insists these charges are trumped up. There is, however, a young man, a former aide, who has made the accusation. No doubt, these charges would never have been brought if Ibrahim weren't such a well-known and outspoken voice for freedom.

I've met Anwar several times and had memorable conversations with him. He is a wise, decent and courageous man. Last year, at the Doha Forum, Anwar took the opportunity of Barack Obama's Inauguration to chide his fellow Muslims: the question is no longer what the Americans should do, he said (I'm paraphrasing here), but what we Muslims can do to get our act together, to establish just and democratic governments in our own countries.

On Sunday in Doha, Anwar met Hillary Clinton...and Clinton agreed to have her picture taken with him, which is a significant public sign of support that I hope the Secretary will follow up with a phone call to her Malaysian counterpart. Anwar's trial will be finished in the next week or so; he told me he fully expects to go back to prison. The thought of staying in Doha, or emigrating to the United States hasn't crossed his mind. He's a Malaysian patriot and a fighter for democracy of international significance. He deserves all our support.

Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/02/15/free-anwar-ibrahim/#ixzz0fqtaqG2P

Who are Perkasa?

Who are Perkasa?

CPI Writings

Written by Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Wednesday, 17 February 2010 14:07

Dr Farish Noor’s assessment of Perkasa as “a class issue… reflecting the anxieties of poor Malays who are scared of the globalization process” is not only off the mark but also plainly incorrect. There is presently little or no data on Perkasa’s membership or ideology to support his assertion. For example, we do not know how large its membership is, the demographic and socio-economic profile of members, the reasons for participation in the group’s activities, the number of poor, middle or upper class Malays that are members, the attitudes of these members and other supporters towards the globalization process, etc. What are known are its origins, leadership, ideological position and the objectives and causes it stands for. The facts known about it are clear and unambiguous evidence of what the organization stands for and aims to achieve. They are a far cry from the class-based, nebulous and even heroic concerns that Farish draws attention to in his assessment. Perkasa is an organization registered with the Registrar of Societies on Sept 12, 2008. It traces its origins to the aftermath of the momentous March 8 general elections with the early discussion on forming the organization publicly announced in June 2008. Its objectives clearly prioritize the defence of “Malay special rights” (rather than the “special position” of the Malays) as well as the position of Islam, Bahasa Melayu and Malay rulers. There is nothing in its objectives (or its subsequent activities) to make it out as being concerned with or wanting to take up the plight of poor Malays. Instead its positions are based on the anxieties of “Ketuanan Melayu” and “Ketuanan Islam”. Article 4 of Perkasa charter • Memperkasakan Islam sebagai agama persekutuan • Memperkasakan Bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan • Memperkasakan kedaulatan Raja-Raja Melayu • Mempertahankan hak-hak keistimewaan orang Melayu • Memperkasakan kaum pribumi • Menyatupadukan kaum pribumi dan perpaduan rakyat Malaysia • Mempertahankan kedaulatan Negara. The names and positions of Perkasa’s office bearers are just as instructive in pointing to the racial supremacy orientation of the organization. Perkasa: Main office holders as at Oct 2008 • Datuk Ibrahim Ali (President) • Datuk Fuad Hassan (Timbalan Presiden) – ex-Abim • Datuk Shuaib Lazim (Naib Presiden) – former Umno senator & Adun from Kedah • Datuk Yahya Lampong (Naib Presiden) – former state deputy minister, Umno Sabah • Datuk Mokhtar Samad (Naib Presiden) – Umno Bandar Tun Razak chief, president Malay Contractors Association • Syed Hassan Syed Ali (Setiausaha) – vice chairman Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce • Muhammad Afiq Aziz (Penolong Setiausaha) • Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar (Bendahari) – Johor Perkasa chairman • Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad (Ketua Penerangan) – Umno former MP Besides its “frog king” President, Ibrahim Ali who is notorious for his party hopping (“The frog under the coconut shell hops from padi-field to padi-field, it does not hop …far, just nearby” ) and racist and sexist outbursts (“… there would be fewer marital problems and a lower divorce rate if Muslim women were taught to accept polygamy”), most if not all of its leaders are professional politicians or businessmen, mainly from or closely associated with Umno and fitting in or flirting with the opposition camp when it suits their interests. None have had any track record in the espousal of the socio-economic problems of the Malay working class. All have been beneficiaries of the Umno system of patronage and profited enormously from the power and wealth distributed by the party to its members, especially those at the top. All unashamedly make use of the propaganda depicting Malays as the hapless victims of the colonial and post-colonial development process and greedy non-Malays as standing in the way of legitimate Malay concerns and interests. Dr M, the Perkasa patron saint The mentor and ideological godfather of Perkasa is the former PM, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In his welcome note to their March 2009 Assembly meeting which was telecast live by Astro Awani and contained in the programme booklet, Dr Mahathir argued that the emergence of Malay NGOs was rooted in Islamic and Malay causes and showed that the Malays now have less confidence in the political parties that are supposed to represent them. He endorsed Ibrahim Ali as “(someone) who is neutral, who is concerned only with good governance, who will criticise whoever, whether the government or the opposition.” Dr Mahathir and Ibrahim not only have a common interest in publicly massaging each other’s ego and respective causes but also in being perceived as comrades in the frontline of fighting for Malay rights in the face of rising non-Malay challenge. But are other Malays buying this line? Are Malays from the poorer and lower classes flocking to this and similar or clone Malay ‘NGO’ movements taking up the cudgels on behalf of ‘oppressed’ and ‘long suffering’ Malays whose rights are being trampled on by non-Malays? The evidence to date is negative. On Feb 5, a Penang-based Malay NGO ‘Sedaq’ or ‘Aware’ claiming to represent 50 members, organized a demonstration after Friday prayers at Komtar to protest against the state’s alleged discrimination and oppression of Malays, especially Malay traders. Although the demonstrators succeeded in setting fire to an effigy of the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, it could only mobilize a much smaller crowd of supporters than the 10,000 the organizers were targeting for. Various media estimated the numbers attending to range from 300 to 2,000. In response, the MPPP has refuted the claim of Sedaq that Malay traders are being singled out for harassment and discriminatory action. The data provided by the city council showed that Malays comprised 38% and 29% respectively of the 2,063 and 2,789 cases in the years 2008/09 against taken by the MPPP against illegal traders. The claims of racial discrimination made by the Malay NGOs were groundless. Although Perkasa and Sedaq were given much prominence in the Malay vernacular papers and official media, there has been little critical analysis of the actions and activities of such groups in these media outlets and counter arguments such as those put out by the Penang state government and others against the Sedaq group have not been given the coverage they deserve. Cultivating the radical fringe It is as if the present Umno leadership which controls the mass media and the spin given to these new forces sees it as in its interests to coddle and legitimize Malay racist organizations, however extreme their message and opportunistic their agenda may be. The convergence of interests between the Umno leadership and the various manifestations of these ‘grassroots’ movements is not surprising. Also not surprising is the apparent rapport between the Deputy Prime Minister and these groups. For example, on Feb 2, Perkasa spent two hours privately discussing its myopic socio-economic and political agenda with Muhyiddin Yassin. The group’s position on key policy issues is known to be contradictory to that held by the 1Malaysia ideology and New Economic Model espoused by the Prime Minister. What message did the Deputy Prime Minister intend to send to other Malaysians and Umno members by being so deferential to Perkasa? Was the event staged to strengthen Muhyiddin’s Malay ‘nationalist’ credentials further and to undermine the Prime Minister’s vision of transformation and change for the country? Or is there some tacit agreement between the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister with one acting as the liberal and progressive face of Umno and the other as its unchanging and non-negotiable Malay nationalist face, thus enabling it to cynically exploit both wider public and hardline Malay support? There has always been an important dimension of racial pandering driving Umno’s ideology. Having an attack hound bare its fangs in defence of exaggerated Malay insecurities on economy, religion, language or culture has been a key weapon in the Umno arsenal to remind the non-Malay communities of their real – that is, subordinate – place in Malaysia. The harder the line these groups take, the more liberal and progressive Umno’s leadership appears to be. However, this strategy no longer works with a more enlightened Malaysian electorate refusing to be intimidated or browbeaten by distorted or propagandistic versions of history bandied by BTN types and the logic of Malay dominance. It is also a dangerous game as Perkasa, Sedaq and other fringe extremist groups may turn around to bite Umno and weaken the country’s social fabric in other ways such as the church fire-bombings have already proven.

Who are Perkasa?

Organized Crime, Malaysia Style?

A Million Here ... A Million There - The Story of UMNO

LETTERS/SURAT, Malaysia Today

Monday, 15 February 2010 admin-s

Corruption is the single biggest threat to the survival of our country. Institutionalized corruption demoralizes, frustrates and will ultimately destroy the moral fiber of our people and then our country – if it has not already done so!

By steadyaku47

History tells us that the oppressed do sometimes admire the oppressor to the extent that given the opportunity they will become worse oppressors. This is now happening with the PDRM who have previously been at the beck and call of its Political Masters for many years. With the advent of money politics and the need to use PDRM as a political tool to manage the opposition, PDRM has now taken the persona of their UMNO masters and are now running neck to neck with their once political masters to see who could ruin our country quicker! It is happening within the various Ministries who are facilitating the institutionalization of corruption and enriching themselves in the process at the expense of the people.

We know that law enforcement, judicial and other legal avenues have failed us! I have yet to see a meaningful conviction by the MACC. The decision made by the Judiciary confirms its inability to deliver Justice resulting in social chaos as evident in their recent rulings on Perak and the Anwar Sodomy but at least the Judiciary has been consistent in its failures to gain acceptance and public trust in their deliberations!

The Federal Government of Malaysia and its many functionaries is a “racket”.

A racket is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. The best known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes that the racketeers themselves instigate if unpaid (extortion).

Is this not what PDRM is doing? They deploy their own “thugs” through road blocks, patrol cars and any other manner possible to seek ways and means of demanding money from the Rakyat in exchange for their services - to “selesai” traffic infringements and other criminal transgressions – pocketing the proceeds themselves! Of course, their higher-ups handle the more lucrative side of things. Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi! (Dang! … My Malay is still OK lah!)

Is this not what the Immigration Department is doing? The Customs people are doing. JPJ is doing? The Bomba Department is doing … even the office boys in these Government Departments are part of this “racket”. To ensure that your letters do not go missing, you pay these office boys for their “services”. Back in my old MCKK days, we call this “double ration”… but our double ration consists of taking the biscuits of those who do not turn up for tea because they were out enjoying the wonders of our beloved Kuala Kangsar town on the weekends. No harm done!

Of course, UMNO Politicians of dubious ethics run a bigger racket. The “utilities racket” through the IPP agreements. The “toll racket” (when in KL my daily toll “contributions” is at least Ringgit $15 to use the highways in and around KL!). You pay more in tolls than in petrol even if you use a Kancil to travel from KL to Penang on the North South Highway! And yet these toll concessions companies still cry “poor”. Who owns these toll concessions companies? Surely these people are rogues and scoundrels of the highest order running a “racket” with the blessings of their UMNO political cronies. Why the hell are we paying taxes for? Is it not to pay for these utilities and facilities?

The quid pro quo exchange of donations or bribes for massive government contract makes up the “negotiated tender” rackets through EPU, JKR and almost anywhere else where they can “negotiate” the giving of any government contracts or any government business. This “racket” is in a class of its own and will require an entire section to do it justice. Suffice for now to say that Samy Vellu and the EPU ‘boys” are a happy and contented lot – but in defense of Samy Vellu, he did say “Kemaluan saya besar!”.

And then there are the spectacular racketeering scams done only by the political elites and their cronies – from the Prime Minister down! Denying the sovereign rights to their petroleum resources, and consequently the oil payments owed, with compound interest, to Trengganu and Kelantan - from which they have been illegally withheld. The Approved Permits rackets for imported cars. The massive commission payments “for services rendered” by their cronies in the sourcing of Government purchases and requirements. The building of roads, longkangs, swimming pools, street lights, pubic facilities to influence electorates in elections is truly the most despicable of racketeering as it holds the electorates to ransom for what is rightfully theirs – quite like the “protection” rackets offered by thugs on defenseless shopkeepers and small businesses … and as Yul Brynner said in “The King and I” … "et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

The Government is in the business of providing services for its Rakyat. It should not be in the business of demanding money from its Rakyat in order to provide these “services” and “protection”. In Malaysia, if the Rakyat does not pay in the form of bribes or “donations” – then applications are delayed, licenses are not given, people are arrested, thrown into jail or even murdered! These problems are allowed to happen and instigated by these UMNO-led political class specifically so that bribes and donations are required to be made by the Rakyat to overcome or solve these “problems”.

So I say the Federal Government is into “racketeering” big time”! - An art brilliantly mastered by the UMNO-led political class now running our country. Despite accusation of impropriety, their political careers continued – if not flourished. Hell, they may even get to become Prime Minister! Go ask Mahathir and Najib!

Kong Hee Fatt Choy!!

P.S.
Cruzeiro is on leave- cruzin' with Mojo- till the CNY hols are over ......

My son broke down and cried ......

You better watch out:

The times they are a-changin'

NO HOLDS BARRED

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 Super Admin

My lawyer went to meet my son in the Sungai Buloh Hospital today and it is confirmed that my son slashed his wrist and swallowed a razor blade. My son broke down and cried while telling my lawyer that he can no longer stand the physical and mental torture that he is being subjected to and that he wants ‘out’. And the only way out to him is to end his life. This is my response to the Malaysian authorities who are using my son to punish me.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

----------------------------------

Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you

Is worth savin'

Then you better start swimmin'

Or your gona sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics

Who prophesise with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won't come again

And don't speak too soon

For the wheel's still in spin

And there's no tellin' who

That it's namin'

For the loser now

Will later to win

And the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call

Don't cha stand in the doorways

Don't you block up the hall

For he that gets hurt

Will he who has stalled

There's a battle outside

And it’s ragin'

And it'll soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin'.

Come along mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don't you dare criticise

What you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters

They’re beyond your command

Your old road is

Rapidly agin'

Please get out of the new one

If you cannot lend a hand

For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

And you know the slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is

Rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

Coz the times they are a-changin'.

Yes they are changing.

Come gather 'round folks

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you

Is worth savin'

Then you better watch out

Or you gona sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'

For the times they are a-changin'

Coz the times they are a-changin'.

You better watch out

You better watch out.

1-Malaysia's "Three Monkeys"

The Federal Court:- An Illusion of Justice & Hope!!

"A Thief! A Thief!
My Kingdom For a Thief!!"

“This decision is binding on the state government and the federal government.”
~Cecil Abraham, counsel for Zambry
-

=====================================

Before I write anything else - allow me to say that I believe that Nizar was being foolish to hope that the courts would dispense justice. As I said elsewhere, if the Nizar wins in this case, then the stolen jet engines must be in my backyard. As expected, the court came up with some silly excuse for a judgement - which Gani Patail lauds as being rooted in "very, very sound reasoning".
So let's move on ....

Malaysia was built based on the Westminster parliamentary system of governance by the founding fathers.

According to the Westminster parliamentary procedure, governments often respond to a vote of no confidence by calling for a confidence motion. Parliament passes or rejects the vote. Typically, when a vote of no confidence passes parliament, the government official must either resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution or general election.

Malaysia Boleh/ 1-Malaysia or whatever you call it, however, says otherwise. They say that that the voice of the parliament is irrelevant - and there is no need for a vote of no confidence.
We had today, the judgement in the case of Zambry vs, Nizar - to determine the rightful MB of Perak. It was for all practical purposes a test of the Constitutional Democracy which Malaysia was to live by. However, it appears that the Federal court doesn't seem to believe that we are a parliamentary democracy - that authority is vested in parliament as in a Constitutional Democracy.

I have not read the full judgement but it was reported on twitter that the Judge said:-
"There is no requirement in State Constitution which requires vote of no-confidence to be taken in State Assembly"
"Federal Court notes that test that Nizar had lost confidence of majority of assembly had been satisfied at special palace meeting."
Aha - so all they need is a meeting at a kopi-tiam, and get the head of state to sanction their choice. The court says that the constitution doesn't stipulate that that one is necessary. Apparently the judge said that Nizar is obliged to resign according to article 16 (6).

Okay then - let me see what it says:-

• Nothing in Article 16(6) says the sultan is involved in ascertaining a loss of the majority's confidence in the assembly.

• Article 16(7) expressly states that the menteri besar does not hold office at the sultan's pleasure. The sultan therefore has no power to dismiss or direct a menteri besar to resign.

• Article 16(5) also states that the executive council, which the menteri besar heads, is collectively responsible to the legislative assembly.

~TNG

Strange .... but just as it doesn't say that a vote of confidence has to be taken, it also doesn't say that the Menteri Besar holds office at His Highness's pleasure or has to resign - in fact it states quite clearly that he is an exception from the ruler's "pleasure". It only states that the Executive Council does & has to. I really wonder how the judge came to such a conclusion- that the MB has to resign!!!
It seems that they demand specifics when it suits them, and they do not understand the principles of a parliamentary democracy or even why there is generality in constitutional law .....

***********************************

“All persons (individuals, institutions and government) are subject to law.
Supremacy of the law is a fundamental concept in the western democratic order. The rule of law requires both citizens and governments to be subject to known and standing laws.
The supremacy of law also requires generality in the law. This principle is a further development of the principle of equality before the law. Laws should not be made in respect of particular persons. As Dicey postulated, the rule of law presupposes the absence of wide discretionary authority in the rulers, so that they cannot make their own laws but must govern according to the established laws.
Those laws ought not to be too easily changeable. Stable laws are a prerequisite of the certainty and confidence which form an essential part of individual freedom and security. Therefore, laws ought to be rooted in moral principles, which cannot be achieved if they are framed in too detailed a manner."
~Dr. Mark Cooray
***********************************

So, the court believes that a band of thugs who happened to be elected into office can have a meeting with the head of state with his band of merry men to prove his majority. They do not believe that it is necessary for the majority to be proven through a vote of no confidence through a sitting in the Assembly!! Our "erudite" Attorney-General Gani Patail calls it a “very clear judgment with very, very sound reasonings.”

So there you have it - Parliamentary democracy has been subverted - or so it seems- by none other than the Federal Court itself!! What the Federal Court has effectively done today was to declare that the parliament/assembly is irrelevant. To me, what the Federal Court (Umno, actually) said today was simply this, "Screw the Assembly/Parliament - A "Palace Meeting" is enough to dislodge the Govt. As long as Umno gets power, all is fine and dandy!!"

For a nation to come crumbling down, there are but three kinds of people in leadership, with three different characteristics that is required, namely -

• the untamed passions in a gifted man,
• the wanton power in a weak man, and
  
• the unteachable temperament in a privileged man.

How "lucky" we are, that we have all three in just one man, who I shall leave unnamed.

Malaysia it seems, is sailing rudderless in the high seas of a Constitutional Monarchy. At the rate we have been going since the days of Mahathir - after this ruling, while there is minimal danger of the country becoming an absolute monarchy, it is just a matter of time before the Federal Constitution is abandoned, and Malaysia becomes "Talibanized" in tribal laws, or simply turns into a banana republic of sorts with a military junta like Myanmar.
So much for 1-Malaysia ....

**********************************

"There is a kind of dictatorship that can come about
through a creeping paralysis of thought,
readiness to accept paternalistic measures by government,
and along with those measures
comes a surrender of our own responsibilities
and therefore a surrender of our own thought
over our own lives and our own right to exercise the vote."
- Dwight Eisenhower
************************************

PS
Meanwhile, old-man Mahathir is fixated on MV Agusta which Proton had sold without his approval (since they couldn't make anything out of it) - and is cheezed off that it could be sold for USD100million by the buyer (probably from a cartel) ..... to Harley-Davidson who really had the expertise to revitalize it!!
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