Wednesday 7 November 2007

Prime Minister's Son-in-Law, Khairy Jamaluddin, Tells BERSIH Rally Supporters: "Don’t Be Like MONKEYS On Streets."

From Malaysiakini: Read here for more

UPDATE: 7th November 2007

PAS Youth has declared it ‘OBLIGATORY ’ for ALL members to join the mass assembly for electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday,(Nov.10) organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih).

Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub said everyone “who professes to be a member of PAS Youth” MUST participate in the rally, which will press for royal intervention in reforming the electoral process.

I remind all PAS Youth members throughout the country that their presence in this peaceful gathering is very important if they profess to be members, and seek to continue this struggle,” said Salahuddin in a statement issued today.

I ask that ALL PAS Youth prove their love for justice and peace - if Buddhist monks in Burma dare to demonstrate on the streets in seeking justice, there is NO reason PAS Youth should not be there at the peaceful gathering.”
Read
here for more on Malaysiakini

Message from Ahirudin Attan of Rocky's Bru Blog

Calling all bloggers!

When was the last time you had an afternoon stroll in the park?Come to the Dataran Merdeka this Saturday at 3 pm.

Meet others who share the belief in fair and clean elections, and LET'S HAVE A WALK TO THE ISTANA.

Come in YELLOW and in PEACE.

It should be a walk in the park except for those who don't believe in fair and clean elections.

Johari Baharom* says
here Bersih, the organisers, have not been given a permit to organise the gathering but have applied for one.

*Johari's Umno division allegedly conducted a less than clean and fair Umno-G7 elections last year. A police report was lodged yesterday (not reported in the Press but read it here) ) against an Umno Supreme Council meeting linked to that particular election

Quote:

Don’t be like monkeys (beruk) on streets.

This (the People's Rally) is an illegal gathering by an illegal organisation (BERSIH).

If you want to fight, fight in the real ring like a man.

At the general elections, we (Umno Youth) will fight and we will win!"
-Khairy Jamaluddin, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's Son-in-Law/UMNO Youth Deputy Chief at UMNO Youth General Assembly (2007)


Related articles:

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Khairy at the Ijok By-Election UMNO Rally
(Photo
courtesy of Rasuah Sudah Parah Blog )

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Khairy Jamaluddin Storming the Convention Centre
that hosted the
Asean Regional Forum Against the Visit
of US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice to Malaysia
(Photo courtesy of
Screenshots)

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketUMNO Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who is the Prime Minister's son-in-law, has urged the authorities to come down hard on a planned mass rally calling for electoral reforms to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 10.

The rally this Saturday(Nov.10th) is organised by BERSIH, a coalition of about 60 NGOs and opposition parties. They seek to rally some 10,000 people and march to the palace where a memorandum urging the King to help in reforming the electoral system, which is deemed to be unfair to the opposition.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

During his winding-up speech at the Umno Youth Annual General Assembly today.
Khairy said:

“This is an illegal gathering by an illegal organisation. The authorities, particularly the police, must apprehend those who organise this gathering.

Don’t be like monkeys (beruk) on streets.

(Note: Read here Khairy called Malaysian bloggers, "monkeys" - Malaysian Unplug)

If you want to fight, fight in the real ring like a man. At the general elections, we (Umno Youth) will fight and we will win!

They claim that electoral process is not clean. Then why contest in 2004 (general election) ? They boycotted Batu Talam (by-election), but they contested (later) in Machap and Ijok (by-elections).

This is not the proper way. That is not the way taught by Hishammuddin (Umno Youth Chief) . If we face them, we could spark a uneasy situation.

It’s bad enough that they gather and cause inconvenience to the public. If we face them, it would cause a confrontation that can cause chaos (huru hara).

We are strong enough and we do not need to tamper with the Elections Commission or the electoral framework to be victorious."


Read here an Oxford University (UK) Study: " Playing the (non)ethnic card: The electoral system and ethnic voting patterns in Malaysia" by Graham Brown -CRISE WORKING PAPER No. 21 April 2005 ) - .pdf file.

"......This paper examines the ethnic determinants of constituency delineations and voting patterns in West Malaysia over the past five general elections, paying particular attention to the ramifications of the 2002 redelineation exercise.

The 2002 redelineation exercise REDUCED markedly the ethnic bias of the electoral system, yet INCREASED the overall imbalance in constituency size.

The old electoral logic of small Malay-dominated rural constituencies... has become increasingly irrelevant, due to Malay urbanisation and shifting ethnic voting patterns

The paper concludes that the 2002 exercise represented the ‘correction’ of an increasing imbalance between the patterns of the Government’s electoral support and constituency delineations.

Ethnic bias in the electoral system was substantially REPLACED by a direct political bias in favour of the BN government...." -Graham Brown Read
here for more


Khairy said it was hypocritical for opposition parties to hold the rally because they had previously contested in several polls under the same system.

Khairy added that Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein could rally as many Youth wing members to face those at the Bersih rally.

Khairy was later approached by journalists after the event and asked why it was okay for him to choose street demonstration to protest United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Malaysia, he answered that they had a permit. He said,

“The police were there, the FRU were there and we adhered to all laws pertaining to public assembly.”
Hishammuddin, when asked, said that he will wait until the general election is over before he decides if he wants to hold on to the Umno Youth chief post.

COMMENTARY

  • From Ibu Bapa: Read here for more

    "... Baru-baru ini keluar lagi perkataan daripada mulut menantu Pak Lah yang juga merupakan Naib Ketua Pemuda UMNO Malaysia, Khairy Jamaluddin bahawa betapa BERUKNYA manusia yang masih nak mengadakan perhimpunan rakyat 100 ribu pada 10 November ini.

    Tidak lama dulu ia pernah menyamakan para “bloggers” dengan monyet kerana banyak menulis dan menyiar bahan internet yang begitu kritis terhadap kerajaan pak mertuanya.

    Bila diamati ungkapan dan perkataan budak mentah keluaran Oxford ini, tidak dapat tidak kita akan menjadi kagum dan kaget tentang minatnya yang mendalam kepada haiwan yang bergelar beruk atau monyet atau spesies lain yang sewaktu dengannya. Mungkinkah beliau berkelulusan bidang berkaitan ketika belajar di Oxford dahulu, yang dengan itu menjadikan Khairy sebagai pakar beruk dan monyet negara?

    Sehubungan dengan itu, mungkin juga hasil kajian beliau yang mendalam ketika di Oxford di dalam bidang Ilmu Beruk dan Monyet mendedahkan Khairy kepada keistimewaan makhluk yang pandai bergayut ini yang tidak kita ketahui selama ini?

    Persoalan kita seterusnya ialah kenapakah Khairy seringkali menyamakan mereka-mereka yang tidak bersama dengan Pak Mertua Hadharinya sebagai beruk dan monyet, dan benarkah perbandingan tersebut?
  • Salah satu keistimewaan beruk dan monyet ialah kepandaian mereka bergayut. Jikalau monyet bergayut pada dahan-dahan pokok, Khairy bergayut pada pak mertuanya untuk naik di dalam politik. Apakah jasa budak ini sampai boleh naik jadi Naib Ketua Pemuda UMNO Malaysia dengan begitu cepat dan tanpa bertanding pula! Macamana Khairy boleh menjadi “mastermind” kepada pengawalan media negara dan penguasaan ke atas menteri dan menteri besar di bawah ketiaknya jikalau tidak kerana “pengayutannya” kepada Pak Lah? Begitu juga mana mungkin ia terlibat di dalam pelbagai urusan “jual-beli” harta benda negara jika bukan kerana gayutannya kepada Pak Lah.

  • Satu lagi aspek menarik berkaitan beruk dan monyet ini ialah keupayaan mereka menarik perhatian orang ramai dengan aksi-aksi yang “luarbiasaseperti memetik buah kelapa, mencari kutu dan sebagainya. Khairy pun tidak kurang hebatnya di dalam aspek ini. Walaupun tidak ada jawatan di dalam kerajaan, ia seringkali membuat kenyataan seolah-olah ia Perdana Menteri ke 2 Malaysia.

  • Antara kegemaran kera-kera hutan ialah mencuri buah-buahan kepunyaan orang. Ini pun lebih kurang sama dengan perangai Khairy dan UMNO yang sibuk memunggahkan harta negara macam harta mak bapa mereka.
  • Inilah sedikit sebanyak hikayat Khairy dengan beruk dan monyetnya. Banyak lagi sebenarnya cerita berkenaan haiwan ini yang boleh kita kaitkan dengan Khairy tetapi memadailah setakat itu dulu.

    Saya yakin kita akan mendengar banyak lagi ulasan Khairy di dalam tajuk berkaitan pada masa-masa akan datang. Tetapi satu yang pasti, perbandingan beruk dan monyet yang ia ungkapkan itu sebenarnya lebih adil untuk dirinya dan pemuda UMNO, dan wajar Khairy merefleksi dirinya sedalam-dalamnya supaya kelak tidak “memberuk” di dalam jiwa sanubarinya.

    Jika berkesempatan, saya sebenarnya ingin mendapatkan khidmat Khairy dan beruk monyetnya untuk memetik kelapa yang banyak di kebun ayah saya.
  • From Herman Samsudeen: Read here for more from Letters to Editor, Malaysiakini
  • "...Himpunan Aman pada Sabtu, 10 November di Dataran Merdeka anjuran Bersih akan tetap diteruskan. Walaupun pihak penganjur menerima begitu banyak ancaman, namun tuntutan massa rakyat memberikan laluan untuk perhimpunan ini terus berjalan.

    Beberapa orang ahli jawatankuasa Bersih juga telah dipanggil ke Bukit Aman pada 12 November ini.

    Khairy Jamaluddin, Naib Ketua Pemuda Umno, pula telah mengarahkan pihak polis membuat tangkapan terhadap pimpinan dan peserta himpunan. Arahan ini adalah suatu yang biadap dan tidak rasional kerana himpunan ini adalah hak dan kebebasan rakyat. Rakyat berhak berada di mana sahaja mereka berada dan Pemuda Umno TIDAK berhak untuk menghalang perhimpunan ini.

    Ketakutkan semakin terserlah di wajah pimpinan Umno kerana himpunan ini. Khairy yang pada mulanya mencadangkan untuk pemuda Umno turun berdepan dengan himpunan Bersih ini akhirnya mengaku kalah dalam ucapan yang sama dan mengakui bahawa pemuda Umno tidak mampu berhadapan dengan 100,000 rakyat.

    Oleh itu, beliau tiada pilihan dan kemungkinan besar polis akan dijadikan kuda tunggangan mereka bagi menghadapi peserta himpunan aman ini.

    Kepada pihak polis, kami mengingatkan agar mereka tidak membiarkan diri mereka diperkudakan lagi. Ini adalah himpunan rakyat, dan pihak polis juga dialu-alukan bagi menyertai rakyat dalam himpunan ini atas jiwa mereka sebagai rakyat yang prihatin terhadap masa depan negara ini.

    Diperingkat PAS pula, seramai 2,000 orang petugas Unit Amal Malaysia yang beruniform dan tidak beruniform akan berkawal bagi memastikan tiadanya provokasi dan kekecohan yang boleh memburukkan imej perhimpunan ini. Kita datang dengan aman dan Unit Amal akan membantu kita.

    Jika ada kalangan peserta yang cuba melakukan provokasi seperti membawa bendera parti politik, melaungkan kata-kata yang kesat, membaling atau menggunakan apa-apa objek yang boleh membahayakan orang lain, mereka akan dikeluarkan dari perhimpunan ini serta merta atau diserahkan kepada pihak polis jika perlu.

    Kita yakin, bahawa terdapatnya konspirasi terancang bagi mensabotaj himpunan ini dan kita juga telah bersiap sedia bagi menghadapi perhimpunan ini.

    Kepada peserta perhimpunan yang masih ragu lagi, pihak penganjur juga telah menyediakan barisan peguam yang cekap untuk menjamin dan membela anda sekiranya ditangkap. Para peguam ini akan membantu dan membela hak anda sesuai dengan peruntukan Perlembagaan. Oleh itu tiada sebab untuk kita tidak hadir dan tunduk pada ancaman yang kini semakin tersebar luas.

    Pastikan anda hadir dengan aman dan segalanya akan berjalan secara aman!

  • From Latheefa Koya : Read here in Malaysiakini
  • "...Shame on you, Khairy!

    For someone who is not accountable to the rakyat - lest you forget you are neither a minister nor a member of parliament - merely the son-in-law of the prime minister as well as the Youth deputy chief of one the most obsolete, racist, corrupt party in the world, you have no right to stop anyone from expressing their real and legitimate concerns on the future of this country.

    For someone who himself had gone to the streets in obvious pretense that he cared (see for example, the Burma, Palestine issues) - how dare you ask the police to clamp down on Bersih’s Nov 10 rally. Who do you think you are?

    Your obnoxious behaviour, your arrogance and utter contempt for democratic rights have given me a scary glimpse of what the future holds for this country if Umno continues to hold on to power. Shame on you!

    The rally will go on InsyaAllah."


    Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket From Dr. Farish Noor: Read here for more on "The Other Malaysia"

    The People Are Fed-up

    At a recent Law Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, bluntly told the country’s lawyers that demonstrations and protests about the apparent mismanagement of the country will do little to change things but will only give the ‘wrong impression’ that ‘something is wrong in the country’, and that this will scare aware foreign investors.

    The Malaysian leader was alluding to a recent protest march organised by the country’s lawyers which saw more than two thousand lawyers march up to the Prime Minister’s office in the capital of Putrajaya demanding reform of the judicial process and serious enquiries into the conduct and election of judges in Malaysia.

    Perhaps the Prime Minister was also alluding to the planned march on 10th November organised by NGOs like BERSIH which have called for free and fair elections in the country, supported by opposition parties like the Peoples Justice Party (PKR), the Malaysian Islamic party (PAS) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) of Malaysia as well.

    What began as a relatively small event has now grown into what may become a landmark moment in Malaysian history: The march’s organisers aim to gather 100,000 citizens at the Merdeka (Independence) Square of the city and then march on to the national palace to present their petition to the King (Agong) himself, calling for the Monarch to intervene and look into their complaints about the poor governance of the country on issues ranging from corruption to abuse of power by the leaders of the ruling UMNO party and the government.

    As Latheefa Koya of the People’s Justice Party notes: “BERSIH’s march marks a crucial point in Malaysian history where people from all walks of life, and not just political parties, demand free and fair elections in Malaysia. By doing so they are in fact calling for greater participation in the democratic process”.

    The King has already signalled that he is prepared to receive the petition, while other rulers such as Sultan Azlan Shah of the state of Perak have publicly bemoaned the state of the judiciary in Malaysia.

    While it is true that Malaysia is not Burma, it is striking to note how intolerant the state is when it comes to popular expressions of the people’s will in the country.

    Predictably the Malaysian government has reacted to the proposed march on 10th November with the usual round of threats: Those who attend the demonstration will be regarded as trouble makers and due action will be taken, the government-controlled news agencies have already warned.

    In response the President of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has called on all members of the party to attend the rally and to swell the numbers of participants instead.

    According to Hatta Ramli, one of the senior leaders of PAS: “This is to show that the members of the Islamic party are supportive of this move by the Malaysian NGOs to call for free and fair elections. It is going to be a peaceful demonstration, so why the need for such warnings? The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) has stated that the Constitution allows for free peaceful assembly, so we are merely exercising our right to demonstrate our concern about the conduct of elections in Malaysia. This is the expression of popular democracy, of the people’s will and our intention to see that we have clean elections in Malaysia.”

    Nor are the march’s organisers fazed by the threats of reprisals. According to Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who runs the country’s most widely-read online news site Malaysia-today.net, “they (the government) have been issuing such threats for more than a decade now, so why should we worry? They insist that we apply for a police permit but we know that such a permit will be refused anyway. In some cases in the past permits were given but then withdrawn at the last minute, so this time we merely informed the police that we will be having the march and we will go ahead.”

    The Malaysian government is worried that such a public display of dismay over the government’s record will focus attention on Malaysia in a negative way. Instead it has tried its best to spin the story of Malaysia’s successes one by one, the latest being the achievements of the country’s first astronaut who was sent to space on board a Russian rocket to dock with the International Space Station in orbit.

    But special effects and cosmic stunts have not altered the realities on the ground where Malaysian politics remains dominated by news of scandals involving corrupt policemen, politicians being accused of manipulating the judiciary and alleged links between the government, police and underworld mafia triads and gang bosses.

    One of the latest revelations involved the corruption behind the Port Kelang Free Trade Zone project, where running costs and overheads have caused the project’s costs to skyrocket from 1.8 to 4.2 Billion Ringgit (RM), leaving ordinary Malaysians shocked and stumped on how such projects can lead to such large kickbacks for so many well-connected individuals.

    What is more, all of this is happening under the eyes of the Badawi government, which came to power four years ago on the promise of ridding the country of corruption once and for all.

    As the crucial date of 10th November gets closer, the machinery of the state along with its security apparatus will undoubtedly be cracked up to demonise the protestors and to prevent the march from happening.

    Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi may lament the occasion as it sends out the clear message that the people are fed up with his lacklustre performance thus far, but it will hardly be the reason why foreign investors are leaving Malaysia: Indeed, if anything is to restore the faith of others in the country it would be the freedom to demonstrate openly and peacefully without threat of violence from the state.

    No, if foreign investors are giving up on Malaysia is has more to do with the plethora of corruption cases involving members of the police, the routine abuse of power by the elite and the deplorable reputation of the Malaysian judiciary and civil service at present.

    And the responsibility for these failures lie not in the hands of the Malaysian people, but in the Malaysian government itself- headed by none other than Badawi himself.


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