Nor Mohamed Yakcop should learn history

 — Jaleel Hameed

The Malaysian Insider

May 13, 2012

MAY 13 — It is interesting that Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop is talking about Malaysian history, that the country would revert to the year 1511, when the Bumiputera agenda didn’t exist, if Barisan Nasional (BN) loses in the next general election.

Thank you, sir. Where did you learn your history? Because that’s pure bovine excrement.

What Bumiputera agenda was there before the May 13, 1969 race riots? In fact, BN came into being after the riots, when the then-Alliance government realised the majority Malays felt disenfranchised in their own country.

Let’s not even talk about Penang or the Malays in the state, of which you are one.

You mean to say the Malays entered the poor house only when Pakatan Rakyat (PR) took over in 2008?

You mean to say they were richer when BN was in power?

You mean to say that after 40 years of the New Economic Policy (NEP) by BN, all the Malays are richer?

If that is the case, why the “perjuangan belum selesai” (the struggle has yet to end)? Why the RM500 Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia? Why the RM15,000 windfall for Felda settlers now?

Why not over the past 40 years? Why the “ketirisan” (leakages) or the various programmes that your government are still conducting, like the one you attended in Penang today?

Come on, sir. There are rich Malays; the cronies who made money from access to the political elite. And there are the poor Malays, still eking out a living from independence until now.

And Malacca, sir, has always welcomed foreigners. It was the original services industry in the Malay peninsula. And Malaysia has inherited that, always welcoming foreigners in spite of the Bumiputera agenda.

Your government still seeks foreign direct investment. Your InvestKL seeks foreign companies to set up their headquarters here. You call that a Bumiputera agenda?

I know you need to win support to stand in the next election. But don’t sell us such hogwash that PR will set the country back. BN is doing a fine job of that already.

Please go back to school and learn history, sir.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 May 2012, 12:52 am and is filed under
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PR Leadership Council reaffirms unswerving commitment to common policy accords before or after 13GE and the principle that there must be consensus for any change of PR policy

The Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council today reaffirmed unswerving commitment to common policy agreements reached by the three component parties, namely PKR, PAS and DAP, whether before or after the 13th General Elections,  in the PR Common Policy Framework of December 19, 2009, Buku Jingga of  20th December 2010 and the Joint PR Leadership Statement of 28th September 2011.

As stated in PR Common Policy Framework unanimously adopted at the First Pakatan Rakyat Convention in Shah Alam in December 2009, Pakatan Rakyat is committed to uphold the spirit and provisions of the Federal Constitution, in particular, to

1. Defend the Federal Constitution, Islam as the religion of the Federation while other religions can be practiced peacefully anywhere in the country and protecting the special position of the Malays and the indigenous peoples anywhere including Sabah and Sarawak, and the legitimate interests of other races in accordance to Article 153.

2. Defend the role and responsibility of the institution of Constitutional Monarchy.

3. Uphold the use of Bahasa Melayu in accordance to Article 152 of the Constitution and promote Bahasa Melayu as the regional lingua franca, while protecting and strengthening the use of mother tongue languages for all races.

4. Abolish the Internal Security Act and other laws that allow for detention without trial while simultaneously propose that all existing emergency declarations are rescinded.

5. Abolish or amend all other oppressive laws and regulations that are repressive and contravene fundamental rights.

6. Guarantee the spirit of Federalism and a just relationship between the Federation and states especially Sabah and Sarawak.

The PR Leadership Council today also reaffirmed the principle that there must be consensus among the three PR  component parties before there could be any change in any agreed PR policy.

Hukum Hudud is not part of the PR Common Policy Framework as DAP is of the view that it is unconstitutional to implement it.  However, DAP respects PAS views on the subject.

The statement by Dewan Ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib  that hudud implementation and  Federal Constitution amendment would be PAS’ priorities even if it meant changing its current partners in the Pakatan Rakyat was also raised at the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council meeting this morning.

PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and other PAS leaders assured the PR Leadership Council that the PAS leadership repudiated Harun’s view as it does not represent PAS position but was only  Harun’s own personal view.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 May 2012, 4:50 pm and is filed under
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Umno patut berhimpun sekali lagi

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

May 14, 2012

14 MEI — Saya mencadangkan supaya Umno mengadakan perhimpunan seperti yang diadakan di Stadium Bukit Jalil pada 11 Mei yang lepas sekali lagi. Pada perhimpunan Umno di Bukit Jalil baru-baru ini seramai 100,000 orang telah dapat dihimpunkan oleh Najib Razak untuk menunjukkan sokongan ramai terhadap Umno dan Barisan Nasional.

Saya kira Umno perlu melakukannya sekali lagi dan himpunkan seramai dua juta manusia untuk menyamai “equation” himpunan Bersih 3.0 yang dihadiri oleh 300,000 orang pada 28 April yang lalu.

Lain-lain perkataan hanya himpunan dua juta rakyat sahaja boleh menyamai kekuatan 300,000 kehadiran dalam himpunan Bersih itu untuk mendapat “legitimacy” sokongan rakyat. DAN dalam perhimpunan itu nanti bawa bersama rakyat dari kaum-kaum lain untuk menyatakan yang Umno serta BN iu mendapat sokongan rakyat berbilang kaum.

Setakat 100,000 orang yang mampu dihimpunkan oleh Umno itu sangat tidak seimbang dengan belanja dan kemudahan yang diberikan oleh Umno kepada siapa yang datang untuk berhimpun di Stadium Bukit Jalil itu. Seperti biasa Umno akan memberikan “5-T” untuk menghimpunkan orang ramai.

Pertamanya mesti ada T-shirt secara percuma; keduanya, mesti ada Tambang;  ketiganya mesti ada Transport jika tidak diberikan tambang; keempatnya mesti ada Topi; dan yang akhir sekali Tempat Tidur.  Jika tidak ada “5-T” ini jangan diharap ramai yang akan keluar untuk berhimpun.

Di IOI  Golf and Country Resort begitu ramai peserta himpunan dari Terengganu. Tidak tahu berapa jumlahnya tetapi mereka diangkut dengan 80 buah bas untuk meramaikan peserta Himpunan Ulang Tahun Umno yang ke 66 itu walaupun parti itu telah mati 24 tahun yang lalu.

Hotel-hotel di Kuala Lumpur telah penuh ditempah oleh Umno seluruh negara untuk menempatkan peserta yang telah diangkut dengan bas-bas yang di tempah dari seluruh pelusuk tanah air.

Pada malam sebelum perhimpunan itu saya telah diberitahu oleh peserta-peserta yang saya kenali yang pusat-pusat hiburan seperti pusat karaoke dan kelab-kelab malam begitu sibuk melayan ramai pelanggan yang akan berhimpun di Stadium Bukit Jalil keesokan harinya.

Agaknya ini lah salah satu dari program transformasi ekonomi negara yang diusulkan oleh Perdana Menteri Najib kita.

Berbeza sangat dengan Perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 pada 28 April yang lalu.

Bersih 3.0 telah menghimpunkan lautan manusia seramai 300,000 yang datang daripada  seluruh pelusuk  negara tanpa dibayar.

Mereka datang memakai T-shirt juga tetapi mereka mengeluarkan wang saku sendiri untuk membeli T-shirt tersebut. Bersih juga tidak membayar peserta-pesertanya untuk datang dalam perhimpunan mereka.

Perbezaan yang lebih jelas ialah Bersih 3.0 dihadiri oleh setiap bangsa — Melayu, Cina dan India. Buat pertama kalinya Bersih 3.0 disertai oleh rakyat kelas menengah dan ramai ahli-ahli korporat dan eksekutif-eksekutif dalam sektor swasta yang sebelum ini tidak pernah mengambil tahu untuk berhimpun dan memberikan sokongan kepada himpunan Bersih. Yang pasti sokongan terhadap himpunan Bersih itu adalah sokongan yang “legitimate”

Bersih juga mendapat sokongan dari rakyat Malaysia yang tinggal diluar negara dan diberitakan himpunan kecil dan besar telah di adakan di lebih dari 60 lokasi seluruh dunia. Itulah sebabnya saya membuat equation dua juta himpunan Umno baru boleh menyamai kekuatan sokongan dari 300,000 peserta himpunan Bersih.

Jika Umno boleh menghimpunkan seramai dua juta rakyat, barulah Najib boleh memikirkan untuk memanggil pilihanraya umum yang akan datang. Jika himpunan Umno sekali lagi di adakan dan datang peserta perhimpunan itu seramai 300,000 dengan tanpa “5-T” tadi barulah Najib cepat-cepat mengadap Yang diPertuan Agong untuk mendapatkan perkenan Baginda bagi membubarkan parlimen.

Bagi rakyat yang prihatin terhadap kehendak demokrasi seperkara yang dikehendaki oleh rakyat ialah untuk mendapatkan kerajaan yang dipilih secara “legitimate” oleh rakyat negara ini sendiri , bukannya dari pendatang-pendatang asing. Janganlah hendaknya PRU kali ini menjadi medan diantara pilihan rakyat sendiri dengan pilihan pendatang asing pula.

Jika kerajaan ingin menjadi kerajaan yang benar-benar “legitimate” keluarkanlah nama-nama mereka yang tidak layak mengundi dari senarai daftar pengundi. Dapatkanlah kuasa secara “legitimate”. Barulah boleh mengaku sebagai kerajaan yang ber “moral” dan ber “intergriti”.

Bila rakyat mendapat kepimpinan yang bermoral barulah rakyat hidup selesa dan menjauhi perasaan was-was yang selama ini menghantui perasaan mereka (rakyat). — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Monday, 14 May 2012, 6:06 pm and is filed under
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Bersih through an 18-year-old’s eyes

An A-levels student details his experiences and the lessons learnt during the April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally.

By B Anand

Free Malaysia Today

May 15, 2012

COMMENT

Admittedly, this article might be a bit overdue, however it was mainly due to the fact that I’ve been bogged down with my upcoming A-levels. As I sat in front of my laptop the night before, watching the crowds assemble near Dataran, I was still mulling over whether or not I should attend.

A part of me posed the following questions: What if I get hurt, gassed or sprayed? What if I get arrested by the police? Was it wise to take such a risk right before such an important exam?

However, I also thought to myself: As a future law student, shouldn’t it be my duty to defend our right to protest? And more importantly, if ever I was forced to join the Malaysian diaspora, would I ever be able to forgive myself for not having tried fighting for my rights first?

In the end,regardless of the risks it posed, I felt that it was my duty to attend. Being 18, I am not yet eligible to vote; however I had always believed in the Bersih cause, as a clean and fair electoral system is the only way in which we could obtain a government that truly represented the interests of the people.

In addition to the above, I was also dumbfounded by the illogical reactions of certain quarters to the rally. And so, with vinegar soaked masks, swimming googles, earplugs, legal aid numbers saved on my phone, a towel, water and some food in my bag – I left the comfort of my home, ready for whatever might come. A part of me was excited to become a part of national history, however I would also be lying to say that I wasn’t nervous and expecting the worst.

I travelled to Brickfields with family members who attended the rally together with me. Police presence was relatively heavy, and I remained anxious as I walked past the officers. What if they decided to arrest me there and then? I decided to smile at them; to my surprise, they smiled back! I felt somewhat reassured, and the huge participant turnout reaffirmed it.

Upon joining the crowd, we coincidentally bumped into a group of church friends and began our march with them. To the chants of “Hidup Bersih!” and “Hidup Rakyat!”, we were cheered on by the many observers on the sidewalk and by a majority of the cars, motorbikes, a convoy of postmen and even a KTM commuter train who blared their horns in support of us.

While walking towards the city, I met people from all walks of life, of all ages, many races and many backgrounds; coming together for the good of the nation. Of all those people, the most memorable ones included a Standard Two boy, a brave disabled man on crutches, and an incredibly beautiful protester who was walking together with us (lets face it, boys will be boys).

Ever since the concept of 1Malaysia had been introduced, I had not an idea of what it meant until Bersih 3.0. By this point, every feeling of nervousness which I had felt before had practically disappeared. Never in my life, had I been so proud to call myself a Malaysian.

Businesses make a killing

Upon joining with the group from Central Market, we stopped for a break. To my surprise, I coincidentally bumped into a friend from school as well as a priest from a nearby church. Despite many businesses being closed, my group and I proceeded to an open Mamak shop to have lunch. To say that business was great would be an understatement.

There were many vendors making a killing from selling cold drinks as well. It was amazing to see how much fuss some businessmen had made in response to Bersih and the supposed millions-upon-millions claimed in losses. Had those businesses decide to open on that day – just like those that did – they would have made a killing too. Why bother getting into business when you don’t even know the basics?

After lunch, we proceeded to a stage at Central Market where we had the honour of seeing S Ambiga herself. I was unable to hear what she was saying due to the deafening cheers, however just being in the presence of such a great Malaysian was sufficient for me.

As a giant group, we then marched towards the direction of Dataran Merdeka with the chants of “Bersih!”, “Hidup Rakyat” and “Hancur Lynas”.

Admittedly, there were also chants of “Reformasi”, however these chants had little traction with the people. At 2pm, we were reminded to sing the Negaraku; and the entire crowd did so with spontaneity. The sound of our voices together were deafening albeit a bit out of pitch – though there was no doubt that a sense of nationalistic fervour had gripped the crowd.

As we approached Jalan Tun Perak, we could hear the chants and cheers of the mammoth-sized crowd that had already assembled there. We merged with the giant sea of people, and my group and I successfully got a place right outside the Burger King outlet (which was also filled to the brim, by the way). We had ourselves a great view, and the atmosphere was akin to a giant festival. We then proceeded towards the side of the Masjid Jamek station – where we had a seat.

We had no idea of what was happening at the other end, and were just minding our own business until we noticed a sudden rush of people. It did not take us long to realise that something was up, and that tear gas had been shot. We had no idea that the barricades at Dataran Merdeka were breached.

In the sudden rush, we had lost a cousin while heading to Medan Pasar – somewhat away from all the pandemonium that had spontaneously ensued. We stopped near the clock-tower to try and get in touch with my cousin. While doing so, however, we heard a loud gush of water like the sound of a distant waterfall. To our shock, large jets of water were being fired on the adjacent road (Leboh Pasar Besar). The entire crowd made a run for it. We had no idea where we were heading.

It wasn’t long until we began to feel the effects of the tear gas which had wafted from nearby. It felt like rubbing your body and face with chillies. We began to help each other in the crowd – some distributed salt and water, others helped the elderly – all of us random strangers.

We took random backroads and alleyways, eventually finding ourselves in the midst of the Pudu bus station where we took refuge. Still recovering from whatever had happened, I was made even more dumbfounded by the fact that they had closed the LRT station. Why bother ordering us to disperse, only to have the LRTs closed?

An hour later, when things had somewhat settled, we began to make our way home. Before leaving the Pudu bus station, I made it a point to give a yellow flower I had received from a protester to the police in the police booth at the bus station. They were surprised, to say the least.

From Pudu, we walked to Berjaya Times Square where we boarded a cramped Monorail filled with fellow protesters. Upon reaching KL Sentral, we were picked up by the cousin whom we had lost in the rally, who somehow managed to get himself home before us. In the car, I remained silent with a smile on my face – still trying to contemplate the day’s events.

Tunku and gang smiling

In a nutshell, I had walked miles-upon-miles in the blazing heat with thousands of people, I was tear gassed and ran instinctively; not knowing where I was going – and yet I was happy as ever. It just goes to show that the best thing to do in life is to follow your conscience, no matter how risky it might be – one of the many lessons being part of Bersih 3.0 had taught me.

I awoke the next day to the papers highlighting the supposed chaotic nature of the rally initiated by protesters. To say that I was angry would be an understatement. Looking at some videos that surfaced online, there was undoubtedly sporadic violence by protesters which had occurred; as a Bersih believer, I condemn such violence. But what about the numerous accounts of police brutality? Why did the media fail to acknowledge that? Selective amnesia perhaps?

It was incredibly appalling that some quarters refused to even acknowledge the aspects of unity and creativity seen, and the predominantly peaceful nature of the assembly. Do they not seem to realise that by doing so, they actually stand to give their arguments more credence?

Looking back at the rally, I see the denial of Dataran Merdeka as the protest venue a blessing in disguise.

Why? Because it symbolises the dreams and aspirations of our founding fathers which have yet to be fulfilled. They dreamt of building a society that would wholeheartedly reflect the will of the people, and not of a select few. Such a society could only be built by electing a government through a free and fair electoral process.

The spirit of those who fought for our independence years ago was very much present in Bersih 3.0; and as we continue in our fight for this cause, it’s safe to say that Tunku and gang are smiling from above – proud of everything we have done. Hidup Bersih, Malaysia Boleh!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 12:48 pm and is filed under
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DAP Is big enough for Tunku Aziz to remain as National Vice-Chair

by Lim Guan Eng

DAP Secretary-General

When announcing his resignation from DAP, Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim cited “irreconcilable differences” with the party leadership in dissenting with DAP’s official position to support Bersih 3.0 to conduct a peaceful sit-in protest in Dataran Merdeka to press for clean, free and fair elections.

DAP is big enough for Tunku Abdul Aziz to remain as National Vice-Chair and accomodate his” irreconciliable differences” with the DAP on Bersih’s quest to conduct a sit-in protest in Dataran Merdeka to press for clean elections

Malaysiakini reported Tunku Abdul Aziz as saying his open disagreement with DAP made Tunku himself choose not to be re-nominated as a senator for Penang when his term expired on 30 May 2012, and stated that he was not sacked from his Dewan Negara’s post by DAP.

Tunku Aziz had also suggested to the party leadership that DAP should subject him to the “same disciplinary procedure as any other party member” for his dissent. As disciplinary action from DAP was not forthcoming he had decided to resign from the DAP to avoid further embarrassment.

I would like to express my sadness at Tunku’s announcement. DAP believes in freedom of speech and that every member and leader has a right to differ. I don’t agree that any disciplinary action should be taken against Tunku for differing with the party on Bersih’s right to do the sit-in protest in Dataran Merdeka.

Indeed there was general unhappiness at all levels in the party that he openly went against the party official position on Bersih before the rally on 28 April and also after.

However, just as Tunku has the right to openly voice his dissent, the party’s right to state its position on such a fundamental policy position as Bersih must also be respected.

The party did not punish Tunku for voicing his dissent openly nor at any stage asked him to leave or resign.

I feel sad about Tunku wanting to leave the party because of differences over Bersih.

After all Tunku had joined DAP because DAP offered a platform to promote integrity and fight corruption.

DAP’s performance in government after winning power in Penang in 2008 has been walking the talk in promoting integrity and fighting corruption.

Penang Pakatan Rakyat has taken the lead with open competitive tenders, open disclosure of government contracts and public declaration of assets by leaders.

Not only Transparency International and the Auditor-General Report praised Penang’s financial performance, even former MCA President Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik praised Penang for performing well and been clean from corruption.

Despite Tunku open dissent, the DAP leadership does not want him to leave the party but remain as DAP Vice-Chair.

I hope we can resolve whatever differences within the party in the spirit of comradeship.

I will contact Tunku to see him to discuss with him and hope he can change his mind about leaving the party.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 2:11 pm and is filed under
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FGVH listing: The game the crooks play

— Sakmongkol AK47

The Malaysian Insider

May 15, 2012

MAY 15 — Readers who are interested in reading more vigorous analyses on FGVH are advised to read The Pirates of Putrajaya in the
English
 language here  and in
Bahasa Malaysia
 here. I am offering a less rigorous analysis here as I feel not as competent as the Pirate in technical matters.

Here is what irks me and I hope it does others too. FELDA settlers have given nothing but each FELDA household is promised and given RM15,000 each. For what? In return for a promise to vote UMNO and BN in the next elections? And a gnome of the FELDA chairman says it’s not corruption. The RM15,000 must be called as what it really is: the price of each settler as seen by the PM. It’s bloody corruption.

If not, how do you explain why the PM gives out the 15,000? Does he do it for purely philanthropic reasons?

What is it that FGVH offers for sale? Remember, as the Koperasi Permodalan FELDA hasn’t parted with its 51 per cent, what FGVH offers to the public is its 49 per cent interest in FELDA Holdings. It can’t and doesn’t have the capacity to offer 100 per cent of FELDA Holdings. But you can be sure the PM and his macais are rounding up the deep-pocketed boys and telling them: don’t worry boys, we will chop off the heads of the KPF leaders one by one. We will deliver you 100 per cent of FELDA Holdings.

Or perhaps we haven’t uncovered yet the devilish plans they have in store for the 51 per cent which KPF owns in FELDA Holdings?

It’s shortchanging the investing public when it can only offer 49 per cent of its interest in FELDA Holdings and their valueless businesses abroad which did not make money anyway.

Now, FELDA holdings is a different cattle of fish. It is one of Malaysia’s largest, and most diversified agro-based enterprises which run the commercial business related to the Federal Land and Development Authority (FELDA), and the vast 880,000-hectare plantation land bank associated with it. It owns 360,000 hectares of land directly and manages 520,000 hectares of land belonging to settlers.

FELDA Holdings became a public company on October 3, 2003. Today, its total capitalisation exceeds RM5 billion with RM220 million in paid-up capital. It employs a dedicated workforce of almost 19,000 employees, complemented by a labour force of 46,795 workers at some 300 estates, 70 palm oil mills, seven refineries, four kernel crushing plants, 13 rubber factories, manufacturing plants and several logistic and bulking installations spread throughout Malaysia and several locations overseas.

Its assets include more than 50 active subsidiaries, associated companies and joint-venture companies. It provides technical advice and support to the FELDA Group. It has facilities to process rubber and cocoa products, manufacture fertilisers as well as operate several successful auxiliary businesses. Among these are IT, engineering, security, storage and logistic services.

It also does business at the international level; it supplies eight per cent of world palm oil in 2009. It has joint-venture partnerships with large multinationals such as Procter & Gamble and Iffco. It has growing interests in businesses in the United States, Canada, Australia, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

But the most important thing to remember is this: FGVH holds only 49 per cent of all these. But they have an important partner in crime — the holder of the one golden share. The Ministry of Finance.

The non-FELDA citizens of this country do not get any cash handouts. But they have the same stature as FELDA settlers who have given nothing to Umno and the government. So, they deserve the same cash handouts as settlers do. Why should the settlers be treated any differently? If ordinary citizens are wrongly treated they should respond the only decent way they can — by not voting in this corrupt government.

The minister in charge of FELDA is going ahead with the listing of FGVH. He has called those who opposed the listing as accursed bastards — haram jadah. He has described them as thick-skinned if they take the RM15,000 inducement. By doing so, he has displayed his inherent nature which I have been saying all this while — that Najib solves problems by paying his way through. He is not a leader who inspires the citizens with ideas and ideals.

There is a vast and barren void that lies between his ears. — sakmongkol.blogspot.com

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de plume of Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. He was Pulau Manis assemblyman (2004-2008).

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 7:00 pm and is filed under
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Mooning, Malaysia’s ultimate defence

— Jaleel Hameed

The Malaysian Insider

May 15, 2012

MAY 15 — All hail our army veterans. They only need their bottoms to defend the country from its enemies.

Today, I read in The Malaysian Insider that 10 retired soldiers “exercised” their bums this morning outside Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s Bukit Damansara home against the April 28 Bersih rally.

The members of the Malay Armed Forces Veterans Association (PVTM) did their “butt exercises” to protest against the Bersih chief for being an “enemy” of the nation, reports the news portal.

“We Armed Forces veterans have the right to protest against an ‘enemy’ who tried to smear the nation’s name,” said PVTM president Datuk Mohd Ali Baharom.

Of course, sir. Much obliged that despite your retirement, you are brave enough to take up arms to drop your pants in the face of the enemy.

As they say, if you can’t use your head, use your bottom. Well played, sir.

But this begs the question of the weapon of choice for the Malaysian Armed Forces.

If they can use their derrieres, why do we go out and buy French submarines, Polish tanks, American and Russian fighter jets and other pricey weaponry.

All we need for the country’s defence is the well-trained, muscled bottom of the pride and joy of the nation — the Malaysian soldier — to flex our bottoms at the enemies of the state.

No enemy can defeat us for they will quake in fear when mooned by the Malaysian soldier.

This Malaysian defence weapon could just be the update of US President John F. Kennedy’s famous line: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ass what you can do for your country.”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 10:28 pm and is filed under
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No one is listening to rakyat

Jeswan Kaur | May 15, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

Can Najib help enlighten whatever happened to his promise that the government could only work best if it listened to the people?

In some South Pacific cultures, a speaker holds a conch shell as a symbol of temporary position of authority. Leaders must understand who holds the conch – that is, who should be listened to and when. – writer Max De Pree

There is a reason why human beings have been blessed with two ears and one mouth – so that we listen better and speak only when need be. However, looking at the chaotic political scenario of this country, the opposite seems to be in motion.

From Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to his team of ministers, none is listening to the rakyat. These politicians seem to have made up their minds who they will lend a listening ear to.

Joining them is former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad who, for reasons best known to him, has never learnt the virtue and value of being a “good listener”, both back when he lorded 22 years over the nation and now when as a “retiree”.

In Mahathir’s case, less than a week ago he accused the events of April 28 as attempts to discredit the ruling government under the Barisan Nasional flagship.

April 28 was when Bersih 3.0 came to be. Like the rest of the BN “loud hailers”, Mahathir’s take on the rally has ended up as myopic. He has blamed the opposition of trying to tarnish the good name of the BN government because the former is not confident of winning the 13th general election.

Who better than Mahathir to admit the hanky-panky that BN undertakes each time faced with an election? But then, the good doctor being the typical politician that he is, has decided to do his bit to discredit Bersih 3.0.

In Mahathir’s words: “….so they want to topple the government through the demonstration and Nik Aziz Nik Mat (PAS spiritual leader) said it is permissible to bring down the government in this manner [demonstration].

“They want to make Malaysia like Egypt, Tunisia, which were brought down through riots and now Syria… when the government does not fall, [they] can appeal to the foreign power to help and bring it down, even if it means using fire-power.

“The people must think and should not allow this thing to happen by giving a big win to the BN in the next general election.”

Does Mahathir honestly believe the people are out to topple the BN government under Najib’s leadership? The protest was all about seeking positive changes to the electoral system of this country. How on earth did Dr Mahathir jump to the conclusion that Bersih 3.0 was about turning Malaysia into Tunisia or Egypt?

Start listening, BN

Enough lies have been spread to malign the efforts to seek electoral reforms. The crux of the matter was simple – for the government to not indulge in “unhealthy” practices to win the country’s elections.

But instead the BN government revealed its true colour. Bad enough that listening to the rakyat has never been of any interest to it, the government decided to “play by its rules” – its Parliamentary Select Committee a mere whitewash, failing to resolve key issues pertaining to electoral reforms as demanded by Bersih.

Can Najib help enlighten whatever happened to his promise that the government could only work best if it listened to the people?

Why then such propaganda work to portray Bersih 3.0 and its key players as going against the establishment? The move to denounce the rally by roping in the National Fatwa Council is a step backward.

Instead of politicising the council which, in turn, politicises Islam, the nation’s dominant religion, BN has to muster the courage to engage in a series of introspection and retrospection and learn from its mistakes.

Sadly, the Umno soul-searching post-2008 that Najib talked about has not helped one bit. Like its major “shareholder” Umno, BN too has become stagnant, unable to move in the “right” direction.

Had BN been centred on reality and actuality, the Bersih 3.0 could have been avoided. Instead, it has always been the ruling coalition’s arrogance that has made life difficult for the rakyat.

Take cognisance post-April 28

Bersih 3.0 came and went but that does not negate the fact that the people are no longer in the mood to tolerate corruption of any kind. No more sweet talks or handouts to conceal the truth. The rakyat knows it all too well already.

To continue to fool the people is an old trick that BN can no longer play. The setting up of the independent advisory panel to investigate allegations of police brutality is yet another “trick of the trade” the rakyat have become familiar with.

Only time will reveal whether it is yet another gimmick to fool the rakyat in view of the impending general election or is well-intended.

But then why the panel when the country has its own human rights commission, Suhakam? Does the BN administration worry that the commission will do a good job at unearthing the truth, hence the hastily-created panel?

Najib has said the panel would comprise “credible, experienced and respectable” individuals. Does Suhakam lack such “credentials”?

In any case, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s remark that the panel was set up to uphold the rights and freedom of Malaysians is an insult to Malaysians.

Had the rights and freedom of the rakyat been BN’s concern, the police brutality on April 28 would never dare happen.

And were the rights and freedom of Malaysians indeed been the government’s concern, the rakyat, especially the non-Malays, would have never have been treated as persona non grata.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 12:31 pm and is filed under
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Umno Hits Rock Bottom

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 12:08 pm and is filed under
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Umno, how much did you spend to bring your crowd?

— P. Ramakrishnan

The Malaysian Insider

May 14, 2012

MAY 14 — Much has been made of the so-called 100,000 turnout of Umno members at the Bukit Jalil Stadium to observe Umno’s 66th anniversary celebrations. Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak was obviously elated in seeing the sea of Umno members dressed in red that greeted him on his arrival at the stadium.

He remarked that they, too, can bring in the crowds. And he was jubilant thinking that support for Umno had returned. You can’t fault him for being carried away by the euphoria of the occasion.

But little does he realise that his optimism was misplaced.

Who were these people who came to the stadium? Why did they come? How did they come?

These were Umno members and supporters. They were induced to come. More than 2,000 buses brought them from across the country to the stadium. They did not come of their own free will, at their own expense. Everything was paid for; everything was taken care of.

Supposing each of the 2,000 buses carried 40 members; that would give a total of 80,000 members and supporters. How much would it have cost to bring all these members to Kuala Lumpur?

The buses had to be hired; that costs money. The 80,000 people had to be fed; that costs money. They had to be accommodated for the night in a reasonable hotel; that costs money. They had to be paid an allowance; that costs money. Taking all this expenditure into consideration, the question to ask is, how many millions did it take to bring them to KL?

The 80,000 members who attended out of a proclaimed membership total of 3.5 million works out to less than three per cent of Umno’s total membership.

The actual attendance was less than 10 per cent of the earlier boast of that the event would draw one million

This lower-than-expected turnout was what was achieved after all the effort to outshine the Bersih 3.0 crowd and after spending millions of ringgit. It is nothing to crow about!

Based on this crowd, it makes no sense to claim that Malay support has returned to Umno. Facts do not support this assumption.

You only brought in a fraction of your members; you did not bring in the crowds — unlike Bersih 3.0. It is as simple as that!

The only non-Umno members who turned up — dressed in red as well — were from Barisan Nasional component parties! But we don’t know whether these allies of Umno who play a supporting and certainly a subordinate role in the BN really have the support of the people. Their presence does not amount to anything to draw comfort from.

Yes, we must not forget the presence of the others as well. According to the New Straits Times of May 12, 2012, “Among the government agencies taking part were the Royal Malaysia Police, Election Commission, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and SME Corp Malaysia.”

Why are these government agencies taking part in a function organised by Umno for its members? How do we justify the presence of these agencies at a political function? How are they aligned to Umno? Or are they actually aligned to Umno? Are they members of Umno as well?

Compare this event where everything was facilitated to ensure attendance at the Umno do to that of the Bersih 3.0 crowd. Many would immediately say, “There is no comparison!” And they would be absolutely correct.

The Bersih 3.0 crowd came willingly and voluntarily and spontaneously. There was no inducement. The only compelling factor that propelled them to come was their desire to support Bersih’s eight demands to ensure that the elections would be clean and fair. They were all fed up with the Election Commission and the way our elections have been conducted all this while. They could no longer tolerate the biased and one-sided electoral process that had worked to the unfair advantage of the BN.

The crowd of more than 250,000 that came in support of what is considered to be the biggest gathering in support of a just cause far outstripped the Umno crowd. It must be remembered that Bersih — unlike Umno — had no members to fall back on. These were all individuals from all walks of life who came freely. There was no compulsion whatsoever.

And they came fully knowing that there would be obstacles and challenges that would be very intimidating. They came ready to face — if necessary — whatever they might be subjected to. They could not be discouraged by the threat of tear gas and water cannons. That’s how determined they were; that’s how dedicated they were to the cause espoused by Bersih.

The Land Public Transport Commission would not grant licences to allow buses to bring in the Bersih crowd from out of town. Otherwise, the crowd would have been even bigger. But this transport commission had no problem in allowing more than 2,000 buses ferrying in Umno members from all over the country.

The Malaysian public will not be lulled into believing that the tide has actually turned in favour of the BN. Facts do not support this presumption.

The BN can claim anything, but it will not make any difference.

Discerning Malaysians will continue to ask, “What happened to your concern for the welfare of the people when you became Prime Minister in 2009? What happened to your compassion in 2010, when people were finding it hard to make ends meet? What happened to your goodwill in 2011, when Malaysians were wondering whether you would uplift their misery and comfort them with the billions of ringgit at your disposal?”

They will ask, “Why is it only in 2012 that are you bothered by their plight and their suffering? Is it because the election is round the corner?”

They can see through your game plan. You cannot hoodwink them anymore! — aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 1:07 am and is filed under
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A free press is essential to democracy

— Dennis Ignatius

The Malaysian Insider

May 16, 2012

MAY 16 — Marina Mahathir, one of our nation’s most inspiring figures, recently wrote how her article in The Star was spiked for fear of incurring the wrath of the powers that be.

As a columnist for the same newspaper myself, I understand Marina’s angst.

Recently, I submitted an article about democracy in Myanmar. It ran on Monday, May 7. One line was, however, deleted. In referring to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s promise to support the transformation process in that country, I said, “We may not have much to teach them about democracy but we can help in other ways.”

It seemed such a small thing but even such references are now deemed too sensitive.

I thought it was really ironic that here I was writing about democracy in Myanmar, long considered a dictatorship, while being censored in a country that is assumed to be a democracy.

The last article I wrote in response to bizarre allegations in the national press that American and Zionist groups were plotting regime change in Malaysia was spiked with no explanations given.

It seems newspaper editors in Malaysia, at least the ones who don’t behave as government servants, have to constantly play by ear, shutting down criticism when the government is nervous and allowing some measure of it at other times.

Commentators, for their part, quickly learn that it is prudent to write about developments in faraway places than to touch on the issues that really matter at home. And so we wax eloquent on why Nicolas Sarkozy lost the elections or why Barack Obama supports gay marriage instead of the beaten and bloodied demonstrators on the streets of our capital. It’s the journalistic equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

Having been brought up on the notion that some issues, particularly those relating to race and religion, are “sensitive” issues, we came to accept a measure of state censorship. There are signs, however, that things are changing. People are less willing to accept such censorship today, particularly as the so-called “sensitive” list has been expanded to include other national issues.

Furthermore, it is quite obvious that the mainstream media has become far too one-sided for the liking of most Malaysians. Perhaps that may account for the gradual decline of newspaper sales in the country.

Our prime minister recently introduced legislation amending the Printing Presses and Publications Act and other repressive laws. He promised that it would lead to greater freedom, including press freedom.

However, it appears that while Parliament may have changed the letter of the law, the spirit of control behind it has survived intact. In quiet and hidden ways, the press continues to be subjected to manipulation and harassment in an effort to drown out dissenting opinions and differing views.

A culture of self-censorship has also emerged where the press learns to anticipate the reaction of the powers that be and acts accordingly. When the press ceases to write “without fear or favour,” to use the title of the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon’s column in The Star, we have truly lost one of the essentials of our democracy.

History tells us that without a free press, truth dies and the lie prevails while mismanagement, corruption and the abuse of power fester in the dark with terrible consequences. As well, it creates an unhealthy environment where rumours and gossip quickly become fact.

Just these past few weeks we have seen how one of the most significant events in our country’s history has been reframed and recast as a communist-inspired coup attempt, as nothing more than mass hooliganism, as something contrary to our religious values.

What about the other side of the story or the personal narratives and firsthand accounts of hundreds of ordinary citizens who were there that day? Is there no space in our national newspapers for their story?

Journalists have a responsibility to capture such events in all its dimensions to help the public understand what took place. If they do not, they will soon find themselves irrelevant to the national conversation on these issues.

History also teaches us that to sustain itself, repression and control, by its very nature, must keep on expanding to be effective. Already we are seeing signs of censorship creep and manipulation — BBC and al Jazeera newscasts edited and an Australian senator’s remarks blatantly distorted.

And then there’re the shocking remarks by our minister of Home Affairs that it is standard operating procedure for the police to smash cameras and harass journalists who cover such public gatherings!

How long will it be before all criticism of government becomes illegal and treasonous?

It is tempting, of course, to blame the editors and journalists for not standing up to censorship but that misses the point.

I have met a number of journalists and editors, including from The Star, and I know them to be honourable men and women who have dedicated their lives to their profession. You cannot be committed to journalism, as they are, and not yearn for the freedom to write, to explore issues, to investigate a lead no matter where it goes. My sense is that they deeply resent the censorship and the constant harassment.

They are forced to make choices that they shouldn’t have to make: To yield in some areas in order to keep at least a modicum of free expression alive in other areas and to compromise or close, to give up or somehow keep hope alive.

The real focus of our indignation should instead be the system of control and manipulation that makes good men and women bow their knee to what their hearts deny, that forces them to choose between their principles and their livelihood, between what they know to be right and the wrong they are often compelled to accept.

It is no secret that our nation now faces many critical challenges; press freedom is one of them. I hope that the voices clamouring for this fundamental right will grow louder in the days ahead. The future of our democracy depends upon it.

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free… it expects what never was and never will be. The People cannot be safe without information. When the press is free… all is safe.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

* Dennis Ignatius is a retired Malaysian diplomat

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 5:42 pm and is filed under
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Burgers and butts incidents reflect on nation’s leaders

JD Lovrenciear | May 15, 2012

Malaysiakini

Do you laugh or do you lose sleep? Do you cry or do you spit venom?

Indeed the antics staged by the followers of their political patrons clearly indicate that the very party leadership of these stooges who are into burger protests and butt protests in front of the revered Bersih co-chair Ambiga Sreenevasan’s residence, are just as helpless and hopeless, while their followers degrade their reputations even further.

Instead of issuing a stern warning against BN sympathisers for rolling politics in the slime, they allow them to carry on their disgusting and uncouth antics in front of Bersih’s leader.

We forget that this is one lady who stands on the global dais of honour and dignity having being honoured by none other than the leading lady of the United States of America – the very nation that the prime minister of Malaysia is paddling into this season.

If the BN leadership had immediately acted decisively to curb such derogatory displays, they would have earned respect and kudos.

But no. That is not how BN sees things. It is gripped with fear. With no dignity and honour as its armour, it allows itself to be even further defaced by all these stooges who claim to be the defenders of BN and seeming nationhood.

There are so many creative and dignified ways and mannerisms to register disagreements.

But to sell burgers in front of a citizen and civil society acknowledged-leader who is a confessed vegetarian betrays all civic consciousness; to show your butts in front of her residence is most disgustingly indecent and improper especially if judged by Asian values.

These two acts clearly demonstrate how bankrupt we can get on the political railroad.

Wonder how all these would precipitate into in the eyes of the global citizens in so far as the national reputation of the country is concerned?

When Irene Fernandez states the atrocities committed against foreign nationals, we scream that she is disgracing the nation. But when you condone and indirectly promote such primate behaviour, and it gets viral on the global network, it is a non-issue?

Is this the kind of leadership that must be perpetually consecrated to lead this nation then? Citizens, what is your take please?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 3:08 pm and is filed under
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Guan Eng declines to counter-attack Tunku Aziz

Malaysiakini

May 16, 2012

Despite the personal attacks launched by former senator and DAP vice-chairperson Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has chosen not to retaliate.

Lim, in a press statement, said that he had received Tunku’s resignation letter from the DAP yesterday, and has attempted to contact the latter since he announced his departure on a programme on ntv7 on Monday, but failed.

“I do not wish to exchange personal attacks with Tunku but wish to put on record the party’s appreciation for his contribution for the four years he has been the DAP’s national vice-chief,” he said.

“Let time decide who is on the side of truth,” added the DAP secretary-general.

Lim was responding to Tunku Aziz’s interview with The Star, where the latter criticised him for having no sense of decency and being a different kettle of fish from his (Lim’s) father Kit Siang.

Tunku Aziz, who has been a senator for Penang for a term, was not reappointed to his post when it expired on May 30.

He has told the media that he did not wish to be re-nominated after the party found his statement criticising the Bersih 3.0 protest on April 28 to be an embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Penang Institute chief executive officer Zairil Mohd Khir has expressed regret that his offer of a senior fellowship to Tunku Aziz had been “misconstrued”.

Zairil said when it became clear that Tunku Aziz did not wish to be re-nominated for another term as a senator, the institute saw it as an opportunity to recruit a public intellectual with a valuable global network.

Zairil, who is political secretary to the chief minister, added that the post offered  to Tunku Aziz comes with a standard package for senior fellowship that includes a yearly stipend of RM50,000.

So far, three persons have been appointed as senior fellows on this package, Zairil said.

‘CM requested to convey institute’s offer’

“Out of respect for Tunku Aziz’s position as a senior figure, we requested the Penang chief minister, who is also the chairperson of Penang Institute, to convey our offer of a senior fellowship,” he said.

“At no time did the chief minister speak about the terms of the appointment or any financial details during their telephone conversation last Friday,” he added.

“The terms of the senior fellowship were only conveyed by me on Monday morning to Tunku Aziz when I followed-up on the chief minister’s call,” he stressed.

Zairil said as a think-tank, the job offered to Tunku Aziz entailed writing research papers and attending conferences overseas, denying that “travel” was a bait to persuade the latter to accept the job.

In The Star today, Tunku Aziz said Lim had contacted him on Sunday offering him the post and “dangled travel as an attraction” after his tenure as senator was not renewed.

He added that on Monday, Zairil called and repeated the offer, stating there was a stipend of RM50,000 provided with the job.

Tunku Aziz had felt that the offer was “totally insulting”, saying it had come from someone with no sense and modicum of respect.

“Did he think I was that kind of person? This man has no sense of decency. The only word is a Malay word, and it’s ‘biadap’,” the MCA-owned English daily quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, Zairil expressed regret that the institute’s enthusiasm to have Tunku Aziz on board by requesting the chief minister to convey its offer has not only been misconstrued to justify his leaving the party, but also “used to malign” Lim.

He added that the offer was not meant to be compensation for his senatorship, but in fact a genuine offer based on a desire to make the best use of Tunku Aziz’s talent in the service of the state after his retirement as a senator.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 3:40 pm and is filed under
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Tak payah guna kepala, sekarang guna punggung pula

 — Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

May 16, 2012

16 MEI — Saya berasa geli hati dengan gelagat Umno yang kian hari kian memalukan. Pagi semalam sekumpulan penyokong parti itu telah berbaris dihadapan kediaman Ambiga Sreenevasan, Pengerusi Bersih, dengan menonggeng dan menunjukkan bontot kepada rumah Ambiga.

Umno sudah menjadi parti lawak dan telah benar-benar jatuh martabatnya dengan sikap yang ditunjukkan oleh penyokong tegarnya itu.

Kemasukkan saya kedalam DAP dahulu disambut oleh seorang dua sebagai tindakan politik bangkrap. Tetapi sebenarnya apa yang berlaku semalam itu merupakan betul-betul politik bangkrap yang tidak ada tolok bandingnya.

Nampaknya politik Umno ini tidak lagi boleh lari dari bontot dan punggung, sejak 14 tahun yang lalu. Sudah tidak terlarat untuk membesarkan isu bontot dan punggung Saiful Bukhari, sekarang mereka memanjangkan lagi perjuangan berlandaskan kepada bontot dan punggung.

Dalam kesemua 213 negara yang berkerajaan di dunia ini, Malaysialah yang parti pemerintahnya mempertahankan kuasa dengan menggunakan bontot dan punggung dan ini amat memalukan. Saya tidak tahu bagaimana kah perasaan mereka-mereka ini semasa melakukan kerja keji ini.

Malah nampaknya mereka berbangga melakukannya. Masa demi masa Umno melakukan kerja-kerja yang tidak menunjukkan tamaddun yang asas sebagai rakyat sebuah negara yang mengaku sebagai negara sedang membangun yang termasyor didunia ini.

Melakukan kerja menonggeng terhadap rumah Ambiga itu merupakan kerja sia-sia dan ianya amat mengerikan untuk memberikan mandat kepada parti yang sudah bangkrap politiknya.

Tidak beberapa lama dahulu Umno telah mengejutkan rakyat dengan tindakan penyokongnya menghantar kek berbentuk tahi kepada Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng. Apabila politik Barisan Nasional sudah sampai ketahap ini, bagaimana setengah pemimpin Umno masih mengaku yang parti itu boleh mempertahankan maruah Melayu dan menjaga agama Islam, agama anutan kesemua orang Melayu itu.

Mengapa Umno sanggup melakukan kerja-kerja yang tidak semenggah ini, tetapi begitu marah apabila parti itu dikritik dan tidak mendapat sokongan orang Melayu yang rata-rata beragama Islam itu? Apa Islamnya dengan tindakan sekumpulan manusia yang hidup dizaman ini melakukan “exercise punggung” di hadapan rumah Ambiga itu?

Inikah mentaliti yang berjanji untuk membawa transformasi kepada negara dalam segala bidang sedangkan penyokong kepada kepimpinan yang ada pada hari semalam telah menunjukkan sikap kuno dan menjijikan itu.

Berapakah upah yang mereka terima untuk melakukan itu tidak dapat dipastikan tetapi yang pasti Umno sudah bangkrap dan saya jangka masih ada yang mempertahankan kerja itu sebagai kerja mulia dan perlu untuk menyambung kuasa politik Umno dan BN itu.

Tidak dapat dibayangkan bagaimanalah masyarakat antarabangsa memandang terhadap kita semua.  Sekolot-kolot negara-negara Afrika tidak ada kejadian seburuk dan sehina ini berlaku dalam politik mereka.

Umno memang sah sebagai sebuah parti yang sudah hilang hidayah kerana mereka berbangga dengan melakukan kerja-kerja yang memalukan ini. Tidak pernah terfikir yang Umno sudah jatuh sedemikian rendah darjat dan martabatnya.

Sesungguhnya kelemahan yang sedang dihadapi oleh Umno ini berpunca dari kelemahan Umno itu sendiri. Umno sudah menjadi parti yang penuh dengan kekalutan dan marilah kita bertindak dan berdoa agar selepas pilihanraya ini nanti tidak akan  ada lagi kejadian-kejadian sehina ini lagi berlaku dalam politik negara kita lagi.

Ianya amat memalukan kita semua. Kadang-kadang kesian juga melihat Umno ini. Tapi sudah tidak dapat lagi berbuat apa-apa kerana ia sudah terlalu jauh tersasar dari sasaran perjuangan. Hilang agama, hilang budaya dan hilang adab serta adat Melayunya.

Melayu telah hilang segala identitinya. Itulah sumbangan terbesar Umno terhadap bangsanya. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 3:21 pm and is filed under
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Tunku Aziz – lets move on in our separate but still common destiny to create a clean Malaysia which upholds integrity,  human rights and the just rule of law

I would have been the first to welcome any change of mind by Tunku Abdul Aziz about his resignation as DAP National Vice Chairman and DAP member but I fully  respect his decision if his mind is set on resignation.

Over the decades, I have known Tunku Aziz as a man of principle and integrity and my views have not changed one dot, as Tunku Aziz would have known in our three recent meetings, twice at his house and the third time in Parliament.

If a parting of ways with his resignation from the party is unavoidable,  let it be as gentlemanly as possible with the minimum of rancor and acrimony. Let us move on in our separate but still common destiny to create a new and clean Malaysia which upholds integrity, human rights and the just rule of law with an equal place under Malaysian sun for every Malaysian.

Many thanks to Tunku Aziz for his services and contributions as DAP National Vice Chairman as well as the first DAP Senator from Penang.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 5:47 pm and is filed under
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DAP believes Malay appeal still sound without Tunku Aziz

By Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

May 17, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Despite their initial shock at Tunku Aziz Tunku Ibrahim’s resignation, DAP leaders believe his sudden departure would not affect the party’s appeal to the Malay electorate.

DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke told The Malaysian Insider that the DAP has been successful so far in its quest to encourage more Malay participation within its ranks, including the recruitment and grooming of more leaders from the community.

Loke said the DAP would have to live by Tunku Aziz’s quitting and respected his decision.

“Even though there will be a small setback, the party’s momentum will not be affected, even when it comes to reaching out to Malay members,” he said when contacted.

The Rasah MP pointed out that when Tunku Aziz decided to withdraw from seeking a reappointment of his senatorship, the latter was replaced by another Malay leader — Prof Dr Ariffin Omar, a 63-year-old academician who lectures at the National Defence University of Malaysia.

“We have more Malay participation now. And even though he left, his replacement is also a Malay leader of great prominence.

“And there will be many other Malay leaders to emerge in the future,” Loke said.

He said the DAP’s candidate line-up in the coming polls was also likely to include a good number of credible and notable personalities from the Malay community.

“It is regrettable that he took this decision… but we have to live by it and respect it. We will move forward from this,” Loke added.

Zairil Khir Johari, political secretary to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, appeared to echo the same sentiment as Loke, saying that the departure of one party member should not affect the party’s direction or morale.

“I do not think it (Tunku Aziz’s resignation) will have any problem in whatever we are doing. We will continue the same outreach programmes.

“The machinery will continue to run… in that sense, there is no difference. Our recruitment of Malay members does not depend solely on one or two members in the party,” he pointed out.

Zairil, son of the late Tan Sri Khir Johari, is himself among the fresh batch of Malay leaders who recently chose to join the Chinese-dominated DAP, which has been trying hard to shake off its anti-Malay tag by beefing up its Malay membership.

Zairil said the departure of one party member should not affect the party’s direction or morale. DAP deputy secretary-general Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham also cited Ariffin’s appointment as an example of the party’s spreading influence within the Malay electorate and said that more from the community have expressed interest.

“We even have Malay members wanting to form a Malay DAP branch.

“So from here, you know that we are not a Chinese-based or communist party as alleged,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

But Ngeh hoped that Tunku Aziz would reconsider his quit decision, admitting that the leader’s presence would help boost Malay participation within the DAP somewhat.

“Anything negative that happens to a party, to a certain extent, would affect the people’s view of that party, of course,” he said.

Agreeing with Ngeh, DAP vice-chairman Chong Chieng Jen noted that every member in the party wields his or her own influence, within any one community.

“But we will move on, although we were all very shocked about his decision,” he said, adding that it was uncharacteristic of the usually mild-mannered Tunku Aziz to take such drastic action.

The DAP has tried to reach out to the Malays, who make up 60 per cent of the 12-million strong electorate, by recruiting leaders such as Tunku Aziz.

But the founding member of Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), who quit the DAP on Monday after his public spat over Bersih 3.0 with party leaders, has conceded his failure to win over the community to the Chinese-dominated party that has been accused by Umno of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 May 2012, 9:16 am and is filed under
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Let us not forget free and fair elections

— Galvin Wong

The Malaysian Insider

May 17, 2012

MAY 17 — The last two weeks have been filled with events that have displayed violence, disrespect and the true character of politics. On April 28, we experienced Bersih 3.0, the biggest protest in our country’s history that started off on a good note but quickly degraded into an event of confusion and violence. The days that followed were filled with allegations and blame shifting from all parties involved. After that came the burger selling and bum exercise incidents in front of Ambiga Sreenevasan’s house. And just two days ago, DAP vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim ended a dispute he had with the party by resigning on national TV.

I write this article today not to talk about these incidents, but to remind us that all these incidents have stemmed from one issue we all fought for in July last year and in April this year — free and fair elections.

Our focus and the pressure placed on the government have both diminished and shifted away due to the many other incidents that have happened. One reason I feel the Election Commission has not done much since 2007 is because we failed to place constant pressure on them. The public scrutiny on their work came in waves, the 2007, 2011 and this year’s waves. After they weathered the short storm during these years, they went on in a business-as-usual mode, only succeeding in fulfilling ONE Bersih demand — the use of indelible ink.

The media has ceased reporting on the work of the EC in their role in ensuring cleaner and fairer elections. Partly because of the juicy newer bits of news, partly because there has been NO news from the EC since the public display of the supplementary role! Politicians themselves have also failed to follow up on the progress of the EC. Pakatan Rakyat, after vigorously championing for clean and fair elections before Bersih 3.0, has not mentioned this issue in the past weeks. It is said that Malaysians are notoriously forgetful. Being our leaders, it is part of their responsibility to remind us about unresolved issues we care about that we may forget from time to time.

We must remember that elections are not far off; various analysts predict that it will be in late June, early July. Prime Minister Najib Razak, if he is really serious about winning fairly should postpone elections until all major Parliamentary Select Committee recommendations are implemented. Let us not be distracted but keep our focus during this period. Only through consistent public scrutiny and pressure can we ensure those who marched on April 28 did not do so in vain.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 May 2012, 2:15 pm and is filed under
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Lowest of the low in journalism

Eric Loo | May 14, 2012

Malaysiakini

‘Oh Carol, I’m a bloody fool; darling I love you, so you treat me cool.’ That was what I thought I heard from the radio. That was how, as a kid, I sang Neil Sedaka’s 60s hit until I checked out the lyrics in an old musty songbook.

Oh, journo, you’re a bloody fool when you sing your political master’s tune without a bother to check the original script. And, bloody guttered is your paper when it falsifies, fabricates and intentionally misrepresents to peddle a political message.

Just like Utusan Malaysia in its May 1 article, and repeated the next day in New Straits Times (NST), which turned an Australian senator, Nick Xenophon, into a xenophobe. NST retracted and contritely apologised after the senator, with hearty support from Malaysians, threatened to sue for defamation. Utusan apologised on May 12.

Utusan’s and NST’s falsification of Xenophon’s speech delivered in the Australian parliament on Nov 17, 2009 marks the lowest of the low in journalism standards. Any educated sceptical reporter will ask “Did I hear it right?”

As in real life, always assume that there are alternative views. Each ‘fact’ can always be countered if you research and talk to different sources. Any reporter with a modicum sense of accuracy and fairness will know to cross-check with the original source the veracity of controversial political statements. It doesn’t take much effort these days to Google search.

Sure, journalists are not infallible. Lapses in ethical practice and news judgment happen due to the short news cycle and thus the rush to judgment, misattribution of sources, misquoting, and, in the Malaysian newsroom culture, editors slanting the news on cue by the authorities.

Errors happen often because journalists deal with human sources who see the world through tinted glasses. But, as ‘professionals’, journalists are duty bound to check and verify. Failing which are reports that are based on assumptions, generalisations and biases exacerbated by a lack of context.

For instance, the video clip of a traffic policeman drawing and pointing his gun at Bersih 3.0 protesters. What provoked him to draw his gun? Was he attacked by the protesters – as this video from the BBC news report showed? See the parts deleted in the Malaysian mainstream media version?

A moment captured on a smartphone cannot possibly tell the whole story. Context is often compromised. These days with the deluge of user-generated contents online, facts and fiction converge. We, the public, need to be more critical, and sceptical, of both the mainstream and online media reports of the Bersih protests.

‘If in doubt, check it out’

Errors happen when journalists report what they think they heard. The tried and true principle of reporting is if in doubt of what you heard, check it out. If you can’t, then leave it out.

Errors happen when journalists misinterpret the underlying meaning of words. For example, it’s commonly written that counter-terrorism agents resorted to electrocuting prisoners to extract information. The fact is you cannot extract information from someone who has been electrocuted because they’re dead.

Errors happen when journalists fail to differentiate between facts, opinions and claims. Errors happen when journalists turn speculation into specification. For example the well-known nude squat gaffe by China Press (Jan 10, 2006) , which broke the story of a phone video recording of a woman held for visa violations being forced to do ‘nude squats’ while in police custody. The paper identified the victim as a Chinese national, who turned out to be a local Malay.

One of the funnier examples of media gaffes was The Independent newspaper of London in an article about Mahatma Gandhi. It ran a photo of Ben Kingsley, the actor who played him in the film, instead of the real Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Or the Chicago Tribune, in one of its Sunday Travel sections, which in an infographic incorrectly placed the Atlantic Ocean near San Francisco. The city is beside the Pacific Ocean.

Or, the word ‘pubic’ instead of ‘public’; ‘would’ instead of ‘could’; ‘you’re’ and ‘your’, ‘their’ and ‘there’; ‘quiet’ and ‘quite’.

For a list of media errors, follow ‘Regret the Error’, a blog founded by Craig Silverman, former managing editor of PBS Media Shift, and current adjunct faculty member at The Poynter Institute.

A site hosted on the Freedom Forum based in Washington DC, also keeps track of journalists caught for plagiarism and fabrication – the most well-known being Stephen Glass who cooked up stories and quotes as a young upstart at The New Republic in New York from 1995-98.

His exposure was turned into a movie, Shattered Glass, released in October 2003, about five months after Jayson Blair, an intern at the New York Times, was caught out for plagiarising stories and fabricating quotes about American soldiers in Iraq.

Another good resource is Media Watch broadcast every Monday evening on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Its host, Jonathan Holmes, noted in February 2010 that “the power that journalists have to criticise, shame, ridicule or expose other individuals and institutions is very seldom used to scrutinise each other”.

“The watchdogs – the Australian Press Council and the Australian Communications and Media Authority – are slow, legalistic, and relatively toothless. By contrast, Media Watch is swift, and when necessary, brutal.” Malaysians need a similar vigilant and brutal media watch body.

Avoiding future gaffes

How can Malaysian journalists avoid future gaffes? Common sense really. Always clarify, cross-examine and verify with the original source what you hear, read or see. Just because Najib Abdul Razak or Hishammuddin Hussein says it does not necessarily mean it’s accurate or true. Know the different languages, euphemisms, generalisations and ‘double-speak’ of politicians and special interest groups.

Malaysian journalists’ deference to authority and inclination to give more space to sources whose views confirm and reinforce their own biased view of the world poses one of the most insidious attack on media integrity and cheats the people of their right to fair, truthful and accurate reporting.

Indeed, we need an independent Institute of Journalists proposed on World Press Freedom Day on May 3 at the National Press Club  to teach and train future journalists, which apparently the NUJ and local journalism schools are not doing too well.

——————————————————————————–

ERIC LOO left Malaysia for Australia in 1986 to work as a journalist. He currently lectures at University of Wollongong, Australia, and also mentors international journalism students via UPIU.com, run by United Press International. He edits a refereed journal Asia Pacific Media Educator published by SAGE Publications (New Delhi) and conducts journalism training workshops in Asia. Email:
[email protected]

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 May 2012, 9:06 am and is filed under
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Rise against feudal Umno

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | May 17, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

Malays today unite for causes and for ideals that are beyond what our prime minister and Umno can muster.

COMMENT

Umno thinks Malays are a herd of cows which they can herd into submission. How do my criticisms on what Umno has done to Malays constitute a reason for Malay disunity?

In addition, there are the usual invectives about my joining the DAP, which has caused Malay disunity. Please don’t try to impose your condescending views on me.

I am not less Malay than you.

Let me tell you now that Malay unity is not the monopoly of Umno nor does Umno own the rights to Malay unity.

Malays unite for causes and for ideals beyond what Umno can muster. The main cause of Malay disunity is Umno’s culture of enslaving the minds of Malays.

It’s a feudal party infusing the feudal mentality into the Malays. A Malay is a Malay only when he is an Umno Malay.

Very sorry, most of us don’t subscribe to this moronic redundancy. Umno candidates got two million out of the 5.7 million Malay votes in 2008.

Lost moral rights

If Umno got two million votes, it means also that one million Umno members did not vote for Umno candidates. As such, it can’t even claim it represents Malays anymore.

Why should we accept that Malay unity exists only when it’s under Umno hegemony?

The fact of the matter is, Umno has lost its moral right to the claim it represents Malay unity.

So you better wipe away that nervous smirk on your face, insisting that being Malay means being an Umno Malay.

I am telling my Malay brethren that the demise of Umno does not mean the end of Malays.

We Malays must rise up and push ourselves forward by stepping out of the mental enslavement imposed on us by Umno.

Umno wants us to treat it as a deity to whom we pledged obeisance and unquestioning loyalty.

So Malays, such as I, who do not share what Umno fights for, are accused of being responsible for splitting up Malay unity.

Umno fails to realise that the principle of unity, trust and cooperation is a common struggle for the advancement of the common good and fortification of one’s faith.

How can we cooperate or trust a party that has betrayed the cause of Malays?

I, for one, will not pledge obeisance to pillagers and plunderers professing to uplift and safeguard the Malays while raising the spectre of religious confrontation.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but joined DAP earlier this year. He is a FMT columnist.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 May 2012, 8:45 am and is filed under
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Slippery slope to lawlessness

— Aliran

The Malaysian Insider

May 17, 2012

MAY 17 — Aliran is shocked by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar’s glib reaction to the May 10 protest by Malaysian Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Alliance (Iklas) members outside Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s home.

“What offence? If you want to sit in front of her house without disrupting other people, there is no offence,” he states without a trace of human understanding.

“Which privacy? They didn’t enter her house, they were in public space,” he maintains without an inkling of the dangerous situation created by these trouble-makers intent on causing mischief outside Ambiga’s house.

Such comments coming from the No. 2 man in the police force no less encourage lawlessness and open the flood gates to mischief-makers, hooligans and thugs to go on a rampage. His comments are unacceptable and unbecoming of a police officer of his rank who is entrusted with the peace and harmony of this country founded on the supremacy of the Federal Constitution.

Already, spurred on by his comments, another bigger rally involving 500 traders has been planned for May 24.

On May 14, a group of 15 men, believed to be army veterans, blatantly performed vulgar aerobics in front of Ambiga’s house. They even had the temerity to challenge her to sue them; otherwise they would return with a bigger crowd.

Like everyone else, Ambiga has every right to peace and safety where she resides. This peace and safety cannot be threatened with impunity in a civilised society.

She has every right to expect respect for her religion and culture just as others have a right to respect for their faith and way of life. But in a very callous manner of defiance, these people who put up stalls to distribute free beef burgers were completely oblivious to the fact that Ambiga is a Hindu and a vegetarian. They grilled beef patties outside her house in offensive disregard for her faith.

The harassment she is subjected to is as stark as daylight — but obviously not to the Deputy IGP who has, knowingly or otherwise, ignited a fuse that could take this country down the slippery path to lawlessness. We hold him responsible for this.

We are equally disturbed that the prime minister, the chief executive of this nation, has chosen to maintain a dangerous silence over such hooliganism and the danger the Deputy IGP is putting this nation into. If there is a breakdown of law and order, the PM and the Deputy IGP must be ultimately held responsible for this descent into what might turn out to be anarchy. — aliran.com

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 May 2012, 2:41 pm and is filed under
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Time to restore decency and civility to politics and public life

When the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib spoke about “uncivilized enemies” who will lead Malaysia to ruin at the UMNO anniversary gathering at the Bukit Jalil Stadium last Friday, Malaysians immediately thought of two “uncivilized” acts which occurred only the day before – the Perkasa “funeral rite” in front of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s house in Penang and the setting up of a burger stall in front of the house of  Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan’s house at Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

Since then there had been a third “uncivilized” act which had never happened before in Malaysian politics and public life in the nation’s 54-year history – the utterly insensitive and deplorable “butt” dance by a group of armed forces veteran in front of Ambiga’s house two days ago,  with the promise of more and bigger “uncivilized” actions to come!

What is most shocking is that these “uncivilised” actions had at first the approval and support of important personalities in government – especially the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar and some Ministers who asked what was wrong with setting up a beef burger stall in front of Ambiga’s house.

As a result of the tide of adverse public reaction in the past week, there appears to be a belated realisation in some official circles that such insensitive and deplorable “uncivilised conduct” have gone beyond the pale of the acceptable and permissible for ordinary decent Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, class, gender or age.

This explains for the condemnation of these “uncivilised” actions by those who had earlier held their silence.

This is however completely inadequate.

The time has come to restore decency and civility to politics and public life in Malaysia.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Cabinet must come forward to speak loud and clear their condemnation of these three “uncivilised acts” in the past week and to set the tone and example for decency and civility in politics and public life in Malaysia enroute to a developed high-income nation in 2020.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 May 2012, 5:18 pm and is filed under
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Support for Ambiga’s proposal for the calling  off of the “thosai” plan outside Deputy IGP’s house to initiate  a virtuous circle to restore decency and civility to politics and public life

The break-in attempt at the office of Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan in Damansara this morning is a matter of grave concern to rational and decent Malaysians, although full details of the attempted break-in have still to come in.

Rational and decent Malaysians want a return to the decency and civility of politics and public life, instead of growing desensitization to sense, sensibility and sensitivities as happened recently, for instance in the Perkasa “funeral rite” in front of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s house in Penang, the setting up of a burger stall in front of Ambiga’s  house at Bukit Damansara and the disgraceful and deplorable  “butt” dance by a group of armed forces veteran in front of Ambiga’s house.

For this reason, I support Ambiga’s proposal, as reported in Free Malaysia Today, asking the NGO, WargaAMAN, to reconsider its decision to set up a thosai stall outside Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar’s house on Sunday.

While Khalid had failed  his duties  as a public servant when he  gave his blessings to the setting up of a burger stall outside Ambiga’s house, a most insensitive and irresponsible act,  two wrongs do not make a right.

WargaAMAN secretary S. Barathidasan’s positive response to Ambiga’s proposal is to be commended, as he said that the NGO’s committee members would meet this afternoon to decide on whether to proceed with the plan.

WargaAMAN would be doing the nation a great service if it calls off its “thosai” plan outside the Deputy IGP’s house and initiate a virtuous circle to restore decency and civility to politics and public life in Malaysia to be emulated by all Malaysians in politics and public life.

It would also save the country from becoming a laughing stock in the world.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 May 2012, 11:39 am and is filed under
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Umno berslogan, Pakatan Rakyat melaksanakannya

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

May 18, 2012

18 MEI — Slogan-slogan politik bercambah-cambah dan slogan-slogan itu bertukar apabila bertukar kepimpinan sehinggakan kita sudah kenyang dengan slogan-slogan itu. Slogan selalunya diperkenalkan oleh seseorang pemimpin itu untuk membezakan “brand” kepimpinan masing-masing. Selalunya ia akan diwar-warkan yang dibawah pimpinannya keadaan itu berbeza dari keadaan yang lazim dialami rakyat dizaman kepimpinan sebelumnya.

Berslogan mula bercambah sejak kepimpinan Dr Mahathir Mohamad sahaja. Apabila Mahathir mengambil alih rakyat telah cuba di dakyahkan sebagai zaman yang amat berbeza dengan pimpinan sebelum beliau. Gandingan beliau dengan Musa Hitam digambarkan sebagai pimpinan yang sangat berbeza dengan kepimpinan sebelumnya kerana bermula dari beliau zaman itu bermulalah zaman kepimpinan negara diterajui oleh orang biasa. Maka pimpinan itu telah dipanggil sebagai kepimpinan 2M (Mahathir-Musa)

Pimpinan 2M terbengkalai dengan perletakkan jawatan Musa sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri pada Februari 1986. Perletakkan jawatan Musa telah akhirnya membawa kepada pertandingan besar dalam Umno pada tahun berikutnya 1987 diantara TR/Musa dan Mahathir /Ghaffar.

Apabila Mahathir mula-mula mengambil alih, maka terciptalah slogan “Bersih, cekap dan amanah”. Tetapi slogan ini hanya tinggal slogan kerana semasa itu tidak ada yang bersihnya, tidak ada kecekapan dan jauh sekali untuk melihat amanahnya. Zaman ini lah bermulanya rasuah yang begitu hebat dan budaya itu terus diwarisi oleh kepimpinan Pak Lah dan pimpinan DS Najib sekarang ini.

Dalam masa yang sama tercipta juga slogan “Kepimpinan melalui tauladan” dan inilah satu-satunya slogan yang amat berjaya yang dicipta Mahathir. Ini adalah kerana segala budaya rasuah itu telah diteladani oleh semua pemimpin setiap peringkat dalam kerajaan dan parti serta pimpinan-pimpinan yang mewarisi kepimpinan Mahathir sehingga zaman sekarang ini.

Semua pimpinan Umno dan BN benar-benar berjaya melaksanakan slogan ini sehinggakan susah untuk mendapatkan kepimpinan yang tidak rasuah. Semuanya ini adalah hasil dari kempen “Kepimpinan melalui tauladan” unjuran Mahathir itu. Di adakan pula slogan “penerapan nilai-nilai Islam” dalam pentadbiran dalam masa yang sama tetapi tidak ada addin keislaman di dalamnya kerana kejayaan slogan kepimpinan melalui teladan tadi.

Kita terus pula kepada slogan dalam pentadbiran Najib ia itu “1 Malaysia” yang masih belum difahami oleh rakyat satu Malaysia ini. Yang kita lihat hanyalah pin-pin 1 Malaysia yang terlekat di dada dan kolor baju-baju pemimpin-pemimpin dan pegawai-pegawai kerajaan sahaja. Yang sedapnya Mahathir sendiri mengaku yang beliau tidak faham tentang slogan ini.

Bagaimana slogan 1 Malaysia hendak berjaya sedangkan kepimpinan termasuk Najib yang mencipta slogan itu sendiri bercakap isu rasis apabila bertemu dengan ahli-ahli Umno. Muhyiddin Yassin pula tidak menyokong slogan ini kerana beliau secara terbuka telah mengakui yang beliau mengambil sikap Melayu dahulu barulah rakyat yang lain.

Walau bagaimana pun rakyat tidak perlu gusar tentang slogan yang tidak terlaksana oleh penciptanya sendiri. Ada pihak lain yang mampu melaksanakan slogan ciptaan pemimpin-pemimpin Umno itu. Kita tidak payah pergi jauh. Kita tinjau sahaja apa yang dilakukan oleh negeri-negeri yang ditadbir oleh Pakatan Rakyat.

Selangor telah berjaya mempunyai bajet yang seimbang dengan “reserve” hampir RM2 billion. Pulau Pinang telah berjaya untuk menghilangkan budaya rasuah dan telah menunjukkan nilai kesamarataan. Peruntukkan Hal Agama Islam sekarang telah meningkat sehingga RM63 juta sedangkan semasa BN memerintah negeri itu peruntukkan untuk hal ehwal Islam hanyalah RM12 juta sahaja.

Tidak ada kedengaran skandal kewangan sehingga RM12 billion seperti isu PKFZ di Selangor sekarang ini atau pun kedapatan pemimpin negeri itu yang telah membina rumah peribadi sehingga RM20 juta di Shah Alam. Tidak ada lagi kedengaran skandal kehilang RM500 juta wang Yayasan Selangor.

Kedah dan Kelantan juga mempunyai rekod baik dan tidak kedengaran rasuah yang berbillion ringgit berlaku dinegeri-negeri tersebut. Kedah merupakan salah satu negeri yang mendapat kemasukkan pelaburan dalam bidang pembuatan yang besar dan negeri itu adalah salah sebuah dari lima negeri teratas berbanding dengan negeri-negeri tadbiran BN.

Pulai Pinang merupakan negeri yang kedudukan nombor satu dan diikuti oleh Selangor. Sarawak menduduki tempat ketiga dan yang keempat ialah Johor, satu-satunya negeri yang ditadbir BN yang masuk kedalam kategori lima teratas itu.

Dalam kata-kata lain secara ringkasnya jika slogan “Bersih, cekap dan amanah” adalah laungan BN semasa Dr Mahathir menjadi PM dalam senya-senyap negeri-negeri tadbiran Pakatan Rakyatlah yang menjayakan slogan itu. Begitu jugalah slogan “1 Malaysia” ciptaan Najib, BN tidak mampu melaksanakannya tetapi yang berjaya melaksanakan konsep 1 Malaysia itu ialah parti-parti dalam PR kerana setiap bangsa bersatu dan tidak ada parti untuk satu-satu kaum sahaja.

Oleh itu kita nampak dengan jelas yang BN hanya pandai berslogan tetapi PR lah yang mampu melaksanakannya. Kita akui slogan-slogan ciptaan BN itu adalah baik kesemuanya. Hanya mereka tidak mampu melaksanakannya dan ia hanya tinggal retorik kosong BN sahaja.

Maka kita simpulkan sahaja isu ini: BN berslogan PR melaksanakannya. Maka tidak ada lagi masalah perlaksanaan slogan-slogan tersebut apabila Pakatan Rakyat diberi mandat oleh rakyat semasa pilihanraya yang akan datang ini.

Umno dan BN boleh membantu mewujudkan slogan-slogan yang baik semasa jadi pembangkang nanti dan berikan tugas kepada Pakatan Rakyat untuk melaksanakannya dengan baik sebagai kerajaan baru yang begitu lama ternanti-nanti saat untuk membetulkan kebobrokan yang dilakukan oleh bekas parti pemerintah, iaitu BN yang semasa itu sudah duduk dikerusi pembangkang di semua Dewan-Dewan Lagislatif dinegara ini.

Apabila perubahan berlaku maka bermula jugalah sistem dua parti yang sangat penting untuk mendapatkan pimpinan yang mengakui yang kuasa dalam negara demokrasi ini terletak ditangan rakyat. Rakyat tidak payah lagi bersusah payah kerana jika Pakatan Rakyat  tidak melaksanakan tugas seperti yang dijanjikan maka rakyat boleh memberikan kembali mandat itu kembali kepada BN.

Tetapi yang penting sekali kita mesti bermula untuk menujukan kepada kepimpinan yang bongkak dengan kuasa itu bahawa rakyat jika diizin tuhan merupakan penentu kepada nasib mereka yang berkuasa. Rakyat boleh mengali dan menganjak pimpinan negara, kerana negara ini sebenarnya adalah kepunyaan rakyat.

Hanya sebelum ini rakyat belum lagi sedar yang kuasa itu adalah kuasa mereka. Baru sekarang mereka (rakyat) sedar yang mereka lah yang mesti bertindak untuk melakukan usaha memperbetulkan keadaan negara kita ini.

Lagi pun BN sudah terlalu lama memerintah, iaitu selama 55 tahun. Kita mesti ingat jika pokok kelapa itu sudah berumur 55 tahun ia terlalu tinggi dan beruk pun takut untuk memanjatnya. Jika ditebang pokok kelapa yang berumur 55 tahun, umbutnya pun sudah keras dan tidak sedap lagi untuk digulai. — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 May 2012, 8:05 pm and is filed under
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Ambiga: Tear gas aftermath, police responsibility

Hafiz Yatim | May 18, 2012

Malaysiakini

The April 28 violence erupted when police began firing tear gas at the historic Bersih 3.0 rally participants, said Besih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini  on the Bersih 3.0 rally, she said that she was glad the organisers did not accept the stadium Merdeka offer, as things may have turned differently if that type of incident had occurred there, people would have been trapped.

The lawyer and former Bar Council president said four hours earlier between 10am and prior to the firing of the tear gas in the afternoon, the 250,000-strong crowd had been well behaved.

“In any such public assembly it is the joint responsibility of the government and the organisers. Look we do not have batons and we do not have the means (weapons) to go to the extent the police can.

“As far as we are concerned, we did our best as things were under control until the tear gas.

“Even if the barricades were breached they (police and our volunteers) could have stopped it. However, when the tear gas was fired you cannot hold us responsible.

“What happens after police take action is their responsibility. I am not condoning violence but everything happened after that it is their responsibility. Everything went berserk after that,” she said.

She added that police started shooting tear-gas canister after canister all over and continuously as the people were retreating. No warning given, she claimed.

Ambiga said she had earlier issued instructions three times for the crowd to disperse as the organisers felt that they had already achieved their objective and although opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had come-out to talk, we were moving the crowd towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

She said as there was a huge turnout, we knew it would take some time for them to depart.

“It was true we wanted to be there until 4pm and there were events lined up, but the crowd was huge.

“It was beyond our expectation as you can see Jalan Tun Perak and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman filled (with people wearing yellow t-shirts) and we could not see to the end of the roads.

“I made a judgment call because of the (huge) numbers, I was worried people would start to faint as it was hot, people had been to the event for a long time since 10am, and we had achieved the purpose. I know I am being criticised for that and I accept that,” she said.

Independent inquiry necessary

Ambiga said she or the organisers did not lend support to the breaching of the Dataran Merdeka barricades as certain areas were open, giving the crowd the impression that they could go in.

Asked as to their location, Ambiga said they are still gathering more information on this, and for that reason they wanted an independent inquiry.

She said the police were initially all right with the crowd having fun and a wonderful atmosphere with the ages of  the attendees ranging from 20 to 70.

“I told you we control it fine – it is after firing the tear gas – it is their responsibility – I had already asked the crowd to disperse – you should have left them alone and they would have left.”

As to conflicting reports over some leaders alleged to have urged the supporters to move forward, she emphasised she had indeed asked them to disperse, and she cannot answer for the leaders.

“When Anwar arrives as he is an elected MP we allow him to talk. If BN MPs were also there, they would also be given an opportunity to talk as Bersih is for everyone, and we cannot stop people from supporting it.

“Anyway as Anwar came, people were not dispersing quickly as we moved towards Batu Road (Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman). Then I saw someone run towards the barrier.

“Police then started firing tear gas. My bodyguard and I then ran towards Masjid India with two other steering committee members and we stayed there for one and a half hours. I heard the beatings done outside,” she said.

In yellow ‘we took KL’

Ambiga said if the program had been allowed at Dataran Merdeka, it would have been different.

“I think it would have been fine there would’ve been no issue. There were standing crowds of Malaysians in yellow at each street, then there is a patch of green representing Dataran – you did’nt give us Dataran – but we took KL,” she laughed.

“But there were one patch of green (Dataran) – they (the authorities) were so stubborn in not allowing entry. I am still try to find answers to why we were kept out of Dataran Merdeka.”

She also criticised the mainstream media for its misreporting of Bersih that day.

Ambiga said just look at the New Straits Times and TV3 describing it as Bersih riots.

“They did not give the whole story as they showed images of people lifting the police patrol car.

“What happened was the police patrol car had ploughed through the protesters and the public was worried that there could have been someone below the patrol car.

“I guess the agenda is to vilify Bersih as they must have been shocked by the numbers.

“But how do you undermine 250,000 people who were there. They have to change their tactics,” she said, adding if you meet people in the streets they would know someone who had gone to the rally.

No basis for comparison

When asked about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak comparing the Umno 66th anniversary celebrations at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil with Bersih’s, Ambiga questioned its basis, pointing out that the police were on their (Umno’s) side.

“What is the difficulty (with Umno) as police facilitated those events as compared with ours,” she said.

Najib had in his London speech contrasted Umno gathering as peaceful in contrast to the Bersih rally.

Ambiga said the freedom of assembly issue is that you can go to any public space.

“The stadium is not freedom of assembly as it is half of what you are entitled to. You go out to the street peacefully and gather.

“Furthermore, Umno had also done this in the past in the street demonstration (with the Malayan Union),” she pointed out

She said the Bersih rally had raised public awareness as people are tuned into electoral reform, not just locally but also Malaysians abroad.

For her, she said there has been a real shift of the middle ground, as people leading comfortable lives in the comfort of their houses took a stand,

“These people took a stand as they want to see free and fair elections. All of society, they were there that day.

“Everyone, knows someone who went to Bersih. It wasn’t just KL as there were numbers in Penang, Johor, Kuantan, Kuching and also worldwide,” she said.

The interview was jointly conducted by Hafiz Yatim, Hazlan Zakaria, Lee Way Loon and Abdul Rahim Sabri.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 19 May 2012, 2:06 pm and is filed under
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