Eve of Malaysia Day

The eve of Malaysia Day saw a group of concerned Malaysians congregating at KLSCAH. They are a small group of "silent majority" so to speak, in which the government surmises to be insignificant.

Pathetic as it should be and by being arrogant, least not knowing that the "silent majority" is akin to a sleeping giant!

For forty-seven minutes in silence, each minute represents one year of Malaysia Day where our political liberty and our rights to speech are suppressed.

Where Are We

Bakum Despair

16 Sept 2010 – Annexe
Sape Performance

Miku Loyang, one of the “sape” players gave an insight into the travesty of justice of their ancestor’s land. The Sarawak government has the Bakun Dam but left them in the lurch with false promises.

In the name of development, sweeteners fell from the sky laced with untold miseries. Today, we hear their plights again seeking for justice from the little they have left to nothing.

Malaysia Day

Central Market
16 September 2010

Sape Performance
Direct from Sarawak
Venue: Annexe
Time : 8.00 p.m.

Photo Exhibition : 3.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m.



Truth Matters: Integration with Integrity5th National Congress on Integrity
16th September 2010
At South Wing, UCSI University, Cheras, KL

8.30-9.00 am Registration and Arrival of Participants

8.45 am Arrival of Invited Guests and Dignitaries

9.00 am Arrival and Keynote Address by VIP

9.10 am Singing of National Anthem
Launch of Malaysia Day song “We R Malaysia”
Keynote Address by Senator Dato Seri Idris Jala on
Celebrating Diversity in Malaysia
10.00 am Tea Break and Departure of invited VIP

10.20 am Introduction by Chief Moderator
10.30 am Keynote of Theme by Datuk Azzat Kamaludin, Moderator. First Bangsa Malaysia Dialogue and Justice Datuk Seri Sri Ram Gopal, former Federal Court Judge on National Integration with Constitutional Integrity

11.30 am Responses by 7 representatives (4 minutes each) from all Religious
Communities in Malaysia

12.00 pm Roundtable Dialogue by delegates and adoption of Anti-Racism Code of
Conduct Guidelines
1.00 pm Selected Roundtable Reports and Adoption of Guidelines

1.30pm Lunch and Prayer break

2.15pm Break into 3 parallel tracks of key issues for consideration

1. Education as a Framework for National Unity; Moderator, Prof Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri, Speakers, Professor Datuk Dr Ibrahim Bajunid and Dr Wong Chin Huat

2. Political Culture and Leadership for National Unity; Moderator, Dato Ambiga Sreenevasan, Speakers, Dato Zaid Ibrahim and YB Hannah Yeoh

3. National Unity through Religion, Law and Shared Values; Assoc Prof Azmi Sharom, Speakers, YB Dr Dzulkifly Ahmad and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria
Introduction of Speakers by Moderators of each session
Two speakers at 25 minutes each
Q&A and Roundtable Dialogue

4.00---4.15pm Tea break

4.30-5.30 pm Plenary Session with feedback and views by Moderators of Dialogue

5.30-6.00 pm Summing Up by Chief Moderator and views by Independent Observers (*Dato Noor Rezan Bapoo, Sdr Philip Chua, Sdr Anis Yusal Yusuf, Dr Beth Baikan, Dr Farouk Musa, Dr John Ridgway,)

Help Wanted

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)Penang Branch Intern,
63B-01-07, University Heights,
Jalan Sungai Dua,
11700 Penang.

Suaram Penang will be distributing leaflets (18th August 2010) tomorrow, together with the last round of petition for Yong Vui Kong.

There will be 2 sessions.

Detailed as below:

Session 1:Time: 11.30am - 1pm.
Place: Double Star Coffee Shop (near Suaram Office)
Note: Gather at Suaram Office by 11.30pm.

Session 2:Time: 8pm - 10pm.
Place: Air Itam Night Market.
Note: Gather at Suaram Office by 7.30pm.

Please kindly help in distributing leaflets. Your help is much appreciated.

For any further enquiries, please contact:
1. Joseph Cheong 012-4356795
2. Chia Pei Shan 012-3632197

Gunasegaran – The Cry from a Silent Voice

The morning of 12 August 2010, at the corridor of level 2, Duta Court, there were sporadic crowd of people at the entrance of their respective courtroom.

As usual, the courtroom where Gunasegaran case was held saw the usual dotted heads from NGO and reporter from the Tamil newspapers.

The atmosphere today at court room 11 was filled with the usual mundane mood except for a few journalists who were present for the submission of Gunasegaran death in police custody after the inquest that had stretched over a year.

The deceased pro bono lawyer, M Visvanathan, emerged from the court room and announced that the submission will be on 13 September 2010.

His inquisitiveness cannot be quenched and his ferocious determination to get to the bottom of it all was beyond words. And wanting to tie up a few more details, new eye-witnesses will be called up to stand in the witness box on the 27 August 2010.

The past inquests proved stark discrepancies in all six police evidence.

Three eye-witnesses identified positively the police officer who had hit and kicked Gunasegaran which resulted in the fatality.

Marks found on the body of the deceased could not even escape from untrained eyes.

Does the date 16 July ring a bell? Of course it does! It is the day that Teoh Beng Hock left to be with god. But people could hardly remember that between a gap of a few hours on the same day, Gunasegaran succumbed to the injuries inflicted on him.

Both their passing was in the hands of the authorities that are expected to perform their job professionally but nay. Their lives vapourized in the thin air and with untold subjugation of physical and mental abuses.

As for Teoh Beng Hock, he was blessed with a job and family, but Gunasegaran was jobless and his closest next-of-kin is his only sister.

Teoh Beng Hock’s passing had activated public outcry, but for Gunasegaran, it was a silent cry.

Renowned lawyers spearhead Teoh Beng Hock’s inquest while Gunasegaran was left to be forgotten.

God is great! He works in a mysterious way and He knows justice should prevail.

Gunasegeran’s sister with little education and financially constrained was left in the lurch. What could she do except to cry out for help because she had lost her only sibling in a cruel fashion.

When news reached C. Sekaran, he desperately tried to reach out to help and was rewarded with an answer. He found lawyer M.Visvanathan.

There are so many similarities between Teoh Beng Hock and Gunasegaran. But unfortunately for Gunasegaran, he was alone.

Are we still blind to virtue and conveniently forget about human values? We are the same human species but shy away from the colour of the skin. This can be a pathetic statement, but say what you like it does not bother me a bit!

When People’s Parliament highlighted the frightening figures -1805, it represents the number of deaths in police custody. Are the figures not alarming enough to scare the hell out of you or to wait until someone you love share the same fate?

Please ponder over it because as a member of the civil society, our awareness counts to the last digit.

Sea Serpent?