Saturday, April 21, 2012

illegal electioneering...by BN?? or who???

Media Statement by Howard Lee on 20th April 2012 at IPD Ipoh.

It has been brought to DAP’s attention that there are some information leaflets of a defamatory nature being circulated throughout Perak. There has been several issues over the last few months, are double-sided and in full colour of A3 size, in Chinese and carries the name ‘EXPRESS NEWS’. (快讯)

Furthermore, the said leaflets are in clear contravention of the Print, Press and Publications Act 1984 Part 5 which stipulates that every publication printed or published within Malaysia shall have printed legibly in Bahasa Malaysia or the English language on its first or last leaf the name and address of its printer and publisher. The contravention of this section on conviction, is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to both.

The said leaflets have allegedly reached the letterboxes of over 10000 households throughout Perak. The said leaflets also contains misleading and politically spun misrepresentations tantamount to political defamation of DAP and several of its leaders.

In one of the issues, an article makes a baseless accusation of Penang 2nd deputy chief Minster Professor Ramasamy as an appointment ‘in name but not in power’. This rings clear that those behind the dissemination and publication of the leaflets are doing so to incite racial hatred and social disharmony. DAP unequivocally condemns this backward and archaic social and political idealogy.

There was also an incident recently reported that a distributor of one of said leaflets in Ayer Tawar, was openly defaming the chairman and secretary of DAP Perak, calling them ‘Christian extremists’. This is completely unethical and unacceptable electioneering.

This is clear indication that there are certain quarters making an orchestrated and well funded effort in spreading lies to deceive the public. As Perakians have shown their eagerness and urgency to topple BN in the coming elections to return governing power to Pakatan Rakyat, these quarters are resorting to cowardly deceit and unlawful dissemination of information to discredit DAP.

Of late, DAP has been a victim of defamation, and been the subject of outright lies from both reputable as well as unknown publishers. With the imminent 13th General election touted to be as early as June, it would come as no surprise that the Perak BN would do everything they can to continue their illegitimate rule that they snatched from PR and the rakyat of Perak.

As the Election preparation director of DAP Perak, I am today launching a police report, urging the authorities to investigate the abovementioned offence. I would also like to issue the following:

· A challenge to all BN component parties, and their strategists and machinery to deny openly their hand directly or indirectly in this heinous electioneering campaign

· A challenge to all BN component parties to join DAP in openly condemning the dissemination of these leaflets and the messages within.

· A challenge to MCA and Gerakan to assure Perakians that they will not employ lowly tactics such as inciting racial tensions to achieve their political agenda.

·

民主行动党霹雳州竞选主任李存孝于2012420日(星期五)在怡保中央警局所发表的新闻稿:

一些诽谤性的资讯传单近日被分发到霹雳州各处是受到民主行动党的关注。快讯在这几月刊登几项课题,是双面印刷成A3彩色版。

上述传单已明显违反《1984年印刷及出版法令》第5条文,该条文阐明,任何在国内印刷及出版的刊物必须合法拥有该出版者的国文或英文的名字及地址在传单的首页或尾页。一旦违反该项条文,可将被定罪,被判的最高刑罚是不超过一年监禁或罚款不超过马币五千零吉或两者兼施。

据称,上述传单已被分发到霹雳州一万住户的信箱,而且内容含有误导性及扭曲政治事实的内容,相符于向民主行动党及其数位领袖发出的政治诽谤。

其中一项课题包括,一则文章作出毫无根据的指控,声称槟城第二副首席部长拉玛三美博士的委任是徒有虚名、毫无权力。显然的,印刷及派发传单的幕后人士在煽动种族仇恨及社会的不和谐。民主行动党毫不犹豫地严重谴责这些背后陈旧的社会及政治思想。

据称,传单的其中一位派发者还在爱大华公开诽谤民主行动党霹雳州主席及秘书为基督极端分子。这是完全不道德及不被接受的竞选方式。

这清楚地显示,某方面在充足的资金下,正精心策划地向人民散播政治谎言,因霹雳州人民已表明他们的渴望性及紧迫性,以在来临的全国大选推翻国阵政府,恢复民联的执政权力。该方面的怯懦欺骗及违法散播资讯是为了抹黑民主行动党。

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Reply to Perak MCA secretary Datuk Tan Chin Meng's Statement

Dato’ Tan,

(writer's words in black, and Datuk Tan Chin Meng's article in red)

I respect your courage in speaking what you think, and expressing how you feel. I welcome your continued input in the arena of opinions that makes us Malaysian proud that we are all accepting of pluralistic discourse. Tahniah.

But quite frankly I think that your opinion is at best limp; and at worst … not worth mentioning..

It is truly unreal how naïve and gormless some people get, when they are blinded by their inherited and indoctrinated political ideas that they fail to see their own contradictions. I’m often stuck between pitying and being angered by some of our fellow countrymen and countrywomen, who in this case (and most others) I am specifically referring to BN, MCA members. For the sake of ease, I will explain this whilst replying to Tan Chin Meng’s pitiful article a few days ago.

Pakatan Rakyat Perak state assemblymen are trying to gain votes and pushing the blame away from themselves over the Vale SA iron ore distribution centre and palletising plant project in Teluk Rubiah, Manjung by claiming that the Barisan Nasional state government is not protecting the environment and dismissing the health of the people.

By the way, before I start, a friendly advice from a little nobody like me may go a long way sometimes. VALE is building a PELLETISING plant… not palletising plant. I don’t think Mr Neves would be very happy if your good for nothing government only approved their plans to be a palletising plant…

So are you saying that allowing an iron ore pelletising plant with no publicly aired plans to limit environmental damage, and to neutralising hundreds of thousands of ringgit worth of touristic beautification IS protecting the environment and NOT dismissing the health of the people.

I hate to tell you this Dato’, you really ought to stop shooting yourself in the foot. I’m starting to get sympathy pains on your behalf… Kesian…

However, the facts speak for themselves, and it has been made clear during the state’s legislative assembly sitting that former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin had signed a support letter for the project thus revealing Pakatan Rakyat’s lies and attempts to discredit the BN state government.

And if Dato’ Tan and his not quite so honourable chums in MCA, UMNO and BN can differentiate a supporting letter from and invitation-to-trade, from one CEO to another, we won’t be wasting the precious time of Perakians on such a heinous lie spun by Zambry.

Yes indeed, the facts do speak for themselves, and something has been made very clear in the state assembly; Zambry is well versed at peddling half truths and is a blatant liar. The UMNO BN government have little credit to take in the first place, so yours truly here, and Pakatan leaders have little to DIS-credit.

Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Zambry Kadir has revealed the true face of Pakatan Rakyat by declassifying this confidential document proving that Pakatan Rakyat had attempted to hide the scandal by pushing the blame to BN while they claim to protect the interest of the people of Perak.

So let’s not insult the intelligence of the rakyat here. Lets say Dato’ Tan decides to tell the world that I’m an MCA sympathiser. All he needs to do is just black out everything in this letter apart from the first paragraph, and my signature on the bottom, and publish it in the press.

All he needs is copy of my NRIC, a forged signature, and Hey PRESTO! Howard Lee is the next proud member of MCA.

That’s what Zambry did with this whole saga, isn’t it? I doubt there’ll be many who would beg to differ.

Double standards

When Pakatan Rakyat was in control of the Perak state government, they had issued a letter of support welcoming Brazilian mining giant Vale SA. However, when Barisan Nasional recovered Perak, Pakatan started to discriminate against BN by practising double-standards over many issues and completely forgetting about the people’s welfare simply because they were focusing too much on advancing their own political interests.

Dato’ Tan. I really feel sorry for you. The audacity you employ here is so silly, it’s beginning to resemble a badly written comedy of errors.

Using the phrase ‘recovered Perak’ isn’t going to make an illegal power grab any less legal; any more glamorous; any less disgusting that it actually is; and certainly not going to garner you any more than one measly seat in the state assembly. No one from BN Perak has the right to talk about double standards and discrimination as the very fact that you’re still in the state assembly, let alone your being in the seat of government is the mother of all double standards.

Do I even need to touch on advancing political agendas? Surely on that subject, nothing beats a political coup d’etat that involves physically dragging a speaker of his chair and locking him in a room…

Their way of thinking is completely illogical, constantly changing their stands over the simplest issues. Pakatan can be described as a two-faced, ‘wishful-thinking’ political party as they constantly bring up the subject on how they were not allowed to complete their long-term political plans to solve the troubles faced by the people.

HELLO!!! Earth to Dato’ Tan!!

The Pakatan Rakyat EXCO started off offering Tanjung Hantu. They were never in a position to offer Teluk Rubiah. That’s the prerogative of Harta Makmur Sdn Bhd. As it’s a PRIVATE LAND! Up until now, Pakatan are still maintaining the stance of Tanjung Hantu being the first choice. As to the rest of that paragraph, I really have no idea to what you are referring to and what you’re trying to say.

Please, allow me the honour of inviting you to list your examples of Pakatan Rakyat being so-called two-faced and wishful-thinking. Just let me start this invitation to dialogue with an example of your party’s two faced, flip-flop-u-turning, constant-mind changing stance: MCA on Lynas. Say no more….

I urge Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen to abandon their old outdated political thinking in this 1Malaysia era where the people come first and the state government is supposed to implement policies which benefit the people.

Outdated eh? Pre-independence: the British split us up to Malay areas, Chinese areas, Indian Areas. We were conquered as we were divided. Geographic segregation bred cultural and racial animosity. Our national founding fathers didn’t like that. That was pre-independence. Today, BN is still segregated by race. Your coalition’s very existence is itself a testament of outdated political and social thinking….. So spare me the strength of my fingers and the calories that my brain metabolises by processing the stupid contradiction you just badly made.