Happy New Year!

I was reading Philip Yancey's The Jesus I never Knew just as we approach 2010. He looks at how Jesus was tempted and how Satan proposed an enticing improvement, that is Satan tempted Jesus toward the good parts of being human without the bad: - to savor the taste of bread without being subject to the fixed rules of hunger and of agriculture, to confront risk with no real danger, to enjoy fame and power without the prospect of painful rejection. In short, to wear a crown but no cross.

I am naturally drawn to compare it with our political situation here in Malaysia. Malaysians are tempted also in many ways to keep the status quo. We are tempted to savor the taste of bread in the forms of subsidy, allocation, bribery and all sorts of monetary rewards so that we will not go hungry in the short term but once hook up, we will never willing to forgo it because it's easy and effort free.

Decades of social re-engineering through NEP, a vast majority of Malaysians are made to believe that risk in economy activity can be overcome with Government's help. They are told to involve in the business but at the same time they are told they will be protected from failure. As a result, many of them growing up know only survive on Government's bailout. They know very little that in business, failure is actually a mother of all successes. But here they want success without the danger of failure and avoid all suffering and effort.

2010 is here now, so Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas, Lets Cherish the Gift of God with Greater Humility Towards Each Other

The struggle must continue - Change Will Come by P Ramakrishnan

Malaysians must put a stop to the rot - by P Ramakrishnan
Dec 22, 09 11:25am, Malaysiakini

Two years ago, I remember telling the folks who turned up at our Aliran celebratory dinner that we should deny the Barisan Nasional its customary two-thirds' majority in Parliament.

That majority was denied them in the last election. If I had known that they would take my suggestion so seriously, I would have said: 'Change the government'.


Our theme this year is 'The struggle must continue - change will come'. Indeed the struggle must continue. There should be no let up. Struggle we must - if we want change.

There is no option if we desire change. But there are people who want change without the struggle. They fear that there may be upheavals when we fight for change. They want the good things to happen without stirring up the pond.

'Don't muddy the waters, don't ruffle the feathers. Let things be as they are. Change will come'. That's what they say. But we cannot take any more chances. We cannot tolerate another 50 years of this rotten deal to which we have been subjected.

During the last 30 years, the nation was almost bankrupted by reckless extravagance; the squandering of our wealth has continued unabated in spite of the auditor-general's report exposing unbelievable corruption and abuse of public money year in and year out; our fundamental rights are in danger of being whittled away very soon.

Justice is no longer the last bastion for a remedy. That's why, the struggle must continue - change will come. But change will never come without a struggle. Let's remember that.


Frederick Douglas, one of the greatest black activists of the 19th century who presented a strong case for constant agitation against all forms of oppression, said it simply and logically: "If there is no struggle there is no progress.

"Those who profess to favour freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without ploughing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters."


It is a fact that the whole history in the progress of human liberty shows that whatever has been achieved is the result of struggle. Nothing comes free. It is as simple as that! And there are many issues that demand that the struggle must continue. Only then will change come.


There are too many restrictions that are unfair; there are many selective prosecutions that are blatant; there are many actions against dissidents that defy the rule of law. This is why the struggle must continue. Change will come.


If you cannot march for freedom, if you can't light a candle for justice, if you can't wear black attire to protest the death of democracy, if you can't fast for a cause, if you can't do yoga for your well-being, then the struggle must continue - change will come.


As long as our courts don't deliver justice based on the merits of the case but continue to make a mockery of the judicial system as had happened in numerous cases, the struggle must continue. Change will come.

'The struggle must continue'

We wonder how the Court of Appeal could deny a person the counsel of his choice as had happened to Sivakumar, the speaker of the Perak state assembly. It is such an elementary thing; it is a simple question of natural justice. How could the learned judge ignore this simple principle?


How could the Federal Court dismiss the appeal of the residents of Kampung Buah Pala on technical grounds when there are substantive triable issues that should have been addressed and determined?


How could the Federal Court ignore the constitutional provision regarding the separation of powers guaranteed in the Federal Constitution in the Perak crisis? And yet the High Court upholds this provision as a matter of fundamental principle in Gobind Singh's case!


Two contradictory judgments by learned judges that defy logic and bewilder simple folks like us! There have been occasions - and they still exist - when you can predict the judgments when the panel of judges is announced!


Likewise, when the royal commission that was set up to investigate the judge-fixing scandal involving VK Lingam found indisputable evidence against Lingam and recommended that action be taken against him and others implicated in this sordid affair, the police and the attorney-general surprisingly found no evidence to prosecute them!

Those shockingly implicated were top people in the judicial hierarchy. All these tainted characters were cleared in spite of what the commission had established after a thorough investigation.


This is why the struggle for truth and justice must continue if we want change to come. As long as information is denied and surreptitiously hidden from the public domain so that corrupt practices will never be known or exposed, the struggle must continue.

As long as the ISA is used and abused and Malaysians are locked away without being charged in a court of law, denying them the opportunity to defend themselves, the struggle must continue.


As long as foul means are resorted to in toppling a legally elected government as had happened in Perak, thus undermining the rule of law, frustrating the will of the people, demeaning democracy and ignoring the fourth principle of the Rukunegara which upholds "good behaviour and morality", the struggle must continue.


As long as unscrupulous politicians exploit race and religion to agitate and inflame passions and emotions for their private gain and keep us divided as a people and as a nation through various discriminatory practices, the struggle must continue.


As long as the Election Commission does not conduct free and fair elections, providing equal opportunity in radio and TV time and insisting that news coverage should be without bias, the struggle must continue.


As long as selective prosecution takes place, putting the opposition at grave risk and danger as is the case on numerous occasions involving BN opponents, the struggle must continue.


As long as those elected by the people - be they BN or Pakatan representatives - as long as they do not live up to their public pledges and betray the trust of the people and do not pay homage to truth and justice, the struggle must continue.


The struggle must continue for change to come - and it will - but only if we persist.


For that change to take place successfully, it would take all of us and the rest of those who are the silent majority to make a stand.

All those well-meaning Malaysians from the whole spectrum of society must decide that they can and will change the course of our history and determine the future of this country, where all of us can live in peace and harmony - before the articulate and aggressive minority make a mess of this country for all of us.


It is time we realised that there are those who lost their freedom, there are those who gave their lives so that we can be where we are today because of their sacrifices.


In a situation as we are in now, there is no room for neutrality. In matters of right and wrong, you cannot choose to be neutral. We must take a stand. We must be on the side of truth and justice at all times so that we can have the future we want. We must stand up and speak up.


The struggle must continue. Change will come.

Leadership Matters...Let Patrick Awuah tells you how?

The party is over! - by Mariam Mokhtar

Dec 16, 09 1:35pm, MalaysiaKini

Malaysians are living in an Age of Denial and fast speeding into the Age of Desolation. I hesitate to say the Age of Despair, for despair suggests loss of hope.

And I have faith. Faith, in my fellow Malaysians, moved by a groundswell of anti-racism sentiment.

Over the past few years, the voice of racism has reached a crescendo. Our society does not dare utter the R word. And I blame politicians for not addressing this issue head on. Each expects the next wave of leaders to tackle it. They didn't or wouldn't. So, now we succumb to conflict and confusion.

Malaysia is supposed to be the bed-rock of multiculturalism. But the horrid slogan ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) is throttling the other soundbite - '1Malaysia'. I don't like the former and I dislike the latter even more.

Without qualifying ketuanan Melayu, the term is impotent. Similarly '1Malaysia' remains another empty slogan - sounds good, but lacks substance and definition.

Our politicians live in a world pretty much divorced from reality. For decades, they used the race card to divide and rule us. With lives to lead, careers to pursue and mouths to feed, we simply ignored them and carried on earning and living. But things have come to a head. Many working and middle-class Malaysians can no longer contain their disgust.

Ketuanan Melayu = Malay supremacy; 1Malaysia = national unity and ethnic tolerance. You can't insist on the latter while still persisting with the former. It is a contradiction in terms.

The world is getting smaller but not in the Malay universe. Other nations have dismantled their barriers for a more cohesive society, but we Malays are building our walls faster than we can mouth the words ketuanan Melayu. If we are not careful, we'll build our walls high enough and thick enough to hem ourselves in. Bricked up from the real world.

It is all a question of perception. The Malays are misguided if they are convinced by the fallacy of ketuanan Melayu. The politicians who expound this idea are self-serving.

They sell this idea to the poor and poverty-stricken Malay, saying that an equal and fair Malaysia will only encourage the non-Malays to remove what little wealth they have. Recipients of this news become petrified, and cling on firmer to the farcical ketuanan Melayu.

As for the privileged Malay, it would be financial suicide to forego the status, prestige and recognition he's accustomed to.

In reality, politicians are doing more harm to the ordinary Malay and all Malaysians. They only protect their own interests and the interests of those who pander to their wishes.

Cycle of discontent

The wealthy Malay probably constitutes only 3 percent of the Malay population. In relative terms, little, if any, wealth has filtered down to the ordinary Malay.

Gaudy mansions, fast cars, designer clothes, international schooling, holidays abroad, first-class travel, overseas properties, offshore bank accounts, private jets and helicopters are de rigueur for the wealthy Malay.

Of course, the poor Malay aspires to have all these and more. He assumes that the NEP has accorded the rich Malay his correct station in life and rightful place in society.

Can he be so gullible or naïve as to believe that corruption did not figure in any of these vulgar displays of wealth? Those at the top will never relinquish their position. At best, or when it suits them, they will appease those beneath them with a scattering of crumbs.

Thus, from the top and right down to the bottom-feeders, these people are content. But contentment breeds complacency. And complacency breeds contempt.

For every inch that the Malay is entitled to under the current rules, the non-Malay has had to fight for limited spaces in education, job opportunities and wealth creation..

Whilst the Malay has only to sit back and watch things land on his plate, his non-Malay counterpart has had to use his ingenuity to succeed.

Competition brings out the best in people and only the best get selected. But think of the others who are also able but are not chosen. They feel disillusioned and trapped in a system that is unjust and unfair. Disillusionment gives rise to discontentment, which in turn, raises discord..

For every argument that some errant politician makes about non-Malay Malaysians, patronisingly referred to as 'immigrants', the non-Malays feel immense betrayal.

No one doubts the allegiance of non-Malays to King and country. But when your sense of loyalty is questioned and tested, then those whose ideals are shattered will emigrate. Much talent has already been exported. It is Malaysia that suffers.. Malays too feel the pain of injustice and discrimination. Many have also jumped ship.

We need to strike a balance between a just and fair social system, economic growth and job creation. We cannot have one section of society maintaining a separate, inward-looking community that feels it is a cut above the rest of mainstream life and whose values are at conflict with it.

How can the marginalised be expected to inculcate a sense of pride in their national identity? Removing their dignity and worth, removes their sense of belonging. Is this the game plan then?

I fail to understand why our leaders refuse to acknowledge that mistakes have been made by others before them and also by themselves. Do they not comprehend that they too can be part of the solution?

There are signs that our politicians and certain institutions are strongly resisting change. They do not wish to inflame the hyperactive sensitivities of certain groups of people. But in doing so, they hold the rest of the country to ransom.

We need to get our country back on track - we need strong leaders. Not those who swan abroad on one pretext or another. We do not need international statesmen.

We need someone here and now, to address pressing domestic issues - maintaining good and harmonious race relations is no longer an optional matter for the majority group.

Umno the People's Champion? - by Dean Johns

Dec 16, 094:53pm, MalaysiaKini

Speaking at the third Umno Veteran Council general assembly, Muhyiddin Yassin has announced the impending launch of an 'Umno the People's Champion' campaign “for Umno to get closer to the people”. A proposition that has me wondering how much more up close and personal the people can bear to let Umno get.

After all, this is the party that had its hands in the people's pockets, its police at the people's throats and its media pulling the wool over the people's eyes for two generations or more. So I fancy that most Malaysians with half a brain would prefer Umno to get lost rather than creep even closer to them.

Umno the People's Champion?

Certainly Umno's the champ at treating the people like chumps. As we've been reminded recently, the Umno/BN regime has cheated the rakyat to the tune of somewhere between RM100 billion and US$100 billion over the past 20 years, depending whether you accept the arithmetic of former Asian Wall Street Journal editor Barry Wain or Morgan Stanley economist Daniel Lian.

And if you're unwilling to take either foreigners' word on Umno's record of robbery and jobbery, read the recent speech to the Young Corporate Malaysians Summit in which party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah rightly said that Malaysia's oil wealth, instead of being invested in taking the country to “a more diverse economy based on high income jobs” has been “squandered by the government”.

Besides greasing its palms with the nation's oil revenue, the Umno-led BN government has also championed a champagne lifestyle for the chosen few by taking the people for chumps in every other sector of the economy.

The list of financial scams and scandals by Umno ministers, members, cronies and supporters is far too long, and my memory far too imperfect, to try and recall them all here. In fact, as I and many others have said before, it's high time a public-spirited individual or organisation compiled them all in a website for the people to visit and see what “champions” Umno really are.

Meanwhile, Umno's reigning champion of champions, Prime Minister Najib Razak is champing at the bit to woo supporters back to the party and investors back to Malaysia, and in the process once more proving that he's the champion of the unconscious faux pas.

According to a Reuters report by Razak Ahmad and David Chance, Najib recently floated the possibility of opening membership of BN parties to people of all races, adding that “I think anything is possible because I don't think anything is a sacred cow within Barisan Nasional”.

A comment that inevitably evokes memories of the notorious 'cow's head' protest against an Indian temple in Shah Alam that was permitted by the police and excused at the time by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Which bring us to the fact that, unrivalled champion as it is in stealing and squandering the people's prosperity, Umno's even more of a champ at cheating the chumps of their constitutional and legal rights.

As you'll no doubt recall, Hishammuddin excused the cow's head protestors with the statement that “In this day and age, protests should be accepted in this world as people want their voices to be heard. If we don't give them room to voice their opinions, they have no choice but to protest”.

On the same day, however, he sanctioned the arrest of a group of Hindraf supporters who held a peaceful candlelight protest, and declared that he would “not hesitate to fill the Kamunting Detention Centre to the brim if there are people out there who are a threat to national security”.

Umno the People's Champion?

Champion at threatening people with arrest and detention without trial under the Internal Security Act, no doubt. And champion at hiding its crimes from the people by indiscriminate and indefensible use of the Official Secrets Act.

Champion too, and still more disgracefully, at corrupting and subborning the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the judiciary to ensure that crimes committed by Umno/BN members, cronies and the “law-enforcement” agencies themselves go uninvestigated, untried and therefore unpunished.

And perhaps most damaging of all, champs at treating the people like the ultimate chumps by ensuring that the media on which they rely for their news report only what Umno dictates.

What economic and political reforms?

Yet, to hark back to the Reuters report in which he was quoted as making his ridiculous “sacred cow” remark, Najib Razak keeps promising to “accelerate economic and political reforms”.

What economic and political reforms is he talking about? The token reduction in bumiputera equity required for projects by foreign companies? The selective prosecution of a few suspects in the Port Klang Free Zone scandal? The charge of one single, solitary constable for “causing hurt” in just one of countless cases of suspicious death in police custody?

What happened to allegations of corruption against former trade minister and 'AP Queen', Rafidah Aziz? When is S Samy Vellu going to be called to account for the Maika Holdings and Telekom shares affairs? How long do the people have to wait for Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and dozens, if not hundreds, of others with assets far beyond their legitimate incomes to be audited, investigated and charged with corruption?

When are the police, MACC and judiciary going to be brought to book for their crimes and derelictions of duty and forced to revert to serving the people?

Umno the People's Champion?

Of all this gruesome regime's outrageous perjuries, this has to be the most pathetic I've ever heard. I can't for the life of me imagine why they'll think Malaysians will buy it. Unless they've been such champs at cheating Malaysia for so long th

Apa itu Perlembagaan ?

The fall of UMNO/BN - by Dean Johns

by Dean Johns Nov 11, 09 10:31am, Malaysiakini

As optimistic as I usually am that Malaysia will someday be free of the burden and blight of the Umno/BN regime, I sometimes get discouraged. But then something happens to rekindle my faith that freedom can prevail in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

Today, for example, my spirits are lifted by BBC TV coverage of celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Who'd have dreamed, just the day before Nov 9, 1989, that such a key sector of the iron curtain would ever crumble, let alone so suddenly?
Or that it would pressage the collapse just a few years later of the entire structure of that Stalinist totalitarian monstrosity, the USSR? This anniversary of the fall of the Wall (below) also recalls the sudden destruction of some other obscene regimes that seemed destined to prevail indefinitely.
The stunning People Power revolution that put an end to domination of the Philippines by Ferdinand Marcos. The unstoppable student-led riots that freed Indonesia of the scourge of Suharto and his Golkar-party goons.
Then, of course, there were the military defeats of the forces of Serbian mass-murderer Milosevic and the butcher of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein. Admittedly, and regrettably, lots of other candidates for collapse are still standing.
The Generals are still holding the Burmese people at gunpoint as they have for four or five decades, and keeping Aung Sang Suu Kuy under house arrest almost 20 years after the she and her party were voted into office.
The terminally-nasty Kim dynasty still keeps the North Korean people in a state of slavery and starvation and its North-Asian neighbours nervous with its nuclear programme and missile tests. Iran's terror-exporting theocrats continue to cling to power and crush critics of their country's rigged presidential elections.
And in Zimbabwe, despite the instigation of a "power-sharing" arrangement with the opposition MDC, Mugabe and his army-backed ZANU-PF thugs still arrogantly rule the roost. Meanwhile the big daddy of all surviving dictatorships, the so-called "People's" Republic of China, is apparently going from bad to worse.
Orchestrated violence
Most of 14 human rights activists featured as Asiaweek magazine's "People of the Year" cover in 2005 have since disappeared or been jailed or exiled. And President Hu Jintao (below) revised the rule of law backwards from its already-dubious aim of "professionalism" to the "three supremes", which put the interests of the Communist party first, those of society second, and the letter and spirit of the law dead last.
Of course there are dozens more depressing situations around the world that I could mention. In fact I could go on citing cases of criminal governments that haven't yet had their come-uppance until I completely talked myself out of the optimistic state of mind that the anniversary of the fall of the Wall has put me in.
But instead, let me switch back to the positive and talk about some hopeful signs I've seen lately, like the move by the International Criminal Court against fat-cat politicians in Kenya. Following a 2007 election in which incumbent President Mwai Kibaki declared himself the winner despite his challenger Ralla Odinga's having a million-vote lead, over 1,000 people died in a wave of allegedly orchestrated violence.
Now, as the Sydney Morning Herald reported recently, "After months of stone-walling by politicians in Kenya - where top leaders have long escaped prosecution for corruption and other crimes - the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, announced that crimes against humanity had been committed in the post-election period and that he would seek a formal investigation into them".
With former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, already on trial for war crimes, power-brokers and other suspects in Kenya would do well to take the ICC's threats seriously. As would politicans in many other countries where, to hark back to the Sydney Morning Herald quote, "top leaders have long escaped prosecution for corruption and other crimes".
Malaysia's leaders, or, more accurately, misleaders, have been getting away with corruption and other crimes against the nation's citizens, civil institutions and constitution for as long as I can remember.
Kenya's post-election riots of 2007 inevitably recall the bloodbath in Malaysia in May 1969 allegedly fomented by Tun Abdul Razak in a successful bid to replace Tunku Abdul Rahman as prime minister.
Ops Lalang
And Umno has used the threat of a repeat performance ever since as a big stick to keep the opposition in line. Then there were Mahathir's mass arrests of opponents in his notorious Ops Lalang, his sacking of elements in the judiary who refused to bend to his will, and his framing and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim so as to crush the reformasi movement.
With precedents like those to encourage them, Mahathir's successors, despite their repeated promises of reform, have done nothing whatever to improve the situation. In fact in many ways it's worse.
The financial scandals are getting bigger and more frequent, suspicious deaths in police and MACC custody continue to soar and the perpetrators to go unpunished, while the findings of cosmetic royal commissions are routinely and completely ignored.
Opposition politicians and supporters keep talking about voting these Umno/BN crooks out of office, but the Najib Razak (left) government has taken to buying opposition members and overturning elected state governments. First to fall, with the consent of the courts and its sultan, was Perak, and now the process appears underway in Selangor.
The electoral system is a travesty too. Thanks to a totally compromised Electoral Commission, elections are so stacked in Umno/BN's favour by a combination of gerrymandering, roll-rigging, postal-vote stacking and blatant bribery that the next general election so many good, honest Malaysians are avidly anticipating looks set to be a joke.
What will it take, I wonder, for the international community to start taking as avid and active an interest in Malaysian affairs as it is in Kenya's? The political murder of a foreign citizen from a country with more clout than Mongolia? Another show-trial of Anwar on another trumped-up sodomy charge? An investigation in France or elsewhere of corrupt submarine or other arms deals with repressive regimes?
Whatever it is can't come too soon. Because like Marcos, Suharto, Milosevic, the USSR and the hated Berlin Wall, it's way past time for Umno/BN to fall.

'BN will win elections if held today'

Well, 99% of Malaysian voters can vote for BN, I will still vote for Pakatan. Most people who choose to vote for BN are ignorant. Without a free media, there is no healthy competition between the two coalition. Most people especially those in the rural areas, are still rely very much on mainstream media to judge BN and Pakatan, and their assessment on Pakatan's performance is lopsided. And not to mention, ever since Pakatan took over last March, they have not really have the opportunity to govern effectively. Sabotaging at the states level and zero assistance/cooperation from Federal level to name a few, are all working towards crippling Pakatan state Government.

Pakatan are not even given the opportunity to govern effectively, so what is there to talk about performance? 50 years of misrule and corruption by BN and you want Pakatan to correct it in 3 years and without Federal power how are they going to correct it in the first place?

So Malaysian, don't be the ordinary Germans during the Nazi period where they willingly became the executioners of Hitler. Because if you do so, disaster awaits all of us. Just like Hitler and Germany, they were destroyed completely, totally annihilated because of their sin in supporting a crook regime. So as I said earlier, I don't know who are these Malaysians in the survey who said they will vote for BN, my advise is that open your eyes and ears to see and to listen clearly, the consequences of supporting BN are all yours to bear, me and my family are not part of this sinful adventure. I will never vote for BN unless of course when they become opposition, then I will consider to vote them back to power if they change totally.

by Athi Shankar Nov 15, 09 7:44pm, Malaysiakini
Barisan Nasional would fare better than the last general election if the 13th general election is held today, according to Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian.He said BN may also regain its two-thirds in the 222-seat lower house of Parliament, with rival block Pakatan Rakyat winning about 50 to 60 seats."This is my personal assessment based surveys done by the centre this year."It may not be prefect but would not be far off the mark," he told the weekly Sembang Sembang Forum in Caring Society Complex in Penang today.

The 1 Sekolah Debacle

I commented on 1 Sekolah issue on Dr Rafick's blog:-

Dr
I respect and admire your writting. On this issue, I am actually for and support single school system, but I need to clarify a few things:

If I am not mistaken the single stream school system has already in place since merdeka ( of course in between we change from BE to BM) and Chinese/Tamil stream school are only available at the primary level. Furthermore, this vernacular system is funded 99.9% by the Chinese and Indian community respectively. Unless ones work for these vernacular schools, you would not understand the teachers’ condition, the welfare/salary, etc. are not compatible to what the national schools’ teachers are getting. The new building, equipment and all are antirely funded by the community themselves. So if this is not enough, I dont know what else the government can do or wants to do to kill off the vernacular system. Establishing 1 Sekolah is good, but unless the Government chass away all the Chinese and Indian, there will always be a need for this vernacular schools. The need for this vernacular school I think is really only about learning the basic spoken Mandarin/Tamil, because as I observe, majority of the parents would send their kids to National Secondary Schools and later university. The goverment must also understand it’s the race-based political system that give birth to everything race based from education to applying for an IC. I may be wrong, but dont make the vernacular system the scapegoat for government’s failure in forging a united Malaysia.

Dr Rafick 's reply:

Yeap Cheng Liang

Thank you for the admiration. The feeling is mutual when I read your level headed comments which presented in a very professional manner. We need more people like you.
I am not sure about the history portion you mentioned. As indicated there is a lot of misconception here. There is no where we suggest that all other schools is to be close down.
In the single stream, all types of schools are allowed to exist but the government funding applies ony for the national school.
In other words, religious school, chinese school, Tamil school and other similar school must come under the private school category and they have to operate on the basis of charity and business.
Trust this clarifies

What is Happening in Perak?

As reported by Malaysiakini. People voice their opinions on what is happening in Perak.

Spokenthots: Another successful, BN project - capture Perak at all cost. The people are expendable and don't worry about the Perakians, they will get over it.After all, Malaysians are very forgiving. Give them a project and they will forgive you. Superb training over the last 50 years. Don't worry about all the technicalities, BN can resolve them to stay in power.Pakatan wake up, you don't rule anymore and your Perak assembly is no more sacred. The sanctity of that institution is no longer visible.Neutral bodies are roped in to do the unthinkable. What to do but vote Pakatan at the next general election. Enough of this nonsense by BN.Perakians will awaken from their peaceful slumber and there will hell to pay for all that is taking place today. A true and great Perakian son, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin will bring back justice to this proud state.Stand fast Nizar, for you stand at the threshold of history as a true son of Perak. Fighting for her abandoned people.

Chipmunk: Truly another new chapter by Malaysians for Malaysians (or is it for BN by BN)? Never in history did we have double dose of laughter, sadness, resentment as in this Perak state assembly episode.BN seems to have been prepared with their ‘gangsters' and cronies but one can never take away the hearts of the people, the rakyat.I guess it's countdown for Perakians and BN. As long as their so-called elected reps don't bother to practice self-restraint and continue to be arrogant, BN will only lose the battle.

Chan Kong Art: The sultan allowed this to happen and now it is now not going according to plan so the only right thing to do now is to end it.BN was given his ‘blessings' to take over, and nothing has come of it. And after BN ‘seized the chair' they have not managed the state assembly.So morally, the sultan must end it. Call PM Najib Abdul Razak in, like the last time but this time do the correct thing. Let the rakyat decide.

Jefferson76: If you need 20 ‘guards' to protect you as you sit on the speaker's chair, then you don't belong there!

Lim Chong Leong: The whole Perak state has been taken over illegally and by ‘gangsters' using brute force. We may have to learn from history and from countries like France or Russia to regain the people's rights. Rise, Perakians.

Gk: Seriously, the Perak sultan needs to do something concrete to end this fiasco. We cannot ignore how foreigners look upon Malaysia now. With this fiasco prolonged, not only Perak is affected but the whole of Malaysia too. Please do something, sir.

Chee Hoe Siew: I am following the development with much concern. While both parties fight, those who suffer are the people. I think it is time for both teams to sit down and talk, remove their party lines and think of the welfare of the people.

John Smith: Pakatan Rakyat, you are being unfairly treated by people who are not following the rules. I suggest you all resign today in protest.You cannot get the Perak assembly dissolved; but at least by putting almost half the seats up for by-elections together, you dissolve half of it to seek a clear fresh mandate.

Job: Oh, my god! These PKR guys as my state reps? What have we done? I cannot understand the logic of their behavior today, behaving as if they are the legitimate government.Is serving the people who voted for them not an issue anymore? My rep is nowhere to be seen. Isn't waiting for the next general election (no matter when it comes) not better for them if what they say is true?They should win 57 seats at least. No! The grand plan is to upset every state assembly held till polling time so they can remind the people.Funny, but the last time I checked, their popularity is waning. I, for one, don't like the position taken by them today at all. One vote lost.

Fly Emirates: I have given up on Malaysia. Najib Razak - you can fool some people sometimes, but you cannot fool them all the time.Bet you Lee Kuan Yew is laughing his socks out how stupid Malaysia has become lately. Seems like foreign and local investors are agreeing with him too with the poor foreign investment figures.

National Sucks: The people of Perak have been deprived of their fundamental rights as a citizen. This state has been placed under politicians and their cronies who have no fear or love for God.This will turn out to be the biggest joke of the year. Najib Razak preaches ‘1Malaysia' but the things that he does and condones simply tells you he is a hypocrite.Louis: Why not settle the issue once and for all and call for a fresh election? I hope the sultan hears our plea.We, as the rakyat, feel so ashamed of BN highhandedness and we do hope His Highness sees it the same way.

Satu Lagi Project Barisan Nasional

Malaysians are reaping the fruit of corruption? I wonder whether proper inspection was conducted by JKR before the government allowed the bridge to be used by the public?


It's sad and I grief for the parents who have to endure such pains.

I have a daughter also. And I would rather her go to jail than going to this stupid camp. I just don't have the confidence and trust in whatever the government says or does anymore.

BN, have you found your conscience?

Transforming Malaysian Economy - An Interview with Michael Spence

Prof Michael Spence, Nobel Prize winner for Economics in 2001, talks about China's experiences of becoming a developed country, and Malaysia's challenges of doing the same. There is a need to shift the focus from industries that do not add value and do not contribute to Malaysia's competitive edge. While there could be strategic reasons to focus on the automotive sector, he does not think it's a good idea to do so, and does not agree with protectionism measures.

"The Sun still Shines"

Bagan Pinang by-election produced one of the most disappointing result, it's a big blow to our fragile democracy. Every where people are real scare of speaking up because they are scare of losing their job or their livelihood. I can only guess that people are actually know what is going on in this country but are just do not have the courage to speak up. This reminds me of Sophia Scholl - the member of the resistance group in Nazi Germany. And now I reproduce some of the writing about her from Wikipedia.

On February 21, 1943, Scholl was recorded as saying "Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just do not dare express themselves as we did."

Sophia Magdalena Scholl (9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943) was active within the White Rose non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. She was convicted of high treason after having been found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich with her brother Hans. As a result, they were both executed by guillotine.

Her last words were "How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause. Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?"

Please go to the site to read more about her. A very inspiring story.

On the eve of BP by election

Bagan Pinang, the whole nation is looking to you to do the right thing by voting out money politics.

Just do it!

"BN Governs by the Momentum of the Past" - Anwar Ibrahim

Pakatan will not fall apart, vows Anwar
Terence Netto Oct 2, 09 7:38am, MalaysiaKini

Pausing on a two-week tour of the lecture circuit in the United States earlier this week, PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim told a crowd of Malaysian businessmen and professionals in Milpitas, a trendy suburb in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, that while Pakatan Rakyat may fray around the edges, it is resolute at the centre.

“Things may fray around the edges but the centre will hold,” opined the opposition leader to a crowd of about 150 at the Penang Garden Restaurant on the eve of a lecture he was scheduled to deliver at the University of California in Berkeley. Anwar told a crowd obviously eager to know the reason behind what is seen in some quarters as his blithe indifference to skirmishing among Pakatan’s lesser lights: “The leadership council in Pakatan is committed to seeing the coalition hold firm against fraying tendencies at the edges. I believe the centre will hold, that things will not fall apart.” Anwar added that the entire weight of the mainstream media is being used to paint the opposition as fractious and unable to govern.

“It is conveniently forgotten,” asserted Anwar, “that there is not only wide disarray in the ruling coalition’s ranks, there is reason to believe it could also split asunder.” He iterated there was firm agreement that all major policy decisions be made in the Pakatan leadership council comprising top leaders of the three component parties - PKR, DAP and PAS. “This is the solder, this is the glue that holds the coalition together,” he emphasised. “There’s no wavering on this cardinal principle, which is why I’m confident that the centre will hold despite outbursts and skirmishes now and then by individual operatives on the periphery of this coalition,” explained Anwar.

He claimed the ruling BN was governing by the “momentum of the past”. “But governments not only subsist by momentum of the past, but also by mastery of the present and by projection of credible hope for the future,” observed Anwar. “The BN is floundering in the face of its current challenges and it cannot project hope for the future,” he remarked. Riding the wave of changeHe said the forces of history were in favour of change in Malaysia and he believed Pakatan was riding that wave of change.

He referred to Japan where the political status quo was long regarded as immutable only for the long reigning Liberal Democratic Party to be swept from power in August after 54 years. “Why should Malaysia be the exception to a worldwide democratic order of change?” asked Anwar rhetorically of an audience that rose to cheer him at the end of his speech. The event’s organisers were pleased with the turnout. William Devabalan, who had worked with Sim Tze Tzin, the PKR assemblyman for Pantai Jerejak (Penang) when the latter worked in recent years as an engineer in the Bay Area, said: “There has been a lot of excitement since the elections last year among Malaysians living in California. We want to find more ways to be involved in the efforts to bring about change and this is our small way of contributing.” After dinner, it was agreed that a Keadilan Chapter for Bay Area would be established to corral support from expatriate Malaysians.

Earlier, Anwar spoke after prayers at Muslim Community Association mosque in Santa Clara where he dwelt on themes he has often explored in his travels - that Muslims must engage with the forces of modernity or risk being fossilised by an irrevocable past. A number of Malaysians also attended the event, including some former students of the International Islamic University in Gombak who had attended lectures given by Anwar when he was president of that institution during a senior stint in the cabinet.

Bagan Pinang, You Are Not Worthy of A Clean ADUN!

The selection of Tan Sri Isa Samad tells us that : Bagan Pinang voters, you are not worthy of a clean ADUN. UMNO will win the "buy-election", there is for sure, but alot of people are asking at what cost? It also tells us alot about UMNO's moral standing, if there is any at all.

Am I upset? Yes, of course. Because, you know, UMNO-BN is a ruling coalition at Federal and States government, and being the longest ruling party, they have the duty to make sure the candidates that they pick to contest are not only capable but clean or at least appear to be clean. In short, UMNO owes the people a sacred responsibility to pick the best people to serve their government. It's people's government that is at stake here, she ought to be treated with respect and honor. Just because you are assured of wining does not mean that you can pick any Tom, Dick and Harry to be candidate. Elected ADUN are not there to just fill up the empty spaces. You are there to help in the governance if your party happens to be in the government. DPM Muhyiddin said while announcing Isa's candidacy that he is the choice of the people. But who are these people? UMNO people or Bagan Pinang people?

State Government is entrusted to manage hundred of million of people's money. Can the people of the constituency trust Isa on how to handle their money? Do you think a bank would hire an ex-convict who found guilty of CBT to be their staff? Bagan Pinang voters, the choice is in your hands.

1 Malaysia: Rakyat UMNO didahulukan, pencapaian rasuah diutamakan

BFM 89.9 :: The Business Station

Put on your earphone/speaker, the interviews with Gayathry from Centre of Independent Journalism is what I am talking about all the while - that without a vibrant and independent reporting in the press, democracy is just a dream.

1 Malaysia

From Lazy Natives to Ketuanan Melayu

Lazy natives, greedy Chinese or unreliable Indians were social and political construct coined during the colonial period for the purpose of control. Syed Hussien Alatas argued in his book The Myth of the Lazy Natives (1977), "In its historical empirical manifestation the colonial ideology utilized the idea of the lazy native to justify compulsion and unjust practices in the mobilization of labour in the colonies. It portrayed a negative image of the natives and their society to justify and rationalize European conquest and domination of the area. It distorted elements of social and human reality to ensure a comfortable construction of the ideology."

Syed Hussien Alatas further argued that, "the image of the people subjugated by Western colonial powers, which dominated the colonial ideology, was drawn on the basis of cursory observations, sometimes with strong built-in prejudices, or misunderstandings and faulty methodologies. The general negative image was not the result of scholarship. Those who proclaimed the people of the area indolent, dull, treacherous, and childish, were generally not scholars. They were monks, civil servants, planters, sailors, soldiers, popular travel writers, and tourists. "

The negative image of the natives was not the result of scholarship. It was never meant to be purely because the original purpose of it was to dominate and colonise the various races in Southeast Asia. The colonised races had to be portrayed as someone who was not capable of governing so as to justify colonisation and their presence here in this region. The White Man's Burden and White Supremacy thus were prevalent during the spread of colonisation in Africa, Indian Continent and Asia. This view proposes that white people consequently have an obligation to rule over, and encourage the cultural development of people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world by fully adopting Western ways.

Dr Farish Noor has summed up the concept rather more accurately in this way: "Alatas pressed home several important points that should never be forgotten by any scholar working on political history: First, that identity politics and the construction of racial categories and racial stereotypes are never accidental but are processes fundamentally wedded to the working of (racialized) power.

Second, that the colonial enterprise required a moral pretext that was granted by the construction of convenient ‘instrumental fictions’ (to borrow Edward Said’s phrase) that helped to justify such an enterprise.

Third, that the perpetuation and reproduction of such categories of identity and difference were running parallel to the workings of racialized colonial capitalism and that the two sustained each other, thereby helping to create the highly divisive and uneven ‘plural economies’ so common in many colonial settings.

And fourth (most importantly, I think), that the legacy of colonial capitalism, having embedded itself in the racialized politics of difference and sectarianism in many colonies, would be hard to eradicate even after the departure of the colonial power for the local native elites themselves would have, by then, come to learn that the very same tools of divide-and-rule could be used by them to perpetuate such power differentials in the future."

Dr Farish Noor's last point is particularly important for me to understand the demonisation of the natives is not only carried out by colonist alone but the term is so powerful that even after the colonist had left the country their legacy continued by the ones who inherited the country for easy domination and control.

In Malaysia the demonisation of the natives continued by the Malay ruling elites - UMNO because "there was also no ideological struggle. There was no intellectual break with British ideological thinking at the deeper layer of thought. The leadership of this party were recruited from the top hierarchy of the civil service trained by the British, and middle class Malay school teachers and civil servants." Thus the incapability of the ruling elites to break free from the shackles of the colonial master. Instead of embarking on the new path of development and deracialised the social and political setting after the independence, UMNO chose to blame on their own people to cover up their failure in developing the nation and at the same time strengthening their position as the master of the country by constantly invoking the threat of other races in the country.

As an evidence, Alatas refer extensively to the books titled "Revolusi Mental" that put out by UMNO in 1971 (please take note also it was the year after the 1969 election, where Perikatan lost badly) and Dr Mahathir's "The Malay Dilemma" bear a striking resembled that of the colonial ideology.

He critically debunks the racialized stereotypes that were found in those books, in these works, written so late in the post colonial era by a new generation of post colonial leaders, the colonial mindset that saw Malaysian society as being fundamentally divided along racial lines was still sadly prevalent. What is more he lamented the fact that even up to the 1970s the generation of Malay ethno-nationalist leaders in the country could not help but base their appeals for privilege and power based on colonial clichés and stereotypes of the Malays as a ‘backward’ and ‘lazy’ race that had to be protected.

And not only to be protected but they have to become the master of this land, thus the term Malay Supremacy. This time the portrayal of the negative image is put squarely on the Malay Masses by their own people the ruling UMNO elites to justify total domination over the Malay electoral.

Obama's speech on race relation

I just can't stop thinking of race relation issue. The only problem of worsening race relation in Malaysia I think is because politicians are not honest in dealing with the issue. We talk so much of unity, tolerance and acceptance, but we quick to jump in to exploit any racial issue for political gains. That is why I am particularly like to listen to Obama's speech on race relation in US during the presidential primary in March 2008. I like it because it's honest. Rather than talking about the evil of racial polarisation and what we should do to deal with it, Obama chose to talk about how his own life experience taught him about race relation growing up in US. Rather than talking about using draconian laws to deal with the issue, he talks about how in reality the issue is actually affecting the society as a whole and recognising the difficulty in handling it in our every day lives. His is putting the challenges to all of us and calling us, not to solve the issue, but to think of the solution together and to celebrate diversity and not merely acceptance.

I am still waiting for this kind of speech by our Malaysian politicians.

Mr Najib, Tear down this wall

Prime Minister Najib called on Malaysians to tear down the racial walls on the Independence Day this year. Independence day came and gone. But the "tear down the wall" calling still hovers over my mind. Sad to say but I find the speech very hollow and meaningless. Over the weeks as I was thinking on how Malaysian can tear down the so called racial walls, I am reminded of President Reagan's speech back in the 80s in West Germany. President Reagan was making the speech at the site near the infamous Berlin Wall that separated West and East Germany.

If one may recall, The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier erected by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany) completely encircling West Berlin, separating it from East Germany, including East Berlin. The longer inner German border demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc.

President Reagan was obviously asking Mr Gorbachev, the then USSR's leader, who was embarking on his domestic reform - Perestroika & Glasnost, to make bold reform and changes that will benefit the whole world. Thus if Mr Gorbachev was sincere on his reform, he should tear down Berlin Wall the symbol of oppression and autocratic rule.

Now, could Reagan ask the wall to be torn down if it's built by himself? Similarly why did PM Najib ask the racial wall to be torn down if he himself is the beneficiary of the wall itself? It's very clear that Malaysia until today is still ruled by BN, a coalition of race-based political parties namely UMNO, MCA and MIC. After the fall of Apartheid Rule in South Africa, Malaysia is the only country in the world that is still ruled by race-based political parties and policies that are race-based, like NEP.

So, PM Najib, who is to call who to tear down the wall?

A Nation ripe with fear

People often say absolute power corrupts absolutely, but this is only true partially. It has proven times and again that it's the fear in us that actually created opportunity for politicians to corrupt this nation. Yes, the fear of speaking against injustice, against corrupted politicians, against inefficiency, etc, fear among citizen has allowed BN to rob and rape this country for 52 years.

A nation ripe with fear, by Augustine Anthony

Wing collar with bands, wearing a black jacket and holding my robe, my brisk stride to the usual work place came to a momentary halt by a gentle voice coming from the back me. “Bos boleh menang kah… ini BN Ooh”

In a short given moment, that gentle voice had many misgivings about the state of affairs in our country, but then I had to go or else I will be late. Then with a tinge of despair the parting words came from that gentle voice. “Tapi apa boleh buat, kita mesti undi dia”.

From his attire and the way he spoke my reading is, he must be a civil servant.
Later that evening, I sat down and thought about the words of that gentle voice that were spiked with sadness. There were no hidden meanings to decipher. The emotions were simple and clear to understand. I know. And so let us talk about fear. And not just our fear but of those who are opposed to our thoughts and actions.It has been depicted in the movie “Gandhi”, where a Hindu man in rage rushes to the fasting and near dying Gandhi and confesses that he had crushed and murdered a Muslim child during communal violence and fears that he will, in death end up in hell for his wrong doing, Gandhi assures him that he can overcome that fear. Gandhi tells the Hindu man to raise a child who is orphaned in the civil unrest with conditions. That, that child must first be a Muslim and he/she must be raised as a Muslim in the Hindu man’s home.

Barack Hussein Obama has made the message of overcoming fear and human prejudices simple and exceedingly pleasing to listen.

He is Hussein Obama to start with, but a practising Christian. To the Muslims he is a Christian who they need not fear and to the Christians he brings assurance that they need not fear the Muslims.

To the American whites he sees his fears as a white through his grandmother’s eyes and as an American black and coloured he shares the fears of blacks and coloured through the pain and hardship of people like his father.

By birth and disposition Obama is an embodiment of assurance rather than a byword for fear.
But in our country even after 52 years of independence, UMNO continues to put fear in non Malays by words such as “Ketuanan Melayu” and all the side shows of Ketuanan Melayu that we have often witnessed. UMNO at the same time puts fear in Malays of the potential loss of Ketuanan Melayu if the Opposition comes to power.

MCA puts fear in Chinese and non Malays that PAS is going to turn this country into an Islamic state (frankly I have no fear of this but it is a topic that we can discuss on some other day)
I will stop by saying that politics in MIC is frightening. The events of late leading to the party election is proof of its state of affairs.

Collectively Barisan Nasional puts fear amongst ordinary people, civil servants, fishermen, farmers occupying TOL lands and etc. etc. of what potentially awaits them if they do not vote for Barisan Nasional candidates. And many out of fear vote for Barisan Nasional even though the chosen candidate may not be the real choice of the people.

The Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now! is a very attractive catchphrase but the recent events indicate that it may be heading the same direction as other slogans like Bersih Cekap Amanah, Vision 2020, Zero Inflation and Cemerlang Gemilang Terbilang. The prime minister’s down liners are such a let down.

The above actions of politicians are only causing fear and mistrust in ordinary people. In fact it is akin to poisoning an otherwise ordinary, peaceful and healthy society.
Do we have any assuring words from our politicians?

Anwar Ibrahim’s message to the nation is very assuring. Having listened to such assuring words from Anwar, peoples’ mistrusts are likely to disappear. But then there are many who may say that Anwar cannot be trusted because of his past association with UMNO, but at least he is prepared to change his old rhetoric with a new way forward. That is a first step and a good sign. Check Anwar’s recent speech in Ipoh available in You Tube.

Lim Kit Siang’s frank disclosure is also assuring. By making honest admission of the negative (though manageable) state of affairs in Pakatan Rakyat coalition, (like the recent interview with Sin Chew), voters who are not partisan feel that as a leader he is sensitive to their feelings. His further statements that collectively there are efforts to resolve these minor differences are very assuring to the people. In this way he signals the people that he is listening to their grouses even if it is only a whisper. These are steps in the right direction.
Click here to read My Sinchew interview with Lim Kit Siang:

Exclusive Interview With Lim Kit Siang: “Pakatan has not yet achieved maturity.”
Exclusive Interview With Lim Kit Siang: “Islamic state is the greatest challenge.”

As a leader of an Islamic party, Ir. Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin is also very assuring in his ways when dealing with people. The Kuala Sepetang Chinese voters are living testimony to this. Click here to know what makes him special.

Those who put fear in people may attain success for a certain period of time but not always, for people who live in fear may one day stand up and say enough is enough and let us rid of it, once and for all!
History is the best lesson for those who are unwilling to learn and reform.
I think the writings are not only on the wall but all over the place.

I have a dream

Government Steps In? For What?

Today's Star headline screams " Government Steps In" on the PKFZ scandal by setting up a task force to "determine whether there was abuse of power, any wrongdoings or violation of law". First of all, you tell me before this the Government never stepped in? Then what was OTK doing? You mean he is not part of the Government? Then who is he? Opposition?

Then secondly is investigation by the police.

“This is the responsibility of the police to investigate and for the Attorney-General to decide (on the findings and the next course of action) later", Najib said.
OMG, what more you want to investigate? Didn't the PWC report tell you enough?


On the issue of PKFZ, the truth is very important. The Cabinet wants a full and detailed investigation,” he told reporters after breaking fast with Cabinet Ministers and senior government officials.

Ya ya ya, everyone knows the truth is very important. But most important is what action next. Remember actionlah stupid.

Najib said on the good governance issue, the task force would have to determine if it had been practised from the early stages of the project.

This is truly amazing. Now only you talk about good governance practices, as if before this you were all sleeping. Hello, it has been practiced by private sectors for decades already.

“We also want the task force to propose what we should do with the project and what can be done in the future so that we can maximise (its) value for money and reduce cost to taxpayers.

This is another classic example of sweeping under the carpet act. We want the culprits to be chargedlah , Najib. What is stopping you???

They are really talking rubbish without shame.

Politics of Hate

First we have people demonstrated in front of a state government building using cow head and promised blood shed if their demands were not met, than we have a security minister who supposed to uphold law and order of the country for some reasons that were only known to him decided to protect them. Just what is wrong with our Federal government? Aren't they suppose to protect our security and peace?? And the worst part is instead of going after the perpetrators, the anthority is asking Malaysiakini to remove the video evidence from their site. I just can't conprehend the way they do things. It seems that in Malaysia BN politicians are more equal then their citizen.


And one more thing, the authority is also very stupid. They think by removing the video from Malaysiakini the evidence would be gone forever. Don't they know they are in the 21st century? Hahaha

Vision 2020 - Are we there yet?

Many Malaysians now realise that vision 2020 was just a slogan after seeing the failure of Abdullah's Islam Hadhari and Najib's 1 Malaysia. Dr M mooted that idea to regain the support of Malaysians after losing significant support from the electoral in the 1990's general election. I think many of us were duped into believing we would one day achieve developed nation status by just focus on export and building more modern structures. Hussein Hamid's article on the subject brought back memories of those days when Dr M unveiled the slogan. Instantly, 2020 became the magic number and lucky number for some to be placed on the car and advertising billboard. Malaysian were so naive back then and without alternative media, we believe in everything the main stream media sold to us. Looking at what we have achieved now, I think we are far from what Dr M has outlined in the vision 2020, far from it, we are now a nation I call "neither here nor there". At the cross road, the ruling BN government has no clue as to where we suppose to go. The world is very much different now compare to when Dr M first mooted the idea in the 90's. But they seem to be unable to change the old mind set when facing the new generation that are very different in the way they do things. Globalisation then was just a concept that we study in the book and in the seminar. Now, we are actually living in it whether you realise it or not.

Vision 2020…not bloody likely!

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Rohaizat Othman's Status: When did UMNO know about it?

I am curious, when did UMNO know about Rohaizat's status as an advocate and solicitor? If UMNO knew what we know now, why was he picked as a candidate for Permatang Pasir By-election in the first place? If UMNO didn't know his status back then, it only tells us one thing: they have a flaw selection process. But, I don't believe that because according to UMNO's Vice President, they have checked with their legal people. So it only leave us with this that UMNO knew his status all the while and picked him anyway. What does that tell us about UMNO?

1) UMNO just does not care who represent us. As long as they have a candidate, the controlled press will do the rest.

2) It's UMNO' s culture. Rohaizat's mistake/crime is probably too tiny compare to other UMNO's corrupt practices. It would not get any attention in UMNO's culture of corruption. So who cares.

3) UMNO thinks nobody will ever find out since they control the media. Voters can be fooled into submission or worst still for them, voters are just too busy to think, because they just want 'development'. Well UMNO may still live in the past, probably in the 80s, most Malaysians are already in the 21st century.

Read the following statement from Bar Council and get a better idea on his crime.

http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/press_statements/press_release_clarification_regarding_rohaizat_othman.html

Pakatan, prove Kit Siang wrong!

Yes, let's prove to the people that Pakatan is not here for only one term, we are more resilient than BN wants people to believe we are. We are on this journey together and Let's claim back the country from BN for the people.

Mohd Prasad Hanif Aug 13, 09 12:30pm, Malaysiakini

Of late, Pakatan Rakyat has been feeling the enormous impact of the Barisan Nasional offensive. At the grass roots, it is even worse. Demoralized spirit, uneasy friendship, silence and the list goes on. Whatever Barisan Nasional is doing, we are falling for it – hook, line and sinker.

But we have to struggle on. The differences between PAS and DAP exists and they are not small. I am a PAS member and I do not agree with DAP on many issues and likewise DAP will not agree with me on many issues. The bottom line is, it is evident that the component parties in Pakatan Rakyat stand equal as partners and argue ideological differences with confidence. It is up to each individual leader to influence and convince the other members of his ideology or his opinion. Each individual leader is allowed to express his or her opinion and stand by it. Is this not the basis of consensus decision making and freedom of speech?

Our supporters have a responsibility. Pakatan Rakyat supporters have a responsibility. Pakatan Rakyat's strength springs from the spirit and goodwill of its supporters. Unwavering support a must Each supporter must show unwavering determination and stoic resolve to ensure that our leaders work together. Yes, unwavering determination and stoic resolve is needed.

Stop condemning Hasan Ali and Ronnie Liu. It is their right as leaders to have different opinions and stand by them. It is our responsibility to strengthen the coalition by disseminating the correct information - the correct worldview. We have to let the people on the street know that differences in opinions are acceptable, debate should be encouraged and minds should be opened to accept a different view. When we are able to achieve this, we are doing our part for Pakatan Rakyat. How do we achieve this?

Disseminate the thought that Pakatan Rakyat stands for justice and equality. Pakatan Rakyat wants freedom of speech and they practise freedom of speech and opinion. Pakatan Rakyat wants equality, and they practice equality among themselves. It is just not up to the leaders alone to hold Pakatan Rakyat together. We, the grassroots supporters, should do our part. We have to ensure that the people understand what we stand for.

We have to make the people understand that the destruction Umno and Barisan Nasional have left behind cannot be undone within a matter of months. We should stand fast, unfazed against anything that Barisan Nasional throws at us.

Mesquita et. al. eloquently describes political survival:

"Because leaders' political survival depends on their followers' support, we might expect that leaders who are more successful in bringing peace and prosperity to their nations will remain in power longer, yet the opposite appears to be true.

“Democratic governments appear to offer their citizens more peace and prosperity than autocracies do, but autocratic leaders stay in office roughly twice as long as leaders in democratic nations." This is the essence of political survival. Some wonderful ideas as well as some beneficial policies get buried and never implemented in the name of political survival. When politics become a career instead of a position of leadership, we, Malaysians, are the ones who will suffer.

Since a truly democratic leader stays in power only for a short period of time, Barisan Nasional can no longer claim the same. So, let Pakatan Rakyat leaders of today establish democracy. In a true democracy, we can change the leaders based on their ability to ensure prosperity for the people. Stand by each and every one of the PR leaders. Let us stand behind TG Abdul Hadi, DS Anwar, and Lim Kit Siang. We are being attacked in every possible manner.

Strengthen the self! Close ranks! Stand fast behind your imam and leader! The leaders might make mistakes today. Let them learn and let them lead. Let us all prove Lim Kit Siang wrong. PR is not here for only one term. We will not hand the country back to the wolves! When we stand before Allah, he writes not whether we won or lost the battle; but how we fought in the battle.Let us unite against the National Front.

Remember, people - Unwavering Determination, Stoic Resolve!

Storm in a beer mug

An article by William Leong, PKR MP from Selayang, perhaps better summed up the issue of beer in Selangor. Let's not look at every issue from the perspective of race and religion, for, the issues that we face everyday are common among all races in Malaysia. 52 years of UMNO-BN rule has turned us into a racial monster, perhaps this is the best time to cleanse it one and for all by constantly looking at issue from the Malaysian perspective.

If we don't start now, Malaysia will be torn apart by racism that has taken root in Malaysia since Merdeka, propagated by race based political parties.

Believe me, UMNO-BN is not sincere in fostering a united Malaysian, otherwise they would not have to come out with a slogan of unity every time a new PM was installed, the current PM is included of course. If we have unity, why we have to be reminded again and again? Read the following article and you will be wiser on the issue.

Racism and religious intolerance have been fed into the blood stream of Malaysians for so long that all of us are so poisoned in our thinking that even those acting with the best of intentions find it difficult to see the woods from the trees; between law enforcement and law making, between legislative policies and social or religious concerns. The recent comments by the Selangor State Executive Council member Hassan Ali of his fellow Pakatan Rakyat Executive Council member, Ronnie Liu on Shah Alam Municipal Council enforcement personnel seizing and confiscating beer sold by a convenience store is a case in point.

Hassan Ali (centre) said that PAS Selangor supported banning the sale of alcoholic drinks in convenience stores in Muslim areas especially Shah Alam. He also said PAS would come out with its draft by-laws governing alcohol sales in the State. The statements show the urgent need for us Malaysians to be aware of this sub-conscious racial discrimination and religious intolerance poison in Malaysians and the dire need for Malaysians to cleanse and detoxify ourselves so as to stop looking at every issue from the perspective of race and religion, imagined or otherwise. There is a need for a Malaysian renaissance of our views, our values and our mindset. There are clear laws relating to the manufacture, distribution and selling of beer and liquor. Alcohol abuse like smoking cigarettes are valid social concerns. Undoubtedly they are religious concerns because all religions teach us to respect our own bodies and take care of our health. However, not all laws and not all concerns are due to race or religion.

Law Making and Law Enforcement
The laws governing the powers of the Local Government Agencies are clear. There is no law prohibiting the sale of beer by convenience stores. There are laws governing the sale of alcohol and liquor but the sale of beer is not included as the alcoholic content of beer is lower than the prescribed limit of alcohol.The enforcement unit of the Shah Alam Municipal Council is not empowered to make laws and regulations. They only have the power to enforce the existing laws and regulations. There is no law prohibiting the convenience stores from selling beer.

There are however, Syariah law governing Muslims from consuming alcohol. However, the enforcement officers of Local Councils do not have jurisdiction to enforce Syariah law and certainly not against non-Muslims.

Therefore, the Shah Alam Municipal Council was wrong to confiscate the beer from the convenience stores. Hassan Ali in saying that PAS supported the banning of alcoholic drinks in convenience stores in Muslim majority areas ought to have also mentioned that he has been elected not only to represent Muslims but also all Malaysians irrespective of race or religion. There are many other quarters, Christians, Buddhist, Hindus and social organizations that are concerned about the ill effects of beer drinking and he should have sought their views and give voice to their concerns. Hassan Ali ought to have articulated their concerns also.There is a difference between concerns and laws. For concerns to be turned into law, the laws should be amended before enforcement agencies act to prohibit convenience stores from selling beer. Whether alcohol should be banned should be debated by all Malaysians, by those who drink and those who do not. In doing so, we should not reinvent the wheel because Selangor is not the first and certainly not going to be the last society having to deal with alcohol. We can look and learn from history of other societies and countries.

The first half of the 20th century saw periods of prohibition of alcoholic beverages in several countries:

1900-48 in Prince Edward Island and for shorter periods in Canada

1914-25 in Russia and Soviet Union

1915-22 in Iceland (though beer was still prohibited until 1989)

1916-27 in Norway (fortified wine, beer prohibited from 1917-23)

1919 in Hungary

1919-32 in Finland

1920-33 in United States of America

In the United States the manufacture, sale and transportation of liquor was made illegal on 16 January 1920 pursuant to the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution and clarified by the Volstead Act that stated beer, wine or other intoxicating malt or vinous liquor meant any beverage that was more than 0.5% alcohol.

Prohibition a dismal failureThe act stated that owning any item designed to manufacture alcohol was illegal and it set specific fines and jail sentences for violating Prohibition. Prohibition was meant to reduce the consumption of alcohol to curb crime and corruption, solve social problems, poverty and improve the economy.The Prohibition was ineffective. It caused an explosive growth in crime and increased the amount of alcohol consumption. Drinking went underground and illegal "speak-easies" mushroomed all over the country. Bootleggers smuggled liquor from overseas, stole it from government warehouses and produced their own. The illegal liquor business fell into the control of organised crime. Al Capone was perhaps the most infamous Bootlegger during the period known as the Roaring 1920s. Instead of reducing crime, Prohibition saw the crime rate skyrocketing with a nearly 78% increase. It saw serious crimes such as homicides, assault and battery increased by 13 %. There were gruesome shoot-outs as gangs fought for control over the profitable illegal business. The number of Federal convicts increased 561%. Consumption of liquor instead of reducing increased. Seldom had a law been more flagrantly violated. Not only did Americans continue to manufacture, barter and possess alcohol, they drank more of it.Prohibition was a dismal failure and it was repealed on Dec 5, 1933 by the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution repealing the 18th Amendment. It was the first and only time in US history that an amendment has been repealed.These countries that have experimented with Prohibition have now come to realise that not all social concerns and society's ills can be solved by making them illegal.

With alcohol abuse, it is through education and voluntary temperance that these societies learnt to be more effective measures to counter alcohol abuse than by making the consumption of alcohol illegal. The religious looking glassIt is unfortunate that Hassan Ali looked at the problem solely through a pair of Muslim's spectacles. The problem is wider than that and the evils of alcohol abuse affect all races, followers of all the various faiths, and even the atheists and agnostics. His statement has caused a perception that has turned the problem from a social concern to a struggle between Muslims and non-Muslims.

It has raised the mistaken belief by non-Muslims that Islam does not tolerate the existence of other religions. Based on what I know of Islam, this is not true. Allah decreed in the Quran, Surah 2 verse 256:"Let there be no compulsion in religion;Truth stands out clear from Error;Whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah;Hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold, that never breaks.And Allah heareth and knoweth all things." According to the notes to this verse, compulsion is incompatible with religion because (1) religion depends upon faith and will, and this would be meaningless if induced by force, (2) Truth and Error have been so clearly shown by the mercy of Allah that there should be no doubts in the minds of any person of goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith, (3) Allah's protection is continuous and His Plan is always to lead us from the depths of darkness into the clearest light. There are many examples during the lifetime of the Prophet that shows the tolerance of Islam for other religions. Islam recognises that there is a plurality of religions on this earth and give the right to individuals to choose the path which they believe to be true. Religion is not to be and was never forced upon any individual against his own will and there are many examples of this in the life of the Prophet and in the verses of the Quran.Under the present oppressive and repressive rule of Umno, it is important for Malaysians to resist oppression and repression. It has always been the central approach of Islam to resist all forms of oppression. It is this approach that is the foundation of Islamic religious tolerance. To succeed in this struggle against oppression, mere tolerance by Muslims of other religions is not enough. Muslims must unite with Malaysians of all religions and work towards the common goal of justice, mutual respect, equal treatment and robust pluralism.

Malaysian Renaissance
After 52 years of the myth of racial inferiority of the Malays, used as a leverage for special privileges which in actual fact are enjoyed by a select few, the Malays, instead of enjoying God's gift of a life to be lived with dignity, are trapped in the bondage of a dependency on Umno chained by subsidies, loans, scholarships and handouts. Those brave enough to dissent and dare to be independent are punished by having these forcibly taken away. We, Malaysians of all races must standup to liberate our fellow brothers from this bondage.

To do so we need to combine into one the common strands of our different racial descent and to use the unique strengths of our diversity to forge a stronger bond. In doing so, it is imperative that we Malaysians accept that the Islamic concept of Man and the concept of Man founded on the religions and traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and the major religions practiced in this country share the basic fundamental ideas of the virtues and morality of mankind.It is time to have a Malaysian renaissance where the growth, development and flowering of our Malaysian society is to be based on the common vision of the perfection for Mankind, imbued with truth and the love of learning, justice and compensation, mutual respect and forbearance and freedom with responsibility. There is a need for the renewal of our faith and the assertion of our multiculturality as a Malaysian phenomenon not to be hidden away in shame but to be shown off to the rest of the world in pride. It is prayed that all Malaysians and in particular our Pakatan Rakyat state executive members will heed the call for a renewal of our values and to steel ourselves with the conviction that only a Malaysian renaissance will set us free.