EYES WIDE OPEN

TAK NAK 1CARE!

2012-01-28T04:29:00.003+08:00

Healthcare reforms are upon us. Thegovt has been selling 1Care in the MSM throughout 2011, describing itit glowing terms without giving away any details at all. The DeputyDirector General of the Ministry of Health, Datuk Dr Hisham Abdullahhas acknowledged that Malaysia is currently halfway through the 1Careimplementation process. 2012 is when the implementation is supposedto be stepped up. So we don't have much time to stop this train wreckfrom happening.

I won't be discussing the structure of1Care in this article. For that, please “Like” the #taknak1carefacebook page. There is a wealth of information about 1Care there,several intelligent discussions including with the Dep DG of MOHhimself, and new information is posted often. You can also searchYoutube for the videos that have been circulating.

Today, I would like to look at theproblems and questions that arise from 1Care policies and structure.

Firstly, I believe 1Care is based on some fundamentallyflawed assumptions.

Assumption 1:
The Malaysian govt cannotafford public healthcare anymore.

Given that the Malaysian govt spendssignificantly less on healthcare (only about 2% of GDP) thancomparable countries, Malaysia is internationally acknowledged forour relatively high level of healthcare. This low cost and higheffectiveness shows that Malaysia has a reasonably robust andefficient healthcare system already in place now. (This is a veryimportant point to remember as you read the rest of thispost.)

But despite the low public expenditure, the government is saying that it can no longerfinance the 2% of GDP for healthcare. It plans to force all rakyat topay up to 10% of their monthly income into a Social Health Insurance(SHI) to share the cost. This is pure nonsense! Isn't thegovernment's money drawn from taxpayers hard earned money? Why are webeing asked to pay again?

The government should first solvethe problems of leakages, wastages, corruption and increased costsdue to outsourcing and concessions for core healthcare supportservices and not force the rakyat to finance their irresponsibleactions.

Instead, we see taxpayers moneybeing spent on more "important" projects such as theRM1,000,000,000 Mega Tower, RM12,000,000,000 PKFZ fiasco,RM3,000,000,000 submarines that don't work, RM4,000,000,000 MRTproject that only covers a few km, etc. Also don't forget theRM1,000,000,000,000 in illicit capital outflow from the country thatmany believe is from govt-related corruption.

If the government sets its prioritiesright, our country could easily afford to maintain and even evenexpand our public healthcare system.

Assumption 2:
The healthcare systemneeds a complete overhaul

Malaysia currently has a somewhatefficient dual system. There seems to be an unwritten rule among therakyat that those who can afford it, go to private healthcareproviders. Those who can't, go to public providers. The wealthiertaxpayers (only 10% of the population) take care of themselves andwillingly pay taxes to provide free healthcare for the poorer 90%.

This dual system has worked well fordecades (and internationally acknowledged, remember) although it hassome problems. The most urgent healthcare financing problem now isrunaway profits and irresponsible public financial management.Solving these two problems should be the first step to any reform.However, the govt is NOT taking any steps in that direction. Insteadit wants to implement a SHI to wash its hands of its already lowhealthcare expenditure.

But for the sake of argument, let'sassume that the Malaysian healthcare system is really so bad it needscomplete reform. There are many other countries whose models haveworked very well with little financial burden to the rakyat. But ourgovt seems to have not explored any other model for the last twodecades except privatisation and creating an SHI to pay forit.

Assumption 3:
Privatisation and SHI are the best reformoption

In highly privatised places like America, reforms in theshape of an SHI could be a welcome relief. In a privatised system,healthcare is a product, and pricing strategies maximise profits. Buthealthcare is not normal product – you can choose not to buy a car,but you cannot choose not to have a heart attack. You can return ablouse for a refund, but you cannot return a surgery. This situationguarantees that healthcare providers will forever enjoy a seller'smarket!

In such a context, SHI promisesaffordable healthcare in time of need, as long as people put up witha little less spending money every month after the deductions. It's aviable alternative to costly GP visits / prescriptions, long-termcare like diabetes, or sudden catastrophic healthcare spending incases like cancer or accidents.

A well implemented SHI could alsofunction as a disciplinary tool for healthcare providers. SHIs candemand quality and accountability from healthcare by limitingpayments for bad healthcare practices and irresponsible finances. Ofcourse, it has its drawbacks, but it's still better than privatehealthcare being priced out of many people's affordability.

But Malaysia does not have a completelyprivatised healthcare system that a SHI could improve. So our govt isnow CREATING it by essentially privatising the entire healthcaresystem through 1Care. Of course, now they won't dare to use the “P”word as the rakyat had put up with so much hardship due to pastprivatisation policies. The common euphemism now is “AUTONOMY”which allows indivdual govt units to decide policies independentlywithout govt interference – like pricing policies, for example.

If that's the case, what's to stop govtfacilities from acting like for-profit organisations?

Assumption4:
There will be enough high income earners to significantlycontribute to the SHI.

Using GDP growth and median incomemeasurements as an indication of citizens' financial fitness forimplementing SHI is flawed. We must take into consideration theincome gap as well. Right now, the income disparity is widening inMalaysia. But looking at the median income level alone gives theimpression that there is a large middle class. Plus, the govt'sdefinition of poverty level is dubious. Implementing a univeral SHIin this situation could widen the income gap even further.

Thegovt's rush to implement 1Care by merely making financial assumptionswithout a proper study of the rakyat's situation only speaks of thegovt's insensitivity and misplaced priorities.

Besides the problems these these flawedassumptions create, 1Care throws up several issues of concern aswell.

Issue 1:
Double taxation, zeroadditional benefit

The SHI concept itself is ridiculouswithin the Malaysian context. As explained earlier, we areinternationally acknowledged as having achieved a reasonablyefficient healthcare system at very low expenditure.

With the introduction of 1Care,Malaysians will now be paying taxes, AND the SHI, AND their privateinsurance premiums. If the SHI rates were reasonable and the benefitspackage good, many people would probably have no problem with that.The only people unhappy would be the private insurers as they willlose business to the SHI.

But as insiders have revealed,insurance companies do sit in the MOH's Technical Working Groups tohammer out the details of 1Care implementation. And since we do nothear any complaints from them even after 1Care implementation hasbegun, we can safely assume that their interests have not beenthreatened.

Insiders also reveal that all our monthlypayments to 1Care's SHI only gets us Primary Healthcare (GeneralPractioners / Clinics). Even then the rakyat STILL has to share thecost (co-pay) for drugs and medical accessories. And tertiary care(hospital / specialists) is not covered AT ALL, so the rakyat willstill have to pay out of pocket or depend on private insurance likenow (which means the private healthcare insurers' market remainsundisturbed by 1Care, right)!

How is this supposed to be animprovement over our present system? Isn't this the case where therakyat is forced to pay twice for a “reformed” system thatburdens them with higher healthcare costs but delivers zero extrabenefit?

Issue 2:
Integrating public/private healthcare sectors will drive costs up

Since 1Careintegrates public and private primary care services and standardisestheir fees, there will essentially no longer be any "public"GPs. All GPs will be paid private rates under 1Care, so we can expectprimary healthcare costs to suddenly rise significantly.

GPsare also required to be gatekeepers. No one can be admitted tohospital or see a specialist without a 1Care GP's say-so. This leadsto the big question – since GP rates have been rationalised, willhospital/specialist services also be integrated and their chargesstandardised?

This is very likely as it would not be “fair”for govt specialists to be paid less than their private counterparts.The Dep DG of MOH himself hinted at this in one of his comments onthe #taknak1care page. And since 78% of hospital beds in Malaysiabelong to the govt who handles 74% of admissions, we can also expectnational healthcare expenditure to shoot through the roof!

Now that the floodgates of privatisedrates have been opened, what's to stop our “reformed” 1Caresystem from going the the free-for-all American way, where anyservice within the healthcare industry has the potential to bemonetised, subdivided and monetised again? Especially now that the“autonomy” concept seems to be given free reign.

What's more, since 1Care's SHIbenefits only cover selected GP services, private insurers will raisetheir premiums and limit payouts to ensure their profitability is notaffected by the rising healthcare costs.

Issue 3:

Social safety net disappears

Many uninsured peoplewould be locked out of the tertiary healthcare market because theycan't afford to be sick in a completely privatised system.

Ourpublic healthcare system has always been the primary choice for lowerincome groups. It is their chance to get good, almost-freehealthcare. However, even before 1Care is fully implemented, govthospital charges are now no longer “negligible”. Rooms in somegovt hospitals now cost as much as private hospitals. Other fees maybe much lower than the private sector, but can still run intothousands for a even simple surgical procedure.

In Budger2012, the PM acknowledged that households earning less thanRM3000/mth have trouble making ends meet and a RM500 one-off cash aidmakes a big difference. With roughly 60% of Malaysian householdsearning below this threshold, how can they be expected to contributeup to 10% of their income into 1Care's SHI? How will they be able toafford expensive long-term / tertiary care if they are no longersubsidised by the govt?

Conclusion

These and many other disturbing issuesand concerns keep turning up as bit by bit, as the scope andstructure of 1Care are revealed. But so far, the government has noanswers for the rakyat.

The information gathered from documents available online indicates that 1Carewill create more problems than it solves. In fact, the implementation of1Care's SHI concept will actually destroy our present efficientsystem, reverse-engineer for us all the problems of the Americanprivatised healthcare model AND create ALL-NEW problems because of itslimited coverage. 1Care could be the most dangerously ridiculous caseof putting the cart before the horse that Malaysians have ever beensubjected to by the govt!

The govt should fix its ownfundamental flaws and get its priorites right first before subjectingthe rakyat to such dubious reforms! The govt should remember thatthey owe it to the rakyat to provide healthcare and other essentialservices, instead of washing their hands in the privatisation basinand kicking back to enjoy less work and more money.

And as forus rakyat, we owe it to ourselves and our children to make sure 1Careis stopped dead in its tracks!

TAK NAK 1CARE! Join themovement, spread the word.

Malaysia Is Gonna Privatise Healthcare?

2011-11-26T12:16:00.001+08:00

Good God! The people are getting poorer by the day as prices of essential items go up and up!

Taxes are going up too with the imminent introduction of GST.

But despite the record earnings of Petronas being funneled into the Malaysian government, despite the hundreds of GLCs that are supposed to make money for the government, despite the billions of ringgit of rakyat savings being held by govt via EPF, Socso, Tabung Haji, etc, the government is now telling the people:

"We don't want to provide healthcare for you any more. So if you don't have money to pay for your own healthcare, you can go and mampus la."

Why don't WE THE RAKYAT tell this government to go mampus themselves and vote their asses out completely come GE13?!

1Cop misbehaved at Tung Shin and no more?

2011-10-10T01:32:00.001+08:00

Malaysia seems to be stuck in broken record mode. From goodie budgets designed to bribe voters presented since 2008 (more on 2012 budget in a later post), no empty feel-good rhetoric, to a million other issues that never seem to be solved, the same-old, same-old is repeating itself ad nauseaum.

In 2010, I wrote an article asking why only 1Cop was charged for young Aminulrasyid's killing, and no other action was taken regarding the Selangor (then) top cop Khalid lying about the incident, the subsequent official cover ups and denials, and the other cops involved in the chase who manouvered their squad cars well enough to enable the shooters to take out all Aminulrasyid's tyres and finally end his short life.

The official story (now become a criminal conviction) of a lone cop was responsible for the tragedy beggars belief. But it seems this is the modus operandi of the police. Because we see the EXACT SAME process in the Tung Shin incident during the Bersih rally. First: lies, Second: denials and cover-ups, Third: absolve all cops from responsibility, Fourth: single out one low-ranking cop to take all the blame.

The Malaysian Insider reports:

"City police chief Datuk Mohamad Salleh pledged today that action would be taken against the police corporal responsible for the tear gas incident at the Tung Shin Hospital during the Bersih 2.0 rally. "

Is it true that only 1Cop was responsible? Take a look at these videos:

This shows a squad of riot police, standing outside the perimeter fence of Tung Shin, firing several rounds of tear gas in the general direction of the hospital.

This clip shows 2 clouds of tear gas billowing out near the main Tung Shin Hospital tower, one towards the front the lobby area of the main tower and another at the building beside the tower.

This clip shows cannons shooting chemical-laced water into the hospital compound, as well as 2 clouds of tear gas - one near the lobby of the main Tung Shin tower which was dissipating, and another at the greenery at the back of the compound starting to billow. Another gas cloud billows at the Chinese Maternity Hospital entrance.

This clip shows a tear gas canister in front of the building next to the Tung Shin tower.

This is a gas canister fired into the crowd standing near the entrance of the Chinese Maternity Hospital next to Tung Shin.

This is a clip showing a cornered group deep in the Tung Shin compound at a dead end, and a tear gas canister flies in from ABOVE!

This is another shot of the same group after the gas has dissipated. It also gives a little background of the crowd's movement that caused them to seek refuge in Tung Shin.

If you had been keeping count, that's AT LEAST FOUR canisters triggered WITHIN the Tung Shin compound and one at the Chinese Maternity Hospital entrance. As far as I can place them based on the video footage, the locations are roughly as follows:

There's one more location that I could not pinpoint (the small chanting group), but based on the design of the pillars/lights in the carpark area it is definitely around the Tung Shin / Chinese Maternity car park area.

That's HELLUVA coverage by only ONE rogue cop.

And that's not all.

Police have standard operating procedures (SOP) and a strict chain of command (COC) during an operation. This is absolutely essential, partly to PREVENT personnel going berserk and doing whatever the hell they liked.

Basically, sergeants are in charge of the ground personnel (who are lower-ranked) and coordinate their actions based on commands from higher ups. Use of force and type of force used are also subject to SOP which dictates what to do and when. Ultimately, these actions and commands are focused on one thing only - to achieve the objectives of the operation decided by the commanders.

Now, does it make sense that a lone lance corporal (second lowest rank in the force) breaks away from the SOP and COC, running amok with his tear gas rifle and NOBODY NOTICES OR STOPS HIM? When at that time, there were hundreds of cops around the Tung Shin area together with their commanders?

Where was his sergeant-in-charge - why didn't he order the fler to stop or even physically restrain him if necessary? What about the other cops? If they had orders not to fire tear gas into the hospital compound, why didn't THEY stop the so-called "rogue cop"?

No...the more likely scenario is that the objective of the operation that day was - "kick their ass, show them who's boss!" That's why all along cops' chain of command, nobody gave a rat's ass that hospitals and religious buildings are internationally recognised places of refuge. They didn't gave a shit what effects tear gas has on sick patients.Or rather, they were NOT ALLOWED TO CARE BECAUSE THE OBJECTIVES OVERRIDES ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.

SOP was definitely breached, but it is obvious that it is not merely the responsibility of a lone "rogue cop". Even if it was only 1Cop firing the tear gas, the fact that he was not stopped by ANY police personnel present places ALL of them equally responsible for allowing it to happen. The Chain of Command must also be held responsible as they allowed tear gas to be fired into the hospital compound. And the responsibility must be extended all the way up the chain of command.

So how far up does that go?

It certainly can't be just the cops because they're supposed to keep the peace. And the best way to keep the peace would have been to discuss nicely with Bersih 2.0 to see how the rally could be carried out peacefully. If they could close off roads for massive street parties and marathons, why not for Bersih? Instead, we saw the police antagonising the Bersih organisers. Obviously they were under orders from higher ups. And if we trace the chain of denials, it extends from the IGP, Home Minister, Health Minister, and right up to the Prime Minister.

With so many eyewitnesses (including police personnel), video evidence, and official press statements, why would they repeatedly deny it ever happened? We can only conclude that they fear it will damage them politically, which would indicate that they are responsible somehow. Of course, if one has done no wrong, what is there to fear?

So for all the barefaced lies and denials that went all the way up to the Prime Minister himself, the blame and accountability for this shameful incident MUST ALSO go all the way up to the Prime Minister, as all of these people were knowingly involved in the incident or knowingly allowed the incident to happen.

Of course, this being the BN and their cronies, they are never going to admit accountability.

Ludah ke langit, terkena muka sendiri!

2011-10-02T22:06:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since I posted anything here on this blog. It just got to a point where it was so tiresome ranting about the lame political bullshit day in and day out.But with the political circus increasing its performances daily, I cannot help it.

This ridiculousness is getting even more out of hand. It is even worse than during the days when they were spinning left, right and centre to get rid of Pak Lah! So I can't stand it any more, I got to speak out and get it off my chest before I burst!

I wish...

This piece of news I caught on NTV7 this afternoon had me rushing to the toilet bowl to meet my breakfast again, after it made the long journey up from my innards.

The PM was speaking at MCA's annual convention and was mocking the Opposition. But as he was firing off his mouth (no doubt congratulating himself for his wittiness), little did he realise what an embarrassment he was to himself and the MCA delegates. Anyone with half a brain would be able to see through the sheer hypocrisy, bigotry and partisanship that riddled his speech. But the PM and MCA delegates were obviously oblivious...

Among the choice bits that the station felt was newsworthy were the following snippets from Najib's speech.

- Najib laughing at who Pakatan will put into office if they win Putrajaya. Among the choices Najib mocked was Kit Siang, questioning what kind of position they will give him - PM? DPM? The PM's subtext was clear: Kit Siang is Chinese - will the Pakatan be so stupid to elect a Malaysian Chinese to such a high position in Malaysia? What kind of thinking produces such thoughts? Obviously the type that says "over my dead body will any Chinese be given any position of real influence! To hell whether they are qualified or not!"

Ha. Ha. Ha. Did you just say "Chinese DPM"?

Hello Mr PM, you want to laugh at your own fantasies about what other people have not done or said, go ahead. But when you finish, can anyone anwer this: has any MCA fella even come close to smelling those positions, ah? Please la, want to insult people make sure don't kena "kar kee lang" la!

Besides, the PM is mocking the possibility of a Malaysian Chinese holding the PM/DPM post at an MCA CONVENTION?! So low class! Reminds me of the other UMNO idiot Ali Rustam telling the Melaka PPP to get lost if they don't like UMNO's ways. And the bloody MCA idiots didn't even realise the PM's insult too all Malaysian Chinese. Some more laugh together...these people really no balls and no brains! Yet they still claim to be the relevant and legitimate representation of Malaysian Chinese!

- Najib also mocked Anwar's ambition to be PM, while not being the president of PKR. Hello Mr PM, you are Malaysia's PM but you don't know Malaysian law ka? According to the Constitution, the Malaysian PM is elected by the majority of MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT la...not by party! But I guess since your party UMNO/BN does not have the culture of following the law, your ignorance it's to be expected.

One more thing, you yourself only became PM by DEFAULT when your boss was kicked out. At that time you were NOT party president, but was only the Deputy President. Amacam kira tu?

- Mocked Anwar's family for being in PKR members and leaders, saying that it is a family-controlled party. Alamak, this one really takes the cake la. Mr PM, I'm shocked that you seem to forget that your FATHER was the 2nd PM (after he OUSTED the legitimately-elected Tunku), your COUSIN is currently the Home Minister and your WIFE is the de facto Assistant PM. Yang ni apa pulak?

Family controlled government / country?!

Please la Najib, people who live in glass houses really should not throw stones. Ludah ke langit, terkena muka sendiri!

National Health Insurance Scheme - A Sick Joke!

2010-07-12T15:22:00.007+08:00

Watch this and spread the word!

SAY NO TO NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME - it's just another way for the government and big corporations to milk the rakyat dry of the money!

Don't allow yourself to be screwed anymore! Go out and register as a voter and kick the BN's sorry ass out. Take our country back!

SAY YES to a Government FOR THE PEOPLE!

SAY NO to Government PROFIT FROM THE PEOPLE!

BUM 2010 - Be There or Be Square!

2010-05-14T16:57:00.003+08:00

1Cop arrested for Aminul's murder and no more?

2010-05-11T13:48:00.002+08:00

Today's papers front paged the arrest of a lowly corporal, Jenain Subi, for the killing of young Aminulrasyid. He is being charged for "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".

But in an NST Online article entitled "Witness breaks silence: Cops kept shooting as Aminul lay dead." dated 04 May 2010, it was reported that "Four policemen are being investigated in the case which has been classified as murder."

Why was the charge reduced? Is it justified?

Besides, why is only 1Cop charged when there are at least 4 cops involved?

If we retrace the story based on the various news reports, it is pretty clear that definitely more than 1Cop contributed to the death of Aminul.

First - the Chase

In a HartalMSM article entitled "What 6km chase?", it was exposed that the "6km chase" story spread by the police was bogus, along with their claims of roadblocks, parangs, gangsters/robbers and being attacked with the vehicle. A simple Google map analysis showed that the distance between the point Aminul's car overtook the police car and the point where it crashed was only 1.2km!

Witnesses also claim that Aminul's car was driven at a cruising speed of about 60km/h. Now let's do some maths - at 60km/h, it would only have taken about a minute to cover the 1.2km distance. Many shots were fired during that chase. Some reports put it as high as 20 rounds fired. It was definitely enough shots to destroy ALL 4 tyres and kill Aminul.

The drivers of the police vehicles could have stopped the car when they witnessed such a shooting spree. But no, what did the drivers do? They manouvered the police vehicles into position well enough to be able to target ALL the tyres and Aminul as well. They CONDONED & ENABLED the shooting spree!

Question: Why were the drivers not arrested and charged as accomplices?

Second - the Shooting

According to the report (and the very fact that Kpl Jenain is the only person charged) only 1Cop was responsible for shooting Aminul dead.

Question: Can 1Cop fire 20 rounds in a space of 1 minute?

Kpl Jenain must have been one helluva a Dirty Harry!

The standard issue PDRM sidearm is a Smith & Wesson .38 six-shooter. To fire 20 rounds, it mean that there was an average of 3 seconds between each shot. That's not counting the time he needed to reload his weapon 3 times (6 shots-reload-6 shots-reload-6 shots-reload-2 shots). You also have to factor in some time for the police vehicle to manouver around so that ALL 4 tyres of Aminul's vehicle can be shot out.

So in the end, what's the average time between shots fired? 0.5 to 1 second?

Wow...That certainly matches any Michael Bay action movie! But hey, this arrest sounds just as scripted to me! And there's a gaping hole in the plot too!

It's crystal clear that more than 1Cop was involved in the shooting. How come only 1Cop charged?

Third - the Story

Witness version (supported by open evidence) of the story goes like this:

2 naughty teens borrow a car without permission or license to go for a midnight snack. Gets involved in minor accidents. Aminul panics and runs. Aminul overtakes police vehicle, police give chase for 1.2 km. Many shots fired, bursting all tyres and killing Aminul before car crashed. Police continue firing at car after it crashed to a stop. Witness gets out to surrender but is beaten up. He somehow manages to escape.

Police version (with no evidence support):

2 suspected armed robbers were involved in a shootout. One of them was killed after a 6km chase. Police shot out all the vehicle tyres causing it to crash. Suspect then reversed vehicle to run down police but police shot him dead. Police found a parang in the vehicle and believe the suspects to be responsible for several robberies in Shah Alam. The other suspect escaped.

There is such a vast canyon between the 2 versions, it's hard to believe that they are talking about the same incident!!

In such a case, it's pretty clear that either the witnesses ganged together to create a lie to support Aminul's family or the police ganged together to create a lie to protect themselves.

2 Questions:

1. How likely is it that mamak shop workers, neighbours and passers-by managed to get together and construct a more or less consistent story of the tragic event?

2. How likely is it that a few cops conspired to concoct a story to absolve themselves of responsibility after they realised the terrible mistake they had made?

I would go with the second theory. And if so, it would mean that there were definitely more than 1Cop responsible for Aminul's death. If not directly, then as accomplices that enabled his killing and co-conspirators to the cover up.

May justice be served for Aminul and may Kpl Jenain tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in court, so help him God.

BUM 2010

2010-05-11T13:15:00.003+08:00

The much anticipated “Bloggers’ Event of The Year” is back!

BUM stands for Bloggers Universe Malaysia (BUM) and BUM2010 is the fourth in a series of annual gatherings of Malaysian bloggers and bloggers-to-be, and is being organized by a group of mainly Socio-political (SoPo) Bloggers in their individual capacities in association with the Protem Committee of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs), and the Centre for Policy Initiatives (cpiasia.net).

This year’s will take flight on Saturday May 22 at the Lake View Club, Subang Jaya. This year's event will feature speakers who have made a mark on the Malaysian landscape, so here’s your chance to meet them in person!

THEME: Bloggers: Moving Malaysia Forward

Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Venue: Lake View Club, Subang Jaya

PROGRAMME

10.00 – 10.30am: REGISTRATION

10.30—11.00am: Welcome addresses by RockyBru, All-Blogs Interim Committee President & YL Chong, BUM 2010 OC Chairman

11.00am –11.20am: KEYNOTE ADDRESS - Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Topic: “Selangor Government’s use of the Internet to improve good governance and service delivery, and the State’s efforts to bridge the Internet divide”

Moderator: Helen Ang

11.20 am – 11.45 am: Q and A

11.45am – 1.30pm: Bahasa Malaysia Forum

Topic: The Allah Issue: Various Perspectives

Moderator: Sakmongkol

Speakers:
Haris Ibrahim, People’s Parliament
YB Khalid Samad, MP for Shah Alam
Zaid Ibrahim, lawyer

* one more speaker to be confirmed..

********************** BUFFET LUNCH ************************

2.30pm –3.30pm: Media Session

Topic: Coverage by Mainstream Media — Insights and Perspectives

Moderator: Datuk Ahirudin Attan, Rockybru

Speakers:
R Nadeswaran, Editor, Investigative and Special Reports, the Sun
P.Gunasegaram, Managing Editor, StarBiz

* one more speaker to be announced later…

3.30pm – 4.30pm: Special Address - Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing, Datuk Raja Nong Chik bin Raja Zainal Abidin

Topic: “Engaging the Urban Rakyat via Internet . Experiences from Facebook and Blog4FT”

************************** HI-TEA *************************

6.00pm – 7.30pm: Bloggers Forum in English

Topic: Bloggers’ Role in Bridging the Religious Divide

Moderator: to be announced

Speakers:
YB Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, MP for Kuala Selangor
YB Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh
P.Uthayakumar

********************** BUFFET DINNER from 7.45PM **************

Note from BUM2010 Organisers:

BUM2010 is a non-profit initiative, and any fees received go towards defraying the costs of organizing the one-day “Bloggers Event of The Year” to mark World Press Freedom Day which falls on May 3.

The previous BUMmers outings had seen rising attendance, starting from 150 for BUM2007, to 180 for BUM2008 and to 200 for last year’s BUM2009 (REF: bum2009.wordpress.com).

The Event is open to all comers, even non-Bloggers, on a first-come-first served basis. OFFICIAL REGISTRATION PLUS FEES PAYABLE DETAILS please go here.

Register NOW as seats are limited and time is running out!

See you there!!!
BUM2010 Organising Committee

May 11, 2010

We believe in the power of ONE...

2010-05-09T18:16:00.003+08:00

VOICE YOUR CHOICE

We want to believe that the power of ‘one
’ is not simply overrated, it’s just rarely challenged. We want positive action not negative reactions. We want to integrate not tolerate. We want to stop complaining, and start acting. We want our friends to stop migrating overseas and our parents to stop telling us to do so. We want to be colour blind to our neighbours. We want to stand up to be responsible for our collective future and believe that others want to as well.

Your action today can change the way the nation is shaped tomorrow. But before change can happen, you need to vote. Without your vote, your voice can’t be heard. Join us in this EPIC movement to register 2 Million new voters by the end of 2010.

2010-03-30T00:11:00.004+08:00

.

.
1 April is just around the corner! Come on, youths of Malaysia! RIse up and be heard!!

This is just a short clip of our official BANGKIT theme song.

And since BANGKIT is all about YOU, we wanna invite YOU to complete the BANGKIT video! All you need to do is:

1. Download the BANGKIT theme song mp3 file (only available from 1 April)

2. Shoot a 20-second video of you and/or your friends singing the song (or ...doing anything else)

3. Email your video clip to us, and include the names of who’s in your shot

We’ll combine the footages that have been sent in and create the One And ONLY Malaysian Youth Music Video (starring youths from all over Malaysia)!!

So grab your camera and put on your creative caps!

What is Bangkit?

2010-03-24T09:06:00.000+08:00

.

.
It's all about YOU! What YOU feel and what YOU think!

If you’re under-30, BANGKIT is your chance to tell the whole nation what's on your mind! What kind of country do you want? How do you feel about our country? What do you love about Malaysia? This is your country, you have the right to be heard, and we will provide you the platform.

(read all about Bangkit here)

Bangkitlah Malaysia!

2010-03-16T09:42:00.004+08:00

Dear fellow Malaysians,

Are you happy with the state of our country today? Is our country and her people truly living up to their potential? What do you think of Malaysian society today? Should “race” be a major factor in how Malaysian citizens relate to each other? What unites Malaysians? What divides Malaysians? Do you think Malaysia needs to change? Why or why not? What are your dreams/aspirations for yourself? Your country?

Do you love Malaysia?

These are questions that are rarely asked of our country's youths. But we believe that all of them have a burning answer deep within their hearts. They may not feel at liberty to share it. Or they may feel like even if they did, who would listen? So many of these hushed voices go unheard. It's the greatest loss to our nation...

Well, not anymore.

We believe that the youth of our nation have outstanding opinions about the issues facing Malaysia today. And we want our nation's youths to know that they are NOT forgotten, forsaken or frivolous. Because it is their passion that will revive the hope in our nation - to once again rise up and be a shining example to the world for our peace and prosperity. And this will happen when the youth of our country choose to stand up and speak out.

That's where BANGKIT comes in.

BANGKIT is a nationwide search for songs written by youths, for youths and representing the aspirations of the youths in our country. We believe that they deserve...no, they NEED to be heard. And we're going to provide the platform for them in the language that speaks to youths - music!

And to prove the point that Malaysians DO care about their country, we will be taking a huge step of faith - because we want to put this entire project together with NO MONEY AT ALL!

No money for salaries or allowances
No money spent on promotions/marketing.
No money spent on design.
No money spent on recording.
No money to hire talents.
No money spent on websites.
No money prizes
No money for prizes.
Tak ada, mei you, eelek, zip nada!

Impossible? Maybe...unless you and I decide to believe that it is NOT IMPOSSIBLE. We can both step out in faith that this project WILL succeed because there will be more than enough people stepping up to contribute their time, talents, facilities and resources FOR FREE, with no other motivation than their passion, creativity and love for country!

Have we got your attention yet?

If you feel inspired to join us, here are the details of BANGKIT:

MECHANISM
- A BANGKIT blog will be set up for this event
- Teasers will be spread throughout the internet (March 15 – 31)
- Selections begin, demo cuts of compositions to be submitted in mp3 format (April 1 – May 15)
- Songs will be featured on the BANGKIT blog for youths to vote on their favourites (April 1 – May 31)
- Professional judges will select 10 songs from the 20 most popular voted songs and results announced (June 7)
- A professionally recorded BANGKIT CD of the 10 selected songs will be released within 3 months of final selection (Target to be launched in September)
- A BANGKIT concert featuring local artistes will be held to showcase the selected songs (to be held either in November or December, in conjunction with SABM's voter registration carnival)
- No prizes will be offered. Just recognition of participants' talents and the chance for their song to be recorded.

PUBLICITY
- Primarily through the internet (facebook, youtube, twitter, blogs, websites, etc)
- Flyers and posters to be distributed to universities / colleges nationwide
- Exposure through the Mass Media
- Email, SMS & MMS

WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Attach the ‘BANGKIT’ posters/banners/videos to your blog or website and make sure to link it to our blog. We will be releasing a series so that it keeps fresh and exciting
- Tell everyone you know about BANGKIT through word-of-mouth, blogs, facebook, twitter, email, SMS, MMS, etc. We need everyone in Malaysia to know.
- Keep updated at our BANGKIT blog or the SABM website.
- Put us in touch with people who are willing to contribute to BANGKIT's cause for free.

Please support BANGKIT in our effort to bring the voices of our youth to the nation and the world!

P.S. As BANGKIT is still the pre-launch stage, please don't reveal too much about us yet. If you feel a need to explain a bit more about BANGKIT, just say something like "something big is brewing in Malaysian cyberspace and everyone under-30 should watch out for the announcement on April 1st". We will be releasing more promos and information that you can post as the official launch date (April 1) approaches.

If you need more information, please email: jombangkit@gmail.com.

For more info please check out our blog at http://jombangkit.org/

And please do feel free to pass this message to as many people as you know.

Let's rock Malaysian together!

Regards,
Lai Chee Seng
Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia - Youth Outreach Project Team Coordinator

Looks like strangled, feels like strangled, but can't confirm if TBH was strangled...

2010-03-12T00:21:00.004+08:00

Now, doc says Teoh wasn’t strangled

(The Star) - The inquest into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock was once again enveloped in uncertainty when a government pathologist testified that the deceased had not been strangled or choked prior to his fall. Sungai Buloh Hospital Pathology Unit chief Dr Shahidan Md Noor said all Teoh’s injuries were consistent with falling from a height, except for the red bruises on his neck, which he admitted could be pre-fall injuries from some form of pressure exerted in the area. (EWO: So...yes, he was strangled?)

“What I am saying is that the internal injuries were consistent with the fall from a height but injuries on the neck suggest there was some form of pressure (EWO: So...confirm he was strangled la?) but this did not cause his death,” said Dr Shahidan when cross-examined by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) counsel Datuk Abdul Razak Musa.

According to Dr Shahidan, who was ordered by coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to conduct the second post-mortem, there was no sign of asphyxiation. (EWO: So...his neck was squeezed hard enough to damage the muscle but no, he was NOT strangled?)

Ironically, on March 1, Dr Shahidan had agreed with Teoh’s family lawyer Gobind Singh Deo and state-appointed counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar during cross-examination that Teoh may have been strangled or choked prior to his death. (EWO: So...yes, he was strangled, then?)

Yesterday, Dr Shahidan reiterated that Teoh’s death was purely due to falling from a height and it was unlikely he had been clobbered on the head with a blunt object. (EWO: So...er...yes, he was strangled...but at least he was not strangled to death and that should be a good enough standard for MACC interrogation methods, is it?)

--------------

The official obfuscation and the media's collaboration is just absolutely disgusting...

Dey...this is not about being caught on video doing naughty things with good friends, or even about whether lawyers cavorting in the sun with senior judges.

This is possible homicide and definite assault.

Isn't it the first duty for everyone involved in the inquest to find out who the responsible parties are? And isn't it the media's duty to report accurately, fairly and truthfully?

If these people and their media dogs can make such a flippant and frivoulous case of a person's suspicious death...what hope is there for our country with these people still being allowed to be doing whatever it is they are doing?

More than tragic...

2010-03-01T14:01:00.003+08:00

The case of little Syafia's murder is such a sad tale of human weakness and depravity. As I read the details in the news reports, I felt my heart sinking.

A wife whose husband is in jail, charged for murder.
She had 1 child, possibly 2 children out of wedlock.
Her daughter is regularly abused and finally killed by her boyfriend
She was with her boyfriend for six years, even before her husband went to jail.

This extremely tragic family eally underlines the fact that the darkness in human hearts is unfathomable at times. And human desires and desperations can lead to tragic ends.

But what is even more unfathomable to me is that this case got widespread support and sympathy, with no less than Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil comforting her with hugs and advice.

Contrast with what happened to Teoh Beng Hock and his wife and baby.

When it was found that Teoh Beng Hock's fiancee was pregnant at the time of his death, Utusan via Ridhuan Tee went to town with accussations of zina, low morals, loose living, and other inferiorities of the "ultra kiasu" race. He even went so far as to call TBH's baby a "bastard", merely days after TBH's death. Ridhuan Tee spent the next months fighting against widespread outrage at his insensitive comments, using ever larger accussations as his defense, expanding his attacks beyond Teoh's family to include his dissenters, Opposition politicians, his "former" race, and even other religions.

And no, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalildid not visit Soh Cher Wei (TBH's wife) at any time. In fact, Shahrizat's Cabinet colleagues and the MACC officials tried their very best (and are still trying) to prove that TBH committed suicide on his wedding day because of (. . . ?)

Oh well, you could say that all that is water under the bridge. The fact remains that tragedy is tragedy, and should be reported as tragedy instead of being hyped to politically support or attack anyone.

The only thing I'm wondering now is what Ridhuan Tee is going to make of this?

BN Youth - Are They The Right Ones To Demonstrate Indignation On Behalf Of Malaysia?

2010-02-17T17:35:00.005+08:00

Just saw the news about the Khairy-led BN Youth demo against the "political interference" by the Australian MPs regarding Anwar's Sodomy2 saga on NTV7. What a joke that these fellows see themselves as the people worthy to defend the banners of our country!

First of all, what is "political interference"?

Just do a simple Google search and you will find that "political interference" has a very different meaning from the Malaysian government's definition.

The Malaysian govt's definition of "political interference" is when foreign lawmakers express indignation at the ruling junta's blatant abuse of power and the prostitution of state organs, specifically re the Anwar Sodomy2 saga.

But to the rest of the world, "political interference" means politicians stepping in to influence how independent institutions should be run, suppressing information, and basically all manner of pressuring people and institutions to make decisions that favour these politicians and their hidden agendas.

Don't believe? Just Google it! Try and find even ONE article that describes "political interference" as meaning "politicians giving an opinion about the government of another country".

This is just one of the many reasons that make the BN Youth's demonstration against foreign "political influence" so ridiculously hypocritical.

FIRST, because the BN government and the massive corruption plaguing this country is constructed on the basis of flagrant BN "political influence"!

SECOND, Malaysia is not above criticising other countries. The BN govt has unashamedly (and sometimes baselessly) criticised Israel, America, Australia, and basically the entire Western world. Malaysia is especially fond of making Singapore its whipping boy with baseless allegations and insinuations of Chinese persecution of the Malays there. Ironically, the one country that Malaysia does NOT criticise but feels and affinity to is Myanmar. Well, birds of a feather, eh?

THIRD, look at the line up of "Malaysian champion patriots" in the BN Youth demo. We have Khairy "The Kris" (now relegated to "Khairy the ikan bilis", UMNO/BN Youth Chair notwithstanding), Bung "Tiap-tiap Bulan Pun Bocor" Mokhtar, and of course the Makkal Sakhti hijacker himself "Rear-Stab" Thanenthiran. And according to blogger Syed Akbar Ali, those present also included pro-UMNO and even extremist bloggers like "Big Dog, Another Brick In The Wall, Syamsul Marahku, Parpukari and a few others."

Hardly the epitome of an illustrious crowd of indignant voices!

Sure, it's not nice for our country to be criticised. But let's look at it in context. Malaysia has been criticised much less than we have criticised others. I believe this is because Malaysia has always been looked upon with respect in the past for our unique history, peaceful society, business-friendly environment and stable government.

So when foreigners have less than flattering things to say about us, it is a symptom - not the disease. The REAL disease is that Malaysia has lost all its standing in the eyes of foreign governments and media. That's why they have no compulsion to criticise us! Not only have the people of Malaysia lost confidence and patience with the BN govt, foreign politicians and movers/shakers like the Wall Street Journal are also not shy to criticise what they perceive as blatant injustice anymore.

So for them to speak up against Malaysia, it is best for the BN to listen.

Aiyaa...so easy la! Just blah aje la!

2010-01-31T21:16:00.004+08:00

Some news that might set some people's hearts a-flutter:

PKR perlu kaji kerjasama dengan DAP
(Utusan Malaysia) - Ahli Parlimen Bayan Baru, Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim menggesa kepimpinan tertinggi Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) mengkaji semula kedudukan dan kerjasama parti itu dengan DAP di Pulau Pinang.

Disgruntled opposition members invited to join Umno
(Bernama) - Umno and the BN are prepared to accept leaders and members of the opposition parties who are disillusioned with their parties' struggles, Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan said today.

Anwar reveals attempts to court PKR MPs
(Malaysian Insider) PETALING JAYA, Jan 31 - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today admitted that there were attempt to get PKR lawmakers to abandon the party by Chinese New Year, claiming that the move was made with the backing of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

----------

Aiyaa, so easy la the solution...

Mau belah? Blah la!

These dudes departure are absolutely no loss to the rakyat! If they cannot appreciate the wishes of the rakyat who put them in office in the first place, biarlah depa go and join the party that serves the interst of themselves! If that's what they really want, bloody heck, at least have the balls to say it and do it la! It's not like the rakyat is gonna be taken in by all this drama, right?

I really cannot stand these gutless chickens pretending to be so righteous when it's so obvious to the rakyat what they are really after!

So just leave already la! Mau pergi, pergilah! Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say! Just have mercy and save us the spectacle of yet another C-grade Malaysian political telenovela!

And there are more good reasons to just let these guys go:

1) The rakyat's victory was incomplete on March 08 anyway.
The rakyat did not get the alternative government they are yearning for in GE12. If these guys leave now, to join whatever non-PR party, will the rakyat be in risk of losing the alternative government they are yearning for?

No way la! There is NO alternative government in the first place! So...WHAT LOSS IS THERE IF THESE FELLAS LEAVE PR? So blah sajalah!

2) Better to spring clean now than let these dudes scupper GE13
Thanks to Najib's ruthless but ultimately short-sighted political strategies, that the weak links in PR are being increasingly exposed to the rakyat. Is this bad?

No way la! If the PR wants to have a better chance at GE13, they better field a better group of candidates! And dudes such as Zul, Zahrain, and all the other problem reps (or those like them) have no such place in Malaysians' hearts anymore. Make no mistake, if they ARE fielded again, they will NOT win! So if they go now, better still! Don't waste the time of the rakyat and sincere party members!

3) Prove to the rakyat you're serious about change
The PR fellas better wake up to the fact that the rakyat did not vote FOR PAS/DAP/PKR. Many merely wanted to mark a protest vote AGAINST the BN. The surprise package was the 5 states that BN lost. Suddenly, government change seemed possible. But is the PR up to it?

No way la! If they keep pussyfooting around their discipline problems and continue to try to pretend that all is well, we will know that the top PR honchos - specifically ANWAR - have no balls to do what's right. If that's the calibre of the PR's top leaders, how can they be expected to do what's right for the country? Our country is in such a shit hole that it's going to have to go through a period of painful realignment. If these fellas don't even dare to realign their own party members, how are they gonna deal with a corrupt and aggressive Opposition and a hostile civil service if they are in Federal power?

At least Lim Kit Siang has the honesty to admit PR's problems. We've yet to hear anything from Ustaz Hadi and Anwar. Although the way they handle the outspoken bigots and blatant opportunists in their party tell a lot about their alignments and (in)abilities to lead their party, much less a country! So let them go to prove you are serious to bring about positive change to the country!

So go ahead and let UMNO/BN have the riffraff. We the rakyat don't mind. We haven't got what we wanted yet. So a few fellas leaving is no loss. In fact, there is everything to gain from this!

What Should Be The Christian's View Of Government? Pt 3

2010-01-28T16:15:00.000+08:00

In my previous 2 posts, I tried to explore the principles that should govern the Christian's attitude towards the government of the day. So far, from the Biblical perspective, we can see that Christians are expected to submit to the government of the day, no matter how cruel or unjust they may be (read Daniel Chapters 1-3, Romans Chapter 13 and John Chapter 19).

But the question that still nags at Christians is:

Is submitting to the authorities the same as obeying, accepting or supporting them unconditionally? What if the government of the day is unfair, unjust and incompetent?

First of all, let's explore exactly what the concept of "submission to governing authorities" as taught by Paul in Romans chapter 13. This will give us a firm starting point for our analysis.

In the original Greek language of Paul's letter, the word that is translated as "submit" in English is "hupotasso". The word hupotasso means "to arrange in order under." It is actually a military term, and in the military there is a strong sense of submitting to someone of higher rank. (Read more about it here)

So when Christians are called to hupotasso, we are essentially called to recognise that there is a ranking order in the world - God, government, people. As citizens of a country, Christians must know know our place in that order and act appropriately.

However, there is an important distinction between submission and obedience .

Obedience can be enforced. Submission is a personal choice.

A simple example of obedience without submission: Student A has to follow the rules of his school, otherwise there will be consequences to bear. Therefore, the threat of punishment forces him to obey the school rules. But in his heart, the student may not submit to the school authorities - he may test the limits of his teacher's patience with his mischief, he may bad-mouth the teachers behind their backs, he may write hate-filled entries in his diary. Student A has not submitted himself to his school authorities, although outwardly he displays obedience.

Now let's look at the converse situation.

Let's say Student B is an exemplary prefect in his school, he maintains a positive attitude towards his teachers and school, he follows the requests and instructions of his teachers faithfully. In all respects, Student B can be said to have chosen to submit his body and mind to the school system, and obedience flows naturally from that attitude.

Let's say that one day, a teacher frames Student A for an infraction and Student A is sentenced to suspension from school. Student B knows the truth that Student A is innocent. What to do?

If Student B reveals the truth, would it be tantamount to not submitting to school authorities?
Or should Student B remain obedient to the teacher and keep quiet about the injustice?

Would this be a case to justify disobedience? Well, it all depends on Student B's allegiance, doesn't it? Is Student B loyal to his teacher or to higher principles of justice?

Christians must realise where our ultimate allegiance lies

Christian submission to governing authorities is preconditioned on the basis that their authority is delegated to them by God. Therefore, the governing authorities must also hupotasso to God. The governing authorities must also know their place in the ranking order and act accordingly!

Some people may say: how can? The Government is not Christian, what?

Well, God is not merely a "Christian" God, is He? God is the Lord of all the universe, isn't He? As such, His principles are universal and eternal. And universal values - justice, mercy, wisdom, moderation, perseverance, diligence, etc - are familiar to all, and are to be upheld by all and not just Christians! As such, governments who uphold these principles are hupotasso to God and are fulfilling their proper role in the ranking order. Those that fulfill the trust given to them by God deserve to be in their place and those who don't, do not deserve to be there (read Matthew 25 - the parable of the talents)

In other words, Government is NOT the top management of the country - it is merely the MIDDLE MANAGEMENT! And if middle management does not do its job, or openly defies the top management's directives, the rank and file will have to choose their sides - obey top management or middle management?

What does obeying God over government entail?

As Christians, we owe our ultimate allegiance to God Almighty and, accordingly, to His universal principles. As such, when middle management doesn't do its job right, we stand with Top Management. And just what does standing with Top Management entail?

1. It means that Christians have to obey God's laws if it conflicts with the government's laws, even if it means defying the government (like the Israelites in Daniel).

2. It means pointing out to the the government where it has strayed. Because if the government fail to hear their own God-given conscience, Christians will have to be the substitute voice of conscience. (2 Samuel 12)

3. It means that in the government's failure to uphold God's universal values in society - justice, mercy, wisdom, moderation, perseverance, diligence, etc - Christians have to do their part to uphold them wherever and whenever they are able (James 1:27).

4. It means that Christians must constantly pray to God that the ruling authorities will consistently uphold God's principles (1 Timothy 2:1-3). And if they do not, we must appeal to God to set things right (Luke 18:1-8).

But this does NOT mean that Christians are given free rein to rebel. We must follow the example of Christ during the trial leading to his crucifixion - while submitting to earthly authority demonstrating ultimate allegiance to God, speaking truth with dignity and boldness, satisfying the Father's will.

In the end, the Apostle Peter sums it up for us in 1 Peter 2:13-21.

Submission to Rulers and Masters

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ¹⁵ For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
¹⁶ Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. ¹⁷Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.¹⁸ Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. ²⁰But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Don't Let Them Provoke Us into War!

2010-01-27T12:52:00.002+08:00

Regarding the spate of mosque attacks lately, especially the utterly despicable act of desecrating mosques by tossing pig heads into their compound, I could not have made a better comment than Marina Mahathir:

-----------------

It seems obvious to me that there are some people very unhappy that Malaysians have not started killing each other yet. Instead we are going about our business and getting on with one another as usual. The malls and coffeeshops are full and there are traffic jams as always.

What's more, we are even organising peace initiatives to promote understanding and harmony among ourselves. Last weekend there were several events in KL including Tali Tenang where more than 200 people tied a long string together to symbolise unity and solidarity and walked through Bangsar putting smiles and cheers on the faces of passersby.

These types of events are making some people very unhappy. I'm not going to speculate why they would want us to be out there rioting but I believe they are trying to up the ante with even more provocative acts until some of us will lose our patience.

We should therefore refuse to bend to their wishes. We should refuse to be played around like this. We want peace and we know that can only be achieved through dialogue and discussion with mutual respect all round.

These people are intent on making war among us for their own reasons. We should demand that the police catch whoever did this with utmost urgency and charge them immediately, as they should the ones they have caught for previous acts of arson on churches and suraus. We should demand to know why they did this and if so, was this their own idea or were they following orders from someone.

All religious authorities of every faith should condemn these acts of violence. These are grave acts which are sinful in every religion and they should all state that clearly.

We have seen what has happened in other countries where religion has been used to create civil war, to over up the real reasons for the nation's failures. As Malaysians, we should stand united against those who want to pit us against each other.

We will not be fooled, we will stand united.

Malaysia's Fascist No.1 Finally Confirms The Truth!

2010-01-21T14:05:00.004+08:00

You got to hand it to our old Dr M - he got guts.

Unfortunately, and perhaps due to his old age, his guts seem to be less and less tempered with morals and brains. His outbursts are beginning to sound more and more like the whinings of a bitter old man, madly lashing out at the world.

But his latest outrageous outburst is particularly shocking...

“The Jews had always been a problem in European countries. They had to be confined to ghettoes and periodically massacred. But still they remained, they thrived and they held whole governments to ransom."

“Even after their massacre by the Nazis of Germany, they survived to continue to be a source of even greater problems for the world. The Holocaust failed as a final solution,”

Wow...so casually he mentions the torture and murder of millions of human beings. And Dr M actually endorses and validates the Holocaust as a solution?! He seems to think that the horrors of the Holocaust was of no more consequence than a campaign to wipe out a cockroach infestation. And because it failed to be an effective final solution (to wipe every Jew off the face of the earth), the Jewish "infestation" came back to bring pestilence upon th

“Creating a state for them was thought to be a better solution. It could be if some European territory had been allocated to make a permanent ghetto for the Jews."

Well, what the old man is really saying is...if you really can't kill them all, at least lock them out of sight.

Well, now that Dr M has finally let his ultra-fascist tendencies run unfettered, we have final confirmation of what he is really like.

And since Dr M - ultra fascist - is member no.1 of UMNO, it's no surprise that UMNO Baru is the way it is today. Dr M built up UMNO Baru from scratch, personally approving or disapproving memberships in its first days. And we all know that birds of a feather flock together, eh?

Is it any wonder then why UMNO is treating the Malaysian minorities with such disdain? That they are seeking to ghettoise anything deemed "foreign" (or in the Malaysian context, "pendatang") to their ultra-fascist minds?

Here's Why The Story That Christians Are Using "Allah" To Convert Muslims Is A Blatant Lie...

2010-01-19T19:00:00.003+08:00

Really...

The ridiculous accusation that Christians are trying to lie and cheat Muslims into the religion by using "Allah" is so ridiculous it's not even funny! But the current UMNO-led hate campaign against Christians in Malaysia deserves to be exposed for the ridiculous political charade it is.

Don't they realise that saying Muslims can be cheated out of their faith is not only insulting to Christians but it is ESPECIALLY insulting to Muslims?

They're saying that Muslims in Malaysia are so stupid they can't tell the difference between a mosque and a church, just because the Word "Allah" is used by both! They're saying that Muslims in Malaysia are so stupid they can't tell the difference between the Quran recitals and Christian hymns. They're saying that Muslims in Malaysia are so stupid they can't tell the difference between the azan and church bells. Between the Imam and the priest. Between the Bible and the Quran. Between...you get the idea. The list just goes on and on!

The tragedy is that there are 240,000++ Muslims who AGREE that they are as stupid as UMNO says they are! And they are all so gung ho in trying to get ALL Malay Muslims to agree with them that they are just as stupid!

No wonder the Indonesians hate Malaysia so much - these dudes here are giving their ancestral homeland a bad name!!

But anyway, I'm not a Malay nor a Muslim. I am DEFINITELY NOT an UMNO member/supporter/crony/whatever. So whatever they want to think about themselves is their business.

But I just want to put this one lie to rest for the moment:

Yes, Christians are called to carry the message of God to everyone. But lies and cheating has never been one of the strategies that Jesus taught His disciples. In fact, Jesus says:

John 17:17-18
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

So, Christians are called to speak the truth. If so, how can we be accused of using lies and cheating tactics to convert people?

Not only that, these were Jesus' instructions to those he sent to carry His message:

Matthew 10:14
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

Mark 6:11
And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.

Luke 9:5
If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.

As we can see, there is no compulsion at all for people to accept the message. The disciples were merely instructed to speak. If their words were accepted, fine. If not, just leave.

In the Malaysian context, the entire Muslim population has been closed off from the Christian message by the Federal Consitution. In other words, this entire segment of the Malaysian population are the "people do not welcome you". And what is Christ's command in such a situation?

Where does it say that Christians have to pursue converts to the point where lies and cheating tactics become acceptable evangelism tools?

Can anyone from the UMNO campaign answer?

What Should Be The Christian's View Of Government? Pt 2

2010-01-18T12:01:00.005+08:00

In Romans chapter 13, the Apostle Paul says that Christians should regard governments as God's delegated authority on earth, and therefore we should submit to them just as we would submit to God Himself.

So what should be the Christian's response to a government that does things which are not worthy of honour and respect? Do Christians owe the government unconditional respect and honour? Surely Christians cannot submit to government decrees and actions that go against our conscience?

Paul does not expressly state that there are conditions where we can choose not to submit against the government of the day. And it is wise for him to not do so. Because if Paul had made such a proviso for Christians, I can imagine that there would have been no shortage of people who would quickly hijack his statement to justify all sorts of "holy wars". Such is the nature of human beings, that we will grasp at anything to justify our own agenda.

Thank God He gave the fiery-tempered Paul the wisdom of peace! Paul instead upholds Christ's example of submission to earthly authority while maintaining ultimate allegiance to heavenly authority.

When Jesus was brought before Pilate to be questioned, He chose which questions he wanted to answer. He did not argue a case for his innocence. He did not pronounce judgement upon the wicked schemers against Him. In fact, He SUBMITTED to the physical authority of the Romans. In John 19:10-11, it is recorded:

"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above."

Some may say that Jesus acted this way because he was destined to die as a redemption for Mankind's collective sin, therefore he HAD to submit in order to get crucified - it was part of the script. But I believe that this principle is eternal, as can be seen in the book of Daniel written hundreds of years before Jesus was born.

In the book of Daniel, the Israelites had been conquered and exiled from their own country. The Israelite elite were forced to be the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar. They had to submit to a pagan King and serve in the pagan royal household with pagan food and rituals. This went against all Jewish sensibilities as God's own Chosen People, where the very essence of their identity to be set apart and enjoy God's exclusive favour and protection.

But rather than fight back, they submitted to their conquerors, seeing their conquest and exile as punishment wrought by God upon a recalcitrant people.

However, although they submitted to their ruling authorities, they maintained their spiritual purity at some risk to theimselves (read Daniel chapter 1). However in chapter 3, the Israelites in the King's court were faced with a life-or-death choice:

DANIEL Chapter 3:14-18

¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?

¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.

¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

So we can see that while their physical circumstances required them to submit to the physical authorities, they firmly maintained their spiritual allegience and refused to compromise. And in this passage, we can see that the three friends clearly disobeyed the earthly king because he had asked them to violate their allegiance to their heavenly King, even though it would cost them their lives.

So back to the question: what should be the Christian's response to a government that does things which are not worthy of honour and respect? Should Christians still submit to their authority?

Based on Biblical principles and the example set by Christ, the answer would be: YES

And this must be so, otherwise there would be anarchy in the name of Christ! But is submitting to the earthly authorities the same as accepting or supporting them unconditionally?

What Should Be The Christian's View Of Government?

2010-01-18T11:03:00.004+08:00

Many Malaysian Christians are not comfortable having anything to do with politics of the country - going to the extent of not even voting during elections. The reasons for this behaviour is usually along the lines of (1) Almighty God is in total control, therefore the present form of government is His will, (2) we are an insignificant minority, so we've got to be careful not to step on toes lest we lose what freedoms we have, (3) are you so sure that "your side" is "God's side" as well, or is it just a case of "your will" and not "God's will"? (4) politics is such a dirty business I want to have nothing to do with it at all.

There's more but these are the main ones.

The latest controversy regarding the usage of "Allah" has started me thinking a little deeper about how I should approach the politics of this country as a Christian. The Bible does not prescribe any form of Christian government. Neither is there any reports of any Christian governments being formed.

So what should be a Christian's view of government be? The following verses tell us:

ROMANS Chapter 13:1-6

Submission to the Authorities

¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

It's interesting to note that Romans 13:1-7 was written by Paul during the time of Roman government rule. The Roman government had recently put Jesus Christ to death by crucifixion. Furthermore, the Roman government was known for the viciousness of it's soldiers and Christians were being cruelly and relentlessly persecuted. On top of that, Rome was ruled by an Emperor who was worshipped as a god, which goes against the Christian belief that "for us there is but one God, the Father" (1 Corinthians 8:5-6).

In spite of all this, the Apostle Paul teaches Christians to submit to government because "the authorities that exist have been established by God". In other words, we submit to our government authorities because we recognise that God is the highest authority over all things and He has delegated some of His authority to the present government to represent His justice on earth (He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer-Romans 13:4).

But is EVERYTHING that the government does a reflection of God's justice? Do Christians have to submit to EVERYTHING that the government says and does? What if the present government clearly violates God's standards of justice? Where do Christians draw the line?

I told you so!

2010-01-15T11:49:00.003+08:00

In my previous post, I explained why I opposed the Allah ban because it will merely be the first step towards justifying religious persecution of minorities. In MarGeeMar's blog today was this news:

"the Federal Territory Islamic Council (JAIS) coming up with the directive that non Muslims cannot use the following Bahasa Malaysia words:

Allah, firman Allah, nabi, mubaligh, syariat, wahyu, mufti, Kaabah, hadis, rasul, iman, ibadah, fatwa, haji, kiblat, Ilahi, Injil, ulama, khalifah, wali, Syeikh, Iman, dakwah, subhanallah, insya-Allah, astaghfirullahlah, masya-Allah and Allahuakbar either in word or print. Any non Muslims caught using the above words either in word or print can be fined RM 3,000 or jailed not more than 2 years or both.

How do you expect Christian Bumiputera's to worship with such restrictions? The Melaka State Religious Council have also come up with 33 words forbidden to non Muslims."

"Nabi" merely means "prophet", "firman" means "divine command/word", "iman" means faith, "wahyu" means "divine revelation".

The UMNOputras said that Tuhan is the Malay equivalent word for God, and Christians are trying to cheat Muslims into becoming Christians by using Allah. But what about these words? There is no equivalent Malay word for these religious concepts which Malay-speaking Christians can use.

Does that mean that non-Malay Malay-speakers cannot practise any other religion other than Islam? Who is trying to cheat who out of their religion now?

Sometimes it's not nice to be right...

Why I Oppose The "Allah" Ban - And It's Not Because I'm A Christian...

2010-01-13T23:05:00.003+08:00

Someone left a lengthy entry in the comments section of my post: Masha Allah, Open your Eyes La! I thank him for his effort in commenting, although I find some of his comments highly disrespectful of my beliefs, and some of them downright menghina & memijak-mijak my religion.

But never mind...my Lord Jesus teaches me:

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." Matthew 5:11

Anyway, in my reply to him, I managed to write down very concisely why I oppose the Allah ban. And it has nothing to do with Christianity - but everything to do with our country's continued good standing in the world.

Below is my reply:

-------------------

"This is not the case with the Arabic term Allaah. Allaah is the personal name of the one true God. Nothing else can be called Allaah."

Yes. And since Christians also believe they worship the one true God, how come they are not allowed to use "Allah"?

Oh, I see...Christians don't worship the one true God, therefore cannot use "Allah" since only Muslims worship the one true God.

This is the premise being used to justify the ban. If we follow the logic of this argument to the very end

1. Since only Muslims worship the one true God, then all other non-Muslim references to the one true God are false. This would give rise to the question "which is the one true God?" Following the precedent of banning non-Muslim use of "Allah", all other non-Muslim NAMES for the one true God must therefore be also banned lest it confuse Muslims into believing that others could be also worshipping the one true God.

2. Since all other references to one true God are based on a false premise and should be banned, then why stop at just the word? The VERY EXISTENCE OF THE RELIGION is based on a false premise. If the religion is allowed to exist, then Muslims may be confused about why non-Muslims are also worshipping the "one true God". Therefore, following the first 2 precedents, the ENTIRE RELIGION must be banned as well.

3. But religion is a funny thing...you cannot legislate faith. So no matter how hard you ban the religion, there will always be adherents. This will make Muslims wonder "why are there people still worshipping a non-Muslim on true God even after it has been banned?" Since, according to the previously established precedents, such a question will confuse Muslims, the PEOPLE who practise the non-Muslim religion must be banned.

How do you ban a people?

Jail, exile, torture, execution.

Do you, does anyone, want our nation to take this first step?

I don't.

Insult Christianity with impunity and get praised!

2010-01-12T12:31:00.004+08:00

This is from the blog Pure Shiite. After a lengthy article about the court battle between Bible publishers in Indonesia (of which our friend provides no background so that people cannot judge the situation within the proper context) this is his conclusion...

-----

To my Muslim Brothers and Sister let us now do what Munshi Abdullah could not in 1832

-----

Just some observations:

Bumiputra Christians in East Malaysia denied their Constitutional right to use their normal reference to their God = a supreme insult to Islam and a hidden agenda to Christianise all Muslims?

Pure Shiite's widely supported views such as calling Christianity a blasphemy of Islam (even though Christianity came before Islam) and equating the Christian God to 3-in-1 coffee = THE ABSOLUTE INDISPUTABLE TRUTH?

Now where have we seen such trampling of citizens Constitutional rights, ghettoising of minority religious beliefs, and the belief that only one point of view must reign supreme before?

Oh yaa...

It was during the rise of the Third Reich!

And it is the views of monkies like this dude that are being nurtured by the current ruling regime. Already, more than 200,000 facebook members are being indoctrinated with such views and attitudes towards their fellow Malaysians.

It's only logical that if the means are the same, then the ends being sought are also the same!

Hallmarks of the Third Reich:
- Absolute hegemony by the ruling party
- Control over all instruments of govt power
- Brutal suppression/extermination of dissenters and non-approved persons/parties

God help us all!

Church fire-bombed ahead of protests

2010-01-08T09:58:00.003+08:00

A church has been fire-bombed in an attack that gutted its ground floor, church officials said, escalating a dispute over the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

A fire department official said all stations were on alert for more blazes at religious buildings, ahead of planned nationwide protests today by Muslim groups angry over the use of the word as a translation for 'God' by Christians.

The three-storey Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, part of the Assemblies of God movement, was set ablaze in the attack which took place around midnight, said church leader Peter Yeow, 62.

"Witnesses saw four people smash the glass and throw incendiaries into the church building. They came on two motorcycles," he toldAFP at the scene as fire department forensic officers picked through the wreckage.

There were no casualties in the attack on the church, which occupies the corner lot of a row of shop houses and which Yeow said draws some 1,500 people weekly.

"The fire destroyed the administrative part of the church. We do not know if the prayer hall on the third floor suffered any damage," he said, warning all other churches to "double their guard" against any attacks.

Anuar Harun, who headed the fire department operation, said that forensic experts were working with the police and a canine unit to probe the blaze.

"We are investigating the cause of fire. We cannot provide any more details. It is a sensitive issue," he said when asked if it was a case of arson.

"We have asked all our fire stations to be on alert for such fires on religious premises," he told AFP.

Building erupted into flames

The High Court last week ruled in favour of the Catholic weekly, The Herald newspaper, which has used 'Allah' as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section. The government has said the word should be used only by Muslims.

The ruling was suspended on Wednesday pending an appeal, after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict in multicultural Malaysia, where Muslim Malays make up 60 percent of the population.

The security guard at the Metro Tabernacle church, 65-year-old V Mariappan, said he had just walked away from the main entrance of the building to use the bathroom when the building erupted in flames.

"When I came back, there was a huge fire inside the church building. There was a few loud explosions like bombs exploding," he said, adding he saw two motorcycle helmets lying on the road in flames.

The Herald'seditor Father Lawrence Andrew has warned of a campaign of intimidation including hacker attacks against the weekly's website, protest plans and widespread criticism in the media over last week's ruling.

"We believe these actions (are designed) to create a climate of fear and a perceived threat to national security so as to pressure the court in reversing its decision," he said this week.

More than half of Malaysia's Catholics are from indigenous groups, most of whom live in Sabah and Sarawak and who mainly speak Bahasa Malaysia.

- AFP

--------------------

To my brethren believers:

The UMNO-led govt of Malaysia has taken off their gloves. They are now openly endorsing and encouraging the demonisation and persecution of minorities, including Christians who have always been subservient to govt restrictions and encroachments.

UMNO and their agents are blatantly lying when they say that Malaysian Christians intentionally publish the Bible in Malay using the name "Allah" to cheat Muslims out of the Islam faith.The fact is, these Malay language Bibles are published in Indonesia and imported into Malaysia with government approval!

UMNO is also lying when they made it look like the Catholics went to court to snatch "Allah" from the Muslims and the Christian judge Lau Bee Lan was part of the conspiracy to do so. The truth is that UMNO made the first move to ban the usage of "Allah" by Malay-speaking Catholics, and the Catholic Archbishop went to court to defend their rights!

The aggressor cries that the victim has done them wrong! And now, they have resorted to physically attack Christians!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, hold strong to our faith and the teachings of our Lord. The Lord Jesus had already predicted this in John 15:20-21:

"Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me."

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it's now time to walk the talk. This is the test of our discipleship - can we be truly like Jesus?

"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' " Luke 23-34

"On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' " Romans 12:20

Let us all remember and live out the words of the Bible:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well." Mathhew 5:38-40

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels." 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7

"Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelations 2:10

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must stand by our Catholic brethren and support them because they too are part of the Body of Christ!

"Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:32-36

We cannot close our eyes just because they are a different church from us. If we do choose to close our eyes, then when the persecutors come for us then do not be surprised when nobody is there to stand with us then!

And if you are not a non-Muslim non-Christian: don't think this doesn't involve you. This is NOT a Muslim vs Christian issue. This is an UMNO vs non-UMNO issue. UMNO will get rid of whoever they think is in their way and they will exploit whoever they think will help them stay in power. They do not care who gets hurt of even killed - after all, wasn't it them who started the May13 massacre so that they could get rid of the Tunku?

Their persecution of the Catholics now fall into the second category. What's to stop them from persecuting other communities to exploit the political benefits?

All of us have to stand up to this damn bully and show them we are not afraid!

Or are we going to tuck our tails again like beaten dogs and vote the bastards back into power again next GE and let them rape this nation until all your children inherit is a bankrupt nation in the same leagues of Rwanda and Zimbabwe?

A Tale Of Two Siti's

2010-01-05T18:34:00.004+08:00

Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, there lived two cousins in a beautiful country called Bolehland. And it was a happy coincidence that both the cousins' parents decided to name them Aku - one was called Aku Juga while the other was called Aku Pun.

The cousins grew up in different cities and so had little opportunity to meet. This was because of some strange decree of the emperor that cousins should not meet too often or be too friendly with each other. Although everyone secretly thought that the emperor was mad, stupid, bigoted or all of the above, they followed the emperor's decrees as not doing so could mean that a man could be thrown in jail indefinitely for no reason.

But although, the cousins were not very close, they would often each other's families during festive seasons and other family gatherings. In time, they secretly grew to be very friendly with each other.

When the cousins came of age, they decided to get married and settle down. Aku Juga had met a girl named Siti bt Isa. Coincidentally, Aku Pun had fallen in love with a girl named also named Siti - Siti bt Mohamed.

So one fine September morning, Aku Juga popped the question and Siti Isa said yes! It was the happiest day of his life! The following March, Aku Pun also proposed to Siti Mohamed and she to said yes with a blush!

So it was all set. Aku Juga was married first in a grand wedding. Everyone was invited and Aku Pun joined in the festivities. Everyone at the wedding praised how beautiful the bride was, how elegant, how well-mannered, etc. Aku Pun was very happy for his cousin.

The time came for Aku Pun's wedding. He too held a grand wedding banquet and invited all his friends and family. Aku Juga arrived with his new bride and was received warmly by Aku Pun. When the guests saw the bride, they were full of praises for her beauty, poise, hospitality, etc. Aku Juga could not be more happy that Aku Pun had also found the love of his life, just as he did.

So the cousins settled down back in their own cities. And life was good for a little while.

Until the emperor got news that there were two cousins in the country who were being a little too friendly than he liked. He flew into a rage, shouting: "Off with their heads!"

His royal advisors however, were a little less mad and stupid than the emperor. But they were a lot more devious. After calming down the emperor, they gave him this advice:

"My Lord," said the chief advisor as he adjusted his soft pointy hat and assumed the proper advisory position, "if you were to chop off their heads so soon after Aku Juga and Aku Pun had such marvellous weddings, all the cousins in the country would unite to rise up against you."

"You see," chimed a second advisor who had shifty eyes and a sharp hook nose, "when people are happy and they know why they are happy (such as during weddings) they are generally able to clearly identify the things that make them unhappy (such as royal orders to chop off their heads) because they can clearly feel the difference between the two incidences."

"Then what shall we do?" demanded the emperor, his luscious robes heaving with his anxious breaths.

"Well, since chopping off their heads would be running the risk of them being united against your majesty, we would suggest that we first eliminate that risk altogether!"

"Go on..." said the emperor.

"Erm...we have a plan..." A sly look came over the advisors' faces.

"I'm listening," said the emperor as he leaned forward in his throne expectantly.

"It is an outrageous plan..." The chief advisor was rubbing his hands, his eyes darting to the rest of the Imperial Council.

"Yes?!"

"It's so outrageous, it might even work..." The other advisors were whispering excitedly among themselves now.

"Tell me what it is or I'll chop all YOUR heads off personally!!" roared the emperor.

"W-w--wwell, your majesty, we could turn their opinions against each other. But we would need to do it using a reason that is completely illogical."

"Why illogical?"

"Because if it was a logical reason, they would be able to figure it out. We need a reason for discord that is completely illogical...that's why...er..."

"No more of your dilly-dallying now!" said the emperor threateningly as he fondled the hilt of the Imperial sabre strapped to his waist.

"Y-y-y-yess, Your Majesty. We were thinking that we would use their wives!"

"That's your idea? We already have decrees stating strict punishments for adultery!" The emperor's temper was rising dangerously again.

"Your Majesty has to make a decree regarding wives that is SO outrageous that there is no way to discuss whether it has merit or not!"

"Then what?! Spill it man, or I'll spill your guts!!" cried the emperor, half-drawing his sword.

"Your Majesty should decree that cousins should not have wives with the same name. The reason should be given that one cousin may accidentally mistake his wife as his cousin's. Thus in his confusion about whose wife he's sleeping with at night, he may be committing adultery."

"But a decree like that would affect the whole country and not just these two cousins! How will the other citizens react?"

"Not to worry, your majesty! We have our agents ever ready," assured the Chief Advisor, "Remember how many times you accidentally stepped out of the palace naked? You always came out smelling roses!"

"That is true..." said the emperor thoughtfully.

"Besides, with our agents' incitements, the nationwide reaction will put pressure the cousins to strain their relationship to the point of breaking."

"I like it!" said the emperor clapping his hands gleefully, "Make it so, chief!"

So the royal decree went out that cousins were not to have wives with the same name. There was an immediate outcry throughout the nation. Those who had married understood immediately how ridiculous the decree was - you knew your wife in your heart and soul, you knew your wife by sight, and you knew your wife in your body. No matter what her name was, you could never mistake her for someone else!

But to those who had no wives, this was an issue of immense importance. Suddenly, they became experts in marriage, making all sorts of comments about how man was so weak and stupid that they would be absolutely confused about who their wife was if they had a similar name as the wife of another cousin!

True to their words, the Chief Advisors sent out their agents to "explain" the rationale behind the new decree, conduct pre-marriage courses, marriage counselling sessions, etc. And so the debate raged across Bolehland.

Finally, some friends of Aku Pun decided that the matter of his and Aku Juga's wives' names should be resolved. They gathered to meet the Imperial Council, and told them of the cousins' wives. The Chief Advisor replied:

"As the interpreters and executors of His Majesty's will, we hereby declare that Aku Juga's wife is not allowed to be called Siti, according His Majesty's Same Name decree!"

When Aku Juga heard this, he was outraged! Aku Pun was outraged as well. It was ridiculous that someone had decreed that since their wives shared a common name, they would be too stupid to know who's who! So they spoke out against such a ridiculous decree.

Unfortunately, by this time the whole nation was in an uproar. Those who sided with Aku Juga insisted that he had the right to call his wife by her given name of Siti Isa. Those who sided with the emperor's decree demanded that she change her name to prevent Aku Pun from confusing his wife Siti Mohamed with Aku Juga's wife Siti Isa and accidentally committing adultery with her! In all the loud arguments defending either Aku Pun or Aku Juga, nobody was listening to what the cousins themselves had to say. In fact, they were regarded as having no knowledge in matters of marriage or worse: betraying their own wives, and were told to shut up!

As the debate raged on, the emperor and his advisors watched in glee from the palace windows. Turning back to their sumptious feast, they congratulated each other for successfully sowing discord in Bolehland yet again.

That night, the emperor slept soundly, safe in the knowledge that the nation would not be united to question his ability to rule anytime soon.

And in their homes, Aku Juga sat with his wife Siti Isa and Aku Pun sat with his wife Siti Mohamed, sure in the knowledge that they knew who their wives were, no matter what their names may be. But they were saddened that people who knew nothing of marriage were debating and deciding for them what their marriages should be.

Masha Allah, Open Your Eyes La!

2010-01-02T21:53:00.003+08:00

Since Justice Lau's brave decision to allow the Herald to continue publishing its Malay language edition using Malay-speaking Christians' normal term for God ("Allah"), there has been a flurry of condemnations from several quarters.

One of them, Dato' Ariff a.k.a. Sakmongkol wrote an especially incisive article in his usual strong intellectual thrust. In that article, he postulated that the issue was not about the legality or right of Christians to use the term. The real issue was that "Allah" is the exclusive reference to God for billions of Muslims worldwide "and hence, the hijacking of its ownership through some legalistic twists, constitute a rape and pillage on the Muslim person."

He further asserts that this ownership of the term Allah "rests on the altar of worship supported by the pillars of faith jealously guarded by UNREASON" and therefore not open to rational discussion.

Respectfully, I must strongly disagree based on the following points.

1) The "exclusive ownership" argument has been rebutted ad nauseam, ad infinitum. I am loathe to repeat it. You can read my extensively researched arguments against this flimsy premise here. I'll merely briefly mention here that the term "Allah" (and its various permutations) have been in use to refer the the "One Supreme Being" in the Middle East region since before Islam, Christianity or even Judaism! These great monotheistic religions simply adopted the word to express their faith.

So what exclusive ownership?

2) Equating non-Muslim use of the word "Allah" as raping the Muslim personhood? Come on la!

If we were to accept this argument, then Christians should demand that all references to Jesus Christ should be stricken out from the Quran! Because belief in Jesus resides in the hearts of all Christians. Belief in the doctrines about Jesus Christ also rests on the altar wof worship supported on the pillars of faith! Should Christians regard Islam's reference to Jesus in a completely different doctrine as a rape and pillage on their faith and personhood?

Since Christianity came 600 years BEFORE Islam, by virtue of seniority Muslims should respect and obey the wishes of Christians should such a claim arise that the Quran's Jesus conform to Christian doctrine or be stricken out altogether, just as some Muslims expect the same of Christians re "Allah"!

I'm not saying we should get into a semantic tug-of-war. But put forward your arguments by all means, just let's not be hypocritical about it!

3) To state that "The word Allah...rests on the altar of worship supported by the pillars of faith jealously guarded by UNREASON" is, I think, Dato' Ariff's most damaging statement to his cause.

In all of Creation, God created only Man to have reason. It is by the exercise of reason that Man is able to control his base desires and grow in his faith, through spiritual disciplines such as worship, prayer, fasting, study and reflection. No other creature in the world is able to do such things simply because they are beings without reason!

Since God created Man as the only creature with "reason", and Man's growth in his faith in God rests on activities that require the exercise of reason, the implication is that as Man grows in his closeness to God, he exercises MORE of his reason.

Stating that faith is guarded by UNREASON is surely an insult to the sincere spiritual seeker!

Who's The Stupid Ass Writing The RPK Manhunt Script?

2009-12-31T23:58:00.005+08:00

This sandiwara is getting surreal. The way logic seems to twist and turn and fade in and out of our earthly dimensions is incredible. Consider this Dali-esque gems in the latest NST report "Cops zero in on RPK."

Our intelligence reports have confirmed that RPK is in London, but we have yet to confirm his exact location,” he (the IGP) said in an interview with the New Straits Times.

So the cops KNOW that RPK's in London but don't know where exactly. Fair enough. Now...HOW do they know he's in London? There are a few possibilities: the cops must have some knowledge of RPK's travel arrangements, or someone saw RPK there, or someone who knows RPK's whereabouts spilled the beans.

Let's look at them one by one and see if these scenarios can support the IGP's statement.

1) The cops know RPK's travel arrangements. That means they managed to trace how RPK got out of the country undetected by the Immigration Dept, which routes he took (which also means the cops know who the people helping RPK through those routes are) and finally where the trail ended - in London. The reason why the PDRM won't know RPK's exact whereabouts in London could be because RPK made his own arrangements after arriving in London.

However, there is a gaping hole in this story. If the trail ended in London and RPK makes his own arrangements from there, how can the IGP really confirm that RPK is in London? RPK could have caught a train and left London to go stay with his long-lost relatives in Wales!

So in this scenario, there is really no way for the IGP to CONFIRM that RPK is in London. Unless...

2) Someone saw RPK in London. Now, who would be able to see RPK in London and know how important it is to report it to the relevant people? It would have to be either anti-RPK Malaysian civilians or Malaysian agents in London looking for RPK. Now if it was a civilian who spotted RPK and was concerned enough to report the fugitive to the Malaysian Embassy, it would be logical to assume that the fella/s did not do a comprehensive surveillance on RPK's exact whereabouts, hence the uncertainty over his exact location. If that's the case, what's to stop RPK from catching a train to Wales and staying with his long-lost relatives?

So in this case, there really is no basis for the IGP to say that RPK is confirmed to be staying in London!

What if it was a Malaysian agent following RPK around? Then surely he would know RPK's exact location, wouldn't he! That would be his no. 1 priority. Doesn't make sense for the agent to spot RPK and let go of his quarry just like that! Surely the agent/s investigations would confirm RPK's exact location! So if it was an agent who located RPK, why can't the IGP confirm RPK's exact location?

Again, this theory is impossible to justify.

3) Someone spilled the beans on RPK's whereabouts. This is perhaps the theory with the highest possibility. The cops somehow got to someone very close to and trusted by RPK (must be la - fugitives don't reveal their whereabouts to just anyone, what) an the fella talked. But all they could get out of him/her was that RPK was in London. Now the cops have the relevant info at hand and they just need to follow up on that thread and they'll get their man.

But then again...if you are really closing in on a hunted fugitive, would you announce to the world that you kind of know roughly where he is, and that you are going to get him soon? So nice of the cops to give RPK the heads up so far ahead in advance, right? Give RPK plenty of time to make ascape arrangements!

But we Malaysians know better, right? If the cops really wanted to get someone, they're not going to announce it. They just show up with machine guns a balaclavas like in 1998. But well, you might say that RPK is in London, the Malaysian cops can't just do stuff like that over there.

So that's probably why the IGP dropped the next Dali-esque gem to try and cover up the gaping holes in the plot:

He said Malaysian police have sought the help of their British counterparts to bring Raja Petra back.

“The British courts might call for an inquiry and request the relevant documentation to support the extradition process before making a decision,” Musa said, adding that the police were also working with the Attorney-General’s Chambers in preparing the documents.

Hey, how stupid you think Malaysians are? You think we got no brains to think, ka? You think all of us are frogs living under coconut shells in the kampung and have never left the country before ka?

If RPK left the country with no Immigration records and still managed to get into the UK, it can only mean one thing: he used a fake passport. If so, there's no need to convince the UK police about all his Sedition charges here in Malaysia la. Just report his fake passport to the UK authorities - they'll put RPK on the next flight back to Malaysia already, no questions asked!

But this is Malaysia. Apparently here, the cops' job is not to find and arrest fugitives who pose a dangerous threat to the stability of the country. Their job is to offer friendly advice to such fugitives:

Musa also advised Raja Petra to return to Malaysia of his own accord. “If you’re not guilty then come back and defend yourself. Why should you hide in another country?"

The Malaysian Insider carries an even sillier quote by the IGP:

On the possible extradition of Raja Petra, Musa said the application would take time. "In fact, there is no need for (an extradition) order. He has to surrender,” he said.

Wahh...Musa Hasan so kind la. First give RPK a long heads up so that he can have plenty of time to prepare further escape plans, then take his own sweet time over the extradition process, now give him friendly advice to come home. Hey, isn't it urgent and of utmost importance to bring this lawbreaker home - if for nothing else but to maintain the dignity of the PDRM?!

Like I said, we seem to be living in one of Salvador Dali's landscapes these days. This is so surreal!

The Great RPK "Mahn-mahn" hunt

2009-12-31T00:40:00.005+08:00

PETALING JAYA: The person or organisation sponsoring Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s stay in London is “somebody that he constantly supports in his articles”, said Umno supreme council member Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad.

He alleged that the reason for sponsoring Raja Petra – commonly known as RPK – was due to him being “special” to the particular individual or group.

“How can a bankrupt man afford to stay in a luxury apartment and use a foreign passport?

“He is obviously financed by someone and I am wondering if other bloggers are being sponsored as well,” said Dr Abdul Latif yesterday.

He was commenting on Raja Petra who is suspected to have exited Malaysia using a foreign passport.

It was recently reported that he is currently holed up at the posh Trinity Court Apartments in Gloucester Terrace, Bayswater in London.

Dr Abdul Latif also likened Raja Petra’s escape from Malaysia to a Hollywood spy movie, in which passports were given to secret agents in order for them to hide out in other countries.

(read the rest of this dude's crappy neo-spy-novel conspiracy theory here)

------------------------

Wow...sounds like this Datuk Dr Latiff has better intelligence (no punny references to mental ability intended here) than our world-renowned PDRM SB! From the confidence he shows in exerting his views about RPK's whereabouts, how he got out of the country, who's sponsoring him, etc, Latiff seems to be privy to information that even our super snoops in SB are not sure of. I mean, if even ordinary citizens like Utusan journos and Latiff knows where and how RPK escaped, surely there's no problem for our cops to get him, right? So what's all this nonsense from Musa Hasan about pleading to Interpol and London for help? It's just pure poppycock!

How difficult can it be to find a fat foreign dude in London, what with his Muslim name and pictures and sensational news about him all over the internet and a KNOWN ADDRESS?

Since this is all open knowledge – RPK's mode of escape being completely exposed by Utusan and an UMNO member – really: what's the problem with bringing him in? Surely our cops can't be THAT incompetent? All they need to do is contact the London Met, ask them nicely to go to Trinity Court and put the guy in cuffs. No investigation necessary what! And the Met would also get to bust one more illegal passport cum international criminal fugitive, so that's really good press for them – what an incentive!

But our police here talking like it's so damn hard. Got to ask la, request la, etc.

Hello! Scotland Yard and Interpol are two of the most respected police bodies in the world. They don't screw around, nor are they beholden to political masters like our boys in blue here. If they're tasked to be on a job, you can be sure that they'll do their damndest to finish it properly!

And what's all this nonsense about RPK using a fake passport to flee the country? HELLO! It's not like RPK is so anonymous that he can saunter into KLIA past hundreds of cops, airport security, airport and immigration staff, CCTVs etc and fly off into oblivion! Well, there's also the theory that he smuggled himself into Thailand then flew off there...That's more plausible, all RPK would need is one helluva good fake passport. But like I said earlier, it's not likely that a well-known fugitive can remain so anonymous!

What we have here really sounds like intensive myth-building. An elaborate sandiwara played out between the powers-that-be and RPK. I don't believe for a moment that the cops don't know where RPK is because the Malaysian SB is world-renowned as one of the best spy agencies in the world. And if the cops know where he is, you can be sure that the powers-that-be do too.

What I think is really happening is that RPK and the powers-that-be have each other by the balls. Why?

If the cops grab RPK now, he will have to face his multiple existing criminal charges and civil suits PLUS additional charges of evading arrest, illegally leaving the country, contempt of court, etc for which he will be most definitely convicted.

BUT...

If the powers-that-be continue to persecute him, RPK gets to go to court with more of his sensational revelations made public in the MSM, AND he gets elevated to hero-martyr status. This will galvanise the electorate against the present powers-that-be.

So...given this scenario the question is, who's got more to lose?

Well, from the govt's reluctance to bring RPK in, it looks like RPK has the upper hand. But if that is so, the cops cannot justify doing nothing about the Malaysia's most famous fugitive. Especially since he's very obviously alive and kicking and still very much in the limelight on Malaysia Today!

Thus, the need for this elaborate melodrama about how difficult it is to find RPK, how his political connections can fund his luxurious fugitive lifestyle, and other myths designed to disguise the cops' "mahn-mahn lai" attitude towards catching RPK.

So to me, this whole thing is a hoax - nothing more than an elaborate smokescreen raised to hide the game of “political chicken” that's going on behind the scenes. We'll just have to see who blinks first.

Which leads us to the next question – just what cards do RPK hold to make the powers-that-be so afraid that they don't dare lay their hands on him?

Mahn-mahn lai...surely there's more melodrama coming our way soon!

Dr Tee, dah dapat status Bumiputra ke belum?

2009-12-29T17:15:00.002+08:00

Dr Tee has done it again with his new article promoting ultra-Malayness.

It's just more rehashing of the usual BS - Malaysian Chinese are ultra-kiasu racists out to grab everything from Malays, Malays have to be eternally vigilant against the Chinese, Malays must vigorously fight the Chinese to maintain every inch of their special rights or it will be lost forever, the Malays are being victimised because the ultra-kiasu Chinese are exploiting their kind and gentle nature, etc, etc, etc.

It just gets so tiresome trying to rebut all that nonsense AGAIN AND AGAIN! What kind of sick mind is able to endlessly recycle the same shit in so many guises?

Well, I'm not going for a rebuttal today. Just a simple question for the good Dr Tee Chuan Seng, the "more Malay that the Malays" champion for Ketuanan Melayu:

After all your hard work speaking Malay, acting Malay, looking Malay and promoting Ketuanan Melayu, you got Bumiputra status already ka?

Ok la, one more follow up question from there:

If you were born in Malaysia ("diputrakan di bumi Malaysia") as a legal citizen, how come you don't automatically get Malaysian Bumiputra status, whereas illegal immigrants such as Indons, Filipinos and Pakistanis can get it in a few years?

One 2nd generation Indon even gets to be the Selangor MB and tell other 3rd, 4th, 5th generation Malaysians to F*** OFF with their dreams of equality. Wahh...the Indon can "convert" to be a Malay and grow filthy rich with the Ketuanan Melayu Party while you - the Cina - got to peddle offensive doctrines against your own race and still be forever denied Bumiputra Status?

Where's your dignity, man?

Give GST a chance says this guy...BAH!

2009-12-07T13:36:00.003+08:00

From the Star, 7 Dec 1009:

We’ll be paying less with GST

I REFER to “The poor will be badly hit by the GST” (The Star, Dec 3). What surprised me was that the writer was not sure whether the existing sales tax and service tax would be abolished when GST is introduced.

He mentioned that the Government was unlikely to forgo a 15% sales and service tax for a 5% GST. It has been mentioned many times – and published too in the media – that GST will replace sales tax and service tax.

In his Budget speech recently, the Prime Minister clearly mentioned that if the Government were to introduce GST, the rate would be lower than the current sales tax and service tax.

About a week ago the Second Finance Minister announced that the proposed rate for GST would be 4% and this was widely reported in major newspapers.

Currently, a wide range of goods is subject to 5% or 10% sales tax and 5% service tax on selected services. By simple calculation and logic, I would say that the poor should not be badly hit if they were to pay the 4% GST.

Many of us may not realise that we are indirectly paying 5%-10% sales tax on many goods that we buy; sales tax is already charged by the manufacturer.

The writer also mentioned that eating out at air-conditioned restaurants will see an increase of 5% in the food bill. At the moment there already is a 5% service tax charged by many restaurants, pubs and hotels.

There is also 5% service tax charged on several other services such as on telephone bills, lawyer’s fees, and by workshops and car parks. This 5%-10% sales tax and 5% service tax will be replaced by a lower GST rate of 4% which should benefit the rakyat at large.

The Government has been emphasising on “People First” and with that has given the assurance that the poor will not be unduly affected as essential goods and services will not be taxed under the GST regime.

To me the proposed GST rate at 4% will not burden the lower and middle income groups as the present sales tax and service tax will be abolished.

As a consumer we should have an open mind and trust the Government’s promise that GST will not burden the rakyat.

OPEN MINDED RAKYAT,
Shah Alam, Selangor.

----------------

I only have one question for this "open minded" dude...

When has the the rakyat EVER ended up paying LESS when the BN govt "restructured", "tweaked", "reformed", etc the economy? (I'm being kind here, I'm not even gonna mention that every time the BN govt "restructured", "tweaked", "reformed", etc, the economy - e.g. fuel subsidy restructuring - the rakyat always ends up getting shafted with permanent price spikes.)

Maybe this dude should try opening his eyes instead...

Here's a question for the DemiNegara SSUS fascists...

2009-11-01T19:53:00.002+08:00

Public school expands to Malaysia

One of the country's top public schools is to develop a new school in Malaysia.

Marlborough College in Wiltshire is to set up the coeducational boarding school in Iskandar Malaysia, a new city being built in the state of Johor. Marlborough College Malaysia is to have 423 children in its prep school and 915 pupils in its senior school.

Nicholas Sampson, Marlborough's master, said: "The new school will be based on the British model, but it will have a very international feel to it."

'Cultural crossroads'

The school should be open by 2012 in Iskandar Malaysia, which is being developed in the south of Malay peninsula. Marlborough College expects the new establishment to open by 2012.

The project is a joint venture between Marlborough and Malaysian governmental agencies (emphasis mine). Mr Sampson, whose job title is master rather than headmaster, added: "It's a great spot.

"Malaysia has got a tremendous history of being a cultural crossroads.

"This is a statement of intent about our place in the world. We want to be able to speak to the world."

Marlborough was founded in 1843. It charges annual fees of £28,245 for boarding pupils.

BBC News.

---------------------

Ok. If you DemiNegara "champions of education" were not too lazy to read the few words above about education issues in the world, I'd like to ask you a few questions:

To TamDalyell (who had some jaguh Kg DemiNegara spewing some nonsense here then quickly run back to jump around excitedly at his blog like little children) who attacked me saying:

"Bagi mereka punca masaalah ialah British meninggalkan negara dan Melayu mengambil alih. Punca kritikan mereka kepada Ketuanan Melayu berakar umbi dari sini. Dan hala tuju hujjah-hujjah mereka ialah pengekalan kebritishan kerana mereka tahu mereka lebih bersedia dalam meneruskan kesinambungan kebritishan ini. Singapura adalah penjelmaan dari disciplin ini."

Hahaha! Putting aside your nonsense statements for a moment...

You seem to be very "anti-everything-that-even-smells-non-Malay". You also accuse this humble blogger of being anti-Malay and pro-British.

What do you say about the people from the Ketuanan Melayu champion party signing a deal like this?

Meludah ke langit, terkena muka sendiri...

Malas nak explain lagi pada depa.

Did Muhyiddin take a leaf from my "A School For Every Malaysian" idea? :-D

2009-10-26T13:22:00.004+08:00

Govt to reward principals and teachers in country’s top performing schools
By KAREN CHAPMAN

(The Star, 26 October 2009) PUTRAJAYA: Special incentives such as one or two months’ salaries are being considered as tokens of appreciation for the contribution of principals and headmasters in excellent performing schools.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said teachers would also enjoy these incentives as the success of a school was not just dependent on the principal or headmaster but was a joint effort.

(read the rest of the article here)

---------------------------------

Some of the regular readers of this "syiok sendiri" blog would know that I have a long-running debate with KijangMas of DemiNegara fame about the direction of education in Malaysia.

Well...it's more like me doing the debating and he's been a long time running away from confronting me here (although at Kampung DN, he's not afraid to pour his vilest insults on his dissenters and strut about parading his "jaguh status" to his small fanatical crowd of groupies.)

For a recap of his fascist idea of education ala DN, visit the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua blogsite here. Take particular note of the flavour of the blogs that support this initiative.

My idea for "A School For Every Malaysian" - which shares some similarities with the SSUS efforts but is fundamentally different because it is based on a democratic model - can be read here.

I won't go into the full arguments for and against each version again, as that can be read here,

Unfortunately for my ideas, I do not have a bunch of fanatical groupies to help me spread the news. So it shall just have to languish on my syiok sendiri blog until some lucky day it gets noticed by a big-name personality. He/she may want to use or implement my ideas and maybe he/she will give credit where credit is due. But in this world, that's not likely so I don't hold out much hope of that.

But our DPM cum Education Minister today made an announcement that reflects exactly what I called for in my article written way back in 2 June 2009:

"The current remuneration system for school staff is alright. But it must be further refined to reward performance and merit, not seniority and political connections. Teachers and principals should also be incentivised to be innovative and produce results."

Well, well, well...isn't that something!

Coincidence? Most likely! Did my ideas somehow reach Muhyiddin? Well...

I'm not so big headed as HilangWaras to actually believe that an anonymous blog can influence national policy. But I'm just happy to know that a good idea is getting its due attention. Let's hope that the rest of my "A School for Every Malaysian" ideas will get their due attention too.

And I really, really hope that the Education Ministry is serious about producing excellence in students and not merely excellence of principal's reports to the Ministry...

Thursdays with Rabun...(Part 2)

2009-10-22T02:00:00.004+08:00

“Hey Rabun, do you consider me a racist pengkhianat pendatang ah?” I asked my friend point blank.

“You are eh, ah...er, no la. You can speak Malay, ok la. It's only those who refuse to learn Malay, send their children to Chinese schools. Those are the racists! They love the Chinese national language more that the Malaysian national language!”

“But Rabun, I send my kid to Chinese schools what? According to that blog, that qualifies me as a racist pengkhianat pendatang! How about the dozens of Indian and Malay children studying in the same Chinese school as my kids? All of the racist pengkhianat pendatang also ka – including the Malays?”

Rabun was quiet for a moment. Suddenly the picture he was convinced to see as reality at the blog didn't seem so close to the reality on earth. But Rabun's introspection didn't last long. He burst out again:

“YES! They are all pengkhianat! They are Malays and they should be sending their children to study at Malay schools, not at some pendatang language ghetto!”

I tried to appeal to Rabun's sense of logic: “Ok...then what about all our pseudo-bangsawan Ministers and politicians who send their kids to study at private institutes whose teaching medium is English? How pengkhianat are they?”

Rabun's eyes rolled up to his left side for a moment. Then his face lit up as if he had found the answer to one of life's greatest mysteries.

“No, no, no, no! You can't say like that – all the proletariat riff raff in national schools will corrupt these elite children or they may be kidnapped! You know our BN politicians are not very well paid and they don't take a single sen in corruption! Where got money to pay the kidnapper's ransom like that?”

“Besides,” continued Rabun as he speared a piece of nasi impit and soaked it in the peanut sauce, “English is a very important language – if they don't study in Malay schools, it's because they are being prepared to be the next generation of elite leaders!”

Rabun pushed the nasi impit into his mouth, smacking his lips and looking pretty satisfied with himself. He had the particular glint in his eye that I noted in all those GinjalKeras fanatics who pride themselves for somehow managing to wrangle together some convoluted argument to try to shoo away the inconvenient facts facing them and imagining the jaguh kampung from DemiNegara patting them on the back.

But like I said, Rabun is my friend. And I would not be doing him any favours by allowing him to continue being deceived and led around by the nose like a sleepy kerbau by self-aggrandizing wannabes with a sinister agenda. So I pressed on:

“Rabun, do you know that Mandarin is the language with the most number of speakers in the world?”

Rabun smiled...Obviously he had another pat answer from the DemiNegara BTN Bible.

“Of course I know! You pendatang always think we're stupid just because we're Malay! Mandarin may be the most spoken language in the world. But that's only because China has the largest population in the world - English is the most WIDELY spoken language in the world!”

“No Rabun, I don't think you're stupid because you're Malay. I just think you're stupid to put your trust in those narrow-minded bigots prancing and preening at DemiNegara whose arguments have as much substance and eloquence as a wet fart from a diarrheal arse – they are noisy, full of shit and hot air, and they stink.”

Rabun was turning red in the face again, but I quickly offered him several sticks of satay and continued as he munched intently.

“OK let's look at KerangBasi's argument that only in Malaysia are the pendatangs allowed to demand all sorts of rights to education that no other country in the world would give a second thought to. He exerts that the pendatang here have it good because of the pribumi's tolerance which is quickly coming to an end. He argues that overseas, the pendatangs would be quickly assimilated or forever be ostracised.”

Rabun grinned and said, “That's the facts! You can't argue with it! Look at the US – do you see any of the pendatangs there speaking their pendatang languages ar practising their pendatang cultures? NO! All their schools teach in the American language and the pendatangs have to assimilate or buzz off!”

It was time to give Rabun a reality check:

“Do you know that in the US, they are slowly but surely introducing Mandarin language classes into the official school system? Now there are even some US schools teaching in both English and Mandarin language mediums already. In fact, while we're still pissing around about PPSMI here in Malaysia, some schools in the US are teaching science & maths in MANDARIN!”

Rabun blinked. Obviously he had no clue of these happenings in the world. The fascist lies that had been shoehorned into his psyche from the DemiNegara cesspool of ideas were beginning to crack. I pressed on with the undisputable facts:

“All over the world – from the US to Canada to the UK to Australia – Mandarin language classes and Mandarin medium schools are the fastest growing education choice, both privately and officially! That's mainly because their educators recognise China as the next economic giant and they want to prepare their country's children to be able to deal effectively with the Chinese in the future.”

Rabun was quick to retort: “Are you saying that Chinese is superior to Malay?!”

“On the contrary, my dear friend, I am merely producing evidence to prove that BilangLast is either lying or completely ignorant about education issues, even though he fancies himself as an authority on education issues worldwide. His arrogance borne of blissful ignorance is most amply demonstrated by his laughably self-glorifying committee effort - the fascist Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua proposal. Thank God only 2000+ netizens were duped to believing his nonsense despite all the jaguh-jaguh kampung's posturing and chest-thumping!”

Rabun was livid at that! “Now you've proven yourself to be a racist pendatang! What's wrong with having one school system to integrate all our nation's children?”

Oops! Clearly, Rabun was one of the duped who had signed the online petition! I should have been more careful with my words. I quickly waved a waiter over and ordered an ais bandung for my friend to cool him down. That gave me some time to gather my thoughts too.

“Well, Rabun,” I began, “there's nothing wrong with having a single official school system. I've even written in support of establishing a single Malaysian schools system. But KurangBernas' version is based on his fascist idea that education is all about putting the pendatangs in their proper place, exerting the superiority of the Malay language and culture above the pendatangs, creating a Melayu Celup out of the pendatangs so that they look and sound more acceptable to his brand of bigotry.”

“As well they should, seeing that they are pendatang to the Tanah Melayu! Is there any other nation in the world that allows their pendatang to continue practising their pendatang culture?” retorted Rabun stubbornly.

Actually all the nations that are used in DemiNegara as examples of assimilated pendatang like the US, UK and Australia are nations that actually strive to encourage and celebrate diversity. Of course, KurapKhas would conveniently choose to ignore those facts and attempt to pass fractions of truths as facts that support the BTN gospel he so fervently preaches.

But I didn't want to distract from the point I was trying to make so I merely ignored his outburst and continued:

“My version of a unified a school system is based on allowing diversity to flourish as long as they are privately funded. You have to understand, education is not about political indoctrination. It should be about preparing our children to face the world. Parents should be given the choice of what they think is best for their kids – personal choice should not be regulated by government!”

Rabun waved a satay stick around menacingly as he talked, “We are not calling for government to regulate choice – we just want our kids to study together so that they can break down the racial walls that divide! Like that also you cannot accept ka?”

“Didn't I just say that I called for a unified schools system? But by the very act of denying all other choices (as called for by the SSUS effort) aren't parents' choice being decided for them by the government? What next – marriage licenses only granted to government match-made couples? Government sanctioned babies?”

Rabun started to say something but I distracted him with another plateful of satay and quickly pressed home my point:

“Wouldn't you agree that the medium of instruction is not nearly as important as the quality of education. Besides, there are plenty of countries where their schools have various mediums of instruction, or where the medium of instruction is not the official language or where there exist successful official vernacular school systems. In the few examples I pointed out to you just now, even the Mat Salleh are turning to Chinese as a viable medium of instruction in their own country! Because what matters most is the quality of the education, not the language it is delivered in.”

Rabun was quiet for a moment. I could almost see the gears in his brain turning, resisting the new configurations being introduced, but no longer so sure in the old mechanisms. But obviously his deeply indoctrinated mind refused to give up so easily the myth he was so strongly sold on. So I half-expected the next thing he said:

“That may be so, but you pendatangs here are different...you have no interest in education quality either. You send your kids to Chinese schools because you refuse to integrate into Malaysian society. It is a clear demonstration of your own brand of pendatang racism because you want to preserve your Chinese-ness instead of adopting the culture of your adopted land. Since that's the case, we pribumis have to wonder why you all hauled your asses here in the first place! And now you dare to demand this and that!”

I shook my head at his circular reasoning – you pendatang prefer Chinese schools because you reject Malays & Malaysia, and the reason why you reject Malays & Malaysia is because you hold on to your racist pendatang mentality, if you have that pendatang mentality of course you prefer Chinese schools and reject Malays & Malaysia. Round and round goes the DemiNegara ideological carousel.

My friend Rabun seemed not to understand the fact that I was born and raised in Malaysia as a Malaysian citizen, ipso facto I am NOT a pendatang but a Malaysian bumiputra - "diputrakan di bumi Malaysia".

But I have long ago realised that there is no point arguing with people trapped in circular logic – it's just gonna go round and round and round with no end in sight. I decided to take a slight tangent on the argument:

“Of course I agree that having a strong sense of nationalism is important for nationhood and it has to be inculcated in schools. And one way to achieve this is having a strong mastery of the national language. But which is more important to the KeraBuas gang - the medium of instruction or the quality of education? I think the way they attacked me for suggesting that privately-funded vernacular schools be freely allowed makes it obvious that not only do they want all non-Malay languages disallowed from official schools, they won't even tolerate it in private schools. So their aim is not education and integration, but indoctrination and suppression of minorities.”

“I don't know about you, Rabun, but I think history has pretty clearly shown that fascism has never been the way to successful nation-building.”

“We are not fascist!” proclaimed Rabun indignantly. But the slight quiver in his voice was evident. Perhaps the facts were finally exploding the dangerous BTN myths that were deeply implanted in his mind. I could only hope so...

“Rabun, do you actually know what fascism is?”

“Erm...ah...er, of course! It's Hitler and all that! Do you see any Malays slaughtering Chinese in Malaysia?”

I chose not to mention the infamous incident 40 years ago involving the ruling junta and hundreds of innocents as it would only provoke a bitter argument and be counter-productive to our discussion. Instead, I gave Rabun a quick run-down of the core tenets of fascism and how the nation's ruling junta and their BTN indoctrinated hordes like the DemiNegara gang are similar. Among the points I pointed out to him in my Fascism 101 crash course:

- The nation or the race transcends all other loyalties

- Seeks to purge "alien" groups that “threaten” the community

- Often promotes racial superiority doctrines

- Seeks to activate "the people" against perceived enemies

- Seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision

“I'm sure you can easily draw references from KidalMalas' writings that demonstrate these traits, especially in his rationale for Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua,” I concluded.

Rabun was downcast. He looked down unappetizingly at his satay and said nothing. There was no arguing with the truth – the facts were undeniable. I felt sorry for my good friend because he had been so completely sold on the gospel according to DemiNegara.

I tried to offer some consolation, “Of course, I'm not accusing Malays as a whole as fascists, merely those who are pushing for the schools to be used as tools of mass official indoctrination.”

But no words could soothe when the truth cuts deep because the truth will not go away nor can it be changed to make it less hurtful. I tried to lighten the tone of the conversation instead.

“Hey, Rabun! Why so down la? This has nothing to do with you personally la. It's just some assholes are trying to impose fascism onto the nation. Thank God it's not too bad yet! You don't have to be a part of these assholes' agenda, you know. Open your eyes a little bigger and see the world for what it really is...you'll be all right in a few days!”

“That's so typical of you pendatang!” came his fierce retort, “You think you know so much but you have no idea about how our ancestors sacrificed for our Tanah Melayu. You all come here, refuse to subordinate to the dominant culture, grab all our wealth and now you lecture us about coming out of our coconut shells?!

I could understand his defensiveness – because of his deep belief in the DemiNegara mythology, he took the fallacies and failures of their ideologies personally, as if it reflected on him as his own. I felt sorry for him, but the truth had to be known. We cannot build a nation on lies. But the next sentence out of my friend shows obviously that there were more lies in his head that needed deconstructing.

“Don't you realise that we are the Tuan Tanah of this land and that you are squatting here at our pleasure? Yet you dare to call us pendatang as well. Hey, you stupid ka? You pendatang have exploited our patience and graciousness long enough and the day will come when you will all learn your place!”

Oh boy, here we go again. I prayed for God to grant me the strength to go the whole nine yards for my friend. I looked at my watch – ok la, still got time. I looked at the pile of satay – ok la, still got a lot. I sighed and grabbed another stick.

“OK, Rabun...what else is on your mind?”

(to be continued...)

1Piss To Academic Success!

2009-10-16T01:57:00.007+08:00

oh............my............Gawd.............!

This one...

This ONE...

THIS ONE...

Utterly unbelievable!!!!!

---------------------------

‘1Toilet’ plan to let teachers and students mingle freely

(The Star) - The state government will introduce a “1Toilet” policy in a move to liberalise education, where teachers – and even principals – will soon have to share toilets with their students.

State Education, Higher Learning, Human Resource, Science and Technology Committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman said the policy was mooted in line with the 1Malaysia concept, and teachers and students could have a feeling of “oneness”.

“We want students to have a sense of belonging that we believe would inspire them to excel further in their education.

“When students share the toilets with the teacher, they (students) will believe that they are on par with academicians and this automatically invokes a sense of being important to an organisation, which, in this case, is the school,” he said here yesterday.

(read the rest here)

----------------------------

Someone piss tell me that this is not true!

The State Education Committee Chairman is actually going ON PUBLIC RECORD to say that the TERENGGANU STATE GOVERNMENT has come out with a govt policy stating that if students and teachers pee together in 1Toilet, they would like each other more?

And that this is what 1Malaysia is all about?

And that this policy was taken seriously enough to be implemented in 1School?

And it is expected that it will make them 1 to excel in school.

God help us all that wee have entrusted our nation's education into the hands of peeple like this. How can wee have piss of mind?

The country's certainly gone potty!

And oh, by the way...

"they (students) will believe that they are on par with academicians and this automatically invokes a sense of being important"

Really? Well...for me, I can't think of a more demotivating thing for impressionable young boys when they are reminded daily of this reality by their teacher's presence in 1Toilet:

But, this is 1Malaysia after all. Peehaps it may work.

Or peehaps it will eventually fall into the dungpile like all the other bad ideas in our country's rather long list of bad ideas.

This...i certainly hope it does - FAST!

Thursdays with Rabun...(Part 1)

2009-10-15T15:29:00.002+08:00

Ahh...that particular smell wafting around the blogosphere can only mean one thing. KijangMas has served up a new P.O.S.ting on his DemiNegara blog. Apparently, he'd recently had dinner with “Robin” (hmm...wonder if he was wearing his mask and tights then?). Many issues of national concern were discussed and suffice to say, the half-wit racist pendatang Robin had his tail between his legs at the end of the evening as his miniscule mind had no more excuse to doubt the feeble fibs foisted upon him by KilangTandas...I mean KijangMas.

But I too had dinner with my Tuan Tanah friend recently. And by happy coincidence, his name bears a striking resemblance to Robin! And at that dinner, many issues of national interest were also discussed of which I will relate here and in later postings.

Now, I'm not a pretentious prick to think that I should write novel length blog posts and expect people to read it. I'm definitely not so grossly vain as to get my partners-in-crime to plug it for me.

So I'll simply write the conversation I had with Rabun in parts for easy reading and hope that people will appreciate it for real.

Here goes...

--------------------

As usual, it was Thursday. And as usual, I was meeting my dear friend Rabun for dinner. This time Rabun had insisted on coming to one of the branches of a famous chain who had been very successful in capitalising on the “Kajang satay” brand.

I plonked my fat arse down into the stylo-mylo rattan-and-aluminum cafe chair at the outlet in Subang Jaya and ordered a teh tarik kurang kurang manis while waiting for Rabun. Halfway through the diabetes-inducing beverage, I spied Rabun hurrying over to the table where I was seated. Rabun seemed more animated this time, more agitated by events unfolding before his be-goateed chin. He was more on edge, more ready for contentious debate, and seemed to have a load of grievances on his mind.

As he sat down, there was a glint in his eye. Yeah...this dude was ready for a fight. No...he was SPOILING for a fight. My arse may have been twice as large as his, but he was a good head taller than me. So it would be quite difficult to find a suitable angle to sit on his face, but he could easily conk me one on the nose. Warily, I ordered a copious amount of satay, hoping the sight of steaming meat would curb any bellicose ambitions he may have had upon me.

But when the satay arrived, it was apparent that fine cuisine wasn't the only thing on the menu.

As Rabun dug his large hands into the bristling pile of meat, he began to mumble about Anwar's treachery towards the Malays, the non-Bahasa Malaysia literate Anak Bangsat Malaysia, the Pakatan's lame power grabs in Perak, giggling at the spectacle of A. Sivakumar being dragged kicking and screaming from the Speaker’s chair. He next trained his sights on a doctor/blogger's “CSI findings” by blaming Teoh Beng Hock’s suicide on a conspiracy between elements in the Selangor Pakatan government and their organized crime siblings. The BN Bagan Pinang win didn’t seem to uplift Rabun’s spirit. In fact, they just whet Robin’s appetite for more of everything. More power, more rights, more privileges, more concessions, more of everything.

As we dug into the delectable Hokkien Chinese invention (“sar-tneh” is actually Hokkien for “3 pieces” refering to a recipe that called for 3 pieces of marinated meat to be barbecued on a skewer), I could see Rabun's bulging jaw muscles really working overtime – even when he wasn't chewing. When he had quite enough of teeth-grinding he managed to choke out his first grievance:

“Why can't you bloody pendatang learn to speak Malay properly?!”

I looked at the bristling pile beckoning to me. Well, this was our usual Thursday dinner and I had an extra couple of hours to kill that evening so I thought I'd see if I could draw out whatever poison was working on his soul that evening. The satay could wait...I had to help my friend escape from the delusional construct that was his consciousness was shoehorned into by the 1Malaysia powers-that-be. As to who had implanted the poison within him, we would have to deal with that on another day. Today, it was all about my friend..

“Wahai sahabatku. Andaikata saya mengguris hatimu, saya minta seribu maaf dan berharap persahabatan kita tetap teguh. Apa pun badai yang sedang awak harungi, saya tetap di sisimu! Cakaplah apa yang terlubuk di hati, saya sanggup terima. Apa yang baik akan ku jadikan teladan, walaupun kurang manis didengar. Dan jika ada di antara kata-katamu yang terlanjur, ku harap awak akan terima teguran ku dengan hati terbuka.”

This gave him a little pause. Obviously, he somehow had gotten it into his head that all of us “pendatangs” were illiterate Ah Beng who only knew how to peddle DVDs, draw dragon tattoos on our backs and fornicate in smelly little rooms lit only by a small red bulb. But my reply suddenly made him realise the disconnect between the pendatang image in his head and the pendatang in front of him.

But obviously, it was not enough to dislodge the sinister psychological construct in his mind because he stammered on:

“You pendatang spend your childhoods immersed in your ancestral dialects and, in many pendatang families, English as well. Then your pendatang kids go to the vernacular school scourge.” He added, “Your rich pendatang towkays bypass the Malaysian educational system altogether and send your pendatang kids to private schools and an overseas education (spreading your pendatang disease over there). But you pendatang think your pendatang kids should have equal rights as Malaysians when you don't know how to speak Malay? Sorry la, you'll forever be a pendatang if you can't satisfy us with your Malay language skills!”

At first, I marvelled at his ability to cram so many “pendatang”s into one breath. But then, the ugly truth dawned on me. The person whom I had regarded as my friend and comrade had carried a secret grudge against me. And instead of talking to me about it, allowed that grudge to be nurtured until it confronted me in all its glorious full-grown form, dripping with venom today. But where did this grudge come from anyway?

“What had I ever done to him or his family?” I asked myself. “Why was I suddenly accused of being this monstrous caricature which was nothing like me?” I could see that I had my work cut out for me. Thank God that I had been married for some years and had learnt the art of listening to someone else bitch endlessly. So I let Rabun continue.

“What kind of guest are you? You come to live in MY country, but you won't learn my language because you think we're all dumb kampung....”

I assertively fed him a piece of nasi impit in mid-tirade and said, “Rabun, have another nasi impit.”

After he managed to swallow, I calmly asked him: “Rabun...have you been lurking around THAT blog again?”

Rabun looked at me. Indignance flashed in his eyes. “Yes! What about it? DemiNegara is the finest Malay blog there is. It's even been heartily endorsed by the Malay Mail!”

“You mean the twice almost-brankrupt paper? The one who squandered their huge advantage and is now a piddling little paper that no one wants to buy even to wrap fish in?”

“That's the one!” cried Rabun happily. “See? Even you recognize the importance of the Malay Mail and their endorsement of DemiNegara!”

“Right, right,” I replied. Pick you battles, my boy, pick your battles, I reminded myself. Out loud I said, “So I gather that what's-his-name...HilangWaras has released his latest turd into the sewers of the blogosphere?”

I could see that Rabun made a most heroic attempt not to leap at my neck! I was glad that our satay dinner didn't require the use of knife or fork. He brought his massive fist down hard on the table, startling the other diners. The still considerable pile of satay jumped 3 inches from the table like a suitably startled porcupine.

Drawing himself to his full height and gesticulating wildly, Rabun launched into a series of pronouncements:

“His NAME is KIJANGMAS! And He is a Shining Knight for all the Malay masses oppressed by the rich, greedy pendatangs. He is the Mighty Malay Satria wielding the Keris Cincangcina in His right hand that would bring the pendatang hordes into submission. And in his left, He grasps the Lembing SiTengking, whose righteous aim would pin down all those who would oppose Him. His Wrath knows no bounds for the pendatang hordes and his Compassion is ever for the gentle majority's good! Such is the Hero, the Saviour, the Redeemer of Tanah Melayu – He is the Awesome, Wonderful the All-Wise...KijangMas!!”

Striking a dramatic pose on the chair at the last hushed syllable, Rabun slowly turn his misty eyes to me again.

All other eyes in the restaurant were on him.

I thought to myself: “Man, this guy is gonna need some work!” I glanced at my watch. 8pm. Right. Not much time, and so much yet to be done.

After settling down, I began...

“Rabun, I think there are some things you should know...”

(to be continued...)

Dedicated to the memory of Bagan Pinang...

2009-10-13T15:30:00.003+08:00

Amidst all the BN's gloating, PR's anguish, the urban voter's bewilderment and the rural voter's indifference, a little humour might be in order...

Sigh! Such is politics in Malaysia, not too many steps up from the BBC's best "moh-lei-tau" (nonsensical) comedies...

By the way, the BBC is a government-owned TV station and they're not afraid to lampoon history, politics, politicians and royalty because they are truly independent, and the people there assume that the citizens actually are in possession of a brain and can think for themselves.

If we can't have the same here - does that mean the pollies here think Malaysians have no brains? Or we really don't have them - as proven in Bagan Pinang?

A puzzlement...

Aiyooo...some things you just don't say la!

2009-10-06T22:36:00.005+08:00

Sigh! It looks like the govt's million ringgit contract to APCO isn't worth diddly-squat. How much lower can Malaysia's credibility go when we have a PM with a cloud of suspicion hovering above his head, lecturing the world about how to govern a country peacefully? Does he seriously believe that no one will see through the puke-ifying hypocrisy? I'll bet the forumers were all sniggering in their seats...
Just goes to show that our govt has still got no idea that the problems in our country cannot be fixed with money and PR!

Here's a pictoral journey through 1Malaysia ala Najib!

---------------

Najib: 1Malaysia can be expanded to 1Region, then 1World

(The Star, 6 October 2009) PARIS: The 1Malaysia national philosophy can be extended to the concept of 1Region and ultimately 1World, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

I'm sure plenty of countries are desperate to learn how 1Malaysia really CAN be extended to 1Region and 1World. After all, 1Malaysia is such a mature democracy it is like a shining beacon to the world!

Just look at the maturity and passion for democracy demonstrated by these two 1Malaysia supporters!

He said this would be the next logical extension of the philosophy based on mutual trust and respect between all communities.

Ah yes...what better way to build mutual trust and respect than by having senior government leaders wave the keris and threaten to use it against the minorities in the country. What a fine example of peaceful nationhood they are setting for the nation!

Najib said he believed this was the right formula not only for national harmony but also for enhancing regional and global peace.

People certainly love their peace and harmony (or else!!) in 1Malaysia.

With a history of threats of racial violence, detention without trial, trumped up sedition charges, and kangaroo courts all enforced by a compliant police force, very few people would dare to speak up!

“No obstacle is too high or too deep or too wide for us to overcome if we join hands, think and act together as 1World,” he said, quoting an old Malay proverb that one could conquer all peaks and traverse all valleys.

Yes, certainly there is no obstacle to what you can accomplish in 1Malaysia.

Just take Perak for example, not the constitution, not the law, not even the opinion of voters proved to be any obstacle to take over a sitting government via coup d'etat!

Najib was speaking at the 35th United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) General Conference’s opening plenary session Tuesday.

He said the three major challenges currently confronting the international community were the need for durable peace, a new global financial architecture and tackling climate change.

Who better to talk about innovative finance structures if not 1Malaysia!

These guys show that they have found a fantastic "new" way to make money - classify corruption and vote buying as a legitimate right!

However, Najib noted that there could be peace only if various groups were willing to engage each other constructively through inter-cultural dialogue.

I'm sure he had the 1Malaysia cow head protestors in mind when he said that. After all, the protestors did not mean to hurt the feelings of the Hindus when they said that they were willing to spill blood over plans to relocate a Hindu temple! That was merely inter-cultural dialogue at it's 1Malaysia best!

“Ignorance, fear, prejudice and apathy, if left unchecked, were fertile ground for breeding hatred, extremism, fatalism and fanaticism, which were the root causes of the world’s ills.

“As such, Malaysia is willing to play its role in facilitating inter-cultural dialogue,” he said, citing Malaysia’s strategic position as a bridge in linking all of the world’s major cultures.

Just look at the marvellous dialogue 1Malaysia is having with citizens on a peaceful walk.

I suppose 1Malaysia subscribes to the "actions speak louder than words" school of thought...

“Truly, for Malaysians, inter-cultural dialogue is an everyday fact of life,” he said of the founding fathers’ wisdom to use integration, rather than assimilation as a national policy to manage race relations.

On the financial system, Najib said the world must shun the instinctive tendency to retreat into narrow nationalism and protectionism.

Surely 1Malaysia is in a perfect position to criticise the world's tendency to retreat into narrow nationalism and protectionism.

None of that in 1Malaysia!

Nope! Nada!

“We must ensure that prosperity is shared more equitably and there are appropriate mechanisms to deal with excesses and manipulation of the system,” he said, touching on the recent tragedies of the Padang earthquake in Indonesia, the tsunami in western Samoa, hurricanes in the Philippines and major floods in southern India as a reminder of the world’s fragility and interdependence.

He said the forthcoming United Nations summit in Copenhagen on climate change must reflect a strong global commitment and action to reverse the planet’s serious deterioration.

“Unesco has been in the forefront to preserve some historical sites as part of our global heritage.

“Yet, the most valuable heritage that we can bequeath to future generations is Earth itself, a planet which can sustain the quality of life for mankind to the end of time,” he said.

-------------------

If only Najib had just shut his trap and said the usual political empty double talk just to fill in his time slot, we would have been spared the embarrassment!

penny wise, pound foolish

2009-09-29T22:06:00.003+08:00

I read with sadness Sakmongkol's justifications for wanting Isa to stand in the Bagan Pinang bye-elections. This is because I actually have a lot of respect for Dato Ariff. From the writings on his blog, he seems to be a person of high character. But I guess the drive to see his party win something - anything - after a long string of losses over rode every other consideration.

I chose not to make any comments on his blog about the latest bye-election because as an interested neutral, I am not interested in getting into a partisan argument of the merits of one candidate or another. But I guess his justifications for wanting Isa to stand is shared by many within UMNO - maybe even the majority of UMNO members.

In announcing Isa's candidacy for the Bagan Pinang seat, the UMNO/BN seems set to win the bye-election as could be seen from the enthusiastic support for Muhyiddin's announcement today. Finally, UMNO seems to have a united and passionate group on the ground willing to give their all for their candidate. Very likely, UMNO/BN will win what with the postal votes and cohesive machinery and all the other usual election tactics.

But at what cost, this victory?

The once-great UMNO is suffering from a chronic debilitating conditon - corruption. So far, they have not been able to wean themselves from this narcotic. In fact, the many events that have washed over the nation have served to expose again and again the UMNO politics of arrogance, with power maintained by corruption and abuse of power.

Instead of any meaningful attempt to rehabilitate themselves, the greatest efforts have been spent on the jarring combination of glamorous PR and brutal suppression of dissent.

I had written some time back about why I think UMNO/BN was going to lose it all eventually, using cognitive dissonance and cultural dissonance as the basis of my reasoning.

But the first indications are that UMNO is not suffering from any cognitive dissonance this time in the Bagan Pinang bye elections. Muhyiddin looked genuinely pleased and the crowd's loud cheers sounded genuine too when announcing Isa's candidacy.

But their seeming lack of qualms in throwing their support behind another tainted candidate after the last debacle speaks volumes of UMNO's desperation and lack of scruples. That also shows that UMNO STILL has not learnt its lesson - that it needs a total reform NOW! But it's pretty clear that UMNO/BN politicians are no longer able to see beyond the gilded walls of the party.

In announcing Isa's candidacy, Muhyiddin roared to the enthusiastic crowd: "If the people of Bagan Pinang want Isa, then Isa it will be!" But the only people in that room cheering for Isa were UMNO/BN people. Is that the only kind of people who matter to UMNO/BN? Are the non-UMNO/BN people simply proles to be used and manipulated or suppressed to maintain themselves in their power?

By only listening to their internal voices and ignoring the wishes of the greater electorate, UMNO has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are no longer a party for the people. They are a party for themselves because only their own opinions matter. And if their internal voices say "field the tainted candidate" UMNO does exactly that even though corruption is the major reason why they are being rejected in the first place!

The immediate and most obvious damage would be upon UMNO's credibility - again. UMNO simply cannot afford another scandal, but somehow they are willing again and again to dip into the sewers in search of solutions to their problems. But faced with the prospect of actually winning for once, UMNO seems to be unconcerned about fielding a tainted candidate who couldn't even secure a VP post in his own party elections.

But Isa is said to be extremely popular at the grassroots level and highly anticipated to win. But even if UMNO/BN does win this bye-election, it will be a poison for them as it will only serve to INCREASE the level of cognitive dissonance towards UMNO/BN.

Why?

Say they win. Will the party be MORE motivated or LESS motivated to reform? If during their most desperate hour facing rejection by the people they are not willing to change, will they be willing to change if they feel like they are gaining acceptance via a victory?

I would think that they will start to believe that all their political shenanigans have finally turned the tide in their favour. If so, why change the formula? Logically speaking, even more of the same thing would get more of the same result isn't it?

So if UMNO/BN is thus emboldened to continue their zero-sum agenda at all costs, the nation will become even more divided. Plus with the MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP all becoming more irrelevant by the day and the Sarawak govt rocked by scandals, there is will be less and less reason for people to genuinely support UMNO/BN.

It will then spiral into a vicious cycle - extreme politicking will reduce popular support, and without popular support UMNO/BN will have to resort to even more extreme politicking to maintain their hold on power.

In such a situation, it is not inconveivable that there will be popular revolt. Since Malaysians are a peaceful people, the coming revolution will most likely be felt at the ballot box. That's when UMNO/BN will go the way of the dinosaurs.

It would have been much better if UMNO had chosen an untainted candidate and lost. At least they would have lost with honour. I believe there are many people out there who have fond memories of UMNO/BN who find their support wavering because of the shenanigans of the party the support.

A dignified loss would have given them some hope that their party is capable of reform and a return to the greatness they once were. But what hope will a tainted victory bring? Cognitive dissonance will surely set in when they are marking the "X" next to the BN logo because the people know that they are voting for Isa who was dismissed for vote buying.

People cannot go on supporting a corrupt party unconditionally. Their goodwill is the only thing that justifies their current cognitive dissonance. But without seeing real change that the sincere UMNO/BN supprters can believe in, that well of goodwill will all be dried up one day when the people suffer enough of the cognitive dissonance that the UMNO/BN is subjecting them to.

And that's when they will throw their support behind anyone except UMNO/BN.

So what's the point of winning one small bye-election today, but in the end lose the entire electorate tomorrow?

Lagi-lagi Dari Mr Tee

2009-09-27T23:01:00.003+08:00

(versi B.Inggeris rencana ini boleh dibaca di sini)

Rencana “Bahaya musang berbulu ayam” Mr Tee yang terbaru disiarkan dalam Mingguan Malaysia sekali lagi menonjolkan keperibadiannya yang kecil hati dan minda. Hujah-hujah yang bertentangan dengannya semua dilabelkan sebagai berpunca dari golongan “ultra kiasu” - gelaran kegemarannya untuk bangsa orang tuanya.

Beliau mengeluh yang “Fakta yang saya kemukakan tidak dibahas.” Memang sudah dibahas semuanya, Mr Tee. Cuma awak yang tak boleh terimanya. Itulah yang membawa kepada berbagai kritikan atas keperibadian Mr Tee – antaranya kerana sikap bongkaknya. Apabila ditunjukkan kelemahan peribadinya itu, beliau bukannya mengambil hemah daripadanya sebaliknya menganggapnya sebagai serangan peribadi.

Sebagai seorang ustaz, tak sedarkah Mr Tee ini yang kita semua ini manusia dengan kelemahan sendiri? Bak pepatah Cina – jari atas tangan pun ada panjang pendeknya. Kenapa tinggi sangat tanggapan dirinya sehingga macam tak boleh percaya bahawa orang lain pun berhak menegurnya, dan bercanggahan dengan pendiriannya? Apakah unggul sangat pemikiran Mr Tee ini sehingga tidak boleh disangkal? Ataupun sempurna sangatkah Mr Tee ini sehingga tidak boleh dikatakan mempunyai kelemahan?

Sebenarnya penafian dan serangan balas beliau ini menunjukkan sikap kurang matangnya! Yang ironisnya, pernah beliau menulis “Adakah kita terlampau baik sehingga tidak boleh ditegur?” apabila menyerang pengkritiknya. Dirinya sendiri bagaimana pula penilaiannya?

Dan dalam giatnya Mr Tee menyerang peribadi mereka yang menyangkalnya (ultra kiasu la, musang berbulu ayam la, pandai mepermainkan Melayu la, dan pelbagai gelaran menghina yang lain) kita boleh lihat betapa kecut sebenarnya Mr Tee ini – dari mempertahankan hujahnya dengan berprinsip apabila ia dikecam, dimain-mainkan sentimen Melayu Islam dan mempergunakan alat kerajaan (akhbar Utusan) untuk melindungi diri.

Haa...baiklah Mr Tee, tak payahlah mengeluh lagi. Kini terimalah perbahasan berdasarkan fakta tulisan anda. Dan kami akan berhujah tanpa bersandarkan orang kuat di sebalik kami atau alat dan jentera kerajaan.

Mr Tee - Masuk Melayu ke, masuk Islam?

“Kepada orang Melayu yang menyertai parti ultra kiasu ini, saya menyeru keluarlah sebelum terlambat. Musang berbulu ayam ini amat licik. Mereka akan mempergunakan kita bagi menghalalkan matlamat yang ingin dicapai.”

Bukankah kenyataan beliau ini bukti muktamad yang Mr Tee kini menganggap dirinya sebagai sudah berbangsa Melayu? Dari tulisannya kita boleh membuat kesimpulan yang Mr Tee ini bukan sahaja menganggap dirinya Melayu, tetapi ultra-Melayu!

Sebenarnya tak salah menghargai budaya satu kaum, dan juga tak salah kalau ingin menghayatinya, tak salah pun kalau ingin membuang budaya asal demi masuk budaya baru. Itulah kebebasan diri untuk memilih jalan hidup kita. Tetapi apa yang salah adalah sifat munafik Mr Tee yang melabelkan segolongan itu sebagai “ultra-kiasu” (ataupun boleh ditafsirkan maksudnya “ultra-Cina”) sementara sifat ultra-Melayu dirinya menonjol sangat.

Munafiknya Mr Tee ini juga dilihat apabila beliau menafikan dirinya Melayu walaupun sifat utra-Melayu ala UMNOnya jelas dalam tulisannya. Tetapi apabila dibongkar sifat ultra-Melayunya, Mr Tee ini menafikannya dan memutarbelitkannya menjadi isu anti-Islam untuk menyemarakkan kemarahan kaum Melayu Muslim terhadap warganegara Malaysia yang berketurunan bukan Melayu.

Sungguh tidak bertanggungjawab perbuatan Mr Tee ini. Tetapi dalam keangkuhannya, beliau berani mengatakan tanpa sebarang rasa segan, “Sebagai seorang ahli akademik dan penulis, saya bertanggungjawab terhadap apa jua yang ditulis.” Ha...kalau benar begitu Mr Tee, silalah bertanggungjawab – mengakulah diri sebagai batu api antara kaum di Malaysia dan minta maaf daripada majoriti warga Malaysia pelbagai kaum (terutamanya Melayu Muslim) yang inginkan keamanan!

Penulisan bersikap munafik Mr Tee ini bukan sahaja memudaratkan imej Islam, tetapi mengaibkan budaya halus Melayu dan mengkhianati kaum dan diri orang tuanya sendiri.

Mr Tee – Besar kepala dari topinya

“Mereka cuba mendapatkan semaksima mileage politik dan mengecam peribadi seseorang yang dianggap mengancam kedudukan mereka.”

Mr Tee, Mr Tee...

Bak pepatah Cina, jangan pakai topi yang besar kalau kepala tak sebesarnya. Ini untuk mengingati kita supaya pandai-pandailah menilai diri dan jangan memandang tinggi sendiri. Akan tetapi Mr Tee ini mungkin bak kacang lupakan kulit dan sudahpun lupa segala adat Cina. Respon dari Mr Tee ini menunjukkan beliau seperti lebih cenderung kepada apa yang dikatakan dalam bahasa Inggeris “big headed” yang bermaksud bongkak.

Beliau ini jelas menunjukkan keangkuhannya kerana menganggap dirinya betapa penting dan berpengaruh sangat sehingga boleh mengancam kedudukan seluruh “kaum kiasu”nya, iaitu kaum berketurunan Cina di Malaysia.

Mr Tee, ini ada sedikit teladan buat anda - kalau ada orang sudi berbahas dengan awak, maksudnya mereka memberi peluang untuk anda membuktikan kesahihan hujah anda. Kalau anda dianggap setakat tin kosong sahaja, malas orang nak perbahaskan anda. Sebagai insan mulia dan beradab, sepatutnya Mr Tee ini membalas perbahasan itu dengan mengetengahkan lebijh fakta dan logik dengan penuh sopan, besar hati dan rendah diri. Seorang yang matang dan sedar diri tidak akan terasa tergugat. Sebaliknya dia akan memuhasabah diri untuk melihat samada mereka harus meningkatkan diri lagi bagi menyahut cabaran.

Tetapi Mr Tee ini tidak - diserang balasnya dengan pelbagai tuduhan berbau perkauman ke atas kaum ibubapanya, diapi-apikan sentimen perkauman, diserang peribadi pengkritiknya, dan difitnah mereka dengan berbagai sindiran dan tanggapan meragukan. Ini bukannya respon seorang yang matang, berpelajaran dan beretika!

Mr Tee – Cakap tak serupa bikin

“Umar seorang pemimpin yang amat low profile atau tawaduk dan bersikap terbuka, termasuk menerima kritikan rakyat.”

Dari menyerang pengkritiknya, baik Mr Tee insaf dan lihat pada dirinya sendiri sebelum menuding jari. Kalau tidak, dia setakat meludah ke langit terkena muka sendiri sahaja. Adakah Mr Tee “bersikap terbuka, termasuk menerima kritikan rakyat”?

Jelas, beliau tidak.

Mr Tee – Penyindir nombor satu

“Umat Islam perlu ingat, wakil rakyat tersebut pernah menuduh orang Islam sebagai pelampau atau ekstremis dan mahu menghalalkan arak serta lain-lain yang diharamkan Islam. Pernahkah beliau meminta maaf, walaupun telah didesak melakukannya? Jawapannya, tidak, kerana mereka sama sekali tidak akan bersetuju dengan Islam, malah cuba sedaya upaya untuk mencabut identiti ini dari orang Melayu.”

Sungguh ironis kenyataannya ini kerana dahulu dalam rencananya,Mr Tee mengatakan, “Jika saya dituduh munafik, setidak-tidaknya saya berterus-terang. Berbanding mereka yang pepat di luar, rencong di dalam, ibarat gunting dalam lipatan.”

Kalau beliau betul-betul berterus-terang, cakaplah siapa yang menuduh Islam sebagai pelampau dan mahu menghalalkan apa yang haram dan sebagainya. Bagilah sekerat dua petikan tulisan atau ucapan orang itu supaya dia boleh dikenali ramai dan dikecam sekuat-kuatnya. Nak tuduh seseorang, buatlah dengan terang-terang. Ini nak sorok-sorok nama orang tu buat apa? Takut kena saman fitnah ke?

Jantanlah sikit dan berterus terang dengan sepenuhnya! Jangan baling batu sorok tangan dengan melempar berbagai sindiran dan bohongan serta memutarbelitkan kebenaran!

Mr Tee - Menghina bangsa asalnya dan bangsa barunya

“Perlu diingatkan, golongan ini bijak membaca psikologi dan memainkan sentimen orang Melayu.”

Ini adalah penghinaan besar kepada seluruh kaum Cina, yang digelar “kaum kiasu” oleh Mr Tee. Dihakiminya seluruh kaum Cina sebagai penghasut, pengkhianat dan tak teragak-agak mempermainkan dan memperalatkan Melayu untuk kepentingan diri.

Saya nak tanya, atas bukti apakah Mr Tee ini boleh menghakimi seluruh kaum Cina sebegitu? Dan atas kuasa siapakah beliau berhak menghakimi seluruh kaum Cina sebegitu? Saya nak tanya juga, adakah dia juga menganggap ibubapanya yang berbangsa Cina sebegitu? Ini memang gelagat anak biadab yang langsung tak kenal budi orang tuanya!

Lebih-lebih lagi, hasutan dan penghinaannya ini disiarkan dalam akhbar terbesar di Malaysia yang mempunyai lebih sejuta pembaca sehari. Tidakkah kata-katanya akan menyemai prasangka buruk dan rasa syak wasangka antara kaum di Malaysia? Ataupun Mr Tee ini hanya ingatkan hendak mempertahankan egonya sendiri?

“Bantuan mereka ini menyebabkan orang Melayu mudah terhutang budi. Kedudukan sebegini menjadikan Melayu menjadi serba salah, ibarat ditelan mati emak, diluah mati bapak.”

Kenyataan ini juga merupakan penghinaan yang besar buat kaum Melayu kerana dianggapnya Melayu begitu lemah jiwa dan minda sehingga sanggup jual maruah bangsa demi sepinggan nasi berlauk rendang di rumah terbuka ahli politik pembangkang? Rendah sangatkah tanggapannya terhadap kekuatan zahir dan batin Melayu?

Tidakkah beliau mempercayakan kebijaksanaan rakyat Melayu? Tidakkah beliau menganggap yang Melayu mampu menilai keadaan dengan objektif? Tidakkah beliau menerima yang Melayu boleh membuat pilihan wajar dengan sendiri tanpa bimbingannya?

Dari tulisannya ini, memang dia menganggap Melayu tidak boleh. Macam mana boleh menjadi pensyarah motivasi dan intelektual Melayu jika tanggapannya terhadap Melayu begitu rendah sekali?

Ironisnya lagi, dalam rencananya bertajuk Memperkasa agenda negara berbanding agenda bangsa Mr Tee telah menulis “Menghina bangsa sendiri bermakna menghina kejadian Allah SWT.”

Munafik ke tak munafik Mr Tee ini, tepuk dada tanya selera...

Mr Tee – yang munafik antara yang munafik

“Saya terpaksa campur tangan sebab saya orang Islam. Kerja orang Islam ialah membetulkan kekusutan, bertindak atas dasar amar makruf nahi mungkar bagi menyelamatkan umat Islam.”

Memang wajar Mr Tee ini sebagai orang Islam menghayati dasar amar makruf nahi mungkar. Tetapi dalam beliau beria-ia menyerang para pengkritiknya, tidak kedengaran apa-apa pun darinya mengenai skandal PKFZ yang menelan wang rakyat sebanyak RM12 billion lebih?

Bagaimana pula dengan kes-kes kematian dalam lokap yang sudah melebihi 1500 orang di antara tahun 2003-2008?

Apa pula dengan isu perogolan berleluasa gadis-gadis Penan dan perampasan tanah pusaka orang-orang asal yang amat miskin di Sarawak?

Adakah serangan bertubi-tubi ke atas bangsa asalnya (dan bangsa orang tuanya) dikira sebagai "membetulkan kekusutan"?

Jelas, isu-isu seperti itu terlalu remeh untuk mendapat perhatian Mr Tee berbanding dengan kerja menjaga maruah dan mempertahankan egonya.

Isu kenapa Ridhuan Tee ini ditentang hebat oleh berbagai pihak bukan kerana dia besifat Melayu atau beragama Islam. Ia adalah kerana keangkuhan dan munafiknya dalam menghakimi dan memfitnah kaum Cina dan cara dia menutupi kelemahan hujahnya dengan menjadikannya isu perkauman dan keagamaan.

Untuk mengetahui minda seorang Melayu yang menyangkal pendapat Mr Tee ini, sila layari ke sini. Untuk rencana oleh seorang Melayu yang menyokong Mr Tee berlandaskan fakta dan logik, sila layari ke sini.

Cubalah Mr Tee mempelajari dari mereka cara berhujah tanpa ego.

OTK - What a crafty bugger! (Updated)

2009-09-20T14:35:00.004+08:00

Those of you who remember my "behind the scenes" peek at the MCA, will remember I said Chua Soi Lek is Najib's proxy in the attempt to make MCA even more of the eunuch it already is.

OTK, for whatever reasons - elevate himself to hero status, real sense of integrity and professionalism, or fighting for MCA's survival - decided to make a real attempt at getting to the bottom of the PKFZ mega-scandal.

He has been resisted at every point - accussations, lawsuits, smear campaigns, etc. Then OTK reveals a million-ringgit attempt to remove him from MCA (no guessing who's gonna replace him then la).

OTK checked that attempt by sacking CSL from the MCA. With CSL out of the way, there would be no other viable UMNO proxy in the MCA.

But after that, there was the struggle for who gets to have the EGM. OTK seemed to have the upper hand as he had control of the entire Presidential machinery. But CSL had strong grassroots support, so it was still a toss up who would win the EGM game.

But, surprises of surprises, OTK CONCEDED the entire EGM agenda to CSL!! It wasn't even a merged agenda but it was entirely the CSL camps agenda.

Now this is extremely unusual as we have seen so far that OTK is a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners politician. It is not like him to concede anything. Was he pressured?

Could be.

Did anyone notice that all the media attacks on OTK ceased around the time he announced he conceded the EGM agenda to CSL? Was that part of the bargain - OTK's personal survival in exchange for his political surrender? Hmmm...

Shortly after that, Najib announced the setting up of another TWO task forces to investigate PKFZ. The most insulting must be that the Transport Ministry is in charge of one of the Task Forces and OTK is not involved at all. Look at the names of the key personnel of these task forces - ALL UMNO GUYS!

Why the need for TWO more task forces, when OTK is already doing such a fine job of revealing at least some of the dirt? Why is OTK being sidelined? It's clear that OTK has been made completely redundant with this act of Najib.

So far, it's pretty obvious that UMNO is trying its damndest to remove OTK from the picture. OTK has now effectively been removed from the PKFZ. And now, there is the task of removing him from the MCA - and as he had already conceded the EGM agenda, it is likely that he is facing an uphill battle to win there. Of course la, you don't concede anything unless you are sure you can't win!

But OTK has proven to be a real crafty politician. He upped the ante yesterday by threatening to resign from the MCA together with the entire presidential council. That would create a large leadership vacuum that will take some time to fill. It will also damage the MCA's image even further if such a thing were to happen.

So the delegates would have to really think twice - they could accept the blood money to vote OTK out and CSL in, but the exodus led by OTK after that may not leave much of an MCA pie for them to share anymore.

What to do, what to do?

And today, the CC dealt another blow to the CSL camp, downgrading CSL's sacking to a suspension.

This is a damn brilliant move on OTK's part - you just have to admire this guy's cunning. On the surface it looks like good news for the CSL camp, but the ramifications for CSL are severe.

For starters, it renders some of the EGM's CSL agenda redundant - i.e. the reinstatement of CSL's MCA membership and position. The EGM could even possibly be announced redundant now that its raison d'etre (CSL's sacking) is no more, although this possibility is remote.

Second, it elevated OTK's image because it demonstrates that the MCA is still democratic in that it can overturn the Presidential Council's decisions.

Third, it cuts off CSL's basis for his campaign against OTK at the legs. The CSL camp cannot use outrage at CSL's sacking as an excuse to campaign anymore as the MCA has shown democracy and kindness to CSL by reducing his punishment.

Fourth, the suspension period makes it impossible for CSL to contest in the 2011 party polls and 2013 GE. SO that's the end of UMNO/CSL's dreams of gaining control of the MCA.

So, UMNO/CSL's MCA takeover campaign is effectively over.

At least for now...

-------------------------

UPDATE:

EWO - I told you so! This is the Malaysian Insider's report:

Soi Lek: Suspension will make grassroots angrier

By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, September 20 — For some, a decision to commute a sacking to a suspension will come as a relief. But for former MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, yesterday’s move by the MCA central committee to overturn a presidential council decision to expel him and instead suspend him for four years is far from welcome.

. . . . . .

Dr Chua...claims MCA delegates will be even more unhappy as they will feel that the EGM has been undermined and the severity of the suspension will in effect prevent him from holding any post till after the next party elections.

“The suspension will make the delegates more angry,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

“It is not like a six month suspension. The four year suspension will prevent me from standing in the next party elections."

A School For Every Malaysian - Redux

2009-09-12T15:50:00.005+08:00

Reading Tunku Abdul Aziz's "Vision for a Malaysian Malaysia" post about education reminded me very much of my anthi-thesis to Demi Negara's "Satu Sejolah untuk Semua" forced-assimilation-in-disguise project. (After being roundly beaten by bloggers and rejected by the Education Minister, it is now being recycled in a more sanitised format - i.e. less blatantly racist content).

The Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua initiative led by DemiNegara urges a unified education system (which is good). But their premise springs from the Ketuanan Melayu idea of either eradicating or subordinating non-Malay cultures/identities (that's baaad!). This kind of "unity" merely requires brute force to be "achieved".

I completely disagree on his premise because the philosophy of the policy directly influences the implementation of the policy.

I counter-proposed with an idea for also for a unified school system, but one based on a democratic model, which I called "A School for Every Malaysian." In a nutshell, this proposal is based on meritocracy, freedom of expression, celebration of diversity and unity by mutual acceptance – which requires diplomacy and visionary leadership to achieve.

I'll leave it to you to judge which is better for sustainable and peaceful nation-building.

Since Demi Negara has recycled his forced-assimilation "Satu Sejolah untuk Semua" project and Tunku Abdul Aziz has written his opinion piece about achieving unity through a unified school system, I'd like to revisit "A School for Every Malaysian."

-----------------------------------

The Solution For Malaysian Education

The "Vernacular Schools vs Sekolah Kebangsaan" debate has been a contentious issue among parents, politicians and the public for some time now. Most of the arguments revolve around language, rights and supremacy. Rights? Supremacy? Those are mere political slogans! What has politics got to do with education?

While the politicians fight, millions of our children are forced to muddle through the fractured and anemic education system. Why is our country's future generations being held ransom to these few people's political ambitions?

It's time to make a stand to kick all these political shenanigans out of our schools once and for all! Get back to basics – for the sake of our children and the nation's future.

For this, I propose a STRICTLY NON-POLITICAL, NON-PARTISAN PLATFORM for education reform in Malaysia:

A School For Every Malaysian
Satu Sekolah Untuk Setiap Warga Malaysia

-------------------------

What is "A SCHOOL FOR EVERY MALAYSIAN"?

It is a vision to realise the dream of creating a TRUE ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA – who will view diversity as an asset, differences as an opportunity to gain understanding, and respect as a right to be earned and not regulated - tied together by love for our country, passion to be the best and equal concern for citizens of all colours!

How can we achieve this?

1) IMPLEMENT A SINGLE OFFICIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM

Government should only pay for a SINGLE NATIONAL STANDARDISED education system. There is absolutely no justifiable reason why the government should pay for different school systems. A parent will not cook different dinners for different children in the family. Everyone eats the same dinner! If a child doesn't like it, he has 2 options: get his own dinner or don't eat. The same principle should apply in the larger context of Malaysian education as well.

The structure and content of the Malaysian education system should be decided on by academicians and stakeholders. Politicians should be kept out of the system on pain of death because they are the source of all our education system's problems!

The medium of instruction for the official Malaysian school system should be Bahasa Malaysia for all subjects - Maths and Science included. This is our National Language – the official lingua franca of all Malaysians as stated in the Constitution of Malaysia. As Malaysians, we must be fluent in the language of Malaysia, and the best place to start is in schools. This is indisputable.

(Now I know that the statement above is going to rile some people who support the teaching of Maths and Science in English. But with all due respect, DrM's and others' assertion that these subjects should be taught in English as the world studies it in English and all the great journals are published in English, etc, etc, etc....is just PURE POPPYCOCK! I'll explain this point in more detail in another post.)

There must also be strong emphasis on mastering English as a second language. This is inevitable as it is the most widely used language in the world. The paltry 2 sessions a week practiced in SKs now is pathetic. There should be daily lessons, with 1 “English language day” a week, where the entire school must speak the language.

Children should also be taught an optional 3rd language. I would suggest that these language classes be open to whoever wanted to learn the languages offered and not be tied to the student's ethnicity. And let there be as many language options as possible (Mandarin, Hindi, French, Spanish, and Japanese would be among the world's next most important languages). Also, encourage the setting up of language clubs.

2) REFORM THE MALAYSIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM

A complete review of the entire Malaysian education needs to be urgently undertaken by academicians and stakeholders - NOT POLITICIANS. The focus must be on how to improve the entire school system in Malaysia - from the syllabus structure, to the teachers salary structure, to the quality of teacher recruitment and training, to...EVERYTHING.

Learn from other countries' education systems. For example, look at the American system - their children do not lug 10kg bags to school, yet they can produce articulate thinkers and innovaters. Look at Switzerland – their children hardly do any homework, yet their citizens are among the highest per capita earners in the world. And the Swiss are rated as having among the best quality of life in the world!

The syllabus must also seriously cater to children's physical, mental, and emotional needs. Our schools' responsibility is not to produce drones. It is to equip our students to be able to realise their own dreams, whatever they may be.

The current remuneration system must be refined to reward performance and merit, not seniority and political connections. Teachers and principals should also be incentivised to be innovative and produce results.

The Malaysian school system should be governed by an independent government body. This body should consist of scholars, teachers, parents and civic leaders. The constitution of this body must explicitly state that neither it or its members are to have any political affililations. Only then, can our education system be free of the tyranny of politicians' ambitions to use our schools to experiment with and propogandise the next generation of our beloved country!

3) FREELY ALLOW ALTERNATIVE STREAM SCHOOLS

ALL other alternatives to the official education system (including vernacular schools) must be freely allowed, but they must be privately-funded. These schools must open their doors to welcome every Malaysian without any form of discrimination, just as the Sekolah Kebangsaan are open to all races without discrimination. (Those who can't afford the fees to alternative schools should send their kids to Sekolah Kebangsaan). This way, children from the various races will be more evenly distributed among the various schools.

A colour-blind framework like this presents a great opportunity for children to interact and integrate. Within this environment, all that matters is talent, skill and hard work. This would lead to healthy competition and our children will forget about skin colour and respect each other for their abilities and achievements.

Alternative streams does not mean just vernacular schools. Malaysia should encourage the setting up of even MORE types of schools - home schools, religious schools, sports schools, music schools, art schools, dance schools, schools for the gifted, schools for the handicapped, etc.

The governing bodies of these alternative stream schools should be given the freedom to decide the structure and content of the syllabus, but it should conform to the competency standards as prescribed by the Malaysian government.

Government standard competency tests should be administered upon graduation from these schools so that these children can enter college or the workforce on equal footing with students from the government schools. These competency tests should not be based on specific subject matters. Instead, children should be assessed based on their ability to think, reason and articulate (this structure would be similar the the SATs in the US).

This is what I mean by A School For Every Malaysian.

By allowing the proliferation of alternative schools, every Malaysian child regardless of talent or handicap or station in life will have an opportunity to have his potential nurtured to the fullest as there will be a school somewhere that offers the kind of education that is most suitable for him.

But the government should NOT pay for “alternative stream” education. Assuming our official school system has achieved global quality, if some people still feel it is not suitable for their kids, then they should find their own alternatives. Just don't expect the government to pay for their personal preferences.

A diverse yet inclusive system like this will also show the world that Malaysia is really walking its talk about her ambition to be a centre of educational excellence. It should be a living reality in all levels of society and not just a cheap slogan used to sucker unsuspecting foreigners to part with their hard-earned money to enrol in below par courses in local colleges/universities.

4) GOVERNMENT GRANTS FOR NEEDY NON-NATIONAL SCHOOLS

As a people-friendly government, a certain amount of money should be set aside to aid needy alternative-stream schools. This will ensure the survival of cash-strapped schools who are providing a worthy service.

However, any government funding for these schools should be approved on a case-to-case basis, based on pre-determined criteria (with priority given to schools that serve a socially-concerned function such as schools for the handicapped), after being vetted by an independent oversight committee. Members of this committee should be duly elected by stakeholders (maybe some kind of association comprising govt and independent teachers unions and PTAs) and not political appointees.

5) GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NEEDY NON-NATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENTS

The government should also set aside a certain amount of money as scholarships for students to study in alternative-stream schools. Scholarships should be granted based strictly on student performance and need, NOT race, religion or political affiliation.

Again, any government scholarship for these students will be approved on a case-to-case basis, based on pre-determined criteria (with priority given to poor students who achieve outstanding results in an area not offered in national schools. For example, a piano scholarship for a child to go to a school for the musically gifted).

Also, scholarships should be recommended by an independent oversight committee, duly elected by the stakeholders.

------------------------------

By adopting a quality-focused and democratic education policy based on “strength in diversity”, parents have the freedom to select the school system they believe is best for their kids, alternative stream schools have a fair chance of survival, and there is open competition among the various school streams to attract and nurture the best.

If the alternative school streams are consistently trumping National schools in exams, it is feedback for the Ministry to improve the quality of national education. If the alternative streams are trumped by National schools, they will lose their attractiveness and die a natural death. It's survival of the fittest - and this ensures that the talent pool in Malaysia continues to grow.

It is an impossible fantasy that government can create a uniform Satu Sekolah system that is perfect Untuk Semua because uniformity goes against the very laws of nature. Nature is built around diversity, with each part complementing the harmonious whole.

If our Malaysian school system can successfully create an environment of diversity in harmony, with the various school streams complementing each other, we will be able to develop a society with diverse strengths. The sum total of these highly-nurtured strengths and talents working together would make Malaysia an intellectual and cultural world powerhouse!

Fate has been kind enough to throw the descendants of the 3 greatest empires of the world (the Malay-Srivijaya empire, the Middle Kingdom, and the Indian empire) together in this land called Malaysia. Shouldn't the way forward for Malaysia be to capitalise on each other's strengths and propel ourselves forward through the synergy of our cultures?

When Malaysians are given the framework and freedom to achieve this synergy, a naturally united (and eminent) Bangsa Malaysia will evolve by itself. There is no need to enforce UNIFORMITY based on narrow definitions. DIVERSITY is our the greatest strength of the TRUE ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA!

He Hopes The Hopo Will Help Him...

2009-09-11T12:14:00.004+08:00

This report was featured in the Star today:

PM: Promote Malaysia

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called on members of the Hopo Chinese community to act as ambassadors and promote Malaysia as a foreign investment and tourism destination.

. . . . .

Najib said the Hopos were no strangers to Malaysia, having settled here and being involved in tin mining, plantations, real estate development and manufacturing over the years.

“The Hopo community can use their knowledge and strong networks to act as local partners for joint ventures and promotional activities in the country."

. . . . .

“I would like to assure entrepreneurs and investors from China and those among the Hopo community worldwide that you are most welcome to Malaysia."

------------------------

The President of UMNO asking the Malaysian Chinese for help? To use their trade, networking and language affinity with the mainland Chinese to attract business and tourism to Malaysia?

The same UMNO that's responsible for these anti-Chinese shenanigans?

---------------

"5-Star" UMNO blogger, Demi Negara:

"Many of these SRJK lost souls drop out upon entering the national high school system due to their sheer inability to adapt to the mainstream Bahasa Malaysia-centric curriculum. Many will become lifelong socio-economic burdens as these social outcasts ultimately percolate into the underground economy to eke out a wretched existence on the fringes of criminality."

"These functional illiterates end up as a cheap source of semi-indentured labour in the motor workshops, auto accessory shops, in the building trades, sleazy unisex salons, become cetak rompak aficionados, stalk shopping malls to harass shoppers with a myriad of worthless gizmos"

---------------

Utusan columnist, Awang Selamat:

"Begitulah kebijaksanaan banyak pihak kaum Cina berpercaturan. Dalam mereka mengeluh dan merintih, mereka terus kaya dan berkuasa. Kouta untuk bumiputera mahu dihapuskan tetapi 'kouta khas' bukan bumiputera seperti bisnes berkaitan pusat hiburan, arak, judi dan maksiat yang mereka kuasai selama ini, tidak boleh disentuh sama sekali.

Pada hari ini, kaum Cina yang merupakan 24 peratus penduduk negara ini menguasai ekonomi. Tradisi dan budaya niaga yang lama terpahat selain dasar kerajaan yang terbuka, membolehkan kaum Cina terus melonjak. Masyarakat Cina mempunyai simpanan wang yang banyak berbanding kaum lain dan itulah antara asas kekuatan ekonomi kaum itu. Sedangkan Melayu yang merupakan kaum majoriti terus keciciran. Bayangkan seketika jika Melayu lenyap kuasa politik?"

---------------

BN Backbenchers Club deputy chairman, Bung Mokhtar:

---------------

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Zahid Hamidi:

"...ini adalah sebahagian daripada budaya Cina...saya tahu!" (at 1:35 of the clip)

---------------

And last but certainly not least, Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin:

"...kita bantu, sepatutnya mereka membalas budi. Pada waktu itu, kita pun tidak berharap sokongan kaum Cina akan meningkat 40 peratus dan sebagainya cuma kita berharap ada peningkatan sedikit tetapi apa yang berlaku ia mencatatkan penurunan, macam tidak ada penghargaan terhadap apa yang kita lakukan."

"Orang Cina rasa sekarang, walaupun mereka kumpulan minoriti, merekalah menentukan kerana kelompok masyarakat Melayu sudah berpecah tiga kumpulan...mereka fikir sekarang mereka lebih ada kuasa penentu, bukan sahaja Cina malah masyarakat India pun begitu, apa tah lagi apabila mendapat kedudukan dalam kerajaan yang ditubuhkan pakatan pembangkang dengan menjadi Timbalan Ketua Menteri, Speaker dan exco kerajaan negeri."

---------------

Is this a case of doublethink or doublespeak?

The Inevitable Demise of Ketuanan Melayu

2009-09-09T11:03:00.004+08:00

Sigh...times must be tough for all these Ketuanan Melayu UMNO (KeMaNo) types lately. What with the Indonesians openly rejecting and ridiculing Malaysia for stealing their batik la, folk songs la, dances la, etc.

This could be the final nail in the Ketuanan Melayu doctrine's coffin. I mean, how can they continue all this talk about the supremacy of the Malay race across the Nusantara (as defined by these KeMaNo-types) when the Nusantara taiko thinks you're a childish idiot and refuses to play with you?

I mean, just look at some of the articles being published in the Jakarta Post – one of Indonesia's most respected papers. It's really putting the UMNO regime and Malaysia in a terrible light among the international community!

Nothing seems to be going right for these KeMaNo types and their lackeys these days. I can't help but wonder whether all that is happening in the country is a Divine message to UMNO/BN. Something like the 10 plagues God sent to Pharaoh to teach him a lesson and compel him to free His people from captivity.

I mean, NINE bye-elections in 1.5 years since GE12? That's definitely a record in any country! And SIX of them because of death? Whoa...! Like I wrote in HartalMSM, 2 events coinciding is unusual, 3 events is freaky. Now this is SIX death events – it looks a lot less like coincidence and a lot more like coordination, don't it? Divine coordination, that is!

Anyway, back to the Ketuanan Melayu UMNO proponents.

Their fantasy had always been that the Nusantara was the seat of Malay hegemony until it was unceremoniously conquered by the Western forces, who then polluted the pure Malay racial demographic with immigrants from China and India. The sore point for such Ketuanan Melayu UMNO proponents like KijangMas and Jebat Must Die is that these immigrants are still maintaining some semblance of their racial identity in Malaysia – which is anathema to their idea of political hegemony via complete racial dominance.

As KijangMas of the wildly popular DemiNegara blog puts it:

Fundamentally, a member of the Bangsa Malaysia should speak the national language of the Federation, Bahasa Malaysia, fluently and as a primary language; be fully versed with adat-adat and tatasusila orang Melayu and other Bumiputras of the Federation; demonstrates respect and deference to Islam as the official religion of the Federation and exhibit traits and mannerisms acceptable to the Malays and other Bumiputras. Non-Malay members of this Bangsa Malaysia may speak in their own dialects in private and may practise their own cultures and religions in the private confines of their community. Also, Budaya Malaysia is based on the budaya of the Malays and other Bumiputras of the Federation – in their various representations.

That is, to be worthy to live in the Nusantara area (specifically Malaysia), you need to be either a pure Malay or a pseudo-Malay. No other option is “acceptable”. According to the wisdom of KijangMas, this can be achieved by forced assimilation programmes, ala Indonesia and Thailand:

“Thailand is case in point. In the 1930s, ethnic-Chinese make up over 30% of then-Siam’s population. They were vigorously assimilated under Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram’s Thai Ratthaniyom (Thai Customs) Decree of 1938, where their ethnicity was abolished; anyone speaking Chinese in public would be smacked by a 10-ft bamboo stick by the Thai Culture Police; Chinese schools and newspapers were closed; chopsticks were banned; and the Chinese were compelled to adopt Thai names. Within one generation, the Chinese of Thailand was totally assimilated into Thai society”

This piece of “wisdom” so praised by the KeMaNo types is nothing but pure drivel! And sheer hypocrisy. Because in the same article where KijangMas praises Thailand's forced assimilation programme, he writes:

“...the old Malay kingdom of Patani, was overrun and annexed in 1902, and today three million Malays there simmer under Thai occupation. Kelantan extricated itself in the nick of time in 1909. Otherwise, KijangMas would be posting as ศรกนกกระจง from กรุงเทพมหานคร.”

Oi! If KijangMas wants to praise the forced assimilation of minorities, at least be be consistent about it la. He should be also praising the forced assimilation of the Malay minority into Thailand and not be “simmering” about them being under Thai occupation!

KijangMas – what a bloody hypocrite!

But, I'm digressing even further. I don't want to write about the drivel emanating from the “eminent” KeMaNo blogs like DemiNegara and Jebat Must Die. This article is actually to highlight the imminent demise of the Ketuanan Melayu UMNO doctrine – and about time too!

Like I said – the Ketuanan Melayu UMNO concept is based on the fantasy of complete Malay hegemony in the Nusantara region. Their proponents strongly point to Thailand as the model (surprising, since Thailand is a country where Malays are a small minority.) These fellas also speak in awe of the INDONESIAN model where the Chinese are forced to assimilate into the local culture, forbidden to practise their culture, speak their language or even have Chinese names. And these Ketuanan Melayu types are yelping for the same to be done here in Malaysia.

Read the article here and you can see just how these KeMaNo types are dead set on heading back to the Dark Ages of race relations, hankering for Suharto-style suppression to be implemented in Malaysia.

But what they have NOT pointed out is that Indonesia had been reforming race relations since Abdurrahman Wahid was elected president in 1999. These reforms culminated in the enactment of Citizenship Law 12 of 2006 which abolished the distinction between pribumi (or bumiputra in Malaysia's context) and non-pribumis, only recognising citizens and non-citizens. This signalled the liberation of the Indonesian Chinese from Suharto's race-based political hegemony.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono went even further when he attended the ‘United National Indonesian Imlek (Chinese New Year)' celebrations at the Jakarta Fairground in 2007, thus officially recognising the rights of Indonesian Chinese's freedom to celebrate their own culture. The rest of the world looked on in pride and appreciation of Indonesia's step forward after a decade of sometimes deadly political/racial strife.

But apparently not these KeMaNo types. Because EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE MALAYSIAN MSM ignored these giant strides in race relations being made in Indonesia. Such news was hardly featured in our local press – if at all.

Why?

Because our KeMaNo types here are still hankering for Suharto-style absolute political hegemony defined by race/religion! What do you think all these cow-head protests and other such chest-thumping antics are about?

But with Indonesia's incessant attacks on Malaysia lately, all these fantasies by the KeMaNo types are slowly but surely being flushed down the drain, whether they like to believe it or not.

How to justify Ketuanan Melayu modeled after Indonesia, when Indonesia is condemning Malaysia as backward and immature and uncultured? How to justify Ketuanan Melayu as a birthright of the Nusantara pribumi when the Nusantara taiko refuses to play ball with Malaysia? How to sell the idea of Ketuanan Melayu when the original Melayu homeland is liberalising itself for the better?

But the writing on the wall, which was so clear for the world to see, has finally filtered through the thick skulls of these KeMaNo types. They are slowly awakening to the fact that the Ketuanan Melayu doctrine is popular to no one but themselves – there is NO fabled Nusantara-wide support. The KeMaNo types are alone in their fantasyland.

But yet, they still refuse to let it go as we can see from the MSM's (belated) response to the massive Indonesian government, media and online onslaught on Malaysia. But the defensive response so far is a case of too little, too late.

Utusan tried some lame spin to counter the damage and salvage some face. But the rest of the mainstream media are surprisingly quiet amidst the international campaigning against Malaysia. But of course la. Ketuanan Melayu is the clarion call of Utusan. The readership of the other papers are a bit too sane for this kinds of thing.

And just who is Utusan trying to convince with these 2 articles? Local Malays? That is so typical of the big-talking, small-minded, juara kampong mentality of these KeMaNo types. They just can't see beyond the walls of their tiny little tempurung, can they?!

Hello! The damage to Malaysia is being inflicted on the world stage la! The whole world is reading Indonesia's media spins and laughing at Malaysia. And all these KeMaNo types can think of is a couple of lame articles in Utusan for our own local consumption trying to spin that this is “perbuatan segelintir puak ekstrem”?

Ehh...brudder, that line ah, is so overused that even in Malaysia also cannot pakai already la. It may be good enough to fool the limited mental faculties of the KeMaNo types, but this is the world stage we're talking about. You're gonna have to do much better than THAT!

OK la, say these Utusan articles are lucky enough to be picked up by the world media. Is the world community going to believe the lame bleatings of a paper that publishes chest-thumping articles that so blatantly attempts to divide the races in the country? A paper owned by the party that pushes the Ketuanan Melayu doctrine to justify absolute political hegemony?

UMNO's credibility is already irreparably damaged both locally and internationally for its corruption and dangerous political shenanigans. Who's going to believe anything coming out of their spin factories?

That's a double whammy, isn't it?

And what of Malaysia being disowned by the enlightened Nusantara Malay motherland herself?

Those KeMaNo types who are still desperately trying to hang on to the doctrine of Ketuanan Melayu had better come out from under their tempurungs and learn to understand that it is a big, big world out there beyond the comfortable, gold-plated Ketuanan Melayu gates of UMNO. And they had better learn how to deal with it and thrive in it, or else.

Otherwise UMNO will be just another have-been footnote in history.

But while UMNO may yet survive if it manages to reform itself, one thing for sure is that the whole concept of Ketuanan Melayu UMNO is thankfully on the demise.

Because the bratty little boy with the big voice is now all alone in the field because the rest of the children don't want to have anything to do with him.

A Celebration Najib's 1Malaysia

2009-09-06T09:57:00.002+08:00

Doesn't matter what I do, as long as nobody knows

2009-09-05T18:10:00.006+08:00

Yes...that certainly seems the be the message that's going around the ruling circles these days. There's no word about reform, return to integrity, clean government, fairness, justice, morality or rule of law. It's all about correcting perception, managing image, disseminating "correct" information, stopping the flow of "incorrect" information.

As if recalling information is like recalling faulty merchandise.

As obvious as it may seem, somehow the people in the ruling party insist on being stupid enough to believe that they can retract information from people's minds.

But in Malaysia these days, you don't have to have any brains, or morals, or class to be in the ruling party. All you need is a fat wallet and a fat Rolodex filled with the names of who's who. If you have that, then you got it made.

Because in Malaysia these days, a fat wallet and a fat Rolodex gets you into the higher echelons. If you don't have that, no worries. All you need is to say and do something outrageous - preferably something that would offend minority communities. That would get you "noticed". And if you're noticed, you're on the way to getting a fat wallet and a fat Rolodex.

And when you've got a fat enough wallet and a fat enough Rolodex and you're in UMNO, you can pretty much do whatever the hell you like in this country.

You can utter racist remarks against another ethnic group, and the reporter who quotes you gets to enjoy being arrested and detained indefinitely for no reason "for her own safety."

You can have money to live the lives of multi-millionaires but no one will question how you manage on your meagre 5-figure income.

You can "disappear" a certain woman from a certain country, leaving no traces of her - no physical trace, no paper trace and now it's even allowed to mention that certain woman's name!

You can violate a sacred animal's severed head and utter bloodthirsty threats against minority groups and Cabinet Ministers will come out and defend you, saying "Hey what the hell's all this fuss about a cow's head?"

You can have no evidence on anyone but witnesses who have every reason to live will still jump out of windows and kill themselves for no reason.

And now,

If you're in the ruling party and you've been caught on tape in your stupid lies, you recall those tapes and order everyone in the country to forget about it.

What does it achieve to recall the videos?

The videos have not been edited to put the people in a bad light. In fact, they were straightforward verbatim recordings of what happened and what people said.

In short, the videos SHOWED THE TRUTH.

So why SUPPRESS THE TRUTH?

The only people I can think of who want to suppress truth are those who want to perpetuate lies. That the MCMC was brought in to do the hatchet job is another blow to our country's credibility as the MCMC is the govt body tasked to ensure the integrity of our MSC's charter, which includes a clause on non-censorship of the Internet.

I've always believed that there was an inverse relationship between pride and intelligence - the more pride you have, the less smart you are.

And this recall order issued by the MCMC to Malaysiakini is the heights of arrogance - thinking that they can cover up these shameful words and acts perpetrated by the ruling party who think that they can do everything they like.

It also shows the depths of their stupidity because these people don't seem to realise that people are not robots - they cannot have their memory formatted and reprogrammed at their whim.

And stupid people don't ever last very long, do they?

I think that's the silver lining in all of this - with this level of stupidity in the government, they're most definitely gonna be gone for good soon!

Meanwhile, here's a tribute to those geniuses who are trying to censor Malaysiakini from reporting the truth:

Note: Mark Antony's struggle for power led to civil war in Rome and he was eventually defeated and committed suicide. Now if something like that can happen to a great general and man of valour like him, gives us hope about the arrogant, whining cowards ruling our country now, doesn't it?

Ahh... we can only hope and dream!

If you are truly Malaysian, please sign this petition.

2009-09-02T19:48:00.001+08:00

The Cow-Head Lesson for Merdeka: Delegitimize Violence and Hatred
Petition

http://www.petitiononline.com/2009MM/petition.html

BN - apa apa pun boleh, bukan BN - apa apa pun salah

2009-09-02T11:37:00.003+08:00

Kota Seputeh rep keeps state seat

(The Star, 2/9/09) PUTRAJAYA: Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Abu Hassan Sarif remains the assemblyman for Kota Seputeh state seat in Kedah despite failing to show up for two sessions of the state assembly sitting.

The decision was made by the Election Commission, after convening a special meeting yesterday to deliberate on the matter.

In his statement issued after chairing the four-hour meeting, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said it has been decided that the status of the seat remained unchanged as per the 12th general election results.

Kedah Speaker Datuk Dr Abdul Isa Ismail had on Aug 18 written to the commission, informing it of Abu Hassan’s failure to attend the sittings on April 19 and Aug 9. On the other hand, Abu Hassan had submitted medical chits for his absence.

Under Section 51 of the Kedah state constitution, an assemblyman who fails to attend assembly sittings twice in a row would automatically lose his or her membership and would have to vacate the seat.

Abdul Aziz said it was concluded that the two sittings which Abu Hassan was alleged to have failed to attend were not two consecutive meetings in a single session but was in fact two separate sessions held three months and 20 days apart.

----------

Yang jelas hitam/putih dijadikan keruh oleh mereka yang ditugaskan menjaga kewibawaan sistem pilihanraya negara. Tapi, dalam kes ni jelas di mana pendirian SPR.

Walaupun perlembagaan kerajaan negeri Kedah menyatakan dengan jelas yang sesiapa tidak menghadiri persidangan dengan dua kali berturut-turut akan dilucutkan kerusinya serta-merta. Tapi dalam kes ini, kita boleh lihat SPR ini berdebat 4 jam dan akhirnya jumpa alasan untuk ADUN BN mengekalkan dirinya, walaupun tak hadir kerja.

Oh...enjoy betoi la, ADUN BN. Suka-suka tak kerja, takpe. Bila tindakan disiplin dijatuhkan, senang aje. Pi jumpa kawan SPR kautim. Cubalah siapa-siapa dari parti pembangkang buat gitu. Habis hancur dibuatnya!

Kat Perak pula, Speaker Sivakumar nak jalankan tugas tapi dihalang oleh polis, setiausaha kerajaan, dll. Adakah patut pekerja yang menyuruh bos? Adakah patut polis digunakan bukan untuk mengawal keselamatan rakyat tapi untuk menekan rakyat?

Hari ini kes berlaku di Ipoh lagi. YB Sivakumar cuba membuka persidangan tapi dihalang polis, walaupun polis sendiri mengaku tak berhak buat begitu. Apabila ADUN-ADUN Pakatan berkeras ingin memasuki bangunan kerajaan, diberkas pula mereka.

Negara kita negara demokrasi yang mengamalkan doktrin kemuliaan Dewan. YB-YB tidak boleh ditahan daripada menghadiri persidangan. Kini di Ipoh, bukan saja mereka dihalang tanpa sebab oleh polis, malah diberkas tanpa sebab!

1Malaysia ke ni? Rakyat didahulukan ke ni? Pencapaian diutamakan ke ni? Penggubal dan penguatkuasa undang undang negara pun melanggar undang-undang negara!

Alahai...cepatlah GE13 kita boleh kebumikan BN ni.

Getting to know RON...

2009-09-02T08:50:00.001+08:00

The petrol price issue is here again. And many people are not happy with the raise in petrol price. now our dear Domestic Trade Minister has upgraded RON97 as a premium fuel and RON95 as "standard". He also assured that RON95 is just as good as RON97. If it was just as good, do they have to differentiate it from RON97 in the first place? That's just one of of the many questions that his assurances give seed to. But...that's a story for another day.

Now, it's pretty clear that the UMNO/BN govt has again duped people about the price/quality ratio of petrol in Malaysia. By introducing the dubious RON95 into the market at the old RON97 rates and raising the price of RON97, Malaysian vehicle owners could be in for frequent visits to their mechanics.

Now, I'm not a petrochemist or scientist of any type. But i do have eyes to see and a brain to think with. And what my eyes saw was a BHP ad in the Sun yesterday, and what my brain processed were these words in the ad's FAQ section:

1) What is RON?
RON is Research Octane Number....it measures the resistance of fuel to engine knocking...

2) What is engine knocking?
...(technical bla bla bla)...thereby causing loss of power. Heavy and prolonged knocking can cause vibration and may damage the engine.

3) What is RON95?
RON95 is a fuel that posseses the same anti-knock rating of a mixture of 95% iso-octane and 5% heptane. If a vehicle is filled with a lower octane fuel than is required by an engine, engine knocking may result.

4) Can my car use RON95?
Most cars can use RON95. Please refer to your car manual or fuel cap which will specify the type of fuel required.

Well, my car recommends RON97 and above, and I believe most cars on the road today also have this rating. At least I'm sure that all Proton Wiras recommend RON97.

If my car engine is tuned for RON97, should I follow the Minister's sales pitch of "any car also can use RON95", or should I follow my car manufacturer's recommendation? Because according to this very educational FAQ by a major energy company in Malaysia "if a vehicle is filled with a lower octane fuel than is required by an engine, engine knocking may result." and "heavy and prolonged knocking can cause vibration and may damage the engine."

The FAQ also tells me to "refer to your car manual or fuel cap which will specify the type of fuel required" so that I don't use the wrong fuel and damage my engine.

So how?

Do I really have a choice in the "just as good" RON95 petrol yang macam terasa tak naik harga? Or am I sneakily being forced to accept harga petrol naik mendadak again cos if I don't use RON97, I'll be overhauling engines like nobody's business?

Siapa Cepat, Dia Dapat!

2009-09-01T19:50:00.000+08:00

-
Party leaders back Tee Keat’s call for EGM
(The Star - 1 September 2009)
PETALING JAYA: The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) called by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is the best way to resolve the issues faced by the party, say its leaders.

Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong urged all delegates to attend the EGM to “exercise their rights”.

----------

Chua: He is out to confuse delegates
(NST - 1 September 2009)
KUALA LUMPUR: Sacked MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has poured scorn on the move by his former chief to hold an extraordinary general meeting.
He said president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat's decision showed a lack of consistency in his leadership.

"When I was sacked and there was talk of my supporters having an EGM, the president's supporters criticised and condemned it.

"Now, hardly three days later, Ong decides to have an EGM. His whole motive is to confuse the delegates," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

----------

Rival MCA factions likely to hold separate meetings
(NST - 1 September 2009)
By Eileen Ng
KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA is likely to have two extraordinary general meetings called by rival factions next month.

All This Is Cow Crap Lah!!

2009-09-01T12:49:00.006+08:00

Our protest was hijacked, say residents
By WANI MUTHIAH (The Star)

SHAH ALAM: Residents of Section 23 here who protested against the relocation of a Hindu temple from Section 19 to their neighbourhood on Friday claim they have been victimised and unfairly accused of stoking racial and religious intolerance.

Chairman of the action committee for the protest, Mahayuddin Manaf, said the residents were merely protesting the relocation of the temple but it had been “hijacked” by another group that brought along a cow’s head to the state secretariat building.

The 50-odd demonstrators had gathered after Friday prayers and marched some 300m from the state mosque to the state secretariat building with the cow’s head.

He said the residents action group, which was made-up of members from Umno, PKR and PAS, had gone to the state secretariat to see Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as well as the relevant executive councillors to voice their grievances.

“However, our trip to the state secretariat had been exploited by certain quarters and used as a platform to rabble-rouse,” Mahayuddin claimed when contacted yesterday.

(Read the rest of the article here.)

----------

Berani buat, tak berani mengaku. Ala...ingat UMNO support, tapi lepas Najib ngan Hishammuddin sound sikit, dah kecut pula dia ni.

Polis pun belum buat apa-apa lagi. Masa hari tu polis pun ramai yang hadir siap dengan "riot gear", tapi setakat menonton aje. Maklumlah, tak ada yang memproteskan pemprotes tu. Ingat-ingat kalau ada, CPO Selangor takkan agak-agak bertindak seperti dalam kes-kes di mana rakyat yang berpakaian hitam dan memegang lilin diberkas. Tapi kalau setakat orang UMNO mengapi-apikan isu kaum dan agama, tak pelah.

Tapi sekarang ni nak takut mengaku pula?

Terang-terang dalam laporan video Mkini, Mahyuddin dengan timbalannya meraung-raung sambil memijak kepala lembu tu. Dalam laporan video tu jugak, Mahyiddin sendiri kata yang mereka sengaja tunjuk biadap. Tak caya tengok sendiri videonya di sini.

Sekarang, lain cerita pula. Kononnya nak pergi bincang dengan MB saja. Segalanya yang buruk tu dipersalahkan kepada "pihak-pihak tertentu."

Siapa agaknya "pihak-pihak tertentu" itu? Bukankah mereka kata yang protes tu telah menyatukan ahli-ahli UMNO, PAS dan PKR demi kepentingan Melayu? Kalau Melayu semua tu sudah bersatu, agaknya "pihak-pihak tertentu" yang dimaksudkan - orang bukan Melayu ke?

Ni semua cakap tak serupa bikin dan pesalah yang menyalahkan orang lain. Sebiji macam tabiat orang UMNO!

Sudahlah...

Sebab Cow-lah Ini Berlaku!!!

2009-08-30T17:03:00.007+08:00

Petikan dari tulisan Kelab Penyokong Maya UMNO mengenai protes kepala lembu kelmarin. Geli hati saya apabila membacanya. Hujahnya berputarbelit sana-sini. Mungkin mereka ni bekas kelasi kot? Depa memang pandai dalam hal ikat-mengikat sampai mustahil simpul tu ditanggalkan - terlalu rumit belitannya, macamlah hujahnya dalam artikel ini.

Isy...isy...isy...Tak boleh tahanlah kena buka mulut sikit (ulasan saya berwarna merah).

-----
Siapa yang pilih kerajaan ini? beginilah mulanya 13 Mei bila Cina bawa penyapu.

Mungkin ramai yang tidak tahu dan mungkin ramai yang tidak ingat . bagaimana puncanya dan bagaimana mulanya peristiwa berdarah 13 Mei . Bermula dengan perarakan penyokong DAP yang membawa penyapu dan Tong Sampah beramai-ramai mahu menyapu bangsa Melayu di hadapan Kampung Baru . Tercetusnya insiden ini bermula lah drama berdarah 13 Mei 1969 .

Ok lah. tahun 1969 saya pun belum lahir lagi so memang saya tak tahu-menahu hal ni. Perisitwa May13 sudah lama berlalu. Siapa bunuh siapa, ceritanya sudah lama dikebunikan. Yang menjadi mangsa tak boleh bersuara lagi dan yang menjadi pemangsa mungkin ramai sudah meninggal. Tak apalah, biarkan. Mujurlah cerita ini tak pernah ada tayangan semula di negara kita ni.

Yang penting bagi saya, kita semua sebagai rakyat Malaysia kena saling hormat-menghormati. Tapi, entah kenapa anasir-anasir yang kononnya mempertahankan ini dan itu sering kali membangkitkan hal ni lagi dan lagi dan lagi - tak henti-henti macam "Energizer Bunny"! Mereka ni selalu mengancam pihak tertentu dengan tayangan semula May 13 di Malaysia. Inikah caranya untuk melayan anak-anak Malaysia yang lain?

Memang kurang ajar budak-budak KPMU ni!

Hari ini insiden ini nampaknya sengaja mahu di petik agar ada pergaduhan kaum dan kempen besar -besaran DS Najib mengenai One Malaysia mahu di padamkan digagalkan. Inilah insiden yang berlaku di Shah Alam yang begitu melampau sekali.

Oh...macam ada isi sikit. Macam mereka ni sedang mengutuk perbuatan mereka yang mengarakkan kepala lembu tu. Apa kena-mengena dengan tulisan sebelum ni yang mengutuk DAP memulakan insiden May13?

Tak tahu...

Tapi...

Insiden seperti ini tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini.Tindakan sebilangan penduduk Seksyen 23 Shah Alam berarak dari Masjid Negeri ke bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri Selangor lepas solat Jumaat boleh dikira satu aksi protes biasa jika tidak ada orang bawa kepala lembu yang disembelih ke situ.

Em...? OK la...setakat ini boleh setuju lagi. Tapi ada bau sikit sudah naik daa..

Bantahan ialah terhadap cadangan bina kuil di kawasan mereka yang majoriti penduduk terdiri dari orang Melayu.Cuma bila masuk bab adanya kepala lembu ia sudah jadi lain cerita kerana lembu dianggap haiwan suci pada agama Hindu.Maka nya kontroversi bab kepala lembu jadi lebih bising bila kalangan pemimpin dan pertubuhan orang India membantah aksi itu.

Ia bukan anjuran mana-mana parti politik.Penduduk tergolong daripada penyokong pelbagai parti termasuk UMNO ,PKR dan PAS sendiri bangkit setelah mendakwa suara tidak dapat perhatian Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.Matlamatnya satu yakni mahu kerajaan negeri Selangor batalkan pembinaan kuil di kawasan mereka dan memindahkan nya ke Seksyen 22 yang merupakan lokasi asal rumah ibadat tersebut.

Oh...ini cerita sebenarnya yang dia nak jual! Bukannya nak mengutuk perbuatan keji kumpulan tu (hanya setakat memanggilnya "kontroversi" saja). Sebenarnya nak jual cerita tentang isu yang dijadikan bahan bantahan. Barulah saya faham kenapa perenggan pertama dibuka dengan insiden May13. Sebenarnya nak salahkan (ataupun nak ancam?) orang lain untuk perbuatan sendiri!

Eh, apa pun isu yang nak dipertikaikan..."gentleman"lah sikit. Ni bawak kepala lembu ke sana ke sini, mengotorkan jalanraya dengan darah, menconteng-conteng dinding dan memaki hamun yang bukan-bukan tu apa?

Ni buat semua kerja ni nak salahkan orang lain pulak. Engkorang ni langsung tak ada kawalan diri ke? Eh...mak tak ajar ke? Sendiri buat, sendiri yang tanggung la!

Entah KPMU ni kurang ajar ke kurang ibadah!

Kedua-duanya kot!

Kerajaan ini , siapa yang pilih ?????????

Woit!!! Ke situ pulak! Ini macam taktik gengster ni:

"Baik you buat apa ku suruh (memilih kerajaan BN), kalau tidak buruk padahnya (aku sepak kau sekali dengan May13 nanti!). Kalau betul-betul berlaku tu, jangan salahkan aku. Engkau yang bawak padah sendiri.

----------

Bagi saya, saya sokong kebebasan bersuara, walaupun saya mungkin tak setuju dengan hujah seseorang tu. Tapi biarlah kita berhujah dan berbalas pendapat dengan tenang dan logik. Barulah ada "class" sikit. Yang buat saya tak tahan ialah mereka yang melolong-lolong, marah-marah tak tentu arah - macam artikel oleh KePalaotakMU ni. Suara nyaring melantang macam ni macam mana nak mencapai kesefahaman dan kata sepakat? Tuduh menuduh, maki-memaki, memanglah tak aman macam ni! Tapi nak salahkan orang lain pulak!

Nak lagi ke gengster-gengster ni memerintah?

What An Insult To The Cow

2009-08-29T03:38:00.001+08:00

Happy Merdeka! (Updated)

2009-08-28T15:39:00.001+08:00

-
Many thanks to Ella Mae of the Dandelions for the inspiration!
-
Thanks also to our Information Minister for providing the material.

Video is now available at youtube! Go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPoSawmrK5w
-

MCA Smackdown!!

2009-08-27T14:44:00.004+08:00

A brief chronology of UMNO-MCA breakup:

In GE12, BN suffers heavy defeats in Peninsular Malaysian votes.

Gerakan & MCA realise that they lost because of UMNO's arrogance

They try to speak up for some issues but are ignored

The MCA is left adrift until the party elections. OTK (Team A) is elected MCA President, CSL (TEAM B) is elected MCA Dep Prez.

OTK, as the MCA President, is traditionally appointed Transport Minister

PKFZ scandal explodes in OTK's face. OTK faces a choice - do the right thing and face the wrath of his bosses, or cover it up and kill off support for MCA faster. OTK promises to do the right thing. The voting public watches and waits.

Najib appoints CSL as BN Liaison tasked with figuring out how to win back Pakatan-held states. Presidents of UMNO's largest partners, MCA & MIC, have no say in this appointment and no role in this significant task. This hints that UMNO is showing their political preferences and signifies that they wish to have direct control over their partner's party.

OTK is true to his word and revelations of gross financial impropriety begin to surface. The PAC takes a lackadaisical attitude towards the biggest billion-ringgit scandal in the country's history. The PWC audit report is blocked from being released for months.

CSL is called up to the MCA disciplinary board regarding his sex DVD. This is seen as OTK's check on CSL's prominence among UMNO puppetmasters.

Instead of being afraid or repentant, the PKFZ culprits begin a mudslinging fight with allegations against OTK of their own.

OTK is left to defend himself as UMNO steps back and leaves OTK to the wolves. This is a hatchet job if ever I've seen one.

OTK lashes out at a press conference, saying that powerful "outside parties" have infiltrated MCA and were trying to topple him by hook or by crook.

Syed Akbar Ali, prominent UMNO blogger, openly reveals a strategy of UMNO abandoning its non-Malay political partners and going for complete Malay racial hegemony with token non-Malay representation.

OTK is continues to be fiercely attacked in the press by the culprits being investigated.

OTK rallies his troops to support him. Press conferences and Star coverage galore.

Muhyiddin calls for the warring parties to keep it quiet.

OTK sues Tiong King Sing for RM500million for his allegations.

CSL-aligned MCA division heads openly call for Ong's immediate suspension. This story is completely ignored by the Star, MCA's mouthpiece.

The PAC announces that it sees nothing wrong in KDSB's claims, in stark contrast to Lee Hwa Beng's revelations.

The next day, CSL is sacked from MCA. The Star runs the story that CSL accepts the disciplinary board's decision. However, the Malaysian Insider paints a completely different picture, where CSL calls for his "comrades" to "stand up and unite to save the party." Speculation is rife that an EGM will be called to expel OTK as President and install CSL instead.

My take:
Since Najib is not above coup-de-tat's, it's not unlikely that his proxy CSL will do a Perak in MCA. The UMNO-controlled courts and ROS will ratify CSL's coup. UMNO will again have their obedient little Pekinese lapdog.

MCA is in a real damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.

If OTK does the right thing to expose the entire PKFZ fiasco, he may win back some voter support but UMNO will surely finish him and install their proxy. This would make MCA a mere UMNO puppet again - the very thing that voters rejected them for and will reject them again.

If OTK capitulates and follows UMNO's orders to cover up the PKFZ scandal, he may survive in the MCA but this would make MCA a mere UMNO puppet - AGAIN.

If MCA were to survive as a whole, the only way would be for them to leave UMNO NOW and strike out on their own because it's obvious that their present disunity is made worse by the proxy war between MCA and UMNO warlords.

UMNO has already embarked on their strategy of ultra-right wing racial hegemony. They may need a puppet for the moment. But in the long run, how would UMNO get a proxy that nobody supports elected?

In any case, MCA is as good as dead already!

My Respects to Nik Aziz

2009-08-27T09:29:00.001+08:00

Here is a man with deep spiritual insight who seeks to live Islam and not just observe the rituals.

A couple of things he said really resonated with me as a Christian.

1. When he spoke of earning merit as "heavenly currency".

In the Bible, Jesus says - "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:20-21

This is Jesus teaching that God is close to us, even in this life. And so we should not be so caught up in the trappings of this world because this is just a transit point on our journey to eternity. So if we're going to spend an eternity with God, we'd better get used to the idea now and start practising how to be close to Him.

Of course, making an effort to be close to a righteous God will not leave us untransformed. Just as we willingly want to better ourselves to please our loved ones, so it is for them who truly understand what it is to seek the Divine. And just as the love of our loved ones sustains us in our journey of transformation, so it is with God's love.

2. When he said that planting can be also taken as an act of worship, and that worship is more than just offering prayers but it is an attitude of the heart.

Nik Aziz uses a simple down-to-earth analogy of planting (environmentalists would be ecstatic!) as a spiritual act because it is done with a heart towards God.

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul teaches, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

A sacrifice is an item that has been specially set aside for God's purposes. To offer ourselves as a living sacrifice would then mean that our entire lives are set aside to be available for God's purpose.

And Paul also teaches, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

So whatever that we think, do and feel become our offering to God - including planting trees! And as we live and act according to God's nature, we will be storing up "treasures in heaven" for ourselves.

Here's to a better understanding and appreciation of each other among Malaysians.

Thanks to Nik Aziz and Amir Muhammad for shining a little light along the way...

Go here for more uniquely Malaysian short films.
-

Permatang Pasir Chinese Didn't Vote Rohaizat

2009-08-26T11:48:00.001+08:00

Malaysian Insider reports:

Rohaizat saddened by unfulfilled vows of Chinese support

(Malaysian Insider) By Syed Jaymal Zahiid PERMATANG PASIR, Aug 25 - Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Rohaizat Othman today hinted that one of the factors that could have caused his defeat was the “failure of the Chinese community to fulfill their promises of support”...

no shit...

i wonder why?

-----------------

Tidak sedarkah Melayu sedang dihina?

(Utusan Malaysia-4 August)

Bodohkah Melayu atau bijaknya mainan politik bukan Melayu? Cuba fikir, akhirnya siapa yang untung dan siapa yang rugi?

Terpulang kepada orang Melayu sendiri sama ada mahu bangkit atau relakan diri dipijak oleh orang lain.

Melayu jangan jadi bacul — Noor Azam

(Utusan Malaysia-4 August)

Apa yang dikehendaki oleh orang Cina, India dan PAS ketika ini ialah kuasa politik dan pentadbiran yang lebih besar. Bukannya keadilan dan demokrasi.

-----------

etc, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseaum

The Chinese too pissed off to vote for UMNO so shocking news to these UMNO flers, hoh?

Maybe if they pulled their heads out of their ass, they'd be able to see the world a little more clearly instead of their normal shit's eye view.

Ketuanan Melayu - Dalam Mata Melayu (Pt 1)

2009-08-25T17:01:00.004+08:00

-
One afternoon, I had finished running some errands in Bandar Park near OUG (Old Klang Road) when I saw a young Malay chap setting up his food stall. He was a small sized fellow and came in an old Proton Saga. His setup wasn't a very big deal - just a couple of plastic foldable tables and some plastic containers of food. The usual fare - nasi lemak, mee/meehoon goreng, various curries and kueh.

I had not seen him before...maybe because I don't go to that area very often. But the Bandar Park area is host to a number of roadside hawkers - there's a pisang goreng makcik, an ah pek selling sweet dessert soups, one annay selling kacang putih, etc. Pretty muhibbah offerings, seeing that the area is a predominantly Chinese commercial area (I would estimate 95%).

Anyway, it was about 4.30pm then, I was feeling a bit lazy to cook dinner. So I decided to "tapau" something from the young man. I left him to continue setting up his stall while I bought some delicious keropok lekor from the makcik's stall nearby. Then I crossed the road over to the ah pek's stall and bought some "leng chee kang". By the time I came back, the young man was ready for business.

As he was preparing my order, I struck up a conversation with him. The conversation (in Malay) went something like this:

Me: How long have you set up here?

Him: Not long, just a few months.

Me: I see...so where are you from?

Him: Kepong.

Me (surprised): Kepong?! Why come all the way to set up stall here?
(Kepong is about 40-50km away from OUG.)

Him: Cari makan la...This location ok, what. Got business.

Then I got curious. The Malaysian Chinese community has this pervasive urban legend going round that the Malays have everyhting easier and they can get away with anything. Now I had grown up with this urban legend, but I've never been comfortable with it as it is too wide a generalisation, and it smacks of racism.

Do the Malays really get away with everything - including illegal hawker stalls? So I decided to test this theory by asking this young Malay chap:

Me: So...do you get into any trouble with DBKL just setting up stall like that?

Him: Ada... DBKL comes and kacau every few weeks.
(Well, there's the first cannon shot to the "Malays all have it easy" nonsense!!)

Me: So what do they do? (Translated: Do they really do anything to you - a Malay? What about Ketuanan Melayu and all that?)

Him: Adalah, they come and make a big show of it. Shouting and threatening, acting like they're so high and mighty. I'm just trying to make a living here. They confiscate everything then I have to go and "redeem" my items.
(redeem i.e. pay bribes to get their "barang-barang cari makan" back. That's exactly what all the other non-Malay illegal hawkers have to go through.)

Me: Want to cari makan also so difficult, huh? (Translated: I thought you as a Malay get it easier cos of the Ketuanan Melayu thing?)

Him: Yalah...what to do? (Translated: You're a bloody idiot if you believe that!)

I went home a little more educated that day, and a little more appreciative of my fellow Malaysians who just want to cari makan and have a peaceful life.

Happy Merdeka!

Keberkesanan Akta Lucut Kerakyatan Ganti ISA Dikaji

2009-08-22T09:35:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA, 20 Ogos (Bernama) -- Kementerian Dalam Negeri akan mengkaji keberkesanan cadangan menggantikan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) dengan Akta Lucut Kerakyatan (ALK) untuk diguna pakai bagi tujuan keselamatan negara.

"Kita akan buat kajian terhadap akta ini," kata Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop ketika diminta mengulas kenyataan pemimpin veteran Umno Tan Sri Sanusi Junid semalam yang meminta kerajaan menggantikan ISA dengan ALK bagi menghukum pihak yang mempersoalkan kontrak sosial.

Fuh-lamak...as if ISA not terer enough, now got proposal for Stripping Of Citizenship Act (SOCA)! So now instead of using ISA to indefinitely detain reporters who write articles quoting people giving hate speech, our tanahair can strip them of citizenship within their own country! This must be a first in the world, man! Someone call the Malaysian Book Of Records!

But seriously, we have to acknowledge our country's evolution from Ikut Suka Aku to ikut SOCA aku?

Big difference, hoh?

The final, final nail in Rohaizat’s campaign

2009-08-21T13:45:00.001+08:00

I guess this is it.

Rohaizat’s former partner, Yusri, has come out to deny all charges that he framed Rohaizat in the CBT case that got Rohaizat disbarred. (For a detailed report and a blow-by-blow account of what happened from Yusri’s mouth himself, visit The People’s Parliament.)

So the fall guy ain’t gonna take the fall. The Bar Council “bad guys” can prove by law they disbarred him legally. The High Court confirms that he was rightfully disbarred.

So basically, it’s pretty much proven that he kebas the money la. Doesn’t matter that he returned it later…he kebas-ed it – fullstop.

The only defenses UMNO still have are that Rohaizat is a good son and husband because his family followed him to the nomination centre, and…and…and…

Oh ya...the ladies go weak at the knees when they see him.

Well, I guess it’s curtains then.

Unless UMNO wants to embarass themselves further by trying even harder to defend the indefensible…

Propaganda – Jangan Jatuh Dalam Perangkapnya!

2009-08-20T19:56:00.000+08:00

Politik negara kita ni asyik porak peranda aje kebelakangan ini. Tiap kali buka suratkhabar, macam-macam yang ditulis. Tak henti-henti tuduhan yang dilemparkan oleh ahli-ahli politik kita. Rakyat pun celaru – yang mana benar, yang mana sekadar propaganda saja? Kalau betul, tak apa. Kalau sekadar propaganda saja, mampuslah kita semua – entah-entah ramai yang terpedaya dan betindak melulu kerana tak tahu apa yang benar-benar sedang berlaku.

Jadi amatlah penting untuk kita tapis apa yang kita baca dan dengar. Janganlah terbawa-bawa dengan kata-kata yang merupakan hanya propaganda politik saja. Kita mesti celik propaganda supaya kita tidak tertipu dan diperalatkan ahli-ahli politik. Ini penting untuk kesejahteraan negara, sebab kalau kita bertenang, kita boleh menangani apa jua situasi politik yang timbul dengan tindakan yang betul.

Mari kita tengok bagaimana propaganda mempermainkan fikiran kita supaya ahli politik boleh mengekploitasikan sokongan kita.

Propaganda Tu Apa Bendanya?

Propaganda jauh berbeza dari penyebaran pengetahuan ataupun maklumat. Sebenarnya, propaganda ialah alat untuk mengaut kuasa. Tujuan sebenarnya ialah untuk meyakinkan rakyat bahawa seseorang itu patut diberi kuasa yang diingininya.

Menurut Jospeh Goebbels (orang kanan Hitler semasa pemerintahan Nazi), “…tugas propaganda adalah untuk mengambil idea (yang telah berjaya disebarkan kepada) rakyat dan membolehkannya mengambil alih sebuah negara.” (Dipetik dari ucapannya kepada ahli parti Nazi semasa kem latihan propaganda, 9 January 1928. Kebanyakan dari ucapannya dalam rencana ini dipetik dari ucapan yang sama.)

Contoh unggul propaganda jenis ini boleh dilihat di dalam kerjaya Jospeh Goebbels sendiri. Dalam tahun 1930-an, parti Nazi Jerman berjaya merampas kerajaan pusat kerana kempen propagandanya.Goebbels berjaya menukar imej parti Nazi sebagai sebuah parti perkauman ektremis kepada sebuah parti nasionalis yang memperjuangkan ketuanan kaum majoriti Jerman. Beliau juga berjaya memusnahkan imej musuh politik mereka. Dengan sokongan kuat dari golongan majoriti rakyat, parti Nazi menang besar dalam pilihanraya 1933. Maka mulalah pemerintahan Hitler yang membunuh berjuta-juta rakyat Jerman dan membawa kepada Perang Dunia Ke-2.

Itulah…jangan sokong sembarangan – buruk padahnya nanti! Ingat: celik propaganda.

Apa Kerja Propaganda Ni?

Tujuan propaganda ialah untuk membahagikan masyarakat kepada dua kumpulan – “Kita” dan “Mereka”. Rakyat akan dipengaruh untuk menyertai “Kita” dan menolak “Mereka”. Mereka yang tak mahu memilih pihak pula sekurang-kurangnya mesti menyangka bahawa “Kita” lebih baik dari “Mereka”.

Biasanya berbagai isu lain akan dibangkitkan dengan mendadak juga. Ini untuk mengaburkan mata rakyat supaya mereka tak dapat lihat isu-isu yang sebenar. Propaganda mendadak ini juga direka untuk memaksa rakyat memilih “Kita” tanpa memikir panjang. Jadi kita harus celik propaganda – jangan dipaksa membuat pilihan yang bukan-bukan!

Siapa Menjadi Mangsa Propaganda?

Propaganda tidak akan menyerang rakyat jelata kerana sokongan dari kita inilah yang mereka perlukan. Jadi tujuan propaganda adalah untuk memusnahkan sokongan untuk pihak “Mereka” dan agihkan sokongan ke pihak “Kita” sebaliknya.

Dalam menjual cerita propaganda politik, yang biasa dijadikan penyangak ialah (1) pemerintah, (2) pemimpin, (3) dalang (yang tak akan dikenali), (4) pihak minoriti tertentu. Propaganda yang berkesan akan menyakinkan rakyat dan penyokong “Mereka” yang mereka sebenarnya adalah kawan “Kita” dan mereka telah menjadi mangsa penipuan penyangak itu dan sedang diperalatkan oleh “Mereka”. Oleh itu, penyangak- penyangak “Mereka” ini bukan sahaja musuh “Kita” tetapi juga musuh kepada rakyat dan penyokong “Mereka”.

Kerja ini memang menjijikkan kerana sokongan rakyat dimenangi bukan dengan kebolehan dan kebenaran tetapi dengan mempermain-mainkan fikiran kita. Jadi kita mesti celik propaganda supaya kita tidak diperolok-olokkan oleh ahli-ahli politik yang hanya pentingkan diri sendiri sahaja.

Macam Mana Nak Celik Propaganda?

OK. Sekarang kita lihat apa taktik-taktik propaganda yang biasa digunakan.

1. Memberi gelaran. Taktik ini amat cepat dan mudah. Mulut cakap, telinga dengar – senang saja. Contoh-contoh gelaran propaganda yang diberi adalah – “DAP anti-Islam”, “PAS diperkudakan Cina”, “Anwar pengkhianat”, “UMNO rasis”, “Cina kiasu” dan sebagainya. Walaupun sesetengah gelaran ini memang kesat dan mengguris hati dan ada juga yang terang-terang bohong belaka, itu tidak penting dalam tujuan propaganda.

Menurut Jospeh Goebbels, “Tiada siapa boleh mengatakan yang propaganda anda terlalu kesat atau bertaraf rendah atau kejam, ataupun ia kurang ikhlas, kerana itu bukan kriterianya. Tujuan propaganda bukan untuk menjadi ikhlas atau halus atau lemah atau rendah diri. Tujuannya ialah untuk berjaya.”

Gelaran yang diberi mesti terlekat di dalam minda pendengar, walau betapa kesatnya. Samada orangramai mempercayainya atau tidak, itu boleh dipengaruhi dengan aktiviti fasa kemudian. Inilah yang disarankan oleh Joseph Goebbels, “Tak kira samada mereka suka kami atau benci kami, asalkan mereka kenali kami. Setelah kami mencapai tujuan pertama ini, kita boleh berusaha menukar benci kepada suka, dan suka kepada benci, tetapi jangan sampai mereka tak endah.”

Ini memang taktik kotor kerana berbagai tuduhan dilemparkan untuk memusnahkan musuhtanpa bukti kukuh.

2. Kenyataan Am Berseri-seri. Taktik ini banyak persamaan dengan taktik Memberi Gelaran. Tapi dalam Kenyataan Am Berseri-seri, pihak “Kita” akan dilabelkan dengan positif. Label ini pula tak perlu benar atau jelas. Yang perlu hanya selalu menggunakannya supaya label positif ini dikembarkan dengan pihak “Kita”.

Kalau label itu berdasarkan fakta atau penjelasan tertentu, ia akan ditolak oleh mereka yang tidak bersetuju dengannya. Oleh itu, Kenyataan Am Berseri-seri tak akan dijelaskan supaya pendengar boleh membuat andaian sendiri apa maksudnya. Bila ini berlaku, label ini boleh diterima oleh sebanyak rakyat yang mungkin.

Contoh-contoh Kenyataan Am Berseri-seri adalah “1Malaysia”, “UMNO mempertahankan Raja-raja Melayu”, “Pakatan Rakyat perjuangkan Ketuanan Rakyat”, dan sebagainya.

3. Agihan. Taktik ini akan meminjam prestij, pengaruh atau kemuliaan dari satu pihak dan agihkan kepada pihak “Kita”. Taktik ini sengaja mengabaikan fakta-fakta dan penjelasan. Tujuannya ialah untuk naikkan semangat rakyat dan “meminjam” sokongan untuk tokoh itu untuk kepentingan “Kita” sendiri. Keagamaan juga digunakan, di mana tokoh-tokoh agama atau kerja-kerja keagamaan akan digunakan untuk menaikkan kredibiliti “Kita”.

Taktik “Agihan” boleh digunakan untuk menentang pihak lawan juga. Dengan mengaitkan pihak lawan dengan benda-benda yang negatif, imej “Mereka” bolah dimusnahkan. Contohnya ialah “DAP komunis”, “PAS diperkudakan Cina”, “UMNO rasis” dan sebagainya. Contoh-contoh lain penggunaan taktik agihan adalah mengibarkan bendera-bendera, mengadakan himpunan besar-besaran, pengesahan dari agensi-agensi kerajaan, serta sumpah-menyumpah di masjid,

4. Mangsa. Satu lagi taktik propaganda ialah untuk menggunakan “mangsa”.Isu “mangsa” ini akan diapi-apikan sehingga rakyat menuntut keadilan untuknya. “Mereka” akan dicabar untuk mempertikaikan samada “mangsa” itu mempunyai hak menerima keadilan. Taktik “mangsa” ini amat berkesan kerana orangramai akan dibuai emosi dan akan kurang rasional dalam isu-isu sebegini.

“Mangsa” ini tidak perlu berbentuk seorang manusia – mangsa ini juga boleh berbentuk institusi, agama, kumpulan, pertubuhan, konsep atau sebagainya. Apa yang penting adalah SIFAT kemangsaannya yang boleh dijadikan modal politik. Contoh-contoh “kemangsaan” di dalam politik negara ialah “Melayu hilang kuasa”, “MACC dikecam ahli politik”, “Pembangkang menjadi sasaran kerajaan” dan sebagainya.

5. Kesaksian.Taktik ini menggunakan orang ternama untuk menyokong “Kita”. Tujuannya ialah untuk mengagihkan kekuatan imej positifnya kepada pihak “Kita”. Kita pernah lihat artis-artis terkemuka dan tokoh-tokoh negara digunakan untuk berkempen dalam pilihanraya, kan? Orang yang berpelajaran tinggi juga digunakan. Mereka ini akan kerap menggunakan kata-kata teknikal atau keagamaan yang sengaja dipilih kerana ia TIDAK akan difahami oleh pendengar. Ini akan mengagumi pendengarnya dan mereka akan lebih percayakan kepakarannya. Contohnya ialah isu Ridhuan Tee mencaci keluarga Teoh Beng Hock baru-baru ini.

Katak pun boleh digunakan. Ahli-ahli politik yang berpaling tadah akan diperagakan dan diberi peluang luas untuk memburuk-burukkan parti lamanya. Ramai sangat katak di Malaysia, tak payahlah namakan semuanya. Kita sendiri pun tahu, kan?

6. Kelab.Tema taktik ini ialah – “semua orang berfikiran begitu, awak masih nak pertikaikan ke?” Kebanyakan orang lebih suka memihak majoriti kerana (1) majoritilah yang memegang kuasa politik, dan (2) kebanyakan orang ingin berkompromi dan bukannya melawan arus. Berbagai-bagai aktiviti akan diadakan untuk membuktikan penerimaan idea “Kita” seperti himpunan besar-besaran, siaran temuduga dengan orang ramai, sokongan media dan sebagainya.

Strategi ini juga boleh digunakan dengan sebaliknya – menghina pihak minoriti supaya rakyat akan kekal bersama pihak majoriti.

Sekarang Dah Celik. Lepas Ni Macam Mana?

Kita tak boleh lari dari propaganda politik selagi wujudnya orang yang ingin berkuasa. Jadi, kita mesti bijaklah menilai mesej-mesej yang diterima. Ingat, tujuan propaganda untuk mengaut sokongan dari rakyat dan penyokong “Mereka”, ataupun menyebabkannya menerima “Kita”, membelot “Mereka”, putus asa atau apa-apa saja tindakan yang menguntungkan “Kita”.

Jadi kita mesti celik propaganda. Selalu bertenang dan pandai-pandailah bezakan yang mana propaganda dan yang mana maklumat sebenar. Dengan ini, kita boleh elak diri dari dipergunakan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu serta mampu membuat pilihan yang tepat.

Policeman vs Penan girl: who is worth more?

2009-08-20T00:10:00.000+08:00

This article is from Susan Loone's blog. The rape of the Penans continue again and again and again...and looks like they're being screwed every which way by the rich and powerful in East Malaysia...

----------

This statement was written by Katrina Jorine Maliamauv, daughter of Irene Fernandez. It’s her respond the article in Malaysiakini: “No budget, so no to rape probe”.

The bile is rising in my throat.

For more than ten years at least, Penan girls have been raped, violated and sexually abused. The Penan women in the community have been at dire risk of various forms of sexual assault and harassment.

Young, young, school going girls have made the difficult step to come forward and say that they have been raped by members of the logging companies.

The life and dignity of a Penan woman, however, appears to be worth less than RM3600.

Investigations into the allegations of rape and abuse by loggers in Sarawak against the Penan girls have led nowhere.

Today, the Sarawak police say they can only afford the RM100 000 needed to pay for police personnel, and not the RM3600 proposed to pay for the much-needed Penan-Malay translators, if the 6-day investigation into these allegations were to be carried out.

The police can spend RM15 million on a by-election in Kuala Terengganu, but RM3600 to pay for an essential part of an investigation into rape of children is too much?

By the way, how much was spent by the police on “guarding public interest” during the recent peaceful assembly in Kuala Lumpur?

----------

Read the rest of it here.