Sunday, October 01, 2006

TORTURE FOR TWO

Torture Bill. There had been no word since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi "forgot" to raise the issue of the two Malaysians at Guantanamo during his engaging meeting with President Bush.

And then on Thursday the US Congress pushed through a Bill that will let Bush keep the two Malaysians - and everyone else - detained at Guantanamo Bay for as long as he wishes and also resorts to the harshest means - including torture - to get them to confess to their crimes and terror links.

An analysis carried by Al-Jazeerah accuses the US of resorting to methods usually applied in "police states".

For the record, Abdullah had said after his 55-minute meeting with Bush on Sept 19 he hadn't managed to raise the issue of the two Malaysians with the President "given their intense discussion on efforts to achieve peace and understanding in this world".


15 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:21 am

    How on earth am I going to tell my children children that our elected representatative could not protect his or hers citizens ?

    Ya Allah save the two Malaysian soul from this misery of confussion.
    The very least we could do is to provide legal aid to the poor fellow?

    Mercy Malaysia or your attention is appreciated?
    The Question is How?
    I do not have the answer?

    Probably the two poor soul was merely passing through when the conflict arises and are trap in between the political tussle.

    Wallallah Wa'Lam.

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  2. Anonymous5:48 am

    Dear Rocky,

    What else can we expect?

    This was the man who, when he was the DPM - the #2 leader of a sovereign nation, meekly took off his shoes (yes, his SHOES!) at JFKNY when commanded by those samseng kurap passing off as airport security. Not even a whimper of protest escaped AAB's mouth. Malaysians who heard about the incident naturally felt humiliated and angry, but also quite irritated. Irritated because we didn't know whether to be more angry at the airport security goons for the disrespect or at AAB for letting himself be treated like any Joe Nobody when he was our DPM.

    Can we imagine the leaders of any other country allowing themselves to be treated like that? Not even the DPM of under-sherrif Singapore. Love or hate Dr M, he would not have put up with such an insult. Not so much because it would be an insult to his person, but to his office, to the country he represented, to us all! Dr M would have turned his back and left and let the then US ambassador know at the earliest opportunity what he thought of such a vulgar reception to a visitor with diplomatic status, esp from a country whose uncouth VP had the gall to criticize us after accepting our hospitality not that long ago. Even Rafidah, we read, created a ruckus in Oz when faced with a similar situation. But no, not our Mr. Nice.

    AAB obviously never had any spine. What we mistook for equanimity was lack of moral courage. It was the mask of cowardice all along. Someone who could not stand up for his own dignity really had no business leading a nation.

    It's too late now. He is our PM -- this man who either doesn't understand or doesn't care about the responsbility of a nation's leader to stand up for the rights of his country and her citizens, about his accountability to those who have given him mandate to lead and represent them, and lastly, about the dignity of his office.

    anakhujanbatu

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  3. Anonymous7:06 am

    Indeed it is frightening that the one who promised to seek justice over the issue SIMPLY forgot to bring it up with Bush after giving his word.

    *({At the end of the 14th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Pak Lah said he would raise the status of the two Malaysian detainees in the high-security Guantanamo Bay prison when he meets US President George W. Bush. [According to a Star report]).

    *{“What’s important is that we want the Malaysians to get justice,” he told Malaysian journalists}.

    We read reports of how other heads-of-state & government go out of their way to help their own citizens held at Guantanamo.

    But no, Not Pak lah. Instead of bringing up the issue, he got carried away with what he claimed as..."given their intense discussion on efforts to achieve peace and understanding in this world".

    -------------------

    Lawyer for 2 freed Guantanamo detainees says Kuwaiti emir pressed Bush for release
    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico The ruler of Kuwait made a personal appeal to U.S. President George W. Bush that helped secure the release this month of two of that country's citizens from the Guantanamo Bay prison, their attorney said.

    http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/news/CB_GEN_Guantanamo_Kuwait_Bush.php

    --------------

    Rakyat Malaysia ditipu lagi. That is Pak Lah that we know.


    ---------------

    Haq said...

    Quote: Probably the two poor soul was merely passing through when the conflict arises and are trap in between the political tussle. Unquote.

    ------------------


    Here are more links on Guantanamo


    The innocent man at Guantanamo
    http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/09/27/the_innocent_man_at_guantanamo/


    Listen to the pleadings of a voice from Guantanamo
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1878415,00.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. To say our elected representative COULD NOT protect his or hers citizen is not entirely. In this case it is more of "Our elected representative WOULD NOT protect his or hers citizens"

    The opportunity to raise this issue was there but our PM was unwilling to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:06 am

    Sdr Rocky,

    To understand why our PM is so helpless over the 2 Guantanamo Malaysians, read the following report.

    Our PM has been compromised. He cannot offend or oppose the US because the US is holding him by the b---s.

    The freedom of his son Kamal is at stake. The CIA wants Tahir. And I think they love to "speak" to Kamal.

    As a result we suffer. We have to bow the US.

    " Malaysia Detains Nuclear Parts Businessman Tahir

    May 28, 2004

    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has arrested Sri Lankan businessman Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, the suspected middleman in a nuclear parts network run by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, government sources said on Friday.

    Tahir, accused by Washington of helping Khan to sell illicit nuclear technology, had been at liberty in Malaysia despite a police report released in February detailing his involvement in the nuclear black market scandal.

    The report was issued after police questioned Tahir over his involvement with Khan, the man dubbed the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.

    "B S A Tahir has been arrested under the ISA," a government source told Reuters. "He is in Kamunting," the source added, referring to a detention camp.

    Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) allows authorities to detain suspects without charges or trial. He will be detained for a two-year period, sources said.

    Another source who declined to be identified said Tahir was picked up while shopping with his family in Bangsar, one of Kuala Lumpur's swanky suburbs.

    Government officials declined comment. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Internal Security Minister in charge of police, is on an official visit to China.

    Tahir, a resident in Malaysia, told police Khan asked him to send two containers of used centrifuge parts from Pakistan to Iran some time in 1994 or 1995.

    The report said payment for the two containers, amounting to about $3 million, was made by an unnamed Iranian. It also said Khan arranged for enriched uranium to be sent to Libya.

    Diplomats and arms experts have said they believe Khan, who has admitted leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, offered Iran his centrifuge designs on the black market.

    Tahir also told police how Libya, which has since announced it is abandoning its weapons of mass destruction programs, got enriched uranium from Pakistan.

    Malaysian police have said Tahir obtained the centrifuge components from SCOPE, part of a listed company controlled by the Malaysian prime minister's son, Kamaluddin Abdullah, and two other investors.

    The Malaysian supplier, a unit of Scomi Group Bhd, has said the parts were ordered legitimately for oil and gas work.

    Gas centrifuges spin at supersonic speeds to separate fissile uranium-235 from nonfissile uranium isotopes. Experts say acquiring weapons-grade material is the biggest hurdle countries seeking to make an atomic bomb must overcome.

    In March, Malaysia discussed tightening export controls with Washington's senior nuclear non-proliferation official, Assistant Secretary John Stern Wolf.

    President Bush riled Malaysian leaders in February with a speech on weapons of mass destruction mentioning the country five times and describing Tahir as deputy and chief money launderer of Pakistan's Khan.

    PS: Germany may charge CIA and other US officials for wrongly arresting its citizen Khaled Al-Masri.
    That's the Goverment that hasn't lost control.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:28 am

    Sdr Rocky,

    One more story to prove why Pak Lah did not have time to mention about the 2 Gitmo Malaysians in 55-min meeting with George "Murderer" Bush:

    "Nuclear weapons inquiry turns to Malaysian plant

    Published Sunday, February 8, 2004

    SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AP)



    The blue-shirted workers say they thought they were making parts for the oil and gas industry. The CIA says this nondescript factory on the outskirts of Malaysia’s largest city was, in fact, churning out components for Libya’s nuclear weapons program.

    Malaysia has become the latest nation caught in a widening investigation into the global black market in nuclear know-how and equipment, triggered by Pakistan’s admission that its top nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, sold technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

    Managers at the Malaysian factory owned by Scomi Precision Engineering, or SCOPE, opened their doors to journalists Friday in an effort to prove their contribution to nuclear proliferation - if any - was unwitting.

    The case raises questions about export and trade regulations on "dual-use" items, components for illegal technology that are indistinguishable from common machine parts to all but the experts.

    "To me, they were just normal parts," said Che Lokman Che Omar, manager of the SCOPE factory. "I have been using these machines for 15 years, and I have made many more difficult parts."

    Around him, technicians worked on tooling machines, carving precision edges onto bits of aluminum and stainless steel destined for car parts and industrial tubing.

    Four months ago, according to the CIA and Britain’s MI6, similar parts were found in boxes marked with SCOPE’s name aboard a ship bound for Libya. Investigators say the parts were for centrifuges, machines that can be used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons production.

    The government rejected CIA Director George Tenet’s assertion that SCOPE was one of the largest plants servicing a nuclear black market.

    "To say it is the largest part of a network is totally inaccurate," a government official said on condition of anonymity. "It is coming from a CIA director who is discredited - he screwed up the intelligence going into Iraq."

    Malaysian police said SCOPE built its Shah Alam factory to fill an order from the Dubai-based Gulf Technical Industries, which negotiated a $3.4 million contract through a Sri Lankan middleman named B.S.A. Tahir.

    Between December 2002 and August 2003, SCOPE shipped four consignments to Gulf Technical, according to SCOPE’s parent company, the Scomi Group.

    Using designs from the customer, SCOPE made 14 parts from high-grade stainless steel and aluminum obtained from the Singapore branch of a German supplier, Che Lokman said. He said that 15 Malaysian contractors did the work and that their employment terminated when the contract was filled.

    Scomi group spokeswoman Rohaida Ali Badaruddin said the Gulf company never told SCOPE what the parts were for, and SCOPE never asked.

    "We make sure we are indemnified against any illegal activity in the contract," Rohaida said, but the company makes no background checks of clients or inquires about the end-use of products it makes.

    Rohaida said SCOPE complied with government regulations in shipping the parts found in the Libya-destined crates. Although an export permit is required for "sensitive items," none was sought in this case because nothing appeared out of the ordinary, she said.

    National Police Chief Mohamed Bakri Omar said his Special Branch started investigating the Tahir-arranged deal after the CIA the MI6 informed them about the Libya shipment last November.


    www.columbiatribune.com/2...ews019.asp

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  7. Anonymous10:44 am

    55 minutes of meeting with bush and PakLah didn't raise the issue on the two malaysians jailed in guantanamo?.

    The life of malaysians has no value compared to the ill business dealing scomi and his son is involved in, i guess.

    PakLah should let the whole nation know what was discussed with bush in the 55 minutes, he should be transparent.

    This is not about fighting terrorism or whatever word bush wants to use, this is about AMANAH that PakLah has to shoulder as leader of the country and representative of whole malaysians.

    If the died while in illegal detention, only PakLah should be answerable to the whole account.

    Allah is watching you PakLah !!!.

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  8. Anonymous11:20 am

    the fate of the 2 malaysians was never on our Prime Minister's "talking point" list with Bush.
    Even if it was, i don't think he dared bring it up. He didnt want to upset his "good friend" Bush.
    So, brother, these 2 malaysians will be denied a fair trial and will rot in Gitmo until Bush decides otherwise.
    you know you cannot expect anything more from this administration.

    justina

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  9. Anonymous11:42 am

    Sdr Rocky,

    More reasons why Pak Lah had no time to raise the issue of 2 Malaysian Gitmo prisoners.

    Malaysia, U.S. to Talk on Tighter Nuclear Checks

    Malaysia, embroiled in a nuclear scandal involving the prime minister`s son, will discuss tightening export controls Tuesday with Washington`s senior nuclear non-proliferation official.

    The meeting between Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and U.S. Assistant Secretary John Stern Wolf comes just weeks after Malaysia released details of a nuclear parts and materials black market that included a local precision engineering firm.

    Police said Sri Lankan businessman Buhary Syed Abu Tahir told of a contract for nuclear centrifuge parts from Scomi Precision Engineering (Scope), part of Scomi Group Bhd, controlled by the Malaysian leader`s son, Kamaluddin Abdullah.

    Centrifuges can be used to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels but also have peaceful industrial applications.

    President Bush riled Malaysian leaders in February with a speech on weapons of mass destruction mentioning the country five times and describing Malaysian resident Tahir as deputy and chief money launderer to Khan`s operations.

    U.S. embassy spokesman Frank Whitaker said Wolf would encourage Malaysia`s involvement in non-proliferation efforts under consideration at the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    "He will certainly discuss with them also the proliferation security initiative and export controls," Whitaker said.

    Neither Wolf, a former ambassador to Malaysia, nor Syed Hamid was scheduled to speak to news media.

    Tahir told Malaysian police that Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan`s nuclear program, arranged for enriched uranium to be sent to Libya and sold $3 million of nuclear centrifuge parts to Iran.

    Although Khan had already confessed to leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, the Tahir account added unprecedented detail.

    Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is widely expected to call his first general election within days, has been vague on whether Washington had sought or would be allowed access to Tahir, who has not been detained for any offence.

    "It`s a matter for the police. I`m not here to instruct what`s to be done," he said last week.

    Opposition politicians have also latched on to his son`s role in the affair, although police have said neither Kamaluddin nor Scope was aware of the nature of what Tahir had ordered.

    Malaysia is not a signatory to the IAEA`s 1997 Additional Protocol, a voluntary agreement intended to strengthen the agency`s existing safeguards so that nations, including Malaysia, who are signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, use nuclear materials and facilities only for peaceful purposes.

    Malaysia is also not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which comprises nuclear supplier states that have voluntarily agreed to coordinate export controls governing civilian nuclear material and nuclear-related equipment.

    President Bush on May 31 last year announced a Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) to interdict shipments of weapons of mass destruction and related goods to "terrorists" and countries of proliferation concern. Malaysia is not a member of this either.

    Bush said in his February speech that the Malaysian shipment to Libya was discovered after German and Italian authorities intercepted a ship carrying the cetrifuges.

    PS: For the love of the SON, the FATHER sacrifices the HONOR of the NATION.

    Elsewhere the leader would have apologize and resign or be thrown out.

    For selling his company's shares to Temasek and cheating on profit gains tax, Thaksin got kicked out.

    Malaya oh Malaya!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous11:47 am

    Bru,

    You must be joking. PM can't even solve chilli and chicken prices, how can he solve the imprisonment of the two poor Malaysian in Guantanamo Bay?

    Read this Star report:

    "Red chilli prices hit ceiling in JB

    JOHOR BARU: Red chillies are being sold at or close to the ceiling price set by the Government here and in Penang.

    At the Sri Tebrau market here, prices yesterday were between RM8 and RM8.50 a kilo, compared with RM7 in August.

    The ceiling price for red chillies here is RM8.50 a kilo.

    In Penang, prices of green chillies shot up from RM4 to RM8 per kilo this week.

    Cecil Street Hawkers Association chairman Ling Siew Keng said traders had raised the price of green chillies to as high as RM8 per kilo starting this week while the price of red chillies remained at RM8.

    Red chilli prices in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur rose marginally, with current prices at RM8 to RM9 per kilo.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous12:00 pm

    Forget about this international incident Bru. It's too complicated for the simple-minded souls.

    I bet if the news from LKY is bad, our PM will not tell us what the Singapore Man Thor said.

    He'll say he is satisfied. The problem is over. Relations with Singapore in improving.

    By the way what did our Father Lah said to Kuan Yew aaaaaa? Bernama please report la! Datuk Azman Ujang, apa pasal manyak liam sikalang?

    Read this Bernama report from The Star:

    "Kuan Yew sends reply to Abdullah

    SINGAPORE: Singapore’s founding father and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has written to Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over his recent remarks about the Chinese being marginalised in Malaysia.

    The Straits Times quoted Lee’s press secretary, Y. Y. Yeong as saying the letter was now with the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

    “(It) is ready to be personally conveyed to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi,” she said.

    Abdullah wrote to Lee last week seeking clarification over the controversial remarks.

    On Sept 15, Lee, 83, told a forum on good governance that the attitude of Malaysia and Indonesia towards the republic was shaped by the way they treated their Chinese communities.

    “My neighbours both have problems with their Chinese. They are successful, they’re hardworking and therefore they are systematically marginalised, even in education.

    “And they want Singapore, to put it simply, to be like their Chinese, compliant,” Lee had said.

    The remarks drew protests from Malaysia and Indonesia, with the foreign ministries of both countries summoning Singaporean envoys to explain Lee’s remarks. – Bernama.

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  12. Anonymous12:11 pm

    Pak Lah, Najib and Rais,

    Read the news below and make sure that Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali get same treatment.

    This is Malaysia. Please do not be like Lee Kuan Yew.

    Please do not marginalize the Muslims and Hindus.

    We don't even have autumn in this country.

    BB belongs to YTL.

    "Bukit Bintang aglow with 25,000 lanterns

    KUALA LUMPUR: The streets in the Bukit Bintang area here were aglow last night with thousands of lanterns put up for the Sungai Wang Plaza Mid-Autumn Festival 2006.

    And there was more light from another 25,000 tanglung or lanterns distributed to the thousands lining the procession route along Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan Alor and Jalan Sultan Ismail.

    PROFUSION OF COLOURS: Ong with MCA Bukit Bintang division chief Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng (on his right) escorted by dragon dancers during the Lantern Festival held at Bukit Bintang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur last night.
    Performances enjoyed by the crowd included those presented by an acrobatic dance troupe from China, SRJK (C) Choong Wen’s 24-season drums and the Batu Dance Theatre.

    The highlight of the festivities saw guest-of-honour Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting cutting a peach-shaped fabric-covered mooncake measuring 1.3m high and 3m in diameter which held 27,000 tiny mooncakes, also shaped like peaches.

    In his speech, Ong noted that while Malaysians came from diverse cultures, they were unified.

    The event was jointly organised by the Bukit Bintang MCA division, Sungei Wang Plaza, Tourism Malaysia, The Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur, A1 FM and RTM.

    It was supported by the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Tourism Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

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  13. Anonymous3:02 pm

    May I suggest the following to the PM, please:

    1/ summon the US envoy in KL and tell him that Malaysia and the OIC are disturbed by this Bill (and we thought Bill Clinton gave us a head! i mean, headache!). after all, most gitmo residents are Muslims suspected of terror acts.

    2/ tell the people who the two Malaysians are: names, address, family, etc.

    3/ get the local newswpapers to start writing about the two. Dont they care to know who the two are? What happened to journalism in Malaysia? The PM should sack the editors for sleeping on the job (even though they are actually trying to emulate him!)

    4/ send a couple of Americans to Kamunting, just to tell Bush "we mean business" even though Abdullah does not look mean and does not mean it.

    5/ go for a medical check-up. forgetting such a major thing during a high-profiled meeting like that suggests serious health problems. Abdullah may not be (medically) fit to be PM!

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  14. Anonymous4:27 pm

    Mahathir will be remembered as the genius but recalcitrant prime minister who will not back down on a stand to save his life. Someone some people hate, some love, but all respect.

    Pak lah will henceforth be remembered as the prime minister who sold Malaysia.

    Paklah will henceforth be remembered as the prime minister who left his own man to die.

    since you dont have common sense and you dont read, pak lah, you should watch "black hawk down" and learn from it...it's a questionable movie, but i beg god you could still learn...you dont leave your man to die.

    you are a weakling Pak Lah. you dont deserve to be a ketua pak guard, let alone the country. i am embarrassed by you.

    Pak Lah will be remembered, alright!

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  15. Rocky

    The reason he forgot was that said that Bush jumped at him with these remarks:

    "Hey.....dont you fall asleep now on me, Y'hear????"

    "What did your sons friends do again this time, in Tokyo????".

    "Hey you........you look mighty cute in 'em business suit, y'awl".

    By the way the Tokyo comment is about Mitotoyo, the supplier of the machine Scomi used to build the centrifuge pasts, being caught as reported on August 28th, 2006.

    ReplyDelete