Sudah daftar belum? Program Pendaftaran Pemilih yang telah berlangsung pada 3 dan 4 Julai yang lalu disambut baik dari masyarakat setempat dan yang datang dari jauh. Saya berharap program seperti ini tidak harus dikecualikan pada program-program pendaftaran pemilihan tertentu tetapi patut dijadikan sesuatu inisiatif yang penting untuk menyuarakan hak kita sebagai warganegara Malaysia dan memberi ruang untuk menyuarakan dan menggunakan hak tersebut.

Selain daripada program pendaftaran pemilihan, pejuang -pejuang PKR Lembah Pantai telah turun padang di PPR Sri Anggerik Jalan Klang Lama untuk membuat pendaftaran Pengundi baru pada 27hb Jun 2010 jam 11am.

Harapan saya adalah semua yang belum berdaftar, marilah sama-sama mendaftar dan menggunakan hak anda untuk memastikan integriti dan tadbirurus baik kerajaan, ada didalam tangan anda. Suara rakyat, suara keramat!

Tempat-tempat berdaftar dapatkan di sini

comment It is frequently said that a true measure of society is how it treats its weak and poor. To this we would like to add that the true measure of a civilisation is how it cares for its sick and dying.

Recently a friend’s mother was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer. In her mid-50s, with two children of college age, she was obviously desperate to put up a brave fight for as long as possible.

Six months and RM 400,000 worth of treatment later she sadly lost her battle with the Big C, leaving a grief stricken family that had re-mortgaged the family home and were waist deep in debt. Although she had healthcare insurance, the insurance firm would only cover 70 percent of the costs, hence the need to dig deep into savings and release property equity to raise the additional funds, at considerable cost to her loved ones.

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke are already among the leading causes of mortality in Malaysia, in line with that of the rest of the developed world. Cancer diagnosis is on the rise and over the next 20 years it is projected that 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 of us will develop cancer.

Many of these diseases don’t discriminate – at some point in the future either we ourselves or someone close to us will suffer from a potentially serious healthcare condition. How much will this cost us and how many of us will be unable to afford the treatment we need?

In recent years, Malaysia has witnessed the growth of the private sector share in our healthcare system. Whilst many private hospitals provide good standards of care, some are more concerned with profit margins.

Many of us will be familiar with stories of private hospitals performing unnecessary tests and additional treatments as a means of income generation. A friend’s uncle tells the hilarious story of climbing a rambutan tree a few years back and falling off a branch, sustaining a mild concussion.

With a bit of a sore head he thought he’d better go and get checked out. Despite little in the way of additional signs and symptoms he was subjected to a MRI scan at a popular private hospital and an IV drip overnight although he was perfectly capable of eating and drinking.

The outcome? He was discharged the next day with a bill for RM5,000. On relaying his story to a doctor friend later on he was berated for having been taken for a ride, when a couple of Panadols and close observation would probably have sufficed.

Profiting from pain

When a close friend was recently accepted into an oncology training programme overseas, her father’s friend, a respected surgeon, noted what a good career move she’d made. He congratulated her father on the fact that when she returned to Malaysia she could hope to make up to RM 70,000 a month as an oncologist in the private sector.

She was stunned and clearly dismayed by this proposition -in her mind, no one or no institution should ever be able to profit out of the pain and suffering of others. There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that puts profit and material gain before human life.

Some will argue that a private healthcare system should be allowed to develop and those that can afford it continue to pay, whilst those that can’t can fall back on the government system.

We would argue that promoting a two tier healthcare system is dangerous both in terms of ensuring equitable access, maintaining healthcare standards, promoting research and development as well as the inevitable brain and talent drain that follows -as clinicians are drawn away from the government system towards the private sector.

Currently the private sector accounts for 23 percent of the country’s hospital beds (12,000 beds per year). Around 40 percent of the country’s doctors are employed within the private sector (9,000 doctors) with a doctor to patient ratio of 1 to 1.3. This is compared to a doctor to patient ratio of 1 to 3 in the public sector.

However with the move towards semi-privatisation and lack of a coherent social welfare system, even healthcare provisions within the government sector are not completely ‘free’.

Neither are these provisions always affordable. A friend recalls undergoing cancer treatment at University Malaya Medical Centre (formerly known as University Hospital).

She was charged RM30 for her first round of chemotherapy. At the same time in the chemotherapy suite was another woman who was bemoaning the fact that she couldn’t afford to have further treatment.

She unfortunately was now onto her second course of chemotherapy for cancer recurrence and this time round had to pay around RM3,000. Apparently this was part of the additional charges for successive chemotherapy sessions.

Ethical dilemmas

Also, doctors in the government sector often face tough ethical dilemmas. One senior doctor was seriously disillusioned by the fact that difficult cost-benefit calculations have to sometimes be made on behalf of patients. Some patients may be faced with the prospect of treatment that may buy them a further 18 months of life but leave their family with RM 20,000 worth of debt.

For many of us, ANY additional time spent with a loved one would be considered immeasurably precious. However for a family existing on RM1,000 a month this could spell financial ruin. In many instances, doctors in the government service heroically choose to turn a blind eye and continue to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. Many of them however find themselves on the sharp end of rebukes from finance departments and hospital managers.

So what is it that Malaysians need and what is it that they deserve?

We would argue that instead of wasting taxpayers money through superfluous vanity projects and outrageous spending, (the purported RM77 million splurged on the US-based Apco Worldwide consulting firm just to revamp the new Prime Minister’s image being a prime example), the Malaysian government should in fact be focusing on providing a world class healthcare system that is free to all at the point of delivery.

And by that, we don’t simply mean a few token clinics hastily scrambled together devoid of properly qualified medical officers.

Malaysians are more than capable of leading cutting edge research and providing world class healthcare services that saves lives -the fact that there are many Malaysians in top consultant/research/public health posts abroad in the UK, US, Singapore, Canada and Australia is testimony to that.

Comprehensive plan required

We need to come up with a plan for comprehensive healthcare coverage that ensures we get the treatment we need when we need it, regardless of our ability to pay. We need a comprehensive overhaul of our public health policies that make diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer diagnosis and treatment top on our list of priorities.

We need to guarantee that the next time a minister’s wife develops breast cancer she is able to access the best up to date treatment on her doorstep without having to fly halfway round the world. Along with our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters.

Breast cancer is, after all, hardly a rare disease. We need to pay our doctors a fair wage and reward initiative, innovation and hard work, so that we retain the talent we need to build a world-class health system within the public sector.

We need to invest more money in healthcare- last year the government spent only three percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare (and only half of this-1.5 percent was spent in the public sector).

During the recent economic downturn, public healthcare expenditure was among the first to be slashed by a staggering 30 percent.

It is bad enough that existing levels of expenditure for healthcare fall short of the World Health Organisation recommended level of five percent and that of China and India who over the last seven years have consistently spent over five percent of their GDP on healthcare.

Most importantly we need to remind ourselves that many illnesses, including cancer, do not discriminate, and when you’re ill and vulnerable all the money and material wealth in world may fail to make things better.

More than skyscrapers, shopping malls and multi-million dollar vanity projects we need a robust healthcare system that serves the people and can be trusted and relied upon to care for us when we are at our most vulnerable.

NURUL IZZAH ANWAR is Lembah Pantai member of parliament and YOLANDA AUGUSTIN is a Malaysian doctor training in the United Kingdom.

Nurul Izzah Anwar and Yolanda Augustin
May 5, 10

PERUTUSAN KHAS 07 MAC 2010

Nurul Izzah Anwar, Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai

Sempena Hari Wanita Sedunia

Saban tahun, masyarakat antarabangsa meraikan Hari Wanita Sedunia pada 8 Mac. Pada tahun ini, tema yang digagaskan adalah “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”. Dalam laporan terbaru yang dikeluarkan, didapati kebanyakan negara masih mengamalkan dasar atau undang-undang yang mendiskriminasi wanita. Tidak hairanlah jika tema Hari Wanita Sedunia tahun ini meminta kita semua merefleksi samada wanita diberikan hak serta peluang yang sama rata sama ada dalam bidang pendidikan, kerjaya mahupun pembuatan  keputusan.
Selaku ahli Parlimen, tugasan di kawasan mendedahkan saya kepada wanita-wanita yang saban hari menempuh pelbagai cabaran besar. Wanita yang bergelut dengan kerjaya demi menyara keluarga dan diri, sedangkan pada masa yang sama, turut menjadi seorang ibu mahupun isteri di rumah. Di Lembah Pantai, saya mendapati kehidupan di tengah kota yang sarat dengan cabaran sementara taraf hidup yang meningkat turut menyebabkan wanita terpaksa bertungkus-lumus mencari nafkah bersama-sama suami mahupun bersendirian sehinggakan ada ketikanya, mereka tidak dapat menumpukan perhatian kepada tanggungjawab membesarkan anak sepenuhnya.
Kes penderaan serta kehilangan anak di pusat jagaan pastinya menambah kegusaran para ibu yang bekerja tentang keselamatan serta kebajikan anak yang ditinggalkan di pusat-pusat sedemikian. Pada masa yang sama, kos menghantar anak ke pusat jagaan atau didikan awal yang menawarkan perkhidmatan atau kemahiran tambahan agak tinggi. Hal ini menyebabkan kaum wanita bukan sahaja berdepan dengan cabaran sedia ada di tempat kerja dan rumah, bahkan dalam membuat keputusan terbaik untuk anak mereka.
Oleh kerana itulah, perkhidmatan jagaan anak mahupun didikan awal kanak-kanak yang berkualiti dan sesuai dengan kemampuan keluarga merupakan prasyarat penting kepada wanita yang bekerjaya. Keperluan ini lebih-lebih lagi meruncing apabila mengingatkan kepada penderaan yang meragut nyawa adik-adik Syafia dan Haresvarra baru-baru ini.
Penyediaan pusat jagaan atau pendidikan awal kanak-kanak merupakan prasyarat ke arah memaksimakan bakat dan kemahiran wanita yang menyumbang kepada sektor ekonomi negara. Pelan tindakan mungkin ada – hanya pelaksanaanya belum meluas sehingga ke akar umbi lagi.
Justeru, sempena Hari Wanita 2010, marilah kita, tidak kira wanita ataupun lelaki membantu mereleasasikan pelaksanaan langkah-langkah yang membantu para ibu yang bekerjaya. Kerana dedikasi serta semangat jatidiri yang ditonjolkan bukan sahaja sebagai seorang ibu dan isteri, tetapi selaku pendukung aspirasi politik dan ekonomi negara. Saya turut berasa bangga dan meyokong penuh usaha serta hasrat gerakan wanita di Malaysia yang tidak pernah gentar dan mengalah dalam memperjuangkan kesaksamaan gender dan hak wanita di Malaysia. Saya berharap agar kita dapat bekerjasama dalam merangka strategi ke arah mewujudkan dasar atau program yang dapat membantu wanita terutamanya ibu-ibu yang bekerja samada di kawasan saya mahupun seluruh negara.

Salam Hari Wanita!

Nurul Izzah Anwar & Raja Shahrir, Nur Safiyah dan Ahmad Harith

Kuala Lumpur

PKR’s young leaders optimistic despite defections

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani (Malaysian Insider)

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/55196-pkrs-young-leaders-optimistic-despite-defections

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Nurul Izzah Anwar stepped into the forefront last night, stressing that the future of a PKR wracked with resignations lies in the younger generation.

The Lembah Pantai MP said the voice of the young is being lost in the aftermath of three resignations that have rocked the party which is led by her father, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“I believe it is important that the public at large realize or know the voices or aspirations of the younger leadership in the party which sometimes can be left behind and forgotten in the calamity that has ensued,” the first-term MP told a forum here.

Bagan Serai MP Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri yesterday became the third MP to quit PKR and turn independent after the resignations of Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng.

“I think of all us here has differences of opinion and that the fact we are here and still committed to the struggle is basically testament that there are sufficient avenues to air opinions especially from the younger generation. If you are truly a reformist then you will do the best to address the differences and work together to come out with a workable solution.

“People who decide to leave the party should just be labelled opportunists because you are leaving the struggle,” she said.

Dubbed “Puteri Reformasi” when leading the movement to free her father years ago, she said the party needed the young to succeed.

“When you talk about the future direction of the party, you cannot succeed without the support and the younger generation coming together,” she told her audience.

Nurul Izzah said the country’s political landscape had been shaped by Barisan Nasional with many of the institutions getting young people to be involved in money politics.

“You have to understand the realities of being involved in opposition politics. You are facing real trials and tribulations even a harsh future without financial renumeration so how do you educate the younger generation to be part of the political process. You should be incorruptible when you are young and should not be together with those people who are willing to sell their souls to do anything so that you can the rich or to be very successful.

“So this is very important struggle for me which is beyond the struggle of Pakatan Rakyat,” she added.

Seri Setia assemblyman, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, added that the party defectors were not used the party’s new politics.

“We want to show that we are defection proof unlike the mentality of the old guards that have tried to play with the media.

“PKR as a new party is bringing a new culture of politics which maybe stranger for those used to old politics. It is difficult for certain people so we have to go through this process,” said the political secretary to the Selangor Mentri Besar.

He noted that Anwar had apologised for the quality of candidates following other spate of resignations in the past.

“Of course, we have to improve certain things but I think we just have to bite the bullet and face it,” said Nik Nazmi.

Since the 12th General Election, PKR has lost six assemblymen beginning with the Perak “frogs” Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, and followed by Lunas assemblyman Mohd Radzhi Salleh, Port Klang assemblyman Badrul Hisham Abdullah and former Penanti assemblyman and former Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin.

Another PKR assemblyman, V. Arumugam (Bukit Selambau) had also quit the party in April last year due to personal marital issues. He had contested as an independent in March 2008 but subsequently joined PKR.

Ikrar Setia Kami kepada Keadilan 

3 Mac 2010 

Pada 8 Mac 2008, kami dipilih warga Malaysia di kawasan kami yang mengundi untuk sebuah harapan dan perubahan menggantikan kejumudan. Rakyat mahukan politik baru yang menolak desakan perkauman, rasuah dan salah guna kuasa. Objektif yang kami terus usahakan apabila mewakili Parti Keadilan Rakyat ialah untuk membentuk “masyarakat yang adil dan negara yang demokratik, progresif dan bersatu-padu”. 

Namun, ada mereka yang berfikir bahawa dengan kemenangan, perjuangan ini sudah tidak perlu diteruskan. Mereka berhenti berkhidmat kepada rakyat sebagaimana yang sepatutnya dan mahu menjadikannya sebagai “masa mengaut hasil rampasan perang”. Apabila ini tidak dapat dilakukan, mereka menuntut ‘pampasan’ dari parti, membuat tuntutan di luar kewajaran demi kepentingan diri mereka sendiri. 

Apabila dinafikan, mereka bertindak seakan mengugut dan kini meninggalkan parti. Mereka mengisytiharkan diri mereka bebas sedangkan semua melihat mereka sedang bergantung dengan corak rasuah dan pendekatan kuno masa lalu. Ada yang mahu insiden ini dilihat sebagai perpecahan dalam Pakatan Rakyat, namun ia sebenarnya satu lagi usaha berterusan mereka yang mahu terus berkuasa. 

Barisan Nasional menyedari bahawa cara politik usang yang mereka bawa kian tiba ke penghujung. Untuk melengahkan hakikat ini, mereka menggunakan strategi serampang dua mata. Pada satu sudut, mereka cuba menggambarkan bahawa mereka sedang menjuarai perubahan yang kami canangkan. Pada sudut lain, mereka merosakkan kepercayaan rakyat dan memanipulasi jentera kerajaan untuk menghancurkan Pakatan Rakyat. Pendakwaan terhadap Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, serangan perkauman terhadap kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang dan tindakan memperlekehkan Tuan Guru Dato’ Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat sebagai pemimpin utama PAS di Kelantan dan Malaysia adalah sebahagian contoh jijik yang ada. 

Dengan memilih untuk mendokong tindakan jahat ini, mantan pimpinan Keadilan yang bertindak keluar parti ini telah memilih untuk terus memandang ke belakang. Mereka telah mengkhianati harapan rakyat biasa di Malaysia yang memilih untuk perubahan dua tahun lalu. Tindakan mereka membuktikan bahawa mereka tidak peduli malah sesungguhnya memusuhi masa depan negara dan rakyat. 

Mungkin ada yang percaya bahawa ada lagi yang akan mengikuti mereka, tapi kami pimpinan muda dalam Pakatan Rakyat, yang dipilih oleh rakyat, berikrar bahawa kami akan kekal berjuang biarpun berdepan dengan cabaran, pujukan dan penindasan yang ada. Kami tidak akan berpatah balik. Kami mahukan perubahan untuk Malaysia, kami mahu berkhidmat kepada rakyat. Kami akan memenuhi kepercayaan yang diberikan rakyat. Kami tahu bahawa agenda Keadilan yang inklusif dan tidak bersifat perkauman adalah ruang terbaik untuk kami meneruskan agenda membawa negara ke hadapan. Selama ini semua anggota parti mempunyai ruang memberi pandangan terhadap agenda yang dibawa Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim kepada rakyat, yang telah disepakati dengan semangat musyawarah. 

Pakatan Rakyat telah mencipta sejarah dengan Kerangka Dasar Bersama yang memaparkan persetujuan tulen rakyat Malaysia untuk abad ke-21. Kami akan turun bersama rakyat untuk berbincang dan bertukar fikiran dengan seluruh masyarakat bagi merealisasikan prinsip ini. Berikan kami dokongan juga nasihat dan pandangan. Kami mahu belajar daripada anda, dan bersama anda.

Dengan cara ini, kami berharap dapat menggembeling rakyat yang perihatin untuk menghidupkan semula Perlembagaan dan semangatnya, menyatukan rakyat dan merealisasikan impian yang disebut oleh Bapa Kemerdekaan kita dalam Pemahsyuran Kemerdekaan “…menjadi sebuah negara merdeka dan berdaulat serta berdasarkan kebebasan dan keadilan dan sentiasa menjaga dan mengutamakan kesejahteraan dan kesentosaan rakyatnya dan mengekalkan keamanan antara segala bangsa”. 

Ini adalah impian mereka dan kini kami. Ini adalah impian bersama kita rakyat Malaysia. Kami akan mempertahankan dan menghidupkannya dengan seluruh jiwa dan maruah yang ada.  

Kami telah berikrar menyumbang usaha Pakatan Rakyat menyelamatkan negara ini, dan kami akan menunaikannya. 

Disepakati oleh

YB Nurul Izzah Anwar (Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai, Wilayah Persekutuan)

YB Amran Ghani (Ahli Parlimen Tanah Merah, Kelantan)

YB S. Manikumar (Exco Pelancongan Pembangunan Masyarakat dan Sumber Tenaga Manusia Perpaduan dan Hal Ehwal Masyarakat India dan ADUN Bukit Selambau, Kedah)

YB Amirudin Shari (ADUN Batu Caves, Selangor)

YB Gan Pei Nei (ADUN Rawang, Selangor)

YB Yunus Jamhari (ADUN Kuala Kurau, Perak)

YB Chang Lih Kang (ADUN Teja, Perak)

YB Chan Ming Kai (ADUN Simpang Pulai, Perak)

YB Sim Tze Tzin (ADUN Pantai Jerejak, Pulau Pinang)

YB Kesavan (ADUN Hutan Melintang, Perak)

YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (ADUN Seri Setia, Selangor)

TINTA KHAS

NURUL IZZAH ANWAR SEMPENA SAMBUTAN MAULIDUR RASUL 1431

Teman-teman seperjuangan sekalian,

Tanggal 12 Rabiul Awal  merupakan tarikh istimewa bagi umat Islam di seluruh dunia.Pada tarikh tersebut, Rasul Junjungan kita, Nabi Muhammad S.A.W dilahirkan sebagai pembawa khabar berita dan rahmat Allah s.w.t ke seluruh alam.

Kelahiran beliau di tengah-tengah kegawatan masyarakat Arab Jahiliyah ketika itu membawa perubahan besar yang tidak ternilai bukan sahaja kepada masyarakat setempat bahkan terhadap seluruh peradaban manusia. Kelahiran beliau merupakan petanda berakhirnya zaman kegelapan dan kekufuran masyarakat Jahiliyah ketika itu serta bermulanya tradisi kecemerlangan dan pencerahan masyarakat di seluruh dunia sehingga ke hari ini. Maka tidak hairanla jika tarih kelahiran Rasulullah S.A.W ini diraikan dengan begitu meriah sekali oleh umat Islam di seluruh dunia.

Teman-teman seperjuangan sekalian,

Sempena hari yang penuh berkah dan mulia ini, saya ingin mengajak teman-teman semua merenungi mesej penting  yang diutarakan oleh Rasulullah dalam Ucapan Wida’ baginda:

“…Ketahuilah bahawa setiap Muslim adalah saudara kepada Muslim yang lain. Kamu semua adalah sama; tidak seorang pun yang lebih mulia dari yang lainnya kecuali dalam Taqwa dan beramal saleh.”

Dalam kemeriahan menyambut Maulidur Rasul, janganlah kita alpa dan lupa kepada perjuangan kita untuk menegakkan keadilan dan kesaksamaan di bumi Malaysia ini. Seharusnya sambutan Maulidur Rasul ini dijadikan inspirasi untuk kita bersama-sama mendukung usaha ke arah membawa perubahan yang positif dan bermakna untuk rakyat Malaysia. Ambillah peluang ini untuk bermuhasabah atau membuat penilaian diri agar ketinggian akhlaq dan peribadi Rasulullah S.A.W itu dapat dicontohi dalam kehidupan kita. Janganlah pula kita bertelingkah sesama sendiri sempena sambutan Maulidur Rasul ini hanya kerana kepentingan dan agenda peribadi. Tidak kiralah apa cara sekalipun kita menterjemahkan rasa kasih yang mendalam terhadap Rasul Junjungan, samada dengan berarak, berpuasa atau mengadakan majlis ilmu, yang penting dan yang lebih afdal adalah agar kita sentiasa ikhlas dan bermuafakat dalam apa jua usaha kita, terutamanya dalam menentang kebatilan dan menghindar kezaliman di negara ini.

Teman-teman seperjuangan sekalian,

Justeru, saya menyeru kepada teman-teman sekalian agar menghayati sambutan Maulidur Rasul ini dengan menanam iltizam untuk memperbaiki diri, bangsa dan agama dengan cara mengukuhkan hubungan kekeluargaan dan persaudaraan bukan sahaja dengan umat Islam tetapi rakyat Malaysia secara keseluruhannya.

Akhir kata, marilah kita mengingati bagaimana Rasulullah S.A.W menumpaskan kezaliman dan ketidakadilan bukan menggunakan kekerasan fizikal tetapi dengan keluhuran akhlaq dan ketajaman akal baginda. Semoga kita berupaya untuk menjejak langkah baginda itu, InsyaAllah.

Salam Maulidur Rasul

Dari Nurul Izzah sekeluarga.

(Malaysian Insider, 10th February 2010)

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/52634-anwars-sodomy-trial-meant-to-hurt-us-says-izzah

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — Today will be the seventh day of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial as Nurul Izzah and family walk through the swarm of photographers and reporters to show support for their well-loved father.
Izzah was only 18 years old when her father was first implicated for sodomy in 1998 and 12 years later, Anwar is accused of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at a posh condominium in the exclusive Bukit Damansara suburb in Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar’s eldest child is now a mother of two and a first-term MP for Lembah Pantai which she won in Election 2008.
She explained to The Malaysian Insider that her current situation is different from the last sodomy trial because she is now not only responsible for her family but also supporters.
“All of us are older now and I have my husband by my side and my two children. It was very much more complex having a constituency and you really carry the hopes and inspiration of our supporters including Pakatan Rakyat supporters,” Izzah said while sitting beside her husband Raja Ahmad Shahrir at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
However, she admitted being angry that her family has to go through and witness her father on trial again.
“On a personal level, I would say it is very difficult and I am angry as well when I first heard his (Saiful) testimony in court to a point that it is almost unbelievable that we have to go through this again, are you kidding me? When the trial should have stopped immediately looking at the evidence.
“So it is harrowing and we just have to remain focused because they mean to do this, they mean to hurt us and basically make us feel that that there is no hope for the future,” she said.
Izzah said that the sodomy trial proves that her father is still a threat to Barisan Nasional.
“I think it is a continuation and it is better choreographed this time around but it still came as a shock to the family. We were focusing on the reform agendas especially the March 8 election results and it just reaffirms two things. The first is my father is still very much a threat to the ruling government and they will do whatever it takes to destroy his political career and the political future of Pakatan Rakyat.
“Second there is no way, you can get around unfinished reform; basically you need to implement reforms in the judiciary, in the police force and even parliamentary reforms because the same players who are responsible for ‘98 have been promoted, and again play a vital role in this episode so that is basically what my take is,” she said.
Izzah is still confident that her father would not be “put behind bars”.
“We shouldn’t assume that all hope is lost. We have a very very good case and a good team of lawyers basically almost all Malaysians know what is happening. They can see the transgression that has taken place but I believe it is also a wake-up call for Pakatan Rakyat to really strengthen the party. Our structure and position.
“I remain optimistic but of course now we are asking for the judge to recuse himself so as you can tell we are doing our best so that he is not put behind bars,” she said.
Izzah said that her family understand the situation better now and vow that her father will be “vindicated”.
“I would say that it is very difficult, because the kids have grown up so everyone understands the term conspiracy. So that is helpful. And my daughter can say ‘masalah politik’ (political problem) and ‘kesian papa tuk’ (poor grandfather). So I think we have more family support in that sense. But I think we do what we can to support him and we will not waiver in our resolve to vindicate my father,” she said.

YB Nurul Izzah on whether Pakatan Rakyat’s Members of Parliament should receive allocations to service their constituencies.

The expected traditional role of an Federal Territory MP covers not only parliamentary duties but also patronage related activities -mainly linked to welfare distribution to constituents/ institutions/ organizations within his/her constituency.

Ideally, an MP should focus on raising pertinent local and national issues at the parliamentary level, whilst being supported by assembly persons and an elected local government adept at servicing the constituents’ needs.

But Federal Territory MPs do not have state assembly persons. Additionally, they are mostly at the mercy of the federal appointed Mayor and City Hall officers who decide matters most sacred to KL, Labuan and Putrajaya -issues of licensing, enforcement and servicing.

Hence, regardless of who gets the allocations, what matters most is accountability. Each RM must be spent fairly and efficiently, with the Federal Territory rakyat in mind.

For now, with DBKL fully deciding on how the RM 2.12 bn is being spent for this year, the Pakatan Rakyat Kuala Lumpur MPs are working around , creatively and exhaustively, without any say on how the money is spent, and without access to the RM 1 million that goes directly to the party in power.

In conclusion, the allocation need not be passed through us, but it must be made accountable and transparent to the rakyat. That’s the issue, and that’s what you should raise.

Thanks

Izzah

KENYATAAN TERBUKA Y.B NURUL IZZAH ANWAR
BERHUBUNG PERBICARAAN ANWAR IBRAHIM

Tarikh: 2 Februari 2010

Teman-teman seperjuangan sekalian,

Perbicaraan ini merupakan satu percubaan jahat yang bukan sahaja berniat untuk menghina dan menghancurkan karier politik ayah, tetapi juga keutuhan keluarga kami. Perbicaraan ini sekali lagi mengingatkan rakyat tentang penglibatan Peguam Negara, pimpinan tertinggi UMNO dan Ketua Polis Negara dalam perencanaan konspirasi 1998 – dan tentunya pembabitan mereka di dalam kes terbaru ini.

Saya ingin menegaskan dakwaan bahawa kes ini sebenarnya dilengah-lengahkan datang dari pendusta, pemfitnah, dan mereka yang sememangnya tidak faham atau arif tentang sistem perundangan negara.

Sewaktu kes di bicarakan di mahkamah majistret, Peguam Negara bersungguh-sungguh memohon agar kes tersebut dipindah untuk dibicarakan di Mahkamah Tinggi. Permohonan tersebutlah yang merupakan satu bentuk penangguhan – yang dipinta oleh MEREKA!

Kita semua maklum bagaimana ayah diminta membela diri oleh mahkamah walaupun bukti penting yg menunjukkan wujudnya kes prima facie tidak diserahkan kepada beliau. Ini bercanggah dengan peruntukan undang-undang yang jelas menetapkan kewajipan pihak pendakwa berbuat demikian.
Justeru ayah terpaksa menggunakan saluran mahkamah untuk mendapatkan dokumen tersebut sebelum perbicaraan penuh dimulakan. Malangnya kami pula dituduh cuba untuk melengah-lengahkan kes.

Amat mendukacitakan rayuan kami ke Mahkamah Tinggi untuk membatalkan tuduhan terhadap ayah turut ditolak sungguhpun bukti menunjukkan dakwaan wujudnya elemen “kemasukan” adalah tidak berasas. Selain itu, Mahkamah Rayuan sehingga ke hari ini masih belum menetapkan tarikh perbicaraan.

Sudahlah ayah dinafikan akses terhadap bukti-bukti untuk membela dirinya. Ditambah pula dengan rayuan ke Mahkamah Tinggi yang ditolak serta permohonan kami agar keputusan itu disemak oleh Mahkamah Persekutuan, mana mungkin perbicaraan ini boleh diteruskan?

Kami tidak mengharapkan belas kasihan dari para konspirator tetapi setidak-tidaknya janganlah menuduh kami menggunakan proses mahkamah untuk melengah-lengahkan kes sedang kami sedari awal maklum keputusan mahkamah tidak akan memihak kepada kami. Hormatilah hak kami untuk menggunakan saluran mahkamah demi menegakkan keadilan. Sesungguhnya kami juga mahu keaiban kedua ini berakhir secepat mungkin agar kami dapat menjalani kehidupan seperti insan lain.

Sungguhpun demikian, kami ingin merakamkan setinggi-tinggi ucapan terima kasih kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia yang masih terus menyokong kami dalam usaha mengembalikan maruah kami sekeluarga serta maruah negara dan bangsa. Doa dari tuan-tuan Allah sahaja yang dapat membalasnya dan sesungguhnya percayalah kebenaran akan pasti tertegak.Ketabahan dan kesabaran harus diteruskan, terutamanya bila terbayang wajah Mursyidul AM PAS, YAB Menteri Besar Neg Kelantan, AL Fadhil Dato’ Tuan Guru Nik Aziz pagi tadi – hadir bersama , menolak fitnah. Moga Allah SWT berikan kita kekuatan.

NURUL IZZAH ANWAR

Amnesty International:Malaysia opposition leader Anwar faces ’show trial’

29 January 2010

Amnesty International has urged the Malaysian authorities to drop politically motivated criminal charges of sodomy against Anwar Ibrahim, the country’s opposition leader, after he lost an appeal for access to the government’s evidence against him on Friday.

His trial is now set to begin on 2 February at the High Court. This case is the second time in 12 years that the authorities have brought such charges against the former deputy prime minister.

Following his public criticism of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed in 1998, Anwar was arrested and convicted on sodomy and corruption charges. He spent six years in solitary confinement before his conviction was overturned and he was released.

“The Malaysian authorities have resorted to the same old dirty tricks in an attempt to remove the opposition leader from politics,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific director at Amnesty International. “Malaysia’s judiciary should throw out these charges.”

Amnesty International considered him a prisoner of conscience before his release in 2004.

For five years, Anwar was banned from seeking public office as a result of his conviction on corruption charges. After the ban expired in April 2008, he won a parliamentary seat on 26 August 2008, and become opposition leader as head of the People’s Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat).

But one month before his election, on 17 July 2008, Anwar was again arrested on charges that he had committed sodomy with a male former aide. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and loss of political office.

The criminal charge of sodomy against Anwar, under Section 377B of the Penal Code, is at odds with international human rights standards. This British colonial-era law provides for prison and whipping, a punishment that violates the international law prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment. Moreover, the UN Human Rights Commission in 1997 ruled that sodomy laws infringe the fundamental right to privacy.

Amnesty International is seriously concerned about fair-trial issues surrounding Anwar’s case. The prosecution’s refusal to deliver evidence to the defence at the pre-trial stage infringes international fair-trial standards and Malaysian law.

“Anwar’s case has rightly raised doubts among the international community and investors about Malaysia’s commitment to justice and the rule of law,” said Zarifi.

Under Section 51A of the Malaysia’s Criminal Procedure Code, the prosecution must deliver documents and a written statement of facts favourable to the defence. The UN Human Rights Committee has established that the minimum facilities for fair trials “must include access to documents and other evidence which the accused requires to prepare his case.”

On 29 January, however, the Malaysian Federal Court failed to uphold the prosecution’s obligation to provide access to evidence which Anwar’s lawyers believe may help exonerate him. In an earlier decision, the Court of Appeals had termed the defence’s application for evidence a “fishing expedition.”

“The court’s decision to allow the prosecution to withhold key evidence sets a dangerous precedent for criminal cases in Malaysia,” said Zarifi. “This is a recipe for unfair trials.”

Please see below for weblink

http://amnesty. org/en/news- and-updates/ malaysia- opposition- leader-anwar- faces-039show- trial039- 20100129