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| Adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990
Whereas in the Charter of the United
Nations the peoples of the world affirm, inter alia , their
determination to establish conditions under which justice can be
maintained, and proclaim as one of their purposes the achievement of
international cooperation in promoting and encouraging respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to race, sex,
language or religion,
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principles of equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, and all the guarantees necessary for the defence of everyone charged with a penal offence,
Whereas the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights proclaims, in addition, the right to be tried
without undue delay and the right to a fair and public hearing by a
competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law,
Whereas the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recalls the obligation of States
under the Charter to promote universal respect for, and observance of,
human rights and freedoms,
Whereas the Body of Principles for the
Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
provides that a detained person shall be entitled to have the assistance
of, and to communicate and consult with, legal counsel,
Whereas the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners recommend, in particular, that legal assistance and confidential communication with counsel should be ensured to untried prisoners,
Whereas the Safeguards guaranteeing
protection of those facing the death penalty reaffirm the right of
everyone suspected or charged with a crime for which capital punishment
may be imposed to adequate legal assistance at all stages of the
proceedings, in accordance with article 14 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights,
Whereas the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power recommends measures to be taken at the international and national levels to improve access to justice and fair treatment, restitution, compensation and assistance for victims of crime,
Whereas adequate protection of the human
rights and fundamental freedoms to which all persons are entitled, be
they economic, social and cultural, or civil and political, requires
that all persons have effective access to legal services provided by an
independent legal profession,
Whereas professional associations of
lawyers have a vital role to play in upholding professional standards
and ethics, protecting their members from persecution and improper
restrictions and infringements, providing legal services to all in need
of them, and cooperating with governmental and other institutions in
furthering the ends of justice and public interest,
The Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers, set forth below, which have been formulated to assist Member
States in their task of promoting and ensuring the proper role of
lawyers, should be respected and taken into account by Governments
within the framework of their national legislation and practice and
should be brought to the attention of lawyers as well as other persons,
such as judges, prosecutors, members of the executive and the
legislature, and the public in general. These principles shall also
apply, as appropriate, to persons who exercise the functions of lawyers
without having the formal status of lawyers.
1. All persons are entitled to call upon
the assistance of a lawyer of their choice to protect and establish
their rights and to defend them in all stages of criminal proceedings.
2. Governments shall ensure that efficient procedures and responsive mechanisms for effective and equal access to lawyers are provided for all persons within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction, without distinction of any kind, such as discrimination based on race, colour, ethnic origin, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, economic or other status.
3. Governments shall ensure the provision
of sufficient funding and other resources for legal services to the poor
and, as necessary, to other disadvantaged persons. Professional
associations of lawyers shall cooperate in the organization and
provision of services, facilities and other resources.
4. Governments and professional associations of lawyers shall promote programmes to inform the public about their rights and duties under the law and the important role of lawyers in protecting their fundamental freedoms. Special attention should be given to assisting the poor and other disadvantaged persons so as to enable them to assert their rights and where necessary call upon the assistance of lawyers. Special safeguards in criminal justice matters 5. Governments shall ensure that all persons are immediately informed by the competent authority of their right to be assisted by a lawyer of their own choice upon arrest or detention or when charged with a criminal offence. 6. Any such persons who do not have a lawyer shall, in all cases in which the interests of justice so require, be entitled to have a lawyer of experience and competence commensurate with the nature of the offence assigned to them in order to provide effective legal assistance, without payment by them if they lack sufficient means to pay for such services. 7. Governments shall further ensure that all persons arrested or detained, with or without criminal charge, shall have prompt access to a lawyer, and in any case not later than forty-eight hours from the time of arrest or detention. 8. All arrested, detained or imprisoned persons shall be provided with adequate opportunities, time and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult with a lawyer, without delay, interception or censorship and in full confidentiality. Such consultations may be within sight, but not within the hearing, of law enforcement officials. Qualifications and training 9. Governments, professional associations of lawyers and educational institutions shall ensure that lawyers have appropriate education and training and be made aware of the ideals and ethical duties of the lawyer and of human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized by national and international law. 10. Governments, professional associations of lawyers and educational institutions shall ensure that there is no discrimination against a person with respect to entry into or continued practice within the legal profession on the grounds of race, colour, sex, ethnic origin, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, economic or other status, except that a requirement, that a lawyer must be a national of the country concerned, shall not be considered discriminatory. 11. In countries where there exist groups, communities or regions whose needs for legal services are not met, particularly where such groups have distinct cultures, traditions or languages or have been the victims of past discrimination, Governments, professional associations of lawyers and educational institutions should take special measures to provide opportunities for candidates from these groups to enter the legal profession and should ensure that they receive training appropriate to the needs of their groups. Duties and responsibilities 12. Lawyers shall at all times maintain the honour and dignity of their profession as essential agents of the administration of justice. 13. The duties of lawyers towards their clients shall include:
( a ) Advising clients as to their legal
rights and obligations, and as to the working of the legal system in so
far as it is relevant to the legal rights and obligations of the
clients;
( b ) Assisting clients in every appropriate way, and taking legal action to protect their interests; ( c ) Assisting clients before courts, tribunals or administrative authorities, where appropriate. 14. Lawyers, in protecting the rights of their clients and in promoting the cause of justice, shall seek to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized by national and international law and shall at all times act freely and diligently in accordance with the law and recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession. 15. Lawyers shall always loyally respect the interests of their clients. Guarantees for the functioning of lawyers 16. Governments shall ensure that lawyers ( a ) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; ( b ) are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad; and ( c ) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics. 17. Where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities.
18. Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients' causes as a result of discharging their functions.
19. No court or administrative authority before whom the right to counsel is recognized shall refuse to recognize the right of a lawyer to appear before it for his or her client unless that lawyer has been disqualified in accordance with national law and practice and in conformity with these principles.
20. Lawyers shall enjoy civil and penal
immunity for relevant statements made in good faith in written or oral
pleadings or in their professional appearances before a court, tribunal
or other legal or administrative authority.
21. It is the duty of the competent authorities to ensure lawyers access to appropriate information, files and documents in their possession or control in sufficient time to enable lawyers to provide effective legal assistance to their clients. Such access should be provided at the earliest appropriate time. 22. Governments shall recognize and respect that all communications and consultations between lawyers and their clients within their professional relationship are confidential. Freedom of expression and association 23. Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their membership in a lawful organization. In exercising these rights, lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession. Professional associations of lawyers 24. Lawyers shall be entitled to form and join self-governing professional associations to represent their interests, promote their continuing education and training and protect their professional integrity. The executive body of the professional associations shall be elected by its members and shall exercise its functions without external interference. 25. Professional associations of lawyers shall cooperate with Governments to ensure that everyone has effective and equal access to legal services and that lawyers are able, without improper interference, to counsel and assist their clients in accordance with the law and recognized professional standards and ethics. Disciplinary proceedings 26. Codes of professional conduct for lawyers shall be established by the legal profession through its appropriate organs, or by legislation, in accordance with national law and custom and recognized international standards and norms. 27. Charges or complaints made against lawyers in their professional capacity shall be processed expeditiously and fairly under appropriate procedures. Lawyers shall have the right to a fair hearing, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer of their choice. 28. Disciplinary proceedings against lawyers shall be brought before an impartial disciplinary committee established by the legal profession, before an independent statutory authority, or before a court, and shall be subject to an independent judicial review. 29. All disciplinary proceedings shall be determined in accordance with the code of professional conduct and other recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession and in the light of these principles. |
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Basic Principles On The Role Of Lawyers
Sunday, May 20, 2012
The Father Of The Illegitimate UMNO Baru (Haramjadah)
Mahathir
Mohamad may have been a dutiful and well-respected medical doctor back
in the 1940s. But his decision to enter the political fray has - it’s
safe to say - turned out to be a sheer nightmare for the country as a
whole.
Mahathir could have maintained his good reputation as a doctor, but his name is now ruined, forever associated with the Twin Towers of corruption and cronyism, his only solace being perhaps the personal wealth that he and his sons managed to accumulate when he was at the zenith of his tyrannical rule.
And the most pathetic thing about this old man is that he had a choice to become either a statesman or a rascal, but he has clearly opted to be remembered as a deranged veteran who refuses to believe the world around him has changed.
By any standards, Mahathir was an intelligent man among his contemporaries. Even Lee Kuan Yew found him a tough nut to crack.
Lee is an elite member of the old anglophile school who could easily quote a famous British judge to justify his own autocratic governance, but was confronted with tremendous difficulties in articulating his thoughts with the masses in Singapore’s early days as an independent state. But Mahathir, himself from the top drawer of his time, was often able to return to the grassroots and arouse populist sentiment for his own cause when the going got tough.
Which makes it all the more tragic that the doctor has now become deranged in his own house. With Barisan Nasional appearing to lose power sooner or later, he is living in great fear of his own misdeeds and transgressions being laid bare under the Malaysian sun. Had Mahathir been a righteous and just-minded leader, he would not have to shudder constantly at the scenario of an alternative government, for his rectitude would remain intact, come what may.
But integrity is precisely what the doctor is short of. To pre-empt potential change of government, he is now working profusely to smear both the Bersih movement and the opposition by joining the government’s chorus of vilification.
In fact, he is almost a lead singer!
Admittedly,
Mahathir, who is single-handedly responsible for the erosion of the
Malaysian judiciary does not see eye to eye with the Bar Council. The
bad blood, however, came only from the doctor himself as he tried to
‘fix’ the judges as he did his own patients in Alor Star. His caustic
remarks that the Bar Council has become a political party therefore only
reveal his ineptitude in understanding the role of the legal
fraternity.
Hence, it was a blessing that the colonial administration allegedly denied him a scholarship to read law in London!
Instead of hurling hollow accusations at the Bar Council, Mahathir should have the decency to admit as many as 90 percent of the judges, high-ranking police officers and “mainstream” journalists - especially those from RTM, TV3, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, The Star and the New Straits Times - actually joined Umno and became his underlings after 1988.
Speaking truth to power
No, the Bar Council is not partisan. It just so happens that the current government is more often than not found to be on the wrong side of the law, and our lawyers are duty-bound to correct it. A Singaporean lawyer once told me how much she wished her colleagues back home would have the guts to speak truth to power like many of her Malaysian counterparts. This time on the Bersih 3.0 rally, the Malaysian Bar Council has again proven her right, of which I am indeed proud.
And Mahathir consistently refuses to accept the simple fact that Malaysians have different political identifications as rightful citizens. As far as he sees it, anyone who votes for the opposition is a bad Malaysian and less worthy, yet he ought to be told that not all who vote for Pas are religious “fanatics” and those who opt for the DAP are Chinese “chauvinists”. They simply want a government that is less corrupt, more honest and knows its limits.
My parents, for one, voted first the Barisan Sosialis Rakyat Malaya and then PAS throughout their lives, and did that make them racists or religious bigots? And how would “racists” like my parents have chosen PAS over either the MCA or the Chinese-dominated Gerakan in the first place? Can the doctor see the abject lack of logic in his view?
Simply put, Mahathir is now so paranoid and caught up with profound angst that he has lost all his senses, bent only on poisoning the minds of the Malays - young and old alike - with his race-centric rhetoric. Instead of championing greater transparency, public accountability and political integrity, he is going on an immoral crusade against anyone who simply wants to make Malaysia a better country to live in.
Which, in retrospect, was perhaps a reason why he was rejected by the colonial administration, for Mahathir just beats the British at their own game: divide and rule that is.
Mahathir could have maintained his good reputation as a doctor, but his name is now ruined, forever associated with the Twin Towers of corruption and cronyism, his only solace being perhaps the personal wealth that he and his sons managed to accumulate when he was at the zenith of his tyrannical rule.
And the most pathetic thing about this old man is that he had a choice to become either a statesman or a rascal, but he has clearly opted to be remembered as a deranged veteran who refuses to believe the world around him has changed.
By any standards, Mahathir was an intelligent man among his contemporaries. Even Lee Kuan Yew found him a tough nut to crack.Lee is an elite member of the old anglophile school who could easily quote a famous British judge to justify his own autocratic governance, but was confronted with tremendous difficulties in articulating his thoughts with the masses in Singapore’s early days as an independent state. But Mahathir, himself from the top drawer of his time, was often able to return to the grassroots and arouse populist sentiment for his own cause when the going got tough.
Which makes it all the more tragic that the doctor has now become deranged in his own house. With Barisan Nasional appearing to lose power sooner or later, he is living in great fear of his own misdeeds and transgressions being laid bare under the Malaysian sun. Had Mahathir been a righteous and just-minded leader, he would not have to shudder constantly at the scenario of an alternative government, for his rectitude would remain intact, come what may.
But integrity is precisely what the doctor is short of. To pre-empt potential change of government, he is now working profusely to smear both the Bersih movement and the opposition by joining the government’s chorus of vilification.
In fact, he is almost a lead singer!
Admittedly,
Mahathir, who is single-handedly responsible for the erosion of the
Malaysian judiciary does not see eye to eye with the Bar Council. The
bad blood, however, came only from the doctor himself as he tried to
‘fix’ the judges as he did his own patients in Alor Star. His caustic
remarks that the Bar Council has become a political party therefore only
reveal his ineptitude in understanding the role of the legal
fraternity.Hence, it was a blessing that the colonial administration allegedly denied him a scholarship to read law in London!
Instead of hurling hollow accusations at the Bar Council, Mahathir should have the decency to admit as many as 90 percent of the judges, high-ranking police officers and “mainstream” journalists - especially those from RTM, TV3, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, The Star and the New Straits Times - actually joined Umno and became his underlings after 1988.
Speaking truth to power
No, the Bar Council is not partisan. It just so happens that the current government is more often than not found to be on the wrong side of the law, and our lawyers are duty-bound to correct it. A Singaporean lawyer once told me how much she wished her colleagues back home would have the guts to speak truth to power like many of her Malaysian counterparts. This time on the Bersih 3.0 rally, the Malaysian Bar Council has again proven her right, of which I am indeed proud.
And Mahathir consistently refuses to accept the simple fact that Malaysians have different political identifications as rightful citizens. As far as he sees it, anyone who votes for the opposition is a bad Malaysian and less worthy, yet he ought to be told that not all who vote for Pas are religious “fanatics” and those who opt for the DAP are Chinese “chauvinists”. They simply want a government that is less corrupt, more honest and knows its limits.
My parents, for one, voted first the Barisan Sosialis Rakyat Malaya and then PAS throughout their lives, and did that make them racists or religious bigots? And how would “racists” like my parents have chosen PAS over either the MCA or the Chinese-dominated Gerakan in the first place? Can the doctor see the abject lack of logic in his view?
Simply put, Mahathir is now so paranoid and caught up with profound angst that he has lost all his senses, bent only on poisoning the minds of the Malays - young and old alike - with his race-centric rhetoric. Instead of championing greater transparency, public accountability and political integrity, he is going on an immoral crusade against anyone who simply wants to make Malaysia a better country to live in.
Which, in retrospect, was perhaps a reason why he was rejected by the colonial administration, for Mahathir just beats the British at their own game: divide and rule that is.
JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen
watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when
Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life
to the full in spite of politicians.
Friday, May 11, 2012
What The Opposition Must Do To Win Sarawak & Sabah In GE-13
To win Sarawak and Sabah in GE-13, the Opposition must promise (after the respective State Governments have also been changed) to:
1. Restore Sarawak & Sabah's Nation status as per the 18/20 Points Agreements;
2. Adhere to all the other provisions of the 18/20 Points Agreements;
3. Give back to Sarawak & Sabah full control over their petroleum resources & renegotiate what Sarawak & Sabah are willing to give to the Federal Government;
4. Allow Sarawak & Sabah to determine and control their own education, finance & taxation systems;
5. Re-designate the "Chief Minister" of each Nation as "Prime Minister";
6. Implement a system of proportionate and popular representation, by reducing the disproportions in the number of voters between each Parliamentary seat and also each State seat and whereby the Prime Minister of Malaysia as well as the Prime Ministers of Sarawak and Sabah shall be voted by the whole of the respective electorates;
7. Allow Sabah & Sarawak to establish their own Army and State Police and be responsible for their own Defence and Internal Security;
8. Allow Sarawak & Sabah full control of their own Citizenship, Customs and Immigration;
9. Implement full Borneanisation of Sarawak & Sabah's Administrative Service;
10. Give fair and full opportunities to Sarawakians and Sabahans who choose to join the Federal Diplomatic and Administrative Service;
11. Give Sarawak & Sabah the right of deciding at any time whether to secede from the Federation or not, by way of a referendum of their citizens; and
12. Give Sarawak & Sabah the right to remove the citizenships of illegal immigrants wrongfully granted by the (previous) Federal government.
This should do for a start at redressing the wrongs that have been done by Malaya to Sarawak & Sabah since the formation of Malaysia.
Let us see whether the Opposition is sincere enough in their dealings with Sarawak & Sabah to be able to make and keep such promises.
Let us see whether the Opposition is sincere enough in their dealings with Sarawak & Sabah to be able to make and keep such promises.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
How UMNO Failed Malaysia on 28th April 2012
May 01, 2012
MAY 1 — Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail, the Datuk Bandar of Kuala
Lumpur, failed us when he forgot that he was a public servant and
instead, became a servant of the ruling party of the day.
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein failed us when, even after the
experience of Bersih 2.0, he oversaw, as Home Minister, the unnecessary
violence wreaked on an almost wholly peaceful gathering of citizens who
merely were out to state their concerns over what they see as a flawed
electoral process. And to rub salt into the wound, in the aftermath,
Hishammuddin sought to justify the unwarranted violence.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak failed us when as Prime Minister of all
Malaysians — regardless whether they support him or not — he uttered not
a squeak to ensure his flock (and as citizens, we are his flock) were
facilitated in gathering peacefully to voice their concerns.
The mainstream newspapers — The Star, the New Straits Times,
Berita
Harian and, but of course, Utusan Malaysia — failed us yet again
when they sought to justify the wrongs and entrenched their position as
propagandists rather than the chroniclers of truth that they are
supposed to be.
And while the police and the ruling party may want us to believe that
the organisers of Bersih 3.0 also failed us, I disagree because
everything that Fuad and the authorities did to prevent their citizens
from gathering at Dataran Merdeka, I believe, was a formula to encourage
a few hotheads to breach the barriers and they got what they wished for
— an excuse to blame the organisers.
Some, like the New Straits Times, say the organisers should have
taken the option of gathering at Stadium Merdeka as offered by the
authorities and that would have prevented any incident. Really? Why not
argue that if Fuad had allowed Dataran Merdeka as a venue, there would
not have been any incidence either? But Fuad acted as if Dataran Merdeka
(Independence Square) — an oxymoron after Saturday’s events — is his
personal turf. Why so adamant Fuad? Independence is not only yours to
savour; it is ours as well.
I have never voted for the opposition parties in my life. Now, months
towards retirement age, I will ashamedly say that every election that I
have been eligible to vote, I blindly marked X next to the “dacing”
symbol. Yes, I had my concerns about issues. But I always felt that the
Barisan Nasional was the better alternative, despite its shortcomings,
despite its corruption and abuse of power, despite its authoritarian
ways.
But in recent years, many a time I have looked up and asked the
Almighty, is this what we deserve — a choice between bad and slightly
worse? When Bersih 2.0 took to the streets in July last year, I stayed
away, monitoring their progress on the news portals. I believed in their
cause but I was one of the many who asked what use it would be to
gather like that. Nothing will change.
But, like the many who were appalled at the way our ordinary fellow
citizens were herded up like cattle and bundled into Black Marias to
Pulapol and who were appalled at the way the authorities and the
mainstream media tried to lie to us in subsequent days that there were
only 6,000 “violent” protesters, and that they arrested a quarter of
them, I decided then that I would be at Bersih 3.0. I believed then that
whether things changed or not, I would be there to tell this
Government, this ruling party that I have supported for more than 30
years, that I, too, want them to change things.
There have been so many accounts in cyber world of “My Bersih 3.0”
experience — some heart wrenching, some angry, some bitter and some, in
the spirit of all the great religions of this world — Islam,
Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism — urging forgiveness and asking us
to move forward.
But this is what I saw.
I saw friends who had never shown an interest in politics coming with
their wives and children to say they wanted free and fair elections,
because rightly or wrongly, they believe that the electoral system is
flawed. They were not there to be violent.
I saw in the narrow alleys cutting through to Lebuh Ampang, a group
of young and old Muslims, praying as a Jemaah in their distinctive
yellow T-shirts. They were not there to be violent.
I saw many mothers and their teenaged daughters; fathers holding up small children. They were not there to be violent.
I saw the normally reticent Chinese, many young people among them,
taking to the streets — either in green “Stop Lynas” or yellow Bersih
tees. I saw this refined old Malay gentleman, well dressed and in his
60s, holding on firmly to an equally distinguished looking Chinese
gentleman of similar age, marching to show that they were friends united
in a cause. I saw this elderly Chinese lady, caught by a skull-capped,
bearded PAS Unit Amal, as she almost stumbled and fell while taking
photographs. I heard him say: “Aunty, jaga-jaga sikit. Jangan jatuh…”
I saw the lawyer-type Indian gentlemen and ladies marching proudly,
side by side their spouses and children, laughing and joking in between
chanting “Hidup Bersih.” I saw them passing water bottles to those who
did not have any; I saw them aiding the old; I saw them carrying the
young; I saw — after such a long, long time, Malaysians who represent
the spectrum of the Malaysia that should be, united in purpose.
None of them were there to be violent.
Many a time I choked up — like when they burst into the national
anthem and despite the heat and the rush of bodies, trying to stand at
attention. Like when they played around with the huge yellow balloon,
pushing it from one to another, like a carnival. Like when I saw the
children and fathers of different races looking out for each other,
offering a tissue or a sweet, holding up umbrellas for the old. Like
when this teenaged Chinese boy asked me: “Uncle, why you not wearing
yellow?” Like when the old Kelantanese man — whom I knew not from Adam —
spoke to me in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman: “Dah make? Make dulu. Lama nak tunggu.” (Have you eaten? Better eat. It’s a long wait.)
Who, I ask myself, among them was there to be violent? To whom should we pose this question?
Tell us Tan Sri Fuad. Tell us Datuk Seri Hishammuddin. Please tell us
Datuk Seri Najib and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Please tell us Datuk
Seri Rais Yatim because you, who once led unruly demonstrations when you
were in Semangat 46, had so many mean things to say about us. Tell us
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, you who ruled us for 23 years and brooked no
dissent — who among this crowd of elderly to very young, representing
the 1 Malaysia you all pay lip service to, who were the violent ones out
to overthrow the Government?
Perhaps there were some amongst the tens of thousands who were
carried away and broke the barricades. Perhaps it’s a sign of the level
of trust and confidence that people have in their Government that some
believe agent provocateurs planted among the crowd started the trouble.
But pray tell Datuk Seri Hishammuddin and Tan Sri Ismail Omar — what
justification was there to punch, kick, tear gas and baton charge so
many of us who were on our way back and were so far from the scene of
the incident? Our pain and our blood are on your hands.
Barisan Nasional has not learnt from the past. They do not listen.
They only want us to listen. As far as I am concerned, July 9, 2011, and
April 28, 2012, made up my mind and that of my family and friends.
In a perverse way, the Barisan Nasional has achieved what it could
not through its sloganeering — a growing number of Malaysians united in
purpose.
That spirit, Datuk Seri Najib, you cannot break, no matter how many
baton charges, how many beatings, how many tear gas canisters and how
much chemical-laced water you throw at us. You know why? Because you
failed us.
A Police Force Poisoned By UMNO
"I hate victims who respect their executioners" - Jean-Paul Sartre
"Policemen so cherish their status as keepers of the peace and protectors of the public that they have occasionally been known to beat to death those citizens or groups who question that status." - David Mamet
COMMENT The ghosts of A Kugan, Aminulrasyid Amzah, Teoh Beng Hock and a host of others (whose names go unmentioned) watch silently as Prime Minister Najib Razak proclaims the police the victims of the state sanctioned violence that they (the police) perpetrated on the Bersih 3.0 marchers on April 28.
But in a sense he is right. The police are victims. They are as much victims of the Umno regime as any other citizen of Malaysia.
I realise at this emotional post-Bersih 3.0 moment, nobody is interested in any kind of discussion about the police other than how they are the armed division of Umno, but I would like to address certain issues regarding the violence that occurred during the April 28 protest.
This
should not be read as some sort of apologia for the actions of the PDRM
(Royal Malaysian Police) but rather my (hopefully) informed opinion on
what has been troubling many men and women who have served, and who
currently serve, in the various security apparatus of this country.
As a matter of public record, I would like to state that in my opinion any police officer who can be identified as abusing any marchers should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. They are a disgrace to the uniform, the public and finally the Agong.
On Sunday night (the day after Bersih 3.0), I received a call from an old senior police officer I knew from my Sarawak days.
"What the hell, Thaya, did you see the baby faces on parade there? What the hell were they (the government) thinking?"
We got into a long conversation and indeed I had the same conversation with many other retired and serving members of the various security forces in the country.
What amazed me the most of the police presence last Saturday was how young most of them looked. Many of my friends speculated that they looked fresh out of whatever passes for training these days.
Seeing the violence they committed in the various videos circulating on the Internet, it reminded me of schoolboys engaging in fist fights. There was no sense of any higher authority in command merely random violence targeted at anyone unlucky enough to get in their way.
Indeed, the protestors themselves seemed more organised, especially when they were shielding those unlucky police personnel who for whatever reason "accidently" rammed into them from the anger of the crowds.
Siege mentality
Having been on the other side of protest marches gives one a particular perspective when it comes to situations like this.
All military personnel receive some kind of public order training, or at least they did in my time, so I have some vague familiarity with what these men were going through. A long time ago, I too at various times in my career either stood guard or was giving the orders. The fear in their eyes was evident and so was the anger.
Wherever I went I made it a point to keep an eye on our boys in blue and sometimes even interacted with them. On numerous occasions, I realised that they had been standing still or milling about in the hot sun staring at the procession around them without having anything to drink.
One
of my biggest expenses last Saturday was buying drinks for them, which
they at first refused but gratefully accepted after I spoke to their
commanding officer. I was extremely happy seeing that other Bersih
protestors doing the same thing at various points across the city.
Understandably those I engaged with in conversation were rather tight-lipped about what they thought of this whole affair, but something deep inside me knew there was trouble brewing.
"You know how it is now. The rot started post-69 or thereabouts," an old army comrade reminded me. "It infected all the services."
I want readers to think about how police officers or any other security personnel are infected with the Umno garbage of race and religion.
Remember how non-Malays are accused of being unpatriotic because they choose not to serve in the security apparatus of this country even though institutional racism is an open secret, much like it is in the civil service.
I
have no idea if there is a police equivalent of a Ridhuan Tee Abdullah
teaching at whatever police training schools in operation now, but it
doesn't take a genius to understand that these impressionable young
minds who are supposed to be taught to serve and protect all citizens of
the country are infected with that peculiar brand of Umno bigotry that
excludes everyone even other Malays and Muslims if they don't subscribe
to the party's ideology.
Add to this, the ranting of the two Alis (Ibrahim and Hasan) published in the racist propaganda organs of the state (which is probably the only news outlets they are exposed to) and what you get is a siege mentality acerbated by the fact that there is already an invisible line that separates security and civilian citizens.
When you are constantly indoctrinated with hate, sooner or later seeing the ‘other' as not human and not fellow citizens but rather just another threat to ‘national security' or to racial hegemony becomes part of who you are.
Imagine standing in the hot sun looking at people having fun, marching and enjoying themselves - crowds which consist of rebellious Malays and non-Malays who would wish to usurp your rightful place in the destiny of Malaysia.
Agent provocateurs
And if you think this indoctrination only affects the Malays, a former Malay Army major related to me that in a recent conversation, two Chinese and an Indian junior officers told her that Bersih was anti-government and anti-national (whatever that meant). Since she was attending, she didn't take too well to her patriotism being questioned.
And let's not forget that some protestors went out of their way to taunt the police. All that pent-up rage from both sides needed an outlet, but the difference is the police are supposed to maintain their calm in stressful situations.
Understand now that I am not claiming all the police out there are like this or that the protestors were spoiling for a fight.
Anyone
who was there will tell you that the vast majority of protestors were
law-abiding and peaceful participants in this process, but what they
were up against was a police force poisoned by years of Umno
interference.
It would not surprise me if they were agent provocateurs who were amongst the peaceful protestors. The so-called SOP (standard operating procedure) of retrieving recording devices from well, everyone, is evidence that the practitioners of the dark arts were out in full force.
But I also (and this where I will earn the scorn of Pakatan Rakyat supporters and maybe even Bersih supporters) would not be surprised if there were those within Pakatan who thought it would be a good symbolic gesture to reclaim Dataran Merdeka or at least make a go of it.
And anyone who has attended any of these demonstrations will tell there are always people who are there just for the sake of engaging in mindless violence for the sheer hell of it and were waiting for an opportunity to explode.
So there were all these elements for a perfect storm. Now of course the mainstream news organs beholden to their political masters will tell you it's all the fault of S Ambiga and Anwar Ibrahim and indeed we should all accept that in this struggle with this particular regime, scenes like this are bound to occur whenever mass protests are organised, but at the end of the day it is needed simply because if we are ever to get our police force back, to elevate them from their Umno victimhood, we need to constantly remind the regime that we are not afraid.
An old police friend asked me the other night, who I thought started the trouble. I said what I always say. In Umno I trust.
"Policemen so cherish their status as keepers of the peace and protectors of the public that they have occasionally been known to beat to death those citizens or groups who question that status." - David Mamet
COMMENT The ghosts of A Kugan, Aminulrasyid Amzah, Teoh Beng Hock and a host of others (whose names go unmentioned) watch silently as Prime Minister Najib Razak proclaims the police the victims of the state sanctioned violence that they (the police) perpetrated on the Bersih 3.0 marchers on April 28.
But in a sense he is right. The police are victims. They are as much victims of the Umno regime as any other citizen of Malaysia.
I realise at this emotional post-Bersih 3.0 moment, nobody is interested in any kind of discussion about the police other than how they are the armed division of Umno, but I would like to address certain issues regarding the violence that occurred during the April 28 protest.
This
should not be read as some sort of apologia for the actions of the PDRM
(Royal Malaysian Police) but rather my (hopefully) informed opinion on
what has been troubling many men and women who have served, and who
currently serve, in the various security apparatus of this country.As a matter of public record, I would like to state that in my opinion any police officer who can be identified as abusing any marchers should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. They are a disgrace to the uniform, the public and finally the Agong.
On Sunday night (the day after Bersih 3.0), I received a call from an old senior police officer I knew from my Sarawak days.
"What the hell, Thaya, did you see the baby faces on parade there? What the hell were they (the government) thinking?"
We got into a long conversation and indeed I had the same conversation with many other retired and serving members of the various security forces in the country.
What amazed me the most of the police presence last Saturday was how young most of them looked. Many of my friends speculated that they looked fresh out of whatever passes for training these days.
Seeing the violence they committed in the various videos circulating on the Internet, it reminded me of schoolboys engaging in fist fights. There was no sense of any higher authority in command merely random violence targeted at anyone unlucky enough to get in their way.
Indeed, the protestors themselves seemed more organised, especially when they were shielding those unlucky police personnel who for whatever reason "accidently" rammed into them from the anger of the crowds.
Siege mentality
Having been on the other side of protest marches gives one a particular perspective when it comes to situations like this.
All military personnel receive some kind of public order training, or at least they did in my time, so I have some vague familiarity with what these men were going through. A long time ago, I too at various times in my career either stood guard or was giving the orders. The fear in their eyes was evident and so was the anger.
Wherever I went I made it a point to keep an eye on our boys in blue and sometimes even interacted with them. On numerous occasions, I realised that they had been standing still or milling about in the hot sun staring at the procession around them without having anything to drink.
One
of my biggest expenses last Saturday was buying drinks for them, which
they at first refused but gratefully accepted after I spoke to their
commanding officer. I was extremely happy seeing that other Bersih
protestors doing the same thing at various points across the city.Understandably those I engaged with in conversation were rather tight-lipped about what they thought of this whole affair, but something deep inside me knew there was trouble brewing.
"You know how it is now. The rot started post-69 or thereabouts," an old army comrade reminded me. "It infected all the services."
I want readers to think about how police officers or any other security personnel are infected with the Umno garbage of race and religion.
Remember how non-Malays are accused of being unpatriotic because they choose not to serve in the security apparatus of this country even though institutional racism is an open secret, much like it is in the civil service.
I
have no idea if there is a police equivalent of a Ridhuan Tee Abdullah
teaching at whatever police training schools in operation now, but it
doesn't take a genius to understand that these impressionable young
minds who are supposed to be taught to serve and protect all citizens of
the country are infected with that peculiar brand of Umno bigotry that
excludes everyone even other Malays and Muslims if they don't subscribe
to the party's ideology.Add to this, the ranting of the two Alis (Ibrahim and Hasan) published in the racist propaganda organs of the state (which is probably the only news outlets they are exposed to) and what you get is a siege mentality acerbated by the fact that there is already an invisible line that separates security and civilian citizens.
When you are constantly indoctrinated with hate, sooner or later seeing the ‘other' as not human and not fellow citizens but rather just another threat to ‘national security' or to racial hegemony becomes part of who you are.
Imagine standing in the hot sun looking at people having fun, marching and enjoying themselves - crowds which consist of rebellious Malays and non-Malays who would wish to usurp your rightful place in the destiny of Malaysia.
Agent provocateurs
And if you think this indoctrination only affects the Malays, a former Malay Army major related to me that in a recent conversation, two Chinese and an Indian junior officers told her that Bersih was anti-government and anti-national (whatever that meant). Since she was attending, she didn't take too well to her patriotism being questioned.
And let's not forget that some protestors went out of their way to taunt the police. All that pent-up rage from both sides needed an outlet, but the difference is the police are supposed to maintain their calm in stressful situations.
Understand now that I am not claiming all the police out there are like this or that the protestors were spoiling for a fight.
Anyone
who was there will tell you that the vast majority of protestors were
law-abiding and peaceful participants in this process, but what they
were up against was a police force poisoned by years of Umno
interference.It would not surprise me if they were agent provocateurs who were amongst the peaceful protestors. The so-called SOP (standard operating procedure) of retrieving recording devices from well, everyone, is evidence that the practitioners of the dark arts were out in full force.
But I also (and this where I will earn the scorn of Pakatan Rakyat supporters and maybe even Bersih supporters) would not be surprised if there were those within Pakatan who thought it would be a good symbolic gesture to reclaim Dataran Merdeka or at least make a go of it.
And anyone who has attended any of these demonstrations will tell there are always people who are there just for the sake of engaging in mindless violence for the sheer hell of it and were waiting for an opportunity to explode.
So there were all these elements for a perfect storm. Now of course the mainstream news organs beholden to their political masters will tell you it's all the fault of S Ambiga and Anwar Ibrahim and indeed we should all accept that in this struggle with this particular regime, scenes like this are bound to occur whenever mass protests are organised, but at the end of the day it is needed simply because if we are ever to get our police force back, to elevate them from their Umno victimhood, we need to constantly remind the regime that we are not afraid.
An old police friend asked me the other night, who I thought started the trouble. I said what I always say. In Umno I trust.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (rtd) of Royal Malaysian Navy.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
The Great Malaysian Lie
Important! Read till the End!!!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: J TAN <jimtan_udin@yahoo.com.au>
Date: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 7:19 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Independence of Malaysia
To: kc chong <kcchong2@gmail.com>
Cc: Tan Sri Bernard G Dompoh <n4upko@yahoo.com>, Johnny Joseph Tingang <gmel.com@gmail.com>, Dunstan Chan <dunstan.desee@gmail.com>
From: kc chong
To:
Sent: Tuesday, 17 April 2012 6:32 AM
Subject: Fwd: Independence of Malaysia
For the records, I went through all these happenings. I
was a young adult at that time with no inclination towards politics.
However, I vaguely remembered reading in the newspapers how the date of
16th September 1963 came about. Originally, the declaration of Malaysia
was scheduled for 31st August 1963 to coincide with the anniversary
date of the declaration of Independence of the Federation of Malaya (which
was 31st August 1957). The reason why it was postponed was that
Indonesia and the Philippines, at that time, strongly objected to the
formation of Malaysia .....Indonesia threatened armed confrontation and
Philippines refusing to back down from its claim to North Borneo (as
Sabah was then known). To ease up tensions, the then Malayan government
decided to postpone the declaration of Malaysia to 16th September 1963.
Hence, the anomaly in the dates.
Kimsoon
Spot the offending sentence? “ Malaysia welcomed Sabah and Sarawak as states.” The Prime Minister of Malaysia, no less, officially writes in his official blog that Sabah and Sarawak were welcomed INTO a country called Malaysia in 1963!
Not only is this sentence factually wrong (as Malaysia was actually formed on that very day and you cannot ‘welcome’ other states into an entity which would need those very states to form it in the first place in order to welcome anything into), but it is also a blatant re-writing of history! Sabah and Sarawak were not just states of a larger country, Mr. Prime Minister; Sabah and Sarawak were INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES and EQUAL PARTNERS to Malaya !
But if you were to believe the Prime Minister writing in his blog, Sabah and Sarawak were only states that joined an already existing country! Surely the Prime Minister of Malaysia would know history and know how his own country was formed? And if he genuinely made a mistake, surely one of his many advisers and staff members would quickly alert him to the fact and correct the glaring mistake? Or did they not know too, and if so, it begs a more disturbing question: is our country being runned by incompetent people who do not know the history of their own country? Truth be told, I suspect no one made a mistake.
It is plain that history is deliberately being re-written. But why? Two glorious words: Malaysia Agreement.
The Barisan Nasional government wants us to forget that there is such a thing as the Malaysia Agreement. It wants us to forget because the Malaysia Agreement specifies very clearly that Sabah and Sarawak have certain rights and privileges enshrined in the 18-Point (Sarawak) and 20-Point ( Sabah ) Agreements respectively. Sabah and Sarawak, both independent countries, came together as equal partners with Malaya to form Malaysia with pre-conditions attached. And these pre-conditions would empower Sabah and Sarawak . Empowerment is a frightening thing to the BN. It does not like to empower anyone except itself. Now more so than ever, it needs Sabah and Sarawak to retain its majority in Parliament and cling on to power. So to give power to Sabah and Sarawak is a very frightening idea to the BN government. So what does it do? It re-writes history and hopes that Sabahans and Sarawakians forget. It teaches Sabahan and Sarawakian school children to celebrate the 31st of August as Malaysia ’s Independence Day whilst remaining deafeningly mute on the 16th of September. It uses newspapers, television and colourful parades to brainwash the masses into believing the lie that it assiduously propagates - that Malaysia gained independence on the 31st of August, 1957; when in actual fact Malaysia had not yet existed.
But all is not lost. You and I can change the situation. We can bring honour back to the 16th of September and accord it the significance it rightly deserves. More importantly, you and I can honour the Malaysia Agreement and return power to Sabah and Sarawak . Did you know that the Pakatan Rakyat has made a very important pledge to the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak ?
Yes. A Pakatan Rakyat government will honour the Malaysia Agreement. (The Federation Agreement is basically the Malaysia Agreement.) This pledge is contained in the Buku Jingga, the book of policy pledges by the Pakatan Rakyat. You can download the Buku Jingga in English HERE. If you, like me, love Sarawak and want to see her powers and status as an equal partner restored, you will know what to do come the 13th General Election.
Back to the Prime Minister’s blog entry, which you can read HERE. If you continue reading the blog entry, you will see that the whole purpose of the entry was to appease Sabahans and Sarawakians. Wasn’t it ironic that in trying to appease us, he actually made us feel even more displeased, thinking us illiterate idiots with short memories?
So when is our nation Malaysia ’s Independence Day? There simply isn’t one. Our nation Malaysia never achieved independence. Our nation Malaysia was born out of the coming together of three individual nations already independent BEFORE they formed Malaysia .
And let us be clear once and for all. Sarawak never JOINED Malaysia because there was no Malaysia to join in the first place. Sarawak joined Malaya and Sabah to FORM Malaysia . Never forget that. Teach it to your children.
I will fly my Jalur Gemilang proudly on the 16th of September. Not on the 31st of August. It is time to stop buying into a lie.
P.S. If the Barisan Nasional is genuinely not guilty of subtle and systematic brainwashing and never willfully schemed to displace Malaysia Day with Merdeka Day (and my entire argument about the insidious plot to wipe the Malaysia Agreement from memory is therefore in tatters), then the Barisan Nasional is guilty of a far graver and greater sin - absolute and unadulterated ARROGANCE; the significance of Malaya’s independence far outweighs that of Malaysia’s formation and birth and to hell with what Sabah or Sarawak might think. And that means we’re well and truly screwed.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: J TAN <jimtan_udin@yahoo.com.au>
Date: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 7:19 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Independence of Malaysia
To: kc chong <kcchong2@gmail.com>
Cc: Tan Sri Bernard G Dompoh <n4upko@yahoo.com>, Johnny Joseph Tingang <gmel.com@gmail.com>, Dunstan Chan <dunstan.desee@gmail.com>
TKS No comments.Let the Natives of Sabah and Sarawak be "screwed" by the so call Malays.
Native of Malaya
From: kc chong
To:
Sent: Tuesday, 17 April 2012 6:32 AM
Subject: Fwd: Independence of Malaysia
All genuine malaysians MUST read this !!!
kc
*******************
And let us be clear once and for all. Sarawak never JOINED Malaysia because there was no Malaysia to join in the first place. Sarawak joined Malaya and Sabah to FORM Malaysia . Never forget that. Teach it to your children...-.....
....a copy of the Sarawak Government Almanac, .... The British gave up Sarawak on the 22nd of July, 1963 and on that day we became an independent nation. A country all of our own. Our own flag, our own anthem and even our own money! ....
TS
There seems to be a complication in the above,
i.e. Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei became
independent on 16 July 1963
...but the British renegade because of fierce
objection from Philippines and Indonesia.
Unlike Singapore which also became independent
about that time -- Singapore had its own govt
and prime minister -- the Borneo states were
never independent.
On Kimsoon's note below, they (British) were
forced to postpone Malaysia day by two weeks
because of serious military aggression primarily
from Indonesia and may be Philippines (it was
all British decision).
RC
For those who are interested,
I have a leaflet outlining how the formation of Malaysia came
about, starting with a proposal by Tunku Abdul Rahman over a press
luncheon in Singapore on 27th may 1961 and the eventual formation of the
Cobbold Commission to work out the details. This leaflet was
pre-printed for the release of the First Day Cover stamps scheduled for
31st August 1963 (the date was actually mentioned in the leaflet) but
which we all know, was postponed to 16th September 1963. The leaflet is
in fine print and with age, the paper is a bit brittle. Nevertheless,
I'll try to scan it into the computer and forward again to you in the
near future for your information. Hopefully, this will come out all
right and with that you can interpret the basis on the formation of
Malaysia or at least, a summary of it.
______________________________
Sent: Friday, 2 March 2012, 10:31
Subject: Independence
Subject: Independence
Sunday, August 14, 2011
It is time to stop buying into a lie.
Dear Reader,
May I be honest?
I am sad. I am sad because I am told by my government that I must celebrate the Independence Day of my country on the 31st of August. But what is so wrong about this that it makes me sad?
Let me tell you. If you don’t like dry and boring history lessons, you can leave my blog now. But if you have ten minutes to spare, read on.
The Federated States of Malaya which comprised all the nine Sultanates, Malacca and Penang were given their independence by Great Britain on the 31st of August, 1957. The photo below records the historic event. It is the iconic image of Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming independence for Malaya . Yes, MALAYA . Not Sarawak, not Sabah, but MALAYA . And this date became known as MERDEKA DAY. For the Federated States of MALAYA .
Then, six years later, Sarawak was given her independence. On the 22nd of July, 1963. Bet you didn’t know that the 22nd of July is an historic date for Sarawak , huh? Of course you wouldn’t. It has probably been wiped off the official history text books, or glossed over during history classes. But if you buy a copy of the Sarawak Government Almanac, it’s there in black and white. The British gave up Sarawak on the 22nd of July, 1963 and on that day we became an independent nation. A country all of our own. Our own flag, our own anthem and even our own money!
Then, fifty five days later, after the British granted her independence, Sarawak, together with Sabah, Singapore, and the Federated States of Malaya came together to form a new nation called MALAYSIA on the 16th of September. This date, the 16th of September, 1963, came to be known as MALAYSIA DAY because it was on this historic day that a brand new country was born in the world. ( Singapore got ‘kicked out’ later but Malaysian history books politely claim she decided to withdraw from the new nation. Brunei was also involved in the discussions to form Malaysia but it too decided against the idea.)
However, gradually, Malaysia Day became forgotten through, I suspect, a subtle and systematic process of brainwashing on the part of the Barisan Nasional government. More and more emphasis was placed on Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day was ignored, its significance eroded and displaced by Merdeka Day. Merdeka Day became a public holiday, and the whole country began to get caught up in celebrations come every 31st August.
Young Sarawakian school children were, and still are taught to wave flags and jump for joy come 31st August because on this date Malaysia achieved her independence. Now if you have been paying attention, you will obviously have noticed that there is a factual error in the previous sentence. Malaysia DID NOT achieve her independence on the 31st of August, 1957 simply because Malaysia had not existed yet! It was only Malaya which achieved her independence on the 31st of August, 1957; Malaysia was only formed six years AFTER Malaya achieved independence.
The date 31st of August means very little to me as a Sarawakian and yet I am told by my government to honour this date on the basis that I am a citizen of Malaysia and therefore as a proud and loyal Malaysian, I should jump and shout for joy that Malayans received their independence on the 31st of August despite the fact that I am also a Sarawakian and this date has little significance to me. This date did not affect my beloved Sarawak in any way whatsoever and has never been part of its rich history, so what is there to celebrate or what memory is there to honour and cherish for a Sarawakian? Sarawak achieved her independence on the 22nd of July but the government does not give this date any due recognition. Instead, I am to celebrate a date which has more significance for my fellow Malaysians in West Malaysia . That is why I am sad.
Malaysia Day, the 16th of September, 1963, however, means a lot to me. It was the date my beloved Sarawak became a part of a new nation, standing tall and proud in the world amongst other independent nations. Shouldn’t this date when we officially became a country take centre-stage in our history as a nation?
And yet, it was only last year that the Barisan Nasional government decided to recognise Malaysia Day and grant it ‘public holiday’ status. And only because Pakatan Rakyat ‘reminded’ the BN government. It actually took the BN government forty-seven years to recognise Malaysia Day officially!
But the question on my mind is why did the BN government try to sweep Malaysia Day under the carpet and dispatch it to the annals of history to be conveniently forgotten? And why do I suspect that there is a conspiracy going on to distort and blur the story of the formation of Malaysia ?
Let me draw your attention to the opening paragraph of a blog entry dated 15th September, 2009, by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. He wrote,
May I be honest?
I am sad. I am sad because I am told by my government that I must celebrate the Independence Day of my country on the 31st of August. But what is so wrong about this that it makes me sad?
Let me tell you. If you don’t like dry and boring history lessons, you can leave my blog now. But if you have ten minutes to spare, read on.
The Federated States of Malaya which comprised all the nine Sultanates, Malacca and Penang were given their independence by Great Britain on the 31st of August, 1957. The photo below records the historic event. It is the iconic image of Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming independence for Malaya . Yes, MALAYA . Not Sarawak, not Sabah, but MALAYA . And this date became known as MERDEKA DAY. For the Federated States of MALAYA .
Then, six years later, Sarawak was given her independence. On the 22nd of July, 1963. Bet you didn’t know that the 22nd of July is an historic date for Sarawak , huh? Of course you wouldn’t. It has probably been wiped off the official history text books, or glossed over during history classes. But if you buy a copy of the Sarawak Government Almanac, it’s there in black and white. The British gave up Sarawak on the 22nd of July, 1963 and on that day we became an independent nation. A country all of our own. Our own flag, our own anthem and even our own money!
Then, fifty five days later, after the British granted her independence, Sarawak, together with Sabah, Singapore, and the Federated States of Malaya came together to form a new nation called MALAYSIA on the 16th of September. This date, the 16th of September, 1963, came to be known as MALAYSIA DAY because it was on this historic day that a brand new country was born in the world. ( Singapore got ‘kicked out’ later but Malaysian history books politely claim she decided to withdraw from the new nation. Brunei was also involved in the discussions to form Malaysia but it too decided against the idea.)
However, gradually, Malaysia Day became forgotten through, I suspect, a subtle and systematic process of brainwashing on the part of the Barisan Nasional government. More and more emphasis was placed on Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day was ignored, its significance eroded and displaced by Merdeka Day. Merdeka Day became a public holiday, and the whole country began to get caught up in celebrations come every 31st August.
Young Sarawakian school children were, and still are taught to wave flags and jump for joy come 31st August because on this date Malaysia achieved her independence. Now if you have been paying attention, you will obviously have noticed that there is a factual error in the previous sentence. Malaysia DID NOT achieve her independence on the 31st of August, 1957 simply because Malaysia had not existed yet! It was only Malaya which achieved her independence on the 31st of August, 1957; Malaysia was only formed six years AFTER Malaya achieved independence.
The date 31st of August means very little to me as a Sarawakian and yet I am told by my government to honour this date on the basis that I am a citizen of Malaysia and therefore as a proud and loyal Malaysian, I should jump and shout for joy that Malayans received their independence on the 31st of August despite the fact that I am also a Sarawakian and this date has little significance to me. This date did not affect my beloved Sarawak in any way whatsoever and has never been part of its rich history, so what is there to celebrate or what memory is there to honour and cherish for a Sarawakian? Sarawak achieved her independence on the 22nd of July but the government does not give this date any due recognition. Instead, I am to celebrate a date which has more significance for my fellow Malaysians in West Malaysia . That is why I am sad.
Malaysia Day, the 16th of September, 1963, however, means a lot to me. It was the date my beloved Sarawak became a part of a new nation, standing tall and proud in the world amongst other independent nations. Shouldn’t this date when we officially became a country take centre-stage in our history as a nation?
And yet, it was only last year that the Barisan Nasional government decided to recognise Malaysia Day and grant it ‘public holiday’ status. And only because Pakatan Rakyat ‘reminded’ the BN government. It actually took the BN government forty-seven years to recognise Malaysia Day officially!
But the question on my mind is why did the BN government try to sweep Malaysia Day under the carpet and dispatch it to the annals of history to be conveniently forgotten? And why do I suspect that there is a conspiracy going on to distort and blur the story of the formation of Malaysia ?
Let me draw your attention to the opening paragraph of a blog entry dated 15th September, 2009, by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. He wrote,
“On this day (16
September) forty-six years ago, Malaysia welcomed Sabah and Sarawak as
states and set out on a course toward becoming one of the leading
nations in the world. I was only 10 years old when my father, Tun
Abdul Razak Hussein, witnessed the historic proclamation of Sabah ’s
independence in 1963, but I remember how proud he was during that
momentous occasion. Sabah and Sarawak occupy a special place in my heart
because of that history.”
Spot the offending sentence? “ Malaysia welcomed Sabah and Sarawak as states.” The Prime Minister of Malaysia, no less, officially writes in his official blog that Sabah and Sarawak were welcomed INTO a country called Malaysia in 1963!
Not only is this sentence factually wrong (as Malaysia was actually formed on that very day and you cannot ‘welcome’ other states into an entity which would need those very states to form it in the first place in order to welcome anything into), but it is also a blatant re-writing of history! Sabah and Sarawak were not just states of a larger country, Mr. Prime Minister; Sabah and Sarawak were INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES and EQUAL PARTNERS to Malaya !
But if you were to believe the Prime Minister writing in his blog, Sabah and Sarawak were only states that joined an already existing country! Surely the Prime Minister of Malaysia would know history and know how his own country was formed? And if he genuinely made a mistake, surely one of his many advisers and staff members would quickly alert him to the fact and correct the glaring mistake? Or did they not know too, and if so, it begs a more disturbing question: is our country being runned by incompetent people who do not know the history of their own country? Truth be told, I suspect no one made a mistake.
It is plain that history is deliberately being re-written. But why? Two glorious words: Malaysia Agreement.
The Barisan Nasional government wants us to forget that there is such a thing as the Malaysia Agreement. It wants us to forget because the Malaysia Agreement specifies very clearly that Sabah and Sarawak have certain rights and privileges enshrined in the 18-Point (Sarawak) and 20-Point ( Sabah ) Agreements respectively. Sabah and Sarawak, both independent countries, came together as equal partners with Malaya to form Malaysia with pre-conditions attached. And these pre-conditions would empower Sabah and Sarawak . Empowerment is a frightening thing to the BN. It does not like to empower anyone except itself. Now more so than ever, it needs Sabah and Sarawak to retain its majority in Parliament and cling on to power. So to give power to Sabah and Sarawak is a very frightening idea to the BN government. So what does it do? It re-writes history and hopes that Sabahans and Sarawakians forget. It teaches Sabahan and Sarawakian school children to celebrate the 31st of August as Malaysia ’s Independence Day whilst remaining deafeningly mute on the 16th of September. It uses newspapers, television and colourful parades to brainwash the masses into believing the lie that it assiduously propagates - that Malaysia gained independence on the 31st of August, 1957; when in actual fact Malaysia had not yet existed.
But all is not lost. You and I can change the situation. We can bring honour back to the 16th of September and accord it the significance it rightly deserves. More importantly, you and I can honour the Malaysia Agreement and return power to Sabah and Sarawak . Did you know that the Pakatan Rakyat has made a very important pledge to the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak ?
Respecting the position of Sabah
and Sarawak as equal partners in the Malaysian Federation, and honouring
previous agreements made, Pakatan
Rakyat pledges to restore autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak in line with
and within the framework of the Federal Constitution and the Federation
Agreement.
Yes. A Pakatan Rakyat government will honour the Malaysia Agreement. (The Federation Agreement is basically the Malaysia Agreement.) This pledge is contained in the Buku Jingga, the book of policy pledges by the Pakatan Rakyat. You can download the Buku Jingga in English HERE. If you, like me, love Sarawak and want to see her powers and status as an equal partner restored, you will know what to do come the 13th General Election.
Back to the Prime Minister’s blog entry, which you can read HERE. If you continue reading the blog entry, you will see that the whole purpose of the entry was to appease Sabahans and Sarawakians. Wasn’t it ironic that in trying to appease us, he actually made us feel even more displeased, thinking us illiterate idiots with short memories?
So when is our nation Malaysia ’s Independence Day? There simply isn’t one. Our nation Malaysia never achieved independence. Our nation Malaysia was born out of the coming together of three individual nations already independent BEFORE they formed Malaysia .
And let us be clear once and for all. Sarawak never JOINED Malaysia because there was no Malaysia to join in the first place. Sarawak joined Malaya and Sabah to FORM Malaysia . Never forget that. Teach it to your children.
I will fly my Jalur Gemilang proudly on the 16th of September. Not on the 31st of August. It is time to stop buying into a lie.
P.S. If the Barisan Nasional is genuinely not guilty of subtle and systematic brainwashing and never willfully schemed to displace Malaysia Day with Merdeka Day (and my entire argument about the insidious plot to wipe the Malaysia Agreement from memory is therefore in tatters), then the Barisan Nasional is guilty of a far graver and greater sin - absolute and unadulterated ARROGANCE; the significance of Malaya’s independence far outweighs that of Malaysia’s formation and birth and to hell with what Sabah or Sarawak might think. And that means we’re well and truly screwed.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
A BN Win In GE-13 Will Be Illegitimate
(As usual, comments by Sarawak Headhunter in red)
COMMENT
Malaysia (purportedly) practises democracy. Its elections are conducted in a manner
popularly known as 'first past the post', meaning that the polls are won
by a candidate with the most votes.
The winning candidate does not necessarily need to receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.
The winning candidate does not necessarily need to receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.
BN is one of the world's longest uninterruptedly elected coalition of
political parties ruling a country. Its rule over Malaysia is now
entering the sixth decade.
The
opposition parties and its leaders have long complained that BN has
been practising unfair and illegal methods in most of the polls, to
assure victory and consolidate their power.
However, it is only after 2008 that more light is being shed on the
crooked ways that BN appears to be employing to win at all costs in the
looming elections.
In more ways than one, the distance in the race to the post for a BN
victory appears to be getting shorter by the day at the expense of the
opposition.
From the expert analysis of many political scientists such as Wong Chin Huat and
Ong Kian Ming
as well as electoral reform coalition Bersih and civil society action
group TindakMalaysia, a clearer picture is beginning to unveil - the
GE13 is going to go down in the nation's history as the dirtiest
elections ever.
Public funds origin ignored
The usual dirty tactics as always remain. BN being the ruling government
is accused of controlling the mainstream media like the national
television and radio broadcasts as well as the newspapers.
Claims
of federal money being utilised to fund their political campaigns,
government machinery and facilities being abused, civil servants being
bullied to assist are serial complaints from the opposition.
Claims
of federal money being utilised to fund their political campaigns,
government machinery and facilities being abused, civil servants being
bullied to assist are serial complaints from the opposition.
In Sarawak, BN candidates even make use of helicopters allocated for the EC and paid out of public funds. The EC doesn't need or use as many helicopters as it purportedly does for elections in Sarawak. Abuse of government machinery and public funds is nothing new to BN in Sarawak.
What is even more alarming is the revelation of the elaborate methods being employed to dilute the power of the legitimate voters in this country. First, is the outright rigging methods which include vote buying, ballot stuffing and counting/tabulation frauds. Second, is the rigging through the electoral roll. This is done by three methods:
- Inclusion of non-voters - the phantom voters. This includes dead people voting, non-resident, non-existent voters (cloning) and foreigners being given citizenship/MyKads;
- Exclusion of legitimate voters omitted directly from the electoral roll;
- Redelineation of constituencies: by altering the size and boundary of the electorate, one can affect the power of the ballot. Recently the EC had been doing this under the 'border correction exercise' term.
The count of registered voters who number more than 50, sharing a same address is 1,262.
The number of new voters who have been 'registering' since BN lost its two-thirds majority in the last GE is nothing short of spectacular.
As of Dec 31, 2011, 12,595,268 Malaysians have registered as qualified voters.
This sudden feverish spurt of 'voter enlightenment' appears to show Selangor as its epicentre.
Selangor registered 340,000 new voters since the last GE, which is a 21.8% rise compared with the national average of 16.3% in voter registration.
Ong Kian Ming highlights that history appears to be repeating itself as the two states Sabah (after the 1990 elections) and Terengganu (after the 1999 polls) saw a sudden jump in the number of voters in the electoral roll after the BN loss.
Subsequently in the following GEs, miraculously the BN returned to power in spectacular fashion.
In
2011, the National Institute for Democracy and Electoral Integrity
(NIEI), Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Merdeka Centre
conducted a national voter registration audit.
The main purpose was to assess the accuracy and completeness of the electoral rolls.
The number of new voters who have been 'registering' since BN lost its two-thirds majority in the last GE is nothing short of spectacular.
As of Dec 31, 2011, 12,595,268 Malaysians have registered as qualified voters.This sudden feverish spurt of 'voter enlightenment' appears to show Selangor as its epicentre.
Selangor registered 340,000 new voters since the last GE, which is a 21.8% rise compared with the national average of 16.3% in voter registration.
Ong Kian Ming highlights that history appears to be repeating itself as the two states Sabah (after the 1990 elections) and Terengganu (after the 1999 polls) saw a sudden jump in the number of voters in the electoral roll after the BN loss.
Subsequently in the following GEs, miraculously the BN returned to power in spectacular fashion.
In
2011, the National Institute for Democracy and Electoral Integrity
(NIEI), Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Merdeka Centre
conducted a national voter registration audit.The main purpose was to assess the accuracy and completeness of the electoral rolls.
A total of 1,177 ordinary voters were randomly sampled from 60 parliamentary constituencies.
The key findings indicated that 8% of these voters live at invalid addresses.
About 26% of these voters are unrecognisable voters, meaning they could not be recognised by a neighbour or local resident.
In short, these voters' identities may not be valid. Only 31% of them were living in their stated addresses.
Playing pucks with EC roll
The high number of non-resident voters is a major concern and poses an unhealthy practice of democracy as per our 'first past the post' system that is especially designed to provide for actual residents to elect their representatives in accordance with the local needs as per the knowledge and issues faced by the local residents.
Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (Merap) detected around 100,000 problematic names based on 10 issues.
Ong Kian Ming states if this number is added with other previously highlighted issues, it would be easily mount to over 400,000 dubious voters and that, too, is only the tip of the iceberg.
There are also a further 42,051 voters on the electoral roll whose IC numbers could not be detected in the National Registration Department (NRD) database.
Strangely Election Commission (EC) chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (far right) finds this trivial as it only amounts to 0.3% of the master electoral roll of 12.6 million voters.
It is a wonder if the EC chief could find anyone who is 0.3% pregnant in this world. One can either be pregnant or not and in this case the electoral roll must be viewed as "dirty" and nothing less.
Even more hilarious is 42,000 out of 12.6 million is actually 0.003% and not 0.3% as he had stated. Perhaps decimals are not a big issue to the EC.
The key findings indicated that 8% of these voters live at invalid addresses.
About 26% of these voters are unrecognisable voters, meaning they could not be recognised by a neighbour or local resident.
In short, these voters' identities may not be valid. Only 31% of them were living in their stated addresses.
Playing pucks with EC roll
The high number of non-resident voters is a major concern and poses an unhealthy practice of democracy as per our 'first past the post' system that is especially designed to provide for actual residents to elect their representatives in accordance with the local needs as per the knowledge and issues faced by the local residents.
Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project (Merap) detected around 100,000 problematic names based on 10 issues.
Ong Kian Ming states if this number is added with other previously highlighted issues, it would be easily mount to over 400,000 dubious voters and that, too, is only the tip of the iceberg.
There are also a further 42,051 voters on the electoral roll whose IC numbers could not be detected in the National Registration Department (NRD) database.
Strangely Election Commission (EC) chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (far right) finds this trivial as it only amounts to 0.3% of the master electoral roll of 12.6 million voters.It is a wonder if the EC chief could find anyone who is 0.3% pregnant in this world. One can either be pregnant or not and in this case the electoral roll must be viewed as "dirty" and nothing less.
Even more hilarious is 42,000 out of 12.6 million is actually 0.003% and not 0.3% as he had stated. Perhaps decimals are not a big issue to the EC.
Another mind-boggling issue is that in the voter registration audit
report, it is clearly stated that the EC had given the total number of
registered voters as of March 31, 2011 as 12,032,467. How is that so?
Bersih had also unearthed more instances of fraud in the latest electoral roll.
It appears that there are 24,105 voters in Sabah and Sarawak who have been allegedly re-registered in Selangor. (Migrants from Sarawak and Sabah perhaps?)
Its steering committee claimed that 15,520 Sabah and 8,585 Sarawak voters had been registered twice in Selangor in the latest updated electoral roll until first quarter of 2012.
Bersih had also unearthed more instances of fraud in the latest electoral roll.
It appears that there are 24,105 voters in Sabah and Sarawak who have been allegedly re-registered in Selangor. (Migrants from Sarawak and Sabah perhaps?)
Its steering committee claimed that 15,520 Sabah and 8,585 Sarawak voters had been registered twice in Selangor in the latest updated electoral roll until first quarter of 2012.
The Selangor State Government is perfectly right in wanting to do an in-depth study of the highly-likely tainted state electoral roll and to have separate elections from the federal elections, notwithstanding the EC's unsubtle threats that separate elections could cost RM30 million more that the state would have to cough out if the Federal Government had no more allocations of funds.
The Selangor State and its people would stand to lose tens if not hundreds of billions more should they allow a corrupt and illegitimate BN regime to regain control of the state through illegal means.
ALL Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states would do well to consider this notwithstanding the costs.
It would be a great pity if the BN could so cheaply continue to rob the people of not only a legitimate electoral victory but also of the resources and wealth that is rightfully the people's and not the BN's.
Should BN win again this time (beyond a doubt illegally), the scale of the looting and pillaging will be unprecedented and open and the people will be stripped and raped in broad daylight of whatever little decency they have left.
Backdoor postal voters
Another alarming development that is brewing is the BN government appears to be rushing to pass the Rela Act in Parliament.
The first reading has been submitted and among the subjects one states 'allowing Rela members to assist any security force or authority established under written law upon the latter's request'.
Some
are wondering if this is a backdoor method to eventually register the
over two million strong Rela members or even a part of them as postal
voters.
After all, there is a provision in postal voter regulation 3(f) which empowers the EC to designate any group as postal voter through the gazette.
Looking at all these issues from a macro point of view, it appears that the BN is very determined to win the 13th GE and is willing to go to whatever extent to do so (and using the people's own money to do it).
The first reading has been submitted and among the subjects one states 'allowing Rela members to assist any security force or authority established under written law upon the latter's request'.
Some
are wondering if this is a backdoor method to eventually register the
over two million strong Rela members or even a part of them as postal
voters.After all, there is a provision in postal voter regulation 3(f) which empowers the EC to designate any group as postal voter through the gazette.
Looking at all these issues from a macro point of view, it appears that the BN is very determined to win the 13th GE and is willing to go to whatever extent to do so (and using the people's own money to do it).
This time however, cases of abuse will be well-documented with video and photographic evidence that cannot be ignored both in the court of law as well as public opinion. If the BN manages to come to power again this time, it will not only be but be seen to be an illegitimate regime against which all means of unseating it will be legitimate.
Pakatan Rakyat's chances of coming to power are looking slimmer even though the crowds that are turning up at their ceramah are swelling.
In a free and fair elections, it is my personal opinion that Pakatan will win hands down, but in a polls that one has 'first past the BN's post' rule, Pakatan would require a perfect storm of the unity and support of all races in Malaysia to do so.
Pakatan Rakyat's chances of coming to power are looking slimmer even though the crowds that are turning up at their ceramah are swelling.
In a free and fair elections, it is my personal opinion that Pakatan will win hands down, but in a polls that one has 'first past the BN's post' rule, Pakatan would require a perfect storm of the unity and support of all races in Malaysia to do so.
DR PARAMAN VS is a general practitioner by profession. Just entering into his fifth decade of life, he regretfully admits to having exercised his right to vote only once - which was in the last general election. He drove 200km to do so. His wish is that the millions of Malaysians who have yet to register as voters will do so, soonest possible. He can be reached at paramanvs@yahoo.com.sg
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