Hidden Dramas Hours Before Najib’s Swearing-in?

Monday, 13 April 2009 | Kim Quek - MalaysiaToday - THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Looking at these two events, it is entirely possible that the King could have nodded his head to Abdullah’s proposed transfer of power to Najib early in the morning of April 1, but after deliberation over the appeal by the 81 MPs, the King could have second thoughts about hurrying through the swearing-in the next morning.

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

Unusual occurrences on the day before Najib Razak’s swearing-in as prime minister have raised questions on the royal consent to his appointment. From the time Najib left the palace ground at 12.15 hrs on April 2, after an audience with the King, the nation was kept in darkness for seven hours as to whether the King had given his consent to Najib’s premiership.

It was not until 19.38 hrs that the first newsbreak came from Bernama stating that Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan announced that the King had given his consent to Najib’s appointment and that Najib would swear-in at 10.00 hrs the next day – which was the time previously circulated by the government. Was it not most extraordinary that the nation was kept in suspense for so many hours when the ceremony was only hours away? What was the reason for this big delay in announcement? Was there any problem with the royal consent?

That something was amiss was apparent in the morning of April 2 when then Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi went alone to meet the King, contradicting Najib’s disclosure on the preceding day (April 1) that he was invited by Abdullah to accompany the latter to meet the King for the royal consent to Abdullah’s resignation and Najib’s appointment.

Abdullah arrived at the palace at 10.00 hrs for an audience with the King to express his intention to relinquish his premiership. After an hour-long meeting with the King, he uttered only these words to the official media allowed into the palace: “It’s a matter for Tuanku to decide”. He drove through the main gate at 11.00 hrs without talking to some 70 reporters gathered there.

Minutes later, Najib’s official car and police escort drove past the palace and arrived at Abdullah’s residence at Jalan Bellamy (located near the palace), where the two leaders met for 10 minutes.

Najib, who was called to the palace, arrived at 11.30 hrs to have an audience with the King. He left through the main gate at 12.15 hrs and waved to the anxiously waiting reporters through his open window and said “Thank you”, without stopping to talk to them.

STRANGE SILENCE

Thereafter, complete silence – without a word from either the palace or the government on the outcome of the morning’s royal audience given to these two leaders, until Bernama’s statement in the evening.

Observing the above events, we can deduce that

• It must have been at the King’s request that Abdullah went to see the King alone – without Najib. Obviously, the King wanted to talk to Abdullah privately, and the hour long audience indicated that much was discussed about the proposed transfer of power.
  

• When Abdullah left the palace at 11.00 hrs, he gave the impression that the King had yet to decide on his proposed resignation and perhaps also his recommendation of Najib to take over the premiership.
  

• The lack of positive indications from both leaders after their royal audience and the long silence thereafter indicated that royal consent was unlikely to have been given during the audience. Otherwise, the government would have wasted no time to announce such consent, judging from its impatience to fix the swearing-in time and date, as reflected in several such premature announcements previously.
  

• Then, when was royal consent given, if at all it was given? What transpired between 12.15 hrs (when Najib left the palace) and 19.38 hrs (when Bernama reported the royal consent) on April 2?
  

For a better understanding of what actually transpired on April 2, we have to take note of two important events that took place on April 1.

One, Chief Secretary Sidek Hassan announced through Bernama that before the Cabinet meeting in the morning, Abdullah had an audience with the King, whereby the King consented to Najib swearing-in as prime minister at 10.00 hrs on April 3 and the King also agreed to grant an audience to both leaders at 10.00 hrs the next day, April 2, for this proposed power transfer. However, at 19.54 hrs, Bernama issued another statement saying the Chief Secretary had said his earlier announcement on the swearing-in was premature, and asked for the story to be ignored.

Two, Pakatan Rakyat handed to the King a letter by all its 81 members of parliament, appealing to the King to delay the appointment of Najib as prime minister until many allegations against him were cleared.

These included in particular the shocking scandals of the murder of the Mongolian woman and commissions in the purchase of Scorpene submarines, which of late had been well publicized in news media all over the world. The letter stated that premiership being the nation’s top job, it ought to be held by some one who was clean and of unquestionable integrity. It was therefore appropriate that His Majesty delay the appointment till all allegations were investigated by an independent commission and Najib’s name cleared.

ROYAL SECOND THOUGHTS?

Looking at these two events, it is entirely possible that the King could have nodded his head to Abdullah’s proposed transfer of power to Najib early in the morning of April 1, but after deliberation over the appeal by the 81 MPs, the King could have second thoughts about hurrying through the swearing-in the next morning. Hence the Chief Secretary’s late statement to retract his earlier announcement on April 1, and the separate audience – instead of joint audience – to Abdullah and Najib the next morning.

As a conscientious constitutional monarch who takes his role as guardian of the constitution and the country at heart, it is also possible that Tuanku Mizan could be seriously considering a delay to the power transfer to clear matters up to protect vital national interests. But his hands appeared to have been forced by the drummed-up publicity for the imminent swearing-in only hours away via premature issue of invitation cards and a questionable last-minute news release by Bernama, both of these are deemed inappropriate.

Since it is the King who accepts the Prime Minister’s resignation, and since it is also his prerogative to appoint the new Prime Minister, shouldn’t it be the palace that makes the announcement of the King’s decision? Shouldn’t it also be the palace that issues the invitations – instead of the prime minister’s department – for the ceremony at the palace for the handing over of the appointment letter to the new Prime Minister?

Is it not an act of the highest disrespect to the King for the government to issue invitations for the swearing-in of Najib when the King had not even granted an audience to the incumbent Prime Minister to discuss about his proposed resignation? Or is the government taking the institution of monarchy as a mere rubber stamp?

QUESTIONABLE LEGITIMACY

We can well understand Najib and UMNO’s desperation to ascend the premiership in great urgency, since he has already been hyped as the savior of a sinking ship, and any hindrance to such ascendancy could spell disaster, nevertheless, such usurping of the authority and status of the monarch is an affront on our Constitution and serves to further undermine constitutional rule in this country under Barisan Nasional rule. It also gives rise to questions about the legitimacy of the new premiership.

It is an ominous start for Najib as Prime Minister, having just added another baggage to the many uncleared baggages Najib is carrying over to his premiership.

Innocent until proven guilty? Or the other way around?

Saturday, 11 April 2009 | Raja Petra Kamarudin - malaysiaToday | THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

We can’t apply one standard for our own people and another for the other side. We must have just one standard that applies to all, friends and foes alike. And if we are prepared to overlook allegations and suspicions about our own people, then we must do the same for the other side, Najib included.

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

Awhile back, I said, Parti Keadilan Rakyat needs to evaluate the manner in which it chooses its candidates in the elections. This was soon after two of its members from Perak declared that they are now ‘independents’ but will vote with Barisan Nasional. You just can’t be ‘independent’ and at the same time pledge undivided loyalty to a certain political party.

An independent, in the true sense of the word, will not vote along party lines but based on issues. You first look at the issue and then vote accordingly, depending on what is the best for the people who voted for you and put you into office. Unfortunately, since the party ‘allowed’ you to contest that seat which you won, even though it were the voters who gave you the job, you have to demonstrate loyalty to your party and not to the voters. You therefore vote along party lines even if that may not be quite in the interest of the voters.

In reality, that is how it works. The voters come second. The party comes first.

That, basically, is what is wrong with the system. And I am proposing that, come the next general election, the many civil society movements -- including the Blogging community, etc. -- offer candidates to the various parties contesting the elections. This will solve two problems. First would be we would be addressing the problem faced by parties such as Parti Keadilan Rakyat in finding and fielding quality candidates. Second would be to ensure that at least a percentage of the candidates are independents who will not automatically and blindly vote along party lines even when what is being proposed sucks.

And that brings us to the issue of the only ‘independent’ candidate from Pakatan Rakyat, Ibrahim Ali.

Ibrahim Ali is a case in point. Yes, he was or is an independent candidate. But at the same time he is a Malay nationalist who believes in the New Economic Policy and Ketuanan Melayu and Bahasa Malaysia as being the supreme language of this land and whatnot. This spelled doom from the word ‘go’ and Pakatan Rakyat should have smelled trouble from Day One.

The seat that Ibrahim Ali contested is a PAS seat. Ibrahim Ali has or had a very strong relationship with PAS, in particular with Tok Guru Nik Aziz. In short, Ibrahim Ali conned the PAS people and created the impression that he had reformed and had now seen the light and wants to come back to the true path and all the crap.

Ibrahim Ali just used PAS to get a seat. In the by-election before that, Ibrahim Ali contested the state seat in that same parliamentary constituency in a three-corner fight and not only lost but lost his deposit as well. That was how badly he lost. So, this time around, he wanted to ensure that there would not, again, be a three-corner fight and that he would not, again, lose his deposit. He therefore offered himself to PAS and PAS was very happy to have him.

But we must remember, Ibrahim Ali was from the group that left Umno to set up Semangat 46 together with Rais Yatim and many others. And this was the group that swore in the name of God they would never return to Umno even if they died and were reborn and that when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dies they are going to urinate on his grave.

Today, all these people are back in Umno and holding positions in the party. Ibrahim Ali wants to first see what the ‘offer’ from Umno is before he considers whether to return to Umno or not. The offer must of course include a Cabinet post. Is Ibrahim Ali a turncoat? If from his point of view, no! And this is because he is not a PAS member or PAS candidate but merely an independent candidate who contested a PAS seat.

I would not have allowed Ibrahim Ali to contest that seat if it was left up to me to decide. And the reason is simple. Ibrahim Ali has a very unstable and inconsistent track record. I would therefore place him way at the top of my list of ‘suspects’. In short, I would pronounce him guilty until proven innocent.

I know this goes against the very grain of justice. One should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Yes, that would be so if that were in a court of law involving a criminal case. But when it involves public office, and involves public funds putting you and keeping you in office, then we have to use the basis of guilty until proven innocent.

Ibrahim Ali has too many flip-flops to his name. We must assume that he is still a flip-flop and has not changed his spots. That may not be fair to Ibrahim Ali, I agree. But what is more important is what is fair to the 50,000 or 100,000 constituents he should be serving. One man has to be sacrificed for the good of 50,000 or 100,000 people who will suffer if he flip-flops, yet again, like he appears to be doing now.

Pakatan Rakyat, in particular Parti Keadilan Rakyat, seems to have a lot of problems with the people it has selected as candidates in the election. Perak fell because two of its representatives were caught with their pants down and had no choice but to go join Umno or else go to jail instead. The RM5 million they received helped as well.

Penang is a similar situation. It’s former Deputy Chief Minister, Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, was also caught with his pants down and was removed from office. Will he now also go join Umno and collect RM5 million on the way to avoid going to jail? Will we therefore be faced with yet another by-election in Penang soon?

No, we can’t go on like this. How many more by-elections are we going to face just because someone from Parti Keadilan Rakyat has been caught with his or her pants down? There are many others in Pakatan Rakyat, in particular from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, who are prominent on my list of suspects. Anwar Ibrahim and many within the top party leadership also know who they are. They all have to go even if they merajuk (sulk) and resign from the party. There are no two ways about it.

Eli Wong is another case in point, although a most unfortunate case at that. Personally, I like Eli and consider her my friend. In fact, the day the crisis exploded I phoned her and told her not to resign but to stay and fight. But that is my personal view, of course. In the interest of the party and Pakatan Rakyat she has no choice but to go. And allowing her to continue as an EXCO Member in the Selangor State Government is just not on.

We crucified Abdullah Ahmad Badawi because of the US and UN reports alleging that he was involved in the Oil-for-Food scandal. He was alleged to have misused his position to assist his sister-in-law in getting an oil quota from Iraq. It was a mere allegation that surfaced in the US and UN reports. Abdullah was never arrested, charged, put on trial, or found guilty. But the allegation was good enough for us to crucify Abdullah Badawi. Even Tun Dr Mahathir demanded his resignation based on this yet unproven allegation.

That is the fate of those in public office. Normally, you are innocent until proven guilty. But for those in public office, you are guilty until proven innocent. And if we can’t prove your innocence then we have to assume you are guilty.

And is this not the same standards we apply for Najib? Malaysians are demanding that Najib be investigated and cleared of the allegation that he may be involved in Altantuya’s murder. It is not that there is evidence he is. It is that there is no evidence he is not. Those are the standards we apply for Najib, as we did for Abdullah in the Oil-for-Food scandal when we demanded his resignation.

It is most unfortunate that Eli has been dragged through the mud in this manner. But now that she has, whether she is an innocent victim of a conspiracy or not, we have to eliminate any doubts by retiring her. That is the only option open. Once we demonstrate to Umno and the people how we handle cases of this manner, we shall then command the moral high ground and can demand that they prove Najib innocent of murder or else we must assume he is guilty and should therefore leave office.

We can’t apply one standard for our own people and another for the other side. We must have just one standard that applies to all, friends and foes alike. And if we are prepared to overlook allegations and suspicions about our own people, then we must do the same for the other side, Najib included.

Najib has not been proven guilty. It is just that he has not been proven innocent. And since one is innocent until proven guilty then we must assume he is innocent and immediately drop all talk about Najib and Altantuya. Is this what we want to do? Personally, no! A person in public office needs to pass higher standards than innocent until proven guilty. And this includes Eli and Fairus and all those others who appear to have blemishes to their name.

That is the price that comes with public office. And if you can’t afford to pay that price then don’t hold public office. And I personally and openly apologise to Eli and trust that she knows my heart is with her but I shall not allow my fondness for her to cloud my judgment.

Najib is now the Caliph

Friday, 10 April 2009 | Raja Petra Kamarudin | NO HOLDS BARRED

When Prophet Muhammad died, the Medina community was embroiled in a heated debate as to who should succeed him as the community leader. For three days they argued and finally it was agreed that Abu Bakar would be the successor. The Arabic word for successor is caliph. Abu Bakar was now the new Caliph of the Medina community, although there were some from amongst the community who did not agree it should have been him.

One member of the community questioned Abu Bakar whether he should be the Caliph. “How would we know you would be a just community leader?” asked this man. Abu Bakar took out his sword and placed it on the floor in front of him. If I were to deviate from the true path and commit an unjust act, then take this sword and cut off my head, said Abu Bakar.

That was the standard by which a community leader should rule. He should be beheaded, and by his own sword, if he does not rule in a just manner. In those days communities were small. Today, communities are larger and a country like Malaysia no longer has a small committee of a dozen or so community leaders entrusted with the task of choosing a successor from amongst them. The community leader is chosen through an election system and, in Malaysia, that community leader is called a prime minister.

Nevertheless, whether he is called a caliph, a prime minister, a chairman, a secretary-general, a president, or whatever, the concept remains the same. That community leader is chosen, by whatever means, by the community from amongst the community, and he must rule by certain standards or else face punishment from the community.

Today, Malaysia has a new successor, a new Caliph, and that successor is called Najib Razak. And he must rule this community called Malaysia by the same standards set by the first successor to Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakar.

Najib is not King. Neither is he Emperor. He is a mere successor, successor to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. And he must rule this community called Malaysia as any successor or caliph since the time of Abu Bakar should.

A religious person would certainly believe, and would never dare deny, that a community leader, by whatever name you wish to call him or her, is chosen by God. God decides everything. In Islam this belief is even stronger. Innalillah hainaillahi raajiun. From God we came, and to God we shall return.

What does this mean? It means, basically, that we are God’s creation and God decides what happens to us. That is how the Muslim mind works. Therefore, whether we become the community leader or not would be determined by God and would be part of God’s grand design. To think otherwise would be considered blasphemous because we would be suggesting that we and not God has the power to determine what becomes of us.

The responsibility of the community leader is a very heavy responsibility indeed. Those who know their religion would never want to carry that responsibility. The job of a community leader is not about glamour. It is not about the excitement of power. It is about representing God and in ensuring that you fulfil the amanah from God. Amanah means trust. And God has amanah or trusted you to lead the community in a just manner. You, in short, are God’s trustee.

Would you dare become God’s trustee? Are you so sure you would never violate that trust and commit breach of trust? Would you be aware you are committing breach of trust even as you are committing breach of trust? In the first place, do you even know what constitutes breach of trust?

Thus far, all the community leaders since 1957 have demonstrated that the concept totally escapes them. They regard the position of community leader as a right. It is not a right. It is a privilege. And with this privilege comes attached the heavy responsibility of fulfilling the task of God’s trustee.

I would never in a million years want to undertake the task of community leader even for all the gold in Malaysia. That same gold will be used as fuel to burn me in hell when my time comes to meet my Maker. Why do they covet so much that job of prime minister? Don’t they know there will hardly be any community leader who will not face punishment in the afterlife?

I don’t know whether I can escape all my own sins when I face trial in God’s court. I will need to balance my books very carefully to ensure that my credits outweigh my debits. Even then I am not confident I will have a black bottom line. I suspect my bottom line will be red and I will be made to account for my sins and face a most terrible punishment for the shortfall of credits to offset my debits. And you want me to add to those already excess debits the sins of this nation? Why in heaven’s name would I want to do that?

The job of the leader of the community is not a blessing. It is a curse, a most terrible curse. If you are not yet sure whether you are destined for hell, the liability that you suffer for taking up the job of community leader will help assure you that you are certainly going to hell.

No, keep the job of caliph, president, prime minister, chairman, or whatever. I would never want that job. I have enough problems as it is. I do not need to tie an albatross around my neck and sink into the lowest pit of hell just so that people can idolise me and polish my apple and call me YAB for a couple of years.

You must be really ignorant about religion, or just downright stupid, to covet that job of community leader. If you just knew the curse that comes with the job you would never accept that responsibility for all the gold in the land. And here we have people falling over each other and scheming and plotting to outdo each other just so that they could become the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

May God have mercy on their soul. They would need it because they have just made a pact with the devil and the devil now owns their soul.

Azilah appeals against conviction in Altantuya murder

SHAH ALAM, April 10 - Bernama

Chief Insp Azilah Hadri who was sentenced to death yesterday for the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu filed his appeal today.

The notice of appeal against conviction and sentence was filed by his counsel, J. Kuldeep Kumar.

Azilah, 33, and another policeman, Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 37, were found guilty by the High Court here of murdering Altantuya in Mukim Bukit Raja here between 10am on Oct 19, 2006, and 1am the following day.

Meanwhile, Sirul Azhar's counsel, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, told reporters that he would file his client's appeal on Monday. Azilah and Sirul Azhar were jointly tried with political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, 48, who was charged with abetting them but Abdul Razak was acquitted and discharged on Oct 31 last year without his defence being called.

The case of the virgin prostitute

Raja Petra Kamarudin - malaysiaToday - NO HOLDS BARRED | Friday, 10 April 2009

Syed Hamid: Review must focus on police’s power to detain

The review of the Internal Security Act (ISA) should include studies on the police’s power to detain suspects, and the creation of special officers to handle such cases, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar. Under the Act, police can detain a suspect for 60 days for investigation before the Home Minister, who has the power to extend the detention, issues an order to extend the period.

“To challenge this is difficult. Maybe this thing can be studied, or referred to court,” he said yesterday. He said it was also important to review the interpretation of national security and public order, two crucial elements that have always been the basis of the detention of individuals under the ISA.

He said that when the Government conducts a review on the ISA, it also needed to review two other preventive laws: the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act and the Emergency Ordinance.

On a suggestion that the name of the Act be changed, Syed Hamid said it would not end people’s anxiety over the Act. “If the body remains the same, it will not bring effects. Most importantly, what the people fear and are unhappy and concerned about are provisions that enable us to take action without being questioned in court,” he said.

Syed Hamid said what was most important was not the question of abolishing the ISA but of concerns over abuse by the police or minister. “We have to free these processes but it is not the intention and objective of the Government to abolish the ISA,” he said.

He added that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s announcement to review the ISA in his maiden speech as Prime Minister gave the people an opportunity to discuss the issue openly to enable the Government to find the best way and approach, in line with the people’s aspirations.

Syed Hamid said the Government’s sincerity to review the controversial Act should not be disputed. “If it becomes an empty promise, we will be gravely penalised in the next election,” he said.

Syed Hamid said he also saw the Restricted Residence Act as obsolete and which needed to be repealed. On the Printing Presses and Publications Act, he said the Government also needed to determine if it was still relevant.

On another matter, he said the police must take into consideration all aspects before implementing any restructuring, including the creation of two more Deputy Inspectors-General of Police. During the 202nd Police Day celebration, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had said the force would be restructured, including adding two more Deputy Inspectors-General and the formation of six new departments. – Bernama

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

In the old days, if you failed your form three or LCE, you could become a police constable. A form five ‘dropout’ could become a trainee inspector and thereafter go on to become an inspector. Nowadays, the police are better educated than that. Many are university graduates and even have a law degree. But the policemen of the old days were respected, despite their lower education. Today, the police officers are despised, even how highly educated they may be. They no longer command the respect of the public.

What happened to change the public perception of the policeman? What transformed respect for the police officer into contempt? I can go into an extremely long cheong hei thesis to explain this and would probably qualify for a doctorate if I do. But much of what I would want to say has already been said before and I would merely be flogging a dead horse with my ‘thesis’. Should I waste everybody’s time by repeating what has already been argued at great length?

The long and the short of it is the public no longer trusts the police force. As what one ex-Deputy IGP told me, if they wanted to clean up the police force and rid it of corruption, 95% of the police force would have to be sacked. How do you sack 95% of the police force and still remain effective?

It delights as well as disgusts me to wake up in the morning and read the news that a certain police officer has just been arrested and charged for corruption. It delights me because this was the very same officer who raided my house, confiscated all my papers and computers, and accused me of breaking the law by writing an article that ‘smeared the name of our revered political leaders’. It disgusts me because the corrupt act of this police officer is the profile of 95% of our police force.

The majority of our police personnel are Malays. In Malaysia, Malays equates to Islam. And Islam is viewed as a very extreme religion, absolutely intolerant of sin and harsh in its punishment of those who commit sin. But the majority of these Malay-Muslim police officers are corrupt to the core. How does one reconcile the action of these police officers with the religion they profess?

Can you now understand why Islam is viewed as a most hypocritical religion? Actually, it is not the religion but the people who profess the religion who are hypocrites. But the religion is invariably and most unfortunately judged on the basis of the actions of those who practice it. And the failure of those who profess and practice the religion called Islam is seen as the failure of the religion itself. That is the most unfortunate truth and something we can never escape from.

Adding two more Deputy Inspectors-General and forming six new departments, as what the IGP is planning to do, will not improve the image or performance of the police force. More posts and more departments just mean more wrongdoing. Quantity is not the issue and is not what is needed. What is lacking is the quality of the people who join the police force.

Islam appears to have failed. It has failed to cultivate good people. The country can pass hundreds of laws and amend the Federal Constitution every Parliament sitting making it a crime for Muslims to leave Islam to become followers of other religions. They can make it an un-amendable part of the Constitution that every Malaysian born Malay is automatically a Muslim and no court in the land can reverse this. But Malays can’t be forced by legislation to become good Muslims. This, the powers-that-be can’t seem to appreciate.

Malays, meaning Muslims, must first comprehend that there is no such thing as detention without trial. Islam just does not allow for this. And as long as they continue to argue that Malaysia still needs the Internal Security Act, then they have deviated from Islam and have violated Islamic teachings. You just can’t sing about Islam and in the same breath sing about things that violate Islam. It is like claiming you are a virgin prostitute. A virgin can’t possibly be a prostitute and a prostitute can’t be a virgin if she is a prostitute.

We do not need the Internal Security Act to be reformed. It is like saying we shall now slaughter pigs and sell the meat as halal pork. Pork can never be halal even if the pigs are slaughtered by Muslims wearing white skullcaps who utter bismillah as the knife touches the jugular vein. Pork is haram, full stop, in spite of reforming the way the pig is slaughtered. And so will the Internal Security Act be haram in the eyes of Islam in spite of amending the manner and circumstances in how a police officer can detain a Malaysian without trial.

As long as Muslims make a mockery of Islam and show no respect to the teachings of Islam, that will be how long non-Muslims will look down on Islam and consider the religion a total joke. And this is not the fault of the non-Muslims. This is the fault of the Muslims. When you run naked on the street and have sexual intercourse on a park bench, can you fault the passer-by for thinking you may be not quite right in the brain?

Cops to hang for Altantuya murder

SHAH ALAM, April 9 — malaysianinsider

Policemen Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar were today sentenced to death by the High Court for murdering Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, ending one of the longest trials in Malaysian history.

Azilah, 33, and Sirul, 37, were found guilty of killing Altantuya, 28, and then blowing up her body in a jungle clearing at nearby Bukit Raja between 10pm on Oct 19, 2006 and 1am the next day.

The two members of the Bukit Aman Special Action Squad (UTK) were charged under Section 149 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

On Oct 31 last year, the same court acquitted political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 48, of abetting them in the murder, which drew intense international scrutiny due to its tenuous link to newly-minted Prime Minister Datuki Seri Najib Razak.

The former aide to the then deputy premier walked free without ever having to enter his defence and has since moved to Britain.

The courtroom was full with media and family members of the two accused but not as packed as Razak's verdict day. Azilah looked relaxed earlier, smiling to his fiancee and family. He even sprayed himself with cologne. Sirul only appeared at the last minute.

We know nothing but that she is dead

APRIL 9 — Yusseri Yusuf -malaysianinsider

There are some fixed rules and guidelines in life. For example, gravity always wins, faster-than-light travel is impossible, and politicians are, by and large, economical with the truth.

On the other hand, there are some things which are a little fuzzier. Some people think that magnetic bracelets can cure hypertension, djinns invade bodies and turn some women into lesbians, and it's okay to call someone a murderer without proof.

For the last fuzzy point, the MP for Puchong was the most high-profile person to accuse the MP for Pekan of the act, specifically in relation to the unfortunate death of a Russian-speaking lady. He's not the only one, nor was he the first to cast aspersions on Pekan's character.

Unfortunately for Puchong, he had not managed to provide a single shred of proof that Pekan had — in any way, shape or form — any involvement with the departed beauty. And, apparently, neither does anyone else.

What do we have, then?

Well, we have a supposedly cautioned statement from one of those actually accused of murdering the expired society butterfly. He gave a rather detailed account of the methods used to terminate her. Pekan was not mentioned at all.

Then, we have a statutory declaration by the man sometimes referred to as the “People's Champion”, though what that actually say about the “People”, one cannot even begin to hazard a guess. In the People's Champion's statutory declaration, he claimed to know that Pekan's wife was at the scene of the crime — supervising the murder, no less — along with two people who until then had never been mentioned before. Or since, for that matter, unless it was in relation to suing the People's Champion for being a chump in mentioning their names.

The Champion was adamant that the things he claimed happened, actually happened, since he was “reliably informed”. He also declared to be reliably informed that the MP for Kepala Batas, his son-in-law the MP for Rembau, as well as one of the Rulers, knew of activities involving Pekan, Pekan's wife and the perished interpreter. And apart from being reliably informed, the Champion gave no evidence whatsoever.

There was also a statutory declaration made by a private investigator. Actually, make that two statutory declarations made by a private investigator. In the first statutory declaration, the PI mentioned Pekan several times, once noting that Pekan said that the late former model had a liking for anal intercourse. How this information was of any use was not expanded upon. In the second statutory declaration, made the very next day, the PI retracted several statements made in his first statutory declaration, especially those mentioning Pekan in any way. At the end of it, he retracted the entire first statutory declaration, leaving some to wonder why he bothered to retract specific paragraphs first. The PI then disappeared.

Following from that, there was the affidavit made by the political analyst who had an affair with the former, and late, model. Pekan was not mentioned at all. The political analyst was, however, a close friend of Pekan. He probably still is, though one would imagine they probably don't hang out with each other as much these days.

What else do we have?

Ah, yes. We also have an alleged SMS exchange between Pekan and the lawyer representing the political analyst. It was a lengthy exchange, though there were gaps in between. There didn't seem to be any mention of Pekan being involved in extinguishing the life of the unfortunate victim, though. Interestingly, Pekan has never bothered to deny that the SMS exchange actually took place, which has lead to quite a few people asking two very important questions: Who was the degenerate at the cellphone company who leaked the exchange and why hasn't he or she been hauled up for committing a gross invasion of privacy?

Then there's the trial. The political analyst was let off, partly on the strength of his affidavit. The affidavit where he admitted to having an extramarital affair with the extinguished dinner companion, and was then blackmailed by her. He insisted that he did not order her termination.

Two men, however, were put to trial. They were part of an elite branch of the RMP and were occasionally members of the security detail for Pekan. They were accused of abducting the well-travelled — and now deceased — ex-lover from in front of the political analyst's house, driving her to a jungle, and blowing her up.

Just to make it clear, they stood trial for shooting her in the head and then attaching plastic explosives on her body before detonating them. It resulted in her (by then expired) body exploding, to rest in pieces.

Pieces.

It is not a fate that you would wish on anyone. Not if you're a normal human being, anyway.

At the trial, the first accused provided an alibi for the night of the alleged murder, stating that he had, first, broke fast with his girlfriend before driving off to the analyst's house to bring the — then still very much alive — attractive Oriental young lady to the police station at Bukit Aman. He then had to hand the lady over to the second accused because the girlfriend needed to be elsewhere and he was to drop her off. Later, the first accused had a late supper with his fiance, to discuss their wedding plans. He then bumped into his girlfriend again at the police station before making his way to a police halfway house in Putrajaya, to resume duty as part of Pekan's security detail.

In other words, the first accused's alibi was that he was too busy playing the field to go off blowing people up. His defence was that he's a lover, not a killer. It should be noted that the prosecutor in the trial pointed out that the defence did not bring either of the two women to testify as witnesses in court to support the alibi.

The second accused did not actually provide an alibi of any sort, other than that he wasn't at the scene of the crime, ergo he did not commit murder. In the final day of the trial, he read from a 15-page statement, which included a claim that he was innocent of killing the analyst's former lover and was being made a scapegoat. The full-statement has not been made public. Probably because it would be subjudice, or prejudice, or … something dicey, anyway. It should also be noted that the alleged cautioned statement where the murder was described in detail was made by the second accused, though he has since disavowed actually doing the deed, or even making the statement itself.

Recently, a commie, left-wing French comic, The Liberation, published an article about the murder, alleging complicity on the part of Pekan. It also included some allegations regarding commission paid for some underwater scorpions, purchased by the Ministry of Defence, then under Pekan's watch. The article was also mentioned in a few other comics around the world, possibly due to the (then) imminent ascension of Pekan onto the top of the Malaysian political pile.

What was most interesting about the Liberation's article, in our view, was that absolutely nothing new was unearthed, in spite of the fact that the reporter claimed to have travelled to Paris, Ulan Bator and Kuala Lumpur. He repeated the same allegation that a photo exists of Pekan, the political analyst and the fatal femme fatale having dinner together in a restaurant in Paris. An allegation that, alas, is totally bereft of any proof whatsoever. In the age of the Internet, the age of crotch shots, camel toes and unsuspecting sleeping politicians getting their photos “published”, not a single appearance of this alleged dinner shot has been uncovered. And no, the “satirical” cut and paste job made by the MP for Batu does not count.

In addition, the article also repeated the declaration of the aforementioned PI that a Mongolian bomoh had magicked the political analyst, such that he was unable to see the face of his former lover. That this was presented in a matter-of-fact manner should rightly be greeted with disbelief by any rational human being. Then again, rational human beings do not normally keep plastic explosives in their possession, in case they have to detonate Russian-speaking Mongolian single mums[photo].

One has to wonder that if this Mongolian bomoh actually exists, how come he has not presented himself? After all, we're pretty sure that a lot of people would like to know what the Mongolian bomoh has to say. He might even be the one in possession of the alleged photo. He may even be the one to actually have met Pekan with the deceased. What's more likely is that he doesn't actually exist.

As it is, there are more questions than answers. In the court of public opinion, more rumours, wild allegations, and crazy conspiracy theories than any actual proof or evidence.

And in the actual court room today, the verdict will be handed out on the two men accused of murdering a foreign national on Malaysian soil. Two men, members of the Royal Malaysian Police, will discover today whether they will be set free, or to be sent to their deaths by hanging.

Yet, she remains dead. And we should all be aghast and ashamed.

Endnote:

Her name was Altantuya Shaariibuu.

RPK speaks his mind : Minister Tormentor of Malaysia

Thursday, 09 April 2009 | Raja Petra Kamarudin - malaysiaToday - THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Would Najib dare offer the new Umno Youth Leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, a Cabinet post? Or would the Cabinet post go to Mukhriz Mahathir instead? By convention, Khairy, the winner, should get that post instead of Mukhriz, the loser. But Tun Dr Mahathir is not one to follow convention. He is one who breaks from tradition.

Dr M denies deal with Najib

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday denied making any deals with Datuk Seri Najib Razak to appoint his son Datuk Mukhriz as a minister. Dr Mahathir said it was entirely up to the prime minister to name his cabinet.

He spoke to reporters after launching an autobiography by the first director-general of the Malaysian Cocoa Board, Datuk Hashim Abdul Wahab, In Search of Happiness.

Dr Mahathir said Najib needed to have a corruption-free cabinet to avoid a Barisan Nasional loss in the next general election. He said Najib had a lot to do to change the mindset of the people who are now more inclined towards the opposition.

On BN's by-election loss in Bukit Selambau, Dr Mahathir said it was not caused by non-Malay votes, as the majority of voters comprised Malays. "There are a lot of Malays who are not happy with the government as well, not just the non-Malays." -- New Straits Times

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

Jika Kerajaan pimpinan UMNO dianggotai ahli dan pemimpin UMNO yang perasuah, rakyat dan juga sebahagian daripada ahli UMNO yang kecewa akan tentukan BN dan UMNO akan kalah juga. Oleh kerana sebab-sebab ini saya berpendapat Najib akan cuba bersihkan parti dan Kerajaan daripada rasuah dan perasuah. Tanda-tanda ini akan diperlihat apabila beliau menubuh Kabinetnya pada 8 April, iaitu esok. Walaupun Abdullah tidak lagi memimpin UMNO, jika ternampak kuasanya keatas UMNO masih ada, saya akan anggap syarat saya tidak dipenuhi. -- Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

***************************************
Singapore has its Minister Mentor in the form of ex-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Malaysia has its Minister Tormentor in the form of ex-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. And who better to confirm this than Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who held onto power for a mere five and a half years and then had to relinquish his post to Najib Tun Razak after suffering a rain of torment from the very man who made him Prime Minister.

“Walaupun Abdullah tidak lagi memimpin UMNO, jika ternampak kuasanya keatas UMNO masih ada, saya akan anggap syarat saya tidak dipenuhi,” said the Grand Old Man of Malaysian politics in his latest Blog posting.

Yes, Tun Dr Mahathir does not want any remnants or residual of Tun Abdullah Badawi’s era in Najib’s new Cabinet, due to be announced at 3.00pm today. That is his syarat (terms and conditions). And what Tun Dr Mahathir wants, Tun Dr Mahathir gets, as Tun Abdullah Badawi discovered the extremely hard way. Is this what will happen later today when Najib announces his new Cabinet line-up? Or will Najib make the same mistake as his predecessor in not listening to what Tun Dr Mahathir wants?

Make no bones about it. Tun Dr Mahathir is a survivor. He has bounced in and out of Umno many times. And he can continue bouncing in and out of Umno if required to do so. And each time he bounces in and out of Umno he has shaped the Malaysian political scene in the form he wants it to take.

Tun Dr Mahathir was the one who led the charge against the First Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in the late 1960s. Of course, that resulted in him getting sacked from Umno. But that did not stop him. He just walked over to the opposition and for almost three years he worked with the opposition to force the Tunku’s resignation. Eventually, Umno had to invite him back just to silence him. He was more dangerous outside the party.

That was also exactly what Tun Dr Mahathir did in 2006 when he wanted to force Tun Abdullah Badawi’s resignation. Again, for almost three years, Tun Dr Mahathir worked with the opposition until Tun Abdullah Badawi threw in his resignation last week. Then Tun Dr Mahathir bounced back into Umno, yet again.

Twice in history Tun Dr Mahathir left Umno and worked with the opposition for almost three years. And twice in history Umno begged him to return like the prodigal son that he is just so that he would not damage the party from the outside. And every Prime Minister, except for Tun Abdul Razak who was ‘saved’ by death, found that their careers were in the hands of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Eventually, totally heartbroken and utterly devastated by the May 13 tragedy, the Tunku resigned as Prime Minister and handed the country to Tun Razak. But Tun Razak was fated to rule for just over five years. And that too was the fate of Tun Abdullah Badawi who also ruled for just over five years. But Tun Razak was overtaken by death while Tun Abdullah Badawi was overtaken by events, a political death of sorts if you like.

Tun Razak may not have made Prime Minister if not because of Tun Dr Mahathir. But Tun Razak did not choose Tun Dr Mahathir as his successor as he lay dying in the Harley Street clinic in London in 1976. He chose Tun Hussein Onn with instructions that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was to be his Deputy.

It was Tengku Razaleigh, however, who chose to forgo his turn. Next in line would have been Tun Ghafar Baba. But Tun Ghafar did not have the right academic credentials. So Tun Ghafar was bypassed in favour of Tun Dr Mahathir. Tengku Razaleigh would come into the picture once Tun Dr Mahathir takes over as Prime Minister.

After acting as the catalyst in forcing the Tunku’s resignation just six years earlier, Tun Dr Mahathir, again, became the catalyst in forcing Tun Hussein’s resignation. Of course, by then he was already the number two. So, in the event Tun Hussein resigns or dies, he would automatically take over. And he did take over when Tun Hussein resigned in 1981. But Tengku Razaleigh was not appointed as his number two even though this was the deal agreed upon five years earlier. Tun Dr Mahathir broke away from tradition and decided to allow Umno to choose its number two.

The contest for number two was thrown open. And both Tengku Razaleigh and Musa Hitam staked their claims. Let Umno decide, said Tun Dr Mahathir. But the Grand Old Man of Malaysian politics very cleverly and deviously let it be known that he favoured Musa over Tengku Razaleigh.

And Umno is such. Whomsoever the President backs will surely win. And since the President was backing Musa Hitam, then Musa Hitam it shall be. And Musa Hitam won. Tengku Razaleigh lost. But Tun Dr Mahathir very skilfully allowed Musa to become number two not because he was the better candidate but so that he could keep Tengku Razaleigh in check. Nevertheless, Tun Dr Mahathir allowed Tengku Razaleigh to remain in the Cabinet so that he (Tengku Razaleigh) could, in turn, check Musa.

It was a superb divide and rule strategy that Tun Dr Mahathir played.

Three years later, Tengku Razaleigh, again, made a bid for the number two’s post and, again, lost. But this time it was not two contenders fighting for a vacant post like the first time around. This time it was a bid to topple someone from his post. This infuriated Musa and he wanted Tengku Razaleigh punished. He wanted Tengku Razaleigh sacked from the Cabinet.

But that would just make Musa very powerful and, therefore, a threat to Tun Dr Mahathir. Tun Dr Mahathir needed Tengku Razaleigh around so that he could continue to keep Musa in check. So, Tun Dr Mahathir did not sack Tengku Razaleigh as what Musa wanted. He just demoted Tengku Razaleigh. The Finance Minister was now the Trade Minister. This can be considered a turun pangkat of sorts. And that meant Tengku Razaleigh would still be around to ensure that Musa would not be strong enough to make a bid for the Umno Presidency and, in that same context, a bid for the Premiership of Malaysia.

Tunku Abdul Rahman, Hussein Onn, Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Ghafar Baba, Anwar Ibrahim, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and many other lesser mortals learned the hard way as to who the Boss is. And the Boss is none other than the Grand Old Man of Malaysian politics, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Would Najib Tun Razak dare forget this? He forgets this at his own peril.

Would Najib dare offer the new Umno Youth Leader, Khairy Jamaluddin, a Cabinet post? Or would the Cabinet post go to Mukhriz Mahathir instead? By convention, Khairy, the winner, should get that post instead of Mukhriz, the loser. But Tun Dr Mahathir is not one to follow convention. He is one who breaks from tradition.

Rosmah Mansor would like to believe that she is the new Boss and that she decides what the Prime Minister does. Well, Khairy Jamaluddin thought so too back in 2003. And yesterday’s Khairy Jamaluddin can easily be today’s Rosmah Mansor. Would Rosmah Mansor also like to be as history as Khairy Jamaluddin?

That is a most interesting question indeed. As the Chinese say, there can be only one tiger on the mountain. And that tiger is Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Rosmah can be the feline that she wants to be. But it would be safer for her if she chose to meow rather than roar like a good little pussy that she is. Okay, maybe not little. But fat cats too must learn how to meow like pussies and not roar like their cousins.

Anyway, we shall talk more about that later on. So stay tuned for the continuation of this story about what goes on in the corridors of power.

The thorny issue of the Successor ( Caliph)

Wednesday, 08 April 2009 | Raja Petra Kamarudin - malaysiatoday

This version of history will be argued and debated until the end of time. And whether this was what happened is anyone’s guess. Millions will swear it did happen. Millions more will swear it did not.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

To understand Islamic history, in particular the serious chasm between the various sects, one has to go back to the last days of the life of Prophet Muhammad here on earth.

Of course, history is always written by the victor, never by the vanquished. So, again, it would all depend on whose version of history you are referring to. The Indian Mutiny would be the British version of history. And, since Malaysians read history books written by British historians, it would always remain The Indian Mutiny. Had the Indians written the history books, it would probably be referred to as The Indian War of Independence. And The Black Hole of Calcutta would probably be renamed The White Hole, the small dungeon in Fort William, India, where 123 white British soldiers were supposed to have lost their lives.

Again, did the Black Hole incident really happen? The British historians say it did. And 123 of the 146 whites imprisoned there were supposed to have suffocated to death in that dungeon. But then, many say this was mere spin doctoring on the part of Holwell, aimed at tarnishing the name of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, and that there was no such thing as The Black Hole of Calcutta.

So, what is the truth? Who knows? The truth died with everyone who has long since died more than 300 years ago. No one from 20 June 1756 remains alive today. They are all long dead and buried. So the truth is also long dead and buried along with those who know what really happened.

We are told the last days of the Prophet were spent at his favourite wife Aishah’s house. In the last moments of his life on earth, the Prophet summoned Ali to be by his side. As he lay on Aishah’s lap, and before he breathed his last breath, the Prophet was said to have whispered into Ali’s ear. And what the Prophet whispered into Ali’s ear is that after he has died he wants Ali to take over as the successor -- Caliph, if in the Arabic language.

For three days the companions of the Prophet argued and debated. The Prophet has died. Who shall succeed him and hold the title of successor or Caliph? The successor must undertake the task of burying the Prophet. So, unless they resolve the thorny issue of the successor, the Prophet can’t be buried. And it is already three days since the Prophet died.

Ali informed the companions that the Prophet had personally whispered into his ear that he should be that successor. But Aishah, the only other person who would have witnessed this exchange, could not confirm that this was so. Some say she could not have heard it since it was whispered into Ali’s ear. Others say Aishah purposely withheld what she clearly knew because of personal differences with Ali.

The truth has since died with all those who had lived and died more than 1,400 years ago. But what can’t be disputed is that Ali never became that successor after the Prophet died. Abu Bakar did, followed by Omar and Osman. Ali did not get his turn until the three companions before him had left this world.

This version of history will be argued and debated until the end of time. And whether this was what happened is anyone’s guess. Millions will swear it did happen. Millions more will swear it did not. And, in the meantime, millions will die in Muslim versus Muslim conflicts because there are two interpretations of history.

And, they say, history always repeats itself. Closer to home we have the Malaysian version on the Sunni-Shiah disagreement with regards to the right interpretation of history. And this Malaysian version of the thorny succession issue started when Tun Abdul Razak lay on his deathbed in a Harley Street clinic in London in January 1976.

Tun Razak knew he was dying. But only a handful of people also knew this. Malaysians-at-large were totally ignorant of the fact that the Second Prime Minister of Malaysia would soon be leaving them. And, just like in the last days of the Prophet 1,400 years before that, Tun Razak summoned his ‘companions’ and told them that he wanted Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to succeed him as Prime Minister.

But Tengku Razaleigh was young and had unfinished business. Tun Razak had launched the New Economic Policy just five years before that. Much needs to be done to ensure that the aspirations of the New Economic Policy are met. Tengku Razaleigh felt it would be better he focused on ensuring that the New Economic Policy succeeds. Furthermore, he was still quite young so it was too early for him to take over as Prime Minister.

It was agreed that Tun Hussein Onn would instead take over. And Hussein Onn would choose one of the three Umno Vice Presidents as his Deputy. And these three were Tengku Razaleigh, Ghafar Baba and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in that order of priority. At first, Hussein Onn wanted to bypass all three. He preferred Ghazali Shafie. But Ghazali Shafie was not one of the three Umno Vice Presidents so the three would not allow that to happen. Hussein Onn’s hands were tied. He had no choice but to choose from amongst one of the three.

Tengku Razaleigh was the Vice President with the highest number of votes. So he should be it. But Tengku Razaleigh had unfinished business and he did not want to become the Deputy Prime Minister just yet. He suggested that Dr Mahathir should instead be Hussein Onn’s number two. He can wait. He will become the number two when Dr Mahathir takes over the job of Prime Minister.

Five years later, Dr Mahathir did become Prime Minister when Hussein Onn stepped aside in 1981. But he would not appoint Tengku Razaleigh as his Deputy as had been agreed earlier. He said he would rather leave that post vacant and allow the Umno members to decide whom they want as their number two.

This was a great departure from tradition. Before this the number one always appointed his number two. But Dr Mahathir is one who is not afraid of breaking away from tradition. He proved that a couple of years later when he declared war on the Rulers, something Malays have never done (unless they want to lose their life) for hundreds of years.

Dr Mahathir ruled as number one. But he refused to appoint a number two. Let Umno decide, he declared. And he left it to the Umno General Assembly to decide who should be his Deputy, and, in that same context, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

By now many of you will be at the edge of your seats, wondering what happened thereafter. Well, enough said for today. Let us continue tomorrow the story of how Umno went through the same chasm that Islam went through 1,400 years before that, which, until today, has triggered serious and bloody conflicts for those who preach Islam as the religion of peace.

The truth behind the release of the 13 ISA detainees

Wednesday, 08 April 2009 | malaysiaToday | Raja Petra Kamarudin (photo)

The Indians are not that gullible and naïve. Why release the two ‘harmless’ ones who had repented anyway? Why not release the other three ‘hardcore’ HINDRAF leaders -- in particular the extremely stubborn and most uncooperative head honcho?

- THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Reading is a form of escapism. When you are reading, and if you are engrossed enough in the book you are reading -- the Malays call it kushuk -- you can transport yourself to somewhere you are not. And that was how I spent my time while in solitary confinement in the Kamunting Detention Centre. I read and read and read.

My wife arranged to send me loads of books when she visited me every week. If the book were about 200 pages or so I would finish it in a day. The thickest book I read was 1,400-pages and it took me about a week to finish. That was how I escaped from Kamunting. I transported myself into another world by shutting myself out from the miserable world that I was stuck in, the world of solitary confinement.

It was during one of these ‘escapes’ that I noticed a minor brouhaha had erupted outside my cell. One of the guards was on the phone and was summoning ‘reinforcements’. He wanted someone to relief him so that he could go to the next block.

My curiosity got the better of me and I put my book down to step outside and investigate what the commotion was all about. Three Internal Security Act detainees were in the midst of being released that morning, I was told. Who are they? The guards mentioned their names but I did not know them from Adam. After all, you do not quite have a social life when under solitary confinement and I had yet to make many friends from amongst the 60 or so detainees.

Hari Raya was around the corner and these were three of the lucky ones who would be going home to join their families for Hari Raya. Maybe ten more or so will also be released around Hari Raya, the guards told me. I sighed. These people who are due for release had been under detention for up to eight years. I was barely two months in custody. I never dreamt I would be one of those lucky ones who would be going home for Hari Raya.

But the ten or so never got released for Hari Raya. Even the guards were puzzled. These people had already been slotted for release. Why were they not released? It did not occur to everyone, then, that they would be released, but they would only be released after Najib Tun Razak takes over as Prime Minister. This was so that Najib would be seen as spearheading reforms and the first ‘reform’ would be to release a few Internal Security Act detainees who had spent many years under detention.

“Would the HINDRAF 5 also be released?” I inquisitively asked the guards. Maybe two, they told me, but certainly not all five. Hmmm….why is that? Well, the guards told me, the HINDRAF 5 is no longer five. They are split into three. There are two in one group, another two in another, and the head honcho is all by himself and does not talk to the others. In fact, he has requested to be shifted to another block and no longer shares the same block with the other four.

What happened? I am one inquisitive creature. They have quarrelled, the guards told me. Two are in one gang, the other two in another, and the gang leader is separated from the rest. The head honcho is very ‘difficult’. He does not get along with anyone. Two more are also quite stubborn and continue to resist. But two are quite alright. They are very cooperative and regret getting involved with HINDRAF. In fact, they blame the head honcho for their predicament and this is one of the reasons they have split up.

So these two have a good chance of being released, I said to the guards. Yes, these two are actually no problem. In fact, we have recommended they be released. It is also good we release two of them and retain the other three under detention. This would cause HINDRAF to break up because some of the leaders would be seen as having sold out. Mereka akan berpecah kalau separuh bebas dan separuh lagi masih ditahan.

So, the 13 Internal Security Act detainees being released recently was no surprise. This was discussed as far back as October last year. In fact, they were supposed to have been released around September or October last year. For that matter, their release is already quite overdue and the delay was so that Najib, and not Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, could release them. And throwing the two HINDRAF leaders in for good measure was also a brilliant strategy. After all, they had already reformed and regretted their actions. And, as a bonus, this will create further friction amongst the HINDRAF leadership if two got released while the other three continue their detention.

The release of the two HINDRAF leaders did not, however, help swing the Indians back to Barisan Nasional in yesterday’s by-elections. The Indians are not that gullible and naïve. Why release the two ‘harmless’ ones who had repented anyway? Why not release the other three ‘hardcore’ HINDRAF leaders -- in particular the extremely stubborn and most uncooperative head honcho? If the government is serious about reforms, and if Najib is really that agent of change, release all five HINDRAF leaders. Don’t just release the two, who no longer have teeth, as a token gesture.

Well, that is as far as the story of the release of the 13 Internal Security Act detainees is concerned. I am sure you want to hear more, especially about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s plans for Umno and Najib. That story will have to wait for another time. But we shall certainly continue this series of storytelling -- so stay tuned for more.

Till later, take care.

Haprak punya Melayu!

RPK | malaysiaToday | Monday, 06 April 2009 | extract from original post : Islam equals shit

Yesterday, a police report was made at the Taiping Police Station against YB Nga Kor Ming, the Member of Parliament for Taiping. The people who made this police report are Hj Osman Abu Bakar, the President of Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu, and Hj Hassan Hamzah, its Secretary. Hj Hassan is also the UMNO Bagan Datoh Division Deputy Head. Bagan Datoh is the constituency of Datuk Zahid Hamidi, one of the three newly elected Vice-Presidents of UMNO.

Make no bones about it. Hj Osman and Hj Hassan are Umno slime-balls and scumbags. And I call them slime-balls and scumbags because they are using Islam as a camouflage for politics. They, in a nutshell, are taking the Lord’s name in vain, as the Christians would say.

If these two Umno slime-balls and scumbags are really serious and sincere about ‘defending’ Islam, as they say they are, then they would have certainly made a police report, years ago, against the Kamunting Detention Centre for forbidding Muslim detainees from performing their Friday prayers.

I know what they will probably say. The detainees in Kamunting are under Internal Security Act detention. So there is no way they can be allowed to leave the detention centre to go to the nearby mosque to do their Friday prayers. Hey, who said they should be allowed to leave the detention centre to go to the nearby mosque to do their Friday prayers? The detainees are only asking to be allowed to do their Friday prayers in the detention centre. They are not asking to be allowed to leave the detention centre to go to the nearby mosque.

The Mufti of Perak, however, has ruled that the ISA detainees cannot perform their Friday prayers, even if they want to do it in the detention centre and not in the nearby mosque. This is a ruling, also known as a fatwah or religious decree, by none other than the head honcho of the Perak religious authority.

The detainees brought this matter to my attention when I was there briefly from September to November last year. I discussed this with the Kamunting authority and they confirmed that this was so. These detainees are so stubborn, I was told. The Mufti of Perak already told them they cannot perform their Friday prayers, lamented the Kamunting authority, so why are they still harping on the issue?

The irony of this whole issue is that the Kamunting detention centre has a prayer hall that can easily accommodate 100 people. Therefore, why is it so difficult to grant permission for less than 50 Muslim detainees to perform their Friday prayers in this prayer hall? And you only need 40 people to perform your Friday prayers, which the hall can more than accommodate.

The Muslim detainees are already performing their congregation prayers on Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji. And they are performing these prayers not in the prayer hall but in an open field, the sepak raga court to be exact. Can’t the Friday prayers also be performed on this same sepak raga court? It is mind-boggling that the detainees can perform their Hari Raya prayers on the sepak raga court within the compound of the detention centre but can’t also perform their Friday prayers there. Utter crap, if you ask me.

I made a police report at the Sentul Police Station about this matter soon after I was released from Kamunting in November last year. The police, however, totally ignored my police report. They did not even bother to take my statement, as is the normal procedure when a police report is made. If the Hj Osman and Hj Hassan Umno slime-balls and scumbags really have the interest of Islam at heart, they would have taken up this issue with fervour and enthusiasm.

Anyway, this is not what I wanted to lament about today. What I want to talk about is the posting by Hantu Laut in his Blog http://hantulautan.blogspot.com/.

I don’t know whether Hantu Laut is a Malay or not, but Malays believe in all sorts of Hantu -- Hantu Laut, Hantu Dapor, Hantu Kopek (Boobs Ghost), Hantu Raya, and whatnot. I assume, however, that Hantu Laut is non-Malay and non-Muslim from the way he or she has whacked Islam.

I want to see whether the two Umno slime-balls and scumbags, Hj Osman and Hj Hassan, are going to make a police report against Hantu Laut as well. If they don’t, then another ‘pejuang Islam’ like the PKR Member of Parliament for Kulim, who said he would defend Islam to his last drop of blood, should instead.

Read what Hantu Laut said. He is ridiculing the Syariah. The Muslims consider the Syariah as God’s law. Ridiculing the Syariah tantamount to ridiculing Allah.

Hey, Hj Osman and Hj Hassan! Hantu Laut is mocking Allah. Hantu Laut has whacked the Quran and is dragging Islam through the mud. Are you going to remain silent? If YB Nga Kor Ming, the Member of Parliament for Taiping, has insulted Islam just because he recited a verse from the Quran, then what Hantu Laut wrote is many, many times more insulting. Are you going to do nothing?

I am going to see what happens from hereon. If no one bothers about what Hantu Laut wrote then it just confirms what I have always said about Malay-Muslims, they are full of shit. Hantu Laut just wrote that Islam equals shit and these ‘defenders of Islam’ are not in the least bothered. But they are extremely concerned that YB Nga Kor Ming, the Member of Parliament for Taiping, has recited a verse from the Quran even though he did so not out of disrespect.

Malays always quote from the Bible, although most times they don’t realise they are quoting the Bible. Do we see the Christians frothing at the mouth and rushing to make police reports? Haprak punya Melayu, Muslim munafiq! I would like to call these people dogs but then I love dogs and would not want to insult dogs in that manner.