Is Dr. Basmullah a CRIMINAL?

He was the first doctor jailed under the Private Health Facilities and Services Act 1998 just because a technicality. What technicality? For operating a clinic without registering it under the Act. And the 'gift' : Fined RM120,000 or three months jail. So where is he now, languishing in Kajang Prison for the past two weeks as he does not have the money to pay the blardie fine. What a pity to this father of 8.

Uncle Kit had called on the AG to intervene and to invoke the revisionary powers inherent in his office to call up Dr's case out of kail without any delay. He had also called on the Chief Judge of Malaya or the Chief Justice of Malaysia to invoke their revisionary powers to call up the case to quash the jail sentence imposed on Dr. Basmullah. Unfortunately there were no response from any of these offices. What can I say? Biasalah...

This is the most unfortunate thing that had happened to Dr Basmullah, it was just a technicality. Now let us compare this case with the case of pure negligence of baby's hand and leg amputation in government hospitals and Dr Basmullah did not do any of that. What happen to him? He is languishing in jail and he will be for another two more months if nothing concrete is done... unfortunately but that is the FACT.

I have read in the internet by Palmdoc which state that the ex Minister of Health has given his assurance that the Act is to be used against bogus doctors and bogus clinics. BUT now against real doctors over a technicality. Looks like the acting Health Minister some how failed to adhere to simple act of fairness and justice. What a pity.

Reference of the late Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Malek Ahmad

Well said Madam President. His passing away indeed is a lost not only to the legal fraternity but to all Malaysian. During the Commission proceedings, we were told that he is to be appointed as Chief Justice of Malaya. I am not surprised. In fact with such credibility and independence he advocated, he deserved the honour, not just as Chief Justice of Malaya but the No. 1 man in the judiciary. Malaysia truly lost a man of integrity, upright and decent.

I had the opportunity and privilege to have appeared and known such a distinguished gentleman.

I must say that it will take another decade to find another man of such nature.

May his soul rest in peace...

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President's Speech at the reference for the late Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Malek Ahmad

Contributed by Ambiga Sreenevasan

The late Tan Sri Dato Seri Abdul Malek Ahmad knew what it was to be a Judge. He knew the sacred trust that was his office. He knew that to be a great Judge one had to have independence and integrity, courage and compassion, dignity and honour. He knew that in him was vested the heavy burden of deciding the fate of his fellow man and that this burden had to be discharged honestly and to the best of his ability. He knew it, he cherished it, he lived it. His razor sharp mind and his excellent judicial temperament made appearing before him both challenging and pleasurable. He had been an excellent trial Judge who ran his Court effortlessly and efficiently and in the Appellate courts he demonstrated the same sharp intellect. Very often Tan Sri Abdul Malek would have grasped the point that a lawyer was making in submission even before he finished his sentence! In complex cases he had the ability of very quickly getting to the heart of the matter. I can personally vouch for this having had the privilege and honour of appearing before him. During his tenure on the Bench, Tan Sri Abdul Malek contributed immensely to the development of the law and his decisions are highly regarded by members of the Bar and are often relied on as precedents. Of course one could not fully describe Tan Sri Abdul Malek without mentioning his excellent sense of humour and wry wit which so often broke the monotony of proceedings in Court. We at the Malaysian Bar can bear witness to the fact that Tan Sri Abdul Malek was a remarkable Judge and a remarkable human being. On 1 January 1985, he was at the age of 40, one of the youngest judges to be elevated to the High Court. When Tan Sri Abdul Malek was appointed (in our view belatedly) to the office of the President of the Court of Appeal on 12th July 2004, it was then a much needed shot in the arm for the Judiciary. The Malaysian Bar welcomed his appointment with the following words and I quote: “Justice Dato Abdul Malek Ahmad has, in his many years on the Bench, demonstrated the right judicial qualities and temperament. He has exhibited judicial independence and integrity, and enjoys widespread respect from the Bar and those who are familiar with the functioning of the judiciary in Malaysia. His proven ability, reputation, standing, seniority and experience (all of which are criteria which the Bar has consistently advocated to be relevant to judicial appointments and promotions) make him well suited for this important position.” Prior to that YM Raja Aziz had said of him in an article in Insaf that “his merit as a judge was beyond question”. Tan Sri Abdul Malek was an asset to the Judiciary. And though we may mourn his loss, his is a life to be celebrated. It is not how long you live that counts but how you have lived your life and what you have done in your life time that does. Judges sit in judgment of the public but eventually the public sit in judgment of the kind of Judge one is and has been. In the judgment of the Malaysian Bar, Tan Sri Abdul Malek acquitted himself admirably and was an exemplary Judge. The Malaysian Bar therefore felt a deep sense of sadness and loss upon the passing of Tan Sri Abdul Malek. I am reminded of the words of J. Nehru which he spoke at the time of Gandhi’s passing that describes the feeling:- “We stand on this perilous edge of the present, between that past and the future to be, and we face all manner of perils. And the greatest peril is sometimes the lack of faith which comes to us, the sense of frustration that comes to us, the sinking of the heart and of the spirit that comes to us when we see ideals go overboard, when we see the great things that we talked about somehow pass into empty words, and life taking a different course”. That was how we felt then. But I realised that we cannot lose faith. That we owe it to the memory of noble Judges like Tan Sri Abdul Malek, who refused to have their sense of right and justice compromised, to honour and build on their legacy. That we owe it to their memory to have the courage to do what is right and if it is within our power to do so, to set things right. I believe we are entering a new era in the Judiciary and my only sadness is that Tan Sri Abdul Malek is not here to share in this moment. A wise man once said: “Everyone of us is given the gift of life and what a strange gift it is. If it is persevered jealously and selfishly it impoverishes and saddens. But if it is spent for others, it enriches and beautifies.” Tan Sri Abdul Malek’s was a life spent for others. His life enriched and beautified. To Puan Sri Datin Roziah and her family, I say, we share your loss. But we also share the pride you must have in Tan Sri Abdul Malek for his having served the nation selflessly and for honouring his oath of office to the very end. I close with some appropriate verses from Longfellow’s poem “A “Psalm of Life” :- Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Today we shall take heart, take courage and take inspiration from the life of Tan Sri Malek. “May his soul rest in peace”.

Embarrassment to Samy

"Kata Veerasingam, keputusan Samy Vellu untuk bertanding semula, antara lain kerana ingin memajukan kaum India seiring kaum lain di negara ini"

I saw this in RPK's blog. Having the opportunity to read it, I can't stop laughing. It takes the Naib Presiden to ampu the boss and correct his mistakes after being bombarded by Puteri Chaiman of UMNO. It takes a Putri to humiliate and embarrass the President of MIC, so called third largest party within the Barisan Nasional. Mind you, she is not even a Deputy Minister. What a shame and an embarrassment to MIC.

Secondly, the statement by Veera confuse me even more. He says, "...kerana ingin memajukan kaum India seiring kaum lain di negara ini". Meaning, Hindraf is right after all. The Indian community has been greatly marginalised. As I recalled there were thousands that march into the street. Nobody or rather no people in their right frame of mind would simply demonstrate and assemble shouting anti government slogans. As such for thousands of Indians marched out that day shows a vote of dissent not only to the MIC President and MIC but also to the Barisan government.

Samy has been MP for Sungai Siput for 8 terms. I think the people of Sungai Siput should just throw him aside. Enough is enough.

Fair Play?

How unfortunate. Below is a letter written by Gan Hock Ming on the Majlis Agama little Napoleon behaviour

The Majlis Agama officers came and attempted to snatch the dead body, all our family members more shocked and angry, we resisted and strongly protested against the removal of our father’s body.

1. Our father was seventy four (74) years old. He suffered a severe stroke in 2006. He was as immobilized, bedridden, mentally unsound, cannot speak, partially deaf and has very poor vision.

2. We transferred him to stay with one of our brothers in Klang. Our aged mother looked after, bathed and fed him. She also helped to look after our nephews and nieces.

3. Our father died on 20th Jan 2008. As Gan Hock Seng (the eldest son) is a member of the family, we informed him of our father’s death. He was then told us that our father is a Muslim, we were shocked and did not believed him. So we continue to perform the wake service as our father have never led a muslim life. The Majlis Agama officers came and attempted to snatch the dead body, all our family members more shocked and angry, we resisted and strongly protested against the removal of our father’s body.

4. We obtained his alleged conversion papers from Majlis Agama the second day.

5. We were advised by our solicitors that there are serious irregularities in the said conversion papers especially the Declaration of Conversion into Islam.

a). The declaration was before a Pegawai Ukhuwah. His rubber stamp was on the paper but that officer did not sign.

b). Further there was no signatory at the certification column.

c). There was an illegal alteration on the date to 3rd July 2007.

d). The thumb print was questionable as we are certain that our deceased father was in Klang and not at the address No. 451, Taman Megaway, 70400 Sikamat, Seremban as stated in the application form.

e). His address stated in the Borang Perakuan Memeluk Islam is No: 1272, Jalan TBK 6/2, Taman Bkt Kepayang, 70200 Seremban, the residence of the eldest son. We wish to state that our father has never resided at this address.

f). The Majlis Agama Authorities claimed that our deceased father made an oral declaration in Arabic accepting the Muslim faith. Our family has medical confirmations from three doctors that our father was unable to speak.

g). We were asked to appear before the Syariah Court Seremban, we believe the Syariah Court is for Muslims only.

h). We refused to attend at the Syariah Court on a matter of principle as non-Muslims. We refused to submit to the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.

i). The Syariah Court made a unilateral declaration that our father is a Muslim and is to be buried in accordance to Muslim rites.

j). We filed an application at the High Court Seremban to adjudicate on the validity, authenticity, veracity and legality of the conversion paper especially the declaration of acceptance into Islam.

k). The High Court Seremban dismissed our application on the ground that he has no jurisdiction to hear this matter as the subject matter falls within the purview of the Syariah Court. We beg to differ.

l). We were indeed shocked and aggrieved at the simplistic way the High Court disposed off this matter. We only seek justice, fair play and to find out the truth on his alleged conversion.

10. The eldest son Gan Hock Seng converted to Islam years ago. Our father and mother had strenuously opposed his conversion.

11. This eldest son had allegedly converted our father without the knowledge of our other and all other seven siblings.

12. Further, the eldest son had NEVER taken care of him physically and financially. He hardly visited him too.

13. Even if the eldest son had converted our father, we like to ask:

i). Why is it that he did not take care of him and brought him to stay in his house to lead a Muslim life?

ii). Why did he allow our father to continue living in a non‐Muslim home in Klang ? Our father had never prayed and continued eating pork and other non‐halal food. He never revealed to anyone that he has converted to Islam.

iii). Why he as a Muslim, did not ensure that our father (if he had been indeed converted) led a Muslim life ?

iv). Why is it that the Agama Islam authorities did not visit and follow up with our father – the alleged new convert, after his conversion?

14. We believe we have been unfairly treated by our eldest brother and the Agama Islam authorities in this alleged conversion of our father. If there had been a conversion, we firmly believe that the Agama Islam authorities should have informed all members of the family. There should not be a fight over the body of dead person. There should be dignity and respect on the dead person.

15. We hope the PM and the higher ups in the Islamic Authorities review this case and to ensure that the truth is unravelled. We hope that all conversions to Islam is fair and transparent and made known to all the next of kin of the convert.

We Seek Justice, Fair play and Truth in this matter.

From,

Gan Hok Ming for and on behalf of the family members of Gan Eng Gor (deceased)

Malaysia Ready?

So is our economy improving? Can we withstand the global economic pressure and the threats of inflation and recession?

KLCI hit by US recession fears

©Business Times (Used by permission) by Francis Fernandez Before the new year, there were thoughts that the market could decouple from the US; it hasn't turned out to be true, says Aberdeen Asset Management SHARES slumped on Bursa Malaysia yesterday on heavy selling pressure as other markets around the world retreated amid fears of a US recession and global economic slowdown. The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) dropped sharply for the third time in as many trading days, dashing hopes that the domestic equity market would be able to decouple from broader markets in the US, Europe and Asia. "Before the new year, there were thoughts that the market could decouple from the US; it hasn't turned out to be true," said Gerald Ambrose from Aberdeen Asset Management. Decliners buried gainers by 14 to one, pushing the index down some 3.8 per cent, or 54.12 points, to end the day at 1,354, its lowest closing so far. Losers were across the board as fears of recession and systemic risks in the global financial market spooked investors. British American Tobacco Bhd was the biggest loser for the day, dropping RM1.50 to RM40.50 a share; followed by DiGi.Com Bhd, which fell RM1.40 to RM22.60. Plantation stocks and favourite heavyweights such as Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Gamuda Bhd also took a beating. Maybank and TNB each closed 40 sen lower to RM11.20 and RM8.95 respectively, while Gamuda fell 37 sen to RM4.68. Planters IOI Corp Bhd and Asiatic Development Bhd were not spared, falling 50 sen to RM7.35 and 60 sen to RM7.85 respectively. A local fund manager, who declined to be named, said the fundamentals of the domestic market were intact, but it would have to absorb structural downtrends in the US and China markets before it could find its footing. A fund manager at AmanahRaya-JMF Asset Management Sdn Bhd said it would be hard to decouple, and that risk levels had heightened across the board. "Even in the futures market, we are seeing volatility," he said. The KLCI futures contract for January went as low as 1,296 points before closing the day at 1,335. It opened the session at 1,345 points. In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times Index fell as much as 5.8 per cent before recovering to close 1.73 per cent lower. Jakarta stocks went down 7.7 per cent to a near four-month low. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 5.7 per cent in its biggest drop in a decade, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 8.7 per cent. In India, trading on the Mumbai Stock Exchange was halted for an hour when the market fell 10 per cent within minutes of trading. Meanwhile, oil prices have also dropped on fears that a US recession would cut energy demand. The Brent crude fell US$1.08 (RM3.56) to US$86.43 (RM285.22) a barrel yesterday, while US crude was down US$1.01 (RM3.33) from US$87.68 (RM289.34) on Monday.

Interpol?

And now it's Interpol.....

I am wondering what's next??

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Interpol to help find Sharlinie

By KULDEEP S. JESSY

PETALING JAYA: Police have sought help from Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organisation, to trace five-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar who went missing on Jan 9, although they believe that the girl is still in the country.

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Mazlan Mansor said police were also working very closely with their counterparts in neighbouring countries especially those bordering Malaysia. They have been asked to be on the lookout for Sharlinie and the suspect.

"So far we have not received any positive feedback from them but we will continue with the search and use all avenues to look for the girl and the suspect,'' he said on Thursday after the handing over of a mobile police van by Syarikat Perniagaan Shahira Sdn Bhd to the police at the Seri Selangor Golf Club in Kota Damansara.

The RM60,000 van which would be used by the Kota Damasara and Sungai Buloh police was received on behalf of the Royal Malaysia Police by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Ismail Omar.

SAC Mazlan said police and the girl's father were still receiving many calls and SMSes from the public on her whereabouts.

"We are still following up on every tip-off received and have sent out intelligence teams to investigate the information and carry out continuous surveillance in the areas where the girl had been reportedly sighted,'' he said.

However, SAC Mazlan warned pranksters not to call or send false messages on the whereabouts of the girl to the numbers provided on the posters and the recently set up 1-800-88-5464 toll-free number.

"People should only give genuine information and not take advantage of other people's grief.

"We won't hesitate to take severe action against those who give false information as they are interfering with police investigations,'' he added.

Meanwhile, Ismail said a house-to-house search for Sharlinie had been carried out at all abandoned houses and buildings in the Klang Valley.

"So far there is no progress on her whereabouts but we will continue to look for her,'' he added.

Deny Deny Deny...usual LAH

Answer intelligently. You are the Prime Minister of this country. Don't deny. As a Prime Minister you are to know everything that happens within your ministers' ministry. OR you fail to be one. Denying does not make you a good Prime Minister.

Comments like this by the Prime Minister : "Asked whether he was informed of the case, Abdullah said: "I've not been informed. It happened while I'm here."" does not show that he is in control. For the Press to know first, shows that the Prime Minister is not controlling his kakitangan.

The Prime Minister was asked to comment a statement by Tengku Adnan (Minister of Tourism) that the officers were subject to an internal probe by the ministry over the allegation.

Now internal probe? What the toooot. Internal probe are subjected to a cover up. That is creepy. Full of S*it. No integrity and transparency at all. The ACA should not be told what to investigate. They should be given the free hand to see that all sorts of allegation of corruptions be investigated without fear and favour.

The time is now to allow the free hands of the ACA to investigate any maladministration and mismanagement of public fund and do allow the course of justice to take place freely in Malaysia.