Dr Mahathir said Kok’s arrest was not justified as there was no security reason at the moment but the Government could arrest her later for such a purpose if necessary.
He said if Kok was involved in trying to stop the azan (call for prayers), there should be an explanation that the subject was not something she should talk about.
Asked if he would agree for the ISA to be amended, he said there was no amendment during his time as the people who were enforcing it refused to amend it.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/19/nation/2069691&sec=nation
(the reb says he won't score his points. who is he trying to bullshit too? that he wanted to amend the ISA during his time but others prevented him from doing it? that others were enforcing it but not him? it is 'safer to trust a rabbit to deliver a lettuce' than trust our former PM's words. do you know how many people did he detain under ISA?)
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2 released but raja petra and the Hindraf five and other political detainees still under ISA. 64 more to go!!
sign the online petition if you have not done so.
http://www.petitiononline.com/isa1234/petition.html
so, do we hartal ISA? read harris's blog on what is hartal ISA:
http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/hartal-isa-on-standby-mode-many-hands-make-light-work/
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read the wall street journal report on malaysia:
18 Sept, 2008
WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced this week that he has enough parliamentary support to unseat the current government, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. If he does, Abdullah's lacklustre economic management will be largely to blame.
The prime minister has not introduced any substantive reforms during his nearly five years in office, preferring to rely instead on opening up the government purse. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan announced in 2005, he expanded public-sector spending to RM200 billion annually from RM160 billion. In his Midterm Plan Review this year, he increased this outlay to RM240 billion. The national debt now stands at RM285 billion, up from RM192 billion in 2004. The official fiscal deficit has risen to 4.8% of GDP this year, from 3.2% last year. Revenue is being spent faster than it is coming in.
It's hard to argue that these outlays have served the broad public interest. Much of the funding has been channelled to elites in the majority Malay community, under the country's pro-Malay affirmation action programme. That has created discontent with many Malay who don't see the full benefits of the programme, and among the minority Chinese and Indians, who are excluded from it altogether.
Abdullah's stewardship has had a real impact on the economy. Capital flight has risen sharply; Malaysian investment abroad now exceeds inward foreign investment. The Kuala Lumpur stock exchange has lost almost one-fifth of its value this year to date. Malaysia's currency, the ringgit, saw its biggest one-month loss last month since the end of the dollar peg in 2005. Although GDP growth has averaged a robust 5% annual growth under Abdullah, that record is now under threat. Inflation reached a record 8.5% this summer. Job creation has reached record lows, as unemployment, particularly among young majority Malays, remains high. Ironically, only the opposition-led state governments are attracting new foreign investment — and without the federal government's help, no less.
Abdullah's 2004 attempts to promote growth and investment —such as through the promotion of the biotechnology and agricultural industries — have failed. He also fumbled discussions with the United States on a free trade agreement, which have now stalled. What Malaysia really needs is education reform and the liberalisation of its labour markets to improve its economic competitiveness.
The political opposition, in the form of Anwar and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition, have seized on these issues. They have promised to root out corruption and to implement a new economic policy to address the concerns of all ethnic communities in Malaysia. Their platform aims to move beyond populist spending to introduce structural reforms in government procurement programmes and in the management of government-linked companies.
When Abdullah assumed office in 2004, he inherited an economy in need of structural reform. Malaysians have had to pay for his poor stewardship through higher prices, stagnating wages and growing private sector debt. Soon, Abdullah may have to pay the political price for that record.---------------------------------------------------------------------------
in teresa's own words:
Besides, it is nonsensical for the police to detain me under the ISA merely based on the unsubstantiated article written by an irresponsible columnist in Utusan Malaysia. How can they regard that article as the gospel truth without investigating the writer in the first place? How canUtusan Malaysia publish it without verifying the facts? I wish to ask the police whether they have called Zaini Hassan andUtusan Malaysia’s editors for questioning before and after my detention. I know that the imam of Bandar Kinrara mosque has publicly denied that I got involved in the Puchong residents petition against the azan of his mosque on Sept 13. I am also quite surprised to read in the New Straits Times dated Sept 19 that the official of the Bandar Kinrara mosque was called by the Dang Wangi police for statement recording only yesterday afternoon. Why did the police do it so late, one week after I was arrested? Why didn’t they check their facts first before they arrested me and put me behind bars? I have been made scapegoat in the internal squabbles of Umno. I see my detention as a ploy by Umno to try to cover up the embarrassment and the outrage of the racist statements made by Ahmad Ismail in Penang. I wonder why did they choose an innocent person like me as I have never made any racist statements or racist speeches in the past? I lodged a police report on Sept 17 against Utusan Malaysia, Zaini Hassan and Dr Khir Toyo for criminal defamation. I would therefore urge the police to investigate Utusan Malaysia’s editors, those racist bloggers and Dr Khir Toyo under the Penal Code. As I have mentioned in my previous lawyer’s visit, I will sue Utusan Malaysia, Zaini Hassan and Dr Khir Toyo. I have also instructed my lawyers to sue the Malaysian government for my unlawful arrest and detention. (teresa did one better - sue the government too for unlawful unrest and detention. include syed hamid, include abdullah badawi, the police, khir toyo, zaini hassan, utusan malaysia, the whole lot. yes, sue their pants off. have a field day)
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