A GRAVE DISTORTION OF THE MALAYSIAN CONSTITUTION

In a written judgment by Justice Nik Hashim Nik Rahman, the Federal Court empowers the Election Commission (EC) to over-rule the Speaker over the resignations of the three ‘independents’ in Perak and declares these assemblymen continue to stay as assemblymen.

This judgment, released on June 15 - 67 days after the oral judgment was given by the panel of five judges on April 9 - is flawed on two scores.

First, the court has misinterpreted the Constitution to wrongly declare the EC – instead of the Speaker – as the authority to decide whether a resignation in the legislature should be accepted.

Second, even if the court is correct in giving the EC the role of the final arbiter in respect of resignations in a legislature (which is decidedly wrong in law), the court has no business to declare the three 'independents' remain as assemblymen.

The kingpin of the court’s argument is Article 36(5) of the Perak Constitution, which reads: "A casual vacancy shall be filled within 60 days from the date on which it is established by the Election Commission that there is a vacancy.

"Pouncing on the word "established" as conferring an executive power to deliberate on the legality of the resignation of a legislator, Nik Hashim asserts that "the Election Commission has the right to enquire into any matter relating to the purported resignation."

He further states that "Under Article 35 of the Perak Constitution, the Speaker’s role is limited to receiving the written resignation letter of the assemblyman and forwarding the same to the Election Commission, which will then by its own procedure determine whether a casual vacancy has arisen or not". (Article 35 reads: "A member of the Legislative Assembly may resign his membership by writing under his hand, addressed to the Speaker.").

If Nik Hashim's interpretation of the Constitution is correct, hasn't our poor Speaker been reduced to a mere messenger boy for the EC whenever a resignation in the Assembly or dispute arising wherefrom crops up?

Founding fathers not dim-witted

Surely our founding fathers and the crafters of our Constitution, which is built on the principle of separation of power, could not be so dim-witted as to allow such piece of nonsensical legislation to slip through their fingers?

Actually there is nothing wrong with the legislation. The problem is with the interpreter of the constitution. Nik Hashim has obviously misconceived the real function of the word "established".

Interpreting it out of context, he conjures up powers to the EC that are not intended and non-existent in the Constitution.

Any experienced reader of the constitution should be able to discern that Clause 5 of Article 36 of the Perak Constitution was intended to stipulate that a casual vacancy must be filled when it arises, and that it must be filled within a certain period.

The word “established” is used in the context of defining the 60-day period within each the vacancy must be filled, and not to be used as implying the granting of executive power to the EC to micromanage the mechanism of an act of resignation in a legislature.

If it is intended that the EC be given such an important function as manager and final arbiter of resignations in a legislature, is it conceivable that the crafters of the our constitution had camouflaged it in such cavaliar fashion, and not expressly spelling out the details under a separate clause?

In fact, it is equally inconceivable that our founding fathers could have agreed to such provision due to its fundamental contradiction with the doctrine of separation of power.

In Malaysia, and in fact in legislatures all over the democratic world, it is always the Speaker who scrutinises and acts upon the resignation of a legislator, and should there be any dispute which the Speaker could not resolve, the Assembly will act as the final authority to settle the outstanding issues.

In the worst scenario where criminality is alleged, such as forged signature or undue coercion, the aggrieved party can always seek redress through the courts. But under no circumstances should the EC involve itself in any such matter which is deemed the exclusive domain of the assembly, outside the jurisdiction of not only the EC but also the courts. The latter could only come in, if there is incidence of criminal elements.

EC’s hollow authority

Nik Hashim may be technically correct when he rules that “the Election Commission is the rightful entity which establishes if there is casual vacancy of the State Legislative Assembly seat”, but such function to “establish” vacancy is a hollow authority – a mere formality to announce a vacancy upon notification from the Speaker of a resignation, as the bulk of action in a resignation takes place at the Speaker’s end, not at the EC.

When the Speaker receives a letter of resignation, he scrutinises its authenticity, and satisfies himself that the resignation is genuine before accepting it. And upon his notification to the EC to this effect, the legal act of resignation is deemed complete. And since the EC has no legal power under the Constitution or any law to undo this resignation, it should treat the Speaker’s notification as legal command to fulfill his constitutional obligation to declare a vacancy and a by-election date.

In the Perak case, the EC had clearly acted ultra vires the constitution when it rejected the Speaker’s decision and refused to conduct by-elections.

The current Federal Court judgment endorsing such unconstitutional act has caused a grave distortion to our Constitution and opened the floodgate for potential interference by EC into issues of resignations in our legislatures including parliament.

This judgment must therefore be promptly reversed through a judicial review to avert permanent damage to our system of government under the principle of separation of power.

I have said at the beginning of this article that the Federal Court has no business to declare that the status of the three ‘independents’ be maintained as assemblymen. This is due to the fact that this court hearing is just to interpret the meaning of the Constitution pertaining to the EC’s power in respect of the resignation of a legislator, and not to look into the legality of the specific act that the EC had taken in respect of the resignations of the three ‘independents’ in the Perak Assembly. As such, the Federal Court has no legal basis to make declarations that the assemblymen status of the three ‘independents’ be maintained. That decision is up to the High Court in Ipoh, where such litigation is still on going.

BY: KIM QUEK FOR MALAYSIAKINI, 17TH JUNE 2009

'World's oldest blogger' dies in Spain at 97.

MADRID: A Spanish great-grandmother who billed herself as the "world's oldest blogger" and who gained a global following on the Internet, died on Thursday, 22nd May, 2009 at the age 97, local officials and reports said.

Maria Amelia Lopez, who was introduced to the world of blogging by one of her grandchildren, used a mix of humor and nostalgia to recall life during the long dictatorship of Francisco Franco and give her take on modern life.

"Today it's my birthday and my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog," she wrote on her first post on amis95.blogspot.com on Dec 23, 2006.

Her blog quickly soared in popularity after the media reported on it, having seen more than 1.5 million hits.- AFP

Story of May 13, 1969

Story by Thomas Lee ( Taken from Malaysiakini )

I was one month short of my 21st birthday on May 13, 1969, and I will never forget how I was escorted safely home by some Malay men when I had to pass through the Malay section of Lorong Selamat (the Macalister Road end) in Penang on my way home on my Vasper scooter. One of them even rode pillion on my scooter to ensure I was not attacked. The riot was not racial. It was the poor Malays being told by Malay politicians that the rich Chinese caused them the economic suffering, and the poor Chinese being told by Chinese politicians that the powerful Malays in government caused them to suffer. The riot was triggered off by the then massive suffering of both the poor Malays and poor Chinese. Who to blame? Not the Malays. Not the Chinese. But the happy-go-lucky ‘tidak apa’ government of the day, which didn't have any concrete plans and policies to uplift the quality of life of the poor Malays and poor Chinese. That's what I believe May 13 was all about. By the way, May 13 is also my wedding anniversary.

ZEN AND THE ART OF BLOGGING

When I was growing up, I wanted to be Grasshopper, the character in David Carradine’s TV series ‘Kung Fu’.

Grasshopper was child imbued with immense interest in learning about what life means and how to create himself. The conversations between the master and the student intrigued me.

My interest in the philosophy of martial arts, drawn from the teachings of the masters of the Shaolin Temple, led me later in life to also study Oriental Literature and Philosophy, reading great works such as ‘The Dream of the Red Chamber’, ‘The Tale of Genji’, and ‘The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon’.

I watched numerous kung fu movies and wanted to also be like Bruce Lee, the man who synthesised Western and Eastern philosophy into an advent garde form of martial arts.

Reading Buddhism in one of those periods of my spiritual enrichment and encountering works such as ‘The Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance’ and ‘The Dancing WuLi Masters’, I found the idea of deconstructionism and psychology of awareness even before I plunged into the study of social semiotics in my years in New York City.

Zen Buddhism’s most famous advocate in the West is Richard Gere, the American actor who is deeply involved in the campaign for a free Tibet. Gere often speak with the Dalai Lama in making the world aware of the persecution of the Tibetans by the Chinese government.

Awareness is a key principle of the teaching of the Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama is a quintessential example of a human being who discarded the garment of nobility and elitism and came down to earth and explored the bare-nakedness of alienation and dehumanisation.

From a prince to a pauper he evolved in the final days transformed into a philosopher. His struggles against the demons called Mara and his exploration of the self as powerful cause and effect of existence itself - and how wisdoms like pearls will emerge out of deep meditations on the fate of humanity - all these have become a life history example of how one can be at peace and harmony with the universe.

Cyberspace is a world of Maya with Mara shooting arrows at the enlightened ones. One has to be a Shaolin master in order to fight these demons and to continue to evolve into one piece into wise individuals.

Paid cyber-troopers in the Malaysian ‘Mahabharata’ of this millennium is a feature of this perpetually fragmented world. The industrial model has collapsed. The Malaysian monarchical state is in trouble. The Perak plague is a beginning of the Balkanisation of this Asian despotic state we are attempting to reconstruct.

Fight the demons
In cyberspace, bloggers are playing the art of making others aware of issues and in the process hopefully impart wisdom. Bloggers are artists practising the art of harmonising truth, realism, and activism.

Truth and falsehood multiply endlessly in cyberspace. At the centre of the personhood of the blogger lie awareness and the Zen-ness of the master’s craft. It is the awareness of what to do with truth and falsehood and the subjectivities and reflectivities in between that determine whether the blogger is fighting the Maras the Buddha fought, or has become one of the Maras.

In cyberspace, bloggers are educating, whether it is education for peace or for war. The more popular the blogger, the greater the impact of the message. The blogger is a weapon itself - in the whole enterprise of waging war or waging peace.

In the political scene, Malaysia is being deconstructed by bloggers. It is a natural progression of the anarchic nature of the Internet. No politician is safe. You can neither run nor hide in cyberspace. It is a Matrix of the Maya world we inhabit; a world of the Maras that attacked Buddha and of the masses that stormed the Bastille.

Malaysia will continue to be destabilised by bloggers - for the better - in her evolution towards the establishment of a just republic or a republic of virtue as the French ideologues of the 18th century would say.

Politicians and pirates of the Malaysian Caribbean, ones who stole from the poor to give to the rich, are in constant fear of bloggers - especially of the Zen bloggers. The Zen blogger, like the messiah on twitter is one who does not speak ill of others in cyberspace but makes people ill by invading the inner spaces of those who abuse power and by oppressing others.

Like a Rumi poem, the Zen blogger takes the middle path in spreading a message of peace through deconstructionism. But deconstruct, the blogger must. Through right thought, right action, right conduct, and right blogging, the blogger must make others aware of what life ought to be. In Malaysia, what ought to be has become what we are wrought to be. This means we have evolved from a nation of tolerance in the 1970s to a nation of totalitarianism in the 21st century.

Like the WuLi masters and Little Grasshopper, the blogger must know how to dance when given a sword. Like Bruce Lee, he must know how to harmonise the philosophies and create a lethal art of war in his or her work in waging peace.

Only when blogging is an art and science of educating for peace and not a dance of death in Dante’s Inferno, not when bloggers can be bought and sold for millions of ringgit by owners of the production of falsehood, that we can see the Zen and the art of blogging at play.

Bloggers must journey into the self and fight the demons within. You must, as the Sufi teachers would say, be skilled in journeying from the levels of Shariat, Tarikat, Hakikat, and Makrifat - the levels of outer and inner consciousness that define the harmonious self.

For, essentially, as bloggers we answer to our inner conscience. And ultimately, we are a republic unto ourselves, in a world in which the state is still a necessary evil.

Bloggers - beware and be aware.

By: Azly Rahman.

Press Statement by Member of Parliament Klang Charles Santiago in Klang on 18th April 2009.

It is appalling to read Utusan Malaysia run a frontpage article titled “Bangkitlah Melayu”, urging the Malays to rise against the other races who are allegedly demanding way too much. But maybe the answer lies in the fact that the paper is linked to the ruling UMNO.

Although at first glance the verbal diarrhea by Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the Member of Parliament of Pasir Mas seems to pour cold water on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia concept, the lines blur upon careful scrutiny.

If Najib is serious about getting rid of racist language that strife to divide the Malaysian society even further, then he should formally put an end to the affirmative action policies which have only lined the wallets of the ruling elite.

But, on a different note, mere rhetoric by Ibrahim, Utusan Malaysia and other UMNO members would not help achieve Najib’s call to Malaysians to break away from their “ethnic prison”.

Picking up on Najib’s statement after chairing his first cabinet meeting, I urge the premier to act sternly on Utusan Malaysia, which practices obsequious journalism to pander to the whims and fancies of its UMNO bosses.

The country is facing enough economic problems without a whole new franchise cashing in with their bully–boy tactics. Najib’s top job and concern should be about the economy, which is handicapped by rising unemployment and declining demand.

The effect of massive job loss may increase the national unemployment rate, which currently sits at 3.5 percent, to 4.5 percent. The country’s manufacturing sector recorded a 26.1 per cent decline in sales in February. The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, a government-linked think tank, has said that the country’s export-driven economy would shrink 2.2 percent this year, more than the government and central bank are forecasting.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd early this week reported a net profit decline of 63 per cent from RM 42.1 million a year ago to net profit of RM 15.5 million in March of this year largely due to the decline in equities trading revenue

Malaysia’s GDP grew just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, as exports continue to drop due to sagging global demand.

Utusan, Ibrahim Ali and Najib should be aware that pushing the racial line when the country’s economy is sliding fast would not help the people. These groups should strive instead to promote an enabling environment for every Malaysian, especially the poor.

Specifically, Najib’s slogan should not be persuasive language used to hoodwink the people even further. He is after all not competing to win the best slogan title against former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad who chanted Bersih, Cekap, Amanah and his one-time blue-eyed boy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s “Work With Me, Not For Me.

In short, we do not need mere political slogans, racist rhetoric and bigotry. The country needs to focus on the economy.

Charles Santiago

Member of Parliament, Klang

016-6267797

மதமாற்ற விவகாரம்: இந்து சங்கம் அமைச்சரவை உதவியை நாடுகிறது

தாயாரின் அனுமதியின்றி வலுக்கட்டாயமாக மூன்று இளங்குழந்தைகள் ஈப்போவில் மதமாற்றம் செய்யப்பட்ட விவகாரத்தில் இந்து சங்கத் தலைவர் எ. வைத்திலிங்கம் புதிய அமைச்சரவையின் உதவியை நாடியுள்ளார்.

“இப்பிரச்னை துணைப் பிரதமர் முகைதின், பிரதமர்துறை அமைச்சர் கோ சூ கூன் மற்றும் மனிதவள அமைச்சர் எஸ். சுப்ரமணியம் ஆகியோரின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டுவரப்பட்டபின், இது ஒரு கடுமையான பிரச்னையாகக் கருதப்படுகிறது”, என்று அவர் ஓர் அறிக்கையில் கூறியுள்ளார்.

இப்பிரச்னையைக் கையாள்வதற்கு கோ, சுப்ரமணியம் மற்றும் இஸ்லாமிய விவகாரங்களுக்கு பொறுப்பேற்றுள்ள பிரதமர்துறை அமைச்சர் ஜமில் கீர் பகாரும் ஆகியோர் அடங்கிய குழு ஒன்றை துணைப் பிரதமர் முகைதின் அமைத்துள்ளார் என்றாவர்.

“இதற்கிடையில், சம்பந்தப்பட்ட அனைவரும் அமைதி காத்து இப்பிரச்னைக்கு நியாயமான தீர்வு காண உதவுமாறு இந்து சங்கம் வேண்டுகோள் விடுக்கிறது. நீதிக்காகப் பிராத்னை செய்வோம்”, என்று வைத்திலிங்கம் கூறினார்.

வயது ஒன்றிலிருந்து பன்னிரண்டு வயதுடைய மூன்று குழந்தைகளை அவர்களுடைய தகப்பனார் முகமட் ரிட்ஜுவான் அப்துல்லா ஏப்ரல் 12 ஆம் தேதி அக்குழந்தைகளின் பிறப்புப் பத்திரங்களை மட்டுமே முன்வைத்து மதமாற்றம் செய்தார். குழந்தைகளைத் தன்னுடைய பாதுகாப்பில் வைத்துக்கொள்வதற்கான உத்தரவைப் பெறுவதற்கு ஷரியா நீதிமன்றத்தில் மனு தாக்கல் செய்துள்ளார்.

அக்குழந்தைகளின் தாயார், எம். இந்திரா காந்தி, 35, அவருடைய குழந்தைகள் இந்து மதத்தைப் பின்பற்ற அனுமதிக்குமாறு கோரியுள்ளார்.

தற்போது, அத்தம்பதிகளின் இளையமகள் பிரசன்னா திக்சா, முகமட் ரிட்ஜ்வானுடன் இருக்கிறார். இதர இரண்டு குழந்தைகளும் - தேவி தர்க்ஷிணி, 12, மற்றும் காரன் தினேஷ் - தாயார் இந்திராவுடன் இருக்கின்றனர்.

இஸ்லாமிய இலாகா அதிகாரிகள் அவ்விரு குழந்தைகளையும் எடுத்துக்கொண்டுபோய் விடுவார்கள் என்ற அச்சத்தில் அந்த பாலர்பள்ளி ஆசிரியர் தன்னுடைய உறவினரிடம் தஞ்சம் அடைந்துள்ளார்.

அமைச்சரவைக்குழு என்ன செய்ய முடியும்?

அடுத்த வாரம் குழந்தைகளை தாயாரின் பொறுப்பில் விடுவதற்கான மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்படும். பின்னர் மதமாற்றம் சம்பந்தமான விசயங்கள் கவனிக்கப்படும் என்று இந்திராவின் வழக்குரைஞர் எ. சிவநேசன் கூறினார்.

“இம்மாதிரியான விவகாரங்களில் நீதி கிடைப்பதில்லை.”

“நான் பலரைப் பார்த்திருக்கிறேன். அவர்களுடைய வேதனைகளைப் பார்த்திருக்கிறேன், குறிப்பாக முஸ்லிம் அல்லாதவர்களின் வேதனையை”, என்று அவர் மலேசியாகினியிடம் கூறினார்.

அமைச்சரவைக்குழுமீது தமக்கு நம்பிக்கை இல்லை என்று சிவநேசன் கூறினார்.

” புதிய குழு என்ன செய்யப்போகிறது? மூவர் அடங்கிய குழு அமைக்கப்பட்டதன் மூலம் அக்குழு பிரச்னையை எப்படி தீர்க்கப்போகிறது”, என்று அவர் வினவினார்.

மதமாற்றம் செய்ய விரும்புகிறவர் இஸ்லாமிய இலாகாவில் தனது மதமாற்றத்தைப் பதிவு செய்துகொள்வதற்குமுன் அவர் சிவில் சட்டப்படி செய்து கொண்ட திருமணம் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட அனைத்து விவகாரங்களையும் முறையாக செய்து முடித்துவிட்டது கட்டாயமாக்கப்படுவதின் வழி மாற்றங்கள் கொண்டுவரப்பட வேண்டும் என்று சிவநேசன் கூறினார்.

“இரு தரப்பினரும் மதம் மாறினால், பிரச்னை இல்லை. ஆனால், ஒருவர் மதம் மாறி இன்னொருவர் மாற விரும்பவில்லை என்றால், அவர்களுடைய குழந்தைகள் 18 வயதை அடைந்து அவர்கள் தாங்களாகவே ஒரு முடிவு எடுப்பதற்கு அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும்”, என்று அவர் மேலும் கூறினார்.

சர்ச்சைக்குரிய பிரச்னை

சிவில் சட்டப்படி திருமணம் செய்துகொண்ட முஸ்லிம் அல்லாதவர்களின் மதமாற்றம் - ஒருவர் மதம் மாற விரும்புவதும் இன்னொருவர் மறுப்பதும் - எப்போதும் பெரும் சர்ச்சையை கிளரிவிடுகிறது. ஏனென்றால் இது சம்பந்தப்பட்ட சட்ட நிவாரணங்கள் தெளிவற்றவைகளாக இருப்பதுடன் முஸ்லிம் தரப்பிற்கு மட்டுமே சாதகமாக இருக்கிறது.

2006 ஆம் ஆண்டில் தங்களுடைய குழந்தைகள் யாருடைய பொறுப்பில் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்பது குறித்து இந்து மனைவி ஆர். சுபாஷினிக்கும் முஸ்லிமாக மாறி முகம்மட் சாபி என்ற பெயர் கொண்ட டி. சரவணனுக்கும் இடையிலான சட்டப் போராட்டம் பிரசித்தி பெற்றதாக இருந்தது.

முகம்மட் சாபி தன்னுடைய மனைவியை விவாகரத்து செய்வதற்கும், குழந்தைகளை தன் பொறுப்பில் வைத்துக்கொள்வதற்கும் ஷரியா நீதிமன்றத்தின் தீர்ப்பை நாடினார்.

இதன் பின்னர், தன்னுடைய பிரிந்துவிட்ட கணவர் ஷரியா நீதிமன்றத்தில் தொடர்ந்துள்ள நடவடிக்கைகளுக்குத் தடை விதிக்கக்கோரி சுபாஷினி செய்து கொண்ட மனு உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் வரையில் ஒவ்வொரு கட்டத்திலும் நிராகரிக்கப்பட்டது.

2007 ஆம் ஆண்டில், நாட்டின் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் அரசமைப்புச் சட்ட விதி 12(4) இன் கீழ் ஒரு குழந்தையின் மதமாற்றத்திற்கு பெற்றோர்களில் ஒருவரின் ஒப்புதல் போதுமானது என்று தீர்ப்பளித்தது.

ஆனால், இந்த வழக்கில் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட இரு குழந்தைகள் யாருடைய பொறுப்பில் இருப்பது என்பது பற்றி தெளிவான தீர்ப்பு அளிக்கவில்லை. அது குறித்து கணவனும் மனைவியும் அவரவர் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட சட்ட அடிப்படையில் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கலாம் என்று தீர்ப்பளித்தது.

இப்பிரச்னை பலதடவைகளில் எழுப்பப்பட்டபோதிலும் அரசாங்கம் இது குறித்து மௌனமாக இருந்து வந்திருக்கிறத

மை அல்மா மேட்டர்

High School Klang
SMK Tinggi Klang

Motto : Probitas Et Fides (Loyalty and Integrity)
Established : 1928
School Type : Government Secondary school

Session : Double
Enrollment : 1843
Grades : Form 1 - Form 6
Location : Jalan Meru, Selangor, Malaysia

District : Klang

Colours : Green, Yellow, White


High School Klang, also known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Klang or SMK Tinggi Klang for short, is a government secondary school located in Jalan Meru about one km away from the Klang town centre in Selangor, Malaysia. It is a male-only school from Form 1 to Form 5. At the Sixth Form level, where students take their STPM, the classes are mixed.

History

High School Klang was originally named Temporary English School and was open to students in the town of Klang on January 14, 1928 with the beginning of the academic school year.

The main school block was opened by the Sultan of Selangor on March 20, 1930. Since then the school has expanded to accommodate its ever increasing student population.
In 1941, the Klang High School was used as the headquarters of the Medical Auxiliary Service for Klang. There were two doctors assisted by 52 nurses. The school reopened after the WWII having been used as a military hospital by the British Military Authority.

After Malaysia's independence, it was known as Sekolah Tinggi Klang or by its acronym S.T.K. By the end of 1990s, the name was changed in accordance with Ministry of Education regulations to its current name.

School buildings

The school has nine blocks. The blocks are named below, with the date each came into use:

• 1928 – Hostel block. Later used as the laboratories (Block B)
• 1930 – Main block (Block A)
• 1948 – Block H and I
• 1961 – Afternoon session laboratories (Block F)
• 1969 – School Library
• 1972 – Biology, physics and chemistry laboratories (Block D)
• 1980 – Physics and chemistry laboratories with the staff room (Block C)
• 1982 – Block E
• 1991 – New block for sixth form classes

School Song

Probitas Et Fides

O God almighty, we give thee thanks
For our school, the High School Klang
And for the teachers who daily guide us
With answers to questions asked
Onward the spirit of close fellowship
And towards others in friendship and love
May we never be found wanting
The great courage of living and striving
Dear High School Klang
Our High School Klang
Thee our dear Alma Mater
Forward to serve we go now
May we love thee forever more