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