PKR Information Chief and former PKN Vice President Tian Chua and PAS Vice President Mat Sabu were arrested earlier today, in connection with their explicit and strategic involvement in the November 10 illegal assembly and demonstration, originally planned from Dataran Merdeka to Istana Negara. It was understood that they would be charged for violating section 27(5) of the Police Act for unlawful assembly.
Earlier today, some lawyers and activists, which include PKR Vice President R. Sivarasah, PKR Supreme Council member Latheefa Koya, Edmund Bon and Haris Ibrahim were also arrested cited under the same law, for illegal assembly charges as well.
This was Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s response on the arrest of some lawyers this morning at the “Freedom of Rights” walk, especially after Bar Council has been denied a Police permit few days ago, as reported by Bernama.com:
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December 09, 2007 17:57 PM |
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No Double Standard In Enforcing The Law On Law Breakers – Abdullah
PETALING JAYA, Dec 9 (Bernama) — The Government does not practise double standard when taking action on law breakers even if they are lawyers, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Sunday.
“Even today I’ve been informed that police have arrested eight people (including four lawyers). Even though they are lawyers, if they break the law, definitely action will be taken against them.
“There is no favouritism whatsoever on this matter,” he told reporters after giving away prizes to golfers participating in the MasterCard-ntv7 Platinum Golf Masters 2007 Charity Grand Finals at Saujana Golf Club in Subang, near here.
Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister, was responding to reporters’ questions on the arrests of four lawyers and four activists at Jalan Tun Perak in Kuala Lumpur this morning for participating in an illegal march.
A group of 50 people, including lawyers, activists, bloggers and members of non-governmental organisations, wearing surgical masks, staged a “Peace Walk” to mark World Human Rights Day tomorrow.
They had earlier gathered in front of the Sogo Shopping Complex before walking through the busy Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to the Bar Council building at Jalan Raja, about 2km away.
The group has not only violated the law for not having a police permit to hold an illegal assembly, they have also snubbed the Bar Council’s decision to cancel the assembly very much earlier.
Abdullah said the police took appropriate action in tackling today’s illegal assembly as the participants had defied the law,
“They did not obey the law, they still want to protest and they acted in defiance of the law. Definitely, the police have to take action in accordance with the law,” he said.
The Prime Minister said anti-government actions and defiance of the law must stop as they were of no benefit to the country and the people.
“They are not our culture. These are not the ways we should emulate,” he said.
Asked on the Indian government’s move to steer clear from the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), Abdullah said he appreciated very much the Indian government’s stand.
The Prime Minister said Malaysia enjoyed cordial relations with India based on mutual respect between two friendly and sovereign nations.
“Furthermore, it is based on the understanding that a country’s domestic problem is the sovereign right of that country to take action in accordance with the rule of law and constitutional provisions.
“Therefore, I appreciate very much the Indian government’s stand,” he added.
Earlier, Abdullah received donations totalling RM500,000 from the charity golf tournament for the Taman Bakti Children’s Home in Kepala Batas and the Mentally Retarded Children’s Welfare Association in Seberang Prai Tengah.
Abdullah is the Member of Parliament for Kepala Batas.
– BERNAMA
What is so baffling, why the authorities, namely the Police took 30 days to arrest them, if they clearly defied the law and grounds to charge them in a criminal court?
It goes for the Batu Burok illegal assembly and recently, the HINDRAF organised event which saw protesters clashed with riot Police. So many ruling party politicians, which include Cabinet Ministers already urging the authorities to make swift and stern decision and act on these law defiants, to the limit of the law.
Why is the Government gone SO SOFT and SLOW, in handling the cases of illegal assemblies and street demonstrations lately? Is it the Police or the Minister in charge of the Police and internal security matters who are slacking and dragging their feet in making decision on the handling on this matter?
Enough talk and rhetorics! Enough statements! Do something! Please….
*An update as of 3.00pm Monday, 10 December 2007: Correction. Lawyer Haris Ibrahim was not arrested during or after the “Freedom of Rights” march yesterday
*A further update as of 10.30pm Monday, 10 December 2007:
More on the “Freedom of Rights” marchers who were arrested on Sunday morning, for defiant of law. All eight pleaded not guilty when charged at the Session Court today participating in an unlawful assembly under section 143 of the Penal Code and an alternate charge violating section 27(5) of the Police Act.
December 10, 2007 20:12 PM
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it’s all about election. pak lah has no gut.
Agree!
Hey bigdog,
Where the hell did you get your facts from huh you moron !If you were not there don’t spin your own yarn ! I am sure you are going to be sued for saying…
“Earlier today, some lawyers and activists, which include PKR Vice President R. Sivarasah, PKR Supreme Council member Latheefa Koya, Edmund Bon and Haris Ibrahim were also arrested cited under the same law, for illegal assembly charges as well”.
Did you see Haris Ibrahim being arrested ? Sheeesh…bigdog ! you posting has no credibility at all and I’m ashamed you can write like you were actually there to witness the arrest of Haris !
You are in deep shit here, bigdog for libel !
Get your facts right, please or forever shut-up !!!
If Haris Ibrahim is not arrested, fine. Good for him and his friends, like yourself.
Someone who attended the walk messaged me the names. You personally also have given me wrong or bad info. On the 26 Sept “Walk for Justice” march, in your sms, you mentioned 6,000 marchers. I still save your sms in my phone.
Please don’t use profanities in your comments.
If you dunno how to be civilised in your comments, then I will not allow it.
Agaknya PDRM guna snail mail kepada BOSS d seberang selat utk tindakan selanjutnya or KJ who wrote the e-mail and but the reply terkandas dek POS Laju yg tak lagi laju, hanya buai laju-laju.
Agaknya.
Mungkin……………….
Saya tidak fikir pada anda melalui undang-undang gelora semasa dapat selesai. Tapi ini cerita lain.
Undang-undang boleh berubah. Pindaan, pemansuhan, tambahan boleh berlaku untuk menyesuai dengan kehidupan semasa. Kebenaran bukan duduk pada undang-undang. Ia sehampir mungkin untuk memenuhi membela pihak teraniaya dan pihak penganiaya pula perlu melepaskan sebahagian dari hidupnya di atas penganiayaan yang dilakukan. Bentuknya pelbagai. Mungkin kemuncaknya kehilangan nyawa selagi manusia mengiktiraf mencabut nyawa juga memenuhi satu bentuk pembelaan pada pihak teraniaya. Seperti ke Anwar tempohari, kita boleh bertanya apakah ini kebenaran? Pada saya tidak. Dua nisbah satu. Jika lima orang hakim bersidang, mungkin tiga nisbah dua dengan keputusan sebaliknya. Saya pun menyambut keputusan ini.
Menghormati undang-undang, ya. Masa sama dalam gelora semasa ini, mungkin ada cara lain lebih memenuhi kerukunan hidup bersama. Saya pun tidak tahu. Mungkin kena minum dulu..
Sekarang ini, apa undang undang yang ada, diguna dahulu dan tunai. “Kalau” adalah satu keadaan, mungkin jadi dan mungkin tidak. Tetapi yang nyatanya, undang undang ujud buat masa ini diluluskan Parlimen, oleh wakil wakil rakyat yang dipilih secara demokrasi.
Selagi undang undang ini tidak diubah, pinda, tambah dan/atau mansuhkan, oleh badan penggubal undang undang iaitu Parlimen, maka kita semua wajar hormat dan akur pada undang undang sediada, walaupun ada yang kita tidak setuju (Tidak mungkin semua orang akan setuju kepada semua perkara). Oleh itu, kita ikut keputusan majoriti.
Inilah cara orang berhemah, bertammadun dan menjaga kesopanan dan kesusilaan.
Cadangan yang baik. Kita minum dulu……………………………………
With its 7.9 per cent growth last year, it has been called a developed country growing at developing-nation rates. Bryan Lee explains this anomaly.
The Sunday Times
IT IS almost a given that in the global rankings for economic growth, poor countries typically fill the top spots while rich nations bring up the rear.
Last year’s top three – Azerbaijan, the Maldives and Angola – clocked in impressive expansion of between 18 and 31 per cent.
But they were anything but wealthy: Their citizens took home an average income of less than US$3,000 (S$4,300) that year.
In contrast, the United States, the world’s biggest economy, grew a paltry 2.9 per cent.
Against this long-standing trend, Singapore stands out as an anomaly.
At 7.9 per cent, Singapore’s economic performance puts it more in the league of emerging growth stars such as China and India than in the comparatively tired ranks of the US, Europe and Japan.
Yet the Republic is one of the most affluent countries in the world, coming in at No. 25 in per capita GDP terms. In Asia, it is beaten only by Japan and Brunei, and may well leapfrog both to the No. 1 position this year.
In fact, out of the 180 nations ranked by the International Monetary Fund, only two rich countries grew faster than Singapore – oil-rich Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Indeed, this phenomenon was picked up in a recent report in The Economist magazine, which described Singapore as ‘a developed country that grows at developing-country rates’.
The report was quoted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at an NTUC conference in October, when he said economic growth this year will hit the upper end of the official forecast of 7 per cent to 8 per cent.
So, how has this tiny country with no natural resources managed such a feat? Is it just sheer survival instinct gone into overdrive?
The rise – and fall – of productivity
THEORIES about long-term economic growth come in several flavours but virtually all the major ones stem from a common foundation.
An economy’s capacity to produce goods and services is essentially constrained by two ingredients – capital and labour.
Growth therefore is determined in a big way by the rates at which a country is expanding its stock of machinery, infrastructure and workers.
It is also largely dependent on the productivity of these two production factors which tends to decline as capital and labour are accumulated.
A baker, for instance, would be more efficient if he were given a whisk. But hand him another whisk and it would probably do little to get the cake out of the oven faster.
Little surprise then that developing countries, with their explosive population growth rates, can expand their economies quickly simply on the back of a fast-growing workforce.
Also, as their factories are relatively poorer equipped, and other supporting infrastructure such as roads less developed, the output boost from additional capital investments will be bigger than in developed countries.
This in turn translates into a higher rate of capital accumulation, since investment spending equals the portion of a country’s output or income that is not consumed by households and the government.
In this simple model, Singapore’s economic prospects look bleak.
With a population that is struggling to replace itself and factories, roads and ports that are top-flight, the Republic would seem to be doomed to slow growth rates.
But the Singapore Government estimates that the country’s long-term potential growth rate lies between 4 per cent and 6 per cent, well ahead of those in the developed world.
And in the past three years, helped in no small part by a buoyant global economy, its economic growth would appear to be no less than miraculous, reaching an annual average of about 7.8 per cent.
A nimble labour force, thanks to foreigners
THE magic, say economists, lies in Singapore’s flexible labour markets.
‘Most of the growth comes from our elastic labour supply, where we can rely on bringing in more foreign workers,’ said Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin.
Step into a shop or restaurant these days and there’s a good chance you will be served by a Filipino or a migrant from China.
Shipyards, construction sites and factories are also well staffed by workers from the region.
Government statistics show that Singapore’s non-resident population has swelled 34 per cent in the past four years to one million.
In contrast, the resident population expanded just 7 per cent, a figure likely to have been helped by a fair number of expatriates who have taken up permanent residency here.
While some may wonder if this absorption of foreigners is at the expense of local workers, recent employment figures point to a labour force that is maxed out, so labour imports are necessary to keep the economy growing.
Marching up the technological ladder
OF COURSE, the Singapore growth phenomenon is not just a simple recipe of adding more workers.
The country has undergone major economic restructuring to upgrade itself to take on higher value-added activities.
In economic growth theory, technology and human capital – that is, education and training investments – are two key factors that can help mitigate the diminishing productivity of labour and capital.
And unlike labour and capital, these two factors have a certain self-sustaining, self-propagating element. Returning to the baker, he would prefer to be given a Kitchen Aid rather than 100 whisks of the same value. Not only is the mixer much more efficient, it may even enable him to come up with different and better cakes.
And if he is sent to the finest pastry school in France, he could make a lot more money selling souffles than pandan chiffon cakes. He could even pass on his new skills to his friends, spreading the benefits of his training beyond himself.
In a similar way, Singapore has moved from making calculators to semiconductors, and embraced high-value service industries such as financial services.
Much of this has been achieved through targeted government policies that create a suitable business environment for foreign investors, promoting in particular several key sectors.
These measures, which may take the form of tax breaks, are costly. But they have helped attract investments from overseas that inject not just capital into the economy but new technologies as well.
Efforts, including direct public funding, have also been made to build up research and development activities here. These would go some way towards helping the economy sustain a continuous rise up the technological ladder.
The same is being done in the human capital side of the equation, with constant improvements to the education system.
‘With the resources accumulated over the past four decades, the Government has a large enough war chest to prepare the economy for the next stage of development,’ says CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun.
Reality of a supply crunch
SO HAS Singapore achieved economic nirvana, where wealth creation fears little abatement?
DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah reckons Singapore’s small size has made it especially nimble to respond to threats and opportunities in the global cycles of boom and bust.
‘The economic structure is well diversified. Singapore has a unique collection of strengths that is hard to emulate and that has allowed us to enjoy a mid- to long-term growth higher than many countries.’
But all that nimbleness ultimately requires acute judgment and some degree of clairvoyance on the part of the Government, whose policies have played no small part in Singapore’s success.
As it stands, trouble is brewing, and ironically, it is partly a consequence of the ‘developing economy’ growth rates of the past few years.
Inflation, while low by world standards, hit a 16-year high of 3.6 per cent in October and is set to rise even more next year.
While due in part to high global oil and food prices, this has come about because the surprisingly rapid expansion of the economy is using up spare capacity in the system. In the property and labour markets, in particular, demand is far outstripping supply, and this imbalance is pushing up prices.
The Government is releasing more land for developing homes and offices, but it will take some years before these are built.
There is also the tried-and- tested foreign labour solution. Certainly, the large populations of Singapore’s Asian neighbours would ensure a ready supply. But simply allowing more immigrant workers into the country, as the Government is doing next month, may not be enough.
High rentals, coupled with rising living costs, mean employers will need to pay foreign workers higher wages to bring them in.
Indeed, this has prompted the Government to hold back $2 billion worth of public construction projects to ease the supply crunch.
‘The economy is currently facing a serious supply-side constraint. Shortage of land and labour has driven up rentals and wages,’ says Mr Seah.
All this goes to show that even the most efficient of governments can do only so much to bend economic realities.
For sure, many of the current issues will subside in time.
But in the meantime, the pain of higher electricity and restaurant bills will, for the man on the street, take off some of the shine from the trend-breaking achievement of the Singapore economy.
Kalau dunia ni ada negara Malaysia sahaja, maka tak perlulah nak risau sama ada nak tangkap atau tidak mereka yang terlibat dalam demonstrasi-demonstrasi tu. Namun, akibat globalisasi, kerenah-kerenah dalam sesebuah negara jadi buah mulut negara-negara lain juga. Kalau ditangkap seorang dua pun sudah cukup untuk Malaysia sebagai negara yang tidak menghormati hak asasi manusia, kebebasan bersuara dll dll dll.
Tetapi saya juga tertarik apabila anda mengatakan ” undang undang ujud buat masa ini diluluskan Parlimen, oleh wakil wakil rakyat yang dipilih secara demokrasi.” kerana inilah yang dibantah oleh mereka yang terlibat dalam pelbagai demonstrasi tempohari. Anda harus mengakui bahawa ada ramai wakil rakyat yang tidak berwibawa, tidak layak untuk memegang jawatan tersebut. Tetapi entah bagaimana mereka boleh terpilih, mungkin juga kerana pemikiran rakyat yang hanya mementingkan parti yang diwakili tanpa memperdulikan peribadi orang yang diundi. Akibatnya, suara mereka tidak sampai ke pihak yang teratas, merana begitu sahaja.
Dan kewujudan para wakil rakyat sebeginilah yang selalu menghantui Perdana Menteri kita, baik Dr. M mahupun Pak Lah… eh macam dah lari topik je.
[...] trend and practice on Malaysians defiance of law has also caught the attention of HRHs Rulers. So many Malaysians from all walks of life expressed their dissatisfaction on these people who understand and even pratice but vehemently refused to respect the [...]