Najib asks moderates from all faiths to join hands

By
Shannon Teoh

The Malaysian Insider

May 17, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — As religious tensions run high on the local front, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called on moderates of all religions to come together.

Speaking at the Islamic Centre of the prestigious Oxford University in Britain, the prime minister also said that it was not enough to go after individuals or organisations to address global violence as a lasting solution could only be achieved by seeking out root causes.

“Our choice is clear. Come together in action for a future of justice, freedom, hope, compassion and goodwill for our children or it will be replaced by a future of injustice, tyranny, hopelessness, cruelty and hate.

“Because the real divide is not between East and West or between the developed and developing worlds or even between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is between moderates and extremists of all religions,” Najib (picture) said in a speech on the “Coalition of Moderates and Inter-Civilisational Understanding” early this morning.

The Umno president’s speech comes just a week after Utusan Malaysia, a Malay daily owned by his party, alleged that church leaders were in a plot with the DAP to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister.

Christian leaders and DAP members have denied the reports which have sparked protests but the Home Ministry has only slapped Utusan Malaysia with a warning letter for publishing the unsubstantiated report.

Najib was forced to meet with church leaders to clear the air but Umno vice president and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein later said that there was “some basis” to the reports.

Malays rights group Perkasa also threatened Christians nationwide that it would wage a crusade or holy war should the church proceed with the alleged agenda to usurp Islam.

The Barisan Nasional chief said in his speech today that all religions must make their voices heard against religious extremism.

“It would be too easy to say that the solution to Islamic extremism is simply for more Muslims to speak up and to speak out. Yes, it is our responsibility, but it is not ours alone.

“Just as Muslims need to make their voices heard, so do the Christians, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Hindus and the atheists who are sickened by intolerance, violence and terror and need to make their voices heard,” he said.

Quoting from the Quran, Bible and personalities known for non-violent approaches such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, he said that “modernisation and moderation must go hand in hand.”

“Quite simply, we cannot allow this moment to be overtaken by extremists, with those who shout loudest gaining the most,” he told an audience who included renowned academicians, MPs, corporate figures and students.

He said the concerted voices of moderates in all countries and from all walks of life would be able to counter terrorism and deliver “the prize of peace.”

“We must address the underlying causes of global violence. Merely going after specific individuals, dismantling their organisations, disrupting their finances and discrediting their ideologies is far from enough,” Najib said.

Early this month, the United States announced that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with US forces in Pakistan.

However, several leading figures warned that bin Laden’s death would lead to a backlash from Muslim extremists.

Bin Laden had masterminded the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people, after which the US proclaimed a global “war on terror.”

“We must be able to differentiate between the symptoms and the root causes. Only then, can we achieve a lasting solution,” Najib added.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 11:15 am and is filed under
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Nazri: No action against Ibrahim Ali

By
S Pathmawathy
 | May 17, 11

Malaysiakini

No action can be taken against Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali over his warnings of violence against the Christian community as such remarks are now a Malaysian norm, said de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

No matter how unsettling such remarks are, Malaysians therefore “need to live” and “be mature” in dealing with such characters as Ibrahim and his ilk since social platforms and media such as Twitter and blogs have allowed statements such as Ibrahim’s to proliferate beyond the government’s ability to proscribe – or punish – them, he added

“It’s difficult to take action against Ibrahim now with the existence of Twitter and blogs … because we cannot be selective in our prosecution,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

Ibrahim had caused public outrage after issued an ultimatum of sorts against ‘ungrateful Christians’ if they went on with a purported plot to subvert the position of Islam as the official religion of the federation.

Ibrahim had based his remarks on an Utusan Malaysia report earlier this month that alleged Christian leaders were conspiring to change the federal constitution in order to install a Christian as a prime minister and turn the Muslim-majority country into a Christian state.

Nazri (left) said users of on micro-blogging site Twitter and bloggers have been guilty of making statements deemed sensitive to one or other group.

“If I take action now (against Ibrahim), I have to move on all (of such) blogs and those (issuing similar remarks) on Twitter,” said Nazri.

That, he added, will be a difficult task as the government would then be accused of stifling freedom of speech.

“The courts will be full of prosecutions against (persons accused of making) seditious statements,” he reasoned.

He stressed the mammoth prospect of such a task presently compared to a few years ago when those propagating extremism and those uttering racial insinuations were hauled to court and punished.

Nazri: Live with it

Mohd Nazri had previously said that the government should “get rid” of the right-wing group, as it had acted in an extreme manner.

His comments came at a time when Perkasa had acted as a major stumbling block to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s economic reform efforts, as the group had decisively opposed the PM’s proposal to gradually lift affirmative action policies to encourage open competition.

Mohd Nazri had then stressed that action can be taken if leaders of such groups uttered seditious remark.

In contrast, Nazri now says, “The state of the country is now beyond this… we have to live with it now.”.

Religious leaders, critics and politicians from both sides of the fence have been mounting pressure on the government to act against Umno-linked Utusan Malaysia for its reckless reports on the alleged ‘Christian conspiracy’.

Utusan front-paged an article titled ‘Kristian Agama Rasmi?’ (Christianity the official religion?) that cited unsubstantiated allegations on two pro-Umno blogs that Christian pastors were supposedly hatching a conspiracy to take over the country, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.

The parties alleged to be involved have vehemently denied the reports and had lodged police reports against the Malay daily, and Utusan as well as the bloggers are presently under police investigation.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 7:33 pm and is filed under
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RON95 price to be reviewed in June

Malaysiakini

May 17, 11

Come next month, the government will review prices of all petroleum products, including the RON95 petrol, before deciding to retain them or otherwise, Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

He said the price review to be conducted by the ministry and other agencies such as the Finance Ministry and the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) would determine whether prices would be maintained or increased, depending on the government’s subsidies.

“According to Pemandu’s subsidy rationalisation plan, there will be a revision every six months for subsidies on all products.

“The last revision we had for diesel, LPG and RON95 was in December, last year.

“This means that a mid-year revision will be carried out this month or early June… I can’t say what will happen but the revision will take place and the government’s subsidy burden is high,” he told reporters after officiating the Ipoh Umno division delegates meeting today.

He said this when asked on the current price of RON95 petrol, following the increase in price of RON97 petrol to RM2.90 per litre.

On April 2, the price of RON97, which was floated according to current petrol prices, rose 20 sen to RM2.70 per litre, following the Middle East crisis, while the price of RON95 increased by five sen to RM1.90 per litre last December.

Ismail Sabri said, although he had previously stated that petrol prices would not go up at the moment, it did not guarantee petrol prices would stay the same forever, because the government was already burdened with subsidies for petroleum products.

“Last year, the government’s subsidy for petroleum products was RM8 billion when world fuel prices shot up, and we don’t see signs that it will drop.

“If this continues, the government will bear RM18 billion in subsidies this year, an increase of RM10 billion,” he said.

He said, should subsidies be reduced, the RM10 billion could be used to build more schools, village roads, housing projects and educational aid.

– Bernama

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 4:52 pm and is filed under
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Sodomy II: Evidence, testimony and Anwar’s defence

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

The Malaysian Insider

May 17, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — In the course of the Sodomy II trial, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s defence team had pointed out a vast array of “inconsistencies” but trial judge Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah has concluded the opposition leader has a case to answer.

This ranged from the credibility of the star witness and accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan to the methods in which DNA samples were illegally obtained from Anwar during his overnight lockup detention in the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

“It does not come as a surprise but what is shocking is that he (Mohd Zabidin) has prejudged the case, and extended it beyond prima facie.

“This makes the position of the defence very precarious,” Anwar said yesterday.

The following are some of the highlights of the case where the prosecution and defence saw things differently.

1. Prima facie case in Sodomy II

Mohd Zabidin, in his ruling said that there is a prima facie case in Anwar’s sodomy charge as Saiful is a credible witness.

The High Court judge, in his decision, quashed the defence team’s arguments in attacking Saiful’s credibility. They had charged that Saiful had lied in open court, and charged that there were many loopholes in his testimony.

Lead defence counsel Karpal Singh had previously demanded that Saiful be charged with “lying” in court about being sodomised by Anwar, and had pointed out that there were too many inconsistencies between the charge against Anwar and the star witness’ testimony.

On April 25 this year, Karpal urged the court to direct the prosecution to charge Saiful under section 195 of the Penal Code for fabricating evidence with intent to procure conviction of an offence punishable with imprisonment.

The veteran lawyer’s main contention was that although Saiful has accused Anwar of sodomising him, his testimony proved otherwise and showed that “there was no element of hesitation” on Saiful’s part during the alleged act of intercourse on June 26, 2008.

The lawyer’s contention was that the conduct of the accuser had been inconsistent with that of a person who was sexually violated.

According to Karpal, Saiful had every opportunity to leave the condominium unit of Desa Damansara on June 26 (the day of the alleged sodomy act) but based on his testimony in court, he did not do so.

Karpal pointed out that Saiful’s testimony indicated he had “voluntarily” followed through with the alleged sodomy and did not show any form of restraint.

Saiful had admitted to having attended a PKR function the next day, an act unbecoming of a person who had just been sexually violated, according to Anwar’s lawyer.

2. Framing of charge against Anwar

Karpal also said that Anwar had been placed at a “tactical disadvantage” as he was charged under section 377B of Penal Code relating to consensual intercourse with no mandatory imprisonment, instead of section 377C of the Penal Code pertaining to non-consensual intercourse with mandatory imprisonment for a term of not less than five years.

Mohd Zabidin had however quashed all arguments relating to Saiful’s credibility as a witness, and even ruled that Saiful’s failure in not lodging a police report after the alleged sodomy did not mean the complainant had “lied”under oath.

The judge also said that since there had been no dispute that Anwar had directed Saiful to go to the Desa Damansara condominium, there was undeniable proof that both of them were there during the time of the alleged act.

3. Saiful’s alleged “affair” with a deputy public prosecutor

On July 27 last year, deputy public prosecutor Farah Azlina Latif was dropped from the team prosecuting Anwar for sodomy after allegations surfaced that she was romantically involved with the trial’s chief witness — Saiful.

The Malaysian Insider reported the allegations after fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin alleged that Farah was having an “affair” with Saiful.

In response, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail then announced that the junior prosecutor was removed to prevent negative public perception of the Sodomy II prosecution team.

Abdul Gani said Farah Azlina had to be dropped not because she was found guilty, but to avoid any negative public perception on the prosecution team.

Abdul Gani also said that an internal investigation will be held to look into Raja Petra’s claims and action will be taken accordingly.

No action has been taken so far and neither Saiful nor the prosecution team has denied the allegations of an “affair.”

4. Testimonies of expert prosecution witnesses

Defence lawyers have throughout the course of the prosecution’s case sought to raise doubts over the testimonies of witnesses Dr Mohd Razali Ibrahim, Dr Siew Sheue Feng and Dr Khairul Nizam Hassan. All three were the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) doctors who had examined Saiful on June 28, 2008 when he complained that he had been sodomised by a “high-profile” politician.

Dr Razali had testified last year that evidence of semen in Saiful’s anal region was sufficient to indicate penetration, despite no tear or injury to the anus. The examination was done two days after the alleged sodomy.

The same doctor had also testified that seminal fluids can remain in a person’s rectum up to 72 hours after being sodomised.

Dr Razali had said he inspected Saiful’s anus 54 hours after the alleged act took place.

However, the doctor maintained that upon examination he found that Saiful’s rectum was empty despite the fact that Saiful had complained that he had not defecated since he was sodomised.

Similarly, HKL forensic pathologist Dr Siew testified that there were no signs of injury to Saiful’s anus upon examination, saying that he took down a “detailed” history of Saiful.

Anwar’s lawyers have questioned why the KY Jelly lubricant, used by Saiful in the alleged sodomy, was not analysed despite being admitted as evidence together with the other items.

The item was filed as evidence through investigating officer ASP Jude Pereira.

This led Anwar’s lawyer Sankara Nair to accuse Pereira of evidence tampering.

But Mohd Zabidin also decided that there was nothing “inconsistent” with the clinical findings of the HKL doctors as well as the government chemists who had taken DNA samples from Saiful and Anwar.

This is despite the defence’s repeated claims of possible contamination and degradation of material evidence by Pereira.

5. DNA samples obtained in the Sodomy II trial

Anwar’s lawyers have argued that the DNA samples obtained in the trial were obtained through illegal means and that seminal fluids found in Saiful’s anal region may have been his own semen.

Ramkarpal Singh, one of Anwar’s lawyers, argued that government chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong’s report findings showed that seminal fluids found in Saiful’s high rectal area may be his own as Saiful’s DNA profile — identified as profile “12, 13” — was more “dominant” than the DNA profile of an unidentified “Male Y.”

Dr Seah, however, had denied this, saying that there were two types of extracts found in the high rectal area — non-sperm and sperm extracts.

Saiful’s DNA profile, according to the government scientist, fell in the first category.

The findings of the chemist report had however confirmed the defence’s arguments, as Saiful’s DNA profile was found both on the sperm extract and the non-sperm extracts.

Ramkarpal also questioned why there were no seminal stains found on Saiful’s undergarments and trousers if semen had been ejaculated into the complainant’s anus.

Dr Seah refused to comment on the matter, and said that Ramkarpal’s question was just a “speculation.”

The prosecution, headed by Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, had argued that the High Court has no power to exclude evidence from Anwar’s sodomy trial just because it was obtained through “unfair means.”

Yusof claimed that judge Mohd Zabidin should not be concerned with how evidence samples in the trial were obtained “as long as it is relevant, it is admissible.”

Anwar’s defence lawyers had won a ruling in which all evidence retrieved from the lock-up during the period — a towel, toothbrush and mineral water bottle as well all DNA samples relating to the items — was expunged.

The judge had overturned his earlier ruling when the prosecution produced an arrest warrant which had gone “missing” during the trial, therefore justifying Anwar’s overnight arrest.

In their closing submissions, the prosecution submitted that the DNA samples taken from three items in a cell where Anwar spent the night on July 16, 2008 matched the “Male Y” DNA profile.

“It confirms the unknown contributor Male Y is Datuk Seri Anwar. This shows there is a prima facie case,” Yusof said in his submission on whether Anwar should be called to enter his defence in the Sodomy II trial.

Yusof had also said Anwar was the sole detainee in the lockup at the time when the items — a towel, toothbrush and mineral water bottle — were retrieved.

Chemist Dr Nor Aidora Saedon and Supt Amidon Anan were called earlier this month to identify the items to be marked as exhibits.

Anwar had refused to provide DNA samples in his first sodomy trial in 1998 for fear they could be manipulated.

Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim also claimed last January that DNA evidence was fabricated in Anwar’s first sodomy trial.

The DNA Identification Act 2008 was passed to compel suspects to provide DNA samples despite protests from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers.

Mohd Zabidin again in his ruling quashed all the defence’s objections and points, and ruled ultimately in favour of the prosecution.

He also said that the DNA evidence taken from Anwar’s lockup on July 16, 2008 could be used as evidence as the PR de facto leader was the last “occupant” in the holding cell before the three items were retrieved for DNA sampling.

“There is no reason for this court not to accept evidence in this case… I find degradation, even if there is, to be insufficient,” ruled the judge.

The trial will resume from June 6-30 where Anwar will be defending his case.

The 63-year-old PKR de facto leader is currently facing sodomy charges for the second time in his life.

He has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power” when the charge was read out to him. He is charged under section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.

The trial began 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.

He was charged with sodomy and corruption in 1998 after he was sacked from the Cabinet and was later convicted and jailed for both offences.

He was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.

He led the loose pact of PKR, the DAP and PAS to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 10:46 am and is filed under
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The ‘Get Anwar’ agenda

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad

The Malaysian Insider

May 16, 2011

MAY 16 — The birth of my first child has given me a new perspective on things. While I do feel older, it has also made me realise that it’s not just my future, or the future of my generation that I have to work for alone now.

So when I found out that my colleague Nurul Izzah Anwar received SMSes threatening her daughter, I was sickened and outraged, as I imagine any parent — any human being — would be.

It is still too early to tell who was behind the SMS or why they did it. It might be part of the bigger political game or it might be some crazy lunatic.

What is clear however is that it is a result of the debased phenomenon we call Malaysian politics. To say politics is dirty is a cliché, but this incident proves that Malaysian politics is filthy to the core.

The country has gone through many tragedies: the Memali incident, the 1988 judicial crisis, the 1998 sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and many others. Combined together, it has damned Malaysia.

Central to the decline is the “Get Anwar” agenda. One may agree or disagree, like or dislike Anwar, but I think not many can dispute that the establishment led by Umno has been consumed by their desire to destroy Anwar at all cost.

It started in 1998. Many, of course, remember the first sodomy allegation, but it was more than that, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reminded us in his memoir: those in power tried to portray Anwar as a womaniser and Western agent.

On the other hand (and Datuk Seri Najib Razak clearly seems to believe this) some have bandied about the idea that Anwar is an Islamic extremist with links to dubious characters.

But 2010 saw the attempts to destroy Anwar reach new lows. Today will see whether Anwar will be asked to make his defence or acquitted of the second sodomy allegation. Knowing how things work in Malaysia, it will most likely be the former.

What’s ironic however is that when the prosecution appeared to have lost the plot in the case, the Datuk T “sex video” suddenly appeared, as if out of nowhere.

Sure, politics is a contact sport. It is not meant for the faint-hearted. When I joined politics I was fully aware of the challenges, even the dangers I would face. Still, I have vowed to stay a principled politician, and will never treat like with like.

I personally feel that there is nothing to be gained by calling your opponent names (like “Bliar”, “Mahazalim”, “Malaysia’s First Female PM” — the list goes on and on) or launching personal attacks (like how George W. Bush’s many critics questioned his intelligence). There’s no way Malaysia can move forward politically if both our politicians and their supporters act like a bunch of rowdy football fans all the time.

This makes the campaign against Anwar — not merely allegations but also the abuse of the courts, Parliament, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the police, the media — in order to destroy him at the end of the day all the more distressing. Can anyone deny that what’s been happening is destroying the moral fabric of our country, and erodes the credibility of those abovementioned institutions?

When the courts no longer deliver justice, when the police act as cheap propagandists for their political masters and when the media disseminates soft-porn publications —all because of a spoilt, greedy and egotistical elite’s fear of one man — then that is a sign of how low the country is right now.

This is no exaggeration. It may sound like some fantastic, Orwellian state but all this is happening right here and right now in our Malaysia.

Why all the fuss about Anwar, you may ask? It’s because the simple truth is that Umno-BN is dead scared of the prospect of a Malay opposition leader who the public sees as potential prime minister material. Ultimately this will make Umno-BN redundant. They will do the same thing with the same level of ferocity to each and every one of the other “alternatives” to Anwar that some commentators bandy about.

But Anwar’s troubles are just one example of the terrible things that have been done to Malaysians by their state, which has become far too coercive and unaccountable lately. Look at Kugan, Teoh Beng Hock, Aminulrashid and Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed.

The tragedy is that because the system is utterly rotten, it creates its own Frankensteins — individuals or groups that act with impunity and arrogance, believing that it is in the service of some higher purpose or greater good. They believe their own propaganda or believe that since they are the system, nothing can stop them.

Now it seems like those Frankensteins think that even innocent children are fair game in their quest to retain power. Today it was Izzah’s daughter and Anwar’s granddaughter that was threatened.

My dear readers, what if tomorrow it is one of our own family members, or ourselves?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 7:10 am and is filed under
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The celebration of Buddhist life

By
Stanley Koh
 | May 17, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

Millions across the globe irrespective of race and nationality celebrate Wesak Day today (May 17) in commemoration of Gautama Buddha, popularly known as the “Awakened, or Enlightened, One”, whose renunciation is unprecedented in history.

Born as a prince whose family name is Gautama, Siddhartha lived in Northern India in the 6th century BC, and had all the trappings of a royal and luxurious life. He renounced everything in search of the Truth.

At age of 29, Siddhartha slipped out of the palace after bidding farewell to his wife and son who were asleep. He then roamed the worldly wilderness for six years before attaining spiritual enlightenment.

For more than 2,500 years, millions of faithful adherents continue their life struggle following his “Dharma” (teachings on Universal Law) after Gautama Buddha’s death at the age of 80 at Kusinara, India.

The greatest spiritual truth, Gautama Buddha revealed was the law of karma.

“Karma is an impersonal, natural law that operates in accordance with our actions. It is a law in itself and does not have any law-giver. Karma operates in its own field without the intervention of an external, independent, ruling agent,” wrote the late Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda in his widely read publication, “What Buddhists Believe”.

To many Buddhists, as the late Sri Dhammananda had taught his religious community that karma in simple language of the child, means doing good and goodness will come to you, now and hereafter.

On the other hand, do bad and evil will come to you, now, or hereafter. “In the language of harvest, karma also means sowing good seeds and reaping a good harvest. Sowing bad seeds, you will reap a bad harvest,” he wrote in simplicity.

In the Buddhist scriptures “Anguttara Nikaya”, it also warned that karma should not be misinterpreted to mean “complete determinism”.

It also does not mean everything is a result of acts in previous lives, neither a result willed by a Supreme Creator nor everything arises without reason or cause.

But in reality, the Law of Karma is indeed unimaginably complex.

Righteous way of life

Robert E Svoboda who studied under Aghori Vimalananda for many years and who has written a book on the law of karma, contented that the complexity has “cowed the greatest of scholars, loses some of its ability to dismay when viewed through the prism of surrender”.

“Aghora”, literally means “unagitated”, teaches “aghoris” (its practitioners) to focus and intensify their craving for reality until they learn how to transcend all that galls (the ghora) in life.

“Then no internal or external stimulus, however ordinarily “agitating,” will be able to interrupt or interfere with their one-pointed guzzling of the nectar of being,” Svoboda wrote on his spiritual training experience.

The Buddhists may interpret the Aghora’s way as the eight-fold path, or the “Middle-Path”, the righteous way of life in harmony to the law of karma.

The three-pillars of the middle way, governing morality (right speech, right action, right livelihood), mental culture (right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration) and wisdom (right understanding and right thoughts).

Since the human race is not created by a fake accident, there must be a life plan of evolution. Being a multi-dimensional creature, the human race is subjected like all physical things, definite laws of the universe or cosmic plan.

A human being comprises the physical, mental and spiritual aspects that must then be subjected to different laws of operatives.

According to Gautama’s spiritual discovery, there are five orders or processes of natural laws which operate in the physical and mental worlds.

They are utu niyama (seasonal laws), bija niyama (biological laws), karma niyama (karmic law relating to moral causation), dharma niyama (natural phenomenon) and citta niyama (psychological laws).

In Hinduism, Lord Krishna once declared in the Shrimad Bhagavata, “Karma is the guru: nay, it is the Supreme Lord”.

It is indeed the simple rule that every physical or mental action produces a reaction which will be harvested by the doer according to its time of karmic manifestation.

Being Man above all Man

It is thus wise for Buddhists to remind themselves that they are humans on a spiritual path or spiritual beings on a human path.

The law of karma is part of the cosmic law and unlike human-made laws of which the extra-terrestrials from the Plejarens (from the Lyra-Vega Planetary system) once commented, “94 per cent of human-made laws are simply barbaric and go against the Universal Creational Laws.”

If the Law of Karma is the “guru”, then the Chinese idiom offers some wisdom to us: “chi de ku zhong ku, fang weir en shang ren”.

“Only those able to eat the bitter of the bitter (experiences in life) can become the Man above all Man”.

As the Aghori Vimalananda had said, and taking a leaf of advice from him: “It is always better to live with reality, because otherwise, without fail, reality will come to live with you”.

It is better to realise the Law of Karma will catch up with you, and hence, it is wise to live according to the harmony of this law.

Perhaps, this is the best piece of advice to Buddhists on this special occasion.

Stanley Koh is a former monk.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 12:43 pm and is filed under
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The coalition of the moderates and inter-civilisational understanding

Najib Razak

The Malaysian Insider

May 17, 2011

MAY 17 — Let me first thank the Rt Hon Jack Straw for his kind words of introduction; Dr Farhan Nizami, a respected scholar, whom I have known for many years; and all of the representatives from the academia, business and diplomatic communities who are present here today.

I am immensely pleased to join you as a guest of Oxford University, where earlier this afternoon I had the chance to meet some very talented young students and to visit the future OCIS building, an inspirational environment, which blends Islamic and Malay traditions with your own rich Oxford heritage.

It is an enormous honour to be here in the renowned Sheldonian Theatre, which has echoed with the words of so many luminaries over the years. Every year, dozens of Malaysians travel to Oxford to study, finding a home away from home in the Oxford University Malaysia Club. The Khazanah-OCIS Merdeka Scholarship, established in 2006 to mark the 50th anniversary of Malaysian independence, has boosted the numbers.

And with the Malaysian Securities Commission and OCIS now collaborating on the study of emerging issues in Islamic finance, the bonds between our two countries will be further strengthened.

Ladies and Gentlemen, diversity, dialogue and peaceful co-existence are important themes in Islam. In the holy Quran, Allah SWT expounds that, the very reason He creates human beings into distinct nations and tribes is as a blessing so that humanity may embrace and celebrate their diversity. When then did Islam and extremism become synonymous? When then did perpetrators of hate and terror hijack the religion of peace and compassion? How did acts of extremism by a few minorities of Muslims come to be seen as a reflection of Islam and its followers? Such vile misrepresentations are a source of great anguish to me and to the vast majority of Muslims.

When four young men headed south from Yorkshire one morning in July, six years ago, maybe they thought the home-made bombs they carried in their backpacks made them “real Muslims”. Maybe they thought that by blowing themselves up, they were acting in accordance with the will of Allah, that they were following the teachings of the Quran. How wrong they were.

I would like to emphatically state that those who strap explosives on their bodies and blow themselves up are not martyrs. They do not represent Islam. Unknowingly, they are misguided into committing a grievous sin. So too, all those who preach hate and stoke the fire of intolerance in leading to this most blasphemous act, they too are as guilty as the perpetrators.

Our heart goes out to their victims who are innocent, defenceless civilians going about their daily life. Islam never condones such a vile act. Neither is it part of the teachings of Islam.

In fact, Islam abhors suicide; as stated clearly in the Holy Quran, Chapter 2 verse 195 which reads: “do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction”. Therefore, suicide is impermissible under any circumstances.

Life in Islam is a sacred trust from the Almighty whose fate shall be determined by His will alone. It is pertinent to note that under the five higher objectives of Islamic law or “maqasid syariah”, the first and foremost concern is the protection and preservation of life.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A world free from terrorism is possible. It is not beyond our reach. It needs men and women of goodwill among the faithful of all creeds; it requires a vanguard of the moderates, it demands us to stop being a silent majority and to start reflecting the courage of our conviction.

We must address the underlying causes of global violence. Merely going after specific individuals, dismantling their organisations, disrupting their finances and discrediting their ideologies is far from enough. We must be able to differentiate between the symptoms and the root causes. Only then, can we achieve a lasting solution.

It would be too easy to say that the solution to Islamic extremism is simply for more Muslims to speak up and to speak out. Yes, it is our responsibility, but it is not ours alone. Just as Muslims need to make their voices heard, so do the Christians, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Hindus and the atheists who are sickened by intolerance, violence and terror and need to make their voices heard. We need to hear the concerted voices from moderates in all countries and from all walks of life. And when we do, the prize of peace is there for all to see.

But while one man standing in the road is a nuisance, a mere distraction, 10 men standing together are far harder to ignore. And if those 10 become 100, a thousand, a million, a billion even, they become a force so big, so strong and so united in their common cause that those who espouse hatred will face a very simple choice.

They can join us, or they can remain where they are and be crushed by the force of our collective will.

So it is for people who cherish moderation, dignity and justice everywhere to stand firm, and stand proud, to dissipate the pull of terror and to deny those at the margins a foothold in the middle ground ensuring that frustrations, wherever they are felt, are heeded and that voices, wherever they speak out, are heard.

Quite simply, we cannot allow this moment to be overtaken by extremists, with those who shout loudest gaining the most.

That is why we are all here this evening to foster not a clash of civilisations but to further an understanding, and perhaps even a celebration of our difference and, at the same time, of everything we share. Modernisation and moderation must go hand in hand. Our dialogue must continue.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to relate the Malaysian experience. Providence and history has endowed us with a nation-state that epitomises the very essence of diversity. Malaysia is blessed not only with ethnic diversity but also of culture, language and religion. Since independence in 1957, with the exception of the May 13 tragedy, Malaysians have lived in relative peace and stability.

In Malaysia, Islam is synonymous with moderation, inclusiveness and good governance. Sixty per cent of Malaysians are Muslims, the other 40 per cent profess a variety of faiths i.e. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and others. Although the Malaysian Constitution provides for Islam as the religion of the Federation, it protects the right of all Malaysians to practise their religion in peace and harmony.

In light of this diversity, national unity continues to be the overriding objective. Since assuming the office of prime minister in April 2009, I have continued to make this overarching goal the top priority of my administration through the guiding philosophy of 1 Malaysia, emphasising People First, Performance Now.

In managing our plurality, we have decided on integration as opposed to assimilation. Malaysians accept their diversity. We do not merely tolerate each other but we also embrace and celebrate. By leveraging the robustness and dynamism of our diversity, we have created a foundation for our national resilience.

In the short span of 50 years, Malaysians have managed to transform from a low-income agricultural economy dependent on a few commodities into a diversified modern industrial upper middle-income nation. The United Nations Development Programme currently classifies Malaysia as a high Human Development Index nation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Islam is practised as a way of life in Malaysia. The government advocates a path of Wasatiyah or justly balanced moderation whether in formulating and executing domestic policies or in conducting international relations. Let me put this in perspective so that there will be no room for confusion or misinterpretation.

I would like to stress that the principle of moderation is not new in Islam. Wasatiyah, is a recurring theme in the Quran. Verse 143 Chapter 2 states:

“We have made you into a community that is justly balanced.”

The Quran goes further that with moderation, there must be justice, and justice presupposes knowledge and freedom. It is therefore important to remember that education, coupled with democratic principles of freedom, allows us to choose what is good and virtuous. It is only logical that moderates choose a path that is true and right. Moderates must defend and promote these ideals. What is false or misleading should be rejected and expunged.

Moderation is also advocated in Christianity. If I may quote from the Bible, Philippians Chapter 4 verse 5 which says: “Let your moderation be known unto all men.”

This essentially calls for all Christians to live their daily lives in moderation and not do anything in excess. Judaism also calls for the middle road. The Torah teaches that moderation in life and etiquette, in character and traits, as well as in one’s lifestyle is a way of life in the truest sense of Jewish customs. In Taoism, the principle of moderation is considered a critical component of one’s personal development and forms part of the three pillars of its teaching.

There is no such thing as a liberal Islam or an extremist Islam, a conservative Islam or an enlightened Islam, a jihadist Islam or an appeasing Islam, a modern Islam or a medieval Islam. There is only Islam, a complete way of life. Being moderate cannot in any way be equated to a wimp, unprincipled, weak or appeasing.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In following the best Islamic tradition, Malaysia shall not waver from supporting what is right and just notwithstanding whether the cause is championed by the Islamic world or beyond. We shall not retreat in the defence of the weak and the oppressed whatever their creed or colour.

We will not be silenced from speaking the truth.

We are now all too aware of the dangers of terrorism and violent extremism. From the 9/11 attacks, to the Madrid and Bali bombings, to the destruction caused here in London, many live in continuous fear of losing their lives at any given moment.

As chapters of the history of terrorism and extreme violence are still being written, its plot pivots around a single question — why do people take such extreme measures to the extent of taking another’s life or even their own? I am sure that many here are aware of some of the more common factors that lead people to commit such atrocities.

It has often been cited that lack of economic development and education has led some people to turn to extreme measures like terrorism. In other cases, it is despair and a sense of utter hopelessness. Humiliation is another wellspring. While most have acknowledged these factors, if we observe more carefully, we will find that some terrorists come from well-off families and are very much educated.

In most cases, it is a combination of these factors that terrorism continues to persist. For them, terrorism is the pursuit of political goals through other means. They also hide behind the mask of religion in pursuit of their goals. Some really believe that other religions and civilisations represent the enemy and that there is no place for peaceful co-existence.

For them, the world is a zero-sum game where one side can win only at the expense of the other. They propagate this to get others to fight and die for their cause. Thus, in a peculiar way, the role of religion has ironically increased the scale and lethality of the terrorist threat considerably.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Terrorism and extremism are serious challenges. Overcoming them requires clear thinking based on an objective assessment of the situation. One real and symbolic cause looming large as a rallying cry for global extremism is the unresolved Middle East problem, the plight of the Palestinian people. It has haunted the global conscience for far too long. Every peace-loving nation which seeks a better world must work towards an everlasting resolution based on the principles of a viable two-state solution and equitable justice for all involved.

Malaysia unequivocally supports the struggle of the Palestinian people for an independent, sovereign and viable homeland of their own under the umbrella of the United Nations Security Council resolutions. The world owes the Palestinian people a debt of honour; the people of Palestine have suffered for far too long. The Palestinian people have been expelled from their land, their homes destroyed before their very eyes; they have been humiliated and subjugated while the world watched.

Oppressed and denied their most fundamental right to life and liberty with dignity and hope have led to tragic and heart-wrenching consequences. It is time to put real action in place of grandstanding and mere rhetoric.

In supporting the Palestinian and other righteous causes, Malaysia will not support violence against non-combatants, civilians, women, children, the aged and infirm. In short, those who cannot defend themselves whatever the justification. Some argue that desperation has led to unorthodox methods of warfare. To them I would urge to heed to principle of Islam that the end never justifies the means.

That is why at the United Nations in September last year, I called for a Global Movement of the Moderates that would see government, intellectuals, religious scholars and business leaders across the world take a united stand. For it is the spirit of Wasatiyah moderation or balance that must now prevail all around the globe.

There is no doubt that the scale and speed of the events unfolding across the Arab world in recent months has at times felt almost overwhelming. But amidst the chaos and the confusion we should not lose sight of the fact that these countries and peoples now face a fateful choice the choice between extremism and intolerance that closes in to fill the void and a peaceful, democratic moderation that will grant them more freedom of expression, not less.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the words of Samuel Johnson, society cannot subsist “but by reciprocal concessions”, and that is how modern, multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia not only subsists but develops and grows. Far from encouraging “different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream” Malaysia’s integration and inclusivity has always been the key formula for success.

But if my stance is idealistic, it is hard-headedly realistic. Many great Islamic scholars have been concerned with how Islam with its religious, cultural, political, ethical and economic world view can help solve some of the biggest challenges we face today. These are questions that interest me how moderation can solve the problem of extremism but also, in more unexpected ways, how it can help us through the global economic crisis.

It is no coincidence that institutions working to Islamic principles survived the worst of the economic crisis. Islamic finance puts the public good ahead of individual gain. And it is perhaps worthy to note that an Islamic bank would not have been permitted to spend and lend so much more money than it actually possessed.

The Islamic world is already showing that it can be an economic force.

Malaysia is the world leader in Islamic finance. Malaysia is also the world leader in the issuance of sukuk or Islamic bonds with 60 per cent of it originating from Malaysia.

The great potential of Islamic finance is not hard to see. There are more than one and a half billion Muslims living in countries around the world. There are more than 400 Islamic banks in over 50 countries, including right here in the United Kingdom.

In this regard, I believe we should look closely at how the structures of Islamic finance can support the new global economic architecture that is emerging. Indeed, in place of excess Islamic finance offers moderation and transparency. In place of greed, Islamic finance offers fairness.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Moderation is not an alien concept to mankind. Neither is it only theoretical in nature. It is a real living principle that can be gleaned from the exemplary conduct of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that after years of being persecuted, harassed and oppressed by the pagan Quraishites, he started his reign of Mecca later, with dignity, forgiveness and compassion.

Moderation can also be seen from the conduct of Nelson Mandela who after being incarcerated for 27 years, 18 of those spent in an eight-by-eight-foot cell, allowed only one letter and one visitor every six months. After he was released and when asked by journalist Sir David Frost “how is it that you got through 28 years, you were wrongly incarcerated, and you’re not bitter?”, Mandela answered, “David, I would like to be bitter, but there is no time to be bitter. There is work to be done”.

In his inaugural address as President in 1994, Nelson Mandela eloquently put forth the ringing clarion call:

“Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves.”

It is testimony to his sense of moderation and his leadership that there was no bloody retribution in South Africa for all the evils and injustices perpetrated against the black majority during the apartheid regime.

Again, moderation was manifested in the works of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of non-violent struggle, who freed a nation through his faith in the inherent goodness of man.

Moderation is also reflected in the struggle of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. In his dream for a more equal America, he appealed to its highest ideals of using non-violent means following in the footsteps of Gandhi rather than debasing his struggle by stooping to the low of his opponents.

In the case of the United Kingdom, cast your mind back, if you will, to the darker days in Northern Ireland. In the wake of the Good Friday Agreement, extremists on both sides of the sectarian divide tried to plunge the country back into violence. But the massed ranks of the moderates, from both the nationalist and loyalist communities, stood up as one and uttered with a single voice a firm, resounding “no”:

No, they did not want to be cast back into the shadow of the bullet and the bomb.

No, they were not prepared to sacrifice the new prosperity that came with peace.

No, they would not let the vicious actions of a few dictate life for the many.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Edmund Burke, the philosopher, was quoted to have said, all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Our choice is clear. Come together in action for a future of justice, freedom, hope, compassion and goodwill for our children or it will be replaced by a future of injustice, tyranny, hopelessness, cruelty and hate. Because the real divide is not between East and West or between the developed and developing worlds or even between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is between moderates and extremists of all religions. Together, let us embrace moderation as the best course of action and for the best way forward.

Thank you.

* Full text of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s speech at the Oxford Islamic Centre, United Kingdom entitled “The Coalition of the Moderates and Inter-civilisational Understanding” on May 16, 2011.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, 5:34 pm and is filed under
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10 days in May (15)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
:-

Will Cabinet 2day endorse Najib’s call 4Global Movement of Moderates n launch Msian Movement of Moderates? Or is it only 4int publicity?

1st agenda of Msian Movement of Moderates: Save Msia from Utusan “Christian Msia” extremism/bigotry by rallying moderates from all faiths

How many BNMinisters qualified 2join MsianMovementofModerates (MMoM)?Hw mny BNMinisters r extremists,genuine moderates or just opportunists?

Will Hishamuddin qualify 2b member of MMoM w his Keris-wielding, support of cow-head stomping n condoning Utusan “Christian Msia” bogey?

Wil Muhyiddin of Malay 1st Msian 2nd qualified to be member of MMoM? Are moderates in BN cabinet ready to stand up n b counted?

Let moderates of PR-BN unite against extremists ala Utusan. If BN dare not, PR may initiate MMoM campaign

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 11:40 am and is filed under
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nation building
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10 days in May (16)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
:-

Utterly incensed by Shafie’s outrageous defence MACC re TeohBengHock death – “Focus on Teoh death, not MACC clangers” http://bit.ly/loWqsV

Is Shafie attorney for 29mil Msians or 4MACC? Is he attorney 4justice/truth? Y ignore MACC blunders which can b telltale signs of crime?

Shafie said “hallmark question” whthr TBH’s death is suicide or not.What abt “hallmark Q” TBH was murdered or not? Y did Shafie rule it out?

RCI misused by MACC 2exculpate MACC, incriminate DAP or contend TBH suicide.Who gave orders 2MACC 2gun 4Sgor PR govt result in TBH death?

RCI shd re-open public hearing into areas not covered so far – nebulous political forces behind MACC investigations resulting in TBH death.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 9:20 pm and is filed under
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1Care outpatient scheme – middlemen didahulukan?

Joint letter by
Drs Ong, Haniffah & Palaniappan
 | Apr 19, 11

Malaysiakini

The government is introducing a new financing scheme for primary care (1Care for 1Malaysia) by forming a private company/corporation to act as an insurance company and managed-care organisation (MCO). We believe this company will:

i) collect funds from all working adults and employers

ii) pay for all primary care expenses ie. for outpatient visit, test and medication at both private and government clinics

In theory this scheme will save consumers from having to pay out-of-pocket for their primary care and thus protect them from excessive healthcare expenses. In reality the new company may become a middle man profiting from patients and their caregivers, with the result that healthcare costs go up, standard of treatment may drop and the public is burdened with a new healthcare tax.

We foresee these problems may arise:

i) Doctors will be paid an annual fee to look after a designated number of patients on their list. This fee is for medical consultation and service only, excludes drugs and tests, and is fixed annually.

If the needed medical attention exceeds the capitation amount, patients have to pay out-of-pocket. At the same time, doctors can continue seeing other fully paying patients.

The experience world-wide is that a fixed capitation fee per patient will lead to inadequate and under-treatment since physicians tend to conserve resources to prevent financial loss. Although patients do not directly pay for their treatment, they are still indirectly paying since a portion of their income will automatically be deducted and given to the insurance company running this program. Instead of spending only for their healthcare, patients are actually contributing to finance the operation of a private insurance corporation

ii) To qualify for the scheme, doctors may have to buy computers and programs from a designated supplier. Doctors also may have to pay an educational provider who will then certify them fit to enter and continue in the scheme. The educational provider may have a monopoly on assessment. No other form of present activity such as journal reading, conference attendance or presentation, will be considered appropriately educational for participation in this scheme.

This appears to be a business model guaranteeing profit for the computer/program seller and the body providing education/certification of doctors.

iii) Patients do not pay for drugs, which will be prescribed by doctors only from a standard list, and can also be dispensed at participating designated pharmacies. Clinics and pharmacies will then collect payment from the insurance corporation. Patient treatment will be limited to only these approved drugs, and any other drugs used will be paid fully by the patient out-of-pocket.

Patients need not pay, but quality of treatment will drop since range of drugs available is limited. There is a monopoly in deciding which drugs get onto the approved list and profit will be guaranteed for the company supplying and manufacturing these drugs.

iv) Patients will be registered with a particular doctor, and treatment must be only from this doctor. If patient chooses to see another primary care doctor, or if specialist treatment or hospitalisation is needed, patients will again pay out-of-pocket.

Patients can no longer seek a different primary care doctor, even if they travel to another town or if the initial treatment is ineffective. Since the scheme does not cover specialist and hospital costs which are far higher than primary care charges, patients may actually end up paying large out-of-pocket fees despite contributing to the new insuring company.

v) Hospitalisation cost actually accounts for the bulk of a country’s medical expenditure. In Malaysia, in 2008, the government is responsible for 78 percent of total hospital beds in the country and accounts for 74 percent of total admissions.

Yet the government spends only 44 percent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country; private hospitals see only 26 percent of total admissions, yet use up 56 percent of total healthcare spending. Under-funding and excessive work has led to unsatisfactory patient service in government hospitals, forcing patients to seek attention from private healthcare. If efficiency and service in the government hospitals improve, patients will not have to seek treatment from the expensive private sector.

The government must improve service in their hospitals. If government hospitals can cater effectively to patient needs, the private hospitals will be forced to lower prices to compete and attract patients, as has happened in Singapore.

A national healthcare financing scheme that increases investment in public hospitals will thus automatically lead to a lowering of fees in the private hospitals. This will then greatly reduce total healthcare spending for the whole country since hospitalisation accounts for the bulk of healthcare expenses.

To seriously reduce national healthcare spending, the government must develop a financing scheme to increase public hospital investment and improve its service. How can the setting up of a private corporation to act as an insurance company cum MCO reduce overall health spending? Have not hospital bills in the private sector escalated with increasing health insurance and middle-man MCOs?

In no other country in the world has the government started a financing scheme for outpatient clinics before dealing with the more expensive and more important problem of hospitalisation cost.

Suspicion is thus raised that this scheme may be to benefit a few private companies at the expense of patients and their medical caregivers. When healthcare expenses go up, everyone suffers.

Workers take home a smaller income since an increasing portion of the salary will be deducted, while business costs will rise since employers will also be forced to contribute to the operation of the private insuring company.

Details of the 1Care scheme have not been fully revealed but we list above our concerns and urge the government to engage all parties, including patients and the public, to respond to valid questions.

The poor must not end up the big loser as we saw recently when the Private Healthcare Act was used to close down charity dialysis centres. It is our duty as responsible citizens to try to look after the sick irrespective of income level. Since the government derives its revenue from all tax-payers, it must not seek to profit from its activities, but develop a system to protect the health of all, especially those unable to pay for their own needs.

This is a joint letter by Dr Ong Hean Teik and Dr Haji Haniffah b Haji Abdul Gafoor, former presidents of PMPS (Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society), and Dr SP Palaniappan, former chairman of MMA (Penang branch).

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 10:30 am and is filed under
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Anwar to lead even if jailed, says Guan Eng

By
Clara Chooi
 | May 18, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng declared today that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will remain as Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) opposition Leader in Parliament even if he is jailed for sodomy.

Lim said the PR leadership have agreed that Anwar will hold on to the post “as long as he is still an MP” and until all legal avenues are exhausted.

“There is no replacement of opposition leader. Definitely no replacement. As long as he is an MP, he will not be replaced,” he told reporters after attending the launch of the George Town Festival 2011 at the Lot 10 shopping centre here this morning.

Lim pointed out that even if Anwar is jailed for sodomy, the PKR de facto leader would still have the opportunity to appeal his conviction.

“He does not necessarily lose his MP seat just because he is jailed. Like me, when I went to jail, I was still an MP. I was an MP until my pardon was resolved.

“So even if you go to jail, you can still appeal and then request for a pardon. I was an MP for six to nine months while in jail until my request for pardon was exhausted,” he said.

Lim claimed this has already been agreed on by the PR leadership.

“You can take it from me… read my lips. It is also from everyone in PR; that, I can announce, I can state this. Anything else, I cannot,” he said.

Lim refused to respond when asked if the PR leadership had any contingency plans for the pact should Anwar fail to win his appeal.

“We will announce when the time comes,” he said, and declined to say if the pact’s leaders had ever discussed the possibility.

The Penang chief minister, however, stressed that the pact will remain strong, even if Anwar is incarcerated.

“We will not break up. Whether the outcome is positive or negative,” he said.

Any rumours of a possible split in the pact, he claimed, were merely the result of “fallacies” promoted by Barisan Nasional-owned media.

“PR’s relationship will remain strong and we will continue to persevere in our efforts to bring reforms to Malaysia,” he said.

Anwar is presently facing a possible conviction for sodomy, the second in his political career, after he was called on Monday to enter his defence on a charge of sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan three years ago.

This is the second time in 13 years the former deputy prime minister has to defend against a sodomy charge.

He is charged under section 377B of the Penal Code and can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.

He has denied the charge, describing it as “evil, frivolous lies by those in power”, when it was read out to him. The trial began 18 months after Anwar was charged in court in August 2008.

In 1998, he had been charged with sodomy and corruption after being sacked from the Cabinet, and was later convicted and jailed for both offences.

He was freed in September 2004 and later resurrected his political career by winning back his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2008, which had been held in the interim by his wife.

He earlier led the loose pact of PKR, the DAP and PAS to a historic sweep of five states and 82 parliamentary seats in Election 2008.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 1:44 pm and is filed under
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Case for English-medium schools

By
Lan Boon Leong
 | May 17, 2011

The Sun

THE United Nations in its various declarations and conventions has continually affirmed the universal rights of minorities, including indigenous people, to an education where the medium of instruction is their mother tongue.

Mother tongue is usually narrowly defined as the language of one’s ethnic group. A wider definition of mother tongue, according to the Oxford dictionary for example, is the language that one first learns to speak as a child – in other words, one’s first language. In this broader sense, a person could have more than one mother tongue and the ethnic language may not even be a mother tongue.

Our present education system caters for minorities but only those whose mother tongue is either Mandarin or Tamil through national-type schools.

Not catered for, among others, is a growing minority of Malaysians – of diverse ethnic backgrounds – whose mother tongue or first language is English.

This linguistic minority has the same right as all other minorities, including the indigenous people, to an education in their mother tongue in a national-type school. They should not have to compromise and attend a national or national-type school where the medium of instruction is not English.

Children who begin their schooling in a language which is not their mother tongue face two simultaneous challenges: learn a new language and learn in the new language.

Those who cannot cope with the former will obviously not be able to cope with the latter. How can the poor child understand what is taught if the child has difficulty understanding the language of instruction.

Inability to understand what is taught leads to a loss of not only interest in learning but also self-confidence as a learner. Disadvantaged by the language of instruction, even smart kids eventually drop out of school.

It is therefore not surprising that numerous studies have confirmed children learn best if the medium of instruction is their mother tongue (Paper commissioned for U, Jessica Ball, 2010).

These children perform better academically, and they have lower dropout rates and higher self-esteem than their counterparts who learn solely in a language which is not their mother tongue.

Moreover, once they have achieved academic proficiency, particularly literacy skills, in their mother tongue, these children tend to achieve higher proficiency in the official or national language, which is taught as a subject, than their counterparts who learn exclusively in the official language.

The government’s conviction that science and mathematics “need to be taught in a language easily understood by students” led to the reversal of the PPSMI policy of teaching and learning the two subjects in English. The reversal means that the two subjects, like all other subjects, will be taught solely in Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and solely in Mandarin or Tamil in national-type schools.

One of the reasons cited by the government for its conviction was: “Unesco studies showed that it would be easier for students to learn in their mother tongue at the early stage of education”.

If the government believes science and mathematics are best learned in the mother tongue, surely it must also believe the same is true for all other subjects.

So when will we have English-medium national-type schools, where Malaysian children from diverse ethnic backgrounds learn in their mother tongue and learn the national language together?

Parents who are in favour of English-medium national-type schools should vote for them on the webpage http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NKRJVDH which I have set up. Please tell other parents you know to vote too. Your votes will further strengthen the case for such schools. I plan to report the results in my next column.

* Dr Lan Boon Leong is an associate professor at the Monash University Sunway Campus. He thinks and dreams solely in English.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 10:27 am and is filed under
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Cops release Bidayuh villagers suspected of arson

By
Keruah Usit
 | May 18, 11

Malaysiakini

Five Bidayuh defenders of Native Customary Rights (NCR) to land were released today after being initially suspected of committing arson at a logging camp in Tebedu, Sarawak.

The camp is owned by Alliance Bahagia, a logging contractor employed by the state-run Sarawak Foundation.

Papai Anak Atin, Barak Anak Kolol and Mani Anak Marin of Kampung Temang Mura, Karia Anak Daruh of Kampung Patah and Peter Anak Laiong of Kampung Mawang were arrested in Tebedu last Friday and taken to Kuching, around 90 minutes’ drive away.

They emerged from a police van at the Central Police Station at noon that day, and were met by their lawyers See Chee How (left) and Desmond Kho, as well as land rights activist and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association secretary-general Nicholas Mujah, and a small group of Bidayuh supporters.

Despite some shoving by a police guard, the detainees smiled and saluted the crowd with their thumbs up.

The five were then held separately in four different police stations. This may have been a pre-emptive move, so that large groups of villagers would not assemble to show support.

The detainees’ lawyers related that the investigating officer, named only as Azlan, had said the five were “thought to be involved” in the torching of dormitories, bulldozers and tractors at the logging camp on May 9. There were no injuries.

Police had responded urgently to a report lodged by camp manager Chen Teck Soon, who claimed the damage had cost Alliance Bahagia RM5 million. None of the five were named in the police report, according to the lawyers and Sarawakian political blog Hornbill Unleashed.

However, the villagers are known to be members of a joint village action committee formed to defend the communities’ NCR to land and forests.

Azlan is said to have claimed that photographs and video footage taken at the villagers’ recent blockade across Alliance Bahagia’s access road – but not at the site of the fire – had revealed that “at least one of the five had participated” in the blockade. Police made no arrest at the logging camp on the day of the blaze.

According to the local police chief, police had been outnumbered by villagers present at the site and the situation had been tense.

The subsequent hasty police action, with five arrests three days after the fire, contrasted sharply with the authorities’ failure to respond to numerous police reports filed by the local communities against Alliance Bahagia, denouncing the loggers’ intrusion into their NCR land.

A sixth villager, Bisa Anak Duda, had been arrested on May 15 but was also freed today.

“They were all released unconditionally by the Magistrate’s Court in Kuching this morning, after the prosecution told the court that no charge was to be brought against any of them,” said See.

“The villagers were taken to court as the remand period expired this morning. A large crowd of family members and village folk working in Kuching turned up to show their support.”

‘Valuable timber extracted’

For almost a year, Alliance Bahagia has been extracting valuable timber from a vast concession spanning 4,125 hectares. The concession had been awarded to the Sarawak Foundation by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

But according to Tebedu locals, this deal was struck without the knowledge of more than 10 villages, all of them relying on the land and forests for their survival.

The Sarawak Foundation is helmed by Adenan Satem, Taib’s (left in photo) information minister and former brother-in-law. Empiang Jabu, wife of Taib’s deputy chief minister Alfred Jabu, sits on the board of trustees. The foundation’s publicly declared aims are to provide education scholarships for Sarawakians.

According to whistleblower website Sarawak Report, local Bidayuh villagers claim that Alliance Bahagia has been removing prized belian or ironwood, a protected species, from their communal NCR land.

An indigenous rights activist noted wryly that the Bidayuh villagers do not appear to be a protected species.

The villagers’ representatives had appealed to the federal and state governments, as well as their state assemblyperson Michael Manyin and MP Richard Riot, to stop the logging.

They argued that the company’s logging and construction of its access road had polluted their water. However, the villagers say they have been stone-walled.

See, a noted human rights lawyer and recently elected PKR state assembly representative for Batu Lintang in Kuching, pointed out that “any dispute or confrontation could have been avoided if the police and the relevant authorities had looked into the complaints and taken the necessary action”.

He said the villagers’ action committees are discussing a lawsuit against Alliance Bahagia and the state government, to defend their ancestral land. This would add to the enormous caseload of more than 200 outstanding NCR court actions against the Sarawak government.

The lawsuits claim that widespread land takeovers by loggers, oil palm estates and hydroelectric dams, backed by the Taib administration, are illegal and unconstitutional.

Regardless of the release of the six Bidayuh villagers today, it appears certain that emotive NCR land issues will continue to cause further heated confrontations between villagers, loggers and the state government.

KERUAH USIT is a human rights activist – ‘anak Sarawak, bangsa Malaysia’. This weekly column is an effort to provide a voice for marginalised Malaysians. Keruah Usit can be contacted at
[email protected]

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 4:13 pm and is filed under
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DAP: Remove IPP subsidies first

By
Yow Hong Chieh
 | May 18, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 – The Najib administration should first cut billion-ringgit subsidies for independent power producers (IPPs) rather than burden the people with subsidy cuts on essential items, DAP has said.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the government would only spur inflation by removing the diesel super subsidy before cutting “big opium” gas subsidies worth RM19 billion for IPPs and commercial power sectors.

“Remove the big opium of gas subsidies that can save tens of billions of ringgit annually before dealing with the opiate for the masses that only save hundreds of millions of ringgit,” he said in a statement today.

“Why should the masses and the ordinary 27 million Malaysians be made to bear these price rises when the few big corporate giants in the IPPs do not suffer a single cent in gas subsidies cuts?”

Lim (picture), who is also Penang chief minister, added that the government should also be dealing with “the bigger opium” of RM28 billion lost annually to corruption, estimated to have cost the nation up to US$100 billion (RM303.06 billion) since the 1980s.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that fuel subsidies are “like opium” to the Malaysian economy and will have to be reduced gradually to bring the budget deficit under control.

He said the government had budgeted for fuel subsidies to cost the economy RM11 billion this year but that the estimate had soared to around RM18 billion because of high global crude oil prices.

“Subsidies as a whole are like opium. Once you take opium it’s hard to kick the bad habit. Once you provide subsidies, it’s hard to take them away without some political cost,” he told an audience at Oxford University’s Centre for Islamic Studies.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said similarly said the government must take action against “fat crony companies” like IPPs if it wished to reduce subsidy burden, as last year’s five-in-one subsidy cut would only save RM750 million while a 20 per cent cut in subsidies to IPPs would save RM3.6 billion.

He pointed out that in 2008, based on Petronas’ annual reports, gas subsidies granted to IPPs amounted to RM8.1 billion, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) took RM5.7 billion.

The Petaling Jaya MP said while there was no doubt that the cost would be passed on to consumers, unfair contracts signed between the government the IPPs meant that electricity tariffs should be at least 26 per cent cheaper based on comparison to international rates.

“This means that the heavy subsidies for these IPPs only served to mask the astronomical profits made by these corporations,” Pua said in a statement today.

“Hence the Government’s continued attempt to reduce subsidies for the man-on-the-street and its continued refusal to restructure unfair contracts with concessionaires such as the IPPs proves only that the Government does not prioritize the interest of the people ahead of its profitable cronies.”

He added that he supported Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s call for government to cease further subsidy cuts in light of rising inflation and to increase accountability to help trim the budget deficit.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 1:07 pm and is filed under
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Giving my family a better chance

By
Narayan

May 18, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

MAY 18 — I am Narayan, aged 44, and an Australian today. I was Malaysian till last year. I moved to Australia in February, 2007. My family joined me in Australia in July, 2007.

My children are Australian and my wife is Malaysian… still holding on to a string of hope to maybe retire in Malaysia.

Why did I leave? Am I a “pengkhianat” (traitor)?

Let us examine it from my family’s eyes.

Economy of the middle-class: In Malaysia as a senior manager in various private sector companies and even in a GLC at one time, I would be paying 30 per cent tax. In return, I could keep a reasonable home 45km out of the city, travel by public transport, have a maid, kids in suburban Sekolah Kebangsaan, need insurance to top up for medical costs, and go to a private hospital each time.

My workdays were 10-12  hours a day, plus/minus travel if I want the kids to go to a private school for the obvious reasons of not growing up with bad English and numeracy skills, not to forget low self-esteem, and my wife would need to work. If she was a stay-at-home mom and tutored the kids, we might overcome some of the issues above.

As an Oz middle-class family: My wife works three days a week as a part-time Montessori teacher, in total nine hours a week. My work hours are 8-10 hours a day. No maid, we do everything we need for our children and she generally takes them to school and comes back home.

I do occasional school trips and some of the extracurricular activities. I do my own garden. I get out a lot actually and enjoy nature a lot. So cooking, cleaning, gardening are not a chore, but rather, different activities that are simulating. My work days are not as stressed with less politics within the company. Do my job, go home, help the kids with homework etc. I even do volunteer community work.

I pay 40 per cent tax, which is returned in good schools, clean political system which has zero tolerance for corruption, good medical services.

I lost some things like a maid, and lower tax system, but have cheaper options of spending weekends and holidays with good parks. In fact, most cities in Australia are all like one long big garden, which is very soothing. You need to be here to notice the blood pressure dropping and other faculties rising.

My kids enjoy school; in fact, they dread holidays in general as schooling is holistic and they have special way of drawing parents in. For the taxes we pay, the returns are clear.

I would put it this way: If my kids did not graduate and bummed around, etc, it would not be because there is no opportunity. The system is fair, which brings me to working conditions.

There is a term called Aussie fair go. This is instituted at every level, where the very language people use are non discriminatory. All positions of power, be it in management or government take discrimination seriously.

Back to my days in GLC, well I even had kowtow to my office boy sometimes because he is from the “special race.” Need I say more? Moreover corruption was rampant, it was obvious and it was even a wonder at that time I got sign offs for the project I was doing.

It is important whilst we do work for money, we also must derive satisfaction of working in a good environment and do good work, reap the rewards of the good work.

I worked 18 years before I left Malaysia, studied in some of the so-called premier institutions and supported my own education right up to MBA and other industry certifications. I know what an uphill battle this is and when observing resources being squandered rampantly, I see too much money, the people’s money which should come back to help people who need it, being wasted.

A case in point, when the Johor floods displaced 30,000 people in 2006, the government took over six months to dispense a few hundred ringgit for each person. At the same very time, there was a floral festival in Putrajaya that cost the government RM1 million every week and went on for six months. Where is the priority?

When we in Australia had the Victorian bush fire and the recent Queensland fire, the action from the public and government was swift. Well if it wasn’t, rest assured the Australians would have replaced the government at the very next opportunity.

Same thing with corruption. In Wentworthville, a councillor was booked for receiving A$200. He went to jail for six months and  the entire council was impounded for six months until authorities were sure nobody else was on the take. They went through seven years’ worth of books to ascertain veracity.

A couple months later, Morries Immea lost his job as premier of New South Wales, when the Wollongong council scandal surfaced. It was not the premier’s fault but he had to take the blame as it was during his watch. The point is even though I have only been five years in this country, I am convinced my tax money and others like me is not squandered.

How can I put my family in a country that cannot care for flood victims? The tsunami was another case in point, what happened to the monies collected from the public? How many of the 25 people actually got houses? Has anyone visited Gemas or other Indian communities in rubber estates lately? Check it out. I cite this as it is something I know intimately.

I am sure it is no different in many parts of Malaysia for the Ibans, Senois, Kadazans, and Muruts. In general, the feeling is if you are not Malay, you have no chance. For the Chinese, there is enough private sector support. This may not be true but that is how the message has been driven down.

Any country that does not respect the underclass has a serious possible revolution on its hands.

So, there are many things I can say but this is enough. I have come to the point where even if I need to be a beggar it is better in Sydney than Kuala Lumpur.

Before someone goes accusing me of being a “pengkhianat”, I have contributed by working on a naval project, been on the school alumni board, collected funds and helped across all races; everything a common man with reasonable resources can do to serve my family and community.

I also voted in every election since the age of 21 and encouraged everyone I knew to do the same.

So now I will continue the same actions here where I rate my family’s chances are better. I truly wish Malaysians who stayed back to fight it out and build a better Malaysia all the best.

* Narayan reads The Malaysian Insider.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 6:39 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia slips in economic competitiveness

By
Yow Hong Chieh

May 18, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Malaysia fell six slots from 10th to 16th in a closely-watched international ranking of economic competitiveness despite recent government assurances that it was winning the fight against graft while improving accountability and transparency.

The Institute of Management Development (IMD) 2011 World Competitive Rankings released yesterday also saw Singapore knocked off its perch by this year’s joint leaders Hong Kong and the United States.

Even as the US regained the top spot after losing it for the first time in decades to Singapore last year, Malaysia is now only two places above the spot it occupied two years ago after dropping the most in ranking out of the top 20 countries.

Other countries in the top 10 were Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Canada, Qatar, Australia and Germany. Taiwan, which rose two spots to place sixth this year, was the only other Asian nation in the top 10.

IMD World Competitiveness Centre director Prof Stéphane Garelli said this year’s competitiveness was “more national” and was characterised by re-industrialisation, exports, and a more critical look at delocalisation.

“This trend is triggered by the rise in commodity and transport prices and higher labour costs in emerging economies. National champions are favoured everywhere and borders re-surface again,” he said in a statement on the IMD website.

Malaysia’s drop this year comes despite the Performance Management and Delivery Unit’s (Pemandu) assurance that the government is on track to tackle corruption as well as improve accountability and transparency.

Pemandu has been quick to quote better scores in two other corruption tests — the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy’s (PERC) Asian Intelligence Newsletter and the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report — as a measure of the government’s success in fighting graft.

But opposition lawmakers were quick to accuse the Najib administration of “picking and choosing” favourable surveys for ignoring Malaysia’s lower score in last year’s Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

Malaysia’s CPI score in 2010 was trimmed slightly from 4.5 the year before to 4.4 out of 10, with 10 being the least corrupt, putting the country on par with Namibia and Turkey.

TI explained that the score reflected concerns that the Najib administration lacked the political will to weed out corruption and stressed that steps must be taken to tackle problems with implementation.

Despite government efforts to fight corruption, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency’s (MACC) inability to prosecute “big fish”, lack of progress in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco, inaction by the Attorney-General’s Chambers in the “Lingam tapes” case, and contracts without open tender have continued to haunt public perception.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 7:29 pm and is filed under
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Many wrongs won’t make Ibrahim right

Comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers

‘Why then the moment someone mentioned the volume of azans, the ISA was quickly used against Selangor exco Teresa Kok?’

Nazri: No action against Ibrahim Ali

Phoenix Star 88
: I always thought de facto law minister Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz was one of the better leaders in Umno, but now it seems that even he has started to go with the flow.

If a Christian leader had used the word ‘crusade’ in response to the controversial article in Utusan Malaysia, he would likely be detained under the ISA and people will be hopping mad as if it’s the end of the world.

One-way tolerance and double standards will only lead Malaysia to doom. The fact that Umno flirts with Perkasa although MCA and Gerakan are dead-set against it shows that BN is an even more self-contradictory coalition than Pakatan Rakyat.

Karma
: If everyone starts murdering people and it has became norm, will the government say it is okay? This statement is very dangerous yet ridiculous excuse for siding with Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali.

If Ibrahim Ali condemns the BN government like those in twitters and blogs, will the government would say the same thing – live with it? It sounds like many wrongs made everything right.

Paul Warren
: I can already sense that Umno is losing the plot. They seem to think Malays will naturally come to their side when they have Christians as their antagonists.

Malays today have had exposure to infidels for a very long time and they know a little more about what is contained in the Quran. They are also fully aware that there is the Umno interpretation of things and there is the PAS version of things. They know the good from the bad.

Today, the Malays decide for themselves who is evil. Nazri, you can very well bet there are more Malays who think you are a fool for having said what you are quoted in Malaysiakini than you might imagine or like to know. This will implode on Umno.

Against The Wind
: Nazri’s statement will not only embolden Ibrahim to up the ante but also embolden others to speak up because the “authorities will not touch me – I can say whatever I want”. It is so sad that it has to come to this.

There goes the 1Malaysia concept – what hope is there when a select group can hurt the feelings and sensitiveness of the other races.

Proarte
: Well, I think Nazri’s statement is a blessing in disguise. It basically allows lunatic comments to be regarded as such. Reacting to them would be descending to his level and provocation and give it the legitimacy it does not deserve.

Let Malays learn how evil their leaders are who give succour to such trash like Ibrahim Ali. Umno and Dr Mahathir Mohamad come immediately to mind. Malays are wising up, which makes me hopeful. However, they must not ‘duduk diam’ but openly reject lies, racism and religious bigotry.

Islam has got to stand for something and it is my fervent hope that Malays will realise that Islam has been perverted by politicians in Malaysia including by Anwar Ibrahim and PAS. Malays must discover faith in Allah and the Quran through their own study and reflection.

They should not through laziness and ignorance let everything be decided for them. Malays have lost their historical cultural, civil and religious values through immoral political indoctrination. They must rediscover themselves.

Rayfire
: What else is norm here in Malaysia? Let me see… C4 blow ups? Missing immigration records? Death in police cells? Death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), overpriced (procured) goods for ministries, leaders with big mansions, newspapers and television stations that publish authorised sedition… the list goes right on. Nazri, our nation is so abnormally normal.

KSN
: Now Ibrahim Ali is licensed. He has it – exemption from the laws – and it comes straight from the horse’s mouth. This statement from Nazri is most irresponsible and definitely conveys the wrong message to the country at large.

Bertrand Russell
: Sometimes I wonder why we have ministers who are so biased in a multiracial country like Malaysia. The leaders of Hindraf were imprisoned for telling the country that their community has been marginalised. Now we have a ‘devil’ who has been allowed to say whatever he wants.

It is very idiotic to say that no action will be taken against Perkasa’s Ibrahim over his warning of violence and bloodshed against the minority Chinese Christian community. (It is very clear that he has singled out the Chinese Christians).

Come on Nazri, it is not a level-playing field. Whereas the opposition are punished for voicing out their feelings, Ibrahim Ali is put high upon a pedestal. Stupidity knows no bounds when it comes to our ministers.

Patriot
: Ibrahim Ali has publicly challenged the police to arrest him for his seditious statements and yet the de facto law minister deems it okay. If any opposition MP had said that we should carry on a ‘jihad’ or crusade, he would be thrown into jail or under ISA.

Anonymous_3f3e
: Soon, robbers, snatch thieves, murderers, rapists, etc, can’t be charged as well since the crimes they commit is becoming the norm in Malaysia. We all know that Ibrahim Ali will get scot-free, but the reasons given by this minister still took us by surprise.

Lim Chong Leong
: Come on, the moment the tables are turned, and if it were Christians calling for a crusade, the ISA would come into play, and you would probably say that the line has to be drawn somewhere and that although the ISA is draconian, it is justified in dealing with Christian extremism.

Why the moment someone mentioned the volume of azans, the ISA was quickly used against Selangor senior cabinet member Teresa Kok? Don’t treat us as fools.

Aquinas
: Let’s be careful not to stoop to the levels of these thuggish politicians. We, the people, hold the moral high ground. They are egging us on to be like them so that there will be grounds for riots and pandemonium. We are better than that.

CHKS
: If Ibrahim Ali’s statement is nothing, then please stop all these nonsense about the Christians conspiracy.

Or has Nazri ‘purposely’ set up a trap to encourage people to make seditious statements, stir up racial and religious tension, so that with the stroke of a pen, execute Operation Lallang II?

Onyourtoes
: Nazri, please tabulate all the statements and ranting you consider extreme and racist both by Perkasa, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other Umno ministers as well as those from the opposition.

Let everybody sees for himself/herself who has been extreme and racist in this country. Let everybody assess for himself/herself who has been bent on creating trouble.

KLeo
: I can just picture Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and police chief Ismail Omar slapping their foreheads saying, “Damn, Nazri is so brilliant! Why didn’t we think of this before?

“Crimes are like, oh my God, so rampant these days and, seeing that we can’t possibly deal with all of it, we should just go to mamak stalls and goyang kaki!”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 10:24 am and is filed under
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