Kudos to brave souls :Bersih 2.0 (we salute you)

Suhakam: Toothless tigers, should be disbanded to preserve dignity

Time and time again we come across, members of Suhakam showing their displeasure on the authorities in Malaysia side-stepping and  fringing basic human rights. All the suggestion and plea by Suhakam are falling on deaf ears. Looking at the most recent happenings, on the plea by Tan Sri Hasmy and today's comment by   James Nayagam, another commisioner of Suhakam on the mass arrest of the rakyat who are practising their basic rights as enshrined and guaranteed under the Human Rights Charter and the constitution. My suggestion is, all the respected members in Suhakam should resign en mass, what is the point, when your voices are not heard, your suggestions are ignored, your advice are simply thrown aside. Don't you people have dignity? Don't you people think you do not deserve whatever allowances you are being paid, because you are simply not doing you work...or in simple Malay...'gaji buta"? And as for the other's, some insight on what is the actual history of Suhakam, what is supposedly be called as their powers....what are their jurisdiction and many more, below is a summary which was actually taken fro their official portal:

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) was established by Parliament under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, Act 597, the Act which was gazetted on 9 September 1999. The inaugural meeting of SUHAKAM was held on 24 April 2000.

The functions of SUHAKAM as set out in Section 4(1) are:


- to promote awareness of and provide education relating to human rights;
- to advise and assist Government in formulating legislation and procedures and recommend the necessary     measures to be taken;
- to recommend to the Government with regard to subscription or accession of treaties and other international instruments in the field of human rights;
- to inquire into complaints regarding infringements of human rights.

Furthermore, section 4(4) of the Act provides that regard shall be had to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 (UDHR) to the extent that is not inconsistent with the Federal Constitution. This means that whatever rights and liberties not mentioned in Part II but referred to in the UDHR must be considered provided that there is no conflict with the Constitution.

The function of inquiring into complaints about human rights infringements is subject to the conditions imposed by section 12 of the Act. Section 12 empowers SUHAKAM to act on its own motion to inquire into allegations of infringement of human rights, in addition to acting on complaints submitted to it. SUHAKAM, however, may not investigate complaints which are the subject matter of proceedings pending in a court of law or which have been finally decided by any court. Such investigations have to cease if the matter being investigated is brought before the courts

Power

The Act provides SUHAKAM with powers to enable it to discharge its functions effectively. Under section 4(2), the Commission is empowered to do the following:

 to undertake research by conducting programs, seminars and workshops and

 to disseminate and distribute the results of such research;

 to advise the Government and/or relevant authorities of complaints against them and to recommend appropriate measures to be taken;

to study and verify any infringement of human rights;

to visit places of detention in accordance with procedures as prescribed by laws relating to the places of detention and to make necessary recommendations;

to issue public statements on human rights as and when necessary

to undertake appropriate activities as are necessary.

Having read the above , I sincerely believe we could easily conclude that Suhakam is not even functioning 10% of what they was expected to............towards a more democratic Malaysia (GOD willing) ....ciao...a.h.baharom

9th July 2011:Perfect Storm in the making?

A lot of uncertainties, unconfirmed and invalidated reports on pending arrest of Amibiga and certain other leaders of Bersih 2.0 leaders most probably under the draconian ISA or EO is bandied around, however Pakatan top level leaders are adamant that they would be there in Kuala Lumpur when the time comes tomorrow, Khairy Jamaluddin is also adamant that Pemuda will also be there (errr....what are they fighting/demonstrating for?) . Berahim Ali, on the other hand announced that PERKASA is abandoning the planned demo, however he said that its members will be loitering around in Kuala Lumpur for sightseeing (everybody else beside him knows that PERKASA would not be able to garner any kind of support from the rakyat)


Earlier the police obtained courts restraining order for 91 people (majority from Bersih 2.0) from being in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur, but so far none of them have shown  any sign of obeying it. Police are moving in full force in cordoning the city, there was even reports saying that they have moved into and staying in a number of colleges in Universiti Malaya.The latest news is that Hishamuddin announced that instant permit will be given if the organizers are willing to have the gathering outside Kuala Lumpur.

Earlier it was also reported that a number of Umno politicians, including those in Cabinet, were upset by Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin’s decision to grant an audience to Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan last Tuesday, arguing that it is outside his constitutional powers, however it was brushed aside by two well known law experts Tommy Thomas and Aziz Bari..On the King's seemingly independent move to meet Ambiga, Tommy reiterated that the King has the right to be kept informed concerning matters about the nation and  that Tuanku Mizan had acted constitutionally when he intervened..

It was echoed by Aziz Bari who added that the constitutional principle is simple and clear: The King is only under duty to act on the government’s advice when this is in line with both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution.King’s seemingly independent move to meet with Ambiga. 

I believe everybody is holding their breath, and wondering what is going to unwrap in the next 24 hours. I really hope and pray that no untoward incidents will take place, no life need to spared, no material lost sho be incurred and everybody will come to their senses, including the authorities,GOD have mercy and help us....please...ciao...a.h.baharom.

Immigration Officers: The unsung heroes

I feel obliged to blog about this special group of people, the first group of people or the front liners that face the incoming visitors, and the last to say goodbye when these people leave, thus they are quite vital, all their activities are indeed scrutinized and much talked about.Not many are aware that the Immigration Department is one of the few uniformed department that is not fully closed department unlike their counterparts in  Royal Customs or the Prisons Department. In the closed department system, the Director General and his officers come thru rank and and file, whilst in Immigration, the uniformed officers are only able to reach a certain stage or position, all the positions above that are all filled up by PTD officers, who come and go....hopping from one Government department to another, and the sad part is, these PTD officers hold positions superior than the uniformed Immigration Officers who serve as subordinates to them.

Immigration officers, who are normally caught in difficult situations upholding the interest of several ministries. Although the are placed directly under the Home Ministry, some how they also have to uphold and strive to achieve the objectives of other ministries such as the Human Resource Ministry and Tourism Ministry. While their primary objective is answering to the Home Ministry, to safeguard the nation's interest, and to vet the people who come into Malaysia, sometimes they are blamed by the Tourism ministry for being too strict and chasing away the tourist. When they loosen up in the name of attracting visitors, they run foul of the public, who claims that they are too generous in letting in unwanted visitors, which worsen social problems.

Foreign labor is another big headache, stringent regulations will make the employers unhappy, clamoring for politicians help in obtaining approval, on the other hand influx of these labors will earn the wrath of locals. It is a pitiful situation...it is like head they lose, tail they lose.Though the services provided by the Immigration Department have improved by leaps and bounds,(eg; you could get your passport within an hour), it is still the negative news by a small group of bad hats that kept being highlighted. The ironic part is while the department is being hounded and pounded, people who had served as the Director General of Immigration have gone on to other successful  senior posts (to name a few...Mahmood Adam, Aseh Che Mat, Syed Danial). My sincere wish is for the Immigration Officers to receive their due appreciation....ciao....a.h.baharom

Peludah Warna: A Samad Said

Peludah Warna

Kuasa gusar kini menggelegak murka;
warna kuning diisytihar racun terbisa.
Diragutnya baju-T segeram tenaga
dan diumum itulah busana bahaya.

Tapi, kita jahit semula perca kain,
menjadikannya panji terindah dan tulen.
Warna kuning yang teramat tenang dan syahdu
kita kembalikan damai ke dalam qalbu.

Kini cahaya mentari mungkin diramas
dan sinar kuningnya juga mungkin dicantas.
Memanglah mereka kini peludah warna
sedang menghimpun lendir kahak sebanyaknya.

Kerana nikmat amat lama berkuasa,
kuasa pun seolah menjadi hartanya.

A Samad Said

Bersih 2.0: It is complicated

The Government of Malaysia (especially Prime Minister, Najib) was taken aback,when Bersih 2.0 agreed to hold the demonstration in a Stadium. They never expected that, it was not in the script, advisers and consultants were scrambling to find antidotes and counter measures. They were expecting  Bersih 2.0 to be adamant and the group was considered 'recalcitrant' and not to bow to any pressures.Now what?....the Prime Minister's credibilty is a point of contention, how would the rakyat react if he goes back on his word on the assurance of assisting Bersih 2.0 to hold its demonstration in a stadium. Would his act be considered as tantamount of going against the wish of DYMM SPB Yang Di Pertuan Agong?

A number of incidents have been unwrapping for the last 2 days, the application to use Stadium Merdeka was denied, the stadium management claims that it would be closed for some minor repairs and internal sports meeting, but, wait a second, ain't Stadium Merdeka was supposed to be booked for the mega Sweet Charity and Blues Gang on the so-called date? Then, out of the blue, Berahim Ali claims that PERKASA have placed their booking much before Bersih 2.0 (yeah...right, we believe you). UMNO Youth (Patriot) is also against the usage of Stadium Merdeka for Bersih purposes, they further argued that it should only be used for patriotic and nationalistic purposes (yeah...right again, I never knew Justin Bieber concert falls on either categories). And then, the infamous Rais Yatim came out with his statement, Cabinet reject the application to hold Bersih 2.0 in any stadium in Kuala Lumpur, and Pakatan should hold it in states controlled by them such as in Penang, Kelantan or Kedah.(Is he getting old and senile, who is the winner in Kuala Lumpur?)

Deputy IGP made a press conference and warned the organizers albeit Bersih 2.0 to apply for permit, according to him, although it is held in a stadium, it still needs a permit, when pressed further whether Bersih 2.0 would be given a permit if they apply for one, he flatly said no, since Bersih 2.0 is an illegal organization (then why waste the time?).Aren't his actions is also tantamount to going against the Agong's wish? Road-blocks are mounted in all the critical spots, the reasons given are to prevent weapons being brought to the illegal rally. The army and police even had joint operations, banner with the writings in 4 languages, malay,jawi,chinese and tamil was visble, loosely translated as ''Disperse or be shot"...hmm...I wonder English version was not included.....GOD...please have mercy on us....and please help us......a.h.baharom

Non-stop 10 hours 'teh tarik' show: Unnecessary wastage in the name of Records

I felt disgusted when I came across the news that the Organization of Indian Muslim Communities of Malaysia  (IMCON) intend to organize non-stop 'teh tarik' show which is expected to last for 10 hours and make its way to the Malaysian Book of Records.I was also dismayed to hear that it will be supported by the Kapitan Keling Mosque Committee, the anger moved a notch higher when it is scheduled to be held in the holy month of Sya'aban, and during when the food prices are soaring, many people are tightening their belt, the poor are struggling, and these idiots have the guts to organize such event in the name of creating records.

Among the event planned are the 'longest' teh tarik, the 'teh tarik' with the most foam and many other idiotic acts, with these foods going to the drain. Whatever stupid program they want to organize, I will appreciate if the could remove the word 'Muslim' from it. Islam is a beautiful religion, Muslims are expected to carry a high degree of morale and will avoid any kind of wastage, especially food, and I strongly urge the relevant religious authorities to check and ensure that none of the Mosque fund is channelled into this program, especially during hard-times like this.If they are adamant to carry on, use their own money, and STOP using the word Muslims.

GOD have mercy on us.....and help the country and the rakyat....a.h.baharom