Another company is proposing a solution for Penang’s transportation problems.
This time it’s the Aerobus, which glides on overhead tracks. Apparently the system is being proposed for areas outside the heritage zone in George Town.
The company behind it is Aerobus International Inc, through its local rep, Aerobus Malaysia.
Its executive director (or is it executive chairman?) is Aripin Mokthar, who is also described in news reports as Aerobus Malaysia Marketing and Development director.
Before you jump and exclaim “Penang leads!”, Malacca announced in February a simliar RM1.8 billion Aerobus mass transit system. Apparently, it will take six years to complete. In Malacca, Pyramid Express will build, operate and manage the Aerorail system. Technical and project management support will come from Pinggiran Pelangi Sdn Bhd.
I hear there is going to be another Mass for ISA detainees at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus, Penang, tonight (Wednesday) at 8.00pm.
5 September 2007 – Lawyer Zaki Azmi, a former Umno legal adviser and disciplinary committee chairperson, becomes Federal Court judge. He is the first lawyer to be appointed straight to the highest court.
Three months later:
5 December 2007 – Zaki becomes Court of Appeal President, the No. 2 post in the judiciary.
Rakyat@work who was on his way to Ipoh to cover the Sunday vigil there reflects:
As we go into regression over (Sunday) night’s pandemonium, many would have formed new impressions and new experiences and witnessed the new rakyat thinking as we move forward into a new Malaysia.
Change is inevitable; it’s happening right here, right now! Whatever course the rakyat choose to take next will determine if we remain stagnant or progress as one human race.
While my travelling mates and I were covering the Ipoh vigil, our hearts were beating for the PJ vigil as early as 7.30pm. Our handphones were literary filled with breaking news every 5 to 10 mins. SMSes were exchanged at a furious pace, back and forth. (All the 4 Ws were put to use: Who? Where? When? Why? and now trying to anwwer the What? What’s all this about? What is going to come out of it? What was it the police were trying to prove? What is the rakyat all about? We can only answer within ourselves. Something was brewing all right but never in my wildest imagination could I have comprehended what was to follow (which is history now):
This was the first rendition of Negaraku at Amcorp Mall last night. Video courtesy of Sivin Kit’s blog. It was the second rendition at the Civic Centre that was disrupted by the FRU. (see videos below)
Just a parting thought for tonight, having thought about it further this evening: I guess the title of this post “Did the FRU move in during the Negaraku?” is irrelevant. It does not matter when the FRU moved in – whether it was before, during or after the Negaraku (though of course moving around when the song is being sung is disrespectful). That merely diverts attention from the real question, which is why were the police charging at peace-loving, justice-loving rakyat in the first place?
In contrast, the Ipoh vigil last night passed without incident as police kept a low profile.
No FRU presence was visible in Ipoh; instead some police arrived in what appeared to be a Kancil! Photos by Rakyat@work
1722:The Star (at least its northern region edition) carried the news of the arrests last night at the bottom of page 31 in today’s paper! Obviously, the editors of the “People’s Paper” have got a different set of editorial priorities and criteria for news-worthiness. The report of the arrests appeared below a picture of police displaying drugs seized during a raid. “I was wondering what the arrested MP and Aduns had to do with drugs seized,” a confused reader of the paper told me.
1531:Malaysiakini reports that Home Minister Syed Hamid insists he was in the dark about the police action against the candelight vigil until this morning, adding that he had not received any reports:
“Let me check (first) because police work is police work. Their responsibility is to maintain law and order, (but so far) I have not got any report,” he said.
“If you have done something against law and order, the police will take action. But if you are not happy with it, bring specific details to me and let me check.”
And here’s another video from the folks at Malaysiakini.
1442:Antares points us to a video which indicates that the police moved in before the end of the Negara Ku:
I just viewed an incriminating video on YouTube … as the video UNDENIABLY shows, the FRU moved in BEFORE the conclusion of ‘Negara Ku’ thereby showing utter disrespect for the national anthem. I trust the Selangor CPO will take a look for himself and issue a sincere apology to all those who were rudely interrupted in the midst of singing the national anthem. His men clobbered a few for singing offkey and arrested others for wearing bright yellow & red T-shirts (the colours on the Selangor flag) without a police permit.
1249: MP Tony Pua confirms that he is now out of the station on a personal bond and due to report back to the station on 24 Nov. He is now in Parliament. Recalling his nightmare, he writes in his blog:
I was arrested while seeking out Ronnie Liu and the senior police officers in charge to make sure that everyone was ok.
The CPO Selangor issued the call to arrest me, and two guys came over to grab one arm each and pushed me towards the Black Maria.
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 Black Maria truck and shoved me up despite me stating that I can climb myself.
Apparently after waiting some two hours plus, it appears that they are going to keep us for the night here, and charge us tomorrow.
Weng San was also assaulted and had major bruises and some bleeding on the face. He saw the police who assaulted him here at the station, and Ronnie confronted him for his name. He appeared shaken by the demand and he refused to give his name and gave instead some very rude retorts.
1244:Malaysiakini reports that Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar has denied that the police moved in on participants at a candle-light vigil last night while they were singing the national anthem.
That is what they (participants) are claiming,” Khalid told reporters at the Petaling Jaya police district headquarters about midnight.
When told that there was a video recording of the police action, Khalid replied: “I am denying it.”
Blogger Antares recalls a dramatic night near Amcorp Mall:
Had a brand new pack of six candles ready and an improvised windproof holder, but arriving at Amcorp Mall around 9:15pm, I saw no activity on the padang. People were gathered in front of the Mall and it was great to be greeted immediately by a few fellow bloggers who recognised me. That’s the nicest feature of physically attending these community events – every face you see, even if you haven’t been introduced, is already a friend.
Then Haris Ibrahim suddenly appeared and, this being our very first physical meeting, I just had to give him a big hug for inspiring so many with his gigantic spirit and outstanding mind. I got a call from a friend who said the cops forced her to turn back, so she decided to go home.
But she had been informed that a few other buddies were with RPK at a club further down the street – so I decided it would make my 3-hour commute to PJ worthwhile if I at least got to say hello to the national superhero in person. There he was, being interviewed by a couple of people with videocams and when he finished I gave him a very heartfelt hug. (I’ve only met RPK once before, briefly, in 1999 when he was coordinating the Keadilan website, but after I dropped a hint he did remember our meeting.)
Poised to strike: FRU personnel glare menacingly from outside at the rakyat gathered inside the lobby of Amcorp Mall
Threat to security?: Haris briefs the rakyat that lighted candles may be viewed by some as a “WMD”! (Pictures by blog reader Michael).
The rakyat refused to back down despite the intimidation (Picture by blogger Jarod. More pictures and report at his blog here.)
There are two vigils today at 8.00pm in Ipoh and 9.30pm in PJ. Live updates with Rakyat@Work reporting from Ipoh and other sources in and around Amcorp Mall in PJ:
This is a sad night for peace-loving, justice-loving rakyat after 23 people were detained when police charged into a peaceful crowd in PJ. But love conquers hatred and violence; justice will triumph over oppression. By attacking a peaceful crowd and detaining justice-loving Malaysians, the authorities have further undermined whatever moral authority they had.
2354: Eye-witness and blog reader Paradiz recalls what happened:
My wife and I were there tonight, the FRU charged at us as the Negara Ku was being sung. They were waving their batons threateningly and shouting for us to disperse. I think they were itching to start beating people up.
We had no choice but to run although some did not. After scattering, we went back into the park and were shouted at by the FRU to disperse. That was when we saw some plainclothes cops chasing a few of the people in yellow Bersih and black and red “Free RPK” T-shirts.
Blog reader Ben reports:
RPK and Marina are safe. I saw them walking towards Shah Motel at about 10.20pm. The commotion was at the MBPJ park.
The Centre for Independent Journalism has issued a press statement condemning the police action:
CIJ calls on the Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to free those arrested and explain the use of the riot police in controlling the crowd, which had planned for a peaceful gathering. The continuous use of force against people expressing their views on issues such as the need for free and fair elections and abolishing the ISA is a demonstration of the intolerance for public criticism of the status quo.
2349: Eaglewings reflects on the recent vigils:
For the past four weeks, we had such peaceful vigils. With no police presence, everyone left peacefully and took back a little something with them in their hearts. We made new friends, sang songs together but we were there for only one reason: “Give those detained under the ISA their rights back”.
Today, with police presence, just look at the commotion. Isn’t it obvious? Have they forgotten that they have to protect the rakyat and not attack the rakyat? Until we get rid of this Home Minister, the story continues….
It used to be that flying chairs were associated with MIC meetings. No longer.
The big news today should have been Mat Taib emerging as a surprise contender for the Umno deputy president’s post, joining Ali Rustam and Muhyiddin.
But flying chairs at the Seremban Umno meeting, which left two people injured, have added to the litany of serious troubles facing Umno.
It is not just one incident that suggests that Umno is going through a testing time. Serious money politics, factionalism, the return of the old guard and Mahathirism, bitter leadership struggles and protests at divisional meetings are all evidence of a party in crisis. The big question now is can the party pull through unscathed at a time of economic turbulence or will the fissures that are now evident lead to a final implosion?
Najib is reported as saying that 900 complaints of money politcs had been received by the party’s disciplinary board. 900?! We have heard top Umno politicians complaining about attempts at vote-buying and money politics.
At the Rembau meeting yesterday, a commotion broke out when a number of delegates complained that nominations were closed prematurely.
Seremban folks welcome their guest-of-honour at last night’s vigil
“ISA should be discarded into the Straits of Malacca!”
Photos by Rakyat@Work, whose camera battery was threatening to run out at the high points of the vigil. (Rakyat woke up at 11.00am today after a long and exhausting day – and night – “at work” yesterday!)
Tomorrow’s vigils:
Date: Sunday, 9 Nov 2008 (Sunday)
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: Taman D R Seenivasagam, Ipoh (Map) and near Amcorp Mall, PJ
These Abolish ISA vigils are making a difference. All three ISA detainees arrested in recent weeks have now been freed – but there are 65 others. One by one, we will get them out.
Last night’s vigil in Seremban was encouraging for two reasons: the presence of more Malays, lending a more multi-ethnic face to the campaign against the ISA, and of course, the arrival of the special guest, the just-released ISA detainee, RPK.
Blog reader Angela Ooi of Seremban reflects:
Thank you everyone who came for our second vigil. We, Seremban folks, could not believe our luck having our beloved RPK spend time with us almost piping hot from his Kamunting cell. Earlier, I had asked Marina what message she had for the Seremban vigil.
She replied, “No message except I will bring Pete to them when he is free.”
Updates by anilnetto.com with live reporting from Rakyat@Work, now at the Dataran Seremban Park:
2139: “Come again, people, same time, same place” is the message that goes out as the vigil draws to a close. What a day… Good night and God bless Malaysia!
2137: RPK thanks the crowd for their support. “Now I am going back to rest, cos I’m a bit tired. Thank you for coming and rest well.” The crowd responds with similar words.
2124: Y L Chong leads the crowd in singing “We are the World”.
2122: The crowd chants, “No, no, ISA! We want change! No, no, ISA!”
2114: RPK joins the crowd in singing “Blowing in the Wind”.
2110: RPK has been addressing the crowd, says Rakyat@Work. Speaking on behalf of the other ISA detainees, RPK says that the remaining detainees had actually asked him to send a message to the rakyat to ask us to support them in their ordeal. Under the ISA, the first thing they take away is your hope, explains RPK. That’s why the ISA is so detrimental. Even the Hindraf detainees, who have been there for only 11 months so far, are saying that that the world doesn’t care whether they live or die. “We can only depend on ourselves,” they lament.
