More than 30 arrested in Kuantan over Cameron Highlands problems

KUANTAN: Once again the rights of the people to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression have been violated when police personnel arrested more than 40 people who sought an audience from Pahang Chief Minister Datuk Seri Adnan Yaacob to resolve their grievances.

Residents from Cameron Highlands have put up makeshift camps in front of the Pahang Chief Minister’s Office, at Wisma Sri Pahang since today morning. The residents have sent 17 letters to Cameron District Office, had 7 meetings with them, sent 15 letters to Pahang Chief Minister and met twice, sent 4 letters to the Prime Minister’s Office and meeting them twice. But till now their issues have not been resolved.

Among those arrested were a five year old child and the oldest being a 90 year old woman.

7 Issues affecting the people are as below:

a.       4 farmers case who have been farming for more than 40 years but not given TOL license.

b.      1 case of land grab by BN cronies although the occupant has been staying for more than 42 years.

c.       1 case of applying for land more than 30 years but no response.

d.      Application for shop rejected after applying 3 times but approved to a crony.

e.       1 case of a single mother given hope of owning a shop but was later evicted and shop demolished.

f.       4 cases of families at Green Cow facing risk of landslide

g.      2 cases of Kea Farm shops that are facing eviction for development.

 

SUARAM urge the police to show respect of the people’s freedom of expression and assembly and release all those arrested immediately. The special rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly of Association, Maina Kiai has warned that Malaysia as a member state of Human rights council to stop restricting and limiting on the exercise of Freedom of Assembly. But what we have seen today is a direct insult to the human rights council.

 

Malaysia has already an atrocious international record on democracy and human rights and it should not join the ranks of rogue countries universally regarded as most notorious and infamous for their reckless disregard for the most basic human rights - human dignity and life. 

 

Released by,

R.Thevarajan

SUARAM Coordinator

 

What can you do?
We urge you to write a letter to the relevant authorities of Malaysia to voice your concerns over the intimidation and threat faced by the people and demand immediate negotiation with the people to resolve the problem.

SAMPLE LETTER

[Letterhead of your organisation]

Tan Sri Ismail Omar,

IInspector General of Royal Malaysian Police

Ibu Pejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia,

Bukit Aman,

50560 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 603-2266 2222
Fax: 603-2070 7500
E-Mail: rmp@rmp.gov.my

Dear Sir,
STOP THE INTIMIDATION AND TAKE ACTION NOW!

We ________________________________________________ are writing to you, to express our outrage and our strongest condemnation over the crackdown on the people of Cameron Highlands whom are occupying the Office of Pahang Chief Minister (Menteri Besar Pahang).

More than 40 people consisting of all walks of life want Datuk Seri Adnan Yaacob to solve their issues which has been pending for more than 4 years.

 We strongly urge you, once again, to stop bringing shame to Malaysia, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. We would like to remind you that freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

Yours sincerely,
[Name]
[Position]

 

 

1.      Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak,

Prime Minister of Malaysia,

Prime Minister's Office,

Main Block, Perdana Putra Building,

Federal Government Administrative Centre,

62502 Putrajaya , MALAYSIA

Tel: 603-8888 8000

Fax: 603-8888 3444

E-Mail: ppm@pmo.gov.my

 

2.      Chief Minister of Pahang,

YAB Dato Seri Haji Adnan bin Haji Yaakob,

Wisma Sri Pahang, 25503 Kuantan,

Tel : 09-5121155/09-5121682/685, 
Faks : 09-5157766
Emel  : mb@pahang.gov.my

 

 

3.        Chairman,

Tan Sri Hasmy Agam,

Chairman,

Malaysian Human Rights Commission,

Level 11, Menara TH Perdana,

Jalan Sultan Ismail,

50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel:  03 26125600

Fax: 03 26125620

4.      OCPD Mohd Jasmani

Kuantan District Police Station
Jalan Mahkota
25000 Kuantan,
Pahang.

Tel:  09-5132222, 5132512

Fax: 09-5130454, 5157119

Email: kpdkuantan@rmp.gov.my

 

5.        Mr. Frank La Rue
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: freedex@ohchr.or

 

6.       Ms. Margaret Sekaggya,

Special Rapporteur on the situation on human rights defenders,

Email: defenders@ohchr.org, urgent-action@ohchr.org, ksmeby@ohchr.org

 

7.      Mr. Maina Kiai

Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Palais des Nations

CH-1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

Fax : + 41 22 917 9006

Email : freeassembly@ohchr.org

 

 

8.      Daniel Collinge
Human Rights Officer
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division
Asia-Pacific Section
Room 4.32
Tel:   +41 (0) 22 928 9173
Email: dcollinge@ohchr.org

 

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
433A, Jalan 5/46, Gasing Indah,
46000, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor
Malaysia
Tel:  +603 77843525
Fax: +603 77843526
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suararakyatmalaysia
Twitter: SUARAMtweets

Particulars of Hindraf's claim as first filed on 31 Aug 2007. This forms 95 per cent of the 2 July 2012 refiling

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE Claim No.

QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION

BETWEEN:

WAYTHA MOORTHY PONNUSAMY (Suing in his personal capacity and as representing and for the benefit of all persons interested in and who are Malaysian citizens of Indian origin)
Claimant

-and-


SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Defendant

__________________________¬¬__

PARTICULARS OF CLAIM
____________________________

1. The Claimant is and was at all material times a Malaysian citizen bearer of identity card number A 0480890 and Malaysian Passport number A 14915290 a Barrister of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn currently practicing as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in Ipoh and residing at No 39 Desa Lang Indah 5 30200 Ipoh Perak Malaysia.

STAR to contest only 32 DUN seats, says deputy

By Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari
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Although we all subscribe to one communal politics through the so-called multi racial politics, all political parties must be realistic on the issue of which party is more acceptable by the grassroots.

All opposition parties must be sincere if they are serious for a one to one fight against the Barisan Nasional. You can't go to a negotiating table and say you want 40 (out of 60) seats which by itself doesn't help much to achieve a one to one fight.

‘Govt must subsidise transport to Sabah’

The federal government must provide proof that
freight charges have no impact on the price of
consumer goods in Sabah.

By Azman Habu of FMT

TAWAU: The federal government must subsidise trans-shipment of goods to Sabah in order to standardise the prices of consumer goods in the state with that in Peninsular Malaysia.

Tawau MP Chua Soon Bui said talks have been going on for years with no solution in sight while consumers have been forced to cough up more money for goods that are cheaper in the peninsula.

“If the federal government can afford to subsidise the toll charges on federal highways for billions of ringgits, there’s no reason why the same cannot be done for transport to Sabah as a result of the cabotage policy,” she said over the weekend.

Salleh: No need for Musa to quit

Sabah Umno is firmly behind Chief Minister Musa Aman
who is facing 'whispers' within Barisan Nasional to
step down over money-laundering allegations.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno has brushed off calls for Chief Minister Musa Aman to step down from his post while investigations continue into undeclared money worth hundreds of millions of ringgit in bank accounts said to be linked to him.

Musa’s deputy chief in Sabah Umno, Salleh Said Keruak, when contacted, said: “Musa is doing a good job for Sabah and there are leaders who are power-crazy and jealous of his achievement.”

Salleh, who is also the Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker, and a former chief minister himself, was speaking after outspoken local politician, Daniel John Jambun, of the State Reform Party (STAR), called on Musa to step down as he is embroiled in what appears to be an international banking scandal that has caught the attention of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Sabah MPs to quit BN this week?

Will Upko's Wilfred Bumburing and Umno's Lajim Ukin
announce their exit from their respective
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By Joseph Bingkasan of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: National coalition MPs Wilfred Bumburing and Lajim Ukin are expected to announce their pullout from their respective parties during gatherings in Tuaran and Beaufort, respectively on June 15.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim will be attending both functions where the two are expected to become “independent” MPs.

Bumburing who is Tuaran MP will make his much awaited announcement in Tuaran in the morning while in the afternoon Beaufort MP Lajim is to formalise his departure from the BN at his hometown in Beaufort.

Although both leaders would be declaring that they are leaving the government coalition parties in the presence of Anwar, they are not expected to join either PKR or other opposition Pakatan Rakyat component members.

STAR to resurrect controversial provision

The practice of 'nominating' representatives to the
Sabah State Legislative Assembly was discontinued
when Umno-led Barisan Nasional took over in 1994.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Chapter of the State Reform Party (STAR) will appoint six nominated members to the State Legislative Assembly if the party led by Jeffrey Kitingan secures enough seats to topple the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in the coming general election.

This nominated members will be in addition to the 60 elected state lawmakers. Nomination of unelected members to the assembly is provided for in the state constitution but was dispensed with when Umno-BN came into power.

“We (a Star government) need professional and credible non-governmental organisation personalities in the assembly, “ STAR deputy chairman Daniel John Jambun told FMT in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

Oscar-winning film star Ernest Borgnine dies in LA at age 95

By Wendy Carpenter of The Upshot

Lifetime achievement honoree Ernest Borgnine waves after receiving his award at the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild …Ernest Borgnine, who created a variety of memorable characters in both movies and television and won the best-actor Oscar for his role as a lovesick butcher in "Marty" in 1955, died Sunday. He was 95.

Borgnine's longtime spokesman, Harry Flynn, told The Associated Press that Borgnine died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with his family by his side.

A prolific and talented character actor, Borgnine was known for gruff, villainous roles such as the heavy who beats up Frank Sinatra in "From Here to Eternity" and one of the bad guys who harasses Spencer Tracy in "Bad Day at Black Rock."

Embattled Syrian regime in defiance show of military force

By ALBERT AJI and ZEINA KARAM of Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — In a show of force, Syria began large-scale military exercises Sunday to simulate defending the country against outside "aggression." Damascus' staunch ally Iran warned of a "catastrophe" in the region if no political solution to the 16-month-old Syrian conflict is found.

Tehran is Syria's closest ally, and has stood by President Bashar Assad's regime throughout the revolt against his rule despite a growing chorus of international condemnation. The relentless bloodshed has accelerated diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the crisis, and spurred some in the Syrian opposition to urge the West to intervene militarily to stop a conflict that activists say has left more than 14,000 people dead.

Guns, threats won’t scare us, say natives

If the government continues to remain aloof from clashes
between natives and oil palm companies, then it should
be prepared for a bloodbath.

KUCHING: Despite two attempts on his life by workers allegedly from Palm Raya Pelita, Semawi Anak Renang will not be intimidated in defending his native customary rights (NCR) land and that of 25 other families.

Instead the threats against him and the other landowners of Rumah Randi, Selangau, have made them more determined than ever to defend their 3,000 hectares of land.

The landowners claimed that the Palm Raya Pelita oil palm plantation is owned by Tiong King Sing, the MP for Bintulu. Tiong is also the deputy president of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and one Peter Hii.