CoFfEE witH PUNithAN

Malaysiakini described the ISA arrests as BN's "own goal" in their match against anwar's sept 16 plan.

Today, the De facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has submitted his resignation letter to the Prime Minister. ( Ref : Law Minister Zaid 'tenders resignation')

The 3 ISA arrests ( especially 2 of it) condemned by almost everyone. I even came across a news on BN and BR in penang passing a draft resolution condemning the arrest of three people under the Internal Security Act on Friday.

MIC Bayan Baru division chairman M. Nyana Segaran was the only person from a Barisan Nasional component party who attended the 45-minute meeting at the residence of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng here last night.

“I’m only representing my division and not the party,” he told newsmen after the meeting. ( ref :Parties pass resolution blasting ISA)

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam (MIC)

said the Government should be sensitive to the feelings of the people and not be blind to the fact that a significant proportion of the rakyat abhor the ISA and would prefer it not to be used.

“Every time somebody is arrested under the ISA, it gives rise to a perception that the Government is doing it because it is not able to charge and convict the person under existing laws,” he said.

said some aspects of the ISA ought to be subjected to intermittent review but its function to prevent occurrences that divide the community should be respected.

called for the ISA to be reviewed so that it would not be abused by any quarters to undermine national unity, security and stability.

There should be new laws to govern racial relations, encourage greater unity and avoid discrimination among races in the country.

“The Race Relations Act I’m proposing should be looked into by the Unity, Arts, Cultural and Heritage Ministry,” he said.

Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon ( Gerakan)

said Gerakan had called for the amendment of the ISA but not its abolition.

He said the Act should be used only when dealing with national security and not against journalists carrying out their duties.

said MCA felt that if the ISA was really necessary, it must only be invoked in the most extreme cases.

Otherwise, he said, the Act would be a threat to the rule of law and the fundamental liberties as enshrined in the Constitution.

“In fact, even the drafter of the ISA, the late Prof R.H. Hickling, had said the Act was only intended against communist insurgents and those bent on armed struggle.

“If at all national security is threatened, there must be strong evidence to show that. Otherwise, such detainees should be charged in an ordinary court of law and there are sufficient laws for this purpose,” he said.

Well, like many, i am still waiting for YAB Pak Lah's statement on this. Did the police or home minister acted on his advice?

RELATED POSTS :

• 
  
• ISA : WE NEED or/and DON'T NEED........(Part 2)
• ISA : WE NEED or/and DON'T NEED........
• ISA = A WEAK GOV'??? ( PART 2)
• ISA = A WEAK GOVERNMENT???

ISA, we want or dont? abolish it for good, or save it for the right time? This questions haunting my mind since the 'unacceptable' arrests 2 days ago.

For me, no matter what reasons the home minister gives, 2 of of the 3 arrests are totally outrages!!!

Well, the three major component parties of BN (MIC, MCA, Gerakan) , had openly voiced out their disagreement.They openly call for the abolishment of ISA.

The Law minister should make a move. And he did....... and it was very loud.....

Rebranding mic ( ref :Massive rebranding effort for MIC) , Now progressing on wooing back indians and recruiting more members especially youths to work by MIC for the community and nation.

Whats on the menu :- ( Ref :MIC Re-Branding -Part 1)

MIC Rebranding Workshop Basic Manual consists 21 pages. The manual contents varies from objectives, methodology and the details of the program. Another manual of the workshop would be given to branch chairman's soon.

Below are bried explanation on MIC Rebranding.

OBJECTIVES

• TO INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT OF THE PARTY’S RE-BRANDING PROGRAM TO ALL BRANCH AND DIVISIONAL HEAD
• TO ENSURE THAT THE CONCEPT OF RE-BRANDING IS WELL UNDERSTOOD AND ALL PARTICIPANTS HAVE THE SAME UNDERSTANDING ON THIS SUBJECT MATTER.
• TO OBTAIN THE “BUY-IN” FROM THE MAJORITY OF LEADERS ON THE NEED TO RE-BRAND AND TRANSFORM THE PARTY
• TO CONDUCT THE SESSIONS “EMOTIONALLY” TO ENSURE THE CONCEPT OF RE-BRANDING IS FELT BOTH IN THE HEART AND MIND OF EACH PARTICIPANT
• TO GUIDE EACH LEADER ON HOW TO USE THE RE-BRANDING MANUAL AS A SOURCE OF BRINGING CHANGES AND TRANSFORMATION AT EACH BRANCH AND DIVISION LEVEL.

THE PROGRESS

Sepang Division : 400+ new members ( youths)
( Ref :400 Indian Youths Joining MIC in Sepang)

50 inactive branches revived

Recruiting 8,000 new members - 200 new branches to-be-formed in next 2 months
( Ref :MIC increases ranks after re-branding)

Putera MIC : looking to add 50 new divisions and recruit about 5,000 Indian youths aged 18 to 30 by the middle of next year.
(Ref:Putera MIC ro recruit 5,000 Indian youths)

Its all about ISA in malaysiakini today. Sin Chew reporter released, Anwar to Pak Lah: Let's meet, Minister: Journalist to be blamed too, A vigil for 'Saint' Teresa, Candlelight vigil in Bukit Aman lasts 12 mins, Special Branch: She's held for stoking religious tension, and so on....

Do we need ISA? Thats always depends on what it is been used on........

ISA, Is it appropriate to be used on this three cases? (3 ISA arrests : what they did?)

Tindakan polis menahan tiga individu di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) semalam dilakukan secara profesional tanpa campur tangan politik.

Malah tindakan itu dibuat setelah polis mempunyai cukup bukti bahawa jika langkah itu tidak diambil ia boleh mencetuskan ketegangan kaum dan mengancam keselamatan negara.

Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar bagaimanapun mengesahkan tidak ada lagi tangkapan susulan selepas ini.

Katanya, tangkapan tiga individu itu merupakan mesej jelas bahawa semua pihak termasuk ahli politik, organisasi atau individu tertakluk kepada undang-undang negara.

“Kita mempunyai bukti-bukti kukuh sekiranya polemik terbuka ini tidak ditangani, ia akan mengancam keselamatan negara.

“Oleh itu, ingin saya tekankan kita akan ambil tindakan terhadap sesiapa sahaja yang mencetuskan polemik perkauman dan mengancam keselamatan negara,” katanya pada sidang akhbar khas di Bukit Aman di sini petang ini. ( more ...TINDAKAN ISA WAJAR)

well, The home minister justified his action by saying " tindakan itu dibuat setelah polis mempunyai cukup bukti bahawa jika langkah itu tidak diambil ia boleh mencetuskan ketegangan kaum dan mengancam keselamatan negara"

Dear Punithan,

I want to quote a famous saying from Winston Churchill,

THE TREE OF LIBERTY MUST BE REFRESH FROM TIME TO TIME BY THE BLOOD OF PATRIOTS AND TYRANTS ALIKE.

Hopefully you understand my point of view from this quote.

Also, 99.9% percent of the all governments worldwide including USA / UK / SINGAPORE / CHINA / JAPAN / INDIA have their own versions of ISA ( Terrorism Act / Tada at etc ). Does that mean it's a weak government?

For nation's stability some harsh decisions must be made. Spare the rod , spoil the child.

I am not saying we need to use because everybody uses. We use it because we need to use it. Something like cutting of a gangrene in order to save the body*to quote Tun Dr M*. Some harsh methods have to be done in order to have stability in the system.

Gerakan calls for ISA to be amended or abolished

Gerakan acting present Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has called on the government to either amend or abolish the Internal Security Act.

He said the existence of the act painted a very negative perception of the country to the outside world, adding that it was also irrelevant considering the country had a sound judicial system in place.

“It is time this act be seriously looked at. Gerakan strongly urges the government to abolish the ISA once and for all.

“There is no reason why anyone should be subject to the provisions of this act which simply means detention without trial when the authorities can use the judicial system instead,” he said after opening the state Gerakan convention here.

Koh said the judicial system was far more transparent in terms of the legal and social aspects as compared to the ISA.
“When you detain someone under the ISA, it gives room for people to draw all kinds of conclusions and provides plenty of room for manipulation. ( more ...Gerakan calls for ISA to be amended or abolished)

PRESS STATEMENT FROM MIC PRESIDENT

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu on Saturday appealed to the Government to release Sin Chew Daily News reporter Tan Hoon Cheng who was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Friday.

In a statement Saturday, he said he would ask Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to immediately release Tan.

He said by doing so certain elements will not blame the Government for curtailing press freedom.

Samy Vellu added that Tan is a young reporter and only reported what was said. Therefore he appealed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to release her.

--------------------------------------------------

Try RPK and Teresa Kok under court of law, not ISA

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) today urged the government to immediately release prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok who have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

TI-M president Tan Sri Dr Ramon V. Navaratnam said the government should charge the individuals who allegedly violated laws in an open court, instead of flexing its muscles through the ISA as it would negate much of the country's progress.

He said the act had eroded efforts in promoting transparency, acountability and freedom of speech in the country.

"This retrograde action will be severely criticised by most fair-minded Malaysians and foreigners, and is a major blow to the more liberal policy of the country," he told Bernama here.

Besides Raja Petra and Kok, Sin Chew daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng was also arrested yesterday for allegedly sparking racial tensions.
However, Tan was released at 2.30pm today.

Related post :

• ISA : WE NEED or/and DON'T NEED........(Part 2)
• ISA = A WEAK GOV'??? ( PART 2)
• ISA = A WEAK GOVERNMENT???