July 12, 2012
What Act? National Harmony ACT! Not Again
by Maria Begum, Malaysia Chronicle
Prime Minister Najib Razak surprised the nation on Wednesday night when he announced that the dreaded Sedition Act 1948 will be repealed and replaced by a new act known as the National Harmony Act.
Sad to say, he failed to convince his countrymen that the new law heralded real change. Critics pointed at the slew of new legislation he has introduced in the wake of the July 9 2011 BERSIH 2.0 rally, following which his leadership came under heavy fire for using physical force to quell a peaceful civilians protest for clean polls.
Indeed, instead of expanding the democratic space, Najib’s new replacement laws contained clauses that actually gave the Police greater power than before. And on April 28 this year, when the latest BERSIH 3.0 rally for clean polls pulled in a 250,000-strong crowd, Najib succumbed to insecurity and paranoia that he might be toppled and ordered one of bloodiest Police crackdowns in recent history.
His administration has since charged Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and
two other PKR leaders Azmin Ali and Badrul Hisham Shaharin under the recently tabled Peaceful Assembly Act for allegedly instigating the BERSIH 3.0 police violence.
When Najib first announced the Peaceful Assembly Act, he had promised the new law would bolster the citizens’ rights to peaceful gatherings. However, the new legislation turned out to be an even greater oppression.
“Najib cannot be trusted to repeal oppressive laws. He misled the rakyat (people) and went back on his word when he promised to liberalize media laws and assembly laws. He also replaced the Internal Security Act with more oppressive detention laws,” PKR Vice President N Surendran told Malaysia Chronicle.
“This new announcement is a bad joke upon the rakyat. Najib has made himself ridiculous with this new announcement. The Sedition Act must be repealed in its entirety. Why should there be replacement.”
So much verbiage
At the Attorney General’s Chambers’ dinner in Kuala Lumpur, Najib had said in repealing the 64-year-old Sedition Act, his government would have to find “a mechanism that could ensure the best balance between the need to guarantee the freedom of speech for every citizen and the need to handle the complexity of plurality existing in the country”.
“With this new act we would be better equipped to manage our national fault lines. It will also help to strengthen national cohesion by protecting national unity and nurturing religious harmony,” said Najib.
But as Surendran and other Opposition leaders warned, strip away the verbose and let new National Harmony Act be assessed on its own merit.
Until the details are announced, given Najib’s negative track record, it would be safer to assume that the changes would either be cosmetic or will contain a ‘killer’ clause that hands the authorities greater clout than before albeit in a less obvious or direct way.
Malaysia Chronicle
Yet another snake oil legislation from this Prime Minister. What does he think, we are suckers? He can’t even make a strong stand on any issue. He can’t discipline this mad cap from Sabah called Gani Patail and his wife Rosmah. Good luck, Malaysia.
I am sure it has been clear that the Govt cannot be trusted to do anything right for the citizens. They have treated all of you like kids, to be punished when you ‘misbehave’ democratically. One should not bother wasting one’s time any more. Vote them out.
Another “cakap tak serupa bikin act” or sleigh of hand and read my lips act.
The introduction by JAWI of ‘halal’ condoms is not without a reason since edible condoms have caught on with those with peculiar taste buds. But does Najib really think he can hoodwink our Tean-Raen into thinking Chinese tea is Mekong whiskey by just re-labelling it??
Wayang,wayang,this falling star never stop trying.One up for his acting.
Mongkut Bean
Get JAWI to certify the Taiwan Roti Halal and you can have the Malaysian franchise. OWC will be happy to be sponsors or even create a MLM business amongst its members.
Che Mah Chot will want to have a mold made in the shape of Najeebir Singh pecker which will sell like hot cakes no pun intended. Ummi Hafeelda will be delighted to have one.
UMNO can sell the bread at its GA and all UMNO gathering and UMNO cronies will gladly finance the merchandising. There may even be spin offs in ice cream potong featuring other UMNO celebrities and the likes.
They should just call the act Harm Many Act. Imagine how many peopl lives would be harmed by the Act. How many families will be destroyed and broken and how many careers will be scuttled.
Or better still call it Haram Money Act. All the haram money being bandied around by the UMNOputras to fund the elections and to defame and destroy opposition.
Felda is doing so well that it has to borrow from EPF?
Dear PM,
Salam. I read with great interest today papers about your comments. In
it you were quoted that those who talk bad about Felda & called it
bankrupt are to be regarded as traitors to the Nation. The sad truth
is that after you took charge of Felda in 2005, you turned what was a
very successful organisation into a financial nightmare. In fact you
are the traitor who has stolen the poor peneroka’s money.
I am sure you know that for the next General Election, Felda schemes &
their votes determine about 60 Federal Parliament Seats.
From my feedback, many of the peneroka are boiling mad. They have been
exploited & taken for a ride. If what you say is true & ALL the
peneroka are so happy with the UMNO/BN government, why the sudden
interest in the welfare of the peneroka, Why the many cash handouts?
Please explain the following:
1. In 2001, the cash reserves of Felda was RM4.5 billion with ZERO borrowing.
Recently your Deputy Minister replied that the cash reserves has
plunged to RM1.2 billion. This is despite the fact that for the past 3
years, the CPO price has been very high. If you have looked after
Felda properly the cash reseves should now be at least RM8 billion.
2. New Felda HQ in KLCC.
Said to cost RM662 million, Explain how this six star building is
going to help the poor Peneroka, many of whom only get nett RM500 per
month. Why a huge deposit of RM235 million paid even before
construction started? Why the decision was made at a secret meeting in
your DPM’s office in Putrajaya without the knowledge or Approval of
the Felda board?
Recently Ahmad Maslan said this is a very good Investment as it has
already made paper profit of RM300 million. Pray how did he come to
this conclusion when the building is not even finished or sold?????
3. Felda Global Ventures.
We know that Felda has invested at least RM3 billion on these
projects. We also know that since day one it has been losing money, in
fact it has lost RM300 million. Twin Rivers Project in USA, invested
RM500 million Cattle rearing project invested RM600 million. Since you
say we are traitors, tell us in detail what has happened. The peneroka
in Felda Keratong near Segamat are laughing, the imported cattle for
The cattle project have to be kept in an air conditioned room 24 hours
a day!
4. Why the need to borrow from EPF?
Before you started on Felda Global Ventures Felda never borrowed from
EPF. Is this borrowing secure? To all the EPF contributors beware,
your money is used to finance many of these dubious schemes which
Najib started.
5. Skim Tabung tanam semula.
In August this year I visited a Felda scheme near Kemaman.
Talked to a peneroka who wants to sue Felda. He has been contributing
to this fund for past 17 years & has accumulated RM17,000. However
when he replanted his old oil Trees, he did not use the fund but used
his own money instead. It has been 3 years now tried to get his OWN
money back, but the Felda administration has refused so far. Wonder
why, if Felda is so well run & cash rich why can’t even pay this poor
peneroka A paltry sum?
6. Felda settlers to camp outside Felda HQ.
In October this year, there was a report that many settlers were not
happy with Felda for Refusing to settle their replanting payments. So
this case I quoted above is widespread & happening in many many
schemes round the country.
7. Oil palm fruit sent to Mill In Felda Kemahang, Kelantan.
Felda lost the case as it was proved that Felda was not paying the
proper amount sent to mill.
It was a landmark case. On appeal Felda lost the Case. Soon after that
you visited a scheme near Bahau. Instead of respecting the court’s
decision you made a silly remark like Felda will engage the best
lawyers & fight all the remaining cases in court. Good for you, you
will make more peneroka angry with you!
I DARE YOU
1. Subject the whole of Felda to an independent audit & publish the findings.
2. Felda has 43 subsidiaries. Publish all their annual reports &
subject them to an audit as well.
Harm Many Act. LOL. Indeed, I like that. Not that its not serious. But to legislate harmonius conduct . OMG. This brings human beings to new heights of having to be told how to ocnduct oneself. Talk about Government interfering with our lives day by day. Taking away our rights in the disguise of harmony it seems. We need to see the clauses in there then we will determine whether it is in fact harmonius or harm – ful. Why the need to legislate harmony anyway. Do you think we dont knwo what harmonius conduct is PM?
We should have special legislation on Political conduct and hefty fines or jail time for those found out to have mislead Parlaiment and the people. Or how about the burden of proving non – harm , on the politicans. How much harm have they caused in their pursuit of power. So we should have special laws to place the burden squarely on the politicain to show any legislation they intend to pass, will not harm the people. How about that. If they cant prove non-harm , they cannot pass it.
See, how chaotic everything can become over night, if its not already. harmony indeed.
the National Harmony is only an Act to intimidate the public and keep them in line. those of you supporting this moronic regime are digging your own early graves.
once all these acts are passed and sealed no one can challenge them and they can rule forever and suck malaysia dry.
the regime in Kazachstan has done the same, making it impossible to have an opposition win. our stupid PM is probably being advised by his ‘bum chum’ Nursultan Nasarbajew who rules his country since 1991 as President of the Republic. the constitution there allows only two consecutive terms for the president!
Kazachstan has about 50 ethnic and religious groups and therefore Nursultan must be the ‘meister in the art of divide and rule’!
do you see in which direction malaysia is moving?
my question therefore is this
at what point do you cease being harmonius? Thats where they will get us? This will enable then the Government to get anyone wont it. But under the Sedition Act, Isnt it in very very specific circumstances? And what is the definition of harmonius? So they are now tempting to lower the threshold of what people can say or do before it becomes disharmony? So what is harmony or dis harmony?
Now with these laws, anyone can be silenced because they will say, if we disgaree, “this breaches national disharmony”
*this breaches national harmony* . that is the excuse that will be used under thsi Act time and again.
When laws are drafted it must be clear and there must be no ambiguities. People need to know what is legal and what isnt.
Semper
When you wrote Harm Many Act, I read it at first as Hail Mary Act which means you’re running for the toilet about to crap your paints and you drop your pants at the last second and sling your butt over the toilet and hope you make it in time.
Disharmony is when street walkers try to take over the street-life. Even the Crusaders say so:
Something sneaky here, watch it. If they see you playing Harmonica by the wayside and a curious crowd gathers to the upbeat of the musical strain, they may just nab you for causing the crowd to be Disharmonious – IF they happen to dislike your face, that is…..
what a laughable ” legislation”…..did the Parliamentarians really scrutinse before it was passed, or were they drinking teh tarik in the nearby Canteen, when the Speaker put it to vote ? Or perhaps disharmony anywhere in the vicinity of the august House is tolerated ?
What was that ? ” Monkeys ” in the House, we haven’t forgotten the episode, have we ?
“Prime Minister Najib Razak surprised the nation on Wednesday night when he announced that the dreaded Sedition Act 1948 will be repealed and replaced by a new act known as the National Harmony Act.”
This is laughable. When lawmakers pass a bill to make sedition (by giving it its statutory terms and not relying on common law for a definition) a crime, the bill becomes law as Sedition Act 1948. The same applies to internal security and the bill became law as “Internal Security Act 1960″. Now how did we get from security to harmony?? The issue is security because Parliament is given power by the country’s Constitution to pass legislation “in the interest of security” and not “in the interest of harmony”.
And as for Najib learning to play the harmonica, he has first to get himself into position. Old Frank may have some advice for him.
Well, let’s watch the ‘tolerance’ this coming Sat., when some Anaks walk around the streets of Jln Duta. Harmony or disharmony? I’d say the chicken shit would grow cold if they attempt to shut it down.
Jibs&Co are running scared and all sorts of strange labels are being spouted. Harmony indeed! These flurs ain’t got no harmonics when it comes to doing the right thing.
so will great debates in politics be termed dis harmony under the Act? Will political speeches by DSAI, which is healthy Opposition to government be held dis – harmony? will Bersih be termed dis- harmony ? We all know the answer to that? Will disgareements in discussion and swearing or calling politicans names be dis- harmony? Will articles against govenrment policies be termed dis – harmony?
Your guess is as good as mine.