Bersih 2.0 – The Malaysian Unity, Police Abuse & Government Stupidity!

The Bersih 2.0 Rally – also called the Walk for Democracy – was a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia held on July 9, 2011 as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally. The rally, organized by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (“Bersih”), was supported by the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia, but was deemed illegal by the government. Bersih forces were pushing to ensure free and fair elections. The police vowed to stop any rallies from taking place on the planned date on the grounds that all public gatherings without police permits are illegal. They rallied anyway. The government officially estimates that 6,000 people attended. Independent assessments put the rally numbers at between 10,000 to over 20,000, while Bersih 2.0 claims a turnout of 50,000. Police arrested more than 1,660 protestors. – Wikipedia

I started the day of July 9 wondering what Bersih 2.0 would actually achieve. I supported the cause because I really wanted democracy to prevail. As a taxpayer and a voter, I wanted to have my say and I wanted my vote to be rightfully counted. People around me questioned the point of the rally, they mocked Bersih organizers, mocked Bersih supporters, mocked the government, mocked PDRM, mocked UMNO, and of course there were some well-deserved mocking for Ibrahim Ali, president of PERKASA (a Malay rights movement), but they were all comfortable within the confines of their own home. Many even cursed “those Bersih people” for the unnecessary roadblocks and shutting down the entire city.

I had questions myself, as half way through I decided there was no point in all this. My first thought was – by participating in this rally, would it be supporting the cause it stands for, or would it just bring benefit to one person. I love Ambiga (chief of the Bersih rally) and always had a distinct respect for her, but she’s mere mortal. I don’t know her true intentions, as somehow supporting the rally would mean supporting her, which in turn would bring her fame, and when attention got to her head, she would just be another one of those politicians with a beautifully painted CV, as we all know the cleanup of the electoral reform was not going to happen by the mere walking. But I truly supported the cause she was fighting for, and I for one, wanted Democracy.

Further, I just didn’t understand why the government was against a call for clean and fair elections, as, I would think even if I wanted to play dirty, I would accept the call for anything clean and fair to maintain democracy. But apparently, the Malaysian government never understood that concept.

So I woke up on Saturday morning anyway, lied to my family that I was going to be at a friend’s place (as my mom had some massive house arrest up her sleeves due to the Rally, and I so badly wished my dad was here as he would have wanted to walk with me), and drove to the nearest KTM station. I parked at the Teluk Pulai train station, and was met with two cops manning the station. I flirtatiously (or some attempts of it) asked one of them “Bang, ada train ke sekarang?” (Bro, are there trains now) to which he joked “sekarang tak ada la, tapi you tunggu sekejap, train akan datang.” (not now, but if you wait a while it will come). I attempted a flirtatious laugh (just to feed his ego) and waited for the train.

I arrived at KL Sentral train station at about 11.15am and met Shamini, my fellow comrade in this walk for peace. By this time we’ve heard news of massive attacks and arrests around KL and even at Sentral. We didn’t know where to go, so we decided to walk to KL through Brickfields. There were too many cops around Sentral. Sham had her yellow bangle hidden in her bag, and I had my huge yellow earrings stuffed in my jeans pocket. It was easy for us to walk past the cops without being suspected because we were just two harmless, giggly girls. We managed to steer pass the cops at Sentral and hit the highway towards the City.

Half way through, we were stopped by this huge Punjabi man, not in uniform, but said he was a cop, and he asked us where we were going. Thankfully we’ve planned our lies ahead, and we said we were going shopping at Petaling Street. He asked us why we were walking, and we said we thought the roads were closed and there were no cabs or buses. Apparently we were wrong, and he said only buses and cabs were allowed to the city. He then pointed us to a group of about 15 people being detained by cops across the road, as groups of more than two people are considered “dangerous.”

He then told us about the rally (because we acted dumb and naive), and he suggested we take the bus. We obediently said “thank you uncle” and turned back. Shortly after, a bus arrived and we boarded it to Pasar Seni, but the bus stopped us at KL train station saying that was as far as it could go. We were excited when we saw a huge crowd at the KL Station. We walked towards the crowd, and were stopped by three guys sitting in a Hummer. They tried to intimidate us with their rough voice asking “Pergi mana?” Again we said Petaling Street and had some small talk. We never knew who they were.

We walked towards the crowd at the KL Station, there were cops all around, but they did not do anything. We saw many waiting, walking, laughing. Then a police truck with a load of people arrested drove past, and everyone screamed “Bersih! Bersih!” together with the detainees in the truck. That was my first feel good shout out!

Then we walked along towards Petaling Street. Cops were loitering around just standing, and we were trying to find the crowd or the way to the Stadium. We walked up and down the empty streets. The shops were closed, the roads were closed, and in fact even the 7-eleven was closed! The roads were empty, most parts barricaded, and a troop of cops were waiting with four police trucks parked by the side and water canon lorries stood proudly.

We continued walking around aimlessly, then we spotted some friends from the Bar Council, and tried trailing them thinking they should know where to go, but they just stood at their respective stations. They were told not to mingle so as to portray impartiality. We met a Reuters photographer, made friends and followed him as he was heading to the Stadium. Suddenly we heard loud chanting, and we ran towards the noise, and spotted this huge crowd.

We joined the crowd and together we chanted “Bersih! Bersih! Pilihanraya!” (Clean! Clean! Elections) By this time, we both have put on our yellow accessories, and surprisingly, save one or two, no one was in yellow, but people were carrying yellow flowers, Bersih handkerchiefs, yellow scarfs, Bersih stickers on their face and passing yellow balloons in the air. Everyone was calm yet in high spirits. I met so many friends along the way, and made many more. One uncle beside us was carrying a clean white glass chanting “Bersih! Bersih!”

People just naturally took charge, when they saw a block ahead, they stopped the crowd from moving forward, and everyone turned and continued walking around. There were clapping and laughing and cries for democracy. It was my first protest rally experience, and I had a smile plastered on my face throughout, because I was so proud of all those who were there. Like Sham and I, the throngs of thousand gathered there must have come into the city through some very inconvenient way – yet they were all there and the fact that we’re all in this together gave me hope that something can come out of this. It was an amazing feeling!

We walked down to Dataran Maybank to find another huge crowd already gathered there, and another group walked toward us from another direction – there were so many people, on the roads, at the car parks, on the building, the roads that were empty barely an hour earlier was suddenly filled with people. It was peaceful, calm, you could even say that the atmosphere had a happy vibe to it, and then it started – the tear gas. Suddenly there were popping sounds and the air was filled with smoky gas. Everyone ran for their lives. People just ran into whichever available streets they could find.

After a while, we felt the sting – my face started burning, and my eyes started tearing, I just couldn’t open my eyes because of the sting. People shared salt and water. Two guys splashed water on our faces and gave us salt to rub on our faces and to eat, as our throats felt uneasy as well. Random people of all races and in all languages upon taking care of themselves, turned around offering help to the person next to them, and looking out for each other. I thought to myself, this is Malaysia – in reality, we are the kind who extend that helping hand, a thoughtful word, a kind cheer, and who together with you will face untoward situations. I was actually amazed that some took it upon themselves to protect others – and the only thing everyone had in common was our nationality – be it Malay, Indian or Chinese – at that time, I didn’t notice skin colors, as we were all one.

We walked to a nearby restaurant, Restaurant Aji, to get water. There I met some colleagues, and we just sat there for a bit and it started to pour. The cops were rampantly arresting people just down the road. Suddenly a group of 7 to 8 cops entered the shop and started questioning people seated at the restaurant randomly. Sham and I took out our story books from our bags and pretended to read. When the rain died down, we continued heading to Petaling Street again, and another crowd was already gathered there. We joined the march, again chanting and walking in high spirits, this time a little more aware of the tear gas that could suddenly be shot anytime, anywhere.

It was already 3.30pm by this time, and half way through the march, we passed Pasar Seni LRT, and I told Sham that I was done for the day and need to head home before my mom discovers my continued absence. So I walked to the LRT station and to my utter annoyance found the shutters closed. Frustrated commuters sitting in front of the shutters were grumbling away. We tried knocking on the shutters to ask the big group of cops hanging around inside the shutters area what time they will open, and they just said after the crowd disperses. This didn’t make much sense to me as I didn’t understand how they expected the crowd to disperse if there was no transport out available.

If that wasn’t bad enough, suddenly there were more teargas being shot just outside the LRT station, and all those within the station started feeling the effects. There were babies and children at the station, people who were not involved with the rally, stuck because the trains were not available, and they too were caught with the tear gas effect. We begged the police to at least let the children sit within the shutters area, but they wouldn’t listen. This further angered the crowd gathered there.

I met some colleagues at the LRT as well, stuck with no way out and we decided walk to KL Sentral. We went downstairs and were still within the confines of the LRT and they started shooting tear gas inside the station and again, it was a marathon – we ran for our lives, everyone again looking out for each other until we reached the police headquarters, where a few policemen popped their heads out of their windows, just watching the fun within the comfort of their offices, some were laughing at us, some taking pictures.

The enraged crowd jeered at them and dared them to come down and suffer the tear gas effects. The crowd literally jeered and spit at the cops, calling them names. I was completely angered by the act of the cops as well, as to me, we were just walking peacefully, no harm done, and the tear gas, water cannons, closing of LRT stations, etc. did not serve any purpose. It was completely uncalled for. It seemed like the police was just having a field day going against the people, without rhyme or reason. I was angered, just like everyone else there.

On the other hand, I looked at the cops as a person, and I felt sorry for them as they did not have the opportunity to stand for what they truly believe in. I’m sure half of the cops did not see the purpose of the massive arrest and torture, and if given the chance, they would have joined the walk – but they were just doing their job. It’s the top guns sitting comfortably in some big office, giving out the instructions are the ones we should be angry at, not the poor cops who were literally running around that day, as they too probably had to suffer the tear gas effects.

Someone made an announcement that thanked everyone for the support, and declared Bersih rally a success, and one thing I agreed with him was that – when people come together, there can be a change – the power in numbers can be amazing! He then asked the crowd to disperse. We walked to KL Sentral, and we saw two police cars stuck in jam that was caused by the road block – and again the crowd pointed at them and laughed. Again, those poor cops were laughed at for just carrying out their duties. Then just as we passed the Petrol Station, the police blocked the roads behind us… no one knew why, as everyone just wanted to go back, but now the way out of KL City was being blocked. More anger, even those who have passed the barricade felt angry.

I reached home a little after 6pm – tired but satisfied. It was by far the best weekend I’ve had, and it was indeed an awesome experience. Well, perhaps we didn’t gain much, but at least the Prime Minister said the next day that “we will consider a dialogue with Bersih on the electoral reform”. No doubt, the Prime Minister in all his glory should have thought of a dialogue way ahead, instead of wasting parts of my tax contributions on fuel for the helicopter which was going round and round for hours, the cost of tear gas, the loss faced by businesses all over KL, commuters having to close down for hours, businesses in surrounding cities faced equal losses due to road blocks – there was more that RM100 million estimated loss due to the measures taken to prevent the rally.

It could have been so much easier to have just approved the Stadium and those who wanted to participate would have just got there peacefully. Police should have given protection around the stadium area, businesses would have gone on as usual, everyone would have been happy. But then again, if it all went smooth and easy, Bersih rally would not have got the attention needed, and got the point across – that the power of people takes precedence in a democratic country. We may not have got the demands for clean and fair elections, we may not have turned out the ruling government, but the rally has proved that when Malaysians come together, we put aside our differences, we respect each other’s differences, we help each other through, we support each other, and all we need is a clean governance and some measure of fairness.

I’m proud to be a Malaysian today. I feel we will have a better Malaysia in the future as our generation is the kind who will not tolerate nonsense. Justice will prevail, and corruption will have to take a back seat. The power of the people is amazing, the power of the media is even more amazing – and when people and media come together, everyone will be heard, and there’s only so much that can be swept under carpets. It’s time to live Clean! Long Live Malaysia!

Jacelyn Johnson is my sister and also a managing editor with an international legal publishing house in Kuala Lumpur and is currently pursuing a Masters in Law at the University of Malaya.

Video Proof of Police Abuse and Absolute Stupidity!

Story also published in ‘The Daily Kos’ and ‘The Stewardship Report’

Malaysia’s Subsidy DEFINED!!

A man called Maha owns a farm which can produce 10 apples every day. He has 5 workers to operate the farm. Each of them eats 1 apple daily and it is enough to keep them operating the farm normally. The remaining 4 apples, the landlord sells them at RM10 each and he earns RM40.

He uses the RM25 to improve the farm operation and facilities.

He gives RM2.00 to each of his workers and he keeps the remaining RM5.00 as profit.

Day by day, the farm is well developed and all of the 5 workers are happy with the money they can save.

When Maha passed away, a new landlord, Abdul, comes to continue the farm operation.

He says to the workers: ‘We need to improve the farm quality and redefine our way of thinking. From now on all of you only need to pay RM1.00 for each apple you eat. It is very cheap as the price is RM10 each outside the farm.’

The workers have no choice but to pay RM1.00 for the apple they eat daily. Their earnings decrease from RM2.00 to RM1.00 per person.

As usual, Abdul sells the 4 apples and he gets RM40. He uses RM25 for farm improvement and pays RM10 to his 5 workers. He gets RM5.00 as profit. On top of that, he gets another RM5.00 from the apples that he sells to his workers. In total, he gets RM10 as profit every day.

Soon, the apple price increases to RM20 each.

The new landlord gets a higher profit as he gets RM80 for the 4 apples he sells daily.

Then, he decides to give the farming improvement contract to one of his close friend, Samy.

Samy says: ‘Apple cost naik, improvement cost also misti naik.’

So, the farm improvement cost increases from RM25 to RM50. In actual fact, the improvement only cost RM30. The remaining RM20, Abdul and Samy share evenly between themselves.

Let’s calculate how much Abdul gets daily:

RM10 (from farm improvement cost)
RM20 (Net profit by selling 4 apples: [Gross profit, RM80] – [Improvement cost, RM50] – [Wages RM10] = RM20)
RM5 (from selling apples to his workers)

In total, Abdul gets RM35 daily compare to RM10 initially when he took over the farm from Maha. His profit increases RM25 and the workers are still getting RM1.00 daily per person.

The greedy Abdul does not want to stop there :

One day, he says to his fellow workers: ‘You see ah, the current market price for one apple is RM20 and you are only paying RM1.

See how lucky you are! I have to SUBSIDISE RM19.00 for each of the apple you buy. In total, I need to SUBSIDISE RM95.00 for the apples you buy.

This will greatly burden the farm and we might go bankrupt if we continue like this.

In order to avoid bankruptcy, I need to increase the apple price that you buy from RM1.00 to RM1.50 and I will bear the remaining RM18.50 per apple as my subsidy to you all. ‘

So, greedy Abdul adds another RM2.50 to his current profit and the number becomes RM37.50.

After you have read the story, I am sure you have already understood the meaning of ‘SUBSIDY’ given by the government.

The RM95 subsidy never existed in the first place and so was the RM52 billion fuel subsidy generously ‘given’ by the government

Cutting fuel subsidy is actually just a reason to steal money from your pocket ..

Greed knows NO bounds …. ! ! !

taken from a friend’s post on Facebook.

TRANSIT comments on the “low-tech” issues at the new “high-tech” bus terminal

Below are the comments from TRANSIT on the recent issues at the new Terminal Bersepadu Selatan. As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated.

Dear Editor,

RE: “Low Tech” issues with new “High Tech” integrated terminal

Malaysians often comment that public transport in Malaysia is a joke. Prime Minister Najib has tasked Idris Jala, Syed Hamid Albar, and the people at Pemandu and SPAD to ensure that real, serious improvements are made to the way the government delivers on its commitments, including public transport.

Unfortunately, it seems that some people in various branches of the government have still not gotten the message.

The issues surrounding the Integrated Transport Terminal at Bandar Tasik Selatan (officially called Terminal Bersepadu Selatan Bandar Tasik Selatan or TBS-BTS) have helped finish off 2010 and begin 2011 with collective embarrassment for the government on the public transport file – clearly the last thing that Prime Minister Najib needs to be dealing with.

To summarize the issue: The building is ready, and the DBKL had approved the start of bus operations on 1 January 2011. Terminal Management company TMAS had already opened the terminal to the public in December and invited 190 bus operators (of which 10 had already agreed).

However, the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry has issued a directive that the terminal should start operations on 2 February 2011 – the same day that Puduraya (which is currently being refurbished) was expected to open. That project, which should have been completed by the end of 2010, was already delayed and the 1 month extension would have helped ensure that both terminals would be ready, together.

To make the story even stranger, the CVLB has directed bus operators to shift to the new terminal by 1 January 2011. This directive came in the form of a memo sent by fax on 30 December 2010!

In response, the bus operators have claimed that the directive gives them too short a notice. They also happily mentioned the additional costs of the terminal & operations (which they apparently have to bear) and threatened to impose a surcharge on fares.

Update: CVLB Director Halimah Sadique has now given bus operators until 15 January to move in! Worst of all, Ashfar Ali of the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators’ Association has delivered the toughest hit of all, claiming that the high-tech centralized ticket system will cost passengers more and will not stop touting, as TMAS has claimed!

TRANSIT: In case you are wondering – touting exists because of weaknesses in the system – namely in communication & delivery of information. Since passengers cannot plan in advance, they must show up at the terminal which puts them at the mercy of the touts who offer information & services.

And if this was not strange enough, members of UMNO and PKR were present together at a demonstration complaining that the poor residents of the area have not been given access to the retail lots in the terminal and the leasing costs are too high!

Update: The Federal Territories & Urban Wellbeing Minister will now take up the cause of the low-income residents and hawkers with respect to the new terminal. We’ll see how long this lasts!

It should have been so simple – the Integrated Transport Terminal had been built, now the bus operations just had to start in a timely and effective fashion. What happened instead continues to prove that the Malaysian government can build great infrastructure but cannot manage and deliver a project properly.

It appears that all the stakeholders cannot even clearly answer the all-important question of “who is in charge?”. And instead of resolving their issues through communication & discussion, they take everything to the media, generating confusion & embarrassment once again.

Sadly, the Malaysian media does not help much. It appears that they simply reported the information from the TMAS briefing verbatim, and did not even bother to ask simple questions like “does this high-tech bus terminal have a website and phone number?” or “How can the public can get information about bus services in advance, so they do not come to the terminal without information and fall prey to touts like at Puduraya?”

The rakyat cannot be faulted for thinking to themselves, “If our government agencies cannot manage the delivery of one bus terminal properly, one can only wonder what will happen with the RM36 billion (to start) MRT network!”

Malaysians should disappointed. The ‘jokers’ at the various government agencies should be ashamed. Idris Jala should be worried, and Prime Minister Najib should be furious.

And Halimah Sadique, the Chair of the CVLB, should resign instead of trying to be a hero. She publicly criticized her own CVLB Director, Naimah Ramli, because buses were still at Bukit Jalil and had not moved to the new terminal yet, saying “I had expected all of them (bus operators) to move in by today (Jan 1). Do you know the rakyat is miserable at Bukit Jalil?”

[TRANSIT: Honestly, Halimah, did you just discover this misery in your recent visit? Where have you been for the past 8 months?]

Halimah should know that the rakyat who use public transport have been miserable since 1987, when the CVLB was created. And to be very frank, in her 1.5 years as Chair of the CVLB, Halimah has accomplished little to reduce that misery. Despite multiple fare increases, bus service has not improved in terms of quality or safety.

By publicly criticizing her own director, Halimah has made it clear that she is not in control of the CVLB, and should therefore step down and let someone else take charge. More importantly, the CVLB should be disbanded and replaced by SPAD immediately.

TRANSIT: It is clear that something is rotten in the CVLB.

Sincerely,
Moaz Yusuf Ahmad
on behalf of TRANSIT

TRANSIT Says:

What a way to end a decade and begin a new one! We hope that the message gets across to the public and to the government that project management and delivery in Malaysia is in dire need of improvement.

Without significant improvements quickly, we can continue to expect poor examples like the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan.

Leakages and corruption and inefficiency are costing Malaysia and reducing the quality of life for the rakyat!

The Malaysia we see today…

An open letter to Najib Abdul Razak
Jeswan Kaur | Jan 14, 10 10:33am
Malaysiakini

Mr Prime Minister,

I am compelled to pen you a letter, feeling very distraught over the racial discord rearing its ugly head yet again.

The negative outbursts resulting from the High Court’s approval for the Catholic weekly Herald to go ahead and use the word ‘Allah’ in its publication and the subsequent attacks on churches have made it very clear, that 1Malaysia is only and only political propaganda.

Your giving the go ahead for protests at mosques only added fuel to the fire, one that is sure to ‘engulf’ Malaysians across the board if not enough effort is put into extinguishing it.

You know very well that the unity in diversity Malaysians once enjoyed has been destroyed by the powers that be for their own gain.
God by any other name is God and the house of worship is simply that.

Is a Chinese denied entry into a kuil? If yes, then the annual show at Batu Caves in conjunction with the Thaipusam celebration is nothing but an exercise at making money, thanks to the devotees who offer prayers at a fee.

What about the Sikhs, whose holy scripture the Guru Granth Sahib Ji makes reference to ‘Allah’ and its derivatives Alah, Alhu, Allahu and Allahi some 46 times?

What does this tell you? Will the Sikh holy book be tampered with to erase all references made to Allah? Will the Sikhs be banned from reciting prayers from their holy book?

Mosque and blessed feeling for non-Muslim

If religion is so ‘private’, I wonder what will happen to that tourist with a tattoo of the word ‘Allah’ on her or his arm walking innocently along Petaling Street, Malaysia’s very own Chinatown?

I was 22 when I started off as a journalist with an established newspaper company. Even then I had no hang ups over ‘my religion and your religion’.

This explained why I asked my Muslim colleague if I could accompany her to the surau and wait while she did her solat. She was more than happy and said ‘yes’.

As she fulfilled her religious obligations, I sat, feeling blessed at being in a house of worship.

It never crossed my mind that the surau was a place of worship exclusive to Muslims, until a senior reporter walked in and ordered me out, as she said the surau did not welcome a non-Muslim.

Along the way I had more Muslim friends, some who said it was a no-no for me to set foot inside a mosque or to hold the Quran.

But there was one Muslim whom I befriended who was only very helpful in helping me understand more about Islam, including going through the Quran, understanding the Sunnah, Hadith and even experiencing the month long fasting during the Ramadan month.

Urgent need for comparative religion studies

As a reporter, I was assigned to cover assignments at mosques. It was never unnerving for me as it was for the Muslims who became restless noticing the presence of a non-Muslim at their place of worship.

I cannot understand why Muslims become so insecure at the sight of a non-Muslim inside their mosque. But they will only be too happy if the non-Muslim comes in with a purpose to convert.

Doesn’t a non-Muslim have the right to set foot inside a masjid, since it is yet another house of worship, to seek God’s blessings?

Maybe this is why many Malaysians especially are ignorant about religious practices in Malaysia because they are not given a chance to learn, with no conditions attached. Is comparative study not possible without converting?

We all know that Mecca is a city forbidden to the non-Muslims. But why? It is a place gifted with so much history and sadly the non-Muslims are only allowed to see the city through television and magazines.

A Muslim friend passed away a year ago and we, her non-Muslim friends, gathered at the mosque. We brought along selendang or scarfs to cover our heads, knowing well what was expected of us.

And we later marched to the Muslim burial ground after the Zohor prayers to bid our friend farewell. No hang-ups there.

Even shampoo and toothpaste not spared

I remember as a child listening my grandmother uttering the word ‘Allah Taala’ to the Muslim makciks in the kampung where we lived each time they talked about their respective health.

No one took umbrage then, so why today the unnecessary excitement over the court approval for a Catholic news bulletin to use the word ‘Allah’?

Why does the government take offence and demonstrate absolute authority in displaying its dismay over this, to the point that your colleague Nazri Aziz went on to say that the judge had erred in allowing the word ‘Allah’ to be used? Is he saying that we no longer trust the judiciary?

Mr Prime Minister you definitely have lots to do, but your to-do list will be hogged by the utmost urgent need to address the issue of 1Malaysia, in the true sense of the word, where the Indians, Chinese and the Malays live as brethrens, with no hint of doubt or syak wasangka.

I believe advertisements showing toothpaste and shampoos exclusively for the Muslims have been doing a lot of damage. Is this a good example of 1Malaysia? Should the Indians and the Chinese follow suit?

I do not understand how Malaysians of today are united in their diversity. A walk to the pasar malam scares me as I dread passing by the stall that sells beef, as there hangs the head of the cow that was slaughtered. Can the non-Muslims make noise about this?
We do not because we ‘understand’. But if pork meat was sold openly there would be chaos in the country.

Whither ‘love thy neighbour’ ?

Why? Just like we ‘understand’ when opulent mosques are built throughout the country.

But how would the Sikhs feel when Astro’s Zee station abruptly ends the morning prayer telecast live from their holy shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar , Punjab , because of Astro’s timing glitch.

This shows Astro’s insincerity in making available such service to the Sikh community, not to mention complete disrespect for the prayers.
Also, why must the term ‘babi’ (pig) be used to hurl abuses at non-Muslims? Do the non-Muslims stoop as low as use the term ‘lembu’ to offend the Muslims?

Non-Muslims keep their pet dogs miles away from their Muslim friends who avoid ‘man’s best friend’ like the plague.

Sad, truly that even animals are not spared by mankind, God’s most challenging creation.

If we have stooped so low, then it is time the country’s national anthem ‘Negaraku’ be relooked, for the rakyat no longer live bersatu dan maju (the people live united and progressive) nor does the rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan (God bestow His blessings and happiness on us) seems applicable anymore, keeping the racial tensions in mind.

I am sure God is thoroughly dismayed with his creation, for they have failed to grasp the true meaning of ‘love thy neighbour’ and are ever thirsty for each other’s blood.

Attacking churches like that happened recently is a bleak demonstration of 1Malaysia.

When will the politicisation of religion stop?
How many more hearts will your administration break to protect the interests of the dominant race of this country?

Is worshipping the creator an exercise in politics?

Mr Prime Minister, where were you when a Muslim transsexual was accused of bringing shame to Malaysia ?

For human rights sake, why did you not utter a word?
Is the issue of transsexualism a petty affair to you? What happened to your catch-phrase of ‘rakyat diutamakan etc’.

Is Malaysia gearing towards a second black May 13? If the current events are to be looked at, then yes, the worry and fear are very real as we watch the nation emasculate gradually but surely.

But if we all come to our senses and realise the truth and beauty of ‘love thy neighbour’, all will be well, insyallah.

– Jeswan Kaur

We need more bright minded citizens like Jeswan Kaur in this country to make a change in the way the country is ruled and to form a better Malaysia.

Related Post:  Allah=God. No issues please!

Kugan: Beaten, Whacked, Murdered under cops supervision!

The death of Kugan Ananthan while in police custody is proof enough that police abuse is still rampant and horrendous. Kugan, a citizen of Malaysia who hails from the town of Puchong in Selangor was arrested on Jan 14th in Kajang. He was detained as a suspect involved in a car theft syndicate. After many days being held in Puchong police station, he was brought over to the Taipan police station in USJ on Jan 20th.

While being interrogated by cops, he apparently asked for a glass of water and upon drinking the water, he collapsed and lost consciousness. A doctor from a nearby clinic was summoned to examine Kugan and later confirmed that he had died. Family members who were only informed about the death later in the day was stunned and appalled by what has happened.

The family, suspecting something amiss, went over to the Serdang Hospital, where the body of Kugan lay, in much disbelief and shock they identified and confirmed the body as Kugan Ananthan and was saddened by what they saw. Kugan was beaten, whacked, battered, bruised and obviously murdered. His back had marks of what looks like to be of hot metal rod piercing  through in an inhumane manner and marks of swells all over. There were also deep cuts in his wrists and blood was oozing from his nose and mouth.

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, ever so dumbly as usual, claims and reported that Kugan had died of breathing difficulties because of fluid in his lungs. I wonder if he ever had gone for a crash course in stupidity. Well after-all, based on parliamentary revelations, the number of custodial deaths was 1535 so i guess this is another thing they brush aside as something normal. This is a Human Right abuse. The A-G, after a massive public outcry, re-classified the case as murder. This is how Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Government works, they wait for the consequences before doing the right thing.

And then we have the other idiot, Syed Hamid Albar, who threatens to use his “superpowers” against the 2 heroes of the day, Devamany and Murugiah of MIC, who “rescued” the situation from getting out of hand by visiting the hospital when the family went to identify the body of Kugan. In the name of national security, my arse must fart on syed hamid’s face so as to counter terrorism in the politically unpeaceful, Malaysia. I would suggest he leaves the government a.s.a.p. for the betterment of the country and human race.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said it was disheartening for Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar to say that the public did not care when a policeman dies.

“This is certainly not true and I think he does not understand the issue surrounding Kugan’s death.

“The issue here is not so much the victim but the police who abused their powers to the extent of causing the death of a detainee in police custody,” he said.

Source: The Star Online

It is very interesting to see how the police force works so efficiently with the government people and not with the ordinary citizens of Malaysia. Obviously, the government is taking advantage of the police and also making use of them against their opponents. Indeed it may seem like a good cover-up by the police force who keeps diverting all complains and reports to the family who barged into the mortuary and also the politicians and the public who is still in shock, rather than those directly involved and present at the crime scene when Kugan was dying.

Human Right abuse is one main issue that PDRM and the government must take into account and enforce that a life is a life no matter if it is of a prisoner, convict, politician, or a normal citizen for that matter. The rumours has it that Kugan might have died being beaten by the cops, and the other, being beaten by his accomplices because he was giving out details to the police. Either way, the police has no right to take a life or allow for it to happen what more while in custody. How are we now to depend on the cops when our lives are in danger?  Who could we look up to for help when in times of need?

This reflects the immaturity and undependable police force that we have in Malaysia to so-call protect the citizens of Malaysia. I would firstly suggest DCP Khalid to step down as Selangor police chief, now that he has led the integrity of the whole PDRM down to the drain. And further, the implementation of the IPCMC (Independent Police Complains & Misconduct Commission) to handle and put to task cops on duty who misbehave. Not forgetting of course, a more efficient and smarter police force altogether.

We need a more peaceful, people friendly,  human rights defending police force in Malaysia. The people in this country deserves it and the government is obliged to sustain its integrity and uphold the nations constitution. Only then will the people vote and support the government and also enhance peace and unity among all divisions of every race and creed. We call out for a better Malaysia. One Race, One Face.

Strive to uphold Human Right! – Your Life, Your Right! Let’s Fight for it!

Kugan Ananthan – Police brutality unleashed

Horror flight on board MH161

by Radhika Iyer-O’Sullivan
Jan 20, 09 3:55pm
Malaysiakini

I am a Malaysian currently residing and working in Dubai. On Dec 25, 2008, I flew with Malaysian Airlines flight MH161 to Kuala Lumpur to visit my parents. I was in seat 36H (an aisle seat) and the seat next to me, 36K (window seat) was vacant. The flight stopped over at Karachi for an hour.

In Karachi, more passengers boarded the plane. One male passenger boarded, showed his boarding pass to a stewardess and she pointed to seat beside me (36K). The man looked at me and said, ‘She’s a Hindu, I cannot sit beside her.’ The stewardess responded, ‘So what? What’s wrong with Hindu?’ The man then began to yell and shout that he would not sit next to a Hindu.

The crew insisted that he had to because there were no other seats available because the plane was full. Then this passenger sat down but began to verbally abuse my faith and the crew members. I sat in my seat but was physically cringing away from him. The flight supervisor was summoned and until then the man was still seated next to me. Imagine my shock, horror and fear in being next to a hostile, abusive person.

One steward did stand next to me but did not offer any help and I did not feel safe or reassured. I reached out and told that steward that I did not feel safe anymore. I said this to him softly in English and he told me to sit and wait. He then walked off and a female crew member took his place. All this time I was under the impression that this hostile passenger beside me was a Pakistani.

I then told the stewardess in Malay that this man should not be seated beside me after what he had said about me. There were other Malaysian passengers sitting in the same area and all of them heard me. She smiled and merely nodded.

Finally, the flight supervisor, ‘SB’, approached the passenger and after an angry exchange, the passenger said, ‘Move her then!’ and SB replied, ‘Yes, we will move her’. More angry words were exchanged and it was revealed that the passenger was actually a Malaysian. When this news was revealed, the passenger actually stood up with his fists up, ready to be physically violent. I was then hauled out of my seat and taken to the back of the plane. I was kept in the kitchen.

By this time I had gone into shock and was crying uncontrollably. I was shaking with rage because I was in a position where there was nothing I could do to defend myself. No one else seemed to be doing anything too.

I could not see what was happening from the rear of the plane but I did see uniformed security personnel approaching my original seat. I could not hear or make out what was happening as there was a group of people standing around my original seat. Eventually, the group left and it was announced that the plane would be taking off.

All this time I was in the kitchen, shaking and crying. All that was done for me was crew members taking turns to ask me if I was okay and offering me Coke and water! The plane began to taxi and I was then taken to another seat (42H). As I sat down, I asked the steward, ‘Is he off the plane?’ and the answer was, ‘No.’ I was appalled.

After the plane took off, the flight supervisor, SB, came and sat beside me. He explained to me that they could not put him off the plane because he was a deportee and if they had insisted on putting him off, then the plane would not have been cleared for take off. I was still crying at this point. I asked, ‘Why am I in a different seat? He should be!’ but my question was not answered.

The plane was not full. There were eight seats vacant in the rear, four on the right aisle and four seats on the left. Seat 42H, where I was put, was one of those vacant seats in the rear. If the MAS crew knew there was a deportee boarding, should they not have made arrangements to place him at the rear of the plane? What kind of airline policy allows a deportee to sit beside a female passenger travelling alone?

I spent the next five and a half hours on the flight in tears. I was not able to sleep because I knew that a hostile passenger was only six rows down from me. I was not afraid but in rage. My friends who are reading this would know the kind of person I am. I have always stood up for my rights and for the rights of people whom I love. I would not usually tolerate such abuse and I would not have hesitated in defending myself.

What stopped me was knowing that I was on a plane, in a confined space and that there were other passengers around me too, women and children. The abusive passenger was not removed from the plane and when we landed at KLIA, he disembarked like a normal passenger and was not escorted or arrested. I also disembarked knowing that I was now in the same terminal, on my own, as this hostile passenger.

I am very disappointed with the way MAS dealt with the incident. That passenger should have been taken to the rear of the plane and restrained. I was the victim of the incident yet I lost my chosen seat that I had paid for. Apart from offers of water, Coke and some verbal reassurances, the crew did not do anything else for me.

I have contacted other major airlines and this is how they would have dealt with the matter: I would have been moved to Business/First Class and I would have been escorted into the terminal until I safely exited the airport. MAS did not do anything for me. First of all, they jeopardized my safety and well-being by forcing the passenger to sit beside me knowing that he was hostile towards me and then they did nothing else to keep me safe.

I was in the same cabin as that passenger, wondering if he was going to walk by or pass me. I spent the entire five and a half hours in tears because I could not stand up for my rights and also because I had to keep my own rage pent-up.

Once I landed, I rang my husband in Dubai and related the events to him. He took immediate steps to contact MAS but to no avail. I stayed for one week in Malaysia and every single day, I tried to call their Customer Complaints Department. All I got was a voice mail. I left numerous messages but no one called me back. No one contacted my husband in Dubai. It is only after he put it up on the MAS blog that we have received some kind of response. Fourteen days after the incident, someone from MAS called me to offer an apology.

My husband also received an email from someone who has offered me 25 percent discount on a return flight from KL to Dubai and actually referred to that abusive passenger as a ‘fellow customer’! She also clearly stated that measures taken were to prevent that passenger from getting angrier. So in other words, they do admit that.

These are the questions I posed to MAS:

Why force a passenger who is racially abusive and hostile to my appearance and faith to sit beside me? There were other seats available at the rear as I discovered later.This was not a passenger who was merely fussing about his seat, this was a passenger who was potentially a threat to another passenger.

Why did the flight supervisor immediately give in to his demands and agree to move me? I was not the passenger causing trouble.

Upon retrospect, I think I was lied to. I do not think the passenger was a deportee. It was a lie told to me to keep him on the plane and keep me quiet. If a lie was told, that means that the crew took measures to protect the hostile passenger and themselves but not me, the victim. If so, then the MAS crew perpetuated the racism and discrimination initiated by the passenger.

If this is the case, then the entire crew participated in jeopardising my safety and appropriate action should be taken against them. If the passenger was truly a deportee or an INA (inadmissible because of visa) then the plane captain should have documents about him. If a deportee or INA caused trouble on a flight, the captain should have been informed immediately.

Why was the captain not informed and if he was, why did he not come to see me? I have been informed that KLIA security had been called but there was no one waiting when the plane landed. The abusive passenger disembarked like any other normal passenger. Why was he not nabbed or restrained? Why did not the crew ensure my safety in the terminal too?

I am demanding a formal, written apology from Malaysian Airlines. I want a truthful, reasonable explanation for all the five points I have listed above. I want some compensation for what I suffered. So far, I have only received an e-mail informing that the matter is under investigation.

Obama spoke about Malaysia at his inaugural speech

Firstly i wish to congratulate the 44th President of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, who took office Tuesday, 20th January 2009. It was a phenomenal opportunity to witness history as i watched the inaugural ceremony from my television set at home.

Such a historic moment was not meant to be missed and thankfully i can now say i watched history made for the second time within a span of a year. The first surely was the March 2008 G.E. which saw BN thrown out to the streets like trash.

President Obama, the first African American black president of the United States, took his seat finally after an amazing race to the White House. He was at first never thought to be even a close fight to the race, but Americans were ready and wanted a change. And hell-yeah they have it now!

He is probably the coolest president of them all, using terms such as ‘hit-it’ before dancing with the first lady, Michelle Obama, at the Inaugural Youth Ball, later in the night after his official oath taking ceremony, and also the term “that’s what’s called ‘old school’” at the same place after the dance.

But nevertheless, his inaugural speech in the afternoon was the highlight of the day. He spoke with much enthusiasm and passion. I was really inspired and was all fired up to see a change that is to come once he takes office.

And as a Malaysian citizen, I stand proud that among all the many hundreds of nations in the world that we live in and in front of the whole world who was listening and watching him speak, Mr. Obama chose to speak to Malaysia in particular at his presidential address from the Capitol. In his speech, he mentioned:

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

– Mr. Barack Obama, President of the USA

Indirectly sending a warning message to the Malaysian government and their corrupt ways of leading a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country that has the power of the people who opened up their eyes and now speaking out and wanting a change in the whole system.

The Malaysian government, have for the past almost 2 years, become a topic of corruption, human rights abuses, police abuse, and all the many other things that has now led to the country’s leading government losing its popularity and being voted out of the parliament in stages.

There has been a rousing support from the citizens to abolish the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) but yet to this date there is more than 60 people kept in custody without being charged in the court of law. And also the case of the use of the word ‘Allah’ to which they say is only reserved for Muslims  to call their God.

These are just mere examples from the many alleged acts that abuses human rights and also misuses of civil power and money politics and all sorts. Malaysia has to grow up. The government has to give way. And the people’s needs must be met and problems resolved.

Just as the Obama campaign went with the tagline,’ Yes We Can’. We Malaysians should also continue to fight for change. And that more mature governance of the country is seen and of cause a much better Malaysian Race is met. Yes We Can!  Yes We Can!  Yes We Can!

One Country, One Malaysia, One Face, One Race

Yes We Can!!! Malaysia Boleh

President Obama’s Inaugural Speech

President Elect Obama’s Election Night Speech

National Service trainees down with food poisoning

So after 16 deaths (probably more uncounted for) and 4 years since its inception, they still can’t get the food right. I really don’t understand this situation. how can such a thing happen every year without fail at every term!!

LUMUT: Some 155 national service trainees at the Teluk Rubiah camp here came down with food poisoning yesterday and were rushed to the Seri Manjung Hospital.

They were brought to the hospital at 7.20am after suffering from stomach ache, diarrhoea and vomiting following a meal of chicken chop at the camp’s canteen. – Bernama

The so-called “National Service” which is not really service and nationally friendly anymore is being more and more ignorant to the cause of its inception. I really don’t understand their motive in having such a gruesome and time consuming thing (perfect word for it) and not giving proper food to its trainees.

Please, these trainees are young adults who are our future leaders of this country and i feel it is not right abusing them and forcing on the dumb national service on them. They have better things in life to do.

I thought that after 16 deaths, the government would at least try and make things different this time around and aim for a better service and no deaths for this term. But now with the food poisoning issue i highly doubt the government is taking any effort in doing anything about it.

They’re probably too busy spoiling the minds of the voters in Kuala Terengganu into believing their stupid tactics and wasting precious tax payments of the citizens with posters of dumb people to be our MP.

Even after numerous calls for National Service to be abolished, for our DPM 16 deaths is just merely a number and not something to be worried about. This is the sad state of the politics in Malaysia with the government not listening and feeling the peoples needs and wants but only concern about whats going into their pockets.

I really hope that National Service either be improved and more efficient and at the same time professional or it is abolished once and for all. Please, please don’t waste the lives of our children. They’re precious possessions and they are dear to us Malaysians.

Allah=God. No issues please!

There has been an article which popped right out of nowhere in Malaysia-Today

view article at http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/8366/1/

The author, who remained anonymous, seemed to have shown the height of stupidity and seriously there is no sense in what he wrote which is based purely on the issue of the word Allah being used by Christians for self-preservation in Malaysia. Hahaha this is so funny how out-of-facts someone can get. Do take time to read the article if you need some sense of humour in your day, if not then don’t bother.

As for my reply, it is down here…have fun

Alexzander Johnson said…

Dear author,

It is absurd that you actually came up with this article without knowing proper facts in life.. Are u a BN member or a BN MP for that matter who’s in disguise??
well i wouldnt be suprised.

You said…
[quote]Is the Vatican using the term, ‘Allah’, too? I have not heard of the Pope himself having said so. If he had done it even once, I’m sure the international press would have mentioned it.

Are the Christian and Catholic churches all over the world including in Singapore also using this term? Has anyone heard of the Christians and Catholics say, ‘May Allah bless you’. We have only heard them say all the time, ‘God bless you’; never mind the other religions recitations that have the word ‘Allah’ in them. [/quote]

FYI, for ur lack of common-sense, the word Allah is used to converse in Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic and Bahasa Malaysia and other languages in the world that uses the word Allah to bring about the meaning God. The vatican uses much of Latin. Masses there are celebrated in Latin.

Obviously we dont use ‘May Allah Bless You’. Are you that dumb?? we could use May God Bless You and Semoga Allah Merahmati/Memberkati Kamu. If you have been to school then i bet you would know the differences in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

The BN Government has taken religion as part of their propaganda to instill into non-educated Muslims in Malaysia that Christians are a threat to their existence. We Christians practise n preach tolerance and peace as well as patience and forgiveness.

I am a pro-inter religious dialogue person and have attended/participated in quite a number of inter-racial talks and dialogues with leaders of all faiths in Malaysia including Islam. Islam teaches Peace and to live in harmony with everyone. If you could remember the drawing of prophet muhammad which was internationally brought up and caused a stir in Malaysia. And then we have a picture of Jesus holding a cigarette and beer in a daily newspaper. The Government only suspended them for 1 month. Even then the christian church in Malaysia said an apology would do and dont need to be suspended. Remember that?

That is the same reason why this issue of the word Allah is kept in Malaysia and not internationally debated. Religion is not something to be fought about with each other. God is something every human being cling to and need in their lives daily and He deserves more than what we are, what we give.

If you are not insecure about your faith, if every Malaysian is sincere in their worship to God the Mighty, the Merciful, the Everything, this issue would not even be brought up. There is no reason for this issue. It is just a dumb political party being stupid and so ignorant to the needs of the Rakyat and only stand up for one race in a multi-racial country with really really un-educated leaders simply proving their utter dumbness and stupidity.

I ask you my friend, what is Allah to you? What is Allah? Who is Allah? Its about time u start pondering on facts of life. Allah means God it doesnt say your God or my God. It is God. You believe in God, I believe in God. What is the freaking issue here?? God is not something to be debated or fought about. God is about prayer, trust, faithfulness and believe. There is no God if you dont believe there is one.

You have lack of common sense in your stupid brains dear author. I apologize for my language but seriously i cant help it. Dumb people like you should enrol yourselves in primary school and learn all over again.

According to MP Khalid Abdul Samad of Shah Alam, he said…
[quote]“in Arabic, ‘Allah’ means God. ‘Allah’ comes from the word ‘Al Illah’. ‘Illah’ means something that you worship. ‘Al’ means ‘the’. Therefore ‘Al Illah’ (or ‘Allah’ for short) simply means ‘the item of worship.’ Even before the coming of Prophet Mohammad, the word ‘Allah’ was used, simply because it means God. So if you ask me whether you can use the word ‘Allah’, I would say Yes. It is even not a problem for non-Muslims to use the word ‘Assalamualaikum’ because it simply means ‘Peace’. When I was in Jordan, I heard a Christian priest speaking Arabic on TV, and he used the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God. The problem here again is the ignorance within the Muslim community itself, thanks to BN. You have to give us some time to educate the Muslims. We have 50 years of ignorance to repair,” [/quote]

Get that in your head before you post seditious articles. Your article have no qualities and points to whatsoever matter on the issue just like the government have got no proof as to who owns the word Allah.
Smile Alwayz.
Peace be with you.
🙂

Malaysians for the scraping of National Service!

It has been 5 years now since National Service (NS) started. 5 terms of fostering racial integration and building love for the nation. No matter how much good things there has been with regards to NS, there has been a total of 16 deaths. Yup we do hope and pray that there be no more deaths in this service, but then again after 16 deaths in 5 stints, how can we be sure that no more deaths will occur? It is an average of 3.2 deaths per year for no reason at all.

Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, with all his power and might and stupidity has disregarded any motion to scrap the National Service. Has he forgotten about what a child’s life mean to a parent? Has he got no sense of logic? Has he become so dumb? Is he that much of a life-hater? And he has the guts to say that its only a 0.004% death rate. I would like to ask Najib, How many deaths would it take for you and the government to finally come up with a solution and scrap the whole programme? 160? 1600? Enough is Enough!!!

On the National Service programme, Najib said the government will not scrap the programme just because 16 trainees died.

He said these casualties represented 0.004 percent of the 339,186 trainees who have gone through the programme since 2004.

“Out of the figure, 11 trainees died in the camps, while five died outside the camps. Of the deaths reported in the camps, seven were due to illnesses and four due to accidents.” The latest death involved an 18-year old girl in Perak last week after she complained of constipation.

“I would like to inform the House that the programme has been well-received by the rakyat despite the cases of death. The confidence of the rakyat shows through the applications to voluntarily take part in the programme which has increased from 929 applicants (2007) to 1,137 ( 2008 )

Source: Malaysiakini

Just because 16 trainees died???? Wow..seems to me that losing 16 lives is merely a number for the government. Were they expecting this? Was this in their agenda? Was this in the National Service proposal before it was even implemented? Our DPM, the future PM of Malaysia surely has got no sense in his brain. Now i am not even suprised if what Raja Petra said was true. Although we Malaysians all know it is. haha. What more can I say.

The national service has not and will not reach its ultimate goal of fostering racial integration and building self esteem and also generating a community of nation lovers until and unless the BN government falls and perishes into thin air. Let us take a look at the statistics, how many of the so far 339,186 (minus 16) national service participants have publicly expressed or shown love for thier nation? well how bout none so far. How many of them have proved to show and publicly be proud of their NS stint? ok maybe a few.

Well the problem is, the government themselves do not indulge is fostering racial integration. If they did, why is there still quota system for everything? Why is it that an indian or chinese cannot rule the government? why is it only the UMNO president that has to rule the government? Why is it that the government has publicly announced that Malaysia is an Islamic state? There is so much more proof that the government is very racial. And they threaten others and put people in ISA for voicing out concerns of a certain race. They call that racial. Wow, its such a great government that we have all as Malaysians voted for and left to rule the country.

Why can’t we all be known as 1 true Malaysian race!!? Afterall, we are all born in this country or have lived here and has become citizens of this country. Look at Singapore, you don’t here them going around saying i’m a Malay, i’m an indian, i’m chinese. What we hear is only I’m Singaporean. Why can’t we be proud of our country? To me, i get a strong feeling that all these happened because of the formation of UMNO, MIC & MCA. If there weren’t these parties, everyone would have equal and properly distributed rights and the quality of life in Malaysia would have been better.

Mr. “DPM” also said that the confidence of the people with regards to NS has increased. And that is shown from the volunteer participants to NS. Well Mr. DPM, then why is it that NS is something forced upon on so many children? Why is it compulsary for that 85000 children or so to attend and go through National Service? Let it be open to all for them consider and voluntarily take part. When you can’t even handle 24000 children for 3 months, you think you can handle your plan to one day make it compulsary for all aged 18 to attend NS? I highly and strongly doubt it. I am never going to send my child (when i have my own) for NS. And yup I will stand up and fight for the freedom of 18 year olds who do not wish to go for NS.

Najib Razak, our so-called DPM, is to be held responsible of all deaths at the National Service programme and is guilty of negligence to those who had perished. Let justice be served. Scrap the National Service!! We want our children to live in peace and harmony. They are our future, our Malaysia.

God Bless Malaysia. Makkal Sakthi!!

BMC & citizens of Malaysia vs. Grand Saga & federal Govt.

The courts have spoken. The civil court today dismissed Bandar Mahkota Cheras (BMC) residents’ application for an injunction to stop Grand Saga from building a barricade on the alternate toll-free road.

The federal government has once again dug its own grave by commenting so dumb-ly over the BMC issue. Works Minister Mohd Zin Mohamad who took over from the infamous Samy Vellu after GE08 has come up with a statement which proves the inability of the government in handling such basic issues which is for the sake of humankind in Malaysia.

I am outraged by the whole issue of BMC and the road closure. The road is on state land and only the state government has the right to close / open / dismantle / remove the road. How on earth could a developer of a totally different project close the road just to increase their revenue from toll collection? It is simply a business deal! Probably made by the government.

“The opposition’s action in dismantling the barricade recently had sent a wrong message to the business community in the country,” Mohd Zin said.

“You (Selangor government) are sending a very wrong message to the business community as we are talking about the rule of law, we should just let the court decide (first),” he added.

He said that as he singled out Selangor state exco Ronnie Liu who was quoted in the media reports as ordering the barrier to be dismantled.

Source: Malaysiakini

First of all, the Selangor state government, Pakatan Rakyat, had not just come up with a conclusion by merely saying what they wanted to say but by having a survey team checking on the area beforehand and proving that the road belonged to the state government. Not Grand Saga, which is not so grand anymore and neither the Federal Government, which is to be known as the “business government”.

The barrier should not have been there in the first place. Grand Saga has got no jurisdiction on that part of the world and has therefore no right to put up any barrier whatsoever to prevent commuters from using the road. It is the right to all Malaysians as to which road they choose to take and use in their daily lives.

As to what is being potrayed now, there is a strong feeling that the then state government may have agreed to Grand Saga on the closure of the road which would then force all commuters to use the Grand Saga Highway and pay toll and increase revenue for Grand Saga and possibly there would have been an incentive for the BN-led state government before March 8.

Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu said a Survey and Mapping Department report had shown that the land on which Grand Saga Sdn Bhd had earlier erected a barrier to stop residents from using a toll-free road was state land.

“Even before the survey, the state government had ample proof that the road was on state land.

“And until today, the highway concessionaire has yet to show documents to stake its claims,” he said at a press conference at the site yesterday.

Source: The Star Online [May 11]

Mohd Zin basically should start reviewing what has been said first before speaking out to turn the issue into a battle between the 2 governments – federal and state – which would cause a major lockdown and stir up unwanted emotions from the citizens of Selangor and Malaysia.

The court has been on this case since last year. Narajaya the developer of the toll-free access road filed a court case on Oct 4 last year. Until now no solution has been given by the court. The state government that owns the land on which the road exists has come up with a better and fast solution on the matter and thus lessening public grievance and also fulfilling its promises in improving public delivery.

The police on the other hand – the part-time sibuks, full-time wannabes – just had to show their colours on thursday night. Not only did they knowingly whacked a Member of Parliment (MP), they also damaged his car and caused chaos in BMC. If not for the police presence, everything would have ended peacefully. And they said that the public was causing nuisance

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who claimed he was injured during Thursday night’s commotion, said he admitted himself into the emergency ward of Selayang Hospital on Friday afternoon as he was in pain.

Relating Thursday’s events, Lim said: “A plainclothes officer grabbed me from behind and some burning hot liquid was blasted into my face, which temporarily blinded me. I then felt punches and kicks all over,” he said.

He said his car was damaged – tyres punctured, wipers ripped off, surface scratched and a number plate broken.

Source: The Star Online [May 11]

By looks of what happened on thursday night, the police is definitely not neutral. Residents were forcibly dispersed from the site by the police using tear gas and water cannon. The police claims that the residents were “menggangu tugas keselamatan pihak polis” (interfering with police security duties) which is why they had to use water cannons and dozens of tear gas canisters fired into the crowd. The police for sure would not have done that if it were a bunch of BN supporters on the roads that night.

How can the police take on the side of Grand Saga? Did Grand Saga pay the police? Did the federal government instruct the police to do so? Only God knows the answer. But as for us Malaysians, the trust on the so-called Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) has gone way lower than expected. Not only is the malaysian media controlled by the government, now the police force is also controlled.

As a deeply concerned citizen and student, I want to know, How would the future be in Malaysia? Is the police and government going to merge and be like the Junta government in Myanmar? Somebody please refresh me with answers. Thank You.

God have mercy on Malaysia.

RM39.11m cab ticket to space

quoted from The Star online:

At the Dewan Rakyat: RM39.11m spent on space programme ( Tuesday 6th, 2008 )

KUALA LUMPUR: At Tuesday’s Dewan Rakyat sitting, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said that the Government paid RM39.11mil for the Angkasawan space programme.

The first phase of the Angkasawan programme was not totally free of charge for the Government.

Maximus said that of the RM39.11mil paid, RM16.8mil was born by the ministry and RM22.28mil by government-linked agencies.

He added that the Russian Government funded RM75.8mil for the programme as part of a deal when the Malaysian Government purchased Sukhoi SU30MKM fighter jets from the Russian Government.

Looks like some people just simply had to ‘show-off’ their stuff to prove that they can do something different in life. Seriously i really don’t understand why Malaysia needed someone to go to space. Somebody please explain in detail..

That guy basically did nothing useful there. Ok, there were some experiments done for no reason but why is there no results shown or published after so long?? And yeah it had to be shown live and telecasted all over Malaysia with a special channel on Astro just for it..Gosh!! Malaysia is soo lame these days.

Yup I agree that it would spur talents from the young ones and stuff but RM39.11 million just to go to space is fairly over the limit. Plus its not like the country’s in any good shape to be known by the world..The government I would say was just stupid in making the decision to send someone to space.

That taxpayers money spent could have been used for other simple reasons such as fixing potholes at every road in the city and improving public transport or even at least donating to the poor and needy. How could the government of a country make such an unwise and dumb decision?? I am in wonder!!

That dude who went to space is now the ambassador for http://www.warkahuntukpm.com (a useless website which says its an oppurtunity to voice your concerns to the PM but please do not ever hope for a reply because it’ll never come so don’t waste time even going there, please). Never would I or anyone imagine being the ambassador for a dumb website just after going to space and back. God knows how much taxpayers money is going to him just for that.

Shout-out to the Government:

Release Raja Petra!!!! He has done nothing wrong apart from speaking the truth!!

Approve Herald’s decision and please..the word ‘Allah’ means God. It doesn’t say my God or your God. It is the One God to which everyone in this world needs and clings on to. So please don’t be immature. We did not vote for you to be this way.

Broadcast the whole of Parliament seating Live for all to see. It is our right to know what happens first-hand.

And finally please don’t be stupid ever again!!

To all Malaysians, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, our nations bapa pemodenan has finally arrived and in action in the blogosphere view his blog at http://www.chedet.com/

A Blogger’s Letter to Mr. Khairy Jamaluddin

Date: Mar 27, 2008 11:39 PM
Subject: THE LION THAT ROARED HAS LOST HIS VOICE (AND NERVE)
To: Khairy Jamaluddin khairy@rembau.net

Hello KJ,

How come you are so quiet, now that GE12 is over and BN– notably UMNO
Semenanjung–got a thrashing?  Cat got your tongue? Or perhaps you are mulling

over the disastrous consequences of your half-baked strategy and your utterly

stupid macho tactics.

Your comical bravado, your fiery but empty rhetoric and your theatrical keris-

brandishing antics have backfired spectacularly And your kuncu

Patrick Lim  (what a showoff), has proved to be a massive liability in

more ways than one.

The election results, which I’m sure you and your father-in-law never expected,

drove home the point to many of us your utter failure as a campaign strategist.

You are just a snot-nosed novice trying to do a job best left to the professionals.

You are, to use a military analogy, an uncouth and gung ho subaltern trying to

do the work of a battle hardened three-star corps commander.

And what happened? UMNO got a severe mauling, not to mention Gerakan (wiped out),

MIC (almost wiped out) and MCA (crippled for life). Thanks to a Mr Know-All like you.

It’s only a matter of time before your once-respected but now reviled father-in-law gets

booted out, thereby putting an end to your much vaunted ambition to be Malaysia ‘s

youngest PM. What a joke!!! Cakap besar tak berguna bro. You’ve still got a lot to learn kiddo.

The speeches you gave at the political rallies have exposed you as a punch drunk and

power-crazy political novice. Your big mouth, your execrable arrogance, your heavy-

handedness, your over confidence, your presumption that the voters are all gullible idiots

and your failure (or refusal) to read the tell tale signs,  have landed you and your cronies

(not to mention your lembab FIL) in one hell of a mess. The articulate debaters in the

parliamentary opposition are going to eat you and your kind for breakfast when Parliament

convenes. I can’t wait for the war of words to commence. And the bloggers too are waiting to

see how an egotistical braggart like you perform.

I look forward to receiving your reply (if you have the balls to do so), which I will circulate

among all the bloggers.

Cheers mate.

P.S. You should read Tsun-Tzu’s The Art of War if you haven’t done so already. The principles

he enunciated apply as much to political warfare as they do to ground –as opposed to naval

and air–warfare.

Written By,

A Blogger!

Can BN reinvent itself?

Oon Yeoh | Mar 13, 08 1:11pm

analysis The 2008 general elections has left the Barisan Nasional coalition impotent in carrying through a number of key policy decisions and has inadvertently placed it between a rock and a hard place. One of the reasons, ostensibly, for holding the elections in March rather than later was that the government could not hold off raising fuel prices for much longer. With Saturday’s political tsunami, where the opposition successfully hammered the government on bread-and butter-issues, there is no way the BN can raise prices now. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s ability to carry on with his various corridor plans are also in jeopardy, especially the Northern Corridor, given that Penang, Perak and Kedah are now in opposition hands. At the very least, it will be difficult for him to implement it. The smart thing for Abdullah to do is to create a brand new cabinet, something he should have done when he got a massive mandate in 2004. Now, more than ever, he must do away with the old and usher in the new. But it’s highly unlikely he’ll be replacing any old ministers who managed to retain their seats. There will be some new faces, if only because some ministers lost their seats, but we are probably not looking at a brand new cabinet. The non-Malay component parties are in tatters. Yet they too cannot reinvent themselves. S Samy Vellu is set on staying put as president of MIC. It’s hard to imagine anything he can do to convince Indian Malaysians that MIC represents them. The decision by the new Penang and Perak state governments to have an Indian as deputy chief minister and deputy menteri besar respectively, cements DAP’s and PKR’s credibility as parties that take the Indian community’s welfare seriously. MCA and Gerakan both lost Chinese support in a big way. In the case of Penang, they were wiped out with DAP winning all state and federal seats. While both parties are talking about rebuilding, what you will get is pretty much the same old, same old. Ong Ka Ting is still the president of MCA and his brother Ong Ka Chuan is still harping on how DAP is working with PAS in Perak. The canard that a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS didn’t work before the elections yet the MCA secretary-general is still singing the same tired tune after the elections. Koh Tsu Koon had the decency to offer to resign as acting president of Gerakan, although true to form, its members rejected this. To Gerakan’s credit, party adviser Lim Keng Yaik has said what needs to be said. “The advice given to him (Abdullah) has been wrong,” he said. “If his advisers have been giving the wrong advice, remove them all.” Minister post for Khairy? And we all know who Abdullah’s advisor-in-chief is. Speaking of the country’s most powerful 32-year-old, Khairy Jamaluddin’s election to Parliament has placed his embattled father-in-law in a fix. By convention, as Umno deputy Youth chief, he should get a deputy minister post. But how can Abdullah make him a deputy minister after all the flak he’s been getting for listening too much to Khairy. PKR de factor leader Anwar Ibrahim has denounced the New Economic Policy as a flawed policy and calls for a new Malaysian deal that helps the needy regardless of race. This view has been echoed by the new Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. Even PAS has agreed that NEP needs reforms. Can Umno say the same thing? Both Khalid and his Penang counterpart, Lim Guan Eng, have also said they want a Freedom of Information Act, local council elections and open tenders for state projects. Will the BN offer any of these things in the states it controls? In short, the opposition can offer – and in some cases, actually implement – many of the things that BN simply won’t or can’t offer, much less implement. The big headache for BN is that the public is clearly sick of its tired system and for the first time in 50 years, expressed its discontent through the polls on Saturday. Abdullah and a whole assortment of BN leaders have been saying they hear the voters loud and clear. They say they need to do some soul searching. But nothing we’ve heard so far indicates they are willing or even capable to making the changes – which have to be drastic in order to be meaningful – that the public is demanding. BN’s culture of Umno political hegemony and the subservience of other component parties, as well as deeply-entrenched personal interests by various factions, simply doesn’t make it possible for BN to change. If we have four or five more years of the same thing, after the next general elections, when people talk about the opposition, it could very well be the BN they are referring to. OON YEOH is a political and new media commentator and author of Transitions.

Good Day Everybody!

And so it begins..my days of blogging.

First of all, as we have all known, the results of the 12th General Elections of Malaysia came indeed as a surprise and pretty shocking indeed. But i guess it was for the better. With the opposition winning the hearts and minds of 5 states and also the country’s 1st Federal Territory, it is a very huge win for the people of Malaysia.

Defeating the government has always been in our minds since the now infamous Prime Minister, Abdullah what?? took over from the previous elections. Reports of Anwar Ibrahim and fellow opposition candidates have been much more widely spoken of in the press. Oh i mean the REAL press in the www.

But nonetheless, i still wonder and strongly disapprove of Khairy-the-shameless-dude winning his Rembau seat after a recount and with a margin of 5000! That must have been like a WOW!! for EC officials to miss out on that number of votes at the first count. It is such crap that the EC should extricate in order to gain public confidence and reports of red paint splashed on the EC chief’s house.

Badawi won his seat and losing 1958 votes from his previous standing and Najib won with 4306 more votes for him compared to his previous seating. It is pretty absurd to think that Najib should take on Badawi’s place as the Prime Minister. To me, i feel that at the rate the people did not support BN this time around, both of them, Badawi and Najib, should step down.

But above all, i’m just happy and so glad that in my constituency, P110 – Klang, Mr. Charles Santiago of the great Democratic Action Party took lead with a stunning 17,701 majority and also M. Manoharan, Ronnie Lui won their seats together with Badrul Hisham of PKR. The sudden change in the whole of Klang has much been awaited and yup i can’t wait for all the fun to start.

the other shameless leader Sam Vell who refused to step down as MIC President even after a “slap on the face” by losing his seat and breaking the trust of the fellow indians in the country, something has to be done for him to leave and get the hell out of our sight. And they say that young people don’t listen and is stubborn and all the lousy things they find, look, our “Leader” he’s much worse than us fellow young people. Even we know what is right and wrong.

And now…here is something i think and feel everyone would enjoy