Category: Politik

Dr Tan Cheng Bock: Open Election First, If No Minority Malay President Wins In 2017 Then Reserved Election For 2023

The Government brushes off my press conference.
MCI has missed my point totally.

I do not dispute the Constitutional Commission’s report or the White Paper. However, I disagree with the way the Government has triggered the reserved election.

I am simply asking if the government’s counting from President Wee Kim Wee FOLLOWED the SPIRIT AND PURPOSE that was proposed by the Constitutional Commission. The Constitutional Commission has said that a reserved election will be triggered if 5 open elections produce no minority President. So far we have 4 open elections with no minority Malay President. So 2017 must remain an open election and if no minority Malay President wins in 2017, than a reserved election will be triggered in 2023.

The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) used a different format .
AGC advised the Government to count the 5 year hiatus using “ 5 consecutive terms of Presidents who exercised elected powers” to include 1 nominated President and 4 openly elected Presidents. This is not in line with the spirit and purpose of the Constitutional Commission’s Report of 5 open elections.

I’ve given my reasons why we should rightly count from our 1st openly elected President Ong Teng Cheong. It’s the government’s turn to give their reasons why they choose to count differently, having accepted the report. Why change the format?

When asked in Parliament by an MP as recently as February 2017, it was brushed off with challenges to go to court and no debate.
Singaporeans need to know the truth on such an important Constitutional matter.
This is a chance for the Government to explain.
They should not brushed it off again.

Source: Dr Tan Cheng Bock

April 3, 2017
Malaysia Attorney-General: Non-Muslims Rattled By Increasing Islamisation

NON-MUSLIMS are against Islamic criminal law amendments as they perceive them as another step towards the Islamisation of Malaysia, Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali candidly told The Malaysian Insight yesterday.

It does not help either that the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (or better known by its Bahasa Malaysia acronym, RUU 355) Bill was mooted by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, the propagator of hudud laws in Kelantan in the 1990s, with Terengganu following suit later.

Wading into the issue after Barisan Nasional decided not to table Hadi’s private member’s bill in line with the principle of consensus, Apandi said this issue was always going to be a problem.

“When Hadi introduced this bill and tried to incorporate the 100 lashes and other severe punishment, the perception of non-Muslims was that hudud is coming, in the guise of the private member’s bill.”

In fact, Apandi said, RUU 355 was simply to amend the existing Syariah Criminal Law Act to enhance punishments.

It was also to give Muslims a sense of “feeling good”, as the shariah court currently is even lower than the powers of the magistrate’s court. RUU 355 was to have increased the power of the shariah court to the position of a Sessions Court.

“They (non-Muslims), however, read it as the beginning of an Islamic state government like the ones in Iran, Iraq and Syria, despite being told it was not applicable to non-Muslims. That is why the strong resistance.”

On a personal note, Apandi is relieved that the ruling federal coalition had made a U-turn on RUU 355, as that meant he would not have to draft the amendments to Hadi’s bill, which he felt would have been opposed anyway.

“When we draft, we have to show that it is a government bill, so in the first place, my office will have to make sure that it is different from Hadi’s draft.

“So maybe, just maybe, we may exclude Sabah (and Sarawak), to make it different, and even reduce the sentences.

“On the number of strokes, and even the sentences, I would have probably reduced them.

“The difference from the current laws which the Syariah Court Criminal Jurisdiction covers, imprisonment is only up to three years. They want to change it to 30 years, such a big disparity.

“As for fines, currently it is RM1,000, they want to increase it to RM100,000. The disparity is so big. People are going to start questioning the logic behind this.

“So that is why the perception by the people outside will be ‘Oh, this is definitely going to be hudud’.”

Apandi also said he had mentioned the matter to BN politicians and they have indicated their concerns to him.

Many had said it would be difficult for them to explain to their supporters if the government had adopted Hadi’s bill.

They had also warned that BN could lose seats, especially in Sarawak and Sabah, if the government did not make that RUU 355 U-turn.

Apandi also feels RUU 355 was more political than legal.

“The purpose and intention of this is to reap political mileage. Have you heard anybody from the public clamouring for increase of powers of the shariah court? No, nobody asking is asking for it, isn’t it?

“To my reading, it is mainly political. He (Hadi) has to satisfy the states that have already established hudud laws.

“People in those states are beginning to question him: ‘Hey, we have the law, why can’t we enforce them? What’s happened?’ He needs to say something to these states. And that is why he is trying to get federal support.

“So, yes… it’s political!”

Source: www.themalaysianinsight.com

April 1, 2017
5 Local Companies We’d Love To See Supporting Pink Dot

Pink Dot, with the help of Darius Cheung (CEO of 99.co), has turned to local companies for support for its annual event. The campaign, Red Dot for Pink Dot, aims to be a platform for local businesses to lend their voices to advancing the values of diversity and inclusiveness. Around 50 companies have already done so, and we expect that the target of 100 will be reached with ease.

At the same time, we found ourselves with a niggling sense that something is still missing. Most of the companies that have come forward are hip, contemporary, and millennial-oriented (and driven) brands. Their backing, while praiseworthy, still feels a little like we’re preaching to the choir in terms of corporate support for LGBT rights.

In our opinion, it would be a truly powerful statement if brands we didn’t expect—brands that are familiar, traditional, “uncool,” and mass-audience oriented—actually stepped forward to show their support for the community; brands like the ones below.

1. Sheng Siong

If you think about it, Sheng Siong has kind of always been the anti-NTUC. Their sponsorship would hence be symbolic in its tongue-in-cheek opposition of the Singaporean government and its stand on LGBT rights. For homegrown brands like these, pledging support can only lead to good publicity. After all, it’s not like anyone is actually going to boycott the brand.

2. POPULAR

Unlike companies like Edible Garden City and Carrie K., there is nothing trendy about POPULAR and its bookstores. Instead, they serve a very essential and utilitarian need. In the same way, the goal for LGBT rights has always been for them to eventually become banal and commonplace. Nothing captures this aspiration better than the support of a regular, unsophisticated brand like POPULAR.

3. Eu Yan Sang

Here we have a brand that was literally built by one of Singapore’s founding fathers. Apart from the fun fact that Eu Tong Sen Street is right down the road from Hong Lim Park, how cool would it be for them to show that their values have progressed along with their business? Even their company slogan is ‘Caring since 1879.’

4. TungLok Group

If companies like The Lo and Behold Group can show their support for Pink Dot, why can’t TungLok Group? The restaurant group, with more than 15 brands under its portfolio, has always been known for the family-centric dimension of its restaurants. As such, the brand is aptly positioned to acknowledge the importance of familial support in the lives of queer folk who often struggle with coming out.

5. Kim San Leng

Nothing is more central to Singaporean life than the humble coffee shop. The Kim San Leng group, with more than 30 food centres across the island, is the very definition of mass-appeal. This is exactly why its support would go a long way towards demonstrating that queerness is nothing bizarre. Instead, it’s perfectly normal, just like our undeniable cravings for hawker fare.

For these brands, there’s nothing to lose by doing this. You might get a few idiots talking shit online as a result, but trust us, they’re still going to be eating at Kim San Leng and shopping at Sheng Siong.

Source: http://ricemedia.co

April 1, 2017
Damanhuri Abas: Malays Do Not Mind Waiting Another Six Years As Long As Government Acknowledges Ong Teng Cheong As First EP

By the evidence that Dr Tan Cheng Bock presented this morning, the Government in its haste has clearly made a mistake in terms of the number of elected Presidents to date.

Simply quietly moving the goalpost again by resorting to the AG’s interpretation is arbitrary as Dr Tan has provided all the statements over the years from the Government itself that acknowledges Mr Ong Teng Cheong as the first elected President. Clearly now, the Government must stay true to its own terms and wait for the Presidential election after this coming one for a clear 5 election cycle for a particular minority absence requirement to be met.

It will be a desperate move for the Government to insist on a clearly wrong premise and hide behind the AG.

We the Malays do not mind waiting another 6 years.

No worries mate, we are patient people and used to waiting for many other things which are more priority such as discrimination in the SAF, Tudung and others!!!

Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

April 1, 2017
How PAS Bit The Bullet Once Again

The Party Islam Se-Malaysia, or PAS, will never learn the lesson particularly the political ones as history seems to be repeating itself for the Islamists.

Their leader Hadi Awang thought he had a well laid plan, in which his would be the hero of Islam in Malaysia with a personal bill to amend the criminal laws in Malaysia consistent with upgrading it to Shariah or Hudud Islamic laws.

He had this planned for years, while he was the deputy leader of the Islamic party and he also thought he was even more brilliant than the former spiritual leader of the party, Nik Aziz Nik Mat who warned the Islamists not to enter in any political alliances with the United Malays National Organisation or Umno.

But Hadi did not wait too long after the passing of Nik Aziz in 2015 to show his true colours and to push his luck on the national scene, with the Hudud in one hand and the idea of a pact with the Umno in the other.

All seemed to be well for Hadi – until the fatal Wednesday this week – when Prime Minister Najib Razak made an incredible (but expected by The Independent) on the bill called the RUU355.

The PAS had campaigned for the bill with the thought that it will be voted before the next General Elections and that would seal the alliance it was nurturing with the Umno.

Hadi Awang took full responsibility within the party and among its followers, saying publicly he believed the Umno had veered towards Islam and with this change, the PAS was even more willing to be an ally with the ruling Malay nationalist party.

His tactic was to get the Hudud read in Parliament this year, and even if did not get to be voted before the elections, it would certainly be the case after his party would win at least 40 Parliamentary seats and four or five states in Malaysia.

This after plotting with the Umno to play the ‘third force’ at national level, forgetting that a third force has always failed in realising anything but a trashing of the opposition forces and big win for the Umno-cum-Barisan Nasional (BN) in any elections in this country.

Now, licking his deep wounds, Hadi must be planning to reverse the situation in his favour amid calls within and outside the PAS for him to quit after failing to get the RUU355 amended.

But Hadi is adamant. PAS leaders who supports the Spiritual leader of the party are now saying the Islamists have gained from the setback from Najib, instead.

The Islamists are now saying even if Najib has abandoned the project – in order to salvage a breaking apart BN – Hadi’s motion still stands and if it is put to vote soon the party would have won in its battle for the Hudud.

Dismissing the political implications of the Najib rejection of the RUU355 is a fine consolation for the Islamists, but it is widely seen as a slap in their faces in the public eye.

The only real thing that matters now, is how the Islamists will take to the streets and ask people to vote for them individually with the hope that the Umno would not sabotage them in the course of the next General Elections?

Would they be so proud to say that a defeat in the next elections would have taught the PAS lessons and that they did not lose after all?

Source: www.theindependent.sg

March 31, 2017