PMO Issues Clarification On Bloggers Revealing Identities

Apparently there's been some sloppy news reporting. That in itself is unforgivable, but when it puts the Chief Executive of the nation in hot water, then that is downright despicable.

The PM's office has clarified as below, unfortunately this has not received as wide a coverage as it should: 

Bloggers may be asked to state identity

Easier said than done. Many blog for exactly the fact that they can get away with murder. Not all bloggers are responsible.

 

Read the original article in fz.com here 

Yes, Malaysia's Red Bean Army Does Exist

Recently the term Red Bean Army (RBA) has been frequently bandied about. It may be relatively new to most Malaysians but most seasoned bloggers are aware that the Red Bean Army occupies an entire floor at the Wenworth Hotel in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur and Komtar in Penang. Yes they do indeed exist, despite the DAP’s repeated denials.

The tag “Red Bean Army” is said to be derived from Chairman Mao's “Red Guards” during China's Cultural Revolution. The Red Guards were a group of students in their teens and 20s who banded together in 1966 to overturn the “old order” and fight to protect the revolution and preserve their Chairman's Thoughts.

They were also encouraged to criticize Mao's enemies: anyone who was against Mao's vision for China, from writers, economists, artists to anyone associated with Mao's political opponent Liu Shao-chi.

However, the zeal of their youth nearly pushed China into social turmoil as schools and colleges had to be closed and the economy started to suffer. The Red Guards began to splinter as their beliefs started diverging. Eventually, they turned on each other. Due to the “disturbances” they caused, the Red Guards were exiled to the countryside for re-education.

Malaysia’s RBA gained notoriety after one of its “generals” made a confession in the China Press report. Li Shuang admitted to the existence of a Red Bean Army Facebook fanpage- Zheng Yi Zhi Sheng.

Li had attested, however, that the FB fanpage community which has some 50 members is not a registered organization and it is merely a platform for netizens to discuss political issues, stressing that they had never issued any comments to provoke racial hatred.

Yet, it cannot be denied that political hostility is strong in the social media networks. The majority of those who are politically active online belong to Gen Y with ages ranging from 25 to 35, and most hold steady jobs and are educated.

These cyber activists fall mainly into two groups - pro-Barisan Nasional and pro-Pakatan Rakyat. Most are expressing their angst, writing about what they think and talk about in the kopitiam and office.

This relatively new phenomenon can be labelled as the political awakening of Gen Y, who give little thought to convention, tradition or even decorum when online, many cyber activists do not know that racially or religiously sensitive issues can be seditious, or that whatever that's illegal or termed as a criminal act offline can be classified as criminal and punishable online.

Malaysian Youth Rights Movement (MYRM) president Shen Yee Aun argues that the latest “outing” by Li surely proves the existence of these cyber troopers who call themselves the Red Bean Army.

Shen, a former executive secretary of DAP Youth, was one of the first few to “expose” the Red Bean Army in the mainstream media and unwaveringly stands by his allegations of these “ruthless cybertroopers”.

“I am fighting every day. It is a psychological war and they just want to break one's spirit and discredit the person,” he says.

Shen has no qualms admitting that it is a personal vendetta for him to expose the Red Bean Army as they have manipulated, slandered and created lies about his friends, family and himself. They have started to harass his brother who is now scared to use their surname Shen.

He claims thousands and thousands of “hate mail” have bombarded him since he came to the defense of a student and MYRM member who received rape threats after she made a YouTube video to declare her support for Barisan during the elections recently.

“They do not talk about facts or political ideas. They are driven by emotion, hatred and anger to assassinate my character, as they did with cyber attacks on film star Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and model Leng Yein. My fb photos havebeen copied and manipulated to disparage and discredit me too”.

So who are the Red Bean Army?

Shen describes the Red Bean soldiers as professional netizens who manipulate and misrepresent facts not only to attack the government, but also ordinary Malaysians who pledge support to the Barisan Nasional.

These cyber troopers will gang up against the chosen target and harp on selected issues, which they will do relentlessly until their goal is achieved.

Usually they have three days for their operation, says Shen, claiming that although many started out as volunteers, they now work full-time on a RM3,000 monthly pay.

“Their main goal is to assassinate the character of anyone who supports Barisan. There are many young people who support Barisan but they are too scared to publicly say so because they do not want to be bullied and harassed online,” he says.

The majority of them lack media literacy. Many do not know how to process information and sieve what is right and wrong from the noise on the Net. Unfortunately, many also prefer to believe the many untruths on the Internet or alternative media.

No matter what issue you bring up, they will attack and discredit your source before attacking you personally by calling you a dog, loser, etc. When that fails, they will start to divert the issue.

They use the same tactics as the Communist Party of Malaya did during the Emergency. It is revolution style - you are either with them or against them, and they bully anyone who is against them.

They fight a dirty war and they threaten and harass people. Democracy is democracy, but it does not give you the freedom to create and spread lies. We don't need people who disturb the peace in our country or threaten to rape or kill people. This will not bring any good.

The vigilante style of the RBA is not only harmful but brings shame on Malaysia in the eyes of the world as they spread lies about election fraud in the GE13 with a petition to the United States, risking international interference in our country.

The Spanker says:

Online activists NEED to be responsible, have a face and engage positively. Cyber activists should always cross check their facts with several sources, include real names and faces, allow for two-way conversations whether it's positive or negative responses to promote intellectual discourse and to include hyperlinks of the sources quoted in the posting so that readers can confirm before forming their own opinions.

Lastly observe some decorum and never accuse people of being guilty unless you have proof.

Cops Charged For Death-in-Custody Murder

The Spanker would like to set the record straight on deaths in custody. Despite popular perception that it is mostly Indians who suffer this horrible fate, it is actually the Malays who top this category.

image credit: Azlan Zamhari, Malaysiakini

Yesterday three policemen were charged in the magistrate’s court with the murder of detainee N. Dhamendran in a lock-up.

Sjn Jaffri Jaafar, 44, Kpl Mohd Nahar Abd Rahman, 45, and Kpl Mohd Haswadi Zamri Shaari, 32 – along with another policeman still at large – are accused of colluding over the murder of Dhamendran, who was being investigated in a shooting incident.

All three confirmed that they understood the charges, although no plea was recorded. They are alleged to have committed the offence at Level 7 of the Special Investigation office in the Kuala Lumpur Contingent Head­quarters in Jalan Hang Tuah between 12.20pm and 2.50pm on May 21.

The trio were represented by Datuk Hazman Ahmad, Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu and Geethan Ram Vincent, respectively.

Magistrate Nur A’minatul Mardiah Md Nor fixed July 9 for mention of the case, when the chemist and post-mortem reports will be handed to the court.

Vultures Lawyers N. Surendran and Latheefa Koya held a watching brief for the family of the deceased. City CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah was also present at the proceedings.

Dhamendran’s wife Marry Mariya Susay said that she was “satisfied” that the suspects had been charged.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail commended the taskforce established by the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the death of Dhamendran for its swift action.

“Based on the evidence gathered through the investigation, I have decided to proffer a murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code against the police personnel involved,” he said.

Dhamendran was arrested on May 11 on suspicion of attempted murder involving firearms and remanded from May 12 until he was found dead in his cell on May 21.

The post-mortem examination conducted at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on May 22 determined the cause of death to be “diffused soft tissue injuries due to multiple blunt force trauma”.

Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC), which has come under severe criticism from the public for its silence on custodial deaths, today said it had set up a special task force to investigate these incidents.

EAIC chief executive Nor Afizah Hanum Mokhtar said the special task force would now investigate the case of R Jamesh Ramesh who died in police custody on May 26. This, she added, was despite no official complaints having been lodged with the EAIC.

“To date,we have not received a single complaint in regards to deaths in police custody.

“This is our own initiative to help seek justice. We have a wide jurisdiction, so we will do all we can to provide what’s most beneficial to the people – justice,” she said adding that the task force was set up under section 4 of the EAIC Act.

Nor Afizah said that the task force will consist of five to eight members and will be  spearheaded by the chairperson of EAIC, Heliliah Mohd Yusof. She also said that the members are trained investigators and are knowledgeable in the Malaysian legal system.

“There will be five to eight members in this task force and they are highly trained investigators” she said.

Nor Afizah denied that their task force will overlap with any other similar outfits  investigating death in custody.

“The Attorney General’s chambers decision to set up their own task force will not affect us in any way.

“We work in tandem to compliment the system that we have. There will be no overlap and we are also willing to work with anyone for that matter to ensure justice is served,” she added. Nor Afizah also said that they did not have a deadline and planned to move on the investigations as soon as possible.

The priority she said is to “complete it as soon as possible”.

“If we can do it in two weeks, then we will do it in two weeks.

“We are only interested in justice, we will work as fast as possible to provide justice. Justice hurried is justice buried, justice delayed is justice denied,” she said.

The EAIC, which was set up in April 2011, investigates complaints of misconduct by the members of the uniform corp.

Among these agencies are the Immigration Department, the Customs Department, the Rela Corps, the National Anti-Drug Agency, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Department of Environment, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Registration Department (NRD), the Department of Civil Aviation, the Road Transport Department (RTD), the Department of Industrial Relations, the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the Manpower Department, the Health Ministry (Enforcement), the Tourism Ministry (Enforcement and Licensing units), the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry (Enforcement) and the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (Enforcement).

Paul Low Invites PKR Leaders To Have Joint PC

Image by Dayang Norazhar/The Mole

Newly-appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low says his intention to offer condolence to the family of custodial death victim N. Dharmendran was misconstrued by some quarters who described it as ‘harassment’.

Speaking at a press conference, Low explained that a 'phone call' was made earlier by his colleague from Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to Dharmendran's family to offer condolences and to see them personally.

"It is for this reason I chose to interact with the family. Unfortunately, someone said we were harassing. How can that happen? Maybe it is unusual and the atmosphere is tense but my intention is sincere.

 “I want to see the wife (of the late Dharmendran) or parents just to offer them my condolence. (And) secondly to assure them that as a new minister in charge of human rights, I will raise the issue in Cabinet,” the former president of Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) said.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president N Surendran claimed that Low and Pemandu director D. Ravindran had tried to intimidate the family by offering monetary settlement.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low says he preferred to share the same press conference with Pakatan Rakyat leaders on death custody victim N Dharmendran to prevent any miscommunication.

He told reporters that he had already tried to engage N. Surendran so that they could have the same press conference.

“Actually I was planning to have this PC with their presence. I prefer to clarify it in front of them straight away because I've nothing to hide.

“As a Minister, I'm prepared to do another PC together with them so that they can dispute and I can clarify…that's the best way,” he said, adding that it was unfortunate that the opposition leaders could not be with him.

Low, who acknowledged that his ministerial portfolio is on human rights, governance and integrity, said that it should be right for both parties to have a conversation face-to-face to prevent misinterpretation.

“I strictly want to ensure what we speak is the truth and we want to be accountable for what we say and do.

“We can answer the question through social media but we believe that may not be the best platform and we would like to have a face to face conference,” he said.

Low was commenting on the allegation that he had tried to intimidate Dharmendran’s family by offering money-settlement so that the case could be settled.

Dharmendran, 32, who was arrested on May 10 in connection with a shooting incident in Bandar Tun Razak a few weeks ago, died in the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters lockup on May 21.

Kuala Lumpur chief police officer (CPO) Datuk Mohmad Salleh earlier said a post-mortem examination at Kuala Lumpur Hospital revealed “criminal elements” present in the death of Dhamendran.

Subsequently Surendran claimed that Low and Pemandu director D Ravindran had tried to intimidate the family by offering monetary settlement.

The newly-elected member of parliament for Padang Serai told a press conference that Dharmendran’s father had informed him that an officer from the Prime Minister’s Office had called the family to meet.

However, Low clarified that the call was made by D Ravindran, a director from Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), as an effort to initiate a meeting between the minister and the victim’s family.

Low also stressed out that he has no political agenda nor is he representing any party and his intention was solely to help the family to ensure justice is served for them.

'I’m taking full responsible of everything I initiated. From my side there's no political agenda. This is only a sincere approach. But somehow, I think we were going in to do a court settlement.

“We talked nothing about compensation. And I come from a background of anti bribery. I’m against the covering up of things,” he said.

Commenting on the claim that the wife of the deceased had to bribe a few police officers before she was allowed to meet her husband, Low said that he will ensure that Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) will probe the complaint.

"I would like the MACC to conduct a parallel investigation, given the allegations of possible corruption involved,” Low said.

Surendran said the deceased’s father, G Nagayarasamy, had received calls from an official from Putrajaya asking to meet him “secretly” and told him to stop engaging their current pro-opposition lawyers.