15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah was fatally shot early yesterday for allegedly trying to knock into policemen
Aminulrasyid was alleged to have been hit by shots fired by patrol policemen after he was believed to be reversing the car he was driving into the policemen to escape a roadblock. According to police, a machete was found in the car.
Noh who is the cabinet minister for Agriculture said he would raise the issue of the teenager’s death in the shooting at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to ask for police to investigate the case in a fair manner.
He said Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar himself had given an assurance that there would be a thorough investigation into the case and those responsible would not be protected.
Noh, who is also Selangor Umno liaison deputy chairman, said the state Umno was prepared to assist the teenager’s family, including providing legal service if required.
Meanwhile, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim urged that the investigation into the shooting incident be conducted with honesty and transparency to know what actually happened. He gave assurances that State Chief of Police would be called to discuss on how to combat crime without endangering lives.
On the family’s welfare, Khalid said state Welfare, Women’s Affairs, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Rodziah Ismail would be looking at the situation before taking any action.
The concern shown by the cabinet minister and the state Menteri Besar is both exemplary and must be appreciated.
However, my concern is would the same attention and sympathy would be offered if its a Indian youth who was shot death?. The newspaper reports spoke nothing on the police attempts to apprehend a friend of Amir who fled the scene to determine what really happened.
I stand to be corrected, but if memory and records serves right both governments never shown any interest to uphold justice in the cases of police shooting of Indian youths. Let alone the welfare of the families involved.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Muhyiddin's bluntness
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin can be blunt at times to defend the Malay race and his Islamic faith but today his bluntness was sharp enough to kill the nascent inter-religous committee by describing it as a “small fry”.
At a time when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is trying to win over skeptics with his 1 Malaysia slogan, his deputy has just shown that the efforts are skin-deep and not serious.
“They are just small fry, a small role played within the Prime Minister Department,” Muhyiddin said in describing the committee headed by Datuk Ilani Isahak to bring together religious leaders to discuss issues and solve conflicts.
His comments, meat to allay concerns of the Malay right-wing group Perkasa, reflects the shallow thinking and lack of seriousness in the government to ensure harmony in the multi-racial and multi-religious country.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali had nixed the idea of the committee, saying its existence could influence the government on Islamic matters. Without batting his eyelids, Muhyiddin took less than a day to confirm that Umno will dance to the tune set by Perkasa and kill any hopes of the panel’s success.
The federal government now needs to make it clear what it wants from the committee, is it just an adornment or a serious mechanism to ensure peace and harmony in the country.
Muhyiddin’s comments reveal that Umno agrees with Perkasa and doesn’t want any mechanism that appears to make Islam on the same level as other faiths. The fact that the Warrior’s Day celebrations have been moved to Putrajaya reflect that the government cannot make decisions that are completely secular.
It shows that this government will pander to the narrow racial and religious interests of the vociferous minority. That it isn’t really interested in the 1 Malaysia that Najib had proudly announced on his first day of office.
One can admire Muhyiddin for his honesty but despair that another good idea that was a long time coming has turned out to be a sham.
If he is right, the government is paying lip-service to the very idea of inter-faith dialogue and harmony and Malaysians need to seek elsewhere for a leadership committed to that ideal.
Which is a pity. 1 Malaysia can work but not with leaders like Muhyiddin who dismiss its ideas and processes as a “small fry”.
At a time when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is trying to win over skeptics with his 1 Malaysia slogan, his deputy has just shown that the efforts are skin-deep and not serious.
“They are just small fry, a small role played within the Prime Minister Department,” Muhyiddin said in describing the committee headed by Datuk Ilani Isahak to bring together religious leaders to discuss issues and solve conflicts.
His comments, meat to allay concerns of the Malay right-wing group Perkasa, reflects the shallow thinking and lack of seriousness in the government to ensure harmony in the multi-racial and multi-religious country.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali had nixed the idea of the committee, saying its existence could influence the government on Islamic matters. Without batting his eyelids, Muhyiddin took less than a day to confirm that Umno will dance to the tune set by Perkasa and kill any hopes of the panel’s success.
The federal government now needs to make it clear what it wants from the committee, is it just an adornment or a serious mechanism to ensure peace and harmony in the country.
Muhyiddin’s comments reveal that Umno agrees with Perkasa and doesn’t want any mechanism that appears to make Islam on the same level as other faiths. The fact that the Warrior’s Day celebrations have been moved to Putrajaya reflect that the government cannot make decisions that are completely secular.
It shows that this government will pander to the narrow racial and religious interests of the vociferous minority. That it isn’t really interested in the 1 Malaysia that Najib had proudly announced on his first day of office.
One can admire Muhyiddin for his honesty but despair that another good idea that was a long time coming has turned out to be a sham.
If he is right, the government is paying lip-service to the very idea of inter-faith dialogue and harmony and Malaysians need to seek elsewhere for a leadership committed to that ideal.
Which is a pity. 1 Malaysia can work but not with leaders like Muhyiddin who dismiss its ideas and processes as a “small fry”.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Kit Siang: Muhyiddin is an April Fool’s joke
KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang continued his tirade against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s (picture) declaration that he was a “Malay first”, saying it has dismantled Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia and turned the concept into an April Fool’s joke.
Earlier in the day, Najib said he saw nothing wrong with his deputy’s statement.
“I feel very sorry for the Prime Minister that his signature concept of 1 Malaysia, as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia, has been torn to smithereens by his deputy just on the eve of his first anniversary as Prime Minister on Saturday on 3rd April,” Lim told reporters in Parliament today.
“In fact, thanks to Muhyiddin, Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept has been turned nationwide into an April fool’s joke, as today is April 1,” the Ipoh Timur MP added.
Muhyiddin said yesterday that he considered himself a “Malay first,” and only then a Malaysian, in response to a challenge issued by the veteran opposition leader.
Lim had challenged Muhyiddin to state that he was Malaysian first, and Malay second to prove that he did indeed believe in the concept of 1 Malaysia which had been Barisan Nasional’s “unifying” slogan under the leadership of Najib.
The DAP parliamentary leader questioned whether Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has the quality to become “1 Malaysian.”
“I never said that a person who regards himself as a Malay first and Malaysian second is not a Malaysian but clearly he does not qualify to become a 1 Malaysian. Who is 1 Malaysian?
This is clearly spelt out in the 1 Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) roadmap launched by the prime minister at the end of January, which declared that the goal of 1 Malaysia is ‘to make… a greater nation: a nation where, it is hope, every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and then by race, principles of 1 Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society’,” he said.
He also stressed that the “biggest enemy” of 1 Malaysia is Umno.
“I had said in my speech in Parliament on March 18 that the biggest enemy of 1 Malaysia is not from outside Barisan Nasional but from inside Umno and Muhyiddin has proved me right.
“I had wondered how many cabinet ministers and Barisan Nasional leaders have the 1 Malaysia DNA as to be able to pass the four simple 1 Malaysia tests I had formulated,” he said.
Lim challenged BN ministers to declare whether they are Malaysian first.
“Let me challenge all the other 17 Umno ministers and other BN ministers to stand up and be counted to declare whether they are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians Kadazans or Ibans second or the reverse.
“In fact, I want to ask the minister responsible for the 1 Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap, Senator Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon whether it is tenable for him to continue as cabinet minister when they the very rationale of his portfolio — 1 Malaysia GTP — has collapsed and destroyed by none other than the deputy prime minister?” he said.
He also was sorry that Najib has had to defend Muhyiddin for the “outrageous” statement.
Najib had earlier in the morning defended his deputy’s declaration that he considered himself “a Malay first”, and only then a Malaysian, saying there isn’t a contradiction.
“I think what he was saying reflects the provision in the constitution, the provision in the constitution is based on which ethnic group you belong to,” the prime minister said.
Earlier in the day, Najib said he saw nothing wrong with his deputy’s statement.
“I feel very sorry for the Prime Minister that his signature concept of 1 Malaysia, as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia, has been torn to smithereens by his deputy just on the eve of his first anniversary as Prime Minister on Saturday on 3rd April,” Lim told reporters in Parliament today.
“In fact, thanks to Muhyiddin, Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept has been turned nationwide into an April fool’s joke, as today is April 1,” the Ipoh Timur MP added.
Muhyiddin said yesterday that he considered himself a “Malay first,” and only then a Malaysian, in response to a challenge issued by the veteran opposition leader.
Lim had challenged Muhyiddin to state that he was Malaysian first, and Malay second to prove that he did indeed believe in the concept of 1 Malaysia which had been Barisan Nasional’s “unifying” slogan under the leadership of Najib.
The DAP parliamentary leader questioned whether Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has the quality to become “1 Malaysian.”
“I never said that a person who regards himself as a Malay first and Malaysian second is not a Malaysian but clearly he does not qualify to become a 1 Malaysian. Who is 1 Malaysian?
This is clearly spelt out in the 1 Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) roadmap launched by the prime minister at the end of January, which declared that the goal of 1 Malaysia is ‘to make… a greater nation: a nation where, it is hope, every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and then by race, principles of 1 Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society’,” he said.
He also stressed that the “biggest enemy” of 1 Malaysia is Umno.
“I had said in my speech in Parliament on March 18 that the biggest enemy of 1 Malaysia is not from outside Barisan Nasional but from inside Umno and Muhyiddin has proved me right.
“I had wondered how many cabinet ministers and Barisan Nasional leaders have the 1 Malaysia DNA as to be able to pass the four simple 1 Malaysia tests I had formulated,” he said.
Lim challenged BN ministers to declare whether they are Malaysian first.
“Let me challenge all the other 17 Umno ministers and other BN ministers to stand up and be counted to declare whether they are Malaysians first and Malays, Chinese, Indians Kadazans or Ibans second or the reverse.
“In fact, I want to ask the minister responsible for the 1 Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap, Senator Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon whether it is tenable for him to continue as cabinet minister when they the very rationale of his portfolio — 1 Malaysia GTP — has collapsed and destroyed by none other than the deputy prime minister?” he said.
He also was sorry that Najib has had to defend Muhyiddin for the “outrageous” statement.
Najib had earlier in the morning defended his deputy’s declaration that he considered himself “a Malay first”, and only then a Malaysian, saying there isn’t a contradiction.
“I think what he was saying reflects the provision in the constitution, the provision in the constitution is based on which ethnic group you belong to,” the prime minister said.
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