Malaysian charged with sedition, 3 more arrested

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities detained three anti-government figures, charged a student activist with sedition and seized hundreds of opposition newspapers Thursday, raising political tensions after recent national elections triggered claims of fraud.

Opposition activists have staged numerous peaceful demonstrations since the May 5 general elections, which the National Front coalition won with a weakened parliamentary majority. The activists insist the coalition, which has governed since 1957, retained power through bogus ballots and other irregularities, though Prime Minister Najib Razak and electoral authorities deny manipulating the results.

The latest arrests involve Tian Chua, a senior official in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice Party; Haris Ibrahim, a rights activist who leads an anti-government group; and Tamrin Ghafar, an opposition party member. The men had criticized the National Front at a recent political gathering.

The three were arrested separately and taken to a police station where lawyers were informed they were under investigation for sedition and would be held overnight.

The Prime Minister's office issued a statement saying the men were detained "after the police received numerous reports against the defendants by members of the public."

"In such circumstances the police are required to investigate and are following due and proper process," the statement said, adding that the men would face "fair and open court proceedings" if charged.

After his arrest, Chua tweeted that Malaysians should not allow themselves to be "overtaken by fear (but should) continue to assemble peacefully and have faith."

Their arrests occurred hours after prosecutors charged student Adam Adli, 24, with making seditious statements that included calling for people to "go down to the streets to seize back our power" while addressing a political forum. He pleaded innocent at a Kuala Lumpur district court Thursday and was released on bail ahead of a hearing July 2.

Sedition as defined by Malaysian law includes promoting hatred against the government.

Rights activists have long criticized Malaysia's anti-sedition law as a tool to curb democratic dissent. Najib said last year the government planned to eventually abolish the Sedition Act, which was introduced in 1949 during British colonial rule, and replace it with new laws that would strike a better balance between allowing freedom of speech and ensuring public stability.

Adam, who was arrested last weekend, faces three years in prison and a fine if convicted.

Hundreds of people demonstrated peacefully in recent days against Adam's arrest. Adam became publicly known in 2011 when he brought down a flag bearing Najib's portrait at the ruling party's headquarters during a demonstration. He was subsequently suspended for three semesters from his teaching course at a Malaysian state-backed university.

Separately Thursday, the Home Ministry said it had seized more than 2,500 copies of newspapers published by opposition parties from stores nationwide since Wednesday. The government-issued publication licenses for those newspapers specifies they should be distributed among party members only and were not for retail sales, the ministry said in a statement.

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http://news.yahoo.com/malaysian-charged-sedition-3-more-arrested-082110169.html

On Words And Family

Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
12:00PM May 17, 2013

Of late, many so called 'political leaders' and individual Malays of questionable repute have been urging not only Chinese, but Malays, Indians, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others to 'leave Malaysia' because of the dissatisfaction over the Election Commission's (EC) failure to be an entity of integrity as a fair referee in a political competition. It has taken all my personal strength and professional standing as an academic and as an acting civil servant to restrain my emotion and really give these people 'a piece of my mind'. If I were a retiree, I would really lash out at these people in my Penang colloquial style lingo!

But alas, I am a fully active civil servant and an established academic with an honest and reputable name. I am not like Ibrahim Ali who shows himself to be from a poorly developed cultural upbringing who knows nothing but spout venom to achieve his own personal game. He is not interested in the well-being of Malays, only himself. I have also none the luxury of a Zulkifli Noordin who masquerades as an 'Islamic Warrior' using the Quran not to please Allah the Most Beneficient, but to fulfill his own agenda of pleasing others who can give him material honour. He has forgotten or chooses to forget what the Quran says about selling the religion for a small gain.

If these two utter such words, I would have not paid much attention for they are clearly nobodies and need to constantly shout, rant and spite in order to be noticed. But when national leaders or the equivalent thereof ask Malaysians to leave their homeland, I feel that someone must remind these leaders politely in the old Malay kiasan or sindiran manner.
I will tell Malaysians how my father runs his family and how I fared with mine. My father was an ordinary police constable serving in the police force for 30 years. His number was 'Mata Mata 28847'. In honour of him, I have committed this number to memory ever since I could recognise them. My father passed Standard Three King Edward and speaks fluent English. I never get scolded in Malay but in English. My father displayed an exemplary style of leadership that would shame our present ministers.

On one occasion, my brother was offered a job as a teacher, a dream of any poor Malay parents rearing six children on a meagre salary. But my brother did not want this job and refused to report for duty. My father was angry but he never uttered the words of 'get out of this house'. Never. After that my brother chose to live in the storehouse in the police barracks and slept there with my father's old Vespa. Later in life my brother became a weather technician which he enjoyed immensely. He helped my father and me financially later on in life.

The next case was my eldest sister. She was pretty and bright but was forced to care for my other invalid brother, a victim of muscular dystrophy. My parents did not have the heart to send him away but because my mother suffered from anxiety disorder, my sister had to bear the brunt. When my sister rebelled and took it out on my mother, again my father said a few choice words but... Never... Get out of this house! Never.

Fast forward 45 years, I stand arguing with my eldest daughter about some matter. I shouted, "I do not want to see your face, get out to Nenek's house." For clarification, Nenek's house is also my other house for we own four houses within walking distance of the area. So in effect, I was not 'throwing my daughter out' but telling her to go to my other house! But she interpreted it to mean that I was throwing her out and that nearly cost our family's unity. After the storm was settled by my wife, I sat alone and admitted to myself that however hurtful my daughter's words were, she was but a child, but what was my excuse? I had almost crossed the line that my father laid down.

Now my daughter and I are closer than ever. She rewarded me with a beautiful grandson, the apple of my eye. And she became an academic bent on fighting racism and liberalising the idea of Islam in society. Double rewards! I could not be a happier man. But I almost lost everything with the utterance of those despicable words... 'Get out of my house!' Upon reflection, I wished that my father was still alive. He would have made a better minister for Malaysia, a primary third grader who speaks Queen's English, quiet but can put you in stitches with his jokes... and above all gentle with all the womenfolk... and of course very stern with his sons who are tasked to take care of the family. I, on the other hand, would probably never make a good minister of Malaysia for I almost failed the test. Perhaps that is why I remain at best an academic of many books and writings and a peddler of the quill to prick the conscience of society.

And thus the lesson here is that we are all one family. One Malaysian family. We Chinese, Indians, Malays, Dayaks, Kadazans. Yes, we Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and others. We need responsible ministers as our 'parents' to be listening and choosing the wisest words to say not the first words and thoughts that come to mind in a heat of anger. The Malay proverb goes terlajak perahu boleh diundur tetapi terlajak kata... We may lose our family of Malaysia if those elected to the office treat their words callously. For me, the values of Islam guide me as a Muslim and the Rukunegara of kesopanan dan kesusilaan as my signpost of mature citizenry in Malaysia.

A family is a precious small nation - the first nation. A caring parent is all that it needs. A nation is a big family - the real nation. For a big family we must have a bigger caring minister.

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PROF DR MOHAMAD TAJUDDIN MOHAMAD RASDI is a 23-year veteran academic and teaches architecture at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He specialises in mosque and Islamic architecture particularly that which relates to Malaysia using a hadith-based and socio-cultural approach in order to create the total idea of built environment suited for a whole social structure.

Turn Out At Stadium Protesting Election Fraud

Do you still think it was all fake??

The numbers were massive. See for yourself. Don't be fooled by the mainstream media.

The Value Of Identity Cards

For Malaysians, the national identity card is the most important document there is, apart from a birth certificate.

Without it, you cannot open a bank account, get a loan, renew your driving license, passport etc.

But on the 5th of May 2013, hundreds of identity cards were carelessly discarded for after the election, they were worthless.

And why? Because these are cards that do not belong to citizens born and bred in Malaysia. They were issued to foreigners purely for the purposes of voting for BN.

I know it shouldn't anymore, but it still shocks me that the government stoops so low to cheat in this manner.

The atrocities that happen in our nation are too shocking for many normal people to comprehend.

BN Shenanigans - Too Good To Miss!!!

You really do want to read this article: Down At The Airport!

It has all the information and evidence of cheating that you need to believe just how dirty this election is.

I am very amused by the Malaysia Airlines executive asking in a very careful and roundabout way if the airline was going to have to bear the cost of ferrying those illegal voters around.

This is by far the dirtiest election ever.

Indelible Ink

Only Malaysians would camwhore their indelible-inked fingers.

But on the serious side, there have been numerous reports that the ink could be easily washed off with soap and water.

This is by far the dirtiest election ever.

Idiot Foreigner Blunders Into Angry Constituency

To be fair, the Malaysians are merely telling him off but I like the fear in his eyes -- knowing he's doing something wrong.

Voting Tips

1. Vote early, defend your polling stations and also, if you can, test out the indelible ink on your finger with different solutions - bring along small quantities of soap, nail polish remover, alcohol swab etc.o use after voting -but away from prying eyes. And if the stain comes off, let the relevant NGO know right away.

2. You may also want to follow the suggestion regarding smudges. Take note too that if SPR Kerani 3 tries to fold your ballot paper before giving it to you, you have every right to tell him/her politely not to do that.

Malaysia Election Is Too Close to Call

From New York Times:

Analysts say that Malaysia's 13.3 million registered voters have been given a stark choice: the continuation of a political and economic system based largely on race, by a group that has firmly held power since the country's independence in 1957, or a completely new direction with a combative but untested opposition promising dramatic changes.

"It's either to accept that we need to mature as a country and support reform, or be stuck in the old ways of semi-authoritarianism, controlled media, an economic policy lacking in transparency and using the old race-based economic policies," Mr. Anwar said in an interview.

Mr. Najib has countered with a "stay the course" argument, touting political, social and economic changes and saying that the government's policies have maintained Malaysia's status as a stable, modern emerging country with Southeast Asia's third-largest economy.

"That is why the opposition's call for reform has had a poor response from the people," Mr. Najib said during a campaign rally this week in the northern state of Terengganu. "Which is better: street demonstrations or respecting the law? Which is better: sowing discord in the community or inculcating good moral values?"

Read the rest: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/world/asia/04iht-malaysia04.html?_r=0

Violence, 'faulty ink' mar Malaysian vote

Hong Kong (CNN) - Malaysia's closest-ever election is also fast becoming what some have described as its most violent amid reports of petrol bombs, texted death threats and beatings in the weeks leading up to Sunday's poll.

Just days before polling booths opened, the potential for voter fraud was also being alleged after reports that indelible ink used to mark the fingers of advance voters was washing off with water.

"The whole purpose of introducing indelible ink is to cut off multiple voters -- that is now being compromised by low quality ink," said Maria Chin Abdullah from BERSIH 2.0, which campaigns for electoral reform.

More: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/02/world/asia/malaysia-election-preview/?hpt=hp_inthenews

The black eye of Malaysian scandal politics - Al Jazeera

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Most countries, if not all, have had a dose of political intrigue, a few lofty falls from grace, or the embarrassing blunders of elected officials.

Yet even by this measure, the recent history of Malaysia has been utterly over the top.

The tight general elections set for Sunday have undoubtedly been influenced by the culture of scandal that has permeated domestic politics, but the outcome could determine if Malaysia is past all that or if it will sink deeper into the cross-fire of tabloid-style sleaze.

The two main players heading into the polls, one of whom will surely be the next leader of Malaysia, have hardly been immune, or averse, to political hardball.

Najib Razak, the prime minister, has vehemently denied links to the 2006 murder of a female Mongolian translator who was shot twice before her corpse was obliterated with C4 explosives in an abandoned field outside Kuala Lumpur.

Bone fragments linked the killing to two members of an elite police squad who have been described as Najib's former bodyguards. Both were sentenced to death by hanging.

The incident has been back in public re-play mode since March when a private investigator, who gave sworn testimony that placed Najib with the woman at a café in France, died of a heart attack. Najib took a public oath at a mosque to declare that he never met her.

His opponents, as could be expected, made public calls to re-open the case.

Read the rest: http://aljazeera.com/story/201352145851553210

Hotly Contested Elections -- Can You Be Bought?

Najib now needs to win this election in order to rule Malaysia under his own mandate – but analysts conjecture that if the BN were to lose any more seats on Sunday, Najib could easily be replaced as leader of the country.

That may explain why Najib's party, Umno, has invested heavily in this election, says Malaysia expert Bridget Welsh at Singapore Management University. According to Welsh's research, Najib's administration has spent nearly 60bn ringgit (£13bn) on "election-related incentives" in the past four years, making this the most costly runup to any election in Malaysia's history.

Billboards around the country allude to the incumbent coalition as aproduk, or product, that lasts. Voters have been offered food coupons and cash for attending Umno meetings, while Najib himself has handed out thousands of cash bonuses to state-linked corporate employees.

"There is a clear orientation to find potential groups of voters, identify their immediate needs, and provide it," Welsh recently wrote in online news portal Malaysiakini. "The bottom line in the BN's strategy is that it assumes Malaysians can be bought."

Read the rest: http://guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/01/malaysia-hotly-contested-elections