Foreign Woman Hurt In Police Raid

A reader alerted me to the news of this foreign national who was bullied by the authorities: Woman: I was hurt in raid

As usual, this goes to show that the police have free reign to do as they please. They evidently violated procedure when:

1. The police were not in uniform
2. The police did not state the reason of the arrest to the suspect as is stipulated in the procedure
3. The police acted violently
4. The police did not give medical attention to the injuries sustained

In my opinion, everything falls neatly and squarely into the lap of this Chinese national. She was wrongly treated -- pure and simple.

However, I see something wrong in this.

Why did the husband pay RM2,000 to have his wife released? Was it legal? Or was it under-the-counter as usual?

Then I see a purpose for these illegal raids. They are to help these policemen make money from bribes.

We Stick Together

I'm still angry.

And because I am, it's probably not wise for me to say much.

Frankly, I don't think it is possible for me to properly understand how low the government can stoop. Because each time they do something so spectacularly stupid, they manage to outdo themselves the next time.

Take the arrest of Paula Khoo for instance.

Only the week before, the government sent in their running dogs, the police to brutalise a peaceful crowd while they were singing the national anthem.

This only goes to show how much respect the government has for the nation it is supposedly entrusted to govern. I certainly have no part for them being in Putrajaya, so I make no apologies.

Of course, in the aftermath of their shenanigans, the modus operandi is to deny everything, including their heavy-handed actions, in spite of the fact that there was clear evidence of it.

Like I said, there are no limits for low.

Low, I recently have discovered, is relative. Especially when it is in reference to the BN government. I once thought ankle height was low.

Evidently not. Then I thought the sole of one's feet was low.

Perhaps I could be kind. I could say that the BN government only stoops as low as the dust that settled under the fungus that infests the maggot that has crawled under the turd that was dropped by a sick animal, right before it keeled over and croaked.

Perhaps I could describe my relationship with the BN government. You could just imagine my disgust if I'd just stepped on the aforementioned turd - that's precisely the contempt I feel.

And why not?

That's not a government ruling our nation; it's a freaking side show!

You don't quietly go and bundle up the organiser of a peaceful demonstration and take her to the police station.

That's cowardice of the highest order, you fools!

But forget the police and their masters. To devote even a single braincell to their memory would be sheer waste.

Let's talk about Paula. I brought Paula to her first candlelight vigil opposite Amcorp Mall, PJ. It was incidentally the first time I was meeting her, but we hit it off immediately.

Now I'm passionate about my country and about making change happen. But while I attended the candlelight vigils (albeit faithfully) and blogged about it, Paula is a woman of action.

She was not merely an observer, she took charge and organised the Penang event at the Esplanade. I would have attended, were I not abroad, purely to support her.

Well, if the truth be told, I was planning to bum a night over at her place and catch some Penang food with her since she's a native. Don't say it, I know I take shameless liberties. But since she was planning to match-make me with someone - less than 2 minutes after we met in person - I'd say I have a right to. ;-)

The space on my fourth finger is, thankfully, still vacant (only because she went back to Penang), but like I said, Paula is a woman of action - while I am passive, Paula is active.

I am proud to be a friend of Paula. But I'm not in Malaysia at the moment and won't be until next month, and while I would dearly love to be with her on November 28, I can't.

If you can, please do so on my behalf. Not purely for me, but for Paula and for the country. We all need you.

Jailed 2 Years For Apostasy

The Sky Kingdom may not have been the most remarkable of religions. Some call it a cult, others call it just plain cuckoo.

But at the end of the day, they were a harmless communal bunch whose only "crime" was the rather over-sized tea-sets they had in their compound.

I'd be very happy to leave them quite to themselves. After all, they do have the right to do as they please as long as they don't encroach on any laws.

Obviously, the sanctimonious Islamists don't share my view. They got together to vandalise the commune in what I presume was one of their attempts to "curb the deviation of Islam".

The mob reportedly tossed Molotov cocktails, slashed car tires with machetes, broke the windows of several homes, and partially scorched religious structures, including a giant teapot and an umbrella-shaped building.

Malaysian police have failed to arrest anyone involved in the attack.

This is one situation I suppose both BN and PAS would be in agreement with.

One particular former religious teacher, Kamariah Ali has been jailed for 2 years.

Why?

“The court is not convinced that the accused has repented and willing to abandon any teachings contrary to Islam.

“The accused had also failed to response when I greeted her with Assalamualaikum during the start of the court proceeding and this shows that Kamariah has not repented,” he said.

You mean there are not enough criminals in Malaysia and our jails are so empty that you need to throw in people who don't share your views of Islam??

If our jails aren't being used, I can think of a few politicians in BN who could qualify for the space. For instance, the close-one-eye in Jasin, the racist paedophile in Melaka, and all those miscellaneous corrupted fools who have misappropriated government funds.

But no, you reserve it for a harmless woman under the charges of apostasy from Islam.

Sweet.

This is the government we have elected.

This is the freedom of religion we possess.

And they say Malaysia is a modern, progressive Islamic country??

Spare me.

Condolences Over The Death Of Freedom & Democracy

This country is screwed three ways to Sunday.

You do not manhandle lawyers and peaceful protestors and trash up private property on Human Rights Day of all days.

Of course, the phrase "Human Rights" itself is sheer blasphemy if used in Malaysia. What freaking rights??

Polytikus sums it up:

- No free speech.
- No free and fair elections.
- No proportionate representation.
- No free press.
- No freedom to assemble.
- No equal rights.
- No freedom of religion.
- No right to life, liberty and security of person.
- No freedom from torture or from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
- No fair trial.
- No freedom from discrimination and equal protection of the law.

Yes, woman. There is NO reason to celebrate.

And like Susan Loone says, "we are not on the road to dictatorship, we have already arrived." Heartbreaking, but so absolutely true.

At some point, we may be forced to ask ourselves, "When and how did we let this happen?" but for now, it's time to get down to the crunch.

Get out your stationery, folks. It's time to write letters.

I found a very good sample at the Suaram site:

[Letterhead of your organisation]

Prime Minister of Malaysia
Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Prime Minister's Office Malaysia
Perdana Putra Building,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62502 PUTRAJAYA,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: + 60 3 8888 6000
Fax: + 60 3 8888 3444

Dear Sir,

Re: Continued Assault on Freedom of Assembly - 8 Arrested in Lawyers’ March

We are writing to express our outrage over your government’s latest round of assault on the freedom of assembly. On 9 December 2007, eight individuals were arrested by the police for attending a peaceful march intended to celebrate the International Human Rights Day, a day celebrated across the globe, including United Nations.

We question the need to resort to such actions, especially when the organisers of this peaceful march had tried to negotiate and shown willingness to cooperate with the police. We view this as yet another attempt by your government to intimidate Malaysian citizens from participating in any form of public assembly.

We demand that all those arrested be released immediately and unconditionally. We further demand that your government stop the assault on freedom of assembly. We condemn the repeated threats to use the ISA and the ridiculous charges pressed against demonstrators recently.

We strongly urge you to stop shaming Malaysia, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. We would like to remind you that freedom of assembly is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.


Yours sincerely,

[Name]

I appreciate that we're not a nation that writes letters. We never dissent. We rarely protest publicly. In the name of peace and stability we have kept our mouth shut. And at what price?

The price of FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY.

And the idiot who sits in the Prime Minister's seat has the nerve to op-ed The Wall Street Journal on the topic of democracy. He's not even qualified to say the word!!

Nathaniel Tan also shares my penchant for dissecting articles and pieces. Go read his take on "Malaysia’s Democracy Is Strong".

Be prepared to share our common disgust.

Police Reaction To HINDRAF Rally

One word: INTIMIDATION

The Malaysian tin-pot-dictatorship government is over-reacting as usual.

Motorists of Indian ethnicity are being harrassed by the police at road blockades. There are traffic jams at every entry into the city.

It's a peaceful rally, for the love of God.

The only violence I expect to see is from the jack-booted thugs, more commonly known here as the police.

And of course, the organisers have been duly arrested.

From theSun:

Three arrested over planned Hindraf rally

PETALING JAYA (Nov 23, 2007): Police have arrested three key officials of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) that is planning to go ahead with a mass rally on Sunday outside the British High Commission in Jalan Ampang although police had rejected their application to do so.

They are expected to be charged under the Sedition Act later today.

The three men are:
> Hindraf adviser, lawyer P. Uthayakumar, who was picked up at his office in Bangsar at about 10.30am
> Hindraf chairman, lawyer P. Waythamoorthy (Uthayakumar's brother), who was arrested at the Shah Alam toll plaza about 3pm
> V. Ganapathy Rao, who was arrested when he went to the Selangor police headquarters to see Uthayakumar about 2.45pm

Lawyer N. Surendran went to Selangor IPK in Shah Alam about 2.45pm when Uthayakumar was taken there by a police team. He was accompanied by Ganapathy Rao and Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member S. Manickavasagam.

However, when Surendran came out 20 minutes later, he told reporters that Ganapathy Rao had been arrested as well.

He said he was informed by a police officer with the rank of Assistant Commissioner that the three men would be charged in Klang later today.

Outside the IPK grounds, about 200 people had gathered and when the police car carrying Uthayakumar drove past the gate, shouts rang out and some rapped on the car window. Several empty mineral water bottles were also thrown at the car.

On Monday, a police team had raided Uthayakumar’s law office with a warrant, in search of a publication that he had authored. They found nothing there.

Simultaneously, another team searched Waythamoorthy's office in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, where some 2,500 booklets, pertaining to a suit that Hindraf had taken against the British government, were seized.

Hindraf planned Sunday's gathering to hand a memorandum addressed to the Queen of England to support a class-action suit against Her Majesty’s government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years. It is seeking RM27.7 trillion in compensation. According to Manickavasagam, the rally will go on despite the arrests.

Yesterday, for the second day running, police security checks at a number of roads into Kuala Lumpur caused traffic congestion.

Earlier today, lawyer M. Manoharan told theSun police had served him, Uthayakumar and several other Hindraf officials a restraining order to stop them from participating in the rally.

Police got the order from the Kuala Lumpur magistrate’s court, which also restrains all Hindraf supporters from participating in the gathering, which police said could disrupt public order.

The only disruption I can think of is the police themselves, and their juvenile roadblocks.

Now there is a motive behind this strategy. Read The Malaysian for his brilliant take on why these blockades have been put up.

Sieg Heil!

Police Raid HINDRAF

Now if you remember, I found the thought of HINDRAF filing a lawsuit against the British government a hoot.

I've since changed my mind and am willing to take them more seriously since the government has as well.

By the way, the definition of sedition according to our communist-dictatorship government is "anything that we don't approve of".

Police raid offices of two Hindraf lawyers
Soon Li Tsin
Nov 19, 07 4:21pm

The police raided two offices belonging to lawyers P Uthayakumar and his brother Waythamoorthy to search for a book deemed seditious under the Sedition Act.

Five police officers conducted a search of Uthayakumar' s office in Jalan Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, while about 10 officers were at Waythamoorthy' s office in Seremban, Negri Sembilan. The raids were carried outsimultaneously at around 3.30pm.

The police teams, from the Dang Wangi district police headquarters, obtained a search warrant under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 from a magistrate's court for the publication entitled '*50 Years of Violation of the Federal Constitution by the Malaysian Government'* .

The 41-page booklet gives a detailed account of issues discussed by the Reid Commission at every meeting and memoranda submitted by various organisations in the run-up to the framing of the Federal Constitution.

The police officers spent about an hour at Uthayakumar's office before leaving at about 4.30pm without seizing anything.

*'Did not find anything'*

I know it isn't necessarily a pertinent comment, but "duh"!!!

The only instance I expect the Malaysian police to find anything is when they physically bring the "offending" object into the place, plant it under some random files and hey presto! - "accidentally" find it there.

When contacted, the lawyer said: "They did not find anything. I only saw one of them taking pictures of my signboard."

The brothers lead the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which recently filed a class-action suit against the British government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

The quantum being sought is US$4 trillion (RM14 trillion) - or US$1 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia.

Hindraf is scheduled to hold a rally outside the British High Commission on Sunday and to hand over a petition asking Queen Elizabeth to appoint her Queen's Counsel and solicitors to represent the minority Indians.

Offences under Section 4(1)(c) for printing, publishing, distributing or reproducing any seditious publication is punishable with a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or by a jail sentence not exceeding three years, or to both.

I think these HINDRAF blokes have something going, they just need some guidance.