Oranges
THE USUAL 100,000 car invasion this Chinese New Year. Cars with
P plates wisely kept away from the streets leaving it to the B, A, W
and S plate cars to sweat it out along Burma Road. We were in for a few
surprises. The police in Kajang shaved the heads of 11 people they caught
gambling at mahjong, the prime minister gave an ang pow to a Chinese school
in Penang, and a super-rich Lebanese scattered his generous gold
among some lucky charitable organisations.
We had a quiet week. Among the visitors was a middle aged hawker
who came with her husband with the season’s greetings, - with one red
packet and two oranges. She claimed that oranges were compulsory
for the Cantonese when paying respects to one’s elders but her husband,
who is Hokkien, said it was not so with the Hokkiens. Another visitor, a
Teochew, said they too presented oranges. I turned to C A Wong’s knowledgeable
“An Illustrated Cycle of Chinese Festivities in Malaysia and Singapore”
(1967), the authority on such things, and I find that he does not mention
oranges at all, only ang pau and the serving of tea
When I was a kid, small plates of kuay kapeh, lempeng, koay bangkek,
koay bulu, cheo hua, kua chee, groundnuts and peeled oranges
were laid out for New Year guests who were served tea. But now it’s
different. And Coke is served.
Babies
MANY women, following the Western practice, now prefer the caesarian
for delivering their babies. And it peculiarly suits these times when
superstition is running rampant; the surgical knife is giving a
helping hand to the realisation of dreams, the mother is able to choose
the date when she will have a beautiful or intelligent girl or a baby who
will grow up to marry rich. I wondered what happens when the husband
disagrees on the choice of future.
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Politician Attorney General?
I READ with astonishment that the president of the Bar Council
wants an attorney general answerable to parliament. The proposal that
a politician MP should be AG if accepted would be a step backwards.
We inherited from the British the civil service; the Colonial
Legal Service and the Malayan Civil Service became one - the MCS. Law
graduates were recruited as magistrates or deputy pubic prosecutors
eventually rising up the ladder to become attorney general, solicitor
general or judge. The judges were appointed by the chief justice. The
constitution of 1957 granted them a permanent status to ensure that they
would remain independent. And independent they remained until Dr
Mahathir flexed his muscles to get rid of Salleh Abbas, the president
of the highest court.
But the AG has remained a civil servant This is not a good thing.
He should be an independent person guaranteed the same status as a judge
in the constitution and I would go further and say that he and the judges
should be appointed only with the agreement of a judiciary committee composed
of lawyers appointed by the Bar Council.
Article 145 of the constitution originally provided for the AG
to be appointed by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong from among the members of
the judicial and legal service who is qualified o be a judge of the
Federal Court after consultation with the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.
An amendment in 1960 changed the appointment to one of a person qualified
to be a judge on the advice of the Prime Minister and sub-article 145(5)
reduced him to holding office at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Kenya seems to be ahead of us. In 1990, their attorney-general
was appointed by the governor-general on the nomination of the public
service commission, but he or she could be removed only for misbehaviour
or inability to discharge the functions of the office
determined in accordance with the same procedure as applied to
the dismissal of judges.
The Danish cartoons
I AM NOT not surprised at the Danish cartoons that angered the
Muslims. They were published by a right wing pro-Nazi paper. A
racist party gained 13% of the seats in the last election and the Danish
government depends on it for its existence. I don’t think the editors
would have allowed any cartoon making fun of the Jews or of Jesus Christ.
They arrogantly claimed that they were witnessing a “clash of civilisations”
between secular Western democracies and Islamic countries. This is nonsense.
The decision to publish the cartoons is consistent with the European
contempt for other cultures and religions.
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Brutal
Europe has dominated the East for centuries. The 19th century scientists
were racists. The white race was superior to other races because the white
race had advanced farther up the evolutionary ladder and, therefore, was
destined either to eliminate the
other races in the struggle for existence or else to have to assume
the "white man's burden" and to care for those inferior races that were
incompetent to survive otherwise.
If I remember correctly a Danish commando general's comment on
the Abu Ghraib scandals was something like: “Arabs only understand
torture.” Major General Geoffrey Miller tells his subordinate
to treat inmates "like dogs". British soldiers beat Iraqis brutally; and
the hell that is Guantanamo continues despite world protests,
Elsewhere, we read shocking reports that in Queensland an aboriginal
boy is dragged through the dirt with a noose around his neck before being
bashed and threatened with a shotgun; an Australian prime minister, an
admirer of “white races are superior” Menzies, refuses to let Afghan
refugees on the “Tampa” to land.
IT doesn’t surprise me that the arrogant cartoons are reproduced
in this country which is still colonial in thinking and whose papers merely
reproduce US and British propaganda disguised as “news.”
The shaving of heads
ELEVEN men, said to have been having their annual game of mahjong
at their usual coffee shop at Balakong, Kajang are arrested by police
and locked up and shaven bald before being produced before the magistrate
and fined.
This reminds me of the Japanese times I once went (illegally)
on a gambling raid with my friend from BM, one Inspector Raja. A snooper
had reported that the house was a regular gambling den. The money on
the table was confiscated, the men signed personal bonds at the police
station and were then told to go home with a promise of turning
up in court the next day. Raja’s sergeant told me, in confidence, that
his inspector had slapped the “banker” and scolded him with, “You ought
to be ashamed gambling,” which act was an assault of course. But I was
not surprised for Raja was a devout Roman Catholic of 25 and must have
thought the old man (of 60) shouldn’t be gambling. On the other hand my
friend from another station, Eang, didn’t care one bit about the moral
aspects as he and his wife and friends played mahjong for small stakes regularly;
he merely did his duty as police man enforcing the Common Gaming Houses
Ordinance, aware that the Japanese were encouraging gambling on a large
scale in their night gambling farms.
The lower ranks of the police force must surely be shaken by the
vibes emanating from RELA, JAWI, amateur moral vigilantes and the moral
guardians from abroad, just as those teachers were in that school where
they unlawfully snipped short the regulation tudung their students were
wearing. How else does
one explain the head shaving of men not yet found guilty of an offence?
How else does one
explain the head shaving of men not yet found guilty of an offence?
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The law
The Kajang CID
deputy superintendent, Abdul Fatah Ahmad, explained: “We just want them
to look neat and remember so that they will not return to the lock up”
(New Straits Times, Feb 3 ).
And Kajang OCPD, Asst Comm Mohd Noor Hakim, told The Star that
under Section 9A of the Lock-Up Rules, the police could shave a detainee’s
head bald. “So, we are just exercising whatever the law requires us to
do.”
And the Selangor police chief Datuk Yahaya Udin claimed that cutting
the hair of detainees is a mandatory procedure under Section 9A of the
Lock-Up Rules 1953. "We cut their hair as short as possible and sporting
short hair reflects positive image," he said, adding that the rule was
to discipline offenders while in police detention.
I have with the help of some keen lawyers tried to collect the
law on the subject and I offer them to you at the end of this piece.
You might then conclude that the police do not need a course on human rights
but have to restudy the meaning of being a law officer. The Attorney General
must revamp that law course currently offered to police officers,
emphasis being laid on the police being officers of the law, andof nothing
else.
Footnote
Malacca. Arrests for gambling under Common Gaming Houses Act.
Men were bailed on same day at 5 pm on police bail, RM3000 in one surety
The Star 7.2.06
The relevant law reference
If the eleven were arrested for gambling in a common gaming
house (the coffee shop) the fine is not exceeding RM250 upon conviction
(Section 6(1) Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 (Act 289) (Since increased
to RM5000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to
both" (from 23 February 1990, Act755).
Criminal Procedure Code provides for an arrested person to be
released on his own bond or on bail or under order of a magistrate or
an Inspector's order ( section 29)
Section 387 provides that in cases of bailable offences a person
may be released by the police officer on giving bail but the police officer
has the discretion of discharging him on his executing a bond without sureties
for his appearance when required
Lock-up
Prisons Act 1995 (Act 527)
7. (1) It shall be lawful for the Minister, by notification in
the Gazette, to appoint lock-ups at such police stations and court houses
as may be specified in the notification to be places for the confinement
of
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persons, remanded
or sentenced to such terms of imprisonment, not exceeding one month, as
may be specified in each case.
(2) A lock-up appointed as a place of confinement under subsection (1)
—
(a) shall not be deemed to be a prison for the purposes of this
Act, or of the Registration
of Criminals and Undesirable Persons Act 1969 and regulations
made under this Act shall not apply thereto;
(b) shall be deemed to be a prison for the purposes of Chapter
XXVII of the Criminal Procedure Code [ Sentences and the carrying out
thereof] or of the Debtors Act 1957.
Section 22 (5) A police officer whilst in the capacity of
an escort guard or if a guard in or about a prison or lock up for the
purposes of ensuring the safe custody of a prisoner shall be subject
to the provisions of this section
Prisoner
Prisons Act, 1995 (Act 537) and the relevant rule is as
appears below
Prisons Regulations 2000 (PU(A) 325/2000)
PART 3
ADMISSION, DISCHARGE, REMOVAL AND SAFE CUSTODY OF PRISONERS
Prisoner is defined as any person, whether convicted or not, under
confinement in any prison. Prisons Ordinance (No 81 of 1952); same
definition is repeated in Act 537)
Hair
17. Hair cutting.
(1) All convicted prisoners shall have their hair cut short and
their beards, whiskers and moustaches (if worn) trimmed close, and those
who wear no hair on their faces, or a moustache only, shall be shaved
as often as may be necessary to preserve a clean and decent appearance.
(2) A woman prisoner's hair shall not be cut on admission or afterwards
without her consent except where the Medical Officer or Officer in Charge,
as the case may be, consider that this is necessary for health, cleanliness
or security reasons.
(3) The hair of unconvicted prisoners shall be kept, as far as
cleanliness permits, in the same state as it was on admission.
(4) Any Asian prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for any period
exceeding one month, who are in the habit of shaving their heads, shall
be allowed to have their heads shaved once a week.
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(5) The hair of
a Sikh prisoner, shall not be cut without an order in writing from the
Officer-in-Charge, which order shall not be made except on the ground
of necessity certified by a Medical Officer.
Lock ups, bath, hair
Lock-up Rules 1953 (LN328/53) (The Prisons Ord (No
81 of 1952) (saved by Section 68 of Act 537)
A “lock-up” is defined by Rule 2 to mean a lock-up appointed by the Secretary
for Defence (The Prisons Act (81 of 1952) - the Minister in the
Prisons Act 1995 (Act 537) - at such police stations and court houses
as may be specified to be places for the confinement of persons, remanded
or sentenced to such terms of imprisonment, not exceeding one month , as
may be specified in each case.
A “prisoner” is defined as any person, whether convicted or not, who
is confined or detained in a lock-up (Rule 2)
By Rule 3 the person who has general charge of lock-ups is the Chief
Police Officer
Where a lock-up is situated in a police station the police officer-in-charge
shall be in charge of the lock-up and responsible for the enforcement
of the Rules
Rule 7:
Every prisoner shall be searched on admission and all clothing and property,
other than one set of clothing shall be removed, entered on the Prisoner’s
Property Receipt Book, and placed in safe custody. The Receipt book shall
be signed by both the prisoner and the officer who makes the entries.
Rule 8:
a woman prisoner shall be searched only by a woman
Rule 9:
Every prisoner shall take a bath on admission and thereafter twice daily
Rule 9A:
(Amendment under section 8(3) Prisons Ord 1952) Every prisoner, except
a Sikh accustomed to keeping his hair long on religious grounds, shall
on admission have his hair cut close” (English text is used in both language
notifications PU(A) 428 of 1974)
Rule 46:
No police officer shall strike or apply physical force to a prisoner
unless compelled to do so in self-defence or in defence of another person.
Prisoners' hair
Prison Rules 1953 (LN325/53) (The Prisons Ord (No
81 of 1952)
Rule 10
Every prisoner shall be searched on admission and at such times subsequently
as may be directed, and all unauthorised articles shall be taken from him.
The searching of a prisoner shall be conducted with due regard to decency
and self-respect, and in as seemly a manner as is consistent with discovering
any concealed article. No prisoner shall be stripped and search in the
presence of another prisoner. A woman prisoner shall be searched only
by a woman prison officer
Rule 17: (1)
European and Eurasian prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for any period
exceeding one month shall have their hair cut short and their beards,
whiskers and moustaches (if worn) trimmed close, and those who wear no
hair
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on their faces, or
a moustache only, shall be shaved as often as maybe necessary to preserve
a clean and decent appearance
(2) The hair of female prisoners shall not be cut on admission or afterwards
unless the Medical Officer shall consider it to be necessary for health
or cleanliness
(3) The hair of prisoners awaiting trial shall be kept, as far as cleanliness
permits, in the same state as it was on admission.
(4) The heads of Asian prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for any period
exceeding one month, who are in the habit of shaving their heads, shall
be shaved once a week and the hair of other Asian prisoners, except Sikhs,
shall be cut close.
(5) The hair of no Sikh prisoner and the queue of no Chinese prisoner
shall be cut without an order from the Officer-in Charge, which order shall
not be made except upon the ground of necessity certified by a Medical
Officer.
(6) Until the time for appealing has expired without appeal, or until
his sentence has been confirmed on appeal, the hair of a prisoner shall
be kept, as far as cleanliness permits, in the same state as it was on
admission.
Pukka sahibs
“MORE THAN one than a hundred years ago, the European promoters
founded this Club for gentlemen. There was a fine line drawn even
among themselves as to who were or were not gentlemen. This was done
effectively with the black ball system of voting, ensuring that only
those top government officers and chief operating officers of banks and
industry do enjoy the privilege of becoming members of the Club. It was
the era when the sun never set on the British Empire. Over time colonialism
gave way to native rule. With the country achieving independence, and following
Malayanization, the European members left for their home countries, leaving
a few diehard colonials who opted to live in this country, contributing
whatever the new Government would want them to. The Club suffered an exodus
of its European members in the late 1950's and 1960's. It was then a wake
up call to members that the Club would need an infusion of new blood, and
that would be the locals. In the beginning, it was the local professionals,
lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers, and not even
any local government officers as yet, who were admitted.
“In the subsequent decades through various economic cycles, the
Club had its ups and downs. Fine dining, a good library, snooker and
darts were not sufficient for a growing number of new members admitted
to replace those who had departed. The physical attributes of club went
through changes, from a children's wading pool to a full size adult swimming
pool, squash courts, a steam room and some gymnastic machines, which gave
the impression that such sporting amenities would and should cater to family
members, and not just the male spouses who were the members. Rules were
changed to ensure that children were catered for, subject to good behaviour
while in the Club. Then the Indonesian maids followed accompanying the
children. With more members and families, the staff to member ratio has
to go up. The Club used to be managed by an Honorary Secretary who was
a member of the Committee and a full time clerk, with a few girls in the
accounts section deciphering members' signatures. The experienced senior
service staff went about their job quietly and efficiently. Those were
the days when computerization had yet to make its appearance. Now we have
professional, senior executives to manage the Club's
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administration, finance,
food and beverage, social activities and house-keeping. Almost every aspect
of Club life is professional including its members.
“However, after more than a century of existence the quality of
membership has not really been maintained. Some have acted as if the
Club is their own castle. They can do what they like, and to use a military
term, being labelled as 'conduct un-becoming' when their behaviour becomes
questionable. There seem to be a lack of respect for one's peers in the
Club. One wonders whether it could be due to the way candidates were
admitted, or that the general quality of candidates or applicants were
all the same in these times after 48 years of independence as a sovereign
nation. The Club must be a club reflecting the image of a gentlemen's
club for that was its raison d'etre. It cannot compete with other social
and sporting clubs, which have space for facilities for families.
“The Club must remain a club for gentlemen for that is its very
soul of existence and its character should never be changed or tempered
with.
Believe it or not, this editorial was not written 60 years ago.
It is from a recent publication, a magazine of a former British
club. It is typical of what I call the Tuan syndrome, the “native” is
kicked around yet longs to be the tuan one day to imitate tuan and his
imagined ways, adopting his language and holding himself and his fellow
“natives” in self-contempt and loathing. The new tuans regret that standards
had dropped since “native rule.”
The “promoters founded this club for gentlemen;” “The Club must be
a club reflecting the image of a gentlemen's club for that was its raison
d'etre.”
What arrant nonsense! Everyone knows the clubs were for Whites only,
whether they were "gentlemen" or not. Clubs lay at the very heart of
the apartheid system.
And here is some more twaddle: It seems that “a few diehard colonials
who opted to live in this country, contributing whatever the new Government
would want them to.” The writer of the editorial has forgotten the rush
for the “golden handshake” as the colonial government hastily promoted
British civil servants so as to qualify them for the the Merdeka farewell
gift of $75,000. And those lesser Whites who remained behind, seeing no
future for them in England, did some hasty manoeuvring to remain permanently
in this country.
With such a colonial mentality is it surprising that when these
clubs opened their doors to “native gentlemen” there was a rush to become
the new tuans. Those who never ever thought to join the Chinese Recreation
Club or the Chinese Swimming Club queued up with the cheque books to be
part of the new elite.
Cecil Rajendra
EXCEPT for a rare gesture of generosity by Edwin Thumbo, local
poets do not regard Cecil Rajendra as a poet. However the BBC recently
featured the poet, “nominated for the Nobel Prize,” in it’s The Word programme.
Cecil R was invited to read his “Animal and Insect Emergency Control and
Discipline Act” which was the theme of the
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Amnesty International
Calendar for 1997. We reproduce the poem here:
Finally, in order to ensure
absolute national security
they passed the Animal and Insect
Emergency Control and Discipline Act.
Under this new act, buffaloes
cows and goats were prohibited
from grazing in herds of more
than three. Neither could birds
flock nor bees swarm...
This constituted unlawful assembly
As they had not obtained prior
planning permission, mud-wasps
and swallows were issued with
summary Notices to Quit. Their
homes were declared subversive
extensions to private property.
Monkeys and mynahs were warned
to stop relaying their noisy
morning orisons until an official
Broadcasting Licence was issued
by the appropriate Ministry.
Unmonitored publications and broad-
casts posed the gravest threats
in times of a National Emergency.
Similarly woodpeckers had
to stop tapping their morse-
code messages from coconut
tree-top to chempaka tree.
All messages were subject
to a thorough pre-scrutiny
by the relevant authorities.
Java sparrows were arrested in
droves for rumour-mongering.
Cats (suspected of conspiracy)
had to be indoors by 9 o’clock.
Cicadas and crickets received
notification to turn their amp-
lifiers down. Ducks could not quack
nor turkeys gobble during
restricted hours. Need I say,
all dogs - alsations, dachshunds,
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terriers, pointers
and even
little chihuahuas - were muzzled.
In the interests of security
penguins and zebras were
ordered to discard their uniforms.
The deer had to surrender
their dangerous antlers.
Tigers and all carnivores
with retracted claws were
sent directly to prison
for concealing lethal weapons.
And by virtue of Article
Four, paragraph 2(b)
sub-section sixteen,
under no circumstances
were elephants allowed
to break wind between
the hours of six and six.
Their farts could easily
be interpreted as gunshot.
Might spark off a riot...
A month after the Act
was properly gazetted
the birds and insects
started migrating south
the animals went north
and an eery silence
handcuffed the forests.
There was now Total Security.
The muzzled press
PLAYING the role of popular government gazettes our newspapers
have so lost the art of reporting that they all missed the fierce storm
that in mid February forced all planes bound for KL to land in Penang.
All flights were delayed for some 3 hours and more. So typhoon-like was
the KL wind that it chased us all the way into the main entrance of KLIA
right up to the ticket booths. And there was that infamous night in Penang
when the Pitt Street areas was cordoned off for hours without explanation,
destroying the business of the area. There was not one word about
this scandalous episode in the press.
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Utusan Melayu dead
UTUSAN Melayu weekly edition has closed down. It’s a sad thing
that Jawi has faded out and no one reads the language now. Though I
must say that the weekly wasn’t a paper that earned one’s respect. In
addition to being extremely right wing, it had an odd habit of having
each week a pretty girl smiling on its front page; and its back pages presented
in all seriousness the clowning US wrestlers who entertained us
every Thursday on TV.
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The state of George Town
seen at a restaurant
“Miniskirt Day
“Miniskirt Ladies get 10% off for being sexy and cute"#
K L Chai
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