Dato Seri Najib’s lifting of the ban imposed on two opposition publications on 23 March 2009 and the release of 13 ISA deatinees reminded me of an incident more than 30 years ago. It was the day after the Wesak Day celebrations. The newspapers carried on their front pages photographs of pigeons being released to mark the occasion. This good deed was prominently highlighted.
Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim did the right thing in withdrawing himself from hearing the two cases against Perak Speaker V Sivakumar. It is the only decent thing to do after the ridiculous decisions he had made in these cases which denied the Speaker the choice of lawyers and his own right to defend himself. His position has become untenable.
Is there a pattern in the way the Opposition is being targeted? Is this going to be the new strategy to contain the Opposition? Malaysians are genuinely perturbed by the new trend that has emerged.
First it was the son that they went for. They suspended him for the day and that should have been the end of the matter. But no, that was not enough. They had to use the sledgehammer to show that they are in power and that their majority can do whatever it wants to.
The suspension of the MP for Puchong for one year on 16 March 2009 demonstrated that logic and procedure are not important as long as one has the numbers. Apparently in the numbers game, justice is not important and fairness is not relevant. The arrogance of the majority, it appears, will decide the day, and they will prevail no matter what.
It was another day of absurdity in the annals of the judiciary when Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim incomprehensibly ruled on 11 March 2009 to deny the Speaker of the Perak State Assembly his right of defence. His ridiculous decision has given the judiciary a bad name tarnishing its reputation and ruining its image.
Confronted by crisis in Perak, the people had reason to believe that the judiciary would be our last hope for justice to prevail. That hope is apparently misplaced. What a disappointment that proved to be!
As Obama seeks to define the new image of the new America that hopes to play the role of honest broker and equal partner in world politics, one wonders if the age of global hegemony is coming to an end or being checked at least. One thing however is certain: in its present state, an America in economic crisis and suffering a credibility deficit can no longer swagger around the world with a big stick, observes Farish A Noor.
Aliran would like to echo the plea of secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard of Reporters Without Borders requesting His Majesty the Yang diPertuan Agong to intercede in the case of Raja Petra Kamarudin who is better known as RPK.
Democracy is in crisis in Perak. When politicians don’t respect the democratic process or accept the verdict of the people as their choice of government it is democracy that falls victim to these unscrupulous elements.
What had happened in Perak is the subversion of the people’s government by elements courting unethical and corrupt people to bring about the downfall of a duly elected government.
A string of civil society groups from across the region have expressed grave concern about the treatment of over a thousand Rohingyas from Burma and migrants from Bangladesh who were forcibly expelled and abandoned in international waters by the Thai security forces in recent weeks.