![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses said the police had surrounded Tian Chua’s vehicle and forcibly removed him before arresting him at about 10.40am. Another person in the car was also detained.
Subsequently Khalid went to his car. While he on his way there, Sentul district police chief ACP Ahmad Sofian Md Yassin instructed one of his men to arrest the PKR leader.
Trees lining the streets were posted with copies of a court order obtained by police that banned the campaigners from parliament.
Police 
Prominent PAS leader Mohamad Sabu was arrested in Perak while PKR information chief Tian Chua was arrested in Johor. 
Meanwhile, Tian Chua was arrested outside human rights organisation Suaram’s office in Johor Baru at 5.15pm by a police team from Kuala Lumpur. 
The arrests came after a failed attempt by the organisers of the march to negotiate with the police to allow them to finish their march at their intended spot.
Those arrested included five lawyers - N Surendran (right), Latheefa Koya, R Sivarasa, Eric Paulsen and Amer Hamzah. Others were Anthony Andu, Noor Aza Othman and a bystander identified only as Ashraf Ali Raja.
The marchers had carried banners that read "Lawyers for the freedom of assembly" and "Government that abuses human rights is terrorist."
Upon the decision of the Bar Council to call off the march, at least 15 lawyers decided to proceed with the walk to make a statement that citizens have a right to assemble peacefully and without prior requirement of a police permit.
The Bar Council also moved its “Festival of Rights” event today to its own building located near Central Market after police insisted that organisers apply for a permit to hold the event at Central Market.
The protesters had attempted to gather outside the high commission early this morning but thousands were pushed back by the riot police to outside a two-kilometre radius of the venue. 
About 5,000 people were stopped at the Jalan Ampang and Middle-Ring-Road intersection. 
At 10.30am, the Hindraf leaders ended their speeches. But thousands of protesters continue to mill around the KLCC areas playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police water cannon.
Hindraf leader A Sivanesan condemned the police for turning Kuala Lumpur into a war zone. 
Lawyer Haris Ibrahim, a member of the Bar Council monitoring team, was stunned by the heavy-handed police action against the protesters. 
Furthermore, the suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when independence was granted, resulting in discrimination and marginalisation to this day. 
In an immediate response, Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar described the reason cited by the police was very “flimsy”, explaining that the organisation is a coalition of NGOs and not a registered body in its own right. 
The denial of the permit comes as another blow for Uthayakumar, whose law office in Kuala Lumpur was 
4pm: The Bersih delegation led by Anwar Ibrahim handed the memorandum to the King's representative at the gate of the Istana Negara. Anwar is accompanied by PAS' Hadi Awang and Nasharuddin Mat Isa and DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng. The organisers are asking the 40,000-strong crowd to disperse. Nasharuddin describes the event as a resounding success.
3.40pm: Another few thousand of protesters, mostly from Masjid Jamek, are marching to join the main crowd in Istana Negara. They are currently in Jalan Maharajalela, near the old KL train station.
3.15pm: About 5,000 protesters are marching from Sogo department store towards Istana Negara. They are currently in Jalan Raja Laut near Pertama Complex. The 500 from Pasir Seni have broken away from the stand-off with riot police near Dataran Merdeka, leaving the square completely quiet.
2.45pm: The police have taken over the road outside Masjid Jamek after firing about a dozen rounds of tear gas. Many of the protesters move away from the area. Most of them have linked up with the crowd in Sogo department store.
2.39pm: The police in Masjid Jamek area begin firing several canisters of tear gas at the crowd in addition to discharging chemical-laced water. At least, four rounds of tear gas have been fired.
2.25pm: Crowd has increased to 2,000 in Masjid Jamek area. Water cannon fired several times. Crowd inside Masjid India and a bank opposite the mosque were hit. Protesters are seeking refuge inside the mosque and Masjid Jamek LRT station. MCA to continue assisting Wee over rap video mistake
Nation
Charles Ramendran, B.Suresh Ram, Husna Yusop and Eunice Au
 |
| Tan Sri Khalid Nordin arrested by Police at the |
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11, 2007): About 30 people, including leaders of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), were arrested today when they defied a court order and attempted to hand over a memorandum to oppose the constitutional amendment to extend the retirement age of Election Commission members from 65 to 66.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) treasurer Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, its information chief Tian Chua and PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli were among those arrested.
However, by 5pm, at least half of those detained, including Khalid, were released.
Police checkpoints and closure of roads leading to Parliament building today caused massive jams in the city, and thwarted attempts by Bersih supporters to reach the vicinity.
However, despite the roadblocks and the heavy presence of police personnel led by Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Sofian Md Yassin, who took their up positions as early as 4am, several Bersih leaders tried to enter Parliament.
Chua was the first to be arrested at 10.40am when he arrived in a Proton Tiara driven by PKR staff Abdul Razak Ismail. The two coolly drove past dozens of policemen standing guard along the road leading to Parliament but had to stop the car after about 50m. Abdul Razak alighted several minutes after being ordered to do so by the police, but Chua refused to budge.
Three policemen carried him from the car and tried to put him on his feet, but he lay flat on his back on the road. Several policemen then carried him into a patrol car which took him to the state police headquarters on Jalan Hang Tuah. Abdul Razak was taken away in another vehicle.
Fifteen minutes later, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S.Arutchelvam and another supporter who were on foot, were arrested as they neared the road junction leading to Parliament.
Hatta, together with PAS women's wing head Dr Lo'lo Ghazali, PSM president Dr Nasir Hashim and PKR's Ang Yok Hai, who had walked from the Mahameru highway interchange, were arrested at 11.15am.
At noon, at least 40 journalists, who spotted Khalid turning up alone, converged around the PKR treasurer. He was arrested just as he was about to leave in a four-wheel drive.
Sentul OCPD ACP Ahmad Sofian Md Yassin said all the road closures were removed by 6.30pm but police would continue to guard Parliament House.
City Deputy CPO SAC I Patrick Jijes Sigore, when contacted at about 6pm, said the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan will issue a statement on the arrests that were carried out.
According to a PKR statement, among those arrested were two journalists, Centre for Independent Journalism executive director V.Gayathry, and Writers Alliance for Media Independence chairman Wong Chin Huat.
It said the two were part of a five-member delegation which handed the memorandum to Parliament. They handed it to opposition members of Parliament, Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar (PAS-Tumpat), Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian), Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh) and Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh).
The other three in the delegation were the head of PAS Research Centre Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, Suara Rakyat Malaysia executive director Yap Swee Seng and Harakah advertising head Mokhtar Rozaidi.
They five were released by police by 4pm.
As at press time, PKR said 16 people including a 13-year-old boy were still being held by police in their headquarters.
Cops just doing their job, says Nazri
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11, 2007): Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz defended the police presence and action on the grounds of Parliament today, including the roads leading to Parliament.
He said the police were merely carrying out their responsibility in upholding the law and were executing it in professionally.
Nazri was commenting on the arrest of several supporters of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) at the VIP entrance, and others on the roads leading to Parliament.
“The police have the right to arrest people even in Parliament House if they were found to pose a threat to security,” he said.
He said the police had acted within their rights to apprehend anyone believed to have encroached on to high security areas, and that Parliament was one of those.
The police had on Monday obtained an injunction to stop Bersih from having an assembly to hand over the memorandum.
Mohd Nazri also said the resolution passed in the Dewan Rakyat at the beginning of every session, only allowed free passage and access to the Parliament building for elected representatives, whereas the public would need permission before they were allowed to step into Parliament.
"They didn't contact me [to obtain permission]. You know how liberal I am, so I'll allow them if they got in touch with me," said Mohd Nazri, who is in charge of parliamentary affairs and law.
He said there was also a need to look at the tendencies of the protesters to disrupt public order. “We have seen the outcome of the protests, you must be blind if you think we can have a peaceful walk. Anything can happen. We do not want to be blamed if there are casualties," he said.
He said Bersih had rejected the option of holding its gathering in an enclosed area.
Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Johari Baharum also defended the police, saying their job was to ensure and maintain public stability and peace.
Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, however, criticised the police's move to block Bersih supporters from submitting a memorandum protesting against the Constitution Amendment Bill to extend the retirement age of the Election Commission chairman.
He said the roadblocks were against Parliament privileges and sovereignty, as the public should have access to their elected representatives.
"We want the police to look after the safety of the Parliament House and not block access of the people or NGOs. It's undermining the parliamentary responsibility,” he said.
He added that there would not be any untoward incident if the Bersih delegation was allowed into the building.
Anwar briefly detained by immigration in KLIA
PETALING JAYA (Dec 11, 2007): Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was detained for a short period in KL International Airport this morning upon his return from Turkey.
He said he was stopped by Immigration Department officers who alerted him that his name had been added to a “suspect list”.
“No further explanation was given. After that my passport was returned to me and I exited the airport,” he said in a statement.
According to his personal aide, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Anwar was not questioned but the officers told him they had to get clearance from their superiors before releasing him.
The Immigration Department, however, was not aware of the detention. Its enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed told theSun he only knew that Anwar did not use the Autogate machine as he had gone through the standard passport check-up.
He said he did not know if Anwar was detained and that he would check on the matter.
Suhakam calls on the authorities to respect and uphold the law
PETALING JAYA (Dec 11, 2007): The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today described the recent arrests as “selective and seemingly biased” and urged the authorities to use force only when absolutely necessary.
"Currently it appears that arrests and prosecutions are selective and seemingly biased,” Suhakam's secretary Ahmad Yusuf Ngah said in a statement today, after the commission's monthly meeting in Kuching on Monday in conjunction with World Human Rights Day.
“Suhakam calls on the authorities to respect and uphold the law, and to implement the law equally as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution," he said.
Ahmad commented on the statement by former Suhakam chairman Tun Musa Hitam that Suhakam had failed to address certain sensitive issues in society.
In an interview with an English daily on Sunday (Dec 9), Musa expressed concern over the lack of freedom of expression and any system to allow for peaceful assembly.
Ahmad said Musa was not aware of the many recommendations made by the commission after his tenure ended in 2002.
He said Suhakam’s report on the public inquiry into the police’s treatment of petrol price hike protesters in Kuala Lumpur on May 28, 2006, had recommended that Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 be repealed.
The section requires any gathering of three people and more to obtain a police permit.
He said Suhakam also recommended guidelines for the conduct of peaceful assemblies and practical measures to control the crowd to avoid any violence during assemblies.
"Suhakam urges the relevant authorities to review all existing regulations and guidelines with regard to crowd control of any peaceful assembly to ensure that the use of force should only be employed where it is strictly necessary for the enforcement of the law and maintaining of public order," Ahmad said.
"Suhakam regrets that many of its recommendations to the authorities remain unheeded. This has not enhanced our national human rights status."
Anwar detained by immigration, dozens of Opposition leaders, members nabbed
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11, 2007): Immigration officers today detained de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and police arrested a human rights lawyer and about a dozen opposition leaders, amid growing complaints the government was harassing opposition politicians.
Immigration officials detained former deputy premier Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimin the KL International Airport upon returning from Istanbul via Singapore before being cleared for entry, his lawyer William Leong said.
"It's just a clear harassment," Anwar told Reuters. "It's a desperate attempt to harass and intimidate the public and deflect the attention from major issues of corruption among Umno leaders and the judiciary."
In the incident that lasted about half an hour, Anwar said he was stopped because his name was on immigration's "suspects list" although he was not informed why.
Anwar said he was allowed to leave after a senior immigration officer came out to speak to him, but his name remains on the list, which could bar him from leaving Malaysia.
"No grounds were given," Anwar's lawyer Leong said of the detention. "There appears to have been some note which put the official on alert to stop him from coming in and to detain him until he obtained approval from the superior."
Police today arrested human rights lawyer P. Uthayakumar who helped organise 10,000 ethnic Indians to protest last month against racial discrimination.
The 46-year-old Uthayakumar would be charged later today with sedition for statements he made in a book, his aide said without elaborating.
In the Malaysian capital today, dozens of policemen blocked the main entrance to the parliament building to foil an opposition-led rally demanding free and fair elections.
Riot police, armed with batons and shields and backed by a water cannon, took positions close to the parliament while vehicles passing through were checked.
Police arrested about a dozen opposition leaders, including the leader of Anwar's Keadilan (Justice) party, Tian Chua, after the car he was travelling in broke through a police cordon and headed toward parliament to hand over a memo demanding reforms in the electoral process.
Tian was arrested after he defied police orders to leave the car. Police then handcuffed and carried him out of the car before bundling him into a waiting police patrol car, Reuters reports today.
A statement released by PKR's information bureau said Anwar, the de facto party leader, was detained and held for questioning by immigration as his passport was blacklisted.
 |
| FRU at front the Parliament gate. |
Meanwhile, BERSIH, the coalition of civil society organisations and political parties were supposed to hand over a memorandum this morning to the Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz.
However, the road leading to Parliament was closed.
A delegation whicha was supposed to travel in a convoy from PAS headquarters in Chowkit to Parliament was surrounded by police on Jalan Raja Laut.
About noon, PKR treasure Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was also arrested by police while leaving Parliament house. It was not immediately known why he was arrested.
Persons arrested thus far: Tain Chua PKR Information chief); Razak Ismail; A.Arutchelvan (Socialist Party Malaysia secretary-general) and Sivarajan (Socialist Party Malaysia central committee member).
They have been taken to the Kula Lumpur police headquarters.
| Memo to Parliament: 26 arrested, all released tonight |
| Yoges Palaniappan | Dec 11, 07 10:59am |
| All 26 members of polls reform group Bersih who were arrested this morning for defying a police ban to gather at the Parliament have been released on police bail today. Some, including PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim, PAS election director Mustapha Ali and a teenager, were among nine people released by police as at 4pm. The remainder 17 were only allowed to go at about 10pm with the condition that they appear at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrates' Court on Dec 18. The others freed earlier comprise six members of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), who had gone to Parliament House to hand over a memorandum to Opposition parliamentarians, to submit to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In all, 26 members of Bersih had been arrested this morning in the vicinity of Parliament House, while attempting to deliver the memorandum on the extension of the Election Commission chief's retirement age via constitutional amendment. Among tha last ones to be released included PKR information chief Tian Chua, PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli and party Women's chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh and central committee member Dr Lo'Lo' Ghazali, and Parti Socialist Malaysia pro-tem chairperson Dr Nasir Hashim, secretary-general S Arutchelvan and party central committee member S Sivarajan.
"I don't think we will be able to submit a memorandum today. Our main piority now is to help those detained,' he told journalists. A plainclothes police officer showed him the restraining court order which the Sentul police had obtained yesterday and ordered Khalid to leave.
More than 400 police surrounded the Parliament to block the electoral reform campaigners who were forced to march there on foot after all roads leading to the building were closed off. Police had also surrounded opposition party PAS headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut to stop people from leaving the building for Parliament.
|
| Human rights festival: 9 charged |
| Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Dec 10, 07 1:25pm |
| Eight people, including five lawyers, were charged today with participating in an illegal assembly yesterday. They also faced a further charge of disobeying the police order to disperse. He was charged under section 186 of the Penal Code which carries a punishment of maximum three-months jail or a maximum fine of RM1,000, or both. For the first batch of eight marchers, they were charged under Section 143 of the Penal Code for illegal assembly and under Section 145 of same code for failing to disperse. They also faced alternate charges under the Police Act. All nine of those charged claimed trial at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court. The prosecution was personally led by attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail - the government's highest ranking legal officer - who objected bail for all charged today. The AG submitted his reasons for not wanting to grant bail to the eight on grounds that he believed they would repeat the offence and alleged that some were “notorious” to have repeatedly participated in illegal assemblies. On his submission as to why Bon should not be granted bail, Abdul Gani said that the lawyer’s act of defiance would “create the perception that it is okay to defy the authorities”. However, Sessions judge Komathy Suppiah rejected Abdul Gani's arguments and allowed bail for all the accused persons. She set bail at RM2,000 each for the eight marchers, with hearing was fixed from Jan 28 to 31 next year. 'Pak Lah politically insecure' The eight marchers were arrested yesterday for taking part in a march in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, which is celebrated today. Later in the day, Bon, who is the Bar Council’ human rights committee chairperson, was arrested for blocking DBKL officials from removing human rights banners outside the Malaysian Bar building in Leboh Pasar Besar in Kuala Lumpur. One high-profile accused person, Sivarasa told Malaysiakini in the court today that the AG’s objection to bail was “indicative of the oppressive nature of this administration”. The eight marchers were represented by M Puravelan, K Ragunath and Tommy Thomas. Bon also had a big team of lawyers to represent him, including Sri Kanth Pillai, Bernard Francis, Brendan Siva, Saha Deva, Richard Wee and Chan Weng Keng. |
| Crackdown on Bersih: Mat Sabu, Tian Chua and 12 others nabbed |
| Dec 9, 07 7:29pm |
| The police today conducted simultaneous arrests in various states of two top opposition leaders and a dozen of others who took part in the Nov 10 Bersih rally. Ban on rallies In addition, it is also learnt that PKR leader N Gobalakrishnan would be made the 32nd person to be charged with attempted murder at the Shah Alam Sessions Court tomorrow in regards to the Hindraf rally. |
| Human rights march: 5 lawyers arrested |
| Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Dec 9, 07 8:16am |
| The police have arrested eight people, including five lawyers, for proceeding with a march to mark International Human Rights Day from the Sogo department store to Central Market in Kuala Lumpur early this morning. The organisers, who believed that they could complete their march within the time limit, wanted to press on. According to an eyewitness, the police however cordoned off the area, moved in and made the arrests even before the stipulated deadline expired. The eight were arrested under the Police Act for illegal assembly, said Dang Wangi's acting superintendent Che Hamzah Che Ismail. "Authorities seem to be upset by any visible signs of protest and I think this is a problem with the country," said Sivarasa, who is also a leader of PKR.
Eyewitnesses said that one of the persons arrested was dragged into the waiting police truck and the arrests were done despite the marchers’ willingness to cooperate with the police. Yesterday the police had warned the public not to participate in the march given that no permit had been issued for the gathering. Venue changed In a related development, Ambiga today expressed disappointed over not being allowed to see the arrested people. Ambiga said that the march was peaceful and slammed the arrests as "totally unnecessary and unfortunate." Later when contacted, Ambiga said that it was likely that the eight marchers would be charged tomorrow at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court. Meanwhile the police continued to exert pressure on the Bar Council over their ‘Festival of Rights’ by arresting the council’s human rights committee chairperson Edmund Bon, allegedly for preventing the authorities from performing their duty. In an immediate response, PKR de facto leader and ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim lambasted the authorities for using the law "to subvert freedom and to suppress the people's fundamental democratic right to peaceful assembly". "In the absence of any evidence that they planned to jeopardise the public's safety, their arrest represents nothing more than scare tactics we have seen used in the past by the Malaysian government as it prepares to unleash the draconian measures of the Internal Security Act," said Anwar in a statement this afternoon. "We are appalled that even a small gathering of marchers to a nearby destination in an orderly manner without obstructing the traffic or causing any chaos to the public cannot be allowed or tolerated by this oppressive regime," said Aliran president P Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan called on the government to release those arrested, whom he described as "brave Malaysians who have been unjustifiably detained". |
| PM considering detention of Indian activists |
| Dec 8, 07 3:07pm |
| Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has reportedly warned that ethnic Indian activists accused of having links with Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers could be held under internal security laws. Peaceful struggle will go on |
| 30,000 Hindraf protesters rally in KL streets |
| Nov 25, 07 10:22am |
| About 30,000 protesters demonstrated under the shadows of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Twin Towers after their efforts to petition the British High Commission was thwarted by the police with tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon.
An estimated 10,000 gathered along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, with a further 5,000 on Jalan P Ramlee just before Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). Another 10,000 demonstraters were at the Jalan Tun Razak-Jalan Ampang interchange.
The protesters – a mix of young and old Indian Malaysians - seemed to have come from all over the country. At about 10am, the crowd along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, were addressed with loudhailers by Hindraf leaders, including P Uthayakumar. PKR information chief Tian Chua and DAP leader Ronnie Liu also addressed the rally.
At 1pm, after negotiations with the police, Uthayakumar arrived to give a short speech and urged the crowd to disperse peacefully. The crowd was seen walking back down towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, away from the British High Commission.
Today's memorandum was to petition Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen's counsel to argue the case on their behalf. |
| Police reject permit for Hindraf rally |
| Soon Li Tsin | Nov 20, 07 5:26pm |
| The thousands expected at the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally on Sunday may be forced to assemble illegally at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur after police rejected an application for a permit yesterday. Hindraf's application for registration is pending with the Registrar of Society. However, the police left after an hour, without finding the booklet on either of the premises. |
| LIVE reports: The Bersih rally |
| Nov 10, 07 2:12pm |
| Despite an almost complete lockdown of the city by police and with the rally venue Dataran Merdeka sealed off, thousands of protesters are congregating in Sogo department store, Masjid Jamek, Masjid Negara and Pasar Seni. [See map]
3.55pm: Anwar Ibrahim arrives on a motorbike to join Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang near Istana Negara. He and Hadi Awang give a short speech and are getting ready to move to the palace gate.
2.50pm: 10,000 who are at the Masjid Negara have begun marching to Istana Negara. They split into two groups using two different routes. Rain stops. 2.40pm: The 500 Pasar Seni marchers are met by 100 riot police about 50 metres from Dataran Merdeka. There are minor clashes but police have formed two lines of barricades, resulting in a stand-off.
|
Lee Boon Siew
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 10, 2007): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the people must value and shoulder the burden of responsibility for their actions if Malaysia is to evolve into a society that can peacefully live with media freedom, public debate or public shows of expression.
Stressing that the value of responsibility is as important today as it was in 1957 or 1969, he said it is not just the people who manage the country who should carry the burden of responsibility, but the ordinary people as well.
"If the choice is between public safety and public freedoms, I do not hestitate to say here that public safety will always win. I will not sacrifice my sense of accountability to the greater public, especially in the face of police intelligence about planned fighting or other violent intent.
"We must never, ever, take our peace for granted. We must continue to be responsible to each other," he said at the Khazanah Global Lecture Series in the Putrajaya Convention Centre here today. The lecture was organised by Khazanah, the government's investment arm, and moderated by Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Annuar Zaini.
"In this age of relative affluence and stability, we sometimes forget that there are many groups within the country , each with their own set of demands, each with their own set of sensitivities," Abdullah said.
"These differences are very real, yet we do not descend into sheer unmitigated chaos. Why? Because I think there are enough of us who do not forget, who know and remember our complexicity."
He said these people, who he described as true Malaysians, understand that the situation demands balance, conscientiousness, a sense of accountability to the whole rather than the few.
"A true Malaysian understands very well the impact of careless words and actions. A true Malaysian is acutely aware of who will be provoked into retaliation and who will actually suffer the consequences. Because of this, a true Malaysian will try to be judicious in word and deed, even when striving for change."
An emphasis on responsibility was one of three values that Abdullah said dominated the country's history and will continue to do so.
The other two values are:
* The pursuit of fairness - political fairness, economic faireness, cultural fairness
In this, he referred to the practice of power-sharing in the coalition government and to the consensus of preserving the identity of each community, rather than allowing the culture of the majority to extinguish others.
"But of these, economic fairness has perhaps been the most visible and the most debated.
"We recognised long ago that without specific state intervention, enormous ilnequalities would fester among the people; inequalities intensified by ethnic lines," he said, adding that this recognition gave birth to the New Economic Policy with its twin objectives of eradicating poverty, regardless of race and eliminating the identification of ethnicity with economic function.
He said the pursuit of economic fairness continues today and is not without its lessons.
"For example, in implementing poverty eradication programmes, regardless of race, care must be taken to follow through word with deed. No family, no matter their race, can be allowed to live below the poverty line. And in implementing affirmative action, the principle of fairness must be upheld in all senses of the word."
* Self-belief.
"Many of the doctrines and measures we have undertaken fly in the face of popular thinking, from the NEP in 1970 to capital controls during the Asian financial crisis. We held fast through massive criticism and doubt, and this trust in ourselves has paid off."
Updated: 07:06PM Mon, 10 Dec 2007
Printable Version | Email to a Friend
Llew Ann Phang
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 9): Democracy may equate to the rule by the majority but it also provides safeguards for the rights of minority groups, said Federal Constitutional expert and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) law lecturer Prof Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi.
Speaking at the discussion, “When Faith Meets Law”, during the Bar Council’s Festival of Rights, Shad shared his thoughts with the 200 lawyers, members of the public and activists who participated in today’s event to celebrate International Human Rights Day tomorrow (Monday).
He said that while it was difficult for different parties to agree on human rights issues, it remained crucial that these rights were respected.
“This includes respect for people’s right to autonomy. People have the right to be wrong and I think the law should not necessarily interfere with the wrongness unless it is harmful to people,” he said.
“And there are lesser punitive ways of correcting misconduct than putting people in jail,” he said.
Malaysian Hindu Sangam representative Datuk A. Vaithialingam highlighted the grievances faced by the Hindus, including the recent demolition of the Sri Maha Mariaman temple in Shah Alam.
“The present law for Hindus is good but its implementation is questionable,” he said.
“The Hindu Sangam has problems accommodating these requests [for the relocation of temples] as the community regards the temple sites as sacrosanct.
“In the Shah Alam case, there was no satisfactory notice for the act,” he said.
He added that the Hindus also faced problems with religious conversions.
Malaysian Christian Federation chairman Bishop Paul Tan said law and religion were intimately linked in efforts to uphold justice, despite each having its respective domain.
“Laws must not infringe on the rights of [people] who profess different faiths and in dispute, we should go back to the source – the Federal Constitution – through the right channels,” he said.
The half-day festival at the Bar Council building also featured poetry-reading, performances by artists and children’s activities.
Updated: 09:30PM Sun, 09 Dec 2007
Printable Version | Email to a Friend
Azly Rahman
Nov 21, 07 11:21am
DR AZLY RAHMAN is a transcultural philosopher rooted in the tradition of Critical and Chaos Theory. Born in Singapore, raised in Johor Baru, he was a child of Malaysia's experiment in humanistic education: Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Kuantan.
A member of The International Honor Society in Education, Azly holds a Doctorate in International Education Development from Columbia University, New York City, and Masters in four areas: International Affairs, Education, Communication, and Peace Studies.
He has taught in Malaysia and the United States in a multitude of settings and in diverse fields such as Politics/International Relations, Education, American Studies, Philosophy/ Humanities/Cultural Studies, and History/Foundations of Civilizations.
His interest lies in deconstructing 'hegemony and totalitarianism' and to explore the possibilities of creating one's personal republic that will challenge and transform the postmodern state.
He can be reached at: aar26@columbia.edu
In Malaysia, are the leaves turning yellow, too? Are we witnessing the total deconstruction of the race-based political ideology and a breakdown of the economic and social relations of production?
Is the nation being haunted by a ‘yellow wave’ of change demanded by those alienated by the developmentalist agenda that seems to have favoured a privileged segment of society?
At the speed of how things are turning yellow, it seems that we have to content with such signs and symbols of systemic change as a reality.
Around three decades ago, the ‘yellow culture’ carried a negative connotation especially in relation to the invasion of the ‘decadent aspects of the western culture’. Today, we see a deconstruction of this perception; a mental revolution that is taking the colours of the constitutional monarchy as a symbol of war against the colours of the present race-based regime.
It is a war over the definition of ‘democracy’. It includes the question: who has the monopoly over Malaysian democracy? Can we continue to think like dinosaurs in an age of dolphin-think?
One of the nagging questions for our nation as we enter this challenging period for civil rights is this: what is Malaysian democracy and what is its future?
Key spokespersons of the government think that we are doing fine with the system and that we need to only improve the process. 
Key spokespersons representing the wave of change and who challenge the ‘system’ think that the system is no longer working, as we face the realities of changing race-relations.
These are contending views of what ‘Malaysian democracy’ is - an interpretation of what the process of development of the people, by the people, for the people means. These are the views of the words ‘demos’ and ‘kratos’ of what a ‘government of the people’ should mean.
Democracy is rooted in economics. Our existence - including that of the king and the pauper, rebels and reformists, the Sultans and the hamba sahaya - as Marx would contend, is defined by the economic condition we are in or have created.
In Malaysia, the condition is defined by the pie baked by those who created the New Economic Policy that is now becoming a system of the New Economic Plutocracy.
Systemic corruption
I think the root of the showdown between the ‘yellow wave’ movement and the ‘red- faced’ power structure is economic in nature - true to the idea that we are all economic beings or of the specie homo economicus.
We still talk about an economic pie as if it is a constant. The faulty tool is popular with policy makers who are bankrupt of alternative perspectives of looking at systemic change. They continue to defend the indefensible in a time when change is imminent and coming at a very fast pace.
Even newer generation of race-based leaders are ill-equipped with the fundamental character of these radical changes. They use rock logic to meet the demand of a fluid society. Rock logic includes the use of force to prevent demands to these changes. 
We must now abandon the metaphor of the pie; one that is increasingly becoming synonymous with the race to meet the gains of material standards at the expense of the real issue - distributive and regulative justice. We ought to adopt a new form of justice that cuts across racial lines and one that looks at the poor in the eye and into their souls.
That form of justice will meet our nation's physical, emotional, and metaphysical needs. The present wave of dissatisfaction is not only an emanation of frustration over the issue of the judiciary and confusion over the line between the Legislature and the Executive; it is an emanation of a class-based issue, of which we are in denial.
Race is merely a sugar-coating of that nagging argument of this and that rights of this and that people; a coating that has become calloused with fossilised viruses that have corrupted the entire system since the British handed Malaya her independence on a silver platter. Race is a convenient basis for argument as it masks the issue of the ownership of power, knowledge and ideology.
Class-based system
The new issue facing us is class-based. We can longer use race and its sentimentality as a perspective to analyse what is gravely wrong with the developmental project we are pursuing.
We have subdivided ourselves into classes of the rich and poor from all the major races and the classes of those who owns the material and cultural capital. Our pattern of consumption, our daily grind, the kind of car we drive, the school our children go to, and how widely travelled we are, all reflect the class we are in.
But our politics is renewed every now and then to re-state the commitment to "correct the imbalances" using econometrics, without engaging in a sustained deep inquiry into the harder reality of living. 
We are engaging in another exercise in keris-wielding, to renew of political-economic spirit that wishes to see the creation of more and more multi-million perhaps multi-billionaire Malays, Chinese, Indians, and other pribumi, but fail to inquire into the impact of such continuing policies that will further divide us into classes. No longer do arguments on racial imbalances, to me, seem to be attractive. Classes create antagonism.
Revelations of the issues of the distribution of wealth as in the multitude of unresolved cases of high-level corruption reflect how much public interest is intertwined with personal greed.
It reflects how much those in power invoke the mantras of "economic progress for this or that race" yet create a system that benefits this and that person/s. This is the game of equity we play. Our voters are either ignorant of the nature of interlocking directorate-ship in politics, or are too comfortable playing this game of patronage politics.
We somewhat do not get the clearest picture of what 30 years of ‘growth by equity’ policy has taken shape; who benefits? how are the benefits distributed? and why have the benefits of growth not trickle down as they theoretically should?
Price of progress
The human cost of development has taken its toll on the nation - that of those marginalised and lost-in-the-numbers game of the economic policy we design. We are startled by the nature of by-products of developments such as:
• The growing poverty (urban and rural) among Malaysians of all races, and we will also see rising poverty among immigrants who are helping build our economy;
• An increasing percentage of drug addiction among the Malays - especially those marginalised by an uncaring, uncreative, and uninspiring educational system that measures people by numbers and by truncated notion of achievement alone - and I am sure of other races in general;
• An increasing number of persons living with HIV/Aids as a possible result of the nature of the economic developmental paradigm we have constructed and the nature of schooling system that promotes a few and marginalises and alienates many;
• A growing population of our youth disenfranchised in our school system as a result of the slow-paced growth of teaching-skills acquisition - skills that are needed to make the school a very happy place one wherein children do not get bored and translate their boredom into drug addiction or gangsterism;
• A growing breed of our elected representative that cannot articulate logical analysis, prognosis, diagnosis to issues of distributive and regulative justice, but instead choose to continue to verbally clobber each other based on race sentiments;
• A clear continuation of the political paradigm in which our politicians are engaged - one that needs lots of money to keep one's constituency happy and even worse, to keep one's political position stronger;
• A clear picture of how our society has developed - the dangerous growth of classes of the multi-cultural rich and the multi-cultural poor and the relegation of the multi-cultural middle class into a new class of ‘urban poor’ whose life is tied to an increasingly dangerous pattern of hyper-modern consumption;
• A picture of the breaking down of families as a result of the changing patterns of our economy after the implementation of the NEP - there’s too much drive in human beings to earn more to make the first million Ringgit so that they will be ‘on par with the other races’. This has resulted in a dangerous form of psychological breakdown as a consequence of the mental breakdown of modern life. The work ethic imposed on Malaysians by global companies, especially profit-driven ones from the advanced nations, have impacted the way we look at work, juggle family life, pursue leisure and pleasure, and the way we create or break families;
• A dangerous trend of a breakdown of race relations, reflected in the nature and style of arguments we engage in, be they in Parliament or in our public schools - this is a continuing pattern of mistrust of the other race based on the struggle to outwit and out-greed each other in our pursuit of material wealth;
• A continuation of the grooming of political-economic dynasties based on the struggle to protect family interests as well as to create more wealth so that money can further sustain power - the idealism and ethics of the early years of Independence are now in the dustbin of history; we now watch a saga of what looked like a war between the Jacobins and the Girondins during the French Revolution, only this revolution is played silently, not for the future well-being of peoples of all races, but for the purpose of empire-building.
There are possible inroads to the long-term economic solutions we can undertake in order to rekindle the spirit of restructuring society and eliminating poverty.
Our current pursuit is creating the opposite effect. It is still-based on the protection of the interest of each race, ideologically derived form the British legacy of divide and rule.
The current path is creating classes of the extremely wealthy few and a growing population of poor. It is creating classes of the extremely wealthy few and a growing population of poor.
We need to go back to studying human nature and what kind of society we wish to recreate. The wealthy class wants to be ensured of control of economic resources so that the system can be maintained and be fine-tuned.
To meet the challenges of a nation that is beginning to think like a dolphin, we have to reject the notion of using force and violence to promote Dinosaur Age thinking.
I suggest we abandon Dinosaur Age thinkers in our march for real-time progress; one in which dolphins surf the yellow waves - elegantly and intelligently.
Oct 08, 2007
telecomasia.net
(Associated Press via NewsEdge) The decision by Myanmar's military-led government to block access to the Internet from within the country violated its citizens' right to communicate, the head of the UN telecoms agency said.
Secure access to the Internet is a basic human freedom that "needs to be preserved, no matter what," said Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union.
"No government has the right to cut off its citizens from cyberspace," he told reporters in Geneva.
The Myanmar government shut down the country's Internet service providers last month as part of a crackdown on the biggest anti-regime rebellion in nearly two decades.
Dissidents and foreigners had used the Internet to get word of the government's brutal quashing of the protests to the outside world.
The government says 10 people were killed but oppositions groups say up to 200 people died when security forces attacked demonstrators who were largely led by Buddhist monks.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council that Myanmar's military rulers have to "take bold actions towards democratization and respect for human rights," which observers say are regularly abused in the Southeast Asian country.
"What is wrong in the conventional world is wrong in cyberspace as well," Toure said.
Bloggers from at least 45 countries joined forces last week for an online protest against Myanmar's efforts to keep citizens from sending photographs, videos and reports to the outside world.
© 2007 The Associated Press
© 2007 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28, 2007): Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said today Gerakan adviser Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik's assumption that the Malay and Chinese newspapers favour certain parties and are not fair to all the races was inaccurate.
On the contrary, in many issues, "the Chinese and Malay newspapers are fairer to Malaysia than certain English newspapers.
"To say that theSun newspaper is a champion of Bangsa Malaysia shows that Dr Lim Keng Yaik sympathises with the newspaper which has all this while fought more for (the DAP's) 'Malaysian Malaysia'. "In many issues, theSun newspaper has touched on matters that offend the Malays, including the special rights of the Malays, the New Economic Policy (NEP), the social contract among the races that was agreed upon before Merdeka and also the question of unity in the society," he told a news conference after attending an "Anak-anak Merdeka and Malaysia" gathering in Angkasapuri here today.
(Anak-anak Merdeka are those born on Aug 31, 1957, when the country achieved independence and the Anak Malaysia are those born when Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963.)
Lim, who is Energy, Water and Telecommunications Minister, was quoted as saying in Penang on Sunday (Aug 26) that theSun had used the Malaysian approach compared with the other newspapers, which according to him, were biased towards certain parties.
Zainuddin said the newspaper often blew up issues that contradict the federal constitution besides "publishing statements that oppose and question the government's action to suspend the Makal Osai newspaper recently".
He said the government acted to ensure that every religion was respected and it showed that the government cared about religious sensitivities.
"The Chinese newspapers, which are written and read by the Chinese, do not involve the feelings of the other races but the English language newspapers must be more careful because they are read by all the people," he said.
Zainuddin said theSun had also blown up the issue of the Merdeka Statement, the so-called wish list of the majority of the society which, among others, claimed that racial unity had been fraying at the edges.
"theSun has also published articles which leaked government secrets.They have also blown up the issue of the proposal to repeal the Common Law and published articles rejecting the proposal when it had not been decided whether to implement it," he said.
"I've kept the article. What we considered as discussed in the Cabinet was published by theSun.
"What is theSun up to? Are they fighting for a Malaysian Malaysia? Is this what (Datuk Seri Dr) Lim Keng Yaik says is a newspaper that fights for Bangsa Malaysia?" he asked.
"Bangsa Malaysia must be founded on the social contract, the country's principles of law, not outside this (aspect)," he said, reports Malaysia's national news agency Bernama.
Zainuddin said theSun should be viewed as a newspaper that supports the DAP because it fought for a "Malaysian Malaysia", which is the DAP's objective.
PETALING JAYA (Sept 3, 2007): Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin attacked theSun for a second time today after launching Bernama's all-news radio station Radio24.
Last week, Zainuddin, who was once editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia, had accused theSun of promoting the concept of Malaysian Malaysia, of being anti-Malay and sympathetic to the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
He made the accusation and took exception to Gerakan adviser and Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik describing theSun as the only newspaper that is truly non-racial in its news reporting.
Torday, besides repeating his allegations that theSun was pro-DAP, he also said the newspaper supports Parti Keadilan and gave too much space to the views of young people.
"He who is a supporter of Keadilan, those whose positions are against the government, youngsters, they will get a place in theSun," Zainuddin said.
"Are they [theSun] the voice of DAP or Keadilan? I don't know."
He also attacked internet bloggers and newspapers which treat bloggers as a source of information.
"I don't understand why some newspapers want to project some of these websites as being crucial [and claim that they are] read by six million people.
"Who are these six million? Foreigners? Are they read by people who determine the political power in this country?" he asked.
Yoges Palaniappan
Aug 27, 07 7:35pm
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has today for the first time said that Malaysia was an Islamic state and not a secular state.
Abdullah, in a parliamentary written reply, said that Malaysia was an Islamic state ruled by Islamic principles, and at the same time, was also a country that believed in Federal Constitution.
"Malaysia is an Islamic state, ruled based on Islam Hadhari which I have introduced," he stressed.
This is a clear departure from his stand made earlier this month that Malaysia was neither 'a secular nor a theocratic state' without saying the country was an Islamic state.
Abdullah said this in response to Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang who asked if the cabinet would reaffirm the Merdeka social contract and Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia was a secular state with Islam as the official religion.
However, there is a possibility that Abdullah had meant that Malaysia was an "Islamic country" as his statement is written in Bahasa Malaysia and "negara Islam" could mean either 'Islamic state' or 'Islamic country'.
The difference between the two terms is significant - 'Islamic country' merely states the fact that the majority of the people living in Malaysia are Muslims, while 'Islamic state' means that, among others, that all laws in the nation are based on Islamic principles.
In his written statement, Abdullah elaborated on his assertion.
"Islamic principles that I mean can be seen from Islam Hadhari that I have introduced. Under Islam Hadhari, the government stresses development based on knowledge and physical building, as well as the building of human capital," said the prime minister.
"Islam Hadhari is a guideline for the government to be fair and equitable to all communities in the country," he said, adding that however Islam Hadhari does not imply that Malaysia was a theocratic state.
Abdullah, who explained that the uniqueness of Islam Hadhari formula has been proven in its success, said: "I would like to refute allegations that my way of ruling the country is against the social contract signed before the Independence."
The prime minister also stressed that the government allowed voices of all communities to be heard. However, he said the government would not hesitate to take action against those who abuse the freedom.
"We have to take into account the country’s stability and ethnic diversity. Any statement that could threaten the stability will be punished."
Contradictory remarks
Abdullah also said that the debate on whether or not Malaysia was an Islamic state has been dragged for a long period by opposition parties for their own political interest.
"As the country’s 50th Independence celebration is just around the corner, we can see the opposition party questioning the status of our country and Merdeka social contract."
This latest remark by the premier is clearly contradictory to his previous stand that Malaysia was neither a secular nor a theocratic state.
His response then had come just after his deputy Najib Abdul Razak had upset minorities here by describing the country as Islamic.
Abdullah had said then that the country can be best described as a multiracial nation that practices parliamentary democracy with freedom of religion for all.
“We are not a secular state. We are also not a theocratic state like Iran and Pakistan ... but we are a government that is based on parliamentary democracy,” he was quoted as saying in Penang on Aug 5.
At that time, he did not specifically said that Malaysia was an Islamic state.
by B.Suresh Ram
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 27, 2007): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says the application of Islam Hadhari does not mean Malaysia is a theocratic country.
"The Islam Hadhari approach is a guide to the government in implementing its responsibility in a fair and just manner to all Malaysians.
"The Islam Hadhari approach also fulfills the need to preserve harmony in a multi ethnic and multi religious country," he added.
"The government which I am leading is a government based on the principles of Parliamentary democracy and is responsible to Parliament," he said.
He said at the same time the Cabinet which is made up of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindu, Christians and others approach in a consensus manner to discuss and produce national development policies.
Abdullah said the government always paid attention and implemented what is best to preserve unity and the people's interest including ensuring each Malaysian is free to practise their religion.
"All quarters receive aid from the government, whether they are Mosques, Surau's, Temple or Churches. The country's development has been implemented fairly, without any ethnic community or religious community being oppressed," he said.
Abdullah said this was what was meant by his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, when he said that Malaysia was an Islamic country.
He added that this was the sort of administration used by the Malaysian government for the last 50 years.
"This unique formula has been successfully tested and I don't see why a government formed such a way could not be continued into the future," Abdullah said.
"I also reject the argument that this is against the social contract which was decided together by our leaders in the past," he added.
He reminded all that the Federal Constitution was formulated and undertaken in an understanding and cooperative manner by the three largest communities during their struggle to achieve independence and only contains articles which take into account the the needs of various communities to live in a peaceful manner.
"For example, even though Islam is the official religion of the Federation, the adherents of other religions are free to practice their religion.
"The application of Islamic principles in the country's administration which I have stated earlier has in no way changed the Social Contract or the basis of our Constitution," Abdullah stressed.
He added the government allows the space to various quarters to voice their views.
"However it is absolutely wrong if certain quarters thought that such a space has no limitation," Abdullah said.
He said it was not the government's intention to bar the freedom to voice views but any act or words which could whip up emotions or anger among the various communities in the country would have exceeded the freedom allowed.
"We must be aware that there is too much at stake, economic, political and social stability that could be destroyed if religious or ethnic sensitivity is not taken into account," Abdullah said, adding that was the reason why the government would not hesitate to take legal action when certain quarters who abused freedom of speech.
In a written reply to Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur), Abdullah reiterated that Malaysia is neither a secular nor a theocratic country.
"Malaysia is an Islamic country which is administered based on the principles of Islam and at the same time holds strong to the principles of Parliamentary democracy guided by the highest law of the land - The Federal Constitution," said Abdullah.
Aug 16, 07 4:42pm
The cabinet has not accepted 24-year-old Wee Men Chee’s apology over his Negarakuku rap song, which was described as an insult to the nation.
In announcing this, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz said the cabinet was in no “position to forgive him” and that the Attorney-General’s Chambers will decide whether to prosecute Wee. 
“To not prosecute him is not ‘on’ at all because he has committed an offence against the nation and no one, not the cabinet or political parties, are in the position to forgive him,” he was quoted by the Star today.
“If he had committed an offence, which I think was an offence, then we must allow the attorney-general to investigate and decide whether to take him to court,” he added.
Nearly half a million people have viewed a six-minute rap music video by Wee, a 24-year-old Malaysian student at Taiwan's Ming Chuan University.
Wee, who also goes by Namewee, posted a music video where he raps on national issues. The rap was done in Mandarin and Hokkien
The video post, on Youtube.com, received thousands of comments, many of which described Wee’s video as insulting Islam or inciting racial hatred.
On whether Wee would be called home to answer charges against him, Nazri said the AG would have to investigate and if he comes to the decision to prosecute him, then when Wee returns, he would have to face the charges.
Cannot create precedent
Wee could be charged under the Sedition Act because he had insulted the symbol of the nation, he said. 
“We cannot be like the West where you can have the underwear with the design of the Union Jack. In Britain, you can insult the Queen or the flag, I don’t care, but in this country we have laws and we cannot create a precedent where you commit an offence, apologise and get away with it,” Nazri was quoted as saying by the Star.
He added that Wee was not a boy but a 24-year-old man and he should be held responsible for the act.
“It is not an issue of ethnicity or being racial but against national interest,” he said.
“Malaysia Negaraku ku. 'Ku ku' can also mean ‘cuckoo’ so it was insulting. I don’t think this was done out of ignorance. He was a university student and he meant to insult the national song,” he added.
In the Hokkien dialect, ‘ku ku’ could also translate to penis, longevity or cheap.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Rais Yatim agreed that Wee’s case should be handed to the AG’s office to determine if the song was seditious.
“As an ordinary person, if even as a cabinet member, we cannot decide whether the matter was wrong under the law. We have the public prosecutors to decide whether legal action would be taken based on their investigations,” Rais was quoted as saying by Bernama today.
KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA will continue to assist student Wee Meng Chee who has come under fire for his Negaraku rap video clip.
“We feel that young people make mistakes, more so when they are overseas and may not know about the sensitivities at home,” said MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek yesterday.
He said Wee should be given a chance, adding that Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, as the de-facto Law Minister, was merely doing his job, in reference to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department criticism of Wee’s Mandarin rap number which used the Negaraku as background.
Wee is studying mass communications at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. On Tuesday, Dr Chua spoke to him for 30 minutes on the phone, telling him where he had gone wrong.
The 24-year-old student has also apologised for the parody but Nazri said the Cabinet was not in the position to forgive him and that “the law would have to take its course.”
Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said one positive outcome from this issue was that the protests came not just from the Malays but from the Chinese and Indians as well.
He said this augured well for the spirit of patriotism and nationalism among Malaysians.
“Although it is a negative matter raised at a time when we are celebrating our 50th year of independence, I view it as a positive development because the non-Malays are equally angry over the issue,” he said.
In Ipoh, state executive councillor Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir called for an end to debate on the matter and individuals to stop using the issue to gain political mileage.
“This is the act of a youth who has admitted his mistake and has openly apologised.
“We, as caring Malaysians, should accept his apology and not punish him forever,” said Dr Zambry who is state Education, Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman.
Dr Zambry noted that Wee’s video was a display of his innovation and creativity.
James Wong Wing On
Aug 2, 07 11:17am
Two world-renowned Cambridge historians specialising in the British Empire in Asia reaffirm the fact that Malaysia’s communist veteran Chin Peng was born in Sitiawan, Perak. 
In the recently released 673-page Forgotten Wars – The End of Britain’s Asian Empire (London, Penguin/Allen Lane), Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper record that “Chin Peng was born as Ong Boon Hua, in Sitiawan in Perak.” (p.35)
Bayly is Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History, University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. His books include Imperial Meridian, Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire and The Birth of the Modern World, 1780 -1914.
Harper is a senior lecturer in History at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He is the author of The End of Empire and the Making of Modern Malaya. Both Bayly and Harper jointly wrote the widely and highly acclaimed Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941-45.
The Malayan/Malaysian identity of Chin Peng suddenly became a matter of public attention following a decision made by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday, ordering him to produce his birth or citizenship papers within 14 days for his homecoming case proper to proceed further.
Chin Peng, 82, is suing the government of Malaysia and three other plaintiffs for breaching the 1989 Peace Accords signed in Haadyai with the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) by not allowing him to return and settle in Malaysia. Besides Chin Peng, two other signatories for the party are Abdullah CD and the late Rashid Maidin.
Seized by the authorities 
However, according to Chin Peng’s lawyer Darshan Singh, Chin Peng’s birth or citizenship papers had long been seized by the authorities at the onset of the ‘Emergency’ in June 1948.
Chin Peng’s legal team, which comprises prominent human rights and constitutional lawyers and former Bar Council president Raja Aziz Addruse, argued that there is no such requirement stipulated in the 1989 Peace Accords.
Darshan also reasoned that in any event, the court should allow testimonies of Chin Peng's local relatives and acquaintances to serve the purpose.
Malaysiakini understands that Chin Peng’s legal team has prepared such testimonies in the form of sworn affidavits and that an appeal against the court decision would be filed as a matter of urgency.
In his popular memoirs Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History (Singapore, Media Masters, 2003), Chin Peng reveals that he was born on Oct 21, 1924, " in an upstairs backroom of No 36, Jalan Kampong Koh, a two-storey shophouse in a long row of similar small business establishments the likes of which still dominate the southern Perak township of Sitiawan, some 50 miles southwest of Ipoh " (p.31), attended the Nan Hwa school in Sitiawan (p.33) and " the graves of my grandfather, parents and my brothers " are still located in a Chinese cemetery, " halfway between Sitiawan and Lumut." (p.509)
A Singapore-based estimate has it that his memoirs has sold some 50,000 copies (including the Chinese-language edition) in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Britain, Australia, China and other countries.
Chin Peng also visited Britain in 1998, Australia in 1999 as well as Singapore in 2004 and 2006. In 1998, he was interviewed by BBC and also Sin Chew Jit Poh.
No objection from general readers or scholars against his basic biodata, including the place of his birth, has been reported or publicly heard anywhere in the world so far.
