TASEK PAUH blogspot

Labels: Judiciary, Malaysia, VKLingam

Labels: Malaysia, Saham

Malaysia’s judiciary reputation in the dock (Reuters)

A royal commission probing a scandal on judicial appointments that the video spawned has strayed beyond its narrow terms of reference and put the judiciary’s reputation in the dock.

The 14-minute video, showing a prominent lawyer boasting of his ability to influence judicial appointments and his connections with former premier Mahathir Mohamad, has also added a political dimension.

It may force Mahathir, who clashed with judges during his 22-year rule, to go on the defensive — a welcome respite for his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is keen to avoid more scathing attacks from his outspoken predecessor ahead of elections widely expected by the end of March.

“It’s not about individuals really. It’s about the whole system,” said Ambiga Sreenevasan, president of Malaysia’s Bar Council, which groups about 12,000 lawyers. “It’s the whole system that is under trial. This is the chance to deal with it.”

The judiciary, under question since the 1980s over its independence and integrity has reached a critical juncture.

Once regarded as one of the more independent institutions in Malaysia, it has lost credibility since Mahathir clashed with top judges, three of them whom were removed in 1988.

Little faith

Foreign investors, too, have shown little faith in the Malaysian system. Lawyers said more and more foreign firms prefer to seek legal redress in Singapore, Hong Kong or London.

“I personally think it’s because of lack of confidence. There could be any number of reasons, but I would say confidence is certainly one of them,” Ambiga said.

Tunku Abdul Aziz,a former head of Transparency International in Malaysia, agreed.

“Nothing is more calculated to kill off international confidence in a country than for its judiciary ... to be perceived to be less than transparent and accountable,” he wrote in his newspaper column at the weekend.

The video shows Lawyer Kanagalingam Vellupillai, better known as VK Lingam (picture above), unaware he is being filmed speaking on his mobile phone — allegedly with the country’s then third-ranking judge, Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Hamid.

Mahathir told the commission last week he personally decided the appointment of top judges during his reign, discarding the advice of the chief justice on at least one occasion.

The opposition has blasted the 82-year-old Mahathir, who ruled with an iron grip before retiring in late 2003, as being ”evasive and uncharacteristically unforgetful” during the testimony.

Mahathir aside, another thorn on Abdullah’s side is de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who leaked the video in September and quickly turned it into a major election issue.

Mahathir sacked his former deputy in 1998, then had him arrested and jailed before he was freed in 2004. Under the law, he cannot stand for office until April due to his conviction.

Analysts said Abdullah, who swept into power promising a cleaner government and less corruption, should seize the opportunity to silent his critics and reform the judiciary.

“We can change it very easily. Now the chief justice is so straight,” the Bar’s Ambiga said. “I can tell you confidence will come back very fast. But they must want to change.”

Some analysts question whether the political will is there, despite Abdullah’s ability to ram through reforms, given his ruling coalition’s overwhelming majority in parliament.

“At the end of the day, nothing will change. Everybody, from Anwar to the Bar Council, just wanted to settle scores at the expense of the judiciary,” said one political analyst.

Labels: Malaysia, VKLingam

PAS-led Govt No Longer Relevant In Kelantan, Says Zam

Claims Umno Have Failed The Malays Are Just Lies

Labels: Malaysia, Umno

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Suharto

Jakarta, Jan 15 - Ten years ago, Amien Rais led thousands of demonstrators chanting "Hang Suharto!" to the halls of parliament, where they demanded the resignation of a man widely regarded as one of the most brutal and corrupt leaders of the 20th century.

Today, with the former dictator on his deathbed, Rais has a different message: forgive. But not everyone agrees, with protesters taking to the streets to demand the 86-year-old face justice.

Suharto is accused of overseeing a purge of more than half a million leftist opponents soon after seizing power in a 1965 coup, and killing or imprisoning hundreds of thousands more in the decades that followed - crimes for which no one has ever been tried.

He and his family also allegedly amassed billions of dollars in state funds, but defense attorneys have argued successfully for years that a series of strokes have left him unfit to stand trial.

"Maybe it is best if he dies, unforgiven by some, forgiven by others," said Goenawan Mohamad, 68, the founder and editor of Tempo magazine, which was forced to close twice during Suharto's regime because of its criticism of the government.

"But the debate should continue," he said at an outdoor cafe where former dissidents used to meet secretly. "It won't stop, it shouldn't."

Nearly 100 former political prisoners and relatives of those who died under Suharto rallied Tuesday in the city of Solo - not far from the mausoleum where the ex-dictator will be buried alongside his late wife. Some carried signs that said "Try Suharto before he dies!"

At the very least, they said, he should be tried in absentia.

"I was wrongly accused of being a communist," said 80-year-old Wiryo, who said he was rounded up during Suharto's 1965 takeover and thrown in jail, where he spent the next eight years.

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Suharto

Perhimpunan yang bertemakan Pesta Rakyat 'Jom Bersih' itu sebagai menyahut saranan pemimpin kerajaan supaya mengadakan perhimpunan mengikut peraturan dan saluran.

Malaysiakini melaporkan, Jurucakap Bersih, Mohd Anuar Tahir berkata, sebelum ini Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Timbalannya, Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak dan Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan menggesa Bersih mengadakan perhimpunan di Stadium Nasional, Bukit Jalil.

"Bersih menyahut saranan tersebut. Kita akan membuat permohonan kepada Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) untuk mendapatkan kelulusan menggunakan salah satu tempat tersebut.

"Dan kita menjangka perhimpunan kali ini berjaya mengumpul lebih ramai dari perhimpunan pertama 10 November lalu kerana ia perhimpunan rakyat.

"Mengikut rekod Bersih, kira-kira 130,000 orang dari seluruh negara akan berkumpul di Kuala Lumpur sebagai menyokong perhimpunan pada tarikh tersebut," katanya dalam sidang media di Dewan Perhimpunan Cina Selangor (SCAH), semalam.

Sementara itu, Pengarah Pusat Penyelidikan PAS, Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, yang ditemui Harakahdaily berkata Bersih akan membuat permohonan permit bagi tujuan tersebut secepat mungkin.

Sebelum ini, Bersih telah menganjurkan perhimpunan rakyat pada 10 Nov lalu, yang dirancang bermula di Dataran Merdeka ke Istana Negara sebagai menuntut perubahan dalam pilihan raya di negara dengan mengemukakan empat tuntutan.

Bersih menuntut SPR membersihkan senarai daftar pemilih daripada 'pengundi hantu', penggunaan dakwat kekal bagi mengelakkan pengundian berulang, penghapusan undi pos dan capaian media yang lebih adil kepada semua parti politik.

Labels: Bersih, Malaysia, Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, NST, Jan 13 - A businessman said yesterday that the Lingam video clip was taken by his son.

Loh Mui Fah claimed the incident took place at Datuk V.K. Lingam's house in Kelana Jaya in late December 2001.

He had gone to Lingam's house with his son to obtain legal advice on family and business matters.

Loh, 57, claimed that whatever was said in the video clip was true. However, he claimed neither he nor his son knew how the video clip was made public.

The video clip allegedly shows lawyer Lingam brokering judicial appointments with a senior judge.
Loh said he would be at the Jalan Duta Court complex tomorrow to testify before the Royal Commission of Inquiry, which was established to investigate the authenticity of the Lingam video clip and the truth of the allegations. The commission begins its sitting tomorrow.

When contacted, Lingam declined to comment on Loh's claims. However, he said that he would give evidence before the commission.

In an interview at his lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu's house last night, Loh said: "I was not aware then that my son was recording Lingam's telephone conversation. My son, who is now overseas, confirmed that he was responsible."

Saying his son was an avid photographer, Loh claimed that his son had earlier taken photographs of the lawyer's house and a discussion between Lingam and his sister, also a lawyer, on a legal matter when they were in the house.

However, he said, it was a mystery how the clip was made public. He said: " My son claimed that it was stored in a computer and wondered how it went to a third party."

He said he only knew of the existence of the video clip after it was talked about.

Loh said he and his son were prepared to testify before the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

"I will be at the Jalan Duta Court complex to testify before the panel. My son is also prepared to do the same."

Loh, who has business interests here and overseas, said he had no interest in the telephone conversation Lingam had with the unidentified person.

"The conversation started after he (Lingam) received a call. Whatever that was spoken and now widely publicised is true," he claimed.

Loh said it was also true that he posed several questions to Lingam after the conversation ended, which included who he was talking to.

"He told me it was the Chief Judge of Malaya," he added.

Loh claimed that since then, unknown individuals had been trailing him and his office had been broken into on several occasions.

Americk Singh said the evidence of his client and the client's son was important as it was covered by the terms and reference of the commission.

"We feel they can go straight to the commission and assist in the inquiry. They need not give any statement to the ACA first."

Last December, the government announced the setting up of the commission headed by former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Nor.

The commission members are Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, Datuk Mahadev Shankar, Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim.

The terms of reference of the commission are:

- to ascertain the authenticity of the video clip;

- to identify the speaker, the person he was speaking to in the video clip and the persons mentioned in the conversation;

- to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the content of the conversation in the video clip;

- to determine whether any act of misbehaviour had been committed by the person or persons identified or mentioned in the video clip; and,

- to recommend any appropriate course of action to be taken against the person or persons identified or mentioned in the video clip should such person or persons be found to have committed any misbehaviour.

Sixteen witnesses have been subpoenaed to testify before the commission.

Labels: Malaysia, VKLingam

MELAKA, 9 Jan (Bernama) - Seorang kanak-kanak pesakit leukimia kronik Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 9, di Taman Melayu di Padang Temu di sini hari ini dijanjikan bantuan perubatan oleh Pergerakan Pemuda Umno Malaysia.

Pengerusi Biro Pengaduan Awam pergerakan itu, Datuk Subahan Kamal, menjanjikan bantuan tersebut ketika melawat Abdullah di rumahnya.

"Kami berjanji akan memberi bantuan sebaik mungkin kepada anak ini yang menyerupai nama Perdana Menteri," katanya.

Abdullah yang lahir pada 4 Julai 1999, disahkan mengalami leukimia sejak dua tahun lepas ketika berada di tahun satu sekolah rendah.

Akibatnya, beliau yang sepatutnya belajar di tahun tiga sekarang terpaksa berehat di rumah untuk menjalani rawatan.

Anak kepada pasangan Abdul Rahman Mahmud, 44, dan Zaitun Md Isa, 43, adalah yang kesepuluh daripada 12 adik-beradik yang dipanggil dengan nama mesra "Pak Lah" oleh anggota keluarga dan rakan-rakan.

Subahan berkata pihaknya akan mengadakan pertemuan antara Abdullah dengan seorang doktor pakar di Kuala Lumpur minggu depan.

Labels: Malaysia, Pak Lah

Practise safe sex and be faithful to your partner - Chua

By AUDREY EDWARDS

KUALA LUMPUR, theStarOnline (published on Dec 2, 2007) - Practise safe sex and be faithful to your partner.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek gave this advice in view of the rising number of HIV infections in the country due to unsafe sexual practices.

“Abstinence is still the best way. And be faithful to your partner,” he told reporters after opening the First National AIDS Conference and launching the national-level World AIDS Day here yesterday.

Labels: 2008, Malaysia, Man of the Year

Kira-kira 300 orang mengambil bahagian dalam majlis memasang lilin sebagai membantah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) yang telah menahan seramai 90 orang tahanan tanpa dibicarakan.

Seawal jam 8.10 malam orang ramai mula berkumpul di Dataran Merdeka walaupun pihak polis telah menutup jalan di kawasan tersebut sejak awal petang semalam.

Orang ramai kelihatan berpusu-pusu memasuki perkarangan Dataran Merdeka walaupun terdapat ratusan anggota polis ditempatkan di situ. lagi

Labels: ISA, Malaysia, Polis