Friday, November 23, 2007

Pulau Batu Puteh: An International Black Eye


Occupied as I was with matters within Malaysia, I must admit that I paid little attention to the contention between Singapore and Malaysia in regards to who possesses the rights of sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh, which is also called Pedra Branca by the Singaporeans. That is, until recently.

Curious, I read through the various articles in Malaysian and Singaporean dailies, and I must say that it is indeed a confusing morass of missing documentation, claims of breaches in territorial agreements, aged historical texts and last but not least accusations of purposely misplaced letters, all packaged with snide remarks and false smiles.

I have even read through the opening statement made by Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad, who represents Malaysia, and Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar, who represents Singapore; and I must say that these statements did indeed raise my eyebrows. While unfamiliar with international litigation, I personally disapprove of Malaysia's highhanded manner in asserting its claims over this island.

The fact that both sides have points to contemplate is true, but any debate that starts off with a statement that one's closest neighbour - with whom one dearly loves and have continued good ties with - has been lying through their teeth isn't quite the way to go.

As such, it was not much of a surprise to read Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar's opening statement in second round of oral pleadings, which is as follows:

"During Singapore's first round oral pleadings, we have focused our presentations purely on legal and factual issues in dispute between the parties. We have carefully avoided mentioning extraneous matters that may affect the integrity of the proceedings before this honourable Court. In view of the good relations between the two countries, we had expected Malaysia to do likewise.

"We are therefore surprised and disappointed that Malaysia has in her oral pleadings, made a series of allegations and insinuations against Singapore. These are of a nature which, unless rebutted, would impeach or diminish Singapore's integrity or could impress on the minds of the Members of the Court that there could be dire consequences for relations in the region if the dispute were decided in favour of Singapore."

The fact that the Singaporean government would stoop at nothing to lay claim over land is of course a foregone conclusion to any decent - or indecent - Malaysian. But on reading the opening statements of each representative, I unfortunately have to agree with Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar that our opening statement was perhaps rather unwisely said.

Through the eyes of the NST, most Malaysians are reassured that we have indeed sealed our claim over Pulau Batu Puteh through prominent headlines like "No evidence from Singapore to support claim of sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh", "Islands part of Johor Sultanate", "S'pore 'failed to show it has sovereignty over islands", "Malaysia optimistic of success", and capped with the more subdued "S'pore: Malaysia had zero activities".

However, I would personally be more reassured if our Malaysian representatives had not kindly decided to first put one foot, and then the other foot in our nation's mouth, landing us squarely on our internationally battered bums.

For while our Singaporean counterparts - being the 'backward' and 'untrustworthy buggers' that they are - have been scouring 'unlikely' sources of evidence like libraries, upending rusted file cabinets looking for dusty documents and crackling old newspapers, Malaysia - being the 'modern' and 'sophisticated' gentlemen that we are - have turned to online sources to introduced new 'evidence' to back up our claims to the island.

And the new evidence introduced? An picture taken from an blogs site.

That our country has to resort to quoting from blogsites for reasons other than to invoke the ISA or the OSA is reassuring, but surely there are some out there who know that while blogs are to some point valid sources of opinions and information, there are limits, especially when that evidence is to be produced at the International Court of Justice at the Hague!

As you would have it, the picture was - to be gently said - proven to be inaccurate.

Given the amount of sweat and spittle that has been produced from these proceedings in front of the International Court of Justice through historical texts and political maneuverings, to have it all beggered by an unsubstantiated, uncorroborated picture that was ever so lightly taken off the world wide web from some anonymous blogspot created less than a month ago, is painful beyond belief.

Given the fact that Malaysia had a 50-man legal team headed by adviser for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamed (The Star, Monday, August 20, 2007), I would have thought we could have come up with something more concrete than this, but sadly that is not the case.

The fact that the Malaysian delegation to the International Court of Justice have added greater substantiation to the claims of Singapore that our nation is using underhanded tactics - when they themselves would not be above doing so - to lay claim over Pulau Batu Puteh is undeniable, and a blow to our national pride.

Detractors point to this international faux pas as exemplifying the typical attutides of the ruling coalition in its internal governance of Malaysia. Regardless, lets all shout hurrah!, for Malaysia is once again in the international eye, albeit with a black one we gave ourselves. :(

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Proton: Pride Goeth Before A Fall


In newsstands throughout the country, the New Straits Times carried the headlines 'Strong sales, so Proton drops partner option', while The Star went head to head about the same topic with 'Govt: Proton has turned the corner, does not need foreign partner'.


After a year of prolonged - and obviously arduous - discussions, it appears that the state owned Proton Holdings Bhd has decided to rebuff possible alliances with Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp.

The reason? Proton is getting stronger all by its lonesome, thank you very much (editor: really? some evidence say otherwise) as implied by our most popular of local dailies:

(The Star: Wednesday, November 21,2007): The negotiations for Proton between Khazanah and two major international car manufacturers - Volkswagen and General Motors - have been called off.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said there would be no foreign partner for Proton for the time being as the national car manufacturer was showing signs of a turnaround.

(The NST: Wednesday, November 21, 2007): Proton Holdings has ended all negotiations for a possible tie-up with Germany's Volkswagen AG and the US-based General Motors Corp.

The national carmaker will not be seeking a foreign partner for now, given an improvement in its sales and exports, Khazanah Holdings Bhd, Proton's main shareholder and the investment arm of the government, said in a statement yesterday.

While it cannot be denied that such an overt display of support for the local industry is to be applauded, Bloomberg.com has published a similar story, "Proton Shares Post Record Decline as VW Talks End."

(Bloomberg.com: Wednesday, November 21, 2007): Proton Holdings Bhd, Malaysia's state-owned carmaker, posted a record one-day decline in Kuala Lumpur trading after the government ended alliance talks with Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp.

Proton slumped 19 percent after Malaysia's state investment unit yesterday said it scrapped a year of talks to give the carmaker more time to reverse five quarters of losses. A strategic alliance can be considered later if necessary", the agency said in a statement.

The Edge Daily had only two days earlier carried the story "Proton to attract attention on imminent VW deal", inferring that the strengthening of Proton's stock was predominantly due to investor interest between Proton and Volkswagen AG:

(The Edge Daily: Monday, November 19, 2007): Proton Holdings Bhd is expected to continue attracting investors’ attention in view of an impending sealing of an agreement with Germany’s carmaker Volkswagen AG (VW).

The stock rose as much as 18 sen last Friday, but eased at the close with an
eight sen gain to RM5, with a total of 2.65 million shares traded.


Researchers and analysts postulate that the decision to shelve a strategic alliance or partnership with an established international company may be detrimental to the long term sustainability of Proton, as shown in the following excerpts from Bloomberg.com's article:

"Proton lacks global competitiveness as it has a poor brand image, has no real global presence to speak of and lacks the necessary technology to compete," Sharifah Farah, an analyst at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd.

"They don't have the resources to make it on their own," said Raymond Tang, who oversees $5.4 billion at CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. "The company needs new technology from a partner."

"Although management has done a commendable job at turning around the company, it probably won't be enough," said Vincent Khoo, head of research at Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. Proton still needs a partner, he said.

After the publicised loss of RM500 million incurred by Proton at the end of its financial year on March 31, where the car manufacturer was said by some to be in a "death spiral", detractors are now decrying this decision as a case of "Pride goeth before a fall".

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

I Cannot Tell a Lie


Nearly 300 years ago, a six year old boy was supposed to have uttered the words, "I cannot tell a lie, I cut the tree". His name was George Washington, and he grew up to be an American President.

This tale has been told and retold to underscore two points: firstly, it serves as a reminder to all parents that it is quite unwise to allow children to run amok with sharp axes or hatchets, and secondly, it shows that honesty and integrity are values to be treasured in any person, more so when that person is in a position of social or political importance.

While American historians still argue about the veracity of that tale, we should all feel honored that we ourselves have our own version of this tale, though with a decidedly Malaysian twist.


In recent statements, the Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman quoted George Washington almost in verbatim, and affirmed the fact that he knew when the next general election would be held:



The Star (Friday, November 16, 2007): Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman has indicated that he knows when the next general election will be called.

"I can’t lie to you that I don’t know when the next general election will be held," he said.

As the position as the EC chairman comes with a certain degree of responsibility, there were many in this fair land who did not doubt that Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul did indeed know the dates. After all, as the EC chairman, his position warrants him to be a man that emphasizes strict adherence to duty and sacrifice.

However, the fact that he had the gumption to publicly announce that he knew the dates for the general dates - when even Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was in the dark about this issue - raised more than a few curious eyebrows, leading to whispering in dark corners of possible collusion between the ruling coalition and an independent and impartial election commission.

Thanfully, our beloved Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself rose to the forefront of this with a none too gentle rebuke to Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, and this did much to disabuse many a conspiracist theorist of any possible allegation of collusion:


The Star (Monday, November 19, 2007): Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the power to dissolve Parliament is exclusively his.

The Prime Minister said it was not possible for Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman to know when the next general election would take place.

"How would he know? I have yet to dissolve Parliament to pave the way for the elections. It's I who will decide when to have Parliament dissolved," he said at a press conference after his visit to the Islamic Civilisation Park in Pulau Wan Man here yesterday.

A day later, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid publicly retractment his admission - though oddly enough this seemed to have only appeared in the Sun - saying that he did not indeed know the dates for the next general election:

The Sun (Tuesday, 20 November 2007): After getting some flak for saying he knows when the next general election will be held, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman yesterday backtracked and said that he did not know the dates.

He said the EC will only set the election campaign period and polling date after the King has approved the dissolution of Parliament.


"Curiouser and curiouser", as Alice in Wonderland would say.

Indeed, it is quite curious that the EC chairman to have even made that statement in the first place, much less know the dates (if he did indeed know). Had Tan Sri Abdul Rashid deliberately misled the public about this matter, or had the reporters perhaps jumped the gun on this? If the former, then it would not be the first time that his detractors have accused him of this:


The Sun (March 28, 2007): Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman was criticised today for a recent statement in which he challenged opposition parties to bring him to court if they thought the commission was unfair or not transparent.

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) also questioned Abdul Rashid for saying the EC’s role was not to make law.

Repeating earlier calls for Abdul Rashid to resign, coalition spokesman Sivarasa Rasiah described his statement as “misleading” as he had ignored recent developments where the courts had addressed the role of the EC and the process and conduct of elections.


If the latter, then it should be the reporters who should be bent over for misleading the public, and possibly defaming the character of Tan Sri Abdul Rashid. Yes, perhaps this explanation would fit best, since most of us cannot in good conscience say that Tan Sri Abdul Rashid was caught in a lie, any more than I can say that it was our beloved Prime Minister was the one lying.

Or does this misunderstanding - or perhaps a misquote - bode for darker deeds?

Conspiracy theorists in Malaysia are naturally having a field day with this issue - an alleged collusion between an independent and impartial election commission with that of the ruling coalition - especially with the latest news that the tenure for the EC chairman may be extended for another year, as shown below:


The Star (Tuesday, November 20, 2007): Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman may stay on for another year following the proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution to extend the retirement age of EC members from 65 to 66.

Scheduled to retire on Dec 31 as he reaches 65, Abdul Rashid now has the option of staying on one more year because the bill states that the new age of retirement applies to a member of the EC appointed after the coming into operation of the proposed act.


That this bill is tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz, and that the extension of the tenure of Tan Sri Abdul Rashid into the coming election year requires that our already badly tattered Federal Constitution be amended, is sure to further stoke the flames of conspiracy theorists far and wide.

But as Tan Sri Abdul Rashid so passionately put it, "If they will show me evidence that the commission has rigged elections, then I will – in fact, all members of the commission – will resign" (The Star, Tuesday, November 20 2007), conspiracy theories can only go so far without proof.

I'm not sure George Washington would have approved.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Open Letter to PM

(This is an open letter to PM written by Beth Yap. A good read, she makes salient points. Do distribute this to friends.)

OPEN LETTER TO DATUK SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI, PM
A FICTION WRITER WRITES IN SUPPORT OF JOURNALISTS

Dear Prime Minister Abdullah,

26 September 2007 saw two thousand lawyers “Walk for Justice” to defend the good name and protest the sliding standards of their profession. “When lawyers march,” said Ambiga Sreenevasan, President of the Bar Council, “something must be wrong.”

Last Saturday (10 November 2007), 40,000 people from all walks of life and all ages walked through rain-drenched Kuala Lumpur, skirting roadblocks, locked LRT stations, FRU batons, tear gas and water cannons, as well as weeks of misinformation and propaganda through the mainstream media and hacked alternative media. They marched to show their disappointment in the current electoral system and their hopes for reform.

Malaysian citizens travelled for hours through the night from all over the country to play cat-and-mouse in Kuala Lumpur with an intimidating array of security forces, whose role was clearly not to secure our safety.

I saw men armed only with shouted slogans beaten with batons and shields and thrown to the ground. I saw an old woman in a wheelchair halted by a barricade of troops, wielding a deafening siren at her ears. I saw a child clinging to his mother’s shoulders being crushed back, and back. He looked terrified, and rightly so.

This was at Jalan Mahameru, not Masjid Jamek where, in spite of what IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan described as police “restraint” (Sunday Star, 11 Nov 2007), unarmed marchers, including journalists, were beaten, teargassed and bombarded by chemical-laced water cannons. At Jalan Mahameru, we faced two rows of riot police, smashing batons against their shields. I saw and photographed people dropping to the ground around me.

This should be the journalist’s privilege, to be allowed to witness and report the uncensored fruits of that act of witness. But in this country, the journalists and their editors are not afforded even this, or any other kind of professional privilege, or protection, in order to carry out their jobs according to the Journalists’ Code of Ethics. That is, among other things, to pursue factual accuracy and report objectively, without fear or favour.

Instead, journalism in Malaysia seems to be ruled by a Code of Fear and Favour. Here, our mainstream journalists and editors are directly or indirectly on the State’s payroll, and therefore accountable to the State. Those who aren’t are kept on a tight leash of precarious licences and legislation designed to pit self-censorship against financial ruin. Which the bosses will prioritise is a no-brainer.

It seems to me our media professionals do their best to navigate these treacherous waters, getting by in terms of professional pride through little acts of bravery, defiance and subterfuge. The travesty of it is that, in a true democracy, they shouldn’t have to.

Our journalists and editors shouldn’t have to find themselves in the pitiful position of being cowed mouthpieces of the State, obediently failing to report once a news blackout is ordered, or “reporting” factual inaccuracies of an astounding magnitude.

Like most of your state controlled media, Prime Minister Abdullah, yesterday’s Sunday Star reported only the IGP’s version of Saturday’s events. Journalism 101 requires a range of eyewitnesses to describe an event objectively yet only your Ministers were allowed airtime; only aggrieved shopkeepers were interviewed and photos of traffic jams published, to support our Deputy PM’s lament that the march only served to disrupt traffic, create loss of business and “mar the general perception others have of our society”.

The police were depicted as being “forced” to use their batons, boots, shields, helmets, trucks, water cannons and helicopters against unarmed men, women and children (New Sunday Times, November 11, 2007).

This reconstruction of reality is one that I, and 40,000 other marchers, do not recognise. In spite of what we saw and experienced, we are told that we were only 4000 in number and that 245 of us were detained, as opposed to the 24 I later saw released at IPPK (Police Contingent Headquarters), Kuala Lumpur. It was later reported in the NST (12 November 2007) that the majority of detentions were pre-emptive, taking place outside Kuala Lumpur the day before. The reasons for arrest included being in possession of yellow t-shirts and bandanas.

Yes, there were massive traffic jams in KL that day, and yes, I saw shopkeepers hurriedly pull down their shutters, but only when the FRU and police amassed in battle formation at Central Market. However, logic tells us that the traffic jams were caused by numerous police roadblocks and other hindrances to public transport as much as by our march, which was marshalled and orderly.

We were constantly told to keep to the pavements, not to throw rubbish or disrupt public property, and even not to trample on plants along our way. Many people stuck in jams wound down their windows as we passed, smiling and shaking our hands. Others looked annoyed, of course.

I’m sitting at my local late night kopi tiam as I write this. It’s filled with college students chatting and watching football to go with their teh tarik and cigarettes. I can see how successful your media machinery is, Prime Minister, from what they say. They use the word “riots” to talk about the march, which even a police spokesman described as, for the most part, peaceful (RTM2 news, 10 November 2007).

This is no surprise given the propaganda clips that have been running as part of news bulletins on RTM1 and 2 for the past few months, intercutting flag-burning with demonstrators getting their heads bashed in. These, as any adman will confirm, effectively equate demonstrations of any sort with escalating acts of violence on both sides. “Ini bukan budaya kita,” are the stern words of warning.

On TraxxFM, I’ve heard an odd and therefore oddly outstanding song about democracy being played frequently, a lullaby sung in a soothing paternal voice, about how taking democracy to the streets leads to a loss of self-respect and violence, which is not our way. This song is in stark contrast to the ones TraxxFM’s hip and joking DJs usually play.

This psychological embedding seems odd, Prime Minister, in the year we celebrate our 50 years of Independence, which was won exactly by our forefathers taking their struggle for freedom, equality and justice to the streets, as well as the media and the discussion table. They did so peacefully then, as we did so last Saturday.

Prime Minister Abdullah, one of the reasons we marchers, men, women, children, and even incapacitated old folks, braved confrontation in the streets of Kuala Lumpur last Saturday was to call for “equal access to the media” as part of BERSIH’s push for electoral reforms, including the use of indelible ink, clean electoral rolls and the abolition of untraceable postal votes.

I didn’t wear yellow on the march because even though I’m a sympathiser with the struggle for electoral reform, I’m also a witness to both sides of the story. But I wore my yellow ribbon of “press freedom”, proudly, even though I’m not a journalist. I’m still wearing it now, with the poignant realisation that I can only write this letter, without fear or favour, precisely because I’m not a mainstream Malaysian journalist. Of course, whether any of your editors will publish it or not is entirely a different matter.

That little scrap of ribbon, like the seemingly frail ribbon of marchers patiently weaving their way from all over the city to the Yang Di Pertuan Agong’s palace last Saturday, is symbolic of something far larger and far more important than our aching legs or bruises or our shivers caused by sitting uncomplainingly in the rain while the leaders delivered our memorandum to the King.

It symbolizes what you have encouraged us repeatedly to celebrate and embrace: our “Merdeka Spirit” of independence that causes the rakyat to come out, in spite of fear and intimidation, to show their grave concern when the state of things seems very wrong indeed. This is, despite attempts at historical revisionism, a part of our Malaysian culture.

With all due respect, Prime Minister, your admonition on the eve of the march: “Saya pantang dicabar,” (Utusan Malaysia, 9 November 2007) is rather an odd thing for the leader of a democratic nation to say, given that the basic rule of democracy is the right of all citizens to challenge, and to defend against challenge. Everyone is entitled to this right, whether in their living rooms or in Parliament.

Challenges and debates also constantly take place in the media, whose fundamental role is to provide factual information and objective viewpoints by journalists and editors, as well as to allow equal access to publication and broadcast by proponents from either side of any argument.

Only in this way can we, ordinary citizens, partake in democracy. Only then can we weigh up differing statements and opinions against accountable facts. We may be allowed to vote, yes, but how can we choose effectively without freedom of media access and information?

When this integral pillar of any democratic system is obstructed, and belittled, as it is in Malaysia, we cannot claim to live in a democracy. Our mainstream media then becomes merely a tool of the State, used to hoodwink, brainwash and intimidate the people it should rightly be serving. Instead, we, the people, are spoon-fed, led and expected to go quietly like sheep to any foregone conclusion.

If we beg to differ, offer alternative information and viewpoints, or even protest, we are called beruk. I rather think it preferable to be a monkey, curious, inventive and mischievous, than a sheep trotting meekly to my pen, or the slaughterhouse, nose pointed to the ground.

Prime Minister, we are indeed not Pakistan or Myanmar, as your Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin blustered on Al Jazeera (10 November 2007), accusing them of presenting a contrary view to what has appeared on our Malaysian news, and of only talking to the opposition, not our Government representatives—even as they were interviewing him.

This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, since almost no opposition figures are allowed to speak in our mainstream media, although their images are used in conjunction with images of street violence, for example, to influence viewers’ opinions about them.

“Malaysia… is a democratic country,” Zainuddin fumed. But based on your State’s handling of the rakyat’s peaceful march last Saturday, Prime Minister, and your own media coverage prior to and about the actual event, it’s hard to entirely agree.

Unfortunately for Malaysia, this is the perception that will be further broadcast internationally, by journalists and editors who are fortunately less muzzled than their mainstream Malaysian colleagues.

Therefore, Prime Minister Abdullah, I sincerely urge you and your Government, as our democratically elected leaders, to “walk the talk” and unmuzzle our journalists, editors and broadcasters. I entreat you to fully and fairly endorse and practice democracy in our country. That is, democracy for everyone, not just a powerful few.


Beth Yahp
Author
Petaling Jaya, 12 November 2007

(Beth Yahp’s prize-winning novel, The Crocodile Fury, has been translated and published in several languages. She wrote the libretto for the contemporary opera Moon Spirit Feasting premiered at the 2000 Adelaide International Festival of the Arts, with productions also in Melbourne, Berlin, Zurich and Tokyo. It won APRA’s Best Classical Composition Award in 2002. Beth’s short fiction, essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications in Australia, South-east Asia and Europe. She is currently Fiction Editor for Off the Edge, a Malaysian business/ lifestyle/ culture magazine.)

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3 days after 10/11

This article was written after much hindsight and thoughts on the strategy that we employed.

Congratulations BERSIH marchers! We did it. I know some of you probably went through hell to get there but you did it! For those who couldn't be there, or were delayed in arriving, it's alright. Your heart is pure, your intentions true. You were there in spirit.

Now, the fact is, we won. Yes, that we did. No one can dispute that. But I worry. I worry that some of us might take this victory as a sign that our troubles are over...

Let me tell you, it has just begun.

We have won this small battle. But the war is still not over. Lets keep our eyes on the ball, our aim is to bring change to this country. Good, positive change.

We Are Party-less

Let's remember that in our fight against tyranny, corruption and votes tampering, that WE ARE PARTY-LESS. I think all of us welcome Keadilan, DAP, PAS etc but please don't let party politics come into the picture. I worry that this neutral, party-less march may be hi-jacked by the opposition. This memorandum affects all Malaysians and the involvement of party politics will backfire as many people who attended that rally were not associated with the opposition parties and future rallies might not have the desired turn out because of this.

Let me state here, that my opinions on this, is mirrored by many comrades I have spoken to - so I have decided to be their voice.

Another concern which was voiced by a BERSIH marcher, Why was the memorandum handed over by the opposition leaders? Why wasn't it handed over by a more neutral person? What about the person who started the petition? Sad to say, we have left our left flank open to cricism by allowing this to happen. I hope we will try not to allow our cause to be led by any opposition leaders as this might deter other people who otherwise, would support us.

For instance, there are many honest, good BN/UMNO supporters who support the call for judicial and electoral reform. But the moment we let opposition leaders lead us, they will think twice about joining us. This is quite saddening as they, too, deserve the right to join this noble cause being as Malaysian as we are.

Media Blackout of 10/11

This is where I express my greatest disappointment at the Malaysian media. I can say now, that I am witness to the death of press freedom in Malaysia. The Star and NST especially. Even tv stations like TV3, NTV7.. radio stations TRAXXFM. I am so disappointed in all of you. But i can't really blame you for doing the government's bidding. We all have to 'cari makan' right?

After my 10/11 experience, I felt elated. My faith in the Malaysian people restored. I anxiously awaited the newspapers the next day, wondering if BERSIH's memorandum will be shown.

At first I was in a state of disbelief when i saw the papers. I couldn't believe it! We were at page 8! It was obvious many Malaysians were affected during the rally and I had (naively) hoped that the media would at least give us 2nd page. But they didn't.

The fact that it was so blatantly done, fueled me even more. I took a 'news reporting' class when i was in college and I can remember some of the 'commandments' of journalism.

At least one commandment says that 'effective and good news reporting has to be impartial'. Impartial. This, to me means that news reporters must not have vested interests or report a one-sided view. This is good news reporting. So then, how come there were only views from the IGP and PM? Why weren't there eye-witness accounts or even views from BERSIH organizers?

Another commandment says that a news reporters must make sure his/her facts are correct before publishing them. Star reported that 4,000 people attended the rally. Try again Star. It was closer to 40,000 people.

It is a sad day, when Malaysian media turned its back on its people.

Let me say here, I do have friends working for Malaysian media companies and I know that they, too, are baffled by the media blackout. But we all know the truth don't we?

It is disappointing that the government feels that this is the correct path to take when dealing with a crisis. And this IS a crisis, mind you. It is a judicial crisis and electoral crisis when the people have no confidence in the systems in place. Why do they deny it? They don't decide if its a crisis, the people do.

A tip from me: It is the people's confidence that you must earn, PM. Not the crony's confidence.

Disgruntled Drivers

After looking at other blogs and comments, I noticed some people voicing out their unhappiness with the BERSIH rally.

Taken from another blogsite- Anonymous:

"I am sorry I do not agree with you. These people did nothing good but make a traffic jam. I was stuck for 5 hours in traffic. Why couldn't they just send a small group?"
Fellow marchers, how do you feel when faced with this criticism? I feel that this lack of support from fellow Malaysians stems from lack of information. Did you know that by standing up and voicing out our concerns to the government, we are exercising our rights? Did you know what we stood up for? Did you know that many of us sacrificed so much to be there? Did you know that you were actually privileged to witness history? It was a selfish yet selfless act. It showed that we care for one another. We care for you, enough to risk being there.

Like my fellow blogger Vijay said:
"I did not dodge the police, get tear gassed, risk being locked up and beaten just to cause a traffic jam."
On the other hand, I understand my fellow Malaysian's frustration. Being stuck in traffic for 5 hours is no joke. What if they had children in the car? Not funny. But I would like my beloved beloved Malaysians (KLites especially) to understand that the marchers did not make the roadblocks. Regardless of what the IGP would like you to believe, the roadblocks were not to make sure there were no 'weapons' or to ensure public safety. It was simply to stop the people in yellow from attending the rally.

I would like my beloved Malaysians to understand that if the police had let the march go on (whilst watching from the sidelines to ensure safety) the march would have been over faster and without incident. Instead, they chose to shower us with chemicals and tear gas while blocking us from proceeding to the palace so that traffic could flow.

It seems the government and police have so little faith in us, Malaysians. Sad isn't it? Your own government doesn't trust you.

Permit?

Another comment - Anonymous said:
"Padan muka. BERSIH rally konon. Nah, FRU dah BERSIHkan korang dengan air sabun. Tu la, lain kali takde permit jangan gatal nak pergi."
Fellow marchers, how do you feel about this one? Are some Malaysians still naive enough to think that we would ever get a permit? We requested and it was rejected (twice, i think - correct me if i am wrong). 'The powers that be' attempted to make us falter in so many different ways. You don't really believe that we would have gotten a permit, did you?

How they tried to stop us, you ask?

Well, they:-
1. Rejected our permits.
2. They issued threats through the media prior to the event.
3. They hi-jacked the BERSIH website and announced that the rally was postponed when it wasn't.
4. They issued more threats through the radio on march day.
5. They had roadblocks throughout the country stopping anyone in yellow the night before the rally.
6. They even stopped people at the airports arriving in yellow.
7. They barricaded the major roads to KL.
8. They had roadblocks on all major roads and highways on the day of the rally. Delaying and harassing marchers.
9. They surrounded the marchers at their meeting points, blocking them from moving anywhere.
10. They fired tear gas and chemicals onto the marchers. (I'm a witness) Without provocation.
11. They tried to stop us from communicating with one another by hijacking or crashing certain websites.

Think about it, people. Is this the practice of democracy? Are the people not allowed to criticize the government when we are not satisfied with their performance? Are we not allowed to demand our basic rights as people?

Is this the 'democracy' you want?

Even employee unions have practiced this right. What about the 'Malaysian People Union'?

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Saturday, November 10, 2007

Remember remember, the 10th of November..

Written on 10th November 2007

Last night there were roadblocks everywhere. Not just within Kuala Lumpur too. Roadblocks all over the country. From Sungai Petani to Melaka...hmmm...does this mean the 'powers that be' are shivering in their ittie bittie booties? Fearful of the impending march?

Today, my friends, I did something for my country. It wasn't an entirely selfless act for I acted for my own benefit too. But overall, I did it for all of us who call Malaysia 'home'. Home of the brave (to borrow a phrase) I'd like to call us from now on. What did I do? Well, I attended the BERSIH rally of course!

Today, Malaysians from all walks of life attended a gathering to demand a reform of the judiciary and electoral system. Remember that, ladies and gentlemen. And put it down in your memory as the day that we, Malaysians, stood up and demanded our rights as the people of this country.

Getting there

My day started uneventfully...a little bit of gardening, a little bit of cooking, a little of this, a little bit of that. Then my 'darling' came by to pick me up.

I was dressed in yellow. "You're not wearing that," he said. "You better change your clothes now or we're not going."

Coming from an extremely mild mannered fellow, a man who never demands anything of me, I had to heed. Plus, I knew he was madly protective of me...you see, I tend to get swept up in emotions when I'm passionate about something. I tend to be too bold for my own good and too prepared to 'martyr' myself. He knows that, I accept it about myself. So caution is needed. We did not know what to expect.

One thing's for sure, we were thinking of explanations that we would tell our moms from the police lock up. We went anyways, knowing that we would probably end up being beaten and spending the night in jail. We were not prepared for it, but at least we were realistic enough to consider the possibility.

So we went by car. I had a game plan. Being the more "streetwise" between the two of us, I was the planner, the schemer, the mastermind. And my baby follows me, trusting my judgements, trusting me to lead the way.

Screeecchh! We got stuck. Thank God we left early to attend the gathering (which was scheduled at 3pm) So being the smart ass that I was, I navigated. Left here, right there...keep to the left. We got out of traffic and had to park at the LRT station at Bangsar. Although it wasn't my plan to attend this gathering via public transportation, we had to make do. We embarked the LRT towards Masjid Jamek.

In my heart, I was praying the whole way (since last night too) that there would be thousands like me. I prayed that Malaysians would not be scared off by the threatening police statements warning us not to attend this rally.

We have arrived!

I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. There were thousands upon thousands of Malaysians in the street standing up for what is right! I must say, THEY HAVE BALLS. Big solid metal ones.

As both me and my darling disembarked the LRT, we were rudely greeted by the pungent smell of tear gas (smelled something like sulfur, for those who are curious). Being the fragile flower that he is, my significant other immediately began his bouts of sneezing and wheezing.

Wow, I thought. I didn't think it would come to this so early in the rally. There were policemen everywhere. People in wet yellow Ts (it had been raining) stirred in broken ranks to left and right side of Masjid Jamek.

How many people in yellow do you see? Yet, they still launched tear gas. Shame, shame tak malu!

Being near an LRT station, there were many pedestrians and commuters around including pregnant women and children. The people in yellow T-shirts were relatively quiet. Just standing around watching and waiting for the time to go to the palace. Very few of them were on the road, mostly were in the shelter of the surrounding buildings and walkways. It was drizzling.

Scouting the area, I realised that we were surrounded. No cars were allowed to pass through as the police barricaded the area and FRU blocked the roads. We were completely cut off. I didn't understand this at first, Why would they cut off the roads? Why were they surrounding us?

There were so many trapped inside Masjid Jamek as the FRU were blocking the gate. I later heard that people coming for prayer were turned away as well. Tsk tsk.

Then it dawned on me, they were doing that to stop us from leaving Masjid Jamek to walk to the palace. Why? Everybody in yellow wanted to leave to make their way to the palace, and the 'powers that be' were stopping us. Why?

I wanted to get nice photo shots of the FRU and patriots in yellow, so we shuffled here and there trying and testing out the pictures. I was with some photographers in front of the FRU when...thud, thud, thud, thud...then I heard yells and people started running in all directions.

Tear gas. One landed a few feet away from me. My darling, being a pampered city boy, panicked. "Run sayang!". We both held our breaths.

Seconds before they fired tear gas. Do you see any provocation?

"Vijay, walk calmly! Don't run! Brisk walk, brisk walk! Don't! Run!" I yelled.

Our eyes started tearing and stinging and we couldn't see where we were going. Every breath was painful. But thank God for the rain, and our wet clothes, the smoke subsided quickly due to the heavy wet air.

We quickly moved to the safety of the surrounding buildings in Masjid Jamek area.

"This is urban warfare. It'll be very hard for them to hurt us as a collective unit. Lots of nooks and cranies to hide in," I said smugly.

"Oh, ok."

I looked at my watch. It was 3.05pm. We were both soaked and still tearing up and coughing from the tear gas (guys, seriously, a damp cloth over your face really really helps). My poor darling (being deaf) didn't hear me when i yelled at him to cover his face with his T-shirt, so he was drooling and quite snotty.

Going to the Masjid Negara (National Mosque)

We better get to the Masjid Negara soon. Or (God forbid) they'll leave without us! So we tried to walk towards Dataran Merdeka to walk towards the the mosque. Just the two of us. The police officers immediately stopped us at one of their barricades.

Police: Ni nak pegi mana ni?
Vijay: Nak pegi sana, bang. (ok at this point, i roll my eyes for all of you...doh!)
Police: Tak boleh. Tak boleh. Lalu jalan lain.

For those of you who don't know - yes, it doesn't reflect in my posts here - I am the master of mind mapping. Well, road mapping, I mean. So we went through the back alleys and short cuts to go to Pos Malaysia HQ. Then from there, we could cross over to Masjid Negara to join the masses.

By the time we got there (yes, I burnt some calories) people were already moving towards the Istana. We joined them..always under the watching eyes of the police.

When we were closer to the palace, we were surprised by the presence of men in maroon uniform and berets guiding traffic and people marching to the palace. Who are these people?

On the way to the Palace we were 'protected' by the people in maroon berets. Daulat Tuanku!

Later on, we found out that these were the Unit Amal Malaysia called by the King (no less!) to protect the people marching to his palace. My heart swelled! Thank you, Tuanku!
(I was corrected on this. They were not from the King, they were from PAS. Still, thank you so much!)

To the palace then

Again, we were overwhelmed by the presence of thousands and thousands of bodies in yellow flooding the street in front of the Palace.

Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough,
Ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you, Tuanku!
Rain or Shine!

Two helicopters were flying in circles above us like vultures and at one time, they almost collided in mid air (it would have been funny, wouldn't it? Well, minus the part where they actually fall on us).

Vultures circling the 'sheep'

Do you think this is low? They actually flew lower.

FRU trucks lined the street in front of the palace blocking any entry. The crowd, I must say, were well behaved. Random takbirs were heard but nothing too instigating. By now I wished I was wearing yellow.


We could see some random people (police) in the crowd looking like 'spies'. Wolves in sheep's clothing.But we were not sheep... we were wildebeest. Fwooaarr....how proud I am, to be a Malaysian today.

Seriously, the 'spies' or 'troublemakers' were so easy to identify. As many of you already know, cops are known for their black leather jackets and their cop-ish posture. One was standing right next to me, complete with a full face helmet. Tak subtle kan? Wearing a full face helmet with a leather jacket on a rainy day standing arms crossed. I quickly got out of his way for fear he might arrest me!

Success!

Suddenly cheers and shouts emanated from the crowd as we witnessed the carriers of the memorandum - PAS' Hadi Awang and Nasharuddin Mat Isa and DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng. Moments later, Anwar Ibrahim arrived (apparently on a bike due to deadlocked traffic) and the memorandum was handed to the King's secretary.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief. I did the deed. I did this! I felt good, I might as well have been the one handing over the memorandum. In fact, I wanted to be the one handing it over.

See? Malaysia Boleh! We dispersed peacefully.

Peaceful people dispersing after the deed is done.

Local media reported about 1000-4000 people came. You must be gullible to believe that.
Closer to 50,000 in my estimate.

What was the fuss about anyway? I heard that people traveling into KL were being harassed by the police (because they were wearing beige, yellow, cream colored t shirts). People were being stopped all over the country as far north as Sungai Petani to Melaka (don't know about my other southern compatriots, though).

Here is where I apologise to fellow Malaysians.

Dear fellow Malaysians,

I apologize for the ruckus that this rally has created for you, for it interrupting your daily routines...all in the name of justice. I apologize for those who were stuck in traffic having to witness this great unification of all races and walks of life.

In my defense, the BERSIH rally did NOT cause the traffic jam all over KL. This was caused by the many roadblocks by the police. Yes, we delayed traffic in front of the palace, but that was all. I apologize to those who were harassed by the police when they had nothing to do with this united stand for justice and fairness.

Remember though, that this sacrifice that you made today, was a sacrifice towards a greater good. This may be the beginning of positive change for this country. This is a sacrifice you willingly or unwillingly made for your children who are the future of this country. This is the price you paid towards a better, brighter, fairer Malaysia.

Seems such a small price, doesn't it?

So if you want to judge me for my beliefs, if you want to judge me for standing up against injustice, if you want to judge me for standing up for fairness and equality, so be it. Sixty years ago, there were smaller groups of people out there who did what I was doing (the Hartal) who stood against an injustice only they saw, who paid the price for their beliefs.

My sins, as you see it now, may be too large a price to pay. But it is a price I am willing to pay for our future.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
- Thomas Jefferson

Don't worry, it's not over. It is far from over. If you love this country, if you call this country your home, don't fret. For those who wanted to be there but couldn't, don't turn the page yet, this chapter is far from finished.

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Friday, November 9, 2007

9 November 2007 - The Anticipation

Remember, remember the 10th November...

Today is the 9th of November. I expect a sleepless night tonight as I anticipate tomorrow's BERSIH march at Dataran Merdeka at Kuala Lumpur's capital. My significant other got cold feet and was rethinking the genius of attending the march saying that the announcement by the PDRM (there will be arrests) is making him concerned about my safety.

My question is this, Then who's responsibility is it to attend this gathering?

Surely, it's everyone's responsibility. Well, isn't it? Isn't this a sacrifice we all must make? Or should we leave it to the man who has less to lose, to make that sacrifice? Anyway, who's to say which one of us has 'less to lose'? Should we leave it to the office runner who has no dependents? Should we leave it to the bus conductor who has no wife and children? Should we leave it to the executive who does not contribute to the household, therefore deeming him dispensable?

The correct answer: NO.

Next question, Who benefits from this expression of our democratic right?

All of us. We all do. So where is our sacrifice? Is it fair to 'sacrifice' those who we think are 'expendable'? Do we really deserve this benefit if we didn't sacrifice for it in the first place?

Third question, Say, this rally helped in changing Malaysia for the better, wouldn't you want to have a part in it?

Think about it.

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Thursday, November 1, 2007

Is Malaysia just another syarikat swasta?


Recently, i was talking to my good friend Norm about making some money by starting up a business here. We were both at one of the lowest point in our lives then because we were penniless, jobless among other things. Both de-motivated and depressed about our 'nasib' (luck), we barely had enough to pay for our teh tariks. Yes, it was bad.

Here, i have to apologize to all of you because my question to Norm was kinda dumb at this point. I must have been a 'katak bawah tempurung' (frog under a coconut shell - ignorant) to not know the answer to my own question.

I was looking at my water bill. Just staring at it when that stupid stupid question popped out of my silly mouth.

"Eh, our water is run by a private company ah? How come it says here 'sendirian berhad' (private limited)?"

Alamak, I knew it was a dumb question the moment that slimy question hawked itself out.

Norm said;

"Well, in Malaysia, everything is privatized, didn't you know? Water, power even sewerage my friend."
Fuh, i was glad he didn't go into his long speeches about what a badly managed government we have. You see, he tends to get riled up when we talk about these things.

Uh-oh.

"It is my personal belief that if we have more than one privatized service provider, it is fair because the consumer has options to choose from. However, in Malaysia, we give one company, or even worse, one individual the right to monopolize the utilities and infrastructure and get rich at the consumer's expense."

"Example is Puncak Niaga, a water monopoly, that makes one individual, Rozali Ismail, rich and put us consumers at his mercy. In Europe, utility companies like E.ON and others like it exist on a
competitive basis unlike here in Malaysia. Malaysia has a one-sided view on privatization and normally the government's view tends to only benefit the cronies who actually get the concessions."

He's started dah...Here we go...

"Power, water and sewerage, highways, fixed line telcos and many more, are privatized monopolies. The reality is: We are being robbed! If everything is being privatized at OUR expense, why do we need a government? It's like we are giving people money to start a business. We should rule ourselves since we're paying for it anyways.

"We're really being short-changed because not only are we paying for everything, we are also told what we can or cannot do by the so-called government. In a true free-market economy, purchasing power rules but in Malaysia the consumers are at the mercy of the government.
"

Hmmm... interesting isn't it? Firstly, water, power and sewerage are necessities that we as people need. If not, would you drink the water from your local sungai/lombong? Would you really be able to survive with just your lilin or lampu minyak tanah? Most importantly, if you couldn't flush the toilet, where would you do your 'business'? The government should be managing this, not individuals or private companies, in my opinion. They said, "the reason why we privatized is to give better services to the consumers." Huh? What does that say about our government's level of service? Why not just increase the government's level of service?

I then jokingly suggested that we insert ourselves, become cronies and start something (like start a telco..yes,yes i was just dreaming away) so that we can finally pay for our own teh tariks.

"My advice for anyone with money is to venture outside Malaysia. If we had money to run a water, power, telco or even a highway concessionaire, they'll turn us down before we even start by rejecting our license to operate. Remember, ours is a heavily regulated economy.. but they can bend the rules or even close one eye when it comes to their cronies."

Sometimes i wonder why some segments from other races think that malays are 'privileged' because we get to tender for some licenses/contracts. Let me tell you, this ruling only benefits the cronies. The rest of us are in the same boat. We (malays, chinese and indians) should all realize this and demand some form of positive change or at least transparency from our government. None of us are benefiting from this, only 'the cronies' or 'the toilet papers' (used to wipe certain areas).

"For example: DiGi is a reputable telco provider with reputable shareholders from Norwegian Telecom, that had their 3G license rejected 2 years ago because of fear of competition when the market already had 2 major players.

"BUT! National conman Tajuddin Ramli started his cellular company Celcom back in the 80s with no license for the first 5 years and he wasn't shut down! And to make it worse? Celcom was a monopoly until 1995. Where's the logic? PakLah memang najis, but Mahathir made the country the mess it is today
."

Do you think he has a point?

It was almost 6 months ago we had this conversation. Now we're both doing better. I've ventured into business, Norm's thinking of migrating somewhere. He thinks this country is beyond repair the way things are unraveling now ...but knowing him, I think he was just depressed.

As for me, I'm still here, trudging along. I have faith in this country. More than that, I have faith in the people. I think if we stick together, we can change things for the better. The hard part is getting off our asses and putting on our shoes. It's the first step that's the hardest. Thing is, never give up and never give in. We Malaysians should know that we deserve better because we do. Don't be intimidated or let our low self esteem trick us into thinking that this is the best we can do.

Let's get off our asses, put on our shoes and join the walk, people..

3pm, Saturday, 10 November 2007
Dataran Merdeka (walk to Istana Negara)
Preferably wear anything yellow.

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