Rise of PP voters as pioneers of Bangsa Malaysia generation shaming Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC leaders for  their race politics

The Permatang Pauh by-election and Anwar Ibrahim’s victory  is a historic milestone in Malaysian nation-building and political development for three reasons.

It is firstly a ringing endorsement of the March 8 “political tsunami” where Malaysians transcended race, religion and political affiliation to vote as one people to demand an end to the decades of Barisan Nasional misrule, abuses of power, corruption  and human rights violations.

It demonstrates that the 12th general election results which saw the establishment of five Pakatan Rakyat state governments and the end of the unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority of the Barisan Nasional represented the deep-seated aspirations of Malaysians and not a fluke shot or fleeting phenomenon.

Secondly, it is an unmistakable verdict on behalf of 27 million Malaysians at their disappointment with the Prime  Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Cabinet  and the Barisan Nasional component parties at their failure in the past six months after the March 8 general election to end the deepening  crisis of confidence and restore public trust and faith in the government as well as  a censure of Abdullah’s failure to honour his renewed pledges to implement wide-ranging reforms, especially the police, the judiciary and on anti-corruption.

Thirdly, the rise of Permatang Pauh voters as the pioneers of the Bangsa Malaysia generation rejecting and putting to shame Umno, MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers and leaders for their dirty, immoral and racist politics in the 10-day by-election campaign.

Until yesterday, there was nothing for Malaysians to celebrate in the forthcoming 51st National  Day on August 31.

Now there is cause for the celebration of the 51st National Day as the people of Permatang Pauh have given the nation and the world  hope and confidence  that there is a future for a united, harmonious, progressive and prosperous Malaysian nation when the majority of the Malay, Chinese and Indians voters in Permatang Pauh united as one people to support Anwar Ibrahim in the cause of a new Malaysia  and  to reject the racist and communal campaigning of Umno.

In the by-election, Najib had masterminded not only the dirtiest but also the most immoral, divisive  and racist election campaign in my personal  experience, particularly in the chauvinist and communal Umno  line  that the Malays would be oppressed  by the DAP  if Anwar Ibrahim is elected as MP for the constituency.

This is a lie and it is most shameful, dishonest and unMalaysian for any Umno leader to resort to such falsehoods.

But what is equally shocking is the eerie silence and acquiescence of MCA,  Gerakan  and MIC Ministers and leaders who campaigned in Permatang Pauh but  who dared not protest with Najib or Abdullah to demand an immediate end to such racist campaigning – proving right the post-March 8 criticisms of some MCA and Gerakan leaders that  the role of MCA and Gerakan were nothing more than being  political “serfs” and “beggars” to UMNO.

Abdullah, Najib as well as Umno, MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders have not learnt the lessons of the March 8 “political tsunami”.

Will they learn the lessons of the August 26 Permatang Pauh “mini political tsunami” or will they continue to be in terminal denial, aggravating the national political and economic crisis of confidence in Malaysia?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 4:58 pm and is filed under
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101 East : The Anwar Comeback

From
Jeffooi.com
 :

The Al-Jazeera channel will air The Anwar Comeback on the 101 East programme at 8.30pm (Malaysian time) tonight.

It will be repeated on

    – August 29: 3.30am, 11.00am & 2.30pm

    – August 30: 10.00pm

    – August 31: 1.30pm

    – September 1: 9.30am

    – September 2: 6.30pm

    – September 3: 3.30pm

    – September 4: 2.00pm

Kit Siang et al will appear briefly as guests at the beginning, to be followed by anchor Teymour Nabili’s one-on-one with Anwar.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 August 2008, 6:38 pm and is filed under
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Anwar takes his seat as Opposition Leader

Anwar Ibrahim has been sworn in as Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh when Parliament met this morning following his historic win in Tuesday’s by-election.

The Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin welcomed Anwar’s return to Parliament after an enforced absence of a decade and announced his appointment as Parliamentary Opposition Leader with immediate effect.

Like the SAPP MP for Sepanggar, Datuk Eric Majimbun (who asked the first question this morning) and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, I took the occasion when putting up a supplementary question of Project Mahathir in Sabah to congratulate Anwar’s return to Parliament after being forced out of the highest legislative chamber of the land for a decade following a second political tsunami in the Permatang Pauh by-election.

I also remarked that Anwar’s return to Parliament is taking place at a time when the the Barisan Nasional ship of state is behaving like the Titanic before its unforgettable sinking into the bottom of the sea.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 August 2008, 10:44 am and is filed under
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How petty can you be, Shabery?

All the newspapers reported on the front pages that Anwar Ibrahim would be sworn in as MP for Permatang Pauh today and that the swearing-in will be
telecast live over RTM
, which airs the first 30 minutes of the daily parliamentary sittings from 10 am.

It will be no exaggeration to say that since the introduction of the 30-minute parliamentary live telecast by RTM since April, there has never been such greater national interest in the RTM live telecast as this morning to witness the historic return of Anwar to Parliament after a decade-long enforced absence because of political persecution and victimisation.

I did not realise that there was no RTM live telecast of Anwar’s taking his oath as MP until I was asked about it by the press when I came out of the Chamber about an hour  later and I received angry reactions by Malaysians who felt  “cheated” of the live RTM telecast.

How petty can you be, Information Minister, Datuk Shabry Cheek that you should indulge in such puerile  tactics as to veto  RTM from proceeding with  its  live telecast of Anwar’s swearing-in?

Why are the Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders so afraid of one man that there should be a ministerial directive to veto the live telecast of Anwar taking his oath of office – after the live RTM telecast had been announced and reported in all the newspapers today?

Shabery should offer the nation a personal apology for such petty and puerile behaviour.

Or did the directive to veto the RTM’s planned live telecast of Anwar’s swearing-in come from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself or through his Putrajaya Fourth Storey mafia?

Abdullah should explain what role he played in RTM’s last-minute cancellation of its live telecast of Anwar’s swearing-in, and he should discipline Shabery including his dismissal as Information Minister if the veto had not come from him or the Putrajaya Fourth Storey.

It is also most deplorable that there was such low attendance of Barisan Nasional Ministers (only three Ministers were present) in the House when Anwar took his oath as MP – to the extent that there are those who described it as a sort of “boycott” by BN Ministers and MPs!

This reflected most adversely on the BN Ministers and MPs and not on Anwar. Shame on them!

The above is the video clips of Anwar’s swearing-in, the empty BN Ministerial and parliamentary benches and the “BN Government the present-day Titanic” episode.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 August 2008, 2:40 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia Today blocked – MSC Bill of Guarantees Violated

In my interjection during the debate on the DNA Bill in Parliament  this morning, I had raised the blocking of popular website
Malaysia Today
 on the directive of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the violation of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees as “a gift to the world” of no censorship of the Internet by the Malaysian authorities.

I quoted it as the latest example of the rampant abuses of power  by the government which explains why there is so little public confidence in the independence, professionalism and impartiality of the various enforcement  agencies with the  vast powers as proposed in the proposed DNA bill.

Almost all key institutions of the state, whether the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, the Anti-Corruption Agency or  the judiciary have come under a grave cloud and  lost the high respect and public standing they were held by Malaysians in the early years of nationhood.

The MCMC directive to block
Malaysia Today
 and the violation of the MSC Bill of Guarantees must be roundly and unanimously condemned by all right-thinking Malaysians, and the reasons cannot be more eloquently summarised by
Jeffrey
 in another thread:

The government has a plethora of laws against Internet abuse and it has already brought sedition and criminal intimidation charges against website owner RPK so why the censorship?

Under point 7 of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia 10 Point Bill of Guarantees to the international community, the government promises to ensure no internet censorship.

Here government does the censorship ‘indirectly’ by invoking Section 263 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (1998) by pressuring license holders (such as ISPs) to take action against service user like Malaysia Today alleged to be contravening national laws. (Under of the Act, a licensee must “use his best endeavour” to prevent his/her facilities from being used to violate any law in the country”).

If they can block Malaysia Today they can block other blogs like this one too.

As mainstream media is controlled and used as a propaganda machine, the Internet is the last bastion of free speech and source of truths (as well as untruths) though it is up to readers to sift and separate wheat from chaff.

Please remind them on implications of breaching an international guarantee like MSC Bill of Guarantee and its effects on MSC, investments and gfenerally government’s credibility in the international arena.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 August 2008, 4:42 pm and is filed under
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Pakatan Rakyat attracts new members because of its philosophy not money

by
Dr. Chen Man Hin

Ex-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir remarked that Pakatan Rakyat cannot attract Barisan Nasional MPs to join its party with money because they are rich and would not be influenced by bribes.

He is right on the mark as PR is not a party grouping with rich and wealthy leaders and therefore do not have the resources to resort to bribery.

Pakatan Rakyat is attractive because it has an ideology which is a winning formula to bring about reforms and changes for a  better Malaysia.

There are many Barisan leaders who are disenchanted with Umno because of its corruption, cronyism and racial policies. These dissatisfied leaders are welcome to join Pakatan Rakyat on their own volition, if they accept PR’s policies of democracy, justice, freedom of religion , rule of law and transparency.

The inability of Umno to accept the message for CHANGE of March 8th and turmoil and the wrangling within Umno are  other factors influencing Barisan MPs to change sides and join PR.

The failure to deliver the promises made to the people of Sabah and Sarawak was another reason to prompt the Barisan MPs to join PR.

The question of bribery with money was never a consideration.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 August 2008, 5:23 pm and is filed under
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Permatang Pauh by-election – who is the silliest of them all?

1. The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

The loss suffered by the Barisan Nasional in the Permatang Pauh by-election should not be read as an emerging trend for other constituencies.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stressed that while the loss was something to be concerned about, the situation had not reached a “worrying level” as Barisan Nasional still controlled 140 seats after the March 8 general election.

“We can still continue with the government. We are aware of the mandate given to us and we will work hard to deliver,” he said.

(The Star 28.8.08)

“After all, the last general election gave us a strong victory. We are only eight seats short of a two-thirds majority, it is not that we lost by 20 or 30 seats, only eight seats. We have a very strong government.”
(New Straits Times 28.8.08)

Comment:
  Barisan Nasional achieved  “a strong victory” in the March 8, 2008 general election?  Abdullah must be living in a completely different world, when  he could console himself as having achieved “a strong victory” what had been described as  a “political tsunami” with BN candidates falling like nine-pins, sending the BN into the Opposition in five states and ending the hitherto unbroken BN two-thirds parliamentary majority?

Abdullah is in double trouble – he  has not woken up from his slumber and he is suffering from terminal denial syndrome.

Is Abdullah prepared to test whether the greater loss of popular support for Barisan Nasional as compared to six months ago as demonstrated by the Permatang Pauh by-election is “an emerging trend for other constituencies” by getting one Barisan Nasional MP to resign to create a by-election test-case?

2. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak?

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s victory in the Permatang Pauh by-election shows that democracy is very much alive in the country, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Congratulating Anwar on his win, Najib said it also proved that there was no manipulation of democracy as alleged by the PKR adviser.
(The Star 27.8.08)

Comment:
What bunkum. Anwar won with a thumping and even greater majority six months ago despite and not because “there was no manipulation of democracy” – in fact it is to Najib’s shame that he had spearheaded what I had described as a
4Ds campaign
 – the dirtiest and the most disgraceful, dishonourable and divisive – in the Permatang Pauh by-election.

3. Gerakan acting president, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon?

Barisan’s defeat in the Permatang Pauh by-election is another wake-up call for the ruling coalition, said Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
(The Star 28.8.08)

Comment:
 If Abdullah and all the Barisan Nasional l eaders including Tsu Koon cannot “wake up” after the March 8 political tsunami, can they “wake up” after the second “political tsunami” of  August 26 to realise  that they are on the Malaysian Titanic?

4. MCA Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan?

“Ka Chuan hopes Barisan will learn from Permatang Pauh loss”
 –
(Star headline 29.8.08)

Comment:
 MCA had been “hoping” and “begging” the Umno leaders  for 51 years. Are they going to continue to “hope” and “beg” for the next 50 years?

5. Information Minister, Datuk Shabery Cik?

Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek immediately hit back: “The live broadcast is strictly for Question Time and we can’t change our policy for just one person.”

Shabery, who was involved in the country’s first-ever live television debate with Anwar last month over fuel subsidy, added: “Traditionally, we’ve never telecast the oath-taking so there is no reason we should make an exception for him.
” (New Straits Times 29.8.08)

Comment:
 If Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah had created an upset and won in the Permatang Pauh by-election, wouldn’t there be a live telecast of his swearing-in?  If Arif had defeated Anwar, RTM would have special programmes featuring  him as a hero and the entire Cabinet led by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister would be in attendance in Parliament and not the empty Cabinet and BN parliamentary backbenches yesterday during Anwar’s oath-taking.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 August 2008, 12:48 pm and is filed under
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2009 Budget – Abdullah fighting for his political life

“Abdullah attacks ‘populist’ claims while presenting populist budget”

This thought occurred to me when the Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a string of goodies in his 2009 Budget in Parliament today, including the following:

“Those who use less than RM20 of electricity per month will not be charged.”

One would have thought that Abdullah is preparing to fight an early general election if  one had not been held just  less than six months ago from which Abdullah and the Barisan Nasional emerged badly mauled – followed by another blow to the solar plexus in the Permatang Pauh by-election only three days ago.

But Abdullah was fighting for his political life when he presented the 2009 Budget.

I am not the only one to read Abdullah’s 2009 budget,as his “last ditch bid to cling to power” as a
Singapore-based analyst commented
: “It is a populist budget to deflect the growing popularity of Anwar”

Never before in Malaysia’s 51-year history has a budget received so little national interest and public attention – as all focus is on how long the Barisan Nasional government can last or Abdullah survive as Prime Minister.

In the past three days after the Permatang Pauh by-election, demands have grown in UMNO  for Abdullah to step down as Prime Minister and from the other Barisan Nasional component parties to quit the ruling coalition.

Abdullah referred to this deepening political, economic and nation-building multiple crisis of confidence in the conclusion of his budget speech.

He said:

“120. The tabling of the 2009 Budget demonstrates yet again that the Barisan Nasional Government is responsive to the concerns of the rakyat and has taken measures to lighten the burden of all Malaysians, particularly the lower income group. The approach taken is focused towards support and assistance, which not only improves the quality of life but also enables all Malaysians to enhance their productivity. This Budget is in line with the medium term plan as articulated in the National Mission and the Ninth Malaysia Plan to further develop the nation towards Vision 2020.

“121. The Barisan Nasional Government will continue to manage the economy responsibly. The Opposition, on the other hand, continues to make populist claims, which, if implemented, would undermine the Government’s financial position and bequeath a bankrupt nation to the next generation.”

A competition could be held as to the number of incorrect, misleading or downright baseless claims or  false assertions in just these two paragraphs – symptomatic of a Prime Minister and government in deep crisis of confidence.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 August 2008, 7:14 pm and is filed under
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Chinese “squatters” in Malaysia – why no MCA/Gerakan ultimatum in PP by-election?

In the past three days, spokespersons and  branches  of MCA and Gerakan and their youth sections have been protesting in the media against  the racist remark  by the Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail  during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign making derogatory reference to  the Malaysian Chinese as “squatters” in the country.

Daily protests  are being made  in the MCA and Gerakan, including  calling for MCA and Gerakan to quit the Barisan Nasional,  if top Umno leaders do not take strong disciplinary action against Ahmad.

Ahmad’s speech was reported in the Chinese media on Monday, 25th August 2008 – the eve of the Permatang Pauh by-election on August 26.

Why didn’t the MCA and Gerakan Ministers and leaders take a strong stand on Monday itself to issue an ultimatum  that Ahmad apologise and withdraw the racist remark, failing which they would pull out of the Barisan Nasional by-election campaign in Permatang Pauh?

Wouldn’t this be more effective and fruitful than just making protests “after the event”, although it would still get them into the newspapers despite  being ignored not only by Umno, the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council but also  the Cabinet?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 August 2008, 1:00 pm and is filed under
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10 highlights of Merdeka II for a new Malaysia

I rose up in Parliament last week, 21st August 2008, to point out that although the 51st Merdeka anniversary was ten days away, the country was never so devoid of National Day enthusiasm with so  little cause for celebration.

This was because in the past six months since the March 8 “political tsunami”, what obsessed the ruling politicians were “ketuanan Melayu”, “kedaulatan Melayu” and “perpaduan Melayu” when the national focus after half-a-century of nationhood should have been “Malaysian unity”.

Who knows what is the theme of the official National Day celebrations this year?  The overwhelming majority of Malaysians, including Barisan Nasional leaders, just don’t know.

The official National Day theme this year is “Unity, the core of success”. It is humdrum, pedestrian, uninspiring and even meaningless in the midst of keris-wielding and shouts of “perpaduan Melayu”.

If the official National Day theme is to touch the hearts of all Malaysians and be a binding and inspiring slogan for all citizens in the country, then it should be amended to: “Malaysian Unity, the core of success”.

The Barisan Nasional government has failed in its first fundamental task – to be the government for all Malaysians.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented the country’s biggest budget in history – a walloping  RM207.9 billion.

Coming just before the 51st Merdeka anniversary, it should be a budget of national unity, which it failed woefully.

This is because it failed to inspire unity, hope and confidence among Malaysians that they will be the main beneficiaries from the RM207.9 billion 2009 Budget, as it is budget of denial which has continued to plunge the country into a multiple crisis of confidence –  political, economic and  nation-building!.

We decided at short notice on Thursday night to organize this Perak DAP 51st Merdeka anniversary because the great Pakatan Rakyat victory by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim  in the Permatang Pauh by-election on August 26 has given all Malaysians throughout the country new hope of continuing paradigm shift in the destiny of Malaysia.

Earlier that evening while I was in Damansara, a stranger recognized me and came up to shake my hand, saying that he felt that there is hope for him and his children in  the country.

I wanted to correct him that he must be feeling for the second time in six months that despite the dark clouds, ordinary Malaysians regardless of race can again hope that there is a future for Malaysians in their own homeland.

This must be the message of the 51st Merdeka celebrations – not the meaningless slogan of the official celebration of “Unity the core of success”.

Let the word go out from here that on the occasion of the 51st Merdeka anniversary, all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or territory, are united in the resolve to herald a second Merdeka for all Malaysians.

The first Merdeka in 1957 ended as a Merdeka for the Barisan Nasional leaders and their cronies.  It is time for a Merdeka II where all Malaysians can enjoy the full gamut of freedom of citizenship of an united,  just, democratic, progressive and prosperous Malaysia.

There are already several important milestones for this Merdeka II movement, the most notable being:

•	308 – the “political tsunami” of the March 8 general election;

•	826 – the second “political tsunami” of the Permatang Puah by-election

Everyday, new landmarks of a Merdeka II are being chalked up, including this morning, with the breakthrough announcement by the Perak Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin that the Pakatan Rakyat government of Perak has agreed to give 1,000 hectares of land to the nine Chinese Independent Secondary Schools to fund their continuous growth and future expansion.

In the Merdeka II long march in the second half-century of our nationhood, Malaysians must dare to dream big dreams again for the country.

I for one will like to see the achievement of the following ten national objectives in the Merdeka II campaign:

1.	Make Malaysia safe and  secure again for its citizens, visitors and investors, with a dedicated, efficient, professional world-class police service to keep crime low.  Malaysians today feel even more unsafe whether in the streets, public places or the privacy of their homes compared to five years ago when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister. Let us start immediately with an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

2.	Restoration of an independent, impartial, professional and meritocratic judiciary.  A Judicial Appointments Commission should be set up without delay and the country must not suffer another judicial trauma  by  the appointment of a Umno Chief Justice

3.	Zero tolerance for corruption – with Malaysia ranked among the top 10 countries which are least corrupt in the world.

4.	Malaysian universities should rank among the best in the world – with at least two among the World’s Top 100 and another two in the  list of the World’s next Top 100. In other  words, at least four Malaysian Universities among the World’s Top 200 Universities.

5.	End the brain drain of the best and brightest talents overseas – in particular stemming the brain-drain to Singapore by reinstating the principle of meritocracy and ensuring that Malaysia’s best and brightest, regardless of race, can get the best educational and employment opportunities in their own country.

6.	Restored  competitiveness to enable to Malaysia to be among the ranks of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore (as we were the second most developed nation  in Asia after Japan when we achieved Independence in 1957) instead of continuing to trail behind more and more countries.

7.	Restore grass-roots democracy with elected local government.

8.	Repeal of draconian and undemocratic laws which violate human rights such as Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act, Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act and the  Police Act.

9.	Eradication of poverty for all Malaysians, regardless of race.

10.	A Bangsa Malaysia based on “Malaysians Unite” and “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia”.

(Speech at the Perak DAP 51st Merdeka Day reception at Heritage Hotel, Ipoh on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 5.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 August 2008, 8:01 am and is filed under
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UMNO/BN – political dinosaurs irrelevant to Merdeka II aspirations of new generation of Bangsa Malaysia

In his
51st National Day message
last night, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he hoped that every Malaysian could give importance to solidarity.

However, Abdullah had himself set the bad example of failing to give  top priority to national unity and solidarity in plural Malaysia, or he would not have adopted a lackadaisical and irresponsible stance on  the legitimate protests over the highly racist, divisive and provocative remarks by the Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign belittling the Chinese community in Malaysia as “orang tumpangan” who could not be trusted as Malaysians.

In
defending
 Ahmad Ismail by claiming that the Penang Umno leader had not meant what he said, Abdullah was  condoning Ahmad Ismail’s insensitive, offensive and racist remarks when he should have lived up to his pledge repeated many times before that he would  be Prime Minister for  all Malaysians and not of any one race.

The Prime Minister has again disappointed Malaysians with  another breach of his many sweet-sounding pledges when he became Prime Minister five years ago.

In the past few days, various levels of the MCA and Gerakan (and even SUPP), and  their youth and women wings, reaching as high as MCA Minister,
Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
, MCA Deputy Minister Dr. Wee Ka Siong and Acting Gerakan President, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon had been making public noises demanding disciplinary action against Ahmad Ismail.

With the Prime Minister coming out with such a weak, ineffective and useless response in virtually  protecting Ahmad Ismail from having to face any disciplinary action, are the MCA, Gerakan and SUPP leaders again going to capitulate or will they pursue the matter in Cabinet next week as well as demand an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional supreme council for  stern disciplinary action to be taken against Ahmad Ismail so as not to make a mockery of the 51st Merdeka celebrations?

The Ahmad Ismail episode is the latest example that Umno and the Barisan Nasional have become political dinosaurs irrelevant to and incapable of adapting to  the Merdeka II aspirations of the new generation of Bangsa Malaysia who want to see justice, fair play, moderation and good governance.

UMNO and Barisan Nasional (since Alliance days) may be the world’s longest-serving government coalition in a parliamentary democracy but this only underline its increasing irrelevance as a political dinosaur.

There is however no shortage of examples of UMNO and BN’s growing  incompetence, impotence and  irrelevance as political dinosaurs.

Just two latest  instances:

Firstly, the increasingly undemocratic instincts by the powers-that-be to impose a clamp on dissent and criticism as illustrated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to shut down Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia Today news portal, completely ignoring the solemn government undertaking to the world of no Internet censorship in the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees.

Secondly, the unchecked corruption, abuses of power and malpractices exposed in the latest Auditor-General’s Report 2007, such as pouring RM537 million of taxpayers’ money into the
Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation
 in the United States  in the past 13 years but only getting a return of only RM25 million!

Such colossal waste of public funds are not isolated cases, whether at the federal or state government level. In Perak for instance, a subsidiary of the Perak State Development Corporation went on a losing spree, chalking up over RM100 million in accumulated losses when its paid up capital was only RM50,000!

These are shocking, shameful and ugly examples of “Malaysia Boleh”!

Last year, the country also went into a frenzy of shock at the exposes of financial irregularities, criminal breach of trust and corrupt practices in the Auditor-General’s 2006 Report, such as the government paying RM5,700 for a car jack worth RM50;  RM224 for a set of four screwdrivers costing RM32 in the market; RM5.72 million for two crane towers against the market price of RM2.98 million; technical books consisting of 10 titles priced at RM10,700; and a 3.1 megapixel digital camera that was bought for RM8,254.

Parliament and the nation were
assured
 by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) that it was conducting investigations into the exposes by the Auditor-General in the 2006 report, but nothing has come of it and the ACA is now inundated with  even more exposes in the Auditor-General’s 2007 Report!

(Media Conference Statement in Batu Pahat on Sunday, 31st August 2008 at 11.30 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 August 2008, 5:35 pm and is filed under
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Ahmad Ismail’s racist remarks – test case for all BN Ministers/leaders whether they are Bangsa Malaysia

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his 51st National Day Message called on every Malaysian to give importance to solidarity, as “it is the cornerstone of the country’s political stability, social harmony and economic  competitiveness”.

However, the Prime Minister has caused great dismay and distress among right-thinking Malaysians as he has chosen to demonstrate his “solidarity” with the Bukit Bendera Umno chief, Datuk Ahmad Ismail who had made offensive, insensitive, derogatory and racist remarks about the Malaysian Chinese during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign –referring to the Chinese as pendatang, orang tumpang and totally untrustworthy Malaysians.

Why is the Prime Minister not prepared to show “solidarity” with right-thinking Malaysians who deplore Ahmad Ismail’s insensitive, offensive,  derogatory and racist remarks about the Malaysian Chinese.

I will declare my solidarity with what is right, just and true – including deploring insensitive, offensive, derogatory and racist remarks whether referring to the Malays, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans, whether it is made by a Chinese or non-Chinese leader.

Why is Abdullah not prepared to take a similar stand?

MCA, Gerakan and SUPP Ministers, Deputy Ministers and leaders may not dare to tell Abdullah, then let me say it loud and clear to the Prime Minister – that his protection and condonation of Ahmad Ismail’s offensive and derogatory references to the Chinese in Malaysia, seeking to make light of the furore,  has caused even more dismay and distress than Ahmad’s original offence.

It raises the question whether Abdullah has forgotten his pledge to be Prime Minister for all Malaysians and not just for any one race or one political party.

It also raises the question whether the Prime Minister and all Cabinet Ministers realize that they should always be exemplars of Bangsa Malaysia, who not only respect all races, religions, languages and cultures in plural Malaysia but ever-prepared to be role models to admonish all conduct unbecoming of a Bangsa Malaysia in showing insensitivity,  disrespect or  contempt for other races, religions, languages or cultures like what Ahmad Ismail had done especially when such disgraceful misconduct come from within their ranks.

The Ahmad Ismail furore has become a test case, not only for MCA, Gerakan and SUPP Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MPs and leaders but for everyone from the Barisan Nasional component parties, including Umno, as well.

Malaysians are entitled to ask  whether, on the 51st National Day anniversary, there are any and if so, how many BN Ministers and leaders  regard themselves as  Bangsa Malaysia and are prepared to stand up in Cabinet on Wedneday, the Barisan Nasional  Supreme Council and in public to make clear  that derogatory references to the Malaysian Chinese or any other community, religion, language or culture  is reprehensible,  completely unacceptable and must attract the severest censure.

Ten days before the 51st Merdeka anniversary, there were UMNO MPs who behaved most boorishly in shouting “Balik Cina” in Parliament – the height of disrespect and contempt for a plural Malaysia after more than half-a-century of nation-building – and yet there had not been any  censure by any Umno leader or a squeak of protest by any MCA, Gerakan or SUPP leader over this episode!

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said two days ago that the Barisan Nasional had taken cognizance of the thrashing the BN received in the Permatang Pauh by-election and  is taking steps to restore the people’s confidence in the coalition.

He said that “it is natural that we have to listen to the people and the BN, as a political party, will have to listen and evaluate the voices and feedback”.

But the BN has learnt nothing if Ahmad Ismail is allowed to get away scot-free despite making such insensitive, offensive, racist and derogatory remarks about the Chinese in Malaysia. What is most shocking is that Ahmad Ismail had made such offensive remarks at a Permatang Pauh by-election ceramah which was attended by Najib himself, and the Deputy Prime Minister had done nothing to reprimand Ahmad Ismail.

It is not only MCA, Gerakan, SUPP, but all other BN parties including UMNO who are facing this  acid test – whether all their claim that they had heard the voices of the people and are prepared to learn from the lessons of the two “political tsunamis” in six months are just empty and meaningless words!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 September 2008, 11:52 am and is filed under
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Anwar’s Path To Putrajaya

by
M. Bakri Musa

The path to Putrajaya for Anwar Ibrahim began on a very sure footing last Tuesday, August 26, 2008, at Permatang Pauh.  His landslide electoral victory was a rousing endorsement of his person and of his leadership.

            Anwar inspires Malaysians with his promise of new dawn; a new direction for nation that has been drifting in the slumber land of its leader, Abdullah Badawi.  Anwar challenges us to think beyond our narrow interest towards a more inclusive anak Malaysia (children of Malaysia).  He dares us to aspire for a Malaysia where justice is cherished and corruption banished.  He promises us a government that is transparent and efficient, a government that emancipates instead of suppresses its citizens.  Most of all, Anwar pledges to the supremacy of citizens, Ketuanan Rakyat.

            Malaysians, yearning for a change, responded enthusiastically in Permatang Pauh.  It was an evening for Anwar, and deservedly so.

            This by-election was also a decisive defeat for and a public humiliation of Abdullah Badawi.  Permatang Pauh voters saw through the hoax that is his leadership.  These are no ordinary Malaysians who have passed this harsh judgment; they are neighbors of Abdullah.  He cannot pull wool over their eyes; they easily cut through his borak kosong (empty words).

            This election marks not only the beginning of the political ascent of Anwar but also the beginning of the end for Abdullah.

            This was the other clear message from this election.  It was badly needed as the earlier one sent by Malaysians last March obviously did not register on Abdullah.  Abdullah still deludes himself, and his advisers continue to let him do so, that the March electoral debacle and the Permatang Pauh humiliation were aberrations and not a trend.

            This was not a case of Abdullah having eyes that would not see or ears that would not hear, as Mahathir suggested, rather of Abdullah refusing the message.

Dirty Tricks and Bribes Did Not Do It

In this by-election Abdullah and his minions tried all the dirty tricks in their books, and then some.  Despite the sleaze, including the obscene and very public desecration of our Holy Quran by their operatives, Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak failed to drag voters down to their gutter level of politics.

            Earlier, UMNO Youth Deputy Leader Khairy Jamaluddin brashly predicted that he would bury Anwar’s political career.  I wonder what his spin is now that his party’s candidate received fewer votes than the number of registered UMNO members.

            Khairy helped dig a grave all right, to bury his father-in-law’s leadership.  Khairy has in-law’s flat political learning curve, an affliction they share with the rest of UMNO’s leaders, sparing only a few.  The few like Tengku Razaleigh get drowned in the sea of mediocrity.

            The leadership of UMNO is today paralyzed.  In the past when the party faced serious challenges as in 1969 following the race riots and again in 1987 when the party was deregistered following a divisive leadership challenge, it was fortunate to have decisive and intelligent leaders.  Today they have a listless leader who could not even decide what tie to wear.

            UMNO under Abdullah is incapable of renewing itself; the implosion of UMNO has begun.  The cacophony we are now hearing is nothing more than the howling of jackals fighting over UMNO’s carcass.  That is bad for Abdullah, UMNO and Barisan Nasional, but great for Anwar, PKR and Pakatan Rakyat.  Most of all it is great for Malaysia and Malaysians.

            That is splendid enough reason for celebration.

Abdullah-Najib Duo On Trial

Contrary to the pundits’ pontifications, Anwar’s path to Putrajaya will be smooth and fast.  Anwar’s challenge is not in getting there but what he should do once he gets there.

            The machinery of state he will be inheriting is precariously out of gas, badly in need of a major overhaul, and had been recklessly driven by an incompetent operator.  Bringing it back to roadworthiness will be a major undertaking, let alone making it race-ready.

            Anwar’s goal must be to get that statecraft ready for the great race.  That should be his focus.  He should not settle for anything less.  The temptation when the going gets tough would be to compare himself with Abdullah.  That would be setting the bar too low.

            Anwar’s top if not only priority must be to restore our institutions now wrecked by the twin blights of corruption and incompetence.  That should occupy him for at least a decade.

            Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, the trial over Saiful’s allegation of being sodomized will not in the least stop or even slow Anwar.  Instead, like the earlier trial a decade ago, it will expose the corruption and incompetence of the police force, the prosecutor’s office, and ultimately the Abdullah Administration.

            We are already feeling the bracing effect of this fresh wind that is Anwar.  The judge in the preliminary hearing demonstrated her judicial wisdom by granting Anwar a modest bail in what otherwise is a no-bail charge.  She also denied the prosecutor’s request to impound his passport.  A few years ago such expressions of independence from the bench would have been unheard of.

            A comedian once quipped that the difference between rape and seduction is salesmanship.  I would extend that humorous though insensitive line to consensual versus non-consensual sodomy.  When that trial is over, it will dawn upon Malaysians that it is us who had been sodomized by Abdullah and his ilk while we were being seduced by his seemingly pious sermons.

            When that moment of realization arrives, Abdullah and his minions will bear the full fury of the wrath of Malaysians.  And they would deserve it.

            That however should be the least of the concerns confronting Anwar once he is in Putrajaya.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 September 2008, 6:00 am and is filed under
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Merdeka II – declare Malaysia Day September 16 as second National Day/public holiday

I salute the voters of Permatang Pauh for being the pioneers of the Bangsa Malaysia generation who decisively  rejected the divisive, racist and chauvinistic by-election campaign of Umno to rise above race and religion to vote solidly on Tuesday, August 26 for Anwar Ibrahim as their MP once again, after an enforced absence of a decade.

Although former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had set the target of 2020 for the emergence of a Bangsa Malaysia in Vision 2020,  the people of Permatang Pauh whether Malays, Chinese or Indians were 12 years ahead of the timetable when they  voted in unison as pioneers of the Bangsa Malaysia generation in the Permatang Pauh by-election.

This is why the Permatang Pauh by-election is of  such historic,  momentous and far-reaching consequence  although it concerns only one parliamentary constituency.

The Permatang Pauh by-election was not only a resounding endorsement and victory for Anwar but also for the cause of Bangsa Malaysia.

When the people of Permatang Pauh voted in the by-election on Tuesday, they voted not just for themselves but also for 27 million Malaysians and future generations –  creating an  impact akin to a second “political tsunami” after the March 8 “political tsunami”.

The great Permatang Pauh by-election victory has belatedly given meaning to the 51st Merdeka anniversary  celebrations –  marking the launching of a Merdeka II campaign to ensure that in the second half-century of our nationhood, ordinary Malaysians are not denied  the full benefits   of Merdeka in every sphere of national endeavour.

In the past four decades,  Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders and their cronies had hijacked  and deprived ordinary Malaysia the real  fruits of Merdeka.

The Merdeka II awakening and campaign is to liberate, empower and benefit all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or territory.

The Merdeka anniversary on August 31 to mark the nation’s  Independence in 1957 is however not very meaningful to the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

This is because it was September 16,1963 that Malaysia was formed with the union of Sabah and Sarawak with Malaya to establish a new federation.

It is for this reason that the 51st Merdeka anniversary on August 31, 2008 cannot be as meaningful to the people of Sabah and Sarawak as the 16th September 2008 in marking the 45th anniversary of Malaysia Day.

After the March 8 “political tsunami”, Sabah and Sarawak have suddenly become very important and critical, with more and more money poured into these two states as illustrated in the 2009 Budget while Sabah and Sarawak politicians have never felt so important in the past 45 years.

However, this is not because of any acknowledgement  by Kuala Lumpur that Sabah and Sarawak deserve fair and equitable treatment in the federation  but because of pure political calculations connected to  the  survival or demise of  the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Umno hegemony  and the  Barisan Nasional federal power.

This is just not good enough.  The time has come for Sabah and Sarawak to be given their rightful due in the national scheme of things.

As a first step, I call  on the  Prime Minister and Cabinet on Wednesday to declare Malaysia Day on September 16 as a national public holiday to give meaning to Merdeka II where all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or territory celebrate as one Bangsa Malaysia.

This will mean that Malaysia will have two National Days each year – August 31 as Merdeka Day to commemorate Malaya’s Independence in 1957 and September 16 as Malaysia Day to celebrate the formation of Malaysia with Sabah and Sarawak.

Such an decision will go a long way to address the long-standing and deep-seated  sense of alienation, discrimination and injustice buring in the hearts of Sabahans and Sarawakians that they have not been accorded proper recognition in Malaysia – symbolized by the reduction of Malaysia Day on  September 16 into mere State holidays in Sabah and Sarawak instead of being elevated to a national public holiday commemorated by all Malaysians every year!

Malaysia will not be the only country with more than a single National Day. India for instance has two National Days – 26th January as Republic Day to mark India’s becoming the first republic in the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1950 and 15th August to commemorate India gaining independence from the British Empire in 1947.

Beginning this year, let all Malaysians celebrate September 16 as a national public holiday –  Malaysia Day as another National Day after August 31 as Merdeka anniversary!

(Speech at Anwar Ibrahim’s Permatang Pauh by-election thanksgiving-cum-51st Merdeka anniversary  dinner in Permatang Pauh on Sunday, 31st August 2008 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 September 2008, 9:04 am and is filed under
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Horror of Malaysian Education System

ADVERTORIAL

New Straits Times

23 August 2008, page 43

HONORARY DEGREE AWARD

7TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY UNIVERSITY TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA

TO

YANG AMAT MULIA RAJA ZARITH SOFIAH BINTI ALMARHUM

SULTAN IDRIS AL-MUTAWAKIL ALALLAHI SHAH

D.K.II, S.P.M.J., S.P.C.M.

Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Al-Mutawakil Alallahi Shah has born on 14th of August 1959 in Hospital Batu Gajah, Perak. Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith is a third son to Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Sultan Perak Darul Ridzwan and Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Mazuwin binti almarhum Raja Arif Shah.

Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah get early education in Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Datin Khadijah Kuala Kangsar in the state his birthplace namely in Perak. After end of the education in primary school, Yang Amat Mulia continue the education to form one at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Raja Perempuan Kalsom Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

In the month of September 1972, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah have set forth to England for further education in Chaltenham Ladies College, Gloucestershire to form six. Then, Yang Amat Mulia continue learning it in Davies College London in September 1977 and his following year in receive enter to Somerville College, London after having passed Oxford Entrance Examination.

After graduated at Oxford University with Bachelor of Art in June 1983 and follow the traditional University of Oxford, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith will receive Master of Art after three years in 1986. Yang Amat Mulia also is a linguist follow several courses including language Mandarin at the tertiary level, French and Italy language.

As his father, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah is a person that talented in picture arts. Refinement of soul, Yang Amat Mulia always watching natural beauty environment immortalize in the form photograph and painting to make look and reference. Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith performance become guide to deliver the message education to general public. Yang Amat Mulia concern on women and natural world and it custody aspect in become deep theme in painting.

Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah comply have interest profoundest field documentation. Apart from producing book, Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith doubled up guest writer in the The New Straits Times newspapers and in personal column it “Mind Matters” in The Star newspaper. Besides writing, Yang Amat Mulia comply active presenting a working paper at the conference national level and international.

Education from her father and mother over concern to the people, make Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah likes engaged in voluntary activities about as Deputy President of Majlis Wanita Johor (ROSE), Chief of Persatuan Pandu Puteri Malaysia Johor branch, Chairman of Nationalistic Community Service Red Crescent Malaysia, Patron of Spastic Children School in Johor Bahru, Patron Rotary Club of Tebrau Foundation, Advisor of Traditional Arts School International in London and become Pro Chancellor University Technology Malaysia (UTM) and becomen Royal Felllow Faculty of Language and Linguistic University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

As the appreciation towards her contributions of ideas and efforts in the development of education in Malaysia, Chancellor of University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Duli Yang Amat Mulia Tunku lbrahim lsmail lbni Sultan lskandar, Tunku Mahkota Johor, has approbation to presented the awards to Yang Amat Mulia Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Al-Mutawakil Alallahi Shah the Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Education at 7th Convocation Ceremony of University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia in this year. Congratulation from us, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia members.

 Click on the image to download the scanned advertorial (pdf).

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 1:35 pm and is filed under
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Open Letter (Part 2) to PM & Ministers – Lessons of two “political tsunamis” in six months

An Open Letter (Part 2) to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang on Tuesday, 2nd September 2008:

5. Zero tolerance for corruption

Let the Cabinet declare a new National Integrity Plan objective of zero tolerance for corruption – with Malaysia ranked among the top 10 countries which are least corrupt in the world.

Although there is a flurry of arrests by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), Malaysians are reminded of the earlier flurry of ACA activities in the first few months of the new Abdullah premiership which finally fizzled out into nothing – with Malaysia’s ranking in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index plunging from No. 37 in 2003 to No. 43 in 2007.

Are the Prime Minister and Cabinet prepared to give full liberty and authority to the ACA to fight corruption even against Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, Mentri-Menteri Besar and top Barisan Nasional leaders without getting any greenlight from the Prime Minister?

6. End the brain drain

Is the Cabinet prepared to admit that one fatal mistake of our nation-building policy which has led to our diminishing international competitiveness and why Malaysia has lost out to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in the past half-a-century and continuing to trail behind more and more countries is injustice and discrimination meted out to the best and brightest talents driving them overseas.

Is the Cabinet prepared to end this crippling denial syndrome to end the brain drain of the best and brightest talents overseas – in particular stemming the brain-drain to Singapore by reinstating the principle of meritocracy and ensuring that Malaysia’s best and brightest, regardless of race, can get the best educational and employment opportunities in their own country?

7. Admit failure of Malaysias education and higher education policies

Just refer to the advertorial of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn published in the New Straits Times of August 23, page 43 to commemorate the conferment of an honorary PhD in Education on  Raja Zarith Sofiah if anyone still have any doubts of the failure of the Malaysian education system, whether primary, secondary or tertiary.

It is not just about the “murder” or may be more appropriate term “sodomy” of the English language but reflects the utter sense of irresponsibility of the educational authorities which could see Malaysia plunging from a nation with internationally-recognised high standards of English language to one where we can only hold our heads in shame.

The international repute of Malaysian universities have suffered similar decline.

Is the Cabinet prepared to take a policy decision that Malaysian universities should rank among the best in the world – with at least two among the World’s Top 100 and another two in the list of the World’s next Top 100. In other words, at least four Malaysian Universities among the World’s Top 200 Universities?

8. Usher in a new era of democracy and human

Is the Cabinet prepared to initiate action to usher in a new era of democracy and human rights with the repeal of draconian and undemocratic laws which violate human rights such as Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act, Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Police Act?

9. Parliament

Neither the Prime Minister, the Home Minister or any other Cabinet Minister has been able to explain why government has rejected the proposal for the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on the DNA bill, raising questions about the government commitment to create a first-world Parliament.

Is Cabinet prepared to demonstrate its seriousness to far-reaching parliamentary reforms including the establishment of a parliamentary select committee whereby every Ministry would be shadowed by a Select Committee?

10. Bangsa Malaysia and Ketuanan Rakyat

Finally, is the Cabinet prepared to totally revamp government nation-building policies in accordance with the concept and vision of Bangsa Malaysia, highlighting the principle of Ketuanan Rakyat and not Ketuanan Melayu, Ketuanan Cina, Ketuanan India, Ketuanan Dayak or Ketuanan Iban?

Yours sincerely,

Lim Kit Siang

DAP Parliamentary Leader

MP for Ipoh Timor

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 8:40 pm and is filed under
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Open Letter to PM & Ministers – Lessons of two “political tsunamis” in six months

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang on Tuesday, 2nd September 2008:

YAB Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister,

YB-YB Cabinet Ministers,

Ten challenges which the Cabinet must address tomorrow to demonstrate that it has learnt the lessons of the two political tsunamis in six months

I believe the overwhelming majority of Malaysians have one common reaction when they read or learnt of the news  of the announcement by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukudu  of his sudden resignation yesterday – when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is going to resign as Malaysian Prime Minister despite his earlier announcement of the power-transition schedule  in June 2010.

This may be unfair but this is a fact.  Why is this so when four short years ago, the Prime Minister had won the country’s biggest mandate in the 2004 general election winning an unprecedented 91 per cent parliamentary majority?

This was  one of my thoughts when I hiked up Penang Hill “48” this morning, which I had not done for a very very long time.   The hour hike up and down Penang Hill “48” provided me with a very conducive atmosphere to think about the multiple crisis of confidence afflicting Malaysia – political, economic, educational, judicial, institutional and nation-building.

The idea to  pen this Open Letter also came  from this hike as the Cabinet meeting tomorrow is the first one after the Permatang Pauh by-election, presenting an acid test whether Barisan Nasional government has learnt the lessons of the two “political tsunamis” in six months to save the country from the multiple crisis of confidence confronting the nation.

There are at least ten challenges which the Cabinet must address tomorrow:

1. Ahmad Ismail’s racist remarks

The Cabinet must sternly and unanimously censure the Bukit Bendera Umno chief, Datuk Ahmad Ismail for his  offensive, insensitive, derogatory and racist remarks about the Malaysian Chinese during the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign.

By referring to the Chinese as pendatang, orang tumpang and totally untrustworthy Malaysians, and going into hiding after making  the  offensive and racist remarks, Ahmad had spoilt the 51st Merdeka anniversary celebrations and sabotaged the Prime Minister’s 51st National Day Message calling  on every Malaysian to give importance to solidarity, as “it is the cornerstone of the country’s political stability, social harmony and economic  competitiveness”.

The Prime Minister has  also caused great dismay and distress among right-thinking Malaysians as he has chosen to demonstrate his “solidarity” with Ahmad when he should be an exemplar for  Bangsa Malaysia.

Is there any Cabinet Minister who is prepared to point out tomorrow that the Prime Minister’s response in condoning Ahmad’s racists remarks is  weak, unworthy   and unacceptable?

The Prime Minister’s statement:  “I will tell him not to do it again…. I don’t think he meant it. I’ll make sure to tell him not to use it again” raises many questions.

It means that the Prime Minister had neither met, discussed nor reprimanded Ahmad or he would not  have used to future tense of “I will tell him not  to do it again”.

How can Abdullah ensure that such offensive, insensitive, derogatory and racist language would not be used again when even in Parliament recently, Umno MPs could hurl racist abuses like “Balik Cina” without any censure by UMNO or BN leadership?

Or shouldn’t the Ahmad Ismail furore be raised and discussed in the Cabinet at all? In that case, let the Cabinet explain its double standards in rejecting the apology of Wee Meng Chee for the “Negaraku” rap video-clip just before the 50th Merdeka anniversary last year, with Umno Ministers competing with each other to demand all sorts of penalties including stripping him of his citizenship as compared to the case of Ahmad Ismail!

2. Declare Malaysia Day on  Septembert 16 as a national public holiday

Sabah and Sarawak have suddenly become very important after the March 8 “political tsunami”, not so much to end the long-standing neglect and marginalisation of the rights of the people of Sabah and Sarawak as distinct from those of the leaders of Barisan Nasional in the two states but to ensure the survival of the Barisan Nasional power structure at the federal level.

This is just not good enough as the people of Sabah and Sarawak feel being made used of just to perpetutate the vested interests of the Barisan Nasional in Kuala Lumpur, without any change of heart by the Barisan Nasional leaders.

After 45 years, the people of Sabah and Sarawak must be made to feel that they are an integral part of the Malaysian federation with the Cabinet taking the first step in declaring Malaysia Day on September 16 as a national public holiday with effect from this year.

3. Commitment to establish IPCMC by end of the year

Despite increased budget allocations for the police, Malaysians today feel even more unsafe whether in the streets, public places or the privacy of their homes compared to five years ago when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister.

In Pasir Pinji in my parliamentary constituency of Ipoh Timur, there is a reign of fear following a sudden spate of violent thefts leaving the residents and the petty trading community worry for their lives.

This is not an isolated development in Ipoh but represents a worsening situation of law and order in the country, which has made Malaysia unsafe and insecure for its citizens, visitors and investors.

So far there is no political will to fully implement the recommendations of the Royal Police Commission, including the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to create an  efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to keep crime low.

Let the Cabinet make a policy decision tomorrow to establish the IPCMC by the end of the year.

4. Restoration of an independent, impartial, professional and meritocratic judiciary

The Cabinet has failed Malaysians in failing to set up a Judicial Appointments Commission to restore national and international confidence in the independence, impartiality, integrity and meritocracy of the judiciary.

There must be a Cabinet commitment that although such a Judicial Appointments Commission has not yet been set up, the Prime Minister will respect and follow the spirit of consultation intended in such a judicial reform when appointing the next Chief Justice as  the current Chief Justice of Malaysia Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad will retire on 17th October 2008.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet must be forewarned that it does not serve the cause of justice or the nation if the country is plunged into a new judicial crisis because of the appointment of the first Umno Chief Justice in the nation’s history in utter disregard of a proper consultation with the relevant stakeholders such as the Bar Council, the Parliamentary Opposition and the civil society, and in keeping with the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance.

This Open Letter to the Prime Minister and Cabinet is still a work-in-progress. However, because of time factor, I am making  public the first four of the ten challenges to give time for deliberation by the Cabinet while the rest of the Open Letter would be finalized and released before the end of the day.

This is one beauty of the Internet era of instant communication and there is no reason why Malaysians should not fully make use of such facilities opened up by the information age.

Yours sincerely,

Lim Kit Siang

DAP Parliamentary Leader &

MP for Ipoh Timor

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 12:39 pm and is filed under
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Silver lining to black clouds – something for keris-wielding Hishammuddin to learn

Mike Lee emailed me a blog hoping I could put it up here.

I read it and agreed. It provides a silver lining to the black clouds of nation-building a-gathering in recent months. An example of what every Malaysian can do as Bangsa Malaysia in everyday life to make the new generation feel that they are one united people instead of a separate divided nation.

It is something the keris-wielding Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein  can learn from  ordinary but conscientious and patriotic Malaysian teachers who care for all students regardless of race, religion or class instead of just wanting to be a communal hero!

This is a blog by a self-confessed “very stressed out English (PE) teacher who feels she is about to collapse with all the work she has” but has never lost sight of the responsibility and vision as a “human engineer” for the new generation of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or class. Keep it up, Chris Chan. Dedicated teachers and nationalists like you  keep alive and strong the hopes of a Bangsa Malaysia.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Majlis restu

Today marks a very important day in Sri Aman. Most people probably did not see its significance. But here it is …. why it is significant. Majlis restu has always been held for the PMR, SPM and STPM candidates in this school … ever since I could remember … for Muslims only. It was done with the purpose of encouraging the students and to remind them to turn to God at this time of severe stress and anxiety. For the first time, today, a separate majlis restu was held for the non-Muslim candidates. Why? Because ALL Sri Aman students deserve to have one done for them. ALL Sri Aman students are nervous, stressed and anxious about their public exams. So, under the Pendidikan Moral panel, the first ever Majlis Restu was held for the non-Muslim students.

Organising something that has no precedence is not easy. It was agreed that representatives of 4 religious groups would be invited to speak and pray for the students. So today, the Buddhists are ministered to by the Venerable Dhamajothi from the Maha Sri Vihara Temple in Brickfields, the Christians by Pastor Aaron Tham from PJ Evangelical Free Church, the Sikhs by Giani Lakhbir Singh who was a priest in the PJ Gurudhwara, and the Hindus by Mr Maniventhran of the Hindu Seva Sanga of Malaysia. The sessions done were generally well-received (I know some are better than others).

What is so amazing and wonderful is that students and religious leaders of 4 different faiths came together in one hall and participated in a function which involved prayers and words of wisdom from each faith. Students and teachers who have never before been part of any ceremony of other faiths had their eyes and minds opened to some practices they had never seen before. Imagine : a Buddhist monk who encourages breathing exercise and meditation, a Christian pastor who spoke about the Lord’s Prayer and prayed for the students, a Sikh priest who spoke about his religion and recited a prayer for the students, and a Hindu guru who spoke about meditations and chanted with the Hindu students. To me, that in itself is a victory. It is a victory because I saw people of different faiths coming together for a common goal : to encourage the students and pray for them; and the best thing that happened (to me, at least) was when they called each other ‘brothers’, and all the students were their ‘sisters’. There was no boundary. There was no caution of “don’t talk about sensitive issues”. We were all ONE family. I almost wanted to sing “You and me, in one world; we are family”, like in the Olympics theme song. Isn’t this a wonderful thing to happen? It only takes ONE precedence, and perhaps, next time, we will have a better organised function.

I have but ONE regret. I wish it was not only the 4 groups. I wish it included all the students. There was never any need to feel threatened or intimidated. We are, afterall, one Malaysia. Like what Dhamajothi said, all of us have blood that is red in colour. It matters not who we are, underneath it all, we are one human race. We all share the same kind of anxiety and worries when it comes to many issues, in this case, exams. I don’t know if this stirs up the hornet’s nest, but, deep in my heart, this is what I wish. (Am I opening myself to more issues that will turn this blog into a battleground?) Forgive me if this is sensitive to some people – yes, YOU. But it is MY wish, which I think is a meaningful one. And I might not be alone in wishing this.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 9:41 am and is filed under
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The Ipoh Timur 2008 Election Campaign Account Summary

Income:-

Walk-in Donation –

Ipoh Timur Centre

30,073.20

Canning Centre

16,469.10

Tebing Tinggi Centre

759.00

Pasir Pinji Centre

3,538.80

Online Donation

4,105.00

Ceramah Collections

142,647.90

Total:

197,593.00

Expenses:-

Rental — Hall & Centres

4,900.00

Operation Centres set-up & maintenance

23,050.14

Ceramah set-up

19,876.21

Logistic

8,182.00

Postering — materials & labour

31,255.95

Voting day — food & stationary

2,571.27

Thanksgiving — dinner & gifts

13,761.50

Service Centres — set-up/renovations*

26,000.00

Total:

129,597.07

**Balance

67,995.93

* Pasir Pinji RM8,000, Canning RM8,000, Tebing Tinggi RM10,000

** The balance fund will be kept for future activities/next election in Ipoh Timur.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 10:31 am and is filed under
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5 reasons why Najib’s apology on behalf of Ahmad inappropriate, inadequate and unacceptable

There are at least five  reasons why Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Najib  Razak’s apology on behalf of Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail for the latter’s derogatory, offensive, insensitive and racist reference of the Chinese as “squatters” and untrustworthy Malaysians is inappropriate, inadequate and unacceptable.

Firstly, why is there no public response from Ahmad Ismail himself, who have shown no sense of contrition or remorse whatsoever in  the past nine days  for his racist slurs of the Malaysian Chinese?  Is Ahmad Ismail fully confident that he has the mainstream support of Umno leaders and members, encouraging him to show contempt for the nation-wide furore?

Secondly, how can Najib’s second-hand apology on behalf of Ahmad Ismail be acceptable when Ahmad continues to be defiant and unrepentant?  Even if Ahmad Ismail tenders an apology, the question of its adequacy will arise, following the precedent set by the Cabinet in the Wee Meng Chee case over his “Negaraku” rap video-clip last year, when the Cabinet rejected Wee’s apology as inadequate.

Many police reports have been lodged against Ahmad for violating the Sedition Act. Is Najib’s apology meant to be a message to the Police and the Attorney-General that Ahmad should get off scot-free instead of having to face the full weight of the law?

Thirdly, Najib should apologise on behalf of himself and  not on behalf of Ahmad as Najib had failed  to take immediate  or prompt action to reprimand Ahmad for the latter’s racist and seditious speech at a Permatang Pauh by-election ceramah on August 24 which was attended by  Najib.

Fourthly, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself should make a public apology for trying  to protect and excuse  Ahmad Ibrahim for the racist and seditious speech, with the totally unacceptable claim that the Bukit Bendera Umno division chief had not meant what he said and that he would “tell him not to do it again”.

The Prime Minister’s attempt to condone Ahmad’s racist speech caused outrage among right-thinking Malaysians especially as it is the latest example of a series of extremist, racist and seditious outbursts by Umno leaders, such as Umno MPs shouting “Balik Cina” in Parliament and a keris-wielding Umno Youth leader-cum-Education Minister.

Fifthly, the bona fide of Najib’s apology comes into question when this news is blacked out in the Malay mainstream newspapers owned and controlled by UMNO, in particular Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.  A check with Bernama online shows that Najib’s apology is reported in Bernama’s English news but blacked out in  Bernama’s Bahasa Malaysia news.

With such media manipulation of his apology, how much is one to believe  Najib when he said that  Ahmad’s statement did not reflect the position and attitude of Umno or the leadership of Umno?

If Najib is fully sincere and serious about this statement of the stand of Umno and Umno leadership in dissociating from Ahmad’s speech, why is his statement  only allowed to be reported in the non-Malay mainstream media but not in the Malay mainstream media?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 September 2008, 9:37 am and is filed under
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Apology  for mistake that Najib’s “apology” blacked out by Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian

In my media statement this morning, I had stated  five reasons why Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Najib  Razak’s apology on behalf of Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail for the latter’s derogatory, offensive, insensitive and racist reference of the Chinese as “squatters” and untrustworthy Malaysians is inappropriate, inadequate and unacceptable.

For the fifth reason, I had
said
:

“Fifthly, the bona fide of Najib’s apology comes into question when this news is blacked out in the Malay mainstream newspapers owned and controlled by UMNO, in particular Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.  A check with Bernama online shows that Najib’s apology is reported in Bernama’s English news but blacked out in  Bernama’s Bahasa Malaysia news.

“With such media manipulation of his apology, how much is one to believe  Najib when he said that  Ahmad’s statement did not reflect the position and attitude of Umno or the leadership of Umno?”

I now withdraw my statement with reference to Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian as I have found that it is a mistake, for Utusan Malaysia reported it in page 2 under the heading
“UMNO minta maaf kenyataan Ahmad – TPM”
 while Berita Harian reported it in page 2 under the heading
“Umno anggap kenyataan pandangan Ahmad”
.

I apologise to Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian for this mistake.

It is however correct that Bernama online did not carry the news for its Bahasa Malaysia version although it was carried in the English version.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 September 2008, 3:51 pm and is filed under
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Any Najib apology for the rank  racism of  BTN indoctrination courses?

It is not just Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail who is guilty of rank racism with his derogatory, offensive, insensitive and chauvinistic reference to Malaysian Chinese as “pendatang”, “penumpang” and untrustworthy Malaysians, the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) also purveys such extremism and un-Malaysian prejudices and  communal poison.

Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Razak has
apologised
   on behalf of Ahmad Ismail to non-Malays “if it caused unhappiness”.

Is Najib next to apologise for  the rank racism of BTN in  purveying similar communal poison in its indoctrination courses?

I have received the following letter from an outraged parent at the trauma his daughter underwent in one such BTN indoctrination course for JPA scholars.

The BTN’s racist indoctrination course is a great disservice to both Malay and non-Malay JPA scholars as well as to Malaysian nation-building, the Merdeka social contract, the Malaysia Agreement, Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and Bangsa Malaysia.

It is time that the BTN’s racist indoctrination courses be exposed and all true Malaysians, both Malay and non-Malay, are invited to expose such extremist excesses and communal poison in BTN indoctrination courses as a prelude for its total revamp if not abolition!

BTN’s  racist and divisive indoctrination courses

Now that Najib has apologised to non-Malays for Ahmad’s statement, I would like to bring to the attention of Najib the pain endured by the young non-Malay JPA scholars who are required to go through a five-day Biro Tatanegara programme at certain camps in the country. To be fair, many moderate Malay students too cried and were hurt by some racist comments made by the instructors.

As part of the course, which is mandatory before they are sent overseas, all non-Malays are segrgated and given lectures on the history of the country and how the immigration of the Chinese and Indians had taken place. And finally how the Chinese and Indians were given citizenship. The Malays too had their own similar sessions.

The instructors blatantly told them that they should not question the rights and privileges of the Malays as the non-Malays should be thankful that they were given citizenship status and a place to stay on their soil. My daughter together with the other non-Malay students was shocked and went back to their dormitories depressed. And to the Malay students, the instructors told them to be aware of this fact and not to mix too freely with the non-Malays.

A Malay friend of my daughter came back crying to the dormitory saying that she could not take the racist position taken by the government authority. My daughter then began questioning the bumiputra policy and was disgusted with such blatant indoctrination. This incident has also made the students harbour anger and resentment. Their fear for the authorities and losing their scholarships made them keep their cool. I am not exaggerating here – ask all the JPA students to write in anonymously and you will know the truth.

These are young minds being polluted with racism. Tens of thousands of students have gone through this programme and more will be attending it in the future. So can you blame them when they exhibit their racist tendencies when in authority? How could the JPA allow such a syllabus for the cream of the nation, who will one day be entrusted to implement government policies fairly?

So, will Najib take responsibility for the racist syllabus and subsequently the racist remarks and apologise to the tens of thousands of students and parents who were hurt by such hurtful remarks? Of course knowing the BN government, it will deny this. Believe me, this is the ABSOLUTE truth.

My call to Najib is to immediately probe into this claim with the help of a multi-racial team of officers from Suhakam BUT please maintain the anonymity of the young children who have everything to lose. This blatant racism practised and preached by the Barisan Nasional government must stop immediately.

From an outraged Malaysian parent

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 September 2008, 8:45 am and is filed under
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Maximus and Kota Marudu

Letters

by
A concerned Kota Marudu resident

Ref :
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/3/nation/22225285&sec=nation

Here is the local(Kota Marudu) perspective regarding the news.

Maximus Ongkili should be the last person to speak up regarding the issue of anti-hopping. Kota Marudu(P168)- the place that he represented since 1994 is the poorest and most neglected place in Malaysia. The northern and eastern districts of Sabah really deserves more attention from the government.

Here’s why:

1. The road leading to Kota Marudu, Kudat, Pitas are full of potholes, minor land slides and locals can testified that they have not improved for the past 10 years. The properly tarred road stops at Kota Belud. Not surprising as Kota Belud are represented by UMNO and the population mainly comprises Bajau-Muslim. One can see a marked difference in the border between Kota Belud-Kota Marudu, one will come to a stretch of uneven gravel road spanning almost 50 metres. The condition of the road is simply horrendous, causing most vehicles to breakdown after frequent usage. This of course prolong the time taken for the journey from all the northern states connecting Kota Kinabalu. Without proper roads, not surprisingly no development can be seen in these areas. These roads are even worse than the trunk roads that used to connect small towns in peninsulars in the 80s.

2. Electricity – Kota Marudu residents of course are not spared from SESB’s poor quality of service. Breakdown in electricity supply occurs frequently and calls to the office mostly are useless.

3. Water supply gets cut off everytime after heavy rain. The quality of water we receive most times are murky and smelly. This can be evidently seen by just driving past any housing area. Every house will equipped themselves with water tanks and pump, pre-empting water cut which is a weekly affair if not more frequent. It’s such a common sight in Sabah.

4. A very good indicator of standard of living/ poverty will be the healthcare standards. Sabah especially the northern states, record the highest number of cases of Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Malaria in the whole of Malaysia. Maternal mortality rate is much higher compared to all other states. Most children are malnourished with very little reserves, succumbed to illness easily. A doctor from the hospital once says, cases seen at local hospital are often critically ill, making it a miracle if patient can even survive to be sent to a referral hospital in KK.

5. Unemployment rate. A tour of Kota Marudu town or any other districts in Sabah will revealed that most Sabahan youngsters are loitering around. They can be seen mostly at billiard centres  – a very common sight in Sabah. No one here seems to be very inspired by the Angkasawan boasted by the Minister in Science and Technology.

6. Teenage pregnancy is alarmingly on the rise.

If there are worse places than this, it would be Pitas, Kinabatangan(Bung), Beluran(Ronald Kiandee). Without the recent political tsunami, no one will pay attention to the plight of Sabahans. All of a sudden, BN leaders from Sabah are being put in so many important positions, a real mockery of how sabahans are treated by the government.

Maximus Ongkili is actually the real betrayer of the people. What clear conscience does he have to mention that MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are cheating the people by joining Pakatan.

What has he done for the people of Kota Marudu for the past 14 years ?

The news report referred to by the writer is the following:

Wednesday September 3, 2008

Ongkili raps Pakatan Rakyat, says ‘jump’ won’t happen

PUTRAJAYA: A Sabah senior politician has told Pakatan Rakyat to stop telling cerita dongeng (folktales) to the rakyat that Barisan Nasional MPs from Sabah and Sarawak will be crossing over because the “jump will never happen”.

Parti Bersatu Sabah deputy president Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said he was fed up with Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for making “baseless and unfounded allegations about us hopping to the Opposition fold” as such claims have sparked concern not only among other Barisan component parties but also the people of the two states.

“Talk about us becoming katak (frogs), jumping to their side is a whole lot of nonsense. We are faithful to Barisan.

“Barisan may not be perfect but it forms the best government Malaysians can ever have. I, for one, am anti-hopping. Those who want to leave the Barisan fold should not cheat the rakyat who had elected them because they were part of the coalition,” he said yesterday.

Dr Ongkili was commenting on claims by Anwar of a “clear and true possibility” that MPs from Sabah and Sarawak were planning to leave the coalition to join Pakatan.

The Kota Marudu MP, who is Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, said if there were MPs who planned to cross over, they should ask for the people’s permission by going for a by-election.

“If the people still choose them even after leaving Barisan, then they can go with a clear conscience. Otherwise, they are only betraying the rakyat,” he said.

On claims that several of his fellow MPs were questioned by the Special Branch on the matter, Dr Ongkili said he was unaware of this, adding that he had not been questioned by the police.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 September 2008, 10:19 am and is filed under
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Call on Abdullah to disband BTN – Trojan Horse to subvert Bangsa Malaysia

The Biro Tatanegara (BTN) should be disbanded as it is a Trojan Horse in the Prime Minister’s Department which undermines and subverts the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s National Day message of national unity and solidarity and Vision 2020 objective of Bangsa Malaysia.

In his
51st National Day message
last Saturday, Abdullah said united citizens were a bulwark against any threat, either from within or outside the country.

He said solidarity was the cornerstone of the country’s political stability, social harmony and economic competitiveness.

However, in the bosom of the Prime Minister’s Department, the BTN had been assaulting the national   “bulwark” and chipping away the Malaysian  “cornerstone” in the past quarter of a century, with its unrelenting and  unashamed purveying of racist poison among government servants, JPA scholars, university students and youths – using public funds running into  RM76.3 million last year and RM 72 million next year to destroy the public policy of creating a Bangsa Malaysia out of the diverse peoples of Malaysia.

All Cabinet Ministers, whether Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional  who had served for the past quarter of a century should explain why they had closed their eyes and shut their ears to complaints that BTN had been conducting divisive and racist  indoctrination courses for JPA scholars, government servants, university students and youths right under their noses?

Even more more important, what is the stand of the present batch of Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders  from Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and the BN component parties from Sarawak and Sabah?

Yesterday, I had blogged about a letter from an outraged parent at the trauma his daughter underwent in one such BTN indoctrination course for JPA scholars and the blog had evoked a firestorm of complaints and protests about the rank racism of the  BTN.

One poster referred to a BTN indoctrination course for university students at UiTM in Shah Alam on 6th July 2008, where one BTN speaker, under the pretext of giving a talk on “Pendidikan”, launched into a racist harangue, criticising  the Bar Council forum on social contract, accusing one of the forum speakers Farish A. Noor as a traitor of the Malay race and making disparaging remarks against Karpal Singh.

Among the “atrocious” things this speaker said were:

•	“Kalau ular dengan India depan mata, ketuk India dulu.”

•	That  the Malays aren’t racist but ”others are racist towards us”.

•	Bangsa Malaysia does not exist, neither does Malaysian Chinese and Indians, only in the strict sense Malay, Chinese and Indians.

•	Bahasa Malaysia does not exist, it is Bahasa Melayu.

•      Nothing wrong with waving the Keris.

•       Bumiputra hanya 55% di Malaysia, give birth to more people!

•       The University and University Colleges Act was partly made to ensure a Malay Vice-Chancellor in Universities which should be the way.

•       Blogs are “berdosa” or sinful.

•       That the Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states are all going down the drain –  “this is what you get if you vote for the opposition!”

•	Criticism of  Anwar Ibrahim and  Pakatan Rakyat.

As the BTN is under the direct jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, Abdullah should explain why BTN is allowed to conduct such divisive and racist indoctrination courses, which are compulsory for JPA scholars and  government officials but which are also held  for selected university students and youths – like the BTN course in UiTM Shah Alam on 6th July 2008.

The negative, divisive and destructive role of BTN as the Trojan Horse in the Prime Minister’s Department to undermine and  subvert the Prime Minister’s repeated call for national unity and solidarity as well as the Vision 2020 objective of Bangsa Malaysia could be gleaned from some of the postings on my blog yesterday, viz:

1.
StevePCH
 Says:

As the theme of this Merdeka is “Perpaduan Teras K

                This entry was posted on Friday, 5 September 2008, 11:15 am and is filed under
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BN forced to seclude its MPs in 12-day  “overseas retreat” as it is not sure of the allegiance of 30 to 40 per cent of  its MPs come “916”

The Barisan Nasional leadership has been forced to come out with the idea to corral and seclude its
Members of Parliament in a mysterious “overseas retreat” for 12 days from Sept. 7 – 19
 as it is not sure of the allegiance of 30 to 40 per cent of its MPs come ”916”.

Some BN leaders are getting “cold feet” and more than a touch of panic.

While the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, have been claiming that nothing would happen on September 16, with the former even invoking the name of the Yang di Pertuan Agong as if the King is taking political sides, there is undoubtedly growing nervousness and jitters among the various levels of Barisan Nasional leadership with every passing day.

In the past six months since the first  political tsunami on March 8, there has been  rising rather than the reduction of restiveness among the Barisan Nasional MPs, not confined to Sabah and Sarawak – and it is no exaggeration to say  that for the first time in the nation’s history, the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has lost the unquestioned allegiance of its MPs from the various component parties, including UMNO itself.

The second political tsunami of the Permatang Pauh by-election on August 26 has sealed and reinforced the restiveness of the BN MPs – especially as there are no signs of any light at the end of the tunnel to resolve the multiple crisis of confidence besetting the government and nation, whether political, economic, educational,  institutional or nation-building.

This is why there is the sudden despatch of urgent SMS to all BN MPs two days ago in the name of the BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) of a compulsory “retreat overseas from Sept 7 to Sept 19” meant to be compulsory attendance for all BN MPs.

The fact that there is protest by BN MPs at the 12-day compulsory “overseas retreat” – whether Australia, China or Taiwan – like the earlier refusal of all Sabah BN MPs to sign a pledge of loyalty to the Prime Minister, is symptomatic of the gravity of the BN crisis of confidence.  This is completely unthinkable just six months ago before the 12th general election!

All in all,  it is a national shame that BN MPs should be treated like delinquent children who have to be packed off overseas and secluded from mischief – treating BN MPs as no better than chattel.  Poor BN MPs!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 6 September 2008, 4:47 pm and is filed under
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Revolt by Ahmad Ismail and 13 Penang UMNO divisions latest and probably most critical challenge to Abdullah’s power-transition plan

The revolt by UMNO Bukit Bendera chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail and
13 Penang Umno divisions backing Ahmad’s stance  of no apology
 for his offensive, insensitive and racist reference to the Chinese as
“orang tumpang”
 is the latest and probably  the most critical challenge to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s power transition plan.

It is  even more serious than the defection of support of the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and his quitting Umno as it is a direct challenge to the political and moral authority of Abdullah as UMNO President and Prime Minister shaking the very basis of his power base in Umno.

If the Penang Umno example is emulated by Umno divisions in other states, then Abdullah’s days as Prime Minister and Umno President are numbered, forcing him into an earlier departure than the June 2010 timetable he had set for himself under his power-transition plan to hand over power to his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The question now is whether the Ahmad Ismail virus will spread to other Umno divisions in other  states to bring an early end to the Abdullah premiership.

Will the leadership of  UMNO as well as the other Barisan Nasional component parties, particularly MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP take a strong and uncompromising stand to denounce Ahmad’s offensive, insensitive and racist reference of the Malaysian Chinese as
“orang tumpang”
?

Ahmad had  compounded his offence during the Permatang Pauh by-election in flying against the weight of evidence that he had been guilty of making the insensitive and racist reference to the Chinese as
“orang tumpang”
 as well as engineering a revolt of Penang Umno leaders against the No. 1 and No. 2 of  UMNO and the other Barisan Nasional leaders.

The weight of evidence that Ahmad had been guilty of making the offensive, insensitive and racist remarks are:

1.    The account by the Sin Chew reporter, Tan Hoo Cheng who authored the original report and who had written an account of Ahmad’s speech during the Permatang Pauh by-election on 23rd August 2008

Anyone who had read Tan’s account which appeared in the Sin Chew today would be impressed by its ring of truth, authencity and bona fides unlike Ahmad’s self-serving 16-page statement.

2.    Further direct testimony corroborating Tan’s account by two other reporters, Kelvin Li of Guang Ming and Chen Minghao of Nanyang who covered the same function, and whose accounts were reported in the Sin Chew today.

3.    Apology by Najib on behalf of Ahmad.  It is completely unthinkable that the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Umno President would have been prepared to suffer the humiliation of making a public apology on behalf of Ahmad without being sure that Ahmad had uttered the offending term. After all, Najib should have first-hand information as Ahmad had made the offending speech in his presence.

4.    The long lapse of 11 days before the alleged “denial” by Ahmad – as the normal action of anyone who had been wrongly maligned or subject of a false accusation would be to make an instant response.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 6 September 2008, 4:03 pm and is filed under
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