Sitting on a concrete-and-tar tennis court that should have been cleared from the badly scarred Esplanade: A relatively small crowd of 3,000 attended the Pakatan ceramah in Penang last night
Things that could have been done but weren’t:
Declaration of assets by state government leaders: Instead what we have heard are lame and shameful excuses for not doing so. It is now left to Parti Sosialis Malaysia to embarass the Pakatan parties: PSM is holding a ceremony on 12 March at the Selangor Chinese Town Hall to reveal the public declaration of the assets of its MP (Sungai Siput), its Selangor state assembly member, and three town councillors. Now, if the PSM can do that, why can’t the Pakatan parties? Of course, we won’t bother with the BN parties.
A roadmap and a timeframe for the restoration of local democracy (local elections): Pakatan parties want Malaysians to vote them to power. But they have not told us how soon after they win power at the federal level will local council elections be revived. Will they also introduce elections for village and kampong heads? At the moment, the Pakatan parties seem content to follow the rotten BN system of appointing mainly party loyalists to town councils as a form of reward for their partisan support.
This report from tvantara.com on Anwar’s speech from the packed MBSA auditorium in Shah Alam this evening. Nothing really new; though there’s an acknowledgement that a serious economic crisis is at our door-step. At the same time, however, he is being overly optimistic in pointing to the record investment figures achieved by some of the Pakatan states. Many of these approved projects could be delayed or cancelled altogether in light of the global recession.
Anwar and his Pakatan colleagues need to develop a radical reorientation of the economy away from the FDI-driven model of economic growth, which in many countries has widened the gulf between the rich and the poor and severely degraded the environment. A more eco-friendly and people-friendly approach that includes promoting small to medium-scale local business activity and sustainable farming/food security as well as upgrading essential public services should be discussed and thought through.
We also need to reduce the “financialisation” of the economy and minimise the scope for speculation while focusing more on the real economy and empowering marginalised communities.
Masa sudah tiba untuk rakyat bangkit menghayati kembali erti perjuangan kemerdekaan yang bertunjangkan ketuanan rakyat dan menolak kepimpinan perasuah dan perompak harta benda.
Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata ketuanan rakyat akan membawa kepada demokrasi matang di bawah naungan raja beperlembagaan.
“Kita mahukan demokrasi yang matang, bukan demokrasi yang tempang, bukan demokrasi yang kakinya dipatahkan oleh mereka yang terus ingin berkuasa meskipun telah tidak lagi didukung oleh rakyat,” kata
Anwar dalam Pidato Kebangsaan bertajuk “Ketuanan Rakyat” di Shah Alam sebentar tadi.
Lebih 1,000 pemimpin PKR, ketua masyarakat, dan wakil kedutaan asing hadir mendengar ucapan Anwar pada ulangtahun pertama pilihanraya umum ke 12.
The morning sunlight filters through the branches, lending an enchanted and mystical aura to the fabled treeIt’s official: The marble plaque beneath the Democracy Tree (Click to enlarge) Photos by Kinta Kid
Kinta Kid reports from the Democracy Tree, Ipoh:
Perak leaders gathered at the base of the ‘Democracy Tree’ this morning to officiate a plaque highlighting what transpired on 3 March 2009.
The black marble plaque with gold-plated inscription starts off with two quotes during somewhat similar episodes that occurred in France and the UK and then goes on to explain the events of the morning of 3 March:
…when 27 state assemblymen were locked out undemocratically from the house by the police and the FRU under instructions of the State Secretary… At 10.00am the Speaker of the House YB V Sivakumar then instructed the assembly to adjourn to the tree to deliberate the motions of the agenda… By 10.35am all motions were passed following full traditional procedures….
A large crowd of about 20,000 turned up in a little pekan in Bukit Selambau last night for a ceramah by Anwar Ibrahim, according to a source who was present.
I gather there’s going to be some sort of “Majlis Perasmian Tugu dan Pokok Demokrasi” at the site of the fabled Democracy Tree in Medan Istana across the road from the rear entrance to the Perak state government building in Ipoh at 10.00am today. It will be exactly one year after the historic 8 March 2008 general election.
More trees are expected to be planted around the Pokok Demokrasi to symbolise justice, freedom, etc
Nizar and members of his administration are expected to be present.
Meanwhile, blog reader Anna Brella has sent in some quotes on trees:
“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert.
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson
Who is this mysterious Andrew, who has been criticised by a few readers of this blog? Here, the academic-activist explains where he is coming from:
Let me clarify that I am first of all, a Penangite and a Malaysian who believes in democratic discourse. Thus, unlike some of those who have attacked me on a personal basis above (and previously in other posts), I am more interested in the substantive issues at hand. So, let’s focus on the discussion instead of personalities. Consequently, I see no reason why I should give anyone my IC number or my full name if I choose not to do so in my comments to Anil’s blog. This is my democratic choice just as I do not demand anyone to disclose their full identity if they criticise me. I would honestly prefer if we addressed the issues.
Hence, I find it disturbing here in Anil’s blog to read postings that reflect die-hard partisan positions towards those whom we disagree with. One would have hoped for better considering that many of us who post comments are from the educated middle-classes; the enlightened intelligentsia of our society if you please.
A message from DEMOCRACY TREE
I am just a tree, why not be like me..
I give shelter, and rest to all in need, you can see.
There’s shade under my branches, come and take your rest
You’ll know then, that I am simply Nature’s gift and I ….did my best.
– Shakuntala, an anak Bangsa Malaysia who adores trees and spends time just staring at their beauty and generosity and who believes in the fusion of Nature with human activity.
Some people are saying the tree in question is a yellow flame tree. Can anyone verify this?
Continuing on the tree theme, I wrote the following for IPS:
It has already been dubbed “Pokok Demokrasi” or Democracy Tree and is set to enter the annals of folklore in Ipoh, capital city of Perak state.
In an open space beneath this 60-foot high rainforest tree and another lush mango tree nearby, the state legislative assembly of peninsular Malaysia’s second largest state held an emergency session Tuesday as a crowd of several hundred looked on.
Lim Chong Eu once tried to “develop” Penang Hill while later, Koh Tsu Koon tried to pave the way for the development of the Turf Club land for the PGCC project. In both cases, Penang civil society groups mobilised public opinion to “Save Penang Hill” and “Stop PGCC”. Both proved to be costly errors, driven by corporate greed and the interests of develors. The rest, as they say, is history.
Himanshu Bhatt writes about the Penang Forum’s submission of civil society proposals and recommendations to the Penang state government. Will the state government heed the views of the activists?
This article appeared in theSun:
Ignore NGOs at your peril
LAST Saturday, at a private meeting in the chief minister’s office, the Pakatan Rakyat government of Penang was handed a stack of working papers by a motley gathering of NGOs. The reports, drawn up by independent working groups, were made as part of a “People’s Forum”, a community-based initiative of as many interest groups as one could imagine popping up in Penang, a former “crown jewel” of Gerakan.
Source: MIDA
If you consider that RM17.4 billion is for foreign investments in the electronics sector (think Penang and Selangor) and RM20.4 billion for foreign investments in basic metal products (think aluminium smelters in Sarawak), then you begin to wonder how many of these approved projects will actually materialise.
The global electronics sector is in deep trouble; so the Penang government shouldn’t rely on these figures for comfort this year. The figures for Sarawak include the proposed aluminium smelter (notice the sharp jump from 2007), which is nowhere near to being implemented – though that would be a blessing given the environmental implications.
The Speaker’s lawyers (from left): Chan Kok Keong, Augustine Anthony, Tommy Thomas, and Phillip Koh Tong Ngee Photo by KK
V Sivakumar’s lawyers are going back to court again in another attempt to represent the Speaker, says my source in Ipoh after a press conference held by the lawyers.
Yesterday, the court ruled that only the state legal adviser could represent the Speaker.
This time the lawyers will argue that under Article 132 (3) of the Federal Constitution, the Speaker is not part of the public services, and therefore he should be allowed to engage private lawyers.
The Selangor government’s Water Review Panel has accused federal Water Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor of being more interested in protecting the private interests of businessmen rather than the Selangor and KL public.
In a Berita Harian interview yesterday, Sharizan had given two reasons for wanting to speed up the restructuring of the Selangor water industry:
to take over the water concessionaires’ assets by 31 March and avert a water tariff hike and
to assist the concession companies in bearing the costs of borrowings and bonds that they currently cannot afford.
In contrast, the Water Review Panel stressed in a statement that there would be no increase in tariffs should the Selangor government take over the assets.
A couple of MACC officers from Putrajaya turned up this afternoon to question Augustine Anthony, one of the five lawyers representing Perak Speaker V Sivakumar, a source in Ipoh informs me.
They questioned Augustine from 4.00pm to 4.40pm in Ipoh today.
Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim says the federal government recognised that its water privatisation policy had failed; so it introduced a restructuring of water management under which a federal body would take over the water assets and lease them back to the operators in the various states.
In Selangor, the state government owns about 70 per cent of the water assets with the remainder held by private companies. The assets owned by the state are valued at RM9 billion. The state government values the private sector’s assets and imputed equity at RM5.7 billion. (The assets alone are valued at RM4.6 billion though the federal government has valued them at RM5.0 billion).
Remember A Kugan, who died in police custody?
Well, he died as a result of “acute renal failure due to rhabdomyolysis due to blunt trauma to skeletal muscles,” an independent second post mortem has revealed. In layperson’s language: kidney failure as a result of repeated beatings. More accurately, his death was due to his muscle cells disintegrating into his bloodstream and absorbed by the kidney, which led to kidney failure.
His body also had severe burn wounds including those caused “by the repeated application of heat with an instrument or object with a triangular surface, causing multiple V-shaped imprint burn wounds on the skin of back”.
The majestic Democracy Tree that has now entered the annals of Ipoh folklore Photos by Jong (click to expand)
The raintree stands tall providing shade as the Perak State Assembly convenes an emergency sitting in the open air amidst the people.
All around, as Penang-based lawyer-writer Tan Ban Cheng observes, the traditional institutions of governance and democracy have not exactly distinguished themselves among the public.
Tense moments outside the state government building this morning (Click to expand)
The beaming BN lawyers (from left): Firoz Hussein, Faizul Hilmi, Cheng Mei, Datuk Hafarizam Harun, and Badrul Hishah Photos by KK
And the rejected, dejected PR lawyers (from left): Chan Kok Keong, Augustine Anthony, Tommy Thomas, and Phillip Koh Tong Ngee
The Judge had ruled that the Speaker could only be represented by the state legal adviser and not the PR lawyers.
From The Edge website:
2.55pm: Perak speaker sent letter to JC Ridwan Ibrahim stating he has not authorised state legal advisor Ahmad Kamal to act on his behalf
2.15pm: Lawyers for Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir are already at the Ipoh High Court studying legal points ahead of a hearing for an application of injunction to stop further meetings of the Perak state assembly. The hearing in the chambers of JC Ridwan Ibrahim is scheduled to start at 2.30pm.
On this historic day, the Perak state assembly held an emergency sitting under a tree, 200 metres away from the state government complex, after the people’s reps were prevented from sitting in their usual venue.
Democracy was returned to the people, gathered in a solemn assembly beneath this humble but majestic tree, its outstretched branches reaching out to the heavens while embracing and providing shade for the multitude below.
Thanks to Rain Tree for sending in this poem by Hamza Yusuf:
The historic "Pokok Demokrasi" - now part of Ipoh's folklore (Photo by Jong)
A tree knelt in praise
I know that I shall never see
A poem that bows quite like our tree
A tree who like us loved to pray
In adoration every day
A tree who humbly knelt in praise
To God and never chose to raise
Itself above the other trees
Instead remained as if on knees
A tree who gave our scholars shade
And never asked that it be paid
A tree whose needles never hurt
But gently fell upon the dirt
A tree whose worth cannot be told
Or ever lent or bought with gold
A tree who showed us all its height
With God by bowing with delight
2302: All’s quiet in ‘sleepy’ Ipoh tonight. It’s been raining the whole evening, says my contact in Ipoh. At Ground Zero, FRU trucks are parked in front of the state secretariat/assembly building.
Even the MB’s residence is exceptionally quiet. Not even a ‘ghost’ in sight. Where’s everyone?
In just over eight hours, another drama will begin in Ipoh, the latest chapter in the constitutional crisis that has captured the attention of Malaysia.
With a couple of contacts in Ipoh providing me updates, I hope to provide some modest live coverage from about 8.00am tomorrow. If you are in Ipoh as well, do send in your comments and eye-witness reports if you see or hear anything on the ground.
Sitting on a concrete-and-tar tennis court that should have been cleared from the badly scarred Esplanade: A relatively small crowd of 3,000 attended the Pakatan ceramah in Penang last night
Things that could have been done but weren’t:
The Speaker’s lawyers (from left): Chan Kok Keong, Augustine Anthony, Tommy Thomas, and Phillip Koh Tong Ngee Photo by KK
V Sivakumar’s lawyers are going back to court again in another attempt to represent the Speaker, says my source in Ipoh after a press conference held by the lawyers.
Yesterday, the court ruled that only the state legal adviser could represent the Speaker.
This time the lawyers will argue that under Article 132 (3) of the Federal Constitution, the Speaker is not part of the public services, and therefore he should be allowed to engage private lawyers.
The beaming BN lawyers (from left): Firoz Hussein, Faizul Hilmi, Cheng Mei, Datuk Hafarizam Harun, and Badrul Hishah Photos by KK
2302: All’s quiet in ‘sleepy’ Ipoh tonight. It’s been raining the whole evening, says my contact in Ipoh. At Ground Zero, FRU trucks are parked in front of the state secretariat/assembly building.
Even the MB’s residence is exceptionally quiet. Not even a ‘ghost’ in sight. Where’s everyone?
In just over eight hours, another drama will begin in Ipoh, the latest chapter in the constitutional crisis that has captured the attention of Malaysia.
With a couple of contacts in Ipoh providing me updates, I hope to provide some modest live coverage from about 8.00am tomorrow. If you are in Ipoh as well, do send in your comments and eye-witness reports if you see or hear anything on the ground.