The writing was already on the wall so long ago – A sad day for Malaysia

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
by Raja Petra Kamarudin

This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.

The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.

When the Anti-Corruption Agency, now called the MACC, kidnapped the family of a police inspector, Malaysia Today raised the alarm. They had kidnapped the wife and child of a police inspector who had investigated a Chinese underworld boss on the instructions of a higher-up with the rank of ASP.

The inspector was just doing what his boss had ordered him to do, and that was to open a file and launch an investigation into the activities of the Chinese prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling syndicate. And this resulted in the detention of three syndicate bosses.

What the MACC wanted the police inspector to do was quite simple. They wanted him to change his report so that the three underworld bosses can be freed from detention.

And he would have to do that if he wants to secure the release of his family.

The police inspector refused to do that. Instead, he made a police report. And so did his wife. But nothing was done about the matter. The MACC officers were not arrested and dragged to court on kidnapping charges.

The MACC then leaked information to the media that they are investigating a very senior police officer, the Director of the CCD, for the crime of not declaring RM27 million worth of assets. The fact that MACC investigations come under the Official Secrets Act was not a hindrance. After all, the OSA is only used against opposition supporters and not against those who serve those who walk in the corridors of power.

Nevertheless, the Director of the CCD was finally not charged for not declaring RM27 million in assets. He was charged for using police property for his personal reasons, something that all government officers, ministers and politicians do blatantly every day of the week. But his real crime is that he detained several Chinese underworld bosses who control the prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling business all over Malaysia.

Then they arrested the lawyer who acted for the CCD Director. The MACC officers came to his office on the eve of Hari Raya and handcuffed him after roughing him up like one would do to an armed bank robber. To ensure that the lawyer suffered the greatest embarrassment this Hollywood-style arrest was done in full view of the entire office.

Malaysia Today wrote about all this. Malaysia Today not only wrote about all this but Malaysia Today repeated the stories again and again to make sure no one would say they somehow missed the story. But still nothing was done. No one denied the story. More importantly, no one did anything about what Malaysia Today revealed.

The MACC has been a tool of those who walk in the corridors of power for a long, long time. Officially, Barisan Nasional has 14 component members with Umno as the lead partner. Unofficially, Barisan Nasional has seventeen component members. The Election Commission is the fifteenth component member of Barisan Nasional, the Malaysian police the sixteenth, and the MACC the seventeenth. They all serve the interests of Umno and the Prime Minister.

The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.

“Where is the smoking gun?” they ask. “Show me the body!” they demand. No gun, no body, then no crime has been committed.

Well, today, there is a body. It is the body of a most unfortunate Chinese opposition member who was arrested and tortured by the MACC officers. Yes, he was tortured. And he was tortured because the MACC wanted him to talk.

But he could not talk. He could not talk because there was nothing to talk about. The MACC wanted him to finger his comrades in the opposition. They wanted him to implicate his friends in the opposition for various crimes that the MACC alleges had been committed by those in the opposition.

He tried to explain that he is not being stubborn. He tried to explain that no crime had been committed. He tried to explain that he could not possibly implicate his comrades in the opposition for various crimes if these crimes are merely a figment of the MACC’s imagination.

So they continued to torture him. And he could no longer stand the torture. After all, he is not the macho type of man. He is but a gentle man who only wanted to get married this weekend. That was all that he wanted.

They threatened to kill him if he refuses to talk. With tears running down his cheeks he begged for mercy and pleaded with them not to harm him. They threatened to throw him off the top floor if he refuses to talk. Sobbing like a baby he went down on his knees and begged for his life.

They dragged him across the room and opened the window. Then something went terribly wrong. It was supposed to be just a threat. They just wanted to put fear in him. They did not really want to throw him off the top floor. They just wanted him to see what the ground floor looks like from the top floor.

The unfortunate young man panicked. He went ballistic when he saw the distance he would have to travel before hitting the ground floor. He struggled. They could not hold onto him. Gravity took over and the life of this young man was prematurely snuffed out.

The MACC then announced that they had released him the night before. They failed to announce that they had not released him from custody but released him from this world. Then they suddenly found his body the day after. He jumped. He committed suicide. He took his own life. He was never tortured. He was not dragged to the window with the threat that they would teach him how to fly.

This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.

And now one young man has really died. But no one will be punished. No one will be punished because they will say the young man took his own life. Why he took his own life no one knows. He was never tortured. He was never threatened with death. He was not made to look how far down the ground floor is. He was not accidentally dropped when he panicked and struggled and they could not get a good grip on him.

That is what they will be telling you and me later today.

Provokasi BN

Apa yang dipaparkan di TV3 penyokng UMNO cedera dalam PRK Manik Urai. Bagaimana dengan provokasi Barisan Nasional? Kemenangan 65 undi PAS adalah kemenangan yang perlu bertembung dengan seluruh jentera kerajaan BN termasuk polis, SPR dan sebagainya. Menang tetap menang. Sebagai catatan rekod BN masih ketinggalan 6-0 dalam siri PRK di Semenanjung Malaysia!

The next election is there for Pakatan to lose.

by Hussein Hamid

I could write about what Anwar (as in Ibrahim) and what he represents for the many Malaysians who yearns for a Malaysia that is free from corruption, nepotism and all the promises that a ‘Man who would be King’ can promise before his ascent to the throne..but I will not.

I can write about Mahathir and what he has done for our country in the years he has been in power – that he has made Malaysia into a conglomerate that made strange bedfellows of business and politics – where his brand of ‘take no prisioners’ reign tolerated no opposition to his rule – where UMNO and himself was the ruler par excellance…but I will not.

I can write about Pak Lah who came in with a bang and left without even a whimper…but I will not.

I can write about Najib, Rosmah, Altantuya, leaping frogs and things that go bump in the night – but I will not.

I am no card carrying member of the “I am a Melayu/Bumiputra” brigade but I am a Melayu that has benefited greatly from the largeness of UMNO in the years that it has effectively dominated the politics of our country.

The ills that are now so self evident in our country, in the systems that prevails in the country, in the Police, in the failure of so many of our leaders to lead by examples, in the virtual breakdown of our own self belief that we as Malaysians can get a fair deal from our elected leaders is a manifestations of the many years that we have allowed UMNO to appoint leaders who have put self preservation before country. UMNO is the Political Party that the Malays had to have so that in time they will understand that the Politics of greed and avarice will not only bring a country to its knees but also mean the Malays has lost it’s place in a country that they once call their own. That we, as a race, have to pay so heavy a price for the follies of our elected leaders is now a reality.

But the future has overtaken us. The Malays are no longer alone in proclaiming that Malaysia is their country. They are others who have earned that right because over the years they choose to make Malaysia their home. Too many Malays now understand that the division between “them” and “us’ no longer exists. We are one. Together we want change and it will come – but the process of growing up is one of trial and errors, making informed choices of what is the right thing to do for our country and most critical, the tolerance and acceptance and celebration of one another as being different and yet united in wanting what is good for our country and for us.

We have begun the journey. Pak Lah started us on that journey when he unwittingly opened the way towards openness and decency in the way things were done. Anwar was release, the media could and did say things they could not say before, his Ministers, MB’s and UMNO itself were unshackled and were given enough rope to act as they think fit (and in the process, as we had hoped, hanged themselves).

The last General Election is in large parts, a result of these changes that was only possible when Pak Lah took his place in our history books – albeit at the expense of UMNO, Barisan and some say, the Malays. But for most Malays it is a small price to pay for our entry into a real partnership with the others in Malaysia as we enter into an era of accountability and responsibility in the Governance of our Country that we now expect from those whom we elect as leaders – be it from Barisan or Pakatan Rakyat.

Pakatan Rakyat will need to negotiate a steep learning curve as it come to terms with what it can and what it cannot do when in power. There will be opportunities to enrich themselves beyond what mere mortals can only dream of and some amongst them will succumb to the temptations. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely – again the heady emotions of wielding power at State level will make anyone salivate at the thoughts of wielding power at the Federal Level – what will they do to make that a reality?

Do what UMNO has done? God forbids !! Common sense tells us that ‘good intentions’ alone will not hold Pakatan Rakyat together. What will? The spoils of wars? Much too soon the unraveling of Pakatan Rakyat has started – what we see and hear in public must surely be the tip of the iceberg. The union is too fragile and without cohesion to survive effectively unless there is unity in purpose. I hope I am wrong but this I know. The next election is there for Pakatan to lose.

Government scraps teaching of maths and science in English

By Adib Zalkapli

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 — The government today decided to end the policy of teaching mathematics and science in English or PPSMI in both primary and secondary schools effective from 2012.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in an announcement today, said the two subjects will be taught in Bahasa Melayu in national schools and Tamil and Chinese for vernacular schools.

The Education Minister added that the changes would not affect Form Six and matriculation programmes.

“The government made the decision after studying closely research on PPSMI that shows that PPSMI could not be implemented as expected,” Muhyiddin told a special press conference here.

He said the decision was fair and made carefully after witnessing the implementation in the first six years after its introduction.

He also denied that the decision to scrap the policy was politically motivated.

“This decision is not political, we made the decision not for political mileage. What is Manek Urai compared to the future of our children,” said Muhyiddin.

He however denied that the PPSMI policy had failed.

“I wouldn’t say it was a complete failure, but it did not achieve what it was supposed to achieve,” he said.

Introduced in 2003, the policy has been heavily criticised by Chinese educationists and Malay-language activists, but a recent survey by the independent Merdeka Center showed that 58 per cent of 1,060 voters interviewed supported the policy.

Muhyiddin had admitted in Parliament last month that students had not shown significant improvement in the two subjects over the past six years.

But he said today the intention of the policy, which is to improve English language proficiency among Malaysian students, will continue to be upheld.

The measures to be introduced include recruiting some 14,000 new English language teachers. Currently there are more than 30,000 English teachers nationwide.

Muhyiddin also said the lesson duration for English language would also be doubled for lower primary students to 120 minutes a week, while for upper primary it would be increased from 90 minutes to 120 minutes a week.

For secondary students, the duration will be increased from 200 minutes to 280 minutes a week

Read comments on the issue at Malaysian Insider

PERPADUAN MELAYU

Oleh : Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz.
Mantan ADUN Pulau Manis, Pekan.(2004-2008)

Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena apabila ketua Pemuda Kelantan buat lapuran polis keatas TG Nik Aziz. Inilah petanda orang UMNO tidak faham reality politik hari ini. Kita berlagak seolah olah kita orang UMNO adalah anugerah Tuhan ke Negara ini. Zaman itu sudah berlalu.

Dengan melakukan tindakan melapurkan kepada polis, tindakan ini akan bertambah mengalienasikan UMNO. Kalau orang tak suka kita, kita tak boleh paksa. Kalau orang tak setuju dengan idea kerajaan perpaduan, kita tidak boleh paksa. Orang UMNO pun bukan semua setuju dengan konsep perpaduan jika itu di jadikan alasan untuk melanjutkan hayat politik kaki haprak dalam UMNO.

Jika berlaku perpaduan akibat dari political expediency, apa yang kita ingat akan berlaku? Yang akan berlaku ialah UMNO tidak perlu melakukan perubahan dalaman. Apabila perubahan tidak berlaku apa jadi? Majority ketua bahagian yang sudah berkarat yang lebih berminat mengejar dan menjaga kepentingan peribadi akan terus mengekalkan kuasa. Apabila ini terjadi, UMNO akan terus membuta tulikan diri kepada seruan untuk melakukan perubahan radikal.

Untuk mengembalikan kredibiliti UMNO, presiden UMNO mesti meneruskan agenda melakukan perubahan. Penghapusan system quota yang telah membawa kesan melindung kepimpinan yang mahu mengekalkan kuasa, akan membuka UMNO kepada iklim yang lebih demokratik. Pemilihan secara lansung oleh 60 ribu perwakilan bahagian akan memustahilkan permainan politik wang. Lebih penting, ianya akan meliberalisasikan kekangan dalam UMNO dan akan memunculkan bakat pimpinan. Kemunculan bakat pimpinan di perlukan untuk memerdekakan UMNO dari di tempa oleh kepimpinan yang bersandarkan hubungan jenetik, kedudukan dan jawatan. UMNO kena re-invent diri nya sendiri.

Reality politik yang UMNO tidak faham ialah hari ini, UMNO beroperasi dalam persekitaran rakyat bebas membuat pilihan( free to choose).

Pertama, ada banyak parti yang orang Melayu boleh pilih. Mereka boleh pilih PAS jika mereka mahu. Mereka juga boleh pilih PKR kalau mereka mahu. Sebab PKR pun ramai orang Melayu. Bila ada lebih dari satu parti yang boleh membentuk kerajaan, itu sudah dikira one too many.

Kebebasan membuat pilihan bertambah kerana kesedaran politik orang Melayu meningkat. Mereka sudah menikmati sedikit sebanyak kemewahan ekonomi. Kesedaran mereka di perkukuhkan dengan pendidikan yang universal. Anak anak mereka yang belajar di kolej dan university kembali ke kampong dan memberi nasihat kepada ibu bapa mereka. Mobiliti social yang menambah peluang untuk bergaul dan berinteraksi memainkan peranan sebagai penyalur maklumat dan cerita cerita baru dan bukan semua nya kredit kepada UMNO.

Tapi UMNO berkelakuan seperti seorang Political Neanderthal. Mereka bersikap seolah UMNO masih parti zaman sebelum mencapai kemerdekaan. Sebelum kita merdeka, kita hanya berdepan dengan penjajahan Inggeris. Semua tenaga dan emosi orang Melayu tertumpu kepada usaha mendapatkan kemerdekaan. Dalam suasana demikian, UMNO ujud dan berjaya mendapatkan monopoli keatas menguasai minda dan emosi orang Melayu. Orang Melayu melihat UMNO sebagai satu satu nya parti yang mampu mengembeling ketaatan orang Melayu. Bila kita ada monopoli, kita boleh caj apa harga yang kita suka. Kita boleh ek sikit.

Tapi dalam pasaran yang ada saingan, kalau kita berlagak macam kita ini masih ada monopoli, kita akan kecundang. Pimpinan UMNO tidak faham reality politik hari ini.

Dalam suasana orang Melayu ada pilihan dan pasaran ada saingan, cara untuk mengatasi lawan kita ialah memenangi fikiran dan hati rakyat dengan penghujjahan dan berbudi yang ikhlas. Bila ketua Pemuda UMNO Kelantan buat lapuran polis, apa yang dia buktikan ialah UMNO suka memaksa orang lain supaya ikut cakap dia. Ini cara orang yang rasa dia control semua hal. Ini cara orang yang ingat dia ada monopoli keatas fikiran dan hati rakyat. Dan orang boleh membaca hipokrasi kita apabila sekoyong koyong orang datang duduk kampong kita , menoreh getah bersama kita, membaiki atap bocor, minum kopi di warung dengan kita.

Kenapa PAS bersetuju kepada kerajaan Perpaduan?

Jawapan nya, ialah PAS berminat kepada perpaduan ORANG MELAYU. PAS tidak berminat kpeada pengekalan pimpinan yang korap dan kepimpinan yang lesu membela orang Melayu. Saya rasa PAS membaca peluang untuk menyatukan bangsa Melayu dan melihat ini di mungkinkan jika berlaku ‘perpaduan’ antara PAS dan UMNO. Namun pembacaan pertama mungkin tidak mendedahkan semua nya. Penyudah nya, PAS terbaca agenda yang sebenar. Iaitu, jika perpaduan yang terhasil oleh political expediencies, agenda yang tercapai ialah pengekalan kuasa oleh golongan yang mahu mengekalkan kuasa at all costs.

Perpaduan Melayu tidak bersyaratkan kepada perpaduan antara PAS dan UMNO. Saya minta kita fikir perkara ini dengan mendalam. Meletakkan masa depan kita secara mutlak kepada parti politik, bererti kita memperakui bahawa parti politik adalah sesuatu yang kita mesti perhambakan diri kepada nya. Ini bertentangan sangat dengan piagam kermerdekaan jiwa kita sebagai manusia.

Parti politik seperti juga sebuah keraaan adalah suatu wadah atau instrument kita mencapai sesuatu matlamat. Kita jangan taksub sangat dengan parti politik sehingga mahu mengangap ianya sebagai suatu yang mesti di dewakan. Kita mesti tanya diri kita: apakah kita, rakyat biasa, boleh lakukan melalui parti untuk kita? Cogan kata kita sekarang bukan lagi UMNO itu Melayu dan Melayu itu UMNO.

Seperti yang di katakana oleh Milton Friedman dalam konteks hubungan manusia dengan kerajaan atau negara, maka hubungan kita dengan UMNO boleh di lihat dengan begini. Ada dua bahagian dalam slogan UMNO itu Melayu dan Melayu itu UMNO.

Kedua dua bahagian slogan ini, bertentangan dengan piagam insane yang merdeka. Bahagian pertama, UMNO itu Melayu membawa erti bahawa UMNO adalah sesuatu yang kita dewa dan puja dan orang Melayu adalah jagaan UMNO. Bahagian kedua- Melayu itu UMNO membawa erti bahawa kita hanya berfungsi untuk menghamba abdikan diri.

BENARKAH INI ROSMAH?

Macam cerita si Tanggang pulak!

BAHAGIAN 3

BAHAGIAN 1

BAHAGIAN 2

BIRO ADUAN KOMUNITI JUGA PERLU BANTUAN KERAJAAN UNTUK BANTU RAKYAT

‘Tentunya melalui Pusat Aduan ini juga, akan bertindak sepuluh kali ganda daripada kecekapan pegawai kerajaan menuntut jawapan segera yang mana kalau pegawai tidak boleh selesai, ketua pengarah akan dicari walaupun di padang golf untuk mendapat jawapan. Kalau tidak jumpa di padang golf, menteri akan dicari untuk memberikan jawapan. Begitulah gambaran yang rakyat harapkan’

Oleh ABANG MAHMOR

UNTUK mencambahkan ekonomi lantas meningkatkan pertumbuhannya sepantas mungkin bukan semata-mata dengan melambakkan projek mega yang menelan belanja berbilion, beratus juta atau berpuluh juta ringgit. Tetapi mengalakan, menyemai, membaja dan membela peniaga kecil dan sederhana adalah juga antara satu cara yang cukup berkesan dan terimbang.

Mungkin itulah maksud Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Khairy Jamaluddin ketika meminta kerajaan menambah pelaburannya dalam Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usahawan Niaga (Tekun) bagi merangsang ekonomi di akar umbi serta mempermudahkan lagi proses pemberian pinjaman kepada setiap pemohon yang benar-benar mahu menjalankan perniagaan atau memperbesarkan perniagaan sedia ada.

Adalah mengecewakan apabila beliau mendedahkan pegawai-pegawai Tekun memberi jawapan kepada pemohon bahawa Tekun tidak mempunyai dana secukupnya atau peruntukan telah tiada. Kalau Tekun mahu menunggu wang pembayaran dari peminjam awal, tentunya Tekun tidak lagi berfungsi membantu pertumbuhan peniaga baru kerana Tekun akan menjadi badan menunggu bayaran hutang buat beberapa lama sahaja.

Khairy meminta kerajaan menimbangkan secara serius kerana katanya, sebelum ini, dana untuk Tekun daripada RM250 juta telah diturunkan secara mendadak kepada RM50 juta. Untuk mendapatkan bayaran balik pula, dilihat perancangan procedurnya kemungkinan besar mempunyai kelemahan yang menjadi penyebab peminjam sukar membayar balik.

Dalam pada itu, kerajaan telah menyuntik dana sebanyak RM550 juta kepada Mara untuk program-program pembangunan orang Melayu dan bumiputera. Peranan antara Mara dengan Tekun mungkin tidak serupa tetapi biarlah rakyat memilih agensi mana yang lebih sesuai dengan apa yang dimohon asalkan pinjaman mereka tidak bertindih yang akan menyukarkan lagi mendapatkan bayaran semula.

Semua ini mudah dizaman serba canggih untuk mengetahui status pemohon peminjam Tekun dengan segera. Yang pentingnya sekarang ialah semuanya dilakukan dengan cepat. Itulah yang rakyat mahu. Kalau tidak layak langsung, berikan sebab cepat.

Namun begitu, beliau mencadangkan juga supaya karenah birokrasi memproses pinjaman mestilah juga diringkaskan bagi mengelak peminjam menunggu terlalu lama untuk memulakan atau meneruskan rancangan niaga mereka atau mengalih kepada pinjaman lebih cekap dan pantas seperti ah long sementara menunggu pinjaman.

Antara lain menurut Khairy, ketika ini adalah waktu kritikal untuk memulihkan ekonomi. Sebab mahu tunggu pembayaran semula pinjaman untuk diberi kepada peminjam lain sebagai pusingan, masalah ini tidak akan selesai dan ekonomi di peringkat akar umbi akan menajdi kaku.

Sebelum ini, Biro Aduan Komuniti Pemuda Umno hanya beroperasi di ibu pejabat Pemuda Umno Malaysia di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) sahaja, tetapi kali ini, ia dibawa ke luar supaya lebih senang untuk sesiapa sahaja datang meminta bantuan dan menyatakan aduan.

Pusat itu akan menjadi ‘premis harapan’ kepada semua lapisan masyarakat tanpa mengira kaum, agama dan fahaman politik dan ia dilihat sejajar dengan konsep 1Malaysia yang diilhamkan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak iaitu Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan bagi merintis jalan berdepan dengan rakyat secara langsung yang mana daripada pusat inilah nanti rakyat juga boleh membuat ukuran terhadap kecekapan agensi-agensi kerajaan menjalankan tugas.

Daripada pusat ini juga, kalau kerajaan tidak memberikan perhatian serius mengutip cadangan yang disarankan bagi tujuan menyelesaikan masalah orang ramai, pusat ini juga nanti akan dilihat tidak memberikan makna kepada slogan perdana menteri yang Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan sebagai usaha memulihkan keyakinan rakyat kepada kerajaan.

Daripada Pemuda UMNO, melalui Biro Aduan Komunitinya mengwujudkan pusat seperti ini adalah satu-satunya usaha yang akan membekalkan maklumat serampang dua mata di mana kerajaan akan dimaklumkan secara langsung tentang masalah rakyat dan ia sangat-sangat bergantung kepada pegawai dan kakitangan menunjukkan prestasi mereka menyelesaikannya sebaik mungkin.

Khairy tentunya serius dalam perkara ini dan juga harus bersedia menerima bedilan dari kementerian mahupun jabatan kerajaan yang selama ini tidak dapat berfungsi dengan baik walaupun dalam urusan semudah menjawab telefon dan menghubungkan rakyat dengan pegawai dan menjawab surat yang mengunjungi jabatan dengan secepat mungkin.

Ia memerlukan rakyat menapak memanjat bangunan mencari pegawai bertanggungjawab dari tingkat ke tingkat seperti passing bola apabila berurusan dengan kerajaan. Malah tempat letak kenderaan pun tidak pernah ada unsur mesra rakyat di mana-mana jabatan kerajaan. Ini menjadikan masalah besar selama ini yang sangat-sangat diharapkan Pusat Aduan Komuniti dapat berfungsi menembusi kelemahan yang selama ini memberi tekanan kepada rakyat yang berurusan dengan jabatan kerajaan.

Tentunya melalui Pusat Aduan ini juga, akan bertindak sepuluh kali ganda daripada kecekapan pegawai kerajaan menuntut jawapan segera yang mana kalau pegawai tidak boleh selesai, ketua pengarah akan dicari walaupun di padang golf untuk mendapat jawapan. Kalau tidak jumpa di padang golf, menteri akan dicari untuk memberikan jawapan. Begitulah gambaran yang rakyat harapkan.

Begitu juga Khairy atau mana-mana pegawai dari pusat aduan komuniti yang menemui masalah pula untuk mendapatkan penyelesaian dari mana-mana jabatan atau kementerian, hendaknya tidak berasa malu alah atau kekok mendedahkan kelemahan yang ditemui. Tanpa tindakan sedemikian, sampai bila pun pegawai dan kaki tangan kerajaan tidak akan berubah dari sikap ambil mudah yang sudah menjadi tabiat buruk di mana-mana.

Persoalan bahasa Inggeris tidak habis-habis

Persoalan bahasa Inggeris tidak habis-habis – Nik Safiah Karim link 2 link lain

JUN 14 – Rakyat Malaysia tidak putus-putus dibebankan dengan persoalan berkaitan bahasa Inggeris. Kita sentiasa diingatkan mengenai kepentingan bahasa Inggeris, penguasaan bahasa Inggeris yang lemah di kalangan pelajar kita, betapa perlunya warga negara Malaysia menguasai bahasa Inggeris dengan baik, dan mengenai sukarnya mendapat pekerjaan jika penguasaan bahasa Inggeris kita lemah.

Berbulan-bulan lalu kita ribut dengan persoalan berkaitan dasar Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI). Kita mendengar berita mengenai perbincangan meja bulat demi meja bulat. Namun, kerajaan masih belum mahu membuat keputusan di sebalik suara-suara lantang yang mengatakan lebih banyak kesan buruk yang timbul daripada dasar ini daripada kesan baik.

Satu kesan buruk ialah pelajar daripada golongan berpendapatan rendah dan luar bandar menjadi mangsa dasar ini. Mereka tidak dapat belajar Matematik dan Sains dengan baik melalui bahasa Inggeris oleh sebab penguasaan bahasa Inggeris mereka amat lemah. Persekitaran keluarga dan suasana hidup juga tidak membantu, tidak seperti keluarga di bandar yang bukan saja bercakap di rumah dalam bahasa Inggeris, tetapi yang mempunyai kemudahan seperti televisyen, komputer dan internet untuk membantu anak mereka menguasai bahasa Inggeris dengan baik.

Kita juga tahu bahawa dasar ini dilaksanakan dengan amat tergesa-gesa sehingga guru, yang terdidik dan terlatih dalam bahasa Melayu, tidak dapat mengajar mata pelajaran Sains dan Matematik dengan berkesan. Ini menjadikan pembelajaran kedua-dua mata pelajaran ini, yang sememangnya sukar menjadi lebih sukar. Apatah lagi di kalangan pelajar luar bandar dan daripada golongan keluarga yang berpendapatan rendah.

Satu kesimpulan yang amat ketara ialah bahawa dasar PPSMI ini tidak berlaku adil terhadap sebahagian besar rakyat negara ini. Dari sudut ini sudah jelas tindakan dan keputusan yang patut diambil pihak kerajaan berkaitan dasar PPSMI.

Kini kita sekali lagi dikejutkan dengan persoalan di sekitar bahasa Inggeris. Kita diminta Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yang juga Menteri Pelajaran, untuk menimbang kemungkinan menjadikan bahasa Inggeris wajib lulus untuk Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). SPM ini amat penting bagi pelajar kita kerana sijil ini adalah kunci yang pertama membuka peluang lain seperti untuk melanjutkan pelajaran, menjalani kursus kemahiran atau mencari pekerjaan. Secara langsung kita mengaitkan masa depan anak kita dengan penguasaan bahasa Inggeris, bahasa bekas penjajah kita dan bahasa yang tidak bertaraf bahasa kebangsaan atau bahasa rasmi negara.

Benar bahawa ini cadangan saja, dan pihak kerajaan meminta semua pihak memberi pandangan. Kita mengalu-alukan sikap terbuka dan bertimbang rasa kerajaan dan saya berharap semua rakyat akan tampil memberi pandangan yang wajar dan menguntungkan bangsa dan negara, bukan untuk membodek semata-mata. Tetapi pengalaman membuktikan bahawa buah fikiran yang dilemparkan sebagai cadangan selalunya menjadi kenyataan. Demikian jugalah dengan cadangan untuk menjadikan bahasa Inggeris mata pelajaran yang amat penting dalam konteks SPM ini.

Kebimbangan saya ialah kalau-kalau lemparan buah fikiran ini semata-mata untuk mengaburi mata rakyat, yang selepas penat berbincang akan disogokkan dengan keputusan yang mengatakan bahawa lebih ramai yang menyokong cadangan ini, pada hal tidak dilakukan apa-apa kajian meyakinkan.

Tumpuan Berlebihan Terhadap Bahasa Inggeris

Dalam soal ini, saya perhatikan masyarakat kita dan kerajaan terlalu bertumpu kepada bahasa Inggeris dan hampir tidak timbul perhatian terhadap bahasa Melayu. Sekali sekala kita diingatkan supaya tidak risau kerana kedudukan bahasa Melayu sudah terjamin sebagai bahasa kebangsaan dan bahasa rasmi negara. Banyak juga yang mengatakan tidak ada lagi persoalan mengenai bahasa Melayu. Ramai pula ahli politik yang mengatakan tidak ada lagi perjuangan mengenai bahasa Melayu. Maka tidur lenalah semua orang, yang tidak sedar bahawa mimpi ngeri ialah bahawa bahasa kebangsaan kita sudah terpinggir dan akan diambil alih oleh bahasa bekas penjajah.

Mengapa perlu diberikan perhatian kepada bahasa Melayu? Sebabnya ialah kerana bahasa Melayu ialah:

l Bahasa kebangsaan negara;

l Bahasa rasmi;

l Bahasa perhubungan antara rakyat jelata biasa;

l Bahasa perpaduan, dan

l Bahasa saluran ilmu pengetahuan.

Jika begitu banyaknya tugas atau fungsi bahasa Melayu, mengapa pula kita menumpukan perhatian berlebihan kepada bahasa Inggeris? Inilah yang memeningkan saya, sebagai seorang rakyat yang menguasai bahasa Inggeris, tetapi lebih mencintai bahasa kebangsaan negara sendiri.

Bagi saya bahasa Inggeris memang penting dalam dunia sekarang, dalam dunia yang global sifatnya. Kita perlu berhubung dengan dunia luar untuk tujuan diplomasi untuk berniaga dan untuk bertukar pandangan dengan warga dunia yang semakin kecil.

Demikian juga, banyak ilmu ditulis dalam bahasa Inggeris. Maka penguasaan bahasa Inggeris yang baik amat menguntungkan kerana mereka dapat menimba ilmu dengan senang melalui ribuan sumber maklumat yang ada. Mereka juga boleh membantu menyebarkan ilmu ini dengan menulis kembali buah fikiran ini ke dalam bahasa lebih senang dihayati rakyat biasa, yang tidak berniat menjalani program ijazah tinggi, tetapi yang semata-mata ingin membaca maklumat dan idea-idea baru.

Tetapi mengapa mesti wujud semacam kegilaan terhadap bahasa Inggeris, disertai pula sikap acuh tak acuh terhadap bahasa kebangsaan sendiri? Kita sekarang tidak ubah seperti keadaan menyusu kera di hutan, sambil menganaktirikan bahasa sendiri. Melihat kepada keghairahan terhadap bahasa Inggeris, tergambar seolah-olah bahasa Melayu sudah hampir ke liang lahad.

Situasi Menang-Menang

Bagi saya ada dua pandangan yang bertentangan berkaitan isu ini yang kedua-duanya kurang sihat. Pada satu pihak, ada satu golongan menganggap bahasa Inggeris sebagai amat penting untuk survival pada masa ini. Sesiapa yang menyokong bahasa Melayu dianggap sebagai menentang bahasa Inggeris, oleh itu hanyalah layak dikelompokkan ke dalam ‘golongan ultra.’ Golongan ultra ini dianggap kolot, tidak mahu melihat orang lain maju melalui bahasa Inggeris, dan sebenar-benarnya tidak patut dilayan. Penyokong bahasa Inggeris ini datang daripada pelbagai latar belakang dan kumpulan etnik, tetapi kebanyakannya orang bandar dan terdidik dalam bahasa Inggeris dalam mahupun luar negara. Penguasaan bahasa Melayu mereka juga agak rendah dan mereka tidak begitu terdedah kepada sastera dan budaya Melayu, kerana lebih menggemari sastera dan budaya Barat.

Pada pihak lain pula ialah golongan yang kecintaan mereka terhadap bahasa Melayu amat dalam, dan tidak mahu menerima kenyataan bahawa dalam dunia pada masa ini ada tempat bagi bahasa Inggeris dan bahasa antarabangsa lain. Golongan ini tidak menganggap bahasa Inggeris penting, oleh itu tidak memberatkan persoalan bahasa Inggeris.

Pada hemat saya, kedua-dua kumpulan ini keterlaluan. Sikap mereka tidak sihat dan tidak membawa keuntungan. Keadaan seperti ini saya anggap sebagai situasi menang-kalah kerana masing-masing menegakkan benang yang basah. Satu pihak menganggap perjuangan untuk menegakkan bahasa Melayu sebagai ultra, sebaliknya golongan yang kedua tidak begitu mahu menerima bahasa Inggeris.

Sudah tiba masa kita mencari penyelesaian menerusi situasi menang-menang. Dalam situasi ini, kita menerima hakikat bahawa bahasa Inggeris itu penting. Bagaimanapun dalam konteks negara dan kenegaraan, bahasa kebangsaan kita lebih penting. Pendirian menang-menang ini mengatakan bahawa dalam situasi tertentu penghormatan hendaklah diberikan kepada bahasa kebangsaan, iaitu dalam situasi bersifat rasmi dalam bidang pendidikan dan dalam konteks kenegaraan. Namun, ada tempat dan ketika bagi bahasa Inggeris di dalam mahupun di luar negara. Perhubungan antarabangsa sudah semestinya dalam bahasa Inggeris atau bahasa antarabangsa lain. Dalam konteks negara, situasi seperti persidangan antarabangsa dan diplomasi boleh menggunakan bahasa Inggeris.

Yang lebih utama ialah aspek emosi terhadap kedua-dua bahasa ini. Sepatutnya perasaan cinta akan dan berbangga dengan bahasa kebangsaan sendiri hendaklah dikaitkan dengan bahasa Melayu. Curahan perasaan seni dan kegiatan kebudayaan seboleh mungkin dalam bahasa Melayu. Bahasa Inggeris digunakan sebagai bahasa utiliti, bahasa untuk mencari ilmu pengetahuan dan untuk berhubung dengan dunia luar. – Berita Harian

Foto BH.

The Enemy In The Blanket

The civil service is the enemy in the blanket. The civil service is Umno’s running dog. The civil service is a Trojan Horse. The civil service is throwing spanners into the works. The civil service is putting sand in the rice-bowl. (Need more clichés?) And Tan Sri Khalid is fiddling while Rome is burning. (Yet another cliché.)

“Unless Tan Sri Khalid wakes up and realises that he is being surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing, expect Selangor to go back to Barisan Nasional in the not too distant future.”

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

My favourite satire back in my younger days was ‘Yes Minister’, which later went on to become ‘Yes Prime Minister’ when the actor in that series got ‘promoted’ to prime minister. Of course, next year, I am going to be 60. So when I talk about ‘my younger days’ I really mean my younger days. Those of you still wet behind the ears have probably never heard of this British TV series.

Now, why is it called a satire and not a comedy show? It is a comedy show. But satires are normally comedy shows that make fun of reality. For example, if we satire an Umno meeting, we show every ‘leader’ driving up in BMWs or Mercedes Benzes wearing bush jackets and with so much money stuffed into their bulging pockets that the surplus ‘tercicir’ as they walk into the room. (Tercicir could be read as falling out, dribbling, scattered around, etc.)

‘Yes Minister’ was a satire of the UK government at work. And it shows that the civil service runs the country and the politicians must take care of the civil service if they want to survive. It also shows the civil service as devious and manipulative while the politicians are a bit slow in the head and most times naïve.

In one dialogue, the junior civil servant asks the senior civil servant as to who runs the country if not the politicians. “Heavens no. It would be disastrous to allow the politicians to run the country. The civil service runs the country of course. But we have to make the politicians feel like they are running the country.”

That would be what I would call a satire because that is how it really works in real life and making fun of reality is what satires are all about.

I remember a certain episode that is still fresh in my mind that happened not long after April 1999 when Parti Keadilan Nasional (the forerunner to Parti Keadilan Rakyat) was formed.

Just to digress a bit. I met Anwar Ibrahim in court back in 1998 where he requested my help. Anwar wanted me in the Research & Development team, which was basically a psy-war unit. Our job was to plan how to attack Umno and Barisan Nasional and keep them constantly on the move so that they would have no time to attack the opposition since they would be too busy defending themselves.

Anyway, back to that episode I spoke about.

I was travelling through the East Coast states to assess whether the opposition could retain Kelantan and add Terengganu to the list of states under opposition control and whether we can dent Umno bad enough in Pahang, in particular in Pekan where Najib Tun Razak would be contesting.

I found Kelantan quite safe. The Kelantan state civil servants I spoke to appeared very supportive of PAS. Some of them were my old schoolmates and they had nothing but good things to say about PAS. I did not need to spend too much time in Kelantan. Even the kaki gedebeh I spoke to were supportive of Nik Aziz, the Kelantan Chief Minister.

“If even people like us support Tok Guru,” they said in Malay, “how can PAS lose?” ‘People like us’ meant thugs or gangsters who do not pray and are involved in all sorts of illegal things including murder.

In Terengganu I met with the same response. The instant I walked into the government departments the civil servants told me, “Don’t waste your time in Terengganu. Go back to KL. PAS is going to win big in Terengganu with a landslide victory.”

And the opposition did win. It won all eight Parliament seats and 28 of the 32 state seats. Not all were PAS seats though. The Parliament seat of Kemaman was won by Parti Keadilan. And Tok Guru Haji Hadi Awang graciously introduced the new Terengganu state government as the Barisan Alternatif government and not the PAS government. And he instructed that this would be how the state government would be addressed — the BA government of Terengganu.

I thought that this was jolly nice of him. Parti Keadilan won only one Parliament seat and no state seats. Yet he still wanted the state government to be known as a BA rather than PAS government.

The opposition did not do that well in Pahang though. But at least Najib was defeated in Pekan. Najib lost by about 1,800 votes. But then, after the counting of the votes had ended, they brought in 2,000 postal votes and announced that Najib had won by 200 votes instead.

But never mind. We all know that Najib lost the election in 1999 and that means he should actually not be the Prime Minister today because he was an illegal Cabinet Minister from 1999 to 2004. And in 2003 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister when he should not have even been a Member of Parliament.

That is why Najib was not called Wakil Rakyat but Wakil Pos. Zambry in Perak is called Wakil Mahkamah.

Not long after the opposition won Terengganu, Tun Dr Mahathir cancelled the oil royalty that was due to the state. This happened merely a few months after November 1999. Suddenly the state lost RM600 million a year in revenue — what the oil royalty was then; now it is about RM1 billion a year.

It cost about RM600 million a year to run the state and the oil royalty sort of just covered that. The state government had to quickly look into a cost reduction exercise and it managed to bring its RM600 million a year cost down to just RM300 million. That was a 50% drop in expenses.

Next they needed to look into where to get RM300 million a year to pay for the cost of running the state. The new BA state government had already abolished toll charges and council taxes. This means these two revenue sources were now gone. Nevertheless, they managed to find RM300 million a year to cover the running cost of the state while the RM600 million oil royalty — that increased to RM800 million and later to RM1 billion — went to Umno, in particular to Idris Jusoh, the head of Umno Terengganu.

But this meant there would be no development. The RM300 million ngam-ngam paid for the running cost of the state. There would also be no outstation trips or overtime for the civil servants. The state could not afford to pay the civil servants any ‘claims’. And in the past the claims used to be higher than their salaries. In fact, the civil servants could not afford to live just on their salaries alone. They needed the extra income from their claims to survive.

So they resorted to selling cakes and cookies after office hours to supplement their income. But if everyone were to sell cakes and cookies then who is buying? It was an absolute sellers market. There were not many buyers.

I started getting feedback from Terengganu that the civil servants are not happy and that they are thinking of giving the state back to Umno. I triggered the alarm bells but my pompous asshole of a boss pooh-poohed my report. “Not only is Terengganu secure, but we shall be adding Pahang and Kedah to the list of states under opposition control,” he told me.

I disagreed and told him so. And that was not the first disagreement we had. I had earlier disagreed with how the party was handling the seat negotiations with PAS and DAP. And when he told me that Parti Keadilan would probably be ‘going solo’ in the elections and will engage BN, PAS and DAP in three- or four-corner fights, I suggested he just close down our department and we all go home. “We are wasting our time,” I told him. “We shall be defeated and not only lose the election but lose all our deposits as well.”

It came to a stage that he refused to speak to me direct and had to use a middleman to pass me messages. Immediately after the November 1999 general election he gave me 24 hours notice and told me to pack my things and get out. Wow! I had never been sacked in my life, at least not with 24 hours notice, and that hurt like mad.

Anyway, Anwar Ibrahim knew that the seat negotiation was falling apart and that the party was talking about three- and four-corner fights so he asked someone else to take over. This person knew about my quarrel with my boss and he called me over to ask me what the issue was about. I told him and also told him why I felt they were handling the seat negotiation the wrong way. This new chap managed to salvage the negotiations and the opposition went into the 1999 general election as BA although there were some isolated cases of three-corner fights when the boys on the ground disagreed with the choice of candidate.

But that is again digressing so let us get back to the story of Terengganu. The civil servants were not happy. In 1999 they gave the state to the opposition. But this has resulted in a big dent in their income. Now they are suffering, financially. In 2004 they would give the state back to Umno. And they did. The opposition was practically wiped out in the March 2004 general election.

The civil service has that power to make and break governments and there is much truth in that British TV series, ‘Yes Minister’.

Perak is another case in point. When the civil servants from the State Secretary down to the office boy work with Umno, the Pakatan Rakyat state government can easily be removed from office. They can lock up the Menteri Besar’s room and refuse to allow him to enter. They can physically carry the Speaker and throw him out of the State Assembly like a sack of potatoes. They can lock the gates to the State Secretariat building and ban the opposition state assemblypersons, even the Menteri Besar and Speaker, from getting in.

Yes, watch the satire ‘Yes Minister’ if you have not already done so. The civil service can bring down the government. And they can bring down the Selangor state government if they want to. And rest assured they are working behind the scenes to ensure that Selangor falls back into the hands of Barisan Nasional.

Give Pakatan Rakyat a chance, many argue. Give Tan Sri Khalid more time, they plead. It is not fair to expect so much in just one year when Barisan Nasional has been running this country for more than 50 years.

I have no problems with giving the opposition even ten years. After all, Barisan Nasional was given 50 years so why not the opposition be given ten years? But the problem is not me. I am only one vote. The opposition was only a one-term government in Terengganu. It appears like it is also going to be a one-term government in Selangor.

The civil service helped bring down the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak. Say what you like: the two PKR Wakil Rakyat crossed over, Hee crossed over, and whatnot. But if the civil service had not locked the doors on Pakatan Rakyat and opened the back door for Barisan Nasional to walk in they could not have brought the state government down.

The same thing is happening in Selangor. The civil service is the enemy in the blanket. The civil service is Umno’s running dog. The civil service is a Trojan Horse. The civil service is throwing spanners into the works. The civil service is putting sand in the rice-bowl. (Need more clichés?) And Tan Sri Khalid is fiddling while Rome is burning. (Yet another cliché.)

Unless Tan Sri Khalid wakes up and realises that he is being surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing, expect Selangor to go back to Barisan Nasional in the not too distant future.

Nasharudin kekal Timbalan Presiden PAS

Timbalan Presiden PAS Nasharuddin Mat Isa mengekalkan jawatan beliau bagi penggal ketiga, mengalahkan dua pencabar, Husam Musa dan Mohamad Sabu.

Beliau memperolehi majoriti 199 undi, dengan meraih 480 undi manakala pencabar, Husam mendapat 281 undi dan Mohamad Sabu memperoleh 261 undi.

Menurut Pengarah Pemilihan Muktamar Pas, Mustafa Ali, hanya 1,026 dari 1,044 perwakilan yang layak mengundi telah membuang undi semalam.

Pemilihan Muktamar Pas ke-55 bermula jam 3 petang dan tamat sekitar jam 6 petang. Menurut Mustafa, pengiraan hanya bermula dari jam 7.30 malam dan tamat sekitar jam 2 pagi hari ini.

Sementara itu, tiga kerusi Naib Presiden dimenangi muka baru. Persuruhjaya Pas Pahang, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man mendahului senarai pemenang jawatan Naib Presiden dengan mendapat 871 undi, diikuti Ahli Parlimen Kubang Kerian yang juga bekas Ketua Pemuda, Salahuddin Ayub, 825 undi serta bekas Ketua Penerangan Mahfuz Omar, 636 undi.

Sejumlah 176 bahagian Pas seluruh negara terbabit dalam pemilihan ini untuk penggal 2009 hingga 2011.

Bagi perebutan kerusi Jawatankuasa Pusat pula, Menteri Besar Perak Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin mengukuhkan reputasi beliau sebagai fenomena politik baru dengan mendahului 60 pencabar lain.

Beliau meraih undi terbanyak 854 undi.

Nizar disertai Menteri Besar Kedah Azizan Abdul Razak dengan 653 undi. Ahli Parlimen Titiwangsa Dr Lo’ Lo Ghazali menjadi satu-satunya penjawat wanita di Jawatankuasa Pusat Pas dengan 589 undi.

- Keputusan Penuh Pemilihan Muktamar PAS ke-55 -

Pengerusi Tetap
Abu Kasim (menang tak tanding)

Tim. Pengerusi Tetap
Hussin Ismail – 609

Presiden
Abdul Hadi Awang (menang tak tanding)

Tim. Presiden
Nasharuddin Mat Isa – 480

Naib Presiden (3 kerusi)
Naib Presiden I: Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man – 871
Naib Presiden II: Salahuddin Ayob – 824
Naib Presiden III: Mahfuz Omar – 663

Ahli Jawatankuasa Kerja Pas Pusat (18 kerusi)

1. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin – 854
2. Idris Ahmad – 799
3. Kamaruddin Jaafar – 769
4. Azizan Abd Razak – 653
5. Hassan Ali – 642
6. Dr Hatta Md Ramli – 638 (Bendahari)
7. Abd Ghani Shamsuddin – 637
8. Abu Bakar Chik – 622
9. Mohamed Hanipa Maidin – 619
10. Amiruddin Hamzah – 606
11. Dr Lo Lo Hj Md Razali – 589
12. Ghani Abdul Rahman – 584
13. Dr Dzulkifly Ahmad – 576
14. Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi – 530
15. Hashim Jasin – 522
16. Mazlan Aliman – 513
17. Taib Azamudden Md Taib– 508
18. Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa – 448

Keputusan penuh pemilihan Dewan Ulama PAS Pusat

Dewan Ulamak PAS Pusat yang mengadakan Muktamar tahunannya kali ke 48, di Dewan Utama, Muzium Negeri, Shah Alam, Selangor telah memilih kepimpinan barunya untuk sessi 2009-2011 seperti berikut:

Pengerusi tetap – Ustaz Hamdan Mohamad (Menang tanpa bertanding)
Tim. Pengerusi Tetap – ustaz Abdul Manaf Othman(Menang tanpa bertanding)

Ketua – Dato’ Hj Harun bin Taib.(Menang tanpa bertanding)
Timb. Ketua – Dato’ Hj Ahmad Yaakob(Menang tanpa bertanding)
Naib Ketua – Dato’ Dr. Mahfodz Mohamad (Menang tanpa bertanding)

Ahli Jawatankuasa Dewan

Dato’ Husin Awang – 193 undi
Ustaz Abd Ghani Samsuddin -189 undi
Ustaz Nik mohamd Zawawi Salleh – 186 undi
Salleh sani Harun -160 undi
Ustaz Ab Bakar Abdullah – 153 undi
Ust Mohamadd Daud Iraqi – 153 undi
Ust Abdullah Abd Razak – 152 undi
Ust Hassan Mahmud – 143 undi
Ustaz Ismail Noh – 138 undi
Usta Mohd zin Abd rahman – 138 undi
YB Usraz Mohd Mustaffa – 131 undi
Ustaz Abdullah Hussin – 129 undi

Pemeriksa Kira-kira

Hj Ibrahim Omar – 188 undi
Mohd Noor Hj Din – 140 undi

sumber: http://muktamar55.pas.org.

Escaped! (From the Royals)

Updates : Comments and analysis in Malaysia Today

Model flees from her Kelantan prince, claims abuse

JAKARTA, May 31 — Indonesian model Manohara Odelia Pinot, whose family claimed was abused, fled for home today from Singapore where the Kelantan royal family was accompanying the ill sultan undergoing medical treatment.

Indonesian model home safely after dramatic escape

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 05/31/2009 6:18 PM

Manohara Odelia Pinot, an Indonesian model who was reported to have been kept and abused by her Malaysian royal husband, joyfully returned to Indonesia on Sunday, after a dramatic escape from a hotel in Singapore.

Speaking to a packed press conference in Jakarta, the American-descent Indonesian model, who speaks fluent English and French, recounted her movie-like escape: she had to stay long in a bathroom to buy time, refused to be injected and repeatedly pressing the emergency button in the elevator before the Singaporean police came to help her.

“They (Singaporean police) brought me to a room. Mother came to me not long after it. I embraced her,” she said as quoted by Detik.com.

Daisy Fajarini told El-shinta radio she flew to Singapore after learning that her daughter was in the country.

The Foreign Ministry said the American embassy was involved in the process of freeing Manohara. “The ministry coordinated with the United States embassy because Manohara’s biological father is a US national which makes her a US national as well,” the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told The Jakarta Post.

Menang undi pos hilang pertaruhan

Oleh: Ibnu Khuzaimah.

“PENANTI – PKR’s Dr Mansor Othman wins with 5558 majority, double Fairus’ 2219. Won 32 out of 33 streams, lost only postal votes”.

N12: PENANTI : 15,384
1. Mansor Othman (PKR) 6,052 undi, 2. Aminah Abdullah (Bebas) 392 undi, 3. Nai Khan Ari a/l Nai Keow (Bebas) 494 undi, 4. Kamarul Ramizu Idris (Bebas) 56 undi

Jumlah pengundi 7,100, Peratus 46.15 peratus, Undi rosak 106 undi, Majoriti 5,558 undi. Penyandang: Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin (PKR) Majoriti: 2,219 undi.

Pada PRU 12, Mohamad Fairus Khairudin (PKR) (7,346), manakala Datuk Abdul Jalil Abdul Majid (BN) (5,127)

Dr Mansor Osman hanya tewas undi pos. Majoriti undi pos dimenangi oleh Aminah Abdullah calon bebas berlambang kunci. Dari 24 undi pos, PKR 2, Wau 0, Payung 7, Kunci 12.

Kemenangan Aminah Abdullah bagi undi pos di Penanti mengundang banyak andaian dan tanggapan tesendiri. Mungkin arahannya begini, “kamu undilah mana-mana lambang asalkan bukan PKR”! Anda fikirlah sendiri.

Kegagalan jentera PKR atau kegagalan mengekalkan jumlah undi lama PKR juga membawa kepada beberapa intepretasi.

Dr Mansor Osman menang dengan majoriti yang besar tetapi tetapi dengan jumlah undi yang kurang? Andaikata jumlah undi yang tidak turun di peti undi itu diterjemahkan pada angka sebenar dan masuk dalam peti undi Dr Mansur mungkin kempunan menduduki kerusi TKM1 Pulau Pinang.

Pandangan penulis di sini ialah : Bahawa pengundi Melayu penyokong UMNO tetap kekal setianya pada UMNO/BN. Persoalannya kemanakah perginya lebihan undi yang diberikan kepada Fairus? Adakah kerana sememangnya penyokong PKR tidak pulang dengan alasan PKR pasti menang atau ada sebab lain? Anda fikirlah sendiri.

Adakah jentera PKR sendiri gagal menghimpunkan pakar-pakarnya untuk menarik dan mempengaruhi pengundi untuk keluar mengundi? Jangkaan 65% oleh Saifuddin Nasution ternyata meleset jauh. Hanya 46 peratus keluar mengundi bermakna lebih kurang 20 peratus kurang dari jangkaan. Ini juga amat jauh dari peratusan mengundi pada 8 March iaitu 82 peratus.

Beberapa sumber PKR memnggambarkan bahawa petugas-petugas parti bertaraf ‘hardcore’ dari negeri-negeri seperti Selangor juga tidak menghadirkan diri secara nyata. Entah mengapa.

Dari satu sudut Penulis juga berpandangan bahawa BN berjaya dalam proses experimentalnya melalui PRK DUN Penanti, apatah lagi ianya terletak dalam kubu PKR, milik DS Anwar Ibrahim.

Kejayaan pertama, pengundi boleh dipengaruhi supaya tidak mengundi dan melihat bahawa melancung dan bersantai percuma dihari membuang undi lebih penting dari tanggungjawab kenegaraan!

Bagaimanapun BN terlepas pandang bahawa ia juga berjaya melihatkan betapa tipisnya jatinegara mahupun jatidiri penyokong UMNO, tidak ketinggalan Ketua Pemudanya yang menyeru supaya penyokong UMNO tidak turun mengundi.

Seperkara lagi, pengundi UMNO/Bn juga tidak akan memberi undi kepada calon bebas walaupun mereka ini “BN friendly” , ini jelas dalam kes calon cap kunci Aminah Abdullah.

Kesimpulannya, menang tetap menang.

Mampukah Barisan Nasional menterjemahkan experimennya di Penanti ke Manik Urai? Sama-sama kita nantikan.

Perbualan antara Tengku Fahrin dengan ibu mertuanya

Takziah: Nublan Zaki Norhadi

NEW YORK: Malaysian student Nublan Zaki Norhadi (pic) had been looking forward to flying home to join his family in Kuala Lumpur this week and meeting up with friends during his three-month summer break.

Sadly, it will not happen. The Pennsylvania State University freshman drowned in a pool at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday.

His body was flown to Kuala Lumpur at 10pm last night on the same MAS flight in which he had booked his ticket home.

The 20-year-old Mara scholar, affectionately known as Bulan to his friends, had left his university last Friday on a road tour with about 30 university mates.

They arrived at the park on Sunday evening and he was reported missing at around 7.30pm.

His body was found some 10m underwater at Abrams Fall by divers from the Special Operations Response Team at about 1.30pm on Monday, following a three-hour rescue operation.

Both the Malaysian Mission here and his parents in Kuala Lumpur were notified of his death on the same day.

A Mara official in Washington made arrangements for his body to be sent from Blount Memorial Hospital, Maryville, to Newark, New Jersey, yesterday from where he was flown home.

Since Monday, Nublan’s FaceBook has been flooded with condolence messages from fellow students in the US and other countries as well as friends from Malaysia.

A Park official, Bob Miller, told the The Daily Times (of Maryville, Tennessee) that while swimming was not banned at the falls, there was a sign warning of the strong current and hazards there.

“It would have taken a strong swimmer to get out of the currents and the other students said Norhadi was not a strong swimmer,” Miller was quoted as saying.

Chua Soi Lek supports fresh polls in Perak

Soi Lek backs fresh polls in Perak

By Lee Wei Lian – Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has joined several of his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleagues in calling for a fresh state election to resolve the political quagmire in Perak.

“Personally, I feel that a fresh state election will be the best way to resolve this stalemate, Let the rakyat decide and once and for all, we resolve this problem, which is not doing anybody any good,” said Dr Chua in an entry on his blog on Tuesday.

The former health minister also says that appealing the High Court ruling declaring Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful mentri besar could be a long drawn-out affair.

Other BN leaders that have called for fresh polls to resolve the stalemate include Penang Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, Umno MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Dr Hsu Dar Ren, a central committee member of Gerakan.

While Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has not called for the state assembly to be dissolved, he nevertheless appears to have distanced himself from what could be a political liability as perception mounts that BN is attempting to thwart the will of the people and cling to power.

He said on Tuesday said that he will leave it to BN’s Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir to decide what to do.

Teng stressed yesterday that by giving back the people “who obviously want a say in the matter” the power of choosing their government, BN can once again show that it upholds the principle of democracy and that it has the best interest of the people at heart.

Tengku Razaleigh this week reiterated his stand that according to the Constitution, a change of government can only be brought about by democratic means — either through the ballot box or through a formal vote of confidence in the elected legislative assembly and not through the court system.

Teng, however, was criticised by his Umno colleagues for his remarks.

“In this situation, he should instead encourage and support BN,” Kubu Gajah assemblyman Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar told Bernama.

“Doesn’t Teng know that BN has the majority voice in Perak? Doesn’t he know that the crisis in Perak is due to Pakatan Rakyat’s refusal to accept the fact that they have lost the majority?”

No end is in sight for the Perak political crisis, now in its fourth month.

On Monday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had declared Nizar as the rightful mentri besar, saying he could only be removed via a vote of no confidence and ordered Zambry to vacate the mentri besar’s office, which he did.

Zambry, however, managed to obtain a stay of the declaration the very next day and reported back to work yesterday.

Nizar, who is seeking permission from the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the assembly, is now applying to set aside the stay, in a hearing scheduled for next Monday.

Mahathir is calculative & less gentleman.

UPDATED
Dr M calls for assembly vote on MB as Pakatan will win Perak polls
By Neville Spykerman

PUTRAJAYA, May 14 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today admitted the Pakatan Rakyat will sweep Perak if fresh elections are called but recommended the state assembly meets to decide on the mentri besar post.

“It’s not good for the world to see the musical chairs in Perak where the MB is changing because of the decision of the courts,” Dr Mahathir said.

When asked if the current impasse in Perak would affect the ruling Barisan Nasional’s chances in the next elections, he said: “I hope people will have short memories.”

“The outcome is a foregone conclusion” said Dr Mahathir if fresh elections are held, adding that it was his feeling after the by-election in Bukit Gantang and from talking to people.

“So why should we have fresh elections ?“ he asked, saying that it was costly and that he did not agreed will calls by other BN leaders for fresh state elections.

He added that the people had already voted and chosen people who are willing to defect.

He said the situation should be resolved by a vote in the Perak state assembly and the assemblymen should determined who should form the government.

“If BN really has a majority they can move a motion of no confidence and set up another government.”

The former prime minister said he would hold his opinion on whether V. Sivakumar was legitimately removed as speaker in deference to the courts.

He also refused to comment if the debacle in Perak would have a lasting negative impact on Barisan Nasional and affect the outcome in the next general election.

Dr Mahathir added that he supported the move by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to hold negotiations with Pakatan to resolve the crisis.

He said anything which can resolve the problem is good.

Dr Mahathir was speaking to the Press today after a special talk on “Malaysia-Today’s Knowledge Economy”.

During the talk, he said the future can be determined by trends and no crystal ball was needed to predict the future.

However, he refused to answer when asked if he was positive about the future of BN and Umno based on current trends.

“I beg not to reply to that question. It’s just my private opinion and I’ll keep it to myself.

Nizar remains the man of the hour.

“The cheers, catcalls, whistles and applause sounded far louder and longer when he walked up to the podium than for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim earlier when the Opposition Leader was opening the event”.

By Debra Chong

PETALING JAYA, May 14 – Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is very much the man of the moment, judging from the rousing reception he got at a public forum here last night in remembrance of the tragic race riots that became a bloodbath 40 years ago.

While his position as the lawful mentri besar (MB) of Perak is locked in a bitter wrangle in the Court of Appeal, there is no doubt as to his popularity with the public.

The cheers, catcalls, whistles and applause sounded far louder and longer when he walked up to the podium than for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim earlier when the Opposition Leader was opening the event.

Thousands turned up to hear Nizar speak at the city council civic centre, squeezing their rear ends onto narrow chairs in the packed hall, which normally seats about 1,000 people. Those who arrived late had to suffer the ignominy of sitting on the scruffy concrete floor or stand squished to the walls. They did not appear to mind at all; not even the ones dressed to the nines in formal jackets and bling.

Nizar did not disappoint.

The third last speaker for the evening, he immediately launched into a scathing attack on the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, singling out Umno for the most blistering criticism.

The newly-elected MP for Bukit Gantang accused the dominant Malay party of creating a bogeyman out of the May 13 1969 incident.

“Umno is still using the May 13 incident as a tool to scare Malaysians,” he thundered.

Nizar claimed that the May 13 incident was fiction, created by the ruling parties to continue the colonial measure of divide-and-conquer to exert control over the populace.

“Umno tells people: ‘Our closest enemies are the Chinese’,” he said, to demonstrate what he claimed was the party’s tactics in inciting hatred among the different races. He alleged the other race-based components of the BN coalition adopted similar measures.

He acknowledged that even he had been duped by the colonialist concept in the past, but no more.

“The 13th May incident was sparked deliberately by Umno,” he said, pointing out that there was no such racial disturbances in PAS-dominated areas.

Fast-forwarding it to the present day, Nizar emphasised that the Islamist party’s administration is based on universal values such as justice for all and trust.

He further highlighted how peaceful Perak was during its brief 10-month tenure in governing the state, compared to the BN state administration in Terengganu, claiming there existed a deep-seated quarrel inside the party that continued to the present day as the BN politicians squabble over trivial pursuits.

Nizar called on the audience to shake off the metaphorical yoke keeping their heads constantly bowed.

“Are we going to let this continue?” he questioned.

“No!” the crowd thundered in reply.

Smiling broadly, he echoed Anwar’s calls for statewide elections in Perak to solve the current crisis.

This, he said, would bring about a promising new political landscape in Malaysia.

Admins: Has Pakatan found the next supremo after Anwar?

Judge Ramli’s stay order puzzling, disturbing

Wednesday, 13 May 2009 12:27

So what does judge Ramli mean when he orders a stay of execution? Does he not mean to ask Nizar to cease to be Menteri Besar from now onwards until the case is finally settled at the higher courts? But that would mean stripping a status that Nizar has always enjoyed. Would that be fair to Nizar, when the high court judgment has not been overturned by a higher court?

By Kim Quek

An intriguing question arises as Court of appeal judge Ramli Ali ordered (on May 12) a stay of execution on High Court’s declaratory judgment that Nizar Jamaluddin – not Zambry Kadir – is the lawful Menteri Besar of Perak.

In his judgment the day before (May 11), high court judge Aziz Rahim declares that Nizar has never ceased to be the Menteri Besar while Zambry Kadir has never been one.

So what does judge Ramli mean when he orders a stay of execution? Does he not mean to ask Nizar to cease to be Menteri Besar from now onwards until the case is finally settled at the higher courts? But that would mean stripping a status that Nizar has always enjoyed. Would that be fair to Nizar, when the high court judgment has not been overturned by a higher court?

The litigation ahead is a long and tortuous road and may take years to reach its final conclusion at the highest court. Is it not a gross injustice to Nizar that he – a declared lawful Menteri Besar – has to stand aside so that Zambry – a declared pretender – can occupy the Menteri Besar’s seat all these years?

It is recognized that while the legal tussle is still on-going, we need someone to act as Menteri Besar. Who is more qualified to act in that position – Nizar or Zambry? That depends on who enjoys a higher legal and moral standing for that purpose? After the Aziz judgment, it has to be Nizar.

This is the reason why Judge Aziz had rejected Zambry’s request for a stay of execution immediately after he delivered the judgment the previous day – to avoid aborting justice at this stage.

And what is the ground put up by Zambry for wanting the stay order? According to his lawyer Cecil Abraham, it is to stop Nizar from approaching the Sultan for dissolution of the state assembly for a state-wide election. His rationale is that, once an election is held, Zambry’s appeal is rendered academic.

Now, let us examine this rationale.

Assuming there is no order to stay execution, and as a result, Nizar succeeds in dissolving the assembly and an election is held, how would that do injustice to Zambry? Is Zambry saying that in an election, his party would be unfairly treated by our electoral system? But that would be a ridiculous suggestion, as our election commission has been overtly pro-Barisan Nasional and all the government institutions and public media have always been heavily abused to favour BN in every election. Or is Zambry saying that he has a much stronger case in court? But that would be a far-fetched exertion, as it is the considered legal opinion that the balance tips in Nizar’s favour in fact and in law. This opinion is supported by Aziz’s detailed and meticulous judgment that took him more than one hour to read out.

In fact, a fresh election for Perak is not only a fair solution where none would suffer injustice, but the only practical way out of the present state of near anarchy in the state, with both parties fighting tooth and nail (physically at times) to claim authority to rule, while a host of suits and counter suits are pending in the high courts, which arose from the illegal power grab engineered by Prime Minister Najib Razak in early February.

That BN has been doggedly determined to avoid an election despite such compelling circumstances only reveals that it is a party working for only it’s self-interests. It’s policy is anti-rakyat in that it is not only depriving the people the right to choose their own government, but dooming them to suffer political and economic turmoil in the years ahead.

And the rash action by judge Ramli to grant Zambry the stay order in circumstances that draws consternation only worsens the image of the judiciary while further eroding confidence in the government.

Apart from wanting in rationale in his judgment, the lightning speed with which Ramly had granted the order must have caught many people by surprise – receiving the application at 0930 hrs, convening the hearing at 1130 hrs and passing the judgment at 1300 hrs, thus reversing Judge Aziz’s rejection of stay order in only 21 hours.

What a superb performance by our courts known for their snail’s pace. (I recall that following Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction in 2000, it took the court of appeal three years before it began hearing Anwar’s appeal). But, is it not a bit too hasty to reach a decision on an issue so important that it could have changed the course of history?

And on such an important issue, why did judge Ramli sit alone, bereft of the usual panel of judges of at least three in a court of appeal hearing? Such breaking of it’s own rule can only be justified in an emergency situation where the slightest delay in granting an order may result in irreparable injury to a party.

Has such a situation developed for Zambry? What injury would Zambry suffer, if it takes several days instead of several hours for the court to reach a decision? Or did Judge Ramly feel the same sense of urgency as expressed by lawyer Abraham that any delay in granting the order may precipitate the catastrophe to BN in the form of a state-wide election for Perak? But should the judiciary’s conduct be dictated by such political manouvring?

It is understood that Nizar’s lawyer will be presenting his application to the Court of Appeal to set aside Ramly’s order today. Let’s see whether the same court would accord Nizar’s application with the same dispatch

Alo bro,… Kita sama maaaa.

Zambry compares himself to Ghandi, Mandela and King.

Ghandhi: “Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary”.

How can Zambry compared himself to Ghandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. Agreed there’s simmilarities. All having two eyes, a nose, a pair of ears and dark skin complexion though Zambry could be darker!

Nooo, no. An UMNO man, a new turk, compares himself to freedom fighters of all times?

Zambry can’t even be compared to Onn Jaafar or Madey. Surely he will get a big wrath from UMNO if he is to campare himself to Onn Jaafar or Madey..

Hei dey,.. are you drunk?

The Perak Crisis: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

“Some issues can be solved by a court of law, but the Perak crisis is not one of them. The back and forth events of the past week demonstrate this fact abundantly. The Perak crisis cannot be solved by a decision of the Court because it is at heart a political rather than a constitutional problem. There is really no doubt about what the Constitution says”

Tuesday, 12 May 2009 20:41

The Perak crisis is a tragic comedy of errors and bad political judgment that reflects a failure of political leadership. As it continues to spin out of control, it damages our democratic system of governance.

To all intents and purposes, one of our most prosperous and developed states has been reduced to a failed state, with a possibly illegal state government in place. This is a condition that can propagate outwards to the rest of the country.

I stated at the beginning of this crisis that by our Constitution, a change of government can only be brought about by democratic means, which is to say, through the ballot box or through a formal vote of confidence in the elected Legislative Assembly. These are the constitutionally mandated means by which the people decide on their government. Any other means of changing the government is unconstitutional and undemocratic, and subverts the basis upon which we are a civilised society.

We now have reason to fear the loss of the people’s confidence in the Constitution, in democracy and in our constitutional monarchy. Responsible political leadership must support rather than destroy the confidence of the people in these practices and institutions. In particular, powers reserved for the Legislative Assembly, which represents the sovereign will of the people, cannot be taken away under any circumstances by anyone. This foundational constitutional principle has been affirmed by the Court. We are all sworn to uphold it. Those who do not understand or accept this principle have no place in government.

Some issues can be solved by a court of law, but the Perak crisis is not one of them. The back and forth events of the past week demonstrate this fact abundantly. The Perak crisis cannot be solved by a decision of the Court because it is at heart a political rather than a constitutional problem. There is really no doubt about what the Constitution says. What is now unclear as a result of an ugly series of manoeuvres is whether Perak has a legitimate government, and there is only one way to resolve that issue. Perhaps our political leadership has not understood how important it is that the people’s voice must prevail, and be seen to prevail, in the choice of their government.

The only solution to the Perak crisis now is for the State Legislative Assembly to be dissolved and free and fair elections held. At this stage there is no other way to restore both public confidence and constitutional legality to the Perak state government, and by extension to our entire system of government. Our survival as a democratic and constitutional monarchy depends on our acceptance of the judgment of the people as expressed in free and fair elections. Any attempt to circumvent that judgment betrays the basic principles and values upon which our nation and incidentally, UMNO itself, stand. I appeal for wisdom and a broader concern for the wellbeing of our country.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Member of Parliament, Gua Musang

Gerakan, SUHAKAM supports fresh elections