| Coming from Saifuddin Abdullah... Posted: 13 Jan 2014 10:54 PM PST It took some years and a lot of guts for someone to come defending former PM Pak Lah and the Malay organisation Pekida (Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia), stripping both from the 'gangster' label. But coming from a former BN MP who now joins the rank of a few 'hardcore' opposition leaders leaves us to ponder as to whether Saifuddin Abdullah was being 'neutralised' after losing the general election or being sidelined from Umno. After criticising the Election Commission (EC)'s bosses as cheating in the last GE, he tried to leverage his good rapport with the likes of Rafizi Ramli and Hishammuddin Rais by stealing the limelight on Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Pekida. KUALA LUMPUR: Global Movement of Moderates CEO Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah last night defended former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi against accusations that the latter had links to gangsterism.
"Of course I know of the existence of Pekida. Within them there are different kinds of groups. Even if Pak Lah is Ayahanda of Pekida, he is of the faction that are not gangsters," said Saifuddin in response to a question from the floor at a post GE13 forum here.
Earlier, co-panelist at the forum activist Hishamuddin Rais claimed that gangs have been an integral part of Malaysian politics since the 60s.
"Gangs have always been organised and funded (by political parties).And it is no surprise that we find that groups like Perkasa is being funded. The don of Pekida is none other than Abdullah himself," alleged Hishamuddin.
Pekida, an NGO that is known for welfare helping with family weddings and funerals, has long been associated with gangsterism, but the group has denied this, saying that those may be splinter groups.
Federal Territories Pekida advisor Datuk Hamzah Daud recently told online portal FreeMalaysiaToday that there were those who came out from Pekida and used its name to beat people up and extort money.
He stressed that Pekida, in existence since 1967, is a group that does charity work and are made up of volunteers.
"Pekida is like a father. When his sons does bad things, the one that gets a bad name is the father, he said.
Last year, a five-year research by French PhD holder Sophie Lemiere on NGOs such as Pekida found that it were supposedly loyal to royalty, Islam and the Malay community.
However, Lemiere also found that Pekida is part of a complex network of NGOs that "offer political support, legalise part of their activity, and ease the reception of funds from the ruling party."
Lemiere, from Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast-French National Centre for Scientific Research (IRASEC-CNRS), Paris, also found that "the main objectives of the group is power, profit and money, which imply that members are involved in illegal activities, and may use different degrees of violence."
Her paper, 'Gangsters and Masters: Connivance Militancy in Contemporary Malaysia' was based on research from 2008 to April last year. I agree that Pekida was not founded on gangsterism but its splinter groups bearing various logos are the ones blamed for 'opposing the one way street', and not being in the Home Ministry's list of 'secret societies' is a proof that Pekida is well-recognised by the country and is free from any wrongdoings. I just wonder why Saifuddin took that wasted years to defend Pekida and Pak Lah, and not during his tenure as an MP. And his comments about the Election Commission: Global Movement of Moderates CEO Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has called for a new leadership to resuscitate the Election Commission (EC).
The former Temerloh MP and deputy higher education minister, however, stopped short of asking for an immediate resignation by the current EC chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof.
"I think we need a new EC chairman. We need someone who is really passionate. Not someone who is seen as speaking for BN (Barisan Nasional)," said Saifuddin.
"We need someone who both sides are comfortable to sit with at the table," he said, explaining that it was vital that BN and Pakatan Rakyat leaders are able to be able to discuss the EC's redrawing of constituency boundaries, expected soon.
Reforming the EC was among a few suggestions by Saifuddin, a panellist at the forum 'The Way Forward for Democracy in the Post GE13 Era', to strengthen democracy in the country.
He also called for politicians to be more bi-partisan, a more robust parliament with more select committees; and for media freedom. Not that I dont agree with him (for a few aspects) but he sounds more like a sourgrape of late...
 |
| Maulidur Rasul Posted: 13 Jan 2014 09:06 AM PST A moderate leader in Muhammad S.A.W, a moderate religion in Islam. However, some Muslims today are deviating from its true teaching by subscribing to fanaticism, in most cases for personal gain and politics. Sad to see (and feel) how Muslims are breaking apart... PM Najib has a special message in celebrating this special day.  |
| Regrets... Posted: 13 Jan 2014 04:01 AM PST PKR vice president Tian Chua finally found his senses by withdrawing what he said about the Lahad Datu incident last year. His regrets also saw Umno withdrew its defamation suit against the Batu Member of Parliament. KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has withdrawn its defamation suit against PKR vice president Tian Chua, after the Batu member of parliament expressed regret over his comments that Umno had orchestrated the Lahad Datu intrusion, last year.
Both parties agreed to the settlement in chambers, before High Court Judicial Commissioner Rosilah Yop.
"I've agreed to express regret for implying that Umno was involved with the Lahad Datu incident," Tian Chua said when met outside the chambers.
He also said he did not mean to insult Umno by his statements.
As part of the settlement, the offending article published on PKR's online portal KeadilanDaily.com would also be withdrawn.
Umno executive secretary Abdul Rauf Yusoh confirmed that a settlement had been reached on the case.
No order as to cost was given by the court in the consent judgment.
On March 15 2013, Ab Rauf filed the suit naming Tian Chua, KeadilanDaily.com editor Fazallah Pit and the article's author Aisha Geoffrey, as defendants.
In his statement of claim, Ab Rauf said Tian Chua accused Umno of being a conspirator to the shooting incident; thereby implying it was a traitor to the country.
He said that a libellous article has been published on PKR's online portal on March 1 under the heading "Insiden tembakan di Lahad Datu konspirasi terancang Umno – Tian (Shooting incident at Lahad Datu a planned conspiracy of Umno – Tian).
Ab Rauf had initially sought an injunction to prevent the defendants from publishing similar words, damages, an apology and costs.
In a statement of defence filed on April 22, Tian Chua said he did not defame Umno in any manner.
He claimed that the statement was fair comment and made on an occasion of qualified privilege as a member of parliament. Well. We may have differences in ideology and politics but as Malaysians, patriotism must run in our blood, regardless of race. Let it serve as a reminder to all of us...  |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jom berjuang bersama rakan bloggers di Facebook!
Tunjukkan sokongan anda! Sila Like.
No comments:
Post a Comment