Sabtu, 26 Mei 2012

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim


92% Rakyat Mahu Daftar Pemilih Dibersih Sebelum PRU

Posted: 25 May 2012 10:03 PM PDT

Malaysiakini

Satu kajiselidik yang dibuat baru-baru ini – sehari sebelum perhimpunan BERSIH 3.0 -  menunjukkan majoriti responden mahu daftar pemilih dibersihkan sebelum pilihan raya umum akan datang.

Menurut Merdeka Centre, 92 peratus daripada 1,019 orang yang dikajiselidik bulan lalu berkata kerajaan perlu melakukannya sebelum pilihan raya umum.

Keputusan itu hampir sebulat suara di kalangan responden pelbagai bangsa, kumpulan umur, jantina, pendapatan dan kawasan, dengan lebih 90 peratus daripada setiap kumpulan, menjawab dengan positif.

Kira-kira separuh atau 48 peratus daripada kumpulan yang sama juga berkata mereka tidak yakin dengan daftar pemilih.

WSJ Editors Misunderstand Malaysian Politics

Posted: 25 May 2012 07:47 PM PDT

From DinMerican.com
By Rusman Ahmad

The Wall Street Journal published an editorial on on May 24, 2012 titled "Malaysian People's Court". In it the influential newspaper challenges Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to admit to committing "civil disobedience" at the April 28 Bersih Rally and accept the consequences of that action.  The paper says rather cynically "If Mr. Anwar wants to practice civil disobedience, he can't pretend to be innocent at the same time."

The Wall Street Journal seems to believe that the primary purpose of the gathering on April 28 was to protest the Public Assembly Act, which states in Section 4(2)(c):

"a person commits an offence if he organises or participates in a street protest."

It's clear however that the April 28th demonstration has nothing to do with the Public Assembly Act, just like the previous BERSIH rallies in 2011 and 2007 had nothing to do with the predecessor laws to the Peaceful Assembly Act that restricted public assembly in Malaysia and presumably rendered those public gatherings technically illegal under Malaysian laws. The April 28th demonstration had the stated purpose of protesting electoral fraud. Subsumed within that protest are a whole litany of laws that prevent free expression and assembly of Malaysians.

What exactly did Anwar do that is illegal? Currently he has been charged with violating the Public Assembly Act and pleading not guilty. What legal tradition does the WSJ belong to that suggests an accused must prove himself innocent when charged with a crime?

Such an upside down approach to the law is usually the modus operandi of the Malaysian Attorney General, where politically motivated trials place the burden of proof on the defendant and not the prosecution in a true perversion of the justice system.

If indeed Anwar Ibrahim was engaged in an act of civil disobedience by participating in the April 28th BERSIH Rally then so too were the 200,000 other Malaysians gathered in downtown Kuala Lumpur, not to mention the thousands of others who demonstrated throughout the country. Why is Anwar Ibrahim and his two associates the only ones to be charged by the government? And why would the WSJ place the lions share of responsibility on Anwar Ibrahim and not BERSIH chairperson herself Ambiga Srenavasan?

Additionally, if the BERSIH gathering was deemed legal but it was the breaching of the barriers at Dataran Merdeka in particular that are considered the illegal act which Anwar was expressing civil disobedience over, then the WSJ's point is also fundamentally flawed. Anwar has denied giving any instructions for people to breach the barrier and in fact the extended video of him near the barrier shows he tried to get the people to disperse, rather than cross the barrier.

A legitimate, independent investigation needs to be conducted to figure out what happened. The likely conclusion will be that those near the barrier were dead set on crossing over and prepared to face the consequences. There was no mechanism for Anwar, Ambiga or anyone else to control that sentiment. However, it's also clear that a truly independent inquiry is virtually impossible in Malaysia and even when inquiries do happen, their results are ignored.

So why then should Anwar plead guilty to an act of civil disobedience when 1) he was not expressing civil disobedience but rather demonstrating in support of electoral reform and 2) when doing so would necessarily land him in jail or with a fine that would disqualify him from contesting in the upcoming general election?

Is now the time for Anwar to willingly banish himself to prison or to the political wilderness just to prove a point that the opposition is willing to adhere to the rule of law in a country where the laws are themselves fundamentally flawed. Is the Wall Street Journal trying to make a point that Malaysia is a reformed nation now and that both government and opposition should be held to the same high standard of adhering to the rule of law?

What laws are we talking about here? Whose laws? The Public Assembly Act was forced through parliament just like all of Najib Razak's so called reform measures. They are in each case an example of giving some rights out with their right hand and taking away a series of other rights with their left hand. The net effect is pretty much zero. Is the WSJ drinking the Kool-Aid that Najib's administration is mixing with the help of well paid international media consultants, including some journalists formerly employed by the WSJ?

Instead the WSJ should have read the latest polling results from the Merdeka Center that show 90% (i.e. virtually all) of Malaysians want to see the electoral roll cleaned before the next election and that nearly half of all Malaysians do not have faith in the integrity of the electoral process. There are also a large percentage of Malaysians, Malays in particular, who remain unclear about the stated goals of the BERSIH movement. Presumably, if given the chance to be informed and educated, a large percentage of these people will also question the integrity of the electoral process.

Is this not the real story that the WSJ missed by zeroing in on Anwar's act of civil disobedience? The fact that an election is likely to take place in Malaysia within the next 11 months in the midst of the revolutions of the Arab Spring and the return to public office of Aung Sun Sii Kyi where 50% of voters do not believe in the integrity of the process and are thus likely to question the integrity of the counting and results?

BULETIN RAKYAT

BULETIN RAKYAT


Rakat sengsara, menteri sibuk jual no plat kereta WWW...

Posted: 25 May 2012 09:29 PM PDT

Yang dituntut oleh rakyat ialah penyelesaian skandal KLIA2 yang bernilai RM3.9 billion, skandal RM12.5 billion PKFZ dan skandal RM12.49 bilion lebihan kos projek landasan keretapi berkembar EDTP.


Tetapi yang dibuat oleh Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha ialah mendabik dada kerana berjaya menjadi penjual nombor plat kenderaan WWW.

Inilah kehebatan seorang Menteri dari MCA dan Barisan Nasional yang diamanahkan oleh negara untuk menjaga kepentingan rakyat, kata Setiausaha Publisiti DAP Tony Pua.

"Rakyat Malaysia tidak perlukan seorang Menteri Pengangkutan yang cuma berminat melaporkan jumlah lelongan nombor plat WWW daripada menyelesaikan isu besar yang dihadapi," katanya dalam satu kenyataan.

Menurutnya, Kong tidak berwibawa kerana gagal melindungi dan mempertahankan kepentingan awam melibatkan isu skandal berbilion ringgit, sebaliknya, beliau telah mengadakan beberapa sidang akhbar bagi mengumumkan nilai rekod bidaan tertinggi bagi plat kenderaan WWW yang mencecah RM11.3 juta seperti mana yang dilaporkan Bernama.

Pua yang juga Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara berlata, Kong sepatutnya menjelaskan kepada rakyat tentang kenaikan mendadak nilai "terminal kos rendah" KLIA2 dari RM1.7 billion pada 2007 kepada RM3.9 billion tahun lalu adalah akibat penukaran tapak KLIA2 ke kawasan paya gambut.

"Walaubagai mana pun, kenaikan RM2.2 billion tersebut yang membebankan rakyat dijawab Kong yang hanya berkata 'saya tidak mempunyai jawapan kerana keputusan tersebut tidak dibuat oleh Kementerian Pengangkutan', " tambah beliau.



PLKN wajib kpd semua pelajar lepasan sekolah menengah?

Posted: 25 May 2012 08:51 PM PDT

Ramai pihak menolak cadangan mewajibkan semua pelajar lepasan sekolah menengah menyertai Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN).Beberapa pertubuhan pendidikan, ibu bapa dan pelajar memberikan pelbagai sebab mengapa mereka tidak bersetuju dengan cadangan Pengerusi Majlis Latihan Khidmat Negara (MLKN), Datuk Dr Tiki Lafe.Dr Tiki pada Khamis berkata, cadangan itu telah dibincangkan oleh MLKN dan akan diusulkan kepada kerajaan untuk persetujuan selain meminta maklum balas dari orang ramai.


"Jika ia dipersetujui, kira-kira 500,000 pelatih akan terlibat untuk satu tahun. Oleh itu, kami akan mengkaji kemudahan sedia ada sama ada ia perlu diperluaskan untuk menampung pertambahan peserta," katanya.

Bagaimanapun, Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Pertahanan, Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad berkata, agak sukar untuk menempatkan kesemua lepasan sekolah menengah kerana program itu boleh menampung sekurang-kurangnya 90,000 pelatih setiap sesi pengambilan.

"Kita akan memilih pelatih secara rambang untuk ditempatkan di 79 kem seluruh negeri. Agak sukar menempatkan kesemua lepasan sekolah menengah kerana jumlahnya hampir setengah juta," katanya pada Jumaat.

Pengerusi Persatuan Ibu Bapa Untuk Pendidikan Malaysia (PAGE), Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim berkata, orang ramai tidak akan bersetuju dengan cadangan tersebut sehingga kemudahan di kem latihan dipertingkatkan.

"Sehingga perkara melibatkan keselamatan boleh dijamin, program tersebut tidak boleh diwajibkan," katanya.

Ibu bapa turut menyatakan rasa bimbang mengenai keselamatan, kesihatan dan kebersihan.

"Kem latihan yang disertai anak saudara saya mencatatkan kes buli paling tinggi," kata Karen Wong, 48, yang turut memiliki seorang anak lelaki di Tingkatan 5. Lawrence Liu, 53, yang mempunyai anak perempuan di Tingkatan 4 berkata, program itu berdepan dengan masalah keselamatan.

"Terdapat banyak kes kematian berlaku. Apabila pelatih sakit, tiada perhatian secukupnya diberikan," katanya.

Pelajar Tingkatan 4, Amin Haikal Ahmad, 16, dari SMK Sultan Sulaiman, Kuala Terengganu berkata, program tersebut mempunyai masalah imej.

"Saya terdengar pelbagai cerita mengerikan dari beberapa kem latihan…saya tidak mahu menyertai program itu walaupun niatnya baik," katanya.

Nur Fatin Syahmi Aqilah Mohd Ghani, 16, berkata, kerajaan perlu menggalakkan pelajar lepasan sekolah menengah menyertai program sukarelawan berbanding memaksa mereka menyertai program PLKN.

MEDIA Rakyat MALAYSIA

MEDIA Rakyat MALAYSIA


Menteri sibuk jual no plat kereta sedangkan rakyat dirompak berbillion

Posted: 25 May 2012 09:28 PM PDT

Ramai pihak tolak PLKN wajibkan semua pelajar lepasan sekolah menengah?

Posted: 25 May 2012 08:09 PM PDT