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