Teoh Beng Hock ~ five years down the line, still no closure!

Teoh Beng Hock (1979-2009)

Beng Hock, a former journalist with the Chinese press, became political aide 
to Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah (DAP) after 8 March 2008. 
Teoh wanted to make Malaysia a healthier, happier place for everybody.

A dedicated worker who enjoyed a good laugh, Beng Hock was well loved 
by friends and colleagues.

Beng Hock was engaged to 28-year-old Soh Cher Wei, a schoolteacher,
and they had planned their wedding for 17 July 2009.

Teoh Beng Hock was found dead at Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, 

around noon on 16 July 2009, after being brutally "questioned" for 9 hours 

by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over 

a RM2,400 discrepancy in the office accounts.

Malaysians were outraged. We knew why Teoh Beng Hock was dead.  

Shortly after his appointment as crime minister, Najib Razak boasted 

he would wrest Selangor back from Pakatan Rakyat - 

just as he stole Perak back through means entirely foul.

Former Selangor chief minister Khir Toyo has close friends in the MACC more than willing to help their UMNO buddy frame a few Pakatan Rakyat state exco members.

Teoh Beng Hock's unforeseen death forced UMNO to abort 
its dastardly plot to topple the Pakatan Rakyat state government. 
In a way, Beng Hock died to save Selangor from falling back 
into the clutches of a grimy, slimy bunch of hardened criminals.

The Teoh family, unhappy with the clumsy cover-up by MACC as well as PDRM, 

demanded a second autopsy, this time observed by renowned 

Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand who stated, 

after viewing photos from the first post-mortem, 

that she was 80% positive that Teoh had been murdered.

The whole nation was angered and saddened by Teoh's unnecesssary death. Few have faith in the MACC's political neutrality - indeed, most view the corrupt law enforcement agencies as UMNO's gestapo. Anger at Beng Hock's cruel mistreatment cut across the social spectrum. In an attempt to placate the public, Najib ordered a coroner's inquest which dragged on for 18 months and ground to a grating inconclusion: Teoh Beng Hock's death was neither homicide nor suicide, the coroner announced. The loud public outcry finally forced Najib to accede to a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case. During the RCI, almost all the MACC officers revealed themselves to be totally incompetent and unprofessional - in fact, they came across as no better than salaried thugs, compulsive liars, and sadistic psychopaths. When the Royal Commsssion's findings were finally made public on 22 July 2011, the public was outraged by the RCI's politically expedient conclusion that "Teoh Beng Hock was driven to suicide due to the aggressive interrogation methods used by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers." Despite the fact that three MACC officers (Selangor deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim, Mohd Anuar Ismail, and Mohd Adhraf Yunus) were held responsible for their tyrannical and unnecessarily malicious interrogation methods, not one has been prosecuted or even fired. Meanwhile, on 6 April 2011, another mysterious death occurred at the hands of MACC - that of customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed.

On 22 February 2010, the son of Teoh Beng Hock 

was born at Pantai Hospital, Batu Pahat.

Watch this fantastic video produced in honor of 
Teoh Beng Hock!

[First posted 15 July 2013]

Aminah will soon have her day in court...

PI Bala wows the crowd
Lisa J. Ariffin | FreeMalaysiaToday
February 28, 2013

PI Balasubramaniam captivates the audience in his first public experience.

KUALA LUMPUR: Support for P Balasubramaniam during his first public appearance following his return to Malaysia was nothing short of overwhelming.

Hundreds thronged the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) last night to catch a glimps of the private investigator who implicated Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Organised by pro-opposition group Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), the forum “Who Killed Altantuya?” was also graced by PKR Rembau division chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Chegubard), Cynthia Gabriel from human rights NGO Suaram and controversial cartoonist Zunar.

During the forum, Balasubramaniam shared his experience working for Abdul Razak Baginda by recounting his first statutory declaration (SD) in detail.

The crowd cheered whenever he mentioned Altantuya’s name, and jeered when he spoke of Najib.

Balasubramaniam then pledged his support to Pakatan, and said he would “do anything” to see the opposition coalition come to power in the upcoming general election.

[Read the rest here.]

"The Sound of Silence" 
(cover version by Najib Razak & Rosmah Mansor)

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence

[Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, 1964]

Let this be the year Mahathirism is finally buried!

And while we're at it... let's bury UMNO too!

Imagine being a 21st century slave: 3 case studies of Burmese workers in Malaysia

John is a 23-year old ethnic Karen from Burma. He came to Malaysia about two years ago, and has since been working in restaurants around Klang Valley. John took up his first restaurant job about three months after his arrival. His main job was to wash the dishes, but he also had to do other cleaning chores at the restaurant, including cleaning the toilets. “I washed and cleaned everything they ordered me to.” He kept the job for about 8 months until he went to try to register for a UNHCR refugee card. “I was scolded afterwards. The boss didn’t want me to register with the UN—he just wouldn’t allow it. Some employers are afraid of the UN card. They don’t like it if we are registered with the UN refugee agency and have refugee cards.”

At present, John works in a food court in Sunway. On average, he works about 12 to 13 hours every day. The employers do provide him with three meals daily, but they take fresh ingredients from the fridge and cook for themselves—we are given stale food.” John mentioned that he does get one day off each week, but to his dismay it is not on Sunday so he is not able to not attend church.

John remarked that there are also documented workers from Vietnam where he works. John mentioned that these workers do not get scolded as much as the workers from Burma. John said it is the verbal abuse that hurts him most. “The employers often pick on us, saying bad things about us, saying that we are lazy people, things like that.” John said his working experience thus far has made him feel downhearted. “I feel ashamed for being here, I feel like my presence in Malaysia is a bother, it’s like we have interrupted the lives of people here. It’s not that I want to disturb the Malaysians. If I could, of course I would choose to work in my own country.”

18th century African slaves in Missouri

Confinement is also found in the service sector, and can be done by agents. San (32), an ethnic Burmese asylum seeker, recalled how he was once confined by agents who promised him a job at the hotel. “He kept me at a house with other people from Burma and Indonesia, including 3 women. We were locked in when they went out. The agent said he would give me a job if available. There were three guards in the agent’s house.” Workers are usually shuttled back and forth from the restaurant to their living quarters. John is housed in a place he refers to as a “hostel,” where he is not allowed visitors. He has to share a small room with five other people.

Similarly, Mei (22)—an ethnic Shan—was also confined at the agent’s place. Every day, she would be brought by the agent to a restaurant where she was put to work as a dishwasher. She was never allowed to go out, and only knew the restaurant and the agent’s place. “I only knew work, and off-work. Work, and off-work. I just followed the agents, wherever they took me to, I followed. I didn’t think of disobeying. If I didn’t follow… I don’t know what would happen.”

John recounted that his prayers were important in helping him to cope, but says, “I am usually in tears after I say my prayers.” He also gets by with support from some friends - fellow Karen refugees in Malaysia. Mei relies mostly upon herself, but feels alone and without anyone to turn to. Trying to avoid feeling upset or distressed, she says that she tries to “suppress her heart,” because crying only makes her feel worse. She also reminds herself that it could be worse, “because I still have my legs and my hands. […] There are people who are richer, they face more challenges. And then there are also people who are worse off, those who have it worse than me. I tell myself don’t think of bad things… think of happy things.”

Experiencing forced labour is a traumatic and stressful experience. Those who have to work in these conditions are able to cope, and keep their humanity, but the toll on their mental health is evident.

[Source: Health Equity Initiatives]

PLEASE SIGN PETITION TO MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT ON THE INHUMANE TREATMENT OF REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

Brutal treatment caused immigration detainees to riot

Refugees in a Malaysian immigration detention center outside Kuala Lumpur (AP)

WIKILEAKS: IMMIGRATION DETAINEES RIOT AFTER RELA BEATS PRISONERS

Classified By: POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MARK D. CLARK, REASON 1.4 (B AND D).

Summary

1. Some 60 to 70 detained suspected illegal immigrants rioted at Lenggeng Immigration Detention Center (IDC) on April 21 [2008], setting fire to the temporary administration building according to press and firsthand accounts. Malaysia's Head of Immigration Enforcement claimed the riot started after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refused the refugees' applications for resettlement, an allegation denied by UNHCR.

Based on multiple witnesses' accounts, the riot's catalyst was the severe beatings of detainees by Immigration Officers and People's Volunteer Corps (RELA) members assigned as guards to Lenggeng. The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) told us deplorable conditions, overcrowding and alleged abuses by RELA all contributed to the riot. We continue to express concern to the GOM regarding RELA's increased authority over immigration enforcement. End Summary.

[Read the full report here.]

PLEASE SIGN PETITION TO MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT
ON THE INHUMANE TREATMENT OF REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

How can we allow THIS to happen???

Human trafficking can only happen where corruption is rife. Malaysia is an authoritarian country managed by spin-doctors and slick slogans. Everything is just for show. In reality we are still a benighted feudal country infested with pirates masquerading as rulers.

Nobility, integrity and honorable conduct cannot be faked. All the billion-dollar infrastructure in the world cannot conceal the moral decadence of the hypocritical, self-serving ruling elite.

This documentary reveals the shadow side of a rogue regime fueled by corruption. Do we want our children to grow up in such an environment? It's our moral duty to ensure that corrupt government is banished once and for all from Malaysia.

Najib Razak has inherited Umno's legacy of monolithic corruption left behind by Mahathir Mohamad. His is the most morally tainted regime in Malaysian history. The home minister and prime minister must be held personally accountable for this disgraceful state of affairs.

May all decent souls resolve here and now to throw out this decadent bunch of white-collar criminals through non-violent means.