12 TELLING IT AS IT IS theSun | FRIDAY MAY 22 2009

speak up!
Acting Editor-in-Chief: Chong Cheng Hai
Consultant Editor: Zainon Ahmad
Executive Editor: Lee Boon Siew
Deputy Editor: Patrick Choo (Production),
Editor: R. Nadeswaran (Special Reporting and Investiga-
tion)
General Manager, Advertising and Marketing: Charles Peters
Senior Manager, Production: Thomas Kang
Senior Manager, Distribution Channels: Joehari Abdul Jabbar
Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (221220-k)
Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, 46050 Petaling Jaya.
Tel (General): 03-7784 6688
Tel (Editorial): 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2624/5
Email: newsdesk@thesundaily.com
Tel (Advertising): 03-7784 8888 Fax: 03-7784 4424
Email: advertise@thesundaily.com

Reasonable heads
day – although most of us call it a night
by 1am.
So when news got back that Selan-
gor was trying to do a Kelantan, friends
from home snickered at the idea.
The sanctity of law
With a large non-Muslim popula- by Sonia of protests, but
tion and a more urban characteristic, Randhawa due to a court

must prevail
it would be downright ridiculous to decision on cor-
control the sale of beer. OVER the last ruption. It was
People in the city are also more year, we’ve the courts that
aware of their rights and will not take seen scenes of paved the way
lightly any attempts to infringe on their chaos, anger and for his ascen-
liberties just because someone wants mayhem. People sion.
to be seen as a hero in the coming PAS stranded for days The problem
general assembly. at airports, high by this point was
I RECENTLY returned Pah Perok lagu mano? Pakatan Rakyat would definitely be level government that the courts
from a weekend visit to were seen as
my kampung in Kelantan.
(So what about Perak); Betol
koh cerito pasal budok Mon-
putting one foot out the door if it were
to adopt the proposals by PAS and some
meetings post-
poned and the
Freespace massively com-
There’s not much to do golia tu keno bom? (Are the quarters to ban or even control the sale near collapse of a Where young views rule promised. They
in Kuala Krai other than stories about the Mongolian of the brew. political system. were placed in
taking nostalgic trips down kid who got bombed true?) Even the previous state government Thailand is a the impossible
memory lane to my school, are the usual enquiries made through local authorities, which acted sobering example of a flailing position that whatever deci-
the old bakery for my fa- to me – I am still referred to as mini-kingdoms, had broached the democracy. sion they made in these highly
vourite peanut butter bun as “anok Cikgu Jerome hok idea and was hammered by all and To prevent a recurrence of political corruption trials, the
and the nasi dagang stalls at keno bede kat Iraq” (Cikgu sundry. the Thai calamity, it might be decision would be perceived
“Payung”. Jerome’s son who was shot A better approach would be to step sobering to look at the roots to be unjust, to be politically
Of course no trip is Down2Earth in Iraq). Of course that was up enforcement whether by the police of the crisis. Prime Minister motivated. The independ-
complete without a visit an exaggeration since I was or religious authorities. Thaksin Shinawatra came to ence, impartiality and fairness
to the Bradley Steps (since by Terence Fernandez not shot, only shot at! As executive councillor for local power with a huge mandate. of the judiciary, having been
changed to the unimagina- As the talk went on into government Ronnie Liu said, one In both urban and rural areas tainted under Thaksin, was
tive Tangga Krai) for a view the wee hours of the morn- should be supportive of controls such he was greeted with mas- completely compromised.
of the Kelantan River, serene most times ing the shopkeeper would keep the as not allowing one to walk the streets sive support. There were, Various authors have pointed
but an intimidating monster during the green and brown bottles of beer com- with an open can of beer to prevent inevitably, some murmurings out that the judiciary could
monsoon season. ing. Business is good they say – cukup rowdiness – a law in many countries of unrest, academics and have escaped the problem,
Of course there are new “attractions” make. (Enough to make ends meet). including Australia. journalists who were a little they could have referred
for the local folk such as the KFC and 7- There were never attempts to throw Just because a minority of individu- unhappy about the concentra- these cases to other bodies
Eleven which made their appearances sand into their rice bowl as these shops als cannot hold their drink and misbe- tion of economic, social (par- (such as oversight commit-
a few months back – testimonials of the were frequented by non-Muslims, the have, that does not mean the rest of us ticularly through the media) tees, electoral bodies and
progress the people have made from Chinese community making 30% of the who may need to rush out to the nearest and political power that he the like), and retained their
the largely agriculture industry that township. The local authorities have 24-hour outlet at 3am for a responsible represented. But they were a impartiality. They chose not
made this town. never bothered them, they say, even if fix need to be penalised. minority, and were to a large to. And the result has been
Thanks to my cousin Arick, I have some of the customers prefer to tapau So when the executive council meets part ignored. And initially it that the judiciary is tarred.
now been introduced to the joys of Play- (pack) their drinks wrapped in newspa- next Wednesday to decide on the out- seemed with good reason. And this is bad for Thai-
Station to while away the time that goes pers rather than sit at the table for fear come of yesterday’s meeting with all Thaksin increased his land, for the Thai people and
by so slowly, pausing once in a while to of being seen – both by wives and other stakeholders, reasonable heads must popularity and power with for those in power. Because
catch a glimpse of the iguana that has persons of authority. prevail. The warped wishes of the mi- economic reforms, directed there is nowhere that legiti-
made its home in the drain pipe behind Of course they cannot go to retail nority must never usurp the common at the rural sector, which macy unquestionably resides.
the house – to make sure it does not outlets or 24-hour convenience stores sense and liberties of the majority. became the bulwark of his The one possible exception in
come any nearer to our home. for their brew. Since PAS took over 19 support. His disturbing cam- Thailand is the monarchy, but
Nights are usually reserved for Uncle years ago, beer and liquor have been paign against crime, resulting the inability of the people to
Luise and his band of madcap friends at taken off the shelves. But for a small Terence would like to offer a toast to in widespread extra-judicial discuss the role of the monar-
the Chinese stalls for rounds of beers suburb, where one can circumnavigate common sense and acceptance. He is killings, was also greeted with chy coupled with the unease
where I catch up on small town gossip the town in 10 minutes, the kopitiams deputy editor special reports & investiga- widespread support, even if it of the king’s role and the
and they grill me on the stuff happening and Malakoff Club offer a steady flow tions and can be reached at terence@ violated the rights (including king’s inactions in the various
in the rest of the country. of the brew at almost any time of the thesundaily.com right to life) of a couple of political dramas are eroding
thousand people. Something faith in this one previously
was being done. But it was unassailable institution.
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
just part of an increasingly
disturbing picture.
It’s hard to see a way
forward. The only path is to
The larger picture showed rebuild faith in all the institu-
this as just one part of an tions of government, from the

US not financing Swat offensive increasing disregard for Thai-

MAY I draw your kind at-
tention to an article by Eric
Margolis titled “Beware the
vengeance of the Pashtun”,
(May 18). I would like to
add that the views expressed
by the writer are totally
unsubstantiated, baseless
and without any substance,
contradictory in nature and
need clarification.
At the outset, I like to dispel
the impression created by the
article that the Pakistan army
has launched an operation in
the Swat valley because it has
been paid by the US to do so.
On the contrary, the Pakistan
army was summoned by
the government of Pakistan
strictly in accordance with the
Article 245 of the Constitution
of Pakistan. The relevant arti-
cle is reproduced as under:
“245. Functions of Armed
Forces.
[(1)] The Armed Forces
shall, under the directions
of the Federal Government,
defend Pakistan against ex-
ternal aggression or threat of
war, and, subject to law, act
in aid of civil power when
called upon to do so.”
The decision to call in
the army was made by the
government of Pakistan to
safeguard the rights of the
people of Swat valley and
to enable them to lead their
lives without any fear or
compulsion, in accordance
with their customs and social
values, and not to suffer from
inhuman dictates of militants
and miscreants.
The decision of the govern-
ment enjoyed unprecedented
support of the people in the
conflict-ridden area, all politi-
cal parties of the country and
the people of Pakistan.
The people of Swat valley
are moving to safer places,
on their own volition, and in
their own country, en masse
to isolate themselves from the
armed militants and miscre-
ants, and to give a free hand
to the Pakistan army to flush
out the militants from the
hitherto peaceful and tourist-
friendly valley of Swat.
They are also fleeing
because the militants in their
bid to impose a harsh form of
Islamic law had made their
lives miserable.
The militants blew up
schools, both of girls and boys,
opposed education for girls
and banned female education
in Swat. Altogether they had
destroyed 170 schools in the
valley where about 55,000
girls and boys were enrolled
in government-run institu-
tions.
They blew up or beheaded
their opponents while broad-
casting edicts and threats over
their FM radio. The women
were flogged in public and
corpses of the opponents were
mutilated and desecrated.
They patrolled streets and
markets, set up checkpoints
and occupied mosques and
above all, destroyed the tour-
ism prospects in the valley,
the mainstay of livelihood for
the people of Swat valley.
The cruel acts of the
militants has turned public
opinion against them.
It is also clarified that the
Pakistan army is endeavour-
ing not only to protect its
own people from excesses of
militants and miscreants, but
is also working as a first line
of defence against the global
spread of militant Talibiniza-
tion.
The impression created by
the writer that Pashtuns are
being killed in Swat valley is
erroneous and based upon
the writer’s tunnel view of
Pashtuns in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, Pashtuns are
an integral part of Pakistan’s
civil and military bureauc-
racy, and in fact almost all
of the Frontier Corp and half
of the Pakistan army is made
up of proud, loyal and brave
Pashtun officers and soldiers.
These Pashtun officers and
soldiers are fighting against
miscreants and militants in
Swat valley to enable the
peace loving, courageous and
proud people of Swat to lead
peaceful and lawful lives.
Furthermore, the writer
used the word “refugees” for
internally displaced people of
Swat which is also inaccurate,
land’s 1997 Constitution. The
administration’s treatment of
constitution onwards. There is
an urgent need to rebuild le-
gitimacy, to rebuild faith in the
as these people are called the media – the increasing judiciary, in the police force,
internally displaced people. concentration of ownership even the medical services.
The government of Paki- and refusal to institute the Perhaps the main lessons
stan, aided by philanthropic National Broadcasting Com- for Thailand’s neighbours
organisations from across mission which would have are to not let things come to
the world is working day in dispersed this concentration this impasse. Ensure that the
and day out to mitigate the – were also symptomatic. institutions of government
sufferings of these displaced Thaksin was also perceived to – the judiciary, the police, the
persons be perverting the independ- army – are seen as impartial,
This is also a manifestation ence of the judiciary. And the apolitical and equally acces-
of the fact that the people of urban elites were not the only sible to all. To ensure that the
Swat valley despise militants ones to be concerned that monarchy remains untainted
and miscreants. Had it not Thaksin was undermining the with political machinations.
been the case, they would not legitimacy of the very institu- And, above all, to uphold the
have abandoned their hearth tion from which he derived supremacy of the constitution
and homes to give a free hand his power – the constitution. and the rights enshrined within
to the Pakistan army, termed It was this perception that it – the right to life, the right to
as saviours by the Swat peo- led to the popular (urban) freedom of speech, the right
ple to flush out the militants support for the coup of 2006. to legal representation. And
and miscreants from their It may well have been one of the right to a legally elected
beloved and peaceful land. the factors behind the coup representative democracy.
The Pakistan government itself. Of course, this in turn
is dealing with the situation tumbled the house of cards. It
in Swat strictly keeping the was almost impossible for the Sonia thinks liberty and equal-
national interest supreme, as new system to have popular ity are the only real guaran-
a popular public demand, af- legitimacy. The generals tors of security. Comment:
ter obtaining unprecedented wanted to ensure that Thaksin letters@thesundaily.com
political consensus within the would, and could, not return.
political arena of the country, The mass of the
based upon strong reasons population
and logic and not because still sup-
of arm twisting by any other ported him, We believe that the young
country. his policies should have a say in how
Therefore, the fear and his party. things are run, because they
expressed by the writer of But it should
rebellion by the soldiers and
have everything at stake in
be remem-
an uprising by the public are bered that the our future. This column cre-
totally unfounded and base- current prime ates that space for our panel
less. minister came of bright young sparks to
to office not debate issues that they feel
Qamar Bashir on the power
Press Attache strongly about.
Pakistan High Commission