[we will hopefully be able to put up pics soon]
SRI ANDALAS (N.49) Today, went of brilliantly for us in Keadilan. Both the candidates, ie Dr AX Jayakumar for DUN N.49 Sri Andalas and Suhaimi for DUN N.50 Sri Muda, have secured straight fights against the BN. This in itself is a great start to our campaign, and we are even more positive of winning the seats.
About 800 of our supporters (thanks to all those who turned up !! :))) gathered at markas PAS and marched towards the SPR centre in Bukit Naga, lead by our boys on motorbikes and Unit Amal PAS ( which we take our hats of too !! ). At the centre while the candidates and their nominees went in, the rest of us stood it out for 3 1/2 hours on the “battle field”. Of course we divided down the middle by our ever so loyal FRU units.
The opposition coalition was great, cos they planned ahead and put up tents for our supporters so that we could hold ceramahs or speeches by anyone who felt like it. So by doing so our entire crowd turned our back to the jeering and booing BN supporters. The BN supporters went on with their attempts to instigate a fight and eventually just left cos no one was listening to them (we had some good speakers on the opposition side).
At one point the SPR asked us to stop our ceramah, because basically BN went and complained that they didn’t have a loud hailer to do the same. WE actually think its because the BN HAS NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT IS GOOD.
Our nomination went of without a hitch and we officially announced our candidates thereafter. The went on with a big lunch, and lots of supporters in high spirits putting up flags and posters.
Hope we get to meet you in the coming 13 days. DO come meet us 
Regards
Dr X Team
The protest by BERSIH, that took place last Friday on the 15th February, was because of the lies and broken promises by SPR (Malaysian Election Commission or EC).
One of the most significant issues is the issue of indelible ink.
“Indelible ink can prevent multiple voting, effectively disposing of the phantom voter problem. However, effective employment of indelible ink however requires the amendment of the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981, which by law needs to be laid before the Dewan Rakyat for approval.
Although the National Fatwa Council had consented to its use in early August 2007, the Election Commission deliberately failed to present the amendment to Parliament in its last session which lasted from late-August to December 2007. It also did not advise the Prime Minister against requesting for parliamentary dissolution before such an amendment is made.
As it stands now, the employment of indelible ink has no legal basis and any voter can refuse to be marked,just by signing the so-called Form 10A, which in itself is an unlawful creation of the Election Commission. This throws open the door for all phantom voters to opt out from this crucial exercise while giving the Election Commission a golden opportunity to falsely claim that the election is free from multiple voting.”
SPR had earlier stated that they do whatever the Opposition asks of them, for example they claim they are providing, clear see through ballot boxes, indelible ink etc. But what they failed to tell us that they would make the application of usage of indelible ink NOT COMPULSORY !!
AND at the same time, they have removed the serial numbers from the ballot papers. At least before with the serial numbers we could ensure that those ballot sheets belong to that saluran/voting room.
It feels like the SPRis really taking the Opposition for a ride this time around. The effect of their actions, is that people can vote more than 1 time (because they won’t have ink on their finger) and they can use any ballot paper they like…or even MORE THAN 1 ballot paper (because there are no serial numbers) !!!
SPR is a disgrace and the greatest insult to the principles of democracy in Malaysia.
Giving the parties 13 days to campaign is just a farce.
It was stated by the PM today, that the SPR (Election COmmission) will be having a press conference tomorrow at 11 am (Thursday the 14th February), with regards to the dates for nomination and election.
Thus far, some sources have speculated that the 21st February - Nomination Day
& the 2nd of March - Election Day
Escalating threats to fundamental rights in Malaysia (courtesy of AI)
Amnesty International Malaysia condemns the arrests of participants near the Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC) in last Saturday’s planned protest against price hikes organized by the Coalition Against Inflation (Protes). We also take great concern over the selective prosecution initiated against a journalist for
allegedly obstructing a police officer from carrying out his duties.
Amnesty International views these actions as a clear abuse of power that disregards the right of the public
to hold peaceful assemblies and their right not to be subjected to torture, or cruel and inhuman, or
degrading treatment.
Furthermore, the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials spells out in Article 5 that no
law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment or invoke superior orders or exceptional circumstances, such as a threat to national security, to justify these actions.
We are also very concerned over the continuous act of obtaining blanket unilateral restraining orders
against the general public as a means to crack down against public assemblies. Amnesty International
Malaysia is of the view that the act of obtaining such restraining orders is a serious abuse of the legal
process. This is because such applications are made and granted based solely on one party’s prejudice that undermines the subjected parties’ right to be heard in an open court.
The court order also gives the police unlimited powers and enables greater abuse of power as it subjects the general public to great risk of arbitrary arrest, detention as well as torture and other form of ill
treatment, and selective prosecution. Amnesty International Malaysia views that the court order
undermines the fundamental freedoms of assembly and movement guaranteed in our Federal Constitution.
We would also like to express serious concern over the arrest and detention of a journalist from the web
newspaper Malaysiakini.com. Amnesty International Malaysia views his arrest as a serious failure to
respect and recognize the professional function of a journalist in his or her cause of duty. We regret that
the police decided to respond to queries by a journalist with a charge of obstructing a police
officer from performing his duties.
We view that the charge against the Malaysiakini journalist is another act of intimidation to undermine
media freedom and the rights and freedoms of journalists to report without intimidation and threats
of arbitrary arrest, detention and selective prosecution.
In light of the fact that more demonstrations are likely in the lead up to elections expected early this
year, Amnesty International Malaysia demands that the Government of Malaysia fully respect the fundamental rights of all people and implement the recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Police to amend Section 27 of the Police Act and to implement the draft 2005 Independent Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill immediately.
Released by
K.Shan
Campaigns Co-ordinator
Amnesty International Malaysia
Media Release24 November 2007
BERSIH Condemns Crackdown on HINDRAF Leaders and Planned Rally
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) condemns the arrest of Hindu Rights Action Front (HINDRAF) leaders (two of whom were later freed on bail) under the Sedition Act and the police prohibition of the planned HINDRAF rally on Sunday. Both actions are clear violation of key civil liberties and basic freedoms guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.
BERSIH stresses that when citizens want to peacefully assemble, the police’s responsibility is to ensure order and security, and not to stop the assembly. The roadblocks set up to stop both the BERSIH rally three weeks ago and the coming HINDRAF assembly which cause massive traffic jams, inconvenience and economic losses are completely unnecessary and unjustifiable.
The Government should instead do some soul-searching to look into the causes of such intense discontent amongst marginalized Indian Malaysians. Suppressing or demonizing such discontents will only harm rather than help the nation-building process.
BERSIH’s defence of HINDRAF’s right to free speech and peaceful assembly is entirely on principled grounds. For the record, HINDRAF is not an endorsee of BERSIH and its coming rally has no connection with BERSIH. A coalition of 70 organizations from all cultural, ideological and geographical backgrounds, BERSIH champions political reform for the benefit of all Malaysians regardless of creed and class.
BERSIH believes the marginalization of communities, like the Indian working class, is largely the result of a flawed electoral process which has resulted in unresponsive and irresponsible governments at federal, state and local levels. Joining forces with other Malaysians to demand for democratization would serve their interests better than a communally-articulated cause which can be easily demonized by the state.
Coalition For Clean And Fair Elections (BERSIH)
4A Jalan Sepadu, Taman United, Off Jalan Klang Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (03) 79806571 Fax: (03) 79802697 URL: www.bersih.org Email: info@bersih.org
By Philip Bowring International Herald Tribune
Monday, November 12, 2007
Malaysia is in a political cul-de-sac, resulting in an erosion of national institutions and the entrenchment of corruption. Recent events show that awareness of these problems is growing, but Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is politically too feeble to implement his good intentions, increasing the difficulty of reconciling the interests of the Malay/Muslim majority with the non-Muslim Chinese, Indian and indigenous groups that make up 45 percent of the population.
Public disquiet and Abdullah’s own weakness were on display in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday when some 40,000 people, headed by the leaders of the three opposition parties and including former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and representatives of a wide range of NGOs, defied a government ban to march to the palace of the king, the titular head of state, to petition for clean and fair elections.
This peaceful multiethnic event followed an equally unprecedented speech two weeks earlier by Sultan Azlan Shah, a respected former chief law officer who is also one of the nation’s nine hereditary rulers.
Azlan referred to a loss of confidence in the judiciary as a result of questionable appointments and judgments perceived to be driven by politics and money. He noted that its once high reputation had sunk dramatically, quoting a recent World Bank survey. Azlan is believed to be behind a revolt by the sultans against approving - normally a rubber stamp process - the appointment as chief justice of a legal adviser to the governing party with little experience on the bench.
Among current cases that have raised questions about the legal system is the conduct of the trial of Razak Baginda, a close associate of Defense Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and two of Najib’s bodyguards for the murder of Baginda’s former mistress. Baginda was closely involved in arms deals with France.
The publicity given to the Azlan speech and the Baginda trial point to the greater openness of Malaysia under Abdullah compared with his authoritarian predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad. But though Mahathir was much-criticized for politicizing the judiciary and institutionalizing money politics, he was able to get things done. Abdullah, on the other hand, is seen to have largely - though not entirely - failed to deliver on his promises of cleaner government.
The fault lies less with his personality than with the structure of politics. Abdullah argues that the ballot box and Parliament are the places for political action, not street demonstrations. However, neither is likely to deliver change while race-based politics ensures continuation of the 50-year rule by the United Malays National Organization, which feeds off the economic privileges that the Malays accord themselves.
To keep the loyalty of Malay voters UMNO has both to outflank the Parti Islam and to divert attention from the enrichment of a small Malay elite at the expense of the Malays. Parti Islam is prone to stomach-churning speeches about Malay dominance and hypocritical displays of Islamic fervor that offend Malaysia’s plural reality and its secular Constitution.
Nothing can change as long as most non-Malays continue to grudgingly support UMNO rule for fear that the Parti Islam alternative would be worse, or while the non-Malay capitalist class remains wealthy enough to pay tribute to a Malay elite. In its own behavior this elite is liberal and internationalist, but for political purposes encourages the lower-income Malays to think in communal ways.
Judging by their attendance at the rally on Saturday, lower-income Malays may be becoming disillusioned with policies that mostly benefit the elite. But UMNO’s grip is strong.
Abdullah might in principle want to reform UMNO, bring in more of the Malay professional middle classes who rely on their own abilities rather than the patronage system, and give more senior government jobs to non-Malays. But he is proving to be a prisoner of the party, its money politics, its dynastic tendencies and its desire to occupy the higher reaches of the bureaucracy, the judiciary and the many quasi-government businesses.
Meanwhile, for all their ability to join together in a demonstration against the government, the two largest opposition parties - Parti Islam and the mainly Chinese Democratic Action Party - are at either end of the race/religion spectrum. The multiracial middle ground now occupied by Anwar’s party has thus far had limited appeal.
None of this may seems to matter too much when the economy is expanding, thanks to record prices for oil, palm oil and other exports. But income inequality is bad and getting worse. Malaysia’s political stability may be threatened the next time there is a recession, and there is reason to worry about Malaysia’s ability to become a developed country when its institutions are corrupted by a stagnant, race-based political system that may have outlived its time.
BY DR XAVIER
Isn’t it a shame that Tan Sri Abd Rashid Abd Rahman thinks making cosmetic changes by the election commission will bring about clean and fair elections.
The people have been consistent with their demands, there must be no special privileges given to UMNO and BN. The commission must play an independent role to save guard the integrity of the electoral process. You cannot have two sets of rules!
The police and our soldiers go by rigid regulations, ie, to obey without question their superiors, who by the way are appointed by UMNO. It is meaningless when senior officers are over looking their men when voting .Why must their families also cast their vote on that day.
To avoid any manipulation WE DEMAND THAT POSTAL VOTING BE ABOLISHED.
These personnel and their families can easily cast their votes on polling day.
Mr Rashid, You seem to be blind to the following:
1 Access to Media (electronic and print) - What is your stand on this?
2 No prior notice or announcement of the election dates
3 Campaign period is to short
4 Use of Government machinery during election period
5 The electoral List has not been cleaned
Your superficial changes will not help; you and your team are still stooges of the UMNO-BN.
If you are a true follower of Islam Hadari, Do the need full. Set an example for the future generations to follow.
You could look for inspiration from your counterparts in Thailand and India .
It’s YELLOW FEVER today and it’s very very contagious. Look out SPR!
EXCO (Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri) Selangor
Health, Plantation Wokers & Poverty and Caring Government
