Monday, December 17, 2007

Probe AG for ill-conceived attempted murder charge
(my comments as published in MALAYSIAKINI ONLINE today)

The 31 Hindraf protesters who were denied bail by the Shah Alam Magistrates’ Court on the application of attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail clearly reflects how the Barisan Nasional government treats poor and weak rakyat.

It is very clear that these 31 protesters comprised of lorry drivers, students and labourers who merely wanted to participate in the peaceful assembly to support it and make the government realise that Indian Malaysians have been marginalised. Despite empty promises made at each election, they have faithfully voted the ruling party to power.

The fabricated charge of causing hurt to the police officer seems really absurd. The government and attorney-general has stooped so low in prosecuting these innocent people just to prove that they are strong, powerful and can do anything. From this episode, it is clear that there is no justice for the poor, ordinary rakyat. The rich and powerful can create any situation to cause harm to these poor souls.

Since meeting with Indian NGOs on Friday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has agreed to advise the attorney-general to review the case and drop all charges against these innocent victims.

It is very clear that the rakyat need to investigate the grounds on which the attorney-general himself had to attend to these simple matters. He has many capable assistants but chose to champion an unwanted cause himself and gave the wrong picture to the rakyat. The presiding judge must have been surprised by the presence of the AG and consented to the request out of fear of reprimand.

These poor 31 Hindraf protesters have been victims of this unjust system. There is no compensation for the ill-feelings and hatred these victims, their families and supporters have for our “crook” system.
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1 comment:

Janice said...

What Is Pekida?

Until the circulation of an SMS warning of a gathering of extremist Malays in Kuala Lumpur in response to the Hindraf issue, the name Pekida was little known.

Then, Malaysiakini carried a story where out of the blue, Pekida denied it was organising this rally. Its Federal Territory chairperson was quoted as saying, “They are trying to pit us against the authorities, although we've never been against the government.”

Anyone who received the SMS would understand that the undertones of this alleged gathering are completely opposite to the peaceful protest led by Bersih and Hindraf. Certainly this gathering was meant as retaliation against Hindus for daring to go against the concept of Ketuanan Melayu.

So Pekida's comments of it being pitted against the government is a strange response. Anwar Ibrahim's comments too indicate Pekida has strong ties with UMNO.

Now let's try and piece together what Pekida is from blogs and their very own website.

On anwaribrahimblog.com the following comment is left by a person called Amanda:

Pada saya perjuangan PEKIDA sekarang tidak lebih dari perjuangan assabiah, Rasis, dan tidak berlandaskan pada asas penubuhannya.

Rata-rata ahli yang mengaku menegakkan amal maaruf nahi mungkar ini sudah tidak ada jatidiri sebenar (bukan semua) dan bertindak tidak lebih dari GESTEPO kedai kopi dan sesetengahnya terlibat secara langsung dengan pelbagai aktiviti jenayah / peras ugut.

Kini ada merah, putih, 30, 36, 77 dan apa-apatahlah lagi dengan kod2 ala kongsi gelap tertentu. Penularan keahlian PEKIDA secara komprehensif merekrut anak anak muda belasan tahun adalah satu sesi "branwashing" untuk merekrut kader-kader ini menjadi umno radikal, kerana sememangnya remaja belasan tahun mudah tertarik dengan gaya PEKIDA era baru, seolah olah satu pergerakan gangsterisme berlesan. Kini ianya tidak lebih dari instrumen UMNO selain SPR, Media, Polis dll.

An extract from Anwar's comments about Pekida from his blog:
Saya juga sedia maklum bahawa gerakan tersebut diresapi beberapa gerombolan berkepentingan yang lebih asyik dengan kontrak, upah dan lain-lain ganjaran dari Umno khususnya Pemuda. Mereka sanggup bersekongkol dengan perasuah yang mengkhianati amanah bangsa, merompak khazanah negara.

Now go to Pekida's website at http://www.pekida.org/portal/. Just one of the many goals in their mission statement reads: “Kami berjanji mematuhi peruntukkan perlembagaan sebagai dan menjadi ahli yang berdaftar dan terus berusaha mencapai objektif pertubuhan supaya menjadi sebuah organisasi Melayu yang terulung.”

Find nothing wrong with this? Okay, just replace the word “Melayu” with 'Cina' or ' India' and see if you are not instantly branded a racist.

Now on the home page, click on the icon on the left that states ‘Forum’. When you are in Forum, click on the topics under ‘Berita & Isu Semasa’. You will read disturbing discussions about how the rap singer who paraphrased Malaysia's national anthem is called a “Cina babi sudah naik kepala”.

The Indians who marched in the Hindraf rally are called “botol kicap”. The Malays are chided for buying nasi lemak from “Cina komunis” and not the Malay “makcik”.

Please bear in mind that not one racist comment was made against the Malays when nearly 100,000 Indians and non-Indians converged peacefully in Kuala Lumpur for the Hindraf rally.

Also note that this rap singer too never made any insulting or racist comments against any race but merely expressed the shortcomings of the Umno-led government.

All that the Hindus are asking is for the government to uphold their rights to worship freely, and have equal employment, educational and business opportunities, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

They are not asking for special privileges as enjoyed by bumiputras. Yet, a multitude of such racist comments on Pekida's website is left unquestioned by the government and allowed to remain without any threat of sedition or the Internal Security Act (ISA).

But fiveHindraf lawyers have been thrown behind bars under ISA, meaning the government does not have to proof their guilt and can basically lock them up and throw away the keys.

Uthaya Kumar was once arrested simply for an official letter he wrote to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown highlighting defamatory and false statements being made daily against Hindraf in Malaysia’s government controlled media.

The police have also hauled up blogger, Jeff Ooi, for the “crime” of having made intelligent and rational comments on Al Jazeera. From this blatant discrepancy in the authority’s treatment, it is easy to see why Hindraf leaders are so frustrated that they are forced to take to the streets.

In Uthaya Kumar's interview with Malaysia Kini he confirms he is no racist and this has been proven through all his actions and words, sticking strictly to attacking the unfair policies of the Umno-led government and not Malays.

He points to facts such as him being assaulted and threatened at gun point for investigating the case of Francis Udayapan, who died mysteriously in police custody.

If the police have nothing to hide, why did it take them two years to return the body to Francis' grieving, mother?

Instead the Inspector General of Police makes unsubstantiated claims in the newspapers that Hindraf has links with terrorist groups despite having absolutely no evidence of this!

Enforcement officers demolished temples with only several hours notice and refused to wait for the outcome of court proceedings initiated by Hindraf lawyers to determine if the demolition should continue. Were they cited for contempt of court for not waiting? No.

I hope the Malaysian public wakes up and sees the very dangerous trend developing here. Not just for Hindus but for people of all religions and races, including Muslims and Malays.

Visit Pekida's website and you will see many attacks against moderate Malays. In another topic on their Forum, someone says Malays are synonymous with Islam.

The writer claims that the Federal Constitution states Malays have no choice but to be Muslims and that this should be tattooed onto their foreheads. I fear for the safety of people like Lina Joy. No wonder she has gone into hiding.

This website has gone unnoticed by many bloggers because it is mainly in Bahasa Malaysia. It's founder boasts it receives 20,000 hits a day!

There are attacks against Starbucks coffee houses, calling them “zionist supporters”. And many, many other dangerous comments, and yet no one at Pekida is hauled up for sedition.

As Malaysians keep overlooking these double standards, radical influence is infiltrating the minds of the impressionable and vulnerable Malay youth to create a false belief that Ketuanan Melayu is being threatened and must be defended at all cost, “demi agama, bangsa dan Negara”.

And who knows how far these impressionable young minds would go after being "brainwashed" over and over

Perhaps this is intentional and aimed to ensure that those who dare stand up for truth and justice against Umno will be silenced by using these unsuspecting young minds to retaliate as proxies for the powers that be.

6:44 AM

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