Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Surat Terbuka Zaid Ibrahim kepada PM

MalaysiaKini.com
Sep 30, 08 2:37pm

29 September 2008

YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Badawi
Prime Minister of Malaysia
5th Floor, East Wing
Perdana Putra Building
Putrajaya
Malaysia

Dear Mr Prime Minister

Sewaktu mengisytiharkan kemerdekaan negara, Perdana Menteri pertama kita telah melaungkan aspirasi dan mimpi indah rakyat Malaya: bahawa Malaya adalah diasaskan di atas prinsip-prinsip kebebasan dan keadilan serta di atas janji bahawa kita beramai-ramai akan sentiasa berjuang bagi meningkatkan lagi kebajikan dan kebahagiaan rakyatnya.

Bertahun telah berlalu sejak peristiwa penting itu berlangsung, namun aspirasi dan mimpi tersebut masih benar dan masih relevan kepada kita hari ini sepertimana ia benar dan relevan kepada kita sebelum ini. Ini dimungkinkan dengan adanya satu pegangan teguh terhadap asas-asas negara pada peringkat awal kewujudannya. Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan undang-undang yang dibuat sehubungan dengannya diletakkan di atas asas yang kukuh di mana ia menggabungkan elemen-elemen penting demokrasi yang dibina di atas Kedaulatan Undang-Undang.

Satu ketika dahulu, Kehakiman Malaysia sangat dihormati oleh warga Malaysia malah turut dijadikan panduan oleh negara-negara lain. Perdana Menteri-Perdana Menteri kita yang terdahulu, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn, adalah pemimpin-pemimpin yang sangat berintegriti, adalah pejuang-pejuang mengikut cara mereka yang tersendiri dan, yang paling penting sekali, adalah individu-individu yang serba sederhana. Mereka mempunyai kepercayaan terhadap prinsip-prinsip dan nilai-nilai yang terkandung dalam Perlembagaan kita dan membina negara ini berpandukan kepadanya.

Tatkala mereka terpaksa meluluskan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA), 1960, sekalipun mereka melakukannya dengan sangat berhati-hati dan dengan bersikap apologetic mengenainya. Tunku menyatakan dengan jelas bahawa tujuan Akta ini diluluskan adalah bagi menangani ancaman komunis.

'Saya dan rakan-rakan saya dalam kabinet berjanji kepada Parlimen dan kepada negara bahawa kuasa-kuasa luas yang diberikan kepada Kerajaan di bawah ISA tidak sesekali akan digunakan bagi mengekang bangkangan dan ketidaksetujuan yang dibuat mengikut undang-undang' adalah apa yang diucapkan oleh Tunku dahulu. Ketetapan ini dikukuhkan lagi kemudiannya oleh Perdana Menteri ketiga kita, Tun Hussein Onn, yang menyatakan bahawa ISA bukanlah dimaksudkan untuk mengekang bangkangan politik yang dibuat secara sah atau untuk menyekat aktiviti demokrasi rakyat.

Beberapa peristiwa yang berlaku tiga minggu lepas bagaimanapun telah memaksa saya mengkaji semula cara ISA digunakan. Sungguh menyedihkan sekali kerana kesimpulan yang saya perolehi darinya ialah bahawa Kerajaan telah berulang-ulang kali menghampakan rakyat negara ini dengan berulang-ulang kali juga memungkiri janji yang dibuat oleh Tunku Abdul Rahman tersebut.

Ini berlaku kerana Kerajaan dan undang-undang yang digubalnya telah dengan secara tidak betul memberi kuasa kepada Menteri Dalam Negeri untuk menahan sesiapa sahaja atas apa sahaja alasan yang difikirkannya perlu. Budi bicara yang subjektif ini telah disalahgunakan bagi menjaga kepentingan-kepentingan politik tertentu.

Sejarah adalah guru agung yang dapat menjelaskan banyak perkara dalam hal ini. Semakan sepintas lalu ke atas cara ISA digunakan sejak ia diluluskan sekalipun akan mendedahkan betapa tujuan asal ISA telah dikesampingkan oleh keperluan politik semasa.

Adalah dikesali yang Tunku Abdul Rahman sendiri pun telah memungkiri janjinya. Pada 1965, pentadbirannya telah menahan Burhanuddin Helmi, iaitu seorang intelektual Melayu yang cukup hebat dan seorang nasionalis yang kebetulannya juga turut menjadi seorang pemimpin PAS. Dia telah diletakkan dalam tahanan sehingga dia meninggal dunia pada 1969.

Helmi hanyalah seorang musuh politik dan tidak dapat dibayangkan yang dia boleh dikatakan terlibat dalam pemberontakan bersenjata atau komunisme yang ISA dirangka untuk menangani. Penahanannya ini adalah sesuatu yang menyimpang dan menjadi satu detik menyedihkan di mana kepentingan politik telah dibenarkan mengatasi Kedaulatan Undang-Undang.

Ia malangnya seakan menjadi satu 'precedent' dan banyak lagi penahanan ke atas individu-individu yang dianggap menjadi ancaman kepada pentadbiran waktu itu menyusulinya tahun demi tahun. Malah tokoh kesusasteraan kita, 'sasterawan negara' Allahyarham Tan Sri A. Samad Ismail juga telah ditahan di bawah ISA pada 1976. Bagaimana mungkin beliau boleh menjadi satu ancaman kepada keselamatan negara?

Tidak perlulah saya mengingatkan anda mengenai impak dahsyat Operasi Lalang 1987. Kesannya menghantui Kerajaan sepertimana juga ia menghantui rakyat negara ini yang cintakan keamanan kerana ia menebarkan kegelapan ke atas setiap dari kita. Terdapat banyak soalan yang masih belum terjawab mengenai detik-detik gelap tersebut bila lebih daripada seratus orang telah ditahan kerana dikatakan menjadi ancaman terhadap keselamatan negara. Sebab mengapa mereka ditahan tidak pernah dinyatakan dengan jelas kepada rakyat Malaysia.

Begitu juga tiada penjelasan diberikan tentang sebab mengapa mereka tidak pernah didakwa di mahkamah. Termasuk dalam senarai mereka yang ditahan ini adalah beberapa Ahli Parlimen kanan pembangkang yang masih lagi aktif dalam Parlimen hari ini. Sesatunya perkara yang benar-benar jelas mengenai tempoh itu adalah UMNO pada waktu itu sedang berhadapan dengan satu krisis kepimpinan. Apakah ia bukan satu kebetulan yang tangkapan-tangkapan di bawah ISA baru-baru ini berlaku bila UMNO sekali lagi mengalami satu krisis kepimpinan?

Pada 2001, aktivis-aktivis 'reformasi' Keadilan telah ditahan dalam satu tindakan yang kemudiannya diisytiharkan sebagai dibuat secara tidak betul dan tidak sah oleh Mahkamah Persekutuan. Penahanan berterusan mereka yang tidak dibebaskan lebih awal di pusat tahanan Kamunting hanya dibolehkan kerana ISA telah dipinda dalam cara yang meragukan pada 1988 bagi tidak lagi membenarkan semakan kehakiman dibuat ke atas arahan Menteri untuk menahan. Rakyat Malaysia dimaklumkan bahawa tahanan-tahanan ini telah cuba menggulingkan Kerajaan melalui cara-cara militan dan demonstrasi-demonstrasi liar.

Tujuh tahun telah berlalu sejak kejadian ini berlaku tetapi hingga kini belum ada sebarang bukti bagi menyokong dakwaan ini dikemukakan. Menambahkan lagi kekeliruan rakyat, salah seorang daripada mereka yang dikatakan "ganas dan militan" itu ialah Ezam Mohamad Noor. Inilah orangnya yang baru-baru ini disambut kembali ke dalam UMNO dengan sambutan besar-besaran, seolah-olah ianya merupakan satu kejayaan besar.

Lebih kurang pada masa yang sama, ahli-ahli PAS juga telah ditahan kerana dikatakan menjadi militan dan kerana kononnya mempunyai pertalian dengan rangkaian pengganas antarabangsa. Mereka yang ditahan itu termasuklah Nik Adli, anak kepada Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat Menteri Besar Kelantan. Kerajaan ketika itu berjanji akan mendedahkan kepada rakyat Malaysia mengenai bukti kegiatan-kegiatan ganas dan pertalian tahanan-tahanan ini. Sehingga sekarang tiada bukti sebegini pernah diberikan.

Formula yang sama telah digunakan pada akhir 2007 bila 5 pemimpin HINDRAF ditahan. Rakyat Malaysia dimaklumkan sekali lagi bahawa individu-individu ini terlibat dalam aktiviti-aktiviti penggulingan Kerajaan dan mempunyai perkaitan dengan gerakan militan Pemisah Tamil Eelam Sri Lanka. Sehingga sekarang tiada bukti kukuh pernah dikemukakan bagi menyokong dakwaan ini.

Jadi apa yang boleh dilihat ialah kelima-lima mereka ditahan kerana melibatkan diri dalam aktiviti-aktiviti yang membawa kepada satu mobilisasi masyarakat India Malaysia bagi meluahkan secara aman kekecewaan mereka ke marginalisi yang dilakukan ke atas masyarakat mereka. Perjuangan ini kemudiannya telah diiktiraf sebagai satu perjuangan yang sah. Demonstrasi HINDRAF bukanlah sesuatu yang luar biasa kerana perhimpunan-perhimpunan seperti itu diiktiraf di seluruh dunia sebagai satu cara pernyataan yang sah.

Dalam nada yang sama, asas-asas yang diberikan bagi menyokong penahanan terbaru Tan Hoon Cheng, Teresa Kok dan Raja Petra Kamarudin menimbulkan banyak persoalan. Penjelasan bahawa Tan Hoon Cheng ditahan bagi menjamin keselamatan dirinya adalah melucukan. Kenyataan bahawa Teresa Kok telah menyalakan sentimen-sentimen keagamaan juga adalah tidak berasas sebagaimana terbukti oleh pembebasannya selepas itu.

Mengenai pengkritik tersohor Kerajaan, Raja Petra Kamarudin pula, semakan ke atas tulisan-tulisannya akan menunjukkan bahawa dia mungkin telah menghina Kerajaan dan individu-individu tertentu di dalam Kerajaan. Bagaimanapun, bersikap kritikal dan menghina tidak boleh dalam apa cara pun dianggap sebagai satu ancaman terhadap keselamatan negara. Jika tulisan-tulisannya dianggap menghina Islam, orang-orang Islam atau Nabi Muhammad (saw), dia sepatutnya didakwa di bawah Kanun Keseksaan dan bukannya ditahan di bawah ISA.

Apa pun, dia juga telah didakwa atas kesalahan menghasut dan melakukan fitnah jenayah berhubung dengan beberapa kenyataannya. Dia telah meminta dibicarakan, dan ini menunjukkan kesediaan serta kemampuannya untuk mempertahankan dirinya sendiri. Cara terbaik bagi memastikan keadilan terlaksana adalah dengan memberikannya peluang mempertahankan dirinya di mahkamah lebih-lebih lagi di mana dalam pandangan umum Kerajaan adalah dalam satu kedudukan konflik kerana telah menjadi sasaran kritikan kerasnya.

Contoh-contoh yang diberikan di atas menjadi petanda jelas bahawa Kerajaan yang ada sekarang adalah sebuah Kerajaan yang tidak demokratik. Perspektif inilah yang telah sejak lebih 25 tahun lalu membawa kepada Kerajaan kelihatan dengan sewenang-wenangnya menahan musuh-musuh politik, pejuang-pejuang pertubuhan sivil dan kepenggunaan, penulis-penulis, usahawan-usahawan, pelajar-pelajar dan wartawan-wartawan yang kesalahannya, jika ia boleh dikatakan sebagai kesalahan, adalah bersikap kritikal terhadap Kerajaan. Bagaimana individu-individu ini boleh dianggap sebagai ancaman terhadap keselamatan negara adalah di luar dari kefahaman saya. Realiti yang terbukti adalah ketidaksetujuan yang dibuat secara sah telah dan sedang dikekang melalui penggunaan secara semberono ISA.

Terdapat mereka yang menyokong dan memperjuangkan bacaan secara 'carte-blanche' ISA ini. Mereka akan berusaha untuk meyakinkan anda bahawa kepentingan-kepentingan negara memerlukan kuasa sebegitu dikekalkan dan bahawa keamanan dan kestabilan yang dinikmati rakyat Malaysia adalah disebabkan oleh kewujudan undang-undang seperti ISA ini. Ini bagaimanapun gagal mengambil kira fakta asas bahawa rakyat Malaysia dari semua kaum mengagungkan keamanan. Kita hidup bersama secara aman sejak 400 tahun lepas bukan kerana adanya undang-undang ini tetapi walaupun adanya undang-undang ini.

Saya percaya rakyat negara ini sudah cukup matang dan bergeliga bagi membezakan di antara tindakan-tindakan yang merupakan satu ancaman 'sebenar' terhadap negara dengan tindakan-tindakan yang mengancam kepentingan-kepentingan politik. Rakyat Malaysia telah mengetahui bahawa ISA digunakan terhadap musuh-musuh politik dan kelihatannya bila kepimpinan sedang menghadapi cabaran sama ada dari dalam parti pemerintah sendiri atau dari elemen-elemen luar.

Rakyat Malaysia hari ini mahu melihat sebuah Kerajaan yang komited terhadap proses mahkamah bagi menentukan kebersalahan atau ketidakbersalahan walaupun untuk tindakan-tindakan yang dikatakan mengapi-apikan sentimen perkauman atau keagamaan. Kini mereka tidak begitu mempercayai bahawa hanya seorang individu, iaitu Menteri Dalam Negeri, yang paling tahu mengenai soal-soal keselamatan negara walaupun mereka sebelum ini pernah mempercayainya. Mereka menghargai kebebasan dan perlindungan ke atas kebebasan-kebebasan sivil dan ini pun benar bagi rakyat negara-negara lain juga.

YAB Perdana Menteri, keputusan-keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum lalu adalah petunjuk jelas bahawa rakyat Malaysia sedang menuntut satu pemulihan semula Kedaulatan Undang-Undang. Saya telah dilantik sebagai menteri yang bertanggungjawab ke atas hal ehwal undang-undang dan reformasi kehakiman, walaupun hanya sekejap. Dalam kapasiti itu, saya dapat memahami dengan lebih mendalam betapa ramai dari kita mahukan reformasi, bukan semata-mata atas kepentingan reformasi itu, tetapi atas tahap di mana institusi-institusi kita telah dilemahkan oleh kejadian-kejadian dan impak yang dihadapkannya kepada masyarakat.

Dengan restu anda, saya telah cuba menggerakkan reformasi. Berada di atas dalam senarai keutamaan saya adalah satu pemulihan semula ke atas kuasa kehakiman (judicial review) yang boleh dilakukan melalui satu pengembalian semula satu peruntukan penting perlembagaan ke bentuk sebelum ia dipinda secara kontroversial pada 1988. Tidak perlulah saya mengingatkan anda bahawa pindaan perlembagaan itu didorong oleh satu siri peristiwa sama yang membawa bukan hanya kepada Operasi Lalang tetapi juga kepada pemecatan Ketua Hakim Negara dan dua Hakim Mahkamah Agung pada waktu itu.

Salah satu keutamaan saya ialah cara dalam mana bidang kuasa dan kuasa Mahkamah-Mahkamah untuk membuat pembetulan ke atas tindakan wewenang dan di luar perlembagaan Eksekutif telah dikeluarkan oleh Parlimen dan tahap di mana ini telah menyebabkan berlakunya kemerosotan ke atas kebebasan-kebebasan sivil rakyat Malaysia. Pindaan perlembagaan inilah yang telah membuka jalan kepada peruntukan 'ouster' dalam ISA yang secara efektifnya memberi imuniti kepada Menteri dari semakan kehakiman, di mana ini adalah satu peruntukan yang menjadi contoh betapa pindaan perlembagaan 1988 telah membuka ruang untuk berlakunya ketidakadilan.

Saya juga telah cuba memperkenalkan cara-cara dengan mana langkah-langkah boleh diambil bagi membantu Kehakiman memperolehi semula reputasi kebebasan dan kecekapan yang pernah dipunyainya dahulu. Malangnya, ini dianggap tidak diperlukan oleh sesetengah pihak kerana Kehakiman yang bebas akan membawa makna Eksekutif akan menjadi kurang 'berpengaruh'.

Saya telah cuba melakukan perkara-perkara ini dan perkara-perkara lain kerana menyedari Kedaulatan Undang-Undang dan tradisi-tradisi demokratik di Malaysia sedang terhimpit. Apa pun, tiada orang yang rugi dengan memberikan setiap rakyat negara ini sebuah Kehakiman yang bebas dan peluang ke atas satu perbicaraan yang adil. Ini adalah konsisten dengan norma-norma sejagat mengenai hak-hak asasi manusia dan ia juga adalah konsisten dengan ajaran-ajaran Islam, iaitu agama bagi Persekutuan.

Kuasa tidak terbatas untuk menahan atas kehendak seorang individu adalah penindasan yang paling tinggi. Malah, di Israel, iaitu sebuah negara yang sentiasa berada dalam keadaan berperang sekalipun, kuasa untuk menahan tidak diberikan pada seorang individu seperti di Malaysia dan arahan-arahan penahanan memerlukan pengesahan daripada seorang hakim.

Jika terdapat pertimbangan-pertimbangan keselamatan negara, maka ini boleh ditangani tanpa mengenepikan kawalan-kawalan keselamatan yang dimaksudkan bagi melindungi rakyat dari dihukum secara tidak betul. Dalam bidang-bidang kuasa lain yang terlibat dalam konflik-konflik bersenjata, perbicaraan-perbicaraan dikendalikan secara sulit bagi membenarkan penelitian kehakiman dibuat ke atas bukti yang dianggap terlalu sensitif untuk didedahkan kepada umum bagi memenuhi kehendak-kehendak keadilan. Jika ini boleh dilakukan dalam bidang-bidang kuasa lain, mengapa tidak di sini di mana pertempuran bersenjata terakhir dapat kita saksikan, yang menjadi punca kepada wujudnya ISA, telah berakhir pada 1980-an?

Sebarang keraguan mengenai kerelevanan ISA dalam bentuknya sekarang sepatutnya sudah terhapus oleh rekomendasi Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (SUHAKAM) bahawa ISA perlu dimansuhkan dan bahawa sebuah undang-undang anti-keganasan yang bersesuaian dengan masa kini perlu diluluskan bagi menggantikannya. Mengandungi satu klausa 'sunset' dalam masa asalnya, ISA tidak pernah dimaksudkan untuk menjadi satu ciri asas dalam landskap perundangan Malaysia.

Melalui penggunaan berterusannya dalam cara yang diterangkan di atas dan berhadapan dengan sentimen umum, adalah natural bahawa ISA telah melekat di dalam fikiran orang ramai sebagai satu alat penindasan dan Kerajaan yang ada sebagai satu Kerajaan yang membuka ruang untuk berlakunya penindasan. Penggunaan berterusannya tidak menjadi petanda baik bagi sebuah masyarakat yang sedang berjuang untuk mencari tempatnya dalam arena global. Ia juga tidak menjadi petanda baik bagi demokrasi yang sangat penting bagi membolehkan kita membangun secara berterusan.

YAB Perdana Menteri, saya mengingati dengan sangat jelasnya apa yang anda sebutkan dahulu, iaitu bahawa jika seseorang itu mempunyai kesempatan untuk melaksanakan apa yang baik dan betul untuk negaranya, maka dia mestilah melaksanakan tugasan itu. Saya sangat menghormati anda kerananya. YAB, anda masih lagi Perdana Menteri buat masa ini dan masih lagi mempunyai kesempatan untuk meninggalkan jejak anda dalam sejarah Malaysia. Saya menyeru anda berbuat begitu dengan memansuhkan terus ISA.

Marilah kita cuba memenuhi janji yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri pertama kita yang dikasihi kepada rakyat negara ini.

Yang benar

ZAID IBRAHIM
Kuala Lumpur

______________________________________________________________________________________

English Translation

Zaid calls for repeal of ISA in open letter to PM

29 September 2008

YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Badawi
Prime Minister of Malaysia
5th Floor, East Wing
Perdana Putra Building
Putrajaya
Malaysia

Dear Mr Prime Minister

IN our proclamation of independence, our first prime minister gave voice to the lofty aspirations and dreams of the people of Malaya: that Malaya was founded on the principles of liberty and justice, and the promise that collectively we would always strive to improve the welfare and happiness of its people.

Many years have passed since that momentous occasion and those aspirations and dreams remain true and are as relevant to us today as they were then. This was made possible by a strong grasp of fundamentals in the early period of this nation.

The federal constitution and the laws made pursuant to it were well founded; they embodied the key elements of a democracy built on the rule of law. The Malaysian judiciary once commanded great respect from Malaysians and was hailed as a beacon for other nations.

Our earlier prime ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn were truly leaders of integrity, patriots in their own right and most importantly, men of humility. They believed in and built this nation on the principles and values enunciated in our constitution.

Even when they had to enact the Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960, they were very cautious and apologetic about it. Tunku stated clearly that the Act was passed to deal with the communist threat.

"My cabinet colleagues and I gave a solemn promise to Parliament and the nation that the immense powers given to the government under the ISA would never be used to stifle legitimate opposition and silence lawful dissent," was what the Tunku said.

Our third prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn, reinforced this position by saying that the ISA was not intended to repress lawful political opposition and democratic activity on the part of the citizenry.

The events of the last three weeks have compelled me to review the way in which the ISA has been used. This exercise has sadly led me to the conclusion that the government has time and time again failed the people of this country in repeatedly reneging on that solemn promise made by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

This has been made possible because the government and the law have mistakenly allowed the minister of home affairs to detain anyone for whatever reason he thinks fit. This subjective discretion has been abused to further certain political interests.

History is the great teacher and speaks volumes in this regard. Even a cursory examination of the manner in which the ISA has been used almost from its inception would reveal the extent to which its intended purpose has been subjugated to the politics of the day.

Regrettably, Tunku Abdul Rahman himself reneged on his promise. In 1965, his administration detained Burhanuddin Helmi, the truly towering Malay intellectual, a nationalist who happened to be a PAS leader. He was kept in detention until his death in 1969. Helmi was a political opponent and could by no stretch of the imagination be considered to have been involved in the armed rebellion or communism that the ISA was designed to deal with.

This detention was an aberration, a regrettable moment where politics had been permitted to trump the rule of law. It unfortunately appears to have set a precedent and many detentions of persons viewed as having been threatening to the incumbent administration followed through the years.

Even our literary giant, ‘sasterawan negara’ the late Tan Sri A Samad Ismail was subjected to the ISA in 1976. How could he have been a threat to national security?

I need not remind you of the terrible impact of the 1987 'Operasi Lalang.' Its spectre haunts the government as much as it does the peace-loving people of this nation, casting a gloom over all of us. There were and still are many unanswered questions about those dark hours when more than a hundred persons were detained for purportedly being threats to national security. Why they were detained has never been made clear to Malaysians.

Similarly, no explanation has been forthcoming as to why they were never charged in court. Those detainees included amongst their numbers senior opposition members of parliament who are still active in Parliament today.

The only thing that is certain about that period was that Umno was facing a leadership crisis. Isn’t it coincidental that the recent spate of ISA arrests has occurred when Umno is again having a leadership crisis?

In 2001, Keadilan ‘reformasi’ activists were detained in an exercise that the Federal Court declared was in bad faith and unlawful. The continued detention of those that were not released earlier in the Kamunting detention facility was made possible only by the fact that the ISA had been questionably amended in 1988 to preclude judicial review of the minister’s order to detain.

Malaysians were told that these detainees had been attempting to overthrow the government via militant means and violent demonstrations. Seven years have gone and yet no evidence in support of this assertion has been presented. Compounding the confusion even further, one of these so-called militants, Ezam Mohamad Noor, recently rejoined Umno to great fanfare, as a prized catch it would seem.

At around the same time, members of PAS were also detained for purportedly being militant and allegedly having links to international terrorist networks. Those detained included Nik Adli, the son of Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the Menteri Besar of Kelantan. Malaysians were made a promise by the government that evidence of the alleged terrorist activities and links of these detainees would be disclosed. To date no such evidence has been produced.

The same formula was used in late 2007 when the Hindraf 5 were detained. Malaysians were told once again that these individuals were involved in efforts to overthrow the government and had links with the militant Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka. To date no concrete evidence have been presented to support this assertion.

It would seem therefore that the five were detained for their involvement in efforts that led to a mobilisation of Indian Malaysians to express, through peaceful means; their frustration against the way in which their community had been allowed to be marginalised. This cause has since been recognised as a legitimate one. The Hindraf demonstration is nothing extraordinary as such assemblies are universally recognised as being a legitimate means of expression.

In the same vein, the grounds advanced in support of the most recent detentions of Tan Hoon Cheng, Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamarudin leave much to be desired. The explanation that Tan Hoon Cheng was detained for her own safety was farcical. The suggestion that Teresa Kok had been inciting religious sentiments was unfounded as was evidenced by her subsequent release.

As for Raja Petra Kamarudin, the prominent critic of the government, a perusal of his writings would show that he might have been insulting of the government and certain individuals within it.

However, being critical and insulting could not in any way amount to a threat to national security. If his writings are viewed as being insulting of Islam, Muslims or the Holy Prophet, he should instead be charged under the Penal Code and not under the ISA.

In any event, he had already been charged for sedition and criminal defamation in respect of some of his statements. He had claimed trial, indicating as such his readiness and ability to defend himself. Justice would best be served by allowing him his day in court more so where, in the minds of the public, the government is in a position of conflict for having been the target of his strident criticism.

The instances cited above strongly suggest that the government is undemocratic. It is this perspective that has over the last 25 plus years led to the government seemingly arbitrarily detaining political opponents, civil society and consumer advocates, writers, businessmen, students, journalists whose crime, if it could be called that, was to have been critical of the government.

How it is these individuals can be perceived as being threats to national security is beyond my comprehension. The self-evident reality is that legitimate dissent was and is quashed through the heavy-handed use of the ISA.

There are those who support and advocate this carte-blanche reading of the ISA. They will seek to persuade you that the interests of the country demand that such power be retained, that Malaysians owe their peace and stability to laws such as the ISA. This overlooks the simple truth that Malaysians of all races cherish peace. We lived together harmoniously for the last 400 years, not because of these laws but in spite of them.

I believe the people of this country are mature and intelligent enough to distinguish actions that constitute a ‘real’ threat to the country from those that threaten political interests. Malaysians have come know that the ISA is used against political opponents and, it would seem, when the leadership is under challenge either from within the ruling party or from external elements.

Malaysians today want to see a government that is committed to the court process to determine guilt or innocence even for alleged acts of incitement of racial or religious sentiment. They are less willing to believe, as they once did, that a single individual, namely the minister of home affairs; knows best about matters of national security.

They value freedom and the protection of civil liberties and this is true of people of other nations too.

Mr Prime Minister, the results of the last general election are clear indication that the people of Malaysia are demanding a reinstatement of the rule of law. I was appointed as your, albeit short-lived, minister in charge of legal affairs and judicial reform.

In that capacity, I came to understand more keenly how many of us want reform, not for the sake of it, but for the extent to which our institutions have been undermined by events and the impact this has had on society.

With your blessing, I attempted to push for reform. High on my list of priorities was a reinstatement of the inherent right of judicial review that could be enabled through a reversion of the key constitutional provision to its form prior to the controversial amendment in 1988.

I need not remind you that that constitutional amendment was prompted by the same series of events that led not only to Operasi Lalang but the sacking of the then Lord President and two supreme court justices.

Chief amongst my concerns was the way in which the jurisdiction and the power of the courts to grant remedy against unconstitutional and arbitrary action of the executive had been removed by Parliament and the extent to which this had permitted an erosion of the civil liberties of Malaysians.

It was this constitutional amendment that paved the way for the ouster provision in the ISA that virtually immunises the minister from judicial review, a provision which exemplifies the injustice the constitutional amendment of 1988 has lent itself.

I also sought to introduce means by which steps could be taken to assist the judiciary to regain the reputation for independence and competence it once had. Unfortunately, this was viewed as undesirable by some since an independent judiciary would mean that the executive would be less ‘influential’.

I attempted to do these things and more because of the realisation that Malaysia’s democratic traditions and the rule of law are under siege. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with giving everyone an independent judiciary and the opportunity to a fair trial.

This is consistent with the universal norms of human rights as it is with the tenets of Islam, the religion of the federation. Unchecked power to detain at the whim of one man is oppressiveness at its highest. Even in Israel, a nation that is perpetually at war the power to detain is not vested in one man and detention orders require endorsement from a judge.

If there are national security considerations, then these can be approached without jettisoning the safeguards intended to protect individual citizens from being penalised wrongfully. In other jurisdictions involved in armed conflicts, trials are held in camera to allow for judicial scrutiny of evidence considered too sensitive for public disclosure so as to satisfy the ends of justice.

If this can be done in these jurisdictions, why not here where the last armed struggle we saw, the very one that precipitated the need for the ISA, came to an end in the 1980s?

Any doubts as to the continued relevance of the ISA in its present form should have been put to rest by the recommendation by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) that the ISA be repealed and an anti-terror legislation suited to the times enacted in its place. Containing as it did a sunset clause in its original times, the ISA was never intended to be a permanent feature on the Malaysian legal landscape.

Through its continued use in the manner described above and in the face of public sentiment, it is only natural that the ISA has become in the mind of the people an instrument of oppression and the government is one that lends itself to oppressiveness.

Its continued use does not bode well for a society that is struggling to find its place in the global arena. It does not bode well for the democracy that is so vital for us to develop sustainably.

Mr Prime Minister, I remember very clearly what you once said; that if one has the opportunity to do what is good and right for the country, then he must take on the task. I respect you deeply for that and if I were confident that I would have been able to do some good for Malaysia, I would have remained on your team.

Sir, you are still the Prime Minister and you still have the opportunity to leave your footprint in Malaysian history. I urge you to do so by repealing the ISA once and for all.

Let us attempt to fulfil that solemn promise made by our beloved first prime minister to the people of this country.

Yours sincerely,

ZAID IBRAHIM

Kuala Lumpur

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Gerakan mulls quitting Barisan, may join Pakatan

Gerakan at a crossroads
Beleagured Gerakan is considering three options: Leaving Barisan to join Pakatan, becoming an independent party, or staying on with the ruling coalition. Acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the party is not ruling out any possibility at this moment, saying Gerakan is assessing the situation, but not closing any doors.


By LISA GO
Sunday September 28, 2008 MYT 5:44:38 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan is considering the option of leaving Barisan Nasional and joining the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance.

Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said this was among three options for the party - the other two being to either stay with the ruling coalition, or leave and become independent.

“We are not ruling out any possibility at this moment. We have to assess the situation, but we are not closing any doors.

“Neither are we saying we will definitely leave. It’s something we need to assess but we cannot do it based on sentiments alone,” he told reporters after launching the KL-Federal Territory (FT) state delegates conference here on Sunday.

Dr Koh said the party was examining how the political scenario in the country would continue to change, and had been getting feedback from the grassroots.

“If you go on sentiments alone, I would say more than 60% (want us to leave), but we are taking a lot of factors into consideration, and a decision cannot be based just on sentiments.

“It’s a very trying time, and there is need for a lot of rational, objective analysis. It cannot be a straightforward simplistic decision,” he said.

In his opening speech, Dr Koh also announced that he would be contesting for the president’s post in the October party elections.

“I am offering myself for the post, but I also set a timeframe for myself, and it is unlikely that I will go beyond two terms. I would like to have younger and newer leaders to continue the process of political commitment,” he said.

Asked if he would name his deputy, he replied: “We will let the delegates decide.”

He was also asked to comment on some 20 FT Gerakan members who had defected to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), including former FT Gerakan information bureau chief Gan Kok Keng and former Setiawangsa Gerakan chief Li Tiam Chai.

“I feel surprised because it was only last week when Li Tiam Chai was with me in a meeting and there were no signs that he was not happy.

“We were talking about how to strengthen the party. So I am surprised but I will continue with the veterans, and new members are committed,” he said.

Dr Koh also commented on the Umno leadership transition, which he hoped would be “smooth and peaceful.”

“Even though the change in Umno leadership is an internal party matter, but we are also concerned because the Umno leader also becomes the leader of Barisan and the Federal Government,” he said.

Earlier this month, Gerakan became embroiled in the controversy over former Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail’s alleged racist remarks in which he purportedly described Malaysian Chinese as “squatters.”

Gerakan leaders had demanded an apology and for action to be taken against the Umno man, who in turn blamed Gerakan for Barisan’s poor showing in the March 8 general election, which saw the state of Penang fall to to the opposition.

The war of words even saw Ahmad’s supporters tearing down a picture of Dr Koh after a press conference.

The Umno Supreme Council subsequently suspended Ahmad from his party posts for three years, although he remains a member. No further action was taken against him.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

New poll shows Anwar will be better PM than Najib


By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — By a small margin, Malaysians think opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would make a better prime minister compared with Datuk Seri Najib Razak, according to a survey conducted recently by the independent Merdeka Centre.

In the same survey, Malaysians also appear more divided than ever over their support for the country's political leadership.

There are also sharp differences in preferences between the different races, with a majority of non-Malays supporting Anwar, while more Malays preferred Najib.

Between Sept 11 and 22, Merdeka Centre carried out a leadership performance perception on a cross section of 1,002 people of voting age from the three main ethnic communities in the country.

Among the questions asked was: "Between Najib Razak and Anwar Ibrahim, who do you think makes a better prime minister?"

Najib garnered a 33.8 per cent average total support among the three major races. Anwar edged him by a margin of less than six per cent — he garnered an average total of 39.3 per cent.

The difference is more conspicuous when the show of support is broken down according to the ethnicity of those polled.

The split was apparent among racial lines, with Najib drawing as much as 47.3 per cent support from the Malay community. Anwar trailed with just 32.5 per cent.

The opposition leader gained greater support among non-Malays, receiving the support of 37.4 per cent of Chinese voters and a whopping 85 per cent from the Indians.

In comparison, Najib only won the approval of 18.4 per cent of Chinese voters and just five per cent of Indians thought he would make a better prime minister.

Of note was the high percentage of voters who remained non-commital. More than 40 per cent of Chinese voters polled expressed no preference.


Based on the poll results, Malay support for Najib is significantly stronger than that for Anwar.

Political analyst Tricia Yeoh says the party factor is a very strong featuring factor with the non-Malay communities.

"It is possible they view Najib as continuing to perpetuate the same kind of politics that has plagued Malaysia through Umno," she said.

"Anwar will need to fight for Malay support most prominently since Najib may continue to be seen as the final bastion of support for the Malay position," she added.

Another political analyst, Khoo Kay Peng, sees it differently.

"No doubt Najib commands higher support among the Malay community because of the status of Umno as a Malay party. It has been representing the Malays for a long time. But at 47.3 per cent, the support is not really very high for Najib. It's not much off Abdullah's support," he said.

Based on the same Merdeka Centre report, Abdullah still enjoys 50.7 per cent support from the Malays.

"The key is that Najib does not get much support from the Chinese and Indians. Najib is still seen as a Malay leader.

"If you want to be the prime minister, you must have support from across the board," he said.

"Anwar stands a much better chance because he gets support from over 30 per cent of the Chinese and the Indians, predominantly from the Indians, which is consistent with past reports," he pointed out.

In a toss up between who will become the next prime minister, he felt it would definitely be Anwar.

But for Khalid Samad, the Pas MP for Shah Alam and an ally of Anwar, the results are frightening for the Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

He said the results of the survey showed government media propaganda still held sway, especially among the rural Malays.

He is concerned that much of the Malay media has portrayed a negative impression of Anwar as being an "immoral guy" and being a stooge of the United States.

"Basically, Umno-Barisan Nasional has been quite successful in conning Malays into believing that Anwar is selling out the Malays and that is the reason for the low percentage of support for Anwar," said Khalid.

"These are not very encouraging results if it is representative of the entire population. It means there is a problem. Anwar will have to work harder.

"It's important he should have at least a 50-50 situation among Malays. That would suffice," he stressed.

But he does not think that the sample poll is a true reflection of the voting populace.

"I don't think that Anwar in the actual situation is that far behind Najib. I would expect 47 per cent for Najib and 45 per cent for Anwar.

"The difference, almost 15 per cent difference in support from Malays, gives the impression that if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power, the position of the Malays will be jeopardised.

"But no one race will lose out under Pakatan leadership," he said.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Umno polls put off to March



By Shannon Teoh

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — Umno has postponed its party elections to March next year to facilitate an early transition plan, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi announced today.

The party polls had been scheduled for December. However, divisional elections will proceed as scheduled from Oct 9 to Nov 9, the supreme council decided at an emergency meeting this morning at Umno headquarters.

Abdullah speaks to the press after the meeting. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Abdullah said he has not decided whether he will defend his post as president. He will make an announcement before Oct 9.

"I am not under any pressure. It will be my decision," he said. "The postponement of the AGM is to facilitate the transition plan."

"It will be my decision alone but you can go on guessing."

The original plan was for Abdullah to hand over power to Najib in June 2010.

Earlier the party president and his No. 2 jointly presented the proposal to the Supreme Council.

According to Supreme Council members The Malaysian Insider spoke to, the proposal was well received and greeted with relief.

Today's decision comes after a week of intense speculation over the future of both Abdullah and Najib.

The two men had originally hammered out a transition plan that would have seen Najib take over the reins of power by 2010, but this has come under heavy criticism.

While the party's polls have been postponed, the divisional meetings, where nominations for the party's top posts will come from, starting from October 9, will proceed as scheduled.

Hence, there is a need for the Prime Minister to announce before Oct 9 whether he will defend the presidency.

Abdullah did not, however, elaborate on what he meant by an early transition, but this is widely believed to mean he will definitely leave office before 2010.

"This is to accelerate whatever procedure that needs to be carried out and will be decided between me and Najib. If we want to make it earlier than 2010, it is not an issue," said Abdullah.

Abdullah also denied he was under pressure to quit, or that he was going on leave soon.

"Maybe there are two or three people who feel that way but in the majority there is no reason to pressure because they know my relationship with Najib is good," he said.

"As far as I am concerned, I love my party. Even under the most difficult circumstances I never left. I never joined Semangat 46, I never joined any other party, or been on the platform of an opposition party to speak against Umno. There is no record of me attacking my party at all," he replied when asked if he was willing to sacrifice his own career for the party.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

FDI outflow surpasses inflow

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 - Malaysia's foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow surpassed inflow for the first time last year, with net outflow amounting to almost RM9 billion as local firms accelerated cross-border acquisitions to fulfil regional dreams.

FDI outflow in 2007 surged 82 per cent to RM38 billion from 2006, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (Unctad) World Investment Report 2008. FDI inflow was also higher, by some 39 per cent to just over RM29 billion. Since early 2000, the gap between FDI inflow and outflow has been narrowing, reaching near parity in 2006.

Economists see the increase in reverse investments as a "healthy" development, given many sectors of the Malaysian economy have reached near-maturity or maturity and surplus domestic funds require an outlet.

They also see regional competition as a good training ground for toughening local companies. And because most of Malaysia's reverse investments were in Asean, they believe it will put the country at the forefront of the region's plans for economic integration by 2015 under the Asean Economic Community initiative.

In terms of FDI stock, the trend towards reverse investments was also reflected in a 61 per cent spike in outward stock to RM201 billion last year, from RM125 billion in 2006. In the same period, inward stock grew 42.5 per cent to RM265 billion. Inward stock refers to the value of stock acquired by foreign firms in Malaysian firms, while outward stock is the value of stock acquired by local firms in overseas companies.

The Unctad report says developing nations have significant transnational companies (TNCs) and these TNCs are becoming prominent investors in other developing economies. In the top 100 infrastructure TNC list, for example, Malaysia and Singapore each boast three companies. Malaysian giants Petronas, YTL Corporation, Genting, Telekom, Sime Darby and Maxis made the list of the top 100 non-financial TNCs from developing countries, ranked by foreign assets.

Economic Council of Malaysia member Zainal Aznam Yusoff attributes the sizeable increase in reverse investments to cross-border acquisitions, especially in the areas of finance and services such as telecommunications.

Even so, Malaysia's fall on the Inward FDI Performance Index to 71st position last year from 67th in 2006, could be a cause for concern.

Ratings Agency Malaysia chief economist Yeah Kim Leng said larger reverse investments are acceptable, but there would be a concern if domestic investments and FDI inflow declined sharply in future. - Business Times Singapore

Thursday, September 18, 2008

BREAKING NEWS!!

Anwar Ibrahim's Press Conference at 14.20 Hrs.

Siaran Langsung Sidang Media Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim

Tempat : PKR HQ, Tropicana
Tarikh : 18 September 2008
Masa : 2 P.M

At the just concluded press conference the Pakatan Rakyat leader Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim said they had sent a letter to the Prime Minister Abdullah this afternoon, to request him to instruct the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat to convene an emergency sitting of Parliament on Tuesday 23 September 2008. The sitting is specifically to allow the Pakatan Rakyat to put forward a 'Motion of No Confidence' in the Prime Minister and the Government. According to Anwar, Pakatan has the majority MPs on thier side, but decline to give the numbers for security reason on members involved.


Picture courtesy of The Malaysian Insider

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Welcome to a born-again Malaysia!




SEPT 16 - This is perhaps the second Sept 16 so many Malaysians have been excited about. The first, of course, was 45 years ago, in 1963. Probably for simplicity sake, the coming together of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore as one nation was supposed to be on Aug 31, the same date as Malaya's independence.

But as fate, and opposition from Indonesia and the Philippines, would have it, Malaysia's formation was slightly delayed, leaving the new nation with two birthdays. Not surprisingly, Malaysians from the peninsula pay far less attention to Sept 16 than our Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters.

In 2008, we are on the cusp of history once more. It is not without significance that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim cleverly chose Sept 16 as a self-imposed deadline. He could have picked, say, the first Tuesday of December, but he went with the date on which our nation was truly born, a date that continues to serve as a point of contention for East Malaysians as representative of how Putrajaya has little regard for their interests, a date that remains a regular day for much of the country despite its significance, which also happens to be something Pakatan Rakyat wants to change. In other words, 45 years on, Malaysia could be on the verge of being born again as a nation. This time as a functional democracy, something that we put on hold in the name of stability and economic development at heavy cost.

Like 45 years ago, there is resistance and opposition. There is uncertainty, fear and tension, some real, some orchestrated. This isn't surprising. The status quo will never stand by idly waiting while change takes over. In fact, the status quo bets that Malaysians will retreat back into our suspicious ways once enough pressure has been applied, so it is choosing to crush the hopes of all of us who are optimistically dreaming of a new Malaysia by using the same old tactics. The best way to discourage Malaysia's maturing into a functional democracy less obsessed with race is to divide the people further and prevent us from uniting for a larger cause.

So we now have, on this Malaysia Day, new ISA detainees, fabricated accusations of religious interference, a clampdown on the media and many other unsettling developments. All of which, I believe, are designed to create a state of unease and fatigue among Malaysians. But we also have, on this Malaysia Day, a citizenry that is considerably more enlightened, one that is more likely to see through the cynical manner race is exploited like a trump card by those afraid of losing all power.

This Malaysia Day, Malaysians are saying, "Enough!"' Enough of using the ISA as a political tool. Of using real people as pawns in their game. Enough of politicians who cause hate among Malaysians, then exploit it for what it's worth. Enough to an entire nation being held hostage by the likes of Datuk Ahmad Ismail. Enough of Sabah and Sarawak being treated like second-class states. Enough of the blatant corruption, lies, mismanagement and downright incompetence. Enough, in other words, of Barisan Nasional rule - it is time for all right-thinking MPs to seriously consider crossing the floor as the moral thing to do.

This Sept 16, Malaysians have taken back Malaysia Day as a reminder of the struggle to make our country great again. ISA vigils are being held for the ISA detainees. The move to form a new federal government is underway. Even those from within BN, be they component parties or Cabinet ministers, are speaking out for what's right.

In 1963, we became Malaysia under volatile circumstances. Hostile neighbours, a problematic Singapore and the difficulty in holding together a diverse, newly formed nation were just a few of the challenges we faced. It's now 45 years later and the country is facing a different set of problems. Once again, we are called to believe in the concept of Malaysia, to believe that as different as we are from one another, we can come together. To believe that all Malaysians have a shared destiny, one that can only be fulfilled if we all stand brave in the face of the greatest of enemies, one that often tempts us to be less than what we are - ourselves.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

BN GOVERNMENT BIGGEST BLUNDER OF THE YEAR


KUALA LUMPUR: Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) because police received information that her life had been threatened, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

“Police wanted to get to the bottom of it,” he said. More story here...



Press briefing: Syed Hamid making a point as Narcotics Crime Investigations Department director
Deputy Comm Datuk Zulhasnan Najib Baharuddin (left) and Acting Inspector- General of
Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar (second from right) look on.

Note: If your life is under threat, please call Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar or the Police to arrest you under the Internal Security Act (ISA). This is the logic of Syed Hamid press statement.

Tan detained because life was 'under threat'

THE NEW STRAITS TIMES
By : Fay Angela D'cruz


Picture coutesy of Malaysiakini.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng was detained under the Internal Security Act because police believed her life was "under threat".

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said police intelligence had ascertained that Tan's safety was threatened because of what she had written about former Bukit Bendera Umno division chairman Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

"She had received threats recently from unknown individuals," he said at Federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, stressing that there was no political interest in the recent detentions.

The swift action was to ensure her safety, he said.

Syed Hamid said Tan was released yesterday after police were satisfied with her answers during questioning.

The reporter was released at 3.30pm and returned to her home in Bukit Mertajam.

Asked why police had to detain her under the ISA instead of just summoning her to a police station, Syed Hamid said police had acted according to the law.

"The police are just doing their job to ensure that national security and public order are maintained."

Pressed again on why the ISA was used against Tan, Syed Hamid said the report made by her was on a sensitive issue and police needed to get to the bottom of it.

"Umno also suspended Ahmad from holding any post for three whole years."

Malaysia Today news portal editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and DAP Seputeh member of parliament Teresa Kok were also detained on Friday under the ISA for different reasons. Unlike Tan, they are still being held.

Syed Hamid said Raja Petra and Kok could be detained under section 73(1) of the ISA for up to 60 days.

Under this section, police can act to detain a person up to 60 days. It is only after this that the home minister must sign a order under section 8 of the act to detain a person for two years.

When asked whether the arrests were sparked off after news that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was moving towards toppling the government by Sept 16, Syed Hamid said that was nonsensical.

"Please do inform me if there are any developments regarding this matter," he told reporters jokingly.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Bala mayuh ngeransi jalai kelalu jai

Utusan Borneo >>Iban>>
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

N66 MARUDI: Jalai alun ti nyambung rumah panjai bala raban bansa Iban ba menua Gudang enggau Poyut/Lubok Nibong ditu berupai balat jai udah bekau kompeni besai tebilang nama tampak rita ngereja pengawa nebang sereta ngambi kayu ari alai nya.

Gaya peda pemberita, jalai alun nya penuh laban lubang besai sereta dalam, luchak sereta mayuh penyai bukai laban semampai ditengah luri besai ngangkut kayu lebih ari muat iya nengah jalai alun nya.

Ari nya, bala rayat ba sebelah rumah panjai menua nya minta kasih ari sida kompeni kayu batang nya ngambi bejalaika tanggungjawab sida ngadu jalai ngasuh manah agi sereta belubang ba mayuh alai endur serantu jalai alun nya.

“Sebedau kompeni bejalaika pengawa sida betebangka kayu ba kandang menua ditu, jalai ditu jauh manah ari diatu, tang diatu udah bekau ditengah luri ngemai batang kayu, jalai tu nyau bakatu, ukai jalai rumah panjai agi,” ku siku Tuai Rumah ke enda ngasuh nama iya ditulis ditu.

Orang ke balat kena tinggang penanggul jalai alun nya bala pengajar ke berundang ke sekula ari Marudi, baka ngagai sekula SK.Poyut, SK.Sg Stapang, SK.Sg Brit, SK.Lubok Nibong, SJK Hua Nam enggau SJK Chiaw Nam laban tebal agi bala pengajar di menua ditu diau ba pasar Marudi ngenyadika bisi api enggau ai beresi.

Mayuh bendar bala tuai rumah ke nguan kelingi menua ditu ngemansutka ransi, bantah sereta kutuk sida pasal gaya gamal jalai ke balat jai sereta enda digaga-gaga ulih opis kuasa pengawa ngaga jalai nya.

Sida madah enda lantang bendar ati meda gaya penyai jalai alun nya, taja pan sekeda bala sida ke bisi bulih penguntung ari pengawa kompeni kayu batang nya sigi nadai bemunyi.

Ku bala sida ke ngeransi meda penyai jalai nya, nadai kebuah mensia mayuh tau enda mantah jalai ke jai nya, laban sida endang nadai jalai, tang nengah jalai nya kena mindah kulu kili.

Nyadi pekara tu sigi suah udah dikenataika ngagai Opis Tuan DO ngambika diperati ulih DO Baram Joseph Belayong empu. Tang taja pan DO Belayong suah bendar udah minta kompeni kayu batang nya ngadu jalai enggau manah, kompeni nya lalu nadai bejalaika pengawa munyi ke diasuh ulih DO nya.

Ngagai diatu, jalai nya agi mengkang belubang sereta mayuh penyai bukai. Sekeda lubang besai nya nganti nyawa ditaban.

“Diatu nadai agi meda belakin ba atas Jalai Poyut/Lubok Nibong nya, enda baka suba, mina diatu mayuh jalai nya endang tanah, enggau batu, ka tambah lubang dalam enggau besai,” ku siku orang nguan menua nya tang enda ngasuh nama iya ditulis ditu.

Siku anak lelaki Kapitan China ba menua Poyut madah jalai alun nya endang amat jai, laban iya diau ba simpang Sungai Brit.

Lelaki nya penama Houng madah, jalai alun dia chukup jai, kelebih agi laban luri kayu batang ke bejalai nengah nya musin pengujan, lalu ngeruang besai agi lubang sereta nambah pengeluchak jalai.

SNAP wants Sept 16 to be celebrated


By Lucas Jalong Bato
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
,

MIRI: The Sarawak National Party (SNAP) believes it is not too late for the country to set the record straight and celebrate Sept 16 — the actual day of Malaysia’s formation.

“This is not a question of agreeing with Pakatan Rakyat or anybody. But the national integrity and character of Malaysia, its leaders and the people are at stake.

“The five states under Pakatan Rakyat have bravely accepted the truth about Malaysia by publicly stepping in the right direction to declare Sept 16 every year a public holiday,” said SNAP president Edwin Dundang.

According to Edwin, Malaysians have been forced to celebrate the country’s independence on Aug 31 and led to believe that Malaysia as a nation is 51 years old.

“This is a historic lie. We lie to our neighbours. We lie to the world. We will lie to our posterity if we don’t accept the truth,” said Edwin.

He said while the state government should work with the federal government, they should not accept the ‘false date’ for the celebration.

“For the last 45 years, particularly Sarawak and Sabah have been forced more or less to celebrate a false Malaysian independence, which did not exist 51 years ago.

“As a result of celebrating a national event and history which never existed, the two states have not been treated in accordance with their rights and privileges as enshrined in the Malaysian Federal Constitution and the Malaysian Agreement,” said Edwin.

He added, “This false independence date has created or invited the wrong perception about the reality of Malaysia and subsequently the unsatisfactory treatment of partners and founding states by KL.”

Edwin believed the federal government had a hidden agenda for forcing the celebration of Aug 31.

“As Malaysia was born on 16 September 1963 and not on 31 August of any year, KL has succeeded in not implementing the Malaysian Agreement to the full, giving the impression to within and outside the country, that Sarawak and Sabah joined Malaysia.

“As separate, independent states — Sarawak, Sabah and Malaya on 16 September come together to form a new country called Malaysia that is fully independent having its own sovereignty,” said Edwin.

He said accepting the truth would help Malaysia develop as a united nation respected by the world.

“We must come out from being a nation of make-believe and start living in a world of reality and truth.”

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Antara pendatang dan penumpang

: Kuda Ranggi



ditulis olih Syed Imran


Pada mulanya saya agak keberatan nak ulas kekecohan yang berpunca ekoran daripada kenyataan ketua UMNO bahagian Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang bernama Ahmad bin Ismail. Sama ada benar atau tidak apa yang didakwa dikatakan olehnya mengenai rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina bukan persoalannya kerana isu tersebut sudahpun merebak dan mengapi-apikan keadaan.

Jika tidak ditangani dengan cermat, teliti dan bijak, isu itu boleh ditangguk dalam air yang keruh oleh anasir-anasir yang ingin melihat negara ini hancur serta mengundang campur tangan kuasa asing. Dalam zaman dunia tanpa sempadan dan liputan meluas dan segera oleh media elektronik antarabangsa, apa yang berlaku di sesebuah negara itu tidak dapat disembunyi atau dinafikan.

Isu pokok yang dibangkitkan oleh Ahmad Ismail membabitkan persoalan "menumpang" iaitu rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina adalah penumpang di negara ini. Beliau menjelaskan bahawa ia merujuk kepada zaman pra-Merdeka. Bagaimanapun, sensitiviti rakyat Malaysia keturunan Cina telah terguris.

Saya tidak mengenali secara peribadi Ahmad Ismail, tetapi kenal agak rapat dengan Allahyarham abangnya, Abdul Rahim Ismail, pemilik Syarikat Pembinaan Rahim yang pada satu ketika dahulu agak terkenal sebagai sebuah firma pembinaan Bumiputera yang unggul di Pulau Pinang. Saya tidak tahu apa dah jadi dengan syarikat itu selepas Abdul Rahim meninggal dunia.

Secara peribadi, saya tidak setuju dengan apa yang didakwa dikata oleh Ahmad Ismail atas beberapa sebab.

Bagi saya, hampir 90 peratus rakyat Malaysia, khususnya di Semenanjung, adalah pendatang dan kita semua sebenarnya menumpang hidup di bumi Allah. Kita bukan pemilik kekal tetapi hanya menumpang.

Sebagai contoh, saya sendiri adalah keturunan pendatang yang menumpang hidup di bumi bertuah ini. Datuk nenek di sebelah bapa saya berhijrah dari Makkah dan dari Brunei ke sini manakala di sebelah ibu pula dari Hadhramut, Yaman. Kami adalah pendatang dan penumpang sama seperti hampir semua penduduk negara ini khususnya di Pulau Pinang.

Bagi Ahmad Ismail, dia juga datang dari keluarga pendatang dan menumpang hidup di negara ini. Ahmad Ismail tidak boleh menafikan hakikat bahawa datuk neneknya adalah pendatang dari India untuk menerokai penghidupan yang lebih baik dan selesa di bumi bertuah ini.

Perdana Menteri Abdullah bin Ahmad juga tergolong dalam kategori yang sama. Datuknya di sebelah ibu adalah pendatang dari wilayah Guandong, China. Pendek kata, datuk Pak Lah iaitu bapa Allahyarhamah Kailan bernama Hassan Salleh atau Hah Su Chiang adalah seorang pendatang. Beliau berhijrah ke Tanah Melayu dari wilayah Guandong (Kwantung) pada pertengahan abad ke-19 dan menetap di Bayan Lepas sebagai pekebun getah, pesawah padi dan kemudian saudagar intan berlian.

Najib Tun Razak, Timbalan PM juga berasal daripada keluarga pendatang iaitu dari Sulawesi, Indonesia atau lebih senang disebut orang Bugis manakala sepupunya Hishamudin Hussein tidak terlepas daripada darah keturunan Turki.

Datuk nenek mantan PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad juga pendatang dari Kerala, India manakala ibu Almarhum Tunku Abul Rahman berasal dari negeri Siam (Thailand).

Kesultanan Melayu Melaka pun dibuka oleh orang pendatang dari Sumatra bernama Parameswara, seorang anak raja atau bangsawan beragama Hindu.

Dalam sejarah kesultanan Melayu, kita dapati ada yang ditubuh oleh pendatang dari Bugis dan ada pula dari Hadhramut selain dari Minangkabau.

Hampir semua orang Melayu di sini berasal dari luar Tanah Melayu tetapi diiktiraf sebagai "bangsa Melayu" oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Kita adalah "Melayu mengikut takrifan Perlembagaan" iaitu beragama Islam, mengamalkan adat resam Melayu dan bertutur dalam bahasa Melayu. Malangnya, bahasa Melayu nampaknya dimatikan oleh orang Melayu (UMNO) sendiri apabila dinamakan sebagai bahasa Malaysia.

Oleh itu, orang Arab seperti Syed Hamid Albar dan saya, orang Aceh seperti Sanusi Junid, orang India seperti Kader Sheikh Fadzir dan Nor Mohamed Yakcop, orang Bugis seperti Najib, orang Minang seperti Rais Yatim, orang Jawa seperti Mohamad Rahmat dan yang lain seperti dari Madura, Pulau Boyan, Siam, Burma, Yunnan (China) dan selatan Filipina dengan mudah boleh diiktirf sebagai "Melayu".

Mereka diterima sebagai orang Melayu tidak kira sama ada mereka bertutur bahasa Melayu atau tidak di rumah umpamanya si Arab berbahasa Arab, si Jawa berbahasa Jawa dan si Minang berbahasa Minang atupun si Mamak berbahasa Tamil.

Bahasa-bahasa yang disebut itu bukan bahasa Melayu dan jika dilihat dari sudut Perlembagaan Persekutuan, tidak boleh diterima atau diiktiraf sebagai bangsa Melayu. Walau bagaimanapun, atas kepentingan dan faktor politik, semuanya diterima sebagai Melayu dan Bumiputera.

Oleh itu, adalah tidak adil untuk menuding jari kepada orang Cina yang juga kaum pendatang sama seperti orang Arab, India, Aceh, Minang, Batak, Mandailing, Jawa, Madura mahupun Bugis, sebagai menumpang di negeri ini. Kita tidak boleh menafikan bahawa sebilangan besar datuk nenek orang Cina telah berhijrah ke negeri ini semasa Kesultanan Melayu Melaka, bahkan kesultanan-kesultanan terdahulu di Kedah mahupun Terengganu dan Kelantan serta semasa Francis Light berjaya menipu Sultan Kedah untuk menduduki Pulau Pinang pada 1786.

Kita adalah kaum pendatang yang menumpang hidup di negeri ini. Golongan yang boleh diiktiraf sebagai orang asal atau anak bumi tulen adalah mereka yang kita kenali sebagai Negrito, Jakun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi dan suku kaum masyarakat Asli lain yang masih menjadi penghuni belantara.

Kita tidak harus lupa akan sumbangan dan pengorbanan semua kaum dan suku kaum untuk membangunkan Malaysia sama ada dari sudut ekonomi, kemasyarakatan, keselamatan dan yang paling penting kesepakatan dan perpaduan. Semua orang yang kena dan seharusnya membayar cukai, berbuat demikian tanpa mengira kaum atau asal keturunan, sama ada pendatang atau penumpang.

Kita semua adalah rakyat Malaysia.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

BN AND UMNO IN TURMOIL


Sin Chew Daily
Sunday, Sept., 07 2008


NAJIB: I've Got The Message


Deputy prime minister cum UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said, in the Permatang Pauh by-election, more than 90% of Chinese voters cast their votes for PKR, and from there he got the message delivered by the voters to UMNO.

"I've got the message, and understood it. I always tell people, 'BN must listen to what the people say.'"

He said UMNO and BN had no choice but to change and adjust itself.

On whether that is his personal stand or that of UMNO, he said, "If we want to redeem our image, if we want to win back the support and continue ruling this country, do we still have any choice other than changing ourselves?"

He said during an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily on Friday, "UMNO or BN must be seen as a political party that will fight for the rights of all races. Other than Malays, we must also get the support from non-Malays."

He felt that MCA and Gerakan Rakyat were not unhappy with UMNO, but with the UMNO leader who had said something unbecoming.

"The situation today cannot be seen as a crisis. However, we cannot pretend that we have seen nothing. We must sit down and look into the matter seriously. The people's voice must be heard, and respected."

Najib emphasised that BN had no other choices, adding that if it wanted to continue ruling this country, it must be seen as a party that represents all races, and is supported by all races. - Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Pantun mufti Perlis bidas siapa?

MalaysiaKini
Jimadie Shah Othman | Sep 3, 08 4:25pm


Pantun mufti popular, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin yang meminta pemimpin negara mengundur diri "apabila negara kacau" menimbulkan seribu tanda tanya.

mohd asri zainul abidin interview 231106 pointPantun yang disiarkan di blog beliau (www.drmaza.com) dua hari selepas pilihanraya kecil parlimen Permatang Pauh minggu lalu, antaranya, menyebut:

Anak singa di Pulau Teberau
Anak tebuan seekor lari
Jika negara sudah kacau
Eloklah tuan mengundur diri

Dalam pilihanraya yang menjadi tumpuan ramai itu, penasihat PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menewaskan calon Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah dan calon Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) Hanafi Hamat dengan majoriti besar 15,571 undi.

Karya mufti Perlis yang berjudul Pantun 'Cari Ganti' bagaimanapun tidak menamakan dengan jelas pemimpin politik yang dimaksudkan ataupun anggota mana-mana parti politik.

Bagaimanapun ia dipercayai merujuk Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Tulisan sinis Dr Mohd Asri itu boleh mengundang pelbagai reaksi kerana disiarkan ketika pelbagai pihak mendesak Abdullah mengundur diri - antaranya Anwar dan mantan perdana menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad - kerana didakwa tidak mampu mentadbir negara.

Pantun empat kerat itu berlatarkan imej pejabat perdana menteri di Putrajaya.

Dipelawa jadi calon

Mohd Asri sebelum ini pernah dikaitkan dengan pembangkang apabila menyertai sebuah forum anjuran Pakatan Rakyat di Kelantan.

pantun mohd asri blog 030908Malah, beliau juga turut dipelawa untuk bertanding atas tiket BN bagi mencabar Anwar di Permatang Pauh.

Dalam rangkap akhir pantun empat kerat itu, mufti muda itu turut meminta pengunduran itu digantikan dengan pemimpin yang "berbudi tinggi".

Rangkap itu berbunyi:

Pergilah mandi di Titi Tinggi
Jangan tersepak tali pencuci
Carilah ganti berbudi tinggi
Bukan perompak ganti pencuri

Rangkap ini juga tidak menyatakan siapakan pengganti yang dimaksudkannya itu.

Bagaimanapun, dua tokoh yang disebut-sebut ingin menggantikan tempat Abdullah termasuklah timbalannya Datuk Seri Najib Razak pada pertengahan tahun 2010, selain Anwar yang berusaha merebut tampuk kekuasaan menjelang 16 September ini.

Mufti Perlis sering menjadi perhatian media kerana kerap memberikan reaksi dan komen kritis terhadap fenomena politik dan isu-isu semasa.

Ketika dihubungi Malaysiakini hari ini, Dr Mohd Asri berkata beliau tidak dapat bercakap panjang kerana ada urusan dan meminta belau dihubungi semula.

Bagaimanapun, beliau tidak dapat dihubungi kembali setakat ini.


Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Umno does not need the non-Malays - not even need Sabah and Sarawak to rule Malaysia

Excerpt from Malaysia Today - THE CORRIDORS OF POWER -"It's in the arithmetic, stupid" by Raja Petra Kamarudin

[...] Yes, this is the song Umno has been singing since the 8 March 2008 general election. Malay political power had eroded, argues Umno. And once the 30 or more non-Malay Members of Parliament cross over and Pakatan Rakyat forms the new federal government, the Malays will lose political power.

In an Umno Johor Convention a couple of months ago, they spoke about how they regret giving citizenship to the immigrants on 31 August 1957. Now that these immigrants have been granted citizenship, they have demonstrated ingratitude by voting for the opposition. These immigrants should never have been given citizenship, argued speaker after speaker. And Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah were guests of honour in this Convention.

You could see Tengku Razaleigh cringe, as if in great pain, on hearing this. He knew that Barisan Nasional suffered its most humiliating performance on 8 March 2008 because of exactly this. Such statements are not going to help. It will just make matters worse.

Datuk Ahmad IsmailUmno played the race card to the hilt in the run-up to the recent general election. And it is still doing so until now, as the Umno Bukit Bendera Division Chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail has shown. They still refer to Malaysian-born Chinese and Indians as immigrants. They still call the Chinese and Indians ungrateful squatters. They still Mohd Ali Rustamask the Chinese and Indians to go back to China and India, though all these people were born in Malaysia and not in any other country.

In a PPP Convention in Melaka, held before the 8 March 2008 general election, the Umno Vice-President and Chief Minister told the 1,000 or so Indians that Umno does not need the non-Malays. They do not even need Sabah and Sarawak, said Ali Rustam. Umno has ruled Malaysia for 50 years without the non-Malays, or the people from Sabah and Sarawak, and they can continue to do so another 50. [...]