Najib’s Silence on Zahid Signals Trouble for Malaysians

“If we get evidence, we shoot them first,” he was quoted as saying. They were then threatened that if any of it was reported, their news portals might face a situation of having to shut down. Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, a Member of Parliament, a man put in charge of one of the most key ministries in the country. And what will happen after this? I think you know, there is no need for explanation when it comes to this.

    
            The Home Affairs Minister has crossed that proverbial line many a time but has he been held accountable? I don’t recall him being investigated for his brash statements at all.

           
            To say that “we shoot them first” is absolutely preposterous, and coming from a Minister! Many countries try to observe the rule of law, putting it above everything else so that it acts (via the judicial system), as a check and balance for any society, governing its citizens and keeping all in check. He has however, clearly undermined it.

            
            What Zahid has done is undermine the judiciary in Malaysia, very clearly so. Allowing the police to bypass the courts and act as disciplinarians to society shows that we might be at a crossroad here, where the legal system is not given the chance to do its duty. Even for his self-proclaimed law, the now infamous Prevention of Crime Act, the Minister said that “even if there is not enough evidence, we can detain them for 2 years,” which vividly validates my point. He wants a free rein to act according to his whim and fancy.

            Now, more fuel has been added to this ever-growing fire where he proudly claimed that it is not standard procedure for warning shots to be fired. The Standard Operating Procedure observed by our police force is slightly vague as not many are aware of it. However, there certainly has to be a set of procedure, or Rules of Engagement which they are bound to follow, and not being gung-ho when apprehending criminals.

 As agents of law, that is their duty actually, apprehend criminals and not take them out. I thought we all believed in the notion that one is ‘innocent until proven guilty’ but do you see any shadow of that here?

            
            The cherry on Zahid Hamidi’s cake of amazing statements is when he nonchalantly challenged to be sued for sedition. As a matter of fact, his utterance are irrefutably seditious in nature, by even segregating races as a means of getting support for the party elections which is blowing a lot of steam but losing substance.

            
            All of these do not bode well for his Premier. PM Najib has not been seen to refute or be dissimilar with Zahid’s newfound brashness. Some may opine that silence does not signal agreement but majority of public are thinking contrary, that he indeed has given the ‘green light’ for his Home Minister to just carry on doing what he has. Interestingly, not a word has been uttered in regards to his One Malaysia rhetoric.

            
           The Prime Minister speaks of transformation and maybe it is. Powers that be are allowed to act on their accord and not be subjected to ministerial responsibility. We have gone up a notch or two after GE13, with the race card at the forefront of UMNO’s agenda. Silence is golden, as the old adage goes, but ignorance can be detrimental. Malaysia’s Prime Minister is trying hard to get back confidence from the people.

           
           He can start immediately, right here, right now. Get tough on the Home Minister, and he should be rightfully be dismissed. This has to be a benchmark that more of this sort of unacceptable behaviour will not go opposed.

           
          Najib should act now, but I know he will not. Or maybe the only way that change can come is from the ordinary people, they might be able to do something extraordinary. The clock is ticking. Hope Najib clicks into gear. 

Jay Jay Denis

The Government Will Shoot Themselves In The Foot If They Censor The Online Media

When THAT line is crossed too often, there will come a time when it will cease to exist and it will become second nature for ‘trampling’ to take place. This is in light of Minister of Communications and Multimedia’s comments yesterday on the possibility of the government mimicking Singapore to put a blanket on news portals.

            Just last week, opposition-based news-weekly’s were snapped up and later banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by none other than the ever-brilliant and gung-ho Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The online media then, seems to have been the only alternative for people to get news from what may seem unbiased, if anything. The printed media is brilliant where you have newspapers getting away with ‘daylight lies’ and at times, it does feel as though they do not have proof-readers, looking to jump the gun more often than not.

            According to the Printing Presses and Publications Act, “The Minister may in his absolute discretion grant or refuse any application for such licence or may at any time revoke or suspend such licence for any period he considers desirable.” What this actually means is there is no consistency regarding decisions made by that ministry as at any given time, the decision is up to his or her discretion.

            On September 18^th 2011, PM Najib Razak stated that he intends to make Malaysia the world’s best democracy. A year and a half later, people can judge for themselves on whether his statement was all talk and no walk or otherwise.

            ‘Reporters Without Borders’ stated this year that Malaysia is ranked 145^th out of 179 countries in terms of Press Freedom. http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=classement&id_rubrique=1054. Being ranked behind countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Libya is not something to be extremely proud of, with all due respect. This points to the influence of the powers that be on the now nearly defunct mainstream media, with the online media taking its place. The propaganda spewed by the likes of infamous dailies, ‘The Star’ and ‘Utusan’ have long been way out of line. Such a thing has forced the hands of citizens to hunt for an alternative to get an aspect of what is actually happening.

            Nonetheless, social media has also played a great deal in delivering news and the virality it possesses is definitely greater than that of the printed media. Having said that, here we have a possibility that the government is looking to control the news portals that many Malaysians have grown accustomed to when they start their day. It is more likely that people turn on their nifty little gadgets in the morning to get a grasp of the news rather than heading to a newsstand to get a copy of the government-controlled newspaper.

            But hang on a minute. That might now be close to impossible if a plan is in the pipeline to put a straight-jacket on people to get access to news which concerns them. The thought of relying on the television, radio and newspapers not only lend the idea of going back to the stone-age but being lied to again? In contemporary period, not many people are going to be at all pleased with such a move by a government who doesn’t have the majority support of its people.

            Ahmad Shabery Cheek should think very carefully as he’s walking a tight rope here. If he leaves it how it is, UMNO/BN will still be lashed by the people if it does not improve. Impose a draconian law and the people will definitely take them to the cleaners. If the reformation Najib is spewing every week is anything, then he should heed the advice of people, not around him, but those who did not vote for him. It may sound ridiculous but Najib has work to do to win back the support from the people because I’m not sure as to how much support he has inside UMNO.

            Martin Luther King went around saying that an unjust law is no law at all, started by St Augustine of course. Suffocating people by denying them access to online news portals is akin to shooting themselves in the foot. If the government does not want the Merdeka Square to turn into a Speaker’s Corner, listen to the people. Malaysians are peace-loving people.

Jay Jay Denis

The Rocket -  http://www.therocket.com.my/en/suffocate-peoples-access-to-social-media-think-again-govt-jay-jay-denis/
Free Malaysia Today - https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/06/government-shooting-itself-in-the-foot/
Malaysiakini - http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/232102
Malaysia Today - http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/57221-the-government-will-shoot-themselves-in-the-foot-if-they-censor-the-online-media

Negotiate with gunmen, fire at citizens

Source : FreeMalaysiaToday

FMT LETTER: From Jay Jay Denis, via e-mail
They approached our shores a couple of days before Valentine’s. It is now a day after Chap Goh Mei, Feb 25. Two weeks have passed and the men clad in military outfits allegedly from the South of Philippines claiming to represent the Sultan of Sulu are still in Sabah.

The leader of the pact is none other than Jamalul Kiram III, but the head of the group who has gone into Lahad Datu is his younger brother, Agbumiddin Kiram. Jamalul has said that his men will remain in Sabah for ‘as long as necessary’ in their bid to reclaim the state.

It would not take one too much time to understand, albeit on paper, what their motive is. To reclaim Sabah. From my understanding, Malaysia pays the now defunct Sultan of Sulu a ‘token’ due to a longstanding deal agreed with the North Borneo Company.

However, Sabah, since 1963, has been a part of Malaysia. Media reports suggest that the Malaysian Government, or whoever is calling the shots in this now embarrassing situation, that we have been in negotiations with the ‘army from the Sultanate of Sulu’ for quite a while. The initial deadline for them to ‘end the show’ was Feb 22, but it is now three days past that deadline.

These men are foreigners and according to their leader, Agbumiddin Kiram who was quoted as saying that ‘we have M-14s and M-16s’, the government’s stance is to negotiate with them. However, the baffling fact is that we deported an elected member of the Senate from Australia not even two weeks ago because he supported the move to clean the Malaysian Electoral System. Also, he was shunted aside because some people felt he was in support of the opposition and that there was an element of bias present.

On April 28, 2012, a day when ordinary people clad not in military uniforms, but merely yellow and green t-shirts in support of ‘Free and Fair Elections and also a rejection of the setting up of nuclear plants in Malaysia were subject to physical abuse. Even the members of the media were not spared!

Do you see the stark contrast in both situations? The treatment of Citizens of Malaysia versus gunmen from another country? Three hundred thousand people were not shown mercy but just over one hundred men are allowed to enroach into the boundary of Malaysia and we are still negotiating.

I still cannot get to terms that Malaysians are not given the treatment foreigners are given. Something has to change, and quickly. Gunmen are allowed to roam free while people who gathered at the ‘Dataran Merdeka’ were abused.

People who were born and bred in Malaysia face utter difficulty in getting a blue identity card but those who come in via the ‘back door’ just have to fork out a sum of money and voila, as proven by the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Sabah. We have to change…now!

Negotiate with Gunmen, Fire at Citizens.

They approached our shores a couple of days before Valentines. It is now a day after Chap Goh Mei, 25th February. Two weeks have passed and the men clad in military outfits allegedly from the South of Philippines claiming to represent the Sultan of Sulu are still in Sabah.

The leader of the pact is none other than Jamalul Kiram III, but the head of the group who has gone into Lahad Datu is his younger brother, Agbumiddin Kiram. Jamalul has said that his men will remain in Sabah for 'as long as necessary' in their bid to reclaim the state. It would not take one too much time to understand, albeit on paper, what their motive is. To reclaim Sabah. From my understanding, Malaysia pays the now defunct Sultan of Sulu a 'token' due to a longstanding deal agreed with the North Borneo Company. However, Sabah, since 1963, has been a part of Malaysia.

The media reports suggest that the Malaysian Government, or whoever is calling the shots in this now embarrassing situation, that we have been in negotiations with the 'army from the Sultanate of Sulu' for quite a while. The initial deadline for them to 'end the show' was the 22nd of February but it is now three days past that deadline.

These men are foreigners and according to their leader, Agbumiddin Kiram who was quoted as saying that 'we have M-14s and M-16s', the government's stance is to negotiate with them. However, the baffling fact is that we deported an elected member of the Senate from Australia not even 2 weeks ago because he supported the move to clean the Malaysian Electoral System. Also, he was shunted aside because some people felt he was in support of the opposition and that there was an element of bias present.

28th of April 2012, a day when ordinary people clad not in military uniforms, but merely yellow and green t-shirts in support of 'Free and Fair Elections and also a rejection of the setting up of nuclear plants in Malaysia were subject to physical abuse. Even the members of the media were not spared! Do you see the stark contrast in both situations? The treatment of Citizens of Malaysia versus gunmen from another country? Three hundred thousand people were not shown mercy but just over one hundred men are allowed to enroach into the boundary of Malaysia and we are still negotiating.

I still cannot get to terms that Malaysians are not given the treatment foreigners are given. Something has to change, and quickly. Gunmen are allowed to roam free while people who gathered at the 'Dataran Merdeka' were abused. People who were born and bred in Malaysia face utter difficulty in getting a blue identity card but those who come in via the 'back door' just have to fork out a sum of money and voila, as proven by the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Sabah. We have to change.........now

Jay Jay Denis

Citizenship for foreigners, deportation for senator

Source : Malaysiakini

 

Citizenship for foreigners, deportation for senator

Jay Jay Denis 4:21PM Feb 18, 2013

‘Interfering' and raising awareness for a cause can be misconstrued by the public and put into a negative light.

However, standing up for a just cause as a human being should not be wrong; rather it is a basic human right.

Just yesterday, Nick Xenophon, an independent Senator for South Australia, was deported to his home country from Malaysia due to certain ‘higher ranked' people being unhappy with him.

That begs the question as to why such a move was taken by the Malaysian government.

For starters, a number have said that he is a supporter of the opposition coalition in Malaysia and that Xenophon is trying to meddle in the affairs of the Malaysian government.

Let me get it straight and clear. Showing support for a party and/or a coalition is not the same as showing support for the cause they are championing for.

Xenophon would not be stupid to support a party, considering he is also an elected official in Australia.

However, the issue he is supporting is the same as the opposition's call for ‘free and fair' elections.

Now, to get deported for saying that having a clean electoral system in one's country is the right way and definitely the only way to move forward, that means that something is definitely not right in the Malaysian system.

The Election Commission of Malaysia has said that its system isn't perfect, so why then is the government so afraid of someone who is pointing out that there should be reforms in the electoral system of Malaysia?

Has it got something to hide? If you have nothing to hide, then you should have nothing to fear!

Xenophon has been discriminated and even defamed, culminating in him lodging a suit against Malaysian newspapers for claiming that he is against Muslims and Islam, an allegation he has totally denied.

Why go to an extent of defaming someone from another country when all they are doing is pointing out that our system isn't up to scratch and something has to be done?

It is inappropriate for Malaysia to behave in the way they have, deporting Xenophon without any rhyme or reason and treating him as an enemy of the state, when as a matter of fact, Malaysia is trying to foster healthy diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries.
The action of those who called the shots in Xenophon's deportation is extremely unbecoming for a nation which claims to be a democratic country, wherein this totally shows that we are run by a dictatorship.
I am sure that this will have a domino-effect whereby Malaysia will be looked at as a country which will not be a go-to point in terms of investment.

We have opened our gates to refugees, given identity cards and citizenships to foreigners in broad daylight as shown in the ludicrous findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Sabah.

Then, we resort to deporting people who, for once, seem to have a point and stand up for justice and fairness?

There is only one direction this country is heading to - unless there is change.

We Give Citizenship to Foreigners But Deport Senators

 ‘Interfering’ and raising awareness for a cause can on many occasions, be misconstrued by the public and put into a negative light by many. However, standing up for a just cause as a human being should not be wrong, rather it is a basic human right.

            Just yesterday, Nick Xenophon, an independent Senator for South Australia, was deported to his home country from Malaysia due to certain ‘higher ranked’ people being unhappy with him. That begs the question as to why such a move was taken by the Malaysian Government. For starters, a number have said that he is a supporter of the opposition coalition in Malaysia and that Xenophon is trying to meddle in the affairs of the Malaysian Government.

            Let me get it straight and clear. Showing support for a party and/or a coalition does not mean the same as showing support for the cause they are championing for. That has to be laid out and said, loud and clear. Xenophon would not be stupid to support a party, considering he is also an elected official in Australia. However, the issue he is supporting is the same as the opposition’s call for ‘Free and Fair’ elections. Now, to get deported for saying that having a clean electoral system in one’s country is the right way and definitely the only way to move forward, that means that something is definitely not right in the Malaysian system.

            The Election Commission of Malaysia has said that its system isn’t perfect, so why then is the Government so afraid of someone who is pointing out that there should be reforms in the electoral system of Malaysia? Has it got something to hide? If you have nothing to hide, then you should have nothing to fear!

            Nick Xenophon has been discriminated and even defamed, culminating in him lodging a suit against Malaysian newspapers for claiming that he is against Muslims and Islam, an allegation he has totally denied. Why go to an extent of defaming someone from another country when all they are doing is pointing out that our system isn’t up to scratch and something has to be done?

            It is inappropriate for Malaysia to behave in the way they have, deporting Xenophon without any rhyme or reason and treating him as an enemy of the state, when as a matter of fact, Malaysia is trying to foster healthy diplomatic relations with neighbouring countries. The action of those who called the shots in Xenophon’s deportation is extremely unbecoming for a nation which claims to be a democratic country, wherein this totally shows that we are run by a dictatorship!

            I am sure that this will have a domino-effect whereby Malaysia will be looked at as a country which will not be a go-to point in terms of investment. We have opened our gates to refugees, given identity cards and citizenships to foreigners in broad daylight as shown in the ludicrous findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Sabah. Then, we resort to deporting people who, for once, seem to have a point and stand up for justice and fairness? There is only one direction this country is heading to. Unless…………..there is change.

Jay Jay Denis

Student Activist