Thousands attended Black 505 rally in Kedah

ALOR STAR, May 22 – Thousands attended the “Black 505” rally here last night, where Kedah PAS chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar warned Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders against sparking conflict as the majority was with Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Estimating that a crowd of 50,000 had gathered outside the state PAS headquarters, Mahfuz criticised newly-minted Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Kedah Chief Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir for warning against the rally.

“I would advise Zahid to accept that the majority of the people are with the Pakatan Rakyat and don’t start a war with the people. Be rational,” the PAS vice-president and Pokok Sena MP was quoted as saying in media reports.

“As for Mukhriz, I would ask him to open up a bit as he is still a young man. He should not behave like the Umno leaders of the past who adopted a confrontational approach with the people,” Mahfuz added.

The state PAS commissioner also reminded Mukhriz’s BN government that the previous PAS administration had allowed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak the use of the state stadium for a rally last January.

Mukhriz, the youngest son of Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had refused PAS permission to hold the “Black 505” rally in the stadium last night.

The mainly Malay crowd turned up from 6.30pm for the PR rally against alleged electoral fraud and irregularities, initiated by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“This is an extraordinary crowd and it proves people like (MCA president) Chua Soi Lek wrong. Soi Lek says only the Chinese attend the ‘Black 505’ rallies but what we saw tonight were the Malays in full force,” Sungei Petani MP Johari Abdul told reporters after the rally.

…more
As thousands rally in Kedah, Mahfuz warns BN against needless spats
May 22, 2013 – TMI

FREE ADAM ADLI!

(courtesy: Omaw Redzuan)

(courtesy: CCWM Facebook)

(courtesy: NSTM Facebook)

(courtesy: NSTM Facebook)

Amnesty International calls for release of Adam Adli

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
Index: ASA 28/004/2013
21 May 2013

Malaysian student activist should be released immediately

Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Malaysian student activist Adam Adli, who has been arrested solely for peacefully expressing his views.

On 18 May 2013, 13 days following Malaysia’s general elections, police arrested and detained student activist Adam Adli, 24, in Kuala Lumpur, for remarks he allegedly had made during a post-election public meeting on 13 May.

Adam Adli, along with other democracy activists reportedly called for a street demonstration to protest alleged electoral fraud during the 5 May elections, the most closely-fought elections since Malaysia’s independence.

Adam Adli is currently detained in a police detention facility, undergoing interrogation for allegedly violating section 4(1) of the Sedition Act and section 124(B) of the Penal Code. Credible sources indicate that the student activist was subjected to interrogation from 10 am until 6 pm on 19 and 20 May, with the interrogators repeatedly asking the same questions. Adam Adli has refused to answer the questions in the latter part of the interrogation, telling the police to just watch a video of his speech during the public meeting instead.

The Malaysian government must stop using the Sedition Act and provisions in the Penal Code to stifle people’s right to free expression, and it must release all those who have been arrested merely for the peaceful expression of their political beliefs or dissenting opinions.

Section 4(1) of Malaysia’s Sedition Act provides that it is a criminal offence to make any oral, printed and published statements or acts with “seditious tendency”.

If Adam Adli is found guilty of sedition, he could be imprisoned for up to three years, fined up to RM 5,000 (approximately USD 1,650), or both. Amnesty International has repeatedly raised concerns about the Sedition Act and the way it has been implemented over the years to repress political dissent.

In 2012, Prime Minister Najib announced that he would repeal the Sedition Act.

Section 124(B) of the Penal Code states that “whoever, by any means, directly or indirectly, commits an activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty years.”

Section 124(B) is overly broad and vague. It imposes a chilling effect on free expression in violation of Malaysia’s constitution and international legal obligations. It gives an unfettered discretion to police officers to arrest and detain a person if in the opinion of the arresting police officer a person is committing an act, which to that police officer is detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

Amnesty International calls on the Malaysian government to repeal section 124(b) of the Penal Code. In addition, it must release Adam Adli from detention immediately and unconditionally. The Malaysian authorities must ensure that peaceful political dissent is protected both in law and practice.

…source
Malaysian student activist should be released immediately
21 May 2013 – AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Najib’s legitimacy deficit

I am surprised that there are voices from within the opposition saying that it is time to move on and get on with business, ie. acknowledging BN’s victory and continuing the fight within the current system that we have.

Perhaps this is understandable, given that many candidates, especially those from DAP, have now won a seat and do not want to betray the trust that their voters have put in them.

But what is often overlooked is that GE13 was not contested on a level-playing field. The following points can help illustrate this:

The constituency delineation is heavily biased towards the ruling coalition, popularly known as gerrymandering, and a rural voter is worth an average six urban voters, precisely the reason why Pakatan Rakyat has won the popular vote but lost in terms of parliamentary seats.

The relentless media attack against PAS and PKR resulted in the less-than-expected performance of the two parties, which found it a daunting challenge to counter all the baseless allegations churned out by RTM, TV3, Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.

Aided by the insurmountable advantage as incumbent, BN’s fashion of vote-buying in GE13 was flabbergasting and morally outrageous, and many rural voters indicated that the several rounds of ‘monetary assistance’ had influenced their voting intention.

Access to the rural areas in Sarawak – where vote-buying was perhaps the most rampant – has always been a challenge, while BN leaders had at their disposal state resources ranging from helicopters, to boats, to ease campaigning.

The Election Commission (EC) had not been neutral from the beginning.

I can go on and on, but the charge list would eventually take up the entire article. What is clear to all now – except for those who are happy to be blinded and fooled – is that any of these alone is enough to undermine the democratic integrity of our political system.

Pakatan’s battle impossible from day one

Confronted with the gigantic state machinery, Pakatan’s battle had been nearly impossible from day one. That the opposition managed to secure more state and parliamentary seats than 2008 is a cause for celebration indeed, although they should have won many more, in my view.

It is therefore rich of some BN leaders to accuse Pakatan of double standards in not questioning the seats won by the opposition.

In fact, BN should be thankful that Malaysians have chosen to play, albeit reluctantly, with the rules of game that Umno laid down. This is because we know the alternative – taking to the streets or boycotting the elections – could only benefit Umno and others who might seek to exploit the situation.

In other words, we have shown our goodwill by not attempting to radicalise the political climate so that voters could vote in peace. But it does not negate the fact that the game has never been fair and square in the first place!

…more
Najib’s legitimacy deficit
Josh Hong
May 17, 2013 – Malaysiakini

Not Happy, Get Out?

(courtesy: Hornbill Comics)

Motion for Zahid’s censure

PETALING JAYA: DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang today said he would move a motion once Parliament convenes to censure Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for his “arrogant and insufferable outburst”.

He was referring to the Umno vice-president’s call yesterday for Malaysians unhappy with the country’s political system to emigrate from the country.

“I invite MPs who wish to join me in co-sponsoring the censure motion against Zahid to email me their agreement so that a censure motion carrying the most number of signatures of MPs in a Malaysian parliamentary history could be submitted…

“I also invite them to suggest a draft of the censure motions against Zahid, which I would put in the public domain to invite public views and feedback,” said the Gelang Patah MP in a statement.

He also welcomed MPs from the Barisan Nasional to co-sponsor the motion, stressing that Ahmad Zahid’s “deplorable sentiments” must be condemned by all MPs and citizens regardless of party affiliation.

“[But] I do not know whether there would be anyone from BN who will be prepared to cross party lines to take a common stand in the interests of the Malaysian people and nation,” he added.

‘Khairy acting like old-time ministers’

Lim zeroed in on Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s reported explanation today that the statement was Ahmad Zahid’s “personal opinion”.

“How does Khairy know that Zahid’s disgraceful statement does not reflect the BN government’s position?

“Has Khairy been assured by the prime minister or deputy prime minister that the new cabinet would repudiate Zahid’s statement with a formal announcement?” he asked.

He noted that just 24 hours after being sworn into the Cabinet, Khairy had already started to “compromise his principles and begun to behave like old-time ministers”.

These old-timers, Lim said, were more interested in protecting their own turfs instead of taking a principled stand against “gross abuses of power and blatant injustices like Zahid’s outburst”.

“Will Khairy take the initiative at his first cabinet meeting to propose that the cabinet should distance itself and repudiate Zahid’s statement?” he asked.

…more
Kit Siang to motion for Zahid’s censure
Anisah Shukry
May 17, 2013 – FMT

Outrage over Home Minister’s absurd statement

The following are some of the comments found online in response to the Home Minister’s absurd statement.

Onyourtoes: Home Minister Zahid Hamidi, please listen good. In the first place, the electoral system that we have today is not as stipulated in our original constitution. It is a system that has been manipulated by your party during the past five decades.

So please don’t ever say the opposition has no respect of the country’s electoral system. But you are right if you say we have zero respect for the system that your party has currently put in place because it was not based on ‘one man, one vote’ system.

It violates the very essence of parliamentary democracy where even if rural constituencies are given higher weightage, such an advantage should not be so excessive.

It is our right to continue to agitate for change. It is up to you to listen or not to listen. But if you can’t stand our ranting anymore, I suggest you resign and take a break in Timbuktu or elsewhere.

Please don’t ask us to migrate; this is not your country alone.

Apa Nama: Zahid, the ‘first past the post’ is not the fault here. It’s the way BN has implemented it.

BN did not follow the original delineation whereby the difference between two constituencies should be no more that 20 percent as far as population is concerned.

Later BN amended to 50 percent and now even some parliamentary constituencies have about 20,000 voters while others have 140,000. This is what we dispute – the skewing of the results by BN.

Starr: How diabolical for a senior minister in PM Najib Razak’s cabinet to make such a statement – to encourage Malaysians to emigrate if they are not happy with the May 5 general election results.

New Home Minister Zahid Hamidi is indeed disappointing to have written such a statement, bringing the integrity of Najib’s new cabinet into question.

Zahid would do well to read the will of the rakyat as reflected in the election results, for the rakyat have indeed spoken.

For Umno-BN to secure the government with a minority popular vote is in itself a fraud by way of tampering of electoral boundaries through gerrymandering.

Rampant legalising illegals and enrolling them as voters is another damning indictment of electoral fraud.

Reformasi: Dear Home Minister, GE13 is over. Many of us are not happy with the results. We have a right to express how we feel, as you have a right to express your views too.

But incumbent upon you as a minister, your views have to be expressed with responsibility, temperance and moderation. To tell people to migrate if they are not happy with the election results is akin to bringing yourself down to the level of dirty, divisive and destructive politics.

You are a minister and a national leader. National healing, reconciliation and seeking a common ground based on respect and peaceful co-existence with those of differing views should be yours (and your cabinet colleagues) top priority now.

This is my country as it is yours.

Citizen Peter: I won’t migrate because this is my only home. I won’t migrate because Malaysia is a wonderful country and Najib, Zahid and their Umnoputra gang are the main destroyers of this Eden.

We must stay to get them out before they do more harm to this country. I love Malaysia. As a medical practitioner, I work very hard to serve my patients, and I never take anything that belongs to the people.

I am loyal to the constitution – the original one by our founding fathers before Umno and gang made it into a piece of playdough. Zahid, do you dare tell the kampung folks how many times BN has changed the constitution to suit itself?

Sali Tambap: What Home Minister Zahid Hamidi says is ironically prophetic. There are many Malaysians considering migrating if they can, not because they do not love Malaysia but because they cannot stand this regime.

That’s the primarily reason for Malaysians wanting to get out of country. They will come back after a change of the government, if that ever happen.

God did not make this land for Umno only. All of us – and I say, all of us – have equal share and right to this land, not just Zahid, not just Umno.

Lamborghini: It is precisely because of insensitive, immature statements and actions by arrogant Umno politicians like these that are driving the educated and knowledgeable rakyat away from Umno-BN.

While PM Najib Razak is preaching reconciliation, his henchmen like Zahid is preaching “go somewhere else if you don’t like this system”.

It certainly is a bad start for this new “transformational” cabinet if you have old dinosaurs like Zahid holding a vital position such as home minister.

Changeagent: Zahid, you are an idiot. It’s not the ‘first past the post’ system that we are disputing.

It’s the gerrymandering by the Election Commission (EC), postal votes by public servants, foreign voters with instant ICs (identity cards) and indelible ink that isn’t indelible that the people are unhappy about.

Besides, there is absolutely no precedent in other Commonwealth countries that people who are unhappy with their election results must “migrate elsewhere”.

Your absurdity and ridiculousness for even suggesting this raises serious questions about whether you are fit to hold the post of the home minister.

Tehachapi: Only ignorant feudal lords full of themselves talk like this in public. Zahid is a serious menace to the civility of this country.

Is Malaysia aspiring to become a developed country and joining the ranks of other civilised nations by 2020, or is it going back in time to the dark ages when witchcraft and sorcery were considered as professional practices.

Clearly, the country is now led by a lot of empty vessels with nothing else to show but a lot of hot air. They neither have vision, nor capabilities, nor knowledge and passion beyond committing fraud and hanging on to power by the skin of their teeth to enrich themselves and its cronies through blatant and shameless corruption and embezzlement of public funds.

Yes, so long as there are oil and gas in the ground, the country can go on for quite a while before the final collapse. It is totally wrong to think that you can chase your fellow citizens elsewhere so that you can continue your looting.

Links to more of what Malaysians say:

Migrate, Zahid tells those unhappy with GE13 results

It’s the gerrymandering, stupid

New home minister wants 51pct to find new home

Malays are migrating – from Umno to Pakatan

‘Arrogant calls like Zahid’s turned voters against BN’