Meng's Blog

Mengyee
Malaysiakini
Sep 2, 09
2:27pm

Good morning MCA, are you awake? What happened to the protector of the Chinese rights? Are you not a significant part of the Barisan Nasional government anymore?
Are you still subservient to the dominant Umno party? Looks like Umno wants to play up the racial card again. Very soon, the keris will be flying and then the rhetoric begins.

This is the Malaysia of Barisan Nasional. I recall the heyday of BN under Mahathir when Umno would spew venomous rhetoric, MCA Youth would make noise and in the end, peaceful reconciliation.

All this sandiwara (drama) to show how delicate racial relations are in Malaysia and underline the need for race based parties.

But then something happened in March 2008 when the rakyat experimented with a multi racial platform and suddenly the racial curse was lifted.

The schemes of Barisan Nasional became plain for all to see. Barisan Nasional lost its identity and was not sure how to present themselves anymore.

So to regain traction and attraction, they begin to create incidents to show how sensitive and delicate the race issue still is in Malaysia.
How explosive it could be and that at anytime, we will burst forth into racial riots.

Utusan Malaysia leads this propaganda inciting the Malays, and suddenly everything becomes a race issue.
From the death of a young Chinese political aide to the moving of a Hindu temple, race and religion is played up.

Malaysians, however, univocally will say it once again, we love Malaysia and we love the way it was supposed to be. The way Onn Jaafar dreamt it and the way the Tunku planned it.

We must reclaim the Malaysia we grew up in and not let narrow political agendas ruin our beloved homeland. We are the patriots, the true nationalists, the beloved citizens.

So MCA, MIC and Gerakan, is this the way you want to reform?

It looks like a reform back to the days of Mahathir. If it is then you will surely become irrelevant to a citizenry who has been released from the spell of racism.

A generation disillusioned - Posted in Malaysiakini

Mengyee
Aug 12, 09
2:58pm

I was born after Merdeka and my generation grew up with loyalty and love for the country. We went to Thomas Cup matches to cheer our national team and we were there when the soccer team made their international debut against the best in the region.

A truly multiracial team. I learnt in Tatarakyat how Ali, Ah Chong and Ramasamy would play together and were the best of friends. I even saw it at my home when my father's colleagues would come to our house for Chinese New Year to share a meal together.

When I entered the workforce in the 90s, I realised that there were walls and they were getting higher. I had fewer Malay friends. Our society was getting more segregated. Enrollment into Chinese schools increased and I was told Malay friends wouldn't eat in your home if you cooked the food at home.

Politically, Umno began spewing more venomous and racially charged statements. Words like 'go back to China', 'you can leave if you don't like it' or 'soak the keris in blood' uttered by Malay leaders hurt a great deal. A new level of distrust arose between the races.

After 52 years of Independence, we are still unable to get beyond race and unable to truly work together as one. Umno and BN are oxymorons and contending against each other. Even now, with Najib's 1Malaysia, Umno is championing Malay rights and warning Malays that they may lose this country if they allow the 'Chinese opposition' to take control.

They speak about Malay traitors like PAS and Anwar Ibrahim. Najib's 1Malaysia is not the 1Malaysia my generation is dreaming about. Najib's 1Malaysia is not the 1Malaysia Datuk Onn Jaafar envisioned and not the 1Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman had hoped for.

Najib's 1Malaysia is a sham, a fake and nothing but a easy slogan.

Unity in Malaysia has been destroyed by narrow political agendas. A political party which feels that its existence and continuation is far more important than the nation itself is seeking to be even more divisive by spewing out venomous racially charged words.
Instead of coming together and working as one to compete globally, Umno and BN seek to play the racial game and continue dividing this nation for political selfish gains. This is most irresponsible and an act that will continue the downward spiral of Malaysia.

Malays, Chinese and Indians must unite under a different banner to fight this division and bigotry for the sake of our beloved country. We must return to the spirit of Datuk Onn Jaafar and Tunku Abdul Rahman, who loved Malaysia more than themselves.

A muslim woman was recently sentenced to 5 strokes of the rotan (caning) for consuming alcohol - Beer at a holiday resort.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/20/nation/20090720190259&sec=nation

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/109298

This sentence was meted out by the Syariah Court of Malaysia. Many have come out to speak against it. My stand is that this is the law of Islam. The Syariah Court acted and sentenced within their jurisdiction. Whether or not there is elements of hypocrisy or not is not for us non muslims to say. Here are some Malaysiakini letters in response:

On Whipping for beer-drinking model sparks debate
JC Tansen: It is extremely disturbing to learn that a court in Malaysia has sentenced a woman and mother to two young children to six strokes of whipping and a fine of RM5,000 for drinking beer.
I appeal to the authorities to reconsider this decision and waive this cruel punishment. This will not only show deserving mercy to the remorseful woman but also help to project an image of Malaysia as a civilised and decent country.

Thomas Nathan: What a big joke! If you were to go to KL or any of the big cities you will find lots of Muslims not only consuming liquor but also committing close proximity under syariah law. Most of them are renowned personalities or their children. Even police officers' children consume liquor and drugs (now called designer drugs) in such places but the religious authorities "close one eye" or just do not dare to disturb them lest they get chided for doing so.
What about Nazri son's whose photos were all over the net with liquor on one hand and a scantily-dressed woman on the other. This is height of hypocrisy and double standards by the authorities.

Pagan: Caning/whipping is a horrible experience that should be implemented on serious offenders such as rapists, drug traffickers, murderers for the purpose of punishment, warning and humiliation. Therefore, I read with abhorrence that a woman is sentence for five strokes of whipping for consuming alcohol!
Religious teaching is meant to be a platform to develop one's spirituality, and everyone should have the freedom of choice to follow any religion that benefits them. Certainly no religious group should have any power to decide caning a woman for this. What good is secular law then?

Most of us are influenced by the Judaic-Christian thinking of mercy and grace upon a wrongdoing especially upon a repentant person. However even in the Bible it speaks of a certain wrath and punishment upon the sinner. Most of us agree that God is not like us and is Holy. Well for being Holy, it also means He cannot tolerate Sin. Sin is anything that is not Holy. The Bible teaches us that man is naturally sinful and left to himself or herself would naturally tend towards selfishness and in short rebel against God

The idea of Grace and mercy comes when that punishment with which we were suppose to receive was meted out upon His Son; Jesus Christ. That is why in the Bible it says that; Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for all our sin.

The best analogy to this is if now somebody; like Kartika’s father would come and say punish me instead and let Kartika be forgiven of her sins – this is where Justice is fulfilled through Grace and Mercy.

Najib's recent liberalisation of the financial sectors and the rolling back of Affirmative Actions have found himself in the bad books of the grand old man of politics; Mahathir Mohammad. Mahathir in his blog said that after 39 years of NEP (affirmative action policies for the majority malay population) malay share of corporate pie remained at 20% while chinese was at 50%. Bumiputera property holdings are only at 15% while the rest are held by Non-Bumiputeras.

At first glance, I would dispute those figures for it is hard to believe that of all the shareholdings of Public Listed Companies held by Bumiputera's cannot account for 20% of total equities? I believe there was some questions raised as to how thsese figures were achieved which led to the resignation of Dr Lim Teck Ghee when he did a study a few years back.

However, my contention is that Dr Mahathir once again is sowing seed of dissension and suspicion instead of building bridges of unity. The BN under his watch was infamous for "dividing and ruling". His statement is irresponsible and his analysis of the situation dangerously simple. If after 39 years of the NEP, the economic pie of the Bumiputera still only hovers at 20% and the Property holding at 15%, then there is possibly two reasons:
1) That Mahathir's book "The malay dilemma" is true and that malays as he says it are LAZY, FATTENED by an abundance of food under the tropical sun..
2) That the NEP has been ineffective and abused.

I say that point number one is totally untrue for it is proven that there are very bright malays and many who have become outstanding entrepreneurs in their own right. If given the right environment the malays can succeed with hard work like every other race.
How any malay can accept his derogatory description of their own race is beyond me. He of all people a man of indian descent!!

That the NEP has failed and instead bred a generation of "Malay Dilemma" malays is perhaps nearer to the truth. A type of self-fulfilling prophecy. The NEP is not a total failure as there have been some who benefitted judging from the increase of middle class malays in the last 39 years. The problem with the affirmative action program under the BN rule, however, is that it has been tied to political affiliation (like every other government policy). Help and aid especially in the last 10 years, have gone to party faithfuls and UMNO warlords. This help and resources have not effectively trickled down to the rural poor malays. The poor shall remain poor and if NEP was to continue another 20 years, the figures will remain the same if not worsen. If the people is not changed, The NEP or whatever affirmative action program the government calls it will fail and the number of Zakaria mansions and Toyo properties will increase while the majority of rural malays remain poor.

Not opening up the market is living the life of a hermit in a coccoon and our neighbours like Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand will supercede us by 2020. Insisting on the 30% equity for public listed companies will only retard Malaysia's growth and KLSE. The way I see it Najib has little choice. However, liberalising without a clean up and change of guards may see greater abuse and deteriorating living standards for all especially the rural malays. BN will then wield their racial card when the pie gets smaller and this does not bode well for the future of Malaysia.

There has to be a change, if not 2012 then sooner.

Malaysiakini Letter - response to Dr.Hsu's column
Shareholders not Bosses.
I write in response to Dr Hsu’s letter. I understand your trend of thought and idea and in principle you are right. Those in public service serve the rakyat and govern the country for the good of the nation as a whole. They are like you said the General Managers or CEOs and we are the Board of Directors, the stakeholders. They are accountable to us the rakyat.

However, I caution against the use of the “boss” analogy simply because if you spend anytime on the ground, you will understand what the ADUNs go through. Members of the rakyat, truly act like bosses insisting on calling their ADUNs at all times of the day. They give instructions to do this and to do that and threaten like the ADUN’s owe them a big favour. You may say, thats part of the job and who in the first place ask them to run for office?

Let me tell you as one who who was involved in an opposition party prior to March 8th 2008. Let me remind the many what the sentiments were like. Whenever there was any call for support or anything to do with the opposition, most would run away like the opposition were lepers. Few were willing to sacrifice. Many lived in fear, tremndous fear.

There was blatant injustice then as there is now, corruption, daylight robbery from our coffers (remember Tun Daim and his cohorts) but as long as there were rice on the table, many closed an eye or even both eyes. The Judiciary and the Constitution was raped and abused as if the ends justify the means. Even the Royalty was snubbed. Many however were to afraid to speak up. The opposition workers were many who had nothing to lose. Either they were young and idealistic or old and poor and not much to lose from the BN gestapo. The leaders and public servants today are from this pool of people who joined the opposition parties then. They are the ones with guts, who are far sighted and visionary. They were prepared to face the consequences of BNs gestapo. Many are young and adapt well to the new politics.

So I hope that many will understand that these YBs serve the country and have sacrificed much. We are stakeholders and should support them rather than laud it over them. Malaysians are very good at complaining but when it comes to rolling up our sleeves we shy away. How will our young respect us when we are afraid to get our hands soiled? Stakeholders are involved and interested and work to ensure the CEO succeeds.

Was it not Kennedy who said “Ask not what your nation can do for you but rather what you can do for the nation.” And Bush senior who dream of the “Thousand points of light” in relation to volunteerism. It is time Malaysians show commitment by joining a political party and show outright open support for what they believe is right and true. Every decision made in Parliament and State Assemblies affects us and if we remain arm chair critics and finger pointing Directors than we will progress nowhere.

We appreciate those who work feverishly for the good of the rakyat because we are not willing to stand in the gap as they have done. We appreciate their day and night service as many have loss personal space and freedom. Having said this, we will kick out those who are self serving as we have seen many of these in the last 50 years. So, Dr Hsu, perhaps a better analogy is stakeholders in a company and not bosses.

Meng Yee

Following March 8th 2008, many party warlords within the Pakatan Rakyat began clamouring for positions within state and local municipals. Some for noble purposes. Many began asking the party leadership for “returns” after years of laboring; losing jobs and businesses as a result of supporting the Reformasi movement. It is no doubt that party loyals have sacrificed much having been in the opposition. There was a cost to supporting the Reformasi movement and during the Mahathir era, there was a bitter vindictiveness to anyone associated with Anwar Ibrahim.

VP Syed Husin in his closing speech at the PKR General Assembly spoke clearly against this notion of “payback”. The payback is that we now can do business in a level playing field where hopefully there is a more equitable judge of our efficiency and capabilities to deliver what is promised. Cronyism and graft in whatever form is wrong.
If we begin to do the “favours” for businesses and issue the contracts based on contacts and not merit at state and local municipal levels we fall into the same trap Barisan Nasional fell into. It becomes an unhealthy relationship between businesses and politicians. There is no stopping this vicious cycle. It is what has led to the illness of the Barisan Nasional and its eventual death.

There are lessons to be learnt in history. UMNO and the Barisan Nasional began to love the party more than King and Country. The end was party survival and the means was King and Country. Whoever could feed its perpetual grip on power was helped and that meant many businessmen were enriched. Many times to the loss of the rakyat for the sake of crony capitalism. Public funds were used to finance political gains and inevitably enriched both politicans and businessmen aligned to the ruling elite. As the greed increased, the size of the contracts increased.

Love is a funny thing. If you give it away you never know what comes back. If those in authority be it at Federal, state or local municipals serve the people uprightly and justly and hold fast to the principals of integrity; it will be inevitable that the rakyat will return the party to power. PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim coined the phrase “Kepedulian Rakyat” (Concern for the rakyat) before the last General elections as a basis for the party moving forward. It reaped a great reward.

I hope that the love for the party would not become a stumbling block for the party. We will always love King and Country more as the political party is only the means to the end; not the end in itself.

My entry to Malaysiakini voxpopuli
Recently Tengku Razaleigh has come out as the lone voice of wisdom from Barisan Nasional. Razaleigh said ‘the BN system has broken down because the negotiated power-sharing arrangement which held the coalition together since independence has stopped working.'The negotiated power-sharing arrangement which Tengku is referring to stopped working when Umno used May 13 as a‘fear tool'.

There is no more a belief that this power-sharing was for the good of the people. Much like Napolean, the pig in Animal Farm who started the revolt but later became a tyrant. Umno has become the Napolean of Malaysia today.May 13 was always used to keep the other animals in check. At every election after 1969, the ghost of May 13 would be raised by BN to haunt Malaysia. Te ethnic Chinese and Indians would then ‘behave' properly to return BN back to power year after year.What is Barisan Nasional without this fear tool? Their magic wand in the form of racial politics finally slid from their hands and they are exposed on March 8, 2008.

In their nakedness, the people saw them for what they were.The emperor may still hold the power, but the people have lost respect for without the coverings, corruption, deceit and desperation are exposed.A unity government may bring back the shadows of racism which we exorcised on March 8. What we need is a new federal government who will concentrate on the economy and on other issues which have been long neglected like education, the infrastructure and controlled development.

Selangor has attained the highest foreign investment in over nine years even during a recession. How much more we could have prospered if the federal government itself was under the hands of a people-friendly government.

In March 2008, when the Sultan of Terengganu and Agong of Malaysia insisted that Idris Jusoh not be made MB of Terengganu...there were some name calling. There was no "mohon derhaka" but UMNO supporters gathered at the palace gates and held up a banner that read:
"We want Idris, Animal"

Malaysiakini -- My recent letter to editor.
Dear Tengku,
Your analysis of the situation in Perak and your unbiased statements establishes your character and your mark as a man of principle and integrity. It is unfortunate that history did not find a place for you as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia.

Your consistent call for integrity and fair play has landed on deaf ears not because your message is irrelevant but because the political party which you once knew is no more. It remains a shell devoid of any honour and pride.

There is only a beast hungry for money, power and positions. To Umno the ends justify the means. There is no turning back for Umno and it is impossible for it to change. Those who are in leadership and want to stay in leadership cannot change those who supply the money. Its an evil courtship between politicians, businessmen and government.

Tengku, for the sake of Malaysia and her people the most effective way for you to turn the tide of degeneration in Malaysia is to throw your support behind Pakatan Rakyat.
It is not ideal but it is built on good intentions and honourable goals. Goals which you in your writings reflect. It was you, dear Tengku, according to historians who brought Anwar Ibrahim into Umno.

If you could not have the chance to be prime minister although you were the legitimate winner then, now help the one whom you brought in decades ago. Your support for Pakatan Rakyat will be much more valued then in the failing Barisan Nasional which has already sidelined you.

Help us young people fulfill our dreams for a better Malaysia.

The ground is shaking in Malaysia and its NOT caused by the financial crisis. In fact Malaysia maybe the only country in the world who is unscathed by the crisis (according to DPM). Something really STINKY is surfacing from within UMNO and the ruling party. ...its the smell of death and rotting flesh.

Apparently Najib is moving into position as the next Prime Minister of Malaysia and in his haste is already removing Badawi's men by way of corruption charges and prosecution.

Pak Lah's men is not going to sit quietly and hence the rabbit hopping has begun. The opposition stands to gain! In fact the latest news that Sirul, one of the accused in the Altantuya murder has testified that he was merely a scapegoat for somepersons maybe a reminder of the noose that still hangs around a certain individual.
This individual to me is a National Security Threat! Imagine if a foreign government for example Singapore were to get information with regards to one of the skeletons in this future leader's closet and use it as a bargaining tool; will Malaysia not be compromised??!

I will once again be at the edge of my seat watching events unfold and this once mighty and arrogant political party unravel itself into irrelevance.

On Wednesday as I was returning from a CNY house visitation, we passed A. Kugan's funeral procession. Deepest condolences to the family of A. Kugan who has become yet another statistic in the string of deaths in police custody.

A. Kugan died of "Sudden death"....with fluid in his lungs. He had bruises on his body. It is believed he may have been tortured before his death. Investigations are ongoing and we shall await the truth. In Malaysia, as we know, justice is an illusive mirage.

What has shocked the nation is yet another stupid and insensitive statement blurted out by the now infamous Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar. (It is clear now, why Malaysia lost Pedra Bianca to the Singaporeans since he was foreign minister at that time) He said " The people should not regard criminals as heroes and the police who enforce the law as demons."

1) He has assumed A. Kugan to be guilty. Even the police at that point could not confirm his guilt
2) We are talking about police brutality and its not one case but a consistent pattern
3) If we shouldn't regard criminals as heroes, then why do you ask us to accept BN leaders;

Only one thing honourbale for you to do; Hamid....resign while you still have an ounce of dignity.

The Perfect storm which swept Malaysia in March 2008 may soon unwind. Pakatan Rakyat may lose their opportunity to form the next government and to end 51 years of BN rule. Assuming Pakatan Rakyat waits till the next General Elections in 2012, the elements which helped the opposition gain ground may be reversed.

In 2012, the world economy would be just turning around, trouble causers will be in jail and controversial cases like the murder of the innocent Mongolian girl and commission at the defence ministry will all be buried long before 2012. There may not be a vocl critic like Mahathir and the democratic space will be greatly curbed. The general public will return to their busy life of making money, too afraid to rock their rice boat. The BN race parties will continue to play each race against the other.

Scary thought.
Carpe diem!

In American Football, the losing team is within reach of the end zone and the clock is ticking down. The team waits for the last 2 minutes known as the “2 Minute warning”. The Quarterback throws deep into the end zone hoping his wide receivers will catch the ball and score a final touchdown without anytime left for the opponent to come back. This is known as throwing a “Hail Mary.”

Pak Lah is in his final 2 minutes of the game. Will he have the tenacity to fight like a wounded tiger? Pak Lah, I hope you are reading this. You can leave office with your head down and tail between your legs or you can go with a legacy and guns blazing. For your name and for the country this is what you should do:

1) Insist that the trial of the decade be completed by December. Expose whoever was behind the murder of Altantuya and bring justice for the family of the deceased. Whoever it maybe even if it includes any VVIP.
2) Unleash the ACA fully and give them the green light to bring to book any corruption involving the Defence Ministry and the Ministry of Trade and Industry in the last 5 years. Prosecute those who have plundered and robbed from the citizens.
3) Reshuffle your cabinet and bring back Zaid Ibrahim. Remove all those who challenged your Presidency. Give Zaid Ibrahim a free hand in reforming the judiciary
4) Revisit and call for a Royal Inquiry into the 1988 judicial crises and prosecute those who have wronged the nation.
5) Investigate and prosecute all those involved in Project “M” where illegal immigrants flooded Sabah and were given Malaysian IC
6) Repeal the ISA and free all ISA detainees or bring to court those who are truly criminals.
7) Implement the IPCMC at the Royal Malaysian Police

Pak Lah must be firm to complete these reforms. He must carry it out swiftly and quickly. Do not even hesitate for a minute. It must all be completed or at least half way there by December 2008. Listen to nobody and each day focus on these reforms. You will be the best Prime Minister Malaysia has ever seen yet,. if you are courageous enough to complete these task. For all you know, you may lengthen your days as Prime Minister. Good luck.

Honestly; the world is literally at the door step of a financial meltdown with eyes on Washington and what they will do. At home; UMNO huddles not to discuss financial battle plans and how to shield ourselves from an impending crises but to chatter about how to remove their President and Prime Minister of Malaysia. These pictures taken today speaks volumes about who, in my mind is the more competent leader to take Malaysia forward and through this looming crises.

Letter to the Editor, Malaysiakini (unedited version):
The night YB Teresa Kok was arrested, I was with some friends having teh tarik. One friend commented; "whats happening to Malaysia?" Another friend replied; "The same thing thats been happening the last 20 years."

The difference is that the "new rakyat" have now a renewed sense of power and hope. By "new rakyat" I mean a young generation of Malaysians born a few years before 1969 and after, who are not scarred by the May 13 riots and have no first hand recollection of how bad it was. These are the ones, perhaps 45 years and below who stood up on March 8th 2008 to make a difference. On March 9th, many of their elders were afraid to leave their homes for fear of a race riot - but to the relief of all nothing happened.

Tengku Razaleigh in his description of the state of Malaysia and in his defence of the political party he had served all his life, today said; "Malaysians faced a dangerous situation where the rule of law was uncertain and the constitution was not being upheld." The truth is, Malaysians in the last 20 years have been facing a dangerous situation with the constitution being amended at the whims and fancies of a crazed, racist despot. Mahathir's sad description of the Parliament - "a mere rubberstamp". As a result of the BN government control of Parliament; our constitution in 51 years of history has been amended 42 times with a total of 650 amendments (more than one amendment at each time). The United States of America with over 200 years of history has amended the constitution a mere 27 times. Tell me when was the constitution never under any threat?

The BN's continued use of ISA shows a disregard for the rule of law. Since 1957, the BN government has detained 3,200 Malaysians under the ISA. Among victims of the ISA are opposition leaders; Lim Kit Siang, Anwar Ibrahim, Tian Chua and many activists who can hardly be considered a threat to "National Security". Unless "National security" is synonymous to "Barisan Nasional". There are now a total of 120 detainees who are languishing under the ISA.

The BN's constant reminder of May 13 1969 and the use of racial segregation to justify the existence of race based parties like UMNO, MCA and MIC are a stumbling block to a trully united Malaysia. BN's formula worked on the notion that only a malay can look after the interest of a malay and similarly a chinese for the chinese etc. As such each political party within BN worked in opposite directions fighting for the rights of their individual race. This rarely worked towards the good of Malaysia as a whole.

So after reading Tengku Razaleigh's desperate plea as a result of his observation of a nation under crisis; I must say that what we see today is the fruit of a callous generation of Malaysians who allowed UMNO and the BN to rule for 51 years without challenge and accountability. The last 20 years especially under a despot who would stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. Tengku Razaleigh will not disagree with me; him being a victim of injustice many times before.

In conclusion, ethics or morality aside; 51 years is too long and after 20 years of abusing the constitution and the various institutions of government that provide checks and balance I for one cannot wait to see a change in government.

Sent to http://www.malaysiakini.com/ 24th Sept 2008

Press statement in full:


Today Pakatan Rakyat leaders have submitted a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to call an emergency session of Parliament to deliberate a motion of censure against the leadership of YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi no later than Tuesday 23 September 2008.
This is in accordance with Order 11(3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament and warrants an immediate response given the gravity of today’s political impasse. A delay in his response would be interpreted as nothing short of a further sabotage of the democratic process and abuse of Executive Power.
The Prime Minister’s haggling on the syntax of our first letter is puerile at best. The intent of our meeting as described in that letter was clearly to discuss the future course of the nation’s leadership – though in deference to his position and in accordance with acceptable norms we remain considerate and polite in our approach.
I find the Prime Minister’s comment about me in his press conference yesterday to be reckless and irresponsible in light of the disastrous outcome of last Friday’s ISA raids.
He has conflated what is essentially an issue of democracy, freedom and the rule of law with national security. The use of the ISA to harass and detain duly elected political opponents is a grave transgression of the law and its continued use would further erode confidence in the current government and exacerbate political instability.
As the incumbent Prime Minister actively holding office and exercising all Executive powers, and as the outgoing Finance Minister, we hold him fully accountable for the current political turmoil and mismanagement of the nation’s economy. His accusation that I have had an adverse impact on the nation’s economy is entirely without basis.
I have met with the key fund managers in the region, representing over USD 1 trillion in assets, and on multiple occasions they were unanimously in support of comprehensive reforms in Malaysia including judicial independence, a free media, a more professional police force and anti-corruption agency, investor friendly laws and assurances on the non-interference of politicians in the governance of Bank Negara. These are policies Pakatan Rakyat has promised to implement– and initiatives that the current administration has done virtually nothing to advance since March 8th.
ANWAR IBRAHIM
Leader of Opposition
De-facto leader, Keadilan

Watch live video from anwaribrahim on Justin.tv

Lets hunker down and remain calm...

If we read the constitution, we'll understand what Anwar's plans are....

Here's a note from a friend I received this morning:

I'd like to encourage everyone to stay calm and hopeful. There is a process that is required for the change of government in mid term and the agenda as laid out by Anwar Ibrahim is compliant to the procedure.
To put it simply .. if Anwar has the numbers he just needs to advise the Speaker of the House and the PM and seek an audience with the Agung. The Agung then notifies the Speaker to undertake a head count of members for and against the Government and the PM either survives the motion or a new PM and cabinet is elected.
He has done the first bit, ie. advice the Prime Minister and now we're waiting on the second half of the process.

This is a perfectly legal process which is provided for in Article 43 (4) of the Federal Constitution:
"If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet."

This is probably the most prudent way at the moment to avoid any unrest or excuse to create any.
There will be rumours going around over the next few days and my advice would just be to sit tight and wait it out. Some of us have been waiting for this day for more than a decade, and some like Syed Husin Ali, since 1959!. So a few more days or weeks wouldn't really hurt.
Salam Reformasi

BN is rather quiet on the ground. Their pondok's are quiet and they are not seen around much. Unlike Ijok where the whole national machinery converged on Ijok, it is very quiet. We are unsure if there is something else up their sleeve or is it just that there is a lack of interestwith the BN component parties. Whatever it is, we are working hard to prepare for Tuesday! PACA and Pondok panas.

Whatever it is, we are all hopeful that Anwar will be sitting in front of Badawi in Parlimen on Friday when he reads his budget speech.

We had a short time to do our pilgrimage to Galeri Pejuangan and to Anwar's family house this afternoon. Did the touristy thing.

Carnival like atmosphere Jalan Baru, Seberang Jaya!!
20,000 at least. Heavy drizzle

In 1998, Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy accuser named a place and time of the alleged sodomy offence; a place and time which did not even exist at that time. The building was not even completed and still under construction. The accuser; Azizan retracted his earlier statement and changed his report several times. During the trial, he even commented that he was never sodomised. Sukma Dermawaan and Munawar Anees were the other two who had later written affidavits of their forced confession under police custody. These were the 3 men the Police produced to nail Anwar.

However in the end as we all know, the judiciary, the police, the PMs Department and vitually every government machinery was used to secure an arrest, convict and sentence Anwar to 6 years incarceration.

This very same episode is now happening. An accuser who is incommunicado and whose family makes statements through lawyers, a police report which Anwar and his lawyers have never seen, however Khairy (the PM’s son-in law) who has nothing to do with the case, supposedly, has seen the police report. Anwar and his lawyers have no clue as to when the alleged sodomy took place. We suppose the police would like to have Anwar’s complete diary together with the DNA samples as a noose to hang himself with.

Notwithstanding that the accuser has met the DPM twice before this allegation. Once to supposedly ask for a scholarship eventhough he is a University dropout and the second time to say that he was sodomised. The DPM held his hands and comforted him.

The Prime Minister, the home affairs minister, and several other leaders are all urging Anwar to give the police the noose.

All this surfacing just days before Anwar was to announce his bid for a by-election and the defection of a few BN top guns.

Do you smell a rat or what? In light of all this how are we Malaysians to belive the government and Royal Malaysian Police? Aiyoh, the economy is in shambles and they're so preoccupied with Anwar!! For goodness sake GOVERN!

http://sloone.wordpress.com/ posted this 2 photos comparing Statutory Declaration 1 and Statutory Declaration 2. The body language speaks for itself:

There is a beautiful kindergarten situated in USJ3C equipped with playground, a small tarred parking lot which would be a wonderful facility for the neighbourhood.

Unfortunately; its not for the public. The sign says "TASKA - Untuk kakitangan MPSJ Sahaja"
MPSJ is a very good employer to provide such facilities to their staff however, if they use public funds (from cukai pintu etc) then such facilities should be open to USJ residents as well.



For those who have no transport, the MPSJ children are fetched to this kindergarten using a beautiful tourist type MPSJ bus each morning.
This MPSJ Bus, whatever its for is definitely not for public use. Once again, something the residents of USJ cannot enjoy.


AUDITORIUM
I do not have a picture of the beautiful Auditorium inside the MPSJ building, but a recent call to MPSJ to book the auditorium for a non profit event was turned down. Once again, USJ residents who pay cukai pintu and all kinds of Municipal taxes are not able to enjoy such facilities.

I believe that we should encourage volunteerism and social work among residents in urban cities and such work should be supported by the local municipals. Thus whatever public resources available should be channeled to encourage, fund and promote these non profit work. It is not right that public funds are used exclusively for a certain group of people. While a case could be made for stewardship of such facilities and limiting its public use falling under that reason; these public facilities could limited for non profit or community building work in the Municipality.

I hope the new ADUN and the state government would look into issues such as this.

It was reported in www.Malaysiakini.com last week that "M'cca CM flamed over blog-post on pig farm". Today I overheard on RTM Propoganda news once again trying to play up this story again declaring that the malays in Selangor are angry at Pakatan Rakyat. It has been made public, however that an UMNO man, a MALAY UMNO MAN; if not clear I will say it again, Badawi's Islam Hadhari party and UMNO MAN; Karim Mansor; former state assemblyman of Tanjung Sepat approved the project.

Not only did he approve the project but, Karim Mansor made a trip to Germany to visit a PIG FARM already using this technology. He was standing in a Pig pan...something I (a Kafir) would not even do. Now he leads the state opposition party in a protest against this Centralised Pig Farm in Sepang. Now suddenly he is the good muslim inciting religous and racial sentiments.

Is this not typical BN style politics, the very politics we as in ALL MALAYSIANS (Malay, Chinese, Indians) voted out. We said enough of dividing us, enough of inciting racial sentiments; we love each other too much and we love Malaysia too much.

This Centralised Pig Farm is going to consolidate the many pig farms in the Klang Valley and Selangor into one location; using modern technology to ensure clean and hygenic disposal of waste and water. I thought it was a great idea and credit should go to the former Selangor government but since they deny any knowledge of it; well then GOOD JOB Tan Sri Khalid and gang!

On eve of political liberation, Anwar is in a forgiving mood
Terence Netto Apr 14, 08 11:59am
Malaysiakini
On the eve of his liberation from elective constraints, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim chose to ruminate on his predicament through the lens of Roman stoic philosopher Epictetus who warned that every human situation is like a vase with two handles. For instance, if you are the victim of some injustice, you can either grasp the handle of your victimisation or you can grasp the handle that looks behind the injustice to its causes and aim to remove them. “I see all my efforts since my release from prison as grasping the handle that looks to the factors behind my victimisation and the need to remove them,” he said in remarks to Malaysiakini during a pause in a hectic schedule as chairman-in-waiting of the newly formed Pakatan Rakyat, or People’s Alliance, the fledgling coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS that jointly holds 82 seats in Parliament and controls five state legislatures.

Tomorrow, the PKR leader is freed of a five-year ban that disqualified him from elective office following a conviction for corruption handed down on April 14, 1999. In opposition circles, the earlier date has come to acquire an aura of infamy, in the way perhaps June 4, 1989, the date of the Tiananmen Square massacre is to Chinese students, or similar episodes in recent history that are markers highlighting the beginning of a new epoch or new consciousness. The reformasi movement in Malaysia took its rise from Anwar’s travails in September 1998 and PKR, the political party it spawned, got its start in April 1999.

Anwar said he had no reason to pick at the scab of his recent past of six years in jail and expose the wound of his incarceration on what now increasingly seem trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy. “While it’s true that life must be understood backward, it must be lived forward,” said Anwar, quoting the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard. “I’ve no desire to dwell on the past to fault-find or fix the blame,” he continued. “Life is too short to be small.”

As an indication of his thinking, Anwar, who last week delivered the keynote address on the centenary of the birth of Hamka (below), the renowned Indonesian Islamic scholar, cited a quotation from Hamka with which he closed his speech at Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta: “The shifting sands of time render all things impermanent. Some will rise and some will fall. As for me, just as I have come, I too shall leave this worldly life which alternates between joy and grief… and even as I fall victim to my oppressors’ wrong, whose tyranny knows no bounds drunk as they are with power, they ought to know that they too will also fade into oblivion… as for those who have vilified me and sullied my name and my honour with their boundless hate and envy … this much I can offer them: to err is human, to forgive divine…”Hamka (1908-81), who was imprisoned by Sukarno on trumped-up charges of being a traitor to the country, forgave his nemesis and moved on to become one of the leading lights in the cultural and political reform movement of the region.

Nearing the end of his period of exclusion from elective office, Anwar, in quoting this passage, has shown his magnanimity of spirit, harbouring neither ill-will nor animosity towards his detractors and adversaries.

Najib was seen standing behind Pak Lah yesterday at the press conference with a target bull eye's on his batik, maybe subtly sending a message "SHOOT ME".



Pak Lah and Najib fighting the fiery darts from everywhere; from the opposition and from within his own party....its falling apart. Its crumbling. Years of arrogance, greed, corruption, cronyism...its all catching up with UMNO. Like the twin towers..ITS IMPLODING

The president claims that he was sabotaged...emmmmm it may turn out that he was the sabotager without him even realising it....yes minister!

Why MCA by comedy court - Too funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BBD-aRp9Jw

Online newsportal, Malaysiakini's Steven Gan called it the perfect storm wherein all the forces came together at the right time and the right moment. Mahathir said there were push factors and pull factors. Neverthless this 12th General Elections in Malaysia can easily be likened to Phlippines “people power”. This is evident especially after the results were announced when a majority of Malaysians were patting each other on the back and congratulating each other. Even the owner of the Dim Sum shop I frequent on Sunday mornings told me how elated he was.

The people’s anger arose mainly because of being hard pressed and their businesses affected either because of increase in prices or because of the difficulty in doing business due to corruption. There was the hindu aggravation leading to HINDRAF’s rally. The unhappiness over the electoral process culminating in BERSIH’s 50,000 march in Kuala Lumpur. A former Gerakan loyalist told me, he was so angry when he put his “X” on the ballot paper the pencil nib broke and his hands were shaking. This is just an example of the emotion felt by the rakyat.

In short notice, thousands all over Malaysia volunteered as polling agents and counting agents for the opposition groups. Thousands of ringgit flowed into their coffers and suddenly it became clear change was not too far off.

External factors were the global slowdown and inflationary pressures due to escalating oil prices and global stock market turning bearish. The grand old man Mahathir could also be considered an external factor since he remained a thorn in the side of Pak Lah. Months before the GE, the Lingam case exploded which did not impress the public at all.

Internal push factors is of course the flip flop Prime Minister who does little to promote Malaysia in the international arena. His gaffs, his sleeping habits and his overall lack of leadership skills was bare for all to see. It was a major disappointment after 2004 when he retained many of the “expired” ministers from the Mahathir era.
There was also a sign of internal squabbling in the various components of BN leading to one senior minister being caught in a sensational sex scandal.

All these factors led to…..the perfect storm.

It would be good for the opposition if Pak Lah continues to stay as then winning over the Federal government would be much easier. Whatever brilliant ideas he has, he would have used it and we would have seen it.

5 states in opposition hands : Penang, Kedah, Kelantan Perak and Selangor
82 seats in Parliament : 23 seats PAS. 28 seats DAP and 31 seats PKR
No longer can race be used as an issue - I hope we are on the way to burying race based politics forever!

A New Dawn for Malaysia -

My fellow Malaysians,

Today at the ballot box, you listened to your heart with the firm conviction that the time for change has arrived.
The people of Malaysia have spoken. This is a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation’s history.
Today a new chapter has opened. The people have voted decisively for a new era where the government must be truly inclusive and recognize that all Malaysians, regardless of race, culture and religion are a nation of one.
The people have expressed in no uncertain terms that they want accountability, transparency and the rule of law.
Today unity, consensus, and mutual respect triumphed.
Tomorrow, we start working to build a brighter future, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder. This is a new dawn for Malaysia.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

At 11;45 pm - Penang and Kedah is confirmed to have fallen into opposition hands. Perlis and terengganu hangs in the balance.

Samy and Zam, 2 ministers who have passed their useful shelf life is gone and for Samy this is his Birthday present from the Rakyat!!

I am especially happy for Nik Nazmi, Guoben and Hannah in Kelana. Well done guys!!

Bersih slams Najib's jet campaign trips
Azreen Madzlan Mar 7, 08 12:36pm ,
Malaysiakini
Polls reform group Bersih has criticised Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak for making use of a government Fokker executive jet during the campaign period.
Last Tuesday, New Straits Times featured a photograph of Najib taking a nap with her daughter in the plane while on the way to campaign in Kelantan.
Bersih committee member and PKR candidate for the Batu parliamentary seat Tian Chua said it is illegal for Najib to use the jet for campaigning because the Fokker belongs to the government.

This is the kind of arrogance that the Rakyat are fed up with. Bad enough using government facilities for political purpose, but during the campaign period just shows a total disrespect for the EC, for the election process and the rakyat.

Nicely cuddling in with his daughter on a jet on UMNO business is hardly acceptable. I hope the people of Kelantan and the whole Malaysia rise up against this kind of arrogance.

It is this man who tells the rakyat to "change our lifestyle." Obviously he has lost touch with the rakyat's plight and pain. Very sad indeed that such a man can become a leader of the malay people and of Malaysia. If this is the future of Malaysia then we are to be in mourning now.

My first Ceramah at Kelana Glomac...for a friend:

Nik Nazmi.
http://www.niknazmi.com/wordpress/




He's one of the good guys! He's humble, smart and hard working.







"Come out on March 8th and VOTE for Nik Nazmi and for Malaysia's future!"

A rocket for all Malaysians not just one Malaysian! Well said Hannah:

Hannah Yeoh for Subang Jaya: Let's hop onto the right bus....

Have gone to 2 ceramah's this week and I think I've fulfilled my quota for this week. On a weekday it gets quite tiring....especially after the DAP Ceramah with Hannah Yeoh and Guoburne Loh I suddenly feel very old :< - I think it is really good that we have an opportunity to vote some young blood with energy and restlesness.

One thing I am more convince off is that we need to see an end to race based politics. Communal politics - using race issues to incite or create negative emotions between the races. According to Lee Wah Beng MCA Kelana candidate; a multi racial setting will always have a majority malay representation. Therefore we need MCA (him) to represent and voice the needs of the chinese people.

Firtsly the MCA has been doing a lousy job if that is the rationale for its existence. It is subservient to UMNO and very carefully threads on issues which may deem sensitive. Loh Seng Kok found himself cut off when he raised issues that were "sensitive".

Secondly; Lee Wah Beng's premise is that a malay will never look after chinese interest and a chinese will never look after malay interest. This maybe true for the BN leaders, but I would like to think that as our dark side as Malaysians.

Thridly; We spent so much energy and time working fighting for "the struggle" in each of the communal parties. UMNO's struggle, MCA's struggle etc. We forget that there is a Malaysian agenda and that we are slipping economically. Who then looks after Malaysia as a whole?

50 years of thinking this way is certainly not going to be easy to change. However we need to start somewhere and I think that somewhere is in our young leaders. Idealistic and naive as they may seem; they come with little baggage and their voices in government will be a fresh perspective on the future of Malaysia.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat has publicly stated that they will work towards an end to racial politics and DAP has consistently called for the Bangsa Malaysia concept.

Anwar Ibrahim has a message and you can find it here:

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-8665011592312376468&hl=en

The wonders of the internet, this is made available to all at anytime you want.

I cannot imagine a Malaysia that is free of racial politics but I can celebrate when that day comes!! We can take on the world and be among the most progressive and competitive country when we cease to play petty little racial politics.


Anwar vows to dismantle racial politics
Feb 26, 08 7:19pm, Malaysiakini

Opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim has vowed to end race-based discrimination policies in Malaysia, making it one of the major planks of his party's manifesto ahead of March 8 polls.
Anwar, who was deputy prime minister until being sacked and jailed in 1998, said long-running policies favouring majority Malays had only benefited cronies of the ruling Umno.
"The New Economic Policy has been abused to enrich the family of Umno leaders and their cronies," said Anwar who is campaigning for the PKR formally led by his wife.
"If you really want to deal with the issue of poverty, why can't we just say we have an affirmative action policy helping the poor and the marginalised. It should not be racially based."
Malaysia has pursued an affirmative action program for Malays and indigenous groups known as bumiputeras since the 1970s to close a wealth gap with the minority Chinese community.
However, it has been criticised for failing to pull a large number of Muslim Malays out of poverty, and of ignoring the minority ethnic Indian community, which is also disadvantaged.

Battling rising inflation
The manifesto entitled 'A New Dawn for Malaysia', centred on battling rising inflation, which has triggered public anger and rare public protests as the prices of food and fuel edge higher.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said the government cannot afford to continue spending RM43.4 billion annually to subsidise essential items.Anwar said Abdullah was "in denial" over the state of the economy.
"PKR promises to lower the price of petrol ... as well as manage the prices of basic goods to ensure a consistent supply. Tolls and tariffs will also no longer be raised," he said.

Was at SS 19 last night to listen to the Keadilan candidate GwoBurne Loh and DAP's Hannah Yeoh. Anwar Ibrahim arrived at 5 minutes to midnight. It was worth the wait. Anwar gave a passionate speech that had his 2000 + listeners leave feeling that the country needs change as it is going down hill. As I talked to people leaving they said, discontent is everywhere and many agreed change is what we need.

A good thing is a year ago many could not even understand that there is a difference between the government and the poltical party, the BN. They could not imagine another government except the one we have. Today, we talk about the BN being in the opposition....afterall is that not what emocracy is really about? Real choices for the people!

PKR manifesto: 'New dawn for M'sia'
Feb 26, 08 3:44pm, Malaysiakini

Opposition PKR today unveiled its election manifesto for the 12th general election with the slogan a 'new dawn for Malaysia'.

If elected into power, the party promises:

1) A constitutional state for all - upholding unity, integrity and human rights
2) A vibrant, prosperous economy for all - equitable distribution for better competitiveness
3) A safer Malaysia for all - a cleaner police force for safer streets
4) An affordable Malaysia for all - better control of prices for petrol and basic goods
5) Better education for all - universal access to higher quality education

Tonight February 26 2008
No. 135, SS19/6, Subang Jaya
Official time : 9pm but if you wanna catch Anwar...its probably a bit later as he has 4 stops to make in Kelana.

The "forgotten" ANWAR IBRAHIM is speaking tonight in Subang!
He has been deemed irrelevent ever since 1998, but yet remains a thorn in the side of the establishment.

It won'tbe covered by mainstream newspapers - perhaps Malaysiakini will cover it?? Malaysiakini afterall is reporting only "the news that matters."

Tonight, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be introducing our very own local boy for Seri Setia and fellow La Sallian; Sdr Nik Nazmi and for Parliament; GuoBurneLoh made famous by the Lingam case.

If you are around the area and a fellow Subang-ite...come hear Datuk seri and meet the candidates.

PM BAdawi yesterday said Parliament won't be dissolved tommorrow. Then in the afternoon on the next day he decides to dissolve parliament. 5 possible reasons for his flip flop decision:
1) He is a liar and makes empty promises
2) He doesn't know his plans from day to day and makes decisions on the move
3) He received urgent news which caused him to change his mind over night
4) He received inspirition last night which caused him to change his mind
5) He was misquoted

Whatever it is this PM loves to go back on his words...flip flop, u turns and all stcitches..


Parliament won’t be dissolved today, says PM - report : The STAR

BANGI: Parliament will not be dissolved today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi put an end to such speculation, telling reporters here yesterday: “Esok tak ada (No, it won’t be tomorrow)”.

He also denied that today’s Cabinet meeting would be the last with his present team of ministers before Parliament is dissolved to pave the way for the next general election.

“What makes you think that? How do you know it’s going to be the last Cabinet meeting (before elections are called)?” he asked when responding to a question.

Asked if there would be more Cabinet meetings with the present team, Abdullah said: “Yes, there will be more.”

The Cabinet meets every Wednesday. The Prime Minister’s comments yesterday means it is still a guessing game as to when the polls would be called.

Abdullah, who is Barisan Nasional chairman, also said there would be no compromise in picking only clean candidates.

“In the last elections (2004), there were some people who were potential candidates, but they were being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). Their files were with the ACA, so I did not choose them,” he said.

Thak goodness CNY celebration last for 15 days....perfect for procrastinators...

Tis the season of "spin" and we need to discern truth and propoganda. Here is an example as highlighted by blogger Jeff Ooi at http://www.jeffooi.com/

Your per capita income up 40%, now at RM22,345? 5:37pm, February 9.

I immediately connected with Tony Pua, DAP Sec-Gen's Economic Advisor, moments after the Star SMS Alert reached me.Bank Negara's rogue forex speculator, now Second Finance Minister, Nor Mohamed Yakcop was quoted as saying in Penang that Malaysia's per capita income rose by 40% in 2007 compared with 2004.

He said that per capita income was now RM22,345 compared with RM15,819 previously.

In other words, Nor Mohamed was implying that Malaysians from all walks of life are better off now than four years ago, when Abdullah took over from Mahathir.
Tony has this response:

Nor Mohamed Yakcop must either be completely out of his mind, or can no longer perform simple Mathematics or worse, attempting to insult the intelligence of ordinary Malaysians.

Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.0%, 5.9% and an estimated 6.0% in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively according to the Government's official statistics. (Source available here)
Based on the above growth rates over the past 3 years, Malaysia's GDP grew by approximately 17.9% from 2004 to 2007.
Income or GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the GDP with the total population. Therefore, it is completely inconceivable that our per capita income increased by 40% when our GDP grew by only 17.9%. Unless of course, the honourable Minister believes that our population shrunk by some 16%!
To achieve 40% growth, Malaysia must be growing in excess of 12% per annum. Hence, to grow by 40% over 3 years, with a population growing at just under 2% per annum, that will actually make Malaysia the fastest growing economy in Asia, outstripping even China and India.
The Second Finance Minister should refrain from getting intoxicated by the general election fever, in the attempts to paint a heavenly picture of the Malaysian economy. He must instead make an official public apology for his outrageous claims.

This set of conditions taken out of the Economic Planning Unit's (EPU) Foreign Investment Committee. In other words this is the document meant in providing guidelines for foreigners who wish to invest in Malaysia. If you had a million ringgit would you put it in Malaysia given these "guidelines"....
Equity Conditions
13.1 Companies which do not have any Bumiputera equity or having less than
30% Bumiputera equity, are required to have or to increase the
Bumiputera equity to at least 30%. The remaining equity shareholding
can be held either by local interest, foreign interest or by both;

13.2 Companies with Bumiputera equity shareholding of 30% or more, but
less than 51% are required to maintain at least 30% Bumiputera equity at
all times;

13.3 Companies which already have Bumiputera equity shareholding of 51%
or more, will be required to maintain at least 51% Bumiputera equity at all
times;

13.4 The requirement of at least 30% Bumiputera equity participation will be
applied uniformly except if expressly stated otherwise by the
Government; guidelines:

Go to:
http://www.epu.jpm.my/new%20folder/fic/GP_Properties.pdf

How attractive......emmmm

Upon greater investigation of the NEP, I must say that its goals are pretty nobel but I cannot see how it is to be fulfilled given the current trajectory it is in. It does speak volumes for the wisdom of our earlier leaders.
I put here an excerpt of the NEP goals taken from the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister's Dept.:

The NEP underscored the importance of achieving socio-economic goals alongside pursuing economic growth objectives as a way of creating harmony and unity in a nation with many ethnic and religious groups. The overriding goal was national unity. To achieve this goal, two major strategies were adopted:
1) To reduce absolute poverty irrespective of race through raising income levels and increasing employment opportunities for all Malaysians; and
2) To restructure society to correct economic imbalances so as to reduce and eventually eliminate the identification of race with economic function.

How did we get so far off tangent??
Emmmm.....

It is very obvious to many that we are losing competitiveness because of NEP. In the area of education and economics. We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we persist. Anwar Ibrahim reiterates here "NEP is OBSOLETE." Unfortunately asking for an end to such policies is like asking an end to the political party who started it...

AFP Malaysiakini,Jan 24, 08 3:08pm

A leading opposition figures today said the country was losing out economically to regional rivals because of long-running policies favouring ethnic Malays.Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia's ability to attract foreign investment had been compromised by keeping the country's affirmative action policies in favour of the Malay majority."That policy is obsolete... We are losing our competitiveness. Malaysia is less competitive than the 1990s," Anwar, whose PKR party is formally led by his wife, told reporters in Hong Kong."Foreign investments, we have lost. Growth, we have lost. Attractiveness, which is key to an emerging market, is lost."Not to China and India, but to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia because of our obsolete policies. If you persist in pursuing this agenda, you do it not only at the expense of the Chinese and the Indians, but also of the Malays."Malaysia has pursued the policies for Malays and indigenous groups known as bumiputeras since the 1970s to close a wealth gap with the minority Chinese community.In recent months, the government has been shaken by rare public demonstrations which erupted last November, including against alleged discrimination against Malaysia's ethnic Indians.

Religious controversies

Anwar added that Malaysia's creeping "Islamisation" was also turning away foreign investors.Malaysia has experienced a string of religious controversies in recent months.A Catholic newspaper was banned from using the word "Allah", or "God", in its Malay language section, while a Hindu woman lost her bid to stop the conversion of her child to Islam after Malaysia's highest court ruled that her now-Muslim husband can convert their elder son.Anwar was sacked from the former government of Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and then jailed for six years following sodomy and corruption charges.The sodomy charge was later overturned and Anwar was released but he is barred from public office or holding any position with a political party until April because of the corruption conviction.insist on going down this path.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
Thomas Jefferson - Declaration of Independence

The foundation on which all [constitutions] are built is the natural equality of man, the denial of every preeminence but that annexed to legal office, and particularly the denial of a preeminence by birth.
Thomas Jefferson, April 16, 1784

The freedom and happiness of man...[are] the sole objects of all legitimate government.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Thaddeus Kosciusko, 1810


The founding fathers of America had a conviction, obviously derived from their Christian heritage and the Bible. This in turn influenced the writing of the Constitution and the crafting of the United States.

The understanding that no preeminence was to be given to anyone, especially out of birth right as each individual was created equal in the eyes of God. Not only equal, but each individual was special and therefore to be respected and accorded the same Rights as the other. Rights which they belive were endowed by God. Psalm 139:14 Each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made

If we are mortal beings, sharing the same fate, living in the same land, drinking the same water - should we not seize to give support to any political party who uses race and religion as a dividing factor and who gives priveleges to those who are born of a certain race; irregardless of their wealth and social status.

The Republican Party are setting their target on Obama after his successful stint at the caususes. This is what Republican candidate Huckabee had to say:

But there was also a sense that Mr. Obama had upended the race by using optimism and calls for change to draw support from first-time and independent voters. "We'd better be careful as a party, because if we don't give people something to be for, and only something to be against, we're going to lose that next election," said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

When I heard Obama on The Oprah Show in October last year, I thought this man is going far. He speaks with conviction and principles.

I presume in anything people are looking for hope. In Malaysia, apart from a corrupt and racist government, what can the people hope for? What can the opposition promise in terms of a brighter and better Malaysia?

This is what we have to make clear.

Their behavior is absolutely childish as can be seen in one photo of the MIC supporter.
Sad isn't it?

The people of Ijok was suppose to have an upgraded mosque allocated to them 10 years ago. They had to wait for the death of their assembly man before they can now see this become a reality. On Thursday, 12 April, the Selangor Chief Minister went to Kg Rantau Panjang, Ijok, to officiate a ground-breaking and ‘kiblat - determination’ ceremony of the RM 5 million Ubudiah Mosque at Taman Purnama.

What timing. After waiting 10 years, the Menteri Besar of Selangor finally found some time. He is a busy man indeed to have had such a long appointment list.

O and yes, the roads at Ijok are being re-paved. The dumpsite they long wanted closed was suddenly obliged. Why is it in Malaysia we need our representatives to die, and a by-election called before we receive any attention or see the much needed development?

Its difficult to move beyond race after 50 years of living with racial discrimination...
Susan Loone on her blog http://sloone.wordpress.com
said it well:

Why should race of candidate matter?
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 in

Malaysian blogsville is abuzz with news of the coming Ijok by-election. Though I am too far away to feel Ijok, I am rather annoyed at news reports about the situation. I don’t see why we should keep harping on the fact that Keadilan (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) had chosen a Malaysian Malay and not Malaysian Indian to run for the elections. When can we stop thinking along racial lines? And if newspapers want to be part of nation building, it should also stop reporting along such lines.

It reminded me so much about Lunas in 2000. I was there to cover the elections with journalists Zakiah Koya and Ng Boon Hooi. We were more interested in the blatant corruption that was going on and the evil use of phantom voters to secure votes than to bother that BN had chosen an Indian (Antonysamy) and PKR a Malay (Saifuddin Nasution) to contest in the by-election. The newspapers then, like now, went to town with the news that PKR had neglected the Indians by choosing a Malay candidate.

So a Malay cannot represent Chinese and Indians and a Chinese cannot represent Malays and Indians and an Indian cannot represent Chinese and Malays?
It’s disheartening to note that all we can come up with are arguments why an Indian should be chosen instead of a Malay or even Chinese. As you see, no problem there, coz even the DAP has decided to let it go because it’s not a Chinese hot seat. So, doesn’t it tell much about the DAP’s trend of thinking?
Is this what we want after 50 years of nation building?

To me, the Election Commission has much role to play in this sad state of affairs. Election after elections, the first thing it does, is present figures about the percentages of racial breakdown. Do we really need this? For me, I’d like to know how many live below poverty lines, how many are in need of a hospital or schools or even public transportation. Can we have these figures instead?
Political parties should be really choosing candidates who can negotiate, speak out and understand policy making, instead of those who are only apt at inciting racist sentiments. I hope we don’t immitate these jokers by giving them a spot in our blogs to fan their insidous and hopeless propaganda.

After 50 years of Merdeka, most Malaysians should know how to deal with people of other ethnic groups, cultures and religions. Which is why, I didn’t mind Parti Socialis Malaysia’s argument about the matter.

PSM said it believed that potential elected representatives must be a person who is concerned about the welfare of the working class and urban settlers.
Yes, Khalid Ibrahim, the PKR candidate was a former Guthrie CEO, but he has left his post. Yet he needs to answer, can he really understand the grassroots needs and represent the Ijok people? That is the crux of the matter. That is the answer we should all seek.
Else, what PKR is doing is nothing but giving its new knight a chance for training and publicity to prepare him for the coming general elections.

I think this letter in Malaysiakini today wraps up my very feelings about politics in Malaysia. Communal politics today is the cause of many of our woes but ow do we get out of this rut we've been in for the last 50 years? I have never met Umar Mukhtar, but every letter he has written makes sense...


You can’t defeat BN with communal politics
Umar MukhtarMar 29, 07 4:28pm


Wouldn't we like to know how the non-bumiputera voters really feel about the way they are treated? Or whether bumiputera voters really do not mind all the plundering done in their name? Will we ever find out in the Machap by-election as a precursor to the coming general elections? Manjit Bhatia chose to condemn the Malaysian lot to a hopeless political purgatory - that their true feelings will not be translated into votes because they will forever vote out of fear of civil unrest. LCH, on the hand, advised caution, but with defeatist undertones.

I beg to differ with Manjit, and I would urge LCH to change his elitist mindset. Many of us who are still in this country by choice or by default, do not have the luxury of armchair commenting our predicament, no matter how big the chip on our shoulders. We deal with the reality of our lives with hopes and efforts - until we get it right. That's how the Australians did it before Australia became the haven that it is now for Manjit.

As for Machap, chances are we will not get the answers to the questions I posed. Not because the voters are afraid, but because the voters are not presented with a coherent choice. And that, Manjit, is the fault of opposition leaders, not the man on the street. Machap is an example of where communal politics - the bane of our political existence - will be further perpetrated by the very opposition party that screams of a Malaysian Malaysia.

DAP will be rolled over by BN, but DAP does not care for as long it can appear as the champions of the Chinese. The racial divide gets more and more cemented. That is no way to build a country for our children. If DAP leaders choose to be a big fish in a small pond, they will remain so. The last time they tested the waters of a bigger pond, they scampered away because they couldn't get along with other big fish, proving exactly the very point of BN supremacy. It is not about niching in a fragmented arena. It is about working it out, no matter how impossible it seemed. We do not have the proportional representation system, and this is not likely in the near future. In our first-past-the-post system, BN thrives on the likes of DAP stalwarts. And DAP leaders keep banging their heads against the wall, whining constantly that the wall is in the way.

The challenge to overcome that wall can only be answered with a collective effort to expose communal politics for what it is, and not, like the DAP, perpetuating it. It is the life and soul of corrupt BN politics. Deprive them of it, and BN will die a natural death. So in mixed-constituency Machap, this time around, it's communal politics all over again.

The 38 percent Malay voters will not be voting DAP, for the same reasons as the Chinese not voting PAS, wishful thinking aside. A majority of the Malays will vote for BN because it is a Malay-led coalition. In such a situation, do they have a choice except abstain? The million-ringgit question that we all know the answer to is - will Chinese voters overwhelmingly support DAP? Therein lies the folly of DAP's mindless political struggle. In 2004, DAP got a total of 1,285 votes in an electorate where 4,518 Chinese votes were available. That is nothing short of pathetic, considering all of DAP's communal rhetoric. Why is that so? ....................................................................How will there ever be one if the opposition is too wrapped up in reactionary and divisive politics themselves – inadvertently giving credence to BN's communal posturing?

It is such a pity that multi-racial PKR is not contesting in Machap where in 1999 it had done better than the DAP in 2004. By PKR not contesting, the voters of Machap are deprived of an opportunity to at least peer beyond the wall and dare visualise a colour-blind Malaysia for their children. But PKR says it is too busy focusing on the Big One. In the words of the late John Lennon, "life happens when you are busy making other plans...".

Malaysia needs a strong opposition party with the prospect of being in government - this is to hold the government of the day accountable to the people. Every four years the people get to evaluate the government policies and vote accordingly. We must not be held hostage by threats of violence propogated by certain quarters.

Without accountability this is what you get:
http://thecicak.com/?p=102

MPs who have little brains but speak loudly. The government for the last 50 years have become arrogant and complacent to corruption and other social ills.

Herein lies the root of MONEY POLITICS. If Pak Lah and the BN component parties want to stop money politics; then consider stopping the community development fund allocation handed out by BN MPs.

Currently only BN MPs have an allocation of 2 million Ringgit to be disbursed (without any need for accountability or reporting) to whosoever they wish or who would get them reelected. This is wrong and immoral for 2 reasons:

1) It is public funds which should not be given only to BN MPs. By allocating it to BN MPs only, it means that it is political in nature. This is not party funds and therefore should be enjoyed by every tax paying Malaysians. The allocation of these funds is illegal and clearly meant for vote buying!!

2) There is no accountability for these funds and MPs have the sole discretion of disbursing these funds. Another leak in government funds and a lack transparency in the way these funds are disbursed.

It was unanimously agreed by our government’s MPs that for the sake of UNITY, there will be NO reporting of how these funds are disbursed. So dear rakyat, another slap in our faces; “Pay your taxes and don’t ask how we spent it!!!!”

The following excerpt from Amnesty International report 1999 on Malaysia....


On 29 September Anwar Ibrahim was brought to court after being in incommunicado detention for nine days. He showed visible signs of ill-treatment including a swollen eye and a bruised arm. (PM Mahathir said it was self inflicted!) He complained that after his arrest he was handcuffed and blindfolded and that the police then “beat him severely, causing serious injuries” until he “virtually passed out until the next morning”. He was not allowed to see a doctor until the fifth day of his detention.
Anwar Ibrahim lodged a formal complaint over beatings he received while in custody and the court granted a request for doctors to examine his injuries. A doctor who examined him on 29 September released a medical report stating that Anwar had been assaulted 'over the left forehead and neck and received blunt trauma that resulted in residual bruises over the left upper and lower eyelids...' .

After being transferred to Sungai Buloh prison on 14 November, Anwar was placed in solitary confinement and subsequently allowed weekly family visits and access to his lawyers.
In an affidavit submitted to his lawyers Dr. Munawar Anees also protested his handling by police - which constituted degrading treatment - while being held in incommunicado detention. After being arrested under the ISA on 14 October, Dr Anees was driven, blindfolded and handcuffed, to an unknown location. He stated he was made to strip, insulted and shaved bald and held for one day in a solitary confinement cell without bedding, in which the lights were left continuously. He was repeatedly blindfolded and handcuffed when taken from his cell to be interrogated which he described as “systematic humiliation... to the extent that I ended up... a shivering shell of a man willing to do anything to stop the destruction of my being”. (No it was not Guantanamo Prison under US care! )

As he was arrested Dr Anees had complained of chest pains. He was not taken to hospital until a day later and, after his trial and conviction, was transferred from Kajang jail to a hospital coronary rehabilitation ward where he was given access to lawyers and family members. While in the ward Dr Anees was reportedly verbally pressured by police officers not to appeal his sentence.
Sukma Darmawan, was detained under the Criminal Procedure Code for police investigation on 4 September and held incommunicado for 15 days. Amnesty International is gravely concerned at reports that Sukma may have suffered severe physical and psychological pressure and ill-treatment, including being stripped naked in a very cold room, beaten and threatened with indefinite detention under the ISA. After his trial and conviction, in an unexplained move, he was transferred from Kajang jail back to incommunicado detention at Bukit Aman federal police headquarters where he has been denied access to lawyers appointed by his family.

Note the many Human rights abuses....

A Story of TORTURE......................where?

96. Sometime during this interrogation the original four officers entered the room and joined this fifth officer. They
then took over the interrogation while the fifth officer left the room. The four reverted to the trend of the first two days. They warned me and then threatened me and abused me in turn. They threw questions at me but did not wait for answers. Each cut into the other's line of questioning and kept interrupting my train of thought. I was warned that I had been sacked from my jobs, that the US investigators had completed their work and were about to return with their recommendation that my green card and citizenship be revoked, that I still had time to co-operate to save myself and my family, that they would tell me how I could help the nation and myself. They kept on drumming into me that my perception of things was wrong, that I had forgotten, that I had to listen to them. The abuse centered around my penis, its length and size, human genitalia, vaginal and anal sex. They never stopped talking about sex, repeatedly stating that they had to fuck Anwar. They made me simulate anal sex by lying down on the floor. They instructed me to first `fuck' someone and then be `fucked' by someone. They asked me to groan and moan while I was doing it.

98. It became apparent that this routine and the haranguing was going to go on for ever. Truth and my denials were getting me nowhere. I was at the point of collapse and could not go on. I knew I had to play along with them.

99. The fifth officer took out a cigarette from a pack that was in his pocket and offered it to me. I was always given a cigarette from a black pack. The officers when they smoked always seemed to take cigarettes from other packs. The cigarette tasted unusual but good. Every time I smoked one of their cigarettes I felt strangely lightheaded and `woozy'.

100. He suggested that it was natural in Pakistan. I looked at him. He stared at me and then pointed at my anus. I was dead tired. I nodded my head. He smiled and said `good'. 102. At one point in their haranguing and their suggestions that I was a homosexual I asked if they knew biology and suggested a medical examination would confirm homosexuality. They ignored this and for a long time made me talk about the male and female sex organs. They wanted graphics and made me draw these, over and over. They talked incessantly about anal sex, giving me extensive biological details about the size and shape of the penis in relation to the male anus.

53. While this was going on I heard the door behind me being violently kicked open. I turned and saw a man walk in. The four behind the table stood up. The man who walked in was carrying a thick heavy file. He walked up to me and hit the back of my head with the file and then shouted at me that they knew everything and that there was no need for me to misguide them or to hide. He said that they knew everything I did with Anwar. When I tried to protest that I did nothing except help write speeches, this officer menacingly said " I am giving you 24 hours. Within that period come up with what we want or we will be very very nasty with you." He went on to say that his superiors wanted the information from me within 24 hours, that by tomorrow they must complete the matter. He then hit the back of my head again with his file, thumped the floor with his shoes, shouted `Hidup Malaysia', turned and left. The door was heavily slammed shut behind him.

More of the story here.....
http://cambridgecoalition.tripod.com/anees.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/REFORMASI/SHOCKING.html

This forced confession was not IRAQ but in our very own backyard. This is one story of inhumane treatment under Mahathir's Royal Malaysian Police back in the late 90's!!
Thus his PERDANA GLOBAL PEACE initiative as Param Cumarasamy said, is a farce. Its hypocrisy. There should be a trial and a royal commission held on all the abuse and crime against humanity in our very own country. Should we not clean up our backyard, before meddling with the world?

This takes the icing on the cake!!! Of all the absurd comments by Malaysia's Information Minister, this has gotta be the dumbest of them all.......what do you all think?

Government reasons that non-Malay models belittle local models
By Bardan Kippusamy
South China Morning Post

The Malaysian modelling and advertising industries are in shock after the government announced it was reviving a ban on the multiracial Asian faces that dominate billboards and magazines. Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said yesterday that models with so-called "pan-Asian" features were not representative of Malaysian demographics."Using pan-Asian faces means downgrading local faces," he said. "We have to give priority to models with local looks." Pan-Asians are popular in ethnically diverse Malaysia, where advertisers tend to use their neutral features to avoid alienating any customers.

A prime example is model and actress Maya Karim, 27, who is of Malay-Chinese-German parentage and is the latest poster girl for L'Oreal Malaysia.

A ban on pan-Asian faces is already in force at two government-owned television stations that cater mainly for majority Malays, who form 60 per cent of the population.The announcement on Sunday extended the ban to advertising carried by private television stations, the print media and billboards.The minister said the ban would eventually cover all media, but it was unclear when it would take effect.The ministry would have the power to decide on whether a model's features were appropriate, and be backed up by the weight of law. ....(They have the time???)

A similar ban was imposed in 1997, but the law was later shelved amid an outcry. Now, the government is again under pressure from cultural and religious purists who want to promote "local faces" in the media.The issue is often debated in Muslim publications and websites, where Eurasian models are criticised for dressing scantily, smoking and visiting night clubs.

Model Betty Ibtisam Benafe, 28, who is of Malay-Arabian-Javanese parentage, said the ruling would affect her work and income."We might end up jobless," she said. "The government should have an open mind ... we are also selling Malaysia to the world."Copywriter Alwin Tan said the ruling, if it took effect, would seriously damage the advertising industry, which was already held back by more than 30 different rules."We are a multicultural society and pan-Asian faces like Maya Karim are neither Malay, nor Chinese or Indian, but all of them put together," he said."We should celebrate diversity instead of banning it."Karim told Kosmo! magazine that the ruling was "confusing and unfair"."Our looks may differ but we are all Malaysians," she said.

Human rights lawyer Anuchuthan Sivanesan said the government should let the advertisement industry manage itself."Anyway, who is to decide whether a face is Malay or Chinese or pan-Asian," he said. "This is ridiculous."

Tonight I came within 10 feet of a gun shot!!! It started out a nice evening in Subang Parade, having a Japanese Sushi meal. All of a sudden there were gun shots ringing all over the shopping complex. The quick thinking restaurant manager, pulled the shutters and encouraged everyone to keep he heads down. It was a robbery, on Saturday night in the busy shopping complex in Subang Jaya!!!!

The robbers ran out the front exit and just kept shooting as they crossed the road towards Alliance bank. One of the shots hit the front glass window of the restaurant we were in. On the way out we were passed the goldsmith shops and saw 3 guards sprawled on the floor in front of the shop. A scene from a TV show!!! My family was a bit shaked, so we made our way to the basement and drove home quickly.

This is not good!! This is the type of violence we only hear about in neighbouring countries like Phillipines or Indonesia.....gunfights in a crowded shopping mall is not indication of a civil society with a certain sense of peace. Our city has been under threat from snatch thieves, robbers, car jackings and violent crimes. Something is terribly wrong with our country as law and order breaks down and the sense of peace we should get as citizens begin to evaporate.

The government MUST recognise the problem. Our policemen need higher salaries, modern equipment and greater discipline. We need to bring a certain amount of law and order back to our country and the government must put priority on this.

Time for holistic relook at education system - The Sun 31st January
A new education plan to improve primary school pupils' proficiency in English is about to be tried out as a year-long pilot project in 50 schools. It will see Mathematics and Science lessons, of which there are seven and three periods respectively, turned into English lessons.
The Mathematics and Science teachers will continue teaching their pupils but their focus this time will be to make their pupils more comfortable with English. Effectively it will mean year one pupils will now do 18 periods of English per week from their present eight.

Malaysiakini - 26th January Race but not racist parties - the way forward
Any realistic effort to improve race relations must be carried out through the ruling party and existing political framework, argues outspoken Umno MP Zaid Ibrahim.

The existing political framework of the BN is one of a coalition of race based parties. The UMNO representing the malays, MCA- the chinese and MIC -the indians. Each party seek to represent their own ethnic community and to enure that the needs of that community are met. Often each community seek to ensure that their rights are protected and that they obtain fair allocation of national funds for the development of their respective community. For example, to the chinese community; Chinese Schools and government allocation to these schools are important. To the malays and indians; other priorities.

The problem with this formula, is that each political party seeks the good of their own community which may not be good for the nation as a whole. There are many cases in point. Also, each politcial party, in order to survive and continue their relevance, fight for the rights of their respective races and THIS has been the cause of declining race relations in Malaysia. After 50 years of Independence and supposedly the "right formula" or "winning formula" ;why is it then that race relations have deteriorated? Why are there still "sensitive issues" deemed seditious and which we cannot talk about? Why do we still use words like"tolerate", "Ketuanan melayu" (lordship of malays), or "bangsa pendatang"(immigrant race) ? Is this the kind of unity we have been "struggling" for over the last 50 years? If it is, we have succeeded and yes, MP Zaid Ibrahim is right in saying that the BN is the "winning formula."

Suppose we put sentimental notions behind and dream for a second that another political framework exists in Malaysia. One that seeks to level the playing field for all Malaysians and the allocation of funds is not based on the color of your skin or the ethnic group you belong to but the level of economic standing in our society. For a change we have one General Assembly for the ruling political party where real issues facing the nation is discussed. The rakyat is able to gauge the ability of this political party to govern the nation from this singular event which is meant for the consumption of all Malaysians. (as opposed to 3 General assemblies now held behind closed doors) What is there to hide unless there are shameful things said.

This way, Malaysians can close ranks and 5 decades of division can be safely put behind us as we respect each others ethnic differences and focus on what we can contribute to the table rather than what we can take from it.

In a Parliamentary democracy which we inherited, there are clear divisions of government. The 3 main divisions intent on keeping law and order and to ensure that the law is respected irregardless of position in government are the Executive, the Judiciary and the House of lawmakers or Parliament.

In Malaysia, we have improvised the system by making the concept of separation of powers less and less clear. A single party system in government for the last 50 years and with almost half of those 50 years under the authoritarian leadership of Dr Mahathir have slowly but surely usurped the powers of the Parliament and Judiciary. Over the last 22 years, Dr Mahathir’s vision to achieve a developed nation status by 2020 have sought to remove whatever was in his way. Unfortunately whatever was in his way was often the system of checks and balance put in place to ensure accountability in government.

Today, we suffer its consequences. Leaders in government do as they please and a sense of anarchy and lack of rule of law exist. Dr Mahathir himself sees the indicipline and the problems which now exist but it was he who tore down the accountabilities that were in place. From the recent murder of a Mongolian woman with a hint of scandal linked to the ruling elite and to the involvement of the Executive’s family members in business and government including all the various accusations of corruption and election improprieies, money politics etc. exist solely because we have lost all forms of checks and balance necessary in government.

50 years is too long! In order for the rakyat to restore their rightful power there must be the opportunity for all opposition parties (BN included since they are technically “opposition” when Parliament dissolves) to prove their capabilities. As such opposition parties must be looked upon not just as a watchdog but “Government in waiting”.

I was in a taxi and the taximan said there can never be any change. BN will be in power forever and ever. I said Why? There is no where in the constitution that says so. Its just that we have never had the opportunity to think that way.

Christmas in Malaysia is such a joyous occasion celebrated by many – Christians and non Christians exchange gifts with one another. The school holidays of course helps as families spent time together walking the shopping malls. The shopping malls are adorned with lights as Christmas carols are piped through. The carols speak of peace and joy and glad tidings of the birth of Christ.

The spirit of gift giving is a reminder for us all that the greatest gift of all was given in God’s only son, Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks of the hopelessness of man, the nature of the sinful man. Left alone man will always turn to evil, to sin. That is why I am in the opinion that the “moral police” in Malaysia is ineffective and a waste of time. In fact it gives the authorities a sense of self righteousness which is false. The good book says “All have sin and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 None is righteous, no not even one.

There are 3 things common I believe in most if not all man;
1) The need to worship something. I have read accounts of missionaries who say that in the deepest jungles, where tribes may never have seen another human being apart from their own tribe, the people there worship some form of a higher being. A god, or a spirit in some object. Perhaps we as creatures (as opposed to the creator) need to worship. Us urban dwellers, perhaps worship the Ringgit or power or self….?
2) The need to find atonement or release from our wrongdoings, our guilt. Either you beat yourself, whip yourself (as in some religions) or do lots of charity work, we need to feel forgiven of our selfishness and sinfulness. It may not be obviously evident but the need to be “on the right track” , I think, is there in all that we do.
3) We all will face death and we are all heading that direction.

Christ came so that we can find solutions to the problems we face above. He suffered and paid the price of our sins. He came as a substitute on our behalf. That is why Christmas carols speak of ………………..
Peace – Peace in our hearts because we are reconciled back to a righteous God; not by our own righteousness but Christ righteousness.
Joy - Joy in our hearts because we can take delight in a God who loves us
Goodwill to all man – Goodwill because Christians understand sin and grace. We can be gracious to one another because it was God who showed us grace.

God Bless you all and may this Christmas bring you much Joy, Peace and Goodwill……

With all that has been going on:
- Rebellious Town Councillors who wantonly flout the law
- Pak Lah's children getting smaller contracts then Mahathir
- Town Councillors arguing that there are others whose house is bigger...
- Illegal immigrants in Sabah naturalised for political gains
- Slipping in TI's Corruption Index
- Experimenting with our children on the system of education in Malaysia
- NEP and the gravy train on the Crony Express....
I want to repost an excerpt of my Sept 20th posting :FROM POLITCIAL APATHY to PLAIN EMPATHY....

"Last week the residence association which I am involved in revealed that a bridge project which we have been fighting against all this while...and loss because the decision went up to the MB. Inside information revealed that the bridge project was awarded to construction companies linked to the senator and MB. (bro of the senator has a constrcution company) Not wanting to be defeated, I said, if that is true, then we should expose this to all and sundry. The reply "this is politics, why get involved."There seem to be such a turn off when it comes to any form of political involvement. Maybe the term is not "political involvement" since that arouses a sense of political partisanship. ie.Pas member or BN or Keadilan which leads to divisiveness in a community. So maybe the term should be a "collective voice speaking up for issues in ones community, the weak and the downtrodden in society." Since we don't have local elections, there must be some other way for us, the people to provide checks and balance to the local municipals and governments. If we, the people are not involved or ensure a level of "noise" is heard, then the capitalists, the investors, the money driven buisnessmen will develop that empty land as a shopping mall in front of your house, that bridge connecting other housing developments to your quiet neighbourhood, the robbing of our parks for development, the raping of our forest for timber money and the incinerator in your neighbourhood. The reason is if we, the people do not court the politicians, the capitalists and businessmen will. Its not their fault, they just"cari makan", but the boundaries should be defined by government.Don't be political, but make yourself heard and care for the weak and downtrodden in our society. The Moorthy's, the Lina Joys, the indiscriminate demolishing of indian temples, the Ahmad Hafizals (arrested for not joining the National service but revealed that he and his family were hardcore poor) and the Jamal Haruns (put their baby up for sale so that their eldest daughter could go for operation). The involvement could be as small as writing to a local newspaper (online or paper) or joining an NGO or political party which stands up for your ideals...but the idea is making "noise".

We got to reclaim our land. Lets care enough for each other as Malaysians irregardless of race. Lets show that the rakyat is trully the boss which is the basis of Democracy!

The HUMBLE
KLANG: Kapar Umno Youth chief Faizal Abdullah has resigned as a Klang Municipal Councillor following the controversy over him constructing his house without obtaining approval from the council.
In a statement issued late last night, 35-year-old Faizal, who is also the state party deputy youth chief, said he resigned after being advised to do so by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo.
“With full repentance, I willingly relinquish my post as a Klang Municipal Councillor. My resignation letter will be sent to the Mentri Besar and the Council president by tomorrow (today) by 3pm,” he said.
Here is one who has honorably resigned and there is appearance of genuine repentance.

The PROUD
KLANG: The Klang UMNO division rallied behind its chief Datuk Zakaria Md Deros with a show of loyalty, claiming that he had been “sabotaged” by the Opposition. “The entire thing is the work of the Opposition to discredit him. The only wrong thisng here is thenon submission of building plans, that’s all.” Said division information chief Shoimi Shafie.

How can a man and political party become so blind and arrogant that they cannot see the gross injustices of the entire situation. Instead, they accuse the Opposition of hyping up the issue when the rakyat has been so incensed bringing even the Sultan into the picture.

It is evident that the man and the party he leads do not understand accountability and good governance. They are proud and power drunk. It is most unfortunate.

I had my office in Pandamaran for 10 years before finally giving up and moving out of Klang. Majlis Perbandaran Klang (MPK or Klang Town Municipal) is a very inefficient town council probably because of the BIG “C” which implies a lack of integrity and honesty amongst those working there. The town is dirty and despite the many letters to MPK about the rubbish, there is little enforcement. The PM called the heads of these little kingdoms; "little Napoleans."

It was revealed over the last few weeks that there were 3 family members serving as town councilors in the Klang Municipal. The father, Datuk Zakaria Md Deros was accused of :
· Building his four-storey Istana Idaman, a 17 room mansion, without submitting the building plan to the council.
· He had also failed to pay assessment for 12 years for the house he is staying in.
· Zakaria also illegally built a restaurant, DZ Satay House, on state reserve land. The restaurant was recently sealed off by the council.

What irks me is that despite the obvious disregard for the law, this politician, who is also Klang UMNO Division Head shows his pride and foolishness. Firstly, he thinks the crime is building a mansion in a low-cost housing…”It might have been unsuitable...” as reported in the STAR:

…breaking down several times during the 4pm press conference, he admitted he made a mistake when he designed a “house (referring to the mansion) which might have been unsuitable for the low-cost housing estate” in Kampung Idaman.
“However, it was never my intention to boast or show off by building a bigger house which has been called 'Istana Datuk Zakaria' by some,” he read from a 12-page statement at his current double-storey low-cost house in Kampung Idaman here.
“My wife and I merely wanted a more comfortable dwelling for our 11 children, seven daughter in laws and 11 grandchildren.

Many of us would also like to have our all our children living in the same house and have a wonderful castle in Disneyland, but not all of us are Town Councillors…we have to unfortunately pay for it and get local Town Municipals for approval or else even awnings get torn down!

He added that the family had also planned to create community-centred rooms in the new house, including having a tuition centre, a surau and an activity corner.
“If our sincere intention had been misinterpreted, we apologise for not having properly explained our little contribution,” Zakaria, flanked by sons Zainuri and Zul Hisham, read from his prepared statement.
“I thank those, including the media, for giving me guidance on the need to follow rules and regulations.”

Having public amenities in your private home is very noble, but unfortunately doing kind deeds doesn’t abscond you from the law. So now its the inconvenient public who have "misinterpreted your good intentions."

He explained how the family had been rooted in Kampung Idaman for more than 30 years since moving from the KTMB quarters in Port Klang. He had been a railway gatekeeper then.
“We feel really close to the people here and that is why, despite our new prosperity, we still choose to remain here because we want to continue serving people here,” Zakaria said.
“Together with other leaders, we have helped to build a mosque to replace the dilapidated surau, construct a sekolah agama rakyat and primary school.”

Very good. Zakaria is a good State Assemblyman although I would like to think that that was his job. He was merely doing his job.
Eventhough he resigned, I believe he was edged out and it was not an honorable resignation. There is no repentence or acknowledgement of wrong doing here.

Can you smell it? If only the net could capture the odurs as well it would better bring my point across. Readers from overseas would find this posting a bit hilarious, but if any have visited Malaysia, you would understand why we Malaysians would rather hold our piss then to visit a..........Public toilet. Ahhhhh the mere mention of these two words have put me off my lunch!!!

I intend sometime after my travelling schedule this month to visit all the schools in my suburb. Perhaps take some pictures of the toilets our children use everyday. I visited my son in school during his recess and could hardly breathe. He was about 30 feet from the toilet and the stench was......."public toiletish". We cannot keep clean public toilets if our schools in Malaysia do not insist on keeping clean toilets. These children will become working adults who will be used to and accept...... this standard of public toilets. The Ministry of Education must come up with strict guidelines to
ensure the school or PTA do whatever necessary to maintain a level of hygiene and cleaniness.
Some ideas include: 1) subcontracting out the cleaning to outside companies which can provide opportunities for cronies to make more money.
2) Simply having running water in urinals especially during high usage times
3) Jet hosting the entire toilet with anti bacterial and water at least twice a day.
4) Teaching kids proper toilet use and thought for the person coming after..
5) Having some classes take turns in cleaning toilets, perhaps for older children. (practical in domestic studies 101)

I must say that the PLUS highway rest areas have been able to maintain an acceptable level of cleaniness which proves that it is possible to have clean public toilets.

In November, I shall make my survey of schools in my area and post the results here!!!

Till then, hope your appetite comes back for dinner.

A couple of years ago I had the privelege of meeting a brilliant oncologist, a Malaysian now Head of Oncology in a leading American Hospital. She was back visiting her dying father. I asked her whether she ever had thought of returning, she said with sadness that she did try 2 years ago. The Malaysian government told her she had to take exams again as her graduate degree came from a university which was not recognized. "Forget the hassle", she says but its more the hurt I can see. She is a practising oncologist with a brilliant resume, but we want to look at her university results. Senseless.

There are thousands of brilliant Malaysians abroad, having successful carreers. Some are willing to return home to be with their families. Unfortunately, despite the leaders lip service, the racist bureaucrats see to it that these non bumiputera Malaysians find it difficult to come home.
Here are some letters printed in The STAR (local newspapers):

We missed the opportunity to move Malaysia closer towards a civil society when we stopped all dialogue because of a handful of narrow minded people. Article 11 is an NGO set up to uphold the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

We could shut the issues in the closet and wait another 20 years to discuss but we will have missed out …Sadirah in a letter to Malaysiakini put it well…

Pak Lah, please don’t tell us to shut up
Sadirah K
Sep 4, 06 5:56pm
I hope Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would not advise us from raising sensitive issues. We are currently facing several sensitive issues relating to religion and governance. The government should consider this as appropriate feedback and give the people some assurance. No point just sweeping these issues under the carpet as though they do not exist. Only considered discussions born out of respect will help us move forward. We must thus act and do something and we need an assurance from the government that they are doing so and will come out with appropriate possibilities. Just telling everyone to shut up is no solution in the 21st century after 49 years of independence.

www.article11.org
Article 11
The coalition of NGOs known as Article 11 is committed to embracing, upholding and pursuing the realization of the following principles as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and Human Rights Conventions:
1. no citizen shall be discriminated on the basis of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender
2. parents (both mother and father) are equal guardians and have equal say in all respects of the upbringing of children
3. children shall be protected from any form of discrimination on the grounds of religion and in all cases, the interests of children shall be paramount
4. the freedom of thought, conscience and belief for all persons shall be fully respected, guaranteed and protected
5. every citizen has a responsibility to condemn discrimination and intolerance based on religion or belief
6. every citizen has a responsibility to apply religion or belief in support of human dignity and peace

Article 11 is fully committed to upholding those fundamental rights for all Malaysians regardless of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender.

The role of government is to protect the rights of those who wish to speak, not to quelch speech. All the more when there is opportunity to dialogue on such an important issue facing the nation as the eroding of the Federal Constitution which the founding fathers established as the document for all Malaysians to find protection and refuge.

A Malaysiakini newsreader commented as follows:
We have perhaps lost the urge to strive for excellence. In the 60s and 70s, Malaysia was not only strong in football, but also in hockey and badminton. We also excelled in our studies. Malaysian students who studied overseas regularly topped their classes in universities and colleges. Even our local universities such as MU and USM had very high academic standings in the world. What has happened to us? We need to gain back the urge to do well, to strive for excellence in all our endeavours, not only in sports and in our studies, but also in our courts, our police force, our industries and our businesses.

I have a business in Malaysia and as I see it, the desire for excellence has been replaced by the desire to get rich and get rich quickly. The 80s and 90s were years of phenomenal growth for Malaysia and many of us in our mid 30s and 40s today benefited most from those years. There was much wealing and dealing and there were many who stood in the middle as “consultants” who merely collected a fee for referrals for projects. Basically people who had no value add but to collect a fee.

Furthermore, we as a people became fascinated with bigness, elegance and style not for any commercial or internal value but so that “they (the west) will respect us”. We build the tallest buildings, the first F1 in Asia, the longest, the widest, the fastest, the deepest whatever that could get us any form of world recognition at the expense of our identity, character and national coffers.

It is true what John Adams said ; “I cannot help suspecting that the more elegance, the less virtue in all times and all countries.” We were in such a hurry to be recognized, we failed to build and invest in our human capital. We lost our sense of identity as a hardworking and productive work force. We instead sought grandeur and mega-ness.

John Adams in advise to his grandson had this to say;
“Have you considered the meaning of the word "worthy"? Weigh it well…I had rather you should be worthy possessors of one thousand pounds honestly acquired by your own labor and industry, than of ten millions by banks and tricks.”
Are all that we have achieved as a nation worthy?

Finally, in closing we should wish for our nation this 49th Birthday what John Adams advised his daughter in choosing a spouse:
Daughter! Get you an honest man for a husband, and keep him honest. No matter whether he is rich, provided he be independent. Regard the honor and moral character of the man more than all other circumstances. Think of no other greatness but that of the soul, no riches but that of the heart. An honest, sensible, humane man, above all littleness of vanity and extravagances of imagination, laboring to do good rather than to be rich, to be useful rather than make a show, living in modest simplicity clearly within his means and free from debts and obligations, is really the most respectable man in society, makes himself and all about him most happy.

God Bless Malaysia on this 49th Birthday!

Saturday morning is a great time to connect with parents over breakfast as I wait for the kids to finish their gymnastics. We exchange notes and talk about….raising kids.

There is a Chinese school in Subang that is obsessed with good academic results to the extent of having extra tuition (mandatory) for those approaching the UPSR (Standard 6 exams). They have their regular school classes in the mornings and then extra tuition classes in the afternoons everyday including Saturday. My family doctor tells me that there are many “black out cases” from this Chinese school when nearing exams. The child comes to her stares blankly at the wall and cannot say a word. I was told that ECA’s (Extra Curricular Activities) in that school is often cancelled in favour of studying for exams.

In case any kiasu parents read this, please think with me in a rational manner for awhile….for the sake of your children.

The standard 6, UPSR exams is only an assessment of the child’s progress before secondary school. Failure does not prevent him from moving on to Form 1…or does it? Getting a B or C is certainly not the end of his career or life which has not even begun. In fact doing well in exams is not any indication of a person’s success in life or in business.

Einstein’s early failures:

• In 1895 Einstein failed an examination that would have allowed him to study for a diploma as an electrical engineer at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule in Zurich.
• Following the failing of the entrance exam to the ETH, Einstein attended secondary school at Aarau planning to use this route to enter the ETH in Zurich.
• While at Aarau he wrote an essay (for which was only given a little above half marks!) in which he wrote of his plans for the future.

In fact the very things that are important in a having successful career (assuming that is what we are after) are not taught in school. Things which Daniel Goldman calls the Emotional Quotient (EQ) are far more important in having a successful career. Character qualities like honesty, self control, patience, trustworthiness, meekness and benevolence etc...(www.characterfirst.com)
I think our quest to give our children a good future is now preventing them from having a meaningful childhood which is essential to their life as a responsible adult and citizen. We must relook at what is trully important in life and rethink how we shape this brief formidable years.

Today headlines in the SUN; wife of Subang Jaya police officer latest victim of snatch thief. From petty crimes to serious crimes its prevalent and its bad for business.

Are they signs of a cracking economy? With figures of unemployment at around 60,000; lay offs at MAS, JVC and other factories around Malaysia I tend to think so. Real money is hard to come by and is not circulating as before. Its not hitting the middle income, but the lower income group, the blue collar workers. I do not subscribe to the deficit spending of the last 20 years but real changes has to be made to bring confidence back and foreign investors returning. We have to be competitive once again.

My point was not economics, but to say that many of us in the Klang Valley subscribe to security services. We have done so because the police force is simply incapable of protecting the rakyat and ensuring a level of safety when we go out. The government must begin to revamp the Royal Malaysian Police. I hope the changes implemented go beyond wearing buttons and issuing car stickers.

- The government must pay the police sufficiently so that a RM50 bribe is not worth them taking. Their current salary is meagre income when living in the city. We can built a sports complex in the UK, why can't we pay the police officers a bit more and make the profession more attractive.

-The police force must be re trained to be service oriented to the public. Willingness to help and courteous

- The police force must be equipped with the latest crime solving tools. Every police office should be sufficiently equipped. Better distress call systems and speedy repsonse.

- Instill greater discipline. It appears very tardy when a police officer in uniform is seen smoking. I think police officers in uniform should not be seen smoking. It is bad example to our young and it simply looks unprofessional.

Have been under the weather the last week, which brought me to a trip to my village chemist (pharmacy). I was told by uncle that they were robbed last Thursday. His daughter, the pharmacist had gone to the police station to report that their A/C compressor had been stolen. While she was away, 2 men armed with a long knife entered the shop and walked uncle to the back where he was robbed of his wallet and mobile phone. This happened at 11.30AM. Upon returning, she had to go back again to the police station to report yet another incident. The local bakery has been robbed, the mobile phone shop on that same street was robbed of RM8,000 last week.

Its no longer safe. Last week as I crossed Jalan Raja Chulan, I eaves dropped in a casual conversation between 3 colleagues. (two men and a lady) The lady said to her colleague, “you still cycle? Its not safe. Get a exercise bike in the house.” There is something very wrong when we cannot even take our bicycles out for a ride around the neighbourhood anymore? It may be an over exaggeration by a fearful young lady, but the chances of being mugged, murdered or mutilated is higher than it was 10 years ago.

I am sure this decline is in tandem to world crime rates as many countires become more urbanized. However, I believe we could do a lot more and lack the resolve to do so. The Police for example do not have the latest in modern equipments to solve crime. We have regressed in this aspect. A simple example is the communication system. 20 years ago, I recall that wherever you are in Malaysia the number for an emergency was “999”. Today, if I was in USJ reporting a crime at the Subang police station, they say, “sorry not my jurisdiction, call USJ beat base. I am not even sure which numbers I am suppose to call.

Many police officers do not have the attitude of providing quality service and respect to each member of the public. Back to the story, of uncle at the Pharmacy who told me that they had a hidden video and was ready to surrender it to the local police station. Uncle however was told to go and process the DVD, take still shots and enlarge it for them. An angry uncle told me, “I must as well catch the bloody robber and hand him in to you.” I wonder if that was the same reply if a Dato got robbed. It’s a horrible thing to say, but unfortunately its true of our Malaysian culture. We do not respect the individual for who he is but for what title he carries.

The Rakyat cannot be accused of not doing their part as Neighbourhood Watch Groups spring up all over the Klang Valley. Security services are hired by households everywhere for fear of getting robbed. I must say that it is infuriating to hear billions of Ringgit wasted because of a shelved project or millions spent on a sports complex in another country when we are in dire need to give the police force better salaries, better equipment and facilities to protect its citizenry.

Keep safe everybody!!!

Looking at the images this past few days of innocent women and children murdered as a result of the bombings leaves a sense of anger over what has happened. To enter a sovereign nation, to bomb civillian sites killing hundreds of innocent women and children is morally wrong no matter what religion you come from.

Israel's justification is that it is a necessary evil. Its seige on Lebanon is to free itself and Lebanon and the middleeast at large from the influence of Hezbollah. I strongly disagree and tend to believe that Israel has accomplished the exact opposite. Whereas before there were a 100 Hezbollah sympathizers, today you have 1000. Israel's action has succesfully spawned more Hezbollah sympathizers and you will see them regrouping when the fire dies down. Where do you think the men and children who have lost their mothers and fathers and entire families turn to? Where will they channel all that anger and hatred? Who will provide them the platform? If not Hezbollah, it will be another terrorist group. Essentially, Israel is now running a recruitment campaign for the Hezbollah movement.

How do you then fight these terror groups? Many world leaders agree this is not a traditional enemy who has borders and government. Terrorism is an idealogy based on a religious convictions and they (believers) could be anywhere within a nation. The way is for nations to seek them out and to engage with them in dialogue and discussion. This is how I have always seen it on Television. When a group of bad guys hold up in a building with hostages, the SWAT team doesn't go in with guns blazing killing hostages and bad guys together. They don't do that claiming to free the world of bad guys, instead they try to engage the bad guys in a conversation learning as much of him/them as possible and trying to understand his psychi. They pull people who are close to them to try to talk them out of their mission. Usually, the bad guys do this because they have their backs against the wall and getting them to disarm means understanding where they are coming from.

I only pray that the violence will stop and that innocent men, women and children will be spared. I pray for an end to the cycle of hatred in that region.

Malaysia will celebrate its 49th year of independence in a months time. As it approaches half a century old, Malaysia is faced with a serious identity crises. Who are we? There are pending court cases that would determine our future as a nation. What is needed in this hour of turning is Leadership.

Bold leadership to allow meaningful dialogue to determine Malaysia’s identity and then to communicate this to the rakyat. The dialogue should be sponsored by the government or its agencies (Malaysia Think Tank) and perhaps not by an interested party ie. "Article 11". There are 3 issues intertwined and which must be answered to clearly define who we are as a nation.

1) Are we secular or theocratic in governance?
2) Is the Federal Constitution the highest law of the land or is the syariah?
3) Clear definitions of race, religion and nationality

I was quite tickled when a little child came up to me to say, I don’t go to church on Sunday, because I am Chinese. In Malaysia there is such a confusion on my race, my religion and my nationality. I think politicians have made this even more confusing, but it is very simple; A Chinese is not always a budhist and an Indian is not always a Hindu. The jury is still out on whether a Malay is always a Muslim. This is a question that the malay community in Malaysia must dialogue to agree. If the Federal Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Federation, then it actually does not specifically spell out that a malay is synonymous to Muslim.

According to the Federal Constitution…here an excerpt of part I:
(1) Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.
(2) In every State other than States not having a Ruler the position of the Ruler as the Head of the religion of Islam in his State in the manner and to the extent acknowledged and declared by the Constitution, all rights, privileges, prerogatives and powers enjoyed by him as Head of that religion, are unaffected and unimpaired; but in any acts, observance or ceremonies with respect to which the Conference of Rulers has agreed that they should extend to the Federation as a whole each of the other Rulers shall in his capacity of Head of the religion of Islam authorize the Yang di-pertuan Agong to represent him.
(3). The Constitution of the States of Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak shall each make provision for conferring on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be Head of the religion of Islam in that State.
(4) Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this Constitution.
(5) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Head of the religion of Islam in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan; and for this purpose Parliament may by law make provisions for regulating Islamic religious affairs and for constituting a Council to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in matters relating to the religion of Islam.
4
(1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

Under the Fundamental Liberties section; it states :
11
(1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.
More on the constitution of Malaysia:
www.helplinelaw.com/law/constitution/malaysia/

The question therefore left is are we Secular or Theocratic. The way our founding fathers intended it to be in 1957 as outlined in this sacred document; is clearly a secular state governed by the highest law of the land; The Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

I woke up this morning as is the habit to look at the CNN and BBC channel to get a quick glimpse of events in the world. It was sad to hear hundreds of people losing their lives and thousands displaced from their homes in the last 4 days from war in Lebanon, floods in China and the Tsunami in Indonesia. Then I arrive in my office and see on the front page of The STAR, not the war in Lebanon or the floods in China, neither the killer Tsunami in Indonesia. Definietly not Matthias Chang reply to the government’s explanation on the crooked bridge negotiations with Singapore. Not even one of Pak Lah’s catchy phrases for the day. Instead, what is supposed to be the wedding of the year. Kak Siti and the mysterious Datuk "K".

I was hoping that this pop icon revered by millions of teenagers and adults would quietly marry this man and live happily ever after without much fuss or do. Am I an old fashion man or is this society really breaking down? Why is the women’s affairs minister so quiet? Sure its all provided for in the religous system, and done accroding to the law, but surely its got to be a social issue somebody's concern about. Surely? Sisters in Islam? Marina Mahathir? Sharizat?Somebody?

Are we to be happy that this man who recently divorced his wife and mother of his 4 children to marry a young beautiful, famous singer of malay love songs? I cannot paint the both of them to be heroes to my children, I am sorry. The two of them getting married is really none of my business but when it makes headlines in front of all the other news, there is a subtle message. That our glamour girl has found herself an instant family!! Hurray!! I presume the newspapers wants all and sundry to celebrate and be happy for this couple. I think instead all malaysian women should feel insecure that their husband’s is fair game for younger women and Malaysian men - that there are families out there broken as a result.

Last week the residence association which I am involved in revealed that a bridge project which we have been fighting against all this while...and loss because the decision went up to the MB. Inside information revealed that the bridge project was awarded to construction companies linked to the senator and MB. (bro of the senator has a constrcution company) Not wanting to be defeated, I said, if that is true, then we should expose this to all and sundry. The reply "this is politics, why get involved."

There seem to be such a turn off when it comes to any form of political involvement. Maybe the term is not "political involvement" since that arouses a sense of political partisanship. ie.Pas member or BN or Keadilan which leads to divisiveness in a community. So maybe the term should be a "collective voice speaking up for issues in ones community, the weak and the downtrodden in society." Since we don't have local elections, there must be some other way for us, the people to provide checks and balance to the local municipals and governments. If we, the people are not involved or ensure a level of "noise" is heard, then the capitalists, the investors, the money driven buisnessmen will develop that empty land as a shopping mall in front of your house, that bridge connecting other housing developments to your quiet neighbourhood, the robbing of our parks for development, the raping of our forest for timber money and the incinerator in your neighbourhood. The reason is if we, the people do not court the politicians, the capitalists and businessmen will. Its not their fault, they just"cari makan", but the boundaries should be defined by government.

Don't be political, but make yourself heard and care for the weak and downtrodden in our society. The Moorthy's, the Lina Joys, the indiscriminate demolishing of indian temples, the Ahmad Hafizals (arrested for not joining the National service but revealed that he and his family were hardcore poor) and the Jamal Haruns (put their baby up for sale so that their eldest daughter could go for operation). The involvement could be as small as writing to a local newspaper (online or paper) or joining an NGO or political party which stands up for your ideals...but the idea is making "noise".

Its not that bad really, ...Here is a couple of defi

Contact: Anna Hindsanna.hinds@esrc.ac.uk01-793-41-3122Economic & Social Research Council
Does TV turn people off politics?
Television news programmes may be contributing to current political apathy, according to a new report funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. An in-depth study of more than 5600 TV news reports in both Britain and the US between September 2001 and February 2002 reveals that the news media may be encouraging a disengaged citizenry by representing the public as generally passive and apolitical.
"This study was prompted by growing concern about the poor and declining voter turnout in both Britain and the United States," explains Professor Justin Lewis of Cardiff University. "Although we have recently seen people taking part in huge protests – whether for the countryside or against the war – this engagement doesn't seem to connect to an interest in representative politics."
The report asks what model of citizenship the news media provides. Crucially, do the news media encourage or discourage citizens to engage with politics and public life?"
Researchers analysed news reports for any reference to public opinion, whether through polls, 'vox pops', demonstrations, or simply off the cuff remarks made about what people think about the world. Some of the findings, suggests Professor Lewis, are surprising.
Many assume that the main form of public representation in the media is the opinion poll. In fact, less than 2 per cent of references to public opinion on British television involve polls or surveys of any kind.
The most common references to public opinion (44 per cent) are inferences – claims made (generally by reporters) without any supporting evidence.
Similarly 'vox pops', the second most common category (39 per cent) often appear to provide an impression about public opinion, but are rarely based on survey data.
Demonstrations, or other examples of citizen activism are rarely used as a source of public opinion (less than 3 per cent).
Public opinion in Europe is almost completely ignored, especially in British media.
"Polls, for all their flaws, are the most systematic form of evidence we have about what people think about the world – yet they're used surprisingly rarely in television news," Professor Lewis points out. "While television often refers to public opinion, these results suggest that we rarely hear any evidence for the claims being made."
Similarly striking is the extent to which citizens are represented as non-ideological. In the sample, 95 per cent of references in Britain (90 per cent in the US) expressed no clear political leaning at all – even though the most common subjects of references to public opinion such as health, crime and terrorism, are all matters of political debate. Overall, only around 5 per cent of references to public opinion on British news involve citizens making suggestions about what should be done in the world.
The report argues this risks conveying an impression of a citizenry either unable or unwilling to put forward a political view. Instead, the most common type of citizen representation is a member of the public talking about their experiences, impressions or fears. According to Lewis, "On television, citizens may raise problems, but it's left to politicians or experts to offer solutions."
The research team acknowledge that many in the news media and politics are concerned about public apathy in politics and that there is now a willingness among the media to broadcast citizens playing a more active role in political debate. "This might involve some radical departures from time-honoured conventions, but it might also be a prerequisite for engaging a population increasingly disenchanted with political parties," Professor Lewis concludes.
###
The report was written by Professor Justin Lewis, Dr. Karin Wahl-Jorgensen and Sanna Inthorn.
For further information:Contact Professor Justin Lewis on 02920 876341 or 02920 651905, e-mail: lewisj2@cf.ac.ukOr Lesley Lilley or Anna Hinds at ESRC, on 01793 413119/413122
NOTES FOR EDITORS

The comments so far received from previous postings were “yes, we know there is injustice”. “yes we know there is blatant corruption and the lack of democracy”. The question is so what? What can be done? There is general political apathy and I am not sure why. As HM aptly pointed out…. (sorry to have to highlight again your comment, but it is so relevant…)

……Certainly for many of the well educated and sophisticated and well-to-do, the world is their oyster and the simple option is to vote with their feet... How many people have the fire in the belly to change the world ??

What we have in SEA is a well educated citizenry who value freedom of expression and who think about the future of their next generation. They have one of two choices. Stay and fight the system or run and seek greener pastures. The general consensus is that my vote or participation does not matter.

It is a trend all over the world with studies done in UK and the US showing greater political apathy in these countries. Why is it that affluence and education causes greater political apathy or is this too simple a deduction?

I have a few ideas, in short, the reasons for the lack of “fire in the belly”:

1) Individualism and consumerism causes people to be more disenfranchised with his/her community. “Whatever does not affect me is ok.”
2) There was a study sighting Television ( I will try to find and post)
3) “Food in the belly” replaces “fire in the belly”. As long as there are basic needs met, people will not stand up for social issues.
4) A general degradation of integrity and issues of morality worldwide. Our tolerance for wrong doing and questions of integrity is numbed.

Any truth? Which one?

My good friend HM, brilliant guy; have known him for 30 years had this comment on part 1 :

Which is not to say that "guided democracies"cannot yield decent economic success eg SG but will more frequently end up like Indo, Phil, Thai, Msia...where a very small number benefit heavily at the expense of the entire country (although not quite yet as bad as the dictatorships of Africa as pretences have to kept up...) and the inefficiencies inherent in such a system is a powerful drain on the country economically...

I think the founding fathers of Malaysia and Singapore (who are still around) have a very paternalistic view of the nation. Perhaps born out of responsibility since they were involved in the process of birthing the nation (for LKY directly involved). Their goal was to bring the young nations from the back waters to a successful country with strong economic growth. To ensure this, they needed “political stability” and a security in their own positions as leader of the nation. Hence, the legacies of the Sukarnos/Suhartos, Marcos, Kuan Yew and Mahathirs of SEA.

They had to strip away any elements of democracy that could see them losing a grip on power and so the journey to amending (read dismantling) the constitutions of their respective nations. They had to justify this by claiming a cause/struggle so that the end justified the means.

So in the 90s, we saw a boom in these economies, the “asian tigers” they called them. They were “guided democracies” which yielded decent economic success. They took pride in the fact that it was the “asian way”, Mahathir’s favourite song “My Way” and suddenly the world took notice. Books were written on the asian miracle. (The asian renaissance – Anwar Ibrahim) The sudden economic boom was in large part because of the privatization of government agencies in these countries. The government then handed over moneys to these newly privatized companies and conglomerates to provide electricity, water, build highways, monorails, airports and bridges and other mega projects. These privatized companies flourished with little accountability and good governance (except perhaps Singapore). Many little companies which spawned from these government projects became highly leveraged expecting the government payments to come shortly. Many political leaders themselves had vested interest and were proxies for these companies. Unfortunately, we know what happened in the asian financial crises and the rest is history…

In truth, if we could learn from the western democracies, it is better for government to do just that; govern. Ensure a level playing field and leave business to businesses. Maybe once the old guards, the LKYs and the Mahathirs have left and their influence no more, maybe there will be more acceptance of basic human rights and checks and balance and separation of powers and all the good stuff of democracy. Indonesia for example, after Suharto and ++ finally have their first directly elected President which now makes Indonesia the biggest Islamic democracy in the world.
Am I a hopeless optimist or what?

Thanks guys for engaging with me on this topic. I hear Cheah Weng Sun's skepticism of any progress in the direction of SEA nations. I think this view is shared by many middle class Malaysians. There has been such a feeling of helplesness and resignation towards the progress of democracy in SEA.

In Malaysia, I have a little amber of hope, partly because of the turn of events in the last 9 years beginning with the expulsion and persecution of a malay holding the second highest office in Malaysia. Suddenly, the nation was not divided along racial lines (at least politically) but along the ruling elite, who are in BN's favour and the masses, who are ordinary folks trying to make ends meet. There were chinese dominated parties like DAP who supported and fought for Anwar's release. There were budhists monks who visited Anwar's family to offer prayers for his release. In 1998, there was a malay (islam) opposition leader in Parliament and the BN and UMNO were caught off foot as now, their threat of May 13, 1969 (racial fighting) which they have used to win elections since 1969 no longer works.

The second reason for my optimism is that the people's needs are much more sophisticated now. Although many still talk about making ends meet especially in the rural heartlands, the growing middle class talk about issues of justice, freedom of expression, corruption and quality of life and the environment. I presume that this is the natural progress of any nation seeking economic prosperity. The government therefore have to focus on these issues which many "genuine democracies" in the west cherish as part of their heritage.

The thrid is that the post-Mahathir era is definitely more liberalised. Definitely not as combative as before. 10 years ago, I daren't write about these issues in public forum for fear of persecution from the Special Branch. Even in the government controlled newspapers (I call them Berita BN) these days there are articles critical of the government institutions. It is in this environment that the opposition is able to make their stand heard more and begin to gather some form of support.

The main issue for many who have fled Malaysia for greener pastures is the racial discrimination. That is plain and simple. My contention is that this can only get better (it is now that bad) unless the ruling elite is wanting to see racial riots and civil unrest. The racial climate in Malaysia exist because of the racial policies of the BN government. It is a political party that exist to keep peace among the racial groups. Their popularity depends on how well they "play the game of balancing". When the ordinary malay folk see that its not the chinese stealing their rights to wealth but the "well connected" Dato from the ruling elite their eyes are suddenly opened. Is the recent protest and bloodshed against the petrol hike a fight between the "peasants" and the "politbureau"?

There has to be a newly coined terminology for the system of government in Southeast Asian nations, which on the surface appear to be a democracy of sorts. In truth it is more authoratarian flourishing with absolute control over government agencies. The Executives yields “dictatorial like” authority with every branch of government under his control. There is therefore little to no accountability in order for the Executive to do as he pleases.

Yet, there are elections although not quite free and fair with evidences of vote buying, ballot box rigging and other dubious forms of winning which only the incumbent can do with the cooperation of the Election Commission, media, police, and military. The people are not allowed peaceful demonstration which is one of the tenets to democracy nor avenues to express oneself without fear of retribution. This of course varies from regime to regime and nation to nation. There is a Parliament and lively debates do occur, however futile it is to shelf the Executives policies. Dr. Mahathir referred to it as a "mere rubberstamp."

I believe Lee Kuan Yew called this system of government -“guided democracy”. The founding fathers have put it upon themselves as the guardian of peace and growth for the nation. The believe is that the new state needs stability for growth and a change in government is not stability. They delve into politics and business in the believe that it is necessary for the economic growth of the nation be it to the detriment of the nation. Yet for the international stage and trade purposes they allow "opposition parties" to exist. If the opposition speaks too much, the full might of the government will be upon them at lightning speed.

In Singapore, the wife of the Finance Minister and now Prime Minister, Ho Cheng heads Temasek Group. How does the wife of perhaps the most powerful man in Singapore be found heading one of the largest corporations in Singapore. Temasek has reported to losses of $550 million recently. In Malaysia, we have our very own Scomi Berhad, headed by the son of the Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Scomi revenue increased 42% and share price increased 64% since listing in May 2003. Is it a coincidence that PM Badawi also took office that same year. His son-in law also has shares in ECM Libra, one of the biggest investment banks in Malaysia. Thailand’s Thaksin has his hand in a multiple of businesses as well.

How will foreign investments ever flow in to such a volatile economy where the life of a business is so closely linked to the political stability of a particular leader or political party. To the west, this is called "conflict of interest". You cannot be the referee and the player of a football match at the same time. It is hard enough to be seemingly unbiased just being the referee alone. How would foreign investments flow in freely when government is so involved in business? It is time governments in Southeast Asia favour a true market economy where government is meant to referee the playing field only and not play football. So that the smaller and weaker players can have fair game and the economy do not depend on the life and popularity of a politician.

The US founding fathers upon writing the constitution believed that "man is inherently sinful or bad." When left to themselves they will tend towards evil. Therefore, it is necessary for checks and balance within government by the various branches of government. It is necessary that there is no aboslute power and therefore there is the route of impeachment even for the President of the United States.

Here is an excerpt from Ms. Alicia Au's letter to Malaysiakini with regards to her experience in Tioman island. It is the shoddy maintenance of public amenities/services like these that prevents Malaysia from becoming a big player in the Tourism Industry. About 6 months ago, I brought an American friend and his family to Sungai Gabai, a beautiful natural waterfall near KL. The newly built building at the carpark which was supposed to house a toilet and some shops were half completed with no water or electricity. The waterfall area had broken glass. My friend and his daughter had glass cut into their feet.

The reason for all this is a simple Malaysian disease called "Close one eye" syndrome. Its ok, close one eye, let it go, tak apa..... Hence we get uncompleted projects, unmaintained toilets and public amenities, haze every year, accidents on the roads from unmaintained busses and lorries and buses which spew black smoke...destroying our beautiful environment. Incidentally it is hard to acheieve 2020 vision when you've got a Close one eye (COE) atitude!

......When making a police report, we were advised that Bluewater had been receiving a large number of summonses during the day mainly for this practice of overloading and we were further advised that cross-decking of passengers is only allowed under the direct supervision of the maritime authorities. This operator shows a blatant disregard for passenger safety, their arrogance and the high-handed manner they deal with their clients has to be experienced to be believed. At the very least, the captains of Bluewater ferries 8 and 9 should have their certification revoked, their comments and attitudes show them to be quite unfit to hold a position of any responsibility. One can only surmise, as on this occasion they were lucky. Should an accident have occurred, they would no doubt be running for cover and pointing the finger of blame everywhere except at the people it should be pointed at, themselves. Issuing summonses against the operator is a joke. Any paltry fine likely as the outcome of this weekend’s shenanigans will be far outweighed by the collections from fare-paying clients they regard as so much cattle. Again at the very least, this company’s licence to operate should be revoked with immediate effect, and thus send a message to all ferry services that such downright dangerous practice and poor service attitudes will no longer be tolerated. The real losers here are the Tourism Board of Malaysia, and the resorts and diving operators on Tioman, whose hard work has been wasted. We as a group will not return to this location, you can be certain that word-of-mouth from such a large group of people will dissuade even larger numbers of people to change their vacation locations to elsewhere. How long can such poor service be tolerated? Or are the authorities simply waiting to react to a large-scale disaster involving one of these cowboy operators before wringing their hands and saying they were not aware of the situation?

An excerpt from Dr. Azly Rahman's column in Malaysiakini..............He comments on the economic state of the Indian community in Malaysia. Some good thoughts and ideas which help build bridges in our community instead of walls. A refreshing thought from a malay scholar.

"The thought that the top 10 percent of the richest Malaysians are earning more than 20 times compared to the 90 percent of the population is terrifying. What has become of this nation that promised a just distribution of wealth at the onset of Independence?

I have a perspective to resolve the issue of the Indian community. The Malays and the Chinese too need to help the Indians progress. Malay and Chinese multimillionaires and billionaires can set up grants to help the poor Indians succeed in all fields of human endeavour. The Malays can get Mara (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) to share ideas, expertise and technology to make Indian children succeed and learn entrepreneurship skills. The same strategies of affirmative action given to the Malays must be extended to the Indians and designed for their children. The Chinese can help with sharing of good business strategies that will help the Indian community create opportunities for their children. Indian graduates can continue to help the children of the less fortunate ones see the importance of education so that we will not see high dropout rates. "

Just got back from a week in Melbourne. The city is really quite beautiful. Australians are very proud of their envirnonment and protect it religously. They are really quite strict at the immigration as far as bringing anything which might carry a new insect or organism.
I had 3 picture frames which I was planning to put up at my exhibition booth, and they had to double check that it was ok.

I enjoyed the fresh air for a change and clear blue skies! Wish Malaysia could get rid of the soot spewing trucks and busses that ply our highways everyday!

Submitted to Malaysiakini but never made it

It is funny to hear people say that Anwar Ibrahim will never have a chance at being Prime Minister outside of UMNO. It is even funnier to hear people say that we should be grateful for our government. In Malaysia, we have only seen one political party in government and as a result we the people do not understand the fundamentals of democracy and our parliamentary system.

We have not realized that we, the people elect the government to serve and to uphold the constitution of the country. We are fearful to understand what may lie ahead should we ever have a change in government. However, a mature democracy ensures the right of the people to change governments according to the majority of the people. The US alone had a republican in office in 1980 (the same time as Dr Mahathir), a democrat in 1992 and now a republican again in 2000. We not only had the same government we had the same leader in that 20 year span! This is nothing really to be proud off. By having a change in government, it puts the onus on the government and his leader to perform. To govern with the highest calling of his office.

The opposition in Malaysia in the last 2 decades have been seen as subversive elements and many have been arrested under the Internal Security Act. A threat to national security it seems. Now, our Dr Mahathir says it is not good to have too weak an opposition. In the UK, the opposition is known as Her Majesty’s Opposition party. They are recognized as government in waiting.

It is not impossible therefore for Malaysia who claims parliamentary democracy to have a change in government one day for the mark of a mature democracy is smooth transition of power. This is only possible if the police and the Royal Malaysian army and armed forces and civil services understand their role as civil servants in nation building and protecting the constitution. The result of almost 5 decades of rule is the blurriness between BN the political party and the seat of government which is an elected office. The blurriness extends to the civil servants who see themselves as BN officers rather than the Malaysian government.

We must educate our young on the freedom of choice and with it comes the responsibility of electing a government that truly upholds and protects the freedom of all Malaysian people through the rule of law and ensures the sacredness of the Constitution of Malaysia.

So it should never be said that it is impossible for Anwar Ibrahim to be Prime Minister. He who says that, says democracy is dead in Malaysia. That our election is a farce and the rakyat will never have a say. I would like to believe that elections in Malaysia is free and fair and that any party can one day hold office in government and on the flip side any government who fails to protect the constitution and the Malaysian people by protecting their rights could be removed from government.

To borrow Roberta Flack's line, "killing me softly with his song", the politicians, civil servants and those in authority are "killing this country softly" with corruption. Platitudes and promises aside, it is no joke that the level of systemic corruption in our country has gone from bad to worse. Leaders can choose to ignore it and close an eye to this, but the truth is everywhere we turn we see the destruction and trace of corruption. Services and infra structure is breaking down and left unmaintained, busses and trucks are spewing out smoke and the haze is there every year. I returned to KLIA after visitng Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzen and Singapore airports and noted the vast difference in its apperance although most of this airports were built around the same time. Our arrival hall is dark, dingy and stuffy. Road accidents due to undeserving drivers who get kopi "O" lisence and trucks with balding tires are aplenty. How, you say is this all due to corruption?

When tenders are bypassed. When a phone call is made to influence a decision when under table money is passed to decision makers; the most proficient and efficient contractor is side stepped for the one with the better offerings or contact. This is how we get hospitals with fungus, bridges deemed unsafe, roads not made to spec, parks turned into housing developments and trees feld without permission. This is why we have increasing health cost, toll plazas from "money losing companies", degenerating green lung, haze, pollution, cancer, sickness. All because of corruption.

The PMs National Integrity Plan , a breath of fresh air is now a mere mirage. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking. Malaysians need to know the effects of what they do. China was abound in local municipal corruption. In the last year, they have cracked down on many and I hear a local mayor near Shanghai was shot by firing squad for taking government funds. Things are changing and all of suddeen there is law an order. There is still a long way to go for China but the important thing is there is a crackdown and an intolerance to corruption. Maybe we won't shoot our corrupt leaders and civil servants but lets do the minimum by exposing them and weeding them out of their positions. Enough of mere talk!