Iran shuts down 24 cafes in Internet crackdown

Reza Derakhshi, Fredrik Dahl, Richard Williams / Reuters / 17 Dec 2007
 

TEHRAN: Iranian police have closed down 24 Internet cafes and other coffee shops in as many hours, detaining 23 people, as part of a broad crackdown on immoral behavior in the Islamic state, official media said on Sunday.

The action in Tehran province was the latest move in a campaign against fashion and other practices deemed incompatible with Islamic values, including women flouting strict dress codes and barber shops offering men Western hair styles.

"Using immoral computer games, storing obscene photos ... and the presence of women wearing improper hijab were among the reasons why they have been closed down," Colonel Nader Sarkari, a provincial police commander, said.

Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005, promising a return to the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, hardliners have pressed for tighter controls on "immoral behaviour".

Sarkari told the official IRNA news agency that police had inspected 435 coffee shops in the past 24 hours, and 170 had been warned.

The report did not make clear whether they were all Internet cafes, which have mushroomed in Iran over the past few years and are popular especially among young people. Police were not immediately available for comment.

"Twenty-three people were detained," Sarkari said, adding 11 of them were women.

Many young Iranians are avid users of the Internet, some using chat rooms to socialise with the opposite sex. Mingling between sexes outside marriage is banned and many Web sites considered unIslamic are blocked by the authorities.

The cafe crackdown coincides with a winter campaign against women wearing tight trousers tucked into long boots and other "improper dress" such as short overcoats and hats instead of scarves.

Enforcement of Islamic dress codes that require women to cover their hair and disguise the shape of their bodies has become stricter since 2005, following eight years of reformist rule.

Police regularly clamp down on skimpier clothing and looser headscarves in the summer, but usually for only a few weeks. This year the campaign has run into the winter.

Women found dressing inappropriately may be warned and repeat offenders can be taken to a police station and fined.

"Our people want their women to be able to go in the streets with respect and want their dignity to be protected," senior Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami told worshippers in Tehran on Friday. "Our people want the society to be morally clean."

In a separate campaign, IRNA said police had inspected 275 restaurants in the capital to check compliance with a new ban on smoking in public places. The ban includes water pipes, known in Iran as qalyan, offered in some outlets.

Of those, 138 received a warning and 17 were shut down, police official Mohammad Reza Alipour said.

 

Remain calm, Waytha tells supporters

Malaysiakini (via Malaysian Politics), Fri 14 Dec 2007 1:31 AM MYT
 

Hindu Rights Action Force chairperson P Waythamoorthy today urged the movement's supporters to remain calm in the face of the police swoop on five key leaders which aimed to cripple the movement.

"Don't get emotional. Let's remain calm and continue with our struggle," said Waythamoorthy who contacted Malaysiakini from London.

He is presently in that city to rally international support for the movement which wants the Malaysian government to stop marginalising the Indian community.

His absence from Malaysia prevented him from being arrested under the Internal Security Act today. Five other Hindraf leaders, including Waythamoorthy's brother Uthayakumar, were recently detained under the tough security law.

The five have been immediately sent to the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping, Perak, on a two-year detention without trial.

"Let not anyone tell you that Hindraf is without leadership as a result of the police act today," said Waythamoorthy, who is expected to take the helm from his detained elder brother.

He added that he would continue to lead Hindraf from London to achieve their aims in bettering the plight of the Indian community

"I will be issuing statements from here and will be in touch with others in Malaysia on our next step," he said.

Protect our struggle

He also warned his supporters not to allow any political parties to hijack the movement's struggle.

"We will remain apolitical though we are politically sensitive," said the 41-year-old lawyer.

"I know there will be political parties who will try to move in after the arrest of the five key leaders today. My message to our supporters is not to let them hijack our struggle."

He added that he would be calling for a tele-conference press meeting tomorrow at Uthayakumar's office to explain Hindraf's next move.

"Till then, please remain calm and if you want to do anything, just offer prayers for us," he said.

Earlier today the police arrested lawyers Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan and V Ganabatirau and organising secretary T Vasantha Kumar under the dreaded ISA for allegedly being a national threat.

Uthayakumar, in his last message through a video recording which he gave to Malaysiakini, also asked Hindraf supporters to continue their "just struggle".

 

Whither Malaysia?

Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob, Asia Sentinel, 13 Dec 2007
 

How much trouble is the government's leadership actually in, given the continuing protests and arrests?

With Malaysia in the midst of a crackdown on political dissent with the first use of the draconian Internal Security Act in at least half a decade and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi under fire from both domestic and international human rights organizations, where does the country stand today? Will dissent increase? Is Abdullah Badawi in electoral trouble? Will unrest spread outside of the opposition parties to the populace at large? What do the demonstrations mean for investors?

The answers are mixed. Despite a general feeling of malaise over the economy, it actually grew at the fastest pace since 2005 — 6.7 percent in the third quarter — on rising domestic demand and investment as well as commodity exports, although manufactured exports declined somewhat. So far, unrest appears to have been contained largely within the opposition despite widespread grumbling, particularly on the Internet, and does not appear to be concerning investors. The Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) said in its 2008 Economic Outlook for East Asia, released this week, that reduced corporate taxes are expected to continue to lure foreign investment. Nobody is particularly nervous about the protests.

Unless there is a dramatic change, it is inconceivable that the Barisan Nasional, the collection of ethnically-based political parties that make up the national ruling coalition, would lose an election when it is called, expected to be sometime next year. But by Malaysian standards the electorate may deliver a blow to the Barisan, which has ruled the country since independence in 1957. Ethnic Chinese, who make up 23.7 percent of the population according to the CIA World Factbook, have been disenchanted by rising Malay bellicosity and widespread reports of corruption.

Rural Malays can largely be expected to continue to support the Barisan and the United Malays National Organisation, the leading ethnic party in the coalition because of the benefits delivered to them by the National Development Plan, the successor to the New Economic Policy or NEP in the form of schooling, redistribution of wealth and other assistance. Commodity prices, because of China's voracious appetite, are up, particularly for palm oil and rubber.

Although urban professional Malays in Kuala Lumpur and other cities appear to be increasingly unhappy with what they regard as the hijacking of the NEP by rent-seeking cronies and a series of events involving local corruption, nothing has galvanized them into real action against the Barisan. For one thing, their options are relatively limited. The jeans-wearing BMW drivers and their companions in the urban areas who have forsaken strict Islamic dress have little in common with the ascetic Islamic foundations of Parti Sa-Islam Malaysia, the biggest Malay opposition party outside the coalition.

There appears to be little trust for the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Parti Keadilan Rakyat despite his charisma, partly because he is perceived to be too close to the International Monetary Fund and the Washington Consensus. A recent statement by the US Department of State calling on Malaysia to respect human rights was perceived as an effort to help restore Anwar to the power he lost when he was fired as deputy prime minister by Mahathir Mohamad and subsequently jailed on charges of corruption and sexual misconduct. The charges of sexual misconduct were later reversed. The charges have been widely viewed as trumped up. However, in recent weeks, an internet site perceived as favorable to Abdullah Badawi's son-in-law, Khairy Jamiluddin, has begun to sprout with other tales of sexual misconduct, including a purported 10-year-old videotape of a woman filing a police complaint against him for attempting to fondle her breast, and another purportedly tapped suggestive telephone call between Anwar and a woman.

Demonstrations organized by opposition parties and civic organizations, particularly Bersih, which brought out as many as 30,000 people on Nov. 10, energized a surprising number of urban, middle-class Malays as well as the fundamentalists organized by Parti sa-Islam Malaysia, or PAS, the Islamic opposition party. Urban Malays talk of "teaching the Barisan a lesson," but it is not likely to be a lesson that will sink the coalition. Some key urban areas could go to the opposition, particularly cities dominated by the Chinese such as Penang.

Penang looks shaky because the Chinese there are very unhappy because of a controversial project in the prime minister's home state, the Penang Global City Centre. It is being built on a 104-hectare site now occupied by the Penang Turf Club by an entrepreneur named Patrick Lim, who has been nicknamed Patrick Badawi because of his close ties to the prime minister. While cronyism is nowhere near the levels it reached during the reign of the previous prime minister, the project has stirred criticism, which has been exacerbated by what many people consider the inappropriate use of Abdullah Badawi's name by Khairy.

One well-connected analyst told Asia Sentinel that because Chinese and Indian voters are increasingly frustrated by the political situation and leaning towards voting for the opposition, particularly in major cities including Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Johor, UMNO leaders see their path to preserving their majority as playing to ethnic tensions. "You are going to see a lot more keris-waving before the election," he said, a reference to the wavy-bladed dagger that forms a part of Malay ceremonial costumes. UMNO leaders have occasionally got carried away and waved the daggers, vowing to bathe them in Chinese blood.

The demonstrations themselves have caused massive traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur, the latest on Tuesday as police sought to keep opposition leaders away from the Dewan Rakyat, or Parliament building where they sought to present a petition for electoral reform. They have been largely organized by opposition parties and it is unclear how far participation has spread outside the opposition. Malaysians are particularly averse to demonstrations. The traumatic 40-year-old events of May 1969, when hundreds of people died in ethnic riots in Kuala Lumpur and other cities, seem to Malaysians — partly because the government keeps reminding them — to have happened only yesterday. Consequently, urban residents, while sympathetic to the need for change, have very little patience for the disruption of their daily lives.

They have particularly little patience with Hindraf, the Hindu Rights Reaction Force, five of whose members were detained Thursday under the ISA and which organized a demonstration on Nov. 25 that drew another 30,000 protesters, all Indians, protesting that Indians were the lowest-income ethnic group in the country. Hindraf sent a petition to the Queen of England, asking for redress of US$4 trillion — US$1 million for every Indian resident of Malaysia — for bringing the Indians from India to work in rubber plantations, build roads and do other tasks during the colonial period. The assertion of Indian poverty was quickly contradicted by Malaysia's Economic Planning Unit director-general, Sulaiman Mahbob, who said that average household income for Indians in 2004 stood at RM3,456 a month, while Malays' monthly average household income was RM2,711. For the Chinese, monthly average household income was RM4,437.

On balance, while there seems to be general irritation on the part of voters, it is concentrated in pockets and it doesn't seem to extend to the population at large. If the election were to cost the coalition some of the bigger cities, and especially if the coalition's balance of power in the Dewan Rakyat fell below its historic two-thirds margin, Abdullah Badawi would be in trouble.

Not with the electorate at large, but in the country's real election — the UMNO party elections that may be held in 2008 or 2009. If Abdullah Badawi is perceived to still be in trouble, the man waiting in the wings is Najib, despite the hot breath of scandal over allegations of the purchase of submarines and jet fighters that appeared to guarantee fat commissions for friends, and for the alleged involvement of his bodyguards and best friend who are now on trial for the gruesome murder of a Mongolian translator.

Najib is the man who has been delivering the bacon to the Malay rank and file. So far, barring dramatic announcements, he appears to be the beneficiary of Abdullah Badawi's troubles.

 

Hindraf ISA arrests: BN govt has lost its moral authority

Aliran, Thu 13 Dec 2007
 

Aliran condemns the arrest today of five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders under the obnoxious Internal Security Act. Those detained were Hindraf legal adviser P Uthayakumar, lawyers M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and organising secretary T Vasanthakumar. These ISA arrests are certainly a huge step backwards for democracy. When the Barisan Nasional detains its citizens under the draconian ISA, it concedes that it has lost its moral authority and has no justification to frame a valid charge and take them to court under the existing laws of the country.

There is no other conclusion especially when the government had earlier charged Uthayakumar and his friends for sedition. Why did it not allow the due process of the law to take its course? Is it because the charges levelled against them would not stand up to the scrutiny of the judiciary? And if the police really had concrete evidence to back up their allegations that Hindraf has links to terrorist groups, they should have charged the Hindraf leaders in court accordingly.

Many Malaysians are not surprised by the government’s latest move given the relentless campaign of vilification of the Hindraf leaders by several ministers with help from the compliant mainstream media. Through this single-minded effort over the last couple of weeks, the BN machinery prepared the ground for the use of the ISA by heaping all kinds of allegations against Hindraf. Using one-sided media reporting and official statements, they conveyed the impression that Hindraf was a threat to national security — without adducing sufficient evidence to justify this allegation.

Some Malaysians may believe that certain words used or claims made by the Hindraf leaders bordered on exaggeration. But the Hindraf leaders, like many others before them, do not deserve the unjust ISA. Nobody should be detained without trial. Detaining them under this undemocratic law will not resolve the underlying causes of the grievances and disillusionment that have been expressed by the Hindraf leaders and which have struck a chord among Indian Malaysians. By ignoring the root causes of the disenchantment, the government may well be putting its head in the proverbial sand again.

Concerned Malaysians and keen observers outside the country would be forgiven for suspecting that these arrests are aimed at suppressing legitimate dissent and opposition to the ruling party ahead of a general election. Malaysians will know that what the BN is trying to protect is its own security and interest and the survival of the MIC. It is the fear of the eroding loss of confidence that has driven the BN to take this desperate action.

When ordinary Indian Malaysians responded to the call of Hindraf on 25 November in an astounding number that ran into tens of thousands, it stunned and baffled the BN and the MIC. Ordinary Indian Malaysians, not withstanding the official statistics that have been dished out, understand their real economic status and position. Their desperate cry for help was conveyed through their participation in Hindraf activities. For them to have defied police warnings and political threats of BN leaders and to have faced the tear gas and chemically laced liquid sprayed by water cannons spoke of their utter hopelessness. It is a matter of grave regret that the BN failed to recognise this reality.

The BN has criminalised all our freedoms. We cannot walk as a group, we cannot put up a banner on our own building, we cannot have access to information, we cannot challenge any ministerial decisions in any court of law, we cannot have a reasonable campaign period prior to election, we cannot have equal radio and TV time for all registered political parties to reach out to citizens to explain party policies, we cannot have a licence as a matter of right to publish. Our basic fundamental rights and freedoms have all been taken away through subsidiary laws and regulations. We are reminded by what was said way back in 163 BC: Extreme law is often extreme injustice.

Aliran calls upon the BN government to immediately charge all of them in a court of law if they have flouted any of the country’s laws or release them unconditionally. This would be a decent thing to do especially when Malaysia occupies an exalted seat in the global Human Rights Council.

Aliran Executive Committee
13 December 2007

 

Keadilan condemns ISA arrest

Sivarasa Rasiah, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Thu 13 Dec 2007
 

Parti Keadilan Rakyat condemns the arrest and detention under the Internal Security Act 1960 of five Hindraf leaders today. It is reported in The Star that their detention orders were signed by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi detaining them for up to two years under section 8 of the ISA.

If the Government has evidence of any criminal offences committed by these five persons, then it is only proper that they must be charged and tried in open court.

The practice of locking up a citizen for two years using vague and unproven allegations of being a threat to national security has no place in any civilised society. We must be able to deal with these issues through a transparent court process. Every citizen has a fundamental and inalienable right to public trial.

Keadilan has consistently called for the repeal of the ISA as a draconian law that makes the claim of a functioning democracy in Malaysia completely hollow.

The Prime Minister had previously threatened the use of the ISA in the name of "national stablility ". He has failed to see that that using the draconian ISA in this manner will only exacerbate tensions within the country. It will take us further away from true national unity. His authorisation of these detentions will now raise questions as to what are the actual motives of the Barisan Nasional in invoking this draconian law.

We expect that the Prime Minister will soon repeat again the innuendoes he made recently about police intelligence about violent planned intent. We note that in 2001 the then Inspector General of Police made wild allegations of violent intent by several Keadilan leaders before arresting and detaining them under the ISA. In subsequent court challenged to those detentions, the police could not produce a shred of evidence to substantiate these allegations.

Unrealistic demands or loose or exaggerated language by Hindraf leaders cannot in any manner be equated to so-called "threats to national security".

Keadilan reiterates: release the Hindraf leaders or charge them in open court!

Sivarasa Rasiah
Vice-President
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
13th December 2007

 

Five facts on Malaysia's Internal Security Act

Gill Murdoch, Singapore Editorial Reference Unit
Reuters, Thu 13 Dec 2007 3:26 AM EST
 

Malaysia has invoked its notorious Internal Security Act (ISA) to detain five ethnic Indians from a group that staged a mass anti-government protest last month.

There are currently 74 people, mostly suspected Muslim militants, being detained under the ISA, the government said last month.

Here are five facts on the ISA.

• Passed in 1960, three years after Malaysian independence, the ISA was designed to curb a perceived communist threat. It grew out of emergency regulations that were part of then Malaya's campaign against the Malayan Communist Party in British colonial times. Neighbour Singapore, once part of Malaysia, kept the ISA after leaving the Malaysian Federation in 1965.

• The act allows for the arrest and detention for an indefinite period of a suspect judged as "likely" to commit an act deemed dangerous to national security. Detainees can be held for 60 days without legal counsel, and preventive detention can then be renewed every two years.

• Amended dozens of times, it also has provisions to restrict freedom of assembly, expression and movement, among others. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, it has been used to lock up dozens of suspected Islamic militants. Most ISA detainees are kept at Kamunting prison in northwest Perak state.

• The Human Rights Watch has said governments have consistently used the ISA for their own political purposes to detain thousands of citizens, including political opposition leaders, academics, trade unionists as well as religious, social, environmental and women's rights activists. Rights groups criticise the ISA as a draconian violation of international human rights standards, and a tool to stifle peaceful political dissent.

• In October 2007, opposition figure Abdul Malek Hussin became the first person to win a significant payment for illegal detention under the ISA. He was awarded nearly $750,000 in damages for his Sept 1998 detention, for addressing a "Reformasi" demonstration calling for political reform.

 

Enam tahun ditahan ISA, GMI akan adakan himpunan 17 Disember ini

Aniz Nazri, Harakah Daily, Thu 13 Dec 2007 5:30 PM MYT
 

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) akan berkumpul di Dataran Suhakam, di Menara Tun Razak, 17 Disember ini bagi menyatakan bantahan terhadap tindakan kerajaan yang masih tidak membebaskan 26 tahanan meskipun setelah enam tahun ditahan di bawah ISA.

Program yang bertemakan 'Wanita Malaysia Prihatin bersama Isteri Tahanan ISA' anjuran Pusat Sokongan Keluarga (PSK) GMI itu dijangka bermula jam 10.30 pagi dan berakhir pada jam 11.30 pagi.

Menurut Jurucakap PSK GMI, Norlaila Osman, program tersebut akan diisi dengan 'short sharing' bersama isteri-isteri tahanan, deklamasi sajak oleh isteri tahanan, dan pertunjukan 'play card' daripada anak-anak tahanan.

Di samping itu, semua wanita yang hadir pada hari tersebut dijangka akan membaca deklarasi Wanita Prihatin yang menentang kezaliman ISA.

"Semua wanita dialu-alukan untuk menyertai program ini. Wanita Malaysia perlu buka mata untuk membantah kezaliman ISA.

"Harapan kami, program ini berjaya sebagai solidariti wanita agar mendesak kerajaan membebaskan kesemua tahanan ISA yang sudah mencecah enam tahun," tegas beliau, yang juga merupakan salah seorang isteri tahanan yang masih ditahan sehingga hari ini.

Dalam pada itu, beliau turut mengingatkan semua wanita yang ingin hadir agar tidak bimbang dengan sebarang kemungkinan yang akan berlaku pada program itu kerana wakil Suhakam akan bersama-sama PSK GMI sepanjang program tersebut.

"Justeru, saya berharap ramai wanita yang membenci kezaliman ini hadir pada program tersebut untuk menyatakan sokongan," kata beliau./wann

 

WHO decides on Malaysia

The Star, Thu 13 Dec 2007
 

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has been selected as the host country for the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Services Centre.

Located in Cyberjaya, the centre will handle all of WHO's back room operations. The estimated 200 staff required at the centre by the end of 2008 will be mostly Malaysians.

WHO assistant director Namita Pradhan said that although all 192 member countries had been potential host sites, the Philippines, India and Malaysia were short-listed.

"An independent committee evaluated what was on offer, what was going to be made available and chose Malaysia as the best location," she said at the signing ceremony at the Health Ministry between WHO and the Malaysian Government.

Namita said the decision was based on the skills mix, salary level, costs, standard of living and whether international staff could relocate easily to the centre.

She said the centre would handle WHO's back office work such as running the entire organisation's payroll, processing transactions and procurements. She said 90% of the staff would be Malaysians.

"We are committed on our part. We will do our best to upgrade their skills," she said, adding that this included training them locally as well as in Geneva for four to six weeks.

The centre would start work in the second week of January with a small contingent of 26.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said in his speech that Malaysia was honoured.

"Cyberjaya was chosen because it's Malaysia's 'Silicon Valley' and the infrastructure there has the latest technology with fibre optic cabling in each building providing connectivity to all parts of the world," he said.

The single global system will link 147 countries, including six regional offices and the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

It is estimated that by the end of 2008, local staff would number 200, with about 15 to 20 WHO officials, Dr Chua said.

 

'Silent majority has spoken'

Zulkifli Abd Rahman, The Star, Thu 13 Dec 2007 3:41 PM MYT
 

PETALING JAYA: Damai Malaysia, an umbrella body comprising 395 non-governmental organisations representing nearly 1.5 million members, handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The memorandum criticised recent illegal street demonstrations, which Damai said had caused problems and created tension among Malaysia's multiracial population.

Upon receiving the memorandum, Abdullah said that illegal street demonstrations were not part of our culture or way of life.

"We have progressed because we have been able to maintain democratic institutions which respect the law, while the people have enjoyed the fruits of peace and political stability.

"If freedom cannot be respected and used in a responsible manner, the people themselves will be at the losing end.

"As can be seen from today's memorandum, the people who remained silent have now stood up to make their stand.

"They want peace to be maintained," he told reporters after receiving the memorandum.

Damai Malaysia representatives also included those from 75 Chinese-based and 20 Indian groups and associations.

In the joint-declaration read by Damai chairman Mohd Saiful Adil Mohd Daud, members expressed their disgust at street demonstrations, and the use of religious and racial issues to create hatred among Malaysians.

They also condemned individuals and groups who used lies and slander against the country and asked for foreign intervention into Malaysia's internal affairs, he said.

Damai advisor and Bukit Bintang MCA chief Senator Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng said the Bersih and Hindraf illegal demonstrations last month had caused tourists to avoid Malaysia.

Cheras Hindu Youth Organisation vice-president S. Ariivazhagan expressed disappointment that Hindraf had used religion to protest.

 

MBE for two Malaysians for keeping history alive

The Star, Thu 13 Dec 2007
 

KUALA LUMPUR: Two Malaysians were yesterday made honorary members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for their untiring efforts in helping to preserve and manage historical war sites and memorials.

Chye Kooi Loong, 75, and Sevee Charuruks, 57, were presented the award by British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McCleary at his residence here.

Chye, who joined the British Battalion when World War II broke out, started a campaign in 2003

to push the Government to preserve as a historical site the battlefield at Green Ridge in Kampar, Perak.

Chye wrote about the struggle of the British Battalion in a book "The History of the British Battalion Malayan Campaign 1941-42" published in 1984.

Charuruks restored and manages the Kundasang War Memorial in Sabah.

The Kundasang War Memorial near Mt Kinabalu is a site dedicated to the 2,428 allied servicemen who were Japanese prisoners of war in Sandakan. — Bernama

 

Five Hindraf leaders detained under ISA

The Star, Thu 13 Dec 2007 3:59 PM MYT
 

PETALING JAYA: Five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders have been arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The five are P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, R. Kenghadharan, V. Ganabatirau and T. Vasanthakumar. They were picked up at various locations in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban.

It is learnt they were detained under Section 8 (1) of the ISA after Internal Security Minister Datuk Seri Abdulah Ahmad Badawi signed their detention order.

Their detention is for two years.

Uthayakumar and two others namely Ganabatirau and P. Waythamoorthy were charged under the Sedition Act on Nov 23 in Klang 23 for allegedly making speeches to incite hatred at a gathering in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor, on Nov 16. Waythamoorthy is currently overseas.

Under Section 73 (1) of the ISA, the police can detain any individual for up to 60 days without a warrant, trial and without access to legal counsel if he was suspected to have "acted or is about to act or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to maintenance of essential services therein or to the economic life thereof."

After 60 days, the Minister of Home Affairs can extend the period of detention without trial for up to two years, without submitting any evidence for review by the courts, by issuing a detention order, which is renewable indefinitely.

 

4-day suspension for MP Kulasegaran

The Star, Thu 13 Dec 2007 4:10 PM MYT
 

IPOH: Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran was given a four-day suspension from the House after he refused to adhere to instructions to sit down by Deputy Speaker Datuk Lim Si Cheng.

The DAP MP was given the boot during the debate on the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) (Amendment) Bill 2007.

Kulasegaran had earlier interrupted the debate speech by Air Hitam MP Dr Wee Ka Siong, and said that the Deputy Speaker should not be involved in chairing a bill discussing salary increments of the speaker and deputy speaker.

Lim also had to adjourn the sitting for 30 minutes at 3.10pm following a disturbance when Kulasegaran refused to leave.

Kulasegaran left the house with DAP MPs 15 minutes later, before the deputy speaker announced his suspension.

 

Christmas ornaments made in China sweatshop

Karey Wutkowski, John Wallace, Andre Grenon
Reuters, Wed 12 Dec 2007 3:53 PM EST
 

WASHINGTON: Christmas tree ornaments sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other major retailers were made in a Chinese sweatshop employing workers as young as 12 and others who work more than 100 hours a week, a Democratic senator said on Wednesday.

"There is virtually no enforcement anywhere on these issues," Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said at a news conference to release a study about how Chinese sweatshops provide cheap goods for the U.S. market. "Our country needs to insist that our trading partners enforce their own labor laws and respect international labor standards."

The study was conducted by the National Labor Committee, a human rights organization based in New York, and highlighted conditions at the Guangzhou Huanya Gift company, a top ornament manufacturer in China that employs 8,000 workers. It found some employees were paid as little as 26 cents an hour, half the legal minimum wage in China, and that employees in the spray paint department handled potentially dangerous chemicals with little or no protection.

Attempts to reach Guangzhou Huanya for comment were not successful.

Wal-Mart said it launched an immediate investigation after receiving a copy of the report.

"Through our rigorous ethical standards program, Wal-Mart aggressively deals with any allegations of improper conditions at our suppliers' factories," a company spokesman said.

The spokesman did not have an immediate comment about another report about Wal-Mart released on Wednesday from the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency. The EIA released undercover video surveillance that claims Wal-Mart has been selling wood products made from illegally logged timber.

The report on Christmas ornaments was released as U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visited China for two days of talks on food safety, China's relatively weak currency and other trade tensions.

Dorgan said the report highlighted a "serious trade problem," which has also been brought to the public's attention by the recalls of millions of Chinese-made toys in recent months.

Some of the most popular branded toys in the United States, including Thomas the Tank Engine, Curious George and SpongeBob SquarePants, have been pulled from shelves because they contain unsafe levels of lead and other hazards, such as small magnets.

Dorgan said consumers do not have enough information to make knowledgeable decisions about what products to buy and it is government's responsibility to police imported goods.

"We should not have on our shelves the products of sweatshop labor," he said.

Dorgan introduced legislation earlier this year to crack down on imports of such products. It would also give the U.S. Federal Trade Commission more authority and funding to investigate sweatshop conditions.

A similar bill is pending in the House of Representatives.

"Global trade is here, but there must be rules that protect consumers and there must be rules that protect workers," Dorgan added.

The report was posted on the Internet at http://dorgan.senate.gov/documents/newsroom/1212NLCReport.pdf.

 

Where to, Pak Lah?

Kim Quek, Malaysia Today, 13 Dec 2007
 

Who in his wildest dream would have imagined Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's (Pak Lah) promised land of reforms pledged in the last election in 2004 could so dramatically degenerated into a virtual police state on the eve of the next election?

Yes, the ridiculous spectacle of arrest of opposition party and civic leaders (who only wanted to present a petition) in a Parliament house that was completely sealed off by police road blocks in the absence of any threats of attacks is indeed one that exudes the image of a police state.

This spectacle was rendered even more ridiculous when the petition was a noble mission to persuade the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) from rushing through a wanton alteration of the Constitution for political expediency — amending Article 114 of the Constitution to extend the retirement age of the chairman of election commission (EC) from 65 to 66, so as to enable the discredited and pro-BN chairman Rashid Rahman (due for mandatory retirement at 65 on Dec 31) to helm the coming election.

On the same day of these arrests, Dec 11, the headquarters of main opposition party PAS was cordoned off by police so as to prevent leaders of the party from going to Parliament House to present the petition. Where on earth can you find a democratic country indulging in such high-handed acts of contempt of democratic principles and such uninhibited abuse of police force? What a big slap on the face of the Prime Minister, who only days before shamelessly declared to the world through an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal (Dec 7) what glorious democracy Malaysia had been practicing!

Frantic Repression

To get a further view of the state of repression this country has descended to, I will list briefly relevant events that took place recently, in reversed chronologic order:

Dec 11: Arrests in Parliament and cordoning of PAS headquarters as stated above.

Dec 9: International Human Rights Day. Arrest of Bar Council human rights committee chairman for preventing government officials from removing a human rights banner in the premises of the Bar Council. Arrest of lawyers and activists who were walking in a small group toward the Bar Council premises in celebration of International human rights day, after the Bar Council had cancelled its annual human rights walk under pressure from the government.

Dec 9: Scores of activists including opposition party leaders were arrested in different parts of the country for participating in the Nov 10 rally organized by BERSIH — a movement supported by opposition parties and NGOs to campaign for free and fair elections.

Nov 25: Hindraf rally of 30,000 in the streets of Kuala Lumpur to protest against marginalization of ethnic Indians due to racial discrimination under the "New Economic Policy" (NEP). The demonstrators were brutally suppressed with endless volley of tear gas canisters, chemically laced water cannons and beating with batons by police. Subsequently 31 ethnic Indians were arrested and charged for attempted murder for wounding a policeman; and leaders of Hindra — an ethnic Indian rights movement — were arrested and charged.

Nov 10: BERSIH rally of 40,000 in Kuala Lumpur to present a petition to the King requesting for electoral reforms. The marchers were confronted by police blockades and chased around by riot squats using tear gas, chemically laced water cannons and batons.

In an apparent attempt to exonerate himself from accusation of reckless repression, Pak Lah said in a speech on Dec 10: "If the choice is between public safety and public freedom, I do not hesitate to say here that public safety will always win." He alluded to demonstrators as law-breakers who threatened public safety and vowed to apply the dreaded Internal Security Act if necessary.

But what blatant lies these assertions are, when there is not a shred of evidence to indicate there has been any intent, act or weaponry of violence on the part of participants throughout these assemblies. In fact these protesters should be commended for having exhibited exemplary conduct of discipline and self-restraints, particularly when subjected to harsh treatment from the police. There was no violent clash, safe in the Batu Cave temple incident in the early hours of Dec 25 when large crowd of Hindu worshippers and participants were locked in and subjected to endless attacks of tear gas and water canons.

Rebuke from Suhakam

In a statement in apparent rebuttal to the Prime Minister's wild accusation of "threats to public safety", the Chairman of Suhakam, which is Malaysia's Human Rights Commission, said:

"The possibility of public disorder should be based on evidence, not speculation or imagination.

"Suhakam regrets the government had ignored its repeated call to repeal the law requiring permits for public assemblies and processions. In London you can hold peaceful assemblies and the police are around to prevent public disorder. But here a group needs a permit even to present a memorandum.

"Suhakam wants Section 27 of the Police Act 1967 (which requires a police permit for an assembly of more than three) repealed, because it goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and appears to be inconsistent with the spirit of the Federal Constitution." (Star Dec 12).

A Suhakam statement further said:

"Currently, it appears that arrests and prosecutions are selective and seemingly biased. Suhakam calls on the authorities to respect and uphold the law and to implement it equally as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. Suhakam regrets that many of its recommendations remain unheeded, and this has not enhanced our national human rights status." (Malaysiakini Dec 12)

It should be clear from the foregoing who the villains are in these shameful episodes of trampling of the people's constitutional rights.

Paranoid Reflexes?

Why would Pak Lah and his cabinet resort to such dastardly acts that have put Malaysia to shame? I venture to suggest two main reasons.

FIRST, Abdullah's government has been rocked by endless series of mega scandals of corruption and abuse of power since early this year. These included the grisly Mongolian murder with links to top political hierarchy; dubious commissions that run into hundreds of millions paid in respect of purchases of submarines and fighter jets respectively; the almost simultaneous investigations of the top three crime-busters — deputy minister of home security, inspector general of police and former anti-corruption agency chief; the inflated spending of RM 4.6 billion to create a "Ghost Town" in Port Klang; the inflated RM 6.75 billion naval vessel contract that ran foul; the auditor general's report that reveals pervasive corruption in the millions that run right across the full spectrum of the entire government; and the recent Lingam video clip that exposes judicial rot of the worst kind.

Any of the above scandals would have dealt a fatal blow to any democratic country, but in Malaysia, thanks to collusion of local press and TV, these are largely hidden from the masses. However, with increasing influence exerted by critics through a growing Internet, the government is beginning to feel the heat of critical public opinion. Needless to say, the regime's popular support will change in inverse proportion to the spread of public knowledge of the ruling coalition's incompetence and corruption.

Economic hardships caused by spiraling inflation in an uncompetitive economy help to fester growing dissatisfaction against a leadership that is increasingly exposed as one which feathers its own nests through abuses of the NEP. The latter is supposed to be an affirmative policy but has been illegitimately hijacked by UMNO to enrich its elites in the name of helping the Malay race. These abuses, built on racial discriminations, have in turn heightened resentment among minority races as well as accentuating class conflicts due to widening disparity of wealth. To cling to power, UMNO has to depend on a manipulated electoral system as pillar to its political hegemony. This is why it is so determined to retain current EC chairman Rashid Rahman's service, to the extent of amending the social contract of the founding fathers of this country — the Constitution.

And so, when tens of thousands of people threaten to amass in the streets to demand for fair elections (by BERSIH) or protest against racial marginalization (by Hindra), UMNO has reasons to feel panicky. What if these crowds swell to over a hundred thousand? What if news of the evil deeds of the regime spread like wild fire through word of mouth among the disgruntled masses? As UMNO's popularity wanes, would it implode in the midst of worsening internal power struggle? Or would it be deserted by its racial hangers-on who have been scrounging on UMNO's power, but whose roles as champions of their own racial groups are increasingly untenable in the light of UMNO's recent surge in racial arrogance and dominance under the competitive influence of Pak Lah's ambitious son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin?

These nagging thoughts are fair assumptions, judging from the paranoid displayed by UMNO in clamping down so recklessly and insanely on any public expression of dissent.

SECOND, Pak Lah seemed to have been emboldened by the favourable findings of a recent opinion poll commissioned by the UMNO owned New Straits Times, judging from his recent smugness at the poll results and the sudden tightening of the police noose on the opposition of late. The spin doctors and sycophants who have insulated him from the real world might have convinced him that it is safe and timely to strike as hard a blow as possible against the opponents irrespective of what the Constitution prescribes, given the supposed unswerving support of the people.

Caution to Pak Lah

A word of caution for Pak Lah here. Since when is opinion poll in a highly repressed state like Malaysia taken seriously? Democracies like US or Australia which practices exemplary democracy can rely on opinion poll to predict electoral outcome to the nearest percent or two. But haven't we noticed that opinion polls on political support are rarely conducted in countries in Africa, middle east, the former Soviet Union and large parts of Asia? Why? It is simply because the people there have been so repressed that few would feel at ease to give honest answers openly, especially those answers deemed unfavourable to the ruling power. The same goes with Malaysia, where long entrenched political culture of submission under threats and inherent fear of punitive consequences will preclude any meaningful results from such an opinion poll. Taking this into consideration, it is safe to assume that there will be a large margin of error in favour of the ruling power, if at all such a poll is conducted.

A case in point was the opinion poll conducted by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research in 2004 when Pak Lah won a sweeping electoral victory. Though his popularity rating then was found to be 91% by Merdeka Centre, his coalition BN could only garner 64% of the popular votes. Projecting this trend onto his present popularity rating at, say 70%, that could mean he may only garner 49% of the popular votes for BN, a prospect not at all comfortable for the mighty and haughty UMNO/BN.

Regardless what the true level of Pak Lah's popular support is, he will be well advised to stand on the right side of history by honouring his oath of allegiance to the country and the Constitution. For any betrayal of his oath of allegiance, such as the rampant violation of the constitutional rights of the people as is being committed now may bring misfortune to himself and his party in due course, as truth will eventually triumph. By then, his name will be defiled in eternity.

 

It's hard to listen to the people while you gas them in the face

Farish A. Noor, Malaysia Today, 13 Dec 2007
 

Once in a blue moon, in the developing world there appears that rare sort of politician who claims that he wants to listen to the people and take them into account. Of course the sighting of these rare characters is greeted with some degree of elation and relief, a bit like witnessing a lunar eclipse or winning a small lottery: For the developing world is replete with arm-wielding, thug-hugging, testosterone-driven macho-types who often preach their gospel of governance with a club in one hand and the other poised on the trigger.

We have seen this sort of nasty governance in many a developing country: The riot police in South Korea used to have a smiley face on their riot shields, just to add insult to injury when they shot off their tear gas cannisters at point blank range. Indonesian security forces during the time of Suharto used to chat pleasantly with the locals over a cup of tea before they sent in bulldozers to flatten entire villages. Why, even the death squads of Saddam Hussein used to send a bill and invoice to the families of those whose members had been kidnapped and murdered at night.

But there is also that other type of soft authoritarian despot that many of us in the developing world are familiar with by now: These are the more media-savvy types who can at least tie a tie around their necks, feel comfortable in a suit, quote from a novel offhand, and smile at you. Then they do things like place their citizens under detention without trial, have them arrested at dawn while they are asleep in their homes, manipulate the media and control every branch of the government from the legislature to the judiciary.

Looking at the developments in Malaysia of late, one might come to the conclusion that that is precisely the sort of soft authoritarianism that has come to roost. Over the past month the capital of Kuala Lumpur witnessed at least two mammoth demonstrations in a country where the national pastime seems to be shopping: The first was a march organised by the coalition of NGOs called 'BERSIH', that called for free and fair elections. The second was a large march organised by the Malaysian Hindu Action Rights Force (HINDRAF) that highlighted the plight of the millions of Malaysian Hindus who remain at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in the country.

As expected, the Malaysian government's reaction was to demonise the demonstrators, block the roads, call in the riot police and have the demonstrators arrested, chased and tear-gassed in the streets of the capital. Images of Malaysian citizens being doused by water sprays and gassed appeared instantaneously across the world courtesy of Youtube.com and other internet sites, and the happy fiction of Malaysia being the land of peace and plenty sank accordingly...

But what is most worrisome is the epistemic and cognitive dissonance between the actions of the state and its rhetoric. The administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi came to power on a huge mandate and riding on the promise that it would not only clean up the Malaysian political system but also initiate a series of reforms and listen to the people.

Now the last point is terribly important for many Malaysians have always felt that their opinions were of little worth in the eyes of the powers-that-be. The previous administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad did little to cast any suspicions that it was remotely democratic, and Dr Mahathir even went as far as proclaim his own deep misgivings of democracy and reform. Badawi, on the other hand, tapped into the frustrations of the Malaysians and promised them an outlet by stating that he would take them into account and listen to them But what has been the result?

It could be argued that the two massive demonstrations witnessed in the streets of Kuala Lumpur were precisely instances of public communication. One doesn't have to be a scholar of semantics or semiotics to see that expressions of public distrust and anger in the public domain is a case of public communication at its most explicit. These were instances of Malaysians saying to the government and to Badawi in particular: "You promised us reforms, but you have not delivered. Now we are excercising our fundamental right to complain."

But the complaints of the Malaysians were stiffled and silenced by the police sirens and the popping of tear gas cannisters in the streets. Its difficult for any leader to listen to the people when he is gassing them at the same time. Its equally difficult for there to be any meaningful dialogue between the state and the population when the latter are demonised as anarchists, un-patriotic trouble-makers, foreign agents, etc as soon as they show the slightest signs of protest.

So what gives? Prime Minister Badawi had appealed to the Malaysian public to give him time, feedback and support. The demonstration of frustration and the demand for reform happen to be precisely the sort of feedback he needs at the moment, one could argue. Yet Badawi's reaction on the eve of the Bersih demonstration was to threaten the demonstrators with arrest and to state bluntly that he will not be challenged. Is this the real face of the benevolent administration that came to the power on the promise that the leader would listen to the Malaysian public, and which asked Malaysians to 'work with me, and not for me'?

The developing world is facing numerous structural, institutional and social-normative challenges at the moment. Yet the pace of globalisation will not falter nor rest, and it is imperative that developing countries and their governments adapt to the realities of our times, living as we do in a globalised world where the images of riot police shooting and beating demonstrators — as recently happened in Burma — will be on the internet in minutes, if not seconds. Yet developing countries like Burma and Malaysia, as well as Zimbabwe and many others, continue to labour under regimes that have not only lost touch but have been left so far behind. Yet another thuggist James Bond villian for a leader the developing world does not need. And that's what the people are saying in the streets while they are being gassed by their benevolent, smiling leaders.

Dr. Farish A. Noor is a Malaysian political scientist and historian based at the Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin; and one of the founders of the www.othermalaysia.org research site.

 

The disabled are Malaysians too

The Sun Daily, 12 Dec 2007
 

The Ministry of Family, Community and Welfare Development should be congratulated for coming up with a proposed new law to help the disabled lead a life just like other ordinary Malaysians. They deserve to lead normal lives, they are Malaysians.

The idea had been mooted for quite some time now and those concerned — the disabled, their families and guardians — have been hoping and praying for it to be translated into reality for a long time. They do not have to wait long now as on Monday the Persons with Disabilities Bill 2007 was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and it is likely to be passed before the House adjourns next week.

As the country has progressed in almost all fields and is now close to achieving developed status, it is only proper that it does more for the unfortunate ones among its citizens, especially those who suffer some form of disabilities or other and are unable, on their own, to lead normal lives.

It is heart-wrenching to see people — yes, people — with all kinds of disabilities sitting on the pavements of roads and side-walks of shops begging while other Malaysians walk by with full stomachs and full shopping bags.

More and more are seen begging at night and at Sunday markets where sometimes those with extreme cases of disabilities are seen. There is suspicion that some are benefiting from these disabled. However all this are about to come to end with the coming into law of the Bill that will be debated in the coming week.

It is most commendable that the ministry recognises that some of the disabled are born into well-to-do families and may not need help but that many may need a lot of help to be able to live normal lives — and does not discriminate between them.

Thus under the proposed law, every certified disabled person will benefit for as long as they are registered with the Registrar of Persons with Disabilities who will then issue them with a disability card. They will then have access to and use of all kinds of public facilities on equal basis with persons without disabilities.

Also under the proposed law the disabled have better employment opportunities. The prospects look rosy for them. But like all good intentions it is at the implementation stage that many disabled will be frustrated by red tape, delays and even outright victimisation.

Thus it is up to the National Council for Persons with Disabilities to ensure that those who have been suffering do not have to suffer further.

 

Public can be barred from Parliament

Husna Yusop, Giam Say Khoon and B. Suresh Ram
The Sun Daily, 12 Dec 2007
 

PETALING JAYA: Lawyers said the public can be barred from entering the Parliament as it is a security area, not a public area.

They said the public need to abide by specific procedures regarding visitation before entering the Parliament building, and this includes seeking permission by writing in an application letter to the House's head of administration.

However, the lawyers differred in opinion on an injunction obtained by police to stop the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) from having an assembly to hand over a memorandum opposing the constitutional amendment to extend the retirement age of some Election Commission officials from 65 to 66.

Bar Council vice-president Ragunath Kesavan said anyone can enter the Parliament as long as they follow the procedures.

"Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was right when he said they were not allowed in as they did not have a permission. And, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang was also right when he said the public should have access to their elected representatives.

"But, the Parliament is not an open area like Dataran Merdeka. There are certain procedures which the public must observe," he toldtheSun today when asked for his views on the incident yesterday where 29 protesters were held for defying a court order, but all of them were later released.

The visitation procedures to enter the Parliament is available on its website www.parlimen.gov.my

Two other lawyers T. Kuhan and Gan Ping Sieu also concurred with Ragunath about the need for the public to abide by the visitation procedures and be confined to the limited areas within the House which are either restricted from or open to the public.

However, Gan who is also MCA Youth legal bureau chief said police should refrain from taking "excessive enforcement" as submitting a memorandum to the MPs should not be taken as an illegal assembly which poses a security threat.

"The public have the right to be in the public gallery in Parliament, so the application should not become an obstruction to stop people from going to Parliament," he said.

On the court injunction obtained by the police, Gan said it was quite strange for the police to do so but it should not be questionable as the court had granted it.

Kuhan said the police may have felt they would be seen as being one-sided if they were to act on their own, so they went to court to obtain the order to exercise their right.

"The right way is to go to court. Anybody can go to the court. The court will not discriminate, it upholds the law. When there are two differing parties, you go to the court because it is independent. And, you cannot defy a court order.

"It is up to the court to grant the order. In this case, the court, after taking all circumstances, decided as such. If they (Bersih) disagreed with this, they should also go to court and ask to set aside the injunction," he said, adding that Bersih could have just postponed the handing over of the memo pending the decision of the court.

On the other hand, Ragunath said there was no need for the police to take such a harsh position because it is not a threat against national security or the government.

"This is all part of the democracy process. The government has to accept this. Demonstration is a sign of good democracy. We should be proud that besides having a strong ruling party, we also have a vibrant opposition.

"The ruling power should go to the cause of the issues that people are raising. Obviously, there is discontent. Whether it is valid or how big it is, it is another issue. The government should take it in a stride and allow for dissent," he added.

 

Opposition, NGOs seek to meet PM

Pauline Puah, The Sun Daily, 12 Dec 2007
 

PETALING JAYA: Four opposition parties and 19 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to sort out pressing matters in the country.

The group want to pursue an agenda of national unity and reconciliation among all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who read out a joint statement to a packed press conference today.

More than 20 key leaders and representatives from the respective organisations attended the press conference.

Anwar said the group also wanted free and fair election and work towards resolving the serious national problems, among others the recent crackdown on street demonstrators.

Anwar said the group was troubled by the racial and religious antagonism that now pervades Malaysian society.

"Our foremost commitment is to national unity, multiracial solidarity as well as to the safety and welfare of all Malaysians."

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who was also present, said the wish to meet the premier showed the opposition parties and NGOs were willing to alk. "We are talking about national reconciliation. Not national confrontation."

Others present included PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PAS election director Datuk Mustafa Ali, Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general pro-tem secretary-general S. Arutchelvan, Women's Development Collective (WDC) executive director Maria Chin Abdullah and Hakam president Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.

Also present were Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng, Centre for Independent Journalism executive director V.Gayathry and Writers Alliance for Media Independence chairman Wong Chin Huat who were arrested by the police yesterday in Parliament house. They were later released.

Maria, Malik and Wong also read out their statements urging the government to respect the rights of people under the Federal Constitution.

 

One of Asia's tallest Jesus statues graces Indonesian city

Reuters (via The Sun Daily), 12 Dec 2007
 

JAKARTA: A Protestant property developer has built what may be Asia's tallest statue of Jesus Christ in a Christian region of predominantly Muslim Indonesia.

Officials and Christian leaders inaugurated the 30m (98.4-foot) tall statue last week in Manado city, in the mainly Christian province of North Sulawesi.

The white-robed Jesus with upraised hands stands on a 32m high hill in a residential estate built by Ciputra, a property company named after its founder.

Ciputra, 76, was recently ranked as one of Indonesia's wealthiest men with a personal fortune estimated at US$335 million. An architect by training, he spent his childhood in Manado and has built the statue as a token of gratitude for his success, said Yuliarso Christiono, a company estate design manager.

"He lived a simple life as a child in North Sulawesi and experienced a hard life under Dutch occupation. Now he is successful," Christiono told Reuters.

He said the statue, made of metal fibre and steel, is the tallest in Asia and this had been confirmed by the Indonesian Museum of Records.

The world's tallest is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, which stand 39.6m tall and is located on the peak of the 700m Corcovado mountain overlooking the city. It was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World last year in a global online poll.

Vietnam's tourism Web site said a statue of Jesus Christ in the southern coastal resort city of Vung Tau is possibly among the world's tallest, standing 32m high with two outstretched arms spanning 18.4m.

Christ the King statue in Dili, the capital of East Timor, stands 27m tall.

Ciputra hopes the monument will become a religious icon and attract tourists, he said.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation but Christians are a majority in some eastern regions. — Reuters

 

Haidar heads six-man Royal Commission on Lingam Tape

Husna Yusop, The Sun Daily, 12 Dec 2007
 

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today named a six-member Royal Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor to investigate the controversial video clip featuring a conversation on the appointment of judges.

The commission has three months from today to complete the inquiry, make recommendations and present its report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Abdullah said in a statement the Cabinet on Dec 5 discussed and agreed to the appointment of the commissioners, the five terms of reference, duration of inquiry and submission to the King for his consent.

He said the King had consented to the establishment of the body, to be called Commission Of Inquiry On The Video Clip Recording Of Images Of A Person Purported To Be An Advocate and Solicitor Speaking On The Telephone On Matters Regarding The Appointment of Judges, under the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950.

Other commissioners are former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, former Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former Solicitor-General Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and academician-cum-historian Prof Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim. Director-general of Legal Affairs in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid is commission secretary.

Last month, Abdullah had said the Royal Commission would be established as it was deemed appropriate based on the findings of a three-member independent panel appointed to verify the authenticity of the video clip.

The panel, also headed by Haidar, with Mahadev and social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye as the other members, was formed on Sept 25 to investigate the authenticity of the video clip. It completed its report on Nov 6.

The video clip allegedly showed lawyer Lingam discussing judicial appointments with a "Datuk", believed to be a senior judge, in a mobile phone conversation. The conversation revolved around the urgent need to get that judge move up the ranks.

Lingam has so far withheld comment in relation to the video clip, while the judge has indirectly denied his involvement.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had first publicised an eight-minute-long video clip — purportedly taken in 2002 — on Sept 19, but had said part of the footage was withheld to protect the source.

Following this, on Sept 26, over 2,000 lawyers walked from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister's Department to demand the Prime Minister to set up a Royal Commission on the video clip as well as a commission on the appointment of judges.

WHO'S WHO:

Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor, 68 (chairman):

• Former Chief Judge of Malaya.
• Former chief registrar of the Supreme Court, High Court, the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
• Former senior federal counsel in the Attorney-General's Chambers.
• Former state legal advisor to Penang and Perak.
• Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB) independent non-executive director.
• Trustee of the Perdana Leadership Foundation.

Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, 55 (member):

• Former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak.

Datuk Mahadev Shankar, 75 (member):

• Former judge of the Court of Appeal (1994-1997).
• Former judge of the High Court in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor (1983-1994).
• Founder member of Malaysia Human Rights Commission in 1999.
• Consultant in Zaid Ibrahim and Co, Malaysia's largest legal firm.
• Former Board member of Malaysian Airlines System Bhd (1975-1983).
• Former legal advisor to the New Straits Times Group on libel laws.

Puan Sri Datuk Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh, 57 (member):

• Former Solicitor-General of Malaysia (2002-2006).

Prof Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim, 70 (member):

• Professor of History at University of Malaya.
• Malaysia Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner.
• One of the co-authors of the Rukunegara.

Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (secretary):

• Prime Minister Department's legal affairs division director-general.
• Former Negeri Sembilan state secretary.

* * * * *

Related Article: Haider Panel on Lingam Tape - greatest service to cause of justice is to resign en masse.

 

Court rejects application after lawyers discharge themselves

R. Surenthira Kumar, Llew-Ann Phang and Charles Ramendran
The Sun Daily, 12 Dec 2007
 

SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam High Court today rejected a stay of execution application made against its decision on Monday for three Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf ) leaders to be re-charged in the Klang sessions court for alleged sedition.

Judicial Commissioner Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim dismissed the application after four defence counsels — M. Manoharan, A. Srimurugan, A. Sivanesan and Teng Chang Kim — who jointly represent the three Hindraf leaders P. Waythamoorthy, his brother Uthayakumar and V. Ganapathi Rao — discharged themselves from the case.

"I find there is no more application before me and the Dec 10 order which ruled to set aside the sessions court decision shall be executed in due course," Abang Iskandar said after the lawyers discharged themselves.

Earlier, Manoharan had requested for the court to stand down until Uthayakumar was present but Abang Iskandar said he saw no reason to postpone proceedings to hear the application.

Srimurugan then told Abang Iskandar he had been instructed by Uthayakumar to proceed with the application only in his (Uthayakumar's) presence.

"To proceed with the matter in his absence, I will be violating the Legal Profession Act, as an officer of the court," Srimurugan said.

Uthayakumar was arrested yesterday and was charged with sedition in the Jalan Duta Court in Kuala Lumpur before he was re-arrested, pending another alleged charge of sedition. He was not present in the Shah Alam Court today.

Uthayakumar was only released by Kuala Lumpur police on police bail at 5pm today.

Two hours earlier, a police team had raided Uthayakumar's law firm at Menara Mutiara, Bangsar where they spent several hours searching for documents and other material. The team left about 7pm, carting away several computers and dozens of files.

 

A journey, not a destination

Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, The Star, Wed 12 Dec 2007
 

Reflecting on the Law by Shad Saleem Faruqi

New threats have emerged. New demands and expectations have arisen. The felt necessities of the times require fresh thinking.

December 10 was Human Rights Day. As we contemplate human rights for the 21st century, we must remember that human rights is a journey, not a destination.

New threats have emerged. New demands and expectations have arisen. The felt necessities of the times require fresh thinking.

Rights of future generations: Contemporary jurist John Rawls advocates "rights of future generations". He propounds a "just savings principle" to cater for the needs of those who will inherit the earth from us.

"Each generation must not only preserve the gains of culture and civilisation and maintain intact those just institutions that have been established, it must also put aside in each period of time a suitable amount of real capital accumulation" for the benefit of future generations.

Third generation rights: Beyond political and civil liberties, human rights theory is now articulating the right to peace, the right to a healthy and ecologically-balanced environment and protection against development activities that destroy or diminish the natural resources on which the survival and sustenance of the poor depends.

Poverty eradication: The international discourse on human rights has broadened its horizons to encompass theories of poverty eradication and development planning.

Social hierarchies and social structures that contribute to poverty are being examined. The concepts of "development", "progress" and "poverty" are being viewed afresh.

According to Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, the economic progress of society "is more plausibly judged by the reduction of deprivation than by the further enrichment of the opulent".

Human development: There is more to human development than mere economic development. In the view of Amartya Sen "economic poverty is not the only kind of poverty that impoverishes human lives. Politically unfree citizens — whether rich or poor — are deprived of a basic constituent of good living".

Economic vulnerability: Reducing political deprivation can help to diminish economic vulnerability. Political and civil rights can help to generate economic security by giving voice to the deprived and the vulnerable.

K-economy: The rise of the k-economy is undermining the right of workers to organise and to be heard. Networked or virtual firms do not provide a stable environment for collective bargaining.

Right to privacy: The triumphs of technology have put the right to privacy under severe pressure. The Internet is being used mercilessly by "spammers" to bombard us with information we do not seek.

Purveyors of obscene materials flood the air waves with materials we can neither censor nor stop.

Our private lives and reputations can be spectacularly violated by any one who has a grudge in his heart and an e-mail account at his disposal.

Indigenous resources: Our indigenous resources are being mercilessly pirated, and the international regime of patents and trademarks is being employed to enrich multinational corporations at the expense of struggling, small-scale, third-world businessmen and farmers.

Private sources of tyranny: Threats to human rights come not only from government agencies but also from private centres of power, whether local, regional or international.

Regrettably, due to the public law-private law dichotomy, the protection of the Constitution, and of the principles of public law, are often excluded from employer-employee, contractual and private relationships.

Cross-border violations: The 20th century saw concerted international action to protect individuals against the authoritarian power of the nation state.

The 21st century needs similar determined action to protect developing nations (and their citizens) from cross-border violations of their basic rights by the more developed nations of the world.

Regrettably, international watchdogs like the UN, ICJ and the ICC appear to be helpless when rich and powerful nations of the North Atlantic play predatory roles against the nations of the South.

Globalisation: Human rights are also being threatened by a new wave of colonialism that has anointed itself with the name of "globalisation". In the social, cultural and economic arenas, globalisation is the vehicle of monoculture and the means of commercial domination.

Globalisation compels the nation state to submit to the dictates of international financiers, transnational corporations, credit-rating institutions like Moody's Investors and bodies like the IMF and the World Bank.

Globalisation rejects subsidies, abhors programmes of re-distributive justice and frowns upon social welfare policies.

Elusive peace: The promise of peace as the Cold War came to a close has failed to materialise. Instead, the arms race has reached new heights and acquired new forms. In the 21st century, voices must be raised against militarism which fuels conditions for the neglect of human rights and for the deprivation of life, liberty and human dignity.

State terrorism: In many nations, the war on terrorism is being waged in total disregard of the rule of law and in violation of international standards of humanitarianism. In the disguise of combating terror, some erstwhile democratic nations are condoning torture, religious and racial profiling and illegal renditions.

Democracy between nations: The human rights quest in the 21st century must address itself to the glaring political and economic inequalities and injustices between the rich and poor nations of the world.

Third World debts: The debt stranglehold by the North over the South is crippling many Asian and African economies and preventing governments from supplying the basic necessities to their populations.

Environmentalism: Environmental destruction, over-logging of forests, over-cropping of lands, over-grazing of pastures, over-draining of wetlands, over-tapping of underground water and over-fishing of the seas necessitate the realisation that if we are to survive on this planet we shall have to move away from the "corporation-based society" and build a world in which economic activities can once again be brought under social control.

Transnational corporations: The pervasive domination of Asian economies and social life by transnational corporation poses a serious but unacknowledged threat to the independence, dignity and well-being of Asians.

In sum, human rights violations come in many forms: development paradigms that harbour the roots of marginalisation and inequity, environmental degradation, landlessness, homelessness, exploitation of labour and women and oppressive practices in the name of culture or religion.

The human rights movement in the decades ahead must be prepared to "rethink" human rights; articulate alternative approaches to the dominant concepts, interpretations and practices spawned by mainstream Western capitalist society; and to formulate a more holistic understanding of human dignity founded upon social justice.

Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, UiTM.

 

Revenge of the Spooks

Eric Margolis, 10 Dec 2007
 

WASHINGTON DC: "Merry Christmas, Mr. President" hissed the men in cloaks as they plunged a dagger into George Bush's back.

America's spooks finally had their revenge. After being forced by the White House in 2002-2003 to concoct a farrago of lies about Iraq, and then get stuck with the blame for the ensuing fiasco there, the 16 US intelligence agencies struck back last week with high drama and devastating effect.

US intelligence chief Mike McConnell made public a bombshell National Intelligence Report (NIE) that concluded "with high confidence" Tehran had halted its rudimentary nuclear weapons program in 2003. Even if the program was restarted, said the NIE, Iran is unlikely to produce any weapons before 2012-15.

The new NIE is a devastating, humiliating blow to Bush, Dick Cheney and the neocons who have been furiously whipping up war fever and hysteria against Iran. Only two months ago, Bush actually warned Americans that Iran's secret nuclear program threatened the entire planet and could ignite World War III.

An earlier NIE in 2005 had billed Iran as a major nuclear threat. Now, we learn it was based on fabricated evidence supplied to CIA, "over the transom," as the old spy jargon goes. Just like the bogus Niger uranium story used by Bush and Cheney to justify war against Iraq. Who, one wonders, is behind these acts of disinformation?

Bush was given the new NIE on Iran last August. But for the past four months, Bush, Cheney and Condoleeza Rice have been beating the war drums over Iran when their own massed intelligence agencies have been telling them there was no danger from Iran. The White House hid its own intelligence community's findings from the public until the spooks threatened to leak the report.

Ironically, Iran's leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was telling the truth all along when he said Iran was not working on nuclear arms, while Bush & Company was lying through its teeth, just as it did over Iraq and Afghanistan. Just, in fact, as Saddam Hussein was also telling the truth while Washington was producing a litany of lies that would have made the old Soviet agitprop boys blush.

This column has been reporting for two years growing opposition at CIA, the Pentagon, and the State Department to Bush/Cheney's plans to launch a war against Iran. I repeatedly heard the term "fifth column" used to describe the fanatical neocon ideologues pressing American into a second Mideast war.

Now, America's national security community is telling the White House to cease and desist before it drags the nation into another foreign catastrophe. While not a military-intelligence attempted coup as in the wonderful film, `Seven Days in May,' it was the next closest thing.

At the heart of this drama lies the disturbing fact that Bush/Cheney & Co. were simply ignoring their own $40-billion plus a year intelligence community. When the White House didn't get the answers it wanted on Iran, it turned to Israel, whose renowned intelligence agency, Mossad, became a primary source of reports about Iran. Mossad still insists Iran will have a nuclear bomb by 2008.

Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, declared the US NIE report a `blow to the groin.' Israel and its powerful American supporters, who have come to dominate US Mideast policy, have been straining every sinew to get the US to destroy Iran's growing nuclear infrastructure. Whether Israel, which has a large nuclear arsenal, will attack Iran on its own remains uncertain. The Bush Administration is supplying Israel with 2,000 BLU-109 deep earth penetrator bombs, and 50 5,000 lb GBU-28 for use against underground Iranian targets.

America's intelligence has been poor in the past, and might be wrong again. But UN nuclear inspectors confirm the US NIE findings. So does SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence agency. Iran's civilian nuclear power program could eventually produce highly enriched uranium for weapons, but there is no sign of Iran developing any long-range delivery capability.

Nuclear warheads without long-ranged delivery systems are useless. Claims by US neocons that Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles are yet more lies. If Iran was indeed developing a limited nuclear arsenal, it was clearly to forestall potential nuclear attack or nuclear blackmail by the US or Israel, not to attack North America or Europe, as Bush so absurdly claimed.

In the midst of all the furor over Iran's supposed nuclear weapons, not one peep has come from Washington calling for Mideast regional nuclear disarmament — the surest way of ending the nuclear arms race between Israel and its neighbors.

The new NIE is likely to ease sanctions on besieged Iran, and undermine the anti-Iran coalition the US, Israel and their new ally, France were assembling. It should put an end to Bush's idiotic plans for an anti-missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic designed to shoot down missiles Iran does not possess. Sanity seems to be slowly creeping back to Washington.

 

Winners of the 2007 human rights award

Aliran, Wed 12 Dec 2007
 

Suaram's Human Rights award for 2007 was jointly presented to the Coalition Against Health Care Privatisation and the Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang. On the left is Aliran executive member Dr Subramaniam Pillay, the chairperson of the Coalition's steering committee, receiving the award, along with the other winners of the award. Aliran member Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj (not in pic) is secretary of the steering committee.

The joint winners received an award prize of RM1,500 and a trophy which is specially designed by renowned artist Wong Hoy Cheong. Wong has exhibited widely internationally including solo exhibitions/projects. He was a founding member when Suaram was formed in 1989. The concept behind the trophy, made of glass, is that it is "transparent", "fragile" and "heavy" — the very same adjectives for the qualities of glass can be used to describe human rights. The sphere in the centre represents perfection or a reflection of the globe, and the fact that the sphere changes its shape visually as the trophy is rotated suggests the transitory nature of perfection, while the vertical glass bars represent prison bars.

The winners were chosen based on their efforts in empowering its people, the significance of their struggle, and their persistence in their endeavours in defending their rights.

The Coalition Against Healthcare Privatisation was judged to be one of the joint winners based on its efforts and persistence in opposing further privatisation of the healthcare system in Malaysia. It has brought together NGOs, trade unions and political parties from across the board in its efforts to defend the right to healthcare for all. Thus far, the coalition has been able to stop the privatisation of government dispensaries and has halted the nationwide implementation of the "full paying scheme", which if implemented, would deny equitable access to adequate healthcare, especially for the poor. At the heart of its struggle lie the rights of the poor and the downtrodden to adequate healthcare and the right to life for all.

The other winner, Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang, has proven to have empowered its people, as could clearly be seen in the continuous efforts of the villagers to stop the installation of higher capacity high-tension transmission lines across the village. The installation of the cables could cause long-term health hazards to the villagers. The villagers have been persistent throughout the two years of its struggle, since their plight began in 2005, with efforts including numerous protests braving arrests by authorities; memoranda, letters and counter-proposals to the Parliament and several ministries, including to the Prime Minister. They have now brought their case to court. The plight of Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang is essentially a struggle to ensure the right to health, which would be compromised if the proposed installation of transmission lines is to proceed.

Both the winners' struggles involve the right to health, a basic and fundamental right. It is on this basis — the closely-related struggles of the two — that the judges found it fitting that this year's award be given jointly to the Coalition Against Healthcare Privatisation and Kampung Sungai Terentang of Rawang. The judges felt that this would provide a complete picture of the fundamental issue of right to health at both the macro and micro levels.

The panel of judges comprised of Dr Colin Nicholas, Dr Irene Fernandez, Ramdas Tikamdas, Amer Hamzah, Dr Toh Kin Woon, Dr Nasir Hashim, Irene Xavier and Maria Chin Abdullah.

Bersih at Parliament - Videos

1. Bersih Memo: Top opposition leaders arrested:

Sanctity of Parliament violated - Mustafa roughed up:

Khalid Ibrahim Arrested - Unwarranted and Uncalled-for:

Tian Chua Arrested At Malaysian Parliament (full version):

Four BERSIH Petitioners Arrested in Parliament Compound:

Siege of Parliament - 'the ultimate shame':

Tian Chua Assaulted At Parliament Arrest:

 

Truly Malaysia

The Jakarta Post (via Malaysia Today), 12 Dec 2007
 

Although the ongoing anti-government movements in Malaysia are still at a very preliminary stage, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has threatened to impose the much feared and draconian Internal Security Act against those who still defy his warnings to cease street demonstrations.

The threat to jail protesters for an indefinite period of time seems to have worked, at least for the time being, because the number of street demonstrations has sharply declined. But the prime minister needs to remember that demands for justice, more freedom and more political and economic equality cannot be silenced just by throwing more people into prisons.

PM Badawi and the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) need to remember that as long as the roots of discontent exist anti-government movements will not subside.

The experience of Soeharto before his fall in May 1998 showed there was a point where people lost their fear of the iron-fist man and did not care anymore about his brutal responses to their protests.

It is clear the current situation in Malaysia today is very different from what Indonesian faced nine years ago, especially in terms of economic conditions. In 1998, Indonesia's economy was on the brink of disaster, while Malaysia's economy today is relatively healthy. But as its economy shows declining growth amid soaring oil prices, many people have begun to feel the heat.

The attitude of many Malaysian officials in responding to the street demonstrations is similar to the attitude of Indonesian officials in 1998. They point their finger at "third parties", "western countries" or "irresponsible press" creating the political unrest. They are reluctant to accept the street facts, because they have been too long in power, enjoying all privileges.

As its constitution is perceived by the minority as discriminatory against non-Malays and non-Muslims, more Malaysians now are demanding real equalities. Sixty percent of the 26 million population is Malay — synonymous with Muslim according to the constitution — while the rest are Chinese, Indian and other ethnicities.

Badawi should demonstrate his strong leadership as the country prepares for an early election, because he has not been able to fully control the ruling party. Many Muslims in his ruling party are increasingly impatient with Badawi because they think things were better in Malaysia before Mahathir Mohamad handed over power to Badawi in 2003.

Mahathir is widely regarded as much more protective of Malays than his successor is. Many Malaysians perhaps forget that Mahathir left many fundamentals problems — from an ailing economy to corruption — for Badawi. The fact the succession from Mahathir to Badawi was not conducted by fully democratic means also created friction among the elites and dissatisfaction among the people.

The Malaysian government needs to be more sensitive in listening to the aspirations of its people. Defensive attitudes — such as blaming others, probably including this newspaper — will not be helpful at all.

It is time now to honestly listen to criticism from citizens. Putting anti-government activists in jail is only a very short-term solution. PM Badawi needs to show he is the prime minister of all Malaysian citizens no matter their ethnic or religious background.

 

Normalising Demonstrations

Farish A Noor, Malaysia Today, 12 Dec 2007
 

Malaysians pride themselves for the wrong reasons sometimes. We boast to the world that ours is a land of stability and peace, yet this stability that bears the made-in-Malaysia stamp is one that is underpinned by the constant threat of state violence and repression and can only be compared to a pressure cooker perpetually on the boil and ready to explode. Half a century after our so-called independence we have yet to shake off the colonial blinkers and gags that were once used to stiffle the legitimate voices of the nation's forefathers. Half a century on we still live in fear of outdated colonial tools such as the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The recent arrests of a number of politicians and activists who were identified with the opposition in Malaysia demonstrates that this is a country that has still to come to terms with the very simple idea of freedom of speech. Malaysians are told, time and again, in the most paternalistic and patronising manner that insults our intelligence, that we need to be guarded, policed and controlled for our own good. We are fed the standard hogwash and bile that demonstrating is a non-Malaysian trait, and that to demonstrate against the abuses by the powers-that-be is unpatriotic, un Asian and un-Malaysian.

I write this as I prepare to leave Germany and make my return to Asia. My friends and colleagues are understandably worried for they point out that I am on my way to a region in crisis, a state on the verge of faltering.

Yet what moves me the most during my final days in Europe — a place where I have lived for more than half my life — is the fact that many of the things I have done over the past two decades will soon be robbed away from me. For a start, I have attended (on last count) 57 demonstrations over the past twenty-one years. I have marched with anti-Fascists against the neo-Nazis in London, took part in the anti-Poll Tax demonstrations in that same city, joined in the throng of half a million Berliners as we gave a collective two fingers to the bloodthirsty hawks and mass-murderers installed in Washington before they embarked on their war on Iraq.

I am cognisant of the fact that not all the demonstrations were successful. Despite the fact that half a million Berliners took to the streets on the snowy winter day four years ago, the American bombs rained on Baghdad nonetheless. But as a student and member of the student movement and labour movement in Britain, our demonstrations managed to get the neo-Nazis off the streets and out of our neighbourhoods; forced the government of Thatcher to back down on many a destructive economic reform measure, protected our universities from further privatisation and commercialisation. We demonstrated against the racism shown to asylum seekers and refugees, we demonstrated in solidarity with the students of Peking when they were massacred by the army, we demonstrated in support of the activists of Burma, Nepal, Kashmir, and many other localities we had not even seen or visited.

Yet in Malaysia this most fundamental freedom- to speak, to state our opinions, to disagree, to refuse and to resist is denied to us on the spurious notion of national security and integrity. We are denied our fundamental, essential right to be human beings with rational agency and choice and the ability to express that choice.

By whom? By the very same people who decide that they can — if they wish — demonstrate on issues close to their heart and when it suits them by giving them the political standing they need. While ordinary Malaysian citizens are forbidden to walk the streets of their own capital, the ruling elite see fit to demonstrate against the arrival of US secretary Condoleeza Rice, while effigies of that woman hang behind the egos of the macho hotspurs of UMNO. And these same two-faced hypocrites have the gall to demonstrate against the Burmese regime which they argue have stiffled fundamental freedoms in Burma, while they do the same in their own back yard. The mind boggles at the thick-skinned brazen hypocrisy that has come to be the norm of politics in Malaysia.