Obama's un-manned drones kills at least 45 people attending a funeral service in Pakistan...

Again, the USA has killed people indiscriminately - this time people who were attending a funeral in Pakistan - 45 or more dead, killed by a US-drone attack... [And Americans wonder why there are so many who hate US and want to kill Americans...sometime the reasons have nothing really to do with political ideological differences - but is something more basic like anger and revenge...How would you feel if your innocent father...mother...child, etc is killed in an incident?]

'Dozens dead' in US drone strike

Pakistan officially objects to the strikes by pilotless US aircraft

At least 45 people have died in a missile strike by a US drone aircraft in a Taliban stronghold area of Pakistan, officials there have said.

The people killed in South Waziristan had been attending a funeral for others killed in a US drone strike earlier.

Intelligence officials said at least 45 people had been killed and dozens more injured in the later strike, when two missiles were fired.

But a local official told BBC News the death toll was more than 50.

The region is a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Also on Tuesday, tribal leader Qari Zainuddin, who often criticised Mehsud, was shot dead by a gunman in north-western Pakistan.

Earlier this month, Zainuddin criticised Mehsud after an attack on a mosque, which killed 33 people.

The Pakistani army is preparing to launch an offensive against Taliban fighters under Mehsud's command, who are blamed for a number of deadly attacks.

But Zainuddin's killing is being seen as a setback for the government in its efforts to isolate Mehsud ahead of the security forces' next phase of their anti-Taliban offensive in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, says the BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Islamabad.

Even if the person killed were a 'mass-murderer' , we ask what has happened to 'Rule of Law'? Right to Defend oneself? Right to a fair trial?...presumption of innocence until proven guilty...

And, this indiscriminate killing of many including the innocent by the US using these drones is not the 1st of its kind, This may be the 6th such attack since Obama became President....

And since August 2008, there have been about 30 such attacks killing more than 320 human beings..

At least 22 people in Pakistan, including suspected al-Qaeda fighters, have been killed in a missile attack thought to have been carried out by an unmanned US drone.

Security officials said the raid targeted a Taliban camp in northwest Pakistan on Thursday.

Two missiles fired by a drone hit the alleged camp in the tribal area of Kurram, one of seven semi-autonomous regions near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

A senior security official, speaking anonymously, said "the training centre was run by local Taliban commander Fazal Saeed and training was under way at the time of the strike".

The Taliban has sealed off the area and was retrieving bodies from the rubble of the building, officials said.

Kurram is a known hub for fighters loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's most wanted man, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, de facto commander of Taliban-aligned groups on the border.

Security officials had earlier said that at least seven fighters had been killed in the attack, including "foreigners" - using a term adopted to mean al-Qaeda operatives.

Repeated strikes

More than 30 such missile attacks have been carried out since August 2008, one month before Asif Ali Zardari was sworn into office as president of Pakistan, killing more than 320 people.

The US military does not confirm drone attacks, but it and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces to deploy drones in the region.

It was the fifth missile attack blamed on unmanned US aircraft since Barack Obama, the US president, came to power, dashing the Pakistani public's hopes that the new administration would abandon the policy.

Obama says fighters in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where US troops are battling the Taliban, pose a grave threat.

Islamabad has repeatedly protested to Washington that drones violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the 160 million people of the nuclear-armed Islamic nation. - Al-Jazeera, 14/3/2009, Deaths in Pakistan drone strike

The innocent persons dead will just be called 'collateral damage' - and that is it.

Obama's hypocrisy must be exposed. He was so 'sad' about that young Iranian women who allegedly died by reason of a gun-shot wound..[I have my doubts here because US have used false images/stories before to support its cause] - but I have yet to see him express any apologies and condolences for US's killings of innocent. Let's see what Obama's reaction would be to this killing...

Obama 'outraged'

In his latest remarks on the unrest, Barack Obama, the US president, condemned as "unjust" the Iranian government's treatment of protesters.

Obama said the international community was "appalled and outraged" by what he said were the "threats, beatings, and imprisonments" of demonstrators.

"I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering in Iran's affairs,'' he said during a news conference at the White House on Tuesday.

"But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place.''

Protesters have demanded the Iranian government re-run June 12 election that saw an overwhelming victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent president.

At least 19 people have been killed in post-election clashes across Iran between protesters and riot police and paramilitaries. - Al-Jazeerah, 24/6/2009, Iran's Mousavi calls new protest

Pakatan Rakyat says NO to Unity Government with UMNO/BN - a Joint Press statement was issued

Well, at last the Pakatan Rakyat leaders met and we do not have to worry anymore about this 'UNITY Government' with the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional...

Their joint statement is as follows:-

Press Release
Pakatan Rakyat Council of Leaders
22 June 2009

The Pakatan Rakyat Council of Leaders today Monday, 22 June2009 held a meeting at the office of the Opposition leader and agreed on the following:

1. All the component parties of Pakatan Rakyat reiterate their commitment to each other and to strengthen the coalition in order to help form the future Federal Government

2. The Pakatan Rakyat Council of Leaders reaffirms our rejection of the idea of forming a Unity Government with UMNO/Barisan Nasional which is clearly a malicious and desperate attempt to compromise the integrity of the increasingly popular Pakatan Rakyat

3. Pakatan Rakyat agrees to adopt an open approach and is willing to hold discussions with the leaders of Barisan Nasional on issues of national interest such as economic recovery, improving the quality of education, restoring the integrity of the judiciary, abrogation of the Internal Security Act (ISA), the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal, abuse of power by the police leadership during times of increasing crime, eradication of corruption, establishment of good governance and to hold immediately a free and fair election to resolve the Perak crisis.

This statement, was signed by the 3 big-guns of DAP, PAS and PKR. For PKR, it was the 'Supreme Leader' Anwar Ibrahim who signed the statement - not the President of the Party. (Sounds a bit like Iran, does it not...?)

The PKR, DAP and PAS leaders reiterated their commitment to the opposition coalition with the aim of forming the federal government someday.

The joint statement was signed by Opposition Leader and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim, DAP's Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Abdul Hadi - Malaysiakini, 22/6/2009, Unity gov't: A united 'no' from Pakatan

Pakatan Rakyat rejected the proposed unity government with Umno at a meeting of alliance leaders in Parliament Monday.- Star, 22/6/2009, Pakatan Rakyat rejects unity talks

Now, the Pakatan Rakyat should sit down and come out with clear common positions of Pakatan Rakyat on the many issues that is confronting Malaysia today...

HEALTHCARE - Free healthcare for all. Government shall also re-imburse cost of travel of the poorer persons immediately when they arrive in the clinics/hospitals - this to prevent the sick from being deprived healthcare by reason of monetary reasons. We shall be introducing a medical response programme - whereby doctors will go to the sick directly when there is an emergency. Doctors shall visit the sick - especially the elderly in their homes (or the government will make arrangements for them to be brought to hospital). There will be clinics set up at all Detention Centres, and Prisons - and everyday, all lock-ups around the country will be visited by a doctor (or at the very least a medical assistant). - This is the things that Pakatan Rakyat shall be implementing... (It is things like this that Malaysians want to hear from Pakatan Rakyat..)

Currently, they still behave like the Opposition in 2004 and before (and that is no more - for today they rule 4 [could have been 5] States and they may become the Federal Government come next elections if the Malaysian people is convinced that things will be different and better than it is today under the UMNO-led BN..

So, please sit down together and brainstorm and tell us Malaysians what will change. Do not tell us slogans like there will be 'independent judiciary' , etc - tell us the details..please.

SLOGANS were OK for GE2008 - but the people want more...they want real details..

More Democracy - Local Council Elections, Elections of kampung/kampung baru/tamans/orang asli villagers of the heads and main committee, Elections of Penghulus, Elections of Senators by the people...I can go on and on ...maybe later...

Free Healthcare for all persons - and government should also reimburse cost of travel as well...

There must be free access to healthcare in Malaysia - and any person sick should be able to go to government hospitals and get treatment for free...

Money should not be a reason why the sick does not go to the government clinic or hospital - because he/she cannot afford to pay.

Not having proper identification papers/travel papers/documentation should not be a reason why a person does not go to the government clinic or hospital when he/she is sick...

WHY? Because every person that is sick is entitled to heathcare unimpeded.

If the sick does not have access to healthcare in Malaysia - then, there is a risk that the disease may spread to others - and, as such in the interest of health for all in Malaysia, it is time for free healthcare in Malaysia.

Like the UK, maybe also there should be funds made available especially for the poorer persons to cover their transportation costs to get healthcare...(In fact, this is now being extended to cover all EU countries...)

Today, travel cost to the government clinics and hospitals is also quite high - and sometimes, this is what prevents many a poor person from going to see the doctor - and maybe, the government should consider a scheme to reimburse persons going to government healthcare facilities.

The UK’s House of Lords EU Committee has published a report on the European Commission's proposal for a Directive on Cross Border healthcare entitled “Healthcare across EU borders: a safe framework”.

The commission's directive aims to clarify EU citizens’ rights to seek medical treatment in member states other than their own, and have the costs reimbursed by their own national healthcare systems. These rights have been confirmed in numerous European Court of Justice Rulings but the proposed directive represents the first efforts by the EU to codify these rights in a single document.

The directive not only covers in- and out-patient treatment, but also extends to dentistry.

The report welcomes the European Commission for a Directive on patients' rights to cross-border healthcare, but calls for improvements and warns that it must be carefully monitored upon implementation, suggesting a three-year review.

The Committee agree with the Commission that, as the right of EU citizens to travel to another Member State to receive healthcare has been confirmed by the European Court of Justice over the last ten years, it is essential to put in place a legal framework to replace the current ad hoc arrangements.

The Committee consider whether patients seeking healthcare in other Member States should pay the costs themselves in advance of treatment and then claim reimbursement later. They raise concerns that this would prevent those without adequate financial means from taking advantage of their right to cross-border healthcare. The report recommends that a patient’s own healthcare provider should pay the fees directly to the provider in the other member state, and suggests that this could be linked with the process of securing authorisation prior to travel, which the committee considers necessary to enable patients to make informed decisions about their treatment.

The report also calls on member states to ensure that patients are aware of their rights under the directive and are informed about the quality of care that they can expect, and any potential language barriers. Member states should finance information for its own citizens about healthcare abroad and should draw up a description of its own health system to guide other member states. It accepts that in practice it will fall to medical practitioners, such as GPs and dentists, to actually provide the information to patients.

The directive distinguishes between “hospital care” and “non-hospital care”. It defines hospital care as any treatment requiring an overnight stay. Non-hospital care is everything else. In the light of ECJ case law, the Directive provides that reimbursement for non-hospital care shall not be subject to prior authorisation, provided that if this care were carried out in the home member state, it would have been paid for by its social security system.

However, the directive permits member states to implement a system of prior authorisation for reimbursement of the cost of hospital care provided in another member state. The directive proposes that patients pay for their cross-border treatment upfront and seek reimbursement at a later date. This would fit in with how several EU health systems already work for domestic care, where the hospital provider and social insurance are separate organisations. In the UK, the care and insurance are both provided by the NHS, so the patient gets free treatment. The House of Lords wants to replace the pay and reclaim system with one where the hospital is paid direct.

Most EU countries favour a pay and reclaim basis. The Commission itself is prepared to consider direct payments, but only after treatment has been completed. This issue illustrates that most UK organisations that gave evidence have little understanding on how health systems work outside the UK.

The EU plan has an implementation target date of 2011. - UNITED KINGDOM: Lords EU Committee publishes healthcare report, International Medical Travel Journal

This, I am sure, will improve the health of persons in Malaysia. It will prevent unnecessary deaths - unnecessary transmissions of disease to more persons, etc..

Maybe the States have to claim their rights - maybe time for State Police, that will come under the State Government directly..

What is happening to Malaysia under its new Prime Minister Najib?

Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association is being disrespected...

Even the legal DAP dinners hosted by the duly elected DAP MP for the area are being 'interfered' with..

Water cannons...PA Systems confiscated....speakers for the night not allowed to talk...

Police permits withdrawn at the eleventh hour...by the police...

Shocking...embarrassing...

Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government sponsored events also have had to have police approvals..

Who is in charge of the state - the democratically elected Pakatan Rakyat government or the police?

Maybe, time for Selangor to have its own state police - who will be under the State Government...

The interference of the Federal Government into matters within the State must stop...

Police today again intervened during a dinner-cum-ceramah by DAP, this time in Klang, by withdrawing a police permit for the event at the last minute.

MCPX

After some intense negotiations with the police, the dinner was allowed to proceed at about 8.15pm, but the long list of speakers for the night were unable to proceed with their ceramah as the PA system was confiscated by the police.

Earlier, the police had issued a permit for the event but specified that no ceramah was allowed.

"Up to this year, this has never happened before. It is a given that our supporters can hear us speak while they eat," said a DAP party worker.

Since early this afternoon, seven water cannons were parked within the Taman Bayu Tinggi vicinity where the dinner was scheduled to take place.

The dinner was organised by Klang MP Charles Santiago, who said in his blog that the police had already cordoned off the area for the dinner at 4.45pm. - Malaysiakini, 21/6/2009, Cops disrupt DAP dinner again

If this is happening to DAP, which is part of the State government, in an area with a DAP Mp - I wonder whether other opposition parties like PSM and Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM) will even have a chance to host 'ceramahs' and fund raising events....

What about Radio Stations...Television Stations - when will the opposition parties or the non-BN State Governments have the ability to get permits and run their own stations...

Is Malaysia really a democracy? Or has it now become a 'dictatorship'? or a Police State?

Malaysians prefer to consider domestic workers as ...servants, maids - but NOT worker..

If you ask the employer (or potential future employers) whether their workers should be given one rest day per week, they will most likely say "NO" - and give all kinds of reasons. If you ask employers, if their workers should be given paid public holidays...or paid annual leave...or paid maternity leave, they will, most likely say 'No'.

Hence, the Star's survey, an SMS poll at that, gave us the result that 75% are against the granting of a day off per week to domestic workers - and I bet you that most of them were employers/potential employers/family of employers of domestic workers. Also wonder, what was the question asked in that poll? And, in what language?

More than 75% of respondents in an SMS poll conducted by The Star are against the idea of granting maids a day off every week.

Yesterday’s poll, which asked if maids should be given one rest day a week, drew a total of 769 respondents over 11 hours.

About 76.1% or 585 respondents said “no,” while 23.9% or 184 respondents said “yes.”...

....The proposal has drawn mixed response, with civil society groups lauding it and others – mainly employers of maids – against it. - Star, 19/6/2009, Many against day off for maids

Interestingly, many of the employers of these domestic workers are workers themselves - and, they have 2 different standards when it comes to worker rights - one standard for themselves as workers, and a different sub-standard standard for their own workers - the domestic worker.

What 'Domestic Worker'? They are domestic maids...domestic servants... - this is how many would like to see..."They are not workers...they are servants...maids..."

And that is why we need to be liberated from this narrowness - and, the first step is to call a worker what he is a worker - a domestic worker.

As a worker, we need to make sure that this worker too have all those 'worker rights' that we have been fighting for and succeeded in getting.

With regard to 'domestic work' is work - this has been part of women's struggle for a very long time - that fight to define 'household work'..., and in fact the campaign for that housework should be paid salary/wages started in 1974...

Today, in Malaysia, many families can no longer survive on the earnings of a sole bread winner and hence both spouses have to work - and hence, the need for someone else to do the housework..

Sometimes, it is not just a question of 'must', but one of 'choice', whereby both spouses want to be gainfully employed and/or be involved in some business/profession - hence, again the need for someone else to do the housework..

The solution today seem to be to employ a 'domestic worker' ....and, this worker must be treated with dignity as a worker..,and also accorded rights properly due to any worker..

The Wages for Housework Movement originated in Italy, where its first public demonstration took place in March, 1974.

Addressing the crowd assembled in the city of Mestre, one of the speakers proclaimed: ‘Half the world’s population is unpaid – this is the biggest class contradiction of all! And this is our struggle for wages for housework. It is the strategic demand; at this moment it is the most revolutionary demand for the whole working class. If we win, the class wins, if we lose, the class loses.'[14]

According to this movement’s strategy, wages contain the key to the emancipation of housewives, and the demand itself is represented as the central focus of the campaign for women’s liberation in general. Moreover, the housewife’s struggle for wages is projected as the pivotal issue of the entire working-class movement.

The theoretical origins of the Wages for Housework Movement can be found in an essay by Mariarosa Dalla Costa entitled “Women and the Subversion of the Community."[15] In this paper, Dalla Costa argues for a redefinition of housework based on her thesis that the private character of household services is actually an illusion. The housewife, she insists, only appears to be ministering to the private needs of her husband and children, for the real beneficiaries of her services are her husband’s present employer and the future employers of her children.

‘(The woman) has been isolated in the home, forced to carry out work that is considered unskilled, the work of giving birth to, raising, disciplining, and servicing the worker for production.

Her role in the cycle of production remained invisible because only the product of her labour, the labourer, was visible.'[16]

The demand that housewives be paid is based on the assumption that they produce a commodity as important and as valuable as the commodities their husbands produce on the job.

Adopting Dalla Costa’s logic, the Wages for Housework Movement defines housewives as creators of the labour-power sold by their family members as commodities on the capitalist market. Dalla Costa was not the first theorist to propose such an analysis of women’s oppression.

Both Mary Inman’s In Women’s Defence (1940)[17] and Margaret Benston’s “The Political Economy of Women’s Liberation” (1969)[18] define housework in such a way as to establish women as a special class of workers exploited by capitalism called “housewives.”

That women’s procreative, child-rearing and housekeeping roles make it possible for their family members to work – to exchange their labour-power for wages – can hardly be denied. But does it automatically follow that women in general, regardless of their class and race, can be fundamentally defined by their domestic functions? Does it automatically follow that the housewife is actually a secret worker inside the capitalist production process? -Women, Race and Class, The Approaching Obsolescence of Housework: A Working-Class Perspective - Angela Davis 1981

Malaysia's Birthday Gift to Aung San Suu Kyi - 'We arrest 16 Burmese...' Shame on you...Malaysia!

How embarrassing...

Malaysian police must really be educated about Burma - and how the peoples of Burma have been denied the right to be governed by their democratically elected leaders by an evil military regime, that has ruled since 1962.

Of course, persons forced to leave by reason of an oppressive military regime is not able to go an get 'passports' and visas - If they do, many fear being arrested, detained, tortured....

Hence, it is an 'internationally' shameful fact that Malaysian police chose to arrest 15 Burmese at a celebration of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday celebration in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Police last night arrested 14 Myanmar nationals for taking part in an illegal gathering to celebrate the 64th birthday of Myanmar activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

Petaling Jaya OCPD ACP Arjunaidi Mohamed said some 30 Myanmar nationals had begun gathering near the Taman Jaya lake at about 8pm.

Police at the scene ordered the crowd to disperse. They also arrested 14 Myanmar nationals who did not possess any valid travel documents.

“All of those who were arrested have been brought to the Petaling Jaya police headquarters and will be handed over to the Immigration Department,” he said, adding the remaining crowd dispersed at 8.30pm - Star, 20/6/2009, 14 Myanmar nationals detained in illegal gathering

The Malaysiakini report :-

...A team of 50 police officers broke up a gathering in Petaling Jaya to celebrate Burma’s Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday at about 9pm and detained 16 people.

Those arrested are believed to be refugees from Burma who were at the birthday celebration to express their concern for their country’s democracy icon.

The Burmese military regime has kept Suu Kyi in detention for 13 of the past 19 years, and she is now on trial at Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside home.

According to human rights group Suaram, the 16 were arrested even before the event kicked off.

“All those arrested now are detained in the Petaling Jaya district police station and denied access to lawyers. They might be moved to immigration,” said Suaram coordinator Temme Lee.

The 16 were taken to the Petaling Jaya police station where a crowd had gathered outside to press for their release.

The aborted celebration - which was to be held in an open area near Amcorp Mall in Taman Jaya - was jointly organised by Pakatan Rakyat Selangor and Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)...- Malaysiakini, 19/6/2009, 16 refugees arrested at Suu Kyi's 'birthday bash'

The 24 (earlier 21, when 1st issued) Organisation/Groups' Happy Birthday Aung San Suu Kyi statement:-

Joint Statement- 19/6/2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI

RELEASE IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN BURMA

On the occasion of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday that falls on 19th June 2009, we, the undersigned reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Burma.

After achieving its independence from the British in 1948, Burma was ruled by a democratically elected government until the 1962 army coup.

Finally, the military junta agreed to hold elections in 1990, and return Burma to a parliamentary democracy. But the run-up to the elections inspired little confidence in the process. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the most popular opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was placed under house arrest in July 1989. Many other senior NLD officials were jailed. The NLD had little access to media and few resources compared to the military-backed National Unity Party (NUP).

On 27th May 1990, the Election Results revealed that out of the 485 parliamentary seats contested, the NLD won 392 (over 80%). Ethnic minority parties opposed to the military junta won 65 more seats. The military-backed NUP only won 10 seats. It was clear indication that peoples of Burma rejected military rule.

The military junta's response to this overwhelming defeat was simply to change the rules, and not hand over power to duly elected Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD. Repression intensified, and many NLD and other elected representatives were arrested. Some have died in prison. Others fled into exile. Today, in Malaysia, it is estimated that there may be more than 500,000 Burmese undocumented migrants,

We call for the immediate handing over of power from the military regime to the duly elected Aung San Suu Kyi and the elected representatives.

We reiterate our call for the immediate discontinuation of the trial, and withdrawal of the charges against Aung San Suu Kyi who has been absurdly charged and is now being tried for the offence of breaking the terms of her house arrest, in particular the condition that forbids visitors, after an American man, swam across the lake and entered her house uninvited and refused to leave.

We call for ASEAN and ASEAN member governments, to immediately intervene and urge the government of Burma to respect human rights, and to adhere to the numerous United Nations resolutions, including General Assembly Resolution 49/197 [1995], which, amongst others, “…call on the Government of Myanmar to release unconditionally and immediately the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now in her sixth year of detention without trial, and other political leaders and remaining political prisoners…’

We also call on the United Nations(UN), the European Union(EU) and all concerned nations to act for the immediate withdrawal of this absurd charge, to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all political detainees and to restore democracy and human rights to Burma and its peoples.

Lastly, and most importantly, we wish Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Happy Birthday, and wish for her and the peoples of Burma the strength and the continued commitment to struggle for a better Burma, where human rights, justice and democracy exist.

Pranom Somwong

Charles Hector

for and on behalf of the following 24 organisations,

Bar Council Human Rights Committee

Burma Campaign Malaysia

Center for Independent Journalism, Malaysia

Community Development Services, Sri Lanka

Development Action for Women Network (DAWN), Philippines

Empower Foundation, Thailand

Foundation for Women, Law and Rural Development (FORWARD), Thailand

Friends of Burma, Malaysia

Grassroots-HRE,Thailand

Legal Support for Children and Women (LSCW), Cambodia

MADPET (Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture)

MAP Foundation, Thailand

Mekong Ecumenical Partnership Program, Christian Conference of Asia(MEPP)

Myanmar Refugee Volunteer Group (MRVG)

National League for Democracy (NLD),LA, Malaysia

Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)

People's Service Organization (PSO), Malaysia

Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER)

Society for Christian Reflection (SCR)

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia

Tenaganita, Malaysia

Women's Studies Center,Thailand

Workers Hub For Change (WH4C)

Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association ( YCOWA)

It's wrong for employers to hold worker's passports

It is against the law for employers to hold on to their worker's passports...

Now, the Minister of Human Resources has made it clear again that ...

Employers holding on to the passport of their foreign maids must surrender the travel document if and when the maids ask for it.

Human Resource Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam said employers did not have the right to refuse the request from the maids for any reason, especially when they wanted to quit or leave the country.

“Failure to surrender the passport on the request will result in a RM10,000 fine under amendments to the Employment Act 1955,” he told a press conference after meeting Indian Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal here yesterday, Employers who decide to hold on to the passports would be responsible for renewing their maids’ work permits, he said.

On the proposal to make it mandatory for employers to grant one day off in a week to their maids, he said it was already in the law, and not something new.

He also said the day off could be on any day agreed upon by employers and their maids.- Star, 18/6/2009, Subra: Bosses can’t refuse requests for travel documents

Employers hold on the passport of migrant workers - just like a dog, they hope that holding on to the passports, will be like having an invisible 'lease' on their workers, so that they will prevent migrant workers 'running away'.

It also allows them to be exploit workers - and any resistance from the workers will be visited by the threat that they will get them arrested...and will not come 'free' them until they agree to be 'exploited' ... and by the witholding of the passports, employers can do this..

After all, when the police and the dreaded RELA stops a migrant, they are only interested in seeing the ORIGINAL passport - all the photocopies and other ID Cards are of no use. And, if they are not able to produce the original passport, they will be arrested, detained....and sometimes even deported. [Remember, not all employers are good - some really take their time doing the needful to get their wrongly detained worker released....]

Without the passport, the worker also suffers great tension ...the continuous fear of being arrested - and this is a GREAT INJUSTICE.

Try going out around town without your NRIC - and everytime you see the police, you panic - what if he stops me, and want to see my MyKad - what will happen? Will I be arrested? Will I be mistaken for an undocumented worker and sent to some Detention Camp...

Let's not forget what happened to our Malaysian pregnant woman, M. Rajeshvari too...who was there in detention for 11+ months.Pregnant Malaysian mum wrongfully detained in Migrant Detention Centre for 11+ months

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI - Joint Statement (19/6/2009)

Joint Statement- 19/6/2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI

RELEASE IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN BURMA

On the occasion of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday that falls on 19th June 2009, we, the undersigned reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Burma.

After achieving its independence from the British in 1948, Burma was ruled by a democratically elected government until the 1962 army coup.

Finally, the military junta agreed to hold elections in 1990, and return Burma to a parliamentary democracy. But the run-up to the elections inspired little confidence in the process. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the most popular opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was placed under house arrest in July 1989. Many other senior NLD officials were jailed. The NLD had little access to media and few resources compared to the military-backed National Unity Party (NUP).

On 27th May 1990, the Election Results revealed that out of the 485 parliamentary seats contested, the NLD won 392 (over 80%). Ethnic minority parties opposed to the military junta won 65 more seats. The military-backed NUP only won 10 seats. It was clear indication that peoples of Burma rejected military rule.

The military junta's response to this overwhelming defeat was simply to change the rules, and not hand over power to duly elected Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD. Repression intensified, and many NLD and other elected representatives were arrested. Some have died in prison. Others fled into exile. Today, in Malaysia, it is estimated that there may be more than 500,000 Burmese undocumented migrants,

We call for the immediate handing over of power from the military regime to the duly elected Aung San Suu Kyi and the elected representatives.

We reiterate our call for the immediate discontinuation of the trial, and withdrawal of the charges against Aung San Suu Kyi who has been absurdly charged and is now being tried for the offence of breaking the terms of her house arrest, in particular the condition that forbids visitors, after an American man, swam across the lake and entered her house uninvited and refused to leave.

We call for ASEAN and ASEAN member governments, to immediately intervene and urge the government of Burma to respect human rights, and to adhere to the numerous United Nations resolutions, including General Assembly Resolution 49/197 [1995], which, amongst others, “…call on the Government of Myanmar to release unconditionally and immediately the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now in her sixth year of detention without trial, and other political leaders and remaining political prisoners…’

We also call on the United Nations(UN), the European Union(EU) and all concerned nations to act for the immediate withdrawal of this absurd charge, to secure the immediate and unconditional release of all political detainees and to restore democracy and human rights to Burma and its peoples.

Lastly, and most importantly, we wish Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Happy Birthday, and wish for her and the peoples of Burma the strength and the continued commitment to struggle for a better Burma, where human rights, justice and democracy exist.

Pranom Somwong

Charles Hector

for and on behalf of the following 20 organisations,

Bar Council Human Rights Committee

Burma Campaign, Malaysia

Community Development Services, Sri Lanka

Development Action for Women Network (DAWN), Philippines

Empower Foundation, Thailand

Foundation for Women, Law and Rural Development (FORWARD), Thailand

Friends of Burma, Malaysia

Grassroots-HRE,Thailand

Legal Support for Children and Women (LSCW), Cambodia

MADPET (Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture)

MAP Foundation, Thailand

Mekong Ecumenical Partnership Program, Christian Conference of Asia(MEPP)

Myanmar Refugee Volunteer Group (MRVG)

National League for Democracy (NLD),LA, Malaysia

Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)

Society for Christian Reflection (SCR)

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia

Tenaganita, Malaysia

Women's Studies Center,Thailand

Workers Hub For Change (WH4C)

Malaysian Bar: Amend Employment Act to protect all domestic workers

The Malaysian Bar commends the Human Resources Ministry's announcement that it will amend the Employment Act to require employers to accord domestic workers one compulsory day off per week. This is a small step forward in upholding the rights of hundreds of thousands of domestic workers who are prone to severe abuse and labour exploitation because they receive scant protection under the Employment Act.

It is crucial that this proposal be implemented by amending the Employment Act because the imposition of a statutory obligation will have far greater weight, and will allow the Ministry to enforce the provision and prosecute those who breach it. Currently, numerous terms of the Employment Act are specifically inapplicable to domestic workers. Consequently, they are not entitled to a day of rest per week, paid public holidays, annual leave, sick leave, maternity nor termination benefits. They are also excluded from provisions that limit the number of hours that they can be compelled to work.

Codification of the Minister's proposal will also make it applicable to all domestic workers, both local and foreign.

While the "compulsory day off" requirement should also be incorporated into individual employment contracts, this should be a secondary, and supplementary, step. As such contracts are private in nature, the contractual provisions do not impose enforceable statutory duties upon employers that can be implemented by the Government. Aggrieved workers would have to pursue legal remedies under private contract law, which accords them less protection. Furthermore, local domestic workers generally do not have such contracts.

Domestic workers are human beings and should benefit from the same rights as other workers, without discrimination. It is unjust and unacceptable that they can be required to work 20-hour days, seven days a week, all year round. Such labour practices, which are a form of bonded labour, are abhorrent and inhumane, and we call on those who oppose the Government's proposal to examine their consciences. It is utterly hypocritical of us to be aghast when domestic workers are abused if we continue to oppose this progressive move by the Government.

By granting domestic workers a compulsory day of rest, we uphold their rights as workers while simultaneously help to reduce instances of abuse. Abuses are most rampant where domestic workers work in isolated and secluded situations and are vulnerable because they have no access to those who can assist them when needed.

While the Government's move is a step in the right direction, the Malaysian Bar also calls for the following additional measures to be taken without delay:

(a) Limit the number of hours that domestic workers can be compelled to work per day;

(b) Limit the types/amount of work that they can be required to do, such as working at an employer's home and also place of business, or for an employer's friends/relatives, or work that is disrespectful of the worker's religious or cultural beliefs and practices;

(c) Codify strong sanctions against breaches of Employment Act provisions and other exploitative labour practices;

(d) Enforce the law that stipulates domestic workers be allowed to retain their passports in their possession; and

(e) Develop a simple procedure whereby a domestic worker who is abused can change her employer rather than face repatriation to her home country, because many domestic workers tolerate severe abuse to
avoid repatriation.

We call on the Government to take greater care to protect domestic workers, who make up a vulnerable and often-exploited group of workers. The manner in which we treat such groups is the litmus test of how civilised we are as a nation.


Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar

18 June 2009

Rest Day and other Rights for Domestic Worker - It MUST be legislated.

Let us consider the Malaysian Employment Act 1955 - and consider whether it covers the domestic worker..

YES - it does, and term that is uses is 'domestic servant' - and its definition, in section 2 is as follows:-

"domestic servant" means a person employed in connection with the work of a private dwelling-house and not in connection with any trade, business, or profession carried on by the employer in such dwelling-house and includes a cook, house-servant, butler, child's nurse, valet, footman, gardener, washerman or washer-woman, watchman, groom and driver or cleaner of any vehicle licensed for private use;

First, we must campaign that the more dignified term, i.e. 'domestic worker', be inserted to replace the term 'domestic servant'.

The definition is wide enough...and is open, and that is good.

PART XI - Domestic Servants, - yes this is in Malaysia's Employment Act 1955

PART XIDOMESTIC SERVANTS
57. Termination of contract.

And, section 57 is as follows:-

Subject to any express provision to the contrary contained therein, a contract to employ and to serve as a domestic servant may be terminated either by the person employing the domestic servant or by the domestic servant giving the other party fourteen days' notice of his intention to terminate the contract, or by the paying of an indemnity equivalent to the wages which the domestic servant would have earned in fourteen days:

Provided that any such contract may be terminated by either party without notice and without the paying of an indemnity on the ground of conduct by the other party inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the contract.

Thus, the domestic worker is recognized by Malaysian Law - and the porblem is really in the First Schedule - which lists out categories of workers, and the sections within the Employment Act 1955 which is not applicable to them.

Looking at row/number 2 (5)

2. Any person who, irrespective of the amount of wages he earns in a month, has entered into a contract of service with an employer in pursuance of which- ...(5) he is engaged as a domestic servant, it is clearly lists the Provision of the Act not applicable - i.e. Sections 12, 14, 16, 22, 61 and 64 and parts IX, XII and XIIA of the Employment Act.

With regard the domestic servant, it is clearly stated that the following sections of the Employment Act are not applicable to them, being:- Section 12 (Notice of termination of Contract), 14 (Termination of Contract for Special Reasons), 16 (Employees on Estates to be provided with minimum number of days’ work in each month), 22 (Limitation on advances to employees), 61 (Employers Duty to Keep Register), 64 ((Employers Duty to display notice boards), Part IX (Maternity Protection), Part XII (Rest Days, Hours of Work, Holidays And Other Conditions of Service) and Part XIIA (Termination, Lay-Off And Retirement Benefits. (See also earlier post: Domestic Workers entitled to worker rights

Thus, what the fight is for domestic workers to be accorded more rights just like other workers...

Section 59 of the Employment Act 1955 deals with Rest Days ... and we have to consider whether this should be applicable to the domestic worker as it is, or maybe amended.

Few points that need be highlighted..

* Rest Day - this need not be Sundays, and if so there is a requirement that the employer informs the worker in advance as to what will be the rest day. "...employer shall prepare a roster before the commencement of the month in which the rest days fall informing the employee of the days appointed to be his rest days therein, and where the same day in each week has been appointed as the rest day for all employees in the place of employment, the employer may, in lieu of preparing a roster, display a notice at a conspicuous place in the place of employment informing the employee of the fixed rest day so appointed..."

* Rest Day - is it going to be 24 hours continuous or 30 hours continuous? For the Domestic Worker, like the 'shift worker' - maybe it should be 30 hours continuous.

59. Rest day.

(1) Every employee shall be allowed in each week a rest day of one whole day as may be determined from time to time by the employer, and where an employee is allowed more than one rest day in a week the last of such rest days shall be the rest day for the purposes of this Part:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply during the period in which the employee is on maternity leave as provided under section 37, or on sick leave as provided under section 60F, or during the period of temporary disablement under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1952, or under the Employees Social Security Act, 1969.

(1A) Notwithstanding subsection (1) and the interpretation of the expression "day" in section 2(1), in the case of an employee engaged in shift work any continuous period of not less than thirty hours shall constitute a rest day.

(1B) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Director General, on a written application by an employer and subject to any conditions he may deem fit to impose, may permit the employer to grant the rest day for each week on any day of the month in which the rest days fall and the day so granted shall be deemed to be the employee's rest day for the purposes of this section.

(2) The employer shall prepare a roster before the commencement of the month in which the rest days fall informing the employee of the days appointed to be his rest days therein, and where the same day in each week has been appointed as the rest day for all employees in the place of employment, the employer may, in lieu of preparing a roster, display a notice at a conspicuous place in the place of employment informing the employee of the fixed rest day so appointed.

(3) Every such roster and every particular recorded therein shall be preserved and shall be made available for inspection for a period not exceeding six years from the last day of the month in respect of which the roster was prepared or cause to be prepared.

(4) Any employer who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits an offence.

While, we have started discussing 'Rest Days', it may also be good to talk about PAID Annual Leave, PAID Public Holidays, PAID Sick Leave & Hospitalization Leave, and also Hours of Work.

In fact, there are so many other issues that need to be addressed as well...

It is of new use for the Ministry of Human Resources to come out with yet another Standard Form Agreement, but they need to legislate to ensure that rights and responsiblities of both the domestic worker, and the employer, are clearly in our law. Remember, the Immigration Department (under the Home Ministry) already had such standard Agreements since early 2006 - which could also be found online at their website.

Jordan, apparently, has a specific Act that . South Africa and Jordan has legislations to provide for rights and protections to domestic workers, and in Taiwan, a Bill for Household Services was tabled before Parliament sometime in 2006 (not sure what happened to that).

In any event, as a guideline, the South African law that governs domestic workers..could be found at http://www.labourguide.co.za/domestic_section.htm