Up, Up , Up

Source : Better Malaysia.Com

Suara Demokrasi, Hati Nurani Parlimen

Our values and the coming polls

By DR M NADARAJAH

Multi-cultural Malaysia is significantly multi-religious. A multi-religious environment is within which we transact our daily lives. Various religious meanings and symbolic ecologies envelop all of us differentially.

Such ecologies produce sympathetic emotions and universal values, both of which, if nurtured with matured openness, have the potential to guide us towards a future shaped by diversity, dialogue and common destiny.

In the last six months, that future has been subtly seeking a hearing. All of us have, in some form or other and to varying extent experienced a number of socio-political convulsions. We have had an active period seeking political renewal and re-orientation of our social landscape.
In a deep sense, the rich symbolic meanings inherent in the Malaysian religious environment articulate the values that have also animated these ‘rallies for renewal’.

Consider the following religious festivals and events, covering a period of six months.

Deepavali ("light in a row of oil lamps") is a festival of lights. It symbolises and celebrates the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil. Cleansing rituals and thanksgiving mark it. Christmas is the model of accountability because it is a promise kept to spiritually save humanity. It symbolises a critical gift that human beings have received for their own redemption and reconciliation.

Awal Muharram captures the symbolism of light overcoming darkness. It relates to the Hijrah, a journey away from a situation that is marked by bad or oppressive realities. Ponggal brings people together to share and to have fun. It is to mark thanksgiving to bountiful Mother Earth and friendship to fellow beings. Thaipusam is marked by endurance and fortitude, patience and perseverance, sacrifice and suffering and unity of purpose. And finally, the Chinese New Year symbolises a strategy to deal with Nian, a man-eating beast from the mountains (or in some version, seas), through use of loud noises and the colour red. A strategy of colour, community and loud noise to chase the bad of the land seem so familiar.

Do all these not touch the imagination, hope and aspirations of the ‘rallies of renewal’ of the recent past? When we recast the symbols and meanings articulated by the various religious festivals and events on to the secular plane, can we not see some significant continuities?
The continuity of the values captured above can be seen in the movements that engaged many of us directly or indirectly and made us to think and to feel as to what is happening to us as a people and nation. Like the season for renewal in nature, the generation of the future came with their Bersih rally. Following them, came those from the margins of society, with their Hindraf rally. Then the lawyers were to have a rally for democracy and the rule of law that respects the rights of people (not in word but in spirit). A number of smaller but significant calls for gatherings and rallies continued.

Religion-based meanings that envelop all of us were the same as that which seem to have symbolically influenced the recent rallies of renewal. The rallies seem to suggest not only an exercise of our democratic rights but also a development of our religious and spiritual journey as a people, even if we do not recognise it as such. It is in these rallies that we find the projection of values that nurture and make our future democratic and sustainable all round.

As a contrast, reflect for a moment the other world and values that affect us. Like a bad omen, last year ended with a scandal and the New Year started with one, both black gifts to the history of Malaysia from the ruling front. Recall/remember the hoarding "Another Project by the Barisan Nasional Government". Are not these scandals also some of the ‘projects’? The year 2007 ended with the Lingam Tapes scandal, which has taken us deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of abuse of public office and power. And, revealed the slow destruction of institutions of democracy.

The year opened with another scandal, another tape broadcasting the private life of a public servant…a broadcast really depicting seduction and corruption of public life by and for power. This ‘project’, by a component party of the ruling front, is certainly a display of "sewage politics" rampant in Malaysia.

In a sense, for those with faith in the system, the coming elections offer two orientations or pathways to our future: an active engagement with the ‘politics of renewal’ or a passive participation in ‘sewage politics’.

The people of Malaysia have this choice before them. The choice of those parties that support the former also provides an opportunity to nurture the religious and spiritual foundations of this nation. The other choice would mean that we wait and/or spend more time possibly watching video tapes i.e. watching dramas that unfold the folly of our choice!

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DR M NADARAJAH is a sociologist by training. He is Secretary of the Asian Communication Network (ACN), an inter-faith and inter-disciplinary social communication initiative, based in St John’s University, Bangkok. He belongs to the Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Community, a community of filmmakers, theatre people, song writers, poets, activists and academics working in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan for a better Asia. His work focuses on cultural and sustainability issues.

Original post at Malaysiakini.Com

SEDIA BERSUARA UNTUK JOHOR BAHRU YANG BEBAS DARIPADA JENAYAH, UNDILAH DAP

Just Change - DAP 2008 Election Campaign Song

Bahasa Malaysia Version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJqA_ZiR_yY

Chinese Version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuH9cvzyrb0

DAP 2008 Election Campaign Song Lyrics Just Change- DAP 2008 Election Campaign Song

Lyrics by Tony Pua
Just change for Malaysia
Just change for Malaysia
Just change we will over come
Just change we will see the sun
Together all races stand as one
Together we will never run
Together it's like never before
Together what we're fighting for
Just change for Malaysia
Just change for Malaysia
Just change we will over come
Just change we will see the sun
Corruption
We will stop the drain
Senseless crimes
We will end the pain
Inflation
We will also tame
Together
We will rise again
Just change for Malaysia
Just change for Malaysia
Just change we will over come
Just change we will see the sun
We will fight for our rights to be free
For equality
Justice we will defend, leaders
must have integrity
(Forever)
Malaysians must come first
(and never)
will we be coerced
(remember)
if we vote wisely
(together)
We will make history
(everyone of us must make that change)
Just change for Malaysia
Just change for Malaysia
Just change we will over come
Just change we will never run
Just change for Malaysia
Just change for Malaysia
Just change we will over come
Just change we will see the sun
Just change...

GE 2008 (video pt1)

Excellent video on the plight of Indian in Malaysia.

You can download the entire video onto your PC or mobile phone by right right-clicking this link and choose "Save As".

GE 2008 (video pt2)

GE 2008 (video pt 3)

Hindraf Rose campaign

Police fired tear gas and chemical-laced water cannons in a bid to disperse some 300 Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) supporters who gathered for a peaceful event in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur, early this morning.

Malaysian Income Rose by 40% over 3 years ?

Original Post by Tony Pua at

http://tonypua.blogspot.com/2008/02/malaysian-income-rose-by-40-over-3.html

The Star reported that Malaysia's per capita income rose by 40% in 2007 compared with 2004 according the Second Finance Minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop in Penang. He said that per capita income was now RM22,345 compared with RM15,819 previously.Nor Mohamed Yakcop must either be completely out of his mind, or can no longer perform simple Mathematics or worse, attempting to insult the intelligence of ordinary Malaysians.

Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.0%, 5.9% and an estimated 6.0% in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively according to the Government's official statistics.Based on the above growth rates over the past 3 years, Malaysia's GDP grew by approximately 17.9% from 2004 to 2007.Income or GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the GDP with the total population. Therefore, it is completely inconceivable that our per capita income increased by 40% when our GDP grew by only 17.9%. Unless of course, the honourable Minister believes that our population shrunk by some 16%! To achieve 40% growth, Malaysia must be growing in excess of 12% per annum.

Hence, to grow by 40% over 3 years, with a population growing at just under 2% per annum, that will actually make Malaysia the fastest growing economy in Asia, outstripping even China and India. The Second Finance Minister should refrain from getting intoxicated by the general election fever, in the attempts to paint a heavenly picture of the Malaysian economy. He must instead make an official public apology for his outrageous claims.

FIGURES DON’T TELL REAL STORY (2)

I write in response to “Numbers tell success story of Indians?” (NST,Dec 10) and no “No truth Indians are the poorest in the country?” (NST,Dec 12).

When studies are presented to the public, they must stand up to scrutiny.

I am not a politician, a mathematician or even a statistician. Maybe other Malaysians are more enlightened and I may be wrong but to me the figures quoted do not tally as the statistical methodology seems to be flawed.

The slant of a study can be used to justify any claim. As a simple example, I can say that one out of 10 Malaysians are killed by an elephant.

All I have to do is to find that one unfortunate Malaysian and I have justified my claim.

The population of Malaysia is about 28 million. We are comparing three populations with a vast difference in numbers-Bumiputera 64 per cent (17,920,000), Chinese 24 per cent (6,720,000), and Indians eight per cent (2,240,000).

By convention, all Malays are Bumiputera but not all Bumiputeras are Malays.

In the Malaysian context, the term Bumiputer embraces ethnics Malays plus other indigenous ethnic groups such as the Orang Asli and tribal people in Sabah and Sarawak.

We all know that the indigenous groups have the lowest income and highest rate of unemployment, and this naturally skews the mean household income to the negative.

To make the mean household income of the three main races more relevant, then, the Malays should not be lumped together with the indigenous groups.

Furthermore, the larger the population and with varying reproductive rates, the more the number of unemployable people, - children, students and housewives.

Naturally, then, on paper, wealth distributed among 17 million will be less than wealth divided among two million.

As far as income and population is concerned, should we be using the mean or median values?
The mean is calculated by adding together all the studied values and then divided by the number of values. The data is value only if it is symmetrically distributed but it can be thrown out by a few extreme values.

Ananda Krishnan of Maxis is the third wealthiest man in southeast Asia with a fortune estimated to be worth RM30 billion and other Indian multi-millionaires do not represent the majority of the Indians population.

If they are part of the data, then the study is already skewed.

The median is the middle value – 50 per cent of values is above it and 50 per cent below it. So in an unsymmetrical data, as above, this form of average gives a better ideas of any general tendency.

Different races also have a tendency to gravitate towards different professions which pay different incomes.

If we want to continue using a mean household income as a yardstick of prosperity for the three main races, then we must compare the total income accrued in the selected professions divided by the same number of households.

At the end of the day, we are distracted by superficialities. Poverty is no respecter of race, religion or locality (i.e urban or rural) and all those suffering need the government’s help.

F.S MALHI, Ipoh.

NEWS STRAITS TIMES
Thursday, December 20, 2007

FIGURES DON’T TELL REAL STORY (1)

Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s success story of Indians (“Numbers tell success story of Indians”-NST, Dec 10) in Malaysia came as a surprise to most of us, particularly the figures he quoted.
It looks too good to be true.

He pointed out that the average monthly household income of Indian families was now RM3,456 compared with the national average of RM3,022.

I wonder where he came up with such generous figures.

He claimed that in the country’s history, 60 per cent of Indians lived and worked in the estates but now the figure is reversed to 80 per cent concentrated in urban areas.

A recent visit to Penang has convinced me that there are still a good number of Indians poor and homeless in George Town.

Come sunset, they suddenly appear from nowhere and take on the role of jaga kereta (touts) to earn extra income. Fearing that my car might be scratched, I was forced to part with a ringgit.

At night, you can see the homeless sleeping along the five-foot path in front of shophouses which have been closed for the night.

Now the question is whether Samy Vellu can include this poor souls who have take to eke a living in this manner with just the roof of the shophouse over their heads as being Indians who are nowadays concentrated in urban centres?

Let us no pretend life is not easy to them. With few skills and high rate of unemployment (after being dislodged from life in the rubber estates), being urbanised can be quite meaningless for them.

Sad to say the majority of Indians are among the poorest in the country with, of course, a few exceptions where a small fraction comes from the wealthy group.

TUNKU YUSUF JEWA, Kota Baru

BREWERY COMES TO AID OF CHINESE SCHOOLS

Petaling Jaya: Chinese schools in the country have been getting a helping hand from Guinness Anchor Bhd (GAB).

Since 1994 to the middle of this year, the company has raised close to RM180 million which benefited 367 Chinese schools and helped 1,300 students through university.

“We see Chinese schools as providing mainstream education, especially since only two per cent Chinese students are enrolled in national schools. And we know the importance the Chinese community places on education,” said GAB finance director Low Teng Lum.

Low said the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes not only benefited the Chinese community but also over 60,000 non Chinese students who were enrolled in these schools.

So far, GAB had helped to provide better school facilities, including school halls, additional classrooms and computers.

More importantly, it has also helped students obtain a university education, said Low.

Low said the CSR programmes went beyond merely donating money.

“Anyone with money can donate. But to us, it is a means to allow the community, especially the grassroots, to empower themselves, and at the same time, enable our dealers, trade partners and even coffee shop owners to come together for a good cause,” he said.

GAB has two main fundraising projects known as the Tiger Sin Chew Chinese Education Charity Concert and the Guinness Torch Fund.

The charity concert is a yearly event where GAB helps to fund and organise the concert by bringing in local and foreign artistes to perform.

Schools in need of funds can apply to be part of the charity concert and if selected, they will be tasked marketing the concert and selling tickets. The funds are then channelled to respective schools.

The Guinness Torch Fund, meanwhile, is a scholarship fund.

NEWS STRAITS TIMES.
Friday, December 21, 2007.

Economics for Dummies

Posted by helenism under Economics, Jokes

The following is a very funny email fwd. You can find a similar one with some slight variations on: http://bovination.com/cows.jsp and I’m sure other drafts can be found on the web too…

DISCLAIMER: *Assign no responsibility to me for the views herein except for the addition of Eritrean Economics*

TRADITIONAL ECONOMICSYou have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies and the economy grows. You retire on the income.

KENYAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You eat both of them. You blame Indians for shortages. You ask the European Union to give another two cows to eat.

INDIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You worship them.

PAKISTAN ECONOMICS You don’t have any cows. You claim that the Indian cows belong to you. You ask the US for financial aid, China for military aid, British for Warplanes, Italy for machines, Germany for technology, French for submarines, Switzerland for loans, Russia for drugs Japan for equipment. You buy the cows with all this and claim exploitation by the world.

AMERICAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You profess surprise when the cow drops dead. You put the blame on some nation with cows & naturally that nation will be a danger to mankind. You wage a war to save the world and grab the cows.

MEXICAN ECONOMICS You have two cows Both try to cross to the US One cow drowns The other cow produces for the US.

ETHIOPIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows One starves to death. The government takes the other cow and slaughters it Half the meat is fed to the soldiers fighting Eritrea The other half is sold to buy bullets for use on democracy protesters.

ERITREAN ECONOMICS - WE DON’T WANT YOUR COWS! We will wait until border demarcation to raise and slaughter our own.

FRENCH ECONOMICS You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

GERMAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You re-engineer them so that they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

BRITISH ECONOMICS You have two cows. They are both mad cows.

ITALIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You don’t know where they are. You break for lunch.

SWISS ECONOMICS You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

JAPANESE ECONOMICS You have two cows. You redesign them so that they are 1/10TH the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create cute cartoon cow images called Cowkimon and market them worldwide.

RUSSIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 17 cows. You give up counting and open another bottle of vodka.

CHINESE ECONOMICS You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity and arrest anyone reporting the actual numbers.

SPANISH ECONOMICS You have two cows. You sell them to buy a specially bred Spanish bull. The bull gets killed in a “corrida de toros” in Seville. The “matador” becomes famous and the bull’s head ends up in display in some traditional tapas bar in Andalusia for the amusement of tourists.

TAIWANESE ECONOMICS You have two cows. You send a spy to Japan to try copy their high-tech chip milking strategy. It doesn’t work so kill the cows and sell all the meat to be eaten at some Taipei night market. You produce thousands of fake Cowkimon merchandise and sell it at the above-mentioned night market.

MALAYSIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows. You draft the 9th Malaysian Plan with a long-term strategy to turn Malaysia into the leading producer of milk in the region. The Plan gets stuck in bureaucracy going from one Ministry to the other. By the time the Plan reaches government approval, Singapore has managed to buy the cows off the Malaysians and has become the main producer and exporter of milk in the South East Asia region.

NIGERIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows You send an e-mail to all Yahoo! and Hotmail users explaining that you have 10 cows that you’ve inherited but cannot access. You request an advance fee of 3 cows in order to get the 10 cows and promise a return of 5 cows. It is discovered you never had any cows to start off with.

NEW ZEALAND ECONOMICS You have two cows. Your sheep are jealous.

FINNISH ECONOMICS You have two cows You sell one cow to buy the newest Nokia phone The government takes the other cow in payment for taxes for selling a cow for profit.

CANADIAN ECONOMICS You have two cows You milk one in French, one in English The French one now wishes to split, the English one whines about it.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

This two news appeared in the News Straits Times December 13, 2007. I leave you to make your own conclusion.

IN MALAYSIA (KOTA KINABALU)

EX-MINISTER FILES APPEAL AGAINST DEITY STATUE RULING

Kota Kinabalu: Eight months after his shocking resignation from the Sabah cabinet, Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat yesterday filed an appeal at the High Court registry here against the Government’s decision to rescind its approval for the construction of the “Goddess of the Sea” deity statue at his hometown of Kudat.

Chong, 59, who was deputy chief minister when he left the cabinet, filed the appeal in his capacity as Kudat Thean Hou Charitable Foundation chairman and named the Kudat Town Board and Central Town and Country Planning Board at the state Ministry of Local Government and Housing as first and second respondents, respectively.

The appeal was filed through his lawyer Ansari Abdullah, who is the Parti Keadilan Rakyat Sabah chief.

Ansari said approval for the statue’s construction was given on Feb 8 last year but was withdrawn by the Kudat Town Board a month ago on Nov 15, prompting Chong to file appeal under Section 16 of the Town and Country Planning Ordinance.

In an affidavit supporting the appeal, Chong who is Tanjung Kapur assemblyman, said the Foundation was not given an opportunity to be heard after the withdrawal order was made by the Kudat Town Board following various directives from the chief minister, Central Town and Country Planning Board and the mufti of Sabah.

IN INDONESIA ( MANADO, NORTH SULAWESI)

TALLEST JESUS STATUE GRACES INDONESIAN CITY

Jakarta: A property developer has built what may be Asia’s tallest statue of Jesus Christ Christian region of this predominantly Muslim nation.

Officials and Christian leaders inaugurated the 30-metre high statue last week in Manado city, in the mainly Christian province of North Sulawesi.

The white-robed Jesus with upraised hands stands on a 32-metre high hill in a residential estate built by Ciputra, a property company named after its founder.

Ciputra, 76, was recently ranked as one of Indonesia‘s wealthiest men with a personal fortune estimated at US$335 million (RM1.2 billion).

An architect by training, he spent his childhood in Manado and has built the statue as a token of gratitude for his success, said Yuliarso Christono, a company estate design manager.

“He lived a simple life as a child in North Sulawesi and experienced a hard life under Dutch occupation. Now he is successful,” Christono said.

He said the statue, made of metal fibre and steel, tallest in Asia and this had been confirmed by the Indonesian Museum of Records.

The world’s tallest is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, which is stands 39.6 metres tall and overlooks the city.

The giant Jesus Christ statue in the town
of Manado, Indonesia.

Appeal Court Nullifies Public Order Act

From Funso Muraina and Chuks Okocha in Abuja, 12.12.2007

The Court of Appeal in Abuja yesterday put to rest the controversy surrounding public procession over whether or not there is a need for police permit.

The court said it was no longer necessary to obtain permit before embarking on any assembly.

In its judgment, the appellate court presided over by Justice Danladi Mohammad held that such police approval infringed on the fundamental human rights provided for in the 1999 Constitution.

“The provision of the Act is unnecessary. We are in democracy and Nigeria has joined the league of civilised societies,'' Justice Olufunmilayo Adekeye who read the lead judgment said.

Justice Adekeye said it was wrong to continue to rely on the colonial method of suppressing people from exercising and enjoying their rights under the guise of Public Order Act.

The lead counsel to the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Mr. Femi Falana, had filed a suit on September 21, 2003, condemning the police for disrupting the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) rally at Kano with tear-gas.

The panel gave the judgment in an appeal by the Federal Government against the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Justice Anwuri Chikere of the High Hourt had in 2005 nullified the Act on the ground that it was obsolete and a neo-colonialist rule.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigerian Police Force had filed an appeal.

The plaintiffs had contended that the Federal Government was using the Act to victimise and terrorise opposition.

CNPP had also alleged that the Act was used by the PDP to suppress the opposition.

Justice Chikere also issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from preventing aggrieved citizens of Nigeria including the plaintiffs from organising or convening peaceful assemblies, meetings and rallies against unpopular government policies.

According to the presiding judge, the court held that the provisions of the Public Order Act (Cap 382) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (1990) were in conflict with the provision of Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution.

The CNPP had on April 2, 2004 written to the Federal Capital Territory Police Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, for a permit in line with the provisions of the Public Order Act, (Cap 382) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 which required the issuance of police permit to any group wishing to embark on rally.

They wrote the letter sequel to a proposed mass rally by the parties in protest against the 2003 general elections.

Section 1 of the Act made it mandatory for a police permit to be procured before embarking on a rally.

After the controversial Kano rally, the CNPP filed a suit at a Federal High Court in Abuja challenging the constitutionality of the Act.

The parties through their lawyer, Falana, had filed the suit on February 9, 2004 at the Federal High Court, Abuja asking the court to restrain the Federal Government from preventing their members and any aggrieved citizens from holding rallies in any part of Nigeria.

They asked the court to declare that the requirement of police permit for the holding of rallies was illegal and unconstitutional.

The parties posted the following questions for the court to answer.

Whether police permit or any authority was required for holding rally or procession in any part of the Federal Republic.

Secondly, the parties wanted to know whether the provisions of the Public Order Act which prohibits the holding of rallies or processions without a police permit are not illegal and unconstitutional by virtue of Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria of Nigeria, 1990.

The parties urged the court to declare that the provisions of the Act which required police permit or any other authority for the holding of rallies or processions in any part of Nigeria was illegal and unconstitutional as they contravene section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act.)

They sought a declaration that the Inspector General of Police was not competent under the Public Order Act or under any law whatsoever to issue or grant permit for the holding of rallies in any part of Nigeria.

In the affidavit attached to the writ, which was sworn to by Maxi Okwu, the General Secretary of the CNPP, the parties stated that the IGP prevented them from staging a peaceful rally on May 29, 2003.

He averred that the solidarity rally organised by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Kano, Kano State on September 22, 2003, was disrupted by the police on the ground that no police permit was obtained.

“That in the course of disrupting the rally the police tear gassed the crowd and the ANPP leaders including Dr. Chuba Okadigbo who died barely 24 hours later,” Okwu said.Government in defending the suit filed no counter affidavit as they came to court asking that the entire suit be dismissed.

The high court judge refused and heard the matter. She not only answered the two fundamental questions in favour of the political parties, she also granted all the prayers sought.

The plaintiff political parties in the case include ANPP, National Conscience Party (NCP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), National Democratic Party (NDP), Democratic Alternative (DA), APGA, PAC, Peoples Salvation Party PSP), United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP), MDJ and Community Party of Nigeria (CPN).

Reacting to the judgment, the CNPP commended the judiciary for consigning the Public Order Act to the dustbin of history.

The Director of Publicity of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Maxi Okwu and the Assistant National Legal Adviser, All Nigeria Peoples Party, Mr. Enobong Ete, said the ruling was a victory for democracy. Okwu said the judgment was a landmark in the history of the country as the police had killed many Nigerians during the military era and under the present democratic dispensation, while attempting to disrupt peaceful assembly.

“I commend Justice Chikere for her courage and this landmark judgment which is a victory for democracy.

“In fact, the ruling is a milestone in our politics because Nigerians will no longer be under the ubiquitous control of the police, which had for so long trampled on their right to peaceful assembly under Section 40 of the constitution.

“The law is a colonial heritage, which should not be part of our statute books because the colonial masters used it to checkmate anti-colonial struggles of early nationalists,” he said.

Ete, who is also the Editor-in Chief of Nigeria Labour Law, said, “The judgment marks a new dawn for democracy in Nigeria. This has put paid to abuses of the rights of Nigerians by the police who demand that permit be obtained from them before any rally is carried out.”

He regretted that the court pronouncement could not come before the 2003 Kano rally, where the police disrupted it with teargas, which allegedly led to the death of Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, who was ANPP’s presidential running mate.

The CNPP said the judgment had reaffirmed the spirit and letters of Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 9 and 11 of African Charter on Peoples Rights, which upheld inalienable right of freedom of expression and association.

According to the group, “In this instance, our commendation goes to the Appeal Court, Abuja, for upholding and reaffirming the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Hon. Justice Anwuli Chikere on 25th June 2004; declaring police permit illegal and expunging all provisions relating to obtaining police permit for peaceful assembly.

“By this historic judgment, one of the obnoxious relics of colonialism, the Public Order Act has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Our democracy is the greatest beneficiary of this judgment, for freedom of expression and assembly are core ingredients of democracy.

“CNPP is vindicated for the fact that with the judgment, Nigeria has joined other democratic nations to exercise the fundamental and inalienable rights of liberty and freedom. In other words, Nigerians can peacefully protest unpopular government policies without police permit.

“Most importantly, the judgment has demonstrated that tyranny can only reign if patriots keep quiet in the face of tyranny. Hence, freedom and liberty corollary by this judgment was earned by the commitment and devotion of CNPP leadership.”

Source: Thisday Online

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=97726

Nigeria: Appeal Court Voids Public Order Act

Vanguard (Lagos)

11December2007

Posted to the web 12 December 2007

Ise-OluwaIgeLagos

A THREE MAN panel of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, yesterday, dismissed an appeal by the Inspector-General of Police seeking to reverse a court's verdict voiding the Public Order Act requiring Nigerians to obtain police permit before embarking on protest rallies against unpopular government's policies.

The court said the decision by the trial high court was okay and must not be disturbed.

Presiding judge of the Court of Appeal panel which delivered judgment in the case yesterday, Justice Rabiu Danladi Muhammad, said the offensive provision of the Public Order Act requiring Nigerians to procure police permit before holding rallies was not only barbaric but also alien to the nation's democracy.

"The Inspector-General of Police has no right to make laws. The IGP should be divested of the powers of giving permit to people before they can stage rallies.

"This is a democracy. Nigeria has joined the league of civilised nations and as such, no individual or group requires a police permit or approval to hold rallies and peaceful assembly.

"This is because the provision of the Act impinges on the fundamental rights of Nigerians as provided for in the 1999 constitution," he said.

Vanguard recalls that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, had, about two years ago, voided the controversial Public Order Act which requires Nigerians to procure police permit before protesting against inimical policies of governments through peaceful rallies.

The high court judge, Justice Anwuli Chikere, who nullified the Act while giving judgment in a suit initiated by 12 political parties in Nigeria against the Federal Government to challenge the Act held that the law was both illegal and unconstitutional.

Said the judge: "The Public Order Act, as it is, has outlived its usefulness and since it is against the provision of the constitution, I hereby declare it null and void."

Besides, the high court judge also issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Inspector-General of Police, his agents, privies and servants from preventing aggrieved citizens of Nigeria including the plaintiffs from organising or convening peaceful assemblies, meetings and rallies against unpopular government policies.

Specifically, the court held that the provisions of the Public Order Act (Cap 382) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (1990) were in conflict with the provision of section 40 of the 1999 Constitution.

The said Public Order Act provides that any group of Nigerians willing to stage or hold public rallies either in commemoration of a particular event or to protest an unpopular policies of the government of the day must obtain the permission of the state governor of the state where the rally is to be held.

The governor has the statutory power to delegate the power of granting the permit to the commissioner of police in his state or any most senior police officer in the state in the event the commissioner of police is not available at the time. The position of the state governor on such permit is said to be final.

The said Public Order Act is said to be in conflict with section 40 of the 1999 Constitution which provides that "every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons and in particular, he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests."

Commending the judgment at the time, Mr Adesina Oke, who represented the political parties with Mr Femi Falana said: "We commend your courage in giving this epochal judgment. This is the type of verdict that could help democracy in Nigeria to grow.

"This ruling is an attestation to the fact that the judiciary is waxing stronger. It will go a long way to boost the image of the judiciary.

"This is a very courageous verdict. Now Nigerians can peacefully demonstrate against any inimical policies of the government of the day.

They can also gather together to discuss without fear or intimidation or queuing up for police permit or the fiat of the governor before holding any rally.

Although the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero, had said he would comply with the court's judgment until set aside, he said he was of the view that the appellate court would upturn it. But rather than upturning it, the appeal court, yesterday, affirmed the decision of the trial court.

The background of the case is that 12 political parties through their lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, had approached the registry of the Federal High Court in Abuja on February 9, 2004 with an originating summons, asking the court to determine two fundamental cum constitutional questions including:

Whether police permit or any authority is required for holding a rally or procession in any part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ;

Whether the provisions of the Public Order Act (Cap 382) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 which prohibit the holding of rallies or processions without a police permit are not illegal and unconstitutional having regard to section of the 1999 constitution and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap 10), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The Federal Government was represented in the case by the Director of Civil Litigation, Chief Wole Aina.

The plaintiff political parties in the case included ANPP, National Conscience Party, People's Redemption Party, National Democratic Party, Democratic Alternative, APGA, PAC, People's Salvation Party, United Nigeria People's Party, MDJ and Community Party of Nigeria.

Source : allAfrica.com

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712120267.html

Truly Malaysia

Category: News
Posted by: raja petra

Editorial Jakarta Post

Although the ongoing anti-government movements in Malaysia are still at a very preliminary stage, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has threatened to impose the much feared and draconian Internal Security Act against those who still defy his warnings to cease street demonstrations.

The threat to jail protesters for an indefinite period of time seems to have worked, at least for the time being, because the number of street demonstrations has sharply declined. But the prime minister needs to remember that demands for justice, more freedom and more political and economic equality cannot be silenced just by throwing more people into prisons.

PM Badawi and the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) need to remember that as long as the roots of discontent exist anti-government movements will not subside.

The experience of Soeharto before his fall in May 1998 showed there was a point where people lost their fear of the iron-fist man and did not care anymore about his brutal responses to their protests.

It is clear the current situation in Malaysia today is very different from what Indonesian faced nine years ago, especially in terms of economic conditions. In 1998, Indonesia's economy was on the brink of disaster, while Malaysia's economy today is relatively healthy. But as its economy shows declining growth amid soaring oil prices, many people have begun to feel the heat.

The attitude of many Malaysian officials in responding to the street demonstrations is similar to the attitude of Indonesian officials in 1998. They point their finger at "third parties", "western countries" or "irresponsible press" creating the political unrest. They are reluctant to accept the street facts, because they have been too long in power, enjoying all privileges.

As its constitution is perceived by the minority as discriminatory against non-Malays and non-Muslims, more Malaysians now are demanding real equalities. Sixty percent of the 26 million population is Malay -- synonymous with Muslim according to the constitution -- while the rest are Chinese, Indian and other ethnicities.

Badawi should demonstrate his strong leadership as the country prepares for an early election, because he has not been able to fully control the ruling party. Many Muslims in his ruling party are increasingly impatient with Badawi because they think things were better in Malaysia before Mahathir Mohamad handed over power to Badawi in 2003.

Mahathir is widely regarded as much more protective of Malays than his successor is. Many Malaysians perhaps forget that Mahathir left many fundamentals problems -- from an ailing economy to corruption -- for Badawi. The fact the succession from Mahathir to Badawi was not conducted by fully democratic means also created friction among the elites and dissatisfaction among the people.

The Malaysian government needs to be more sensitive in listening to the aspirations of its people. Defensive attitudes -- such as blaming others, probably including this newspaper -- will not be helpful at all.

It is time now to honestly listen to criticism from citizens. Putting anti-government activists in jail is only a very short-term solution. PM Badawi needs to show he is the prime minister of all Malaysian citizens no matter their ethnic or religious background.

Source : Malaysia Today
www.malaysiatoday.com

ANOTHER BRAVE VOICE SPEAKS!

When everyone is quick to play the race card and miss the trees for the forest, it’s good to know there are still voices of the brave. Datuk Zaid Ibrahima lawyer and UMNO M.P for Kota Bahru said in today’s The Sun (06.12.2007) :-

“The government should manage demonstrations properly and not use force, as this will not help to solve the real problems at hand, said Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

Zaid, the Barisan Nasional member of parliament for Kota Bahru, said he expected ethnic and religious issues to be among the serious issues to be discussed in the next general election. He said that among them would be the issues raised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) demonstrations on Nov 25.

He said this in his talk on the issues to be expected in the next polls, presented at the Rotary Club’s weekly meeting yesterday. Zaid observe that peaceful demonstrations were part of the democratic process.

“It is actually a small thing to me and I wish that after 50 years of independence, we will be able to manage this thing quite easily. To demonstrate and protest in a peaceful way is part and partial of a democratic country,” he said.

He added that the police could have told the people which road to take and how the organiser should control and limit the crowd so that the demonstrations can be properly managed.

“But our response has always been ‘No’, even the Bar Council has abandoned the walk to celebrate International Human Rights Day (Dec 10). I was part of the walk last year and the year before. It was just a walk. We were just walking around the Lake Garden and it was good exercise.”

Zaid also said sensitive issues such as the demolition of temples must be handled with care, and overlooking that would risk provoking extreme reactions from the people who were affected by it.

He said “using force and power”, the Internal Security Act or revoking the protester’s citizenship would not help the situation or address the real issues faced by the people.

“We have to remember that we are a multi-cultural and multi-racial country and if we, all the time, see it as a Malay, Chinese or Indian issue, we are not going to see the real problem. Somebody said the Malays are worse than Indians as only 2.9% of the Indians are poor, compared with 8% of the Malays who are poor. It is not going to help to say who has the problems. So why are we are still responding to the issues in such a negative way, why do we need to remind ourselves and start comparing ourselves as Chinese, Indians and Malays?” he asked.

“Let’s not talk about race and religion. Let’s just see things as what they are-economic issues and the sensitivity of the people.”

Zaid said the nation needed a people-oriented government, which he described as one which would listen to even the most ridiculous demand from the people. “Some even said we need new faces in the cabinet and I think so too,” he added.

He said he was often asked why he joined the BN, and his reply was that the BN concept to get all the people together was a wonderful concept although it was not easy to achieve.

“You have a wonderful model and you just need to think, to adjust and change from within. So I criticise the BN because I want it to become better.” He said. Adding that the BN should be driven more as a coalition and not by one party or UMNO.

BENARKAH PAS SUDAH UBAH MATLAMATNYA?

Benarkah penubuhan negara Islam tidak lagi menjadi isu? Mengikut Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam satu kenyataan baru-baru ini memberitahu bahawa PAS tidak berhasrat menubuhkan negara Islam. Malahan mengikut Anwar Ibrahim, PAS dalam tiga tahun kebelakangan ini tidak bercakap ataupun membangkitkan isu ini lagi.

Kenyataan Anwar, adalah reaksi kepada kenyataan Pengerusi DAP sebelum ini yang mengatakan bahawa DAP hanya bersedia bekerjasama dengan PKR sekiranya PKR memisahkan diri dari PAS.

Rakyat umum masih ingat bahasa PAS, PKR dan DAP pernah pada suatu masa menjadi ahli pakatan Barisan Alternatif. Namun, pengundi-pengundi khususnya pengundi Cina tidak menyokong tindakan DAP bekerjasama dengan PAS. Ini jelas terbukti apabila dalam pilihanraya umum 1999, isu penubuhan negara Islam yang diwar-warkan PAS dikatakan penyumbang kepada kemerosotan undi dan kekalahan kerusi-kerusi DAP di Parlimen dan dewan-dewan undangan negeri.


Pada tahun 2001, DAP keluar dari Barisan Alternatif kerana tidak lagi sehaluan dan sependapat dengan matlamat PAS. Peristiwa 9-11 di Amerika Syarikat dan pengisytiharan unilateral Malaysia sebagai negara Islam oleh mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed mempercepatkan lagi keputusan DAP untuk keluar dari Barisan Alternatif.

Dalam pilihanraya umum 2004, giliran PAS pula untuk melihat kemerosotan undi dan kerusi-kerusi di Parlimen dan dewan-dewan undangan negeri. Jika pada tahun 1999, PAS boleh menawan Terengganu, dalam pilihanraya umum 2004 lain pula musibah yang melanda PAS. Terengganu berpaling tadah memberi mandat memerintah kepada Barisan Nasional. Di Kedah dan Kelantan PAS hilang kerusi-kerusi yang dimenanginya dalam pilihanraya umum 1999.

Pilihanraya 1999 dan 2004 menunjukkan bahawa masyarakat bukan Melayu masih belum sedia dan enggan berkompromi berkenaan dengan isu negara Islam. Ekoran peristiwa DAP keluar daripada Barisan Alternatif dan juga kemerosotan undi dan prestasi PAS dalam pilihanraya 2004, mula melihat PAS melembutkan isu negara Islam. PAS tidak lagi cuba menonjolkan dan mendepankan isu negara Islam.

Anwar, PKR dan PAS tahu betapa pentingnya undi pengundi Cina dan memandangkan ambang pilihanraya sudahpun kelihatan. Kemelut politik negara pada masa ini juga sekali lagi memberi peluang untuk PAS mengulangi kegemilangan 1999. Pengundi-pengundi Cina sekali lagi akan menjadi penentu. Tambah pula dengan pengundi-pengundi India, ada kemungkinan ketidakpuasan masyarakat India mungkin juga ditunjukkan dalam peti undi. Dalam keadaan sedemikian dan lebih-lebih lagi untuk memikat pengundi Cina, PAS nampaknya tidak lagi mendepankan matlamat sebenar PAS. Cita-cita dan niat sebenar PAS kini tersirat dan terpendam.

Sebenarnya tidak apa yang salah berpegang teguh pada cita-cita dan matlamat. Sekurang-kurangnya PAS jujur dan ikhlas dengan niat dan matlamatnya. Tetapi realiti politik negara adalah berbeza. Negara Islam masih tidak boleh diterima orang bukan Melayu dan bukan Islam.

Kembali kepada isu pokok, persoalannya ialah, benarkah kenyataan Anwar bahawa penubuhan negara Islam tidak lagi menjadi matlamat utama bagi PAS.

Saya percaya kenyataan Anwar adalah tidak benar. Penubuhan negara Islam tetap menjadi dasar dan matlamat PAS. Melayari laman web Dewan Pemuda PAS Wilayah Persekutuan, jelas membuktikan bahawa PAS masih belum berganjak dari matlamatnya. Dalam laman web tersebut, terpapar kenyataan Tuan Guru Dato Nik Aziz dimana Tuan Guru menyatakan “PAS sebagai pembangkang adalah sebagai penegur dan penasihat kepada pemerintah. Seandainya kerajaan pemerintah menukar Perlembagaan dengan meletakkan Islam sebagai wadah perjuangan dan perlembagaan negara, PAS tidak akan menentang. Sebaliknya PAS akan bekerjasama dan bersatu dengan pemerintah demi kedaulatan dan perlembagaan negara”.

Ini adalah kenyataan paling jelas bahawa matlamat PAS tetap sama dan belum berubah. Jika ini tidak cukup bukti, Harakah edisi 1-15 Disember 2007 dengan nyata dan terang menyatakan cita-cita PAS iaitu “menegakkan negara Islam”. Dalam keadaan sedemikian, pengundi bukan Melayu dan khususnya pengundi Cina sudah tentu akan was-was untuk memberi sokongan kepada PKR yang jelas terjerat diantara menonjolkan identiti multi-kulturisma dan sekularismanya tetapi juga menjalin perhubungan dengan PAS kerana survival kerana nasibnya banyak bergantung kepada PAS.

Juga, bagi orang bukan Melayu, kenyataan terbuka Tuan Guru juga membayangi suatu keadaan dimana undi dan sokongan bukan Melayu jika diamanahkan kepada PAS, dalam sekelip mata boleh dikorbankan jika timbul kesempatan yang memberi peluang untuk PAS mencapai matlamatnya. Malahan hari ini ramai terkejut dengan pengakuan PAS apabila PAS dengan terbuka mengakui bahawa PAS dan UMNO kebelakangan ini sering mengadakan perjumpaan membincangkan isu berkaitan Melayu dan Islam.

Justru itu, walaupun isu negara Islam menjadi duri dalam daging untuk PKR, suka atau tidak suka, PKR terpaksa redah dan akur dengan tindak tanduk dan matlamat PAS. Paling kurang dengan tidak menyatakan penentangan terhadap matlamat PAS secara terbuka.

PKR dan PAS perlu memperakui realiti Malaysia. Empat puluh peratus rakyat Malaysia adalah rakyat bukan Melayu dan bukan Islam. Oleh yang demikian biarpun di yakini janji setinggi langit orang bukan Melayu dan Islam tetap tidak sama sekali akan menyokong mahupun sanggup menerima matlamat PAS. Selagi PAS enggan menerima realiti negara ini dan selagi hakikat ini tidak diambil kira, PAS dan PKR akan lemas dalam impian yang tidak tercapai.

Norman Fernandez