Freedom, imagined

By
Adrian Chew

June 29, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 29 — Imagine this.

Tens of thousands of us came from all over to exercise our fundamental rights. In our midst were foreign elements; their presence threatening and encouraging at the same time.

The organisers of the event gave us clear instructions: Wear shirts of a certain colour. Be at the designated staging sites at the appointed time.

Alternative routes were suggested in case the authorities decided to block access to the sites. Many arrived hours ahead and camped inside their vehicles, counting down the hours to the event we’d all anticipated for so long.

And when the time came, friends, families, strangers — Malaysians and, yes, even foreign instigators — all moved in unison, in a sea of one colour. We were determined to get past all the obstacles and challenges that were put in our way.

It was a huge event. Traffic came to a standstill. Commuters were affected and businesses no doubt suffered too.

At major intersections and roundabouts, we’d come face to face with hostile forces. Car drivers gave us disapproving looks. I personally saw men on motorcycles cussing at us, trying to instigate an incident that would spark a flashpoint.

Some of us lost our nerve and fell out of formation.

But through it all, from our staging sites to the end of our route, were the men of the Royal Malaysia Police. On their bikes, putting themselves between us and impatient motorists; standing in the middle of intersections, holding back heavy traffic with nothing but their bare hands; walking along with us side by side, making sure we kept within the safe lanes.

They encouraged us, smiled and gave us friendly nods as we moved past them. A few asked us to keep up the pace and gently moved us in the right direction.

We came together in this movement because of our belief in the cause of freedom. The freedom to express ourselves, to join with others who shared this passion, and to exercise it knowing no one could deprive us of this deep-rooted desire to be free.

In so many ways, it was us having a say in where we were headed. We all had different motivations for participating but shared a common destination.

And so we moved, all of us wearing our green jerseys as participants of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon. Different events and categories, and for different reasons — a cure for diseases, in memory of loved ones, advocating civil liberties, or just simply to beat last year’s personal finishing time.

A myriad of causes but the same finishing line. All 22,500 of us — men, women and children.

Early last Sunday morning was the first time in a long time that many of us actually felt the police were our guardians, keeping us safe and facilitating that fundamental expression of our humanity.

For a while, at least, we didn’t have to imagine it. It really did happen.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 11:49 am and is filed under
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Hishammuddin’s Excuses

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 11:03 am and is filed under
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IGP says cops to arrest those with pro-Bersih ‘shoes, cars, buses’

By
Yow Hong Chieh
 | June 29, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — The police will not only arrest those sporting Bersih T-shirts but may also take action against anyone using any medium to promote the illegal rally, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has said.

“Not just T-shirts but shoes, cars, buses. If these are the tools used to encourage people to gather (illegally), this amounts to sedition,” Tan Sri Ismail Omar (picture) told reporters at Bukit Aman police headquarters here today.

Earlier today, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein declared T-shirts bearing messages in support of Bersih illegal as they were related to an illegal assembly.

He, however, did not specify the legal provision that the garments were deemed to have breached.

MORE TO COME

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 5:21 pm and is filed under
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Police did not ask for permission, says Speaker

By
S Pathmawathy

Jun 29, 11 | MalaysiaKini

Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia will look into claims by opposition MP Lim Kit Siang accusing the police of breaching parliamentary independence when they questioned several MPs yesterday.

“The police cannot enter Parliament grounds without the express consent of the speaker. The police can only provide policing function on the request of the Parliament officials, sergeant-at-arms and the speaker,” said Lim (DAP-Ipoh Timor) while interrupting the debate on the Money Services Business Bill.

Lim argued that the act of police recording statements from Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) and Mohd Firdaus Jaafar (PAS-Jerai) at the MPs’ lounge yesterday went against the principle of separation of powers.

Azmin said he was caught off-guard as the cops appeared unannounced, while Mohd Firdaus told reporters that he had invited them over to record his statement.

Pandikar (left) then said that he had also found out about the matter after reading about it in the media.

“We didn’t receive any official application from the police to do so but I understand from the news that both parties (the police and the MPs) had mutually agreed on it,” he told Lim.

Police officials from the Selangor police contingent headquarters had visited Parliament to take statements from Azmin and Mohd Firdaus, claiming that they had recommended the audiences at their public ceramah earlier this month to support and join in the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.

Bersih 2.0 will march to the palace to hand over an eight-point memorandum to the King seeking, among others, the use of indelible ink and a 21-day campaign period.

Besides Bersih, Malay rights group Perkasa and Umno Youth are also rallying on July 9.

However, Lim replied that despite the alleged mutual agreement, the police actions still contravened the special privileges accorded to MPs.

“I ask for the parliamentary rights and privileges committee to look into the matter and come up with a proper guideline,” urged Lim.

“I will look into it and I will call the relevant people to explain what happened,” Pandikar reiterated.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 4:20 pm and is filed under
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Waging war? The charge simply doesn’t stick!

Aliran Executive Committee

28 June 2011

The way the PSM members were arrested and accused reminds us of the proverb, “Give a dog a bad name and hang him.”

That’s what the police have done. They resurrected the communist bogey and concocted the myth of waging war against the king and hoped that these ludicrous accusations will stick. Unfortunately, the accusations are far-fetched and come across as scandalous and out-right lies.

The PSM is a grass-roots party dedicated to socialism and to the peaceful attainment of goals that would bring benefits to the marginalized and helpless members of the Malaysian community. Their concern for the welfare of the Orang Asli, their struggle for the urban poor, their solidarity with the homeless, their unwavering support for the evicted, their demand for decent basic wages for the largely exploited labour class, all this speaks eloquently to justify their existence in the political area.

They have never been opportunistic and did not abandon the constituency that did not support the party. They struggled on, in spite of their electoral losses and remained faithful to their chosen constituency. It is this perseverance that paid off for Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj who ultimately defeated Dato Seri Samy Vellu and captured the Sungai Siput parliamentary constituency in 2008.

Never at any point did PSM ever root for the Communist Party. The PSM’s ways are based on peaceful attainment of their objectives whereas the Communist Party is associated with armed struggle. The way of violence is anathema for the PSM.

This is why it is very difficult for Malaysians to believe the unfair accusation that the PSM is trying to resurrect the communist party.

What is equally mind-boggling is the charge that PSM is waging war against the king. The members of PSM are patriotic Malaysians who are loyal to king and country. They have never borne any arms at any point in their 10-year struggle to get recognition as a legitimate, registered political party. They fought a legal battle persistently to gain recognition and exist as a legitimate registered political party.

They are not a clandestine organisation. They have never operated a military camp or provided arms training to anyone. They have always operated in the open without fear or favour.

Not one member of PSM was ever arrested for carrying arms. In fact, those in the top leadership are people of integrity who are known to have made tremendous sacrifices for a cause that they believe in passionately.

The PSM Member of Parliament, Jeyakumar, is an example of a mild-mannered, soft spoken MP who uses sober, well-reasoned arguments to put across his concerns without sounding offensive.

He is no rabble-rouser and is instead one of the most principled politicians around. A respiratory physician by training and practice, he was once awarded a gold medal by the Malaysian Medical Association for outstanding community service.

How then could this party “wage war against the king”? It is unthinkable! It is an outrageous accusation, and the detention of the PSM members is totally unjustified.

Just look at the motley 30 PSM members who have been detained – the majority of whom are women. Do they honestly look as if they are capable of waging war against the king? Is it fair even to suggest this? Where are their weapons? Is it respecting the truth and honouring justice when such an outlandish accusation is levelled against these innocent people?

Thinking Malaysians are appalled at the unjustified accusations and they are rightly disturbed and disappointed with the action taken against them.

Aliran joins these concerned Malaysians in calling upon the Prime Minister to release these 30 detainees immediately and drop all charges against them. This act will win him international respect and justify our place on the Human Rights Council. This act will convince all and sundry that we as a nation are governed by the rule of law.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 11:06 am and is filed under
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When will Hishammuddin or IGP announce that it is unlawful and a police arrestable offence for anyone to wear or sport yellow until July 9?

Just four days ago in Ipoh on Saturday, I had called on the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to “stop the madness where a person can be detained by the police for wearing the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt, as if he/she is more dangerous than Osama bin Laden”.

Clearly, I had directed my call at the wrong person as Hishammuddin is now at the heart of the “madness” with his announcement this morning that Bersih 2.0 T-shirts are illegal and that it is a police arrestable offence to wear them.

The question Malaysians must pose is whether Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “Government Transformation Programme” has reached a stage where Ministers can unilaterally make laws like Hishammuddin declaring Bersih 2.0 T-shirts are illegal to justify police arrests and seizures?

Hishammuddin did not mention under what law the Bersih 2.0 T-shirts could be considered illegal and unlawful. The reason is simple – there is no such law, unless Malaysia’s democratic governance has degenerated to a stage where a Minister could unilaterally declare a law “on the run” as the Home Minister has done this morning.

The question is whether the Malaysian judiciary has degenerated to a new low where it would uphold the such Ministerial abuses of power in arbitrarily and unilaterally making a law “on the run” without parliamentary sanction.

If supporting the holding of a peaceful and orderly Bersih 2.0 rally calling for free, fair and clean elections like the yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirts is regarded as arrestable offence by the police, what is the reason for the double standards where the Police do not regard  support for counter-Bersih rallies like the Umno Youth rally and the supportive  red “Patriot” T-shirts or the Perkasa rally with the bloodcurdling, inflammatory and seditious speeches by Perkasa officials  threatening bloodshed and chaos, as unlawful but completely proper and within the bounds of the law?

Hishammuddin is a trained lawyer and knows that he is making nonsense of the law in unilaterally declaring Bersih 2.0 T-shirts as illegal, when the Bersih organisation has not been declared illegal nor has the word “Bersih” been gazetted as illegal.

What is noteworthy is that it was the Home Minister himself who was the first to declare publicly this morning that it is illegal and a police arrestable offence to wear the Bersih 2.0 T-shirts.

It is public knowledge that in the past several days, police officers had been put under tremendous pressure to arrest on sight persons who wear the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt although there is nothing in the law to justify such abuses of power – with the majority  of police personnel rightly refusing to comply with a ludicrous interpretation of the law.

In Ipoh, in reply to my Saturday statement demanding to know under what law could the police arrest persons for wearing the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police rightly pointed out that it is not an offence to wear the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt and that it was only illegal to wear T-shirts declared and gazetted as illegal and unlawful.

Clearly,  Hishammuddin has decided to ride roughshod over legitimate questions and concerns among the various levels of police about the legality and propriety of arresting persons for wearing the Bersih 2.0 T-shirt by unilaterally and personally declaring that  Bersih 2.0 T-shirts are illegal and wearing them is an arrestable police offence.

Such an announcement, if any, should come from the Inspector-General of Police and not the Home Minister.

It was only after the Home Minister had forced the issue with his unilateral and arbitrary Ministerial announcement this morning that the IGP, Tan Sir Ismail Omar followed suit a few hours later this evening to declare that the police will not only arrest those sporting Bersih 2.0 T shirts but may also take action against anyone using any medium to promote the July 9 rally – “Not just T-shirts but shoes, cars, buses.”

This is Malaysian “madness” in full bloom!

When will Hishammuddin or Ismail announce that it is unlawful and an arrestable police offence for anyone to wear or sport yellow until July 9, because yellow is the colour of  Bersih 2.0?

Is there anyone in the Najib Cabinet who dare to take a stand in Cabinet to demand an end of such “madness” or to resign from the Cabinet in disgust at such gross abuse of Executive powers?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 29 June 2011, 6:24 pm and is filed under
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23 Kajang councillors hauled up over Bersih T-shirts

Jimadie Shah Othman | Jun 30, 11

Malaysiakini

The clampdown against Bersih T-shirts continues, with 23 Kajang councillors being called up by police today for questioning for wearing the shirts at the full board meeting yesterday.

But of this number, only seven were present at the Kajang district police station this evening, while the others will give their statements in stages as they are not available today.

According to councilor Chandra Mohan ST, the police did not inform them under what section of the law they are being investigated.

The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has 24 members but only 20 were in attendance yesterday.

Those who had their statements taken today were Chandra, Ng Tien Chee, Steven Chan Jeong Hon, Tan Boon Wah, Lee Kee Hiong, Chang Siaw Hong and Noorhisham Ishak.

They were accompanied by lawyer and Segambut parliamentarian Lim Lip Eng.

Asked opinion on Bersih’s demands

It is understood that five police personnel had attended the council meeting yesterday and taken photographs of those present.

Chandra said that the police informed him that they are compelled to give their witness statements under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

He added that besides being asked his particulars and on his duties as a councillor, he was also questioned about his views on the demands by Bersih 2.0.

“I told them I support Bersih’s objectives, that’s why we were wearing yellow,” he said, adding that he was also asked if he supported the July 9 rally.

There were also “irrelevant questions” which he refused to answer, like the name of his family members.

Colleague Norhisham added that the answers do not really require them to come all the way to the police station, as they were too simple.

“They could have just emailed us,” he said.

On June 29, seven Selangor local councils – Subang Jaya, Ampang, Klang, Petaling Jaya, Kajang, Selayang and Shah Alam – showed solidarity with Bersih 2.0 by donning yellow items of clothing like headscarves, ties and headbands, with some wearing the NGO’s T-shirts at the full board meetings.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had said that wearing the T-shirts are illegal as it is connected to an illegal activity, that is the rally which has not been given a police permit.

More than 2000 have been called up by police to give statements in relation to Bersih 2.0.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 6:14 pm and is filed under
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Anas responds to Commander (Rtd) S. Thayaparan

By Anas Zubedy

Commander (Rtd) S. Thayaparan,

Thank you for your letter. It is nice to see that you started your letter with a salam, although in zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com, they took out the earlier parts of your letter.

I would like to make a few comments.

Like you, I am not for race-based political parties. I have, on many occasions, in my blog, full page ads, and talks, proposed that BN and PR slowly but surely work to make themselves one big party each which is non-race or religion based.

Like you, I too believe strongly that all socioeconomic policies must be based on needs, not race or religion.

I also agree that truth has been manipulated by people in power and some have used race wrongly to divide our country for the purpose of clinging onto power. I see this in both in BN and in the opposition.

I’m glad that we are on the same page on the new found cordiality between DAP and PAS.

On your question if I have forgotten YB Karpal Singh and the other races in DAP, I have not. Perhaps it was my mistake not to clearly state that my letter was a response to the DAP’s specific endeavor to focus and attract Malay membership. That is why in the letter I only focus on the DAP and the Malays.

A few weeks ago, the respected Tunku Abd Aziz lamented that he has failed to bring in Malay support. The DAP also launched Roketkini.com with the purpose of engaging the Malay segment. Thus my letter was a response on how the DAP can get Malay support and become multiracial.

For your information, YB Karpal Singh is one of my favourite politicians. I admire his stance on anti-frogging. If you browse through my blog, on many occasions I have supported him.

I have to respectfully disagree with you that the only legitimate natives are the Orang Asli and the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak. The Malay stock is an entity that includes the inhabitants of the whole Malay Archipelago, including the Phillipines and Indonesia. A biography of Jose Rizal by Rafael Palma lauded him as ‘The Pride of the Malay Race’, though he had Chinese blood and was a Christian.

The early inhabitants of the Malay Archipelago came in waves of migration between about 3000 to 1500 years ago. The first theory is that they originated from Indochina, flowed down the Peninsula and then crossed to the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and the Phillipines. The second theory is they originated from South China and moved across to Borneo and the Phillipines. These theories are based on archaeological evidence. This you can read from former PKR deputy president Dr. Syed Husin Ali’s book, ‘The Malays – Their Problems and Future’. He writes that the people living in the Peninsula for thousands of years are undoubtedly the true ancestors of the present-day Malays, the Neolithic groups often being described as Proto-Malays.

The book ‘The Malay Archipelago’ was published by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1869. Wallace was a naturalist who is best known for independently proposing the theory of evolution that Charles Darwin later published. ‘The Malay Archipelago’ is an account of Wallace’s scientific exploration through the archipelago from 1854-1862, where he found more than a thousand species new to science in the zoogeographical boundary now known as the Wallace line. It was this exploration that gave him his insight on natural selection. ‘The Malay Archipelago’ was one of the most popular journals of scientific experiment in the 19th century.

However, in no way I will condone anyone who says that the non-Malays after 1957 are ‘pendatang’. Those are bigots and we cannot allow them to hurt the non-Malays like that.

I agree with you that our history text books are myopic. They do not highlight all the great contributions of the non-Malays towards this wonderful land of ours. I am glad that there is a group of people who are now remedying this.

I also respectfully do not agree with you that the Malays did not have any other choice in sharing Tanah Melayu. They could have decided to go to war but they did not. That is because by nature, they are gracious. By saying the Malays are gracious, in no way do I mean that other cultures are not. I believe those who have lived among Malays would understand what I mean by the Malays being gracious.

On the point of who is the one to have disrespected Malay rulers, I am not going to debate whether it is UMNO or not. I am not from UMNO; you may want to deal with them directly.

On the point that DAP has to say thank you to the Malays, please understand that the purpose of this suggestion is to help DAP win the hearts of the Malays. You need to understand that in Malay culture, when you say sorry and thank you, it is the Malay culture to return it. I have strong convictions that if the DAP says thank you, the Malays will say thank you in return.

In no way would I suggest that we should not say thank you to all Malaysians, especially those who pay taxes. In my open letter I was talking specifically to DAP and addressing their endeavour to attract Malays into their fold.

Personally I do not know if YB Lim Guan Eng understands the Malays, but it is obvious that the DAP does not understand Malay sentiments. The recent refusal of Sarawak DAP to use the songkok in the Sarawak assembly is a case in point. I also do not think the DAP understands that for the Malays, even if you give them food, shelter, money and everything else, it counts for nothing unless you respect their adat. It counts for nothing unless you respect their culture. The Malay pepatah – ‘biar mati anak, jangan mati adat’ explains the position of the core Malay group.

Your comments on not understanding what I meant in my letter by practicing Malay adat and peribahasa shows that you do not really understand what is important to the Malays. At the same time however, I agree it is of course good to concentrate on the social needs of the community.

Again it seems that you do not understand Malay adat. When I urged the DAP to apologize, it is not the kind of apology that has to be warranted which you are talking about. Malays will apologize without asking why. They will just apologize. If you do not understand this, read my letter again – I wrote that the Malays will say sorry even if they did no wrong. For the fact that you asked this question on the reasons behind saying sorry, you do not truly understand the Malays.

I did not advocate Malay supremacy. I advocated the historical understanding of the transformation of this land. In no way do I consider the Malays as more supreme than any other culture. All cultures are equal in the eyes of God. But in Malaysia I will put pre-eminence to the Malay and native cultures of Sabah and Sarawak. But in no way would I like to live without the Chinese and Indian cultures around me. My love for these cultures perhaps surpasses many of the people from the cultures themselves.

On YB Lim Kit Siang, my suggestion that YB Lim Kit Siang resigns is in context of DAP seriously wanting to attract the Malays. I apologize,  I’m in a hurry to help create a non-race based political party, and I see YB Lim Kit Siang’s current active involvement in the DAP as a stumbling block. In no way did I mean disrespect. It is just politics. The Malays will not throng into the DAP as long as YB Lim Kit Siang is still actively involved. That is the Malay sentiment.

The reason why I suggested a merger between the DAP and PKR and not DAP and PAS is simple. Both DAP and PKR have a multiracial make up. PAS is Islamist. Until they change their stance, a merger would be very difficult. As I stated earlier, I for one would jump for joy if two main parties would dissolve internal sub-parties and merge together.

Alas, my letter to YB Lim Guan Eng is a respond to DAP’s own endeavor in engaging the Malay segment of the population. Tunku Aziz seems to not have an answer to the problem. I am providing some possibilities. If the DAP is serious and smart (which I do think they are, judging by what they are doing in Penang) , they should test my ideas with the Malay market. Ask the core Malay group that they have failed to attract if this chap Anas got it right.

Once they have the feedback, they can adjust their policies and actions to their own benefit. Failing which, DAP will remain as a party that is dependent on the pendulum swings on Malaysian politics. DAP cannot rule the country with their fixed deposit voters mainly from the Chinese segment of the Malaysian rakyat.

Lastly, Brother Commander (Rtd) S. Thayaparan, I would like to thank you for engaging and disagreeing with my letter in a most empathetic manner. You did not resort to demonizing me, name-calling, or playing God, pretending to know what is in my heart. For that I respect you. It is people like you that we need more of, to make this country a better place – people who know how to agree to disagree; people with care and love; people with the consciousness of God in their hearts.

I would love to have teh tarik with you and discuss more on how we can make this country a better place.

By law I am Malay, by ancestry I am a mixed Malay-Arab, by choice I am a malaysian but in the heart I belong to A Human Race :)

Peace, anas zubedy

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 2:52 pm and is filed under
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Attracting the Best To Teaching

By
M. Bakri Musa

Early this year the US Department of Education, together with OECD and the Asia Society, convened a summit of education ministers, master teachers, and union leaders from 15 countries. The theme was on attracting, training and retaining the best teachers. Those were no ordinary countries participating; their students had consistently excelled in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

America has some of the finest private and public schools, while its colleges and universities regularly dominate anybody’s list of the best. Yet there was US Education Secretary Duncan sponsoring this symposium and its opening speaker. That reflects the seriousness with which American leaders and policymakers consider education. It also shows their humility and commitment to learn from the best. I long for such traits in our leaders and educators.

The core assumption of the summit is that you cannot have excellent schools without excellent teachers. “Great teachers are not just born that way,” Secretary Duncan noted in his opening remarks. “It takes a high-quality system for recruiting, training, retaining, and supporting teachers over the course of their careers to develop an effective teaching force,” he continued.

This emphasis on schools and education is well placed. As OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria put it, “The prosperity of our nations depends on whether we succeed to attract the brightest minds into the teaching profession, and the most talented teachers into the most challenging classrooms.”

Pivotal Role of Teachers

You cannot have good schools without good teachers. Good teachers in turn come from good students, and good students need good schools in order to shine. This is not an extended version of the old chicken-and-egg riddle. Rather what these countries with exemplary schools and outstanding teachers have demonstrated is the pivotal position of the teacher. Finland and Singapore in particular have shown that you can indeed intervene to make teaching an attractive profession, the first-choice career of the talented.

In Finland teaching is a much-sought occupation, with ten applicants for every position! The teaching profession there attracts the best applicants in part because teachers get competitive pay. Singapore aggressively recruits from among the top third of its students, and those interested in and committed to teaching are paid while still in school.

Keen competition in itself is no indicator of quality. In Malaysia, there is a glut of applicants for religious teachers but no one dares claim that the applicant pool is made up of top-tier students. There is similar stiff competition to be teachers in Egypt, but its schools and students rank at the bottom in international comparisons. The reason is that the Egyptian economy is in such a rut that teaching is the only job available. The same dynamics apply to our religious teachers.

Recruiting top talent is only the beginning. Rookies’ enthusiasm will get you only so far. Teachers must also be given superior initial training; then there must be a mechanism for continuing professional education and training.

Finland has an exceptionally superior system; hence it is attracting the best talents. Teachers there get training to the level of a master’s degree, even for primary school teachers. They are rightly treated as professionals because they are rigorously trained and more importantly, behave as such. They are also trained to be diagnosticians to recognize not only the different learning styles but also learning problems.

A unique feature of the Finnish system is that each teacher is also a researcher, participating in research in collaboration with the local university. The best way to keep abreast in your field is to be involved in research even if only tangentially.

Being true professionals, Finnish teachers have considerable autonomy, as are their schools. The Finnish Ministry of Education is more a resource center than a command-and-control one. Its bureaucrats are not control freaks.

Those countries are also actively widening the pool talent for recruitment to include those from underrepresented minorities and those seeking mid-career change. This has particular relevance for Malaysia; it too must aggressively recruit from among Orang Asli and other minority groups especially of East Malaysia. It is important for minority students to have role models from among the teachers.

No professional would be satisfied unless he or she is assured of career advancement as well as appropriate reward and recognition for a job well done. In Singapore teachers are career tacked to be master teachers, school leaders, or specialist in curriculum or research. The government regularly tracks what competing sectors are paying their workers in order that teachers remain competitively paid.

Reforming Schools

The other significant lesson from the summit is that school reforms when effectively executed can bear positive results quickly. Poland is an example. It initiated reform only in the late 1990s but within a decade it has dramatically reduced the number of its poorly performing students and cut in half the variations in performance among its schools. Previously Polish students regularly perform at below average level of OECD countries; after reform they were on par with Americans.

Reforming school is the rage everywhere, Malaysia included. The consensus at this conference is that teachers must both be the active agents for and effective implementers of reform.

This creates a dilemma for Malaysia. Where teachers are well trained, thoroughly professional and highly effective as they are in the Scandinavian countries, they should be actively involved with the reform process. In Malaysia however, our teaching profession is far from that. It has been significantly degraded with respect to standards and professionalism, as reflected in the quality of their products – the students.

Having been brought up under the current system it would be unrealistic to expect these teachers to be agents or advocates for change. Their position is essentially that the system was good enough for them; it should be good enough for the present and future generations. Stated differently, current teachers are part of the problem, not of the solution. This does not mean that they cannot be trained or persuaded to be part of the solution, but we should not underestimate the difficulties and challenges.

The reform in Poland was, as expected of a former communist country, a top-down affair. Yet it was highly successful. Likewise in Singapore; no surprise there either, but it was also effective. A generation ago Singapore faced problems similar to what Malaysia faces today where teaching was not the first choice career for its top students.

Thailand too has its “Malaysian problem;” the Thais solved it in their own unique patient way. Recognizing the futility of persuading these teachers to agree for reform, the government simply bypassed them by liberalizing the school sector to foreign players. Consequently, international schools blossomed in Thailand. Yes, they are an option only for the elite and rich. These schools are educating the children of the influential. These students are destined to hold key positions in their country, their superior education and social standing assured them of that. They would be the ones to lead successful reforms in the future.

In reforming Malaysian schools, we could pursue either the top-down approach of Poland and Singapore, or use the slower and surer Thai way. However, I do not see the necessary enlightened and intelligent leadership to effect meaningful top-down reform, nor do I see a farsighted leadership to initiate the slow Thai way.

Quality of Schools and Fertility Rates

On perusing the list of countries whose students excelled in PISA, one fact stands out: Those countries also have low fertility rates. The latest addition to the list of top performers is China, specifically Shanghai. China’s almost inhuman “one-child” policy has many critics but there is no questioning its benefits. For the past few decades China was spared the burden of feeding and housing over 300 million potential Chinese. Imagine the savings in not having another Bangladesh within your borders! Spared of those huge expenses, the Chinese could now divert resources to improving their schools.

The reverse however is not true; low fertility rates alone do not guarantee good schools. Sri Lanka is proof of that.

In Malaysia, the fertility rate for Malays, while declining, is still nearly doubled that of non-Malays. The wide discrepancy in academic achievement and other social indices between Malays and non-Malays is ultimately attributed in part to this difference in fertility rates.

If today the authorities were to implement an effective and acceptable family planning program that is enthusiastically endorsed by the religious authorities, the positive impact would be felt almost immediately. First, there will be the drop in the number of pregnancies, and nine months later the decline in the number of births. With that the savings in expenses related to medical care. That would only be the beginning. Six years later when those potential babies would be ready for school, the savings would be even greater as there would be no need for new schools and teachers.

Even more remarkable, those savings would be cumulative; they would continue to add up. With those savings we could then expend resources towards improving the quality of life of our people, and that would include providing them with good schools and superior teachers.

Those OECD and other advanced countries can focus on making their schools superior because they have the resources to do so; they have been spared the expenses that would have been incurred had they had high fertility rates. This basic link was not discussed at the summit as it was taken for granted. For Malaysia however, it is a reality that is not yet even acknowledged, much less addressed.

The wisdom of those eminent educators from OECD displayed at the summit is still valid, and Malaysia could usefully adopt them provided our leaders and policymakers bear in mind that we have a more basic problem outside the realm of education but related to it. We have to tame our fertility rates first; then with the savings we would have the resources to address the challenges of education.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:09 pm and is filed under
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Bersih to cops: Name route, we will follow

Joseph Sipalan | Jun 30, 11

Malaysiakini

Despite the string of arrests and dire warnings from the police, the Bersih 2.0 committee today sought to make peace with the men in blue and asked for their help to make their July 9 rally a peaceful event.

Bersih 2.0 chief S Ambiga said they had a “very friendly” half-hour meeting with inspector-general of police Ismail Omar, where the latter expressed his concerns over public safety if the rally were to go on as planned.

“We told him that we will do everything we can to make sure it is peaceful…

“That is why we suggested that the police decide on the route we should take and we will follow their directions,” she told journalists at the Bukit Aman police headquarters after the meeting Ismail.

Ambiga, who was accompanied by Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah during the meeting, said the IGP was silent on their suggestion, but remains cautiously optimistic.

She said they urged Ismail to consider their proposal, and also asked for a second meeting with the top cop next week to follow up on their request.

“He didn’t say no, and I think I’m free to call and make an arrangement to meet with the IGP next week.

“We made the suggestion and asked them, the police to consider it.

“We have asked them, the police… You choose, from one point in KL to Taman Jaya or whatever. You choose, we will follow.”

Ambiga, who has since received a death threat and been questioned by the police on possible sedition in relation to Bersih, noted that their discussion with Ismail did not touch on the recent police crackdown on the upcoming rally.

She pointed out that the meeting focussed on the event proper, and she repeatedly stressed that they gave their guarantee that they will keep their rally peaceful.

‘We are clear on the law’

Ambiga said she also stated clearly to Ismail that they are very clear on the legal basis of their rally, stating that it is well within Malaysians” rights to participate in a peaceful gathering and that they are not doing anything illegal.

She also handed over a copy of the International human rights manual for lawyers, detailing the Freedom of Assemby and Association under the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 11), stressing that the police are duty-bound to protect peaceful rallies, while also taking action against those who plan otherwise.

Ambiga added that as members of the UN Human Rights Council, Malaysia and its police force only stands to lose credibility internationally, especially if the police continues to engage in actions such as the recent crackdown on Bersih activists.

“Our discussion focussed on the basic rights (to) freedom of assembly. What is the meaning of this right if every time someone wants to have an assembly like this, police immediately say no.”

Ambiga, meanwhile, denied that the rally is an opposition movement aimed at toppling the ruling government.

Claiming she has no idea who was behind a batch of alleged Bersih 2.0 car stickers which state that the march will topple the government, she stressed that “there are many out there” seeking to take advantage of the rally.

“It doesn’t matter who is the government. What matters is that the government wins through free and fair elections, and this is good not only for Malaysians but also the government.

“Don’t take those car stickers, even if they are given out free. This is the work of some very naughty people,” she said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 4:57 pm and is filed under
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Clampdown will only swell Bersih numbers, says Pakatan

By
Shannon Teoh
 | June 30, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) said today that it now expects a larger turnout for the July 9 Bersih march as public anger grows over the ongoing dragnet against supporters of the group calling for electoral reform.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had declared Bersih T-shirts illegal yesterday after police arrested hundreds including PR elected representatives wearing Bersih apparel in the past few days before raiding the Bersih secretariat yesterday afternoon.

But PR lawmakers, wearing Bersih ties and yellow shirts to Parliament today, said the government’s actions were sending out the message that it did not want free and fair elections.

“The arrests have not whittled down our numbers but will make more turn out,” said PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang also mocked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Government Transformation Programme, saying that it has culminated in Cabinet ministers being allowed to unilaterally declare whatever they wanted illegal.

Stating that Hishammuddin had acted without any legal basis in declaring Bersih T-shirts unlawful, the Ipoh Timur MP said “this has increased public anger and lowered their esteem of the country. The home minister is making up laws on the run.”

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar (picture) also said “the public is not blind to the disparity in police action against Bersih versus that of the seditious statements” made by groups like Perkasa and Pertubuhan Seni Silat Lincah Malaysia.

She said the silat group’s threat of waging war on Bersih supporters and Perkasa raising the spectre of May 13, 1969 racial riots had gone unpunished and this would only sway public sentiment towards Bersih.

PAS also committed itself to its pledge to bring hundreds of thousands to the city on July 9, saying that they will enter the city using any legal means despite the likelihood of roadblocks and checks on public transport.

“As far as PAS is concerned, our mobilisation is on track and our members are advised to come on that day,” said Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad also said police could not stop PAS supporters from entering the city “unless they want to turn KL into a ghost town.”

“BN is using the police to say no to clean elections. Is this the message they are sending out?”

PR is gearing up for the rally next weekend which it hopes will create a similar momentum to the first Bersih rally in 2007 ahead of a general election expected within the year.

The 2007 march saw up to 50,000 people take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur before they were dispersed by police armed with tear gas and water cannons.

The demonstration has been partly credited for Pakatan Rakyat’s record gains in Election 2008, where the opposition pact swept to power in five states and won 82 parliamentary seats.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:29 pm and is filed under
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Design problems, hazardous construction plague Lynas plant, reports NYT

The Malaysian Insider
 | June 30, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The controversial Lynas rare earths refinery in Kuantan is plagued by environmentally hazardous construction and design problems, the New York Times has reported, citing internal memos and current and former engineers on the project.

The report published today said the issues, including moisture in humid Malaysia, could potentially affect the RM700 million Lynas Corp plant being built to challenge China’s stranglehold in the key rare earths industry.

Malaysia is due to announce today the results of an independent international review of the plant that is scheduled to open this September. The listed Lynas Corp has asked for a halt in its share trading in Australia today pending the report.

In a report headlined “The Fear of a Toxic Rerun” by Keith Bradsher, the New York Times reported that Lynas officials contend that the refinery being built here is safe and up to industry standards, and say that they are working with its contractors to resolve their concerns.

“All parties are in agreement that it is normal course of business in any construction project for technical construction queries to be raised and then resolved to relevant international standards during the course of project construction,” wrote Matthew James, an executive vice-president of Lynas, in an e-mail last night.

But the construction and design may have serious flaws, the engineers told New York Times, and provided proof through memos, e-mail messages and photos from Lynas and its contractors. The engineers said they felt a professional duty to voice their safety concerns, but insisted on anonymity to avoid the risk of becoming industry outcasts.

“The problems they detail include structural cracks, air pockets and leaks in many of the concrete shells for 70 containment tanks, some of which are larger than double-decker buses,” the paper said.

Lynas is mining rare earths ore deep in the Australian desert and shipping to Malaysia to be mixed with powerful acids to make a slightly radioactive slurry that would be pumped through the tanks, with operating temperatures of about 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

The engineers say that almost all of the steel piping ordered for the plant is made from standard steel, which they describe as not suited for the corrosive, abrasive slurry. Rare earths refineries in other countries make heavy use of costlier stainless steel or steel piping with ceramic or rubber liners, the paper said.

“The engineers also say that the concrete tanks were built using conventional concrete, not the much costlier polymer concrete mixed with plastic that is widely used in refineries in the West to reduce the chance of cracks.

“Documents show that Lynas and its construction management contractor, UGL Ltd of Australia, have argued with their contractors that the cracks and moisture in the concrete containment walls are not a critical problem,” according to the report.

Memos also show that Lynas and UGL have pressed a Malaysian contractor, Cradotex, to proceed with the installation of watertight fibreglass liners designed for the containment tanks without fixing the moisture problem and with limited fixes to the walls. But Cradotex has resisted, the paper reported.

“These issues have the potential to cause the plants critical failure in operation,” Peter Wan, the general manager of Cradotex, said in a June 20 memo obtained by New York Times.

“More critically the toxic, corrosive and radioactive nature of the materials being leached in these tanks, should they leak, will most definitely create a contamination issue.”

Wan said in a telephone interview with the New York Times on Tuesday that he believed Lynas and UGL would be able to fix the moisture problem but that he did not know what method the companies might choose to accomplish this.

The fibreglass liners are made by AkzoNobel of Amsterdam, one of the world’s largest chemical companies. AkzoNobel says it, too, worries about the rising moisture.

“We will not certify or even consider the use of our coatings if this problem can’t be fixed,” Tim van der Zanden, AkzoNobel’s top spokesman in Amsterdam, wrote on Monday night in an e-mail reply to questions.

Memos show that the refinery’s concrete foundations were built without a thin layer of plastic that might prevent the concrete pilings from drawing moisture from the reclaimed swampland underneath. The site is located just inland from a coastal mangrove forest, and several miles up a river that flows out to the sea past an impoverished fishing village.

An engineer involved in the project said that the blueprints called for the plastic waterproofing but that he was ordered to omit it, to save money. The plastic costs US$1.60 (RM4.80) a square foot, he said.

Lynas disputes that the design ever called for using the plastic.

Nicholas Curtis, the executive chairman of Lynas, said in a telephone interview from Sydney on Monday that the project here met local environmental standards and that he believed those were consistent with international standards.

“I have complete confidence in the Malaysian environmental standards and our ability to meet the requirements,” he told the New York Times.

Engineers at the project said that Lynas officials had whisked the international inspectors through the factory in a single morning, partly because of security concerns about protesters outside the refinery gates. The team had little chance to examine the refinery’s structure, the engineers said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:16 pm and is filed under
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EC Deputy Chairman Wan Ahmad showed his true colours of lacking 3Is of independence, impartiality and integrity when he launched attacks on Bersih as Pakatan Rakyat “stooge”

If there is a nation-wide quiz asking Malaysians who could be responsible for the two following headlines on  online media today,
“Bersih is Pakatan stooge in bid for Putrajaya”
 and
“Bersih Pakatan’s catspaw”
, I don’t think anyone who is not in the know could get it right despite everyone being given three guesses each.

The hot favourites for these guesses would be  UMNO leaders headed either by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, while others named would include the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and  other Umno and Barisan Nasional (including MCA, Gerakan, MIC) leaders.

Nobody would have thought of any Election Commission high official as the culprit for these two quotes for they are completely out of character of what is expected of Election Commission officers.

The Election Commission Deputy Chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, who is the culprit for these two headlines,  showed his true colours of lacking the 3Is of independence, impartiality and integrity  as intended by the Malaysian Constitution when he launched bitter attacks on Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat, in today’s forum “Bersih’s demands – what is the Election Commission’s explanation”.

If the Election Commission is truly independent and scrupulously stays out of the political wars between the contending political parties in the political system, the full panel of Election Commission Commissioners should convene an emergency meeting to ask Wan Ahmad to resign from the Election Commission.

Otherwise, Wan Ahmad will only be confirming perception in public minds – that the Election Commission is nothing but  stooge and catspaw of Barisan Nasional, doing the BN’s bidding rather than to discharge its constitutional mandate to carry out a  free, fair and clean election system.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 5:52 pm and is filed under
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Good thing we are a democracy

By
Natalie Shobana Ambrose
 | June 29, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 29 — In some countries, people get put in jail for speaking up against injustices. They then get left there for years and are sometimes forgotten. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, the media constantly practises self-censorship to avoid being shut down. Still they are regularly cautioned to ‘behave appropriately’ in accordance to government propaganda when unbiased reporting is what the media is trying to provide. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, citizens are told what to believe. Their religion has to be the religion of the state, if not bad things happen to them. So they hide and practise their faith in secrecy. All they want is their basic human right to religious freedom. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, there is no such thing as equality. Some tribes are considered better than others and more deserving because of the race they were born in to. So the others get oppressed and are not given the same opportunities, education benefits, housing benefits, investment benefits, and the list goes on. Institutionalised racism is condoned and part of the government system. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, the judicial system is rigged. The blindfold of justice has been removed and there is little separation of powers between the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. Too much meddling and a lack of neutrality in the courts allow for the privileged, the influential and the titled to sway decisions on who sits on the bench and the outcome of cases. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, fear and intimidation are the modus operandi. People are not allowed to legitimately express their concerns. Water bombs and tear gas are used to stop rallies and protest marches even if they are peaceful. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, ballot boxes go missing, voter registration is inaccurate, phantom voters get a ballot paper and there is no such thing as a secret ballot. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, the leaders squander the wealth of the country and believe in a system of ‘one for you, five for me,’ making them instant multi-billionaires with property peppered all over the world and businesses ventures for each of their children. The immense wealth accumulated and squandered while in power could have benefited the country and made it more prosperous than it is. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, many promises are made before an election and forgotten once the seat is won. So during the few days of campaigning, the people living in that area without basic necessities for many years suddenly find themselves between a rock and a hard place – vote for the people who put you there and get all the basic benefits they should have given you years before or not vote for them and continue living the way they made you live all these years. Votes are exchanged for basic necessities like running water, roads and access to electricity. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries the people in uniforms are thugs in masquerade. Their guns are not to pre-empt crime but to cause one. Once they don a uniform, they automatically get immunity from the crimes they commit all in the name of protecting the security of the country. So much so that the people know if uniformed personnel ask for something, it’s best to comply – even if it’s a naked squat. The power of the uniform outweighs any logical, legal reasoning. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries, certain people can incite racial and religious hatred with little reprimand while those with legitimate concerns for the state of affairs get chastised. Good thing this doesn’t happen in Malaysia, especially since we’re a democracy.

In some countries the will of the people is not the basis of the authority of the elected government. The protection of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all are just rhetoric and not a reality. Good thing this does not happen in Malaysia, especially since we are a democracy.

*
Natalie believes in the freedom of being a pedestrian, wearing yellow and writing poems.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:39 pm and is filed under
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Home minister ‘cooking up’ laws

By
Tarani Palani
 | June 30, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition MPs today criticised Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein for acting outside the law in banning the yellow Bersih 2.0 T-shirts and questioned the legal basis for the Bersih-related clampdown.”We have a minister who is making the law on the run without parliamentary sanction,” said DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, adding that even Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar’s warning that any paraphernalia related to Bersih as illegal was deplorable.

During a press conference in Parliament, the Ipoh Timur MP said that such interpretation of the law coming from the home minister who had a legal background was disappointing.

He added that the opposition MPs, who had elements of yellow in their attire, were protesting the clampdown by the authorities and to show support for a peaceful Bersih demonstration on July 9.

Lim also declared that the government was suffering from Xanthophobia, the irrational fear of the colour yellow.

“We are only waiting for the IGP to announce that the colour yellow is illegal,” he said, drawing laughter from those present.

Karpal warns of legal action

DAP chairman Karpal Singh said the police and authorities would have to answer for their actions of intimidation in court.

“The police must be able to answer for whatever they are doing in court. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever they are doing is not supported by law,” he said.

“We intend to take action in court. This should be a warning to authorities concerned to cease and decease (their intimidating) actions,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP.

He singled out the case of the 14 people who were arrested yesterday in Sungai Siput, including DAP-Jalong assemblywoman Leong Mee Meng and PKR-Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang.

A Chinese daily reported that eight of them were made to take off the Bersih T-shirt they were wearing.

Karpal, a renowned lawyer, warned that the police cannot go scott-free after causing such humiliation.

PKR leader R Sivarasa said that only certain clothing could be declared illegal, that too after undergoing a process of being gazetted as illegal.

“In this case, we all know that it was not gazetted. Hishammuddin is making decisions outside the law,” said the Subang MP and lawyer.

Yellow fever in Parliament

Meanwhile, Pakatan MPs showed up in Parliament wearing yellow to pledge their support for Bersih.

Male MPs were spotted with specially ordered yellow ties with the words “Bersih 2.0″ printed at the bottom while their female counterparts came in all-yellow outfits.

Two MPs – Mohamed Nizar Jamaluddin (PAS- Bukit Gantang) and Er Teck Hwa (DAP- Bakri) – were seen wearing the Bersih T-shirt which had been outlawed by the Home Ministry.

Hishamuddin yesterday declared that the yellow Bersih T-shirt was illegal as it was associated with illegal activities.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 5:50 pm and is filed under
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‘Minority Report’ now playing in Malaysia

Malaysiakini Your Say
 | Jun 30, 11

‘For an assembly to be illegal, you must have actually held the assembly. Where does it say in the law that expressing support for a future ‘illegal’ act is illegal?’

Hisham declares Bersih T-shirt illegal

Anonymous_4196:
 Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, why is wearing a T-shirt that represents the rakyat’s struggle for free and fair elections illegal?

How about just wearing a yellow T-shirt without any print? How about yellow trousers? How about wearing the yellow Digi teletubby mascot outfit? What if the polis ‘suka-suka’ (on a whim) arrest me for having something yellow on?

Solaris:
 Communists in Malaya/Malaysia were referred to as ‘reds’. If it’s illegal to wear certain coloured clothes related to an alleged illegal activity, why is it that Umno members are allowed to wear red T-shirts and behave like terrorists outside the PKR headquarters on Monday night?

Dood: I hope the police have enough place in their lock-ups to detain tens of thousands of people come July 9.

Malaysian for Malaysia: In the movie ‘Minority Report’, someone is already judged as guilty before he commits a crime. Remember how it ended?

Until the crime is actually committed, it is not illegal. For a so-called assembly to be illegal, you must have actually held the assembly. Where does it say in the law that expressing support for a future ‘illegal’ act is illegal too?

If I say I support the recent break-in at CIMB bank, am I doing something illegal? Or am I just exercising my right to say whatever the hell I want?

Lulu:
 This seems to be a new law. When was it passed in Parliament?

Josephine:
 If Bersih T-shirts are banned, what about T-shirts with naughty messages, or words with profanity? It is scary to think that our home minister, who comes with a pedigree of two former Umno presidents, will very possibly be our future prime minister if Umno still rules.

To cut short the agony, perhaps really, instead of marching on the streets, Bersih should just despatch groups of 100 members (or more) clad in their Bersih tees and offer themselves to all the police stations of the country. That would also make a statement.

Anonymous:
 We cannot wear yellow, we cannot wear black, we cannot wear red… Can BN and Umno tell us what colours are allowed? Birthday suit, okay?

Kingfisher:
 Ordinary citizens will find it very hard to understand what appears to be a pathological disapproval, or even fear, by the government to the clearly defined objectives of Bersih to conduct a peaceful rally for promoting/protecting fair and equitable electoral processes in our nation’s democratic elections.

The heightened sense of warning and threats against the rally supporters and the detentions and questioning of legitimate organisers of the rally will not go down well with the silent majority of the people who are the electorate.

Many will be left wandering as to why PM Najib Razak, who lately has made policy commitments to establishing a fair, equitable and progressive society would stand on the sidelines and allow the instruments of law enforcement to prematurely deal with this issue.

It is not wise for any nation that seeks progress towards democratic maturity to engage the instruments of law and order indiscriminately for political purposes.

David Dass:
 The minister says that the Bersih T-shirt is an item of clothing related to an illegal activity. What is that illegal activity? Is the illegal activity the proposed illegal demonstration?

It cannot be illegal for a person to wear a yellow T-shirt at home. It cannot be illegal for someone to wear a yellow T-shirt with the acronym ‘Bersih’ emblazoned on the front and back at home. Or in the park. Or on a bus. So is there must be a moment in time when wearing that yellow Bersih T-shirt becomes illegal.

Wearing a T-shirt cannot be illegal because it is quite normal for people to wear T-shirts. There are Umno T-shirts. PAS T-shirts. Microsoft T-shirts. It is not as if a T-shirt is like a gun, the mere possession of which without a permit is illegal.

Anak Bangsa Malaysia:
 First it was black T-shirts, then it was candles, then it was pictures of Altantuya Shaariibuu, now it is yellow T-shirts.

The fascist Umno-BN regime is terrified but seeks to project its terror onto the people by threatening violence, aided and abetted by the uniformed henchmen that now represent Malaysia’s most contemptible institution: the police force.

Hishammuddin will go down in history as a blubbering but cruel fool who declared war on articles of clothing in order to defend a corrupt and racist regime.

Ambiga and panel to meet IGP tomorrow

Swipenter:
 Inspector-general of police Ismail Omar, maybe you should act like your predecessor and carry out preventive measures, not unlike Ops Lalang, as recently asserted by Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he was PM.

You could save PM Najib and his cousin a lot of ridicule by taking such burden off their shoulders by declaring you are responsible for such drastic measures to prevent “chaos and anarchy” from happening in the country because of Bersih 2.0. Then you could be assured of your top cop post for many, many more years to come.

DannyLoHH:
 The police has gone overboard, arresting people for wearing T-shirts. Now, under what law that they arrest people donning garments that is in support of Bersih? There is no such law that states it is illegal to wear a T-shirt bearing the Bersih logo.

Are the police upholding the law or are they becoming a law unto themselves? Or is the home minister now God that a decree by him is a divine law that cannot be broken?

Please tell, which part of Bersih is illegal? Is it because it is demanding for a free and fair elections? Is it the part where it asks for the strengthening public institution? Or is it the part where it asks for no more dirty politics?

The excuse given to outlaw the Bersih rally is not based on what Bersih stand for. As for the fear of chaos and public disorder, Bersih had pledged a peaceful rally and is willing to engage the police to make sure of that.

On the contrary, police is the one acting defensive and now, arresting people without any legal basis.

Quigonbond:
 Everything the IGP says reminds me of the wisdom in the book – ‘How to Win an Argument’. What the IGP says are falsehoods and pure conjectures. He premises his argument that people are angry, and from there leads to a slippery slope of violence, public disorder and disruption of national security.

But all of Malaysia is entitled to ask – who exactly is angry? Are all 28 million Malaysians angry, or just Umnoputras, Perkasa and the editors of Utusan Malaysia? Assuming that there are two million of them, then what about the other 26 million who are pissed that BN abuses the system?

The IGP couldn’t even come clean with what foreign elements the police has identified in their intelligence report, knowing full well that the BN government is already losing the war for public opinion badly.

OMG:
 The only foreign elements here are those elements foreign to BN – honesty, transparency, credibility and justice.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:23 pm and is filed under
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Private broadcasters told to ignore Bersih, warn people against protests

By
Jahabar Sadiq
, Editor | June 30, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The Najib administration has warned private broadcasters against mentioning the planned Bersih rally or the protest date but wants them to warn people against taking to the streets to ask for free and fair elections, media executives say.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) called in media executives in the past week to inform them of the new regulations apart from Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein declaring Bersih T-shirts as illegal.

“We can’t mention Bersih, the July 9 date for the rally in our broadcasts but we must warn people against demonstrating. How to do that?” a senior media executive asked The Malaysian Insider.

Putrajaya runs Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) that offers television and radio broadcasts but also licenses private broadcasters like Astro or the Astro All Asia Network which is a cross-media group, The Star Publication which operates radio stations, Media Prima Berhad which runs TV and radio stations, and the Bfm radio station.

“We have to submit our radio scripts too for checking. It’s a bit ridiculous,” another executive told The Malaysian Insider.

It is understood the orders came from the Information Ministry in tandem with a crackdown on the Bersih movement which is calling for a protest on July 9 to press for free and fair elections.

Hishammuddin said yesterday that Bersih T-shirts are illegal just hours before police raided the Bersih secretariat in Petaling Jaya on suspicion of carrying out illegal activities. Seven activists held in the raid were later freed on police bail.

Police also seized T-shirts and banners during the raid carried out by a phalanx of policemen, including one carrying an assault rifle.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar also said the police will not only arrest those sporting Bersih T-shirts but may also take action against anyone using any medium to promote the illegal rally.

“Not just T-shirts but shoes, cars, buses. If these are the tools used to encourage people to gather (illegally), this amounts to sedition,” he told reporters at Bukit Aman police headquarters here yesterday.

“Based on PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) intelligence … if this rally is held, tension, chaos, the destruction of property, injury and even loss of life may occur,” he said.

“PDRM will not allow any individual or certain parties to do anything that could trigger chaos and anarchy.”

He said the police have received information that foreign elements were poised to exploit the chaos that would “very likely” result from the rally but declined to reveal their identity or if they were working with opposition parties.

Police have arrested 30 people, including Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, for campaigning for Bersih.

Activists under Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component parties are gearing up for the rally this July 9, the second such gathering calling for electoral reform.

The first rally, also organised by Bersih, was held in 2007 and saw some 50,000 people take to the capital’s streets. The gathering eventually descended into chaos when the police deployed tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators.

The event has been partly credited for PR’s record gains in Election 2008, when the opposition pact swept to power in five states and won 82 parliamentary seats.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:13 pm and is filed under
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The outing of Anas Zubedy

By
Commander (Rtd) S. Thayaparan
 | 29 June 2011

CPIAsia

Introduction by CPI

Although this rebuttal to an open letter has been posed elsewhere, we feel it deserves wider public attention. This is because the subject matter with which the two letters deal, and the opinions expressed are representative of the divergent perspectives among the Malay and non-Malay elite regarding the rights of the various communities and their proper place in the country.

We will leave it to readers to decide on which one is the more persuasive perspective intellectually and morally.

******************

The outing of Anas Zubedy

Commander (Rtd) S. Thayaparan, Royal Malaysian Navy, is a regular kopi-tiam kaki of mine. He graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1965. His tour of duty saw him as Commanding Officer of KD Tombak, KD Gempita, KD Ganyang and Executive Officer on Training Frigate KD Hang Tuah.

Through self-study he qualified to read law at Lincoln’s Inn and was the first Malaysian Naval Officer to be called to the Malaysian Bar in 1985.

Commander Thaya was the prosecutor for the Navy in the case of the collision between K.D. RAJA JARUM and M.V. SHOUMARU, and acted as Defense Counsel in the case of the sinking off the petrol vessel K.D. SRI PERAK in the South China Sea, both making front-page news.

Since retiring from the Navy, his expertise were sought in Timor Leste supervising both Parliament and Presidential elections and as a UN Volunteer Sri Lanka. He is currently with Yayasan Salam, an NGO.

His articles often appear in the Mainstream Media. He sent me this article as a blog-post. It is a rebuttal to ANAS ZUBEDY:

1. Openly acknowledge that we were sired from a Malay polity

Without an iota of doubt, make it clear that you completely accept history that this country is sired from a Malay polity; with a history, religion and way of life that are from the Malay-Islamic tradition. Only when you make it very clear that you acknowledge this history, communication lines will begin to open.

1. Firstly, who do you mean by “we”? We as a nation? We as a culture? Who comprises this “we”? We are a diverse group of people seeking shelter in a country not our own. The only people who can legitatemely say they are “natives” are the Orang Asli and the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak. Perhaps it is you who should acknowledge that before the arrival of Islam, “you” were Hindus. Perhaps it is “you” who should acknowledge that your culture contains aspects from both Chinese and Indian Culture.

Perhaps this should be acknowledged in our history books and taught to our young. Perhaps when you acknowledge this like many other Malays, you would be able to empathize with the rest of us who acknowledge the polyglot nature of our culture. Just ask the Baba Chinese or the Chittys of Malacca. I assure you when you acknowledge this; you will find communication much easier.

2. Appreciate that the Malays shared the land

Generally, the Malays are a gracious people. They are more inclined towards giving than taking. They showed this when they agreed to share Tanah Melayu. They see it as a sacrifice. You must learn to understand why they feel that way.

2. I appreciate that the indigenous people shared their land…….Not that they had much choice in the matter.

I think grace is shared by most people in this country. I suggest you read up on how the Malay rulers negotiated this “giving” of Malay land. I suggest you educate yourself on who helped build the infrastructure of this Malay land. I hope some day you understand the sacrifice of the Non-Malays who contributed in a very significant way during and before the coming of the British to this land you seem to think the Malays shared with us.

They agreed that from 1957 onwards the communities who came here initially to earn a living were automatically promoted from “immigrants” to co-owners of the land. They welcomed millions as fellow citizens. By doing so, the Malays agreed to become a community among communities. All they asked was to be assured of two things – that their Malay Rulers and that their religion Islam are respected.

Who has disrespected Malay rulers and denigrated Islam. Who has curtailed the powers of the Sultans? Who has made a mockery of the great religion which is Islam? Yes we are different communities living under the umbrella of certain principles , the most important of which you mentioned but the fact is, it is UMNO and UMNO alone who is responsible for the lessening of power of the Sultans and the injudicious way Islam is applied. Anyone who becomes a citizen is expected to follow the laws of the land. The non Malays have honored this. I suggest you look to UMNO who claim they represent the Malays who have usurped the powers of the Sultan and denigrated Islam.

A show of appreciation for this act of sharing will make a big difference to the Malay community. If you and the DAP set the example to appreciate that the Malays shared the land, the hearts of the Malay community will open to you. Just a simple acknowledgement, a simple thank you, would have warmed their hearts.

Why should the DAP thank the Malays? And by Malays I mean people like you. Perhaps it is people like you who should thank the non-Malays. Who pays more taxes? Money that goes into education institutions that benefit the majority of Malays. Money that goes into religious organizations that morally police the Malays. Money that goes into institutions that denigrate other races – BTN for instance. Perhaps it is people like you who should be thanking the Non Malays. We are a simple people and I am sure we would receive your appreciation with open arms.

3. Get to know the Malays

You (Guan Eng) and the DAP need to get to know the Malays and get to know Islam. Embrace both the good and bad within the Malay community. Learn to accept their idiosyncrasies, just like there are idiosyncrasies in any other culture.

3. I think Mr. Guan Eng knows the Malays pretty well. After all he was detained under the ISA for defending a Malay girl while the Malay Menteri Besar who assaulted her got away scott free. So, really it is you who need to know Mr. Guan and the rest of the DAP better.

It is you who need to understand that Mr. Guan Eng and the DAP already know the Malays. Mr. Guan Eng for instance probably got to know more about Malay culture when he was detained under the ISA with Mat Sabu his PAS comrade. I have no idea what you mean by getting to know the Malay community. As a people we understand each others community. The DAP is merely a political party and not some sort of stand in for the Chinese community.

If the DAP really wants to represent all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, you need to understand all Malaysians. And the Malays need to know that you understand them. Fifty-four years after agreeing to become a community among communities, they are naturally concerned that those in authority are people who will not understand their needs.

Of course the DAP wants to represent all Malaysian. This is why their political principles are based on certain basic commonalities that all communities can subscribe to. Of course the Malays understand the DAP especially now that the DAP is forging closer ties with PAS. They understand better now because the blindfold is slowly but surely being lifted of their eyes.

They see that both DAP and PAS are working together for the benefit of all people and that all people of this country are equal and should be treated as such. The Malays realize that people in authority have used race for years to divide this country while enriching themselves and exploiting their gracious nature.

As a basic start, it would be good to learn and practise Malay peribahasa. Peribahasa has been a part of Malay culture for many generations and it reveals many insights into the values of the Malays. If you use it in your daily conversation, it will give you a medium to gently communicate with the hearts of the Malays. Another simple thing to cultivate is the habit of wearing traditional Malay wear, especially during official functions. Perhaps you can also organise programmes for your leaders to stay in a Malay kamping. It will be a good eye-opener for them to understand how to relate to the Malays.

I have no idea what you mean by Malay adat and peribahasa. Exactly what has this got do to with understanding Malay culture? Does Mr. Guan Eng speak Malay? Yes he does. Is the manner in which he speaks it rude? No it isn’t. Does Mr. Guan respect the Malay community? Has he allocated funds and resources to help the community? Yes he has. In short, has he run the state he leads competently?

What is wearing Malay traditional dress really mean? What is staying in a Malay kampong achieve? If people are in need regardless of race, an effective leader carries out programmes that benefit them. Your mundane suggestions make it seem as though Mr. Guan Eng is an alien, who has no clue of Malay culture when he has lived here all his life. Perhaps it is people like you who should wear the traditional dress of Non-Malays then maybe you would not feel as though non Malays don’t understand you.

If the DAP practises simple gestures like this, it is an opportunity to show that you respect and value Malay culture. It will demonstrate the DAP’s inclusiveness. A good example of inclusive culture is shown in the Peranakan community who draw from both Malay and Chinese traditions. By being inclusive, they do not lose out anything but become a richer people for it.

Practicing simple gestures like you describe is nothing but symbolic gestures meant to distract from the real problem of the community. I would rather Mr. Guan Eng concentrate on the numerous social problem that affects the Malay community and by helping remedy such problems, Malays (like you) will realize that substance is far more productive than form.

4. Say sorry

Some of the DAP’s actions in the past, rightly or wrongly, may have hurt the Malay community. For the Malays to stop seeing the DAP as an antagonist, the DAP has to acknowledge the hurt they have caused the Malays and say sorry. If you look at the practice of asking for forgiveness every Aidilfitri, you will realise how important this act is to the culture. The Malays will say sorry even if they did not do wrong. They will ask for forgiveness simply as a good gesture out of respect. They say sorry all the time. That is embeddedin the Malay culture. The Chinese may see saying sorry as “losing face” but for the Malays, saying sorry it is to give the other party “face” – an act of high culture.

4. What does the DAP need to apologize for?

Please list out the wrongdoings that the DAP has perpetuated against the Malay community. Why is the Malay community feelings hurt? What exactly has the DAP done? Please be specific, because simply asking for an unwarranted apology is the height of hubris and exactly the sense of entitlement that the policies of UMNO have created.

But seeing how Malays like you, like to say sorry, perhaps you could apologize for Ibrahim Ali, for waving the Keris around, for the systemic discrimination that the Non Malays have to put up with, the constant reminders that we are foreigners even though as I have stated above it is our taxes that are being used for the majority.

Sometimes, to achieve bigger purposes we know that we have to humble ourselves and take the wiser path. In this spirit, I suggest that you apologise for the chauvinistic actions the DAP has taken in the past. For example, the DAP’s attempt to forge a “Malaysian Malaysia” in the way of making the Malay culture and all cultures of Malaysia equal. That is wrong to our history. They are inconsistent with the DAP’s objectives as an inclusive Malaysian party.

Right, now we get to the crux of the matter. You do not think that non Malay culture is equal to Malay culture. Behind your benign rhetoric is really a supremacist, wanting his due. Yes, we are all equal. In other words, you probably are a firm believer in Ketuanan Melayu. I trust you realize that PAS has abandoned that perspective. Thankfully most Malays are not like you. When you finally ever read Malaysian history you will be disappointed to discover that what you think of as Malay has got a lot to with non Malay cultures. I hope the DAP never bows down to the supremacy you subscibe. I hope no party ever bows down to your racist and bigoted views.

Once you say sorry, it will not be difficult for the Malays to forgive and to forget. It is part of the Islamic principles that are ingrained in the Malay worldview. Prophet Muhammad also showed the example of a forgiving spirit. The Quran in 8:61 commands: “But if they incline to peace, you also incline to it, and (put your) trust in God.”

It amazes me that you advocate Malay supremacy and yet quote the Quran, which is one of the more egalitarian religious books around. I suppose you are Malay first then a Muslim, which is funny because most of the Muslim I know would say that all men are equal before God regardless of race or culture. I repeat unless you have some specific list of wrongs doings done by the DAP; there is nothing really to talk about.

5. Lim Kit Siang must retire

If the DAP is serious about being a multiracial party, it needs to re-brand public perception towards it. There must be fresh leadership so that the DAP is no longer judged based on past actions. The old must make way for the young.

5. Lim Kit Siang must not retire. Again, you are the few who wish to perpetuate this old canard that the DAP is a chauvinistic party. It is not. What the DAP is has a lot to with Mr. Kit Siang. His principles and integrity are vital if the DAP is to navigate this new terrain we find ourselves in.

As long as Lim Kit Siang remains in power directly or indirectly, I feel that the DAP will continue to be perceived as a Chinese-exclusive party. Detractors will use his past actions as a scapegoat to disrupt the DAP’s multiracial aims. This is why I believe that it is good time for Lim Kit Siang to pass the baton to new leaders.

What has Mr. Kit Siang’s leaving got to do with rebranding? The party is rebranding itself with it’s commitment to PAS and the Pakatan Rakyat. They need experienced leaders to offer guidance in these troubled times. I have no idea why you would signal out Mr. Kit Siang and offer no reason for why he should leave except for vague accusations of chauvinism.

You do not have to worry. The only reason why the DAP is perceived to be a Chinese based party is because Utusan Meklayu continues in it’s scurrilous campaign to convince it’s declining readership that the DAP is to be feared, much like how the BN propaganda organs attempted to do so with PAS. Mr. Kit Siang has got nothing to do with it.

6. Be willing to lose out a considerable portion of the Chinese voter base

I am glad that in terms of theory and constitution, the DAP welcomes all as equal members regardless of race and religion. But to really have this in practice, the DAP has to be prepared to lose out the portion of the Chinese voter base who wishes to remain exclusive.

The DAP can be a positive alternative to race-based political parties. To do this you need to let it be known that the DAP is serious about being inclusive to all. Make it clear to the rakyat that you are willing to give up ties with the chauvinistic Chinese, and all Malaysians will feel assured that you will fairly represent all.

6. Again, with the fallacious reasoning. The fortunes of the DAP have risen and fallen because of their association with PAS. One of the reasons they didn’t do well before 2008 was because of their association with PAS. It was PAS who decided to be more inclusive in terms of its principles which is why both the DAP and PAS have benefited.

Exactly who are these chauvinistic Chinese you keep referring to? And what ties have the DAP, got to cut? It is you who are going on about the superiorty of the Malay race and although I do not speak for the DAP; they have no need for your vote. What they do need is the Malay voter who understands that we are all equal and that change is needed for the stewardship of this country. And thanks to the efforts of PAS many more Malays are beginning to realize that the DAP is not a chauvinistic party.

7. Merge the DAP and PKR

The fastest way for the DAP to be a formidable alternative to race-based politics is to merge with PKR. Once you do that, automatically you become a multiracial body – a truly Malaysian party.

Let us be honest with ourselves. The loose coalition of the DAP, PKR and PAS seems similar to the BN formula of Umno, the MCA and MIC. Before long, the rakyat will begin to see you as a copy of BN.

The real issue that needs to be solved here is trust among leaders. When it comes to the membership, the majority will follow the leaders. If you and the DAP leadership make a clear stand to merge with PKR, the majority will follow suit.

7. Why should the DAP merge with PKR. What don’t they merge with Pas? The BN is a coalition of single race based parties. The Pakatan is a coalition of two multiracial parties and one religious one, who have shown that they can attract votes from across the board. The only one who seems to think otherwise is people like you.

I think your idea of merging the parties is pure nonsense. What Pakatan has got going for it is a diversity of views. You can keep screaming about how you think that DAP is not multiracial when what you obviously mean by multiracial is that it needs to be dominated by Malays. That’s not multiracial that’s your supremacist attitude peeking out. As it is, there are Malays who would vote for DAP and their number is growing everyday as they are Chinese who would vote for Pas.

Your idea of a merger while it seems like a nod to multiculturalism is rather about your race insecurities.

Lastly, I felt compelled to respond to your Open letter because it caused great concern amongst the retired Malay Armed Forces personnel I mix with. Has it come to this? They wondered.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 12:37 pm and is filed under
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Why July 9 must go on

by
June Rubis

The Malaysian Insider

Jun 30, 2011

JUNE 30 — I’ve noticed something interesting of late.

A few middle-class intellectuals back-pedalling on their initial support for Bersih 2.0. They say, yes I support this (in theory) but do we really need to march now? Haven’t we done enough to highlight the issues? Haven’t we won the PR (public relations, not Pakatan Rakyat) war?

I’m sorry, but I’m a bit confused.

The point of Bersih 2.0 isn’t about who gets best publicity, but rather for electoral reform.

These same intellectuals will admit, like you and me, that the current electoral process is unfair and biased. They are just feeling really uneasy about July 9. They want to know, isn’t there a better way to do this?

But yet, they cannot provide any credible solutions that could work.

How many more dialogues can civil society have with the Election Commission? Do we think that another dialogue out-of-the-blue just before July 9 would magically solve our valid concerns of the current electoral process? Are we that naive?

Fair enough, the pressure is on but I believe the person who feels it most is Ambiga Sreenevasan herself. The fact that she has been holding on so strong gives all of us the continued strength to carry on.

Along with the waffling from some moderates comes the more intense criticism of Bersih 2.0. Critics say that if the electoral process is unfair, how did Pakatan Rakyat win five states?

Indeed despite a grossly unfair electoral process, Pakatan Rakyat managed to win five states. And now maybe, just maybe, they could take over Putrajaya come the next general election.

Bear with me for a minute.

Imagine this.

Say, they did. They win the next general election.

Some of us are ecstatic; some of us are very upset. All in all, we have just received a new government. A change for the better, something different from Barisan Nasional, we will say.

Yet how do we know that after taking Putrajaya, they would be able to reform the electoral process? Perhaps some of Pakatan Rakyat leaders would have very good intentions to do so, perhaps some wouldn’t.

And we would be back where we are today.

This time, with Umno on the civil society front, urging for electoral reform.

We will then wonder why did we let this important opportunity slip away on July 9, 2011?

Regardless of which political parties are supporting Bersih 2.0, its aim is purer and clearer than any political party of the day.

To not support Bersih 2.0 because it currently receives massive Pakatan Rakyat support, in my humble opinion, is short sighted and very childish.

In 2007, we did not really have a problem with Pakatan Rakyat being involved in the Bersih march. In fact, we were more than happy that the PAS Amal Unit was there to keep us safe (I know I was).

Suddenly, in 2011, we are morally outraged that Pakatan Rakyat has yet again completely embraced Bersih 2.0.

Let’s not be hypocrites.

No matter how we feel about Pakatan Rakyat, we have to admit that they are playing the role that they need to play. And it would be no different if the roles were reversed.

Let’s imagine an alternate universe.

A corrupt Pakatan Rakyat government is terrorising our citizens. They say it is for our own good, to keep the peace. We all know that the only way they can keep in power is to manipulate the electoral process. We are outraged.

Despite our fears, our concerns, the countless dialogues we have had with the Election Commission appealing for good sense, we have not made any headway in bettering the electoral process.

And so, we take our concerns to the streets, for only two hours, and with hope that the police would not side with Pakatan Rakyat just once, and instead, do their job with fairness and decency.

The maligned Barisan Nasional, which has been struggling to fight against all odds to gain political representation, has embraced the civil society’s call to change the electoral process. They say we will support you and protect you against the Pakatan Rakyat-led police, with our Umno Youth unit.

So you see, no matter how we flip it, no matter how we intellectually dissect it to pieces, in the end it does not matter which political parties of the day support us.

And I have so much faith in our average good Malaysian that come July 9 there will be no riots similar to those in the Middle-East, as some of us fear. We proved that in 1998 when our deputy prime minister was arrested and beaten in jail, and while there was intense public outrage, more so than today, we did not burn cars or smash store windows.

Instead we took our outrage, as much as we can, through our votes, despite the grossly unfair electoral process. But now we realise, it is time to revamp the electoral system for five more years for a fairer political representation.

The Bersih 2.0 march will bring about change, whatever that brings, but we cannot fear that. The alternative is to stay unhappy, complaining, morally outraged but not doing anything significant about it until the next generation has enough of our staid complacency.

We need courage, and we need faith. We need you — the average good Malaysian — in large numbers to come down on July 9 to stand together, and say, we need a better electoral process for our country. We need a better democracy that works.

This is why we need to march.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, 7:19 pm and is filed under
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