anilnetto.comanilnetto.comThe journalism and other writings of Anil Netto - featuring real journalism in the cause of justice, freedom and solidarity Articles
Vincent Tan denies he is influential; so tell us about the Sports Toto priv
2008-01-29 14:01:00 Malaysiakini has just reported that Vincent Tan has denied that he had much influence under the Mahathir administration: He also said that it was a ?real joke? to suggest that Mahathir consulted him on the appointment of judges as indicated in a video clip which featured lawyer VK Lingam. ?If I am so influential, I would have ... More About: Sports , Accountability , Toto , Judiciary
Joke of the week
2008-01-29 11:38:00 So far, Malaysians have been entertained by the almost farcical proceedings of the commission of inquiry into the Lingam tape. Come on, we all know the real state of the judiciary. But the joke of the week must be in the Malaysiakini headline just now. I burst out laughing when I read it. “Dr M fears ... More About: Joke , Democracy , Week
Lingam drops another bombshell in new video
2008-01-28 07:37:00 This is truly scandalous and implicates another former top judge. Lingam also talks about his New Zealand holiday with Eusoff Chin. More About: Video , Accountability , Judiciary , Malaysian politics , Bombs
Qur?an: ?Tuhan kami, juga Tuhan kamu, adalah Satu?
2008-01-28 04:08:00 This is the Malay translation of verse 29:46 from the Qur’an obtained from here: Dan janganlah kamu berbahas dengan Ahli Kitab melainkan dengan cara yang lebih baik, kecuali orang-orang yang berlaku zalim di antara mereka dan katakanlah (kepada mereka): Kami beriman kepada (Al-Quran) yang diturunkan kepada kami dan kepada (Taurat dan Injil) yang diturunkan kepada kamu ...
Makkal Sakthi fever hits Penang
2008-01-26 16:58:00 “Makkal Sakthi (People Power)!” thundered speaker after speaker. “Valga (Long live)!” roared back the crowd. I thought I would check out the atmosphere at the DAP ceramah at the Penang Chinese Town Hall in George Town tonight to gauge the mood among voters. The theme: “Bebaskan Hindraf 5 (Free the Hindraf Five).” When I arrived at ... More About: Human Rights , Poverty , Democracy , Hits
Another step towards justice for murdered activist Munir
2008-01-26 11:52:00 The long struggle to find out who killed Indonesia’s leading human rights activist Munir Thalib received a major boost when Indonesia’s Supreme Court convicted Polycarpus Priyanto, an ex-pilot for national airline Garuda, of poisoning Munir with arsenic during an international flight. But Indonesian police need to get to the bottom of this conspiracy once and for ... More About: Justice , Human Rights , Accountability , Global justice movement , Asean
Penang civil society groups not letting down guard after stalling PGCC
2008-01-25 15:40:00 This speaks for itself. Some people are saying the government’s change of heart is just an election gimmick. But there was intense pressure from civil society groups and ordinary Malaysians upset over losing a green lung and horrified what the traffic would be like. It just goes to show what ordinary people can do, if they ... More About: Society , Environment , Democracy , Penang , Letting
Eusoff-Lingam New Zealand trip photos
2008-01-25 06:34:00 Check out the pictures of the “coincidental” holiday encounter reproduced on the website of the Malaysian Bar. Nice bonding between the two families, I must say. More About: Photos , New Zealand , Trip , Judiciary , Zealand
A new movement springs to life as Thaipusam devotees shun Batu Caves, thron
2008-01-23 03:33:00 Update - 8.45 pm, Penang: Some 2,000 Hindu Malaysians, clad in the orange of Makkal Sakthi, are on the streets, chanting, “Hindraf! Hindraf! Long live Hindraf!” It’s confirmed: The boycott of Batu Cave s for the Thaipusam festival has been a success. Tens - perhaps hundreds - of thousands of Hindu Malaysian devotees have boycotted Batu ... More About: Life , Shun
Lingam inquiry: Memory loss epidemic spreads among witnesses
2008-01-23 03:05:00 An impartial observer from Mars sitting in at the Lingam video inquiry would be forgiven for thinking that there is an outbreak of amnesia and dementia in Malaysia. Witnesses don’t seem to remember basic details. Why, Lingam was even unable to positively identify himself in the video, uttering the now legendary words, “It looks like ... More About: Memory , Democracy , Spreads , Judiciary
The real truth about Palestine: Occupation
2008-01-21 14:54:00 Many of us tend to think that Palestine is a “Muslim issue”. But it is not. Do you know, for instance, that Bethlehem, the birth-place of Jesus Christ, lies in Palestinian territory? In any case, it shouldn’t matter what religion the Palestinians are. It is a question of humanity and basic justice. A question of Occupation: ... More About: Truth , Media , United States , Real
Enticing Hindu Malaysian voters with Thaipusam holiday
2008-01-20 16:58:00 Predictably, the PM has extended the Thaipusam public holiday to KL and Putrajaya. (Check out this revealing eye-witness account of the MIC-gathering tonight.) All I can say is that they must be desperate to win back support from Indian Malays ian voters, many of whom are sympathetic with Hindraf or have vowed to vote for the ... More About: Holiday , Voters , Hindu
We believe in one God/Allah
2008-01-19 13:22:00 Just came across this verse from the Qur’an 29:46, which I think speaks for itself: And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, “We believe in the revelation which has come down to ... More About: Christianity , Islam , Allah , Alla
Major blow for Patrick Lim, Equine, as Penang Govt stalls PGCC project
2008-01-18 16:49:00 Who says that ordinary people can’t make a difference? In the end, it took 2,500 postcards, 500 emails and a concerted civil society campaign to convince Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon that it would be politically costly for the government to proceed with this project. It is a fact that many Penangites and all those who ... More About: Environment , Project , Democracy , Patrick
The torturous truth can be disturbing - even at the movies
2008-01-16 15:49:00 Sometimes, when you want to get away from it all, you head to the cinema and escape into a fantasy world. But once in a while, you come across a film that gets too close to reality for comfort. “Rendition” is one such movie - featuring a cast of Academy Award winners, it is an ... More About: Movies , Truth , United States , Human Rights , At The Movies
MPPP must rise to the occasion this Friday and reject PGCC
2008-01-15 13:38:00 Will they or won’t they? Throw a spanner into the PGCC works, that is. The full council of the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) will sit on Friday , 18 January 2007 in a meeting that could very well decide the fate of the Penang Global City Centre project. They will listen to the recommendations of the sub-committee on ... More About: Environment , Democracy , Rise , Malaysian politics
PGCC: DOE tries to get away with only preliminary EIA
2008-01-14 07:06:00 I hear that the Department of the Environment quietly approved a preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment of the Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) project way back on 2 March 2007. A “one-stop centre” meeting approved the preliminary EIA, subject to various conditions (e.g. flood control, air quality, noise pollution, waste disposal) after technical issues were ... More About: Democracy , Malaysian politics
Malaysian polls observers declare Uzbek ?non-election? fair
2008-01-08 09:56:00 So a six-men Malaysian election observer team, led by the Malaysian Election Commission deputy chairman, have declared the Uzbekistan elections as “fair” even though critics have described it as a “non-election”. Remember, the Uzbekistan government is notorious for torturing dissidents and even putting them in boiling pots. Check out this analysis: Murray began receiving photographs and other evidence ... More About: Politics , Europe , Democracy
Palm oil, palm oil everywhere, but only a few drops to cook?
2008-01-07 15:32:00 Only in Malaysia…. Malaysia - world’s second largest palm oil producer. (Indonesia is now the world’s largest producer.) The “new”Sime Darby - world’s largest listed palm oil producer. And yet, rationing has been imposed: 5kg buying limit on cooking oil PUTRAJAYA: Five kilograms ? that is the maximum amount of cooking oil that each consumer can buy when a move ... More About: Palm , Accountability , Cook , Agrobusiness , Palm Oil
BN?s give-and-take policy
2008-01-06 10:35:00 Seems to me the BN has mastered the art of “give and take” in administering the nation. Give : Letter officially approving the new publication permit of The Herald Catholic Weekly - without any condition, allowing it to publish in all languages. (Hooray!) Take: Cabinet decision to bar The Herald from using the word “Allah”. (Alas, the earlier ... More About: Policy
The grave sins of Chua Soi Lek
2008-01-03 06:38:00 A friend of mine in the UK just sent me this message: I particularly take the point about the growing effectiveness of blogging and the ways in which Youtube and other such sites are serving to spread the truth of ministerial corruption and pposition dissent. I have a particular dislike of personalised politics, with individuals being ... More About: Health Care , Sins , Neo-liberal economics , Grave , Chua Soi Lek
2,000 gather in Penang to call for release of Hindraf Five
2008-01-02 09:53:00 Some 2,000 Indian Malaysians gathered at the Waterfall Temple in Penang on New Year’s Day to pray and call for the release of the five Hindraf leaders held under the ISA. A barber was in attendance at the temple premises to shave the heads of about 50 people, including one woman, who decided to go bald ... More About: Release , Call , Gather
Good news: Herald receives new publishing permit!
2007-12-30 09:03:00 Some good news at long last. Just got a call from The Herald editor, Fr Lawrence Andrew. The Herald has received its new annual publishing permit - without any condition! Nothing mentioned about the use of the word “Allah”; and no order for it to drop its Malay-language section. The new permit was hand-delivered to the ... More About: News , Christianity , Media , Iraq , Good News
Herald permit: Divide-and-rule rears its ugly head?
2007-12-24 10:21:00 Publication permit in doubt: The Herald has provided prominent coverage of recent demonstrations and other human rights issues even as the mainstream media abdicate their responsibility Four years ago, Christian Malaysians were overjoyed when Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi sent Christmas greetings to their various churches and congregations. It was an astute gesture that touched ... More About: Christianity , Islam , Human Rights , Poverty , Democracy
Samy Vellu booed on ?live? TV; are his political days numbered?
2007-12-23 05:53:00 MIC president Samy Vellu was booed and publicly humiliated when he turned up to officiate at the Aattam 100 Vagai 3 (100 types of dance) performance at the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa) last night. Sources tell me the crowd of 2,000-3,000 shouted obscenities at him including “po-dah” (the rude version of “get lost”) and ... More About: Political , Poverty , Democracy , Live , Days
Why are Malaysians so restless these days?
2007-12-18 10:42:00 What is fuelling the protests and rallies and candlelight vigils and prayer gatherings? If we look at the Hindraf protest, it would be easy to conclude that the main issue is ethnic and religious discrimination, which has left many Indian Mala ysians feeling disgruntled. But then again, it is not only Indian Malays ians who have protested. In the ... More About: Days , Restless
Activists hold candle-light vigil in Penang on a dark day for democracy
2007-12-13 16:15:00 Some two dozen activists and other concerned Malaysians held a candlelight vigil in central George Town, Penang to uphold the right to freedom of assembly on a day which saw five Hindraf leaders detained under the ISA. The small crowd, which included Aliran and Suaram members, gathered at 8.50pm at the Penang Road/Kimberley Road junction, under ... More About: Human Rights , Democracy , Dark , Light
Wielding the big stick and sweeping issues under the Putrajaya rug
2007-12-11 11:24:00 More arrests today. This time largely targeting the Bersih group and the Hindraf leaders. I have lost track of the number of people arrested, released, re-arrested, denied bail, charged with illegal assembly, “causing mischief”, “attempted murder”, sedition… All this while the Attorney General personally appears in court and tries to deny people bail. What on earth is ... More About: Issues , Human Rights , Democracy , Accountability , Stick
Climate change: Too little, too late?
2007-12-10 12:13:00 This snippet from a World Development Movement blog entry from the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change in Bali got me worried - and as it should you too. While we carry on our lives as usual, we remain blissfully unaware that the very survival of our planet is at stake. ”The science says that ... More About: United States , Environment
On the eve of World Human Rights Day, Malaysia?s bravest lawyers are arrest
More articles from this author:2007-12-09 07:02:00 Five lawyers and three activists were arrested this morning when they attempted to march in Kuala Lumpur ahead of World Human Rights Day tomorrow. That they should be arrested while trying to uphold the right to freedom of assembly rights shows us just what the authorities think of human rights. It reveals utter contempt of basic ... More About: Christianity , Malaysia , Lawyers , Arrest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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