What Poetic Justice!!

Below is a heartfelt letter, screaming for justice -
from a lawyer & an "economic doomsday prophet" who spent lots of effort through his "spins" and legal acumen, to defend the man who wrecked the Judiciary, Mr. Mahathir.

Even then - Mathias Chang, if what he says here is true, has definitely been wronged, and has to be defended by the Legal Fraternity and all good citizens (despite his tainted past) ... and the Judge has to be taken to task - ASAP!!!
**As much as I deplore the conduct of the said Judge, I cannot but help myself when I say, "P0etic Justice!!"

So here it goes the diarrhoea of words:-

"I have no wish to continue with the proceedings as I have no confidence in the impartiality of the Court. My three counsels have been repeatedly abused by you. You have also abused me and cast unwarranted aspersions on my character without basis. In my over 30 years of practice, no judge has ever abused me and or was rude to me. I intend to make a complaint to the Chief Justice and would now take leave and retire."

To My Dearest Friends and Colleagues,

I have fought against injustice throughout my life and as a practising lawyer, upholding justice when there are abuses by the judiciary and the state machinery calls for sacrifices and I have never shirk from that call to duty.

On Thursday, I became a victim of injustice inflicted by an errant Judge in the High Court of Malaya.

In this case, I was the litigant, the plaintiff suing the defendant, American Express for defamation, malicious falsehood, breach of contract and misrepresentation. It relates to a charge I had incurred for and on behalf of the Malaysian Government some years back for which the Government has not paid.

Most of you are aware of my opposition to the previous regime headed by the 5th Prime Minister. In the course of that political fight, I had to defend Tun Mahathir for which I was sued for RM 50 million allegedly for defaming one of the cronies of the regime. I counter-claimed against that crony likewise for defamation against me and exposed his corruption in conjunction with the son-in-law of the then Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi. My defence against the RM 50 million claim was justification, the crony was corrupt to the rotten core. The case has been in limbo ever since.

Therefore, this case that came up for hearing is not as simple as it looks. There were forces ready to pounce and humiliate me at every turn.


THE CASE:

From the word go, my three Counsels were treated without due respect.

1) My Counsel was denied the right to make an Opening Statement, a right which every litigant has.

2) I was called to testify immediately.

3) Bearing in mind that my claim was in defamation and malicious falsehood, it was incumbent on my Counsels to lead evidence on my background as a barrister and an advocate for over 30 years and my service in government as political secretary to the 4th Prime Minister. Immediately the judge pounced on me and declared everyone before her court will be treated equally and I had no need to declare my past and or the need to "impress" her. She further said that "so what if I was previously the political secretary to the Prime Minister and a senior lawyer of over 30 years experience."

4) My Counsel objected and told her that reputation is needed to be established for the purposes of a claim for damages etc. He was told to proceed and go on to the next issue.

5) In giving evidence, whenever I had to refer to an exhibit and or an admission made by the defendant in support of my answers, I was accused of "submitting to her" and she abused me as trying to conduct my evidence as a lawyer and not as a witness. Again, objections by my three Counsels were overruled and when so overruling my Counsels, banged the table with her right hand.

6) The Judge repeatedly accused my Counsels of not "doing their work" and such remark seemed to be always on cue when Defendant Counsel makes any objections. This lawyer is also the lawyer acting for the crony of Abdullah Badawi in the defamation suit for RM 50 million against me.

7) This hostile exchange went on till lunch break. I had not by that time finished with my testimony. During the lunch break and unknown to me, the judge summoned the defendant's counsel and my lead counsel to her chambers and declared that I had no case and she will dismiss my claim.

8) My Counsel informed me of this development while I was having my lunch.

9) When Court resumed, I requested an audience with the judge in her chambers with all parties present to make a formal complaint to spare her the embarrassment of a public complaint. The Judge refused my request.

10) The Judge resumed the hearing in Open Court, whereupon I addressed the Court and said:

"I have no wish to continue with the proceedings as I have no confidence in the impartiality of the Court. My three counsels have been repeatedly abused by you. You have also abused me and cast unwarranted aspersions on my character without basis. In my over 30 years of practice, no judge has ever abused me and or was rude to me. I intend to make a complaint to the Chief Justice and would now take leave and retire."

I said this in a very firm and deliberate manner.

IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT IN MALAYSIAN COURTS, PROCEEDINGS ARE RECORDED LIVE, AND AT THE END OF THE PROCEEDINGS, WE ARE GIVEN A COPY OF THE VIDEO RECORDING.

11) The judge remarked and warned me that my conduct has been recorded. To that I replied that likewise her abusive behaviour was also recorded.

12) Whereupon, the Counsel for the defendant stood up and shouted, "This is contempt! Arrest him! Arrest him!" and cited Order 51 of the Rules (which by the way does not provide such measures).

13) The Judge incited by that lawyer, directed the police officer in attendance to arrest me and place me in custody in the Lock-up at the basement of the Court Complex.

14) The professionalism of the police officer was such that he did not handcuff me, but merely invited me to follow him. In the course of our short walk to the lock-up, he said that he was stunned and was disappointed with the behaviour of the judge towards a senior lawyer.

POINT TO NOTE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH MALAYSIAN LAW, I HAD NOT COMMITTED ANY CRIME AT THAT STAGE TO WARRANT ANY ARREST, MORE SO ONE INSTIGATED BY A LAWYER. AN ALLEGED CONTEMPT AT THAT STAGE IS NOT AN ARRESTABLE OFFENCE. MORE OF THIS LATER.

15) When we reached the basement, I was invited to sit on a sofa and was not placed in a cell. He enquired whether I would like to have lunch and or refreshments and was most concerned about my well-being. I asked for permission to use my cell phone to contact another Counsel to defend me in this matter. The officer readily gave his consent.

16) I immediately called my friend and fellow colleague, Mr. Zainur Zakaria who is also the Acting Chairman of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission.

17) When I narrated the events on the phone to him, he was utterly shocked and asked me, "Was there any charge for contempt? Was a charge prepared and read out to you? Was any plea taken?"

I replied, "None whatsoever ... I am wrongfully arrested."

18) Zainur rushed to my cell from his office which was five minutes away from the Court Complex.

19) Zainur went to the Court and told the judge that I cannot be arrested for contempt when there has been no charge and no plea taken, and most importantly no conviction. Zainur knew the law as he had faced a similar experience some years ago.

20) The Judge went to her chambers, prepared the charges and resumed sitting in Open Court.

21) She read the charge to me and if my memory serves me right, this is what she read out, "You lost your cool and left the court premises. This is contempt (The video would verify the exact words). How do you plead?"

I responded, "Not Guilty."

22) Zainur requested an adjournment till the next day ? Friday to prepare my defence. The Judge refused and demanded that I defend myself.

23) I told the judge that she had abused the lawyers and me and as such I am not in contempt.

24) She proceeded to convict me and asked for my mitigation. I said there is nothing to mitigate and that I intend to appeal against her decision. She then proceeded to impose sentence: RM20,000 to be paid within a week, failing which one month's jail.

The Judge also directed that the trial of my claim would continue the next day and if I am not present, she will proceed to dismiss my claim.

25) On Friday, my Counsel made an application for the Judge to recuse herself on the grounds of her behaviour on the previous day as well as having convicted me of contempt. She refused and disposed the case in my absence. My Counsel was asked to discharge themselves.


THIS SUMS UP WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED.

The judicial system is rotten, but I had in the past tried to reform by working within the system and held back my open criticisms.

I never expected to be a victim of the system. If this can happen to me, what more the poor and or unrepresented litigant.

It seems that there have been many cases of abuse by this Judge but the Chief Justice did not take any action.


MY FAMILY IS 100% BEHIND ME ON THIS MATTER.


I have no intention to pay the fine. I am also considering not even appealing as I have no confidence in the Appellate Courts. Should there be an appeal, they could do a white wash and uphold the conviction to protect one of their members. The public would be confused and may even think that I was indeed wrong in opposing the abuse. They may also be cowed in the future in any opposition to similar abuse.

I am therefore preparing myself to go to jail and hopefully, my incarceration would arouse the conscience of the people to stand up and fight against an injustice. An action that has been DELAYED FOR TOO LONG.

I appeal to all of you for your understanding and support and I seek your assistance that my plight be given the widest publicity as possible.

You can do so by writing to: -

1) The Prime Minister, Dato? Seri Najib bin Tun Razak

Fax: +603-88880142 or +603-88887711

Political Secretary's Fax: +603-88883971


2) President Bar Council, Malaysia

Fax: +603-20261313

3) Chief Justice, The Rt Hon. Tun Dato Seri Zaki Bin Tun Azmi
Chief Justice Chambers
Federal Court of Malaysia
Istana Kehakiman
Precinct 3, 62506 Putrajaya
Malaysia
Email: normazaida@kehakiman.gov.my This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

4) Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya
The Rt Hon. Tan Sri Arrifin Bin Zakaria
Chief Judge Chambers
Federal Court of Malaysia
Istana Kehakiman
Precinct 3, 62506 Putrajaya
Malaysia
Email: noridah@kehakiman.gov.my This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The week for payment of the fine ends on Wednesday - 31st March 2010

I intend to surrender myself at the Court premises. produce the RM20,000 to establish evidence that I have the means to pay, but will not pay and rather be sent to jail in defiance of the injustice inflicted on me by this errant and abusive Judge.

I thank you all for your support.

As ever,

Matthias Chang

1Malaysia Clinic: Is the Health Ministry Above the Law?

"You are just Pisang Goreng to "the powers that be" -
where you once needed a doctor's review before a diagnosis could be made,
now you make do with everything & anything (including MCs!!)
dished out by 1/2 past 6 MAs at 1-Malaysia Clinics.
Just wait till your dads/Husbands die from being served antacids for a Heart attack
or IV drips for heart/kidney failure.
You can then thank criminals for treating you
in the name of 1-Malaysia!!"
~ Ya Habibie Cruzeiro al-Thots

"A doctor today with an Annual Practicing Certificate (APC)
is legal under the Medical Act 1971 but becomes illegal
if his premise is unregistered under the PHFSA 2006.

But a Hospital Assistant (HA) working in a presumably legal PHFSA premise, 1Malaysia Clinic,
becomes immediately illegal as he has committed a felony
under the Medical Act 1971 since under this Act only registered medical practitioners are allowed to work in medical clinics.

This is the end result of people like SM Idris who give half-baked ideas
to our poorly trained civil servants
who then create silly laws in a knee-jerk unthinking fashion,
which ultimately not only endanger people’s lives but place the government eventually in a legal quandary.
Worrying statistics of wrong prescriptions and misdiagnoses seeping out of 1Malaysia Clinics maybe just the tip of a disaster waiting to happen."
~1Malaysia Clinic: Is the Health Ministry Above the Law?

Wanna Buy a Proton? Go overseas, mate!!

How can we thank the BN Govt?
Buy a Proton!!!
Here's something I picked up in Facebook:-

Harga Persona kat Saudi = SR 36,100
Harga Gen2 kat Saudi = SR 33,600
Harga Waja kat Saudi = SR 37,950

1 Saudi Riyal = RM 0.94

Maknanya harga Persona kat Saudi = RM 33,934 aje
Maknanya harga Proton Gen2 kat Saudi = RM 32,256 aje
Maknanya harga Waja kat Saudi = RM 35,673 aje

1 Malaysia bayar RM 66,799.97 untuk 1 Waja di Msia!
RM31,126.97 lebih MAHAL!

"Takpe, Takpe" - Tribute to an MCA "Strongman" ....

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

===!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!===

===!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!===

BBC:- Sex DVDs show Malaysian minister

Mr Chua asked media to give him and his family "some space"

Malaysian Health Minister Chua Soi Lek has admitted that he is the man who features in two widely circulated DVDs of an unmarried couple having sex.

He said he had apologised to the prime minister and other ruling party leaders but would not resign, and his own wife and children had accepted his apology.

Mr Chua said he had taken no part in the making of the DVD recordings, one of them said to be almost an hour long.

The video is CCTV footage taken in a hotel, according to one newspaper.

It is the latest in a series of difficulties to confront the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who is expected to call an election in the coming weeks.

According to Malaysia's Star newspaper, copies of the DVDs were initially left at various locations in the town of Muar, in Johor State, on Saturday "for people to pick up".

'It was me'

Mr Chua made his admission hours after the Star reported that the two DVDs were being widely distributed in Johor, his home state.

"I am the man in the tape," Mr Chua, 60, told reporters.

"The girl is a personal friend."

"I would like to emphasise I did not make the tape myself," he added.

"Who [did] this is not important. What is most important is that my family, wife and children have accepted my apology."

According to the Star, the DVDs are believed to be CCTV recordings made in a hotel suite. The hotel and the date are reportedly unknown.

As health minister, Mr Chua has advocated giving out free condoms to reduce the spread of HIV, in the face of religious opposition.

Religion sours Indira’s happy family story

Religion sours Indira’s happy family story

By Clara Chooi

Indira with her daughter Tevi (left) and son, Karan (right) at their home in Ipoh. — Pictured by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Unlike most traditional Indian marriages, kindergarten teacher Indira Gandhi married K. Pathmanathan out of love.

Theirs was not the stuff of novels; it was just a run-off-the-mill high school romance that eventually resulted in an exchange of wedding vows.

What they did not know was that three children and 14 years later, their marriage would be torn apart by a highly-publicised inter-religious custody battle that, until today, remains unsolved.

In an exclusive interview with The Malaysian Insider in her home city of Ipoh recently, Indira vented her frustrations over the ambiguity of the country’s religious laws, and recalled the many trials and tribulations of the past year that had very nearly caused her to give up Hinduism just to keep custody of her children.

The drama, said Indira, actually began from the day after she and Pathmanathan became Mr and Mrs Pathmanathan. Once a doting boyfriend and first-love, Pathmanathan wasted no time in shedding his sheep’s clothing, she said.

“Shortly after we got married, he began to beat me. Over and over again. Most of the time over small, petty arguments,” she claimed. Her allegations cannot be independently verified and is not a subject of her legal case.

Indira, however, said she kept quiet about the beatings, not wanting to blow the problem out of proportion and praying daily that her high school sweetheart would soon return.

And so the couple moved on with their lives without much fanfare. In 1997, Indira gave birth to her first baby girl, Tevi Darsiny. A year later, a baby boy, Karan Dinish, joined the growing family.

The couple struggled through difficuly years as financial problems eventually began to cause serious dents in their marriage.

“I took a job as a kindergarten teacher. My husband switched from job to job and we had to move around Malaysia quite a bit. I hardly got to see my family members, not even during Deepavali,” said Indira.

To top it off, she had to settle the household bills and take care of the children all by herself, as Pathmanathan was frequently on the road.

Indira claimed she had to put up with abuse and infidelity.

“Not only that... he began to have an affair with a Thai woman. I knew about it but what could I do?

“Even my children knew about this. Imagine what it felt like when my daughter came home one day and told me — ‘Amma, I saw daddy with another woman’,” said Indira.

Still, like many broken marriages, Indira and Pathmanathan stayed married for the good of the children.

It was in March last year that the real drama really exploded, she explained, barely a year after she had delivered her third child, Prasana Diksa, a chubby little baby girl who should have been the uniting factor in a disintegrating marriage.

“He came home that day, telling me he wanted to talk to me. When we got the chance, he told me ‘Why not we all become Muslims? Life would be easier, we would get better opportunities, money would come easier’. He said ‘Come to Kelantan with me, they will give us land’. I was shocked,” she said.

“I refused and so did my two older children. We fought and he got angry... he began to beat me. My daughter yelled at him, saying ‘Don’t you ever lay your hand on Amma’. He got angry with my daughter but he did not beat her. He is a very good father to them,” said Indira.

In the midst of the argument, she said, Pathmanathan grabbed 11-month-old Prasana and stormed off.

“The other two did not want to come with him so he just took Prasana,” she said.

Losing Prasana was just a harbinger of worse to come.

At the police station later, Indira was dealt with a stunning revelation — that Pathmanathan had already embraced Islam earlier in the month and had become “Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah”.

“I was shocked because he has always been the religious... he would even go with us to the temples on occasions,” she said.

It was the first mile of long, bad road from that day onwards, said Indira.

Mohd Ridzuan had even converted all three children into Islam without the presence or knowledge of their mother, after taking the children’s birth certificates from the family home.

“He changed all their names and even informed their schools they were now Muslims,” she said.

It was then that Indira discovered the flaws in the country’s religious laws and just how sticky a custody battle could be when it involved a Muslim-convert and a non-Muslim.

With little choice in her hands, Indira was forced to take her struggle to the courts, and until today, her dilemma has not been solved.

She sought two things — that her children remain as Hindus and that she gets to keep custody of all three.

Since her husband absconded with Prasana, Indira has been living with her two older children in Ipoh.

To date, two conflicting custody orders have been granted to the couple — one to Mohd Ridzuan from the Syariah Court last April and one to Indira from the civil High Court on March 11 this year.

Which order should prevail, however, is still unknown as the country’s laws are silent on that matter.

Meanwhile, Indira’s application to seek leave for judicial review to quash the conversion of her three children to Islam has been set for April 3.

Indira contemplated embracing Islam, in order to be allowed to keep her children.

“I was happy when I was granted custody but yet a part of me also knew that the fight was far from over. I just wish that this never happened. I do not know why he has to do this. If he has found happiness in another religion, I do not care, go ahead with it, but leave the children out of it. I want my baby girl back...” she said.

Indira said that the last time she had caught a short glimpse of Prasana after a year-long separation was in January this year, when Mohd Ridzuan was ordered to bring the toddler to court to meet with High Court Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim.

Although she had been forewarned by her lawyers, the sight of her 21-month-old baby girl weighed down by a large tudung (Malay headscarf) had moved her to tears.

She voiced frustration at having missed out on so many firsts in Prasana’s growing years, like her first words, her first steps, and even her first birthday.

“I just missed so much... I missed so much. She was taken when she was just 11-months-old. I missed everything. She was such a pleasant child, very easy to care for and we all loved her. As a mother... and a kindergarten teacher, I see children everyday but I can’t see my own baby. Now, I do not know anything about her, how long her hair is, what she likes... I miss my child,” she said.

In fact, Indira said she had very nearly given up at one point and had even toyed with the idea of converting to Islam for the good of the family.

“It was my two older children who stopped me. My son said ‘If you want, you can go ahead. I do not want to be a Muslim’. He is a bold child... but my children were right... why should we convert?” she said.

She lashed out at the glitch in the country’s religious laws and condemned the government for not acting quickly on the matter.

To date, the government has given no indication on when it would amend the laws governing such religious conflicts.

Indira’s lawyer, M. Kulasegaran recently said that he would bring the battle back to the Parliament again soon, and blamed the legislative body for not moving fast to solve the deadlock.

In the meantime, Indira’s fight continues in the courts.

Tomorrow, the Ipoh High Court will hear Mohd Ridzuan’s application for a stay of the custody order granted by the civil High Court to Indira.

But the feisty 35-year-old said she was ready to do just about anything to win custody rights to her children, especially baby Prasana.

“There is no fight too difficult for me to handle, I will not give up, not surrender because my children’s futures are at stake here. I love them too much,” she said.

She said that she intended to fight this to the very end, even if it meant challenging the country’s 52-year-old system.

The system, Indira firmly added, may fail, but never the love of a mother for her children.

Rumah Sakit Yang Sakit « Lim Kit Siang

Rumah Sakit Yang Sakit

An Open Letter to Health Minister

Dear Yang Berkhidmat Liow Tiong Lai,

Mr. Wong, an elderly man presented at Hospital Likas because of severe breathlessness and was found to have severe pneumonia on chest x-ray.

He was then admitted to the High Dependency Unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) 30 minutes away for treatment.

He improved after six days and was then transferred to the normal ward for further recuperation.

A bed was urgently needed one day later and the frail Mr. Wong was then shipped off to Hospital Bukit Padang for ‘rehabilitation’.

Alas, he did not improve but instead deteriorated.

As Hospital Bukit Padang was devoid of the necessary equipment and setup for managing emergencies and ill patients, Mr. Wong was then resent back to QEH for further management.

More tests were required and old Wong was then sent to Sabah Medical Center for a CT scan.

I’m not sure what happened to Mr. Wong thereafter.

Dear Minister,

I hope this short story did not catch you in an awkward moment as the infamous video did to your amorous predecessor.

I hate to interrupt you in the midst of your personal battle for self preservation in the increasingly irrelevant political party called MCA but the healthcare crisis in Sabah has just taken a turn for the worse.

The locals in Sabah refer to hospitals as ‘rumah sakit’ – translated literally to mean a ‘sick house’.

Increasingly, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the only tertiary referral center in Sabah is living up her grand title of being a sick house.

Partially shut down since September 2008, the ailing sick house of Sabah has turned critical recently, with worsening cracks and falling tiles and a real threat of frank collapse.

The older blocks nearby were declared unsafe and subsequently evacuated and shut down.

Ill and frail patients were shipped off in a frenzy like unwanted cargo to nearby centers like Hospital Bukit Padang the mental institution, Hospital Likas, and the makeshift hospital of Lingzhi Museum in Kepayan and of course, UMNO’s favourite Sabah Medical Center (SMC).

Mr. Minister of Health,

The formation of the Queen- SMC-Likas-Lingzhi-BukitPadang medical maze has brought total chaos to healthcare services in Sabah.

The docile and unassuming Sabahan patients are constantly playing a wicked game of musical chairs, being transported around from one hospital to another according to their changing healthcare needs.

There is not one single center that can address a patient as a whole.

A lady in labor will be told that she can’t do so in QEH, while a fitting patient are whisked away from Likas to QEH.

A child with a broken limb may go to SMC but the surgery can only be done in Likas.

Elderly Mr. Wong is merely one of many such victims.

Continuity of care is virtually impossible when patients are moved about every few days.

Valuable investigations and data are lost in the process of multiple transfers resulting in costly, repeated tests.

Patients have even died due to the lack of emergency equipment and the deficient setup at the peripheral wards.

You will not hear all these because your little pharaohs in the state health department have done a great job concealing negligence, mismanagement and sheer stupidity.

Medical personnel are suffering in silence too.

Doctors from house officers to specialists are rushing around the five medical centers daily, wasting precious time, fuel and energy in the process of doing so.

Medical officers have been doing eight to fifteen on-calls every month as a result of the increased locations housing the sick.

That is fifteen days away from home and family every month, mind you.

Just in case you forgot we too have young, growing kids to care for.

Absent parents do not make for good family dynamics, won’t you agree?

We are risking our lives each working day wondering if the abandoned tower block will one day collapse upon us and send us to our Maker.

Our comrades serving in Sabah Medical Center are not having it any better.

In spite of the Barisan Nasional’s grandiose publicity buzz over the RM 245 million purchase of Sabah Medical Center, the medical personnel and patients have remained mere squatters in the premises.

The medical staffs are receiving summonses so very too often as a result of limited parking space.

Those of us in surgical disciplines are working till 9 pm on Mondays to Fridays so as to optimize the operating time of our three miserable rented surgical theatres.

In the SMC wards, 4-5 patients are cramped into rooms meant for two as the hospital was built to house a capacity of 150 beds only.

Mr. Minister,

My colleagues and I cordially invite you to come and see the ground situation for yourself without a grand entourage of administrative boot-lickers.

Patients who require hospital admission have to be turned away due to the insufficiency of places.

The inpatients meanwhile are packed like sardines in the current wards, with hardly a metre of space between beds.

The situation is comparable to a Vietnamese refugee camp.

Hospital-acquired infections are the norm rather the exception.

When a patient with tuberculosis coughs his lungs out, everyone in the ward will be inhaling the highly infectious Mycobacterium.

After 50 years of independence, our ill patients who require close observation are still sharing monitors and other equipment between themselves.

Is this the standard of care that Barisan Nasional is according to Najib’s self-proclaimed fixed deposit?

Whatever happened to all the oil money that Sabah has generated for Tanah Melayu over the last 50 years?

So you see, Mr Health Minister, we don’t need more jobless house officers, more empty promises and more tasty slogans like 1Malaysia.

We need 1Hospital and 1HealthMinister who is attuned to the sufferings of the rakyat under his care.

Do and be all that even though Sabah will most likely hand Barisan Nasional another landslide victory come next general election.

With warmest regards,
Product of the System.

A Blast From The Past.....

A Blast From The Past.....Was The Oil Royalty 5% Or 20%?

Is the Petroleum Development Act 1974 unconstitutional? Petronas doesn't answer to Parliament and is only answerable to the Prime Minister of the day-hence if my memory still serves me correctly the Prime Minister of the day is Najib Tun Razak.But 36 years ago,the time the Petroleum Act was enacted,the Prime Minister was Tun Abdul Razak (22th.Sept.1970-14th.Jan.1976), while Tun Hussein Onn serve as the Prime Minister from 14th.Jan.1976-16th.July.1981.

Ironically,call it just pure coincidence,we are now seeing off springs in a similar capacity.But today we're more keen to re-discover the events that took place in Sabah,which could have change the fate of Sabahans,especially when oil was actually first discovered in 1882.

On the morning of June 6th.1976 @10am,Sabah Chief Minister born as Donald Aloysius Marmaduke Stephens and ,later known as Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens boarded a Nomad Aircraft from Kota Kinabalu and bound for Labuan. Along with him on the flight were State Ministers Datuk Salleh Sulong, Chong Thien Vun, and Assistant Minister Darius Binion. The purpose was to welcome Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Razaliegh Hamzah and Sarawak Chief Minister, Datuk Pattingi Hj.Abdul Rahman Yakub,who were visiting the oil refinery at Labuan.

On the 7th.June.1976,the visiting Finance Minister cum Petronas Founding Chairman, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was scheduled to sign an Oil Agreement in Kota Kinabalu between the State Government of Sabah and Petronas. Unfortunately the signing ceremony never took place, not on the 7th.June.1976 anyway. The reason.... Chief Minister Donald Stephens, Salleh Sulong, Chong Thien Vun, Peter Mojuntin (the Golden Son of the Kadazans) along with 7 others perished in the controversial accident of the Nomad Aircraft carrying them on the 6th.June.1976, in Kota Kinabalu. That tragedy is also known as the DOUBLE SIX TRAGEDY or DOUBLE SIX CRASH.

The question lingering in the minds of Sabahans till this day is - was the final discussion prior to the signing of this Oil Agreement 5% or 20% ?? Will we ever know?


Catastrophically, after only eight days after the First Huguan Siou, Donald Stephens, perished in that controversial crash, and on the 14th.June.1976,the Government of Sabah signed an agreement with Petronas, granting it the right to extract oil and earn revenue from the territorial waters of Sabah in exchange for 5% in annual revenue as royalty.

Today, after 34 years, its questionable if National oil firm Petronas could be unlawful as its founding law was approved before it signed agreements with all the states, according to law professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi.

He also explained that according to the Malaysia Federal Agreement, land belongs to the states, which complicates the provision in the agreement surrendering control of petroleum found onshore under the Petroleum Development Act 1974.

“I think there are some aspects of the Petronas Act that is unconstitutional,”

Under the agreements signed in the mid-1970s all state governments were promised cash payment or royalty of five per cent for petroleum extracted onshore or offshore in return for surrendering their control of petroleum resources to the national oil company.

Shad also pointed out that the Act was passed before all the states had signed the agreement.

“The constitution says when you take somebody’s property you have to pay adequate compensation,” said Shad.

Federal powers:

In Schedule 9, List I of the Federal Constitution, the following topics are assigned to the Federal Government:

> Except as to State rights over permits and licenses, the Federal Government has rights over development of mineral resources, mines, mining, minerals and mineral ores, oils and oilfields, petroleum products, safety in mines and oilfields: Para 8(j).

> Gas and gas works, production and distribution of power and energy: Para 11(c).

> Foreign and extra-territorial jurisdiction: Para 1 (g).

> Treaties, agreements and conventions with other countries and all matters which bring the Federation into relations with any other country: Para 1(a) and 1(b).

Peninsular Malaysian States:

When it comes to Peninsular Malaysian States, the following matters fall in State hands:

> Land: Schedule 9 List II, Para 2(a). Under the Interpretation Acts, 1948 and 1967, Section 3, land includes “the surface of the earth … all substances therein… all vegetation and other natural products… whether on or below the surface… and land covered by water”. The territorial waters of Kelantan will come within the definition of “land covered by water”. Territorial waters are defined by Section 4(2) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No 7, 1969. Subject to some exceptions, they refer to three nautical miles.

> Revenue from lands: Schedule 10, Part III Para 2.

> In addition to the income from land, one notes that in Article 110[3A] there is provision for discretionary payment on such terms and conditions as maybe prescribed by or under federal law of the export duty on “mineral oils” produced in the state. Petroleum comes within the meaning of “mineral oils” under Section 10 of the Petroleum Development Act.

Sabah & Sarawak:

In addition to the rights of other states, Sabah and Sarawak enjoy some special sources of revenue.

> Schedule 10, Part V, Para 1 assigns import duty and excise duty on petroleum products to Sabah and Sarawak.

> Schedule 10, Part V, Para 3 assigns royalty and export duty on “mineral oils” totaling 10% to Sabah and Sarawak. “Petroleum”, as defined in the Petroleum Development Act, falls within the meaning of “mineral oils” and, therefore, 10% combined royalty and export duty on it constitutes part of the guaranteed revenue for Sabah and Sarawak.

From the above, it follows that the constitutional right of Peninsular Malaysian states is confined to fees for permits and licences and for extraction of any petroleum that is derived from their land and territorial waters.

Anything beyond territorial waters, e.g. on the Continental Shelf, is entirely in federal hands. All gas is in federal hands.

Legally, the oil and gas belongs to the states. The only way the federal government can ‘steal’ this oil and gas would be to come out with a new law that allows them to do so. If not it would be illegal for the federal government to touch the oil and gas. It belonged 100% to the states.

And this new law or Act called the Petroleum Development Act 1974 allowed the federal government to unilaterally (note the word ‘unilaterally’ and not ‘bilaterally’) amend the terms of the Federal Agreement. Normally, it requires all the parties to the Agreement to agree to any amendments to that Agreement before it can be amended. In this case, only one party made the changes (unilaterally) and the other parties were forced to remain silent.

The Federal and State Government of Sabah have a whole load of explaining to do.Were there two sets of agreement - one dated on the 7th.June 1976 and the other 14th.June 1976? Was the oil royalty 5% or was it more?

Why didn't any of the Chief Ministers after Donald Stephens demand for more oil royalty for Sabah? Sabahans have been hoodwinked long enough and the time has come for Sabahans to demand what rightfully belongs to them.The State Government of Sabah has been silent and it's quite obvious,they will remain silent-hence a puppet government.If history could be reversed would Sabahans today enjoy a much higher oil royalty had the illustrious sons and freedom fighters of Sabah did not perished?

Interestingly,Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has been invited and has agreed to deliver a talk and answer questions in relation to the petroluem issue on the 2nd.April.2010 @8pm at the KDCA Buiding in Penampang,Sabah.I would encourage all Sabahans to attend this event and probably listen to all the unanswered questions.