This Fireduck Is Really Funny!

By Fireduck, 26 December 2009, 17:35 in reply to Tohkong Mosjid [READ MORE].

Hrrrrmmmph! This is God.

You Malaysians are so fickle-minded. First to help you all along, I send you a decent fella Rahman. He was happy to serve you guys, but some of you were not happy and forced him out. Instead, you wanted a Brutus to lead you, so you got Razak instead. Now that one, I do not have much to do with. He led you guys on a divergent route from what was planned for Malaysia, but since you guys wanted him ..... oh well, you guys always want to learn the hard way.

But even I couldn't stand the fact that he got to lead us guys via the Brutus (mere mortal men came up with the term "brutish") way down the path I didn't mean for you guys to go. When it was time for him to return to answer for his time on earth, I decided to try and lead you guys out form the lost path. I sent you another decent fella, Hussein but aiyah, you Malaysians do not see the good I have meant for you, and again, you asked for another Brutus character. I tried to warn you guys that one Brutus will lead to another. You guys didn't listen. That Hussein guy had enough of you guys and quit on me, and you guys brought this real Brute (he's the mother of all Brutuses -- his name Maha should have alerted you) into the picture.

You must understand I endowed your country with riches far beyond gold and all that glitters. I endowed your country with a diversity of cultures some other countries would go out of their way to have. They value the beauty of the differences I'm able to come up with, and the intrinsic strength of such diversities. But sigh, again, you Malaysians do not appreciate that. Your mother-of-all-Brutuses tried to go against that wisdom and through his actions tried to cull that diversity and instead place upon you the ketuanan that even I cannot understand. I understand he even tried to masquerade as me in his 22 years lording over you guys. Sorry there, I had to let you guys learn the hard way.

Again, I must mention that if you guys like Brutuses to lead you, you will forever be on the wrong path. Until you get rid of the present batch of leaders I cannot do much to help you further. Some things have to come from within each of you. I will not take away the riches that I have endowed upon your country, but then, neither will I add to that richness if you people do not help yourselves. I'm sure you heard of the oft-quoted "God help those who help themselves". I'm very patient, and I can definitely wait. After all, my 1minute = your 1 millennium.

But if you wish to see positive change, take the initiative to act now. Reach out to your fellow Malaysians and get them to see the goodness in each other. Repulse and reject any of your fellow Malaysians who tell you to only see the difference in the skin colors. I reveal to you now (what the rest of the world already knows) that I played with the different skin colors just for diversity's sake .... maybe I was bored ..... but beneath all that, the basic components are EXACTLY the same.

I will work in my own way for the ultimately good in the end, but remember, don't wait for me to do my work. I follow a different timing system. But I allow you all to control your own destiny, so help yourselves .... then I will come and help you. My parting advice right now, is 'get rid of the entrenched system of patronage, seize the opportunities for change, and dare to make that change. I'm watching .....'.

I bless!

God .... Grand Old Daddy

Christmas Isn't Christmas Till It Happens...

Chorus:

Christmas isn't Christmas

till it happens in your heart.

Somewhere deep inside you

Is where Christmas really starts.

So give your heart to Jesus, you'll discover when you do.

That it's Christmas, really Christmas for you.

Jesus brings warmth like a winter fire, a light like a candle's glow.

He's waiting now to come inside, as He did so long ago.

Jesus brings gifts of truth and life, and makes them bloom and grow.

So welcome Him with a song of joy, and when He comes you'll know that

Christmas isn't Christmas

till it happens in your heart...

NB: The composer of this song is unknown to this blogger. Those with the information kindly comment. Thank you.

Forum "Natijah dari Krisis Perak" Anjuran MerdekaReview

Butiran:

Tema: Whither the Constitution? Lessons to be learnt from the Perak Crisis (English)
Tarikh: 9 Disember 2009 (Rabu)
Masa: 8 pm
Tempat: MBPJ Civic Centre Auditorium, Jalan Yong Shook Lin, Petaling Jaya.

Kedatangan dialu-alukan. Kemasukan adalah percuma.

Antara ahli panelnya termasuklah Professor Kevin Tan, Professor Shad Faruqi dan Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin.

Kevin Tan, graduan dari Yale University, seorang pensyarah di Singapura, dan juga Monash University di kampus Kuala Lumpur. Selain itu, beliau juga banyak menulis mengenai perlembagaan Malaysia dan Singapura.

Professor Shad Faruqi, pakar perlembagaan, dan juga penulis buku Document of Destiny. Selain mengajar di universiti tempatan, juga seorang kolumnis dalam akhbar Star.

Nizar Jamaluddin, Menteri Besar Pakatan Rakyat negeri Perak, merangkap ahli parlimen Bukit Gantang, Perak.

Sekali imbas, krisis Perak yang berlanjutan sehingga kini merupakan antara peristiwa yang paling penting dalam tahun 2009. Pergelutan kuasa antara Barisan Nasional dengan Pakatan Rakyat ini telah memberi impak yang besar kepada sistem politik Malaysia dari semua dimensi, termasuk kehakiman, pasukan keselamatan, perundangan, institusi Raja dan sebagainya.

Human Rights Award for Malaysian Group Against Security Law

By James Chow, Epoch Times, 8 Dec 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Fifty years after British colonial authorities passed a “temporary” law in Malaysia that allows police to detain suspects in security threats, human rights groups are fighting back, and winning awards for doing so.

The Internal Security Act (ISA) was passed in 1960 to strengthen the British colonials in suppressing the communist rebellion. Today, the law is still on the books and according to Human Rights Watch, is a recipe for abuse.

Under the preventative detention law, police can detain suspects without trial or criminal charges by the order of the home minister. Any person who is suspected of posing a threat to the security of the country can be detained for a period of 60 days to two years and is extendable thereafter for further periods not exceeding two years at a time.

“Those held under the ISA are defined as a group that has virtually no rights, so it is hardly surprising that prison guards treat them as less than human,” said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division.

The group leading the fight, the Abolish ISA Movement, known as GMI in Malay, won the SUARAM Human Rights Award 2009 at the 20th SUARAM Fundraising Dinner on Sunday.

Representing GMI to accept the award was Norlaila Othman. Her husband Mat Sah Mohd Satray was one of the ISA detainees who was released on Sept. 15 this year—however, his movement is still restricted by authorities, preventing him from attending the award ceremony.

GMI was awarded the human rights awards because of their fearlessness when facing the authorities and their persistent struggle on their cause, according to the event organizer.

Comprised of 83 organizations, GMI was formed in 2001, and has held various public awareness activities including protests, candle vigils, and public forums. The group is coordinated by human rights activists, lawyers, former detainees, and family members of current and former detainees.

In August this year, GMI held a rally to urge the government to abolish the ISA. The rally attracted 30,000 people, and many ISA detainees were released not long afterward.

SUARAM (Malaysian’s Voice), considered one of the leading human rights organization in the country, was established in 1989 upon the release of the last detainees of “Operation Lalang” (Weeding Operation), where 107 opposition leaders and social activist were detained by the government under the ISA in 1987.

“SUARAM has a mission to build a human rights movement in Malaysia using empowerment, advocacy, and solidarity, and our vision is to build a society based on peace, justice, democracy, and human rights,” said SUARAM’s founder, Dr. Kua Kia Soon, during his awards speech.

More than 500 human rights activist and supporters attended the fundraising and awards dinner to pay tribute to human rights defenders who have fought and sacrificed for the improvement of human rights in Malaysia, as well as to raise funds for SUARAM to continue in its work.

Nostalgia

Semasa mengemas buku-buku lama di rumah (emak sudah mengeluarkan arahan tidak boleh ditanggung lagi), saya terjumpa buku bertajuk, "Prosa Klasik & Sajak: SPM Bahasa Malaysia" (Cetakan 1987). Teringat kembali ketika mengambil peperiksaan SPM. Walaupun BM bukan subjek kegemaran saya, buku ini saya pernah membaca berulang-ulang kali. Bukan sekadar untuk lulus peperiksaan tetapi saya amat tertarik dengan kesusasteraan yang terkandung di dalamnya. Bahasanya begitu halus dan penuh bermakna. Di antara kegemaran saya ialah sajak hasil karya Usman Awang (Bahasa Alam) yang bertajuk, "Anak Jiran Tionghua":

Begitu kecil ia berdiri di tepi pagar

kilat matanya memanggil Iskandar

siapa berlalu siapa berkaca

melihat keduanya bergurau senda

Anak Tionghua kelahiran di sini

di bumi hujau ladang-ladang getah dan padi

ia bisa bercerita untuk siapa saja

di sini tanahnya dan ibunya bersemadi

Lihat mereka sedang berebutan pistol mainan

he, jangan berkelahi

ah, anak-anak dengan caranya murni

berkelahi untuk nanti bermain kembali

Lihat mereka tertawa riang

Ah Chen tak punya gigi sebatang

Iskandar mengesat hingus ke baju

sekarang mereka menunggu ais krim lalu

Bumi tercinta resapkan wahyumu

jantung mereka adalah langitmu

darah mereka adalah sungaimu

nafas mereka adalah udaramu.

Malangnya, kesusasteraan yang bijaksana seperti ini telah semakin berkurangan. Ditimbun laungan ahli-ahli politik yang hanya menjaga kepentingan sendiri. Alangkah baiknya jika yang dewasa juga saling bergaul tanpa mengira kaum seperti kanak-kanak.

Trouble In Iskandar

From The Malaysian Insider.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — All is not well in Iskandar Malaysia, the country's showpiece economic corridor project.

Two chief executive officers of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) have not lasted two years on the job and there are now rumblings over the slow pace of progress from Middle East investors.

Apart from that, the relationship between some of the main players — the Johor Civil Service (JCS), Khazanah Nasional, Iskandar Investment Board (IIB) — leaves much to be desired.

Unwilling for the situation to unravel further, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is signalling his intention to Putrajaya for the state government to take more control of the mammoth project billed as Malaysia's Shenzen to the developed Singapore across the Johor Straits.

He wants IRDA to come directly under the purview of the state government, and rely less on instructions from Khazanah Nasional, the federal sovereign wealth fund tasked with developing the economic zone named after the state Ruler.

The IRDA board is now jointly chaired by the Prime Minister and the MB but The Malaysian Insiderunderstands that the Johor MB could be assigned full chairmanship, giving him control of the regional authority.

Ghani has already started exerting his authority, much to the chagrin of the top brass in Khazanah Nasional. Late last month, he demanded the resignation of the incumbent CEO Harun Johari.

Officials at Khazanah Nasional wanted Harun to be given six more months on the job but last week, the IRDA board quickly accepted Harun's resignation. He will leave in January 2010 for IRDA to have another fresh start.

Harun, an ex-Shell stalwart, was hand-picked by Khazanah Nasional for the top position. He quickly brought in several of his former Shell colleagues to fill senior executive positions, and the organisation ballooned to over 150 staff under his charge.

His critics charged that he lacked charisma but his supporters argued that he is a process-driven individual who was effective behind the scenes. Harun replaced Datuk Ikmal Hijaz, the former Pos Malaysia CEO.

The latter was also hand-picked by Khazanah Nasional to drive IRDA and make it a world-class, one-stop centre for investors.

After being appointed, Ikmal also surrounded himself with several former colleagues from Pos Malaysia or the now defunct Renong Group, in which he oversaw the construction of the Gelang Patah crossing and massive land acquisition in Nusajaya.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt the new CEO of IRDA is Ismail Ibrahim. He is currently director of the National Physical Planning Division under the Urban and Rural Planning Department.

The Muar-born career public servant, who is a British-trained town planner, was among the pioneers assembled by Khazanah Nasional back in 2006 to draw up the Comprehensive Development Plan for the south Johor Economic Region (now known as Iskandar).

He later served as senior vice-president (Planning & Compliance) and became Johor's Federal Commissioner, but quit suddenly to return to the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Ghani has already told Ismail that he expects an overhaul of the top management of IRDA, wanting him to rid the authority of deadwood.

At least four senior personnel are expected to be removed.

The JCS — a body whose support is necessary if any project is to take off in the southern state — has welcomed the appointment of Ismail.

Relations between the JCS and Khazanah Nasional have been uneasy since the inception of the project in 2006, with Johor civil servants complaining of being sidelined from the decision-making process. They have resented the fact that important decisions regarding Iskandar were being made in Kuala Lumpur.

The shortcomings in IRDA, and to a lesser extend IIB, come at a time when several of the Middle East investors are exhibiting signs of restlessness at the pace of the project.

Government officials told The Malaysian Insider that Khazanah Nasional was forced to buy back some land in Node 1 of Iskandar which it sold to a consortium of Middle East investors. This happened after some disagreement over responsibilities and obligations.

You Got Robbed Because You Don't Love Cops

From Malaysian Insider, By Justin Ong

NOV 15 — Why do our politicians say the darnedest things? For instance, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was reported to have said that public vilification of government institutions is a factor contributing to the country’s rampant crime.

That’s Terminator-esque logic, that one; I’ll see if I can spell it out. Is Hishammuddin saying that our experience of being robbed, and the subsequent inability of the police to apprehend the bastards who robbed us, thereby leading us to think them (the police, not the thieving bastards) an irritatingly unhelpful bunch of twats, the reason why we were robbed again? If that is so: James Cameron, eat your heart out.

I’m a simple person. I like to see the reason why we have more crime as being down to the simple fact that we have more criminals. And the reason why we have more criminals is that the people responsible for catching these thieving bastards and locking them away aren’t doing so.

I can hardly see why my calling them all manner of names for not having done so contributes to their ability, or inability, to do so in the first place.

Or, perhaps, Hishammuddin means the way our police force has gained Gestapo-like imagery, replete with “mysterious” deaths in custody. Again, I’m a simple man. I cannot see how having such a frighteningly ferocious image can in any way contribute to an increase in crime rates.

I would have thought knowing that in the event you’re nicked for, let’s say stealing a car, that you’ll inexplicably drown in a glass of water while being held in police custody, would prove a sufficiently strong deterrent towards crime rather than providing further encouragement. But that’s just me. Who can fathom how the devious minds of criminals actually work?

Criminals of a more violent disposition (those naughty, naughty boys who like to play with knives and guns) would also no doubt tremble at the risk of engaging in “police shootouts” with the crack shots that populate our police force. Those who run afoul of this lot often tell no tales in the aftermath. Makes you think twice about leading a life of crime, doesn’t it?

As for white-collared criminals, the motivation to dip your hand into the cookie jar must be enough to make the earth move. Because the very real and present danger of having to negotiate the treacherously slippery window sills of Plaza Masalam for a breather during marathon questioning, should you be nicked with chocolate stains on your lips, bears serious contemplation.

Of course, all of the above are just some of the “perceptions” that the public may have of the various institutions.

But again, I put it to Hishammuddin: Do any of these actually create more crime? If anything, these make it obvious that the “perceived” stakes for criminals have gone up, not down. Why are people still breaking laws?

In any case, I’d like to offer some suggestions to Hishammuddin, on the premise that his assumption is true that it’s our lowly views of the government institutions that makes them ineffectual at their duties. At any rate, what’s there to lose?

Maybe you shouldn’t be sending 60 people to go arrest an unlicensed preacher. His name isn’t David Koresh, there is no Mount Carmel, and most certainly no automatic weapons are present. The same goes for opposition politicians, sending in siege teams is overkill.

Maybe you shouldn’t send an army of coppers to turn Ipoh into a warzone every time the bloody state assembly convenes. It’s a bunch of state assemblymen shouting at each other. What are you afraid of, that they’ll cuss each other to death?

Maybe you shouldn’t bother hauling up nutters cycling around the country to highlight social iniquities. While it’s alright to hate cyclists in general, even this was too much. Besides, they’re cycling in our weather; that’s already punishment enough.

Maybe you shouldn’t turn parks into battlefields every time a bunch of people want to get together and light a few candles, and maybe sing the national anthem. If they’re not crazy arsonists, your cops could be doing more useful things elsewhere. Plus, it’s good that people sing Negaraku, isn’t it?

Maybe you should have the MACC get its priorities right. Nobody is saying small graft is not graft. But between investigating the misuse of a couple of thousand ringgit in state funds and an unemployed dentist with a multi-million mansion, I think even you know which matter is the more pressing.

Maybe, just maybe, if all of these were so, you might be standing in Parliament and telling Malaysia how something is being done to make the country safe for one and all.

Because the alternative of going there and saying crime is high because we don’t think the world of government institutions, should be a crime in itself.

Launch Of PerlembagaanKu/ MyConstitution Campaign

You are invited to the launch of the campaign to be officiated by a Minister, followed by a forum “Conversations on the Constitution: What is the Federal Constitution?” Speakers include Prof. Shad Faruqi, Haji Sulaiman Abdullah, Prof. Abdul Aziz Bari, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Prof. Azmi Sharom.

Further details are as follows:

Date: 13 November 2009

Time: 3:00pm

Venue: Bar Council, Auditorium

Mark your diaries, you wouldn’t want to miss this! Limited copies of the first RG will be distributed and the first RSA will be screened.

You may follow the campaign at:

www.perlembagaanku.com (to be launched on 13 November 2009)

www.malaysianbar.org.my/constitutional_law_committee/

www.facebook.com/MyConstitution

www.twitter.com/MyConsti

www.youtube.com/user/PerlembagaanKu

We look forward to seeing you! Thank you.

Kindly RSVP to Lim Ka Ea at 03-2031 3003, ext. 127, Fax No. 03- 2026 1313 or kaea@malaysianbar.org.my

Reports for the benefit of those who missed the launch:

Not Jinxed After All!

Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari

A Different Kind Of Spirit And Intoxication

Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi

The Constitution: Your Rights Are All There

For The Rakyat, By The Rakyat

Rakyat Service Advertisement 1 [VIDEO]

10,000 Bibles Confiscated

Malaysia refuses to release Bibles which use banned word ‘Allah’

By Julia Zappei, Herald Malaysia Online, 4 Nov 2009.

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia : The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles confiscated for using the word 'Allah' to refer to God, a banned translation in Christian texts in this Muslim-majority country, an official said on Wednesday.

An official from the Home Ministry's publications unit said the government rejected pleas by church officials to allow the Bibles, imported from Indonesia, into the country. Christians say the Muslim Malay-dominated government is violating their right to practice their religion freely.

Such religious disputes are undermining Malaysia's reputation as a harmonious multiethnic, moderate Muslim nation. About 30 percent of the country's 28 million people practice Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or other faiths.

A Home Ministry official said the government told the importer last month to return the Indonesian-language Bibles, which are still with customs.

Psalm 24:7-10

"Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

Who is He, this King of glory?

The LORD Almighty -

He is the King of glory."

3 Dead Girls In 1Malaysia

By Richard Wee

From Loyarburok, 3 Nov 2009

What is this 1 Malaysia camp at Kuala Dipang in Perak? If not for that unfortunate death of the 3 girls, many of us wouldn’t know of this camp. How can the Government even consider sending kids as young as that age to camps, to teach about this concept called 1 Malaysia, which until now has not been explained to the people.

All I see with this so-called unity concept, is expensive billboards all over Kuala Lumpur put up by Government owned companies calling us to embrace this concept.

What is taught in these camps? Why are you teaching kids as young as 11 and 12 concepts, which are not even explained to their parents?

Please tell us what is 1 Malaysia, when we still have racial and religious discrimination in Malaysia perpetrated by the very Government calling for us to be 1?

A probe team was formed by the Education Ministry to investigate the broken bridge. But so far I don’t see any explanation by the Government as to what this camp is about and how it is that political agendas are being taught in our schools?

If this government insists on having these kinds of camps, then the Barisan government has no moral right to reprimand parents who take along their kids to peaceful demonstrations, like the recent one against the ISA.

Is it all right to try to brain-wash young Malaysians with unproven and unexplained concepts as part of a political agenda, like 1 Malaysia, but not all right for parents to bring along their kids for a peaceful protest in exercise of their fundamental liberty to assemble peacably?

It is of course always better to place the kids’ safety first, and people may question the wisdom of bringing kids to a demonstration knowing full well that the water-cannon-happy PDRM will not hesitate to shoot the water cannon at you.

On that logic, if taking kids along demos is not right, then how can taking kids to some boot-camp be right?

This incident at Kuala Dipang, has deepened the suspicion of Malaysians over the quality of Malaysia’s education system. Schools are supposed to teach kids about values and principles, not political agendas and unexplained concepts with some digit 1 on it.

So many questions, but no 1 clear answer.

Ghosts Of Murders Past

Asia Sentinel, 26 October 2009.

Getting Away with Murder in Malaysia

It's best to be connected to the ruling national coalition

On July 16, according to the testimony of a Thai pathologist, Teoh Beng Hock, a 29-year-old aide to an opposition politician, was probably beaten during a marathon questioning session, sodomized, strangled unconscious, dragged to a window of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission in Kuala Lumpur and thrown to his death.

The country's law enforcement establishment maintains that Teoh committed suicide by leaping from the MACC building after the inquiry was concluded into irregularities in his boss's accounts. But it is far from the first "suicide" in custody and what happened to Teoh happens all too frequently when the luckless collide with the powerful in Malaysia. His real killers are unlikely ever to be identified. As many as 350 people have died in custody since 1990. The privileged are rarely brought to trial.

The most infamous recent case before Teoh's is that of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28 year-old Mongolian translator who was murdered in 2006 by two bodyguards of then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Altantuya had been jilted by Najib's best friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and was demanding money from him.

Although numerous witnesses and evidence connected Najib to the affair, he was never questioned or put on the witness stand, nor was his chief of staff, Musa Safri, who Baginda said in a cautioned statement he approached about getting Altantuya from ceasing her harrassment. His two bodyguards were convicted of the murder although one, in his confession, said the two men were to be paid RM100,000 to kill her. The court never asked who would pay the money. The confession wasn't allowed in court. Baginda was acquitted without having to put on a defense and promptly left the country and Najib was eventually named Prime Minister.

Such questionable cases go back to at least the early 1980s when Sultan Mahmud Iskandar of Johor was dubbed the "killer king" by the British tabloids after he shot a trespasser to death on his property. He also reportedly assaulted and killed a golf caddy who was said to have laughed when the sultan missed a golf stroke and he maimed the caddy's brother. He later was alleged to have assaulted and injured a hockey coach, kicking off a constitutional crisis that led to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's removal of legal immunity from prosecution for all of Malaysia's nine sultans, although Iskandar was never either arrested or jailed.

There are plenty more. In 1988 an attractive young woman named Mustakizah Jaafar, who owned a video rental business in Malacca, was found hacked to death by unknown assailants. Mustakizah reportedly was pregnant at the time of her death. She was believed to be having an affair with Megat Junid Megat Ayob, the onetime UMNO deputy home affairs minister, who died in January 2008 of cancer.

No one was ever charged with Mutakizah's murder. The widespread gossip about Megat Junid's connection with Mustakizah didn't do his political career any harm. He was ultimately named Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister in 1997 although he lost his parliamentary seat two years later and retired from politics.

In 2002 the decomposed body of Haslezah Ishak, the attractive young second wife of Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, second in line to the throne of Perak, whom he had met in a karaoke lounge, was found under a bridge, clad in a bra and jeans. Four men, including a palace aide, a bomoh or witch doctor, a fisherman and a carpenter were arrested and jailed for the murder. No one was ever arrested or questioned for hiring them to kill her although suspicion fell on the prince's wife, Rajah Mahani, who had been publicly consulting witch doctors over her suspicion that Haslezah had put a spell on her husband.

In 2003, another attractive young woman, Norita Shamsudin, was found murdered in an apartment in a Kuala Lumpur suburb. A night club guest relations officer, Norita had been rumored to be having an affair with Shahidan Kassim, then chief minister of the state of Perlis. Although another individual was arrested and charged with the murder, he was later declared not guilty and no one else was ever charged. According to local news reports, the inspector general of police, Mohd Bakri Omar, classified the case under Malaysia's Official Secrets Act and no details were ever released.

Earlier this year, authorities finally completed an inquest into the 2007 death of beautiful ethnic Indian actress Sujatha Krishnan, who also worked part-time as a secretary to S.Vell Paari, chief executive officer of Maika Holdings and the son of S. Samy Vellu, the head of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component of the ruling national coalition. Sujatha died in a hospital in a Kuala Lumpur suburb of Klang three days after she had been rushed in for treatment. Her body was cremated almost immediately after her death. The coroner ruled she had died after poisoning herself by drinking poison. The family vainly requested an investigation into her death.

For those at the bottom end of Malaysia's power spectrum, life can be considerably tougher if suspicion falls on them. According to the reform organization Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET), a distressing number of suspects have died in custody. "Relying merely on data provided by the government, it has been disclosed that there have been 150 deaths from 1990 until 2004 (10.7 per year), 108 deaths between 2000 and 2006 (18 per year), and, 85 deaths between 2003 and 2007 (21.25 per year)," the organization said.

According to a 2003 report by the Asian Human Rights Commission – the same year Norita was killed ‑ statistics released in Malaysia's parliament in October of that year by the Home Ministry, showed 23 people died in police custody between 2002 and July 2003. Of those, 16 died in 2002 although according to the report, other figures indicated that 18 had died in custody in the first nine months of 2002 alone. Parliament was told in October 2002 that a total of 34 persons had died in police custody since 2000 ‑ six in 2000, 10 in 2001 and 18 from January to September 2002.

According to the report, then-Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung denied that methods of torture used to obtain information from suspects led to their deaths. He claimed that the majority of deaths were the result of attempts to escape from police custody. Typical seemed to be the case of Hasrizal Hamzah, who had been detained on suspicion of murder in October of 2003. According to a senior assistant police commissioner, Harizal confessed to the murder and then, as he was being moved to a new location, supposedly shoved the accompanying policeman aside despite being handcuffed, and leapt over a balcony to his death.

Earlier this year, the Indian community was enraged by the death of a 22-year-old named Kugan Ananthan who was detained on Jan. 15 on suspicion of stealing luxury cars. He reportedly collapsed during questioning and died on Jan. 20 from "acute pulmonary edema," or fluid in the lungs. However, after his body was released to his family, an autopsy found that he had suffered from internal bleeding in his heart, left lung, spleen, kidneys and scalp area. The soles of his feet had been beaten and the back of his neck and spine area were bleeding. His back was covered with contusions, beating marks and bruises. He had sustained more than 10 serious burn marks, probably as the result of being burned by a heated v-shaped iron bar. He had also been starved during the entire time he was being tortured, allegedly by as many as seven police officers, his family charged.

"There is a clear lack of supervision, medical care and concern for the general well-being and rights of suspects while under police remand," the Human Rights Commission said in its 2003 report. It does not appear that anything has changed. The odds are that the cases involving both Kugan and Teoh will end up the same way scores of others have.

Link to Dr. Porntip's Letter: http://www.agc.gov.my/agc/pdf/inkues/Stmedia_261009.pdf

Two From Galilee: A Story About Life's Purpose

The Nut Graph 23 Oct 09 : 3.25PM

Compiled by Nick Choo

CHORAL group The Canticle Singers presents a fresh restaging of Two From Galilee, a musical written by Robert Sterling and Karla Worley, in Kuala Lumpur from today, 23 Oct to 1 Nov 2009.

Two From Galilee is the fictitious account of the Biblical characters Mary and Joseph, a young couple in love who are forced to deal with circumstances beyond their expectations. Confronted with a hostile world and a heavy responsibility, they fight to fulfill their dreams despite being fraught with doubt and shame. Life, they learn, is more than just about love — it is about purpose.

Despite the religious source material, musical director HK Chong is confident that the show will appeal to a wide audience. "There will always be quarters who will see it as religious ... [but] you will find many novels, plays or musicals that are built around folklore, legends and historical events. Biblical events are also historical."

The show is based on a novel of the same title by Marjorie Holmes, which was on the New York Times 1972 bestseller list and one of the top 10 bestselling novels that year. The musical played at the Peter J Sharpe Theatre atSymphony Space on Broadway in 2006, and has since been staged in many countries.

Two From Galilee runs at Panggung Bandaraya, Jalan Raja, Kuala Lumpur. Tickets are priced at RM38 and RM58 and can be purchased through Axcess (Tel: 603 7711 5000).

Net proceeds from the production will go to the St Barnabas Home for Children and The Tondo Community Project, in aid of the transient community living at a garbage site in Tondo, Manila.

Press Release: Upholding and Enforcing the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order

Friday, 23 October 2009 04:40PM

It was reported in the New Straits Times on 13 October 2009 that the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA) had issued a statement that:

• Property developers have asked the government to ease the rules on legal fees for property deals to boost the industry;

• Solicitors and clients should be allowed to negotiate freely on a legal fee that is fair and reasonable without being governed by any regulation and on a willing buyer, willing seller basis;

• In line with the government’s move towards a liberalised market, the abolishment of the scale legal fees will have a positive impact on the housing and property industry;

• Such a move will lower the cost of acquisition and would spur greater buying interest in the market; and

• There are lawyers who want to see the rules liberalised so that they can be more competitive.

The Bar Council wishes to respond accordingly and to state that the primary purpose of a fixed scale of fees for property transactions is to set a benchmark to establish a reasonable level of remuneration, commensurate with the provision of professional services of an acceptable and recognised standard.

The Malaysian Bar is not the only profession governed by scale fees as scale fees are an accepted and common method of charging for professional services in Malaysia. On 20 January 2006, in a joint memorandum signed by several professional bodies and boards on scale fees, the Bar Council together with the:

• Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia;

• Association of Valuers & Property Consultants in Private Practice;

• Board of Town Planners Malaysia;

• Institution of Engineers Malaysia;

• Institution of Surveyors Malaysia;

• Malaysian Institute of Architects;

• Malaysian Institute of Planners; and

• Malaysian Medical Association;

jointly affirmed and declared that:

• Professional services are intellectual and creative products, and not commodities;

• It is not in the interest of the public or the various professions, for professional fees to be decided entirely by “market forces”;

• In a “free market situation”, it is often too tempting for consumers requiring professional services to seek out the cheapest, sidelining the issue of quality of service, in particular when such quality is not immediately or easily discernible;

• “Shopping around" or "marketing for cheaper fees" will lead to an unhealthy widespread undercutting of professional fees;

• When fees are uneconomic and are not commensurate with the level of the services that ought to be provided, it is not uncommon for the quality of professional services rendered to be compromised;

• Scale fees will not only benefit but will also protect the consumers since, with scale fees, professionals will then have to compete with one another on the quality of professional services, and not on pricing;

• The scale fees system prevents both overcharging and undercutting, and protects consumers by promoting high quality professional services; and

• It is necessary and desirable for scale fees to be maintained and effective, and stringent measures must be taken by the various professional bodies and boards to enforce their scale fees against their members in order to ensure and preserve high standards of the professional services rendered to the public.

In October 2005, REHDA had made a similar representation to the government to intervene on scale fees and the no discount rule. On that occasion, the government had requested the Bar Council to respond to REHDA’s representation and the Bar Council had explained in great detail to the government the reasons why scale fees and the no discount rule ought to be maintained.

The Bar Council wishes to state that it is clearly provided in the scheduled agreements applicable for housing accommodation that each party shall pay his or her own legal fees. Payment of scale fees by homebuyers has never been an issue, and the Home Buyers Association of Malaysia fully supports the scale fees charged by solicitors for property transactions. The Bar Council believes that scale fees and the no discount rule are thorny issues for REHDA for the following reasons:

• Developers want homebuyers to appoint solicitors who are on their panel;

• Developers want to pay the fees of the solicitor for the homebuyer; and

• Developers want to dictate the amount of such fees.

The Bar Council views the above as a very unhealthy practice and had recently ruled that a solicitor acting for a homebuyer shall not receive his remuneration for the transaction from the housing developer. The Bar Council is of the view that developers should focus on their business of providing high quality housing accommodation to homebuyers, and developers should allow homebuyers to engage or appoint their own solicitors, and further allow the homebuyers to pay their own legal fees. The Bar Council is determined to uphold and enforce the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order as mandated by its general body.

Tony Woon Yeow Thong

Treasurer

Malaysian Bar

23 October 2009

The Malaysian Bar