Saturday, July 18, 2009
In Need Of Major Overhaul
It's about time Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak take a serious look inside the workings of both enforcement agencies, the Malaysian Police and the MACC (Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission).
The MACC over zealousness of probing into the conduct of opposition politicians on the flimsiest of complain and keep their eyes shut on corrupt BN leaders is throwing spanner in the works.Najib good work will eventually come to naught if these selective persecutions are allowed to continue.The MACC must be seen to be fair and carry out their work without fear or favour.
As of now they are seen as secret police of the government which goes entirely against the purpose of its formation.People's perception, real or imagine, can make or destroy a government.
Both agencies seriously need major overhaul in mindset
Below is part of Najib's inauguration speech:
"In the coming weeks, I will be consulting with people around our country, as I begin to reshape the leadership and priorities of the Government. I am mindful that we should build on the successes and lessons of the past. It must be a government with new approaches for new times – a government that places a priority on performance, because the people must come first".
"I am aware that the people expect me to do certain things. Please judge me by my actions. My actions will come in due course."
The Prime Minister is trying his best to reach out to the people and he must not let these two agencies spoil his efforts.
Friday, July 17, 2009
An Email From Raja Petra
I am all for a royal commission to investigate the death of Teo Beng Hock and I hope the Prime Minister would allow it for the good of the nation and for his own good.
In my article " DAP Leaders Playing With Fire" some of my commentators misconstrued that I am defending the MACC, I am not.What I am trying to convey is, DAP leaders should not act in haste that can lead to an ugly situation, let there be thorough investigation first before we start pointing fingers at anyone.
This is a tragedy that should not be left unanswered and a royal commission would be most befitting and fair to the deceased family and also to the government.
Criminal action by the police or MACC should not be construed as one condone by the Prime Minister and the government.Therefore, it is in Najib's interest that he gets to the bottom of this tragedy.If there were foul play than those involved must be punished according to the law.
In a kind of response to my article, I received an email from Raja Petra himself showing concern about the tragic incident and at the same time remind me of the article he wrote some time ago about the MACC which many people, I assume, including me, did not take seriously at that time.
I post Raja Petra's article below.He has also posted the article in his Malaysia Today.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.
When the Anti-Corruption Agency, now called the MACC, kidnapped the family of a police inspector, Malaysia Today raised the alarm. They had kidnapped the wife and child of a police inspector who had investigated a Chinese underworld boss on the instructions of a higher-up with the rank of ASP.
The inspector was just doing what his boss had ordered him to do, and that was to open a file and launch an investigation into the activities of the Chinese prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling syndicate. And this resulted in the detention of three syndicate bosses.
And he would have to do that if he wants to secure the release of his family.
The police inspector refused to do that. Instead, he made a police report. And so did his wife. But nothing was done about the matter. The MACC officers were not arrested and dragged to court on kidnapping charges.
The MACC then leaked information to the media that they are investigating a very senior police officer, the Director of the CCD, for the crime of not declaring RM27 million worth of assets. The fact that MACC investigations come under the Official Secrets Act was not a hindrance. After all, the OSA is only used against opposition supporters and not against those who serve those who walk in the corridors of power.
Nevertheless, the Director of the CCD was finally not charged for not declaring RM27 million in assets. He was charged for using police property for his personal reasons, something that all government officers, ministers and politicians do blatantly every day of the week. But his real crime is that he detained several Chinese underworld bosses who control the prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling business all over Malaysia.
Then they arrested the lawyer who acted for the CCD Director. The MACC officers came to his office on the eve of Hari Raya and handcuffed him after roughing him up like one would do to an armed bank robber. To ensure that the lawyer suffered the greatest embarrassment this Hollywood-style arrest was done in full view of the entire office.
Malaysia Today wrote about all this. Malaysia Today not only wrote about all this but Malaysia Today repeated the stories again and again to make sure no one would say they somehow missed the story. But still nothing was done. No one denied the story. More importantly, no one did anything about what Malaysia Today revealed.
The MACC has been a tool of those who walk in the corridors of power for a long, long time. Officially, Barisan Nasional has 14 component members with Umno as the lead partner. Unofficially, Barisan Nasional has seventeen component members. The Election Commission is the fifteenth component member of Barisan Nasional, the Malaysian police the sixteenth, and the MACC the seventeenth. They all serve the interests of Umno and the Prime Minister.
The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.
“Where is the smoking gun?” they ask. “Show me the body!” they demand. No gun, no body, then no crime has been committed.
Well, today, there is a body. It is the body of a most unfortunate Chinese opposition member who was arrested and tortured by the MACC officers. Yes, he was tortured. And he was tortured because the MACC wanted him to talk.
But he could not talk. He could not talk because there was nothing to talk about. The MACC wanted him to finger his comrades in the opposition. They wanted him to implicate his friends in the opposition for various crimes that the MACC alleges had been committed by those in the opposition.
He tried to explain that he is not being stubborn. He tried to explain that no crime had been committed. He tried to explain that he could not possibly implicate his comrades in the opposition for various crimes if these crimes are merely a figment of the MACC’s imagination.
So they continued to torture him. And he could no longer stand the torture. After all, he is not the macho type of man. He is but a gentle man who only wanted to get married this weekend. That was all that he wanted.
They threatened to kill him if he refuses to talk. With tears running down his cheeks he begged for mercy and pleaded with them not to harm him. They threatened to throw him off the top floor if he refuses to talk. Sobbing like a baby he went down on his knees and begged for his life.
They dragged him across the room and opened the window. Then something went terribly wrong. It was supposed to be just a threat. They just wanted to put fear in him. They did not really want to throw him off the top floor. They just wanted him to see what the ground floor looks like from the top floor.
This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.
And now one young man has really died. But no one will be punished. No one will be punished because they will say the young man took his own life. Why he took his own life no one knows. He was never tortured. He was never threatened with death. He was not made to look how far down the ground floor is. He was not accidentally dropped when he panicked and struggled and they could not get a good grip on him.
That is what they will be telling you and me later today.
All opinion expressed above belong solely to Raja Petra.
I always believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt and you are innocent until proven guilty.So is the MACC, they are innocent until proven guilty.
In this respect I would like to thank Raja Petra for his concern and would urge the government to act fairly and justly.....appoint a royal commission to clear its name and let the family of the deceased know the truth so they can be at peace knowing what actually happened.
DAP Leaders Playing With Fire
Pakatan leaders are most reckless and acted irresponsibly when confronted with a problem.Their first reaction is to simply lay blame on BN leaders to gain political mileage with the people.Making incendiary statement to rile up the people is totally irresponsible and dangerous.Below is the crowd's reaction after listening to provocative statements made by various DAP leaders on the death of Teo Beng Hock, political secretary to DAP assemblyman Ean Yong Hian.
"A crowd of 500 people had gathered at the scene for a candlelight vigil in his memory, which soon grew into a protest with angry chants of “Najib pembunuh, BNzalim, BN jahanam” (murderer Najib, cruel BN, go to hell, BN)and “Reformasi!”
In this kind of situation everyone should keep a cool head and let thorough investigation be carried out first before making any conclusion.I do agree the MACC may be indirectly responsible for detaining and interrogating him beyond the normal hours but I see no plausible explanation for the MACC to be made responsible for his dead.
If foul play is suspected than DAP may have to look inside its own nest instead of pointing finger at the MACC.Who would want him dead? Certainly, not the MACC. As a witness he is better alive than dead.Maybe, Wee Choo Keong wasn't lying about the underworld connection of some lawmakers.
If foul play is suspected and as in any criminal investigation the first suspect would be those link to the crime under investigation.The police must not leave any stone unturned, they must investigate the case from all angles to be fair to the deceased family, the government and the Prime Minister.
Even if there was no foul play, to be fair to MACC and the government, the police should still investigate whether it was suicide or unfortunate accident.
My advice to Pakatan leaders, don't politicise something that can get dangerously out of hand.What you conveying to the public is malicious, unfounded and dangerous.
My deepest condolence to the family of Teo Beng Hock.May his soul rest in peace.
Breaking News:
The Marrriott and Ritz Carlton in Jakarta bombed.Death and destruction.
Terrorist's attack, suicide bomber, 6 deaths and 18 injured so far.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Khairy Jamaluddin's Un-Islamic Al-Islam
They say ignorance is bliss.Is this a mixture of ignorance, stupidity and religious bigotry.I hope the police arrest those involved and deal with them severely.What they have done is dangerous and can cause religious upheaval for spreading falsehood.The government should take a serious view of this case and not be seen as taking it lightly and the magazine should be reprimanded or given a show cause.All right thinking Muslims should condemn this sort of behaviour.While we respect our own religion, we should also respect other religions.
These ignorant narrow-minded bigots either pretended not to know or are truly ignorant and stupid not to know that there are many East Malaysians who look Malays but of the Christian faith and some even have Muslim names but are Christians and sermons in churches in Sabah and Sarawak are usually conducted in Bahasa Melayu for those who can't speak English.
I will not write anymore on the subject as Khairy Jamaluddin has said enough in his article below.
Un-Islamic Al-Islam? | |
The actions of a journalist from Al-Islam magazine of going undercover to two Catholic Churches during Sunday mass, consuming and spitting the Holy Communion wafer - what Catholics believe to be the flesh of Christ himself - out of his mouth before photographing it, can only be described as appalling and offensive. As Leader of Barisan Nasional and UMNO Youth and as a Muslim, I have no reservations whatsoever in condemning this instance of unethical j ournalism, grounded in both disrespect and ignorance. Needless to say, these actions are contrary to the goal of an empathetic society that I have been promoting as a way for Malaysians to progress as a people from diverse backgrounds. Empathy requires sound appreciation of one another's unique cultures and sensitivities - it calls for us to consider the perspectives of others before acting in ways that may affect them. It also violates the Islamic injuction for empathy, plurality and respect, something made clear in the Holy Quran Surah Al-Hujarat, verse 13: "O Mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another". The Islamic virtues of empathy, respect and tolerance were obviously absent in both the journalist and the magazine's editorial team that sanctioned the publishing of the article and the methods employed to gather information over supposed cases of Muslims converting to Catholicism/Christianity. Everyone involved in the researching, writing and publishing this article should have considered the fact that Muslims already find it offensive when non-Muslims do not observe basic courtesies expected when in a mosque, like taking off shoes and covering heads. They should further imagine their own reactions if someone went undercover in their local mosques, pretend to worship as a Muslim and made a mockery of congregation prayer. I suspect Al-Islam failed to consider the fact that the gravity of their own actions were similar to this hypothetical situation where the sanctity of the Muslim place and act of worship are violated. And this is at the heart of the problems we face as a multi-cultural and multi-religious society - people simply do not stop to think about another community's legitimate interests and sensitivities by positioning themselves from another's perspective before acting. Read more... Here's a joke of being ignorant or being stupid.
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