KL Confidential

Hmmm.. interesting. Hatred towards Khairy among the UMNO Youths?

2009-03-29T02:08:00.004+08:00

Hmmm... interesting.

We'll see how this pans out, shall we?

I have to admit, that scoundrel is charismatic in a very very extremely annoying way.

I thought his political career would have been over by now.

Very interesting.

Obama, please prove me wrong..

2009-01-12T19:31:00.001+08:00

My hope (and a lot of people's hopes) is that Barrack Obama will do something about the Palestinian's plight when he comes to office.

That hope is dimming.

Did you know that the Israeli war machine should be out of money in 3 months without CONSTANT US subsidy?
They'd be broke and bare-assed in 3 months without the US. Considering what a moron Bush is, we can probably swallow that part.

But what will Obama do about the Israeli's aggression? Will he even do ANYTHING?
Fact: He picked Hilary Clinton as his Secretary of State. And Rahm Emmanuel (dual Israeli-American citizen) and son of an Israeli terrorist as his CHIEF OF STAFF.

Doesn't look good.

Here's a quote I found on YouTube:

"I'm afraid we're going to find out that selling 'hope' is not UNlike selling 'soap'. The only difference is people who sell soap actually deliver SOMETHING."

So is Obama selling hope or soap?

Here are some Barrack Obama quotes to share with all of you:

"Today I want you to know, I will be speaking from my heart. As a true friend of Israel. And i know that when I visit AIPAC, i am among friends. Good friends. Friends who share my strong commitment to make sure that the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable today, unbreakable tomorrow, unbreakable FOREVER."

"Let me be clear, Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non negotiable."

"Jerusalem will remain as the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided."

"Israel is not only our strongest ally in the region and one of our strongest allies in the world but there is a special connection between America and Israel."

"What I love about Israel is it is such a robust democracy and that they are committed to
principles like rule of law and civil rights and civil liberties."

"Israel has to remain a Jewish state and I believe that means any negotiated peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians is going to have to involve the Palestinians relinquishing the right of return as it has been understood in the past."

"If Israel was attacked, we will respond FORCEFULLY. And an attack on Israel, on of our most important allies in the world, would be considered as an attack on the United States."

"...any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state."

"Let me be absolutely clear, Israel is a strong friend of Israel." (he meant America)

"Those who know my track record, have absolutely no doubt about my unwavering support for Israel on it's security."

"It is critical that we send a message around the world, we will stand with Israel, we want them around not just for 60 years but for 600 years and when I am president of the United States they will have an unwavering ally in me."

This last one is a bit scary.

Yet, there are also some articles which mention that Obama is Pro-Palestinian. Honestly, I couldn't give a fart loud enough to express how I don't give a rat's ass about pro-this or pro-that. There are only 2 things I care about: What's Right and What's Wrong.

So is it all for the PR? And where does he really stand?

Will the real Barack Obama please stand up?

I urge all of you to watch this video of his speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)... and tell me if it sends a chill up your spine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cOJNC2EuJw

Admittedly this was recorded in June 2008, but the question now is:
Where does he stand now?
Has anything changed?
Or does he stand by what he says during his speech in the video?

*Shiver*

Raving Mad

2009-01-12T02:42:00.003+08:00

I'm mad. Pissy, Hissy, Put-a-gun-to-your-head mad..

I have always stood up against something i deem as an injustice. These usually include standing up for people i don't even like simply because it's the right thing to do. It usually gets me in trouble. But it's something i risk and i am willing to go through.

I feel strongly about something which causes another person to suffer unnecessarily. Be it abuse cases, cheating, rudeness, racism, discrimination.. you name it.

But this... this is too much. This is not about losing money, losing face or even gaining bruises and broken ribs.

This is slaughter.

I hate it when I feel helpless and unable to help in a big way. I registered to become an aid worker but my skills are limited and they actually require doctors and nurses... not PR Managers.

I am boycotting all the American brands.. never was a big fan of McDs and Starbucks anyways. And I get upset when i see people spending their money there. I know it's unreasonable for me to feel this way as it's up to everyone what they want to do with their money but I just feel so upset about it. I mean, if they are children (who love McDs), I don't mind it... cause they don't know better and.. well, they're just kids.

It's the adults who piss me off. They bitch and moan about the atrocities and yet.... and yet..

My anger was further fuelled by the images of a circus they call Mawi's wedding at the Palace of the Golden Horses.

(Did you know, normally, when a Sultan or Yg Dipertuan Besar passes away, in the past, all TV stations would not show any entertainment programs out of mourning. But you know what happened in December 2008? Allahyarham Tuanku Jaafar passed on. Next day? Mawi's wedding in all it's glory on tv!
How 'sensitive' ey? A friend once told me that the 'arts/entertainment' reflect the people. If this insensitivity and obsession with Mawi is a reflection on Malaysians, what are your conclusions?)

But I digress. Let me continue my line of ranting:

I went through the depressed stages... getting really upset, crying and sobbing and too upset to do anything. I actually stayed on a couch for 48 hours straight unable to move cause i was too depressed.

But now i'm pissed! Because this has gone on for too long. 3 weeks and no signs of it ending anytime soon.

All this talk and no action. It just makes my blood boil.

Especially when i watch the news and see these faces which remind me of my little darlings..my nephews, nieces and brothers.. even my parents. Innocent lives brutally murdered and raped by shrapnel tearing through their flesh.

Do you know what shrapnel does to the human body? It tears you to pieces. It's having many many sharp pieces of metal piercing through your flesh. Can you imagine how it would hurt? Do you know you die a slow death bleeding on the insides?

Now can you imagine your children being pierced by thousands of shrapnel? It is the most hideous, most painful way to die.

This is what I see when i look at the pictures.

Yeah, sure you can say that in war there are always casualties. Sure, go on.. say it and try to make yourselves feel better.

Did you know the Israeli army in one of the most sophisticated and advanced in the world? Combine that with US backing and they are invincible.

Talk about civilian casualties, being one of the most sophisticated army in the world, the israeli army is able to target a car with an air strike. At NIGHT. That's how they killed a Hamas leader. But guess what? AFTER bombing the car, they waited till a large crowd had gathered at the car when they decided to make doubly sure the guy was dead by bombing the CROWD of civilians with 2 shrapnel bombs.

Was any civilian casualties reported? Of course not! But there were actually 50 severely wounded (mostly children) and 5 dead (2 children).

Itu belum kira lagi yg dah cacat kena potong kaki and tangan to save their lives.

So don't talk to me about casualties. There's nothing "casual" about it. Please.

And the thing is, so many foreigners are being killed too. In one case, a (very pretty) American activist was standing in front of an Israeli army bulldozer to stop it from demolishing the homes of the Palestinians. What did they do? They bulldozed her. They ran her over from her legs up to her head. She died a painful death like so many others.. and so far it has been in vain.

Journalists are also being targetted, UN aid workers are being targetted, ambulances, schools, mosques, hospitals are being targetted.

So don't fucking talk to me about fucking casualties. Sophisticated army in the world can't read? Can't see the UNRWA sign on the UN AID van? Can't tell the difference between a clearly marked UN hospital/school?

I don't buy that shit. If anyone reading this buys that shit, you should have your head checked.

And above all... this is a goddamn occupation. The Israelis (Zionists) are OCCUPYING GAZA and calling it SELF DEFENCE.

That is like the Japanese killing and bombing us during the Japanese Occupation in Malaya. And calling it self defence.

Makes you go WTF? doesn't it?

You know what I think? I think the leaders of the world should gather their balls back... i think the 'great' United States of America should start thinking about all the blood on their hands and take back their testicles which they gave to Israel and start doing what's right.

Or else we'll need another super power.

I'd like to say thank you to all the Jews around the world, especially the Jewish International Communities.. for protesting and calling a halt to this unholy, unjust, illegal occupation and war.

And I would like to caution everyone, that this is not a religious issue. Please don't turn this into a religious issue. YES, muslims should unite to save their brethren but don't condem ALL jews. It is the Zionists whom you should blame. The aggressor.

To the Malaysian government, I would like to highlight the idiocy of last week's Khutbah Jumaat where Imams mentioned that suicide bombers die as MARTYRS. I am not afraid or embarrassed to say that that is the most idiotic, absurd and embarrasing LIE. Allah never condoned the taking of innocent lives. Neither does He condone SUICIDE. All you are doing is stoking the fires of discrimination and racism. So stop it, and please next time, THINK WISELY before you give the Imam's their scripts for Friday. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

Again, don't make this a religious issue. This is about HUMANITY. What's RIGHT AND WRONG.

THE BIGGEST 'CASUALTY' OF THIS WAR IS PEACE.

I hate that word. 'Casualty'. There's nothing CASUAL about it.

For the people behind this war, be it Condoleeza (ie Dumbest Bitch Alive) or Ehud Olmert, YOU ARE ALL COWARDS. THE BIGGEST COWARDS IN HISTORY. Stop hiding behind your PR arms. They are bad liars just as you are COWARDS. Try truth, you might find it refreshing. Admit the truth that you are trying to annihilate the Palestinians so that you can expand your settlements.

For Land and Water.
Does this remind you of the movie '300'?

Land and Water. Based on actual events, there was a great war too, no?

Land and Water. Think about it.

The Main Casualty of this War is Peace

2009-01-11T16:48:00.004+08:00

Please, please save them..please...

This is wrong. It is so wrong..

How can we go on with our lives when this is happening somewhere in this world? This is evil!

Please do not make this a religious issue, it is about RIGHT AND WRONG and SAVING HUMANITY. These are human lives. Human lives. Not livestock and cattle. These are people are fighting against a GLOBALLY RECOGNISED ILLEGAL OCCUPATION.

And the PR for Israeli (Zionist) say it's in "self defence"? It's like the Japanese saying "We bombed and killed the people of Malaya in self defence" during the Japanese occupation in Malaysia.

I see the faces of my children, nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters and parents when i see the pictures.

20Cents says that I have an ultra 'soft' heart. I just feel very deeply about any injustice, be it in our country or elsewhere. That makes me human. That makes me want to fight for what is right.

Many Jews around the world are againts the Zionists attacks. For this I thank them.

I was reading a book yesterday about death in relation to Islam. Prophet Mohammad said (i translate):

Woe to those to refuse to help others in need. Woe to those who turn a blind eye to any person who is in need. They will be lashed with 100 (whips) from hell in their graves.

Please watch these videos below, I hope it touched you as deeply as it touched mine.

We Will Not Go Down (Song for Gaza)

Video Israel Doesn't Want You to See

Jewish-Arab Peace Song

War on Gaza (By Dark Bob)

Found this somewhere.... thought i might share it..

2009-01-08T05:56:00.000+08:00

They were not sleeping. The were dead.

2009-01-06T19:25:00.004+08:00

I was looking at The Star's frontpage today and saw a cute picture of 3 sleeping boys.

But when i zoomed out, I saw a man who looked like he was wailling and tearing-his-eyes-out crying.

Then I noticed the blood on the children.

They were not sleeping. They were dead.

They were Palestinian kids.

Honestly, any human being seeing this picture will have some sad emotions. Even just a tinge.
I'm not excluded.

If you try to send a message to someone, a message without words but only pictures, what picture would you use to say "innocence"?

More often than not, it would be a picture of a baby... or children.

Is that still true?

I don't think so.

Why don't I think so? Because if the above stands true, how can a human being (i don't give a shit who they are) kill children (innocents) and live with themselves?

On the same note, have any of you watched Blood Diamond acted by Leo DiCaprio?

On the same note, how can a human being take away a child's innocence by training him to kill?

Where is our humanity? Where has it gone?

CAN WE STILL CALL OURSELVES HUMAN?

Yes yes, i know, in war there are always 'casualties'. See, I hate that goddamn word. CASUALTIES. Who the hell came up with that word?
Does it imply the the dead are 'casually' dead?

Anyways, back to the point, I know that in war there are 'casualties'. But so many children?

And we all know it's genocide when schools are targetted (bombed) when classes are in session.

Come one, man.

Seriously, i'm not pointing fingers at any particular party. But if you've done the above mentioned (killing 'innocence', turning them into killers, bombing their schools) then yes, i'm pointing my fingers (all of them) at YOU.

Then and only then you should 'terasa'.

I know it's a sensitive topic for a lot of people, but I feel i should say something about it. Cause the next step would be DOING something.

My Wish To You

2008-12-27T19:59:00.002+08:00

Dear Malaysians,

I would like to wish all of you the best of health physically, financially and health in relationships.

I hope that we can continue to grow as Malaysians and also as citizens of the world.

Merry Christmas to ALL. Selamat Awal Muharram to ALL of you.

Have a merry new year. Make new wonderful and happy memories. Trust me, we will all need something nice to look back to next year when the bad times come.

Isn't the MyKad supposed to make things easier?

2008-12-23T10:23:00.005+08:00

Idiots. Damn idiots, i tell you.

Why is it that some people like to make the simplest thing into a pain-in-the-ass?

Imagine this:

Your mom/dad wants to go to KLCC but doesn't want to drive there for fear that his tired old legs won't be able to handle the clutch. So he/she decides to take the LRT.

When your mom goes to the ticket counter to purchase her ticket (at the special 'senior citizen' price) she is told that:-

1. She has to go to Jalan Sultan Muhammad's LRT Information Counter.
2. She has to fill up a form.
3. She has to bring 2 passport sized photographs.
4. She has to bring a copy of her IC.

Then, and only then will she received her senior citizens LRT card via (snail) mail.

So What?
These are senior citizens. They have trouble getting around. Why is it so difficult to just look at their MyKad to ascertain whether they qualify? Our dates of birth are on it. We don't go around without our identifications.

So what's so difficult?

Didn't we boast how the MyKad was supposed to make things a whole lot more convenient for Malaysian citizens? Where does that come in this case?

Senior citizens are the most neglected segment in Malaysia and also All over the world.
Isn't it sad when you work all your life to make a better future for yourself, your family and your country. Only to find that you are discarded like a pair of old panties when you're old. All those years of service!

I bet someone's getting something somewhere... maybe producing the special "Senior Citizen's Card".

Ugh.

I'm sorry / All this Drama

2008-08-25T20:13:00.006+08:00

Again, I should be spanked but I ask for your understanding. My instinct to survive and cari makan has again over-shadowed my blogging...

I have missed so much drama and mayhem (partly because I had no time to read the blogs.. only a passing glance at the MSM and that was all).

After a long bout of depression brought about by not only my personal self-loathing condition, bouts of paranoia and also the sad state our country is in, I have decided to take a long unconditional break from blogging.

I can't blog about politics no more. I just can't. Everything i write sounds too depressing and I have lost my optimism and faith in so many people. All this drama.

Before I go to try and renew my faith and spirit, I have a message for all Malaysians.

Through my everyday dealings with Malaysians, I have made some observations I wish to point out here.

We ask for change but we don't seem to be encouraging that change from within. When I talked to an Indian Aunty recently, she labelled my race as 'those malays'. I can't tell you how much this hurt. It is not the words but how it was said.. with underlying resentment. People seem to think that malays get all the perks in the world and that we would be hopeless without it. People seem to believe that all malays are racists and that we want to put down all the other races because it is the only way we could get ahead.

People think that malays are dishonest and lazy and vindictive.

Why must the racial tag go with this? Aren't some people from other race 'bitches' and 'assholes' too?

People, change not only comes from externally, but it comes mainly from within.

Let me tell you about how some malays think (purely conjecture, but i'm sure there is a lot of truth here). When your indian friend says, "I'm going back to India." or your chinese friends go, "I'm going back to China for awhile." What does this mean?

This can be taken as them saying that they do not see Malaysia as their country and that they would be going back home to India or China. Not everyone does this, but it is prevalent in many parts. I can't help but wonder. So tell me, is Malaysia where your heart is?

Dude, you know, i've been pushing for this cause for quite a while already, but sometimes i can't help but feel down about the hopelessness of the situation.

Recently i did some travelling, not far, just Singapore (yes, it's practically my first time there - last time i was 12 years old) and then Penang (yes, again, it's practically my first time there too).

I see people at their best and their worst. It's best when you see abang melayu, uncle cina and ane' india all talking together like they're best friends, no holds barred and none of this racial and religious bullshit that we see. I know i don't have to travel far to get this sort of thing.... it happens in KL too but just maybe not from where i'm sitting.

And from my observation, I see that this non-racial thing happens a lot with the older generation. Do you get that too? Or is it just me? Then i wonder to myself, 'Why is this so?'

I'm guessing, it was because of something like the Japanese occupation, the education system, peristiwa May 13 and general goodwill among everyone. I could be wrong. What do you think?

For example, during the Japanese occupation. During difficult cirscumstances, people tend to stick together. Even mortal enemies stick together for the sake of survival.

The education system. At that time, we had the 'sekolah pondok' and the 'sekolah Inggeris'. The subjects learnt were in English and everyone had to adapt and master the language in order to excel. This was the one uniting factor that contributed to the kinship that our parents had with their friends from other races. They ALL had to do it. They ALL had to pick it up. They ALL were in the same boat. Language. Unites us.

Peristiwa May 13. I really don't want to get into this because i'm definitely not an expert. Definitely not the right person to tell you about it. But what i'm getting at is this: Don't you hear stories of Chinese people being rescued by Malay people and Malay people being rescued by Chinese people? I'm 100% sure it happened. Don't you think they became friends or at least have a kinder view of one another after that?
The way i see it, that incident happened between 2 groups of people. Not between one race and another. That's why i hate the racists who bring it up every time Malaysians talk about race.

We are at a crossroad right now. I'm not the most intelligent person, neither did i study this sort of thing. I'm not the best person to talk about our country because i'm actually quite ignorant about many things (yes, akin to an ostrich some might say). But i know enough to say that we are at a very important crossroad right now.

A small victory at achieveing balance last March. I won't say 'a victory for the opposition' because firstly, the word 'opposition' is so subjective. Secondly, it is not really a 'victory' for one party or another but more like the achievement of balance in a system which has always been one sided for a very long time. Balance. Very important.

We are at a very important crossroad right now. All the parties have to play their cards right. And so far, i see a lot of things that don't please me. From all sides. Some parties say no to racial segregation but they themselves are practising it. Some parties are put into office but stage walkouts on rulings that they don't like (what's up with that? why can't you fight in a ring? we put you there to be our voices, not to walk out whenever you're being bitch slapped). As you can see, i'm not too happy about this. It defeats the purpose, in my opinion.Everyone is criticising one thing or another but when you look closer, they themselves are doing the same thing.

Looks hypocritical to me.

We are at a very important crossroad right now. And from where i'm standing, i'm not too happy about what i'm seeing. Some people become too arrogant and too confident that they are in the 'right' path. This holier-than-thou attitude does not sit well with me when it comes from ANYONE. People accuse one another of crimes without any evidence just because they think they know everything.

And since when is it a crime to have an opinion?

One thing that pisses me off, is someone who preaches about freedom of speech and yet condemn others who do not agree with them on some issues. Fanaticism.
Think about it. It happens a lot. A LOT. I've seen it with my own eyes how blind people can be to their hero's failures.
Whoever 'terasa' here, i apologise. I'm not pointing a finger at one person or another. WE ALL DO IT. Those who 'tak terasa' good for you. Those who 'patut terasa tapi tak terasa' may God help you.

Look, I've always had the dilema where I ask myself 'Who do i want to lead my country?'
It's such a difficult decision to make internally because no one seems qualified or matured enough to rule. Najib's not qualified, in my opinion. He's a career politician. Vey minimal work experience. Look his biodata up. His work experience? Nada. Nothing. How do you know he'll be able to run the show? You don't know. Anwar's .... well, Anwar. Look i'll admit the dude is smart. That much i concurr. But is he really 'all that'? Dude, I can tell you now, he ain't all that.

You know why i say all this? Because a lot of you people HERO WORSHIP these mother fuckers like they are heaven sent here to save your asses. Let me give you a clue, YOU save YOUR own asses. Everyone's got a hidden agenda somewhere. EVERYONE. Make no mistake here. Everyone from the small fish to the big fish have their own agenda. So please don't put all your eggs in one basket. Spread them out.

Also, if you want to hero worship someone, make sure they have proven themselves to you. What has Najib done? Spent money? I can spend money. What has Anwar done? What? What?

This is where i'll get answers like 'Ooh, he lead the coalition to the March 8 victory.'

And this is where i smack you.
That's not an answer. That's your ass talking. WE the PEOPLE did that.
This is where you say 'Yeah, ok, but HE lead the coalition.'

This is where i smack you harder to help you think straight. Do you even remember what happened then? There was no ONE leader. Everyone did what they were supposed to do. And usually when people do what they're supposed to do, they get rewarded. Usually la.

So stop all your hero worshipping and start building something. The trouble with Malaysians is that most of us are followers. I blame this on our education. We don't cultivate leadership qualities from young. Very few leaders with leadership qualities. Everything 'yes, boss!'.. look at UMNO. Classic example. And you know what? I have a feeling that PKR is heading in that direction. I hope and pray they don't, but it looks like it.

Like in UMNO, last year, if Pak Lah farted it would have smelled like roses to everyone in UMNO. And now, if Anwar passes wind, it smells like frangipanis to alot of people.

Why? Why all this hero worshipping? Does EVERYTHING that person say or do HAVE to be right? Do you have to agree with EVERYTHING he does? NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO.

WE NEED TO GROW UP.

Everyone has the right to an opinion. No matter how we don't agree with it. But if we are mature about it, we can learn to respect one another's opinion. Maybe the fart really does smell like roses to you. Maybe it's just how you're wired.

Not everything is all black and all white. There will be mostly grey areas. Malaysian people see things in 'absolutes'. Meaning, you're either always wrong, or always right. Why? It doesn't have to be this way.

I say this in the most kindest, most loving way filled with care and concern:
MALAYSIANS NEED TO GROW UP and STOP HERO WORSHIPPING LEADERS. They are only human complete with major flaws.

I mean, how does this hero worshipping help us? It just feeds on their ego and their arrogance.
Think about it. Then read the latest news. You'll see what i mean.

When i come back, i won't be writing much about current issues or people. You can expect general rantings like this. I hope you come back. I'll miss you.

The not-so-great Debate

2008-07-16T17:28:00.005+08:00

Yes, i know i have been a very naughty girl. Haven't been posting anything for a long time.

What can i say? Busy busy busy...

The Great Debate

Well, i would call this debate 'great' but its a start.

Melayu Lama invited me to the debate yesterday and after a long bout of diarrhea, i pushed off from my home and sped off to Dewan Bahasa. No traffic just that lousy construction near DBP that had me going around in circles.

By the time I arrived there were many people already and the police/security were quite tight. Bag was searched, metal detectors were used...

The 2 guys, Dato' Seri and Datuk were already at the podiums ready for their ensuing battle which was not much of a battle really...

Ah, well.. the gist of it. Or MY gist of it.

Shabery was a sacrificial lamb... we all know that. Anwar is a good speaker, yes we know that too. Shabeery missed the plot from the beginning, anybody could see that.

Anwar's team were well prepared. So was Shabery's team. But Shabery's team prepared themselves for the wrong objectives - character assassination. Anwar's team did well due to factual arguments.

Could've been a better debate if Shabery had stuck to the topic.. but all in all.. its a start. I have got to give it to Shabery for having the guts and the balls to do it. At least SOMEONE in BN had some steel. I can't say I like the guy, but he deserves some respect.

In his opening statement, Anwar said that he does not want to touch on Petronas funds. What he wants to touch on, is the government funds. Half way through the program, Shabery proved that he either wasn't paying attention or just didn't get it. Neither did Kardi (Shabery's guy on the panel). Anwar mentioned that the question was:

Why is the government so eager to conduct bailouts for certain companies -some costing RM 13 billion (PERWAJA) while making a big issue of the RM 3 billion (needed) for helping the people cope with fuel prices?

Shabery made a good come back by explaining that its a lot of money and that the country's development may be stunted due to this lack of funds just for the people to maintain their current 'way of life'.
But then he went on the defensive and explained that the current oil prices is not the government's fault but it's because of the world oil crisis.
But then he goes back in history to explain that this sort of thing has happened before in the history of the world.
But then he began the personal attacks.

Yep. He didn't get the point.
He should have stopped at the 'country's development', should have never taken the first personal jab. But then, BN guys are trained to do that ..just look at people like Nazri. The guy could never put his point across without personal jabs; and he just can't seem to be able to answer a question directly (just youtube his interview with AlJazeera together with Malik Imtiaz and KJ)

Anwar defended himself well. Showed that he had not lost his touch after all these years. After Shabery's personal attacks, Anwar mentioned that he would not mention Shabery's previous associations with Semangat 46. -To which, i laughed my head off.-

Shabery has to remember, when you want to launch a personal attack, make sure you have nothing that the other guy can throw back in your face. In this case, it's his stint as one of the Semangat 46 leaders.

"Hey Kettle! I'm Shabery, the pot! You're black!"

Next, I think Shabery should have picked a better guy to sit for him on the panel. That Kardi guy is an idiot. Watch the video and you'll see what a total jackass he is. Not only did he make Shabery look bad (Shabery was already doing that himself) but he actually looked like he was proud of it!

Caddy: Dato' Seri, was your premise for the debate today, "Ruler today, Fuel Prices Lower Tomorrow", based on the fact the Malaysia is an oil exporting country?

Anwar: Yes, Malaysia is an oil exporting country. Nett.

Caddy: So why was it, when the premise was tabled, why did you speak of things that had nothing to do with fuel? Why did you touch on topics such as the IPP and what not?

(This is where i start wondering at why did they put this 2 year old infant there.)

Anwar: IPP is related to oil and gas...

Caddy: Ya, but but...

Anwar: (It's) petroleum.

(laughter)

Caddy: Because the premise has been mixed up, I would like to mention some numbers....according to Petronas's annual report, the revenue reported was 223 billion, and out of this 223 billion the oil dug out of Malaysia is about 26% which is 56 billion where Petronas has returned 63 billion to the government, which is 5 billion more than the amount of oil gained from the oil and gas business in Malaysia.

This money is to be invested for the country's economy and you come out and say that if you ruled Malaysia today, you would lower the fuel prices tomorrow, Dato' Seri, you seem
like a child who has lost his father and is trying to divide this wealth, which was gathered from the sweat of the people before, to enjoy it with your friends as if you are a good leader.

I simply must say here, Caddy, that your smug face rubs me the wrong way. There's no reason to act/look smug when you sound like a fool, my dear.

Firstly, the premise may have been mixed up for YOU, Caddy, but not the rest of us. This idiot asked his question, based on Petronas's financial report. Like most BN leaders, this guy needs some facts drilled into his head over and over before he even begins to understand it.

Caddy, we're talking about government funds, sayang. Not Petronas funds.
If you read the paragraphs above and watch the video, you'll see that Anwar mentioned that 'he does not want to touch on Petronas funds' in his opening statement
(obviously Caddy was busy powdering his nose at this time and not paying attention).

Caddy, not only did you miss the memo, you missed the email, the snail mail, the phone call, the fax, the sms, the mms and the briefing. Like whoosh! above your head and missed you completely. Sorry, love but you should learn to catch up to the rest of the population.

Anwar made a good response when he stated that:
Firstly, he does not want to touch Petronas's funds. Its the government's funds he's concerned himself with.
Secondly, the issue is not the fact that petrol prices went up, the issue IS the sudden and very high jump of the fuel prices. He feels that it should be done slowly and gradually so that the people may accustom themselves to it in a gradual way. So that it wouldn't be such a shock to the system and such a painful one.

Makes sense to me.... but then again, i'm not an expert. And the opinions here are my own and no one else's.

Next was Anwar's guy asking a question: Zulkifli Sulong.

Sulong:
In year 2006, the government raised the price of fuel by 30 sen. As a result of this, the government gained around 4.3 billion. The government promised that it would be used for public transportation infrastructure. According to the answer given in parliament recently, the government has only used 834.75 million for the infrastructure of the public transportation since then.

Why did this happen? With this last fuel price hike, the government has raised around 13 billion. If it was so hard to spend the 4.3 billion (in the 2006 fuel hike) till present, how does the government plan to spend this bigger fund?

Shabery made a good comeback too.

He said that we must be more responsible in spending the money.
But then he mentioned countries likeVenezuela where the price of fuel is extremely low but it has high inflation rate, one of the highest in Latin America. He also mentioned Iran as one of the countries with low fuel prices and (as a result) high inflation rate. He said that this is because we have must remember that fuel prices not only reflect the prices of fuel.. but also the prices of everything else.
Then he went off topic. He went to beras or rice. Aiya...
Then he began another personal attack...

Shabery, when you want to win a debate, it would be good if you lay off the personal attacks. People tend to respect that and like you for it. I'm not saying this is a popularity contest, but any fellow with half a brain can tell you that nobody will give you their money/votes if you keep on jabbing them with a knife. Try a little kindness, try some professionalism, try having some class and most of all, try being a gentleman.

True, the price of fuel effects the price of everything else.. but we are talking directly about fuel.. not rice, or sugarcane, or what. Just answer the damn question.
Ooops,... i forgot, maybe the administration has not even thought of how to spend the money...maybe that's too far ahead for them to plan.

Anwar:
In relation to the price of fuel, it would be foolish to attribute this, wholly to the global fuel prices. If you mention Venezuela, Iran and so forth, it's true that the inflation rate went up a bit but if you take into consideration the inflation rate announced by the government, why doesn't The Minister go to the grocery's and buy some fish, onions or even chicken, the prices did not go up by 3%. The last announcement made by the Governor of Bank Negara was 6% or more. All the other banks announced 8% or more.

This means the 'intelligent' economy which was announced, actually CAUSED the raise in inflation rates. This is because of the sudden raise (in fuel prices) was too fast and too high resulting in rise of the prices of other things. So the 'care' (prihatinan) of The Minister to buy things at the inflated prices, goes against the government's (so-called) decision/reasoning.
So the minister's theory -'The price of fuel goes up sharply, inflation will not rise' (when he mentioned Venezuela and Iran)- Where did he learn this economic theory? Raising of prices sharply like that, is bad for the economy.

It's true that the global fuel prices has gone up sharply, BUT for every 1USD rise, we gain RM 360 million with our oil exports. So with the rise in oil prices, our returns are bigger too!

There's no need for the government to confuse the kampung folk by stating that the global fuel prices went up in London, in Paris, in China and in India. We are an oil exporting country. Yes, (the fuel) prices went up compared to the prices 10 years ago, but you can't burden the people (so much).

AND I would like to stress here, this rise CAUSES the economy to deteriorate.

Interesting. I'm no economic expert but i must say, he makes sense to me.

Next the Caddy guy annoyed me even more...(this guy was beginning to look like an ass here. I swear I could see his face elongate and long ears sprouting) Ok, this was his question:

Caddy:
Just now, I asked Dato' Seri Anwar's commitment that his premise that the price of fuel should go down by 50 cents was based on Malaysia being an oil exporting country , after which, i read the data mentioning the oil returns of this country was only 26%. So I see that the issue brought up by Dato' Seri Anwar is not the issue of fuel anymore but he chose the topic of fuel to lessen in to 50 cents.

But why not (since fuel is not the issue) talk about lessening the taxes? Such as when the government does not tax those with income less than RM2000. Why not ask for homes to help the poor living in the city? Why choose fuel? Why doesn't Dato' Seri Anwar promise to lower inflation which he says from 80% to 3%?

So my question to Datuk Shabery is, why did Dato' Seri Anwar choose fuel as the target of his promise to the people if he should rule tomorrow?

I'm sorry, but I must have missed THIS memo. Why is he asking Shabery "why Anwar is targetting fuel"? He should have asked Anwar that. Why ask Shabery? He was turning the debate into a joke, the prick. He just wasted a good opportunity to ask a really good question.. for Shabery to redeem himself and the government.

Like i said earlier, Why? Why? Oh, why did they choose this moronic inferno of stupidity to ask the questions? Didn't they have anyone better? Were the pickings slim? Is this really Vice Chancellor material?

Tan Sri Nordin Kardi, I'm so glad i didn't go to UUM. I would be so ashamed to have you as a VC. You are lame, you don't listen (hearing aid might help), you are in way over your head, you are a disgrace to BN. And you have the audacity to look smug while stinking the room. Your lack of understanding and the hot air coming out of your mouth reeks so bad that the whole country can smell it.
Look smug, my friend. That's all you got.
(Ugh, annoying little man) Even Shabery's not as bad.

What was Shabery's answer to Caddy's question?
Like my friends say, "Ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer."

Shabery:
I think the question was asked to me due to feelings regarding the wrong premises earlier.
When we talk about us being an oil exporting country, I would like to ask, where are we in the list of the world's oil producing country? Are we even in the top 20 world's oil exporter? We are not even in the top 20. We are small.

Let's not compare ourselves to Saudi, Venezuela, Iran. Let's not compare ourselves to other countries. We are too small.

La... pulak dah. Shabery, stop contradicting yourself. You also another idiot. YOU started comparing us to Venezuela and then Iran. Now you're saying 'don't compare ourselves' to these countries. I hope you look back at the videos and see what you just did. It's embarrassing.

Politicians always do this, to be fair i'll say ALL politicians. They contradict themselves. Some are so talented that they can do it in just one sentence. It is so glaring to me when it comes from BN's mouthpieces because so many of them do it. And they do it so shamelessly. Again, look at Nazri. (Man, just mentioning that guy gives me the pricks)

But Shabery made a reasonably good argument next:

Shabery:
That being said, our oil has been mined for 100 years, we are near the end. We are still a nett oil exporter, but a small one nevertheless.

In the topic of oil revenue, what was mentioned earlier is not true. In actual fact, our revenue from oil is only 26% of the government funds. The rest is from investments.
Think of the year 2015, when we no longer have oil and we become nett importers of oil, is this (the time) when we will start following the world's oil price? That is, IF people want to sell oil to us... what if no one's selling to us?

This is why it becomes Petronas' responsibility (even though they have given so much to the country) to look for oil outside the country. And thank you to Petronas where under Dr Mahathir's guidance (for example) they reached out to 33 other countries to mine for oil. Until we became a country with one of the most renowned oil companies in the world.
That is why we (government) feel that we shouldn't make Petronas poorer with regards to this issue. We must be realistic. Our oil is not that much. (The rest is just a bunch of lame jokes)

Shabery, the reason why i say that this is a reasonably good argument, is because it would be a good argument if Anwar was basing his argument on Petronas' funds. We are currently talking about the government funds (which were contributed by Petronas because they happen to be our country's oil and gas company) but the bottomline, is that the topic is the Government funds.

Next:

Again Shabery continues with the personal attacks. No doubt what he says is/may be true but please stay in the present. Anwar probably did those things that he mentioned but that is not the issue here. If the topic is about Anwar, I can understand, but the topic is fuel prices. Don't waste my time on Anwar, Shabery.

Oh ya, he (again) compared us to Venezuela, Iran etc... when he (himself) said earlier that we shouldn't compare ourselves to them.
The mind is boggled at this.

Anwar's answer here.

When he said:

"Kalau ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat, ahli-ahli Parlimen pun tak paham ini, problem kita ni!"
If our members of parliament don't even understand this, we have a serious problem!

My thoughts exactly. I can't say I agree with everything Anwar says, but I must say he put up a good case. And it annoys me when we keep on going back to the same point:

Anwar's not talking about Petronas' funds. He's talking about the government funds.

It can't be that hard to understand right? But i guess when it comes to BN, you need to drill it into them over and over and over and over and over again... for them to actually BEGIN to understand what would take a 5 year old 2 seconds to understand.

Oh ya, and when they finally get it, they behave like it was their idea in the first place. Thieves the lot of them.

Some are probably murderers too. (But that's another story)

Next Anwar answers a question from Johan Jaafar (Dewan Bahasa Pustaka).

I like his answer. Populistic ("Populis") or not, I like it.
Next was Shabery's turn. But Shabery should lay off the personal attacks. He was beginning to look like Nordin Kardi at this point. He goes on and says we shouldn't rely on Petronas' revenue. Will he ever get it?

Shabery, I realise that your skull is strong and thick but please get it:

ANWAR IS NOT TALKING ABOUT PETRONAS FUNDS. HE'S TALKING ABOUT GOVERNMENT FUNDS. YOU CAN'T BE THAT THICK, CAN YOU?

If it was done on purpose, i understand. But if it's not done on purpose, it is a big disappointment when the Information Minister, can't understand the information/statement being told to him.
We can't have a dungu as Information Minister can we?

This is their closing statements.

I liked Anwar's beginning when he speaks 'points' form.
But his ending sucks.

Anwar, you should have finished more professionally. This is not a platform for you to campaign for yourself. This contradicts with your statement that this particular debate is about the people and not a partisan thing. Shame on you. Shame on you!

Shabery, you should stop the damn personal attacks. You seem so unprofessional, lame and lacking style and finesse. And your last statement that this debate proves the 'openness' of the Barisan Nasional government... grates on me a little. But yes, I have to admit that IF they continue to allow open debates such as this, to go on... YES they are more 'open'. BUT that is yet to be seen.

Also, i would like to mention that the government should send relevant people like the Finance Minister (oops, is that the PM too? He holds the power AND the purse? How lovely for him.) to participate in debates on the relevant topics.

I think the topic on prices of fuel should be represented by the Finance Ministry and not the Information. That's why you get thick arses like Shabery and Caddy who just don't get the point. It is possible they do not know the difference between Petronas funds and Government funds.

Lastly, I'd buy Shabery a drink any day... but hopefully I won't have to be in the same room as Nordin Caddy. He's just too much of an idiot... this is what i call, bodoh sombong.

Anwar, I'd buy him a drink too but that doesn't mean I'm fanatical (like some people are) about him. There are just bigger things to worry about than just one man.

All in all, I think both guys did a good job. Except the part where Shabery kept on going back to frigging Petronas funds when its government funds being the issue here. Other than that, both deserve points for having the balls to go through with the debate. And I sincerely hope we have more to come.

My not-so-great encounter
Lastly, I had an encounter with some supporters in the crowd. This guy was very strung up and excited throughout the debate. To the point that he was becoming too distracting for the rest of us. He was smacking his head and throwing his hands up in the air when Shabery was talking ...he even shouted something at one time. The guy behind me shushed the guy and said that he should stop distracting the other people. You know want the distractor did?

He cock-stared the guy behind me and said "Fuck". The effect was quite disturbing as this guy seemed like the pious type... always got 'air sembahyang' (ablutions) etc. Yes, quite disturbing indeed because he looked ready to get into a brawl then.

I would like to say here, that Malaysian audiences should learn to take a debate as it is. Your purpose is not only to support one party or the other. You should take that opportunity to listen to the other side of the argument, to digest it and then to seek the truth of it.

Don't hero-worship one person or the other. Try to look at the bigger picture. It's not about Anwar, Pak Lah or even (yes, i'm giving too much credit to him but what-the-hell) Khairy.
It's about you and me.

That's YOU and ME and what's best for us. If you're an Anwar supporter, Najib supporter or even Pak Lah supporter... by all means its your choice. But never hero-worship them. They are just people like you and me (minus the money and the breeding).

Seek what's best for us, the rakyat. Although we might not agree on what is best for us, at least our eyes are open to other options....

You know?

More Good News!

2008-07-02T17:19:00.004+08:00

Hey EVERYONE!

Due to overwhelming response to the All Blogs 100 Days event this Saturday, 5 July 2008, we are doing-away with the RM30 entrance fee!

It is now free! Those who have paid will be refunded.

HOWEVER, (and this is very important) we still need those attending, to RSVP via email to: tonyyew@gmail.com

Blog House can take only a limited number of people so please register/RSVP to Tony as early as you can! We want more people!

Thank you for your support!

Confirmed:
1. Jeff Ooi (MP Jelutong)
2. Wee Choo Keong (MP Wangsa Maju)
3. Loh Gwo Burne (MP Kelana Jaya)

More to come...

ATTENTION!!!

2008-06-27T01:13:00.004+08:00

THE ALL BLOGS 100 DAYS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO SATURDAY, 5TH JULY 2008.

THIS IS IN RESPECT TO THE GERAKAN MANSUHKAN ISA RALLY ON 28 JUNE 2008.

ALL PROGRAM DETAILS ARE THE SAME ONLY THE DATES HAVE CHANGED.

CORRECTION ON ENTRANCE FEE (as pointed out by Zorro :) ): IT IS RM30 FOR ALL.

FOOD AND BEVERAGES INCLUDED.

SEE YOU THERE!

All Blogs Talks...100 Days

2008-06-22T23:03:00.004+08:00

The National Alliance of Bloggers (All Blogs) will be holding a fund-raising event at the Blog House, Damansara on June 28th, 2008. Details as follows:

Time: 7:00pm

Date: 28 June 2008

Venue: The Blog House,66 Lorong Setiabistari 2, Damansara Heights

Registration fee: RM 30 for bloggers, RM 35 for non-bloggers

Payment to: Maybank Account: Yew Wei Keat: 5140 1189 9314

There will be a lucky draw and an auction as well!

And here is the rest of it.

Ketuanan Melayu: The Constitutional Flaw of the Indigenous Masters?

2008-05-09T00:09:00.005+08:00

Ketuanan Melayu. These very words conjure a myriad of images, depending on you’re your point of view. Some see it as the definition of our socio-political inheritance, others see it as the division of our multicultural heritage.

It is loved or loathed, sheltered or scathed.

Recently, our pretend premier recently tried to explain that the perpetuation of Ketuanan Melayu was because Malays were ‘indigenous’. Izzat so? Well, I always thought of the Orang Asli as indigenous, not Malays.

Now please, don’t get me wrong. This is in no way meant to be disparaging. But while Malays are indeed bumiputera, are Malays ‘indigenous’?

In her previous post, KLConfidential once disclosed that in Article 160 of the Federal Constitution, the definition of being Malay is:

...a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and:

(a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or

(b) is the issue of such a person.

So where in the above definition does being ‘indigenous’ come in?

If I understand this correctly, as long as someone fits the above description, they’re Malay, correct? If that is so, then quite a lot of people can constitutionally be Malay, even if they aren’t Malay, right?

So, if you want to be called ‘indigenous’, and gain bumiputera rights, all you need to do is convert to Islam, conform to Malay customs and culture, and tadah! you’re Malay, with all the perks contained therein.

Fascinating, isn’t it? Pity our pretend premier seems to have forgotten this when he – and his less than credible cronies - were all over the news recently.

Sure, it is good for him to be championing Ketuanan Melayu because “the Malays, as the indigenous people in Malaysia” “do not want to become coolies” [The Star, Tuesday April 29, 2008].

It is even good that his lackadaisical lackey, Shahrir, crawled out from under his rock to add that the concept of Ketuanan Melayu “cannot be done away” because it is an integral part of the Federal Constitution, and “is linked to the survival of the sultanate system” [The Sun, Tuesday April 29, 2008]

However, the problem is that there is no provision within the constitution to properly defining what it is to be Malay. And if the constitution is incapable of properly recognising what it is to be Malay, how are Malays rights protected under it?

In regards to this, Singapore’s ever controversial Lee Kuan Yew has been attributed to have said:

Of the 39 percent Malays in Malaysia today, about one-third are comparatively new immigrants like the secretary-general of UMNO, Dato’ Syed Ja’afar Albar, who came to Malaya from Indonesia just before the war at the age of more than thirty.

Therefore it is wrong and illogical for a particular racial group to think that they are more justified to be called Malaysians and that the others can become Malaysian only through their favour.

So, our prosaic premier can argue all he wants about the Ketuanan Melayu, but if the constitution allows for individuals who are not ‘indigenous’ to become Malays, then this underscores a flaw within the Federal Constitution that should be rectified.

Perhaps if he and his frivolous flunkies really wanted to protect the rights of Malays, and the concept of Ketuanan Melau, they should amend the constitution to better define what it is to be Malay.

This shouldn’t pose much of a problem, since the ruling coalition has made over 600 amendments to the constitution to date in less than 50 years. When they are willing to go to such lengths to secure the privileges of the few, I don’t see why they can’t make another one or two more to secure the rights of the many.

Additionally, it is quite inelegant - and hypocritical - to go about claiming to uphold one article of the constitution, when others are have to run away from tear gas for upholding another.

So here’s a piece of advice to the power mongerers/mongrels: if the constitution is your defence, please make sure that you observe all of the articles enshrined in the constitution, not just those articles that favour you and your party members.

And Shahrir, if you want to point out articles vital to the survival of the sultanate system, don’t conveniently leave out other more salient articles like Article 32. Unless of course you’re addled after trying to muzzle the monarchy not too long ago.

But to get right down to it, the true tragedy behind the concept of Ketuanan Melayu is that it has allowed the ruling coalition to inhibit the Malays for 50 years, through impeding their educational aptitude, through the hampering of their economic experience, through hindering their competitive capability.

Personally, the debate revolving around Ketuanan Melayu shouldn’t be "if it represses other races". The debate should be if it suppresses the Malays.

The First Wives Club

2008-04-30T23:46:00.004+08:00

Co-written by KLConfidential

Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision. - Dick Armey

As it turns out, there is a fourth group that was not included into the above: the wives of certain politicians, who preside over certain charitable organisations like discontented dominatrixes, and who use the funds of certain charitable organisations like personal bank accounts.

Despite the helpless eyelash batting of numerous vapid-eyed VIP wives, and the verbal diarrhoea from their similarly IQ challenged spouses, two newspapers and a blogsite carried separate reports on possible malpractices conducted by this fourth group.

Two days ago, the Sun carried a report that Balkis utilised funds from its own coffers for "shopping trips, overseas junkets and lavish functions" which has "nothing to do with charity".

Yesterday, the New Straits Times featured and article that at "no time" were the external auditors of Balkis consulted prior to the organisation’s dissolution, nor were 2007 accounts for Balkis ever "audited or finalised".

And today, I came across Jeff Ooi's posting questioning a "balance of RM590,665" supposedly donated to charities that is, by his count at least, unaccounted for.

Well, now, doesn’t it just lift your spirits to know that there are mentally diseased creatures out there who are more than willing to treat money donated to charity like it was their own, and to top it off, actually indulge in that money for personal gratification?

After all, in these trying times, who are WE to rail against the burning fashion needs of a select number of oversized - and over-privileged - women? Have a heart, guys. If we were to really think about it, these pea-brains are so disadvantaged that they can’t even slip into dress sizes equivalent to their IQs.

Sure, when pigs fly...and no, VIP wives in planes don’t count.

So why doesn’t those two reports set me reeling in shock? Well, because most so-called charitable organisations just aren’t...charitable.

To quote Sheryl Sandberg, who conducted a study commissioned by Google.org:

"The problem with charity is that it goes from the RICH to the RICH. It's truly remarkable that people think they're giving to the poor when they aren't".

The hard truth of it all is that in most cases, less than 40% of the funds collected for charity are actually channelled to charity. More often than not, the amount is even less, sometimes as low as 10%.

The rest are used for so-called 'administrative fees' and 'fund-raising costs'. In the case of Balkis, their “shopping trips, overseas junkets and lavish functions” probably falls into fund-raising costs to attract donations, or just plain embezzlement.

In some cases, crass profit is disguised as fund-raising costs. Remember buying a RM1.00 a bookmark that carried the National Kidney Foundation’s name back in 2005? Well, sorry to say that your RM1.00 was divided as 90 cents profit to the maker of the bookmark, and 10 cents donation a real patient.

Balkis, or Persatuan Bunga Tanjung for that matter, isn’t the first, nor will it be the last charitable organisation to abuse the trust of those donating, and those needing donations.

However, that does not excuse their abuses and excesses, especially when they conduct their unsavoury activities under the umbrella of the government. That does not excuse their niggardly attempts at raping and abusing so many of those less privileged of money that was meant for them.

No one, and I mean no one, should ever fuck around with money meant for the less fortunate.

Then again, could we have expected any better from the First Wives Club of the ruling coalition? Especially Khir Toyo’s wife. I don’t even want to remember her name. People like her are the ones behind the scenes quietly stealing from...well anyone they can.

In the Quran it says:

"Give to orphans. Don’t steal from them."

"Don’t steal from orphans (or Allah will burn you forever in Hell)"

And lastly:

"Don’t steal from orphans. Don’t cheat or lie."

In which case, it seems that the First Wives Club has done all three. Their actions of transferring funds immediately after their respective states fell to the opposition, their lies about their accounts being audited...you draw your own conclusions.

But to me, one First Wife in particular seems particularly mischievous...but then again that could be my prejudice against her and her husband (ex Selangor MB who it seems destroyed document and tuck his tail between his legs to London).

But then again, it probably runs in that family.

Azalina The Politician

2008-04-09T20:47:00.005+08:00

Now, this woe-man is really pissing me off.

Just 2 days after her appointment, she berlakon (otherwise known as wayang or acted) like she cared about tourism - although she kept it strictly within her constituency:

(The Star Online, March 30 2008): ...Azalina said, "I understand your problems are real and I want to resolve them immediately because tourism is an important component as one of the nation’s top income earners."

Next in the same article:

On Thursday, she will be meeting with tourism board members to discuss ways to improve the quality of service in the industry. Another item on her priority list is revamping all the State Tourism Action Councils.

"We want to appoint officers who are in tune with the federal government's policies in terms of tourism. The rationale is to appoint officers who understand our policies and execute our plans," she stressed.

Oh... She wants to improve the quality of service and 'revamp' ALL the State Tourism Councils.

I'm not done yet...

How do you hope to overcome problems and issues faced by the ministry?

Azalina: At present the tourism industry is the second highest foreign exchange earner. Last year, due to the success of programmes implemented by the ministry, a total of 20.9 million tourists came into the country, contributing RM46bil in foreign exchange, a growth of 19.5% in tourist arrivals and 52.2% in income compared to the previous year.

The point I'd like to make is, even after:-

1. Acknowledging tourism as the nation's top income earner
2. Promising to improve the quality of services
3. Acknowledging that the tourism industry is the second highest foreign exchange earner (complete with figures - fuyo!)

Even after all that...SHE TRIES TO KILL OFF TOURISM IN OPPOSITION LED STATES without caring if they were the top tourism earners or not.

Azalina, isn't that like shooting yourself in the foot? Considering you ARE the Minister of Tourism and all...just thought I'd highlight that to you, you twat.

To my dear readers, let me translate (from my personal point of view) what she's really saying. But hey, you don't have to take my word for it, this is purely MY interpretation.

(Star Online, April 3 2008): Tourism memorandums of understanding with Opposition-ruled state governments will be terminated given the change in leadership, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman said.

Translation 1:
Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh-nyeh-nyeh...I'm the Minister of Tourism and I can do whatever the fuck I want to. You are not BN's friend, so you're not MY friend. I don't want to friend you because you don't suck my BNs balls.

Translation 2:
Ha... padan muka korang. Aku dah kata dah, korang patut undi BN...sekarang rasakan. Aku ni dah lama tak dapat period, hormon aku dah tak betul dah ni... jaga kau.

Yes crude, I know. But she irks me so.

She said this was in line with the termination of Tourism Action Councils in the states which were previously chaired by Barisan Nasional’s state executive councillors in charge of tourism in each state.

"Normally, the council works together with the state executive council and local authorities. But now that the leadership in the state governments have changed, we have to terminate the MoUs and the councils," she told a post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday.

Translation 1:
I'm so proud that I came up with this excuse all by myself. All you BN enemies WILL NOT receive anything from ME. Na'ah, chico. No way mama gonna give you love this time, me and my BN chicas gonna make you sorry.

Translation 2:
Well, BN can only work with BN. We are unable to work together with anyone who points out our mistakes. So as I mentioned before, we just HAVE to terminate the MoUs and the councils.

Our ego is too big, we'd rather cut off our arms than admit our wrongs. We are sore losers so we feel that being childish will win us votes for the next election...it's either that or we hope that the people will be so desperate that they'll vote us back.

We are into the practice of blackmailing the people because essentially, we have them by the balls.

Azalina said that a committee would instead be set up, with members appointed by the Federal Government similar to the format implemented in PAS-held Kelantan. "We will appoint committee members from the tourism community to help develop tourism in these states," she said.

Azalina said some tourism events, such as the Penang Music Festival (in May) and the Langkawi Water Festival (this weekend), would go ahead and contracts with state contractors would be honoured. "However, we will re-evaluate plans for other events if they have not started or if the contractors have not been appointed."

Translation:
Instead of having the council who are supposed to work together with the state executive councils and local authorities, I am going to set up a committee of people who I can control. I will marginalise these 5 states and their people, the same way BN has been marginalizing Kelantan all these years.

That being said, events that bring in big bucks like the Penang Music Festival, will go on. This is because I want it to seem like I am doing SOMETHING. However, I will re-evaluate other events because I don't want these Opposition led governments to outdo me and make me look bad.

"Maybe we have to look at other venues or options. But there is no total boycott in tourism. We have to play it by ear and see what these state governments do," she added.

Azalina said industry players she met recently, including hoteliers and travel agencies, had expressed concern over tourism in Opposition-held states, given the players’ huge investments, especially in Penang and Kedah.

Translation:
I will only propose touristy events in other states. But don't worry, this is not a TOTAL boycott... only a partial one. We'll see la how smart these opposition-led state governments are. See? Even the hoteliers and travel agencies have begun licking my ass because I am Minister of Tourism. Let's see these opposition states try to lick my ass now.

"They hope there will not be any negative policies in these states that will affect tourism," she added.

Translation:
I hope there WILL be negative policies in these states that will affect tourism so that I will look good. Because I'm really so stupid that I think being the Minister of Tourism, the performances of these states will not affect me. I'm so dumb that I think this will make me look good and not show how incompetent I actually am.

On PKR, DAP and PAS’ decision to form Pakatan Rakyat, Azalina said it would not last long given their different policies, unlike Barisan which had the same manifesto for all. "Politics is a marriage of convenience. Politicians can say anything they want to gain the people’s support.

"Maybe Pakatan Rakyat will work for a month or a year but it will break up in the end as they are too different," she added.

Translation:
I'm trying to convince BN and myself that PKR/DAP/PAS's decision to form Pakatan Rakyat will not last long because I'm still in shock over the last general election (I still have trouble believing the results).

I'm so conceited so as to believe that I actually won my constituency when it was handed to me on a silver platter. I also think that Pakatan Rakyat is just like BN because politicians can say anything they want to gain the people's support. I mean, BN has been practising this for 50 over years, make empty promises to gain the people's support.

I'm not a politician who actually practices what I preach, so I'm sure Pakatan Rakyat is just another scam like me. I believe that politics is a marriage of convenience: to marry my greedy yet stupid self with a money making machine that supports dumb people...

Azalina,

I hope you read this, you cow. You have no right depriving the people of the opposition states just because you don't like their governments. You have no right to 'hit-back' at these states simply because they did not agree with your BN.

You must remember (if your brain has the capacity) that you are MALAYSIAN Minister of Tourism. Not BARISAN NASIONAL President of Tourism. Stop operating through your shallow short-sighted VINDICTIVE mind and start operating like a MATURED ADULT (notice, I'm not asking you to operate like an INTELLIGENT adult, just ADULT will do, you retard).

You should realise that you are in a position to give more, do more and contribute more to the people and the nation; not to be a female dog (often called a bitch) who smells and licks her master's balls, even though she prefers to lick another bitch.

You're probably such a bimbo that you fail to realise that this statement/policy will greatly affect the normal Joe in these states. Your actions are dishonorable and shows how much you 'care' about Malaysians as a whole.

Listen Azalina, nobody cares about your sexual orientation or your 'butch'ness as long as you do your job and do it well and with all fairness. THIS is what you get if you do/say something stupid.

So if you don't like bloggers pointing out your faults then stop doing/saying stupid things la.
Is that so hard to understand? Yes? I suggest you refresh your kindergarten education. I know 3 year olds who can understand that, if you can't.

YOU DESERVE EVERY INSULT I THREW AT YOU HERE...and it doesn't matter how much you try to 'explain' and 'clarify' to the public. As you said, "politicians can say anything they want to gain the people's support."

You said it, not I.

Perak: A Cry of ‘Equality’ From Another Moron

2008-04-02T21:19:00.010+08:00

There are times when I am reminded that Malaysian politicians on both sides of the political fence are sometimes bigots at heart, and that Malaysian politics is sometimes a game of racial divide that is played to the hilt.

The latest example of this is the resignation and subsequent retraction of resignation of Buntong assemblyman A. Sivasubramaniam, who shall be called 'moron' from this point onwards. At this point I realise that I probably have a number of fingers poised to flick out in my direction in defence of this moron.

So what? Quite frankly, I don’t really give a damn.

Whether he, or the rakyat, were promised two Indian assemblymen appointments as state executive council members in the Perak State government or not is besides the point to me. The point is that yet again some idiot - this time an ignoble moron from DAP - is coming out of the woodwork to say that equal representation is the only way to govern the people of this nation.

I don’t know about you guys out there, but weren't we trying to crawl out of that mess? Does it really matter what the racial composition of any government, organisation, or association is, as long as the work gets done fairly and efficiently?

The way this moron is going on about things, I guess not.

Perhaps he does have a valid point of view. Or perhaps he is thinking along the same lines of PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali, who has previously called for "the spirit of sincere openness" because he "stress[es] that the composition of the exco must reflect the composition of the population of Perak and represent the interests of all ethnic groups fairly. All parties must be sensitive to the hopes and sentiments of the people".

Or perhaps he is a moron.

Either way, he still needs a kick up the bum for saying that "the decision [for one Indian assemblyman] was a huge slap for the Indian community and designed to hoodwink the Indian community in Perak" and for adding that the Perak state leadership the Perak DAP leadership had failed to respect "the voice of makkal sakti (People’s Power)".

I’m sorry, moron, but Makkal Sakti means more to me than just Indian power. It means people power. So please don’t turn this genuine cry for the recognition of rights and liberty into some nationalistic slogan for the Indians like the ruling coalition’s Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia.

We do not need that sort of nonsense to come out to polarize us further as races, you moron. We're been struggling to come out of it for the last 30 years, and now that some of us have seen the light, you think you have the right to shove us back into that cesspool because of some misplaced pride?

Yes, Indians have been marginalised. So have the Chinese, Malays, Dayaks, Kadazans, Dusuns, Jakuns, Ibans, Orang Asli, etc.

What about their contribution? What about the contribution of the Chinese, the Malays, even card carrying UMNO members who voted or abstained from voting to give you that mandate to be in office in the first place?

Seriously, it irritates me when someone comes up with harebrained nonsense like 'equal representation', or some other hogwash like it.

An extension of this logic is that if the real minority in Malaysia were to demand recognition, we should go about trying to elect midget Orang Asli or Ibans into office because their piece of the pie is so much more smaller than the rest of us? Does that sound appealing to you, moron?

Yes, I know this post is going to make some of you out there unhappy. It really doesn’t matter to me. I’m not running for prom king, though from the looks of it I guess the moron is trying to run for prom queen.

Me, I’m no partisan. While I’m always up to take a swing - and enjoy every minute of it - at the ruling coalition, that does not mean that idiocy and arrogance is the sole province of those psychotic pseudo politicians. Everyone, including opposition members, have it in them to become just as idiotic and arrogant.

Personally, I agree with one of our readers. Don’t think for one second that the opposition are angels, and even if you do, remember that even angels can fall from grace.

Terengganu: Losing Face, Or Falling On It?

2008-04-01T19:47:00.005+08:00

“It’s not a question of losing face because what is more important was that the matter has been resolved.”
- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Well, I hope you don’t mind, my dear premier, but I beg to differ. After all, there is quite a large difference between losing face, and falling flat on it. The resounding splat! made by you as your not-so-elegant mug made contact with the unyielding ground did not just reverberate between the small space between your large ears.

No indeed. The resonance from your ungainly fall echoed throughout the country, exposing (yet again!) the nation to your true nature, that of a characterless and impotent premier who coarsely attempts to maintain his waning authority through patronage and political manoeuvring and manipulation.

This time around, our inept premier made a thorough mess of things when he tried to wrest control of the state of Terengganu from its people – to his own benefit, no doubt – by attempting to dominate the nomination and election of the state’s Menteri Besar.

Fortunately, as he is always wont to do, our premier made a total mess of things. As coined most aptly by Forest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does”.

Perhaps for some reason he did not factor in the possibility that his choices have always been poor, bad or atrocious, depending on his (or his son-in-law’s) involvement in the decision. Or perhaps for some reason he did not factor in the possibility that his party’s fall from grace in the 12th General Election may have been somewhat attributed to the complete fiasco that is his premiership, the utter debacle that is his leadership, or the tragedy that is his party.

For whatever reason, the bungling premier tried and failed to control the nomination and election of the Terengganu Menteri Besar, after which he did what he always did best…he quietly tucked his tail between his legs and slunk away to hide under someone’s skirt, and got someone else to do the dirty work for him.

That dirty work was done firstly by a gaggle of spotty faced twits issuing none too subtle threats of tendered resignations, and secondly by a horde of paper pushing queers mangling the constitutional.

In comes the constitutional monarch, and bang! that gaggle of spotty faced twits meekly swear their assorted testicles into service to the new Menteri Besar, and that horde of paper pushing queers discovered that there isn’t much of the constitution left to mangle.

How did all that happen? No one really knows, as its all been hushed up, but apparently there is talk that the accounts books of Terengganu are missing an obscenely large sum of money while the ruling coalition was playing at the administration of the state.

So while the issue has been ‘resolved’, there is still a great deal of loose rope hanging around to figuratively and literally hang a large number of people who used to – and still do - walk through the state’s corridors of power.

The least of it is, "Which unlucky moron is going to take the fall for it all?"

Samy.. Mr Senility, needs to check-in to old folks home

2008-03-30T21:42:00.005+08:00

Browsing the internet tonight, I came across an article in The Star (me thinks the article will be published in tomorrow's paper... or not).

Apparently Mr Hindraf-Leaders-Are-Terrorists, is calling for the release of the Hindraf 5 who are still detained under the ISA.

I almost shat my pants laughing.

Hhahahahahahahahaa!!

Are you getting desperate, Samy?

Is he serious? Drama drama. Why is he calling for this when he has already LOST POWER? Why didn't he do anything about it when he STILL HAD POWER? Like Nazri would say, "Wayar dia sudah putus".

On the same note, this is good for the five men. Shows what a conman Samy was and who knows? It might help them gain their freedom...

Time will tell.

(The Star, Sunday March 30, 2008): Release Hindraf 5, says Samy...yes, you read that right!

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has urged the government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders who are being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

He said two of the leaders -- R. Kenghadaran, 40, who is very sick and M. Manoharan, 46, who had won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor on a DAP ticket on March 8 -- should be freed sooner.

He said another two, V. Ganabatirau, 34, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, had not been very much involved in the rally organised by Hindraf in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year.

The fifth leader being detained under the ISA is P. Uthayakumar.

Speaking to reporters after opening a workshop on "Rebranding the MIC" here Sunday, Samy Vellu said the wives of Kenghadaran and Manoharan had approached him for his assistance.

"I have decided to raise it with the government. I will raise it (the issue of their release) with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after he returns from Sabah.

"I will also meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan. I have already made some moves on this earlier but I did not tell anyone. I will now make a firm move to see what can be done by the government with regard to their plight," Samy Vellu claimed.

He said Ganabatirau, and Vasantha Kumar were "not very much involved (in the rally), so the government has to make a decision."

Samy Vellu claimed that this was not a publicity stunt or a move to win back Indian support for the party.

"This is done in fairness, sympathy and, also, we feel that we as Indians have to do something about it. It is not a publicity stunt," he said.

Samy Vellu said that he was harshly criticised by certain people when he spoke to Abdullah and the Attorney General about reducing the attempted murder charges against the 31 people detained during the Hindraf rally, but he had continued to assist them.

Barisan Wars: Return of the Jedi

2008-03-26T01:25:00.005+08:00

My distaste for the ruling coalition is as much as the next person, but the advent of Ku Li's decision of contest that sleeping fellow's position of head honcho in a certain party is good news to me. Yes, indeed it is.

Sure, we have no Luke Skywalker, and sadly there is also no Han Solo. But maybe in this alternate universe, there is an Old Ben Kenobi who will kick ass and take some heads.

Penang - The one you sit on OR the one you THINK with?

2008-03-18T15:47:00.005+08:00

Nature gave men two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most.

- George R. Kirkpatrick

Isn’t it stupid that after going to such lengths to demonize street protests, the ruling coalition are now the ones who would turn to taking to the streets as a legitimate means to voicing their displeasure?

Isn’t it stupid that our premier, who had once frowned on street protests, is now indirectly supporting street protesters by publicly chastising the legal government of Penang rather than his disorderly members?

Isn’t it stupid that that the ruling coalition are tut-tutting themselves, wagging accusing fingers grown fat with decadence and corruption, at the direction of the legal government of Penang for keeping to their promise for equality?

Well, no one said that the ruling coalition were the sharpest of knives, but even they have to admit that such actions transcends stupidity (perhaps redefining the word), and adding to the mythos that the ruling coalition is perhaps the dumbest, most hypocritical and irrelevant political party ever founded.

That is, until someone forms an All-Black Klu Klux Klan, and runs for Senator in Georgia..

Like spoilt children, the now defunct ex-members of the Penang government are railing against some obscure form of injustice that has supposedly been committed against the Malays. Why? Well, some say it is to protect some intrinsic ‘right’, but most of us know that it is because their former masters have their favourite toys taken away from them by – as some moron called Currymurah so aptly put it - the Big Bad Wolf that is the Opposition.

Injustice, you say? Good lord, gather the torches and let’s flay those buggers alive in the name of justice, why don’t you? But before you do that, could you please clarify - for the benefit of the few minds out there that do still have the capacity to inquire the nature of this dastardly deed – WHAT was committed against the good people of Penang to warrant street protests against the state government (former opposition)?

What? Something the lines of abolishing the NEP? Excuse me if I’m a little blunt with you at this point, but what the hell is wrong with that? So what?

Let us not dwell on the fact that the NEP has been replaced with the NDP, or was that DEB? Whatever. Regardless of its acronym, it does not really matter, as these are affirmative action policies put in place because incompetent politicians claims that the Malay mind can only mature in the year 2057, or thereabouts depending on how fat these politicians’ wallets are.

What we should dwell upon is the fact that these are individuals who are openly announcing that there should be no bridging of the racial divide between Malaysians.

What we should dwell upon is the fact that these individuals are ex-members of the government who have lost their positions within the state.

What we should dwell upon is the fact that these individuals are active members in the largest political party within Malaysia, and who are openly calling for revolt because they say that their race is better than others.

No, I’m not saying that some races are better than others. Yes, I’m saying that these morons are saying it.

These losers are saying that in order for our nation to progress, for equality to prevail, for liberties to be protected and for peace to be maintained, their rights are more important than the rights of everyone else.

These jackasses are saying that in order for us to live our lives in relative harmony, we should agree that they are more deserving of more rights than we are.

These morons are saying this not only because they are morally bankrupt, but because their depraved and corrupt ways will render them financially destitute within the month.

Now, when I say loser, morons, jackasses and imbeciles, I am not actually referring to those people protesting this on the street. Well, in some instances, I do. They are as much to blame to the perpetuation of our country’s racial divide because of some archaic belief (if they actually even subscribe to that belief) of racial superiority.

Rather, when I say loser, morons, jackasses and imbeciles, I mean their disgruntled leaders.

So to these morons, jackasses and imbeciles, please do allow me to share some heartfelt advice with you: Go put your head down a toilet bow (preferably one that has already been used), open your mouth, and press the flush button. I don’t know if it’ll help you in your ‘noble cause’, but I know it will make me feel a whole lot better.

Not only have these imbeciles run contrary to their original stance, they are so impotent and ineffectual that they have no other avenues to voice their disgruntlement...which boggles the mind, really. (KLC: Quite stupid, yes)

After all, given that they are members of the ruling coalition, it is not to say that they aren’t able to ‘highlight’ their ‘grievances’ through more legal channels, i.e., the mainstream media, the Parliament, the judiciary, or any other avenues that they have sunk their vampiric fangs in.

Seriously, you jackasses, don’t you think that using one civil liberty as a means of taking away the civil liberty of others is in poor taste?

Sure, I understand you do miss getting fat off all those nice perks you liberally dipped your greedy thumbs in, but you've got to have some style (if not substance) to get away with being avaricious and gluttonous career politicians.

But even being avaricious and gluttonous career politicians is forgivable in light of what they actually are: Individuals who would see others oppressed for their own benefit, and individuals who would manipulate others to subjugate those around them for their own profit.

To these individuals, know that it is evil to commit an injustice, but it is an even greater evil to cause others to commit an injustice.

To those that follow these individuals, know that there is a difference between the end that God gave you to think with, and the end that God gave you to sit with.

BR - Stop fighting the battle and start winning the war, DAMMIT!

2008-03-14T22:41:00.004+08:00

The developments in the past 3 days have shown that the rakyat are not biased. We support good people to be our leaders. We do NOT support extremists, irrational people and cowards.

In this present time, the people of Malaysia are less forgiving (as they should be) and less tolerant of corruption, idiocy and misconducts. For this I applaud Malaysians for using the power that you have by voting.

Lim Kit Siang's actions, to me, is forgivable (because I am a forgiving person) but will I forget? No.

Now suspicions are amok against DAP's real purpose. Is it for a Malaysian Malaysia? Is it for a DAP Malaysia? Or what?

LKS deserved to be in Zorro's fart chamber. In fact he deserved it more than anyone. Why? Because I can expect my enemy to betray me, but to be betrayed by my own friend? It is even worse. And to think he was my hero...he let me down big time.

Did we expect too much from him? I don't think so. Did he have to announce the cracks in the Barisan Rakyat? No. But he went and let Barisan Najis score a few points.

Some people say "he's a veteran, he's playing a chess game. He's got something up his sleeve."
My question is, "Why is he doing it at the expense of BR? Why is he doing it at the expense of shaking and scaring the malays? Why is he dividing the races?" I was shocked to the bone when he made the announcement.

We don't need scandals and cheap URTV (karut) style sensationalism. We need a united front.

AND I DON'T APPRECIATE HIM BREAKING RANKS.

I met a numerologist friend and analysed Barisan Nasional and UMNO. After looking at the numbers, the conclusion was that Perikatan (old BN name) is lousy but Barisan Nasional is good because they 'stick together'.

THAT ladies and gentlemen, is what we all must do. Now that we have created some balance, we must not lower our expectations.

Apology or not, I think LKS made a grave mistake. Why couldn't the problem be solved behind closed doors? Why the ANNOUNCEMENT? What happened to "think first, talk after"? Didn't the BR consider this possibility when they decided on an alliance?

Apology accepted in my books but not everyone will forgive. Put it this way: Just because a BN guy says sorry for screwing the people, doesn't it mean we HAVE to forgive him. (BN Guy: Hey, I already said sorry okaaayy?)

This article was written about the man, and not the party. I fault him for his words, but I don't blame the party because although he told his people not to go to the ceremony, some said they would attend anyways.

BUT!

LKS has apologised. Why? Because the people spoke and he listened. He LISTENED. Although damage has been done, but he relented afterwards. This is more than I can say for TALKCOCK CEO of Malaysia.

BUT THEN...

LKS's actions have started a chain of reactions that I fear may be more damaging than we know. The Malay sentiment is a fragile thing. We ALL want a better, equal opportunity Malaysia, but Barisan Rakyat has to realise the fears of the Malays. It was a big thing to come out and vote for DAP if you are a Malay. DON'T TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED.

CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.

Barisan Rakyat has succeeded the first challenge - to whip BN during the GE12- but will they pass the next series of tests? - proving themselves as team players, proving themselves as credible leaders who are able to work with different types of people - Time and again it's been said in other blogs, "take baby steps."

Haven't you guys gone to a Change Management Training Program? I strongly suggest this. You will learn, step by step, how to implement the changes you intend to make with the smallest amount of friction (Unlike the LKS stunt)

I WANT TO REMIND THE BARISAN RAKYAT:
THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE 'BESAR KEPALA' IS THE PEOPLE (AND I'M TALKING ABOUT THE GRASSROOTS).
NOT YOU WHO CAN BE REPLACED WITHIN THE NEXT 5 YEARS.

Let us not let 'success' (I'm using this term loosely) get to our heads. There is still much to do.
DO IT WELL,
DO IT OBJECTIVELY AND
DO IT YOUR WAY AND NOT THE CORRUPT RACIST BN WAY.

I must say, at this point, that we all know that BN has a lot of its own internal squabbling and infighting. But do we read about it on the BUTTLICKING MSM? No. Want to know why? Because they 'settle' it themselves. They don't air their dirty laundry. You want to gain support? Don't resort to cheap publicity, instead, prove yourself.

PROVE YOURSELVES WORTHY.

I should remind you,

It's only been a little over 5 days, before you know it, 5 years is up.
DON'T DO A 'BN'.
CREATE A NEW PRECEDENT.
WORK YOUR PROBLEMS OUT.
NOBODY LIKES TO HEAR THE NEXT DOOR COUPLE SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER.

BY BICKERING, YOU ARE ONLY SUCCEEDING IN SHATTERING THE PEOPLE'S CONFIDENCE IN YOU.

Work it out, Barisan Rakyat. I don't care how you do it. You asked for this a mandate from the people.

WE DID YOU A FAVOR, NOW DO YOUR JOB. I STILL HAVE FAITH IN YOU.

Swearing at the Swearing-in

2008-03-14T19:47:00.008+08:00

Okay, there’s no swearing in this post. I’m just a little edgy, that's all. I guess anyone would feel irritated when political bickering has caused the swearing-in of the new Perak Mentri Besar to be called off. Sure, the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition has ‘amiably’ resolved matters, but will the issue just stop here? Excerpt from Suara Keadilan:

Muafakat Perak Dicapai: 6-3-1, KeADILan: 1 Timbalan MB, 1 Senator

Kuala Lumpur, 14 Mac - Timbalan Presiden KeADILan Dr. Syed Husin hari ini mengesahkan bahawa muafakat telah dicapai berkenaan pembentukkan kerajaan negeri Perak.

Hasil muafakat tersebut adalah Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin dari PAS akan menjadi Menteri Besar, Ngeh Koo Ham dari DAP akan menjadi Timbalan Menteri Besar Pertama dan jawatan Timbalan Menteri Besar Kedua akan diperuntukkan kepada KeADILan.

Untuk kerusi Exco pula, 6 kerusi akan diperuntukkan untuk DAP, 3 untuk KeADILan dan 1 untuk Pas. Selain itu, satu daripada dua senator yang akan dilantik oleh Perak ke Dewan Negara akan dipilih oleh KeADILan.

To be sure, my irritation stems not just from the supposed ‘cracks’ within the opposition. After all, it must be admitted that even though they are a coalition, DAP, PKR and PAS have different ideologies and methodologies. Given that, it is obvious that they would face a degree of difficulty working together.

Politics aside, much of my irritation stems not just from the jostling between the Barisan Rakyat, but from the way they have turned against the very ideology that they advocated: Bangsa Malaysia.

Perhaps more than good governance and transparency, I feel it is time for us to stop being an amalgamation of races, and truly become a nation.

So when I first heard about Lim Kit Siang’s statement, I had assumed it to be some spin doctoring from the ruling coalition. No way Uncle Lim would come out and say something like that, I thought to myself. It was only later that I found out that this was his official stance, and I must admit I was horrified at it.

I understand that Uncle Lim would be somewhat leery of working with PAS. From his point of view, the failure of Barisan Alternatif in the 1999 elections was predominantly due – no, I don’t think this, I think HE thinks this - to the intractability of PAS. Fast forward 10 years later, it seems that Uncle Lim still holds a grudge against PAS.

Even though many people within DAP broke ranks by voicing their intention to attend the swearing in ceremony, and even though Lim Kit Siang did apologize for his statement, the domino effect from his political stance has since turned into an uproar of racial sentiment which saw the DAP leader disrespect a Malay person as the new Menteri Besar.

Not to be left out, PKR – a multiracial party within the opposition coalition - came up with its own statement in retort which started me grinding my teeth:

(The Star, Friday March 14, 2008): PKR ‘no’ to 8 slots for DAP

PETALING JAYA: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) does not agree to DAP having eight executive councillor posts in the Perak government.

PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali said in a statement that the composition of the state exco must reflect the composition of Perak’s population.

“…In the spirit of sincere openness, we stress that the composition of the exco must reflect the composition of the population of Perak and represent the interests of all ethnic groups fairly. All parties must be sensitive to the hopes and sentiments of the people.”

Wonderful, simply wonderful, I thought to myself. Politics I can understand, but when parties start coming out with statements implying that differing ethnic groups should be ‘fairly represented’ in governments, then the implied meaning behind it, is that as we cannot trust the Malay fellows to look after the interests of the Chinese, and we cannot trust the Chinese fellows to look out for the interests of the Malays.

And God forbid if we trust an Indian fellow, he’ll screw all of us, won’t he?

The perception of the racial divide has grown to the point where there are many people questioning the constitutional stance that requires a Malay to become the Menteri Besar of Perak. Personally, I don’t care if Barack Obama becomes the Menteri Besar so long he is someone that will govern fairly and efficiently.

Now, even with the 'consensus' reached between the opposition coalition, perceptions about the opposition have been skewed. This is compounded by the decision of Raja Dr Nazrin Shah to indefinitely suspend the swearing-in of the new Menteri Besar of Perak:

(The NST, Thursday, 13 March 200): 8 Raja Nazrin orders 31 coalition signatures agreeing to cooperate, Nizar as MB

“In the light of recent developments, it appears to his Royal Highness The Regent of Perak Darul Ridzwan, that there are some uncertainties as to whether the three parties, DAP, PKR, PAS are able to work together to form a coalition, and form a stable government.

“As a consequence, His Royal Highness The Regent of Perak Darul Ridzwan has directed that the appointment and swearing in ceremony of the Menteri Besar scheduled for this afternoon be postponed.” However, the statement did not indicate when the ceremony would be held.

And this is where the waters have become even murkier, with the ruling coalition’s jackals taking full advantage of the situation by implying that the dignity of the Perak monarchy has been impinged upon by the opposition:

Meanwhile, Umno supreme Council member Datuk Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants all political parties in Perak to respect the decision by Istana Iskandariah to defer the swearing-in of the Menteri Besar.

“The decision to postpone the swearing-in must be respected by all political parties in Perak as the sultan is fully aware of the squabbling among DAP, PKR. The bickering can harm the palace’s credibility as an independent institution in the country’s political system of governance to maintain peace and harmony in the state,” he said in a statement today.

So, now things have moved from a political stance, to a racial slight, to an insult on the monarchy. Lovely, isn’t it?

Though it is highly likely that the consensus reached between the opposition coalition today will enable the swearing-in ceremony of the Menteri Besar of Perak to be conducted tomorrow, the domino effect from this will continue to resound within Perak, and most likely the other states for sometime after this.

For debunkers, please do know that while this post does express my displeasure at the actions of the opposition, it is not one that is meant to pull either DAP, PKR or PAS down in any way.

Rather, this episode should be a cautionary tale of how fragile we all really are.

Something wrong here...

2008-03-12T22:31:00.004+08:00

Saw this today. Can you tell that there's something wrong with the picture?
What do you make of it? Isn't this supposed to be a massive insult to the country?

Bangsar Police Station, time to take some pride in raising the Malaysian flag.
Terbalik la brother.

Democracy in Malaysia Still Under Siege

2008-03-11T18:21:00.005+08:00

If there was ever a day to remember, it would be Saturday, 8 March 2008. Malaysia saw its 12th General Election, and on that day, over 7 million Malaysians turned out to collectively thumb our noses at the ruling coalition with a smile on our faces.

For the opposition, this was the mandate that they were waiting for, a mandate that they had worked so hard for, and a mandate that they had deserved. Nothing anyone can say or do can change that. Because of this, the mainstream media, the election council and the ruling coalition would have the people of Malaysia think that for once, our votes counted.

Well, to some extent it did, but it was only because the ruling coalition wasn’t organized enough to defraud us all.

While many of us as sitting back right now, satisfied with the results of 12th General Election, I for one, am less than pleased. Sure, the opposition demonstrated their strongest showing ever. Sure, the opposition managed to deny the ruling coalition its two thirds majority in the Parliament. Sure, the opposition was able to wrest five states away from the ruling coalition.

But if our votes really counted, the ruling coalition would now be shattered, their ranks scattered.

By now, you are sure to have read KLConfidential’s piece titled ‘Son-In-Law’s Shit Don’t Float’ that narrates the harsh campaigning conditions that Chegubard had to face in Rembau. Is this what the mainstream media, the election council and the ruling coalition would pass off as a democratic election?

Yet even in the face of adversity, Chegubard managed to garner an impressive voter base in what the ruling coalition calls a BN stronghold -- an otherwise ‘safe seat’ for the individual that KLConfidential now fondly terms as ‘Chicken Shit’.

Furthermore, the blatant, brazen and unashamed actions of - sorry to steal your thunder here, KLC - ‘Chicken Shit’ is further supplemented in the election results for Rembau itself, as shown below (results from StarSpecial, Monday, 10 March 2008):

Turnout 48,390
Majority 5,746
Spoilt 1,089
Total voters 62,896

Wonderful, isn’t it, that the results for the constituency of Rembau - and worst yet, all of Malaysia - isn’t just based on the total turnout of voters, but is actually based on the ‘total number of voters’, whatever that means. Ahh...postal voters, the true way of democracy.

Isn’t it nice to know that there were 14,506 additional voters who actually care enough to say that they are from Rembau, even though these voters actually weren't even there, and even though Rembau by itself isn’t all that large a constituency to begin with.

No wonder it took the mainstream media so long to report the final results for the 12th General Election, even though voting stopped at 5:00pm, and counting usually stops at 8:00pm.

Touché, Election Council?

Personally, I think 'Chicken Shit' should be embarrassed to say that he won by a majority vote of only 9.1% in a 'safe seat' with all of the odds stack against Chegubard, especially with all of the ‘protection’ conferred to him by his father-in-law. But then again, 'Chicken Shit' was never one to ever show grace in the face of adversity, though honestly he wouldn’t know adversity if it slapped him upside his face.

Perhaps we shouldn't work ourselves up too much. Perchance this is only an isolated instance, after all. But then again, perhaps it is not. If you’re curious, then you should wait for KLConfidential to finish up her next post which will show you that this isn’t merely an isolated instance.

Sure we won, but democracy in Malaysia is still under siege.

Son In Law's Shit Doesn't Float

2008-03-11T15:19:00.021+08:00

Well, well, well.. what else is new? More cheating and underhanded tricks by the Son in Law.

I went to Chegubard's press conference today at the Chinese Assembly Hall and as luck would have it, I met the man who proudly proclaimed that he would literally die for Malaysia. Who would that be? That's Bernard aka Zorro. This man literally dared that 'they' can do what the hell they want to him (imprison, torture, ISA etc) and he would gladly lay his life down for this country.

Back to Chegubard. He daringly aired out the dirty tactics that were used against him during his campaign/elections by 'gangsters'.

My hometown, Rembau... what has happened? Have criminals taken over Rembau this past couple of years? Have gangsters over taken the area? Are Rembau people turning into thugs and gangsters? Have they deteriorated so much?Answer: No.

Rembau-ans reported that these were imported 'Gangsters'. Assembled in KJ Manufacturing Sdn Bhd and exported to Rembau.

You see, Khairy can't win without playing dirty. He knows it, I know it, you know it. An honorable man will fight a fair fight, but Khairy's not honorable... and his manhood is questionable.

What do I mean 'questionable manhood'?

Didn't his balls shrink when he was invited to a debate with Chegubard? Didn't he scuttle away like the rat that he is? Brother, berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah. Kalau telur besar sangat, kasi hentamlah sama itu Chegubard. Only chicken shits fight in the dark and call big brother BN to back you up.

First unfair conduct (among many):
The Chicken Shit was allowed to use any dewans or padangs that he wanted, but not Chegubard. He was refused permission. When Chegubard called the DO to question why, the answered he got was, "Because I have the power to do so."

So Chicken Shit won that one. (Some people like to eat chicken's shit ah?)

Chicken Shit even used government machineries to campaign eg. when he spoke at schools he would 'hantam' Chegubard. Wah suddenly got balls to talk ah? Oh, I forgot, Chicken Shit only has balls to talk when there's no one there to rebuke him.

Secondly:
'Imported Gangsters' stole Chegubard's campaign equipment and flags and burned/stole billboards. Rembau people noted the presence of outside gangsters.

The damning thing is, this didn't happen in other areas (as far as I know). Only happened in Rembau.. and who's contesting there? Chicken Shit. Now we all know what type of people support Chicken Shit. The lowest form of society.

Would any of you decent people do this even if you were paid to do so? Of course not. It's not honorable. That's why you don't support Chicken Shit.

For pics please visit Zorro here.

Third dirty tactic (among many):
Chicken Shit's gangsters actually stopped Chegubard from entering certain villages to campaign. They were stopped, relieved off their ICs and escorted up to Senawang toll. On top of that, Chegubard was told to 'respect' the gangsters. WTF?!

Chegubard campaigners were even stopped from entering suraus/mosques to pray (Zuhur). DOSA BESAR!! Some non-muslims may not know the implications of this but let me tell you, in Islam, to stop a person from praying is a HUGE sin. They will burn in hell. Chicken Shit supporters seem to think that he is God who will save them from hell fire. They are not afraid of the day of reckoning (akhirat).

It saddens me to think that some people will forego love of god for some Chicken Shit.

Wah wah wah...amboi amboi. Chicken Shit is so worried that the people of Rembau will hear the truth ringing in their ears that he ordered/allowed this.

Whassematter darling? Can't handle the truth?

Fourth dirty tactic:
The electoral roll was dirty and people were turned away when they wanted to vote. If the EC is to be believed, Malaysia should be in the Guinness World Records. We have the oldest person in the world smack in Rembau! Age? 200 yrs old. But you and I know that the EC is not to be believed because of RaShit. Another piece of shit.

Fifth (and most illegal) dirty tactic:
After first count, Chegubard won by a few hundred votes. (This was when the people in Lembah Pantai were cheering with me) BUT then the EC decided that there were a few more ballot boxes that they needed to count.

THESE BOXES DID NOT HAVE THE FORM 14 ACCOMPANYING THEM. THIS IS ILLEGAL. Each ballot box MUST be accompanied by a Form 14 to make it LEGAL. This verifies the division of votes in each voting stream. Ballot boxes without form 14s are ILLEGAL.

When Chegubard asked the EC officials why were these boxes without form 14, they said:
"We ran out of the forms." "Tak cukup borang."

Here the INCOMPETENCE/BIASENESS of EC shines brighter Najib's head. If it was the other way round, those ballot boxes wouldn't even be considered. But since it's for Chicken Shit, well...

Lastly, apparently Chicken Shit's campaigning costs exceeded the limit allowed by the EC.. I'm not surprised, are you? Especially when piece-of-shit RaShit is running the show.

Chegubard's closing words:

"Pertempuran ini tidak berakhir di sini dan mereka perlu menyahut cabaran saya."

That's right! Chicken Shit, since your 2 balls are not enough to face Chegubard, why don't you and Chief Chicken Shit team up against Chegubard!

We have nothing to fear from the TRUTH! If you are in the right, why the hell are you still hiding?!! Fight toe to toe, eye to eye... then we'll see who who speaks the truth.

Piece of shit.

For the low down and dirty, please visit Chegubard's blog here.

Some paras from Chegubard's blog:

Isu keganasan dan gangsterisme banyak berlaku. Teman anak muda yang turun berkempen diugut dan dikasari. Rumah calon Rantau Kak Aisah dikepung gerak gempur Umno dan beliau diugut.

and

Banyak laporan mengenai sikap sombong Khairy. contohnya ada laporan ketika dia melawat Pasar Malam Kota ada peniaga keropok yang sedang sibuk mengoreng keropok dan tidak bersalam dengan dia telah ditarik lesenya, saya telah meminta petugas kempen menghubungi peniaga itu untuk mengesahkan khabar laporan.

Just a 4 liner..

2008-03-10T13:53:00.004+08:00

Kicking ass is always fun... isn't it? Even with the cheating and tampering..

Hurray!

Now back to work... Barisan Rakyat has 5 years to campaign. And the only way to do that is by doing their job. Time for talking is over. Now is the time for DOING.

Thank you so much Malaysia!

BN Manifesto 2004...A Trail of Broken Promises

2008-03-04T16:03:00.007+08:00

Five days to go. It's been well over 4 years since our friend Dole-lah took to the throne of this god-forsaken kingdom. We have no one else to blame but ourselves for handing over the keys to our treasures to a thief.. and an incompetent thief too. Now the question is, will we choose to forget his trickeries and his lies? Are we going to allow ourselves to forget his utter hopelessness and his manipulations?

Of course not. Because you have me to remind you.

Ladies and gentlemen, please find below a copy of the 2004 BN Manifesto. Go through it and remember it.. especially when you are casting your votes. Essentially, you are choosing to either be the fool who lets himself be lied to (many times over) simply because he can 'live' ('cari makan') OR be a person who has a strong back bone, who stands up for his fellow man, who will not tolerate injustices done to himself or to his neighbor.

Choose wisely. Let's not think of only ourselves but think of yourself as part of a big family. You may be living in comfort but think of your neighbor. Do you care for him? Do you care if your non-bumi friends are not being given the same opportunities they deserve based on their merits? Do you care for your malay, chinese and indian friends who are being lied to blatantly?

Do you care for the truth? Do you care for fairness and accountability? Do you care if a crook/criminal gets away with stealing your money?

If you do, I thank god for you.

If you don't, god help us all. You may be the reason why these crooks/criminals are given the power to open everybody's purses and steal their hard earned money. You share the blame.

I love you. I love you with all my heart. I don't have the heart to see you being lied to. I can't stand it when an injustice is being done to you. I don't see your color, race or religion, I see you as my brothers and sisters. I wish so much for you, for us. I know you deserve better than these lies. I know you deserve the truth. We can be a better people as individuals and as a nation.

You are actually more beautiful than you really think. You are kind, caring and honest. That is the most beautiful thing in the world. I want the world to see you for who you really are and not who BN thinks you should be. I want you to stand up for me too. Because I know you love me as well.

Let's remember what we were promised in 2004 and why we voted for this lying feeble old man to be our premier.

Let's go through it one by one. Please indulge me.

1. BN ensures that no group is neglected or left behind, and that each citizen has a stake in nation-building.
Malays, Chinese and Indians are left behind. Only the cronies have a stake in nation 'building'.

2. BN ensures that each community is represented in line with the practice of genuine power sharing.
Genuine power sharing. MIC & MCA & Gerakan are UMNO hamba abdi. Running dogs. What 'genuine' power sharing? What representation do we have?

3. BN will continue to promote peace, prosperity and harmony among all Malaysians.
Is that why Hishamudin waved around his keris and said that it will be covered in the blood of the chinese?

4. BN gives priority to national unity and will ensure one system of government for all Malaysians.
National unity is the furthest thing on their minds when they keep on threatening the people with a repeat of the events on May 13 1969.

5. BN addresses your needs by combating corruption and enhancing the quality of government services.
What about the Zakaria scandal? What about the PKFZ scandal? What about the damn Lingam scandal? Why did we have to protest/rally, for you to f#$%ing form an independent commission?

6. BN cares about your needs and will seek your views on important issues.
They did not seek my views when they changed the law on muslim women. They did not seek my views on the Rashid memo. They did not seek my views on the racial issues. They tear gassed me.

7. BN recognises all groups including young people, women and rural folk as national assets. All must be involved in nation building.
That's why they take away our rights. Because we are just 'assets' not thinking, feeling beings.

8. I am the No.1 public servant.
On 10 November 2007, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi uttered the words "Saya pantang dicabar" (The Sun, Saturday November 10, 2007: Reject demos and use polls, PM urges public) when it was apparent that the bad press against the BERSIH march could not be enforced. So who is the servant here? Him, or us? If he cannot be challenged, then are we by default the challenged ones.

Right. You are No 1 public servant. You were busy opening your relative's Nasi Kandar shop in Australia when Johor was hit by the floods. Ya, I'm so retarded I believe you.

9. BN upholds the diversity of religious practice, language and culture.
On 24 January 2008, an unconfirmed report was was published stating that between 22 January 2006 to 13 June 2007 (a duration of one year and four months), a total of 79 hindu temples in Malaysia were demolished. Uhuh, I'm so dumb I believe you.

10. BN will nurture humanitarian values and civic consciousness.
On 10 September 2007, an opposition rally at Batu Burok was violently disbanded with 7 people injured - 2 with gunshot wounds - when 500 policemen descended on the rally.
On 10 November 2007, the BERSIH call for free and fair elections rally was violently disbanded - with numerous arrests - when 1000 policemen and FRU officers used tear gas and (chemical laced) water cannons.
On 27 November 2007, the Hindraf rally which highlighted the plight of minority Indian were treated likewise.
On December 09, 2007, the government declared it illegal for the Malaysian Bar Council to have a Human Rights Day Walk, even though this was an annual event.
Nuff' said. (Humanitarian values and civic consciousness, it seems)

11. Everyone has a stake and a voice in Malaysia under BARISAN NASIONAL.
I have a stake but my voice is not heard. In fact they try to silence people like me. Oh, I guess I don't come UNDER Barisan Nasional (nobody owns my balls). People actually fear being arrested for their views.

● BARISAN NASIONAL is strongly committed to Parliamentary democracy, which gives each citizen a say in the administration of this nation.
Again, I did not have a say. They are not commited to parliamentary democracy when they arrested the people who went to parliament to hand over a memorandum protesting Rashid's extention. 'Committed' my gangrene infested toe nail.

● BARISAN NASIONAL safeguards the interests of all citizens. We listen to and act on the hopes and aspirations of all groups regardless of age, gender, ethnic background and religion.
Oh yeah? Then abolish the NEP and treat us equally. Give all races a fair deal. BN politicians themselves have said "I am not interested" on many occasions. Especially the peeps from the PM's office. They don't l'isten to and act on', the sequence is like this: first they ignore, after that tear gas and water cannon, then deny, after that ignore some more.... and THEN do something positive about it, IF EVER.

● BARISAN NASIONAL calls upon all groups to participate in nation-building. Young people, women and rural folk in particular, make up a large proportion of the population. They must be given the opportunities to participate and contribute.
I'm a young person and I'm female. I would have to bribe my way through to 'participate'. So the 'call to participate' is just shit that doesn't float. Like Melayu Lama says, "That shit don't float, man."

12. BARISAN NASIONAL will continue to promote peace, stability and harmony among all Malaysians.
Yep, by dividing us into racial groups and threatening us with civil war. Some genius.

● All ethnic groups are represented in the BARISAN NASIONAL. Power sharing is genuine, along with a strong spirit of togetherness and ‘give and take’.
Power sharing? Oh, among the cronies, you mean? Barisan Nasional's modus operandi is to ignore the smaller voices. And like they said before, 'only the majority matter'. Again, what genius democracy. You have to go to school in the most prestigious tree school to learn this 'rare' form of democracy.

● Islam is accorded its rightful position as the official religion of Malaysia. We believe in a tolerant and progressive Islam. Freedom to worship other religions is guaranteed by the Constitution.
Firstly, there is no 'a tolerant and progressive Islam'. Kepala hotak la. How many versions/types of Islam do they have? They were just trying to get Kelantanese votes by playing the religion card. Insinuating that there is another type of Islam is HERESY. People like them give Islam a bad name. Rasuah ambik, tapi babi haraaaaammm...podah!Cit!

Freedom to worship other religions? Does Lina Joy ring a bell?

● There will be one system of government for all people. We will not tolerate divisiveness from extremism.
Extremism. Funny, they used that word. I think banning the word 'Allah', Baitullah, Kaabah from non muslims is extreme. Don't you?

● We respect the separation of powers provided under the Constitution, with each institution – the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary – playing their respective roles to ensure a system of checks and balances and the rule of law.
On 19 September 2007, the country was rocked by the tainting of the Judiciary by the Executive branches of the country in what is now termed as the Lingam-Gate scandal. Not withstanding its possible ramifications, the government did nothing to pursue it and denied any possible alluding that there was substance to the Lingam-Gate scandal.

On 25 September, the Haidar Panel was set up, but was infamously termed as 'toothless' because of its obvious shortcomings. On 13 December 2007, the Haidar Commission was set up, and to date is still continuing its 'investigation' on the matter.

So what 'separation of powers' are they talking about when the Executive institution meddles with the Judicial institution? The Judiciary should not be under the control of the Executives. They are separate.

● We believe in fair and equitable sharing of the fruits of economic growth. Development must benefit all areas of the country and all groups. Those in need will continue to receive support. No group will be left behind.
Uhuh... and you do this when? Every 5 years.. during elections. Even then, BN manipulated the statistics to make themselves look good (eg. poverty rates). Lying to yourself and lying to the people. How nice.

Fair and equitable sharing of the fruits of economic growth.. oooo..is that why contractors who screwed up still receive more and more projects? That's why they paid more than RM500 for a screw driver? It's sharing right? Sharing 'commission' la. Like they say in UMNO, "Kalau buat kerja bukan kerana ikhlas, tetapi kerana E-Class."
Oh, and don't forget about the 'fair' and 'equitable' NEP. .

13. Your opinions and views continue to matter as BARISAN NASIONAL endeavours to implement people centred policies.
Riiiigghhttt. More like, "We only listen to praise and a$$ kissing but we tear gas those who criticize us as we endeavor to implement UMNO crony centred policies."

To address your need for better services and more accountable government, BARISAN NASIONAL will: ● Continue the all-out campaign against corruption, without fear or favour.
On 28 February 2007, former senior Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officer Mohamad Ramli Manan has accused the ACA's Director-General Zulkipli Mat Noor of corrupt practices.
On 24 August 2007, 37 charges against Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros and five of his business partners were dropped.

● Make National Schools the school of choice through quality improvements, including better teaching of mother tongue languages, as well as safeguard the position of national-type schools today. - Foster student interaction to enhance national unity. - Improve the working environment for teaching professionals. - Enhance higher education institutions to produce high calibre graduates.

They do this by banning students from having political opinions, by making our students so unmarketable because of their inability to speak English (the most common language used internationally) and by making our universities fall so low in the international rankings. We have so many low quality universities and not even one that we can be proud of. Malu with Singapore. High calibre graduates? Ask any HR personnel and listen to them bitch about the local grads.

I'm just generalizing here, there ARE good marketable graduates, but the education system is as such that we are creating more mules than tigers. Oh, and the matriculation (matrikulasi) crap is just to delay the grads from entering the job market. It's a delay tactic to lower the unemployment rate.

Also, when you think about it, in other countries, you can graduate by age 21 and actually get somewhere up the ladder by age 24. In Malaysia, we start work at 24 or 25, and are still nowhere at age 30. Because the economy is not growing in tangent with the rise of labour.
Ah, this deserves an entire different post.. too much to say.

● Improve the application of Syariah law in the country, and ensure Muslim women have recourse to a fair and just legal system.
On 28 December 2005, an amendment was passed to the the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2005 of Malaysia which:
1. Made polygamy easier
2. Increase a Muslim husband’s power to divorce
3. Enabled a Muslim husband to lay financial claims on the woman’s property
4. Removed a Muslim husband’s responsibility of maintenance in cases of polygamy or divorce
5. Enabled a Muslim husband to claim 'harta sepencarian' from his wife or existing wives, in cases of polygamy or divorce.

● Continue to promote a culture of zero-tolerance for corruption.
Zero tolerance... wow... big words from BN. Say that to Zakaria Deros, hollywood mansion guy.

● Introduce a code of ethics and integrity for the public and private sector, political parties and civil society.
You mean the piece of shit 'Islam Hadhari' code of ethics? That flimsy piece of paper you plagiarized?

● Nurture a more open and participative society, working together with NGOs.
What did Nazri mean when he said he will treat the Bar Council like NGOs? I guess he meant that he'll treat them like 3rd class citizens la. Open and participative society? Working together with NGOs? Oh, I get it, only when they kiss your a$$ and not when they have anything smart to say.
I'm such an idiot, I believe you.

● Improve the gender sensitivity of the police force.
Well, this is true. They deployed soooo many women cops during the March of the Roses during valentine's. How sensitive.

● Improve responsiveness to the public's complaints and concerns.
Go to the police station to report a robbery(or anything) and the policeman will either: (a) refuses to take the report, (b)tries to discourage you from making a report asks you what do you expect him to do with this report or (c) tells you not to expect anything to be solved after lodging the report.

"With this resolve, we will convince the people, through example and concrete proof, to continue to support the BARISAN NASIONAL government towards realising the hopes and aspirations of the Malaysian people."

I see NO EXAMPLE AND NO CONCRETE PROOF as promised.

This was BNs 2004 Election Manifesto. Don't be suckers, guys. Show that you care! Vote wisely and please think of long term consequences. Let's not be a stagnant country... let's make our own choices and let's be dynamic. Our government serves US. We are important. They NEED us.

Let's get back a caring society. Let's give a shit about each other. Let's give a shit about this country. Let's give a shit about our future. Don't let race and religion divide us.

I GIVE A SHIT.

Without BN

2008-03-04T13:46:00.002+08:00

What do you think?
I'm planning to make another song but don't know what song la.
Any suggestions anyone?

Campaign of Roses: A Child’s Plea Ignored

2008-02-19T12:07:00.007+08:00

On Saturday, 16 February 2007, the ruling coalition did the unthinkable. In response to a 5-year old child’s plea, a barrage of tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse 200 children and a like number of supporters from gathering and voicing themselves.

Little Vwaishhnniva Moorthy Ponnusamy wanted little more than to see the man who signed the detention letter of the 5 ISA detainees, so that she could give him a bouquet of red and yellow roses.

However, come Saturday morning, our august premier was nowhere to be seen.

This is not to say that little Vwaishhnniva’s plea fell on deaf ears. If anything, the response to her letter was rather overwhelming. Roadblocks were set up as early as the night before. Not only that, a total of 31 roads was cordoned off, especially roads leading to the parliament. Over 1,000 police and FRU personnel were deployed, who kindly decided due to the overwhelming threat of 200 children, to quash the rally with water cannons and tear gas.

It was truly a reception that any Malaysian 5-year old would expect from their Prime Minister.

Where was our premier during all of this, you may ask? Well, our Prime Minister took the moral low…erm…I mean moral high ground by refusing to become involved with what he termed as “something bad” which could “hinder the election process”, as stated in the following article:

(The Star, Sunday February 17, 2008) PM: Rally bad for polls

YAN: Stern action will be taken against those who try to create chaos before the general election, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Commenting on the illegal rally by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, he said the organisers had made a mockery of the democratic process by staging an illegal rally after the elections had been called.

Such rallies will only create fear among the voters, he noted.

Perhaps it is too bold of me, but what exactly is our most august of premiers saying? If he was saying that this was held with the expressed purpose of disrupting the general elections, he should perhaps check his facts before making any more eyebrows rise up in wonder.

Note to our premier: I heard through less than reliable sources - the Star and the NST - that you decided to dissolve the parliament 13 February 2007 and call for the election to be on 8 March 2007, with the blessings of our Agong. I also heard through more reliable sources – bloggers and blogsites - that little Vwaishhnniva sent her letter to you either on or before 23 January 2007, a full ten days before you dissolved the parliament.

Indeed, from these dates, it is clear to everyone with one leg and half a brain that little Vwaishhnniva purposely picked Saturday, 16 February 2007 with the expressed purpose of disrupting the general elections and causing widespread public public fear using flowers, even though it is clear that neither she - nor her guardians for that matter - would know when you would dissolve parliament.

Bravo, my dear chap. Thank you for clearing up your stand on this. I can now see how this child conspired to make a ‘mockery’ of your democratic process.

Come to think about it, that entire paragraph is rather obtuse, isn’t it? Call me strange, but perhaps you could tell me how is it possible that you can string a sentence using the words “made a mockery of the democratic process” and “an illegal rally” without sounding like an uneducated megalomaniac.

Ah, yes. Too late for that.

Abdullah also slammed those who brought children to such emotionally-charged rallies.

“If it is true they are using children to put pressure to get what they want, then it is regrettable for they are placing children in danger,” he said.

Now if I get this right, this means that you didn’t get the letter that little Vwaishhnniva sent to you, did you? After all, you didn’t even know that it was a possibility that children could be present at the rally, did you?

I don’t know about you, Mr Prime Minister, but I think someone’s been reading your mail, and not passing it on. And if I were you, I wouldn’t be very happy about it, especially since everyone and their second niece (twice removed) seems to have read that letter except for you.

What was it that was enshrined in your Manifesto back in 2004? Something supposedly about 'I’m Your No. 1 Public Servant? Right-o. If you say so. But it has to be rather hard to be a public servant if you don’t even read your mail, don’t you think so?

Personally, I understand it if you don’t know what’s going on within the very country you are suppose to govern. Nothing wrong with that. A lot of third rate leaders out there haven’t the foggiest notion of what their citizens really want, or what they are going through.

But it is quite offensive when you’re in the dark about things when someone bothered to write a letter, lick a stamp and send it to your office, especially when that letter is coming from a 5-year old girl.

Sure, it has political implications. But for goodness sake, if you really want to look at it, everything has political implications! Are you that naive to think otherwise? Do you really think that officiating your son-in-law’s boutique is something devoid of political implications?

Let me put it this way.

If an Israeli 5-year old girl was to try to see the Palestinian Prime Minister to give him flowers, or vice versa, what do you think should have been done? And don't forget to ask yourself this, is that devoid of political implications? And what do you think you would have done?

Don’t bother answering. I really don’t think I want to know the answer.

Did They Manipulate The Poverty Statistics in Malaysia?

2008-02-13T22:21:00.008+08:00

Co-written with KLConfidential

It is comforting to know that for all its faults, the ruling coalition is at least committed to the eradication of poverty within Malaysia, hardcore or otherwise. At least, that is the message our government is communicating to the masses via the main stream media:

(The Star, Monday January 28, 2008): The percentage of hardcore poor in the country has decreased to 0.7% last year from 1.2% in 2004, according to initial statistics from the Economic Planning Unit's household income survey last year.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this is an indication that the Government's plan to eradicate hardcore poverty would be achieved sooner than the target year of 2010.

However, one does wonder about the depth our government’s commitment towards the eradication of this social scourge, especially in light of another article published about this topic in which the following excerpt was reproduced:

(The Star, Wednesday January 30, 2008): Tackling poverty cuts across racial and religious lines and the Government’s target of eradicating the problem in 18 years is achievable, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

When compared to the first article, the second article states that the ruling coalition plans to eradicate poverty in 2026, indicating a 16 year gap between two articles that were less than 2 days apart.

Sort of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
KLC: Not really. Has the ruling coalition ever been consistent with us? I do however, wonder at their creativity. How do you manage to get that creative yet still maintain a state of utter idiocy?

Naturally, there are ‘excuses’ to be made. The omission of the word ‘hardcore’ in the second article may indicate a different measurement, and as such, a different date. Also, poverty levels are represented differently in Sabah and Sarawak than it is in Peninsular Malaysia.

However, the difference between the two articles piqued my interest, and with a little digging, I came up with some rather disquieting commentaries from various articles.

Can You Live Below the Poverty Line Income?

Throughout the world, poverty is measured by the Poverty Line Income (PLI). Those earning below this line are considered poor. In Malaysia, it was said that the ‘unofficial’ poverty line income in 2004 for an average family was set at RM540 per month.

Not per individual, mind you, but per family.

Perhaps it is a stretch, but given the assumption that most children have two parents, this roughly equates to an income of RM270 per parent for two dependents, or a grand sum of RM540 for 3 dependents, assuming of course that this is meant for a family of only four.

This delineation sparked a commentary from Wikipedia titled Poverty in Malaysia that reads:

The official figure for urban poverty is given as 2%; critics have argued that this significantly underestimates urban poverty, as the poverty line is set at RM500 per month for a family of four — a monthly income which has been argued is unrealistically low for a family of four to meet its needs. A survey of Kuala Lumpur has suggested that about a quarter of the population lives in squatter settlements, which commentators like Bakri Musa have argued is a more reasonable estimate of the poverty rate.

Today, the Ninth Malaysia Plan under our current administration ‘officially’ defines families earning less than RM663 in Peninsula Malaysia, RM 881 in Sabah and RM777 in Sawarak as poor. Those who are categorized as hardcore’ poor, God forbid, actually earns somewhere below that line.
KLC: Eeeh. RM 663 for 4 people? That would be RM 165.75 per person/month. That’s not ‘poor’ to me, that’s ‘hardcore poor’.

For goodness sake, the government is actually saying that families need to earn less than RM663 per month for the government to actually say they’re poor in today’s economy.

Perhaps it is too forward of me to suggest this, but given the fact that wages have an odd way of increasing over time, could it not be construed that the so called eradication of poverty can be attributed to a functioning global economy rather than any overt attempt of our government?

And our government is proud to tell us that this gap is reducing?
KLC: This is not taking into account variables like inflation, you know? Our government is proud of everything shallow. The BN government takes credit for things that they have no hand in. BUT they refuse to take responsibility when they screw up. That sort of sums it up, me thinks.

In today’s economy, I would consider anyone earning less than that sum to be destitute, not just poor.
KLC: Damn straight. Just a suggestion, why don’t we get THEM to live with RM 1000 a month? Then we tell them they don’t count as ‘poor’? Would be interesting to see their reactions, wouldn’t it? I suspect there’ll be a lot noise coming from that direction. On the other hand, maybe that will teach them to manage the country’s finances more wisely. One can but wish.

Did Someone Tweak the Poverty Line Income?

Even worse, in his speech titled ‘Poverty’, Mr Lim Kit Siang commented that the official poverty line income calculation used by our government was deliberately skewed to shed a favourable light on the government’s efforts to eradicate poverty:

I can only conclude that these methodologies were rejected by the EPU in favor of its own definitions and methods with the sole aim of producing the “feel good” effects from low estimates of the poor. This is an insult to the poor in that we are unable to generate true and accurate estimates.

And he does have a point. In his speech, he pointed out that the methodology used to calculate the poverty line income was not consistent with the international standards used by the World Bank or the UNDP, which does make one wonder about the validity of the data.

And this was not the first time that such an accusation about this was made. In 2004, a similar critique was voiced from Aliran Monthly in an article titled Has Malaysia really eradicated poverty?:

Generally speaking, the poverty rate can be lowered by two methods. The first is by raising the income of the poorer families to above the poverty line. The second method, and undoubtedly the easier option, is to lower the poverty line itself!

This is of course a controversial accusation, but it does have some merit.
KLC: Liars, the lot of them. The government spends more than RM 663 on a screw driver. What gave you the idea that they actually cared about the poor? I’m glad I don’t have to deal with their stinking bullshit every year. It has an uncanny ability of surfacing every 5 years, have you realised? Something about the elections, I guess.

Based on the Ninth Malaysia Plan, in 1977, your family would be considered poor if your earnings in Peninsular Malaysia were less than RM543/family. Today, it is assumed that your family is poor if your earnings in Peninsular Malaysia are less than RM663/family.
KLC: Those poor people. The body which is most capable of helping them is too busy helping themselves. Why can’t they build their people first and send a guy to orbit later? RM543 in 1977 may be do-able but RM 663 in today’s times is just too damn low.

Isn’t it is nice to know that our government takes into consideration 28 years of inflation and works it out to an increment of RM120 per month for a family to subsist on?
KLC: That’s an average of 0.7% per year. Of course they take it into consideration. Just not for the benefit of the poor. Have you noticed, we tend to go ‘over budget’ for all our projects? Ah, it’s inflation, prices of goods go up, you know.

This is rather distressing to note, especially in light of the following claims by Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop of our increasing affluence:

(Sunday February 10, 2008): Malaysians from all walks of life are better off now than four years ago. Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the country’s per capita income had risen by 40% between 2004 and 2007, from RM15,819 (US$4,163) to RM22,345 (US$6,452).

This claim is of course one that has to be taken with more than a mountain of salt, especially in light of our ruling coalition’s tendency to inflate numbers, as shown by the article Busted! The Myth of the Rising Per Capita Income.

But if we were to take the above statement as God’s truth – shame on Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop if he didn’t get his facts right - then the per capita income of the ‘average’ family of four should be RM7,448 per month.
KLC: Then how come my family doesn’t earn that much? How come my friend’s family doesn’t earn that much? We are ‘average’ families, we’re sure. Oh, and we all live in KL, you know… not Machang or Batang Berjuntai or something. Suffer, man.

Compare this with the poverty line income set by our government, and there are quite a few unavoidable questions that crop up, not just about poverty, but about income distribution as a whole.

Improving the Poverty Line Income?

One of the ways to eradicate poverty is through income distribution. At least, that is the way our government looks at it. Distribute the income between ethnic groups, and distribute income between city and rural areas, and most of the problems will be solved.

Or so they say.

However, there has been severe criticism as to the policies within the Ninth Malaysia Plan to address the issue of poverty and income distribution.

While the our nation has seen an economic growth of 5.9% from 2004 to 2007, this growth has sadly been channelled in a less than desirable manner, with – pardon my use of a well worn cliché - the poor becoming poorer, while the rich are becoming richer.

Mr Lim Kit Siang’s has also elaborated on this, stating in this speech:

The (Ninth Malaysia) Plan acknowledges the fact that income distribution has worsened with the bottom 40 percent of households receiving 13.5 percent of total income - deteriorating from 14.0% in 2000, whilst the top 20 percent saw an INCREASE in their share from 50.5 percent to 51.2 percent (of total income) in the same period…

…The 2004 UNDP Human Development Report reveals that Malaysia has the worst income distribution pattern in this region, with the richest 10 per cent controlling 38.4 per cent of the total income while the poorest 10 per cent has only 1.7 per cent. These data are sobering and cry out for an explanation.

Am I cheeky enough to suggest that the Ninth Malaysia Plan is full of holes? Of course not. To do so would be detrimental to one’s health. But that does seem to be what some people have been implying.
KLC: I’m not implying this. I am STATING this.

Look at it this way, if I earn RM100 and you earn RM1, when we look for an average income, it is RM50/person.

This is essentially where the 9MP is manipulating. Notice how the UNDP compares 10% of richest to 10% of poorest? This levels out the playing field. Whereas the 9MP is comparing between 20% of richest with 40% of poorest. Sounds fair to you? 9MP should have compared 20% rich : 20% poor. This would make a little bit more accurate. But then accuracy is not their aim here, is it?

While I may be an idealist, I do know that the problems of poverty are myriad, and there are no clear solutions to it in the short run.

However, from what I have ascertained, many of the actions that our government has been tooting their horn about in its quest to eradicate this social scourge has been less than satisfactory, making a mockery of their claims to be a government that is supposedly “for the people” of this proud nation.

Don’t just take it from me. Wiser heads than mine have suggested that the policies underlying the Ninth Malaysia Plan have been poorly thought out, as shown by the following article by a Research Fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER):

To take another example, the 9MP states: "Besides poverty eradication efforts, the focus of distributional strategies and programmes will be on the creation of a bigger and more prosperous Bumiputera middle-income group through human capital development". One wonders: Is the focus really to erase inter and intra-ethic income disparities? Or is the emphasis on the creation of a more comfortable middle-income group of Bumiputera? Is the focus on the most-disadvantaged or the nondisadvantaged?

In fact, Chapter 16, entitled "Achieving Growth with Distribution", appears to swing hither and thither in the objectives that it wants achieved. It is at one time dedicated to the cause of eradicating poverty, at another committed to removing inter-ethnic income disparities, and fairly often resigned to the objective of increasing intra-ethnic income disparities…

...Again, it is uncertain if the targeted group is the disadvantaged Bumiputera or the middle-income (or upper-income?) Bumiputera. The 9MP claims that it will seek to assist in the greater participation of Bumiputera in new growth areas such as ICT, photonics, biotechnology and nanotechnology. Surely, this has little to do with the rural Bumiputera, much less with those whose incomes are hovering above the poverty line and whose educational backgrounds have little science and technology content.

KLC: If I earn RM663 per month for my family, I wouldn’t be able to support my kids in Uni because I would need them to contribute to the household. Then, my kid wouldn’t be able to tell between nanotechnology and their own backsides (considering our oh-so-excellent education system).
So are they dangling this ‘assistance’ in front of my face just to annoy me or to mock me?

If you find this article a bit confusing, I urge you to read it again. Took me twice to really geddit. Suffice it to say, I find this bit of info more than a little perplexing.

It is shocking to know that your GOVERNMENT actually came up with this flimsy plan (9MP), it is insulting that they felt it suitable to be presented to you (the people) and it is ultimately embarrassing to know that all it takes is a healthy sneeze to take down this humiliating house of cards.

Please don’t vote for these bozos this time around. Please. Let’s try on some new clothes. They might just fit better.

Protes: "There Is No Democracy..."

2008-01-29T21:26:00.000+08:00

The following was published on MSN on January 26, 2007 in regards to the Protes rally that was recently held in front of KLCC:

Malaysian police on Saturday detained dozens of people including a journalist at the capital's iconic Petronas Twin Towers, as they clamped down on an anti-government protest.

Up to 50 people, including many from opposition parties, were hauled away in police trucks. As they were driven off some shouted "Reformasi" or "Reform" which was the catchcry of dissident former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

The protest -- the latest in an unprecedented series of street rallies -- had been aimed at highlighting public anger over rising prices of food and fuel, ahead of elections expected to be held in March.

Police, who had warned the protest was illegal, turned out in their hundreds to disperse the gathering of about 100 people at the Twin Towers, which were barricaded and under heavy guard.

"We're not causing any problems, we're just saying that prices are going up and the poor are hurting," Socialist Party of Malaysia chairman Mohamed Nasir told AFP before he was taken away by police.

"The leadership is paranoid, there's no democracy," he said.

Indeed, let’s be honest with ourselves. There is no democracy.

It wasn’t too long ago that Malaysians were treated to the sentence ‘We are a democracy’ being spouted from various yawning orifices of our more prominent of ministers. From Datuk Mohamed Nazri to Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, this word was thrown around quite lightly without due regard on what it really meant.

With the general elections drawing close, I feel that it is important that we revisit this topic, because if we don’t even know where we’re supposed to be standing, how on earth will we know where we’re supposed to be heading?

To start, let’s look at what the word ‘democracy’ really means. Taken from the Greek words demos, meaning people, and krateo, meaning rule; the literal translation of the word democracy is ‘rule of the people’. It should be note that the ‘rule of the people’, is applied to all of the people.

Remember that, guys. Not just some of the people, not even most of the people, but all the people.

Unfortunately, our ruling coalition does not quite seem to be able to grasp this definition, probably because most of those who populate its ranks have an average IQ of about 55, and are thusly eligible for handicapped parking at Tesco.

So when the ruling party quotes to the masses and the international media that our country is a democracy merely because it has been elected by a majority mandate, it is obvious that our government is not perpetuating a democracy, but rather a fiction of one.

Think about it. If a democracy is to represent all of the people, then elections are a rather undemocratic way of setting up a democratic government, isn’t it? After all, there has never been – and if I may add, there never will be - a democratic government that has been elected with a 100% mandate from the people.

Does this mean that democracy as a theory of governance is a farce? Hardly.

Governments elected from a mandate of the majority can be constituted as a democratic government if - and only if - it recognizes and protects the basic rights of each and every citizen it claims to govern.

And it is here that our ruling coalition seems to have lost the thread of democratic observances. Once a government respects these rights, as enshrined by various constitutions in various nations, then - and only then - can a government derive its powers from consent of those it governs.

In the Ethics of Democracy, Louis F. Post notes that there are two classes of rights in human society; those pertaining to individual rights (self governance), and those pertaining to the community rights. It is surprisingly natural that many individuals believe that the rights of the community supersede that of the rights of the individual.

The perpetuation of this belief perhaps lies with the perception that individual rights are often seen as anarchist. But as stated within Robert Clancy’s adaptation of this:

"Self government implies that as to individual rights individuals shall govern themselves, free from all governmental interference, upon the sole condition that they respect the individual rights of other individuals - and that as to community rights, each individual shall have a voice, and that the majority vote shall be taken as the corporate expression. But even the majority vote cannot deprive individuals of their rights."

Those rights include the right to gather together and protest.

Many – including our ruling coalition - mistakenly hold that the rights of the community supplant that of the rights of the majority. In regards to this, many a Star Trek fan is able to quote a particularly memorable line about this from the movie ‘Wrath of Khan’, where Spock said:

"Were I to invoke logic, however, logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

That demarcation of self sacrifice is often quoted as a delineating line for many a government that claims to be a democracy, but it is one that is ultimately flawed. After all, we are not talking about killing one’s self to save an entire Starship from being blown up in a space soap opera.

However, our government is quite fond of reinforcing this belief, as the ruling coalition is often seen as taking the stance that the views of the minority should not be given any weight as they have been given the mandate by the majority, even though they themselves do not have a clue about what the views of the majority are.

If the ruling coalition is truly ignorant of the fact that their supposed mandate by the majority is merely a fiction boggles the mind. If the ruling coalition does understand this, but continues with their single-minded perpetuation and systematic abuse of this fiction is just another form of tyrannical domination of the masses.

In his article, How Do We Measure the Will of the People?, Professor Jack Balkin commented about this by saying:

"…'the will of the people' is a legal and political fiction. Real people do have real desires and real values. And when the state ignores them and oppresses them, that oppression is real too. Yet the 'will of the people' that politicians are constantly prattling on about does not precede the political process. Rather, it is constructed by that process."

Do you hear that, you prats? If you don’t, then let me put it in the simplest of layman’s terms: As representatives of the people, you’re expendable.

Add to this, the fact that there are claims from some quarters that the process – that is, the electoral system – is flawed and has been abused (curtailed for political mileage, if you know what they mean), then I for one would like to question our government’s claims as to the validity of us being a true democracy.

Given the fact that our ruling coalition no longer recognizes 'the voice of the people' is self evident in the manner it is demonizes the BERSIH and the Hindraft rallies, and now the Protes rally, it can no longer say that is exerts ‘the will of the people’, but rather its own self serving delusions in its desire to maintain its status quo as the ruling coalition.

As artfully capped by Robert Clancy:

"The equality of all people is the tap-root of democracy. Not equality in size, strength, intellect or will, but that all are endowed with equal rights, with inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“No form of government has any right to coerce an individual regarding his or her individual concerns. Such coercion is an invasion, an aggression, and it does not cease to be such because the invader is a government instead of an individual, or a mob."

Md Zin, His Arrogance, Hadhari & the word Allah

2008-01-21T20:22:00.000+08:00

Let me tell you what little I know of this man.

Although the reason I started this blog was to air my own views. I would encourage you to decide your own opinion of him.

My view?
This man is publicity hungry. He cannot let anything or anyone outdo him :D (Purely my own humble opinion, you don't have to agree with me).

2005

Just Perfect.
In 2005, Zin came to the headlines when he declared the amendment to the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Bill 2005 'perfect'.

Prime Minister’s Department, Abdullah Md Zin, has declared the Bill “perfect” and “without comparison among all countries in the world”. (Berita Harian, Wednesday, 28 December 2005.)

What's the big deal, you ask? Well, in 2005 the Upper House of the Malaysian Parliament passed the Bill amendment unanimously despite it being extremely damaging to women. How they did it? They were sneaky about it. It was done without any due consideration to the many voices against it and also without transparency. (Sound familiar to you? Think of Rashid, EC chairman.)

And Zin, being the 'ultimate authority' in Islam in this country, said that the amendment was 'perfect'.

Details of the five clauses of the Bill that were objected to were:

1. Making polygamy easier by amending the existing condition of “just and necessary” to “just or necessary”.

2. Increasing the husband’s power to divorce by extending fasakh - judicial order for dissolution of marriage - to the husband as well. The provision for fasakh previously granted women 12 grounds for divorce. The amendment to this is discriminatory because the husband still retains his unilateral right to divorce (talak) anywhere, anytime without reason, and even through sms.

3. Enabling husbands to prevent the disposition of property by a wife or former wife, in order to protect the husband or former husband’s financial claims on the woman’s property. This amendment, already adopted in Johor state, has led to our first case of a husband obtaining a court order to freeze the bank accounts of his wife in order to claim matrimonial property.

4. Removing the husband’s responsibility of maintenance in cases of polygamy or divorce. A new section forces the wife of her polygamous husband to choose, as alternatives, either to apply for order of maintenance or to apply for order of division on joint matrimonial property (harta sepencarian).

5. Enabling the husband to claim harta sepencarian from his wife or existing wives, in cases of polygamy or divorce.

Read the issue from Sisters In Islam here.

In reality Islam actually protects the rights of women. Yes folks, believe it or not. Whatever misconceptions some people have, in my opinion, Islam actually protects women's rights. But Zin, being such an authority on Islam, is agreeing to 'improve' Islam by robbing women of their rights and passing it along to the men.

I guess this is the idea of Islam Hadhari huh? To improve an existing religion which prides itself on being untampered since it first began. Fantastic.

2006

Arrogance.
In mid 2006, the Perak Mufti came out on TV3 and said that there is a concern regarding the large number of Muslim apostates (murtad) numbering up to 100,000 in Malaysia as reported by an NGO. Next, TV3 interviewed Zin who is Minister in PMs department (in charge of 'religious affairs').. Zin's response to the Perak Mufti?

"...Siapa dia?....Dia yang perlu menjawab pada saya....Sekarang ni, siapa yang besar, dia atau saya?..."
(Who does he think he is?...He is answerable to me... Now, who is bigger (powerful), him or me?...")

On top of that, Zin even said that there is no need for him to go and meet the Mufti because the Mufti should be the one approaching him, considering his ranking now.

Muahahahahahaha! I laughed my head off! He really belongs in UMNO. Such display of arrogance and idiocy is so becoming of an UMNO member. This man, throws around his position and rank when talking about matters of religion. Listen, I am a Muslim, but I don't have to be one to find this sort of behavior disgusting.

You know what? He probably felt smart saying it, too.

My point here is his arrogance. A good leader will listen to his subjects first, and then make decisions on the issue. The Perak Mufti's concern may be unfounded, but Zin's response is really unbecoming of a person in the position of power.

Lost his backbone?
Another incident in 2006 where Mohd Fauzi Mustaffar, Head of Syariah department in Takaful sent emails to all Takaful staff forbidding them for greeting Hindu friends Happy Deepavali and Ponggal as it makes them apostates.

Zin, being the 'tiger' that he is, disassociated himself from the issue and merely stated that the email is without any 'religious authority' and stressed that in a multi-religious and multi-racial country like Malaysia, it is important to live in harmony and be nice to one another. (Gee, Zin, I didn't know we had to be nice!)

The high ranking and arrogant Zin, did NOT demand that Fauzi make a full retraction and a public apology. Instead, guess who went to meet with Takaful CEO, Mohd Azmi Abu Bakar? Surprise, surprise! DAP Lim Guan Eng. He was the one who gave Takaful 48 hours to direct Fauzi to apologise to the Indian community.

After Lim (DAP) met with Takaful CEO along with some NGOs, then and only then did Fauzi (the bigotted swine - sorry a bit angry here) apologise and retract his email. (He wasn't convincingly apologetic, but he apologised nonetheless).

Who stood up for Islam and Hindu? A Chinese man from DAP did! Talk about ironic. Where was Zin with his high rank and arrogance? As with all UMNO/BN people, they lose their tongues immediately when the going gets tough. But I must say thanks to Lim for doing the right thing. He saved Muslims and Islam from being misunderstood and saved the Indians and Hindus from being ostracized by their Muslim friends. (Read)

Lost his tongue?
On another issue: Zin, in his 'high and mighty-ness', suddenly shrunk to the size of a wrinkled nut when asked about the Lina Joy case. He declined to comment and his spokes person referred question to the government's Department of Islamic Development where officials declined comment too. (here)

Aik, maggots got your tongue ke? Zin, if you can't answer a difficult question, what kind of authority are you? Oh, I forgot, you're the authority on the usage of the word 'Allah'. Why don't you go join Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka then, if you're so smart?

2007

Inconsiderate.
There's more. In August 2007, Zin fully endorsed and agreed with the statements made by the Chief Justice and Attorney General of Malaysia advocating the replacement of the legal system in Malaysia. The CJ called for the abolition of the English Common Law and replacing it with Syariah and customary law.

The editorial of Utusan Malaysia of the same day called for a repeal of section 3 of the Civil Law Act of 1956 to be replaced with a mixture of Syariah and customary laws to form the basis of a Malaysian common law. As a result, my two favorite knuckleheads and future bak choy fertilizer (Nazri and Zin) agreed. One future fertilizer, Md Zin, welcomed the suggestion to implement Syariah to replace the common law and even advocated that it be done in stages (Utusan, 24/8/2007). (read)

I have no problem with Syariah law. Really, I don't. But to impose it on non-Muslims might be pushing it, don't you think? Zin, you really need an education on living harmoniously with other races. Obviously he buta-buta (blindly) agreed with his pals without even studying the Syariah and it's applications towards non-Muslims.

Obviously he did not consider the possibility that non-Muslims might not be able to accept it. If I were him, I would advocate training on Syariah or promote understanding on Syariah laws before advocating the change. Most importantly, let the non-Muslims decide for themselves whether they want it or not. I think it is only fair.

Hadhari
Come to think of it, Zin has broken some of the Islam Hadhari principles:

(i) Faith and piety in Allah; - That is between him and Allah. I can't, in good faith, say anything here.

(ii) A just and trustworthy government; - It is not just when government (him included) suppresses its people.

(iii) A free and independent people; - We are not free without freedom of religion & freedom of speech.

(iv) A mastery of knowledge; - Zin has proven to be a bigot in many ways, especially the issue with the word 'Allah'.

(v) A balanced and comprehensive economic development; - No comment from me.

(vi) A good quality of life; - No comment from me here, either. I prefer you to decide for yourself.

(vii) Protection of the rights of minority groups and women; - Zin, you agreed to taking away the rights of muslims women and you actually gift wrapped it to the men.

(viii) Cultural and moral integrity; - I could attempt to insult him on this one, but he doesn't have either. So I'm drawing a blank here. (hehe)

(ix) Safeguarding the environment; and - Can't comment on this one.

(x) Strong defenses. - I don't even understand what this means.

The main objectives of Islam Hadhari:
1. Restoring moderation and embracing the mainstream, which will help strengthen both the people and the state. - Would you say banning the word 'Allah' from being used by non-Muslims as a form of moderation?

2. Valuing good character, which should be central to the society in order to help it become a role model for both the Ummah and humanity as a whole. - Oh ok, it's ok to throw around your rank and 'high station'...oh, and I guess arrogance is accepted then.

3. Adopting seriousness and accountability in dealing with society’s main undertakings. - right. Would you be accountable for robbing Muslim women off their rights?

4. Building all social relations upon trust and good morals. - The Muslim women trusted you didn't they? Look where it got them.

5. Respecting law and order. - Yeah. And that means you can change the law any time you want.

6. Cherishing unity, cooperation, and solidarity. - Yup, by further dividing the people with the religious politics.

7. Implementing genuine Islamic teachings and realizing the objectives of the Shari`ah - That includes robbing women of their rights.

8. Empowering the state to be in a leading position, not feeble and weak-willed. - Hmm, that includes shutting up when one of your people does something stupid like prohibiting other from wishing friends Happy Deepavali. Good leading position there.

Zin, you approved and endorsed Islam Hadhari. I can't tell you how silly and idiotic this 'non religion' is. It's not a new religion, it's not a mazhab or code word. It's a theory of government. Ok, I get that point but isn't it redundant to create something like that when it already exists in Islam?

(i) Faith and piety in Allah; - already in Islam.
(ii) A just and trustworthy government; - already in Islam.
(iii) A free and independent people; - already in Islam.
(iv) A mastery of knowledge - already in Islam.
(v) A balanced and comprehensive economic development; - already in Islam.
(vi) A good quality of life; - already in Islam.
(vii) Protection of the rights of minority groups and women;.- already in Islam.
(viii) Cultural and moral integrity; - already in Islam.
(ix) Safeguarding the environment; and - already in Islam.
(x) Strong defenses. – I still don’t know what this means.

“Islam Hadhari is an approach that emphasizes development, consistent with the tenets of Islam and focused on enhancing the quality of life. It aims to achieve this via the mastery of knowledge and the development of the individual and the nation; the implementation of a dynamic economic, trading and financial system; an integrated and balanced development that creates a knowledgeable and pious people who hold to noble values and are honest, trustworthy, and prepared to take on global challengers.”

Ok. Believe it or not, Islam also emphasizes development. It’s just that some people tend to ignore that part. Islam strongly encourages mastery of knowledge as stated in Surah Al Zumar 39:9 which says 'Are those who have knowledge and those who have no knowledge alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful.'

Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s sayings:

(1) "Seek knowledge "even though it be In China."
(2) "The acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim, whether male or female."
(3) "The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.
(4) "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave."
(5) "God has revealed to me 'Whoever walks in the pursuit of knowledge I facilitate for him the way to heaven.' Increase in knowledge is even superior to increase in worship."
(6) "The best form of worship is the pursuit of knowledge."

Economics, trading and financial systems guidelines exist in Islam and I believe these a balanced. Islamic finance is the in thing now too. Islam also encourages a balanced development for its people as mentioned in Surah Al Qasas :77 which states one should not only focus on their lives now, but also in the afterlife. One also should not focus too much in the afterlife so much so as to ignore and not enjoy their lives now. Islam also holds true to noble values, honesty, and trustworthiness and encourages its people to take on positive challenges.

So what is Zin and his boss doing? What’s so special about Islam Hadhari? Is it because him and his boss want to seem pious? Is it because him and his boss want to woo the Muslim voters? Is it because him and his boss have run out of ideas and decided to copy/plagiarize the Qur’an on certain issues and give it a new name, making it theirs? I see his boss’s PR exercises on every article on Islam Hadhari... there’s always a paragraph on his boss and his ‘Islamic ways’ on every article.

On the word 'Allah'.
Lastly, Zin came out and agreed to the ban on the usage of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims. I shan’t elaborate too much on this as I’m sure most of you have read the articles on this by other bloggers or in my previous article ‘Dei Joe, tak sekolah ka?”

In a statement recently, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin said apart from the word “Allah”, the use of the words “Solat”, “Kaabah” and “Baitullah” was also prohibited in other religions’ publications as per the decisions of the Cabinet on July 30, 2002, on the restriction which had been enforced since Dec 5, 1986.

I can only summarise that the Minister Zin, is promoting narrow mindedness for the people. Firstly, like I said before, the word Allah is an Arabic word and he should stop trying to prove to people that Malaysia is more Islamic than any other Islamic country. The words ‘Solat’ translates as ‘pray’ in Arabic and again, it’s an Arabic word which is also used by many Indonesian Christian publications. “Kaabah” is in Mecca.

Why is this prohibited? “Baitullah” is the city where "Kaabah" is. By banning these words to be used by non-Muslims, Zin is promoting ignorance among the people. As it stands now, many people still do not know that Christianity, Judaism and Islam all originate from the middle east (Arabia). Surprised you didn't I? It may be sad, but it is true.

As it stands now, many people (and I mean a lot) do not realize that there are many Arab Christians and Jews too. They just don’t know that Arab does not mean Muslim.

So to further compound this, the 'genius' that is Zin, is advocating the narrowing of the people’s minds, making them not-so-smart and ignorant. Thanks, man but no thanks.

I wouldn’t take advice from a man who:

1. Is an arrogant and rude braggart.
2. Doesn’t think or consider other people’s feelings when agreeing to the change to Syariah law.
3. Is one-sided, one-dimensional as he finds it perfectly fair in taking away my rights and giving it to men.
4. Has no back bone when he is required to reprimand his men.
5. Has no tongue when an explanation is required about apostates even though he is the religious authority.
6. Is ok with plagiarizing the Qur’an and labeling it something else.

His opinion carries no weight with me.

Dr Zin, the expert.
Would you believe that Zin has a Doctorate in the Philosophy of Da'wah and Tasawwuf? At least that is what the Kementerian Penerangan website alleges. I guess (in this case) it must true what they say:

“It doesn’t matter how smart you are. Once you join UMNO, your IQ drops by 200 points.”

Let me ask you this:

Zin has a Doctorate in the Philosophy of Da'wah and Tasawwuf, which is well and good. BUT he does not hold a degree in either Comparative theology, Sociology, Anthropology or even Cultural Science. What gives him the right to dictate others (non-muslims) when he is not qualified? He only knows what he studied, da'wah: inviting people to understand Islam and Tasawwuf: Islamic esoteric philosophy.

To be the ‘authority’ on religious affairs in the PM’s department (no less), he should understand most (if not all) the religions practiced in this country, don’t you think?

My not-so-humble opinion.
I think this Islam Hadhari is just a PR exercise. It’s about showing the people how pious the PM is, how ingenious he is for coming up with this concept (which he stole from the Qur’an and claimed as his) and how he is doing a ‘good deed’ by rebranding Islam as a more tolerant, liberal and acceptable Islam in today’s times.

Makes me sick. First they give Islam a bad name. Then they try to promote the same concepts except with a different name and author. Them.

I even have ‘good’ feedback from one of the Islam Hadhari ‘think tank’ members. I cannot divulge any names, but this Hadhari ‘thinker’ (without any prompting) said that Islam Hadhari is ‘just crap’. Just another silly idea from the Badawi administration.

Why can’t people like Zin promote the beauty of Islam? Why is it always muslims are “not allowed to do this and that”? Why is it always “Islam punishes this and punishes that”? We should promote understanding between the faiths and also the beauty of each. In Malaysia, although majority citizens are muslims, I have met ONLY 2 non-muslims who fully understand the true tenets of Islam.

I’m not asking for a nationwide conversion or anything. Far from it. I just want to promote understanding because so many non-muslims and muslims have got it wrong. This understanding goes both ways, muslims should learn about non-muslim religions and understand their tenets.

Why is our government (and some segments of society) so scared of this? Why are Malaysian muslims so insecure? Probably because they have been doing such injustice to Islam, that they worry that this might encourage people to leave Islam.

But if you practice what you preach and inform people how fair and tolerant Islam (using Qur’anic facts and not dreamt up concepts), you don’t have to worry. In fact, I think I know a little more than the average muslim when it comes to Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity (because I seek knowledge) and it has strengthened my beliefs.

I wish they would stop all this empty publicity. Start to have some substance for god's sake. And do not use geographical lottery (there happens to be more Malays in this country) to make your decisions. Be kind and fair to all races. Consider our differences but don't let it compel you to make silly suggestions and decisions.

I'm so sick of all their shenanigans and dramas.

(After rereading this post i realized that some people might come out and say: "Klconfidential, are YOU qualified to talk about this? Do you have a Phd in politics, islam or even a Phd on Md Zin?" or something along those lines.
To this, my answer would be, "Nope. No Phd, nothing. But I'm not a leader of the people, am I? I don't hold the fate of the people in my hands, do I?"

The line in the movie 'Spiderman':

"Remember, with great power, comes great responsibility.")

Dei, Joe! Tak Sekolah ka? Part 2 of 2

2008-01-08T14:59:00.001+08:00

(Ah,... see? I knew the issue wasn't over. That's why I had part 2 planned for this topic. The idiocy of some people are just too predictable. Only this time, Md Zin is the one who needs an education. An article on him coming up.)

This issue has a bigger impact in your daily life than you think. It does not only affect the Muslims and Christians, it affects Malaysians as a whole.

We've established how ridiculous and bigoted Joe is. Now I want to talk about what I think the real problem is. Also why (I think) Johari had the audacity to say it in the first place.. with no apology to follow.

Malaysian Constitution

Joe, on Dec 21 2007, said that to prevent confusion, the word 'Allah' could only be used in the context of Islam and not other religions. "Only muslims can use 'Allah'. It's a Muslim word. It's from the Arabic (language).

Our problem is at its most basic. It's the definitions AND the level of understanding of those definitions.

Our so-called leaders, do not know the difference between culture and religion. Malay is a race which has its own culture, language and traditions.
Islam is a religion.
Arabic is a language.
Is it that so hard to understand?

The problem is actually at a higher level than the definitions of culture and religion. Way higher. It's in the Malaysian Constitution.

In the Malaysian Constitution, it states that to be a bumiputra (malay) you must fulfill 3 requirements:-

"Malay" means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and -
- (a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or
- (b) is the issue of such a person;

I find this wrong on many levels.
Firstly, the definition of Malay is wrong. Malay is a race which consists of culture, language, traditions and genetics among other things. Not religion. There is not such thing as a Malay Religion, is there?

In Malaysia, Malay is a constitutional definition.
(MGG Pillai, Malaysia Today)

This article by Pillai, although written in year 2005, should be read again. It applies to our issues today.

Secondly, it is wrong to assume that if you are to be Malay, you must be a Muslim.

Thirdly, does this mean, once a Chinese/Indian Malaysian converts to Islam, he will lose his culture? Does this mean he will lose his Chinese/Indian heritage? Is that fair?

You should look into our constitution, it's an interesting read.

Basically, if Ah Chong or Muthu were to:
-convert to Islam ( M'sian Const: "professes the religion of Islam"),
-wear a baju melayu once in a while (M'sian Const: "conforms to Malay custom" )
-have the ability to converse in Bahasa Malaysia (M'sian Const: "habitually speaks the Malay language")

This makes them a malay/bumiputra.

On the other hand, if Lina were to convert from Islam into Christianity, does this automatically shift her from being a bumi to a non-bumi status?

I feel that this particular section in our constitution is interesting to say the least. This particular constitution helped the 70s singer, DJ Dave (real name: Dhammi Jagjit Sukhdev ) become an active UMNO member.

Interesting ain't it?

Sad when our leaders cannot tell the difference between religion and race.
Especially when they fail to realize that you can change your religion but you cannot change your race.

The BN government is (indirectly) telling us Malaysians:

Bahasa Malaysia is only for the Malays.

It is not for the Chinese and Indians. Even if they have no intention of saying this, the fact that the ban is condoned, tells me that these are their true colors.

Extremist Tendencies?
I will digress a bit here and tell you about an incident that pissed me off...again.

Hypocrisy. Hmmm... walking on egg shells here. I do not mean to insult the PM here but I speak from my point of view and I assure you that this point of view is shared by many.

During the Christmas High Tea celebration hosted by the Christian Federation of Malaysia, he reminded Malaysians not to allow extremist tendencies to take root and undermine interracial harmony in the country.

Hogwash! My advise is, Prime Minister, look at your own jamban to see the 'extremist tendencies'. Look at the turd floating there called "Joe Baharum". Flush him down and you'll win half the battle with "extremist tendencies". Extremist tendencies does not only encompass the topic of religion. It also covers a host of other issues, like arresting bloggers for comments left on their page and even saying that the word Allah only belongs to one race/religion.. (that's extremist and narrow minded, isn't it?).

This is an example of the ruling coalition's double standards. Pathetic, really.

By bringing up this issue, are they (Joe and Zin) attempting to be more Islamic that Saudi? Well, sorry sonny but you are all the more bigoted, i say. Why are many Malaysian so obsessed about who is more religious than who? Why can't we leave that between God and ourselves?

Why do we have to proclaim or show people how religious we are? Same with other things in Malaysia, this is a case of mendabik dada sendiri ala King Kong (bragging King Kong style by hitting one's own chest).

My guess is...
My guess is (it's only my humble guess) is that elections are coming up in March (that's what many little birdies told me) and UMNO has already begun its campaigning for the majority Malay votes.

They are going to drag this issue on and on till elections. It is human nature that as time goes by people tend to forget the main issue they were fighting for/against. Memory gets diluted and fades only to be replaced by a tamer version of the truth. Passions die down only to be replaced with excuses and misplaced understanding.

Come election day, the kampung people (majority votes) will not think that UMNO were the idiots who banned the word Allah to be used by non muslims.
They will think that UMNO are fighting for Islam. Thus, winning their hearts. Why?
Because as you and I have experienced, UMNO is very talented in twisting and manipulating the truth until it becomes lost to us.

Dei, Joe! Tak Sekolah ka? Part 1 of 2

2007-12-31T22:20:00.000+08:00

(Before you read my words below, please bear in mind that I write this not only as a Malaysian, but also as a Malay and a Muslim. Yes, probably showed a little anger and frustration in this posting, but can you blame a girl?)

Every time I tried to write something in regards to Joe Baharum's statement (about the usage of the word Allah by non muslims) I would have to stop after half an hour. I couldn't stop myself from swearing at the Joe... I couldn't help but feel too angry to write anything 'polite'.

Now the issue has been resolved (i think). But we (muslims and non muslims) have yet to hear an apology from the Joe. Well, let's not expect too much from a person who has always displayed misplaced arrogance and proud bigotry.

Aaanyways, let's drill this into the minds of those who aren't getting enough of it:

The word Allah is originally an Arabic word. This word means God/Tuhan.

Being malay, does not mean you are a muslim.

Christianity and Islam, both originated from the middle east. Language there was Arabic, Hebrew or Aramaic.

Christians use the word 'Allah' to refer to God too, not just Muslims.

Muslims cannot claim the word 'Allah' as their own. It is not theirs in the first place. It belongs to the Arabs. Actually, I don't know any malay claiming this, just the Joe at the Internal Security Ministry and some of his bigot friends. Aiya, Joe, tak sekolah ka?

Instead of using this common thing between Christians and Muslims to unite us even more, Johari is using this to further distance us from our Christian brothers sisters. This single uniting factor could find us all on level ground as it is about religion, not race, creed or wealth. I guess this is the BN way. Will let you know on my humble theory in Part 2.

Joe, on Dec 21 2007, said that to prevent confusion, the word 'Allah' could only be used in the context of Islam and not other religions. "Only muslims can use 'Allah'. It's a Muslim word. It's from the Arabic (language).

This, to me, reflects his bigotry. My question is, doesn't he know about his own religion? Also, is he THAT sheltered to not know that the name Allah refers to God in Arabic? It is NOT EXCLUSIVE to Islam. Even Arab Christians use the word Allah to refer to God.

Firstly, he mentioned, 'to prevent confusion'. Who is confused here? Obviously him...and who's army? I do agree that some muslims here in Malaysia are bigoted enough to be confused, but this is what the education system is. Screwed up. (This is another issue altogether. Will write about it soon, should be an interesting read)

If so, he should blame the Islamic education system. The Islamic education should teach that the Al-Qur'an was written in Arabic. Arabic. It is a language, not a religion but a culture. The word 'Allah' refers to God the Almighty. It is a word. It is not exclusive to Islam, it is used in other religions such as Christianity.

When the Arab Christians use the word 'Allah'.. do you see the Islamic authorities there squirming in their pants because of this? No.

Secondly, he said "It's a Muslim word. It's from the Arabic (language)." Okay, Joe, you really need to go back to school. I still crack up when I read his statement. He cannot even tell the difference between religion and culture. There is a huge difference between Arab and Muslim. Does he not know that there are Arab Christians and Arab Jews? Not all Arabs are Muslims. Is he that bigoted?

'Arab' does not mean 'Islam'. Understand? Same as 'Malay' does not mean 'Islam'.

Therefore, if it is an Arabic word, it doesn't make it exclusive to Muslims.
(Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry at their bigotry.. it's hilarious, yet sad)

A few quotes for you to ponder upon (taken from The Sun):

Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka DG Datuk Dr Firdaus Abdullah agrees that the word 'Allah' should be used exclusively in the Islamic context. "If you look at the word 'Allah', you find that it has been used for years, exclusively referring to the Islamic notion (of God)."

This is coming from the body that helped bastardize the Malay language? Puhlease. They approved the word 'ori' to be put in our Kamus Dewan Bahasa. Why can't they use the word 'asli' instead? And instead of 'Ketua Inspektor' they allow the usage of 'Cif Inspektor'.

Sorry Firdaus, but your credibility is hardly one I would like to rely on.

Firdaus continued by saying, the Internal Security Ministry's ban on the use of 'Allah' in the publications about religions other than Islam should be looked at within the context of the historical and cultural background of this country. "I think they (the ministry) are making the decision within that context," he said.

Pay attention to the "historical and cultural background of this country". I will focus on this later.
On the other hand,

Christian think-tank Kairos Research Centre, Dr Ng Kam Weng, said "It is because of the linguistic affinity between the term ‘Allah’ and other Semitic terms, that Christian Arabs called the supreme God ‘Allah’ centuries before the appearance of Islam.

Arab Christians continue to use ‘Allah’ today," he said. He said that historically, Christians in Southeast Asia had used "Allah" to refer to the supreme God they worshiped. "The earliest Christian writing in Malay, Kitab salat as-sawai (Christian prayers), was printed in Arabic (in) 1514. Christian catechisms in Malay were published around 1545," he said. " ‘Allah’ was used in the printed version of the Gospel of Matthew in Malay (1629) and the complete Malay Bible (1731-1733).

"There goes your "historical-and-cultural-background-of-this-country" argument, Firdaus. 'Allah' was used in the Malay Bible since the 1700s. That's history.

Next,

Dr Feham Mohd Ghalib (The Head of Quranic Language Division under the Center for Languages and Pre-University Academic Development at International Islamic University) agrees, saying that the ministry's decision in prohibiting the use of the word 'Allah' was because of Malaysia's cultural background and had nothing to do with the religion or language itself.

I don't get it. He says the ministry's decision was because of Malaysia's cultural background. What cultural background is he referring to? On top of that he says that it has nothing to do with the religion or language. Okaay.. now i'm confused. If it has nothing to do with religion, why is the ministry saying things like 'it's a muslim word'?

Dr Feham concurs with Firdaus saying, although 'Allah' was an Arabic word, the meaning of the word used in Islam was different from that used in other religions. "In Islam, Allah means He is the only God and no other God," he told The Sun.

Again, this guy confuses me. In one sentence he says that the usage of the word in Islam is different than other religions. Then he says that 'Allah means He is the only God and no other God.' How is this different from the Christians? I believe the meaning is about the same, right? Can you Christians verify this for me? (No, i'm not talking to the cyberdogs, I want a Christian's perspective)

Political scientist and historian at the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin, Germany, Prof Farish Ahmad-Noor said the word "Allah" predated the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad and went way back to the pre-Islamic era. Christians had been using the word long before there were any Muslims, in fact.

Anything to say Firdaus? Obviously not. This guy actually did his research before opening his mouth, unlike Joe and Firdaus. He had facts backing him, he had his brain backing him. I can't say the same for the tong kosongs (loud empty drums) in the corridors of power.

Furthermore, (according to Prof Farish) the word is Arabic, and is thus common to all the peoples, cultures and societies where Arabic – in all its dialects – is spoken, and is understood by millions of Arabic speakers to mean God, and little else," he said in his article posted on the online resource site, The Other Malaysia.

"One could also add that as ‘Allah’ is an Arabic word, it has more to do with the development and evolution of Arabic language and culture, and less to do with Islam," he said.

"It is hard to understand how any religion can have a language to call its own, for languages emerge from a societal context and not a belief system."

He explained that like many non-Arabs, Malays only converted to Islam much later from the 13th century onwards. "Among the earliest pieces of evidence to indicate Islam’s arrival to the Malay archipelago are the stone inscriptions found in Malay states like Pahang, where the idea of God is described in the Sanskrit words ‘Dewata Mulia Raya’," he said.

"As no Malay spoke or even understood Arabic then, it was natural for the earliest Malay- Muslims to continue using the Sanskrit-inspired language they spoke then. Surely this does not make them lesser Muslims."

Wow. I didn't know this. Malays actually used the words 'Dewata Mulia Raya' to describe God (Allah). Wonder what Joe and Firdaus have to say about that. Probably they would say that the Malays who spoke Sanskrit were not real Muslims. (Normal right? They will never admit their mistakes)

I must say that even before I read this article in the The Sun, I have much respect for Prof Farish. I also would like to reiterate his comments on Joe's remarks:

Johari’s remark not only demonstrated his shallow understanding of Muslim culture and the clear distinction between Arab culture and Muslim theology, but it also demonstrated his own lack of understanding of the history of the Malays.

What about the prohibition of usage of Bahasa Malaysia in non-muslim publications?
Dr Ng Kam Weng mentioned something which I would like to share with you. He said that:

any attempt to prohibit Malaysians who use Bahasa Malaysia as their primary language of proficiency from using "Allah", could be seen as a disrespect of their cultural identity and cultural freedom.

He also argued that preventing Malaysians from practising their faith in their mother-tongue was a violation of their constitutional right under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom.

Also, why is the minister with 'pemikiran cetek' (shallow thinking) going against the government's call in promoting the usage of the Bahasa Malaysia?

Oh, I forgot about the double standards. Bahasa Malaysia is only for Malays right?
I'm malay and even I don't accept this ridiculous and contradictory stance.

Grow up YB.

Politicians Are The Same, the World Through

2007-12-28T12:10:00.000+08:00

Now, to say that there are quite a few Malaysians out here who are disgruntled with our current crop of politicians would be a gross understatement. I for one, am hardly amused by the crass crudity displayed by our politicians, and the arrogance - or is it ignorance? - perpetuated by our politicians.

But in the spirit of our ministers, perhaps it is time for us to showcase the shortcomings of other statesmen so that the failings of our politicians are not so large.

This is footage of the future Prime Minister and present Chancellor Gordon Brown, who was filmed picking his nose on 21st March 2007. This footage is exclusively from award-winning political blog sjhoward.co.uk, and can be seen from its YouTube site.

Perhaps the kindest thing to be said about Chancellor Gordon Brown is that he is somewhat a dour person, and he is considered by many Britons as one of the worst politicians to have ever graced 10 Downing Street.

To be perfectly honest, Chancellor Gordon Brown has a great deal of similarities with our own politicians, with the exception that he is honest enough to tell you he's buggering you when he's got you bent over backwards with his hands in your pocket.

Blue or Red Pill for you?

2007-12-21T15:59:00.000+08:00

This is public service message from KL Confidential:

This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
- Morpheus, The Matrix

If you choose the blue pill, you have chosen to live your life believing the lies that are presented to you. You have chosen a life that only concerns you and you alone. You have chosen to close all the doors leaving one open, limiting your choices. You have chosen to remain ignorant in the little bubble you call your life. You have chosen to ignore the call for truth. You have chosen not to discover the truth behind the lies you believe.

You have chosen to believe that your life is only meaningful to only you and you alone. You have chosen to believe that other people's lives are worthless than yours as far as you are concerned. You have chosen the selfish route.

Though none can fault you on that, it is and always will be, a question of honor. One quality that Malaysians (politicians and otherwise) lack. You have chosen not to rise above the scum. You have chosen to let the virus seep into our veins and destroy us. Simply because you are not affected....YET.

If you choose the red pill, you have chosen a path that may lead you into danger, hardship and suffering. You have chosen to open all the doors, go through each and every door in your pursuit of the truth. You have chosen to find out the truth regardless of its price. You have chosen a path that may isolate you from your family and friends. There is honor in choosing the red pill for 'truth' is a rare commodity which will separate the criminals from the victims. Separate the men from the boys. Separate the true Malaysians from the impostors.

The truth will set you free... but you must seek it.

Darling Dollah

2007-12-19T18:03:00.000+08:00

To Dollah, My dearest darling,

I must tell you, when I first met you, I thought you were the one. I believed you were the one to save me from that other man who misused me and abused me. True, it was hard for me to let go of him because I had grown attached to him over 22 years. Although he had given me some good things, I felt that he misused my name is many senses.

My sweetest flower,

Yet I must tell you how disappointed I am with your behavior. When you were courting me, it seemed that you would say anything to win my hand, yet after wooing me, 4 years have passed with little for me to show. How did it come to this? What has happened to make you ignore me?

I had such high hopes for us, Dollah, hopes for a brighter tomorrow for all. Yet you have turned you back on me, choosing instead to listen to those people who surround you, those people who you think are your real friends. Why? Why do you choose to hear and believe your friends when you said that I am the one you truly love?

Was it something the taxi fellow said? He did, didn’t he? I’m sure of it. He always has something to say, though for the life of me I don’t know why anyone would listen to him other than to have a good laugh.

I tried too, you know. I tried to get you to listen to me. I had my lawyers march to your house the other day to demand that you speak to me - to hear me - but still you didn’t. Don’t you care about me anymore? Or has the romance died?

I tried, Dollah. I tried again and again to make you listen. But you were always away on business and your friends will always tell me that you don’t care to listen to what I have to say. Why are you always in Australia? Are the pastures there greener there, the bosoms fuller, the pockets deeper?

Why can’t you stay with me for longer than a month without going somewhere? Our relationship is crumbling around your big ears, yet you still refuse to break your elegant silence for a much needed heart to heart talk with me.

I’m sorry,baby, but I had to act. Since you wouldn’t listen to me, this time I tried to reach your father at his palace. I went there with my friends for support, but you asked your friends to stop me along the way. They tear gassed me and cannoned me with chemical laced water. They hurt me, Dollah. They were rough with me. Why did you send your friends? Why is it that they are the ones talking for you? And why did you let them hurt me? You told me you loved me!

You promised me so much! You promised to make my life better, to be fair to me, to listen to me, to take care of me. You promised me honesty, that you will always be open and honest to me. Where have your promises gone, my love?

My dear darling durian,

I heard rumors, Dollah. Hurtful, hurtful rumors about you and me, rumors that I am sure are spread by those people you call your friends. Rumors about me being unfaithful, rumors about me having terrorist friends, rumors about our fading romance. Most of all, I hear rumors about you being angry over the things I have done – things I do, not out of spite – but to get your attention so that you will learn to love me again. But it will never happen, will it Dollah?

I know who you are with now. Before this, when we were courting, you told me that you were not friends with ISA. You said you did not agree with his position, his way of doing things. You said he was never fair to me and that he was a bad influence. But now you are friends with him. Did you know what ISA has done to my friends? Did you know how badly he treated them and how cruel he was? How can you not know, Dollah? You are his boss now. Why didn’t you fire him when I told you to? You told me that he had no place with us!

My beloved,

After all that I have sacrificed for you, all that I have done for us, why do you hurt me so? After all the money I spent on you and the trust I gave you, you betrayed me. You have taken control of my finances and now my family is suffering because you have refused to help us. You were supposed to be my savior, my darling. You were supposed to be my hero. But now, you have turned against me.

You won’t even let me sit down with you and talk to you openly. What are you afraid of?

Tell me Dollah. Was there really anything between us?

Or was it all for the dowry?

Malaysia - Where Honour, Integrity and Human Rights are Bad for Your Health- Part 3 of 3

2007-12-12T23:20:00.001+08:00

Now that we have covered the Human Rights Day celebration (Part 1) and the points in the memorandum against the extension of Rashid's tenure as EC Chairman(Part 2), we will now get into the events on 11/12 when the Bersih delegation delivered the memorandum to Parliament.

What happened?
It's very simple really. First there were roadblocks around the city. Then there were policemen and FRUs lined up in front of parliament blocking any entry to the parliament.

All because 20 old men were going to deliver some memorandum.

Laugh factor: They actually got a court order (restraining order) prohibiting some of these 20 men from going to the parliament.

The police arrested people going to the parliament and also people leaving the parliament.
It looks like sleeping beauty is waking up from slumber and doesn't want to be disturbed by the people.

(I know at this point, some of you may say -Nazri style- "Wat people? Dees are de minoritee, BN was voted by the majoritee. Wat are you talking about?")

My answer to that will be:
"Go back to school and find out what exactly democracy means. Because obviously, you either don't have an inkling of what democracy is, OR you don't give two shits about it."

(Going a bit off topic here) But I feel that it is my responsibility to tell you what democracy means. My pal, 20 cent wrote:

Taken from the Greek words demos, meaning people, and krateo, meaning rule; the literal translation of the word democracy is ‘rule of the people’. It should be note that the ‘rule of the people’, is applied to all of the people. Not just some of the people, not just most of the people, but all the people.

The fact that our ruling party is so fond of quoting to the masses and the international media that our country is an democracy merely because its has been elected by a mandate by majority - and as such, it represents the 'will of its people' - shows that the government has not even began to grasp the basic tenets of a democracy, much less its execution.

Indeed, if the ruling coalition delineates that its definition of a democracy is merely a mandate by majority, then by inference it is not perpetuating a democracy, but rather a fiction of one, as elections are a rather undemocratic process of setting up a democratic government. After all, the ballot box is merely a process, not a practice, so any government that comes to power from it cannot in all honesty say that it represents all of the people, regardless of how democratic the process is.

Governments elected from a mandate of the majority can be constituted as a democratic government if - and only if - it recognizes and protects the basic rights of each and every citizen it claims to govern. And it is here that our ruling coalition seems to have lost the thread of democratic observances. Once a government respects these rights, as enshrined by various constitutions in various nations, then - and only then - can a government derive its powers from consent of those it governs.

Aaaannyways back to the issue at hand:

Why are the authorities preventing the people from reaching out to their leaders? Why are we being told to shut up? Why is having a strong opinion so wrong? Why is criticizing them so wrong? Sensitive sangat ke? Are we hurting their feelings? Tak boleh handle ke?

If they are so sensitive, don't become politicians. If you can't take criticism, don't be a leader. A leader actually listens to the people, not just come out with a press statement claiming the fact then go to sleep after that.

Although I agree that defying the police is a crime, but I don't understand the logic behind these arrests. Even the court order is ridiculous. Logically speaking, I don't see the fairness there. The damning part is that no one actually bothered giving a credible explanation. Always vague answers.

The court order, like the constitution amendment, was done too quickly, too brashly and without much debate or consideration of the feelings of some Malaysians. To me, if you have nothing to hide, nothing to gain from it, why do it now? Why not do what they always do, which is delay, delay, delay? They're so good at it, why not do the same in this case? Why the urgency?

Most importantly, why is Rashid SO INDISPENSABLE? I'm sure they are able to find somebody equally as 'muka tak malu' like Rashid.

You know what pissed me off that day? It was this incident:

Lim Kit Siang asked the PM why are the people being arrested in parliament? It is unfair..
PM answered that they were not actually IN parliament. They were in the parking lot. That's outside.
- I don't know what to say to this except... Arghh!!!-

To the Nay Sayers
To those of you who were complaining and downright bitching earlier about the Bersih rally, you have no right to bitch about it now. You know why? Because we took your suggestions:

"I don't understand why you had to go march to the King's palace. It was inconveniencing the rest of the people and businesses suffer. You guys are inconsiderate. Don't be stupid la. Why do you need such a big number of people to deliver some stupid memorandum? Why can't you send a small delegation instead? Stop this nonsense."

Ok. We took your suggestions (we actually LISTENED despite the fact that our ears are not that big) and implemented it. We sent a small delegation to the parliament to deliver the memorandum. What happens? Many many arrests.

We only succeeded in making it easier for them to arrest the leaders handing over the memorandum.

The sad part? The most demoralizing, depressing, down right rude part? The most upsetting, most utterly mind boggling part?

Some people attack Bersih and those of us voicing out our concerns. Isn't it sad when you do something that you feel is a selfless act and you get shot for it? Isn't it upsetting and demoralizing when the people you are defending or fighting for, are the ones who turn around and bugger you in the ass?

You want to know what's even more depressing?

It all comes down to ignorance.

Some say 'Ignorance is bliss.' Well, it won't be bliss for long, dudes and dudettes. By the time everyone realizes the truth, it'll be too late. By that time, this country will be such a deep shit hole that you can't help but smell the shit you're swimming in. The tide is coming. Reserves are depleting.

How long will it take you to realize that the actions of the current government are mainly self beneficiary and not for the people of this country? (If it was mainly for the people, but they get small kickbacks from it, I can still live with it... but this is too much)

Political awareness, human rights awareness or even democratic awareness in this country is at an all time low. Human rights and democratic awareness is not that complicated.

We should be allowed to have an opinion. We should be allowed voice our opinions. We should be allowed to defend ourselves in court if we are arrested. We should be allowed to demand fairness and equal treatment.

We should be allowed to demand transparency in government dealings. We should know what they do with our money. We should be able to access information regarding the running of our country. We should be able to trace our money and where it goes.

The Official Secrets Act was amended in 1986 so that the definitions of official secrets also include government tender documents (even after completion of the tender exercise) and any other documents or materials which ministers and public officials may deem secret or confidential.

Points: Government tenders are Official Secrets (ooooooohh) and the ministers and public officials are the ones who decide if it should be secret or confidential (aaaaaaaahhh).

Oh, I get it, they get to serve their own greed AND get away with it... genius!

You see the purpose of this amendment? I don't.. unless it is to blindfold the people.

And this is just one out of many...jeng jeng jeng...

Malaysia - Where Honour, Integrity and Human Rights are Bad for Your Health- Part 2 of 3

2007-12-12T20:43:00.000+08:00

Next is the 11/12 handing of memorandum to the Parliament.

Let me explain the points of contention here and why Bersih decided it was necessary to hand over the memorandum on 11/12. (I know some of you already know, but I noticed there are so many out there still in the dark. Information is power, I have decided to empower them.)

Tan Sri Abdul Rashid
This man is the EC (Election Commission) Chairman. He heads the most important commission in Malaysia. This commission is one of the main vertebrae to the back bone of democracy. Other vertebraes include freedom of expression.

I would like to stress again and again how important the Election Commission is for everybody's well being in this country. This was taken from their website:

In the discharge of it's responsibilities, the Election Commission, is being an independent authority, is not subject in any way to the direction as to how the elections ought to be conducted. The main functions of Election Commission are:

1)Review and delimit Parliamentary and State Consituencies at intervals of not less than eight years; following the date og completion go the last review;
2) Carry out registration of electors and revision of electoral rolls; and
3) Conduct general elections to the House of Representatives and State Legislative Assemblies, and undertake by-elections arising out of casual vacancies.

Why?
Now, why did Bersih decide to have a gathering at Parliament? To hand over a memorandum protesting against the extension of Tan Sri Abdul Rashid's tenure as EC Chairman.

But like the Bar Council, Bersih decided to cancel the gathering for the people's safety (against police and FRU brutality). Ladies and gentlemen, it was cancelled. No gathering at parliament. Though many were disappointed with this, we complied as we figured we made our point on 10 November 2007, so there's no need to enforce that point again.

Before we go into the events of the day, let me explain the memorandum.

First, answer this quesion, if you had an employee with a proven track record of either incompetence or selling your shares secretly, wouldn't you fire him?

Same thing here. Few actually realize that the Election Commission, like the Prime Minister, work for the people. They are our employees. If this employee hasn't been doing his job, or has been selling your shares secretly, wouldn't you get rid of him? Ok, even if you don't get rid of him, would you actually extend his retirement age for him to do more damage to your company?

Any sane businessman wouldn't.

How he screwed up.
Before you blame me for being biased against Rashid, here are some details of his incompetence or unfair conduct or biased-ness. However you want to look at it.

1. The electoral rolls is contaminated with the names of the dead, non-citizens, multiple registrations and the under-aged, allowing election outcomes to be determined by phantoms rather than citizens.

If you haven't heard, dead people actually raised up from their graves to vote on election day. You can either take this superstitiously or suspiciously, it's up to you. But it's definitely unacceptable. How do the dead know who to vote for? Do they get the NST or Star in their graves? Do NST and Star have these spiritual subscriptions? If yes, how much is it to advertise?

2. As a result to this discrepancy, in 2001, Justice Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang nullified the election result of Likas state constituency in Sabah on the grounds that the 1998 state electoral roll was illegal as phantom voters, including non-citizens, had cast their votes on polling day. This is one of the discrepancies that we know of. God knows what the EC has gotten away with so far.

3. The governments response? Well they decided that they couldn't have judges nullifying the election results that they have worked so hard for (calling them up from graves takes a lot of effort, they like to rest in peace)

So they changed the law, the Election Act to be precise. They changed it so that the Election Commission is above the law (eh, did i hear someone say 'no one is above the law?') The Election Commission cannot be challenged now. They have immunity. Isn't this contradictory?

If the EC is supposed to be the commission which is accountable for the errors within the election, why is there a law that says they cannot be held accountable? There is a term for this, its called hypocrisy. I believe that any commission or body which is answerable to the people, cannot be above the law.

I would like to note, at this point, Rashid then grew some balls and attacked Justice Muhammad Kamil for nullifying the Likas election results. He said that Muhammad Kamil took it out on the government because he was 'frustrated with certain things'.

4. Have you ever tried to vote, only to be told that your constituency has been transfered? If you were a General in a battle and your left battalion seems weak while your right battalion is very strong. Wouldn't you deploy some of your soldiers from the right battalion to assist the battalion on the left?

In our political landscape (as many of you know) there are strong BN constituencies and there are strong Opposition constituencies. If the EC suddenly changes your constituency to another, without informing you, without you changing your address, isn't it questionable? Also, isn't it called incompetency?

5. Next point of contention is the Ijok issue. Let me list the points for you:
-Over 50 dead voters were still on the electoral roll and 12 of them, all of them Malays from the Jaya Setia polling district, rose up from their graves to cast their votes on polling day.
-Three Chinese voters at Pekan Ijok had their votes stolen by impostors, who had turned up earlier at the polling station.
-As many as 23 voters were registered without national identity cards.
-As many as 32 voters aged between 100 and 132 years old were still listed on the electoral rolls.

Draw your own conclusions.

6. This gets even more interesting when in 2004 there were 3 different versions of the electoral roll. This happened in at least 17 constituencies in Selangor and 3 from Kuala Lumpur. Then EC sesuka hati extended the polling for 2 extra hours. This is illegal.

No one has been held accountable for this. They just decided to ignore it. I guess it's standard modus operandi.

What do we do when there's a problem, sir?
You ignore it, you civil servant! Didn't you read the manuals?

7. Next, in Kuala Terengganu (KT) 98% of registered voters collected the parliamentary ballots. 10,254 of these voters did not return their ballots (missing votes). Rashid explained that KT voters had the hobby of collecting ballot papers. (What a funny little man. I guess the ballot papers are becoming a collectors item)

The story doesn't end here, my friends, after that the Gazette officially reported that the turnout was 84% instead of 98% and there were 240 missing votes and not 10,254. Wow.. talk about major discrepancies.. don't these guys know how to be subtle? Well, no explanations have been offered. So maybe its an 'official secret'. Geez.

What is Gerrymandering?
8. Lastly, according to the memorandum, mal-apportionment and gerrymandering of constituencies have gone from bad to worse with the 2002 constituency re-delineation exercise.

Ok, I'm pretty sure there are many of you who do not know what gerrymandering means. Let me explain it.

As many of you know, the main idea of voting according to constituencies is for our representatives to get seats in the parliament and become MPs. Gerrymandering means to manipulate constituency borders so that the party in power receives more votes and remains in power.

For example:

Say we have 2 constituencies. Constituency A and Constituency B. The sizes of the 2 constituencies are not the same.

Let's say you stay in Constituency A where the division of power between opposition and ruling party is 60% opposition-40% ruling party. Then suddenly the boundary of your constituency changes and your vote is transfered to Constituency B where the division of power between the opposition and ruling coalition is 90% opposition-10% ruling party.

This makes the opposition party lose votes from Constituency A and gives it excess votes (which it doesn't need) in Constituency B.

So instead of winning 2 seats in parliament, the opposition only wins 1 seat.

Imagine if the opposition is supposed to win 100 seats, but instead wins 20. That's how unfair 'gerrymandering' is. Evidence of this is usually seen when the ruling party wins by a very small margin in many constituencies and the opposition party wins by a huge margin in very few constituencies.

I know it's confusing. But this tried and tested method basically ensures that the ruling coalition wins in as many constituencies as possible even if its by a very slim margin. So it really doesn't matter if there is a 60-40 power ratio because ultimately the ruling coalition will win the most number of seats.

Therefore you have 90% ruling party representatives in parliament even though 40% of the people voted for the opposition. Any Bills or Amendments that they want to make will be approved as they own more votes in parliament.

Here are more notes for you (if you want to bother):

There are three techniques used to gerrymander districts. All involve creating districts that have a goal of encompassing a certain percentage of voters from one political party.

The first method is called the "excess vote." It is an attempt to concentrate the voting power of the opposition into just a few districts, to dilute the power of the opposition party outside of those districts that contain an overwhelming majority of the opposition's voters.

The second method is know as the "wasted vote." This method of gerrymandering involves diluting the voting power of the opposition across many districts, preventing the opposition from having a majority vote in as many districts as possible.

Finally, the "stacked" method involves drawing bizarre boundaries to concentrate the power of the majority party by linking distant areas into specific, party-in-power districts. (taken from this site)

Ok. Once you have digested and understood the term "gerrymandering", I can move on to my point.

In 2004, BN won 91% of the seats in parliament. But they actually only got only 64% votes from the people. This effectively means that the value of the BN vote is worth more than votes from any other party.

1 BN vote = 3 DAP votes = 8 PAS votes = 25 KeAdilan votes

It's like currency. The USD against the RM and Rupiah.

Like the memorandum says, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid has made a mockery of the “one person, one vote” principle.

This is how it should be:

1 BN vote = 1 DAP votes = 1 PAS vote = 1 KeAdilan vote

because each person's vote should not be worth more than the next guy. We should all be equal.

Rashid's explanations.
Rashid's explanations on these crime against Malaysians are so lame. Really now, Rashid. Do you think that we are all that stupid? Obviously yes. I do take offence to that.

Reasons such as weaknesses in the postal voting registration or 'clerical error' is unforgivable. Knowing about these problems, he should have fixed them immediately and not wait till Bersih highlighted it.

You're not doing your job, Rashid. What are we paying you for? Were you hoping the people wouldn't find out? Were you even aware of the problems before Bersih and the Bar Council highlighted it to you? Even when they highlighted it to you, you implied that there is nothing you can do about it and suggested that we send a memorandum to the King. It was your idea.

Like the memorandum to parliament said:
Tan Sri Abdul Rashid has failed to end this phenomenon so damaging to the credibility of the EC and electoral process.

You failed, man. You failed to uphold the integrity of the Election Commission. You failed your duties where the Bar Council managed to uphold theirs. Yet the Bar Council is being punished for it. Hmph.

Dear readers, in my opinion (and I believe I speak for many other Malaysians), in this day and age we cannot tolerate a biased judiciary. We cannot tolerate a Judge in the Court of Appeal who clearly was a legal advisor of a political party, any political party. His loyalty in this sense, is questionable. Like Melayu Lama said,

"It's ok to jump from judiciary to politics. But it's NOT ok to jump from politics to the judiciary. It doesn't work that way. It brings doubt to the integrity of the institution."

Likewise for the Election Commission. We should not tolerate biased-ness in this commission which is supposed to be impartial. We cannot tolerate the chairman of the Election Commission saying that he supports the ruling coalition.

If I was the Election Commission Chairman and all this atrocities happened while I was in charge... If I had any honor and integrity, I would resign voluntarily. I wouldn't buat muka tak malu and remain in a job I have failed to do.

On December 8, 2007, Rashid was reported to say that the ruling coalition is the only regime capable of running the country.

Does this sound impartial to you?

Like the memorandum said:

Ultimately, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid is unfit to chair the EC for he lacks the most fundamental quality: the moral courage and the commitment to act independently, guided only by the Constitution and the best interest of Malaysia’s democracy.

I would like to add 'incompetence' to that. How else can you explain it?
If he says it's the EC's clerical error, it's incompetence in his part.
If he says there is nothing wrong, he's a lying, cheating SOB.

I guess clerical error will have to do.

I am not against the ruling coalition per se. But the fact that they are condoning this sort of thing pisses me off. I believe there should be honor, integrity and accountability in everything we do.

If they need to be trained to have these values, they are unfit to lead or represent Malaysians.

We need a shadow government. If only to keep an eye on them, make sure they're not screwing us around.

Malaysia - Where Honour, Integrity and Human Rights are Bad for Your Health- Part 1 of 3

2007-12-12T12:35:00.000+08:00

Well, a lot has been happening these past few days, I couldn't catch up on my blogging. I apologize.

There are many ruffled feathers around recently over differences in opinions and ideologies. So many things need to be said, but so little time to say it. But I shall attempt to put my views forward.

From the beginning, which incidentally, is a very good place to start.

Now, let me address event after event beginning from 9/12 right through 11/12.

Freedom Walk -Malaysia Human Rights Day celebration
Let me introduce you to the Bar Council. It's official role is:

It is an independent Bar whose aim is to uphold the rule of law and the cause of justice and protect the interest of the legal profession as well as that of the public.

Uphold the law. Uphold the cause of justice. Protect interest of legal profession. Protect interest of public.

Hmm... I hope everyone digests this properly and remembers this when making judgments and opinions about the Bar. They are clearly a body that should be respected and taken seriously. Seriously.

Well, the Bar decided to hold a Human Rights Day celebration in conjunction with International Human Rights Day. They've done this for several years already with political leaders from the ruling and the opposition parties taking part together. But somehow this year, the authorities decided to demon-ise this celebration saying that the human rights of the majority matters more that the human rights of the minority.

Human rights of the majority matters more.. hmm. Well, I don't know about Nazri and Doolah but the term 'human rights' applies to all humans. Otherwise it would be termed as 'crony rights', wouldn't it?

So, for safety reasons (safety against the police and FRUs) the Bar decided NOT to hold the celebration. That being said, some lawyers felt that it was their inalienable right to walk from Sogo to Central Market. So they did. A few lawyers decided to have a stroll from Sogo to Central Market. They had a message to spread, one of peace, solidarity, steadfastness, justice, fairness and professionalism.
They carried signs and banners expressing their views whilst walking.

“With freedom comes responsibility, and likewise with leadership. When we involve the public in our activities, we have a responsibility towards them.” As a result, she (Ambiga Sreenevasan, President of Bar Council) said they decided to call off the walk.
(Bar Council report)

Human Rights Day more like a Wake

The authorities did their usual modus operandi ie. roadblocks, hundreds of intimidating policemen bla bla bla. What we, Malaysians say "Standard la." My response is "ape jadahnye?" (What's the big deal?)

Let them walk, let them express themselves. Let them have their views seen and heard. What's wrong with that?

Like an BN/UMNO politician Zaid Ibrahim said (yes folks, he's a BN/UMNO guy):

'I was part of the walk last year and the year before, we just walked around the garden, it's good exercise but again, we couldn't do that,' he lamented.
As reported by Beh Lih Yi

Ok,so the police arrested a few lawyers. Because they were concerned about public safety.(Dude, they were 500 police and 100 or so lawyers. Who was obstructing traffic? Who was having the 'gathering'? Police ke, lawyer? Haha, like Nat Tan said, 1 cop for left hand, 1 cop for right hand, 1 for left leg...)

I admit that it was (in a sense) an illegal gathering. (Does that mean, when i lepak with 5 of my friends, its an illegal gathering?) There IS a law against illegal gatherings.. but I implore you to think about it.. Isn't this law in itself open to abuse? Also, why is this law contradictory to the our constitution? Why is this law only being applied to some of us and not the rest?

You can call it many things, ladies and gentlemen. I call it biased-ness. I call it unfairness. I call it tyranny.

On the same note, they arrested several lawyers. It was recorded on many videos.
You watch and judge for yourself, if there was any risk to 'public safety'. You ask yourself, when the walkers begged the policemen to let them walk peacefully a few minutes more, did this risk the public safety?

Edmund Bon, human rights lawyer, was arrested. Human Rights Lawyer. I think he knows more about human rights law than you or me. You know why he was arrested? Because he stopped the police from taking down human rights banners at an exhibition site at the Bar Council Building. Well I guess they were worried that someone might trip and pierce himself on a piece of cloth... public safety and all.

Plus they didn't give two shits about it being private property and all. They were above the law.. or shall I say, the tyrants are above them.

Doolah said that "No one is above the law." Now-now Mr Prime Minister, watch your words carefully before you vomit them out. Remember Nathaniel Tan? He was arrested for a comment someone else left on his blog. Next the police arrested someone who left a comment on your site, Mr Prime Minister. Since no one is above the law (that includes you, Sir) shouldn't they be arresting you, Mr Prime Minister? Since it's your site and all.

Sad isn't it? When police have this habit of arrest first, use brain later. You know what's funny? They arrested Nathaniel for having some 'official secrets' based on a comment from someone else. Have they absolutely no idea how blogs work?

This is pathetic.

Talk about double standards and selective arrests. Don't give me that crap.
Nurin's killer is still out there.

Demos By Umno Youth And Hindraf Have Nothing In Common?

2007-12-11T23:57:00.000+08:00

Hmmm...have you read the recent article from the local rags about the 2006 demonstration by the Umno Youth have nothing in common with the 2007 Hindraf rally Well, there's a little excerpt from an article from Bernama about it that goes a little like this:

(Bernama: Wednesday, December 12, 2007): Demos by Umno Youth and Hindraf have nothing in common.

Attempts by certain people to equate the demonstration by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) with efforts by Umno to stand for the rights of Palestinians are difficult to be accepted because the gap in their struggles is very wide, like between the earth and the sky.

The public may still remember when Umno Youth vice chief Khairy Jamaluddin and 10,000 other Malaysians of various religions stood together in a wave of anger towards the United States (US) for defending Israel that openly murdered the Lebanese and Palestinians.

The rally on July 28 last year in this capital city, initiated by Umno Youth, finally managed to hand over a memorandum to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was here for the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, calling for the world power to broker a ceasefire to end the Israeli military campaign.

Fascinating, isn't it? Perhaps later Bernama can teach us - to put it bluntly - to suck eggs as well.

But going to back to the article, while it can be agreed that these two protests - let us not mince semantics and try to differentiate the Umno Youth protest as an 'effort' - are somewhat divergent, it should be understood that the basic principles underlying these two demonstrations do run parallel to one another.

However, before we go on to its similarities, let us first examine the differences between these two protests, if only to while away our time in bemused silence...

1. The organizers of the protests

While the Hindraf demonstration was organized by an NGO of little repute, the Umno Youth protest was staged by a component wing under the ruling coalition, who numbers were added to by other youth sections of Barisan Nasional component parties.

Of course, while this does not automatically imply that the protest staged by Umno Youth was any less - or more, I might add - relevant than the Hindraf rally, it does imply that by Umno Youth protest was afforded a degree of immunity (or should we say impunity).

Indeed, this question is one that is quite salient, as Khairy Jamaluddin himself frankly admitted that he was afforded certain ‘protections’ as the son-in-law of the premier not too long ago. This in turn beggars the question of the degree of hypocrisy on the part of the government to either vindicate or victimize protests protests it endorses to its personal gain.

2. The 'reception' of the police force

While the Hindraf demonstrators were 'tearfully' embraced with violence, the Umno Youth protesters were seen to be handled with velvet gloves, as they were able to force their way - through a cordon of usually baton happy Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel, I might add – to deliver their memorandum with little or no adverse effects.

Again, this alludes that the Umno Youth protesters were afforded certain immunities, especially in light of the following article from the Star:

(The Star, July 29, 2006): When there was no sign of this happening, Khairy together with about 200 supporters pushed their way past the FRU line.

In the commotion, some supporters, including Khairy, fell. Other police personnel moved in to form a human chain in front of the entrance to the convention centre.
Despite this, Khairy and a handful of supporters managed to get through. They squatted outside the entrance for two hours.

The fact that the Umno Youth protesters were able to stage their protest shortly after Friday prayers - squatting (constipation, izzit?) in the middle of Kuala Lumpur unmolested for three hours - does indeed raise more than a few eyebrows, especially when there were sporadic reports of scuffles between Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel and the protesters.

3. The supposed 'support'

While previous reports in 2006 published by the local rags had numbered the Umno Youth protest at around 2,000 protesters, today’s article has exaggerated that figure to 10,000 protesters.

Right. Freud probably could say something about this obtuse form of masculine anxiety, but as we are not psychoanalysts, perhaps it is best if we were to not to dwell on the unfortunate lack of genitalia endowment of certain individuals or parties who are trying to inflate the number of supporters it has been able to garner.

So, penile insecurities apart, the inflation of this number does show some form of duplicity on the part of the ruling coalition, especially when the ‘official’ number of supporters for the Hindraf rally was quite obviously underplayed.

These three dissimilarities are of course merely the tip of the iceberg. If given sufficient time, it is assured that many of us could all come up with a host of other differences in methodology and mannerisms between these two protests, not the least of which is the burning of a flag of another sovereign nation, and the sheer anger of the Umno Youth protest when contrasted with the entreaties of the Malaysian Indians.

As for the similarities between these two protests, well...

1. The organization of the organizers

There is not much difference between street protests, as they all do run more or less the same rote: get people on the streets, wave banners, shout till you’re hoarse and so forth. Not much difference there, unless you count the Umno Youth protestor’s tendencies to run amok whenever they feel like it without any repercussions.

2. The need for political mileage

Before I go on, please do let me make this stand: the Israeli aggression against Palestine and Palestinians must be fought. Thankfully, many of us are not ignorant of the atrocities committed by the Israeli government which is backed by the United States.

To be honest, if I had known about this protest by the Umno Youths, I too would have taken to the streets in support of this (though if I did stand beside Khairy on any issue I would have required the help of a psychiatrist after that).

However, not all Malaysians are aware of this issue, or its pressing need to be addressed. It has to be admitted that most Chinese and Indian Malaysians are ignorant of the Palestinian struggle, though this is not their fault.

After all, it is a matter of sensitivities, and while many Malay Malaysians have sensitivities that lie in this direction, most Chinese and Indian Malaysians do not. So to say that the protest by the Umno Youth was justifiable merely because it touches on certain matters is - in a country as multiracial as ours - tantamount to crass duplicity, especially when contrasted with the claims that the Hindraf protestors have no justifiable basis to voice their concerns.

3. The basic ideology

That both protests are similar in ideology - to address an injustice that is obvious to its particular creed – is obvious, so to argue over it is again would do no more than quantify the semantics of it all. Both protests were done to highlight an injustice that was perceived by that particular group, the only difference between these two ideologies was that one was internal, and the other external.

Again, I could wax lyrical about the similarities between these two protests, but we will never really get anywhere other than to further divide ourselves to the betterment of others.
So please do allow me to end this on this note: to claim that the Umno Youth protest was more permissible – merely because we sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians - as "the only way to protest against the Israeli aggression" is wrong.

If indeed that this was "the only way to protest against the Israeli aggression", then it must be noted that our government is one that is weak both within and without, and an insult to a nation that once commanded respect - and more than it's fair share of anger - from the international community.

After all, the Umno Youth is component wing under the ruling coalition, and is part and parcel of the government. It is lead by a member of parliament, and has a strong voice within the government and its policies. To add on to that, the rally organizer is the son-in-law of the Premier of the nation, the very Premier who had invited Condoleeza Rice to Malaysia in the first place.

Would it have been so difficult for him to fax the memorandum over to Condoleeza Rice, as Hindraf was ultimately forced to do?

Malaysians Love Gorillas in Government

2007-12-06T22:07:00.000+08:00

'Belligerent'. If there was only one word to be chosen to best describe the mannerisms and attitudes of the recent crop of politicians that overrun the echelons of the government and the (un)civil service, this would be the best choice. However, 'cantankerous', 'discourteous', incompetent', 'ineffectual', 'unimpressive' and 'inept' does run a close second.

It boggles the mind to know that amongst the myriad of available cerebral resources that is to be had from within this country, those best left to linger at the bottom of the social rung somehow – against the odds, I might add - manage to climb their way to the top of the political ladder.

There’s a saying that holds true to this:

"In any broth, the scum always rises to the top"

Is this because of the current political practices in Malaysia? Not the system, mind you, though that is flawed enough as it is. After all, it is an open secret that the supposed separation between the judicial and the executive is non existent, and most Malaysians are quite aware that the Parliament can only be best describe as a kindergarten playground populated with aged bullies.

So let us not question the political system or our politicians for the time being, but rather question ourselves. After all, while Malaysians - as the people of our government - are empowered to say 'yea' or 'nay' to any politician, would-be or otherwise, we find ourselves, more often than not, at the mercy of politicians than the other way around.

There are some who would venture that as a collective, people are unintelligent. They substantiate this by saying that as individuals, people are intelligent, reasoning beings, but as a collective group, people are foolish, mindless organisms. This is unacceptable to me. While there are some elements in this statement which are true, it is a fact that we are more knowledgeable as a collective than we are alone.

But why has it become a political practice - or even a political preference - that the worst amongst us are chosen to be fielded for elections? Why is it that abject allegiance - regardless of how mindless it is – a currency which is more valued than morality? And why is it that seniority - some would venture senility - counts more than integrity and intellect?

It would seem that Malaysians – though enlightened - would prefer chest thumping silverback demagogues who play on our popular prejudices, fears and expectations over those quietly capable individuals who are able to perform in office with the required skills and competencies to manage our interests. Or is it the other way around? Do politicians prefer to be chest thumping silverback demagogues rather than quietly capable individuals?

Being a career politician has its price, after all. Being fielded in an election costs money, and a lot of it. The trappings of a politician - it must be said - do not come cheap, never mind the fact that most politicians are not able to coherently speak without a teleprompter.

But I digress. The fault lays not so much with those in power, but to those amongst us who bequeath that power to them. After all, why is it that Malaysians need to suffer indignity after indignity before we come to our senses, if ever that blessed day comes? Why is it that we are so able to whisper so covertly amongst ourselves, but never able to stand overtly against the supposed powers that be?

It is a sad fact that most Malaysians would still choose to elect demagogues rather than intellectuals to positions of power. It is a sad fact that Malaysians would prefer to hear rhetoric and propaganda playing on our prejudices and expectations, rather than the harsh truths about our country.

To those who think that the ruling coalition will not receive their two thirds majority in the next general election, I hope you are right, but it is highly doubtful that this will happen. It is odd that those amongst us who have voiced our opinions have been labeled as 'the disgruntled' by the ruling coalition as we are the ones who see a better future ahead for us all. But it is worse when those among us voice our opinions only to be labeled as 'the disillusioned' by our fellow citizens - the very people of our beloved country - we are standing up for.

Malaysians fall under the malaise of needing change, but not wanting it. Malaysians see implied adherence to duty, good faith and loyalty as matters which are greater than skill and competence in managing our interests. Because of this, our trust structure - that little two way road between the people and the government - has been repeatedly abused and disabused by both sides of the fence who (ever so vehemently) claim to protect it in favor of short term gains, as opposed to long term goals.

And because of this, that trust structure is being torn down, brick by brick in front of our eyes.

"The strongest argument against democracy is a five minute discussion with the average voter" - Sir Winston Churchill

M for Malaysia - Past, Present & Future

2007-12-05T21:12:00.001+08:00

This video was taken from "chongzhemin" on YouTube for entertainment purposes. Enjoy.

A true state of "Democracy" in Malaysia video, drawing parallels to the movie "V for Vendetta".

Malaysia Mis-information Minister claims that the General Elelction every 5 years means that we have democracy in Malayisia.

Democracy is more than having elections. Democracy is the freedom to peaceful gathering. Democracy is the freedom of speech. Democracy is the freedom to express opposing views.

There can be no democracy without elections.

But there can also be elections without democracy.

The administration of the Malaysian government is moving towards complete total hegemonic domination which makes it no difference to the dictactorship of Chancellor Adam Sutler in the movie "V For Vendetta".

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch commented "Prime Minister Badawi claims to be a reformer, but when it comes to holding onto power, he and his party make one set of rules for themselves and another for everyone else."

It's time for political reform in Malaysia. Vote for change.

People should not be afraid of their governments.

Governments should be afraid of their people.

Someone must stand up for what's right

2007-12-05T20:56:00.000+08:00

We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing

Jewel's lyrics in her song 'Hands' speaks to me. I hope you enjoy it too. - KL Confidential

Jewel's Hands

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these

I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear

My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

Poverty stole your golden shoes
It didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after

We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing

My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
I am never broken

In the end only kindness matters
In the end only kindness matters

I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray

My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
We are never broken

We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's mind

We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's heart

We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's eyes

We are God's hands
We are God's hands

Post Hindraf Rally - What now?

2007-12-05T20:05:00.000+08:00

I strongly agree with the opinion of this article written by Nuraina A Samad (taken from her blog.)

All said and done, we can now talk about what needs to be done -- post-Hindraf rally.
If we still think that everything in this country is so peachy pink and rosy, then there is something really wrong with us.

On Sunday, I saw unhappiness, anger and desperation walk the streets. I am helpless, I am powerless.

But, let me be clear on one thing though-- I take exception to Uthayakumar's memorandum which, in my humble opinion, is laced with racial overtones and littered with distorted facts, and therefore smacks of blatant racism and bigotry.

His kind of politics will only set us all back, as that of keris-wielding chest thumping ultras in Umno has done. We do not need another racist, another bigot.

His memorandum aside, I see and appreciate the real issue at hand -- the deep sense of being severely marginalised and disenfrachised felt by a sector of Malaysians of Indian origin.
I am so sad that it has come to this state of affairs.

This is not the end of this article. Click here for the whole thing.

MPs as RELA Colonels: Feudal Lords in Modern Malaysia?

2007-12-04T22:37:00.000+08:00

You know, as much as there are those out there who vehemently detest the government, credit has to be given to the ruling coalition for coming up with some rather 'interesting' suggestions, the most recent of which can be found in today’s Star under the article 'RELA men won’t be armed at immigration depots':

On when MPs would start their duties as Rela Colonels as announced early this year, he [Home Affairs Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Paduka Abdul Rahman Ibrahim] said discussions would be held on Dec 17.

"As honorary Colonels, MPs can be advisers to Rela teams in their constituencies and aid them in their activities," he added.

Given the fact that RELA is a military organization, and that MPs - irrespective if they are members of the Parliament or not - are civil servants, shouldn't there be at least some question as to the wisdom of elevating mere civilians to the rank of feudal lords?

Not that I am implying that our ruling coalition is interested in creating feudal lords, or reverting to feudal systems. No, no, no...far from it. It must be, after all, admitted that most of our MPs fall far short of the requirements of a Shogans, and RELA members...well, suffice it to say that while there is the slimmest of possibilities that they might become samurai warriors in their next life, chances are higher that they'll probably be reincarnated as MPs first.

However, irregardless of the shortcomings of individual MPs and RELA, the elevation of MPs as RELA Colonels within their constituencies poses a number of serious questions.

1. Can this be construed as a constituency based militia?
2. Can 'advice' from MPs who are RELA Colonels be taken as 'orders'?
3. Can this be seen as a move by the ruling coalition moving to 'secure' individual constituencies?
4. Can this be seen as a move by the ruling coalition to circumvent current legal and judicial system that is being challenged?

I know, I know...conspiracies, conspiracies. But look at it this way, if the figures from Wikipedia are correct - averaging out 494,145 members of RELA between 219 members of Parliament elected from single-member constituencies - then on average, 2,300 members of RELA will come under the purview of each individual MP.

While many would scoff that RELA is a military organisation by the barest of definitions, it's members are still essentially soldiers, albeit badly trained and equipped. And no matter how poor their training is, or how outdated their equipment, members of RELA enjoy a host of 'responsibilities' and 'privileges' beyond that of conventional police and military forces.

Like the 'Fingermen' from the movie V for Vendetta, RELA members are in effect empowered beyond conventional law enforcement, and worse, are not individually accountable for their actions. Under Essential (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat) (Amendment) Regulations 2005, Essential (Pasokan Kawalan) Regulations 1966, and Emergency (Essential Powers) Act 1964, RELA members - in the words of the Malaysian Bar – have the right:

"...to bear and use firearms, stop, search and demand documents, arrest without a warrant, and enter premises without a warrant and all these powers can be exercised (if) the RELA personnel has reasonable belief that any person is a terrorist, undesirable person, illegal immigrant or an occupier..."

Now imagine that kind of authority invested in 2,300 members of RELA - who are essentially soldiers - under one MP.

If that is not an impressive constituency based militia worthy of a feudal lord, I don’t know what is.

And lets not forget that not all militias are created equal. After all, in some constituencies, the number of RELA members may run up to tens of thousands, while in others the numbers may range somewhere in the tens or twenties. Will this imbalance mean that some MPs in some constituencies – possibly even all - will encourage a conscription drive to recruit more and more members for RELA, to enlarge their militias, and become greater feudal lords?
So is this the face of things to come? Will conscripting RELA members become the preference amongst our future feudal lords?

After all, why should MPs bother going through normal channels when they are able to invoke upon the discretionary powers of RELA to enforce whichever lark that takes their fancy? And why should the government be even bothered to hire and train professional policemen when they are able to pay RM 4.00 per hour (to any RELA member out there, I hear McDonalds pays RM5.00 per hour) to a RELA member who only needs 3-14 days training for a cheaper supply of 'law enforcement officials'?

With some work and a lot of luck, the ruling coalition may even get to jettison the tedious micromanagement of constituencies, reverting all of us back to the good 'ol Middle Ages. So instead of wrangling in Parliament, our feudal lords can while away their time by collecting taxes and hanging up 'Most Wanted' posters of prominent opposition leaders, though they'll need to share their ill gotten gains later to the crown...er, I mean government.

Hmmm...say, don't they already do that now?

Festival of Rights Malaysia 2007

2007-12-04T19:48:00.000+08:00

Hindraf: Takde permit, takde jalan

2007-12-02T00:21:00.000+08:00

The local rags have really outdone themselves yesterday. In less time that it would take Benito Mussolini to comb his hair, articles with such memorable headlines as ‘Inflammatory entries’, ‘IGP: They'd no intent to give memo’, 'Use existing forums to voice problems', ‘Govt won't allow rally to turn into racial issue’ were printed, bundled and disseminated across the by the NST.

Not to be outdone, the Star went the extra mile to add those little touches with ‘Muhyiddin: Other races have poor too’, ‘Cops forced to use tear gas, water cannons’, ‘Change must come from within ourselves’, ‘PM: Police had to take action’, and my personal favorite, ’Ka Ting braves Hindraf crowd to attend function’.

Yes, it must be admitted that MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting does indeed posses an fine set of jewels.

Though Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting should be quite used to dealing with rowdy crowds, given his stints at the Dewan Rakyat, it takes a real man to brave a crowd of 10,000 men and women, regardless if they are made up of Indians, Chinese or Malays…well, maybe if they are made up of Indians.

After all, there could be a cache of todi being secreted in those voluminous orange robes that the protesters were wearing, which could be taken out to be randomly imbibed or thrown at discreet couples holding more than their hands in and around the KLCC area.

What? No orange robes? Well, maybe those caches of todi were hidden anally, like how most politicians are able to hide the truth. After all, where do you think those Molotov cocktails came from? It is not like the Malaysian police were handing out crates of the stuff - or C4 explosives - to random passersby with their blessings.

Really, in light of that revelation, who really cares about the fact that the participants of Hindraf protest have a democratic right to take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, a democratic right that is enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and strengthened by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1993 Vienna Declaration.

Let us not forget the big picture of a peaceful Malaysia where its citizens may enjoy their rights by shutting up and sitting down - and occasionally bending over a cup of todi – while chanting outloud ‘Takde permit, takde jalan’.

Pulau Batu Puteh: An International Black Eye

2007-11-23T19:54:00.000+08:00

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. :(

Proton: Pride Goeth Before A Fall

2007-11-21T17:35:00.000+08:00

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".

I Cannot Tell a Lie

2007-11-20T19:14:00.000+08:00

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.

Open Letter to PM

2007-11-13T16:40:00.000+08:00

(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.)

3 days after 10/11

2007-11-13T15:32:00.000+08:00

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'?

Remember remember, the 10th of November..

2007-11-10T20:40:00.000+08:00

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.

9 November 2007 - The Anticipation

2007-11-09T20:52:00.000+08:00

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.

Is Malaysia just another syarikat swasta?

2007-11-01T18:58:00.000+08:00

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.