Tarek Fatah's Speech and The Behaviour Question

It took me a while to think on whether to write on this subject or not, but I saw a video that featured Canadian Muslim activist Tarek Fatah taken a few months ago. You can view the video below.

What is interesting about the video is that there are several sentences or statements that Mr. Fatah said during the 15 minute talk: (note the following points are what was mentioned by Mr. Fatah)

1. My own fellow travelers betrayed the calls for social justice and allied themselves with the most horrendous fascist that you could ever meet.

2. Communism was destroyed in the battle of ideas. It took 4 decades by the year 1990 and 2000 communism was wiped out, the gulags were finished, people Russians found the freedom today to live under a different form of what is regard as a separate story. But we destroyed communism without firing a bullet.

3. Today we're fighting another idea of "fascism"that has shut our mouths and you can't speak because we're too scared that someone would turn around and calls us a racist.

4. I can tell you that not more than 1 percent of the country's population knows about the incident because we have forsaken our country and have sub-contracted to some gladiator who would take care of us.

5. And instead of admitting that there has not been a university course on the ABC of Islamization, we tried to sub-contract it to consultants who would made the profit by telling us that "that is what you have to do".

6. We today have a situation that with the religion of Islam is being used as a tool by a fascist force, the combination of the thought that life begins after death and the supremacy of Muslims over the rest of the world is not debated.

7. But we are not willing to stand up in front of the Saudi Embassy and say that "you in the name of Islam practice an apartheid that is shameful."

8. Nobody wishes to insult or demean the Muslim community. However, please understand that there is a distinction between Islam as a faith, which along with any other religion has its own problems and Islamism, which is a political ideology that says that western civilizations has to be destroyed.

9. If we do not confront them today, our children will not forgive us tomorrow.

Although the context of the talk was not aimed at Asian audiences, these points that caught interest has some similarities around here. This came in light of the Christian bashing by some Malay groups over the murtad case just because there have been wild accusations and suspicions unverified sources that there is some conversion case and so forth. Do you notice that from the talk that there are some things quite similar to here like the Malay Supremacy concept that UMNO keeps harping on and on? And this 30 percent quota requirement, where a piece of the pie has to be from this race, isn't that similar to one of the highlights of Tarek's talk there?

Professor Asri (ex-Mufti) pointed out something sometime back which relates to the point of origin  - it's like a child from a rich family who was not given a proper attention but a neighbor with a different wealth and social status was able to take care and got the child's attention. This means, that their own religion has overlooked their need for help and attention. With no help from anyone, where can they turn to or but to hope that someone kind enough to help them to ease the burden and the pain? While those groups keep screaming and accusing others of murtad, but do they even know that they behave like murtads themselves in cases that is the equivalent to a flipside of a coin!

Then what is the idea of fasting in the fasting period, like in Lent or Ramadan? The core idea is to put a man in the shoes of a pauper, who has no money and no means to get food. Here what was observed is that people making wild accusations, improper conduct, going around doing and raving about things that are considered disrespectful to other religions. To commit such conduct particularly during a fasting period is considered somewhat a very shameful and "more sins" committed which I find those who did it don't even know that you can't simply make it halal for what is really wrong in all aspects.

As point #8 simply states that nobody including myself wants to demean. However because of the fear of being accused of making racial sentiments that we didn't do or raise a point to put a check. And if we don't put a check, then you have more complications spilling out like complaints of non-Muslim religions under this and that and so forth. It's actually far worse than raising the point. And on the long run in the next 20 to 30 years or so, our children would punish us for the sins that we commit, that is to let oppression and evil roll over as didn't do anything at all.

Mat Sabu has been recently accused of communism talk during his speech, but many of us still do not know that Communism was over for the last 20 years or so. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, Fukuyama famously called it the collapse of the Communism, so why are those people like Musa Hassan and Khalid Bakar talks about commie as if the country is still in the mindset of the 1950's? As what Tarek said, "Communism was defeated in the battle of ideas."

There also have been mentioned of consultants brought in because we are illiterate over something. Most of the things, including our nation's public image has been left to the devices of the consultants we hire. But at what real cost do we pay out to to have these things and being told of what needs to be done?

That's what I've been observing and thinking about in the last few days or so. Is this really how our other friends should behave really? Then it all comes back to the question: how do you want others to respect you when you "demand" to be respected? Isn't this like a compulsion whereas the ancient books and religion say that there is no compulsion to be imposed on others?

Selamat Eid-Mubarak 2011

To my Malay friends, readers and etc.., I would like to take this brief moment to extend my greetings to all of you all. Maaf Zahir Batin.

MAS' Red Marks

Half-billion ringgit loss for second quarter. That's what the results from the MAS earnings was like, with such result shows the roller-coaster effect that the main Malaysian airline is facing in the last few years like. I can see that if there's one reason, it's because of the popularity and the better alternative of Air Asia that sales for MAS dropped - that would be my first inference and talk about it.

Unless of course other airlines don't have the destinations that MAS gives, then of course you would go for the current ailing airline. I once remembered that the staff and crew were complaining that their salaries were the lowest of the region, if I am not mistaken that is. 

If I look at the diagram above, SIA has always been very consistent in its sales and services, and multiply the net profits by 2.4, even theirs have surpassed our lines. One of my relatives who is in service there told me that their annual bonuses is 1/4 of the yearly salary (for one of the years there).

I can only say that the why MAS got red margins not just only this year, but in previous years is simply because of how it was badly handled in the beginning. The bailout in 2001 to this day never restored the company back to its prime moments. Though Idris Jala did manage a turnaround, it was partially finished, never to the full restoration until he got roped in to be in Pemandu lab head. Then comes the hedging oil strategy and positioning, it looks like at the wrong end. It should have been placed around a 5-10% lower than the estimate because the fuel prices will eventually go down somehow. People realized in 2008 that going to 147 and up was totally impossible because there is a bubble limit before it gets burst.

If MAS says that the fuel costs was the main problem behind the half-a billion dollar lost, then the problem is the ringgit is weak and still at an unacceptable levels. It has to go up some more. Why does SIA still remains successful? You look at how SGD vs USD - 1.2 to 1, easy to buy fuel, and what about us? 3 to 1, so how much money did we lose due to exchange rates?

It's a false footing for the so call Najib's ETP. The ETP's progress and funding assumes that the yearly GDP is no less than 6% or more but with world markets taken a beating in the last few weeks, it is virtually impossible to reach the 6%, so it's likely a setback and at least a six month delay in the roadmap. Frankly, I don't really believe in the "our economics are strong" statement. That sounds like McCain's and a right-wing statement, a statement that cost McCain in his presidency against Obama. 

To travel by air at this point of time, for the poor, will be hard...very very hard.

Bersih - Alahai Mat Sembab!

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today drew parallels between the recent UK riots and last month’s Bersih rally even after the prime minister distanced himself from the harsh crackdown on the march for free and fair elections.

Seemingly out of step with Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s new, more conciliatory stance, Muhyiddin congratulated the police for their handling of the Bersih rally after citing the UK riots as a “clear example” of how a country can descend into chaos if “elements that threaten peace and security” are not stopped.
 

“Although it (UK) is a modern nation, there were people... who took the opportunity to riot and create chaos to fulfil certain needs that are not in line with the needs of the majority,” he said at the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) College here.
“The government is very proud and pleased with the role and bravery of PDRM in handling the illegal Bersih demonstration on July 9, 2011 that was, in fact, dirty (kotor).”
Muhyiddin’s comments today comes one week after Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysians should be thankful that police action had prevented the Bersih rally from turning violent like the UK riots.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar has also previously said on his Facebook page that the riots in London and other major cities in Britain were evidence of the “nightmares” that could be prevented by avoiding street protests.

Najib said on Monday that a bipartisan parliamentary select committee will be formed “as soon as possible” to examine the current electoral system, a key demand of Bersih.

His announcement was seen as a major concession acknowledging the political fallout from his administration’s harsh clampdown on the rally for free and fair elections that brought the capital to a standstill last month.

The Najib administration was roundly criticised in the international media, with his reformist image taking a major hit after authorities took extreme measures including firing tear gas and water cannons at largely peaceful demonstrators.

The prime minister’s decision also suggests he was forced to give space to Bersih and its iconic leader Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan as the government has been floundering since last month’s rally.

Muhyiddin Likens Bersih To London Riots - 18 August 2011, Malaysian insider

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

This has been a number of times that I've lost count of Muhyiddin Yassin keeps saying that Bersih is related to this and that for all I care. If I recall correctly, back in the beginning, Muhyiddin was noted saying that Bersih is used by Opposition to topple BN, Bersih is a threat to national security, and Bersih is undemocratic and so forth.

I just went back to check the chronology of statements leading to the Bersih event on 9 July and there are matching entries relating Muhyiddin's statements to that. The UMNO paranoia started on 16 June, 3 days before the launch (the launch was on 19 June, a Sunday) with Utusan first started the fuse with Bersih's launch. (Note: Utusan news hitman columnist Zulkiflee Bakar started the drum with his column). And that started the avalanche of accusations by the government on Bersih.

You can read the sequence of events of Bersih that has Muhyiddin's statements:

1. 16 June - Bersih is undemocratic

2. 18 June - Opposition using Bersih to topple BN

3. 25 June - Muhyiddin Insists That Bersih Is Political, Threat to Security

4. 2 July - Kuasa Besar Boleh Masuk Jika Malaysia Bergolak

5. 3 July - Bersih A Trick To Get Power

6. 7 July - Bersih Inciting Hatred in Stadium Merdeka Choice

These instances above, even from one source alone is enough to paint a picture that Muhyiddin led UMNO's paranoia on Bersih and subsequently, from there, government refused to give rally permits, intensify detention before rallies, and the illogical arrests on anything that is yellow and of course Bersih, perceived as a society but actually a movement that was declared illegal by Hishamuddin.

Several other people including Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Noordin  have added oil to fire, making things hotter and hotter. With their paranoia including in their speeches, this has influenced the police to stop the rally at all costs, peaceful or otherwise. But all the paranoia that these men have come out of their mouths turns out to be unfounded. Was it to hide the guilt that the cheating game of elections necessary? But who actually lit the fire and made it bigger? The statements from him makes it possible.

In the end, most of us tried digging for proof to such claims above to refute it and there was absolutely none. Pure nonsensical and tons of lies to make a shit out of nothing for an event. And yes, failure to understand English well also plays part of it. That's why there are still people out there who still cannot even differentiate between a protest and a riot. In fact we even fell behind to Myanmmar when they have started to loosen things up bit by bit.

But sometimes there is also a logic of looking at this incidents as red herrings. Was it part of a plan to entrap Najib? Some of my friends and people have always said that Najib is not only facing enemies on the outside but in the inside, in this case, other factions in the party itself. And this puts a question of whether this was meant to get people to get angry at Najib Razak and thus hasten his exit? 

These statements above also reflect the childish mindset of the government. Instead of giving a 3 hour permit for that day, they deliberately make things from bad to worst, just to show their dislike on anything or anyone that challenges or disputes their rule. Giving a permit to them means capitulation, a.l.a IRA style. But it is them that refuses to listen and do the fixes. If they close their ears all the time, then how will the people get their attention? If you write a letter to someone yet the letter was never opened after a specific time, how are you going to follow up and get their attention to your problem?   

Sometimes, being above and sitting behind a desk can put a person into not able to hear the ground. That's the caveat of being in the high-ranking job. 

Alahai, bising banyak tuduh banyak bagi orang tak salah kena tangkap, si penjenayah masih lagi bebas berkeliaran. Ni masih tak faham apa pasal gaduh di London dengan bantah di KL! Aiyoh!

Annotation: I've asked some people what it means by "sembab" and it means swollen face. Incidentally, Hishamuddin Rais always called this guy "Mat Sembab" because he had this swollen look and the face of a pirate.

Genius and Retards

It can be funny at times. But it's true. URL is here:

Making The Soup Saltier In Metaphor

They can become fiery at times, as what Ezam and Ibrahim Ali illustrated from their messages delivered over the week. Ezam was telling of "burning down news portals" but eventually referred to them as theoratically. Ibrahim on the other hand was telling of forcing the government's action against Ambiga, DAP and Anwar over many issues.

These two people are the prime examples of making the soup saltier. Metaphorically speaking, the soup is like the melting pot that is meant to be shared by every citizen of Malaysia which encompasses of the matter of respect, entitlements, benefits, rights, privacy and whatever aspects that can be considered under the pot. If one can notice how some Malays have been screaming over the murtad issue, there can be two implications from there: one, the non-Malays will start distancing themselves from their Malay partners because the right to believe in any religion has been eroded; two the sense of privacy that is entitled for each person is gone. But yet, in that matter, what goes round comes round, so they do face the risk of "taste of their own medicine" if the present Malaysian scenario goes in inverse. And thirdly, it reveals how obsessive some of these group of people can be, paying more attention to petty matters whereas the real goal is to defeat evil that is seen in our daily lives like corruption, murder, theft and cheating.

A soup's taste must be balanced enough to satisfy everyone's taste buds. Salt, like demands from groups may affect the taste, depending on how much it was put into the soup. If the soup is the pot for everyone, e.g. policies, then the chef is the government and the people will be the ones having the soup. Salt can be good or bad. A little more can improve the taste, too much and it will spoil the taste. 

And what is happening now, is perceived by many and the young as too much demands caved into pressure, all for the benefit of just one side and the others would be left out, as it implies.

Whatever of Najib's programs are the examples of too much salt in it, that is being caved in by various groups from the pro-government camp. The ETP and NEM is the case in point. The real problem that is impeding the nation's progress is not the opposition but those within the government of the day. While they keep pointing fingers at others for the problems, and this includes the apologists and butter boys, they are totally unaware that they themselves are the cause of the problems that have occurred.

All these religious and race related issues are actually part of the strategy to spook people and to raise doubts of what happens if one of the races have no support at all. It is deliberately invoked and they would portray themselves as saviors that can be supported for blindly.

Along the way, the basic question of demand vs earning respect comes out into play. For this murtad case, whatever speeches that these people and parties have been talking about, particularly for those who have been making statements in a threatening tone is somewhat as equivalent to demanding respect from everyone. Or in an another way, forcing people to respect even if they do not agree with such statements. This is one of the flaws with the present government where their supporters are not able to talk realistically with others. If people who can think but disagree with the statements, almost supporters would start making noises and "maki hamun".

The mob mentality that is revealed can eventually make people unwilling to communicate with the other party, with dissent or second opinion not allowed at all. People would only show respect if a person or a party can show good and proper qualities in a person or party. Except for dignitaries or as part of the formality of a ceremony that requires demonstration of respect, no one would respect a person or party if they start making big mouth and wild statements like Ibrahim Ali and the other NGOs.

Yes, these people can do whatever they want to gain the Malay votes, but at what expense? The cost can be high. One can be a tiny support of non-Malays; two, component parties risked becoming worthless in the coalition, three - it demonstrates the obsession of being omnipotent and in power indefinitely; and four; if any disaster - be it physical and financial disaster were to happen to everyone, they risked being blamed as they are the government of the day. For the 4th point, Ireland was the case in point. When the country went into default and subsequently required the loan from the IMF, the government of the day was voted out by the people there.

I remembered when Dr. Mahathir warned before sometime around March this year although we can be a nationalistic or deeply religious person, yet we can succumb to the opposite of what we want to be. Hypocrisy would then revealed itself. And so the above situations can also fall into this case. If we drink very salty soup all the time, we risk having kidney problems in the future. Translated from metaphor, if we include too many demands into something, we would eventually use it as a crutch rather than being it as an assisting tool. On worse case, we would be selling out our pride and the real soul of the country to unscrupulous third parties.

Bersih: Did We Forget Riot Control 101?

Someone pointed out about the dos and don't for the police in riot and crowd control. This control is international in nature because it is typically handled by the police. Having read through the whole thing, you can notice that our very own police force is incapable of reaching to the level and bar set by what is mentioned in there.

Anyhow, just for easier reading, I will try to dissect the content paragraph by paragraph and insert my comments in red just for you all to spot the difference. At the end, you'll see who's at fault. Was it the people or was it the government and cops who brashly turned down the request like "no layan go see Samy Vellu style"?

As agreed the FRU is an example of crowd management units, the other synonym of riot police. The first approach, which was adopted was to calm people down and try to get people to go home once done. Beating and using those tools like water cannon and tear gas is always the last resort. No doubt that the police everywhere would do that. Undoubtedly.

The first step in crowd management is making sure a riot doesn't happen in the first place. Although sometimes riots erupt unexpectedly, they are frequently tied to planned protests and organized strikes. When the police think there is the potential that such a situation could get out of control, they contact the organizers and leaders of the protest or strike ahead of time. They set up ground rules that the protestors are to follow, and they designate a specific area for the event to happen in. The police assign specially trained officers to monitor the event. The point is that the police will simply provide a presence and work to ensure that everyone stays safe. Only if the ground rules are broken will any police action be needed at all. 

--Here are some points that our very own police have forgotten :

1. Our police assume that the protest would be violent. That's first perception. They do not exhibit the sense of confidence and trust on the organizers would have repeatedly assure them of the event being a non-violent in nature despite a clear background of who the organizers are and the purpose of the gathering.

2. Immediately x layan. Police Chief should have issued the permit, give them ground rules. Note: (takut kena court martial ke ni?) And it seems that Najib is lying again. One moment he said of letting Bersih pick their own stadium, one moment said he didn't say that, and another thing was he said he offered them Shah Alam stadium. People are confused and they say he is flip-flop which is what's happening now. 

Even if the officers themselves disagree with the opinions of the protestors, they are trained to maintain an unbiased attitude. "That's part of America," said Sgt. Bauer of the Cheektowaga Police Department. "You're allowed to have a voice." The officers try not to look at the protestors as enemies. Instead, they recognize that they are part of the community that the police are entrusted to protect and serve. "You can't go in like stormtroopers," said Sgt. Bauer.  

3. This simply sums it up. They come in like stormtroopers and on that day, protestors were treated as enemies. Some couldn't maintain an unbiased attitude. I overheard on that day that when one protester got arrested, the cop said to him, "Awak in Islam kan? No..Islam bukan macam ni!" This part of the crowd control 101 was totally disregarded on that day.

While officers are trained to stay polite with the people in the crowd, they are careful to not give off an air of subservience. The police have to be seen as being in charge and in control at all times, even while they stay passive and allow the crowd to operate within the ground rules set out ahead of time.

Sometimes, though, these preventative measures don't work, and a riot breaks out despite police efforts to keep everyone calm. 

4.  The real problem was on the top brass, not the guys operating on the ground. All was asked was 2-3 hours on that day itself. In fact, if the listener, e.g Government and EC takes notice of all and implement those things, in fact they don't even need to have one protest. Ambiga underscored the other day that this was done as last resort.

A lot of the methods used by police and soldiers to control riots in the past actually made riots worse. In fact, only in the last few decades have effective riot-control strategies been developed.

Earlier riot-control squads had a "police versus the rioters" mentality. They approached a riot like a battle in which they had to beat or shoot the rioters into submission. A riot squad would form a skirmish line and charge into the rioters with nightsticks swinging. Often, they would try to pin the rioters into a corner to leave them no escape. This only intensified the rioters' fear and anger and escalated the violence.

5. Yes, no doubt as what our British PM Cameron said that the police got their tactics wrong. But what was witnessed on that day was the days where strategies by cops made protests from bad to worse. As what is written in the second paragraph, many would agree based on the witnessing of the day's event. Tung Shin was the climax. People were pinned into a corner where police squads from Bukit Bintang and from Jalan Tun Perak have surrounded with virtually no space to move out. 

There are many instances in which police assigned to assist people and stop rioting instead chose to take sides in the riot. This could amount to simply standing by and watching while the riot went on or actually joining one side to fight against the other if the riot consisted of two opposing groups. In the worst situations, otherwise peaceful crowds were attacked by police. In these cases, it was the police themselves who were the rioters.

If you look at the last line.."In the worst situations, peaceful crowds were attacked by police." - does what happened mirrors this? I leave it to those who have witnessed it to judge it for yourself. And of course this goes back to the point. Whose fault is it? The government and its butter boys have been pointing fingers at Bersih and the people of coming out to the rally. But they have forgotten to finger themselves. Why didn't they entertain the request? Does it really violated the 1Malaysia tenet that Najib has created? Have they forgotten their own history how Malayan Union was ultimately scrapped?

There's the problem of "lazy to read" for knowledge. I guess this was missing out.

Failing The Spot The Difference Game

AUG 11 — It does seem like honesty is a rare commodity in Malaysia. Not once before, during and after the Bersih rally have the BN government, police and senior politicians spoken truthfully about the rally.

Now we have the country’s No. 2 cop alluding that police put down the Bersih rally because otherwise things would have gone awry like the London riots.

This is the same line of argument put forward by Umno bloggers and the mainstream media (one can only surmise that instructions were handed down by Putrajaya).

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar is rewriting history. It is an open secret that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, after an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, decided to offer the Bersih people the use of a stadium.

Soon after that meeting, he chaired a meeting of government officials and announced that he had decided to offer a stadium to the Bersih cause, prompting a round of congratulations by attendees who were pleased that a reasonable solution to the stand off was in the offing.

That stadium offer was revoked the next day. Why? It is anyone’s guess but a representative of an NGO met the PM a day before July 9 and said that the PM was talking about an uprising to overthrow the government and about resistance from groups within Umno.

It is interesting that some of the PM’s insiders are now blaming the Home Ministry and police for the mishandling of Bersih, saying that both groups told Najib that the Bersih people would not vacate the stadium for weeks ala Tahrir Square in Egypt and would force the collapse of the BN government.

These insiders say that Najib’s gut feeling was to allow the rally to take place but was persuaded otherwise.

All that sounds nice on hindsight but the fact is that he took the advice of people — home minister and the police — who don’t have a clue on the DNA of Malaysians. Ninety-five per cent of people who marched on July 9 probably have jobs, unlike the unemployed in Egypt and the yobs in London.

The Bersih people were marching for electoral reform. A sizeable number are from the middle class, and the middle class all over the world are not looters or people who are willing to lose their employment by staying in a stadium for days or weeks!

So for the police and Home Ministry to liken the Bersih rally to the situation in Egypt and London is dishonest.

The police clamped down on the rally because their political masters in Putrajaya told them to do so. 

Now Khalid is trying to put a sheen of credibility on the over-reaction by the police by drawing a parallel between Bersih and the London riots.

How far has the rot set in?

--- What A Load of Rubbish by The Malaysian Insider, 11 August 2011

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I was laughing my ass of loud on Khalid Bakar's comments. Not only me, but in twitter space, everyone too is having a good laugh at how the deputy IGP puts the London riots with Bersih protests. However, in this case, Khalid has failed in his language because it shows that there are people who are unable to discern the difference between riots and protests.

A few of us got "maki hamun" by some at twitter about talking bullshit in this subject matter. But I just simply asked those a question of whether they are able to understand the clear definition of riots and protests. Even the dictionary also defined it clear and concise of what is protests and riots. Therefore, if you are unable to discern the difference, either you have fared poorly in English in school or, as I have told someone, MSM inaccuracies and spinning as been feeding you with shit. Full stop, and I don't even bother to reply at all.

The London riots originally started with the killing of an innocent man. Similarly, the Los Angeles riots in 1992 started with the beating of Rodney King and the first acquittal of the four police officers involved. While it's clear that the four were guilty, acquitting them got the city into furor and thus days of carnage started. Bersih 2.0 in contrast was just only a one day, 3 hour affair on the streets to send an electoral message to Najib and Co.

I sometimes asked the nay sayers whether they have read the history of Malayan Union, which I always remembered that part while in secondary school. UMNO was formed out of the protest against the Malayan Union. They came out in demos to make a collective statement to the English that they don't want the plan. Otherwise, Malaya then Malaysia would not have exist. This of course contradicts Dr. M's famous statement in the aftermath of the Perak takeover in 2009, which he said "Demo is not our culture". Sounds contrasting, yes?

As what Pete said today, the riots in London happened for no reason apart to loot, plunder and making mayhem along the way for nothing. If anyone of you who have watched The Dark Knight, you would see the tag title, "Welcome to a World Without Rules." A world without rules is like you can do anything you want including riots above there. Good and bad allowed, no holds barred. But as what was witnessed in Bersih, there have been a clear set of rules - a three hour affair, once message has been sent to the King, disperse. Simple as it. Bersih's protest, as he said, was to make clear political statement to the Najib administration and the Election commission.

The BERSIH march was a political statement. There was no political statement in the UK riots. It was all about plundering, looting, robbing and stealing.

No, we can’t compare BERSIH to the UK riots. This would be like banning drivers/bikers who do not drink and only allowing drunks on the road because drinking and driving causes only 1.4% of traffic accident deaths.

Did not the Malays oppose the Malayan Union that the British were trying to impose on Malaya through a street demonstration? And was it not because of this demonstration that the British abandoned the plan for the Malayan Union and instead the Federation of Malaya was formed?

-- Ban Non Drinkers, Malaysia Today

Of course, when the ruckus happened on 9 July, this shows that Najib has violated his own tenets, whereas the many events happened during Pak Lah's time indicate that he too violated his own Islam Hadhari tenets.

The main mistake that politicians made out of paranoia was to associate protest with riots. This was how the tone of antagonism towards Bersih started. The 1969 riots happened because the ruling party could not stomach losing the customary 2/3rds control fair and square in the elections. From there that's where they got berserk, fueled with delusions. A side note though, my late grandfather was absolutely upset later when it was known that his ex-colleague Harun Idris started the whole thing.

Back to Khalid Bakar, the mistake was assuming that people are stupid. In fact, the statement simply reflects of making himself look stupid or "membodohkan rakyat". I always held that man as an unqualified person sitting behind Ismail Omar and a liar on the fateful night on 9 November 2008. In fact, there are more and more people that start to laugh at his face since this morning for the nay sayers, I am not the only one needed to be criticized of.

Sometimes A Nudge and Insult Is Necessary

I was reading Ambiga's interview with Malaysiakini just now. I must say that given of the past history of EC not really doing much in its electoral reforms, this has already raised the need of civil societies and election watchdogs to pressure, or in another word, "nudge" the commission to do as what they have demanded simply with the argument of that they have the similar role capacity of a federal court judge, as what she said.

The few paragraphs from the interview pointed to that above:

However, in a recent interview with Malaysiakini, Ambiga said she believes that the electoral reform movement must engage with the EC, and that the commission will change only under pressure from the people.

“I still have hope. I still have hope that things can move,” she said firmly.

The former Bar Council president reiterated that the federal constitution places election commissioner on the same position as a federal court judge, therefore leaving the EC out of the picture of electoral reform would be a mistake.
“I think we probably have to do both (EC and ruling parties). The EC may feel they are powerless, we don't agree and sometimes it is a question of empowerment, and we have to keep persuading them that in fact, they have power more than they think they have.

“They are the body, in my view, it is their responsibility. Shifting the focus away from them would be the wrong thing to do because you are sending the message that they are not responsible for the state of elections in this country and I disagree with that.

“I think they are entirely responsible and there are many thing they can do and I think if they have to take a stand against the government, they have to do it because they are an independent body, they are the ones who should be doing it,” she said.

And to cap things up very interestingly, Bersih 2.0 has given them exactly 90 days to implement the reforms as some sort of an ultimatum, not really, but I feel that it also adds to another way of nudging the Election Commission to do a lot clean up and fixing. Many have believed that Pakatan can win well in election, but if they lose, it's likely of the vote fraud and manipulation. Therefore, the ball is now in the EC's court. Now is the time. The chances of holding a general election end of this year has been stalled following the world market meltdown in the last 4 days. Almost RM 100 billion got wiped out in the local stock market. When this happened, all of Najib's economical programs will substantially delayed and the ETP being limped and dragged to next year at most - meaning no elections at this point of time and only next year

Interestingly. I feel that it is important to move one more level up. The level of awareness of fraud election and the mismanagement by the present government of the day at the rural areas is still at the unsatisfactory level. The main factor is no doubt the lack of access to alternative media whereas the national media is hogged with pro-government stuff. Therefore, what Wan Ahmad said of the present media being fair is not really accurate, but a mere excuse to skirt out of the eight demands that Bersih was demanding about.

It's true that currently Bersih's impact doesn't reach much in the rural area. There is a need to get people there to realize. I've noticed that PR has embarked on a strategy to coincide with the Raya celebrations. During the Tenang by-election campaign, several news reports have pointed out that voters there don't really give a damn or totally ignorant to the present problems faced - inflation, bread and butter difficulties, etc.. they just have the blind faith on the leaders. To some, relying on the profit of palm oil, rubber and so forth would not help much. With the kind of mindset, the country cannot progress that far.

Example of responses would include: "I don't know; I heard they wanted to demonstrate or whatever; I don't care about politics;" - and allow me to add to that - "Do I care?" 

How are people going to convince these people of the mistakes that they are making? Didn't someone said of the saying "Blind faith to the leaders will get you killed?" From my understanding, the young who were originated from the rural areas have already started to educate their relatives, family and friends in the areas of new things that they ought to know. But the problem is of the mindset of unwilling to take in the eye-opening revelations. Excuses would come in the way.

So I think, that sometimes verbal insults have to be necessary to shake up and reveal things. It may be crazy, and yes some will call me crazy but sometimes it will get people to realize of their mistakes. I once recalled scolding an Indian amah during the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign, that when I read of the woman's laments of no help for the last 20 years despite repeated requests and yet voted for the same party over and over again. As the saying goes, if you don't like it, then change it. That got me wondering whether if it's lack of knowledge or blind faith that plays the scenario.

This is why I said that nudging and insult sometimes can be necessary, although it can be bad.

The Two Faces of Malaysia

Malaysia’s biggest race is like the displaced Palestinian Arabs who seem nationalistic but cannot resist selling away their rights to high bidders, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wrote in memoirs released yesterday.

Dr Mahathir has been an ardent defender and critic of the Malay race, and has both written and commented extensively on the community and its future direction.

“Outwardly, the Malays seem to be nationalistic, at times to the point of being racist. They can become very anti-Chinese and do not hesitate to be rude and unreasonable when criticising them. Their attitude recalls the behaviour of the Arabs in Palestine,” the former prime minister wrote in his autobiography, “A Doctor In The House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad”.

“Nationalist or not, they could not resist the prices offered,” Dr Mahathir said in his comparison of the two races half a world apart.

He observed that while the Arabs were strident in condemning the Zionists for carving out an Israel state out of their land, they had also “willingly sold their land to the Jews”.

“I am not suggesting that our Chinese Malaysians are like the Jews, only that the Malays have acted like the Palestinian Arabs,” said Dr Mahathir, a known world leader in championing Palestine’s cause against the Zionist regime in the strife-ridden Middle East conflict.

Closer to home, he is known as the patron of pro-Malay rights group, Perkasa, which has been lobbying the Najib administration to keep the New Economic Policy (NEP).

-- The Malaysian Insider, 9 March 2011

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

This was what Dr. Mahathir was saying on the day of his memoir launch, in which the key point said is that no matter how nationalistic a person is, they still succumb to the temptations of selling out and becoming coolies in the process. In the way, we need to ask ourselves who is actually selling out Malaysia to others?

Hypocrisy is also one element that can be noticed in the subject above. A starting case in point is the accusation of the EO6 by the police that they are propagating subversive communist content. Yes, we know that the communist content was not found in the reason of arrest that the charge of waging war against Agong was dropped, but what seems to be reflecting what Dr. Mahathir said is already out there for some time! There is question of why we are anti-communism on the inside, whereas on the exterior shell, we seem to have no difficulty in establishing a diplomatic relationship with a communist nation like China and North Korea. It's like having a smiling face on the outside while a dark demeaning nature face on the inside. 

But that alone is not sufficient in my arguments. The more are below:

Recently, Malaysia had to apologize to the Chelsea football team because many of the local football fans booed at Youssi Benayoun the moment he touches the ball. Yes, it is by passion and from the influence of the First Intifada that people have hated the Zionist regime of Israel. Along the way, many tend to associate anything that is Israel as Jews, although there is a clear separation of the difference between Jews and Zionist. One of them is a race, and another is an ideology, but yet many have mixed both of it together.

And it brings us to the need of having a public relations company with Israeli consultants. Shades of hypocrisy are there. If our passport shows that we can visit anywhere but Israel, why are we doing things that are equivalent to what Dr. M said - selling out reputation and country for the riches and the need of accomplishing their goals? Have you all seen a preview of the new coins soon to be issued by the Central bank? Look at the sample of the new 10 sen coin:

One can noticed by careful study and analysis that although we can see the star and cresent moon as with our National Flag, the shape of the star looks more of the tracing above. Very suspicious isn't it? From my past reading experience, I noticed that many pro-government NGOs would say no or screaming the moment if something that whacks on things that are not favorable to their liking. On the other hand why do they get very silent even if it is revealed that their own government is colluding with the enemies they hate with passion? 

Yes, it's right to be careful, but to say yes on one side but no one on one side indicates the two faces of a person. In other words, hypocrites. Even the Perkins book, "Confessions of an Economic Hitmen" do give warnings of such kind.

Back then, in 1915, Charles Brooke, the second Rajah of Sarawak did warn his chiefs:

"You must choose between the two, the owner or master on one side or dependent and coolie to the other. It's for you to see that whoever rules this land the land is not granted away to strangers. This is the danger after I have passed away."

I also recalled something that was mentioned weeks ago:

Street demos DO NOT undermine the country’s economy. Corruption does. Get it? Corruption! Corruption undermines the country’s economy. Not street demos. Street demos kick out the munafiq and fasiq leaders who are destroying the country. -- Melayu Bodoh, 31 July 2011

Sinisterly Project '71'

I've passed by several times along Jalan Ipoh where between Standard Chartered Bank and Alliance Bank is an office for hiring foreign workers. Everyday, for the last few days those people have been lining up there to get themselves registered as part of the PATI program lest they face deportation. We are talking mostly Indons, Pakistanis, Indians and few other foreigners here doing mostly the labor jobs that most Malaysians would shun off of doing so. In that process, is the usage of the biometric system needed to profile those kind of people. And it is the same biometric system that the Election Commission have been talking about of saying it is better than the indelible ink process done after voting - something that it is being opposed.

The only reason that the biometric is being opposed by those who are intelligent and articulate is simply because of the question of who is controlling the system. This also has been opposed by some university students in their university elections. Who is controlling the system becomes the very important person, as if the person plays the fulcrum of the weighing scales. The person, if unchecked but intelligent, would be able to manipulate the data to the favor the candidate which is going to win either a state or parliamentary seat. 

Certain people cited the history of the manipulated close-call election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000 where alleged vote manipulation in Florida was the decisive moment that gave Bush the win over Gore, and thus in hand set a chain of events under Bush Jr's presidency. This is why lately Pakatan Rakyat and civil society movements have been very against it.

The incident of the of a Permanent Resident being granted of the citizenship in the matter of 4 hours is something that has already triggered suspicion. Following that, a series of revelations of permanent residential people being given citizenship has already raised eyebrows over whether it is going to be part of the sinister plan of populating PR turned citizen into the current pool of voters in the possible snap elections later on. 

The dry-run election results by BN in Perak and Negeri Sembilan recently has already worried the top brass because of the support by the non-Malays favor the opposition. A lot of bread and butter problems was the main reason, followed by corruption and dirty politics - that was what was identified in the dry run. How is the BN trying to win all by a higher majority? As the statistics revealed that the core reason of the win was largely the Malay and Bumi votes and adding permanent resident people into the voting pool can largely augment the reason in addition of having

As the saying goes, knowledge is power and by having these people registered, they do not have the knowledge of what is this party and what do they do. If you are an illiterate person, you are likely to go for the scale image in the voting paper as it can give a person an pictorial meaning. What does a moon represent in pictorial aspect? 

In summary, biometrics for vote manipulation on computer and PR-turned-citizen voters to supplement the pool of Rela and postal votes in every 222 parliamentary seat - does that sound fishy and goes to say playing at an uneven field for BN to win big as what UMNO leaders claim?

Looking at the broader picture, the big sell-off of global markets on Thursday - 2.5 Trillion USD wipeout is affecting everywhere, with no nation is being spared. So even if BN wins but if the wipeout causes Malaysia to go default, then who is really to be blamed? It's just the government of the day, right? And Nor Mohd Yackop, who echoed John McCain of saying "our economy will not be affected" will be made to chew is own words if such case would happen. McCain paid the penalty of such statement, losing to Obama in the presidential elections in 2008.

I kept saying of the IRA mentality that BN is still showing. A defeat to them means capitulation, and a loss of Malay power. But those things are already non-existent. Anyone that reads the ending of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet would know that because of the vanity, arrogance and non-logical traditions, two lovers dead because of family pressure and the families were left to lament on their wrongs. That is very similar to what is to become here soon.

Violating The Basic Tenet of Respect

Conventional wisdom says that respect is earned and not to be forced with. So it is clear that it is forced with shown by that the latest JAIS fiasco raid. It is one of the case in point where the basic tenet of respect has been violated. This came not even less than two weeks after the similar case where Najib, when returning back to Malaysia said to the press that "respect Islam first then we respect yours".

There has been a perception that just because Islam is defined as the official religion of the country under the Federal Constitution meaning that there can be stamping the foot onto other religions. It is true that there are groups of people with such of mindset that if there is a slightest moment of an allegation of a Malay conversion to Christianity, as example, these kind of people, without thinking deeply would go frenzy and start making noises of violating their religion and doing things they are not supposed to do and so forth (e.g, the cow head demo in Shah Alam). The obsession of knowing things that are not so important seem to be engraved in the minds of those. 

The latest JAIS fiasco with police rounding up dinner participants and coming without any warrant of search shows no respect to other religions just because in the religion context, they are big brother and nobody should challenge them, even if they are in the wrong clearly. You only need to go back to the Crusades period of Baldwin IV where any Muslim and Christian are welcomed to be together in harmony. 

While many would start pointing fingers at others, many have failed to see the mirror side of themselves. They are mostly unaware that actions that they do are equivalent to forcing their perceptions and believes onto others, even if it is not really accurate as to what is defined in the holy books. 

One night, I went for a round of drinks with my usual Malay retiree friend who lamented that even though a Muslim prays five times a day, yet they still do corruption things, which of course violates a core tenet of Islam which mandates the need to fight the evils like that. Some people would call me an infidel (kafir), just because of my skin, my personal beliefs as well as me eating pork but yet, he admitted that even a kafir can behave and do things much better than they themselves. This was clearly illustrated by  Mat Sabu on Thursday which he said that: “Even when I tell them RM28 billion was lost due to corruption in Malaysia, they don’t care or can’t comprehend but the Chinese, as taxpayers, get angry,”

The complacency and who cares attitude adopted by these people are what Malaysia is heading to  - an abyss of worse things that they can never get out unless there is a mindset revolution and enlightenment. 

News articles about body snatching by religion officials, non-Muslim temple demolitions, child custody battle with conversion into count and the problems along the way would also give problem to others and poses the question of how non-Muslim religions are given the proper respect if there is an attitude of stamping onto others as leverage and demand for respect?

Respect is earned, not forced with. Unless it is a formal function with state leaders or kings / queens gracing their presence and include delivering keynote speeches, nobody would really care about the demand of respect, not unless a person does things that will help everyone regardless of creed and religion. In this case, this is what the GOM and JAIS is severely lacking. I must admit that the non-Muslim interfaith council won't go that much unless a Race Relations Act is proposed and defined clearly of how it would be done. Imagine seeing one big stamp vs  a pool of small stamps equivalent to the big stamp. How would that be? 

How will the Vatican take that issue? Not well, definitely. Not with after Malaysia establishing formal ties with the Vatican. They would surely in exchange ask for a consulate and will definitely monitoring the Christian affair in the country to ensure that the GOM lives up to their promise of respecting other religions, as what Najib told the Pope in Rome. And this? This has indicated wrong footing with them, breaking promises and then. 

I understand that Hassan Ali was summoned to give an explanation of the fiasco tomorrow and I would really like to hear what he has to say in his own words.

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

‘Malays less sensitive on corruption than Chinese’

PETALING JAYA: PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said many Malays do not seem to know that it is part of the Islamic teachings to have zero-tolerance for corruption.

Instead, the Chinese seem to be more sensitive and concerned about corrupt practices of the nation’s leaders.

“The second Qaliph Umar Al Khattab had a large country under his rule and when he often wore new shirts, the people would ask where he got his money from to buy them.

“That is what Islam asks of you, to be critical and check your leaders,” said Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, during a live interview on FMT RAW yesterday.

“But now when we mention to the Malays that Rosmah (Mansor) has a ring costing RM24 million, they are not stunned. But the Chinese are. In that sense the Chinese seem to be practising Islamic culture more than the Malays,” he said.

Mohamad said Malays need to change their mindsets.

“Even when I tell them RM28 billion was lost due to corruption in Malaysia, they don’t care or can’t comprehend but the Chinese, as taxpayers, get angry,” he said.

Mohamad also said that Umno would totally “collapse” when it comes to the urban and semi-urban seats but Pakatan Rakyat still had a long way to go with rural voters.

He touched on how the Umno-controlled mainstream media as well as the National Civics Buerau (Biro Tata Negara) have a hold on the minds of many Malays, and Pakatan needs to find a way to break that strangehold.

On the incident where he was allegedly rammed into by a police vehicle when he was on his way to take part in July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally, he said he was disappointed by accusations that he dramatised the whole episode.

“That’s very low politics. We don’t play with health. When Najib (Tun Razak) was sick, we prayed for him, when the Inspector-General of Police had a heart treatment, we prayed. Even with Ibrahim Ali, (although) I don’t like him… I called him and wished him a speedy recovery,” he said.

-- Free Malaysia Today, 4 August 2011

English To Malay Translate Funnies

Go to Google translate and set it from English to Malay.

Enter the following text:

a) Do not snatch philippines money
b) The people of bangladesh are angry
c) pakistani people hate national row

Malay results translation is:


a) Jangan curi wang malaysia
b) rakyat malaysia marah
c) orang malaysia benci barisan nasional

Proceedings in Sarbaini's Case Is Hitting The Jackpot

I noticed in the last two days of the inquest in regards of the Ahmad Sarbaini's that several people have testified about events and analysis surrounding the death of that man has seem to reach the jackpot, as in my phrase. 

On Tuesday, the forensic pathologist said that he accidentally fell to his death.

Ahmad Sarbaini, the Selangor Customs assistant director, is believed to have fell from the third floor pantry of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Jalan Cochrane here on April 6 and landed on the badminton court on the first floor.

Associate professor Dr Faridah Mohd Noor, a forensic pathologist and lecturer at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia had conducted the post-mortem on Ahmad Sarbaini on April 6.

Faridah tells Ahmad Sarbaini’s family lawyer Awtar Singh that it was “accidental death based on the injuries and circumstantial evidence.”

The autopsy showed multiple abrasions, lacerations and bone fractures, on his head, face, hands, legs, knees and elbow, including severe brain damage.

Faridah concluded based on the post-mortem that Ahmad Sarbaini had died from severe head injuries and positional asphyxia due to fall from height.

Positional asphyxia is a form of asphyxia that occurs when someone’s position prevents them from breathing adequately. In this case, Faridah explained that Ahmad Sarbaini’s breathing was blocked by the bleeding in his mouth and nose.

Today, another pathologist said that he slipped and fell:

The lead forensic pathologist in the death of Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed told the inquest today that the Customs officer had slipped and fell to his death at the offices of the national graftbusters.

Ahmad Sarbaini, the Selangor Customs assistant director, is believed to have fallen from the third floor pantry of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Jalan Cochrane here on April 6 and landed on the badminton court on the first floor.

Professor Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid, 54, is the lead forensic pathologist for the case and a forensic pathology lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He told the court he was involved in the overall supervision of the autopsy and crime scene investigations.

“The re-enactment by the stuntman showed it was probable for the deceased person to have fallen backward when his right foot slipped from the window lower ledge and the left foot reactively kicked the edge of the ledge,” he said in the post-mortem report, citing a diagonal white paint mark on Ahmad Sarbaini’s left shoe sole.

If we go back to the Malaysia Today's expose on the MACC's case with Sarbaini, part 7, you would notice at one point he was forced to do so by Mohd Fauzi Husin, the Chief Investigation Unit of KL MACC:

Sheikh Niza brought Ahmad Sarbaini to KUS Mohd Fauzi's office, which was next door to the pantry (remember what happened to Teoh Beng Hock). Here, he was verbally abused. KUS Mohd Fauzi called Ahmad Sarbaini a disgrace to the Royal Malaysian Customs, that he was not fit to wear their uniform. Rather shaken up, Ahmad Sarbaini pleaded for pity and a drink of water.

Shockingly, they brought Ahmad Sarbaini to the pantry. Incredibly, as punishment for attempting to retract his ‘confession’, Mohd Fauzi ordered him to climb out of the window and forced him to stand on the ledge. 

KUS Mohd Fauzi wanted Ahmad Sarbaini to ponder and reflect on his actions while standing on the edge as “orang macam kau ni lebih baik mati dari hidup menyusahkan orang lain”.

Nervously, Ahmad Sarbaini climbed onto the windowsill as ordered by Mohd Fauzi who continued taunting and abusing him with insults. Sheikh Niza merely looked on. In that split second, Ahmad Sarbaini’s belt got stuck on the outer part of the window and he lost his balance and his life.

And, horror of horrors, what happened to Teoh Beng Hock happened to Ahmad Sarbaini when he fell to his death onto the badminton court below.

Even if the inquest would go on and so, Sarbaini's thing has already hit the jackpot. The MT's expose has matched what the two pathologists have testified in the last two days. Two weeks ago, Shafee Abdullah, a.k.a Mr. Fixit said that Raja Petra's claim is nonsense. But now the testimony by those two doctors have already matched with the claim. So who's really lying? "He is history," claimed Shafee but behold of the chips revealed. 

The Chinaman's Talk in Bidor

I only got one mail that tells about this man. He didn't get a scholarship from Malaysia but instead received it from the Hong Kong government. He came back, enlightened and decided to tell the people from Bidor about the problems in Malaysia. Obviously, 80 percent of talk is in Cantonese (Southern China dialect). People in Johor should take the cue, a friend of mine said, but it's the "so what" attitude that bogs things down.

Consists of 3 parts:

BUM 2011

Well, I am writing this at the behest of certain people in regards to the event covered on 24 July and I have to admit that this year's turnover was less than the usual crowd, primarily because of many people engaged in other activities (one of them was the launch of Selangorku campaign) and that being of a Sunday instead of a usual Saturday where the last 4 editions of BUM would be held.

I was specially invited by the organizing commitee of BUM and they have asked me to help in bringing in a younger audience to participate in the show. Quite a pain in the neck over the one week prior to the event of course

Anyhow, the event managed to rope in several top guests including Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim, Tian Chua, cartoonist Zunar and one of the Bersih 2.0 steering committee members, Maria Chin. MB was there for the opening address but the event was delayed by almost an hour due to the entourage's difficulty in finding the location of the venue, while the rest went as planned.

It was very surprising to see some of the people, whom I met again from the previous night (a function at Bangsar)  showing up there for the same event cause.

Here are some of the selected pics from the event:

Zunar the Cartoonist

From L-R Chairman Chong, MB Khalid, Tian Chua and Zunar

Chong's smug...

A gift of thanks to MB Khalid

Youngsters posing with the big two.

Speaker's session: Maria Chins turn

More pics from the event here.