I’d say with everything he’s said over a few months, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar’s political career is finished. The rakyat can only tolerate so much bullshit.
More importantly however, reading between the lines of what he has been saying, we are once again compelled to consider the fact that the authorities are in complete disarray and are not acting with one mind.
The Home Minister appears almost to have been taken by surprise by the actions of the police. This is one of the very few ways to explain how he could possibly come up with nonsense like “we took her into custody for her own safety,” or “we used ISA instead of normal questioning because… the police just thought it was best.”
After all, don’t you think he looks a little… off, in the video? Weary? Like he’s saying things because he has to, not because he wants to? I think he’s been cut out of the loop. The last bit as well, is really the kicker.
We note with interest as well, that all the big players in Umno have been quite silent on the ISA issue. Najib and Muhyiddin sent signals that are about as close as you get to open rebellion, but they, along with Abdullah, or even Ku Li, Mahathir and the rest, have remain absolutely tight-lipped on the three arrests.
I and Dato’ Salehuddin Hashim wrote an article a while back talking of a power vaccuum that was being exploited by parties such as the police to take matters into their own hands. We argued that this was the basis behind Anwar’s earlier arrest, which embarassed BN politicians all around.
These arrests almost fit that mould, where the stupidity, illogicity and sheer cruelty of these arrests almost suggests that they were done without true political consideration and instead were designed to escalate the crisis facing Malaysia.
If any of Umno’s top leaders have any guts about them, somebody or some people are going to get fired. Who, is for anyone to guess (Abdullah is a prime target, but Altantuya puts everything into a bit of spin. In a free for all, everyone wants to be number one).
The Pakatan decision to see the PM may also indicate that we are close to an endgame.
However the chips fall, my original stance remains.
In the meantime, here’s Syed Hamid for your entertainment:
Q: Is Ahmad Ismail above the law?
A: He has been punished so far as the party as concerned. At the same time there is a report against Ahmad Ismail and we are investigating it. I don’t think we treat politicians differently. We have taken action. That politician has been suspended three years by the party. He lose all his position. At the same time there is a report of sedition.
Why arrest the reporter when you can call her up for questioning?
Whatever action that we take, there will be questions asked. The whole thing was started by her, it is best that we talk to her. If she is a threat, she would be brought in under Section 73 for 60 days. She would be held. When we have questioned her and we are satisfied with her answers, we just release her. I don’t think we are being unfair nor have we mistreated her.
What do you mean by ‘she started the whole thing’?
If you are going to analyse (what I say), I’d be appearing before a defence counsel. Let me say that the (news) report was made by her. Therefore just now when I introduced the subject, I said that we don’t want hearsay information. That information is from her and it was published. (Since) it was published, it is best that we get to the bottom of it by getting the information from her.
In the whole context, it was the overall incident and the subsequent follow up debates on the matter that started the polemic and created fear (among the public). I think we had acted professionally and after one day we had released her. I think that is a very good cause of action.
Why couldn’t the police just ask her to come in for questioning?
When the police feel it is best to bring the person in under the ISA, they will do so. The most important thing is not to exercise unfairness. When they find what they wanted and realise that she is not a security threat and she is not disturbing public order, they release her immediately.
That is why it is not an exercise on the part of the minister to hold the person under Section 8 which is two years (detention) straight away. The police feel that they should handle it and avoid any misunderstanding.
Do you as a minister feel that the ISA arrests were justified?
I’m a minister and politician. If I start to interfere, people will say I have a political motive. I cannot interfere with the police.
Would there be more arrests? People are saying that this is a mini-Operasi Lalang.
Really? Let me know if there are more (arrests). You shouldn’t ask me. We have done the arrests and so far there is no other arrests.
Is this part of a crackdown to stop Anwar Ibrahim from taking power?
If you look at the whole thing, there is no logic at all for it (ISA arrests) to be related to Sept 16. Sept 16 is a political move. They (PKR) have sent people to Taiwan. If they are successful, they can replace the government, then go ahead. It has nothing to do with the arrests which has to do with public order.
the botak is good value la! he has most certainly hammered the last nail into the umno coffin. those who are still questioning the morals of hopping – open your eyes and ears. still want to sit on the holier than thou fence or stand up and say sod off to the beast?
The way he answered he reminds me of Zainuddin Maidin. I wonder why they couldn’t get quality people as ministers.
Hamid Albar is indeed talking rubbish. If we are to extrapolate what he is saying about the detention of Tan Hoon Cheng, it is akin to arresting the person who reports a murder instead of the person committing the murder itself. How stupid can he be. He is an utter disgrace to this country, to say the least. He should resign as Home Minister immediatley.
Can we seek kind consent of the King to appoint an independent counsel whether Syed Hamid Albar is telling the truth and that the arrest has no political motive?
MCA “Leaders”, Are You Part of This?
To our supposed MCA Leaders: Ong Ka Ting, Ong Ka Chuan, Ong Tee Keat, Chua Soi Lek, etc etc.
What we, the members of the 7 MCA branches in PJ Utara, wants to know is this: were you part of the government process that led to the decisions to initiate the ISA crackdown?
If you dont stand up now in this climate of fear sparked by the ISA crackdown, you can forever hold your peace because you useless lot are then no longer our leaders.
P/S Samy Vellu, stop talking about how you called the PM to tell him to immediately release Ms Tan the Sin Chew reporter. You can start talking when you have addressed the issue of the HINDRAF 5.
mca74justice.blogspot.com
I have no problem with your having to say something, anything against the ISA detentions, but in the first plae, why don’t we wait until someone, probably Malaysiakini to interview that journalist first and get her impressions of how the police treated her and what they told her re: her detention.
Secondly, nowhere has it ever been published or reported of the entire speech of Ahmad, but many are impatient to try the man based on hearsay reports, not verbatim ones.
Is this the kind of justice I can expect from PR if they get into power?
I hope not.
nat: i understand the concerns about Ahmad. yet, although there hasn’t been any denial etc from Ahmad, at this moment, he is not the primary concern at all. the primary concern is the use of an unjust law against individuals who should at worst be investigated under the penal code and tried under the due process of law. every human deserves the right to a fair trial, even Ahmad.
F**k Syed Hamid. We are not little kid!!! Stop bullshiting around and we know how to analyse justice and injustice. Please wake up for the sake of Malaysia future. Stop intimidate Malaysian, as we are fed up with the government.
What public order he was talking-..utter rubbish! Nobody ask him to interfere and he should not do it but as minister did he ask them and evaluate the report and briefing given to him, or he is ignorant and he has forgotten that he was elected and to represent the people and not those sycophants. To all Malaysians let us pray for the good of those arrested and their release soonest. Abolish ISA and all draconian laws that will stifle the nation progress.
HAMID are you stupid or are you a retard, that was the dangdest dumbest bullshit I ever heard, you are a moron, and does it say somewhere you’ve got a degree in LAW?, FROM WHERE TANJUNG RAMBUTAN. you are unbelievabily bodoh goblok. HAOW MUCH DUMBER DO YOU NEED TO BE TO GET THE SUPREME TITLE OF JACKASS, maybe half a point short.
I like how LGE had called him: “an unmitigated liar”. Simple as that.
Which zoo did he come from? Do you know when UMNO is lying?
Answer: when they lips move….
i believe that tun mahathir is behind all this!!! someone ordered the arrest while another party in UMNO is not even aware of the arrest. the polis seems to be taking orders from a few bosses and they themself is not aware who’s the real boss behind all this crab. when the ship have too many captains-then it got no directions and it is going to sink soon……
FIrst the minister says that they arrested Tan Hoon Cheng under ISA to ‘ensure her safety’. Now he says that they released her after finding that ’she is not a threat’.
How much more inconsistent can this guy get?
so do the BumNos still expect the rakyat to vote for them in the next election?
their bullying tactics are so revolting…………………disgusting!!!!!!!!!! no right thinking rakyat wants this kind of govt…………in self denial!
[...] What has happened to Malaysian government, ministers and law enforcement agencies? Haunted by September 16? [...]
All the bullshits from a minister:
“Take her for her safety” – then why released her after 18 hours??? If you are not *lying* and genuinely concerned for her safety, keep her in custody (or shall I say, “protection under ISA”) until the threat disappears.
“People start to stock up food” – my mom is the most nervous type, and she has stocked up zero food in this case. What a lie! The last time she did, it’s during the shortage of cooking oil and rice.
Where is the sense of responsibility and capability of judgment in this minister??? In this case, the arrests have in fact heightened tension and potentially disrupt public order. Whose responsibility in this action!? And what is your judgement, Mr. Minister? While you can say Polis has its power and acted within law, what say you as the minister charged by the Parlimen to take care of this institution of the country? You would just let the maharajalela go free like that?
I pity the guy. The police have no respect for him at all. They do things behind his back and then force him to take the blame. He has been “sabotaged” time and time again. Remember the time when all roads leading to Parliament were blocked and he didn’t know about it beforehand?
The DNA Bill, for instance. Full of holes that even a lawyer of his quality could surely see. But why did he have to justify it (both the content and the timing) in Parliament (I believe very much against his own wish)?
No, I don’t believe he is stupid. But somebody has succeeded in making him appear even worse than a moron.
I pity Syed Hamid because he doesn’t know his real enemy or enemies. Why doesn’t he give Anwar a ring?
RPK was taken in on the orders of Najib. The reason is obvious [Mongolia, Hindu, etc]. Nothing to do with insulting Islam. Badawi has spoken in defence of the detention.
Mahathir and his co-conspirators planned the arrests of MP Teresa Kok and Ms Tan; they fanned the Ahmad Ismail issue, tearing of KTK’s photo. Toyo is in this camp. He had warned that if Badawi does not step down, racial riots will erupt. He fabricated the azan issue to rile the Malays. The sheer absurdity of the arrests of MP Kok and the reporter was intended to enrage the Chinese.
Toyo already knew the police would be taking Kok in at the time she issued her denials. He had said, we’ll see who is correct!
The same machinations that went into May 13 and the later racial incident are at play here. And the same master puppeteer is still pulling the strings of chaos. Don’t we all know how much this particular schemer wants Badawi to step down?
Badawi and Najib and Syed Hamid were caught by surprise by these. That explains the abrupt turnaround, when instructions came from KL to release Ms Tan. Syed Hamid’s embarrassing explanation was a fumbling attempt to justify what was intended to be unjustifiable.
This other camp wants civil unrest to break out so they can oust Badawi. Badawi, on the other hand, sees opportunity in this climate of fear, as something from this madness might evolve to stave off Anwar’s promised takeover. That explains why Teresa Kok is still being detained.
These are complicated times, replete with drama, danger and deceit.
Anonymous said…
After 51 years of the Oppression from the BN goons’ divide and rule fear tactics the Rakyats have matured & you must see all this coming because All The Rakyats of Malaysia can no longer with-stand the hypocrisies, bullshits, lies and deceits of these UMNO Clowns now in Power ok???
We urge all BN Components MPs with a conscience to do the necessary to make possible a New Malaysia for all Rakyats of Malaysia so that all our children and their children & their children’s children’s future will be safe and secured in the Country we all love and not be intimidated by those UMNO Clowns now in power with their oppressive & fear tactics and in the verge of making Malaysia a Police State if left unchecked otherwise.
Moronic PeeM and Botak Home Minister last minutes’ attempts to cling on power by using the fear tactics of using the ISA at their whims and fancies selectively against dissent & tried to deny their own actions as they now have no balls to face the wrath of the all the Rakyats of Malaysia.
All Rakyats of Malaysia will see to that these Clowns will be thrown out soon come the New Dawn of Malaysia & that all Rakyats of Malaysia will welcome the New Malaysia on Malaysia Day 916, 2008 for a Malaysia for All Malaysians.
Justice MUST BE DONE for Altantuya and for all those detained under ISA without the trial nor the rights of appeal. Light-up a Candle in the Lantern of the Mid-Autumn Festival for them all to usher in the NEW DAWN OF MALAYSIA COME 916, 2008
We are indeed witnessing an attemp by certain hardcore Umno operatives to create unrest amongst the various races. Remember, it is to create the perfect pretence for the UMNO led goverment to impose emergency law and thus role back their losses in the last elections!
The ISA arrests are only part of the plan. There will be further provocations! They are desperately hoping that enough unrest and conflict will arise so that they may use even more hardline tactics with the security forces.
I sincerely hope our fellow citizens will remain calm. Fight, I say…but fight smart. Use the net, use it to spread the word that violence and conflict is to be avoided.
The UMNO hardliners (Dr M, Toyo) have run out of ideas. In their desperation, they have become more ruthless. We just need to stay the course….and these jokers will self destruct..
This Syed Hamid definitely belongs to the circus but I don’t know which role would suit him best? Answer: (a)A clown (b)A monkey (c)An idiot (d)A madman (e) All of the above. Pick your choice!
I am so sure his parents, wife and children are so “proud” to have a father like him.
Nat, I go with your observation that Syed Hamid and sleepy Badawi weren’t the ones who ordered the the 2 girls to be arrested but I can’t believe that the Police are acting on their own.
You can almost pity Syed Hamid for the way he had to to take the flak and his idiotic explanations. As for poor Bodowi, he seems to be out of the picture.
Somebody must be taking advantage of this dangerous power vacuum to manipulate the police. As you said, these arrests were designed to escalate the crisis facing Malaysia.
Who has the influence and is Machiavellian enough to orchestrate this? Who would be ruthless enough to create racial strife to achieve his ends?
I agree with Sathya, I smell Mahathir’s odious hand in this!
He has been race baiting in his blog. So has Khir Toyo, warning that the country will face another May 13 if Badawi doesn’t step down.
Both are obviously in cahoots with each other. Mahathir and gang could also be behind Ahmad Ismail’s sudden bravery to escalate the racial tension and thumb his nose at Badawi.
Their evil plan may have succeeded if not for one thing – this is 2008, not 1969. People are politically matured enough not to respond to race baiting. Also, the socio-economic conditions then which was a deep economic and political divide between the races no longer exist now.
The important thing is that they failed. And Teresa will be released soon. Mark my words!
What is happening?
And I must add, fortunately the sleepy PM had the wisdom to order Ms. Tan’s prompt release or things may have reached boiling point. Sometimes, he’s not as stupid as he acts.
On another point, Mahathir suddenly expressed the interest to join back Umno. Did he smell success in his bid to oust Badawi?
Mahathir, you failed! You’re evil enough to incite racial strife to get what you want, notwithstanding the harm it will do to Malaysia. You’re probably the most wicked and dangerous man in Malaysia.
[...] the ISA ‘to ensure her safety’, and what he said when they released her (taken from Nat Tan): “When they find what they wanted and realise that she is not a security threat and she is [...]
why god ooh why do you cursed our beloved country with such a bodoh kuasa 2 politician, where have we gone wrong??? apakah dosa kami sebagai rakyat sampai tanah air kita dikuasai oleh ahli politikus yang sangat sangat mangkuk???