Give fair hearing to all quarters, urges Chief Justice

He says according to Socrates, a Greek philosopher, there are four judgment qualities that a judge should have, namely to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly and to decide impartially.

Raus Sharif said more women judges had been promoted on merit and one day all top positions may be held by them.

PUTRAJAYA: Judges must give a fair hearing to all quarters involved in court cases although they have a targeted period to resolve any particular case, said Chief Justice Raus Sharif.

He said judges must always be patient and prepared to give an opportunity to all quarters to submit their statements and debate their cases.

“Don’t deny their rights to submit statements and we should also not deny the counsel or the deputy public prosecutors and lawyers from the Attorney-General’s Department from presenting their cases,” said Raus in his speech at the oath taking and swearing-in of Federal Court judges, Court of Appeal judges and High Court judges.

He said the judges must also be very patient in hearing court cases with an open mind and without prejudice to any group.

“According to Socrates, a Greek philosopher, there are four judgment qualities that a judge should have, namely to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly and to decide impartially,” said Raus.

“I have great hopes that all judges in the country have and will improve their basic judgment qualities. This is crucial in the efforts of the judiciary to seek a positive public perception of the judges,” he said.

In his speech, Raus also urged that the judges always endeavour to raise the quality of their written grounds of judgment so that public confidence in the judiciary could be maintained and strengthened.

He said it was very important that judgments of the judges achieved a high quality because they were not only read in Malaysia but the whole world following the launch of an online portal, which included the grounds of court judgment, recently.

Earlier, Raus said the number of women judges in the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court had been increased to five women judges out of the 16 Federal Court judges and 12 women judges out of the 25 Court of Appeal judges following the appointments today.

He said the appointment and promotion of the women judges was not to fill up any quota but was instead based on their merit and performance.

“If this trend continues, I can imagine that in the very near future, one of the four top posts in the Malaysian judiciary would be held by a woman. In fact, it is not impossible that all the four positions would be filled by women judges,” said Raus.

At the ceremony, 14 judges took their oath of appointment and loyalty after they were appointed and promoted as Federal Court, Court of Appeal and High Court judges.

Three Court of Appeal judges who were appointed as Federal Court judges were David Wong Dak Wah, 64, Rohana Yusuf, 61 and Mohd Zawawi Salleh, 62.

Meanwhile, High Court judges Stephen Chung Hian Guan, 64, Hanipah Farikullah, 58 and Kamaludin Md Said, 59, were promoted as Court of Appeal judges.

Eight judicial commissioners were confirmed as High Court judges namely SM Komathy, 59, Ab Karim Ab Rahman, 61, Wong Kian Kheong, 54, Choo Kah Sing, 50, Ahmad Bache, 59, Mohd Firuz Jaffril, 49, Mairin Idang @ Martin, 63 and Alwi Abdul Wahab, 51. - FMT

Kayveas: Sacking unconstitutional, accuses sec-gen of conspiracy

MyPPP president says a Supreme Council meeting should have been called and disciplinary committee appointed following complaint letter from BN.

M Kayveas says myPPP Supreme Council cannot replace the president except by way of a general assembly or an EGM.

PETALING JAYA: Alleging conspiracy and “unlawful actions”, myPPP president M Kayveas has accused secretary-general Mohan Kandasamy of violating the party’s constitution with his announcement that Kayveas had been sacked.

In a letter to Mohan today, he said that article 9.13 of the party’s constitution specified that the Supreme Council could not replace the president except by way of a general assembly or extraordinary general meeting.

He added that article 6.9 stipulated that the council should refer the matter to a disciplinary committee upon receipt of a written complaint from any member.

He said there was no disciplinary board or committee in myPPP and that he had only appointed a disciplinary board chairman on Nov 30, 2014.

“Therefore, it is mandatory for a Supreme Council meeting to be called by the president and a committee has to be appointed to assist the chairman of the disciplinary committee,” he said in the letter.

Earlier today, Kayveas had said he was withdrawing his letter of resignation as president.

This was despite Mohan announcing on April 25 that Kayveas had been sacked. He had said the party had not received Kayveas’s resignation letter when the decision to sack him was made.

Mohan had also announced that party vice-president Maglin D’Cruz would be acting president effective immediately.

The decision was made following a letter from Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor the previous day which apparently noted that several actions and statements made by Kayveas had the potential to damage the relationship between myPPP and other BN component parties.

Kayveas claimed that his office, the myPPP office and he himself had been calling Mohan and Maglin upon receipt of Tengku Adnan’s letter on April 24 but both “refused to answer all calls”.

“The reason I called you as secretary-general was to call for a Supreme Council meeting and present the letter to all Supreme Council members to discuss the contents,” he said.

“However, in total breach of all articles of the constitution, you have by ‘frolic of your own’ attempted to have secret meetings without the knowledge of the president, without the knowledge of the majority of Supreme Council members, and out of the premises of the myPPP headquarters.”

He also said no notice of a disciplinary committee was given to him and the charges were not made known to him.

He also claimed that Mohan had not given or served on him any notice, letter or decision on the matter as announced in public. -FMT

Harapan Yang Berbahaya

Tian Chua memang tidak menghormati penjawat awam

 SEADEMON SAYS

Pakatan Orang-Orang Yang Tidak Menghormati Undang-Undang

Pada bulan Disember 2007, harapan Pakatan iaitu Tian Chua telah menggigit seorang konstabel polis Rosyaidi Anuar yang sedang melaksanakan tugas beliau di luar perkarangan bangunan Parlimen.  Akibat perbuatan tersebut, Tian Chua telah dipenjarakan selama enam bulan dan denda RM3,000.00 pada tahun berikutnya.

Pada tahun 2017, Tian Chua telah menarik balik rayuannya di mahkamah terhadap hukuman penjara yang telah dikenakan terhadapnya kerana gagal mematuhi arahan polis untuk bersurai semasa perhimpunan BERSIH 3.0 pada tahun 2012.

Terkini, Tian Chua telah didapati tidak layak bertanding untuk Pilihanraya Umum Ke-14 kerana telah didenda sebanyak RM2,000.00.

Satu persoalan telah timbul kerana sebelum ini Tian Chua yang dikenakan hukuman denda RM3,000.00 pada tahun 2008 kerana menggigit seorang anggota polis seperti di atas, telah membuat rayuan dan mendapat pengurangan denda dari RM3,000.00 ke RM2,000.00.

Pada pendapat saya, Hakim Ghazali Cha telah membuat kesilapan dalam penghakimannya dengan mengulas bahawa hukuman denda tersebut dikurangkan dari RM3,000.00 ke RM2,000.00 untuk mengelakkan daripada perlunya mengadakan sebuah pilihanraya kecil yang akan memakan belanja yang amat besar untuk mencari seorang Ahli Parlimen yang baru.

Penghakiman tersebut berniat baik, namun tersilap dari segi Perlembagaan.  Akibatnya, Tian Chua telah dibenarkan untuk kekal sebagai Ahli Parlimen Kawasan Batu, dan bertanding semula pada tahun 2013.

Terkini, Tian Chua telah dilucut kelayakan untuk bertanding dalam Pilihanraya Umum Ke-14 kerana telah dihukum denda sebanyak RM2,000.00.  Pada asalnya, Tian Chua telah dihukum denda sebanyak RM3,000.00 kerana menghina seorang pegawai polis.  Hukuman tersebut telah dikurangkan kepada RM2,000.00 kerana ianya tidak melibatkan perbuatan fizikal seperti…kegemaran Tian Chua…menggigit.

Namun, Artikel 48(1)(e) Perlembagaan Persekutuan jelas menyebut mana-mana orang yang dihukum dengan pemenjaraan selama tempoh tidak kurang daripada satu tahun atau denda tidak kurang daripada dua ribu ringgit dan dia tidak mendapat pengampunan bebas adalah tidak layak untuk menjadi seorang Ahli Parlimen.

Ini bermakna, Tian Chua telah dihalang oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan bukannya oleh SPR itu sendiri.

Bahayanya Harapan

Pada bulan Ogos 2012, saya telah berpeluang untuk berbuka puasa dengan 120 orang Islam bekas murtad dan mereka menceritakan kepada saya bagaimana liciknya taktik yang digunakan pihak-pihak evangelis untuk memurtadkan orang Islam di Malaysia.

Ramai dari kalangan para pemegang jawatan dalam DAP adalah mereka yang beragama Kristian dan agak fanatik.  Di antara mereka yang tersenarai sebagai beragama Kristian dari kalangan pemegang jawatan dalam DAP termasuk Lim Guan Eng, Tony Pua, Teresa Kok, Hannah Yeoh, Ong Kian Ming, dan Yeo Bee Yin.

Saya juga pernah menulis betapa liciknya cara mereka memasukkan jarum evangelis di kalangan orang Melayu Islam hinggakan ada dari kalangan orang Melayu yang berjubah dan bertudung kini merupakan apa yang digelar oleh para pendakwah evangelis sebagai Messianic Muslims.

Sekarang kita lihat pula baju T yang dipakai oleh Tony Pua dalam satu videonya:

Bermula dengan nama Barisan Alternatif, pakatan yang ada kini dikenali pula dengan nama Pakatan Rakyat yang juga mengandungi parti PAS, dan kemudiannya dinamakan Pakatan HARAPAN setelah PAS tidak lagi mahu menyertai Pakatan tersebut.

Saya ingin tumpu kepada perkataan HARAPAN itu sendiri.

HARAPAN adalah HOPE di dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Menurut John Piper, pengasas DesiringGod.org dan seorang Canselor di Bethlehem College and Seminary di Amerika Syarikat, makna HOPE (HARAPAN) dalam Bahasa Inggeris mungkin menjurus kepada menantikan sesuatu yang tidak pasti akan berlaku.  Namun dalam pengajaran Kristian, HOPE atau HARAPAN adalah keyakinan/kepercayaan terhadap sesuatu yang telah dijanjikan oleh Tuhan, atau dalam bahasa mudahnya: AQIDAH (FAITH).

Menurut kitab Injil, “Kepercayaan datangnya dari mendengar, dan mendengar kata-kata Tuhan.” (Romans 10:17).

Lihat gambar di atas – perkataan yang tertera di bahagian depan baju beliau ialah HOPE.  Adakah disebabkan pengaruh Islam dalam Pakatan telah dihapuskan dengan tidak termasuknya PAS di dalam Pakatan yang baharu maka Pakatan kini digelar Pakatan HARAPAN?

Adakah secara kebetulan juga Reverend Bernard Paul pernah mengutus jemputan kepada semua yang beragama Kristian untuk “menubuhkan kerajaan Tuhan di negara ini” dengan menolak kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang diketuai UMNO, sebuah parti Melayu yang memelihara Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan serta Raja-Raja Melayu sebagai payung agama Islam dan adat-istiadat orang Melayu?

Mungkin HARAPAN ini ada kena-mengena dengan apa yang disebut dalam Kitab Injil melalui Zechariah 14:9 iaitu:

“Tuhan akan menjadi raja atas seluruh bumi. Pada hari itu Tuhan akan menjadi satu dan namanya hanya satu.”

Memang bahaya siapa yang harapkan HARAPAN ini. Bahaya lagi Pakatan ini kepada aqidah orang Islam.

Nonsense, Says Mahathir On Claim He Was Offered Replacement Jet

(FMT) – Dr Mahathir Mohamad has rubbished a claim by a flight charter company that he was immediately offered another plane upon discovery of a technical problem involving a private jet he was to board for Langkawi last Friday.

“The statement that another plane was offered is sheer nonsense because after I found the plane could not fly, we tried to borrow from friends with private aircrafts,” the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said today, refuting a statement by VistaJet International denying that his plane was sabotaged, and that another jet was immediately made available.

Mahathir said he had to contact three friends who would normally lend him their aircraft.

“But this time they refused to lend their aircraft and one of them indicated that he is under pressure not to lend me his aircraft,” he said.

He said a friend who had chartered a plane to Singapore had agreed to fly him to Langkawi instead.

Mahathir also rejected the argument by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) that the technical error on the plane – leakage of fluid from the front wheel – was a “minor and routine” technical fault.

“This is a very serious thing because it may result in the plane going off track when taking off or landing. But fortunately, the pilot discovered the leak before the plane took off and told me that he cannot fly in that condition,” he said.

He questioned CAAM’s denial, saying it was not based on any investigation but merely to refute his claims.

“I am not accusing the CAAM of doing anything wrong. I know the CAAM does not have a very tight security all over the country to ensure that planes are not tampered with,” he said.

Mahathir had on Friday suggested an attempt to sabotage his flight to Langkawi, a day before he filed his nomination papers. Following this, the Ministry of Transport said the matter would be investigated.

Mahathir today said the problem was the first he had encountered.

“I have flown thousands of times in private jets. There has never been any serious incident that forced the plane to be grounded. This is the first time I have to experience damage to the front wheel of the airplane.

“At other times the engine may not be functioning well and it could be repaired in time but this damage to the front wheel of the plane is a very serious damage,” he said in a statement he issued from Langkawi, where he is standing as a candidate for the May 9 polls.

Mahathir also dismissed a suggestion that the plane was his own.

“I do not have RM2.6 billion in my account to spend on a private jet or a yacht,” he said, in an apparent reference to allegations linked to troubled state firm 1MDB.

Why simple majority? Harapan should go for broke, aim for two-thirds

A two-thirds majority in the current Parliament means 148 seats, a mythical figure that may, on surface, seem beyond the reach of all opposition coalitions, especially if it is an alliance that has barely been formed a year ago, as is the case with Pakatan Harapan.

This is where the story gets interesting, and where political science clashes with the dreams of all sharp analysts, who from time to time, are willing to rethink the laws by which the politicians themselves have violated.

Let's face it. In politics, the golden law is so simple almost to the point of being crude: you break it, you own it. In the case of Malaysia, Najib has ruined Malaysia completely, to which all redemption now rests on the people's revolt on May 9. And, the odds of the latter happening are getting stronger by the day.

This law is further reinforced by all three principles of Newtonian mechanics: The first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia.

The second law explains how the velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an external force.

The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal force on object A.

BN and Umno, according to the first law, are not inert. In fact, they have been over zealous in creating wealth (for themselves), invariably through schemes like 1MDB, Felda, Bandar Malaysia, and TRX land swaps, that each failure has resulted in the distortion of BN and Umno's own trajectory. Bersatu was formed to pursue the Malay struggle, instead of leaving it all to Umno alone.

The more BN and Umno try to swivel and pivot in the international and corporate arena, the more they are known as a corrupt political regime; with even more corruptive influence on the political economy of Malaysia. If a well-managed economy is the proverbial China shop, Umno is the bull that left every piece of fine porcelain shattered to bits on the floor.

The results are plain as day if we take an objective measure like the 2008 and 2013 elections (with the caveat that we know elections are neither free nor fair). The loss of popular votes every time Umno tried to win back voters on account of its poor record of managing the nation has been an abysmal failure.

They lost the two-thirds majority in Parliament in 2008 – unprecedented. And they lost the popular vote in 2013 – again, unprecedented.

Not much has changed since 2013. In fact, things have only gotten worse with the losses at 1MDB. Once again Umno has tried to paper over the failures with an absurd claim that but for a faulty business model everything would have been just fine at 1MDB. This is the trajectory Umno cannot waver from not matter what schemes it tries.

The second law of Newton, while more complicated, is simple: the faster your fall, when new speed is added to an object. The proliferation of social media has made BN and Umno oblivious to the fact that they now operate in realms where a hyper demanding society is demanding more from the government, than what the latter alone can offer.

BN and Umno cannot match Harapan precisely because the latter is able to keep up with social media, invariably, the netizens, while BN and Umno are always wallowing in smut.

The third law of Newton is equally applicable to Umno and BN in the 14th general election, if not since 1999 too. For every action, there is equal reaction.

By bullying, indeed, bulldozing its way through Malaysia – as if it alone owns Malaysia not others – BN and Umno are now looking at total revolt from Kangar in Perlis to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.

The jailing of Anwar led to the formation of Parti Keadlian Malaysia in 1998, which later became PKR.

The offering of indelible ink as a means to control illicit voting followed by the revelation that the ink was defective lead to voter outrage and increased turnout.

Setting elections on a Wednesday sparked an outrage online forcing the caretaker prime minister to offer up Wednesday as a National holiday and giving Pakatan Harapan the opportunity to offer May 10 and 11 as a holiday.

There is virtually no end to the examples one can cite.

Of course, we can add other laws of politics. And, they always apply without fail. It was former US speaker of the House, ‘Tip’ O’ Neill, who famously said that "all politics are local." By raising GST, passing the Anti Fake News Act 2018 unilaterally, BN and Umno have not only made "politics local," but extremely personal.

The last law is that coined by US senator William Fulbright: "That truth is the first casualty of war." BN and Umno know they have walked into a war-like situation, where four opposition coalition parties, together with various strategic partners in civil society, have teamed up, to dislodge the ruling regime.

Thus, the latter has resorted to cooking the books on 1MDB just to redeem itself as a worthy second sovereign fund, this despite the fact that 1MDB has failed completely, even by the admission of caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on April 26 in Bloomberg.

Regardless of which laws, be they Newtonian, or sheer folkloric observations from Western political traditions, Umno and BN have run afoul of, Najib is trapped, and together with him, is PAS.

Both parties have formed alliances to be the king and kingmaker. Yet divine and natural laws, too, do not respect a total lunge for power.

Why?

To be sure, 99 percent of Malaysians have some form of theological beliefs that constitute a basic respect for the spiritual realm. By gorging themselves with debts which the people must repay, and seeking power solely for the sake of power and not the greater good, which usurps citizen’s rights, Malaysians will trigger one of the biggest electoral tsunamis in the world on May 9.

What purpose can a Fake News law serve if the majority of the country’s mainstream media is in the business of producing fake news day in and day out for the last two decades.

Those who are not in the clear will be completely overwhelmed. They will soon be at the outside looking in, or, perhaps, the inside looking out, if the relevant laws on massive criminal breach of trust are brought to bear on all the key stakeholders in Umno and BN.

Thus, a two-thirds majority in favour of Pakatan Harapan cannot – and must not – be ruled out in Malaysia. Like proverbial New Yorkers, who don't get mad, but get even, Malaysia is now at the tipping point, to get even; potentially even exceeding all the expectations of the polling firms.

After miscuing on Trump's surprise victory and Brexit, one would have assumed that the polling firms should know that their methods are not flawless.

Yet, there are many in and out of Malaysia who are not looking at the raw emotions of the people per se. These are people who have felt the full effect of being used and abused by their own elected government. -Mkini

Should political beliefs be discussed in the classroom?

The late Abdul Ghafar Baba was a teacher; the Malaysian education minister was a teacher and so was the menteri besar of Terengganu.

Thus, if the three of them were teachers, they must have been involved in politics while they were teaching. They had their political beliefs beforehand.

There is a contradiction in the statement that the political beliefs of teachers must be in line with the current government's beliefs and not with the opposition's.

So what if teachers and educators support the opposition? If so, can teachers and educators express their political standing to their students?

From my point of view, if it is factual and it is for discussion purposes or higher order thinking skills; I do think it's okay.

In my “Pengantar Pengajian Profesional” (GPP1063) classes, we had quite a few topics on BN ideas and the coming GE14 election to open up the minds of our students.

We will always welcome small debates on certain issues such as jobs, healthcare, immigration, terrorism and so forth. Nothing was classified as ‘evil and stupid'.

We will always try to discuss the issues and point out certain things to really get the discussion going.

With some supporting the government, some the opposition and, of course, ‘the neutrals’, the difference between pushing beliefs and discussing them kicks in.

Discussing beliefs without condemning others requires discussing the relevant ideas before discussing the person putting up the ideas.

If you think you don’t like certain ideas from a politician, you should open up and examine his ideas before you come to the conclusion that he or she is wrong. You don’t do it the other way around and you certainly don’t skip the discussion on the ideas.

Thus educators should be allowed to express political beliefs in the classroom so long as such beliefs are supported with facts and explanations of how that teacher came to the conclusions they did.

In other words, political beliefs can be discussed in a classroom so long as they are actually discussed. A typical discussion requires logic, reason and an opportunity for reply as well as simple disagreement; if such needs are not met, then you are instead getting a lecture.

Political lessons, on the other hand, should not be allowed unless they are part of the curriculum being taught. And if a one-sided view of a political idea is actually part of your curriculum, then you need to protest that as soon as possible.

Or just get out of there as soon as possible, because you aren’t getting an education so much as you’re getting a brainwashing. - Mkini

See-To: Past problems from Mahathir era being rectified

GE14 | Part of incumbent prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's transformation plans for Malaysia has to do with correcting problems from the past, according to BN strategic communications deputy director Eric See-To.

He said Najib refused to repeat the mistakes made during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's time as a leader, specifically on the privatisation of national government assets to what was described as "unqualified cronies".

"Najib is a victim of his sincere drive to transform Malaysia, to move away from the past. If he agreed to Mahathir's (political) demands, it would have meant status quo and there would be no transformation,” he said in an AFP article based on the French news agency’s interview with him.

In the piece, See-To claimed that Mahathir had zero interest in the future of Malaysia, citing his election manifesto speech.

"Later, when questioned about the manifesto, Mahathir did not know what was promised, even admitting that the manifesto was not realistic, like abolishing the goods and services tax (GST) and tolls," he said in the piece titled "Battle Royale between Past and Present".

See-To went on to say that listening to feedback from the ground, he believed that Mahathir would not be able to deliver the so-called "Malay tsunami" that the Pakatan Harapan opposition bloc hoped for.

The feedback, he said, was also clear that people were appalled that the Harapan bloc was now working with their hated nemesis, and that there would be a reaction to punish them for betraying their trust and their lack of principles.

See-To reckoned that in an unlikely event that Mahathir and his partners won the May 9 polls, they would not allow him run the show.

“I am just afraid that Mahathir’s supporters and the man himself would be disappointed that they would be backstabbed because PKR has said in the past that they would hold a commission of inquiry on accusations against Mahathir during his tenure as prime minister,” he said.

He further said bank analysts had noted that a BN victory would spell a continuation of growth and a positive boost to the economy moving forward.

The Harapan bloc is made up of DAP, PKR, Bersatu and Amanah.

- Bernama

Sanjeevan cleared of intimidation, extortion charges

Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan was freed by the Magistrate’s Court here today, on a charge of criminal intimidation and extortion allegedly committed about two years ago.

Magistrate Mohd Zaki Abdul Rahman made the decision after finding the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the 34-year-old.

“After hearing the testimony of 12 prosecution witnesses, the court finds the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused,” he said.

Sanjeevan was charged with intentionally committing extortion by intimidating Goh Toh Hon, 40.

According to the facts of the case, the MyWatch chair was accused of extorting RM25,000 from Goh, failing which he threatened to expose the latter's illegal gambling activity.

He allegedly committed the offence at the Nilai Toll Plaza at 10.45pm, on June 22, 2016.

Sanjeevan was charged under Section 384 of the Penal Code, which provides a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine, or whipping upon conviction.

Saiful Hazmi Mohd Saad and Shukor Abu Bakar were deputy public prosecutors, while Sanjeevan was represented by counsels S Prakash and Gobind Singh Deo.

- Bernama

Rafizi warns Khairy of 'angry' Indian voters in Rembau

GE14 | Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin will incur the "wrath of voters" in Rembau after PKR’s Rantau candidate Dr S Streram was allegedly prevented from submitting his nomination papers, party vice-president Rafizi Ramli warned today.

Rafizi told reporters today that this was based on the latest findings of pollster Invoke Malaysia, which showed a swing of Indian voters towards Harapan.

"BN is on the defensive because by now they realise the short-term gain of winning one seat uncontested in Rantau may cause an avalanche of anger towards BN especially among the Indians," the Invoke founder said.

Rafizi clarified that Invoke has been assisting Streram in Rantau for the past two years, and noted that the constituency has one of the highest densities of Indian voters in the country.

"So at the very least he should be allowed to contest.

"When he was not allowed to contest in a situation where there are some 15 percent Indian voters, the anger among them is quite apparent," he said.

Any possible backlash, Rafizi added, will mean that Khairy will face a challenge to defend Rembau, which he has held for two terms.  

Rantau is a state seat under the Rembau parliamentary seat.

"Rembau is a seat with 75 percent Malay, 15 percent Indian and 10 percent Chinese voters.

"So I think Khairy will get the wrath of the voters this elections," said Rafizi.

On Saturday, Khairy lodged a police report against Rafizi over the former Pandan MP's remarks that linked him to the incident during nominations day.

On nomination day, Negeri Sembilan caretaker menteri besar Mohamad Hasan won the Rantau seat uncontested after Streram was denied entry into the nomination centre, as he did not have his Election Commission tag.

Video footage of the incident showed Streram trying to get in while police formed a line to prevent him from doing so.

Rafizi also previously claimed that police and EC officers had deliberately prevented Streram from filing his nomination papers until 10.03am, several minutes after the nomination period was closed.

Inspector-general of police Mohamed Fuzi Harun denied Rafizi's claims, however, and said his men had only assisted EC officers on duty at the nomination centre.

Fuzi also said the police would not hesitate to summon the PKR leader for investigations if he insisted on repeating his claims. -Mkini

Fliers urging Chinese to 'exact revenge' on Dr M at Langkawi market

GE14 | A four-page Chinese language pamphlet urging the Chinese community in Langkawi to "exact revenge" on former prime minister Dr Mahahir Mohamad has made its rounds at a local market.

The pamphlets, distributed at a local market in Kuah, described Mahathir as "anti-Chinese" and listed out 33 examples of how Mahathir had failed the Chinese community when he was prime minister.

"In the 22 years Mahathir was in power, he tried to subvert Chinese interest, political power and education but failed.

"Now he is using DAP to pursue his quest against the Chinese. If he succeeds, he will rejoin Umno with the seats he has won.

"This is a timely opportunity for the Chinese to exact revenge on Mahathir by thwarting his comeback.

"It is the best way to take revenge on the evils of his past in oppressing the Chinese," it said.

The pamphlet, which publisher is not identified, also claimed that Mahathir had on Dec 19, 2012, said the Chinese became successful through "cheating".

"He is jealous of the Chinese community's achievement in various aspects (including the economy) and wants to deny the contribution of Chinese to Malaysia," it said.

The pamphlet also reproduced pictures of Operasi Lalang, when several Chinese educationists were arrested under the now defunct Internal Security Act.

The document also carried the text: "Don't allow Mahathir to kill Chinese again, #UndiRosak".

Meanwhile, Sinar Harian reported that similar pamphlets have also been distributed at Chinese populated centres and food courts.

Residents said the pamphlets were left in their letterbox and car windscreen.

Langkawi is a Malay-majority seat but has a small Chinese community, approximately seven percent.

In the last general election, BN's Nawawi Ahmad won Langkawi by an 11,861-vote majority.

However, the seat is now considered "dangerous" after Mahathir, who was instrumental in developing the backwater island into a tourism hub, decided to contest there.

Mahathir will be going up against Nawawi and PAS' Zubir Ahmad.

Mahathir, who was prime minister and Umno president for 22 years, is now leading the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition to oust his former party. -Mkini

No such thing as dress code for voters – EC denies viral message

GE14 | The Election Commission (EC) has denied that a dress code would be imposed on voters for the 14th general election.

EC chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah was responding to a message which had gone viral on social media claiming that voters would be required to dress in a certain manner.

According to a viral Chinese message spread on Facebook, voters are advised not to wear torn jeans, slippers, shorts or miniskirts into the polling centres or risk being barred.

Dismissing the message as false, Mohd Hashim said the EC has never imposed an office attire-like dress code for voters.

“EC has never and will not prevent a voter from entering a voting centre as long as the person is not in violation of Section 26 (1))(g) of the Election Offences Act 1954,” he added in a statement.

Section 26 (1))(g) stipulates that a voter would be prevented from entering a voting centre if he or she wears clothes and paraphernalia which feature the name of a candidate or party logo.

Mohd Hashim also advised the public to be cautious and screen unverified information received regarding the election via social media.

He said the public could contact the EC directly at 03-88927018 to obtain the accurate information.

Meanwhile, on another matter, Hashim denied an allegation by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin that the commission will release ballot papers in the parliamentary constituency of Pagoh (P143), where the latter is contesting, with his real name, Mahiaddin. 

"EC stresses that the name that will be displayed on the ballot paper will be as stated in column 3 of Form 4 and 4A, given to the commission, which is Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. 

"The EC's website and its application also bear the same name, and only the electoral register is his real name stated, as per his identification card. 

"Regarding his name stated in the results of the 13th general election, the EC would like to stress that victors of an election, when their names are gazetted in Form 16, will follow their real names, and not one that is listed in the ballot papers," said Hashim.

"The EC hopes that this clarifies the situation." - Mkini