I just got the newspapers from the newspager vendor and Seven-Eleven this morning. The headlines that stared at me in the whole of front page the Sun was "Sultan Azlan speaks out". This place is normally reserved for a full page advertisement which theSun sacrificed to put this very significant speech and thus lost advertising revenue. The Sun is a free paper which depend only on advertising revenue to survive, and perhaps to thrive.
In the front page of New Straits Times was "Sultan Azlan Shah calls for Judiciary Reform" sharing half of the front page with a report of our Prime Minister opening what I think is the Eastern Corridor.
In In the Star? I think it was something about the Eastern Corridor" or something taking up the whole front page. No sign of that very significant speech by a highly respected former Lord President, former Agong, and current Sultan of Perak.
Why only "I think"? From habits of old, I have been buying the Star, and also some of my children wants to read the printed newspapers. I have resisted the temptation to boycott the Star for a long time and have resisted it because of my children, but this morning was the tipping point. Here is the most important issue of our country today and the Star chose not to put it on its front page. Is it inside? I don't know. I didn't buy the Star as usual. I bought New Straits Times instead. I hope someone who reads the Star tells me if it is there inside relegated to a tiny obscure column or not there at all.
I would like to know so that I can update this post, but I don't want to do that by buying the Star. I want to try to make this my small contribution to making my unhappiness with the Star known to the editors and/or the owners. In fact, I am going to copy-paste this and send it to the editors of the Star and probably MCA as well if I can find the proper email address to send it to.
The Star started out like the Sun these days. It has changed tremendously since. The New Straits Times lost its readers leadership by doing about the same thing as the Star today, and I look forward to seeing the advertising revenue of the Star and its readership falls. Here is my small contribution goes towards that end.
Now on to my other tasks as I am not really a political blogger.
Update 1.01pm 30 October 2007: Someone did respond saying now the speech by Sultan Azlan is neither in
http://thestar.com.my (the Star online)
http://www.nst.com.my (New Straits Times online)
See comments.
Looks like a cat and mouse game and someone using some strategy to boost the readership of the New Straits Times. Now got to decide what I should do
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Citizens of Malaysia support Yang di-Pertuan Agong not to extend term of Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz
Here is a short report of the gathering in front of the National Mosque of Malaysia to show support to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Supreme Ruler) of Malaysia not to renew the term of service of the current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz when he retire.
Here is the photo of Malaysia's National Mosque:
The gathering was a little bit further inside, after the staircase. Here is Lau Tek Hai of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or Peoples' Justice Party), Information Head, giving a speech using a loud hailer with others holding the banner imploring our Yang di-Pertuan Agong to act in the interest of the Rakyat (citizens) and not extend the term of the retiring Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz:
Here is the photo of Malaysia's National Mosque:
The gathering was a little bit further inside, after the staircase. Here is Lau Tek Hai of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or Peoples' Justice Party), Information Head, giving a speech using a loud hailer with others holding the banner imploring our Yang di-Pertuan Agong to act in the interest of the Rakyat (citizens) and not extend the term of the retiring Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz:
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Assembly at 1.45pm Friday, 26th October 2007 in front of National Mosque
There will be an assembly to press for a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the VK Lingam tape:
Place: In front of the National Mosque, Kuala Lumpur (beside KTM headquater and opposite the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
Date: Friday 26th October 2007
Time: 1.45pm (after Friday prayer)
Hope to see you there.
Place: In front of the National Mosque, Kuala Lumpur (beside KTM headquater and opposite the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
Date: Friday 26th October 2007
Time: 1.45pm (after Friday prayer)
Hope to see you there.
ACA attempt to intimidate PKR failed
I had published a last minute announcement about a gathering Support PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or Peoples' Justice Party) which mentioned that Officers of the ACA (Anti-corruption Agency) is expected to be present in the DSAI (don't know what this stand for) in regard to the directive of ACA to surrender the original copy of the (VK Lingam) video in FULL or face jail. Malaysians are requested to assemble at DSAI (Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim) HQ? at 10.30am
I was there this morning and if you have no time to look at the photos, etc., just scroll down to the bottom to the post and read the good news. Round 2 (actually don't know how many rounds are there) to PKR. We don't know how many rounds there will be and who the victors will be. But let it be on the side of Justice.
OK, here are the photos:
Here are some Malaysians holding up posters demanding that instead of harassing PKR, the ACA (Anti-corruption Agency) should focus on the main issues and investigate VK Lingam and Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz instead. I suppose these posters are prepared in anticipation of the arrival of the ACA officers.
What good news? Anwar Ibrahim told the press that at 11:05am, the Anti Corruption Agency officer contacted him to cancel today’s appointment with him until further notice. He said that VK Lingam confirmed Ahmed Fairuz is the man he was speaking to and the “Anwar case” was mentioned.
He told the press that on Monday 22nd October 2007, he was served a notice under section 22(1)(b) of the Anti Corruption Act 1997 demanding that he deliver to the ACA the original full 14 minute version of the video recording of the VK Lingam – Fairuz conversation. This is in spite of him telling them that he did not have the tape in his possession.
He claimed that it is clear the issuance of the notice was politically motivated to create a basis for a potential prosecution for an offence under the Act and to intimidate him, Sivarasa, Vice-President of KeADILan and Sim, his special assistant from pressing the authorities to conduct the investigation properly.
He claimed that a reading of Part IV of the Act would clearly shows that it was intended to provide such powers as given in section 22 to investigating officers to allow them to obtain evidence from persons suspected of being INVOLVED in corruption so that suspects could not hide the evidence and prevent prosecution.
The powers were never intended to be used, as the ACA was then doing, to harass and threaten persons who have voluntarily, and in the public interest, DISCLOSED offences of corruption.
By doing this, Anwar Ibrahim said that the ACA is losing its credibility and in the future no one will feel confident to lodge a report with the ACA for fear of such unjust retribution.
His lawyers have advised Anwar Ibrahim to file a legal challenge to set aside the notice so that such abuses of power be exposed.
You can read the full press statement at Anwar: ACA Cancels Appointment, VK Lingam Confirms Fairuz On Other Line.
After the press conference, holding up the thumb drive which contain the video file, announced that if the ACA officers don't turn up within 5 minutes, the thumb drive will disappear. Here is Anwar Ibrahim holding up the thumb drive:
Well, the ACA officers did not turn up even after 5 minutes. So we will not know where the thumb drive will disappear to now.
A further announcement was made asking concerned Malaysians to assemble outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur after the Friday prayers at 1.45pm 26th October, 2007. Hope to see you there.
I was there this morning and if you have no time to look at the photos, etc., just scroll down to the bottom to the post and read the good news. Round 2 (actually don't know how many rounds are there) to PKR. We don't know how many rounds there will be and who the victors will be. But let it be on the side of Justice.
OK, here are the photos:
 |
| Assembly in front of Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim's headquater |
 |
| "Siasat VK Lingam dan Siasat Ahmad Fairuz" or "Investigate VK Lingam and Investigate Ahmad Fairuz" |
Here are some Malaysians holding up posters demanding that instead of harassing PKR, the ACA (Anti-corruption Agency) should focus on the main issues and investigate VK Lingam and Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz instead. I suppose these posters are prepared in anticipation of the arrival of the ACA officers.
 |
| The actual poster at close range |
 |
| Anwar Ibrahim press conference announcing the good news |
What good news? Anwar Ibrahim told the press that at 11:05am, the Anti Corruption Agency officer contacted him to cancel today’s appointment with him until further notice. He said that VK Lingam confirmed Ahmed Fairuz is the man he was speaking to and the “Anwar case” was mentioned.
He told the press that on Monday 22nd October 2007, he was served a notice under section 22(1)(b) of the Anti Corruption Act 1997 demanding that he deliver to the ACA the original full 14 minute version of the video recording of the VK Lingam – Fairuz conversation. This is in spite of him telling them that he did not have the tape in his possession.
He claimed that it is clear the issuance of the notice was politically motivated to create a basis for a potential prosecution for an offence under the Act and to intimidate him, Sivarasa, Vice-President of KeADILan and Sim, his special assistant from pressing the authorities to conduct the investigation properly.
He claimed that a reading of Part IV of the Act would clearly shows that it was intended to provide such powers as given in section 22 to investigating officers to allow them to obtain evidence from persons suspected of being INVOLVED in corruption so that suspects could not hide the evidence and prevent prosecution.
The powers were never intended to be used, as the ACA was then doing, to harass and threaten persons who have voluntarily, and in the public interest, DISCLOSED offences of corruption.
By doing this, Anwar Ibrahim said that the ACA is losing its credibility and in the future no one will feel confident to lodge a report with the ACA for fear of such unjust retribution.
His lawyers have advised Anwar Ibrahim to file a legal challenge to set aside the notice so that such abuses of power be exposed.
You can read the full press statement at Anwar: ACA Cancels Appointment, VK Lingam Confirms Fairuz On Other Line.
After the press conference, holding up the thumb drive which contain the video file, announced that if the ACA officers don't turn up within 5 minutes, the thumb drive will disappear. Here is Anwar Ibrahim holding up the thumb drive:
 |
| Anwar Ibrahim holding the thumb drive containing the VK Lingam tape which he said will disappear if the ACA officers do not turn up within 5 minutes |
Well, the ACA officers did not turn up even after 5 minutes. So we will not know where the thumb drive will disappear to now.
A further announcement was made asking concerned Malaysians to assemble outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur after the Friday prayers at 1.45pm 26th October, 2007. Hope to see you there.
Support PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or Peoples' Justice Party)
Got this message only this morning, same day as the assembly is scheduled to be held so don't know if it is going to be of any help to PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or Peoples' Justice Party)
Pegawai-pegawai BPR dijangka akan hadir ke pejabat DSAI berkenaan arahan BPR untuk menyerahkan salinan video asal yang sepenuhnya atau menghadapi penjara.
Orang ramai dijemput menunjukkan solidariti dengan DSAI di pejabatnya pada masa dan waktu berikut. Tolong sebarkan.
Tempat: Pejabat DSAI, 17, Jalan 16/2, Section 16, PJ.
Masa: Khamis, 25 Oktober, 10.30am.
Translation:
Officers of the ACA (Anti-corruption Agency) is expected to be present in the DSAI (don't know what this stand for) in regard to the directive of ACA to surrender the original copy of the (VK Lingam) video in FULL or face jail.
If Anwar Ibrahim hands over the original tape, the Attorney-General may rule that there is no case and NFA (no further action) is required. They can then destroy it like they did the DP Vijenderan porno videotapes on some excuse. If he do not hand it over, this would be grounds to prosecute him, get find him guilty, jail him and he will be barred five more years from contesting the general election.
Currently, Anwar will be eligible to contest the general election if it is held after 14 April 2008, If Anwar Ibrahim is jailed, he will not be eligible for the election again untill 2013 or 2014. He will then either be forgotten and/or to old to be of any significance. I guess this is what the powers want.
Unless the Monarchy step in with their limited power, things look bleak for Malaysia unless Malaysians wake up, be proactive and not wait for them or their loved ones to be affected to take action.
Pegawai-pegawai BPR dijangka akan hadir ke pejabat DSAI berkenaan arahan BPR untuk menyerahkan salinan video asal yang sepenuhnya atau menghadapi penjara.
Orang ramai dijemput menunjukkan solidariti dengan DSAI di pejabatnya pada masa dan waktu berikut. Tolong sebarkan.
Tempat: Pejabat DSAI, 17, Jalan 16/2, Section 16, PJ.
Masa: Khamis, 25 Oktober, 10.30am.
Translation:
Officers of the ACA (Anti-corruption Agency) is expected to be present in the DSAI (don't know what this stand for) in regard to the directive of ACA to surrender the original copy of the (VK Lingam) video in FULL or face jail.
If Anwar Ibrahim hands over the original tape, the Attorney-General may rule that there is no case and NFA (no further action) is required. They can then destroy it like they did the DP Vijenderan porno videotapes on some excuse. If he do not hand it over, this would be grounds to prosecute him, get find him guilty, jail him and he will be barred five more years from contesting the general election.
Currently, Anwar will be eligible to contest the general election if it is held after 14 April 2008, If Anwar Ibrahim is jailed, he will not be eligible for the election again untill 2013 or 2014. He will then either be forgotten and/or to old to be of any significance. I guess this is what the powers want.
Unless the Monarchy step in with their limited power, things look bleak for Malaysia unless Malaysians wake up, be proactive and not wait for them or their loved ones to be affected to take action.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Malam Bangsa Malaysia (One People, One Nation) at Penang, Pearl of the Orient
Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights lawyer, prime mover of The People's Parliament and PELITAR plus fellow blogger has asked me to help spread this message:
Event: Malam Bangsa Malaysia
"One People, One Nation"
What: Informational Meeting
Host: PELITAR - Penyayang Legasi & Inspirasi Tunku Abdul Rahman
When: Saturday, November 3 at 5:00pm
Where: Dewan Sri Pinang
To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
Facebook: Malam Bangsa Malaysia - One People, One Nation
If you have problem getting through to Haris Ibrahim for further information (don't want to sign up for Facebook, for example) make a comment, make your Blogger profile public or leave your email address in the form of
myemailname at yahoo dot com
or something like that and I will forward the message to Haris Ibrahim.
Event: Malam Bangsa Malaysia
"One People, One Nation"
What: Informational Meeting
Host: PELITAR - Penyayang Legasi & Inspirasi Tunku Abdul Rahman
When: Saturday, November 3 at 5:00pm
Where: Dewan Sri Pinang
To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
Facebook: Malam Bangsa Malaysia - One People, One Nation
If you have problem getting through to Haris Ibrahim for further information (don't want to sign up for Facebook, for example) make a comment, make your Blogger profile public or leave your email address in the form of
myemailname at yahoo dot com
or something like that and I will forward the message to Haris Ibrahim.
Rally for a clean election: Dataran Merdeka, Saturday 10 Nov 2007 3pm
Rally for a clean election
Place: Dataran MerdekaDate: 10 Nov 2007 [Sat]
Time: 3pm
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) will hold a mass rally at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 10, Saturday at 3 pm to press for electoral reform. Representatives will be submitting a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the Palace nearby to seek much needed reform. The memorandum to be submitted to the King will outline both the immediate and long-term reforms needed in the Malaysian election including the adherence of a one-person, one-vote principle. Bersih will be demanding for a thorough clean up of the electoral roll, the abolition of postal voting for military and police personnel and fair access to the mass media for all political parties to the mainstream mass media.
Friends, please join this rally to help right our OUR ELECTION PROCESS. You may read more about it at BERSIH
Many suspicious things have happened. Ipoh Timur had 8,000 over voters transferred to the Constituency suddenly.
3,000 plus new postal voters were added to the Ipoh Timur electoral list, but there are no new army barracks or police stations in the constituency.
We don't know how many more 'Ipoh Timurs' are there?
Who knows how many 'new' voters have suddenly found their way into your constituency?
The Election Commission isn't going to care if they think you don't care enough to get up and do something.
Please join me at the rally as we don't want the next elections to be rigged, and if we just sit at home and do nothing, things will not change.
We can't just leave other fellow Malaysians to take on this struggle to reclaim our democratic rights and do nothing our self. Think of the future of Malaysia. Think of your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren.....
Our oil money is running out and our country cannot continue to squander public funds and still expect to be as prosperous and peaceful as it is now. There will be many people struggling to survive, forced into a corner if our country is not managed properly without the luxury of the oil money cushioning the siphoning off of public funds. What will people do when forced into a corner? We may end up like Myamar (Burma) one day if we are not careful.
Please join us at the rally and help to try to make this country we and our children will to live in. Please don't let Malaysia down.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Malaysia Space Program: How to make Malaysians feel good yet speak the truth
Retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson, somehow was persuaded to come to Malaysia to share his experience and make statements about Malaysia Space Program.
In the Star, Nation, page 8, Thursday 18 October, 2007, he was reported as saying "Malaysia made a sound move in sending a man into space although millions of ringgit were spend on it". Makes Malaysians feel good about the program despite many negative comments and people poking fun of it, especially when the tasks for our spaceman should do are stuff like pulling teh tarik (boiling hot tea cooled by successive pouring the tea from a pot held high to another pot held lower), etc.
However, I used that example to explain to my son about reading between the lines, for further down the report, Gibson was reported as saying "Although there are smart ways to send people to space without spending RM100 million for each mission as there are partnership ways of doing it or one could just walk up to the Russians, offer to pay RM20 million for it, the space program should be continued" (rephrased to make the statements into one and shorter).
What does that say? Essentially, it says the Malaysian public have paid extra RM80 million for sending one Malaysian to space. Where did the extra RM80 went? Wish there are brave investigative journalist willing to follow the money trail.
In the Star, Nation, page 8, Thursday 18 October, 2007, he was reported as saying "Malaysia made a sound move in sending a man into space although millions of ringgit were spend on it". Makes Malaysians feel good about the program despite many negative comments and people poking fun of it, especially when the tasks for our spaceman should do are stuff like pulling teh tarik (boiling hot tea cooled by successive pouring the tea from a pot held high to another pot held lower), etc.
However, I used that example to explain to my son about reading between the lines, for further down the report, Gibson was reported as saying "Although there are smart ways to send people to space without spending RM100 million for each mission as there are partnership ways of doing it or one could just walk up to the Russians, offer to pay RM20 million for it, the space program should be continued" (rephrased to make the statements into one and shorter).
What does that say? Essentially, it says the Malaysian public have paid extra RM80 million for sending one Malaysian to space. Where did the extra RM80 went? Wish there are brave investigative journalist willing to follow the money trail.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Act now or forever be silent: Dataran Merdeka, 3.00pm on Saturday, 10 November 2007
Please forget about your less important task and be at Dataran Merdeka, 3.00pm on Saturday, 10 November 2007, and show the Agong that you want him to do something for our country.
If you have been following developments, you would know that something is not right with our country Malaysia. I have lots of things to do plus I am not a political blogger, but if you ask for it, I will have to lay down my other tasks, do some research and tell you what is going wrong with Malaysia. Or you can do some searching, subscribe to Berita Malaysia (free), read or subscribe to Malaysia Today (also free), subscribe to Malaysiakini (some news free, some by subscription). They are more concerned with spreading the true message but need subscriptions or donations to survive) and many others. If you want more, request for them in the comments.
But something is brewing at Dataran Merdeka, 3.00pm on Saturday, 10 November 2007 and I am praying that you are concerned enough to be there and lend the Yang di Pertuan Agung your support and help make a Malaysia we would like to call our home. I will be there and fervently hope you will join us. You can read about it at Tuntut pilihan raya adil - Perhimpunan Rakyat 10 November ini di Dataran Merdeka. If you can, wear yellow, or tie a yellow ribbon around your arm to show your support for the Monarchy.
According to Raja Petra (who has Royal blood), there is a battle between the Agong and the Prime Minister. The Agong has refused to sign the Chief Justice's extension and Pak Lah is threatening retaliation. It is now up to us, the Rakyat to show that we will not abandon the Agong and leave His Majesty at the mercy of Pak Lah and gang. Our oil money is running out and we cannot continue to do what we had been doing before and still hope to be comfortable. If we are not careful, we may end up like Myamar (Burma).
Do not wait till something happens to you or your loved one and you need to go to the court to get justice, for by then, it may be too late.
I am going to send the URL of this post to all my contact and request them to forward it to their contacts. I hope you will do the same. Please.
Do not just complain and leave the others to do the dirty job. Do something now or forever be silent.
If you have been following developments, you would know that something is not right with our country Malaysia. I have lots of things to do plus I am not a political blogger, but if you ask for it, I will have to lay down my other tasks, do some research and tell you what is going wrong with Malaysia. Or you can do some searching, subscribe to Berita Malaysia (free), read or subscribe to Malaysia Today (also free), subscribe to Malaysiakini (some news free, some by subscription). They are more concerned with spreading the true message but need subscriptions or donations to survive) and many others. If you want more, request for them in the comments.
But something is brewing at Dataran Merdeka, 3.00pm on Saturday, 10 November 2007 and I am praying that you are concerned enough to be there and lend the Yang di Pertuan Agung your support and help make a Malaysia we would like to call our home. I will be there and fervently hope you will join us. You can read about it at Tuntut pilihan raya adil - Perhimpunan Rakyat 10 November ini di Dataran Merdeka. If you can, wear yellow, or tie a yellow ribbon around your arm to show your support for the Monarchy.
According to Raja Petra (who has Royal blood), there is a battle between the Agong and the Prime Minister. The Agong has refused to sign the Chief Justice's extension and Pak Lah is threatening retaliation. It is now up to us, the Rakyat to show that we will not abandon the Agong and leave His Majesty at the mercy of Pak Lah and gang. Our oil money is running out and we cannot continue to do what we had been doing before and still hope to be comfortable. If we are not careful, we may end up like Myamar (Burma).
Do not wait till something happens to you or your loved one and you need to go to the court to get justice, for by then, it may be too late.
I am going to send the URL of this post to all my contact and request them to forward it to their contacts. I hope you will do the same. Please.
Do not just complain and leave the others to do the dirty job. Do something now or forever be silent.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Why Malaysia MUST CHANGE
Malaysia MUST CHANGE, not only for my first grandson and the generations after us (descendants of all citizens of this country, not only me), but also for those who are milking the country. Why?
Malaysia currently have oil money, so irrespective of the squandering of funds, Malaysia can continue as usual. But it is predicted that Malaysia will become a net importer of by 2010. That is a very short time frame, and when that happens, and the squandering continues, what will happen to our country?
Further, other emerging economies are becoming more competitive and will likely overtake us. What will happen to our economy then minus the oil money plus having to face stiffer competitions? Previously, we can afford to squander but with such a new scenario and a globalised world, can the situation continue without problem minus the cushion and luxury of oil money? The influential and the powerful may continue to amass wealth for themselves while the poor gets poorer. But when too many find it impossible to survive, what do you think they will do? Study history and you will find what happened to countries in such a situation.
Malaysia currently have oil money, so irrespective of the squandering of funds, Malaysia can continue as usual. But it is predicted that Malaysia will become a net importer of by 2010. That is a very short time frame, and when that happens, and the squandering continues, what will happen to our country?
Further, other emerging economies are becoming more competitive and will likely overtake us. What will happen to our economy then minus the oil money plus having to face stiffer competitions? Previously, we can afford to squander but with such a new scenario and a globalised world, can the situation continue without problem minus the cushion and luxury of oil money? The influential and the powerful may continue to amass wealth for themselves while the poor gets poorer. But when too many find it impossible to survive, what do you think they will do? Study history and you will find what happened to countries in such a situation.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Long March for Justice
The Malaysia Bar Council organised a March for Justice for Wednesday, 26 September from the Palace of Justice to the Prime Minister Department in Putrajaya to petition the Prime Minister for a thorough Investigation of the VK Lingkam tape regarding the fixing of judges and to halt (and reverse?) the rot in the Malaysian Judiciary, the third and very important pillar of democracy. This is the video that triggered the March:
The video showed a person which looked remarkably like a senior lawyer, VK Lingam apparently talking to a judge whom many say is the current Chief Justice, Tan Sri Ahmad Fairuz from the context of the conversation. The person in the video which is said to be taken in 2002 mentioned fixing of judges appointments, award of title. The "coincidences" of the appointments of the judges mentioned plus the fact that Tan Sri Ahmad Fairuz never directly denied he was the judge on the other end of the line, but after days of silence, sent a fax "no comments" to the Bar Council and chose to deny it via his "Minister", (apparently neither of them understand the meaning of separation of power and check and balance) and the rich businessman, Vincent Tan mentioned in the post also did not make any denial, cause one to think that the conversation was genuine. Sometimes, action (or non-action) can speak louder than words.
They chartered 7 buses to take Bar members and I found out from an email from Haris Ibrahim on the night before the planned March that the public can join. I immediately decided I will join the march to lend my support. I started from my house at 7am, took the LRT to Masjid Jamek and walked to Dataran Merdeka. I was the first there. We started off at just after 10am.
There is the first obstacle, a road block preventing the buses from entering Putrajaya:
The leaders negotiated with the police and they allowed us to march (on foot) to Putrajaya, so a short 300 meter march became a long 5 km. plus 300m March for Justice. I don't know if the authorities who ordered the buses to be stopped caused the marchers inconveniences for hardship, but I thank them for this excuse for much needed exercise plus the vital Vitamin D from the sunshine.
Here is a photo of the marchers getting their caps, badges, banners, fans and message "Free the Judiciary" printed on A4 paper to get ready for the unplanned 5 km Long March for Justice:
Here are photos of the banner bearers leading the unplanned Long March for Justice and the procession from head to tail:
I only had on a long sleeve white white plus black pants, but the Bar members (lawyers) had on their heavy black coat. It took us an estimated 1 hour to reach the Palace of Justice where the rest of the marchers were waiting. We received a thunderous round of applause from those who drove in their own cars and their passengers when we arrived at at about 11.30am.
Here is a photo of the 2,000 plus strong marchers in front of the Palace of Justice with the majority of Bar members (in black coats) and supporters in front of the Palace of Justice:
The Chairman of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan started off with a speech: "Lawyers don't walk everyday. Not even every month. But when they walk, then something must be very wrong," said Chairman of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan when addressing a strong crowd of more than 2,000 members of the Malaysian Bar and some concerned citizens at the Palace of Justice before the commencement of the walk to the Prime Minister's office to hand over the Bar's memorandum urging the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe the state of judiciary and memorandum on the establishment of a judicial appointments and promotion commission."
After the speech, the march started off at about 11.45am. Here is a photo of the beginning of the March of Justice to the Prime Minister Department:
There were chants of "Who are we?" and "What do we want?" led by Amer with a loud hailer and these were answered with roars of "Malaysia Bar" and "Justice". The funny one was "We are doing this for the sake of the country" answered with shouts of "correct, correct, correct", mimicking VK Lingam frequent use of the repetitive response in the now infamous VK Lingam video.
There were FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) trucks along the way and here is a photo of some of them with one taking a video of us while I took a photo of them:
There were also plenty of policemen. We were not intimated.
Finally a row of helmeted FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) policemen at the beginning of the staircase to the Prime Minister Department blocked our way to the building when we arrived at about 12.30pm, and we stopped there.
Bar Concil office bearers, Ambiga, Vice-President Raguanth Kesavan, Secretary Lim Chee Wee and Treasurer George Varughese then proceeded on to the Prime Minister's office to hand over two memoranda to the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary. The first memorandum called for a royal commission of inquiry to be set up to examine the claims made in the video clip, as well as the state of the judiciary while the second memorandum urged the establishment of a judicial appointments commission for the appointment and promotion of judges.
The rest stay behind chanting away in support of the four-man delegation. Here are some banners to declare what the Bar Council are demanding for:
A short while after, the sky started pouring. But even the heavy rain did not dampened the spirit. This is a day the Malaysians should be proud of the Malaysian Bar and their members who marched under the hot sun and endured the searing heat of the blazing sun in their black suits plus pouring rain.
When the office bearers returned, the Chairman of the Bar Council, Ambiga Sreenevasan started off with another speech saying the government have started an investigation and should be supported as a first step, but I shouted "I don't agree. They are only investigating the authencity of the tape". Anyway, after the end of the speech, we dispersed and I want to the waiting buses which surprisingly were allowed in to the nearby car park. At least the authorities have some heart.
We were dropped off at Dataran Merdeka, and a kind 70 year-old man from Sabah kindly shared an umbrella with me and we and Tan Ban Cheng, a Penang lawyer who came all the way to Kuala Lumpur to join the march, went to the corner coffee shop in front of the Malaysia Bar Council and Medan Pasar for a drink. We had a nice long chat about various matters.
The video showed a person which looked remarkably like a senior lawyer, VK Lingam apparently talking to a judge whom many say is the current Chief Justice, Tan Sri Ahmad Fairuz from the context of the conversation. The person in the video which is said to be taken in 2002 mentioned fixing of judges appointments, award of title. The "coincidences" of the appointments of the judges mentioned plus the fact that Tan Sri Ahmad Fairuz never directly denied he was the judge on the other end of the line, but after days of silence, sent a fax "no comments" to the Bar Council and chose to deny it via his "Minister", (apparently neither of them understand the meaning of separation of power and check and balance) and the rich businessman, Vincent Tan mentioned in the post also did not make any denial, cause one to think that the conversation was genuine. Sometimes, action (or non-action) can speak louder than words.
They chartered 7 buses to take Bar members and I found out from an email from Haris Ibrahim on the night before the planned March that the public can join. I immediately decided I will join the march to lend my support. I started from my house at 7am, took the LRT to Masjid Jamek and walked to Dataran Merdeka. I was the first there. We started off at just after 10am.
There is the first obstacle, a road block preventing the buses from entering Putrajaya:
The leaders negotiated with the police and they allowed us to march (on foot) to Putrajaya, so a short 300 meter march became a long 5 km. plus 300m March for Justice. I don't know if the authorities who ordered the buses to be stopped caused the marchers inconveniences for hardship, but I thank them for this excuse for much needed exercise plus the vital Vitamin D from the sunshine.
Here is a photo of the marchers getting their caps, badges, banners, fans and message "Free the Judiciary" printed on A4 paper to get ready for the unplanned 5 km Long March for Justice:
Here are photos of the banner bearers leading the unplanned Long March for Justice and the procession from head to tail:
I only had on a long sleeve white white plus black pants, but the Bar members (lawyers) had on their heavy black coat. It took us an estimated 1 hour to reach the Palace of Justice where the rest of the marchers were waiting. We received a thunderous round of applause from those who drove in their own cars and their passengers when we arrived at at about 11.30am.
Here is a photo of the 2,000 plus strong marchers in front of the Palace of Justice with the majority of Bar members (in black coats) and supporters in front of the Palace of Justice:
The Chairman of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan started off with a speech: "Lawyers don't walk everyday. Not even every month. But when they walk, then something must be very wrong," said Chairman of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan when addressing a strong crowd of more than 2,000 members of the Malaysian Bar and some concerned citizens at the Palace of Justice before the commencement of the walk to the Prime Minister's office to hand over the Bar's memorandum urging the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe the state of judiciary and memorandum on the establishment of a judicial appointments and promotion commission."
After the speech, the march started off at about 11.45am. Here is a photo of the beginning of the March of Justice to the Prime Minister Department:
There were chants of "Who are we?" and "What do we want?" led by Amer with a loud hailer and these were answered with roars of "Malaysia Bar" and "Justice". The funny one was "We are doing this for the sake of the country" answered with shouts of "correct, correct, correct", mimicking VK Lingam frequent use of the repetitive response in the now infamous VK Lingam video.
There were FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) trucks along the way and here is a photo of some of them with one taking a video of us while I took a photo of them:
There were also plenty of policemen. We were not intimated.
Finally a row of helmeted FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) policemen at the beginning of the staircase to the Prime Minister Department blocked our way to the building when we arrived at about 12.30pm, and we stopped there.
 |
| Photo by Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights lawyer |
Bar Concil office bearers, Ambiga, Vice-President Raguanth Kesavan, Secretary Lim Chee Wee and Treasurer George Varughese then proceeded on to the Prime Minister's office to hand over two memoranda to the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary. The first memorandum called for a royal commission of inquiry to be set up to examine the claims made in the video clip, as well as the state of the judiciary while the second memorandum urged the establishment of a judicial appointments commission for the appointment and promotion of judges.
The rest stay behind chanting away in support of the four-man delegation. Here are some banners to declare what the Bar Council are demanding for:
 |  |  |
| Clean up the Judiciary | No to corruption | Stop the patronage, stop the rot |
A short while after, the sky started pouring. But even the heavy rain did not dampened the spirit. This is a day the Malaysians should be proud of the Malaysian Bar and their members who marched under the hot sun and endured the searing heat of the blazing sun in their black suits plus pouring rain.
When the office bearers returned, the Chairman of the Bar Council, Ambiga Sreenevasan started off with another speech saying the government have started an investigation and should be supported as a first step, but I shouted "I don't agree. They are only investigating the authencity of the tape". Anyway, after the end of the speech, we dispersed and I want to the waiting buses which surprisingly were allowed in to the nearby car park. At least the authorities have some heart.
We were dropped off at Dataran Merdeka, and a kind 70 year-old man from Sabah kindly shared an umbrella with me and we and Tan Ban Cheng, a Penang lawyer who came all the way to Kuala Lumpur to join the march, went to the corner coffee shop in front of the Malaysia Bar Council and Medan Pasar for a drink. We had a nice long chat about various matters.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Should non-Muslims in Malaysia have a say regarding Malaysia becoming an Islamic state?
This post is a response to Friday Special: Rights of non-Muslim in an Islamic state which in turn was a post published in response to my comment in the above blog which was reproduced verbatim in that post. First, I would like to thank Malay Women in Malaysia for being willing to engage in discussions about Islam with a non-Muslim unlike many others who would suppress discussions as they say non-Muslim do not know Islam and therefore have no right to talk about Islam. I have followed the links given in that post and now I think I am ready to respond.
It was educational. At least now in addition to knowing the people of the book are referred to as dhimmis in an Islamic state, I now know the rest are called thimmies (also referred to as Ahl Zimmi?) and the the tax paid by non-Muslims is called jizyah. If the site that discussed this issue is accurate, my misconception that non-Muslim cannot serve in the military is wrong for a non-Muslim may opt to serve in the military and is then not obligated to pay jizyah (but see my comment below regarding services in the military). However, I cannot find any reference to what happen in that case. Would that non-Muslim be obliged to pay zakat or escape paying any tax at all?
The second link perhaps answered this question. In a reply to a question about Muslim paying the taxes in the United Kingdom, the response was it is permissible for a government to impose taxes to pay for the public sectors and common welfare. So I would suppose in an Islamic state, in addition to jizyah and zakat, there could also be taxes like Income Tax, sales tax, service tax, etc.
The third link addressed the rights of non-Muslims in an Islamic state: "Muslims and Zimmis have the same rights and are subject to the same obligations in the Muslim country, but there are exceptions. Zimmi is not allowed to be the president of the Muslim state or even to be leaders in army or judges among Muslims (condensed)." In essence, the second part negate the first part as the second part imply that non-Muslim DO NOT have the same right. If anybody do not agree with this statement, please put your arguments in the comments.
Further, serving in the military have many implications. In the military, you are to obey without questions. This mean whoever serve in the military must have full faith in those higher up in the chain of command. There are such a thing as "cannon fodder". But non-Muslims cannot lead in the Islamic military, only follow orders. Not all who professed a religion (I am not just referring to Islam) adhere fully to its noble teachings, and I don't think you can blame a non-Muslim if he is reluctant to serve in such a military. What should he do when ordered to kill someone of his own faith? It would also not be fair as he would have no chance of advancement in the military, and not only military. A non-Muslim will also have no chance to lead the country or to become a judge.
In an Islamic state, the supreme law will not be the Constitution, but the Syariah law. If I remember correctly, someone said that the actual leader of an Islamic state may not be the President but the Supreme Leader elected from an assembly of mujtahid (Islamic scholar). Essentially, all this mean the non-Muslim can have no say in the running of his country. Now you tell me how all that had been discussed above can justify saying non-Muslims shall have the same rights as a Muslim. I am open to comments to rebut all this.
Every person will have their own opinions of things. Some are colored by their bias towards their own religion (and please don't take this as referring to Muslims only), others try to be objective. Let us say we accept that "the whole thing (taxes, rights, governance of the country) would be fair for all Muslims and non-Muslims" is accepted, but let me ask this simple question. Is it right or fair to impose an Islamic state upon citizens of a country which originally was not formed as an Islamic state and the non-Muslims who originally was a part of the group of people who helped form Malaysia were assured that the country being formed will NOT become an Islamic state. Further, is in right that the people of Sabah and Sarawak who were never given an indication of the possibility that Malaysia may become an Islamic state will have such a state imposed on them? May I speculate on the possibility of them agreeing to join Malaysia if they had been told that one day, Malaysia will become an Islamic state? I asked a Sarawakian, and the answer was obvious.
Further, the Reid Commission dated 27/9/1956 at page 19 stated that "The religion of Malaya shall be Islam. The observance of this principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals professing and practicing their own religion, and shall not imply the State is not a secular State." This was what was agreed to when the United Kingdom granted independence to Malaya. Is this not saying that Malaya is a secular state? Is this binding?
Do we have a say on this matter? And if the authorities insist on pushing it down our throat, and we do not want to accept, what can we do? I did not chose to be born in this country, but I was, and I grew up here, started a family here and will live the rest of my life here. If an Islamic state is imposed upon me and my family over our objections, where can I go? I can't go to China as I am not a citizen of that country and they may not accept me. By the way, China has more Muslims than Malaysia, but are they hankering for China to become an Islamic state? Will Malaysia allow itself to be divided into two, one an Islamic state, and one a secular state and its citizen given free choice as to which part they want to go to? And even if that is ever allowed to happen, can you imagine the chaos and hardship as homes are not easily portable.
Will a fair-minded Muslim impose the Islamic state upon me and my family over our objections?
Malay Women in Malaysia, if you took the trouble to read up to here, I thank you. I also believe I read "democracy" being discussed in one of your posts. I think you had a negative opinion regarding democracy, and if so, we were of the same mind if I had stuck to what I wrote in an essay for General Paper in the 60's (we had to take HSC or Higher School Certificate then). We were asked to write an essay on democracy. I had opined that democracy is rule by the average (which are not the most intelligent) as there is such a thing as a normal curve - huge majority (average) of average intelligence in the middle, a small fraction of high intelligence and low intelligence on both side of the curve. A democratic government got to go back to the electorate every so many years to get a mandate from the people (majority of average intelligence) to continue to rule. A smart politician who only value power may not dare to implement policies which he or she knows is good for the country but which the majority of average intelligence cannot see the merits and may not accept. He or she may implement policies which are popular but detrimental to the country. I got an A for that essay. I have matured since and have seen many things happened around me. If you did discuss about democracy in your blog, to save me the trouble of searching for it, I hope you will leave a comment and a link to that post because I will like to give my response to that post.
It was educational. At least now in addition to knowing the people of the book are referred to as dhimmis in an Islamic state, I now know the rest are called thimmies (also referred to as Ahl Zimmi?) and the the tax paid by non-Muslims is called jizyah. If the site that discussed this issue is accurate, my misconception that non-Muslim cannot serve in the military is wrong for a non-Muslim may opt to serve in the military and is then not obligated to pay jizyah (but see my comment below regarding services in the military). However, I cannot find any reference to what happen in that case. Would that non-Muslim be obliged to pay zakat or escape paying any tax at all?
The second link perhaps answered this question. In a reply to a question about Muslim paying the taxes in the United Kingdom, the response was it is permissible for a government to impose taxes to pay for the public sectors and common welfare. So I would suppose in an Islamic state, in addition to jizyah and zakat, there could also be taxes like Income Tax, sales tax, service tax, etc.
The third link addressed the rights of non-Muslims in an Islamic state: "Muslims and Zimmis have the same rights and are subject to the same obligations in the Muslim country, but there are exceptions. Zimmi is not allowed to be the president of the Muslim state or even to be leaders in army or judges among Muslims (condensed)." In essence, the second part negate the first part as the second part imply that non-Muslim DO NOT have the same right. If anybody do not agree with this statement, please put your arguments in the comments.
Further, serving in the military have many implications. In the military, you are to obey without questions. This mean whoever serve in the military must have full faith in those higher up in the chain of command. There are such a thing as "cannon fodder". But non-Muslims cannot lead in the Islamic military, only follow orders. Not all who professed a religion (I am not just referring to Islam) adhere fully to its noble teachings, and I don't think you can blame a non-Muslim if he is reluctant to serve in such a military. What should he do when ordered to kill someone of his own faith? It would also not be fair as he would have no chance of advancement in the military, and not only military. A non-Muslim will also have no chance to lead the country or to become a judge.
In an Islamic state, the supreme law will not be the Constitution, but the Syariah law. If I remember correctly, someone said that the actual leader of an Islamic state may not be the President but the Supreme Leader elected from an assembly of mujtahid (Islamic scholar). Essentially, all this mean the non-Muslim can have no say in the running of his country. Now you tell me how all that had been discussed above can justify saying non-Muslims shall have the same rights as a Muslim. I am open to comments to rebut all this.
Every person will have their own opinions of things. Some are colored by their bias towards their own religion (and please don't take this as referring to Muslims only), others try to be objective. Let us say we accept that "the whole thing (taxes, rights, governance of the country) would be fair for all Muslims and non-Muslims" is accepted, but let me ask this simple question. Is it right or fair to impose an Islamic state upon citizens of a country which originally was not formed as an Islamic state and the non-Muslims who originally was a part of the group of people who helped form Malaysia were assured that the country being formed will NOT become an Islamic state. Further, is in right that the people of Sabah and Sarawak who were never given an indication of the possibility that Malaysia may become an Islamic state will have such a state imposed on them? May I speculate on the possibility of them agreeing to join Malaysia if they had been told that one day, Malaysia will become an Islamic state? I asked a Sarawakian, and the answer was obvious.
Further, the Reid Commission dated 27/9/1956 at page 19 stated that "The religion of Malaya shall be Islam. The observance of this principle shall not impose any disability on non-Muslim nationals professing and practicing their own religion, and shall not imply the State is not a secular State." This was what was agreed to when the United Kingdom granted independence to Malaya. Is this not saying that Malaya is a secular state? Is this binding?
Do we have a say on this matter? And if the authorities insist on pushing it down our throat, and we do not want to accept, what can we do? I did not chose to be born in this country, but I was, and I grew up here, started a family here and will live the rest of my life here. If an Islamic state is imposed upon me and my family over our objections, where can I go? I can't go to China as I am not a citizen of that country and they may not accept me. By the way, China has more Muslims than Malaysia, but are they hankering for China to become an Islamic state? Will Malaysia allow itself to be divided into two, one an Islamic state, and one a secular state and its citizen given free choice as to which part they want to go to? And even if that is ever allowed to happen, can you imagine the chaos and hardship as homes are not easily portable.
Will a fair-minded Muslim impose the Islamic state upon me and my family over our objections?
Malay Women in Malaysia, if you took the trouble to read up to here, I thank you. I also believe I read "democracy" being discussed in one of your posts. I think you had a negative opinion regarding democracy, and if so, we were of the same mind if I had stuck to what I wrote in an essay for General Paper in the 60's (we had to take HSC or Higher School Certificate then). We were asked to write an essay on democracy. I had opined that democracy is rule by the average (which are not the most intelligent) as there is such a thing as a normal curve - huge majority (average) of average intelligence in the middle, a small fraction of high intelligence and low intelligence on both side of the curve. A democratic government got to go back to the electorate every so many years to get a mandate from the people (majority of average intelligence) to continue to rule. A smart politician who only value power may not dare to implement policies which he or she knows is good for the country but which the majority of average intelligence cannot see the merits and may not accept. He or she may implement policies which are popular but detrimental to the country. I got an A for that essay. I have matured since and have seen many things happened around me. If you did discuss about democracy in your blog, to save me the trouble of searching for it, I hope you will leave a comment and a link to that post because I will like to give my response to that post.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Hope for Malaysia?
If you only have time to do your duty as a citizen of Malaysia, skip the rest and go straight to the bottom of the post.
As I have said in earlier posts before, I set up this blog for the purpose of helping promote Malaysia, the country in which I was born, of which I am a citizen, and in which I will 99% likely live the rest of my life. This post is not a post I like to publish here, but I as a citizen of Malaysia, is concerned at many developments in my country such as the actions and lack of actions with regard to the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, the huge burden that the tax payers probably have to bear, the squandering of public funds, the lack of actions or the very light penalties imposed after various wrong doings and scandals have been exposed, etc. Port Klang state assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros got land meant for the poor alienated to his wife Zizah Ngah for a song and build a mansion (palace) on it without first obtaining planning approval, the withdrawal of 37 charges against Datuk Zakaria Md Deros under the Companies Act 1965 by just payment of a RM1,400 fine to the Companies Commission of Malaysia. Very harsh actions are taken against lesser beings. The law says if you build without planning approval, the building will be demolished. Extensions built by ordinary citizens without first getting planning approval because getting approval takes so long, are demolished without mercy. In Datuk Zakaria Md Deros case, his mansion remained and he was only slapped with a paltry (they say maximum) fine. Clearly a case of unequal treatments for different people under the law in the "most developed state of Malaysia". I think I read somewhere that when informed of the situation, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was evasive, saying that he would only comment after reading the report. Anything happened after that? They say "no one is above the law". But maybe they are right in some sense (but I still think many people of influence are protected). Most are subject to the law but different people get treated differently according to who they are or who they know.
More crucial, many lawyers and the Bar Council (Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan: "We have gone from one crisis to another since the 1988 judicial crisis; it is time to confront fully and completely all the issues that have arisen since then with a view to strengthen the administration of justice.") say that since the former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad interfered with the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia, the previously much respected judiciary independence is now in question. This was recently reinforced by the release of a video showing a prominent lawyer speaking to a person who seem to be a senior judge purportedly fixing judicial appointments. Datuk Seri Anwar who released the video named the lawyer and the senior judge during a press conference and said that a report would be lodged with the government-backed Anti-Corruption Agency. We are now eagerly awaiting the outcome, if any.
Update: Many other things are acted upon without having to be studied thoroughly first, but regarding such a highly crucial issue, statements like we have to see if the video is genuine or not, etc., are made. Anyone said that VK Lingam would be questioned? Any comment on the "coincidences" regarding the dates judges were appointed and the time frame mentioned in the video, plus which judges were appointed? Such a video demand a Full Royal Commission of Inquiry, but the Government turned that down as expected. You can view the video at Malaysia Bar Council website at Video links CJ to 'appointment fixing' scandal You can read the transcript of the video at Transkrip Perbualan Telefon VK Lingam (it is in English. I think Parti Deadilan Rakyat also have one in Bahasa Malaysia.
We can use our vote to try to change things, but with the advantages of incumbency, the monopoly on the mainstream mass media by the ruling coalition while denying access to the oppositions, the selective approval for ceramahs, the removal of the 15% limit bias for the rural constituencies and the redelineation of electoral constituencies making a rural vote worth 10 to 20 times more than that of an urban vote (just a guess but which should not be too far off. Anyone with more accurate estimate please comment, will be highly appreciated), doubts in the independence of the Electoral Commission (the Government poured huge funds to improve infrastructures and others in 2 constituencies involved in recent bye-elections to influence the voters, but the Election Commission ruled that it is not bribery as long as the funds are not disbursed by the candidate) and many other issues that I consider as irregularities, our votes will not likely change things.
There had been many complaints of phantom voters in the electoral roll but Rockybru (Ahirudin bin Attan who suprisingly admitted he never register as a voter before) said he had doubts, but not until he tried to register recently. He found that he was already registered in Perak!!! His address in both his old Identity card as well as the new MyKad is in Puchong. His kampong is in Malacca. So how did he got registered in Perak? If you want to confirm regarding his registration, view a screenshot at Phantom voter?. He said he will go make enquires at SPR (Election Commission of Malaysia) and here are the questions he asked and the answers he obtained:
When was I registered?
1999.
How was I registered?
Someone filled up the form.
How come?
Before July 2002, political parties were allowed to register on behalf of constituents who had not been registered.
Some questions they couldn't answer.
Was it the BN or the Opposition that registered me?
We don't know.
Did I "vote" for the 1999 and the 2003 general elections?
We have no idea.
How did this political party in Taman Rapat Setia register me when I never lived there?
We can't tell.
Malaysia's only hopes is the Monarchy and the conscience of the leaders of the ruling coalition, if they have any. Raja Petra has started an online petition to plea for the Monarchy to use whatever power they have left to help change things. I have signed the petition and hope that you will do so too. You can view and sign the petition at Citizens In Solidarity with Raja Petra and Freedom of Speech !. Raja Petra is of Royal lineage and seem to have very good connections and sources of information. You can read about the latest development at Yes, we are embroiled in a Constitutional Crisis.
I hope you will do your duty as a citizen of Malaysia and sign the petition. The outcome we do not know, but at least we would have done our part.
As I have said in earlier posts before, I set up this blog for the purpose of helping promote Malaysia, the country in which I was born, of which I am a citizen, and in which I will 99% likely live the rest of my life. This post is not a post I like to publish here, but I as a citizen of Malaysia, is concerned at many developments in my country such as the actions and lack of actions with regard to the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, the huge burden that the tax payers probably have to bear, the squandering of public funds, the lack of actions or the very light penalties imposed after various wrong doings and scandals have been exposed, etc. Port Klang state assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros got land meant for the poor alienated to his wife Zizah Ngah for a song and build a mansion (palace) on it without first obtaining planning approval, the withdrawal of 37 charges against Datuk Zakaria Md Deros under the Companies Act 1965 by just payment of a RM1,400 fine to the Companies Commission of Malaysia. Very harsh actions are taken against lesser beings. The law says if you build without planning approval, the building will be demolished. Extensions built by ordinary citizens without first getting planning approval because getting approval takes so long, are demolished without mercy. In Datuk Zakaria Md Deros case, his mansion remained and he was only slapped with a paltry (they say maximum) fine. Clearly a case of unequal treatments for different people under the law in the "most developed state of Malaysia". I think I read somewhere that when informed of the situation, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was evasive, saying that he would only comment after reading the report. Anything happened after that? They say "no one is above the law". But maybe they are right in some sense (but I still think many people of influence are protected). Most are subject to the law but different people get treated differently according to who they are or who they know.
More crucial, many lawyers and the Bar Council (Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan: "We have gone from one crisis to another since the 1988 judicial crisis; it is time to confront fully and completely all the issues that have arisen since then with a view to strengthen the administration of justice.") say that since the former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad interfered with the independence of the judiciary in Malaysia, the previously much respected judiciary independence is now in question. This was recently reinforced by the release of a video showing a prominent lawyer speaking to a person who seem to be a senior judge purportedly fixing judicial appointments. Datuk Seri Anwar who released the video named the lawyer and the senior judge during a press conference and said that a report would be lodged with the government-backed Anti-Corruption Agency. We are now eagerly awaiting the outcome, if any.
Update: Many other things are acted upon without having to be studied thoroughly first, but regarding such a highly crucial issue, statements like we have to see if the video is genuine or not, etc., are made. Anyone said that VK Lingam would be questioned? Any comment on the "coincidences" regarding the dates judges were appointed and the time frame mentioned in the video, plus which judges were appointed? Such a video demand a Full Royal Commission of Inquiry, but the Government turned that down as expected. You can view the video at Malaysia Bar Council website at Video links CJ to 'appointment fixing' scandal You can read the transcript of the video at Transkrip Perbualan Telefon VK Lingam (it is in English. I think Parti Deadilan Rakyat also have one in Bahasa Malaysia.
We can use our vote to try to change things, but with the advantages of incumbency, the monopoly on the mainstream mass media by the ruling coalition while denying access to the oppositions, the selective approval for ceramahs, the removal of the 15% limit bias for the rural constituencies and the redelineation of electoral constituencies making a rural vote worth 10 to 20 times more than that of an urban vote (just a guess but which should not be too far off. Anyone with more accurate estimate please comment, will be highly appreciated), doubts in the independence of the Electoral Commission (the Government poured huge funds to improve infrastructures and others in 2 constituencies involved in recent bye-elections to influence the voters, but the Election Commission ruled that it is not bribery as long as the funds are not disbursed by the candidate) and many other issues that I consider as irregularities, our votes will not likely change things.
There had been many complaints of phantom voters in the electoral roll but Rockybru (Ahirudin bin Attan who suprisingly admitted he never register as a voter before) said he had doubts, but not until he tried to register recently. He found that he was already registered in Perak!!! His address in both his old Identity card as well as the new MyKad is in Puchong. His kampong is in Malacca. So how did he got registered in Perak? If you want to confirm regarding his registration, view a screenshot at Phantom voter?. He said he will go make enquires at SPR (Election Commission of Malaysia) and here are the questions he asked and the answers he obtained:
When was I registered?
1999.
How was I registered?
Someone filled up the form.
How come?
Before July 2002, political parties were allowed to register on behalf of constituents who had not been registered.
Some questions they couldn't answer.
Was it the BN or the Opposition that registered me?
We don't know.
Did I "vote" for the 1999 and the 2003 general elections?
We have no idea.
How did this political party in Taman Rapat Setia register me when I never lived there?
We can't tell.
Malaysia's only hopes is the Monarchy and the conscience of the leaders of the ruling coalition, if they have any. Raja Petra has started an online petition to plea for the Monarchy to use whatever power they have left to help change things. I have signed the petition and hope that you will do so too. You can view and sign the petition at Citizens In Solidarity with Raja Petra and Freedom of Speech !. Raja Petra is of Royal lineage and seem to have very good connections and sources of information. You can read about the latest development at Yes, we are embroiled in a Constitutional Crisis.
I hope you will do your duty as a citizen of Malaysia and sign the petition. The outcome we do not know, but at least we would have done our part.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Pot calling the kettle black: Which politicians are playing up small problems?
Read a report in the Sun today, now my favorite mainstream media newspaper. It featured our Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister with the heading "Politicians playing up small problems, says Najib'. In the report, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was reported as saying politicians (by implications I assume, the opposition) are playing up small problems which then end up as big issues because the various races magnify them.
This is clearly what I would call the pot calling the kettle black. Perhaps not even that because I don't think the kettle (the opposition) are "black". Look at the issue of Namewee (Wee Meng Chee) who made parody calling attention to the real problems that exists in our country by making a Negarakuku rap. The whole government machineries plus the mainstream mass media was used against a small insignificant 24 year old undergraduate in a Taiwanese University which drew calls for him to be recalled for retributions and many politicians screamed for his citizenship to be withdrawn. What crime has he committed? Did he siphoned off huge amount of public funds like what many are suspected of doing but against whom no acton are taken? I suspect this is a ploy to draw public attention away from the much bigger problems like the huge Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, the misuse and mismanagement of public funds plus the lack of action to investigate these scandalous abuse, the Alantuya Shaahriibuu murder case, the Islamic state issue and a whole list of others big issues of public importance.
Worst still, the Speaker of the Parliament who controls the debate and is paid from public fund to facilitate debates on issues of critical importance to Malaysia, seem to be acting in the interest of the ruling coalition. Whenever proposals to discuss issues of great importance, such as the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, is brought up, the Speaker who is supposed to be impartial, invariable rule the proposal as of no importance or not relevant, and disallow them to be debated. How is Malaysia going to achieve this vision of becoming a developed country with situations like this?
The Islamic state issue is not a small issue because from what I know of a real Islamic state, its citizens are not equal. The people of the Book (Christians, Jews) are dhimmis who have to pay a special tax to the Islamic authorities and have less rights than a Muslim. The Christians who have to pay tithes to the Church (which are not deductable from Income Tax while the Muslim who pay zakat get theirs deducted from Income Tax) will end up paying 3 taxes - the Income Tax (which seem to be squandered), the tithes and the special tax to the Islamic authorities. I don't know about the plight of the non-Muslim who are not people of the Book. I would suppose they would have even less rights than a Muslim. These are real issue which rightly the non-Muslim are concerned about and which they will need to rebut, and yet their right to voice out their complaints are suppressed by the directive that only the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are allowed to make statements in the mainstream mass media.
So now, who is calling who "black"?
| Negarakuku: expression of frustration of a Chinese educated Malaysian via a rap |
| by Namewee (Wee Meng Chee). Namewee is only an insignificant Malaysian studying in Taiwan who was used by politicians to draw attention away from other more important issues affecting Malaysia |
This is clearly what I would call the pot calling the kettle black. Perhaps not even that because I don't think the kettle (the opposition) are "black". Look at the issue of Namewee (Wee Meng Chee) who made parody calling attention to the real problems that exists in our country by making a Negarakuku rap. The whole government machineries plus the mainstream mass media was used against a small insignificant 24 year old undergraduate in a Taiwanese University which drew calls for him to be recalled for retributions and many politicians screamed for his citizenship to be withdrawn. What crime has he committed? Did he siphoned off huge amount of public funds like what many are suspected of doing but against whom no acton are taken? I suspect this is a ploy to draw public attention away from the much bigger problems like the huge Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, the misuse and mismanagement of public funds plus the lack of action to investigate these scandalous abuse, the Alantuya Shaahriibuu murder case, the Islamic state issue and a whole list of others big issues of public importance.
Worst still, the Speaker of the Parliament who controls the debate and is paid from public fund to facilitate debates on issues of critical importance to Malaysia, seem to be acting in the interest of the ruling coalition. Whenever proposals to discuss issues of great importance, such as the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, is brought up, the Speaker who is supposed to be impartial, invariable rule the proposal as of no importance or not relevant, and disallow them to be debated. How is Malaysia going to achieve this vision of becoming a developed country with situations like this?
The Islamic state issue is not a small issue because from what I know of a real Islamic state, its citizens are not equal. The people of the Book (Christians, Jews) are dhimmis who have to pay a special tax to the Islamic authorities and have less rights than a Muslim. The Christians who have to pay tithes to the Church (which are not deductable from Income Tax while the Muslim who pay zakat get theirs deducted from Income Tax) will end up paying 3 taxes - the Income Tax (which seem to be squandered), the tithes and the special tax to the Islamic authorities. I don't know about the plight of the non-Muslim who are not people of the Book. I would suppose they would have even less rights than a Muslim. These are real issue which rightly the non-Muslim are concerned about and which they will need to rebut, and yet their right to voice out their complaints are suppressed by the directive that only the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are allowed to make statements in the mainstream mass media.
So now, who is calling who "black"?
Friday, September 7, 2007
50:44 Malaysia Merdeka Celebration plus a chance to learn how to get hidden or hard to get information
(Note: The information in this post is not complete. I am going down to Pasar Tani now to get the full program so that I can update this post and give you more accurate information)
Here is your chance to learn ways on how to get hidden or hard to get information. There will be a workshop on that included in the event below, which is organised by Center of Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia:
http://www.cijmalaysia.org/
The event will be from 6-16th September from 11am till 9pm.
To get to the Central Market is very easy. Just take the Putra LRT (Light Rail Transit) and get off at Pasar Tani (the stop will be announced before the arrival at the station).
Come, bring family and friends. Visit www.50-44.org for more information about what's happening Sunday, and for the rest of the week from 6-16th September from 11am till 9pm.
Day: Sunday 8 September 2007, 11am - 1 pm.
BANned (Gallery A and B)
11am-1pm
Location: Pasar Tani Annex Gallery A and B
Time: Sunday 9 September, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm.
Time: Sunday 8 September, 8pm.
Here is your chance to learn ways on how to get hidden or hard to get information. There will be a workshop on that included in the event below, which is organised by Center of Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia:
http://www.cijmalaysia.org/
The event will be from 6-16th September from 11am till 9pm.
50:44 Malaysia Merdeka
There will be 16 days of activities at the Central Market (Pasar Seni) Annexe. The event is called 50:44 Malaysia Merdeka to take into consideration about the sensitivities of the Sabahans and Sarawakians that Malaysia Day is celebrated on 31 August and this is is referred to as the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence from colonial rule, when it is actually Malaya's independence anniversary and not the day of formation of Malaysia, which was September 16, 1963.To get to the Central Market is very easy. Just take the Putra LRT (Light Rail Transit) and get off at Pasar Tani (the stop will be announced before the arrival at the station).
Come, bring family and friends. Visit www.50-44.org for more information about what's happening Sunday, and for the rest of the week from 6-16th September from 11am till 9pm.
Firefly (Gallery A)
A quick basic workshop on how you can shed a light on the hidden or hard to get information that might change the way you make decision. (Contact Sonia soniarandhawa1@ yahoo.com. my for info.)Day: Sunday 8 September 2007, 11am - 1 pm.
BANned (Gallery A and B)
11am-1pm
Banned
Be entertained by esteemed drama students from around Klang Valley with their short plays on the theme of Banned. (Free entry and seating! Contact Anne rssiva@pc.jaring. my for info)Location: Pasar Tani Annex Gallery A and B
Time: Sunday 9 September, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm.
What does KL mean to you?
What does KL mean to you? I asked the musically inclined folks "they sing me pictures of identities". Catch this experimental documentary premiere screening here!! (Free entry and seating! Contact Effa effa.desa@gmail. com for info)Time: Sunday 8 September, 8pm.
Enviroment
Monday 9 September, 7 - 10pm.Saturday, August 25, 2007
Freedom of Information Act (FOI) for Malaysia
What is a Freedom of Information Act?
According to Wikipedia, such laws define a legal process by which government information is available to the public. A basic principle behind most freedom of information legislation is that the burden of proof falls on the body asked for information, not the person asking for it. The requester does not usually have to give an explanation for their request, but if the information is not disclosed a valid reason has to be given.How many countries have a Freedom of Information Act?
, Again, according to Wikipedia, were seventy countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation. Many more countries are working towards introducing such laws.Should Malaysia have a Freedom of Information Act?
The information in this section is taken from a pamphlet entitled "No More Secrets. Freedom of Information (FOI) Campaign) I obtained in a gathering Bangsa Malaysia Merdeka Get-together (click BACK button to get back to this page) I attended just hours ago at the newly opened Blogger House about which I will write more about tomorrow. Here is what the pamphlet says:Do you know what you are breathing? What is in your water? What's really in your food and drinks? Who are getting the scholarships?
The Government, the companies making and testing products like your food, or providing you with water supply? Don't you think you should know what they're doing?
Malaysia National Coalition for a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act
Let us introduce ourselves. We are the National Coalition for a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, formed in early 2005 following from a two-day conference on FOI legislation for Malaysia and the formulation of a statement of principles endorsed by over 32 organisations. We are a loose network of civil society organisations -ranging from human right's groups to environmental organisations to women's NGO's - coming together to campaign for a legislation that allows access to information, pave the way for an end to secrecy law in Malaysia.We think the (Malaysian) Government has too secrets. We aren't allowed to know how they spend our money, yet our taxes an petrol prices go up to subsidise them. We aren't allowed to know why our water companies are being sold, yet our taps run dry and our water stinks. We aren't allowed to know about contracts, bridges, or hospitals, yet we're expected to pay for them, even as the roads are falling apart, as the bridges are not built and the hospitals are likely to make you more sick rather than get better.
Isn't it time we had some access to some of these "secrets"?
What can you do to help?
Hold a talk on No More Secrets. Call together some friends and have a teh-tarik (boiling hot tea made cooler by repetitively pouring from a container held high into another container held lower) sessions. Contact us, the FOI coalition, through the website given below.- Sign the petition. Visit the Info Cafe to sign the petition. The website is given below.
- Whether you are a lawyer, doctor, accountant, salesperson, clerk or home-maker, contact us. We need you and there are many things you can do to help us.
- Talk to local government and get them to adopt some of the ten principles in their dealings.
- Write letters to people you know who are doing a bad job, and ask them for information. Show up their answers (or lack of answers) on the Info Cafe website, or write to the newspapers and tell them.
- Come up with your own ideas, and we'll try and help you make them real.
I want to know more....
That is what this is about! For more on the FOI campaign, pop into Info Cafe for debates, articles, opinions and experiences.You can also contact us at
Center for Independent Jornalism
29-C, Jalan Sarikei
off Jalan Pahang
53000 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia.
(behind Tawakal Hospital)
Tel: 603-4023 0772
Fax: 603-4023 0769
Email: infocafe.cij@gmail.com
So, We're saying that....
Maximum disclosure
We would like to be told important details relating to our society. Government information should be public information. We want to have access to all information, unless there is a good reason to keep it from us. That is principle one, the principle of maximum disclosure.Routine Publications
We want to know when we want to know, not when the Government wants to tell us. Facts about water quality, minutes of meetings, criteria fo appointing local councillors, these should always be made available. It's principle two, the principle of routine publication.Independent Administrative Oversight Body
The Government (or any self-appointed censors) don't get to day what we want to know. Somebody who's not going to benefit from the failures or corruptions in Government should decide. This is principle 3, the principle of setting up an independent, administrative oversight body.Open Government
Rather than hiding their mistakes, the Government should be open about their mistakes and learn from them because each mistakes costs the public dearly. There should be a move towards making as few mistakes as possibles. Principle four, the principle of open government.Exceptions
Some things can be kept secret. This isn't about stopping the police from catching criminals, or betraying military secrets. But there should be good, tight reasons for having secrets. It should be about protecting us, not protecting corruption. Hence principle five, the principle of exception.Keeping costs Low and processes simple
We shouldn't have to pay. This information is important for all of us to contribute to society. Costs should be kept low. We shouldn't have to spend three days filling in ten forms to find what is in the air we breathe in. See principle six, the principle of keeping costs low, processes simple.Open meetings
We should be able to see what the government is up to. When the local government is changing plans, we want to be there. When a new factory is being approved, we want to be there. When a hill is being destroyed to build more houses, we want to be there. Meeting, whether about education or advertising billboards, should be open because these are decisions that affect us. This leads us to principle seven, the principle of open meetings.Reviewing other legislation
There is a need to ensure that the implementation of the FOI legislation will not be impeded by existing laws. Thus principle eight. the principle of reviewing other legislations.Protectin whistleblowers
If you expose corruption, you should be rewarded, not punished. Principle nine, the principle of protecting whistleblowers.Reviewed regularly
Periodically check to see if the FOI legislation is still working. What's good tody might be not so good tomorrow. Think principle ten, the principle requiring the FOI law to be reviewed regularly.Yes, but... what about privacy, you ask?
This falls under the principle of exception as mentioned above. If it is about my body, my health, any personal information about me, sorry, but you wouldn't get near them, even if the information is in the hands of the Government.Our country's security?
Again, this falls under the principle of exceptions. When unsure if something should be kept 'secret' by the Government, use the 3-stage test. For examples- Is the information about our national security?
- Does releasing the information harm the national security?
- Is there an overriding public interest for the information to be made available?
Even if the answer to the first two questions is YES, then the information should be withheld. However, and affirmative to the third question means we have a right to the information, even if it harms our national security in the short-term.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Malaysian bloggers: a new hope for Malaysia?
There is currently a "war" between the authorities who accuses bloggers of spreading lies while bloggers claim that what they published are truth which were never revealed in the mainstream mass media because of the authorities tight control. Some claimed they have documents to back them up. Raja Petra of Malaysia especially have screenshots of the documents on his site. When the former Mentri Besar (Chief Minister) of Selangor called him a coward because he hosted his blog oversea to escape the law, he even offered to produce the evidences at UMNO's own turf. The fact that the authorities are trying to catch Raja Petra not based on what he wrote, but on the comments in his blog seem to lend credibility to his accusations. Leaving aside the arguments, how much exactly can the bloggers' influence the general Malaysian population, particularly the Malay rural community?
According to M.C.M.C. (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) there are
13,528,200 Internet users as of Sept/2006 representing only 47.8% of the population. And these I guess are urban dwellers whose votes are heavily diluted by the unfair delineation of the electoral constituency with some estimating that a rural vote is worth 10 to 20 times that of an urban dweller. With this scenario, what possible effects that the bloggers' writing can influence the coming election? The situation seems bleak.
But listen to what Saidul A Shaari of Malaysian government officials VS Malaysian bloggers… The event is a blessing in disguise for the Malaysian Malays?. I as a non-Malay who unfortunately do not have much opportunities to go the the Malay kampungs (Malay villages). Saidul attended several Malaysian Malay matrimonial ceremonies (kenduri kahwin) located far from the city and deep in ‘kampungs’ in the past few weeks and was pleasantly surprised to hear those village folks talking about some of our well known Malaysian bloggers! After much listening here and there, he conclude that the publicity generated by our current war of words between authorities and the bloggers had benefited the Malaysian Malays in two (he said three, but I only found two) particular ways:
1. The Malaysian Malays now knew more about what is really going on in the country. All the while, their source of information was nothing more than the tightly controlled mainstream media but now they have another alternative - Malaysian blogs!
The Malaysian Malays are now more inclined towards reading news and information dished out by alternative newsprint media such as Harakah and online alternative news media such as HarakahDaily and MalaysiaKini. They would go and check every single news splashed on mainstream news media against the alternative news media. Looks like the Malaysian Malays today are becoming more aware of the things going on around them. Finally they have the intelligence to do some comparison. Unfortunately, I don't hear Raja Petra of Malaysia Today mentioned. But still, MalaysiaKini is a good source of real news.
2. The Malaysian Malays also found out much to their shock that the non-Muslims in Malaysia do not like their community and their religion, Islam. They were surprised to see that the non-Muslims in Malaysia openly criticized and condemned Islam from some Malaysian blogs that they were reading. Saidul said the Malaysian Malays in general should not blame the non-Muslims for disliking them. They cannot really blame non-Malay, non-Muslim for even hating the Muslims. Some of our non-Muslims in Malaysia even knew more about Islam than some of the Malaysian Malay Muslims. They have bought books on Islam and tried to learn and understand more about Islam. They even read our Holy Quran to learn more about Islam! When they are done with their readings, they suddenly found that the Malaysian Malays in general are not really practicing Islam as what has been taught in Islam. Hence, the Malaysian Malay Muslim are actually giving bad impressions to the non-Muslims. It is all due to their own faults. Some of the better known Ulamas and Muftis had spoken about this but unfortunately their calls for all Malaysian Muslims to go back to Islamic basics and keep the remembrance of Allah close to their hearts had been suppressed by the authorities.
Due to the grossly unfair delineation of the electoral constituencies, the rural folks are the ones who ultimately decide who sits in the Parliament, assuming that the elections are free and fair. Dare we hope that this awakening that there is something rotten in our country will eventually bring some changes?
According to M.C.M.C. (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) there are
13,528,200 Internet users as of Sept/2006 representing only 47.8% of the population. And these I guess are urban dwellers whose votes are heavily diluted by the unfair delineation of the electoral constituency with some estimating that a rural vote is worth 10 to 20 times that of an urban dweller. With this scenario, what possible effects that the bloggers' writing can influence the coming election? The situation seems bleak.
But listen to what Saidul A Shaari of Malaysian government officials VS Malaysian bloggers… The event is a blessing in disguise for the Malaysian Malays?. I as a non-Malay who unfortunately do not have much opportunities to go the the Malay kampungs (Malay villages). Saidul attended several Malaysian Malay matrimonial ceremonies (kenduri kahwin) located far from the city and deep in ‘kampungs’ in the past few weeks and was pleasantly surprised to hear those village folks talking about some of our well known Malaysian bloggers! After much listening here and there, he conclude that the publicity generated by our current war of words between authorities and the bloggers had benefited the Malaysian Malays in two (he said three, but I only found two) particular ways:
1. The Malaysian Malays now knew more about what is really going on in the country. All the while, their source of information was nothing more than the tightly controlled mainstream media but now they have another alternative - Malaysian blogs!
The Malaysian Malays are now more inclined towards reading news and information dished out by alternative newsprint media such as Harakah and online alternative news media such as HarakahDaily and MalaysiaKini. They would go and check every single news splashed on mainstream news media against the alternative news media. Looks like the Malaysian Malays today are becoming more aware of the things going on around them. Finally they have the intelligence to do some comparison. Unfortunately, I don't hear Raja Petra of Malaysia Today mentioned. But still, MalaysiaKini is a good source of real news.
2. The Malaysian Malays also found out much to their shock that the non-Muslims in Malaysia do not like their community and their religion, Islam. They were surprised to see that the non-Muslims in Malaysia openly criticized and condemned Islam from some Malaysian blogs that they were reading. Saidul said the Malaysian Malays in general should not blame the non-Muslims for disliking them. They cannot really blame non-Malay, non-Muslim for even hating the Muslims. Some of our non-Muslims in Malaysia even knew more about Islam than some of the Malaysian Malay Muslims. They have bought books on Islam and tried to learn and understand more about Islam. They even read our Holy Quran to learn more about Islam! When they are done with their readings, they suddenly found that the Malaysian Malays in general are not really practicing Islam as what has been taught in Islam. Hence, the Malaysian Malay Muslim are actually giving bad impressions to the non-Muslims. It is all due to their own faults. Some of the better known Ulamas and Muftis had spoken about this but unfortunately their calls for all Malaysian Muslims to go back to Islamic basics and keep the remembrance of Allah close to their hearts had been suppressed by the authorities.
Due to the grossly unfair delineation of the electoral constituencies, the rural folks are the ones who ultimately decide who sits in the Parliament, assuming that the elections are free and fair. Dare we hope that this awakening that there is something rotten in our country will eventually bring some changes?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Malaysia at 50: Sedition Act and the Nationhood Forum
Forum: Malaysia at 50: Sedition Act and the nationhood
Organizers
Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
Institute of Policy Research/ Institut Kajian Dasar (IKD)
KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Civil Rights Committee (CRC)
Date
24th August 2007
Time
8:30pm
Venue: Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Jalan Maharajalela (opposite
monorail station- Maharajalela stop)
Speakers:
Haris Ibrahim- human rights lawyer; initiator, People's Parliament project
Khalid Jaafar- Executive Director, Institute of Policy Research (IKD)
Dr. Dzulkifli Ahmad- Director, PAS Research Centre central working committee
Yasmin Ahmad- Filmmaker, Advertising Film Creative Director, blogger
Chairperson and Moderator: Gayathry Venkiteswaran, CIJ Executive Director
Brief on Sedition Act 1948
Lately, Sedition Act 1948 has been central in the controversies involving blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and student musician Wee Meng Chee, or "Namewee", who produced a rap video featuring the national anthem. The broad power vested under the Sedition law inevitably raises questionabout the protection for freedom of expression and whether such stringent limit could limit healthydialogue among different communities. Do we need the Sedition Act, a product of the postwar Emergency Period, to protect our nationhood and social harmony after fifty years of independence? Has it made our nation stronger or weaker? Is it time for Malaysians to think out of box for something else? We invite an eloquent human rights
lawyer, an internationally- acclaimed movie director and two articulate political think-tankers to share their thoughts.
Centre for Independent Journalism
27-C, Jalan Sarikei, off Jalan Pahang,
53000 Kuala Lumpur
T : 03 4023 0772
F : 03 4023 0769
Center for Independent Journalism, Malaysia
Contact Person:
Yip Wai Fong CIJ Advocacy Officer.
03 4023 0772, 012-6986662
Monday, August 20, 2007
People's Merdeka (Merdeka Dialogue): "Merdeka: Wither Bangsa Malaysia?": Report
Here are some photographs of the event held on 19 August 2007 at the Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya.
On the left is Jeff Ooi of Screenshot who just left Gerakan party to join DAP, and at his side, Haris Ibrahim, the human rights lawyer.
A comment by one of the speakers - where are the young ones? A comment by me - where are the Malays. My question was, how on earth is Bangsa Malaysia ever going to become reality if we can't get Malays to join such gatherings? There were only two, one among the speakers, and one among the panelists. But I was assured by Haris Ibrahim that if you talk to the kampong folks, you will be more optimistic.
More later.
The speakers
On the left is Jeff Ooi of Screenshot who just left Gerakan party to join DAP, and at his side, Haris Ibrahim, the human rights lawyer.
The panelists
A comment by one of the speakers - where are the young ones? A comment by me - where are the Malays. My question was, how on earth is Bangsa Malaysia ever going to become reality if we can't get Malays to join such gatherings? There were only two, one among the speakers, and one among the panelists. But I was assured by Haris Ibrahim that if you talk to the kampong folks, you will be more optimistic.
More later.
The audience
Friday, August 17, 2007
People's Merdeka (Merdeka Dialogue)
People's Merdeka (Merdeka Dialogue)
Title of the event:
"Merdeka: Wither Bangsa Malaysia?"
Yes, how far are we from achieving that Bangsa Malaysia with this stress on "Bagi, agama, bangsa dan negara"?
Date: 19 August 2007 (Sun)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya
Speakers:
1 ) Sdr Lim Guan Eng
2 ) Sdr Lim Kit Siang
3 ) Y. Bhg Tunku Abdul Aziz
4 ) Datuk Param Cumuraswamy
5 ) Mr Yeo Yang Poh
Panel:
1 ) Sdr M Manogar
2 ) Sdr Haris Ibrahim
3 ) Sdr Jeff Ooi
4 ) Dr Oh Ei-Sun
For more information, call 03-79578022 (Lim Swee Kuan)
Title of the event:
"Merdeka: Wither Bangsa Malaysia?"
Yes, how far are we from achieving that Bangsa Malaysia with this stress on "Bagi, agama, bangsa dan negara"?
Date: 19 August 2007 (Sun)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya
Speakers:
1 ) Sdr Lim Guan Eng
2 ) Sdr Lim Kit Siang
3 ) Y. Bhg Tunku Abdul Aziz
4 ) Datuk Param Cumuraswamy
5 ) Mr Yeo Yang Poh
Panel:
1 ) Sdr M Manogar
2 ) Sdr Haris Ibrahim
3 ) Sdr Jeff Ooi
4 ) Dr Oh Ei-Sun
For more information, call 03-79578022 (Lim Swee Kuan)
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