When PM Najib Razak took his oath of office before the king, he swore to uphold and defend the constitution which is the supreme law of the land. If there was one area I thought our government really excelled in, it was red tape and bureaucracy. But now, horrors, it seems that even the bureaucratic officials of the Prime Minister’s Department have been derelict in their duties.
The BN government is totally unconstitutional, illegal and should resign immediately and call for fresh elections. They won’t do this, of course.
They have zero respect for the rakyat, for the constitution (which has been amended out of recognition over the 50 years they have dictated the country), for any kind of freedom of expression, or indeed anything that mature democracies hold dear. ”A government of laws, and not of men.” (John Adams, 1735-1826). Yahoo Answers explains this principle: Law professor Shad Faruqi cited the case of sister-in-law fucking Abu Hassan Omar who was appointed by then PM Mahathir Mohamad in 1997 as Selangor menteri besar without first being a member of the Selangor state legislative assembly.
He said the Permatang state seat was vacated to pave the way for a by-election for Abu Hassan. This is truly Umno Boleh.
Furthermore, this Abu Hassan case wasn’t challenged in court so its legality is not known.
“It means that laws are to be interpreted objectively, not reread by individuals and are to be applied to everyone without regard for their positions, reputations or personal relationships with others.
“A government of men, on the other hand, would be one that is subjective, depending on the relationship of those enforcing the laws and those against whom the laws might be enforced.”
They have so much corrupt baggage behind them that they cannot do anything but cling to power to save their sorry hides. What has the Agong to say about this? One of his servants by the name of Najib has presented him an illegal list of public servants called YBs to be confirmed and ratified.
Shouldn’t he sack such a servant for bringing disgrace to his name, the land and the people? One can expect the response from Najib and friends to be along the lines of “What does Tommy Thomas know? He is only a constitutional lawyer”.
Umno will then consult the latest beacon of jurisprudence, former Courts of Appeals judge Mohd Noor Abdullah, who will make his pronouncement on the ultimate interpretation of the constitution in respect of appointments:
“Whereas such decisions as may be made by any Malay-Muslim prime minister who is from Umno shall be valid and binding for any and all purposes of the constitution and shall be implemented and enforced without let or hindrance nor shall such decisions be challenged in court as wanting in legality.”
This explanation will then be supported by the other legal champion, Ridhuan Tee Abdullah. Then what to do, Tommy?
It is simply disgusting. Are the lives of Indians in this country so cheap and worthless that at least one Indian should die in a police lock-up every other day? And where is P Waythamoorthy, the so-called leader of Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia and ‘instant’ deputy minister?
What is wrong if the Indian community is of the opinion that Waythamoorthy had deliberately taken out the human rights demand from his so-called ‘deal’ with BN because he knew that he would not have the guts or conviction to take the BN government to task for custodial deaths?
If Waythamoorthy has any shame, he should quit his deputy minster’s post straight away and ask the Indian community to forgive him.
If one can violate the supreme law of the land, then I shudder to think with what ease they can do to other laws. What kind of AG and chief secretary of the government do we have? This is utterly disgraceful and incompetent
Datuk Seri Najib Razak was today challenged to temporarily remove from his Cabinet Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – who has been sued for assault – to prove he is serious about government reform.
Opposition lawmaker Gobind Singh Deo (picture) told the prime minister that it is “improper” to put a man who has been ordered to answer a civil suit for assault in charge of the powerful home ministry where his actions and conduct could invite conflict, which would reflect on his Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“[Leading] the Home Ministry now, which is responsible for the police would to my mind, put Zahid in a position of conflict.
“The Home Ministry is one of the most powerful ministries, with significant influence over various bodies including the police and prisons,” the Puchong MP said, adding in his statement that its minister must be seen as one who is “above and beyond these agencies as he needs to maintain independence”.
Gobind reminded Najib that the PM had promised to raise the quality of governance after winning reelection in the May 5 polls and must therefore show he is committed to carrying out his transformation.
“Will the Prime Minister remove him pending the outcome of the trial or will he resort to the same old indifferent attitude and silence proving yet again that he is incapable of the change he promises?” the DAP man asked.
Ahmad Zahid had been sued by businessman Amir Abdullah Bazli for allegedly punching him in the on January 16, 2006 at the Country Heights recreational club in Kajang, Selangor causing the latter to suffer a nasal bone fracture and a swollen left eye.
Then a deputy information minister, Ahmad Zahid had denied the allegation and applied to the Kuala Lumpur High Court for the case to be thrown out. The application was dismissed by the same court on April 21, 2010.
He later filed a countersuit against the 41-year-old, claiming to have suffered humiliation and emotional trauma as a result of the accusation.
But last year, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled against Zahid’s bid to strike out the assault suit and ordered the minister to pay RM5,000 in costs. It also ordered Zahid to respond to the action.
Some words do not just describe an emotion, they become the emotion itself. What better language to describe love than French, what better way to describe indolence and indulgence than in Italian?
Sedition laws can be meaningless in a democracy, a governance based on the principle of free speech.
A democracy asks its citizens to speak their mind. Provided it does not cause riots or public harm.
Attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, who has been playing deaf and dumb through all controversies and scandals incriminating BN all these years and successfully getting away from them all, should now stand up and clear the air over the apparent constitutional debacle that PM Najib Razak has plunged the country into.
If Gani continues to keep his infamous silence, he would be deemed to have breached his oath taken before the Agong to protect and defend the constitution.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) law professor Shad Faruqi, who has earlier sanctioned these apparently dubious ministerial appointments as constitutional, should also join the discourse to defend his position.
But when citizens do that in India, they are warned and browbeaten into submission – even sent to jail. India’s sedition law was written in 1860 to empower the British masters ruling India to punish “natives”.
Yes, when a writer or cartoonist says what pleases the ears of the powers that be, he is encouraged to write or draw more. However, when he comments in words or pictures something critical, heavens fall.
There is something exceedingly sensual in the sound of some exotic words that seep into the common lexicon. These words don’t just convey, but seem to add depth to an emotion. For instance, amour makes love more sensual, while La dolce vita makes a life of luxury sound even more indulgent.
Of course, you have to pronounce them correctly and emote, rather than say, the words. Interestingly, the foreign phrases that are adopted by the very flexible English language are those that most typify the language group they come from. So the French ‘loan words’ we know are those related to love, Italian words are the ones that refer to indolence and present enjoyment, while the German loan words define harsher reality.
These words have found their way into English through repeated or striking usage in art forms such as movies, poems, books and even fashion. Artists and fashion designers who are constantly on the watch for words and phrases to define their art, often resort to foreign, exotic phrases. These then seep into common usage. Some have become a respectable part of the English language and are used frequently, while some are mutilated through wrong usage — a very common example of which is haute couture.
Not for nothing are the French considered the best lovers, and their language the best to accompany lovemaking. Consider Mon amour (My love), Mon Cheri (my darling), Je t’aime (I love you) — all pronounced softly. A Frenchman could probably bring his lover to climax with words. French probably has given the largest number of ‘loan words’ to the English language; in fact, most of these are so intrinsic a part of the language that we no longer even notice these are actually French! Did you know, for instance, that ‘royal’, ‘colonel’, ‘detail’, ‘grotesque’ are all actually words of French origin? Many emotions are best described in French. Déjà vu(already seen) describes a feeling of having lived through a new situation previously. Déjà vecu describes a weird knowledge of what is going to happen next, while Déjà visite is an uncanny knowledge of a place one has never visited earlier.
What can the Italian language express best but the indolent, sensual sense of the ‘here and now’ and of taking life easy? The movie Eat, Pray, Lovepopularised a couple of beautiful Italian phrases. Consider Attraversiamo(Let’s cross over together, leave the past and pain behind) and another gorgeous phrase, Dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing) Carpe diem in Italian means to seize the day, enjoy the present moment. Ah, the very sound of the words makes one feel so much better about life and living.
And then there are numerous ‘loan words’ from foreign languages that possibly have no equivalent in any other language, but can be instantly related to by people across the globe. Schadenfreude in German refers to getting pleasure out of the misfortune of others. In Russian, the wordPochemuchka means a person who asks too many questions. And this one in Finnish could be very useful — Pilkunnussija refers to a person who thinks it’s his duty to point out spelling and grammatical mistakes at the cost of popularity. Kaelling in Danish is an ugly woman who shouts obscenities at her children. Hikikomori is a Japanese term for reclusive adolescents who are socially awkward. Shemomedjamo in Georgian means to keep eating even after you are full as the food is delicious. The Scottish tartle refers to hesitating when introducing someone as you have forgotten his name.Prozvonit is a Czech word for giving a blank call and letting the other person call back to save money.
Did we even think we needed words to describe these things? Indian languages also contribute words that have become part of general lexicon because of the emotion they express through the very sound or because they do not have an equivalent in another language. ‘Maharaja’, ‘bungalow’ and ‘thug’ are Indian loan words to the English language.
And then consider the phrases that may not have made it to the English dictionary, but are commonly used across the country, unifying the very different languages and cultures, because people can relate to the common emotion. One of the most satisfying phrases Punjabi has contributed isSannu ki! Pronounced in the right spirit, the sound itself conveys the meaning; it has the instant effect of lifting one above the present mess into a lofty detachment. Instant elevation.
The Bengali Eeeeesh popularised by Utpal Dutt in Golmaal and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Devdaas expresses a mild regret and self-reproach at a mistake, while the sensual nyaka, which all Bengalis insist cannot be translated, refers to the dainty put-on act of a maiden seeking to attract attention. Sachin Tendulkar’s Aaiila! is a Marathi expression that can convey both wonder and disappointment! The Hyderabadi kaiko (why?) and Hallo hallo (slowly, slowly) conveys the lethargic feeling of taking it easy, which we can all relate to.
Would you like to add emotive words and phrases from other languages that may not have equivalents elsewhere?
Sedition laws can be meaningless in a democracy, a governance based on the principle of free speech.
A democracy asks its citizens to speak their mind. Provided it does not cause riots or public harm.
But when citizens do that in India, they are warned and browbeaten into submission – even sent to jail. India’s sedition law was written in 1860 to empower the British masters ruling India to punish “natives”.
Yes, when a writer or cartoonist says what pleases the ears of the powers that be, he is encouraged to write or draw more. However, when he comments in words or pictures something critical, heavens fall.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the ugh-est of them all? That’s the question Aseem Trivedi seems to ask in his latest cartoon. Errr, Aseem? Yup. The same. This is what happens when an utterly nonsensical sedition case is filed against a cartoonist (high on anger, low on talent) — it’s called a oneday phenomenon. But here’s the upside to the controversy. The recent furor has drawn public attention to the growing antipathy against the ‘ugly politician’. It sure looks likes this is going to be the winter of our discontent.
First came the brutal attack on traffic cop Mohan Lal by a minister’s security personnel. Lal’s crime? He had dared to stop the minister’s convoy for jumping a red light. Then came news of some obscure cartoonist’s arrest in Mumbai. In both these seemingly unrelated cases, the strident howls of protest from the aam junta were similar in nature — they were more against the abuse of power by the high and mighty than in support of two wronged individuals . The big question in both cases — how long before we move on?
Mohan Lal may end up nursing a bloodied and bulbous eye all by himself, once the media pounces on an even grislier story. After all, Mohan Lal has not announced his intentions of joining a citizens’ movement or turning into an activist . There is nothing ‘sensational’ about Mohan Lal’s predicament. This beastly incident is just another tragic case of an earnest government servant paying a huge price for doing what he’s paid to — his duty. Congress minister Taj Moiuddin will carry on, unapologetic, unscathed and unmoved. His repeated chant that he doesn’t have eyes at the back of his head, will also be filed away indifferently and soon forgotten.
But what happens from this moment on to young Aseem Trivedi will be far more interesting to monitor. Here’s a likely scenario: as of now, Aseem is the newest darling of the media. He has been completely co-opted by those crying hoarse against an archaic law. So far, it reads like a meaty story. Aseem, with disheveled hair and wearing the mandatory black kurta, lends himself perfectly to the darkness of the moment , as he plays to the gallery, spewing contempt and talking of freedom of expression. He is also producing cartoons on command as apt photo-ops . That is, when he isn’t posing for shutter bugs, hugging well-known people like Dr Binayak Sen. Aseem’s minders may have taken over his image building, going by how swiftly he undertook an expeditious damage control exercise when the Dalit heat was about to get to him.
Once out of jail, what did our cartoonist friend do — he rushed to Buddh Vihar to pay his respects to Babasaheb Ambedkar, adding he had the ‘greatest respect” for the Dalit leader and the Constitution . He also grabbed a quick lunch at Mayank (India Against Corruption) Gandhi’s office, before addressing a packed press conference.
What does the future hold for disgruntled young people like Aseem when they are suddenly propelled into the limelight and converted into overnight martyrs? What happens when an Aseem becomes a pivot, a symbol, even a hero? Does collective anger find the outlet it seeks? Or does the initial emotional outpouring get dissipated , leading to absolutely nothing but a few dramatic media clips? Political parties are quick to swoop down on people like Aseem.
Any person who can grab headlines is worth courting . In such a cynical scenario, someone like him is a catch.
So far, he has presented himself as a somewhat naïve but reasonably sensitized young man, using crude cartoons to express his disillusionment . His life has undergone a 360-degrees change after the misplaced sedition charge. He is now owned by the media. He is hot property. He will make it to international publications and global channels. For a short while at least, Aseem will gobble up publicity and share front page space with movie stars and sports heroes. Someone smart will ask him to walk the ramp— for a cause, of course. He will be wooed to play showstopper during the unending Fashion Weeks. Reality shows will chase him. He may enter the Big Boss house. Get a publishing deal. His career as a budding cartoonist may end abruptly. But so what? For another 15 minutes, or perhaps 15 days, Aseem will be hailed as a bona fide celebrity , a star. The ravenous media monster isn’t done with him yet. And yes,he also drawscartoons for aliving.
Was that caricature really denigrating or obscene? Anyway.
The newly appointed home minister gives an impression of a person who is arrogant, boastful, authoritative and lacks a comprehensive understanding of the principles of democracy which entitles and gives the every eligible citizen the right to vote for whoever he or she favours.
A number of people who felt this country is not performing to their expectations, have left. Consequently, no one needs to be told to stay or leave as they are capable of deciding for themselves.
Safeguarding the interests and wellbeing of the country and its people is an unalienable task of the holder of this position.
However, it does not give him free access to say and do whatever he so wishes.
He is bound by the constitutional provisions of good and fair governance and its abuse as well as irresponsible leadership do come under its purview.
Today, the country has an influx of foreigners who have very boldly and blatantly setup their own communities and retail outlets within our neighbourhoods.
They have even have audacity to challenge us to what is rightfully our areas of abode by leaps and bounds and there may a time when we become ‘aliens’ in our own land.
I believe it is the duty of this ministry to investigate the legitimacy and legality of these establishments instead of harassing and intimidating our own people.
The stark reality is, a number of these foreigners are seen to be just loitering and wasting their time here rather than being gainfully employed or devoting their time in the colleges.
Is there a yardstick to check on who is genuine and who is not?
Drug addiction and drug movement are rampant in this country which is seen seen to be a good transit point for carriers.
Is there a serious effort to clamp down on these destructive activities?
All Malaysians I am sure do not intend to do harm to their own beloved country but are deeply concerned over certain alleged irregularities and misconduct carried out by those who are supposed to be the protectors of the law.
One such alleged incident was the seemingly dubious votes scheme employing foreigners to ensure victory for certain constituencies in the recent general election.
The truth is not expected to be known but if such an occurrence were true then who has committed treason against the king and country?
Our young people today want answers not suppression or detention. Authoritative rule by fear which worked so well before is no longer applicable.
If the government cannot see the reality of today, then it is still living the past and dreaming for a miracle.
On the subject of leadership, Mahatma Gandhi had once said: “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with the people.”
The strong support the activist-cartoonist has got, political parties standing for his right to expression and state government forced to review its decision–all these are things that would be unthinkable in the past.
