FROM ANIL NETTO-CEPATNYA ZAKI AZMI MENJADI KETUA HAKIM

Zaki Azmi’s express ride

5 September 2007-Peguam Zaki Azmi , bekas penasihat guaman dan juga jawatankuasa disiplin UMNO , menjadi Hakim mahkamah Persekutuan.Beliau adalah peguam pertama dilantik sebagai terus di mahkamah Tinggi.

Tiga Bulan kemudian..........

5 December 2007 :Zaki menjadi Presiden Mahkamah Rayuan ,jawatan nombor di bidang kehakiman

11 bulan kemudian:

29 Oktober-2008 Zaki di lantik sebagai Ketua Hakim negara ,jawatan tertinggi di dalam bidang kehakiman.-Dari seorang peguam biasa ke jawatan Ketua hakim negara.-Semuanya hanya dalam jangkamasa 14 bulan.

Mungkin ini satu rekod pencapaian yang hebat dalam bidang badan perundangan negara.mungkin satu rekod rekod dunia.................

Bersih pertikai pelantikan Pengerusi baru SPR

Selasa , 11 November 2008 • Kategori: Berita Semasa, Berita Utama, Nasional, Politik
oleh Syukree Hussain
KUALA LUMPUR, 11 November (SK) - Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) mempersoal kelayakan bakal Pengerusi baru Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.
Perkara itu disuarakan oleh wakil Bersih Teresa Kok ketika ditemui petang tadi.
Menurut Teresa yang juga merupakan Ahli Parlimen Seputeh, Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Dalam Negeri yang tidak mempunyai pengalamanan dalam bidang piliharan raya tidak sepatutnya dilantik
Abdul Aziz akan mula bertugas sebagai Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) berkuat kuasa mulai 31 Disember ini.
Ketua Setiausaha Negara Mohd Sidek Hassan berkata Yang diPertuan Agong memperkenankan pelantikan Abdul Aziz mengikut Fasal (1) Perkara 114 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Pelantikan Abdul Aziz, 58, sebagai Pengerusi SPR sehingga beliau genap berusia 66 tahun, selaras dengan Fasal (3) Perkara 114 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Abdul Aziz dilahirkan di Sabak Bernam, Selangor pada 24 Jan 1950.
Abdul Aziz, yang sebelum bersara wajib pada 24 Jan 2006 berkhidmat sebagai Ketua Setiusaha Dalam Negeri, dan dilantik semula memegang jawatan yang sama secara kontrak.
Pelantikan Abdul Aziz sebagai Pengerusi SPR adalah bagi menggantikan Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman yang tamat tempoh perkhidmatan kerana mencapai umur 66 tahun pada 30 Disember ini.
Abdul Aziz mesti menjadi pengerusi yang telus dan beramanah - Anwar
Dalam pada itu, Ketua Pembangkang, Anwar Ibrahim menyambut baik pelantikan Abdul Aziz.
Walau bagaimanapun, kata Anwar, Pakatan Rakyat rakyat akan menunggu kenyataan awal Abdul Aziz berhubung pendekatan yang bakal diambil.
“Kita akan tunggu kenyataaan awal dan langkah-langkah yang beliau akan ambil sebelum ditentukan sikap kita berikutnya,” katanya selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Pakatan Rakyat di Parlimen hari ini.
Menurut ahli Parlimen Permatang pauh itu, sebagai pegawai pentadbir yang baik dan berwibawa, tapi masyarakat tahu bahawa tugas SPR selama ini paling tidak menyenangkan pelbagai pihak dan dipertikaikan ketelusannya.
“Oleh yang demikian pihak pakatan amat mengharapkan seorang tokoh yang betul-betul dianggap bebas untuk mengendali atau memimpin SPR,” katanya.
Ketua Umum KeADILan itu berharap Abdul Aziz memikul amanah yang diberikan dengan bebas dan adil.
“Beliau kini sebagai seorang Pengerusi SPR bukan sebagai seorang setiausaha kementerian ataupun sebagai seorang kakitangan awam senior,” katanya.
Menurut beliau lagi, Abdul Aziz perlu memikul tanggungjawab yang diberikan dengan profesional tanpa menimbulkan keraguan mana-mana pihak.


Artikel Terkini
Bersih pertikai pelantikan Pengerusi baru SPR
Pakatan Rakyat adakan mesyuarat di Parlimen
Isu Keganasan Polis: Syed Hamid, Ketua Polis S’gor mesti bertanggungjawab
Usul ditolak: Tidak rayu pembebasan RPK
Video: Pas kutuk tangkapan semasa perhimpunan Bersih

Dr M back in spotlight

Mahathir Mohamad enjoys a surge in influence as a new administration prepares to take power

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA's former premier Mahathir Mohamad is enjoying a surge in influence as a new administration prepares to take power, according to pundits who fear a return to hardline 'Mahathirism'.
The grand old man of Malaysian politics endured a humiliating exile from the circles of power after stepping down in 2003, as he was punished for feuding with his hand-picked successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.


Dr Mahathir, still feisty despite his 83 years and a string of heart problems, was outraged by the dismantling of his pet projects and seemingly made it his mission to bring down the mild-mannered Datuk Seri Abdullah.


Last month he declared victory as the unpopular premier was forced to announce he would depart in March 2009 in favour of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, whom Dr Mahathir had publicly championed for the top job.


'The country is witnessing the return of Mahathirism with the former prime minister seen as having become the single most powerful and influential individual' in the ruling party, said opposition veteran Lim Kit Siang.


He said Dr Mahathir was transformed from a troublemaker to a 'king-maker' the moment Mr Abdullah caved in, after months of turmoil in the wake of disastrous general election results.
During his years in the wilderness Dr Mahathir complained the ruling party had ordered the government-linked press not to air his views and said it had even leaned on organisations to withdraw invitations for him to events.


But as the power balance shifted, Dr Mahathir has been brought back into the fold of the United Malays National Organisation which leads the coalition - feted at party events and once again revelling in media attention.


Now there are rumblings that some of the worst aspects of his two-decade rule - repression, media censorship and the use of draconian internal security laws - could be revived.
'Najib's policies will mirror those of Mahathir's,' said Datuk Seri Zaid Ibrahim, a cabinet minister who resigned in September and who sees the hand of the new administration in a recent rash of detentions under internal security laws.


'Mr Abdullah doesn't have that in him. On his own he would not have done it, so he must be under tremendous pressure. Those measures taken are an indication of what?s to come,' he told wires agencies.
Mr Zaid, a maverick figure who quit the cabinet after being blocked from cleaning up the judiciary and police, said that Mr Abdullah's mild approach had allowed a measure of freedom in Malaysia.
'It is true that he has not done much to effect the reforms that he talked about, but Mr Abdullah did give the space - there's a certain openness, people do express a lot more - and it will be a loss if we go back to the old ways.'


Political analysts say that while Mr Najib will run his own ship, he will be careful not to alienate Mr Mahathir and trigger another destructive slanging match of the kind which helped fell Mr Abdullah.
' Mr Mahathir probably will not have an official role (in the new government) because that would raise too many eyebrows and too many questions would be asked,' said Ms Tricia Yeoh from the Centre for Public Policy Studies.


But I am quite sure that he will be informally consulted time and again,' she said.
With Mr Najib in the top job, flanked by another Mahathir protege Muhyiddin Yassin, who is slated to be deputy premier, and possibly Dr Mahathir's son Mukhriz, who is contesting the influential post of youth wing chief, the ex-premier will again have friends in high places.
Mr Zaid said that Dr Mahathir's hardline style is attractive to UMNO politicians who have been in disarray since the elections which lost the coalition its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time.


'Dr Mahathir has his strong points too. As much as I disagree with him on many issues, I also admire his tenacity and consistency. He is a very forceful leader, so people gravitate around that,' Mr Zaid said. -- AFP

RAJA AZIZ ADDRUSE AND DING JO-ANN: Accountability and the A-G

THE recent challenge by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's defence team against the validity of the Attorney-General's certificate to transfer his sodomy case from the Sessions Court to the High Court has again highlighted the need to seriously examine the role of the Attorney-General.
The Attorney-General, it was argued, was not competent to issue the certificate as a report, which had been made against him for alleged tampering with evidence in Anwar's first sodomy case in 1988, was still being investigated.


The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court ruled last Friday that the certificate was invalid.
The scope of the Attorney-General's powers in Malaysia has long been a subject of debate and controversy. He is the chief legal adviser to the government and is responsible for advising ministers involved in legal proceedings in their official capacity.
But as public prosecutor, he is also entrusted with power, which he uses at his discretion, to start, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence, other than proceedings before a Syariah court, a native court or a court-martial.


His dual role has posed a real problem. A conflict of interest is bound to arise if he has to institute criminal proceedings against members of the government.
The ongoing Altantuya Shaariibuu prosecution, surrounded by rumours involving important political figures, is a case in point.


Some countries in the Commonwealth, such as Australia and Canada, do not have such a problem. There the job of reviewing evidence, and beginning and conducting prosecution of offences, is entrusted to a Director of Public Prosecutions.
Since he is unencumbered by the sort of duties and functions the Attorney-General has, he is kept away from direct government influence and is able to act with impartiality in assessing whether or not to prosecute a case.


His decision is based on whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction on the evidence available and whether it is in the public interest for the prosecution to begin.
The Attorney-General in such a system would be a government minister. This would remove the structural defect in the present Malaysian system which constantly invites accusations that the Attorney-General is motivated by bias or is being selective in instituting criminal proceedings.


If he were made a part of the political party in power, the Attorney-General would not need to pretend to be neutral.
Though not directly involved in deciding whether to institute criminal prosecutions, he should be responsible for overseeing and superintending the prosecution services of the country and should answer to Parliament for the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions and of his department.


There is currently no formal mechanism requiring the Attorney-General to account for his conduct in relation to prosecutions of criminal proceedings. In spite of the wide powers he wields, he has no duty to report to the prime minister, cabinet or Parliament.
There has been no call for him to account for the failure of a number of high-profile prosecutions, which commenced with much fanfare but ended up being a waste of public funds.
Last year, Tan Sri Eric Chia, the former managing director of Perwaja Steel, was acquitted after 43 days of trial without his defence being called.


In acquitting the accused, the presiding High Court judge heavily criticised the conduct of the prosecution, especially their failure to call several key witnesses who had obvious knowledge of the material elements of the case.
With reference to particular key witnesses from Japan, the judge questioned whether it was the Japanese witnesses who were "reluctant" to come or "the prosecution was the one reluctant to bring them here".


The prosecution of Koh Kim Teck, a businessman, and his two bodyguards, who were charged with murdering 14-year-old Chinese national Xu Jian Huang, and who were acquitted in 2005, is another case in point.
After a trial lasting 36 days and with 39 prosecution witnesses having given evidence, the presiding judge found that the prosecution had not brought forward any evidence which could implicate the accused in the murder and that there had been no "prima facie" case made out to warrant the defence being called to answer the charge.


The prosecution had apparently omitted to call material witnesses, including the investigating officer for the case and Koh's driver who had reportedly given a cautioned statement that he had seen both bodyguards throw Xu into the swimming pool where he was eventually found. Two other material witnesses who were present in the house were also not called.
Yet another was the prosecution for the murder of Noritta Samsudin, where the accused was acquitted after 29 days of trial. The prosecution appealed against the acquittal right up to the Federal Court.


In dismissing the appeal, the Federal Court noted that there was a gaping hole in the prosecution's case, where it failed to sufficiently account for the likelihood of there being another person present at Noritta Samsudin's condominium unit who could also have committed the crime. No one else has been charged for the murder.
Any discussion on expensive and long-running criminal trials would not be complete without reference to the Irene Fernandez trial which spanned seven years and took over 300 days to complete.


It is still not over for the Tenaganita director, who was convicted in 2003 of publishing false news about the ill-treatment of detainees in camps for illegal immigrants. Her appeal against this conviction to the High Court has been the subject of numerous delays and has yet to be heard.
The Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial will also go on record as one of the longest trials in Malaysian history.


After more than 150 days, Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted of abetting the murder and discharged on Oct 31, while the two police officers charged with her murder have been called to enter their defence.
As it is the taxpayers' funds that ultimately pay for all criminal prosecutions, they have a vested interest in knowing how such cases, which appear to be ill-prepared, can be brought to trial.
It is imperative that the Attorney General's wide powers be subject to close scrutiny and not be permitted to be exercised arbitrarily.


If the government is truly serious in wanting to improve and restore public confidence in the administration of justice in this country, it must be prepared to review the presently unfettered powers of the Attorney-General.Raja Aziz Addruse is a former Bar Council president and former president of the National Human Rights Society (Hakam). Ding Jo-Ann is a Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer.
- nst

LIM GUAN ENG DAN YB HAMDAN MELAWAT SURAU TERBAKAR

Tasek Gelugor 11Nov- Kebakaran sebuah surau lama di Permatang Sireh semalam telah mendapat simpatisme dari Ketua Menteri YB Lim Guan Eng.Turut hadir YB Hamdan ADUN Permatang Pasir ,YB Ustaz Mokhtar ADUN Sg Bakap dan Exco kerajaan negeri Lim Bon Poh ADUN Sg Puyu,YDP PAS Ustaz Salleh Man dan orang ramai.

Surau yang sepatutnya di buat sejak beberapa penggal dahulu sewaktu Dato Syariff Omar yang menjadi Ahli Parlimen Tasek Gelugor , dengan kos belanjawan sebanyak RM200,000 tidak terlaksana ,dan kini kosnya meningkat kepada RM600,000 ribu telah menjadi perhatian kerajaan negeri.

“Beginilah janji-janji yang diungkapkan oleh para ahli parlimen UMNO/BN.Bila kejadian ini berlaku baru kita tahu peruntukan telah ada namun tidak di laksanakan.Ini membuktikan ahli Prlimen UMNO tidak menjalankan tugas”demikian jelas salah seorang penduduk yang di temui apabila turut berada mendengar ucapan dan penjelasan dari ketua Menteri berhubung peruntukan yang telah lama ada.

Sebelum dari itu, semalam YB Fairus Khairuddin telah meluluskan perbelanjaan segera sebanyak RM20,000 dari peruntukan kerajaan negeri.Beliau yang melawat semalam sejurus selepas diberitahu.

Turut sama pegawai daerah,JKKK, dan penduduk setempat yang mengharapkan projek ini dapat disediakan seberapa segera dan menurut YB Lim Guan Eng lagi ianya akan melibatkan peruntuk kan dan tanggungjawab Ahli Parlimen kawasan tersebut iaitu Nor Yaakop sebagai Timbalan Menteri Kewangan, dan juga pihak kerajaan negeri akan menyediakan beberapa keperluan melalui peruntukan dari badan-badan yang sepatutnya.

Menurut Pengerusi Surau Permatang Sireh, Haji Abdullah Hasan berkata, permohonan membina surau baru telah dikemukakan menerusi Ahli Parlimen Tasek Gelugor ketika itu, Dato' Haji Sharif Haji Omar tetapi ia tertunda ekoran namanya tidak disenaraikan sebagai calon Barisan Nasional (BN).

Menurutnya lagi, terdapat banyak kerosakan surau berkenaan sehingga memerlukan pembinaan semula. Menurut Pengerusi Pembinaan, Anuar Shaari, permintaan telah dibuat sejak tahun 2006 bagi pembinaan surau setingkat di tapak yang sama.

Tetapi, apapun ia mungkin satu hikmah yang terselindung kerana sepatutnya bantuan pembinaan telah lama diterima, katanya.

Lepas ini bahagian pembangunan akan memastikan ia menjadi kenyataan, katanya lagi.

"Ia mungkin satu hikmah untuk kami mendapatkan surau baru yang ditunda ekoran kegagalan Dato' Sharif Omar membawa isu ini ekoran namanya tidak tersenarai sebagai calon BN dalam pilihan raya umum lepas," jelasnya.

YB HAMDAN MEMBERI BANTUAN LAGI

Di kampong Bukit indera Muda.Peruntukan kerusi dan meja bagi Dewan JKKK kampong telah diberikan semalam.Ini adalah bertujuan bagi memudahkan perjalanan mesyuarat yang akan di jalankan.








Di kampong Permatang Tengah.Bantuan sebanyak 30 buah kerusi dan 10 buah meja diberikan kepada pusat Khairat kematian kampong Permatang Tengah. Ianya di serahkan kepada JKKK Permatang Tengah.

Aliran media statement

http://www.aliran.com


Minister should resign for abusing his powers



Judge Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad of the Shah Alam High Court joins the ranks of the brave – who unfortunately are not many – in ruling that the detention of Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act was illegal and unconstitutional. His detention was procedurally flawed in that the minister had failed to follow “proper procedure under Section 8 of the ISA to issue the detention order against Raja Petra.”


The good judge had stated that “Section 8(b) of the ISA indicated that those issued with the detention order by the minister might not be allowed for judicial review. However, the court could hear such an application if there were instances of possible abuse of powers.” This is a very significant observation. In scrutinising the detention order – without glossing over it as some judges are wont to do – he had found that there was abuse of power by the minister in issuing his detention order. This is a very serious offence.


Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar is not a lay person but a lawyer by training. Of all the persons he should be the one well placed to understand the law, its requirement and its implication. Indeed he gave the impression that he understood the ISA better than others when he said, "Please read (the provisions of) the act.” This was his response to criticisms regarding the detention of Suaram secretary Cheng Lee Whee in Johor Bahru on 17 October 2008. The question arises: How could a man so well versed and conversant with the ISA have committed such a terrible sin? Doesn’t he realise that when dealing with the freedom and human rights of human beings he is duty-bound to exercise extreme care to ensure that those rights are not simply trampled upon.


This courageous judge freed Raja Petra because the minister had acted beyond the scope of Section 8 (1) of the ISA. The judge had boldly stated that “the minister cannot simply detain someone. He must be confined to the circumstances stated.”


But the fact is many citizens have been “simply detained” and consequently languish in Kamunting because we have some judges who do not bother to look at the circumstances stated. If a conscientious judge were to take another look at all the detention orders, Aliran is of the view that the facts would reveal that many had been detained illegally and unconstitutionally. Take for example the Hidraf Five. They have been accused of having connections with the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka without providing an iota of evidence being made public to substantiate this grave allegation. This allegation was made simply to portray them as terrorists so that they could be detained under the ISA as posing a security threat to the country. It would be interesting to find out if the minister had “confined to the circumstances stated” in detaining them under the ISA.


We are encouraged by what has taken place yesterday, Friday, 7 October 2008. Two precedent-setting decisions were delivered. One concerned the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court where judge S M Komathy refused to be brow-beaten into transferring Anwar’s sodomy case to the High Court. That was a great decision. The other concerns Raja Petra’s ISA detention, which the Shah Alam High Court ruled as illegal and unconstitutional. Whether the much talked about reformation takes place or not, as long as we have serving judges of conscience of the calibre of Syed Ahmad and Komathy, there will always be hope . They will put the crooks and those without a conscience in the judiciary to shame.



P RamakrishnanPresident8 November 2008--


Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) (National Consciousness Movement) 103 Medan Penaga, 11600 Penang, Malaysia Tel: +60 (0)4 658 5251 Fax: +60 (0)4 658 5197 e-mail:

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Talking on money politics

» Scene: Naab Restaurant, KL

MOHAN: Azman, it seems money politics is really rampant in Umno. It somehow seems to have grown and grown into a huge hydra. And the attitude now is "if you can’t beat them, you join them."

Chong: Nowadays, people are openly talking about it.

Mohan: And openly doing it too.

Chong: It is a Malaysian phenomenon.

Zain: It exists elsewhere too but they call it vote-buying or plain bribery. Call it by whatever name it is still corrupt practice. It seems to me it is only in Malaysia that this practice is referred to as money politics.


Mohan: Not in Malaysia, but only in Umno. Which means that Umno politics is all about money. Which means you infl uence people not with your argument or your speeches but with money.


Chong: Convincing people through debates is a waste of time. Just give money. No need to prepare speeches, no need to rehearse them.


Mohan: No sore throats.


Zain: No need to exhibit your vast ignorance.


Mohan: Yes. By speaking and arguing you are exposing what you really are. Maybe you are

stupid. Maybe you are dumb. For people like that it is easier to give money.


Chong: So instead of having more people in the party who love to hear good debates you have
more and more people becoming collectors, the so-called lobbyists. They are everywhere.


Mohan: They were scolded by Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently. He told them to go home. You think they will listen to him Cikgu?


Zain: Not on your Nelly!


Mohan: What’s that?


Zain: It’s a cockney rhyming slang similar to not on your life.


Azman: I think it is an exaggeration. Some people are doing it to make Umno look really, really bad.


Mohan: You think so Azman?


Azman: Absolutely.


Zain: Don’t say that. To be fair you do not know for sure. Try not to use the word absolutely. Give yourself some room to be able to correct yourself with grace. Once you say absolutely you will fi nd it hard to correct yourself without losing face.


Azman: OK, Cikgu.


Zain: It exists, Azman. The Umno president has admitted it. And even Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen who heads the party disciplinary panel has admitted it.


Chong: And now all the candidates --- 84 or 85 of them --- in the party election are condemning money politics.


Mohan: Of course. You surely know that it is good politics to condemn money politics because if you don’t do it people will say you are doing it.


Chong: And they are the ones who are paying the so-called lobbyists. And so why should the lobbyists heed their president and go home when it is so lucrative to be in Kuala Lumpur where the party happenings are taking place.


Zain: These guys are brokers. I think the term lobbyists is too good for them. They don’t really do that. They just buy and sell. "Agong ada" is one code they use. It refers to the "agong" on the banknotes. As money politics becomes more entrenched the job of buying and selling has become even more lucrative. They take home a few thousand ringgit. And now that the campaign period has been extended to March you can be sure they will be very loaded by the time it is all over. So why go home.


Mohan: Not on your Nelly!


Zain: My sentiments exactly.


Chong: So in effect money politics in Umno is evolving into something of a diabolical system....



Zain: Yes, it has. That’s why those who want to win have to have large war chests. And where do you think they get the money to stuff into these chests. Just sell your country. Some people are in positions to sell more than others. Anyway, that’s another story.


Chong: The system allows those with money to reach the top. Not necessarily those with brains. Not necessarily the clever ones.


Zain: Some can’t even speak.


Mohan: So if the clever ones or those who genuinely want to serve want to reach the top they have no choice but to do so via the system. Isn’t that right Cikgu?


Zain: Yes. And that’s why many bright ones don’t want to waste their time with Umno even if they know it is a good party. But in the first place it is not easy for the bright guys to become members. Their application forms can languish in some fi le or other for ages.


Azman: What a huge task awaits Datuk Seri Najib Razak when he becomes president. He really has to clean up the party. Otherwise that’s it for Umno.


Zain: It is a no mean task. It is like Hercules being told to clean up in one day the Augean stables which had not been cleaned for years. Hercules was able to do it because he was a god.