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Permatang Pauh: The missing issue

Anil Netto
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5

There is one issue you will hardly hear about in the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign – even thought it affects one in three workers in the country.

Now, why would politicians who are desperate for votes ignore the concerns of one in three workers?

Perhaps it’s because when we talk about workers, we rarely think of the migrant workers in the country. Yes, one out of every three workers in the country is a migrant worker.

For the last two days I have been in Shah Alam attending a National Consultation on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers organised by Tenaganita, the Bar Council, Aliran and Caram Asia.

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Sisters in Islam book banned

Anil Netto
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19

It’s not just The Herald and Catholic Asian News that has come under the Home Ministry’s scrutiny.

Two books on Islam including one by the respected group Sisters in Islam (SIS) have been banned. The books were banned because they contained “twisted facts on Islam that can undermine the faith of Muslims”, according to a Bernama report.

I contacted Zainah Anwar of SIS and she told me the book “Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism” was an old one which has been out since 2005. According to her, it was actually a compilation of papers arising from a seminar among Muslim women’s groups from around the region and edited by Norani Othman, an experienced academic and researcher.

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Herald under further pressure

Anil Netto
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13

The Herald, a Catholic weekly published in Malaysia, is under further pressure from the Home Ministry, which will be scrutinising its forthcoming editorial on the Permatang Pauh by-election. The edition will reach the churches in the peninsula this weekend.

“The editorial is only asking people to pray for a just and fair by-election. Can’t we Christians ask fellow Christians to pray? Is that against the law?” Herald editor Fr Lawrence Andrew, SJ was quoted as saying.

The paper was given three warning letters before receiving a show-cause letter last month. Its licence could be suspended if its latest editorial displeases the Home Ministry, which feels the paper should stick to “religion” – according to the Ministry’s understanding of the term.

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Seberang Jaya state assembly member is BN candidate

Anil Netto
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26

It’s Arif Shah Omar Shah vs Anwar Ibrahim.

Arif Shah, the Penang State Assembly member for Seberang Jaya, will be the BN candidate for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.

Said to be hard-working and a Mandarin speaker, he reportedly has a service centre in Taman Pauh Jaya in Jalan Baru with seven full-time and five part-time staff.

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Kwang Chye’s “friendly advice” for Kin Woon

Anil Netto
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31

Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye has some “friendly advice” for party stalwart Toh Kin Woon (pic): Don’t attend anymore events organised by PKR. This was reported in the Kwong Wah Chinese-language newspaper today.

Kin Woon was among the crowd of between 10,000 and 20,000 at Anwar’s ceramah in Permatang Pauh on Saturday night (9 Aug).

When asked whether any further action would be taken against Kin Woon, Kwang Chye said no, but he hoped that Kin Woon would not take part in any further events organised by the PKR.

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Permatang Pauh: Calm before the storm

Anil Netto
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5

Busy day: Pas Youth leader Salahuddin Ayub speaking at a ceramah on Saturday night (9 Aug) in Permatang Pauh – after having taken part in the protest against the Bar Council’s forum in the morning. Sharing the platform that night were Anwar and Guan Eng.

The next day, I wrote the following piece for The Malay Mail from a food court in Permatang Pauh.

Still a calm before the storm

By A. NETTO

The rays of the evening sun stretch right into a hawker centre offering the Malay version of char kway teow.

Half a dozen tables are filled with local residents, chatting away as the evening breeze blows.

It would be hard to tell that a widely-watched by-election is taking place in Permatang Pauh on Aug 26. Life goes on as usual and the only tell-tale signs that something big is about to happen are the fluttering Barisan Nasional flags outside.

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Catholic Asian News gets a warning letter as well

Anil Netto
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18

The Catholic Asian News magazine has also received a warning letter from the Home Ministry. The letter was received some time in early July.

And it’s for about the same reason as the warning letter to The Herald: for publishing articles which touch on politics.

Don’t they know that Jesus talked about a kingdom of God? That was one of the reasons he eventually got into trouble and received a death sentence. The Roman prefect Pontius Pilate asked Jesus at his trial: “Are you a king?”

The magazine is a monthly publication of the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Malaysia.

Another large crowd in Permatang Pauh

Anil Netto
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30

A large crowd, estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000, turned up to listen to a ceramah in the heart of Permatang Pauh, opposite the Seberang Prai Polytechnic. Among the speakers were Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng.

The event also saw the launch of the national PKR youth wing’s election machinery with representatives from each state taking a pledge.

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Home Ministry issues “show cause” letter to Herald

Anil Netto
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19

This is not a great day for freedom of expression after what happened in KL this morning.

The Home Affairs Ministry has issued a show-cause letter (on 16 July) to the publishers of The Herald, an editorial in tomorrow’s edition of the Catholic weekly newspaper has revealed.

The paper was accused of committing two offences:

  • it has not followed the concept of “focusing” on religion
  • it carried an article that purportedly degraded the religion of Islam

In reply to an earlier warning letter from the Ministry, the editorial in The Herald remarked that the Ministry had not defined the concept of “religion” in the application form for a publishing permit.  Neither is there a definition in the Constitution. So, the publishers asked the Ministry to point out where they had gone wrong. No reply.

The editorial also maintained that the article in question “America and Jihad – where do they stand?” in no way degrades any religion; it was the writer’s analysis of the global political situation “for informed and educated people”. (I have not read the article myself so I am unable to comment on it.)

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New housing on Penang Island aimed at the wealthy

Anil Netto
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16

So how can low-income workers afford to buy homes?

There is real shortfall of affordable housing in Penang, especially on the island.

On the other hand, developers have been falling over themselves to build high-end condos and houses for the upper-middle class, the rich and wealthy foreigners, who are also grabbing choice real estate on the island. For example, at Hillside in Tanjung Bunga, wealthy foreigners are snapping up prime property.

House prices are expected to rise further with the rise in the cost of building materials. But when these new houses and condos are completed, who can afford to buy them? Will we end up with a glut in high-end housing?

What happens to all those factory workers, security guards, and small business owners who cannot afford houses on the island? In the past, they would go for cheaper houses on the mainland, even as far as Kulim and Sungai Petani in Kedah. But with higher oil prices and shrinking real incomes, it doesn’t make economic sense to commute such long distances to work. To make matters worse, if workers were to drive to work via the proposed second Penang bridge, their expenditure on toll and petrol charges – for the bridge segment of the commute alone – could come up to RM500-800/month.

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