They slaughtered, but I dissect Teresa’s video

Stephen Ng

Malaysiakini

18th Feb 2014

Public figures will be subject to public ridicule and satire, whether they like it or not, unless they choose to be out of the public domain like Malaysia’s fifth prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

 We all know Bill Clinton was impeached, and was forced to step down as the president of America because of the sex scandal. Even Barack Obama is not spared from political satire.

 Cartoonists have rightfully poked fun at the politicians for ridiculous things that were said, and unless you are Mao Zedong, you have to live with public cynicism for what you say in public even years after you have kicked the bucket.

A good example

 Those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others. Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a good case.

 Although retired more than 10 years ago, Mahathir is still opening his big mouth. Not realising that Malaysians are generally fed up with him, Mahathir continues to make statements that are ridiculous.

 In response to what he said recently about the Kajang by-election, I cannot help but to call him, “A stupid idiot who talks nonsense!” Mahathir was implying that a vote for Anwar Ibrahim is a vote for America.

 He may be speaking to a section of the community that has been brainwashed by him in the past, but my question to Mahathir is: “Who, if not the Umno-led BN Government, that is now talking about signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), which benefits the Americans more than Malaysians?”

In the past, even when Mahathir was at the height of power, he was not spared of being called a ‘recalcitrant’ by a then-Australian prime minister. Even the then-US vice-president, Al Gore, had walked out on him once.

 Recalcitrant! This is after all the essence of what makes up the complexity in Mahathir. I only started opening my eyes, when he started hitting out at Abdullah Badawi, but Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Petra Al-Haj had apparently foreseen how Mahathir would “bankrupt” the nation, and the morals of the Malay community which Tunku’s Umno was championing in the early years of this nation.

 Looking back, I cannot agree more with this apt description of Mahathir.

 This is how Mahathir, despite being the most powerful man he claims himself to be, is subject to coffee table talk. So, what’s the big deal about Teresa Kok’s video, I am wondering!

Distorted message

 Despite public condemnation of their acts, the Islamic NGOs are now coming out with their own justification.

 A few of them had first denied that they were involved in the slaughtering of chicken in public. Now, they are telling us that their action was to silence the voice of the minority group.

 They claimed that Teresa Kok’s political satire was an insult to the Malay leadership, the sultans and Islam. They are wrong.

 When I watched the video, it is nothing but a brilliant and creative piece of political satire that has been distorted by the propaganda by these Islamic NGOs.

 In the video, the Puchong MP was the talk host – a Chinese. She spoke to three people on the panel – two of whom are definitely Chinese, and the third is a Mrs Jit. They were supposed to be feng shui masters.

 So, where exactly is the Malay leadership factor that is being poked fun at? Even the other two do not represent the Chinese community, what more the Malay community!

 Mrs Jit could well be the wife of Mrs Sarjit Singh, or the wife of Mr Amarjit Singh. Supposing that Mrs Jit is a secret admirer of Rosmah Mansor, can she not behave and dress up like Najib Abdul Razak’s second wife?

 Even if the fat lady in the video clip reminds people of ‘Rosmah Mansor’, since when was Rosmah a national icon and leader? If I were a Malay, I would not even have her as a role model for my children. For a man, I would rather pick Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who exhibits the good values of being a good Muslim and a well-respected Malay gentleman; for a woman, Endon Mahmood, or Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, without a doubt.

 My question to these Islamic NGOs is: “Why has no one ever made fun of Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali or the well-loved Endon?” These are wives of former prime ministers.

 It boils down to one sentence: “Respect is earned, not gained.” When someone knows how to conduct herself in an elegant manner like Princess Diana, no one would have the heart to poke fun. Only comedians are being poked fun at.

 The bottom line is: If you insult our intelligence, we will not help it but agree with what is being portrayed of you. That’s the underlying reason why Teresa Kok’s Chinese New Year video clip received such a huge number of hits within a short period.

 Lahad Datu was mentioned in the context of tourism, and nothing more. If the Islamic NGOs are so concerned about the death of the policemen, they should have asked the then-defence minister and home affairs minister why police commandos were first used against terrorists in a setting where they are least equipped to fight the invaders? Why was the heavily-armoured and well-trained army personnel not sent in, instead?

 In my opinion, none of the allegations hold water. The characters in the video did not even mention about the sultans or Islam. So, if this is what the Islamic NGOs could come out as their conclusion, I have my doubts about their mentor who is advising them.

 Instead of protecting Islam, these NGOs have made a mockery of themselves, and clearly, except for a minority few, even the local Muslim community at large condemn their actions. If news of this is flashed across the world, I am sure that the international Muslim community would look at these bunch of people with disdain.

Message in focus

 What Teresa Kok’s video clip has done is to hit a note with all Malaysians who have recently complained about the price hikes affecting their livelihood.

 When the horse comes, it is supposed to be a great year, but the underlying message in the video clip is that 2014 will not be an auspicious year after all. Teresa Kok’s role as host of the talkshow was to find out how.

 One of the points raised was that the people wold be badly hit by the inflationary pressures, caused by drastic cuts in subsidies and hikes in various basic goods and services.

 It is not only the prices of basic necessities but even crime rate has gone up. Or else, why are we having so many ‘roadblocks’ by the police and at every housing estate, there are security guard posts which are manned by foreigners? Why do we need to install so many closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras?

 What Najib and his cabinet ministers should analyse is how our society has evolved over the past 10 years. Perhaps, the answer is to concede to losing the last general election, and the people to have their choice of government, instead of behaving like an immature kid trying to still cling onto power when it no longer enjoys the people’s confidence.

 To me, Umno may reach a point of no return (to Putrajaya) if it continues to cling onto power, and project the image of being arrogant and insolent, while being indifferent to the people’s suffering. Umno should not imitate Mahathir who once said to a Malay journalist, “Kalau tak nak bayar tol, baliklah ke kampung!” (Go back to your kampung if you choose not to pay toll).

 I am sure after P Waythamoorthy resigned from his post as deputy minister, there is a lot that he can tell the people about the BN government that had betrayed the Indian poor. The same can be said of the Iban poor, the Kadazan poor, the Chinese poor and the Malay poor.

 The ‘kangkung’ comment has its equivalence in what the wife of French monarch Louis XVI had uttered: “If the people have no money to buy bread, ask them to eat cakes.” Malaysians have to be grateful that what Machang Bubuk state assemblyperson Lee Khai Loon had done is so much milder compared to what the French people did to their king and queen during the French Revolution.

 I pray that public anger will not rise to such great height that Putrajaya has to be purged of all the filth that has accumulated all these six decades.

 STEPHEN NG is a chemist by training. He dealt with printing ink, paint and emulsion polymer for 15 years before becoming a freelance writer.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 19 February 2014, 9:27 am and is filed under
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What is IGP doing and where is the rule of law when merchants of hate could openly threaten “volcanic eruption” with the intensification of their campaign of hate?

The question Malaysians are asking  today is where is the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and where is the rule of law in Malaysia when merchants of hate could openly threaten “volcanic eruption” with intensification of their campaign of hate to incite racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension in the country.

The merchants of hate, who had been escalating the racial and religious tensions in the country in the past several months with an incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities, hatred and  conflict have delivered a very clear message that they would not cease and desist from their nefarious and treacherous designs to cause racial chaos and religious conflagration in the country.

This clear message was delivered in the interview with The Malaysian Insider (TMI) by two spokesmen of the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” which staged the Feb. 6 demonstration in Kuala Lumpur offering RM1,200 (now raised to RM2,000) for anyone who slap DAP National Vice Chairperson and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok for the “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” video and the “chicken-slaughtering and blood smearing” on images of DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

In its report today by  the TMI reporter Trinna Leong entitled “We are a volcano waiting to erupt over hate issues, Islamic coalition warns Malaysians”, Zulkifly Sharif, secretary-general of Perkib and Permas, and Mohd Mokhtar Ghazali, president of Perkib, who were behind the “chicken and slap” demonstration, warned that they are a “volcano waiting to erupt” if political parties continue to incite racial hatred among Malaysians.

Zulkifly Sharif warned:  “The Malay culture is to stay silent. But just because we are quiet, it doesn’t mean we will give in all the time. Malays are like a volcano. Once it erupts, everything is broken.”

He falsely accused the DAP of stirring up racial emotions when it is bodies like the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” which are guilty of such heinous and nefarious activities – telling lies that DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Rulers, which are dastardly lies, and using these lies and falsehoods to incessantly incite racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension.

What is most shocking  is the utterly  unashamed and brazen attitude of Zulkifly Sharif and Mohd Mokhtar Ghazali as if they are fully confident and  assured that they are above the law and enjoy “immunity and impunity” despite the commission of a battery of offences  – like the slew of crimes committed in the Feb. 6 “chicken and slap” demonstration which included criminal intimidation, sedition, incitement of violence against a woman, incitement of violence against Member of Parliament and incitement of another May 13 racial riots.

In fact, they are so brazen about their “immunity and impunity” for any action from the authorities for any criminal activities that they openly boasted and admitted that several of their members were also involved in the cow-head demonstration in Shah Alam five years ago, a 2011 dispute over the azan volume in a Kampung Kerinchi mosque and the gathering outside the Court of Appeal last year during the “Allah” issue.

Who could forget that the cow-head demonstrators were treated like “heroes” by the then Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein?

On the “slap offer”, Zulkifly said “The slap reward isn’t to injure her (Kok) but as a warning to her and everyone else,”  adding that the reward has now gone up to RM2,000 from its previous amount of RM1,200, although no one has come forward to claim the money yet.

He said: “We are aware that critics have called us uncivilised but if we don’t do anything about it, there will be more racial problems and more insults hurled at Malays and royalty.”

Also at the interview was Mohd Mokhtar Ghazali, president of Perkib, who is also a member of the Umno Jerantut Information Bureau.

Mokhtar refuted allegations that the coalition was racist and said that its only wish was to maintain peace in the country and to bring back the racial harmony once enjoyed by Malaysians.

“We have no spite against any other race since we are all Malaysians,” he said.

Zulkifly alleged that “the peace enjoyed now may not last if politicians, especially those from DAP, continued to stir up racial emotions.

“With all these insults against the Malays, how long can we remain patient? Don’t get upset if one day an issue blows over and the Malays rise up. Don’t blame the Malays then”

Zulkifly said that politicians should be aware that issues involving the Malays should not be turned into jokes.

“We should be working on building racial ties but what Kok is doing is jeopardising relationship between races.”

Both said that the coalition would only act when provoked and would continue to hold demonstrations if individuals or groups insulted the monarch, race and nation.

“When Malays lose their patience, senses and run amok, that’s when they behave out of boundary. In Malay history, it is called ‘Jebat mengamuk’.”

Neither Zulkifly nor Mokhtar could say how Teresa Kok’s video had insulted the Malays, Islam or Rulers to justify anyone running amok.

I have said  if anyone can show me how Teresa Kok’s video is anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Rulers,  I will ask Teresa Kok to withdraw and apologise for the video, but I have been waiting for more than two weeks with no takers so far!

Why? The reason is simple. Although Teresa Kok’s video criticised government policies causing economic hardships to the people, decline in educational standards, corruption and the lack of safety felt by citizens, there is nothing in the video which could by any stretch of imagination be regarded as anti-Malay, anti-Islam or anti-Rulers.

The ball is now in the IGP’s court. Why had there been no police action to prosecute those involved in the Feb. 6 “chicken and slap” demonstrations for the slew of offences committed, as they had been treated with “kid’s gloves”.

Furthermore, will the police act immediately against both Zulkifly and Mokhtar for the open contempt for the rule law and the threat to cause violence and unrest, for what they have done is no different from merchants of hate openly threatening a “volcanic eruption” with the intensification of their campaign of hate through the relentless twin incitement of lies and falsehood on the one hand and  racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension on the other.

Khalid must prove himself as IGP for all Malaysians and not allow such nefarious and treacherous activities to set race against race, religion and religion in Malaysia.

Yesterday, Bukit Bendera DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) chief Mohd Hariszuan Jahyaruddin lodged a police report in Penang on a fake blog  posting on the Internet claiming to be from Pakatan Rakyat,  spreading the lie that Penang State Government is planning to ban kkutbah Jumaat (Friday sermon), which is reminiscent of the lie spread a few years back on the alleged banning of the procession on Prophet Mohamad’s birthday by the   Penang State Government.

These are diabolical and treacherous acts by those who want to set race against race, religion and religion in Malaysia. What has the police done to bring these irresponsible and treacherous Malaysians to justice?

Three days ago, Utusan Malaysia’ Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia carried a most vile, vitriolic,  incendiary, inflammatory and seditious article ““Melayu, Islam dihina di Tanah Melayu” by its deputy editor Azman Anuar,  which incites racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflicts and tensions.

Has the IGP directed immediate police action against such inflammatory and seditious article in Mingguan Malaysia or will the  police only act after it has received  a report?

DAP Selangor State Assemblyman for Kampong Tunku Lau Weng San has this morning lodged a police report against the Mingguan Malaysia article and Azman Anuar. Would the police take immediate action?

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 19th February 2014)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 19 February 2014, 12:30 pm and is filed under
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IGP should stop talking tough and start acting swiftly against irresponsible and reckless elements who want to cause racial and religious disharmony and strife through incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities and hatred

Enough of the Inspector-General, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar talking tough as he should start acting swiftly against irresponsible and reckless elements who want to cause racial and religious disharmony and strife through incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities and hatred.

Why is Khalid talking about the use of any law, including Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), inciting racial tension when the police has not even sent investigation papers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to arrest and for charges to be laid  against those responsible for the  self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs’ “chicken and slap” demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 6 where a slew offences had been committed including criminal intimidation, sedition, incitement of violence against a woman, incitement of violence against a Member of Parliament, incitement of another May 13 riots?

For more than three weeks, not a single person had been able to step forward to point out where DAP National Vice Chairperson and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok’s “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014”  video is  anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Rulers, although I said I would ask Teresa Kok to withdraw and apologise for the video if there is such evidence.

Yet, the police was very fast in completing its investigations on police reports against Teresa Kok’s “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” video submitting its papers to the AG’s Chambers on Feb. 14, and having it returned from the AG’s Chambers for further refined investigation – in contrast to the inaction against the “chicken and slap” law-breakers who have now upped the reward to anyone who slaps Teresa Kok from RM1,200 to RM2,000 despite police reports lodged against them.

Who is Khalid threatening against when he warned that anti-terrorism laws would be used against those inciting racial tension?

Is he thinking of those who defied the rule of law, even threatening “volcanic eruptions” and “running amok” as part  their incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension like the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” or is the IGP thinking of Teresa Kok, which will make her one of the first SOMA victims in the country?

I am raising the question whether the IGP is thinking of Teresa Kok as a likely SOMA detainee  as I was shocked to see a video clip of  Khalid describing Teresa Kok’s “Onederful Malaysia” video as part of a “campaign of hate” to cause disharmony in the country.

Khalid was responding on Sunday to Teresa Kok’s proposal to put up Malay sub-titles for her videotape, which at present has English and Chinese subtitles with the dialogue in Cantonese and Mandarin.

I would have thought Khalid would have welcomed the uploading of Malay sub-titles onto Teresa Kok’s video, which would further expose the lies and falsehoods perpetrated by reckless and irresponsible elements in UMNO and Barisan Nasional who alleged the video as anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Rulers.

Khalid has shown that he is utterly biased and unprofessional when he publicly indicted Teresa Kok’s video as part of a “campaign of hate”, when he said nothing to condemn those who falsely accuse the video of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Rulers.

Has the police under IGP Khalid come round to the view that any criticism of the present government, whether on price hikes and the mishandling of the economic crisis; decline in educational standards; lack of safety for Malaysian citizens or rampant corruption now come under the purveiw of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Soma)?

This is clearly not the intention of Parliament – to ban all criticism of the government –  when it passed SOSM Act 2012!

Let me state categorically here that Soma is also not the proper law to be used against those who incite racial and religious animosities and hatred to cause racial and religious disharmony and strife, like those responsible for the “chicken and slap” demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on February 6, as there are adequate laws in the land to haul the law-breakers to court.

It is because of the failure of the police to act promptly against those who want to cause racial and religious disharmony like the “chicken and slap” demonstration that the irresponsible and reckless elements out to  stoke the fires of racial and religious strife are encouraged to up the ante – as in the splashing of red paint and throwing of a dead chicken outside Teresa Kok’s service centre yesterday.

When will the IGP remember his oath of office and  start acting professionally by take firm and swift action against those who incite racial and religious hatred, especially the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” and the Utusan Malaysia?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 20 February 2014, 8:00 pm and is filed under
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Islam, freedom and salvation

Zairil Khir Johari

The Malaysian Insider

February 19, 2014

Islam and freedom are two inseparable concepts, though one may not arrive at this conclusion based on the behaviour of many Muslims worldwide, particularly those claiming to carry the torch for the religion.

When the Prophet Muhammad introduced Islam in the 7th century, he not only brought with him a new deen (faith), but also through it delivered fundamental moral and social reform to the Arabian society. As it were, Islam brought light to end the darkness of slavery, female infanticide and social injustice.

At its height of glory during the Islamic Golden Age from the 8th to the 13th century, the Arab-Muslim world transformed from a warring, largely illiterate society to one characterised by major intellectual advancement in culture, mathematics, life sciences and philosophy.

It was an era of inclusiveness, symbolised by the establishment of the Baitul-Hikmat, or House of Wisdom, in Baghdad, where scholars both Muslim and non-Muslim converged to exchange and produce knowledge. Inspired by the call to ijtihad (independent reasoning), the goal was always to expand and include, and not to retreat and exclude.

There was no narrow-minded attempt to discard the works of other civilisations, or to brand certain knowledge as belonging solely to Islam and therefore unusable by non-Muslims. Instead, knowledge was cultivated, documented and shared with all.

Unfortunately, Muslim civilisation has suffered a sharp decline since then. Today, Muslim countries throughout the world are associated with authoritarian regimes, gaping income inequality and the suppression of civil liberties and human rights – ironic for a religion that promises the gift of freedom and enlightenment.

Progressive Malay-Muslim thought

In our part of the world, contemporary Islamic discourse appears to be captured by the likes of the Harussanis and Ridhuan Tees. However, such belligerent parochialism actually masks the rich history of progressive thought by great local Muslim thinkers and advocates of freedom.

Take, for example, the raging polemic over the “ownership” of the name of Allah, and the constant fear-mongering of an apparent Christian threat in our country. There are very few of us who realise that Malay translations of the The New Testament are not new, and have been around since the 1800s.

In fact, probably the very first Malay translation of the Bible, or the Kitab Injil al-Kudus as the author terms it, was produced by the father of modern Malay literature himself, Abdullah Abdul Kadir, better known as Munshi Abdullah. Of course, if he were to publish it today, a fatwa would be declared branding him a deviant, rabid protests would be organised by Perkasa, he would somehow find himself labelled a DAP member, and the authorities would prosecute him for sedition.

Munshi Abdullah not only read the Bible, he translated it into Malay. Yet he neither converted out of Islam nor caused mass apostasy, as is so feared by our authorities today. In fact, in Munshi Abdullah we had a visionary Muslim thinker of unwavering faith, who dared to push the boundaries of what was then socially acceptable.

In his writings, he constantly appealed to Malay society to shake off their traditional reverence for their feudal lords – the bangsawan (nobility), whom he saw as self-serving and oppressive. In Hikayat Pelayaran Abdullah, for example, he writes: “Apabila seseorang itu dijadikan Allah ia Raja bukan untuk memuaskan nafsunya dan berbini sepuluh atau dua puluh atau mencari harta dan membunuh orang dengan aniayanya, melainkan disuruh Allah memelihara manusia….” (When God makes a man a king, it is not so that he may satisfy his lusts and to take 10 or 20 brides, or to seek fortune and to kill with his cruelty, but instead to do as God bids that is to protect his people….)

Munshi Abdullah was of the view that in order for Malay society to advance itself, it must embrace modern values while holding steadfastly to the true teachings of Islam (he did not see such an undertaking as contradictory), and even more importantly emancipate itself from the irrational grips of Malay feudalism, characterised by the kerajaan of the absolute monarch. In his day, he was considered ahead of his time. Two hundred years later in modern Malaysia, one could say he remains ahead of our time.

Another reformist-minded Malay thinker was the Pendeta Za’aba (real name Zainal Abidin Ahmad). Among the many treatises penned by Za’aba, one entitled Jalan Keselamatan Bagi Orang-orang Melayu (The Salvation of Malays) mentions that true emancipation can only be achieved through the pursuit of knowledge.

In this monograph, Za’aba states: “Bahawasanya keselamatan orang-orang Melayu ini pada pihak jalan kehidupannya (pencariannya) dan pada pihak perangai-perangai yang kekurangan itu hanyalah boleh didapati pada satu jalan sahaja, iaitu diubati kemiskinannya yang pada pihak otak itu – yakni kemiskinan pengetahuannya – dengan jalan diberi mereka itu pelajaran-pelajaran daripada jenis yang betul. Maka disitulah, dan disitulah sahaja boleh didapati keselamatan ini, tiada pada lainnya.” (Verily there is only one path towards the salvation of the Malays insofar it concerns their life (livelihood) and weaknesses in their attitude, that is to ameliorate their intellectual poverty – their lack of knowledge – through the right kind of education. This is the only way that salvation can be found, no other way.)

To Za’aba, the high incidence of poverty among Malays corresponded directly to the society’s mental capacity. Therefore, the only salvation for the society was to free themselves from poverty through knowledge and the ability to think critically.

Meanwhile, there have also been a few progressive Malay-Muslim thinkers who were early champions of women’s rights. In the 1920s, writers such as Syed Sheikh al-Hadi and Ahmad Rashid Talu – both coincidentally Penang-based – brought to the forefront the debate on the emancipation of women and their right to education. In their hands, the female lead characters from Hikayat Faridah Hanum (al-Hadi) and Iakah Salmah? (Talu) were, unlike the societal norms of the time, dynamic, progressive and modern.

Salvation

It is an inescapable fact that freedom has always been, and will always be, a key feature in Islamic and Muslim discourse, simply because it is an essential part of Islam. This is true even in our country, where, as the works of Abdullah, Za’aba, al-Hadi, Talu and many others clearly prove, progressive Malay-Muslim thought throughout the last two centuries have constantly pushed the envelope by placing great value on the pursuit of knowledge, the ability to reason, as well as the freedom of thought and conscience.

Today, these values are under threat. Extremism, bigotry and sexism now dominate, spurred on by an overzealous establishment bent at banning everything they cannot control or understand. As Martin Luther King Jr once said, “nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Seen in this light, the real threat that we face is not the fools or the bigots, but the ignorance within our society. It is this ignorance that we need to challenge and overcome if we are to rise out of the abyss of doom and destruction.

Today, Za’aba’s advice is even more pertinent than it has ever been – our salvation lies in knowledge, enlightenment and freedom from ignorance. – February 19, 2014.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 20 February 2014, 6:47 am and is filed under
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NUCC’s Samsudin Osman  vs Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali a battle of “patriots vs traitors” for moderates to save Malaysia from extremists who want to foment racial chaos and religious conflagration?

At the forum on “Legacy of Tunku Abdul Rahman” at New Era College in Kajang on 10th February 2014, I called on all moderates and patriots in Malaysia, whether in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat or those outside the two political coalitions to unite and isolate extremists and traitors of the country who want to foment racial chaos and religious conflagration through incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension.

I said that I believe that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians, whether in DAP, PKR or PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, or in Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the other component parties in Barisan Nasional, or outside the two political coalitions,  do not want another May 13 riots in the country as they want, like Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, love, peace, harmony, solidarity and prosperity to prevail in Malaysia.

But all the moderates in Malaysia, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat or outside the two political coalitions, must act to unite and isolate extremists and traitors of the country who want to foment racial chaos and religious conflagration through  the incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension – or they will lose by default and  allow the irresponsible and reckless few to hijack the national agenda which can only lead to ruination and sent the country down the abyss of a failed state.

I see shades of this great battle of “patriots vs traitors” in Malaysia in the punch-up between the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) and Perkasa, with Perkasa President Datuk Ibrahim Ali calling NUCC members as “anti-nationalist” and  the NUCC Chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman responding that NUCC members are “patriots” fighting to stem racial and religious discord.

If not for the gravity of issue concerned, it would be hilarious for Perkasa, headed by a professional rabble-rouser, to call the NUCC a “threat to national unity” when the NUCC is headed by the former Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Samsudin bin Osman, who is currently Chairman of EPF and  President of Putrajaya Corporation, the local government of Putrajaya.

Ibrahim Ali said the NUCC is not fit to advise Putrajaya on race and religious issues and wants it to be scrapped and replaced with Malay NGOs which would promote “real and true unity”.

I am surprised that Ibrahim Ali did not claim that a NUCC without Ibrahim Ali cannot pretend to  advance national unity and repeat his recent boast in Penang he is “1,000 million times better than Anwar” to be Prime Minister of Malaysia – whatever that means.  But it does give an idea of the character and personality represented by the Perkasa President.

Rational and moderate Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, need not waste time on Ibrahim Ali’s fulminations.

What is important is that moderates in Malaysia, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat or outside the two political coalitions, must never lose sight of the imperative need to  unite and isolate extremists and traitors of the country who want to foment racial chaos and religious conflagration through  the incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension.

Is the NUCC vs Perkasa battle a precursor of the great battle of “patriots vs traitors” for the soul and future of Malaysia?

Samsudin told The Malaysian Insider: “We’ve had two meetings so far and what showed up in these meetings is that all of us love the country so much and want to see a solution to what’s happening now.”

He also refuted Perkasa’s view that some members of the NUCC were partisan and not representative of the Malaysian population, saying the 30 members of the newly formed council were concerned that the recent acts of provocation had brought discord to national unity.

Samsudin insisted that every member of the NUCC was “working very hard” to get to the bottom of racial and religious issues and to propose solutions to the government as soon as possible.

He said: “Yes, we are all from different backgrounds and don’t have the same political affiliations but we have one thing in common – we all love Malaysia so much and are determined to restore harmony and unity.

“Our members are sincerely and earnestly working to find solutions and I have not heard any of them say they want to ‘cari gaduh’ (pick a fight).”

Samsudin said Malaysians, in general, were peace-loving people, noting that there were hardly any problems in the past.

“We have been here (in Malaysia) together for many years and there were no desecration of places of worship and others.

“So, we want to promote acts that show we are indeed peace-loving.”

In the past few months, the only people who want to “cari gaduh” are Ibrahim Ali, Perkasa and other like-minded NGOs like the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” responsible for the disgraceful “slap and chicken” demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 6, offering a reward of RM1,200 (now raised to RM2,000) to any who slaps DAP National Vice Chairperson and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok for her “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014”.

I have reservations whether the NUCC  can be effective in promoting national unity and restore  racial and religious harmony as finally all this will depend on whether the Najib government has the political will to implement a National Unity Blueprint.

But the NUCC should be given a chance, as Malaysian patriots and moderates to explore every possibility to advance the cause of national unity and restore racial and religious harmony, peace and solidarity.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 20 February 2014, 8:10 pm and is filed under
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More useful and urgent for IGP Khalid  to form a special division to stamp out reckless incitement of racial and religious animosities and hatred to cause racial and religious strife than to set up a  department on SOP compliance

 On Monday, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar announced that the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM)  is to set up a new department, to be known as the Integrity and Standard Compliance Department, to improve Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) compliance, including disciplinary procedures for police personnel.

The new department is expected to be fully operational in two months and would be led by a director with the rank of commissioner.

Khalid said the setting up of the department has been approved in principle and the police are in the midst of discussing with the Public Services Department on the recruitment of staff.

He said that with the department in place, the police hoped to  improve the SOP compliance in all aspects of assignment, including disciplinary procedures for police personnel. Prior to this, disciplinary matters and procedures for police personnel were managed by the Management Department.

The proposed new Integrity and Standard Compliance Department has been subjected to severe, valid and pertinent criticism by the chief of the anti-crime group, MyWatch, R. Sanjeevan, who said  the new department would only result in overlapping duties and a further waste of public funds for the hiring of new staff or the promotion of existing officers, when what the PDRM needs is not a new department to check its officers on SOP compliance but a total revamp of its existing set-up to improve crime-fighting efforts.

Sanjeevan contends that  all matters involving police integrity and procedure compliance can be handled by PDRM’s existing Management Department, which already handles disciplinary breaches.

As a result, the proposed new Integrity and Standard Compliance Department will only benefit a few people within the PDRM where they’ll be given promotions but end result remains zero.

I fully support Sanjeevan’s contention that it is the PDRM’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that needs the most attention as at present, only 18 per cent of the 112,583-strong police force is tasked to fight crime as CID officers.

A bulk of the police force ― over 50 per cent ― are desk-bound officers designated to doing office work like clerical and administrative duties, while 34 per cent are tasked to internal security and public order.

That is to say, for every 1 police officer in the CID fighting crime, there are about 5 police officers who are doing office work.

There can be no disagreement from the overwhemjing majority of Malaysians, for instance, that the top priority police must to fight crime and to maintain the peace and harmony in the country.

It is more useful and urgent, for instance,  for IGP Khalid  to form a special division to stamp out reckless incitement of racial and religious animosities and hatred to cause racial and religious disharmony and strife than to set up a  department on SOP compliance.

One reason why Malaysia’s racial and religious peace and harmony has become a matter of grave concern is the failure of the police in the past nine months to carry out their priority duties to keep a firm check on reckless and irresponsible elements in the country seeking to undermine the fabric of Malaysian society through incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension.

It has reached a stage where the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) has called on the authorities to “act swiftly” when dealing with racial and religious sensitive incidents, warning that inaction could lead to “serious consequences” and that rising religious tensions could eventually hamper efforts to promote national unity.

NUCC said: “The NUCC urges the government to uphold the rule of law and to actively promote national unity by taking prompt action against incendiary statements and actions which are provocative and can lead to conflict and tension with serious consequences affecting peace, harmony and national unity.”

One of the major government players which had abdicated its responsibility to  “act swiftly” when dealing with racial and religious sensitive incidents resulting in the country faced with “serious consequences” is undoubtedly the police, headed by Khalid Abu Bakar as the IGP in the past nine months.

When will Khalid live up to his duties as IGP for all Malaysians and not just for UMNO or Barisan Nasional?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 21 February 2014, 5:49 am and is filed under
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Anwar Ibrahim has to be put away; otherwise, Umno is doomed!

by P Ramakrishnan

Aliran

21 February 2014

What is important in any hearing is fairness to the accused. But certain judges don’t seem to be very bothered about this principle, says P Ramakrishnan.

 The survival of Umno in the forthcoming GE14 is hanging by a thread. By all counts, it may be the end of the road for the party that has dominated Malaysian politics for more than half a century.

Umno is aware of this. And that is why it is desperately trying to put Anwar Ibrahim away to save its skin. A free Anwar will sound the death-knell for Umno.

Politically it may not succeed in its attempt to do away with Anwar because his influence is wide and far-reaching. He is seen by the majority of Malaysians as the only hope of toppling Umno from its power base – which will pave the way for an alternative government.

All the lies that Umno has concocted against Anwar have not made any impact on the people. This approach has been tried since 1998 – to tarnish his reputation and smear his image – but every attempt failed miserably. People have wised up to the tricks and manipulations resorted to by Umno at every opportunity and during elections, but such ploys have had no effect to benefit Umno.

Moreover, the people are aware that Umno is no longer the sole mouth-piece for the Malays. Pas and Keadilan are equally capable of representing the Malays far more effectively when compared to Umno. To add to their headache, the Malays are even turning to the DAP and supporting their candidates. Clearly, it is a losing battle for Umno.

This is why Anwar’s pending court cases are so crucial. Malaysians are convinced that what cannot be achieved politically by Umno can perhaps be achieved through the courts. This is possible simply because only a few judges seem to be pro justice whereas many are inclined to dismiss cases based on mere technicalities.

Anwar’s application to recall former investigation officer Supt Jude Blacious Pereira was based on the fact that the Kuala Lumpur High Court had found him “not a fit and proper person” to be admitted as a lawyer to practise at the High Court of Malaysia. But the court dismissed Anwar’s application on the grounds that there was no need to adduce further evidence from Pereira.

Suhakam in its investigation with regard to the detention of lawyers had concluded that Pereira was not a reliable and trustworthy witness.

When a person’s integrity is in serious doubt, it is natural to wonder whether he could have acted honourably and truthfully in Anwar’s first sodomy trial. It was also established in that trial that he had tampered with an exhibit concerning the DNA.

It is, therefore, reasonable to believe that a person of such character might not have told the whole truth during the trial. If Anwar wants him to be recalled to be further questioned, what is wrong? Isn’t he entitled to maximum defence in all fairness?

Then we have the other case where Anwar wanted to remove Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from leading the prosecution team in the government’s appeal against the Sodomy II verdict. Anwar depended heavily on Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim’s statutory declaration to disqualify Shafee from prosecuting Anwar. In that declaration, Shafee was painted as someone who was part of a plot that took place in Tun Dr Mahathir’s house.

The court ruled that since Mat Zain did not affirm any affidavit in support of Anwar’s application, the former’s statutory declaration was viewed as statements that were made outside the court and, as such, there was no prima facie material before the court to establish a case. And hence, Anwar’s application was dismissed.

Much earlier, in the case concerning whether Anwar could submit Mat Zain’s statutory declaration as a supporting document, the court threw out the statutory declaration on technical grounds: the name and address had been left out, the IC was wrong – all not serious omissions. In any case, the court had its inherent right to summon Mat Zain to affirm his declaration and rectify the errors in it. That would have been in the interest of justice. But unfortunately that wasn’t the case. It was rigid justice, which Thomas Fuller, the writer, termed as “the greatest injustice”.

How fatal was this error? Shouldn’t the accused be given every means and opportunity to defend himself? If that defence is denied through technicalities, the court is grossly unfair to the accused. It is the accused who has to prove his innocence and for that he needs the assistance of the court.

If the court deprives him of this assistance and becomes an obstacle to his defence, then the judicial process becomes a farce. At the conclusion of the hearing, people should not come to the conclusion that the court was prejudiced against the accused.

It is no use to quote this law and that regulation to prevent access to material that may be crucial to the accused to establish his innocence. In the end, what is important in any hearing is fairness to the accused. But certain judges don’t seem to be very bothered about this principle. It is to them only cut and dried, applying rules and regulations without any notion of fairness.

If this were the case in Anwar’s appeal, then the judiciary will put away Anwar for good and save the skin of Umno.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 7:56 am and is filed under
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Fatal mistake for Pakatan Rakyat parties to assume that the Kajang by-election is a walkover with Anwar as candidate

The Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional Chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that the Barisan Nasional (BN) is going into the Kajang by-election as the underdog but pledges to work doubly hard to ensure the best possible outcome.

It will be a fatal mistake for Pakatan Rakyat parties to assume that the Kajang by-election is a walkover with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the candidate.

It is imperative that the Pakatan Rakyat parties of PKR, PAS and DAP  speak with one voice and act as one unit not only to secure victory  for Anwar in the by-election on March 23, but with a convincing majority greater than the majority won in the 13th general elections on May 5, 2013.

Every vote in the Kajang by-election must be fought and won and not taken for granted.

The Kajang by-election will be contested by MCA, which is holding an extraordinary general meeting tomorrow.

The first thing the new MCA leadership of Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Datuk Wee Ka Siong must explain, whether to the voters of Kajang or to the people of Malaysia, is why they had fully supported the stand that MCA should stay out of the Cabinet in three MCA general assemblies –  in 2011 and 2012 and the EGM in October last year, and are now doing a somersault.

Will the new Liow-Wee MCA leadership apologise not only to the Chinese in Malaysia but to all Malaysians for this disgraceful and dishonourable “attempted blackmail” of the Chinese voters in the 13GE which failed miserably, and a second apology for changing their stand after three MCA general assemblies, exposing their utter lack of principles and being fully steeped in political opportunism?

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 22nd February 2014)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 10:35 am and is filed under
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Is there a high-powered plot to frame me up like Teresa Kok in 2008 so that I could be detained on the ground of being anti-Quran and inciting racial and religious disharmony?

I must give credit to the diabolical “cleverness and creativeness” of the UMNO cybertroopers and those committed to incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension in recent months to create racial chaos and religious conflagration in coming out with a new accusation against me.

I thought after some 48 years of Malaysian politics, there will be no accusation that  had not already been hurled  against me and there could be no  new accusation against me.

I had been accused of being anti-Malay, anti-Indian, even anti-Chinese of  being anti-Chinese Chinese-educated, anti-Chinese English-educated (not yet accused of being anti-Chinese Malay-educated); I have been accused of being anti-Islam, anti-Hindu, anti-Christianity; I have been accused of being a CIA agent, KGB agent, Australian Secret-Service Agent, a Singapore agent even Special Branch agent at home – and anti-nationalist!

I have even been accused of having caused the May 13 riots in 1969 (if so, why have  I been allowed to be at large in Parliament and Malaysian politics over four decades) and most disgusting of all, that I have urinated at the flagpole of the then Selangor Mentri Besar’s residence in Kuala Lumpur when in fact I was in Sabah at the time.

What other new accusation could be made against me?

But I was wrong – for underestimating the devilish inventiveness of those out to cause mischief in our multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural nation

The latest accusation against me in the social media  by UMNO cybertroopers is that I am anti-Quran because of a media statement I issued on February 1 on  the Friday sermon of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) that the division among Muslims was not only caused by a weak faith but also because of the instigation of Christians and Jews.

I expressed triple regret at the Jakim’s sermon as it went against:

• The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Cabinet’s positive response at its Cabinet meeting on 29th January 2014 to the Pakatan Rakyat’s olive branch reiterated by PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for a Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat Leaders’ Summit on national reconciliation to check worsening national situation in the country, in particular the worst racial and religious polarization in the nation’s history as a result of incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension by a small group of reckless and irresponsible persons bent on destabilizing the country through lies and falsehoods, even to create another May 13;

• Najib’s advocacy of Wasatiyyah (moderation in Arabic) as important policy in ASEAN and world conduct of nations – affecting not only Islam but also in respect of all other faiths; and

• The World Interfaith Harmony Week (3 – 9 February 2014) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th October 2010 as a way to promote harmony between all people regardless of their faith as “mutual understanding and inter-religious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace”.

In my statement of Feb. 1, I did not refer to any Quranic verse or hadith but I am now accused of being anti-Quran.

It makes me wonder whether a high-powered plot to frame me up like Teresa Kok in 2008 so that I could be detained on the ground of being anti-Quran and inciting racial and religious disharmony!

In September 2008, DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok was falsely accused of signing a petition that azan prayers at the Kinrara mosque had disturbed the peace and  was detained under the Internal Security Act – together with blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Sin Chew reporter Tan Hoon Cheng.

Is somebody toying with the idea that I should be arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) on the ground that  I am anti-Quran and a danger and threat to the public order and security of the country?

Why is the Police keeping silent and unconcerned about the continued pumping of lies and falsehoods, whose sole intention is the incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension to create racial chaos and religious conflagration?

Would the police be similarly silent and unconcerned if the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, or the non-Malay and non-Muslim leaders of the other Barisan Nasional component parties are openly and  falsely accused of being anti-Quran or anti-hadith?

In recent weeks, there have been an escalation of engineered incidents by irresponsible and reckless elements to stoke racial and religious fires by inciting  animosities and hatred, like:

•	The vitriolic  demonstrations by Penang UMNO leaders and supporters in which threats to repeat May 13 were made;

•	provocative banners put up in front of churches in Penang without the knowledge of the church authorities;

•	Molotov cocktails (fire bombs) thrown into a church compound in Penang;

•	the desecration of a mosque with meat believed to be pork  in Bukit Mertajam;

•	incitement of violence against  Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, where a reward of  RM1,200 now upped to RM2,000  was offered to anyone who slaps her and records the incident;

•	nation-wide furore that Teresa Kok’s “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” was anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Rulers although there is not one iota of evidence;

•	false allegations that Malay Bibles were being distributed to Malay children at the Sekolah Menengah Haji Zainal Abidin in George Town; and

•	false allegation  by an UMNO Youth Terengganu leader that the Penang state government is planning to ban Friday sermons.

These are not isolated incidents but part of a pattern by extremists and traitors who want to destroy the peace, harmony and solidarity of multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia to achieve their nefarious and treacherous objectives.

The saving factor is that the overwhelming majority of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, are patriots who are not influenced by these extremist and traitors as they only  want peace, harmony, progress and prosperity for all Malaysians.

But they must speak up to transform the Silent Majority into an Articulate Majority for peace, harmony, progress and prosperity for the nation and to isolate and reject the extremists and traitors who want to continue to incite racial and religious tensions to create racial chaos and religious conflagration.

The first question the Articulate Majority in Malaysia are entitled to know is whether the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and the Police are with the Articulate Majority and will perform their role to uphold the law and keep the peace by taking immediate and firm measures against extremist and traitors out to destroy racial and religious harmony in Malaysia?

What for instance is the Police doing against those who are making baseless allegations that I am anti-Quran to sow racial hatred and religious disharmony?

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 22nd February 2014)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 12:19 pm and is filed under
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Islam At A Crossroad in Malaysia

by Din Merican

February 8, 2014

I am writing this as I contemplate the fate of our country while resting after being involved in a nasty accident last week. I feel very sorry that my wife’s car. Dr Kamsiah’s black beauty is now a total wreck and we are not sure how long the adjusters will assess the loss as a total loss or whether it has to be repaired.

I hope the insurance company and its adjusters would be kind to my wife and I by not prolonging the painful process of making an insurance claim. The positive thing from that accident was that the driver of the other car, a non-Muslim Chinese and I, a Malay Muslim, did not have a quarrel. We resolved matters in the manner that accidents are resolved. We showed care and compassion for each other to ensure that neither of us suffered grievous bodily injury. We were civil despite our different race and religion even in those tense moments. We behaved as how civil people behave. We behaved like we are one people, like true Malaysians.

What was heartening also was that I received an immediate message from my young friend, Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, who heard about the accident although he was away. He was so concerned to make sure that we were not injured and made prayers for me from Makkah. Apparently, he was in Jeddah for a meeting and entered Makkah to perform umrah and made doa’ (prayers) for our safety.

To Rosli, I say thank you. At my ripe age, doa from well wishers are very meaningful. Alhamdulillah, I am safe in one piece although I was pretty jolted when the airbag exploded. I pray to Allah that the driver and passengers of the other vehicle will also recover as I have.

Religion and Politics

This brings me to the topic of religion that has plagued the country in the last few months. Since 2012, the politics of religion in Malaysia has taken a worrisome development. While Malaysia has long been known as a moderate Muslim country, that perception is beginning to change and change dramatically.

Malaysia’s moderation which is also a characteristic of Malay culture has, in the past, earned us respect in many Muslims countries. It is well known that Malaysian Muslim pilgrims for Haj and Umrah are well liked because in overseas countries Malaysians are extremely polite and rarely act in a radical way, unlike the hooliganism that they now show back at home. I am sure Rosli is one of the example of a pleasant Malay pilgrim. Moderation has become our national emblem, a badge of pride that we can wear on our chest.

When Abdullah Badawi became PM, he wanted to capitalise on that moderation by conceptualising it as Islam Hadhari. But, like all slogans, that slogan also went out of fashion and is rarely heard today. As always, Malaysian leadership is less concerned about the substance of leadership and good governance but more concerned with popularity. And that is the problem we face today with the administration of PM Najib Razak.

Ex-PM Abdullah Badawi was brought down by his own party, UMNO, as he was seen to be ineffective– sleeping on the job, as Dr Mahathir would put it. And then, enter Najib Razak as PM. Malaysians were hopeful of him. There could not be a politician with a better pedigree than Najib. He is after all the son of Tun Abdul Razak, one of the most respected of Malaysia’s Prime Ministers. However, it did not take long for Najib to show that what his father Tun Razak had built, Najib would in a short time almost destroy.

You may ask- is that a fair comment? That is a fair question. So, let us analyse briefly why I expressed what most Malaysians are already saying.

Najib came up with this slogan – Satu Malaysia (1Malaysia). But today,we, as a nation, are not at all one united people. We can’t be more divided than ever. We quarrel about almost everything, including something so flimsy as the proprietorship of the word “Allah”. Thus, it was apt that my friend Tan Sri Robert Phang had rhetorically posed – “Why are we quareling about God?” in his New Year Message. Lim Kit Siang has taken that tag line to raise the same question in his open letter to PM Najib.

Malaysia is becoming to look like a Taliban State where the religious authorities have become so intolerant of different what more dissenting views in the area of religion, religious thought or for that matter anything concerning God, as if we own God. But more worrisome is that they are wrong in the things they did, yet they did not care.

The Borders Case remains unresolved thanks to AG Gani Patail

In 2012, JAWI raided the Borders Bookstore and seized books by Canadian author Irshad Manji titled “Allah, Liberty and Love”. When JAWI couldn’t find anyone else to charge, JAWI decided to charge the poor Malay store manager Nik Raina Nik Rashid (seen with Dr. Kamsiah). She was charged for selling a banned book at a time when it was not banned yet.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan successfully persuaded Tudung Judge Dato Zaleha Yusof to make a bold declaration that JAWI’s raid, seizure of books, and prosecution of Nik Raina were illegal. Judge Zaleha also declared that the Islamic Offences Act used to charge Nik Raina wasultra vires and unconstitutional and chided the Minister of Home Affairs and Minister in the PM’s Dept in charge of Religion for abdicating their constitutional duties in not clarifying the confusion that had disrupted the harmonious relationship in multiracial and multireligious Malaysia.

Despite the High Court ruling, the Syariah court refused to release Nik Raina. Although the law is now clarified that the Islamic Law Act used by JAWI is unconstitutional, yet A-G Gani Patail did not seem to consider it to be his duty to advise the government on what is the proper thing to do. He would rather cause a conflict of laws between civil and islamic law without regard to the disharmony it is causing amongst Malaysians.

I suppose A-G Gani Patail feels that he can survive better when there is anarchy in the country as that would make him more useful to those in the corridors of power. Otherwise, his position would be under threat from lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, who has openly declared recently that he is ready to assume the role of Attorney-General to replace Gani Patail who is just a 3rd Class law graduate from University Malaya. That is what happens when the country is led by people of mediocrity.

The Allah Issue

Then the “Allah” issue erupted again, this time in a more virulent way. Unheard of NGOs like ISMA started to appear and condemned Marina Mahathir as a Dalang for LBGT and as anti-Islam. Thus, the line is a drawn between the Axis of Evil and the Defenders of Islam. Any muslim who spoke on the “Allah” issue in a manner not consistent with the Malaysian Standards of Islam (as if there is one!) projected by the likes of JAWI and JAIS are immediately branded as the enemies of Islam. You then see a herd of Malaysian politicians singing in chorus branding Islamic scholars like Professor Tariq Ramadan as liberal muslims. I am appalled.

Tariq Ramadan is the son of Said Ramadan, author of “Islamic Law: Its Scope and Equity” and the grandson of Hassan Al Banna, founder of Ikhwanul Muslimin. Yet, Malaysian politicians conveniently branded him as such just because he gave an impartial and objective opinion about “Allah”. I will not elaborate on this as so many people have already written on the “Allah” issue.

All I would like to add is that PM Najib showed a total lack of moral courage on this issue which is now dividing Malaysians more than ever before. When he eventually made a comment recently, it was at best disappointing. Najib had no qualms about showing that his government will not honour the 10 point agreement.

Najib showed the same lack of courage over the death and burial of Chin Peng.  My counterparts in Thailand informed me that former Thai PM Chaovalit Yongchaiyudh had attended Chin Peng’s funeral in honour of an independence fighter of the time likening Chin Peng to Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam and Che Guevara of the Cuban Revolution and yet Malaysia dishonoured its own son and the treaty that it entered with the CPM. That is how dishonourable the Najib government behaved.

PM Najib also coined the slogan- Rakyat Di Dahulukan (People First). It was a beautiful slogan to show a caring and people oriented government. To demonstrate the government’s care and concern, the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BRIM) in gearing up for GE13. All kinds of asssistance and handouts were promised to bribe the Rakyat to vote for BN. Yet, immediately after winning the elections (and losing the popular votes), the Rakyat was burdened with price increases– from petrol price increase to tariff hikes in electricity, property assessments, tolls and all other kinds of tariffs. That is how PM Najib’s government betrayed the people. Rakyat didahulukan with all kinds of burdens!

Rosmah Mansor’s Opulence and Defiance

When the Rakyat complained, PM Najib asked them to be thrifty, to be austere and so on, whereas all the while his domineering wife is jet-setting all over the world in a government jet, costing taxpayers to the tune of RM44 million. This did not yet take into account the numerous color Hermes and Birkin handbags (not the Shenzen or Petaling Street versions) that Rosmah Mansor is reputed to tot around costing not less than RM100 thousand each. She does not care what the Rakyat thinks about her lavish spending. Sheer defiance of public opinion.

Then, in a blatant display of grandiose and opulence, Riza Aziz, Rosman’s son from an earlier marriage suddenly emerged in Hollywood as a big budget movie producer. The movie Wolf of Wall Street is nothing but sheer debauchery. I don’t give a hoot that it starred Leonardo Di Caprio or that it was directed by Martin Scorcesse. All I care is that there are enough stories out there in the Internet that Rosmah’s son is flaunting his very deep pockets to fund such big projects. The question on everybody’s mind is where did he get all that money? What is worse, the MACC chose not to investigate the young man.

With all these scandals surrounding his family, PM Najib has no moral authority to lecture the Rakyat about austerity when his wife and family display extreme opulence and questionable wealth.  Najib has no credibility to tell the Rakyat about how fortunate we are to be able to eat cheap kangkung when his family’s lifestyle of the rich and famous are posted all over youtube.

That is how sick the country is that leaders and those in authority cannot be trusted to take care of the Rakyat. And worst still when religion is used to rob people of their property. I read in the Malay Mail a case of the Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Batang Berjuntai conspiring with JAIS to rob a chinese company of its 26 acre land purportedly to build a mosque. I have not seen a 26-acre a mosque especially not in a kampung area like Batang Berjuntai. I became more interested when I saw that the lawyer acting for the chinese company is again Rosli Dahlan.

That makes me wonder if Rosli went to Makkah feeling guilty for acting against the religious authorities or if he was  seeking forgiveness and atonement because of all the condemnations he must be receiving for acting against the  likes of JAWI and JAIS which pretend to be the defenders and guardians of the Islamic faith. If that is why he is in Makkah, I have this to say to Rosli- don’t feel guilty.

Rosli should take it as his karma, taqdir, predestination or whatever you call it for him to be acting in such causes of justice without discriminating the race, color or religion of the oppressed party. That is what Islam is about- justice and compassion. And that’s  what our country and leadership are not. That is how sick our country is. We are at a crossroad where our professed islamic identity is made a mockery by the leadership and then aped by the Muslim mobs like PERKASA and ISMA.

That reminded me of the title of a book by renowned Islamic Scholar Muhammad Asad- “Islam at a Crossroad”. In case the likes of PERKASA, ISMA and their ilk are not aware, Muhammad Asad was born and raised as a Jew from Austria by the name of Leopold Weiss. So, one of Islam’s respected scholars of the recent century is actually a Jew! It was a Jew who correctly projected that Islam is at a crossroad. And I will borrow Asad’s title to say that Islam is indeed at a crossroad in Malaysia. It is heading in the wrong direction because of politics of manipulation and subjugation by UMNO of Malay Muslims.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 5:34 am and is filed under
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Putrajaya clamps down on dissent, transfers anti-assessment system teacher

by Lee Shi-Ian

The Malaysian Insider

February 22, 2014

The man behind the teacher pressure group’s planned protest today against the student-based assessment (SBA) has been given a 24-hour notice of transfer to a rural school in Pahang in what is seen as Putrajaya’s clampdown on dissent by civil servants.

Despite the sudden transfer notification, teacher Mohd Nor Izzat Mohd Johari, 29, who is the Suara Guru-Masyarakat Malaysia (SGMM) working group chief, refused to be cowed and said the protest would go ahead as planned.

The group planned to gather at the Bandar Baru Bangi mosque prior to the rally.

Nor Izzat, who has been called “Guru Setahun Jagung” (greenhorn teacher) by the ministry for being a vocal critic of the SBA, said his transfer was proof that the Education Ministry was exercising its powers over him.

He told The Malaysian Insider that his good friend and colleague, Mohd Zulkefli Seman, who teaches at the same school in Jerantut, Pahang, also received a transfer letter yesterday morning.

Nor Izzat said Zulkefli was not a SGMM member, but had accompanied him to meet with Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh last year.

“SGMM had sent a written request to meet with deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister,” Nor Izzat said.

Last December, SGMM was invited to a discussion with Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh on the much-maligned school-based assessment system (SBA).

Nor Izzat said the ministry promised at the meeting to resolve the system’s weaknesses.

However, despite the meeting, SGMM decided to press ahead with tomorrow’s planned gathering because it regarded the promise as mere lip service from Putrajaya.

“We don’t want Putrajaya to re-examine SBA, we want it abolished,” Nor Izzat said yesterday.

“The transfer letters are clearly an attempt by the ministry to foil tomorrow’s (today’s) gathering.

“If the proper procedure is followed in terms of disciplinary measures, there are several steps to be taken before a transfer letter is issued,” he added.

Nor Izzat, who teaches Art at his current school, said he was surprised when he received the letter yesterday.

He has yet to decide on his next course of action as he is currently seeking legal advice.

On the “title” “Guru Setahun Jagung” bestowed on him by the ministry, Nor Izzat said: “My current teaching position is my first.

“The title was given to me by the ministry because I am considered an inexperienced teacher who was making too much noise for a rookie.

“Even teachers with 20 to 30 years of experience do not make as much noise as I do,” Nor Izzat said.

Despite being a relative greenhorn, Nor Izzat has been a vocal critic of the SBA.

He remains defiant as he is convinced that he is doing the right thing in pointing out weaknesses in the SBA.

“I do not feel that my teaching career will be affected by the transfer. I want to help improve the SBA system,” Nor Izzat said.

“It is unfair if the ministry takes it out on me because there is something wrong with the system.”

The Malaysian Insider had previously reported that teachers and school administrators, who found it hard to cope with the SBA to track students’ performances, had fallen back on examinations.

This has led to a situation where many schools have two systems. On the surface is the SBA, which is done to please officials in Putrajaya, but beneath that is the old annual examination system, SGMM revealed.

The examination system is being implemented by individual schools without the knowledge of Putrajaya but the schools are using it to track students’ performances.

Using two systems, SGMM said, was causing a lot of strain on teachers and school officials.

But the schools insisted that it was necessary to satisfy the needs of both Putrajaya and the students.

The approach reflects widespread rejection by educators towards the use of the SBA as an effective system for Malaysian schools .

This is despite Putrajaya’s insistence that the SBA, which was introduced in 2011, was important in reforming the nation’s maligned education system.

Nor Izzat said that while the SBA itself was a good system which was used successfully in developed countries, it was poorly implemented in Malaysia and did not suit local conditions.

One of the more serious problems, said Nor Izzat, was “streaming” or the process of placing students as they progressed each year to a higher level.

Schools are told by the government that they have to collect the SBA data on a daily basis for each student, said Nor Izzat.

But when the time comes for students to graduate from one form to another, the data is not made available to schools.

“So how are schools supposed to stream students and place them in the appropriate classes?” asked Nor Izzat.

He said this was the reason many schools have reverted to the annual examination system to gauge students’ performances to place them in the right classes.

There are no annual examinations under the SBA. Each day, teachers grade students on a subject based on a six-band spectrum starting from band one “understand” (the lowest) to band six “exemplary” (the highest).

The data has to be entered each day into a centralised computer system.

It was previously reported that congestion caused by the high number of users led teachers to stay awake until 3am, for instance, when traffic is low, to enter the data.

Problems with SBA led a group of teachers to form SGMM which has a Facebook page titled “We want SPPBS to be abolished” in October last year.

The page has attracted more than 64,800 “Likes”.

Another problem with the SBA, said Nor Izzat, was the effect it had on students’ motivation and learning.

“In the two years that we’ve had the SBA, we’ve seen a lack of interest among students to learn. They are more laid-back because there was no incentive to do better.”

The drop in students’ performances, Nor Izzat said, showed up in the 2012 Programme For International Students Assessment (PISA) rankings for Malaysia.

The PISA results showed that among 65 countries tested, Malaysian students ranked at the bottom third, or the 52nd spot.

Malaysian students trailed their counterparts from Singapore, China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam in reading, Mathematics and Science.

“The PISA rankings used students’ performance data from 2012,” Nor Izzat said.

He believed that instead of implementing the SBA, the Education Ministry should fix the old examination-oriented system.

“The PISA rankings proved that,” he added. – February 22, 2014.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 8:09 am and is filed under
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Time to just let MAS crash

 – Koon Yew Yin

The Malaysian Insider

February 20, 2014

MAS has just reported a fourth consecutive quarter of losses with a net loss of RM343 million for this last quarter.

For the full financial year 2013, the net loss amounted to RM1.2 billion, compared with a net loss of RM433 in FY12.

The question is whether this eye-popping loss will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

In the past, there have been incorrigible cheerleaders for the airline, regularly claiming that the company is in recovery mode and will soon return to profitability.

This time, even the most optimistic experts have given up.

One leading financial house analyst has estimated that there was a 7% financial year underperformance because of weaker-than-forecast domestic yields. As competition heats up in the international space, we can expect MAS to continue another year of losses in 2014.

Savvy market observers have seen the writing on the wall much earlier and bailed out on the share. During the past few months its share has been trying to stay above 29 sen, the lowest share price that the airline share has recorded in the past few years.

Without the support of government-linked funds and left to market forces alone, it is certain that the share price of MAS will drop further.

These government-linked funds must surely be hoping that for the next financial year, MAS will not try to “break the record” loss of RM 1.262 billion set in 2005 or the RM2.5 billion loss in 2011.

Should the government continue to bail out MAS?

The most recent losses bring its total losses to more than RM3 billion.  In any normal business, any company incurring large and sustained losses would have closed down or gone into bankruptcy.

This has not happened to MAS yet, but I think the time is long overdue for the government to withdraw the open cheque book extended to the airline.

It is an open cheque book which comes with money from taxpayers who are being hit with price increases left, right and centre while the government merrily pours money into MAS and other inefficient and loss-incurring government enterprises.

When planning the future of MAS, it is important that the government avoids not only the past mistakes but also takes a rational approach based on economic fundamentals.

One line of simplistic thinking is that there is a bright and profitable future for MAS since the number of air travellers continues to increase by about 5% to 7% annually.

This familiar argument is also given prominence in the company’s report filed a few days ago with Bursa Malaysia.

But if you look at the history of airline industry profitability, this is not the case for airlines worldwide.

The fact is the airline industry requires huge capital and produces poor returns on capital employed. Hence, year after year, many airlines produce poor profit margins or outright losses.

Why you might ask is it that an industry with year-on-year rises in sales cannot generate good returns to shareholders?

Part of the reason comes down to the economic structure of the industry.  One of the forces that limit profitability is the intensity of the rivalry between the leading airlines.

There is oversupply leading to pressure on prices. This is exacerbated by a high degree of freedom for new competitors to enter the industries.

If, say, a route between two destinations is found to be reasonably profitable, it is not long before new entrants move in or current airlines simply move their planes to this profitable route.

Mismanagement and corruption factor

Although the airline industry is generally governed by the principle of “survival of the fittest”, it is important to note that airlines can not only be profitable – they can be highly profitable.

The classic case is Singapore Airlines. Another classic case closer to home is AirAsia.

Why have these two airlines, SIA and AirAsia, succeeded while MAS has flopped? It does not require rocket science or a Harvard PhD to explain this contrast in airline profitability.

It all boils down to the quality of management, productivity, operational efficiency and the ability to control costs.

Control of costs is not simply tied to obvious items, such as fuel or salaries paid to pilots and crew. It also crucially has to do with the procurement policies and practices of the airlines.

Unfortunately, the factor of mismanagement and leakages and corruption in MAS appears to be an off-limits subject in the mainstream media.

However, just because the mainstream media does not mention them, it does not mean that these factors are insignificant or are of little or no consequence.

An Internet search of “corruption in Malaysia Airlines” will turn up many allegations and charges of leakages and corrupt practices.

None of these allegations has been responded to by the authorities.  Apparently, the authorities believe that if they turn their heads away from the problem of mismanagement and corruption, these problems will disappear.

If the problem of mismanagement, leakages and corruption cannot be resolved in MAS, then let MAS crash without further delay. This is the only way forward in national interests and to save taxpayers’ money. – February 20, 2014.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 5:53 am and is filed under
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When the Opposition starts serving up déjà vu

Erna Mahyuni

The Malay Mail Online

February 19, 2014

FEB  19 —  Wouldn’t want to be a PKR supporter right now. The “Who gets to be Selangor MB” game is getting pretty old and rather symptomatic of the prevailing malady permeating our country — having the wrong priorities.

Umno’s culture of selfishness and infighting with poison pen letters and hidden knives in the dark is well-documented. But to see the same culture of factionalism and infighting in PKR makes you wonder if the party is just a rebadged Umno. Same crap, same people (stop recruiting ex-Umno people already, Anwar) but just a different party name.

I can’t comment on the merits of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim versus Azmin Ali versus Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim because I frankly do not give a rat’s behind.

What is certain is that it is entirely possible for Pakatan Rakyat to lose Selangor, without even waiting for the next general election.

Of all the things this country needs right now, one important thing is hope. But I am surrounded by friends and family who have become entirely disillusioned by our country’s politics. Many have resolved to abandon Malaysia saying things are only getting worse, instead of better.

But the problem is that bread and butter issues are far less interesting than scandals and backstabbing. And we are such an easily distracted populace. Add race and religion, stoke the fires of bigotry and ignorance and we are all happily distracted from the things that truly matter.

The dialogue needs to change. The focus needs to be shifted. We have to, for one, stop getting so offended. What someone thinks about your race or religion is merely an opinion, not fact. God is certainly too busy to be offended and far too powerful to need us to defend his ‘honour’.

If the politicians forget what really matters then it is up to us to remind them. We need to finally understand that we cannot leave the fate of our nation up solely to our elected representatives.

We do not “owe” politicians. They never deserve our kowtowing or “gratitude”. They should be doing their jobs and we have the right to call them out when they don’t.

If we consider the politicians the best reflections of ourselves, then we must be an impoverished population indeed. We deserve better. The country deserves better. And that should be what we care about and not some political post.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 February 2014, 7:51 am and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
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Cabinet Ministers and senior government leaders need a re-education in Rukunegara as they seemed to have forgotten its principles and objectives

At the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should direct all Cabinet Ministers and senior government leaders to undergo a re-education in the Rukunegara as they seemed to have forgotten the Rukunegara principles and objectives 43 years after their promulgation.

Although the five Rukunegara principles have been taught in the schools in the past four decades, many Malaysians, including the Cabinet Ministers and senior government leaders will not  be able repeat them offhand.

The Rukunegar principles are:

BELIEF IN GOD

LOYALTY TO KING AND COUNTRY

UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTION

The RULE OF LAW

GOOD BEHAVIOUR AND MORALITY

The Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin most famous statement as DPM in the past five years was his repudiation in March 2010 of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy which is to build a Malaysian nation where every Malaysian regards himself or herself first as a Malaysian and race, religion, region or socio-economic status second.

But Muhyiddin declared that he was “Malay first, Malaysian second” – which is an infringement of the second principle of the Rukunegara – “loyalty to king and country”.

How can Muhyiddin claim to be loyal to the Malaysian nation when he is not prepared to unconditionally accept the  second Rukunegara principle of “Loyalty to country”?

Is Muhyiddin now prepared to modify his declaration in accordance with the second Rukunegara principle and declare that he is “Malaysian first, Malay second” just as I had declared in Parliament in March 2010 that I was “Malaysian first, Chinese second”?

Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had broken the third and fourth Rukunegara principles of “Upholding the Constitution” and “The Rule of Law” when the police are guilty of  the double standards of selective investigation and selective prosecution, when they were so quick and prompt in investigating Father Lawrence Andrew and DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok for sedition while being either tardy or completely indifferent to the slew of offences committed, including criminal intimidation, by the Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria and the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” involved in the “chicken and slap” demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 6?

The fourth and fifth Rukunegara principles of “The Rule of Law” and “Good Behaviour and Morality” are  violated in the government’s losing battle against corruption, as testified by the lowly ranking of Malaysia in the Transparency International’s  annual Corruption Perception Index from 1995-2004 and the failure to bring the “sharks” of corruption to justice!

Can the Cabinet Ministers and senior government officers tell us what are the five objectives of nation-building spelt out in the Rukunegara.

I doubt many of them can, judging by the results of nation-building in the past few decades or even worse, by the past nine months of government efforts since the 13th general elections last May.

Let me remind the Cabinet Ministers and the senior government officials that the five objectives of Rukunegara nation-building are:

    Achieving a greater unity of all the people;

    Maintaining a democratic way of life;

    Creating a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably shared;

    Ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural tradition; and

    Building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology.

I challenge the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to present a White Paper at the forthcoming Parliamentary meeting on March 10 to outline how his government  had succeeded in promoting these five objectives since he became Prime Minister in the past five years.

In fact I dare say that Malaysia will not be facing the worst racial and religious polarisation today, with the incessant incitement of racial and religious animosities, hatred, conflict and tension by reckless, irresponsible and traitorous elements  to create racial chaos and religious conflagration if everyone in Malaysia had fully accepted the Rukunegara principles and objectives, not just in words but also in deeds.

A good example is the “chicken and slap” demonstration by the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs against Teresa Kok in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 6 which clearly violated three Rukunegara principles (“Upholding the Constitution”, “The Rule of Law” and “Good Behaviour and Morality” and three Rukunegara objectives on unity, democracy and liberal society.

The trouble-makers like the self-styled “Council of Islamic NGOs” should not only be prosecuted for their criminal offences, they should go back to school to learn the basics of the Rukunegara!

(Speech at the closing of SekDem – Sekolah Demokrasi – in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, 23rd February 2014 at 11 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 February 2014, 3:30 pm and is filed under
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Karpal’s sedition conviction has brought Malaysia back  under international radar as  a “rogue nation” in its system of justice

DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh’s sedition conviction has brought Malaysia back under the international radar as a “rogue nation” in its system of justice.

When a veteran political leader and senior lawyer could be convicted of sedition for stating the law and giving his opinion on the 2008 constitutional crisis in Perak as there was a belief by certain quarters that the rulers enjoyed immunity and no legal action could be taken against them, Malaysia has undone all the “puny”  efforts in the past decade to restore national and international respect and confidence in a truly independent judiciary and a just rule of law in Malaysia.

The convergence of recent events, with blatant examples of the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers involved in a series of unprofessional activities and selective prosecutions, have not helped in restoring public esteem in the independence, efficiency and integrity of these two key institutions – and the judiciary – in the nation’s system of justice.

Human rights and democracy, and in particular freedom of speech, are the major casualties in Karpal’s sedition conviction.

Nobody advocates that freedom of speech is absolute, and Karpal had not transgressed any of these limits – as he had never questioned the system of constitutional monarchy in Perak and Malaysia, as this is one of the basic principles of the DAP’s political programme since its formation 48 years ago, nor had Karpal ever incited violence or guilty of hate speech.

Strangely though, since the beginning of this year, the Police have treated with “kid gloves” the many in recent months  who have been guilty of hate speech and incitement of violence not only against a woman and a Member of Parliament, as in the case of DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok, but even those like the Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria who publicly advocated that the anti-price hike protestors on New Year’s Eve at the Dataran Merdeka could be killed – with no action being taken against them whether by the police or the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

It is no surprise therefore that the international legal and judicial community like the  International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has joined the Malaysian legal fraternity in disapproving the High Court’s decision in convicting Karpal of sedition, saying the conviction was inconsistent with international law and standards on the free expression of opinion by lawyers.

Will the adverse national and international reactions to Karpal’s sedition conviction be seriously considered by the Cabinet on Wednesday, as it goes against all the promises for legal reforms and the Prime Minister’s pledge to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”.

If the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are not prepared to act to redeem Malaysia’s international reputation as a modern and progressive democracy which upholds a just rule of law, then the voters of Kajang in the by-election on March 23 will have a golden opportunity and  responsibility to speak up not only for Selangor but for all Malaysians as to the type of a society and nation the citizens  want in this country.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, 23rd February 2014)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 February 2014, 9:27 am and is filed under
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All disciplinary action against SGMM chief Nor Izzat and all teachers who criticised SBA should be immediately withdrawn

With the suspension of the controversial School-Based Assessment (SBA), the Education Ministry should also revoke all disciplinary action against Suara Guru Masyarakat Malaysia (SGMM) chief Mohd Nor Izzat Mohd Johari and all teachers who criticised the SBA.

The heavy-handed response by the Education Ministry to penalise Nor Izzat and teachers who have come forward to criticise the SBA is totally uncalled for and unjustifiable and must be deplored as a very mean and cowardly manner to suppress legitimate criticism in the education service.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should give his personal attention to ensure that all disciplinary actions against Nor Izzat and teachers who had criticised the SBA should be revoked immediately.

The SBA fiasco transforming teachers into data entry clerks, forcing teachers to get up at 2 or 2 am just to input the grades of students because of online network problems, should be an expensive lesson in the so-called educational transformation of the country.

Nor Izzat and all teachers who had come forward to criticise the SBA should be invited by the Education Ministry to participate in the evaluation of the SBA to date.

The SBA woes is a reflection of the pitfalls and disasters awaiting the so-called educational transformation in the country, based on an educational blueprint outsourced to highly-paid foreign consultants instead of being a product of local educational experts.

Muhyiddin should give a full report to Parliament next month on the SBA fiasco and disaster.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 24th February 2014)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 February 2014, 8:03 am and is filed under
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Muhyiddin – stop bellyache, just issue a directive cancelling all punitive actions against Nor Izzat and all  other teachers for criticising SBA

I advise the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to stop belly-ache and just to issue a directive to revoke all punitive actions against Suara Guru Masyarakat Malaysia (SGMM) chief Mohd Nor Izzat Mohd Johari and all other  teachers for criticising the  student-based assessment  (SBA) system.

What is Muhyiddin hoping to achieve by denying that he was involved in transferring Nor Izzat who had spearheaded a protest against the SBA system within 24 hours from Jerantut to a rural school in Pahang last week?

Let me tell Muhyiddin that Malaysians are not interested whether the transfer order came from the district education office or otherwise, but that as Education Minister he must take full and personal responsibility for punitive actions taken against Nor Izzat and all teachers who had criticised the SBA – and that his first duty now is to countermand all the punitive actions which had been issued not only against Nor Izzat but all other teachers who had been penalised for the courage of their convictions in speaking out against the disastrous implementation of  SBA.

Will Muhyiddin next say that the suspension of the SBA did not come him and he should not be queried on the subject?

Actually, Muhyiddin should hold himself responsible for the SBA mess and give a full accounting why he had allowed the educational system to deteriorate to such a dismal state.

Teachers and school administrators who found it hard to cope with the SBA to track students’ performances, had fallen back on examinations.

This has led to a situation where many schools have two systems. On the surface is the SBA, which is done to please officials in Putrajaya, but beneath there is the old annual examination system.

The examination system is being implemented by individual schools without the knowledge of Putrajaya but the schools are using it to track students’ performances.

The use of the two system was causing a lot of strain on teachers and school officials – which is indeed an extraordinary “transformation” of the education system, from bad to worse and not from better to best!

Why did Muhyiddin take so long to wake up to the SBM disaster, resulting in the “shame-faced” back-door  suspension of the SBA yesterday?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 February 2014, 3:29 pm and is filed under
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