5127 RM4.00 2011:Vol.31No.1 For

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 1 For Justice, Freedom & Solidarity PP3739/12/2011(026665) ISSN 0127 - 5127 RM4.00 2011:Vol.31No.1 COVER STORY Year of publicity stunts, slogans and spin Genuine people-centred reforms and greater respect for human rights and civil liberties remain an illusion by Martin Jalleh

ast year, 2010, was a LL period of public rela- LLL tions, publicity stunts, political rhetoric, populist slogans and pure pro- paganda puff by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his BN government. They put up a perfect ‘performance’ of “1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now”, with the rakyat being offered a pipe- dream and a pie in the sky!

Najib’s flagging image was re- engineered by Apco Worldwide, a global public relations con- sultant. He was portrayed as a premier who was ready and rar- ing to redeem Bolehland with his purported radical reforms and to “transform Malaysia through a comprehensive innovation process”.

Surely Apco would not have to contend with the fact that as a former Defence Minister Najib had left a “disgraceful” legacy of financial mismanagement, ir- regularities in procurement, wastage and even serious allegations of kickbacks, bribery and corruption. Public amnesia paved the way for public relations.

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 2 EDITOR'S NOTE

Genuine people-centred reforms and greater respect for human rights and civil liberties in Malaysia re- CONTENTS main an illusion. Instead what we see are publicity stunts, slogans and spin, says Martin Jalleh as he takes us on a tour of the major areas of concern in COVER STORY the country. ••• Year Of Publicity Stunts, Slogans And SpinSpinAnd 222 The economy, while serving fabulous wealth for a ••• It's A Sham; It's A Show; few, has also seen a capital flight. Leaders remain It's A Shame - It's Our Economy! 666 in denial or indulge in flip-flops on economic policy ••• Najib Takes Country Into A Leap as they tout farcical reforms. The economy drifts Of Greater Losses 101010 along listlessly in the face of scandalous losses suf- ••• Damning Diaspora Data 121212 fered by GLCs while mismanagement, ‘leakages’ ••• Malpractices, Mismanagement And and the squandering of public funds have reached Misuse Of Funds 131313 alarming levels. Even as the country’s debt level ••• Best Bloated Bureaucracy! 151515 rises, the bureaucracy remains bloated, bleeding the ••• Pathetic And Powerless Parliament 171717 fiscal budget. Many Malaysians voted with their feet, ••• The Accused, Absurd, Arrogant AG 242424 as they emigrated to greener pastures. ••• Gani's Glaring Double-Standards 252525 ••• Public Confidence In Police Faced with this grim scenario, the institutions of PlummetsPlummetsPlummets 272727 democracy have been unable to rise to the occasion. ••• MACC Stumbled, Struggled And Parliament is pathetic and powerless, weighed down Strangulated Itself 313131 by Executive dominance. The Attorney General has ••• A Compromised Judiciary 404040 been reduced to a caricature of absurdity and arrogance, his double-standards evident to many. Pub- lic confidence in the police has plummeted. The FEATURES demonstration of ‘self-strangulation’ by the MACC’s ••• A Watchman's Journal 191919 legal head epitomised the state of the anti-graft body ••• No Plastic Bags... Won't Die-lah 222222 while the judiciary sank to new lows, its impartiality apparently compromised. OTHERSOTHERSOTHERS On a different note, Angeline Loh discusses if Ma- ••• Subscription Form 383838 laysians are ready to take on the ‘no plastic bags’ ••• AppealAppealAppeal 393939 challenge while Wong Chin Huat reviews Francis Loh’s book ‘Old vs New Politics in Malaysia’. Published by Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)(ALIRAN)(ALIRAN) Aliran is an organisation for ‘social democratic 103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong, reform’. We advocate freedom, justice and Penang, Malaysia. solidarity; comment critically on social issues, offer analysis and alternative ideas keeping in mind Tel: (04) 658 5251 Fax: (04) 658 5197 the national and global picture based on universal Email: [email protected] human rights and spiritual values. We are listed Please indicate if it is a letter to the editor on the on the roster of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran Homepage : http://www.aliran.com welcomes all Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage. Printed by Konway Industries Sdn. Bhd. Plot 78, Lebuhraya Kampung Jawa, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 3 Their publicity blitz included the the right path towards attaining sia, the reverse has taken place. PM in a pleasantries-and-photo developed nation status by There has been an unprecedented session with the US President (ar- 2020”. rhetoric of irresponsible politick- ranged by lobbyists reportedly ing, racist extremism and religious costing RM25 million). Najib’s But it did not take long before bigotry emanating from Perkasa image was further propped up Apco’s plastic public relations and within Umno, in particular with his “First Lady” receiving an and the PM’s pretence began to Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia. obscure award there, highlighted peel off. The Opposition posed in a very costly advertisement in very pertinent and pointed ques- By the end of 2010, Najib, who fan- the New York Times, paid by tax- tions at his grandiose proposals. cied himself as the Father of Trans- payers. They even presented alternatives, formation, had this to show – far- for example, the DAP’s Budget! cical changes, fantasised figures, Najib was continually cast as one Bloggers poked fun at the piece- flip-flops, a frail economy, failing who was confident, competent meal initiatives. institutions, flawed policies (like and even courageous in reviving the New Economic Model (NEM)) the country’s comatose economy Najib wanted to be a spinmaster and a fraudulent Perak govern- with his slew of acronyms, show- himself: he insisted that 1Malay- ment. case of plans and pledges, and sia was his very own creation; it spate of potential privatised is not political but merely a tool to An illusion projects costing trillions! foster unity! His logic spun out of control when faced with the fact Najib gave himself away when For spinning illusions, Apco is that it is a concept propagated by whilst staunchly defending paid RM77 million of taxpayers’ a government that promotes a Malay rights at the 61st Umno money a year. Malaysia is the race-based party system, which is Annual General Assembly, re- consultancy’s highest paying cli- the main obstacle to our unity! vealed that ‘crushed bodies’, ‘lost ent. The government think-tank lives’, ‘ethnic cleansing’ if the sta- ‘Performance Management on Further, as was pointed out by tus quo was not kept! 1Malaysia Delivery Units’ (Pemandu) was Lim Kit Siang, 20 months since the has nothing to do with unity but set up at the price of RM66 mil- introduction of Najib’s 1Malay- with Najib keeping his “throne” lion, with RM36 million going to in Putra-jaya, no matter what! American consultancy firm McKinsey and Co. Najib’s political masquerade came off again when, at the BN The Pemandu operating budget convention in early December, he for 2011 will be as high as RM729 made a vicious attack on Pakatan million – Pemandu (RM40 mil- Rakyat calling it “anti-national”, lion), National Key Result Areas “evil”, “very dangerous” and (RM334 million) and National “despicable”. Najib proved to be Key Economic Areas (RM355 mil- as superficial and shallow as his lion). (Subsidy cuts were expected reforms, and this is the man who to save about RM750 million in wanted to teach Obama modera- 2010 - more than enough to pay tion! for Pemandu’s operating budget?) As the think-tanks churned out more transformation programmes Out of Pemandu’s labs came a and the judiciary played its part plethora of projections, in the sodomy case, Najib and a programmes, powerpoint presen- “transformed” Umno continued tations, persuasive charts, para- Lim Kit Siang: 20 months after on with their scare tactics, saber- phernalia and promising plans 1Malaysia, the reverse has taken rattling tricks, sinister theatrics, that “will position the nation on placeplaceplace scandalous political thuggery

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 4 and silly “traitor” and “treason” which publishes UMNO’s and its labelling. right wing offshoot Perkasa’s mouthpiece, Utusan Malaysia, re- Najib’s 1Malaysia dream was recorded a pre-tax loss of RM10.682 duced to an illusion each time it million in the first nine months of became glaring that the PM and 2010. his deputy were in collision and were far from being of one mind Najib took the country to great when it came to issues such as the “heights” and depths in 2010. economy, inter-faith or ethnic re- Our 2009 national debt rose to 53.7 lations or whether to continue per cent of GDP, its highest level courting Pas in the name of Malay in five years. There was an exo- unity. dus of money from Malaysia on a scale which surpassed that dur- In December 2010, the PM being the Asian crisis. Malaysia’s trayed himself when he chickened Paul Low: Laid the blame on the FDI plunged 81 per cent, and we out of reforming the NEP, which federal government were the only Asean country to ex- according to CIMB Group CEO perience negative FDI flow in Nazir Abdul Razak has been record worsened in 2010 and that 2009. “bastardised”. Najib relegated the Bolehland was returning to NEM to merely a “trial balloon” “Mahathir’s era” – a period Malaysia was seen to be more cor- and backtracked from his commit- known for its intolerance of disrupt than ever by Transparency ment that affirmative action sent. According to Suaram, they International (TI) in its global Cor- would be implemented based on were “signs of a closing society”. ruption Perceptions Index (CPI) need and not on race. 2009 launched in Nov. 2010. Paul Najib and the BN continued to Low, president of the local branch Alas, 2010 was a year when the make use of the mainstream me- of TI, laid the blame on the federal rakyat especially the poor, had to dia to the maximum to spin its il- government, singling out its lack struggle with soaring prices and lusory world of magic and make- of political will in enforcing tight a senseless high cost of living as a believe, and to manufacture the anti-graft measures. result of being shortchanged by so-call truth to serve its political the government’s charade of manipulations and maneuverings While Najib and the BN were kept change, whilst corporate giants especially through the BN-owned busy building an illusion with the and cronies escaped subsidy cuts newspapers. help of their spin doctors, the Op- and bled the country dry. position, the PKR in particular, With the media muzzled, were brought down to earth to face Reforms and greater respect for Bolehland plunged 10 notches to the reality that if they do not get human rights and civil liberties 141 in the 2010 World Press Free- their own hou se in order soon remained an illusion last year. dom Index - the lowest in nine they might as well forget about The Najib administration contin- years - putting it firmly in the bot- controlling Parliament House. ued to display intolerance to- tom quarter of 178 countries. The wards dissent and free speech. government also got into a books- Thus goes the story of this sick The proposed cyber-sedition law banning-binge, ignoring the fact country and a sham democracy in signalled the increase in further that such a ban to media freedom 2010. q crackdowns on the freedom of ex- will only lead us into a political pression. backwater. Martin Jalleh is a well Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) Lesser people were buying the known political commen- released its Civil and Political BN’s mouthpieces’ muck, malice tator.tator.tator. Rights Report 2010, which warned and morass. For example the that the country’s human rights Utusan Melayu, the company

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 5 COVER STORY - ECONOMY It’s a sham; it’s a show; it’s a shame - it’s our economy!

as it attempts to become a major • “The present PM has made some helpful gestures to- global player – at the expense of wards liberalising the economy...These initiatives, how- Malaysian citizenry in general ever, must do more than skim the surface of what must and the oil and gas producing states in particular.” be done. (7 January 2010) The newspaper added the capital • “Malaysia is a sham democracy, one which existed only flight was also due to “the outflow in name but grievously compromised in substance, real- of local private capital (which) ity and fact… Reforms could not be expected from the has been taking place on an un- incumbents in power.” (8 February 2010) precedented scale in response to political instability, massive offi- • “Our economy has stagnated. Productivity remains low. cial corruption and discrimina- We now lag our regional competitors in the quality of tion against non-Malays.” our people, when we were once leaders in the developing “Often with the exodus of money world.” (23 March 2010) goes an exodus of talent as highly skilled persons disadvantaged by ~ Tengku Razaleigh, race or, as in the case of some former Finance Minister and veteran leader of Umno Malays, disgusted by local corruption or primitive religious authorities, take themselves and their elow is a glance at the close to 25 per cent even though capital to Australia, Canada, In- BB sad scenario of how the the country continued to run a dia, China, etc.” BBB country’s once strong huge surplus on the current ac- economy has fallen sick count of its balance of payments. (See story on “Damning Diaspora with the government putting up a Data”on page 12) big show (performance now!) of The USB described the situation economic reforms in 2010 - full of as “bizarre” and contrasted Ma- Foolish denial sound and fury signifying noth- laysia with other countries with ing. large current account surpluses – In a report on Malaysia released Thailand, China, Taiwan, at the end of January 2010, the Flight in capital Singapore, and Hong Kong – Hong Kong-based Political and which have seen their reserves Economic Risk Consultancy The year 2010 began with the bad increase – as should be expected. (PERC) warned: “Events of the news that Bolehland had suffered past month give the impression disastrous capital flight in the pre- AS suggested that the massive that pressures are building and vious year. The Asia Sentinel, an outflow could be partly due to the the entire situation is becoming online news website, on 11 Janu- government’s state-controlled en- much more unstable” (Malaysian ary 2010, quoted investment bank terprises, headed by Petronas, Insider, 10 Feb. 2010). UBS as revealing that in 2009 for- which “has been spending its bil- eign exchange reserves fell by lions in profits around the world Since New Year’s Day (2010) “the

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 6 situation in the country is becom- Some felt Idris’ doomsday sce- ing increasingly unstable; a nario had a sobering effect. Oth- group of elite minorities were ers were sceptical. Some said it dominating the national agenda was just a scare tactic or just some to the extent that it was hurting stunt or drama by Idris – to side- Malaysia’s attractiveness to inves- track the nation from the real is- tors…” sues. Some Umno warlords told the PM to give Idris the sack; he Lim Kit Siang then asked for was asking them to commit politi- Najib’s response to the PERC’s cal suicide! “blistering” report and the pros- pect of Malaysia becoming even DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang was more uncompetitive internation- sharp enough to point at Idris’ ally. Najib chose to be silent but Dr Jeyakumar: NEM's policy thrusts failure to address the root causes his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin lifted from the Pakatan Rakyat's of the national economic crisis in- prescription for reform. called the report “part of a hid- stead of just dealing with its symp- den agenda to destabilise the toms. Idris failed to focus on the country”. big ticket items – corruption, mis- He, however, argued that the management, extravagance and Evidently, Muhyiddin chose to NEM is “a deeply-flawed policy”, lack of accountability. (See sec- ignore Second Finance Minister “essentially the recycling of tions on “A leap into greater Husni Ahmad Hanadzlah’s rev- policy prescriptions from the losses” and “Malpractices, mis- elation made in December 2009 neoliberal school”. He warned management and misuse of that the country’s economy “has that planning for the future must funds”.) been stagnating for the past de- not be left to the PM and the cade (in the wake of the 1998 NEAC who “are clearly still stuck Idris proved that he was a typical Asian financial crisis)”. inside the old and tired neo-lib- politician, though he says he is eral box”. not one, by claiming that his state- Flip-flopping ment was taken out of context. The on the NEP As the months passed, Najib back- PM stayed far away from Idris’ tracked on the “promising” NEM. apocalyptic speech. He made the On 30 March 2010, the PM un- He succumbed to strident objec- CEO of Pemandu a sitting duck veiled the much-awaited New tions from extremist right wing whilst he ran short of political will Economic Model (NEM) which groups, such as Perkasa, to the to seriously address the subsidy will “transform the nation into a NEM. He flip-flopped over the 30 syndrome. high-income economy that is sus- per cent Bumiputera equity target tainable and inclusive and will and even called the NEM a “trial Things turned out the way DAP’s position the nation on the right balloon”. Tony Pua had predicted: “I don’t path towards attaining developed think the Najib administration nation status by 2020”. False alarm has the courage to carry out the by Idris Jala? cuts…not across the board and Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, an Aliran not as Idris planned it. They’ll member and Sungai Siput MP, On 27 May 2010, Idris Jala, Min- probably stagger the subsidy cuts, praised the NEM’s policy state- ister in the PM’s Department one every three to four months, as ment and in particular the “un- stunned the nation with his sud- long as there is no by-election.” characteristic honesty about the den and dramatic warning that current situation of the Malaysian we have a time bomb in our hands Then came another slap on Idris’ economy”. He added that “its – we could go bankrupt by 2019. face. His warning was based on policy thrusts have been lifted We either swallow subsidy cuts the country’s total subsidy of from the Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) or risk having a “Greece” staring RM74 billion, equivalent to prescription for reform”. at us! RM12,900 per household last

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 7 year. Najib’s Finance Ministry lower than the Philippines, ernment-linked entities, such as had the country’s total subsidy at which attracted US$1.95 bil- the Sungai Buloh land to an EPF only RM18.6 billion, equivalent to lion, while Singapore raked in joint venture with the government, RM3,246 per household. the most — more than US$16 or the Sungai Besi airport redevel- billion. (It was the first time opment, to the 1Malaysia Devel- The contradictions between the ever that Malaysia attracted opment Fund.” PM and Idris would become more less investment than the Phil- and more glaring. For example, ippines!) “Without these necessary and three days after the dire warning critical changes to the that the country could become Pas vice-president Mahfuz Omar government’s economic policies, bankrupt by 2019, the PM de- said that the plunge in foreign in- the Malaysian economy will only clared: “Malaysia can be a devel- vestment in 2009 proved that continue to drift away from the oped nation by 2020, if the coun- Najib had failed miserably in his radar of both local and foreign try registers a continuous six per Key Performance Indicators (KPI) investors,” he said. cent annual growth”! and National Key Results Area (NKRA) (meant to gauge govern- Nothing really changed in spite Foreign/local mental performance) as PM and of the warnings of the WIR in July investors stay away Finance minister. He should re- 2010. One could see this clearly sign gracefully. in a statement which came out in In mid-July the released UN’s December 2010 by Ramon World Foreign Investment Report According to Mahfuz, the main Navaratnam, who warned that (WIR) 2010 revealed the following: factors responsible for the dismal the Najib administration would • Malaysia’s FDI plunged 81 per performance in attracting inves- face continued investor scepticism cent from US$7.32 billion in tors were: until it became more explicit on 2008 to just US$1.38 billion in • Rampant corruption, bureau- how to make Malaysia a high-in- 2009, trailing behind cratic red-tape and money paid come nation. neighbouring countries such to middle men. as Thailand, Indonesia, Viet- The former senior civil servant nam and Singapore. • Interference and a state of who had helped Tun Abdul “lawlessness’ in the judiciary. Razak draft the NEP said the • Malaysia was the only Asean The Lingamgate case, the BN’s second New Economic Model country to experience negative power grab in Perak and Sod- (NEM) report was filled with FDI flow in 2009. omy II gave the impression that good intentions but “very short” Malaysia practised law of rule on specific measures. He added: • The country’s 2009 FDI fell and not rule of law. “And therein lies the problem… Investors, after waiting so long, • Government’s mismanage- find they’re back almost to ment of giant government- square one in terms of the spe- linked-companies such as cifics and policy proposals they Sime Darby, Felda and can act on.” Maybank had hurt investor confidence. Fine performance by PR DAP’s chief economist Tony Pua had this to add: “Despite Datuk According to Penang Chief Min- Seri Najib repeatedly insisting that ister Lim Guan Eng, the combined the era where ‘the government four Pakatan Rakyat states of knows best’ is over, his adminis- Penang, Selangor, Kedahand tration continues to crowd out pri- Kelantan beat the 9 BN states to- Tony Pua: Malaysian economy will vate investments by directly gether in terms of investments in continue to drift away. awarding mega-projects to gov- 2010.

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 8 They succeeded in attracting rious effects when the PM/Fi- and false promises are starting to RM25 billion in investments com- nance Minister prepared the 2011 come unstuck. It is also highly prising 53% of Malaysia’s total in- budget recently. He is suffering likely the actual results are much vestments of RM47.2 billion in from an economics heatstroke I worse because you can be sure the 2010. Despite the financial con- think.” survey-takers would have tried straints and limitations imposed their best to be kind to him,” com- by BN, PR showed good gover- He provided an excellent example: mented PKR vice president Tian nance. What has the construction of a Chua. 100-storey tower got to do with the For the first time in history, government budget? Or for that The poll was conducted by the Penangwas the new champion of matter the construction of the Merdeka Centre and suggested investments in Malaysia, replac- RM43 billion MRT, the RM10 bil- that the lower approval rating was ing the previous 2009 champion lion mixed development of Sungai due in part to a reduction in gov- Sarawak by recording RM 12.2 Buluh, the RM26 billion construc- ernment subsidies for fuel and billion in 2010 as compared to tion of the KLIF hub, RM10 billion sugar. The poll also found that few Sarawak’s RM3.9 billion. worth of highways? Malaysians understood or appre- ciated his flashy RM1.4 trillion Lim took pride in saying that Idris Jala will be remembered as Economic Transformation Penang’s success in drawing in the man who at one moment Programme. RM12.2 billion was an extraordi- would shake the nation with his nary vote of confidence by both apocalyptic message and at the Many felt the government was re- foreign and local investors in the very next moment suffocate the fusing to do what was necessary PR state government of Penang. nation with a slew of grandiose to save the economy. As was The No.2 state after Penang was plans through his slick plainly put by Tengku Razaleigh, another PR state of Selangor with powerpoint presentations. He who blamed the Najib adminis- RM 10.6 billion in investments. would be sadly accused of being tration for crippling the national an spin doctor for Umno. economy by putting politics ahead Farcical reforms of policy reforms, “only political The target for private investment change can bring economics re- 2010 was a year which revealed set by Najib through the ETP, 10- forms to Malaysia”. how sick the country’s economy MP and Budget 2011, stood at has become with the PM and his RM115 billion at an increase of 12 The Umno veteran urged the PM government trying to cure it by per cent every year until 2020. But to end race-based affirmative drowning it with acronym soup in spite of the slew of acronyms, programmes in the NEP, drawn — GTP, NKRAs, NKEAs, SRIs, the showcase of plans, projec- up 40 years ago, which he said NEM, ETP, EPPs, SRIs and more. tions, and programmes, and the was a cover for “corruption, crony spate of privatised projects, there capitalism and money politics”. Alas, Najib would end up look- were no significant signs of for- ing so silly at times. When com- eign and domestic investor confi- Before the year ended Opposition menting on the Budget for 2011, dence. Leader Anwar Ibrahim accused Sakmongkol AK47, the pen-name the government of bullying the of Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, a On 24 December 2010, the Malay- poor by failing to impose similar former state assembly member of sia Chronicle reported that a sur- subsidy cuts on “subsidy mon- Pahang who is an Umno member, vey showed Najib’s popularity sters” like the Independent Power said that Najib was “suffering dropping by a significant amount Producers The latest price hikes from Acronymitis”. - from 72 per cent to 69 per cent on daily essentials was clear cent, and this had his minders proof of the BN’s “double stan- “It’s a new disease I suppose scrambling to spin away his loss dard” and “flagrant inconsis- which has become fashionable of approval among Malaysians. tency”. since Najib took over from Pak Lah. And we are seeing its delete- “The artificial public relations - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 9 COVER STORY - ECONOMY Najib takes country into a leap of greater losses

eakages, laggard gov- matters during his tenure, alleged LL ernment ministries and that there was mismanagement LLL agencies, and scandal- and high-level government cor- ous losses and “looting” ruption in the organisation. He by the political elite marked also accused Najib of “single Najib’s second year as PM. Below handedly destroying Felda”! are some examples: “As of now out of the huge cash • In May 2010, Pas proposed to hoard of RM 4.5 Billion, only file a suit against the Federal Gov- RM200 Million is left. In actual ernment for ceding away the oil fact with the record price of CPO and gas-rich offshore Blocks L (crude palm oil) for the past few and M in South China Sea to years, Felda, if managed properly, Brunei to protect the rights of fu- should have cash reserves of RM6 ture generations of Sarawakians, billion! The reverse has happened Sabahans and Malaysians. and now it has only a pathetic Mahathir had estimated that the sum left.” worth of oil and gas rights for both Dr Tan Kee Kwong: Alleged there blocks are in the region of US$100 After his initial attempts to ap- was mismanagement and high-level billion (RM320 billion). pease an angry PM and to do some government corruption. damage control Ahmad Maslan, • On 8 May 2010, Minister in the the deputy minister in the Prime PM’s Department Nor Mohamed Minister’s Department and in than the debt itself. Yakcop confirmed that Pos Ma- charge of Felda, admitted in par- laysia Bhd had incurred losses liament that Felda’s cash reserves • On 29 July 2010, former Trans- over the years amounting to had plunged to RM2.73 billion port Minister Ling Liong Sik was RM546 million. He said he was from RM4.08 billion in 2004 and charged in the Kajang Sessions “not directly involved (with the five years later it dropped further Court over his involvement in the losses) because Pos Malaysia, as to RM1.35 billion in 2009. RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free a government-linked company Zone (PKFZ) scandal. PKFZ, a (GLC), has its board of directors • In July 2010, it was revealed that commercial and industrial project and any decision is determined by Johor Corporation (JCorp), the south of the capital, was con- the board, including Khazanah most successful state corporation ceived as a RM1.82 billion venture Nasional Bhd, without having to in the country was in debt constructed over 1,000 acres. refer to the ministry of finance”. amounting to RM3.58 billion. Its However, costs are expected to Chief Executive Officer balloon to RM12.5 billion, making • In an open letter dated 13 June, Muhammad Ali Hashim denied the affair one of the country’s big- former Land and Co-Operative his resignation was due to the gest financial scandals and a ma- Development deputy minister Dr company’s debt and added that jor embarrassment for the govern- Tan Kee Kwong, who was put in JCorp’s asset value of RM12 bil- ment (Malaysiakini). charge of answering questions in lion, including RM6 billion in Parliament regarding all Felda listed shares, is currently higher • On 5 August 2010, the Malay-

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 10 sian Insider reported that the 100- (NEP) in 1971 remained in the mega-construction projects such year-old Sime Darby Berhad could hands of the Malays. as the: face massive losses amounting to RM2 billion or as high as RM2.5 • On 16 August 2010, it was made • Shah Alam Hospital project: billion. Most of the losses are known that fuel price volatility led Khalid questioned the whop- down to ill-advised investments Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to post ping increase in the cost of the in the energy and utilities sector a pre-tax loss of RM533 million project (mooted about 10 years in Qatar as well as tardy business for the second quarter ending 30 ago). It was initially estimated practices in the development of June 2010 compared with a pre- to cost taxpayers RM300 million the Bakun Dam in Sarawak. tax profit of RM896 million in the but later ballooned to a stagger- same period in 2009. Its revenue, ing RM482 million– a mark-up • On 13 August 2010, Anwar however, increased by 26 per cent of RM182 million. It was sched- urged Najib to come clean about to RM3.2 billion (compared to uled for completion on 14 Au- further potential losses in the RM2.5 billion) while operating gust 2010, rescheduled for No- troubled Bakun Dam project. This profit improved 33 per cent. For vember 2010 but has now been is especially if the losses, said to the first half ending 30 June 2010, extended to June 2011. After amount to another RM2 billion the airline posted a pre-tax loss of making many excuses, the min- following problematic federal- RM212 million from a pre-tax ister said that the Public Works state negotiations, are to be ab- profit of RM190 million. Department (PWD) was in the sorbed by the rakyat already suf- process of appointing a ‘white fering from subsidy cuts. . • On 20 October 2010, Malacca knight’ to rescue and complete Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam the abandoned project by way The total cost of the dam is re- officially declared the historical of a limited tendering procure- ported to have ballooned to RM7.3 state “a developed state”. Two ment method. billion. Anwar also raised the weeks later, the Organisation for alarm over the total RM5.75 bil- Economic Cooperation and Devel- • National Cancer Institute: The lion in loans from the Employees opment (OECD) clarified that the cost for this project (believed to be Provident Fund (EPF) and Retire- OECD did not endorse the directly awarded to an unknown ment Fund Incorporated (KWAP), Malaccan declaration, mainly be- entity connected to the ruling elite) which have largely funded the cause they were not in a position escalated from RM340 million Bakun Dam project to do so! Two months later, when announced in 2007 to Malacca’s RM15.9mil new mono- RM700 million in 2009. “Who will pay for the losses? Will rail, which the CM had launched the prime minister instruct the on that “historic” day, was • New Palace: Khalid also sought EPF and KWAP to quietly write plagued by “several technical and to censure the minister for the ex- off a part of the RM5.75 billion in mechanical problems”. Then in orbitant cost of RM935 million for loans to Bakun Dam to hide the the month after its launch, the the new palace which stood at losses from the public?” monorail only worked intermit- RM811 million in June. The cost (Malaysiakini) tently before more problems devel- of the new palace doubled from oped with its wheels and software its estimated RM400 million in • On 16 August 2010, DAP secre- system (Malaysian Chronicle). 2006 and the contacts for the con- tary-general Lim Guan Eng struction were awarded to three criticised the BN for failing to act • On 29 November 2010, opposi- companies through direct negotia- against those he claimed stole tion parliamentarian Khalid tions, instead of open tenders. RM52 billion worth of Bumiputera Samad (Pas-Shah Alam) moved a Well-placed sources in Kuala shares from poor Malays. Najib RM10 pay-cut motion against Lumpur told Asia Sentinel that the reportedly admitted in June 2008 Works Minister Shaziman Abu total cost is actually nearing that only RM2 billion out of the Mansor for his minister’s inabil- RM1.2 billion and is expected to RM54 billion of Bumiputera ity to tackle delays, alleged dis- go higher. shares given out since the incep- crepancies and allegations of tion of the New Economic Policy Umno-linked cronyism in various - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 11 COVER STORY - ECONOMY Damning diaspora data

n 4 October 2010, PM Najib Razak ex- with 40 per cent of them in the United States and OO pressed his concern that the exodus of lo- 10 per cent in Australia. OOO cal talent to developed countries has threat- • 304,358 Malaysians had migrated from March ened his vision of transforming Malaysia 2008 till August 2009 compared with 139,696 into a high-income nation by 2020. Below are some Malaysians in 2007. statistics gathered from various sources and high- • Around 7,000 plus research scientists, i.e., about lighted in 2010 to show how serious the problem is: 70 per cent of the total in Malaysia, working overseas. • 785,000 Malaysians are working overseas. Un- officially, the figure is well over 1 million (or even Bird-brained over brain drain 1.5 million) (Malaysian Employers Federation executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan). • Of those who have left, nearly 40 per cent of them In response to the disturbing diaspora scenario, the have settled in Singapore; 30 per cent in the government announced in December 2010 the set- Organisation for Economic Co-operationa and ting up of a “Talent Corporation” under the Tenth Development (OECD) countries such as Austra- Malaysia Plan to attract and retain highly-skilled lia, USA, UK, Canada and New Zealand; 20 per human capital. Operating under the PM’s Depart- cent in other Asean countries and 10 per cent in ment, it would commence operations in January the rest of the world. 2011. • An Australian immigration agency in Perth with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor has re- Judging from the statements of the political elite in portedly said that the number of Malaysians en- 2010 and their contradictions with one another, quiring about moving to Australia had spiked Talent Corp will probably turn out to be Talent Crap by 80 per cent since 2008. and will eventually meet a fate similar to past at- • There were only 9,576 Malaysians living abroad tempts. in 1960. The number of migrants from Malaysia rose sharply to 1,489,168, a near 150-fold increase Malaysians living abroad have often cited affirma- over the 45-year period (World Bank)! tive action policies as hindrances to returning to • The number of Malaysians relocating to their homeland. In response, Najib said that affir- Singapore jumped from 120,104 in 1981 to mative action would be made “market-friendly, 303,828 in 2000. The number of Malaysian mi- merit-based, transparent and needs-based” under grants to Australia, meanwhile, went up to the New Economic Model. 92,337 in 2007. • 140,000 left the country, probably for good, in His deputy Muhyiddin Yassin insisted that the eco- 2007. Between March 2008 and August 2009, that nomic plan would protect the Malay agenda. Malay figure more than doubled to 305,000 (a recent rights groups jumped on the Deputy PM’s band- parliamentary report.) wagon, Najib backtracked and called the policy a • About 80 per cent of the country’s workforce have “trial balloon”! only secondary school education. • Around 350,000 Malaysians, half of whom have In an article entitled “Treat returnees as real national tertiary education, are working abroad the Na- assets” Khairy Jamaluddin wrote on the “need to tional Economic Action Council (NEAC). offer enough opportunities and scholarships to our • The number of Malaysian researchers, scientists top performers all the way through to university and and engineers working overseas exceeds 20,000 prepare a lucrative and rewarding career path for

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 12 them so they end up contributing here rather than elsewhere”.

On 16 June 2010, Nazri Aziz was Malpractices, on a different wave-length: “Send- ing overseas students causes brain-drain where some of them mismanagement won’t want to come back after studying there for a few years. If you keep sending students over- and misuse seas, when are we going to improve our standards (locally)?” of fundsfundsof He also believed that the money saved from the scrapping of the Public Service Department’s (PSD) overseas scholarships he Auditor-General (A- GDP ratio for 2009 was only could be put to better use in “im- TT G)’s Report, which was 34.3 per cent, up from 31.9 per proving the facilities” of local uni- TTT to be tabled in Parlia- cent in 2008. versities. Two days earlier, Nazri ment on Budget Day (15 • The A-G’s report said that the had said the government “did not October 2010) but delayed by a national debt had actually have the ‘capacity’ to finance the week, revealed how the Najib Ad- risen beyond what was an- studies of the growing pool of ministration took the country to nounced by Najib, largely due bright students in the country”! new depths in the following ar- to an increase in the eas: government’s domestic debt. Commenting on Talent Corp on • Towards the end of 2009, the 24 July 2010, respected academi- National debt unsettled domestic debt and cian and retired politician Toh foreign debt amounted to Kin Woon said that it may not According to the Auditor- RM362 billion, an increase of succeed because the government General’s report RM56 billion (from 2008’s has failed to tackle the real causes • Malaysia’s national debt for RM306 billion) due to an in- of the diaspora – “racial discrimi- 2009 rose to RM362 billion or crease in domestic debt. nation; the lack of an open, demo- 53.7 per cent of GDP, its high- cratic space; and declining qual- est level in five years. Over-spending ity of our country’s education”. • This was the first time the debt to GDP ratio had breached the The Auditor-General’s Report for Stripping the government bare 50 per cent mark. 2009 showed that of its hypocrisy, Toh said that • From 2005 till 2008, there was • the federal government had the “haemorrhage of skills, a general decline in the ratio overspent by RM4.8 billion last knowledge and talents” was between the government’s debt year. mainly due to the “continued to the GDP. It was 48.2 per cent • This would be the govern- resort to using race as a tool by in 2005, 42.3 per cent in 2006, ment’s second highest deficit power elites at the Federal Gov- 42.8 per cent in 2007 and 41.4 in recent years. The highest ernment ostensibly to help the per cent in 2008 deficit was recorded in the year Bumiputeras, but whose aim is • The AG’s report contrasts with before that (2008) when they in fact to nurture cronies. The PM Najib Razak’s reply in Par- recorded that they had over- victims of this race-based policy liament in June that Malaysia’s shot their operating budget by are the poor and middle class of total debt had been reduced in RM5.7billion. all ethnic groups”. 2009 to RM234 billion from • Eleven agencies - including the RM236 billion in 2008. Najib Malaysian Anti-Corruption - Martin Jalleh had also said that the debt to Commission (MACC) and the

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 13 Public Service Department - Auditor-Auditor-Auditor- and 10 ministries had ex- General'sGeneral'sGeneral's ReportReportReport ceeded their operating budget by RM3.61 billion. • Fifteen ministries and agencies had overspent RM3.7 billion for 42 projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. • The Defence Ministry topped the list with an overrun of RM2.0 billion for three projects, followed by the Education Ministry (RM927 million for four projects) and the Treasury Department (RM547 million for two projects). • Under development expenditure, 43 projects by 16 ministries and departments had recorded a total overrun of RM465 million. The bulk of this was spent by the Works Ministry for 11 projects, involving RM357 million. Con- versely, RM153 million for 38 projects was allocated, but was not spent by the 16 ministries and departments concerned. RM25 million to provide a free The A-G criticised the abuse of the • “This shows there are still laptop computer to every Year first economic stimulus package weaknesses in expenditure 5 primary school pupil - only (ESP) funds, for example: planning and management.” 18.2 percent of 908 pupils • RM753,723 was paid for 67 ac- polled took their laptop com- quisitions involving 31 Wasteful and puters to the classroom. projects without the items be- extravagant • Million-ringgit scanner stuck ing received or the jobs done expenditure in KLIA, under-utilisation under the First ESP woes; the upgrading of the VVIP Examples of waste, mismanage- • ‘Sandwich kosong’ for school room at the Langkawi Naval ment, misuse and even miscon- kids, sardines missing Headquarters Region 3 duct provided by the A-G reports • The maintenance cost of offi- (Mawilla 3) with RM301,900 were: cial cars at RM5 million was worth of chandeliers, home- • The National Higher Educa- much higher than the pur- theatre systems, fancy wall tion Fund Corporation chase price of cars in Malacca. paper and other luxuries. (PTPTN), which is projected to The Malacca Chief Minister’s • RM459,460 for decorative out- face a whopping cash flow Department spent RM5 mil- door lighting for the Lumut deficit of RM46billion, myste- lion to maintain 51 cars from Naval Base and RM144,118 to riously approved loans total- 2006 to 2009. The cost to main- renovate an existing canteen ling RM24 million to 16,013 tain the official cars exceeded that was in good condition students who did not apply for the price of the cars between with new White Horse tiles, the facility. 143 per cent and 281 per cent plaster ceilings and cornices. • In a scheme which cost the within five years from the date Terengganu government of acquisition. - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 14 COVER STORY - INSTITUTIONS Best bloated bureaucracy!

n 7 Nov. 2010 Deputy PM Muhyiddin OO Yassin boldly declared that the bureaucrats OOO in Bolehland are “the best civil servants in the world”! He was right. Malaysia’s bureaucracy is the “best in the world” in the following ways:

Best bloated civil service

• With 1.3 million civil servants to a population of 26 million, Malaysia has one of the highest civil servants-to-population ratio in the world by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standards. • In 2009, Malaysia’s civil servants-to-population Muhyiddin: ratio was the highest in Asia Pacific. The ratio The best civil servants in was 4.68 per cent, compared to Singapore’s 1.5 the world? per cent, Indonesia’s 1.79 per cent, Korea’s 1.85 per cent and Thailand’s 2.06 per cent all of which have less than half our ratio. to 43,554 this year. In stark contrast, the White House employs only 1,888 staff. Best way to bleed a budget dry • The White House budget is US$394 million for 2011. The PM’s Department has been allocated a • Much of the budget (2011) continues to go into whopping RM18.14 billion for the year 2011, al- operating a bloated civil service. As much as three most double the RM10.2 billion 2010. quarters of the national budget is spent on pay- • Pemandu, which stands for Performance, Man- ing salaries and other benefits to over 1.3 million agement and Delivery Unit, was set up last year civil servants. under the Najib administration as one of the pil- • A post-2011 Budget dialogue highlighted the lars in his Government Transformation Plan… massive amount (35 per cent of the total RM162.8 is a massive drain on resources. In a span of two billion operating expenditure) to be spent on months the government spent RM20 million just emoluments, pensions and gratuities of civil ser- to pay 50 consultants,. vants. A panelist, Ministry of Finance budget division director Datuk Dr Rahmat Bivi Yusuff Best contradiction of 1Malaysia admitted that there is a need to trim the civil service to reduce the budget deficit. • As at 31 December 2009, the racial breakdown of the Malaysian civil service comprising 1,247,894 Best way to bankrupt this nation employees was as follows: Malay (78.2 per cent); Other Bumiputras (7.7 per cent); Chinese (5.8 per • Whilst it is the growing trend of many countries cent), Indian (4.0 per cent); and Others (4.2 per to reduce their civil service, the PM’s Department cent). in particular, has done the opposite. It more than • “This is the worst multi-racial composition of doubled its number of civil servants from 21,000 the government service, with the lowest Chinese

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 15 and Indian representation in the public service Omar Osman: in Malaysia’s 53-year history. This is clearly seen 41 per cent civil servants are from the three sets of comparative figures of the suspected of racial breakdown of the civil service before the being corrupt. NEP (1971) and as compared to Dec. 2009 – Malays (60.80 per cent and 78.2 per cent); Chi- nese (20.2% and 5.8 per cent); Indians (17.4 per cent and 4.0 per cent); and Others (1.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent).

Best in corruption

• Last year two out of five civil servants were deemed corrupt by Cuepacs. It was described as a worrying trend that needed to be tackled ur- gently. • Cuepacs President Omar Osman revealed that a There isn’t really competition there if the service is total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million dominated by one race. There isn’t sufficient qual- civil servants in the country were suspected to ity if the entry-level qualifications are so-so. be involved in corruption last year (Bernama, 2 June 2010). “Yet each year, to placate civil servants, the PM will appear on TV to say, we honour our civil servants Best “dumping ground” because they have done a good job, blah blah. Which is not entirely true. The service is slow, the quality of Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, a former state assem- officers is questionable.” bly member of Pahang who is a member of Umno and who uses the pen-name Sakmongkol AK47, in But Umno likes Muhyiddin’s make-believe. The next his blog entry wrote: “Government service shouldn’t General Elections must be close at hand. Civil ser- be treated as a dumping ground for academic re- vants are made to believe that Umno is their (politi- jects and mediocre material. Let’s demand a certain cal) paymaster and they owe it to Umno. The party’s high standard and ensure we bring in talent that leaders would do or say anything to convince the supports the demand for high standards. government servant of this, even praising them as “the best civil servants in the world”! “What has the government done to improve the effi- ciency and competence of government servants? - Martin Jalleh

Government service shouldn’t be treated as a dumping ground for academic rejects and mediocre material.

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 16 COVER STORY - INSTITUTIONS Pathetic and powerless Parliament The worsening crisis of parliamentary democracy reduced the PM’s much vaunted promise of real change to sheer hype

s the political tsunami of especially by members of the Op- AA 2008 and Najib’s chant position. To preserve the BN’s AAA of change entered their veneer of consensus, BN MPs second year, the public voted according to what the PM expected Parliament to be truly a and Umno wanted – they were place of intellectual discussion, reminded that they have no voli- discourse, and debate to determine tion of their own when in parlia- and decide on the laws and direc- ment! tion of the nation. Sadly, it proved to be a great disappointment. At times the vituperative speaker and his deputies ignored and Instead of displaying a Parliament even allowed virulentvirulentvirulent attacks by with verve, vigour and vibrancy, the BN MPs on PR MPs. Umno there were MPs who got into ver- MPs had a field day flagrantly bal brawls, others took pride in violating the rules of parliament. telling vulgar jokes, some re- A huge percentage of motions mained virtually silent or van- from the opposition were rejected ished from most of the parliamentary sittings and a few were very versatile in histrionics and in veer- ing towards a fist-fight!

There were of course those MPs who vaulted out of the PKR for reasons most vile and venal to be “independent” of the will of the very people who voted for the party they once represented! Their only contribution in Parliament was to spew venom against the PKR and to spill its supposed secrets, ironically spoiling their own reputation.

VacuousVacuousVacuous answers were given by Pandikar Amin: Thwarted every Tunku Abdul Aziz: Mr Speaker has Ministers, their deputies or repre- move of the opposition to seek a lost the respect of all fair-minded sentatives to vital questions posed just hearing people.people.people.

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 17 whilst bills were blindly rushed boss in the Dewan Raykat but he mentarymentarymentary democracy in Bolehland through by the BN’s unabashed cut a sorry figure in the court of reduced the PM’s much vaunted brute majority. public opinion…Every step he promise of real and radical change makes is strictly in accordance and his visage of a transformed Biased Speaker with the wishes of the ruling po- country to sheer hype and hypoc- litical masters….(He) may be a risy – especially considering the The sad and scandalous state of champion and a hero to the BN fact that he was hardly in Parlia- affairs in Parliament came to a cli- crowd, but to the people, he is a ment in 2010 due to his frequent max on 16 December 2010. Anwar fraidy-cat who dares not beat an overseas ventures. Ibrahim and three other senior independent path”. leaders of PR were suspended Perhaps for Najib, Parliament is a from Parliament for six months To Tunku Abdul Aziz (a very real nuisance, a non-entity in his through two separate resolutions well-respected public figure and great plans to change the nation. in a process fraught with misin- a vice-president of the DAP), “Mr If parliament was so indispens- terpretation, misrepresentation Speaker is a total disgrace and has able to the PM he would not have and deceit. turned the Parliament of Malay- unveiled his supposedly radical sia into an object of fun and ridi- and revolutionary New Economic Well-known writer Kim Quek cule. He has completely lost the Model (NEM) outside the august called it “the butchering of democ- respect of all fair-minded people, House – when Parliament was in racy” in Parliament and “un- and for sheer incompetence and session! doubtedly the most shameful epi- arrogance he typifies the prover- sode in our parliamentary his- bial square peg in a round hole.”.”.” Soon after the circus on 16 De- tory”. Soon after the fiasco and fra- cember, a disappointed and dis- cas, almost all fingers were He added rather aptly: “To the gusted Lim Kit Siang declared pointed at the man who plays a politically biased, it is all too that it is now “left to the Malay- very decisive role in Parliament – tempting to blame members of the sian people to use their vote in Speaker Pandikar Amin. opposition for reacting robustly to the next general elections, the Speaker’s diabolically pro- which is not far away, to admin- Free Malaysia Today (21 Decem- vocative and heavy-handed ‘in- ister the full lesson by sending ber 2010) put Pandikar in his terventions’ bordering on intimi- an unmistakable message that place: “At every turn, Pandikar dation. But that is to ignore the the country needs wide-ranging Amin was there to thwart the fact that the House is as good as reforms and institutional every move of the opposition to the Speaker. After all, he sets the changes, including Parliament, seek a just hearing. He was tone of the House and the stan- if Malaysia is to fulfill her prom- prompt to throw out those sit- dards of parliamentary ise to take her rightful place in ting on the other side without behaviour.” the international arena as a reason or rhyme. He acted as if united, competitive, progressive he is lord and master of all he The outrageous suspensions of and prosperous nation in the in- surveys and Parliament is just a the four PR leaders can only be ternational arena.” plaything. seen as the pinnacle of Umno’s arrogance. The party has not FMT shared Kit Siang’s view: “When coming down hard on the changed at all. They still make use “The only way to restore dignity, opposition, he gave the impres- of the nation’s key democratic in- honour and justice to the tar- sion that opposition lawmakers stitutions like Parliament in their nished House and make the are an unruly bunch of hotheads dirty and desperate political Speaker’s chair an object of re- who do not deserve to sit in the game to cling on to power and to spect is through the ballot box. chamber. They should be ejected. contain, cripple and crush legiti- Parliamentary democracy can He portrayed the other side as mate dissent and/or to hinder only thrive when the Speaker gentlemen of high honour and genuine change advocated by the works for and not against the decorum. Opposition. people’s representatives.”

“Pandikar Amin may be the big The worsening crisis of parlia- - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 18 BOOK REVIEW A watchman’s journal by Wong Chin Huat

f a new student of Ma- laysian politics and so- III ciety tries to make sense of the country in rapid but uncertain transition after the 2008 elections, this could be a useful book to begin with.

A collection of articles published in the Penang-based political commentary magazine Aliran Monthly, a local business magazine (Malaysian Business) and two foreign publications (Australian Society and the ACHRO book), the book does not offer any grand theory to explain the transition nor any pre- diction of what may follow. Pub- lished in the first half of 2009, it does not cover the cow-head protest days before the National Day that year and the Allah row, which led to arson attacks of churches and mosques the following January. It however gives a detailed account of Mus- lim-Hindu conflict in Kampung Rawa, Penang over a Hindu Temple in 1998, an incident – forgotten by most - before the Reformasi movement. This example exactly illustrates the merit and value of the book. It is a reminder of how Malaysia has come to where it is today. Read- Old v New Politics in Malaysia: ing the past and comparing it to State and Society in Transition the present allows one to see both the constants and variables by Francis Loh Kok Wah, as well as both challenges and Petaling Jaya: SIRD and Penang: hopes in Malaysia’s society and Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara, politics. 2009, 316 pp.

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 19 Important records tual in Loh invited the Malaysian calls by their leaders, and the firm public to reflect on the old politics and impartial actions by the state, The book covers a quarter of a cen- of ethnicity and the new politics he also revealed the news was tury from 1984 to 2008, which – of democracy. The remaining two blacked out, a common practice of in my personal opinion - may be articles were written after the 2008 crisis management in Malaysia. divided into five different periods tsunami, one of which calling for separated by major political mile- the reorganisation of federalism, The first episode of the showdown stones. Four articles were written a favourite theme of his. happened on 20 March, when in PM Mahathir’s Early Years (till 200-250 Muslims confronted a 1990) including the important ac- Personally, I think a chronologi- group of Hindu youths at a nearby counts of the 1987 Operasi Lalang cal sorting of the articles would Hindu temple as they viewed the mass arrests and the 1984-1986 do more justice to both the book bell ringing there during Muslim Sabah political crisis. Francis Loh and readers who are unfamiliar Friday prayers as deliberate wrote five articles in the next pe- with Malaysia’s political history. provocation. Only a week later, riod, the Vision 2020 Years (1991- This should be considered in the two press conferences were re- 1997), which began with future for its second edition. spectively held by the then deputy Mahathir’s inclusive nation- prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, building blueprint Vision 2020 History’s second draft and the Inspector-General of Po- and ended with the ascendance lice after 5,000-7,000 Muslims and of the East Asian Financial Cri- If news is the first draft of history, a huge Hindu crowd marched to- sis. The political science profes- most of the commentaries here are wards each others. In between the sor at the Universiti Sains Malay- history’s second draft as they two showdowns, the then chief sia (USM) provides insightful cri- were documented just weeks af- minister, Koh Tsu Koon only is- tiques on consumerism and mass ter the incidents. Hence, they are sued two press statements about media in the 1990s as well as the not only the specific accounts of the relocation of the temple. Loh 1994 Sabah elections, which saw incidents like the 1986 Sabah cri- criticised that “in retrospect, the Parti Bersatu Sabah lose its vic- sis, the 1987 Operasi Lalang, the decision by the authorities and the tory due to the crossover of law- 1998 Kampung Rawa conflict, the media not to provide the public makers within a month after the 2000 witch-hunt of Suqiu, or the with adequate information only polls. 2007 Lina Joy verdict, but also fuelled the rumour mills”. And capture the feeling and atmo- with such context, he moved on Other than the pre-Reformasi sphere then and there, in a way to offer a blow-by-blow account of Kampung Rawa conflict, he left analyses done many years later how the tension escalated and seven important records of the may not. eventually calmed down and, sub- Reformasi Years (1998-2003), cov- sequently, with more contextual ering issues from informal politics In his account of the Kampung information provided such as the of the Anti-Internal Security Act Rawa Muslim-Hindu conflict (pp rivalry between Indian Hindus (ISA) movement, the Suqiu Ap- 242-252) for example, Loh, in the and Indian Muslims in Penang peal, the Chinese community’s first paragraph, tells readers of the and their link to Indian politics. opposition to the takeover of surreal normalcy, while tension Nanyang Press to the formal poli- “peaked during the weekend of Just 12 years down the road, yet tics of election and federalism. In 27-29 March”, when “a huge the Kampung Rawa incident is PM Abdullah’s first term (2004- open-air dinner organised by the almost out of the public memory, 2007), Loh offered insights on as- MCA to encourage to buy local at least for Malaysians living sorted issues from the saliency of products was held at the Espla- outside Penang. This is only crimes to the decline of public nade”, just another corner in partly due to the state’s policy universities. More importantly, as small Penang Island. Soon after of downplaying incidents of Malaysians became politically praising the maturity and sensi- communal conflicts except conservative partly due to bility of the majority of Penangites, when it serves their partisan in- “developmentalism”, a thesis pio- the self-restraint exercised by terests. The more important rea- neered by him, the public intellec- Umno and MIC members upon son was perhaps it happened

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 20 just half a year before the chief Political-Party Takeover of in 2008. He forewarned Malay- arbitrator of the conflict, Anwar Nanyang Press (COAT) were two sians about the hype the main- Ibrahim, himself was purged by different organisations, even stream media would be offering. his boss Mahathir. After though both worked very closely, He predicted that some editors Anwar’s purge and imprison- and the key persons in CAT like and feature writers would claim ment, alternative news sites be- Mr Tang Ah Chai and me did as- that there were ‘“no important gan to mushroom and provide sist the work of COAT. issues” worth discussing “be- unofficial or anti-official per- cause those issues have recently spectives for every major inci- Open calls to voters been resolved through a new dent. Loh’s accounts on promise or a recent policy ini- Kampung Rawa and many his- This book is not only a record of tiative.” He did not mince his torical incidents before the Malaysia’s history in 25 years, but words by questioning if the me- internet era – and Aliran Monthly also a record of the activism of the dia practitioners would act as in general - are therefore espe- author and Aliran Kesedaran “professional journalists or pro- cially useful for anyone inter- Negara in those years. While pagandists” (p77). Loh paid ested in Malaysia’s socio-politi- many academics shy away from special attention to the role of cal history as they offer rare al- commenting on politics, fearing media in many of his analyses ternative records and interpre- repercussion – real or imagined – and was highly critical of the tation to what one may find in under the Universities and Uni- failure of the media as the fourth the archives of mainstream versity Colleges Act (UUCA), this estate by pushing sales based newspapers of the same period. political science professor openly on colourful makeovers, made his calls to the voters on the puzzles and feng shui (Chinese On the other hand, Loh’s stock- eve of key elections. geomancy) (pp 279-286). taking analyses on federalism (pp 3-20), ISA (pp 175-187), social In 1999, he eloquently debunked In that sense, Loh is a rare mem- movements (pp 39-51), constitu- the BN’s fearmongering cam- ber of the real fourth estate that ency redelineation (pp 91-102) or paign to tie the Reformasi move- Malaysia needs, deserves and is public universities (pp 256-268) ment with political violence in In- privileged to have. He is a watch- provide useful overviews, with donesia, Ex-Yugoslavia, Sri man of the “state and society in tables and lists of incidents com- Lanka and Rwanda: “the danger transition” from his ivory watch piled by himself or other research- arose in Indonesia and elsewhere tower. And this collection of semi- ers. because of a lack of change, not academic writing is part of his because of it” (p 104). To Malay- journals during the interesting As this author was part of the sians at that historic juncture of quarter century preceding the po- movements in some of Loh’s ac- transition, he dissected the BN’s litical tsunami in 2008 that many counts, some facts should be cor- narratives into five central tenets are now keen to understand. q rected for the record. First, the to expose the flaws: the peril of a “People are the Boss” declaration multicultural society, the justifica- in 1999 which advocated tion of a strong state, the BN’s abil- Schumpeterian procedural de- ity to lead and arbitrate, the BN’s Dr Wong Chin Huat is a mocracy in simple business lan- record in bringing stability and political scientist at- guage was initiated by a few non- growth, and Dr Mahathir’s lead- tached to Monash Uni- partisan individuals rather than ership (pp 108-111). Politics, to versity Sunway Campus “by a smaller group of Chinese Loh, “must be based on ideals, This article first appeared organisations that were support- however utopian they might be” in the academic journal ive of the BA” (p 236). Second, the (p117). And that is certainly the Kajian Malaysia and isisand individual-based Committee best characterisation of the con- reproduced with the per- Against the Takeover of Nanyang viction of Loh and his Aliran col- mission of the author and Press by MCA (CAT) and the leagues. editor of the journal. group-based Committee of Chi- nese Organisations Against the He renewed his call for change

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 21 ENVIRONMENT No plastic bags ... won’t die-lah! Are we ready to take on the ‘no plastic bags’ challenge which will spur initiative and creativity to a higher level to save ourselves and our planet? by Angeline Loh

he Penang Govern- ping usage for a lim- TT ment’s imminent plastic ited time. TTT bag ban will seem a tragedy to some but not to all. This excludes the bio- Many might bemoan missing the degradable plastic ‘convenience’ of having free plas- bag, as such bags tic bags supplied with their shop- seem to be a nuisance ping in the hypermarkets, super- rather than a good markets and various other retail durable alternative. outlets including hawkers and These ‘bio-degrade’ vendors. The grumbling actually in storage resulting in arises from the system change i.e. a heap of brittle what people are used to and when crumbs that are diffi- they have to adopt a different way cult to clear out of a of doing things. container or durable bag in which they had When shopping, I’ve witnessed been stored. So, ‘bio- Penangites complaining and degradable’ doesn’t scolding supermarket cashiers for work so well. charging them 20 sen for a plastic bag. Well, after spending more Perhaps, retailers Paper bag, envelop file and paper toy 'sampan' than RM50 on all that shopping, should explore the made from 'junk mail' is 20 sen going to break the bank, idea of recycling ‘old just because you forgot to bring newspapers’ by cre- your own bag? Is 20 sen too much atively turning them into paper otherwise we endanger the planet to pay for a cleaner and healthier bags and giving these free to cus- further by cutting down good trees environment for you, your chil- tomers to carry particular grocer- to make paper. Tree cutting is a dren and their children? ies. This holds nostalgia for the real ‘No No’! days when plastic bags were non- On the other hand, while one con- existent. Our ancestors were ge- In a backlash agains the ban, plas- venience is withdrawn, the retail- niuses! In a way, it’s turning the tic bag manufacturers were re- ers should supply another conve- clock back nearly a hundred portedly planning to distribute nience that might replace it. To years? It seems so much in keep- 30,000 bags to the public. It is no their credit, retailers have come up ing with Penang being a world surprise that plastic bag manufac- with large liquid-proof and other heritage site, we’ll even have heri- turers are reacting to the the pos- reusable shopping bags that may tage packaging for our shopping. sible impending loss of market; endure the rigours of heavy shop- But it must be from recycled paper, but seriously, plastic bags are

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 22 probably not the only item they if you could afford ‘black market’ stead, they had a more balanced produce. prices that were way above most diet eating very basic foods with- middle-class consumers’ heads out unhealthy additives.They They will have to get more creative as well as risk arrest for those ille- also had more exercise because and eco-friendly in their field of gal purchases as well. public transport systems were work and come up with some- completely at a standstill. ( http:/ thing more environmentally ac- Interestingly, people had to be- /cookit.e2bn.org/historycook ceptable than the ubiquitous plas- come creative to survive. Forgive book/20-98-world-war-2-Health- tic bag, which will forever litter the me, if this sparks some pretty hard facts.html) My grandmother, who oceans of the world - unless, they and painful memories for those was born in Malaya in the earlier can reassure humankind that readers who lived through the part of the 20th century died in these pollutant plastic bags can Second World War and the Japa- her 90s; she had survived the war be recycled into something useful nese Occupation. Yet, this is the and the Japanese Occupation that will not destroy or threaten stuff from which heroes are made. with her family intact, despite that the global environment. More hard life. must go into R&D, because you Twentieth century humankind can’t eat cold gold (or plastic reverted to hunter-gatherer-farmer The point in saying this is that, bags) when you’re starving! lifestyles just to get by day to day. when we lack something, we take There was tapioca ( as my mother for granted, like plastic bags, it is Creativity told me) and other root vegetables not a big tragedy but an opportu- born of scarcity to be dug up when found in the nity to move forward in our think- wild or home-grown. These were ing and physically better our- Do you know what people did boiled, baked, fried, grilled, selves. Remember, those large during the difficult days of World roasted or whatever else and eaten wax paper umbrellas used in tor- War Two? How did people sur- as an alternative to rice, which rential rain showers about fifty vive when food was scarce and was in very short supply. Eggs years ago, long before plastic fold- shop shelves were empty? Hav- became a luxury. Sugar and other able ones came out? Well, they cost ing money could only sustain you condiments were also luxuries as a fortune now because they’ve merchant shipping become antiques. Replicas defi- and supply ships nitely don’t match their quality in were bombed or block- durability and craftsmanship, as aded by the opposing it was then. forces. So, are we ready to take on the ‘no Those in countries plastic bags’ challenge which like Britain were re- would spur initiative and creativ- duced to food ration- ity to a higher level and save our- ing whiles those on selves and our planet? Or will we the European main- cling to our past ‘luxuries’ which land were worse off, will in time sink us into extinc- having been devas- tion with climate change and ris- tated by the conflict. ing sea levels? Some smart people As a result, a new cui- may be right in thinking that there sine was invented and is no tomorrow... not for us or our people were appar- children’s children, anyway, if we ently less likely to suf- don’t ‘get real’, really soon. q fer from high choles- terol and cardiovas- cular diseases after Angeline Loh is an Aliran Bag from the photocopy shop. Brilliant idea! the war since they exco member could not over eat; in-

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 23 COVER STORY - INSTITUTIONS The accused, absurd, arrogant AG The concept of justice must be grounded on the basic principles of equality, fairness, and rule of law

ttorney-General Abdul exercise of his prosecutorial pow- Lim Kit Siang raised the matter in AAA Gani Patail treated the ers. His reluctance to act in cer- Parliament. The government put nation to a farcical dis- tain cases, while very vociferous on a big show. Najib told Nazri to course which he deliv- in others, has given rise to allega- find out from Gani. ered to members of the Judiciary tions of selective prosecution bor- Hishammuddin poked his nose in and the Bar on 16 January 2010. It dering on persecution.” between. It resulted in nothing! was entitled “Opening of the Le- On 14 December 2010, Nazri said gal Year 2010” and in it he de- Here are some examples. that there was no need for a relook clared: at the ‘black-eye’ probe. Gani prevents MACC- “(I)t cannot be over emphasized Bala meeting Gani ‘persecutes’ that the concept of justice is Rosli against grounded on the basic principles In June 2010,,, the MACC’s cred- MACC’s advice of equality, fairness, and rule of ibility took another dent when it law. The AGC (AG’s Chambers) made a U-turn at the last minute In his press statement on 30 No- is committed to promoting the rule on plans to meet private investi- vember, Robert Phang expressed of law and ensuring justice be gator, P Balasubramaniam, in his concern over the case of law- given to all people whatever their London (see story on MACC). yer En Rosli Dahlan, who had race, religion or class. Americk Sidhu, Bala's lawyer, written to him asking for MACC told the commission that “what- to withdraw the charge that it had “AGC in carrying out its duties is ever advice the MACC may have preferred against him. Phang well aware of the maxim ‘justice received from the Attorney added that he was informed that should not only be done, but General’s chambers is highly sus- “the MACC had recommended to should manifestly and undoubt- pect and devoid of any legal ba- AG that the MACC would like the edly be seen to be done’, and hence sis”. case to be withdrawn. However, the explanations issued by AGC till today the AG has not re- from time to time on cases handled Gani protected sponded”! by it so that the public would not by Govt have misconceptions of biasness.” In his next press statement Phang On 8 October 2010, former KL CID wrote: “En Rosli is widely known The AG’s words turned into flaw- chief Mat Zain Ibrahim, the inves- to be the lawyer handling the less hypocrisy when juxtaposed tigating officer in Anwar’s assault MAS case and has alleged that he with an open letter (30 November case, revealed in an open letter to had been victimised by rogue ele-ele-rogue 2010) of Robert Phang, a respected the new IGP Ismail Omar that he ments in the government (my MACC panel advisor, describing had new information on the emphasis)…It is frightening to the the public perception of Gani: ‘black-eye incident’, which impli- citizens at large that the whole “There is also public scepticism cated Gani Patail and former IGP machinery of the AG’s office and over the conduct of the AG, in the Musa Hassan. the MACC can be used against

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 24 one man. The government must dispel this perception of persecution against an innocent citizen.” Gani’s Glaring Gani’s inappropriate relationship Double-Standards In 2010 Gani was also severely criticised for his alleged relationship with Shahidan Shafie, the proxy of former Malaysia Airlines n 2010, Gani Patail made Lawyer/blogger Art Harun ex- chairperson Tajuddin Ramli, who III it very obvious that all pressed his disgust over the deci- is being investigated by the that he had pronounced, sion and called it what it really MACC. proclaimed and was: “The blatant double stan- preached so piously with regard dard. The plain hypocrisy of it all. This follows allegations that the to upholding the rule of law was The stupidity.” AG had decided not to take action mere pretense and hypocrisy! against Tajuddin despite recom- Some examples are provided be- The Malaysian Insider captured the mendations made by the former low. public contempt for the decision: director of the Bukit Aman Com- “In the eyes of the Catholic mercial Crime Investigation De- No charges for church, the desecration of the partment, Ramli Yusof, and the Al-Islam magazine communion is an act even worse federal government’s decision to than the recent firebombing of file civil action against Tajuddin. Barely three months into 2010 and places of worship.” Gani’s double-standards began Chambers of sex trysts to show. On 5 March, the AG’s “Never before has the exhibition Chambers decided not to press of double standards been so In August 2010, the AG’s Cham- charges against the two reporters obvious…The irony is this mes- bers created history when it was of the Al-Islam magazine who had sage of hypocrisy comes at a time revealed that Farah Azlina Latif, committed a most sacrilegious act when the Najib administration is a deputy public prosecutor (DPP) against the Catholic community asking for support from non-Mus- involved in Anwar’s Sodomy II in 2009. lims.” trial was having a sex liaison with the prosecution’s star witness, Mohd Saiful Bukhar. Anwar’s lawyer Karpal Singh blasted the AG: “Never before in the history of the country or in the Common- wealth has a DPP had an affair with the star witness”.

A reader of Malaysiakini P Dev Anand Pillai commented::: “The floodgates will open for the judiciary to have sexual liaisons with the prosecution, defence or even the witnesses in the future.”

- Martin Jalleh “Yes” for Ling but “No” for Anwar

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 25 the naked truth.

RPK’s SD defamatory, Bala’s Ok

Another contradiction by the AG’s Chambers could be seen in the AG’s decision to close the file on private investigator S Balasu- bramaniam’s two conflicting statutory declarations.

Nazri had explained that both the contradictory statutory declarations (SDs) by Bala were “not an “Okay” for Bala but “Not okay” for Raja Petra offence as they were not made for the purposes of court proceed- Documents for Ling, will run smoothly (as the AG is ings…. (and) did not affect in any but none for Anwar quoted to have said) and also to way the Altantuya (Shaariibuu) enable the defence team to prepare case”. On 8 December 2010, Gani “prom- its defence properly. ised the High Court here he will Bala’s lawyer Americk Sidhu re- share top secret government docu- “The willingness and the speed sponded: “I have been made to ments over the RM12.5 billion Port by which the AG agrees to declas- understand that my client, Bala, Klang Free Zone scandal with the sify the documents and in releas- has already written to the AG con- defence in the high-profile trial of ing the same to the defence is how- fessing that his second SD was Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who is ever a far cry from the Sodomy 2 not true and that an invitation to charged with cheating Putrajaya case, where the AG is unwilling charge him for that transgression for the land project.” to even release medical notes and was tendered. reports to the defence team. Art Harun brings out the hypoc- ”Do you recall the statutory dec- risy and double-standards of the “The medical notes and reports are laration that Raja Petra AG artfully: It is good to see the personal in nature. They are not Kamaruddin made some time ago AG willingly disclosing all docu- categorised as official secrets. They in relation to the information he ments to the defence for once. In are just about the accuser’s rectum, had received concerning Rosmah this case, those documents are what it contains and how the rec- Mansor’s presence at the scene of deemed so important to the na- tum looks like. To put it bluntly, the Altantuya detonation? …there tion, so much so they were those reports and notes are about, was absolutely no hesitation categorised as official secrets. The well, to be crass, they are about a shown in charging Raja Petra for disclosure of these documents person’s ass. Nothing more. criminal defamation for this SD may even affect national security. even though it was not made ‘for That is why they are so “These documents are essential to the purposes of court proceed- categorised. the defence. They will serve to jus- ings’.” tify and verify the truth and accu- “However, in order for the court racy of what the various medical There just seems to be one sauce to arrive at a fair and just decision, doctors are saying in their testi- for the goose and a completely dif- the truth must come out. It is there- mony. The disclosure of these ferent one for Gani (the gander). fore only fair for the AG to declas- documents will no doubt ensure sify the documents so that the trial justice and fairness. It will reveal - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 26 COVER STORY - INSTITUTIONS Public confidence in police plummets

believe in and guarded Umno’s constitutional right to the freedom of speech and assembly. They Martin Jalleh highlights the “performance” of the were guaranteed convenient and police force in recent times and in the process shows comfortable passage to and from the reasons for the failure of the government’s pro- the place they held their demon- fessed intention of improving the level of public con- strations. No action was taken fidence in the country’s police force. even though it was later confirmed it was an “illegal gathering”. The reader will be able to see how in 2010, the police Such was the case when in Febru- • aggressively and indiscriminately denied certain citi- ary 2010 about 300 Umno Youth, zens the constitutional right to the freedom of speech Perkasa and MIC Youth members besieged the Australian High and assembly Commission to protest against the • abused and used arbitrarily the wide powers of ar- 50 Australian Members of Parlia- rest and detention ment who had called for the sod- • acted with impunity and complete disregard for con- omy charges against Anwar stitutional and judicial safeguards. Ibrahim to be dropped. • arrogantly showed their contempt for the rights of the people that resulted in gross abuse of police pow- In the same month, police gave ers leading to brutality, torture, prolonged detention, their blessings to some 1,000 shooting, custodial violence and death. members of Perkasa and Selangor Umno to march from the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque to the Selangor State Secretariat building to protest the state Police preferred to powers-that-be. This can be espe- government’s handling of the quit play politics cially seen in the double stan- rent issue involving Yayasan dards it displayed. Basmi Kemiskinan. In March 2010, then then IGP Musa Hassan’s insisted that “the Umno and its cohorts have never In sharp contrast, police subjected police did not take into account had to bear up with any blinding the Opposition to ‘petty prosecu- the political leanings of anyone, tear gas or burning chemical-laced tions’. They made it their job to including politicians, when con- water from a water cannon. They deny, disturb, disrupt and derail ducting their investigation…” were never brutalised or blud- events organised by the Opposi- geoned by the batons of bullies in tion, civil groups or concerned citi- Musa was only fooling himself. blue or bundled into police ve- zens. There were ample examples in hicles or beaten up in police cells. 2010 of the police being blatantly In March 2010, they disrupted PR and brazenly biased towards the In 2010, the police appeared to gatherings in Kepong and Kelab

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 27 Sultan Sulaiman field, held to cel- ers disrupted an Anti-ISA Forum made the culture of police brutal- ebrate the second anniversary of in Penang in November 2010. ity increasingly obvious and gave the alliance’s 8 March 2008 suc- Would the police do the same if a further credence to the accusation cess. In July 2010, they “am- group were to disrupt a forum that Bolehland has become a Po- bushed” a dinner-talk in Rengit, organised by Umno? lice State. Johor. Such senseless police ag- gression was also seen in The year ended with the men in The first was an ‘open verdict’ Changkat Lada, Perak and many blue at their biased best! On 5 De- delivered by a coroner’s court on other places throughout 2010. cember 2010, riot police fired tear 25 October 2010 in an inquest to gas and sprayed chemical-laced determine the cause of R In March, acting on police reports water to disperse some 3,000 pro- Gunasegaran’s death in the made by the police themselves, the testers as they attempted to march Sentul police station on 16 July police interrogated Opposition to Istana Negara to submit a 2009, a few hours after Teoh Beng Leader Anwar Ibrahim over ‘sen- memorandum urging the King to Hock’s body was discovered. sitive issues’ which he had sup- intervene in an on-going dispute posedly raised during his between the state government and In a press statement entitled “End ceremahs in Penang. Penang water management company Police Brutality now” a “deeply Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Syabas. About 50 protesters were concerned” Malaysian Bar about 15 other elected representa- also arrested. criticised the “inability of the coro- tives were also questioned. ner to make a definitive finding in Of course, the police did not mind this case” in spite of “the strength “I think this is too much…We the 300 or so protestors of the of the evidence pointing to the cul- strongly resent and protest this Gabungan Anti-Penyelewengan pability of the police”. continued intimidation by the Selangor (Gaps) or Anti-Selangor police force... the police are out to Government Movement gathered The second was the shocking prevent us from carrying out our at Stadium Merdeka. They sent a story of K Selvach Santhiran, a key duties. They should focus on prob- delegation to the palace by car and witness who implicated the police lems of security and criminals and submitted a memorandum on the in the inquest. His lawyer, N not be subservient to Umno lead- water issue to a palace represen- Surendran, would describe his ers,” Anwar lambasted the police. tative. client’s nightmare as “the con- tinuing descent of the police force On 1 August 2010, 30 people were From the examples given above into lawlessness”. arrested in Petaling Jaya for at- and still more, the police failed to tending an anti-ISA candlelight “act fairly, independently and Police arrested Selvach on the very vigil to observe the 50th anniver- professionally” in 2010. They re- night of the inquest verdict. They sary of the ISA. On that same mained for yet another year – the hammered and humiliated him in night, police also arrested four police farce! front of his wife and children and people in another vigil held at the hauled him off. For the next five Speakers’ Square in Penang. Burgeoning brutality days, neither the IGP nor the by the men in blue Home Minister would confirm Police confirmed that they knew that Selvach had been arrested of the presence at the same spot of despite rising public misgivings. pro-ISA members believed to be It was yet another year when the Umno representatives and that police were allowed to continue On 30 October 2010., pressured by they were there “to create trouble to operate in an environment of the presence of more than a hun- and agitate”. Yet, no one amongst impunity when it came to their dred people in front of Bukit that group was reprimanded or excessive methods in relation to Aman and their refusal to dis- arrested. arrest, detention and treatment of perse, police revealed that Selvach persons in custody. was remanded under the Danger- The police also stood idly by ous Drugs Act. (Selvach, who was when a group of pro-ISA protest- Two tragic episodes in the year arrested together with

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 28 Gunasegaran, was cleared of drug ful assembly who gathered at all the more nauseating is not so charges when his urine tested Masjid Negara on 5 December much that this totally unneces- negative in 2008.) 2010 and the alleged beating and sary killing of a 14-year-old boy robbing of businessman Chia had happened, but rather the re- After a very brief visit with Buang Ting by several police of- sponses by various parties - those Selvach, his wife S Saraswathy, ficers . people upon whom our security Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is entrusted - during the aftermath. and Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) re- Firestorm over fatal vealed that Selvach had been tor- police shootings “The responses have been any- tured during his one week’s de- thing but humane, sensitive or tention and taken to a hospital. A There was deep concern and con- even caring. They are arrogant, habeas corpus application was pre- sternation throughout 2010 over defensive and downright rude. pared to get Selvach released from what the public perceived as a Where is the love? Where is the remand. growing ‘shoot-to-kill’ culture by humility? Doesn’t it occur to these the police force or what R. people that they occupy seats of Police ‘sabotaged’ the habeas cor- Sivarasa, the MP for Subang, trust?” pus hearing by obtaining a two- called “a culture of impunity”. year detention order by Home Further, the police have become Minister Hishammudin Tun “It means that they feel that they very predictable with their pat re- Hussein against Selvach. Selvach can do as they wish and they sponses: “The dead were crimi- was transferred to the Batu Gajah won’t be held accountable… they nals. They behaved in a suspi- Detention Camp on 14 December can shoot, kill, and there won’t be cious manner. They tried to 2010 and was not given a chance any questions asked (or)… any in- evade/resist arrest. They drove to meet his family members. vestigations and that they can away dangerously. Weapons were continue doing so,” he said. later found. Police acted by the The injustice done to Selvach was rules. The law allows them to de- not an isolated incident. The The nationwide concern over the fend themselves” (Free Malaysia ‘memorandum of protest’ to the trigger-happy cops of PDRM cul- Today). IGP submitted by LFL and minated in public outraged in Suaram on behalf of Selvach’s April 2010 with the police killing Cold blooded family accurately describes the of 14-year old Form III student detention as “…a continuation of Aminulrasyid Hamza.h about Seven months after Aminulrasyid a longstanding series of acts by 100 metres from his Shah Alam was gunned down, three youths the police that showed their con- house. between the ages of 15 and 22 tempt for the rights of the were shot dead after a reported people…” The callous responses and cava- high-speed car chase in Shah lier attitude of the IGP, Home Min- Alam. They were suspected of rob- The police were sending out a ister and the police as they tried bing a petrol station. Two of the very strong message – think twice to contain the public firestorm families of the trio alleged they before you testify against us; we caused the public to lose confi- were killed by the police in cold will teach you a lesson; you will dence in them and repeatedly blood. be tortured, taken from your home called for the IGP to resign. and thrown into prison with the Lawmakers on both sides of the tacit approval of the higher au- Respected lawyer Art Harun cap- political divide demanded that thorities! tured the sentiments of the people newly-installed IGP Ismail Omar so clearly: “Right-minded people end the indiscriminate fatal police There were further examples of the of Malaysia regard the killing of shootings. DAP advisor Lim Kit police’s culture of impunity in Aminulrasyid as symptomatic of Siang declared: “It would appear 2010 such as the high-handed lawless totalitarianism.” that with the change of IGP, there manner in which police dealt is no change in the police culture with the participants of the peace- “But that which makes this case as such.”

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 29 Before the year ended, human hindrance to such a necessary 2010 ended: rights and legal reform advocates move, and for obvious reasons. Lawyers for Liberty highlighted “As I see it, discernible progress the seriousness of the situation. in four areas of priority concern Curbing crime: Raw The number of fatal shootings by to the rakyat and investors needs the police rose 17-fold since 2001 stats or real story to come early enough to build con- – from five in 2001 to a shocking fidence. They are corruption, total of 82 in 2008 and 88 in 2009. The rakyat was told that the crime, education and private en- government’s battle against crime terprise. Judging from Home Minister showed good results in 2010. Hishammuddin Hussein’s curt, Home Minister Hishammuddin “It is not enough to show that in cold and caustic response, it is Tun Hussein announced in May the first nine months of 2010, very clear that such ‘extrajudicial 2010 that his Ministry’s success crime fell by 16 per cent (but still killings’ will continue in in reducing the crime rate index have 132,355 unresolved reported Bolehland! He said there was no for the first four months of the cases) and street crimes fell 38 per surge in the number of fatal year had surpassed the initial cent (18,299 unresolved reported shootings. The matter was just target. cases) or that 648 people were ar- being “sensationalised” in parlia- rested for corruption. ment. There could be a “slight in- Minister in the PM’s Department crease” after all. Senator Idris Jala claimed that the “The public and investors (with results of the National Key Results ears on the ground) have to “feel” Hishammuddin’s continued his Area (NKRA) for crime were out- any improvement. Raw and bi- hogwash: “Let the police respond standing for the first quarter and ased statistics cannot tell the real on the data …If not, I would be what the police and the ministry story, and don’t impress. At this asked this question every day had done in that period was to- time, it would appear the rakyat when there are other serious mat- tally beyond expectation. and investors don’t ‘feel’ any ma- ters to respond to”. The data pro- terial improvement in the crime vided was from the police them- In October 2010, an elated IGP and corruption situation. That selves! And what is more “seri- Ismail Omar proudly declared matters. But they don’t rush to ous” than the safety and security that police statistics indicated a judgment. of innocent Malaysians? significant drop in street crime by 38 per cent and in the overall crime “What they want to ‘feel’ is for There were also those who were index by 16 per cent in January- today to be better than yesterday, shot by the police but who man- September 2010. and tomorrow to be better than aged to survive, the latest being today; and come tomorrow, their Ho Chei Hang who was shot four But strangely, and as was so aptly expectations are fulfilled. Inci- times by plainclothes police offic- put by Lim Kit Siang in October dents from personal experience re- ers in Kepong in November 2010. 2010, “…up and down the coun- inforce this.” The story of Norizan Salleh who try, ordinary Malaysians do not was mistakenly shot five times by feel this dividend of fall of crime Perhaps the public would feel police officers in 2009 continued index in their daily lives as they more confident about the police, to receive public attention in 2010. do not feel comparatively safer in about being more safe and secure the streets, public places or pri- and that the statistics truly reflect It is evident that the only effective vacy of their homes…” the crime rate reality – when the way to keep the police in check police stop playing politics and and the only convincing govern- In fact Kit Siang’s sentiments were the government sets up the Inde- ment action is the formation of the so eloquently echoed by former pendent Police Complaints and Independent Police Complaints Deputy Bank Negara Governor Misconduct Commission and Misconduct Commission Lin See Yin, in his article ‘The (IPCMC). (IPCMC). Sadly, the federal gov- mystique of national transformation’ ernment has proven to be a big which appeared online before - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 30 COVER STORY - INSTITUTIONS MACC stumbled, struggled and strangulated itself Its chief wanted Malaysians to believe that the anti-corruption body is “independent, transparent and professional”. Yet, so far, the MACC has failed to convince a highly sceptical public

ith the dawn of a new police reports against opposition PM Najib Abdul Razak’s contro- WWW year the Malaysian Anti- newspaper Suara Keadilan and versial offer (made on the eve of WW Corruption Commission Thai forensic expert Dr Pornthip the Sibu by-election) of RM5 mil- (MACC) marked its first on matters related to the Teoh Beng lion for flood-mitigation projects anniversary as a commission. But Hock inquest. in Rejang Park, provided the BN there was little to celebrate. Abu candidate was elected. Kassim Mohamed was appointed “Certainly it is not a good way to the new Chief Commissioner. start the year. Already people He said: “Yes, we have received New resolutions were made by shudder at the mention of the complaints from several quarters the MACC to redeem itself and re- MACC. Oh my God! More selec- during the by-election. So we have store public confidence. tive prosecution! What’s new at started investigating. We will in- the MACC? Nothing has vestigate any party. We have two They even came up with a new changed. Such is the perception,” (complaints), one in Hulu slogan: ‘Let’s Together Change: commented Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Selangor... and [another in] Sibu.” Fight Corruption’. This was fol- a Pas central working committee lowed by stirring speeches and member. MACC investigations director soul-baring interviews of the Mustafar Ali said that the MACC MACC’s supremo, who asked the On 8 Feburary 2010, Abu Kassim “may consider calling Najib in for public to give him the benefit of conceded that the police reports investigation. Not at the moment, the doubt! were a “shot in the foot”. He but if need be of course we will claimed that he did not know call whoever [was relevant] to tes- The public remained sceptical! about the reports, had asked the tify”. Was the MACC thinking of Judging from the way things AG (about it), and the latter said regaining public confidence by turned out (as seen below), they “every (MACC) officer has the taking the rakyat for a ride? were justified in having serious right to make a police report”. doubts about the ‘new’ MACC Sly sympathy and its chief. He added: “I don’t really understand why a report was made In an unusual move on Teoh Beng Shot in the foot against Pornthip”. Neither do we, Hock’s first-year death anniver- Abu. sary (16 July 2010) the MACC But even before Abu Kassim could head issued a statement express- settle down and show some sem- Farcical file on Najib ing his sympathy for the family blance of seriousness, his boys in- and pledged he will not “compro- dicated that it was going to be On 23 May 2010, Abu Kassim very mise or cover up the actions of any business as usual! On the first day dramatically revealed that the culprit or anyone found poten- of 2010, two MACC officers lodged commission had opened a file into tially involved in the death of

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 31 Teoh Beng Hock”. of society that they are a body ex- He helped kill the very little that isting solely to protect the inter- was left of the MACC’s own in- The open letter to the grief- ests of the powers that be… tegrity and credibility. Its public stricken family backfired. The fam- image plunged to the very depths ily questioned the sincerity of Abu “Let me add that whatever advice with the help of Abdul Razak. He Kassim especially on why the con- the MACC may have received had at first advocated self-stran- dolence statement was only is- from the Attorney General’s cham- gulation. He even demonstrated sued in Mandarin and conse- bers is highly suspect and devoid how it could be done. quently only given coverage in the of any legal basis, but instead Chinese-language media. smacks of a hastily assembled He then asked Dr Pornthip if she concoction of very weak excuses had any experience jumping off a Further, the year-late condolence designed to avoid a potentially building! When that failed, the was at variance with the stance embarrassing situation for those very experienced lawyer of 24 adopted by the MACC counsel who are obviously in control and years assisted the Commission to Abdul Razak Musa at the inquest who are able to hijack the machi- take a wild leap out of the win- where he was clearly acting on the nations of the State and to manipu- dow of logic, common sense and MACC’s instruction that Teoh late the system to suit their own civility. Beng Hock had committed sui- illegitimate agendas.” cide. RPK-leaks Press must “protect” MACC chickened out MACC from itself! In October 2010, MACC deputy chief Mohd Shukri Abdull re- In June, the MACC made a U-turn On 21 July 2010, the MACC op- vealed that “moles in the MACC at the eleventh hour on plans to erations review panel said that were disrupting the operations of meet private investigator, P “the press has been unfair in its the anti-graft body. They must be Balasubramaniam, in London to coverage of the MACC so far. It weeded out quickly as they were record his statement on a 2008 should in fact “protect” the anti- also a threat to national security”. statutory declaration that impli- graft body in order to encourage The commission had lodged a po- cated PM Najib Razak, his wife foreign direct investment into the lice report on 25 September after it Rosmah Mansor and their friend country” (The Malaysian Insider). discovered that documents on in- Razak Baginda in the Altantuya vestigations into several VIPs had murder and submarines-graft Why blame the press, especially appeared on blogger Raja Petra case. when the MACC does not do what Kamarudin (RPK)’s Malaysia To- it should be doing? Why shoot the day news portal. In a bid to help the MACC counter messenger when the MACC is in the storm of criticism that erupted a mess? There is really no need The public considers RPK a very since the MACC’s announcement for the MACC to fear bad press. good “mole” – the nation’s best that it had been advised by the A- But it should be wary of itself! and boldest whistle-blower! What G not to go, MACC adviser Megat Tunku Abdul Aziz put this per- was his motive of publishing Najmuddin Megat Khas came up fectly: “The MACC is its own those documents? Blogger Din with the ludicrous: “It is ridicu- worst enemy!” Merican explains the logic behind lous to go over there. The process RPK’s “leaks” very clearly: “The will involve a lot of cost and a MACC ‘commits suicide’ MACC’s response has been pa- waste of taxpayers’ money.” thetic. Day by day, RPK is show- On 18 August 2010, the MACC ing that the MACC is not serious In a stinging response to the very tragically “committed sui- about eradicating corruption. Day MACC, Americk Sidhu, Bala's cide” during the cross-examina- by day, the MACC is shown to lawyer, said: “This turn of events tion of world-renowned Thai fo- have resiled on its own oath and has certainly destroyed what little rensic pathologist Dr Pornthip motto. credibility the MACC had left and Rojanasunand by its lawyer has confirmed the suspicions held Abdul Razak in the Teoh Beng “Day by day, MACC is seen as just by most right thinking members Hock’s Inquest. being another tool of the BN to

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 32 cover up its own excesses. Day by tion body is “independent, trans- verse the bad impression the day, the organs of government are parent and professional”. Yet, in MACC has made on the public. shown to be apparatus of abuses 2010, the MACC failed to counter His time is almost up! Will he con- and oppressions. Day by day, the the growing allegations and evi- tinue defending the MACC and PDRM and the MACC are seen as dence of the commission being a deluding himself that the public just tools by the Attorney General cat’s-paw of the government, perception of the MACC is improv- Gani Patail to further his own in- Umno and the political elite. ing? terests.” Allegations also surfaced of the But the MACC was not without a Nazri’s nonsense MACC being in collusion with the prize catch in 2010 – two big fish former IGP Musa Hassan and AG in fact! They were former minister On 2 November 2010, the MACC Gani Patail in the selective pros- and MCA president Ling Liong insisted it acts against all corrupt ecution of those they wanted to Sik, who was charged in Court on officials, be it “ministers, chief bring down such as former Com- 29 July 2010 for cheating the gov- ministers, political leaders or even mercial Crimes Investigations Di- ernment and former Selangor civil servants”. It hit out at rector (CCID) Ramli Yusuff and Mentri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo, Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers for lawyer Roshli Dahlan. who was arrested and charged in “sensationalising” issues, attack- court for corruption on 6 Decem- ing to gain political mileage (Ma- The decision of the KL Criminal ber 2010. laysian Insider) Sessions Court on 20 August 2010 to acquit Ramli Yusuff of Some saw the arrests and the suits Nazri Aziz, the minister in charge the last of the three cases lev- as the result of the “good work” of the MACC, revealed that the elled at him by the AG, the then of the MACC. The agency should commission was still investigat- IGP and the MACC was a real be congratulated for their “great ing 11 individuals for offences re- slap in the face of the heads of effort”, which resulted in a good lating to “owning assets beyond the three agencies. They tried to catch. one’s normal income”. fix Ramli three times for three different charges in three sepa- On the other hand, many viewed Lim Kit Siang rubbished the reply, rate courts before three different it as a “good show” and a “great arguing that it was “illogical” that judges but failed according to the gimmick” – reminiscent of the the MACC probed only 11 per- reputed blogger, Din Merican! charade against corruption by sons for all of 2010, when the coun- former PM Abdullah Badawi, try was “mired with reports of Since 15 Aug. 2010, Malaysia To- with the big fish eventually escap- corruption”. day has published nine reports on ing in good time! Still many con- how Tajudin Ramli plundered sidered the “small” charges for “Only 11 investigations done till MAS and reduced the airline com- the big fish a big joke! now? Are you saying that there pany from a surplus of more than are no more cases of corruption? RM600 million to a deficit in ex- Will Abu Kassim continue to be We read reports of high-powered cess of RM8 billion. RPK showed the “good boy” of Gani and the politicians living way beyond documents to not only prove this government or seriously and their means, with lavish mansions “but also to prove that there was genuinely consider the good of the and big cars, but yet no action is alleged collusion between the AG people? Its everyone’s good guess! taken against them. That is why Chambers, the MACC and the Or will he follow the good example we are questioning the efforts (by PRDM to sweep this entire epi- of leaders like Robert Phang, an MACC) to tackle corruption.” sode under the carpet”. MACC panel advisor whose courage, commitment and consistency Conspiracies, collusion Hype or hope? has given Bolehland a glimmer of & cats-paws hope by giving the MACC a good In an interview with Sin Chew name? Abu Kassim wants Malaysians to Daily on 1 February 2010, Abu believe that the new anti-corrup- Kassim had asked for a year to re- - Martin Jalleh

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 33 A COMPROMISED JUDICIARY Continued from page 40

“those ignoramuses” were talking There were other examples of jus- 2010, the AG’s Chambers filed a “utter nonsense”. Those “inane tice compromised, such as the de- motion for leave to appeal the judges cannot even understand cision on 25 March 2010 of the Court of Appeal’s decision. plain English”! Court of Appeal to overturn an award of RM2.5 million in dam- The public fully supported N H On High Court judge Justice ages to ex-ISA detainee Abdul Chan's uncompromising assess- Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah’s Malek Hussein by the High Court ment of the state of the judiciary rejection of Anwar’s application in 2007 and the Federal Court’s in 2010. They were in sync with to have the judge recuse himself rejection on 4 May of Anwar his view that there are judges, es- from further hearing the sodomy Ibrahim’s application to have pecially those in the appellate trial, N H Chan said that the judge Sodomy II struck out. courts, who are “ignorant”, “in- was talking “utter nonsense” and competent”, “inconsistent”, “im- “knew next to nothing about ju- Terrence Netto of Malaysiakini posters” and even “idiots”! dicial bias”. called the Court of Appeal decision “an exercise of raw judicial It is difficult to be optimistic of the In the cases related to the Perak power against the weight of legal judiciary in 2011 considering that constitutional crisis N H Chan tradition and evolving sensitivity N H Chan has from the events that highlighted the “bad” and “per- to human rights…The judges did took place in 2010 pronounced the verse” judgments, especially those not confine themselves to points judiciary in Bolehland — by the appellate courts, the collec- of law but also of fact, which is an unsalvageable – one which can tive written judgements which overly capacious reading of their only be redeemed by a general were “riddled with contradic- function”. The awarding of costs election! tions” and how the Perak and Fed- of RM50,000 against the respon- eral Constitutions were toyed dent was a “perverse twist”. “Creatures of the with and trampled on. government” The appellate courts showed that In the case of Nizar vs Zambry (de- they were not only willing to bow The year 2010 - according to pub- cision given on 9 February 2010) to the wishes of the Executive, but lic perception - saw the judiciary he called the panel of five Federal they were ever ready to bend back- sink so low as to shamelessly al- Court judges made up of the Presi- wards to do their bidding. This low itself to be intimidated, its in- dent of the Court of Appeal could be seen in the decision of dependence and impartiality in- Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Chief the Court of Appeal in August in terfered with and its integrity re- Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria, allowing V.K. Lingam and two reduced to ignominy. Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, tired top judges to challenge the Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Abdul recommendations of the 2007 Hamid Embong, “myopic Royal Commission of Inquiry judges”. which investigated their roles in allegedly brokering judicial ap- According to NH Chan, they pointments. “were lost in a quagmire of con- fused thinking caused by their Veteran lawyer Karpal Singh own incompetence. They found criticised the decision as being un- themselves deep in the forest unprecedented! He added that the able to see the wood for the trees. Royal Commission makes recom- Does this mean that we have a mendations which are not bound bunch of incompetent judges who by judicial review and they sit in the highest court in the should be acted on instead of be- Karpal Singh: Court of Appeal land?” ing reviewed. On 23 September decision unprecedented

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 34 Or will the CJ take cognizance of the blunt and brutal opinions of his brother judge N H Chan who throughout 2010 continued to bring to light how beholden the judiciary was to the Umno-dominated government.

The respected retired Court of Appeal judge had pointed out that the “so-called Perak crisis has brought out a host of cases that showed that the judges gave the impression that they were one- sided. The perception of the people Gopal Sri Ram: Judges have become creatures of the government is that they sided with the BN government.” Such a view on the judiciary was ing condition of the judiciary also shared by former Federal since the 1988 crisis, which saw Surely, one does not need to be a Court judge Gopal Sri Ram who the sacking of a number of top lawyer or a judge to have such a declared that “… the judiciary has judges. perception and to notice the “crea- become so ‘executive-minded’ tures of the government” crawl- and that “the judges have become But Chief Justice Zaki Azmi did ing in and out of the woodwork of creatures of the government” not share Sri Ram’s concern. In an the Palace of Justice at the Master’s (Malaysiakini, 16 Sept. 2010). interview with The Nut Graph on behest! 26 March, the CJ expressed his Speaking at the National Confer- deep satisfaction that since the The pro-government stance taken ence on Integrity in Kuala 1988 judicial crisis “the confi- by the judiciary can also be seen Lumpur, Sri Ram said: “The judi- dence in the judiciary has im- in the courts awarding costs (even ciary is so anxious to help the ex- proved a great deal”! It was the in public interest cases) and in ecutive... and when you bend the same line used by some of his pre- certain cases hefty sums, against law to help the executive, this re- decessors! those who lose in their suits sults in ridiculous decisions.” against the government. He called those who criticised the He stressed that “since the execu- judiciary for its lack of indepen- Such a move by the judiciary - tive branch is elected by the ma- dence “a small group of vocifer- coupled with the fact that in High jority, and as such it represents the ous people out there, who go onto Court suits filed by civilians rights of the majority, the judicial the internet and blogs and against the government and In- branch has the duty to protect the Facebook and all that and make spector-General of Police (IGP) in rights of the minority”. comments without knowing the the last five years only 4.4 per cent proper background. Many are not of the suits were in favour of ci- He said that “the judiciary has even lawyers.” vilians - would be a perfect way failed in its duty to defend minor- to discourage the people from tak- ity rights” and cited examples of But what if a lawyer like Edmund ing legal action against the gov- the courts reversing decisions Bon , who is also the chairman of ernment. through the Federal Court to ac- the constitutional law committee commodate the wishes of the fed- of the Bar Council, were to tell the Cowardice eral government. CJ that “the perception that the in the courts judiciary is executive-compliant He indicated that the failure of still remains till today” (Free Ma- 2010 will be remembered as a year Malaysia as a state may indeed laysia Today, 17 Aug. 2010)! Will when the Federal Court shirked be imminent given the deteriorat- Zaki believe Bon? its responsibility and failed to ex-

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 35 ecute justice by declining to an- of last resort in this country is not given consideration and given a swer burning constitutional ques- the Federal Court, but political ex- verdict either way. tions especially those related to pediency.” conversion issues. “Secondly, when counsel for the The Joint Action Group for Gen- appellant requested a written There were instances when it der Equality, an umbrella of judgment on why the constitu- chose not to make a ruling but pre- women’s rights groups, called the tional points were not answered, ferred to dismiss the case on tech- decision “a lack of courage”. The the reply by judge Datuk Suriyadi nicalities instead. There is no bet- Bar Council said that “the Federal Halim Omar was, to say the least, ter example of this that the Court failed to be decisive and ab- shocking. He said, after deliver- Shamala Sathiyaseelan appeal. dicated its role as the ultimate ar- ing an oral judgment: “We will biter in disputes involving consti- prepare the written grounds only Political commentator David Mat- tutional questions and jurisdic- if the Federal Court directs us to ter gives a succinct and interest- tional conflict.” do so.” ing overview of the case: “On Fri- day, 12 November, five of the The Shamala case is not an iso- “Constitutional issues raised can- nation’s top judges arrived at a lated one. Respected lawyer Art not be said to be frivolous in that fork in the road where they had Harun concurs: “I have lost count no reasoning need be given. I won- two paths to choose from. One of the number of cases which in- der what would happen if most was to go down a path where they volve inter-faith conflicts arising judges, if not all, give the same rea- would be faced with the task of from conversion and re-conver- sons for not wanting to write answering two very important sion of a person from one faith to grounds of judgment? In this par- constitutional questions. another - often from one faith to ticular case, the points raised were Islam and back to the original faith important one way or another, “The first question is whether a - where the Federal Court had cho- and the judge should not shirk his minor can be unilaterally con- sen not to make a ruling, prefer- duty.” verted to another religion without ring to dismiss the case on techni- the knowledge and consent of the calities instead.” Ceaseless other parent. The second was de- contradictions ciding which prevailed - an order In January 2010, Art Harun raised from the syariah court or an order two constitutional questions in a The cowed judiciary of Bolehland made by the High Court? sodomy case before the Court of apparently continued to take its Appeal. The court declined to an- cue from the government in 2010. “The other path was simpler. It swer them. The case was reported This resulted in courts being would allow a preliminary objec- in the NST and a former judge riddled with self-contradictions tion and avoid having to decide using the pseudonym ‘Essdee’ or courts contradicting one an- anything at all. responded in a letter to the editor other! Below are some examples with the title “JUSTICE: Court of the contradictions (C): “In a decision that can only be should not shirk duty”. seen as an abdication of its duty C1: Apex court contradicts legal as the highest court in the land He wrote: “I was indeed disheart- precedents and the ultimate interpreter of the ened to read the report ‘Court Federal Constitution, the Federal ducks constitutional points in On 9 Feb. the Federal Court in the Court decided that it would de- sodomy case”. Firstly, it is the duty case of whether PR’s Mohammad cline to answer what are probably of the court to hear and consider Nizar Jamaluddin or BN's two of the most burning constitu- every issue brought to it by either Zambry Abd Kadir was the right- tional questions facing the nation party unless it is so frivolous that ful Menteri Besar of Perak ignored today. it needs no consideration. In this (and contradicted) the established case, it cannot be said that a con- precedents. set in the Stephen “The decision in the Shamala case stitutional issue is frivolous. The Kalong Ningkan case in Sarawak goes to show one thing - the court Court of Appeal should have in 1966 and the Pairin Kitingan

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 36 case in Sabah in 1985. highlighted the inconsistency: Terrence Netto showed how the “…if indeed Rule 137 denied the above ruling was so different in Terrence Netto made the follow- Federal Court the right to review the Sodomy II case: “A similar ing thought-provoking com- its own decision, how do we ex- void, or more accurately, a hold- ments: “Doctrinal consistency is plain the fact that there had ing back, of the details – police highly valued in jurisprudential been 10 previous decisions since reports, list of witnesses, medical theory… (in which) established 2001, presided by four previous reports – of the prosecution’s on- precedents can be overthrown chief justices where the Federal going case against Anwar Ibrahim only if unique facts enter the vor- Court allowed a review of its for sodomy, details that are as a tex of discursive imperatives in own decision? norm furnished to the defence at which a case is decided. There the start of a trial, is thus far held were no unique facts in the Nizar “How do we explain the fact that to have not been fatal to the vs Zambry case.” Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin had prosecution’s case. sat on the panel that reviewed ”…the Court of Appeal, last May, the Federal Court’s decision as ”They say legal doctrine cannot and now the Federal Court have recently as last month? Did the hold up without being buttressed decided to ignore the principle of Federal Court then rely on some by consistency in the arguments stare decisis and make the notion other authorities or did it sim- adduced. But in some of our of judicial precedent a piece of ply override Rule 137?” courts these days that consistency chaff, drifting on every wind of is elusive because what is sauce circumstance. It’s the kind of rea- (On 21 January 2010, the Federal for the goose is not sauce for the soning that makes you think that Court, acting on an application by gander.” the law is an ass.” the Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi, had reviewed and revised its ab- C4: Court differs from Perak de- C2: The Federal Court contradicts surd and perverse decision made cision as Gobind remains barred itselfitselfitself a decade ago in the Adorna Prop- erties Sdn Bhd v Boonsom In April 2010, in a case between On 25 February 2010. the Federal Boonyanit case.) ousted Perak Speaker V Court unanimously decided not Sivakumar and BN assemblymen to review its 29 January 2010. de- C3: Elusive consistency in Perak, the Federal Court panel cision barring Anwar Ibrahim of Augustine Paul, Alauddin from access to the documents On 5 August 2010, the election Mohd Sheriff, Arifin Zakaria, Nik “which would be tendered as part court threw out Zaid Ibrahim’s Hashim Nik Ab. Rahman, and of the evidence for the prosecu- petition to declare the election of Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin ruled tion” and “a written statement of P Kamalanathan as MP of Hulu that it was allowed to inquire into facts favourable to the defence”, Selangor on 25 April 2010 void. legislative proceedings. It de- which he is entitled to under sec- Zaid’s petition could not even get parted from the precedent which tion 51A(1)(b) and (c) of the Crimi- to that initial stage of exposure be- gives respect to the doctrine of nal Procedure Code. cause an application by separation of powers. Kamalanathan to strike out Zaid’s The three-man panel comprising suit was found by the judge to have On 22 October 2010, in a case Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, merit. brought about by Puchong MP Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Gobind Singh Deo, the High Court Heliliah Mohd Yusof unani- Essentially, the judge found as ruled that legislative proceedings mously ruled – and very strangely fatal to Zaid’s petition a fail- could not be challenged in court. too – that Rule 137 of the Federal ure to furnish details to back The constitution was supreme Court Rules 1995 did not confer up his claims that the poll re- and it could not question Dewan jurisdiction on the Federal Court sults were influenced by brib- Rakyat proceedings. The decision to review its own decision. ery and corruption. The elec- by the High Court contradicted tion judge held that the devil that of the Federal Court ruling in Aliran president P Ramakrishnan was in the details. April. q

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Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 38 APPEAL Let the ripple effect take place: Act now!

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Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 39 COVER STORY - INSTITUTIONS A compromised judiciary

It was a year when the judiciary sank so low that it shamelessly allowed itself to be intimidated, its independence and impartiality to be interfered with, and its integrity to be reduced to ignominy by Martin Jalleh

n 2010 the public contin- of law. Commenting on the Federal II ued to view the judiciary Court’s decision not to review III with increased suspi- The public found much courage Anwar Ibrahim’s application to cion, scepticism and and wisdom in the respected, re- review its previous decision dis- even scorn. The reputation of the nowned and retired Justice N H missing his application for disclo- judiciary was sullied irreparably Chan who grew increasingly fu- sure of documents for his second by judicial shenanigans and court rious at how the judiciary which sodomy trial, the retired judge said jesters. he had served so faithfully had the rakyat is “stunned by the ig- been reduced to a farce. norance of our judges of the high- A vast majority of Malaysians be- est court in the land”. lieve that it was used by the rul- He shredded into smithereens ing elite to legitimise their power Chief Justice Zaki Azmi’s sup- He added that the Federal Court’s grab in Perak, persecute their op- posed judicial reform and laid approach to Rule 137 of the Rules ponents (in particular, Anwar bare the judicial sham. He ac- of the Federal Court 1995 was “in- Ibrahim), punish dissenters and cused judges of putting them- consistent” and “dishonest” and promote their political agenda, selves beyond the pale...just like through the perversion of the rule pariahs”. The CJ remained silent! Continued on page 34

NH Chan: Inane judges cannot even understand plain Zaki Azmi: His judicial reform shredded into English.English.English. smithereens

Aliran Monthly : Vol.31(1) Page 40