Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sodomy II: Pakatan MPs join Aussie counterparts, want charge dropped

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat MPs will be
submitting a memorandum to the Government
calling for the sodomy charge against their
leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be dropped.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said Pakatan MPs
were united with their Australian counterparts.
"The memorandum will ... call for the Prime
Minister, Government and the Attorney-
General to drop the charge against Anwar," he
told reporters at the Jalan Duta Court
Complex Thursday.
Lim also called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Tun Razak to convene an emergency
Parliamentary meeting on the sodomy charge
as the matter involved the country's
reputation.
"We need to be clear on Parliament's position
on the matter. The charge needs to be
dropped," said the Ipoh Timur MP.
PAS vice-president and Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz
Omar claimed the case was an "evil
conspiracy," hence the need for the
memorandum.
Batu MP and PKR strategic director Tian Chua
said MPs had a universal responsibility in the
democractic system to defend justice and
human rights.
DAP chairman Karpal Singh said the
memorandum would most likely be sent to the
Attorney-General.
"The AG should drop the case. In my mind, the
charge is groundless. The medical evidence is
clear. Three doctors from the KL Hospital have
reported that there is no conclusive findings of
penetration," he said.
About 50 Australian MPs from both sides of
the political divide had recently lodged a formal
protest urging Malaysia to drop the sodomy
charge in the interest of building "confidence in
the impartial rule of law in Malaysia."
The chairman of the Australian Parliament's
foreign affairs sub-committee, Michael Danby,
had delivered the letter to the Malaysian High
Commission in Canberra last Friday.
On Wednesday, about 500 people protested
outside the Australian High Commission in
Kuala Lumpur against alleged interference by
the Australian MPs.
Leading the protest was Umno Youth chief
Khairy Jamaluddin, his deputy Datuk Razali
Ibrahim, Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club
deputy chairman Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin,
Perkasa president and Pasir Mas MP Datuk
Ibrahim Ali, Makkal Sakhthi's R. Thanenthiran
and MIC Youth chief T. Mohan.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Kelantan prince to seek legal recourse in Indonesia

The Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra plans to initiate legal action against his estranged wife Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother Daisy Fajarina in Indonesia.

His lawyer Mohd Haaziq Pillay said he intended to do so if Manohara and her mother still did not respond to the three court judgements passed by the Malaysian syariah and civil courts last year.

Mohd Haaziq said this after he and two other lawyers, Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar and Abdul Halim Bahari, submitted documents containing the court judgements to the Indonesian Embassy here so that it could pass them on to Manohara and Daisy and advise them to abide by the judgements.

“The embassy would use its own channels to serve the papers, and a government agency’s word would carry more weight,” said Mohd Haaziq, adding that it would also facilitate their intentions of commencing further proceedings in Indonesia.

Mohd Haaziq said that the embassy would play an advising role as it had no enforcement rights and foreign laws did not apply in Indonesia.

The lawyers were met by Indonesian Minister Counsellor for Information, Social and Culture to Malaysia Widyarka Ryananta and the documents were received by Minister Counsellor for Consular Affairs Amiruddin Pandjaitan.

On Tuesday, the lawyers also handed copies of the judgements to the US Embassy as Manohara’s father is a US citizen.

The lawyers said they were told that Manohara also held US citizenship.

Zainul told reporters that the embassy did not have a deadline to deliver the documents.

Both Manohara and Daisy have not responded to the judgements from both courts delivered to them in mid-November and early January.

On Nov 5 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted Tengku Muhammad Fakhry a judgment-in-default in his RM105mil defamation suit against Manohara and Daisy.

On Dec 13, Kota Baru Syariah High Court judge Mohd Yusof Awang ordered Manohara to return to her husband and pay him the RM1,112,250 she borrowed from him.

The judge said the 18-year-old Indonesian former model had 14 days to return to her husband and had 30 days to return the money after Tengku Muhammad Fakhry took the Yamin Istizhar (explicit promise) oath.

The order was enforced after he took the oath in court on Jan 3.

Pakatan Rakyat - Opposition leaders decry court’s ruling

PETALING JAYA: Opposition party leaders have expressed disappointment over the Federal Court’s unanimous decision to declare Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as Perak’s rightful Mentri Besar.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng urged Barisan Nasional to dissolve the Perak state assembly and hold fresh elections.

Lim, who is Penang Chief Minister, said Barisan has to restore democracy and the constitutional right of the people to determine their government.

“Any government that does not have any directly elected mandate violates the democratic principle of people’s power,” he said in a statement yesterday.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, who was also at the press conference at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya yesterday, described the unanimous decision as shameful.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Pakatan Rakyat would continue its political battle to wrest Perak from the Barisan despite the Federal Court’s ruling.

He said PKR regarded the decision as a black mark in the history of the country’s judiciary.

“It definitely will not break Pakatan’s spirit in its efforts to ensure its victory in Perak in the next general election,” he said.

The party’s political bureau chief Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said the court has decided that the principles of constitutional law, parliamentary democracy and justice were subservient to political wishes.

“It means that the Malay Rulers now have an absolute power over the Chief Executive of the State.

“The Sultan now not only has the power to refuse the appointment of anyone proposed by the government of the day as the Mentri Besar that he disapproves of, he also has the power to dismiss the said Mentri Besar if he so wishes,” he said.

He said it seemed that the constitutional requirement that a constitutional head only acted on the advice of the Mentri Besar or the Prime Minister was now no longer applicable.

PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat called on the people to reject the Federal Court decision.

He said in Kota Baru that it was not wrong for the people to reject the decision because people have recently demonstrated their displeasure over a High Court decision.

He said it was not wrong to demonstrate against the decision as it was part of democracy.

Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham claimed that if fresh elections were not called, the rights of 54% of the people of Perak whom he claimed supported Pakatan, would be denied.

Sodomy II: Karpal claims judge lied (Updated)

KUALA LUMPUR: Lead defence counsel Karpal Singh accused the judge presiding over the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial of being a liar.

Karpal on Wednesday argued that trial judge Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah was lying when he said that evidence in relation to a bed in the Desa Damansara condominium had been given in open court.

The judge had said last Friday that he did not find any indication of contempt of court in a photograph showing Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan pointing to a bed that was published in a Malay daily.

Karpal is asking Justice Mohamad Zabidin to recuse himself for not cautioning the newspaper for publishing the photograph.

The defence maintains that the visit to the bedroom and condominium was part of proceedings held behind closed doors.

“There is nothing in the notes of proceedings or audio before this court to show that this detail was ever mentioned in open court.

“With much respect, your lordship did not tell the truth. We translate, you are lying. You lied and it can and has been proven that you are not being honest in court. You can’t be impartial and you can’t be unbiased.

“On those grounds, you have no alternative but to step down. It is not a mere perception but a reality. You stand condemned by your own ruling,” Karpal submitted in the recusal application before a packed courtroom Wednesday.

Anwar had on Monday applied to recuse the trial judge on the grounds that his two rulings concerning news reports of the case had raised an element of bias.

The Opposition leader, 63, claimed trial to sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful, 24, at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara, here between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

Karpal said: “In this application, what is fundamental, I say without mincing my words, you are guilty of not having stated of what is the truth.”

“It is not the truth and it is a lie,” he said firmly, shocking the courtroom.

He said his role was to defend his client to the best of his ability, adding that justice must “manifestly, expressedly and undoubtedly” be seen to be done.

“It is no point blaming the foreign press for (writing about) our legal system if a judge does not deliver what is expected of him in a trial. The judiciary of this country must redeem itself in the eyes of international (observers),” he said.

He said there was no blanket immunity for judges.

“You have forfeited the right to sit down on that chair and proceed to hear the trial,” he said, stunning everyone in court.

On the trial judge dismissing his application summarily and ruling that the two articles with allegedly misleading headlines published by Utusan did not have the intention of being mischievous or to disrupt proceedings, Karpal said the judge could not come to such a conclusion on behalf of the newspaper.

Citing the Judges Code of Conduct 2009, enforced on July 1 last year, Karpal said the judge could also be subjected to disciplinary proceedings if he was found to have contravened the ethical requirement to perform his judicial duty without bias.

Lead prosecutor Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, however, submitted that no one should carelessly argue about impartiality of a judge.

DPP Mohd Yusof said the concerned party should prove that a judge had a pecuniary interest in order to disqualify him from further hearing the trial.

“The real danger of bias has to be examined in the context of the complaint. There is real danger of bias when the public concludes your lordship will be unfair to the parties by not deciding based on evidence adduced in court, or your lordship decides on erroneous grounds,” he said in asking the court to dismiss the disqualification application.

On the photograph caption, DPP Mohd Yusof said it only referred to a room where the offence allegedly took place and that there was no dispute that the complainant went there.

“To say your lordship lied is a very strong word. You (lawyers) have to be polite. Certain ethics must be preserved,” he said.

On the contention that there were two misleading headlines in Utusan over the sodomy trial, DPP Mohd Yusof said it was “proven” through the notes of proceedings that the concerned reporter had reported the truth and that the defence owed an apology.

Justice Mohamad Zabidin set Feb 18 to deliver his decision on the recusal application, saying that he needed time to study the submissions and case law provided by both parties.

Blow-by-blow account of today's proceedings:

11.25am: Court is adjourned. Justice Mohamad Zabidin will deliver his decision on recusal application on Feb 18.

11.12am: Justice Mohamad Zabidin said he is unable to decide today. Court stands down as judge wants to see both parties in chambers to discuss on a date to deliver a decision on recusal application.

11.01am: Karpal begins responding. “If you are referring to a room, why are you pointing to a bed?” he questioned.

11.00am: Mohd Yusof describes the Utusan Malaysia "blunder" as remeh (frivolous) and expresses hope that the application to recuse the judge will be dismissed.

10.39am: He said the caption for the photograph, “Menunjukkan katil di mana tempat kejadian berlaku” does not mean alleged sodomy took place on the bed. He added that the caption meant to refer to the master bedroom where the alleged incident happened and not the bed.

10.37am: He said the Utusan Malaysia “blunder” was not committed in court and subsequently, the judge not responding to it, was not an outright dismissal. He added that it was erroneous to give an impression to the public that the judge had dismissed the motion. Quoting from the court transcript, Mohd Yusof said: “Apa sebab sebab kamu berhenti kerja?” “Sebab sebenar, saya tidak mahu diliwat lagi.”

10.20am: Mohd Yusof said reasons to disqualify the judge must come from the trial itself and not over minor things like newspaper reports adding that the complaint against Utusan Malaysia is not an issue.

He said a decision, which is adverse to one party, is not grounds to disqualify the judge. He added earlier that personal bias is when there is personal friendshp or animosity by the judge with anyone involved in the case.

“That is not the case here,” he said.

10.10am: Lead prosecutor Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden starts addressing the court.

10.05am: Karpal said complaints in Anwar’s affidavit is over a photograph which appeared on the frontpage of Utusan Malaysia and was captioned as Mohd Saiful pointing out to the judge the bed where he was sodomised.

Karpal added there was nothing in the proceedings which mentioned “bed” as a detail during the trial.

He added that Justice Mohamad Zabidin needed to step down as he was quoted as saying that the details of the bed had been made in open court when the actual proceedings never mentioned anything about a bed.

He also questioned Justice Mohamad Zabidin’s conclusion that the Malay daily was not attacking Anwar with its headline: “Berhenti kerana tak mahu diliwat lagi”.

9.55am: In addressing Justice Mohamad Zabidin, Karpal said that impartiality must exist when presiding over a case and a judge must be honest and beyond suspicion. "Judges have the fundamental duty to be impartial, regardless of race, religion and ethnicity," he said.

9.45am: Karpal said the prosecution has replied to Anwar’s application to recuse the judge Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah from presiding over the trial, which in turn has been replied by the defence on Wednesday.

“Let us not waste time with the proceedings. We want to go ahead,” he tells the court.

9.40am: Court is in session.

9.21am: Anwar Ibrahim’s lead counsel Karpal Singh arrives at court. Earlier, the courtroom was slowly filling up as police checked those who wanted to enter.

RM 50 - Low quality notes!!! Pity dear fellow

PETALING JAYA: A mechanical engineer had RM200 literally “washed away” when the print on his new RM50 notes disappeared after he accidentally left his wallet in the laundry.

Yeoh Jit Shiong, 25, was shocked to find that the damaged notes were almost unrecognisable on Saturday evening.

What remained were the security threads and watermarks.

Pity to the good fellow Mr.Yeoh, arrgh CNY at the corner, end-up with some low quality water soak MYR.

In another words, MYR soak sui and lat sek. Memang malulah, papernote also can diluted by soap.

Imagine, banjir at BNM, then our notes inside there also gone teruk-teruk.

Where too find, countries with such similar notes quality like Malaysia? Maybe Zimbabwe, maybe Cuba, maybe Haiti and some low class country.

Yah, pencapaian yang hebat, duit tulen pun boleh rosak kena air.

Tak tahulah, syiling 20sen pun boleh karat nanti.

Come on, notes is a denomination of a countries economy and financial. All notes, must be able to withstand waters and trampling, as the notes has to endure trampling in pocket, bags, wallets and rain.

Yet, now!!! Just like toilet paper.

Undies Free Valentine's Day!

“On Valentine’s night, we will conduct a preventive operation called Operasi Sayang Remaja at Queensbay Mall in Gurney Drive and along the Butterworth Outer Ring Road stretch.

Since, we do not have enforcement powers like Jakim officers, we will concentrate on counselling and advising couples against committing adultery,” he said.

In fact, all the 'hooha's were caused by women who threatened not to wear panties on that day, so shouldn't the officers do something to ensure that all women wear them.

Doing anything else would sidetrack the issue!