The Sessions Court in Petaling Jaya was told that if any serious injury had been inflicted on a suspect during interrogation, a police supervisor assigned to oversee the interrogation would also be held responsible.


Operations Officer of D9 (Serious Crime), Insp Faezal Monir, 29, who was investigating luxury car theft cases which was believed to involve A. Kugan, explained that each time a suspect was questioned by a junior policeman, a supervisor with the rank of detective corporal would also be present.

"If during the investigation, the junior officer assaults the suspect, the supervisor present would also be held responsible," he said.

Faezal, the 11th prosecution witness, was testifying during cross-examination at the hearing on the custodial death of Kugan several days after he was detained on Jan 15 last year on suspicion on being involved in car theft.


Not guilty

The accused in the trial, Constable V. Navindran, 28, pleaded not guilty on Oct 1 last year to the charge of causing grievous hurt on Kugan, 23.


Navindran, who was represented by counsel Datuk P.M. Nagarajan, is accused of committing the offence at the interrogation room of the D9 office at the Taipan Police Station, USJ, Subang Jaya, at 7am on Jan 16 last year.


He is being charged under Section 331 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of 10 years and a fine upon conviction.

When cross-examined by Nagarajan, Faezal said: "Usually, we assign two personnel to interrogate the detainee throughout the stipulated period and if a personnel who was not scheduled on that particular day was present, he would be allowed to help."

When shown the photograph of Kugan who had bruise marks, Faezal said he had never seen such bruises since Kugan was detained between Jan 15 and 19 last year.

The trial before Judge Aslam Zainudin continues tomorrow.

- Bernama

Nomination day today for the MCA polls on March 28 concluded, seeing an exceptional number of 101contestants vying for 31 party positions.

A total of ten nominees are going for the four vice-president positions while a record-breaking 86 candidates will be contesting the 25 central committee seats during the elections which will take place as part of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

Party leaders vying for top positions in the party were all quite unanimous in their talk of unity for the party's transformation.

However, the tension was evident as all the three presidential hopefuls carefully avoided each another while their supporters engaged in shouting matches and booing their respective opponents.

Although incumbent president Ong Tee Keat and former president Ong Ka Ting arrived within minutes of each other at the MCA headquarters at Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur, they steadfastly refused to acknowledge each other's presence.

As the two groups approached each other in the building, Ka Ting slowed down and continued to shake hands with his supporters, perhaps avoiding Tee Keat and allowing him to enter the nomination hall first.

While Ka Ting and former vice-president Liow Tiong Lai have announced their support for each other, former deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek and Tee Keat have refused to divulge their alignment to any faction if any.

When asked about his running mate, Tee Keat claimed that the word had been 'lavishly abused'.

"In our system, we do not have 'running mates' but our people think that this is similar to the US system and that is not true," he added.

Chua expressed his disapproval with teaming and grouping up because he felt that it was the source of MCA's currently fractured state.

Busloads of followers

At noon, the crowd outside Wisma MCA was dominated by the Orangeshirts - Tee Keat supporters - who lined up at the entrance with banners almost blocking any entry into the building.

Their chants of Ong's name drowned out the chants of the other factions which were pale in comparison as these opposing groups amounted to no more than 20 people each.

However, 15 busloads of followers mainly from Perak later joined the crowd, causing the number of supporters for the Ka Ting-Liow group to swell up to over 400 within minutes, shortly before the arrival of the duo.

Earlier, Chua was the first to arrive and slipped into the nomination hall without much fanfare.

However, when exiting the building after filing his nomination papers, he found himself blocked by Tee Keat supporters, forcing him to take a longer route around the crowd.

Top guns confident

Asked about his prospects, Ka Ting said that he had 'a good, fighting chance' but would not take things lightly as it would be a challenging contest.

Tee Keat, expressing confidence, said that he wanted to concentrate on rehabilitating the party.

"Most importantly, I am confident that the delegates can tell the truth from the lies," he stressed.

Chua, on the other hand, in jest said that while he was confident, he was not that confident of winning the MCA presidency.

Meanwhile, vice-presidential candidate and current Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen quoted her 'report card' when asked if she was confident of being reelected.

"Since I was elected in 2008 as VP, I haven't stopped servicing the community and the country whether it is in the women's ministry or the tourism ministry. I will hope for the best and leave it to the delegates," she said.

Following is the list of candidates for the MCA party polls on March 28 after nominations closed at 5pm today:


PRESIDENT

1. Dr Chua Soi Lek

2. Ong Ka Ting

3. Ong Tee Keat (incumbent)


DEPUTY PRESIDENT

1. Kong Cho Ha

2. Liow Tiong Lai

VICE-PRESIDENT (FOUR POSTS)

1. Khoo Keok Hai (Sandakan chief)

2. Chor Chee Heung (former central committee (CC) member)

3. Ng Yen Yen (incumbent)

4. Yap Pian Hon

5. Gan Ping Sieu (incumbent CC member)

6. Yew Teong Look (Wangsa Maju chief)

7. Wong Siong Wee (Kuala Kerai chief)

8. Donald Lim Siang Chai

9. Yeow Chai Thiam (Negeri Sembilan chief)

10. Loke Yuen Yow (former deputy secretary-general)


CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER (CC)

1. Chew Lee Giok

2. Low Chew June

3. Wong Hock Aun

4. Chan Kam

5. Tan Ken Ten

6. Heng Chai Hing

7. Koh Nai Kwong

8. Ong Soon Boon

9. Lim Eng Kok

10. Tan Chin Meng

11. Ma Kok Ben

12. Loh Seng Kok

13. Tan Cheng Liang

14. Ng Kok Kiang

15. Teah Heok Kuin

16. Gan Tian Loo

17. Thong Fah Chong

18. Chong Itt Chew

19. Chang Chun Cheun

20. Soh Thiam Hock

21. Chin Hong Vui

22. Dr Hou Kok Chung

23. Sim Eng Peng

24. Shim Tshing Nyuk@ Agnes Shim

25. Gan Hong Su

26. Tan Chong Seng

27. Leong Siew Kam

28. Lee Chee Leong

29. Yeong Chee Wei

30. Tay Puay Chuan

31. Kian Sit Har

32. Wee Jeck Seng

33. Lim Yong@ Lim Chen

34. Ooi Siew Kim

35. Dr Jeffrey Goh Sim Ik

36. El Kim Hock

37. Ng Chok Sin

38. Chuah Poh Khiang

39. Koo Chin Nam@ Kho Chin Nam

40. Hoh Khai Mun

41. Yong Chen Leong

42. Senator Heng Seai Kie

43. Ong Chong Swen@Ong Chong Siew

44. Ng See Tiong

45. Pani Choo @ Chen Poi Chu

46. Lee Hock Tow

47. Tang Heap Seng

48. Lee Hong Tee

49. Kong Sing Chu

50. Lee Ban Seng

51. Yip Chee Kiong

52. Ho Yoon Ping

53. Chang Aik Ming

54. Tan Cat Keong

55. Teh Kim Poo

56. Theng Book

57. Wong Koon Bun

58. Tee Siew Kiong

59. Ong Chen Huing

60. Toh Chin Yaw

61. Chong Ah Yit @ Choo Meng Poo

62. Tan Ah Eng

63. Ti Lian Ker

64. Ho Cheng Wang

65. Yit Lee Kok

66. Loh Koi Pin

67. Lim Teck Chong

68. Ho You Meng

69. Tan Chai Ho

70. Dr Por Choo Chor

71. Lai Yeet Fee

72. Lee Kon Yin

73. Lee Wei Kiat

74. Ong Ka Chuan

75. Liew Yuen Keong

76. Koh Chin Han

77. Koe He Choon

78. Tang See Hang

79. Low Kim Mang

80. Wong Jee Yai

81. Chee Sien Chen

82. Yoo Wie How

83. Lau Chiek Tuan

84. Pang Tsu Ming

85. Lee Cheam Choon

Making his debut as an independent member of Parliament, Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim made a loud entrance of sorts that roused the House into a shouting match between both sides of the divide.

The parliamentarian began his maiden speech serenely enough, but the ruckus he kicked up snowballed into chaos as he spoke on the reasons why he left Pakatan Rakyat.

Uproar ensued when Zahrain began relating his version of events leading up to Sept 16 last year, the date which Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said the opposition would take over the federal government.

The spark that ignited the powder keg of parliamentary fireworks was his allegation that Pakatan representatives were 'told to be on stand-by in Parliament' on Sept 16 to take over the legislature.

He claimed that the Pakatan parliamentarians were informed that they had the support of the army and the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"We were fooled (into believing) that the Agong was prepared and waiting for us at the palace to meet with the defected MPs and waiting for Pakatan Rakyat to form the federal government.

"The Agong was said to have blessed the appointment of Anwar as the prime minister. We were also 'bribed' with the story that the royal army was supporting us."

Zahrain's claim prompted Anwar, who is opposition parliamentary leader, to stand up and claim Zahrain's change of heart came only after experiencing "power and riches".

Eventually, Anwar turned and walked out of the chambers.

Wet-market

What followed next was a barrage of hoots from BN representatives, who accused Anwar of not being able to take the heat, and counter-retorts by Pakatan parliamentarians deriding Zahrain for what they said were false claims.

"Takut! Takut! Takut!" (Scared! Scared! Scared!) jeered BN representatives, among the more notable of whom was Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas).

Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee then intervened by reminding the House that the standing orders prohibit discussions onthe Agong and the judiciary unless there was a specific motion on them.

He was alluding to Zahrain's claims about the Agong and the military.

"Article 36(8) of Standing Orders states that the behaviour and qualities of the Agong and Malay rulers, state governors, judges or any other institutions cannot be mentioned unless through a motion."

In the midst of the fracas, Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) stood up, and citing Order 36(6), said, "A member is not allowed to make malicious claims about another member, and this issue is not related to the royal address. This is an issue that was brought up to attack an individual and there is no opportunity for that individual to explain."

Kiandee, however, disagreed and said, "I do not see how Zahrain has violated that order [36(6)]."

The hullabaloo proceeded with both sides making more noise - while being oblivious to Zahrain. Amongst the most vocal of them were N Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) and Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading).

The wet market-like din of the session ended only when Kiandee adjourned the Dewan Rakyat to 10am tomorrow.

Pushed over the edge

Met outside the House, Zahrain defended his speech.

"I'm just telling the reasons why I left the party, my frustrations with (Parti) Keadilan (Rakyat) and the promises made by the ketua umum (party advisor), which were all lies. I didn't speak (of these things) in the press, I only spoke (about it) in Parliament," he told reporters.

Asked why he only voiced his dissent one year after the Sept 16 debacle, Zahrain said that other than the failed takeover, what pushed him over the edge was the flack he received over Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, whom he had labeled as a dictator and chauvinist.

"I was not defended. That was the last straw."

Zahrain was engaged in a war of words with Lim over a tussle with regards to a contract to manage golf clubs owned by the Penang Development Corporation.

Asked what he thought about Anwar (left) walking out, Zahrain said it was Anwar's "prerogative" to do so.

Anwar, meanwhile, told reporters after his exit from the Dewan that Zahrain was telling tall tales.

"Who is the MP that came during the supposed takeover? No one came. Nobody assembled in Parliament. But he made up the story like that. (It's) not true at all."

The Permatang Pauh MP also accused Zahrain of being an Umno stooge.

"He is being used by Umno for their cheap tricks. What for? He is mad because people accused him of the two dollar company (issue), so that is why he is saying this. That is the real issue," alleged Anwar.

The grievances of the 1.8 million-strong Indian Malaysian community should be viewed as a national concern and addressed in the 10th Malaysia Plan, a socio-economic expert said.

Dr Denison Jayasooria (left), who is the principal research fellow of the Institute of Ethnic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said there were concerns the community's problems were seen as a 'community' concern, rather than national.

"As most government agencies do not look seriously into issues pertaining to crime, violence, urban poverty, and issues pertaining to quality of life, inadequate infrastructure for Tamil school, low recruitment and promotion opportunities in both public and private sectors.

"Often, both politicians and public servants are calling on political parties and voluntary organisations to address these issues," he told Bernama.

He said, the community strongly felt that socio-economic concerns of all Malaysians should be the concern of the government. Hence, public funds should be utilised to address major concerns beyond the capacity of the voluntary sector.

He said this was one of several grievances put forth by community leaders, non-governmental organisations and political parties at a three-day discussion held late last year to receive input and feedback on the Ninth Malaysia Plan's policies and programmes.

This was aimed at providing input to the 10th Malaysia Plan, which would be tabled in Parliament in mid-year and implemented from 2011.

Urgent need

Denison said the community also wanted the government to scale up programmes for the Indian youth to ensure they reached a larger segment.

"Reaching out to young people only at the post-secondary level does not take into account the comprehensive nature of social problems at the individual, family and community levels," said the former head of MIC 'think-tank' Yayasan Strategik Sosial.

He said, there was a need for government agencies to "build into" programmes, like a mapping project which could document the impact over the next five to 10 years to capture the transformation experience or individuals and families.

"The urgent need in the 10th Malaysia Plan process is to budget for five years and provide adequate funding for operations and programmes.

"In addition, the government should establish a community consultative council to meet on a quarterly basis to review feedback on developments and highlight difficulties encountered at the grassroots, especially at the implementation level," added Denison

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today went on the attack in Parliament by claiming that Apco Worldwide, a consultancy agency hired by the Malaysian government, was the brain behind the 'One Israel' slogan.

During lengthy three-hour speech on the royal address, Anwar said Apco had in 1999 advised former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak to adopt the 'One Israel' slogan.

Furthermore, the company which the Malaysian government had engaged to boost its image is led by an Israeli leader who is a former ambassador to the US.

“Is this not an issue to Umno? In 2009, Apco advised Najib on 1Malaysia. The rest is up to your own interpretation,” he said.

He also dug out the issue involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was engaged by the then Dr Mahathir Mohamad to seek a meeting between the Malaysian premier and US president George W Bush in 2002.

Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin immediately jumped to his feet to demand that Anwar produce evidence that Apco was behind the 'One Israel' campaign.

Counter attacking, the Umno Youth chief also quizzed Anwar's relationship with Paul Wolfowitz who is known as “the godfather to the neo-conservative movement in the US”.

“You are a complicit as well,” Khairy told Anwar.

The war of words between the two escalated, causing a ruckus among members of the ruling BN and opposition Pakatan Rakyat in the House.

Anwar shot back that he had no problems conceding that Wolfowitz was an acquaintance, whom he met during his lecturing tenure at John Hopkins University, some years after he was released from prison.

Dancing with tycoon's daughter

Prior to that, Anwar chastised BN for giving “a whole mountain” to the late Lim Goh Tong of the Genting Highlands fame, but complained about Pakatan's allocations for Chinese new villages in Perak.

Khairy again stood up lambasting Anwar for providing examples of Umno and BN painting Pakatan as anti-Malay but failed to acknowledged that one of their own had also made similar accusations.

“A former Pakatan MP was referred to as a chauvinist and a dictator and this did not come from Utusan (Malaysia) or Umno, but it is from an MP who was a top leader in PKR,” said Khairy.

“So you can try to cheat the Dewan with a few facts but the issue is that the PKR people themselves have lost confidence in you,” he said.

Khairy then added: “When you were deputy prime minister, you gave the mountain to the same tauke judi (gambling tycoon)... and not only that - you were also seen dancing with the daughter of the tauke judi while you were the deputy prime minister.”

Anwar was not amused.

“This is the Umno Youth chief... we danced a bit and they make a lot noise, but it's okay for (Muslim) BN leaders to guzzle liquor,” said Anwar, without naming who he was referring to.

Political analysts believe that either former MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek or former MCA president Ong Ka Ting or both will take on incumbent president Ong Tee Keat for the party presidency on March 28.

"It's a waiting game now. Both Ka Ting and Chua do not want to be the first to make the announcement as each is waiting for other to declare his position (whether he is going to contest the presidency)," said party central committee member Ti Lian Ker.

Ti said Chua's plan to contest (the presidency) would be disrupted if Ka Ting (left) joined the fray and this he claimed had led to the former health minister to rethink his strategy.

"That is why despite going around attending closed-door briefings, Chua has yet to announce which position he is going to contest," he said.

Another political analyst believes that should Ka Ting enter the fray, it will affect Chua's chances and work against his advantage, although it is said the former deputy president has about 40 a percent support out of the total 2,400 delegates.


"If there is a three-cornered fight between Tee Keat, Chua and Ka Ting, it will work in favour of Ka Ting. That's why Chua is not happy about Ka Ting being in the equation," the analyst said.

Chua is said to be not in favour of Ka Ting making a comeback and was quoted yesterday as saying that if Ka Ting decided to contest, 'it would further split the party'.

Been 'played out'?

In fact, Ti went a step further by alleging that Ka Ting, together with former MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy and the most senior MCA central committee member Wong Mook Leong had planned for Ka Ting to make a comeback.

He believed that Chua had been "played out" by this group and was not surprised when former MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek (right), who is said to be linked to the group, called on Ka Ting to come out from retirement and re-unite the party.

Calls to Ka Ting, Lim and Wong when unanswered to verify Ti's allegation.


However, some of Ka Ting supporters when contacted rubbished Ti's allegation, saying that it was a 'personal vendetta' as Ti was dropped in the last general election's party line up.

"These people are worried that should Ka Ting make a comeback, it will be hard for them to defend their posts," said a supporter of Ka Ting who refused to be named.

The possible return of Ka Ting seems to be gaining shape following the Bentong MCA division, which is closely linked to former MCA vice-president Liow Tiong Lai, announcing their support for him.

'Unify dissenting voices'

The division's deputy chief Wong Choo Yak said they favoured a Ka Ting-Tiong Lai combination in the presidential race. The division's chief is Hoh Khai Mun, who is also Pahang MCA chairperson and a strong supporter of Liow.

"He (Ka Ting) has the experience and the mettle to hold the party together. During his tenure as president, he managed to unify dissenting voices in the interest of strengthening the party.


"We are also fully behind Bentong MP Liow Tiong Lai. He has a free hand to contest in any position he chooses," said Wong.

However, whoever his challenger will be, Tee Keat (above) remains unfazed with the latest developments.

"I remain undeterred by whatever the developments may be. All members are eligible to seek a mandate from the delegates. Whether it is a past leader or current leader, again, I'm not too concerned about it," he said.

– Bernama

Two Kedah executive council (exco) members were today dropped in the first state cabinet reshuffle in a Pakatan Rakyat-held state since March 2008.

The two exco members that were dropped are Pantai Merdeka state assemblyperson Abdullah Jusoh (PAS) and Bakar Arang state assemblyperson Tan Wei Shu (PKR).

There were replaced by Ayer Hitam state assemblyperson Abdul Ghani Ahmad (PAS) and Sidam state assemblyperson Tan Show Kang (PKR).

Abdullah is not charged with the Science, Innovation and Information Technology portfolio while Wei Shu will hold the Environment, Chinese Affairs and Transport portfolio.

The duo were sworn in at the Istana Anak Bukit this morning.

Eight other incumbent exco members had their term extended for another year.

It was previously speculated that Wei Shu would be dropped due to poor performance and replaced by the more senior Show Kang.

Two years ago, the 1.8 million-strong Indian Malaysian community was full of expectations when it backed the opposition Pakatan Rakyat to capture several key states at the 2008 general election.

The rallying call by current Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in the run-up to the election was 'Makkal Sakti' or the people's power, which stoked the emotions of Indians who then felt neglected by the BN government, after several key issues confronting them were unresolved.

But BN under the stewardship of new premier Najib Razak has since worked to win back the community.

"Both the PM and his deputy (Muhyiddin Yassin) are seen as being sincere in aiding the community now. Their stance on matters which concern the community is being well received. Overall, I have yet to see anything specific done by the opposition to help the community in the states they rule.

"Their election promises remain as just promises. It must also be noted that the demolition of temples has stopped. But things like assistance to Tamil schools by the respective state government's is not forthcoming as promised.

"On other issues, the people are dissatisfied. Those who supported the opposition at the 2008 election feel more let down than those who just wanted to give them an opportunity," veteran politican M Mahalingam told Bernama.

The Indian community is fragmented into various groups and it has, at least, six political parties to choose from.

They are MIC, People's Progressive Party or PPP (although multiracial, the party is predominantly made up of Indians), Indian Progressive Front (IPF), Malaysian Indian United Party (Miup), the newly-formed Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party and the proposed Human Rights Party (HRP).

Uthaya criticises Pakatan

Of the parties above, only the MIC and PPP are in the BN while IPF, Miup and Makkal Sakti are now all BN-friendly. HRP had earlier openly joined hands with the opposition, but its political allegiance remains questionable.

Yesterday, HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar slammed the opposition pact, saying that its leaders had failed to fulfill their promises made during the last general election in solving problems faced by the Indian poor.

He said, after two years that the Pakatan coalition became the government in four states, they still had not understood the real aspirations of the Indian poor.

"We had great hopes in the opposition parties when we urged the Indians to vote overwhelmingly for the Pakatan coalition in the last general election.

"We attribute this to leadership without vision. You (Pakatan leaders) cannot understand the aspirations of the people who voted you in. You played the traditional political game of illusions and promises," he said in a letter to Anwar, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak and Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

Uthayakumar said, although the leaders had complete authority over state land matters, which was the most pressing issue to the Indian poor, yet till today, they had completely ignored this issue in Penang, Kedah and Selangor.

On Sunday, Uthayakumar led a group of 100 HRP supporters to protest outside the headquarters of opposition party PKR.

Dissatisfaction with BN

MIC president S Samy Vellu said the opposition's win at the 2008 election was due to dissatisfaction towards the BN, which was eventually manipulated by the opposition.

"But now, the people are starting to realise that these promises were made just to win votes and not with the intention of helping the community.

“Even in states governed by the opposition, they had failed to fulfill their promises... not only that, they have also been accused of being unfair and had failed in looking after the welfare of the community which was guaranteed in their election pledge.

"I feel this would be the best time to seize the support of the Indian community towards the BN. BN has to work hard and retain its status as the conduit of the people and the government.

"We have strong leadership, who are close to the people. In my (years of) service, I have not seen a prime minister who is closer to the rakyat than Najib," said Samy Vellu, who has served as MIC president for over 30 years.

DAP chairperson Karpal Singh today challenged four ex-PKR members of parliament to stay away from the Dewan Rakyat session beginning Mar 15.

This would lead to their disqualification as MPs and force by-elections in their constituencies.

The senior lawyer said the challenge was made in reference to Article 52(1) of the Federal Constitution which stated that a member of the Dewan Rakyat would be automatically disqualified as an MP if he or she was absent from the House without leave for one session.

Karpal Singh, who is MP for Bukit Gelugor, issued the challenge to Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (MP for Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Mohsin Fadzil Samsuri (Bagan Serai), who resigned from PKR recently, and Zulkifli Nordin (Kulim-Bandar Baru), who was sacked from the party.

"I challenge them to stay away from the Dewan Rakyat session to enable their seats to fall vacant," Karpal, speaking to reporters in Penang, was quoted by Bernama as saying today.

Karpal said further that he had the right to issue the challenge as the DAP was a member of the Pakatan Rakyat of which PKR was also a member, along with PAS.

Karpal Singh said that if these MPs insisted that their election was the choice of their constituents, "I challenge them to resign so that by-elections can be held to prove that their victory was the people's choice".

"They should not brag (about their election victories) because they had won on the PKR ticket," he said.

Karpal Singh also said that he was convinced there would not be any more resignations of PKR members and that the recent departure of the elected representatives was a clean-up process.

Human Rights Party (HRP) today led a demonstration in front of PKR's head office, claiming that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition had failed to address Indian community issues.

The demonstration was led by HRP's pro-tem secretary general P Uthayakumar, who was backed up by about 100 people consisting of HRP activists and residents of Petaling Jaya Selatan.

Uthayakumar said the protest was held to voice out the disappointment of Indians against Pakatan as they had failed to address issues affecting the Indian community, despite the latter's role in putting the coalition into power in five states.

"Indian, who were (the) king makers during the general elections in 2008, are still treated like slaves today," said the lawyer-politician.

Uthayakumar did not hand over a memorandum he had planned to submit to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, as Anwar was at the time at the Pakatan Selangor convention in Shah Alam.

He said the memorandum would be submitted to Anwar on March 15 when Parliament reconvenes.

Uthayakumar said further that the HRP would be fielding candidates in the next general election in 15 parliamentary seats.

Contacted for a response, Anwar's personal aide, R Suresh Kumar, asked why Uthayakumar did not demonstrate in BN- held states as they were held for the past 53 years.

"He is a mandore of highest order for them (BN)," Suresh charged.

Uthayakumar's ex-Hindu Rights Action force (Hindraf) comrades V Ganabatirao (left) and K Vasanthakumar (right) also lashed out at their former comrade.

"They have lost ground. He is attempting to gain cheap publicity," said Ganabatirao.

"Who is the real enemy here? HRP does not represent Indians, as claimed by redundant leader, Uthayakumar. Indians are with Pakatan to realise the Hindraf dreams," alleged Vasanthakumar.

The demonstrators later left the vicinity about 40 minutes later. No police officer was seen during the time of the protest, despite a police beat being located doors away from the PKR headquarters.

Former party rebel S Sothinathan is back on the MIC political stage and there's speculation that he might soon be made a senator as well as the next senate president.

A MIC source said Sothinathan (left), being a lawyer and former favourite of S Samy Velu, would have an advantage against other challengers within the party for the senator post as well as the top senate post.

At present MIC has six senators consisting of S Chandrasekaran, Dr Malasingam, M Logachitra, Usha Nanthini, Daljit Singh and N Ravichandran.

Senators are given a three-year term of office and another three-year lifeline if the party chief is in favour of extending the term of office.

However, Samy has announced that one term as senator is sufficient for party members and that other potential members should also be given a chance.

There will be two possible MIC senator seats vacant for this year as Ravichandran's term of office has ended in January 2010 and Logachitra's term ends in April this year.

Currying favour with Samy

The senate president's post is normally rotated among the three main BN component parties of Umno, MCA and MIC. The latter is set to fill the senate top post this year.

Many MIC members who do not enjoy a BN political post are now making a rush to be in the good books of Samy and possibly become a senator in the hope of bagging a deputy minister post or even fill up the senate chief's post.

Malaysiakini has learned that Samy has already submitted the list of potential senator candidates to Premier Najib Abdul Razak for his final decision.

A source says Samy believes in Sothinathan's potential as a second-rank leader, just needing a political platform to climb up the MIC hierarchy ladder.

Sothinathan previously contested for the post of MIC deputy president, losing to G Palanivel (right).

But Sothinathan is expected to face strong challenges from fellow party leaders such as party secretary-general S Murugesan, party information chief P Kamalanathan, and former Ijok state assemblyperson S Parthiban.

Meanwhile the MIC source stated that while Sothinathan is gaining rapport with Samy, Deputy Federal Territories Minister M Saravanan is allegedly drifting away from the MIC president.

The communication gap between the two is widening and it is alleged that Saravanan is not attending party meetings and not seeing eye-to-eye with the MIC president.

Recently Saravanan lost a civil suit filed by his former business partner and he has been told to pay about RM1.9 million to his partner. This turn of events allegedly did not go down well with the party leadership.

Maverick party leader Zulkifli Noordin today walked out of the PKR disciplinary board meeting in protest of the presence of non-Muslims on the panel.

Zulkifli said that the panel should be all Muslim because one of the charges he faced is related to the 'Allah' issue.

His demand for an all-Muslim panel was rejected by the panel members. He subsequently walked out of the meeting.

According to him, the panel was made up of one Muslim, two Christians and one Hindu.

The panel members had apparently told him that they cannot replace themselves with others because the power to appoint the panel lies with the party supreme council.

Hence Zulkifli called on the supreme council to appoint a new panel before next Tuesday.

He said if the party rejects his demand, "I would have to resign."

Zulikifli claimed two Chinese members on the panel were Christian activists.

“How can I get justice if the panel is not all-Muslim? Justice should not only be done, it should be seen to be done."

He stressed that while he respects the non-Muslims sitting on the panel, justice demands that the accused be tried by his peers, in this case Muslims.

"I do not want the hearing to be done before a board which is not Islamic as the issue in question concerns my belief, Islamic law and the 'ummah'," he told journalists after the walkout.

"For that reason, I have decided not to recognise the panel of 'Christian' disciplinary board members to discuss the issue on the use of 'Allah'.

"I believed this is a plan hatched by the 'little pharaohs' within PKR, who want to humiliate me and also Islam, by producing me before a non-Muslim disciplinary board."

Zulkifli charged that should the hearing continue and his objection dismissed, then PKR is a party which does not respect Islam and Muslims.

"I call on the party leadership to dissolve the disciplinary board."

'Don't play with my religion'

Zulkifli said he had urged the disciplinary board, in view of its multi-ethnic composition, to hear the second charge against him for criticising Penang chief minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He said he was ready to proceed and had a 21-page statement for his defence.

"If they listen to my rebuttal, they would be crying for doing this to me because I was protecting the party," he said.

Zulkifli said he had earlier sent three letters to the board stating his objection to the presence of non-Muslims on the board, but he did not receive a reply until today.

He stressed that the only issue that will force him to quit the party is religion.

“Don't play with my religion, I will not compromise."

Asked whether he is still loyal to the party, Zulkifli said that he would be giving the party a chance to set up a new disciplinary board. “This means that I still have faith in the party.”

Zulkifli said that he will exhaust all party channels in seeking justice before making a decision on whether to follow three of his parliamentary colleagues to quit PKR.

The disciplinary board is meeting to determine the fate of the errant Kulim Bandar Baru parliamentarian.

He was asked to face the board after he made a police report against fellow Pakatan Rakyat colleague Khalid Samad, the Shah Alam MP from PAS.

Zulkifli had arrived at the PKR headquarters in Kuala Lumpur 30 minutes earlier on a Modenas motorbike wearing his trademark white 'kopiah' and white shirt.

PKR disciplinary board had on Monday postponed its hearing of the case against Zulkifli in order to consider a number of objections raised by the errant party leader.

Zulkifli had raised eight objections, among them, that PKR practises double standards because party colleagues Wee Choo Keong and Zaid Ibrahim were not hauled up by the disciplinary board.

Nothing to do with 'Allah' row

Meanwhile, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution when contacted clarified that Zulkifli is not being produced to the disciplinary board over his stance on the Allah 'issue' or on Islam, but over his police report against Khalid.

He claims Zulkifli attempt to turn the disciplinary hearing into a racial and religious issue as "improper".

“The hearing is about Zulkifli's police report against Khalid. It is solely on that issue and nothing else. It does not have to do with the 'Allah' issue of which he had claimed,” Saifuddin said.

The disciplinary board has accorded him due process and has explained its position on the hearing, but he chose to reject the explanation and walked out on them.

“Despite this, the board will forward their recommendations to me and I will table their findings to the party's supreme council meeting on Saturday. The council will discuss the next course of action and Zulkifli can appeal the decision," he said.

On Zulkifli's threat to quit the party should the board not heed his demands, Saifuddin said it was the former's prerogative to do so.

Dr Chua Soi Lek today announced his resignation as deputy president, along with seven other central committee members, in a bid to force fresh polls for the top leadership.

The seven central committee members include Kong Cho Ha, Tan Chai Ho, Loh Seng Kok, Chong Itt Chew, Gan Tian Loo, Tee Siew Keong and Por Choo Chor.

Coupled with 13 central committee members from vice president Liow Tiong Lai's faction who have pledged to resign, Chua's team will thus provide the exact number of resignations to fulfill the requirement for the central committee to dissolve itself.

Based on the party constitution, the current situation requires the party to hold fresh polls within 30 days.

Earlier Malaysiakini report:

Rival MCA faction leaders are holding back-to-back media conferences today, fueling rumours that there is now enough resignations from the central committee to compel fresh polls for the top party leadership.

Deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek will be calling for his press conference at 2pm at the ninth floor of the MCA headquarters while vice-president Liow Tiong Lai will be doing the same, at the same floor, an hour later.

Liow's faction has been been pushing for fresh polls for the central committee since last November because president Ong Tee Keat reneged on a promise to resign after losing a no-confidence vote a month earlier.

Chua had also been supportive of fresh polls, but has been very coy on when he will resign from the central committee, other than stating that it should be after Chinese New Year celebrations.

Previously, Liow and 12 central committee members have offered to quit to pave way for fresh polls. It is unknown exactly how many central committee members does Chua command.

Two-thirds of the central committee must resign for it to dissolve itself. With Liow's faction needs to find eight more to achieve this.

Their announcements later appears meticulously timed to influence the central committee, which will meet tomorrow, and a private dinner between the four major MCA faction leaders with Prime MInister and Barisan Nasional chief Najib Abdul Razak tonight.

In light of a possible by-election for the Batu parliamentary seat, Umno's Batu division has wrested the Batu BN division chief post from Gerakan, spelling a possible end to Gerakan's 22-year hold on the seat.

Batu is located in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. It has been contested by Gerakan candidates since its creation in 1986.

Sources from Gerakan confirmed to Malaysiakini that Batu Umno division chief Yahya Mat Ghani was appointed as BN chief of the parliamentary constituency last Friday.

The post was held by Gerakan's Ng Lip Yong (right) who was Batu MP until he lost the seat to Tian Chua from PKR in the 2008 general election. The BN division chief had been left vacant till Yahya's appointment.

Grassroots dissatisfied

The appointment had sparked strong dissatisfaction among the Batu Gerakan members. One member described the response as "extremely bad".

"At the division level, we cannot do anything. It is up to the party leadership to deal with it," he said on the condition of anonymity.

The division feared that they would lose the seat to Umno in the next election because the BN division chief is likely to be the candidate. With a possible by-election is on its way, their worries escalate.

Last October Tian Chua was sentenced to a RM3000 fine and six months' jail for biting a police constable. He will lose his parliament seat should he fail to appeal against the judgement.

The Batu BN division chief post was held by Gerakan, for the most part, until 2008.

BN chief controls resources

Gerakan sources pointed out that the BN division chief controls government resources including monetary allocations.

"If there are houses burned down in the constituency, he can distribute funds from the welfare department. If the roads are bad, he can ask the public works department to tar the road."

He said that even if Gerakan is still given the chance to contest but another party manages the allocations and resources, this means more obstacles in reclaiming the seat.

Gerakan is given three parliamentary seats in Kuala Lumpur - Kepong, Segambut and Batu. Although all three seats fell into the hands of the opposition in the last general election, Gerakan still retains the BN division chief posts in Kepong and Segambut.

Tian Chua not threatened

Batu is a racially mixed urban seat with 44.3 percent Malay, 20.8 percent Chinese and 14.3 percent Indian voters. Tian Chua defeated Gerakan youth chief Lim Si Pin in the last general election with a 9455 vote majority.

Tian Chua (left) believes PKR in Batu will not be threatened by BN fielding an Umno candidate in the next election.

"There will be more Chinese voters (who will) swing towards PKR and the Malay votes that flow back to Umno will be limited," he said.

However his division has not prepared for a by-election as a final decision on his criminal case will not be reached anytime in the near future, he added.

Umno split into factions

Meanwhile Gerakan did not foresee Umno reclaiming the seat because the Umno division had split into three factions.

According to Gerakan sources, Yahya defeated his opponent in the party divisional polls with a slim majority of three votes. This had split the division into two major factions and the third faction was comprised of younger members who were disgruntled with Yahya's leadership.

Another factor that fuels the infighting is Kuala Lumpur Umno's senatorship. The tenure of one of two Umno senators from Kuala Lumpur had expired and a representative of Batu Umno division is likely to succeed the post.

Bagan Serai member of parliament Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri today announced his decision to quit PKR to become an Independent.

Mohsin, who was elected to represent the northern Perak constituency, is the third PKR MP to quit over two weeks.

The other two were Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim and Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng.

Moshin was accompanied by former PKR secretary-general Salehuddin Hashim at the press conference in Kuala Lumpur where the announcement was made this morning.

Salehuddin had also appeared at the press conferences during which the other two PKR parliamentarians made their 'quit PKR' announcement.

According to Moshin, he decided to leave the party over his disagreement on the party's stand on the 'Allah' issue. PKR has advocated that use of the word is not exclusive to Muslim.

Mohsin said that his faith in PKR and Pakatan has been eroded over the party's failure to restore the political principles and sovereignty of Islam.

His faith was particularly shaken when the much-talked about Pakatan's Sept 16 takeover bid did not happen as proclaimed by Anwar.

He also complained of late, that there has been too many power struggles within the party with treachery and back stabbing becoming the order of the day.

Mohsin lamented that these has affected his ability to perform his duties as an MP effectively within the party structure.

As such, he is resigning from PKR and letting go of all party posts, though he will remain as Bagan Serai parlimentarian as an independent. He denied that he has been co-opted by any party.

Salehuddin: I'm not the mastermind

Meanwhile, Salehuddin denied he was the mastermind behind the spate of defections from PKR.

He maintained that he was present at the press conferences because those former PKR elected representatives, who are his friends, called him up to expressed their dissatisfaction and ask for his advice.

According to Salehuddin, PKR should not make a stand on the controversial 'Allah' issue when there is opposition from party members.

"The decision was made by one or two people without debate, so it has caused anxiety among grassroots leaders," he said.

Mohsin, a first-term parliamentarian, beat Zainal Abidin Zin of Umno in the 2008 general election by 3,413 votes, in a constituency of 47,111 voters.

With the departure of Mohsin from PKR, the party now holds fewer seats than opposition ally DAP.

DAP has 28 seats, while PKR now has 27 and PAS 23.

However, DAP leaders yesterday indicated that they will continue to support PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as parliamentary opposition leader.

Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng today formally announced his resignation from PKR and is now an independent.

However, he refused to confirm if he would be an ally to Barisan Nasional.

The announcement was made during a press conference in Ampang, Selangor, accompanied former PKR secretary-general Salehudin Hashim who has also recently resigned from the party.

In a related development, Kulim Bandar Bharu MP Zulkifli Noordin, when contacted, denied news reports that he would announce his resignation today.

Both Tan and Zulkifli were scheduled to be hauled up by the PKR disciplinary board this month, among others, for attacking Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

Zulkifli told Malaysiakini that he will not attend the scheduled hearing this afternoon because the party has yet to reply his Feb 16 letter, which made several complaints about the proceedings.

"Until today, they have yet to reply. So how can I attend the hearing?" he asked.

Previously, the Tan and Zulkifli were rumoured to be among several disgruntled PKR MPs who are keen on following the footsteps of Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim.

Zahrain left the party after citing a loss of confidence in Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng. He also claims that the DAP-led government was sidelining PKR.

Incidently, Zahrain was also accompanied by Salehudin during his press conference to announce his resignation from the PKR on February 12.

MIC president S Samy Vellu today maintained that the party was not against the BN's proposed open membership system, but stressed that he would still have to gauge the feelings of party members on the proposal.

He said the MIC, being the third largest BN component party, did not object to the proposal mooted by Prime Minister and BN chairman Najib Abdul Razak at the BN Supreme Council meeting on Feb 19.

"The prime minister wants to further strengthen the BN, and we will back him in his efforts. However, we have to know what our members feel and think about the proposal," he told reporters before handing out diplomas to the party's TAFE College students in Kuala Lumpur today.

Najib proposed the move to allow individuals and non-governmental organisations friendly to the BN to be part of the BN in a move to strengthen the coalition, especially to face the next general election.

Samy Vellu said a sub-committee headed by him would be formed to study the proposal.

"The matter will also be discussed at the MIC Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting so that we can get a collective view on the matter. There may be differences in opinion and we have to come to a consensus," he said.

He said the party's views and recommendations would then be submitted to a committee formed by the BN Supreme Council and headed by Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein to study the proposal.

"This proposal has to be deliberated and studied carefully by the respective component parties. The important thing is to get the feedback of their (respective) members. This is what we will do," he said.

We need time

Samy Vellu said the implementation of the proposal could not be rushed as time was needed to gauge the feelings of the members of the component parties.

The MIC chief said the party acknowledged the role of the NGOs, especially in mobilising the people's support for the BN.

"The MIC is already working closely with several NGOs and we have also formed consultative councils involving the MIC and NGOs in many states like in Perak and Johor," he said.

Samy Vellu said the MIC had also roped in the NGOs to discuss and make their recommendations on several issues affecting the Indian community such as the 10th Malaysia Plan.

On another matter, Samy Vellu urged school drop-outs and unemployed Indian youths to enlist with the various government-run skills training centres as some of the institutes have relaxed their entry requirements.

He said the MIC, with the cooperation of NGOs, would initiate more campaigns and publicity drives to recruit Indian youths to register with the institutes.