so here it is - the video by bk ong himself. you can clearly see how the police dragged and shoved people into the black maria. spread this video around!
(in the meantime, malaysiakini’s videographer’s video camera had been returned too but it was reported the camera was tampered with)

Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam once again reiterated that the party must take control of the government to ensure Umno policies, especially the New Economic Policy (NEP), are being implemented effectively at all levels across the nation.

whoaa!! "umno MUST take CONTROL of the government to ensure UMNO POLICIES"!!!
nice one, ali rustam, nice one.

yes, i know. as according to malaysiakini, this was not the first time he made such remarks but i specially pointed it out now after i read about MCA info chief lashing out at him.

ok, here i CnP both reports from malaysiakini for you to read. read, esp. on what the umno vice president had said.. and fume! actually i do have lots to comment on his say esp. about NEP but as it is my bed-time soon, i’d better not as i know i’ll get very geram if i do and that won’t give me my beauty sleep.

———————————————–
Malaysiakini
‘Umno must steer gov’t policies’
Athi Veeranggan
Nov 17, 08 12:24pm

Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam once again reiterated that the party must take control of the government to ensure Umno policies, especially the New Economic Policy (NEP), are being implemented effectively at all levels across the nation.

MCPX

Mohd Ali said currently many Umno approved policies and plans could not be implemented with desired results due to lack of conviction at the federal government level.

He said the current political landscape in which the government acting freely from the party control does not augur well for Umno and the Barisan Nasional.

"The people voted for the party to form the government, not the other way around.

"So it’s only proper for the party to control the government to implement policies, action plans and reforms desired by the masses.

"Otherwise Umno and BN would face serious political repercussions in the next general election," he warned when officiating the 6th annual delegates’ conference of the Koperasi Kontraktor Melayu Malaysia Berhad (KKMMB) in Penang yesterday.

This is not the first time the Malacca Chief Minister has expressed his views on the matter in this manner.

Previously in an interview with Malaysiakini in October, he similarly said that Umno must dictate government policy in order for the party to regain lost support.

He had added that grassroots members were disappointed that a lot of their suggestions and wishes have not been fulfilled by the party. As such, many felt they cannot influence government policy, he had said then.

Malays still lagging

Speaking at the KKMMB conference yesterday, Mohd Ali cited the problems in implementing the NEP as an example.

He said that while the NEP action plans were noble and were to benefit all Malaysians, things had gone wrong at management and implementation level due to government’s lethargy.

"Thus, NEP objectives to eliminate economic disparities among various communities in the country could not be achieved.

"Once the party controls the government, Umno then can firmly implement all policies and action plans for benefit of all, especially the Malays," Mohd Ali explained to journalists later.

He also lamented that many Umno-led federal government policies, which have been agreed upon and accepted by all, faced difficulties in implementation due to lack of dedication and determination.

He said that if the government was firm and unyielding, Malaysians would not be still making a hue and cry about NEP and other policies.

The Umno deputy president hopeful also said non-Malays were understandably offended when Umno leaders continued to harp on the NEP.

The NEP was introduced in 1970, to assist the Malays to secure a 30 percent share of the country’s wealth across the board.

"Truth is the NEP has yet to achieve its goals," he said, pointing out that Malays still lagged behind others in professional jobs, business and property ownership.

He said non-Malays were unhappy when Umno stressed their desire to help the Malays, while Malays were upset that the government assistance failed to reach them.

"Something has to be done for NEP to benefit all," he said, adding that changing the current landscape to party-control-government system would be the right solution.

Single supply network

Mohd Ali also called on Malay contractors’ cooperatives and associations to form a construction material supply network to forge close working ties with government agencies to assist their industrial ventures.

The government, he said, could assist the contractors by providing professional guidance and auditing system to improve their management and work quality.

"Currently many contractors could not complete their construction works due to financial difficulties and rising cost.

"I believe a government-assisted single supply network can help them," said Mohd Ali.

Mohd Ali is one of three candidates vying for the Umno deputy presidency. He has received enough nominations to contest, ahead of Umno information chief Muhammad Mohd Taib but behind Umno vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin.

By convention the Umno deputy president also assumes the position of deputy prime minister.

—————————————————————————–

Malaysiakini
MCA info chief lashes out at ‘irresponsible’ Ali Rustam
Nov 19, 08 2:23pm

MCA today took offence with a remark made by Malacca Chief Minister and Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam over the need for Umno to take charge of the government in order to better implement policies, especially the National Economic Policy.

MCPX

MCA Information and Communication Bureau chief Lee Wei Kiat criticised Mohd Ali over the latter’s "irresponsible and myopic" remarks that it was only proper for Umno to control the government.

"Mohd Ali must bear in mind that Umno is not the sole party in the Barisan Nasional coalition government. All other BN component parties also contributed to BN’s success in forming the federal government after each of the 12 general elections," said Lee in a statement.

"It is irresponsible and myopic of Mohd Ali to deny the efforts of all other BN component parties in successively forming the cabinet since 1957," he added.

He further said that all cabinet decisions on government policies were reached through consensus after consultation.

"It is never a case of any one party making unilateral decisions on behalf of BN for the whole nation.

"Living in the democratic country, such talk of a single political party determining the country’s policies which could lead to despotic rule is unfeasible and illogical," he said.

Lee, newly appointed as the party’s information chief by the new president Ong Tee Keat, also noted that Mohd Ali’s remarks ran contrary to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s speech in the recently held MCA general meeting that Umno was not a party that bullied its coalition partners.

Mohd Ali’s speech in Penang

Lee’s exasperation was over Mohd Ali’s speech made at the 6th annual delegates’ conference of the Koperasi Kontraktor Melayu Malaysia Berhad in Penang last Sunday.

There, Mohd Ali repeated his stand that Umno must take control of the government to ensure Umno policies, especially the NEP.

Mohd Ali had said that currently many Umno approved policies and plans could not be implemented with desired results due to lack of conviction at the federal government level.

Talking specifically about the NEP, the deputy president aspirant said that NEP action plans were noble and were to benefit all Malaysians, things had gone wrong at management and implementation level due to government’s lethargy.

"Once the party controls the government, Umno then can firmly implement all policies and action plans for benefit of all, especially the Malays," he added.

He had also said the current political landscape in which the government acting freely from the party control did not augur well for Umno and the BN.

"So it’s only proper for the party to control the government to implement policies, action plans and reforms desired by the masses.

"Otherwise Umno and BN would face serious political repercussions in the next general election," he had warned.

Political posturing by Umno politicians

Lee also touched on the need to be prepared for the next general election but warned that it would be wise to reflect on the political tsunami of the last general election.

"It was the vitriol and behaviour of superiority of one race above others that caused consternation among the multiracial Malaysian general public resulting with the backlash of votes against BN during the March 8 polls," he said.

He also said that Mohd Ali’s remarks contravened the spirit of the NEP.

"Mohd Ali has painted a misrepresentation of the NEP’s objectives. It should always be remembered that the NEP was formulated to eradicate poverty irrespective of race, and to remove economic identity with race.

"The NEP was never intended to be misused as a zero-sum game where in order for one race to move forward, it may only be done so at the expense of another," he added.

He added that the BN government should move towards eliminating all forms of urban and rural poverty among all Malaysians including the orang asli, natives from Sabah and Sarawak, Chinese, Indians and Sikhs.

He ended his statement by expressing his disappointment that some Umno politicians have resorted to political posturing to trump up support in the run up to the Umno party polls next March.

datuk faiza tamby chik said, as far as enacted law was concerned, it was clear that it was not easy for one to abandon the practices of the faith.

Citing the case of Lina Joy’s renunciation of Islam, Faiza said the High Court in its decision ruled that a Malay under Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution remained in the Islamic faith until his or her dying days.

aw! come on! is there anything i have not heard of before?

a retired judge said all these in an international seminar and we had people bashing me for saying that islam is a one way traffic or there is no gostan in islam or once a muslim, always a muslim. oh perhaps it is because i’m not an ex judge. wait till they came across others who were even more harsh than me.

note: insult or abusive comments on islam will be deleted.

this is a video of paula and howie singing the cliff richard’s song ’sing a song of freedom’ which was the last song of the vigil night. towards the end of the vigil, you can see the police in action.

the video was taken from paula’s blog, where she had blog on the vigil night. the lyrics of the song appeared after the video.

my posts on the vigil:
our mc was arrested
the vigil at the esplanade

SING A SONG OF FREEDOM (CLIFF RICHARD)

As i look around me i see the world
In a different light
Everything is changing and it happened
One night
Changing for the better and it starts
With you and me
So we’ll sing our song together and forever
We’ll be free

Clap your hands together and let
Me hear the sound
It’s the time for liberation so pass
The world around

i won’t fault you if you go "what the hell?? what kind of birthday party is that??"

precisely.

seems that the folks in PJ had obtained permit for holding the weekly anti-ISA candlelight vigil. ANTI-ISA CANDLELIGHT, see? ANTI-ISA CANDLELIGHT, you read that? methink the police don’t understand what is ANTI-ISA CANDLELIGHT because with the permit, comes with 12 conditions, and among them are:

• No candles allowed
• No T-shirts showing support for the Abolition of the ISA allowed
• “Penganjur dilarang melakukan sebarang aktiviti yang lain yang melambangkan simpati terhadap tahanan Akta Keselamatan Negara” (Organisers are prohibited from any other activity that suggests sympathy towards ISA detainees!)
• No banners or distribution of leaflets allowed
• No political speeches allowed

huh? no candles allowed? see, they don’t understand what is CANDLELIGHT!
huh? no anti-ISA t-shirts? see, they don’t understand what is ANTI-ISA

it’s so SILLY, i tell you!

here are the rest of the conditions (taken from anil netto’s post).

we, the organisers of the anti ISA vigil in penang on 15 nov. at the esplanade were at the esplanade early to set up thing. we brought along tables for sale of t-shirts and as ’secretariat’ where a registration book is availble and to put our candles and the flyers. yes, we prepared booklets with lyrics of songs, names of all the ISA detainees, and some short info on ISA.

before the vigil began, i met angela ooi (again - 1st time met her at the PJ vigil), the one who initiated the seremban vigil and also met jong (again - 1st time met her during the permatang pauh by-election), the one who initiated the ipoh vigil. how wonderful! the two leaders of the two states came all the way to be with us. thank you, angela, thank you, jong. thanks for your support.

the vigil started off punctual at 8.00pm. no dilly dallying for us. paula, the MC started off by giving a short background of ISA. the first speaker for the day was bukit mertajam MP, YB chong eng. sorry, as one of the organisers,  i was busy running around so didn’t quite get what she said.

when chong eng finished her speech, paula continued with the background info on ISA. then richard, one of the organiser, came up to lead the people in a chant which goes:
leader: mansuh mansuh
all: manshuhkan ISA
leader: bebas bebas
all: bebas tahanan

after the chanting, the first song of the evening, ‘you raised me up’ followed. everybody get to join in the song since there was the booklet for them to refer. paula played the guitar and sang, accompanied by howie, another organiser.

following the song, came the second speaker, a PAS member. originally it was suppose to be mujahid yusof rawa, MP for parit buntar but he couldn’t make it and a rep. replace him instead. his speech was followed by the song ‘bridge over troubled water’ ‘blowing in the wind’. then it was the turn of the third and last speaker, gary nair from PRM.

couldn’t quite remember but think it was at the point of during the middle of the PAS member’s speech, that about 5, 6 policeman came and stood behind the ’secretariat table’.

when gary finished his speech, paula explained briefly why we are holding a candlelight vigil. before that, during gary’s speech, a few of us had started to hand over candles (complete with paper cups) to all the people present.

the second chanting took place after all had lit their candles.
leader: ISA must go!
all: ISA must go!
leader: go go go GO!
leader: say no to ISA!
all: say not to ISA
leader: no no no NO!

the last song sung was ’sing a song of freedom’. both paula and howie get the crowd joining in enthusiastically especially in the chorus part.

the crowd were told this was the last song, and also the end of our vigil. while only a handful started to leave, many remained. at that time, suddenly we see 5 ‘clowns with red helmets’ arriving! (description from margeemar)… or to me ‘favourite models’ (explained why later). it was quite a shock to many of us since, our vigil is peaceful and further, it had ended already! that time, a police officer with a loud hailer asked the crowd to disperse (giving us 10 mins).

when the riot police arrived, everyone rushed to take their photos. see, that’s why i said they were the favourite models. haha. i did notice at other vigils or demo too, people like to take photos of the riot police.

ong, one of the organiser, also appealed to the crowd to disperse. after that, we all spent time clearing up our things. later on, we suddenly heard from ong that paula had to go to the police station to make a statement. so all of us, the organising team, also went to the police station to show our support. the archbishop, a priest and 3 brothers (seminarians) also accompanied us to the police station. how nice of them! they stayed until midnight.
angela ooi was there too.

when we arrived at the police station, it was 9.30pm. we were not allowed to enter the room of course (paula was at the 2nd floor) but to stay on ground floor outside the main entrance. it seemed that later on, others who had wanted to come in, were not allowed in. luckily we got in fast.

3 young men from the chinese press and athi, the malaysiakini journalist were inside the police station too.

paula was allowed to use her handphone, so we sms her some words of encouragement. first thing i sms to her was to let her know we were there at the police station. we also sms her some word of advice regarding police questioning. somebody called DAP MP liew chin toong, and he came about 11.00pm and got to go to where paula was. later on, jeff ooi also turned up briefly. later on when ong got to go to where paula was, he update us via sms what’s happening with paula.

we were very relieved when at 1.10am, we saw paula, together with her husband, liew chin toong and ong walking towards us. phew! at last she had been released! she had been questioned for 3 1/2 hours!

all of us did not have our dinner yet so we went across the police station for some food while listening to paula’s account of her time spent with the police questioning her. she looked tired and drained but she still can maintain some cheerfullness. she’s a strong lady!

NOTE:  oops. it’s too late for me to post photos up now.i’ve got several other photos to show (amateurish types - wonder why the flash in my digicam stop working).  i’ll do it tomorrow, so do come back and have a look, ok. btw, the photo right at the top shows me (far left) at the table where RPK t-shirts were sold and our things were placed.

UPDATED:  ok! managed to post the photos during my office lunch time. today no go out lah… just eat bread and butter inside office.

paula, the emce for the day.

bukit mertajam MP, YB chong eng, the first speaker.

the crowd before the lighting of candles.

the crowd with lighted candles.

here comes the riot police (light action force).

we have these red-helmet men gracing our vigil.

seemed that the police arrest her under section 143, illegal assembly. after the run about of questioning and statements, she was finally released at 1.10am.

DAP MP liew chin toong came to the police station after we gave him a call - about 10.45pm. later on DAP MP jeff ooi also dropped by for a while. liew chin toong stayed with paula until she was released. a big thank you to the kind, friend YB liew.

i came back about 3.00am. lots to update and pictures to show but will do so tomorrow…. or later in the night.

in the meantime, read the account from some other bloggers. i will be back to update you all, on the happenings, right from the start of the vigil down to 2.00am after our very late dinner… er… supper?… with paula after her release.

nathaniel tan
zorro
antares
anil netto

of course, paula’s own experience.

——————————————————

Gov’t edgy over candlelight protests
Anil Netto | Nov 14, 08 11:25am

news analysis

MCPX

 Heavy-handed police action against a gathering of Malaysians near a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, protesting against a draconian preventive detention law, suggests government nervousness at persistent public vigils.

The show of force comes at a time when Umno and its coalition partners are experiencing leadership transitions and factional struggles after a general election in March saw the coalition losing substantial ground to opposition parties.

On Sunday, riot police moved in as the crowds were singing the national anthem and about to disperse peacefully. They detained 23 people, including three elected representatives, media personnel, activists and a Catholic priest. All of them were released the next morning but await possible charges.

A few protesters complained that they were assaulted and roughed up. The police action came as a surprise as, until now, the weekly regular protests in four major cities passed without incident.

"Two guys came over to grab one arm each and pushed me towards the police truck,” recalls parliamentarian Tony Pua in his blog. ”I stated that I will walk, don’t be rough but they tore my shirt instead.

"I repeated my call and three other police officers came at me, one with the knees into my belly while another attempted to kick my shin.

”They then chucked me against the back of the truck and shoved me up despite me stating that I can climb in myself.”

Against a storm of criticism, police have defended their action. "We don’t take sides. Even if an NGO, or even government parties were to organise such a gathering without permit, we would have acted in the same way," Selangor state chief police officer Khalid Abu Bakar was reported as saying.

The country’s police chief, Musa Hassan, pointed out that the group had not applied for a permit, the gathering was illegal and police had acted lawfully.

The candlelight vigils, themed ‘Abolish the Internal Security Act’ began in September, when three individuals were detained without trial under the law. An immediate outcry was followed by weekly vigils in Penang and later in Petaling Jaya.

Instead of the vigils gradually fizzling out, residents in Ipoh and Seremban have joined in with their own weekly protests.

Each of these protests typically draws 150 to 300 people. Holding lighted candles and clad in ‘Abolish ISA’ T-shirts, they listen to speeches and poems, sing songs of freedom and justice and sign petitions. Afterwards, eye-witnesses post pictures and accounts of these vigils on blogs and websites, reaching a larger audience.

The ISA allows the police to hold anyone for up to 60 days for interrogation, after which they are either released or sent to a detention camp in Kamunting under renewable two-year detention orders - in effect, indefinite detention without trial.

Although the three who were detained in September have since been released, another 65 detainees, many of whom are alleged to have links to regional terror groups, remain incarcerated without trial, several of them for close to seven years.

Sunday’s vigil in Petaling Jaya was joined by civil society activists belonging to the campaign group Bersih, which is lobbying for electoral reforms and cleaner elections in Malaysia. The vigil coincided with the eve of the first anniversary of a huge Bersih protest rally on the streets of Kuala Lumpur last November which drew about 40,000 people.

That, coupled with the presence of Malaysia Today news-portal manager Raja Petra Kamarudin, the last of the three ISA detainees to be freed, could have unnerved the authorities.

Raja Petra’s articles on scandals in the corridors of power have attracted a huge following, but they have also landed him in hot water on a number of occasions. A court last Friday, in a rare decision against the Home Minister’s power to detain anyone under the ISA, surprisingly freed him from the Kamunting detention camp, much to the delight of civil society activists.

But Raja Petra is currently embroiled in a sedition trial over articles he is said to have written linking deputy prime minister Najib Abdul Razak with the murder of a Mongolian woman. Najib has vehemently denied any involvement.

The action to break up the vigil on Sunday comes against the backdrop of a leadership transition in Umno and an intensely fought campaign for party elections scheduled for March. Although Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has effectively handed over the Umno presidency to his deputy Najib without contest, critics claim the premier’s hand was forced after the coalition’s dismal performance in the general election.

Three candidates are now vying to be the next Umno deputy president, taking over from Najib. Former premier Mahathir Mohamad’s son Mukhriz, meanwhile, is staking claim to become the party’s next youth chief.

In the midst of all this, the party’s disciplinary committee has reportedly received 900 complaints of money politics (a euphemism for vote-buying) while factional disputes in party divisions have led to some bitterness.

Some fear that with the rise within Umno of those close to the former authoritarian premier, Malaysian society could be in for a return to the strong-arm methods that the Mahathir administration was known for.

Meanwhile, the Abolish ISA Movement - which comprises over 80 civil society groups and other civil society activists - is unlikely to slacken the campaign to repeal the law.

The police action on Sunday may deter some from participating in future vigils, but others are vowing not to be cowed. ”In the midst of all this uncertainty and adversity, something pure is bound to be born,” says a regular participant at the vigils, who declined to be identified.

”My friends have literally come face to face with reality and now have to choose between fear and truth. I remain hopeful and steadfast.”

- IPS

Lawyer and DAP veteran Karpal Singh said that it was unfortunate that the prosecution was not appealing the High Court decision as he felt there was a prima facie case for Abdul Razak to answer based on his affidavit.

SO VERY ANGRY WITH OUR KANGAROO COURT! SO VERY ANGRY WITH THE PROSECUTION! there had been so many possible evidences that the prosecution can pursue but they didn’t!! 

Ironically, it was the long-forgotten affidavit filed two years ago that was pivotal in the judge’s decision to acquit the political analysts, an advisor to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The document was filed to help Abdul Razak obtain bail before the trial started.

The lengthy document detailed how Abdul Razak met Altantuya in 2004, and had an affair that lasted until 2005. After they broke up, he alleged that the 28-year-old harassed him, and that he had sought the help of the police. He denied instructing Azilah or Sirul to kill her.

oh good. he denied instructing azilah or sirul to kill her -so who did it then?

i wonder if i were to say after RPK "let’s send the altantuya’s murderers to hell" will i be charged for sedition? well, as long as i don’t mention names, guess it’s ok.

good to hear that altantuya’s dad might take the case to international court BUT sad to note that, this might not be possible.

LET US PRAY THAT JUSTICE WILL BE DONE FOR ALTANTUYA! ok, let’s not send the murderers to hell but let’s wish that the murderers will be caught. er… but you think can happened in our kangaroo court? FAT CHANCE!