by Mariam Mokhtar | Malaysiakini
I am on the waiting-list for membership of the exclusive ‘Sedition Club Uniting Malaysians’, (SCUM) which has several distinguished members like Adam Adli, Haris Ibrahim, Tian Chua, Tamrin Ghafar, Safwan Anang and Zunar. I don’t think many people know the criteria which makes one eligible for membership.
Who would have realised that a well-meaning article ‘One Idealogy, Two Reactions’ about the need to be compassionate to Malaysians, regardless of their political leanings or social background, would have upset the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar?
Does Khalid suffer from an inferiority complex or was he under extreme pressure to explain his involvement in the Lahad Datu debacle?
More importantly, he wanted to divert attention from the terrible handling of the Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab story, by the Malaysian government and himself. They probably thought they would capitalise on the story of Aishah’s enslavement.
Initially, the Metropolitan Police in England refused to divulge the identity of the Malaysian woman who had been “freed”, but Khalid jumped the gun and blurted out her name before the English Police were ready to make this public.
Even before Kamar Mahtum and Hishamuddin Rais arrived in London, the IGP was already boasting about the welcome they would give Aishah on her return home. Khalid said she would not be arrested as her “crime” was in the past. Meanwhile, the Women’s Minister talked about providing counselling.
It was like a couple expecting their first child, preparing the nursery to receive the baby, except the ‘baby’ – Aishah – refused to come home.
As information trickled back to KL, the IGP was probably told that Aishah had not deviated from her ideology. She had not been enslaved, as was previously reported. She had no intention of returning to Malaysia. She was not remorseful, nor did she want to resume ties with the land of her birth. Sources also allege that the reunion between Kamar and Aishah was far from cordial.
If Aishah really wanted to flee from her captors, she would have. Khalid and the government realised, too late, that Aishah had outsmarted them. Aishah did not follow the UMNO Baru script.
The IGP and Najib Abdul Razak probably wanted to give Aishah a heroine’s welcome at KLIA. Then, after a six month religious rehabilitation at one of the indoctrination centres, arrange a photo-shoot of Aishah kissing Najib’s hand, renouncing her previous ideology, giving up her Marxist beliefs, and praising Najib’s government as the saviour of her body and soul.
The penny must have dropped as Kamar and Hisham passed through passport control at Heathrow, on Saturday morning to return home. So, Khalid had to divert attention from the government’s terrible handling of the Aishah story. A distraction had to be found. Me! The rest is history.
A means to intimidate the public?
Did Khalid, in a moment of madness, lose his judgment and decide to abuse his position and utilise the publicity machinery of the state, and use me as a means to intimidate the public?
He was foolish to think I would be intimidated. Perhaps, he wanted me to be cowed and cower under the bed, as a certain politician, who was caught in flagrante delicto in Port Dickson, was alleged to have done.
Khalid believes that writers for the alternative media write, merely to get hits. They don’t! One would like to ask the IGP if his men have been given orders to use their weapons, just to score hits, on their victims?
Will Khalid understand that one of the reasons the mainstream media is failing the public is because they are economical with the truth. They manipulate facts and tell lies to mislead and also incite hatred.
If Khalid were to talk to former Utusan journalists, he would learn many painful truths. Those who joined the exodus, in 2007, have alleged that their wages have not been paid. Another journalist alleges that the paper is losing money, because UMNO Baru takes out full page advertisements in Utusan, and then fails to pay the paper.
Utusan loses revenue, and Najib, the President of UMNO Baru knows that the party is bankrupt. So, he urges the government-linked companies (GLCs) to place advertisements in Utusan Malaysia.
My calling is to continue informing the public and stimulate them to ask questions of their parliamentarians and people in positions of responsibility, like the IGP. What are Khalid’s good points? People have lost faith in the police because of leaders like Khalid.
One would have thought that Khalid would have understood the nuances of my article. Surely, someone could have explained them to him, before he was allowed to shoot his mouth off.
It was Khalid who incorrectly mentioned race as the reason for the different treatments meted out to Chin Peng and Aishah. Perhaps, he would like to tell us why the dead Malaysian terrorists like Dr Azahari Hussein and Noordin Mat Top, the masterminds of the Jakarta and Bali bombings, were allegedly given the VIP treatment? Not many dead Malaysians would be returned to Malaysia at the taxpayer’s expense, in an RMAF transport.
Khalid warned me via a Bernama report that, “She (Mariam Mokhtar) had better watch out…” Despite his failings, we should praise Khalid for his ‘1Malaysia’ spirit. During his visit to multicultural and predominantly Christian Sabah, he has kicked off the Christmas season with the classic song ‘You’d better watch out’. Most readers may know it by its original title, ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’.
A Malaysian makeover
With apologies to the original songwriters, J Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, whose song made its debut in 1934, I have given the song a Malaysian makeover, and substituted the words ‘Santa Claus’ with ‘The IGP’.
The older generation may recall Fred Astaire, Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra singing this song. Khalid and younger Malaysians may prefer Miley Cyrus’ catchy rendition on YouTube.
Oh! You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why:
The IGP is coming to town!
He’s making a list,
He’s checking it twice,
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.
The IGP is coming to town!
He sees you when you’re sleeping,
He knows when you’re awake.
He knows when you’ve been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!
So…You better watch out, You better not cry
You better not pout, I’m telling you why.
The IGP is coming to town.
Who knows? The Khalid inspired song, ‘You Better Watch Out’, may prove to be this year’s Christmas hit.
Khalid was wrong to attack and intimidate the rakyat. This harassment should be our catalyst for real, meaningful change. It is Khalid and UMNO Baru who had better watch out! Change is coming to town.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Columnist Mariam Mokhtar defiant in face of top cop’s “threat”
BY MUZLIZA MUSTAFA | TMI
A columnist vowed to continue giving her opinions despite “crude threats” from the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar over her piece decrying Putrajaya’s treatment of two Malaysian-born communists.
Mariam Mokhtar said she felt that Khalid’s warning was a misguided attempt to silence the public rather than being aimed at her.
“I think the IGP was acting under orders,” she said in an email to The Malaysian Insider from London, where she is based.
Mariam said it was “refreshing to learn that the IGP reads online news portals”.
The country’s top cop yesterday warned Mariam over her article titled “One ideology, two reactions" in the news portal, Free Malaysia Today, which he deemed to be seditious.
He said Mariam should watch out or the police would go after her.
The article had irked Khalid when she questioned the Government's discrimination over the return of two Malaysian-born communists – ashes of the deceased Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng from Bangkok, Thailand, and Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab, who had been influenced by Marxism and was allegedly held as a “slave” in London for 30 years.
“In the original article, I had to keep within the word limit. I was unable to mention the alleged special treatment accorded to the Malaysian terrorists responsible for the Bali and Jakarta bombings – Noordin Mat Top and Dr Azahari Hussein,” said Mariam in the email.
She said it was shameful that Khalid had no understanding of the laws of sedition, nor of the role of the government.
Mariam also thanked supporters who defended her.
She added no one in authority had contacted her with regard to her article.
She said Khalid had lied to mislead readers and to harass Malaysians with his statement.
She questioned if he was attempting to disseminate disinformation and to stop people accessing alternative websites.
Mariam said Khalid should know that many writers, for alternative newspapers, were conscientious and wrote to highlight, inform and educate readers.
“We also seek answers to questions that our Umno-Baru MPs and BN leaders seek to avoid.
Neither I nor the publication that I write for seek merely to attract visitors to the website.” - December 1, 2013.
A columnist vowed to continue giving her opinions despite “crude threats” from the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar over her piece decrying Putrajaya’s treatment of two Malaysian-born communists.
Mariam Mokhtar said she felt that Khalid’s warning was a misguided attempt to silence the public rather than being aimed at her.
“I think the IGP was acting under orders,” she said in an email to The Malaysian Insider from London, where she is based.
Mariam said it was “refreshing to learn that the IGP reads online news portals”.
The country’s top cop yesterday warned Mariam over her article titled “One ideology, two reactions" in the news portal, Free Malaysia Today, which he deemed to be seditious.
He said Mariam should watch out or the police would go after her.
The article had irked Khalid when she questioned the Government's discrimination over the return of two Malaysian-born communists – ashes of the deceased Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng from Bangkok, Thailand, and Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab, who had been influenced by Marxism and was allegedly held as a “slave” in London for 30 years.
“In the original article, I had to keep within the word limit. I was unable to mention the alleged special treatment accorded to the Malaysian terrorists responsible for the Bali and Jakarta bombings – Noordin Mat Top and Dr Azahari Hussein,” said Mariam in the email.
She said it was shameful that Khalid had no understanding of the laws of sedition, nor of the role of the government.
Mariam also thanked supporters who defended her.
She added no one in authority had contacted her with regard to her article.
She said Khalid had lied to mislead readers and to harass Malaysians with his statement.
She questioned if he was attempting to disseminate disinformation and to stop people accessing alternative websites.
Mariam said Khalid should know that many writers, for alternative newspapers, were conscientious and wrote to highlight, inform and educate readers.
“We also seek answers to questions that our Umno-Baru MPs and BN leaders seek to avoid.
Neither I nor the publication that I write for seek merely to attract visitors to the website.” - December 1, 2013.
Dear IGP, I write to inform, not attract readers
From Mariam Mokhtar via Malaysiakini
Dear friends,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you so much for your kind words of support and encouragement.
The IGP, Khalid Abu Bakar said in the Bernama report of Saturday Nov 30 that he had issued a warning to me.
Neither he, nor any of his personnel have contacted me, by phone or by e-mail.
On Friday Nov 29, I was in the company of friends and colleagues throughout the day and then late into the night. They will vouch that no contact had been made by PDRM. Neither was any contact made on Saturday morning.
The IGP is promulgating another bare-faced lie to mislead readers and to harass Malaysians. Is he attempting to disseminate disinformation in an attempt to stop people accessing the alternative websites?
The IGP should know that many writers for the alternative newspapers are conscientious and write to highlight, inform and educate readers.
We also seek answers to questions that our Umno Baru MPs and BN leaders seek to avoid.
Neither I, nor the publication that I write for, seek merely to attract visitors to the website.
It is at least encouraging to learn that the IGP reads newspapers. It is shameful that he has no understanding of the laws of sedition, nor of the role of the government.
Thanks again for your support.
Dear friends,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you so much for your kind words of support and encouragement.
The IGP, Khalid Abu Bakar said in the Bernama report of Saturday Nov 30 that he had issued a warning to me.
Neither he, nor any of his personnel have contacted me, by phone or by e-mail.
On Friday Nov 29, I was in the company of friends and colleagues throughout the day and then late into the night. They will vouch that no contact had been made by PDRM. Neither was any contact made on Saturday morning.
The IGP is promulgating another bare-faced lie to mislead readers and to harass Malaysians. Is he attempting to disseminate disinformation in an attempt to stop people accessing the alternative websites?
The IGP should know that many writers for the alternative newspapers are conscientious and write to highlight, inform and educate readers.
We also seek answers to questions that our Umno Baru MPs and BN leaders seek to avoid.
Neither I, nor the publication that I write for, seek merely to attract visitors to the website.
It is at least encouraging to learn that the IGP reads newspapers. It is shameful that he has no understanding of the laws of sedition, nor of the role of the government.
Thanks again for your support.
IGP warns FMT columnist
FMT columnist Mariam Mokhtar has been warned for writing articles that can be deemed seditious.
KOTA KINABALU: Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has warned freemalaysiatoday.com’s columnist, Mariam Mokhtar, from writing articles that can be deemed seditious.
He was displeased with her article, entitled “One Ideology, Two Reactions”, published on the portal yesterday, in which she questioned the government’s discriminating treatment on the return of two Malaysian-born communist radicals — ashes of the deceased Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng from Bangkok, Thailand and Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab, who had been influenced by the political ideology and was allegedly held as a slave in London for 30 years.
“She (Mariam Mokhtar) had better watch out or we will go after her.
“This (article) is highly seditious. Don’t publish just to attract people to visit your website. That can also be an invitation for us (police) to come and apprehend you,” he told reporters after the opening of the Security and Public Order Seminar here today.
The seminar was opened by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
Khalid was disappointed that the columnist could not differentiate the degree of the offence committed by Siti Aishah and Chin Peng.
“Even an uneducated person understands why the government allowed Siti Aishah to return home and not Chin Peng’s ashes. It is not because one is a Malay and the other, a Chinese.
“Chin Peng was involved in armed struggle, while Siti Aishah purely adopted a leftist ideology. Tell me how many people has she killed?” he asked.
Khalid said no action would be taken against Siti Aishah should she return to Malaysia on the grounds that she was already 69 years old and that her offence was committed a long time ago.
Regarding Siti Aishah’s citizenship, he said police were still waiting for a report from the United Kingdom on whether or not she had given up her Malaysian citizenship during the 45 years she was in the European country.
The woman, who hails from Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, left the country in 1968 to pursue her studies at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, but neglected her studies after being influenced by the leftist ideology.
– Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has warned freemalaysiatoday.com’s columnist, Mariam Mokhtar, from writing articles that can be deemed seditious.
He was displeased with her article, entitled “One Ideology, Two Reactions”, published on the portal yesterday, in which she questioned the government’s discriminating treatment on the return of two Malaysian-born communist radicals — ashes of the deceased Malayan Communist Party leader Chin Peng from Bangkok, Thailand and Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab, who had been influenced by the political ideology and was allegedly held as a slave in London for 30 years.
“She (Mariam Mokhtar) had better watch out or we will go after her.
“This (article) is highly seditious. Don’t publish just to attract people to visit your website. That can also be an invitation for us (police) to come and apprehend you,” he told reporters after the opening of the Security and Public Order Seminar here today.
The seminar was opened by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
Khalid was disappointed that the columnist could not differentiate the degree of the offence committed by Siti Aishah and Chin Peng.
“Even an uneducated person understands why the government allowed Siti Aishah to return home and not Chin Peng’s ashes. It is not because one is a Malay and the other, a Chinese.
“Chin Peng was involved in armed struggle, while Siti Aishah purely adopted a leftist ideology. Tell me how many people has she killed?” he asked.
Khalid said no action would be taken against Siti Aishah should she return to Malaysia on the grounds that she was already 69 years old and that her offence was committed a long time ago.
Regarding Siti Aishah’s citizenship, he said police were still waiting for a report from the United Kingdom on whether or not she had given up her Malaysian citizenship during the 45 years she was in the European country.
The woman, who hails from Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, left the country in 1968 to pursue her studies at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, but neglected her studies after being influenced by the leftist ideology.
– Bernama
One ideology, two reactions
Mariam Mokhtar | Free Malaysia Today
Malaysians must wonder why Aishah is considered safe but Chin Peng’s ashes are deemed a national threat
COMMENT
Two people with a shared ideology – communism. Both Malaysians, both radicals. Both have spent the past 30 years living outside Malaysia. Both were educated locally, one at the Methodist run Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Perak, the other at the Tengku Khursiah College in Negri Sembilan.
One became a leader albeit of a banned organisation and disappeared into the Malayan jungle, whilst the other disappeared into the back-streets of London into oblivion.
The two people are a Chinese man, 88-year-old Chin Peng who died in Bangkok last September and a Malay woman 69-year-old Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab who with her two comrades staged a daring escape from her alleged captors on Oct 25.
Aishah and the other women had been kept as “slaves” in a collective by a couple – an Indian and a Tanzanian for the past 30 years.
Chin Peng rose up the ranks to become the leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) when he was only 23-years-old. Aishah was a very promising, intelligent woman who secured a Commonwealth scholarship to study at the London School of Economics (LSE) when she was 24-years-old.
Two days ago the IGP Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the identity of the woman who was enslaved. He said that Aishah would not be arrested should she decide to return to Malaysia. He claimed that Aishah had been on the wanted list in the 70s, as she was considered an extremist.
He also confirmed that when she went to London to study, the police had kept her under surveillance. He did not make it clear if, or when, the surveillance stopped. Khalid’s revelation coupled with the information provided by PKR politician Nurul Izzah Anwar that there are 30 Special Branch (SB) officers in London begs the question: “Why did the Malaysian police not inform the family of Siti Aishah at any point in the past 30 years that Aishah was alive and well and had not disappeared without trace from her last known address?”
Was Khalid being economical with the truth or is he deliberately misleading the public to justify the large numbers of SB personnel operating in London? Was Aishah really being watched in London? Did the police and SB lose sight of her soon after she arrived in London? Was she only briefly under their watch?
Did they keep her family in the dark because her return would generate publicity about another Malay communist, which would be difficult to hide? So they thought it would be best if she were to stay away from Malaysia. They were happy to wash their hands of her. Another Malay communist was one red too many.
Khalid claimed that Aishah would not be arrested if she returned as her communist activities were “in the past”. Does the IGP know for sure that she has renounced her communist ideology?
Mental distress
Malaysians must wonder why Aishah is considered safe but Chin Peng’s ashes are deemed a national threat. The authorities feared that a martyr’s shrine for Chin Peng would be built in Sitiawan. Would Aishah not attract an extraordinary amount of publicity whether or not she still believes in her communist ideology? How will she recover from her trauma if she is not left in peace?
One is dead, the other is alive. According to a colleague who visited Chin Peng a few years before he died, the former Communist Party leader was very articulate, spoke fluent English and was a “nice old gentleman”. He did not show any bitterness about being banned from returning to Malaysia, despite the terms of the Peace Treaty.
A few of Aishah’s acquaintances allege that in 1982 when they last had contact with her Aishah was still committed to her ideology. The British press have reported that Aishah is highly traumatised and the police will not allow consular officials or her sister to contact her.
More disturbing reports emerge. The High Commission in London has said that it would extend its full cooperation to reinstate Aishah’s citizenship if she had unknowingly lost her identification papers during her 30-year imprisonment. We are thankful that the global network of the Foreign Ministry is diligent in performing its responsibilities in assisting Malaysians in various parts of the world.
So why can’t the same assistance be made available by the necessary departments in Malaysia to serve the hundreds of thousands of stateless people who were not registered by their poor and uneducated parents? Parents who may be the rural Orang Asli, the interior bound Penan or Indians who live on rubber estates?
On Nov 23, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry said that it would provide counselling to Aishah. Critics fear that the Women’s Minister is only swapping one ideology with another – communism for Umno-Baruism – and that this would cause Aishah further mental distress.
Wisma Putra, the Women’s Ministry and the IGP are keen to help Aishah. By all means show compassion but make sure that compassion is extended to all Malaysians and not a select few individuals who just happen to be making headlines in the developed world.
If Aishah is promised counselling, the same should be given to the traumatised victims at home; the ostracised Penan women and young girls who were raped by timber workers, the family members of people killed in violent incidents like Batangkali, Memali, Kampung Medan and May 13.
Don’t dance in the limelight just because Aishah’s story is big news in London.
Malaysians must wonder why Aishah is considered safe but Chin Peng’s ashes are deemed a national threat
COMMENT
Two people with a shared ideology – communism. Both Malaysians, both radicals. Both have spent the past 30 years living outside Malaysia. Both were educated locally, one at the Methodist run Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Perak, the other at the Tengku Khursiah College in Negri Sembilan.
One became a leader albeit of a banned organisation and disappeared into the Malayan jungle, whilst the other disappeared into the back-streets of London into oblivion.
The two people are a Chinese man, 88-year-old Chin Peng who died in Bangkok last September and a Malay woman 69-year-old Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab who with her two comrades staged a daring escape from her alleged captors on Oct 25.
Aishah and the other women had been kept as “slaves” in a collective by a couple – an Indian and a Tanzanian for the past 30 years.
Chin Peng rose up the ranks to become the leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) when he was only 23-years-old. Aishah was a very promising, intelligent woman who secured a Commonwealth scholarship to study at the London School of Economics (LSE) when she was 24-years-old.
Two days ago the IGP Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the identity of the woman who was enslaved. He said that Aishah would not be arrested should she decide to return to Malaysia. He claimed that Aishah had been on the wanted list in the 70s, as she was considered an extremist.
He also confirmed that when she went to London to study, the police had kept her under surveillance. He did not make it clear if, or when, the surveillance stopped. Khalid’s revelation coupled with the information provided by PKR politician Nurul Izzah Anwar that there are 30 Special Branch (SB) officers in London begs the question: “Why did the Malaysian police not inform the family of Siti Aishah at any point in the past 30 years that Aishah was alive and well and had not disappeared without trace from her last known address?”
Was Khalid being economical with the truth or is he deliberately misleading the public to justify the large numbers of SB personnel operating in London? Was Aishah really being watched in London? Did the police and SB lose sight of her soon after she arrived in London? Was she only briefly under their watch?
Did they keep her family in the dark because her return would generate publicity about another Malay communist, which would be difficult to hide? So they thought it would be best if she were to stay away from Malaysia. They were happy to wash their hands of her. Another Malay communist was one red too many.
Khalid claimed that Aishah would not be arrested if she returned as her communist activities were “in the past”. Does the IGP know for sure that she has renounced her communist ideology?
Mental distress
Malaysians must wonder why Aishah is considered safe but Chin Peng’s ashes are deemed a national threat. The authorities feared that a martyr’s shrine for Chin Peng would be built in Sitiawan. Would Aishah not attract an extraordinary amount of publicity whether or not she still believes in her communist ideology? How will she recover from her trauma if she is not left in peace?
One is dead, the other is alive. According to a colleague who visited Chin Peng a few years before he died, the former Communist Party leader was very articulate, spoke fluent English and was a “nice old gentleman”. He did not show any bitterness about being banned from returning to Malaysia, despite the terms of the Peace Treaty.
A few of Aishah’s acquaintances allege that in 1982 when they last had contact with her Aishah was still committed to her ideology. The British press have reported that Aishah is highly traumatised and the police will not allow consular officials or her sister to contact her.
More disturbing reports emerge. The High Commission in London has said that it would extend its full cooperation to reinstate Aishah’s citizenship if she had unknowingly lost her identification papers during her 30-year imprisonment. We are thankful that the global network of the Foreign Ministry is diligent in performing its responsibilities in assisting Malaysians in various parts of the world.
So why can’t the same assistance be made available by the necessary departments in Malaysia to serve the hundreds of thousands of stateless people who were not registered by their poor and uneducated parents? Parents who may be the rural Orang Asli, the interior bound Penan or Indians who live on rubber estates?
On Nov 23, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry said that it would provide counselling to Aishah. Critics fear that the Women’s Minister is only swapping one ideology with another – communism for Umno-Baruism – and that this would cause Aishah further mental distress.
Wisma Putra, the Women’s Ministry and the IGP are keen to help Aishah. By all means show compassion but make sure that compassion is extended to all Malaysians and not a select few individuals who just happen to be making headlines in the developed world.
If Aishah is promised counselling, the same should be given to the traumatised victims at home; the ostracised Penan women and young girls who were raped by timber workers, the family members of people killed in violent incidents like Batangkali, Memali, Kampung Medan and May 13.
Don’t dance in the limelight just because Aishah’s story is big news in London.
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