Source MP KitSiang
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced at the National Integrity Convention in Kuching yesterday that the Cabinet had endorsed the formation of the Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption (MCAC) and that the MCAC Bill will be passed at the current meeting of Parliament to replace the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.
He said the MCAC is modeled after Hong Kong’s Independent Commission on Anti-Corruption and New South Wales’ Independent Commission Against Corruption, “which are among the best anti-corruption agencies in the world”.
I have no confidence that Abdullah has the political will to carry out meaningful anti-corruption reforms, and that the MCAC will not end up as another toothless tiger for anti-corruption like the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) with its statutory duty to promote and protect human rights!
My lack of confidence that Abdullah is capable of one final fling with a meaningful institutional reform before he ends his hapless five-year tenure as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia is supported by at least three reasons:
1. The setting for Abdullah’s “important” announcement yesterday – the National Integrity Convention in Kuching. On stage applauding Abdullah’s announcement to fight corruption were leaders responsible for Malaysia’s relentless plunge, year after year, in international rankings on anti-corruption – whether Transparency International Corruption Perception Index from No. 37 in 2003 to No. 47 in 2008 or the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) annual corruption ranking, with Malaysia in 2008 placed No. 6 in Asia and getting the worst score of 6.37 (in a grading system with zero as the best possible score and 10 as the worst) since 1996. Malaysia was ranked No. 4 in Asia with a score of 5 in 1996!
2. Abdullah’s stance of fight against corruption – which has been all talk but no walk – is not echoed or supported by other Barisan Nasional leaders or Cabinet Ministers. I spoke on the corruption issue in the 2009 budget committee debate on the Prime Minister’s Department in Parliament on Wednesday, but the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz studiously avoided answering issues I raised about corruption in his one-hour reply on Thursday. This meant two things: firstly, lack of real political interest, will or commitment to fight corruption and secondly, defensive mentality on the issue, particularly with the serious problem of corruption of money politics in the ongoing Umno party elections.
3. Worst case of corruption and money politics in UMNO elections. Nobody dared to respond to my challenge in Parliament on Wednesday to stand up and deny my charge that the current Umno party elections is shaping up to be the worst case of corruption and money politics in the nation’s history.
I am not the only making this charge as top Umno leaders have publicly confessed to this, like Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen, Umno disciplinary board charman, who has virtually thrown up his hands in despair, declaring: “It seems to be getting worse with every party election…We are trying our best, but it seems we can’t deal with it completely. It is now rooted to the core.” And Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s shocking “No money, no talk” expose, why he could not get even a second nomination to contest for Umno Presidency because he refused to respond to overtures and bribe delegates in return for their votes!
Bali bombers executed
Source TheAge
The three Bali bombers on death row have been executed by firing squad.
Imam Samudra and brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas were shot to death by separate firing squads at 12.15am Indonesian time, an Indonesian Government spokesman has confirmed.
- Bombers defiant to the end
- Funerals expected today
- 'Credible threat' of reprisal attacks
The executions come six years after the Kuta nightclub explosions that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Family members of the bombers were informed of the execution by Ali Fauzi, the brother of Mukhlas and Amrozi.
Ali Fauzi headed to the prison island of Nusakambangan by boat about 5.30am Sydney time to oversee the religious rights on the bodies.
He sent a text message to relatives in Arabic saying "they are with the Almighty''.
A source in the prison told Agence France-Presse they shouted "Allahu Akbar'' ("God is great") as they were escorted out of their isolation cells by paramilitary police just before their executions.
In a statement on behalf of the family of Mukhlas and Amrozi, elder brother Chozin said: "We hope the spirit of my brothers Amrozi and Ali Ghufron (Mukhlas) will be taken by green birds to paradise."
The bullets will be removed from the bodies and autopsies performed before the bodies are cleaned and wrapped in traditional Muslim cloth in preparartion for burial.
The men's bodies are expected to be flown by helicopter today from the prison island to their home towns.
Amrozi and Mukhlas are from the small village Tenggulun in East Java. Imam Samudra comes from Serang in West Java.
The bombers' funerals are expected to be held within hours of their bodies arriving home.
The presence of police has been stepped up across Indonesia amid threats of attacks in Bali and in Jakarta shopping malls. Most terrorism analysts believe it's unlikely there will be a major attack but agree there is a risk of mob violence and clashes involving hardline supporters of the trio.
The Federal Government has issued an updated travel warning for Bali, saying it has 'credible' information about the possibility of reprisal attacks for the executions.
The executions follow years of legal challenges to the death sentences, which were handed down in 2003.
Right up until their final days, the killers showed no remorse and used the media to claim to be warriors of Islam and predict a wave of attacks against Westerners following their deaths.
Mukhlas was convicted of approving, inciting, financing and carrying out the bombings, while his younger brother Amrozi bought the van and a ton of chemicals used in the explosion, and attended planning sessions for the attacks.
Samudra was the operational field commander for the bombings.
In the lead-up to the executions, survivors of the attacks and family members of those lost had mixed feelings about the trio being sentenced to death.
Some felt the bombers' deaths would bring closure for still-grieving relatives, while others felt it would elevate Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra to martyrdom.
David "Spike" Stewart, whose son Anthony died in the nightclub attacks, has said he would be happy to pull the trigger on the firing squad rifle.
"I'd check the rifle to make sure I wasn't given the blank," he said earlier this year.
Leanne Woodgate, from Port Melbourne, who was badly burnt with her sister in Paddy's Bar, said: "I'll believe it when it actually happens. I hope it's soon ... it will help because they ruined my life."
But Sydney man John Mavroudis, whose son David was one of six Coogee Dolphins players killed, said he "couldn't care less" about the bombers. "I don't give a damn about them really ... we just try and get on with our lives."
The three Bali bombers on death row have been executed by firing squad.
Imam Samudra and brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas were shot to death by separate firing squads at 12.15am Indonesian time, an Indonesian Government spokesman has confirmed.
- Bombers defiant to the end
- Funerals expected today
- 'Credible threat' of reprisal attacks
The executions come six years after the Kuta nightclub explosions that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Family members of the bombers were informed of the execution by Ali Fauzi, the brother of Mukhlas and Amrozi.
Ali Fauzi headed to the prison island of Nusakambangan by boat about 5.30am Sydney time to oversee the religious rights on the bodies.
He sent a text message to relatives in Arabic saying "they are with the Almighty''.
A source in the prison told Agence France-Presse they shouted "Allahu Akbar'' ("God is great") as they were escorted out of their isolation cells by paramilitary police just before their executions.
In a statement on behalf of the family of Mukhlas and Amrozi, elder brother Chozin said: "We hope the spirit of my brothers Amrozi and Ali Ghufron (Mukhlas) will be taken by green birds to paradise."
The bullets will be removed from the bodies and autopsies performed before the bodies are cleaned and wrapped in traditional Muslim cloth in preparartion for burial.
The men's bodies are expected to be flown by helicopter today from the prison island to their home towns.
Amrozi and Mukhlas are from the small village Tenggulun in East Java. Imam Samudra comes from Serang in West Java.
The bombers' funerals are expected to be held within hours of their bodies arriving home.
The presence of police has been stepped up across Indonesia amid threats of attacks in Bali and in Jakarta shopping malls. Most terrorism analysts believe it's unlikely there will be a major attack but agree there is a risk of mob violence and clashes involving hardline supporters of the trio.
The Federal Government has issued an updated travel warning for Bali, saying it has 'credible' information about the possibility of reprisal attacks for the executions.
The executions follow years of legal challenges to the death sentences, which were handed down in 2003.
Right up until their final days, the killers showed no remorse and used the media to claim to be warriors of Islam and predict a wave of attacks against Westerners following their deaths.
Mukhlas was convicted of approving, inciting, financing and carrying out the bombings, while his younger brother Amrozi bought the van and a ton of chemicals used in the explosion, and attended planning sessions for the attacks.
Samudra was the operational field commander for the bombings.
In the lead-up to the executions, survivors of the attacks and family members of those lost had mixed feelings about the trio being sentenced to death.
Some felt the bombers' deaths would bring closure for still-grieving relatives, while others felt it would elevate Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra to martyrdom.
David "Spike" Stewart, whose son Anthony died in the nightclub attacks, has said he would be happy to pull the trigger on the firing squad rifle.
"I'd check the rifle to make sure I wasn't given the blank," he said earlier this year.
Leanne Woodgate, from Port Melbourne, who was badly burnt with her sister in Paddy's Bar, said: "I'll believe it when it actually happens. I hope it's soon ... it will help because they ruined my life."
But Sydney man John Mavroudis, whose son David was one of six Coogee Dolphins players killed, said he "couldn't care less" about the bombers. "I don't give a damn about them really ... we just try and get on with our lives."
Lives and crimes of the Bali bombers
Source TheAge
The lives and crimes of three Bali bombers, sentenced to die for their roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.
Mukhlas, alias Ali Ghufron, alias Sofwan, 48
Mukhlas, from Lamongan district in East Java, is the eldest of the three Islamic militants sentenced to die over the attacks.
He was convicted of approving, inciting, financing and carrying out the bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians, and was sentenced to die in late 2003.
His younger brother Amrozi is also facing death for aiding the attacks.
During his trial, Mukhlas said he knew al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden "well" and named his sixth son in his honour.
He had a long relationship with Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual head of the al-Qaeda linked terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah.
At the age of 22, Mukhlas joined Bashir's extremist Islamic boarding school in Central Java, working there as a teacher, and followed Bashir to Malaysia four years later.
A fluent Arabic speaker, Mukhlas trained in bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan in the late 1980s.
In 2001, his service to Jemaah Islamiah was rewarded when he was made the group's operations chief.
In February 2002, he attended a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, where plotters decided to target Indonesian tourist spots.
Samudra, also sentenced to die over the nightclub bombings, had proposed targeting Bali because it had large numbers of "white people" and Mukhlas approved the plan.
Mukhlas received $US30,500 from a Malaysian financier to help fund the bomb plot and distributed the funds among the group.
- Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, 46
Amrozi, Mukhlas' younger brother, was the fifth of 13 siblings and before he turned to terrorism worked as a mechanic in the Lamongan district.
He was convicted of buying the van and a tonne of chemicals used to carry out the Bali bombings, and of attending planning sessions for the attacks.
But he made a grave error when he used his own name to buy the van, leading to his arrest and death sentence.
Amrozi was dubbed the smiling assassin after he expressed glee during his trial for the carnage he had helped cause in Bali.
"I'm happy, why should I regret it," he told reporters covering the 2003 court proceedings.
- Abdul Aziz, alias Imam Samudra meaning "Ruler of the Seas", 38
Samudra, of the Serang district in West Java, was the operational field commander of the Bali bombings and along with Mukhlas and Amrozi was sentenced to die for his crimes.
A computer technician with at least six other aliases, he was the only Bali bomber with a university degree.
He planned the Bali attacks, recruited the team of suicide bombers from West Java and coordinated the preparation.
Police say he confessed to his role in the plot, but during his trial he denied any involvement, saying he travelled to Bali to set up an internet cafe and export business.
He also denied the existence of Jemaah Islamiah and the involvement of its alleged spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir. But he also expressed happiness that his "martyrdom" would bring him closer to god.
He penned an autobiography in jail, titled Me Against the Terrorist!, which recounted his school years in Java and his time fighting with the Mujahideen Islamic militant group in Afghanistan.
Samudra was also involved in the Christmas Eve bombings of nine Christian churches across Indonesia in 2000, which killed 19 people.
Police claim he used a laptop computer smuggled into his jail cell to help organise the second Bali bombings in 2005, which killed 20 people including four Australians.
Raja Petra Freed!
Source TheSTar
SHAH ALAM: Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin succeeded in his bid to obtain a release order from his two-year detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
High Court judge Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad allowed the blogger’s habeas corpus application on Friday.
Justice Syed Ahmad also ordered for Raja Petra to be brought to the Shah Alam High Court before 4pm Friday for his immediate release.
Upon hearing the court decision, the crowd seated at the packed public gallery clapped and cheered.
This prompted the judge to tell the crowd that “this is a court of law”, which caused the court to be silent, albeit briefly.
The court erupted again with claps and shouts from the public gallery when the judge said that Raja Petra had to be brought to the court for his release on the same day.
At the outset of court proceedings, Justice Syed Ahmad ruled that the grounds for the detention order by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for the blogger did not fall under the scope of Section 8(1) of the ISA.
Therefore, the judge said the Sept 22 detention order was unlawful.
Raja Petra was detained on Sept 12 on the grounds that he had intentionally and recklessly published articles which were critical and insulted Muslims, the purity of Islam and the personality of Prophet Muhammad.
It was said to have caused anxiety and anger among Muslims in the country.
He had also allegedly published defamatory articles concerning national leaders which could affect public order and prejudice national security.
He was said to have published the said articles in the Malaysia Today news portal between Jan 16 and Sept 12 this year.
The Home Minister was named as the sole respondent in the application.
Raja Petra was taken to the Kamunting detention camp on Sept 23.
The minister had issued the order against the blogger under Section 8 of the same Act.
However, the judge said Section 8 of the same Act is constitutional as it falls within the ambit of the Article 149 of the Federal Constitution.
(Article 149 is regarding actions to be taken against anyone who participates in any activities which could pose a threat to national security even if it violates their fundamental liberties).
“I find that there is no merit by the counsel’s argument that Section 8 is unconstitutional as it does not fall under Article 149,” he said.
“Section 8 can only be reviewed under procedural non-compliance as provided under Section 8B(1) of the same Act,” he added.
On lead counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar’s argument that the order was mala fide (in bad faith), Justice Syed Ahmad said:
“Mala fide is not procedural non-compliance under the ISA,” he said.
The judge said the court only has the power for judicial review for matters which violated the procedures under the ISA.
The judge also commented that the ISA was promulgated not only to counter communism or subversive activities but also to halt any activities which caused a threat to national security.
Outside the court later, Raja Petra’s wife Marina Lee Abdullah said she was very happy with his impending release.
“I am glad that everything turned out well as I had hoped. It is a fantastic breakthrough. “I hope there will be a change in the country,” said Marina, who was accompanied by daughters Sarah, 19, and Suraya, 34.
SHAH ALAM: Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin succeeded in his bid to obtain a release order from his two-year detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
High Court judge Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad allowed the blogger’s habeas corpus application on Friday.
Justice Syed Ahmad also ordered for Raja Petra to be brought to the Shah Alam High Court before 4pm Friday for his immediate release.
Upon hearing the court decision, the crowd seated at the packed public gallery clapped and cheered.
This prompted the judge to tell the crowd that “this is a court of law”, which caused the court to be silent, albeit briefly.
The court erupted again with claps and shouts from the public gallery when the judge said that Raja Petra had to be brought to the court for his release on the same day.
At the outset of court proceedings, Justice Syed Ahmad ruled that the grounds for the detention order by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for the blogger did not fall under the scope of Section 8(1) of the ISA.
Therefore, the judge said the Sept 22 detention order was unlawful.
Raja Petra was detained on Sept 12 on the grounds that he had intentionally and recklessly published articles which were critical and insulted Muslims, the purity of Islam and the personality of Prophet Muhammad.
It was said to have caused anxiety and anger among Muslims in the country.
He had also allegedly published defamatory articles concerning national leaders which could affect public order and prejudice national security.
He was said to have published the said articles in the Malaysia Today news portal between Jan 16 and Sept 12 this year.
The Home Minister was named as the sole respondent in the application.
Raja Petra was taken to the Kamunting detention camp on Sept 23.
The minister had issued the order against the blogger under Section 8 of the same Act.
However, the judge said Section 8 of the same Act is constitutional as it falls within the ambit of the Article 149 of the Federal Constitution.
(Article 149 is regarding actions to be taken against anyone who participates in any activities which could pose a threat to national security even if it violates their fundamental liberties).
“I find that there is no merit by the counsel’s argument that Section 8 is unconstitutional as it does not fall under Article 149,” he said.
“Section 8 can only be reviewed under procedural non-compliance as provided under Section 8B(1) of the same Act,” he added.
On lead counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar’s argument that the order was mala fide (in bad faith), Justice Syed Ahmad said:
“Mala fide is not procedural non-compliance under the ISA,” he said.
The judge said the court only has the power for judicial review for matters which violated the procedures under the ISA.
The judge also commented that the ISA was promulgated not only to counter communism or subversive activities but also to halt any activities which caused a threat to national security.
Outside the court later, Raja Petra’s wife Marina Lee Abdullah said she was very happy with his impending release.
“I am glad that everything turned out well as I had hoped. It is a fantastic breakthrough. “I hope there will be a change in the country,” said Marina, who was accompanied by daughters Sarah, 19, and Suraya, 34.
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