Abdullah VS Mahathir & Lee Hsien Loong

PM: My differences with Dr Mahathir will not affect Asean

The Star

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the political differences between him and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will not affect Asean.

Abdullah said this to reporters here yesterday after launching the KADA Baloh Negara, a special programme to make Kelantan the national food hub.

He had been asked to comment on a statement by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that the overall outlook of Asean remained favourable although some member countries were facing difficulties, a situation which could affect “the climate of Asean”.

Lee had said in his National Day rally speech at the National University of Singapore Cultural Centre on Sunday night that in

Malaysia, the problem was the “deep political differences” between the former prime minister and Abdullah.

“I think everyone hopes these will be resolved soon,” he had said.

Lee made reference to Malaysia and several other Asean countries as he elaborated on the outlook and the challenges faced by the 10-member grouping which, he said, would indirectly affect Singapore.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he did not think that “deep political differences” in Malaysia could affect the “climate of Asean” as mentioned by Lee.

“Whatever differences there are, I would consider them purely domestic; and we will have to manage that without any adverse impact in terms of our economy, in terms of confidence towards Malaysia,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Najib said the current situation was still manageable.

“Whatever the differences, they do not really change government policies and the commitment to be business and investor-friendly,” he said.

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Khairy has no intention of hurting Chinese

Once again, Umno Deputy Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin a.k.a the-son-in-law shot to the front pages of major Chinese-language newspapers, but Both the English and Malay dailies have ignored KJ’s remarks.

Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin has assured the MCA that he had no intention of hurting the feelings of the Chinese community.

His MCA Youth counterpart Datuk Ling Hee Leong said this was conveyed to him at a meeting between the two yesterday.

“We agreed that we should look forward to the greater interest of the nation,” he said.

Ling said that the two also agreed that racial issues should not be used by anyone.

He said he also conveyed to Khairy the sentiments of the Chinese community.

Ling said he told Khairy that the MCA had never taken advantage of the situation in Umno as both were key component parties of the Barisan Nasional.

Earlier yesterday, Barisan Youth head Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Khairy had explained to him that his remark had been misunderstood.

“It is a learning process for Khairy also. This is something that concerned our friends and he (Khairy) agreed to justify it to them. To me it is good enough.”

Hishammuddin said Khairy would explain to those who were said to have felt offended by his remark that the Chinese community would make demands if the Umno in-fighting continued.

”He (Khairy) has already contacted Barisan component party leaders to arrange for meetings to give his explanation,” Hishammuddin, who is also Umno Youth chief, said.

“If he says that his statement had been misunderstood, I believe that it had been misunderstood. We are never taught to create something that is sensitive and polemic in nature.”

He was responding to reports in several Chinese dailies highlighting remarks by various MCA and Gerakan leaders over Khairy’s statement in Kedah last Friday.

MCA vice-president Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek had said the Chinese, including the MCA, had never tried to take advantage of the in-fighting in Umno to protect the position of the Chinese and strive for more rights.

Gerakan Youth deputy chief Lim Si Pin expressed similar sentiments, saying Umno might be facing internal problems, but Gerakan Youth would not take advantage of it.

Hishammuddin said Barisan Youth component party leaders had agreed that the issue involving Khairy’s statement could be resolved intelligently and amicably through existing channels within Barisan Youth.

“We have made the decision that the four Barisan Youth component party leaders will resolve the issue together in an amicable manner. The understanding within Barisan Youth remains strong,” he added.

“I think it is a non-issue. I think it is something that can be resolved. The main thing is to satisfy those who feel offended. The explanation is at our level. We can resolve it at this level.”

Hishammuddin said Barisan Youth component party leaders also agreed that certain issues that were recently raised, including those related to apostasy, the Inter-Faith Council, dialogues relating to religion, the proposal on rotation of the Penang chief minister's post, the position of the Malays in Penang and Khairy’s statement should not be prolonged, because these could create a split and affect the harmony in Barisan Youth.

“Similar situations have happened in the past where more sensitive issues were raised. It has to be resolved by the Barisan Youth leaders using the same formula whereby we discuss with understanding,'' he said.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said what was most important was that there was immediate action to ensure contentious issues could be resolved through discussions in the spirit of the Barisan.

“We are looking at the bigger picture to ensure unity will remain in Barisan. MCA Youth has co-operated with Umno all this while. We have gone through thick and thin, with the strong spirit of co-operation, and resolved many issues together.”

Gerakan Youth chief Mah Siew Keong concurred that discussions among Barisan component parties were important in resolving issues that cropped up.

“The issue involving the proposal for rotation of the Penang chief minister's post should be stopped. Hopefully, Penang Umno Youth can work with Gerakan Youth to deal with problems so that the opposition will not take advantage of the situation to gain political mileage.”

MIC Youth chief M. S. Vickneswaran said the movement felt that Khairy should be given the opportunity to explain, and he believed Umno Youth was sincere in wanting to resolve the issue.

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國青團消弭風波 敏感課題全面禁談 22/8/2006

（吉隆坡21日訊）國陣青年團今日一致決定，立刻停止一切可引起種族敏感的課題，包括巫青副團長凱里發表具爭議的「趁亂訴求」言論、檳城首長輪任制、判教案件及宗教對話等。

同時，國陣青年團表明，近期在言論上引起國陣成員黨不滿的主角凱里，必須盡快做出解釋，以化解其他成員黨領袖對于這場風波的誤解。

國陣青年團4名領袖，包括巫青團長拿督斯里希山慕丁、馬青總團長拿督廖中萊、民青總團長拿督馬袖強及國大黨青年團團長威尼斯瓦蘭，今日上午在國會舉行一項聯合會議后，達致這項共識。

希山與另外3名國青團領袖，在聯席記者會上表示，國陣青年團一致希望，近期的風波，應該立刻停止，以免發展到一發不可收拾的地步。

促凱里作出解釋

他說，國陣青年團4名領袖經過討論后，一致同意，以上的各項風波，都應該通過現有的國陣協商機制來解決，這些問題不應再次被挑起。

他指出，國青團也準備在近期開會，希望讓紛擾不斷的事件，以理智及平和的方式解決。

他強調，國青團領袖依然團結一致，並沒有因為近期的風波，導致彼此的關係出現裂痕。

除此之外，希山指出，國陣領袖無意在宗教或種族問題上，挑起其他族群的不滿。

他說，至于凱里在言論上引發的風波，凱里應該向其他國陣成員黨做出解釋。

「既然凱里表明他準備給解釋，我相信，他身為一名負責任的領袖，如果有其他國陣領袖感到不愉快，他應該解釋，以便讓其他領袖滿意。」

希山表示，這是凱里的個人決定，他不會指示凱里這樣做。

他指出，國青團在過去經歷無數的風浪，也曾經面對過比當前更敏感的事件，他希望，國陣能繼續在現有的機制下，解決目前出現的問題。

「國青團擁有長期的合作歷史，我們應在國陣的機制下解決各項問題，我相信，凱里也能相信這一點。」

希山表明，他無法對凱里的言論加以置評，因為凱里在發言時，他並不在現場。

「我並沒有在現場聽到他的談話，事實上，凱里的談話都是通過華文報章報導出來。」

不過，他說，如果凱里已表明其言論已被誤解，他願意相信，凱里是被誤解的。

希山強調， 他並沒支持凱里的言論。「你們不要將話塞進我的口中，我甚至不曉得凱里說過甚么。」

詢及馬青與民青在這場風波中，是否反應過激時，他指出，這已不重要，最重要是國陣能以誠懇的態度，解決這個問題。

希山說，他希望最近的風波，成為凱里其中一項考驗，國陣需要面對數以千計的考驗，才能從這些考驗中學習，以讓國陣繼續強大。

另外， 馬青總團長拿督廖中萊表示，希山慕丁在今日的記者會上，顯示他尊重國陣伙伴的感受。

他說， 希山採取了迅速的行動，解決這場爭議。

他指出，馬青與巫青團自獨立之前，便開始合作無間，他深信通過國陣的機制，解決各項問題。最后，他表示，他仍在等候凱里，對其言論風波所給予的解釋。
(SOURCE:ORIENT DAILY)

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Nexnews' stand on "gun" and "shoot"as

MIGHT vs MITE. Nexnews, which publishes major titles such as the Edge and the Sun, and which aspires to be a big regional name, this afternoon takes on Jeff Ooi, a blogger, over a shooting that never took place.


Jeffooi wrote in his blog :

Senior editors of Nexnews Media Group told the Complaints Bureau of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum yesterday the following:

1 ) The phrase: "And it is an open secret that unless you put a gun to the heads of many of those in power, nothing will move”

Nexnews argued that:

* It is not seditious by legal definition in Malaysia

* It is frivolous to even bring it up to the attention of the Complaints Bureau

* "To put a gun to one's head" is an idiomatic expression commonly used is English

* It has been taken out of context

Nexnews' stand on the above, the online version of the implicated article is available here, was conveyed by R. Nadeswaran, theSun deputy editor who represented its Group Editor-in-Chief Ho Kay Tat, Ho did not show up even though he was the named respondent in a public complaint to the Complaints Bureau (see briefs here), and the Bureau allowed it. Nadeswaran was accompanied by theSun editor Chong Cheng Hai.

Hearing on this issue was over within 10 minutes after theSun gave its stand.

2 ) The phrase "Shoot him for good"

Nexnews argued that:

* The phrase "shoot him for good" was a threat to editor P.Gunasegaram's life though "threat issuer in Malaysia normally doesn't follow up with real action"

* There must be a prominent, public apology by the blog owner over the cited reader's comment

* There must be assurance that such words of threats, including all languanges deemed offensive by the law, including those defined in Section 2 of the Content Code, must not be repeated

* Screenshots is singled out, in this case, because it is "the most influential blog" in Malaysia

* P. Gunasegaram is ready to file subsequent complaints against Screenshots if needs be

Nexnews' stand on the above was articulated by its Group Executive Editor P. Gunasegaram.

Protracted volleys of view points were heard from both sides, the Chairman and the CMCF councilmembers, and unresolved key points will be dealt with next Tuesday, with the Complaints Bureau making no final decision.

Ths Complaints Bureau, however, has yet to make any decisions except to mediate. The mediation shall continue at 9.30am, August 29.

The mediation was chaired by Complaints Bureau chairman, assisted by CMCF executive director Mohd Mustafa Fazil Mohd Abdan and executive secretary J. Matthews. As the legal provision for members constituting the Complaints Bureau CMCF is vague in the Complaints Bureau by-law, the Chairman has used his discretion to invites CMCF council members to comprise yesterday's sitting. The Complaints Bureau by-law itself will only become effective from September 12, 2006.

There were three CMCF council members, representing the industry from TM Net(Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek), TV3 (Laili Hanim Mahmood) and Axis-Films (Paul Loosley), who attended the meeting yesterday.

There was no representation from the Civil Society group among the CMCF council members.

It is noted that the Content Code is a guideline for self-regulation in the online content industry. Compliance is voluntary to the Code Subjects, who are either individual or class licenses under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, of which blogs are not licensees.

Mainstream Media vs. Blog

The mediation came about P. Gunasegaram had filed a complaint against a reader's comment posted on this blog, claiming that his life was threatened (see blog entries here). Prior to this, he has repeatedly criticised Dr Mahathir's track records in the former Prime Minister's 22-year administration, including interfering of the judiciary and perpetuating patronage and cronyism, which has aroused critical responses from several blog readers.

August 4, Ho in his capacity as the Group Editor-in-Chief of Nexnews Media Group, which publishes The Edge and theSun, said "as a newspaper group, Nexnews supports freedom of speech and freedom of expression but a threat to hurt someone is criminal intimidation, not freedom of expression.

"Freedom of expression does not extend to inciting people to cause harm to someone else," Ho said. "Indeed, the threat to Gunasegaram was clearly meant to shut him up. Those of us who cherish freedom of expression should be abhorred that a website that claims to be a champion of free speech saw it fit to allow someone to make that threat," Ho said.

Nexnews is majority-owned by Canada-based Tong Kooi Ong and construction/gaming tycoon Vincent Tan.

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Human Rights Watch : Human Rights Overview (2006)

Malaysia

Malaysia made only marginal progress on human rights in 2005. Although the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi publicized the findings and 125 recommendations of the government-appointed Royal Commission to examine police abuse, and prosecuted two Malaysians for abusing Indonesian domestic workers, significant obstacles to human rights remain. These include the use of antiquated preventive detention laws that allow for arbitrary detention without charge or trial of persons who are a threat to national security and public order, restrictions on religious freedom, and abuses against refugees and migrants.

Detention without Trial
Under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the government is holding over one hundred detainees without charge or judicial review in violation of international standards prohibiting arbitrary detention and the right to a prompt and fair trial. The government has used the ISA to silence critics and political opponents of the ruling United Malay National Organization (UMNO). After September 11, 2001, the ISA was used to arrest people accused of associating with militant Islamist groups. In 2005 it was also used to detain individuals allegedly involved in counterfeiting and forging documents.

This unchecked system of detention is conducive to abuse of detainees. On December 8-9, 2004, prison guards beat and humiliated more than twenty-five ISA detainees, some of whom have been detained for three years, in Kamunting Detention Center in Perak state. The beatings occurred after detainees in one cellblock resisted the unannounced search of their cells conducted as part of an official effort to impose a more rigid disciplinary regime, and the beatings extended to detainees in cellblocks that did not resist the inspection. No official investigation into the incident is known to have taken place, and no personnel involved in the abuse have been disciplined.

In September 2005, nine ISA detainees who had been in detention for four years for alleged ties with Islamist militant groups had their detention renewed for another two years. Subsequently, in November 2005, three of them were released. One was released unconditionally, whereas two remain under a restricted residence order requiring them to report to the police once a week and forbidding them to leave their residential districts.

Malaysia’s use of preventive detention laws extends to criminal suspects whom the police find difficult to prosecute due to lack of evidence. Under the 1969 Emergency Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance (Emergency Ordinance) the government is authorized to detain individuals who are a threat to public order without charge or trial. A detainee is initially held incommunicado for sixty days and denied access to counsel. The minister of internal security may then order such a person to be detained for two years, renewable indefinitely. Demonstrating how government authorities can show scant respect for judicial orders, in May 2005 forty-eight out of fifty-six Emergency Ordinance detainees released on habeas corpus petitions were rearrested, on orders of the Ministry of Internal Security, within days of their release, on the same charges and without any additional evidence against them.

More than one thousand persons are detained under the Emergency Ordinance, at the Simpang Renggam Rehabilitation Center in Johor state. In November 2004 over four hundred of these detainees began a hunger strike to protest the conditions and the length of their detention. The Malaysian Bar Council visited the detention center that month and found overcrowded cells and detainees in need of immediate medical attention. In June 2005, the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights—comprised of members of parliament from the ruling party and the opposition—visited Simpang Renggam and also concluded that the detention center was overcrowded and unhealthy. Human Rights Watch was denied access to the facility, but investigations through interviews with former detainees revealed inhumane conditions of confinement, including overcrowded cells, inedible food infested with worms, limited access to fresh air or exercise, and unhygienic living conditions.

The Royal Commission recommended the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance because the “law had outlived its purpose” and had “facilitated the abuse of fundamental liberties,” namely, deprivation of liberty without trial.

Restrictions on Religious Belief
Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, and ethnic Malays by definition must be Muslim. Faiths of other ethnic groups are protected under the constitution. Under Shar’ia law, applicable only to Muslims and enforced at the state level, Malays wishing to renounce Islam (apostasy) to profess other faiths or beliefs, and Muslims who hold beliefs that “deviate” from Sunni Islam, are subject to criminal sanctions.

In July 2005 a mob of masked persons launched a pre-dawn attack on a six-acre commune of the Sky Kingdom religious sect in Terengganu state. The commune’s inhabitants were predominantly Malaysian followers of Ayah Pin (Ariffin Muhammad), who claims to be the reincarnation of the holy figures of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The mob damaged religious structures, homes, and vehicles. Malaysian police failed to arrest anyone involved in the attack.

In August 2005 forty-five members of the Sky Kingdom were charged with violating Islamic precepts under section 10 of the Terengganu Shariah Criminal Offenses Enactment of 2001. If convicted, they could be fined and jailed for up to two years.

Crackdown on Migrants and Refugees
In March 2005, the Malaysian government began expulsions under “Operation Firm,” following through on plans announced in 2004 to round up and deport some 1.2 million undocumented migrant workers. Preceding this was a four-month amnesty during which four hundred thousand undocumented migrants returned home without being penalized under the immigration law. At the time of this writing, more than nine thousand undocumented migrants, mostly Indonesians who did not repatriate, are being held in detention centers awaiting trial for immigration violations, which are punishable by caning, heavy fines, or imprisonment.

Refugees, abused migrant workers, and trafficking victims were also rounded up during “Operation Firm.” At the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Malaysian authorities in May 2005 released over five hundred refugees and persons of concern who had been arrested under the 2002 Immigration Act. As of August 2005, 973 persons of concern were detained in prison and immigration detention centers, and 222 of them were being prosecuted for immigration violations.

The exodus of undocumented workers from Malaysia created labor shortages in the agricultural, construction, manufacturing, and service sectors, forcing the government to import workers from Burma, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In May 2005 the government allowed formerly illegal workers from Indonesia and other countries who had left under the amnesty to return and seek work. In July the minister of home affairs announced plans to absorb sixty thousand asylum seekers, mainly Rohingyas and Chin from Burma, Achenese from Indonesia, and Moro from the Philippines, into the labor force.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, and in 2005 it deported over twenty Rohingya refugees to Burma. In contrast, it has allowed 131 Thai Muslims fleeing Thailand’s southern Narathiwat province, which has been gripped with violence, to remain in Malaysia since August 2005. The Malaysian government has stated that it will not repatriate them unless it receives assurances from the Thai government that they will not be harmed.

Migrant Domestic Workers
In 2004 Human Rights Watch documented pervasive human rights abuses against domestic workers, including excessively long work hours, lack of rest days, unpaid wages, and physical and sexual abuse. Migrant domestic workers continue to be excluded from Malaysia’s Employment Act of 1955, which would entitle them to one rest day per week and an eight-hour work day. In May 2004, the Malaysian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Indonesia regarding migrant workers, but excluded domestic workers. Despite assurances by the governments in 2004 that they would create an MOU within three months to provide greater legal protection to domestic workers, they have yet to do so.

In June 2005 Malaysian courts sentenced a Malaysian man to twenty years in jail for beating to death his Indonesian domestic worker, and another employer received a twelve-year prison term for raping his Indonesian domestic worker.

Human Rights Defenders
Malaysian human rights defenders operate with little intimidation from the Malaysian government. However, human rights advocate Irene Fernandez continued to be on bail pending the outcome of her appeal against a 2003 conviction under Malaysia’s restrictive press laws for “maliciously publishing false news,” for which she had been sentenced to a year in prison. Fernandez had been arrested in 1995 when Tenaganita, a nongovernmental organization she headed, published a report documenting beatings, sexual violence, and inadequate food and water in Malaysia’s immigration detention camps. Fernandez was awarded the 2005 Right Livelihood Awards, known as the alternative Nobels.

Key International Actors
The United States, once a critic of Malaysia’s misuse of the ISA, has stopped voicing its disapproval. In June 2005 Malaysian Inspector General of Police Tun Sri Mohamed Bakri Omar, in asserting that governments have valid grounds to enact laws that restrict human rights, cited the U.S. Patriot Act and the United Kingdom’s Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 as justifications for Malaysia’s continuing to detain individuals indefinitely without charge. Malaysian cabinet minister Datuk Mohamed Nazri told Human Rights Watch in July 2005 that the U.S. no longer criticizes Malaysia’s use of the ISA because of U.S. detention practices at Guantánamo Bay.




Malaysia Ahmad Badawi Mahathir Khairy MCA UMNO Human Rights Watch Freedom Speech