steadyaku47 comment: Foster Brooks at his best....my favorite! Start Monday the right way...Foster Brooks way!
Monday, 30 September 2013
Sunday, 29 September 2013
Saturday, 28 September 2013
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Justice? Sorry, JAWI is not interested
| Azrul Mohd Khalib works on HIV/AIDS, sex and human rights issues. He is becoming cynical and is in danger of losing his sense of humour and mind. He also runs and is battling an addiction to the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series. Azrul can be contacted at azferul@gmail.com. |
SEPT 26 — When I first wrote about the Nik Raina/Borders Books case a year ago, it seemed to be easy enough of a case to understand even for a layperson to the law such as myself.
Borders Books store manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz had been charged with committing a crime, namely selling a book (Irshad Manji’s Allah, Liberty and Love) deemed contrary to Islamic Law under Section 13 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997. She faced the possibility of a RM3 000 fine, a maximum of two years’ jail or both.
However, there were at least two main problems with the charge: the book had not yet been banned at that point of time and it wasn’t the Federal Territory Islamic Department (JAWI)’s job anyway to enforce the work of the Home Ministry.
The book was only banned a week later. In other words, Nik Raina had been charged for selling a book that was perfectly legal. It was evident from the very onset that there was no case and that no offence had been committed.
The judgement of the judicial review by High Court Judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof last March made this official and stated what everyone except JAWI seemed to already know. Fundamentally, you cannot retroactively charge a person for a crime that was not yet deemed a crime at the time of the incident. A first year law student could easily come to the same conclusion. It was fairly obvious that this whole case was and is a total screw-up by JAWI.
Somehow, despite this basic common law fact and the High Court judgement which is now several months old, JAWI seems to be extremely reluctant to proceed to drop the charge against Nik Raina. The case has since experienced three postponements in the Syariah Court within a single month and the charge has yet to be withdrawn based on the judgement of the High Court. Perhaps it’s time for the Syariah prosecutors to go back to school.
Let us be clear. Proceeding to maintain a charge against Nik Raina would basically be an injustice to her and gives the Syariah courts and JAWI a stink and a bad name.
Judging from the behaviour of both parties of late, it seems that they really don’t give a damn or more importantly consider unimportant the fact that an injustice has been and continues to be inflicted onto Nik Raina.
The reasons given to her for the postponements were that the presiding Syariah judge had to attend a meeting in Penang (August 28), that there had been a mix-up in dates (September 3), and the esteemed judge was attending yet another meeting (September 13).
Meetings are obviously more important than someone being unjustly charged under the Syariah system. The case has since been postponed indefinitely with no end in sight for Nik Raina who has now endured this ordeal for more than 18 months.
One could fairly surmise a number of points as a result of this case:
• JAWI is not interested in ensuring that justice is done.
• What it is interested in is that it doesn’t matter whether an actual offence has been committed as long as it is proven that JAWI is right and wins.
• If this case is representative of the system in general, I must call into question the quality and standard of other cases prosecuted under Syariah laws.
Judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof in her grounds of judgement when deciding on the judicial review stated that there existed “existence of illegality, abuse of discretionary powers, irrationality, unreasonable exercise of power, unconstitutionally and that there exists procedural impropriety” on the part of the respondents, namely JAWI, the Home Minister and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs.
In the same judgement, it was found that when JAWI discovered that they could neither prosecute Berjaya Books Sdn. Bhd (owner of the Malaysian franchise of Border Books) nor Borders’ General Manager of Operations and Merchandising (who is a non-Muslim), they intentionally went for the most convenient and vulnerable Muslim target, Nik Raina, who was subsequently arrested and charged for what was a non-offence at the time of the JAWI raid on the Borders outlet in Gardens MidValley.
This case illustrates quite clearly why there is a need for a stringent check and balance on the way Syariah laws are implemented in Malaysia. It also underlines the very real possibility of these laws being subject to abuse, miscarriage of justice and tyranny by those in power.
How many people have taken the easy way out and pleaded guilty to charges that may have been fraught with fallacies and in Nik Raina’s case, not even an offence to begin with? Nik Raina was fortunate to have a supportive employer, Berjaya Books, which stood up for its staff, provided the resources to fight the case, drew a line in the sand and refused to allow her to be victimised.
How many people would have simply pleaded guilty to the charge, paid the fine and quietly resigned? Most of us in Nik Raina’s position would have done exactly that. Less hassle but certainly not justice.
Syariah laws cannot and must not be abused and misused to inflict upon Muslims a form of religious tyranny familiar to those living in countries elsewhere around the world.
As Muslims in Malaysia, the reality is that our comfort lies in the fact that there is legal recourse as well as safeguards and protections provided under the Federal Constitution which apply to all regardless of whether a person is Muslim or non-Muslim.
I may be generalising here but there exists a frightening complacency within the Syariah system as practised in Malaysia whose guardians and enforcers do not feel itself accountable to anyone, other than perhaps God. Consider the fact that in several states now, legislation has been enacted which excludes fatwas from being subject to judicial or legal review, to be immune from being challenged or questioned.
Fatwas are, in essence, religious opinions formed by an unelected committee (whose members are mostly men) and the state Mufti. In short, these states have passed laws which place fatwas beyond the scrutiny of the law and above the Federal Constitution. When fatwas are gazetted, they then take the form of laws which are considered enforceable by the state religious authorities.
Rather than enduring learned and rationale discourse, listening to intellectual positions and considering both sides of an argument, Malaysian religious authorities have time and again resorted to the argument that “might makes right.” They tolerate no dissent, no argument and demand an unthinking, unblinking and blind obedience from those of the Islamic faith.
I pray that Nik Raina will get her day in Syariah Court. Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.
* This article pays tribute to Nik Raina’s quiet courage and strength as well as the commitment and resolve of Berjaya Books.
** This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
In the face of a terrorists.........
Boy called Kenya terrorist 'very bad man'
The father of a four-year-old British boy, who was spared after telling a terrorist gunman in the Kenyan shopping centre siege he was "a very bad man", has spoken of his relief.
Dan Prior, whose wife and six-year-old daughter also were spared, says he was relieved his family survived the ordeal and spoke of the trauma caused by the "senseless atrocity."
But he says his thoughts are with those who were not so lucky.
Following the boy's comments, the gunman reportedly asked the family for forgiveness and gave the children chocolate bars.
The youngster, from Windsor, Berkshire, was in a supermarket with his mother Amber and his sister when terrorists stormed the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi on Saturday, The Sun reported.
The boy is believed to have been trying to protect his mother, who had been shot in the leg.
"I am very relieved that my family have survived and my thoughts go out to those families that are not as fortunate as my own," Mr Prior said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"My children are traumatised and my wife is very unwell as a result of this senseless atrocity.
"As a family we now need time and privacy to heal. We would strongly urge anyone interested in helping out the victims of this attack to make donations to the Kenya Red Cross."
The youngster's uncle Alex Coutts told The Sun that when terrorists asked if any children were alive in the supermarket, his nephew, nieces and their mother stood up and said `yes', before the four-year-old said: "You're a bad man, let us leave."
"He was very brave," Mr Coutts said.
"The terrorists even gave the kids Mars bars."
Ayza Nazira Zulfazli found!
ORDEAL OVER: Cleaner said she was semi-conscious
PETALING JAYA: THE 15-year-old girl, whose disappearance on Saturday sparked a frantic search by her family and the public, was found semi-conscious in a toilet at the ground floor of a condominium block next to hers in Damansara Perdana here last night.
Ayza Nazira Zulfazli was found by a cleaner, who alerted residents at 8.30pm.
Her mother, Rosziana Mohamed, 47, said she and her husband were out looking for Ayza Nazira when their daughter was found.
"Apparently, some of the residents had asked her about us and how they could contact us. Fortunately, one of them recognised her from a missing person's poster that we distributed in the area and tried calling our numbers.
"However, they could not get us at that time. So, my daughter gave them my sister's number."
Rosziana said her sister, while trying to get her on the phone, rushed from her Damansara Utama home to pick up Ayza Nazira.
"By the time we spoke to her, she had already taken my daughter to her home."
The mother of three, who was reunited with her daughter at her sister's house, said Ayza Nazira was so weak when she was found and that she had to be carried out of the toilet by residents.
"She is dehydrated and in a daze. She's not talking and has refused to eat. We are getting a doctor to check on her," she said, adding that although she was glad that her daughter was unharmed, she was worried about her condition.
The Form Three student of SMK (P) Sri Aman here was last seen at her condominium.
On the day of the incident, Rosziana and her husband, Zulfazli Kamaruddin, 45, had left their unit around 2.45pm to go to Shah Alam.
"When we left, she was at the house. We realised that she had disappeared only when we came home around 10pm with our eldest daughter, Alya Suraya."
Rosziana said they had contacted Ayza Nazira's friends and searched for their daughter in the nearby housing area but to no avail.
"Ayza Nazira had expressed concern about sitting the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination, which is from Oct 2 to 8.
"Two days before she went missing, she told me that she was worried about her performance, although she had scored 5As and 3Bs in her trial exam," she said, adding that they did not pressure her.
The couple distributed posters of their missing daughter in Daman-sara Perdana and tried to use social media to find her.
They also lodged a police report on Sunday.
Timeshttp://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/missing-girl-15-found-next-door-1.362120#ixzz2fpsxBsqX
Ubiquitous System for Jabatan Kastam dan Eksais Diraja (Customs) : Corruption, Kickbacks, Collusion and Abuse of Power!
with thanks to ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
Another typical leak at Treasury
Last week, UMNO President Dato Najib Tun Abdul Razak announced plans for economic empowerment of Bumiputera. [Read again here]
Every other person was complaining of nothing new. One of our concern was no serious effort to address past problems of leakage, inefficiency and sabotage on past empowerment programs. Leakage and inefficiency tend to be blame on government machinery.
Najib's intention to improve delivery is understood and appreciated. Only problem is the PEMANDU outfit. The other choice to PEMANDU is to leave it to the civil servant to independently run government machinery.
True, we have been a strong advocate to abolish PEMANDU and return the role to EPU, but it is not a blanket endorsement for all because had there not been for privatisation, JKR would still not complete the North-South Expressway yet.
The case we like to bring up is a case of leakage involving a recent tender for a Ubiquitous System for Jabatan Kastam dan Eksais Diraja (Customs). The underlying problem is clear and it is ubiquitously morally wrong.
MACC should be alerted because it has corruption, kickbacks, collusion and abuse of power written all over.
When we exposed how policies and procedures was abused by big names being bandied to be associated to Najib in the tender for Accrual Accounting System for Accountant General Office [read here], wonder whether MACC have made a raid on Ministry of Finance.
If not, this Customs tender involved some big names, big money and abuse have been allowed to go on for too bloody long time. It is killing competitiveness, making a mockery of market friendly affirmative action, and any rhetorics along capacity or nation building.
One way to address is to raise level of morality and sense of responsibility. As our late sifu used to say, one cannot operationalise morality but only set policies and procedures.
Customs have an on-going system, doing well since 1992, and can be upgraded, but decided to change it into a system called Ubiquitous system. Not sure the technical meaning but ubiquitous means "present in all places and at all times".
The tender is Pembangunan Projek Sistem U-Customs for jabatan Kastam dan Eksais Diraja Malaysia. Tender date closed on March 11, 2013.
As usual in any IT tender, interested companies would shop around the world for systems solution. Everyone involved could basically know who has been shopping for what. With some effort, one can know how many have approached the most powerful solution Artiquator, the only use in France Bull system, Korean Posco and Microsoft.
Before awarded, the user, Customs would determine which system and technical package meet their requirement and interest them.
They would also ascertain company knowledge and ability to understand the Customs process, have technical experience, and capacity and commitment level. Having a Artiquator system solution but no technical experience in the Customs process is not necessarily an advantage.
There are also issues of financial capability and obviously cheapest tender price
Then all these is passed to Ministry of Finance. Prior to reaching the Tender Committee chaired by Najib, the papers and documents have to be sent to a committee of Little Napoleans.
The Little Napoleans will would vet through Customs review and make their own recomendation. It would be usually strange for user comment to be far different from the Little Napoleans'.
Usually Najib and the Committee of top level government officers sometimes including MoF II would merely approve as recommended by the Little Napoleans. No story of Rosmah interference through husband or politician making a quick buck.
Members of the Tender Board are:
1. YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Hj Abdul Razak (Chairman)
2. Tan Sri Irwan Siregar (KSU)
3. Dato' Mat Noor Nawi (TKSP-Dasar)
4. Datuk Nozirah Bahari (TKSP-Pengurusan)
5. Dato' Fauziah Yaacob (TKSP-Sistem & Kawalan)
6. Dato' Hashimuddin Mohamad (Setiausaha Bahagian Perolehan Kerajaan)
In this tender exercise, Company Coded 1/21 (as per list above) at RM317.8 million had won. In term of pricing, it is numbered 4. While in term of technical, we found out it is numbered 4 with their Microsoft base system.
It is still no issue. The question to ask is is are there companies in a better positioning than number 4?
As far as our source found, there are at least 2 companies with better technical AND pricing position than number 4. But it is not about promoting other companies, but questioning why Company 1/21 got it.
It means a system of policies and procedures is in place but there are leakages or abuse of power or collusion going on from the breakdown of individual morality. These are the pengkhianat bangsa dan negara!
Our source also found that there is Company Coded 10/21 at number 2 technical position (two step higher than number 4) but pricing is number 5.
At number 5, it is RM28 million higher at RM345 million than the winner Company 1/21. If Customs and MoF is willing to spend more for a superior system and chose company 2, it is still acceptable. Heard it was the Artiquator system.
Company 1/21 is a tight financial condition and have too many big projects in hand with tight deadlines. It is not too sure they can deliver as promised in 2 years time. But why was the company given and recommended by these Little Napolean of questionable morality?
Calling calling MACC ...
The Little Napolean is hiding inside a committee for contracts more than RM30 million, below:
1. Datuk Nozirah Bahari (TKSP Pengurusan and Chairperson)
2. Dato' Noorrizan Shafie (Setiausaha Bahagian Dasar Saraan, Wang Awam & Khidmat Pengurusan)
3. Wan Omar Wan Abdul Ghani (Ketua Seksyen Perolehan Kerajaan)
3. A repreentative from JKR
4. Hj Mohamad Jusoh (Ketua Seksyen Kewangan)
5. Ahmad Zaki Mohamed Rayes (Ketua Penolong Setiausaha)
The one processing the papers are Haji Mohamed Jusoh and Ahmad Zaki. Haji Mohamed heads the secretariat and Ahmad Zaki as assisted him.
Off course, we know Company 1/21. Drum roll please ........ the company is Brilliance Information Sdn Bhd (374044-H). The office is at 16, Jalan Meranti SD 13/5, Bandar Sri Damansara. Kuala Lumpur. It is a RM2 million paid-up company. Directors and shareholders are Asmar Haiza binti Ishak and Salehodin Majid.
It is in the business of retailing and distribution of soft and hardware computer peripherels and related products and services. They are currently implementing the GST system for Customs.
Other than doing lobby work for big projects for big companies, this Dato is CEO Wafada Technic & Consult Sdn Bhd. Check out the Directors and client here.
He also supplies X Ray scanner and it's maintenance to Customs.
It should be a conflict of interest to have a former civil servant do lobby inside but there is no such law against it. Politicians can be imprisoned for having transaction with someone having transaction with government but civils servant can do transaction with the government they used to be employed to.
Since it is fine and the bloody lawyers and judges only under law and not ethics, let's not take this any further. So why did they manage to get such preference by 'orang dalam'?
Here is something else, Brilliance was initially never made it in the initial technical evaluation, supposedly by Customs.
Their systems used microclear product developed during father President George Bush for the Kuwait Iraq war. Apart from Kuwait, the product was used in Pakistan but scrap due to non performance. The Pakistani government is suing them.
More question, how did they get to be number 4 by MoF subcommittee?
Something smells funny right?
It is found that Brilliance had a revenue of RM21.3 million and PAT of RM9,438 for year ending March 2012. With a big project in hand, no increase financial capacity from previous project and only paid up capital of RM2 million, Brilliance does not have the means.
Korek punya korek, we found out that they have link with one Dato Mohd Jimmy Wong bin Abdullah who is a member of the Board of Director of MYEG.com. Read here.
There are very old and serious issue with MYEG.com which we regretted for not exposing it during the time of Pak Lah. We had some serious information on the crap behind MYEG.com but decided not to since it is not gentlemenly to whack on a fallen man.
We had met and heard Dato Dr Norraesah spoke in seminars and forums, thus we had given her high respect as an academician. Man are we suckers for academicians.
MYEG is the undisputed e-government provider in Malaysia. There are no competitors that can go near the company.
It is the sole concessionaires as the online government transactional services for the Malaysian community through its Electronic Government (E-Government) Initiatives. Riding on the government developed GITN, MYEG had access to database to enable transaction.
Initially, it was to collaborate with two other companies licensed to provide e-Government. But they used their monopolistic access to database to "kill" one competitor. The other company was planned to collaborated with them and naturally did a golden parachute out.
This was all done within the political-civil servant insidious collaboration of anak menakan Pak Lah, Dr Noraessah (7 million shares), former UMNO Youth Tanjung, Dato Dr Munir Shah Raja Mustapha (209 million shares) and former MAMPU Director Gneral, Tan Sri Dato Muhammad Rais bin Karim (3.2 million shares).
e-Government was the project under MAMPU. Is it not a conflict of interest for Tan Sri Muahmmad Rais to be Director and holds few million shares? How could a member of the Board of PERKIM be doing so unethical and nearing corrupt like this? Does he have no conscience?
It's Managing Director is Singaporean Wong Thean Soon. He holds 209 million shares.
Melayu get shares for selling influence but do nothing. Did not get knowledge, skill and management experiance... WTF! Please do not vote for Dr Norraessah for Majlis Tertinggi UMNO.
Furthermore, what the duck is a Company with Singaporean as founder and most likely major and controlling shareholder be awarded access to all information with regard to our Government and citizens?
This is not only leakage in a system but a security risk. Didn't anyone in Government and politics ponder to understand that risk during Pak Lah time?
Pak Lah, Singapore, monopoly contracts and unsavory practices... Asal Bukan Khairy (ASK)
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