Teresa now being released

At 12.56 pm, at lunch in Ipoh, my mobile phone rang. I saw the caller was “Teresa” and wondered who was using her phone.

But it was her on the line and wondered how she wangled the use of her phone while in detention.

But no, she did no such improper thing. She told me that she was being released.

Bravo. The irresistible pressures against her unjust and undemocratic detention had succeeded.

While in celebratory and jubilant mood, we must also be mindful that the recent spate of ISA arrests demonstrate that this iniquitous law must go.

Sin Chew reporter Tan Hoon Cheng’s 18-hour  ISA detention and Teresa’s 6-day detention are testimony.

Now, only RPK is still in detention from the recent spate of ISA arrests. He should be released immediately too.

The Hindraf Five and all other ISA detainees should also be given back their personal liberties and released from Kamunting Detention Centre.

Leaving Ipoh now for Teresa’s media conference at DAP PJ Hqrs at 3.30 pm.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 19 September 2008, 1:16 pm and is filed under
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Teresa’s ISA detention – top MCA leadership should apologise and make amends

The top MCA leadership should apologise and make amends for DAP National Organising Secretary, MP for Seputeh and Selangor Senior Exco Teresa Kok Suh Sim’s detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for two reasons:

•	Failure of the MCA Ministers to demand in the Cabinet meeting yesterday for the immediate and unconditional release of Teresa Kok under the ISA; and

•	For Teresa’s ISA detention as it was based on a police report by a  key MCA operative  in Puchong.

On Tuesday, the
MCA Central Committee
called for the release of Teresa under ISA, wanting her to be  investigated under other laws and charged in court if there was evidence.

However at the weekly Wednesday Cabinet meeting yesterday, the four MCA Ministers failed to uphold and implement the MCA Central Committee resolution that Teresa should be released immediately under the ISA, as they failed to place Teresa’s ISA detention as a specific item on the Cabinet agenda and to ask for a Cabinet decision for the immediate release of Teresa.

In fact, apart from some mumblings  and grumblings at the Cabinet meeting, the MCA Ministers never tried to force an issue to demand Teresa’s immediate release under the ISA at the Cabinet meeting yesterday although the majority of the Ministers were privately opposed to Teresa’s detention.

It  is clearly most  unacceptable and dishonourable for  the MCA leadership to stage a double-faced political farce – on the one hand, pretending to yield to public opinion by taking a stand in the newspapers calling for Teresa’s release yet on the other,  fully submitting to Umno political hegemony  in the Cabinet  by the failure and cowardice of the MCA Ministers to force an issue at yesterday’s weekly meeting  to get Teresa released immediately and unconditionally.

If the full weight of national and international opinion can force the release of senior Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng after 18 hours of  unlawful ISA detention, why can’t the four MCA Ministers take a stand in the Cabinet yesterday to secure the release of Teresa after five days of arbitrary, unjust, undemocratic and  unhygienic ISA detention?

What is the use of having four MCA Ministers in Cabinet if they are incapable of or impotent in  accomplishing the simplest of things – the immediate release of Teresa from ISA when she should never have been arrested in the first place?

The failure of the MCA Ministers to get the Cabinet yesterday to release Teresa – or even to place Teresa’s detention as a specific agenda  for Cabinet meeting and decision yesterday – is even more inexcusable when it was  a key MCA operative in Puchong whose police report making false allegations against Teresa over the azan controversy  last Thursday was the trigger for her ISA detention the next day on September 12 at 11.18 pm!

Is the MCA leadership going to sack this key MCA operative  in Puchong for making the false and mischievous report against Teresa or is the MCA leadership taking the stand that Teresa should  not be detained under the ISA but should be charged under other laws in the country over the false azan allegations against her?

Is the MCA leadership going to haul up the four MCA Ministers to show cause why they had failed to uphold and implement the MCA Central Committee decision in the Cabinet yesterday to secure Teresa’s immediate release?

Who would have any doubt that if the UMNO Supreme Council  on Tuesday had taken a decision that Teresa should be released immediately under the ISA that she would have walked out of ISA detention as a free Malaysian latest by Wednesday?

Why should there be any difference between the powers and influence of the MCA Central Committee from the Umno Supreme Council, unless the former is just subservient and subordinate to the latter?

[Speech at the SSS (Support, Sympathy and Solidarity) Candlelight Vigil for DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok demanding her immediate release from Internal Security Act held at Ipoh Timor Garden East, Ipoh on Thursday, 18th September 2008 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Friday, 19 September 2008, 10:28 am and is filed under
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Abdullah should convene 929 Emergency Parliament unless his days as PM are numbered after Umno’s “918”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should reconsider his
rejection
of the request  by the Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for an emergency session of Parliament to debate a “no confidence” motion latest by Tuesday, September 23.

He should table Anwar’s request at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to secure Cabinet approval to convene an emergency Parliament to end the six-month political impasse – resulting in the deepening and aggravation of the multiple crisis of confidence whether political, economic, nation-building, international competitiveness  or good governance – by getting the country moving forward again with a clear-cut parliamentary vote as to who has the parliamentary majority to govern Malaysia.

Abdullah has said that Anwar’s ”916” plan to secure the support of the majority of the 222 MPs to move the country forward to address and overcome the manifold crisis and challenges confronting Malaysia is  “a mirage” and “a lie”.

But the actions of the Barisan Nasional government belie these claims, whether it be the sodomy II charge against Anwar, the last-minute panicky “blur blur” agricultural study tour to Taiwan to sequester  some 50 MPs from any possible defection, the spate of ISA arrests particularly against DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok – all point to a government unsure of its parliamentary majority and even raising  the question whether it is a government in its last throes?

If Abdullah is convinced and confident that he still has the support of the majority of the 222 MPs, why is he running away from the opportunity to prove Anwar wrong by convening the emergency Parliament session for a clear-cut vote to be taken on Anwar’s “no confidence” motion?

If Abdullah has the support of the majority of the 222 MPs, Pakatan Rakyat will accept the outcome of the Parliamentary vote and Abdullah can end the drift and the total lack of direction in the past six months to decide on what legacy he is going to leave behind  as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

If Anwar succeeds in demonstrating that he has the support of the majority of the 222 MPs, Abdullah should accept the verdict and  gracefully, peacefully, orderly and democratically  effect a transition of power to usher in a new Pakatan Rakyat Federal Government  – creating new political history in the nation’s 51-year history.

As the Cabinet would only meet on Wednesday, 24th September 2008, a suitable  date for the emergency Parliament session to decide whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat commands the support of the majority of the 222 MPs would be Monday, September 29 – which will end the political impasse before the Hari Raya Puasa holidays!

It is in the national interest that the political impasse, the national drift and the deepening multiple crisis of confidence afflicting Malaysia for over half a year  is immediately ended with a definitive confidence vote in Parliament, as they do not permit any further procrastination such as waiting for Parliament to be reconvened on October 13.

Let Parliament be recalled in emergency session on Sept. 29 for probably its most important vote in the nation’s 51-year history!

 Why is Abdullah shying away from the historic opportunity that is presented by Anwar to prove that he is still Prime Minister with majority parliamentary support, especially if he is  convinced that “916” is just Anwar’s  “mirage”?

Could it be that Abdullah is not absolutely certain and confident  that he could command the support of a majority of 222 MPs in Parliament if a no confidence motion is put to a vote?

Or could it be that Abdullah felt that no purpose would be served in securing a ringing endorsement of parliamentary majority support when his days  as Prime Minister are numbered?

It is
open secret
that at the “918” Umno Supreme Council meeting two days ago, Abdullah came under intense pressure that he should step down as Prime Minister much earlier than the June 2010 timeline he envisaged in his power transition plan.

The pressures for Abdullah to bring forward his transition plan was spearheaded by Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and had the support of UMNO heavyweights like Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.  Wanita Chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz even said that Abdullah would not be able to secure the minimum 58 nominations required to defend his presidency when the UMNO Division nomination process begins on October 9.

Have the Umno war-lords shortened  Abdullah’s tenure as Prime Minister  to October 9 – a matter of less than three weeks?

If so, what is going to happen to Khairy Jamaluddin?

Abdullah’s “magic” when he became Prime Minister five years ago and which created the greatest Barisan Nasional electoral victory in the 2004 general election, winning over 91 per cent parliamentary seats, have turned to ashes in a matter of less than five years.

Five years ago, there was nothing wrong Abdullah could do. Today, there is nothing right the Prime Minister could do.

Has he become a lame-duck Prime Minister, Umno President and  Barisan Nasional chairman?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 20 September 2008, 12:24 pm and is filed under
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
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Free RPK, redoubtable and irrepressible cyber-warrior, under ISA

Tomorrow, 18 justice-and-freedom-loving Malaysians will collectively shave their heads in protest against the unjust, undemocratic and unlawful detention of Malaysia’s most famous blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin under the Internal Security Act.

The event, organised by DAP Selangor, is also to protest the arbitrary detention of the Hindraf 5 and all other ISA detainees currently languishing in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

Although I had intended to be in Penang till tomorrow evening, I am changing my travel plan to be at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall tomorrow morning for  this head-shaving protest – in SSS (support, sympathy and solidarity) with  RPK, the Hindraf 5 and all other ISA detainees.

Let us all gather at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall tomorrow, Sunday, 21st September 2008 at 10.30 am.

RPK is a redoubtable and irrepressible cyber-warrior for human rights and fundamental liberties for all Malaysians.

Yesterday, he scaled a new height as Malaysia’s  pre-eminent cyber-warrior when he blogged on the eighth day of his detention under ISA while still under incarceration.

RPK’s blogging from ISA detention would have set off a new flurry or even frenzy among the police as to how RPK could perform such a “IT Houdini”.

In his
“blog from ISA detention”
, RPK wrote:

“From the way my interrogation is going, they are trying to kill two birds with one stone. First Syed Hamid would have a strong defence against the suit that I am to file against him plus they can ensure how good my lawyers may be in defending me in the sedition and criminal defamation charges, I will never see freedom anyway.”

This is a gross abuse of the ISA as it was enacted to address extraordinary threats to the country like subversion or organised violence and  never intended to serve the purpose of “killing two birds with one stone” to silence the country’s pre-eminent cyber-warrior.

Free RPK, redoubtable and irrepressible cyber-warrior, from  under ISA!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 20 September 2008, 9:28 pm and is filed under
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IT
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Is your life in danger?

IS YOUR LIFE IN DANGER?

Please let us protect you by arresting you under the ISA.

Coverage short term (16 hours for journalists) permanently (for HINDRAF).

Interested parties contact our Special Agent, Syed Hamid Albar for details: Terms and Conditions apply (see below).

Underwriters for this UNIQUE MALAYSIAN SERVICE
:  PDRM n Min. of Home Affairs.

Special Offer now for reporters, bloggers n Opposition MPs.

Note: UMNO members n those threatened by Ah-Longs n Illegal Immigrants are not eligible.

Who says Malaysians are not creative. The above SMS lampooning the Internal Security Act and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar is one example of the creativity of Malaysians.

Thanks to Jayaseelam for forwarding this SMS to me three days ago.  I read out this SMS to close the   Teresa Kok’s ISA release media conference at DAP PJ Hqrs yesterday to illustrate how low and iniquitous  the ISA, enacted in 1960 to deal ith “subversion” and “organised violence”,  has fallen to be the object of ridicule and contempt of right-thinking Malaysians.

The SMS reflects  the disgust of Malaysians at the gross abuse of power by the Home Minister and the Police illustrated by the 18-hour ISA detention of Sin Chew senior reporter Tan Hoon Cheng.

We should probably have a competition for the most “creative” SMS arising from another ISA scandal – the seven-day detention of DAP National Organising Secretary,  three term Seputeh MP and  Selangor Senior Exco, Teresa Kok Suh Sim.

This blog invites entries.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 20 September 2008, 9:48 am and is filed under
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Teresa Kok
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Race Relations Act – will it enable Barack Obama phenomenon in Malaysia?

When the  Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hamid Albar announced  yesterday that the Cabinet has approved the proposed
Race Relations Act
 to strengthen ties among the different  races in the country, I immediately thought of two matters.

The first is the “penumpang” controversy set off by the Bukit Bendera Umno division chairman, Datuk Ahmad Ismail as part of Umno’s most racist and inflammatory campaign in the Permatang Pauh by-election, which was decisively rejected by the voters from all racial groups uniting as a pioneering Bangsa Malaysia to give a thumping victory to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to return to Parliament in triumph after an enforced absence of a decade.

The real fall-out from the “penumpang” controversy was after the Permatang Pauh by-election, where for two weeks, Ahmad was allowed to assume “hero” status among extremists and communalists  for his  provocative, inflammatory, insensitive  and racist reference because of the abdication and  bankruptcy of the moral and political authority of the Cabinet and the Barisan Nasional leadership in  failing to take  immediate action to strike down such divisive and destructive outbursts.

Ahmad’s grandparents migrated to this country from India. Why should a Malaysian who is a second-generation locally born in the country be so irresponsible, provocative and racist as to question the loyalty of a Malaysian Chinese like seventh locally-born generation Tan Siok Choo, daughter to Tun Tan Siew Sin and grand-daughter to Tun Tan Cheng Lock – whose ancestors came to Malacca 237 years ago in 1771?

Even up to now, Ahmad is totally unrepentant and immune from any police prosecution for his incendiary utterance – while the Sin Chew reporter Tan Hoon Cheng who had professionally reported Ahmad’s speech was detained under the draconian Internal Security Act but saved from the full iniquity of the ISA because of instantaneous nation-wide and international outrage.

What is the use of a  Race Relations Act in Malaysia if the Ahmad Ismails enjoy immunity from the law being  able to  get away scot-free for  their inflammatory,  offensive, insensitive and racist utterances without fear of having to face criminal reprisals from the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers for their seditious utterances?

The second matter that comes immediately to mind is about political developments the other side of the globe – Barack Obama’s presidential candidature in the United States.

Only 220 years ago, the Negroes were slaves in America, totally deprived of all political, economic, social and human rights.  Today, an American black is one of the two contenders for the American Presidency in November – marking a historic breakthrough in race relations in the United States.

What has Malaysia to show in race relations in similar field after 51 years of  nation-building?

When we achieved Independence in 1957, the Merdeka  social contract and the Malaysian Constitution is unambiguous in providing equal citizenship status for all Malaysians, as in stipulating that  any Malaysian, regardless of race, religion or class, can aspire to the  highest political office in  the land to become  the Prime Minister.

The only condition for anyone to be Prime Minister is that he commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament.

During the first premiership of Tunku Abdul Rahman from 1957 to 1969, nobody would raise an eyebrow at the assertion that any Malaysian, whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan,  Iban and regardless of whether  Muslim, Chrisitian, Buddhist, Hindu or Taoist, can become Prime Minister of  Malaysia.

Half a century later, under the fifth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, anyone who makes the assertion in public place that any Malaysian, regardless of whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban, and  regardless of religion, whether Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or Taoist, would be looked askance and even deemed to have made a most

“insensitive” statement.

There would even  be groups in the country who would feel justified  to be “provoked” by such a straightforward statement to launch vociferous protests up and down the country.

Why is this so, despite the Vision 2020 objective of creating a Bangsa Malaysia out of the diverse races in the country, which was proclaimed 17 years ago in 1991?

Will the proposed Race Relations Act resolve these knotty problems of Malaysian nation-building, or is its purpose to further institutionalize racial segregation and discrimination which have surreptitiously crept into various aspects of Malaysian life and taken deep and subversive root?

Will the proposed Race Relations Act open the way to enable and empower a major breakthrough like the Barack  Obama phenomenon to take place in Malaysia or the reverse?

[Speech at the DAP Cheras  SSS (Support, Sympathy and Solidarity) Dinner for Teresa Kok  at Hee Lai Ton Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 19th September 2008 at 9 pm]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 20 September 2008, 5:18 pm and is filed under
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When tomorrow comes

by
Azly Rahman

“The only permanent thing is change” – Lao Tzu

During Mahathirism in the 1980s – change management ideology pervaded the psyche of the civil service sector. The ideology was enculturalised by the corporate sector and universities picked up the trend and fashioned it into their mission statement, pedagogical processes, and curriculum. Everybody was taught to speak the language of change.

During that time too, circa 1985-1995, even high school students were taught visioning strategies and how to manage change.

Literature of change management, i.e. to change to corporate culture, to change to a society run on cybernetics/information technology became hugely popular.

Knowledge of visioning strategies were brought to the grassroots and even kampong people were in tune with the basic ideas of change sometimes equating it with the Arabic words “islah” and “hijrah” to denote and connote “reforming oneself” and “pilgrimag-ising oneself”.

The Malay word “perubahan paradigma” became perhaps the most popular word on television, as its use signified a “better level of intelligence” as perceived by Malaysians imbued with “corporatist ideology”.

Nowadays we hear people speaking of “blue ocean strategy”. On how to look at our environment as an ocean of both chaos and opportunities and how to think like a dolphin but act like a shark.

The Mahathirist decades essentially prepared Malaysians for that only one thing that is permanent: change. It prepared the country for even for a velvet revolution such as in the Mar 8,  2008 and Permatang Pauh. When he unveiled the mega-project Multimedia Super Corridor (The MSC) which included the Bill of Guarantees for the free-flow of information and no-censorship of the Internet, he called upon the rakyat to “fantasise” with him.

At the moment of writing this article, it is 7 o’clock  in the evening (New York) Eastern Time Sept 15. My question is – what will tomorrow bring when Sept 16 comes. Are we ready for political change – big time?

Political change

My initial though is this: corporate cultural changes occur peacefully – why not political change?

In light of a benchmarked and scheduled possible change Malaysians will be experiencing and in light of the deliverable promised, I am advocating the new regime to disseminate 10 ideas that will augur well with the new era we are ushering into, I call them “ten steps towards cultural  freedom” this nation can conditioned itself with.

Independence and freedom are not slogans but existential states of mind and a condition of ‘lived democracy’, one in which citizens are aware of how oppressive systems are cultivated. We cannot be independent until we arrive at these historical junctures, and until we do the following:

1. Free the human mind from all forms of dogmas, superstitions, mental chains, hegemonic formations, and transitional levels of totalitarianism. Our educational system at all levels must strengthen the scientific and philosophical foundation of its curriculum and practices to effect changes in the higher-order thinking skills of the next generation. We should not tolerate any forms of bigotry, racial chauvinism, and retarded form of democracy in our educational system.

2. Understand the relationship between the ‘self and the system of social relations of production’ and how the self becomes alienated and reduced to labour and appendages and cogs in the wheels of industrial system of production, a system that hides under the name of the corporatist nation and any other term that masks the real exploitation of the human self.

3. Make ourselves aware that our social systems, through the rapid development of technology and its synthesis with local and international predatory culture, have helped create classes of human beings that transform their bodies into different classes of labour (manual, secretarial, managerial, militarial, intellectual, and capital-owning) that is now shaping the nature of class antagonism locally and globally.

4. Understand how our political, economic, cultural institutions have evolved and are created out of the vestiges of newer forms of colonialism, institutions that are built upon the ideology of race-based interpretations of human and material development that benefit the few who own the means of cultural, material, and intellectual production.

5. Understand how ideologies that oppress humanity works, how prevailing political, economic, cultural ideologies help craft false consciousness and create psychological barriers to the creation of a society that puts the principles of social contract into practice.

6. Be aware of how our physical landscape creates spaces of power and knowledge and alienates us and how huge structural transformations such as the Multimedia Super Corridor or those emerging corridors that create a new form of technological city-scape (technopoles) that benefits local and international real estate profiteers more that they provide more humane living spaces for the poor and the marginalised in an increasingly cybernated society.

7. Be fully aware of the relationship between science, culture, and society and how these interplay with contemporary global challenges and how we clearly or blindly adopt these rapid changes and transform them into our newer shibboleths of developmentalism – one such policy being the National BioTechnology Program.

8. Put a halt to the systematic stupefication of academicians and students in our public universities by first incorporating Academic Freedom Clauses in their mission statements and next enculturalising intellectualism in these learning environments. The public universities must be restructured based on a new paradigm of leadership. Leaders that enable the ability of our students and faculty to think must be removed and replaced with those that pay allegiance to truth. “Veritas!” or “Truth!” as Harvard University sloganises and lives by.

9. Design an economic system founded upon socialistic principles that meet the needs of the many and curb our enthusiasm to consume conspicuously and consequently create a society divided by classes and a postmodern caste system. Rethink the progressive dimension of nationalisation instead of pursuing the excesses of privatisation. What good would Malaysia do if its leaders are siphoning the nation’s wealth by the billions, stashing them in places such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands?

10. Restructure the entire education system that would not only create some variant of a classless society but also one that would evolve into a reflective one instead of being rushed to death along the path of Wall Street by those who owns the means of production.

Sept 16 and change.

We know Sept 16 is tomorrow. We know that radical changes will happen. We know we are ready for such changes. What we need is the will to realign ourselves with the new paradigm and to medicate ourselves of the pain that will come through the changes.

Change is good especially of it means celebrating our diversity, curbing our desire for material wealth, punishing those who have stolen form the masses, and making our systems implement equity, equitability, equal opportunity, and empathy as philosophical elements of change.

But Lao Tzu did warn us too against carving the stone.

I APPEAL TO THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN AND SYED AZIDI IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY AND RELEASE ALL THE ISA DETAINEES AS WELL AND CONSEQUENTLY REPEAL THE ISA AND ALL OTHER INTOLERABLE ACTS

REPLACE THE ISA with the INTELLECTUAL SUSTAINABILITY ACT

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 20 September 2008, 10:52 am and is filed under
Azly Rahman
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“No repeal or review of ISA” – will all MCA, Gerakan, Umno and BN Ministers/leaders “blindly accept” Hamid’s decision?

Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar has shown utter disrespect and contempt for Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders who had been calling  for repeal or review of the draconian and nefarious detention-without-trial law, the Internal Security Act (ISA),  when he summarily and categorically declared in Johor Baru yesterday that
the ISA  will not be reviewed or repealed
.

Only yesterday,
MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting
announced that the MCA had enough of Umno political hegemony and  “will not blindly accept every decision made by BN without being consulted”.

He said:

“It is only proper to have a discussion with the parties in the coalition before a decision or policy is made. That is what you call sharing of power and it is in line with the BN spirit…

“However, at times we were not kept in the loop when certain decisions were made. If a decision was made without the knowledge of the MCA, then it is not fair to use BN’s motto of ‘Friendship and Unity’ (Kesetiakawanan).”

Hamid’s contemptuous  dismissal of  calls for repeal or review of the ISA is an open slap in the face for Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders who had been making such proposals, including  the
MCA Central Committee
 which had expressed disagreement with the recent spate of ISA arrests and demanded the release of Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Are the four MCA Ministers united in their condemnation of the use of ISA against RPK, DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng?

If so, the four MCA Ministers, together with other Umno and BN Ministers who had spoken out against the ISA like the Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim, should censure Hamid at the next Cabinet meeting for two reasons:

1.	for allowing the police to misuse their powers in invoking the ISA against the trio, RPK, Teresa Kok and Tan Hoon Cheng, on completely unjustifiable grounds totally unrelated to national security, subversion or organised violence, especially wnen there are adequate laws in the land to deal with whatever offences the police could level against the trio; and

2.	For showing utter disrespect and contempt for other BN Ministers and leaders (particularly from the MCA but also including from Umno) who had called for repeal or review of the ISA by pre-empting any such possibility without any prior consultation with his announcement  that there will be neither repeal nor review of ISA!

Will there be any Minister left in the Cabinet who is prepared to put his political future on the line  like Datuk Zaid Ibrahim by demanding that  he or she would resign from  the Cabinet unless it decides on Wednesday  to repeal or  review the ISA?

In his interview with New Sunday Times, Hamid quoted the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who had said when he was Prime Minister “that if any of the cabinet members did not support a collective decision, then the best thing to do was to resign from the government.”

Is Hamid suggesting that the MCA Ministers and MCA whose central committee had called for the release of RPK and the review of ISA; Parti Gerakan whose leaders have voiced objection to ISA and the arrests; and Umno Foreign Minister Rais Yatim who yesterday called for a review of ISA, should resign from the Cabinet and even leave the Barisan Nasional for their divergence from the “official line” on ISA?

Any response from the Ministers and leaders of MCA, Gerakan, Umno and BN to Hamid’s contemptuous dismissal of their calls for repeal or review of ISA?

(Speech at the Head-Shaving Protest by 18 Malaysian defenders of human rights over the unjust and undemocratic ISA detention of  Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Hindraf 5 and other ISA detainees organized by Selangor DAP at KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Sunday, 21st September 2008 at 11 am)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 21 September 2008, 2:19 pm and is filed under
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“Abolish ISA” forum in KL Tuesday

Forum : Abolish ISA

Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall

Date: 23 Sep 2008 Tue

Time: 8:00 pm

Admission is Free; Bring Friends

The panel of Distinguished Speakers include:

l  Teresa Kok, Selangor State Exco

l  Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Bar Council President

l  Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Chairman of Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI)

l  Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister

l  Khalid Samad, MP Shah Alam

l  Nurul Izzah binti Anwar, MP Lembah Pantai

l  A. Sivanesan, ADUN Sungkai, Perak

*
 Moderator: Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim

Contact:
Teo Nie Ching

Assistant National Publicity Secretary

Email:
[email protected]

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 21 September 2008, 5:14 am and is filed under
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With seismic events afoot, who do you believe?

(1)	KUALA LUMPUR: An English daily’s report that certain Umno Supreme Council members had asked Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to speed up the transition plan at their meeting on Thursday was inaccurate, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday.

(2) In Shah Alam, Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Mu-hammed Taib said members who supported the call for Abdullah to speed up the transition of power to his deputy were not supporting the Pakatan Rakyat’s moves to wrest control of the Federal Government.

One of the two Umno leaders-cum-Ministers  is telling a lie. Which one?

The marvel is that these gems of contradictions appear in the same report in Star today,

“Hishammuddin: English daily’s report inaccurate”
.

Hishammuddin was referring to Star’s front-page report yesterday

“Pak Lah under pressure to exit”
 by Joceline Tan, viz:

PETALING JAYA: The Prime Minister is under pressure to fast-forward the transition plan that would have seen him handing over power to his deputy in 2010.

Umno supreme council members had reportedly told Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in their meeting on Thursday that the political situation was not improving and that he should consider an earlier exit.

At the same time, Abdullah’s supporters are rallying around him to ask him to stick to the transition plan and defend his president’s post, if need be.

Home Minister and supreme council member Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar revealed that Abdullah listened intently and asked for time to discuss the matter with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“He is conscious of the wishes of the grassroots and he said he is willing to exercise flexibility.

“I don’t think there is any necessity to talk about applying pressure. Let him make the decision,” said Syed Hamid.

The minister said Abdullah was also aware of the time line “Oct 9” when Umno divisions will begin their annual meetings to nominate candidates for party posts, including those for the president and deputy president.

Five supreme council members spoke during the closed-door meeting, four explaining the need for a quicker exit plan saying that it would not be feasible for the party president to stay beyond December when the party convenes for the General Assembly.

The four were vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and supreme council member Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, who is Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister.

Rafidah is said to have told Abdullah that Wanita grassroots members had informed her that he might not even be able to secure the minimum 58 nominations required to defend his presidency. Her no-holds barred approach caused several of those present to ask her to tone down.

Kelantan Umno chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa was the only one who spoke up for Abdullah, criticising those asking him to go.

He reminded the two top leaders that they had committed themselves to the 2010 transition plan.

Several more were about to speak but Najib, noticing that Abdullah was visibly affected, stepped in and ended the discussion, saying that those who spoke had made their point. He asked that Abdullah and him be allowed to take the discussion to a more “private level.”

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad said the supreme council must be informed about details of the transition because “this is not a private love affair between two people.”

“We should not be kept in the dark because it affects the country, Barisan Nasional and Umno,” he told The Star.

Analyst Datuk Seri Annuar Zaini said a captain needed accurate information to negotiate stormy seas.

“The decision lies with Pak Lah and it is good he knows the situation on the ground,” he said.

A senior member of the supreme council has been tasked by the others to meet Abdullah soon to secure a more definite answer from him.

Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad, the Prime Minister’s political secretary, said of now, Abdullah stood by the 2010 transition plan.

At the Selangor Umno liaison committee meeting yesterday, 20 of the 22 divisions wanted state party chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib to ask Abdullah “to have a big heart and accept that the political situation calls for change.”

They also called for a smooth and graceful transition that will not involve a contest for the top post.

Malaysians with powerful  political antennaes are asking whether Abdullah can last as Prime Minister beyond October 9.  There are even those who set an earlier date – Sept. 26, for instance. Seismic events are afoot.

This makes the following blog
Sakmongkol AK47
more than interesting:

SATURDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2008

An Honourable Discharge Nonetheless

Sakmongkol has long advocated an honourable discharge for our commander. The UMNO leadership must understand and apply this concept. Otherwise, people will look at UMNO as wanting in a very crucial department- to act with honour and integrity. Sadly, these are fast depleting under the callous and cavalier UMNO leadership. From the top to the grassroots levels.

Sakmongkol has written about this in some earlier blogs. About the code of honour involving the dismissal of an officer and gentleman.

Yes, we all want Pak Lah to go. But it must be done in a dignified way. The UMNO people must learn from the shameless ways they treated Tun Mahathir. The John Q public or the man on the Clapham omnibus do judge us by our deeds.

The fate of UMNO is unfortunately linked to the leadership of Pak Lah. So when people, including UMNO stalwarts agitate for the exit of Pak Lah, they must know that they are in fact, damning themselves too. Because since 2004, the leaders have implicated themselves in the huge charade of masquerading mediocrity as leadership quality.

During the MKT meeting, Sakmongkol has been told that Pak Lah was about to burst into tears. He was saved from this embarrassment by Tan Sri Dato Seri Pahlawan Anuar Musa. ( phew! That’s a mouthful). Azalina Othman cried like a baby, thus confirming once and all, that there’s a woman hiding underneath that rugged masculinity.

Sakmongkol now realise that Pak Lah’s days are numbered. He is racing against the clock. He must quicken his pace lest he be swallowed by internal pressures and the quickly gaining momentum of Anwar Ibrahim’s bulldozer.

How does Sakmongkol realise that Pak Lah is about to write his own Closing Chapter? ( the title of a book by Lord Denning). When Sakmongkol noticed that his loyal-to-a-fault, the true blue Abdullah loyalist Adnan Yaakob found himself on that day, deficient in trying to defend his boss. When you are no longer defensible by such a person, that means the end is near.

But please don’t besmirch the unwritten code of honour and dignity by a summary execution.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 21 September 2008, 7:09 pm and is filed under
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Is the MCA Operative who lodged  the report triggering Teresa Kok’s ISA arrest a MCA member?

At  the SSS (Support, Sympathy and Solidarity) Candlelight Vigil for DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok demanding her immediate release from Internal Security Act held at Ipoh Timor Garden East, Ipoh on Thursday, 18th September 2008 –  the eve of Teresa’s seven-day incarceration – I said that
a key MCA operative in Puchong
had lodged a police report making false allegations against Teresa over the azan controversy on Thursday, 11th September 2008, which triggered her ISA detention the next day on Sept. 12 at 11.18 pm.

I repeated this the next day at Teresa’s media conference on her ISA release at DAP PJ hqrs the next day at 3.30 pm.

Is or was the “key MCA operative in Puchong” a MCA member? Let MCA leaders tell Malaysians.

Suddenly, MCA leaders like its vice president Datuk Ong Tee Keat have become very bold and courageous in throwing challenges wanting me to prove that “police reports lodged by members of an MCA division in Selangor had led to the detention of DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok under the Internal Security Act (ISA)”.
(New Straits Times online)

But not a bleat from them when Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar virtually told them to shut up and declared that there is not going to be any repeal or review of the ISA.

The MCA Central Committee met on Tuesday, 16th September 2008 and called for
“a comprehensive review of the ISA so that it will apply strictly to cases relating to terrorism and subversive elements”
.

Why didn’t the four MCA Ministers formally table this proposal at the Cabinet meeting the next day on Wednesday, 17th September 2008?

Are the MCA leaders just playing to the gallery in making public calls for the “comprehensive review” of the ISA, just for newspaper publicity but which MCA Ministers have neither intention nor political courage to pursue in Cabinet as a fundamental matter of principle?

MCA leaders are trying to raise a hue-and-cry over the identity over the “MCA operative in Puchong” whose police report one day earlier had triggered off Teresa Kok’s ISA detention.

Teresa had already revealed the identity of the “MCA operative in Puchong” concerned at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on the occasionn of the “head-shaving protest” by 18 justice-and-freedom-loving Malaysians expressing their outrage at  the unjust, undemocratic and unlawful detention of Malaysia’s most famous blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the Hindraf 5 and other detainees  under the Internal Security Act.

The ball is now in the court of the “bold and courageous” MCA leaders.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 September 2008, 5:17 am and is filed under
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We are all class-ed multiculturalists now!

By: Azly Rahman

Growing up in a Malay kampong in Johor Bahru, having been born in a British Military hospital in Singapore, schooled in Kuantan, Seremban, Shah Alam and moving from one realm of cultural experience to the next, living in from one enclave to another in the process of being schooled and in the process of being and becoming an educator, ending up in a town a half and hour’s drive from New York City where I have lived for several years, I sometimes wonder if all these makes me a “cultural construction” of “multi-ethnicity” or a “Malay” still? Or — how “Malay” am I still? Or — what is a Malay”? as I would ask what is an “American”?

Here in the United States where I teach a course called “Cross-Cultural Perspectives” in which trying to engage my students in the works of Edward Said, Clifford Geertz, Renato Rosaldo, and the like, I find myself again, having to interrogate my “subjectivity and objectivity” as a “culturally-constructed being” in my attempt to play the role of Socrates in dialogue with my students in our exploration of the multiple meaning of culture.

Each semester is a learning experience,  teaching me newer ideas of what “culture, race, and ethnicity” means. I look forward to the intensive classroom discussions by the “hybrid and hyphenated human beings” in my class — those whose family background present a rich tapestry of ethnicity in a sea of creativity called the human race.

I have had pure Afghans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, Turks, Greeks, Irish, Australians,  Ghanaian, Nigerian, Russian, Israeli, Cuban, Iranian, Taiwanese, mainland Chinese, Australian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, Jamaican, Egyptian, Bangladeshi, Saudi Arabian, and a hybrid of all many of these. There were Indonesians too. But no Malaysians yet.

My first question on the first day of class to them is: how multicultural are we? How do we see culture as a “construct” that will enable human progress towards peace, social justice, and liberation? These are indeed big words I have set them to explore.

Is race and ethnicity an illusion and a mental construction? Or is it real as real as body and flesh we fight with using and used by the rhetoric of nationalism in honor of our country right or wrong? How might education help bring about the desired changes in the way we translate concepts to practice?

Malaysians had just celebrated her 51st. Merdeka/Independence celebration and merely a few months after the most decisive and exciting by-election in history; one in which not only many are saying “the political fate of the country lies” but also one in which race and religion has become ever more prominent as a decisive factors.

Against the background of the celebration lies a Malaysia that is engaging in yet another ritual of a “nation perpetually in narration”: the Merdeka celebrations.

Consider the proclamation below:

“Our Nation, Malaysia is dedicated to:

Achieving a greater unity for all her people; maintaining a democratic way of life; creating a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably distributed; ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural tradition, and building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology.

We, the people of Malaysia, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends, guided by these principles:

• Belief in God

• Loyalty to King and Country

• Upholding the Constitution

• Sovereignty of the Law, and

• Good Behaviour and Morality”

                         — From the Rukunegara, circa 1970

So… what happened?

The words above constructed and proclaimed in 1970, after the bloody riots of May 13, 1969, contained internal contradictions if we are to analyze it today.

As the country approached 31 August 2008, we read the following stories:

– ISA arrests that have confusing and the hypocritical dimensions surrounding these

– a national coalition front undergoing implosion and falling apart

–         an irate Prime Minister mulling action against a blogger flying the Malaysian flag upside down, in cyberspace; an action that finally materialised through the arrest of the blogger

–         a by-election campaign in Pematang Pauh in Penang,  that rears the ugliness of smear campaigns focusing on race, religion, and personal issues instead of presenting solutions to national crises;

–         an aborted Bar Council forum on conversion to Islam, disrupted by groups claiming to represent the survival and dignity of Malaysian Muslims;

–         an angry Vice Chancellor of an all-Bumiputra university threatening to file suit Chief Minister of Selangor for the latter’s suggestion that Universiti Teknologi MARA be open to non-Bumiputras;

–         a teacher in Selangor reprimanded and transferred for hurling racial slurs at her Malaysian school-children of Indian origin;

–         the continuing and intensified work of the Prime Minster of Malaysia’s propaganda outfit, Biro Tata Negara in ensuring that the ideology “Ketuanan Melayu” remain funneled into the minds of Malay students, educators, and civil servants;

–         the continuing refusal of the Ministry of Higher Education to grant freedom to students to gain concepts and skills of political consciousness by its refusal to radically revise the University and University Colleges Act;

–         an increasingly cacaphonic and toxic relationship between the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislative; as a consequence of the 22-year rule of the previous Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

–         a hyper-modernized country trapped in the excesses of nationalism and globalization in an age wherein the global food and energy crisis is taking its toll on the economic and political lives of nations.

Those are amongst the snapshot items of Malaysia circa 51 years of Merdeka/Independence. The composite image of a system of divide and conquer left by the British colonials continue to be artistically refined into subdivisions of divide and conquer, aided by the propaganda machine of the ruling class. Malaysia is seeing the image of the little brown brothers that are becoming the new colonizers and transforming into emperors in new clothes.

If the words of the proclamation are to be our benchmarks of Merdeka, we must ask these questions:

– how have we fostered unity amongst nation, when our government promotes racism thorough racialized policies and by virtue that our politics survive on the institutionalization of racism?

– how have we maintained a democratic way of life, when our educational, political, and economic institutions do not promote democracy in fear that democratic and multicultural voices of conscience are going to dismantle race-based ideologies?

– how are we to create a just society in which the wealth of the nation is equitably distributed, when the New Economic Policy itself is designed based on the premise that only one race need to be helped and forever helped whereas at the onset of Independence poverty exists even amongst Malaysians of all races?

– how are we to promote a liberal approach to diverse culture and tradition when our education system is run by politicians who are championing Ketuanan Melayu alone and ensure that Malay hegemony rules in all levels and all spheres of education, from pre-school graduate levels?

– how are we to build a progressive society based on science and technology when our understanding of the role of science and society do not clearly reflect our fullest understanding of the issues of scientific knowledge, industrialization, and dependency?

Are we seeing a failed Malaysia? Has racial politics brought this nation into chaos?

Across the board the country is in distress; education in shambles, polarized, and politicized, economy is in constant dangerous flux, judiciary is in deep crisis of confidence, public safety is of major concern due the declining public confidence in the police, and politics remain ever divided along racial and religious lines.

This is the Malaysian picture of Dorian Gray, one that shows the image of a “vibrant nation of progress and harmony, and racial tolerance and a robust economy” but behind it is a deformed Malaysia that is merely a continuation of a feudal and colonial entity.

The colonized has become the colonizer. The once oppressed is now oppressing. The ignorant is educating the educated. In a world of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

The State has become a totalitarian entity using the ideological state apparatuses to silent the voices of progressive change. The nationalists have nationalized the wealth of the nation for themselves and perhaps siphoning the nation’s wealth internationally.

This is the picture of a broken promise made by those who fought for Independence; the vices of the early radical and truly nationalistic Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, Sikhs, etc. of the early Merdeka movement.

How then must Malaysians celebrate its 52 nd. Merdeka? By flying the Jalur Gemilang upside down? Or to do better than this – to put justice in its own place by engineering a multicultural jihad against all forms of excesses of the abuse of power and to de-toxify the nation entire, and next to begin with Year Zero of our cultural revolution through the gentle enterprise called peace and multicultural education?

Herein lies education as a solution.

I believe we need a radical overhaul of everything, philosophically speaking.  We have the structures in place built in some instances to a state-of-the-art but we need to replace the human beings running the system.

We have deeply racialized human beings that are running neutral machines. We have ethnocentric leaders running humane systems.  We have allowed imperfection and evolving fascism to run our system. We have placed capitalists of culture behind our wheels of industrial progress; people who have the dinosaur brain of ketuanan this or that. We have created these monsters and have unleashed them to run our educational, political, economic, and cultural systems.  We have Frankenstein-ised our Merdeka.

We need to re-educate ourselves by reinventing the human beings we will entrust to run our machines.

We must abolish the present system and create a new one; just as how we created our new cities – Putrajaya and Cyberjaya – our symbols of our Oriental Despotism and Asian capitalistic decadence. We must be aware that class in the broadest and most comprehensive sense of the word is what we are dealing with and through class and cultural analyses we can arrive at a different path to a new Merdeka.

This Merdeka, the rakyat, armed with wisdom of a new era, must now speak softly but carry a big stick.

Our struggle for Merdeka has only just begun.

We hope that the ideas of change discussed in our little Malaysian “salons” — from the warongs to online hangout joints — will become impetus to the much needed mega change in consciousness of Malaysians. We hope that radical ideas will be debated in our universities, educational and cultural institutions and consequently affect political changes that would further compel educators to begin redesigning policies through the rejuvenation of thinking.

Malaysians have no choice. We are all class-based multiculturalists now. We must reinvent even the way to think about how we think as Malaysians.

Now — that’s a metacognitive challenge!

_______________________________________________

I APPEAL TO THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY AND RELEASE ALL THE ISA DETAINEES AS WELL AND CONSEQUENTLY REPEAL THE ISA AND ALL OTHER INTOLERABLE ACTS

REPLACE THE ISA with an INTELLECTUAL SUSTAINABILITY ACT INSTEAD.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION: http://www.petitiononline.com/isa1234/petition.html

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 September 2008, 3:17 pm and is filed under
Azly Rahman
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Raja Petra Kamaruddin
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“What’s Tunku doing in DAP?”

“Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim raised many eyebrows, not least from associates, when he joined DAP in August and was promptly named a vice-president of the party. The co-founder of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International has no intention of being a token Malay presence in the multi-racial but Chinese-dominated party. He has found a new platform in the DAP to advocate transparency, accountability, justice and equality.

“The Edge Financial Daily caught up with him recently where he spoke about the challenges facing the DAP, especially in reaching out to the Malay community, what ails the country, the spirit of the nation’s founding fathers and his plans in the party. While many would have rested on their laurels at age 74, Tunku Aziz, a former Bank Negara adviser and former group director of Sime Darby, has the enthusiasm of a young man, and is all geared up to help push the ideal of creating a better Malaysia. ”

Read
The Edge Daily

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 September 2008, 3:46 pm and is filed under
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Will 4 MCA Ministers resign en masse if Anwar arrested under ISA?

On Tuesday, the MCA Central Committee called for “a comprehensive review of the Internal Security Act (ISA) so that it will apply strictly to cases relating to terrorism and subversive elements”.

Are the four MCA Ministers prepared to take the lead in the Cabinet to make it very clear that any ISA arrest of  Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will result in their mass resignation?

This is because the detention of Anwar Ibrahim under the ISA seems to be on the cards after the uncharacteristically belligerent accusation by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday that Anwar is a threat to the national security and economy who wanted to “destroy the country and exploit the people’s trust and tarnish the country’s image abroad”, followed by equally truculent statements against  Anwar by Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in the past few days.

Are the MCA Ministers and leaders going to make it very clear to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister that the deepening multiple crisis of confidence in the past six months since the first political tsunami on March 8 will take drastic turn for the worse as nobody in his right senses would believe that Anwar should be detained under the ISA?

It is regrettable that not a single MCA Minister or MP had attended the inaugural meeting to form the “Free Teresa Kok” Parliamentary Caucus last Wednesday.

Are the MCA Ministers and MPs prepared to support the enlargement of the Parliamentary Caucus to a “Free RPK, Hindraf 5 and all ISA detainees” Parliamentary Caucus now that Teresa has been released from ISA after a seven-day detention?

Furthermore, are the  MCA MPs prepared to support an all-party parliamentary motion in Parliament to deplore the ISA detention of a MP when Parliament reconvenes on Oct. 13 and to call for the repeal of the ISA as an important measure to end the deepening multiple crisis of confidence afflicting Malaysia in the past six months?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 22 September 2008, 7:13 am and is filed under
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Abdullah fights for his political life – will Najib “sink or swim” with him?

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has decided to fight for his political life.

The question is who will be  the protagonists in the looming “battle royal” in UMNO – and what are the stakes involved.

Will the protagonists in the Umno Presidential battle be Abdullah vs Najib, or will Najib “sink or swim” with  Abdullah in a Abdullah-Najib battle against the rest?

What are the stakes involved?  This question would be obtuse or even stupid in  the past five decades when whoever is  Umno President is automatically the Prime Minister.

But this  is no more the case after the two political tsunamis in the past  six months – the  first in the general election of March 8 and second in the Permatang Pauh by-election on August 26.

As a result, the battle to be the Umno President at the end of the year is no more automatically about who is to be the next Prime Minister but probably  the next Parliamentary Opposition Leader.

Although Umno Information Chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib Monday yesterday slammed as
“opportunists”
 those  who leaked information on matters discussed in the party’s supreme council meeting (which includes Muhammad himself), the facts remain uncontradicted that at last Thursday’s Umno Supreme Council meeting, Abdullah was
pressured
 to have a quicker exit plan and not wait until mid-2010 according to  his earlier power transition plan with Najib.

Rafidah (who joined Muhyiddin Yassin, Hishammuddin Hussein and Shafie Apdal to pressure Abdullah to fast-forward the transition plan to hand power to Najib) even warned that Abdullah might not even be able to secure the minimum 58 nominations (i.e. 30 per cent) required to defend his Umno presidency.

Abdullah was openly pressured to make known his intentions by October 9 when Umno divisions begin nominating candidates for the Umno polls in December.

Two events yesterday marked the Abdullah decision to go for broke in the Umno party polls after a three-day panic of the Abdullah camp over the “palace revolt” at Thursday’s Umno Supreme Council meeting.

The first was the public pledge of support  for the beleaguered Abdullah by Penang Umno, calling on all the 193 divisions not to rock the boat and honour the 2010 power transition plan.

This is most ironic as it was the Penang Umno which had done the most damage to the credibility, authority and legitimacy of Abdullah as Umno President and Prime Minister with its open defiance and contempt  of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in giving full backing to Datuk Ahmad Ismail in the “Chinese are penumpang” furore – which has now been aggravated by the presence of Ahmad Ismail at the Penang Umno meeting and press conference as  “UMNO Bukit Bendera adviser” although suspended for three years as Umno member.

Abdullah’s statement in
Kota Baharu
yesterday that Umno grassroots members want  the strengthening of the spirit of consensus in the party in line with the leadership transition plan in 2010 was the second indication of  his decision to go for broke in the Umno party polls.

Hence, the
Singapore Business Times
report

“Abdullah may seek re-election as Umno chief”
, viz:

MUCH to the surprise of political pundits here, Malaysia’s embattled Prime  Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is likely to seek re-election as president of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) – the position that carries the prime ministership.

Party officials say Mr Abdullah, 67, made the decision at the weekend after huddling with party allies and family members including his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, the deputy chief of Umno’s youth wing.

‘OK, we won’t get that many nominations,’ an Abdullah ally told BT. ‘But I think we should be able to get 70 to 80 with some work.’ A challenger for the presidency needs at least 58 nominations from the party’s 191 divisions nationwide.

But not all Umno officials think that Mr Abdullah can pull off re-election. At a meeting of Umno state liaison chiefs last Thursday, at least two of his loyalists – Johor Chief Minister Ghani Othman and his Pahang counterpart Adnan Yaakub – told him they can no longer control their divisions, which are likely not to nominate him.

And at an Umno Supreme Council meeting later, at least four senior members suggested in strong language that Mr Abdullah not seek re-election lest he be humiliated by a lack of nominations.

The meeting ended abruptly after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said he would settle the leadership transition in talks with Mr Abdullah.

Malaysianinsider
 has this report,

“Pak Lah set to defend Umno presidency”
:

Barring a last-minute turnaround, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will go ahead and defend his position as Umno party president, despite some pressure from the ground for him to short-circuit his transition plan.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the Prime Minister reached this decision after meeting several Umno supreme council members, state liaison chiefs and political operatives over the weekend at his official residence Sri Perdana.

The consensus among this group, which includes Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor, is that Abdullah should be able to garner the minimum 58 nominations needed to contest the top post. Abdullah’s supporters said that with the green light from him, they will hit the ground and conduct a no-holds-barred campaign for the next few weeks to ensure that he gets the nominations when Umno divisions begin their divisional meetings.

This decision by Abdullah to defend his party president’s position will come as a surprise to many, especially those in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s camp. During the supreme council meeting on Thursday, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, Datuk Rafidah Aziz and Datuk Shafie Apdal urged Abdullah to hand over the reins to Najib soon, with Rafidah saying that the PM will face difficulty getting the minimum number of nominations.

Hearing this feedback, many party officials and political pundits expected him to announce that he would not contest the party elections.

But instead of demoralising Abdullah and his supporters, the attack by Hishammuddin and others had the opposite effect. Abdullah’s camp felt that despite being magnanimous by handing over the Finance portfolio and even suggesting during a press conference that he would hand over power to Najib much earlier than 2010, he was being pushed to the wall.

A senior party official told The Malaysian Insider: “You can push someone up to a point only. After that it becomes humiliating. So it is rubbish to say that Pak Lah will be humiliated if he contests the party elections. Some people are already trying to do this. He has nothing to lose by keeping to the original transition plan.”

This decision will spook the DPM and his supporters. Najib can ill-afford an all-out battle for the party presidency. With his strong support base on the ground he will be the favourite to get more nominations than Abdullah but it will come at a great cost to him and his desire to lead a united party.

As such, Najib is likely to support Abdullah’s desire to contest the party elections, knowing that a no-holds-barred contest will damage both of them badly.

Where does Najib really stand in the UMNO power stakes.

Clearly the affairs of state and the worsening multiple crisis of confidence which had been neglected for more than six months since the March 8 political tsunami will have to continue to occupy peripheral attention while the Umno leaders slug it out for the next three months –  whether for Prime Minister or Opposition Leader.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 23 September 2008, 6:42 am and is filed under
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I accept challenge of a legal suit

Threats have been issued to institute legal proceedings against me over my statement that the police report by a MCA Operative triggered the Internal Security Act arrest of Teresa Kok.

I have issued a statement
yesterday
.

I am now outside the country. But I accept the challenge of a legal suit.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 23 September 2008, 2:00 pm and is filed under
Announcement
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ISA
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MCA
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Teresa Kok
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Abdullah ultimate failure in battle against corruption – Malaysia’s worst ranking in 14 years of TI CPI (No. 47)

It is another  day of shame for Malaysia when the  Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2008 was unveiled, with the country  placed at  No. 47th position, its worst ranking in 14 years since the introduction of the annual TI CPI ranking in 1995.

It is also the ultimate failure of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s campaign against corruption, which he promised to place at the very top of his agenda when he became the fifth Prime Minister five years ago –a campaign rich in paying lip service but doomed to failure as it lacked the political will to produce  results.

It is most ironic and tragic that one man who will feel most  vindicated by the TI CPI 2008 is former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

Abdullah had promised  that his campaign against corruption will be one area which will distinguish the difference of his premiership from that of his predecessor. It was his promise to bring in a refreshing wind of change after 22 years of “cronyism, corruption and nepotism” (KKN) of Mahathir administration that created the unprecedented Barisan Nasional landslide electoral victory in the 2004 general election.

However, in just a year after the 2004 general election, Mahathir was able to adopt a “holier than thou” attitude towards the Abdullah premiership by publicly warning in May 2005 that corruption under Abdullah for a  little over a year was even worse than under him for  22 years, that “corruption might be getting to a point of no return”, becoming “a culture in Malaysia with corruption almost at the ‘above the table’ level” and “more and more people no longer trying to hide the fact that they were corrupt”.

The TI CPI 2008 has proved Mahathir right in his adverse judgment  on the Abdullah administration on its dismal performance in the battle against corruption.

What a sad and tragic end reminding one of the Shakespearean quote in Macbeth: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Malaysia’s worst-ever ranking of No. 47 in the TI CPI 2008 is not just the ultimate failure of the Abdullah premiership in the campaign against corruption,  it is also  a national shame and infamy.

The National Integrity Plan promulgated in April 2004 announced  the five-year target to emplace Malaysia at least No. 30 in the TI CPI by 2008. Instead, we plunged to the lowest ever at No. 47 position.

In the nine years from 1995 to to 2003, Mahathir presided over a 14-ranking fall in Malaysia’s TI CPI from 23rd to 37th placing.  Abdullah, in five years from 2003 to 2008, supervised a 10-ranking fall from 37th to 47th position.

We have not only continued to lose out to model nations in Asia in anti-corruption rankings like  Singapore (No. 4 in 2008 TI CPI), Hong Kong (No. 12), Japan (No. 18), we are also losing out to more and more countries even in Africa, Middle East and Latin America, like Qatar (No. 28), United Arab Emirates (No.35), Botswana,  Puerto Rico and Malta (No. 36), Taiwan (No. 39), South Korea (No. 40), Mauritius and Oman (No. 41), Macao and Bahrain (No. 43), Bhutan and Czech Republic (No. 45).

With such a dismal failure of the five-year  plan target of the National Integrity Plan, the whole Cabinet should resign in shame and set a final salutary example of the culture of responsibility and  resignation, the first prerequisite to any meaningful campaign against corruption.

But will the Ministers place the country’s  dismal showing in the TI CPI 2008 on top of the Cabinet agenda today with a clear-cut accounting to the nation as to the future of the National Integrity Plan and the war against corruption after the Cabinet meeting?

Or will the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers just sweep the dismal ranking of Malaysia in TI CPI 2008 under the carpet, keeping up the pretence that such a lengthening list of national infamy does not exist?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 6:23 am and is filed under
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All eyes on MCA Ministers  in Cabinet today – censure Hamid for RPK ISA detention and harassment of Wee Meng Chee?

The formal detention of blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) hours before his habeas corpus application hearing at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday is a gross violation of human rights,  a blatant abuse of power  and downright contempt of court by the Home Minister and a travesty of the rule of law in Malaysia.

One would have expected that being a lawyer by training, the Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar would have greater regard, respect and understanding of the principles of a just of rule and would not do anything to frustrate the legal process as in RPK’s habeas corpus application hearing yesterday.  But Hamid has proved everyone wrong.

The Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail should explain whether he was privy to the Home Minister’s decision on Monday night to frustrate the legal process over RPK’s habeas corpus application hearing yesterday  challenging the police detention under Section 73 of the Internal Security Act (ISA) by the simple but  most cynical and irresponsible expedient of the Minister signing a formal detention order under Section 8 of the ISA.

Was the Attorney-General consulted and his agreement sought to this irresponsible ploy to frustrate RPK’s habeas corpus application and did he advise the Home Minister against such flagrant  contempt of court and to trust in the impartiality and integrity of the judicial system to pronounce on the legality of the police detention of RPK under the ISA under Section 73?

Whose idea was it that the Home Minister should abuse his powers to expedite the formal detention of RPK under Section 8 of the ISA in order to frustrate RPK’s habeas corpus application, when RPK had been detained for only 10 days under Section 73  which provides for a 60-day police custodial detention?

All eyes are on the four  MCA Ministers in Cabinet today – will they censure Hamid and demand immediate release of RPK under ISA?

This is because MCA Ministers and leaders have been going to town in the past few days declaring that the MCA will continue its call for the repeal or review of the ISA, in particular the comprehensive review of the draconian law to ensure that the ISA is applied strictly to cases relating to terrorism and subversive elements to prevent possible abuse of the law.

As the MCA Ministers and leaders have declared that RPK is not a suitable case for ISA detention, Malaysians want to know what the four MCA Ministers are going to do in Cabinet apart from making statements in the newspapers.

Are the MCA Ministers prepared to spearhead a decision in Cabinet dissociating Ministers from the contempt of court perpetrated by Hamid in his abuse of power under Section 8 of the ISA to frustrate RPK’s habeas corpus application as well as to demand the immediate release of RPK from Kamunting Detention Centre under the ISA?

The MCA Ministers should also raise in this morning’s Cabinet meeting the three-hour questioning of rapper Wee Meng Chee  and express disapproval for any vindictive action against Wee for his “Negarakuku” rap video and to demand immediate end of police harassment of Wee.

If the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers are not prepared to take action against the suspended Umno Bukit Bendera Chairman Datuk Ahmad Ismail for his offensive, provocative and racist “penumpang” reference to the Chinese in Malaysia, what justification can the police give for the harassment of Wee as subjecting him to questioning and possible prosecution under the Sedition Act?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 7:18 am and is filed under
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“Malaysians want fundamental change, and they want it now!”

Statement by
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah

September 23, 2008

I write this as a Malaysian, as someone who,  over forty seven years of political life, has had the privilege of playing some small part in the formation our country, the building of its institutions, and our achievement of a degree of economic sufficiency.   I write out of deep concern about the present state of our country.

In the lives of nations as of individuals, there come moments of profound possibility, when the potential for self-transcendence and for self-destruction are simultaneously present.

As before some critical examination in our youth, we come to the daunting realization that we hold our future in our hands, when how we will fare many years hence, and whether we shall flourish or languish, will depend on how we conduct ourselves now, in this small window of time.

We are in a political impasse that threatens to metastasize into a Constitutional crisis. Political crises come and go, but the present crisis might well be the beginning of a  cascade of failures leading to long-term instability and destruction.

1.      Our impasse occurs at a time of heightened economic, political and security challenges. The global economy faces the prospect of a meltdown on a scale last seen in the Great Depression of the last century.  As a trading nation, we are strongly exposed to its effects. Meanwhile, while we seem to have slept, the global economy is undergoing an epic transformation that we must either adapt to or are marginalized by.

2.      This year’s ground-shifting General Election result signaled a public sentiment that cannot be ignored. Malaysians want fundamental change, and they want it now, whether from within the ruling coalition or from outside it. The Malaysian demographic has changed dramatically over the last fifty years. We  have seen the birth of a more sophisticated, demanding electorate that has rightly lost patience with incompetence and dishonesty.

3.      The grievances of Sabah and Sarawak, which found only partial expression in the General Elections, remain unaddressed. This risks the very integrity of our Federation.

4.      Misunderstandings over race and religion are ripe for political exploitation, with potentially disastrous consequences.

Post election promises notwithstanding however, the government now commands even less confidence than it did post March 8.

The public is in near despair over the prospects for change from within the ruling party. Rather than share the public’s sense of urgency, our present office-holders have redoubled efforts to frustrate renewal, cut off reform, and silence criticism. These efforts only underscore the weakness of the administration and its will to change.

We can no longer deny that in its present form, and under present leadership, the government, led by the party to which I have given my life, is now structurally and inherently incapable of providing the direction and confidence that the country needs, whether over the long or short term.  The indications are there for all to see:

1.      The government has been unable to respond to the economic crisis with even a basic plan of action. Business confidence has plummeted as capital flees the country. Our economic policy remains as uncoordinated and directionless as it has been in since the beginning of this administration.

2.      The recommendations of two Royal Commissions of Inquiry have been ignored or watered down into insignificance.

3.      In this context, Umno’s constitutional provision for the renewal of its leadership by triennial elections might have been expected to provide some hope of renewal. Instead of embracing this opportunity, however, the leadership of the party has retreated into the fantasy world of a “transition plan” which rides roughshod over the party’s constitution and the rights of its members. This risible attempt to treat public office and party trust as a private bequest between two individuals, one of whom wishes to hold office beyond his democratic mandate and the other to ascend without one, and the continuing effort to force feed the country with this notion, fools no one. Instead, and against background of rampant money politics, it kills the public’s hope of national renewal via Umno.  Behind the babble about a “transition plan” the Prime Minister continues to be subverted by members of his own cabinet and subjected to thinly cloaked power plays to force his resignation.

This resort to a “transition plan” betrays a disturbing failure to grasp the meaning and purpose of public office. In the more mature society into which we aspire to grow, persons who demonstrate and moreover propagate such disregard for constitutional and democratic process would long ago have been disqualified from public life, let alone from national leadership. The news appears not to have sunk in that the public rejects leaders who shun the open light of democratic contest in favour of staged plays and backroom plots.

Given Umno’s core role in national politics, this is a dangerous state of affairs. Meanwhile the Opposition has made undeniable gains in the number of parliamentarians it commands. Beyond the hype and inflation, and regardless of whether  Pakatan Rakyat now has “the numbers” to command a majority, what we cannot doubt is that support for the governing majority continues to erode, and that this erosion continues so long as there is no hope of real change in the type of leadership Umno provides. There is now a credible threat that the present government may at some time fall by a vote of no confidence, or by some otherwise constitutionally legitimate demonstration of parliamentary majority.  After fifty-one years of rule by a single party, this is not a possibility that is well understood. It is justifiably viewed with trepidation. Neither sheer denial on the one hand, or inflated claims on the other, help the situation.

To all appearances, we are beginning to lose grip of the rule of law. The use of the Internal Security Act and of Sedition Laws to target particular individuals further erodes the credibility of the government. Our actions exacerbate rather than calm the fear that stokes civil and racial strife. In the present context of a leadership struggle within Umno and against a strong Opposition it is impossible to dispel the notion that these extreme measures are calculated to maintain certain individuals in power rather than to address verifiable threats to national security. Nothing does more to undermine the legitimacy of a government than plainly unjust acts. The ridiculous justifications given for some of these detentions has further undermined public confidence that the awesome powers of state are in safe hands.

We cannot afford to allow these disturbing trends to play out their destructive course while we suffer a de facto leadership vacuum,  and while the rule of law is uncertain and the Constitution not upheld.

Against this background I appeal to all parties to come together in humility, beyond party politics, to hold an honest discussion, in the spirit of shared citizenship and with the gravest attitude of common responsibility towards a long-suffering rakyat, about what is happening to our country and how we might agree together on a peaceful way beyond our impasse. We need to come together to find unity and direction out of this dangerous situation. In doing so, we might turn our crisis into an opportunity and renew our unity and sense of direction as Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 1:23 pm and is filed under
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Pak Lah Desecrating Ramadan

by
M. Bakri Musa

When President Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi during Christmas of 1972, I knew then that his fate was sealed.  I am not a Christian, but living in the West I am very much aware of the spiritual significance of Christmas.  As such I found Nixon’s action, coming from a self-professed Christian who regularly had Billy Graham pray with him in the White House, abominable beyond comprehension.

A Just God would not let such a barbaric action go unpunished.  Sure enough, a few months later the Watergate scandal broke out that would ultimately lead to Nixon’s resigning under threat of impeachment.  This was less than two years after he won a landslide re-election victory.

As a Muslim I feel profoundly the spirituality of Ramadan.  It was the month that Allah first revealed the Quran to His Last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w.  That was a measure of His generosity upon us.  It is said that the gates to Heaven are wide open, and to Hell closed shut, during this season, again reflecting His mercifulness during this blessed month.

We are expected to reciprocate this divine gift by being generous to our fellow beings.  Ramadan is thus a season to be charitable, to be forgiving of each other and the seeking of forgiveness from others.  All faiths have such a special period in their calendar when their followers are expected to be extra generous to and tolerant of their fellow human beings.

Imagine my horror, shared by many, when Prime Minister Abdullah, the self-declared Imam of Islam Hadhari, chose this particular month to incarcerate Raja Petra Kamarudin and others under the draconian Internal Security Act that allows for detention without trial, or even the filing of charges.

I would have expected the reverse.  That is, during Ramadan the Prime Minister would grant amnesty to deserving prisoners as a gesture of the government’s generosity and charity of spirit.

I have yet to see this happen in Malaysia, or any other Muslim country for that matter.  Instead we have the odious act of the police bundling up Raja Petra and others into prison, right in front of their families.  Where in the Quran or the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., did Imam Abdullah find the justification for such a cruel act?  Where is the spirit of generosity or sense of forgiveness demanded from each of us by our faith during this holy month?

As a Muslim Abdullah will be paying his zakat fitr (tithe) this Ramadan, and come Hari Raya he will be generous with his duit raya to the children calling upon the gates of Sri Perdana.  That is the extent of his understanding of the concept of charity and generosity called for in our faith:  simplistic, ritualistic, and materialistic.  Those he jailed under the ISA or the millions made miserable through escalating living costs as a consequence of his economic policies never enter his heart.

ISA Unjust

Like Nixon before, I also expect Abdullah’s latest inhuman act would also seal his fate.  I do not know or care what or when his comeuppance would be but I do know that whenever I see an injustice being perpetrated, I am duty bound by my faith to respond.

I do not wish to sermonize and outdo our Imam of Islam Hadhari (he is already good at that and does it all too frequently), but I do know this.  As per the teachings of our Prophet, s.a.w., when we see an injustice, we are to do whatever in our capacity to stop it.  If we are unable to do so with our hands (that is, physically), then we are to use our tongue (voice our disapproval).  Failing that, then at least acknowledge in our heart that we disapprove of it, though that would be the option least pleasing to Allah.

Incarcerating Raja Petra and others without affording them their due process is the height of injustice; and to do it during Ramadan is both cruel and vindictive.  It is also an affront to our religious sensibility; the very act desecrates our holy month.

I do not recommend anyone attempting to physically stop the police as that would risk your being arrested too, or worse.  We have to caution ourselves that where injustice or lawlessness is institutionalized, then the just and the lawful become victims.

There is something well within our ability to do, that is, voice our disapproval of the brutal ways of our government.  Many have already done so last March and again last month at the ballot box.  Unfortunately our leaders are slow learners, or refuse to learn the lesson.  We have to keep teaching them.

There is now a petition circulating in cyberspace seeking the release of all those detained under the ISA.  I urge all to sign it, as my family and I did.  Writing this commentary is also my way of condemning Abdullah’s brutish ways.

Last week with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim threatening to bring down the administration through coaxing its members to cross over, Abdullah threw a veiled threat of resorting to the ISA to silence Anwar.  Local and international pressures made Abdullah back off.

If we can believe him, Home Minister Syed Hamid was not at all involved in the process.  He proudly asserted that he did not “interfere” with the “professional” work of the police.  To think that the precious freedom of our citizens could hinge on the judgment if not fancy of some functionary in the police department is truly shocking.  For a minister to admit that he does not know what is going on in his department goes beyond incredulity; it is utter incompetence and gross dereliction of duty.

Today (September 22), just hours before the habeas corpus application by Raja Petra, Syed Hamid signed off on the detention of Raja Petra, thus making a mockery of the minister’s earlier denial.

No man is perfect enough to be entrusted with the liberty and dignity of others, asserted the Sudanese reformist Mahmoud Mohamad Taha.  I certainly would not entrust my freedom to others, least of all characters like Abdullah and Syed Hamid.  We need due process.

Raja Petra was held for supposedly “insulting Islam.”  Those police officers either have not read his articles, or if they did, could not understand them.

As Mufti of Perlis Datuk Asri Zainal Abidin so wisely noted, even Allah on the Day of Judgment would have us answer for our deeds before rendering judgment.  Here we have a mere mortal in the person of the Imam of Islam Hadhari passing judgment on fellow citizens without first hearing their side.

Law professor Azmi Sharom said it best.  “The arrest of Raja Petra, Kok and Tan shows that the law is so open to abuse that we have no other choice but to get rid of it. …. There can be no room for amendments.  The ISA must go.”  Amen!

God works in mysterious ways, so says our Quran.  Nixon had his Watergate; Abdullah too will have his comeuppance.  Whenever that comes, I pray that Allah would be merciful.  There is no anger in me for Abdullah, only sadness for what he has done to our nation

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 4:07 am and is filed under
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Bakri Musa
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Raja Petra Kamaruddin
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Race Relations Act – why now?

By

Azly Rahman

This sounds like a good idea; but after 51 years of independence?

We should have had this act to prevent the emergence of race-based parties and to ensure that all citizens be given equal opportunity and the rights and privileges accorded to them as a result of surrendering their natural rights to the state.

After 51 years of the institutionalisation of ethnocentrism and many times outright racism in terms of allocation of resources, open-secret indoctrinations, and the exploitation of racial and religious issues for political gain, we are now proposing an act to improve race-relations?

I am now puzzled – by the inherent contradictions we are confronting and will continue to confront vis-à-vis this proposed act.

Questions abound

Since the government had asked citizens like me to make suggestions and seek clarification concerning this proposed act, I have the following questions:

How will we judge the existing race-based parties that live and breathe on racial sentimentality to the point of being seditious in their pursuit of hegemony?

How will this act be used against governmental institutions such as the Biro Tata Negara whose livelihood has historically been based upon making sure that the damaging ideology of Malay (Pseudo) supremacy will forever prevail?

How will this act be used against public-funded educational institutions that promote “Ketuanan Melayu” which is clearly antithetical to our will to teach multi-racial understanding?

How many members of Parliament will be arrested under the Race Relations Act based on the nature of speeches they had given?

How many teachers and public servants will be investigated for using their position to deny their students and clients respectively the rights to be treated equally before the Constitution – rights accorded regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, color, creed, and religious orientation?

How many years of the possibility of multicultural education and intercultural understanding have we lost as a consequence of not having a Race Relations Act way back on Sept 16, 1963 during the formation of Malaysia?

How many racist policymakers in governmental and non-governmental sectors have we produced as a result of no Race Relations Act?

How many racist youth party leaders have we given birth to and how many can we afford to see “cloned” and “artificially inseminated” as a result of the absence of any act that erases racism and curbs arrogance and greed?

How will this proposed act, if passed, abolish the Internal Security Act that has been used to crush amongst others, those who oppose race-based policies and fight for racial and social justice?

How will this act allow for the passage of a new brand of politics – one that sees a truly multiracial party ruling the country and implementing policies based on the philosophy of equality, equal opportunity, excellence and empathy?

We are proposing this act at a time when we arrest our citizens for no good reason and no trial, using the instrument of oppression no longer suitable for an ultra and hyper-modern society such as ours.

We are proposing this out of desperation and out of sync with the mass sentiment of the day; at a time when the Berlin Wall of our Balkanized race relations is crumbling by the day, each brick in the wall ripped off by the power of the digital tsunami.

We are hearing this proposal coming from a race-based coalition government that wants to ensure that the divide and conquer and sub-divide and sub-conquer policies of British colonialism prevail in the filter-funneled minds of our little brown brothers and sisters.

The need to go deeper

Perhaps what we need is not another act to add to the ambivalence of acts such as The University and University Colleges and the Internal Security Acts but to go deeper into our public institutions and ask why we have not progressed much in race relations after all these decades.

We should investigate further how the New Economic Policy itself as a grand Stalinist-inspired programme of national development has contributed not only to the deterioration of race relations but has cemented racism in newer forms – both subtle and open.

We should investigate how the topic race relations has been taught in our community centers, schools, universities, and other public institutions to see what goes into the mind of our citizens by way of  schooling, indoctrination, training, and education – to see what went wrong and what is still not right.

We should examine governmental policies and see if we indeed uncover practices that promote equality, equal opportunity, and empathy in place; policies that ought to have improved race relations, inclusionary, and integrate rather than disintegrate the different races.

This will be a mind-boggling noble proposal for us to contribute ideas.  Do we need a new act? Or will a new government with a brand new ideology suffice?

But as peace and justice-loving Malaysians, let us offer constructive ideas to this proposed act.

Let us propose that only a truly multiracial party that has the will, motivation, intelligence and the set of acquired skills should be given the mandate to implement a Race Relations Act. Any communal-based party is too much a contradiction to put their act together on this one.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 24 September 2008, 2:21 pm and is filed under
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