Comment
Letter from Pulau Tikus
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Comment
Letter from Pulau Tikus |
Stay calm "WE BELIEVE THAT although there may be grievances amongst the Indian community, the majority of our peace-loving Indian friends and mainstream Hindu organizations do not harbour ill will or undue enmity against the Muslims and are also not agreeable to the manner, style and approach erstwhile adopted by HINDRAF. We would also like to reaffirm our solidarity with the poor and marginalized amongst the Indian community and other races in this country and urge the government and all parties to undertake continuous effort to improve their livelihood... We also believe that the current situation is such that it is very irresponsible and dangerous for anyone to manipulate this issue to fan racial sentiments for any political or ulterior agendas." So said a statement issued on 29 November 2007 by Yusri Mohamad, president of ABIM, urging all Malaysians to remain calm after the Hindraf street demonstration. Violence lurks just under the surface of our political bodies as demonstrated by the recent fashion of kris waving. And has not the chief minister of Malaya warned about the parang? The thought occurs: had UMNO not been so obsessed with the fear of its inferiority, constantly threatening violence, would such a call for restraint have been necessary? What is interesting about the Hindraf affair is that the speech on which the sedition case was built was taped by police at Katang Berjuntai. So they are still listening to what we say. Incidentally, I did not see any reports that the Queen of England took offence at the Hindraf petition though it made our touchy government lose its patience. Our ministers prattle about demonstrations not being our way of life. Maybe its not theirs which is sparring with the parang and the kris but certainly in the immediate post-Japanese surrender days demonstrations against the British were the order of the day. In fact , Tun Tan Cheng Lock, chaired one huge rally in Malacca opposing the colonial office's draft constitution. When, in 1952, the Lake Club shut its doors to the Sultan of Selangor it was UMNO that planned a march to burn down the Club. But that did not happen because Tunku Abdul Rahman intervened. |
UMNO judges? Just when the reputation of the judges is lying low in the mud, and the state of justice drawing sad comments from the former lord presidents Tun Suffian and the Sultan of Perak, the government appoints Mr Zaki Azmi to the senior bench where he is now poised to go higher, so it is said. The man has never been a judge nor a practising lawyer. His experience? Chairman of UMNO's election committee, deputy chairman of its disciplinary board of appeal. party legal adviser. Is UMNO signalling that in future only judges of UMNO persuasion will adorn the bench? The chief justice i.e. the president of the supreme or federal court, Tan Sri Fairuz has applied unsuccessfully for an extension of service. So low has justice crawled. Originally, the idea was to reserve the power of extension only for judges of the high court of Sabah and Sarawak when candidates for appointment to the Bench were considered too young in experience to be promoted. This understanding was abandoned when extension became a reward for judges who pleased the top. That was the era when, in the words of Tan Sri Fairuz himself, "... the Judiciary ...is subservient to the wishes of the Legislature in which the Executive under the system of responsible government has to a large extent control of what legislation to enact. In other words its 'judicial power would amount to doing what you are told to do. " The chief justice's grovelling application serves to underline autocratic Dr Mahathir's prescription that judges should conduct themselves as members of a branch of government service, similar to policemen and customs officers. Killer schools The suicide of 12 yr old girl, ashamed for not getting enough A's, reveals the sorry state of our schools, which have become institutions competing for the maximum A's just like football clubs on getting goals. And the reaction from the ministry was a dead silence. After 50 years Najib says, "each year a large number of school leavers enter the job market with nothing more than their SPM certificates. They have no other skills and they do not enrol into institutions of higher earning. We have to reduced their numbers immediately. We have to find these school leavers and give them adequate training. And Hishamuddin, minister of education talks of an agenda of strengthening the national schools. And this after 50 years. At a police university The police state never relaxes its hold on university students. A second-year computer science student was charged with refusal to cooperate and obstructing campus officers from performing their duties in confiscating his personal belongings. |
He
was denied legal
representation. Punishment was suspension for one term. Suhakam
was not allowed to send in an observer.  Copycats Indonesians are angry. Why? Because, they say, Malaysians have stolen their lion dance and have falsely presented it as "Malaysian." The Indonesians shouldn't complain. The country that Tunku Abdul Rahman and Dato Onn treated with contempt for not being happy with Dutch rule (they were led by a "madman" called Soekarno) should be pleased that the superior state is now happily using its lion to make tourists happy. They should be flattered. The despised The trishaw, the wheeled replacement for the rickshaw, the successor to the humiliating symbol of the despised and downtrodden Asian, continues to be used here and in Singapore, in an abject desire to please the tourists. The recent beating up of an old trishaw man in Singapore by young British tourists because the old man could not go fast enough, shows that White superiority continues to colour the thinking of the inhabitants of England. Those hooligans would not have dared beat up their cart horse, would they? Heartless News of our bestiality never ceases. The latest is the whipping of a Myanmar immigrant. He was sentenced to jail and also ordered to be whipped. He was whipped after - AFTER - serving his sentence because of a delay by the court. Shame Port Klang assemblyman and municipal councillor, Dato Zakaria is quite a cheeky fellow. Contemptuously spurning all that publicity about his notorious acts of abuse of power, and the impudent building of a palace without development plans and for which no rates were paid, he had 60,000 people eating at his "open house." And the press was invited too. Let Zam, the information minister, explain. The Dato had been cleared of corruption; "The case is already over. He took orphans to his new house but what was highlighted was how big the house is," he said. Pity is that the minister does not tell us to which court the Dato was taken that cleared him. Both he and Dato Zakariah should read Salman Rushdie's "Shame." Zam surprised when he said that the press is now free. I quote him here; "Since it has been free, there are some mainstream papers which favour those who do not support the Government. "Some are done in an indirect manner and some directly, especially in English papers." "For example, Sultan Azlan Shah's speech talked about various issues but what was only highlighted was the teguran (warning) on the judiciary," he said. And he threw in a threat or two. "Young Malays such as Azmi Sharom and Amir Muhammad were being used by English papers to attack the Malays." And his idea of a free press? "Al-Jazeera should thank the Malaysian government for allowing it to operate here," he says. And advised the station not to "follow the democratic-reporting style from CNN but should employ journalism ethics used by the BBC, which did not promote Americanism in the country." And this man was once editor of the Utusan Malaysia. Bar council and "No fault" I do not know why the Bar Council is against the idea of "no fault" liability. Everyday that courts are bogged down with endless arguments as to which driver is at fault and if so what is the percentage of his contribution to the accident. Motor claims cases are a big contributor to the court back log and the no fault system such as practised in New Zealand (automatic payout by insurance companies) will be of much help in getting other people's cases heard. Trust us A recent interview with the press about protection for whistle blowers is very revealing about the government's attitude to the rule of law. Minister Nazri, asked about legislative protection for whistle blowers, thought it was not needed. All that was wanted was a government assurance of protection. The following passages open a window into the thinking of UMNO on the power of government. "the government can provide protection. It doesn't have to be in any other Act. ... If the government say ‘yes, we will guarantee his safety', it is the government giving guarantee, what is wrong with that? .. The power of the royal commission also come from us. We determine... It is just the question of naming the committee - whether you name it as a committee or royal commission, it is the same thing - it is the government giving the power. ... That's why I said the government must give guarantee. The government can guarantee protection to that person. The government is powerful. ... This is what the government must do - must give protection including no action against the source in civil proceeding (in future). This is what we must guarantee because if we don't, they (the panel) can't do their job." Super rich When Lim Goh Tong died the prime minister sent condolences to the family and described him as a "great Malaysian." DAP and Keadilan also paid their respects. DAP's Lim Guan Eng said he was a legend, a loss to the nation. Royalty and the Mahathir family too were present. And as modernity demanded, the eulogists included MCA chief, Ong Kah Ting , Tun Hanif Omar chairman of one |
| of
Lim Goh
Tong's companies, and Lim Gait Tong of Penang.
Interestingly no Chinese school band was in attendamce. When another Tan Sri, Loh Boon Siew, the Penang chief minister, and even the governor, paid their respects. This prompts the question, what's so special about these two Tan Sris? Fruitless I went to a talk recently on the judiciary and only realised it had been organised by one of Ibrahim's organisations when I read the programme notes. One of the questions put to the panel of speakers was: What does the panel say about the rule of law and an independent judiciary supposing Nik Aziz takes over the government? The questioned was not answered because Dato Anwar had to rush to Balik Pulau for a meeting. It was already 10.30 p.m. and the chairman closed the meeting. Neglected refugees A friend who lives in KL is surrounded by a group pf destitute Myanmar refugees waiting for help from the UN to go to the USA, which is a land of hope for them. I contributed RM100 when I heard that she buys food for them and their kids. Definition "Disloyal" = criticising the RELA source: UMNO MPs labelling of Tersea Kok MP for criticising RELA.  Pressing the flesh at the VIP bash Monsoon Soon Cup yacht race K L Chai |
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| ______ INDEX Point to the article that you want to read, and CLICK Index page Book review The constitution and the judges Food guide An immigrant's story Khoo Cheng JinLetter from Pulau Tikus Lina Joy case Music Poem: Cecil Rajendra Tan Cheng Lock |
| _____________________ The Penang File Issue 57 |