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OR YOU ARE ONE WHO CAN BE INSPIRED TO STAND UP TO PARTAKE OF PROACTIVE ACTIION?
Malaysia is a budding democracy, and the CHOICE IS YOURS AS A CITIZEN OF NEGARAKU. - Desi
From freemalaysiatoday.com:
Anwar to Umno: I’m ready for battle
Sun, Nov 15, 2009
National
IN his first public remarks since being appointed as economic adviser to Selangor, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he would do battle “to the end” against Umno-Barisan Nasional forces bidding to destabilize and wrest power from the state’s Pakatan Rakyat government.
“I have officially now entered the ring,” Anwar said in reference to his new job. “If you try (to seize power), we will go all out and fight to the end,” Anwar said in Shah Alam when opening the
state-level National Justice Party convention.
On Friday, Anwar, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, was appointed Selangor’s economic advisor, a job for which he will be paid a norminal salary of RM1 a month.
The appointment is to help the state government formulate new economic initiatives as well as improve the implementation of existing policies that directly and holistically benefit people.
Anwar used the convention to galvanise party members into ensuring the state remained in opposition control despite simmering diffirences within Pakatan ranks which, according to insiders, the coalition has been able to contain so far.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who recently took over as Selangor Umno chief, has made public his party’s intention to retake Malaysia’s most developed state by the next general elections.
The Selangor state government has since become a punching bag in the mainstream media on several issues, ranging from the relocation of a Hindu temple to the sale of beer in 7-Eleven outlets.
Anwar admitted that despite some success, the opposition has been unable to deliver all of its promises to the people.
He attributed the problem to elements within Pakatan who still practise what he called the “Barisan Nasional politics” of corruption and racial based politics.
“This culture and way of thinking is outdated and must be rejected at all costs,” he said. “We will also not tolerate corruption within our ranks. Those caught will be sacked, make no mistake about this.”
At a press conference after his speech, Anwar said he had received positive response from investors abroad, especially in the Middle East, on his appointment as Selangor’s economic adviser.
He said a group of Arab investors had asked to meet him after the Hari Raya Aidil-Adha on November 27.
“Bala’s latest disclosure merits in-depth probe”
ANWAR Ibrahim is pressing for a professional and independent probe into the latest disclosure by a private investigator in the Altantuya case, calling on those in authority to “walk the talk.”
However, he acknowledged that his call and that of others in the opposition coalition would make little impact on the authorities, as it meant investigating Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor.
P. Balasubramaniam, a private investigator hired by Abdul Razak Baginda, an aide of Najib, claimed he was offered RM5 million to retract a statutory declaration that the Prime Minister had a relationship with murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Sharibuu.
In an interview posted on Youtube recently, Bala claimed the offer was made by a carpet businessman known as Deepak, who is said to be associated with Rosmah.
Anwar said Bala’s latest disclosure should be enough for the authorities to conduct further investigations but he doubts if the police, the Attorney-General or the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission were up to the challenge.
“Yes , there must be an in-depth investigation,” he told reporters. “This is just one statement from Bala. The problem with this country is that any investigation affecting Umno leaders will be trivialized.”
Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s website last Friday carried what he said was the first video excerpt of an interview Bala had with lawyers. He told readers to expect more clips in the coming days.
Bala claimed he was forced to flee the country on July 4, 2008, one day after issuing a statutory declaration retracting the first declaration. He is expected to name public figures who played a role in forcing him to withdraw his accusation against Najib.
Altantuya was murdered in October 2006. Her body was blown up using C4 explosives in a dense jungle in Selangor state.
She was said to be in Malaysia to collect US$500,000 in commissions for a French-Scopene submarine deal involving the Malaysian government. Najib was then Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Asked what he thought about Bala’s decision to surface after 15 months in a tell-all interview, Anwar said: “I do not want to arrive to any conclusion. Let there be a free and independent investigation.”
From Sdr KIM QUEK, one of those rare Malaysians who always satnd up to be counted! His latest thoughts via several channels BY POPULAR DEMAND! -- YL
MB vs MB: Federal Court of Judicial Pillars or Political Stooges?
Mon, Nov 16, 2009
By Kim Quek
THERE was deep disappointment and angry resignation when the Federal Court panel of five sat on Nov 5 to hear the Nizar vs Zambry appeal, immediately after rejecting Nizar’s request for a full panel to hear the case.
The appearance of the five judges alone was sufficient to impart the sense of foregone conclusion, for these are familiar faces that appeared in the series of hearings of the Federal Court held in respect of the current Perak constitutional crisis, and they all seemed to lean towards the Barisan Nasional.
The first three – Alauddin Sheriff, Arifin Zakaria and Zulkefli Makinudin – are virtually permanent fixtures in the ‘Perak cases’, while the remaining two – Ghazali Yusoff and Hamid Embong – have also been involved. One cannot help but wonder: what happened to the rest? Why can’t we have fresh faces to also impart their wisdom over such a grave constitutional crisis?
What about the eminent Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Richard Malanjum, whose seniority was only next to Alauddin Sheriff (President of the Court of Appeal), and whose judgments often won admiration of the legal fraternity and the general public alike. He has not sat in a single case. Why should the country be deprived of the opportunity of tapping into his rich experience and much valued judgment?
Then, what about our very senior Justice Gopal Sri Ram – an appellate court judge since 1994 – who is distinguished by his deep legal knowledge and sound judgment delivered without fear or favour.
Surely, the participation of Malanjum and Sri Ram will restore some credibility to a judicial system already teetering on total mistrust, thanks to the long string of judicial decisions which have been perceived as blatantly biased and politically partisan since the crisis started in March this year.
SHOW OF ‘ARROGANCE’ TO REJECT FULL PANEL
This is the third time that the Federal Court rejected Nizar Jamaluddin’s request for a full panel. And what irked the public is the court’s perceived arrogance in rejecting the lawyers’ earnest, compelling and unassailable plea without bothering to offer the reasons of rejection.
That the coming court decision will be of paramount importance is underlined by the fact that it is expected to define the power limits and the inter-relationships of the triangle of King-Prime Minister-Parliament, though the case is over the Perak constitutional crisis. This is because the state constitution and federal constitution are similar in these aspects of the law.
An affirmative decision in favour of Zambry will mean that in future the King is vested with the power to sack a Prime Minister. More than that, he can do so without the involvement of Parliament. This of course will mean the negation of the fundamental principles of democracy upon which this nation was founded.
Facing such a potentially momentous decision, is it too much to ask for a full panel, or at least as wide a spectrum of judges as possible, to deliberate on an issue which may make or break our democratic system of government?
Since the Federal Court has convened panels of seven judges to hear drug related cases in the past, why can’t it convene an even bigger panel for the current case, since the issues involved are many times more important?
And why make the ‘Perak cases’ the exclusive domain of the few judges who are already looked upon with increasing dismay by the public for their perceived political partisanship? Why meticulously keep these cases out of bound to the well regarded judges?
Doesn’t Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, who only a short while ago was an Umno stalwart, owe the nation answers to these perplexing questions?
COURT OF APPEAL ERRED
The court completed hearing in one single day of Nov 5, the submissions from the lawyers of both the Appellant (Nizar) and the Respondent (Zambry) as well as from Attorney-General Gani Patail. The latter appeared as intervener to help interpret the Perak and federal constitutions, though in actual fact, he acted more like an attorney for the Respondent.
The arguments from both sides are largely repetitions of those presented in May in the lower courts, with the exception of the Appellant putting in some fresh arguments. A new input was that the Sultan should not have taken upon himself to interpret the constitution like what he did in his press statement of Feb 5 that considered the posts of Menteri Besar and his exco vacant if they refused to resign. Interpretation of the constitution should be left to the court.
Another point was that as a constitutional monarch, the Ruler was duty bound to take advice only from his Menteri Besar – not any other including then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The bulwark of the Appellant’s case, as submitted in the lower courts, remains that the Sultan is not empowered under the constitution to dismiss a Menteri Besar, and that only the assembly, through a vote of confidence, can dismiss him. The Appellant also hammered home the point that the Court of Appeal’s rejection of Nizar as the rightful MB was flawed in that it had failed to take cognizance of the fundamental findings of High Court judge Aziz Rahim.
And the Respondent continues to maintain its contention that BN had the support of the majority of assemblymen and that the Sultan is entitled to determine which party had the majority support, stressing that nothing in the Perak constitution stipulates that such determination of support must be made in the assembly floor.
AG Gani Patail said the Ruler had taken upon himself to determine who had the majority support. He said: “A press statement issued by the Perak ruler revealed this, where he was satisfied that BN had the majority, and therefore, Nizar’s post – despite his refusal to resign – was deemed vacant”.
Note how Gani avoided using the word “dismiss” on Nizar. In fact, none of Zambry’s lawyers or Appellate Court judges had claimed that the Ruler had the power to dismiss Nizar. They only claimed that Nizar’s post had become vacant.
But without Nizar resigning, how could the post become vacant, and how could the Ruler appoint another Menteri Besar? This is the mother of all questions that the judges must answer before any one can rule that Nizar has lost his post.
EXTREME TREATMENT AGAINST NIZAR UNJUSTIFIED
On reflection of the Respondent’s case, perhaps we should explore a new perspective. Let us ask: what has Nizar done to deserve such extra-ordinary treatment – his support being ascertained by the Ruler personally, ordered to resign immediately, failing which his post was “deemed vacant”? Had Nizar caused our democratic system of government to come to a dead end, which would have been the case if he had lost the majority support and yet
a) He failed to advise the Ruler to dissolve the assembly, and
b) He refused to subject himself to a vote of no confidence?
Did Nizar do any of these? No! In fact, he did the opposite. He repeatedly advised the Ruler to dissolve the assembly due to a stalemate, but was turned down. He wanted an emergency session of the legislature to resolve the stalemate; that was also turned down.
Since Nizar had committed none of the sins against the letter and spirit of our constitution so to speak, what justification was there to subject him and his cabinet to such extreme treatment as described?
That begs these further questions: Why was the Ruler in such a hurry that he couldn’t wait for a short while longer to let the assembly meet to resolve the impasse? And why did he reject his Mentri Besar’s advice to dissolve the assembly when it was apparent that there was a political impasse – a classic case of instability which is always resolved by returning the mandate to the electorate? Granted that the Ruler has the discretionary power to withhold consent to a disolution of legislature, but should a constitutional monarch exercise that power without accountability?
The time has come for our highest court to put things right. This is a rare opportunity for our judiciary to redeem its tattered image and for the judges to shine with their judicial integrity.
The stake involved is so grave that whatever decisions they make, each and every one of the panel should have the courage and dignity to stand up for their views for which they must write their individual judgments, unlike the recent practice of hiding under a single judgment, claiming that to be unanimous.
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