Archive for September, 2007

Tun M is OK!

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 | 9:00 am @ SK

Contrary to widespread rumors, former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir is recovering from the post-op op and his condition remains stable.

"I know there are wild rumours about but as I said, please check here. We would never hide anything very major from you," Tun’s daughter Marina Mahathir said in her blog.

She calls upon everyone to continue praying for Tun, where he needs all that love to keep him going.

Please find the official media statement issued by Tun’s personal aide Sufi Yusoff.

MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Institut Jantung Negara, 24 September…. Tun Dr Mahathir remains stable in the intensive care at Institute Jantung Negara following his second surgical procedure last Saturday night.  He is conscious and continues to be on close monitoring.

IJN doctors are happy with his current progress.

Tun Dr Mahathir is able to receive visits from his immediate family members.

Does “separation of powers” still work in Malaysia? … (4)

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 | 12:38 am @ SK

So far, a few questions were raised and remain unanswered until we hear it from the horse’s mouth:

  1. Why the flip-flop from the Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim within 24 hours?
  2. As the Chief Justice, it’s downright impossible for him not to understand the doctrine "separation of powers" by subordinating the judiciary to the executive, why the Chief Justice needs a minister to defend his integrity on his behalf?
  3. Why does he owe an explanation to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz and not to the nation? Does he think that Nazri is more important than the nation? Don’t the people count?
  4. Who is Nazri to think that he is the minister for Chief Justice?

When the curtain falls, it has been affirmed that the doctrine "separation of powers" whereby the executive, legislature and judiciary form three separate branches of government, which can constitute a system of checks and balances aimed at preventing abuses of power without undue influence from any other source - no longer works in Malaysia.

Please join the walk for justice from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya to save the judiciary organised by Bar Council tomorrow (September 26) starting from 11am. (Click here for details)

Be prepared to stand up for and resurrects the independence of this country’s judiciary system back to its glory day which we believe in.

Does “separation of powers” still work in Malaysia? … (3)

Monday, September 24th, 2007 | 1:47 am @ SK

It’s disgraceful. It’s filthy. It’s wicked.
 
To continue with the previous list here, finally the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has spoken. He rejected calls for the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry to look into the ‘Lingam video’ controversy. Worse, he threatened to punish whistleblower without mentioning about the slightest possibility of any possible action taken if the allegation is proven to be truth.

Malaysiakini, on the other hand continues the pursuit to seek response from the Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, who is under attack to be the other person identified spoken to the senior laywer VK Lingam based on the context of the conversation.

Despite repetitive calls from public directly and indirectly asking the CJ to step down (Click here, here, here, here and here), however, he remains tight-lipped over the issue, with a simple response to Malaysiakini: "No comment".


(SOURCE: Malaysiakini, 21 September 2007)

Nazri the spokeperson?

As much as I wanted to continue to believe that the doctrine "separation of powers" still work in Malaysia, the next thing we found out is that, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz became the spoke-person for the Chief Justice(?!) and revealed that the CJ denied as being the person at the end of a telephone conversation.

"The judge called me to deny that he was the one talking to the lawyer," he said.

Indeed, the whole scenario really caught me into thinking, is the lure of power and greed that immense to sacrifice one’s dignity and integrity as opposed to truth and justice? Does public opinion still matter to the Government when we’re the one who voted them into power? Can we (this country) afford to lose the credibility and integrity of the judiciary system, hence causing foreign investors to shy away from investing in Malaysia?

It’s time to wake-up-Lah!

Meanwhile, there will be a peaceful rally from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya to save the judiciary organised by Bar Council this coming Wednesday (September 26). Details as below:

September 26, 2007 (Wednesday): The Putrajaya March

A Bar Council-sponsored March from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya will be held on the coming Cabinet Meeting Day.

The Purpose: To give a memo to the Cabinet calling for the setting up of a Royal Commission to investigate issues jeopardising the Judiciary.

The March:
- 09:00am: Chartered buses to leave Bar Council (for those who need transport)
- 11.00am: Meet at the staircase of Palace of Justice.
- Attire: Black-and-white attire, with jacket

The march is open to the Public to take part.

Do walk with Jeff Ooi, Rocky, Haris Ibrahim and many other Malaysians who care about this country.

Yang Amat Goblok

Monday, September 24th, 2007 | 12:31 am @ SK

The goblok minister Zainuddin Maidin gone haywire again, this time, his target is DAP for always criticising the police instead of helping them and its tendency to raise racial issues.

"Have we ever heard of the DAP asking the public to help the police? Never. They can only say the police are no good."

"As most of the police personnel are Malays, any action taken in a case is seen by the DAP as the use of Malay power over the non-Malays."

"Just because one or two cases highlighted by the DAP could not be solved, it retaliated by eroding public confidence in the police force."

Who’s actually politicizing the issue when it’s in fact ZAM who juxtaposed between majority police personnel are Malays and DAP is against the police force?

How are you going to compliment the police force when they’re not doing their job well, especially when it’s matters involving public security which affect their daily life? Pose that questions to any average joe to gauge their performance.

It’s like you as a sales person trying to convince the client that you’re selling a very good product but the main functions are not functioning. Try that and see who gets the fish.

I hope the least common sense in the goblok will prevail in the future, if not now, Yang Amat Goblok?

Globalization and new world

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 | 5:29 pm @ SK

From the Making Globalization Work by Joseph E. Stiglitz (winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics 2001) to the latest The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World by Alan Greenspan (one of the most famous economists in US), I’ve a great weekend.

Now about halfway through with the latest by Greenspan, I’d recommend these 2 books to nearly anyone who’re interested in financial markets, capitalism, global economics, and the role of U.S. foreign (and domestic) policy.

Post-op op for Tun M

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 | 4:09 pm @ SK

Last night, Tun Dr. Mahathir went through another operation undertaken by the same surgical team that performed the second bypass surgery on the former prime minister on September 4.

According to his daughter Marina Mahathir, doctors finally found what was causing Tun to be so slow in recovery and to constantly feel weak. After a meeting with Tun’s family, doctors decided to conduct the op last night itself.

Everything went as planned where doctors got the source of infection out. Tun is currently stable and has been put under routine post-cardiac surgery support.

Please find the official media statement issued by Tun’s personal aide Sufi Yusoff.

MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Institut Jantung Negara, 23 September….YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad has successfully undergone surgical wound debridement yesterday (Saturday, Sept 22) because of wound infection.

The surgery commenced at 11.30pm and ended at 2.30am. The procedure was undertaken by the same surgical team that performed the second coronary bypass surgery on Dr Mahathir at the IJN on September 4.

He is currently stable and has been put under routine post-cardiac surgery support.

He is expected to remain on support for at least  36-hours for post-operative care and will be put under close monitoring and observation by IJN doctors and nurses at the Intensive Care Unit.

The next 72-hours will be the crucial period in his post-operative care.

As next 72-hours is going to be crucial for the post-op, please join Marina and family to pray for Tun’s speedy recovery.

After Nurin Jazlin Jazmin, what’s next?

Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 | 12:06 pm @ SK

Right, that’s the question: What’s next?

Our PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he is sad and angry.

The Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said it won’t happen again.

MCA Public Complaints and Services Department head Michael Chong offers RM20,000 reward for information leading to the killer.

Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan said Nurin Jazlin Jazimin’s parents may be investigated for possible negligence under the Child Protection Act.

For the next 14 days, prepare yourself to be swarmed with follow-up reports on pursuit of the unknown killer and more "passing the buck" games to come with politicians joining the fray with official statements.

As for the general public, many of us are ever ready to jump into any next hot topic and Malaysians never look back since then, that’s how forgetful ordinary Malaysians are. This time, we must help to make a difference. Continue to assert public pressure into the authorities and ensure they walk the talk and being held accountable for any action under their jurisdiction.

The media also has an important role to play via investigating and reporting on these deaths so as to allay distrust of the police. More than this, the media should also provoke debate on the causes of crime and on the best ways to curb crime while upholding our freedoms and rights.

Yet none of these issues has been investigated by the media thus far. They have merely reported on the incidences of crime, and the court cases about them; not on the underlying social causes of crime.

Besides, how the police force conducts itself face-to-face the crime-prone communities, and whether there develops trust and confidence between the police and the public, are also critical.

Having said that, the Government should aware that the more radical approach to resolving crime is to address its root causes, hence, the socio-economic problems of criminals, often from lower class and minority backgrounds, should be addressed. Their basic needs and social problems arising from poverty should be tackled sympathetically or otherwise, everyone’s dream of having a crime-free society in Malaysia will remain an elusive dream.

Meanwhile, I’m glad to find out that the blog which was initially created in search of Nurin Jazlin and now dedicated to the memory of her will be retained and continues to be updated with a new mission: To provide a new discussion channel with issues relating to the gruesome murder of children.

Now that Nurin Jazlin was confirmed dead on Friday, 21st September 2007, the blog, by an overwhelming requests for it to be retained, will now have a new mission. Its new mission would now be to act as the channel for the parents to speak up on any issues relating to the gruesome murder of their child. We would now would like to have it online till the capturing and sentencing of the maniac by the law prevailing in the country, of which we hope to be equitable to the crime it (definately not he or she) committed.

That’s how blog can be utilized as an effective community tool in combating crimes.

Nurin Jazlin Jazimin: A gruesome murder

Friday, September 21st, 2007 | 5:45 pm @ SK

[UPDATED VERSION] Latest posting on the blog dedicated to the memory of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin revealed that her parents have accepted her death due to the overwhelming scientific evidence produced.

Due to the overwhelming scientific evidence produced, the parents of Nurin Jazlin have decided to accept the body they inspected as of their daughter’s.

The body will be claimed this morning and funeral (burial) would probably be held after Friday prayers today.

Al-Fatihah.

Meanwhile, it’s heartening to note that during her burial ceremony at around 2.25pm, 400 people including family, relatives, friends and well-wishers regardless of race and age expressed their condolences at the madrasah.

[ORIGINAL VERSION at 01:15am, 21 September 2007] While little Nurin Jazlin Jazimin’s parents were asked to perform another DNA test to positively identify the girl’s identity, I’m extremely appalled to read the cause of death as reported by Bernama.

A post-mortem revealed the murderer had inserted a cucumber and a brinjal in her private parts, forcing the rupture of her rectum and infected with bacteria, resulting in her gruesome death.

It’s grueling to read what human can do to each other and now, we even have this latest theory of the perfect human race in which sounds like something unspeakable, something unimaginable, something which is very unlikely to happen, if the theory was to be mentioned a few years ago.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported the murder as the country’s most horrifying crime in years.

Tun M continues to improve

Friday, September 21st, 2007 | 4:09 pm @ SK

The progress of Tun Dr. Mahathir at IJN has been good with better food appetite while he continues to be monitored at the ICU.

As many questions were being asked on Tun’s progress, hence IJN produces another latest statement to update the public.

Please find the official media statement issued by Tun’s personal aide Sufi Yusoff.

MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Institut Jantung Negara, 21 September…. YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad continues to be monitored at the Intensive Care Unit.

His appetite is improving and consuming meals on his own. His vital parameters continue to be stable.

Doctors are focusing on intensive exercises on arms and legs as well as physiotherapy to optimise his respiratory function and to increase muscle strength.

Tun Dr Mahathir will continue to be under observation at the ICU.

Does “separation of powers” still work in Malaysia? … (2)

Friday, September 21st, 2007 | 2:02 pm @ SK

In Japan, ministers either apologize or resign, being held accountable for their actions.

In Malaysia, when video clips and audio conversation revealed a severe flaw in the judiciary system, the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is unperturbed, the DPM Najib Tun Razak said the Government will first confirm the authenticity of the video, the Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said that "no criminal offence appears to have been committed", the case gone unreported by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) since the public exposure and ….. the list goes on.

Tell me about it.