Mahathir lets fly on 'gag'

Mahathir lets fly on 'gag'

Former leader Mahathir Mohamad accused his successor yesterday of turning Malaysia into a police state, claiming he had been robbed of his right to meet the public to voice his grievances.

Dr Mahathir's remarks signalled the failure of his closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Sunday to resolve months of acrimonious attacks that Dr Mahathir has unleashed against Mr Abdullah's three-year-old administration.

"The habit of asking police to frighten people should be stopped," Dr Mahathir said. "I consider this a police state. I also consider my civic rights have been taken away."

He said leaders in the ruling United Malays National Organisation party had told him they had received calls from police ordering them not to invite him to speak at gatherings.

Dr Mahathir, who hand-picked Mr Abdullah to succeed him in 2003, had been criticised by human rights groups and activists who accused him of clamping down on dissent during his 22 years in power.

Mr Abdullah's office indicated the leader would not respond to the comments.

Dr Mahathir also widened the scope of his attacks against Mr Abdullah, suggesting the Prime Minister might be corrupt. He cited a recommendation letter Mr Abdullah wrote for a relative's company that obtained a contract in the UN's oil-for-food program inIraq.

But Dr Mahathir refused to say whether he wanted Mr Abdullah to step down, stressing it was up to UMNO and Mr Abdullah to decide what was best for the country.

"Governments which are sensitive will take action" after criticism, he said, adding that he planned to continue his criticism even though he "didn't give (Mr Abdullah) any ultimatum" during yesterday's meeting.


ROYAL DISMAY

The Sultan of Selangor and Sultan of Johor have spoken - loud and clear.

An annoyed Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has ordered palace staff to compile information from the public on errant local councillors and elected representatives, including Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Mat Deros, for him to stop the hanky-panky of these officials.

A saddened Sultan Iskandar wants Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to behave like a pensioner and 'stop making noise'. He also urged the people to support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government.

JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor said yesterday that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should behave like a pensioner and stop "making noise".

He also called on the people to join him in supporting the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In an impromptu speech after Aidilfitri prayers at the Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque here, he said he was sad and disappointed at the continuing criticism of Abdullah’s leadership by his predecessor.

"I have something to say," Sultan Iskandar al-Marhum Sultan Ismail told Muslims as he took over the microphone after the prayers and sermon by the imam.

He said he was saddened by the feud, especially since he knew both leaders personally and considered them as his sahabat (friends).

(Abdullah and Dr Mahathir are recipients of the Darjah Kerabat Johor Yang Amat Dihormati, Pangkat Pertama (DK1).

(The DK or The Most Esteemed Family Order of Johor, is normally awarded to royalty, but it is occasionally given to commoners who have given valuable service to the Ruler and the state).

Alluding to Dr Mahathir’s recent attacks against Abdullah, the Sultan said: "If one has already been pensioned, just behave like a pensioner, what is the use of making more noise?"

Among those in the congregation were the Tunku Mahkota Johor, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail; Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, state executive councillors and heads of government departments and community leaders.

During Umno’s 60th anniversary celebrations at Istana Johor in May, the sultan had tried to patch things up between Abdullah and Dr Mahathir by asking them to be photographed together in a group picture with him and other Umno leaders.

Dr Mahathir told reporters on Monday — the day after a peace meeting with Abdullah — that he would continue with his criticism to "save Umno from a bad leadership", and until there was change.

He has escalated his attacks on the current administration in the past six months, accusing Abdullah of jeopardising economic expansion and achieving nothing since taking over in 2003.

Among his key grouses are the scrapping of several of his pet projects, including building a bridge to replace the Causeway across the Johor Strait.



Tun Mahathir Made Political Miscalculation, Says Zam

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made a political miscalculation when he revealed the substance of his meeting last Sunday with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said Tuesday.

He said that at a time when the leaders, the Malays and Muslims were hoping for a settlement (of the differences of opinion between the two leaders) before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the former prime minister had revealed matters of a sensitive nature discussed at the meeting.

He said that for the Malays it was a sad Aidilfitri this year because they failed to see the settlement that they had been hoping for between the former prime minister and his successor.

"As far as I can remember, this is the second time that Dr Mahathir has made a political miscalculation. The first time was when he brought Anwar (former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) into Umno to strengthen the party but the move only caused damage to Umno," he told Bernama when contacted.

Zainuddin, who is the Member of Parliament for Merbok, said that following the political miscalculation, a random survey among officers of the Information Ministry a day after Dr Mahathir's statement showed that Abdullah had won much sympathy.

He said the survey also found that the people were disappointed with Dr Mahathir's approach in making the open statement.

However, he added, the Information Ministry would conduct a more comprehensive study on the people's response towards the development.

Many people were not in agreement and feel that it was not appropriate for Dr Mahathir to have done what he did, he said.

Zainuddin said he was taken aback by Dr Mahathir's statement predicting a poor future for the Barisan Nasional (BN).

"Three days before the meeting, I mentioned to Pak Lah (the prime minister) that I did not think the meeting would bring any positive result," he said.

Zainuddin said the meeting should have ended without any statement afterwards.

"My hopes and that of other Malays and Muslims were dashed when Dr Mahathir came out with a more critical statement and of a personal nature against Pak Lah," he said.

Zainuddin said the prime minister had opened the doors to subsequent discussions and meetings when he extended the invitation for further meetings with Dr Mahathir.

"I believe the people are hoping for private four-eyed dialogues to be held in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said he hoped that Dr Mahathir would discontinue making unhealthy comments against Abdullah because it was tantamount to discourteous acts by a member against his own party.

"I state this because never has there been a case in Umno where a member can force a leader to follow his wishes.

"If everything that the government does is commented on and disputed in a big way, it is clearly not proper," he told reporters at his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at his residence in Kampung Tok Has near Jertih.

Idris said it was not wrong to make comments about a leader but it had to be done through the proper channels.

"I have made comments against Pak Lah but the difference is that we do so in the correct way, not contrary to Islam," he said.

He said that when Dr Mahathir was prime minister, other leaders had great respect for him and that it was now the former prime minister's turn to respect the decisions made by Abdullah.

"What is implemented are not the decisions of the prime minister alone but those of the Cabinet," he said.

Idris said he was disappointed that Dr Mahathir preferred to seek publicity by revealing issues to the media when the two leaders had already met last Sunday.

He said that whatever happened, it would not deter him and the people of Terengganu from continuing to support the leadership of Abdullah.

In MUAR (Johor), Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister and Umno Vice-President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the people were disappointed over Dr Mahathir's latest verbal assault of Abdullah as they had hoped that the differences between the two leaders would be resolved at their meeting. He said the people's support for the leadership of Abdullah showed that they did not want the political stability as well as stability of the government to be undermined by Dr Mahathir's criticism of Abdullah.

Commenting on the meeting of the two leaders, Muhyiddin said answers to 90 minutes of discussions on politics, foreign policy, administration and other matters could not be found in a short time.

The government leadership had to study each matter that was raised before making its decisions, he said, adding that it was not necessarily so that the government must agree 100 per cent with what was raised by the former prime minister.

Muhyiddin also said that it was important at this time to give the government leadership the opportunity to implement development programmes in line with the objective of making Malaysia a developed nation according to Vision 2020 that was initiated by Dr Mahathir.

Although the approaches of Dr Mahathir and Abdullah differed, the objective was one and the same, he said.


I’m down but surviving, says Mahathir

There are ups and downs in life, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I am surviving,” the former prime minister said at his open house in Mines Resort City, adding that he felt “great”.

After eight hours of welcoming thousands of well-wishers to his open house at his residence here yesterday, Dr Mahathir, 82, still looked fresh and was in jovial mood.

“There are ups and downs in life. Now I am down,” he quipped.

Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Paduka Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who was also present at the open house, said the meeting between Dr Mahathir and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday should be viewed with optimism, not pessimism.

He said it was a good start.

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Reporters Without Borders Names Worst Violators of Press Freedom

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles

The organization Reporters Without Borders says North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Eritrea remain the most repressive countries for journalists. The annual ranking sees a worsening of press freedom in three major democracies - the United States, Japan and France.

The annual survey says North Korea remains the world's worst violator of free expression, ranking last in the list of 168 countries. The report's authors say Turkmenistan, at number 167, and Eritrea, at 166, have also clamped down further on press freedoms. They add that journalists in Cuba, Burma and China are risking their lives or their freedom to keep people informed.

The report puts northern European countries at the top of the index, as it did last year, finding no instances of censorship, violence, intimidation or reprisals against journalists in Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands. All share first place in the ranking.

But Denmark dropped from a shared first-place last year to number 19 this year, because of threats against journalists who published controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.

The United States fell nine places since last year's index and now ranks in 53rd place. The report was critical of restrictions on civil liberties under what it calls the "pretext" of national security.

The authors cite the jailing of San Francisco journalist Josh Wolf, who operates an internet weblog, for refusing to give the courts material from his video archive. They also cite the cases of Sami al-Haj, a Sudanese cameraman for the Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera who has been detained for five years at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi being held by U.S. authorities in Iraq. U.S. officials have called al-Haj an enemy combatant and say Hussein is suspected of having ties to insurgents, and say he is being held in accord with United Nations resolutions and the Geneva Conventions. Reporters Without Borders notes that neither has been charged with any crime.

France slipped five places in the survey to number 35, because of searches of the offices and homes of reporters, and attacks and threats on journalists who covered the violent demonstrations in French suburbs last November. Japan fell 14 places to 51st place, the report's authors citing the rise of Japanese nationalism and the country's exclusive system of press clubs as threats to media freedom.

The survey from Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based group, is one several annual reports that address freedom of expression. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists issues its own investigative findings.

The committee's Abi Wright says journalists are under threat in many parts of the world. She adds that three are murdered every month.

"It is no surprise that Iraq came out at the deadliest country for journalists," she said. "It is actually the most dangerous conflict that we have every covered at the Committee to Protect Journalists in our 25-year history."

Other dangerous countries include Russia, where a prominent journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, was killed earlier this month.

Russia fell nine places to number 147 in the survey from Reporters Without Borders. The authors accuse Russian authorities of steadily dismantling the free media.

The report says changes of regime have brought welcome improvements in press freedom in Haiti, Togo and Mauritania. And two countries moved into the top 20 for the first time: 16th place Bolivia and 19th place Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Abi Wright of the Committee to Protect Journalists says there is a strong relationship between a free press and transparency in government and business, and so there are practical benefits from a free media. She says open societies are generally good places to invest in.

Reed Brody, a lawyer with Human Rights Watch, says press freedom is also a basic democratic right.

"It allows expression of grievances," he said. "It allows for the unveiling of corruption. It allows democratic participation. Without a free press, many of the other human rights that we take for granted and that we cherish would probably not exist."

Brody says despite some setbacks, press freedom is on the rise around the world. He says the growth of the Internet makes it easier for people to spread and share information and harder for governments to muzzle them. At the same time, he says that courageous reporting under totalitarian governments and in conflict-ridden regions remains very dangerous.

Malaysia placed @ (92th),Singapore (146th) slipped six places because of new legal action by the government against foreign media.


Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006

France, the United States and Japan slip further Seven Asian countries among the bottom 20

New countries have moved ahead of some Western democracies in the fifth annual Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index, issued today, while the most repressive countries are still the same ones.

“Unfortunately nothing has changed in the countries that are the worst predators of press freedom,” the organisation said, “and journalists in North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Burma and China are still risking their life or imprisonment for trying to keep us informed. These situations are extremely serious and it is urgent that leaders of these countries accept criticism and stop routinely cracking down on the media so harshly.

"Each year new countries in less-developed parts of the world move up the Index to positions above some European countries or the United States. This is good news and shows once again that, even though very poor, countries can be very observant of freedom of expression. Meanwhile the steady erosion of press freedom in the United States, France and Japan is extremely alarming,” Reporters Without Borders said.

The three worst violators of free expression - North Korea, bottom of the Index at 168th place, Turkmenistan (167th) and Eritrea (166th) - have clamped down further. The torture death of Turkmenistan journalist Ogulsapar Muradova shows that the country’s leader, “President-for-Life” Separmurad Nyazov, is willing to use extreme violence against those who dare to criticise him. Reporters Without Borders is also extremely concerned about a number of Eritrean journalists who have been imprisoned in secret for more than five years. The all-powerful North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, also continues to totally control the media.

China (163rd) has dropped four places. The country’s media outlets are more numerous and aggressive now, but repression, carried out jointly by the government departments of propaganda and public security, has increased. The government of the world’s most populous country stresses that it wants to keep its monopoly on all news, mainly through the state-run Xinhua news agency. Censorship has been stepped up, penalties increased, many news websites shut down and physical attacks have escalated. One journalist was killed by police.

Northern European countries once again come top of the Index, with no recorded censorship, threats, intimidation or physical reprisals in Finland, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands, which all share first place.

Asia trails behind

Seven Asian countries are in the bottom 20 in the Index and none in the top 20.

The continent’s dictatorships stepped up their repression over the past year. Burma (164th) slipped anopther place, with seven journalists imprisoned, 11 arrested and prior censorship maintained. Pakistan (157th), despite fairly outspoken media outlets, saw kidnappings of journalists and physical attacks by police or intelligence agents. Vietnam (155th) moved up three places, though it continued to stifle freedom of expression online. Laos (156th) remained in the same position, with its media obeying the information ministry’s orders.

Some of the worst-ranked countries fell even lower. Singapore (146th) slipped six places because of new legal action by the government against foreign media. The Philippines (142nd) was three places down with continuing murders of journalists and increased legal harassment, including by President Gloria Arroyo’s husband. Bangladesh (137th) moved up slightly, with fewer journalists killed, though more than 80 cases of censorship were recorded.

The young democracies of East Timor (83rd) and Mongolia (86th) tumbled some way down the Index due to physical attacks and threats against journalists.

The continent’s best performers

New Zealand (18th), South Korea (31st) and Australia (35th) scored best in the region, but Australia lost ground because of anti-terrorist laws potentially dangerous for journalists.

Taiwan (43rd) continues to move up and is now just behind Spain. Hong Kong (58th) fell back though some of its media continued to be very free and the Internet is not censored at all. Vandalism against the daily paper Epoch Times and a parcel bomb sent to a journalist made some fear further attacks.

Bhutan (98th) rose furthest (44 places) with the appearance of the small kingdom’s first privately-owned newspaper.

Two countries moved into the Index’s top 20 for the first time. Bolivia (16th) was best-placed among less-developed countries and during the year its journalists enjoyed the same level of freedom as colleagues in Canada or Austria. Bosnia-Herzegovina (19th) continued its gradual rise up the Index since the end of the war in ex-Yugoslavia and is now placed above its European Union member-state neighbours Greece (32nd) and Italy (40th).

Deterioration in the United States and Japan, with France also slipping

The United States (53rd) has fallen nine places since last year, after being in 17th position in the first year of the Index, in 2002. Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognise the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism.

Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein has been held by US authorities in Iraq since April this year.

France (35th) slipped five places during the past year, to make a loss of 24 places in five years. The increase in searches of media offices and journalists’ homes is very worrying for media organisations and trade unions. Autumn 2005 was an especially bad time for French journalists, several of whom were physically attacked or threatened during a trade union dispute involving privatisation of the Corsican firm SNCM and during violent demonstrations in French city suburbs in November.

Rising nationalism and the system of exclusive press clubs (kishas) threatened democratic gains in Japan, which fell 14 places to 51st. The newspaper Nihon Keizai was firebombed and several journalists physically attacked by far-right activists (uyoku).

Fallout from the row over the "Mohammed cartoons”

Denmark (19th) dropped from joint first place because of serious threats against the authors of the Mohammed cartoons published there in autumn 2005. For the first time in recent years in a country that is very observant of civil liberties, journalists had to have police protection due to threats against them because of their work.

Yemen (149th) slipped four places, mainly because of the arrest of several journalists and closure of newspapers that reprinted the cartoons. Journalists were harassed for the same reason in Algeria (126th), Jordan (109th), Indonesia (103rd) and India (105th).

But except for Yemen and Saudi Arabia (161st), all the Arab peninsula countries considerably improved their rank. Kuwait (73rd) kept its place at the top of the group, just ahead of the United Arab Emirates (77th) and Qatar (80th).

War, the destroyer of press freedom

Lebanon has fallen from 56th to 107th place in five years, as the country’s media continues to suffer from the region’s poisonous political atmosphere, with a series of bomb attacks in 2005 and Israeli military attacks this year. The Lebanese media - some of the freest and most experienced in the Arab world - desperately need peace and guarantees of security. The inability of the Palestinian Authority (134th) to maintain stability in its territories and the behaviour of Israel (135th) outside its borders seriously threaten freedom of expression in the Middle East.

Things are much the same in Sri Lanka, which ranked 51st in 2002, when there was peace, but has now sunk to 141st because fighting between government and rebel forces has resumed in earnest. Dozens of Tamil journalists have been physically attacked after being accused by one side or the other of being biased against them.

Press freedom in Nepal (159th) has shifted according to the state of the fighting that has disrupted the country for several years. The “democatic revolution” and the revolt against the monarchy in April this year led immediately to more basic freedoms and the country should gain a lot of ground in next year’s Index.

Full ranking list read here.


malaysia Mahathir Reporters Without Borders Freedom of Press