UMNO MPs Should Emulate Shahrizat
Thursday, 15-12-2005I am quite shock to read about the remarks made by UMNO politicians against me on the Squatgate Scandal today in Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian. Well, this is not totally unexpected, below is my rebutal:
Press Statement by Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh on 15th December 2005 at Kuala Lumpur
Syed Alhabshee And Certain UMNO MPs Are Urged To Emulate Shahrizat Abdul Jalil And Learn To Make Sensible Statements On Issue Related To The Squatgate Scandal
I am very disappointed with the statements by Senator Datuk Syed Alhabshee and other UMNO politicians in Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian criticising me for making public the existence of the MMS clips of a naked woman doing ear squats in a police lock-up. I am being blamed for misleading Parliament and the governments of Malaysia and China, which resulted in Azmi Khalid having to go to China to mend strained ties between the two countries. Syed Alhabshee went as far as to say I should be charged for circulating pornography in Parliament.
I would like to clarify a few issues here:
i) ) The MMS visual clip is not pornographic but a reality check for everyone. It shows in graphic details police brutality in a manner that many have alleged in the past. It shows what happens in police stations every day. It was because of this that I held a conference to expose it in the Parliament house;
ii) I have never said the Squatgate victim was from China. I have always maintained I do not know her and she was not one of the four Chinese nationals who lodged report against the police;
iii) When I exposed the scandal in Parliament house on 24th November 2005, I showed it to Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, Minister of PM’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, President of the Back Benchers’ Club Datuk Sharir Samad and a
number of BN MPs. What struck us at that time was the act in the clip and none of us were concerned over the nationality or race of the victim in the clip.
What we said at that time was the clip confirmed the allegations by the four Chinese nationals about their unlawful detention earlier. Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid, in a press conference on the same day in the Parliament house, criticised the brutal act shown in the clip and followed up with an announcement that he will be going to China. He said the mission was the decision of the Cabinet and the PM had asked him to go to China to clear the misconception about China tourists were not welcome in Malaysia. This means the Cabinet directed Azmi Khalid to go to China before I exposed the scandal. As such, reckless statements by these UMNO politicians that Azmi Khalid was forced to go to China is absolutely wrong. They did not get their facts right.
iv) When Azmi Khalid was in China, I read in the Chinese papers about him telling the Chinese media the woman in the MMS clip was a Malay who was caught for drug offences. This proves he was privy to information that neither parliament or the public had at that time.
I am disappointed with the way Senator Datuk Syed Alhabshee and a few other UMNO politicians for trying to distort my real intention for exposing this scandal. These UMNO politicians are intentionally distorting the truth in an attempt to play the race card.
I urge these UMNO politicians to learn to be sensible and emulate Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Dato’ Seri Sharizat Abdul Jalil where she said “The central issue in the investigation of a woman detainee by the authorities must be her dignity and integrity and not her nationality or race. This issue should be given proper attention and consideration irrespective of skin colour, religion or nationality of the detainee.” She also said,” The dignity of the detainee should be protected and respected in whatever kind of case and situation.””
I also urge the UMNO politicians to go beyond politicking and learn to set aside political party differences and take seriously issues that related to human rights and dignity.
The comments by Senator Syed Ali Alhabshee, MP Ahmad Shabery Chik, MB Shahidan Kassim and MP Ismail Sabri Yaakob in the Malay press reflect their racist nature and mentality towards human rights
Teresa Kok
Teresa, is this purile mentality from those UMNO “hot-shot” politicians so unexpected? You did absolutely the right thing and don’t let anyone say otherwise! If you cannot bring this evidence of abuse by the PDRM to the highest forum in the land, i.e. PARLIAMENT, ask those UMNO idiots whether they would have preferred that you expose the so-called “pornographic” material in their kampongs? And since it is now conclusive that the poor victim is a Malay Muslim girl instead, I am sure the righteous and up-standing kampong folks would be even more outraged than any Chinese daily could hope to emulate! These are the so-called leaders that the gullible voters have put into Parliament? With shit for brains and garbage from their mouths?
Right now, they are just probably trying to throw in red herrings here and there to confuse people from the real issue at hand, i.e. pure and outright police abuse followed by clowns running around to do damage control! Of course, some of these UMNO politicians could be trying to show off their political heroism by trying to bully an easy target like you, an opposition female MP! Frankly their intellect (which is suspect too), if any, is so cloudy that to them, shooting the messenger of bad news is a good defensive measure!
Maybe a vote for PAS may not be so bad afterall!
Comment by kopimelaka — Thursday, 15-12-2005 @ 17: 23.59
I forgot to add this: Now that the victim is proven to be a Muslim Malay girl, would we now see the Malay dailies, Utusan and Berita Harian express the kind of outrage that is so justly necessary and absolutely the right thing to do in a democratic and civilised country? Is this the kind of treatment towards another Muslim citizen by a Muslim police officer? Interesting question, isn’t it?
Comment by kopimelaka — Thursday, 15-12-2005 @ 17: 31.46
Hi Teresa
Tell Syed Alhabshee to go ahead to charge you for circulating pornography in Parliament.
I want to see if he is successful or not. And at the same time to count the number of fools supporting him.
Wow, he speaks like he is the next deputy PM.
Comment by cashanson — Thursday, 15-12-2005 @ 17: 57.44
teresa ,
didn’t u think carefully before you expose that incident , of the impact on the woman.i am not concern of what happens between GTG but now that clip is everywhere on the net.how would u feel if u are that person and another point is how u tried to protect the person who had did this filming , that policeman should be jail for some time.
azmi.
Comment by azmi rars — Thursday, 15-12-2005 @ 21: 01.36
Teresa,
Don’t be upset by those opportunists. PM has directed everyone to stop making comments and leave it to the commission.Yet, these people are making comments in the hope of scoring political points.The media is also helping them. PM’s directive just go out of the window. If you had not brought up this matter in parliment, thousands and thousands of other ladies would have to suffer the fate of this poor lady in the video clip.If some positive actions are taken by the commission’s report, then your effort has not gone in vain. To those who thinks that this is standard police operating procedure, then I sincerely hope your sister, mother or daughther will one day given a chance to experience this routine. As for the poor lady in the video, I felt sorry for her. The blame is not on you, but on the media.When she went to the court all the print and electronic media were trying to get a shot of her. WHY? Are our photographers, reportes and TV caremaman a bunch of perverts and want to make a person’s life more miserable?You did what need to be done. It is the media and their editors that are very insensitive and unprofessional.
Comment by ashley1 — Thursday, 15-12-2005 @ 22: 14.49
Please do not lose sight of this important point: whatever the race of the woman in the video, it serves to lend credence to the claim of the four Chinese nationals that police abused them. To use a techinical expression of Bayesianism, this video clip raises the prior probabilities of the claims of these four Chinese nationals. I’m quite perplexed that the BN MPs and their supporters who lashed out at Kit Siang and Teresa failed to see the whole issue in its proper perspective. Despite reiterations and endless clarifications on the part of Kit Siang and Teresa, these critics still think that the issue is about ‘Chinese dissatisfaction’ rather than a universal outrage (including non-Malaysians who expressed their outrage on BBC’s ‘Have Your Say’ blog) over police brutality, abuse of human rights, and contempt for woman’s dignity. These BN MPs and their supporters sound as if everything is alright if the victim is a local Malay. There are only two possibilities: they either CAN’T or WON’T see the point.
Comment by Lee Wang Yen — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 01: 47.53
teresa,
you are the one who need to be blamed!
you are not supposed to share the video without knowing who that girl is. and you should have asked the girl’s permission to do that first.
Comment by amin — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 02: 07.44
actually i never see any ‘fair justice’ at all in malaysia
Comment by cash — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 05: 10.13
Well, if no one takes the responsibility to expose police brutality, who will? I think what you have done is a great thing, whatever people say, because nobody in the present BN dares to expose such acts. If the police cannot accept that the bad hats are themselves, then nothing else we can do but just wait and see the deterioration in our country. No guarantees our future generation will thank us for that.
Comment by rajalong — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 09: 29.03
Hi Teresa,
Just ignore those that poured cold water over your actions. These people are good at criticizing for the sake of criticizing. If they say you should not have done what you did, then they should suggest how they could provide a better and more effective solution. To them, we should keep silent and allow these abuses to be carried on and suffer in silence. Reading some of the materials posted by the ‘GLOCALs’, it seems the feudalistic mentalities and mentalities of the 70’s are still very active and alive.
Comment by ashley1 — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 10: 11.35
I say, ashley1, GLOCALs is such a fine term that I am kicking myself for not thinking of it first! You’re right about their mentality
!!
SELFISH and THIN SKIN! At the slightest provocation, we nonGLOCALs (that’s a good term too) are immediately slandered chauvinistic, racist, inconsiderate, intolerant and a host of other names but when the whole world knows and points out that their policies are clearly and blatantly discriminatory, racist and apartheidical, they will tell others to mind their own business. Just look at the employment at all government bodies and apparatus and tell me that you see many non-GLOCALs being employed? Even GLCs, corporations which are listed on the KLSE, have a disproportionate employment bias, in favour of the GLOCALs! I have been to police stations and even to an emergency ward in a hospital to hear the non-GLOCALs asking whether it is “kita punya orang kah?” as indications of their racist outlook and attitudes.And yet we non-GLOCALs will vote this government in, election after elections, gullible as ever!
Like I have said before, maybe a vote for PAS may not be so bad afterall! Or even a now enlightened Anwar Ibrahim
Comment by kopimelaka — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 13: 33.22
the best way is to follow MCA style : big issue turn into small, small turn into nil .
Comment by soon san — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 15: 23.14
To Amin,
Try to use your own argument in the case of the US Abu Ghraib scandal. Ask the US soldier who took the photograph of the abuse to seek permission from the Iraqi prionser first. Charge the one who exposed the photograph(s) for tarnishing the image of the US army and/or circulating pornography….and see how this becomes a laughing stock! Can you see what the real issue is? When the US Abu Ghraib scandal was exposed, the whole world, including Bush’s administration, focussed on the abuse, and yet when similar things happened in Malaysia…
Comment by Lee Wang Yen — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 15: 59.24
Sorry, the word “non-GLOCAL” in the penultimate third paragraph should have read “GLOCAL” as in “the GLOCALs asking whether it is “kita punya orang kah?” as indications of their…....”
Comment by kopimelaka — Friday, 16-12-2005 @ 23: 27.48
My support is for you, Teresa. What you did was courageous and deserves my fullest support.
Comment by hchan — Sunday, 18-12-2005 @ 21: 54.59