Court Grants Anwar Only Partial Access to Key Evidence

Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has won a partial victory in the first round of a grueling battle to free himself from sodomy charges he says are trumped by Prime Minister Najib Razak to destroy his political comeback.

On Thursday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the public prosecutor to allow Anwar’s legal team access to most of the key evidence it needs to prepare his defence but it stopped short at vital DNA samples and video testimony.

The defence had sought a court order after the prosecution refused to furnish it with a full set of original documents, witness statements, CCTV recordings and other exhibits including DNA samples and video testimony given by the complainant Saiful Bukhari Azlan to the police on June 30, 2008.

Now, based on the order granted by Judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah, it will get to inspect the CCTV recordings of the alleged crime scene, the examination notes of the doctors who attended to Saiful at the government-run Hospital Kuala Lumpur and witness statements from seven individuals.

The judge had a day ago had refused to grant Anwar more time to find a new lead counsel after his long-time lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah discharged himself due to serious illness.

Political persecution of a PM-in-waiting

The reform icon, regarded by many Malaysians as a prime minister-in-waiting, was accused of sodomising Saiful, a former staff, in June 2008.

He has pleaded not guilty and accused Najib of framing him. The charges came about as Anwar was preparing to mount his parliamentary comeback. Despite the ensuing scandal, the charismatic leader managed to win the Permatang Pauh by-election with a landslide majority.

The U.S. state department has also gone on record to say that it believes that the sodomy charges against Anwar – both in 1998 and now – were politically motivated to kill his career. If found guilty, the 61-year old Anwar can be jailed for up to 20 years.

Meanwhile, the court is also due to hear an application from Anwar to dismiss the entire prosecution team for bias because key figures involved in the current case, such as Attorney-General Gani Patail, have been named in other cases involving fabrication of evidence against him.

There is also another application to strike out the entire sodomy charge as two hospital reports – including from the government-run Hospital Kuala Lumpur – showed no evidence that Saiful had been sodomised at all.

If all his applications are dismissed, then his trial proper will begin.

After 100 days as Prime Minister

Much has been made in the media about Najib’s first 100 days in office as the latest Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Many commentators have observed how the political and economic measures initiated by Najib is to win back the middle ground, especially the Chinese and Indian voters who had shifted their political support to the Pakatan rakyat coalition during the March 8 general election last year.

For instance, he has announced liberalisation policies with regard to share equity in public listed companies, though some say that will benefit foreign investors more than Chinese and Indian investors.

Then, on the 100^th day itself, Najib announced eleven measures that are supposed to shower gifts on Malaysian people.  (I did not even go through the list.)  It got the Pakatan Rakyat leadership worried.

I was wondering whether his very lame attempt to right the wrongs of the NEP will indeed tempt Chinese and Indian voters en masse back to the BN camp.  Then I read this list on the blog Rage Against the System.

It is compiled obviously from a Chinese point of view.  I hope my Chinese readers would not fall prey to reverse racism after reading this, and start to hate all Malays.  I really have to warn you against this possibility.  Read it with your critical radar in high gear.  I also have no way of checking the authenticity of all the statistics given.

“55 Interesting Facts about Racism In Malaysia

Updated March 31, 2006

1) Out of all the 5 major banks, only one bank is multi-racial, the rest are controlled by malays

(2) 99% of Petronas directors are malays

(3) 3% of Petronas employees are Chinese

(4) 99% of 2000 Petronas gasoline stations are owned by malays

(5) 100% all contractors working under Petronas projects must be bumis status

(6) 0% of non-malay staffs is legally required in malay companies. But there must be 30% malay staffs in Chinese companies.

(7) 5% of all new intake for government police, nurses, army, is non-malays.

(8) 2% is the present Chinese staff in Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), drop from 40% in 1960

(9) 2% is the percentage of non-malay government servants in Putrajaya. But malays make up 98%

(10) 7% is the percentage of Chinese government servants in the whole government (in 2004), drop from 30% in 1960

(11) 95% of government contracts are given to malays

(12) 100% all business licensees are controlled by malay government e.g. Taxi permits, Approved permits, etc

(13) 80% of the Chinese rice millers in Kedah had to be sold to malay controlled Bernas in 1980s. Otherwise, life is make difficult for Chinese rice millers

(14) 100 big companies set up, owned and managed by Chinese Malaysians were taken over by government, and later managed by malays since 1970s e.g. UTC, UMBC, MISC, etc

(15) At least 10 Chinese owned bus companies (throughout Malaysia, throughout 40 years) had to be sold to MARA or other malay transport companies due to rejection by malay authority to Chinese application for bus routes and rejection for their application for new buses

(16) 2 Chinese taxi drivers were barred from driving in Johor Larkin bus station. There are about 30 taxi drivers and 3 are Chinese in October 2004. Spoiling taxi club properties was the reason given

(17) 0 non-malays are allowed to get shop lots in the new Muar bus station (November 2004)

(18) 8000 billions ringgit is the total amount the government channeled to malay pockets through ASB, ASN, MARA, privatisation of government agencies, Tabung Haji etc, through NEP over 34 years period

(19) 48 Chinese primary schools closed down since 1968 – 2000

(20) 144 Indian primary schools closed down since 1968 – 2000

(21) 2637 malay primary schools built since 1968 – 2000

(22) 2.5% is government budget for Chinese primary schools. Indian schools got only 1%, malay schools got 96.5%

(23) While a Chinese parent with RM1000 salary (monthly) cannot get school-text-book-loan, a malay parent with RM2000 salary is eligible

(24) 10 all public universities vice chancellors are malays

(25) 5% – the government universities lecturers of non-malay origins had been reduced from about 70% in 1965 to only 5% in 2004

(26) Only 5% is given to non-malays for government scholarships over 40 years

(27) 0 Chinese or Indians were sent to Japan and Korea under “Look East Policy”

(28) 128 STPM Chinese top students could not get into the course that they aspired i.e. Medicine (in 2004)

(29) 10% place for non-bumi students for MARA science schools beginning from year 2003, but only 7% are filled. Before that it was 100% malays

(30) 50 cases whereby Chinese and Indian Malaysians, are beaten up in the National Service program in 2003

(31) 25% is Malaysian Chinese population in 2004, drop from 45% in 1957

(32) 7% is the present Malaysian Indians population (2004), a drop from 12% in 1957

(33) 2 millions Chinese Malaysians had emigrated to overseas since 40 years ago

(34) 0.5 million Indian Malaysians had emigrated to overseas

(35) 3 millions Indonesians had migrated into Malaysia and became Malaysian citizens with bumis status.

(36) 600000 are the Chinese and Indians Malaysians with red IC and were rejected repeatedly when applying for citizenship for 40 years. Perhaps 60% of them had already passed away due to old age. This shows racism of how easily Indonesians got their citizenships compare with the Chinese and Indians

(37) 5% – 15% discount for a malay to buy a house, regardless whether the malay is rich or poor

(38) 2% is what Chinese new villages get compare with 98% of what malay villages got for rural development budget

(39) 50 road names (at least) had been change from Chinese names to other names

(40) 1 Dewan Gan Boon Leong (in Malacca) was altered to other name (e.g. Dewan Serbaguna or sort) when it was being officially used for a few days. Government try to shun Chinese names. This racism happened in around year 2000 or sort

(41) 0 temples/churches were built for each housing estate. But every housing estate got at least one mosque/surau built

(42) 3000 mosques/surau were built in all housing estates throughout Malaysia since 1970. No temples, no churches are required to be built in housing estates

(43) 1 Catholic church in Shah Alam took 20 years to apply to be constructed. But told by malay authority that it must look like a factory and not look like a church. Still not yet approved in 2004

(44) 1 publishing of Bible in Iban language banned (in 2002)

(45) 0 of the government TV stations (RTM1, RTM2, TV3) are directors of non-malay origins

(46) 30 government produced TV dramas and films always showed that the bad guys had Chinese face, and the good guys had malay face. You can check it out since 1970s. Recent years, this tendency becomes less

(47) 10 times, at least, malays (especially Umno) had threatened to massacre the Chinese Malaysians using May 13 since 1969

(48) 20 constituencies won by DAP would not get funds from the government to develop. Or these Chinese majority constituencies would be the last to be developed

(49) 100 constituencies (parliaments and states) had been racistly re-delineated so Chinese voters were diluted that Chinese candidates, particularly DAP candidates lost in election since 1970s

(50) Only 3 out of 12 human rights items are ratified by Malaysia government since 1960

(51) 0 – elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (UN Human Rights) is not ratified by Malaysia government since 1960s

(52) 20 reported cases whereby malay ambulance attendances treated Chinese patients inhumanely, and malay government hospital staffs purposely delay attending to Chinese patients in 2003. Unreported cases may be 200

(53) 50 cases each year whereby Chinese, especially Chinese youths being beaten up by malay youths in public places. We may check at police reports provided the police took the report, otherwise there will be no record

(54) 20 cases every year whereby Chinese drivers who accidentally knocked down malays were seriously assaulted or killed by malays

(55) 12% is what ASB/ASN got per annum while banks fixed deposit is only about 3.5% per annum.

Racial Discrimination in Malaysia

Discussing about racial discrimination in Malaysia.

There is a list of statistics showing racial discrimination in Malaysia, practiced by government and its agencies. This list is an open secret. Its existence is better than the actual verified because it keeps the statistics.

The list is not in the order of importance, namely the first in the list is the most important and the last on the list does not mean it is less important.

This listing is a shared understanding of Malaysians, especially non-Malay (Chinese, IBAN, Kadazans, orang ASLI, Tamil, etc.) that are racially discriminatory.

The figures in this list are only estimates, so please take it as a reference only. Government of Malaysia has the most correct figures. The government of Malaysia too ashamed to publish their racist acts by publishing racial statistics?

This list covers a period of approximately 48 years since independence (1957).

List of Racial Discrimination (Malaysia):

(1) of the five largest banks, only one is multiracial, with the remainder controlled by Malay.

(2) 99% of directors are PETRONAS of Malaysia.

(3) 3% of PETRONAS employees are Chinese.

(4) 99% of 2000 PETRONAS gasoline stations are owned by Malay.

(5) 100% all contractors working under PETRONAS projects must be Bemis status.

(6) 0% of non-Malay staff is legally required to Malaysia companies. But there should be 30% Malay staffs in Chinese companies.

(7) 5% of all new government for taking the police, nurses, army, are non-Malay.

(8) 2% is the present Chinese staff in the Malaysian Royal Air Force (RMAF), a drop from 40% in 1960.

(9) 2% is the percentage of non-Malay government servants in Putrajaya Malaysia but is 98%.

Political Tsunami

The country's ruling coalition has suffered its biggest defeat since independence in 1957.

"Stay calm. Stay cool. Stay home." That was the message on Jeff Ooi's blog following his landslide victory in the election for a parliamentary seat in Malaysia on March 8. After Ooi and dozens of other opposition politicians romped home victorious, they wanted to make sure there were no reasons for "any party to declare an emergency." Text messages warning people to stay home and avoid victory parades have been circulating since then.
The National Front, the ruling coalition in Malaysia, has been in power with a very comfortable majority since the country became independent in 1957, but on March 8 it was blindsided by its worst poll results ever. In the country's 12th general election opposition parties took 82 seats in the federal parliament, compared to 20 seats in the last election, in 2004. Significant political casualties for the coalition included the minister of works; the minister of women, family and community development; and the minister of information. Five of the 13 state legislatures also fell to opposition control. These included Penang, the home state of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, and Kedah, the home state of long-serving previous prime minister Mahathir Mohamed. "There is a political tsunami," says veteran opposition leader Lim Kit Siang. "This is unprecedented."
Abdullah, like most of the ruling coalition, looked dazed and exhausted as the scale of the rout became apparent. He accepted the defeats, saying "This is democracy at work," and urged people to remain calm. But he did not hold his traditional postelection press conference, and he moved up his audience with the king to confirm that the ruling coalition still had enough support to form the next government.
In contrast, former coalition leader turned opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim could not contain his excitement at the turn of events. "This is a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation's history. Today a new chapter has opened," he told reporters at a packed news conference at his house. "The people have expressed in no uncertain terms that they want accountability, transparency and the rule of law." Anwar was prevented from running for office by a five-year ban from official politics that expires on April 15. That ban was part of the sentence handed down to him after an acrimonious political split with Mahathir in 1998.
Back in the 2004 elections, Anwar's Justice Party garnered only one parliamentary seat. But this time around it won 31 seats, plus another 40 seats at the state level. The other opposition parties garnered 51 parliamentary seats and 156 state-level seats, compared to 13 and 51, respectively, back in 2004.
Several major parties lost significant ground. Malaysia is a multiethnic country in which Muslim Malays make up around 60 percent of the population, followed by ethnic Chinese, at about 25 percent and ethnic Indians, at around 10 percent. Political parties are largely divided along ethnic lines. The ruling coalition, led by the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) and including the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), all took a hit. Only the stalwart support of the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo ensured overall victory for the National Front. "This is the biggest defeat," outgoing Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon told reporters. "I feel sad and surprised. I urge all National Front members to stay calm and not to take any action that could jeopardize peace and security."
Back in 1969 the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. In the ensuing political jostling, bloody race riots broke out between Malays and ethnic Chinese three days after the polling. One of the triggers had been a victory procession through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, and one of the longterm outcomes was a discrimination policy that favored ethnic Malays and is still partly in place.
In contrast to 1969, this time around Malaysia has been remarkably calm. On Monday, the first working day since the elections, the only action was at the stock market, where a selloff of government-linked companies led to the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index falling by almost 10 percent. That triggered a one-hour suspension of the market, and the value of some construction companies with large government contracts fell by more than 30 percent. "This change of leadership in the state governments could be quite a headache for us," says the head of a large Western mining concern, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We are not certain what will happen to our concessions."
Corrupt officials and the lack of transparency in government contracts were a big issue ahead of the elections, especially since Abdullah romped to victory as prime minister back in 2004 with a clear manifesto to clean up the government.
Abdullah is the successor to Malaysia's strongman, Mahathir, who ruled the country with an iron will for 22 years. Abdullah has done much to promote civil society and a plurality of voices, but calls for more change have been growing louder and louder.
Even Mahathir himself has become a vocal critic of his successor. Right after the elections he led calls for Abdullah to resign, saying that latter had "destroyed" the National Front. "I think the people must have been very angry—all the races, Chinese, Malays and Indians," said Mahathir, adding that he had made the wrong choice in anointing Abdullah as his successor in 2003.
Mahathir's political rival from the '80s, MP Razaleigh Hamzah, also joined in the attacks. "The leadership team must wake from its slumber, face the truth and accept full responsibility for this debacle," he said.
This debacle may, however, have a different outcome. Malaysia marked its 50th birthday as an independent nation last year. The country has already pushed a long way along the road to development, and its people are increasingly sophisticated and connected to the global economy. Maybe the two-third majorities enjoyed by the coalition will never be recovered. Maybe political leaders will be quite happy to win a simple majority of seats at the next elections in 2012. Just like most of the democratic world.

Facts you need to know about Malaysian Politic

Here is my thought about politic in Malaysia

Malaysia is setting up a new anti-corruption body to fight worsening graft, but it faces a daunting task in challenging a deeply embedded culture of "money politics," a leading anti-graft campaigner said.
The government introduced a long-delayed anti-corruption bill to parliament last week, which aims to set up an independent anti-corruption body.
The long-awaited bill may not be perfect, but is a significant step forward, and could be improved upon in the future, said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International (TI) Malaysia.
"If they go hard against money politics, which to me is the mother of all corruption, you kill the whole damn corruption," the straight-talking retired finance ministry official told Reuters in an interview.
Malaysia's system of political patronage, in which well-connected tycoons are favoured for state contracts, has long been viewed as a breeding ground for corruption.
Malaysia ranked 47th out of 180 nations on TI's 2008 Corruption Perception Index, slipping from 43 in 2007. Neighboring Singapore was fourth on the list.
One problem Navaratnam sees with the anti-corruption bill is the stiff 10-year jail-term and 100,000 ringgit fine ($27,500) for false reporting of corruption cases. That might provide enough comfort for politicians to pass the bill, but he says those stiff penalties would deter whistle-blowers.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, trying to leave a legacy of reform before retiring in March, wants to turn the existing Anti-Corruption Agency from a politicized body under his department into an independent one, modeled along a much-admired commission in Hong Kong.
This has many of Abdullah's colleagues in the ruling United Malays National Organization worried, especially following allegations of rampant vote-buying aired in the press in the run-up to pivotal party elections next March.
Abdullah's predecessor and now his fiercest critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, recently lamented that UMNO, in power since independence in 1957, risked losing the next general elections if it failed to eradicate money politics.
Abdullah's UMNO-led ruling coalition suffered a huge setback in general elections last March, losing its crucial two-thirds majority in parliament and five of 13 state governments.
CRONY CAPITALISM
Weeding out corruption is more onerous than in neighboring countries, because rewarding supporters is so embedded in the political system, Navaratnam said.
For decades, the government has handed out contracts to Malay businessmen in order to redistribute wealth, under an affirmative action policy aimed at helping the economically backward ethnic Malays who form 60 percent of the country's 27 million people.
The policy has more often than not led to abuse, and the consensus among analysts, diplomats and businessmen is that "crony capitalism" is so engrained it will take a herculean effort to dismantle. U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley once estimated the country may have lost close to $100 billion to corruption since the early 1980s.
While anti-corruption agencies deal with the "demand side" of the equation in government, TI and other groups are trying to make the business case against corruption on the "supply side."
Corruption erodes profits, creates a culture that allows employees to rationalize stealing from their companies, and can lead to manipulation of financial statements, Navaratnam said.
Management and staff can be sidetracked by having to respond to internal or regulatory probes, not to mention the fines they may have to pay and the damage to corporate brands.
TI and other groups are promoting "integrity pacts" -- where all parties sign an enforceable agreement not to engage in corruption -- and corporate social responsibility programs, he said.
"You don't have a moral business except in moral environments, or when laws are clean and enforceable and you are afraid to break them," Navaratnam said.