RPK : Kenapa saya tak hadir di mahkamah

Burma is eight years too late; Malaysia was first

Friday, 24 April 2009 Malaysiatoday | NO HOLDS BARRED - Raja Petra Kamarudin

Yes, that’s right. Ustaz Dr Badrulamin was detained without trial for two years for the ‘crime’ of praying. That’s because he made the ‘mistake’ of praying for the release of all ISA detainees.

Arrested for praying

Two members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were arrested and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of political prisoners, a party spokesman said on Friday.

National League for Democracy spokesman Nyan Win said authorities arrested Chit Pe, the party's deputy chairman, and party member Aung Saw Wei in Twante on Tuesday.

Both took part in a prayer service for the release of political prisoners, which was held at a pagoda in the township, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of Yangon.

Nyan Win said the two were charged with insulting religion, which carries a possible two-year jail sentence.

'The government is suppressing anyone who opposes or challenges them,' Nyan Win said. 'If a Buddhist is arrested and charged for praying at a pagoda, what can they do?'

Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates no dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of elections planned for next year.

In recent months, military courts have sentenced hundreds of pro-democracy activists to prison terms of up to 104 years.

Myanmar now has more than 2,100 political prisoners, according to rights groups. The most prominent among them is Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years under detention. She is currently under house arrest. – AP

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The above is today’s news item from AP. What you just read really makes Burma look real bad; don’t you think so? Well, many of you may not be aware that the same thing happened in Malaysia eight years ago. And, in that incident, Ustaz Dr Badrulamin Bahron, one-time lecturer with the International Islamic University (UIA), was detained without trial under Malaysia’s draconian Internal Security Act and was sent to Kamunting for two years -- for praying.

Yes, that’s right. Ustaz Dr Badrulamin was detained without trial for two years for the ‘crime’ of praying. That’s because he made the ‘mistake’ of praying for the release of all ISA detainees. So they made sure he himself became an ISA detainee (maybe they thought the closer he is to the ISA detainees he is praying for, the better chance he has for his prayers to be heard). If he had instead prayed for the long-life, health and happiness of the Sultans, like they do during every Friday prayer in all the mosques in Malaysia, then he would not have been sent to Kamunting for two years.

It is actually quite ironical is it not? You pray to God that the ISA detainees get released, then ‘God’ grants you your wish by making you an ISA detainee. If this is not a point for atheists to use in their argument that there is no God then I really don’t know what is.

Anyway, it just goes to show that sometimes man does the work of God and you really can’t blame God for your predicament. I mean, if God is really is involved in all this, then how can God take away two years of your freedom just because you prayed to Him for the welfare of fellowmen who are victims of injustice?

To digress a bit here: do you know it is mandatory for all mosques to offer prayers to the Rulers and their crown princes during the Friday congregational prayers? I remember more than ten years ago or so when about seven or nine imams from Selangor were sacked because they were alleged to have ‘boycotted’ the part where they were supposed to offer prayers for the Sultan of Selangor.

Actually, this was not true at all. These imams were known PAS sympathisers and Umno wanted to get rid of them. So the Religious Department went to meet the Sultan and played a tape-recording of the Friday prayers to ‘prove’ that these mosques did not offer prayers to the Sultan and his son.

Of course, all they had to do was to delete that part where the prayers were held and splice the tape. Then the ‘new’ tape-recording would show that no prayers were offered. The Religious Department sought permission from the Sultan to sack these seven or nine imams and the Sultan consented.

I can’t remember all the imams or mosques involved but I do remember that the Sungai Buloh, Subang Airport, and Subang Jaya mosques were amongst those that suffered the removal of their imams for the crime of not offering prayers to the Sultan and his son. Later, other mosques in the Federal Territory -- like the Bangsar Abu Bakar Siddique and Damansara Utama Mujahidin mosques -- also came under the hammer of the religious authorities. These mosques too were headed by known PAS sympathisers.

If you can remember, during the last general election, the head of PAS Johor appointed a young Indian (Hindu girl) lawyer to contest a seat in Johor. Well, this man, Ustaz Mahfoz, was the imam of the Mujahidin mosque in Damansara Utama who was sacked. And he appointed an Indian Hindu girl (read: girl, Indian and Hindu in one breath: three so-called taboos for PAS according to those who claim that PAS is a Taliban party) as a PAS candidate. Yet he was sacked by the religious authorities for being an ‘extremist’.

Okay, enough digression. Back to the story of Ustaz Dr Badrulamin who was detained for praying, just like what they do in Burma. Ustaz Dr Badrulamin was actually detained earlier that year but was released after a few months. However, it was a conditional release. He was not to meet in a group of more than four. He must remain indoors from dusk to dawn. And he may not leave his home district.

He complied with all that. But he thought that leading a prayer (baca doa) would not be regarded as an illegal gathering -- as any gathering of more than four without a police permit would be classified. And it was not a street or outdoor gathering. It was indoors. And he was not giving a ceramah or speaking in an anti-government rally. He was leading prayers for the wellbeing of all ISA detainees.

Ustaz Dr Badrulamin was wrong. The police did consider it an illegal gathering and therefore in breach of the terms and restrictions imposed on him. They summoned him to the Rawang Police Station without telling him what it was about. And as soon as he entered the police station they served him with a detention order and sent him to Kamunting.

That was Malaysia then. That is Burma now. Burma is eight years too late. And Malaysia is still like Burma today.

Warrant of arrest for RPK

April 22, 2009

RPK and Malaysian justice — The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 23, 2009 — Raja Petra Kamarudin today decided to stand up for justice by running away from the law.

Irony and contradictions like these are normal in Malaysian life. More so in the life of the Malaysia Today editor who wrote a few months ago that he would end up being detained without trial under the Internal Security Act where he will fast to death.

Today, he wrote: "After two ISA detentions, I do not plan to allow them to get me so easily the third time around. I also refuse to face treason charges that will result in me being sent to the gallows. I love my life and wish to remain alive a few years longer if possible."

Treason or rather durhaka was also his reason for self-exile from Selangor where the sedition charge is being heard in the Petaling Jaya court. The minor royalty claimed to have left Selangor over family differences and reaffirmed today he would never return to the state, sticking to his principles and sense of justice.

Yet, he concluded his post today by saying: "I shall, however, attend the court hearing when the situation permits, i.e. I am no longer to be charged for treason and I get an assurance from the powers-that-be that the government’s appeal against my ISA release is withdrawn forthwith and that no new detention order has been issued."

One knows not whether Raja Petra, called Pete by family and RPK by most Malaysians, will be charged for treason in going against the Perak palace over the state's constitutional impasse.

But he has a slew of charges related to his writings about murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu. He has been held under the ISA, charged with sedition and faces criminal defamation charges for the same weblog posts.

RPK too pointed out that he has been held and charged for the same offence a few times, going against the grain of justice where one cannot be charged twice for the same crime. Such is the irony of the Malaysian justice system.

And therefore, the controversial blogger prefers to be free, seen as some as his way of continuing his crusade and others as his style of running down people and continuing to be a thorn in the flesh of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, whom he has tried to link to the Altantuya murder.

As yet, there is no proof that Najib is involved but conspiracy theories abound, some which have landed RPK in court over the past two years. His brush with the law also reflects the deep divide over whether there is continued selective prosecution and persecution by the state and the state of the Malaysian judiciary.

Prosecuting RPK in the criminal justice system or holding him under ISA might shut him up but it will not lay to rest the conspiracy theories and rumours that have dogged Najib since 2006. The only way is to clear his name to the Malaysian public, which was even recommended by his patron Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Otherwise, RPK the fugitive will not rest until he sees his version of justice is done. And if RPK does not rest, neither can Najib nor the rest of Malaysia for some time to come.

RPK absconds

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23,2009 — Malaysianinsider | By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

Controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin appears to have gone on the lam after he failed to turn up in court for his sedition trial this morning because of what he says on his blog is a "self-imposed exile" from Selangor.

A warrant of arrest has been issued for the blogger-turn-fugitive and his wife who is his bailor.

In a posting on his blog this morning RPK, as he is better known, claimed that he had decided to become a fugitive to avoid being detained and because of a family feud with the Sultan of Selangor over his views on the Perak constitutional crisis.

It is not clear if RPK and his wife are still in the country. Neither have been answering the telephone in the past few days.

If RPK is overseas, he could become a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.

He has used his blog to make unrelenting attacks against Najib and his wife, accusing them of involvement in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian lover of the PM’s associate Abdul Razak Baginda.

RPK was supposed to go on trial today as he has been charged under section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 which carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or three years' jail or both upon conviction.

He is accused of publishing the article “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” on his Malaysia Today website.

This morning his lawyer J. Chandra informed Sessions Court judge Rozina Ayob that his client was on a self-imposed exile from the state for “reasons that are well known”.

“You know these ‘well known reasons,’ so please highlight them to the court,” Rozina told him.

“The accused is posting his reasons on his website this morning,” said Chandra.

“You expect the court to go through that, is it?” the judge replied.

Chandra proceeded to tell the court that RPK, who is a minor Selangor royal, had had a falling out with his family over his comments about palace involvement in the Perak constitutional crisis.

In his blog post, RPK also claimed that he was expecting to be detained again very soon by the authorities because he and his associates were being trailed by police.

He also wrote of his fear that if he was detained again he would not obtain freedom so easily.

RPK was detained under the Internal Security Act last year but a court subsequently freed him.

The influential blogger also claimed he would not get a fair trial.

Why I am absent in court today

Malaysiatoday | 23 April 2009 | Raja Petra Kamarudin

After two ISA detentions, I do not plan to allow them to get me so easily the third time around. I also refuse to face treason charges that will result in me being sent to the gallows. I love my life and wish to remain alive a few years longer if possible.

NO HOLDS BARRED

I wish to explain why I am not going to be present in court today, 23rd April 2009. Firstly, it involves my recent dispute with the Selangor Palace. This dispute was due to my open letter to the Perak Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, which I wrote on 2nd March 2009 in response to the ongoing Perak Constitutional Crisis. My family said I had acted in a treasonous manner and they wanted me to issue a public apology to the Sultan of Perak.

I refused to comply with my family’s demand and instead wrote two articles condemning the Perak Palace for violating the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and for ignoring the wishes of the rakyat. My opinion is no different from that of NH Chan, the former Court of Appeal judge, which you can read in the addendum below.

The Sultan of Selangor was very angry and that triggered a conflict between our two families. My family told me I had brought shame to the family name and they demanded that I attend a family meeting to discuss the matter. However, I did not attend that family meeting and this aggravated the situation.

My family then gave me an ultimatum. I was to either make that public apology or else my family would insert an advertisement in the mainstream newspapers practically distancing itself from me, which could be interpreted as disowning me. My response to that was, and in accordance with the normal action to be taken against a member of the kerabat who durhaka, I went into exile outside Selangor. As a matter of fact, I even missed two recent family funerals, as I could not and would not step foot in Selangor ever again.

It has to be noted that this has always been the punishment for any member of the Selangor Royal Family who is considered durhaka since the beginning of the Selangor Sultanate more than 250 years ago. My grandfather, Sultan Musa, was in fact subjected to that same punishment and it is the only punishment befitting a member of the Selangor Royal Family who has courted the displeasure of the Palace.

This means, in short, I can no longer attend the court hearing as the same is heard in Petaling Jaya, which is invariably within the state of Selangor.

The second reason is as follows:

In September 2008, I was detained under the Internal Security Act for what I was alleged to have written regarding the Altantuya murder and the alleged links to those who walk in the corridors of power. However, I am already facing trial on sedition and criminal defamation charges in this court as well as in the Kuala Lumpur court.

Now, my ISA detention in September 2008 was for the same crime as what I have been charged in this court (sedition) and in the Kuala Lumpur court (criminal defamation). This means I am being punished twice for the same crime and the law does not provide for one to be punished twice for the same crime.

No doubt, in November 2008, the Shah Alam court ruled my detention illegal and subsequently ordered my release. Nevertheless, the government is appealing this decision, giving a clear indication that it wants me back in Kamunting whereby I will face punishment without trial on top of the two trials I am being made to face -- which, as I said, are for those same crimes.

The events of late do not give me any confidence that I will get a fair trial. Even if the Petaling Jaya court acquits me, they can still appeal the decision of the court like what they are doing with the Shah Alam court’s decision to free me from ISA detention. And the manner the Federal Court conducted itself during the recent ISA appeal hearing is very troubling indeed and borders on unprofessional conduct.

Finally, my open letter to Nizar Jamaluddin has been classified as treason and the government wants to charge me for treason. The fact that no such law exists will not stop them as they can use the ‘waging war against the King’ law that they used against some of the Al Maunah members, which resulted in them being hanged in the Sungai Buloh Prison in October 2006.

Many of my friends have spotted police vehicles parked outside their house. Others have noticed police officers loitering in front of their residence while some have been summoned to Bukit Aman for interrogation. The police want them to reveal where I am currently residing.

Why are the police looking for me? Two months ago, the Federal Court was in a hurry to hear the appeal against my release from ISA detention. After impatiently rejecting all our applications and refusing to allow us time to file the necessary papers, the court suddenly went cold and nothing was heard from it since.

This got me very suspicious. I did some checking and have reason to believe that a new detention order has been issued and that is why the police are looking for me. If I were to turn up in court today I would never be allowed to leave. The police would immediately detain me and send me to Kamunting and this time I shall not be so fortunate as to see freedom in two months like in the last two occasions.

After two ISA detentions, I do not plan to allow them to get me so easily the third time around. I also refuse to face treason charges that will result in me being sent to the gallows. I love my life and wish to remain alive a few years longer if possible.

Those are the reasons I am not in court today. I shall, however, attend the court hearing when the situation permits, i.e., I am no longer to be charged for treason and I get an assurance from the powers-that-be that the Government’s appeal against my ISA release is withdrawn forthwith and that no new detention order has been issued. After all, if the Razak Baginda acquittal was not appealed upon, why am I being treated differently?

Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin
23rd April 2003

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ADDENDUM: Opinion of NH CHAN is former Court of Appeal judge
Malaysiakini, 20th February 2009

Now we know why the people of Perak and elsewhere in Malaysia, are making harsh statements about the sultan. A quick search on the Internet will prove this.

It is the perception of the people that matters; and the confidence of the people is destroyed when they go away thinking that he was biased - that he had been influenced by Najib.

It is very sad that Sultan Azlan Shah, who had been held in high esteem internationally and by the populace, has, in a careless moment, lost all that.

His reputation for fairness and justice has been shattered when they go away thinking that he had been influenced by Najib or that he has favoured BN. It does not matter whether he did, in fact, favour one side unfairly.

Suffice it that reasonable people might think that he did. The die is cast and we cannot put the clock back. Hereafter, there may be many who will no longer believe in his speeches on good governance and the integrity of the judiciary.

The impression is that he does not practise what he preaches.

When the menteri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly, he has two choices.

First, he may request the ruler to dissolve the assembly for the purpose of a state election. Second, if his request is turned down by the ruler, "he shall tender the resignation of the executive council”.

This is provided in Article XVI, Clause (6) which reads: "(6) if the Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, then unless at his request His Royal Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council."

What Article XVI, Clause (6) says is this: If the menteri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the legislative assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the executive council, unless the ruler has, at the request of the menteri besar, dissolved the legislative assembly.

However, in the present case, Mohd Nizar on Feb 4, had requested the ruler to dissolve the legislative assembly, and the ruler informed him on Feb 5 that he acted in his discretion to withhold his consent for the dissolution of the assembly.

That being the case, the menteri besar has no other choice but to tender the resignation of the executive council.

Under Article XWI, Clause (2), paragraph (b), the ruler has a personal discretion to withhold his consent to the menteri besar's request for the dissolution of the legislative assembly.

Unfortunately, the ruler, in the present case, has acted unconstitutionally when he side stepped the constitutional provisions of Article XVI, Clause (6) of the laws of the Perak constitution.

This was what he did.

The Sultan of Perak’s media statement said: “Mohd Nizar was summoned to an audience with the sultan to be informed of the ruler’s decision not to dissolve the State Assembly, and in accordance with the provisions of Article XVI (6) of the Perak Darul Ridzuan State Constitution, the Sultan of Perak ordered Mohd Nizar to resign from his post as Perak menteri besar together with the members of the state executive council with immediate effect.

“If Mohd Nizar does not resign from his post as Perak menteri besar together with the state executive council members, then the posts of menteri besar and state executive councillors are regarded as vacant.”

As we know the sultan is a constitutional monarch who has no power to rule except a couple of discretionary powers mentioned in Article XVIII, Clause (2).

So, apart from the couple of matters mentioned in Article XVIII, Clause (2), the Sultan of Perak has no power to order Mohd Nizar to resign from his post as Perak menteri besar together with the members of the state executive council with immediate effect.

Nor has he the power to declare that the posts of menteri besar and state executive councillors are regarded as vacant.

In the present case, the menteri besar had acted under Article XVI, Clause (6) which permitted him to request the ruler to dissolve the legislative assembly if he ceased to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly.

In this case, the ruler turned down his request. Then the menteri besar has no choice but "to tender the resignation of the executive council".

So, why did the ruler, in the present case, depart from the provisions of Article XVI, Clause (6)?

Under the provisions of Clause (6), the sultan knew that the ball was in the menteri besar's court and it was to be the menteri besar who "should tender the resignation of the executive council".

Yet he chose to ignore these provisions of the Perak constitution.

Raja Petra Kamarudin’s letter to the Mongolian government

Saturday, 18 April 2009 Raja Petra Kamarudin

The purpose of this letter is to enquire whether your government plans to set up an Embassy here in Kuala Lumpur in the near future. If so, then I would like to submit my application for the post of first Mongolian Ambassador to Malaysia.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Dear Sir,

It has come to my attention that Malaysia does not have a Mongolian Ambassador yet and the nearest Mongolian Embassy is in Bangkok. Those who wish to conduct business with Mongolia need to either contact your Embassy in Bangkok or talk to your Honorary Consul in Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Syed Abdul Rahman Alhabshi. And since Syed Rahman is now unofficially attached to the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office he is not so reachable nowadays.

The purpose of this letter is to enquire whether your government plans to set up an Embassy here in Kuala Lumpur in the near future. If so, then I would like to submit my application for the post of first Mongolian Ambassador to Malaysia.

I understand that foreigners can only qualify for the position of Honorary Consul and that an Ambassador must be a citizen of that country. To qualify I would therefore be prepared to apply for Mongolian citizenship even if that means I need to relinquish my Malaysian citizenship.

I also understand that maintaining an Embassy both in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur simultaneously would be straining Mongolia’s financial resources, especially in times like these when the world is going through a serious economic crisis. And I suppose that is why your government maintains an Embassy in Bangkok and only an Honorary Consul in Kuala Lumpur.

I have anticipated this and have already started the ball rolling by launching a ‘Mongolian Embassy Development Fund’. Even if I just limit this fund raising exercise to within the Malaysia Today community, I can already raise millions every year even at a rate of RM10 per Malaysia Today reader per year. This can more than pay the cost of maintaining a Mongolian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

As for me, I do not expect any salary and would be prepared to work for free. Of course, I would expect a Mongolian passport and the diplomatic immunity that comes with the job. And I of course would want those DC number plates on my car -- not to be confused with Kelantan number plates -- so that I can park my car wherever I like and the police can’t do anything about it.

I had in mind a tax-free Porsche or Ferrari, which works out cheaper than a Proton Saga if without tax, as the official Embassy car. By the way, how many tax-free cars are we entitled to and can my friends and family drive them even though they do not work for the Embassy?

I suspect once the Malaysian government finds out I have applied for the job of Mongolian Ambassador to Malaysia it may lodge a protest and say that I want to set up a Mongolian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and that I have volunteered to work as the Ambassador for free because of the diplomatic immunity that comes with the job. They will also say that I want diplomatic immunity because I want to be able to show the Malaysian government my middle finger and they will not be able to do anything about it.

That is of course not true at all. My offer to work as the Mongolian Ambassador to Malaysia and help fund the running cost of the Embassy is a most sincere gesture and has nothing to do with whatever allegation that may arise that this is part of my plan to irritate the Malaysian government even more than it is already irritated.

Part of my job as Ambassador would be to explore tourism possibilities between Mongolia and Malaysia. I am confident we can market Puncak Alam in Shah Alam as an ecotourism destination for Mongolian tourists who may find jungle clearings a most shattering and heart stopping experience.

We can include in that tourism package a visit to the upmarket residential area of Bukit Damansara where there are many houses bought with other people’s money, probably the highest per capita in the whole of Malaysia. We can throw in a stopover in Singapore with one night’s free stay in the Mandarin Hotel where a certain famous birthday dinner was held, the photographs of that dinner which have eluded Malaysians for more than two years now.

So, you see, I have big plans and my job as Ambassador will not be just to approve visas or escort Mongolians who come to Malaysia to attend the trial of murdering policemen. I will explore all sorts of other opportunities that can serve the combined interests of Mongolia and Malaysia.

I shall be most happy to travel to Mongolia if you need me to explain in more detail as to how the setting up of an Embassy in Kuala Lumpur could benefit Mongolia. One benefit I can immediately think of would be that Mongolian girls who are being pursued by the Malaysian police on orders of Malaysian politicians no longer need to go all the way to Bangkok like in the past. Now, they would have somewhere right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to go to.

A second benefit would be once a Mongolian national touched down in Kuala Lumpur, he or she (especially she) can report to the Mongolian Embassy and we would have records of their visit to Malaysia. Then, if the Malaysian government deletes their immigration records from the computer, we can show the Malaysian government that our records prove that that person did come to Malaysia and never left the country.

I trust you find my proposal viable and of interest to the government of Mongolia and I look forward to your reply. By the way, I don’t know where I would be at any given point of time so please just deliver the letter to Bukit Aman and they will know how to find me as I am constantly being followed by the Special Branch officers at all times.

Yours truly,

Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin

The REAL Umno agenda

Wednesday, 15 April 2009 | MalaysiaToday | NO HOLDS BARRED

Utusan Malaysia is very mischievous and we should not allow them to get away with this. We should go out

and buy some copies of Utusan Malaysia and burn them. Can we organise a ‘Burn Utusan Malaysia Day’? Then we should ask all the newspaper vendors and shops to boycott Utusan Malaysia.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Read the following piece published in Utusan Malaysia yesterday . If this is not considered seditious then I really don’t know what is. Opposition supporters, me included, have been made to face the court on sedition charges for lesser than what Utusan Malaysia wrote below.

The article starts by asking the Malays to rise up and unite in facing the ‘extreme demands’ of the ‘other races’. ‘They’ must be aware and remorseful about the current political situation that is witnessing all sorts of demands by the non-Malays that can result in Malay political power being jeopardised. Malays are asked to not bow to these extreme demands but on the other hand must rise up and unite to defend their rights and interests.

The article goes on to say that there are enough ‘Malay’ seats in Parliament for the Malays to form the government with just Malay seats. In other words, the Malays do not need the non-Malays to form the government. Therefore, the government must fulfil whatever demands of the Malays because the Malays are the majority and there should be no compromise with the non-Malays.

Umno will become strong if it looks after the interest of the Malays. So Ummo needs to focus on the Malays and not fear the non-Malays, as the non-Malays will automatically support Barisan Nasional if Umno is strong like in the past.

And the article goes on to say that the government must only worry about the Malays and not be too concerned about the non-Malays and that Umno must do whatever is necessary in the interest of the Malays.

That is not what I am saying. That is what Utusan Malaysia said. And Utusan Malaysia is owned by the political party in power and speaks on behalf of the political party in power. And what Utusan Malaysia is saying is a repetition of what Ali Rustam said at the PPP Melaka convention in 2007 -- that the Malays have ruled this country for 50 years without the help and support of the non-Malays and can continue doing so for another 50 years.

Utusan Malaysia is talking crap. In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional garnered 4,082,411 or 50.27% of the popular votes to win 140 seats in Parliament. That is slightly over half the eight million votes cast. With the loss of Kuala Terengganu in the recent by-election, it is now down to 139 seats.

Three million Malaysians who are registered voters did not bother to vote and another four to five million did not register as voters. That means, while eight million Malaysians voted, another seven to eight million did not. And that also means Barisan Nasional formed the government with votes from just 25% of the eligible voters or votes from 15% of the entire Malaysian population.

That is not really so great is it? How does Utusan Malaysia figure out that Umno or Barisan Nasional commands the support of the majority of Malaysians, in particular Malay Malaysians?

Umno won only 79 out of 222 parliament seats in the 2008 general election. That includes Kuala Terengganu, which they have now lost, and 13 more seats in Sabah. That means Umno has only 65 parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia. That is less than 30% of the seats, not really enough to form a government without the non-Malay seats.

Maybe Utusan Malaysia was looking at the 20 ‘Malay’ seats from PKR and the 23 (now 24 with Kuala Terengganu) from PAS. If the 44 ‘Malay’ seats from Pakatan Rakyat were merged with Umno’s 78 (assuming the 13 seats in Sabah remain with Umno), the Malays would now control 122 seats in parliament, a majority of only 11 seats considering 50% of 222 is 111. Nevertheless, it will still just be a simple majority and worse than what Barisan Nasional has now, 139 seats.

How does Utusan Malaysia figure that the Malays can run this country with just Malay seats? They can form a federal government no doubt but it will be a government with a simple majority and with lesser seats that what it has now. Anyway, this is a purely academic discussion because, in the first place, the 44 Pakatan Rakyat ‘Malay’ seats will not swing to Umno -- expect for maybe two and we know whom those two are.

In the 2008 general election, Umno garnered only 2,381,725 or 29% of the votes. But not all these votes came from Malays. Umno actually won these seats because many non-Malays voted for it. If based just on Malay votes, Umno would have been demolished just like the other component members of Barisan Nasional. The next time around, Umno is not going to get these non-Malay votes as the four by-elections since 8 March 2008 have proven (unless the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ are still bodoh macam lembu).

PKR, on the other hand, garnered 1,509,080 or 19% of the votes while PAS garnered 1,140,676 or 14%. This means, while Umno won 79 seats and PKR-PAS a total of only 54 seats on 8 March 2008, PKR and PAS combined garnered more than 2.6 million or 33% of the popular votes. That is more than what Umno got.

Figures don’t lie. And the figures show that Umno did not really do as great as they pretend they did. And there would be no way Umno can form the government with just ‘Malay’ seats even if PKR and PAS agreed to merge with them because UMNO, PKR and PAS all won their seats with non-Malay votes as well and not purely on Malay votes. And, in the first place, why should PKR and PAS want to merge with Umno when Umno’s ideology is Malay Supremacy or Ketuanan Melayu and PKR and PAS are both opposed to this?

And that, fellow Malaysians, is the real issue. Umno knows what we know. They are not stupid. In fact, they have plenty of money and can afford to buy the best brains to work for them. And they have been told that their days are numbered unless they can get the Malays to abandon the opposition cause and come and ‘unite’ under Umno.

Yes, that’s right. Umno wants the Malays to unite. But it must be to unite under Umno. If the Malays unite under the opposition -- or the Malays unite with the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’ -- then that is not considered uniting. That is considered berpecah.

Utusan Malaysia is very mischievous and we should not allow them to get away with this. We should go out and buy some copies of Utusan Malaysia and burn them. Can we organise a ‘Burn Utusan Malaysia Day’? Then we should ask all the newspaper vendors and shops to boycott Utusan Malaysia. And if any shop continues to sell Utusan MalaysiaUtusan Malaysia if they want us to end the boycott of their shops.

Malays should start this campaign. This will be a message to Utusan Malaysia and Umno that Malays too do not subscribe to racism and dangerous rabble rousing with racial overtones. Malays must demonstrate to their non-Malay brothers and sisters that the Utusan Malaysia and Umno agenda is not the agenda of the majority of the Malays.

Yes, I know, this article is going to now get me into trouble, again, and the police will soon be raiding my house to confiscate my computer, and I will be called in for interrogation and charged in court, yet again, for sedition. That is my problem. In the meantime, can we show our displeasure at the attempt to make Malays and non-Malays fight by making a bonfire out of Utusan Malaysia? then we should boycott that shop. And those shops must be told that we are boycotting them and why we are boycotting them so that they know and will stop selling

********************************************

Bangkitlah Melayu
Utusan Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR 14 April – Orang Melayu perlu bangkit dan bersatu dalam berhadapan dengan tuntutan kaum lain yang kini dilihat semakin keterlaluan.

Mereka juga perlu sedar dan insaf dengan situasi politik semasa yang menyaksikan pelbagai tuntutan hingga boleh menjejaskan kekuatan politik orang Melayu.

Sehubungan itu, orang Melayu diminta tidak tunduk kepada tuntutan keterlaluan tersebut sebalik bangkit bersatu bagi mempertahankan hak dan kepentingan mereka.

Ahli Parlimen Pasir Mas, Datuk Ibrahim Ali berkata, pemimpin bukan Melayu dalam hal ini perlu sedar yang sesebuah kerajaan itu boleh sahaja untuk tidak ‘melayan’ tuntutan mereka.

Katanya, jumlah kerusi terbanyak di Parlimen adalah milik Melayu dan ia cukup untuk membentuk sebuah kerajaan berasaskan wakil rakyat Melayu semata-mata di negara ini.

Katanya, justeru, dari segi politiknya kerajaan itu sepatutnya memenuhi apa sahaja yang menjadi kehendak Melayu kerana mereka adalah majoriti dan bukan asyik bertolak ansur dengan bukan Melayu.

‘‘Parti Melayu akan kuat bila Melayu dijaga. Jadi UMNO kena fokus orang Melayu. Jadi UMNO tak perlu takut kerana saya lihat bila UMNO itu kuat orang bukan Melayu automatik akan sokong juga Barisan Nasional (BN) macam dulu,’’ katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Beliau mengulas pandangan mengenai situasi politik semasa yang menyaksikan kedudukan politik Melayu seakan terancam dengan tuntutan bukan Melayu pada masa kini.

Ahli Parlimen Sri Gading, Datuk Mohamad Aziz berkata, parti pemerintah ketika ini tidak boleh merasa bimbang untuk membuat apa sahaja keputusan yang dilihat perlu untuk membantu orang Melayu.

“UMNO kalau kita tengok Fasal 3 perlembagaannya ialah memperjuangkan hak Melayu.

“Pada masa sama orang Melayu pun kenalah sedar, asyik bercakaran sesama sendiri, tak untung Melayu sedangkan kita main politik untuk apa kalau tidak untuk membela Melayu.

“Jadi UMNO dan Pas kena duduk, tak kan dalam berbeza tak ada persamaan. Atas persamaan ini kita duduklah semeja dulu,” jelasnya.

Pemimpin UMNO, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim menegaskan, dalam soal wakil Kabinet misalnya, semua pihak harus menerima pilihan Perdana Menteri kerana ia bidang kuasa beliau.

“Saya fikir kalau dilayan, Najib tak akan ada kerja lain.

“Apa pun ini akan mengajar UMNO supaya terus kuat. Bila kuat, orang segan, kalau lemah orang kucar kacirkan,” ujarnya yang juga Ketua UMNO Bahagian Jelebu.

Ketua Pembangkang Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor, Datuk Seri Dr. Mohamad Khir Toyo berkata, hak orang Melayu tidak harus dilepaskan dalam usaha kerajaan memenuhi kehendak masyarakat pelbagai kaum.

“Biar wujud situasi menang-menang. Kita tidak boleh biar sebelah pihak sahaja menang. Kalau kita nak penuhi apa yang mereka nak, jangan pula kita lepaskan apa yang jadi hak kita,’’ katanya.

Timbalan Presiden Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS), Syed Anuar Syed Mohamad berkata, walaupun kerajaan mahu menekankan konsep Satu Malaysia yang menyatukan rakyat pelbagai kaum, langkah juga perlu dilakukan bagi mengembalikan keharmonian di kalangan orang Melayu sendiri.

“Dalam keadaan sekarang ini, orang Melayu berhadapan banyak cabaran semasa dan kita perlu mencari cara untuk memastikan kaum itu tidak berpecah-belah,” katanya.

Katanya, UMNO dan Pas tidak boleh melengah-lengahkan masa lagi untuk bekerjasama dalam memajukan orang Melayu.

Ketua Umum Badan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu (BBPM), Osman Abu Bakar yang sependapat dengan GPMS berkata, cadangan yang baik seperti itu perlu dilaksanakan secepat mungkin.

Katanya, kerjasama antara dua parti politik itu bukan sahaja akan memberi faedah kepada orang Melayu sahaja tetapi juga kaum lain.

Tambahnya, penyatuan UMNO dan Pas perlu menjadi batu loncatan untuk mengeratkan semua rakyat berbilang kaum di negara ini.

“Sememangnya usaha ke arah itu akan mengambil masa tetapi sekurang-kurangnya kita tidak hanya bercakap atau mencadangkan sahaja,’’ tambahnya.

Najib's disappointing start

Tuesday, 14 April 2009 | reported in MalaysiaToday | THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

After appointing a lacklustre cabinet, Malaysia's new prime minister refused to answer questions from the media

This poor beginning raises serious questions about his leadership and calls into question his ability to deliver on the reforms that are critical for Malaysia's future.

Bridget Welsh, Guardian UK

Malaysia's sixth prime minister, Najib Tun Abdul Razak took office earlier this month, replacing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In Najib's first week, he failed key tests that show he can be his own man. He lost important by-elections, failed to address persistent scandals and selected a cabinet of lacklustre appointees that has not evoked confidence. He ran away from the press, declining to address basic questions about his government.

This poor beginning raises serious questions about his leadership and calls into question his ability to deliver on the reforms that are critical for Malaysia's future.

Before Najib took office he managed to win a strong mandate from within his own party's polls last month, as loyalists in his cohort rose to party leadership positions. Najib represents a third generation of leaders from the UMNO party that governs Malaysia. The first generation assumed office in independence, the second after the racial riots of 1969.

Najib's generation came into politics after 1969, and has matured under the shadow of Mahathir Mohamad, known for promoting economic progress while simultaneously closing political space and weakening political institutions. Najib's strong party showing was expected to set the stage for the new premier to introduce reforms and step out of the shadow of his predecessors. Early signs were good, as Najib's speeches highlighted reforms and the day after he took office he released 13 political prisoners held under the draconian Internal Security Act. Malaysians were pleasantly surprised with his first moves.

Skepticism reigned, however. After the five years of promise without delivery under Abdullah Badawi, Malaysians want results, not rhetoric. Many are not willing to give Najib the benefit of the doubt. Part of this is his association with Abdullah's government, as deputy prime minister.

Another reason has to do with the heavy baggage of scandal that cloud Najib's leadership; his alleged connections with corruption in defence contract deals and links to a Mongolian model who was murdered by staff assigned to his security detail have damaged his reputation.

Last week, the two officers charged with blowing up the model were convicted. The government's response has been to ban the use of the model's name – Altantuya Shariibuu – further raising speculation about the crime and suspicions about Najib's involvement. There is no evidence that Najib was involved in the murder, but the lack of credibility that Najib faces – which is only enhanced when he refuses to answer questions – has hurt him.

An even darker shadow is Mahathir Mohamad. The former prime minister who governed Malaysia for 22 years systematically undermined Abdullah while he was in office. He has played a major role in mentoring the new generation of leaders, including Najib himself, and his values that have promoted Malay rights over those of other communities, undermined political institutions, deepened corruption and created a climate of insecurity among the elite that runs deep.

Najib is seen to be under the thumb of Mahathir. While this gives the former premier too much credit, the reality is that Mahathirism remains a force that must be addressed and Mahathir himself remains a political player in his agenda setting role.

These factors played out in three recent by-elections when more than 100,000 voters went to the polls. Najib's coalition lost two of the three contests. The contest it did win – Batang Ai in rural Sarawak – was the result of massive allocations of patronage (RM70 million in promises for 8,006 voters) and included allegations of ballot box tampering. Voters in West Malaysia in two traditionally strong seats for Najib's government, gave the Pakatan opposition coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim larger majorities.

These results were the product of greater opposition cooperation and the inability of the governing coalition to reach across races. Non-Malays voted in large majorities for the opposition. They were joined by large numbers of Malays who rejected the use of Mahathir for Najib's campaign and were tired of the endemic corruption in the system. Najib stayed away from the campaigns, showing that he is not ready to face the public directly. He received a sharp rebuke.

Najib had the opportunity to stem the tide of negative perceptions through his cabinet selections. Here too, he disappointed. The majority appointees are recycled old faces and Najib loyalists. While many of them are among the cleaner alternatives and his choices in finance and trade show promise, the inclusion of Mahathir's son, and reliance on his close allies who are seen to not make the grade do not build confidence.

This cabinet follows in the Mahathir mould, one that appears to focus on the economy and exclude the need for political reform. It does not include individuals who appear willing to address the albatross on Malaysia's economic competitiveness, the pro-Malay affirmative action policy, the New Economic Policy, that has become a vehicle for corruption. After announcing his list, Najib refused to answer questions.

Najib is running away from addressing the factors that will hamper his government. He lacks public support. He is trapped by the system he inherited, the shadows of Abdullah's unmet reform promises and Mahathir's hardline approach. He faces a stronger and more cohesive opposition. Najib's style is more measured, but in these challenging times and in the light of his public credibility issues, the tepid responses have disappointed.

With each passing day that the new prime minister fails key tests, his tenure is shortened. Najib cannot continue to avoid the fact that his political survival is based on winning over the Malaysian public and bolder measures that deliver reform are essential.

It’s payback time

Raja Petra Kamarudin | malaysiaToday - Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Yes, it is payback time -- big time payback time. But it all depends on how far Tun Dr Mahathir wants to take these issues. The knife is in his hands. It is just whether he wants to use that knife to slit Tun Abdullah’s throat.

NO HOLDS BARRED

There are 32 state assembly seats in Terengganu. 24 are under Barisan Nasional and the balance eight under Pakatan Rakyat. Yesterday was the second day of the three-day state assembly sitting but ten of the Barisan Nasional State Assemblypersons have refused to attend the session.

The ten Barisan Nasional State Assemblypersons, led by the previous Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh, said they are not boycotting the state assembly sitting as such. They just refuse to attend the state assembly until the police can guarantee their safety. It seems three of them have received death threats and they allege the death threats, which were sent via SMS, have been traced back to someone in the state government.

The Menteri Besar, however, says that the ten are boycotting the state assembly sitting and that he will not attempt to persuade them to end their boycott. In short, what the Menteri Besar is saying, the ten can go to hell. The Deputy Prime Minister has responded by telling the ten to not jeopardise the state government while the Prime Minister has ordered them to attend the last day of the session today.

PAS said if there is a vote of no confidence against the Menteri Besar they will support it. If that happens, then it will be eight opposition State Assemblypersons, plus ten from Barisan Nasional, to total 18 versus 14. That means Ahmad Said would be ousted from office through a vote of no confidence -- like what should have happened in Perak but did not because of the interference of the Perak Palace.

The ten, however, claim that there was never any intention to table a vote of no confidence against Ahmad Said in the Terengganu State Assembly. The reason they are not attending the assembly -- not to be interpreted as boycotting -- is because of the death threats they received from someone in the state government. The death threats, in turn, are because of the rumours that the ten intend to table a vote of no confidence against the Menteri Besar in the state assembly.

Very confusing isn’t it? Anyway, the long and the short of it is there is a crisis in the Terengganu State Assembly with ten on one side, 14 on another, and eight waiting to vote with the ten in the event there is going to be a vote of no confidence against the Menteri Besar.

Okay, forget about all that for the meantime. The issue that must not be forgotten is that Ahmad Said, head of the gang of 14, was personally appointed by the Sultan, in this case who is also the Agong. Idris Jusoh, on the other hand, head of the gang of ten, was rejected by His Majesty the Agong. Does this mean Umno is going to defy the Agong and oust Ahmad Said in favour of Idris Jusoh and risk triggering a Constitutional Crisis in Terengganu like what happened in Perak?

In the Perak Constitutional Crisis, Nizar Jamaluddin was accused of being a treasonous person (penderhaka) for opposing the wishes of the Sultan of Perak with regards to His Highness’ choice of Menteri Besar. What would we call Idris Jusoh and his band of merry men who also oppose the wishes of the Sultan of Terengganu with regards to His Majesty’s choice of Menteri Besar? Will, again, Umno carry placards labelling the Agong as ‘natang’ if His Majesty refuses to replace Ahmad Said with Idris Jusoh?

Yes, it’s payback time. But the question would be is it payback time for the Sultan of Terengganu or payback time for Umno or payback time for the Sultan of Perak who has just been shown that they don’t really need to agree to the Sultan’s choice of Menteri Besar after all -- like what they are doing in Terengganu?

And why does the Sultan not want Idris Jusoh as the Menteri Besar? The issue is quite simple really. From 2000 to 2008, Idris misused RM7 billion to RM8 billion of Terengganu’s oil revenue. The money did not go to the state. It went to Umno and Idris was the head of Umno Terengganu during that time. The Terengganu Monsoon Cup alone swallowed RM300 million a year over a period of three years. If you include the houses they built and so on, the total cost comes to RM1 billion.

Then there is the RM3 billion that is going to soon pour into the state, which the government promised the state during the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election. Whomsoever is the Menteri Besar can get his hands on that RM3 billion. Can you now understand why there is currently a big fight in Umno Terengganu? It’s all about the money. Repeat, loudly, after me: SHOW ME THE MONEYYYYYYYYYYY!

And talking about payback time, it is also payback time for Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In 2006, Malaysia Today wrote about all those issues that Tun Dr Mahathir is not happy about. Bullshit! That was the response of many readers. They thought I was merely speculating or spinning a whole bunch of lies, or whatever.

As I always like to say: I just love it when I have the last word (or the last laugh) and can tell everyone, “I told you so!” -- even if it has to be three years later.

Top of the list of Tun Dr Mahathir’s pet hates is the cancelling of his Crooked Bridge. Rest assured the Crooked Bridge is going to be back on track and no one will be able to block it this time around -- unless the Tun keels over and dies from a heart attack or something like that. As long as he is still alive and kicking he will kick anyone who dares block his Crooked Bridge.

The next item on Tun Dr Mahathir’s agenda is the setting up of the Presidential Council -- with him as the head and Tun Daim and many others from his previous regime as Council Members. Way back in 2006 or 2007 I said this was on the cards. The Tun, however, personally denied this. In fact, not long after the 8 March 2008 general election, in his speech at the Singgahsana Hotel in Petaling Jaya, Tun Dr Mahathir announced the plan to set up the Presidential Council.

Almost as close to the cancellation of the Crooked Bridge, Tun Dr Mahathir’s next pet hate is the selling off of MV Agusta for Euro 1 or RM4.80. This was a write-off of Euro 70 million or more than RM300 million. Tun Dr Mahathir was furious as hell. He had plans for that company and Tun Abdullah’s decision to sell off the company was a slap in the face and a sort of vote of no confidence against Tun Dr Mahathir.

The reason given for selling off MV Agusta is that if they don’t sell it then the government would have to pump in another RM300 million to keep it afloat, on top of the RM300 million they already paid to buy the company. This is like saying whoever made that decision to buy the company, meaning Tun Dr Mahathir, was stupid and did not know what he was doing.

Now do you know why Tun Dr Mahathir took it very personal? He knew what he was doing and he knew that after paying RM300 million to buy the company they would need to pump in another RM300 million to keep it afloat. That was part of the plan and was no mistake. But RM600 million is considered still cheap and a good buy for what they were getting -- a motorcycle company that makes good motorcycles and has the technology to make small motorcars.

In a way Tun Dr Mahathir had a point. It all depends on how you want to look at it. The Germans spent more than RM1 billion on R&D back in the early 1980s to develop the 190E. R&D is not cheap. It cost billions. So paying RM600 million to own a company that has the ability to do R&D can be considered a good deal if R&D is what you are looking for and if you happen to have RM600 million sitting around doing nothing.

Whoever made that decision to sell the company was, however, looking at it from another angle. Why send good money after bad? You already wasted RM300 million. Why waste another RM300 million? You might as well cut your losses and save the RM300 million that is still in your pocket. And that was why they decided to sell off the company.

To Tun Dr Mahathir, however, the real issue is; who was it sold to? And at that price of Euro 1 or RM4.80 on top of it. And how much money did they make on the deal? This is what Tun Dr Mahathir wants to know and which has never been answered even how many times he posed that question. And this is what irks Tun Dr Mahathir the most. He feels someone did a scam and made big bucks by selling MV Agusta for a mere Euro 1 or RM4.80. And he wants to know who it is so that he can nail this person’s balls to the wall. And he suspects that that person is Khairy Jamaluddin. And he wants to nail Khairy’s balls to the wall plus the balls of all those others who were involved in the scam.

Yes, it is payback time. And it is going to be payback time in a big way. Those who ignored and sidelined Tun Dr Mahathir are going to feel the full weight of his wrath. And this includes Najib.

For a brief moment, Najib distanced himself from Tun Dr Mahathir and pledged undying loyalty to Tun Abdullah. This not only upset Tun Dr Mahathir but hurt him as well. It was not Tun Abdullah but Tun Dr Mahathir who gave Najib his job. If left to Tun Abdullah, Muhyiddin would be the number two instead of Najib. But now Najib regards Tun Abdullah rather than Tun Dr Mahathir as his boss.

That was when Tun Dr Mahathir decided that Najib needed to be taught a lesson and Malaysia Today was more than happy to help teach him that lesson. When Najib realised that his future lay in Tun Dr Mahathir’s hands and not in Tun Abdullah’s, he quickly did a U-turn and managed to save his ass in the nick of time. In fact, Tun Dr Mahathir had already written Najib off and was talking to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the possible successor to Tun Abdullah. Najib was that close to losing the job of Prime Minister.

Watch what is going to happen to Islam Hadhari as well. The government is reviewing Islam Hadhari and will probably abolish it in due course. Tun Dr Mahathir revealed his contempt for Islam Hadhari when he remarked that he does not know what Islam Hadhari means and that he knows only one Islam, the one that Prophet Muhammad taught.

And, last but not least, let’s see if Tun Dr Mahathir launches an investigation into the Oil-for-Food scandal. This is another thing that Tun Dr Mahathir feels is an issue that should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet. The Oil-for-Food scandal has already been reported by the UN Committee and US Congress and the report has been published so you really do not need any fresh investigation. The name of ‘Abdullah Badawi’ is mentioned in those two reports as the beneficiary of the Iraq oil quota and there is even bribery involved.

Yes, it is payback time -- big time payback time. But it all depends on how far Tun Dr Mahathir wants to take these issues. The knife is in his hands. It is just whether he wants to use that knife to slit Tun Abdullah’s throat.

But what I find most interesting about all this is that I can recap what I wrote in 2006 and 2007 and shout, at the top of my voice, with glee: Didn’t I tell you so?

Altantuya murder: 'They will not hang'

‘In exchange for playing their roles, Azilah and Sirul will now be whisked away for cosmetic surgery and be resettled in a friendly country with new identities and guaranteed incomes for life.'

On Altantuya case: 'Guilty ones still free'

Lilian Tan: One of your readers wrote in with a very good question,'Will the Royal Malaysian Police allow the government and the prosecution to hang two of their own while the real culprits behind the murder of this foreign woman roam free?' 

He also went on to express surprise that ‘the IGP and the senior brass of the Royal Malaysian Police have not stepped in to defend or speak up for two of their own.'

Well, how's this for a theory? Supposing the government (read IGP, Attorney-General etc) has struck a deal with Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar to take the fall in this ‘sandiwara'. 

In exchange for playing their roles, they will now be whisked away to the US for serious cosmetic surgery to alter their faces (why not? Head honchos of South American drug cartels do it routinely) and be resettled in a friendly neighboring Asean country like Thailand with new identities and guaranteed incomes for life. 

Incidentally, it has never been explained why the two men have always shown up outside court under such wraps. 

Normally, defendants are only allowed to pull their shirts over their heads or keep their heads down, but it looks like their fellow policemen guarding them are also under orders to protect their anonymity. 

This would certainly make it easier to whisk these two men out of the country without arousing any suspicion.

In any case, two men will still die by hanging to complete the ‘sandiwara' and appease Malaysians that ‘justice has been served'. 

And in most likelihood, these two wretches will be some poor illegal foreign nationals picked up by the police whom none will miss or make a fuss about. 

Possible? Never underestimate how ‘sophisticated' or ‘corrupt' the Malaysian law and justice systems have become. 

R Partiban: Let me tell you the actual plan. Until today, both these murderers have not shown their faces to the public. The police are protecting they faces for what? 

I still do not understand. The only reason for them to do this is so that they can hang some other drug addicts in the prison and let these two to walk free. 

They will be given new identities and passports and a very, very big sum of money to settle down in overseas.

Conspiracy Theory: Why didn't these two policemen have their photos printed by the newspapers? 

Their faces were always well-covered. Rumour has it, it has all been ‘arranged'.

They will ‘die' and be given a new identity (new name, new IC) after they are ‘hanged'. Isn't this legal under a Witness Protection Act?

They scared that people recognise them with their new identity, so that's why they don't show their faces in public. 

I dare the newspapers to publish their photos officially. Even then, maybe they will be sent to do plastic surgery so that people will not to recognise them.

John Johnson: We had the case of Anwar Ibrahim on his sodomy charge. All the evidence was taken from god knows where and witnesses were called from everywhere just to ensure the prosecution will have the necessary ammunition to nail Anwar. 

Here we have two officers of the law who don't even know this woman. Why on earth would they want to kill her?

To blow up someone with C4 explosives is not an easy thing to do. Clearance must be obtained for the use of the explosives. Who gave this permission? 

The justice system is a sham and it is embarrassing to witness a kangaroo court in action. 

Two innocent people are to be put to death (they will probably ship these two somewhere else and, of course, pay them for their troubles and give them new identities).

Look at Pakistan where ‘people power' changed the legal system. We should follow their examples and put righteous judges and lawyers to uphold our justice system to an impeccable level.

Ravindran Mailvaganam: I am not a cynic but I am convinced that Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar will never be hanged. 

Key witnesses were never called by either the defence or the prosecution to testify and during the trial both men were brought to the court with their faces covered. 

If this is not another ‘sandiwara' staged to assuage the feelings of the public then I will eat my hat.

Remember that during the Mahathir administration, Mokthar Hashim who was convicted on a first degree murder charge - he had murdered an assembly person - was granted a free pardon by the Agong. 

In 2006, the federal court upheld the death sentence passed on Kenneth Lee Fook Mun by the appeals court for the murder of accountant Lee Good Yew in 2000.

Lee was then granted a pardon by the Agong in January, 2008.

Millionth Citizen: It is so very sad to see how the government is manipulating the rakyat. 

I am no wizard or god. It is a forgone conclusion that the two found guilty for murder and now sent to the gallows will have their sentence changed to manslaughter on appeal. 

After all, the court did not find a reason for them to kill the Mongolian woman. In law there is no ‘mens rea'. 

What is so troubling is the trend of how things are happening in the country. The judiciary, executive and the police - looks likes they are all in cahoots. God help us.

MY MESSAGE TO ROYALTY: UBAH ATAU REBAH

Monday, 13 April 2009 | Raja Petra Kamarudin

When I die I want to be cremated and for my ashes to be scattered into the sea. There will be no sign that I ever existed or a ‘monument’ that I had lived. I shall revert to dust from where I had come. This is my last will and testament.

NO HOLDS BARRED

No, I did not create that heading, ubah atau rebah. I ‘stole’ it. Many of you who followed the new Prime Minister’s ‘maiden’ speech will probably know I stole it from there. I may not agree with the new Prime Minister on many things. But I will certainly agree that Umno needs to ubah (change) or else rebah (fall). And that is the same message I want to send to the many Royal Families, in particular the nine Palaces or Royal Households of Malaysia.

But this message is not new. This message was already delivered to the Royal Households more than 20 years ago at the height of the Constitutional Crisis. Although the informal meeting was not a full quorum but merely those from Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Terengganu and Selangor, nevertheless, the five out of nine Royal Households agreed that the Monarchy was under threat and that Malaysia was in danger of being turned into a Republic if nothing were done to arrest the situation.

Another thing the five Royal Households agreed was that the predicament the Monarchy was facing at that time was the Rulers’ own doing. The Rulers are the Monarchy’s worst enemies. Only the Monarchy can save itself. It can’t expect the rakyat to come to its defence. The rakyat, in fact, was anti-Monarchy, the result of a very successful and intensive mainstream media campaign engineered by Umno to turn the rakyat against the Monarchy.

I was tasked with the job of preparing the ‘working paper’ to present to the five Royal Households. And since it was my paper, I was told I should present it, which I did. At the end of the presentation, not a single of the five expressed any disagreement with what I had presented. They fully agreed and were of one mind that the Monarchy’s days may in fact be numbered.

I was told to take back all the working papers and destroy them. No one outside that room was to know that we held our informal ‘Rulers’ Conference’ and about what was discussed and agreed. We all went home with only one thing in mind. The Rulers and all the members of the many Royal Families must, from that day on, behave itself. That would be the only way to save the Monarchy and prevent the formation of the Republic of Malaysia.

That was more than 20 years ago. And for more than 20 years I have remained silent and never revealed how the Monarchy panicked when it saw its future very dim indeed. I never revealed the story of how we met at a secret location more than 20 years ago to explore how we could save the Monarchy; until now, that is. 

But the story has to now be told. And it has to be told because the Rulers are beginning to forget the ‘agreement’ we made more than 20 years ago when it came under attack from Umno and when the Monarchy faced the danger of being abolished.

There are some within the Selangor and Perak Royal Families who feel I do not have that right or authority to tegur or reprimand the Rulers or the members of the Royal Family. I would beg to differ (patek mohon durhaka). I certainly have that right. In fact, I have earned that right. When we met more than 20 years ago it is because we love the Monarchy. We wanted to save the Monarchy -- but more to save it from itself rather than from Umno, which was ruthlessly attacking the Rulers.

Would we have bothered, more than 20 years ago, to rally to the Monarchy’s side if we did not love the Monarchy? After all, the predicament it was facing was the result of its own actions. Sure, Umno was attacking the Rulers. But it was able to attack the Rulers only because they had opened themselves to attack. If the Rulers had behaved, there would have been nothing Umno could have used against them.

This was the message to the five Royal Households and it was a message that was clearly understood and readily accepted. And they agreed that we must watch the Rulers closely. And if any Ruler was to step out of line, then we are to tegur that Ruler so that he returns to the straight and narrow and ceases putting the entire Monarchy in the line of fire.

In short, if one buffalo is muddy, then the entire herd becomes muddy as well, as the Malay proverb goes. One Ruler’s transgression puts the entire Monarchy at risk. So that one Ruler needs to be taken to task for the sake of all the Rulers.

I do not really bother about the misdemeanours of the Rulers or members of the Royal Families. I am not bothered about their gambling, drinking, frolicking with loose women, and whatever other transgressions. That is their business, not mine. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. But when it involves the wishes of the rakyat, then I have to step in. Matters that involve the rakyat become my business. And this is because the fate and future of the Monarchy, and whether Malaysia becomes a Republic or not, lies in the hands of the rakyat.

Okay, I did not say I am a noble person. I am not doing this for the sake of the rakyat. I do not have the interest of the rakyat at heart. I am only doing this to guarantee the continuation of the Monarchy and to ensure that no one starts harbouring thoughts of turning Malaysia into a Republic. For that I am not sincere in my actions and, in a sense, I have a hidden agenda or, as the Malays would say, udang sebalik batu.

Nevertheless, whatever I do, I do in the service of the Crown. But, now, I am being branded a treasonous person, a traitor (penderhaka), for speaking out against the Sultan of Perak. And the party branding me a treasonous person is none other than the Selangor Royal Family to which I belong.

I am loyal to the Monarchy. I am not the treasonous person or traitor that my family considers me to be. But I also have my pride and dignity. I will never apologise, relent, or go down on my knees to beg for forgiveness. I did no wrong. What I did was for the good of the Monarchy. Yes, I took the side of the rakyat against the Perak Palace in the Nizar versus Zambry matter. But I believed that the rakyat was right while the palace was wrong. Under those circumstances how could I have done otherwise?

My family expects me to take the side of the Palace in the Perak Constitutional Crisis. I am a member of the Selangor Royal Family so I must think and act like a Royalist. I must not bring shame to the family. A Royalist stands behind the Rulers even if the Rulers may be wrong. And since I refuse to do that then I am to be classified an outcast.

I accept the judgement that I am treasonous. I will not dispute this or appeal against it. And they need not even punish me for my ‘crime’. As a loyal subject of the Rulers I will accept, without a whimper, my punishment for displeasing the Palace. And the punishment will be banishment from the State of Selangor and persona non grata from the State of Perak until the day I die. This has been the traditional punishment for all those members of the Royal Family before me who have displeased the Palace.

In case many of you are not aware, my grandfather, Sultan Musa Ghiatuddin Riayat Shah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ala'eddin Suleiman Shah, was also banished from the State of Selangor back in 1945 for being ‘too independent’. The British exiled him to the Cocos Islands, a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean, and appointed his younger brother, Tengku Hisamuddin Alam Shah, the son of Sultan Ala'eddin Suleiman Shah’s second wife, as the Sultan of Selangor. 

Sultan Musa actually had another brother, Tengku Badar, from the same mother, who was the Tengku Ampuan Selangor. But he too was by-passed in favour of Tengku Alam Shah, his half-brother, whose mother was not the Tengku Ampuan Selangor but Cik Hasnah binti Pelong, a ‘commoner’. Musa was allowed back into Selangor in 1955 just a few months before he died. 

Selangor history does not officially acknowledge the existence of Sultan Musa who was the Sultan of Selangor from 1942 to 1945 and was the Seventh Sultan. The present Sultan, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, is listed as the Ninth Sultan when he is actually the Eleventh. That is because Sultan Alam Shah was both the Sixth and Eight Sultan with Sultan Musa sandwiched in between as the Seventh.

I suppose, if even Sultan Musa can be banished from Selangor and sent into exile in the Cocos Islands, who am I to expect less than that? I am not even in the Royal Council let alone close to the Throne.

I am a proud person, too proud to beg for clemency. Hidung tak mancung, pipi tersorong sorong, as the Malays would say. That is just not me. Those who know me will know that that is not me. I know when I am not wanted. If I am not wanted then I move on. And it does not concern me one bit to know I am not wanted. Let it be known that Raja Petra the son of Raja Kamarudin never begged and that he stubbornly held his head up high with pride and dignity.

I have always said I want to be buried in the Royal Mausoleum in Kelang when I die. This is where my father, uncles, aunties, grandfathers and grandmothers are also buried. I was told I would be denied permission to be buried there. I would instead have to be buried in Sungai Buloh, not far from where I live, and where the unidentified victims of ‘May 13’ are also buried.

I leave this as my last will and testament. Since I shall not be buried in the Royal Mausoleum in Kelang beside my family, then I refuse to be buried at all. When I die I want to be cremated and for my ashes to be scattered into the sea. There will be no sign that I ever existed or a ‘monument’ that I had lived. I shall revert to dust from where I had come. This is my last will and testament.