Local : More road blocks!

[Chai]

The Star Online: Videos

Idiots, cuasing unnecessary traffic jam around the whole Klang Valley, even I was affected when I went to my office yesterday morning. Gr...

[Dashken]

4 lanes decrease to 1 lane... crazy shyt! Stupid people with their farked up brains...

[The_YongGrand]

Originally Posted by Dashken

4 lanes decrease to 1 lane... crazy shyt! Stupid people with their farked up brains...

Yeah, yesterday, in near my place (Metro Prima) there's a road block. Dunno why, maybe another protest or something else.

[peaz]

wow. no wonder everyone complained about a jam in the morning.

Phew. thankfully i decided to work from home yesterday

[Dashken]

Another protest? You don't know about this?

Malaysia's prime minister urged ethnic Indians Saturday to shun a protest aimed at airing their economic grievances, saying its planners were suspected of encouraging people to rebel.

The Hindu Rights Action Force, an influential nongovernment group, wants thousands of people to demonstrate outside the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to highlight how Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority has remained largely poor under both British colonial rule and the present government dominated by Malay Muslims.

Authorities have declared the rally illegal and stepped up security amid concerns of potential violence.

Three ethnic Indian activists were arrested and charged in court with sedition Friday, but Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi denied that it was because they were the key organizers of the rally.

"They are deemed to have gone against the Sedition Act and we had to take action," Abdullah told Malaysian reporters in Uganda, where he was attending the Commonwealth summit.

"We are not drumming up charges against them," the national news agency, Bernama, quoted Abdullah as saying. "For some time now, these three people have been getting carried away saying things that are against the law."

Police have obtained an unprecedented court order forbidding the public from rallying outside the British High Commission, and warned that protesters could be arrested on sight.

The rally is meant to support a US$4 trillion (�2.7 trillion) lawsuit filed in London in August, demanding that Britain compensate Malaysian Indians for bringing their ancestors here as "indentured laborers" and exploiting them.

Ethnic Indians, mainly Hindus, form about 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people. Activists claim that more than two-thirds of them live in poverty, partly because they are deprived of opportunities due to affirmative action policies that favor the ethnic Malay Muslim majority.

Government authorities have rejected allegations of unfair discrimination.

Abdullah said people should avoid the protest because "street demonstrations are not the way."

"We're not a nation where the people cannot voice their grievances, but it has to be done in the proper way," he said.

Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy, the rally's chief organizer, pledged that the protest would proceed.

"This is a poor people's struggle," Waytha Moorthy said late Friday.

The planned rally would be the second protest in Kuala Lumpur this month. Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse activists Nov. 10 at an opposition-backed rally that drew thousands of people demanding electoral reforms.

Source: News and Commentaries 2007 » PM warns ethnic Indian minority not to join banned rally

[Dashken]

And this...

Three officials of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were charged in the Sessions Court here this afternoon with sedition, shortly after they were arrested. They pleaded not guilty.

Hindraf adviser P. Uthayakumar, his brother P. Waythamoorthy (who is Hindraf chairman) and V. Ganapathy Rao -- who are all lawyers -- were charged with uttering seditious words at a restaurant in Batang Berjuntai on Nov 16 this year under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Sedition Act 1948.

Attached to the charge sheet was a nine-page translation of a speech delivered by Uthayakumar in Tamil on that day to a crowd.

A crowd of about 400 supporters gathered at the court complex as they were being charged. They chanted some slogans loudly, making it difficult for the proceedings to be heard.

As the prosecution only produced the charge at about 4.45 pm, Sessions Judge Zunaidah Mohd Idris extended the court hours to 6pm.

She had her hands full during the proceedings as a war of words broke out between defence lawyer R. Kanghadaran and the lead deputy public prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff when another defence lawyer M. Manoharan told the judge and accused the prosecution of deliberately bringing a late charge so that the three accused would not be able to post bail.

After the prosecution told the interpreter to read the charges, Manoharan said the charges were unclear as it did spell out the seditious words in Tamil, and as such it was flawed and baseless.

Ishak however countered that the prosecution could make amendments later.

Manoharan however objected, saying the prosecution was not ready and police had not done a complete investigation, and as such, the charges should be dropped.

The judge however allowed the amendment to be made later, as the basic elements of the charge were there.

The defence later introduced Amer Hamzah Arshad, a representative of the Bar Council, asking the court to allow him to hold a watching brief on behalf of the Bar.

The prosecution objected, saying he had no locus standi. However, the judge allowed it.

Another defence lawyer A. Sivanesan argued that under the Criminal Procedure Code, since the charge was not specific, it should be dropped and the three men should be released. He said the prosecution could file fresh charges on Monday.

On bail arrangement, the prosecution offered a sum of RM2,000 each but the defence asked for RM1 only, as they have difficulty raising such a high amount.

The judge then set bail at RM800 each in cash since banking hours were over. She set Monday to re-mention the case.

After initially accepting the bail amount, Waythamoorthy later objected and said he would remain in policy custody as a sign of protest. On the way out, he insisted on being hand-cuffed and the request was granted.

The hat was passed among the supporters to raise bail and a total of RM3,244 was collected.

Earlier, during the case, the police warned the crowd to disperse but the supporters ignored it. There was no untoward incidents and they left quietly after the case was over.

Source: News and Commentaries 2007 » Three Hindraf officials charged with sedition

And pictures of the arrest... Special Reports 2007 » Human Rights lawyer P. Uthayakumar arrested

[Adrian Wong]

Damn stupid idiots la our police. I saw them blocking the highway opposite Eastin Hotel. They weren't checking the cars or anything, just blocking up two lanes of the highway.

[Adrian Wong]

I just watched the French Revolution on the History Channel last night. I can't help but feel that Malaysia is sliding towards the same end....