Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin must defend Parliament's honour and dignity by reprimanding the Election Commission for treating the highest legislative institution of the land with utter contempt

During the objection hearings to the new voters being transferred to Segamat’s still unbuilt army camp, an Election Commission (EC) registrar had rejected the Parliament Hansard as evidence saying that it “cannot be believed”.

The objections are being raised in regards to the inclusion of 1079 new army voters in the Segamat constituency as list in the EC’s third quarter supplementary electoral roll. The ongoing issue had been raised by Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong because the new army camp in Segamat is not even complete but the army personnel and their spouses have already been added to the electoral roll in that constituency.

During the Budget debate in Parliament on November 27, Seremban MP Anthony Loke had asked for confirmation if the army camp was still under construction or if it had been completed.

In response the Deputy Minister of Defence, Datuk Johari Baharum said that the camp was still under construction and when question further, said that the camp was not complete. As recorded on page 136 of the Hansard, the Deputy Minister said “belum siap” when asked to confirm the status of the army camp.

Yet, the registrar chose to reject the Hansard as evidence.  This is a clear case of contempt against the Parliament.

The Parliament Hansard is the official record of Parliamentary proceedings. Even in court, Parliamentary proceedings are admissible as evidence. Section 78 (1b) of the Evidence Act 1950, which states the proof required for official documents, states that

…the proceedings of Parliament or of any of the federal legislatures that existed in Malaysia before Parliament was constituted or of the legislature of any State— by the minutes of the body or by the published Acts of Parliament, Ordinances, Enactments or abstracts or by copies purporting to be printed by the authority of the Government concerned.

The Act clearly says that Parliamentary proceedings are proved by the minutes of the session, which takes the form of the Parliamentary Hansard and nothing else.

If the judiciary accepts the Hansard as hard evidence, who is the EC to reject the official Parliamentary document?  For the EC registrar to say that the Hansard cannot be believed, they are saying that Parliament proceedings themselves cannot be believed.

We call upon the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin to reprimand the Election Commission for the latter’s contempt and we call upon the EC to reprimand the responsible Registrar above and immediately act to rectify the injustice by reopening the objection proceedings in Segamat.

The failure of the EC to do the above would only further prove that the EC is not the independent institution conceived by our Constitution.  Instead, it is merely a paw of Barisan Nasional.

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The Police must stop abusing irrelevant and oppressive laws to investigate and persecute Senai state assemblywoman for merely questioning if the Johor Menteri Besar was involved in an act of corruption

On 27 November, DAP Senai elected representative, Wong Shu Qi had asked in the Johor State Assembly whether it was true that Khaled had received RM12 million from a developer to change the Bumiputera status of a residential plot of land to non-Bumiputera.  Wong said the allegations against Khaled had surfaced in March and were based on witness statements in an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

As a result of her question, she has not only been thrown out of the state assembly and is in the process of being referred to the Rights and Privileges Committee, the Police have commenced investigation against what she asked.

Firstly, the investigation by the Police demonstrates a clear abuse of power on its part by failing to respect the sanctity of the Johor state assembly.

The Federal Constitution, the highest law of our land, clearly states that assemblymen are immune from things said in state legislative proceedings.  Clause 72(2) of the Constitution states that:

No person shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him when taking part in proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of any State or of any committee thereof.

The reason for this protection needs no explanation – but for the benefit of our law enforcers – elected representatives must be empowered to state and ask without fear or favour regardless of how scandalous and sensitive the subject matter might be. This process exists to ensure transparency and accountability in national and state administration.

If one can’t even ask questions of our leader’s in the state assembly, then where else can we ask to ensure the righteousness and integrity of our Government?

Are the Police of the opinion that the Menteri Besar of Johor is above the law, to the extent that even questioning his alleged involvement in a corruption case is criminal?

Worse, the Police are clearly clutching at straws to investigate and persecute Wong.  Wong has purportedly committed an offence under Section 203A of the Penal Code provides that anyone who discloses purportedly leaked information to any other person shall be punished with fine of not more than one million ringgit, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with both.

The problem here is what leaked information is illegal?  When fraudulent contracts signed by 1MDB with Petrosaudi International and Aabar Investment PJS Limited involving billions of dollars were exposed, does it mean that every person who had written about it – from analysts to politicians to both online and off-line media are all guilty of the above crime?

That would only result in the complete collapse of Malaysia’s natural justice system where the whistleblowers are persecuted while those involved in crimes against the tax-payers get away scot free.

Wong is also investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, which refers to “improper use of network facilities or network service, etc.”

The fact that a leaked witness statement relating to the corruption allegations against Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin might amount to ‘communication which is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person’ is clearly an outrageous abuse of the law.

My question to the Police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission remains the same – have they initiated and commenced investigations against Dato’ Seri Khaled Nordin based on the very witness statement which is being used to charge another member of the Johor administration for corrupt practices?

If the Johor Menteri Besar is indeed innocent, let the investigations prove that to be the case and clear Dato’ Seri Khalid’s name.  However, the fact that no investigations have been carried out against the Menteri Besar, but those who had the courage to question the case even within the protect confines of the state assembly are persecuted, only serve to confirm the suspicions in the minds of the rakyat as to Dato’ Seri Khalid’s guilt or innocence.

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Full Support for CIJ "Internet Blackout Day"

The DAP would like to fully support the campaign launched by The Centre for Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia to hold Malaysia’s first ever internet blackout day to protest against the introduction of the Evidence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2012.

On May 9 2012, the Evidence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2012 was passed in the Dewan Negara and gazette by the Law Minister last month. We deem the amendment as a blatant intrusion upon the fundamental human rights of Malaysia’s internet users and thus urge the government to repeal this amendment immediately.

Section 114(A) severely infringes upon the freedom of online expression and undermines the civil liberties of Malaysia’s internet users. We believe the amendment may be construed as an attempt by the powers that be to censor and police what can and cannot be said on the Internet. Such regulation passed with an ulterior motive in mind, only serves to undermine the purpose of the internet to disseminate information and facilitate an environment of open discussion.

Due to the broad scope of the terminology employed in the amendment, situations may arise where the act may impair the delivery of justice to wronged parties and even be used to persecute them. Internet subscribers may be held accountable for any comments or content deemed slanderous or offensive published through their internet connection even though it was published by somebody else without their consent. Victims of online identity theft may be charged under the act if offensive content is published online using their stolen accounts.

It is plain for all to see that the act just makes it easier for the prosecution to find scapegoats when dealing with cybercrimes instead of finding the real perpetrators. Under this act, identity thieves, con-artists and hackers will remain at large so long as they ply their trade using an internet connection that is attached to somebody else’s name.

Furthermore, the following sentence “is presumed to have published … unless the contrary is proved” found in Section 114(A) places the burden of proof on the defendant. This runs counter to the principle of law where the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

The act also openly discourages people from sharing their internet be it access to their internet connections or to the websites they operate. Hotels, restaurants and even cyber cafes will no longer be able to offer internet access to its patrons for fear of falling afoul of the law.  This clearly runs contrary to the objective of making Malaysia one of the most “connected” countries in the world.

Thus, we would hereby like to reiterate our support for CIJ’s initiative to launch an Internet blackout day on 14 August to voice our protest and dissatisfaction against the implementation of the Evidence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2012.

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Is This Najib's Moderate Malaysia?

It was just a month ago that Prime Minister Najib Razak had called forth Malaysians to show a more moderate approach way to life and challenge extremism in all facets of life. In fact, in his keynote address in January at the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) in Kuala Lumpur, Najib Razak had announced proudly that “here in Malaysia, moderation has always been our chosen path.”

Ezra Zaid’s charge for an alleged religious publishing offense is a stark example that what is being preached is far from being exemplified in reality, and makes a mockery of Malaysia’s quest to be the face of the ‘Movement of Moderates’

While there are more pressing issues to be addressed, such as PKFZ, NFC of which millions of Malaysians’ hard-earned money have been lost in corruption, the Barisan Nasional government seems to be more preoccupied with bringing a man to court for publishing a book that may have a differing view from the mainstream.

Ezra’s arrest and charge last week exactly epitomises Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s definition that extremism is “a head-in-the-sand refusal to acknowledge the views and the values of others”.  In fact his Government is acting the exact opposite of what he advised the GMM, that it was time for the masses to stand up and say to the extremists “with a single breath a firm and resounding no.”

We certainly support the call by the Prime Minister for moderation, tolerance and acceptance of differing views, especially in our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society.  However, the sheer abandon at which his own administration defies his rhetoric proves only that there is no sincerely or political will to ensure the goals of moderation are promoted.

This will lead only to a failure in the GMM, the brainchild of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak himself, who failed to prove that he believes in the cause.  The latest episode of clear cut intolerance only adds to the unrestrained attacks by UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia and broadcast television to spewed messages of hatred to other racial and religious groups.

Hence we call upon the Prime Minister to withdraw the charges against Ezra Zaid in order to return Malaysia to the path of moderation, as well as to uphold the spirit of Article 10 of our federal constitution, which guarantees the right of all Malaysians to freedom of expression as set out by our founding fathers.

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Drop "Illegal Assembly" Charges

A total of 21 people, including Tony Pua, Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, two state assemblymen – Lau Weng San and Ronnie Liu, MBPJ Councillor Tiew Way Keng and a Catholic priest from Church of Divine Mercy – Father Paulino Miranda, were charged in the Sessions Court on 23 January 2009.

They were arrested on Nov 9 last year under Section 27 of the Police Act for allegedly taking part in an illegal assembly. The gathering was a candlelight vigil held at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) park in front of the Civic Centre to commemorate the first anniversary of the Bersih march in 2007 and to protest the Internal Security Act (ISA).

In the light of the Malaysia Day pronouncements by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak last week, we call upon the Attorney-General to heed to spirit of the speech and drop all “illegal assembly” charges against the above individuals.

The Prime Minister said the government will review Section 27 of the Police Act 1967, taking into account the provision in Article 10 of the Federal Constitutions concerning freedom of assembly. He has also announced that the ISA will be repealed.
Hence the participants of the candlelight vigil held peacefully and briefly in an open park – who posed no security threat or inconvenience to the public – should similarly be protected by the spirit of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which states that

(a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression;
(b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) all citizens have the right to form associations.

We believe that the decision to drop all charges under Societies Act and Internal Security Act recently against the 30 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) should be lauded, and the same should apply to all other similar cases, including those arrested for holding candlelight vigils.

The case has taken exactly 33 months to date and is a drain in time and finances for not only the accused, but also for the prosecution and judiciary.

Our lawyers will be writing to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to make an official appeal for the charges to be dropped.

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Al-Kitab Row Not One-off

Alkitab row shows wider check on non-Muslims, says Pakatan
By Melissa Chi March 27, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Leaders from the Opposition have described the controversy surrounding Malay bibles and the use of “Allah” by Christians as just the tip of the iceberg in the erosion of non-Muslim rights.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua (picture) said the government did not seem to be picking specifically on Christians, but other religions other than Islam as well.

“I think that the government has the same treatment to all religions, it’s just that the Christians are speaking up today. If you look at the school system, government departments, you can see mild forms of preferences or restrictions of religions increasing over the years.

“It is already happening, it’s just that [followers of] other religions are not speaking up about it,” he said.

He said for example there was a limit on the number of temples that can be built, and that if it was in a Malay majority area, no other places of worship could be built in the vicinity.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) had issued a strongly worded statement yesterday accusing the government of riding roughshod over religions other than Islam when it imposed conditions for the release of 35,000 Malay bibles seized from Port Klang and Kuching.

In a series of news statements that started earlier this month, the Christian organisation denounced the government for defacing its holy books with the home ministry’s official seal, an act it said amounted to desecration.

About one in 10 Malaysians is Christian.

The MCCBCHST said the authorities seemed to want Malaysians to believe that the Alkitab conflict is solely a tussle between two creeds, Islam and Christianity; and affects only Muslims and Christians.

“After the Christians have been ‘fixed’, who next?” the council had questioned. Pua said, however, that he was anticipating the government would give “superficial forms of religious freedom”, ahead of the coming Sarawak elections.

But he remained convinced that the voters would not buy into the government’s ploy and that more Malaysians were waking up to the reality in terms of limited freedom of religion in the country.

“What they say is true. The question is whether or not it will find resonance among the communities,” he said, referring to the council’s suggestion.

When asked if the continuation of the current religious controversies might heighten the religious or racial tension in the country, he said it will have to depend on the ruling government.

“It depends on the wisdom of the ruling party or ruling elites, leaders, if they decide to uphold the constitution, then there will be no issue but if they take it upon themselves to uphold a particular belief in the expense of others, then it is hard to say,” he said.

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and is subject to applicable laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims.

Under Article 3, the Constitution also provides that Islam is the religion of the country but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony.

[...]

For the full article, click here.

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History to be Compulsory Pass?

The Deputy Prime Minister's call to make History a compulsory subject for a SPM pass reek of attempts at revisionism and indoctrination of our young Malaysian students

According to Bernama, history will be a must-pass subject in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination from 2013 along with the Bahasa Malaysia subject, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said. He also said the education ministry would also make improvement to the subject, with emphasis on enhancing the understanding of the Constitution so as to enlighten students about the country’s nation-building process.

The call to make History a compulsory subject came totally out of the blue, and stands in stark contast against the country's past policies to focus on science and mathematics to promote industry as well as to ensure employability.

While we have no objections in principle to making the subject a compulsory pass, we are extremely concerned with the proposal on two aspects.

Firstly, the underlying rationale behind the move appears to be to “teach” students about the constitution, and given the announcement of the measure at a Umno national convention, the focus will naturally be on the Article 153 and other related articles with regards to Malay “rights”. Malaysian students should however, but taught on all aspects of the constitution including the Reid Commission report which was the basis of our constitution when it was drafted.

Will there for example, be an equal emphasis on say, the Article 8 which states that “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law” and “Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment”?

Hence, we fear this new measure is a blatant attempt to indoctrinate our students with a narrow and biased interpretation of our Federal Constitution and our country's founding history. We call upon the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to first convene a independent advisory and review body comprising of representatives from the Bar Council, eminent retired judges as well as renown academics on the History of Malaya.

To quote veteran journalist Zainon Ahmad who wrote last year “the history textbooks for schools should no longer be left to individual authors to decide what to include or emphasise and what to be left out. They must be supervised by a multi-racial panel of experts which must include educationists and historians.”

Secondly, the current teaching of the subject “History” for the various examinations leaves much to be desired. The focus is currently almost entirely based on memorisation and regurgitation of “facts” during examinations and does not at all involve critical thinking, analysis and interpretation.

In the light of the fact that the Ministry intends to improve our student's learning and thinking abilities, the approach used to teach history must first be overhauled before the subject can be made compulsory. Otherwise, “history” will just become a meaningless subject just like the subject “moral studies” today where students just memorises answers word for word to comply with a rigid marking scheme which punishes analytical variants and interpretations. It will only make Malaysian students even more incapable of independent thought.

Hence we call upon the Ministry to resolve these 2 critical issues first and not put the cart before the horse by making the subject compulsory without the necessary critical reforms.

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NEM Is Seditious?

The Royal Malaysian Police should spend its precious time investigating criminal cases, especially those involving serious crimes, instead of wasting man-hours on trivial or non-issues

I have been invited to give a statement at the Shah Alam Police Headquarters today at 1pm with regards to one of the suggestions I made during the Selangor Budget 2011 dialogue on 26 July 2010 where I called for a review of the current bumiputra housing discount policy.

I have suggested that discounts for luxury homes valued at RM500,000 and above, and commercial properties valued more than RM2 million be discontinued. Under the current policy, the rich benefit much more than the poor as a house valued at RM2 million will receive RM140,000 discount while a medium cost flat worth RM100,000 will only get RM100,000. I have proposed instead for the discounts to be channelled towards helping the poor, particularly the bumiputra poor.

I was informed that the investigating officer that I'm now being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act.

I understand that the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim will also have his statement taken as he had commented on the same issue to the press in the subsequent days.

The whole idea of being investigated for Sedition for the policy proposals which I have raised is just completely frivolous and ludicrous.

Firstly, the policy suggestion is completely in line with the Prime Minister's call for reform in the countries' race-based affirmative action policy under the "New Economic Model (NEM)". This reforms include his often quoted remarks that the affirmative action policies will be "market-friendly and merit-based" and focused on the lowest 40% of income earners, the unlike in the past.

My policy suggestion is fully in-line with the Prime Minister's "NEM" where the removal of the discounts will make it more "market-friendly" for property developers and prevent abuses by middlemen who profit from re-selling the discounted properties to non-bumiputras.

In addition, it is also "merit-based" as the poor will receive the necessary assistance through the discount while the already wealthy will no longer be given such disproportionate assistance. Based on my suggestion, the policy will definitely be focused to benefit the bottom 40% of income earners.

How in the world is my suggestion seditious is really beyond me. If my policy suggestion is seditious, then sure the NEM is the same and perhaps the police should also bring in the Prime Minister for investigation on possible sedition in his "market-friendly and merit-based" affirmative action policy statements.

The fact that the event had taken place at the end of July and the investigation is now only taking place 2 months later with the installation of the new Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail Omar shows that the new regime is becoming a bigger cats paw of the Umno and Barisan Nasional to intimidate members of the opposition and to frighten the rakyat into supporting the ruling parties.

I empathize with the officers who are investigating my case as well as the other cases involving my colleagues such as Teo Nie Ching and Ean Yong Hian Wah for they are being forced to carry out the investigations despite the obvious frivolousness of the cases.

I have cooperated fully with the investigating officer but I call upon the the new IGP to stop making a complete mockery of the police force by spending time investigating "non-issues" and start focusing its under-staffed criminal investigation department on the various serious crimes affecting the country today.

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15,000 Bibles Seized

This article really says a lot about the state of religious freedom in our country, especially on those "managing" religious freedom at the Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today, and Datuk Syed Hamid Albar before that. Read also a similar story reported by Associated Press.

More than 15,000 Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia have been detained by the government this past year.

On Sept 11, Gideons International consignment of 5,000 Indonesia Testaments (Vest) and 5,000 Indonesia/English Bilingual Testaments that Alpha Publisher sent from Jakarta to Kuching were detained by the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry (Publication).

While in March this year, 5,100 Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia ordered by the Bible Society of Malaysia were also detained by the same ministry.

The reason given for the detention of the Scriptures was because they contain the banned words of Allah, Kaabah, Baitumal and Solat.

“The Borneo Evangelical Church (S.I.B) had written an appeal letter dated Sept 17 to the Home Affairs Ministry in Putrajaya for the release of this consignment. We are now waiting for the answer of the appeal,” said Low Boon Leong, National Field Officer of The Gideons International.

“Even now as the books are detained, we have to pay for the warehouse charges which cost a fair sum of money,” he added. “In the event that we are unsuccessful in this appeal, we will have to send this consignment back to Alpha Publisher in Jakarta,” Low explained.

Rev Wong from the Bible Society of Malaysia said that besides asking the people to pray, the society has written an appeal letter which will be hand delivered to the Prime Minister by representatives of the Christian Council of Malaysia (CCM) and the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM).

He added that there was a high demand for Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia and appealed to the ministry to release the Bibles as soon as possible.

The Christian Council of Malaysia is following up on their appeal to the Malaysian Government to release these Scriptures.

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Barisan Nasional Plays Ultimate Dirty

What we are witnessing in Perak today is a total and complete mockery and contempt for our democratic institutions.

We are watching a minor league football game whereby the referee, linesmen, officials, physio and even the ushers in the stadium are breaking all rules and conventions to prevent a fair game from taking place. The referee and officials are not only biased, they are actually taking part in the game itself, as the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th (or more) players!

All in the mean time, the crowd watched in horror what is happening before their very eyes, that has widespread ramifications for all football games to be held throughout the country.

It is just shocking. Even diplomatic officials whom I've met shook their heads in absolute amazement, what is actually happening in our beloved country. The civil service, the police, the judiciary and even arguably the royalty, are supposed to be institutions which protect the rakyat and fair play. Instead, they have shown their true colours in becoming institutions to protect the interest of Barisan Nasional.

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Will Khir Toyo be Charged?

I was arrested (and whacked) for lighting candles at a peaceful gathering of 200 or so people last year in an open park and charged for my "crimes".

Four days ago, Khairy Jamaluddin, UMNO Youth Chief candidate led a 1000-strong crowd chanting "kill him" at those accused of alleged treason in Ipoh. He got away scot free (not for the first time too!).

When UMNO Youth also demonstrated in an unruly manner outside Karpal Singh's legal office in Kuala Lumpur 2 days ago, and Karpal

related that he had spoken personally to an officer in uniform, whom he identified as “Mr Chan”, and was told that the organisers had not got a permit for their protest but that he was “under instructions” not to break up the rally.

Finally, when Khir Toyo led an UMNO Youth march in Penang heading towards Karpal's personal home, the police arrested him. (That must have been such a slap in the face for Khir Toyo, the other UMNO Youth chief hopeful)

Thank you to the police for acting impartially in Penang. The next step is for the Attorney-General's office to prosecute Khir Toyo for "illegal assembly".

I'm all for protecting our constitutional right for freedom of assembly, for holding peaceful demonstrations. But all must be equal before the law, as expressly stated within our Federal Constitution - therefore if the police are to prosecute anybody for peaceful assembly, then all should be prosecuted. If not, then all charges to all accused of 'illegal assembly' must be immediately dropped.

Will Khir Toyo be charged? (Was that a rhetorical question?) And if he is charged, it'll be absolutely hysterical if his defense was the right to peaceful assembly as provided for in our Federal Constitution!

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'Stateless' Malaysians

I held a press conference to highlight a few cases which I have received within my constituency in the last few months of Malaysians, young and old, being denied their rights to citizenship. Some cases are more complicated, but some are outright errors on the part of the National Registration Department (NRD). However, one thing is common, the lack of response, action or worse, a complete disregard of their rights by the NRD, which falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Below is the relevant news report from The Malaysian Insider:

PETALING JAYA, Nov 7 — A three-year-old girl is among three people apparently denied citizenship in a growing number of what the DAP’s Tony Pua says are “systemic irregularities” in the National Registration Department.

Speaking at a press conference today, Pua highlighted the three cases which he hoped the government would look into and expedite the process of granting them citizenship.

"I think citizenship is a basic right for any human anywhere in the world. Based on our citizenship law if they qualify, the government should take every step to expedite the process," said Pua, who is also the DAP national publicity secretary.

Lai Jian Yo, 3, who has a Thai mother and a Malaysian father, has been erroneously listed as a non-Malaysian in her birth certificate.

Pua said: "By law, any person born in this country after Merdeka as long as the father or mother is a citizen or even a permanent resident of Malaysia, the child will qualify as a citizen."

(Check Federal Constitution Article 14(1)(b), and Part II of 2nd Schedule)

The child was born in 2005, and the parents only appealed in March last year as they were not aware of the law. The parents were asked to submit an application but up to this day there has not been any progress.

"It is not a matter of by application; if the error is in the birth certificate then all you need to do is change the birth certificate. You don't need to actually apply for new citizenship because she is not a foreigner," said Pua, who is also Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

The father is worried for the child's future because he is not able to register her for school. The girl will also not be able to work or move freely if she remains stateless.

The second case involves Thee Hin Yee, 19, who is an adopted child. She is unable to study or work due to her current situation.

She grew up having a temporary passport. (errata: this refers to Passport terhad, not temporary passport) However when she was 12, the NRD confiscated her birth certificate when she collected her identity card. The NRD deemed her birth certificate not legitimate and also retained her identity card. She submitted her application in 2002 but there has been no progress till now.

The third case highlighted by Pua was that of a 72-year-old mother Lam Khoi Tong, who has been denied a passport.

She was born before independence and has pre-independence identity papers. Due to misinformation during registration, she was issued a red identity card even though she was eligible for citizenship.

She has been applying ever since for citizenship.

Said Pua: "There are real systematic issues or problems in the NRD because you find people from the youngest to the oldest facing problems."

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Ahmad "Penumpang" Ismail

UMNO Bukit Bendera Division Chief, Datuk Ahmad Ismail has once again demonstrated the party's true colours and they obviously will never learn or change their bigoted ways.

This time round, even their badly discredited political partners, MCA and Gerakan came out strongly to denounce his statements made during the recent Permatang Pauh elections that the Malaysian Chinese were "penumpang" (squatters) and cannot be trusted to whip up racial support for UMNO. And he did it in front of Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, without any reprimand from the latter.

Will it however be a complete show, signature campaigns and all, and Datuk Ahmad Ismail gets away scot free? Well, it certainly looks like it.

There is no other term to describe the Prime Minister and UMNO president, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's response to the controversy except to call him totally spineless. His only comment to the press to date:

"I will tell him not to do it again. You know in a campaign all sorts of things can come up. I don’t think he meant it. I’ll make sure to tell him not to use it again."

The response is almost laughable. I believe it isn't necessary for DAP to do much to ensure the continued political demise of MCA, MIC and Gerakan. UMNO, including the Prime Minister himself, will do it for us. All these controversies are happening as Malaysia celebrate its 51st Merdeka anniversary, packed with the rhetoric of national unity and harmony.

DAP has filed police reports throughout the country in every state today to symbolically voice our utmost disgust and disappointment with Datuk Ahmad Ismail for his racist remarks. It is our solemn protest to ask UMNO to uphold the spirit of Merdeka.

Many have pointed out the fact that Datuk Ahmad Ismail's remarks have created feelings of discontent and hurt among the various races in the country, which is deemed illegal under the Sedition Act Clause 3(1)(e) which states that it is seditious:

to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of population of Malaysia

While, the criticism of Sedition Act is its lack of clarity and subjectivity of what is deemed to promote "feelings of ill-will", Datuk Ahmad Ismail has clearly and conclusively breached another clause under Sedition Act, 3(1)(f) which deems seditious any act:

to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protect by the provisions of Part III of the Federal Constitution...

Now, Part III of the Federal Constitution is on Citizenship where it guarantees citizenship under Article 14

1. Subject to the provisions of this Part, the following persons are citizens by operation of law, that is to say:

(a) every person born before Malaysia Day who is a citizen of the Federation by virtue of the provisions contained in Part 1 of the Second Schedule; and

(b) every person born on or after Malaysia Day, and having any of the qualifications specified in Part 11 of the Second Schedule.

Hence, under Malaysian laws, one cannot question the citizenship of Malaysians regardless of race or religion.

I've read the relevant clauses a few times, and I can see it no other way than to say that Datuk Ahmad Ismail is in breach of Malaysia's laws and the Attorney-General must initiate actions against him. The offence is punishable by being sentenced to 3 years jail or RM5,000 fine or both.

Will Pak Lah act to uphold Malaysian constitution and laws? Or will he finally pick up political courage to do the necessary? Will MCA and Gerakan accept no punitive or concrete actions against Datuk Ahmad Ismail? Or will UMNO and Barisan Nasional component parties continue with its rhetoric of national unity, which can no longer mask its "cakap tak serupa bikin" culture.

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MCA Supports Bar Council Forum?

For once, that's very good to hear. But please tell that to your Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and best friend, UMNO!

We have read with interest that the MCA leadership has come out strongly via statements to the media the party was “extremely upset at the protesters' actions” which resulted in the event having to be wrapped up early. They said the forum should be respected by everyone as the council had conducted it in a rational and peaceful manner.

Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting was quoted to say that the “forum never intended to question the special position of the Malays or Islam as the religion of the federation as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Never once were the organisers, speakers or registered guests critical of Islam”.

However, at the very same time, both the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and other top leaders from UMNO has been unapologetic and even threatening in their condemnation of the forum conducted by the Bar Council.

The Prime Minister said the Bar Council had been advised against holding the forum that touched on sensitive matters like religion and race. He has state that he“hope[s] such an incident won’t repeat itself. Last Saturday’s forum is proof that issues relating to religion and race are sensitive in the country.

The Deputy Minister went further to say that the Bar Council’s persistence in going ahead with a forum on conversion to Islam has triggered extreme reaction from certain quarters, which in turn would threaten the country’s harmony.

The country's top leadership has even not discounted the possibility of utilising the Internal Security Act against the forum organisers, clearly a threat which is no less “extreme” compared to the actions of the demonstrators!

Therefore, while we welcome MCA's views on the controversy, they must face up to their responsibility to challenge the views of the Prime Minister and UMNO, who are clearly abusing the race and religious card recklessly to create an atmosphere of fear. It is noteworthy that while the protesters were condemned, no comments were forthcoming on the opposing views espoused by the UMNO leaders.

Without doing so, it would appear that Barisan Nasional is perpetuating its system of divide and rule, where UMNO stokes the racial and religious sentiments of Malays while MCA plays its subservient role to placate the minority communities. That, will only strengthen the case that MCA has lost it total relevance in Barisan Nasional.

The DAP stands firm that there are probably no better party to organise and lead discussions on the Constitution and the laws of Malaysia than the Bar Council. It was also a constructive forum to ensure that unintended victms as a result our laws will be given humane and justifiable treatment. It will make a complete mockery of our legal and judicial system if its very practitioners are denied opportunities to discuss or explain our laws.

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Disappointing Protest Against Bar Council

I must express my deepest disappointment at the protest led by Kulim-Bandar Baharu Member of Parliament, Zulkifli Noordin on the forum held by the Bar Council to discuss the issue of Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution.

It has been reported that the "protesters, many of whom are from Muslim welfare organsation Perkida and Islamic party PAS, shouted, “Hancur Bar Council” (Crush Bar Council), “Hidup Islam” (Long Live Islam) and “Batal forum” (Cancel the forum). They are carrying placards saying “Jangan cabar Islam” (Don’t challenge Islam) and “Bar Council, Don’t play with fire”.

I am deeply disappointed because the protest is not only misguided, it was also immature and unconstructive. I had issued the following press statement yesterday to emphasize the fact that if even the Bar Council, comprising of members of the legal fraternity, is not allowed to hold open discussions in relation to our constitution and its laws, then it makes a complete mockery of our legal system.

What what probably most ironic was that when the organisers agreed to end the forum early and "when those who attended the forum made their way out of the building, they were greeted with loud boos, obscenities and vulgar words". This type of behaviour certainly makes a mockery of the very religious principles which they claim to want to uphold.

And when asked by Malaysiakini why should the protesters not participate via dialogue and engagement in the forum instead, Zulkifli said that he was open to dialogues but the Bar Council’s intention was to provoke Muslims. “For us, this forum is merely (for) Islam-bashing.”

Well, for me, the statement is absolutely uncalled for, totally unjustified and provocative and completely brainless. If discussing our constitution and our laws is equivalent to "Islam-bashing", then he needs to have his head inspected. The forum did not create the "hoo-haa". It is "leaders" like him who fail to understand simple principles who misleads others into thinking that the whole world is against them.

The group had earlier threatened "many times to storm into the building if the forum was not stopped." In addition, the police had allegedly "found two bottles of alcohol by the building that were believed to be unlit Molotov cocktails."

Well, it appears that this type of thuggish and loutish behaviour is unfortunately not only limited to UMNO Youth.

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Bar Council Forum on Article 121 (1A)

In the light of protests made over the forum which was scheduled to be held today, I had issued a press statement defending the forum and the Bar Council yesterday. My comments on what happened at the forum today with protests led by the Member of Parliament from Kulim-Bandar Baharu is blogged here separately.

The Bar Council intends to hold the forum entitled “Conversion to Islam: Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini and Shamala Revisited” within its premises on Aug 9.

However, its plans has been met with immediate protests from UMNO Youth, PAS and even the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak himself.

Executive Council member of UMNO Youth, Datuk Pirdaus Ismail was reported to have issued the warning “Don’t play with fire! Don’t ever touch religious and racial (matters)!" He even asserted that “It is pointless to organise forums based on intellectualism, professionalism or controversial issues when the safety, peace, harmony and stability of the country were being compromised.”

PAS party president, Abdul Hadi Awang argued that “although, PAS accepts the freedom of expression of various parties to dialogue and discuss issues of public interest, nevertheless, issues concerning Islam is something already guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.” According to Hadi, any discussion pertaining Islam, said Hadi, should involve those who had sufficient knowledge and are authorities in the subject as it will otherwise “only confuse the real understanding of Islam and cause undue tension.”

At the same time, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak chipped in that the Bar Council Malaysia's proposed forum entitled Conversion to Islam is unsuitable to held in an open manner.

1. Firstly, the entire basis of such a forum being held is due to the controversies and parties victimised as a result of difference in interpretations of Article 121 (1A). Hence a forum held to discuss these differences is certainly constructive towards setting a foundation for “safety, peace, harmony and stability of the country”, as opposed to the threats issued by UMNO Youth.
   
   
2. Secondly, the question that is discussed is a question of law and not a question of religion. This means that the status of Islam as the official religion of the Federation is unquestioned. The forum does not seek to interpret Islam which is the role of the theologians, but to understand, interpret and make constructive suggestions on the law in the interest of all Malaysians.
   
   
3. Thirdly, by demanding that the forum be “closed” in nature, the Deputy Prime Minister is in fact denying the rights of Malaysians to better understand the laws of the land. If ignorance of the law is not a justifiable excuse in the courts of law, then surely, law-abiding citizens must not be denied opportunities seek a better understanding of the law and its implications.

The DAP stands firm that there are probably no better party to organise and lead discussions on the Constitution and the laws of Malaysia than the Bar Council. It will make a complete mockery of our legal and judicial system if its very practitioners are denied opportunities to discuss or explain our laws.

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The End of Religious Freedom (?)

This post will sound somewhat apocalyptic, but I certainly do not think it's an exaggeration.

I wrote about the Christmas present for the Malaysian Catholic community earlier which never came. Well, it did actually, shortly after that when the Internal Security Ministry belatedly granted the Printing and Publications Permit for their in-house newsletter "The Herald". Better still, no specific conditions were apparently attached to the permit, for example, on the use of Bahasa Malaysia.

The renewal, despite the delay, led naturally to non-UMNO Barisan Nasional leaders praising the wisdom of the moderate prime minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The minister in the Prime Minister's department, purportedly in-charge of Christian affairs, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said he brought the matter to the attention of prime minister a few days before Christmas.

“I think the permit is good news and the Government has given the Christian community a wonderful Christmas present. The community will certainly be happy to know that the Government is looking into their welfare and that the Government is interested in all the races,” said Dompok.

The Star in one of its editorials, commented that

...our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a fair man... Pak Lah must have listened to the views of both Muslims and Christians by now and certainly he serves as a good appellant.

[...]

It is good that the controversy has been handled in a rational and calm manner. Many Malaysians, in fact, do not see the need for it to crop up in the first place, and we sometimes need to remind ourselves that we should not see any agenda or shadow in every action or statement that we make.

Alas, those rejoicing spoke too soon and it was not to be. In less than a week after the permit was "approved", the Minister in the Prime Minister's office in-charge of Muslim affairs, Datuk Abdullah Zin issued a press statement stating that 'Allah' is off-limits to non-Muslims, and its use is exclusively Islam's.

The restrictions on the use of the word “Allah” was still enforceable and shall be upheld as decided by the Cabinet in two of its meetings – on Oct 18 and Nov 1, 2006, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdullah Mohd Zin said.

Abdullah, who said the Prime Minister had instructed him to clarify the matter so the public would not be confused...

Two critical issues stand out in the above statement.

• Firstly, the Prime Minister has specifically instructed Abdullah Zin to make the clarification which means that unlike what was painted in the Star, he's not a "fair man", and neither is he "rational" or "calm".
  
  
• Secondly, and more tellingly, the Cabinet, which comprises also of MCA, Gerakan and MIC non-Muslim members, have agreed with such discriminatory policies during the cabinet meetings in 2006. Are they not then clearly demonstrating that they are beholden to UMNO, and not instead, rightfully to the rakyat?

What is worse, is that the Barisan Nasional government isn't going to stop just there in the Islamisation process. You may have read from Sdr Lim Kit Siang's blog that the formerly prestigious English College (EC) in Johor Bahru now requires all its prefects to don the songkok on a daily basis. And as reported here in Malaysiakini, even children's books with cariacatures of prophets are seized by the Internal Security Ministry, headed none other than the Prime Minister himself, who is allegedly "serves as a good appellant".

There are countless of other examples on such exercises of (in)tolerance. The reasons given? Its the same tune that "the illustrations of prophets in the Christian children’s books are said to offend the sensitivities of Muslims".

Soon, the very presence of churches and temples in our midst will be deemed "to offend the sensitivities of Muslims". Or the fact that the mere mention of the existence of another religious belief which isn't in line with UMNO's version of Islam will be deemed a seditious offence, and hence outlawed.

Is it far fetched? Certainly not. Especially not if the rakyat continues to put on their blinkers and provide support to Barisan Nasional component parties who chooses to remain submissive to their lords and masters, the UMNOputeras.

There is certainly no other way of looking at it. I'm no apologist for PAS, but the way it is, the Barisan Nasional government led by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Ong Ka Ting, Koh Tsu Koon and Samy Vellu is certainly more fanatical in extinguishing religious freedom in Malaysia, under the guise of "tolerance and moderation".

This, ladies and gentlement, is the dawning of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Islamic State.

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Christmas Heartbreak

We sought for a Christmas gift from Pak Lah, that the printing and publications permit for the Catholic Church's internal newsletter, The Herald be renewed without conditions.

Well, Pak Lah is certainly no Father Christmas, for clearly, there will be no joy delivered. Malaysiakini has reported today that the Internal Security Ministry, despite the furore over the past week or so, has "sent a directive to the Herald to remove its Bahasa Malaysia section and this will be effective when the new permit is issued."

While earlier, some may blame the Deputy Internal Security Minister for being a mini-warlord in putting forth unreasonable conditions for the renewal of the permit, it is crystal clear now that the real man behind it is none other that the Minister himself, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The deputy minister was only his spokesperson:

“Only Muslims can use ‘Allah’. It’s a Muslim word. It’s from (the Arabic language). We cannot let other religions use it because it will confuse people,” he said when contacted.

“We cannot allow this use of ‘Allah’ in non-Muslim publications, nobody except Muslims. The word ‘Allah’ is published by the Catholics. It’s not right,” he told Malaysiakini.

Of course, in front of others, the Prime Minister will preach the "spirit of tolerance". I've already written about tolerating Pak Lah, so I won't go on another bout of rant here. But I'm certain readers will be able to make their own judgements.

The Herald aren't the only victims of abuse of the country's laws by the Prime Minister. The Evangelical Church of Borneo in Sabah has also sued the Government for a similar issue on the 10th December. The Herald has now done the same.

I am certain that the Government's actions will not stop here. After all, the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has already stated Malaysia is an Islamic State, and was "never, never a secular state" and Pak Lah defended it.

Check out Jeff Ooi's story on how MCA leaders, who couldn't even stand up to the UMNO Youth Chief, have been tasked to ask the Churches to withdraw their suit. Do you want to vote for a party that does UMNO's bidding and not fight for your rights as defined under the law?

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Christmas Present

It's Christmas tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't feel very “Christmasy”.

Malaysia used to celebrate all religious festivals with zest. We were proud of the fact that we are indeed a multi-racial and multi-religious society both tolerant and respectful of each other.

Of late, you'll only hear such rhetoric in mainstream newspaper headlines as well as tourism promotion advertisements, which now not only rings hollow, it is hypocrisy at its worst.

You may have read the news in Malaysiakini a few days ago, as well as in The Sun today, “The Herald” which is an in-house Catholic newsletter application for the annual renewal of its printing and publications license has been unreasonably witheld.

And the basis provided by the Ministry of Internal Security for witholding its permit? Simply that the newsletter must stop publishing the The Herald in the national language. For those who are unaware, The Herald has 4 language sections within its paper, English, Chinese, Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia.

The pretext provided by the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Johari Baharom was that the word “Allah” can only be used by Muslims! How absolutely arrogant and preposterous!

For those who are not familiar, the word “Allah” originates from the Arabic word “al-Lah” and it was used even in pre-Islamic times in the Middle East. Even Arab Christians today (yes, they do exist) use the term “Allah” om their Arabic bible (and yes, unlike the Bahasa Malaysia bible which has been banned, there is no ban in the Middle East on bibles in Arabic language).

Even the Sikhs use the term “Allah” since the founding of their faith and the world is repeatedly used in their Holy Book. So will the Government ban the Sikh holy book next?

Of course, the fact that many Christian bumiputeras (Ibans, Kadazans etc.) in East Malaysia is educated only in Bahasa Malaysia due to the national language policy is irrelevant to the Government.

By taking the Ministry's logic in its argument further, soon other religions will not be able to make reference to the Supreme being or an omnipotent God because, the only one which exists is expounded in the Quran. Hence any reference elsewhere will not be respectful of the faith of the Muslim majority in this country.

Who, may I ask, is the Minister for this preposterous Ministry? Oh, it can't be! It is the wise and genial Prime Minister himself, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who preaches the virtues of a multi-racial, muti-cultural and multi-religious society – which I'm certain will be the headlines of all mainstream newspapers tomorrow.

We'd like to call upon the Prime Minister, who is also the Internal Security Minister to practise what he preaches and grant the Christian community a simple Christmas present, that is to approve immediately the renewal of the printing and publication license for “The Herald”.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

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Waving the Constitution (II)

Ah... I know, I know, I need to post more ;)

For a start, it has been about a month since I've last posted my weekly articles to Oriental Daily. So, I'll start there while I get my thoughts sorted to put up more posts, many of which are much delayed ;)

The following article was a combination of what I wrote on the Government's total disregard of the Federal Constitution as demonstrated by the Minister in Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz's proclamation that he's the Chief Justice "boss", as well as an earlier post where I remarked on the MCA Youth Chief's placid atttempt to wave the Federal Constitution. We have still not witness any attempts to do so both at the Parliament or the Cabinet by MCA.

举起联邦宪法

我国联邦宪法是国家的最神圣的法律文件。如果马来西亚国家领袖或人民不尊重联邦宪法，国家统治就会陷入混乱。

所以当首相署部长纳兹里为了平息¨林甘短片〃所引起的丑闻，宣布他是联邦法院首席大法官阿末法鲁斯的部长，以及是“掌管法律事务的部长”时，我感觉到前所未有的不寒而栗。

我国联邦宪法明文规定司法是独立的，司法更是制衡政府行政部门的机关。失去了司法与立法独立的马来西亚，就再也不是一个真正的民主国。我们也没有办法保证，国家法律还能作为庇护公民免受政府欺凌的护身符。

一个初级部长能够那么骄傲自满的宣布他是联邦法院首席大法官的上司，根本就是藐视联邦宪法的表现。难道我们国家政府已经完全无视宪法的存在，不需要再尊重联邦宪法了吗？

刚刚过去的第44届马青全国常年代表大会上，马青总团长廖中莱很骄傲的宣告“国人应坚守宪法独立精神”。他率领中委举起《联邦宪法》，嚷嚷“以举手机取代举短剑”暗讽出席该大会的巫青团副团凯里。

廖中莱还强调，马华不是任人欺负的，“人不犯我，我不犯人；人若犯我，我必犯人！”席中也表示关系民族利益的课题，马青的立场绝对鲜明，不回避、不挑衅，咬定青山不放松！

但可笑的是，他只用华语表达给马青团员与不谱华语及热烈鼓掌的凯里听。他在以国语演讲时，却不再提这几句义气冲天的说辞。

目前，我国司法与宪法又受严重的威胁了，引起律师公会在布城大型的游行。问题是，廖中莱或者其它马华部长是否会在内阁或国会举联邦宪法，强烈地仗义直言来保护我国司法机关？还是马华领袖会把“林甘短片”丑闻视若无睹？

廖中莱还说，批评比建设容易，马青要做的事情很多，没有时间和反对党纠缠不清。可是，看来廖中莱应该认为开空头支票比接受批评还要容易。马青不只没时间反驳反对党提起的问题，它们也没时间、气节或胆量作出维护宪法的行动。

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