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PR reps tell tales of money politics

February 6th, 2009
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“money politics” is a term introduced to well by Malaysia (well, to be precise, by a political party in Malaysia). While the rest of the world uses more the common term – bribery, we invented a new term. Malaysia Boleh, of course!

Interestingly, “money politics” is not limited to intra-party on-goings only, if we are to believe the words of some Pakatan Rakyat leaders. RM60 million!!!! Seriously??? Like that means politician can be a career worth considering for our younger generation! Let’s face it, not everyone will be Tiger Woods or Ronaldo or Bill Gates. But everyone can try to be a politician. it does not really need any qualifications nor technical skills.

The first report sees Perak Pakatan reps saying:

IPOH: Five Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen have claimed they have been approached by agents to cross over to Barisan Nasional.

They are State Assembly Speaker and Tronoh assemblyman V. Siva­kumar, Sungkai assemblyman A. Sivanesan, Hutan Melintang assemblyman S. Kesavan, Malim Nawar assemblyman Keshvinder Singh and Buntong assemblyman A. Subra­maniam [all Indians. Interesting!].

Except for Sivakumar, the others claimed they were contacted in recent days.

Sivakumar said he was offered RM60mil to cross over last year before his appointment as Speaker.

Sivanesan said he was initially approached before he was sworn in last year, and on Tuesday he received a call to persuade him to cross over.

He said the caller said: “Tunggu apa lagi? Kerajaan dah lari sana. Kalau abang setuju, saya datang sekarang juga bawa abang duduk seminggu.” (What are you waiting for? The Government has changed. If you agree to cross over, I will take you into hiding for a week.)

Sivanesan said he was first approached last year by a man called Amir, and a meeting was arranged after he informed the party leadership.

He said he met Amir, accompanied by two others, at a fast-food outlet in Bidor, and was offered RM5mil and a seat on the state executive council.

He claimed Amir contacted him after he was sworn in and doubled the offer.

Keshwinder Singh said he was offered RM10mil plus the position of the Perak MIC chief and a place on the state executive council about a week ago. [Perak MIC post??? G. Rajoo must be seething with anger!]

“A man who said he was acting on behalf of an Umno leader came to my office in Kampar with the proposition,” he said.

All five assemblymen were present at the High Court as a show of support for Sivakumar who has filed a suit seeking to uphold the resignation of Changkat Jering, Behrang and Jelapang state assemblymen, thus getting the seats to be declared vacant.

The same paper reported another case by Kedah PR reps:

Two PKR assemblymen in Kedah claimed they were offered money to leave Pakatan Rakyat and become Independents after the March general election.

Lim Soo Nee (Kulim) and Tan Show Kang (Sidam) claimed that the offer of several millions of ringgit was made many times by the same man.

“The man last offered me money about a month ago. He offered a large sum of money to leave Pakatan Rakyat and become an Independent assemblyman. I do not know the man,” Tan told reporters at the official declaration ceremony of Pokok Sena as the state’s 12th district yesterday.

Lim said he was also offered a large sum of money but the man stopped making the offer after several months.

Lim and Tan said they reported the matter to the PKR headquarters.

These allegations are being bandied now probably to drive the point that the defectors in Perak were offered similar propositions as well.

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Now only want to have second cabinet committee meeting?

February 6th, 2009
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Guess what, the first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Indian community development was held back in July last year. After that it was supposed to held in September. Strangely, there was no news about the committee meeting anywhere. And now, Star reports Samy Vellu as saying that the second meeting will be held in 23rd February. Let’s see the article:

Issues affecting the Indian community, including equity participation, are likely [LIKELY??? Then what the point of having the committee???] to be discussed at the second meeting of the Cabinet Committee for the Development of Indians on Feb 23, said MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

He said the committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, would discuss the MIC’s proposals, including the setting-up of a mechanism to increase Indians’ equity participation from the current 1.2% to 3% in 2020.

… The MIC had suggested that a mechanism be established within the government-owned Permodalan Nasional Bhd to assist poor Indians to buy shares through 50% grants and 50% loans from the Government [So, will be it finalised in the 2nd meeting or pushed to next meeting?].

Samy Vellu said several decisions were taken at the first Cabinet Committee meeting last July 1 including streamlining the procedure for bringing in Hindu, Sikh and other priests from India [which took how long implemented?], agreeing to a policy of converting all partially-aided Tamil schools to fully-aided schools [note the words – “agreeing” to a “policy”] and increasing the number of Public Service Department scholarships for Indians studying in foreign universities to 163 students [its well documented that this happened before the meeting after MIC leader went to plead with the PSD].

Other decisions include enabling those who scored 9As and above in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination to receive scholarships to study in local universities [this is for all students, not Indians only – says MCA!], recognising the MIC-run Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology University as among the institutes where scholarship students could enrol and agreeing to set up a special task force under the Home Ministry to deal with the 30,000 Indians born in Malaysia who are still without documents [hopefully the task force will present how many cases it has solved and the problems faced].

He said the Government had also approved RM80mil over the last 18 months to redevelop 50 Tamil schools which were in a dilapidated state.

And if you noticed, Samy said the RM80 millions for schools were to “REDEVELOP” Tamil schools. Can he specify how much of the funds is for “repair” works and how much is for constructing “new” buildings? There’s a big difference between the words being used. For example, in SJKT Vallambrosa, the money given was for “repairs” and not for adding new buildings. So, how to solve the problem of overcrowding in the school?

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SA Vigneswaran’s MIYDF to submit recommendations

February 3rd, 2009
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After leaving MIC, SA Vigneswaran tries to remain in the picture. His Malaysian Indian Youth Development Foundation (MIYDF) is compiling a set of comprehensive, detailed and thorough recommendations to tackle the issue of ‘inadequate custodial procedures and practices’.

MCPX

According to MIYDF chairperson SA Vigneswaran, the recommendations are being compiled by the foundation’s human rights committee and would be submitted to the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) before the opening of the Parliament session on Feb 16.

He said the compilation comprises background to the problem, the effects and the perception of the Malaysian society on the police force.

The recommendations is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the police force by ensuring that officers conduct the investigation professionally and within the provisions of the law.

“The important role played by the police in society is appreciated and acknowledged by the society at large.

“But notably such appreciation has waned over the years precisely because of incidents of police misconduct that went unchecked in the recent years,” Vigneswaran said in a statement.

“Therefore, those who abuse their power by using excessive or even deadly force must be held accountable. Although it is a cliche that police aggression is an inevitable byproduct for crackdown of crime, it is time, this perception is shifted.

“We should not choose between curtailing violence and treating people right, between enforcing the law and upholding civil rights. The police can strike a balance by acting within the ambits of the law, for example like in the United Kingdom,” he added.

Vigneswaran, who is the former MIC Youth chief, pointed out that the recommendations are not aimed at interfering or weakening the police force.

He said it is to instil responsibility, professionalism, and accountability in their day to day encounter with the suspect, detainee and the public in general.

Interestingly, why is the recommendations is being submitted to BNBBC? May Vigneswaran is aware of the fate of previous reports/memorandums/findings submitted to the “proper” channels? 🙂

Whatever it is, good luck to MIYDF.

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Who is MIC Youth supporting for presidency?

February 3rd, 2009
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Rarely do we see MIC Youth (or any other wing) offering advice to the President, at least publicly. So, it came as a surprise when acting coordinator of MIC Youth made the following comments (Malaysiakini) :

MIC president S Samy Vellu must not only choose the right time to relinquish his post but also pick the right candidate to succeed him.

MCPX

In making this call, MIC Youth chief T Mohan said the issue of seniority should not arise when choosing a successor in order to ensure that the candidate is a person who would be able to push the party forward.

“Just because a leader has been there for a long time, it doesn’t mean that he should be handed the top post on a silver platter. MIC Youth does not believe in this practice.

“The successor should be a person who is young and vibrant,” he was quoted as saying by Tamil daily Malaysia Nanban yesterday.

However, Mohan did not mention if the Youth wing had any particular leader in mind whom it considers as the best replacement for Samy Vellu who has been at the helm for three decades.

Its interesting to note that the advisor for MIC Youth is none other than Vel Paari, Samy Vellu’s son – who is presumably  “young and vibrant”.

Current VP is Palanivel. Its expected that Dr S. Subramaniam will challenge Palanivel. Other potential candidates include Sothinathan and Dato Subra. Veterans will be Palanivel and Dato Subra. Relatively young is Dr S Subra and Sothinathan. Younger still will be Devamany and Saravanan, the two deputy ministers.

Of course, if Muthupalaniappan succeeds, all this will be meaningless!

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Uthaya’s sedition trial postponed due to diabetes

February 3rd, 2009
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NST, Star, and Malaysiakini reported similar stuff:

ISA detainee P. Uthayakumar’s sedition trial has been postponed to April 28 to allow him to undergo treatment for diabetes.

He obtained a court order to refer him to a government hospital. He had initially asked to be sent to a private hospital (NST quoted Gleneagles)  but the request was rejected.

Earlier, at 10.50am, he aas brought to the KL Sessions Court at, wearing a white shirt and torn pants.

He hugged and shook hands with his mother, fiancee and supporters. Talking to reporters, he claimed he hurt his toe while in detention which is now turning black and could be amputated. He asked the prison authority to send him to Gleneagles Hospital for treatment but was ignored.

He also asked the ISA Advisory Board to release the other three lawyers, claiming that only he and his brother Waytha Moorthy were responsible for Hindraf. The rest are just legal advisors and not in charge of daily affairs.

The Star:

The ISA detainee wanted a private hospital but the court order gave him a government hospital.

He was brought to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for trial for sedition for publishing material on a website alleging “ethnic cleansing” of Malaysian Indians.

Earlier Tuesday,Uthayakumar had told reporters that he had asked the prison authorities to send him to a private hospital to attend to his swollen left leg but that they had not responded.

“My foot is darkening which shows acute diabetes. It is spreading to my toes. It can be chronic and shows risk of amputation.

“So today I asked my lawyers to get a court order so that I can get medical attention in a priovate hospital,” he said.

He also told reporters that he had informed the prison authorities that only he and his brother P. Waytha Moorthy, now in self-imposed exile abroad, were responsible for Hindraf.

He said the three other lawyers detained with him under ISA – M. Manoharan, V. S. Ganapathy Rao, K. Kengadhadran – were mere legal advisers and not involved in the day-to-day operations of the now-banned Hindraf.

The sedition trial against Uthayakumar is over a letter posted on a website linked to Hindraf. The original letter, addressed to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, highlighted alleged marginalisation of Indian Malaysians.

The letter also sought the British government’s help to move an emergency UN resolution condemning ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Malaysia.

He had been charged with sedition on Dec 11, 2007, and was on RM50,000 bail before being arrested two days later under the ISA, which provides for detention without trial.

Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a jail term not exceeding three years, or both for a first offence.

During the last hearing on Oct 20, 2008, the court heard arguments on alleged bias by the Attorney-General.

Defence counsel M Manogaran had claimed that the AG had sought to prosecute Uthayakumar over the letter as a result of “bad blood between them”.

As such he had said that the consent form signed by the AG was invalid.

Sessions Judge Sabariah Othman then adjourned the hearing to today to hear further submissions.

More than 45 people had gathered at the court complex this morning to support Uthayakumar.

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