malaysiakini: Why I'm a socialist and will remain one... by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj

Why I'm a socialist and will remain one

Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj
Jul 20, 2011
11:33

COMMENT “Hey Kumar! Still tilting at windmills are you?” a doctor friend had greeted me at a Malaysian Medical Association event four years ago. 

There had been some news regarding Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in the media that previous week.

For many, the socialist experiment has been assigned to the dustbin of history and they think that only deluded people would still work towards socialism.

But for us in the PSM, we believe that socialism has an important, even crucial, role to play in averting a colossal economic-ecological disaster that will occur within the next 30-60 years.

We believe that the world has to find a workable alternative to an economy driven by corporate greed. We offer three main arguments for this position.

First, Malaysia's current economic course recommends a 'race of the bottom'.

The global owners of capital and technological expertise who control market access are a relatively small number of corporations - about 500-1,000. They have become all powerful in the unipolar world of today and they can 'bargain hunt'. Even the biggest governments can't control them. 

The measures that Malaysia is taking to attract investors include:

• Lowering corporate tax and supplementing tax income by enacting a GST; the tax burden is being shifted onto ordinary Malaysians;

• Enhancing 'labour flexibility'; this is a misnomer - it undermines job security and workers' rights through allowing contractualising of labour and by weakening unions; and

• Privatisation of basic services such as healthcare and tertiary education.

All these measures pile economic pressure on the lower 70 percent of the population.

And these are measures other developing countries are also taking - each outdoing the neighbour in the mad rush for FDI. It is very difficult to build a caring society within this framework of development.

Second, chronic under-consumption leads to massive growth of financial capital and increasingly volatile financial 'bubbles'.

The ability of large corporations to 'bargain hunt' in the cheapest sites to station their factories has meant mega-profits for these corporations but at the same time, has stunted the aggregate consumption power of the global economy. 

When a US or European firm lays off 100 workers by shifting to China and hiring 100 Chinese workers at one-seventh the wage, the total buying power of the working class is reduced.

The absence of robust growth in consumer demand dictates that the profits of the corporations cannot be invested in the production of more consumer goods. So the corporations need to try other alternatives to make money, such as the futures market, currency trading, share market and other financial products like derivatives.

This tendency is highlighted by the fact that 'Quantitative Easing' - the release of more money into the US economy in an effort to stimulate industrial production and thus reduce unemployment - has backfired into the creation of more financial bubbles in various parts of the world. The problem is sluggish consumer demand, not a lack of productive capital.

The issue here is not insufficient regulations but a misdistribution of the world's wealth. To address this problem, the power of the corporations has to be challenged.

'For my grandchildren'

Third, we are reaching the environment limits of growth.

The global economy is heavily dependent on petroleum. This commodity is going to run out within the next 50 years or so. We urgently need to think not only of alternative sources of fuel, but also of much greater fuel efficiency. 

Global warming is with us. How soon and how fast sea levels are going to rise is still a matter of conjecture - but does that mean we can afford to ignore the issue if it only impacts our grandchildren and not us?

An economic model that requires a global average rate of growth of 4 percent a year to avoid downturns is clearly not sustainable - not for the next 50 years. We need to redistribute the wealth we already are creating more equitably. We have to cut down waste. Growth cannot be endless. 

All this is only possible if we are ready to challenge the paradigm that unchecked greed will lead to the best possible outcome for the world's majority because Adam Smith's 'Invisible Hand' is still operating in today's corporate-led globalisation.

The ordinary people of the world need to take power to dictate the direction of the national or world economy away from the hands of the 560 richest corporations of the world.

We need to empower themarhaen (workers) of the world to take on these tasks through a democratic process. These are the tasks facing 21st century socialism. These are not easily attainable goals.

But the problems we are facing are extremely serious. Unchecked, they could lead to an ecological, food or climatic disaster that will lead to a decimation of the world's population.

This is not the world that I wish to bequeath my grandchildren. That is why I am a socialist and intend to remain so despite being held under the Emergency Ordinance and Internal Security Act.

fmt: Najib and gang say the darndest things... By Kee Thuan Chye

Najib and gang say the darndest things

fmt, July 7, 2011

By Kee Thuan Chye

The government has two laws for Malaysians – one for itself and those it favours, and one for the rest of the people.

The Bersih 2.0 episode has taught us a few important things. About the officials who are supposed to serve us, the rakyat.

First, it has taught us that our prime minister, Najib Tun Razak, is a coward, a passer-of-the-buck, and a man with a slippery tongue.

Although he has now offered the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) a stadium to hold its rally on July 9, he refuses to say if the government no longer considers it an illegal organisation.

“This is a point whereby we consider them illegal, they don’t consider themselves as illegal but what’s important is public interest, I’m concerned with public interest,” he says. What kind of waffle is that?

Because he is wishy-washy about this matter, he appears utterly contradictory in allowing an illegal organisation to hold a public rally in a stadium that his government will provide.

Related to this, when asked by the media whether the police would continue to clamp down on Bersih 2.0 supporters nationwide, he said, “You have to ask the police.”

Asked if supporters would be arrested for wearing Bersih T-shirts at the rally at the stadium, he again said, “That is up to the police to decide.”

He doesn’t know? He doesn’t have a say? Who is the boss? The prime minister, who is the chief executive of the country, or the police?

He dared not even answer the media’s question about whether he was called to see the King on the morning of July 5 before the latter was to meet with Bersih 2.0. His lame and characteristically evasive reply was: “When I meet the King is my right, and as the prime minister, I am the chief adviser to the King.” He wasn’t man enough to be honest and transparent.

Same old trick

Now let’s look at Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. A few days ago, on the Bersih 2.0 rally, he warned that it could lead to chaos and invite “interference from major powers”. Where did he pull this out from?

“Based on the experience in the Middle East, we know that foreign powers are all too eager to send their troops on the pretext of helping to solve the crisis,” he said. What a hoot!

How ridiculous it is to draw from the Middle East experience (is the United Nations about to authorise the bombing of Malaysia?), and how convenient to blame it on some phantom foreign powers. It’s the same old trick the government used on Hindraf in 2007, linking it to the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. In the end, not a shred of evidence was ever produced. Once bitten, twice shy.

Sure enough, what Muhyiddin said was to provide justification for six Parti Sosialis Rakyat (PSM) members who were pro-Bersih 2.0 to be detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), on suspicion of being involved with “foreign elements” and having “subversive tendencies”.

One of them is Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. If you knew him for the soft-spoken, humble and dedicated helper of the poor that he is, you would laugh in Muhyiddin’s face. Jeyakumar would not be so stupid as to align himself with foreign elements to subvert the state.

Let’s turn now to Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim, who disparaged “desperate parties” for making use of Communism to drum up support for the Bersih 2.0 rally.

“They see this as an opportunity to stir up dissent and seize power,” he said. “Spreading Communism is against the law. It is evil and illegal.”

What wild words would these ministers not use against a rally that was aimed at nothing more sinister than asking for electoral reform, for the good of democracy? Do they not realise we can gauge from their words the level of their intellect?

How did Rais get his PhD?

PM’s undignified talk

Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam called on the government to strip Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga of her citizenship. “If she thinks that we should have democracy by going on demonstrations like the way other countries do, then let her be the citizen of another country,” he said.

He also said she was against the tenets of Islam for previously defending Lina Joy in her apostasy case.

Alamak! What has the Lina Joy case got to do with the Bersih 2.0 rally? But then, that’s the Umno-BN dirty tactic, isn’t it? Turn a non-religious issue into a religious one. Never mind if it’s irrelevant. Never mind if it’s divisive.

Najib was worse in making a similar personal attack: “We know who this Ambiga is. She is the one who threatened the position of Islam.”

He must have known it was totally uncalled-for and outrageously irresponsible, but his audience was in Kelantan, comprising mostly Muslims, reportedly about 20,000 of them there.

When Ali Rustam said that sort of thing, it was inexcusable. But when Najib, the advocate of so-called 1Malaysia, said it, it was unforgivable.

More than that, he warned, “Ambiga should not think herself so strong. We will not bow down to her at all, we will fight for the truth. We will simpan kuku kita.” This is menacing; the threat is in “simpan kuku kita”, implying Najib and his supporters will hide their claws for now and use them when the time comes.

This is undignified talk unbecoming of a prime minister. He sounds like a street brawler.

Let’s save the best for last. And who else might that be but the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, already famous for the numerous bloopers he has made in the past?

When the police started arresting people for wearing the Bersih T-shirts, without any apparent law to back them up, Hishammuddin justified it thus: “If the Bersih T-shirt is related to an illegal activity, then whatever they are wearing is illegal.”

But the rally had not happened yet, so how could it have been an illegal activity? By the same logic, how then could the Bersih T-shirts be related to an illegal activity?

Caught in a corner, Hishammuddin then resorted to declaring Bersih 2.0 illegal. One of the reasons cited was that Bersih 2.0 had been spreading propaganda with the aim of toppling the government.

What propaganda? Its eight demands for electoral reform constitute government-toppling material? Which school did this minister go to?

And now that the King has met with Bersih 2.0 and the coalition has agreed to hold its rally in a stadium provided by the government, Hishammuddin is still clamouring: “They are banned. They are still banned… just because Tuanku met them doesn’t mean they are no longer illegal.”

One would have thought that the King, in showing respect to Bersih 2.0 in granting it an audience, would have legitimised the coalition, but Hishammuddin seems to have a different view. He must have felt the egg all over his face when the King granted the audience.

His reaction is therefore understandably defensive. He has screwed up big-time, but he won’t admit his mistakes. If he has been doing his job like he should have, he would not be vilifying Bersih 2.0; he would be going after Perkasa instead.

The real troublemaker
No matter how you look at it, there’s no denying that the real trouble-maker is Perkasa. It never had a real cause to rally for on July 9 except to disrupt Bersih 2.0’s serious purpose.

And now it wants to create further trouble by applying for the same stadium that Bersih 2.0 is applying for and hold its own rally there. And the reason for it? Merely to show that “there are others who feel differently”.

Perkasa is obviously envious that the King acknowledged Bersih 2.0 by granting it an audience, so it too is applying for an audience with His Majesty. Perkasa is nothing but an envious bulldog that won’t let go until it gets to spite Bersih 2.0. And all for what? Do its members even know?

If there were one organisation Hishammuddin should act on, it would have to be Perkasa. And yet for all its antics and for all the veiled threats of violence its president, Ibrahim Ali, has been issuing since the whole episode started, the minister has said or done nothing.

Hishammuddin is plainly inept in his handling of the entire mess. And for that, he should resign or be kicked out of the Cabinet by his cousin, Najib.

In fact, both of them have clearly shown in the past two weeks that the government has two laws for Malaysians – one for itself and those it favours, and one for the rest of the people. You can guess for yourself which side is the worse off for it.

But not to worry. What we the rakyat have learned, we can use to good effect. Taking the wisdom from Najib, we can simpan our kuku for now and reveal them when the time is right.

Dramatist and journalist Kee Thuan Chye is the author of ‘March 8: Time for Real Change‘. He is a contributor to FMT.

malaysiandigest: What Is This Country Coming To?... by Kee Thuan Chye

What Is This Country Coming To?
by Kee Thuan Chye
03 July 2011 – malaysiandigest.com

WHAT is this country coming to? Many Malaysians are asking this question in view of the numerous actions taken by the police over the past week.

First, they arrested 30 Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members, including MP for Sungai Siput Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, and are now investigating them for resurrecting Communism and waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. While on their way to a Bersih roadshow in Penang, they were arrested in Kepala Batas and found to have in their possession T-shirts bearing faces of Chin Peng and Rashid Maidin. They have been remanded for seven days.

Communism? That’s crazy talk. The Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) is long dead and gone. Chin Peng is a geriatric and Rashid Maidin is dead. The party disbanded in 1989 after signing a peace treaty with the Malaysian Government, and its members were allowed to reside in Malaysia if they chose to do so. After 22 years of its being defunct and virtually forgotten, why is Communism still a threat today?

And if it were – by some stretch of the imagination – are we to believe that this threat is manifest in these 30 PSM members among whom 14 are women, the oldest aged 64?

A friend of mine who was at the court in Penang when the 30 were brought in told me they were just “a motley crew” of people who didn’t look like they would carry a stick to fight, much less wage war against the Agong. “When I saw that, my faith in the system hit rock-bottom,” he said.

“And to see Jeyakumar in handcuffs was too much,” he added. “He alone is worth many of our people in power put together. Top scorer in exams, a doctor, a man who has dedicated his life to helping poor people – he doesn’t deserve this.”

Like my friend, I too knew Jeyakumar while at school. He was one year my junior at the Penang Free School, and I remember him well as a thoughtful, gentle person. He was soft-spoken, cerebral, and humble despite his well-to-do background.

I find it hard to believe that someone like him would wage war against the Agong. Only someone stupid or deranged would consider doing that. He might be a socialist, but that’s a far cry from being a Communist. Don’t the police and the Government know the difference? To all intents and purposes, he is probably someone who transcends labels and merely cares for the poor.

And why remand him and the others for a week? The High Court has since upheld this decision and said it is correct. Justice Zamani A Rahim said the case was serious. “It involves the security of the country, of everyone – you and me and our children.” These 30 people are so dangerous that they are a threat to us and our children?

Case number 2: Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate) A Samad Said was called in by the police and told he was being investigated for sedition because he had read part of a poem at the Bersih launch on June 19.

When has reading a poem been seditious? In any case, did it provoke an uprising afterwards?

Look at the poem. Can it threaten national security?

Unggun-bersih

Semakin lara kita didera bara –
kita laungkan juga pesan merdeka:
Demokrasi sebenderang mentari
sehasrat hajat semurni harga diri.

Lama resah kita – demokrasi luka;
lama duka kita – demokrasi lara.
Demokrasi yang angkuh, kita cemuhi;
suara bebas yang utuh, kita idami!

Dua abad lalu Sam Adams berseru
(di Boston dijirus teh ke laut biru):
Tak diperlu gempita sorak yang gebu,
diperlu hanya unggun api yang syahdu.

Kini menyalalah unggun sakti itu;
kini merebaklah nyala unggun itu.

Translation:

Cleansing Fire

Even as we are lashed by the sickening fire,
we still shout out the message of Merdeka:
Democracy as brilliant as the sun,
united in purpose as pure as self-worth.

Long have we been restless – democracy is wounded;
Long have we been sad – democracy is ill.
Democracy that is arrogant disgusts us;
We dream of a free voice that is full and strong!

Two centuries ago Sam Adams declared
(in Boston while tea was being poured into the blue sea):
No need for noisy, trivial cheering,
all that’s needed is a serene bonfire.

Light now that magic fire;
illuminate to others the flame of that fire.

Samad Said was prompted to say to the media afterwards that instead of intimidating writers, the action the police had taken against him could spur fellow writers to use the power of literature to state their views openly.

Indeed, it is time for Malaysian writers to come forward and defend what is right. All those who have been conferred the Sasterawan Negara award, like Shahnon Ahmad, Abdullah Hussain, Muhammad Haji Salleh, Noordin Hassan, Anwar Ridhwan and the newly installed Kemala should use their pen to “menyala unggun sakti” and “merebak nyalanya”.

Case number 3: More than a hundred people have been arrested for wearing Bersih T-shirts. Eight of them were among 14 people giving out the national flag at a wet market in Sungai Siput. All 14 were arrested.

But what is the offence? Which part of the law says it is an offence to wear Bersih T-shirts in public?

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has come up with the justification. “If the Bersih T-shirt is related to an illegal activity, then wearing it is illegal,” he said. Is that logical? What “illegal activity”? The Bersih rally hasn’t happened yet. Until the rally is carried out, no illegal activity has been performed yet. So how could he declare it illegal? On that score, why should it be illegal to wear a Bersih T-shirt?

As an analogy, if I were to express an intent to do something illegal, like smoking marijuana openly in public, but I haven’t done it yet, would it make sense for the police to arrest me? If they should do so, the case would be thrown out of court straight away. Doesn’t Hishammuddin, who is a lawyer himself, know that?

Case number 4: The police raided the Bersih secretariat and detained its staff members. According to Bersih, the cops did not produce a search warrant. They confiscated Bersih T-shirts, leaflets and other paraphernalia.

Why raid only the Bersih secretariat? Why not raid those of Perkasa and Umno Youth as well since they will also be holding rallies? And why did the cops not produce a search warrant but instead threaten to break open the gates?

Later that day, the announcement came from the Inspector-General of Police, Ismail Omar, that the police would not only arrest those wearing Bersih T-shirts but also those using any medium to promote the Bersih rally. “Not just T-shirts but shoes, cars, buses. If these are the tools used to encourage people to gather (illegally), this amounts to sedition,” he said.

Shoes too? Sedition? For dressing as one likes? Aren’t Malaysians allowed the freedom to dress as they like? Are there new laws that have come into place without our knowing?

Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye was arrested for wearing a yellow T-shirt the next day. It did not even have “Bersih” printed on it, it was just a plain yellow collared T-shirt. The police told him he was arrested for illegal assembly as he was with three other people at a wet market. Two of them wore Bersih T-shirts and the third a white shirt. Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Azisman Alias said, “The shirts are evidence that they are trying to get people to take part in the illegal rally.” Is that all it takes?

What is happening to our beloved country? Is it all turning into a farce? Do we laugh or cry?

My friend in Penang was full of admiration for the 30 PSM members arrested in Kepala Batas. He said when they were marched out to face the music, they were not cowed by it. “I tell you, I never thought I would have lived to see this. Despite the situation they were in, they were shouting, ‘Hidup rakyat! Hidup rakyat!’,” he said. “I’ll never be able to forget that.”

Now the question is, will the rakyat be able to survive the power of the police? And also that of the State?

*The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.

…source (malaysiandigest.com)

malaysiakini: Release PSM political detainees immediately.... b S. Arutchelvan

Release PSM political detainees immediately

S.Arutchelvan
Jul 6, 11
4:44pm

Stop the charade and release the remaining six PSM political detainees immediately.

The six PSM leaders are now being detained without trial under the draconian Emergency Ordinance - the Other ISA.

Till now, they have been denied access to legal representatives and family visits. We are worried for their safety and their well being.

We demand their immediate unconditional release.

The charade by the Najib administration:

• First the 30 were arrested on 25th June and remanded the following day under Section 122 of the Penal Code for the charge of waging war against the King. 

• On 26th June 2011, The Police paraded several T-shirts of former MCP leaders and PSM Newspapers as subversive elements and said PSM was trying to revive the MCP.

• On July 2nd, the end of the remand period, the police released six of the detainees including Dr Jeyakumar - PSM Member of Parliament, M Saraswathy - Party's National Deputy Chairperson , Choo Chon Kai - Central Committee Member and three others from all charges under Section 122 but they were immediately rearrested under the draconian Emergency ordinance.

• The six were initially given family notification letters which stated that they have been arrested under the EO to prevent them from participating in the July 9 Bersih rally. This was replaced later by another which stated that they have been arrested under the EO to maintain public order. In the media, the Deputy IGP said that those arrested under EO were subversives with links to foreign elements. The script kept changing.

• For the remaining 24, the police asked another seven days extension under the same Section 122 - 'waging war against the King' in spite of key leaders of PSM been cleared from the same allegation a few hours before that. The police requested seven days stating that they have a list of things to do including holding an ID parade. The court gave them another three days.

• But in the three days, there was no ID parade or any other investigation. Those detained were just languishing in their lock-ups.

• On July 4th 2011, at 4pm - when the banks were be closing(making bail processing impossible) , the 24 were charged now NOT under 122 but under Section 48 and Section 43 of the Societies Act; and section Section 29 (1) of the Internal Security Act for being in possession of subversive documents.

Bail was set at RM8,000 each which means RM192,000 in total.

In the charge sheet, it is stated that the illegal organisation is Bersih though the PSM campaign ended on June 26 before Bersih was banned by the home minister while the subversive documents were leaflets on Bersih's eight demands.

Now these 24 are not charged for the PSM "Udahlah Bersaralah" leaflet nor were they charged for having possession of T-shirts of MCP leaders and other T-shirts.

Udahlah...end the charade now.

PSM would also like to categorically state that PSM will not compromise on the release of the six for supporting the Bersih rally on the 9th.

The rally is the right of the rakyat in a democratic society to exercise their freedom of assembly and expression.

PSM calls upon the immediate and unconditional release of the EO Six.

Their continued detention is a violation at the highest level by a corrupt and cowardly government.

S.Arutchelvan is PSM Secretary General.

Aliran: PSM six: No proof, so detain them further

PSM six: No proof, so detain them further

Aliran Exco
Jul 4, 2011
7:35pm

It looks like if they don't get you under one law, they will get you under another. That seems to be the case as far as Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj and his colleagues are concerned. But this time they used a sledge-hammer just to make sure that they get them. 


During the seven days' remand the police did not unearth any incriminating evidence to justify their action against 30 Parti Socialis (PSM) activists for allegedly “waging war against the king”. That was the reason stated for remanding these people. Before that, there was talk they could be investigated for sedition.


On the seventh day of their remand, six of them were freed from the Kepala Batas Police Station. The implication of this action was very explicit: the police had actually cleared them of whatever they were originally suspected of being involved in.


In other words, there was no case against them and therefore there was no reason to seek a further remand to continue with the police investigation or to charge them. It was the end of the case and the matter was closed to the satisfaction of the police.


But lo and behold, at the very moment Jeyakumar and his colleagues were freed, police personnel from Bukit Aman immediately re-arrested them! This time they were being arrested under the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969 - the sledge-hammer approach. This ordinance doesn't give you a chance to challenge the arrest and detention.


Originally, this ordinance is meant for suspected goons and gangsters and criminals who habitually indulge in crime and violence; suspected criminals who pose imminent danger to citizens and remain a constant threat to public order.


The activities of Jeyakumar and his colleagues come nowhere near to this said potential danger to the nation. Their activities were never violent or criminal. In fact, they are very concerned and compassionate people who only want to do good that will benefit the discarded and marginalised sectors of our community.


Jeyakumar is noted for devoting his entire life to the care of the less privileged and discriminated urban poor, the neglected estate communities and the largely ignored Orang Asli.

His ways are gentle, his approach is gentlemanly. He has never advocated any violence in the pursuit of justice for the poor, the weak and the meek. It was always persuasion and reasoning that he deployed to seek justice.


Reasoning and rational Malaysians cannot accept any insinuation that he is a danger to public order. In their eyes Jeyakumar is a victim of gross injustice.


Aliran has known Jeyakumar for many years. He is one of our loyal members committed to the aspirations of Aliran. His concerns are exemplary and inspiring. He is a tireless worker for the good of the nation. We reject any allegation of criminal intent on his part. Detaining him under the EO is a terrible injustice to this man of peace.


Aliran calls upon the Barisan Nasional government to be fair and just and free Jeyakumar and his colleagues immediately. Their continued detention does not speak well of our notion of justice or our respect for the rule of law. 

TMI: Ex-Suhakam commissioners condemn EO used in Bersih crackdown... By Melissa Chi

Ex-Suhakam commissioners condemn EO used in Bersih crackdown

By Melissa Chi

July 03, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Police should arrest Bersih “activists” if they break the law rather than arrest them under the Emergency Ordinance, a group of former human rights commissioners said today.

The Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) condemned the use of Emergency Ordinance (EO) without going through other legal channels.

“The right of citizens within a democratic society should be respected by all parties especially the state in ensuring fundamental human rights are exercised in an environment where there is collective responsibility.

“Over the past week we have seen the attempts from various quarters to restrict democratic rights. These actions include the arrest, the banning of t-shirts, the declaration that Bersih is an illegal movement,” the group led by Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam (picture) said.

The mercury has risen over the Bersih march in the past week but the police dragnet has been met by defiance from Bersih Chief Ambiga Sreenevasan and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders, who have strongly backed the march as it seeks to build momentum ahead of a general election expected within the year.

“In addition the personal attacks on Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan (Bersih Chair,) questioning her integrity and sincerity by main stream media, the reference to communist threat and violent overthrow of the government are unfounded accusations. These actions can be read as creating a situation of political tension and reducing public confidence in the way the Federal government is addressing the situation,” it said.

The group also highlighted the rearrest of Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and six others under the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of crime)- EPOPCO on July 2, and demand for their release.

EPOPCO is a preventive detention law similar to the Internal Security Act, which enables the police to hold the arrested people for 60 days and subsequent through the minister’s order a further detention for two years.

“The Royal Police Commission in 2005 recommended ‘that EPOPCO be repealed because it has outlived its purpose and in some instances has facilitated the abuse of some fundamental liberties’ (page 310). The use of this law or any preventive legislation is clearly a violation of human rights,” the group said.

It also demanded that the prime minister who has a “very strong commitment to moderation and rational response to national concerns” to provide strong political leadership in bringing about a ‘win –win’ situation for human rights and community harmony through a mediation process among the various leaders.

The first in 2007 saw an estimated 50,000 people take to the streets in the capital city before they were dispersed by riot police armed with water cannons and tear gas.

The event has been partly credited for PR’s record gains in Election 2008 when the opposition pact won five states and 82 parliamentary seats.