Isnin, 31 Mac 2014

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim


The rising tide of judicial impropriety, arrogance of power and transgression

Posted: 31 Mar 2014 07:14 PM PDT

By Anwar Ibrahim, Opposition Leader on MH002 enroute to London

 

"The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing." - Caroline Kennedy

 
Talking about political winds, it appears that lately, the Malaysian judiciary, particularly the judges of the superior courts, are caught in the whirlwind and are frantically racing against each other to please the powers that be of the day.

In the frenzy to curry favours from their political overlords, these minions have stopped at nothing to ensure that they will be the first to reach the finish line. Pots of gold await the backscratchers and lackeys. And where financial gratification may appear a tad blatant, there's always elevation to the higher rungs of office to whet the appetite. Unlike Parliamentarians, judges will never be content to be Back Benchers. The preferred place is the front and the top where they can tower over ordinary mortals, even if they be law-makers or members of the Bar. They fear no one except their political masters because they know on which side their bread is buttered. And they shall not bite the hand that feeds.

Throwing judicial decorum to the wind, they bare their fangs and sharpen their claws in order to cow supplicants in their courts into submission, and in the process, their demeanour and conduct leaves no one in doubt about their bias. And though they know that an adversarial system dictates that judges must not just act impartially but must be seen to be so, they bend backwards to don the hats of prosecutor and executioner as well. When this happens, as indeed it is happening now with unprecedented frequency, we know justice has gone to the dogs.

It is happening because Prime Minister Najib Razak, in flagrant abuse of power, has launched a new campaign of political persecution. "Even if we can't defeat them at the polls, all is not lost (remember Altantuya?). We still have our judges to do our bidding. See how they fall over each other at the snap of our fingers!"

This is the alarming trend in our judiciary where judges work hand in glove with the Attorney-General's Chambers to deny leaders of the Federal Opposition, duly elected representatives of the people in Parliament, their right to justice. In taking this unconstitutional and nefarious line, they have turned the doctrine of the separation of powers on its head.

Hence, apart from me, MPs Karpal Singh, Azmin Ali, Antony Loke, Rafizi Ramli, Tian Chua, Syed Azman and Shamsul Iskandar just to name a few, are marked for the judicial abattoir by the executioners. It may be sodomy, it may be sedition, or it may be illegal assembly, or whatever. These bootlickers know less of law and the principles of justice than lording over the courts parading proudly as peacocks (and peahens) their colourful judicial plumage overflowing with the arrogance of power.

As for those judges who used to sit on the throne, there is still life after retirement. The involvement of former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad in the National Unity Front, closely linked to Perkasa, Malaysia's icon of racism, while not shocking remains scandalous. It makes a mockery of the institution of the judiciary which he once headed and contradicts the principles of equality, equity and justice that the judiciary is supposed to stand for. Is it conceivable for a former chief judge to head an organisation that is adamantly opposed to the National Unity Consultative Council, and to be notoriously engaged in race-baiting and the trumpeting of the superiority of one race over other races in our multi-racial and multi-religious country?

It would appear that it is not only conceivable but that it is lauded with much fanfare by UMNO going by the prominent coverage given to it by the UMNO controlled media.

Incidentally, this is the same judge who, in his Federal court judgement, had written that "the court's decision must only be based on the evidence adduced and nothing else and (hence) it had to acquit because of lack of evidence," but qualified it with the illogical and manifestly asinine statement that "we find evidence to confirm that the appellants were involved in homosexual activities". In other words, "we find him NOT guilty but at the same time guilty". Anything more stupid, perverse and farcical than that cannot be found in our judicial annals (no pun intended) except for the judgements and pronouncements of Augustine Paul and Ariffin Jaka in respect of Sodomy 1 and the current decisions in respect of the application for expunging and the Sodomy 2 appeal. As they say, it has to take one stupid, perverse and farcical court to agree with another stupid, perverse and farcical court.

UMNO must fight its own political battles and not be such a coward to use the judiciary to help them fight the Opposition. How long more are our judges going to dance to tune of UMNO? When will they stop becoming stooges and lap dogs of UMNO leaders? How long more must the rakyat endure this sham? Who are the puppeteers in this shadow play? Are these judges not aware that UMNO will not be there forever to cover their tracks, or their backs, or that not only will history judge them, but that the rakyat are not going to sit idly by – forever – while they continue to pervert the course of justice?

Parliament, as the vox populi, must make its voice heard before we reach the tipping point and the situation gets out of our hands. There is a tide in our affairs which, unless we seize it, will see our voyage for democracy and rule of law in shallows and in miseries. This is the rising tide of judicial impropriety, arrogance of power and transgression. As one of the three branches of government, Parliament must reassert the sanctity of the separation of powers principle. It is therefore morally incumbent and constitutionally expedient that Parliament acts accordingly to break up the illegal and unconstitutional collusion between the Executive and the Judiciary.

Anwar Ibrahim

1st April 2014

Conviction of Muslim Brotherhood members – A death sentence on justice

Posted: 31 Mar 2014 07:56 AM PDT

In the most farcical and disgraceful trial in modern history, the
Egyptian military junta under Dictator General al-Sisi, on Monday
sentenced to death 529 leaders and politicians of the Muslim
Brotherhood.

Most of the countries in the Arab world, with the notable exception of
Qatar, have neither lifted a finger nor said a word of protest against
this even as the EU and the USA have at least expressed some token
regret. Shamefully, the speaker of the Malaysian Parliament, no doubt
taking orders from the Najib administration, refused to allow the
matter to be debated in spite of vehement demands from the Opposition.

Following the military coup by al-Sisi and the scandalous sacking and
arrest of democratically elected President Morsi, Egypt has gone from being the darling of the Arab Spring to undisputed pariah state of the free world.

This latest act in a series of illegal, unconstitutional and morally
despicable acts by the military junta since the power grab underscores
the diabolical nature of the new Egyptian government set up
purportedly to restore “justice, freedom and democracy” that was
alleged to have been eroded under the administration of duly-elected
President Morsi.

On the contrary, the new regime has demonstrated beyond the shadow of
a doubt that it has no qualms about using the organs of state power
such as the army, police and the judiciary to oppress and repress the
Egyptian people. The fundamental liberties and human rights
safeguarded under the Morsi administration are thrown the drain.
Hundreds more political opponents are jailed without trial while
international journalists including three from al-Jazeera, are
detained without due process.

Backed by a well-orchestrated and sustained media campaign to
whitewash its actions, the ruthless regime of al-Sisi has massacred
its own people including women and children and unleashed other
atrocities with complete impunity.

Monday’s verdict to execute 529 opponents of the coup in a summary
trial that lasted less than an hour makes an utter mockery of the
judicial process and leaves no one in doubt that it is justice itself
which has been given the death sentence and that due process has been
sent to the firing squad instead.

The Egyptian people had paved the way for the full blossoming of the
Arab Spring when, with their blood, sweat and tears, they overthrew
Husni Mubarak, ending four decades of military dictatorship. Voted to
power via an internationally recognised electoral process, President
Morsi and law makers from the Brotherhood and other political parties
were slowly but surely steering the country to new directions in the
path of freedom, democracy and justice.

Tragically, the blatant coup last July engineered by al-Sisi, working
hand in glove with corrupt external powers, has turned the clock back.
The military powers that be appear to believe that this latest
crackdown on the Brotherhood, following the earlier outlawing of the
movement, will further weaken them.

In this regard, they are gravely mistaken. History has shown that
people who are pushed to the ground by perverse and prolonged acts of
oppression and injustice will emerge even stronger.

Anwar Ibrahim

31 March 2014

Condolences: Irene Fernandez

Posted: 31 Mar 2014 06:44 AM PDT

Azizah and I mourn the passing of Irene Fernandez, a champion of the weak, the poor and the marginalized, and a fighter of true grit in the face of persecution and constant harassment by the authorities.

This is truly a great loss to the nation and to Keadilan, she being one of co-founders.

Indeed, also a sad personal loss as she had been a close family friend and my colleague since our Malaysian Youth Council days.

Anwar Ibrahim

31 March 2014

Ahad, 30 Mac 2014

Anak Muda Kampung Nak Senang

Anak Muda Kampung Nak Senang


Tawaran sumbangan bulanan untuk Madrasah Tuan Guru Haji Ibrahim, Rembau

Posted: 29 Mar 2014 09:45 PM PDT


Madrasah Tuan Guru Haji Ibrahim, Kg Bongek Acheh, Rembau menyediakan 3 bentuk pengajian untuk pelajar yang belajar sepenuh masa iaitu :

a) Pengajian Fardhu Ain (Ibtidai)
b) Pengajian Bahasa Arab (I'dadi)
c) Pengajian Menghafaz al-Quran (Tahfiz)

Pada masa akan datang, pihak madrasah juga bercadang untuk membuka bentuk pengajian yang sama kepada para pelajar perempuan, kerana buat masa ini, madrasah hanya boleh menerima pelajar lelaki sahaja kerana tempat yang terhad.

Di sini juga terdapat Sekolah Agama Rakyat untuk pembelajaran bagi anak-anak yang berumur antara 5 ke 12 tahun untuk mendalami pengajian al-Quran, Fardhu Ain, Jawi dan Bahasa Arab.

Alhamdulillah, madrasah ini terus mendapat sumbangan yang berterusan daripada masyarakat setempat, sama ada yang berbentuk bulanan atau derma bermusim.Sehingga kini, madrasah mendapat sumbangan berbentuk bulanan sekitar RM1,000 sebulan daripada para penderma tetap. Namun jumlah tersebut masih belum mencukupi untuk menampung kos pengurusan dan sebagainya yang dianggarkan sekitar RM10,000 sebulan.

Justeru itu, pihak madrasah, meminta jasa kepada mereka yang sudi untuk menyumbang atau menderma kepada pihak madrasah dalam bentuk bulanan.

Selain derma bulanan, pihak madrasah juga mengalukan apa jua bentuk sumbangan sama ada berbentuk barangan atau tenaga.

Segala pertanyaan dan kemusykilan bolehlah berhubung terus dengan Mudir Madrasah iaitu Tuan Haji Mohd Khairuddin bin Haji Yusoff , tel 012-3752240.

Sumbangan boleh dimasukkan ke dalam akaun : Madrasah Islamiah Haji Ibrahim – no. Akaun : 8601034069 Akaun Semasa Bank CIMB Islamic – Cawangan REMBAU.

Sabtu, 29 Mac 2014

Anak Muda Kampung Nak Senang

Anak Muda Kampung Nak Senang


Elektrik dipotong tanpa notis surat kuning TNB, pengguna teraniaya

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 05:32 PM PDT


28 Mac 2014

PORT DICKSON – Lantaran menerima banyak aduan penduduk terhadap tindakan syarikat utiliti Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) dalam mengendalikan kes pemotongan bekalan elektrik tanpa notis, Persatuan Penduduk Bandar Springhill mengambil inisiatif melakukan siasatan sendiri.

Pengerusinya, Rosli Nordin, 46, berkata, sejak pertengahan tahun lalu, dia menerima banyak aduan penduduk di kawasan Badar Springhill yang merasa dianiaya kerana pemotongan itu.

"Saya kemudian mengambil pendekatan dengan tidak membayar bil bulanan TNB sehingga berlaku tunggakan. Ternyata saya menerima surat merah daripada TNB bertujuan pemotongan bekalan elektrik.

"Surat berkenaan bertarikh 20 Mac lalu sedangkan ketika itu, saya tidak menerima surat kuning atau surat notis. "Apabila perkara berkenaan diadukan kepada pihak TNB, keesokan harinya barulah saya menerima surat kuning melalui pos yang memaparkan tarikh disampul surat mengenai surat diproses di pejabat pos adalah pada 21 Mac.

"Melalui tarikh ini, ia memang menimbulkan kekeliruan dan syak berkenaan prosedur sebenar TNB dalam mengendalikan kes-kes pemotongan bekalan elektrik," katanya.

Rosli berkata, hampir 30 penduduk menerima nasib hampir sama yang mana tunggakan baharu sebulan atau dua bulan tetapi sudah menerima surat merah untuk pemotongan tanpa menerima surat kuning.

Jumaat, 28 Mac 2014

Suara Sri Andalas

Suara Sri Andalas


Air Empangan Selangor Terus Susut, Catuan Diteruskan

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 10:40 PM PDT

Hujan di kawasan Lembah Klang sejak 16 Mac lalu masih gagal meningkatkan jumlah paras air di empangan utama bagi membekalkan air mentah ke loji rawatan air sekitar Selangor, Kuala Lumpur dan Putrajaya.
   
Menurut kenyataan Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN), paras air di semua empangan negeri Selangor terus menyusut berikutan hujan yang sedikit sejak dua bulan lepas berbanding tahun sebelumnya selain peningkatan pengeluaran air terawat.
   
Tujuh empangan, termasuk yang membabitkan Sungai Selangor, kini mencatat bacaan meter 190.00 sehingga semalam berbanding 206.60 pada Januari.  
   
Jumlah simpanan air sehingga hari ini turut mencatat penurunan dengan Sungai Selangor sebanyak 37.09 peratus, Sungai Tinggi (63.25 peratus), Sungai Semenyih (72.83), Sungai Langat (50.20), Klang Gates (50.32), Tasik Subang (88.39) dan Sungai Batu (77.59).
   
Dalam pada itu, peringkat ketiga pengagihan air berjadual akan diteruskan sehingga 30 April melibatkan 722,032 rumah, iaitu kira-kira 3.6 juta orang di enam wilayah sekitar Gombak, Petaling, Klang/ Shah Alam, Kuala Selangor, Kuala Lumpur dan Hulu Selangor.
   
Menurut kenyataan itu, setiap wilayah dibahagi kepada dua zon dan setiap zon menerima bekalan air selama dua hari diikuti dua hari catuan.
   
Kerajaan negeri Selangor pula memutuskan untuk menambah jumlah pengurangan pelepasan air dari Empangan Sungai Selangor sebanyak 500 Juta Liter Sehari (JLH) lagi; menjadikan pengurangan air adalah sebanyak 1,000 JLH.
   
Hasil mesyuarat antara SPAN, Kementerian Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air, Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, Lembaga Urus Air Selangor (LUAS), Majlis Keselamatan Negara (MKN) dan semua operator bersetuju agar Pengagihan Air Berjadual Peringkat Keempat dilaksana mulai 4 April ini dan diperluas ke kawasan lain.
   
Bagaimanapun, tarikh dan kawasan terbabit akan dimaklumkan kelak.
   
Sementara itu, Peringkat Pertama Pengagihan Air Berjadual yang dilaksana pada 27 Februari lalu bagi kawasan Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat dan Sepang akan diteruskan.
   
Pengagihan air berjadual diperlukan berikutan penutupan Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) Cheras Batu 11 dan LRA Bukit Tampoi disebabkan kandungan ammonia yang tinggi, menurut kenyataan itu.
Toyota Fantastic Rewards   


Sementara itu, Pelan Catuan Bekalan Air Peringkat Pertama dan Ketiga masih diteruskan sehingga ke satu tarikh yang akan diputuskan oleh kerajaan negeri Selangor.   
   
Penolong Pengurus Besar, Jabatan Komunikasi Korporat dan Hal Ehwal Awam Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) Priscilla Alfred berkata catuan air itu kerana fenomena cuaca panas dan ketiadaan hujan sejak beberapa hari lepas menyebabkan aliran air sungai kembali ke paras yang rendah di Sungai Selangor.
   
"Pelan Catuan Bekalan Air Peringkat Pertama masih aktif kerana Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) di Cheras Batu 11 dan LRA Bukit Tampoi masih ditutup berikutan paras kandungan ammonia yang tinggi di Sungai Langat," katanya dalam kenyataan semalam.
   
Alfred berkata bagi pengguna di Wilayah Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat dan Sepang yang memperoleh bekalan air menerusi kedua-dua LRA berkenaan akan menghadapi catuan bekalan air seperti yang dijadualkan dalam Pelan Catuan Bekalan Air Peringkat Pertama.
   
Bagi Pelan Catuan Bekalan Air Peringkat Ketiga yang melibatkan beberapa kawasan di Wilayah Gombak, Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor dan Klang/Shah Alam, ia masih diaktifkan juga.
   
"Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash) dan Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd masih meneruskan pengawalan dan pengurangan pelepasan air mentah dari empangan Sungai Selangor dan empangan Klang Gates.

"Kedua-dua pelan catuan bekalan air tersebut berjalan lancar seperti yang dirancang," katanya.
   
Pihak SYABAS menasihati pengguna agar tidak mencuci kenderaan, mengisi air ke dalam kolam renang dan menyiram tanaman hiasan kecuali keadaan kritikal sahaja.

Sumber: MalaysiaKini

Balingian: BN Fears Low Voter Turnout Today

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 10:10 PM PDT

KUCHING: Balingian constituency which has seen only former chief minister Taib Mahmud as their assemblyman since 2001 go to polls this morning to chose a new representative.

Taib, who resigned as CM on Feb 28, also vacated  his state seat to take on the post of governor.

His incumbency is being defended by former Dalat district officer Yussibnosh Balo, 48.  Rivalling him is PKR's Abdul Jalil Bujang, a 55-year-old businessman from Bintulu.

Barisan Nasional is fervently hoping for a big voter turnout today.  The challenge among others is the wet weather which is predicted to continue today.

Election Commission chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said they were expecting a 80% turnout rate at the 21 polling stations which will begin operations at 8am today.

He said early voting involving 132 voters was held on March 25 at the Dewan Serbaguna Ibu Pejabat Polis Mukah.
 
He said the results will be announced  "by 9pm at the latest".

It is a foregone conclusion here that BN will retain Balingian.

In the last state election Taib retained the Balingian state seat by a 5,154 vote majority in three cornered. The majority was a slight dip from the 2006 polls.

But the political scene in Sarawak has somewhat shifted since then with greater political awareness and an active opposition – DAP and PKR – making inroads in the urban, semi-urban and rural areas in the state.

Hence the urgency for BN and its lead-party in Sarawak, PBB, to assert their overwhelming hand.
According to political analyst Jeniri Amir, it is crucial for BN to have a good voter turnout today.

"First, this is a by-election. Normally, in by-elections, voters turnout are much lower than contests during state or general elections.

"If the turnout is low it may affect the winning majority. It is very important to have a voters' turnout of at least 75 percent," said Jeniri.

Jeniri, who was in Mukah and Balingian during the first week of campaigning which began on March 17,  said BN was going all out in their campaign efforts.

"Adenan himself is based in Mukah for the moment. He has gone to several (Iban) longhouses (to campaign). BN is also using their election machinery to the fullest," he said alluding that efforts at every quarter were doubled and tripled this time round.
 
'Buy' election

On Thursday state PKR deputy chairman See Chee How expressed shock at the amount of allocations being announced for projects and upgrades in Balingian since nomination on March 17.

He said the millions announced were more than what the constituency had seen in five decades.

Balingian has 13,233 registered voters of which majority are Malays and Melanau. The rest are Iban, Chinese and others.

The Chinese community's allegiance is what worries Adenan. He needs the Chinese and Ibans to vote for BN for an 'overwhelming' victory.

He has been trying to get the bickering factions within Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) to prioritise the party which is facing deregistration.

He said the Chinese are fedup with the squabbling, but deeply bruised faction followers are unrelenting and suspicious of any peace plan.

In the last state election, the unhappy Chinese threw their lot behind DAP literally killing-off SUPP. DAP took away 13 seats from SUPP. PKR wrested two Iban majority seats and made impressive inroads in a few other rural seats.

Said Jeniri: "The size of the majority will depend on the Chinese and Iban voters, especially in relation to NCR land issues and unfulfilled promises. There is a lot of discontentment in these issues.
"BN needs them to turn out and vote. BN can get a big win if voter turnout is 75 percent."

He pointed out that in Balingian, BN had seen a declining majority in the last three state election, in 2001, 2006 and 2011.

Bearing this in mind, BN and PBB are not taking chances.

Yesterday Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin order BN campaign workers to do a headcount of party supporters at all polling streams and stations.

Muyhiddin wants the Balingian constituency to deliver a win by 6,000 vote majority while Adenan wants the PKR candidate to lose his deposit.

Adenan is hoping for BN to retain Balingian by a 7,000 vote majority and further stamp his authority as the all powerful leader of Sarawak.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday

Peristiwa Memali: Mangsa Dakwa Dr Mahathir Jadi Dalang

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 10:00 PM PDT

Susulan pendedahan bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tun Musa Hitam, keluarga dan mangsa tragedi  Memali melahirkan rasa kesal mereka dengan penggelapan berita selama ini lalu membuat kesimpulan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mungkin adalah dalang sebenar peristiwa ini dan Musa hanya kambing hitamnya.

Salah seorang mangsa, Yusof Che Mid dalam kenyataannya kepada The Malaysian Insider berkata, "Kalau begitu, bagi saya Dr Mahathir mastermind dalam kes ini."

"(Tun) Musa hanya kambing hitam sahajalah kalau begitu," kata Yusof kepada The Malaysian Insider ketika dihubungi di rumahnya di Baling.

Yusof adalah dua orang kanan Ustaz Ibrahim Libya yang cuba ditangkap oleh kerajaan ketika peristiwa pada 1985 itu.

Di Parlimen, sehari selepas kejadian, Musa ketika itu yang juga menteri keselamatan dalam negeri berkata operasi itu adalah untuk menangkap tiga "penjenayah" iaitu Ustaz Ibrahim dan dua penyokongnya, Mat Ramli Che Mid dan Yusuf Che Mid.

Bagaimanapun, Ramli dan Yusuf tidak ada di rumah Ustaz Ibrahim ketika polis menggempur rumah itu yang mengorbankan 14 nyawa.

Selepas hampir 30 tahun peristiwa Memali berlaku, Musa mendedahkan Dr Mahathir yang juga perdana menteri ketika itu berada di Kuala Lumpur, bukannya China sebagaimana yang dilaporkan sebelum ini.

Pendedahan ini dibuat sendiri oleh Musa ketika peristiwa itu berlaku pada 19 November 1985 yang mengorbankan 14 orang dan berpuluh yang lain cedera.

Musa mendedahkan perkara ini dalam Diskusi Politik Malaysia: Dulu dan Sekarang anjuran kerajaan negeri Kelantan yang diadakan di Kota Baru, malam kelmarin.

Turut serta sebagai panel ialah Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Husam Musa manakala Profesor Madya Datuk Dr Mohmamad Agus Yusof bertindak sebagai moderator.

Musa ketika menjawab soalan Agus berkata, Dr Mahathir berada di Kuala Lumpur ketika kejadian itu dan berkata:"Dua tiga hari selepas kejadian itu pun dia berada di Kuala Lumpur."

Sebelum ini, semua maklumat yang disebarkan ialah Dr Mahathir berada di China ketika kejadian itu.

Sumber: TheMalaysianInsider

Memali: Pendedahan Musa Hitam Tunjuk Wajah Sebenar Dr Mahathir, Kata Pakatan

Posted: 28 Mar 2014 03:00 AM PDT

Pendedahan bekas timbalan perdana menteri Tun Musa Hitam berhubung keberadaan Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad di Malaysia semasa peristiwa Memali dan bukan di China seperti dipercayai selama lebih 30 tahun menunjukkan wajah sebenar ‎bekas perdana menteri itu, kata ahli Parlimen Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam, Khalid Samad ‎berkata Dr Mahathir sanggup menjadikan Musa sebagai mangsa untuk dipersalahkan sedangkan bekas perdana menteri itu berada di Malaysia.

"Ia menunjukkan sikap dan perwatakan Dr Mahathir dalam soal Memali sanggup memangsakan timbalannya dan itulah jenis manusia yang masih disanjung‎ ramai.

"Inilah orang yang merosakkan sistem dan ekonomi negara sehingga kita berada dalam keadaan yang parah sekarang ini," katanya pada satu sidang media di Kompleks Karangkraf, Shah Alam hari ini.

Dalam satu diskusi di Kota Baru semalam, Musa mendedahkan bahawa Dr Mahathir berada di Kuala Lumpur, bukannya China semasa peristiwa Memali.

Pendedahan ini dibuat sendiri Musa yang juga menteri keselamatan dalam negeri ketika peristiwa itu berlaku pada 19 November 1985 yang mengorbankan 14 orang dan berpuluh yang lain cedera.

Sumber: TheMalaysianInsider

Khamis, 27 Mac 2014

Suara Sri Andalas

Suara Sri Andalas


Halang Pemimpin KEADILAN, BN Sarawak Terdesak – Zuraida

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:45 PM PDT

PETALING JAYA 28 MAC: Tindakan kerajaan negeri Sarawak menghalang beberapa pimpinan KEADILAN memasuki negeri itu merupakan tindakan terdesak menjelang Pilihan Raya Kecil DUN Balingian, kata ketua Wanita KEADILAN, Zuraida Kamaruddin.

"Ini satu tindakan terdesak BN di Sarawak kerana mereka takut kepada pemimpin PKR untuk berkempen dan mengekang rakyat bergerak secara bebas dalam negara demokrasi.

"Ini hak kita. Mengapa mereka menafikan hak ini? Mereka menggunakan kuasa negeri yang tidak bertempat. Perbuatan ini memberi kesan kepada keputusan pilihan raya nanti," katanya pada satu sidang media di Ibu Pejabat KEADILAN di Petaling Jaya hari ini.

Semalam, Zuraida dihalang memasuki Sarawak sebaik tiba di Lapangan Terbang Sibu pada jam 2.30 petang dan diminta meninggalkan negeri itu pada petang hari yang sama.

Beliau merupakan pemimpin keempat dikenakan tindakan berkenaan selepas Setiausaha Agung KEADILAN, Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Pengarah Strategi KEADILAN, Rafizi Ramli dan Naib Presiden, Tian Chua.

Sementara itu, bercakap dengan Suara Keadilan, Zuraida bimbang keadaan itu akan berterusan pada kempen Pilihan Raya Negeri di Sarawak dan menjejaskan kempen Pakatan.

"Saya khuatir jika perkara ini berterusan, ia akan menjejaskan pergerakan untuk masa akan datang seperti untuk pilihan raya negeri yang akan diadakan pada tahun 2015," katanya.

Sumber: KeadilanDaily

Balingian: It’s a ‘Buy’ Election, Says PKR

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:35 PM PDT

MUKAH: The number of projects and upgradings announced for Balingian since March 17 has left opposition PKR reeling in shock.

The Balingian by-election which will be held tomorrow is now literally a "buy-their-loyalties" polls, which is surprising considering the seat has been a Barisan Nasional stronghold since 2001 when former chief minister Taib Mahmud won the seat.

In the 2011 state election Taib retained the seat by 5,154 votes. In the earlier 2006 polls he locked in a majority of 5,726 votes.

Opposition PKR which is fielding Bintulu businessman Abdul Jalil Bujang is hoping to eat into BN's previous majority.

But BN, through its candidate former Dalat district officer Yussibnosh Balo, is aiming for a landslide victory.

Various state and federal BN leaders have been making their rounds in Balingian wooing and cajoling voters with declarations that a big victory will be a show of gratitude to Taib and an endorsement of his successor Adenan Satem's administration.

Balingian falls in Sarawak's 'industrial'  zone. Taib's pet project Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy (Score) is sited in the Mukah parliamentary constituency where Balingian sits.

An overwhelming win will also stamp BN's continued control in the rural interior which has been facing active assault by opposition DAP and PKR since the the 2011 state election.

Both parties saw unprecedented victories in the 2011 state elections. DAP won 13 seats, albeit in the urban areas. PKR took three seats, losing at least two constituency by a hairline.

Perhaps this is the reason why BN is aiming its money muscle in victory-guaranteed Balingian.
Shocking extravagance

According to state PKR vice chairman See Chee How the millions being thrown around in Balingian since the March 17 nomination, was unprecedented and  "more than the constituency has seen in decades".

The latest being a pledge by Sarawak's Infrastructure and Communication Minister Michael Manyin to build a 11-kilometre missing link road between Kuala Serumpai and Kuala Tatau at a cost of RM230 million.

The numbers shocked See, who said that on the average one kilometre stretch of road in Sarawak would cost between RM1 to RM1.5 million to build.

He questioned the need for RM230 million for 11 km road stretch, adding that it reflected the need for a better check and balance system against the ruling government and that BN was fearful of their weakening strength in Balingian.

"The extravagance is shocking. We  want people to know that the BN government has made so many promises in the Balingian by-election because of PKR's strong presence.

"This has shown how important it is to have a dual party system.  We need a good check and balance of the government.

"We urge all voters to come to vote on March 29," said See alluding to the Kajang by-election which saw a low voter turnout. Nonetheless PKR retained the Kajang seat.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday

Anwar’s Conviction: The Ugly Truth About BN

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:30 PM PDT

By Eric Paulsen

Ever since Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister in 1998, the government has continuously misused state institutions, especially the police, the Attorney-General's Chambers and the judiciary to persecute him on what were clearly politically motivated and trumped up charges.

Anwar was beaten to within an inch of his life by then Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor while handcuffed and blindfolded, and after a series of sham trials that were universally condemned, he ultimately spent six years in jail.

With Anwar once again poised to challenge and reshape the dynamics of opposition politics by contesting in the Kajang by-election and in all likelihood be appointed as Selangor Menteri Besar, something had to give – and the government once again called upon the services of the AG's Chambers and judiciary to eliminate Anwar.

Although not expecting a fair trial, the skulduggery and lightning speed involved to bring forward and fully hear the AG's Chambers appeal against Anwar's acquittal, having him convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment in order to disqualify him from contesting in the by-election was breathtaking and represented a new abysmal low for the judiciary.

To describe the judiciary as not independent is a serious understatement.

In such cases, these judges actively collaborate with the authorities and deliver perverse judgments on cue.

It is just a matter of time before our judiciary, deservedly mocked, reaches the farcical level of summary trials currently seen in Egypt in cases against the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Court of Appeal judges involved, Balia Yusof, Aziah Ali and Mohd Zawawi Salleh surely must be remembered as being responsible for one of the worst miscarriages of justice in recent memory.

Their names will live in infamy together with other infamous judges like Augustine Paul and Arifin Jaka who similarly perverted the law in order to convict Anwar on false charges.

The hardliners in the government clearly think that the overwhelming misuse of state institutions is the answer even though such actions are preposterously self-defeating.

There has been a stream of criticism both inside Malaysia and abroad including from the US, EU, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Inter-Parliamentary Union and numerous other human rights and lawyers' organisations.

Many are ridiculing a legal system that allows for a travesty of justice on this scale to take place, which lacked basic standards of fair trial and even involved Mohd Shafee Abdullah, prominent Umno lawyer and legal adviser to Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Tun Razak, to prosecute Anwar.

But coming down hard on Anwar and many other opposition leaders, members of parliament, student leaders and dissidents on spurious sedition and peaceful assembly charges among others, makes Najib look more repressive than the modern and democrat leader that his spinners want to portray.

It also adds to the perception that Anwar and the opposition are clear victims, despite the fact that Barisan Nasional still enjoys almost half of the electorate's support.

Given that the judiciary will at some point be called again to adjudicate on significant matters between the government and the opposition including on electoral fraud, gerrymandering and other unlawful practices, fundamental freedoms and transition of government at state or federal level, anything that undermines its independence will cast a long shadow over these processes.

Anwar's verdict comes at a crucial moment in Malaysia's muddled transition from authoritarian rule with nominal democracy and periodic elections to what many still hope, despite the troubling signs, a greater democracy with genuine free and fair elections.

The verdict is not just about Anwar or the opposition's political ambition.

By convicting Anwar in a ludicrous trial that broke every known fair trial standards, it represents the ugly truth of BN, of desperation to hold on to power come what may, regardless of the damage it may do to Malaysia.

It is therefore all the more imperative to reject Anwar's verdict and work towards reclaiming Malaysia's democratic future without BN at the helm.

Eric Paulsen is the executive director of Lawyers for Liberty. Follow us on Twitter @lawyers4liberty

Kalaulah Sarawak Seperti Selangor - Jaytson

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:20 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: "Kalaulah Sarawak seperti Selangor…," kata Jaytson Lenjau Lian, yang membandingkan perbezaan ketara pentadbiran kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor dengan negerinya yang lebih 50 tahun dikuasai Barisan Nasional (BN), lapor Roketkini.

Butir bicaranya jelas menggambarkan rasa marah dan kecewa, mengenangkan negerinya yang kaya dengan sumber asli, namun hanya dinikmati sekelompok kecil penguasa BN.

Jaytson adalah seorang daripada peserta lawatan sambil belajar empat hari tiga malam Pemimpin Tempatan Bintulu Belaga ke Selangor anjuran bersama NGO Borneo Care dan DAP Sarawak, bagi melihat kaedah pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor.

Katanya, pengertian sebenar Persekutuan Malaysia ketika ia mula ditubuhkan dulu adalah untuk semua negeri berkongsi kekayaan dan bersama-sama maju sebagai sebuah negara merdeka.

"Memanglah saya terpegun melihat Selangor. Kalaulah dapat Sarawak juga macam ini, hidup (sejahteralah) kita dalam Persekutuan Malaysia ini," katanya selepas sesi lawatan ke Dewan Negeri Selangor (DNS) di Shah Alam, semalam.

Menurutnya lagi, pentadbiran Selangor jauh lebih telus dan bersungguh-sungguh berkhidmat kepada rakyat, berbanding BN yang sehingga kini masih gagal memberi kemudahan asas kepada penduduk di Bumi Kenyalang.

"Tambahan pula, YB-YB kita di sini, kita boleh berjabat tangan, berbincang dengan dia. Di Sarawak, nak tengok pun tak dapat. Polis kata 'jangan dekat, ini YB!'," katanya lagi.

Program semalam dimulakan dengan lawatan ke Parlimen yang mana mereka diberi taklimat berhubung prosedur penggubalan undang-undang dan dasar oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Bukit Bendera dan Bukit Mertajam, Zairil Khir Johari dan Steven Sim Chee Keong.


Sumber: HarakahDaily

Kit Siang: Andaian Bakri Parahkan 'Krisis Kredibiliti'

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 09:15 PM PDT

Timbalan Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri patut berundur atau dipecat kerana  membuat andaian berhubung kehilangan MH370 yang didakwa menjadikan "krisis kredibiliti" kerajaan menjadi lebih parah.

Ketua Parlimen DAP Lim Kit Siang menganggap, andaian bahawa MH370 berpatah balik atas arahan pusat kawalan yang dibuat Rahim itu tidak bertanggungjawab, cuai dan karut.

"Kesilapan Abdul Rahim menjadi lebih parah apabila beliau kelmarin mendakwa bahawa jawapan lebih tepat akan diberikan hanya setelah sisa pesawat ditemui," kata angggota Parlimen Gelang Patah itu.

Abdul Rahim semalam berkata, kenyataannya sebelum ini, bahawa MH370 berpatah balik kerana mendapat arahan pusat kawalan, hanya andaian dan ia tidak tepat.

Dalam kenyataannya hari ini, Lim mempersoalkan kenapa penjelasan itu ditangguhkan sedangkan rakyat Malaysia berhak tahu mengenainya.

"Apakah Abdul Rahim ingin mengatakan bahawa tidak mungkin untuk mengetahui mengapa tiada tindakan susulan oleh TUDM (tentera udara) ketika MH370 hilang dari radar awam, tetapi berjaya dikesan oleh radar tentera melainkan jika 'kotak hitam' ditemui?"


Sumber: MalaysiaKini

TAWAS: Peserta Bawah 18 Tahun Layak Terima Skim Baru Khairat RM1,500

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 03:00 AM PDT

SHAH ALAM, 27 MAC: Kerajaan Selangor terus komited membela kebajikan rakyat negeri itu dengan memperkenalkan satu lagi skim khairat kematian.

Skim yang dinamakan Manfaat Khairat Kematian YAWAS itu membolehkan ibu bapa peserta Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor (TAWAS) yang meninggal dunia sebelum mencapai umur 18 tahun menerima sumbangan RM1,500 daripada Nerajaan Negeri.

Pengurus Besar Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (YAWAS), Mohd Noor Mohd Zain, berkata skim terbabit mula diperkenalkan, pada 1 Mac lalu.
 
"Manfaat ini diperkenalkan kepada anak kelahiran Selangor yang mendaftar sebagai Ahli TAWAS. Dengan manfaat terbaru ini, jika peserta TAWAS itu meninggal dunia sebelum mencapai umur 18 tahun, ibu bapanya boleh menuntut khairat kematian bernilai RM1,500.

"Tuntutan itu boleh dibuat di pejabat YAWAS dengan membawa Sijil kematian, Kad SiManja dan Penyata Simpanan TAWAS jika ada," katanya kepada Selangor Kini, di sini, hari ini.

Mohd Noor berkata, rakyat Selangor digalakkan mendaftarkan anak mereka dalam Skim TAWAS bagi membolehkan anak terbabit tidak keciciran dalam menikmati pelbagai kemudahan yang disediakan Kerajaan Negeri.

Apabila seorang anak yang baru lahir didaftarkan dalam Skim TAWAS mereka akan dihadiahkan tabung simpanan RM100 dan pada usia 18 tahun, peserta berpeluang menerima RM1,500 seorang hasil daripada pelaburan dalam TAWAS.

Pendaftaran TAWAS boleh dibuat di Pejabat Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN), Pejabat Daerah, Pejabat Penghulu/Ketua Kampung, Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan, Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) terpilih atau terus ke pejabat Yawas di alamat A1-11-2 & A1-11-3 Jalan Multimedia 7/AH, Park City, I-City, Shah Alam.

Sebelum ini,di bawah program Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) Kerajaan Selangor memperkenalkan Skim Mesra Usia Emas (SMUE) yang membolehkan waris peserta skim itu menerima sumbangan khairat kematian bernilai RM2,500 dari Kerajaan Negeri.

Sumber: SelangorKu

Selangor Laksana Sukan Luar Sekolah, Elak Guru Jadi Mangsa Kerajaan Pusat

Posted: 27 Mar 2014 02:30 AM PDT

SHAH ALAM, 27 MAC: Kerajaan Negeri mempunyai pendekatan tersendiri untuk berdepan dengan sikap Kerajaan Pusat yang kurang memberi penekanan terhadap pembangunan sukan di Selangor.

Exco Belia dan Sukan, Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, berkata Kerajaan Negeri memilih untuk tidak bersikap konfrontasi dalam situasi berkenaan bagi memastikan tidak ada pihak yang terbabit terjejas terutama guru.

Katanya, setakat ini belum ada sebarang program pembangunan sukan dilakukan secara langsung dengan pihak sekolah.
 
"Kita mengambil sikap ini bagi menjaga semua pihak. Pada masa sama, program pembangunan sukan terus giat dijalankan.

"Kita juga tidak mahu apabila Kerajaan Negeri bersama sekolah terbabit secara langsung, guru pula dijadikan mangsa oleh Kerajaan Pusat.

"Mungkin mereka dikenakan tindakan disiplin, surat tunjuk sebab atau ditukarkan hanya kerana bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Negeri," katanya kepada Selangor Kini, di sini, baru-baru ini.

Perkara itu dibangkit Yunus apabila wujudnya halangan yang  tidak membolehkan Kerajaan Negeri terbabit secara langusung bersama sekolah dalam pembangunan sukan.

"Contohnya, Sekolah Sukan Seksyen 11 sebelum Pakatan Rakyat ambil alih Kerajaan Negeri, Majlis Sukan Negeri (MSN) Selangor dan Exco Sukan ketika itu boleh masuk. Tetapi, kini secara tidak rasminya kita tidak dibenarkan masuk.

"Namun, Kerajaan Negeri melalui MSN masih lagi berhubung dan memberi bantuan keperluan pembangunan sukan di sekolah terbabit," katanya.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya mengariskan beberapa komitmen sebagai jalan keluar dalam usaha memastikan program pembangunan sukan di negeri itu terus terlaksana.

"Saya cuba mencari jalan yang terbaik untuk anjurkan kejohanan sukan. Tahun lepas, saya berjaya anjurkan kejohanan bola sepak bawah 16 tahun, yang mana ia tidak dipertandingkan di peringkat sekolah.

"Sebaliknya, masih membabitkan pelajar apabila mereka menyertai kejohanan terbabit ketika cuti sekolah. Dengan cara itu, kita masih mempunyai ruang mencungkil bakat pelajar yang berpotensi besar dalam sukan bola sepak," katanya.

Sumber: SelangorKu

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim


Egypt’s bloody purge is just beginning

Posted: 26 Mar 2014 11:27 PM PDT

Foreign Policy

As hundreds of young men are sentenced to death for the killing of one policeman, the state is gearing up to crush its Islamist enemies.

gyptian Judge Saeed Youssef Mohamed presided over the mass trial of 683 people on charges of murder, incitement to violence, and sabotage on March 25 — including Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie — in the southern Egyptian city of Minya. The defense lawyers in the case boycotted the proceedings, but Mohamed demanded that the case go forward anyway.

It’s not hard to see why the defendants might not like their chances. On March 24, Mohamed handed down one of the world’s largest death penalty verdicts ever, ruling that 529 supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi would face the gallows for killing a police officer and attacking a police station last summer.

None of the accused or their lawyers was present on March 24, when Mohamed issued his sentence. The presiding judge in this Upper Egyptian court issued his damning ruling after a trial that lasted just two sessions. The verdict has not only dealt another blow to Egypt’s reputation abroad, but it has shown how far some elements of the state are prepared to go in crushing supporters of the former Islamist government. It is impossible to know whether Mohamed was acting alone or on orders from the central government.

The defendants, many of whom are members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, were accused of jointly murdering Mostafa El-Attar, deputy police commander of the southern town of Matay. The killing occurred on Aug. 14 in the aftermath of the forced dispersals of two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo that left hundreds dead.

The 545 people in the mass trial were also charged with attempting to murder two security officers, participating in an illegal rally, and vandalizing public and private property. Only 16 defendants were acquitted.

The news of the mass death sentence sent shock waves across the world. Human Rights Watch referred to the ruling as a “sham,” while Amnesty International’s Middle East deputy director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, said it was “the largest single batch of simultaneous death sentences we’ve seen in recent years.”

Not everyone, however, condemned the ruling. Several figures within pro-government Egyptian media celebrated the expanding crackdown on Morsi supporters. “I salute the fairness and justice of our judiciary in defiance of those killers and all those who attack it,” said Ahmed Moussa, the presenter of a show on a private Egyptian satellite channel. “May they be 10,000 [sentenced to death], 20,000, not 500. We are not sad; we are happy.”

The extraordinary hearings, which began on March 22, were in shambles from the beginning. During the first hearing, 147 defendants were crammed into a courtroom cage that had been specially modified to fit the enormous number of people on trial.

Judge Mohamed yelled at the defense lawyers, accusing them of being disruptive and “discussing politics,” reported Reuters. The defense teams, meanwhile, furiously argued with him in an unsuccessful attempt to get the judge changed.

“We simply couldn’t prepare the court case in time. The case file is 4,000 pages long,” said Ahmed Shabeeb, one of the defendants’ lawyers. “The court didn’t even listen to our request for more time. We couldn’t defend them,” he said.

The hearing lasted just 45 minutes, during which key witnesses were barred from giving their testimonies. The judge then adjourned the session and demanded that the lawyers submit a written defense. “He didn’t even look at the evidence,” Shabeeb said.

Two days later, Mohamed forbade the lawyers from attending the final hearing and issued the verdict to a courtroom of police officers.

The verdict, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that Egypt will actually execute the 529 defendants. The case will next head to the Court of Cassation, which examines whether the legal process of criminal court cases followed the letter of the law. In this case, the procedural errors were so blatant that it is unlikely that the verdict will be upheld, said Karim Ennarah, a criminal researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

But even if the sentence is not carried out, the verdict has propelled Egypt back into international headlines for all the wrong reasons — and has wrecked some tentative signs of improvement in the country’s human rights environment. Prominent secular activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who has been in jail since December and is on trial for allegedly organizing an illegal protest and assaulting a police officer, was finally released on bail on March 23. Meanwhile, interim President Adly Mansour personally wrote letters to jailed Al Jazeera correspondents Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy promising them a free and speedy trial.

This ruling, however, is a sign that some elements within the Egyptian state still favor a drastic escalation of violence against Morsi supporters. Doing so might come at the cost of the rule of law: After the trial’s March 22 opening session, Tarek Fouda, head of the lawyer’s syndicate in Minya, said that the presiding judge had “veered away from all legal norms and that he breached the rights of the defense.”

Fouda promised to submit a report on what had occurred to Egypt’s justice minister. The Justice Ministry was unavailable for comment on the case.

“I think it’s safe to say all 529 people were not involved in collectively killing one police officer. That would be an unprecedented feat of group work,” said Ennarah. He said March 24′s ruling was part of an “alarming” six-month trend of Egyptian courts giving “reckless and brutal rulings to intimidate and terrorize opposition protesters.”

The families of those sentenced, meanwhile, have been thoroughly disillusioned about the state of the judicial process. For them, this is solely a political attack on supporters of the former Islamist government.

“We don’t even consider it a verdict. At first we were surprised by the huge numbers on trial; now we just think it’s nonsense,” said Mohamed Hafez, whose two brothers, Hossam, 30, and Mostafa, 31, both businessmen, were sentenced to death on March 24.

Hafez told Foreign Policy that the investigation actually uncovered proof that his siblings are not in the Muslim Brotherhood — but they were sentenced to death anyway. “Maybe they’re trying to terrify people to stop going to demonstrations or oppose the regime,” he said.

The verdict comes just a few months before Egyptians are supposed to vote for a new president — a critical step in the military-authored “road map to democracy.” But as Egypt’s newest 529 occupants of death row can attest, the country remains a long way from the stability and rule of law that Morsi’s ouster was supposed to usher in.

“This is the largest death penalty in Egypt to the best of my knowledge,” Mohamed Zaree, program manager at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, concluded. “This is not a verdict; it is a massacre.”

Lost in Airspace

Posted: 26 Mar 2014 11:24 PM PDT

Foreign Affairs

MH370′s Humbling Reminder About Technology — And Its Operators

The tale of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 evolves by the minute. Most likely it will have changed yet again by the time you finish reading this. But whatever the ultimate solution to the puzzle may be, it is not too early to start asking what it means.

Here are the facts as we understand them at the moment. On March 8, a plane en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing. There was no indication that anything untoward was happening before it stopped communicating with air traffic controllers. Shortly after it went silent, it began to deviate dramatically from its preprogrammed flight path — again, with no indication of trouble. The plane managed to cross the Malay Peninsula and head into the Strait of Malacca without attracting any attention before it disappeared from radar entirely. According to the British firm Inmarsat, the plane was still airborne somewhere along a giant arc stretching from the southeastern Indian Ocean to Kazakhstan more than seven hours after departing from Kuala Lumpur.

One clear lesson, as Jessica Trisko Darden, an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario, has recently argued, is that the countries of Southeast Asia are incapable of monitoring, let alone controlling, their airspace. They are also poor at mounting a swift, coordinated response to disaster. They excel, however, at blaming each other. This should raise eyebrows in Washington as the United States "pivots" to Asia. Their response illustrates that any cordiality among players in the region is but a thin veneer. It also calls into question the competence and reliability of the very states on which the United States would depend in the event of a serious confrontation with China. Perhaps even more ominously, China's eagerness to outperform the United States in finding the missing plane would appear to have unseemly geopolitical overtones. It may even reflect Beijing's sensitivity to domestic legitimacy, in view of the fact that most of the passengers aboard MH370 were Chinese nationals.

But there are larger lessons as well — lessons with more than just regional significance. First, the good news. There is no evidence, and by most expert accounts it is extremely unlikely, that MH370 vanished as a result of malfunction. When vital systems in modern airliners fail, they trigger alarms. Backup systems kick in. Pilots report trouble if they are in radio range. There is no indication that any of this happened. Modern airliners are marvels of engineering, so it is no wonder that the odds of being in a fatal commercial airline accident are a mere 1 in 3.4 million. Fewer than a quarter of the fatal accidents that do occur are the result of mechanical failure. You are safer in an airplane than in a bathtub.

The only onboard systems whose performance is in question at the moment in this case are the transponder, which enables ground operators to identify the aircraft and provides crucial flight information, and the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which monitors system health and automatically relays faults to maintenance bases. These stopped working within minutes of the crew's final, perfectly routine radio contact with ground controllers on the morning of March 8. It seems increasingly certain that these systems were switched off deliberately.

As far as anyone can tell, all of the ground-based hardware also worked. Primary radars, secondary radars, and radio communications all held up their end of the bargain in trying to maintain contact with MH370. Again, this is what we should expect. The relevant technology is very good, and is getting better all the time. TheHuffington Post notwithstanding, there is no valid comparison between MH370 and Amelia Earhart's fateful final flight. A Boeing 777 operating in well-monitored airspace today is to Earhart's plane as the Internet is to smoke signals.

Now, the bad news. Although the mechanical systems seem to have worked well, the human systems failed repeatedly, both at the individual and group levels. For one, if the disappearance of MH370 was deliberate, then existing security measures failed to thwart it. In addition, Malaysian military radar operators failed to notice, misperceived, or wilfully ignored the plane's radar track as it headed westward. Thai radar operators noticed, but failed to report it because no one askedOther countriesmay have failed to notice or report the plane's odd path as well because of incompetence, flawed procedures, or fear of embarrassment. For days after the plane disappeared, although there was ample information indicating that the jet had headed toward the Indian Ocean, Malaysia and an increasing number of other countries kept looking for it in the Gulf of Thailand.

There is even worse news. Much of the confusion and uncertainty could easily have been prevented. It is almost inconceivable that, nearly 13 years after 9/11, pilots can still turn off transponders by themselves. (In those rare circumstances when it might be desirable for a pilot to turn off a transponder, there is no technical obstacle to requiring an additional ground-based signal to do it.) Moreover, there is an eight-year-old technology available — Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B — that provides more detailed and more reliable flight and positioning information than does a standard-issue transponder. Although MH370 had ADS-B, and although amateurs on the ground picked up its signal, air traffic controllers did not. Across the world, countries have been slow to embrace it because of bureaucratic inertia and misplaced safety concerns. (In the United States, the FAA does plan to adopt it nationwide, but not before 2020.)

If ADS-B isn't your style, continuous-broadcast GPS is another readily-available technology that airlines can use to monitor their fleets. But as Peter Parrish, vice president of operations for Latitude Technologies, which produces such a system, has lamented, "For some reason, the major carriers continue to rely exclusively on old technology to track their aircraft when one of our boxes could be tucked into an out-of-the-way spot on the aircraft to report location on a continuous basis, including on an accelerated basis right up to the point of impact in the event of a crash." Ironically, while Malaysia Airlines' regional subsidiary, MASwings, has embraced this technology, its parent company has not.

In one sense, the bad news is not surprising. Although technology advances by leaps and bounds, improvement in our mental ability to perceive and analyze the world takes place on an evolutionary timescale. Cognitive, bureaucratic, social, and cultural barriers to learning are ubiquitous. I have spent most of my professional career trying to understand why national leaders — who are almost always very smart people — make so many mistakes, and the answer is simply that they are human. As former Secretary of State Dean Rusk said to me toward the end of his life, "I’ve met and worked with a good many people whose names are in the history books or in the headlines. I have never met a demigod or a superman. I have only seen relatively ordinary men and women groping to deal with the problems with which they are faced."

We have come to appreciate that our rapidly increasing technological sophistication — which has brought to us such benefits as safe, convenient air travel — carries with it great potential cost. It gives us a greater ability to destroy, of course. But, as my colleague Thomas Homer-Dixon, CIGI Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, has pointed out, it can also lead to the creation of vulnerable, overly-tightly-connected, and inadequately resilient systems unless we pay careful attention. We have great difficulty appreciating, apparently, that individuals and organizations are often the weakest links in those systems. National leaders don't think of themselves or their counterparts elsewhere as ill-informed, confused, emotional, fallible, and perhaps even slightly mad some of the time. Nor do they think of the complex departments, ministries, agencies, and militaries over which they have authority and nominal control as marginally to severely dysfunctional virtually 100 percent of the time. But they are.

In a tense, heavily-armed region such as East or Southeast Asia, it would be a good idea for leaders to reflect on the limited capacities of individuals and organizations and the inevitability that they will make mistakes. And at no time are mistakes more likely than in times of crisis. The bizarre story of MH370 should make the importance of that insight painfully clear.