State will not bow to hooliganism

MEDIA STATEMENT
By
YB Dr. Xavier Jayakumar
Selangor State Executive Councillor (EXCO)

THE STATE WILL NOT BOW TO HOOLIGANISM AND MOB-RULE

Shah Alam, 5th September 2009 : The main aim of the Town Hall hearing held today, was to hear the views and complaints of the residents in Section 23, Shah Alam.

Ideally the idea behind a Town Hall hearing is to allow the views of all parties concerned in a particular issue to be heard. Likewise, the hearing in Section 23, organized by the MBSA was an opportunity for a thorough discussion of all conflicting views with regards to the location of the Hindu Temple.

Dr Xavier stated that he “firmly believed that this hearing was a step in the right direction. It mirrored some of the changes that the Pakatan Rakyat government has brought to Selangor in dealing with issues that affect the people”.

Dr Xavier went on to add that “the behavior of some of the participants were unacceptable, maybe because many were unaware of the purpose of holding a town hall meeting”.

Nonetheless in spite of the ruckus that took place today, Dr. Xavier added that he commended the Datuk Bandar Tuan Mazalan, and Pakatan Rakyat leaders including Menteri Besar YAB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, (MP) YB Khalid Samad and (ADUN) YB Rodziah Ismail showed wisdom and political maturity and were able to proceed with the meeting’s agenda.

He stressed that the State condemns the hooliganism and the lack of self-control that was portrayed by some of the participants today, who were all out to disrupt the hearing for their own personal agenda.

He said that while the State aimed to be as transparent and fair-minded they (the Pakatan leaders) would not allow mob-rule and provocative acts to dictate the actions of the State government.

Dr Xavier went on to add that “MBSA has now been asked to check on presence of outsiders at the hearing, who took part in the deliberations, as the hearing was meant only for residents of Section 23.

Dr Xavier said that “the State government has asked PKNS to suggest possible locations for places of worship”.

He closed by saying that the aim of the State government is to find a solution to the problem that is fair and just to all parties concerned.

Menteri Tidak Wajar Bela Ekstremis - Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat memfailkan satu laporan polis terhadap Menteri Dalam Negeri Hishamuddin Hussein ekoran campurtangan beliau dalam siasatan polis.

Laporan polis ini dibuat berikutan tindakan Hishamuddin Hussein memintas siasatan polis dengan mengadakan pertemuan dengan penganjur tunjuk perasaan 'kepala lembu' di Shah Alam minggu lalu.

Exco Selangor Xavier Jayakumar, Ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Ahli Parlimen Klang Charles Santiago dan Ahli Parlimen Kota Raja Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud membuat aduan tersebut ke Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Petaling Jaya, jam 12.30 tengahar tadi.

Pakatan Rakyat berkata campurtangan ini adalah penyalahgunaan kuasa yang besar dan boleh mempengaruhi siasatan polis keatas isu ini, lebih-lebih lagi apabila Hishamuddin mengambil pendirian tanpa menunggu hasil siasatan polis.

"Satu siasatan bebas perlu diwujudkan segara bagi menyiasat tindakan Menteri Dalam Negeri mencampuri siasatan polis berhubung tindakan tunjuk perasaan kepala lembu tempoh hari. Jelas sekali ini adalah penyalahgunaan kuasa," kata Xavier di perkarangan IPD Petaling Jaya.

Dalam kejadian 28 Ogos lalu, segerombolan individu mengadakan tunjuk perasaan di luar bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK) sambil mengheret kepala seekor lembu, menendang dan meludah kepala itu sebagai bantahan kepada pemindahan sebuah kuil lama dari Seksyen 19 Shah Alam ke Seksyen 20 Shah Alam.

Tunjuk perasaan itu dikecam pelbagai pihak sebagai menghasut kepada perbalahan agama dan bersifat provokasi. Ketika polis mengadakan siasatan, Menteri Dalam Negeri Hishamuddin Hussein bertindak mempertahankan provokatur-provokatur terbabit.

Hishamuddin mengadakan pertemuan dengan provokatur terbabit, dan dalam satu kenyataan selepas pertemuan tersebut, Menteri Dalam Negeri itu berkata pihak terbabit tidak perlu dihukum sekiranya semua pihak mengamalkan sikap memahami dan bertolak-ansur.

"Sesungguhnya kenyataan Menteri terbabit amat mengejutkan. Beliau mempertahankan tindakan dan provokasi kumpulan terbabit," kata Xavier dengan nada kesal.

Sementara itu, Charles Santiago berkata Menteri Dalam Negeri tidak boleh menghalang mana-mana pihak yang didapati menghasut kepada perbalahan kaum dan agama dari diheret ke muka pengadilan.

"Saya amat kesal dengan kenyataan Hishamuddin Hussein itu, dan saya fikir beliau perlu meletakkan jawatan. Saya juga menggesa Peguam Negara untuk mengheret penghasut untuk membela diri di mahkamah," kata Charles.

Sumber: tvantara.com

Pakatan wants Hishammuddin sacked

SHAH ALAM, Sept 3 — Selangor Pakatan Rakyat leader Xavier Jayakumar demanded Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to be sacked or step down from the Cabinet after the home minister appeared to favour those linked to last week’s cow-head protest.

Jayakumar chided the Umno vice-president for interfering in police investigations by talking to those suspected of carrying out the bigoted Hindu temple protest, as cows are sacred in Hinduism.

“We ask for him to step down or be sacked as minister of internal affairs as he has broken the trust placed in him by Malaysians,” the Selangor state executive councillor said in a statement.

He noted that Hishammuddin had met with “a group who has no respect for other Malaysians and worse still, defends them, forgetting that he is the Minster of Internal Affairs of all Malaysians”.

Hisham’s (centre) overt support for the protesters in the cow-head protest has Selangor Pakatan leaders calling for his head. — Picture by Choo Choy May

“Can we now accept that anyone who is disrespectful of other Malaysians and is still under investigation, will be heard by the Minister himself,” the PKR man asked.

Other Pakatan Rakyat leaders have accused Umno of being behind the protest by Section 23 residents who are against the relocation of the 150-year-old Sri Mahamariamman temple from Section 19. The residents claim their area is a Malay-Muslim majority neighbourhood although the state says there is a significant presence of Hindus there.

In a sarcastic aside to the home minister, Jeyakumar said, “Hey — all you thieves, murderers, rapists, corrupt officials and whoever else can now turn to Hishammuddin before the Attorney-General decides what to do.”

He added that Hishammuddin had in the past “waved his keris inciting bloodshed, supported the arrest of lawyers who went to defend those detained by the police, arrested 580 people (this is a record) for standing up for their rights to protest against the ISA and now defends a group who is prepared to bring about racial unrest and bloodshed”.

“This shows that he has utter disrespect for the rule of law and uses his position and power for his own political gain,” he added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday it was up to the Attorney-General and police to decide prosecution, brushing aside his cousin’s views of a possible solution that could prevent legal action.

Jayakumar claims Hisham’s actions have eroded people’s faith in his as home minister. — Picture by Choo Choy May

An outraged Najib ordered police to take action after the residents carried the severed cow-head to the Selangor state secretariat last Friday to register their protest as riot police stood by.

Noting Hishamuddin’s support for the Section 23 residents which he said flies in the face of Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept, Jeyakumar asked “Do minorities have a right to pray, build a place of worship and live peacefully with other Malaysians, or does Umno and the Barisan [Nasional] prescribe that we build our places of worship in the heart of a jungle, where we will be out of sight and this is safe for Barisan?

“We teach our children [the] Rukun Negara, moral studies in school, but how do we explain to a child that toleration is important when such hatred and irresponsible behaviour is supported by national leaders?”

While the Selangor government will hold a town hall meeting with Section 23 residents this Saturday, Jayakumar asked for tolerance, goodwill and a spirit of give-and-take among the neighbours there to solve the issue soon.

Laporan Polis Terhadap Salahguna Kuasa Hishamudin Hussein

MEDIA ALERT / UNTUK MAKLUMAN MEDIA SEGERA

LAPORAN POLIS TERHADAP SALAH GUNA KUASA
HISHAMUDIN HUSSEIN

Laporan polis akan dibuat oleh YB Dr Xavier Jayakumar & YB Charles Santiago Bersama MP / Adun lain terhadap salahguna kuasa oleh Hishamudin Hussein berhubung Isu Kuil Seksyen 23, Shah Alam. Butiran adalah seperti berikut:

Tarikh: 3 September 2009 (Khamis)

Masa: 12:30 PM

Tempat: Ibu Pejabat Daerah (IPD) Petaling Jaya (PJ New Town)

Rakan-rakan media dijemput hadir untuk membuat liputan.

Crossing the Line

FROM what he allegedly told reporters outside the Selangor state secretariat last Friday afternoon, Ahmad Mahyuddin Abdul Manaf, chairman of the "action committee" of the Residents' Association of Shah Alam's Section 23, cannot wash his hands of what transpired there. He was highly provocative, reportedly saying the residents he represented were prepared to shed blood to prevent a Hindu temple being relocated to their neighbourhood. Ahmad Mahyuddin cast these statements as a warning but they came across as a threat -- indeed, a boast. Had that been the extent of it, however, perhaps this little protest could also have been swallowed and digested like all the other public displays of disaffection now de rigueur among aggrieved citizens. But there was that cow's head, not just dumped on the road outside the state government's gates but kicked and spat on by some of those who may or may not have taken that gruesome object there.

The group's leader and spokesman claims they were not part of his party. That's not good enough. Blaming infiltrators and agents provocateur is standard among organisers of rallies that turn ugly and violent. If it cuts no ice when these protests draw tens of thousands, how much less can it be believed with a few dozen? Even if the event chairman had not known what a few thugs were planning to do with his little parade, he cannot take charge of their cause without assuming responsibility for their action.

And their action was vile, perhaps gambling that against a Pakatan Rakyat state government it would not incur the wrath of the federal authorities. Indeed, the police have had to apologise for letting the spectacle unfold that Friday afternoon, while the protesters are now being investigated for illegal assembly and under the Sedition Act. Why not the Internal Security Act, the traditional recourse for actions engineered for racial conflict? The ISA is under fire, being "reviewed" as opponents demand its repeal, but it's still on the books, and this could be one instance where few would object to its use. Or perhaps this ugly little episode will test the oft-stated proposition that the Police Act is sufficient against crimes for which the ISA was once used. Whatever the case, this should serve to remind us that there are those who deserve to be shunned by all, and such sociopaths may need to be isolated from our society and allowed to work out their salvation however they might, away from decent Malaysians.

Kedudukan Kuil yang di pertikaikan : Khalid Samad

Memandangkan persoalan kuil Seksyen 19 yang ingin dipindahkan telah menjadi isu Nasional, saya sertakan di sini peta-peta yang menunjukkan kedudukan lokasi-lokasi yang relevan berhubung persoalan ini. Oleh yang demikian, tuan-tuan boleh menilai sendiri samada tapak cadangan di Seksyen 23 adalah wajar atau sebaliknya.

[PETA 1 - Seksyen 19,20,22 dan 23]

Peta pertama menunjukkan kedudukan Seksyen 19, 20, 22 dan 23 serta kedudukan kuil di Seksyen 19, tapak cadangankan asal oleh BN di Seksyen 22 dan tapak yang dicadangkan di Seksyen 23. Harap diberi perhatian bahawa Seksyen 22 merupakan kawasan Industri berat (berwarna gelap) tanpa adanya rumah berhampiran sepertimana peta yang kedua. Dakwaan Seksyen 22 adalah kawasan majoriti masyarakat India adalah dakwaan palsu.

[PETA 2 - Seksyen 22]

Peta ketiga menunjukkan ‘close-up’ Seksyen 19 dan bagaimana Kuil berkenaan dikelilingi rumah. Jarak di antara rumah terdekat dan Kuil adalah lebih kurang 20 kaki iaitu selebar jalan.

[PETA 3 - Seksyen 19]


View Larger Map

Peta keempat adalah ‘close-up’ lokasi di Seksyen 23. Harap diberi perhatian bahawa kedudukan yang dicadangkan adalah dipinggir kawasan Industri Seksyen 23. Jarak rumah terdekat ke Kuil adalah 200 meter atau 600 kaki iaitu 30 kali lebih jauh dari di Seksyen 19. Begitu juga dengan jarak dari tapak cadangan kuil ke surau. Di antara rumah dan kuil terdapat dewan orang ramai dan taman permainan kanak-kanak. Di antara Surau dan kuil adalah rumah pencawang TNB dan taman permainan kanak-kanak yang sama.

[PETA 4 - Seksyen 23]


View Larger Map

Mungkin bagi orang-orang tertentu tiada bezanya di antara Seksyen 19 dan 23. Kedua-duanya kawasan majoriti ummat Islam. Namun harap maklum, Kuil Seksyen 19 dipindahkan BUKAN kerana Seksyen 19 merupakan kawasan majoriti ummat Islam. Ia dipindahkan kerana Kuil tersebut berada di depan rumah orang (20 kaki). Kawasan itu juga tidak mempunyai tempat parkir kereta dan ini menyebabkan kesesakan berlaku apabila pihak Kuil mengadakan upacara mereka.

Terdapat juga segelintir golongan yang bagaikan tidak sanggup ‘melihat’ kuil dan tok kong. Walau jauh macam mana sekalipun, sekiranya mereka buka jendela rumah dan dapat melihat ‘bumbung kuil atau tok kong’, mereka menjadi bagaikan dirasuk. Adakah wajar sikap ‘ekstrimis’ yang seperti ini disebuah negara yang diwarnai dengan kepelbagaian kaum dan agama?

WaLlahu ‘Alam
KHALID SAMAD

Sekitar Laporan Polis Seksyen 11 Shah Alam - Isu Mengarak Kepala Lembu ke Bangunan SUK Shah Alam

Sabtu 29 Ogos, 2009 Shah Alam - Satu pertemuan telah diadakan di ibupejabat polis Shah Alam di Seksyen 11, Shah Alam dan dihadiri oleh Dr.Xavier Jayakumar, EXCO Negeri Selangor Khalid Samad, Ahli parlimen Shah Alam, Ahli parlimen DAP Bagi Parlimen Klang, Charles Santiago dan juga EXCO Negeri Selangor, Ronnie Liudan Adun Rawang, Gan Pei Nee dengan Ketua Polis Daerah Shah Alam, ACP Noor Azam Jamaluddin pada pagi ini.

Pertemuan itu di adakan berikut insiden sekumpulan 50 orang berarak membawa kepala lembu ke bangunan SUK bagi membantah cadangan pemindahan kuil Hindu ke Seksyen 23 Shah Alam selepas solat Jumaat semalam.

Dalam masa yang sama lebih dari 20 laporan Polis turut dibuat oleh NGO, ahli majlis PBT , Pemuda PAS, Angkatan Muda PKR dan beberapa individu menggesa pihak Polis mengambil tindakan segera terhadap beberapa individu yang menganjorkan perhimpunan tersebut.

The Violation of Respect and Compassion in Shah Alam

It is rather appalling and sad that the followers of Islam, that genuinely preaches peace, compassion, justice and respect for all human beings had resorted to violent and disrespectful behaviour in registering their protest against the relocation of a Hindu temple by the Selangor government soon after their Friday prayer yesterday.

Such an unruly behaviour is truly unwarranted and uncalled for especially at a time when our nation is already riddled with heightened political and ethnic sentiments and thoughtless actions deliberately perpetrated by certain quarters intent in driving a wedge between Malaysians of different faiths and ethnicity.

The street demonstration in Shah Alam - although could be recognised as legitimate in a democracy - should have been sensitive to the feelings of the affected community, i.e. the Hindus, because religion, as we know it, can be very emotive and combustible if exploited for whatever reasons.

Indeed, it is totally insensitive and downright disrespectful for the protesters to parade the head of a sacrificed cow knowing full well that the animal is sacred to the Hindu community. In short, this stupid act was sacrilegious to the Hindus.

It is also disheartening to realise that such an outrageous act could occur in the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims are especially encouraged, among other things, to exercise restraint, have patience and practise compassion towards others. Of course, it doesn't mean that it would be morally right if this outrage were committed in other months of the Muslim calendar. Muslims are expected to uphold these values and practice these virtues all their lives.

At a time when the nation is about to celebrate its 52nd anniversary of independence, this incident is certainly a grim reminder that our inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony and unity is sadly at its lowest, and crass bigotry is unfortunately on the rise.

Malaysians of all ethnic and religious backgrounds certainly have no reasons to be overjoyed with the Merdeka celebration especially when the authorities were warned by these unthinking rebel-rousers of violent, if not bloody, 'retribution' if the demands of the protesters were not heeded and met.

It is of paramount importance to remind ourselves that better ethnic and religious understanding and relations can only come about through mutual respect and tolerance and dialogue – never by losing our heads.


Mustafa K Anuar
Asstistant Secretary
Aliran

29 August 2009

Parti Keadilan Rakyat Mengutuk Tindakan Kumpulan Menghina Agama Hindu

KENYATAAN AKHBAR

PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT MENGUTUK TINDAKAN KUMPULAN MENGHINA AGAMA HINDU

28 OGOS 2009

Parti Keadilan Rakyat mengutuk sekeras-kerasnya tindakan sekumpulan 50 orang yang kononnya mewakili penduduk Seksyen 23 di Shah Alam yang telah mengarak dan bertindak menghina kepala seekor lembu dalam memprotes isu penempatan semula sebuah kuil Hindu.

Tindakan mereka ini dengan jelas bertujuan untuk mengaibkan dan menimbulkan kemarahan penganut Hindu yang menganggap lembu sebagai binatang yang suci.

Keadilan menegaskan bahawa tiada anggota dari Parti Keadilan Rakyat yang terlibat mahupun dibenarkan untuk menyertai protes seperti ini.

Agama Islam tidak pernah mengajar penganut Islam untuk mencemuh mahupun menghina agama atau kepercayaan orang lain malah telah melarang sekali orang-orang Islam berbuat sedemikian.

Keadilan juga percaya bahawa tindakan ini berupa satu cubaan untuk mewujudkan kemarahan dan kebencian di antara orang-orang Islam dan Hindu sekaligus mencetuskan perbalahan kaum dan agama dan suasana yang tegang di Selangor lantas memberi peluang untuk UMNO untuk merampas balik Selangor sebagaimana yang dilaung-laungkan kononnya atas nama bangsa dan agama.

Keadilan menyeru pihak berkuasa mengambil tindakan yang tegas untuk menjaga keamanan dan keharmonian dan tidak memandang remeh terhadap perbuatan yang jelasnya salah disisi undnag-undang dan berbentuk provokasi dan menggugat ketenteraman awam dan hubungan antara kaum/agama.

Keadilan juga kesal kerana pihak polis Selangor gagal menghalang kejadian ini dari berlaku dan sebaliknya Ketua Polis Selangor menyatakan bahawa tindakan boleh diambil hanya sekiranya terdapat laporan polis. Ini jelas menunjukkan sikap sambil lewa pihak polis seolah-olah membenarkan atau mengalakkan perkara sebegini.

Keadilan meminta semua pihak yang berkenaan untuk bertenang dan berwaspada supaya tidak terperangkap dengan reaksi yang boleh diambil kesempatan oleh pihak UMNO yang berusaha untuk menjatuhkan Kerajaan Negeri Selangor dengan mencetuskan insiden-insiden berunsur perkauman dan agama.

Latheefa Koya

Ketua Penerangan

Parti Keadilan Rakyat