6 theSun | MONDAY OCTOBER 20 2008

news without borders

Call to lift ban on Hindraf ‘not Suhakam’s stand’
KUALA LUMPUR: Human Rights
Commission Malaysia (Suhakam)
chairman Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman
has clarified that a call by three Su-
hakam commissioners to the govern-
ment to lift the ban on Hindraf is not
the official stand of the commission.
“The issue of lifting the ban on
Hindraf was never placed for discus-
sion at the commission meeting.
Under the law, the decision of the
commission must be either by con-
sensus or a two-thirds majority, and
since this issue of the ban was never
deliberated by the commission, the
question of Suhakam asking the gov-
ernment to lift the ban never arose,”
he said on Friday.
He was commenting on a Ber-
nama news report last Thursday on
Suhakam allegedly calling on the
government to lift the ban on Hindraf
as it was felt the ban would further
alienate the social movement from
mainstream society.
Three Suhakam commissioners
– Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, Datuk Dr
Michael Yeoh Oon Kheng and Datuk
Dr Denison Jayasooria – reportedly
said in a joint statement that “Su-
hakam was also of the opinion that
the ban on Hindraf will not resolve
the issues being championed by the
group and therefore encourages the
relevant agencies to address the
genuine grievances raised by it which
are socio-economic in nature”.
“This is not the stand of Suhakam,”
said Abu Talib.
“This is clearly the personal view
of the three commissioners who
made the statement and not the
views of Suhakam. If Hindraf is not
registered under any law, it has no
legal entity,” he said.
ISA for illegal VCD seller
and education activist?
by Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Can an illegal
VCD seller or an education activist
be equated with the threat of
terrorists and communists to the
extent that they have to be held
under the Internal Security Act?
This was among the questions
raised by organisers of an anti-ISA
protest at the Kuala Lumpur and
Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
(KLSCAH) yesterday.
They revealed that among
release of ISA detainees, supported
by some 300 NGOs, associations
and unions, will be handed over
to Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Marina Lee Abdullah, the wife
of weblog Malaysia-today.com
editor Raja Petra Kamarudin, who
attended the protest, said Barisan
Nasional component parties such
as Gerakan which opposed the
recent use of the ISA on several
people including her husband,
should “walk their talk” and not
merely sing political rhetoric

Two sen short, pay

those who have been held under
the ISA, apart from opposition
political party members and
suspected religious extremists,
were cloned handphone and
prepaid SIM card makers, an
education activist who opposed
the use of English as the medium
and forget what they had said on
reaching home.
The wife of another ISA
detainee, Norlaila Othman, a
teacher, spoke of the hurt and
misery her family has been
undergoing since her husband,
Mat Sah Satray, was held seven

RM4.76 interest
PETALING JAYA: Beware,
credit card holders. Check
your monthly statements
carefully to ensure that
you are not slapped with
unwarranted charges.
The charges can be as
low as 30 sen and as high as
RM5, but to the banks, the
accumulative “collections”
can be a substantial windfall.
One card holder, K.S.
Ng, told theSun that he was
curious about an item in his
October statement in which
had an amount of RM4.76
imposed for “F. Interest 15%”.
When Ng called the bank
to find out what he was billed
for, the bank’s corporate
officer said it was for failing
to settle the full amount of
RM1,711.67.
“I did not even realise
that the amount paid was
two sen short. I presented
my statement to the PJ New
Town bank teller at the
counter on Sept 12.
“She filled in the ‘payment’
form but rounded down the
sen to 65, instead of 67, as
required by Bank Negara,”
said Ng, adding that the
officer said the amount has
been waived.
“That is not the issue
(waiving of charge). The
charge should not have
been imposed in the first
place. How did it get into the
statement?” Ng asked.
Ng said the officer also
could not clarify or confirm
immediately how the amount
worked out to RM4.76 for
“short-paying” two sen and at
the stated interest rate.
“The officer said he was
trying to get an explanation
from those responsible. I
said the amount looks like
The credit
card of language for science and years ago for his suspected role in
statement mathematics, journalists and Jemaah Islamiah.
showing suspected SMS rumour mongers. Breaking down in tears, she
the RM4.76 Organised by the KLSCAH told the crowd how she had
interest and the Repeal ISA Movement to travel more than 600km on
charged (GMI), the gathering of about 150 a return journey to spend 45
people, including families of ISA minutes with her husband who
detainees, urged the government was a technician attached to a
to do away with the draconian law government agency.
which they say has caused misery She said the meetings were
and injustice to more than 10,000 in the presence of the police and
Malaysians held over the past 48 at times even when allowed
years. some privacy, their conversation
There are currently 66 people would be monitored through an
detained under the ISA at the intercom.
Kamunting detention centre in She urged the media to report
Taiping, Perak. the plight of ISA detainees as it
something plucked from the KLSCAH president Datuk Bong will let the world know about the
air,” said Ng. Hon Liong said a memorandum cruelty of the act.
A check with another bank calling for the abolition of the ISA The gathering also drew the
revealed that the problem and demanding the immediate attention of the Special Branch,
could be an administrative who kept
and computer problem a close
arising from Bank Negara’s watch on
directive for over-the-counter the protest
payments to be rounded off but left after
to the nearest five sen from it ended at
April 1. about 1pm.
“We will also have to
check whether we have had
such problems when credit
card holders settle their
billings by paying cash at
the counter. I believe there
should not be a problem
when card holders pay by
cheque or via the Internet
Anti-ISA
as the exact amount is
logos and
computed.
slogans
“Not many want to queue
exhibited
up these days to settle their
during the
monthly statements,” the
event at
officer said.
KLSCAH.