The Imam's Magical Shoes

Lawyers urge review of jail term for shoe-throwing imam

By Shannon Teoh | The Malaysian Insider | March 08, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March — Lawyers stunned by the Federal Court’s one-year jail sentence for contempt of court against an imam who threw his shoes at three senior judges have called for a review of the “excessive” punishment. 

The court decided this morning that Hoslan Hussin’s “act of contempt was very serious” and “if no action is taken, can threaten the powers of the court” before meting out the jail tern that several lawyers told The Malaysian Insider was unprecedented for a case of contempt. 

“No, I have never seen such a heavy punishment. Even considering the need for a deterrent, I had expected a custodial sentence but no more than six weeks. Does the punishment really serve justice?” said senior lawyer Karpal Singh, who had pleaded in mitigation for Hoslan. 

Hoslan praying at the court building in Putrajaya before being sentenced to jail
for contempt March 8 2012. — Picture by Choo Choy May (The Malaysian Insider) 

Human rights lawyer N. Surendran also said “the sentence is excessive and inappropriate”. 

“The circumstances of this case required that justice should be tempered with mercy. This the Federal Court failed to do,” the PKR vice president said. 

[Read the rest here.]

Imam Hoslan Hussin: denied his day in court since 1999

Remember Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who enjoyed a brief burst of global fame and popularity in December 2008 for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush during a press conference?





Imam Hoslan Hussin may or may not have been inspired by Muntadhar's act of raw courage and pure passion, but his act of shoe-throwing was most certainly in the same heroic and noble spirit.

Just as George W. Bush symbolized the hypocrisy and arrogance of power unleashed against the powerless in the interest of greedy corporations and their lunatic desire to dominate the world - economically and militarily - the Malaysian Judiciary since 1988 has become emblematic of everything that has gone wrong in our once blessed and bountiful land.

Zaki Azmi, retired Chief Justice
recently awarded a highway project

The monolithic power of the state apparatus maintains itself through cowing the masses - whether through the sort of colossal architecture you will find in the Kremlin and Putrajaya, or through the threat of physical violence, outsourced to vigilante mobs like Perkasa, Pekida, Rela, and Mat Rempit on the Umno Youth payroll.

While those in the political opposition are constrained to operate within the framework of parliamentary debate - using their leverage to expose policy errors and serious wrongdoing - the proverbial man-in-the-street is confined to merely casting a vote every four or five years when a general election is called.

By casting his shoes at the bench of judges who had dismissed his case without due consideration or regard for the imam's growing sense of frustration with the ponderous, impersonal workings of so-called justice, Hoslan Hussin did the only thing possible to reclaim his dignity and sovereignty as a human individual.

Nobody, as far as I know, has ever been killed or even injured by a flying shoe. Indeed, if modern warfare consisted of squadrons of planes dropping a million pairs of shoes on a deeply insulted populace, the only casualty would be the local shoe industry - notwithstanding the hypothetical possibility that somebody gawping at the sight of shoes raining down from the skies might find himself with a set of fractured dentures, should one of these missiles land directly in his mouth.

In any case, if someone was extremely angry with me, I would much rather he or she lob a shoe at me - than a rock, for instance, or an empty bottle or a grenade. I would view this act of hostility as extremely negative feedback. Obviously, I must have said or done something to deeply hurt or annoy my assailant. It would present an opportunity to make amends by quietly returning the attacker's footwear with a sincere apology and a renewed effort to resolve the issue amicably.

What the Malaysian judiciary has done, in this instance, is utterly unpardonable. By imposing the harshest possible sentence on the imam - a one-year  imprisonment - they have only revealed their immaturity and vindictiveness. Those who sit in judgement of us, with their somber robes and deadpan expressions, were clearly handpicked for their jobs on account of their subservience to Mahathirist principles - essentially, might makes right.

I feel far more respect for the funky imam's shoes than any of the judges who have denied him justice. I'm sure many will support my suggestion that the imam's shoes be displayed in a glass case as a symbol of honorable resistance to injustice - and that Hoslan Hussin be declared a national hero for making such a bold statement on behalf of all justice-loving, but justice-denied, Malaysians.

As for the judges, their names and images deserve to be assigned to the ever-growing judicial Hall of Shame.

GODDESS ROCK

I love the way it glistens.

[Forwarded by my daughter Belle]

Opposition to Lynas escalates on all fronts...

Anti-Lynas Himpunan Hijau 2.0 in Kuantan, Pahang, 26 February 2012 (photo: Malaysiakini)

PETALING JAYA: The Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA) has revealed that Lynas Corporation Ltd was supposed to build its plant in Western Australia and not Malaysia.

According to ANAWA, Lynas’ 14-year-old blueprint indicated that the Australian mining giant had orginally planned to build its processing plant in Meenar a decade ago. But until today there had been no signs of any development on the intended site.

ANAWA spokesperson Marcus Atkinson told FMT that the orginal approvals were given by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for Lynas to ship rare earth to buyers and confirmed that he had viewed these relevant documents firsthand.

Under pressure: Nick Curtis, Lynas CEO (TMI)

However, he said that Lynas had since made numerous alterations to its operations to the point that its rare earth refinery had now landed in Malaysia.

“Instead of transporting processed rare earth, it is now shipping a concentrate which contains thorium and other radioactive material with more heavy metals,” he told FMT.

Atkinson admitted that they had been more focused on Lynas’ operations in Australia until the uproar in Malaysia reached their ears and they realised that Lynas’ had made “massive” changes to its plans.

“Now it involves Malaysia and our moral responsibility,” he said. “This is a complete change to the original project hence why we are urging the EPA to review Lynas’ approvals.”

ANAWA and Australia’s Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) lodged a referral with the EPA this morning calling on the latter to reopen the project and revisit Lynas’ “outdated” approvals.

Atkinson had yesterday raised deep concerns over the amount of radioactive material being transported from Mount Weld to Fremantle Port for export and called for stronger regulations to be put in place to ease the fears of the surrounding community.

He had also drawn attention to the fact that Lynas had sparked off Malaysia’s largest environmental campaign with its RM2.5 billion Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Kuantan.

The nationwide Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally held on March 26 saw more than 15,000 people gathering to demand that Lynas be ousted from Kuantan.

Less stringent laws

Atkinson added that ANAWA and EDO strongly believed that Lynas had chosen to move its operations to Malaysia because of the heavy metals and radioactive waste involved in the processing.

“We believe Lynas picked Malaysia to save money and enable it to operate under less stringent laws,” he stated.

“The biggest concerns about the processing are the storage and waste management issues which are made more difficult in Gebeng which we understand to be wetlands.”

Asked if Lynas would be allowed to operate in the same manner and with the same liberty in Western Australia as in Gebeng, Atkinson firmly replied in the negative. “There is no way it could operate the way it is in Malaysia over here,” he said. “Australia’s laws are much more stringent.”

Atkinson issued a further call for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to be scrutinised for downplaying the levels of radioactivity soon to be produced by Lynas’ operations.

“Just because the radioactive elements fall below the IAEA’s levels it doesn’t mean that the products don’t contain any radioactivity,” he pointed out.

EDO and its lawyers would also be issuing a letter to Lynas today urging it to stop any plans for the exportation of rare earth until the EPA reached a decision following the referral submission.

The EPA was expected to revert to ANAWA and EDO within 28 days on whether it would reopen the case or if Lynas’ current approvals were good enough.

“If they refuse to review the project then we will file a court case against it,” Atkinson promised.

Lynas’ letter of undertaking

Poet Laureate Samad Said (second from left)
at Himpunan Hijau 2.0

Meanwhile in another development, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said today that Lynas had given the government a letter of undertaking to send its rare earth processing residue abroad if it cannot find a suitable waste disposal site in Malaysia.

The Star Online reported Mustapa as saying that the move was taken as an assurance to the people’s psychological and emotional safety.

“Even though the government is satisfied there will be no radioactive residue produced during the plant’s operation, we have ordered Lynas to guarantee and plan the provision of a permanent waste disposal facility far from human population as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Failing which, Lynas has already expressed willingness to take the residue out of Malaysia,” he said in a joint statement with Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob in Kuantan.

The report also quoted the minister as saying that the Western Australia Resources Minister Norman Moore had confirmed on Feb 29 that the rare earth’s radiation level was very low. “The fact is, the rare earth does not need to be controlled by Australia because it is not dangerous but in Malaysia, AELB is overseeing the project after considering the public’s opinion,” he added.

Mustapa said the government was urging Lynas to take extra care for the sake of the people, and not because of “threats by Himpunan Hijau” which had said it would hold another anti-Lynas rally if the government refuse to shut down the project.

LYNAS MUST GO!

Interviews following ANAWA/EDO submission of appeal to WA EPA today (audio recording)

Raids in the Rainforest - The Fight for Amazonia (47 mins)

Raids in the Rainforest - The Fight for Amazonia

A powerful documentary by Thomas Wartmann for Aljazeera English

At the age of 27, Ana Rafaela D'Amico is the youngest national park director in Brazil. In order to save the rainforest, she has declared war on the drug gangs and logging mafia and on illegal fishing.


The Campos Amazonicos National Park is like a microcosm of all the problems found in Amazonia: illegal logging, cattle breeding, tin mines - and a drugs route that goes right through the middle of the park.


"Our biggest problem here in the park - and all over the Amazon - is that we don't know who the men behind this environmental crime are. We always find the poor man hired to occupy or clear the land. But we seldom find out who is really behind it, who provides the money, or which politicians support and fund these criminal acts."


We face pretty much the same situation in Malaysia - particularly in Sarawak - but thanks to the rapidly growing Green Movement, more and more young people have been galvanized into political activism against relentless and unnecessary "development" - the ultimate crime against Mother Earth!

The Man Who Bankrupted Malaysia ~ Morally & Financially!

From Asia Sentinel, 5 March 2012...

Mahathir's Disastrous Financial Speculation

A murky and embarrassing case is closed, hiding top government officials’ involvement

Sometime over the next few days, a court in Kuala Lumpur will put the finishing touches to an agreement that allows Tajudin Ramli, the former head of Malaysian Airline System, not only to walk away from charges that he had allegedly looted the airline of tens of millions of US dollars but with an RM580 million (US$293.2 million) out-of-court settlement from the government.

It appears to be a settlement that the government would rather keep to itself. At the heart of the agreement with Tajudin is a convoluted story that began as long ago as the 1980s when Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, at the urging of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, began speculating aggressively in global foreign exchange markets, at one time running up exposure rumored to be in the region of RM270 billion -- three times the country’s gross domestic product and more than five times its foreign reserves at the time.

Eventually, playing with the big boys came home to roost. In 1992 and 1993, Mahathir became convinced he could make billions of ringgit by taking advantage of a British recession, rising unemployment and a decision by the British government to float the pound sterling free of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Crocodile tears

Mahathir ordered Bank Negara to buy vast amounts of pounds sterling on the theory that the British currency would appreciate once it floated. However, in what has been described as the greatest currency trade ever made, the financier and currency wizard George Soros’s Quantum hedge fund established short positions borrowing in pounds and investing in Deutschemark-denominated assets as well as using options and futures positions.

In all, Soros’s positions alone accounted for a gargantuan US$10 billion. Many other investors, sensing Quantum was in for the kill, soon followed, putting strenuous downward pressure on the pound. The collapse was inevitable. Quantum walked away with US$1 billion in a single day, earning Mahathir’s eternal enmity and earning Soros the title “the man who broke the Bank of England.”

[Read the full story here.]

2012 from the Mayan perspective (1-hour documentary)

Everyone is talking about the Mayan Prophecies of 2012. But who is listening to the Maya?

This groundbreaking film brings us the voices of the Mayan people as they share their perspectives on the prophecies of their ancestors and their fight to defend Mother Earth and their culture from destruction.

2012 The Mayan Word is both a message of hope and a call to action. Featuring testimonies from contemporary Mayans throughout Mesoamerica, from spiritual guides to activists, community leaders, farmers, artists, teachers, and children, this film is an extraordinary journey into the heart of Mayan struggle and spirituality.

[Brought to my attention by Beth Wood]