HIndraf Makkal Shakti: May 4, 2010

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Shamala case: Objection raised, decision postponed - Malaysiakini

A preliminary objection was raised in the Federal Court in relation to the conversion of two under-aged boys, whose father converted them to Islam without their mother's consent eight years ago.

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Lawyer Muralee Menon (left), representing Dr M Jeyaganesh, pointed out that S Shamala had left for Australia in 2004 with the couple's two sons, now aged 11 and nine.

"The High Court judge (Md Raus Shariff, now Federal Court judge) had (on April 17, 2003) had granted my client access rights to visit the children. However, when he went to visit them on April 23, 2004, he found the house to be locked and the children nowhere to be found.

“It was only after some searching that my client got to know that she and the children had left via Padang Besar for Australia on April 16, 2004.

"The court through (Justice) Faiza Tamby Chik had granted leave for contempt proceedings against (Shamala) for taking the children abroad, since my client could not see them.”

Muralee therefore argued that Shamala's counsel had no right to be heard in the proceedings today because she had attempted to commit contempt of court. He said several case laws support his argument.

Shamala, 37, had married Jeyaganesh, 41, in 1998 according to Hindu rites and their marriage was registered under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976.

In 2002, Jeyaganesh embraced Islam and took the name Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajahand. He then converted Saktiwaran and Theiviswaran, then aged three and two, to Islam without Shamala's knowledge and consent.

Senior lawyer V Cyrus Das (right), representing Shamala, challenged the objection by submitting that she had not committed contempt, but had obtained leave to initiate proceedings.

He also brought to the court's attention that, according to the High Court ruling, Jeyagandesh was to have paid maintenance of RM250 for each of the children.

He submitted that, based on Section 51 of the Law Reform Act, a party has the right to receive maintenance even if the spouse has embraced Islam.

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Chief Justice Zaki Azmi (left), who is leading a five-member bench, questioned the lawyer as to why the matter had to be raised in court when it was more of a “social and political” issue.

Cyrus replied: “Every constitutional question is a political question and the court has to decide on the five questions which have been posed based on Article 128 of the federal constitution. Politicians can look into question but the court has to interpret the law.”

Cyrus also said Jeyagandesh had committed a deplorable act by getting around the civil court in obtaining a Syariah Court order for custody of the children.

“He told the court that he needed time to engage a lawyer but, at the same time, made an application to the Syariah Court for custody. He had already appointed his lawyer by then.”

Cyrus explained that, although there are local case laws on such issue, there are also British case laws where in the interests of justice, the court can allow the rights of the party to be heard.

Justice Zaki said the court will decide on the preliminary objection in a few weeks as this is an important issue that is also complex.

"We would like to read through the case laws. We do not want to rush things," he said.

Sitting with him was Court of Appeal president Justice Alauddin Md Sherif, Chief Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Richard Malanjum and Justice Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin.

Five issues

The court room was packed with lawyers and representatives of NGOs this morning, as the court was due to rule on five questions centred on constitutional matters.

The case and its rulings will set a precedent for other child conversion and custody cases.

Five questions, which were agreed by the Court of Appeal, have been posed to the Federal Court to decide:

1. Whether Section 95 (b) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 is ultra vires (beyond the powers) of Article 12 (4) of the federal constitution (specifically concerning the right to determine the religion of the children under the age of 18 shall be determined by the parent or guardian) and Article 8 regarding equality rights;

2. Whether the same section in state law is inconsistent with federal law namely Section 5(1) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961, and is therefore invalid;

3. Regarding Article 121 (1A) of the federal constitution, where a custody order of children is made, which court, between the Syariah Court or the High Court is the higher authority?

4. When there is conversion of children of a civil marriage to Islam by one parent without the consent of the other, are the rights of remedy for the non-Muslim parent vested in the High Court?

5. Does the Syariah Court have jurisdiction to determine the validity of conversion of a minor into Islam, once it had been registred by the Registrar of Muallafs (Registrar for newly-converted Muslims)?

Shamala's legal team also includes S Ambiga, Ravi Nekoo and Steven Thiru.

Counsel Zulkiflee Che Yong and Azmi Mohd Rais are appearing for the Federal Territory Islamic Council.

World Press Freedom Day- 3/5/2010 “Our” frontline alternative internet newsportal Malaysiakini.com does not report Indian problems according to it’s gravity and seriousness but like the mainstream media does race based reporting.

World Press Freedom Day- 3/5/2010 “Our” frontline alternative internet newsportal Malaysiakini.com does not report Indian problems according to it’s gravity and seriousness but like the mainstream media does race based reporting.
This does not happen in any other part of the world except in UMNO’s One Malaysia.

Even the disproportionately large members of Indian reporters and journalists in the print and electronic media and the alternative media who are supposed to be able to better relate to Indian problems hardly made and makes any difference as it is not in their “tuan” and “towkay’s” agenda to report the critical Indian problems on a needs basis and based on the gravity and severity of the violations of human rights. Almost all these Indian reporters like most of the elite Indians either are “shy” to report the state’s racism against the Indians or become very conscious so as not to in turn be labeled as racist themselves. They suffer from minority complex syndrome or inferiority complex and end up pretending that the critical level of racism against the Indians that has degenerated them into the critical Indian problems does not exist.
Somehow in the 1990’s the internet reporting developed and there were great expectations of the critical Indian problems getting coverage at least on a needs basis if not a larger coverage so as to undo the injustices done to this Indian community.
But alas even the frontline alternative internet newsportal Malaysiakini.com got carried away by the UMNO race based mainstream media based and not critical issue based reporting and ably followed by Malaysia Today, Malaysian Insider, almost all bloggers etc.
For example when Teoh Beng Hock was killed, in Malaysiakini.com there were 10 postings and continuing right up to date, 21 postings on the day a church got burnt down in P.J and a couple of postings in a day from day one right up to date on Aminulrasyid being shot dead by the police case.
But on the same day of Teoh Beng Hock’s killing, one P.Gunasegaran was also killed at the Sentul police station. But there was zero coverage for poor P.Gunasegaan by all the print and electronic media and the supposedly alternative media including Malaysiakini.com just because P.Gunasegaran’s ethnicity happens to ethnic minority Indian. This is just the tip of the iceberg of race based news reporting even by the alternative media in Malaysia.
But why does media reporting in Malaysia has to be so race biased? Why can’t it be on needs based or based on the gravity or severity of the violations of human rights? Why is it that it is only in Malaysia that when victims of injustices are the Indians, it becomes “not pressworthy” just because it does not appeal to the majoritarian Malays, Chinese or natives or draws no or very little political mileage. Why has journalism in Malaysia evolved and stooped so low to become so race based to this disgraceful levels?
A cursory read of the real and critical Indian problems in Malaysia which is focused in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com will be telling enough. But we estimate that only between 0.1% to 1% of these are reported by both the mainstream and also in the alternative media.
Unfortunately the power of even the alternative media in Malaysia has not been used to fight 53 years of UMNOs’ racism vis a vis the alarming extent of racism meted out on the Indians.
The latest of such race based reporting is the NST and Star headlines. UMNO PM Najib tells police ‘Do not cover up. Public wants transparent inquiry into boy’s shooting.’ (NST headlines 3/5/10). But there has been zero such directive and media attention ever in the history of Malaysia when the victims are Indians.
“PM: No cover- up. Truth will be told in shooting of teen, says Najib” (The Star headlines 3/5/10). This is UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia directive to Polis Raja Di Malaysia. Similarly this is the multi-racial preaching by New Straits Times and The Star who rightly carried this news in their headlines and front page for the fourth day running.
But there is no history of this kind of attention and news headlines and front page media coverage when the victim is an Indian. Hundreds of Indians have been shot dead by the police and killed in police lockups. But this UMNO Prime Minister who claims to be “Prime Minister for all Malaysians” has never given such a directive when the victim is an Indian.
Similarly the top leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS and their 78 MPs including their 11 Indian mandore MPs would not speak up when the victims are the Indians. Yet claim they are for all races! Their actions indicate this is an oft repeated lie.
The latest example is the shooting to death, execution style, of two brothers in Taiping just last month and when there were even eye witnesses who saw plain cloths policemen murdering them in cold blood. But there was almost pin drop silence by UMNO, PKR, DAP, PAS and NGO’s, the print and electronic media including “our” Malaysiakini.com, the frontline alternative media but which excludes the Indians.
Thus the police shooting spree and killing of Indians in police lock ups and the other UMNO atrocities against the Indians continues with impunity and with no or very little check and balance by especially the alternative media. When we raise this race based injustices and cry against racism, we in turn are accused of being racist, or accused of raising Indian issues only. What a shrewd way to sidestep the real problems!
While UMNO and their police are guilty by commission, PKR, DAP, PAS, the NGOs and especially the alternative media including Malaysiakini.com are guilty by omission.
This level of racism by all sides does not happen in any other part of world except in UMNO’s One Malay-sia.
In fact in the western civil society, the majority will bend backwords to protect the minority, as the majority community will automatically be taken care of. But in Malaysia it is the other way round, ie., the majority and the Indian elite would bend backwords to champion only the majority community! What disgraceful people! This way they get to play to the majoritarian political gallery. Never mind the cold blooded murder of the Indians!
And so the state sponsored and race based atrocities against the Indians continues on a day to day basis. “Wither” freedom of the press in Malaysia!
P.Uthayakumar

Maika Holding buyout by GT resources is a lie.

Today is the 3rd of May. Where is the offer of a Ringgit for Ringgit to the Maika Shareholders, Gnanalingam that you promised will be made by the 1st of May. You are an accomplice to a treacherous lie against the entire Indian community.
I will be counting every day and I will be reminding you , your benefactors and the defrauded people everyday of this lie.
UMNO/MIC and you are jointly and severally responsible for this deception .

Zaid crying foul an exercise in ‘utter futility’

by Joe Fernandez @ Fernz

zaid ibrahim COMMENT The fact that Umno’s ad hoc Department of Dirty Tricks (DDT) won Hulu Selangor for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) on April 25 is beyond all debate as opposition messiah Zaid Ibrahim has rightly gathered for his impending election petition. What good is Umno anyway without its DDT?

But the DDT is not the REAL reason why Zaid lost in Hulu Selangor. But more on that later as we meanwhile give him the benefit of the doubt and go along with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pro-tem chair as he attempts to pull the wool over our eyes.

Zaid should know as he is ex-Umno like Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. Their accusations on election offences and electoral fraud in Hulu Selangor have a credible ring despite being an exercise in utter futility.

Only the truly deaf, dumb and blind will not see that there were any number of election offences and election fraud perpetuated by Umno in Hulu Selangor on behalf of their poodle MIC. The party itself was nowhere in evidence besides P. Kamalanathan. This was as in the earlier case of Bagan Pinang. PBB (Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) in Batang Ai, on behalf of PRS (Parti Rakyat Sarawak), was another recent example of a party with a powerful DDT.

Even anyone on a casual walkabout in Hulu Selangor in the run-up to polling day, especially in the last three days, would have witnessed this Umno circus and the charade perpetuated by the Election Commission (EC) in tow.

Election offences and election fraud are nothing new in this country. Tell us something new. They have been going on under one pretext or another with some isolated exceptions for the last 50-odd years.

Former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in an apparent about turn, was not so gung ho about such shady practices in 2008. Perhaps he was too complacent after the biggest landslide ever in 2004 in the wake of the gerrymandering. Or it could be that the matter was really out of his hands after the gerrymandering had subsequently run out of steam.

The result in any case, coupled with Hindraf’s makkal sakthi (people power) phenomenon, was the political tsunami which was blamed on him by his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad. We all know what happened to him as a panicky Mahathir went mercilessly after him in an unprecedented show of force and literally hounded, humiliated and drove him out from office. This was not before Sodomy 2 was enacted and put in place as a fallback position.

In Sabah, it has successfully emerged in court battles – Likas is a case in point — that the electoral rolls have even been padded with illegal immigrants from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, among other places.

The phenomenon has also been the subject of doctoral dissertations in the United States of America and the Philippines, among other countries. Witness, for example, “When States Prefer Non-Citizens Over Citizens: Conflict Over illegal Immigration into Malaysia” by Kamal Sadiq, University of California-Irvine. International Studies Quarterly (2005) 49, 101-122.

But are the illegal immigrants out of the electoral rolls in Sabah, if not elsewhere, to stamp out election offences and flush out electoral fraud in the country? They are still there as anti-illegal immigration activist Dr Chong Eng Leong and repentant ex-Umno operative Hassnar Ebrahim will swear with their army of documents and statistics.

Hassnar has even openly challenged the authorities on numerous occasions to take him to court on the matter. Even the local Muslims rallied behind him after they realised that the illegal immigrants had entered the electoral rolls at their expense. But so far there have been no takers for Hassnar’s challenge.

This is the only issue on which former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, so vocal on all and sundry, keeps a studied silence and pretends to be deaf, dumb and blind all at the same time if not suffering from one of his periodic bouts of selective amnesia. Didn’t he after all recently swear in public that “all is fair and square in love, war and politics”? Wither the price of loyalty, or disloyalty, in this case?

In Hulu Selangor, Zaid Ibrahim’s immediate concern, the entire machinery of the Federal Government including the Election Commission (EC) was marshaled against the opposition messiah.

No distinction was made between party and government machinery as if they were one and the same on the kamikaze arguments of “national security and national interest”. The naïve and gullible civil servants, the police, the EC and others in authority went along unmindful of their children, grandchildren, the generations unborn and their future.

Suffice it to say that there’s no need here to go into the gory details on the election offences and election fraud which have been flogged to death in the alternative media and in the more respectable blogs even if fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s exaggerated musings in Malaysia Today are discounted.

One point worth mentioning here is that “Special Branch looking operatives” were even in Singapore to “intimidate” Hindraf Makkal Sakthi chair WaythaMoorthy Ponnusamy at his hotel in the run-up to Hulu Selangor. They reportedly stalked him around the clock and monitored his every move. These are suspected to be “rogue elements” from Malaysia and Singapore in the employ of politicians

Waytha safely left for London yesterday (Wed 28, April) after being stranded in the lion city for nearly a month because of the flight disruptions caused by the Iceland volcanic ash and earlier because of heavy holiday traffic. He has photographs of some of these operatives and their vehicles but it is not known what he intends to do with these besides entering them in Hindraf’s Annual Malaysian Indian Report on Human Rights Violations.

Zaid, the opposition standard bearer, thinks that the observed manifestations of election offences and electoral fraud in Hulu Selangor are sufficient grounds on which to lodge an election petition within the next two weeks to have the results over-turned. However, he cannot be that thick. Presumably, he doesn’t expect the Election Court to order fresh elections which will somehow magically crown him as the Raja of Hulu Selangor as Umno, no doubt scared off by his polls petition, rolls over and plays dead for once.

Zaid’s barking up the wrong tree. Surely, he should know this as a former senior practicing lawyer. And yet he’s determined to blunder on like the proverbial bull in the china shop. So, his only reason is to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes on the real reasons for his loss – more on that later — why dragging the ruling coalition through the mud in an entertaining spectacle. This not to say that election offences and electoral fraud did not take place, perhaps on both sides.

As evident from the High Court verdict on Pensiangan, fresh polls is the farthest thing on any court’s mind. Even if Zaid wins in the Election Court, by some miracle as in the case of Pensiangan initially, the one-track mind higher courts are all here waiting eagerly like the Frankenstein monsters they are to do him in. We are not going to get even a hint of judicial activism at this level. The courts are more pre-occupied with their pay packets, promotions, perks of office, awards and other material considerations. Expect no mercy when you are up against the government of the day as in the recent case of Perak where the courts were able to wave a magical wand and pronounce a wrong as in fact right all along.

Likas was a first in that the Election Court ordered fresh polls after discovering that the electoral roll was riddled with illegal immigrants. The EC promptly had legislation introduced in Parliament to state that the electoral rolls cannot be challenged in a court of law once they have been gazetted. So, the illegal immigrants are not only still on the electoral rolls of Sabah but the tracks of the operatives who brought in these people have been erased by the introduction of the MyKad and the blue identity card phased out.

As Zaid mulls over his election petition, he should also consider getting a court injunction against Kamalanathan taking his oath as an MP after the EC gazettes the results for Hulu Selangor, even if it would not do any good anyway in the end.

Belum cuba, belum tahu (no pain, no gain).

At least he can claim that he tried and then go on to blame the courts, when he fails, for being compliant with the EC. That must be worth several press statements from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders and reams of instant emailed press releases from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) flooding the spam folders.

However, and this is a billion ringgit question, are the election offences and electoral fraud reportedly perpetuated by Umno in Hulu Selangor the real reason why Zaid lost the battle? Is he looking for excuses in public relations, amidst his chomping on expensive cigars, to mask his monumental failure in judgment and detecting the flaws in the human characters around him? If so, he reveals fundamental and disturbing deficiencies in his own make-up that will get him nowhere in the end and disappoint the many in the opposition in whom he has raised such high expectations.

Zaid has denied being a sore loser but not everyone believes him entirely and with good reasons too. If he’s not careful, he will go from “sore loser” to born loser if he doesn’t get his act together as quickly as possible. Banking exclusively on the Malays and the Chinese is a no no in politics but he broke this cardinal rule in Hulu Selangor and has been forced to pay the heavy price of having the halo around him stripped in the court of public opinion.

When the dust settles on his election petition, perhaps Zaid will be able to get out of his state of denial and accept that he could have indeed won in Hulu Selangor, election offences and election fraud notwithstanding, if his campaign had been more inclusive.

Hindraf and the Human Rights Party Malaysia in particular were left out and that’s why he lost in the end. Hindraf alone had 300 hardcore activists ready to swing into action in Hulu Selangor on behalf of Zaid to help bring in the winning margin for him but they as stakeholders were never deployed in the end.

Also, PKR vice president Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan and his activists from the party and CigMA (Common Interest Group Malaysia) were actively discouraged by party headquarters’ from entering Orang Asli areas to campaign for Zaid. The police only came in later to fence off Orang Asli areas.

Zaid should stop listening to PKR theoreticians who sabotaged him in Hulu Selangor by preaching that “even 100 per cent of the Indian support will not win the seat but 60 per cent of Malay support will do the trick”. Sixty per cent is an impossibility as long as Umno, now bolstered by Perkasa, exists. In the end, Zaid didn’t get even the minimum 40 per cent Malay support envisaged in a worst case scenario. He had to make do with 35 per cent Malay support. It was not good enough. A miss is as good as a mile. A win is a win and a loss is a loss.

Unfortunately, people who could have made the difference were left out by the opposition in Hulu Selangor and this is the real reason why Zaid has been forced to head in the direction of the Election Court. He thinks it won’t be futile. We can only wait and see.

Assuming that the Election Court orders fresh polls in Hulu Selangor, is he saying that he can win the seat in another round? History will simply repeat itself all over again if he takes the same path that he took in the run-up to April 25.

Note: A condensed version of the above was carried in Malaysiakini on Fri 30 April, 2010

No history of UMNO’s Malay NGOs’ offering legal aid for Indian victims shot dead by police in One-Malay-sia!

No history of UMNO’s Malay NGOs’ offering legal aid for Indian victims shot dead by police in One-Malay-sia!

And neither does the UMNO controlled mainstream media revisit the injustices when the victims are “merely” the Indians in One-Malay-sia? (See NST 2/5/2010 at page 4 and Star 2/5/2010 at page N2).

P.Uthayakumar

PKR cancels Dr.V.David road name on UMNO racist pressure

PKR is yet again playing to the political gallery and not the justice of the case. Again when it concerns especially an Indian name change.

In 2008, there was a similar cancellation of the Jalan P.Patto in Ipoh, Perak also by the then DAP led PR state government in Perak. Pray tell us of one other non Indian road name that has been objected to and the same being cancelled?

PKR, DAP and PAS all claim to be multi-racial, but it seems only when it concerns malays and chinese..

“Multi-racialism” is only when they want the Indian votes. And not otherwise!

Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

No or scant attention and headlines, or UMNO, PKR, DAP, PAS and NGO media attention when Indians killed by police

Our condolences to the family of the 15 year old school boy who was killed by the police. The arrogant and above the law mindset Inspector General of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had the cheek to say, “if people do not want the law to be enforced, then I shall instruct my men to refrain from stopping cars or from going after illegal racers” ( Headlines NST 30/4/10 ). "If you do not want the police to enforce the law, then say so,” he said. “Let me know so that I can tell my men to not take any action, including conducting inspections on vehicles or arresting Mat Rempits who ride without licences” (The Star 30/4/2010 at page N4).
If only UMNO, PKR, DAP, PAS and NGO leaders and the mainstream and alternative media editors had given the same attention, concern, proactive actions, etc, hundreds of Indian lives would have been saved from being killed by the police executionists acting under the police shoot to kill policy, in their theatrics wayang kulit to show that they are bringing down the crime rate. And while the real criminals cum “profit sharing ” crime partners of the police including their top brass remain on the loose. No wonder the prevailing high crime rate in the country. But for which the police otherwise make media statements that the crime rate is reducing.
Teoh Beng Hock similarly had rightly received and is receiving the appropriate media and PKR, DAP and PAS’ attention. If only UMNO, PKR, DAP, PAS and NGOs’ and the print and electronic media had equally cared, the misery heartache, pain and suffering of the hundreds of the Indian families would have been spared.
But because the victims were almost all Indians, UMNO, PKR, DAP, PAS, NGOs’ and the media does not care.
But then UMNO talks about One Malay-sia and PKR, DAP and PAS talks about multi-racialism!
Pray tell us of one Indian victim of police killing who had received headlines attention, and UMNO, PKR, DAP and PAS care and attention to this level!
A.Kugan may be the exception as some 5,000 Hindraf Makkal Sakthi forces held a massive funeral procession when Kugan’s brutal and bloody pictures were captured and circulated widely.
UMNO, PKR, DAP and PAS should stop being racist and should start championing issues according to the gravity and the seriousness and it should not matter if the victim was Malay and Chinese, and should not be sidelining and sidestepping Indian victims.
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate justice