Apr 18, 08 3:07pm
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak made known that no apology is forthcoming for former lord president Salleh Abas and the five judges affected by the 1988 judicial crisis.
Explaining the government's stand on the ex-gratia payment announced by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last night, Najib said the payments were in no way an apology.
"The ex-gratia payment does not tantamount to revisiting whatever that has been decided. It is not to be construed as any form of apology but this is our way of addressing some of the personal considerations and experiences and hardship they have gone through.
"It should be seen in that light and should not be construed as anything beyond that," said Najib after witnessing the signing of a joint-venture agreement between Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile and Alado Corporation Sdn Bhd in Cyberjaya.
He also revealed that cabinet had already discussed the matter on Wednesday.
The six former judges were the late Eusoffe Abdoolcader and Wan Suleiman Pawanteh, and Salleh Abas, Azmi Kamaruddin, Wan Hamzah Mohamed and George Seah.
Final authority lies with PM
On the subject of the formation of a judicial appointments commission to identify and recommend suitable candidates in the judiciary, Najib said it was a significant move.
"The reforms announced by the prime minister yesterday means that the government is aware that we do need to ensure our judiciary has the highest reputation.
"And that the judiciary system in this country can perform in terms of deciding on cases in an expeditious manner and that judges of the highest integrity and capability are appointed at the various levels," said Najib.
"However, it must be emphasized that the formation of this commission is only at an advisory capacity. The final authority still lies with the prime minister to make the formal recommendation to the Yang DiPertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers.
"But it is still an important step forward because it means the prime minister will now have the benefit of some very learned people to give their opinions on the suitability of appointing certain personalities to the various positions in the judiciary."
Asked to comment on MIC president's allegations that the Barisan Nasional had not helped the Indians, Najib said he had to check with S Samy Vellu on what he meant.
"As far as government policies are concerned, they would give fair consideration to the needs of all races. And the government is willing to consider the needs of the Indian community too," said Najib.
However, he warned, that this should be done in an appeal or suggestion format and not as a form of threat or blackmail.
Proton confident it will stay competitive
On whether the tie-up between Alardo and Chery will hurt national carmaker Proton Berhad's performance, the deputy prime minister said that this was a global situation which Proton must learn to react to.
"Proton is aware of the nature of the automotive market has changed. This is a global situation which requires us, especially Proton, to make the necessary adjustments.
"But Proton is confident it can compete. For example, it is planning to export to China. Therefore, as much as we want other countries to open up their markets, we've to allow competition in Malaysia," said Najib.
Alardo and Chery's joint venture will allow Alardo to assemble the Chinese cars in Malaysia. Although, 30 percent is earmarked for the export market, the remainder is permitted to be sold here.
Besides local sales, the joint-venture will also explore turning Malaysia into a manufacturing hub for entry into the other Southeast Asia markets.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Judicial reform - we want much more
Apr 18, 08 3:15pm
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said he was “disappointed” because he had expected “more, much more” from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who announced a number of reforms to the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon described the setting up of a judicial appointments commission as “a major right step in the right direction” and held out hopes that this will lead to other reforms.
But others ticked the PM off for not trying to exorcising the ghosts of the past.
DAP leader Lim Kit Siang
I had expected more, much more, than what was announced by Abdullah.
The thunderous and prolonged applause which greeted Abdullah's recognition of the "contributions of these six judges to the nation, their commitment towards upholding justice" and acknowledgment of "the pain and loss they have endured" in the 1988 judicial crisis cannot hide the general disappointment that the prime minister had fallen far short of expectations to ensure a fair and just closure to the Mother of Judicial Crisis in 1988.
It is precisely because the "contributions, pain and loss" of the six wronged judges cannot be equated with mere currency that the ex-gratia payment is grossly inadequate. The six wronged judges deserve a full and proper recompense.
A royal commission of inquiry – a judicial ‘truth and reconciliation’ commission - into the 1988 ‘Mother of Judicial Crisis’ and two decades of judicial darkness should be set up precisely as the victims of the ravages to the justice system were not just to six wronged judges but the Malaysian people and nation which cannot be computed in monetary terms.
The objective of such a judicial ‘truth and reconciliation’ commission should not be punitive but to find out what went wrong to cause the country to be enveloped by two decades of judicial darkness – why the various national stakeholders, the judiciary, Parliament, mass media and civil society failed the test to defend the cardinal constitutional principles of the doctrine of separation of powers and an independent, impartial and competent judiciary.
It is only with such a comprehensive investigation and serious soul-searching that we can ensure that another ‘judicial darkness’ will not descend on Malaysia in future.
Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon
Gerakan welcomes and describes the prime minister’s announcement to set up a judicial appointments commission as “a major right step in the right direction” towards overall judiciary reform.
We believe the government will soon take very quick and concrete measures to set up the commission which should have representatives from the legal profession and civil society.
Hopefully, this will lead to other reforms that will restore public confidence in our judiciary.
Gerakan has been calling for judiciary reform to restore the independence, integrity and image of the judiciary, which was badly damaged since the 1988 ‘assault’ on the judiciary.
Last year, Gerakan was the first Barisan Nasional component party to openly support the setting up of a royal commission on the VK Lingam video-clips.
Subsequently, Gerakan also called repeatedly for judiciary reforms, including the setting up of judicial appointments commission.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
With the reform, PAS hopes that integrity of our judiciary can be restored. We hope that other areas such as governance, the democratic system and media also receive similar reforms.
In this regard, PAS wishes to congratulate and thank former lord president Salleh Abas and the other five judges on the government’s acknowledgement of their contributions and the ex-gratia payment they are about to receive.
Their efforts will be remembered in our judicial history as an example of how truth and justice will prevail eventually.
PAS feels that the ex-gratia is a sign of the government’s guilt in the sacking and suspension of the six judges. However, PAS feels the government should also offer a public apology over the incident.
Subang MP and senior lawyer R Sivarasa
We welcome the setting up of a judicial commission. It means the prime minister has now taken a position which we have been arguing for years - that there should be a (transparent) system of appointing judges, it’s glad that the government is now open to it.
But we must remember ultimately the effectiveness of the commission is measured by the people who are there (in the commission) and (how far it will) reflect the stakeholders. That we have to wait and see.
My main disappointment is however the PM talks about judicial reform but failed to address two critical areas of the judicial reform.
First is the amendment to Article 121 (1). De facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim has mentioned it and we would have supported it in Parliament but Prime Minister Abdullah is completely silent on that. That is way, way disappointing.
Secondly, he mentioned about corruption in his speech - which is correct - as it is part of the reality in the judiciary today, but he is absolutely silent on what he is going to do about it.
Any attempt to deal with judiciary reform must have proposal to deal with the existing corruption first.
Aliran president P Ramakrishnan
It was the Barisan Nasional that destroyed the judiciary in its desire to make it subservient to the executive. We have witnessed shocking judgments that denigrated the judiciary and bewildered litigants who had turned to the judiciary in seeking justice.
How can we reconcile ourselves to the fact that deserving litigants were robbed of their just dues because of a corrupted judiciary? Who will undo these wrongs and bring to justice the dubious judges who had betrayed their oath of office to uphold justice?
The six judges who were victims of a political plot to subjugate the judiciary in 1988 were men of integrity, representing the best traditions of the judiciary. Three of these brave and honest judges were unjustly sacked only because there were judges who were willing to do the bidding of the executive.
The executive thought that it could sully the names and tarnish the reputation of these upright judges its wicked scheme to achieve its political aim of turning the judiciary into a convenient tool to serve it. This it achieved and that is why in these last 20 years, the judiciary has lost its lustre and integrity as an institution serving the cause of justice.
It has always been Aliran’s stand that they were wrongly and falsely charged and convicted by a kangaroo court. We want this wrong to be undone and the injustice to be exorcised.
To achieve this it is necessary to revisit the past to put things right. We have to re-examine - this time through a commission of inquiry – the circumstances surrounding the crisis to verify that the charges levelled against the six judges were without merit and that the composition of the tribunals itself was a travesty of justice.
Aliran totally disagrees with the prime minister’s contention, “I do not think it wise or helpful to revisit past decisions as it would only serve to prolong the sense of crisis – something our nation can do without.”
You are wrong, Mr Prime Minister. These judges have suffered long enough. The pain and anguish that they and their family had to undergo and endure cannot be compensated by ex-gratia payments.
The burden of the false and wrong accusation must be removed formally so that they will be seen and viewed as innocent victims of a tyrannical government. We, as caring human beings with the means to rectify a terrible wrong, must act to remove this wrong and set them free.
Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng
Suaram welcomes with caution the judicial appointments commission announced by the prime minister as the powers and criteria of selection of the members of the commission have yet to be outlined.
We however regret that the PM wishes to retain its constitutional prerogative in naming the judges to the King. Does that mean that the judicial commission is just an advisory body which will only have the powers to submit names to the PM who will ultimately decide the names to be proposed to the King?
If this is true, then the role of the judicial commission is very limited and may be undermined by the prerogative powers of the PM. Suaram calls on the government to ensure that the judicial commission is constituted with the powers to recommend judges to the King directly.
The recognition of the government that the six judges were wrongly sacked and suspended in 1988, although short of a public apology, is a step in the right direction. While no amount of ex-gratia payment can compensate the great losses suffered by the six judges and the nation for the past 20 years, the most meaningful measures that the government can take is to establish a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the whole judicial crisis in 1988, especially on whether the then-PM Mahathir Mohamad had abused his powers.
We believe that the principle of justice must be upheld by bringing the wrongdoers to book. Impunity should not be tolerated. Suaram calls on the PM to review his decision of not reopening the investigation into the 1988 judicial crisis.
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said he was “disappointed” because he had expected “more, much more” from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who announced a number of reforms to the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon described the setting up of a judicial appointments commission as “a major right step in the right direction” and held out hopes that this will lead to other reforms.
But others ticked the PM off for not trying to exorcising the ghosts of the past.
DAP leader Lim Kit Siang
I had expected more, much more, than what was announced by Abdullah.
The thunderous and prolonged applause which greeted Abdullah's recognition of the "contributions of these six judges to the nation, their commitment towards upholding justice" and acknowledgment of "the pain and loss they have endured" in the 1988 judicial crisis cannot hide the general disappointment that the prime minister had fallen far short of expectations to ensure a fair and just closure to the Mother of Judicial Crisis in 1988.
It is precisely because the "contributions, pain and loss" of the six wronged judges cannot be equated with mere currency that the ex-gratia payment is grossly inadequate. The six wronged judges deserve a full and proper recompense.
A royal commission of inquiry – a judicial ‘truth and reconciliation’ commission - into the 1988 ‘Mother of Judicial Crisis’ and two decades of judicial darkness should be set up precisely as the victims of the ravages to the justice system were not just to six wronged judges but the Malaysian people and nation which cannot be computed in monetary terms.
The objective of such a judicial ‘truth and reconciliation’ commission should not be punitive but to find out what went wrong to cause the country to be enveloped by two decades of judicial darkness – why the various national stakeholders, the judiciary, Parliament, mass media and civil society failed the test to defend the cardinal constitutional principles of the doctrine of separation of powers and an independent, impartial and competent judiciary.
It is only with such a comprehensive investigation and serious soul-searching that we can ensure that another ‘judicial darkness’ will not descend on Malaysia in future.
Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon
Gerakan welcomes and describes the prime minister’s announcement to set up a judicial appointments commission as “a major right step in the right direction” towards overall judiciary reform.
We believe the government will soon take very quick and concrete measures to set up the commission which should have representatives from the legal profession and civil society.
Hopefully, this will lead to other reforms that will restore public confidence in our judiciary.
Gerakan has been calling for judiciary reform to restore the independence, integrity and image of the judiciary, which was badly damaged since the 1988 ‘assault’ on the judiciary.
Last year, Gerakan was the first Barisan Nasional component party to openly support the setting up of a royal commission on the VK Lingam video-clips.
Subsequently, Gerakan also called repeatedly for judiciary reforms, including the setting up of judicial appointments commission.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
With the reform, PAS hopes that integrity of our judiciary can be restored. We hope that other areas such as governance, the democratic system and media also receive similar reforms.
In this regard, PAS wishes to congratulate and thank former lord president Salleh Abas and the other five judges on the government’s acknowledgement of their contributions and the ex-gratia payment they are about to receive.
Their efforts will be remembered in our judicial history as an example of how truth and justice will prevail eventually.
PAS feels that the ex-gratia is a sign of the government’s guilt in the sacking and suspension of the six judges. However, PAS feels the government should also offer a public apology over the incident.
Subang MP and senior lawyer R Sivarasa
We welcome the setting up of a judicial commission. It means the prime minister has now taken a position which we have been arguing for years - that there should be a (transparent) system of appointing judges, it’s glad that the government is now open to it.
But we must remember ultimately the effectiveness of the commission is measured by the people who are there (in the commission) and (how far it will) reflect the stakeholders. That we have to wait and see.
My main disappointment is however the PM talks about judicial reform but failed to address two critical areas of the judicial reform.
First is the amendment to Article 121 (1). De facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim has mentioned it and we would have supported it in Parliament but Prime Minister Abdullah is completely silent on that. That is way, way disappointing.
Secondly, he mentioned about corruption in his speech - which is correct - as it is part of the reality in the judiciary today, but he is absolutely silent on what he is going to do about it.
Any attempt to deal with judiciary reform must have proposal to deal with the existing corruption first.
Aliran president P Ramakrishnan
It was the Barisan Nasional that destroyed the judiciary in its desire to make it subservient to the executive. We have witnessed shocking judgments that denigrated the judiciary and bewildered litigants who had turned to the judiciary in seeking justice.
How can we reconcile ourselves to the fact that deserving litigants were robbed of their just dues because of a corrupted judiciary? Who will undo these wrongs and bring to justice the dubious judges who had betrayed their oath of office to uphold justice?
The six judges who were victims of a political plot to subjugate the judiciary in 1988 were men of integrity, representing the best traditions of the judiciary. Three of these brave and honest judges were unjustly sacked only because there were judges who were willing to do the bidding of the executive.
The executive thought that it could sully the names and tarnish the reputation of these upright judges its wicked scheme to achieve its political aim of turning the judiciary into a convenient tool to serve it. This it achieved and that is why in these last 20 years, the judiciary has lost its lustre and integrity as an institution serving the cause of justice.
It has always been Aliran’s stand that they were wrongly and falsely charged and convicted by a kangaroo court. We want this wrong to be undone and the injustice to be exorcised.
To achieve this it is necessary to revisit the past to put things right. We have to re-examine - this time through a commission of inquiry – the circumstances surrounding the crisis to verify that the charges levelled against the six judges were without merit and that the composition of the tribunals itself was a travesty of justice.
Aliran totally disagrees with the prime minister’s contention, “I do not think it wise or helpful to revisit past decisions as it would only serve to prolong the sense of crisis – something our nation can do without.”
You are wrong, Mr Prime Minister. These judges have suffered long enough. The pain and anguish that they and their family had to undergo and endure cannot be compensated by ex-gratia payments.
The burden of the false and wrong accusation must be removed formally so that they will be seen and viewed as innocent victims of a tyrannical government. We, as caring human beings with the means to rectify a terrible wrong, must act to remove this wrong and set them free.
Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng
Suaram welcomes with caution the judicial appointments commission announced by the prime minister as the powers and criteria of selection of the members of the commission have yet to be outlined.
We however regret that the PM wishes to retain its constitutional prerogative in naming the judges to the King. Does that mean that the judicial commission is just an advisory body which will only have the powers to submit names to the PM who will ultimately decide the names to be proposed to the King?
If this is true, then the role of the judicial commission is very limited and may be undermined by the prerogative powers of the PM. Suaram calls on the government to ensure that the judicial commission is constituted with the powers to recommend judges to the King directly.
The recognition of the government that the six judges were wrongly sacked and suspended in 1988, although short of a public apology, is a step in the right direction. While no amount of ex-gratia payment can compensate the great losses suffered by the six judges and the nation for the past 20 years, the most meaningful measures that the government can take is to establish a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the whole judicial crisis in 1988, especially on whether the then-PM Mahathir Mohamad had abused his powers.
We believe that the principle of justice must be upheld by bringing the wrongdoers to book. Impunity should not be tolerated. Suaram calls on the PM to review his decision of not reopening the investigation into the 1988 judicial crisis.
Zaid: No more persecution of judges
Apr 18, 08 4:43pm
Judges should no longer be persecuted for carrying out their jobs, said de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim.
"I dare say it is my hope we shall never again see judges punished and thrown into ignominy and shame for just doing their rightful job," he stated in his short speech at a dinner jointly organised by the government and the Malaysian Bar in Kuala Lumpur last night.
Zaid, who ran the country’s biggest law firm prior to his appointment as minister last month, said there is a need to rebuild trust in the integrity and competency of the judiciary.
"At the same time, we need to remind ourselves that justice is not a cloistered virtue. It must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny of reasonable men. It follows that judges too must be prepared to be judged and to be subject of scrutiny."
"If we can do this, the pain and suffering of Salleh Abas, Wan Suleiman Pawanteh, George Seah, Eusoffe Abdoolcader, Wan Hamzah Mohd Salleh and Mohd Azmi Kamaruddin, will not have been in vain," he said to an applause from the 600-odd crowd.
The minister was referring to the six top judges - three sacked and three removed - during the 1988 judicial crisis, which many have seen as the starting point of the decline of public confidence in the judiciary.
Zaid to Salleh: 'We love you'
Zaid has proposed to the government to tender an apology to the six judges but this was shot down.
Instead, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a ‘goodwill ex gratia payment’ for the judges last night as a way to recognise the pain and loss they have endured.
On this, Zaid said in his speech: "I must tell you that when I was young, the movie that moved me the most was ‘Love Story’. It was the first time I heard the expression that ‘love means never having to say you’re sorry’."
"But we love you Tun (Salleh), and make amends we will," he added.
Speaking to reporters later, Zaid - when asked on his previous stand - responded: "I am satisfied with the prime minister’s statement. You can say sorry in many ways."
On the proposed judicial appointments commission, he said the details on the composition of the commission will be out soon and he will leave it to the public to judge if the commission is independent.
"We shall wait and see, don’t prejudge the issue," he told reporters.
Abdullah said earlier that the commission will identify and recommend suitable candidates for the judiciary to him. The constitutional prerogative of the prime minister to forward the names to the King will remain.
Bar president: 'Absolutely delighted'
Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan who was met by the reporters at the sidelines of the dinner also welcomed the setting up of the commission, which has been demanded by the legal professional body for long.
"I am absolutely delighted," she said, adding that it was a "wonderful first step forward."
Ambiga also said she was delighted over the government’s announcement for the ex gratia payment to the six former judges and echoed Zaid’s stand that expressed apology is not necessary.
She said it was more important that the government gave due recognisation on what transpired during the 1988 judicial crisis.
"There is no more pretending about the 1988 judicial crisis, we call a spade a spade now and we can move on," she said.
Earlier in her welcoming address, Ambiga has credited Abdullah for loosening up the tight grip of fundamental liberties and encouraging different opinions.
She expressed hope to see an amendment on the Article 121 (1) of the Federal Constitution to restore the vesting of the judicial power with the courts, which Abdullah however did not touch on in his speech later.
Towards the end of her speech, the Bar Council president also called on Abdullah to review the case of the detainees held under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
"Here we appeal to you, Mr Prime Minister, to please look at their cases again and revisit the decision made. We hope Dato’ Seri will be open to discussing this issue further with us," she urged.
Judges should no longer be persecuted for carrying out their jobs, said de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim.
"I dare say it is my hope we shall never again see judges punished and thrown into ignominy and shame for just doing their rightful job," he stated in his short speech at a dinner jointly organised by the government and the Malaysian Bar in Kuala Lumpur last night.
Zaid, who ran the country’s biggest law firm prior to his appointment as minister last month, said there is a need to rebuild trust in the integrity and competency of the judiciary.
"At the same time, we need to remind ourselves that justice is not a cloistered virtue. It must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny of reasonable men. It follows that judges too must be prepared to be judged and to be subject of scrutiny."
"If we can do this, the pain and suffering of Salleh Abas, Wan Suleiman Pawanteh, George Seah, Eusoffe Abdoolcader, Wan Hamzah Mohd Salleh and Mohd Azmi Kamaruddin, will not have been in vain," he said to an applause from the 600-odd crowd.
The minister was referring to the six top judges - three sacked and three removed - during the 1988 judicial crisis, which many have seen as the starting point of the decline of public confidence in the judiciary.
Zaid to Salleh: 'We love you'
Zaid has proposed to the government to tender an apology to the six judges but this was shot down.
Instead, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a ‘goodwill ex gratia payment’ for the judges last night as a way to recognise the pain and loss they have endured.
On this, Zaid said in his speech: "I must tell you that when I was young, the movie that moved me the most was ‘Love Story’. It was the first time I heard the expression that ‘love means never having to say you’re sorry’."
"But we love you Tun (Salleh), and make amends we will," he added.
Speaking to reporters later, Zaid - when asked on his previous stand - responded: "I am satisfied with the prime minister’s statement. You can say sorry in many ways."
On the proposed judicial appointments commission, he said the details on the composition of the commission will be out soon and he will leave it to the public to judge if the commission is independent.
"We shall wait and see, don’t prejudge the issue," he told reporters.
Abdullah said earlier that the commission will identify and recommend suitable candidates for the judiciary to him. The constitutional prerogative of the prime minister to forward the names to the King will remain.
Bar president: 'Absolutely delighted'
Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan who was met by the reporters at the sidelines of the dinner also welcomed the setting up of the commission, which has been demanded by the legal professional body for long.
"I am absolutely delighted," she said, adding that it was a "wonderful first step forward."
Ambiga also said she was delighted over the government’s announcement for the ex gratia payment to the six former judges and echoed Zaid’s stand that expressed apology is not necessary.
She said it was more important that the government gave due recognisation on what transpired during the 1988 judicial crisis.
"There is no more pretending about the 1988 judicial crisis, we call a spade a spade now and we can move on," she said.
Earlier in her welcoming address, Ambiga has credited Abdullah for loosening up the tight grip of fundamental liberties and encouraging different opinions.
She expressed hope to see an amendment on the Article 121 (1) of the Federal Constitution to restore the vesting of the judicial power with the courts, which Abdullah however did not touch on in his speech later.
Towards the end of her speech, the Bar Council president also called on Abdullah to review the case of the detainees held under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
"Here we appeal to you, Mr Prime Minister, to please look at their cases again and revisit the decision made. We hope Dato’ Seri will be open to discussing this issue further with us," she urged.
Anwar files RM10mil suit over sexual innuendo
Apr 18, 08 7:19pm
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has launched a RM10 million defamation suit against a deputy minister for allegedly insinuating the former as homosexual.
Anwar filed the suit through his counsel Sankara Nair (photo) at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon and cited Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong as the defendant over the latter’s remark of which was made during the Machap by-election campaign in April last year.
“The whole false notion of sodomy (against Anwar) has to put to an end once and for all.”
“Anybody who unfairly tried to hold attempt to resurrect this vile and concocted falsity will have to face action in court,” the lawyer said when contacted later.
The suit, filed three days after Anwar’s five-year ban from active politics expired, is seen as his effort and readiness to make a comeback to the forefront of the political scene without the alleged sodomy claim continuing to haunt him.
Once heir apparent to ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar was sacked in 1998 and subsequently charged and convicted for sodomy and corruption in which he served a total of 15 years in jail for both offences.
The sodomy conviction was quashed in 2004 upon appeal to the Federal Court and he was freed. By then, he had already completed his six-year jail sentence for corruption.
Till today, Anwar has adamantly claimed that the charges were trumped up as part of a political conspiracy against him, an allegation which Mahathir had denied.
Wee: Remark misconstrued
The RM10 million suit was based on a Malaysiakini report on April 11 last year quoting Wee’s comment at a ceramah on the eve of the Machap by-election in Malacca.
Wee (photo), the Ayer Hitam MP then and MCA Youth secretary-general, had labelled Anwar as someone who “can say one thing then and something else now. For him, front is okay, back is also okay”.
He was reportedly to have made the remark while addressing several hundred supporters in a mixture of Mandarin and Hakka, a Chinese dialect.
Wee had subsequently told reporters that he was misconstrued and that his remark did not carry the connotation as alleged by Anwar.
According to Anwar’s statement of claim today, the suit was a result of Wee’s refusal to retract and apologise over the remark as asked to do so earlier through a letter of demand.
The grounds cited by Anwar for his suit included that the remark, among others, that implied him as a homosexual, a pervert and of no moral, unfit to hold political office, dangerous to Malaysian society and engaged in activities which run contrary to Islam.
Causing ‘distress, anxiety’ to Anwar
The ex-deputy premier considered the offending words to have disreputed him and cause “irreparable damage to (Anwar’s) character, credit and reputation, both nationally and internationally”.
Anwar also claimed to have suffered “considerable distress, anxiety and embarrassment” due to the remark.
The PKR leader is asking for RM10 million in compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages and an injunction to refrain Wee from making further similar remark.
This is the third such suit filed by Anwar over statements made to allegedly implying his sexual orientations.
In January 2006, he filed a RM100 million defamation suit against Mahathir for calling him a ‘sodomiser’ at a human rights conference in 2005. The suit however was quashed in July last year.
Anwar has also filed a suit against Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin in the run-up to the March 8 general election after Khairy was said to have given listeners at a ceramah the impression that Anwar was a homosexual.
The RM100 million suit has yet to be heard.
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has launched a RM10 million defamation suit against a deputy minister for allegedly insinuating the former as homosexual.
Anwar filed the suit through his counsel Sankara Nair (photo) at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon and cited Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong as the defendant over the latter’s remark of which was made during the Machap by-election campaign in April last year.
“The whole false notion of sodomy (against Anwar) has to put to an end once and for all.”
“Anybody who unfairly tried to hold attempt to resurrect this vile and concocted falsity will have to face action in court,” the lawyer said when contacted later.
The suit, filed three days after Anwar’s five-year ban from active politics expired, is seen as his effort and readiness to make a comeback to the forefront of the political scene without the alleged sodomy claim continuing to haunt him.
Once heir apparent to ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar was sacked in 1998 and subsequently charged and convicted for sodomy and corruption in which he served a total of 15 years in jail for both offences.
The sodomy conviction was quashed in 2004 upon appeal to the Federal Court and he was freed. By then, he had already completed his six-year jail sentence for corruption.
Till today, Anwar has adamantly claimed that the charges were trumped up as part of a political conspiracy against him, an allegation which Mahathir had denied.
Wee: Remark misconstrued
The RM10 million suit was based on a Malaysiakini report on April 11 last year quoting Wee’s comment at a ceramah on the eve of the Machap by-election in Malacca.
Wee (photo), the Ayer Hitam MP then and MCA Youth secretary-general, had labelled Anwar as someone who “can say one thing then and something else now. For him, front is okay, back is also okay”.
He was reportedly to have made the remark while addressing several hundred supporters in a mixture of Mandarin and Hakka, a Chinese dialect.
Wee had subsequently told reporters that he was misconstrued and that his remark did not carry the connotation as alleged by Anwar.
According to Anwar’s statement of claim today, the suit was a result of Wee’s refusal to retract and apologise over the remark as asked to do so earlier through a letter of demand.
The grounds cited by Anwar for his suit included that the remark, among others, that implied him as a homosexual, a pervert and of no moral, unfit to hold political office, dangerous to Malaysian society and engaged in activities which run contrary to Islam.
Causing ‘distress, anxiety’ to Anwar
The ex-deputy premier considered the offending words to have disreputed him and cause “irreparable damage to (Anwar’s) character, credit and reputation, both nationally and internationally”.
Anwar also claimed to have suffered “considerable distress, anxiety and embarrassment” due to the remark.
The PKR leader is asking for RM10 million in compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages and an injunction to refrain Wee from making further similar remark.
This is the third such suit filed by Anwar over statements made to allegedly implying his sexual orientations.
In January 2006, he filed a RM100 million defamation suit against Mahathir for calling him a ‘sodomiser’ at a human rights conference in 2005. The suit however was quashed in July last year.
Anwar has also filed a suit against Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin in the run-up to the March 8 general election after Khairy was said to have given listeners at a ceramah the impression that Anwar was a homosexual.
The RM100 million suit has yet to be heard.
Samy: Dr M has weakened BN
Apr 18, 08 11:23am
He served under him for more than two decades. The loyalty then and now remains unquestionable.
It has been five years since former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad stepped down, but the very mention of his name still gets MIC president S Samy Vellu choked up with emotion.
His tone and facial expressions changed when addressing questions concerning the man whom he regards as a great leader. At one point, he even seemed to be fighting back tears.
Mahathir's recent scathing criticism against Samy Vellu had done little to affect the respect and admiration the MIC president harbours for his former boss.
Some have even cited Mahathir as being a contributing factor to Samy Vellu's defeat in his stronghold of Sungai Siput on March 8. But the latter refused to retaliate.
"When you keep a person at a very high esteem in your heart, your eyes will not see what his mistakes are. You will only see the good things he has done," the 72-year-old politician told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview at the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
However, Samy Vellu lamented that Mahathir's attacks against his successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government have weakened Barisan Nasional to a great extent.
According to him, the former premier should have opted for a more softer approach to get his points across.
"Mahathir had a lot of experience in running this country. As a father of the nation, he should have put it in a more milder format (to state) what should be done.
"It would have benefitted the government and it would have benefitted the people also, rather than this straightforward attacks. It (has) never happened in our country before."
To another question, he said: "If Mahathir continues with his attacks on the government, the only thing, whatever he does, it will erode the support of the people for the government he so dearly built."
Give Pak Lah time
Samy Vellu also disagreed with those calling on the prime minister to step down in the wake of the ruling coalition's disastrous performance in the March 8 polls.
The former works minister said Abdullah - who assumed control in 2003 - should be given the time and space to steer the battered vessel in the right direction again.
"I don't think at this time simply by stepping down everything is going to be alright. I think Abdullah must be given the time and the peace to put things in order.
"Then he chooses his successor, he hands over peacefully and he leaves like how Mahathir left Umno and the government peacefully and with good name. I think that should be the methodology to adopt," he added.
Earlier, Samy Vellu had described Mahathir as "the builder and moderniser" of this nation who had slogged for 22 years to give Malaysia the status she enjoys today.
The MIC president also said that he is not perturbed by the remarks the former premier had made against him.
"He might have said one or two things about me. I am never upset about it. I hold him so high in my heart. Even though he is angry with me sometimes ..."
In an interview with Malaysiakini prior to the elections, Mahathir had accused Samy Vellu of stifling Indian voices and complained about how the latter blocked the MIC splinter party Indian Progressive Front (IPF) from joining BN.
In response, Samy Vellu offered a simple reasoning.
"My explanation is ... if in the Barisan Nasional, Umno is the only party that can represent the Malays, what is wrong in MIC being the only party to represent the Indians?
"Also, there are a lot of splinter parties outside representing the Malays, they are not coming into, they will not be allowed to come into the Barisan Nasional."
Turning to Mahathir the person, the MIC president said the former premier was a kind man. "He may not like some people some times but when people go and see him ... he excuses people very fast."
Asked if he met Mahathir recently, Samy Vellu replied: "The last I met him was at the Chinese New Year (celebrations). I went to shake hands with him with my great respect for him. He shook hands with me, but not in his usual style. But I didn't mind it."
Letter to Mahathir
The MIC president also revealed that he penned a letter to Mahathir on the day he left the Works Ministry after the March 8 elections.
"I said (in the letter) 'At this moment of leaving the Ministry of Works, I write this letter to thank you for what all you have done for me'. I said 'you are a great leader the country has ever seen'.
"'This country will never get another leader of your kind. It is a great gift of God to this country'. And I said 'you are quite unhappy with me over certain things and whatever you said during the elections about me, I take it this way, that you don't mean it'.
"'Even though I have lost the elections, I don't think you wholeheartedly said that and you don't mean it (the criticisms)'. I sent him the last letter."
However, Samy Vellu said Mahathir did not reply.
"He doesn't have to reply. I am a very small man from a small community. My background is ... I am the son of an ordinary labourer."
He served under him for more than two decades. The loyalty then and now remains unquestionable.
It has been five years since former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad stepped down, but the very mention of his name still gets MIC president S Samy Vellu choked up with emotion.
His tone and facial expressions changed when addressing questions concerning the man whom he regards as a great leader. At one point, he even seemed to be fighting back tears.
Mahathir's recent scathing criticism against Samy Vellu had done little to affect the respect and admiration the MIC president harbours for his former boss.
Some have even cited Mahathir as being a contributing factor to Samy Vellu's defeat in his stronghold of Sungai Siput on March 8. But the latter refused to retaliate.
"When you keep a person at a very high esteem in your heart, your eyes will not see what his mistakes are. You will only see the good things he has done," the 72-year-old politician told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview at the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
However, Samy Vellu lamented that Mahathir's attacks against his successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government have weakened Barisan Nasional to a great extent.
According to him, the former premier should have opted for a more softer approach to get his points across.
"Mahathir had a lot of experience in running this country. As a father of the nation, he should have put it in a more milder format (to state) what should be done.
"It would have benefitted the government and it would have benefitted the people also, rather than this straightforward attacks. It (has) never happened in our country before."
To another question, he said: "If Mahathir continues with his attacks on the government, the only thing, whatever he does, it will erode the support of the people for the government he so dearly built."
Give Pak Lah time
Samy Vellu also disagreed with those calling on the prime minister to step down in the wake of the ruling coalition's disastrous performance in the March 8 polls.
The former works minister said Abdullah - who assumed control in 2003 - should be given the time and space to steer the battered vessel in the right direction again.
"I don't think at this time simply by stepping down everything is going to be alright. I think Abdullah must be given the time and the peace to put things in order.
"Then he chooses his successor, he hands over peacefully and he leaves like how Mahathir left Umno and the government peacefully and with good name. I think that should be the methodology to adopt," he added.
Earlier, Samy Vellu had described Mahathir as "the builder and moderniser" of this nation who had slogged for 22 years to give Malaysia the status she enjoys today.
The MIC president also said that he is not perturbed by the remarks the former premier had made against him.
"He might have said one or two things about me. I am never upset about it. I hold him so high in my heart. Even though he is angry with me sometimes ..."
In an interview with Malaysiakini prior to the elections, Mahathir had accused Samy Vellu of stifling Indian voices and complained about how the latter blocked the MIC splinter party Indian Progressive Front (IPF) from joining BN.
In response, Samy Vellu offered a simple reasoning.
"My explanation is ... if in the Barisan Nasional, Umno is the only party that can represent the Malays, what is wrong in MIC being the only party to represent the Indians?
"Also, there are a lot of splinter parties outside representing the Malays, they are not coming into, they will not be allowed to come into the Barisan Nasional."
Turning to Mahathir the person, the MIC president said the former premier was a kind man. "He may not like some people some times but when people go and see him ... he excuses people very fast."
Asked if he met Mahathir recently, Samy Vellu replied: "The last I met him was at the Chinese New Year (celebrations). I went to shake hands with him with my great respect for him. He shook hands with me, but not in his usual style. But I didn't mind it."
Letter to Mahathir
The MIC president also revealed that he penned a letter to Mahathir on the day he left the Works Ministry after the March 8 elections.
"I said (in the letter) 'At this moment of leaving the Ministry of Works, I write this letter to thank you for what all you have done for me'. I said 'you are a great leader the country has ever seen'.
"'This country will never get another leader of your kind. It is a great gift of God to this country'. And I said 'you are quite unhappy with me over certain things and whatever you said during the elections about me, I take it this way, that you don't mean it'.
"'Even though I have lost the elections, I don't think you wholeheartedly said that and you don't mean it (the criticisms)'. I sent him the last letter."
However, Samy Vellu said Mahathir did not reply.
"He doesn't have to reply. I am a very small man from a small community. My background is ... I am the son of an ordinary labourer."
Youth more open to multi-racial economic policies
Apr 18, 08 7:03pm
Young Malaysians are open to more multi-racial socio-economic policies as opposed to race-based ones, a study by the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) and the National Young Lawyers’ Committee (NYLC) has found.
It was among the more surprising finds of the ‘Minda Muda (Mind of the Youth) Research Study’ by CPPS and NYLC released at the Bar Council building in Kuala Lumpur today.
CPPS and NYLC belong, respectively, to the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) and the Bar Council.
Conducted between July and August last year and consisting of interviews with about 1,000 youths from Peninsular Malaysia between the ages of 18 - 35, the study was aimed at understanding their attitudes towards and aspirations for national unity.
It was also meant to unearth young Malaysians’ values and hopes and understand their attitudes towards educational and economic policies, racial, religious and social integration, and how these attitudes contribute to national unity.
On a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “fully disagree” and 5 is “fully agree”, the youths interviewed gave an overall average of 4.4 to the statement that “government policies to help the poor should apply to all races in Malaysia”.
On the statement, meanwhile, that socio-economic policies should be changed to help integrate society better, the study said that the youths interviewed gave a rating of 4.2.
The study also found that Malaysian youth overall have a positive outlook for national unity for the next decade.
The good news, however, seems to stop there.
Representing CPPS at the launch today, its director Tricia Yeoh said there exists “disturbing trends” and “inter-ethnic tensions” which must be addressed to avoid further polarisation.
The underlying currents of inter-ethnic tension are reflected in the “disparate” and “differentiated” responses elicited by the ethnic groups when asked about communal unity, harmony and peace, said Yeoh.
Significant differences
The study found the responses were directly related to the interviewees’ perceptions about educational, economic and religious issues, she added.
“The Chinese were quite pessimistic about their future, followed by the Indians. The Malays were generally satisfied with their lives in the country,” she said.
The study also found that those aged between 18 to 24 are less likely to mix with others of different ethnicity as opposed to those aged between 25 to 35.
“The younger age group prefers to mix more within their own ethnic and religious groups, relative to the older age groups, indicating increasing racial and religious polarisation,” it said.
Another trend that became apparent from the study include the significant differences in responses between the youth living in the rural areas and those in the urban areas.
‘Rural respondents’ were more optimistic about unity in the country and gave generally higher scores and ratings to perceptions of harmony and peace, while ‘urban respondents’ showed a greater level of dissatisfaction.
There were also regional differences as respondents from the central (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan) and southern (Johore and Melaka) regions of peninsular Malaysia expressed less optimism about unity than those in eastern (Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu) and northern (Penang, Perak and Kedah) regions.
Representing NYLC, its chairperson Edmund Bon said the government must spend less time and resources on “surface” and “superficial” attempts at fostering national unity.
It must instead address the underlying problems and inter-ethnic tensions caused by the perception of unfair treatment in the spheres of education, economics, race and religion, he said.
Bon, who also heads the Bar Council’s human rights committee, also called on the government to ratify and implement the various international conventions relating to human, civil and political rights.
Yeoh said the findings of the CPPS-NYCC study had been presented to and was well-received by the office of the former minister in charge of national unity Dr Maximus Ongkili.
She added that CPPS hopes the findings of the study will be incorporated in the efforts of the present Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage to bring about greater national unity.
Young Malaysians are open to more multi-racial socio-economic policies as opposed to race-based ones, a study by the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) and the National Young Lawyers’ Committee (NYLC) has found.
It was among the more surprising finds of the ‘Minda Muda (Mind of the Youth) Research Study’ by CPPS and NYLC released at the Bar Council building in Kuala Lumpur today.
CPPS and NYLC belong, respectively, to the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) and the Bar Council.
Conducted between July and August last year and consisting of interviews with about 1,000 youths from Peninsular Malaysia between the ages of 18 - 35, the study was aimed at understanding their attitudes towards and aspirations for national unity.
It was also meant to unearth young Malaysians’ values and hopes and understand their attitudes towards educational and economic policies, racial, religious and social integration, and how these attitudes contribute to national unity.
On a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “fully disagree” and 5 is “fully agree”, the youths interviewed gave an overall average of 4.4 to the statement that “government policies to help the poor should apply to all races in Malaysia”.
On the statement, meanwhile, that socio-economic policies should be changed to help integrate society better, the study said that the youths interviewed gave a rating of 4.2.
The study also found that Malaysian youth overall have a positive outlook for national unity for the next decade.
The good news, however, seems to stop there.
Representing CPPS at the launch today, its director Tricia Yeoh said there exists “disturbing trends” and “inter-ethnic tensions” which must be addressed to avoid further polarisation.
The underlying currents of inter-ethnic tension are reflected in the “disparate” and “differentiated” responses elicited by the ethnic groups when asked about communal unity, harmony and peace, said Yeoh.
Significant differences
The study found the responses were directly related to the interviewees’ perceptions about educational, economic and religious issues, she added.
“The Chinese were quite pessimistic about their future, followed by the Indians. The Malays were generally satisfied with their lives in the country,” she said.
The study also found that those aged between 18 to 24 are less likely to mix with others of different ethnicity as opposed to those aged between 25 to 35.
“The younger age group prefers to mix more within their own ethnic and religious groups, relative to the older age groups, indicating increasing racial and religious polarisation,” it said.
Another trend that became apparent from the study include the significant differences in responses between the youth living in the rural areas and those in the urban areas.
‘Rural respondents’ were more optimistic about unity in the country and gave generally higher scores and ratings to perceptions of harmony and peace, while ‘urban respondents’ showed a greater level of dissatisfaction.
There were also regional differences as respondents from the central (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan) and southern (Johore and Melaka) regions of peninsular Malaysia expressed less optimism about unity than those in eastern (Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu) and northern (Penang, Perak and Kedah) regions.
Representing NYLC, its chairperson Edmund Bon said the government must spend less time and resources on “surface” and “superficial” attempts at fostering national unity.
It must instead address the underlying problems and inter-ethnic tensions caused by the perception of unfair treatment in the spheres of education, economics, race and religion, he said.
Bon, who also heads the Bar Council’s human rights committee, also called on the government to ratify and implement the various international conventions relating to human, civil and political rights.
Yeoh said the findings of the CPPS-NYCC study had been presented to and was well-received by the office of the former minister in charge of national unity Dr Maximus Ongkili.
She added that CPPS hopes the findings of the study will be incorporated in the efforts of the present Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage to bring about greater national unity.
Falun Gong followers in pre-Olympic relay protest in KL
Apr 18, 08 3:17pm
A group of Falun Gong practitioners today protested outside the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur today, urging for an end of alleged human rights abuses in China.
The protest was timed to coincide with the Malaysian leg of the Olympic torch relay in Kuala Lumpur next Monday. Beijing is the host city of the summer Olympics in August.
About 30 practitioners unfurled banners outside the Embassy and read out a statement condemning alleged abuses and persecution of the group.
They however said that they would not demonstrate during the relay.
An AP report quoted protest spokesperson Li Chiyue as saying that the group does not want the Chinese government to use the Olympic Games as a pretext to intensify its crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners.
"They don't want the true things that happen in China exposed," she said.
20-minute protest
Li said China was arresting an increasing number of Tibetans fighting for autonomy and followers of the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that Beijing has banned as a dangerous cult.
"We want them to improve their human rights as they promised before," said Li, a Chinese national who is studying in Malaysia.
The demonstrators - many of them Chinese expatriates - dispersed after about 20 minutes when the statement was given to an embassy official.
There were about 20 police officers and 10 riot police on standby.
Falun Gong is not banned in Malaysia and the group has some local practitioners.
The torch's relay through 19 cities has been marred by protests against China's crackdown on recent demonstrations in Tibet.
A group of Falun Gong practitioners today protested outside the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur today, urging for an end of alleged human rights abuses in China.
The protest was timed to coincide with the Malaysian leg of the Olympic torch relay in Kuala Lumpur next Monday. Beijing is the host city of the summer Olympics in August.
About 30 practitioners unfurled banners outside the Embassy and read out a statement condemning alleged abuses and persecution of the group.
They however said that they would not demonstrate during the relay.
An AP report quoted protest spokesperson Li Chiyue as saying that the group does not want the Chinese government to use the Olympic Games as a pretext to intensify its crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners.
"They don't want the true things that happen in China exposed," she said.
20-minute protest
Li said China was arresting an increasing number of Tibetans fighting for autonomy and followers of the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that Beijing has banned as a dangerous cult.
"We want them to improve their human rights as they promised before," said Li, a Chinese national who is studying in Malaysia.
The demonstrators - many of them Chinese expatriates - dispersed after about 20 minutes when the statement was given to an embassy official.
There were about 20 police officers and 10 riot police on standby.
Falun Gong is not banned in Malaysia and the group has some local practitioners.
The torch's relay through 19 cities has been marred by protests against China's crackdown on recent demonstrations in Tibet.
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