AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2008 Launched

Last Wednesday (28th May), I made myself available to attend the launching of Amnesty International Report 2008. It was held in Petaling Jaya after my consultation group meeting on Asean Charter not far from Amnesty is having their function.

Below is the Foreword Note from the 382 page report.


BROKEN PROMISES

World leaders owe an apology for failing to deliver on the promise of justice and equality in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted 60 years ago. In the past six decades, many governments have shown more interest in the abuse of power or in the pursuit of political self-interest, than in respecting the rights of
those they lead.

This is not to deny the progress that has been made in developing human rights standards, systems and institutions internationally, regionally and nationally. Much has improved in many parts of the world based on these standards and principles. More countries today provide constitutional and legal protection for human rights than ever before. Only a handful of states would openly deny the right of the international community to scrutinize their human rights records. 2007 saw the first full year of operation of the UN Human Rights Council, through which all UN member states have agreed to a public debate on their human rights performance.

But for all the good, the fact remains that injustice, inequality and impunity are still the hallmarks of our world today.

In 1948, in an act of extraordinary leadership, world leaders came together to adopt the UDHR. Member states of the fledgling UN showed great foresight and courage by putting their faith in global values. They were acutely aware of the horrors of World War II, and conscious of the grim realities of an emerging Cold War. Their vision
was not circumscribed by what was happening only in Europe.

1948 was also the year in which Burma gained independence, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, and apartheid laws were first introduced in South Africa. Large parts of the world were still under the yoke of colonization.

The drafters of the UDHR acted out of the conviction that only a multilateral system of global values, based on equality, justice and the rule of law, could stand up to the challenges ahead. In a genuine exercise of leadership, they resisted the pressure from competing political camps. They rejected any hierarchy between the right to free speech and the right to education, the right to be free from torture and the right to social security. They recognized that the universality of human rights – every person is born free and equal – and their indivisibility – all rights, whether economic, social, civil, political or cultural, must be fulfilled with equal commitment – is the basis for our collective security as well as our common humanity.

In the years that followed, visionary leadership gave way to narrow political interests. Human rights became a divisive game as the two ‘superpowers’ engaged in an ideological and geopolitical struggle to establish their supremacy. One side denied civil and political rights, while the other demoted economic and social rights. Human rights were used as a tool to further strategic ends, rather than to promote
people’s dignity and welfare. Newly independent countries, caught in the superpower competition, struggled in the pursuit of democracy and the rule of law or abandoned them altogether for various forms of authoritarianism.

Hopes for human rights rose with the end of the Cold War but were dashed by the explosion of ethnic conflicts and implosion of states that unleashed a spate of humanitarian emergencies, marked by massive and vicious human rights abuses. Meanwhile, corruption, poor governance, and widespread impunity for human rights
violations reigned supreme in many parts of the world.

As we entered the 21st century, the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 transformed the human rights debate yet again into a divisive and destructive one between “western” and “non-western”, restricting liberties, fuelling suspicion, fear, discrimination and prejudice among governments and peoples alike.


The forces of economic globalization brought new promises, but also challenges. Though world leaders claimed to commit themselves to eradicating poverty, for the most part they ignored the human rights abuses that drive and deepen poverty. The
UDHR remained a paper promise.

Looking back today, what seems most surprising is the unity of purpose shown by the UN member states at the time in adopting the UDHR without a dissenting vote. Now, in the face of numerous, pressing human rights crises, there is no shared vision among world leaders to address contemporary challenges of human rights in a world that is increasingly endangered, unsafe and unequal.

The political landscape today is very different from that of 60 years ago. There are many more states today than in 1948. Some former colonies are now emerging as global players alongside their former colonial masters. Can we expect the old and new powers
to come together, as their predecessors did in 1948, and recommit themselves to human rights? The record for 2007 was not encouraging. Will new leadership and pressure from civil society make a difference in this anniversary year?

A dismal record

As the world’s most powerful state, the USA sets the standard for government behaviour globally. With breathtaking legal obfuscation, the US administration has continued its efforts to weaken the absolute prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment. Senior officials refused to denounce the notorious practice of
“water-boarding”. The US President authorized the CIA to continue secret detention and interrogation, although they amount to the international crime of enforced disappearance. Hundreds of prisoners in Guantánamo and Bagram, and thousands in Iraq,
continued to be detained without charge or trial, many for more than six years. The US government has failed to ensure full accountability for abuses by its forces in Iraq. An Order issued by the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) in June 2004 granting immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts to foreign private military
and security firms operating in Iraq, presents further obstacles to accountability.

There was wide concern about the killings of at least 17 Iraqi civilians by guards employed by the private security company, Blackwater, in September 2007. These actions have done nothing to further the fight against terrorism and a great deal
to damage the USA’s prestige and influence abroad.

The hollowness of the US administration’s call for democracy and freedom abroad was displayed in its continued support of President Musharraf as he arrested thousands of lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and political activists for demanding democracy, the rule of law and an independent judiciary in Pakistan. As President Musharraf unlawfully imposed a state of emergency, dismissed the Chief Justice and packed the higher courts with more compliant judges, the US administration
justified its support for him as an “indispensable” ally in the “war on terror”. The growing insecurity in the cities and border regions of Pakistan, however, indicates that, far from arresting extremist violence, President Musharraf’s repressive policies, including enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, have fed
grievances, helped to spur anti-western sentiment and laid the seeds for greater instability in the sub-region. The Pakistani people have shown their strong repudiation of President Musharraf’s policies, even as the USA continues to embrace him.

The world needs a USA genuinely engaged and committed to the cause of human rights, at home and abroad. In November 2008, the US people will elect a new President. For the USA to have moral authority as a human rights champion, the next administration must close Guantánamo and either try the detainees in ordinary federal courts or release them. It must repeal the Military Commissions Act and ensure respect for international humanitarian law and human rights in all military and security operations. It must ban evidence obtained through coercion and denounce all forms of torture and other ill-treatment no matter to what end. The new administration
must establish a viable strategy for international peace and security.

It must ditch support for authoritarian leaders and invest instead in the institutions of democracy, rule of law and human rights that will provide long-term stability. And it must be ready to end US isolation in the international human rights system and engage constructively with the UN Human Rights Council.

If the US administration has distinguished itself in recent years through its defiance of international law, European governments have shown a proclivity for double standards. The European Union (EU) professes to be “a union of values, united by respect for the rule of law, shaped by common standards and consensus,
committed to tolerance, democracy, and human rights”. Yet, in 2007 fresh evidence came to light that a number of EU member states had looked the other way or colluded with the CIA to abduct, secretly detain and illegally transfer prisoners to countries where they were tortured and otherwise ill-treated. Despite repeated calls by the Council of Europe, no government has fully investigated the wrongdoings, come clean and/or put in place adequate measures to prevent future use of European territory for rendition and secret detention.

On the contrary, some European governments sought to water down the 1996 ruling from the European Court of Human Rights prohibiting the return of suspects to countries where they could face torture. The Court pronounced itself in one of two cases pending before it in 2007, reaffirming the absolute prohibition of torture and
other ill-treatment.

While many grumble about the regulatory excesses of the EU, there is little outrage at the lack of EU regulation of human rights at home.

The truth of the matter is that the EU is unable to hold its member states accountable on human rights matters which fall outside EU law. The Fundamental Rights Agency, created in 2007, has been given such a limited mandate that it cannot demand any real accountability. While the EU sets a high bar on human rights for
candidate countries seeking accession (and rightly so), once they are allowed in, they are able to breach the standards with little or no accountability to the EU.

Can the EU or its member states call for respect for human rights by China or by Russia when they themselves are complicit in torture?

Can the EU ask other – much poorer – countries to keep their borders open, when its own member states are restricting the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers? Can it preach tolerance abroad when it has failed to tackle discrimination against Roma, Muslim and other minorities living within its borders?

As for the USA, so too for the EU, the year ahead will bring important political transitions. The Lisbon treaty signed by EU governments in December 2007 demands new institutional commitments to be forged among the member states. In some key
member states elections and other developments have brought about or will lead to new political leadership. They provide opportunities for action on human rights within the EU and globally.

As the USA and the EU stumble on their human rights record, their ability to influence others declines. The most glaring example of their neutering on human rights was the case of Myanmar in 2007. The military junta violently cracked down on peaceful demonstrations led by monks, raid and closed monasteries, confiscated and destroyed property, shot, beat and detained protesters, harassed or held friends and family members as hostages. The USA and the EU condemned the actions in the
strongest terms and tightened their trade and arms embargoes, but to little or no effect on the human rights situation on the ground.

Thousands of people continued to be detained in Myanmar, among them at least 700 prisoners of conscience, the most prominent being the Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.

As in Myanmar, so too in Darfur, western governments failed to make much of a dent in the human rights situation. International outrage and widespread public mobilization etched the name of Darfur on world conscience but brought little change to the suffering of its people. Murder, rape and violence continue unabated, and if anything, the conflict has become more complex, a political settlement more remote. Despite a string of UN Security Council resolutions, the full deployment of hybrid African Union/UN forces is yet to take place.

Emerging powers

Whether in relation to Myanmar or Darfur, the world looked not to the USA but to China as the country with the necessary economic and political clout to move things forward – and not without good cause. China is the largest trading partner of Sudan and the second largest of Myanmar. Amnesty International’s research has shown
that Chinese arms have been transferred to Darfur in defiance of the UN arms embargo.

China has long justified its support for abusive governments, such as those of Sudan, Myanmar and Zimbabwe, by defining human rights as an internal matter for sovereign states, and not as an issue for its foreign policy - as it suited China’s political and commercial interests.

Yet China’s position is neither immutable nor intractable. In 2007, it voted in favour of the deployment of the hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur, pressured Myanmar to accept the visit of the UN Special Envoy and reduced its overt support for President Mugabe of Zimbabwe. The same factors that drove China in the past to open relations with repressive regimes may well be motivating the changes in its policy towards them today: the need for reliable sources of energy and other natural resources. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have long
argued that countries with poor human rights records do not create good business environments – business needs political stability and human rights provide that. It is possible that China too is beginning to recognize that supporting unstable regimes with poor human rights records does not make good business sense, that if it is to protect its assets and citizens abroad, it must support global values that create long-term political stability.

Notwithstanding its diplomatic shifts, China has a long way to go. It remains the largest arms supplier to Sudan since 2004. It vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Myanmar’s human rights practices in January 2007 and has yet to live up to the promises it made on human rights in the run up to the Beijing Olympics. Some reforms in the application of the death penalty and relaxation of rules for foreign media in 2007 were outweighed by the clampdown on human rights activists in China, on domestic media and expanding the scope of “re-education through labour”, a form
of detention without charge or trial, as part of the “clean-up” of Beijing prior to the Games.

The run up to the Beijing Olympics has provided less room for improvement and more for confrontation on human rights in China. As the dust settles on the Olympics, the international community will need to develop an effective strategy for shifting the human right debate with China to a more productive and progressive plane.

The Chinese government for its part must recognize that global leadership brings responsibilities and expectations, and that a global player, if it is to be credible, cannot ignore the values and principles which form the collective identity of the international community.

And how does Russia score on human rights leadership? A self-confident Russia, flush with oil revenues, has repressed political dissent, pressurized independent journalists and introduced legislative controls to rein in NGOs. In 2007 peaceful public demonstrations were dispersed with force, and lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists were threatened and attacked. The judicial system remained vulnerable to executive pressure. Pervasive corruption undermined the rule of law and people’s trust in the legal system. Impunity was rampant in Chechnya, driving some victims to seek justice in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Will the new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev take a different approach to human rights in 2008? He would do well to look around the world and draw the lesson that long-term political stability and economic prosperity can be built only in societies that are open and states that are accountable.

If the permanent members of the UN Security Council have done little to promote human rights and much to undermine them, what leadership can we expect from emerging powers such as India, South Africa or Brazil?

As a well-established liberal democracy with a strong legal tradition of human rights and an independent judiciary, India has the makings of a powerful role model. India has played a positive role in the UN Human Rights Council. It is credited with helping to bring together the mainstream parties and Maoist insurgents in Nepal and end a long-standing armed conflict that had generated massive human rights abuses. But it needs to be more forceful in its domestic implementation and more forthright in its international leadership of human rights. In Myanmar, even as the junta struck out violently at the peaceful protests by monks and others, the Indian government continued to engage in oil extraction negotiations. In Nandigram, West Bengal, rural communities were attacked, injured and killed with police complicity when they
protested at the setting up of a Special Economic Zone for industry.

South Africa’s role in NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) – which emphasizes good governance – gave hope that African leaders would take responsibility for solving African problems, including on human rights. But the South African government has been reluctant to speak out against the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Human rights are universally applicable to all – and no country knows that better than South Africa. Few countries can have a greater moral responsibility to promote those universal values, wherever they are being violated, than South Africa. Countries such as Brazil and Mexico have been strong on promoting human rights internationally and in supporting the UN human rights machinery. But unless the gap between their policies internationally and their performance at home is closed their credibility as human rights champions will be challenged.

Human rights are not western values – indeed, western governments have shown as much disdain for them as any other. They are global values and, as such, the likelihood of their success is entwined with the leadership of the UN. Although the UN Security Council continued to be hamstrung on human rights by the divergent interests of its permanent members, in 2007 the UN General Assembly showed its potential for leadership by adopting a resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty.

It showed exactly the sort of direction the world needs from the UN: states inspiring each other to better performance, rather than running each other down to the lowest common denominator.

This was the UN at its best. Will the UN Human Rights Council show similar leadership in 2008 as it embarks on the Universal Peer Review system?

In a striking example of bold leadership, in the face of opposition from extremely powerful states, 143 of the UN General Assembly’s member states voted to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007, ending two decades of debate. Two months after Australia voted against the Declaration, the newly elected government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a formal apology for the laws and policies of successive governments that "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss" on the Indigenous Aboriginal population.

Forging a new unity of purpose

As the geopolitical order undergoes tectonic shifts, old powers are reneging on human rights and new leaders are yet to emerge or are ambivalent about human rights. So, what future for human rights?

The road ahead is rocky. Entrenched conflicts – highly visible in the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan, forgotten in places such as Sri Lanka and Somalia, to name but two – take a heavy human toll.

World leaders flounder in their efforts to find a way forward as in Iraq and Afghanistan, or lack the political will to find solutions, as in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories – a longstanding conflict that has been particularly marked by the failure of collective international leadership (in the form of the Quartet of the USA, the EU, Russia and the UN) to address impunity and injustice.

As the global financial markets wobble and the rich use their position and undue influence to mitigate their losses, the interests of the poor and the vulnerable risk being forgotten. With the tacit support of governments that refuse to scrutinize or regulate them effectively, far too many companies continue to evade accountability for their involvement in human rights abuses and violations.

There is much rhetoric about eradicating poverty but not enough political will for action. At least two billion of our human community continue to live in poverty, struggling for clean water, food and housing. Climate change will affect all of us, but the poorest amongst us will be the worst off as they lose their lands, food and livelihoods. July 2007 marked the half-way point in the timetable set by the UN to achieve the Millennium Development goals. Though far from perfect the achievement of these goals would go some way to improving health, living conditions and education for many in the developing world by 2015. The world is not on track to meet most of
these minimum goals and, unfortunately, human rights are not being properly taken into account in that process. A change of effort and emphasis is clearly needed.

And where is the leadership to eradicate gender violence? Women and girls suffer from high levels of sexual violence in almost every region of the world. In war-torn Darfur rape with impunity persists.

In the USA, many rape survivors in poor and marginalized Indigenous communities fail to find justice or effective protection from the Federal and tribal authorities. Leaders must give more attention to making rights real for women and girls.

These are global challenges with a human dimension. They require a global response. Internationally recognized human rights provide the best framework for that response because human rights represent a global consensus regarding the acceptable limits and
unacceptable shortcomings of government policy and practice. The UDHR is as relevant a blueprint for enlightened leadership today as it was in 1948. Governments must recommit themselves to human rights.

Restless, angry and disillusioned, people will not remain silent if the gap continues to widen between their demand for equality and freedom and their governments’ denial. Popular discontent in Bangladesh at the steep rise of rice prices, disturbances in Egypt over the price of bread, post-electoral violence in Kenya and public demonstrations in China on evictions and environmental issues are not just examples of popular concern about economic and social issues. They are signs of a seething cauldron of grassroots protest at the betrayal of their governments’ promise to deliver justice and equality.

To a degree almost unimaginable in 1948, today there is a global citizens’ movement that is demanding their leaders recommit themselves to upholding and promoting human rights. Black-suitedlawyers in Pakistan, saffron-robed monks in Myanmar, 43.7 million
individuals standing up on 17 October 2007 to demand action against poverty, all were vibrant reminders last year of a global citizenry determined to stand up for human rights and hold their leaders to account.

In a village in northern Bangladesh, a group of women sit on bamboo mats in the dusty village enclosure. They are part of a legal literacy program. Most of them can barely read or write.

They listen attentively as their teacher, using posters with graphic designs, explain the law prohibiting child marriage and requiring the informed consent of a woman to marriage. The women have just received loans through a micro-credit scheme operated by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, a large NGO.

One woman has bought a cow and hopes to make some extra income by selling milk. Another woman plans to buy a sewing machine and set up a small tailoring business for herself. What does she hope to get out of this class? “I want to know more about my rights,” she says. “I don’t want my daughters to suffer the way I have, and so I need to learn how to protect my rights and theirs.”

In her eyes shine the hope and determination of millions like her around the world.
People’s power to generate hope and bring about change is very much alive in the 60th anniversary year of the UDHR.

A consciousness on human rights is sweeping the globe. World leaders ignore it at their peril.

Labels: Amnesty International

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/30/2008 10:02:00 pm ... 1 blast off

 

 

Preview filem SEPI untuk Blogger

Kepada rakan-rakan blogger...

Anda dijemput untuk menyaksikan preview filem SEPI yang bakal ditayangkan.

Butir-butir tayangan preview:

TARIKH : 10hb Jun 2008

TEMPAT : GSC One Utama, Damansara (Hall 3)

MASA : 2.00petang – 6.00petang

PERHATIAN: Tempat terhad. Saya akan ikuti sistem 'siapa cepat dia dapat'.

Sekiranya anda berminat untuk menyaksikan tayangan ini pada 10 Jun secara percuma:

1. Emel kepada saya di faisal.mustaffa@gmail.com
2. Nyatakan alamat blog anda
3. Dapatkan balasan daripada saya; sekiranya anda blogger layak, anda akan menerima e-jemputan. Sekiranya tidak, saya akan maklumkan.
4. Cetak e-jemputan tersebut dan bawa pada hari tayangan.
5. Beri ulasan dalam blog masing-masing.

Labels: sepi the movie

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/30/2008 05:54:00 pm ... 0 blast off

 

 

FILEM SEPI: Semalam Memori, Esok Harapan

Pada 25 Mei (Ahad), aku meluangkan masa bersama kesemua ahli keluarga aku untuk menonton filem yang bakal ditayangkan di pawagam seluruh negara, 26 Jun akan datang.

Kami menonton pada jam 9 pagi dan semestinya pada waktu seawal itu, kompleks membeli-belah One Utama lengang.

Sebelum tonton, kami sarapan nasi lemak di luar panggung dan ditambah lagi dengan pop-corn+coke di dalam panggung.

Mak aku begitu excited menonton filem jiwang selepas dia 'layan' bersungguh-sungguh "CINTA". Pakcik aku menangis di ruang hisap rokok.

SEPI ialah filem tiga cerita dalam satu. Setiap satu ada ceritanya tersendiri; masalah tersendiri'; karakter tersendiri.

Sekiranya CINTA dibuat sekitar Kuala Lumpur, penggambaran filem ini dibuat sejauh Taiping, Perak.

Aku akan menggunakan laman blog ini untuk menceritakan satu persatu kisah yang dipaparkan dalam filem ini sebelum ianya ditayangkan di pawagam. Aku juga akan melancarkan peraduan untuk pembaca-pembaca blog ini supaya mereka berpeluang menyaksikan filem ini bersama 'teman' masing-masing di pawagam.

Aku tahu, Nik Nazmi mesti layan leleh tonton filem ini. Dia 'feeling' bila tengok "CINTA" sebelum ini.

"Kau lebih feeling tengok yang ini."




Nota: Filem ini bukannya sambungan dari filem CINTA.

Labels: Cinta, grand brilliance, Nik Nazmi, one utama, sepi the movie

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/28/2008 12:24:00 am ... 0 blast off

 

 

Pameran Solo Mustapa Haji Ibrahim : Renungan Alam Dalam Lukisan

Transisi Tangan Hitam. Acrylic. 2006.75x69cm

Selepas hampir tiga dekad penglibatan beliau dalam seni lukisan, Mustapa Haji Ibrahim diberi kepercayaan untuk mengadakan pameran solonya yang diketengahkan oleh RA Fine Arts Gallery.

Dalam pameran ini, pelukis memaparkan satu keanehan yang disifatkan ambivalen. Imajannya bersifat mujarad kerana ia merangsangkan sebagai entiti bebas yang dirangka demi mengukuhkan alam penggambaran yang terang dan memadai; alam yang dianggap sebagai terasing dari dunia maujud dan duniawi.

Menurut kurator pameran, T.K. Sabapathy, sebanyak 43 lukisan dipilih merupakan pameran karyanya yang paling luas, membolehkan penghayatan cirri-ciri lahiriah dan perlambangan pengkaryaannya.

“Melalui pertimbangan ciri-ciri tersebut secara terperinci, orang ramai mampu membezakan satu karya dari yang lain, mengamati keistimewaan sesebuah lukisan. “ jelas Sabapathy.

Sabapathy yang juga menerbitkan buku bertajuk yang sama, beliau mengatakan bahawa pameran ini bukan suatu penyampaian yang menyusun karya-karya Mustapa demi memperlihatkan sifat khususnya yang pelbagai.

“Kalau sebaliknya, kita pasti menjangka bersemuka dengan lukisan dan arca yang menghalalkan jurusan yag rumit; jurusan yang menyurih kepelbagaian dan urutan perkembangan pengkaryaannya,” tambahnya lagi.

Mustapa Haji Ibrahim merupakan antara artis yang terlibat dalam peringkat awal Kumpula Anak Alam, sebuah kumpulan pelukis, penyair, aktivis teater dan lain-lain penggiat seni yang penting pada tahun 1974. Seorang yang tidak berprasangka dan merendah diri, serta taat pada cara dan pandangan sederhana yang diamalkan oleh kumpulan Anak Alam.

Beliau mula terlibat dalam aktiviti seni pada lewat 1960an iaitu semenjak beliau menyertai Angkatan Pelukis Se-Malaysia (APS) di Studio Taman Budaya, Jalan Ampang.

Bercakap mengenai falsafahnya dalam seni lukisan, Mustapa berkata falsafah lukisan baginya tidak pentingnya, tetapi lukis apa yang jiwanya rasakan.

“Tetapi, urutan suasan, bentuk, warna saling berkait dari satu siri ke satu siri yang lain,” terang Mustapa.

Sebagai artis yang cenderung melukis potret dan landskap, beliau pada masa itu mula menjadi batu loncatan kepada kerjayanya, mendapat inspirasi daripada alam semulajadi dan persekitaran masyarakat sekeliling, beliau berasaskan yang seni itu bukan sahaja terbatas kepada dunia reality semata-mata, tetapi juga menekankan semangat alam semulajadi itu sendiri.

Tidak seperti rakannya, Latiff Mohidin, yang lebih cepat dikenali. Mustapa Haji Ibrahim kurang menonjol walaupun beliau melukis secara konsisten ketika itu. Ramai yang merasakan pada ketika itu, beliau kurang mendapat tempat yang sesuai untuk mempamerkan karyanya.

Walaupun begitu, beliau mendapat perhatian dalam penulisan dari penulis terkenal seperti Redza Piyadasa dan jua Krishen Jit dan beberapa penulis lain pada tahun 1970an. Pada masa yang sama, sajak beliau diterbitkan secara meluas di dalam media. Mustapa Haji Ibrahim telah mengadakan tiga pameran solo: The British Council (1973), Studio Anak Alam (1979) dan Hotel Equatorial (1983).

“Pameran Solo: Mustapa Haji Ibrahim, Paintings 1968-2008 ~ Pameran Solo yang ke-4” dirasmikan oleh Dr Mohamed Najib Ahmad Dawa, Ketua Pengarah Balai Seni Lukis Negara pada 24 Mei 2008. Pameran ini bermula dari 17 Mei dan akan berakhir pada 4 Jun 2008.





Arca Kabut Warna (2). Acrylic. 1983.101x101cm



Berahi Alam - Senseous Earth (5). Acrylic. 1984.40x61cm




Transisi Tangan Hitam. Acrylic. 2006.75x69cm

Labels: mustapa haji ibrahim, ra fine arts, TK Sabapathy

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/27/2008 11:26:00 pm ... 1 blast off

 

 

In a rush to make things better

Meet passionate social activist Faisal Mustaffa, who takes on so many roles it's a wonder how he manages to keep track of his own life.

By Debra Chong (malaysianinsider)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 – Faisal Mustaffa, 37, is looking pretty exasperated. His hair, normally combed back neatly, is sticking up at angles. Clutching a stack of papers in one hand, he runs the other over his head, mussing his hair further. His quick dark eyes search through the crowd in the Parliament lobby but fails to find what he seeks.

"Aiyooo!" he half-yells and assaults his hair one last time before darting off into a side corridor in frustration.

Faisal is parliamentary secretary to not one, but two members of parliament — Liew Chin Tong, DAP's representative from Bukit Bendera, Penang and Loh Gwo-Burne, PKR's man for Kelana Jaya, Selangor.

But that is only one of the many hats he wears. He is also a research

officer for a political think tank, Research for Social Advancement (Refsa); secretary for the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih); secretary for the Kelana Jaya constituency; part-time lecturer in economics, journalism and social issues at several local colleges; general secretary for the Private College Union; founder of Tokobuku, an online bookstore that serves up information of a political and social nature; writer for controversial news portal Malaysia Today; a correspondence writer for influential Indonesian political magazine Tempo; and full-time blogger.

His normal routine sees him sleeping at 4am and getting up at 10am, but that was before Parliament convened. Though he sees no conflict with serving two masters from two political parties – even if they are sitting on the same bench now – he has more than his hands full running after one or the other, helping them prepare their speeches for debates in the Dewan Rakyat and basically memorise their weekly schedules to advise inquisitive media bearing down on him.

And on some days, like today, he wonders why he puts himself through such torture. But then he thinks back on the idealism that first moved him to political action and it helps him get through the bulk of human nature.

"I like doing research," says Faisal guilelessly, when asked for the reason behind his involvement in so many political and social departments. Though he admits to being a social activist, he shies away from the limelight, preferring instead to effect change from behind-the-scenes.

"It started with the Aku Janji (a government-initiated pledge compelling college and university students) to swear not to be involved in politics," says Faisal of his involvement in politics, back in his student days, which critically coincided with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's reformasi movement in 1997.

He got onto the web forum, Sang Kancil, founded by the late MGG Pillai, a noted political activist who was among the earliest journalists to realise the potential of the Internet in enhancing political consciousness, and from there went on to Raja Petra Kamaruddin's website.

"My parents were not keen for me to get involved even in student politics. But I did secretly," he chuckles.

Faisal, who holds a Masters in Business Administration, attributes his political and social awakening to Rustam A. Sani, the former deputy president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) who passed away last month aged 64.

"Rustam Sani was my lecturer in social sciences at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). I blame him. He was a good writer and lecturer. I got attracted!" jokes Faisal.

In 2001, he joined PRM, one of the oldest political parties in the country having been founded in 1955. And when the party merged with Anwar's Parti Keadilan Negara in 2003, he followed suit, not because he shared the early goals of latter party but because he wanted to continue working for the good of the people, particularly on human rights issues.

"Our struggle in Parti Rakyat did not and has not changed," he emphasises.

He proceeded to do a lot of social work. He was a central executive committee member, headed the international bureau, and travelled a lot to present papers, particularly on the subject of media freedom and the role of youths.

Even now, on top of his packed schedule, he sets aside time on Sundays to conduct a creativity class to primary schoolers in Desa Mentari, a notoriously dense urban development for the poor on the outskirts of Bandar Sunway and Kelana Jaya.

"Creativity teaches them to be independent, to solve problems by thinking wisely out of the box," he says of his pet project, which is part of the Desa Mentari Volunteer Tuition Programme initiated last year by Seri Setia state assemblyman, Nik Nazmi Nik Nik Ahmad.

"The issues affecting the urban poor are more serious than the rural poor. The urban poor live in breaks (in the concrete jungle). Money is everything in KL and PJ; we can still live, if we have no money, in the kampungs. That's why I started to research the cases in Kampung Medan," cries an impassioned Faisal.

Kampung Medan is another housing development for the urban poor, more notorious than Desa Mentari. The homes there are crammed so tight the inhabitants practically share each other's living rooms and kitchens. Such living conditions have even sparked race riots, which led to bloodshed in the recent past.

"I'm a town boy, born and bred in PJ and had no experience in politics. In university, I realised that wealth doesn't bring happiness. I believe most of us want a good life," Faisal observes.

And that is why he continues to put in those hours daily, so that more people can live a better life.

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/27/2008 10:07:00 pm ... 3 blast off

 

 

BUKAK MATA: Pameran Mencelikkan Minda

Sekali lintas, pameran ini memberi gimik untuk orang ramai bertanya-tanya mengenai konsep dan jeniis hasil karya yang dipamerkan tetapi ia sebenarnyamemberi kesedaran kepada kebebasan berkarya artis-artis.

Pameran yang diadakan bermula 27 April lepas dan akan berakhir 27 Mei ini, ia memberi tahu kewujudan satu ruang baru yang sedia untuk di ‘Pakai’ dan diberi perhatian oleh pihak yang berkenaan dalam proses pen’demokrasi’an dan Pencerahan seni dan seniman, (khususnya seni tampak).

Menurut kurator Bukak Mata, Zulkiflee Zanul Abidin semasa hari pembukaannya, ‘Bukak Mata’ adalah perkhabaran tentang gerak para seniman secara independent dan survival (pelukis) selama ini, tidak harus lagi dipandang sepi.

“Ia juga menuntut agar para seniman masa kini tidak hanya sekadar mencari ilham untuk menghiasi dan ‘mencantikkan’ ruang pameran dan dinding kediaman, tetapi mengangkat fungsi karya dan idea mereka ke satu tahap yang lebih dihormati,” katanya.

“Seniman abad ini harus lebih berani melontarkan pandangan dan idea ‘sezaman’nya dalam karya mereka, di ketika suasana yang dilihat lebih terbuka kini. Dalam pada itu, semangat dan kekuatan survival seniman harus dikekalkan bagi memastikan Perubahan ke arah yang lebih baik menjadi kenyataan,” tambahnya lagi.

Pameran yang diadakan di Studio Dikala Jingga di No 40B Jalan Kota Raja, 27/M, Hicom Town Centre, Shah Alam, Selangor telah menarik perhatian exco pelancongan Negeri Selangor, Elizabeth Wong.

Menurut Elizabeth Wong, beliau melihat pameran ini dapat menggalakkan pelancong dalam dan luar untuk datang dan menghargai lawatan mereka ke Selangor.

Ruang Kala

Majlis pembukaan Bukak Mata juga mengambil kesempatan memperkenalkan Ruang Kala sebagai ruang alternatif ‘baru’ untuk semua teman Seniman dan Karyawan untuk berekspresi; selain ruang yang sudah sedia ada. Ruang Dikaa akan membuka ruang dan peluang yang baik untuk semua pihak dalam memperkembangkanhasil karya mereka, baik dari segi muzik, persembahan filem independen dan forum muzik.

Dalam ucapan beliau, Elizabeth berkata, Studio seperti Ruang Kala akan menjadi pesaing kepada aktiviti-aktiviti seni yang dianjurkan oleh Kerajaan Negeri dan memberi kepelbagaian kepada industry iseni kerana sesungguhnya kumpulan-kumpulan indepen seperti ini sememangnya mempunyai peminat dan pengikut mereka sendiri.

Pada hari pembukaan itu, orang ramai dihidangkan dengan persembahan muzik dari kumpula Azska dan persembahan teater ringkas dari Pepaktaklumat.

Orang ramai boleh menghadiri dan membeli hasil-hasil karya daripada artis professional dan amatur sebanyak 52 hasil karya tampak bermula dari 10 pagi hingga lewat malam setiap hari.

Lukisan Pilihan Blog Ini

Labels: bukak mata, Di Kala Jingga, Elizabeth Wong

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TV One Indonsia's Investigate Report with Me During Elections 2008

Labels: BERSIH, PRU12, sharmila, TV One

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/26/2008 12:18:00 am ... 0 blast off

 

 

TV One Indonsia's Investigate Report with Me During Elections 2008

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Media Conference Infront of Dang Wangi Police Station

The event was held infron of Dang Wangi Police Station on 22 June 2008 together with NIEI Executive Director, Amin Iskandar and keADILan's supreme council member, Badrul Hisham Shahrin.

Onn 24th May, I was called by one DSP from Balai Polis Putrajaya to take my statement with regards to the police report I lodged.

I gave all my co-operation to the DSP.

The statement was taken at Balai Polis Petaling, Old Klang Road at 1130.

Labels: BERSIH, black 14, chegubard, dakwat kekal, Dang Wangi, indelible ink, niei

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/25/2008 11:02:00 pm ... 0 blast off

 

 

Siapa Lebih Handsome.....Aku ke Black?

Indelible ink fiasco: Police report against PM, AG, IGP and EC chairman

By Debra Chong (malaysianinsider.com)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 – Looks like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has another headache to add to his expanding cluster.

At 11.30am today, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) and National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI) lodged a report at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters against the government over the cancellation of the indelible ink at the March general elections.

Faisal Mustaffa and Amin Iskandar, from Bersih and NIEI respectively, in their joint report named the prime minister, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Ab Rashid Ab Rahman and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the parties responsible for causing the cancellation of the indelible ink, bought at a cost of RM2.4 million from India.

The two non-profit organisations, which have been keeping a close watch on the proceedings of the electoral process and maintain that the last general elections were conducted unfairly, want the named individuals investigated for what they allege was a conspiracy to tamper with the electoral process.

"Bersih and NIEI are of the opinion that the conflicting statements among the four parties need to be investigated and action taken. Based on media reports, it's clear that there was a plot among the four parties named," said Faisal in a statement to the media.

The police report was made following the shocking statement issued by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in Parliament on May 5.

Four days before the March 8 election, the EC had announced that it was cancelling the use of the indelible ink, which it had been touting as an additional safeguard against the phenomenon of phantom voters which is believed to have long plagued the Malaysian electoral process.

The EC claimed that there had been efforts to smuggle in indelible ink from neighbouring countries, which would interfere with the exercise. The IGP also claimed that several police reports had been filed in Perlis, Kedah and Kelantan between February 16 and 21 and that the police had conducted investigations regarding the ink smuggling incident.

"In a written reply to Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar confirmed that in actuality, there was no evidence of any indelible ink being smuggled in from neighbouring countries as alleged by the EC chairman.

"On 17 May 2008, the SPR chairman issued a statement to the contrary and said he had been instructed by the Cabinet to cancel plans to use the indelible ink," said Faisal.

He also accused the EC chairman of being under the Cabinet's manipulation and rebutted the latter's statements that the electoral process was free and fair were untrue.

"EC failed to amend the Constitution to allow or enforce the implementation of the indelible ink. This actually frustrates the citizen's right to a free and fair elections,” Faisal explained, referring to the commission's failure last year to get Parliament to pass the laws allowing the use of the indelible ink.

The EC had overlooked the legal aspect altogether when it received approval from the National Fatwa Council to use the indelible ink.

"Rashid, as EC chairman, must take responsibility and resign immediately for the disappointing unprofessional attitude demonstrated by EC officials in handling this matter so that the next time round, such things won't happen again," said Faisal firmly.

Labels: BERSIH, dakwat kekal, Dang Wangi, indelible ink, niei

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/23/2008 05:25:00 pm ... 0 blast off

 

 

Pameran Lukisan BUKAK MATA: Sebuah Pendemokrasian Karya

Di atas inisiatif sekumpulan artis dari Studio Di Kala Jingga serta memperkenalkan imej baru studio mereka, satu pameran lukisan dianjurkan dengan memaparkan 26 artis-artis professional dan amatur dalam memaparkan hasil karya mereka.

Sebanyak 52 lukisan dan beberapa arca dipilih dalam pameran tersebut.

Bercakap mengenai tajuk pameran, kurator pameran, Zulkiflee Zainul Abidin berkata, “‘Bukak Mata’ secara literalnya difaham sebagai melihat atau menikmati karya yang ada, komposisi warna, bentuk dan rupa yang ‘mempersona’ mata dan minda”.

Jelasnya lagi, “‘Bukak Mata’ juga, mahu memberi tahu kewujudan satu ruang baru yang sedia untuk di ‘Pakai’ dan diberi perhatian oleh pihak yang berkenaan dalam proses pen’demokrasi’an”.

Menurut kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh pentadbiran Studio Di Kala Jingga, ‘Bukak Mata’ adalah perkhabaran tentang gerak para seniman secara independent dan survival (pelukis) selama ini, tidak harus lagi dipandang sepi setelah berlaku ‘Perubahan Angin’ pemerintahan; sekurang-kurangnya untuk lima tahun mendatang.

“Ia juga menuntut agar para seniman masa kini tidak hanya sekadar mencari ilham untuk menghiasi dan ‘mencantikkan’ ruang pameran dan dinding kediaman, tetapi mengangkat fungsi karya dan idea mereka ke satu tahap yang lebih dihormati,” terang kenyataan itu lagi.

Antara artis-artis yang mempamerkan pameran mereka ialah 1. Suzlee Ibrahim, Zainal Abidin Musa, Mohd Faizar, Hir Haneff Mahat, Nizam Ambia, Hushnaidi, Mazir Ibrahim, Mohd Foad Hassan, Shahrul Anuar dan Ahmad Zuraimi.

Ruang Kala

Majlis yang juga memperkenalkan sebagai ruang alternatif ‘baru’ untuk semua teman Seniman dan Karyawan untuk berekspresi; selain ruang yang sudah sedia ada, ia juga menjadi harapan kami agar kumpulan-kumpulan ini sama-sama dapat memberi sokongan dan idea untuk terus menggerakkan ruang seni ini, seterusnya membuka ruang dan peluang yang baik untuk semua.

Majlis ini dihadiri oleh exco pelancongan Negeri Selangor yang baru, YB Elizabeth Wong. Dalam ucapan beliau, Elizabeth berkata, Studio seperti Ruang Kala akan menjadi pesaing kepada aktiviti-aktiviti seni yang dianjurkan oleh Kerajaan Negeri dan memberi kepelbagaian kepada industry iseni kerana sesungguhnya kumpulan-kumpulan indepen seperti ini sememangnya mempunyai peminat dan pengikut mereka sendiri.


Persembahan menarik

Pada hari pembukaan itu, orang ramai dihidangkan dengan persembahan muzik dari kumpula Azska dan persembahan teater ringkas dari Pepaktaklumat.



Pameran Bukak Mata diadakan di Studio Di Kala Jingga dari 27 April 2008 dan berakhir sehingga 27 Mei 2008 di No 40B Jalan Kota Raja, 27/M, Hicom Town Centre, Shah Alam, Selangor.

Labels: bukak mata, Elizabeth Wong

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Adakah Polis Akan Buat Siasatan? Aku Cabar

'Komplot' 3 Tan Sri batal dakwat kekal

Jimadie Shah Othman & Zahra Hamdan | May 22, 08 1:42pm

Pembatalan dakwat kekal menjelang pilihanraya umum lalu hasil "komplot" tiga badan utama negara untuk "menggagalkan usaha memastikan pilihanraya tidak dicemari penipuan", dakwa Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih). Dalam laporan polisnya, jurucakap gabungan itu Faisal Mustaffa mendakwa usaha terancang itu melibatkan pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR) Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, peguam negara Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail dan ketua polis negara Tan Sri Musa Hassan. "Saya meminta agar pihak berkuasa Polis Diraja Malaysia untuk membuat penyiasatan ke atas pengerusi SPR, perdana menteri, peguam negara dan ketua polis negara demi kepentingan seluruh rakyat Malaysia," kata Faisal. Aduan polis itu dibuat di ibu pejabat polis daerah Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur pagi tadi susulan kenyataan beberapa tokoh ini sejak minggu lalu. Sabtu lepas, Abdul Rashid mendedahkan, kabinet memutuskan pada hari pembubaran parlimen pada 13 Februari, untuk menolak penggunaan dakwat kekal di jari pengundi dalam pilihanraya umum 8 Mac. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, mengulas kenyataan SPR, bagaimanapun menafikan kabinet mengarahkan suruhanjaya itu berbuat demikian. Tahun lalu, SPR bersetuju melaksanakan langkah tersebut dalam pilihanraya umum ke-12 tetapi kemudian membatalkannya empat hari menjelang hari pengundian atas alasan keselamatan. Abdul Gani dan Musa turut hadir di sidang media SPR sewaktu mengumumkan pembatalan tersebut, pada 4 Mac lalu. Kira-kira RM2.9 juta dibelanjakan untuk membeli 48,000 botol dakwat tidak mudah padam dari India tetapi penggunaannya dibatalkan kerana bimbang wujud unsur sabotaj seperti yang telah dikesan oleh polis. Menteri keselamatan dalam negeri Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar bagaimanapun memberitahu Dewan Rakyat minggu lepas bahawa SPR membatalkan cadangan dakwat kekal berdasarkan "bukti khabar angin". Bercakap di satu seminar di Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Abdul Rashid juga mendedahkan bahawa kabinet telah terpengaruh dengan maklumat polis bahawa wujud parti-parti politik yang membeli sendiri dakwat-dakwat kekal dari luar negara. "Saya dimaklumkan bahawa PAS di pantai timur membeli dakwat dari Thailand. Kemudian Umno mendapat tahu (mengenainya) dan Umno juga membeli dakwat tersebut. "(Maklumat) ini diberikan kepada saya secara hitam putih oleh polis dan laporan yang sama diberikan kepada kabinet dan mereka (menteri) percaya ia memang benar-benar wujud," kata Abdul Rashid. Turut hadir di balai polis, pengarah eksekutif Institut Integriti Pilihanraya Kebangsaan (NIEI) Amin Iskandar. Bersih dan NIEI dalam kenyataan bersama turut menyebut penglibatan perdana menteri dalam kontroversi ini. Menurut mereka, ketua polis mendakwa terdapat laporan polis dibuat di Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis di antara 16 hingga 21 Februari lalu. Namun, tambah mereka, jawapan bertulis yang dikemukakan oleh Syed Hamid ketika menjawab soalan ahli parlimen Batu Gajah, Fong Poh Kuan mengesahkan "sebenarnya tiada sebarang bukti berkenaan penyeludupan dakwat kekal dari negara jiran." Membacakan kenyataan bersama itu, Faisal (foto atas, kanan) berkata, percanggahan dakwaan keempat-empat pihak ini menunjukkan bahawa "Abdul Rashid berada di bawah telunjuk ahli kabinet". Sepatutnya SPR membentangkan pindaan kepada Parlimen bagi membolehkan pelaksanaannya mengikut undang-undang, tambahnya. "SPR hanya merujuk kepada Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan untuk mendapatkan kelulusan berikutan penggunaan dakwat kekal tanpa ada pindaan (akta) kepada Parlimen," tambahnya. Bersih dan NIEI juga mendesak pengerusi SPR meletakkan jawatan serta-merta berdasarkan sikapnya yang didakwa "tidak profesional". Amin (foto, kiri sekali) pula berkata, alasan untuk membatalkan penggunaan dakwat "tidak masuk akal" kerana prosedur pembelian dakwat itu amat ketat. "Dakwat ini bukan boleh dibeli di kedai alat tulis. Kena ada surat, kena ada suruhanjaya. Bukan boleh senang-senang pergi beli," katanya. Mengulas tentang dakwaan terdapat pembelian dakwat ini dari negara jiran, Amin berkata: "Thailand sendiri mengimport dakwat kekal dari India." Menurut pemantau pilihanraya itu lagi, India adalah pengeksport utama dakwat kekal untuk pilihanraya di rantau ini. "Dakwat (kekal) yang dikemukakan kepada pihak (majlis) mufti itu sendiri adalah dari India," katanya, yang turut memantau pilihanraya umum di Nepal baru-baru ini. Dalam aduan polisnya, Bersih melampirkan 12 keratan akhbar berhubung kontroversi ini, termasuk laporan Bernama, The Star dan Malaysiakini.

Labels: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, BERSIH, dakwat kekal, indelible ink, niei, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/23/2008 01:18:00 am ... 0 blast off

 

 

Watch recorded at Malaysiakini.tv

Indelible ink 'conspiracy': Report lodged

Rahmah Ghazali | May 22, 08 4:36pm

Two polls watchdog groups today lodged a police report against Election Commission chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the last-minute cancellation of the indelible ink in the March 8 general elections. MCPX Also named in the police report are two other key individuals who were allegedly responsible for the abrupt reversal in the use of the ink - inspector general of police Musa Hassan and attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail. The groups - Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) and National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI) - claimed that the cabinet led by Abdullah had “conspired” with the EC under Abdul Rashid to suspend the use of the ink. “This is a conspiracy between the prime minister and the EC chairman to rob our rights (as voters),” said NIEI executive director Amin Iskandar after lodging the report at the Dang Wangi police station in Kuala Lumpur. Last Saturday, Abdul Rashid unwittingly revealed that the cabinet had objected to the use of the indelible ink and that he was ordered to take the blame for the decision. Hours after Abdul Rashid (right) dropped the bombshell, the prime minister took pains to explain that the scrapping of the indelible ink was a cabinet's suggestion to EC, and not a directive. The EC had last year agreed to use the ink in the 12th general election to put to rest the claims of cheating in the polls. Subsequently, the commission spent RM2.4 million to buy 48,000 bottles of the ink from India. However, four days before the election, the EC chief announced the scrapping of the indelible ink, citing public order and security reasons. Also present at the press conference where Abdul Rashid made the controversial announcement were police chief Musa and AG Abdul Gani. Musa had revealed that four people were under investigation for buying the indelible ink from neighbouring countries and they were planning to use it on unsuspecting voters to create chaos on polling day. However, two weeks ago Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told Parliament that the EC’s decision to cancel the use of the indelible ink was based on ‘hearsay evidence’ received by the police. He revealed that the EC’s move to call off the use of the ink was based on “unsubstantiated claims that elements of sabotage had been detected by the police”. EC’s reasons absurd NIEI’s Amin described the reasons given by EC in the suspension of the ink as absurd. “I’ve been to Afghanistan and Nepal (to observe elections) and these are post-conflict nations, yet they never had such nonsensical excuses,” said Amin, who has participated in missions to observe elections in a number of countries for over 10 years. He showed reporters his thumbnail, marked with indelible ink in his last observer mission at the April 10 elections in Nepal. The ink remain intact despite that his thumb was marked more than a month ago (right). “This proves how strong the ink is,” he added. Badrul Hisham Shahrin, an opposition PKR candidate who contested in the March 8 elections, said the conflicting statements given by the four parties involved - the cabinet, EC, IGP and AG - indicated a conspiracy behind the cancellation of the ink. “They have received inside information that BN would lose government if the indelible ink were to be used, hence its cancellation,” said Badrul (left), who ran for the Rembau parliamentary seat but lost to Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin. “We are calling for a royal commission to investigate this matter,” he added. Badrul later stated that the commission could probe, among others, the government’s failure to amend the election laws to enable the use of the ink and the real reasons for its last-minute cancellation. Also present when the police report was lodged was Bersih secretary Faisal Mustaffa.

Labels: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, BERSIH, dakwat kekal, indelible ink, musa hassan, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman

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Harakah Lapor Laporan Polis BERSIH

Bersih buat laporan polis ke atas PM, Musa, Ghani dan Rashid

Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mei (Hrkh) - Gabungan Pilihan Raya Adil dan Bersih (Bersih) telah membuat laporan polis ke atas Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan tiga lagi individu berikutan isu pembatalan penggunaan dakwat kekal pada pilihan raya umum yang lalu.

Setiausaha Sekretariat Bersih, Faisal Mustaffa yang membuat laporan itu di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Dang Wangi (Tun H.S. Lee) dekat Jalan Stadium hari ini menegaskan, empat individu tersebut harus bertanggungjawab di atas pembatalan penggunaan dakwat itu.

Tiga lagi yang disenaraikan dalam laporan polis yang dibuat itu ialah, Peguam Negara, Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail; Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan dan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.

Turut serta semasa membuat laporan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Dang wangi pagi tadi ialah, calon KeADILan bagi Parlimen Rembau, Badrul Hisham Shaharin dan Jurucakap National Institute For Electroral Integrity (NIEI), Amin Iskandar.

Empat hari sebelum pilihan raya umum pada 8 Mac lalu, SPR telah mengumumkan pembatalan penggunaan dakwat dengan alasan keselamatan dan ada pihak yang telah membeli dakwat itu bagi tujuan penyelewengan, ujar Faisal.

SPR dikatakan telah menggunakan RM2.4 juta wang rakyat untuk membeli dakwat kekal dari India untuk digunakan pada pilihan raya lalu, katanya.

Bagaimanapun kata Faisal, SPR baru-baru ini memberitahu media bahawa kabinet Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yang sebenarnya membantah penggunaan dakwat kekal pada pilihan raya umum yang lalu.

Sementara itu katanya, Menteri Dalam Negeri, Dato' Seri Syed Hamid Albar pula mendedahkan di Parlimen yang laporan polis berasakan kepada khabar angin mengenai pembelian dakwat kekal oleh parti-parti politik untuk tujuan penyelewengan pilihan raya.

Baginya, jelas sebenarnya pengumuman pembatalan penggunaan dakwat itu hanyalah helah untuk menyelamatkan kerajaan BN tumbang pada pilihan raya umum lalu.

Jelaslah di sini bahawa kabinet Abdullah Badawi tahu yang mereka akan kalah dalam pilihan raya ke-12 yang lalu jika dakwat kekal digunakan, katanya.

"Jelas juga yang SPR hanyalah alat Barisan Nasional untuk menipu rakyat dalam pilihan raya umum," ujarnya.

Dengan laporan polis yang dibuat itu, Bersih mendesak kesemua terbabit meletakkan jawatan sebagai tanggungjawab terhadap rakyat Malaysia oleh kerana bersekongkol.

Bagi Bersih, Polis dan Peguam Negara hanya dijadikan alat untuk membantu BN memanipulasi pilihan raya yang lalu, ujarnya.

Sementara itu Jurucakap National Institute For Electroral Integrity (NIEI), Amin Iskandar yang turut serta bersama Bersih membuat laporan itu mengecam tindakan berupa penipuan yang dilakukan SPR, Perdana Menteri, Musa dan Peguam Negara.

"Selepas membazirkan wang rakyat sejumlah RM2.4 juta, mereka akhirnya menipu rakyat terang-terang selepas mereka mendapat maklumat akan kalah pada pilihan raya umum lalu," kata Amin yang juga pernah membuat pemantauan pilihan raya di beberapa buah negara termasuk Afghanistan dan Nepal.

Beliau menyatakan bahawa penggunaan dakwat kekal di negara ini tidak akan mendatangkan ancaman kepada kerajaan atau keselamatan negara.

Alasan yang diberikan SPR dan pihak berkuasa sebelum pilihan raya lalu amat dangkal, dan ia mengesahkan bahawa polis sebenarnya yang gagal mengawal keselamatan negara.

Justeru beliau mendesak siasatan dibuat ke atas Perdana Menteri, Peguam Negara, Ketua Polis Negara dan Pengerusi SPR berikutan pembohongan tersebut.

"Kita mahu mereka bertanggungjawab dan meletak jawatan segera," tegasnya.

Labels: BERSIH, dakwat kekal, indelible ink, niei

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/23/2008 01:02:00 am ... 0 blast off

 

 

Perdana Menteri, Ketua Polis Negara, Peguam Negara dan Pengerusi SPR Perlu Disiasat

Kenyataan Media
22 Mei 2008

Isu Pembatalan Dakwat Kekal:Perdana Menteri, Ketua Polis Negara, Peguam Negara dan Pengerusi SPR Perlu Disiasat

Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH) dan National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI) berpendapat Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR) Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Hj Ab Rashid bin Ab Rahman, Peguam Negara Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail dan Ketua Polis Negara (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan bertanggungjawab dalam pembatalan penggunaan dakwat kekal semasa pilihanraya umum 12 yang diadakan pada 8 Mac 2008 yang lalu.

SPR telah menggunakan RM2.4 juta wang rakyat untuk membeli dakwat kekal dari India untuk digunakan semasa pilihanraya umum yang baru lalu dan membatalkan penggunaannya empat hari sebelum pilihanraya diadakan.

Alasan yang diberikan ialah kerana terdapat usaha untuk menyeludup masuk dakwat kekal dari negara jiran ke Malaysia.

Ketua Polis Negara mendakwa bahawa terdapat laporan-laporan polis dilaporkan di Kelantan, Perlis dan Kedah di antara 16 hingga 21 Februari 2008 dan telah menjalankan siasatan.

Tetapi menurut jawapan bertulis yang dikemukakan oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri, Dato' Seri Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar ketika menjawab soalan Parlimen Batu Gajah, Fong Poh Kuan mengesahkan bahawa sebenarnya, tiada sebarang bukti berkenaan penyeludupan dakwat kekal dari negara jiran seperti yang didakwa oleh Pengerusi SPR itu.

Pada 17 Mei 2008, Pengerusi SPR, telah mengeluarkan kenyataan yang berlainan dengan mengatakan bahawa beliau menerima arahan daripada kabinet untuk membatalkan rancangan untuk melaksanakan dakwat kekal.

Perdan Menteri pula keesokan harinya memberitahu bahawa kabinet tidak mengarahkan SPR untuk membatalkan rancangan untuk menggunakan dakwat kekal pada pilihanraya ke12 akan tetapi hanya mencadangkan sedemikian.

BERSIH dan NIEI berpendapat kenyataan yang bercanggah di antara keempat-empat pihak ini perlu disiasat dan perlu diambil tindakan.

Berdasarkan kepada laporan-laporan media, jelas menunjukkan bahawa terdapat komplot di antara keempat-empat pihak yang dinamakan di atas.

Mengikut laporan-laporan berikut, jelas menunjukkan bahawa Pengerusi SPR berada di bawah telunjuk ahli kabinet.

Laporan-laporan tersebut juga jelas menunjukkan bahawa kenyataan Pengerusi SPR bahawa badan itu bebas adalah tidak benar.

Justeru, pihak yang bertanggungjawab dalam hal ini perlu menjelaskan perkara sebenar supaya isu yang berkepentingan rakyat ini mendapat penjelasan dan tindakan yang sewajarnya dan perlu diambil berdasarkan kepada undang-undang Negara.

BERSIH dan NIEI juga berpendapat SPR telah gagal untuk membentangkan pindaan kepada Parlimen pada sessi Parlimen pada Ogos-Disember 2007 bagi pelaksanaan tersebut termaktub di bawah undang-undang.

SPR hanya memainkan isu penggunaan dakwat kekal ini dengan menuding jari kepada Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan bagi mendapat kelulusan tanpa melihat kepada kesahan dari segi undang-undang.

Sikap yang tidak professional yang ditunjukkan oleh pegawai-pegawai SPR dalam hal ini amat mendukacitakan dan mendesak supaya Pengerusinya, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Hj Ab Rashid bin Ab Rahman meletak jawatan serta-merta.

Labels: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, BERSIH, dakwat kekal, gani patail, musa hassan, niei, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/22/2008 06:10:00 pm ... 1 blast off

 

 

Mogok Lapar di Pakistan Bantah Penindasan

Gambar Irfan Ali bersama aktivis dari Pakistan menjalani mogok lapar membantah penindasan

Pagi ini aku menerima emel daripada rakan aku dari Pakistan yang mengatakan beliau dan rakan-rakannya dari Human Rights Commission for Social Justice and Peace Quetta (HRCSJP Quetta) melancarkan mogok lapar sejak semalam dalam membatah penghasilan makanan artificial, kenaikan tarif tenaga elektrik, kenaikan harga barang, pembunuhan, rasuah yng berleluasa dan peranan pihak tentera dalam memastikan kedaulatan demokrasi yang gagal dilaksanakan.

Salah seorang tulang belakang dalam protes ini ialah Irfan Ali. Aku mula mengenali Irfan ketika kami sama-sama menghadiri bengkel Human Rights and Trade yang diadakan pada 28 Mac- 4 April di Kuala Lumpur.

Individu yang berasal dari Pakistan ini merupakan Presiden Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia bagi Keadilan Sosial dan Keamanan (HRCSJP). Di badan itu, Irfan mengajar Convention for the Rights of the Child, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) dan Perlembagaan Pakistan kepada pemimpin-pemimpin masyarakat, pelajar, guru-guru dan aktivis-aktivis politik dalam menanamkan kesedaran mengenai prinsip hak asasi mausia.

Labels: HRCSJP, IRFAN ALI, UDHR

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/19/2008 12:04:00 pm ... 1 blast off

 

 

PAS Rai Media dan Blogger

Pada 13 Mei, aku menerima jemputan daripada Lajnah Penerangan PAS Pusat dalam satu majlis makan malam di Hotel Grand Season, Kuala Lumpur.

Ramai rakan blogger hadir. Tumpuan sudah tentu kepada Editor Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamarudin.

Tetamu VIP yang turut hadir dalam majlis tersebut ialah Lajnah Penerangan PAS Pusat, Mahfuz Omar, Ketua Pemuda PAS, Salahuddin Ayub; Ketua Muslimat PAS, Nuridah Salleh; Timbalan Ketua Muslimat, Wan Hasrina Wan Hassan; ahli-ahli Parlimen PAS; Exco kerajaan negeri Selangor, Ronnie Liu dan pimpinan PAS di peringkat negeri.

Bagi mengelakkan daripada tersangkut dalam kesesakan lalulintas, aku bertolak terus dari Bangunan Parlimen. Kebetulan, pada hari itu Dewan Rakyat bersidang sehingga lewat malam.

Aku menawarkan diri aku untuk bersama wartawan-wartawan dari Harakah termasuk Azamin dan Wan Noordin.

Dalam ucapan pembukaan, Presiden PAS, Tuan Guru Haji Hadi Awang berkata bahawa wartawan dikelilingi dengan banyak ancaman dalam mengekalkan profesionalisme mereka termasuk dipenjarakan seperti di Indonesia dan editor yang sanggup meletak jawatan seperti yang berlaku di England dan Amerika Syarikat.

Beliau memetik sabda Rasulullah (ibnu Majaah) dengan menyebut bahawa akan tiba tahun-tahun di akhir zaman di mana dunia dipenuhi dengan penipuan; yang tipu dilaporkan benar, dan yang benar dikatakan meipu. Pada waktu itu juga pengkhianat akan diberi amanah dan orang yang bodoh ditonjolkan.

Adakah kita berada di zaman itu?

Beliau juga berkata, rakyat perlu bijak menilai segala berita atau cubaan yang dibuat media perdana bagi memburukkan kerjasama antara Pakatan Rakyat.

Tak disangka, nama aku disebut beberapa kali setanding dengan blogger-blogger lain. Pihak penganjur juga mengumumkan jualan SELAK pada malam itu.

Aku ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk mengucapkan terima kasih di atas penghargaan tersebut. Aku tidak pernah mengharapkan sebarang bentuk ganjaran termasuk jamuan makan yang sungguh enak diberikan dalam laporan yang aku muatkan dalam blog ini sejak 2001.

Pada ketika da pihak mengugut dalam entri-entri yang 'terasa pedas' ada juga pihak yang menyanjung hasil penulisan aku.

Tempo amat mengiktiraf berita-berita yang aku muatkan di sini. Jadi, aku hairan apa kan?


Menteri Besar Perak

Sementara itu, dalam respons berhubung peranan blogger, Menteri Besar Perak, Dato' Seri Ir Nizar Jamaluddin, yang turut hadir di majlis itu berkata, media perdana hari ini begitu tersepit kerana mereka cuba menyesuaikan diri dengan kehendak pemerintah, sedangkan di lima buah negeri sudah berubah pemerintahannya.

Inilah kali pertama aku mendengar Nizar berucap. Terpegun juga.

"Media perdana hari ini tersepit kerana mereka tidak berlandaskan kebenaran. Jika saudara-saudara, sebagai blogger yang jujur dan ikhlas, sudah pasti tidak tersepit dengan keadaan hari ini dalam melaporkan kebenaran," jelas beliau.

Dalam pada itu, Nizar turut meminta para blogger yang dahulunya lantang mengkritik kelemahan BN agar berbuat serupa terhadap kelemahan yang dilakukan Pakatan Rakyat.

"Kalau dulu saudara-saudara kritik dengan begitu hebat BN, maka sekarang untuk mengkritik Pakatan Rakyat juga perlu diteruskan, dalam menyatakan kebenaran," tegas beliau lagi, sambil menerima tepukan gemuruh daripada para blogger dan hadirin.

Aku tanya diri aku balik, boleh ke kita buat macam tu?

Turut hadir di majlis itu ialah Kamal Amir, Sang Kelebai, Roslan SMS, dan ramai lagi.

Aku yang berada di meja belakang

Labels: Grand Season, Mahfuz Omar, Nuridah Salleh, PAS, Ronnie Liu, Selak, Tuan Guru Haji Hadi Awang

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/19/2008 03:16:00 am ... 0 blast off

 

 

Freedom Film Festival: Tahniah Kepada Pemenang

Pada 16 Mei lalu, aku hadiri majlis pengumuman pemenang Pertandingan Filem Pendek Independen anjuran KOMAS. Program itu diadakan di ANnexe, Central Market.

Antara hakim yang mengadili ialah Edmond Bon dan Dina Zaman.

Aku memang hantar dua penyertaan. Satu pun tak kena.

Abror Rivai dan Justin Johan menang. Masing-masing membentngkan filem pendek mengenai hak asasi manusia melalui tema yag diberikan oleh KOMAS, Dare to Document. Abror akan menerbitkan filem mengenai pilihanraya bebas dan adil manakala Justin akan menerbitkan filem berkaitan dengan kebebasan ekspressi dalam bentuk muzik.

Selain mengumumkan pemenang, KOMAS juga menayangkan tiga tayangan filem pendek. Filem berkaitan dengan perjuangan orang asli di Perak membantah Taman Botani, Saari Sungib (sebut: Pak Abu) dalam gerakan keluarganya membantah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) dan Food Not Bombs yang mengenengahkan Kechik dan Ebrahim sebagai tulang belakang kumpulan itu.

Gambar pemenang dengan hakim serta penganjur

A victim from 10 Nov People's Rally, Aleeyasak appeared at the function. Got his copy of SELAK

Labels: freedom film fest 2008, komas

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/18/2008 11:36:00 pm ... 0 blast off

 

 

Bandar Tun Razak Sambut Baik Filem 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka

Sebelum ini, tayangan filem 10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka yang aku anjurkan mendapat kontroversi. Tak payah aku cerita lanjut mengenainya.

Namun, jemputan demi jemputan aku terima untuk bawa Fahmi Reza (Pengarah filem) untuk datang untuk memberi penerangan mengenai filem tersebut.

Program tayangan tersebut dibuat di Pejabat Parti Keadilan Rakyat Bandar Tun Razak di
No 38A, Jalan 10/118b, Desa Tun Razak,56000 Kuala Lumpur.

Penonton yang hadir di program malam ini (17Mei 2008) keseluluhannya Angkatan Muda di Bahagian tersebut. Sudah tentu, persoalan yang timbul ialah gerakan politik pada tahun 1947, lambang bendera merah-putih (sebut: sang saka) dan peranan raja dalam kerajaan feudalisme.

Ahli jawatankuasa Bahagian dan exco Angkatan Muda dari Wilayah juga hadir untuk program ini. Ini tidak berlaku di tempat lain (mana? tak boleh cakap, nanti ada orang terasa).

Bagi aku, program BERSIH yang dianjurkan pada 10 November lalu yang mengumpul ribuan orang ramai aku dedahkan ada pertalian dengan 'hartal' yang berlaku pada 20 Oktober 1947. Mobilisasi, penyertaan pertubuhan sivil dan kempen kesedaran, lagu perjuangan; semuanya ada persamaan.

Labels: 10 tahun sebelum merdeka, bandar tun razak, BERSIH

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/18/2008 02:33:00 am ... 0 blast off

 

 

Here in My Home - The Plea of Rakyat

Saya mencadangkan supaya anda mengambil iktibar daripada projek yang diusahakan oleh sekumpulan artis bagi memberi satu mesej yang jelas kepada orang ramai mengenai hak asasi manusia.

The budget is absolutely zero!

Bukan kerana saya kenal secara personal ramai daripada artis-artis yang terlibat dalam video klip ini tetapi usaha murni mereka.

Tahniah!

Di bawah ini ialah sidang media yang menyatakan objektif projek ini yang dijalankan. Ada juga artis yang enggan menyertai projek ini kerana takut mengandungi unsur politik?

Labels: here in my home, Malaysian Artistes For Unity Project

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/17/2008 01:17:00 pm ... 0 blast off

 

 

Happy Birthday Imran!

Today is the second time we, the whole family celebrating Imran Iskandar's birthday last Saturday (10 Mei 2008) at Padang, One Utama. He is nine years old.

Most of the people who came to the party wearing Manchester United's jersey.

I have not been playing futsal since last DTP programme I attended last few months. I guess, besides attending an invitation from Imran, boleh lepas gian main bola.

The day before, I was at the Borders, The Curve looking for present. I found a coffee-table book, WORLD WAR 1. It only cost me RM39.90. This would be my reference for my next book project.

I notice; I injure myself in every futsal sessions I attanded.

The birthday party also celebrated Midah and Dada's birthday.

To them, I wish a very happy birthday, "May all your wishes come true and God bless you all".

Raja Idris, the rising futsall star

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/13/2008 02:09:00 pm ... 1 blast off

 

 

SELAK Lancar Secara Rasmi!

Aku bersyukur, program pelancaran SELAK berjaya disempurnakan. Kehadiran orang ramai pada pelancaran itu amat mengembirakan aku.

Pelancaran tersebut dibuat di Annexe, Central Market bersempena dengan World Press Freedom Day dan KL Alternative Book Fair 2008 pada 3 Mei 2008.



Harris Ibrahim hadir dengan ucapan pelancaran yang penuh dengan kritikan membina. Beliau memberitahu bahawa aktiviti BERSIH tidak cukup digambarkan dalam SELAK. Baginya, ia perlu didokumentasikan dalam satu bahan yang khusus, bukan secara bergambar.

Namun, baginya peristiwa 10 November yang dipaparkan di dalam SELAK jelas menafsirkan tohmahan banyak pihak yang mengatakan bahawa program tersebut hanya mampu menarik 4000 orang.

Aku juga menyatakan dalam ucapan aku, "Picture Tells a Thousand Words."

Pada malam sebelum pelancaran, Harris menelefon aku tengah malam.

Harris: Am I disturbing you?

Aku: Nope, I am still at the office.

Harris: Hey, you want me to launch the book but I have no idea about it.

Aku: Belum habis print.

Harris: What?! You got few hours to go, man

Aku: I know, I am waiting for the printer to call me.

Harris: Well, I am trying to search your background. Not much I could find.

Aku: Well, I am keeping myself lo-profile.

Harris: I notice, since the beginning.

Aku ceritakan konsep buku ini dan hantar resume aku serta akitvisme yang aku jalan sepanjang penyertaan aku dalam politik dan hak asasi manusia.

Esoknya:

Harris: You have an impressive set of activities. I don't know you also work with the aborigines and the minorities.

Aku: Yes, I did.

Harris: I want to discuss with you more on this.

Aku: Anytime.

Aku benar-benar terharu dengan kehadiran Syed Shahir (Presiden MTUC). Ada pihak yang cuba melaga-lagakan aku dengan Pak Syed (gelaran aku terhadapnya). Tidak ada jemputan rasmi pun diberikan kepada beliau untuk hadir. Tak ada satu pun jemputan rasmi diedarkan pun.

Aku tak suka protokol. Publisiti telah dibuat. Bagi mereka yang ingin untuk hadir, mereka boleh hadir. Tak payah pakai batik, tak payah pakai baju kebaya. Pakai apa sahaja yang dirasakan selesa. Memandangkan hari itu hari Sabtu, ramai yang hadir dalam pelancaran buku itu berpakaian kuning.



Beliau datang dengan seikhlas hati. Sehari sebelum pelancaran beliau menelefon aku:

Syed: Esok you nak suruh saya datang pukul berapa?

Aku: Datang pukul 1 pm. Tapi saya tak bagi invitation.

Syed: Saya nak datang tak boleh? I pun nak support.

Aku: (Senyum) Boleh, boleh. I thought you are having a program in Ipoh.

Syed: Diorang postpone.

Pak Syed datang dengan kakinya terdengkut-dengkut. Saya kira dia mengathaui mengenai perkara ini melalui tulisan promo di dalam blog ini.

Saya berikan beliau sedikit ruang untuk berucap pada hari itu. Lagi pun, Pak Syed menulis dalam forward note SELAK.

Liew Chin Tong (Ahli Parlimen Bukit Bendera) juga gembira untuk hadir di program tersebut. Aku terima sms daripadanya malam yang sama- Great job! Good work!






Dalam ucapannya, Chin Tong menyatakan halaltuju pembentukan BERSIH pada awalnya dan pahit getir yang dilalui oleh setiap yang terlibat dalam mengadakan kempen ke arah pilihanraya bersih dan adil sehingga pembangkang berjaya menawan lima negeri.

Bubu (the clown) pun datang. Dia tak minta bayaran pun. Gila-gila dia buat orang ketawa. Ada jugak penyeri majlis tersebut. Belon BERSIH dia bagi percuma untuk kanak-kanak.

Marini dari AIC datang tolong aku jaga kedai semasa pelancaran. Kirin tolong aku gantung bunting dan banner.

Dalam kesibukan, pada minit terakhir, aku berjaya mendapat gimik upacara pelancaran. Aku balutkan banner dengan kain dan Harris menyelak kain tersebut untuk lihat banner yang berwarna hitam. Kreatif kan? hehehe

Team Awani datang. Dia kata, "kitorang tak boleh cover program ni, tak lulus punya."

Akhbar NST pun berkata demikian.

Aku jawab, "I understand." Sungguhpun demikian, press dapat satu naskah complimentary.

Rozan mengakhiri program dengan bacaan sajaknya. Ramai yang kata dia ter'over'.



Aku bagitahu, dia memang fanatik macam tu. Cara dia memang macam tu. Pasal tu aku suka, mix variety.

Aku pun pernah belasah dia dalam blog aku sebelum ni. Dia tak pun melenting. Jadi kawan baik lagi.


Seruan Rakyat BERSIH
(mengenang halatuju dan semangat 10 November 2007)

i.
betapa benar hari ini semua yang kuning adalah
semangat seluruh rakyat negara
bertemu rapat dan teguh membawa satu perutusan
setelah sekian lama dinoda kebebasan

betapa nyata hari ini segala yang kuning adalah
suara sepenuh azam harapan
bersama erat dan tekad membawa nafas perubahan
setelah sekian jauh dicabar kesabaran

Ketenangan telah musnah
Kewarasan telah lenyap
Kepercayaan telah hilang.

khabarkan kepada seluruh dunia kisah kami wahai langit
lima penjuru sesak berarak, luarbiasa ramai hadir berkumpul
membawa resah dan amarah - perlu junjung perlembagaan itu
membawa pesanan dan perjuangan - segera tolak suruhanjaya itu


ii.
tarikh keramat kini genggaman mesra sejarah
saksikanlah walau dalam nyanyian hujan petang
kota pantas menjadi riuh, menjadi kecil
seruan pelbagai bangsa Malaysia
sekali lagi bangkit menjana realiti berpuluh ribu jiwa
rakyat hakim negara
dalam nada sekata mahu hanya BERSIH !
dalam seru satu mahu hanya BERSIH!

letih telah pada dalih ciptaan
haus sudah kesabaran pada segala helah alasan
hilang tamat kepercayaan pada skandal penipuan

benarkah semua laporan, betulkah segala keputusan ?
(selama terus keraguan ketelusan).


iii.
biarlah datang beribu jentera keselamatan bengis
(yang terus biadap, bodoh bagai anjing suruhan)

derap tapak kami kekal maju melangkah
sepakat dengan empat tuntutan

biarlah datang beribu perisai keamanan dayus
(yang terus buta, bisu ganas berpaling dari perundangan)

kalah menang takkan dipersoal
asal nilai demokrasi amalan kekal hidup


iv.
Ampun Tuanku beribu ampun ! Sembah rakyat membawa tuntutan,
mohon perkenan demi kesejahteraan
menerima mandat menjadi payung perlindungan

Ampun Tuanku beribu ampun ! Izin rakyat membawa rintihan,
mohon perdengar demi kebahagiaan
melihat saksama menjadi adat peraturan

dan seluruh dunia pasti turut menyusun doa.


v.
kembalikanlah hak, tunaikanlah desakan !
persetankan penipuan dan penindasan !

rakyat kekal bertahan…
lawan tetap lawan…
BERSIH terus mara datang…


ROZAN AZEN MAT RASIP
Angkatan Muda, Bahagian Batu, ADIL

Sentul - Ampang - Damansara Heights
7 - 11 Februari 2008


Antara mereka yang hadir yang aku perasan:

1. Medaline Chang & husband
2. Richard Yeoh - so nice for you to come!
3. Wong Chin Huat - tak habis-habis komen buku SELAK
4. Alina Abdullah
5. Sharon Bakar - aku nampak aje mat salleh ni, terasa pulak kena cakap English. But, I know she can understand Bahasa.
6. Hafiz Noor Shams - thanks for the photos on that day. We had a great chat at Bau Bau Cafe kan?
7. PY Wong dari Kelana Jaya People's Parliament.
8. Daniel Wong
9. Zabrul (Setiausaha Angkatan Muda Bandar Tun Razak)
10. Zulhabri - kaya lah kau beb!
11. Shaharudin Adnan (Din Petai) dari LRC

Aku tak dapat tangkap figur-figur lain terutama sekali blogger-blogger yang hadir memandangkan mereka dikenali hanya di alam maya. Thanks dude.

Dinesh dan membernya datang pukul 3 petang. Lepas program habis. Dia tersalah terima info. Namun, aku layan jugak budak ni.


Sebelum acara ini bermula, aku memang gelabah gila, takut macam mana penerimaan orang ramai, " ada ke orang nak datang ni?"

Alahamdulillah, aku bersyukur sangat.

I am on the right track, azam aku tercapai.

Watch out my next book!

Labels: Annexe, BERSIH, harris ibrahim, Liew Chin Tong, Selak, syed shahir

Anonymous merepek ... permalink ... 5/12/2008 11:02:00 pm ... 0 blast off