Aarvidi’s Weblog

The two woman were working in the shop as told by the Director. It’s on Star on line. If so, don’t you think any of the 7 men could have told the husband. Are his men so callous to think that taking away 2 women in a truck is just normal in Malaysia. Please Director do something and that goes to the Home Minister as well.

Viets ‘held without cause’

The Immigration Napoleons are at it again. They go around snooping at Pasar Pudu, see these two Vietnamese women and suddenly out of the blue, they become duty conscious, and check the travel documents which are in order. They leave. Everything is in order. That should have been the end of the story.

But the mega serial is not over yet. It continues half-an-hour later, another group of 5 officers arrive and take the girls away. Apparently the first group was lacking in knowledge or were slack, or plain inefficient, or just dumb bells. This is what the Enforcement chief must investigate. There are a lot illegal immigrants in this country, and with ineffective enforcement, as proven by the first group, these illegal immigrants still stay. What would have happened if the second group had not come by, these 2 Vietnamese women will not be in Semenyih detention camp.

Ishak the enforcement chief should tell the people what had happened to the first 2 officers, either they should leave enforcement and do other duties or should be retrained to be efficient.

MCA Chong has condemned the action so the weakness is not with the women but the department. So, even the second group of officers have bungled in their duties. All 7 men must be disciplined. As I see it, illegal immigrants is a problem caused by the enforcement officers.

Syed Hamid Albar the new Minister should seriously look into the matter as the Director Ishak may tend to cover up the weakness in his department. 

Tuesday April 1, 2008

Viets ‘held without cause’

By ISTA KYRA SHARMUGAM

KUALA LUMPUR: Immigration officers detained a trader’s Vietnamese wife and her visiting cousin although they had valid legal documents to prove their stay in the country.

Ng Lai Lian, 55, was at Pasar Pudu manning his apparel stall when Immigration officers arrived in a truck.

Ng’s wife and her cousin, who was visiting for a month, were at the stall with him.

“I like to have my wife around, as I am very attached to her,” said Ng who married Nguyen Thi Phuong, 21, here in December last year.

Missing his wife: Ng holding up pictures of his wife and her cousin as Chong (right) discusses a point with witness Yong Chee Miang in Kuala Lumpur.

Ng said this at a press conference after seeking help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong.

He said two plainclothes officers approached them to check Nguyen and her cousin’s papers. Ng produced the valid documents and the officers left.

Half an hour later, five officers, also in plainclothes, came to the stall.

“They ignored me when I told them that two officers had earlier checked their passes and were satisfied,” said Ng.

“They told me to go to the immigration office in Putrajaya if I had any complaints,” said Ng.

When he went to the immigration office in Putrajaya it was closed, as it was a Saturday.

He went back yesterday and was referred to the immigration office in Semenyih as his wife was being detained at the Semenyih detention camp.

At the camp, he saw his wife for 10 minutes. His next attempt to see her was denied as he could not produce approval letters from the immigration department in Putrajaya.

Chong said the high-handed manner in which the officers conducted themselves was a shame to the country’s image.

He urged Immigration Department enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed to investigate the matter urgently.

When contacted, Ishak said he would conduct a thorough investigation.

Viets ‘held without cause’

The first indication that Manoharan’s wife met Samy, came from the article in Malaysiakini.

(1)Samy Vellu revealed that the families of Manoharan and R Kengadharan had approached him for assistance.

“Because they made an approach, I will talk to the PM (about securing their freedom),” he said, adding, “We also don’t want them to be kept inside.

Next we read the wife S.Pushpaneela denied meeting Sami Vellu.

(2)KLANG: ISA detainee and Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M. Manoharan’s wife S. Pushpaneela has denied seeking MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s help for the release of her husband.

“I didn’t go and see Samy Vellu,” Pushpaneela said.

The ’suthal King’ (King of Spin) now wants us to believe Pushpaneela rang him up twice. We do not approach a person by telephoning him. Approach means a physical approach, visiting a person and you don’t visit by telephoning. Then Samy’s past record on lying is evidenced by many posts by bloggers.

I believe Puspaneela more than Samy.

(3)”I never said she met me. It was only R Kengadharan’s wife who met me. Manoharan’s wife rang me up twice to seek my help for the release of her husband,” he said in a statement.

According to a Hindraf report, the suicide rate among Indians is 21.1 per thousand in comparison to 8.6 among Chinese and 2.6 for Malays. This was pointed out to me by one of my readers. My early post was of a young woman aged 20 with 2 kids ending her life for very little rhyme or reason.

Today I read:

Tuesday April 1, 2008

Married man and lover found dead in car

By V. CHANDRASEKARAN and BERNARD SEE

PENANG: A man and a woman were found dead in a black Proton Iswara filled with carbon monoxide at a popular camping ground by the Telok Bahang seaside here.

Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Mohd Hatta Mohd Zain said the 41-year-old man and the 27-year-old woman were found dead in each other’s arms at 2.10am by two policemen on patrol duty.

“A letter was found on the man’s body. He asked his wife to take good care of their two children, aged eight and 12.

“We have classified the case as sudden death and ruled out foul play,” he said.

The two were identified as M. Mohan and R. Hemamalini.

Supt Mohd Hatta said the bodies were claimed by the respective families yesterday and taken back to Sungai Petani following a post-mortem.

In Sungai Petani, Hemamalini’s brother Munies, 36, said his sister was to have been married on April 18.

Another 2 orphans left in the wilderness for no fault of their own. When will we learn. 

Viets ‘held without cause’

The Immigration Napoleons are at it again. They go around snooping at Pasar Pudu, see these two Vietnamese women and suddenly out of the blue, they become duty conscious, and check the travel documents which are in order. They leave. Everything is in order. That should have been the end of the story.

But the mega serial is not over yet. It continues half-an-hour later, another group of 5 officers arrive and take the girls away. Apparently the first group was lacking in knowledge or were slack, or plain inefficient, or just dumb bells. This is what the Enforcement chief must investigate. There are a lot illegal immigrants in this country, and with ineffective enforcement, as proven by the first group, these illegal immigrants still stay. What would have happened if the second group had not come by, these 2 Vietnamese women will not be in Semenyih detention camp.

Ishak the enforcement chief should tell the people what had happened to the first 2 officers, either they should leave enforcement and do other duties or should be retrained to be efficient.

MCA Chong has condemned the action so the weakness is not with the women but the department. So, even the second group of officers have bungled in their duties. All 7 men must be disciplined. As I see it, illegal immigrants is a problem caused by the enforcement officers.

Syed Hamid Albar the new Minister should seriously look into the matter as the Director Ishak may tend to cover up the weakness in his department. 

Tuesday April 1, 2008

Viets ‘held without cause’

By ISTA KYRA SHARMUGAM

KUALA LUMPUR: Immigration officers detained a trader’s Vietnamese wife and her visiting cousin although they had valid legal documents to prove their stay in the country.

Ng Lai Lian, 55, was at Pasar Pudu manning his apparel stall when Immigration officers arrived in a truck.

Ng’s wife and her cousin, who was visiting for a month, were at the stall with him.

“I like to have my wife around, as I am very attached to her,” said Ng who married Nguyen Thi Phuong, 21, here in December last year.

Missing his wife: Ng holding up pictures of his wife and her cousin as Chong (right) discusses a point with witness Yong Chee Miang in Kuala Lumpur.

Ng said this at a press conference after seeking help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong.

He said two plainclothes officers approached them to check Nguyen and her cousin’s papers. Ng produced the valid documents and the officers left.

Half an hour later, five officers, also in plainclothes, came to the stall.

“They ignored me when I told them that two officers had earlier checked their passes and were satisfied,” said Ng.

“They told me to go to the immigration office in Putrajaya if I had any complaints,” said Ng.

When he went to the immigration office in Putrajaya it was closed, as it was a Saturday.

He went back yesterday and was referred to the immigration office in Semenyih as his wife was being detained at the Semenyih detention camp.

At the camp, he saw his wife for 10 minutes. His next attempt to see her was denied as he could not produce approval letters from the immigration department in Putrajaya.

Chong said the high-handed manner in which the officers conducted themselves was a shame to the country’s image.

He urged Immigration Department enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed to investigate the matter urgently.

When contacted, Ishak said he would conduct a thorough investigation.

Viets ‘held without cause’

Zainuddin Likens Mahathir To ‘Thorn In The Flesh’ :: Bernama.com

With one stroke of the pen, former Information Minister  Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, has squarely placed the blame on the election defeat at the feet of Dr Mahathir. This is a very simplistic way to justify the defeat, while Zam was in power I am sure he was aware of corruption, misuse of powers by UMNO, cronyism, ineffective leadership, Hindraf, election commission, the blatant misuse of powers by the Police, Customs, Immigration, civil servants, religious intolerance and the myriad of other thorns in the flesh that brought about defeat.

Malaysiakini had this article on skeletons in the cabinet, and I am sure Zam has read it. If so, there are many thorns, not just Dr Mahathir.

Skeletons in the new cabinet

Soon Li Tsin | Mar 29, 08 11:35am

Skeletons are still ratting in Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s trimmed down, self-dubbed “reform cabinet”, despite the departure of several scandal-ridden personalities.

Abdullah has said the police and Anti-Corruption Agency have vetted and cleared the current crop for appointment to ministerial portfolios.

Malaysiakini ran their names through the archives, to see how free of taint they really are - with unsurprising results for those who have been following our year-end X-files series. No, Christmas has not come early this year!

On the other side of the political fence, some in the ‘government-in-waiting’ and opposition state governments are being pursued by a few bogeys of their own.

BARISAN NASIONAL

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

• Allegedly bought ACJ 319 VIP jet from Airbus costing between US$55 million and US$60 million, but denied the claim in January last year, saying that the government had only leased the aircraft from national carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd and that that the plane was not for his use alone.
• Alleged by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet to have ordered a RM30 million super-luxury yacht in August 2006, alongside a claim that he had been in Bodrum to check on progress - Abdullah denied it and was mulling legal action against the newspaper
• Initially linked to ownership of a RM60 million mansion in Perth, Australia, in April 2007 but subsequent reports quoting son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin said the house belongs to the PM’s son, Kamaludin.
• Implicated in a UN agency independent report in the worldwide oil-for-food scandal involving Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, but denied doing anything more than signing papers endorsing people in business.The report traced payment of US$10 million by Mastek Sdn Bhd, originally registered as a sawn timber company and a dormant company revived by Abdullah’s sister-in-law Noor Asiah Mahmood, her ex-husband Faek Ahmad Shareef and businessperson Jaya Sudhir.
• Awarded the RM25 billion Penang Global City Centre project to Abad Naluri - a 25 percent-owned associate firm of Taman Equine which is wholly owned by developer Equine Capital, whose executive chairman Patrick Lim has close ties to Abdullah
• Awarded the RM3.4 billion Penang monorail project to Penang Port and Scomi Group, in which. Kamaludin holds the controlling stake; Scomi has also been refurbishing railway coaches for Malayan Railway, acting as contractors to Petronas and has reportedly made a bid for the Penang Second bridge project.
• In February 2004, BBC reported that Scomi subsidiary, Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd was making centrifuge for export to Libya, for nuclear devices. Two years later, the CEO and four executives of Mitutoyo Corporation were arrested by the Tokyo police for the connection of sale of equipment to Scomi, for the production of these centrifuge. Scomi disclaimed knowledge of the intended use of the parts.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak

• In 2002, the Defence Ministry bought three submarines costing RM4.5 billion through a company controlled by close friend and political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda who was paid RM530 million in commission.
• The ministry purchased Sukhoi 30-MKM fighter jets worth RM3.2 billion from Russia in 2003 and brokered the deal to send the first Malaysian into space last year at a cost of RM90 million.
• Six offshore patrol vessels were delivered so late that contract value shot up from RM4.9 billion to RM6.75 billion - relevant documents were destroyed last September
• Indirectly linked to the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006, for which two members of his security detail and Abdul Razak Baginda are currently on trial; Altantuya’s cousin testified that there is a photograph of Altantuya and Najib, taken in France

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Johari Baharum

• Embroiled in an allegation that he allegedly received RM5.5 million to free three underworld members from detention, but the Attorney-General later cleared him

Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop

• Involved in the currency speculation scandal in the early 1990s, when Bank Negara lost up to RM30 billion

Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heong

• Caught in apparent conflict of interest in the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone project; he was Port Klang Authority chairperson and deputy chairperson of Wijaya International (parent company of project developer Kuala Dimensi)

Works Minister Mohd Zin Mohamad

• Alleged to have been party to fraud, corruption and bribery - which he has denied - in relation to complaints that his air-cargo company, Silkways Cargo Services Ltd, had under-declared the weight of shipments ferried by Malaysia Airlines in 2001; business partner Sheikh Farid Ahmed in Bangladesh was charged for money laundering last year and reportedly admitted to having paid around RM4.2 million in monthly installments to Mohd Zin.

Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein

• As Umno Youth chief, he brandished a keris at the party’s general assembly in 2005 and again last year; non-Malays did not buy his explanation that the gesture has cultural significance to Malays

Rural and Regional Development Minister Muhammad Muhd Taib

• Charged in Australia - but was cleared - of making a false declaration on carrying in the equivalent of RM2.4 million equivalent in different currencies in December 1996 and knowingly ignoring conditions in a statutory declaration by declaring only assets worth RM10.82 million and AUD3.46 million. He admitted during the trial at the Brisbane District Court that he bought several properties worth more than RM17 million in Australia and New Zealand under the name of his wife Asbi Rohani Asnan. The ACA investigated and cleared him, but he resigned as Selangor menteri besar.

Tourism Minister Azalina Othman

• As sports minister in the previous cabinet, was caught in the proposal floated last year to set up the RM70 million Sports High-Performance Training Centre in Brickendonbury near London; the East Hertforshire Council Development Control Committee rejected the proposal.   
• Led Umno’s battle in cyberspace ahead of the general election that just ended by assembling a team of writers from every state to counter allegations about the party and its leadership on certain websites.
• Has been rumoured as a lesbian in 2002 which she has denied and responded with police reports. She also allegedly bought her lover a RM300,000 Mercedes car that year, an allegation which she also denied.

Deputy Tourism Minister Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abu Taib

Alleged involvement in assaulting former television personality Avaa Vanja Ramli in a Kuala Lumpur nightspot in April 2003. In her police report made after she was assaulted in a popular KL bistro, Avaa named Sulaiman as her boyfriend who had allegedly pushed and strangled her. Sulaiman, son of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, is married with four children.

Zainuddin Likens Mahathir To ‘Thorn In The Flesh’

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) — Former Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin has likened the protracted criticisms levelled by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad against Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership as “a thorn in the flesh” which has eroded the people’s confidence in the country’s administration, Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).
Zainuddin said Dr Mahathir’s statement that he regretted appointing Abdullah as prime minister was detrimental to Umno and prompted the party to muster its strength in backing Abdullah.
“It cannot be denied that the statement was a thorn in the flesh which had permeated in Umno,” he said in a statement Monday.
Zainuddin said Abdullah’s credibility was further tested when Dr Mahathir said in the run-up to the general election recently that Abdullah was only meant to be a one-term prime minister and that more opposition members were needed in Parliament.
He said among Dr Mahathir’s statements which had poisoned the minds of not only the Malays but also non-Malay professionals and academicians was about the role of Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin and the fourth floor (of the Prime Minister’s Department) advisers in the country’s politics and economy.
“Maybe he (Dr Mahathir) is not aware or he purposely does not want to acknowledge that his credibility as former prime minister is still strong and that his influence as a legendary leader on the grassroots is well entrenched.
“So, his contribution in eroding the people’s confidence (against BN) surpasses the influence of the bloggers and websites… his words are poisonous and venomous,” said Zainuddin.
He said Dr Mahathir himself did not expect the seeds of discord which he sowed since Abdullah helmed the country, especially after the scrapping of the proposed crooked bridge over the Tebrau Straits, had swayed the people to cast “protest votes” against the BN.
Zainuddin said as a result, the recent general election became the blackest day which had erased the history of the BN’s might.
“As such, putting the blame on BN’s dismal performance squarely on Abdullah’s leadership is unwise because it is clear that the hands that built it also destroys it out of vengeance and unbridled anger,” he said.

Zainuddin Likens Mahathir To ‘Thorn In The Flesh’ :: Bernama.com