Dompok claims he opposed religious conversion bill

A leader of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition expressed disappointment today with the Cabinet for tabling a controversial bill on unilateral conversion involving children, which he said went against the 1Malaysia concept.

United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) head Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said the intention to table the bill is a contradiction to the 1Malaysia concept of acceptance, inclusiveness and moderation.

"I am surprised and disappointed that this bill was approved by Cabinet for tabling at Parliament," he said in a statement to the media today.

Dompok said that a few months ago, he asked for the withdrawal of a paper on the bill in Cabinet as he felt that an earlier Cabinet decision on the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 should be implemented instead.

The bill in question is the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Bill 2013, which was tabled on Wednesday.

Two large prominent groups - The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) and the Bar Council - have raised concerns on the bill.

MCCBCHST also said any unilateral conversion of children by one parent is not fair to the minor or the other parent. It added that such conversions are not only unconstitutional but morally and ethically wrong.

They want the key word in the law to remain the plural, “parents”, so that both parents of a minor must agree to any change of religion.

"The present bill appears to contravene the Federal Constitution and runs counter to the government's transformation plans," the former Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities said, requesting for it to be withdrawn from Parliament.

"A full discussion by BN on this issue and related religious issues must also be initiated before any bill is presented to Parliament," Dompok added.

- TMI

DAP moots boycott of Kuala Besut polls

DAP has proposed that its Pakatan Rakyat allies, in particular PAS, boycott the Kuala Besut by-election as a sign of protest against the Election Commission's (EC) lackadaisical attitude towards addressing electoral fraud.

Speaking to reporters in Kulai, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that he will formally raise the matter to the Pakatan leadership council soon, adding that PAS had boycotted elections before, such as the Batu Talam by-election.

However, Lim said DAP would accept any decision made by its allies and would help PAS to campaign if called upon, according to a report by Nanyang Daily.

He dismissed talks that a boycott would cost Pakatan a chance at forming the Terengganu government, because even at 16 seats on each side, the speaker, who is not a state assemblyperson, would not side the coalition.

Meanwhile, Terengganu PAS deputy commissioner Satiful Bahri Mamat rebuffed Terengganu PKR for showing interest in contesting during the by-election.

Satiful said that PAS was better than PKR in every aspect and thus had a better chance of winning.

PAS: It's our seat

He was commenting on Terengganu PKR chief Azan Ismail's statement yesterday that his party had a potential candidate for Kuala Besut.

"I'm confident that PAS will consider our candidate. To strengthen our position in Terengganu, it would be good for PAS to consider our candidate," he said.

Similarly, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said that Azan "lacks understanding" about the situation at hand and the nature of the seat.

He stressed that whenever there is a by-election, the understanding in Pakatan was for status quo in terms of seat allocation.

The Kuala Besut seat fell vacant following the death of the incumbent Dr A Rahman Mokhtar on June 26. 

Rahman retained the seat with a comfortable 2,434 majority, or 16 percent of the votes cast. Kuala Besut is considered to be a rural seat and a BN stronghold.

'What are findings of RM51mil GST panel?'

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong is demanding the government to disclose the findings of a RM51 million panel to study the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"Pakatan Rakyat and the citizens of Malaysia do not want the government to hide the GST study because it involves the welfare of many people," he said in a statement today.

He also urged the government to name the consultants engaged to conduct the study.

Liew (left) was responding to Finance Minister (II) Husni Hanadzlah's statement in Parliament on Thursday that a study on GST was last conducted in 2009 and therefore another study is necessary because the economic situation has since changed.

He pointed out that the government has allocated RM22 million for a ‘Panel Kajian Semula Cukai (GST)' (Tax Review Panel (GST)) under the 2010 national budget.

Another RM13 million was allocated in 2011, RM11 million in 2012, and finally RM5 million in 2013 budgets. The total comes to RM51 million.

Upon checking, Malaysiakini found the said allocations in the four budget proposals were part of the Ministry of Finance's one-off capital expenditure, except that it was simply named ‘Panel Kajian Semula Cukai', without specifying that it was for studying the GST.

Liew also said he suspects that another item in the 2013 budget worth RM50 million and named ‘Perluasan Dasar Cukai' (Tax Policy Expansion) is related to the GST.

"The parliamentary reply from Husni saying that the GST study was conducted only in 2009 is untrue," he said, urging the government to disclose whether this is an attempt to cover up the government's intention whether to execute GST or not.

"If the government wants to implement GST, a parliamentary select committee encompassing MPs from both BN and Pakatan needs to be formed to study the views of Malaysians," he said.

Unrealistic claims

Liew, who is also the DAP political education chief, said GST's implementation would essentially impose a tax on those who are previously not taxable, namely persons earning less than RM3,000 a month, or 60 percent of the population.

Claims that low-income group would not be affected because essential goods would be exempted from GST is ‘unrealistic', he said, because they would still incur the tax when purchasing other goods and services.

Besides adding to their financial burden and reducing their disposable income, Liew said GST would have an adverse impact on the economy by reducing domestic consumption.

"This is because while our exports are declining, domestic expenditure and consumption is very important to stimulate economic growth.

"If the government insists on implementing GST, it means the government would not only add to the sufferings of the low-income group, but it would also be a burden to the government because it has a negative impact on the national economy," he said.

Bank Pembangunan: Pinjaman Kepada Tan Sri Kenneth Eswaran "Rahsia"

A Kadir Jasin

SEPERTI saya sebutkan dalam posting berjudul “Putera Mahkota Baru Dunia Niaga” 22 Jun lalu(baca di sini), majalah Malaysian Business (MB) telah menghantar soalan kepada Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB) meminta pengesahan atau penafian laporan pinjaman RM500 juta kepada syarikat penyiaran milik Kenneth Eswaran.

Akhbar The Star/ANN pada 8 Jun memetik Eswaran sebagai berkata ABNXcess telah memperoleh pinjaman setengah billion daripada BPMB (baca di sini).

[He is looking at 2.5 billion ringgit for a 10 year period and for starters, ABN has secured about 500 million ringgit loan from Bank Pembangunan. In addition to that, shareholders have provided funding to jumpstart the project. Eswaran says that amount of funding is enough for 7 years for the first phase of the project.]

Berikut adalah soalan MB kepada BPMB:

Subject: Fwd: Malaysian Business: Disbursement Loan and Kenneth Eswaran

Salam Nor Sham,

This is MIor Azhar, associate editor for Malaysian Business magazine. I believe my writer Joshua has contacted you earlier regarding the loan given by Bank Pembangunan to ABNxcess owned by Tan Sri KK Eswaran (which was reported in The Star News paper on June 8 - attached). Also attached is our previous article on Tan Sri Eswaran and ANBxcess publsihed in our June 16 issue.

We really would like to have Bank Pembangunan's confirmation on this matter. We are following up on this issue and therefore would like to know if

1. The loan has been approved? If yes, when? How long does it take to process the loan application by ABNxcess?

2. We would also like to know the basis of the loan as I believe that RM500 million is the ceiling for your loan disbursement? Is it a usual practice for the bank to approve such big amount to a new set-up? If not, why the special treatment for ABNxcess?

I really hope you can revert with the answers latest by today as we are going to print an article regarding this matter and would like Bank Pembangunan to have a say on its participation. You can call me at 0169937875.

Thank you so much for your help.

Mior

Pada 28 Jun, Nor Sham, bagi pihak BPMB, menghantar emel berbunyi:

 “En. Mior ..  

As per our earlier email, we are sorry to inform you that due to the Duty of Secrecy under BAFIA .. we are unable to reveal any information to any party ..”

Thank you.”

Pendek panjangnya, Bank Pembangunan milik kerajaan Malaysia berkata: “Seperti dalam e-mel kami yang terdahulu, kami memohon maaf untuk memaklumkan kepada anda, disebabkan tanggungjawab kerahsiaan di bawah Akta Bank dan Institusi Kewangan (BAFIA) .. kami tidak dapat mendedahkan sebarang maklumat kepada mana-mana pihak..”

Jadi kita tidak akan tahu sama ada BPMB meluluskan pinjaman raksasa itu kepada stesen TV digital Eswaran atau tidak.

Sementara itu, dalam kolum saya “Other Thots” dalam keluaran 1 Julai saya menggesa agar Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri mengenai ketelusan, Paul Low Seng Kuan, dijadikan pemeriksa kerajaan.

Antara lain, saya menulis: “In fact he should be made the chief scrutineer of the government and given the power to observe any process which requires rigorous oversight, either to prevent the occurrence of corruption or genuine mistakes like, for examples, the recent appointment of Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yackop as Deputy Chairman of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and the repeated delays in the completion of terminal two of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.”

Baiklah kita tahu ada BAFIA. Tetapi adakah semua urusan bank rahsia? Kalau rahsia, apa halnya dengan dakwaan terbuka Eswaran yang dia sudah memperoleh RM500 juta pinjaman daripada BPMB? Siapa yang bercakap benar ni?

Dan takkanlah identiti pembekal dakwat tak boleh padam yang terpadam pun rahsia juga? Wallahualam.

Kempen 3B ABC, BCL hadapi Omar Ong Siri 2: Rumah

Posted by The Unspinners

LANGKAH MUDAH 2 (PERUMAHAN)

1.       BELI KEPADA PEMAJU MELAYU. JUMLAH PEMAJU MELAYU KIAN BERTAMBAH DAN UTAMAKAN MELAYU.

2.       GUNAKAN KONTRAKTOR MELAYU UNTUK UBAHSUAI RUMAH. SEBUTHARGA MELAYU 20 % LEBIH RENDAH DARIPADA CINA. JIKA AMBIL CINA , PEKERJANYA PUN INDONESIA DAN MELAYU JUGA. JIKA SEBUTHARGA MELAYU  RM50 RIBU, CINA RM 60-70 RIBU. INGAT KUALITI LEBIH BAIK DENGAN AMBIL KONTAKTOR CINA??  AUTA YANG LEBIH..PASANG TILE OK TAPI LEPAS 2 TAHUN NAK LEKANG SEBAB SIMEN DI LANTAI KURANG..PENUH DENGAN PASIR..PENGGUNAAN BESI PUN DIA TAK IKUT..BELI YANG KECIL DAN MURAH..

3.       BELI  DI KEDAI HARDWARE MELAYU. JUMLAHNYA KINI MASIH KURANG TAPI TELAH WUJUD KEDAI –KEDAI KECIL YANG MENJUAL KAYU, SIMEN, PASIR,BATA, BATU DAN PERKAKAS PEMBINAAN LAIN. SOKONG MEREKA SEBAB MEREKA BERANI DAN BERJIWA KENTAL!!!
 

4.       GUNAKAN KEDAI CERMIN TINGKAP MELAYU. KEDAI-KEDAI BEGINI TELAH BERCAMBAH, HANYA KITA YANG WAJIB MENYOKONGNYA.

5.       PERGI KE KEDAI BESI MELAYU. NAK BUAT AWNING,BUAT PAGAR, BUAT GRILL  TINGKAP DAN LAIN-LAIN, BEGITU BANYAK KEDAI BESI MELAYU.(HASIL PRODUK DARI MARA DAN BEKAS PEKERJA CINA). HARGANYA LEBIH RENDAH DARI CINA. SOKONGLAH MEREKA!

6.       GUNAKAN PERKHIDMATAN SERVIS AIRCOND DAN PEMASANGAN AIRCOND BARU MELAYU. BERCAMBAH-CAMBAH PERKHIDMATAN AIRCOND INI MEMBERI PERSAINGAN YANG HEBAT KEPADA CINA. CONTOH UPAH SERVIS AIRCOND MELAYU RM 120,CINA PULAK RM 200. UPAH PEMASANGAN BARU MELAYU RM 150, CINA  RM 200. BEGITU JUGA HARGA AIRCOND BARU SAMA JENIS 1.5 HP, HARGA MELAYU RM 1100 DAN UPAH PASANG RM 200 SEBAB JARAK HOSE DAN PIPE.CINA  RM 1500 DAN DIA BERI DISKAUN PEMASANGAN MENJADI RM100 ATAU PERCUMA SEKALIPUN. TOTAL HARGA MELAYU RM 1300 DAN CINA RM RM 1500-RM 1600. KALAU ANDA JENIS ATAU GOLONGAN ‘TAK PE’ AKAN JADI RM 1700!!

7.       GUNAKAN KHIDMAT PENDAWAIAN MELAYU. TELAH BANYAK PERKHIDMATAN  BERTAULIAH MELAYU…SOKONG MEREKA!

8.       GUNAKAN PERKHIMATAN LANSKAP MELAYU.

9.       MERIAHKAN KEDAI LAMPU MELAYU. KEDAI-KEDAI SEBEGINI TELAH BANYAK WUJUD DI PEKAN DAN BANDAR DI MALAYSIA. DULU JARANG KITA TENGOK. BANTU MEREKA!
 

10.   BELI DI KEDAI PERABOT MELAYU. SUDAH BANYAK DAN ANDA BERHAK MEMILIH TENTUNYA DIKEDAI MELAYU.

Dipetik dari GAP

Siri 1: Kenderaan 

Kuala Besut: Kalau kedudukan 16-16, mu tanyo bos SPR la wey...

Ketua Penerangan PAS Pusat, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man menyalahkan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) jika selepas Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Kuala Besut ini Dewan Undangan Negeri Terengganu (Dun) berkedudukan 16-16 sehingga menyulitkan kedudukan kerajaan negeri itu. 

Tuan Ibrahim(kanan) berkata, SPR sendiri yang mengatur kawasan pilihan raya secara genap sehingga memungkinkan kedudukan menjadi seri antara kerajaan dan pembangkang.

“Takdirnya kedudukan menjadi 16-16 selepas PRK nanti, kita salahkan kegagalan SPR kerana mengatur kerusi secara genap. Sepatutnya jumlah kawasan pilihan raya mestilah angka ganjil, baru boleh dapatkan kemenangan,” katanya dalam sidang media sejurus selepas mesyuarat Badan Perhubungan PAS Pahang hari ini.

Kerusi Kuala Besut kosong berikutan kematian Adunnya, Dr A Rahman Mokhtar baru-baru ini. Pada PRU lalu Allahyarham memperolehi  8,809 undi, manakala calon PAS mendapat 6,375 undi.

Kedudukan dalam Dun Terengganu selepas PRU13 lalu hanya berbeza dua kerusi antara BN dan Pakatan Rakyat di mana BN mempunyai 17 kerusi manakala Pakatan 15 kerusi.

Jika calon Pakatan menang dalam PRK Kuala Besut ini bermakna bilangannya akan menjadi sama banyak iaitu 16:16 dalam Dun yang mempunyai 32 kerusi itu.

Tuan Ibrahim berkata, PRK ini bukan sahaja sangat penting dan kritikal kepada kepada PR dan BN, malah tumpuan yang lebih utama ialah kepada SPR sendiri.

“Penting juga bagi rakyat untuk melihat SPR yang mengendalikan PRK tersebut nanti sama ada berkeras untuk menggunakan dakwat kekal yang dianggap kontroversi dan penipuan itu atau bagaimana.

“Bagi kita jika SPR kehilangan idea, kita cadang gunakan inai saja nanti,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Tuan Ibrahim yang juga Pesuruhjaya PAS Pahang, berkata PAS negeri ini akan menghantar 1,000 petugas melalui tiga fasa dengan Pengarah Jabatan Pilihan Raya Negeri (JPN) dilantik sebagai ketua kotingen PAS Pahang.

“PAS Terengganu meletakkan PAS Pahang bertugas di unit peti undi (UPU) Kampung Nangka. Peti undi tersebut pernah dimenangi PAS dengan majoriti lebih 700 undi pada PRU 1999. Kerajaan PAS dulu banyak memberikan kelulusan hak milik tanah kepada penduduk.

“Bagaimanapun dari segi peluang PAS Pusat meletakkannya 50:50 berikutan kawasan yang kalah pada PRU lepas ialah di Pulau Perhentian, pesisir pantai dan kem tentera di Gong Kedak sementara kawasan bandar dan pinggir bandar semuanya dimenangi PAS,” ujarnya.

Mengenai isu, Tuan Ibrahim berkata pada masa ini penduduk di Kuala Besut sendiri sudah membangkitkan janji-janji yang dibuat BN semasa PRU dulu.-harakahdaily 

PAS:No 'kerajaan perpaduang'(unity govt) even if 'hung state' after Kuala Besut polls...

There will be no unity government with UMNO even if PAS wins the Kuala Besut state seat resulting in a hung state assembly in Terengganu, said PAS secretary general Mustafa Ali.

Mustafa, a veteran party leader in Terengganu who once served in the Federal cabinet participated by PAS, said the Islamic party had "enough of BN".

“No unity government with UMNO anywhere in Malaysia. We have enough of BN,” Mustafa was quoted as saying by Malay Mail Online.

The by-election follows the death of BN's Dr Abdul Rahman Mokhtar on Wednesday, two months after he defeated PAS's Napisah Ismail by a majority of 2,434 votes.

Mustafa’s call echoed strong statements in recent times by PAS Murshidul Am Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat vowing to oppose any effort from within the party to forge cooperation with UMNO.

Some analysts have said that the east-coast state, which BN narrowly secured by a two-seat lead in the May 5 general election, could see fresh elections in the event PAS wins Kuala Besut, resulting in an equal share of seats between BN and PR.

But Terengganu MCA chief Toh Chin Yaw reminded PR not to be too excited about the possibility of having fresh elections if BN is defeated, saying the state Speaker can ultimately decide who forms the government.

PKR vice president Tian Chua echoed Toh’s view, saying the Speaker would have the final vote.

“Speaker will give his vote and BN will continue to rule,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.-harakahdaily

cheers.

PKR calls for calm over death of star witness: RCI must probe in detail Mutalib's allegations

Amid suspicion over the sudden death of Mutalib @ Abdul Mutalib Mohd Daud, a star witness in the controversial Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants, Opposition leaders have called for calm and urged for patience until further details were revealed before jumping to "hasty conclusions".

"I knew him. He might be gone but his allegations and evidence in his writing must be thoroughly investigated by the RCI," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Blow to RCI proceedings

Be that as it may, it cannot be denied that Mutalib's demise will deal a heavy blow to the RCI. Only aged 51, Mutalib has been reported to have died of a stroke at 3am on Saturday, just 2 days before the sixth session of the Sabah RCI was due to resume in Kota Kinabalu. Mutalib was due to take the stand during the session.

He was the editor-in-chief of Sabahkini.net, an online website dedicated to public interest issues involving Sabah, and many of the reports the website has published have focused on the infamous Project IC or Project M that is the basis for the RCI. Mutalib's writings have also been raised several times during the course of the RCI and his name is on the witness list.

Project M refers to a notorious scam which former premier Mahathir Mohamad has been accused of hatching with several other Umno bigwigs including the late minister Megat Junid, whereby illegal foreign workers were granted citizenship or residency papers in exchange for agreeing to vote for the Umno-BN during elections.

Sabah critics believed the Project M has spawned more than a million of illegal 'citizens', which in turn has led to serious social and infrastructure problems in Sabah, further delaying its economic progress and rise. Overcrowding and shortage of housing facilities as well as public amenities have led to frequent ethnic squabbling and tension in the resource-rich but economically-backward and under-developed state.

The Sabahans; unhappiness at their lot, which they blame on overly cozy ties between their state leaders and the federal government, had led to the formation of the RCI, just months before the May 5 general election. Amid widespread accusations of massive vote rigging, Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno-BN coalition had managed to hang onto power in the state.

Spectre of Stephens' shock death never far away

Paranoia or not, Sabahans are no strangers to "sudden deaths" when it comes to the world of high-stakes politics. Among suspicious deaths that are still whispered around the state is 1976 helicopter crash, where former Sabah chief minister Fuad Stephens was killed.

Stephens had wanted a review of Sabah’s participation in Malaysia after Singapore’s exit. His reasoning was that it was because of Singapore that Sabah joined Malaysia and now that the island was out of the federation, there was no longer any reason for the Borneo state to continue to be in the federation.

It has been widely reported that Stephens had been promised the post of Deputy Prime Minister and he was unhappy when that promise fizzled out with the withdrawal of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. However, in public, Fuad always pointed out that Sabah and Sarawak had opted to join Malaysia to facilitate the merger of Chinese Singapore and multiracial Malaya. The Chinese population across both sides of the causeway was greater than the Malay numbers and this was to be compensated by the Malay and other native numbers in Sabah and Sarawak through Malaysia.

Till now, Stephens' sudden death is looked upon by many in the state as a conspiracy by the Umno top brass as a means to retain political dominance and to ensure Sabah and Sarawak remain in the 13-state Malaysian federation. Umno bigwigs including those in Sabah have always denied any involvement.

Lahad Datu burial

According to Malaysiakini, Mutalib's body was brought to his home at Sulaiman Kingfisher, Kota Kinabalu, before being transferred to Bandaraya Mosque. His body will then be flown to Lahad Datu for burial.

Mutalib, who was a former Umno grassroot leader, became a fierce critic of the government, exposing alleged covert operations of foreigners being illegally granted citizenship in exchange for votes, or generally dubbed as 'Project IC'.

Though his family was from Kedah, they migrated to Sabah 40 years ago when Mutalib was a child. He later became an activist dedicated to exposing Project M and corruption in Sabah.

He also authored several books concerning Project IC, including ‘IC Projek: Agenda Tersembunyi Mahathir?' (Project IC: Mahathir's Hidden Agenda), ‘IC Palsu: Merampas Hak Anak Sabah' (Fake IC: Taking Away the Rights of Sabahan), ‘007: Lelaki Malaysia Terakhir' (007: The Last Malaysian).

Malaysia Chronicle

Getting serious on national reconciliation

Does Najib have an answer as to why a former judge and former premier can go on making not only seditious but racist remarks?

COMMENT

So much ‘pressure’ is being put by the federal government on the opposition Pakatan Rakyat pact to accept the outcome of the May 5, 2013 general election if the latter is serious about ‘national reconciliation’.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has even gone on to say that Pakatan’s acceptance of the 13th general election result is the ‘main premise’ for reconciliation.

In fact the premier is trying very hard to appear sincere about reinstating the heavily compromised peace, to the point of claiming that the government was planning to set up a national consultative council on unity where issues concerning race, religion and policies can be discussed.

But for that to happen, Najib wants the opposition to accept the May 5 GE result.

In other words, the prime minister is saying he would only get serious about the topic of national unity if all quarters no longer questioned ‘how’ BN won the 13th general election.

While Najib dictates terms to Pakatan and all Malaysians who are against electoral fraud, his fellow Umno sycophants are sparing no efforts in hijacking any form of ‘ceasefire’ between ruling government Barisan Nasional and Pakatan.

One was the the former Appeals Court judge Mohd Noor Abdullah who a week after the 13th GE decided to court attention by calling for the defence of Malay rights.

“The result of the 13th general election and the Chinese tsunami shows that the Chinese have forgotten about the bond established 55 years ago. Expect a backlash from the Malays,” he had said then at forum organised by the Federation of Peninsula Malay Students and the UiTM Alumni Association.

Contrary to Najb assurance that the country’s peace and stability would be given top priority, Mohd Noor unabashedly promised that the Chinese community would be ‘punished’ for letting the BN government down in the May 5 general election.

‘Harassing’ the non-Malays
Cheating at the polls and national unity are two different issues that Najib as leader of the BN coalition needs to address; however, by placing an ultimatum on ‘national reconciliation’, the premier has proven that he is not interested in bridging the dangerously-widening gap between the Malays and the non-Malays.

It is this nonchalant attitude being displayed by Najib that has prompted the likes of Mohd Noor to take it upon themselves to ‘harass’ the non-Malays.

More recently, Mohd Noor again stepped on the toes of the non-Malay communities when he called for the integration of vernacular schools into the national school system, saying their separateness was offensive to the Federal Constitution.

Delivering a lecture organised by the Muslim Consumers Association on June 19, Mohd Noor did not think twice before proclaiming that the existing vernacular schools—officially known as “national-type schools”— be changed into schools that teach pupils to gain proficiency in their mother tongues as opposed to using them as media of instruction for other school subjects.

“We should remove the labels of SJKC and SJKT; they are divisive,” Mohd Noor had said.

Were the labels ‘SJKC’ and ‘SJKT’ offensive as Mohd Noor believes, how is it that prior to the 13th GE, millions of ringgit were donated to the vernacular schools by Najib?

Were these donations then a form of bribe to the Chinese community in exchange for their votes?

Or has Mohd Noor taken it upon himself to play the Malay hulubalang or ‘warrior’ in defending all things-Malay?

National reconciliation a ‘serious business’
Do Najib and Mohd Noor understand the gravity surrounding the subject of ‘national reconciliation’?

Had they been, the duo would have refrained from making statements no less seditious in nature.

Likewise, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad too has thrown caution to the wind each time he makes statements that are seditious.

However, at the end of the day, it is Hindraf founder, lawyer P Uthayakumar who gets sentenced to 18 months’ jail for penning a letter of a seditious nature against the government to former British prime minister Gordon Brown six years ago, and PAS vice-president Husam Musa who gets nabbed enroute to Padang Merbok for the ‘Black 505′ rally for uttering ‘seditious’ words.

Husam was detained by the police under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 in connection with a statement by him that those attending the gathering on June 22 were engaging in a jihad (holy war) and therefore can be considered martyred if they died in that cause.

Be it Uthayakumar’s jail sentencing or Husam’s arrest, these recent developments as far as DAP leader Lim Kit Siang goes, clearly reflect that nothing has changed despite Najib claiming ‘transformation’ was taking place.

Lim cannot help feel perplexed as to why justice continues to elude the opposition front.

The DAP veteran wants to know if Husam’s words were considered seditious, why were the “the series of seditious statements” by Mahathir not viewed as such?

“Malaysians are asking why the police have not even questioned, let alone remanded, former prime minister who had been guilty of making a series of seditious statements before, during and after the 13th general election, utterly reckless of the damage he was doing to inter-racial harmony with his racist lies and falsehoods,” Lim asked after Husam was arrested.

Does Najib have an answer as to why a former judge and former premier can go on making not only seditious but racist remarks, both that not only jeopardise any chance at ‘national reconciliation’ but are also detrimental to the nation’s peace, stability and security?

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.