Ak57’s Weblog

It bothers me greatly to hear that many people believe that Dato’ Dr. Hassan Ali has created something new: a moral police that watches Muslims and arrests them for drinking.

JAIS officials have been empowered to ‘nab’ Muslims drinking alcohol and committing adultery for many years. Hassan Ali did not create any new laws – the moral police already existed. Just because you don’t hear about raids does not mean they do not happen, or that the threat does not exist. Maybe this ignorance among the people explains why it’s not hard to find Malay-Muslims drinking outside convenience stores in the wee hours. They have no fear of getting caught.

What Hassan Ali has done is draft more people into the moral police. Empowering untrained persons to monitor the morality of others… it’s a recipe for trouble. There’s bound to be a case of some overzealous chap harassing a Malay-looking fellow drinking beer or worse, starting fights.

Personally I don’t see how PAS/JAIS can implement their moral police. It is not right to enforce Islamic practices on non-Muslims. When a raid is done on a hotel/disco, the very act creates fear among the non-Muslim patrons. They should have the freedom to enjoy their life without being suddenly harassed on suspicion of being Muslim.

I am conflicted on the issue of JAIS keeping an eye on Muslims though. I know alcoholism is a problem among the urban Malay youth. JAIS has the responsibility of ensuring Muslims don’t stray from the path. But I disagree with the methods currently used. I think that finding out the reasons Muslims drink in the first place, then addressing those reasons makes more sense than banning alcohol or having moral police.

JAIS should only advise errant Muslims on why Islam has such rules. Fining, jailing, whipping and shaming are such harsh punishments in comparison. If a Muslim is flaunting the rules of the faith, chances are their faith is weak. Such punishment may then only serve to scare them into pretending to be Muslims; and be more careful when breaking the rules in future. They need to be convinced in their heart, and to reach someone’s heart is a slow and arduous process.

I hope one day that religious officials in our nation remember that Islam’s goal is to help spread peace and harmony. They need to focus on co-existing peacefully with other religions, instead of trying to police their brethren at the expense of non-Muslims’ quality of life.

References

Sultan wants explanation over arrest powers for mosque officials – Malaysian Insider (link)
Crackdown: Breweries not targeted … yet – Malaysiakini (link)
Pegawai masjid S’gor boleh tangkap pesalah serta-merta – Malaysiakini (link)
Selangor mosque officials can detain beer-drinking Muslims – Malaysiakini (link)
Selangor mosque officers can now arrest Muslims drinking in public – Star (link)

Once again Perak seems to be undergoing a crisis, and I am uncertain where it is headed. Frankly speaking I’m confused exactly when it started as I have not been paying close attention to what is going on outside KL/Selangor/USA. This seems to be the chain of events:

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On 20th June 2008, Koh Tsu Koon gave a public talk in Bandar Utama on Gerakan as it stands today and what lies ahead for its future. I attended the talk and was glad to see that turnout was good – well over a hundred people, compared to the dozen that was at the last Gerakan talk I attended. I even managed to bump into some Kayu Ara and Bandar Utama friends

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A talk was given by the Opposition in PJS 3 (off Old Klang Road) on Sunday, 13th July 2008. The speakers were:

• Tian Chua (MP Batu)
• Ronnie Liu (Selangor Exco, ADUN Pandamaran)
• Gobalakrishnan (MP Padang Serai)
• Saifuddin Nasution (PKR)
• Dr. Hatta Ramli (PAS)
• Nurul Izzah (MP Lembah Pantai)

Old Klang Road was jammed solid from the Jalan Gasing entry point (due to roadblocks). Fortunately my friend drove (because I’m not that familiar with this area) and we took a mini adventure through the housing area from the opposite direction…which involved driving through a field of weeds on a makeshift concrete road with very poor visibility. Opposition ceramah finding is always adventurous!

We entered PJS 1 area and started searching for the hall, ending up going through THREE police road blocks. At the last road block they checked IC and driving license, even searching car boots. Police presence was heavy, probably 50+ cops – not as much as the horde at Lembah Pantai last Friday. No parang-wielders in sight, thank goodness.

By the time we arrived Tian Chua had just finished speaking, Raja Petra was there too but I’m uncertain whether he spoke.

All the speeches for the night were in Bahasa Malaysia, in which I am not very fluent so apologies in advance for missing details in the following summaries or mistranslation.

Ronnie Liu (10.36 pm)

I would like to thank Raja Petra for being brave enough to come here tonight and be with us. Let me talk about Saiful – I heard he showed up at PKR a week before the election claiming to be a close friend of a close friend of Anwar. During election time we accept any volunteer help we can get, so of course we accepted him.

I don’t believe he was not sodomised. As a matter of fact he was sodomised – sodomised by BN! We have been sodomised for the past 50 years, and to make matters worse we paid for it!

They have deceived us, gotten rich off us, at our expense without us being aware of it – that’s what I mean when I say we have been sodomised!

We are gathered here because nobody believes Saiful’s sodomy story. If it was true, why not charge Anwar in the Syariah Court? Where can four witnesses be found? That’s why they didn’t use the Syariah Court. Same story as before, same lies.

Gobalakrishnan (10.45 pm)

(Thanked those who were present)

In the recent MIC Perhimpunan Agung, Subramaniam said Samy Vellu is a great leader.

Is he a great leader? No! He is a great ROBBER!

Subramaniam has insulted HINDRAF! We don’t want leaders who are corrupted and under the control of others with evil intentions. The people have proven this in Penang, Selangor and the other Opposition States.

We will put forward the motion this Monday. Pak Lah and Najib Altantuya are scared of this, that’s why they placed roadblocks all over Kuala Lumpur. Don’t you feel sorry for the police, who earn less than plantation workers?

Pak Lah said that he will handover presidency to Najib in 2010. But what of Balasubramaniam? He has disappeared. You all saw him when he gave his second Statutory Declaration – who intimidated him to reverse his first one? He implicated Najib’s involvement with Altantuya and her murder.

I was surprised to read that Rosmah was present when C4 was tied to Altantuya – was she there to tighten the wires?

Now they place roadblocks all around out of fear. I say give Anwar a chance, give credible leaders a chance.

I need not elaborate further. You all are smart enough to know we have a stupid PM, Bodowi is his name.

The price of petrol is 16 cents in Venezuela, yet we have to pay RM2.70. Why should we suffer?

REFORMASI! KEADILAN!

(Ended the speech by leading the crowd in chants of Reformasi and Keadilan)

Dr. Hatta Ramli (11 pm)

We live in uncertain times. The government has spread rumours that there is a rally planned for tomorrow. Believe me, if there is ANY Opposition rally, I would know because I would be one of the organisers.

Dato’ Seri Wan Azizah was going to bring Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim as a guest. They fear him to the point that they ban the public, MP’s personal assistants and ALL guests from attending tomorrow’s Parliament session.

They even setup roadblocks all over KL! Bad enough you have to pay a toll, now you have to do a U-turn and pay again?

In the recent papers there is all this news about corruption in the Immigration Department. The Ketua Pengarah (Director General) of Immigration was arrested. Whenever there is a crisis in our country, our PM shows his power by suddenly grabbing these corrupt people.

Yet the ACA is still not independent. They report to the PM, not Parliament. We want corruption cases to be investigated thoroughly and convictions made, regardless if the arrested are ex-ministers or even current ministers.

I am disturbed when both the Director General and his deputy are arrested. It goes to show how corrupt the Immigration Department really is. But there are other corrupt departments in the government, such as Customs (cited a case where a Customs officer used department funds for a personal function). Even the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Attorney General (AG) are not free of corruption. They abuse their power for personal reasons.

I have heard of a case involving government security cards where embezzlement occurred. The person who reported it was detained under ISA! There was no investigation of the embezzlement at all.

We need to remove the ISA immediately, as it is a tool used by the corrupt to hide their deceptions. Four years is too long to wait to seize control of the Federal Government, who knows how many more cover-ups will occur in that period?

Let us pray that tomorrow’s debate on the motion is supported by BN MPs, whom I am certain are controlled by certain parties.

Let us hope that tomorrow will be a historical day.

Saifuddin Nasution (11.17 pm)

We are seeing a reuse of a script from 1998. Tomorrow Anwar has to give a statement to the police. Why? Because a report was lodged against him. Yet why are there no efforts by the police to get statements from Najib and Rosmah? Why do we have two sets of rules in our country?

They pressure Anwar because he has incriminating evidence against the IGP, the AG and others. We hope that now a report has been lodged against the IGP, that officers below him will come forward.

We have seen a lot happening in UMNO lately, due to their major loss in the elections, poor performance by their President and interference by his son-in-law, the MP from Rembau.

Tomorrow at 4.30 pm we hope to debate motion for a vote of no confidence, provided the Speaker allows it. For the motion to be allowed it has to fulfil three criteria:

1. Does it involve the people and is in the interest of public importance?
2. Does it require immediate attention?
3. Is it specific?

To these three criteria I say yes. It is specific because it involves the Prime Minister. It requires immediate attention because the longer he is in power, the longer the people will suffer. It is of public importance because it involves the leadership of the nation.

In Parliament we were informed that the average household income of 60% of the population is RM3,000/month. That is not enough to sustain a good life. Our nation is suffering under BN’s leadership!

After the debate on the motion we have two weeks to file for a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. That is why they picked tomorrow to get a statement from Anwar – in the case we win the debate then they can arrest our leader!

Tomorrow Parliament has suddenly become off limits. It is a public place, where the public has the right of access! What has happened to our country?

We are merely following the rules of Parliament. Why are the police needed to restrict our movement? If Pakatan Rakyat can follow the rules, why can’t they? Instead they resort to these actions, and reuse a script from 1998!

Saiful failed at university, where the passing grade is a 2.0 GPA. He got a 1.5 GPA, yet he can go the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and ask for a scholarship? If that’s possible then ask your friends and relatives to forget about sources like MARA, just go see Najib!

Najib first said he didn’t know Saiful, but when shown the photo of his aide and Saiful at his office, he ‘remembered’ that Saiful came to see him for a scholarship.

Then days later he stated that Saiful came to him to seek advice on the sodomy that allegedly happened to him.

When did it become the Deputy PM’s job to listen to sodomy cases? Forget about reporting to the police for rape or sodomy, just go to Najib’s house!

When Anwar was arrested in 1998 they broken into the house, snatched him, blindfolded him and took him to a lockup in Bukit Aman. The IGP of that time, Rahim Noor, beat him while handcuffed. The police hid this crime. If the police hide crime, how can people trust them?

After much pressure by us, an investigative commission was formed. After MUCH investigation, they confirmed that Anwar was beaten, but they did not know who beat him!

They don’t know who beat him? He was arrested by police, rode in police vehicles, taken to police lockup, interviewed by police – who else could have done it? Apparently police can’t identify other policemen!

In 1998 they took DNA samples from Anwar. Don’t be surprised if they fake evidence to support Saiful’s case today. That is why Anwar lodged a report in the Syariah Court, where there is no room for DNA evidence.

Putera Umno is suddenly talking about taking an oath on the Quran, when all they have done is step on all it stands for!

Anwar will continue his tour of the nation, to bring his message to the people. This is just the beginning.

Nurul Izzah (11.44 pm)

(Greetings to those present)

Despite the police roadblocks, I am glad you all made it. We are gathered here to oppose cruelty and falsehood. For me what is important is that when we face lies, we oppose it!

Now we are experiencing a repeat of what happened 10 years ago. They are using government machinery to pressure us, to intimidate us. I feel sad that despite the results of the election, the BN government remains arrogant. The people have shown their support for the Opposition, yet they still resort to dirty tactics!

Before the elections the Deputy PM said the petrol price won’t change. What happened after the elections? The petrol price was increased without a care for the needs of the people!

Now you read in the news about ‘taking oaths on the Quran’ – it is merely a distraction. Let us not lose focus of the main issue which is the ruination of our economy by the PM and his Cabinet!

I congratulate those of you who attended the PROTES rally at the stadium. It is clear that our people are suffering and need an advocate to fight for them.

Today while I was visiting the victims of a fire in my constituency, my sister called me. Fifteen police officers had come to my house. I thought for a moment, did they come to arrest me? With these ceramahs being held, you wouldn’t know right?

I was shocked to hear that they had not come for me, but to deliver a Court Order to my father, stating that he and his supporters are not allowed within 5 kilometres of Parliament House tomorrow! So to those of you who are going tomorrow – if asked, say you are from DAP or PAS.

We are facing many problems in our nation, and we need all the support you can get. I am glad that SAPP has come out in support of us.

Now is the real test for us, so please spread the message to everyone that we are here to fight for your rights!

I thank you.

(Talk ended and crowd dispersed at 12 am)

There have been a number of protests in the last couple of weeks, all driven by individuals with a racist agenda. This is one of my pet peeves so be prepared for a long post.
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Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (PAS) was sworn in as Perak Menteri Besar on the 17th of March in Kuala Kangsar. There were a number of protests against this decision by the Sultan, with the general theme being that BN should form the state government.

I do agree with them somewhat in the sense that BN did grab the most seats, whereas the Opposition coalition are not a formal alliance. Ultimately it was up to the Sultan to decide though, and reasonable people should accept his decision.

I did find one protest hilarious enough to write about though:

Nine women NGOs have made an urgent plea for the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah to postpone the swearing-in ceremony scheduled tomorrow and to consider instead the option of a minority BN government.

In a hastily called press conference leading to it being held at the coffee house of a hotel here, the group representatives said they were worried and had no confidence that the coalition government of DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat and PAS would be able to achieve a stable state government.

The group, naming themselves the Perak Malay Women NGO Meeting, cited the much-publicised bickering of the three parties as a pointer to this assumption which they reached in a meeting on Saturday. The nine organisations are the districts Perak Women and Family Development Council, the (WI) Women Grouping, Gerakwanis Belia 4B, Perak Malaysian Muslim Women Welfare Body, Perak Women Cooperative, members of the Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan (PPK), Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK), the Henry Gurney Alumni and the women members of the Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS).

- quoted from an article published in NST on 16th March 2008 (link)

In case it is not readily apparent, let me list the NGOs named

1. Perak Women and Family Development Council
2. The (WI) Women Grouping
3. Gerakwanis Belia 4B
4. Perak Malaysian Muslim Women Welfare Body
5. Perak Women Cooperative
6. Members of the Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan (PPK)
7. Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK)
8. The Henry Gurney Alumni
9. The women members of the Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS)

Can you see in any of their titles, a reason for their group to name themselves the Perak Malay Women NGO Meeting? The moment I read that I lost all respect for them, because either they are all racially biased organisations (why can’t the Women Cooperative help non-Malays?) or they felt that non-Malays are not relevant in deciding who leads their state government. Maybe by some bizarre coincidence the non-Malay members of these NGOs were too busy to come?

It wouldn’t surprise me if they were Puteri Umno travelling incognito No pictures accompanied the article, so I am unable to find the tell-tale sign of the pink tudung…

Frankly speaking, I feel this ‘crisis’ is just being played up by the media. Did anyone seriously think all three parties would break their pact nationwide?

Who Gets To Be Chief?

DAP wins 18 seats, PKR 7 and PAS 6. Logically speaking DAP should get the highest government position of Chief Minister, but the state constitution requires that person to be a Malay Muslim. So it follows that PKR should get that position.

Instead the Sultan picked the PAS candidate.

Naturally DAP, or should I say, Lim Kit Siang was furious and called for a boycott of the swearing-in ceremony. A strong, negative action when instead they should be showing support for the Opposition alliance. I guess it hasn’t hit home yet that the individual Opposition parties need to leave behind their ‘my rights take precedence over yours’ attitude for the sake of unity.

Lim Kit Siang did the right thing and apologised for the outrage caused by his statement and his son instructed the Perak DAP members to attend the ceremony. But at this point it didn’t seem to matter, because the Sultan decided to postpone the ceremony indefinitely.

Isn’t that sad? I feel sorry for both the PAS candidate and PAS as a party – without a swearing-in ceremony their victory seems less celebratory.

How will this go down in history? Perak liberated by the Opposition, but no swearing-in ceremony because DAP made some noise.

I don’t see it as DAP’s fault – yes they could have spared everyone the bad publicity by not calling for a boycott. But ultimately the decision was up to the Sultan. The Star reported that the ceremony had been postponed indefinitely, but NST reported that it had been postponed pending receipt by the palace of a jointly signed statement by the 31 state assemblymen that they agree to Nizar’s appointment as Chief Minister and will work together in a coalition government.

Dividing the Executive Council

This proved to be difficult for me to understand at first. DAP and PAS apparently had an agreement whereby eight of the ten seats be given to DAP, and the remaining two to PKR and PAS. If you compare the DUN seat ratio of 18-6 for DAP-PAS, it would make sense for DAP to have three times the Exco seats compared to PAS. So 6-2 seems fair.

I guess because DAP had no chance of getting the Chief Minister post they wanted more say in the Executive Council. If DAP had their way PKR would only have the lone Exco seat though, hence PKR’s protest that they would not take part in the administration of the Perak government if these allocations were not revised.

One party protests with a boycott of a ceremony, the other with a boycott of the government administration entirely. I tip my hat to the Opposition; they sure know how to make actions speak far, far louder than any words they could muster.

After some negotiations the final Executive Council line-up is:

• 6 DAP
• 3 PKR
• 1 PAS
• 1 Senator will be PKR, the other unknown

With a DAP chap as First Deputy Minister and a PKR person as Second Deputy Minister. That seems alright to me, though I wonder whether these two deputies get a swearing-in ceremony or not How do the three parties negotiate anyway? Hmm…

Side note: While I didn’t care much for NST’s frontpage cartoons, first of the crumbling wheel with the DAP, PKR and PAS logos on it, and today’s one with three evil, scruffy looking cats fighting over a fish bowl (again with Opposition party labels); I must say the artist is quite talented. Its exactly the kind of political cartoon style I find in The Economist, a style I like very much but sadly am not good enough to do Hope NST breaks out of its Opposition-hatred mode soon.

References:

• NST: DAP throws spanner in Perak govt plan (link)
• NST: Kit Siang apologises to regent (link)
• NST: Regent wants written assurance from parties (link) (another, related article)
• The Star: Swearing in called off (link)
• Malaysiakini: Deal stitched, all systems go for Perak (link)