Tuesday, 16 September 2014
HOME MINISTER ZAHID HAMIDI'S LACK OF A CLEAR MIND
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said there are NO detailed laws and prohibitions covering the four sacred areas mentioned by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, therefore it would be unfair to punish Malaysians for talking about them.
Despite the sedition crackdown, Zaid did not mince words in claiming that the APARTHEID SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA WAS BETTER THAN THE SITUATION IN MALAYSIAN AS THE LAWS THERE THEN WERE CLEAR.
Zaid wrote in his blog,
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT
"If you listened carefully to the home minister's speech a few days ago, you would have been troubled by its lack of clarity about exactly what constitutes an offence to the four sacred areas he grouped together as the social contract.
"Umno would use all available laws to punish those who question them, the minister screamed."
BAHASA MALAYSIA
Starting with Bahasa Malaysia, Zaid pointed out that no right minded Malaysians are opposed to the national language.
"It probably exists only in the mind of the minister. If the PM speaks in English at his press conference( and he likes to do this ) would he be insulting the national language?
"Must a Malaysian speak in Bahasa Malaysia at least once a day to be regarded as 'not opposing' the language? We should have laws passed to make it clear what constitutes an offence.
"If we don't, then Umno would always be able to say so-and-so are not loyal to the language or are opposed it.
"In other words, things would be even worse than what it was like under apartheid because the people would not know what the offending act is. It's all up to Umno," he added.
THE MALAY RULERS
On the issue of royalty, Zaid asked when does one insult a ruler, and called for it to be put in writing as well.
"If a Malay ruler decides to have executive powers in the administration of the country and that is permitted by Umno, then say so in our laws so that the people understand it is an offence to oppose it.
"Pass a clear law that prohibits even commenting on the wishes of a ruler. That was the situation with the Chinese emperor in the Middle Kingdom.
"At least then we would not be duped into thinking that we have a right to ask questions and then face criminal charges for that. We cannot pretend to be a normal democracy when we are actually semi-apartheid in substance," he added.
ISLAM
Terming Islam as the "big issue", the former minister also wondered what amounted to insulting and challenging the religion.
"For now, everything the authorities do cannot be questioned, for this might be construed as insulting Islam. Help the people by spelling out the issue or circumstances clearly.
"For example, Rosli Dahlan, a friend and lawyer, is facing disciplinary action for defending another Muslim, Kassim Ahmad, in the Syariah Court," he added.
MALAY's SPECIAL POSITION
Touching on the fourth sacred area of Malay special rights, Zaid noted that during apartheid, questioning the whites for their discriminatory policies was an offence.
"How different is this from what the home minister said in his recent speech? For now, no one knows what constitutes the Malay rights that he was talking about.
"Article 153 is about 'privileges' so I am not sure what Malay 'rights' are. If I say we should send more Malays to vocational and semi-professional courses, and therefore fewer of them to universities, the minister will probably think I am anti-Malay.
"(Former premier) Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently said Malays are lazy or lacking in integrity. Is this an offence? We should list out all the situations where we are prohibited from talking about the Malays, the way the Afrikaaners did to the blacks," he added.
MALAYSIAN LAWS OR UMNO's LAWS
In the absence of clear laws, Zaid noted that Umno would become the sole authority to define what is and isn't an offence .
"It is already clear that if you make Umno angry or feel insulted, it’s an offence. This is pernicious and unfair , and far worse than the laws that were in place during the apartheid era, surely," he added.
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHS DO NOT SELECT PRIME MINISTERS AND MENTERI BESARS.
Our Kings are the Fountainhead of Justice. Protect us O Kings.
by
Dato' Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz
(Member of Parliament, Raub)
HRH Raja Nazrin one day gave a talk in Singapore.
One Singaporean attendee asked him two questions.
Doctor Nazrin ( he holds a PhD from Harvard) – (1) what is the future of the monarchy in Malaysia and (2) how have they played the role of constitutional monarchs in Malaysia.
Dr Nazrin as he was referred to then, answered: "Since you asked 2 questions, I shall answer the second one first. The position of the Malay rulers as constitutional monarchs is well laid out in the Malaysian constitution.
Unfortunately there are some among the monarchs who behaved like absolute rulers.
From there I can answer the first question. The future of the monarchy in Malaysia depends on the conduct and performance of the rulers. "
He then continued;
"I remember as a kid, I heard the same question answered by our venerable Tunku Abdu Rahman himself a scion of the Kedah Royal House.
"Tunku said the same thing- the future of the monarchy depends on their conduct. Otherwise I am afraid we will have Raja Kelawar and Raja lekok eventually.
Otherwise we will have only the King of Hearts and King of Spades. "
I hope our Malay rulers heed the voice of the majority who don’t have the courage to say things openly.
Maybe they don’t like to hear this- but not few rejected the idea that their destiny depend on the Malay rulers.
Our Kings are the fountainhead of Justice. Our kings have sworn to protect us, not protect UMNO leaders or UMNO.
Do not allow the government of imperial Najib use the sedition act to subjugate the people. In this internet age no one can be silenced.
The feudal minded among the Malays should accept this. Ours is a constitutional monarch.
No one is asking for the abolition of the monarchy. When we created special court for them, we acknowledge both their shortcomings and exalted stature and that is why we created special courts for them.
I don’t have to lecture these people on the meaning of the concept of constitutional monarch.
Those of us who believe firmly in limited monarchy are not at all intimidated by the congregation of people in Selangor pompously proclaiming their undying loyalty to the king.
There is their business and their own funeral. They want to be absolute royalist let them be.
The rest of us are contented with just being constitutional monarchy but loyal nevertheless.
We won’t hold anything against you for being zombied out and believing that non-compliance with a royal decree means durhaka.
The concept of durhaka has no meaning in law- it is NOT a crime.
It had meaning only under the regime of absolute monarchs during whose time, people of similar line of thinking like the ones congregating to proclaim their undying loyalty, ingratiated themselves to absolute rulers to suppress the toiling masses. THOSE DAYS ARE GONE MY FRIEND.
- Dato' Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz
by
Dato' Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz
(Member of Parliament, Raub)
HRH Raja Nazrin one day gave a talk in Singapore.
One Singaporean attendee asked him two questions.
Doctor Nazrin ( he holds a PhD from Harvard) – (1) what is the future of the monarchy in Malaysia and (2) how have they played the role of constitutional monarchs in Malaysia.
Dr Nazrin as he was referred to then, answered: "Since you asked 2 questions, I shall answer the second one first. The position of the Malay rulers as constitutional monarchs is well laid out in the Malaysian constitution.
Unfortunately there are some among the monarchs who behaved like absolute rulers.
From there I can answer the first question. The future of the monarchy in Malaysia depends on the conduct and performance of the rulers. "
He then continued;
"I remember as a kid, I heard the same question answered by our venerable Tunku Abdu Rahman himself a scion of the Kedah Royal House.
"Tunku said the same thing- the future of the monarchy depends on their conduct. Otherwise I am afraid we will have Raja Kelawar and Raja lekok eventually.
Otherwise we will have only the King of Hearts and King of Spades. "
I hope our Malay rulers heed the voice of the majority who don’t have the courage to say things openly.
Maybe they don’t like to hear this- but not few rejected the idea that their destiny depend on the Malay rulers.
Our Kings are the fountainhead of Justice. Our kings have sworn to protect us, not protect UMNO leaders or UMNO.
Do not allow the government of imperial Najib use the sedition act to subjugate the people. In this internet age no one can be silenced.
The feudal minded among the Malays should accept this. Ours is a constitutional monarch.
No one is asking for the abolition of the monarchy. When we created special court for them, we acknowledge both their shortcomings and exalted stature and that is why we created special courts for them.
I don’t have to lecture these people on the meaning of the concept of constitutional monarch.
Those of us who believe firmly in limited monarchy are not at all intimidated by the congregation of people in Selangor pompously proclaiming their undying loyalty to the king.
There is their business and their own funeral. They want to be absolute royalist let them be.
The rest of us are contented with just being constitutional monarchy but loyal nevertheless.
We won’t hold anything against you for being zombied out and believing that non-compliance with a royal decree means durhaka.
The concept of durhaka has no meaning in law- it is NOT a crime.
It had meaning only under the regime of absolute monarchs during whose time, people of similar line of thinking like the ones congregating to proclaim their undying loyalty, ingratiated themselves to absolute rulers to suppress the toiling masses. THOSE DAYS ARE GONE MY FRIEND.
- Dato' Mohd.Ariff Sabri bin Hj. Abdul Aziz
THE RACIST AND RELIGIOUS POLITICS OF UMNO
WHAT NOW, MALAYSIA ??
by
Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
(Ahmad Mustapha Hassan is a former press secretary to second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the writer of the book, “The Unmaking of Malaysia”. )
Read here in Dato Din Merican's Blog :http://tinyurl.com/krvrtco
We are in troubling times.
After the 12th general election (GE12) in 2008, Malaysians felt that at long last, the country managed to create a new alternative to the corrupt UMNO Baru-BN coalition.
That euphoria, however, has proven to be short-lived. And now we are back to square one.
PAKATAN RAKYAT IS A LETDOWN
The formation of the three political parties–DAP-PKR-PAS- with very different and conflicting goals into a grouping that contested GE12 received tremendous support from the people.
Things looked very bright for the future well-being of the country. At long last, they felt that the corrupt and the racists would be ousted.
It shook the very core of the UMNO Baru-BN coalition. The UMNO Baru-BN government tried to counter its fear of being pushed out of office by persecuting and prosecuting opposition leaders through the use of the Sedition Act and politically motivated charges .
Now, UMNO Baru-BN has been taken by surprise at what happened in Selangor.
The much touted and admired Pakatan Rakyat is moving towards self- immolation.
The culprit in this suicidal drama was PKR, a most indisciplined party led by Anwar.
To all intents and purposes Pakatan is dead.
PAS SHOULD BE LEFT OUT IN FUTURE COOPERATION
A new beginning has to be initiated and what had happened should be used as guideline for any future cooperation.
PAS is most suspect in any alternative. It has many conflicting factions, and each is trying to exert its influence in any agenda that party undertakes.
PAS, therefore, should be LEFT OUT until a dominant and more grounded group from among them comes into power.
RELIGION IN POLITICS should be avoided as this can bring about disunity and misunderstanding in any attempt to achieve national progress.
Religion and the state CANNOT go hand in hand especially in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi- cultural country like Malaysia.
There is now a need for the coming together of all progressive forces in Malaysia to combat the current corrupt coalition of the self-centred and power crazy individuals.
DAP - THE PIVOT FOR PROGRESSIVE FORCES
The pivot for the creation of this will have to be the DAP.
It is the only stable and most experienced political party in the country.
It managed to weather all challenges and threats posed by the UMNO Baru-BN government.
It is corrupt free and has the ability to administer the Penang state government with efficiency and has created a progressive atmosphere.
UMNO-BN SHOULD BE VOTED OUT OF POWER
The next general election will be very important for the future of the country.
If UMNO Baru-BN is not voted out of power, Malaysia’s future is anything but bleak.
UMNO Baru has been playing racist and religious politics to rally Malay Muslims and maintain power. This has resulted in the formation of groups like PERKASA and ISMA.
The tacit support of UMNO Baru for these two disruptive groups will only encourage more of such elements to surface and create racial and religious chaos.
The result will be the further loss of intellectual capital. Already, the country has lost a good number of talented people and the brain drain will continue to the detriment of the country.
Talent will leave when it is denied equal opportunity.
The New Economic Policy has outlived its usefulness and yet is being retained in one form or another.
This policy, which was supposed to help the Malays to advance economically, had in fact caused them to lag behind. They have become overly dependent on government handouts. UMNO Baru politics had caused the Malays to be mentally disadvantaged.
This is a worrisome situation. Extremists Groups like PERKASA and ISMA are out to exploit the situation. Their very presence and their nefarious activities if left unchecked can wreck this country.
The political change must take place to avoid this catastrophe.
Pakatan as it is presently constituted cannot be relied on to bring about this change. Concerned citizens in the country will have to assert themselves and rally support for those moderate and liberal forces which seek a better future for the coming generations.
They need to support movements like Negara Ku and other civil society organisations.
The year 2018 is not very far away and positive steps must be taken now.
The vanguard for this very crucial mass movement will have to be the DAP.
PSM (Party Sosialist Malaysia) would probably be able to join in but the latter will have to shed its ideologue image.
- Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
Saturday, 30 August 2014
HADI AWANG FAILED THE MUSLIM YOUTHS OF MALAYSIA
Hadi Awang Could Have Been an Effective Muslim Leader in the Environment of New Politics in Malaysia Which Began in 2008
...Instead, He Chose the Wrong Path for Himself and for the Islamic Party.
READ HERE FULL ARTICLE : http://www.mal...aysiakini.com/columns/273103
In politics, there are always some characters who may have appeared to be rather dull and even mediocre, but may eventually rise to the occasion and establish themselves as statesmen (or women).
One such person is BJ Habibie (left) of Indonesia.As Indonesians look back at history, they really should not forget Habibie’s audacity in seizing the historical moment to right all that was wrong with the country, while giving credit also to the people who were determined for change, even if it meant they had to pay with blood.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of Hadi Awang, the PAS president.
Hadi Awang , too, was presented with a golden opportunity to help the country rid of more than five decades of Umno that is deeply tainted with nepotism, cronyism and corruption - three issues that consigned Suharto to history - but has only proven himself to be nothing more than a political flimsily calculative and full of vengeful spirit.
Hadi belongs to the generation of idealist Malay youths who, having witnessed student movements around the world, were inspired to change Malaysia through political activism.
His comradeship with Anwar Ibrahim actually dates back to the late 1970s when they were both prominent leaders of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), although the latter subsequently joined Umno rather than the Islamic party, which shocked many.
While he did rise through the rank to assume PAS leadership through hard work at the grassroots level, Hadi LACKS the critical outlook and skills that would have better prepared him for national leadership.
He was given a chance to prove his worth when Terengganu fell to the opposition following the Malay backlash over Mahathir Mohamad’s persecution of Anwar, only to squander it five years later.
When PAS was entrusted to run Kedah in 2008, Hadi did nothing to rein in the underperforming but arrogant Azizan Abdul Razak despite growing discontent over the latter’s administration, causing the Islamic party to lose in 2013 and, worse, making it possible for the equally uninspiring, run-of-the-mill Mukhriz Mahathir to become menteri besar.
Like the Ulama wing, Hadi Awang feels increasingly challenged and even threatened by the rise of the professionals within the party.
As the Young Turks in PAS represented by Khalid Samad, Saari Sungib, Husam Musa and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad become household names and seek to shift the political discourse from religion to policy as well as ideas of human rights and democracy, THE CONSERVATIVE FORCES (in PAS) well-versed only in religious rhetoric, ARE ILL-EQUIPPED TO ADAPT TO A NEW ERA.
After all, not everyone could be as visionary as Habibie with the acute awareness that historic chances are hard to come by.
But in the case of Hadi, he has messed things up by refusing to allow a smooth replacement of menteri besar in Selangor out of his personal jealousies and sense of insecurity.
That he and his allies in the party are deepening the constitutional crisis by proposing more than one candidate to the sultan is indicative amply of his short-sightedness as a leader.
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has already secured the support of more than half of the support in the state assembly, and there is no reason for the sultan to request more names for consideration. The refusal by PKR and DAP to go along with the condition should not be interpreted as disrespect of the ruler, but a move to ensure Malaysia’s system of constitutional monarchy remain intact and well-respected. And this is not what SMALL-MINDED POLITICIANS SUCH AS HADI UNDERSTAND IT TO BE.
The longer the conundrum drags on, the higher the chances of more royal interference in other states in the future, and Hadi, Khalid Ibrahim and all their ardent supporters could one day be considered as undermining the foundation of Malaysian politics by simply procrastinating in solving the crisis.
It is indeed tragic that Hadi and his supporters refuse to tackle the imminent crisis but continue to indulge in their own selfish interests and calculations. Most likely, he will go down in Malaysian history not only as just another has-been, but also someone who, together with Khalid, is responsible for the erosion of constitutionalism in Malaysia. See More
...Instead, He Chose the Wrong Path for Himself and for the Islamic Party.
READ HERE FULL ARTICLE : http://www.mal...aysiakini.com/columns/273103
In politics, there are always some characters who may have appeared to be rather dull and even mediocre, but may eventually rise to the occasion and establish themselves as statesmen (or women).
One such person is BJ Habibie (left) of Indonesia.As Indonesians look back at history, they really should not forget Habibie’s audacity in seizing the historical moment to right all that was wrong with the country, while giving credit also to the people who were determined for change, even if it meant they had to pay with blood.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of Hadi Awang, the PAS president.
Hadi Awang , too, was presented with a golden opportunity to help the country rid of more than five decades of Umno that is deeply tainted with nepotism, cronyism and corruption - three issues that consigned Suharto to history - but has only proven himself to be nothing more than a political flimsily calculative and full of vengeful spirit.
Hadi belongs to the generation of idealist Malay youths who, having witnessed student movements around the world, were inspired to change Malaysia through political activism.
His comradeship with Anwar Ibrahim actually dates back to the late 1970s when they were both prominent leaders of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), although the latter subsequently joined Umno rather than the Islamic party, which shocked many.
While he did rise through the rank to assume PAS leadership through hard work at the grassroots level, Hadi LACKS the critical outlook and skills that would have better prepared him for national leadership.
He was given a chance to prove his worth when Terengganu fell to the opposition following the Malay backlash over Mahathir Mohamad’s persecution of Anwar, only to squander it five years later.
When PAS was entrusted to run Kedah in 2008, Hadi did nothing to rein in the underperforming but arrogant Azizan Abdul Razak despite growing discontent over the latter’s administration, causing the Islamic party to lose in 2013 and, worse, making it possible for the equally uninspiring, run-of-the-mill Mukhriz Mahathir to become menteri besar.
Like the Ulama wing, Hadi Awang feels increasingly challenged and even threatened by the rise of the professionals within the party.
As the Young Turks in PAS represented by Khalid Samad, Saari Sungib, Husam Musa and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad become household names and seek to shift the political discourse from religion to policy as well as ideas of human rights and democracy, THE CONSERVATIVE FORCES (in PAS) well-versed only in religious rhetoric, ARE ILL-EQUIPPED TO ADAPT TO A NEW ERA.
After all, not everyone could be as visionary as Habibie with the acute awareness that historic chances are hard to come by.
But in the case of Hadi, he has messed things up by refusing to allow a smooth replacement of menteri besar in Selangor out of his personal jealousies and sense of insecurity.
That he and his allies in the party are deepening the constitutional crisis by proposing more than one candidate to the sultan is indicative amply of his short-sightedness as a leader.
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has already secured the support of more than half of the support in the state assembly, and there is no reason for the sultan to request more names for consideration. The refusal by PKR and DAP to go along with the condition should not be interpreted as disrespect of the ruler, but a move to ensure Malaysia’s system of constitutional monarchy remain intact and well-respected. And this is not what SMALL-MINDED POLITICIANS SUCH AS HADI UNDERSTAND IT TO BE.
The longer the conundrum drags on, the higher the chances of more royal interference in other states in the future, and Hadi, Khalid Ibrahim and all their ardent supporters could one day be considered as undermining the foundation of Malaysian politics by simply procrastinating in solving the crisis.
It is indeed tragic that Hadi and his supporters refuse to tackle the imminent crisis but continue to indulge in their own selfish interests and calculations. Most likely, he will go down in Malaysian history not only as just another has-been, but also someone who, together with Khalid, is responsible for the erosion of constitutionalism in Malaysia. See More
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