Zaid will bite the dust

Change and reform? This will remain a joke until and unless PR component parties really reformed themselves!
By Tohkong Mosjid
Change is something which Pakatan Rakyat has constantly talked about. We constantly talk about reforms. We trying very hard to send the message that we are different, and better, than Barisan Nasional.
We aspire to change the Federal government, and we aspire to reform the way the present government handles things.
So many aspirations with so many hopes, yet somehow we forget that the most important thing before these things can take place is to first reform ourselves.
Do we realise what is seriously wrong in Barisan Nasional?
I know. The answer will be the usual things: corruption, abuse of power, stupidity, racist leaders and so forth.
But heck, those are just the repercussions or the aftermath of what I call the "failure of a system that could not check and balance itself'.
In Barisan Nasional, there is an absence of self regulation and no check and balances.
No one would dare to say anything to the prime minister and the UMNO president even if he were wrong. No one dares to ask the Attorney General to come clean on numerous allegations against him. And nobody dares to hit out at the Inspector General of Police or call for his suspension pending investigations into his wrongdoings.
Get the picture? Can you sense that somehow these things are being re-enacted in Pakatan Rakyat?

The practise of self-criticism and speaking out against one's own parties and leaders has been missing in both these coalitions.
Zaid Ibrahim's recent blog entry which generated a series of fireworks, confirmed once again that Pakatan Rakyat, or specifically Parti Keadilan Rakyat, could not appreciate some dissent against their leaders for their own good, just like their nemesis in Barisan Nasional.
If we care to remind ourselves, why was Zaid kicked out from UMNO?
Zaid was kicked out because UMNO could not stand his criticism, his honesty and his truthfulness on how certain things should be done and managed when he was the de facto Law Minister.
Remember how Zaid flayed the government over its arrest of a reporter, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and MP Teresa Kok under the Internal Security Act by the order of then Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar?
That sense of justice in telling the government to its face that it was wrong to invoke ISA on opposition or anyone was too much for UMNO to stomach. What happened after that is history.
This time around, Zaid is being viewed a 'traitor’ to bring PKR down once and for all just because he dared to tell PKR leaders how things should be, right at its face.
Is it wrong of him to opine that de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim wielded more power than PKR president, Dr Wan Azizah Ismail?
Or for him to say that he was contesting the Deputy President's post and to pledge his loyalty to the president despite knowing the real leader of party was Anwar?
It is wrong of him to rebuke Syed Husin Ali, the PKR deputy president, for belittling his efforts (in which he took six months' sabbatical to lay off from active politics), to focus on getting PR’s Common Policy Framework done?
If Zaid was considered a ‘reformist’ when he was in UMNO for daring to speak out against the cabinet, shouldn’t now he be seen in the same light as someone valuable in PKR and PR?
Why do PKR leaders not see it? Anwar invited Zaid into PKR as he was seen as well accepted by the public for his views and principles on reform. True or not, this question should be left to all PKR members to find out its answer.
As for PAS and DAP, they should not be too happy to receive a person like Zaid into the party. That same reaction in PKR and Barisan Nasional will be seen Zaid opens his mouth.
Perhaps, we should look at these scenarios:
Zaid in DAP: "The party should reform as the leaders are too chauvinistic over certain issues. They must react faster when it comes to issues involving other races."
Zaid in PAS: "Some PAS leaders just do not understand the boundary of constitution by keep harping on the issue of Hudud. They should go and learn up the constitution before they decide to discuss on this subject again. If they don’t, the party should disallow them from contesting in the next general election."
Hurt? That’s Zaid for you and he represents something seriously lacking in PR.
Change and reform? This will remain a joke until and unless PR component parties really reformed themselves!
Li Fook Gao, although he wants Zaid to win, thinks that the way Zaid is campaigning will likely bite him in the end, just like how Husam Musa of PAS was bitten.

Sabotage and more sabotage of PKR Polls

Suspicion of 'saboteurs' in PKR polls

Joseph Sipalan
Sep 27, 10

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution has claimed a link to 'external infiltration' into the polls nomination process, following disrupted proceedings in some divisions over the weekend.

However, he noted that the majority of divisional annual general meetings and elections have gone on smoothly.

He said the results from 159 of the 166 divisions that have held their AGMs since Sept 17 are considered kosher despite facing practical issues, such as insufficient ballot papers.

Saifuddin however confirmed that the AGM and elections in at least seven divisions have been postponed due to various issues, including the destruction of ballot boxes allegedly by outsiders.

He said the party has identified several individuals through video footage and still photographs, who are said to be involved in the vandalism.

This has led the leadership to believe there might be "saboteurs" out to make PKR look incapable of handling its affairs.

The party is currently probing allegations raised by three divisions - Klang, Kapar and Kuala Langat - of infiltration, Saifuddin told a packed press conference at the party headquarters this morning.

"They broke open the ballot boxes, threw the ballot papers in the air and walked out. If you look at the footage, it looks like they're having a celebration," he dead-panned.

Saifuddin said the central election committee (JPP) has only come up with preliminary findings, and still needs to get localised confirmation on the incidents.

"What is sure is that they (the saboteurs) are not part of Keadlian's famiily," he said.

'Teething problems'

As for the four other divisions that had their meetings and elections postponed, Saifuddin said the issues are mostly procedural, including logistics and insufficient ballot papers due to overwhelming turnout by members.

In Merbok, he said the postponement was due to complaints that supporters of one candidate for deputy division chief had taken out ballot papers from the polling station to make copies. This is unlawful unless done and certified by the election coordinators themselves.

In Kuala Nerus, the division unanimously agreed to postpone its meeting until the JPP decides on the eligibility of one of the two candidates contesting the chairperson's seat.

Saifuddin said the Petaling Jaya Selatan division asked to postpone its meeting and elections as it was unable to manage the huge turnout of 2,000 members, while the Jerai division meeting was pushed back after some "friction' between members.

The party is scrutinising the Kota Raja and Subang division elections, held last weekend, but is awaiting reports from the coordinators on duty.

It is rumoured that fights broke out in both divisions, with a local leader hospitalised for injuries allegedly sustained from an attack by supporters of a rival candidate in Kota Raja.

Saifuddin however pointed out that the ballots for both divisions are still being counted at the party headquarters.

He stressed that the surge in attendance has proven a major challenge as PKR did not expect such a large turnout across the country.

He said the average turnout for divisional AGMs and elections, calculated based on the 2004 and 2007 party congress attendance, stood at 40,000 nationwide, or five percent of the total 400,000 members.

"We (thought it would not ) go past a 35 percent turnout (nationwide), but in fact it has hit past 40 percent.

"We deployed four coordinators (for each division) based on our calculations and they ended up handling 2,000 people... That's a surge from as low as three percent to 40 percent turnout in some places.”

Saifuddin stressed that PKR would overcome the shortcomings that have surfaced over the past few weeks.

He hopes the problems can be minimised by the coming weekend, when the remaining 39 divisions hold their meetings and polls.

MK

Malay must rule Malay Land - BTN

Malays must rule the country, says BTN rep

UPDATED @ 01:43:24 PM 27-09-2010

By Boo Su-Lyn

September 27, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — National Civics Bureau (BTN) deputy director Hamim Husin today proclaimed Malay rights as a mandate to rule the country amid a spike in Malay rhetoric.
Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently warned Malays that they would lose power if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took control of Putrajaya.
“The rights of Malays, is to rule the country. Simple,” Hamim told Puteri Umno delegates in a closed-door function today.
“Malays must unite in the face of threats,” he added.
The BTN Federal Territory deputy director cited an example where the Malay ruling party failed to act during a purportedly seditious demonstration by non-Muslims in Kuala Lumpur a few years ago.
“The Hindus marched to Parliament to send a memorandum. They, like Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force), are groups that spread sedition,” said Hamim.
“Where was the political party then?” he asked.
About 30,000 protestors from the Hindu non-governmental organisation Hindraf had rallied in the city in November 2007 to submit a memorandum to the British embassy, where they demanded for the Queen’s Counsel to represent sidelined Malaysian Indians.
Today, Hamim underscored the importance of Malay unity in view of a possibility that snap polls may be called as early as next year.

The ‘si mata sepet’ that has never gone to a mosque or surau only has one vote. The ‘si botol’ that only knows how to go up to Batu Caves up and down only has one vote.

“The general election is coming soon. If there is still disunity, we cannot have events like this... where we can say what we want,” he said.
Last Tuesday, Dr Mahathir said the Malays were not aware of the political threat facing them as they were divided into three groups (PAS, PKR, Umno), where no one group could obtain a percentage of Malay votes that can secure power for the community.
He also claimed that the political marginalisation of the Malays had already become a reality in PR-controlled states even though those administrations were led by Malays.
The former Umno president, who still commands widespread influence among party members and the larger Malay community, pointed to the former PR mentri besar in Perak Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as an example of how Malay politicians had been sidelined by PR.
Dr Mahathir also implied that a Chinese or an Indian could become prime minister if PR took federal power because there was no constitutional restriction on race for the position.
Today, Hamim also urged Puteri Umno to make sacrifices in a bid to defend Malay rights.
“In the context of Malay rights, don’t just demand for your rights. You must ask, ‘what must I sacrifice to defend my rights?’” he said.
Hamim stressed that the Malays could not rule the country without co-operating with the non-Malay communities as each citizen only carried a single vote.
“Malays cannot rule the country by themselves. That’s why we make friends with the MCA and MIC,” he said.
“The ‘si mata sepet’ that has never gone to a mosque or surau only has one vote. The ‘si botol’ that only knows how to go up to Batu Caves up and down only has one vote,” said Hamim, using apparently derogatory terms to describe the Chinese and Indian communities in Malaysia.
“So Puteri Umno must make friends with youths who are not Malays,” he added.
He also exhorted Puteri Umno to recruit youths born from marriages with foreigners into their party.
“There are many foreigners who have children here. Their daughters and sons who have turned 18 should be in Puteri and Putera Umno,” said Hamim.
“You are losing them... thousands of them. You should be collecting them and network with them,” he added.
MI

Sodomy 11 trial is damaging to Malaysia

Branson urges Najib to halt Sodomy II trial

By Yow Hong Chieh

September 27, 2010

Richard Branson stands beside Virgin Mother Ship Eve, White Knight Two, at Wittman Field, site of the Experimental Aircraft Association Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin July 27, 2009. - Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has called on the Malaysian prime minister to intervene in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial, calling the issue “a thorn” in Malaysia’s otherwise good reputation. “If you’re a bold leader, you should get rid of things like this which are damaging your reputation,” he said today at the “Dawn of the New Decade: Alternative Investments in Asia” conference here.
“This has gone on for a long, long time. It looks bad overseas.”
While Branson did not think Anwar’s Sodomy II trial was causing foreign investors to shy away from Malaysia in any major way, the mercurial entrepreneur nonetheless said more people would want to invest in Malaysia if it were more open and liberal.
He added that it was incumbent on the prime minister to address the “damaging” trial as good leaders looked after their citizens well, much like how good employers take care of their employees.
Branson was speaking at the “Dawn of the New Decade - Alternative Investments in Asia” forum in the capital hosted by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). He went on after MIDA Director-general Datuk Jalilah Baba gave her address.
Anwar, the 62-year-old PKR de facto leader, is charged with sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, at Unit 11-5-1 of the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara here between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
The former deputy prime minister has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power” when the charge was read out to him. He is charged under section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction. The trial is taking place 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.
Anwar was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the Cabinet and was later convicted and jailed for both offences.
He was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.
He had earlier led the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.
Anwar’s Sodomy II trial will resume on October 14.
MI

RPK Attacked PAS Youth Chief

So no, the answer does not lie in God’s laws. In fact, God’s laws were actually the problem because it was so easy to manipulate the so-called Word of God and no one dared question the injustice lest they be accused of being anti-God.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The PAS Youth chief, Nasrudin Hassan, wants the Islamic criminal laws known as Hudud to be implemented in the country. “The existing legal system has not been successful, so there is a need for an alternative system,” he said -- and he cited the gruesome murder of businesswoman Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others as an example of the failure of the current system.
The issue here is not whether I support or oppose the enactment of Hudud. The issue is the quality of the PAS Youth leader’s argument. And if this is the best that PAS can offer in terms of leadership then I do not have much hope for this party.
First of all, PAS told us that all Islamic laws, Hudud included, would not apply to non-Muslims but only to Muslims. If this is true then why quote the example of the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya? This woman was allegedly killed by Indian Hindus, not by Malay Muslims. And since Hudud applies only to Muslims then it does not matter whether Malaysia does or does not implement these Islamic laws. It would not have deterred these Indian Hindus from killing Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya because they would have been exempted from these laws anyway.
Now, if Hudud, an Islamic law, will also apply to non-Muslims, then why only Hudud? There are many Islamic laws, Hudud being just one of them. If Hudud will apply to non-Muslims as well, then all the other Islamic laws must also apply to non-Muslims.
Will non-Muslims get arrested for drinking beer? Will non-Muslims get arrested for not attending the Friday prayers in the mosque? Will non-Muslims get arrested for bonking a woman who is not his wife? And so on.
If the answer is ‘no’, if non-Muslims are exempted from all these Islamic laws, then they should also be exempted from Hudud, which is one of many Islamic laws.
Is this fair? Non-Muslims can commit serious crimes and get exemption from Islamic laws. Muslims who commit serious crimes get punished under Islamic laws. So Muslims who commit murder get dragged into the public square after Friday prayers and get beheaded. Non-Muslims relax in jail.
So, if I get arrested and charged for murder, all I need to do is to tell the court that I had in fact renounced Islam a long time ago and then I escape punishment under Hudud. Or will I instead get charged for apostasy and get put to death for leaving Islam? So, I escape the punishment for murder under Hudud but I still die for apostasy.
So you see, PAS leaders like Nasrudin Hassan need to think things through carefully before they open their mouths or else people might start forming an opinion that all PAS leaders are outdated and narrow-minded country bumpkins.
“The existing legal system has not been successful, so there is a need for an alternative system,” said Nasrudin Hassan.
Ah, so now he whacks the system and blames that for the problems facing the country. The system is not working so we abolish the system and we replace it with another more workable system.
Is it really a system failure or an implementation (human) failure? Any system, when badly or wrongly implemented, or implemented with mala fide intent, will fail. So is it a system failure or a human failure?
A Constitutional Monarchy is good. There is nothing wrong with this system. But when it is used to topple a legitimately elected state government, like what happened in Perak, then what do we do? Do we remove the Monarchy and change Malaysia into a Republic? Do we blame the system or the manipulation of the system?
Why is the present legal system bad? And how can Hudud improve things? This is where Nasrudin Hassan needs to present his case and convince Malaysians that things would improve by removing the British system in favour of an Islamic system. By just quoting the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya as an example of a failed system without further explanation on how Hudud could have prevented her murder is a stupid argument not befitting someone of the status of a PAS Youth leader.
The failure of the present system is not because it happens to be a British system and that by abolishing it in favour of an Islamic system all our problems would be solved. The failure of the present system is because the so-called Muslims managing the system are corrupt to the core.
The Muslim political leaders are corrupt. The Muslim civil servants are corrupt. The Muslim judges are corrupt. The Muslim police officers are corrupt. The Muslim MACC officers are corrupt. The Muslim public prosecutors are corrupt. The Muslim lawyers representing criminals are corrupt and they bribe judges to fix their clients’ cases.
And so on.
It is not that there are no corrupt non-Muslims as well. There are. In fact, there are as many corrupt non-Muslims as there are corrupt Muslims. But it is the Muslims and not the non-Muslims who are asking for Hudud to be implemented so I am focusing my argument on the so-called righteous Muslims who are actually very corrupt and not righteous at all.
You mean to say that every single PAS leader and member is above corruption? Come on! Some PAS people are also corrupt. As what Ibrahim Ali said: the only difference between PAS and Umno is that the PAS people utter ‘Bismillah’ before they take a bribe whilst Umno people do not.
Malaysia can abolish the present legal system. Malaysia can adopt Islamic laws such as Hudud. But if Muslim judges, police officers, MACC investigators, lawyers and public prosecutors can be bribed to rig cases then no system in the world will work.
You mean to tell me that corrupt Muslim judges, police officers, public prosecutors, lawyers, and so on, who are involved in Hudud-related cases will not take bribes? If they normally take bribes then they will take bribes notwithstanding what the occasion is. It does not matter whether the case is under Hudud laws or common laws.
Hudud is merely the punishment. But before the criminals can be punished they must first be put on trial. For a fee the AG’s Chambers can declare that the case is NFA (no further action) because of ‘lack of evidence’. For a fee the police can declare that they investigated the case and found no evidence of guilt. For a fee the judge can declare that no prima facie case had been made against the accused and discharge the accused without the defence being called.
Can Hudud solve the crime problem when cases can be rigged and criminals can bribe Muslim officials to get off?
What about if they fabricate evidence against a political enemy of those who walk in the corridors of power and an innocent man is punished? An innocent person can face punishment if the police, AG and judge say that the person is guilty even if that person is not.
Can Hudud prevent this from happening? How can Hudud ensure that the system remains free of corruption and abuse?
Nasrudin Hassan, please study history. Once upon a time the western world also implemented God’s law. But the church was so corrupt that injustice prevailed. The church eliminated the enemies of the many kings of Europe by using God’s laws as the weapon. Innocent people suffered because they opposed the church and/or the kings. In the name of God religious people killed those who did not kowtow to the powers-that-be.
We have gone down this road before. And life began to improve only when the people revolted and overthrew their corrupted leaders and got rid of God’s laws in favour of democratic republics.
So no, the answer does not lie in God’s laws. In fact, God’s laws were actually the problem because it was so easy to manipulate the so-called Word of God and no one dared question the injustice lest they be accused of being anti-God.
If the system is not working then don’t change the system. Get rid of the people who are manipulating and corrupting the system.
For that matter, the Westminster system of government also does not seem to be working. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat garners 50% of the popular vote but can’t win 50% of the seats. Barisan Nasional can still form the federal government even if they garner only 45% of the popular vote. Pakatan Rakyat would have to garner 60% of the popular vote to be able to form the federal government.
This means, under the present system, Pakatan Rakyat can never form the federal government because it is impossible for it to garner 60% of the popular vote with the election fraud, phantom voters, postal voting, gerrymandering, and so on, going on.
So what do we do? Do we abolish general elections? If we do then how do we choose our government? Or do we just let the military run the country?
What we must do is to get rid of the corrupt Muslims heading the Elections Commission (SPR). It is the Muslims in the SPR who are the problem. And no Islamic system can improve things if the Muslims who are supposed to be the implementers are corrupt.
“We have opened up our doors to everyone including our partners in Pakatan for a discussion. I don’t think that goes against the spirit of Pakatan Rakyat that aims to form a just government,” said Nasrudin Hassan.
My dear Nasrudin Hassan, justice cannot be achieved this way. Justice, which is supposed to be the foundation of Islam, can only be achieved when Muslims can understand what the word justice means. Currently they do not.
Muslims talk about justice. But there is no justice in their hearts. Their hearts are black with injustice.
This is where the problem lies.

***********************************************

PAS Youth insists on hudud for serious crimes
(The Malaysian Insider) - The PAS Youth insisted today that the enactment of Islamic criminal laws would prevent serious crimes from taking place, reopening a controversy that broke an earlier opposition pact in 2001.
The Islamic criminal laws also known as Hudud allows for amputation and death by stoning for serious crimes, and has been a sore point among Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties which had formed Barisan Alternatif (BA) in the 1999 elections only to see it fall apart later.
The coalition however managed to reach at its inaugural convention last year when the introduction of Hudud law was dropped from the PR’s common policy framework.
“The existing legal system has not been successful, so there is a need for an alternative system,” PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan told a press conference.
He cited the gruesome murder of businesswoman Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others as an example of failure of the current system. Police said the four were bludgeoned and later burnt but are awaiting forensic results before charging several suspects.
“We have opened up our doors to everyone including our partners in Pakatan for a discussion.”
“I don’t think that goes against the spirit of Pakatan Rakyat that aims to form a just government,” said Nasrudin when pointed out that the proposal for Islamic law was not part of PR policy.
“Now we are asking the government to do it. If it is proven to be successful, I don’t think anyone will oppose it including Pakatan,” he added.
Kelantan was the first state to enact Islamic criminal law when PAS took over the government in 1990. The Terengganu government under PAS also did the same in 2000, but both states have not been able to enforce the law because of doubts over the legality of the enactment.
“What was enacted in Kelantan and Terengganu maybe can be introduced at the federal level,” said Nasrudin.
“It is a comprehensive law but could not be enforced because of legal obstacles,” he said.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) has proclaimed Malaysia as an Islamic nation but has not made moves to enact hudud laws, citing the country’s multi-racial mix.