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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Biased K.L. Sessions Judge in P. Uthayakumar’s Sedition trial refused after lunch adjournment even when told of P. Uthayakumar’s back spine pain

Biased K.L. Sessions Judge in P. Uthayakumar’s Sedition trial refused after lunch adjournment even when told of P. Uthayakumar’s back spine pain which started during his ISA detention at Kamunting for 514 days. No mercy No Justice.


by Human Rights Party Malaysia

police shooting

Justice must be tampered with mercy. Justice must not only be done but must manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done. But these legal principles has no place with the 95% malay muslim dominated Malay-sian Court Judges

But this biased presiding Sessions Court judge Sabariah binti Othman started at 9.25 a.m and stopped only at 12.59 sharp for lunch with 15 minute in between for P. Uthayakumar to check on some new documents tendered by the witness.

At 12.59 after suffering from back pain and having been on his feet the whole day yesterday with only the lunch break and half a day today P. Uthayakumar asked for the afternoon’s court hearing to be vacated to the next court hearing date aweek later on 6/12/10.

But this biased Judge rudely remarked “sampai bila” referring to the detailed questioning of the witness by P. Uthayakumar and not moving on fast enough to complete this case as soon as possible. Justice hurried is justice buried.

Or irritated at the pleading guilty as in 98% of the cases as the Malay-sian Judges are so used to and getting a walk over and sending thousands of Indians to jail when forced to plead guilty when they cannot afford the bail or legal fees.

The demeanor of this biased Judge was so obviously on the instructions from UMNO to go full steam and convict P. Uthayakumar so that he is sent to jail and is silenced or he cannot stand for the elections in the forthcoming general elections.

The Deputy Public Prosecutors present were Noorin Badaruddin Mellisa bt Md. Akhir and Hanim bt Rashid.

The witness who was grilled by P. Uthayakumar about police brutality killings in police custody and by police shooting for the second day in a row was no other than DCP Dato Acryl Sani bin Abdullah Sani the Deputy Director I of the Criminal Investigations Department Bukit Aman Federal Police Headquarters.

Among the highlights in today’s hearing is:-

1) 126 Malaysians died/were killed in police custody from 2000 to February 2010.

2) The youngest detainee killed in police custody out of the 31 Indians listed (killed) during this period is Hendry Sreedharan (19) and S. Tharma Rajen (19). Do they deserve to die at this tender and youthful age.

3) P. Uthayakumar put it to the witness that this list was fabricated by excluding scores of other Indian youths killed in police custody.

(See list below)

The other points would be continued tomorrow.

The court proceedings today proceeded right up to 17.00 (5.00p.m) sharp despite P. Uthayakumar’s obvious backbone pain.

This case is to continue at full steam on 6/12/10.

Justice not Mercy. The Hindraf struggle continues.

Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

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DCP Acyril


RM1,280,000 bribe paid to the Bank Rakyat Chairman (part 10)

Bank Rakyat granted GM Healthcare Sdn Bhd Islamic banking facilities of RM64 million to finance the construction, commissioning and maintenance of the new Shah Alam hospital. But the ‘under the table’ deal was far from Islamic. Dr. Zainol Che Mamat, the company’s Chairman, paid the Bank Rakyat Chairman a bribe of RM1,280,000 for the banking facilities.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A-G MUST CLARIFY ALL DOUBTS TO UPHOLD THE DIGNITY OF HIS OFFICE SAYS PHANG.


In this regard, I am disturbed by the disclosure made in a blog, Malaysia Today, alleging that A-G Gani is consorting with a person who is allegedly the proxy of Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, namely, En Shahidan Shafie. That blog had produced records and pictures purportedly from Tabung Haji that A-G Gani and Shahidan are currently performing the Haj together.


PRESS STATEMENT :- 30th Nov 2010
Chairman – Social Care Foundation

The objective of this article is to enhance the Public, the significant roles between MACC and the A-G’s Office.Malaysians have every right to judge and criticise the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)‘s performance but that must be done fairly. But they cannot blame or hold the MACC responsible for failing to decide on prosecution matters because that is the power and the jurisdiction of the Attorney-General (A-G)’s Chambers.

Furthermore, if there is lack of evidence, then the A-G must not try to bulldoze its way and order a case to be prosecuted because when a case is lost in court, the public is always quick to blame the MACC, not the A-G. Of late, the MACC has been severely criticised over its handling of serveral high profile cases, including accusations that its performance is not up to the mark.

Among the cases in focus unfortunately and inevitably that MACC has been accused of selective prosecution are:

a) The failure to prosecute former Selangor Mentri Besar Dato‘ Seri Dr Khir Toyo for allegedly amassing unusual wealth in his ownership of a mansion purportedly valued at RM24 million whereas several Pakatan Rakyat Selangor state assemblymen were subjected intense investigations over an alleged abuse of allocation amounting to only RM2,400 (the Teoh Beng Hock case);

b) The prosecution of Dato‘ Mirza Thaiyab, the Director-General of Tourism, whereas the ministers responsible for the project are not held accountable. This was after Dato‘ Mirza had been acquitted in an earlier case for gratification of a dental treatment;

c) The prosecution of only certain people in the multi-billion-ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal whereas the forensic audit report by Price-Waterhouse Coopers had named many other personalities;

d) Till today, there is no decision to act against former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, after former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Dato’ Mat Zain Ibrahim, published letters accusing these two officials of manipulating and tampering with evidence in the “Anwar Black Eye Incident”.

1. Another case that has caught public attention involves lawyer En Rosli Dahlan. The alternative media has created the perception that Rosli has been victimised as a result of his professional role in pursuing civil and criminal actions against former Malaysia Airlines chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli.

2. In my capacity, not only as Social Care Foundation chairman but also as a member of the MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel, I have to date received two letters from Rosli, essentially seeking MACC to withdraw the charge that MACC had preferred against him. I produce herewith the two letters.

3. Upon receipt of Rosli’s letters, I have made enquiries with the MACC, and was informed MACC had recommended to A-G that the MACC would like the case to be withdrawn. However, till today the A-G has not responded.

4. It is incumbent on me as Social Care Foundation chairman and a member of the Panel Advisory of MACC to present facts which would accurately explain MACC’s position so that the public can fully appreciate MACC’s role and area of jurisdiction and will no longer view the MACC with suspicion.

5. I hope the public will understand that in matters relating to prosecution of an offence, Art. 145(3) of the Federal Constitution vests the A-G with discretion to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings. As such, the MACC does not have the power to withdraw the charge against Rosli unless the A-G agrees to do so.

6. In this regard, I am disturbed by the disclosure made in a blog, Malaysia Today, alleging that A-G Gani is consorting with a person who is allegedly the proxy of Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, namely, En Shahidan Shafie. That blog had produced records and pictures purportedly from Tabung Haji that A-G Gani and Shahidan are currently performing the Haj‘ together. This is a very serious allegation which adds a different dimension to the allegations of selective prosecution that I have outlined above.

7. I call upon the A-G Gani to deny this allegation and to also explain the true facts in order to allay any negative public perception surrounding this matter. This is necessary to dispel the allegations made by Mat Zain in his public letters which accused the MACC as follows:

“It only shows that MACC and the Chambers are prepared even to go to the extent of affirming false affidavit to screen Gani Patail from legal punishment.”
8. According to Y.B. Dato‘ Seri Nazri, the Cabinet will investigate the allegations against A-G Tan Sri Gani Patail and I pray this must be conducted transparently without any further delay.

9. I take the liberty to appeal to all media that when MACC has a success rate in convictions, please also highlight in the manner in which you have highlighted the failure of MACC. Be fair to the Rakyat as well as MACC.

Police report made over Wan Azizah’s ‘Malay supremacy’ remarks


(Bernama) - The Selangor 4B Youth Movement Tuesday lodged a police report against Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) President Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for her remarks on "Ketuanan Melayu" (Malay Supremacy) at the party's annual congress on Saturday.

The report was made by the movement's secretary, Mohd Zaini Mohd Taha, at the Shah Alam district police headquarters in Section 11 here at 3.30 pm.

He told reporters later that Dr Wan Azizah's call for the concept of Malay supremacy to be abandoned was a big blow and an insult inflicted on Malays by the Malays themselves.

The PKR leader had also reportedly described Malay supremacy as a slogan used by a small group of Malay elite to cheat others.

"I urge the police to investigate the statement and, if necessary, take action under the ISA (Internal Security Act) for having provoked the Malays," said Mohd Zaini.

The 4B Youth Movement was not playing partisan politics, he said, adding that it would have also spoken out if Umno had criticised Malay supremacy.

Selangor Umno Information chief Abdul Shukor Idros said that as a Malay, Dr Wan Azizah should not have made such a remark.

She was prepared to gamble away the race for self-interest in order to appease the other races, he said.

Abdul Shukor said that though the Malays were accorded special privileges, they only had less than 30 per cent of the nation's wealth while the other races enjoyed the bigger 70 per cent.

He also said that Abdul Shukor had never seen the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, express his disappointment as he did yesterday over the questioning of the Malay Rulers and the position and privileges of the Malays.

In KUALA LUMPUR, former PKR leader Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said the suggestion to abandon the concept of Malay supremacy was purely a hypocritical move.

Zahrain, who is the former chairman of the Penang PKR Liaison Committee, said it was strange that the suggestion had come from PKR because PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when he was Umno Youth chief and deputy prime minister, had eagerly championed Malay supremacy.

"Now, he has dismissed Malay supremacy and involved the institution of Malay Rulers as well," he told a news conference at the Parliament lobby.

Zahrain, who is the MP for Bayan Baru, alleged that Anwar, when he was deputy prime minister and finance minister, had given many privileges, such as shares, to groups comprising his cronies.

Kulim Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin asked why Anwar wanted to dispute the concept of Malay supremacy after he, his family and friends had allegedly benefited much from it.

He said that if Anwar regarded the concept of Malay supremacy upheld by the institution of Malay Rulers as no longer relevant, he should return the awards he had received from the rulers.

Controlling the heavens


I am not done yet with what's happening in the communications industry. To me, cyberspace is the next business frontier. Anyone controlling it will have a stranglehold on our economy. I hope the government appreciates the implications of being in control of the heavens. It shouldn't leave the decision making as to who gets a piece of this business to people who make decisions arbitrarily and clearly with the intention of lining their pockets. I am now meeting up with an authority in this industry and will be writing more on this subject.



This morning, i joined many who think PM's instruction for the MCMC and the Ministry of Communications to review the award of rights over the 700 MHz spectrum as a welcome relief. There are many things which can be put right. We should now review the role of the MCMC and how to create a new Telekom Malaysia which SHOULD be the government organ controlling the basics of the communications industry.



While waiting for further writings on this subject, I would like to share a comment posted in response to my article. The comment was posted in the Malaysian Insider.



Clearly, there is lots on Sakmongkol's mind - from "I was an undergrad in UM" circa 1977, his brief take on the perennial Malay malaise (Melayu makan Melayu - chiefly, UMNO who else) and ending with YTL hitting pay dirt.



Without a doubt, the government "gifting" YTL Corp the 700mhz spectrum has everything to do with business and politics UMNO's Way. In most jurisdiction, especially economies of the North, such co mingle of business and political ties would have alarm bells ringing but not so in M'sia.



It is just a matter of time before elections are held but prior to that, before working the ground to get another opportunity (mandate) to continue to 'play' M'sians, forsake and 'makan Melayu' for another term, UMNO's war chest needs replenishing - and yes, the rational is a simple as that.



Except for MCA which is sitting on a healthy cash pile and Taib Mahmud's lot in Sarawak, UMNO and all components don't have access to liquid funds. To make matters worse, UMNO's track record speaks for itself, a bankrupt entity that is not a good credit risk that even Nasir Razak won't extend a helping hand should UMNO call for a loan. Loan UMNO money .... forget it, don't mention it for no banker will hear of it.



Francis Yeoh is a noted Mahatiew crony from way back, so what better way than to revisit old ties - roll out the red carpet for YTL to bag a deal and the son of a gun, born again Christian won't have to sell his daughter to kick back some to UMNO. And sure, other telco's aren't too happy (they will be buying bandwidth/excess capacity from YTL near future) such a major consideration was done and dusted without much ado. If anything, the entire deal was stitched up in double quick time just because Vincent Tan failed to launch his football gaming business, still moaning that lost opportunity but there are market signs Vincent Tan is side stepping various obstacles, regulatory submissions, cutting short due diligence with Securities Comm facilitating the soon-to-be listing of various Berjaya's Food and Beverage business into one stand alone company.



All in, Toto Tan's lost is Francis Yeoh's gain - the fella' with the 70's porn star mustache lost billions, not being able to 'realise' profits from a very lucrative 'cash' business, which in turn translates into UMNO's pain as well.

And having said all that, my hats off and pat on the back to all who vehemently protested against PM Najib awarding "the" most lucrative of ALL licenses under the aegis of UMNO - well done.



Just to side track a little, I was against the decision of the football gaming license being awarded to Toto Tan but totally in support for a statutory gaming authority ie social welfare body of past, being charged with regulating and administering a football pool, in the same guise as how the football pool is run in the UK, or S'pore for that matter. The upside presents a two prong benefit by curtailing mob influence, mopping up excess liquidity from the market place. Also, if it ever takes off, the statutory body responsible for doling out profits from football gaming can operate in the guise of public benefactors, just like how the Hong Kong Jockey Club dishes out hundreds of millions in charity each year - making good a public vice for the benefit of a larger collective ]



I'm an avid market watcher, fully vested and it is clear there is much 'monkey' business of late. Beyond the normal horse trade, the KLSE is abuzz with multi-million/billion dollar capers - capers (not the edible) because UMNO is in need of hard cash, so just imagine the charades behind the screen, the uncertain deals stitched amongst few beneficiaries but what I know is the certainty of UMNO proxies and agents making off with their share of the loot and as expected, forsaking the greater good of fellow kin's - Melayu makan Melayu - is such a norm that victims no longer feel the pain.



If I could offer a cue to Sakmongkol, in relation to solving the Malay malaise, perhaps he should start addressing the problem and take the view that education provides the BEST solution.



The road to success (not necessarily material riches) begins with a superior mind - it always been that way from time immemorial, and there is no short-cuts to the method - none of that fast track, promise of false success/life on easy street Mr.Tech Transfer Mahathir Muhammud as advocated by that big slime ball when conceiving Proton. With hindsight, all that effort in vain resulting in many newly rich Malays cropping up - handsomely wealthy not from new or old money BUT "stolen" loot that deprives the more deserving and the many who really really need assistance and a meaningful leg up.



DAMN all 'em monkeys of UMNO, BN dogs and also the notable royal leech - DAMN all y'all blood suckers.



Pray read these comments with an open mind.


courtesy of sakmongkolAK47

Indian National Army monument to be "ethnically cleansed" by UMNO. Refusal to gazetted.


Indian National Army monument to be "ethnically cleansed" by UMNO while it refuses to be gazetted as reported by Tamil Nesan on 26 November 2010.


courtesy of HumanRightsPartyMalaysia

PKR hits bulleyes in Umno's Malay supremacy scam: 96% of poor are Malays


Anwar, Azizah, Azmin
Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

The ferocity of Umno’s counter attacks against PKR president Wan Azizah and her deputy Azmin Ali reflects the bull-eyes they scored when they slammed Umno for pushing racist policies in the guise of Malay supremacy so that they could continue to mask the massive corruption they were practising to rob the people of the country’s wealth.

“This country belongs to all Malaysians and there should not be two classes of citizens at all.Ketuanan Melayu has been used as a tool to nurture parasites amongst the Umno elite while completely ignoring the low-income Malays and Malaysians,” Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.

Indeed, in stark contrast to the alleged hypocrisy of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who in his recent Umno annual congress address had urged Malays to arise and warned of “crushed bodies”, “lost lives” and “ethnic cleansing” if they lost political power, Azizah and Azmin had stood firm on racial equality where economic priority would be given based on needs and not the color of one’s skin.

At the PKR National Congress held over the weekend, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had also revealed that 96.7 percent of those living below the poverty line were Malays.

“Malay supremacy is a slogan used by a small group of Malay elites who are cheating the Malays as a whole for their own interests. After 53 years in power, the Malays and bumiputera are still neglected. The 30 percent Malay-bumiputera equity has yet to be met. Of the RM54 billion equity and shares for bumiputera, only RM2 billion still belong to them,” Azizah had said in her presidential address.

Stark contrast with Najib's 1Malaysia hypocrisy

Pundits praised the PKR leaders for sticking to the principles that swept Pakatan to power in 2008 and for continuing to resist the easy race-championing and emoting methods adopted by Umno and its perceived agent Perkasa to rally voter support from the Malay community, which forms 55 percent of Malaysia's 28 million population.

Shocked nation with crushed bodies, lost lives, ethnic cleansing speech
In fact, so worried that the PKR stance might show up Najib’s perceived two-facedness, Umno and BN leaders have gone on overdrive using various routes in a bid to go one up on their arch rival.

On Monday, Perkasa youth chief Arman Azha called Azizah and Azmin “political prostitutes”, accusing them of being desperate for the non-Malay votes. He also tried to turn the issue to Umno’s advantage by suggesting that Malays should reject PKR for not championing their superiority.

“Has Dr Wan Azizah forgotten that it was because of Malay supremacy that she got to become a doctor? The PKR president is a political whore who is desperate for non-Malay votes that she refuses to explain the real meaning of the concept,” said Arman.

“And I heard PKR deputy president Azmin Ali too condemn Malay supremacy. He has forgotten that he is here today because of Umno. Does he want to become a political whore too?”

Hishammuddin - a far cry from his grandfather
The original 'prostitute'

However in his haste to shine, and to an extent because of his political immaturity, his words boomeranged and put the spotlight back onto Umno, Najib and his cousin Hishammuddin Hussein.

In particular, it sparked laughter at Hishamuddin’s grandfather Onn Jaafar, who had parted ways with Umno because the nationalist party had refused to open up membership to the non-Malays.

"Onn Jaafar proposed that Umno open its doors to other races. Azizah and Azmin are doing what Onn had been propagating. So Perkasa might as well call Onn a prostitute as well,” Malaysiakini reported a commentator as saying.

MCA president Chua Soi Lek too rushed to get into the act, issuing a warning that Malaysians should not try to change the federal constitution. However, Pakatan leaders scoffed at him, pointing to their Common Policy Framework that already states that their coalition would defend the existing federal constitution.

“This again shows Soi Lek’s insincerity. He is first and foremost subservient to Umno and puts their interest first rather than those of all Malaysians especially the low-income Malays, Indians, Chinese, Kadazan-Dusun-Murut and others,” said Boon Chye.

Who will be the Lotus F1 team in 2011?


The Independent on Sunday recently reported that Lotus made a $23 million loss in 2009. The same report claimed that Proton relied on bank loans and Malaysian tax payer’s money to ensure the survival of the brand through the year. This has prompted many people to question whether Proton can afford to invest $30 million per year into an F1 team.

By Mark Martin

Two of Malaysia’s biggest companies are in the midst of a high profile and expensive legal battle over the rights to the use of a car name. Air Asia boss Tony Fernandez and Proton CEO Dany Bahar both claim to have a legal right to use the name Lotus in 2011 for their respective F1 teams. So, how did they get into the situation and what is the solution?


The origins of Lotus

The Lotus Company was set up by British entrepreneur Colin Chapman in the 1950s. Initially the company was established as an F1 team and achieved massive success with the likes of Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti. The team also had
a reputation for nurturing young talented drivers such as Jochen Rindt, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell before the latter went on to become the star of Money Supermarket advertisements in the UK.

On the back of the success of the racing team, Chapman decided to start producing road cars and therefore established a group called ‘Lotus Engineering’. This is where the legal battle in 2010 stems. The man who owned the Lotus F1 team in 1994 (David Hunt) when the team folded in huge debt claims that Chapman set up ‘Lotus Engineering’ as a separate company from the F1 team which was called ‘Team Lotus’. Hunt claims that Chapman did this in order to protect the reputation of the road car company in the event of a driver being killed or injured while driving a ‘Team Lotus’ F1 car. Hunt claims that this is proven by the fact that the road car company continued to operate following the demise of the racing team. However, while Dany Bahar admits that ‘Team Lotus’ and ‘Lotus Engineering’ operated as separate companies he claims that they were both separate divisions of the same company called ‘Group Lotus’. Bahar claims that it is ‘Group Lotus’ which is
now owned by Proton and not just ‘Lotus Engineering’.


Why does it matter to them?

Fernandez utilised the Lotus name with the permission of Proton this year. He believed that using a recognisable brand name like Lotus would help attract high quality staff to his racing team. The strategy worked as the team hired highly rated designer Mike Gascoyne as well as race winning drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. This allowed the team to become the most competitive of the new teams for 2010 and endeared them to F1 fans. This was helped by Fernandez organising
events for fans such as the celebration of the original Lotus team’s first victory which featured a demonstration run of Fernandez’s F1 car in order to strengthen the links between the old Lotus team and Fernandez’s. David Hunt who claims to still own the rights to the name ‘Team Lotus’ then offered Fernandez the opportunity to buy the rights to the name off him. This would allow Fernandez to run the team with exactly the same name as Chapman’s team and without the need to rely on Proton giving him permission each year.

Bahar had planned a new marketing strategy for Lotus. He basically planned to adopt the same strategy as the one used by Ferrari when he was brand manager there. This would see Lotus funding an F1 team and relying on the press and television
coverage of the sport alone to market the brand to the world. The annual fee being paid by Fernandez to use the Lotus name allowed Bahar to do this at a profit. However, Fernandez’s plans to use the Lotus name without Bahar’s permission would mean that Bahar would have no control over how the brand was presented which prompted him to take legal action against Fernandez’s plans.


The Renault factor

Proton already has a strong relationship with the Renault car manufacturer, as the two companies have collaborated on road cars in the past. However, Renault was also planning on altering its motorsport marketing strategy. Instead of funding its own
F1 team, Renault felt that it would get just as much publicity by paying a substantially lowerr amount to put Renault logos on the championship winning Red Bull cars in 2011. Renault was therefore looking to sell its remaining 25% stake in the Renault F1 team. Bahar is believed to have signed a deal to purchase this 25% stake and agreed with majority stakeholder Genii capital that the team will be renamed “Lotus Renault” in 2011, with Proton contributing $30 million per year towards the team’s budget.

At this point Fernandez was in advanced talks with Renault about using their engines on his F1 cars in 2011. When Bahar came along with his offer it is alleged by an F1 insider that he told Renault he would only purchase the 25% stake of their F1
team if they forced Fernandez to abandon the Lotus name for 2011. This additional contractual clause is believed to have come late in the day when Fernandez’s team had already started designing their 2011 car around the Renault engines. If this is true it would suggest that Bahar doubted that his legal action would be successful.


Proton’s finances

The Independent on Sunday recently reported that Lotus made a $23 million loss in 2009. The same report claimed that Proton relied on bank loans and Malaysian tax payer’s money to ensure the survival of the brand through the year. This has prompted many people to question whether Proton can afford to invest $30 million per year into an F1 team. This viewpoint was supported by Fernandez’s F1 team’s technical director Mike Gascoyne who stated in the German publication Auto Motor Und Sport “If they want to advertise their road cars, why spend so much money on it? With us, they could do it free of charge.”

However, Bahar is alleged to believe that an increased motorsport presence will help Lotus achieve its target of quadrupling sales within the next couple of years.

One people, one nation - Is it possible?


LET me begin by asking you a question:

Do you think that it is possible to have one people, one nation? If I don’t hear a resounding “Yes” then you are going to give Nazri an excuse to say that it is only a perception and not a reality. He says a lot of foolish things. We don’t want him to trivialise an important issue such as this.

Of course, it is possible to have one people, one nation. By one people we don’t mean that everyone thinks alike. That is dangerous. When all men and women think alike, they are not thinking at all. That’s something the BN government would want but that is something we don’t want.

We want thinking people. We want caring people. We want people who can feel for another human being. We want people with compassion. We want people who can be outraged when an injustice is committed against another person. We want people who will be revolted when corruption takes place. We want people who will be angry when our money is squandered. We want people who will stand up for truth and justice.

When we have people with these attributes, then we can have one people, one nation. When people have a healthy respect for universal values and virtues such as justice, truth, freedom, accountability, abhorrence for corruption and arrogance, then we transcend our religious and racial barriers and come together in unity as one people.

This is what we should strive for: an ideal that will make us a better people and a better nation.

Politicians keep us apart

Why is it that after 50 years of nationhood, we are not one people, one nation? Well, we have the politicians to thank for that. They made sure that there would not be a united Malaysian nation sharing a common destiny.

By deliberate design they keep us apart, segregated through policies that cause anger and enmity, through denial that deprives the deserving from the poorer segments of our society. They discriminate along racial and religious lines. They reward one group and deprive some other group. By selective policies and unfair implementations, they have kept us divided for their own survival.

And sadly, too, it is the politicians who fan the flames of polarisation for their own political ends. They want to be seen as champions of their community and, for that, they have to constantly portray certain issues as being under threat and project themselves as the ones standing up for those rights. It is these short-term and shortsighted policies that have become a serious hindrance to our unity.

They will proclaim that others are out to grab their economic share of the cake. They will kiss the keris while some mad guy demands to know when the keris is going to be used. He won’t be reprimanded for the racial slurs hurled but he will stand out as the hero of his community.

But the sad fact is that the ordinary citizens don’t benefit from the rhetoric of these politicians. Can you understand why 1,555 national schools in the rural areas are without toilet facilities and 794 schools are without electricity? How come 39 per cent of the national schools are without toilet facilities and 29 per cent without electricity?

These are poor, deserving Malays and why are they being treated in such a cruel way? It is not that we don’t have money. After Tan Siew Sin, every Finance Minister has been a Malay and an Umno member. Every Education Minister has been a Malay and an Umno member. Why haven’t they served their community when they hold the purse strings and the political power to dispense justice?

It may be a ploy to keep them poor to serve their interests. It can always be justified that these poor rural Malays are in this unfortunate situation because of others and therefore the ruling party must be supported. This is how hatred is fed so that we cannot come together as one people and one nation.

But when people come together on common issues that unite them irrespective of their ethnicity, that gathering is dispersed in the most brutal manner. You remember the Bloody Sunday last year when Malaysians demonstrated as one people to condemn the hike in petrol price? Truncheons were used to beat up peaceful people who had gathered to show their grievance and chemically laced water was used to disperse the crowd that also had women and children in their midst. They will not allow unity to be forged on common grounds. This will be seen as a threat to their power base.

Cause for worry

Bersih called for a huge gathering to march to the palace grounds to demand free and fair elections. It was meant as a peaceful democratic exercise to demand our legitimate rights. But the police gave warnings that this gathering did not have a permit and that people should not turn up or else they would be arrested.

But how is it that when thousands of vociferous and spirited Malaysians turn up to demonstrate against the United States of America or against Israel the police don’t threaten them? How is it that it is all right to demonstrate and march without a police permit when the anger is directed against someone else? People are being manipulated so that they don’t have a chance to come together on their own in friendship, in the spirit of goodwill and understanding as one people, one nation.

Well-meaning Malaysians have cause to be worried. They have reason to worry where we are heading as a nation. Our unity is so fragile that we wonder why after 50 years of nationhood we have failed to forge a nation that transcends race and religion. These two emotive issues starkly expose our failed attempt in creating a Malaysian nation that reflects our unity in diversity, our tolerance for dissenting views, our compassion for the poor and the
underprivileged irrespective of our ethnicity.

We have failed to create a society that is firmly anchored in the commonality of universal values. It is a shame that even today we are so polarised and blinkered in our views. The way things are heading, it is getting from bad to worse.

Unfortunately, it is getting from bad to worse through the apathy of the majority of Malaysians who, though they may want a better society for all of us, dare not make a public stand on issues that matter. It is this apathy that has emboldened the extreme elements amongst us to push for an agenda that will have serious consequences for the majority of us who are accommodating,well-meaning, tolerant, peace-loving and friendly Malaysians.

You may recall that a survey conducted last year clearly confirmed that more than 70 per cent of Muslims are clearly opposed to Malaysia becoming a theocratic Islamic state along the lines of Iran even though they may perceive Malaysia to be an Islamic country. And yet, it is the vocal minority – the exponents of an Islamic country – who hold sway. Unless the sober and sensible majority from the Muslim and non-Muslim divide speak up and state their preference openly, we stand to lose out by default.

It is tragic that we cannot even form an Inter-Faith Council to keep our harmony and preserve our peace. It reveals a lot as to how serious and disturbing this situation has become. Even a closed-door forum to discuss our rights under the Federal Constitution was forced to be called-off by an unruly mob that threatened to barge into the conference hall last year.

We are no longer able to discuss certain issues rationally and openly. To make matters worse certain issues are even placed beyond the realm of discussion. How do we find common grounds for compromise when we are not allowed to sit down and discuss issues frankly?

Why is it that people get so emotive over race and religion but remain untouched by issues such as poverty, privatisation of public utilities, FTA negotiations, the ISA and other ongoing forms of repression in this country?

50 years of misery

But this sad situation continues to raise a multitude of questions for all of us – what is the way forward in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country? Is there hope for one people, one nation?

We have given the BN government 50 years to rule the country and forge a nation from our diversity. They have failed us miserably. If over half a century, they cannot bring about a nation that is firmly rooted in our spirituality and sharing a common destiny in the name of our humanity, should you place your trust and fate in this government?

Do you want to give them another 50 years to make you miserable? It is obvious that you cannot leave this important topic of unity to be achieved by this government. We have to forge this unity by ourselves and get rid of the obstacles and impediments that hinder unity.

What hinders this unity, you may ask? To put it simply and bluntly, it is the huge mandate given to the government. That mandate over 50 years has not seriously addressed the question of our unity as a nation. On the contrary, that huge majority has eroded our rights and stripped us of our legitimate identity as ordinary citizens of Malaysia with equal rights. That huge majority has kept us apart.

That huge majority has not made them a caring government that addresses theneeds of the people. Housing for the marginalised and displaced workers continues to be a serious problem. The entry of private interests into the health care and water sectors will have far-reaching effects for the poor. We squander millions of ringgit through abuse and corruption without a care in the
world.

Under this government, the barriers of race, religion and culture that often divide the nation into various groups will be perpetuated for eternity. This government will not get rid of the identification of race in all the official forms in the public and private sectors. The element of race has become an institutionalised form of racism being practised in some of the social institutions such as education and the media.

Enough is enough!

This government is not capable of seriously inculcating universal values that
will create a sense of belonging and togetherness among the various
communities.

We cannot allow this to go on. It’s time to say. “Enough is enough!” The majority of people who are rational, well-meaning and deeply concerned about our well-being as a nation must stand up for what is right and good for the nation.

Hopefully the impending general election will motivate the ordinary people to vote responsibly so that the BN will not be given another huge mandate that has made them arrogant, unaccountable and undemocratic.

The sooner we make that stand the better our chances.

You will be promised all kinds of things in their impressive flyers; their manifesto will have glowing objectives to seduce you. Ignore all that and remember only this. It is a saying from Eric Hoffer

“No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life and breeds ill will and suspicion – it is an evil government”.

P. Ramakrishnan is the president of Aliran. Courtesy of Malaysian Mirror.