February 2009 – Page 2

A question of morality

February 21, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/khalid-samad/18793-a-question-of-morality
Published by The Malaysian Insider

21 February 2009

FEB 20 — I was told that Selangor Pas released a statement which, among others, requested that Elizabeth Wong be investigated for any moral wrongdoings as a result of this “scandal??? of her nude photos and, if found to be guilty, she is then to be “suitably??? punished. The statement also talks of the need for all PR elected representatives to be morally upright so as to be examples to be emulated by all.

Unfortunately I have to comment on this statement which I believe is very ill-advised. Before that I do have to clarify that the meeting held by Selangor Pas prior to the release of the statement was a meeting of the Dewan Harian, which is made up of the state commissioner and all other appointed office bearers. It was not the full state meeting as such.

Perak Sultan has no powers to ask Nizar to quit

February 20, 2009 by johnlee_my

Published by Malaysiakini

According to the Perak constitution, the ruler has a personal discretion in the performance of two functions – the appointment of a menteri besar and the withholding of consent to a request for the dissolution of the legislative assembly.
MCPX

On Feb 4, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, the mentri besar, was granted an audience by the sultan to request for the ruler’s consent to dissolve the Perak State Assembly.

The next day, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also requested for an audience with the sultan as the Perak BN chief and consent was granted for him to present himself before the ruler.

The World Bank has also failed

February 20, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/19/world-bank-reform-recession

Published by guardian.co.uk

Thursday 19 February 2009

As we reconstruct the banking system, we must look to this international body’s disastrous neoliberal policies

Reconstruction of the banking system must extend to the World Bank. Its influence is all-pervasive. Governments and pressure groups hang on its words. But its persisting failure to deal with the huge scale of poverty in the developing world, together with its failure to deal with, or even report, predatory corporate forces, including banking systems, places it at the storm-centre of world recovery and reform.

The bank does not have capability to lead recovery from deep recession. Getting rich quick has meant exploiting many millions on the lowest incomes and failing to satisfy their basic human rights. This subversive motive must be ascribed to the reach and dominance of neo-liberal economic ideology in the last 40 years.

Dr Azly Rahman’s Perak Plague

February 20, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/

THE PERAK PLAGUE or, Should I too cross over for those millions of Ringgit?

That is a two million ringgit question. Or maybe fifty million these days.

How much does one get for ‘crossing over’ these days? I do not know. But if there are millions of ringgit involved, this nation will continue to rot as corrupt politicians continue switching allegiances, getting appointments to good positions, and making horror decisions for you and your children.

We must destroy this culture and heal anew. There is no choice but a total destruction of this culture.

We were convinced things will be better after the elections. We were sure that the revolution was going to benefit the masses and no party hopping would occur.

Sultans Must Read Their Subjects Well

February 20, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://www.bakrimusa.com/archives/sultans-must-read-their-subjects-well

The current tussle between the Sultan of Perak and his Pakatan Chief Minister is not the first, nor will it be the last, such crises in the country.

Contrary to the assertions of constitutional scholars and legal practitioners, this is not a legal issue. Its solution does not lie with the court system. Nor does it require of us to return to the old feudal ways of blind loyalty to the sultan, as some traditionalists would wish.

I am not surprised that Sultan Raja Azlan, a former chief justice, would view this as a legal matter. However, the reputation and salvation of Raja Azlan specifically, and that of the institution of sultans generally, would require of him to look beyond the law for a solution. Anything less and he would risk our country degenerating into another Thailand, cursed with endless constitutional and political crises. Coming as it is during these trying economic times, it would also be a major distraction, one we could do without.

Don’t betray the voters, YBs!

February 19, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=47229

Published by The Borneo Post

“IT’S so hard to believe but it’s all coming back to me now.???

There you are the song, It’s All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine Dion which made it to the billboard in the 1990s.

The current political fiasco in Perak, a reminiscent of what happened in Sabah in 1994, has made the headlines these few days, no thanks to the three state assemblymen who deserted their parties to be independents.

The three, PKR state assemblymen Mohd Osman Jailu and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and DAP’s Hee Yit Foong who played hide -and-seek eventually showed up at the press conference on Tuesday by incoming prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who claimed that the BN had the enough numbers to seize power from the mere 10-month old Pakatan Rakyat-led state government.

In 1994, the PBS-led government in Sabah managed to secure only a razor-thin majority of 25 state seats against the BN’s 23 and with the defection of few PBS state assemblymen to BN, the BN eventually seized power from the PBS.

Who’s afraid of the rakyat?

February 19, 2009 by johnlee_my

http://www.thenutgraph.com/whos-afraid-of-the-rakyat

Published by The Nutgraph

ONE of the most lucid things I’ve read above the din of the political fiasco in Perak is Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s statement about respecting Sultan Azlan Shah’s decision.

Following the Perak Ruler’s decision, the PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar, who is himself of royal lineage, said, “I don’t question the decision of the Sultan of Perak in not consenting to the dissolution of the state assembly as it is the Sultan’s right.”

However, Nik Aziz said what needed to be reviewed and questioned was what led to the Sultan’s decision. Nik Aziz was ostensibly referring to how it came about that Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons deserted their parties, adding: “There must be something that’s not right, and planned by certain quarters.”

Perhaps Nik Aziz’s statement calls on the DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to be self-analytical on the fall of the Perak Pakatan Rakyat government. But I believe his statement calls us to ask one other thing: What led to the Sultan’s decision? In other words, how did our respected former Supreme Court Lord President arrive at the decision he did?

“The World Economic Crisis and Asia” by Prof Jomo Sundaram

February 18, 2009 by johnlee_my

The Public Seminar entitled “The World Economic Crisis and Asia” by Dr. Jomo Kwane Sundaram was organized by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD) on the 16th February 2009 at the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Malaysia.

“The World Economic Crisis and Asia”

by Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, and Member, United Nations Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System

The documentation is provided with the compliments of:

Was the removal of Nizar constitutional?

February 18, 2009 by johnlee_my

15.02.2009

At the core of the Perak crisis is the issue of whether the forced removal of Mentri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin from his post was constitutional. If it was not, then Nizar is still the Mentri Besar.

The answer to this question would depend on a) whether Nizar had lost the support of the majority in the state assembly, and if he had, b) whether the Sultan had the power to dismiss him.

Let us firstly look at the issue of whether Nizar had lost his majority.

Kes Kugan: Prasangka tersirat menjadi tersurat?

February 17, 2009 by johnlee_my

Kes Kugan Ananthan mati dalam lokap polis malangnya telah dipolitikkan oleh segelintir tertentu dengan mengamalkan kacamata etnik.

Bagi pemimpin dan penyokong kumpulan Hindraf misalannya, ia satu lagi bukti bahawa orang India Malaysia terpinggir dan asyik dianiayai pihak berkuasa.

Petikan di bawah menonjolkan pendirian Hindraf yang emosional serta lebih sudu dari kuah:

“Hentikan hukuman ke atas kaum India Malaysia – Kugan a/l Ananthan berusia 22 tahun didapati mati semasa dalam tahanan di balai polis Subang Jaya. Apa musibah yang sedang melanda kaum India Malaysia sekarang? Tidakkah lebih senang sahaja kalau kerajaan pimpinan Umno sekaligus tangkap dan bunuh kami semua sepertimana yang dilakukan oleh pihak Nazi semasa Holocaust dulu? Sebab kami cuma warga negara kelas ketiga yang dipandang jijik, bukan? Lihatlah kecederaan pada badan Kugan yang dikenakan tatkala di balai polis … dalam zaman moden, takkanlah kekejaman sedemikian masih boleh berjadi, kecuali kepada kaum India masih yang tidak diterima di negara ini. Adakah perasaan timbang rasa hanya dihulurkan kepada saudara yang sama warna kulit, bangsa dan agama?