Herald can use the word 'Allah'

It is indeed a glorious end to the year 2009 when the High Court declared that the Catholic Church can use the word ‘Allah’ in its Herald publication. We as Christians, should be thankful that our prayers have been answered and that the whole issue has ended amicably. There is no winner or loser in this matter as what is decided is enshrined in our Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of religion and the practice of it. We are thankful that the High Court has upheld the Constitution. However from what we have read of past cases where decisions have been overturned by the Court of Appeal, doubts and fear are being expressed that the same fate will befall this case.

Nevertheless, let us pray that this matter ends here, that the Home Ministry and other interested parties will uphold the spirit of 1 Malaysia. As for concerns related to National security in the use of ‘Allah’, I think it is stretching the imagination a little too far. After all I am sure the faith of the Muslims is strong enough as not be confused or deterred by just a word.

Shameful Rackus in Penang

The Christmas eve rackus in Penang has brought shame to the nice people of Penang. The acts as shown in these 2 pictures should be strongly condemned by the peace loving people of Penang. Obviously these acts of hooliganism are by people who do not love this lovely Pearl of the Orient. Rela members were kicked and hit with helmets and passing cars were damaged. The police have rightly taken steps to publish their pictures in the newspapers and to charge them. It is amazing how on one hand they clamour for freedom to assemble while on the other, they abuse this freedom by going on a rampage whereby life was threatened and property destroyed.  As a matter of fact, did these rowdies know what they are celebrating? It is not even a New Year's eve celebration. It is a religious event, marking the birth of Jesus Christ. But the violence that was exhibited totally contradicts this spirit of peace and joy. And because of their action, the police are now deploying a large number of police personels and Rela members to ensure that the coming New Year's Eve celebration goes on without similar violent incidents. And people are asking  the police to go to look for crime at other places.

Is the Police Paranoid or What?

First they are going to haul up the CM of Penang, Lim Guan Eng for making a statement to the effect that Teoh Beng Hock was murdered. Now they are going to call in Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah accusing him of intimidating the police by directing them to cease the investigation of Guan Eng. Is the police paranoid or what? Or is it just Khalid alone who is paranoid? I really cannot imagine the police being intimidated and submitting to anyone, except umnos. So we have come to the stage where we can’t even criticize the police. Enough of saying we are becoming a police state for we are already a police state.


If Guan Eng is to be hauled up for calling Beng Hock’s case, murder, then Khaid should also call up the Thai pathologist, Dr. Porntip for saying that the case was homicide. While at it, he should also call up the AG for labeling the Kugan’s case as murder as it was now established that the murder charge could not be preferred.

We are seeing a definite pattern now. Create as much distraction as possible from the more serious issues of the 2 jet engines that went AWOL, the siphoning of money out of the country by the umno people who have lost faith in their own party and country, the corrupted macc, judiciary and even the police. The signs are evident that the BN will not retain their power and those cunning ones are making hay while the sun still shines.

RM100,000 per Letter

According to Malaysia Insider the above sign cost the Ipoh City Council RM400,000 and there are 2 of these signs.  Pakatan Rakyat revealed that the proposal was first made by the palace for 4 such signages. When PR took over Perak, it rejected it. But when BN usurped the state, RM800,000 of the rakyat's money changed hands. This works at RM100,000 per letter. Imagine how much it would have cost  if "Kuala Trengganu" decides to put one up. The Ipoh Mayor Datuk Roshidi Hashim said that the reason why the signs were so expensive was because each letter had to be lifted up to be erected on its lofty perch up on two separate hills with a skylift crane. Can anyone see 2 separate hills? Even then the cost of RM100,00 per letter is simple ridiculous. But here again, it wont be wrong to speculate that the BN government is starting to bleed the Perak coffers dry, knowing full well they cannot win back the state in the next election. So every bn crony is grappng whatever he/she can get before the treasury runs dry. Deja vu Selangor.

Sheeesh! RM400,000 for 4 letters! Imagine the money that had gone into the pockets of those involved in the scheme. Do we need to make a report to the MACC before it gets into action?

Another Jet Engine gone AWOL

New Straits Times and Berita Harian revealed that another jet fighter aircraft engine, also costing RM 50 million had gone missing, five months after the first one was stolen. The Defence Minister, Zahid, said that those involved in the missing engines have been identified and gave the assurance that action would be taken against the “traitors”. After the first disappearance, we were told that a top military officer and his 40 thieves had been sacked. But the top officer is still enjoying his pension . How the government dealt with the perpetrators is really mind boggling. Being a national security matter, these people should be charged as traitors and sent to Kamunting straight away. The punishment is far from fitting the crime. In China, they would have been shot.

Najib has also promised that there will be no cover-up. The fact that this theft was kept from the public until now is already a cover up. As the Defence minister when the engines went missing, Najib should have revealed the fact to the public then.
Our present Defence minister, Zahid has also displayed his ignorance when he commented that no high ranking officer was involved in the theft. Isn’t a Brigadier-General who was sacked for his involvement a high ranking officer? Or is he taking a preemptive step to follow in the notorious umno tradition that only low ranking officers or ikan bilis are caught and punished?
From the statements by our ministers and leaders, it is obvious that we are in the game of passing the buck again. The military has reported to the police, the police is waiting for the AG for instructions as to the next course of action, the PM is waiting for the relevant authorities to wrap up their investigations, and also leaving it to the Air force and Armed force on the kind of action to take against the Brigadier-general. Can someone help to ‘decipher’ the above procedure?

So Christmas is here again!

So Christmas is here again. And as usual, there shall be the common call in churches not to lose focus on the true meaning of Christmas. The commercial aspect is celebrated by everyone, whether Christians or not. Partying and giving of gifts are the main focus for these people. But we as Christians, apart from giving gifts, we need to remember why we celebrate Christmas. Apart from making resolutions and promises in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, what have we done? Have we done our part to contribute to a better world? Celine Dion in her song "So this is Christmas" tells us what Christmas is all about. "For black and for white, for yellow and red ones, let's stop the fight".

So this is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another year over

A new one just begun.

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

A very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let’s hope it’s a good one

Without any fear.

And so this is Christmas

For weak and for strong

For rich and the poor ones

The war is so wrong

And so Happy Christmas

For black and for white

For yellow and red ones

Let’s stop all the fight

A very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let’s hope it’s a good one

Without any fear.

And so this is Christmas

And what have we done?

Another year over

A new one just begun

And so Happy Christmas

We hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

A very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let’s hope it’s a good one

Without any fear

And so this is Christmas

And what have we done?

Another year over

A new one just begun.

         WISHING EVERYONE A MEANINGFUL AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS

Empty Sloganering

The 1 Malaysia slogan has been so widely used on everything that it has become meaningless. Slogans such 1 Malaysia Dance Festival, 1 Malaysia Song Contest, 1 Malaysia F1, 1 Malaysia  clinic,  etc. ring hollow because all you need is one racist statement from Utusan Melayu and other umno bigots, and all the good that the slogan is supposed to generate, evaporates into thin air. Statements like "the Chinese stepped on Malay photographs" and "it would not be impossible for another ‘May 13’ to be triggered." are contrary to what 1 Malaysia advocates. Instead of rebuking  the Utusan Melayu reporter who wrote such racial slurs, the PM had instead praised the paper for being the voice of the people. And the irony is that the 1 Malaysia slogan is supposed to be Najib’s brain child, but he doesn't seem to be doing much to promote his concept.
How can we ever hope to live together in peace when every simple act, even though it is trivial, is interpreted and highlighted by the Umno goons as insulting the positions of the Umno Malays. Notice I say Umno Malays, because the real Malaysian Malays are more intelligent than the umno malays and understand what it takes to live in peace together.

Nazri - you are on the right path

Nazri’s recent action and statements have shown that he is a man of principle after all. He has ticked of the old senile Mahathir for being the mother of racist, he has admitted that the BTN course needs to be revamped, he has also rebuked the errant taxi drivers for exploiting the tourists. As he has said, he is indeed his own man. This is the kind of leader that we want even if he is an umno man, to speak up against injustice and against religious bigots. We do not ask you to take sides but just be fair and implement your policy fairly. Articles and reports have been written about how investors are by-passing our country and how we are losing the brains of our nation. And yet these racist bigots, the police, the MACC and the judiciary are trwisting the laws to fit their agendas and thereby putting the fear of discimnination into the minds of investors. One day, there wont be anything left for them to exploit. The oil would be gone, the investors would have left and the non-malays would also have gone. There are signs that we are going backwards and countries like Indonesia and Thailand are moving ahead, but what do people like Mahathir and Zaini care. As long as they are the Jagur kampong, the world can move on.
Some have expressed that Nazri's outburst is just a flash in the pan, but what if it is ? At least it is a beginning, and if one umno man can see the light and speak up, maybe others would find the courage to do likewise. Remember, it was Zaid Ibrahim who started it off. But be as it may, we do have a long long way to go, especially with the likes of Mahathir and Zaini Hassan of Utusan Malaysia around.

Wagging the Dog

Racist remarks against one another is taking on greater proportions nowadays. Nazri has taken on Mahathir, and without their realising it, both are confirming that Umno is a racist party. Hundreds of reports had been made against DAP MP M Kulasegaran for 'making noise' over the special privileges accorded to the Malays. Then MIC and PKR then made reports against Utusan Melayu for calling the Indians, noisy people. Next,the Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) of Pahang  lodged a police report against Nga Kor Ming, the member of parliament for Taiping, Perak, over his statement questioning government expenditure in the construction of mosques. Most probably, the ding-dong will go on, as there are more to come.
But has anyone thought of the motives behind all these ant-racist remarks and reports?
In the Nazri-Mahathir case, Mahathir is getting what he wants, and that is limelight and power. A man who has weilded 22 years of power can hardly give this up.
As for Zaini Hassan of Utusan Melayu, he must be laughing all the way to a datukship, as his views will keep umno in power and the ignorant Malays chained to umno.
Simply put, the Umnos are simply wagging the dog. Racial riot? Nah, unlikely as the corrupted Umnos have more to lose. But we are forgetting the murder of Kugan and Teoh Beng Hock, the Mongolian girl, the Perak Power grap, etc, etc, aren't we?

1 Malaysia in Practice

This story was published in Hannah Yeoh's blog somtime in Oct. and was repeated in  Citizen's Nades column.
This story is so meaningful and inspiring that I feel compel to reproduce it again so that those who miss it, can truly know the meaning of 1 Malaysia.
The guy sitting in the wheelchair is Chin Kit and the guy next to him is Azizul, who is also suffering a disability of the hand. Chin Kit stays at the Angsana flat in USJ 1, while Azizul stays at Pantai Dalam in Kuala Lumpur. I'll let Chin Kit tell his story:
“Azizul used to be my school mate. We studied in the same school before. Now he is one of my best friends. Whenever I want to go to a public place I will call him and he will surely take a bus to come to my house. Then after that we will take a public taxi to travel wherever we want to go. When we get a taxi, he will help carry me in and out of my heavy wheelchair. When we are in public places, we live like normal people, window shopping, buying things, watching movies, and just hanging-out like normal people. So I'm very appreciative and I thank God to have a friend like Azizul. Hopefully our friendship will last forever".
Truly the picture and the story say it all, true friendship that goes beyond the bounderies of skin colour, religion and disabilities. Isn't this is what we are yearning for? This is what 1 Malaysia is all about. We started on the right footing, in the fifties and sixties, but somewhere along our journey, greed, power and corruption among the ruling coalition crept in and we began to crumple. The saddest part  is that the divisive and racial elements are not perpetuated by ordinary Malaysians, but by the Umno leaders and their bigots. Shame on you that we need 2 simple, ordinary guys to teach you what racial intergration is all about.

Muhyddin, you are the DPM, so behave like one.

The caliber of a minister is reflected in the way he responses to situations confronting them. If he is always chiding his critics or opponents over every trivial issue, he will always remain a third class minister only fit to run a kampong community. To be a minister of international caliber, he must be magnanimous enough to ignore the small stuff and concentrate on bigger issues that affect the country and its people.


There isn’t really much one can say about the ordinary umno ministers except that they are an embarrassment to the nation as some of them can’t even speak proper English. How to take part in international forums?

But Muhyddin, the Deputy Prime Minister, doesn’t seem to know who he is and what his position stands for. He seems to be putting his fingers into all kinds of pies. Whenever the oppositions slip, he is there to pounce on them with all kinds of derogatory remarks, like a child rejoicing over the mishap of his opponents. His defence of the BTN syllabus exposed his ignorance as Nazri has now openly declared that the truth cannot be hidden as Anwar Ibrahim was once in the government and he knows the facts. Then like the pot calling the kettle black, he ticked off Kit Siang for stepping on the photos of 3 Perak ‘frogs’. But he forgot that his umno goons tore the picture of Toh Soo Khoon (pic) and set fire to the photograph of Lim Guan Eng. And don’t tell us that umno was not behind these acts. And I suppose umno was not behind the cow head incidence too, eh? At least Kit Siang did it openly by himself, but the cowardly umno leaders send in their underlings to do the dirty work while they hide behind the veil of innocence. So don’t give us this shit about morality. As a DPM, show us yours first.

BTN - Revamp or Upgrade, the end result is the same

The Cabinet decision to revamp its curriculum is practically an admission that the accusations leveled against the Bureau by past participants have been true. Nazri further admitted that the co-curriculum is against the PM’s 1 Malaysia concept. The Selangor government is therefore justified and exonerated for having made the decision not to send their state sponsored students to the course. What a sham this has been. Even a few umno ministers, without checking their facts, had blindly declared that the course was non-racial and non-discriminatory. I wonder what they have to say now. These Umno ministers, never think first before opening their mouths.

From this event we further see the need of a strong opposition and that the BN must never be given its 2/3 majority in Parliament to prevent them from abusing their powers.

But wait a minute, as I penned the above, news have come in that the govt. had flip-flopped on its decision. According to the BTN chief, Datuk Ahmad Maslan, they are not going to revamp the curriculum but to upgrade it. Whether revamp or upgrade, the action taken will achieve the same result, and that is to remove all the racial and discriminatory contents as those were the main complaints about the course. It is the Kiasu syndrome that is being exposed as those in power just cannot bear to be seen as giving in to the Opposition.

DPM denies brain-washing tactics of BTN

The DPM of Malaysia had blatantly denied that the BTN courses, which are compulsory for civil servants and public university undergraduates, are aimed at brain-washing and “converting” participants to the political ideology of Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN). He further added that there were no ulterior motives and that the courses were well intended. What balderdash! Let’s see what some of the students who attended the course had to say.


Seri Setia state lawmaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, speaking from his own experience, said they were told that PKR members were Jewish agents, that DAP was a Singapore party, while PAS was labelled a deviant movement.

Batu Caves lawmaker Amirudin Shari said a big part of the programme had nothing to do with nation building or education but was an Umno and BN race-based programme where participants are indoctrinated with propaganda about “Ketuanan Melayu”.

Another who attended a 5-day course wrote that the so-called "trainers/motivators had nothing in mind but to slam and badmouth Pakatan Rakyat or Opposition parties. Anwar was said to be a Pengkhianat Melayu and an agent to some Yahudi movement; DAP is a pure Chinese party whose main aim is to take over the country and once it does that, Malays will be sidelined; PAS was said to be the "Pemecah Melayu" and that will make the Malays in the country weak. And guess what...who was said to be the saviour of all Malaysians...UMNO and UMNO ONLY. Who else?
We were also taught to hate and not to trust the Chinese and Indians and must always remember that Malaysia is a Malay's land".

After all these testimonies, how can he still deny this brain-washing theory. To confirm this theory, all he needs to do is call up these guys and listen to their claims. Or is he scared to face the truth. Nevertheless, the fact that his own Cabinet colleague, Datuk Seri Idris Jala”s had proposed to revamp BTN courses is an acknowledgement that it DID NOT promote the 1 Malaysia concept and that there is truth in the revelations. This therefore makes the DPM, Muhyiddin a liar or he does not know his facts. Either way, its an embarrassment to have him as our DPM.

Another Judiciary Circus: Round 1 - Ruled by Law, Round 2 - Ruled by Umno

So here we go again. Another round of judiciary circus by the judiciary clowns. As aptly stated by the President of Aliran, round 1 always goes to the opposition, as in the Kampong Buah Pala and Mohd. Nizar Jamaludin cases. In the present Kota Siputeh case, the High Court has upheld the interpretation of the Speaker of the Kedah state assembly that under Article 51 of the Kedah Constitution the incumbent assembly member for Kota Siputeh Abu Hassan Sarif was no longer an assembly member. That is round 1 and is ruled by Law. However when it comes to round 2, Umno always wins with the cahoots of the umno judges who looked for loopholes in the law while ignoring justice. This is ruled by Umno. So now the EC has won its appeal for a stay of the execution of the High court decision to compel it to hold the Kota Siputeh by-election. Sometimes, it fact most times, I wonder where our judges learn their law. Don’t they earn their law degrees from the same institution and don’t they study the same law. Then how come the judges of the court of Appeal can overturn or put aside decisions made by the High court judges. Does this mean the High court judges are less competent and ignorant of the law and have to be taught by the Court of Appeal judges? This is a great insult to their brother judges. Just when we are about to see a return of justice, bang! we are handed another sandiwara.

Police didn't know those Arrested were Lawyers

The on-going Suhakam enquiry into the arrest of five lawyers who were present as legal representatives at the Brickfields police station in May was told by the police that they (the police) did not know they were lawyers. The report in the Star did not mention the reaction of the Suhakam panel members, but I do sincerely hope that they did not swallow this yarn in toto. Most of us had watched the scene on U-tube and we know that the one who made the most noise and also the most aggressive was the OCPD himself. He refused to listen as he was more interested in shouting warnings through the loud hailer. So even if the lawyers had identified themselves, no one would have heard. I presume the panel had watched the video so as to get a clearer picture of the situation. Anyway it is reproduced below to refresh everyone’s memory.

Mohd Puad Zarkash - Speaking English is Weird.

Deputy Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi (left) said that speaking English in the workplace is "weird" and harmful to the nation's culture and identity. In lauching the linguistic seminar he also said "We are polluting our own culture and identity as a nation."

If he speaks English the way he speaks, then I would agree that it is not only weird but also pollutes the language.  It is not only atrocious but a great embarrassment to the nation. Read the speech he gave in the seminar and see if you can make head or tail of what he said. Maybe only he himself can understand, especially the high-lighted parts.
And he is the Deputy Minister of EDUCATION.

Assalamualaikum wr.wb. Assalamualaikum wr.wb. dan salam 1 Malaysia. 1 Malaysia and peace.
I was opening the International Conference on Linguistics and Culture Development malay.. Conference is organized by UPM in cooperation with DBP.. The theme of this seminar is 'Pemerkesaan Malay identity as a nation-state building' I take the opportunity in the inauguration speech was to raise the matter that is the tree 'acculturation Malay' in Malaysia.
Language is social capital and cultural capital. Nations that marginalize language is a nation that does not animate the race and there is no self-esteem.. Therefore language acculturation is very important. It will produce a nation that move collectively.. Feeling accountability thick. This is what Francis Fukuyama called, why have the Japanese culture Japanaese Incorporated. They have their own culture to language.
Language but the culture of Malaysians especially the Malays is very annoying, sometimes frustrating and sometimes disturbing. Just look at the language and text and language on the Internet. Very strange cultural language of the Malays today.
The first example, when the Malays chat chat among themselves, especially the elites, they like talking in English. What they need to converse in English. We do not like the French, the Japanese and Korean people. If talking to each other, they use their language, not English. Strange is that we both love to chat chat, especially those middle-class language use rojak mixed mixed between Malay and English. This is clear enough drama in TV dramas including those published in the TV 1 and TV 2. TV 3 do not matter. Skripnya we see is a script language that mixed mixed. Malaysia is the third culture people do not obey the French language as such abide by the language. Although the French know and speak English, but they still speak French.
For those French have a long history. They claim that the French language in the diplomatic Erofah than English. Actually malay also aged 2000 years. Malay 6 stages of evolution have suffered from an ancient language to the language of modern. But what problems we are. The problem is that we can not distinguish perana Malay as the national language and English as a second language. We see the role of the Malay language as the language of official business only.. That is spotted. Next problem is that we are no longer as capable of not even want to control it GLC and private actions that make full use of English in their board meeting meeting. With the rapid development of the private sector, he feared, culture does not abide by this language become increasingly so.
The problem, the problem is not Malay, but our problem attitude. That betray our own national policies or pollute citra cultural Malaysia That's why there are meetings and meetings at the faculty senate that the university will use the English language entirely. This is a challenging acculturation Malay language in Malaysia.

Where did he learn his English?

The IGP's warped sense of logic

The IGP declared that to question the police action is to support the criminals. What kind of logic is that? After all that had happened, the selective arrests, selective persecution and selective prosecution and deaths while in custody, and now he tells us we are supporting the criminals, because we question them. Are we to allow the police to do whatever they like? It is not only embarrassing but also sad indeed to have the top policeman of a nation to hold such a view.

He also said that “We do not want our personnel to be shot first.” So in the latest shooting incident, the police opened fire first before the ‘crooks’ did. Where was the provocation or danger that warranted the police shooting first? If the the police knew that the 'crooks' were armed, then they must be really stupid to stand in the open to expose themselves.
The IGP should take a leaf out of the many police stories we see on the TV. Whenever someone is shot dead by the police, an investigation is immediately launched to determine whether the shooting is justified. Meanwhile, the policeman involved is also investigated by the IRS and can even be suspended from duties. Don’t tell me all shootings of criminals are justified and the police is infallible.
Weren't the police trained to shoot to maim. Out of 5 who were shot, not even one was maimed. Truly dead men tell no tales.

Kudos to Declassification

The declassification of documents deemed as official secrets by the Selangor government should be applauded and not condemned. On revelation of the contents of the documents, it became crystal clear that the act was used to hide sinister dealings by the BN government. As most of us understand, the OSA was to ensure the security of nation would not be jeopardized. So can some one in the BN government explain how a housing project that was abandoned can affect the security of the nation. And how a logging and reforestation concessions involving 11,000 ha given to several companies could be classified under OSA.

The Penang govt. is next in line to declassify a document related to the conversion of a parcel of land from lease hold to free hold. Again how this is related to national security is baffling. It is now hoped that other PR states will follow suit and expose BN’s wrong doings. We can’t expect the police or the MACC to do much, but at least the public will know who to vote for in the next GE.
The public has long been convinced that the BN government was corrupted to the core . On Tuesday, the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) reconfirmed this perception when it announced that its global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2009 saw Malaysia falling from 47 to 56 position. And even a BN component party, Gerakan, wants the government to intensify its efforts to rid corruption. These are proof and admission that corruption is still rampant in the ruling coalition. So all these rhetorics about fighting corruption by the PM and his cronies are just noises designed to enhance the image of the PM before the 13 GE. But we the rakyat knows better. And so if there are still dumbs dumbs who still want to put the BN in power, then be prepared see your hard-earned money go to feed the corrupted BN cronies, and stop whinning when you see the RM24 million mansion of a dentist or the palace of a railway gate-keeper.

Nazri, Is there any more law left in our country?

With all his twisting and turning of the facts in the Lingam case, I wonder whether Nazri, the minister in the Prime Minister’s dept., can really sleep in peace every night. I wonder how he can face his children with all the distortion of facts and I wonder how he can look into the mirror every morning. Truly only a man without a conscience can do all these. First he said that Lingam was just out to impress people with his phone conversation with a judge. He conceded that Lingam’s “actions can undermine and erode the integrity of the judiciary”, but his action was only morally wrong and there was nothing illegal about it. Isn’t undermining and eroding the integrity of the judiciary bad enough? But I suppose Nazri knows that the integrity of the judiciary is already in bad shape, so for Nazri to add Lingam’s morally wrong action to further erode the image of the judiciary is no big deal.


Next, when a witness was prepared to testify, Nazri said that she was not the witness they were looking for. What kind of law do we have when a witness with concrete evidence is blatantly rejected? And you want the public to co-operate with the police?

Even Lingam’s brother testimony in the Royal Commission that he carried a bag full of money to the home of a former judge, was rejected by Nazri as it had nothing to do with the brokering of judges. Again, what kind of law do we have here? Nazri seems to be above the law and is allowed to interpret the law as he sees fit.
So they are going to let Lingam walk. He is as guilty as hell and they let him walk.

Nazri & Hishamuddin-an embarrassment to the Nation

What caliber of ministers do we have? Every time when Nazri or Hishamuddin open their mouths, my hairs stand on ends and I blush. Please lah, if you are not worried about your ‘muka’, please give face to all of us Malaysians who are spread all over the world.

First we have Nazri who said that Lingam was just putting on an act in his phone conversation with a judge so as to impress people. Come on, you may fool the kindergarten kids and the kampong folks with such an explanation, but you are not only insulting our intelligence but the intergrity and sanctity of a Royal Commission set up by the King himself. The Royal Commission had said that there is a case against Lingam, and who are you to say Lingam had done no wrong? For this act alone, you should be charged with sedition.
He next claimed that the witness that PR had produced was not the one the MACC was looking for, but he refused to say who the witness was. He further arrogantly said that “whether she is important to us or not it entirely depends on us.” So if I read this correctly, even if the witness has concrete proof of corruption, the MACC or he himself can just dismiss her as unimportant and will not call her to testify. So who is the law here and what is the law?

Next, we have Hishamuddin giving the darnest excuse for the police’s inability to control crime. He blamed the country's high crime rate on the demonisation of institutions such as the police. He is like a lousy carpenter putting the blame for his bad work on his tools. If the police had done their work in the first place, there wont be any demonisation at all. Look at the way they selectively arrested the peaceful candle light vigilers while they stood by like zombies while the cow-head demonstrators went wild with their words and actions. They deserved to be demonised.

PM's Truths and Wishful thinking

Speaking at the Sabah’s Liberal Democratic Party 20th. Annual general meeting in Kota Kinabalu, PM Najib pointed out a couple of truths and a couple of wishful thinking.

The truth first. The lesson of LDP’s fate in Japan must be fully understood by all Barisan parties. He is definitely right at that, but how the Barisan parties are going to understand is another matter. One way I would suggest is for him and his image enhancing people to read the comments of the bloggers, Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today.
It is not that the Opposition is strong but it is because we are weak. It is not because the Opposition is popular but we have become unpopular.
Another truth well uttered. But he should not stop at that. He should go on and reveal why the BN is weak and why it is unpopular. May I can help here. Think of the MACC's selective persecution, think of the police’s selective arrests and prosecution and think of the dishonorable umno judges that gave twisted judgments.
Now for some wishful thinking.
If we keep serving the people, we will win the next election hands down and the next and next.
You may get your votes from the rural folks, but you will never get them from the well-informed urban people as long as you serve the people the umno way. And after 50 years, we all know what is the umno way.
Issues of race and religion should be discussed behind closed doors and the solutions should be agreeable to all.
Well said, but what about the use of the word Allah. Is it agreeable to all?
We will create a record..............as the longest ruling party in the world.
Carry on dreaming.
Heed the warning given by the new Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hotoyama, and that is “the LDP lost its over five-decades of rule because it was out of touch with the ordinary Japanese”. Ordinary means all ordinary and not just the rural ordinary. Maybe then your dream may just become a reality.

MACC - flash in the pan or what?

Its good to see that the MACC is waking up from its long slumber. There had been a blitz of arrests of officials from the ruling coalition as well as from the Opposition  for all kinds of corruption. Another task force, headed by the chief secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hasssan, has been formed to look into the misdeeds highlighted in the AG's report. He is also heading the task force that is looking into the PKFZ scandal. With two task forces to deal with, I wonder whether he would be effective and whether the government really means business in wanting to get rid of the bad apples.
From past records, it is unlikely that any drastic actions would be taken. And in anticipation of "no further action' conclusion, the task force has declared that any punitive action must be fair and consideraion be given to uncontrolled factors, etc. So in the end when no action is taken, the standard reason will be insufficient evidence and the misdeed is done in good faith. And as usual the task force need not have to explain its conclusions. But to prove that action is being taken, some small ikan bilis will take the fall.
However, the Chief Secretary did admit that public perception of the task force is poor, but he did promise that those responsible would be punished. So maybe we should give him a chance to prove himself. After all he did say that "The proof of the pudding is in the eating.". So lets see.

Nazri - Ruling Coalition has more corrupted people.

In Parlaiment today, Minister Nazri denied there is selective prosecution in response to questions regarding the arrest of controversial ex-Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin. He also defended the MACC pointing out that the body was colur blind when carrying out its duties. And to prove his point, he pointed out that 12 men from the ruling coalition had been arrested compared to only one from the opposition. Someone ought to advise this minister to look before he leaps. He has now admitted that there are more corrupted people in the ruling coalition than in the opposition. So we were right all along. He also admitted that in the past, many things could happen and be hidden. Way to go man! More of this kind of admission, not only he himself, but the whole BN government ministers will have to hide their faces in shame.
And as for his denial in selective prosecution, just answer one simple question, Nazri. Why was Teoh Boon Hock subject to torturous interrogation over a meagre sum of RM2400 while former CM Toyo didn’t even blink over his RM24 million mansion interrogation? Until you can answer this, don’t you dare say that there is no selective prosecution.

DISGRACE! DISGRACE! PERAK ASSEMBLY

THIS IS THE SCENE BEFORE THE START OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY.THE HONORABLE PR YBs WERE BEING REDUCED TO MERE CHILDREN BEING SHOVED AROUND BY THE POLICE. WHAT A DISGRACE TO THE POLICE AND TO THE NATION. AND THIS USURPER, ZAMBRY, HAS GOT THE CHEEK AND AUDACITY TO DECLARE VICTORY TO THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE. HAS HE NO SHAME? HAS MALAYSIA LOST ITS PRIDE & SELF ESTEEM?

MACC not effective because of non-cooperation of public

MACC now blames the public for its ineffectiveness. At the Agency media briefing, its deputy commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed stressed that the public must report those who give and those who receive bribes. What have we been doing all this time, Datuk? You think the public have been sitting on their butts doing nothing? Who exposed to you the Toyo mansion and the Zakariah palace? Who exposed the corruption in the Tourism ministry and PKFZ scandal? What happened to Teoh Beng Hock who co-operated? The list goes on. But what you actually want is for the public to do the investigation as well and hand you the results on a platter. Right? But even then we see no further action, as in the 2 Royal Commissions, the police and the Lingam commissions. So you want the public to co-operate, isit? Its amazing how some of our leaders can be so naive and dumb as not to be in sync with the public’s sentiments. He is however right in at least one point though, and that is the MACC image is at a low point, and it will indeed be very difficult to regain public confidence.

Now the doctor is no more amnesic

Now the once amnesic Dr. Mahathir is expressing his disappointment that the case against VK Lingam is closed, thus robbing him of his chance to clear his name. How convenient, but he must have said this with the characteristic smirk on his face. “I have a lot of things to say about attempts to influence me on the appointment of judges.” as he begins to sing for all to hear. My, my, suddenly he has a lot of things to say which means he can remember a lot of things. But what happened during the Royal Commission Enquiry. He was evasive, uncharacteristically forgetful and prone to sudden bouts of amnesia on certain crucial events. Most of the time he was trying his best to evade questions, including his resort to prerogative to refuse to answer questions. Hey doc, you may live up to your own motto ‘Melayu mudah lupa’, but we the rakyat will ingat sampai mati.

What demented mind could do this to a child?

Varsha, a 12-year old daughter of a paint factory worker was kidnapped on the day she was to sit for her UPSR exam. After one week, her body was found wrapped in a gunny sack(top pic). She had been brutally murdered.  Was there any news report in the papers?

Damn it, I just have no words to describe the brutality of this heinous crime. The person who did this is worse than an animal. If you want to get your hands on this demented scum of the earth, you need to stand in line. And where were the crime busters, the police? Was there any report or investigation carried out?

Meanwhile, dear mothers and dear fathers, maybe you should hold on tighter to your children, and to those rebellious children, maybe you should take a longer look at the pictures before you start arguing with your parents' concern for your safety.

VK Lingam is free - a mockery of the Royal Commission.

A Royal Commission was set up to investigate the hanky-panky business of the appointment of judges and the Commission has found conclusive evidence of abuse and misuse of power, especially against Lingam and in its report suggested that action be taken against Lingam and others implicated in the infamous scandal. But the AG, through the Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has got the gall to say that there was ‘no case’ against Lingam. Who the hell does he think he is? Is he more powerful than the Royal Commission, and yet by his say so, there is no case. What kind of justice do we have here? Mind you, the Royal Commission members were made up of honorable and people of caliber. This is not only a mockery but an insult on the integrity of its members. And what about the time and money spent in setting up and carrying out the investigation? Surely the AG or the minister owes us an explanation.


So let us not forget this yet another power-abuse episode. Let us keep this under the KIV files and pull it out just before the 13GE and expose ALL the injustices that have accumulated. They think we are people who “mudah lupa”. But such power abuse, discrimination, selective persecution and prosecution, we WILL NEVER FORGET.

80 % Homicide

At the Teoh Beng Hock death Inquiry, Thai forensic expert, Dr, Pornthip Rojanasunand (left)declared without fear and favour that there was a 80% possibility the death of Teoh Beng Hock was homicide. Without fear because she feared neither the Malaysian police, MACC or the government. Without favour because she does not owe the Malaysian government or anyone a living. But I cannot say the same for our 2 own pathologists , Dr. Khairul Aznam Ibrahim and Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar whose livelihood depends on the pleasure of those who employ them. So whose findings or reports would you believe? Dr. Pornthip, the director-general of Thailand’s Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS)and who has carried out over 10,000 autopsies over the last 27 years, stated that Beng Hock was alive but was unconscious when he hit the ground, that he had been manually strangled and suffered anal penetration before he fell., that he was beaten with a stick on his thighs, and that his skull was fractured as a result of a blunt force being applied to it. And she could come to such conclusion after only going through Teoh’s autopsy report and photographs of his injuries. So can you imagine how much she will be able to reveal if she had done an autopsy herself.

With the above revelation, there is now a possibility of a second autopsy and for the sake of justice, it is hoped that all parties will agree to it.

The New ALI Party

     Last Sunday, Zorro unmasked suggested that the 3 Alis, Ibrahim Ali, Hassan Ali and Azmin Ali, form a new party and invited the public to suggest a name. And up come Daniel's winning entry on the right - PARTI ALI BERSATU.

Umno is not Racist - Sheeesh, Give me a break!

At the recently concluded UMNO General Assembly, the umno president, Najib said that UMNO is not racist. Obviously he is what Mahathir called ‘Melayu mudah lupa’. Either that or he is shouting rhetorics to placard the non-Malays in line with his “umno must change’ because the ‘people want change’ policy.

If UMNO is not racist, then explain the following:-
The setting up of Biro Tata Negara (BTN) to instill in the minds of the young Malays the concept of Ketuanan Melayu and the dangers of the other races. Isn’t this racist?
Why it has allowed its umno-owned newspaper, specifically Utusan Melayu, to publish stories and commentaries that were seditious in nature? Not taking any action against the paper is bad enough, but Najib had gone the opposite direction by praising the papers instead. Tell me then, if the paper had written racist articles, how dare then can you say that umno is not racist?
Why it has organized forums after 8/3 where the Malays were warned about the erosion of the Malay power, and erroneously claimed that Malay land had fallen into the hands of non-Malays? Isn’t this racist?
Why is that non-Malays have to work much harder to secure places of institutions of higher learning? Even then many students with brilliant results failed to get places and have to go overseas, because of the restrictive quota. And why is that only a small percentage of government scholarships are given to non-Malays. Isn’t this racist?
Why is that 99% of Petronas gas stationas are owned by Malays and 99% of its directors are Malays?
Why is that the civil service so understaffed by non-Malays?
Why are there education institutions that are strictly for the Malays?
This list is by no means exhausted, but it is enough to repudiate Najib’s assertion that UMNO is not racist. So please don’t warn us against calling umno racist. Look into your UMNO policy first,

Tony Kwok-the man from HongKong shooting from the Hip

Recently there was this guy by the name of Tony Kwok Man Wai , a former deputy commissioner of Hong Kong famed Anti corruption Agency, who gave a thumb’s up to the operations the MACC. He only lauded the setting up of the 5 Advisory Committees to monitor the MACC, but did not mention how effective are their monitering. But we all know how effective they are. So I don’t know which hole he had crawled out from, but he is definitely jurassic in his views. On the other hand, being a ‘former’ officer, probably he was given a free holiday to come over to give the MACC a boost, especially after the bashing it has been getting. If only Tony had checked his facts before he opened his big mouth. If only Tony had read some of the proceedings and cases that are on going, he would have saved himself the embarrassment of shooting from the hip. He need not have to go far back. Just the present Teoh Beng Hock’s case will reveal the lies, inconsistencies and denials of its officers will probably put Tony to shame, that is if he truly belonged to the elite Hong Kong Crime buster commission.

Then we have the MACC going in with guns blazing to investigate the expenditure of RM2400 for purchase of 1500 Malaysian flags, resulting in a witness ( repeat witness) coming out of the MACC office in a body bag, but are pussy footing on how Khir Toyo acquire his multi-million ringgit mansion. (see picture).

So Tony, do us Malaysians a favour. Open yourself to all political parties and hear their views. Better still, join me in a coffee shop and hear the people's views.

MACC in Confusion

The Selangor  MACC deputy director Hishamuddin (any relation to Krismuddin? ) Hashim on one hand said that Teoh Beng Hock (bless his soul) was not under arrest, but on the other, he is also not free to leave. Now which is which? Cannot leave and under arrest means you are confined. Isn't it? Sheeeesh! Or is this another case of technicality in the use of the word arrest, as in Isa’s crime of corruption?
Then he admitted telling his officer, Annuar not to report Teoh's death becauseTeoh was not under the "control" of MACC during the time of his death. What is this? Under arrest, cannot leave the macc, but not under their control. Mr. Coroner, do you understand them?
Next he denied that he was seen in the office in the morning of July 16 (around the time Teoh died), even though his own people testified that he was present. Poor chap. This officer who testified will probably get the sack or make a statutory declaration and disappear.
Lies, contradictions and more lies. Obviously the testimony of the MACC officers cannot be relied on any longer, as there is no more creditability  in their statements. The coroner should not waste any more time listening to them.

Bagan Pinang - PAS Loss, a Wake-Up Call

As expected the post mortem is in full swing now. Political analysts from both sides are giving their expert opinions. The reasons why PAS faired atrociously are varied, the postal vote being one of them, but the one that strikes out glaringly, and echoed loudly in coffee shops, is that the people are indeed fed-up with the internal bickering among the Pakatan partners. especially from the likes of Hassan Ali and Zulkifli Nordin. Apart from failing to deliver, it is also not convinced that it is strong enough in view of the many defections. So between the two evils, it is then better to have the evil (BN) that they already know rather than the one they dont know. Lim Kit Siang in his blog sounded a warning about sweeping issues under the carpet and that the coalition partners must not be shy to discipline its errant members. Without putting its own house in order, the PR coalition can stop dreaming of forming the next Federal government. Read also Art Harun's comment at http://www.malaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/art-harun/40226-faux-pas-at-bagan-pinang for detailed reasons of Pas's loss.
Attributing BN's success to the person of Isa may indeed hold some truth. We all know that he has been found guilty of money politics. We also know that  a leopard can never change its spots. And so Isa being Isa, the voters are now hoping for more money coming their way, although they may be distributed through a third party, like the 2 datuks and one Tan Sri. Now that the BN has declared that all criminals should be given a second chance, it is now open season to give out money. If you are caught, appeal against your sentence and you can bounce back to your original position. Hey Tamby Chik & Mohd x2, what are you waiting for? Malaysia Boleh!

PKR - So What now after Bagan Pinang?

So PAS lost and this time by a bigger majority. And I suppose there will be a post mortem. But thinking back, the lost is inevitable, especially with the postal vote advantage. But the loss by a bigger majority is definitely unacceptable. However most of us were just hoping for a miracle. If we were true to ourselves, we would have seen the sign on the wall. The leaders should have gone round the coffee shops and listened to talks regarding the sale of alcohol and Selcat hearing. Right in the midst of this election we had issues created by PAS Hassan Ali and PKR Zulkifli Nordin,  but somehow the leaders refused to see them. If the Pakatan coalition is always at loggerheads with each other, and PAS creating issues which will hurt  the sensitivities of its partners and the public, the people might as well vote for the BN. Bearing in mind that some of the PAS members and most of the Keadilan members were umno rejects, people are saying that Hassan Ali is like a Trojan horse. So the faster we get rid of such rejects, the better will be the future for the Pakatan coalition. History has shown that whenever PAS creates an issue, the Pakatan will slide a few notches in its popularity. The coffee shop talk now is that  PAS deserves it and it is a wake-up call for the Pakatan leaders. So heed the warning.

Malacca -Transformed 2

In my previous post on “Malacca-Transformed” dated 15 Sept., I mentioned that the Malacca govt. is in the process of acquiring a replica of the treasure ship of Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho). It is now confirmed with the just concluded signing of a memorandum of understanding between FMDI Finance House and Yuen Her Holdings to develop a RM 50mil. 12ha coastal theme park in Klebang in Malacca. A sea-worthy full-size replica of the treasure ship is currently under construction in China and will sail the routes of Zheng He expeditions, which will include a stop over in Malacca to coincide with the opening of the theme park .

Picture of the treasure ship. It is 400 feet long as compared with Columbus's ship (superimposed) which is only 85 ft. long.

Bagan Pinang - Who is Lying?

Pas claimed that there are 253 postal voters comprising military personnel who were also voting as civilians in other or the same constituencies. The list of the 253 names was even distributed to members of the Press. However the deputy PM refuted this allegation and accused Pas of making excuses in order to seek a postponement of the election which he confidently declared that Umno will win. I really don’t get this. If Pas has the list , why has Pas NOT given the list to the Election Commission and demand that the EC check it out? Then let’s see what the umno people, especially Muhyiddin, have to say.

On the issue of assault, look at the pictures and see see how a gorilla can be floored (or bedded) with a tap. Surely there would be witnesses if he was assaulted by 9 persons.

tap on the shoulder                               Hospital bed he landed

          

Now this is a real assault (with a samurai sword) on a Pas supporter by the    umno-linked thugs, as claimed by Pas.

                                 

Najib-on damage control mode, but still way off the mark

Since taking over as the PM, Najib has implemented several measures to win back support for him and his Umno/BN. These include liberalizing the country’s economy, relaxing a host of restrictions on foreign investment, the announcement of 2 stimulus packages of RM 7 billion and RM60 billion, releasing of ISA detainees, giving a facelift to Brickfields to appease the Indians and naming Port Dickson an Army town to appease the army

I suppose he means business when he declared that the BN must take back Selangor in the next GE and this includes all the other states that BN lost.
But try as he might, he is missing the point. How do the above measures benefit the ordinary rakyat? The problem with the government is the question of credibility. It has to address this issue with sincerity and seriousness. The foot dragging investigation of the Kugan murder case and the current Teoh Boon Hock’s death enquiry are examples of its reluctance to bring the culprits to book. The public is also not happy with the outcome of the Lingam scandal, the C4 murder case, and the most recent Cow Head protest episode. On top of that the over zealous interrogation of opposition Aduns and MPs but only a tap on the wrist of Khir Toyo by the MACC is not enhancing the image of the Barisan Govt. The Barisan must be serious in wanting to punish the offenders involved in all the scandals and corruption. But to date this has not been the case. Selective persecution, prosecution, and disclosure are still the order of the day. Even if there is a change towards transparency and accountability, the public perception is still in the negative territory, and it will need some hard and continuous evidence to convince the public to think otherwise.

Steps to take before reporting to police/MACC

The following article written by George Aria is a gem and I am compelled to reproduce it so that everyone will forever have access to it whenever the situation arises. Archive it in your computer or print it out and keep it handy.
Thanks George.


"With the periodic reports in the press of people dying while in police custody or at MACC premises, it would be wise for all Malaysians to do the following should they be called in to give statements as a witness or as a suspect for any crime. The recommended actions are as follows:
1. Determine at which station you are required to give your statement
    (as witness   or suspect);
2. Immediately proceed to any other police station. Do not go alone — go with a 
    friend, preferably a lawyer. You just can’t be too careful;
3. At this other police station, make a police report stating that:
    i. You are currently having no problems (social, personal, business, financial, 
       etc) and do not intend whatsoever to commit suicide (e.g. perhaps by
       jumping down 14 storeys just to see if you can fly or because of too much
       questioning throughout the night) while in the police/MACC premises;
  ii. You are of good health and do not suffer from any chronic disease or injury
       that could cause a (or actually your) sudden death;
 iii. You have no bruises nor swollen organs before going in to give your
       statement. In short, you have a clean bill of health;
 iv. That should you be found dead in the lock up or while in custody or anywhere
       in the premises of the police/MACC — to please suspect foul play;
  v. That you want to leave the premises of the police/MACC once it is past 6pm
      and if you do not leave, that means you are held against your will in the said
      police/MACC premises where they are “taking” or “making” your statement;
4.  Upon making the said report, to give a copy to your lawyer friend while you
     keep another copy in your top shirt pocket;
5.  You and your friend must now part company and go separate ways;
6.  Only then should you proceed to the police station or MACC office to be
     “interviewed” by the police/MACC interrogators;
7. Upon meeting up with the police or MACC interrogators, immediately hand
    them the police report from your top shirt pocket and tell them that another
    copy is with your lawyer. (Make sure this lawyer friend is no longer with you
    at this point; otherwise no more copy-lah, as he too will be “called in” to give
    his statement.)

Now all the above is so important as it is all done in the hope that they (police and MACC interrogators) will be “nice” to you and thus you are able to leave the premises in due course on your own steam (walking out by yourself) and not be carried out in a body bag or taken on a stretcher to the hospital  ." 

Teoh Beng Hock's Death Enquiry-Tan Hock Chuan's dilemma

Yesterday he said he had no more witnesses to call. He even tried to limit the number of witnesses the lawyers representing Teoh’s family and the state government want to bring in. The former deputy public prosecutor, Tan Hock Chuan had said that he had no more witnesses to call and had argued that there was no need to call senior graft busters, Hishamuddin Hashim and Hairul Ilham Hamzah. He was even offended when  Malaysian Insider reported on this. The next day he told the magistrate that his job was not to "block or obstruct" the investigation. Then why is he limiting the number of witnesses? Is this guy for real? Does he know that he is contradicting himself? One day he had no more witnesses to call and did not allow others to call and the next day he said he would be calling Hishamuddin, Hairul Ilham plus another MACC officer Arman Alies, after the coroner ruled that senior macc officers could testify. Does he want to get to the truth or not?  Probably the  flip-flop bug has got into him too.

Port Dickson- now an Army Town

The Prme Minister had declared that Port Dickson be also known as Army Town. There goes the image of a beautiful beach resort which has been the haven for tourists, both local and international. I dont deny the fact that we should give recognition to the army for the sacrifice in defending the country, but should'nt we avoid putting the army in a spotlight in such manner? Now we will have the image of tanks, army trucks and soldiers everywhere. I dont want to be paranoid, but wont this be the first place our enemies would attack in case there is a war? This will be the place where the rockets and bombs will land.It is like telling our enemies, "here we are, right here, no need to look any further". On the one hand there may be security with the army as your companion, but would you have peace of mind knowing that this is the first target of attack. I am sure there are other better ways of rewarding or recognising the army, such as better pay and better retirement benefits.

RPK speaking about his Solitary Confinement

10 ft by 10 ft square cell without ventilation, piece of plywood for a bed and a piece of 'Good morning' towel to clean himself from a bucket, deprived off natural sunlight, hand-cuffed and blind-folded and subjected to brain washing, and all these for a political dissident. Come on, he is not even a criminal or a murderer and has proven that he loves this country more than all the interrogators put together. We treat animals better. These people must have been trained by the KGB or Gestapo and are really desperate in getting a confession to the extent of forgetting they are human beings. I thought we Malaysians, especially the Malays are a very cultured race, respectful, religious and non-violent in their life style. So where does this streak of causing hurt and pain come from? Surely must be imported and we know who these people are, especially from their names.

Kugan Petition Failed

Kugan's mother failed in her attempt to deliver her petition to the Agong to seek the Istana's intervention to force the police to take action on those who were involved. It is now already 8 months and still no one has been charged. It is amazing how the police is dragging its feet. All the mother wanted was justice and since she couldn't get it from the police, she is pleading with her king to do something. Where else can she turn to? As  parents, we most certainly can feel the heart-wrenching sadness and frustration. So please your Majesty, do not turn  away from the plea of your subjects. This has nothing to do with politics. It has  all to do with compassion and love of your subjects.

As you watch the video, pay attention to the Brickfields police chief, ACP Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid. Watch his action and listen to the tone of his voice as he shouted at the small crowd which included a distraught mother, MPs and lawyers. Even when the crowd was already walking away, he still shouted at them, as if enjoying his show of power.
Where is his professionalism as a police officer? Maybe he hasn't got one as he had already shown himself as an uncouth low-class officer when he shouted and arrested the 5 lawyers who were at the Brickfiels police station to represent those arrested sometime back.

Tanjung Piai - a Sorely Neglected Tourist Gem

Apart from Melaka, the other states in the country have not fully capitalized on the existing resources to attract tourists into their territories. The word I would like to emphasize is ‘capitalize’. In my travels of the Asian countries, I found that the Thais are very passionate in their enthusiasm to capitalize on whatever little they have and make them world renown so as to attract tourists to their country. Take for example, the Golden Triangle in northern Thailand. The term applies to the opium growing region covering northern Thailand, eastern Burma and western Laos, an area where the boundaries of these three countries converge. There is really nothing much to see there, but the name Golden Triangle is in itself an attraction and has become part of the tour itinerary. Then there is Mae Sai , the northern-most city of Thailand, and a stepping stone for visits to Myanmar as the 2 countries are connected by a bridge. It is just a small town, but again the Thai has capitalized on its location.

Back in Malaysia, specifically in Johore, we have a famous landmark which hardly appears in any brochure. Some tour agents and most Malaysian don’t even know of its existence. I am referring to a piece of land inTanjung Piai which has been accredited to being the southern-most tip of the Asian continent. And Malaysia, known for its penchant for building and creating the longest, the tallest, the most this and that, it is amazing how the tourism authority could ignore and neglect this ‘most’ southern tip of the world’s largest continent. Greater effort should be made to capitalize on this natural gift of nature. All travelers would want to feel proud of the fact that they are standing on the tip of the world’s largest land mass. Imagine the exhilarating feeling when you step up on one of the platforms (top pic) and stretch your hands and take the whole world into your embrace. But regretfully, except for a stone monument (bottom left) declaring its unique position, nothing much is done to promote this unique place.

What a waste. Probably it’s a question of patriotism. Are the people working in the tourism industry patriotic enough or proud enough to want to show to the whole world that we have something unique or are they just there to “makan gaji saja”.

Selective Disclosure

So after selective persecution and selective prosecution, we now have selective disclosure. In connection with the leaked PKFZ 18-page document, the PM said that the people is not to be denied “the right of information in the PKFZ case”, and “the people will continue to be informed of developments on the PKFZ investigation” .But in the same breath he flipped with “what we are supposed to tell the people, we will do so.” So we will only be told what the cabinet wants us to know, and all the dirt and corruption will be classified as OSA to protect those in the corridors of power. The BN must also surely have skeletons in the cupboard which must be kept from the public’s knowledge and scrutiny.


And as always, action will be taken against those who leaked the cabinet documents, but nothing is mentioned about action against the perpetrators of the scandal. Malaysia today should be lauded for disclosing the documents without which we the public would not have known about the many corruption and mismanagement that are being exposed. The amazing thing is that none of the BN leaders has shown any concern as to how and why we the Malaysian tax-paying public are being burdened with a RM12.2 billion scandal spanning over three prime minsters and three finance minsters.

Astro Sports Package - Price increase

Astro has started on another round of price increase. This time it begins with the Sports package.
Last July Astro wrote to all subscribers to inform them of the need to increase the price of the Sports package because of the escalating cost of sports content. If that is the case, then the increase should be confined to the Sports package. However the increase Astro imposed varies with different packages. I have 2 smart cards, both subscribing to Sports package. The increase on my first card is RM 5.99 (from my current price of RM46.89), but the increase on my second card is RM 12.00.(from my current price of RM105.95). If the increase is for only the Sports package, it baffles me greatly how one Sports package is increased by RM5.99 and another same sports package, by RM12.00. On what basis or formula does Astro base its increase? It is fortunate that I have 2 packages to compare the difference. Those who have only one package will inadvertently accept the arbitrary increase without knowing this discrepancy.
Astro also stated that the price of the Sports package, before and after the increase, is still the lowest in the region. This is like an old record being replayed repeatedly whenever justification is needed for an increase. The consumers of today do not accept everything blindly. If you make a comparison, show us the figure. Moreover, other factors, like standard of life, are to be considered. As a corporate entity, at least extend to us this respect and courtesy.
You thank us for our understanding. However I regret that we cannot thank you for yours, because you really do not understand us. At this time of economic hardship, when everyone is trying to keep prices down or at least status quo, you at Astro has deemed it proper to increase your prices. Where is your understanding? Having said that, I am sure that this is not the end of the price increase story.

Melaka - Transformed.

December 1999, after spending all my growing years and working life in the sleeping hollow town of Melaka, I packed up and moved to Subang Jaya where I am to spend the rest of my twilight years with my children and grandchildren. However, I still go back occasionally to meet with old friends. Old friends are either balder at the top or wider at mid-section. But that's not the transformation I am going to talk about. It is about the transformation of a sleepy hollow into a vibrant tourist hub. Credit must go to Ali Rustum, the Chief Minister for the astounding transformation, albeit the removal and destructuion of green lungs and open space in the city. I suppose the maxim that you cannot have the cake and eat it as well holds true here.
With the reclamation of the sea, the city has extended its land area and boundary, leading to the  construction of a coastal road thereby easing traffic congestion in certain parts. An island has also been created from the reclaimed land.

The introduction of attractions like the Menara Taming Sari revolving tower (top left), the Eye on Melaka (top right) (as different from the Eye on Malaysia which was relocated from KL) have pulled in hordes of tourists, especially over the week-ends.

One transformation that will not escape the tourist's itinerary is the Malacca river (top). I used to fish here and my favourite spot is beside the old wet market in Kampong Mortem. And I never went home empty-handed. But it is a diferent story now. On two occasions, I spent one hour each time but came home empty handed. A local told me that the river is now too clean for the fish to survive.  At the closing ceremony of an International Training Workshop for Youth on 22nd Aug. 2005 , the Chief Minister proudly announced that almost half a billion ringgit had been spent to rehabilitate and beautify the Melaka river, with features like the river-walks, Boardwalks and the river cruise. There is now talk that plans are in the pipeline to bring in a replica of Admiral Cheng Ho's ship to further add to the already congested tourist spots.
The state government has done well to exploit the resources available to make Melaka the best tourist destination in the country. There is the sea, the beaches,  the river, the islands, the hills and the Mini Malaysia Park which make Melaka Truly Malaysia.
At times I wonder whether I have made the right decision to migrate.

Dont They Look Stupid?

MCMC investigation officers had visited Malaysiakini four times over the past week. Their forensics experts had copied parts of servers' hard disk to establish a digital trail. The Editor-in-chief, Steven Gan had refused to remove the 2 video postings thereby practically acknowledging that the two video tapes belong to Malaysiakini. Its a full confession. What more do they want? And yet they are still investigating, like going round taking photographs of every trivial item. "Chiak Par boh kang cho" that's what we say in Hokkien. But what to do? They have to follow orders ma. But they do look stupid.

The Rape of the Penan women

What kind of police force do we have? According to the Sarawak CID chief Senior Asst. Comm II Huzir Mohamed, the police needed specific and detailed info before they can act. A special committee set up by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry had revealed and confirmed that the Penan women & girls had been raped. Various testimonies had also been given by the victims. CID director, Datuk Seri Mohd. Bakrim said that the victims refused to talk. If they refused then how did the ministry manage to get all the testimonies? Probably it is the issue of fear more than anything else. Former Catholic priest, Michael Jok said that a permit must be obtained from the logging company without which it is imposssible to pass the many security check points. Hence the Penans are left to the mercy of the timber workers. And what is this about obtaining a permit from the logging boss, but not from the govt. authority? Is this another case of little napoleans running little kingdoms?
Hence the inaction of the police because of lack of details is a lame  excuse.These raped victims had also given birth to offsprings. And DNA tests can be conducted to determine who fathered the children. What more does the police want? Do they want others to do all the leg work and hand the culprits to them on a platter?
For further reading: http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/112742