Zambry is the lawful MB

The country's highest court confirmed the Courts of Appeal's decision: the appointment of Zambry Abd Kadir as MB of Perak is lawful. I didn't lose a night's sleep over this. Pakatan Rakyat's government in the state where I cast my vote in March 2008 was in a disarray after its MPs 3 crossed over. The Sultan of Perak knew what he was doing (he was Lord President, he should know).

I hope Nizar and supporters will respect the Federal Court's decision and allow Zambry to administer the State of Perak to the best of his ability. Both should focus on serving the people.

p.s. Jangan lupa, YAB Zambry, the Fed Court decision confirms that the Sultan has the power to sack you! Read It's not in the Constitution, But Sultan Can Dismiss MB. And all it takes is for a few MPs to cross over to the dark side.

---

General

February 09, 2010 12:00 PM

Federal Court Declares Dr Zambry Rightful Menteri Besar PUTRAJAYA, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir retains the Perak menteri besar's post after the Federal Court here today declared his appointment by Sultan Azlan Shah as constitutional. A five-man bench led by Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff unanimously ruled that the ruler had exercised his royal power to appoint Dr Zambry to succeed his opponent from Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, after he was satisfied that the latter had lost the majority vote of the state legislative assembly. Alauddin sat with Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judges Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Datuk Wira Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong. Justice Arifin read out the judgment. The conflict over who is the rightful menteri besar arose last year after three Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen quit their parties to become independents and the fourth jumped back from PKR to Umno, thus leaving the two sides with 28 assemblymen each in the 59-seat assembly. They were Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering) who resigned from PKR on Jan 30 and declared themselves as Barisan Nasional-friendly independents. DAP assemblyman Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) followed in their footsteps four days later. Mohammad Nizar, 52, who is Pasir Panjang state asemblyman, was appointed menteri besar after the DAP-PKR-PAS alliance won 31 seats in the 12th general election on March 8, 2008. Sultan Azlan Shah then asked Mohammad Nizar to step down as menteri besar and swore in Dr Zambry in February last year after declaring that the Barisan Nasional had the majority in the state legislative assembly. Mohammad Nizar did not tender his resignation as menteri besar to the ruler. He initiated legal proceedings on Feb 13 last year seeking a declaration that he is at all material times the rightful menteri besar of Perak and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from discharging his duties as the menteri besar. On May 11 last year, High Court judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim reinstated Mohammad Nizar as the legitimate menteri besar after he ruled that Barisan Nasional did not take a vote of no-confidence against him in the state legislative assembly despite having the majority. However, it was back to status quo, when the Court of Appeal allowed Dr Zambry's appeal and declared that his appointment as Perak menteri besar was constitutional. -- BERNAMA

On how to avoid an acquital by default in Anwar's favor ..

Sakmongkol explains in Dealing with Anwar why he's not tempted by Anwar Ibrahim's invitation to treat and why we - bloggers and the media - should not, either.

Why should we kick a dead horse? Anwar is doomed. His Malay power base is slowly undermined. Look at his supporters out there at the courthouse. Hardly representing the Malay heartland. His flag bearer is Tian Chua.

Anwar remains a political asset if he remains free. To the west, Anwar is the emblem of democracy. The ignorant west insults us by treating Anwar as the representative of democracy. Can we treat Louis Farakhan or Father Jeremiah Wright as the definitive emblem of American democracy?

It insists that Malaysia must keep Anwar Ibrahim free if she is to qualify to be in the good books of the west. This unsolicited advice is similar to the insistence that we must bomb Iraq into democracy or that we must napalm Afghanistan to force it into democracy.

The blogger does have a point. Already, Anwar is using Utusan to try and win a big first round in the Sodomy 2 trial, which is to get the Judge disqualified.

General

February 08, 2010 15:07 PM

Anwar's Sodomy Case Postponed To Hear Application To Recuse Judge

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial was postponed to tomorrow to hear the opposition leader's application for High Court judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah to recuse himself. Anwar's counsel, Karpal Singh, made the application based on the judge's decision relating to two articles published by Utusan Malaysian which he said "brings to surface an element of real danger of bias on the part of the learned trial judge". Justice Mohamad Zabidin asked counsel when the defence wanted the court to hear the application, this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden said the trial should proceed Monday pending the prosecution's filing of the affidavit-in-reply. The court then fixed tomorrow to hear the application to enable the prosecution to file the affidavit-in-reply. Karpal Singh, submitting that the court must hear the application before proceeding with the trial, said the defence had no intention of delaying the trial and was prepared to cross-examine the prosecution's first witness, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. He said Anwar had a right to a fair trial under Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution. On Monday the court was to hear Mohd Saiful's testimony under cross-examination by the defence. Anwar, 63, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor and member of parliament for Permatang Pauh, is alleged to have sodomised Mohd Saiful, 25, his former aide, at Unit 11-5-1 Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008. The charge under section 377B of the Penal Code carries a maximum 20 years jail and whipping on conviction. The high-profile trial, which had drawn coverage from both the local and foreign media, started last Wednesday, 18 months after Anwar was first charged on Aug 7, 2008. -- BERNAMA

Anwar 21 - Saiful 0!

Anwar's trial via blogs. Anwar Ibrahim is using his blog to the maximum.

Since the start of the Sodomy II trial on Feb 2, he has posted 21 articles. Many of these articles are commentaries and editorials cut-pasted from foreign media, including the writings by Ku Li, the RM100 billion Barry Wain, and Munawar Anees. All are supportive of Anwar or sympathetic towards him. Each one could help him win the court of public opinion.

There are cries for Reformasi! One posting today calls Anwar supporters to gather at the Jalan Duta courts when trial enters its second week to "rekindle the flames of Reformasi" and ensure that DSAI does not go to jail again (see Screenshot above).

The postings are unabashedly Malaysia-bashing. Despite the fact that this trial is between an individual (Saiful) and an another individual (DSAI), the guns are fired at Najib, the man standing in Anwar's way to become the prime minister, Najib's government and public institutions. The courts, the police, the AG's prosocutors and the mainstream media are the enemies. Anwar's postings focus on conspiracy, a cruel regime, how Malaysian democracy is on trial instead of Anwar, and that this is fitnah dan rencana jahat kerajaan.

"Homosexual sodomy .. shamefully remains a crime in Malaysia". The latest article posted on Anwar's blog is an editorial in the Washington Post headlined Why the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim matters to the West (quotes above cut-pasted from this editorial).

The editorial suggest that if Anwar were to go to jail there would be "street demonstrations that could destabilize the country" and so that is why, it adds, "the Obama administration and other Western governments interested in stability in Asia should make clear that the imprisonment of Mr. Anwar would be ... not in Malaysia's interest."

And we thought RPK and Kalimullah were bad spinmasters!

As I publish this posting, Anwar's accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan has not posted any article on his blog since the start of the trial.

Well, not yet I'm told.

p.s. I have decided to place both Anwar and Saiful's blogs under the special title "Blogs on Trial" on my blogroll and they there will remain until the hearing ends. That way, readers can easily click on accuser and accused's blogs to see what they're up to as the trial goes under way. DSAI is also active on Twitter, I'm told.

Can I sue your ass today?

Chill lah, YBs. Away from the sodomy trial, buddies are butting each other. Politics, in and out of courts, must necessarily be dirty but I wish my bros YB Jeff Ooi, the DAP MP for Jelutong, and YB Wee Choo Keong, the PKR MP for Wangsa Maju, could somehow stay out of the current political sodomy fest. It's an unrealistic thing to wish for, though: both are Pakatan Rakyat strongmen in their own way and this fest involves their comrades, their bosses, and their political future.

Still ....

BUT if they insist on slugging it out, I'd like to make an appeal to Wee not to resort to legal action in his attempt to shut Jeff up or defend himself. We should use the court for more dire matters, eg in the Wee vs Mbf case. Matters between friends should be resolved through friendlier means. Wee is not Theresa Kok, Zaid Ibrahim, or Lim Guan Eng and should not be inspired to be like them.

When Jeff and I were sued for our blog posts in Jan 2007, Mr Wee Choo Keong was the first to offer to act as my lawyer on pro bono basis. Jeff and Wee weren't MPs then. Jeff was an ordinary member of Gerakan.

Read YB Wee's Politics of McCarthyism by little Napoleons must be stopped.
Jeff sms says he was misquoted by theSun? Read here

pic of YB Wee taken, I believe, by YB Jeff in Oct 2007

"Lim Guan Eng should be replaced!"

Tan Tee Beng is PKR Member of Parliament for Nibong Tebal, Penang. A local boy. This morning he called for a press conference in KL calling for, among other things, a Penangite to lead Penang. Apparently, he's had enough of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is from Melaka, my state.

“His arrogance in many occassions made so many now start to cast a doubt” (Kesombongan beliau banyak kali kini rakyat mula meragui (keikhlasan) beliau). “He does not even listen to DAP grass root. Lim Guan Eng should be replaced!”.

“He (Lim Guan Eng) has no standard (class) for Penang!”.

“In KL, maybe they accept parachuters. Not in Penang. If we talk about changes but we ourselves are not brave enough to face changes, then we are not serving. If we are unable to change, then we will face a tough battle in PRU 13!”.

Read more here.

Detain Nasir Safar under ISA?

Some people should be detained for their stupidity, a bro told me. I agree. The politicians who are demanding ISA detention for Nasir Safar for his alleged racist remarks should be the ones detained, instead. This kind of stupidity is worse. These politicians aren't interested in unity, they just want to score some miserable points.

You may want to paint all Malays in Umno with the same brush or you may believe the theory that Anwar Ibrahim had gotten to Nasir to try and distract people from his long-delayed sodomy trial. But the fact remains that Nasir made a mistake and for that he decided he must quit.

In the end, Nasir did the most honorable thing.

So V. Mugilan, C. Sivarajah and politikus-politikus yang sewaktu dengan mereka, stop trying to prove that you guys are morons. Move on.

Tanjung Keling, Lubok Cina

Nasir Safar must resign!- Pasquale
PM's aide to resign over alleged racist remarks - The Star

Ini Melaka, kita Muhibbah. Melaka has funny names that, anywhere else, could be labeled racially insensitive. But if Nasir Safar thought he could get away with being racially insensitive in this historical state, he was terribly mistaken.

The Special Officer to the Prime Minister incurred the wrath of some Indian and Chinese delegates at a "unity" forum at the MITC this morning when he claimed that the early Indian immigrants had come to Malaysia to beg and their Chinese counterparts were here to sell their bodies.

I must say that I was not there at the forum to hear it but I happened to be at the press conference given by Ali Rustam, the Chief Minister of Melaka, who said Nasir Safar's remarks went against the spirit of the form and the spirit of 1Malaysia.

I spoke to a reporter and several other ear-witnesses who were at the forum. I found it hard to understand why anyone would say such provocative things at a forum meant to unite.

"This is Melaka, we don't say things that hurt other races," the Chief Minister said.

I'm from Melaka, from a kampong called Ramuan Cina Kecik in Lubok Cina, and I have to agree with that statement. We Malays from Melaka are said to be generous to a fault with our neighbours. I remember and old joke:

Melayu kat Melaka ni baik betul. Tanjung dia bagi Keling, Bukit dan Lubok dia bagi Cina, Alor pun dia bagi Gajah. Ada Masjid tapi buat dari Tanah saja ...

The PM is visiting Melaka this Thursday, I was told. I think he should leave Nasir Safar behind in Putrajaya, if the guy is still in his employ by then.

Istana Negara on a Monday morn

Updated, 2 Feb:

Panglima Mahkota Wilayah. Sorry for the late update. Pak Lah and I were less than 3 feet away from each other at one point during the 4-hour ceremony yesterday morning but there was no chance for any exchange whatsoever.

Bernama's report from yesterday:

Three media organisation heads, namely the Director-General of Broadcasting, Datuk Ibrahim Yahaya, Malay Mail editor-in-chief Ahirudin Attan, who is better known as the blogger Rocky Bru and is also protem president of the Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs), and Harian Metro group editor Mustapa Omar are among the 27 recipients of the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (PMW) which carries the title "Datuk".

Picture courtesy of NSTP.


Original article:
The last time I was invited to the Istana Negara was in Nov 2001 to receive the Kesatria Mangku Negara from the King. I was the Editor of Business Times and Acting Editor of the Malay Mail then. Blogging wasn't in the vocab.

Tomorrow morning, in the same old black Baju Melayu, I'll be making my way to the Balairong Seri once again, this time for the Istiadat Menghadap dan Istiadat Pengurniaan Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Wilayah Persekutuan.

Updates later, after the news Embargo. In advance, Thank You from the bottom of my heart for the well-wishes.

"Dictator, a chauvinist and communist-minded"

Losing it? If Zahrain Mohd Hashim the PKR Member of Parliament did utter those words to describe the Chief Minister of DAP's Penang, I can only say that either Zahrain has lost his marbles or Lim Guan Eng has lost control.

Either way, Guan Eng can't sit still. He can't leave it to someone like Chow Kon Yeow, his own party's state chairman, to do the defending for him (Frustration could be reasons for Zahrain's outburst) or his own dad to put the pressure on PKR and PAS (Pakatan Rakyat - What next?). He can't lodge a police report against Zahrain (lodging police report against fellow MP is a form of intimidation, says Zaid Ibrahim, here) and surely, surely he can't be thinking of suing the former Penang PKR state chairman for defamation!

But he needs to act fast. The other side is having a field day!

Police report against Selangor MB

Poor Foundation. The war between the Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan and the Selangor Menteri Besar intensifies with a police report lodged this morning against Khalid Ibrahim by the NGO.

On Wednesday, Khalid announced that he was declassifying documents pertaining to YBK to enable his state government to prepare a detailed report on the state government's contributions towards YBK. The MB did not say when the report will be completed. I'm sure we are very interested to know how much Khalid's government has given to the Foundation to justify it's wish to take over its running.

Meanwhile, YBK officials were in Melaka yesterday to visit a site the Melaka government is offering for their proposed UiTM campus. The campus was originally meant for Serdang in Selangor but Khalid stopped the project because YBK wouldn't make him chairman of the foundation.

The Malay Mail has the story here.

Apalah, Mas?

Angry Customer. Sedutan blog Op Ed membaham Malaysia Airlines:

Lebih memalukan untuk MAS ialah kira-kira 10 minit selepas kecoh dan hingar-bingar ni, seorang kakitangan SIA dari Singapura (saya kenal suara dan telo orang Cina Singapore!) membuat announcement dari PA system (lebih kurang): 'To all SIA customers, please go to Gate 4, my staff will give you hotel vouchers. Your flight tomorrow has been rescheduled to 2pm. We have ground staff directing you where to go. Please give us about an hour to arrange for buses to take you to a hotel for the night.'

Terdengar beberapa mat salleh dalam kumpulan MAS dan juga penumpang India berkata: 'That's SIA for you'. 'Singapore, efficient as usual'.
Geram aku dengan bongok MAS ni!
Ini bukan kali pertama - dah dua minggu kabus delay flight.
Apa rancangan kamu? Mana ground staff kanan? Bodoh betul.
Notice this also: SIA tak panggil penumpang mereka 'passengers'. Mereka digelar 'customers'.
Maknanya: You are our customers, we will take good care of you.

What's up, MAS?

Baca Saya dah pulang - Marah dengan MAS, KLIA

Reckless in Wall Street

By Anwar Ibrahim

"The recent arson attacks exemplify what's wrong with the way Malaysia regards its non-Muslim citizens. The attacks were provoked by a controversy over the use of the word "Allah" by Malaysia's Christian community ... Since then, an already tense situation boiled over, largely due to incitement by a few reckless politicians, the mainstream media and a handful of nongovernmental organizations linked by membership and leadership to the United Malays National Organization, the ruling party." - Muslims have no monopoly over "Allah"

By Najib Razak wants the world to know about us:

"Many Malaysians have been appalled by the irresponsible and dangerous finger-pointing of a few politicians who put personal political interests before Malaysia's national interest. They try to score political points by hammering on sensitive issues. My government chooses a different path. We will reach out to all parts of Malaysian society in the coming days to foster open dialogue and work to resolve sensitive issues together." - Finding Unity in Malaysia's Diversity

Dangerous finger pointing, reckless politicians. Do read the two articles, which were published by the WSJ on Jan 25, and compare the messages that the writers are trying to convey to the world.

In his article Muslims have no monopoly over "Allah", Anwar started off with:

"Malaysia has once again resurfaced in international headlines for the wrong reasons. Over the last two weeks, arsonists and vandals attacked 10 places of worship, including Christian churches and Sikh temples."

My question when I read this was: Why no mention of attacks on suraus/mosques? The logicial answer is, perhaps Anwar had written the WSJ article before the alcohol bottle incident in Sarawak on Jan 16. That is quite a while ago. Anwar's webmasters should update his WSJ article on his blog and do it quickly so people won't accuse him of misrepresenting the facts. Add the pig heads incident, too, so as to give the full picture.

The PM, on the other hand, writes about Muslim groups volunteering to safeguard churches in their towns. Muslim social activists writing petitions to oppose these senseless acts of vandalism, and Muslim civic groups standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Christians, Hindus and Buddhists to ensure that all people can freely worship as they wish.

"Christian and civic leaders have urged calm and interfaith dialogue; they are fully aware that those who perpetrated these acts do not represent the Muslim majority in Malaysia."

Anwar does not waste the opportunity given by WSJ to attack his former party and the man who stands in the way of his political ambitions.

"Malaysia's international reputation has taken a beating since Prime Minister Najib Razak was sworn in last year. Despite his efforts to promote national unity, news about the caning of a young Muslim woman charged with drinking, the mutilation of a cow head in protest of the construction of a Hindu temple, ill treatment of Muslim converts who revert to their earlier faith and even the outlawing of the practice of yoga by Muslims have many at home and abroad wondering which direction Malaysia is headed under Mr. Najib's leadership. There are already misgivings about governance, human rights, the rule of law and rampant corruption; Malaysia dropped 10 spots on Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perception Index, our worst showing in over 15 years. The vision of Malaysia as a peaceful and stable location for investment, tourism and migration is now in peril."

Najib made no reference to Anwar at all in his WSJ article. At first I thought the PM's reference to "finger-pointing politicians who put personal political interests before Malaysia's national interest" was a jab at Anwar but then I realise that it describes quite a few politicians I know of in BN and in Pakatan.

Do read Pasquale's Rebuttal, here.

Ah, YB Zul Nordin!

Riding MP riles again! Even though we've never met, The Riding MP has been on my blogroll since before March 2008. After stopping the Bar Council's "conversion forum" in August that year, YB Zul has been dogged by one controversy after another. He is an honest politician to some, an idiot to others. Either way, he's a pain in the ass.

On the front page of The Malay Mail today, this is what he wants everyone to remember: "I don't bow to Anwar, PKR or anyone ...".

Is this guy for real? Well, he has already lodged a police report against another Pakatan Rakyat MP. See the Star's "PKR Tension" here. And just last Nov, that slugfest with Sivarasa, remember?

Zul is that last thing Anwar, who is facing a monumental court battle in Feb, needs right now.