Aarvidi’s Weblog

Reading the statement of Mukhriz that he welcomes Razaleigh to contest in the UMNO elections in December, makes me wonder if Badawi has any more hold on how the party is progressing. UMNO appears head-less with no direction, members openly declaring their intentions, Razaleigh on one hand breathing close on Badawi’s neck, sectional heads demanding change etc. This same happened before the elections, Badawi was voiceless when dealing with the war-loads of UMNO frightened he would lose the support of grass root members. Rafidah, the Mentri Besars, UMNO divisional heads and so on; remember the bribing of the Divisional Heads with RM 600 million before the General assembly meeting. Generally in any political organisation, the President holds the trump card, and he may from time to time acquiesce to the wishes of the members, nevertheless the President must have a tight hold on his members. Has Badawi ever had this privilege, I wonder.

Mahathir, with all his faults, was feared by the war lords, I am told the Prime Minister had a dossier on all the skeletons of his subordinates including big names like Ling Leong Sik, Samy Vellu and others including Rafidah. When they toe the line they are safe, but one false move, it is damnation for you. Proof of this is Anwar. Mahathir had an iron grip on his people.

Badawi on the other hand, has no such control over his subordinates. He was nice, a quality appreciated maybe in domestic circles like family and friends, but in Politics it is dog eat dog, you must be made of more sterner stuff. Badawi had the misfortune of being a bye-stander when others were making it rich: a Foreign Minister has limited source of income, but when he achieved the position of prima donna of Malaysia, he loosened his collar, relaxed, and got into scraps like the luxury yacht, the expensive jet airplane, his or somebody’s house in Perth, all of which made him look ‘not so nice’. Mahathir was there for 22 years, and during his tenure he was careful. No scandals. That is the difference.

Badawi had his 4 years, it is now time for him to gracefully exit, be a diplomat - never admitting but make a show that everything is done for the good of the country and wave good-bye. I see his opponents are getting stronger day by day.   

Mukhriz Welcomes Ku Li’s Intention To Contest Umno President’s Post

MACHANG, April 26 (Bernama) — Umno youth executive council member Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir welcomes former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s intention to contest the Umno presidency in the party elections in December.
“Not just Tengku Razaleigh… Deputy Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the vice-presidents can also contest for the post,” he told reporters after attending a forum on the results of the March 8 general election.
Tengku Razaleigh, who is Gua Musang member of parliament, has said that he wanted to contest for the post if he had sufficient nominations.
Mukhriz said contest for the top post should be allowed so that party members would be able to choose a leader whom they think was capable of restoring the party’s strength.
He said as far as possible, however, the leadership transition should be done in accordance with the tradition in Umno, by having the president handing over the post to his deputy.
But if there were contest for the top post, it should be done in a manner that would not cause disunity in the party, he said.

Mukhriz Welcomes Ku Li’s Intention To Contest Umno President’s Post :: Bernama.com

The central government must give recognizance to the fact that in the 5 states ruled by Pakatan Rakyat, there are both supporters of Barisan Nasional and the opposition. By diverting the development funds through MARA means:

• the voters who voted Barisan Nasional in the 5 states are deprived of any development
• Mara is synonymous with Malays, and hence Chinese and Indians in the 5 states can forget about getting any help.
• the government is driving the people more closer to the Pakatan Rakyat, and in the elections to come, Barisan Nasional can forget any support, because the policy goes against the Malays, Chinese and the Indians.

This is a move just to cut your nose to spite your face. Barisan Nasional loses in the end.   

Funds For SEDCs In Five States Will Now Be Channelled Through Mara

IPOH, April 26 (Bernama) — The Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry will stop disbursing development funds to the state economic development corporations (SEDCs) in five states controlled by Pakatan Rakyat namely Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor. Its minister Datuk Noh Omar said the fund would now be channelled to Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).
“From now onwards it will be given through Mara,” he told reporters after opening the annual general meeting of the Perak chapter of the Malaysia Malay Chamber of Commerce here Saturday.
He said the disbursement of the fund was a long-held policy to help the people.
As the state governments controlled by the Pakatan Rakyat were hostile to the ministry, it was better for the fund to be disbursed through Mara, he added. Noh also said that the move by the Selangor and Perak state governments to impose rentals on training centres run by the ministry showed that they were not adopting people-friendly policies.
He said from August, the Sabak Bernam Giat Mara in Selangor which occupied 10 units of Sabak Bernam District Council’s stalls would have to pay a monthly rental of RM1,500.
A skill training centre in Lahat near here would also have to pay rental soon.
There were no rentals prior to this, he said.
“We will pay the rent for the benefit of the trainees,” he said, adding that the two state governments were thinking only in terms of profits without regards for the need to serve the people.

Funds For SEDCs In Five States Will Now Be Channelled Through Mara :: Bernama.com

18 or 20 commissioners seating in the Human Rights Commission appears unwieldy does it not. A smaller group of people will be effective, and too many cooks spoiling the broth can be avoided. Some of the members are so illusive to speak of, in terms of performance, their names do not even come on in print - possibly they are the silent action oriented people who work from the background. 

The Hindraf group of lawyers are asking Siva Subramaniam to resign after his worthy investigation of the condition of a sick man. Siva went on remote control and said P.Uthyamoorthy was hale and hearty without even seeing the patient. His intuitive sense must be all prevailing. I wish all of us have that ability.  

Groups want a trimmed-down Suhakam

Rights groups have called for the number of commissioners sitting on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to be slashed while full-time commissioner to be appointed.
Their call came in the wake of 12, out of 18, commissioners whose two-year tenure expired on Wednesday, including Suhakam chairman Abu Talib Othman who has at the helm of Suhakam for six years.
The government has yet to announce the new Suhakam line-up but it is expected to do so next week. Suhakam comes under the purview of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s office.
Nevertheless, NGOs have expressed their hope to see a ‘trimmed-down’ Suhakam to be unveiled to arrest the declining public confidence over the government-backed human rights organisation.
“If you have full-time commissioners, they can be more focus and effective because human rights is not a part-time matter,” National Human Rights Society (Hakam) president Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said when contacted.
“When you are part-time, it gives an impression that they won’t do as much as the priority that it should be,” added Malik, also a lawyer.
Apart from that, he said the criteria in the selection process should be made clear that the commissioners must possess sufficient knowledge on human rights-related issues and laws.
Dumping ground for retirees
Leading local human rights watchdog Suaram echoed the sentiment for full-time commissioners.
“We have had cases where we have to wait for a reply from the commissioners depending on their availability to meet,” its coordinator John Liu said when contacted.
He supported the call for a transparent selection process on the commissioners and argued for the need to set up an independent search committee to appoint the commissioners, a practice which was done in certain countries in the region.
It can follow the footstep to that of the judiciary - where a judicial appointments commission was recently announced to be set up by the government after persistent complaints over the non-transparent selection process, Liu noted.
The activist, who presented a paper in Australia last September to draw a comparison between Suhakam and other regional human rights institutions, said the enabling act of Suhakam need to be amended.
“In the Suhakam Act, it is not stated that the experience and knowledge in human rights is a criteria to be appointed as commissioner. There is a need to amend the law on this otherwise Suhakam will turn into (like what some said as) the dumping ground for retirees,” he pointed out.
“There was one commissioner who doesn’t even know what Rela (people volunteers’ corps) was in one of the meetings,” claimed Liu.
Under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, it is only stated that the commissioners shall be appointed from among “prominent personalities include those from various religious and racial backgrounds”.
The commissioners are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the prime minister. Although the act allows the appointment of up to 20 commissioners, Suhakam at present has 18.
According to commissioner N Siva Subramaniam, each of the commissioner enjoy a RM7,000 monthly allowance, petrol claims and given a Proton Perdana during their service at Suhakam.
Avoid waste of public funds
A Suhakam insider however argued that due to the part-time nature of the job, the commitment and efficiency of certain commissioners do not tally with the allowances and perks they enjoyed.
“Some just turn up once in a month as they usually said they are busy,” said the insider, referring to the commission’s monthly meeting.
The commission’s system where two commissioners are placed on duty from Monday to Friday to deal with the Suhakam’s affairs, such as receiving complainants, are not being followed.
The insider argued that the allowances allocated to the 18 commissioners, amounting to at least RM126,000 each month, should be consolidated to hire full-time commissioners to enhance the commission’s efficiency and to avoid a waste of public funds.
“Five or six commissioners will do if they are real effective,” another Suhakam source stressed. 
The source also revealed that a recent move by the commission to change about 10 of the Proton Perdanas - those in use for more than five years - for the commissioners have prompted grouses among some officers who argued it is unnecessary.
Suhakam secretary Ahmad Yusuf Ngah when asked on this however declined to comment.  
Suhakam has a chequered history in defending human rights, with NGOs frequently complaining about its ineffectiveness.
Most of the commission’s recommendations over the past eight years have been ignored by the government, while repeated attempts to get the Suhakam annual report to be debated in Parliament have proven futile.
The government has previously stated that it has no intention of giving the commission any ‘teeth’, in terms of enforcement of recommendations. Suhakam only acts as an advisory body to the government at present.

Groups want a trimmed-down Suhakam

I did know Samy Vellu was a disciple of Dale Carnegie. If he is, then the proverb, slightly altered to ‘What’s sauce for Hishamuddin is also sauce of for Samy Vellu’; is appropriate. Samy has not apologised to the Indians for the injustice that was perpetuated by him for more than 3 decades. Would he do so now?

You either except the apology or not, not respect it. As a passing note, Hisham never said he would not repeat the kris waving, perhaps if UMNO is not in shambles as it is now, he may attempt it again. Time will tell.

In IPOH, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu described Hishammuddin’s open apology to all Malaysians if the kris issue had nudged their sentiments, as gentlemanly and befitting a good young leader.
It was also in line with the principle put forward by famous author Dale Carnegie in one of his well-known books, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, he said.
“He is a gentleman, a good young leader. He follows the principle of Dane Carnegie who said that ‘if you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically’ but I must say Datuk Seri Hishammuddin is an effective and very good leader.
“Without him, I don’t think today we would have built 41 Tamil schools in one go. This was the money that he gave when I was Minister for Works,” he told reporters at the Evertronics Skill Development Centre in Wisma Wan Mohammad.
Samy Vellu said all parties should now respect the appeal for apology and not to raise the issue again.
“When somebody say I am sorry we should just keep quite after that, we should not talk anything further. If we talk further, we don’t respect the apology,” he said.
When asked to comment on Hishammuddin who is Education Minister, offering the apology only now, Samy Vellu said: “Never mind. You see, after the Second World War after the death of so many million people, the Emperor of Japan said ‘I am sorry’. What is wrong if Hishammuddin said it after six months or 12 months or 15 months. He has said it, that is more important”.

Apology Over Kris Won’t Derogate Malay Dignity, Says Najib :: Bernama.com

Malaysian Minister does not rule out further Hindu temple demolitions

I can understand most of the temples come under State Authority, and the onus and responsibility lies with the states. I am shocked the new Unity Culture Arts and Culture Shafie Apdal is giving the green light to the state authorities to carry on the nefarious destruction of places of worship. Then, what unity can he anticipate. I personally think the Minister has been overburdened with responsibilities; 4 different portfolios and perhaps this is why he cannot guarantee that temples won’t be destroyed. Come on Shafie you can do better than that. 

Kuala Lumpur, Apr.25 : Even as the Malaysian Government is planning to introduce guidelines to govern the construction and demolition of places of worship, the country’s Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister, Shafie Apdal, has stopped short of giving an assurance that there would be no recurrence of the temple demolition incident in Kampung Jawa, Selangor, on the eve of Deepavali last year, which raised the ire of Hindus around the country.
“I won’t say that because I am not in a position to do so. It is for each respective state authority, The Star quoted Apdal, as saying.
Elaborating on the guidelines, he said that there was a need to ensure that the guidelines were acceptable to all religious groups.
Speaking after chairing a meeting with the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism at the ministry in Jalan Sultan Ismail yesterday, he declined to reveal when the guidelines would be completed, but said it would not be too long.
Reaching an understanding between all religions, said Shafie, was vital, as was making sure laws and regulations have been clearly set down by local authorities.
He also did not rule out amending laws and enactments should the need arise.
Council president A. Vaithilingam said other issues discussed included conversions, bringing in of foreign priests and family laws.
Vaithilingam said the council had written to Home Minister Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar requesting a meeting to discuss the issue of foreign priests.
Shafie, in his capacity as minister in charge of fostering unity, has been going all out to meet religious groups.
Last week, he met nine Muslim non-governmental organisations to seek their views on religious issues in the country, where many of the similar issues were discussed.

Malaysian Minister does not rule out further Hindu temple demolitions