ISA protest

Updated: Saturday August 1, 2009 MYT 8:57:39 PM

ISA protest: Those arrested have to deal with the situation, says PM

By ROSLINA MOHAMAD

PEKAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said those who took part in the protest against the Internal Security Act (ISA) and got arrested would have to deal with the situation as he had already warned people against it.

''I have said before this that ISA is being reviewed and we are also in the process of discussions and getting feedback from various groups.

''As such, the demonstration was unnecessary because it only causes hardship and I have been informed of complaints by the public who got caught in the traffic jams caused by the rally.

“It is difficult for them to go from one point to another,'' he told reporters after launching a corporate social responsibility programme by Astro called 'Astro Kasih' in Kampung Ketapang Tengah here Saturday.

Najib, who is also Pekan MP, added that the rally was politically motivated and simply senseless.

He said that since the protesters were stubborn enough to proceed with the rally, they would have to face the music.

''They will need to deal with any action to be taken by the police.

''We want to advise them but if they refuse to listen, what can I do.

''It is up to the police and if arrests are made, we leave it to the authorities,'' Najib added.

Rubber Issue To Dominate Manik Urai?

The plight of rubber smallholders and tappers is expected to be among the issues to dominate the Manik Urai by-election campaign which starts on Monday.

Issues at the state and national levels like the demand on oil royalty and logging in the forest reserves are not expected to have a big impact on the 12,293 voters in this state constituency.

This is because 80 per cent of the 30,000 residents of Manik Urai, especially those in the Malay villages along the Kuala Krai-Gua Musang stretch depend on rubber for their livelihood.

"As the Perakians say, we have to 'lara' (follow the current) with local issues which are close to the people's hearts. In the case of Manik Urai, priority must be given to rubber as many of the people here are rubber smallholders and tappers," said political analyst Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussein.

Manik Urai, about 110km from Kota Baharu, is categorised as rural with Jalan Kuala Krai-Gua Musang being the main link between Kuala Krai in the north and Gua Musang in the south.

This state constituency in the Kuala Krai district also comes under the purview of the South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) which focus on the rubber and palm oil industry.

Risda projects like the replanting scheme with assistance given in the form of capital and expertise are considerations for the locals, except for the over 1,000 voters living outside the area or state.

The Malay villages with their rubber holdings like Kampung Bukit Budu in Manik Urai have not been on the public radar except perhaps for the Lata Rek waterfalls, which is popular with people in the state that has been under PAS rule since 1990.

But Manik Urai will grab national attention tomorrow with the nomination of candidates for the by-election which is expected to see a straight contest between Kuala Krai Umno Youth head Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, 39, and Kuala Krai PAS treasurer Fauzi Abdullah, 50.

Tuan Aziz is a former Kesedar officer while Fauzi is a fish wholesaler.

The nominaton of candidates will be held at Dewan Petra, SMK Sultan Yahya Petra 1, Kuala Krai, tomorrow morning and polling will be on July 14. The by-election is held following the death of the incumbent assemblyman Ismail Yaakob on May 22.

The rubber issue has also taken centre stage after PAS supporters mocked Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan following pictures of him tapping rubber trees in Kampung Bukit Budu and Perial Baru appeared in the media.

But Ahmad, the son of a rubber tapper in Sungai Benut, Pontian, Johor, said his action was not just political acting but to empathise with the problems faced by Manik Urai folk.

From his observation of things in the area, Ahmad suggested that Kesedar and Risda fix the income distribution at 60 per cent for the owners of the rubber smallholdings and 40 per cent for the tappers, who are mostly Thais. Previously, it was 50-50.

"In Temalir I saw the towkay (rubber holding owner) riding a Honda Cub (motorcycle), but the hired rubber tapper was driving a Honda Accord. This is not right," he said.

Ahmad also said that Umno would promote Kelantan Umno liaison chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, as an icon especially for the people of Kelantan.

He said if PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was highly regarded by many people, Mustapa too could be an icon due to his vast experience at the national level and his services to the country and state.

"I think there's no problem with this strategy (icon versus icon). Politicians have their own strategies. Ultimately, the people will evaluate and make their choice," said political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff.

However, he said, the politics of idolising individuals should be avoided as what was more important was service to the people.

"The party's machinery must be strong too. Whatever strategies you use will not get you anywhere if the party machinery is weak," added the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia political science lecturer.

Political Malaysia

Najib And Cabinet Ministers Continue Retreat

PETALING JAYA, July 4 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Cabinet ministers on Saturday continued their retreat at a hotel in Subang Jaya, here.

The two-day retreat, which began Friday, was said to have discussed various matters on development and the country's administration including the key performance index (KPI).

The KPI, announced by Najib in April, was introduced to monitor the ministers' performance and achievement and reflect the innovation introduced by the government as well as its more responsible and focused approach which gave priority to the people.

In the announcement, the Prime Minister had said he would be personally and directly involved in studying the performance of all ministers every six months with the assistance of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

Last month, Dr Koh confirmed that the retreat would be held early this month and that it was compulsory for all cabinet members to attend.

Meanwhile, attempts by the media who had been waiting since morning to interview the ministers were unsuccessful as they were prevented to enter the hotel by police personnel and the hotel's security guards.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, was seen leaving the hotel at about 5.45 pm, accompanied by Dr Koh and Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar.

Dr Koh later re-entered the hotel but turned down requests for an interview by the journalists who had followed him to the lift.

Ambalat, Maid Issues Heat Up Presidential Election Campaign

Ambalat, Maid Issues Heat Up Presidential Election Campaign

By Mohd Nasir Yusoff JAKARTA, July 3 (Bernama) -- Several issues related to Malaysia have been heating up the campaign in the Indonesian presidential election, with the three election rivals articulating their ways of dealing with them.

Among the major issues are the overlapping claims on the oil-rich Ambalat waters in Sulawesi and the ill-treatment of Indonesian maids in Malaysia.

Incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is defending the seat for a second term, said Indonesia would not let even a metre of Ambalat to be compromised.

Susilo came under fire from his rivals, who questioned the way he dealt with the issue. Megawati Soekarnoputri, for instance, said that an Indonesian leader should be firm on the matter.

Another presidential hopeful, incumbent vice-president Jusuf Kalla, lives up to his slogan of "Lebih Cepat Lebih Baik" (the sooner the better) when he became the first candidate to raise the issue in the campaign, pledging to defend Ambalat "either through negotiation or war."

Malaysians in Indonesia admitted there were quite taken aback by Jusuf's war statement because the vice-president, who is from south Sulawesi, has good rapport with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who also has roots in south Sulawesi.

Susilo explained that going the diplomatic way was a choice and never a sign of weakness.

"If war is the option, then let's go to war; but if we are rational, let's be rational. The important thing is that we are not going to let even a metre of our territory to be compromised," he said.

Susilo had contacted Najib at the height of the issue to calm the situation down and to keep at bay elements that could precipitate tensions between the Malaysian and Indonesian armed forces.

Megawati's running mate Prabowo Subianto said that in the Ambalat issue, the people should support the stand taken by the president.

Prabowo, the former head of Indonesian special force, Kopassus, expressed the hope that the relations between Malaysia and Indonesia remained cordial but said that there should never be any bargaining on matters pertaining to Indonesian territorial sovereignty.

Susilo also said that Indonesia lost Sipadan and Ligitan to Malaysia, and Timor Timur after the former Portugese colony declared its independent, because the two issues were left to others to resolve.

"We let the United Nations to solve the Timor Timur issue and the International Court of Justice to handle the Sipadan-Ligitan issue.

"In the future we must be able to solve our own internal problems," he said during the third and final presidential debate last night.

Susilo said that besides adopting a firm diplomacy, in defending its territory, Indonesia should also develop advanced infrastructure including in the information communication technology and uplifting the people's economic well-being.

Political observer Sukardi Rinakit told Bernama that the Ambalat issue was close and sensitive to hearts of the 170 million Indonesian voters.

"These issues, to me, are even bigger than the human rights issue involving Prabowo and Wiranto when they were military leaders," he said.

Wiranto is Jusuf's running mate.

Another issue being raised in the presidential campaign was the plight of 320,000 Indonesian maids in Malaysia and reports of abuse by employers involving some of them.

Observer said Susilo had the upper hands on the maids issue as he had set up an agency to oversee and protect Indonesian foreign workers.

During the campaign for the election, which ends Saturday, the Malaysian embassy here had seen thousands of Indonesians staging numerous demonstrations over the Ambalat and maids issues. Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Zainal Abidin Mohamed Zain said the wide coverage in the Indonesian media over the two issues was not only because they were hot issues in the election but rather, a reflection of the actual situation on the ground.

Another political observer Salleh Dani said issues concerning Malaysia were more dominant compared to issues with other countries.

"This cannot be avoided as we are very close to each other," he said, adding that the issues were real and raising them in the election did not amount to Malaysia being Indonesia's punching bag.

Salleh said the presidential election this time around would hinge on the way people perceive the candidates' stand on territorial issues like Ambalat after the bitter experience of losing Sipadan and Ligitan.

"The foreign workers issue is also important as many of the three million of them are voting in the election. Their families, who would want the best protection for the workers, are also voting in the election," he said.

-- BERNAMA

hot new!!!!

DAP to file habeas corpus to free ISA detainees

PARLIAMENT

DAP will file a writ of habeas corpus seeking the release of lawyers M. Manoharan and V. Ganabatirau, who are party members acting as lawyers for Hundraf.

The two lawyers have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be filed soon.

“We will file the papers because the detention involves our members,” DAP national chairman Karpal Singh told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

According to DAP MP (Ipoh Barat) and lawyer M Kula Segaran, one of the main grounds of the habeas corpus application is that Section 73 of the ISA which provides for the initial 60-day investigation period was bypassed.

“The law was not followed and we have sufficient case law to support the minister’s order (made under such circumstances) that can be declared null and void,” he explained

To detain an ISA detainee for two years directly under Section 8 is rarely done - except in 2004 when Sri Lankan businessman BSA Tahir was held over his alleged nuclear links and sent straight to the Kamunting camp.

UPDATES, 5:30PM: Karpal Singh has been appointed as the lead counsel for the legal team of the five detainees after a meeting with them at Kamunting this morning. DAP will also push for similar applications to be filed for the other detainees once the legal team is given more details and the representation to act by their families.

Meanwhile, according to AFP, the United States demanded that Malaysia provide fair treatment to five people held under ISA that allows for indefinite detention without trial.

“Our expectation as a government is that these individuals would be provided the full protections under Malaysian law, that they would be given due process, that they would be accorded all the rights accorded to any other citizen, and that this be done in a speedy and transparent manner,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

More quote:

Karpal Singh said the use of ISA under such circumstances could not be justified.

“They should be given an opportunity to face trial in open court if there is evidence,” he added.

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang concurred, “If they have committed an offence, bring them to court to stand trial. If it is sedition, charge them in court.”

The writ of habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action. It is a summons with the force of a court order addressed to the custodian, such as a prison official, demanding that an unlawfully detained person be brought before the court for release.