Why I will vote Pakatan

by KJ John

Malaysiakini

Jan 15, 2013

In 2007, I wrote a column entitled, ‘Why I will not vote for BN’. No one then really took me seriously, although I was told that MCA circulated that column during the MCA central committee meeting. Even later, a representative of the then chief secretary told me, but after the fact, that the man was not too happy with my column either.

My retort: Well, he could have easily called me to understand my reasons and explanations, if he was interested to listen. If they could listen, then the government maybe could have addressed those reasons well before the general election. Finally, PM Najib Abdul Razak is trying, but is it too late?

This time around, allow me to state positively why I have no choice but to still vote for Pakatan Rakyat again. I will record three reasons in this column. Neither is this because I love BN any less, it is just that given our real choices and options, the unknown angel is better than that of the known devil.

My first reason is the ‘Allah’ issue and how it has been so badly handled by the BN government, and why they need to better understand the real issues about the true and real etymology of the ‘Allah’ word. My good friend and fellow writer to Malaysiakini, Bob Teoh, has documented the core issues quite well for all those interested to know the truths about this word. His book is entitled, Allah: More than just a Word.

I will not explain all the reasons involved here, which the High Court judgment by Lau Bee Lan has argued rather well. Citizens should read this judgment before talking about this issue.

I have three reasons why I think the BN government has boo-booed on this ‘Allah’ issue.

First and foremost, the then home affairs minister’s decision of banning the Bibles was misplaced and wrongly done. The judgment records this. The government, of all stakeholders within the nation state of the three territories we call Malaysia, should better understand this truth.

The government was, and is, an integral fourth party player in all negotiations for the formation of the federation of the Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak representatives who made decisions for the merger and formation of Malaysia as a brand new nation state. The colonial powers moderated the formation.

The Malay language then became the official national lingua franca for nation-growing. But, believe it or not, the Sabahans and Sarawakians had been using the ‘Allah’ word even before they became Malaysians!  Is this so difficult to understand and appreciate? How then can BN leadership assume that Sabah and Sarawak are still fixed deposits, when one cannot even understand the very essence of the language of their hearts?

Second, by choosing to appeal this High Court decision, the BN government is stating their real intent that they consider such historical evidence as wrong and that their Ketuanan Melayu agenda must be fought regardless, even when it makes no rational sense. Consequently, both the 18 and 20 point agreements with Sabah and Sarawak are made irrelevant, null and void.

When we make this issue the focus of the 13th general election, it becomes all about the dignity of Sabah and Sarawak’s people and the mutual respect for their original agreement. All Malaysians must know this issue and vote to honour our agreements with our brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak.

Thirdly, no Arab nation that I am aware of has banned the use of the ‘Allah’ word yet; not even Egypt, or should I say, especially Egypt. I visited Egypt in 1980 and was there for about 10 days staying with a Lebanese friend who then lived there. We attended many events, including church services, and in all the places I went to I was greeted with the peace greeting in Arabic, which only in Malaysia, is it supposed to be a Muslim and not an Arab cultural greeting.

When are the Malays going to understand and appreciate that they can never really become Arabs, whether by external attire or by cultural traits? Muslims yes, but Arabs no!

The federal government is still heavily dominated by Malays (as a direct result of gerrymandering and improper governance after almost half a century) and we have been abusing the Malaysians of Sabah and Sarawak, much worse than the White Rajah has ever abused them!

Why is it that after almost 50 years of this willing and voluntary merger, their position and placement (with rights and privileges) as the bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak, is not better or equal to even the middle 60 percent of the Malay bumiputeras or even in the same category of non-Malays?

Why are these non-Muslim bumiputeras not given equal privileges as the Malay bumiputeras in all matters related to the New Economic Policy- (NEP- ) type agenda? Why are their rights and privileges not secured under the federal constitution in equally the similar ways? Are we not then neo-colonial rajahs?

Finally, while it has been proven worldwide that education is the best arbiter of progress and improvement of the poor and marginalised, and while our education system has uplifted many Malay bumiputeras from farmers and fishermen to IT professionals and engineers, and all this done within one generation, where then are the Orang Asli and the Orang Asal in all such calculations and performances?

An issue of integrity

Why has our world class education, that even raised people like Idris Jala to global prominence and worldwide governance capabilities, not done the same for the other bumiputeras of Sabah, Sarawak and also the Orang Asli? In fact, can anyone even produce one public document that states that the Orang Asli of the peninsular is even truly considered as bumiputeras under any existing criterion? Even the Portuguese of Malacca are!

My above three points relate to our current national philosophy of leadership and development for our nation state. We must mean and demonstrate equality of both rights and privileges for all Malaysians. 1Malaysia cannot mean anything less! We cannot have a federal constitution that recognises one group of Malaysians, but exclude many others, equally included, but agreed to by the same framers of the same constitution. This is an issue of integrity.

Even worse still, it is becoming equally obvious to all Malaysians that the so-called royalty in some Malay states can be influenced, and are increasingly demonstrating their blind partisanship on related issues, but denying constitutional rights and privileges which can impact every Malaysian. My concern is being recorded because the fact is also that the royalty in the Malay states only exist because they are defined and qualified by the same constitution. The royalty must respect the same constitution which gives similar equal rights to every other ordinary citizen.

The Malaysian nation is at a serious crossroad between a feudalistic era of nepotism, cronyism and non-transparent business deals, and a new era demanded by the Internet-worked age of social media and democratic aspirations of all people, regardless of colour or creed. The foci of the GE13 will be all these issues. It is for these issues, that about 180,000 people arose to peacefully assemble last Saturday. May we learn to be wise in this general election and vote for change.

——————————————————————————–

KJ JOHN was in public service for 29 years. The views expressed here are his personal views and not those of any institution he is involved with. Write to him at
[email protected]
 with any feedback or views.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 4:55 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Education
,
Elections
,
NEP
,
Pakatan Rakyat
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


83-Day Countdown to 13GE: Mahathir’s “Listen, Listen, Listen!” exhortation and the question – What is to be done when a former PM had committed treason when in power?

It was pure, pristine, undiluted Mahathirism – the perverted illogic, falsehood-coated assertions and brazen dishonesty.

Recently, the Sharifah-Bawani video clips made the “Listen, listen, listen!” diatribe infamous nationwide, but the real “Listen, listen, listen!” maestro is none other than Mahathir, who yesterday treated Malaysians to a classic “Listen, listen, listen” exposition, a decade after he stepped down as Prime Minister for 22 years but demonstrating he is still unequalled as an exponent of this black art.

Mahathir  was responding to the revelations at the Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants on  Project IC (also known of Project M) and the  “IC receipts-for-votes” and  “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Sabah in the nineties, but he had overreached himself as for the first time in 14 years he had to admit to the existence of the nefarious and treasonous Project IC or Project M not only to subvert the electoral process but also the sovereignty of Sabah and Malaysia.

Mahathir had until yesterday strenuously denied the existence of Project IC or Project M since the public surfacing of the allegations about it  in the Likas election petition in 1999, but yesterday, when pressed by the media if he was saying the Project IC was lawful, Mahathir said: “Yes, it is lawful.”

If the Project IC or Project M was lawful, giving ICs and citizenships to foreigners “within the law”, why was it necessary for Mahathir to deny it and to  hide it from the people of Sabah and Malaysia for over a decade?

Furthermore, why was it necessary for Mahathir to try to defame Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, by claiming that the first Prime Minister had done worse by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people in peninsular Malaysia, asking:  “Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong?”

This is a virtual admission by Mahathir that what he had done in Project IC or Project M in the “citizenship-for-votes” scam to shore up UMNO’s political power was  capital crime and treasonous, but he sought to find immunity and  impunity by hiding under the shadow of Bapa Malaysia through the lie that Tunku had done even worse than him.

It is sad and tragic for Malaysia  that the longest-serving Prime Minister in Malaysia does not understand that “Two wrongs do not make a right”.

Sadder and even more tragic, there are no “two wrongs” here as it is utterly  cowardly, disgusting and contemptible on Mahathir’s part to allege that Tunku had committed a more heinous crime and treason than him with regard to  Project IC or Project M.

Tunku never gave out citizenship to subvert the electoral process but  to ensure that in the run-up to Merdeka in 1957, non-Malays who resided in Malaya had a right to citizenship, which was agreed by all including the Conference of Rulers – all done in an open and transparent manner.

Did Mahathir conduct the Project IC or Project M in an open and transparent process, after getting mandate from his Cabinet, the Conference of Rulers and the Malaysian people, particularly the Sabahans?

Another indication that Mahathir is aware that Project IC or Project M was both  criminal and treasonous can be seen from his mild reaction yesterday to the charge by the PKR Deputy President Azmin Ali that he, Mahathir, is “a traitor to the country” for the scam in Sabah, as Mahathir merely responded he  did not mind such charges, as there are those who praised just as there are those who scolded him.

I have said that Mahathir should forever shut up if he is not prepared to volunteer to appear before the Sabah RCI  to clear allegations that he was a  traitor for giving ICs and voting rights to foreigners just to shore up UMNO’s political power and to speak up to clear the names of his two confidantes and right-hand men in Project IC or Project M, the then Deputy Home Minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub and his political Secretary Aziz Shamsuddin.

Mahathir said that he has yet to be subpoenaed to testify at the RCI, but is willing to do so if called.

There can be no doubt that there is only one star witness for the RCI, and he is none other than Mahathir – as without him, there would be no Project IC or Project M and no need for any RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Can Mahathir give an assurance that he would not suffer another attack of amnesia when testifying before the RCI in Sabah, as happened when he testified before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Videotape in January 2008?

Mahathir, who is well-known for his “elephantine memory” before and after his appearance before the Lingam Videotape RCI, said “I cannot remember” or its equivalent 14 times during his 90-minute testimony in January 2008.

Would Mahathir suffer another attack of amnesia and even break all records of amnesia when  he appears before the RCI in Sabah?

The question all Malaysians must now ponder is: What is to be done when a former Prime Minister had committed treason when in power?

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/21/pengiraan-detik-83-hari-ke-pru13-gesaan-listen-listen-listen-mahathir-dan-persoalan-apa-yang-perlu-dilakukan-apabila-mantan-pm-telah-melakukan-pengkhianatan-ketika-berkuasa/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 January 2013, 12:31 pm and is filed under
Constitution
,
Crime
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Orang Melayu perlu merdekakan jiwa dan minda

— Aspan Alias

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 18, 2013

18 JAN — Kita sudah sampai ke penghujung penggal pilihanraya dan pemilihan itu akan diadakan dalam beberapa minggu sahaja lagi. Kali ini merupakan pilihanraya yang berkeadaan yang paling rumit dan mencabar bagi BN dan masa yang paling baik bagi Pakatan Rakyat untuk menunjukkan mereka (PR) sebagai “coalition” alternatif yang akan menjadi pengganti kepada pemerintahan BN. Umno sudah dianggap terlalu usang oleh sebahagian besar rakyat negara ini.

Tanda yang paling jelas Umno itu usang ialah ketidak-mampuan untuk mengubah keadaan dan persepsi buruk rakyat terhadap parti itu dengan keseluruhan kepimpinannya. Banyak pihak telah mengkritik dan memberikan pandangan yang berbagai-bagai untuk memperbaiki parti itu tetapi Umno tetap dengan sikap dan perangai yang sama tanpa ada tanda-tanda untuk berubah kepada kebaikan.

Segala kesalahan moral dan jenayah yang dilakukan oleh Umno dan BN selama ini tetap terus berlaku dan rakyat sudah tiada pilihan selain dari melakukan yang drastik terhadap parti pemerintah itu. Betul lah kata setengah pendapat orang, keadaan ini adalah kehendak yang “natural” dan ianya berlaku kepada semua parti-parti dan pertubuhan siasah yang sudah lama dan usang dimana-mana.

Ahli-ahli serta penyokong-penyokong tegar Umno masih dalam sindrom penafian dan masih bertegas mengatakan Umno akan menang dan ada yang mengatakan yang parti itu akan mendapat sokongan 2/3 dalam Dewan Parlimen kali ini. Tetapi hakikatnya tindakan mereka hanyalah untuk menyedapkan hati mereka sahaja kerana keadaan sebenarnya adalah di sebaliknya.

Umno masih terkial-kial dengan masalah dalaman mereka sendiri dan masalah seperti ini tidak memungkinkan mampu untuk memperbaiki peluang Umno untuk mendapatkan mandat yang lebih baik. Malahan parti itu akan bertambah merudum dan akan terbukti dalam pilihanraya yang akan datang ini. Kalau Umno hendak berubah pun ia terpaksa berlaku sebelum pilihanraya ini dan masa untuk membetulkannya sudah terlalu suntuk untuk melakukannya.

Persoalannya apakah yang patut dilakukan oleh Umno dalam masa yang amat suntuk ini jika ia masih mahu melihat sedikit saki baki kehadirannya dalam politik negara ini? Pertamanya mampukah Umno melakukan perubahan dengan melakukan tindakan yang drastik dengan menggantikan keseluruhan barisan kepimpinannya dalam kerajaan dan parti dengan pemimpin parti itu yang tiada dalam barisan kerajaan dan MKT parti itu. Umno tidak sedar yang masalah terbesar parti itu ialah di sebabkan persepsi buruk yang tidak terkira buruknya.

Menggantikan barisan kepimpinan dengan orang lain secara keseluruhan adalah satu-satunya jalan bagi parti itu untuk dipandang oleh rakyat. Umno sudah tidak dipandang lagi oleh rakyat, malahan ia tidak dihormati oleh ahli-ahlinya sendiri. Itulah sebabnya Najib boleh berikan bantuan BRIM1, BRIM2 dan apa-apa “RIM” yang lain tetapi rakyat tetap tidak melihat Umno itu sebagai parti yang relevan sekarang ini. Maksud saya rakyat sudah tidak senang dengan kehadiran Umno itu sendiri. Itu masalahnya.

Justeru, Umno perlu membuang semua yang ada di dalam barisan MKT serta barisan kabinet sekarang ini. Tindakan setengah pimpinan dalam Umno untuk menggantikan Najib dengan Muhyiddin tidak akan membawa apa-apa keuntungan kepada Umno itu. Mereka semuanya adalah hasil dari acuan yang sama seperti yang di bentuik oleh Dr Mahathir dahulu. Orang yang patut menggantikan pimpinan Umno ini seharusnya dari mereka yang tidak bersetuju dengan acuan ciptaan Mahathir ini kerana itu sahaja caranya Umno untk menempilkan kepada rakyat yang Umno sekarang adalah berimej baru dan ia akan membawa dan membina keyakinan yang baru.

Saya telah lama menyebut ini semasa saya masih berada di dalam parti itu tetapi saya tidak digemari oleh pimpinan terutamanya di peringkat negeri. Kesabaran saya sudah habis dan saya telah begitu yakin yang Umno tidak akan boleh baik lagi maka itu sebabnya saya meninggalkan parti itu dan mengambil keputusan “to grow old with DAP” dan tidak akan berpatah balik. Tindakan saya itu telah mengundng banyak sokongan dan hanya saya sahaja yang merasakannya.

Ramai orang Melayu di dalam Umno telah menyuarakan sokongan terhadap tindakan saya itu dan saya membacanya melalui e-mail saya setiap hari sehingga hari ini. Saya merasakan degup nadi orang Melayu yang sudah tidak melihat Umno sebagi parti yang relevan lagi. Tindakan saya bersama beberapa rakan yang lain telah membuka minda setengah orang Melayu dan mereka sekarang merasakan yang jika Umno tiada orang Melayu tetap wujud bersama agamanya yang tidak terguris dan tercalar.

Rupa-rupanya momokan Umno yang mengaku parti itu sahaja yang menentukan masa depan orang Melayu itu tidak memberi makna apa-apa kepada kita semua. Ia hanyalah momokan Umno semata-mata tidak lebih dari itu. Di negara ini ada seramai 18 juta orang Melayu dan Bumiputera dan yang menjadi ahli Umno hanyalah 3 juta sahaja. Selebihnya tidak menjadi ahli Umno pun tetapi mereka tetap dengan Melayu dan Islamnya.

Malahan kumpulan ini tetap hidup dalam keadaan yang lebih baik kerana pemikiran mereka tidak ditentukan oleh Umno. Mereka berfikir dengan pemikiran bebas mereka. Mereka bersikap lebih positif dan tidak bersandar kepada Umno untuk meneruskan kehidupan mereka membina keluarga dan keturunan mereka denagn baik. Pemikiran mereka tidak dikongkong oleh retorik lapuk Umno yang mengatakan “Melayu akan hilang di dunia” ini jika Umno ditolak oleh rakyat. Mereka pula mempunyai pendapat berlainan dan terbukti benar. Mereka berfikir jika Umno masih di benarkan memomokan mereka, “Melayu itu akan hilang dunianya”.

Pilihanraya ini merupakan peluang untuk orang Melayu untuk memerdekakan pemikiran mereka dan menjauhi momokan Umno yang membunuh kemajuan pemikiran kita semua.

Merdeka! — aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 January 2013, 2:35 pm and is filed under
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 84 Hari ke PRU13: Mahathir patut selamanya tutup mulut sekiranya beliau tidak bersedia untuk secara sukarela tampil di hadapan RCIII Sabah untuk membersihkan tuduhan bahawa beliau adalah pengkhianat dengan memberikan Kad Pengenalan dan hak mengundi kepada pendatang asing semata-mata untuk mempertahankan kuasa politik UMNO

Timbalan Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Azmin Ali telah memanggil mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad pengkhianat negara berikutan pendedahan di Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja Pendatang Tanpa Izin (RCIII) berkenaan perancangan “kewarganegaraan untuk undian” di  Sabah sekitar tahun sembilan puluhan.

Semalam, beberapa bekas pegawai Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) memberitahu RCI di Kota Kinabalu bahawa mereka diarahkan bagi memudahcara pendatang tanpa izin untuk mengundi ketika 1990-an dan membantu menaikkan kerajaan negeri yang mesra BN.

Operasi ini termasuklah antaranya mengeluarkan resit kad pengenalan (KP) pengundi yang sememangnya wujud kepada pendatang tanpa izin untuk mengeluarkan kad pengenalan biru kepada pendatang tanpa izin yang tidak layak – juga dikenali sebagai Projek IC atau Projek M yang mana “M” bermaksud Mahathir.

Dua orang paling rapat dan orang kanan Mahathir ketika itu telah dilibatkan oleh saksi di hadapan RCI dalam penipuan kewarganegaraan-untuk-undian di Sabah – Megat Junid Megat Ayub, Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri Mahathir, yang juga Menteri Dalam Negeri serta Aziz Shamsuddin, setiausaha politik Mahathir. Megat Junid kemudiannya menjadi Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Kepenggunaan sementara Aziz Shamsuddin kemudiannya menyertai Kabinet sebagai Menteri Kemajuan Luar Bandar Dan Wilayah.

Sekiranya pertuduhan “Resit IC untuk undi” Projek IC atau Projek M dan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” yang dibuat di RCIII adalah benar, dan tiada sebab untuk mensyaki kebenaran mereka memandangkan perkara ini telah menjadi rahsia umum di Sabah, bukan sahaja di dalam penghakiman 2001 Hakim Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang dalam petisyen pilihan raya yang membatalkan keputusan dewan undangan negeri Likas pada 1999 kerana kewujudan beribu nama “hantu” yang diragui di dalam daftar pemilih, tetapi juga pengakuan di dalam ruang awam oleh bekas pegawai UMNO Sabah dan kakitangan kerajaan yang terlibat di dalam penipuan itu, seperti Mutalib Mohd Daud, Karim bin Ghani dan Hassnar Ebrahim, maka jenayah pengkhianatan telah dilakukan.

Azmin telah membangkitkan satu persoalan yang tepat – adakah mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Mahathir bersalah di dalam penipuan “Resit IC-untuk-undi” dan dalam Projek IC atau Projek M di Sabah pada tahun sembilan puluhan.

Lebih-lebih lagi, adakah dua orang kanannya yang kemudiannya menjadi Menteri Kabinet, Megat Junid dan Aziz Shamsuddin, turut bersalah atas pengkhianatan kerana terlibat di dalam penipuan “Resit IC-untuk-undi” dan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” di Sabah?

Mahathir patut selamanya tutup mulut sekiranya beliau tidak bersedia untuk secara sukarela tampil di hadapan RCIII Sabah untuk membersihkan tuduhan bahawa beliau adalah pengkhianat dengan memberikan KP dan hak mengundi kepada pendatang asing demi mempertahankan kuasa politik UMNO dan bersuara untuk membersihkan nama Megat Junid serta Aziz Shamsuddin.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/17/84-day-countdown-to-13ge-mahathir-should-forever-shut-up-if-he-is-not-prepared-to-volunteer-to-appear-before-the-sabah-rciii-to-clear-allegations-that-he-is-traitor-for-giving-ics-and-voting-rights/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 January 2013, 9:41 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The Ugly 1Malaysian Muslim Woman

By
Mariam Mokhtar
 | January 18, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

Umno seems to have a lot of people who open their mouths and put their feet straight into them. That is why few will sympathise with Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, the president of Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) who has gone into hiding and is attempting to restore her reputation after she delivered a knockout blow to Umno.

Perhaps, she deserves a tinge of sympathy for having an out-of-body experience; the moment she opened her mouth, all credibility left her body.

Incidentally, from where does SW1M get its funding? Is it the taxpayer or does the money come from abroad?

Incredibly, the other members of her little known organisation are just as blind, and do not think Sharifah’s behavior was appalling. Can anything be clearer?

It is Sharifah’s snobbery and aggression which the rakyat identifies with Umno. Her lack of humility prevented her from apologising for her poor conduct. She is too arrogant to admit that she was wrong and her decision to go into hiding because she says she is being “blackmailed”, shows her cowardice and guilt. Her decision to prolong the issue and not deal decisively and immediately with it, has made her look even more conceited.

Sharifah’s tirade against KS Bawani the law student couldn’t have come at a worse time. The day before, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had tried to take the credit for the incident-free People’s Uprising rally dubbed KL112, but Sharifah’s outburst, has again focused our minds on Umno’s arrogance. Najib was again eclipsed by an arrogant woman.

Umno women, like Sharifah, Norhayati Saiddin, Raja Ropiah Raja Abdullah, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Rosmah Mansor, are poor role models for Malaysian women.

The video clip of the incident was around 24 minutes long, but in that short episode, we witnessed a snapshot of Malaysia as it really is. In real life, we have Umno, the bully party. In the university hall, Umno is personified by Sharifah.

Sharifah talks down to us and tells the students that she has respect for Bawani, despite giving her a public tongue-lashing. Her behaviour is just like Umno which tells us that the reforms are working, that there are low levels of crime in the country, that our education in the best in the world, but at the same time steals from us.

After several hours of listening to the panel members, only two questions were allowed from the floor. Even then, one wonders if the questions had been selected before the talk and did not come from the students themselves.

Drug dealer’s pitbull

Concerned that the students were unable to provide feedback on the talk, Bawani felt compelled to ask some questions. She quoted the High Court ruling on Bersih and corrected SW1M’s assertion that S Ambiga was an anarchist. She then asked for the panel’s opinion on the provision of free education for Malaysian students.

Sharifah, like a drug dealer’s pitbull, was ready to sink her fangs into Bawani, to prevent the other students from “thinking” about greater issues. Perhaps, the only difference between Sharifah and a pitbull is that eventually a pitbull will let go.

Sharifah, in typical Umno fashion, sidestepped Bawani’s questions and prattled on about animals and other unrelated matters – an Umno trick which has been honed to perfection in parliament.

Another similarity with Umno is the way Sharifah held the galaxy lucky draw after the talk. This is just like Umno offering bags of rice and Milo after canvassing.

The fact that the video-clip took one month to surface showed that the university was afraid of the backlash. When only one student appeared to show support for Bawani, the quality of our students, at least in that hall, is questioned. The panel members who failed to stop Sharifah from making a fool of herself, are themselves weak. What is Sharifah to them?

Most of us, despite our racial origins, have been brought up to respect others, but the school of respect Sharifah attended does things differently.

She sees nothing wrong in verbally abusing others in public. She claims she is being respectful, by virtue of shaking their hands first.

When Sharifah talked about respecting elders, did she want us to have respect for leaders who steal from us and take away our dignity?

Perhaps, this is another symptom of an education system gone wrong. Muslim children are given religious education at school and are barred from Moral Studies, when they should be learning alongside their non-Muslim peers, about manners, courtesy and consideration to others.

Sharifah’s SW1M cannot claim to speak for Malaysian women; she certainly does not speak for me.

For all her intellectual snobbery, the mangled English on Sharifah’s SW1M website brought howls of laughter, thus attracting more ridicule on the president, who had sought to browbeat Bawani with boasts about her degree.

Divisive doctrines

Are animals in an animal testing laboratory, which have been conditioned by scientists cleverer than animals in the wild? Sharifah should realise that the attainment of a degree is not as important as the use to which one puts it. A degree is not a badge of honour with which to belittle others.

We are all products of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s divisive doctrines. Whilst many of us try to overturn his racism and look forward to a country with can be proud of its varied population, people like Sharifah feel it convenient to prolong Mahathir’s legacy.

At this crucial time before GE-13, other BN groups have distanced themselves from Sharifah.

Is Sharifah a Malaysian or someone who was put on the fastrack to citizenship?

The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA) has denounced Sharifah for being difficult. Perhaps, her overbearing nature hides insecurities about her origins. Is this a trait which she shares with another Indian who calls himself a Malay?

In the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) sessions, students are told that all Muslims are considered Malays whatever their racial origins. Thus, any Chinese or Indians who embrace Islam become Malay.

When Sharifah locked eyes with Bawani, in the university hall, did she realise that the only difference between them was religion? These two women could have been twins who were separated at birth, but by virtue of being brought up a Muslim, Sharifah was entitled to all the perks of the bumiputera.

Did she feel morally, intellectually and spiritually superior to Bawani and decide to bully her? Was it fear that made Sharifah lash out? In Bavani, Sharifah saw herself as she might have been, if she or her family had not converted.

If a Malay had posed Bawani’s questions, would Sharifah’s tongue-lashing have been as severe and would she have suggested the questioner go to another country?

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 January 2013, 5:15 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Umno is rotten to the core – it seems!

By P.  Ramakrishnan

Aliran

18th January 2013

The cat is out of the bag – at last! Tun Mahathir and all his cohorts from his era cannot plead ignorance or amnesia. It is out in the open how they cheated and stole elections to remain in power.

Shamelessly they plotted and subverted the democratic process in their greed to remain in power. What they did is tantamount to treason.

They stole our elections and cheated our voters. They made a mockery of our elections and the democratic process consciously and deliberately.

To think that this diabolical scheme was hatched by people from the Prime Minister’s Department, the Home Ministry, the National Registration Department, the Election Commission, etc. It clearly establishes the fact that there was massive official fraud to ensure the two thirds majority, win the election and fool the public that the Barisan Nasional came into power through legitimate means.

To think that two of the then PM’s closest confidantes – Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, Mahathir’s political secretary, and Megat Junid Megat Ayub, the deputy home minister under Mahathir – were actively involved in cheating and stealing elections exposes the very possibility that one can remain as prime minister in Malaysia not only for 22 years but forever!

The Royal Commission of Inquiry in session in Sabah has exposed some startling revelations that are sending shock waves across the nation. What has been revealed during the session really stinks – perhaps that is the reason this scam was so aptly code-named Ops Durian Buruk!

    *40,000 blue identity cards were signed within a month for Muslim immigrants, mostly Indonesians and Filipinos, for the purpose of voting for Umno in the 1994 Sabah state election;

    *Mohd Nasir Sugip, a former National Registration Department official, was handed over a list of 16,000 names to be made into ‘bumiputera Islam’ voters. The ‘operation involved providing the immigrants with new identity card numbers based on the date of birth, photographs and names provided by the EC’;

    *Kee Dzulkifly, a member of the special unit dubbed G17 which operated out of the Sabah NRD headquarters, testified that the unit processed 100,000 blue identity cards for immigrants;

    *This special unit “was also responsible for issuing letters of approval for birth certificates, which he estimated the unit had processed some 200,000 for the children of immigrants”.

The election scam, according to many, irrefutably proves there there is an ongoing plot – which the federal government, the NRD and the EC are actively engaged in – that exists right up to today, making the electoral process a meaningless farce.

Based on what is revealed – which proves that the various apparatus and functionaries of government have become the pliant subservient agents of the BN – it is no wonder that ruling coalition politicians can confidently declare that they can capture Selangor and take over Penang in the 13th GE. Having perfected the art of massive fraud in the past, the possibility that the BN will use similar schemes again is not unthinkable.

The BN’s victories have never been honourable ones won on a level playing field.

It is, as revealed at the RCI, within their means to easily create new voters, as has been alleged, give them MyKads or temporary receipts, round them up in a house to teach them how to vote for the BN, bribe them and then transport them into constituencies which are marginal to carry out the dastardly deed. This is apparently their perfected modus operandi to win elections.

This was how they defeated the PBS government in Sabah; this was how they denied the Gagasan Rakyat their victory; this was how they prevented Pakatan Rakyat from forming the federal government in March 2008.

Under these circumstances, it would be terribly wrong – even immoral – for the present Election Commission to conduct the 13th General Election. The present members of the EC have forfeited their right to conduct the election by implication. Their integrity is suspect; their neutrality cannot be trusted and their fairness is not beyond question.

What the so-called ‘trusted and respected leaders’ of our country have done is unforgiveable. They have sacrificed the security of our country and the sacredness of our nation for thttp://blog.limkitsiang.com/wp-admin/plugins.php?page=akismet-key-configheir selfish greed to hang on to power by whatever means it takes.

It is Umno, as it were, that has been behind this conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process which is unprecedented and mind-boggling. It has always been Umno that has been dictating terms and deciding policies. It must be held responsible for the electoral fraud.

We must liberate ourselves from this sordid affair that has nullified our sacred vote. It is said, “The first step toward liberation for any group is to use the power in hand…And the power in hand is the vote.” Let’s remember that!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 January 2013, 6:58 pm and is filed under
Constitution
,
Crime
,
Elections
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


82-Day Countdown to 13GE: Najib should clear the name of Tunku, his father Tun Razak and one million citizens of Merdeka generation from Mahathir’s defamation that Tunku had given citizenship to one million unqualified people

The first month of the New Year 2013 had just passed the half-way mark but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s signature 1Malaysia policy had already suffered two fatal blows – firstly, the Sharifah-Bawani “Listen, listen, listen!” diatribe and secondly, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir’s defamation of Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman and one million citizens of the Merdeka generation.

The infamous Sharifah-Bawani “Listen, listen, listen!” video clips is the latest proof of the continuing and  insidious legacy of the 22-year draconian Mahathir rule, debunking the claim that the Najib premiership has shaken off all  Mahathirish  past excesses and now subscribes to the belief that “The era the government knows best is over”.

But what has shaken public confidence to its very roots not only in the integrity of national institutions but the commitment of the present government to 1Malaysia policy is the defamation of Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman and one million citizens of the Merdeka generation by the longest-serving Prime Minister when brazenly trying to justify Project IC or Project M which had perpetrated the capital crime and treason of “citizenship-for-votes” scam in Sabah to shore up UMNO’s political power in the state.

Najib spelt out the definition of 1Malaysia in the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap in January 2010, which states:

“The goal of 1Malaysia is to make Malaysia more vibrant, more productive and more competitive – and ultimately a greater nation: a nation where, it is hoped, every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society.”

But one question cries out for answer, even if we put aside for the moment  the open repudiation by Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of the 1Malaysia policy when he declared that he was  “Malay first, Malaysian second” and the failure of the Cabinet and the UMNO/BN Supreme Councils to publicly endorse the 1Malaysia policy despite four years of Najib premiership.

The question is: How can the Malaysian people take Najib’s 1Malaysia policy as a serious policy to make Malaysia more vibrant, productive and competitive where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race second, when the efforts in nation-building not only by Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, but also one million citizens of the Merdeka generation could be summarily dismissed and even defamed – as Mahathir did when he alleged that Tunku had done worse than Project IC or Project M by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people in peninsula Malaysia, and protesting:  “Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong?”

Instead of defaming Tunku and the one million citizens of the Merdeka generation, Mahathir should account to Sabahans and Malaysians why he had lived a public lie for two decades – ten years as PM and ten years in retirement – denying the existence of  Project IC  or Project M which perpetrated the “citizenship-for-votes” scam?

Malaysians, however, are baffled by Najib’s response on Thursday after the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting to the revelations of “citizenship-for-votes” scam by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into illegal immigrants in Sabah and Mahathir’s reaction.

In fact, what Najib did not say is more significant that what he said.

While saying that it is still premature to draw conclusions from the RCI as it is still at its initial stage with 167 more witnesses to be called, Najib studiously avoided comment on Mahathir’s defamation of Tunku and one million citizens of Merdeka generation.

Is Najib implying support for Mahathir’s defamation of Tunku in giving one citizenship to one million unqualified people – which would not only implicate Bapa Malaysia but also Najib’s father, Tun Razak?

Let Najib without delay clear the name not only of Tunku but also his father Tun Razak and openly dissociate himself from Mahathir’s defamation of Tunku, Tun Razak and one million citizens of the Merdeka generation.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/21/pengiraan-detik-82-hari-ke-pru13-najib-sepatutnya-membersihkan-nama-tunku-bapanya-tun-razak-dan-satu-juga-warga-generasi-merdeka-daripada-fitnah-mahathir-bahawa-tunku-telah-memberikan-kewarganegaraa/

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 19 January 2013, 2:32 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Crime
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


No one to speak up for the Tunku

– The Malaysian Insider

Jan 19, 2013

JAN 19 – It is a measure of how far Umno/MCA/MIC have fallen that not one of its members has leapt to the defence of Tunku Abdul Rahman in the wake of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s self-serving statement on the award of a million citizenships in the early days of Malaya.

Even a primary student can see that there is an ocean of difference between the award of citizenship by the Tunku Abdul Rahman and the insidious manner in which senior members of the Mahathir administration in the 1990s gave ICs to illegals in Sabah so that they could vote in the state elections and pervert the electoral system.

Tunku Abdul Rahman did not give citizenships to Chinese and Indians under the counter. It was an open exercise and it was not done to circumvent any election.

But just listen to the treason at play in Sabah since the 1990s to keep Barisan Nasional (BN) in power and dilute the position of the Kadazandusuns.

Just look at the phenomenal jump in Sabah’s population and the number of foreigners in the state holding blue or citizenship identity cards.

Money and ICs were given by Dr Mahathir’s acolytes without regard for national security and the sanctity of the electoral system.

It is vintage Dr Mahathir that when caught in a sticky situation he tries to deflect the blame.

But to try and justify the actions of his administration by dragging in the Father of Independence is just dishonest. And to even suggest a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), be it in jest or sarcasm, is plainly undermining and insulting all those who became Malayans and Malaysians because they lived here long enough or were born here.

This is to be expected. Didn’t Dr Mahathir do the same during the infamous VK Lingam RCI where his role for subverting the judiciary was highlighted.

But what happened to the voices of MCA and MIC and Umno?

Aren’t their sensibilities troubled at least by the attempt to sully Tunku Abdul Rahman’s name and paint the legitimate attempt to give citizenship to Chinese and Indians like what was done in Sabah.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 19 January 2013, 10:45 pm and is filed under
Constitution
,
Elections
,
Mahathir
,
MCA
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


12 years later…the Election Commission continues to hibernate!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 20 January 2013, 7:51 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Martin Jalleh
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


81-Day Countdown to 13GE: Don’t allow Mahathir to divert attention from central  problem before Sabah RCI, illegally legalising illegal immigrants in Sabah during 22-year Mahathir era which could range from 1.5 million to 1.9 million, with his ridiculous call for RCI on one million pre-Merdeka citizenship

The fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years from 1981-2003, continues to cast a dark shadow on the politics and future of Malaysia – long after his retirement ten years ago.

Yesterday, Mahathir made the ridiculous proposal for a royal commission of inquiry into the granting of citizenship of one million foreign immigrants in the Federation of Malaya before Merdeka, two days after Mahathir asserted that what he did in Project IC or Project M in Sabah was “lawful”, and that Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman “had done worse by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people in peninsula Malaysia” before Merdeka.

Mahathir even rhetorically asked: “Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong”.

In one fell swoop, Mahathir had smeared the memory and good name not only of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, but all the Umno/Alliance leaders involved in the Merdeka struggle, including Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

It is  utterly shocking that three days have passed without a single voice from the UMNO/MCA/MIC leadership to defend Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

I myself find it most  unbelievable that after the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting on Thursday night, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak could mention with seeming agreement and approval Mahathir’s claim about Tunku giving citizenship to one million Chinese – which was why I called on Najib yesterday to clear the name not only of Tunku, but also Tun Razak and the one million citizens of Merdeka generation from Mahathir’s defamation.

Although Mahathir later tried the soften the shock effect of his ridiculous proposal by saying that his call for a RCI on one million pre-Merdeka citizenship was merely a suggestion, Sabahans and Malaysians must not allow Mahathir to divert attention from the central  problem before Sabah RCI, i.e. illegally legalising illegal immigrants in Sabah during 22-year Mahathir era –  which is not 200,000 but  could range  from 1.5 million to 1.9 million as the nefarious Project IC or Project M is only part of the long-standing problem which have reduced genuine Sabahans into a minority and strangers in their own land in less than half a century.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/21/pengiraan-detik-81-hari-ke-pru13-jangan-benarkan-mahathir-mengalihkan-perhatian-daripada-masalah-utama-dalam-rci-sabah-iaitu-secara-haramnya-menghalalkan-pendatang-haram-di-sabah-ketika-22-tahun-era/

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 20 January 2013, 9:17 am and is filed under
Constitution
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


RCI proceedings: Facing up to the truth of where Malaysians come from

By
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
 | Sunday, 20 January 2013 11:03

CPI

The pro-Umno author and blogger Syed Akbar Ali, in a post critiquing the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah, has argued that it would not be out of place to have a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate why one million immigrants who were mostly Chinese and Indians were given citizenship in Malaya in the 1950s (see his post of 17 Jan 2013).

According to him, “surely there must be at least five million Malays on the Peninsula today who may be wondering why or how that particular incident happened? Were they consulted? Was there a public referendum?”

He also asserted that “Let’s not argue about the fairness. Let’s have a RCI first on the issue – how and why 1.0 million Chinese and Indians (including my mamak gang of course) were given citizenship.”

He may have made his proposal provocatively or tongue-in-cheek but a variant of it has appeared as one of the lines of defence used by the former prime minister in justifying the distribution of identity cards to foreigners and their registration as voters in Sabah. According to Dr Mahathir Mohamed , “One should also look back and remember that Tunku Abdul Rahman was worse than me, he gave one million to citizenships to people who are not qualified and not even tested”.

“Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong?” he asked.

Dr Mahathir’s response has drawn widespread derision since his remarks have appeared in the Internet media. His was not only a shallow attempt to divert attention away from his role in this unconstitutional operation by playing up to the chauvinistic feelings of the Malay audience. He also chose to malign a deceased prime minister in his attempt to get off the hook for masterminding the massive influx of illegal immigrants into Sabah.

There is no comparison between the widely-publicized citizenship deal for non-Malay residents who became citizens of the country based on the principle of jus soli and the surreptitious citizenship-gifting racket that Mahathir and his gang ran.

One was open, transparent and agreed to by all the major political stakeholders in the country, including the Rulers. The other was underhand, opaque, known to only a small group of conspirators and objectionable to the citizens of Sabah and the country as a whole.

For anyone to suggest that this recent (and other similar) political gifting of citizenship is equivalent to that which was carefully negotiated to secure our independence is to scale new heights of political expediency, if not idiocy.

It is necessary amidst the scorn poured on Dr Mahathir to note that he is correct in pointing out that the inflow of people from the southern Philippines into Sabah is not a recent phenomenon. The free movement of people in that region is indeed part of a long historical trend.

But this free movement was ended by the establishment of the two new nation states –Malaysia and the Philippines. As a key figure in protecting our national interest – a responsibility which he swore to uphold when he accepted the position of prime minister – Mahathir should be the first to recognize the difference between the unrestricted movement of people during the pre-colonial and pre-Independence period and the illegal influx that he authorized.

The RCI hearing may yet bring out new discouraging disclosures on the way the former prime minister abused his power to ensure a decisive electoral advantage for the Barisan Nasional and how he sought to prolong his rule over the country by unfair means.

While we may not be able to do anything to revoke the illegal citizenship papers provided to non-Malaysians by the Mahathir regime, amidst all the gloom however, there is perhaps one positive development that we might console ourselves with. This is that we are indeed a nation of migrants with the latest large scale influx of Indonesians, Filipinos and other non-Malaysia migrants – illegal or otherwise – adding to the diversity of the country.

Nearly 80 years ago, R. Emerson, in his classic work, Malaysia: A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule, noted the large size of alien communities as “an admirable index of the extent to which the Malayan way of life has been superseded by the new economy” (Pustaka Ilmu edition, University of Malaya Press, 1964, p.195)

From his table derived from the Census Report, 1931, we can see that “other Malaysians” comprised close to 10% of the population of the Unfederated Malay States (UMS) and Federated Malay States (FMS).

The census at that time had defined “other Malaysians” as covering “immigrant peoples from the Archipelago, ethnographically akin but politically alien to the Malays of the Peninsula, and “aboriginals ethnographically far removed from the Malays but more truly ‘people of the country’ than any other race – in fact the only autochthonous population”.

It is irrefutable fact that a large proportion of the country’s now politically and statistically defined indigenous Malay population migrated to Malaya at the same time or perhaps even later than the immigrants from China and India.

The demographic record is that the Malay Peninsula was thinly populated by Orang Asli and native Malays for a long period of time. Beginning from the late nineteenth century onwards, economic development of the country accelerated with the establishment of British colonial rule. This economic development was the catalyst for the large scale arrival of Chinese, Indians, and migrants from other parts of the Malay Archipelago – notably Sumatra and Java.

Whatever the findings of the RCI, we must realize that all these migrant streams – past and recent – have contributed to our country and deserve their place in the sun.

Population of Malaya, 1931

State

Total

Europeans

Malays

Other Malaysians

Chinese

Indians

Johore

505,311

722

113,247

121, 175

215,076

51,038

Kedah

429,691

411

279,897

6,365

78,415

50,824

Perlis

49,296

3

39,716

115

6,500

966

Kelantan

362,517

124

327,097

3677

17,612

6,752

Trengganu

179,789

35

163,955

609

13,254

1,371

UMS

1,526,604

1,295

923,912

131,941

330,857

110,951

FMS

1,713,096

6,350

443,618

150,113

711,540

379,996

*
Unfederated Malay States (UMS) and Federated Malay States (FMS)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 20 January 2013, 4:33 pm and is filed under
Lim Teck Ghee
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The Dishonest & Detestable Dr M

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 20 January 2013, 2:50 pm and is filed under
Mahathir
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The Lost Middle Ground

— CL Tang

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 20, 2013

JAN 20 — I read with incredulity Wong Chun Wai’s mournful assessment of the state of political discourse in Malaysia, “The lost middle ground” (The Sunday Star, 20th January 2013). Commenting on the recent episode where a panellist berated a student for her political views at a local university and the subsequent harsh responses in cyberspace, he commented,” we are incapable of articulating our points in a persuasive and rational manner, preferring to shout, as in a ceramah, or to talk down, in the big brother/sister know best” attitude.”

As the editor-in-chief of the largest circulated English newspaper in Malaysia, Wong should re-examine whether he has played a role in the decline of healthy political discussions among Malaysians, and whether The Star has been equally guilty of “talking down” to its readers.

In just a week where we had the KL112 event to the recent shocking revelations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) where there are alleged conspiracies of votes in exchange for citizenships, if one examines the manner in which the Star covered the issues, one would conclude that it was not news per se, but spins slanted in favour of the government.

In the KL112 event and similarly in the previous Bersih 3.0 event, where hundreds of thousands of Malaysian defied the veiled threats of government intimidation, The Star’s reports and editorials was so one-sided that the last shred of responsible journalism was dropped. When an undergraduate tweeted, “Dear #KL112 supporters, if you don’t like Malaysia, you can get out of Malaysia….” The Star exclaimed that “a Twitter star…. is born” under the headlines, “Twitter sensation unfazed by brickbats in cyberspace” (The Star, Jan 14th 2013). And here Wong has the audacity to reprimand Sharifah Zobra Jabeen, the protagonist in the “Listen, listen listen” fiasco for insinuating those who do not like Malaysia to leave the country!

Wong further argued that KS Bawani, the brave student who stood up among thousands to voice her opposing point of view, was delivering a “ceramah” as opposed to asking a question. But isn’t this supposed to be a forum, i.e. a meeting where ideas and views can be exchanged? And when he alleged that Bawani “hogged” the microphone and “refused to let go”, did anyone see a line of people queuing up behind her to express their opinions? Who was the one hogging the microphone for the past 2-3 hours and then snatching it away from Bawani after a few minutes, in a blatant brainwashing exercise to drum up support for the government but disguised as a “forum”?

And if indeed Bawani was giving a speech, as Wong was saying, she was simply taking the opportunity denied to many other countless Malaysians to express their views and opinions that is contrary to that of the government’s stance. She is lending a voice to that young protester in KL112 who never got tell his story why he is there in Stadium Merdeka. She is lending a voice to the old uncles and aunties who never took part in any demonstrations, but  nevertheless saw such a bleak future for their children and grandchildren that they just have to be there to show their disapproval. These are stories from the heart that the Star never carried.

Indeed, I agree with Wong that some of the comments posted on the Net by supporters of Bawani was plain racist and overly harsh. But has Wong questioned why is there so much anger and vitriol on the Net? Why is it that youngsters and even matured readers trawl the Net for news, and at times even taking unsubstantiated reports there as the gospel truth? This is partly due to the fact that the   mainstream media has simply lost their credibility with their audience. Far from responsible journalism where opposing views should be analysed, investigated and given equal space, the mainstream media in Malaysia is now reduced to a bunch “rah-rah” cheerleaders whose sole existence is to talk up the government’s /BN’s policies and “successes” without question.

If the mainstream media, of which The Star is a part of, is simply the government’s mouthpiece, isn’t Wong’s paper also guilty of “talking down” to its readers?  Are you allowing any intelligent debate based on your one-sided reporting?

Wong blamed our education, our background, our education system, for Malaysian’s inability to engage in a “good debate”. He failed to name another culprit – the mainstream media. The media is dubbed as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy – its role is to provide that informative bridge between the general public and the governing bodies. Its impartiality is critical to keep the system honest, so that there will be minimal abuse of power and dereliction of duties from the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. If it does not present both positive and negative impact of any legislation or policies on the civil society, it fails to create discourse and critical thinking among the general public.

In Malaysia, this pillar is non-existent since the media exists only to shape public opinion if favour of the ruling party, BN. At best, corruption, abuse of power, and failed policies are buried, at worst, blatant lies and divisive reporting are churned out. And Wong wonders why there is lack of intelligent debate in Malaysia and why the masses turned to the Internet for a second opinion. Bawani KS, like many other Malaysians, are simply tired of being talked down to and manipulated by the government and its many agents, the media included. They want to speak out, and they will grab any opportunity to do so.

If Wong laments the “lost of the middle ground”, he, as the Editor-in-Chief of The Star newspaper, is partly responsible for that. If he sincerely wants to play a role for Malaysia to move to this “middle ground”, he has to start with his newspaper, and decide who it wants to serve as its master — the political party that owns the newspaper, or the readers that reads it.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 20 January 2013, 7:21 pm and is filed under
Media
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The true colours of Dr M

— Uncle Nick

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 20, 2013

JAN 20 — Finally, the true colours of our esteemed Dr M are revealed.

At a recent forum, Dr M was reported to have touted his idea of what a strong government is and is not. He was quoted to have said that a strong government must be brave to use force and that being liberal is a weakness. He attributed the loss of the two thirds majority by the BN government to the lack of confidence the citizens had towards the then BN leadership.

He also lamented the fact that the power of the BN government is being destroyed because of weak leadership. The fact is that the source of power of a government lies with the citizens, not with a political party. No political party has hereditary rights to govern – 55 years in government notwithstanding. When it comes to the power to govern, the citizens giveth and the citizens taketh. The citizens rightly have the expectation that the power so giveth must be exercised for the citizens’ betterment. Most of all, the power must be exercise wisely, or the citizens have every right to taketh it away.

Of course, government leaders have to be daring. But daring to do what is the big question. Surely it is not daring to do things that are unjust, not accountable, fraudulent or downright criminal. When they do that, they no longer deserve the confidence of the citizens and with it, the right to govern.

Dr M seemed to suggest that the current government leadership is afraid of its people. Frankly, I’d rather have a government that is ‘afraid’ of its people than one that rides roughshod over its people. As long as a government has the strength of its conviction to do the right things by its people and be accountable for its action, fear does not come into the equation.

Dr M seemed to also suggest that the current weak leadership has resulted in people challenging government policies like the AES. Weak leadership or not, the people did not challenge the AES per se. They challenged the way the enforcement of the AES is privatized, yet again behind closed doors.

Dr M asked why we are so ashamed of the ISA. We are not ashamed of the ISA. We are ashamed of the way ISA has been used as a tool by the BN government to stifle criticism and to stop the people challenging the unjust actions of the government. A democratic government should be unafraid of criticism. It should encourage feedback from the people, for only with feedback, and taking action in response to the feedback, can a nation can take steps to improve itself.

Dr M’s punch line was that if BN wins GE13 with fewer seats than it did in 2008, it is a hollow victory. To me, a hollow victory is when one wins with unscrupulous means such as cheating or coercion. It is not measured by how many seats one wins.

To call a reduced majority in the Parliament a hollow victory is the height of arrogance. It shows how much Dr M has taken for granted the BN government’s right to govern Malaysia.

I have news for Dr M: Be thankful for any majority, for the right to govern is sacrosanct and cannot be treated as a political plaything for BN.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 20 January 2013, 7:29 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Mahathir
,
Parliament
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


80-Day Countdown to 13GE – Reject politics of lies and  falsehoods of UMNO/BN

Congrats to Anwar for today winning his  defamation lawsuit against Utusan Malaysia, the newspaper in Malaysia which is making world history in piling up the most number of lost defamation suits against Pakatan Rakyat personalities.

Lies and falsehoods against Pakatan Rakyat have become the staple diet of  Utusan Malaysia, the mouthpiece of UMNO, to the extent that Utusan Malaysia is more a “Lies-Paper” rather than a “News-Paper”.

But Utusan Malaysia is not the only “Lies-Paper” in Malaysia although it is the worst example of the stable of UMNO/Barisan Nasional mainstream media (MSM).

With the daily approach of the 13th general elections, UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders and their propaganda mouthpieces, whether mainstream media or rogue cybertroopers, will be working overtime to pump out lies and  falsehoods.

Let all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, territory, age or gender, unite in the forthcoming 13GE to reject the politics of lies, falsehoods and abuses of UMNO/BN.

It is sad that not only the living, but even the dead, have also become casualties of such politics of lies and falsehoods.

One of the most disgusting and disgraceful examples of such politics of lies and falsehood was provided by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir last week, when he claimed that what he did in Project IC or Project M in the “citizenship-for-votes” scam in Sabah was “lawful” and that Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman “had done worse by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people in peninsula Malaysia” before Merdeka.

Adding insult to injury, Mahathir even asked: “Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong.”

I feel sad not only for Tunku, but also for all the UMNO/Alliance leaders of the Merdeka era, as Mahathir had not only smeared the memory and good name of Bapa Malaysia but also all his comrade-in-arms in the Merdeka struggle, including Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

I feel sadder – not only at the defamation of Tunku, Razak, Ismail, Tan Cheng Lock and Sambanthan by Mahathir, but that after four days, there has not been a single voice from the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government and leadership to defend their memory and good name.

Let us put an end to the politics of lies and falsehoods in the 13GE.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/22/pengiraan-detik-80-hari-ke-pru13-tolak-politik-penipuan-dan-pembohongan-umnobn/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 21 January 2013, 1:49 pm and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
,
Mahathir
,
Media
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


KL112 and a new Malaysian identity?

— Greg Lopez

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 21, 2013

JAN 21 — The symbolism of the Malaysian people’s uprising on January 12 or KL112 cannot be underestimated for its importance in myth-making. In facilitating this “people’s uprising”, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has not only created new myths that would solidify its presence in the memories or “imagery” of Malaysians in a positive manner, but more importantly, PR has also moved decisively in dismissing myths created by Umno and its subordinates in the Barisan Nasional (BN) that have been the grand narrative/s in Malaysia for the past 55 years.

Myths — stories, memories and symbols — provide the basis for the narratives that create, forge or reaffirm identities. These are especially crucial in periods of critical transformation and/or when societies are undergoing a crisis of identity. Jose Luis Borges noted that the past and the future inhibit the present. In the context of the KL112, PR is representing the present by connecting to a more glorious Malaysian past and the promise of a more glorious future.

But why is PR now the purveyor of hope, a realm that was firmly in the hands of Umno with visions of grandeur and Malaysians, Malays and Muslims being world beaters. The reasons are multifaceted and many are known with incompetence, mismanagement and corruption by the ruling regime being often touted as the main reasons. It could also be that Malaysia and Malaysians are undergoing an identity crisis.

This crisis of identity came to surface with the twin economic and political crisis: the East Asian Financial Crisis (EAFC) of 1997/98 and the political and social fall-out as a consequence of the sacking and the subsequent brutal and humiliating treatment of then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. While the May 13, 1969 pogrom scarred Malaysians in the way the different races — especially between the [older] Malays and Chinese — related to each other, many Malaysians, especially Malay-Muslims saw Umno and the government in a different light after these twin crises. The popular deputy prime minister, who was to many Malay-Muslims an icon of how Islam (and Muslims) can co-exist, even thrive in and with modernity, felt terribly bitter in the manner he was treated. To the Malays, it was argued that a sacred feudalistic social contract had been breached. More importantly and tangibly, the EAFC brought down to earth Umno and Malay-Muslim pride that were then running on a can-do attitude captured through slogans such as “Malaysia Boleh”, “Melayu Baru”, “Melayu Korporat” and rising bank balances (let alone the sole right to lead Malaysia). A cataclysmic crisis to an artificially created race that was always insecure and unsure of themselves.

Difference between opposition public demonstrations and BN’s and the creation of identities

Several simple but important observations can be made of the public demonstrations by PR in contrast to the ruling regime.

A united message
— While the BN is in disarray with its 1 Malaysia slogan that has lead to a series of debacles, ridicules and outright rejection at the highest levels of administration, PR, through a series of broad-based public demonstrations either in supportive or leading roles, has been instrumental in forging a new identity focusing on what is wrong in Malaysia. What this identity is precisely remains unclear and subject to different interpretations, but nevertheless it is bringing Malaysians genuinely together, united in opposing the regime.

People and issue focused
— Another important difference is that the mass gatherings manufactured by the BN are always about support of or for its leader/s and its leadership. The public demonstrations organised by PR and civil society are about issues that matter to Malaysians. Personalities do matter, but primary importance is to the issues. Malaysians are not spending their money, braving retribution from the government, risk limbs and jobs just to hear leaders of PR and/or civil society talk — they are there to make a point about issues that matter to them. And these issues are serious enough for Malaysians often characterised as docile and lackadaisical to come out of their comfort zones.

A sense of purpose
— this is possibly the most important point in the creation of identities. While BN organises events which do not have any meaningful sense of purpose for its participants, the public demonstrations are driven by a sense of purpose. This is critical in validating the myth. Broad sections of Malaysians — whole families, young and the old, workers and students, blue and white collar, Peninsular and Sabah/Sarawak Malaysians, conservatives and progressives, leaders and followers — all have a sense of purpose. And when they’re sprayed with chemically-treated water, tear-gassed or baton-charged, there is now a badge of courage, a shared myth, ridiculed by the mainstream media and elected leaders, a story is to be told. The story becomes a myth and a shared identity. It does not matter if they are a PKR, a PAS, a DAP, a PSM supporter or the various civil society and grassroots movements, or the different races, or Malaysians making a stand on a myriad of issues. There is a story — a same story to be told.

No BN member has anything that comes close. The last time was in 1946, when Umno marched against the Malayan Union.

A nation of equals
– And remarkably, there is an air of egalitarianism. Among the speakers at the KL112, other than the political party leaders, were two women from minority races, representatives from Sabah/Sarawak and grassroots leaders. The time given for each speaker was almost equally distributed. PR leadership did not have exclusive rights to the speeches but was shared with civil society and grassroots leaders. There was no emphasis on any particular party — PAS, the DAP, PKR or PSM had almost equal time, with Anwar Ibrahim of PKR, designate prime minister, having the last word. BN’s events in turn are always focused on the leaders and on one particular individual (and often on his wife). Whether it’s a walkabout, or a teh-tarik session, or a mass rally — it is and always is — about the leader.

Myths created, question and shattered

 Operasi Lalang catalysed civil societies in Malaysia but it was Reformasi that provided Malaysians opposed to the ruling regime with a shared myth that was different from the existing grand narrative. While many Malaysians lost their innocence (or belief) in Umno, BN and their government, many Malaysians were also given the opportunity to work together to form a new “identity” against the existing narrative.

This grand narrative is two-fold: that Malaysians due to their racial and religious differences are incapable of managing themselves; and that only Umno through BN can managed these differences.

Since the time of Alliance, even the much loved Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s Father of Independence, had used this narrative. Many Malaysians believe in this myth, and to a large extent, the BN had delivered on this myth — not only managing competing racial and religious demands, but delivering growth, peace and stability.

Edward Said remarked in “Culture and Imperialism” that “neither past nor present… has a complete meaning alone” but that they “inform each other, each implies the other.” By choosing Merdeka Stadium, the site where independence was declared, and by chanting the words of Malaysia’s “Father of Independence”, PR and especially Anwar Ibrahim has linked the present to a romanticised past that lingers happily in the memories of Malaysians. Anwar can now take on the mantle of Malaysian leadership from BN in delivering this myth (of growth, peace and stability).

In hailing Merdeka seven times, replicating the call made by Malaysia’s much loved “Father of Independence” Tunku Abdul Rahman on Independence Day in the very same location could not have been more symbolic. The grand narrative — that it was Umno and Tunku Abdul Rahman (among the Malaysian independence leaders) —who secured the independence of then Malaya from the British — the brutal colonisers — and delivered prosperity to Malaysians have now been appropriated by PR. KL112 went further and rewrote the narrative with PR and Anwar Ibrahim promising to free Malaysians from their new brutal colonisers, Umno, after 55 years of misrule and delivering prosperity — once again.

Another component of the grand narrative, that only BN knows how to “share power” to the satisfaction of all communities, was also questioned. In successfully organising this public demonstration including forcing the government to accept most of its terms and conditions, sharing stage with civil society and grassroots leaders, and more importantly, providing clear evidence that the opposition coalition was prepared to take over Putrajaya in a responsible manner to the satisfaction of all communities, PR has set the stage for the final push towards elections.

The final potent myth that has ensured the continued dominance of Umno was that only Umno can provide stability to Malaysians and to the international community. To many non-Muslims and Muslims — particularly from the older generation, and especially those who lived through the May 13, 1969 pogrom — Umno was the best hope of protecting the interests of the minorities (non-Muslims and progressive Muslims) from the intolerant and excessive demands of the conservative elements of the Malay-Muslim majority. In recent years — especially since the 2004 general election but in the most pronounced manner since the 2008 general election — it has been Umno that has become the vehicle for intolerant and excessive demands.

The KL112 sealed in the conscience (or imagery) of Malaysians that Malay-Muslims in general, but especially through the Malay-Muslim dominated PKR or Malay-Muslim exclusive parties (PAS) and civil society organisations [Solidariti Anak Muda (SMM) or Persatuan Anak Peneroka FELDA (ANAK)] are capable of being moderate and articulating the interests of all Malaysians — a departure from the behaviour of present-day Umno and its sponsored right-wing groups (such as Perkasa). More importantly, it demonstrated that when Malaysians focused on issues (and not race and religion), they were more than capable of managing themselves.

The international community is also possibly sleeping better knowing that their long held view that in Malaysia only Umno with its secular and capitalistic (although ethno-nationalistic) values would provide a bulwark against anti-capitalists and anti-Western forces such as communism and Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism can now be rethought. The demands raised at the KL112 were focused on the democratic rights of citizens, workers, minorities, indigenous communities, the environment and good governance are values that in its essence supports capitalism and Western ideals such as the rule of law and democracy.

However, the question still remains on what this new identity is?

While the myths that these public demonstrations have created signify a break from the past, only time will tell whether the series of events beginning since Operasi Lalang, heightened by the Reformasi movement, and the events since the Abdullah administration have fundamentally changed the characteristics of Malaysians in a meaningful way. — New Mandala

* Greg Lopez is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political and Social Change, and the editor of New Mandala’s Malaysia section, both at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 21 January 2013, 4:24 pm and is filed under
Pakatan Rakyat
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 81 Hari ke PRU13: Jangan benarkan Mahathir mengalihkan perhatian daripada masalah utama dalam RCI Sabah, iaitu secara haramnya menghalalkan pendatang haram di Sabah ketika 22 tahun era Mahathir yang boleh mencecah antara 1.5 juta hingga 1.9 juta, dengan permintaan mengarutnya supaya diadakan RCI terhadap satu juta kewarganegaraan sebelum Merdeka

Perdana Menteri keempat Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad; yang merupakan Perdana Menteri Malaysia paling lama memerintah selama 22 tahun dari 1981-2003, terus memburukkan politik dan masa depan Malaysia – lama selepas beliau bersara sepuluh tahun lalu.

Semalam, Mahathir telah membuat satu cadangan mengarut supaya suruhanjaya siasatan diraja diwujudkan bagi menyiasat tentang pemberian kewarganegaraan kepada satu juta pendatang asing di dalam Persekutuan Malaya sebelum Merdeka, dua hari selepas Mahathir menegaskan bahawa apa yang beliau lakukan di dalam Projek IC atau Projek M di Sabah adalah “mengikut undang-undang”, dan Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman “telah melakukan lebih teruk dengan memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada satu juta warga semenanjung Malaysia yang tidak layak” sebelum Merdeka.

Malah Mahathir secara retoriknya turut bertanya: “Kenapa apa yang dia buat tak salah dan apa yang saya buat ini salah?”.

Dengan sekali pukul, Mahathir bukan sahaja telah mencemar kenangan dan nama baik Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, tetapi semua pemimpin UMNO/Perikatan yang terlibat di dalam perjuangan kemerdekaan, termasuklah Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock dan Tun Sambanthan.

Amat mengejutkan bahawa tiga hari telah berlalu tanpa sebarang suara daripada pemimpin UMNO/MCA/MIC untuk mempertahankan Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock dan Tun Sambanthan.

Saya sendiri merasa tidak percaya apabila selepas mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi Barisan Nasional pada Khamis malam, Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak seolah-olah menyatakan persetujuan dan mengesahkan dakwaan Mahathir tentang Tunku memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada satu juta orang Cina – yang menjadi sebab mengapa semalam saya meminta Najib membersihkan bukan sahaja nama Tunku, tetapi juga Tun Razak dan satu juta warga generasi Merdeka daripada fitnah Mahathir.

Walaupun Mahathir kemudiannya cuba mengurangkan kesan kejutan daripada cadangan mengarutnya dengan mengatakan permintaannya untuk mewujudkan RCI menyiasat satu juta kewarganegaraan pra-Merdeka hanyalah sekadar cadangan, rakyat Sabah dan Malaysia jangan biarkan Mahathir mengalih perhatian daripada masalah utama dalam RCI Sabah, iaitu secara haramnya menghalalkan pendatang haram di Sabah ketika 22 tahun era Mahathir – yang bukannya 20,000 tetapi boleh mencecah antara 1.5 juta hingga 1.9 juta memandangkan kejahatan Projek IC atau Projek M hanya sebahagian daripada masalah jangka panjang yang telah menjadikan rakyat Sabah sebenar menjadi minoriti dan asing di tanah air mereka sendiri kurang dari setengah abad.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/20/81-day-countdown-to-13ge-dont-allow-mahathir-to-divert-attention-from-central-problem-before-sabah-rci-illegally-legalising-illegal-immigrants-in-sabah-during-22-year-mahathir-era-which-co/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 21 January 2013, 10:32 am and is filed under
Constitution
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 82 Hari ke PRU13: Najib sepatutnya membersihkan nama Tunku, bapanya Tun Razak dan satu juga warga generasi Merdeka daripada fitnah Mahathir bahawa Tunku telah memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada sejuta orang yang tidak layak

Baru separuh bulan pertama Tahun Baru 2013 berlalu tetapi dasar 1 Malaysia Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak telah mengalami dua tamparan hebat – pertama, insiden “Listen, listen, listen!” Sharifah-Bawani dan kedua, mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr. Mahathir menfitnah Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman dan satu juta warganegara genrasi Merdeka.

Klip video terkenal “Listen, listen, listen!” Sharifah-Bawani adalah bukti terkini berterusan dan bahaya tersembunyi pusaka 22 tahun pemerintahan drakonian Mahathir, mendedahkan kepalsuan dakwaan bahawa pemerintahan Najib telah membuang segala beban lampau yang bersifat Mahathir dan kini menganut kepercayaan “Era kerajaan tahu semua telah berlalu”.

Apa yang menggoncang keyakinan awam sehingga ke akar bukan sahaja integriti institusi negara tetapi juga iltizam kerajaan sekarang terhadap dasar 1Malaysia ialah fitnah terhadap Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman dan satu juta warga generasi Merdeka oleh Perdana Menteri paling lama memerintah ketika cuba menjustifikasikan Projek IC atau Projek M yang telah melakukan jenayah dan pengkhianatan penipuan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” di Sabah bagi mempertahankan kuasa UMNO di negeri itu.

Najib menghuraikan maksud 1Malaysia di dalam Hala Tuju Program Transformasi Kerajaan 1Malaysia pada Januari 2010 menyebut:

“Matlamat  1Malaysia adalah untuk menjadikan Malaysia lebih berdaya maju, lebih produktif dan lebih berdaya saing – dan kemuncaknya sebuah negara yang hebat: sebuah negara yang diharapkan agar setiap warga Malaysia melihat dirinya terlebih dahulu sebagai rakyat Malaysia, dan kemudiannya barulah melihat dirinya berdasarkan bangsa, agama, kawasan geografi dan latar belakang sosial, dan juga sebuah negara yang diharapkan agar prinsip 1Malaysia dijalin dalam struktur ekonomi, politik dan sosial masyarakat.”

Akan tetapi satu persoalan yang menuntut jawapan, walaupun kita meletak ke tepi buat sementara waktu penolakan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin terhadap dasar 1Malaysia sewaktu beliau mengisytiharkan dirinya “Melayu dahulu, rakyat Malaysia kemudian” dan kegagalan Kabinet serta Majlis Tertinggi UMNO/BN untuk menyokong secara terbuka dasar 1Malaysia meskipun sudah empat tahun pemerintahan Najib.

Persoalannya ialah: Bagaimana rakyat Malaysia mahu melihat dasar 1Malaysia Najib sebagai sebuah dasar yang serius bagi menjadikan Malaysia yang lebih berdaya maju, lebih produktif dan lebih berdaya saing yang mana setiap warga Malaysia melihat dirinya terlebih dahulu sebagai rakyat Malaysia kemudian barulah berdasarkan bangsa, apabila usaha dalam pembangunan  bangsa bukan sahaja oleh Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman tetapi juga satu juta warga generasi Merdeka boleh diperkecilkan malah difitnah – seperti yang dilakukan Mahathir apabila beliau mendakwa Tunku telah melakukan sesuatu yang lebih teruk daripada Projek IC atau Projek M dengan memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada satu juga warga semenanjung Malaysia yang tidak layak, dan membantah: “Kenapa apa yang dia buat tak salah dan apa yang saya buat ini salah?”

Bukannya dengan menfitnah Tunku dan satu juta warga generasi Merdeka tetapi Mahathir sepatutnya menjawab kepada rakyat Sabah dan Malaysia mengapa beliau hidup di dalam pembohongan selama dua dekad – sepuluh tahun sebagai PM dan sepuluh tahun selepas bersara – menafikan kewujudan Projek IC atau Projek M yang melakukan penipuan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi”?

Rakyat Malaysia bagaimanapun, bingung dengan jawapan Najib pada hari Khamis selepas mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi Barisan Nasional terhadap pendedahan penipuan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” oleh Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) tentang pendatang tanpa izin di Sabag dan reaksi Mahathir.

Sebenarnya, apa yang Najib tidak katakan lebih penting daripada apa yang beliau katakan.

Walaupun mengatakan masih awal untuk membuat sebarang kesimpulan daripada RCI memandangkan ia masih di peringkat permulaan dengan 167 lagi saksi akan dipanggil, Najib berhati-hati mengelak daripada memberikan komen kepada fitnah Mahathir terhadap Tunku serta satu juta warga generasi Merdeka.

Adakah Najib menunjukkan sokongan kepada fitnah Mahathir bahawa Tunku memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada satu juta warga tidak layak – yang bukan sahaja  mengaitkan Bapa Malaysia tetapi juga bapa Najib, Tun Razak?

Biar Najib segera membersihkan bukan sahaja nama Tunku tetapi juga bapa beliau Tun Razak dan secara terbuka menjauhkan dirinya daripada fitnah Mahathir terhadap Tunku, Tun Razak dan satu juta warga generasi Merdeka.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/19/82-day-countdown-to-13ge-najib-should-clear-the-name-of-tunku-his-father-tun-razak-and-one-million-citizens-of-merdeka-generation-from-mahathirs-defamation-that-tunku-had-given-citizenship/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 21 January 2013, 10:30 am and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
Crime
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 83 Hari ke PRU13: Gesaan “Listen, Listen, Listen!” Mahathir dan persoalan – Apa yang perlu dilakukan apabila mantan PM telah melakukan pengkhianatan ketika berkuasa?

Mahathirisme yang asli, tulen dan sejati – putar belit yang tidak logik, gesaan yang diselubungi pembohongan dan ketidakjujuran tanpa malu.

Terbaru, klip video Sharifah-Bawani menjadikan ungkapan  “Listen, listen, listen!” terkenal di serata dunia, akan tetapi mahaguru sebenar  “Listen, listen, listen!”  tidak lain tidak bukan ialah Mahathir, yang semalamnya memberikan rakyat Malaysia penjelasan klasik  “Listen, listen, listen!”, satu dekad selepas 22 tahun beliau meletakkan jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri namun menunjukkan bahawa beliau masih tiada tandingan di dalam seni  “Listen, listen, listen!” yang beliau dukung itu.

Mahathir menjawab pendedahan di Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) tentang Projek IC (juga dikenali sebagai Projek M) pendatang tanpa izin dan penipuan “resit KP-untuk-undi” serta “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” di Sabah pada tahun sembilan puluhan, tetapi beliau telah melampaui batas memandangkan buat pertama kalinya dalam tempoh 14 tahun beliau mengakui kewujudan Projek IC atau Projek M yang jahat dan khianat bukan sahaja untuk menumbangkan proses pengundian tetapi juga kedaulatan Sabah dan Malaysia.

Mahathir hanya ada sehingga semalam untuk menafikan kewujudan Projek IC atau Projek M sejak dakwaan berkenaannya mula muncul di dalam petisyen pilihan raya Likas pada tahun 1999, tetapi semalam, ketika ditekan oleh media sekiranya beliau mengatakan Projek IC mengikut undang-undang, Mahathir mengatakan: “Ya, ia mengikut undang-undang.”

Sekiranya Projek IC atau Projek M mengikut undang-undang, memberikan KP dan kewarganegaraan kepada orang asing adalah “dijamin undang-undang”, mengapa Mahathir perlu menafikannya dan menyembunyikannya dari rakyat Sabah dan Malaysia untuk berdekad lamanya?

Tambahan pula, apa perlunya Mahathir cuba untuk menfitnah Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, dengan mendakwa Perdana Menteri pertama itu telah melakukan sesuatu yang lebih buruk lagi dengan memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada saty juta orang yang tidak layak di semenanjung Malaysia, bertaya: “Jadi kenapa apa yang dia buat tak salah dan apa yang saya buat ini salah?”

Itu sebenarnya pengakuan oleh Mahathir bahawa apa yang telah beliau lakukan dalam Projek IC atau Projek M yang mana penipuan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” bagi mempertahankan kuasa politik UMNO adalah satu jenayah dan pengkhianatan, akan tetapi beliau cuba menyelamatkan diri dengan berlindung pada bayang-bayang Bapa Malaysia melalui pembohongan bahawa Tunku telah melakukan sesuatu yang lebih teruk berbanding dirinya.

Sedih dan tragis buat Malaysia apabila Perdana Menteri paling lama di Malaysia tidak faham bahawa “dua kesalahan tidak menjadikan satu betul”

Lebih sedih dan tragis lagi, tidak terdapat “dua kesalahan” di sini kerana adalah penakut, menjengkelkan dan hina apabila Mahathir menuduh Tunku telah melakukan jenayah dan pengkhianatan yang lebih teruk berbanding dirinya berkenaan Projek IC atau Projek M.

Tunku tidak pernah memberikan kewarganegaraan untuk menumbangkan proses pengundian tetapi untuk memastikan menjelang Kemerdekaan pada tahun 1957, bukan Melayu yang tinggal di Malaya mempunyai hak untuk kewarganegaraan, yang telah pun dipersetujui oleh semua termasuklah Majlis Raja-Raja – semua dilakukan di dalam keadaan yang terbuka dan telus.

Adakah Mahathir melakukan Projek IC atau Projek M dengan proses yang terbuka dan telus, dan telah mendapat mandat daripada Kabinetnya, Majlis Raja-Raja dan rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya rakyat Sabah?

Satu lagi petunjuk bahawa Mahathir sedar bahawa Projek IC atau Projek M kedua-duanya jenayah dan pengkhianatan dapat dilihat pada reaksi lunaknya semalam terhadap tuduhan Timbalan Presiden PKR Azmin Ali yang Mahathir ialah “pengkhianat negara” kerana penipuan di Sabah, memandangkan Mahathir cuma menjawab dan beliau dilihat tidak begitu kisah dengan pertuduhan itu, seolah-olah itu perkara biasa ada yang menyanjungnya dan ada yang memarahinya.

Saya telah katakan Mahathir patut selamanya tutup mulut sekiranya beliau tidak bersedia untuk secara sukarela tampil di hadapan RCIII Sabah untuk membersihkan tuduhan bahawa beliau adalah pengkhianat dengan memberikan KP dan hak mengundi kepada pendatang asing demi mempertahankan kuasa politik UMNO dan bersuara untuk membersihkan nama Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri ketika itu, Megat Junid serta setiausaha politiknya Aziz Shamsuddin.

Mahathir mengatakan beliau belum lagi disepina untuk memberikan keterangan di RCI, tetapi bersedia melakukannya jika dipanggil.

Tidak diragui lagi bahawa terdapat satu saja saksi penting untuk RCI itu, dan orang itu tidak lain ialah Mahathir – kerana tanpanya, tiadalah Projek IC atau Projek M dan tidak perlu sebarang RCI berkenaan pendatang tanpa izin di Sabah.

Bolehkah Mahathir memberikan jaminan bahawa beliau tidak akan diserang penyakit hilang daya ingatan ketika memberikan keterangan di hadapan RCI di Sabah, seperti yang terjadi ketika beliau memberikan keterangan di hadapan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja terhap video Linggam pada Januari 2008?

Ketika itu Mahathir, yang terkenal dengan “memori hebat” sebelum dan selepas kemunculannya di hadapan RCI video Linggam, berkata “saya tidak ingat” yang sama juga dengan 14 kali ketika testimoni 90 minit pada Januari 2008.

Adakah Mahathir akan diserang satu lagi penyakit hilang daya ingatan malahan memecah rekod hilang daya ingatannya ketika dia muncul di hadapan RCI di Sabah?

Persoalan yang semua rakyat Malaysia perlu fikirkan adalah: Apa yang perlu dilakukan apabila mantan Perdana Menteri telah melakukan pengkhianatan ketika berkuasa?

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/18/83-day-countdown-to-13ge-mahathirs-listen-listen-listen-exhortation-and-the-question-what-is-to-be-done-when-a-former-pm-had-committed-treason-when-in-power/

                This entry was posted on Monday, 21 January 2013, 10:29 am and is filed under
Constitution
,
Crime
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


79-Day Countdown to 13GE – What unethical depths and bottomless pits are going to be plumbed by UMNO/BN leaders and their mainstream media (MSM) before the 13GE?

Yesterday, I made a plea for an end to the politics of lies and falsehoods in the run-up to the 13th General Elections, which must be held latest in 156 days by June 27, but is expected to be held in less than 70 days.

I was referring to the latest defamation suit lost by UMNO mouthpiece, Utusan Malaysia, this time to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, earning a rebuke by the judge, Justice V.T. Singham who found Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd and its chief editor Abdul Aziz Ishak as guilty of damaging Anwar’s reputation and exposing him to ridicule and scorn.

In his judgment, Singham stressed that journalists and editors should be careful with what they write so as not to include comment, which may impugn somebody.

The judge said: “The press should have no greater power in impressing or misleading the minds of the people when compared to the reputation of an individual.

“It is essential that journalists, editors and publishers should take great care before any article which tends to harm the reputation of an individual is published. Reckless articles that contain insinuation or imputation without verification are to be avoided.”

But the judge’s advice had no effect whatsoever on the UMNO/BN mainstream media and  neither my plea for an end to the dishonest politics of lies and falsehoods, and in particular that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional mainstream media (MSM) should observe the most rudimentary canons of journalistic ethics and to stop being ‘Lies-Papers”.

This was shown by another egregious lie and falsehood by the UMNO/BN mainstream media today – this time by
New Straits Times
 in its false report headlined
“Wife of ailing MP angry at DAP”
, (p.6) which was nothing but  a pack of lies without an ounce of truth.

Quoting another rogue news portal, the NST claimed that Irene Chang, the wife of Sibu DAP member of parliament and Sarawak DAP Chairman Wong Ho Leng, “is said to have criticized the party for failing to provide or offer financial support to her husband, who has a brain tumour” and even quoting her as saying that “the party’s leadership was heartless” and scolding DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng.

Publishing lies and falsehoods already violate the most elementary ethics and canons of journalism, but to concoct lies and falsehoods just to extract political capital but utterly heedless of the pain and suffering they would cause to individuals who are already under great stress and pressure as NST had done to Wong Ho Leng and Irene Chang  is a most wretched and  contemptible  deed, and only those who are inhumane and even  inhuman can approve of such an action.

What makes NST action most unforgivable is that Irene Chang had put the following clarification on her facebook yesterday:

“I have been made aware of a certain article posted online and which reported me as having complained against our party leadership.

“I am absolutely furious. There is absolutely no truth in this article.

“I did not give any interview nor did I ever complain against our party or against anyone. More importantly, never did I ever feel, for a second that I have a cause to complain against our party or anyone in specific.

“ In fact, since my husband’s medical condition was diagnosed, I have been too worried and concerned about his medical condition than to worry whether the party is providing any financial support or otherwise.

“But having said this, I put on record that since our party leaders have been told of my husband’s condition, each and everyone of them, have been unbelievably supportive and caring.

“Both my husband and I have, in fact felt that we have been very blessed to know these people, who have somehow, crossed over the line from being political comrades to being very caring friends.

“And my family and I have been very touched by the call for support for my husband by our Secretary General, YAB Lim Guan Eng, an appreciation of which was posted by our eldest daughter, Suzanne Gail Wong, in her facebook on 14th January 2013.

“Therefore, it would be very unfair and unjust to let this article be passed around for people to pass judgment on our party leaders, our party and me, without any basis at all. I therefore strongly condemn this article for each and every sentence therein is a lie.”

The question I want to pose to UMNO/BN leaders today is what unethical depths and bottomless pits are they and UMNO/BN mainstream media going to plumb before the 13GE?

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/22/pengiraan-detik-79-hari-ke-pru13-ke-dasar-tanpa-etika-dan-lubang-mana-lagi-yang-pemimpin-umnobn-dan-media-perdana-mereka-akan-gali-sebelum-pru13/

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 22 January 2013, 1:25 pm and is filed under
DAP
,
Elections
,
Media
,
Sarawak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Dear PM for ALL

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 22 January 2013, 11:51 am and is filed under
Martin Jalleh
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.