Tahanan Aktivis:Mejistret Tersilap

Mahkamah Majistret didapati membuat 'kesilapan besar dalam undang-undang” ketika menjatuhkan hukuman bersalah ke atas empat aktivitis masyarkat dari Kampung Baru Kuala Kuang di Chemor, Perak kerana terbabit dengan perhimpunan haram di hadapan balai polis Kuala Kuang pada 1 April, 2001.

Sehubungan dengan itu, pesuruhjaya kehakiman, Mahkamah Tinggi Ipoh, Choong Siew Kim membenarkan permohonan mereka mengketepikan hukuman bersalah itu serta memerintahkan supaya denda RM5,000 yang dikenakan ke atas mereka dipulangkan semula.

“Majistret membuat kesilapan besar apabila tidak mengambil kira bukti di mana mereka didakwa mengikut Seksyen 27 (3) tetapi menghukum mereka di bawah Seksyen 27 (2) Akta Polis.

“Beliau gagal mempertimbangkan bukti yang relevan terhadap pindaan dakwaan yang merupakan dakwaan tunggal terhadap keempat-empat yang dituduh itu,” kata Choong.

Beliau juga memerintahkan keempat-empat aktivis masyarakat itu dibebaskan tanpa perbicaraan semula.

“Adalah tidak adil bagi keempat-empat tertuduh menjalani perbicaraan semula kerana kes ini telah tertangguh hampir 10 tahun sebelum keputusan diberikan,” katanya.

Keempat-empat mereka adalah penyelaras kebangsaan Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), K Kunasekaran; pengerusi jawatankuasa anti-bau busuk Kuala Kuang, Chai Sing Chong dan dua ahli jawatankuasanya, Tan Kin Siah dan Chong Min Tow.

Mereka adalah sebahagian daripada jawatankuasa yang ditubuhkan bagi menentang pencemaran udara yang dikatakan menjejaskan penduduk Kampung Baru Kuala Kuang, Chemor yang didakwa pada 25 Oktober, 2002.

Kampung berkenaan dilanda bau busuk dan pencemaran alam sekitar akibat daripada operasi sebuah kilang getah berhampiran yang didakwa menjejaskan 500 keluarga.

Pada Februari 2010, mejistret Shah Wira Abdul Halim menjatuhkan hukuman bersalah ke atas mereka kerana gagal memiliki permit dalam menagdakan perhimpunan dan mengenakan denda RM5,000 serta penjara dua minggu ke atas keempat-empat mereka.

Aktivis berkenaan diwakili oleh peguam G Balasunderam (kiri), M Vengetraman, D Raja Singam, T Ellanggovan dan Cheang Lek Choy.

Namun Selasa lalu, Balasunderam yang baru pulang dari kerja diserang empat lelaki yang bersenjata di rumahnya di Ipoh sehingga menyebabkan kematiannya.

Vengetraman berkata rakannya itu seringkali memperjuangkan kes-kes masyarakat yang terpinggir secara pro-bono. Bagi kes ini, beliau telah meletakkan asas yang kukuh sehingga membolehkan rayuan mereka hari ini berjaya.

Kunasekaran (kanan) pula berkata keempat-empat mereka amat berterima kasih kepada Balasunderam kerana menegakkan keadilan kepada mereka sebelum menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya.

Disscus with your Y.Berhormat

Discourses with Yang Berhormat

By Sharaad Kuttan

November 19, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — In an exclusive interview, The Malaysian Insider speaks to one of the most recognizable faces in Malaysian politics today on matters central to the state of the nation. The indubitable Yang Berhormat does his best to muddy the waters. TMI: Let me begin by saying YB (picture) that while too many of our leaders shy away from the mere mention of scandal you seem to bravely go forth. What makes you such a man of substance?
YB: When I was Deputy Minister of Space and Tourism, it was I who piloted the space programme. It was I who mooted the idea to have our very own Angkasawan. It was I who said we must have a handsome Malaysian part-time model to boldly go where no Malaysian has gone before.
Of course now he is married he’s had to resign. His wife didn’t want him to work outstation. And the moon is very far outstation.
However, this doesn’t mean we are cancelling our space programme. No. People are complaining that the submarines we bought recently can’t sink so our scientists and some Bangladeshi workers are turning them into rockets.
It’s very simple. A bit of rocket fuel, a nice logo, a new slogan and voila --  The Space Cadet, To Infinity and Beyond!
We can do it! It’s not rocket science after all... soon everyone will know not astronauts, not cosmonauts but the world’s first — Bolehnauts!
In fact, not many people know this but the 100-storey mega tower in the middle of KL will double as our Rocket Tower.
How much will it cost? That’s for me to know and you to find out!
Except you can’t. And won’t.
This is why we have our new slogan. 1 Malaysia... we can still do what we wan!
Get it! Get it! We can still do what we want... oh I’m a joker lah, a joker…
So scandal? Please, I look scandal right in the eye and don’t blink. No whiff of scandal has ever attached itself to my name. What else is the OSA and the ISA and gag orders and the judicial system there for? And if all else fails we go to court and use the “mudah lupa” defence. It works. It really works!
And now I have a new project I came up with it myself. I call it Talent Cork to stop brain drain. We will put a cork to stop the brain draining. It’s my brain child.
Get it! Get it! Brain child! Yes, it’s my very own plan to lure back clever overseas Malaysians by enticing them with a discounted Proton. Of course they can not be cleverer than me. That would be criminal.
TMI: YB you have often used the arts as a platform to keep the public appraised of the goings on of government. Can you tell us something about the “special” relations you have with the arts?
YB: The thing about artists is that they are simple people. You throw them a bone once in a while and they’ll roll over faster than the girls in a Soi Lek video.
Those flers from Instant Cafe are a case in point. They think if they do a bit of comedy, everything will change!  That is the problem with satirists — they are essentially romantics and idealists. They don’t realise the more things change the more they stay the same.
I mean look at PKR! But I enjoy our “special relationship.” I give them material for their “comedy” and they keep me in the spotlight.
TMI: What’s in the spotlight, YB?
YB: Talent Cork, the Brain Drain, Odour in Court, Los not Found, Konspirasi, Crossovers, Walkovers, Walkouts, Pullouts, Buy Elections, Show Elections, Towers, Powers, Flowers, Corsages, Massages, Messages, SMSes, Viruses. The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same...
TMI: YB how long have you known Ms Ribena Berry and could you tell us what you think of her talent?
YB: I’ve known Ribena for 20 years. She’s as flexible as ever. Nobody can do a double summersault backflip dismount and apply mascara at the same time.
Recently she “crossed over” and is now a government spokesmodel working for the Ministry of Unhealthy Behaviour.
There’s been an outbreak of the 1S1M1S virus and she has been brought in to do a debriefing. No! Not that kind of debriefing. That kind of debriefing is extra...
TMI: In view of the public concerns about the state of the judiciary, YB, do you think the appearance of Judge Mental Singh on the same platform with government leader such as yourself will stir more rumours of collusion between well-placed individuals and the judiciary?
YB: I have never been in a collision with any member of the judiciary. Once my driver knocked into a Jaguar belonging to the good judge but I told him not to worry about it. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours he said and so we have been.
In fact we bought each other some rather nice Maori backscratchers while on holiday in New Zealand last year.
TMI: It cannot be denied YB that our civil service is the target of much criticism. How do you rate Puan Badariah Minah Periok? Does she work for you, sir?
YB: Puan Badariah is currently working at the Department of Lost and Found. She has been very helpful in making various unpleasant people and things disappear.
She has been very vigilant. While she has been there and has been able to lose quite a number of things.
In the last departmental beauty contest she was voted Miss Shredding Machine OSX Harimau. Unfortunately she could not enjoy the prize money because she has gone missing.
However, I managed to find a good use for the prize money and now my mistress, Cindy,  and I are going on a fact-finding mission to Disneyland.
TMI: Lastly YB, are you working on any special projects you would like to share with our readers.
YB: At the moment my pet project is to get the Rakyat to celebrate National Corsage Day. Recently I opened my own chain of flower shops called Flower Power. Then by a happy happy coincidence I awarded myself the contract to supply all the corsages to the members of the Dewan Rakyat.
Then by another happy coincidence I tabled a motion in Parliament declaring November 24th National Corsage Day. I urge all Malaysians to celebrate our having Too Much Power by wearing a Corsage on National Corsage Day. The Bigger the Better. More Power to Your Flower.
TMI: Thank you again YB for your insight into our beloved nation.
The Instant Cafe Theatre Company turns 21 this year and what better way to celebrate than by joining them in the restaging of their 2010 comedy hit 1Sex1Money1Scandal -- now with 30 per cent more scandal!
Missing jet engines, missing mistresses, missing evidence and missing memories. When everyone in the country muda lupa who better to remind you than those flers from Instant Cafe– with their infectious new comedy 1S1M1S!
Join the multi-faceted Jo Kukathas as she and some of Instant Cafe’s most hilarious and iconic characters - YB Deputy Minister of Panic, Actress Turned Mistress Ribena Berry, Uncivil Servant Puan Badariah Minah Periok, and Judge Mental Singh find love in all the wrong places. Very wrong places.
Starring Jo Kukathas with  Shanthini Venugopal, Junji Delfino, Edwin Sumun,  Maya Tan Abdullah, Zalfian Fuzi, Tria Aziz, Nish Tham and Kuah Jenhan.
Dates/Times:
24 – 28 November 2010.
24 -28 November 830pm & 28 November 3pm
Venue:
PJLA Theatre, Jaya ONE
Tickets: Call 03-7960 0439, 019-2109931 or E-mail boxoffice@pjla.com.my
Prices:
RM55 Wednesday and Thursday and Sunday Matinee Shows
RM65 Friday, Saturday and Sunday Evening Shows
RM25 for Students [Limited tickets per show, restricted view]
All seat are numbered

Pamela Anderson berlakon Di Malaysia

Pamela bakal bintangi filem Dr. Rozmey

Oleh RONI HIDAYAT RIDWAN

PAMELA ANDERSON

KUALA LUMPUR - Selepas menerbitkan filem 2 Alam yang mula ditayangkan kepada orang ramai hari ini, dR Movie Production kini merancang untuk menerbitkan sebuah lagi filem pada tahun depan.
Menariknya, filem itu bakal dibintangi pelakon sensasi dari Hollywood iaitu Pamela Anderson.
Penerbitnya, Datuk Dr. Che Rozmey Che Din berkata, dalam filem itu nanti, Pamela akan memegang watak utama.
"Mungkin ramai yang memandang sinis mengenai perkara itu (hasrat mengambil Pamela) tetapi ia adalah perancangan utama dR Movie Production dan saya memang bersungguh-sungguh untuk mengundang pelakon tersebut membintangi filem baru itu nanti.
"Setakat ini, apa yang boleh saya katakan ialah, pihak kami kini berada dalam proses akhir perincian mengenai kontrak dengan ejen pelakon tersebut," katanya ketika dihubungi Kosmo! semalam.
Pamela merupakan seorang pelakon seksi kelahiran Kanada yang cukup terkenal dalam industri perfileman Hollywood sejak tahun 1990-an.
Menurut Rozmey, tajuk filem yang akan dihasilkan itu masih belum diputuskan namun ia bakal mengisahkan mengenai seorang wanita warga asing yang telah terdampar di sebuah pulau.

Palm oil will increase the higher price

Palm oil may top RM3,300 on weather concerns

November 07, 2010

A worker collects oil palm fruits at a plantation in Sepang outside Kuala Lumpur in this file picture — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — Malaysian crude palm oil futures may hit RM3,300 per tonne in the next few weeks as weather concerns plague global oilseed output, a top analyst said today. The estimate by Godrej International’s Dorab Mistry assumes a 3.4 per cent rise from current prices at a time of rising economic growth in top buyers China and India.
The weaker US dollar has also triggered an inflow of funds into commodities as an inflation hedge and makes palm oil priced in the greenback much cheaper for overseas buyers.
“However, I am afraid that (new) level will not be sufficient to ration demand,” Mistry said in a speech due to be delivered at an oilseed conference in the southern China city of Guangzhou.
“The period of greatest tightness will be between February and May 2011 and we may require even higher prices in December and January to prepare the world for that tightness.”
Benchmark Malaysian prices this year have support from an output shortfall in Malaysia and, to some extent, in top producer Indonesia as El Nino’s hotter weather dried up yields.
London-based Mistry said the subsequent back-to-back transition from El Nino to La Nina in the middle of 2010 has caused severe imbalances in the global climate and may further hurt overall oilseed production.
La Nina can bring more rains to palm oil producing Southeast Asia that aids in oil palm pollination but the weather condition potentially triggers hotter weather in soyoil-exporting South America that can affect soybean crop yields.
“Even with current estimates of 67 million tonnes of beans for Brazil and 52 million for Argentina, the world’s supply and demand fundamentals are very tight. Any loss due to La Nina will make it tighter,” Mistry said.
Mistry, head of vegetable oil trade in Godrej International, said cash Argentine soyoil may rise as much as 10 per cent to US$1,250 (RM4,250) per tonne in the short term as consumers shift to soyoil after chasing tight rapeseed oil and sunseed oil supplies.
Thanks to liberal use of fertiliser in oil palm estates as benchmark prices rallied this year and as trees’ biological cycle shifts into a higher gear from April next year, palm oil might make up for the shortfall in soyoil, Mistry said.
“However, the slowdown in acreage expansion in Indonesia will mean that overall in 2011 we shall have growth in palm oil production of only about 2.5 million tonnes,” he said in a reference to green campaign against plantation expansion.
“This will have profound implications for price behaviour and the world must be braced for much higher prices in the years to come.”
In the past, overall palm oil output growth has gone above 3 million tonnes annually, traders say. — Reuters