Posts Tagged ‘PKR’

MK report on Hindraf trio discharged from sedition

November 27th, 2007
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Hindraf trio discharged from sedition
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75273
Soon Li Tsin
Nov 26, 07 12:45pm

Three key leaders of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were today discharged without being acquitted by the Klang Sessions Court from the sedition charge they faced. 

Judge Zunaidah Mohd Idris ordered the discharge as the prosecution had failed to submit the original Tamil transcript of the alleged seditious remarks made by P Uthayakumar, P Waythamoorthy and VS Ganapathy Rao.

The prosecution led by DPP Ishak Yusoff has also failed to get the Malay translation of the allegedly seditious speeches officially certified by relevant bodies.

“The court and the (defence) lawyers are not convinced that the speeches were seditious because the Malay translation is not clear.

“What is important is the actual Tamil text with a certified translation (into Malay). Is the prosecution basing the offence on the original words in Tamil or the translated version in Malay?

“I believe the gist of the offence is not stated here. I cannot see what (allegedly seditious words) the prosecution is focusing on,” Zunaidah said, before discharging the trio.

She, however, said the prosecution can recharge the three once the documentation has been sorted out.

They were originally charged last Friday under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act, based on police investigations pertaining to reports lodged against them in relation to their speeches made between 8.30am and 11.15pm at a forum in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor on Nov 16.

The offence is punishable with a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a maximum jail sentence of three years, or both.

‘Return bail money’

Zunaidah had also ruled that bail money held by the court over the weekend was to be returned.

Hindraf legal adviser Uthayakumar and lawyer Ganapathy had posted bail of RM800 each on Friday, but chairperson Waythamoorthy had refused the bail offer as a mark of protest.

The trio were represented by a team of lawyers including M Manoharan, A Sivanesan, S Surendran, Gobind Singh Deo, R Kenghadaran and M Kulasegaran.

Amer Hamzah Arshad and Ramdas Tikamdas appeared for the Bar Council and National Human Rights Society respectively.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng were among political leaders who were present in court today.

A crowd of about 100 inside the courtroom erupted in cheers when the judge discharged the trio. They were then hoisted on the shoulders of supporters and paraded victoriously down Jalan Dato Hamzah – also known as Little India – bringing traffic to a standstill.

A larger crowd – estimated to be around 4,000 – had gathered at the nearby Padang Chetty watched by an equally strong presence of the Federal Reserve Unit. The crowd dispersed after several speeches were made by the Hindraf leaders.

During an impromptu press conference in front of the Sri Nagara Thandayuthapani temple adjacent to the field, Waythamoorthy broke his three-day hunger strike amidst cheers from supporters.

“It (fasting) was a good experience,” he told Malaysiakini with a smile.

His brother Uthayakumar insisted that he will “continue to speak the truth” and said he was not deterred by the sedition charge.

hindraf leaders discharged over sedition act

November 27th, 2007
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Discharge for trio

By WANI MUTHIAH

source

KLANG: The three Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) members charged with sedition at the Sessions Court here last Friday were given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the same court yesterday. The trio had been charged under the Sedition Act for allegedly uttering words to incite hatred in their speeches at a gathering in Batang Berjuntai on Nov 16. 

In delivering her decision, Judge Zunaidah Mohd Idris said the charge against lawyers P. Uthayakumar, P. Waythamoorthy and V.S. Ganapathi Rao appeared to be ambiguous because the prosecution had failed to provide original transcripts of the Tamil speeches. Only uncertified Malay translations of the speeches were attached to the charge sheets. According to Zunaidah, the prosecution should have transcribed the speeches in the original language first before translating them into Malay and an accredited translator must also certify the transcription and translation.  Since the translation was not certified, it could not be known if it was an accurate version of the Tamil speeches made by the three defendants. 

All these factors, said Zunaidah, resulted in the court being unclear and unconvinced about the charge brought against the three.  She said she was unable to see the focal point of the charge even after thoroughly perusing all its pros and cons. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusof, who received a sound thrashing from the defence team, made up of six lawyers including M. Manoharan, A. Sivanesan, Gobind Singh Deo and G.K. Ganesan, said the original transcripts would be provided during the trial. Ishak said there were precedents that supported the prosecution’s contention that it was not necessary to provide transcripts of the original speech at the plea-recording stage. He said the original transcripts would be tendered when hearing began and the translator would be called in as a witness to defend the accuracy of his translation. 

Gobind Singh asked why the prosecution had to wait until the trial to produce the transcripts of the original speech. Ganesan explained to the court that a Malay word had multiple meanings in Tamil and said this further questioned the accuracy of the charge as it was based on uncertified translations of the original speeches. Meanwhile, Manoharan noted that the prosecution had failed to adhere to Zunaidah’s instructions on Friday to attach the Tamil transcripts of the speeches to the charge sheet and asked why it had failed to follow the judge’s instructions. 

Ramdas Tikamdas and Amer Hamzah Arshad held watching briefs for the National Human Rights Society (Hakam) and the Bar Council respectively. Ramdas said that given the obvious ambiguity of the charge and the prosecution's non-compliance of a direct order, the court should lean towards a decision that upheld the fundamental liberties enshrined in the Federal Constitution. PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also at the courts to see Uthayakumar, Waythamoorthy, and Ganapathi. Later, the Hindraf leaders addressed about 3,000 supporters who had gathered outside the court complex. 

Uthayakumar said he had merely presented a slideshow in Batang Berjuntai showing what was actually happening on the ground and what was being said by those at the top. “They cannot accept this and decided to call it seditious,” he said.  

Waythamoorthy, who had refused bail on Friday as a sign of protest, said the movement had planned the rally as a peaceful gathering to hand over a petition for the Queen but the police had refused to issue a permit. “Bus permits for those travelling from outstation were also cancelled.”

selangor govt replies to padang jawa temple demolition

November 27th, 2007
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this is the response from selangor govt which came a week after the demolition. let’s see what is hindraf’s reply. thanks to “killer” for highlighting this.

ISU PEROBOHAN KUIL HINDU DI RIMBA JAYA
Tuesday, November 06 @ 01:47:50 MYT

source

Kerajaan Negeri Selangor ingin menjelaskan kekeliruan yang ditimbulkan oleh pihak yang berkepentingan politik, terutamanya PKR, yang telah menyebarkan maklumat melalui Sistem Pesanan Ringkas (SMS) serta menghasut penganut-penganut Hindu di Malaysia untuk bertindak tidak mengikut peraturan.

Adalah perlu dinyatakan bahawa tanah setinggan Rimba Jaya, Shah Alam bukanlah milik kerajaan negeri seperti yang didakwa. Sebaliknya ia dimiliki sebuah syarikat swasta yang kemudiannya gulung tikar dan diletakkan di bawah Danaharta.

Danaharta kemudiannya membenarkan sebuah syarikat baru mengambil alih tanah tersebut. Berikutan pengambil alihan ini, syarikat tersebut perlu memajukan kawasan yang diambil alih bagi mendapatkan kembali pulangan modal yang telah dikeluarkan ketika mengambil alih tanah ini.

Oleh kerana di atas tanah tersebut terdapat 1121 setinggan yang tinggal, maka Kerajaan Negeri Selangor telah mengenakan syarat supaya syarikat tersebut menyediakan rumah-rumah kos rendah dengan subsidi RM 7, 000.00 sekeluarga/seunit kepada semua keluarga setinggan.

Pada peringkat awal syarikat tidak mahu membina rumah kos rendah dan rumah ibadat kepada umat Islam dan Hindu.

Namun Kerajaan Negeri bertegas bahawa kawasan itu tidak bolah dimajukan selagi syarikat pemaju tidak mengemukakan pelan yang meliputi pembinaan rumah kos rendah serta menyediakan kawasan tapak untuk surau dan kuil secara percuma dan sah.

Setelah syarikat bersetuju dengan syarat yang dikenakan, Kerajaan Negeri telah mengeluarkan notis pertama pada 2005.

Walau bagaimanapun penduduk tidak bersetuju dengan tawaran pemilik tanah yang dibuat melalui Kerajaan Negeri. Dalam hal ini Kerajaan Negeri telah menjadi orang tengah untuk berunding untuk mendapatkan penyelesaian yang menguntungkan kedua belah pihak.

Setelah diadakan rundingan, lapan puluh peratus (80%) penduduk bersetuju dengan tawaran tersebut. Mereka berpindak ke rumah Council yang telah disediakan di Shah Alam juga.

Apabila notis kedua dikeluarkan, terdapat 11 pemilik rumah tidak bersetuju dan memfailkan kes ini di Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam. Perbicaraan telah dijalankan di antara peguam pemilik tanah dengan peguam setinggan.

Keputusan mahkamah mengatakan bahawa setinggan perlu kosongkan kawasan tersebut dan pemilik tanah berhak bersihkan kawasan tanah tersebut. Setinggan memfailkan permohonan ke Mahkamah Tinggi dan keputusan memihak kepada pemilik tanah. Pihak setinggan sekali lagi memfailkan kes ke Mahkamah Tinggi Rayuan. Keputusan tetap menyebelahi kepada pemilik tanah kerana itu adalah tanah persendirian.

Pemilik tanah telah memohon bantuan kerajaan negeri untuk membersihkan kawasan tersebut dan kerajaan Negeri bertanggungjawab mengikut Akta Kanun Tanah Negara membantu proses pembersihan tersebut. Kerajaan negeri sekali menyatakan bahawa pembersihan ini hanya dilakukan jika tapak kuil disediakan dan rumah kos rendah mesti dibina.

Setelah pemaju menyediakan tapak kuil tersebut barulah notis ketiga dikeluarkan pada 3 Oktober 2007.

Penyediaan tapak kuil ini adalah persetujuan yang telah pun dinyatakan oleh pemilik kuil dan juga telah dipersetujui lebih awal oleh oleh Mendiang Dato’ K Sivalinggam dalam mesyuarat EXCO Kerajaan Negeri tahun lalu. Kedua-duanya memberi persetujuan dengan syarat tapak kuil baru disediakan sebelum dirobohkan tapak sedia ada.

Hakikatnya kerajaan Negeri telah memberi peluang selama 3 tahun untuk proses pemindahan dijalankan secara teratur dan baik.

Kerajaan Negeri terpaksa mengambil tindakan perobohan mengikut Undang-undang Kanun Tanah Negara untuk membenarkan pembangunan dibuat. PBT tidak mahu dituduh tidak mengikut arahan mahkamah.

Pemaju juga telah sanggup membayar ganti rugi, yang mungkin ada, untuk pemindahan kuil.

Malangnya, pihak pembangkang telah mempengaruhi penganut Hindu dari luar supaya datang untuk berkumpul di kuil sehingga sami kuil itu sendiri tidak boleh masuk ke kuil pada hari ini.

Kerajaan Negeri sebenarnya telah memberi banyak masa dan peluang.

Untuk makluman Penganut hindu di Selangor, Kerajaan Negeri telah menghalalkan beberapa kuil haram seperti yang telah dicadangkan oleh Pertubuhan Hindu Sanggam. Malah premium tanah yang dikenakan juga adalah minimum.

Tuduhan mengatakan Kerajaan Negeri tidak membantu agama lain adalah tidak benar. Kerajaan Negeri telah menyediakan kawasan yang besar di Batu Caves tanpa gangguan Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT).

Malah Kerajaan Negeri telah menyediakan peruntukan sebanyak RM 3 juta untuk rumah ibadat bukan Islam.

Komitmen kerajaan Negeri untuk membantu menyediakan kemudahan kepada rumah Ibadat tidak perlu dipertikaikan. Adalah menjadi menjadi kewajipan Kerajaan Negeri Selangor menyediakan kemudahan beribadat kepada semua kaum berdasarkan kebebasan beragama.

Kepada penganut agama Hindu, Kerajaan Negeri Selangor merasakan bahawa tindakan yang dibuat adalah mengikut undang-undang dan peraturan.

Harapan kami bahawa penganut Hindu boleh membina rumah Ibadah setelah mendapat kelulusan dari pertubuhan Hindu Sanggam. Kerajaan Negeri tiada halangan memberi kelulusan.

Janganlah kita terpengaruh dengan orang yang mempunyai kepentingan politik kerana agama tidak sepatutnya dipergunakan untuk mendapat keuntungan politik murahan.

Semoga tuhan mengetahui apa dilakukan dan memberi kekuatan kepada kita menegakkan kebenaran.

Kerajaan Negeri juga ingin mengucapkan selamat menyambut Hari Deepavali kepada semua penganut agama Hindu.

Sekian, terima kasih

Dikeluarkan oleh,
Sekretariat Akhbar Kerajaan Negeri Selangor
03-55447456

Hindraf trio discharged from sedition

November 26th, 2007
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Hindraf trio discharged from sedition
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75273
Nov 26, 07 12:45pm

Three key leaders of Hindraf were today discharged without being acquitted by the Klang Sessions Court from the sedition charge they faced.

Judge Zunaidah Mohd Idris ordered the discharge as the prosecution had failed to submit the Tamil translation of the alleged seditious remarks made by P Uthayakumar, P Waythamoorthy and V Ganapathy Rao.

The trio were charged under Section 4 (1B) of the Sedition Act on Friday based on police investigations pertaining to reports lodged against them in relation to their speeches made at a recent forum in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor.
DPP Ishak Yusuff had argued in court that their whole speeches were seditious.

However the cased was adjourned to today after there were some discrepancies in the charge sheet and the prosecutors submissions.

Hindraf legal adviser Uthayakumar and lawyer Ganapathy were released on a RM800 bail while the moverment’s chairperson Waythamoorthy refused to the bail offer as a mark of protest.

Translation not clear

This morning Sessions judge Zunaidah told the prosecutors that she was not convinced with the seditious charge levelled against the trio.

“…the translation given too is not clear,” she said.

She however said that the prosecution can file a recharge against the Hindraf leaders.

The court ruling today allows the prosecution to bring the trio back to court to be recharged as they have not been acquitted.

PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP’s secretary general Lim Guan Eng were among political leaders who were present in the court today.

A strong crowd of about 100 inside the courtroom erupted in cheers when the judge discharged the accused persons.

A larger crowd – estimated to be around 4,000 – had gathered outside the court, watched by an equally strong presence of the Federal Reserve Unit.

The 'victory' parade is now slowly moving toward a Hindu temple located a few kilometres away. 

Nalla’s MUIP back BN

November 26th, 2007
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so, looks like he leaned toward BN. earlier, he said open to discussions. anyway, doesn't look like a good beginning when 5 members decided to pull out and rejoin old party. my sources say, this is another ding-dong story. best to be put in the light reading section.

New Indian-based party to back BN
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75265
Syed Jaymal Zahiid
Nov 25, 07 7:26pm

Newly formed Indian-based party, the Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP), today vowed to support the Barisan Nasional-led government, believing that by doing so, opportunity to elevate the social status of the Indian community would be better.

Party president KS Nallakarupan told his supporters at the party’s launching ceremony held at the Istana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur today that the fledgling MIUP does not want to go against BN policies.

“We believe that the party’s aim can still be achieved by working closely with the BN government,

“We as a party can inject a fresh approach to solving the problems of the Indian community,” he told 800 of his supporters.

The former PKR leader also said that the presence of MIUP, will be a “breath of fresh air which is much needed to make quick changes for the betterment of the Indian community.”

Nallakaruppan was also quick to stress that there was no intention of discrediting the much-established Indian-based party MIC. “We are also not saying that the present Indian-based party in the Barisan Nasional is not doing its job to help the community.  “I am sure that that party is doing whatever it can to help the community. But I think we can do better,” he added.

A secondary school

Nallakaruppan said that MIC should continue with their agenda and that the MIUP will also concentrate on its mission though the latter might have different approaches to issues.

“What’s wrong with being another race-based party? You have MCA and Gerakan (both Chinese-based party) and MIC and the Peoples Progressive Front (both Indian-based party) all in BN, why can't MIUP be in BN too?” he argued.

Elaborating on “fresh approaches”, Nallakaruppan said his party have outlined several social programmes as means to tackle the problems of the Indian community.

“We have introduced several programmes like sports, education and many youth-oriented programmes in order to inculcate productivity in the Indian community so they may integrate well with other races in this country,” he said.

He also said that his party would be first launching plans to establish an independent Tamil secondary soon.

When asked if MIUP will contest in the coming general election speculated to be somewhere early next year, Nallakaruppan said his party will not contest. “I want to concentrate on promoting my party only. Even if BN wants to give me seats to contest, I will not take it. I just want my party to be known first,” he said at a press conference held after the party’s launching ceremony.

‘Go through proper channel’

Nallakaruppan also refused to answer questions on the Hindraf rally which took place earlier today, saying that he wants to only focus on the party’s launch. “This is a historical day in the history of the politics of Malaysia and an important day for me and my party. I don’t want to talk about the Hindraf rally.”
He however said that he personally felt that the Indian community should abide by the law and work within the proper channel if they wished to express any grievances.

About 30,000 protesters demonstrated under the shadows of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Twin Towers today after their efforts to petition the British High Commission was thwarted by the police with tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon.

The planned protest is to support a US$4-trillion (RM14-trillion) lawsuit by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) against Malaysia's former colonial power for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

NST: Five Indian leaders rejoin PKR

source

By A. LETCHUMANAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Five supporters of former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Datuk K.S. Nallakaruppan have decided to abandon him – just 24 hours before he is due to launch his new party, the Malaysian Indians United Party. All five have instead decided to rejoin PKR, the party they left along with Nalakaruppan in May this year. 

In a statement, PKR vice-president R. Sivarasah said former Federal Territory deputy chief S. Maniselvan, Rasah division Youth deputy chief R.S. Dinesh, Youth vice-chief K. Vijay, Youth exco member S. Suresh and division member R. Segar had joined the party. Maniselvan said in a statement that he had expected Nallakaruppan to set up a strong opposition party to continue the struggle, while Dinesh said Nallakaruppan's claim that 10,000 PKR members had left the party was untrue. "Only a handful of members left and most of them have decided to return to PKR," he said in the statement. 

Nallakaruppan, when contacted, said he was not disappointed with these leaders. "They have no principles in returning to a party which they were disappointed with. They can go as their wish," he said. Nallakaruppan said it was clear that their intention was to discredit the launch of the Malaysian Indians United Party (MIUP) which he founded. He said he only knew Maniselvan and Dinesh and not the others. "They should not be making wild and baseless allegations against me or the party," he said. 

In setting up MIUP, Nallakaruppan said the priority of the new party was to address the Indian community problem using fresh ideas and new blood.