When Courage’s Other Name Was “Cory”

By Martin Jalleh

You will be remembered as the bespectacled ever-smiling woman in a blazing yellow dress, whose fire within burned brightest in the dark night of a brutal dictatorship that made your nation bleed to near despair – it was (in your very own words) “a country that has lost its faith in its future”.

You captured their imagination by your conviction and reignited their courage after being crushed and cowed by a cruel dictatorship fro 20 years. It was a nation that was crudely known as having “60 million cowards and one son-of-a-bitch”.

You inspired your “people without a soul” (Jose Rizal) with your selfless and single-minded spirit and stirred in their hearts a simple message of hope that resulted in a synergy called “People Power” that would eventually spread to other nations and served as a model of non-violence.

You were a beacon who told the people not to curse the darkness that befell the nation but to light a candle. You were their leading light which reflected the Beatitudes. Your buoyant calm in the midst of the fiercest storm was something to behold and so was your bold refusal to bow to brazen injustice or buckle under the barrel of a gun.

You bore what you would later call “great suffering” when your husband Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. who was “a president in the making” was kept behind bars under martial law for seven years and seven months. Little did you know then that you were being baptized into politics!

Tragedy struck when Ninoy returned to the Philippines after a three-year exile in the US , fully aware of the risks that he was taking. His conscience would not allow him to remain safe and financially secure in the US . He was shot in the back of his head by soldiers escorting him out of the plane.

Generations will remember your grief and yet dignified composure as you stood next to the open coffin of your husband still in his bloodstained white leisure suit. It would have been tempting to give up then. But Ninoy must not die in vain. You would allow divine grace to take you beyond his grave!

A court released all those implicated in Ninoy’s murder. It was not vengeance that you sought but “only justice, not only for Ninoy but for the suffering Filipino people”. A reluctant politician, you rose in rare courage and you accepted a role thrust upon you.

With the people’s reassuring support, you ran against the ruthless ruler in the snap presidential elections of 1986. You had declared: “Now, (people) were standing tall, like Ninoy, as he went down the stairs to his death. Better to die (standing) than to go on living on your knees.”

People Power

The dictator derided you as having no (political) experience. You deftly disarmed him: “I concede I cannot match Mr. Marcos when it comes to experience. I admit that I have no experience in lying, stealing, or assassinating political opponents.”

Marcos had also sneered: “She is just a woman. Women should not challenge a man. She teaches her husband – only in the bedroom.” He must have felt like a sure “son-of-a-bitch” when you responded: “May the best woman win!”

You had humbly declared: “The only thing I can really offer the Filipino people is my sincerity”. After 20 years of a treacherous and hypocritical regime, only honesty and decency could bring hope and healing to the land.

Your candidacy had galvanized the politics-shy or even indifferent business community, middle-class, and Catholic Church. It catalysed the unity of the fractious opposition. You were the beloved who gave your people a bond that took them beyond themselves.

Marcos cheated in the elections by bribery, bombs and ballot-rigging. You rejected the results and mustered a mass nonviolent protest – a crusade for freedom and democracy. Motivated by the leaders of the Catholic Church, more than a million people marched on to the streets against Marcos’ minions.

Marcos threatened to mow down the multitude, but they did not flinch nor falter. They formed human chains. Tanks were stopped in their tracks by fearless citizens armed with rosaries and flowers. Soldiers who had mutinied against Marcos were ironically surrounded and protected by human shields.

For four days Manila resounded with the mantra “Cory, Cory, Cory!” Marcos was eventually forced into exile. The world marveled at the miracle of how a “simple housewife” who acted as a moral compass led ordinary citizens, confronted by the biggest battle of their lives, to regain their freedom in a peaceful way!

The whole world saluted you President Corazon Aquino! The people power revolution that you had initiated would later serve as an inspiration to similar non-violent uprisings such as Czechoslovakia’s “Velvet Revolution”, Lebanon ’s “Cedar Revolt” and Ukraine ’s “Orange Revolution”.

You restored the country’s democratic institutions, rewrote the country’s constitution, reinstated the bicameral Congress (abolished by Marcos in 1973), renewed emphasis on civil liberties, released all political dissidents and sought reconciliatory and peace talks with insurgent groups.

Sincerity & Simplicity

You were criticised as being inept, indecisive and ineffectual especially in social and economic reforms. Perhaps you were more aware than anyone else of the shortcomings of your presidency but with faith and fortitude you stood firm and faithful to what you had begun at Philippine’s “finest hour”.

The Magsaysay citation puts it so aptly: “Cory Aquino could not possibly fulfill all the expectations she awakened. No one knew this better than she. (Nonetheless), she managed to restore her country’s democratic institutions and its good name in the community of nations…She governed with integrity…”

You had to contend with arrogant and oppressive landowners (your own family was part of the landowning elite), ambitious and aggressive politicians who jockeyed for power, agitation from pressure groups and attempted bloody coups (seven in six years, one during which your son was wounded). But you survived it all!

You willingly paid the price for the sincerity you had offered to your people. At the end of your presidency you would reflectively declare: “I realised that I could have made things easier for myself if I had done the popular things rather than the painful but better ones in the long run.”

You, who did not crave for power, would seek to relinquish power when the time came! Unlike your predecessor or your successors, you left no hints nor had you any hideous plans to hang on to power. You stepped down from the presidency as graciously as you ascended it.

You would continue to be intensely involved whenever democracy was imperiled. Your inner guiding light, indomitable spirit and incorruptibility continued to be an inspiration to the Filipino whom you stood alongside with in every street demonstration. You were and shall remain an icon of democracy.

You turned down the power, possessions, pomp and protocol which Marcos and others were possessed by and obsessed with. You returned to a modest bungalow surrounded by homes more affluent than yours. You declined a State funeral. Your simplicity prevailed even at the hour of death.

Coming from a wealthy and powerful family, you broke through and connected with the common people (whom you described as “the real saviours of this country”) by your simplicity. Indeed as they bade you farewell, the people gave you the “power” and acknowledgement which no State could accord – their respect and honour!

Coming from a wealthy and powerful family, you broke through and connected with the common people (whom you described as “the real savors of this country”) by your simplicity. Indeed as they bade you farewell, the people gave you the power and acknowledgement which no State could accord – their respect and honour!

Goodbye Cory – dutiful wife, devoted mother, daring widow, woman of deep spirituality, dedicated citizen and dignified President of the Philippines. Alas, you epitomised the biblical “valiant woman” whose “value is beyond the price of pearls” (Book of Proverbs).

May the memory of you live on in us as we continue courageously on the road less travelled..

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 20 August 2009, 1:10 pm and is filed under
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Can a statutory declaration clear Rohaizat of the “personal misconduct” resulting in his being struck off the lawyers’ rolls for breach of trust and dishonesty?

Barisan Nasional candidate for Permatang Pasir by-election Rohaizat Othman  has said that he would heed Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s advice to make a statutory declaration to protect himself from accusations made by various quarters.

The two questions Rohaizat must answer are:

Whether he was found guilty of “serious misconduct” including “breach of trust, dishonesty, shown gross disregard” of the client’s (Penang Small Rubber Plantation Holders’ Co-operative Society) interests “tantamount to a conduct unbefitting that of an advocate and solicitor which conduct as such brings the legal profession into disrepute” and struck off the Roll of Advocates and Solicitors by the Chairman of the Advocates and Solictors Disciplinary  Board Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad Sulaiman on 7th March 2008, which was upheld by the High Court; and

Whether a statutory declaration can clear Rohaizat of his “personal conduct” resulting in his being struck off the lawyers’ rolls?

The first question is one of fact, for which Rohaizat cannot deny even though the Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan had called Rohaizat a hero for assuming responsibility for the improprieties of a former partner, Yusri Ishak. Yusri has since surfaced to point out that it was Rohaizat who was personally responsible for the misappropriation of the client’s monies – for which there has been no rebuttal from Rohaizat.

If the answer to the second question is “yes”, it will have far-reaching implications. Does this mean that the Commissioners of Oath in the country will be having a roaring business as there would be long queues of people who would want to  make statutory declarations that they were not guilty of offences they had been convicted.

If the answer to the second question is “no”, then what is the worth of such a statutory declaration?

Tengku Razaleigh has summed it up best with his questions:

“Is Umno so short of people that we have to find a lawyer disbarred for financial dishonesty to stand?  Has financial misconduct become so common among us that we no longer see it as a factor in a candidate’s suitability?”

                This entry was posted on Friday, 21 August 2009, 11:02 am and is filed under
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First thing Najib should do on his return from his first 8-day leave after become PM is to save the soul of his premiership and do what no Umno leader dare to contemplate – withdraw Rohaizat as Umno candidate in by-election

The first thing Datuk Seri Najib Razak should do on his return from his first eight-day leave after becoming Prime Minister is to save the soul of his premiership and do what no Umno leader had dared to contemplate – withdraw Rohaizat Othman as their candidate in the Permatang Pasir by-election.

There can be no dispute that Rohaizat had not been honest and truthful with the Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships and the 20,290 voters of Permatang Pasir about his being struck off the lawyers’ rolls.

How can a government which claims to give top priority to integrity and the fight against corruption and all forms of misuse of power put up as candidate a lawyer who had been struck off the lawyers’ rolls by the Bar Council for “breach of trust, dishonesty, shown gross disregard of client’s interests” which was “tantamount to a conduct unbefitting that of an advocate and solicitor which conduct as such brings the legal profession into disrepute”?

I am quoting the findings of the Disciplinary Committee of the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board and it is on these findings that the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board Chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad issued an order on 7th March 2008 striking off Rohaizat from the lawyers’s roll. The Disciplinary Board’s decision was upheld by the High Court as Rohaizat’s appeal was rejected.

The issue in the by-election is now bigger than the personal issue of the suitability of Rohaizat’s candidature as it now concerns the integrity of all the Barisan Nasional leaders and component parties whether they are prepared to take a principled stand on what is right – that a person who is struck off the lawyers’ rolls for breach of trust, dishonesty and gross neglect of his professional duties is not fit to be considered to be a candidate for any elective office, let alone being elected as State Assemblyman or Member of Parliament.

It also affects the soul of the Najib premiership and administration.

Umno leaders, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President, have done themselves, Umno and BN a great disservice in trying to defend the indefensible over Rohaizat’s candidature.

I lean towards believing that the Umno leadership were not fully aware of the full details of Rohaizat being struck off the lawyers’ rolls, but once the details are out in the public domain, they should have taken a public stand to disown Rohaizat and ask him to withdraw as a candidate.

Instead, Muhyiddin added insult to injury in blind and unthinking defence of Rohaizat, including make a most astounding statement as reported by Malaysiakini in its report “
DPM now jumps to Rohaizat’s defence
” on August 19, 2009 where he “slammed” the Bar Council for having “a hidden agenda” in clarifying Rohaizat’s status, even casting aspersion on the Bar Council’s integrity in making the uncalled-for suggestion  that the Bar Council should be non-partisan in taking disciplinary actions.

But what takes the cake is this quote from Muhyiddin in the Malaysiakini report:

Saying that Rohaizat had explained to him that he was struck off from the rolls when he could not attend the disciplinary hearing on his case last March, Muhyiddin said:

“This is not a case of breach of trust…it’s just that his licence had been revoked.”

What simple-mindedness, as if a lawyer could be struck off the rolls over mundane and inconsequential matters like blurping, oversleeping or unpunctuality.

And how come despite days after the nomination, it just does not sink in to Muhyiddin that it was precisely because of breach of trust that Rohaizatt was struck off the rolls?

So far only two from Umno have spoken out against Rohaizat’s candidature.

The first is Tengku Razaleigh who asked:

“Is Umno so short of people that we have to find a lawyer disbarred for financial dishonesty to stand? Has financial misconduct become so common among us that we no longer see it as a factor in a candidate’s suitability?”

The second is former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir who has likened Rohaisat’s candidature to Barisan Nasional self-sabotage.

Only Najib can now redeem the soul of his premiership, Umno and BN – and there is only one way to do it, by withdrawing Rohaizat as the Umno/BN candidate in the Permatang Pasir by-election.

There are no two ways about it.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2009, 1:14 pm and is filed under
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MACC should explain why it has not started investigations into the corrupt practice of DPM Muhyiddin using RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno division meetings in Sabah

On Monday, July 27 last month, the former third-highest ranking policeman in the nation, former Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director Datuk Ramli Yussoff was acquitted by the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court on a charge of corruptly misusing his position in having used a police Cessna Caravan aircraft in June 2007 to survey two plots of land in Lahad Datuk unrelated to his official duties.

If convicted, Ramli is liable to be jailed between 14 days and 20 years and fined a minimum of RM10,000.

The very next day, officials from the Deputy Public Prosecutors office in Kota Kinabalu filed notice of appeal in the High Court against the ruling of the Sessions Court judge Supang Lian that Ramli had no case to answer as the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

I want to ask the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) why it is practicing double standards as it has not even started investigations into the allegation that Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin had corruptly misused his position in having used RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno division meetings in Sabah last weekend totally unrelated to his official duties.

This came to light when Muhyiddin was involved in an emergency forced landing of a RMAF Nuri helicopter in Tuaran due to bad weather when flying between Kudat and Penampang.

As
reported by Star online
 last Sunday 16th August 2009, Muhyiddin’s entourage took off at about 1.45pm Sunday on the RMAF Nuri from Kudat after officially opening the Umno division meeting there and were heading back to Kota Kinabalu for the Penampang Umno division meeting when the forced landing took place.

If Ramli is indicted for corruptly misusing a police Cessna Caravan aircraft for a purpose totally unrelated to his police duties, why is Muhyiddin spared for similarly misusing a RMAF Nuri helicopter for a purpose totally related to his DPM or even Education Minister’s duties?

Is there one law for the Umno Cabinet Ministers and another law for ordinary people, especially those whom the MACC’s masters in the Umno/Barisan Nasional government want to persecute and victimize?

In the case of Muhyiddin’s abuse of his position in using RMAF Nuri helicopter for Umno party purposes, an official report had already been lodged.

MACC should explain why it has not started investigations into the corrupt practice of  DPM Muhyiddin using RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno division meetings in Sabah last weekend  totally unrelated to his official duties.

[Speech at the Pakatan Rakyat Permatang Pasir by-election ceramah at Kg Cross Street, Bukit Mertajam on Friday, 21st August 2009 at 10 pm]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2009, 11:26 am and is filed under
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Pathetic neither Tee Keat nor Tsu Koon dare to dissociate MCA/Gerakan from Umno candidate Rohaizat for not being honest or truthful with BN leadership and Permatang Pasir voters

It is sad and pathetic that neither MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat nor the Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon dare to dissociate the MCA and Gerakan from the Umno candidate for Permatang Pasir by-election Rohaizat Othman for not being honest and truthful with the Barisan Nasional leadership and the 20,290 voters of Permatang Pasir about his being struck off the lawyers’ rolls.

After the political tsunami of the March 8 general elections last year, where Gerakan and MCA received an unprecedented thrashing in the polls, with a total rout in Penang state, Gerakan and MCA leaders promised to learn the lessons from the electoral debacle.

Gerakan and MCA leaders admitted that they were punished for their servile and subservient role in the Barisan Nasional and pledged that henceforth they were not going to be “yes men” and “yes women” to Umno in Barisan Nasional and would speak out strongly, fearlessly and consistently on what is right and wrong in the Barisan Nasional without being afraid of displeasing Umno “Big Brother”.

However, Gerakan and MCA failed miserably in the scandal of the Umno candidate in the Permatang Pasir by-election candidate, putting up a lawyer who had been struck off the lawyers’ rolls by the Bar Council for “breach of trust, dishonesty, shown gross disregard of client’s interests” which was “tantamount to a conduct unbefitting that of an advocate and solicitor which conduct as such brings the legal professional into disrepute”.

If on such a simple, open-and-shut case of what is right and wrong concerning the impropriety of Rohaizat’s candidature, Tsu Koon and Tee Keat dare not speak up honesty and according to their conscience, how can Malaysians expect them to do what is right in bigger issues, whether the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters or the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal?

Let Tee Keat and Tsu Koon declare whether they are in full support of Rohaizat as BN candidate for Permatang Pasir by-election before MCA and Gerakan continue campaigning in the Permatang Pasir by-election.

[Speech (2) at the Pakatan Rakyat Permatang Pasir by-election ceramah at Kg Cross Street, Bukit Mertajam on Friday, 21st August 2009 at 10 pm]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2009, 1:02 pm and is filed under
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The end is near?

By Hussein Hamid

If I am Najib today I will be afraid, very afraid. He lives and works in Putrajaya –surrounded on all sides by Selangor. To all intents and purposes not his kind of State. Immediately to the North is Perak. Big headache and still a grey area. To be avoided at all cost. Penang is a no go area. Kedah too. Perils is so so – better not do anything there that might tip the scales over to the other side. I can go South to Negri Sembilan and Malacca – but if I blink I am going to miss those states. Johor is all clear for now – but  Singapore holds too many past memories for Rosmah to allow me to go there unescorted. Pahang should be my safe haven – but with all the clamoring for projects from the ‘faithful’  -big headache too. And do not remind me about the much-delayed University project. I SAID DO NOT REMIND ME OF IT! In Trengganu there are just digging one hole to cover another. After Patrick Lim I was hoping it was going to get better and then that ‘Another Project of Barisan Nasional” the Stadium decided not to cooperate. Malu nak mengadap Yang Di Pertuan Agong. In as far as Kelantan is concern my lips are sealed. Though much is being done to ‘mend ‘ fences with Tok Guru there has been nothing coming back. The least Tok Guru can do is to work with us for Malay Unity but no can do so far.

I can go to Sabah and Sarawak – but if you got no ammunition to give them – no can talk. And just because they ‘saved’ Barisan in the last election does not mean they can ask for the PM’s post. Melawan tauke lah!

For the first time in his Political life Najib has no one to hide behind. Mahathir was tested before he became PM. He passed. Pak Lah was thrown into the wilderness for years. He survived.

What has Najib been through? Mindef? A walk in the park – it is all take, take, and take. So much to take that even Rosmah got into the act.

Felda? Felda had a massive cash reserve for him to do ‘the right thing’ for the settlers. Try doing the ‘right thing’ without the funds.

The taking of Perak? If he is prepared to associate himself with those three – then Pakatan is better off for it. The next GE will see to it. All we need is patience.

For the first time in his life Najib is on his own. He has to make decisions on his own. Decision that will affect the Nation. Decisions that will determine how long more UMNO will continue to function. He does not have the training to do so.

Look at how he handled Perak. Saiful. And now JJ. With JJ he would rather do something to please JJ then to do the right thing and just put that guy in cold storage. The problem is that JJ has enough dirt on him to be a problem if he does not get his way and become either a Minister or the Ambassador. So like every time that Najib is asked to make choices – he waits and make decision after the facts or he takes the path of least resistance.

People around him who have got so used to being given pocket money for their needs now are wanting a bigger share of the cake now that he is PM. $5000 handouts are no longer enough. They want more.

What will Najib do. He is besieged from all sides. For everyone that gives him advise he is wondering if he is with me or with Muhyiddin”? Is the advice being given to me planted by Mahathir or Muhyiddin. For what end? And always there is that ever threatening cloud burst from Mindef days that will drown him if not properly ‘managed’.

MCA is a done deal. Not only has it lost all credibility with the Chinese community – that RM 10 million ‘donation’ is the coup de grace. What would Najib prefer? A long drawn out demise as MCA slowly but surely falls on its own sword or allow Chuah Soi Lek to stage a ‘coup detart’ and hope for the best?

MIC? Well the drama is in its final act. Enough of chair throwing and gangster tactics. You know you just want Samy Vellu to go. And he will. He will and soon to.

So now back to himself. Najib is faced with a situation in which he cannot be expected to handle because what he has gone through in life has not prepared him for it. So I say to Pakatan Rakyat give Najib enough rope. Do not throw him a life line by trying any thing. The US of A had Bush. We have Najib. Some advise for Pakatan: Jangan ganggu musuh anda ketika dia melalkukan kesilapan…sounds better in Bahasa lah.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 22 August 2009, 11:23 am and is filed under
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The 42 MACC Panel members should hold emergency meetings to find solution to the MACC’s crisis of confidence

The newly-created Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) could not have a more disastrous beginning.

Instead of fulfilling its promise to be even better than Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), in just a matter of months of its operation MACC s is now regarded by Malaysians as even worse than the previous Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) it replaced.

The 42 MACC Panel members of the five oversight committees are all distinguished and honourable Malaysians, but they seem to have forgotten why they have been appointed as custodians of public confidence in the MACC.

Before MACC deviate even further from its statutory objectives and the 42 MACC members stray away from the raison d’etre for their existence and appointments, they should recall the injunction bestowed on them at the official launching of the MACC and the five MACC oversight committees by the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a glittering ceremony at the Putra World Trade Centre  on February 24, 2009 attended by about 2,000 guests including ministers, chief ministers, mentris besar, ambassadors as well as representatives from MACC counterparts from Fiji, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

It would be most tragic if the MACC and the 42 Panel members of the five MACC oversight committees have very short memory and can only remember the grand launching ceremony but lost sight of Abdullah’s message.

To refresh the memory of MACC officers, as well as the 42 Panel members of the five MACC oversight committees, let me remind them of  what  Abdullah said – the important message was that they must ensure “that the MACC does not end up as just pretty window-dressing of its predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency”.

Abdullah admitted:  “The government realises that the perception of the ACA as not being independent, of being a toothless tiger, of practising selective enforcement, being late in taking action and not being professional in its investigations has damaged its image and credibility.”

Abdullah said the MACC would raise the hopes and expectations of the public for a more effective and transparent anti-corruption enforcement body.

He said the MACC must be able to stand up to scrutiny and that the government’s moves to improve the structure and capacity of the enforcement body would not necessarily guarantee its success.

He said:  “Much of the success or failure of the MACC will be due to the conduct of its officers in carrying out their duties.

“While I have always stressed the importance of the MACC in carrying out its duties without fear or favour, it is also paramount for the MACC to be, and seen to be, fair and professional in all its dealings.”

It was Abdullah’s hope that all the MaCC  officers would always be beyond reproach, both in the professional as well as their personal capacities.

The MACC officers and the 42 Panel Members of the five MACC oversight committees should search their conscience why they have failed so miserably in their tasks when Abdullah’s launching ceremony in February  was meant to mark “the beginning of a very important chapter in Malaysia’s agenda to strengthen integrity and fight corruption”.

As a result, MACC is now facing an even worse crisis of confidence than that ever faced by the ACA in its 41 years of existence from 1967 to 2008.

The 42 Panel members of the five MACC oversight committees should convene emergency meetings to address the MACC’s grave crisis of confidence, zeroing in particular on the following issues:

The failure of MACC to demonstrate that it is more effective, independent and professional in its anti-corruption task, especially in its failure to produce any significant results in the major scandals which had created waves in the country in the past few months, in particular the worst Umno money politics in Umno history, the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and the various mega-scandals involving Barisan Nasional leaders;

The mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at MACC headquarters on July 16, 2009 and the anonymous letter which surfaced during Teoh’s inquest purportedly written  by MACC officers containing serious allegations including collusion between a Barisan Nasional leader and a top ranking Selangor MACC officer;

MACC’s all-out war against Pakatan Rakyat instead of an all-out war against corruption; and

The failure of MACC to match Abdullah’s expectations and even worse, plunging to a worse crisis of confidence than at anytime experienced by ACA in its 41-year history.

In his February speech, Abdullah specifically entrusted the 42 members of the five MACC advisory committees “to use their powers to uphold truth and justice and weed out corruption”.

Have the 42 MACC Panel members discharged their duties to the MACC and to the nation in the past few months?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2009, 1:57 pm and is filed under
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The art of blaming thy neighbours

By
Tunku Abdul Aziz

Malaysia is blessed in that there is a law for every situation; you name it and we have it all.

Tragically, the mountains of statutes have done nothing more than to earn for us an international reputation of being an overregulated and an underenforced country, with the usual, predictable consequences.

In short, we have already become a first rate country run, generally speaking, by a third rate one race-dominated public service and who have, by their general attitude to their work, made it impossible for Malaysia to be taken seriously.

We have, at the same time become a reactive, finger-pointing society whenever the inevitable happens. Both on a personal as well as at institutional level, we have developed a propensity for “blame thy neighbour” into a fine art form.

The tragedy is that we Malays have made a virtue of  “if it be the will of God” while forgetting, somewhat disingenuously, that God, in His infinite wisdom, “helps those who help themselves”.

It is not unlike some Malays practising polygamy and claiming their rights under Islam while ignoring studiously the very strict injunctions and responsibility that their religion demands of such an undertaking.

I am also reminded of Malays enriching themselves by corrupt means and claiming that it is “redzeki yang diberi oleh Tuhan” or loosely translated “God’s bountiful blessings” and who are they, they claim, or we, for that matter, to question His wisdom and beneficence?

What chance do we ordinary corruption-despising mortals have against those who believe, quite sincerely, that God is really on their side?

Yielding to what we want to believe to be “the inevitable” comes easily to us Malays because it takes responsibility out of our hands, and as a people, we are predisposed to shift responsibility and apportion blame to others.

We find great emotional and psychological comfort that when something goes wrong; we can attribute it all to an act of God, or God’s will.

We are, from birth, intoned to accept the inevitable even though we, through our criminal negligence, inefficiency or plain corrupt practice, allow what is largely preventable.

It is a fact that the vast majority of corruption cases involve Malays in government service and those who contribute to the corruption statistics are generally drawn from the lower ranks of the public service, the underpaid foot soldiers, and never the top dogs.

The Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission, our custodian of all things good and wholesome in public behaviour may want, when they are tired of harassing the Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen, to tell the world why Federal ministers have generally been left in peace to feather their own nests? And those reports made by the public against them?

To be fair to my own people, we Malays are not congenitally morally or ethically deficient. It would be wrong to suggest that we invented corruption.

The blame must be placed squarely on the improper implementation of the New Economic Policy, which has proven to be a real curse to the poor ordinary Malays.

They find themselves suddenly wielding power over their fellow citizens, and that puts an enormous temptation in their way.

Malays like others with power to abuse as they like can resist most things, but not temptation.

They also know that they operate in a corruption-friendly environment and can get away, literally, with murder.

In the 52 years under the same government, no powerful minister or top bureaucrat for that matter, however corrupt, has ever been put behind bars. This led Tun Dr Mahathir, when he was prime minister, to suggest somewhat cynically as is his trademark that Malaysian ministers were clean.

Using his logic, we must have the cleanest government in the world. We believe him at our peril. The next TI Corruption Perceptions Index will be an interesting barometer of the degree of corruption of Najib and his merry band.

Corruption is not just about money changing hands. Using a government helicopter for party work is abuse of power. That, in plain language, is bending the rules.

Don’t say you have not been warned. – mysinchew.com

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2009, 1:52 pm and is filed under
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The dead cannot cry……

By
Hussein Hamid

Death

The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them. Lois McMaster Bujold,

When am I going to die? To those that I will leave behind what comfort is there for them in my going? I do not know. But for Teoh Beng Hock those that he left behind can find some comfort in his passing for in death he has achieved what he would find it hard to achieve in living.

They can take comfort because in his dying he has opened our eyes to the unfairness of how our own Government treats its own people. He has opened our heart to allow all Malaysian to stand together to mourn his passing and by so doing we have become stronger and more committed to being one people – all Malaysian.

He has made us promised each other that this time his death will make that difference that will turn Pakatan Rakyat’s struggle from one that was confined to the states of Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan to being a National one – san borders san race san religion. We are one united against a Government that has failed Teoh Beng Hock. That has failed us.

One should not leave this earth with unfinished business. The dead cannot cry out for justice, it is the duty of the living to do so for them. And so my friends we have work to do for Teoh Beng Hock. We begin now.

In any way that we can we must show our anger, our defiance and our disgust at how our Government has chosen to conduct itself.

We have asked them that they no longer continue to govern us as if we are deaf, mute and blind to their excesses. They choose to ignore this.

We ask that they cease and desist from harassing Pakatan Rakyat State Government from doing their duty in the States they were elected to govern. They chose instead to unleash all the instruments of state, The Police, MACC and others at their disposal to constantly harras our elected representative from doing their job.

We ask that they stop cronyism and nepotisms and jobs for the boys. They chose to throw this back in our face by appointing a CJ that certainly does not deserve to be put there and an ambassador to the US that will sooner if not later, be an embarrassment to out nation. In all the things that they do, vested interest and a need to promote their cause rather then that of the nation, has taken precedence.

This Government choses to taunts and provoke our every rational refrain. They will do so at their own costs. We give notice of our intent to no longer ask them to do what we would rather have them do by peaceful means. We will now demand that they do these things that we want them to do. Their failure to do so will be met with our resolve to change, by any means at our disposal, what we cannot do by peaceful means.

The people have the numbers. We have the strength and we have the will to do the necessary. Let not TBH death be one more number of a death in custody. Let his death be the catalyst for change. For a better life for us all. For the removal of UMNO/Barisan from any semblance of leadership of the Malaysian People. Only when that is done is Teoh Beng Hock’s work done. Then he can rest in Peace.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 23 August 2009, 1:48 pm and is filed under
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Five reasons why voters of Permatang Pasir must vote for PAS/PR candidate Hassan Man and reject Umno/BN candidate Rohaizat Othman

There are five important reasons why the 20,290 voters of Permatang Pasir, regardless of race or religion, should vote for the Pas/Pakatan Rakyat candidate Mohd Salleh Man and reject the Umno/Barisan Nasional candidate Rohaizat Othman in the by-election polling tomorrow.

They are:

•	Firstly, declare what all Malaysians know but no Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC or Barisan Nasional component party Minister or leader dare to say – that Rohaizat is not fit to be candidate for any elective office because of his being struck off the lawyers’ rolls under the Legal Profession Act for breach of trust, dishonesty and unprofessional conduct “unbefitting” a lawyer which “brings the legal profession into disrepute”.  The media conference statement by his former law firm partner, Yusri Isahak, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday has done nothing to cleanse his “tainted” reputation or made  academic the question: “How can a person not honest enough to be a lawyer be trusted to be a candidate for elective office, let alone to be elected as a State Assemblyman.

•	Secondly, demonstrate that public shock and dismay over the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at MACC Headquarters on July 16, 2009 are the response of all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, as it concerns the value of a human life and public confidence in the efficiency, commitment, independence, integrity and professionalism of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to declare war on corruption instead of declaring war on Pakatan Rakyat;

•	Thirdly, articulate the concerns of all right-thinking Malaysians across the race, religion and political divide for a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the causes and circumstances of the mysterious death of Teoh at the MACC precincts, which can only be done through a Royal Commission of Inquiry and not a mere inquest – and public concerns about Teoh’s death and the MACC have been  further underlined by the appearance of a mysterious letter purportedly written  by MACC officers containing serious allegations including collusion between a Barisan Nasional leader and a top ranking Selangor MACC officer;

•	Fourthly, expose the hypocrisy of the Barisan Nasional by-election theme of “Anak Emas” for Permatang Pasir when the only “Anak Emas” is none other than Rohaisat Othman and to demand fair, just and progressive national policies by the Barisan Nasional Federal Government for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or territory, to be treated as “Anak Emas” of the country.

•	Fifthly, give true meaning to the 1Malaysia slogan of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the 52nd National Day theme on August 31  by deploring in the strongest possible terms the  divisive, irresponsible and dangerous politics of double-speak and  lies exploiting  the race and religious cards to polarize Malaysians by  playing a different tune to different voter ethnic groups – as alleging that Parliamentary Opposition Leader and PKR chief, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is “a traitor to the Malay race” and that PAS has sold out Islam to DAP for the Malay audience while accusing DAP of being a stooge of PAS among the Chinese electorate.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 August 2009, 12:41 pm and is filed under
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LKS on ISA

by
Citizen Journalist Chan Lilian

This is for my own personal reflections. Please view the above video and hear what YB Lim shared about his detention under the ISA twice.

So, in my entire life, I never even dream that I will one day sit down, one-to-one, and talk to the man himself. He is like that iconic symbol of the rocket. The white shirt, the shiny hair, square jaw, square shoulder and the glasses. I remember following his ceramahs in the 80s and early 90s but was never impressed because at that time, I was working in a company which DAP used as part of their election campaign. You know lah, I was faithful to my employer and when DAP kept accusing my bosses of things, I surely defend my company, right? Corruption (to me back then) is but a mere ‘kamcheng’ I scratch your balls, you scratch my back kind of ‘friendship’.

Then, the only two times I saw Lim Kit Siang in person was at the Air Putih service centre opening. I was too nervous to even ask to have a photo taken with me. My hubby got impatient holding the camera, with me who whispered, “Aiyerrr..I dare not ask, but I want to take picture with him, how lah…sked….dunno he can scold me or not…..” So, my hubby the impatient man loud loud said, “Go lah…” and LKS heard and turned around so I boh pien had to meekly stood next to him and snap one photo.

Then, the second time was at LKS’s house because my sifu from Mkini asked me to go video. It was urgent. That was one nervous situation because I didn’t even know why I have to go to LKS’s house to cover what story.

For the ISA interview, actually, I was supposed to arrange for one of the CJ in KL to interview LKS. But somehow, he was in Penang so he gave me the green light. I tell you, I was damn nervous. Breakfast also tak lalu already cos tension betul. I got the appointment in the morning and already psyche myself ‘I think I can, I think I can, I think I can’. But lucky CM also gave me the appointment. So, after I went to Komtar, I feel less nervous already. Yet, I skipped lunch because I was still veerrrryyyy kancheong.

But it turned out that inspite of the very strict, very stern and very DAP facade, LKS in person is a very friendly. Phew…..Mrs. Lim is very sweet. She excused herself when I was interviewing YB Lim. We don’t usually see Mrs. Lim in the limelight but YB Lim paid tribute to her that the women are the bravest. Hmmm…one day I must get an exclusive interview with her because she must be one very extraordinary woman to went through so many trials and tribulations being Mrs. Lim and also the mother of the CM.

I am so thankful for the honour and opportunity to meet and talk to the man himself. After the interview, I cabut fast fast after a drink of water. Wuah…then only I realised I am very hungry and went to makan before I go home.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 24 August 2009, 4:21 pm and is filed under
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Don’t twist and turn – MACC Chief Commissioner Ahmad Said should state whether MACC has interrogated Muhyiddin for his corrupt practice of using RMAF Nuri helicopter

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan should stop twisting and turning and give a straight and simple answer whether the MACC has interrogated Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his corrupt practice of using RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno division meetings in Sabah totally unrelated to his official duties as Deputy Prime Minister.

Both Sin Chew and Nanyang Siang today reported the MACC’s response to my earlier query whether it had started investigations into the allegation of
Muhyiddin abusing his powers as DPM in using RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno division meetings in Sabah
 two weekends ago.

However, I was surprised to be contact by a reporter of another newspaper who asked for my reaction to Ahmad Said’s statement today that I should lodge a report on the Muhyiddin case if I have any evidence for the MACC on this case.

This is a most ridiculous statement from Ahmad Said. Hasn’t Ahmad Said read the reports in all the mainstream media about Muhyiddin abusing his powers in flying the RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Sabah Umno divisions two Sundays ago which were totally unrelated to his official duties?

If Ahmad Said does not have these media reports, I am prepared to send them to him!

All these media reports are sufficient evidence for the MACC to open investigations and to interrogate Muhyiddin for his abuse of power, if the MACC is an efficient, independent and professional commission committed to eradicating  corruption and all forms of abuses of power without fear or favour,  even  as in this case where it involved the No. 2 in the country.

Malaysians will not easily forget Muhyiddin’s immediate reaction of utter contempt when informed that an official report had been lodged against him for abuse of powers in flying the RMAF Nuri helicopter for Umno rather than official purposes – where Muhyiddin declared that he was just not “scared” at all of the report or the MACC.

This is all the more reason why Malaysians want to know from Ahmad Said whether the MACC has started investigation into Muhyiddin and whether the Deputy Prime Minister had been interrogated by the MACC.

Or do we have a situation where it is not DPM Muhyiddin who is “scared” but MACC Chief Commissioner Ahmad Said who is “scared” to say anything about the issue, let alone even to breathe any word as to whether the MACC had interrogated Muhyiddin?

Ahmad Said could give no credible excuse for not daring to answer as to whether MACC had interrogated Muhyiddin over the RMAF Nuri helicopter abuse of power while  MACC officers had never been reticent about actions against Pakatan Rakyat leaders and elected representatives.

In February, even before the official launching of the MACC by the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Ahmad Said made the totally uncalled for announcement that the MACC had “good and strong evidence” that Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had misused his powers over the now infamous “Car and Cows” allegation!

The MACC’s “Car and Cows” escapade, causing the MACC to acquire the derogatory and derisory term of “Malaysian Agency for Car and Cows”, was in fact Ahmad Said’s first show of hand that the MACC had deviated from its statutory objective to declare an all-out war against corruption and its being  hijacked to become the catspaw of Umno/Barisan Nasional to declare an all-out war against the Pakatan Rakyat.

The MACC has repeatedly proven that it could see corruption involving Pakatan Rakyat where none exists, as in the case of Khalid over the MACC’s “Car and Cows” caper while failing to see corruption which is evident to all Malaysians, as in the case of Muhyiddin’s abuse of power in flying the RMAF Nuri helicopter for Umno division meetings which were completely unrelated to his official functions as DPM.

Let me ask Ahmad Said whether he would concede publicly that it is a clear case of abuse of power by a Deputy Prime Minister to fly RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno divisional meetings completely unrelated to his duties as DPM?

If this is not an abuse of power by Muhyiddin, can Ahmad Said explain why the  MACC prosecuted former third-highest ranking policeman in the nation, former Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director Datuk Ramli Yussoff on a charge of corruptly misusing his position in having used a police Cessna Caravan aircraft in June 2007 to survey two plots of land in Lahad Datuk unrelated to his official duties?

Furthermore, why is the MACC appealing to the High Court against the decision of the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court which acquitted Ramli of the charge?

Isn’t this case the best proof of the double standards of MACC and that it has failed the test of efficiency, independence, integrity and professionalism of an anti-corruption commission acting without fear or favour to eradicate corruption from whatever quarter?

Malaysians would want to know whether the 42 MACC Panel members of the five oversight committees are demanding accountability and integrity from Ahmad Said for the MACC’s double standards in the handling of the Muhyiddin and Ramli cases or whether the five oversight committees are just “paper tigers” which should just be dissolved  for being utterly ineffective and impotent to exercise the necessary checks-and-balance to prevent abuses of power by MACC?

If Ahmad Said cannot answer why he is applying double standards in the two cases involving Muhyiddin and Ramli, this will be the first question to be posed in Parliament when it convenes for the budget session after the Hari Raya Puasa holidays.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 3:54 pm and is filed under
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Permatang Pasir By-election Results

Off results EC – PAS 9618 BN 5067 Maj 4551.Voting turnout 73.1% compared 83% last yr. Pas got 65.33% of votes cast compared to 65.5% last yr

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 19:52

Secondly, they want MACC 2stop being catspaw of Umno/BN n to declare all out war agnst corruption instead of declaring war agnst PR

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 19:12

PP voters spoken loud on behalf of 27 mil Malaysians –  they want Royal Commission Inquiry into causes/circumstances of TeohBengHock’s death

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 19:09

PP byelection result great blow 2Najib 4flawed 1Malaysia slogan, flawed campaign by Muhyiddin, flawed candidate n flawed BN coalition.

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 7:03 PM

Great PAS/PR win in PP reaffirmation people’s support 4PR in particular PR Penang State Govt must be no complacency great chance 2move ahead

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 7:00 PM

A most convincing win for Salleh Man, PAS and PR in Permatang Pasir by-election. Congrats to all, particularly the voters of PP.

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:54 PM

Unofficial final results of Permatang Pasir by-election: majority won by PAS/PR candidate Salleh Man 4,557 votes; securing 9,616 agst 5,059.

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:53 PM

Results from last two schools awaited – Bukit Indera Muda n Tanah Liat

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:48 PM

Unofficial results PAS 7222 BN 3201 Maj 4021

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:35 PM

Sorry Mistake Total votes so far with three schools to go: PAS 5,341 BN 2075. Maj 3,266

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:29 PM

From three stations Sama Gagah  PAS majority 594; Permatang Pauh 523; Kubang Semang 498.  Total majority of 1,615

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:25 PM

Kubang Semang TOTAL PAS 773 BN 275 Maj 498

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:23 PM

Permatang Pauh TOTAL PAS  875 BN 352 Maj 523

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:17 PM

Permatang Pauh (1) PAS 159 BN 75 (2) PAS 236 BN 112

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:15 PM

SamaGagah (4) PAS 321 BN 104 (5) PAS 317 BN 115 TOTAL PAS 1397 BN 803

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:14 PM

Sama Gagah Saluran 1 – PAS 155 BN 87. (2) PAS 302 BN 157 (3) PAS 302 BN131

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 6:12 PM

Finally only 73pc voter turnout @ 5pm close of polling Counting proceeding

Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 5:31 PM

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 6:37 pm and is filed under
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Permatang Pasir by-election result – devastating blow for Najib’s 144 days as Prime Minister

The strong and decisive victory and majority of the PAS and Pakatan Rakyat candidate  Mohd Salleh Man in the  Permatang Pasir by-election in Penang yesterday is a devastating blow to  Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his 144 days as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

It is a powerful reaffirmation of the support of the voters of Permatang Pasir for the Pakatan Rakyat partnership by DAP, PKR and PAS and endorsement of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Penang despite desperate and dangerous  attempts by Umno/Barisan Nasional in  unscrupulously playing racial and religious cards in their old game of “divide-and rule”.

Umno/Barisan Nasional leaders had tried their utmost to turn Permatang Pasir by-election into another Manek Urai where they can claim “victory in defeat” but yesterday’s by-election has proven Manek Urai as an aberration from the momentum for national change set off 18 months ago by the political tsunami of the March 8 general elections last year which saw Umno/Barisan Nasional trounced 7-0 in all the by-elections held in Peninsular Malaysia.

Umno/BN attempts to break Pakatan Rakyat support from all the ethnic groups in the constituency had proved a failure, with Malay voter support remaining intact while Chinese voter support even increased by some 5 per cent, as illustrated by the Kampong Cross Street polling station which has 79.59 % of Chinese voters and saw PAS popular vote increasing from 70.56% in the last general election to 75.77% yesterday – an increase of 5.21% in total votes cast.

The Permatang Pasir by-election result should be serious food for thought for both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat.

For Barisan Nasional, are its leaders prepared to admit that its seventh consecutive by-election defeat in Peninsular Malaysia since the last general election is the result of triple flaws – a flawed candidate, a flawed campaign strategy headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and a flawed 1Malaysia policy proclaimed by Najib on becoming Prime Minister.

Permatang Pasir by-election is the first electoral outing where Umno/Barisan Nasional campaigned on Najib’s 1Malaysia’s slogan. However, the sea of  1Malaysia billboards, buntings and posters which flooded  the constituency could not camouflage or  overcome the hollowness and hypocrisy of the theme with Umno/BN leaders competing with each other  to divide and polarize the voters according to race and religion.

The Permatang Pasir by-election should be a contest and competition as to which coalition best stood for a 1Malaysia objective.

But there was no real contest – as it was Pakatan Rakyat comprising DAP, PKR and PAS which by words and actions represented 1Malaysia while Umno/BN symbolized  the very opposite with their desperado politics of race and religion!

But there are also lessons to be learnt by the Pakatan Rakyat – how the strengths of the multi-racial multi-religious alternative to the Barisan Nasional could be  further leveraged while the weaknesses and strains removed or minimized.

The greatest challenge for the Pakatan Rakyat parties is its ability and capacity  to build on the Permatang Pasir by-election victory in the march to Putrajaya in the next general elections.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 August 2009, 12:04 pm and is filed under
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Social Contract between the Malays and UMNO

By
Hussein Hamid

My friends we are witnessing the slow and messy end of Najib and gang, who for reason best known to themselves, have decided to commit Har-rah-kee-ree in public. Whether this was ordered by a greater authority (ahem…Mahathir?) as a form of punishment or chosen in preference to a dishonourable and certain death at the hands of an enemy (Us and Pakatan Rakyat!!) is anybody’s guess. But this particularly painful act of self- destruction is being acted out now even as I write but it is being done without honor, courage, moral character and etiquette which is an integral part of such an act as practised by the code of Bushido and the discipline of the Samurais of Japan. But then again with those familiar with the ways of UMNO, this lack of finesse is nothing out of the ordinary for UMNO.

Today I want to talk as a Melayu – without the constrains of having to worry about what anybody else in Malaysia will feel. Without having to worry about good manners, politeness and being nice – all the qualities that we Malays are noted for. With that out of the way I will begin.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away as a Melayu I knew this for as a fact. The Chinese were from China. The Indians from India. The others were from where they came from. As a Malay, this is my country. The
Malays control the Army, The Police and all facets of Government. The Chinese only the business and the economy. With the Dasar Ekonomi Baru (NEP) we had twenty over years to catch up with everybody else. Together we (the Malays and UMNO) would slowly but surly claim back our rightful place in our own country which has been taken away from us by the British.

We (the Malays and UMNO) started of well. After the May 13th Riots it could only get better! Education, rural development etc – all the relevant apparatus for the success of the DEB/NEP started to be put in place. Words such as “The Malay Agenda, “Malaysian Social Contract” started to be used with much frequency by UMNO. Business became the ‘buzz word’ in every Malay vocabulary and always that word “Bumiputra” keeps coming up in any discussions we had with the others when talking about business. There was Bank Bumiputra. OUR bank. Pernas was formed to encouraged Malay business. Petronas was there to go head to head with Esso, Mobil, Shell and Caltex. The rapid and very high profile establishment of Petronas Petrol Stations was a source of pride to us Malays.

How do we match the non Malays in population growth? Easy – bring in the Indonesian initially as pendatang asing – to provide the country with much needed cheap labour – then give them PR status – then citizenship.

What about winning elections for the Malays/UMNO? Suffice for me to say with the Election Commission we were able to manipulate the election process for our own gain. The one man one vote principle was conveniently neutralized.

So far so good. So what went wrong? Fast forward to today.

The most significant shift in the equation of the Malay being UMNO and UMNO being Malay is that right from its early days, the “SOCIAL CONTRACT” between the Malays and UMNO has become a means to an end – rather then the end to which we should have all worked towards.

It was the means through which UMNO, not the Malays achieved unheard of richness, sated their greed for all things materials and achieved, during the time of Mahathir, complete dominance over all things Malaysians. Because UMNO had the inclination and the opportunity, this power that they had in their control was used not for good but for evil. UMNO went on a reckless binge of acquiring money, money and more money on the fringe of lunacy. Those whom the Gods wants to destroy, he first makes mad. As a Malay I felt used and there is anger in myself for letting UMNO do this to me and my race.

The Indonesians brought in to bolster the Malay population has now become a social problem because like many Government policies, the pros and the cons of assimilating them into the local population was not thought of in detail. No checks and balances were in place to ensure that they will fit into the Malay scheme of things.

Now I am done talking as a Malay.

That is why today I, as a Malay, am done with UMNO. A lot of Malays are done with UMNO. Without the Malays to support them UMNO is on its way out – bar the time left before the next elections. Will they use what time they have left to regroup and galvanized what they have left to try and turn their fortunes around? Not possible. UMNO has become the sum of what its members and leaders need and want. What they need and want is not compatible with what we need and want  – Justice, freedom and the right to live a decent life. So we will not be spared the spectacle of an UMNO committing Har Rah Kee Ree in public for they know not what they do. When they are almost done, we will be their Kaishaku or assistant, and cut off their head to spare them too much sufferings. Amen.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 August 2009, 11:18 am and is filed under
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Najib Razak
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Will Najib order all Umno/BN leaders to stop dragging MACC into political games?

The call by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri
Najib Razak yesterday that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should not be dragged into political games
 makes history as one which have unanimous support of ordinary Malaysians – except that the targets in the minds of  the overwhelming majority of Malaysians are  completely different from those intended by Najib.

I have no doubt that if a opinion poll is conducted among Malaysians, almost 100 per cent would agree with Najib’s call, except that such an opinion poll would show that the overwhelming majority of easily over 90 per cent regard the Umno/BN government as the culprits responsible for dragging MACC into “political games” and  undermining public confidence in the independence, professionalism and integrity of MACC while only a very small percentage would think like Najib in targeting the Pakatan Rakyat.

Najib said MACC’s credibility must be intact and it must be allowed to carry out its role in fighting graft so the country could be administered efficiently and effectively.

Again, Najib is right, except that he is raising national eye-brows in refusing to admit that the guilty parties are Umno/Barisan Nasional leaders and  is trying to make the Pakatan Rakyat the scapegoat for the MACC’s rapid loss of public confidence.

Najib said: “We should not be quick to accuse or pass judgment against the commission so much so that people start to question its credibility. Leave it out of political games and let the officers do their work.”

It is the Umno/BN and not Pakatan Rakyat who are getting MACC involved in their political games and not allow MACC officers to do their work.

For instance, why is the  MACC declaring war on Pakatan Rakyat instead of  declaring war against corruption if not to suit the political agenda of Umno/BN?

This was why in the past seven months since its establishment, MACC was more interested in playing to the tune of Barisan Nasional’s “political games”  such as the following:

Harassing the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid when the MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said announced in February that the MACC had “good and strong evidence” that Khalid had misused his powers over the now infamous “Car and Cows” allegation!

Took part in the Umno/BN conspiracy in the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, resulting in the toppling of the Perak Pakatan Rakyat state government.

Playing a key role in the next Umno/BN power grab conspiracy in trying to topple  the PR Selangor state governments, targetting PR Exco and State Assemby members allegedly for abuses of power and improprieties in constituency allocations.

As a result, the MACC was only interested in probing allegations of  impropriety of RM2,400 constituency allocation, which resulted in the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at MACC premises on July 16, while showing no interest whatsoever to mega-scandals whether the RM24 million “Istana” Khir Toyo or the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandals.

At the Teoh Beng Hock inquest yesterday, a MACC investigating officer Deputy Superintendent Mohd Anuar Ismail admitted that he had personally lodged a report against Selangor  Pakatan Rakyat Assemblymen for graft on the instruction of his superior officer, the MACC Deputy Director in Selangor Hishamuddin Hashim to initiate MACC investigations.

I find this amazing as the MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said had challenged me to lodge a report against the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for corruptly abusing his powers in flying RMAF Nuri helicopter to officiate Umno divisional meetings  in Sabah completely unrelated to his duties as DPM.

If a MACC investigating officer could be instructed by his MACC superior to lodge a report against Pakatan Rakyat Exco and Assembly members on purported misuse of constituency allocations, why couldn’t the MACC Chief Commissioner instruct the MACC to lodge an official report against Muhyiddin so that MACC could start investigations?

The MACC has made history in forfeiting public confidence in a matter of a few months from its establishment.

Is Najib prepared to stop Umno/BN leaders from stop playing games with MACC and allow it full freedom of operations in accordance with an anti-corruption body with independence, integrity and professionalism to eradicate corruption – including the freedom to lodge a report against the Deputy Prime Minister and interrogate him for abuses of power?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 26 August 2009, 2:49 pm and is filed under
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MACC should produce proof that Teoh Beng Hock had received RM112 “kickback” or it should withdraw and apologise for the allegation defaming the dead

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) bias and prejudice towards DAP and Pakatan rakyat must be deplored in the strongest possible terms.

The most recent evidence of such bias and prejudice was evident from the testimony of MACC investigator DSP Mohd Anuar Ismail at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest yesterday.

Although the coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas had ordered Anuar’s unfair and prejudicial testimony yesterday to be expunged, the damage had been done.

The Star online for instance carried the report with the heading “
Officer claims Teoh was on the take
” which is still accessible just minutes ago. The Sun headline today is: ”
Testimony on alleged kickbacks expunged
”.

Yes, the details of Anuar’s allegations have been alleged but the allegation proper remains, viz: Teoh was corrupt and guilty of “kickbacks”!

In alleging that Beng Hock was “on the take” and had received “kickbacks” MACC had not only defamed the dead but posthumously elevated Teoh’s role from being a witness to a suspect or even a person accused of corruption!

And what is the amount of this corruption money which Teoh is alleged to have received as kickback? An incredible and ridiculous sum of RM112!

MACC is not interested in the RM24 million Istana Khir Toyo or RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandals, but for an alleged RM112 “kickback”, MACC officers are prepared to work through the night and go without sleep.

No wonder public confidence in the efficiency, independence, integrity and professionalism of the MACC is plumbing new depths!

Has the MACC any incontrovertible evidence that Beng Hock was corrupt, being “on the take” and had received RM112 “kickback”?

If so, I challenge MACC to produce them, and if not, MACC should withdraw the RM112 allegation and publicly apologise for defaming the dead, and Anuar should be suspended from office immediately.

Anuar is not interested in helping to find out the truth about the causes and circumstances of Teoh’s mysterious death at the MACC headquarters on July 16 but to add one smear after another defamation on Teoh and Pakatan Rakyat in the MACC war against Pakatan Rakyat, betraying MACC’s statutory objective which was to declare war on corruption!

This is why Malaysians want a Royal Commission of Inquiry as they have so little confidence in an inquest to uncover the actual causes and circumstances of Teoh’s mysterious death at the MACC headquarters.

It is also clear from Anuar’s expunged testimony that the materials he depended upon are very similar to those  which appeared on  the black blog, http://t4tbh.blogspot.com/, which carried postings of lies and falsehoods about MACC investigations and Teoh’s death, all with one purpose to accuse someone from DAP as having murdered Teoh.

I call on the MACC Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan to clarify whether MACC has ventured into the blogosphere in its war against Pakatan Rakyat and state categorically whether MACC has anything to do with this black blog of lies and falsehoods, whether!

If he does not know, has he caused a full investigation to be conducted whether MACC officers are implicated in this black blog?

Today’s press reported the statement by the Selangor Chief Police Officer Datuk
Khalid Abu Bakar that the molotov cocktail attack on a MACC vehicle
 in Klang last week was not related to Teoh’s death.

Last Thursday, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was very quick in making the insinuation that someone from DAP was implicated in the Molotov cocktail attack, saying that it gave some basis to the allegation by Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong that some DAP representatives had links to the underworld.

With the statement  by Selangor CPO, Nazri should withdraw and apologise for his uncalled-for insinuation against the DAP for being implicated in the Molotov attack on the MACC vehicle in Klang.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 August 2009, 3:25 pm and is filed under
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What a 52nd National Day!

From
http://twitter.com/limkitsiang

What a National Day on Monday! Najib’s 1Malaysia gets drubbing in Permatang Pasir. MCA sacks ChuaSoiLek. SamyVellu in MIC. H1N1 – 71 deaths

27th August 2009 07:37 AM

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 27 August 2009, 7:43 am and is filed under
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Call on Police and MACC to make public the number of reports which had been lodged against MACC (previously ACA) officers for abuse of power and use of physical force for past 12 months

At the Teoh Beng Hock Inquest at the Shah Alam Court this morning, the counsel for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Datuk Abdul Razak Musa asked the Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to issue a gag order to stop me from making  unfair criticisms of the MACC arising from inquest proceedings.

He pointed out that I was present at the inquest and that I had criticized the MACC over what transpired at the inquest.

This was objected by the Gobind Singh Deo, counsel for Teoh’s family members and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, counsel for the Selangor State Government who argued that the inquest does not have such unbridled powers.

The Coroner declined to issue such a gag order.

At the inquest today, Gobind said he had at least a police report about physical violence and torture by MACC officers during interrogation and that he would be adducing  such evidence.

For quite some time, there had been complaints that the MACC had become a law unto itself, violating  the basic constitutional and human rights of witnesses and suspects interrogated by MACC officers.

Even the police are afraid of the MACC because of the powers the MACC officers hold over the police in corruption investigations.

This is unacceptable and intolerable. I call on the MACC  Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan and the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to make public the number of reports which had been lodged against MACC (previously ACA) officers for abuse of power and use of physical force in interrogations in the past 12 months.

Furthermore, what percentage of these reports against MACC officers for physical violence and torture during interrogation had been investigated.

The first step to restore public confidence in the MACC is to bring the MACC and all its officers within the ambit of the law as no democratic country can allow an institution to become a monster or a Frankenstein with no regard whatsoever to the rudiments of the rule of law and the most fundamental notion of human rights.

(Speech at the Teoh Beng Hock memorial meeting at Hokkien Association Hall, Klang on Friday, August 28, 2009 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 August 2009, 11:53 pm and is filed under
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Punishing the Body or the Person? Why Some Cannot Accept Physical Punishments

By Farish A. Noor

In his book ‘Torture and Modernity: Self, Society and State in Modern Iran’ (1994), the scholar Darius Rejali looks at how the processes of torture and punishment have evolved over the centuries in Iran, from the period of the Qajar dynasty all the way to the regime of the Shah and the Islamic Revolutionary government. He makes one interesting and important observation which remains relevant to all of those who are concerned about the use of corporal punishment and torture by modern states today: that corporal punishment dates back to the medieval era where the popular perception of punishment was that it was a public spectacle that ought to be enacted upon the body of the individual, and not the subject him/herself.

In this respect, the modes of torture and punishment that were used in pre-modern Iran were no different from the modes of punishment that were used in China, India, Africa or Europe. Throughout the world during the pre-modern era the popular understanding of punishment was that it was meant to be a form of public humiliation, operating through the mode of public violence, that was intended to compel the guilty to repent and alter his/her ways through the threat of violence and force. Hence we see how in medieval Europe, Asia and the Arab world the modes of public punishment were all equally gory and bloody: Heads were chopped off, bodies were impaled, whipped, burned, branded, broken, quartered and sliced to pieces. Most of these punishments were carried out in public, ostensibly as a ‘lesson’ to others. But as many modern psychologists have pointed out, these public spectacles of violence also served the voyeuristic inclination of those who relished the sight of bodies being violated in public, and were thus also forms of bizarre public pornography.

In his study on the evolution of torture and punishment in Iran, Rejali notes how this medieval mode of punishment gradually developed to become a more sophisticated mode of care and policing in*stead. The violent spectacles of state-sanctioned violence that involved public enactments of torture eventually gave way to the regime of the prison and the culture of pastoral care and reform of the Self instead. Why?

Simply put, the reason behind this evolution lay in the growing consciousness that the medieval modes of punishment of the past were simply barbaric, primordial and missed the point. Particularly after the advent of the Iranian revolution, Iranian lawmakers realised that

the aim of law enforcement was not simply to exercise legitimate state violence upon citizens, but to help citizens reach their full potential as rational agents and responsible individuals. Medieval modes of violent punishment could not do that for the simple reason that by abusing and violating the bodies of the condemned, they were targeting the body, and not the conscious Self.

The argument can be illustrated thus: Pre-modern modes of punishment assumed that if an individual had committed a crime or a wrong against society, then the offending organ or part of the body of the individual would pay the price. Hence in many primitive societies we come across instances of bodily abuse and torture that target the organs or parts of the body that were to ‘blame’: The person who lies or slanders, for instance, would have his tongue cut out. The voyeur would have his eyes gauged out. The thief would have his hand cut off. The rapist would be castrated, and so on.

Such modes of physical punishment were, however, deemed to be less and less effective and furthermore failed to solve the problem of criminality itself, for the punishment was not being inflicted on the truly offending party, namely the subjective Self. For it is not the tongue that lies, but the person. It is not the hand that steals, but the person. It is not the penis that rapes, but the person. Addressing the responsibility of the person entailed going beyond the body, and dealing with the psychology of the individual itself. This in turn

meant that violence was not a solution to the problem, but in fact only made things worse: For a state that endorses violence as a means to achieve justice eventually arrives at a different destination altogether. Such a state merely normalises violence and makes violence

more and more commonplace and acceptable. Rather than morally uplifting society, it debases and brutalises society even further. An example would be the case of the French Revolution, where the revolutionaries who executed the leaders of the old regime eventually

ended up being murdered themselves too, including Robespierre, who died at the guillotine that he himself introduced.

The development of the related notions of justice, care, reform (of the Self) and responsibility (of both the State and the Individual subject) only came about much later, with the development of modern social sciences that included political sociology, psychology and

notably the psychology of criminality. The modern age marks its difference from the medieval age by accepting that bodies are not to be blamed, but rather subjectivities and selves. In other words, modern human beings relinquished their obsession with violent torture and punishment when they realised that torturing and abusing people would not make them better human beings.

Which brings us to the current debate about caning in Malaysia, be it caning that is enforced by civil secular law or by Islamic law. Already in Malaysia we have the instance of a woman who may soon be caned for the Shariah offence of drinking beer. And meanwhile in

Malaysia we have illegal immigrants being caned for over-staying their visas and entry permits in the country. Human rights activists who oppose caning and other forms of state-sanctioned physical violence do so on the grounds that we believe that such violent punishments do nothing to solve the attendant problems and issues that need to be

addressed in another, more intelligent way. Caning an illegal immigrant does nothing to reform the person, but merely violates and abuses his/her body. Likewise caning someone for what is perceived to be a moral crime by religious law does nothing to reform the person’s subjectivity, but merely abuses the body of the person instead. Why, even in the Islamic Republic of Iran the regime of the Ayatollahs realised that physical torture was never and could never succeed in making someone a better human being, but would actually lead to the opposite and create a society that was more and more violent and accustomed to violence. Hence their use of public education and counselling instead.

Malaysians are now faced with a similar question and we need to ask ourselves whether the time has come for this society of ours to understand and accept the fact that violence is not and will never be a solution to the social problems of our times- be it criminality, corruption, abuse of power or the breakdown of the social contract. The modern human subject realises that one cannot be forced to be just or good, and that a good society cannot emerge out of violent compulsion. State violence merely brutalises us further and denies the value and primacy of human reason and the capacity for human beings to think rationally and to alter themselves rationally too. Whipping someone into submission cannot ever do that; for violence and reason are never complementary.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 28 August 2009, 3:00 pm and is filed under
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The cow-head sacrilege an ominous warning that Najib’s first National Day celebration as Prime Minister will go down as a Black National Day if the genii of racism and religious chicanery are allowed to get out of the bottle

All patriotic Malaysians of goodwill and reason must condemn in the strongest possible terms the cowhead sacrilege in Shah Alam yesterday where a group of protestors claiming to be residents of Section 23 in the area protested the construction of a Hindu temple and  threatened bloodshed and committed the ultimate act of religious insensitivity, insult and offence to Hindus by severing the head of a cow and stomping on it.

If such an ultimate act of religious insensitivity, insult and offence had been committed against Islam, Utusan Malaysia would have gone to town not only with full front-page coverage and denunciation, probably half the newspaper today would be devoted to it. Why the thundering silence from Utusan Malaysia?

In other multi-religious societies, such an ultimate act of religious insensitivity, insult and offence to one of the major religions in the country would have led to mayhem, riots and loss of lives and it bespeaks of the high degree of maturity, mutual tolerance, goodwill and co-existence that cool heads had prevailed in the response to such a deplorable act of sacrilege.

In a multi-religious society, the act of sacrilege to one religion must be regarded as an act of sacrilege to all other religions and the entire nation.

Let this serve as a overarching consensus of all political parties, mass media, NGOs and Malaysians if we cherish and love this nation.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is to be commended for his quick response in ordering the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan to take swift action against those responsible for the cowhead sacrilege.

But why was the police so slow in its response to such a public act of religious sacrilege, when tardiness in dealing with “national security threats” had never been a weakness of the Royal Malaysian Police Force?

Police intelligence cannot be so obsolete that it is not aware of the act of sacrilege being planned and executed, when the organizers had taken pains to ensure that their protest would get the maximum mass media coverage – reported, photographed and videoed!

With two days to go before August 31, the cow-head sacrilege must serve as an ominous warning that Najib’s first National Day celebration as Prime Minister will go down as a Black National Day if the genii  of racism and religious chicanery are allowed to get out of the bottle – as in plural Malaysia there is not just one genie but many genii threatening to tear apart the multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural fabric of Malaysia.

It must deeply trouble all right-thinking Malaysians regardless of race, religion or political affiliation that despite Najib’s 1Malaysia policy to serve as an overarching inclusive policy to build a united nation of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures, recent trends have worked in the opposite direction.

The past weeks in particular have seen various top  political leaders  and mass media acting  with utter impunity and immunity to crank up racial and religious animosities to polarize the country along race and religious lines – as happened in the recent Permatang Pasir by-election – making a total mockery and repudiation of Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan.

These divisive, polarizing, centrifugal forces emanating from top official directions must stop if Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan is not to meet an even quicker end of all  Prime Ministerial mottos – including Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s short-lived “Islam Hadhari”.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 29 August 2009, 12:04 pm and is filed under
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Cow-head politics: Fear not, those who misrepresent Islam

By
Azly Rahman

In the name of Allah Most Gracious Most Compassionate

1.
By Al-‘Asr (the time).

2.
Verily! Man is in loss,

3.
Except those who believe (in Islâmic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma’rûf)which Allâh has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar)which Allâh has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allâh’s Cause during preaching His religion of Islâmic Monotheism or Jihâd, etc.).

                         — Surah AlAsr (Time)

For Muslims (those who submit to the Will of Allah) and those who are embarking on a journey of peace, Ramadan is a time for deep reflection and contemplation on the sufferings of the self and of others. It is a month in which the oftentimes arrogant, boastful, aggressive self retreats to this Inner Cave and work hard towards cleansing the body, the mind, the spirit, and the soul. It is a long but reflective journey Muslims believe must be taken.

The incident of a group of 50 Malaysians carrying a severed cow head, marching to the Selangor State Government’s Office is an example of a misrepresentation of Ramadan. It is a dangerous act that disrespects the holy month. Muslims should be outraged at the gross misrepresentation of Islam. One must read The Sepoy Rebellion during British India in order to understand where this might lead us to, in the worst case scenario. One must also not forget Malaysia’s Kampong Medan incident a few years back in order to understand the anatomy and chemistry of hate.

The “cow-head march” incident is a mindless act and Malaysians are becoming weary of these stunts that seem strange and timely and seem to become more and more hideous as we see the intensification of campaigns to take over this or that government. The phrase “Allahu Akbar”  (Allah is Great) is abused. The greatness of Allah lies not in allowing a group of people to humiliate the religion of others. Allah’s greatness lies in the guide given to us to respect the religion of others, and to understand what the universal message of Islam is.  Everything is good in the hands of the author of things, everything degenerates in the hands of Man, said the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. In Islam, Evil is the work of Man, and Good comes from the Creator. Those who humiliate others are those who allow nafs amarrah (lowest/animalistic stage of the soul) to take charge of their actions.

Muslims should condemn the group of 50 and the authorities including the religious authorities should investigate if this is a seditious act against Islam.

I do hope that the protesters who abuse Ramadan ask themselves what is triggering their intent to march and what forces, if any, are behind their act.  If necessary, the group can seek legal help in resolving this.

Non-Muslims need not fear the consequences of these antics or the action of the few who are misrepresenting Islam. You have the brotherhood and sisterhood of thinking and feeling Muslims who know what is acceptable and what is not in a multiracial society.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 August 2009, 11:19 am and is filed under
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Let all patriotic Malaysians regardless of party come together to save Najib’s 1Malaysia from  heading for the rocks 150 days after becoming Prime Minister

52nd National Day message

Recent events, particularly in the past few weeks, cannot but raise the concern and even alarm of Malaysians who want to see the evolution of a Bangsa Malaysia after half a century of nationhood – as Malaysia is only just a decade from the Vision 2020 deadline  of achieving a Bangsa Malaysia out of the diverse races, languages, cultures and religions in the country to become a fully developed nation in 2020.

Of late, there is not only a recrudescence of the irresponsible politics of race and religion, the exploitation of the race and religion cards have reached new intensity utterly reckless of their damage to the multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural fabric of Malaysian society.

As a result, there is a further polarization of race and religion with the hardening of intolerant attitudes and stances, creating situations unseen or unheard of in the previous history of the nation – like the cowhead sacrilege in Shah Alam on Friday where a group protesting against the construction of a Hindu temple threatened bloodshed and committed the ultimate act of religious insensitivity, insult and profanity to Hindus by severing the head of a cow and stomping on it.

Let all patriotic Malaysians of goodwill recognize the danger signals to our plural society. Let all patriotic Malaysians regardless of party come together to save Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia motto from  heading for the rocks 150 days after becoming Prime Minister to stave off divisive and centripetal forces from further dividing and polarizing Malaysians along race and religious lines.

After five months, Najib’s 1Malaysia had failed to inspire Malaysians as an all-encompassing inclusive policy to unite Malaysians – best illustrated by the fact that Pakatan Rakyat whether at parliamentary, state government or state assembly levels are  completely excluded from the formulation of a 1Malaysia policy so that it could be embraced by all Malaysians as a policy to unite rather than to divide the people.

This is the most important food for thought for all patriotic Malaysians of goodwill on the occasion of the 52nd National Day.

Already  many Malaysians are asking what is there to celebrate on this National Day with the  backdrop of a national polity which is not prepared to rise to the challenges and aspirations for change so unmistakably expressed in the messages of the political tsunami of the March 8 general elections last year.

Can Najib’s 1Malaysia symbolize a reaffirmation of a national resolve and commitment to build a Bangsa Malaysia where all Malaysians regard  themselves as Malaysians first and their race and religious identities in second place or will it go down in history as representing the very opposite?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 August 2009, 4:17 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia in past weeks suffered unprecedented battery of adverse world media coverage which gravely undermine our international competitiveness and goal to become developed high-income country

In the past weeks, Malaysia suffered from an unprecedented battery of adverse world media coverage which gravely undermine our international competitiveness by frightening off intending foreign investors and highly detrimental to the national goal to become a developed high-income country.

The latest incident which has put Malaysia in a very bad light internationally is the global media coverage of yesterday’s  Shah Alam cow-head sacrilege in a protest against the construction of a Hindu temple, something which had not happened in 52 years of Malaysian nation building and raising the grave question whether the country is moving towards greater religious intolerance and polarization – and what this means to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan.

Other adverse international media coverage of Malaysia in the past weeks include:

The caning sentence imposed by a Pahang Syariah Court on part-time model Kartika Seri Dewi Shukarno’s for consuming beer;

News of government decision to restrict Muslims from attending the concert of international pop sensation Black Eye Peas;

News report  on the eve of the Permatang Pasir by-election polling that Selangor mosque officials were being empowered to arrest Muslims consuming alocohol or found working in establishments that serve, store or display alcoholic beverages. (Although this was subsequently clarified and denied  by the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim  extensive damage had already been done).

The mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16.

The “mother of all scandals” haunting the national political landscape – the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

The backdrop of these disturbing events cast a pall on the 52nd National Day celebrations in some 36 hours’ time.

For Sarawak and Sabah, marking the 46th anniversary of their  participation in Malaysia, many questions are also being asked as to why Sarawakians, whether Ibans, Bidayuhs, Chinese and Malays have been left out from the mainstream of national development apart from a handful of the privileged few.

Sarawak is a very wealthy state in terms of natural resources like petroleum and timber but in predominantly-Bidayuh Serian parliamentary constituency, the people are still without the most basic necessities before a country can claim to be developed – reflected by the fact that many schools in the area are still without piped water and electricity.

For close to half a century, the promise that Sarawakians and Sabahans will enjoy fairly and equitably in  the fruits of development in the state and nation have not been honoured, leaving the people in Sarawak with many teeming socio-economic problems, such as basic infrastructures like health, education, roads, piped water and electricity; and for  Bidayuhs and Dayaks, the grave problem of Native Customary Land titles.

National Day on August 31 and Malaysia Day on Sept. 16 will only be meaningful to ordinary Sarawakians if their basic rights to development and to the most basic infrastructures could be met and their aspirations to be equal citizens of the Sarawak state and  Malaysian nation given full recognition.

[Speech by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang at the DAP Dinner in Serian, Sarawak on Saturday, 29th August 2009 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 30 August 2009, 12:13 pm and is filed under
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