www.malaysiakini.com Court rejects application to call Najib as witness

July 23, 2008

The Shah Alam High Court today dismissed an application by lawyer Karpal Singh to call Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and two senior police officers to testify as witnesses in Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder trial. MCPX The court also similarly dismissed Karpal’s application to recall private investigator P Balasubramaniam to the witness stand in the trial. Justice Mohd Zaki Yasin said that it was not necessary to call in Najib or to recall Balasubramaniam. Karpal told reporters that he might appeal the matter to the Court of Appeal. The veteran lawyer, who is holding a watching brief for the family of the slain 28-year old Altantuya, had filed a court notice on Monday to compel Najib, Balasubramaniam and two other policemen to testify. “It is necessary because Najib’s evidence is needed for the just decision of this case because of the role that he is said to have played,” Karpal had said then. Karpal, also the DAP chairperson, wanted Balasubramaniam recalled following his sworn statement last month, linking Najib to Altantuya, which he swiftly retracted. The private eye was the first prosecution witness in the case. [Full report to follow]

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Dr. Sharifah Halimah Jaafar
July 23, 2008

The media reports on the conduct of the medical examination involving PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim is very confusing.

And the clarification by Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain (New Straits Times, July 20) did not help to clear the matter but leaves the general public to make their own interpretation which might compromise the credibility of the hospital authority or the accused person.

As a practicing clinician with some experience in examining the rape or sodomy victims or the accused persons in the past and has had testified as a witness in a number of rape trials, I would like to detail out in my knowledge of how the medical examination of the accused person in rape and sodomy cases is carried out according to the standard procedure which I believe stands until today.

Obtaining consent

The protocol is basically the same as for the victim except that the police will produce the accused. A valid consent is essential before examination in which there should not be any force or duress or fraud while obtaining consent. While the victim may have the choice not to consent for the full examination, the accused is often left no choice but to agree and comply with the order for obvious reasons.

It is the responsibility of the doctor who seeks consent to explain all aspects and the implication of his consent to the person. The doctor should be unbiased as the person produced is only an accused and not proved of the offence and hence could be innocent.

Complete privacy is essential and therefore while interrogating the person, no one should be permitted to be present in the room. The police officer could be politely requested to stay outside the room. A detail history is obtained from the suspect and it is documented in his own words. During interrogation, his behaviour, mental state, truthfulness of the statement, and evidence of intoxication with drugs or alcohol is observed and recorded.

Physical examination

The examination room should be clean with good lighting. A male nurse or a medical attendant should be present during the examination. The suspect is made to completely undress and a careful examination is carried out from head to toe, front and back for evidence of physical injuries, state of physical development and the presence of physical abnormality.

If the suspect is produced immediately or shortly after the alleged offence, then undressing has to be done while standing on a clean sheet of paper in order to collect any loose trace materials that may still be sticking to the body and clothes. The clothes should be carefully examined for the presence of seminal, blood and mud stains and any tears and the details are recorded with sketches. The cloths and the collecting paper that might have collected foreign materials such as blood, pubic hairs, etc, are then packed into clean paper bags and forwarded to the police to be sent to the analytical laboratory.

The injuries may be present if there had been a struggle. Scratch abrasions caused by finger nails are to be looked for on the face, neck, back of chest, trunk, buttocks and upper limbs. There may be contusions present on the suspect caused by fingertips, pinching, punching or kicking during the struggle.

The colour changes that occur in surface contusions will be useful in making a rough estimation of the age of the injury and this will be helpful in corroborating with the date of the alleged offence. If marks or injuries due to bites are present, the assistance from the forensic odontologist will be sought for, if necessary.

The private part or external genitalia of the accused is carefully examined. The development of the penis, its size (measurement will be taken), circumcised or not, whether the foreskin is retractable, development of the testicles and any other abnormalities are observed and recorded. Evidence of other injuries will be looked for as well.

The foreskin of the penis will be retracted and the frenulum (the bridge at the base of the glans penis) is examined as this is an area that can be injured during violent intercourse. We also look for swelling, tenderness and damage to the glans penis especially towards the rim of the glans penis. The testicles will be palpated for evidence of haematoma, hydrocele or tenderness if there is trauma and evidence of sexually transmitted diseases will be looked for and recorded in detail.

Issue of potency

If an issue is raised as to the potency of the suspect then this matter should be resolved by a thorough clinical examination. Initial examination will reveal whether there are any anatomical abnormalities that contribute to impotence. General clinical examination will exclude any systemic diseases or neurological disorders that contribute to impotence.

A psychiatric assessment of the suspect may become necessary if it is thought that emotional and psychological factors might contribute to the male impotence. Forcing the suspect to ejaculate by masturbation as a proof of potency is certainly unacceptable and unethical. The capability to ejaculate by masturbation does not prove potency and has no bearing in the alleged offense of rape or sodomy.

Collection of specimens

If the case is a fresh case, foreign materials sticking to the body or stains on the skin is collected into a clean envelope or bottle. The pubic area will be combed to locate loose hair, which may be from the victim and this is collected into a clean envelope. About 20 pubic hairs are plucked and collected separately, which may be needed for comparison. Swab is taken from the glans penis to look for the presence of vaginal epithelium in the case of rape or rectal mucosa in the case of sodomy. If necessary, finger nail clippings are obtained to look for tissues or blood belonging to the victim.

Specific precautions have to be taken in collecting, storing and transmitting the specimens to the analytical laboratory or chemistry department. The specimens have to be correctly labeled and forwarded to relevant analytical laboratories by the police without any delay.

Undue delay on the part of the police to deliver the specimens to the laboratory (which many times is the case) may result in the specimens becoming unsuitable for analysis. It is possible to make some arrangements to forward the specimens, provided the continuity of evidence and credibility of the force forwarding the specimen is maintained.

It is important that the doctor should always remain unbiased and his report should be based on the available facts. There is no place for speculation and no conclusion to be drawn from vague or unascertainable facts. It is a legal principle that the benefit of doubt should always be given to the accused.

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DR SHARIFAH HALIMAH JAAFAR is senior lecturer and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at University Kuala Lumpur Royal College of Medicine, Perak.

Ahmad Mustapha Hassan Comments On UMNO’s Malay Unity Overtures And Sounds A Warning to PAS

Essentially, there are only two Malay based political parties. And there is also one other political party which is multi-ethnic and multi-racial but Malay led (PKR).

UMNO which has been in power for the last fifty years is based on ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ or Malay supremacy. Although it rules the country with the support of other non-Malay political parties (MCA, MIC, Gerakan and others) but in reality, it is the party in power. The other parties merely accept what UMNO dictates. UMNO is led by a feudal and pseudo capitalist group.

Then there is PAS which controls the north eastern state of Kelantan. It is led by Islamic religious leaders and it is based on ‘Ketuanan Islam’ or Islamic supremacy. It now rules Kedah as well under the partnership of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The multi-racial party with Malay leadership is the PKR whose de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is well known to all of us. It is led by those who realised that the country has been mismanaged for far too long. It is based on ‘Ketuanan Rakyat’ or people’s supremacy. It is able, with the cooperation of the Chinese-led DAP and PAS, to capture four states in the last general election while retaining Kelantan, where UMNO-BN was decisively beaten.

At one time, after the debacle of 1969, PAS joined the government as a junior partner. The leaders were given posts in the then government and the coalition became known as Barisan Nasional or the National Front.

UMNO during that period of time when the Barisan Nasional was formed felt that the unity in the country was paramount. It also felt that there should be accord between these two Malay political parties, UMNO and PAS. Development and the achievement of progress for all especially the Malays could only materialise in a peaceful atmosphere and within an understanding environment. The government was akin to a national unity government.

UMNO as is well known throughout its history is a party that likes to be supreme among the Malays and must at any cost annihilate any challenge that can pose a threat to that status. PAS would not last long in this partnership. It was unceremoniously kicked out in 1978

From that date on, the Malays were represented by these two political rivals. PAS, however, managed to dominate the Malays in the east coast and was able to wrest control of Kelantan state from Barisan Nasional. It also managed to off and on administer the state of Terengganu.

UMNO always feels that its supremacy among the Malays must never be threatened. It already managed to stop the tide of expansion of PAS in the west coast and had become very arrogant in its style of governing the country. It is convinced that the Malays will never ever desert the party. Its leaders believe that UMNO and the Malays are one. Nothing is further than the truth.

Most Malays are emotional and very irrational. They groups look at and discussed all issues with blinkered eyes. Everything is ‘Ketuanan Melayu’. These are the old Malays who know very little of other communities and their cultures. They still consider these other Malaysians as ‘foreigners’. They still live in their own archaic world. These are the so-called UMNO diehards.

PAS, the one time ally of UMNO, had worked hard and had managed to infiltrate the Malay heartland in the west coast. It also managed to attract the sympathy and understanding of some non Malays. It formed fan clubs consisting of non- Malays as members. PASeeadership would risk the loss of this non-Malay base, if they struck a deal with an increasingly pro-Malay UMNO.

Through the leadership of PKR, PAS has been to be able to align itself with the Pakatan Rakyat coalition which included the Chinese-led DAP. So far, the PR is holding out well, despite attempts by the “other side” to split its ranks. The lastest move by UMNO to open talks with PAS purportedly on Malay unity and rights should be seen in this light.

UMNO which was very badly mauled during the last general election (Marhc 8, 2008 ) is now in a state of panic. It can no longer rely on its coalition partners to get the non -Malay voters to vote for the UMNO candidates. The non-Malays and also the Malays have also abandoned Barisan Nasional. All the non-Malay coalition partners in the Barisan Nasional, except those in Sabah and Sarawak, were almost wiped out.

The ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ foundation in UMNO began to play its role. It made overtures to PAS and tried to convince PAS that Malay unity must be fostered. UMNO has always liked to step backwards instead of forward whenever it is confronted with a crisis and a challenge. It more or less abandoned its coalition allies. It refused to heed or accept the comments and criticisms of its so-called partners. It refused to accept the blame that it was its leadership that had caused the enormous political setback to the Barisan Nasional.

PAS should not fall into UMNO’s trap. There are elements in PAS that also believe in ‘ketuanan Melayu’. But the leadership should be on guard for UMNO is full of treachery. PAS should always bear in mind the saying: ‘once bitten twice shy.’ This explains why there is caution on the part of PAS leadership, in particular its wise and well respected Mursyidul Am Tok Guru Nik Aziz, the Menteri Besar of Kelantan and his coterie of advisors about dealing with UMNO.

Those in PAS that do not want to face reality will definitely fall into UMNO’s trap. Emotion can play havoc in the mind and will obliterate rationality. Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-cultural and a multi religious country. Article 153 of the Constitution has nothing to do with ‘ketuanan Melayu’. All parties and the rayat have accepted article 153.

Only UMNO raised the bogey that this article is under threat and from the look on Pak Lah’s face, he is happy that the bait that UMNO has put out is attracting some PAS leaders. A few PAS leaders had already scrambled to meet him. But Pak Lah cannot be trusted since he has a track record of broken promised

Please bear in mind that UMNO had done nothing to implement the spirit and need of Article 153 since it came to power. It only thought of this article whenever it lost the confidence of the electorate. PAS will face a backslide from its supporters and sympathisers if it supports this unity talk by UMNO. The work that they had put in would have come to naught.

There are enlightened groups in PAS that want to move forward and not backward as done by those who favoured this unity approach.

UMNO’s leadership is fond of lying in order to retain power and all one needs to do is to open one’s eyes and see what is happening to the country. The country is facing a very bleak future with the current government which is helmed by UMNO. Unity talk will not remedy this current situation.

UMNO had already shown that it could not be trusted. Let us hope PAS too will not fall into the same category. The voters, Malays as well as non-Malays, have given their votes to PAS believing that PAS is a progressive party that is looking ahead for the future of the country and nation. They believe that PAS wants a clean government free of nepotism, cronyism and corruption.

Do not betray this trust!

www.malaysiakini.com

Jul 23, 2008

MCPX ‘I call upon Anwar’s lawyers to initiate an injunction restraining the police from conducting any further so-called investigations until a copy of the report is made available.’ On No more waffling, we want the police report NOW Amir Hamzah Amha: In my short stint as a practising lawyer, I find it incredible that both the government and the police have labelled Anwar as uncooperative and have made headlines announcing him as such. My stand is clear - Anwar Ibrahim should not give any cooperation to any person based on any accusation on the sole premise that no copy of the police report against him has been given. Anwar has a right to know his accuser and the subject matter of the accusation. Incidentally, in parliament, Khairy Jamaluddin even seemed to be inferring that he has read a copy of this report. What treachery is this? The Bar Council in early 2008, in the midst of being investigated for the Human Rights Day incident and the March for Peace in Putrajaya, was ‘interviewed’ by the police. When a question was about to be asked, the lawyers for the Bar Council objected and asked for a copy of the ‘First Information Report’ (FIR) lodged against them. The investigative officers were shocked and clueless, knowing that there was no report to be tabled and shown to the Bar Council. They left without asking any further questions. I call upon the lawyers of Anwar to initiate an injunction from the High Court restraining the police from conducting any further so-called investigation against Anwar until a copy of the report is made with an apology. GKB: For goodness sake, just give Anwar a copy of the police report which, as Anwar’s lawyer pointed out, is a public document. The way the police are conducting this investigation is suspicious and leery. Many people who were uncertain are now convinced more than ever that this is a conspiracy against Anwar. How can the hospital deny the fact that Anwar was stripped naked and his body examined? Why would Anwar will lie about this? His detailed account has a ring of truth to it and he even said he refused to be photographed naked. Asking for a fresh blood sample when he police already have his DNA profile on record is another suspicious act. The police are unwittingly setting themselves up so that any evidence presented in court will be disbelieved by the public. If the date and time of the alleged offense match Anwar’s movements, the public will believe the police report was amended after the fact. If Saiful can give an accurate description of Anwar’s body, the public will believe that the information came from the police. If matching DNA was found in Saiful’s clothes or body, the public will believe that the DNA was planted from the fresh sample given by Anwar. From the way things are being done, the public may be right. If there is no evidence, just close the case instead trying to fabricate evidence to suit. Siew Khim: The corrupt, greedy and stupid BN regime will have to find Anwar guilty to keep him out of politics for a long time. There are billions of ringgit at stake and these greedy, corrupted people cannot let it go. Even Mahathir and his family could be involved. One way or another, Anwar has to be stopped. If the sodomy case cannot eliminate Anwar as a threat, they will find some other way. Confused: When the great PM was asked to comment about his deputy’s involvement in the Altantuya murder case, he said that he couldn’t give his opinion as he has to respect the court and it is wrong for him to interfere with the court proceedings. However, when it comes to Anwar’s case, he is free to give his one sen opinion, including asking Anwar to give his DNA. What a double standard! I am wondering what happened to the old DNA? I don’t think it existed at all, or as usual, they probably misplaced it. On Why I believe Anwar is not guilty Tanpa Kepala: ‘Unfortunately, it is hard to view this case with fairness because both sides have already come to their judgement without all the facts.’ While this may be true, the authorities have made it very hard for us not to believe that this is nothing but another political conspiracy. I, personally, cannot understand people who cannot see the clear signs of an non-level playing field. For example, why have Anwar’s lawyers been denied access to the police report? If Saiful was indeed raped by Anwar, why did he not immediately file a report after being sodomised on the first occasion? Why only lodge the report after being sodomised on eight different occasions? I don’t know about you, but the smell of fish comes from only one direction. Pahlawan: I think the Malaysian government ie, Pak Lah, Najib, Syed Hamid should concentrate on their duties and leave the ex-deputy prime minister to the police to deal with according to the law of the land. Surely there is nothing special about this poor man. If he can clear himself from any wrongdoing he shall be the real hero of Malaysia like Hang Jebat. He will rightfully deserve respect and lead the Malaysian nation to prosperity, Honest Bystander: I have noticed that this writer has often written scathing remarks about Anwar. It smacks off a personal vendetta. He has made remarks on ‘Malaysia Today’ as well, all personal. I am an observer and am not an ardent supporter of Anwar (though at this point in time, I tend to be partial towards him as I believe he is but a victim of the BN government’s devious machinations to stay in power) but the comments made by this writer leave much to be desired. I think he or she should reflect on whether he would rather have Malaysia’s coffers being robbed by the current bunch of poorly-qualified, incompetent ministers who will reduce the country’s economy to the likes of Myanmar and Zimbabwe, or to have a change of government to save the livelihood of the rakyat. Oh I forgot, that is if he is Malaysian. On Father: Saiful was used Sang Kancil: The lawyer merely read the letter which he himself wrote, but said was written by Saiful’s father, Azlan Lazim. Is he the person who signed the letter? When the reporters asked him where the father was, he said the father had some other things to do and could not attend the press conference. This is really some stuff to laugh at. What other important things could be more important than this to Saiful’s father? Is Saiful really a student leader? I doubt it. He is a university dropout who failed his exams and the university found him unfit for university. It is a mistake to call him a student leader. I was VP of the Dental Society of UM in 1989, and am currently president of one a national body, but I have not been given the chance to see DPM. How can Saiful, a failed student, get a chance to see DPM for a scholarship? Is a failed student qualified to get a scholarship under the Umno-led government? Looks very fishy to me. Looking at this from all angles, the press conference didn’t work at all. On ‘DNA profiling is permanent’ Firefly: I refer to the numerous comments asking why Anwar’s previous DNA profile cannot be used and why a new sample is needed. I have no personal knowledge of what is going on. However the following points should be borne in mind. Firstly it really depends on the method they used in 1998. Methods change and the results obtained depend on the part of the DNA that is being analysed to obtain a profile. The FBI uses a method that identifies short tandem repeats or STRs, the length of which varies in different people. I believe in Malaysia we use the same method. Results that are being used now may not necessarily be comparable to the results obtained at that time. Its not like a blood group. Once its B its always B. In DNA profiling certain loci are identified and are used as targets. There is no fixed ‘type’. It depends on your loci. Secondly, the DNA extracted from blood is limited by the amount of blood that was taken. Like everything else, it does tend to get used up as tests are repeated and reconfirmed. Its possible that there is not much of the original DNA left. Thirdly for those who have watched Discovery and CSI etc, in those cases identification is sometimes done using mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is quite hardy and if its skeletal remains then nuclear DNA may have deteriorated but mt DNA might still be usable. There are different types of DNA. Lastly let us consider this scenario. In a remote village, a small child is sexually assaulted and killed. The police isolate DNA from semen. They now require all men within a 50 km radius to give a blood sample to try to help identify the assailant. Would we all be jumping up saying its unfair for the police to ask for our blood because you are innocent until proven guilty? The purpose of the DNA is to find the guilty party. How should the police proceed in this case? Dr SKT: The DNA profile of a person will be the same as long as the same polymerase and primers are used under the same conditions. If the polymerase and primers used presently differ from the ones used 10 years ago, then the analyst could purchase them from supplier that provides customised primers to profile the sample from Saiful. In my experience as a researcher in biotechnology, I could purchase many made-to-specification primers and substrates. The DNA profile from Saiful’s sample can thus be compared to the existing DNA profile of Anwar. Alternatively, special radio-labelled primers could be used for profiling a new DNA sample from Anwar by an independent expert. Sample taking and profiling should be done by this independent expert only. The same primers minus the radio-label are then used to profile the sample from Saiful by our local analyst under the same conditions. This will minimise any attempt to corrupt the sample, which can easily be done. Then the two profiles are compared. Both sets of primers are to be from the same supplier. Profiling the anal sample can indeed be a challenge, considering the various microbes cohabiting our lower guts. Hence, the results can be easily misinterpreted and therefore challenged. In addition to these methods, real time analysis is available these days. JKS: There is a critical difference between DNA record and blood tissue. (Blood is technically a ‘tissue’ even though it is commonly called a ‘body fluid’.) Blood tissue can be planted as evidence because blood is a cocktail of various types of blood cells (with complete cell structures), plasma (the liquid), and other bodily chemicals ranging from hormones to glucose. In contrast, a DNA record cannot be planted as evidence because once processed, they become only tiny, perishable strands of protein and electronic images. Perhaps this difference explains the police insistence on obtaining a blood sample (even worse, semen sample). The public will only become convinced that the demand for a fresh DNA sample is really an attempt to get at a live blood tissue sample, to be planted as evidence to incriminate Anwar. There is also the small possibility that frozen old blood sample from 1998 has finally been found, thawed, and planted as new evidence. Nothing can be trusted until our judiciary and law enforcement systems are reformed. BH Salleh: There are a lot of comments being made about Anwar’s DNA being made available and potentially being misused by the authorities. What tends to be overlooked is that not many, me included perhaps, understand the technicalities of DNA. Nevertheless, what the police must surely be interested in is not Anwar’s DNA profile, since that is already available from ten years ago, but samples from Anwar’s body preferably semen or anatomical sheddings, to be manipulated onto Saiful’s clothing, perhaps. So please, don’t speculate about the police having to plant anything ‘in’ Saiful. If it is to be done, it will have to be onto his clothes. So watch out for that. As for sheddings, I advise Anwar not to go to any outside barbers for his haircut. Derek Law: The PDRM should clarify why they need fresh DNA samples from Anwar Ibrahim. I am not a medical doctor or scientist, but I am very certain that a person’s DNA profile cannot change. That means that if the PDRM find some human hair, semen, etc., at a crime scene, the PDRM will have to first compare the DNA with that found with their DNA database. God forbid that a person can change his DNA profile - all rapists and murderers will be able to escape justice. In this respect, the PDRM have Anwar Ibrahim’s medical records, which includes his DNA profile. All the PDRM needs is to compare any foreign DNA found inside of Saiful and compare it with Anwar Ibrahim’s DNA profile. This will immediately determine whether Mohd Saiful’s claims are true or false. As a country governed by the principles of the rule of law, it is of upmost importance that the public must have faith in the PDRM and the PDRM must not only be neutral, but must be seen to be neutral as executives. D Chin: I am no scientist or medical doctor, but our PM saying Anwar’s ten-year-old DNA sample is ‘too old’ seems like utter nonsense to me. If scientists can take DNA samples from Napoleon Bonaparte or the Russian royal family assassinated almost 100 years ago, not to mention from long-dead stone age cavemen, how is it possible that Anwar’s DNA sample is too old? Why not seek the opinions of the Malaysian Medical Association or our own science ministry and put this matter to bed once and for all? The Malaysian public is really sick and tired of this sideshow. The PM should stop being so ‘nice’ and indecisive. He sways like bamboo in the wind. For pity’s sake take out the big stick and whack all your subordinates into line. The PM is making Malaysia into a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. Anthony Lee: Why the need for DNA if DSAI has an alibi? I suggest that DSAI state where and who he was with on the days of the alleged sodomy so that it is public information and the police cannot amend the police report. Why the fuss about DNA?

The attempt to smear and defame Anwar Ibrahim has been thoroughly rejected by the international community. Statements condemning the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim and stating concerns over the credible dispensation of justice have been made by groups which view they entire conduct of this case as suspiciously, similar to the fraudulent allegations made in 1998.

Open letter by prominent Muslim leaders in support of Anwar Ibrahim

We, the undersigned, believe the honorable brother Datuk Seri Dr. Anwar Ibrahim to be of the highest ethical and moral integrity, a devout Muslim and a devoted father and husband. He is universally recognized as an advocate for justice and fairness, and he has a long history of promoting Islam and championing Islamic ethical and charitable causes.

Signatories include: Prof. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Amina Rasul, H.E. Shaykh Prof. Dr. Mustafa Cerić, Prof. Dr. H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, Prof. Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Dr. Yusuf Islam.

International Crisis Group

The International Crisis Group condemns the arrest of our Board member, Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. Anwar Ibrahim was arrested outside his home in Kuala Lumpur on 16 July 2008 on charges that are obviously politically motivated, relating to his position as an opposition leader. Though released on bail the following day, the allegations against him remain and are clearly a deliberate attempt to smear him. We call on the Malaysian government to drop the charges against Anwar Ibrahim and for its leaders not to improperly use the police and judiciary for their partisan purposes.

Signatories include Gareth Evans, Ambassador Thomas R Pickering, and Lord Patten of Barnes

AccountAbility

AccountAbility’s Chief Executive, Simon Zadek: “We are seeing declines in almost every international indicator of good governance and citizens’ confidence in the democratic process. Malaysia has a unique opportunity to lead the way, in Asia and globally, in demonstrating how complex societies should manage their affairs”…

AccountAbility asks that the Malaysian Government provide exemplary global leadership at this pivotal moment in the nation’s history - by advancing the principles and practice of good governance and accountability advocated by our Honorary President, Anwar Ibrahim and so many other global leaders.

Senator Joe Biden, Chairman, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee

“A decade ago, the spectacle of Mr. Anwar’s mistreatment and imprisonment on transparently political grounds greatly discredited Malaysia in the eyes of the world community. The action tarnished the reputation of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad. I certainly hope that the current Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, does not repeat the mistakes of the past. I urge him to drop this political attack on a respected opposition figure, and commit himself to rule of law and good governance in Malaysia.”

National Democratic Institute and International Republication Institute

“The arrest of political leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on July 16 is of great concern to us and the international community. A similar charge that was filed against him 10 years ago was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court. The timing of the current charge is of particular concern given his re-emergence on the national political scene since the ban on his involvement in politics expired in April 2008. We hope that the investigation into the allegation is not used as a political tool to silence an outspoken government critic. It is essential that the investigation is conducted in a transparent and fair manner that upholds the rule of law, and affords Mr. Ibrahim full protection of his legal rights. We also urge the citizens of Malaysia to remain calm and pursue resolution of their concerns over his arrest in a peaceful manner.”

Dr. M. Bakri Musa
Morgan Hilll, California

Third World Reality Beneath Malaysia’s First World Veneer

Book Review: Beyond the Veneer: Malaysia’s Struggle For Dignity and Direction

Ioannis Gatsiounis

Monsoon Books, Singapore. 2008

273 pages Indexed

US $15.95

Soon after Abdullah Badawi led his Barisan Nasional coalition to a landslide electoral victory in 2004, I wrote a blistering critique of his leadership. He had hoodwinked voters, I wrote, with his slick “feel good” campaign, and that sooner or later Malaysians would see through his emptiness. I had the piece previewed by my friend and frequent collaborator Din Merican. He suggested that I hold back and instead give Abdullah a chance. I did.

Little did I know that at about the same time (October 2004) an American journalist in Malaysia, Ioannis Gatsiounis, had written for Asia Times an essay titled, “Abdullah’s Honeymoon is Over in Malaysia.” Although more restrained in tone, nonetheless as judged by the title, he revealed a similar lack of enthusiasm for Abdullah as a leader. His “soft but firm” leadership, Gatsiounis wrote, “has shown … to be more soft than firm.”

That kind of perceptiveness is rare for a foreign observer, or a local one for that matter. Today, as judged by the current headlines, Gatsiounis’s judgment of Abdullah has become the common wisdom.

Such insights and perceptiveness do not come easily or quickly, even for the most astute of observers. Gatsiounis has been reporting from and on Southeast Asia since 2000, beginning first in Jakarta and later in Kuala Lumpur where he now resides. This gives him an intimate knowledge of Malaysia and a nuanced understanding of its racial dynamics and political tensions. He is not easily persuaded by smooth official press releases or slick PR gimmicks.

This volume, Beyond the Veneer: Malaysia’s Struggle For Dignity and Direction, contains his 42 essays written from about 2003 onwards. There are three commentaries on the recent “most crucial general elections in the country’s 50-year history,” one written just before the elections, and two, right afterwards.

“The Malaysian government’s authoritarian instincts,” Gatsiounis wrote in his first post-election essay (“A New Democratic Era in Malaysia”) “were finally checked by democracy at Saturday’s highly anticipated elections.”

Noting the immediate fractiousness among the opposition parties on power sharing, Gatsiounis observed (“The Malaysian Race Card”) that the “Chinese and Indians have become more vocal in opposing discriminatory policies, but they have given little indication that if they were granted greater equality they would rise above their own clannish tendencies.” As I said, Gatsiounis is a perceptive observer.

No Christaine Amanpour-type of Journalism

Today because of budgetary restraints, American media are cutting back on their foreign news operations, relying instead on what I would call the Christiane Amanpour-type of coverage. Fly in your celebrity journalist, interview the top local honchos, pick some cute quotes from the “man on the street,” choose some recognizable backdrops (which in Malaysia would be the Petronas Twin Towers), and then file your brief three-minute report that would appear just before the toothpaste commercial in the evening news.

Thus it is not surprising that Americans are poorly informed on matters beyond their borders. Such ignorance would ultimately percolate up to the leaders and policymakers. The results, as can be seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, can be devastating both to the natives as well as their “saviors.”

Thanks to the Internet, I have read many of Gatsiounis’s commentaries that have appeared in such publications as the International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Washington Times as well as Asia Times. Let me assure readers that his reporting is the very antithesis of CNN’s Amanpour.

His is more along the Independent’s (Britain) seasoned Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk. Had Tony Blair listened to Fisk’s wisdom, he would probably still be Prime Minister today. More importantly, he would have spared himself, as well as those British soldiers in Iraq, much grief.

Malaysia is, as evidenced by the observations in this book as well as explicitly stated in the introduction, “trying to run the rat race of globalization on one good leg.” That is the leg Malaysia shows to the cameras, the gleaming Petronas Towers and the ribbon of smooth highways. The other, the bad leg that is severely handicapping the country, is the rampant corruption, deepening rich-poor divide, deteriorating institutions, and the increasingly dangerous polarization of race relations. To Gatsiounis, Malaysia has all but ensured that its “diversity is a weakness and not a strength.” I could not agree more.

There are no interviews of the powerful in this volume except for one longer than usual essay (“Malaysia’s Leader-in-Waiting”) based on a 40-minute interview with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, a man very much in the news today, but for all the wrong reasons.

Gatsiounis observed that while Najib Razak “displayed a firm understanding of the kind of world Malaysia is entering and the attributes it would need … to be competitive, … he has also been a staunch defender of UMNO’s status quo … which has hindered Malaysia’s competitiveness and social harmony.”

I would say that Najib, like all UMNO leaders including supposedly better educated younger ones like Khairy Jamaluddin, are not so much defenders of UMNO culture rather that they are trapped by it, unable to escape its suffocating clutches. Their collective response to the March 8 electoral thumping for example, was not to seek changes but rather more of the same. To me, UMNO’s implosion is inevitable, and soon.

Instead of interviewing the powerful, Gatsiounis relies on his own observations. According to official accounts on the massive public Bersih rally calling for clean elections, the shopkeepers were fed up with the demonstrators who had disrupted businesses. In actual fact, as reported by Gatsiounis (“Opposition Steals a March in Malaysia”), those shopkeepers welcomed the increase in foot traffic. Their businesses were rudely interrupted only when the police came rushing in wildly brandishing their truncheons and firing their water cannons.

With such critical and penetrating reporting, I am surprised that Gatsiounis is not on the radar screen of the Home Ministry. One reason could be that those officials think that he writes primarily for foreigners. Those bureaucrats could not be more wrong. Through the Internet, Gatsiounis commands a sizable local audience, as evidenced by the praises on the book cover by such local luminaries as Ramon Navaratnam, Khoo Kay Peng and Ibrahim Suffian.

I asked Gatsiounis whether he felt intimidated by the authorities. Much to my surprise – and relief! – he answered no, although obviously he is aware of the realities. He however, wisely avoids flouting those restraints.

Malaysian journalists and writers regularly blame the myriad of restrictive rules for their timidity. They have to exercise self-censorship to survive, they claim. It is more an excuse. As Gatsiounis has shown, one can still be true to one’s professional ideals even under such trying circumstances. In truth, Malaysian journalists and pundits grovel to the powerful less for self preservation and more for ingratiation.

A challenge in publishing a collection of essays is organization, whether to arrange them thematically (as this one) or chronologically. The disadvantage of the latter would be that readers would have to jump from one topic to another. A combination would be better. On a section about Abdullah for example, arrange the essays chronologically. After all, a highly critical commentary on his leadership written in 2008, when Abdullah had clearly and fully exposed his incompetence, would not have the same impact as one penned earlier.

A further modification would be to have as a footnote at the bottom of the title page the date when the essay was written, instead of at the end. That would save readers from having to flip through the pages to the end of the article to find out when it was written.

With the current headlines filled with sordid details of the sexual escapades (real and imagined) of the politically powerful, and of police reports and sworn affidavits submitted and then retracted by those whose wish to ingratiate themselves to the powerful, we are again being reminded of the pitiful lack of solid reporting and penetrating analyses in the Malaysian media. By publishing this volume, Gatsiounis extends his reach among Malaysians, making them (hopefully) better informed. More importantly, this book also reminds Malaysians of what they miss in their daily news and information staple.

Zaki past the post and then reform the judicary? Is that the gameplan?

If Wong Chun Wai (WCW)’s ‘Race against time for reforms’ in his On The Beat column on July 13 didn’t touch on one matter of such great significance to this nation, one could just laugh it off as a case of WCW having difficulty shaking of an old habit of spin-doctoring on orders from up above.

That matter of great importance is the reforms to the judiciary.

Speaking of the recently announced two-year transition period before Pak Lah hands over UMNO to Najib, WCW writes :

‘…those who expect Abdullah to be an ineffective PM would be wrong. He has told his supporters and friends that he would devote his next two years to reforms, which he has committed to the rakyat…From reforms in the judiciary to fighting corruption, he would be fighting against time to make all the positive changes – and in the process make it easier for Najib when he takes over…The setting up of an independent inquiry into the VK Lingam video clip issue hurt Abdullah in the general election. The incident took place during the administration of his predecessor but despite the pressure from some quarters, Abdullah went ahead with the setting up of the panel.

I do not share WCW’s confidence.

On April 18, in his ‘Delivering justice, renewing trust’ speech, Pak Lah conceded :

‘…No nation can call itself fair and just without an efficient and trusted judiciary. By “trusted”, I mean a judiciary that delivers justice and is seen to deliver justice…the fact is, we can no longer leave such an important institution to hope and chance. The system must have built-in safeguards to prevent potential abuse and it must have a process that will convincingly identify the best legal minds in the country to join the judiciary…Therefore, the Government proposes a change to make the process of nominating, appointing and promoting judges more transparent and representative…The process to bring about this change will begin now and I assure all of you here today that consultation on the workings and the structure of the Commission will involve primary stakeholders. All will have a chance to provide their input to the Government.

The process would begin ‘now’, he said, and consultations would involve ‘primary stakeholders’?

Who are these ‘primary stakeholders’? It would seem, only UMNO.

On June 19, 2 months after Pak Lah’s grand speech, Malaysianinsider reported that UMNO ministers were not in favour of Zaid Ibrahim’s proposal for the setting up of the Judicial Commission for the appointment and promotion of judges.

What did Zaid propose that these ‘primary stakeholders’ found so unacceptable?

Quoting from that Malaysianinsider report, ‘Under the plan put forward, the commission would consist of 13 members. After deliberations, they would offer the PM a list of candidates for appointment to the Bench. This is a marked change from the current system where the list of candidates is drawn up by the chief justice’.

The following concerns of those stakeholders can be culled from the Malaysianinsider report.

1. Not agreeable with the presence of former judges and lawyers on the proposed commission.
2. PM’s power of appointment of judges will be usurped.
3. Loss of Malay control over the judiciary.
4. Top judicial post may go to a non-Malay.

Note that there have not been any reports of non-UMNO politicians objecting to Zaid’s proposals.

Are the concerns of these UMNO stakeholders for real or a mere smokescreen?

On May 7, YB Lim Kit Siang posed the following challenge to Pak Lah in his blog :

‘In the last Parliament, I had questioned the fast-track elevation of Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi in the judiciary, with his unprecedented triple jump to become Federal Court judge last September without ever being a High Court or Court of Appeal judge, then quadruple jump in three months as Court of Appeal President, and whether this is to be followed by his quintuple jump in a matter of a year to become the next Chief Justice when Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamed steps down from the topmost judicial post in October?

Is the Prime Minister prepared to make a public commitment that the appointment of the next Chief Justice will be first referred to the Judicial Appointments Commission which he has agreed to set up?’

Current Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamed is due to retire in September this year.

Who’s in line for the job?

Without the 13-man commission, Pak Lah calls the shots.

September, last year, Zaki was handpicked by Pak Lah to first leapfrog into the Federal Court and then slither into the seat of the President of the Court of Appeal.

Pak Lah may have had good reason to once again overlook Zaki’s colourful antecedents, but would a 13-man commission , in looking to fill that vacancy come September, be less charitable and look to some other candidate whose resume does not include transacting an illegal marriage by a Thai qadhi operating out of jurisdiction in a textile shop in Perlis to a woman almost half his age, then setting the marriage certificate ablaze in the hope that the first wife would not stumble upon this surreptitious union, only to later rely on the fact of this illegality to annul that marriage? If you’re in the dark on this, you may want to read about it HERE and HERE.

Or would such a commission have to sadly report back that there are no more good men left in the judiciary?

And speaking of good men, were there none in cabinet who could rise to the occasion when Zaid’s proposals were shot down by the UMNO stakeholders?

HARIS IBRAHIM

I got this (below) from Din Ahmad, a regular on this blog, regarding the IPPs. It is known that these entities are heavily subsidised (some call “incentives”) by the Malaysian government to the tune of rm18.70 billion annually. Support to the IPPs is at the expense of PETRONAS and Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Malaysian consumers. May be it is time to put an end to private monopoly of electricity generation:

There are various issues that need to be considered in deciding whether the IPPs are making reasonable profits or not. The figures provided by the Association of IPPs tried to give an impression that they are just making market returns. We need to look further into the following areas before their claim can be accepted:

Cost of Investment - How inflated is this for each of the IPPs? How many percent have been allocated for various “services”. Did the Economic Planning Unit employ reliable auditors to go through the investments cost before they are accepted as reasonable? This is the key.The actual investment costs could be actually be a lot less than what was quoted. Are there any under the counter payments to politicians and their cronies.

Gearing - These agreements between the IPPs and TNB are very bankable. For strong companies they can raise at least 70% borrowings on it, easily. The actual investment in these projects are at most 30% of the cost of investment stated. So if the cost of investment is stated at RM 1.0B, the actual equity investment by the project owner at most is RM 300 million Hence, the criteria use to evaluate whether this is a reasonable return or not should be based on Return on Investment (ROI), not Return on Asset.

Let us see what their ROIs are like :

	Project Cost	Equity Investment	(Act) Profit After Tax	Ret. on Invest.(ROI)
Segari	3,900.00	1,170.00	366.00	31.3%
Powertek	613.00	183.90	89.00	48.4%
Tanjong Bin Power	7,200.00	2,160.00	179.00	8.3%
Genting Sanyen	1,986.00	595.80	244.00	41.0%
YTL Power	3,500.00	1,050.00	183.00	17.4%
GB3	1,400.00	420.00	102.00	24.3%
Panglima Power	1,644.00	493.20	140.00	28.4%
Teknologi Tenaga Perlis	1,866.00	559.80	90.00	16.1%
Port Dickson Power	760.00	228.00	83.00	36.4%
Pahlawan Power	753.00	225.90	59.00	26.1%
Prai Power	1,000.00	300.00	2.50	0.8%

Above figures should be a reasonable illustration of how well they are doing. I must add that this is considered as safe investment as the paying party is Tenaga Nasional Berhad – almost sovereign risk. What should be the ROI for such investment? In this market, many people would be very happy for an ROI of 12%. Just compare 12% with their respective ROI.

www.malaysiakini.com

July 22, 2008

MCPX ‘Stop playing nice guy and do your job. There is no need for you to continue defending and shielding as your actions are harming both yourself as well as the country.’ On VoxPop: ‘Let’s not pay 2008 income tax’ CK Chim: The rakyat and foreign investors are fed up and have totally lost their trust in the justice system as well as the ability of Abdullah to arrest the current crisis of confidence in the country. If BN wants to be relevant, Abdullah needs to stand up and exert his authority to implement immediately the following: 1. Revamp the entire police force in accordance to the recommendations of the recent police royal commission findings. 2. Implement fully the Judicial Appointments Commission which is independent of the executive and answerable to a parliamentary committee 3. Suspend all top officials who have been implicated in the Anwar and the Altantuya cases. Abdullah, stop playing the nice guy and do your job. There is no need for you to continue defending and shielding these guys as your actions are harming both yourself as well as the country. Your recent actions show your indecisiveness and inability to do what is right as a PM. Our advice to you is either to step up to the job or step down and pass the baton to Anwar. It is not business as usual. JKS: The refusal to pay the income tax suggested here is a legitimate method of civil disobedience advocated by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American naturalist, philosopher, and author of the book Walden and an important essay ‘Civil disobedience’. Thoreau had a major influence on leaders of non-violent resistance, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Tax resistance on a large scale may be difficult to organise for now, but if the government deteriorates into a police state that fans racial or religious emotions, civil disobedience, including tax resistance, may be the only way to go for Malaysians to organise effective resistance while avoiding deep scarring of the society. J Bao: I do not think Malaysians should waste anymore time and effort to argue or convince other Malaysians that the present BN government and all their machinery are corrupt as hell. If there is still any doubt after the last 25 years of abuses, then either they are locked permanently a state of denial or a basket case. The only Malaysians who still believe this government is credible are those who are corrupt themselves and have benefitted unscrupulously from the massive leakages all these years. We should put all our resources in supporting the PR to boot out this corrupt government before we sink deeper end up like Zimbabwe and Myanmar. If the BN MP’s are still undecided on crossing over, then we should strongly persuade them to do so by all means. A suggestion to stop paying taxes until this govt is removed can also be explored. We can’t do this alone but in numbers we can. Instead of street demonstration, why not take leave from work. They can’t sack us all if all of us were to act. We are given a second chance to change things and our destiny. If we fail to exercise our rights and choice at this opportunity, then be prepared to live another generation of misery and abuses. It boils down to a simple choice, really. God will not help us until we start helping ourselves. Percy Chan: What a brilliant idea! Why should we pay for anything that we do not want or do not receive? Our legal eagles should look at a novel class-action suit against the government for wrongful and deceitful action, for specific non-action in our consumer protection act. Check precedents in Australian courts. Get a Court sanction to stop the payment of income tax. May not win but certainly would highlight the issues and tell this government that the power lies with us. Clippy Mee: No doubt it is our responsibility to pay taxes, but we have paid it into the wrong hands of the government. Malaysia must be the only country that penalises the opposition as no other, literally tit for tat. It is so obvious that Penang has been denied the projects promised during the election campaign by the BN. I suggest the income tax department be under the control of parliament. Whoever rules the country has to abide by the laws of parliament to account for the taxes collected from the people. On Tee Keat gunning for MCA No 1 My View: I welcome Tee Keat’s intention to contest for MCA No.1. He is a rare leader with a ‘righteous’ mind in MCA, and this explains why he is still in parliament after the March 8, 2008 GE. But I don’t agree with Tee Keat that it is his right to contest MCA No.1 only after both Ka Ting and Kong Choy made known their intentions of not defending the No.1 and No 2 posts. MCA members should think that it is their right to contest for any post in MCA, despite whether party leaders choose to defend their posts or not. For an organisation to flourish, we need healthy competition. The mentality of not contesting for the sake of ‘preserving unity’ only brings a superficial unity. That is why MCA fared badly in the last GE. For MCA to rejuvenate, it needs competition. On IPP association clarifies numbers KSB: We are aware of how ‘creative accounting ‘ can make figures look reasonable, and this particularly applies here. If you take these IPP ‘figures’ and work out whatever the profit, return, etc., then you will surely arrive at the conclusion that these profits are reasonable as per market expectation. If not, then there must be some mistake in the computation. The main issue is how much do we trust these ‘figures’. During the early days of the electrical privatisation, during the Mahathir era, a TNB chairman was forced to step down because he refused to sign the PPA. The reason was because of the exorbitant tariff which TNB had to pay (15 sen a unit as compared to 11 sen a unit) as well as other unfavourable terms in PPA eg, take or pay clause. Are the IPPs prepared to reveal their PPAs and their cost of investment, expenses, expected returns, etc., so that it could be verified by some independent study whether those figures were inflated or not? If the IPPs are genuine in that their ventures only provide a reasonable rate of return, as they claim, then they should welcome others to examine their figures, since there is nothing to hide. Otherwise, why claim something and not be prepared to prove it? One thing is sure: whatever the outcome of this issue, there is no shortage of IPPs fighting for these privatisation projects. At the end of the day, the consumers have to pay without the knowledge of what they are paying for. Nobody looks after the consumers’ interests.

www.malaysiakini.com ‘DNA profiling is permanent’

July 22, 2008

MCPX ‘The idea that the current government and police force need to have Anwar’s blood for new DNA profiling is illogical.’ On Existing DNA sample too old, says PM DR PR: Why must Syed Hamid Albar and the PM coax Anwar Ibrahim to give a blood specimen? What interest do they have in this episode if it is not political? The survival or demise of BN depends on the outcome of this case. The Mahathir family and the DPM have their worries too. The PM and Syed Hamid have said that Anwar has nothing to fear and foreign experts may obtain the specimen. Either they do not understand or pretend not to understand the fears of DSAI. To put it bluntly, a blood or serum specimen from DSAI could be introduced by catheter into the rectum of the complainant (or mixed in vitro ie. with Saiful’s specimen outside of the body in a test tube) and any sample taken from Saiful will show the presence of Anwar’s DNA. Thus Anwar will be found to guilty of sodomy. Simple. I have two suggestions to get around this problem: 1. Get a foreign DNA expert to obtain a specimen from Saiful, create a DNA profile, seal the results and leave it with the court under security (or should it be double security?). Subsequently, get Anwar’s specimen and compare his DNA profile with that obtained from Saiful. 2. The other option would be to radio-label Anwar’s specimen. If the radio isotope is detectable in Saiful’s specimen, then you will know that it has been planted. Dr Nedu: It was the joke of the century when the PM commented on the DNA. The funny part is he got the facts wrong. When the experts collect blood samples they get the coding, it is translated into a chart which is on permanent record. This record is done once, and that’s it. It is something like profiling a blood test. If you are in the group of A+, then you are forever A+. It is unnecessary to withdraw blood to get the grouping after 10 years or 20 years. The grouping will not change. Likewise, DNA profiling is permanent. The idea that the current government and police force need to have Anwar’s blood for new DNA profiling is illogical. This simply shows the lack of knowledge among this group of people and to paint bad picture about DSAI refusing to allow blood sample taken from him. Why is PM getting involved when he said police are independent and that the UMNO politicians are not getting involved in the investigation of the so-called sodomy case of DSAI.? Why did he say ‘we’? That shows PM is part of the team that accused DSAI of sodomy. Forget about the sodomy case. Look at other important unsolved cases, like the missing Sharline, Lingam tape, Altantuya murder, missing Bala, and Datuk Johari’s cases. etc. After all is said and done, DSAI is the best leader this nation can get. We the rakyat want him as our next PM. V for Vernon: While scientists the world over have extracted and reliably used DNA from over tens of thousands of years ago, our local saintis kampung in the form of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says that ten-year-old DNA samples are no good and that they need fresh DNA from Anwar. Genetic experts should weigh in on the range, by way of confidence intervals for example, on how precise the age of a DNA sample can be pinpointed. For example, if they have Anwar’s DNA from 10 years ago and tried to plant it as evidence, it may clearly be debunked using objective tests that indicate a sample obtained from a time period not corresponding to the time that Saiful says he was sodomised. (i.e., DNA does indeed disintegrate over time, yet does not lose its ability to ‘finger print’ the individual). On the other hand, fresh DNA might fall within a range of estimates for the time period corresponding to Saiful’s allegation. That may be why the government and the police are increasingly desperate to obtain fresh DNA samples from Anwar, so that if planted, it becomes very uncertain exactly when it was ‘deposited’ into Saiful’s posterior, with the actual planting of evidence becoming indistinguishable from the alleged act of depositing semen by way of sodomy. Concerned Malaysian: I am neither in support of nor against the government but a concerned Malaysian watching this unfortunate sodomy accusation episode. A question came to my mind - if I am not mistaken, the government already has the data on Anwar’s DNA taken in the past. This data can be used by the police to match any DNA taken from the place of offence as described by the accuser. If the DNA taken from the place of offence matches the data taken in the past then the police would have sufficient evidence to charge Anwar. Why the need for a fresh sample, and the reason that Anwar’s DNA sample taken in the past being too old? Too old for what purpose? Enough Already: Dinosaur DNA can still be analysed after how many millions of years, but Anwar’s decade-old DNA sample is too old? For what? Why not say Anwar’s thumb print in his IC is too old? What’s the prime minister doing publicly taking sides on an issue under police investigation anyway? Do he have a vested interest in a certain outcome? Kenneth: In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11, it states: Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence. In short, it means ‘innocent until proven guilty’. So it’s quite a shock for me when our prime minister says ‘If he has not done anything, then provide a sample. Do it. I want to see it. Let’s see the result which could prove that he did not do it.’ I might be wrong, but as far as I know, it’s not up to us to prove we are innocent, but up to the police and the prosecutor to collect and present enough compelling evidence to convince the judge. Smelly Evidence: Why do the police not get international experts to be brought in to examine the DNA evidence of Saiful first before testing it with that of DSAI? If the government wants to make things transparent, then they should get several independent experts to extract Saiful’s DNA, verify them to make sure that they are all similar before publicly comparing it with the DNA of DSAI. That way, there will be no doubt if the evidence have been tampered with. I doubt the police or government will agree to this as they are hiding too many facts from the public again. Even Saiful’s police report has not been given to DSAI to date. GK: When did our PM became a DNA specialist? The experts are telling us that DNA could be preserved for a number of years. What happened to the DNA samples taken in 1998? Perhaps the BN has finished it up for their fabrication. The whole world knows that DSAI was framed in 1998 and that the current BN is trying to direct Dr Mahathir’s drama again. The police are not releasing their police report, but are hungry for DSAI’s DNA sample. Mengchai: ‘If he has not done anything, then provide a sample. Do it. I want to see it. Let’s see the result which could prove that he did not do it,’ he (Pak Lah) told reporters. Once bitten twice shy. You have given many assurances, but with your flip-flop decisions, it may change overnight. You may not do it. Can you trust your people? Whatever you say, the rakyat has already lost confidence in you and won’t swallow every word you utter. Increasing the petrol price didn’t take long, but reducing the tolls will take months. We know you have two years and by then you may have forgotten the development your promised your home state. Do you, Pah Lah, think you will be remembered as one of the great PMs of Malaysia? A Concerned Citizen: I personally feel that this DNA sampling is not necessary, since there is no official police report available to Anwar on what charges he has been indicted on. All this while, we’ve only heard and read the charges in the news and newspaper. Where is the actual report? Maybe if the police can make this available, then Anwar can go for the DNA sampling. And this must be done under the observation of foreign experts, whom I suggest to handle this case since I don’t trust the police. Secondly, the police should make Saiful’s report available to Anwar since they don’t have the right to withhold it. Is there any law that can force the police to release this report? If no, Anwar can sue the force for lodging a false report against him and ask the court to drop the case once and for all. So far with the investigations of this case, we’ve only heard the police and the government pester Anwar to give his DNA. What the heck do they want if they can’t even compel the police to release the police report lodged against Anwar? Chong Yee Yap: I find it very distressing to read so many comments that keep repeating themselves about Anwar’s DNA and all that stuff about the corrupt police and the judiciary. Yes, I too agree that the police and the judges of the Malaysian courts just cannot be trusted, but nobody has even touched on proof of the evidence of the corruption of police and judges. We have all been told that Anwar has given the police his alibi. That is enough for the police to begin their investigation, and only if police in the course of their investigation find more incriminating evidence that is not consistent with Anwar’s alibi can they ask for another explanation. This procedure has not been adhered to, therefore it is very timely and correct for the public to be suspicious of the intentions of the police. Anwar is right in not providing his DNA because he is not required to do so on grounds ‘self-incrimination’. No accused person can be compelled to self-incriminate himself. That is the law and it must be adhered to. The next point that I want to raise to evidence is the fact that Saiful has confessed to sodomy. He has said that he committed sodomy with Anwar, and that means he is a self-confessed sodomite. I am not saying that he did, but I am saying is that he has confessed to sodomy and in his confession he has confessed to being an accomplice to the offence. This therefore places the burden on the police and the AG to instantly prosecute Saiful for sodomy. The conviction of Saiful does not necessarily mean that Anwar participated in the crime because there is no evidence that implicates Anwar. It is for that reason that we can say the police and the AG’s office want to frame Anwar with fresh DNA. Everybody knows that DNA has been kept active for centuries, only our PM does not know that. From my perspective, I believe that Anwar’s team ought to consider this approach because that is the law. Ahmad Fuad: I am a complete greenhorn in this dog-eat-dog world of Malaysian politics. But when I hear and read of how a squad of ten (or was it fifteen? Whatever lah) public-funded vehicles, loaded with public-funded police in full battle gear (balaclavas and all), I told myself, ‘Ah…there’s something more here! ‘It cannot just be about arresting a 61-year-old man who’s only weapon that he carries is God-given. I was sure that it was about ‘someone’ setting out to embarrass someone else.’ Thank you, gentlemen. I am now not only convinced, I now also have (and I am sure others out there, too) a very good idea of those behind this satanic scheme: the players, the financiers and all the way up to the ‘producers’. Thank you, sirs. You made my day. Andrew Lee: Give Anwar’s accuser a break. He may be waiting for the samples before he continues proper toilet hygiene. JTB: Anwar went through a harrowing experience in 1998. The Malaysian public are not stupid enough not to see that the manner in which he was arrested was all a set up to treat him like a wanted terrorist. Did you notice the markings on the jacket of one of the ski masked special force chaps? Team A is written, presumably because they used the best team in the force to apprehend Anwar. What fresh sample is needed? His DNA has been taken in 1998 and they already have the records of his DNA profile. If I was Anwar, I would not give my blood sample to the police, not after the great set up in the 1998 episode. We Malaysians feel that there is no need for you to subject yourself to this humiliation anymore. Your refusal to give your blood sample for DNA profiling is now a symbol of your cause to challenge an oppressive regime. We still remember how the prosecution fixed up the mattress incident. How can we forget Augustine Paul expunging the evidence? I would like to know about the alleged victim, Saiful, who was sent to the hospital and examined. Was he stripped naked, measured and photographed? Most Malaysians would like to ask the prime minister, ‘Why is it so difficult for the police to give a copy of the police report made by Saiful to Anwar Ibrahim or his lawyer? Do you not think that Anwar is an interested party in this matter? Why the secrecy? Have the police now declared that Saiful’s report is now sulit and protected under the ‘Official Secrets Act’? Can the Prime Minister tell Malaysians whether there was a police report made by Saiful or not? We Malaysians have a right to know. CSI Fan: I don’t understand why the police need to get a new DNA specimen from Anwar. The police should already have his DNA profile from 1998 and that can be used to compare with the evidence found in this new case. Don’t our police save the DNA profiles of convicted sex offenders like Codis in the US? If we don’t have such a database, just open the old files. JKS: If you watch documentaries on Astro, there are so many instances in ‘New Detective,’ ‘Bone Detective,’ ‘Discovery Magazine’ and other programmess where you would have seen than DNA samples (blood, tissue or semen) preserved for years at room temperature in an evidence room, nearly a century in paraffin wax and Alaskan permafrost, and presumably centuries in the freezer under certain natural and artificial preservation methods such as embalming chemicals. The PM and home minister are faking sincerity, and are made to talk by their home ministry and law enforcement underlings. The tail is wagging the dog. The public can only assume that some rogue underlings need fresh blood to plant as fake evidence. Nothing else delivers relevant information, exchanges good arguments, sharpens the public debate, and exposes ill-considered and hypocritical arguments as quickly as the mass web media. Jamilah Wahid: The prime minister’s statement that a fresh sample is needed to determine DNA identity only shows his ignorance. One has to know that the requirement for a fresh sample is only necessary if there is no record of DNA profile of the relevant subject. If there is already a sample in custody (old or new), it does not make any difference if the sole purpose is for the DNA is a profile match. Even the DNA profile in the record (court records of the previous case) would suffice to make the match. Thousand-year-old dinosaurs are being profiled using traces of fossilised samples. In this event, any out-of-the-way demands for a fresh sample will only create suspicions. Chuacj: I am writing from the base of common sense as I am no expect in DNA profiling or any medical field. First thing’s first, I am not sure why the police need the fresh DNA from Anwar, as they already have the previous DNA profile in their records. The police just need to compare the evidence against the old records. The only reason for wanting the fresh DNA is so that they can plant it anywhere they like. Why are Saiful’s charges not being given to Anwar’s lawyer? This proves that the police still haven’t decided what to charge him with. I support not giving DNA to the police 100% . I hope more NGO will write in support of this and pressure the police to give Saiful’s report to Anwar. Also, why does the PM need to give his view on this and say that the sample is too old? Why is he such a busybody in this case? I believe he has better things to do, like setting up the royal commission for the Bala, Lingam and Raja Petra cases, plus the Sabah (illegal immigrant) case. Stand up like a man and do a man’s job. TJ Lee: I find it embarrassing that our prime minister is speaking, again like an ignoramus. I find this incessant demand for Anwar’s DNA sample most perplexing. As I understand it, the purpose of a DNA sample in a criminal case (say semen, blood, saliva, a skin flake) is for the purpose of DNA finger printing. Our DNA, like our finger print, is unique to each of us. The likelihood of another person (living or dead) having the same exact DNA as us is extremely, extremely low, except with identical twins. Now, Anwar’s DNA finger print would have been in the police records since 1998/1999, would it not? A DNA sample may get stale, but a DNA finger print does not. I mean, my finger print does not get stale through time, does it? So what is this talk about stale DNA sample? It is perplexing. If I am Anwar, I would kick up the same fuss. Why the need for the DNA sample if you already have my DNA finger print? PT Tan: I find Anwar case perplexing. a. Prime Minister says Anwar must give a DNA sample to clear his name. Strange, I thought the police need to find him guilty. Anwar is innocent until proven otherwise. b. His previous DNA profile is deemed old - that is why they need a new sample. I know politicians change parties, change colour and change many other things, but a person’s DNA profile is constant from the day of his conception. Concerned: Many people are uncertain how DNA can be used for manipulation or cheating. Here is one simple way. Suppose Anwar gives his blood and his DNA is tested. The authorities then put away some of it. The rest is used as evidence. The police could then put Anwar in jail because they can confidently declare that it is the same type of DNA found in Saiful. How can that be? Show proof. Voila, there is the proof. The police take out Anwar’s DNA that was put away. The only way to prevent this from happening is for somebody to stare at the DNA day and night. Brooklynbridge: Presumably, given its high degree of pleasure, ease of performance, and low expense, sodomy is an act committed with considerable frequency throughout Malaysia, despite being against the law. How many arrests, prosecutions and convictions have there been for this crime? If the government is as zealous about enforcing the law in all cases, not just with its political enemies, the prisons should be full of sodomites - that is, convicted sodomites. On Hospital: He was not ‘forced’ to strip naked Dr Garuda: The mainstream media is attempting to portray Anwar as a liar in this episode and the director of the Hospital KL has come out with the sterile statement ‘…he was examined by two specialists who adhered to proper clinical procedures during the whole course of examination. ‘At no time was his decency violated.’ But these proper clinical procedures are not explained and have left the public guessing as to who is telling the truth. There are some basic clinical procedures for examining an alleged sexual offender. The sexual offender must be anatomically capable to commit the offence. That means his penis must be normal and should not have any deformities which would make him unable to commit the crime. Physiologically, the alleged offender must be able have maintain an erection sufficiently hard enough for penetration. Doctors will also look for identifying marks, like moles or scars, which can be identified by the alleged victim. The anus is examined for the integrity of the anal sphincter. Sometimes swabs are taken from the penis and anal canal for bacteriological analysis. To carry out the above procedures and tests associated with it, the sexual organs have to be exposed, but it’s done with decorum (if I may use the word). Normally, the lower part of the body is exposed for these procedures while the upper body is covered with a blanket. Of course, having someone probing and peering into your nether regions is a degrading experience to say the least, and I can tell you it’s no fun for the examining doctors either. It’s a job and most doctors are very clinical about it. Thus, in common language, Anwar was stripped without ‘his decency being violated’ (to use the director’s words). What was the government looking for when they hauled Anwar in for examination? Specifically, they were going to look at his penis. For sure they will measure the thing. What can you find on it? It has no finger prints anywhere on it. Are there any? If so, it must be a new medical discovery that will make Malaysians stand out from the rest of the world. One Malaysia: One just cannot fathom the level the police and those doctors have sunk too. All in all, this saga has turned Malaysia into the laughing stock of the world. None of the UMNO politicians have the decency nor the intelligence expected of them. Do they think God will not punish them? Already, God had shamed them before the entire world. On Let cops decide, so shut up Pak Lah! Ranjinath: I am confused. Karpal said ‘Anwar is entitled to an investigation which is not procedurally flawed and contaminated by outbursts from politicians in high places.’ Is Karpal not also a politician from a high place and does this not also qualify as an outburst? Lilian Tan: It is really very damning that our prime minister keeps quiet when he should speak up but gives comments when he shouldn’t. When the murder case of the Altantuya Shariibuu broke and it came to light that C4 explosives had been used to blow the poor woman up, Malaysians were outraged and rightly expected the prime minister to be outraged as well. However, while one would have expected Abdullah to make a strong pledge to pull out all the stops to uncover out the truth, we have heard nothing of that sort. Not a peep. This is very strange when the use of such explosives reeks of involvement from the highest level of government – just as the British government was right to conclude that the use of polonium in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko implicated the Russian state. Anyway, fast forward to the present, and we now have Pak Lah giving his opinion on Anwar’s case like a heckler from the grandstands. What’s going on? Or rather, shouldn’t the prime minister’s advisers tell him his mask of impartiality has fallen off? Anak Malaysia: Karpal Singh was right to ask PM to shut up. The PM’s behaviour is simply a portrayal of his ignorance of his government. Some ten years ago, the government by devious means had a sample of DSAI’s DNA. Surely the DNA record is kept somewhere? All you need to do is Saiful’s sample. Analyse that sample and extract the data. Now you compare the previous DNA records and those extracted from Saiful. What more do they want? I guess the government wants DSAI’s DNA sample so that someone can plant that in Saiful’s and then they will call the doctors to proclaim to the world that DSAI’s DNA was found within Saiful. Here we are going to see the ‘tilam turun naik mahkamah’ again. How desperate have these people become? X’roy: Yes, I think Karpal’s comments are timely. The executive is directly involved with all the statements they are making. Though Najib’s own account is extremely shady, so much so that it seems he is the plotter of this whole drama, you can’t say much for Syed Albar. Although he is a lawyer, he almost always lands his foot in his mouth. Shame on him, as he is the home minister and he seems to be partial here. Pak Lah it is quite different. Now it can be seen as real, as he is unable to control the excesses of the police force and neither can Syed Albar. Syed Albar came out with all sorts of excuses to try and justify the police road blocks last Monday, and he fumbled and fell. When we were clamped with another day of blocks the day after Anwar was arrested, we used more petrol in those two days along going to work than we do for six days. All the time we stay idle on the roads we burn petrol, and every time the car stalls and goes again we use more petrol. These men who run the country seem not to have the mental capacity to figure this out, especially at a time they have hiked the price of petrol by a whopping RM0.80 per litre. The country is in crisis, and this the fifth best prime minister we have in office now does not seem to realise it. From the way he is acting, it is quite clear he knows the police are not listening to him, his ministers are not, and even the ordinary back-benchers do not listen to him. He has lost control, and the takeover seems real. It is sheer panic, and they will do all they can at any cost to stay in power. On IGP, AG barred from Anwar probe: PM Kay: According to our PM, he was going to make a ‘good’ announcement last Friday which was to benefit the people. This has been told to the whole world. Local and foreign investors are looking forward to the announcement aiming it will bring some positive influence to the financial market. However, it seems another empty promise given by our PM, nothing was announced till today except some interference (statement) made to a sodomy case. Concerned Citizen: Frankly, speaking, it is very crystal clear that the PM is taking the easy approach in dealing with the above. Why can’t the PM or home minister direct the two vis-B-vis and get the IGP and AG to take leave until this case is investigated, decided and done? On Anwar hits the road again My View: I can understand why Anwar hits the road again. If I was Anwar, I would do the same thing, as Malaysian institutions are highly tainted, so highly tainted that people can’t trust the police or go to the courts to settle their disputes. Someone was suggesting that this sodomy case and the Altantuya-related cases should be tried by the Privy Council in order to clear ‘once and for all’ these messes that Malaysians are facing. These are not just among the politicians. Let say if ultimately, Anwar is found guilty. Will Anwar and Malaysians at large accept the verdict?