Malay Oofficials Accused Over Human Trafficking

Malay officials accused over human trafficking By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: April 22 2009 16:41 Last updated: April 22 2009 16:41
An influential US senator has accused Malaysian officials of complicity in the human trafficking of Burmese refugees who have been sold into prostitution and other kinds of forced labour in recent years.
Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the foreign relations committee, on Tuesday handed the Malaysian government a report on a year-long investigation into allegations that refugees who fled the Burmese junta for Malaysia had been handed over to traffickers on the Malaysia-Thailand border.

According to the investigation, Malaysian officials have transported migrants – including some who had registered with UNHCR – from detention centres to the Thai border for deportation. At the border, however, migrants are handed to traffickers unless they can pay a ransom.
“Migrants state that those unable to pay are turned over to human peddlers in Thailand, representing a variety of business interests ranging from fishing boats to brothels,” said the report.

The Senate investigators also received multiple reports of Burmese women being sexually abused by traffickers, including some in front of their husbands because, as one NGO employee cited in the report put it, “no one dares to intervene as they would be shot or stabbed to death in the jungle’’.

“[Burmese women] are sold at a brothel if they look good,” recounted one refugee. “If they are not beautiful, they [the traffickers] might sell them at a restaurant or house-keeping job.”
The committee launched the investigation in 2007 after hearing allegations about the trafficking of Burmese migrants “with the knowledge, if not participation” of Malaysian officials.
“The prospect that Burmese migrants, having fled the heavy hand of the Burmese junta, only to find themselves in harms’ way in Malaysia seemed beyond belief,” said the report.
While raising concerns about the role of “government officials” – which the report defines as immigration and police officials, and the semi-official People’s Volunteer Corps [Rela] - Mr Lugar welcomed the Malaysian police’s recent decision to investigate the allegations.
The Malaysian prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The report estimated that a few thousand Burmese have been brought to the border with Thailand in recent years, and in particular to the Sungai Golok in Thailand and Padang Besar in Malaysia. It said Burmese refugees now residing in the US had provided names and bank account details for people involved in the trafficking, which have now been forwarded to Malaysian law enforcement officials.

The 2008 State department human rights report also found that while Malaysia “generally” had a good human rights record, there were some problems, including “credible allegations” that immigration officials were involved in trafficking Burmese refugees. It also highlighted abuses by Rela, including rape, beatings, and the destruction of UNCHR status documents.
Human Rights Watch also concluded in its 2009 World Report that “testimonies from migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers deported from Malaysia to the Thai border indicate collusion between Malaysian immigration officials and human smuggling gangs who charge steep fees to facilitate deportees’ return to Malaysia or back to Burma”.

Additional reporting by John Burton in Singapore

Why Doing This To Human Beings In Malaysia?

A NEW VULTURE EMERGES UNDER THE NAME OF MAHATHIR

Filed under: ARTICLE 08/04/2009, conspiracy, crime and corruption — sjsandteam @ 13:10 Tags: A NEW VULTURE EMERGES UNDER THE NAME OF MAHATHIR

As a student I knew of the horrors of the Holocaust and other human tragedies, but merely as a distant thunder: The violation of human rights and crimes against humanity were only an abstract notion.
That was all fated to change with my arrest under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) of Malaysia, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. My crime? I had known Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, as a close personal friend for many years. We shared and strove for a vision of life firmly rooted in human dignity. We struggled for building an intellectual and political milieu for free expression. Together, we subscribed to the idea of economic prosperity, gender and racial equality and a civil society.
Alas, the Malaysian dictator, Mahathir, under the growing burden of corruption and cronyism, conspired to halt the march of freedom. In order to build his fraudulent case against Anwar, Mahathir himself ordered my arrest.
My kidnapping and detention by the infamous Malaysian Special Branch taught me how it feels to be forcibly separated from one’s wife and children. How it feels to be searched and seized, disallowed to make phone calls, handcuffed, blindfolded, stripped naked, driven in an animal cage, shaven bald, endlessly interrogated, humiliated, drugged, deprived of sleep, physically abused. What it’s like to be threatened, blackmailed, tormented by police lawyers, brutalized to make a totally false confession, hospitalized for a consequent heart ailment, and treated as a psychiatric patient with symptoms of Stockholm syndrome.
Barely surviving on a meager diet of rancid rice and chicken along with 12 medicines a day, I spent nearly four months handcuffed around the clock to my hospital bed, under the watchful eyes of the prison guards.

Thereafter, my ability to speak, read and write took a considerable time to show signs of recovery. Short-term memory lapses were frequent. I existed in a fluid state in which suicidal tendencies, depression and despair were punctuated by fits of rage and indignation.
Weekly visits of less than an hour by my wife, Nadia, with our young children — Aisha and Omran — were my only contact with the outside world and the only inspiration to live on.
In collusion with the lawyer appointed on my behalf by the police, the Malaysian authorities refused the legal assistance of my choice, coercing me not to mount an appeal against the court verdict and threatening me with greater punishment under new charges if I didn’t co-operate.
Simultaneously, Nadia constantly endured police harassment, wiretapping and disruption of our e-mail and bank accounts. Some of our friends were met with the same fate and were compelled to abandon us when we needed them most.
But, in attempting to scare off and alienate my friends, how terribly mistaken were Malaysian autocrats in aping gross Gestapo tactics. How they underestimated the temper of freedom in so many places around the world, above all among friends in the West.
Floodgates of human compassion were opened when the futurist author Alvin Toffler, who Mahathir asked to advise him on a pet high-technology project, sent a message of protest to the Malaysian leader within 72 hours of my capture. In a major interview with the Western press, Mahathir even felt it necessary to make assurances — unfulfilled, of course — about my well being.
With every passing day, the rising tide of concern for my plight seemed to personify the words of Elie Wiesel: “Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor. Never the victim. Never the tormented.”
Friends and strangers alike took a stand and support began to mushroom everywhere. Nadia related to me in the hospital how Amnesty International had declared me a “prisoner of conscience,” and how Pen International adopted me as a “writer in prison.” Against all odds, two prominent Malaysian lawyers, Manjeet Singh Dhillon and Balwant Singh Siddhu, offered their services unconditionally. To top it all, an international coalition — Friends of Dr. Anees — came into existence in defence of my rights. The core group of Naseer Ahmad, Baseer Hai, Safir Rammah, Jamal Mubarak, Anees Ahmad and Naeem Siddiqui mounted a media campaign with phenomenal success.
What touched my heart was that the person, Kamal Mubarak, who set up the Web site had never met me in person. From the depths of my confinement, I could see the magic of human compassion had begun to defeat oppression.
The pinnacle was reached after my release in the warm hug laced with watery eyes of an Amnesty friend in Toronto, Margaret John, who witnessed a pledge of solidarity between me and Devan Nair, the former president of Singapore, for we had come to share a similar fate.
My victimization at the hands of Mahathir’s “Asian values” has transformed me in another way. All my adult life, like so many in the Muslim world, I have suspected under every nook and cranny some conspiracy by the West to keep us down. Yet, in this seminal experience of my life, my friends in the West succeeded in saving me, while Mahathir, a Muslim, did everything to destroy me. And he is trying to do the same to Anwar again through his obliging courts on totally fabricated charges.
Mahathir has demonstrated that, though a proclaimed Muslim, his heart is blind to compassion. Tyranny is the hallmark of his bankrupt concept of “Asian values.”
My tragedy, and that of my friend Anwar, ought to make our fellow Muslims think very hard when they ponder the West and its role in the world. As we set out to shape our collective destiny in the 21st century, will the values of Mahathir or Jefferson serve us best? Mahathir himself made that choice for me. Sic semper tyrannis.
These are words of Dr. Munawar A. Anees!

Why Release 13 ISA Detainees NOW!!!!

The release of the 13 ISA detainees -portentously announced by newly elected Prime Minister Najib Razak - is a welcome decision. This, together with the governmental pledge for a comprehensive review of the Internal Security Act 1960, would hopefully mark the style-to-come for Najib’s new administration.

However, although the decision is generally saluted and rejoiced by all, Najib has set - as one of his first administrative directive - a ruling that is technically unsound, unjustified and irrational.
What is the justification for Najib to release the ISA detainees in the first place? After all, these detainees - according to the Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar - were detained to prevent them from acting in a manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia.
It is pertinent to re-visit the relevant provision of the ISA:
‘Section 8 ISA - Ministerial Order of Detention

(1) If the minister is satisfied that the detention of any person is necessary with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the maintenance of essential services therein or the economic life thereof, he may make an order (hereinafter referred to as ‘a detention order’) directing that that person be detained for any period not exceeding two years.’

If the detention of these detainees were by reason that they were all a threat to the security of the country, then wouldn’t it be wrong to free them without any sound and reasonable justification? Can a captive group of individuals be deemed a threat to society one day; and be deemed ‘reformed’ the next day?

This only shows that, perhaps, there was no justification to detain them in the first place.
And - pleasing as the decision may be - Najib has no business announcing the release of detainees on the day of his investiture. It gives the unpleasant scoff that the new PM is ordaining some sort of pardon for political prisoners.

Perhaps he envisages himself as a king of sorts, with the power of pardon - which incidentally, is only legally availed to the Yang Di Pertuan Agong under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.
I do not know when it was actually concluded that the 13 detainees are no longer a threat to society but I do hope it was not a decision reached earlier. If the detainees are deemed no longer a threat, they should be released immediately, not a day longer.
Not wait till Najib’s PM appointment ceremony for him to gain political clout and mileage, as if it was some sort of symbolic releasing of pigeons from the cage.

That is what is so wrong with the ISA in the first place - it is used as a tool by the government. Caught one day - released the other - without the opportunity of a fair trial. All decided by the same person of bodies acting as judge, jury and executioner.
My take on the whole issue is this:

1. The ISA is a draconian piece of legislation which should be repealed. In fact, any law that tacitly allows detention without trial should be removed forthright;

2. If the use of the ISA is allowed to continue, please, for God’s sake, do not misuse the act for one’s own benefit. The ISA was put in place for fight against the communist in the 1960s. It is not intended to be utilised against political opposition;

3. The use of the ISA involves a person’s freedom and liberty. Use it wisely and sparingly. If in doubt, don’t. And if someone should or ought to be set free, do so immediately.
Don’t wait for a day of inauguration; or before the elections; or the king’s birthday; or national day etc, to order the release of these detainees.

Letter to Obama

Letter to Obama
Posted Tue, 31/03/2009 - 09:49 by admin
Saravanan Pitchan2018 Antwerpen .Belgium 30th March, 2009
President of USAMr. Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington, DC 20500

Mr .Gordon Brown10 Downing Street,London,SW1A 2AAEngland
Ref: Requesting foreign interference on Malaysian Indians genocide issue before rice becomes porridge.

Dear Sir,

Please accept my best wishes and greetings.Hope this letter meets you in a good health and pleasant day.Hereby I'm humbly requesting the USA, Great Britain and the rest of the world to review the systematic Malaysian Indian genocide in Malaysia.

There are uncountable issues which I can address in this official letter but to make it short and clear, I would like to refer to the latest issues which made
Malaysian Indians uproaring.

a) On Jan 15th 2009 Kugan Ananthan aged 22 was detained.
Crime : suspected involvement in an international car theft syndicate.

On Jan 20th 2009 The young man was killed under police custody.
11 Police officers where involved in that killing. Even the attorney general of police classified it as a murder.

All those police officers who were involved in the murder are transferred to a better position in Police HQ in Kuala Lumpur. Until today the police didn’t prove his crime. The state Selangor police chief said "During interrogation, the man asked for a glass of water and upon drinking the water, he collapsed and lost consciousness. To reveal the truth of this incident, I would like to refer to some facts which were saved in following websites:

-(http://national-express-malaysia.blogspot.com/2009/01/man-dies-during-po...)
_(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wG5pCqncII&eurl=http://malaysiaindianabu...)

b) On Feb 19th 2009 , 6 suspected as armed robbers were shot dead by police, none of the persons that were shot survived to be arrested and charged. "When the policemen barged into the house and introduced themselves, six men between the age of 20 and 50, fired several shots at them, and in defence, the police fired back and the shots hit the six suspects," .
After doing an investigation by local politicians and human rights lawyers, none of them were criminal. Till today no evidence were tabled. The police shot them to protect themselves from the suspects.

Now the question rises: were they really armed? Why police officers were not hurt? Among these six men, one was an handicapped boy and according to one of the parents, another one was just back from pilgrimage in India. If the police really wants to prove that they are robbers, why didn’t the police officers try to arrest them or try to shoot them in their hand or leg?
As a prove of this incident I would like to give a link which was published in a blog:

-(http://national-express-malaysia.blogspot.com/2009/02/six-shot-dead-in-k...)
-(http://national-express-malaysia.blogspot.com/2009/02/kulim-shootout-ful...)
Our Indians in Malaysia have been again and again systematically killed by the police in Malaysia. We, as an ordinary citizen and marginalized community of Malaysia, are simply begging to foreign countries to uphold human rights in Malaysia.

This is not the first incident, but some of the reports were saved in:
http://malaysiaindianabused.blogspot.com/

I have no words to mention about our problems. Most of the Indians in Malaysia are considering all those issues as Malaysian Indian genocide. Where can we go?
What can we do with the systematic police terrorizing us, lead by the UMNO government ?
In many countries, UN and American coalition, are sending troops when the country is in real problem and when there is chaos. Why don’t the UN or other powerful countries in the world help the needy before the rice becomes porridge?

UN human rights council, America Human rights council, EU parliament Human rights council, Amnesty and so on is watching Malaysia closely, but most of the time all these organizations are writing letters and trying to help in a common way but it isn’t really an effective one for a country like Malaysia. My only hope is that all foreign countries take initiative to correct their egos and let us live happily in our birth place.

Yours Faithfully,

Saravanan Pitchan
Cc: Amnesty International
1 Easton StreetLondonWC1X 0DW, UK
Cc: Office of the High Commissioner for Human RightsPalais Wilson52 rue des PâquisCH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Cc: EU Human Rights Council
Hans-Gert PötteringPresident of the European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium