BALI UPDATE #763 - 25 April 2011
Full report at: http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update763.asp
Om Swastiastu ...
Leading news stories this week address the ordered closing of the Best Western Kuta scheduled for Thursday; the death of a 12 year-old Balinese boy in the continuing deadly toll from rabies; a large peaceful protest on April 20th in support of Bali figure Anand Krishna who is now on a hunger strike of more than 45 days; growing concerns that the supply of counterfeit money is growing on the island and the promise (again) of a crackdown on illegal transport operators.
Nationally, the Minister of Culture and Tourism is optimistic that Indonesian tourism will continue to grow in 2011; a top tourism officials proclaims that Bali can handle many more tourists providing the current lack of infrastructure is fixed; an update on the current caterpillar infestation and a call for formal consumer protection for tourist visitors to Bali.
Hotel news this week includes a Royal invite to the Bali Dynasty to witness the wedding of William and Kate on Friday; Nikko Bali Resort and Spa wins special recognition as an "Eco-Hotel;" a successful fund-raising night for a local orphanage held last month by the Aston Bali Beach Resort & Spa; and how the Hard Rock Hotel celebrated Earth Day 2011.
In aviation news learn how to obtain free transfers between the airport and anywhere in Bali when arriving or departing on a Virgin Blue flight; special fares offered by Singapore Airlines to mark 25 years of service to the island; and a reminder from a Bali academic that any plans for a new airport in Bali's north must be based on a comprehensive feasibility study.
Read this week's update to learn more about Bali's unique breed of Kintamani dogs and for background on Hari Saraswati – a day dedicated to learning – which was fell on Saturday, April 23rd.
In development news the regent of Badung is asking for public support for new road projects; there is a surprising hiccup in the building the underpass at the Simpang Siur intersection; a 2nd warning has been issued to stop the Beach World project at Nusa Dua and there's worrying news of the threat of salt water intrusion along Bali's southern coast line.
By sea - there's the news of an honor received by Benoa as a top cruise port and details on the Fremantle to Bali Yacht rally and race now underway.
Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...
J.M. Daniels - Bali Update
Bali Discovery Tours
AL-QA'IDA has threatened to unleash a "nuclear hellstorm" if its leader Osama bin Laden is captured or killed, according to a vast cache of secret documents detailing the interrogation of more than 750 Guantanamo Bay detainees that was released by WikiLeaks yesterday.
The documents, which include detailed intelligence assessments on former Australian detainees David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, reveal that the terrorist organisation plotted major chemical and biological attacks on Britain and mass poisonings across the US.
Classified "secret" and marked "no form", meaning they should not be shared with foreign governments, the files are likely to reignite debate about the world's most controversial prison.
Most of the 172 prisoners still held at the US military detention facility in Cuba have been rated as posing a high risk to the US and its allies if released, according to the WikiLeaks files.
The intelligence assessments, written between 2002 and 2009 by US military intelligence officials, provide a detailed account of the movements of bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and other senior al-Qa'ida leaders following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. But there is no evidence in the documents that the US is closer to capturing bin Laden, whose last confirmed sighting was in the Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan in December 2001.
The release of the documents, which were published simultaneously by several news groups including The Washington Post, Spain's El Pais, Germany's Der Speigel and Britain's The Daily Telegraph, was condemned by the White House.
The Obama administration's special envoy on detainee issues, Daniel Fried, and Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said: "It is unfortunate that several news organisations have made the decision to publish numerous documents obtained illegally by WikiLeaks concerning the Guantanamo detention facility."
According to documents released to The Daily Telegraph, a senior al-Qa'ida commander claimed the terrorist group had hidden a nuclear bomb in Europe that would be set off in the event of bin Laden's capture or assassination. Numerous attempts by al-Qa'ida to obtain nuclear materials and uranium were uncovered by interrogators, the paper said.
The threat to unleash a nuclear hellstorm was made by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the most senior detainee held at Guantanamo and the confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, who is due to face a military tribunal later this year.
Other plots uncovered by US interrogators included an attempt to recruit ground staff at London's Heathrow airport, according to information supplied by Mohammed al-Qahtani, the 20th 9/11 hijacker. Britain was singled out for chemical and biological attacks.
In the US, al-Qa'ida operatives planned to target infrastructure, including utility networks and service stations, and proposed putting cyanide in airconditioning units, according to files released to The Daily Telegraph.
The intelligence summaries include information about each detainee's physical and mental health, and recommendations on whether to keep them in US custody, hand them over to foreign governments for imprisonment or set them free.
They confirm that more than 100 al-Qa'ida terrorists have been held at Guantanamo, including 15 of its most senior operatives.
But the documents show about 150 of the detainees were innocent civilians who were in some cases sold to US forces before being transferred to Guantanamo via third countries.
The Daily Telegraph, which has seen all of the files, said that in dozens of cases senior US commanders concluded that there was "no reason recorded for the transfer".
But, in a potentially embarrassing revelation for the US, the documents show about a third of the 600 prisoners transferred to other countries were designated as "high risk" before they left Guantanamo.
Another troublesome revelation for the US and its allies fighting Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya is the alleged links between one of the rebels' presumed trainers and al-Qa'ida.
According to WikiLeaks files obtained by National Public Radio in the US, Abu Sufian bin Qumu was engaged in violent extremist activities for two decades, previously training at two al-Qa'ida camps, fighting with the Taliban and serving as bin Laden's driver in Sudan.
He was held for six years at Guantanamo before the US agreed to hand him over to the Libyans in 2007, despite an assessment that his release would represent "a medium to high risk, as he is likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests and allies".
Freed by the Libyan authorities last year, he is reportedly a leader of the ragtag band of fighters known as the Darnah Brigade, named after his home town, which claims to be the world's most productive recruiting ground for suicide bombers.
‘The Australian’ with Additional reporting: agencies
A brief stroll through Shinagawa Station in central Tokyo gives an eerie feeling of what the Japanese people are facing these days
It is as if thousands of pedestrians rushing home, all in dark business suits or dresses, are part of a Tim Burton movie set — with dimly lit walkways and dozens of blacked-out flat TV panels akin to mysterious dark windows protruding from the walls without any images. Some passers-by are dressed warmly as heaters are off at an early hour. Some vending machines at the station are unplugged — something unusual for this electronics-crazed nation, to save energy. So are neon-signs of karaoke studios and nightclubs nearby. After a few days of no-business, now restaurants, coffee and ramen shops are packed with salary men and ordinary clients.
Overheard conversations in a coffee shop revealed plans for the upcoming Golden Week — the first week of May when Japanese people traditionally take time off to rest or travel overseas, staying with families and away from their hectic lives. Without any doubt, the most eye-catching advertising travel package was an "Evacuation Tour"— playing on the public sentiment — for those who want a temporary escape abroad. Lots of Japanese are choosing to remain inside the country to show solidarity with their suffering compatriots up north. The people here are good at showing self-restraint as they know how to behave and react to common crisis.
In the past few weeks during the full cherry blossoms, local viewings at popular spots throughout the country were fewer than before, not to mention drinking sake along with its century-old ritual. Common folks do not want to be perceived as selfish or unaffected by the Great Eastern Japan earthquake. Several festivals in Kanto and surrounding areas have also been cancelled. This year the annual Thai festival at Yoyogi Park, one of the most popular events in Tokyo, has been postponed due to a similar sentiment. The overall mood is pretty sober. But that is the way here.
Welcome to the new Japan. Everywhere one goes inside Japan, there are two words — "gaman" and "gambare"— leitmotifs which one often hears and reads. The first means forbearance and the second the fighting spirit of the Japanese people. The combination of these two national characters defines Japan's uniqueness and the determination that has enabled it to cope with all diversities throughout history.
Japan will certainly rise again like a phoenix, as depicted by Japanese cartoonist, Osamu Tezuka, after the country suffered the first atomic bomb six decades ago.
Osamu's cartoon, especially the Atom Boy, captured Japan's internal strength and obligation, known as chikara and giri, and the desire to fight for good people and the world. Talking to a few friends, I find they have pitched their hope of Japan's future on the young Japanese, who are often targets of ridicule in the media because of their laid-back and high withdrawal from society. However, with the March 11 disaster and the aftermath of Fukushima's nuclear crisis, thousands of young people around the country have been mobilised to help out victims and affected communities.
The sense of volunteerism is rising among the young. If it can be sustained and nurtured, the country's overall rehabilitation and reconstruction will be further accelerated. In the country with a growing ageing population, the engaging young people, however few, are the pivotal force.
This crisis also demonstrates the importance of Japan's connections with the rest of the world. Giant automobile makers including Toyota, Honda and other smaller electronic companies have already scaled down their production overseas, especially in the West, due to disruption to international production chains. This has given rise to fresh hope that the newly developing economies such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand can benefit from these circumstances. Representatives from Japanese companies in the Tohoku region have been dispatched to these countries to look for replacements to supply the production chains. Asean could easily be transformed into a new growth centre with increasing investment and building production networks.
But, at the same time, Japan needs a new mind-set. It has to change its industrial rules and thinking as high-level transfers of technology and training are needed over a long-term period.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Asean has used every opportunity to display its sympathy and gratitude to Japan. As the Asean chair, Indonesia initiated a special meeting between Asean and Japanese foreign ministers early in April to show solidarity with Japan. Asean members also rank high among more than 130 countries and over 50 international organisations that have sent both money and relief supplies. As of April 21, people throughout Thailand have collected a total of 1,659 million yen or US$80 million worth of cash donations, which is the region's highest.
The outpouring of global sympathy and assistance has given a big boost to Japan's effort to rehabilitate the world's third largest economy.
Riding on such a positive sentiment, Tokyo has discreetly asked Asean once again to support Japan's permanent seat at the UN Security Council as part of the ongoing UN reform effort. This time around, the grouping's support has assumed greater significance to prevent Japan from adopting an inward-looking attitude or isolating itself. In months to come, Asean has to ponder the best way to respond to Tokyo without upsetting the delicate balance with New Delhi, another contender, and Beijing, which has not spelled out its position clearly. Due to fiscal constraints, this year Japan's official development aid is expected to be reduced by 20 per cent across the board, not to mention other contributions to international relief operations. With lesser assistance globally, the Japanese government fears its role and influence in international politics will be further diminished. Providing generous yen loans and assistance were a hallmark of Japan's soft power before the March crisis. By Kavi Chongkittavorn for The Nation, Bangkok
In a few weeks, member states of the World Health Organization will consider the destruction of the last known samples of smallpox virus, currently held in secure labs by the United States and Russia. Some have sought to publicly frame this issue as a contentious disagreement between our two countries and the rest of the world over whether the virus should be destroyed. This is misleading.
We fully agree that these samples should — and eventually will — be destroyed.
However, we also recognize that the timing of this destruction will determine whether we continue to live with the risk of the disease re-emerging through deliberate misuse of the virus by others.
Those who advocate immediate destruction would have us believe that another smallpox outbreak is unthinkable. They want us to believe that there is no need to ensure the global community is adequately prepared to deal with an outbreak and that the only risk comes from maintaining the highly secured samples. For these reasons, they argue that the World Health Assembly should set an immediate date for destruction.
It should not. Although keeping the samples may carry a miniscule risk, both the United States and Russia believe the dangers of destroying them now are far greater.
Smallpox was one of the most devastating diseases humanity has ever faced, killing more than 300 million people in the 20th century alone. The victims it didn’t kill were often left scarred and blind. But thanks to the most successful global vaccination campaign in history, the disease was completely eradicated by 1980.
At that time, the WHO called on all nations to destroy their collections of smallpox virus or transfer them to the WHO-sanctioned collections at one of two labs in Russia or the United States. The global public health community assumes that all nations acted in good faith; however, no one has ever attempted to verify or validate compliance with the WHO request.
It is quite possible that undisclosed or forgotten stocks exist. Also, 30 years after the disease was eradicated, the virus’ genomic information is available online and the technology now exists for someone with the right tools and the wrong intentions to create a new smallpox virus in a laboratory. Furthermore, there are additional pox viruses that infect humans, and while they are not likely to produce the same degree of suffering that smallpox historically inflicted, they could still be dangerous.
In other words, we’ve beaten smallpox once, but we must be ready and prepared to beat it again, if necessary.
Today, most of the world’s population has no immunity to the disease. Once it was eradicated, we stopped routine civilian vaccination for smallpox. In fact, people under the age of 30 have little or no immunity to smallpox. Should an outbreak occur, we do have effective vaccines that could be deployed to protect most Americans. But global supplies are limited and some people cannot safely use the current vaccine for medical reasons.
Fortunately, in the three decades since eradication, science has come a long way. The vaccine used until the 1970s was little different from the crude vaccine developed by Edward Jenner more than 200 years ago. Today, new technologies and advances in vaccine development exist that could allow us to produce a vaccine without the rare but dangerous side effects of the original. Globally, work is under way to develop and test these vaccines. We should not stop now.
Even with an improved vaccine, vaccination alone will not save those who have already been infected once an outbreak has begun. That is why we are also working on developing, testing and licensing effective new drugs to treat smallpox for those patients with the disease. Scientists in laboratories in a number of countries are making progress on these new antiviral drugs and alternative therapeutic agents that, in the event of a new smallpox outbreak, could control the disease’s progression and greatly reduce the risk of death.
We have more work to do before these safe and highly effective vaccines and antiviral treatments are fully developed and approved for use. Once they are ready, we intend to share the fruits of this research with the world. Destroying the virus now is merely a symbolic act that would slow our progress and could even stop it completely, leaving the world vulnerable.
Destruction of the last securely stored viruses is an irrevocable action that should occur only when the global community has eliminated the threat of smallpox once and for all. To do any less keeps future generations at risk from the re-emergence of one of the deadliest diseases humanity has ever known. Until this research is complete, we cannot afford to take that risk.
By Kathleen Sebelius U.S. secretary of health and human services.
The raw fish that Jaroon Phumingdoa sells at Baan Phai market can contain parasites that can accumulate in the liver and lead to a deadly cancer
The villagers in this poverty-stricken farming community are passionate about their food, especially the traditional varieties of fermented fish that one aficionado describes as tasting like heaven but smelling like hell.
Cooking the fish would eliminate the risk of infection. But the battle against liver flukes is being undermined in Thailand by a deeply ingrained love of the sour and smoky-tasting fermented dishes that generations of villagers have relished.
The tropical disease research laboratory at Khon Kaen University studies parasites known as liver fluke that can lead to bile duct cancer.
It can be a fatal attraction, medical researchers say. The raw fish that is so avidly consumed in the stilt houses that sit among rice paddies and wetlands of the country’s northern provinces contain parasites that can accumulate in the liver and lead to a deadly cancer. Known as bile duct cancer, it is relatively uncommon in most parts of the world but represents the majority of the 70 liver cancer deaths a day in Thailand, according to Dr. Banchob Sripa, the head of the tropical disease research laboratory at nearby Khon Kaen University.
“It’s the most deadly and persistent cancer in the region,” Dr. Banchob said.
For the past three decades, he has led an unsuccessful campaign against the parasite, known as a liver fluke and which is also endemic in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, parts of China, the Korean Peninsula and Siberia.
Dr. Peter Hotez, the president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a nonprofit organization in the United States that researches neglected tropical diseases, describes liver flukes as one of “the most important infectious causes of cancer that no one has ever heard of.”
Cooking the fish would eliminate the risk of infection. But the battle against liver flukes is being undermined in Thailand by a deeply ingrained love of the sour and smoky-tasting fermented dishes that generations of villagers have relished.
Some villagers just cannot break the habit, said Nutcharin Yanarangsri, a volunteer at a government health clinic in the village here who spends her days walking from house to house with a singular message: “Say no to raw fish!”
“We tell them, ‘If you really want to eat it, you’d better boil it or cook it,”’ Ms. Nutcharin said during one of her rounds through the village. “But they tell me, ‘Eating it raw is so delicious. I can’t stop. I love it!”’
Whether it is a green papaya salad with just the right mix of sweet and sour or a duck curry swimming in spices, the cuisine of Thailand is a national passion. The country’s 65 million people seem to spend their waking hours either talking about food or consuming it.
But the Thai love of food has a masochistic side. It is not uncommon for office workers to lunch on searingly hot chili-laced dishes only to rush to the bathroom a few hours later with a bad case of Bangkok belly.
The love of fermented foods, especially in northeastern Thailand, is the extreme version of this gourmand obsession — and that love is often heedless of the consequences.
One popular dish in northeast Thailand is called pla som, or sour fish, which is made by mixing raw fish, garlic, salt, steamed rice and a pinch of seasoning powder. The mixture is shaped into egg-size portions, put into plastic bags and left to sit in the tropical heat for three days. That is not nearly long enough to kill the parasites, which die only after at least six months of fermentation.
Liver flukes are present only in fresh water, but they are not found everywhere. The rate of infection in Bangkok, a five-hour drive away, is close to zero.
Transmitted through feces, the parasites thrive in rural areas without proper sanitation, and they rely on snails, fish, cats and humans as hosts. Yet villagers do not see fermented fish as a dangerous thrill.
This is not analogous to the tradition in Japan of eating fugu, the puffer fish that is potentially toxic when prepared the wrong way.
The deadly effects of eating parasite-infected raw fish accumulate over decades, in the same way that drinking large amounts of alcohol over a lifetime can damage one’s liver. (Heavy drinking increases the chance of bile duct cancer for those infected with the parasite, Dr. Banchob said.)
Somewhere between 1 percent and 5 percent of people infected with the parasites contract liver cancer.
Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia also have high rates of liver cancer, according to statistics from the United Nations. Dr. Banchob estimates that about 10 percent of the population in Laos is infected with liver flukes.
Dr. Hotez of the Sabin Institute said that the parasite is similar to other worms and ailments that get less attention because they rarely afflict wealthy urban populations. “Even though Thailand is a middle-class country, there are still pockets of intense poverty — and with that poverty come high rates of neglected tropical diseases,” Dr. Hotez said. “We’ve got the technology to make vaccines. But we don’t have the funding.”
Dr. Cherdchai Tontisirin, a surgeon in Khon Kaen who has operated on liver cancer patients, blames the Thai government for the persistence of the disease. More could be done to make sure villagers stop eating raw fish, he said.
“The government has never taken this seriously,” Dr. Cherdchai said. “This is a disease that affects only the north and the northeast, and these are regions that have been forgotten for a long time.” By THOMAS FULLER International Herald Tribune
The island republic's inflexible drug laws doom drug couriers
"He is a good boy," Cheong Kah Pin whispers, "but they took him away."
He scrunches up his tear-streaked face, uses the back of his hand to rub his eyes. His anguish is palpable. "Please help. Please." Cheong is living a parent's worst nightmare. His 28-year-old son, Chun Yin, sits on death row in Singapore, convicted in 2010 of smuggling 2.7 kg of heroin into the country. It's a harsh punishment for a first offender. But under Singapore's laws, judges have little choice but to impose a mandatory death penalty. Anyone caught with more than 15g of heroin is presumed to be trafficking, and once found guilty, will almost certainly be hanged.
Chun Yin is not alone. A long string of drug mules have been strung up in the island republic The issue has come to the fore now in particular in the wake of the prosecution of a British author, Alan Shadrake, for allegedly insulting Singapore in his book Once a Jolly Hangman for its eager use of the hangman's noose in a way that casts doubt on its image as a strict but fair state.
Tough Stand
It's not clear how many drug mules Singapore sends to the gallows each year, since the government doesn't publish figures. But the city-state and neighboring Malaysia have some of the most draconian drug laws in the world. Supporters say they are necessary in order to prevent what Singapore's Law Minister K Shanmugum describes as an "unstoppable stream of people" from dealing drugs.
Opponents disagree. They say the law targets those low down in the supply chain – mules like Chun Yin who may or may not be aware of what they were carrying – while allowing the real culprits to go free. Cheong says Chun Yin was tricked by an acquaintance who had promised him a holiday in Burma and a nice bit of cash in exchange for carrying gold bars into Singapore. The father and son duo ran a small but profitable business selling DVDs across the strait in Johor Bahru and were not desperate for money. Cheong says he didn't want Chun Yin to go but relented in the end.
"I told him to come back soon. Come back because I can't run the business on my own."
Lawyer M Ravi, Singapore's leading anti-death penalty lawyer, calls the policy "unconscionable".
"It's a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn't take into account mitigating factors or the personal circumstances of the accused," he says. "What kind of law is this?"
Ravi looks exhausted when we meet. He's a somewhat controversial figure, even among anti-death penalty campaigners. Where some advocate taking a softer approach, Ravi doesn't shy away from a more confrontational stance. Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal rejected his request for a judicial review of the powers of Singapore's president in clemency proceedings, as well as of statements made by Shanmugum about the mandatory death penalty.
"These are important questions," Ravi says. "I know it might be unpopular to ask, but a life's at stake, I have to do my job."
Yong's Story
The life in question belongs to another former mule, a 23-year-old whose story has triggered an unprecedented wave of sympathy in Singapore and his native Malaysia. Not yet 19 when he was caught with 47.27g of heroin, Yong Vui Kong came from a broken home, grew up in extreme poverty and throughout his teens, struggled to care for a mother with a mental illness. He was also poorly educated and impressionable – a prime target for drug syndicates. Family members say he is now a changed person who doesn't deserve to die. More than 100,000 people agree and have signed a petition pleading for a second chance for him.
Singapore's Court of Appeal was unmoved. In a unanimous decision, it upheld Yong's sentence and disagreed with Ravi that the mandatory death penalty was unconstitutional. Yong is now preparing his petition for clemency.
"There's a possibility he's been wronged"
Singapore and Malaysia's tough stance on drugs has drawn flak from various human rights organizations. Amnesty International is a regular critic. In Kuala Lumpur recently, the organization's Nora Murat said there is no proof the mandatory death penalty acts as a deterrent against crime and together with Chun Yin's family, urged authorities to reexamine his case.
Unlike Yong, who has admitted his guilt and is seeking clemency on the basis of his youth, ignorance and willingness to change, Chun Yin maintains to this day, that he never intended to smuggle drugs. Cheong says Chun Yin was tricked by an acquaintance who had promised him a holiday in Burma and a nice bit of cash in exchange for carrying gold bars into Singapore.
Family members point to the fact that Chun Yin had even left a copy of his e-ticket and passport details inside the suitcase containing the heroin.
"Why would he do that and risk being caught?" Cheong asks.
Upon his arrest, Chun Yin also gave officials at Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau, or CNB, the telephone number and a detailed description of "Lau De," the man whom he said had arranged the trip to Burma. Investigators did not follow up on the lead. But in handing down the death sentence, High Court Judge Choo Han Teck described the CNB's lapse as "immaterial" to the case.
The judgment has triggered a minor uproar in Malaysia.
"How can they not investigate? There's a possibility he's been wronged," says human rights lawyer Ngeow Chow Ying. "We feel this young man deserves our help."
Activists say Chun Yin's case is a classic example of how drug laws, enacted to protect the general population, can lead to an injustice. The presumption of guilt is hard to rebut. Couple that with the fact that a judge's hands are tied when it comes to sentencing, and the odds are stacked against the mule. The intention to commit a crime might not be relevant so long as an accused person is caught with the requisite amount of drugs.
No Apologies
Singapore makes no apologies for its stand. In a written statement issued during the 2009 session of the UN Human Rights Council, it said:
"[W]e strongly disagree that States should refrain from using the death penalty in relation to drug-related offences. The death penalty has deterred major drug syndicates from establishing themselves in Singapore…"
Critics have been quick to point out a major inconsistency in the position.
"If the Singapore government is serious about tackling the scourge of drugs," says Rachel Zeng, who is a member of the Singapore Anti-death Penalty Campaign, "then it should take a good look at its cozy relations with Burma, which is a known heroin producer."
Malaysia, Ready for Change?
Over in Malaysia, there are signs change could be afoot. Yong Vui Kong's case has been a catalyst. "The support has been tremendous," says Ngeow. "His story has really struck a chord with many people."
The "Save Yong Vui Kong" Facebook group has drawn more than 23,000 fans. Several newspapers are now running a weekly column featuring letters from Yong to a friend outside prison. Last year, the Malaysian government even sent a letter, through its Foreign Ministry, pleading for mercy on his behalf.
Most telling perhaps are comments from the de facto Law Minister, Nazri Abdul Aziz, made during the height of the Save Yong Vui Kong campaign in 2010. Nazri was quoted as saying that it was time for Malaysia to abolish the death penalty. Among the reasons he cited – the fact that it did not seem to be deterring crimes like drug trafficking and murder. But he also added that the country lacked the political will to change things.
The Case of Noor Atiqah
Some activists are hoping that the case of a Singapore drug mule sentenced to death in Malaysia will bring about that transformation. Noor Atiqah M. Lasim, a 27-year-old single mother, was arrested at Kuala Lumpur's Low Cost Carrier Terminal on the 5th of January 2009. Immigration officials found 342.1g of heroin and 30.3g of monoacethymorphine hidden inside a bag she was carrying. Noor Atiqah's supporters say she had no idea she was transporting drugs. They say she was duped into becoming an unwitting mule by her Nigerian boyfriend.
Ravi, who has met Noor Atiqah's family, is cautiously optimistic about her case. Lawyers are still discussing the best course of action, but there is talk of a constitutional challenge to the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia. Activists hope that if that happens, and Noor Atiqah succeeds, Singapore's government might feel compelled to reconsider its position.
"Renew. Rehab. Restart."
There's a photo taken outside Changi Prison that's making its way around some circles on the Internet. The picture shows Yong's brother, Yun Leong, signing a piece of paper held up by Cheong.
Time is running out for Chun Yin and his family members are making a desperate last push to save his life. Over the past few weeks, they've collected thousands of signatures in support of a call for Singaporean authorities to stay his execution and reopen his case. His punishment, they say, should be for smuggling gold, not drugs.
It's a painstaking, heartbreaking exercise only someone like Yun Leong can understand. Just months ago, he too was out on the streets with his siblings, canvassing support for their own brother. Their campaign climaxed with a visit to the back entrance of Singapore's presidential palace, the Istana. There, they handed over files containing 109,346 signatures to a security guard who promptly told them to leave. The family's response was to get on their knees, begging Singapore to spare Yong's life.
Supporters who've seen the photo of Yun Leong and Cheong speak of how moved they are by the younger man's show of solidarity, his willingness to stand with those facing a similar plight. What they don't realize though is the awful irony of the situation. Had the photographer taken a wider angle, they would have seen some big, bold words behind the two Malaysians.
They form the prison's motto – Renew. Rehab. Restart.
By Lynn Lee Asia Sentinel
Helping hands in the New Territories
The extent of sleaze and implicit corruption at the highest levels of government in Hong Kong is gradually being unmasked, contributing to the popular discontent and social unrest evidenced by a surge in local protests and confirmed by opinion surveys.
Last week the territory's Ombudsman, an official who normally contents himself with focusing on bureaucratic stupidity rather than greater evils, lambasted the administration for its failure to enforce land-use rules in the New Territories – the formerly rural areas that cover most of Hong Kong's land area.
Although the Buildings Department received 2,400 complaints of illegal structures it removed only 13 percent of them. The Lands Department received 2,161 complaints but removed only 5 percent. Incredibly, it transpires that the departments only take action if buildings are in process of construction. Once completed they are almost invariably left alone, providing a stream of profits for illegal works.
There can only be two reasons why the government so deliberately fails to enforce its own laws: either officials are being paid off, or they are afraid of the career or health consequences of challenging the clans who control much of the New Territories through a body known as the Heung Yee Kuk which is supposed to represent the “indigenous villagers.” Although these so-called indigenous villagers are now only a tiny part of the New Territories population of about 3.7 million (slightly over 50 percent of the Hong Kong total) the Kuk has immense influence not only on local administrators but at the highest level – the Executive and Legislative Councils, of which the Kuk's boss Lau Wong-fat is a member.
The scandal of failure to implement land use laws is directly linked to another scandal directly involving Lau. He was found to be the owner of a huge number of hitherto undeclared pieces of land in the New Territories. These should have been declared, according to the rules of Exco and Legco, and Lau excluded from any decisions relating to the use of any of them. In a society not run by a clutch of untouchable insiders, Lau would most likely have been asked to resign. But Lau's influence was such that he got off with barely a slap on the wrist, the failures to disclose being blamed on oversight by his staff.
The failure to enforce laws has resulted in the gradual despoliation of much of the New Territories particularly the flat land, with an unplanned mess of low rise housing, container parks and old car dumps. It has exaggerated the consequences of what is known as the “small house policy” whereby every indigenous male villager over 18 years old is entitled to build a 2,100 square foot, three-storey house on a 700 square foot plot. There is a constant supply of new 18-year-olds and endless demand, mostly by absentee “villagers”, to build houses for rent to the rest of the population.
This feudal system is presented by the Kuk as being a traditional right. In fact it dates only to 1972 and was an administrative convenience at a time when Hong Kong's urban area began to expand into the region. For reasons best known to itself the government has never even tried to change its policy despite the scourge of unplanned development which has resulted.
Meanwhile those with influence have evidently continued to get away with ignoring building regulations. One of those who was finally found out – by the media, not by officials -- was an architect cousin of Tsang who for years got away with building a huge house and swimming pool on what was supposed to be a warehouse leased from the government. This person had been, among other government-appointed posts, a member of the Town Planning Board.
Meanwhile Lau's lordship over the New Territories has been strengthened by his own political connections with an increasingly sleazy Communist Party. Lau left the Liberal party, which mainly represents business interests, to join the Communists' proxy party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) indicating that Lau and his landlord class and the Kuk's blatant sex discrimination now have Beijing's formal blessing.
Meanwhile another close friend of both the chief executive and Beijing is showing all the contempt for the peasantry that landlords did in pre-revolution China. That is the New World group, a group which is now a major developer and controls important utilities including government-regulated buses and ferries. New World and the government had previously been investigated by the Legislative Council for the way it had recruited an early- retiring permanent secretary for housing, planning and lands, Leung Chin-man, who had been at the centre of a controversial sale of a government housing development to New World at what seemed a cheap price.
Developers are well known for hiring former officials who either have given them breaks in the past or can be expected to use their inside influence to get future benefits for the company. New World's best known recruit before Leung was Tsang's brother, former police chief TsangYam-pui.
New World treated public and Legco criticism of the Leung episode with contempt. Although the original job offer was withdrawn, Leung has now been appointed to a consultancy with another part of the group. Meanwhile New World appears to be using its financial muscle and bully instincts against the inhabitants of Hong Kong's largest private housing estate, Mei Foo, developed as a single estate in the 1970s and 1980s. Residents there have been up in arms over consent given via the back door to New World to develop what had been a low-rise gas storage facility within the estate into a high rise block impeding views, light and air.
New World now officials claims not to own it but the new owner, Billion Star Development , shows every sign of being related to New World – though given the ease with which ownership can be hidden this is not easily proven. Billion Star is now threatening the peaceful middle class protesters with legal action for damages.
No wonder then that many of Hong Kong's long quiescent middle class property owners are angry at a government so obviously in the pocket of New World and its ilk. New World, through subsidiaries, is known to have been the largest contributor to Tsang's campaign funds for the small-circle election to chief executive in 2007. It is also thought to be one of the main contributors to the DAB's coffers – contributions to the Communist front party far exceed those of all the other parties combined.
New World's behavior may come as no surprise given its ancestry – its privately owned parent Chow Tai Fook – in the gold and gambling business in Macau. But its influence in today's Hong Kong, like that of Lau Wong-fat, is indicative of just how far the territory's political and institutional development has fallen behind its levels of income, education and enterprise. Both too attest to the Chinese Communist party's affinity with the underside of capitalism with feudal characteristics. By Philip Bowring
