NO HOLDS BARRED - My Most Sincere Apology To The Nation
Raja Petra Kamarudin
I offer no excuses. My wife, Marina, and I have five children, all now grown up. Four have made a life for themselves -- two are now married and have blessed us with four grandchildren. One, Raja Azman, left home when he was still in lower secondary school and chose to end all ties with the family. That was about 18 years ago or so.
Since he left home, he has been in and out of trouble, the result of living on the streets and sleeping in the back alleys of Kuala Lumpur. Invariably, life on the streets like an urchin turned him into what he is today.
Muslims believe that heaven lies beneath the feet of one’s mother. It is therefore seldom a Muslim mother would bring herself to curse her offspring. Doing so would condemn that child for eternity. That is what Muslims believe.
My wife made it very clear to our prodigal son that he turns his back on the family and resorts to a life of crime at his own peril. It does not matter the severity of the crime. Crime is crime whatever it may be, big or small. And is it not the tendency that petty criminals eventually migrate to hardcore crimes? He therefore invites his mother’s curse if he brings shame to the family. That was my wife’s final word on the matter.
Our son was warned that if he ever got into trouble he was entirely on his own. He can’t expect the family that he has disowned to rally to his side. He has made his bed so he must now lie in it. That was our irrevocable and uncompromising stand and this was delivered in no uncertainty to our son. He would have to make the decision as to what it was going to be.
Marina and I received a phone call a couple of months ago that our son, yet again, was in trouble. It was a call from a police officer. The phone was passed to our son so that we could be assured he was in the hands of the police. Although it was a huge disappointment to both of us, it was no shock, neither a surprise. This was yet another brush with the law that our son has got himself into over more than a decade.
The purpose for the phone call became clearer after our son handed the phone back to the police officer. They wanted to negotiate a settlement. The problem is small, we were told. This can be settled easily enough. They know we would rather bury this problem than let it become public knowledge. We are, after all, high profile. And bad publicity such as this would not help our image.
I made it very clear there would be no negotiations. How can I agree to bribing police officers to get my son off the hook after speaking out against crime, corruption, abuse of power and cover-ups of criminal acts by those who walk in the corridors of power? Sure, maybe no one would know about it. Once I pay up, the matter will be buried so deep no one would be the wiser. But I would know. My wife would know. My family would know. And the police officers who I had bribed would know.
How can I continue speaking out against what ails this country when I am not able to walk the talk? It is so easy to talk when you have nothing to lose, except maybe your freedom. But when it comes to a member of your family, you compromise your principles and violate the very thing that you speak out against.
When I hung up the phone, I could see the pain in my wife’s heart. After all, are not the eyes the window to the heart? Which mother can abandon a child, never mind how evil that child may be. It takes a very determined woman to put principles before the welfare of the family.
We knew it was with dire consequences that we had turned down the offer to settle the matter. We would be made to pay dearly for our stubbornness. They would make sure that we would suffer shame never before suffered by our family.
My children are devastated. The thought of our son having to spend a good part of his life in prison is only part of it. The fact that he carries the family name and that this would be held against the family was their main concern. They knew we would be made to suffer for what Raja Azman had done.
This was a predicament we would never be able to avoid. It would have been so simple to just agree to meet the police officers and pay them the money they wanted and all would have been settled. But it would have been settled only for that short moment in time. I would have to carry the knowledge that I sold out my principles and was not able to walk the talk for the rest of my life.
How can I continue doing what I am doing knowing that I am not able to practice what I preach? I would lose the moral high ground and would no longer be qualified to talk about change and about a better Malaysia. I am, after all, as corrupted as those people who walk in the corridors of power. My son may walk free. But I shall be taking his place in prison -- not a physical prison, but a prisoner of my own nagging conscience, which will haunt me till my last day on earth.
As a father, it was a most difficult choice I had to make. It was more difficult for Marina, the mother who gave birth to that son. We held each other’s hands and looked each other in the eye without speaking. Words were unnecessary. In that silence our hearts did all the talking. We knew we had to bite the bullet and face whatever lies ahead of us without wavering.
Marina and I apologise to the nation for what our son has done. As parents, Marina and I accept that responsibility.
That was 20 minutes ago! Anyway heading out towards my car now.
Sent via BlackBerry from Maxis
Perak Speaker Sivakumar being forced out from the State Assembly Chair!
5.10pm: BN speaker Ganesan tells reporters that he does not see any problems with regards to executing his duties in future.
"There is a maxim in democracy - majority rules. BN has 31 (seats), Pakatan has 28. The majority elected the speaker."
Asked on how he plans to keep the House in order, he replies: "I won't be a dictator. I will do my duty as per standing orders."
On the manner he was elected, Ganesan (left) says the issue of an 'illegal speaker' does not arise because BN has the majority.
"Sivakumar was removed as per standing order."
5.06pm: Nizar leaves the building and is seen waving at journalists as well as police personnel.
5.03pm: Sivakumar leaves the state secretariat building. His car briefly stops at the gates to allow photographers to snap a few shots.
5pm: Nizar tells a press conference that as far as Pakatan is concerned, the House did not sit today. He says that whatever BN did was "illegal and unconstitutional".
As for the regent's speech, the ousted MB describes it "as just a royal speech, nothing more than that. It is not opening the assembly."
4.30pm: PAS' Salahuddin Ayub says all the elected reps arrested earlier have been released.
4.05pm: Perak regent Nazrin leaves the chamber. BN-appointed MB Zambry suggests for the House to be adjourned. Pakatan reps repeatedly shout ‘Dissolve the assembly’ again.
New speaker Ganesan adjourns the assembly to a date to be decided. Pakatan reps call press conference inside the assembly.
4pm: PKR election strategy director and Batu parliamentarian Tian Chua is arrested outside the state secretariat building in Ipoh. The police inform him that the area has been cordoned off. The opposition politician tells police that he is there to greet his Pakatan colleagues.
Although he was accompanied by PKR treasurer William Leong and several other party leaders, the police only detained him. He is forcefully dragged to an unmarked police vehicle.
3.47pm: Raja Nazrin ends his royal speech. He does not touch on the ongoing political crisis in the state during his 30-minute speech. He spoke on the stimulus packages and development of the state. A closing prayer session is underway.
3.36pm: Sivakumar's official car is seen returning to the state secretariat building with the same woman passenger.
3.16pm: Order is resumed in the dewan and Raja Nazrin starts his royal address.
3.15pm: Regent of Perak Raja Nazrin enters the House and talks to Nizar and DAP's Ngeh Khoo Ham. Following this, Nizar tells all Pakatan reps to take their seat and they obey.
The police install a new chair for Ganesan as the old speaker's chair was damaged during the earlier scuffle. The plainclothes personnel have also left the House.
3.12pm: Sivakumar's official Toyota Camry bearing the registration plate 'AFD 999' is seen leaving the state secretariat building with a woman passenger but the speaker is not in the car.
3.10pm: Ganesan adjourns the House in order to wait for the Regent of Perak to deliver his official address.
3.05pm: Ganesan starts chairing the meeting and calls for the customary prayers to be recited. He also calls for the removal of two Pakatan reps but no action is taken to do so.
Sivakumar's wife is enraged and demands to see her husband. The 'officials' then take her to see the Pakatan speaker but nobody else is allowed to meet him.
3pm: PAS youth chief Salahuddin Ayub who was arrested this morning told Malaysiakini that he was being held at the Sungai Senam police station in Ipoh.
He said there are about 40 others who were arrested this morning at the station. He added that he had given a statement to the police but has not been informed when he will be released.
Meanwhile it is learnt that the police have released 13 people who were arrested this morning.
It could not be ascertained the exact number of people arrested this morning but DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said the number stood at 64.
2.55pm: The same group of 'officials' escort Ganesan to the speaker's chair.
2.41pm: A group of men clad in jackets grab hold of Sivakumar and forcibly remove him from the House. The men are believed to be police personnel.
2.35pm: Attempts by the sergeant-at-arms and state assembly staff to remove Sivakumar are being resisted by the speaker and Pakatan reps. Some other Pakatan assemblypersons are continuing with their attempts to eject BN speaker Ganesan from the house.
2.30pm: The situation is still chaotic in the house. The sergeant-at-arms is now trying to remove Sivakumar from the speaker's chair to allow Ganesan to assume the chair.
2.15pm: ROUND 3 - TUSSLE FOR SPEAKER'S SEAT The assembly resumes. Pakatan reps are trying to physically stop Ganesan from entering the chamber.
There is a lot of pushing and shoving among the state reps. A few punches are being thrown about as well. A number of reps climb up the table. It is complete pandemonium in the assembly.
A couple of police officers are now inside the assembly to try to restore order. Pakatan reps shout at the police to leave the assembly.
At the same time, the BN reps are trying to force Sivakumar out of the speaker's chair but he is being protected by some Pakatan assemblypersons.
12.55pm: BN speaker Ganesan announces that the House will be adjourned for another hour. This is the second adjournment he has announced since been appointed by the BN as the speaker.
As he is unfamiliar with the House standing orders and has to be helped by BN exco Hamidah (Sungai Rapat), he is laughed at by Pakatan reps.
Despite the adjournment, the elected reps remain in the House.
12.50pm: Umno Youth's Saiful Adli files a police report against Sivakumar for ordering Zambry and others out of the House. He says this is in contempt of court.
11.48am: Pakatan elected representatives told Malaysiakini that their seating arrangements were changed before they entered the house this morning - moving their places from the right of the speaker to the left.
However since they arrived into the house much earlier than the BN reps, they just made the necessary changes to sit in their original places at the right of the speaker.
By convention, the ruling party sits in the right of the speaker.
11.37am: A ceasefire seems to be in place. Pakatan reps are still in discussion with Mohammad Nizar while the BN reps are glued to their seats, worried that Sivakumar would start the sitting if they leave the house.
11.34am: Sivakumar is questioning the legality of the decisions made by the BN side, including the decision to appoint a new speaker. He said that the assembly has not officially begun as the Perak regent has yet to declare the sitting open.
He said Raja Nazrin should give a royal speech first before the sitting officially starts.
11.30am: "As long as I am here, the other speaker (Ganesan) is haram," said Sivakumar while attempting to start the assembly sitting. His microphone is still turned off.
11.23am: Sivakumar once again asks the 10 BN reps to leave the House. Failing which, he warns that he will not reconvene the sitting. But as far as BN reps are concerned, their speaker has adjourned the sitting. A shouting match erupts again.
11.21am: Amidst the pandemonium in the House, BN still manages to pass four motions. These include to remove Sivakumar as the speaker, to appoint Ganesan as the new speaker, to appoint new state committee members and to declare the tree assembly illegal.
11.20am: Zambry moves a motion to adjourn the sitting and the motion is passed. The new speaker announces that the sitting has been adjourned. Pakatan reps respond by shouting 'keluar'. But both sides return to their seats later while Sivakumar continues to occupy the speaker's seat. The House is calm again. The regent of Perak has yet to deliver the royal address.
11.13am: BN representatives seem to have the upper hand in the house now with new speaker Ganesan controlling the proceedings. His microphone is the only one working. With Ganesan chairing the proceedings, BN is now moving a motion to appoint members of various state committees.
They are also moving a motion to declare that the tree-assembly held on March 3 was illegal. In that sitting, a motion moved by the Pakatan representatives to dissolve the assembly was passed. BN reps did not attend that sitting.
11.05am: Deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong, who is now a BN-friendly independent, announces that she has taken over from Sivakumar. Standing behind a cordon of BN state reps, she orders the sergeant-at-arms to expel Sivakumar. However, no action is taken by the sergeant-at-arms.
BN-appointed MB Zambry again reads out the motion to sack Sivakumar. All BN state reps raise their hands in support. Zambry also moves the motion to appoint R Ganesan as the new speaker. This is again backed by BN reps and the three BN-friendly Independents.
Ganesan walks into the assembly hall to accept the speaker’s gown. He is quickly sworn in among the turmoil, and signs the appointment document at the BN side of the assembly.
Sivakumar, who is still occupying the speaker’s seat, keeps shouting, “Speaker ini haram” (He is an illegal speaker), referring to Ganesan.
Ganesan conducts the assembly meeting from the floor among the BN state reps. Zambry tries to move other motions to change a number of key posts.
10.35am: Perak assembly still at a stand-off. Sivakumar keeps repeating that BN MB Zambry’s motion to sack him as speaker is “null and void” and orders the sergeant-at-arms to expel the 10 state assemblypersons. However, the sergeant-at-arms refuse to abide to the speaker’s instruction.
A group of state reps from both sides surround Zambry as the shouting match continues. Assembly state secretary Abdullah Antung tries to talk to the speaker, but he is ignored by Sivakumar.
Zambry maintains that the speaker has now been sacked as BN controls the majority in the assembly.
10.25am: Contrary to the chaos inside the assembly, the situation outside the state secretariat is much calmer with the police successfully dispersing the crowd.
The police have widened the no-go cordon, as a result the coffees shops are deserted.
Earlier the police ordered all those having drinks in the restaurants to leave immediately. Many left without paying for their drinks. Two refused to budge and were arrested.
10.20am: The impasse between speaker V Sivakumar and BN state reps continues. The speaker refuses to begin proceedings unless the seven suspended reps and three BN-friendly independents leave the hall.
Assembly secretary Abdullah Antung tries to take his seat in front of the speaker. But about 10 Pakatan reps walk up to him and physically stop him from doing so. They instruct Antung not to interfere with assembly business as he is a civil servant.
Both sides then engage in a free-for-all shouting match. Pakatan reps are also seen trying to prevent BN MB Zambry from speaking.
Zambry moves motion to sack the speaker. Sivakumar rejects the motion. The assembly plunges into chaos.
