THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
RM1,280,000 bribe paid to the Bank Rakyat Chairman (part 10)
Bank Rakyat granted GM Healthcare Sdn Bhd Islamic banking facilities of RM64 million to finance the construction, commissioning and maintenance of the new Shah Alam hospital. But the ‘under the table’ deal was far from Islamic. Dr. Zainol Che Mamat, the company’s Chairman, paid the Bank Rakyat Chairman a bribe of RM1,280,000 for the banking facilities.
Straight Talk 實話直說: A-G MUST CLARIFY ALL DOUBTS TO UPHOLD THE DIGNITY ...
Straight Talk 實話直說: A-G MUST CLARIFY ALL DOUBTS TO UPHOLD THE DIGNITY ...: "PRESS STATEMENT :- 30th Nov 2010 Chairman – Social Care Foundation The objective of this article is to enhance the Public, the significant ..."
Monday, 29 November 2010
He wants Angels!!!
Morality is injured by prescribing to it duties that,
in the first place, are impossible to be performed;
and, if they could be, would be productive of evil;
or, as before said, be premiums for crime.
The maxim of doing as we would be done unto
does not include this strange doctrine of loving enemies:
for no man expects to be loved himself for his crime or for his enmity.
~ Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (1795)
=================================
in the first place, are impossible to be performed;
and, if they could be, would be productive of evil;
or, as before said, be premiums for crime.
The maxim of doing as we would be done unto
does not include this strange doctrine of loving enemies:
for no man expects to be loved himself for his crime or for his enmity.
~ Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason (1795)
=================================
Back when I was fresh out of college, in training at Paeds Institute , I was charged with handling the blood-taking in a whole ward of babies- alone. It was tough as it was heart-rending to keep poking needles into these babies, day-in & day-out. When the "Coxackie Epidemic" (today known as HFMD) struck, that became my work all day- sitting in one place as in a factory conveyor belt, with babies waiting in cue to be bled.
If I didn't get the blood the first time, I had to keep going- untill I got it- simply because there was nobody else to do the job late in the day. At the end of each day, I would've stuck the needle into babies' at least a 100 times ..... Of course- those were the days, when I was the only intern in the unit (not like these days, where you have 20 housemen per ward, and they can even go for movies in between).
Then I told myself one day- "That's IT!! I'm done- where is the 'justice' in this? How can I keep poking the babies, when I'm no expert?" That was when I almost broke down, because it broke my heart to poke needles into babies who were helpless to "defend" themselves- and I went to "talk to my boss" (I'm not sure if it was Dr. Hussein or Dr. Maziah) about it. The "talk" by the way, woke me up to the reality of "life" - it's cruel.
He had only one thing to say - "There are kids there who may die if you don't do the job, and you have the guts to come here and tell me about "justice"?! Know one thing- sometimes, you have to be cruel, to be kind. Now get out of here, and do your job unless you want a three month extension or intend to quit!!" (But he said it in a very calm manner though ....)
Of course- it shocked me that he wouldn't hear of my emotional "ethical" argument- and I cursed him as I went back to work. needless to say, after all the countless "practice" I had on these fine babies' veins- I became an expert at venous access, and was soon "in demand" in other wards and ICUs as well!! the best part is- although I never got a pat on the back, I knew that this skill I had was intrumental in saving quite a few patients in emergencies..... and I saw, how right my bearded first boss was in chasing me out of his office with a warning.
Moving on to my point .....
If I didn't get the blood the first time, I had to keep going- untill I got it- simply because there was nobody else to do the job late in the day. At the end of each day, I would've stuck the needle into babies' at least a 100 times ..... Of course- those were the days, when I was the only intern in the unit (not like these days, where you have 20 housemen per ward, and they can even go for movies in between).
Then I told myself one day- "That's IT!! I'm done- where is the 'justice' in this? How can I keep poking the babies, when I'm no expert?" That was when I almost broke down, because it broke my heart to poke needles into babies who were helpless to "defend" themselves- and I went to "talk to my boss" (I'm not sure if it was Dr. Hussein or Dr. Maziah) about it. The "talk" by the way, woke me up to the reality of "life" - it's cruel.
He had only one thing to say - "There are kids there who may die if you don't do the job, and you have the guts to come here and tell me about "justice"?! Know one thing- sometimes, you have to be cruel, to be kind. Now get out of here, and do your job unless you want a three month extension or intend to quit!!" (But he said it in a very calm manner though ....)
Of course- it shocked me that he wouldn't hear of my emotional "ethical" argument- and I cursed him as I went back to work. needless to say, after all the countless "practice" I had on these fine babies' veins- I became an expert at venous access, and was soon "in demand" in other wards and ICUs as well!! the best part is- although I never got a pat on the back, I knew that this skill I had was intrumental in saving quite a few patients in emergencies..... and I saw, how right my bearded first boss was in chasing me out of his office with a warning.
Moving on to my point .....
In a War, It's more than jus "A Matter of Ethics" .... and today, in Malaysia, we are at war- although it isn't exactly a war which involved guns & bombs. It is a war to get back the rights that were stolen by an elite group of pirates who have plundered the nation's resources, while creating a system that subjugates the citizenry and protecting the elite. It is a war for the heart & soul of Malaysia.
So, it was with what I could describe only as "amusement", that I read Raja Petra's "It's a Matter of Ethics" in his NHB column. In it, he mentions that,
"We have become the monsters just like the monsters we wish to remove. Do we really want to remove the devil we know with a devil we don’t know? I would take the risk of removing the devil we know with an angel we don’t know."
Oh boy - it bleeds my heart .... I'm in tears just thinking how "evil" we've become in trying to get rid of Lucifer in the form of UMNO!!!
It appears that he's going through some soul-searching of sorts after his meeting with Mr. Idealism himself- Haris Ibrahim.
Poor thing - RPK has suddenly come out in search of angels in politics, to wage a war against the devils of Umno!!
Maybe he has successfully rehabilitated his opinion that there is no justice in the Malaysian system..... maybe he suddenly believes that Altantuya, Kugan, PKFZ etc didn't happen.
I guess, all the murders, and billions of Riggit siphoned out of the country through their various NEP mega-projects don't matter anymore. What matters is that we use all the squeeky-clean guys to use squeeky-clean "demoratic" methods to sweet-talk Umno into stopping the plunder.
Next, I suppose he'll be asking us to molly-coddle Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa for the insults, abuse and scorn he pours upon Malaysian of non-Umno breed.
Those were the days, when I used to hear that same Raja Petra saying that he was on a warpath to bring down Umno at all costs.This was the man, who in his patriotic fervour once said "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" (ala Patrick Henry). He also called for a Martin Luther to help reform the system!! Those were the days, when we had to caution this same Raja Petra on a warpath with UMNO, not to resort to rabble-rousing and demanding blood in the aftermath of the Perak coup d'etat. Now, this is the same Raja Petra who went on a hunger strike in Kamunting, and it is the same Raja Petra too, for whom (not solely for him, though) I went for anti-ISA vigils, at the risk of being arrested.
Oh yes- it also comes to mind that he once got so frustrated with many of the commenters for not supporting PAS's Islamist agenda, but after much debate, and seeing the light, decided that he was against the Islamic State. RPK, also convinced many to "give PAS a chance"- "and we can throw them out after five years if they don't perform" - but now,
PR hasn't implemented all that is in the Peoples' Declaration. (Yeah, yeah- Maybe as Hindraf would like to say, "All it takes is a stroke of a pen" huh?)
PR isn't good enough for him.
PKR is filled with corrupt practices in its elections, although Umno has no elections at all to speak of.
DAP also has "in-fighting".
PAS is the only "virtuous one",but cannot do it alone.
Parliament needs "credible guys".
PR needs "credible guys" aka "angels" to show them the way ....
He probably wants this "3rd force" thingie in parliament- presuming that the candidates will be angels!!! Yes- you read me right .... he wants angels in parliament, so that he can have his utopian dream of the virtuous state with a "philosopher king/parliamentarian" come true.
He has forgotten that the parliament is ineffective- and it is ineffective by design, thanks to Mr. Mahathir Bin Mohamed. He has made sure that parliament is just filled up with people making monkeys of themselves in a circus.
Yes, guys- you better believe it ..... Raja Petra Kamarudin himself, has said it:-
"We have become the monsters just like the monsters we wish to remove. Do we really want to remove the devil we know with a devil we don’t know? I would take the risk of removing the devil we know with an angel we don’t know."
Oh boy - it bleeds my heart .... I'm in tears just thinking how "evil" we've become in trying to get rid of Lucifer in the form of UMNO!!!
It appears that he's going through some soul-searching of sorts after his meeting with Mr. Idealism himself- Haris Ibrahim.
Poor thing - RPK has suddenly come out in search of angels in politics, to wage a war against the devils of Umno!!
Maybe he has successfully rehabilitated his opinion that there is no justice in the Malaysian system..... maybe he suddenly believes that Altantuya, Kugan, PKFZ etc didn't happen.
I guess, all the murders, and billions of Riggit siphoned out of the country through their various NEP mega-projects don't matter anymore. What matters is that we use all the squeeky-clean guys to use squeeky-clean "demoratic" methods to sweet-talk Umno into stopping the plunder.
Next, I suppose he'll be asking us to molly-coddle Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa for the insults, abuse and scorn he pours upon Malaysian of non-Umno breed.
Those were the days, when I used to hear that same Raja Petra saying that he was on a warpath to bring down Umno at all costs.This was the man, who in his patriotic fervour once said "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" (ala Patrick Henry). He also called for a Martin Luther to help reform the system!! Those were the days, when we had to caution this same Raja Petra on a warpath with UMNO, not to resort to rabble-rousing and demanding blood in the aftermath of the Perak coup d'etat. Now, this is the same Raja Petra who went on a hunger strike in Kamunting, and it is the same Raja Petra too, for whom (not solely for him, though) I went for anti-ISA vigils, at the risk of being arrested.
Oh yes- it also comes to mind that he once got so frustrated with many of the commenters for not supporting PAS's Islamist agenda, but after much debate, and seeing the light, decided that he was against the Islamic State. RPK, also convinced many to "give PAS a chance"- "and we can throw them out after five years if they don't perform" - but now,
PR hasn't implemented all that is in the Peoples' Declaration. (Yeah, yeah- Maybe as Hindraf would like to say, "All it takes is a stroke of a pen" huh?)
PR isn't good enough for him.
PKR is filled with corrupt practices in its elections, although Umno has no elections at all to speak of.
DAP also has "in-fighting".
PAS is the only "virtuous one",but cannot do it alone.
Parliament needs "credible guys".
PR needs "credible guys" aka "angels" to show them the way ....
He probably wants this "3rd force" thingie in parliament- presuming that the candidates will be angels!!! Yes- you read me right .... he wants angels in parliament, so that he can have his utopian dream of the virtuous state with a "philosopher king/parliamentarian" come true.
He has forgotten that the parliament is ineffective- and it is ineffective by design, thanks to Mr. Mahathir Bin Mohamed. He has made sure that parliament is just filled up with people making monkeys of themselves in a circus.
Yes, guys- you better believe it ..... Raja Petra Kamarudin himself, has said it:-
HE WANTS ANGELS IN POLITICS!!!
our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult;
our supplications have been disregarded;
and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne!
In vain, after these things,
may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation."
Well RPK- let me tell you something which you may have forgotten in all your idealistic daydreaming - it will take the devil in you to remove the evil perpetrated by UMNO from Malaysian politics.
As i said earlier- in case you forgot- we are at "war". Maybe you should keep in mind that is a "war" for the heart & soul- the conscience of the Malaysian nation state ... and there is such a thing as a "just war".
In every revolution, there will be "collateral damage", Pete- and you only get to choose the extent of damage you willing to put up with. Nothing more, nothing less.
Does that make us monsters? Not necessarily - it depends on where you stand, what you see and how far you see. That is what patriots are made of- not those who crumble under the talk of "justice" & righteousness in a utopian world.
You better believe it, Pete- or else, just call it a day, okay!!
"Our petitions have been slighted; As i said earlier- in case you forgot- we are at "war". Maybe you should keep in mind that is a "war" for the heart & soul- the conscience of the Malaysian nation state ... and there is such a thing as a "just war".
In every revolution, there will be "collateral damage", Pete- and you only get to choose the extent of damage you willing to put up with. Nothing more, nothing less.
Does that make us monsters? Not necessarily - it depends on where you stand, what you see and how far you see. That is what patriots are made of- not those who crumble under the talk of "justice" & righteousness in a utopian world.
You better believe it, Pete- or else, just call it a day, okay!!
*****************************************
our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult;
our supplications have been disregarded;
and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne!
In vain, after these things,
may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation."
Thursday, 25 November 2010
RMAF arrests ex-airman who is charged for abetting the as yet to be charged "Criminal in Chief"?!
RMAF arrests ex-airman in engine theft case for deserting - The Malaysian Insider
RMAF arrests ex-airman in engine theft case for deserting
UPDATED @ 02:58:27 PM 25-11-2010
November 25, 2010
SHAH ALAM, Nov 25 — The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) today surprisingly arrested former air force Sergeant N. Tharmendran, who is already facing charges of stealing two fighter jet engines on April 30, 2008.
His lawyer N. Surendran said RMAF arrested Tharmendran, 42, outside the Shah Alam High Court at 11.45am and accused him of deserting the force although his services were terminated last May 28.
Surendran claimed the arrest was to stop Tharmendran (picture) from revealing details of the theft, which he claimed trial. The High Court had earlier set December 17 for a decision on Tharmendran’s application to strike out the charge for the theft of two fighter jet engines.
“I told them that Tharmendran is a civilian and the air force had no right to arrest him. But according to Air Force Provos Marshall Lt-Col Mohd Razif Razak, Tharmendran had been classified as a deserter for missing work since September,” he said.
“This is clearly contempt of court. The arrest is unlawful as my client is a civilian who had left the force. I will hold the Defence Ministry and air force liable for this,” the human rights lawyer said.
He added that he will file a habeas corpus application this afternoon apart from seeking contempt of court proceeding against the RMAF.
Surendran said he was told by the Mohd Razif that his client would undergo a medical examination and would be detained at the RMAF Batu Cantonment centre.
Tharmendran is accused of abetting Senior Airman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop in the theft at the Material Processing Shed, Matra 1 warehouse, at the air force base in Sungai Besi in 2008. Mohamad Shukri has yet to be charged for any offence.
Surendran said his client was just outside the court compound when the airmen approached his client and arrested him in front of his father N. Nagarajah.
The RMAF later confirmed that it arrested Tharmendran as he has failed to turn up for duty after paying his bail on September 6.
The Mindef Corporate Communication Unit said Tharmendran was still in active service and his absence was an offence under the Armed Forces Act 1972.
Surendran, however, pointed out that Tharmendran’s contract of service was not renewed since its expiry on May 28 this year.
“His contract expired on May 28, 2010. No renewal (of contract) was signed by him,” Surendran told The Malaysian Insider.
“From June onwards, no salary was paid too,” he added.
Surendran also said he would seek contempt of court proceeding against Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, besides RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Rodzali Daud.
“I hold the chief of the air force responsible for this. I will cite him and the minister of defence for contempt of court,” said the human rights lawyer.
Surendran further accused Ahmad Zahid of trying to prevent Tharmendran from revealing the truth.
“There seems to be a serious attempt to prevent Tharmendran from revealing what he knows in court,” said Surendran.
“I do not believe that the air force would go to this extent of hounding and harassing him (Tharmendran). I suspect the minister of defence is behind this,” he added.
Earlier, Tharmendran had claimed that four RMAF officers had visited his parents’ house in Seremban on July 16 to abduct him.
He had also claimed that several air force men unconnected with his trial were seen waiting outside the courtroom at his July 19 hearing.
Surendran expressed his concerns for Tharmendran’s safety as he had been allegedly tortured by the air force.
“I’m very concerned about his safety at the hands of the air force because he’s been tortured by them once before,” he said.
Tharmendran previously claimed to have been tortured by two “majors” who sought to force a confession that he had stolen the jet engines.
He further alleged that about 30 to 40 others had been similarly tortured as he could hear their screams during his confinement at the air force base.
Tharmendran had said that he was made to wear a crash helmet and was hit with a cricket bat and a golf club three to four times a day.
He was also allegedly dragged, stripped down to his underwear, and thrown into a freezing cold room and made to admit, repeatedly, that he was guilty.
Today, Surendran said he would attempt to reach Tharmendran to obtain his signature for an affidavit in support of the habeas corpus application.
“I’m trying to see if I can get access to Tharmendran to get him to sign the affidavit, supporting the application for habeas corpus,” said the lawyer.
“We hope to file it by tomorrow,” he added.
Tharmendran and company director K. Rajandran Prasad were jointly charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court on January 6 in connection with the theft of the missing F5-E jet engines.
Tharmendran is accused of stealing the engines in December 2007 at the Subang RMAF air base.
He was arrested on September 1 last year, and if convicted faces up to 10 years’ jail and a fine.
Rajandran is accused of disposing of the engines on April 30, 2008.
The theft was a major embarrassment to the government following reports later that the country’s first submarine — KD Tunku Abdul Rahman — could not dive in tropical waters.
The prime minister had vowed that there would be no cover-up in the high-profile case which occurred during his tenure as defence minister while the current minister, Ahmad Zahid, had claimed that it was an inside job.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Cops killed youths on purpose, says lawyer - The Malaysian Insider
UPDATED @ 02:00:12 PM 20-11-2010
November 20, 2010
PETALING JAYA, Nov 20 — The families of two of the three youths shot dead on November 13 after being suspected of robbing a petrol station claimed that they were killed by police in cold blood.
Mohd Shamil Hafiz Shapiei, 15, Hairul Nizam Tuah, 20, and Mohd Hanafi Omar, 22, were shot dead by the police after a reported high-speed car chase in the early morning of November 13 in Glenmarie, Shah Alam.
“This was a gangland-style execution by police officers,” said lawyer N. Surendran (picture), who represented Shamil’s and Hairul’s families, at a press conference at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters today.
“We have gathered enough evidence,” he added.
The lawyer said the latest shooting underscored the importance of a royal commission of inquiry, following the case of 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah who was fatally shot by the police in Shah Alam on April 26.
“No child is safe on our streets. Any child out early in the morning is liable to be shot by the police,” said Surendran.
“We need a royal commission (of inquiry),” he added.
Selangor acting police chief Datuk A. Thaiveegan reportedly defended his officers’ actions by describing the three suspected robbers as “seasoned criminals” who were allegedly involved in at least three armed robberies in Selangor last week.
He claimed that the police shot the suspects in self-defence as they had allegedly rushed to attack the policemen with machetes after a car chase at about 4.10am on November 13.
Surendran, however, dismissed such claims as lies.
“This is a lie by the police,” said the human rights lawyer.
He pointed out that based on the families’ observations of the bodies, Shamil, Hairul and Hanafi each sported two gunshot wounds on their heads and chests.
“All three were shot in the head and chest with bullets exiting lower,” said Surendran.
“This shows the shots were fired at close range, which is inconsistent (with police claims) that the shots were fired in self-defence,” he added.
The lawyer also said the trajectory of the bullets on Hairul’s body indicated that Hairul’s shooter had shot him from a higher position.
“This indicates that the victims were kneeling. Hairul also had a black eye,” said Surendran.
“Shamil was shot directly in the centre of his forehead,” he added.
The lawyer said the families’ legal team would seek the opinion of forensic pathologists on the case.
“We’ll ask for an appointment with forensic pathologists from Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang,” said Surendran.
Norhafizah breaks down in tears at the police station.
“The families want the policemen suspended and charged for the offence of murder. This was blue murder by the police,” said Surendran.
“They also want an apology for accusing them (the youth) of being criminals,” said the lawyer.
Both families filed police reports at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters today, claiming that the two boys were murdered by the police.
“Tomorrow is Shamil’s birthday,” said his mother Norhafizah Mad Razali, before breaking down in tears.
In her police report, the 36-year-old businesswoman said her son did not have any criminal record and did not know how to drive a car.
“My son was a good boy who went for religious classes,” said Norhafizah.
Meanwhile, Subang MP R. Sivarasa called for an independent investigation into the deaths and for the police officers to be charged.
“We’ll ask the government to set up a royal commission of inquiry. I’ll bring this up in Parliament,” said Sivarasa.
“But the first step is to charge those murderers. How many more cases like this do we have to see?” he asked.
Besides Aminulrasyid, a second case involving the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Mohd Afham Arin in Johor Baru on October 20 last year has also surfaced after the victim’s mother recently demanded an independent commission to investigate the case.
According to human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), 88 people died in police shootings last year.
The NGO also claimed that not even one police officer was held accountable and that the high number of deaths in 2009 was “alarming”, considering that there were only 13 such cases in the previous two years.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Sore need for plurality in law
Sore need for plurality in law
Brave New World
Sore need for plurality in law
Brave New World
By AZMI SHAROM
Over the years, our courts as a whole have been steadily abdicating their duty to protect the citizens’ rights as stated in the Federal Constitution.
YOU may remember the Shamala case; the story of a Hindu man converting to Islam and then without the consent of his Hindu wife converting their two small children as well. The latest development in this saga is the Federal Court decision on the 12th of this month.
The roots of this case lie in the judgment of the High Court in 2004; the judge held that it was all right for one parent to convert their child without consent from the other.
His reasoning was based on Article 12 (4) of the Federal Constitution which states: “The religion of a person under the age of 18 years shall be decided by his parent or guardian”.
He noted that the article says “parent”, not “parents”. This is an overly simplistic literal interpretation of the article, for if taken to its logical conclusion what it can lead to is a child being converted by one parent one day and then converted again by the other parent the next day.
Surely this ridiculous situation was not what the article intended and surely it can be implied that the word “parent” means both parents.
He then proceeded to give custody to the mother but on the condition that she will not expose the children to her Hindu faith. Again, this is another strange ruling. It places an unreasonable condition on the mother.
After this decision, the mother left the country with her two children.
Meanwhile, her lawyers appealed to the Court of Appeal asking the court to decide, among other things, on the constitutionality of one parent being able to unilaterally convert their children.
The Court of Appeal agreed to allow the case to go straight to Federal Court, the highest court in the land, to decide the matter on the grounds that it will save time and effort as whatever its decision, one of the parties will appeal to the Federal Court anyway.
The Federal Court decided not to make a judgment on the constitutional issues as the mother and the children were now out of the country and therefore whatever it decides will come to naught as she is not within its jurisdiction.
The Federal Court judges made clear their displeasure that this woman had left the country in contempt of the court and was now seeking a decision from the very same court; something they were not going to do.
With all due respect to the court, I am of the opinion that this entire situation is the result of our courts as a whole steadily over the years abdicating their duty to protect the citizens’ rights as stated in the Federal Constitution.
And now using a technicality, albeit a legally sound one, they are once again side-stepping an important constitutional question.
Time and time again, we have seen our courts hide from their responsibility to uphold the Constitution whenever cases involving Islam appear.
They either do it by stating that such matters belong in the jurisdiction of the Syariah court, even though the Syariah court has no jurisdiction to answer questions regarding the Constitution, or they come out with a ruling like the High Court decision in this particular case.
The courts have lost track of the fact that this is a secular country and that its citizens have rights as stated in our secular constitution. They have bent over backwards, for reasons unknown, to allow Islamic matters to be above and beyond the limits placed within the Constitution.
In this way, they have ignored the fact that this country, being a multi-religious and secular one, needs a high degree of plurality in order to avoid injustice.
> Dr Azmi Sharom is a law teacher. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
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