Saturday, January 1, 2011

Utusan must be in love with Teo Nie Ching to constantly give her so much of coverage


Women organisation representatives today slammed parties who have attacked Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching for wearing “tight clothes” at an aerobics event organised by a mosque earlier this month. According to Empower executive director Maria Chin Abdullah, the attention on her clothing was evidence of gender discrimination against female elected representatives. NONE“This is a sad pattern. We see this even in election campaigns where female candidates are subjected to personal attacks about how they dress and who they associate with. “This happened in the case of (Seputeh MP) Teresa Kok, (Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson) Elizabeth Wong, and (Batu Gajah MP) Fong Poh Kuan, who has had to sustain racist remarks in Parliament,” said Chin when contacted. On Thursday, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia reported on its front page that Teo was “creating trouble again” by dressing in tight clothing while participating in an aerobics session in the car park of a mosque in her constituency. The mosque committee had invited the MP to participate in the event, which was part of their Maal Hijrah celebrations. Teo had attended event dressed in track pants and a white tee shirt.

'Why target Teo?'

Women's Aid Organisation president Meera Samanther concurred with Chin, and asked why Teo (below) has been a regular target for such remarks. teo nie ching uncensored 120908 03The Serdang MP first came under Utusan's keen eye when they front-paged her wearing a “tight kebaya” and not covering her hair when she attended a surau event last August. “Why target her? Is it because she is female, vocal and in a position of power? “We are disappointed with such remarks but I would tell Teo that there will always be people who are unhappy, and she should ignore them and continue with her work,” said Samanther. Both women's rights activists also pointed out that Teo had attended the event as an invited guest of the mosque committee, whose members had no problems with her attire.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Why bother attending the Christmas gathering anyway?

Catholic church officials were told to remove crucifixes and to avoid hymns being sung when Prime Minister Najib Razak attended the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur’s Christmas tea party last Saturday.

The overzealous bid to protect the prime minister’s Islamic credentials was described by sources familiar with what happened as “paranoid” and done without Najib’s knowledge.

The sources also noted the actions of officials from the prime minister’s office could have jeopardised warming religious ties.

Najib’s men may have been spooked by the National Fatwa Council’s recent repeated announcements over Muslims at non-Muslim celebrations and had tripped over themselves to ensure his attendance at the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur’s Christmas Day high-tea passed without a hitch.

It was Najib’s first time attending a Christian function in his official role since taking over power in April last year.

The PM had been invited to last year’s open house hosted by the Mar Thoma church in Brickfields here, but did not attend.

Najib has been instrumental in bringing the heads of different creeds to the same table earlier this year to try and peacefully resolve the long-standing interfaith disputes after a series of attacks against houses of worship nationwide.

The violence erupted following a controversial court ruling allowing Christians to also use the word “Allah” to refer to God beyond the Muslim context.

Sources disclosed that this year, the PM’s aides had issued a list of instructions to Archbiship Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam to facilitate Najib’s attendance on Christmas Day.

Among the directives given were:

. To remove any overt Christian symbol, such as crucifixes, from the party premises

. That carollers not belt out hymns

. Not to quote from Scriptures or say any Christian prayer during the visit.

Similar conditions have been laid in previous Christmas celebrations, including those graced by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong himself, said a member of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), the umbrella body representing the various denominations.

The instructions usually came from the staff without the knowledge of the dignitary, said the insider who has been on the organising committee on more than one occasion.

“Previously, the carollers even sang some Christmas hymns. The King was there. No one made a fuss. I don’t think they heard.

“I suspect the PM would not have objected either,” he had observed that a member of Najib’s office had conferred with Pakiam and made a quick circuit of the party grounds at Bukit Nanas shortly before the PM dropped in.

The Archbishop could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

But another member of the CFM echoed the observation.

“No conditions from PM. Only from his staff. That resolved by ABP very quickly,” the source told The Malaysian Insider in a text message, calling the Archbishop by initials.

The sources noted that Najib’s aides had little to be anxious about as the party was held outdoors where several marquees had been set up, where religious paraphernalia were the least likely to be fixed.

Grace was said before Najib turned up.

There were two groups of carollers serenading the crowd – one from Africa, the other a local outfit – but the guests were too caught up in their chatter and did not appear to be paying them any attention.

“They were overly fearful but there was nothing for them to be fearful about,” a source pointed out, dismissing Najib’s aides as too “paranoid”.

[Source: The Malaysian Insider]

And is this what you called "1Malaysia"? Oh, puhleeeeeeez ....

Yes, I agree with you, Hannah. It is SABOTAGE alright, plain and simple!

Inspired by the tweeting rampage of PKR member of parliament N Gobalakrishnan and the appointment of pro-UMNO official Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the new Selangor state secretary, Subang Jaya state representative Hannah Yeoh has concluded that the word 'sabotage' summed up the challenges faced by Pakatan Rakyat.

"If I have to choose one word to sum up the challenges faced by PR it will be SABOTAGE," she posted on Twitter in response to internal and external attacks against Pakatan Rakyat.

Since last week, Gobalakrishnan, once a staunch supporter of Anwar Ibrahim, has been attacking his party comrades over the microblogging site, accusing them of ignoring Indians and the poor in the state.

Yesterday, the Chief Secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan announced controversial director of the Selangor Islamic Department Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the new state secretary from January 1.

The state administration however said the decision was not final as menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim had not been informed about the appointment, but had instead sent three names as candidates to choose from.

[Source: Harakahdaily]

An UMNO sex maniac in the Malaysian Cabinet!


Why am I not surprised?

By day, he is the epitome of discretion and good manners, fielding questions on the economy and responding to the concerns of his constituents. By night, when he is safe behind the high walls of his gated community, this man‘s sexual prowess and outbursts is his stock in trade.

Who is this man whose identity is being kept secret and who allegedly raped his Indonesian maid three years ago?

After the recent Wikileaks disclosures about Malaysia’s ‘incompetent’ politicians and Najib’s reputation tarred by ‘that murder’, the latest revelation is that former Prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi covered up a rape case involving one of his ministers.

Another popular blog, Rocky's Bru, also claimed that an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) had reported that the alleged rape happened in Kuala Lumpur.

Copies of this report were sent to the United States and Indonesian embassies here, and it contained a transcript of an interview with the alleged victim from Central Java.

It is believed that a copy of the report was also submitted to the Prime Minister's Office.

The maid, a mother of two, had been employed by the minister, a veteran Umno politician, for eight years.

Another site allegedly said that when the maid told the wife of the politician what her husband had subjected her to, the maid ended up being verbally abused and slapped, in a further act of humiliation. Needless to say, the wife did not report the incident to the police.

There have also been claims that at the time, Najib Abdul Razak had seen the file.

According to the NGO's report, the maid’s husband was aware of the rape but because of fear and shame, they were reluctant to press charges. Vicitims and those closest to them often bear the pain and hurt in silence. No one knows the true extent and damage of both the physical and psychological scars of the victims.

The WikiLeaks revelations also showed that Abdullah decided to keep silent because he feared that the issue would affect Malaysia-Indonesia ties.

Malaysian politicians and in particular its leaders, have failed its people and also its neighbours, yet again.

In order to protect both the reputation of his cabinet and of himself, the Prime minister of the day refused to act in accordance with the law so that proper investigations could be started, to establish whether a crime had been committed, or not.

Abdullah cited national security and was prepared to break the law. This is irresponsible of him and shows the lack of morals and sense of justice in him. He is selfish and would sacrifice truth and a woman’s desire to seek justice, over his cabinet’s image, at all costs.

Is this symptomatic of the quality of our leaders? Are there no more decent men left in Malaysia who have high principles and integrity?

If it is not sex scandals or violence in various forms, our sense of trust is eroded with having to deal with corrupt politicians. A few days ago, Najib Abdul Razak, announced that a former politician, Mohd Isa Abdul Samad would become the Chairman of FELDA. Mohd Isa had been convicted and punished for money politics in 2005.

The Malaysian government will never learn, will it? It will continue to ride rough shod over its citizens.

Nevertheless, when asked to comment on this case, PKR Wanita vice-chief Haniza Mohd said that those who flouted the law had to be dealt with, irrespective of their position.

She said, “Although the credibility of the WikiLeaks disclosure could be questioned, if the rape really happened, it would tarnish Malaysia's image and affect bilateral ties. I am not talking specifically about this case, but in general, we cannot have two different legal approaches for VIPs and ordinary citizens. Whoever is accused must face the due process of law, especially when the said offender is a leader who has been given the mandate and trust by the people.”

Haniza stressed that everyone was equal before the law and added, “If the WikiLeaks disclosure is true, then I condemn the crime and urge that legal action be taken against the perpetrator and that the victim be given adequate protection.”

The Jakarta based NGO, Migrant CARE, issued a press release dated August 1st 2007 regarding the case involving Indonesian maid, Robengah and said that it was under investigation. They also said that their findings would be submitted to the relevant authority.

Although the name of the Senior Minister was not mentioned, a PAS blogger claimed that it is possibly connected with the withdrawal a month earlier by a Senior Minister from contesting for a significant position in an international body.

Malaysia Chronicle appends below a press release found on the Tenaganita website:

Migrant Care: Maid Raped by Malaysian Senior Minister

We are extremely concern about the alarming increases in number of such rape and physical abuses incidents happened in Malaysia. Two years ago, we failed to advocate for an Indonesian maid who was raped by a Minister from Kedah.

We wish to express our gratitude towards the concern of the Civil Society and bloggers community in Malaysia with regards to the recent Maid Raped by Malaysian senior minister.

This case involved Malaysian Politician from the ruling party whose Indonesian Maid name Robengah is currently under Migrant Care investigation.

The nature of the case is highly sensitive and involve the national interests of both countries, we hope all the concern parties will be very patient with us because Migrant Care is as concern as the other stakeholders of this loving nation of Malaysia.

As an NGO Migrant Care shall have no political interests to tarnish the image of the politician and political party involved, nor denying the rightful justice of the raped victim.

We cordially request the interested parties please do not create any untruthful speculations before the results of final investigation of which we will officially submit to the relevant authority for their further actions.

Failure of such, then we shall seek justice through international communities.

RELA, in their national missions, has already caused significant hatred feeling among the people in the Republic of Indonesia against Malaysia despite of very cordial diplomatic relationship at the top government to government level. The role of RELA as Indonesian undocumented migrant bounty hunter has become significant security threat to the regional security in the years to come.

It is timely that Malaysia – Indonesia think tank groups seriously study the migrant workers that impacted the social, political, economy and regional security.

We believe justice will be done in accordance to the law of Malaysia through the proper channel and positive constructive engagement with the authorities involved.

Jakarta, 01 August 2007

Wahyu Susilo

Policy Analyst

Anis Hidayah

Executive Director,

Alex Ong

Country Director