Undemocratic Democratic Country

A planned rally by supporters of the defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in Tehran has been banned by Iran's interior ministry, but protesters still looked set to take to the streets later today.

The news came as reports spread that dozens of leading members of the opposition had been detained.

Mousavi is reported to have appealed to the country's guardian council to challenge the result of the elections, alleging widespread fraud.

However, the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claimed the results were fair and compared the protests to the passion shown by football fans after a game.

Earlier, Mousavi's supporters had been handing out leaflets and sending internet messages calling for a rally in Tehran's Enghelab Square at 4pm local time. But it is now unclear whether protesters will take to the streets.

A message broadcast on state radio said: "The interior ministry issued a statement and said no permission had been issued for a rally ... the holding of such a gathering would be illegal."

Yesterday, Iranians protested against what many have called a "stolen" election.

Read more here.

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It's hard to comprehend why a country decided to identify themselves as a democratic country when it is not democratic at all. It's even harder to comprehend why a country holds election when those in power has no intention to play in a fair, democratic and constitutional way. Who are they trying to impress? What are they trying to achieve? It's really mind-boggling because in the end, the world will still know that they did it an undemocratic way to stay on power. It's much easier to holding onto power with the help from their political allies (i.e. police & army) than going through all those cumbersome and tiresome electoral process only to be scorned by their own people and the world.

For me, winning an election with dirty tactic is no different from a coup d'etat. It is most amazing to me that the so called western democratic countries are only interested in turning an undemocratic country to a democratic country without giving a hoot whether real democracy exist or just a lip service to appease them. They do not mind if a country is practising dictatorship so long it bears the democracy title and held general election without fail even if it's rigged, but will constantly bark at those countries without democracy title even they are better in human rights & freedom of speech than the former. This is nothing but hypocrisy.

Take for example, Singapore. It's declared as democracy. It held general election every 5 years. Everyone has a chance to vote unless he/she decided not to. It looks and sounds like democracy, but is it? Now this will lead to a meaningless debate without the definition of democracy. "There is no universally accepted definition of democracy, there are two principles that any definition of democracy includes. The first principle is that all members of the society (citizens) have equal access to power and the second that all members (citizens) enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties." (Wikipedia, Democracy) Singapore may pass the first test but fail the second test miserably. Under these circumstances, Singapore really should not be considered a democracy.

Malaysia, another famous democracy. I would say it failed both the test even with the most leniency. Many of our citizens couldn't vote because someone already voted using their votes. We have no freedom to wear color of our choice. We are not allow to vent our dissatisfaction with peaceful demonstration. This is most obvious absurdity and deviation from democracy. And yet, we claimed to be democratic. At least Myanmar is brave enough to declare publicly that it is under dictatorship, unlike Malaysia/Singapore/Iran which practice dictatorship under the disguise of democracy to pacify the west.

Now, the western democracies has to be consistent. When they bark & sometimes sanction Myanmar/China/North Korea/Cuba for their undemocratic and dictating way of governance, democracies such Malaysia/Singapore should not be let off the hook for breaching the spirit of democracy. Breached democracy is non-democratic and should be dealt with similar punishment or at least a scoffing from the west. They shouldn't practice double standard for their own interest. Instead, due punishment should be consistently given to those who breach even the least of democracy.

Malaysia is Still 'Malay'sia After All

When our hope soars high that Malaysia finally overcome the shadow of race and religion in its politics aftermath the last general election, we are again inflicted by the flirtation of PAS and UMNO, signaling racial politics is here to stay. The issue of Ketuanan Melayu and Islam still dominate the political ideology of the Malay in both camps.

When the non-Malays thought that they can depend on PAS to end the rule of UMNO in the next general election, they realized that PAS is actually just another UMNO that never hesitate to play racial card to garner support from their own race.

When the non-Malays are hopeful that NEP will be abolished and equality among races will eventually prevailed, their dream is shattered by the support of PAS on the 30% of share for Bumiputras.

If PAS ditches Pakatan Rakyat and cooperates with UMNO, the Pakatan Rakyat will be seen as a non-balanced coalition where it is predominantly non-Malays. The Malays are not ready to take the risk by voting their future into the hand of non-Malay. Eventually everything will be the same as before 8 March 2008, or even worse.

Believe me. Racial equality is not happening. Malaysia is still 'Malay'sia after all. The non-Malay has no place in this land. Of course, of course, I'm always hopeful I was wrong.

Has Tiananmen Square 1989 Protests Changed China After 20 Years?

I was 11 years when I watched in the television about the Tiananmen tragedy. Tankers rolled in to the street (at time, I didn't know it was Tiananmen Square), many people were running in different directions screaming and gun shots can be vividly heard from the background.

It is now 20 years after the Tiananmen tragedy. Frankly, I did not take notice of the severity of the tragedy until I realized that it bore some resemblance to the situation in Malaysia just recently. The university students in Beijing were protesting for a greater freedom of speech and had pressured the communist government to give serious effort in combating corruption. They took the street, or to be more accurate, the square for almost 2 months before the communist leaders gave permission for the military to quench the heat of the protesters. Armies were given authority to open fire against the protesters, be it students or workers who joined in the protest, without any sort of pre-warning (i.e 1, 2, 3, tangkap). It was said that thousands of people died and injured from the commotion, including the security forces. Hundreds more were being arrested and prosecuted. Some are still being held by the authority to these days in an unknown location (sounds familiar right? i.e ISA).

The courage of the protesters of the day to stand up against the government for their rights is commendable. Their heroism were being applauded around the world, probably except China herself and other communist countries (Singapore included), for taking a brave step for democracy. Many of the students' leaders fled China and seek asylum in western countries where they were granted citizenship.

The protesters who died left behind their loved ones (especially parents) whom every year during the anniversary of the tragedy, trying to commemorate their son or daughter within the square, faced intimidation and almost definite arrest from the authority. To prevent them from going to the square during the anniversary, police were deployed at the individual's house. The police are also to ensure that no foreign reporters will be able to interview them.

For 20 years, the government of China banned the discussion of the tragedy in any form within the media. News reporters were either being sacked or prosecuted if it was mentioned in the news. In 21st century, internet is not spared from the censorship. Thousands of chat rooms and major offshore internet sites such as Hotmail, Twitter and Flickr have been blocked, including Youtube which has been banned 3 months before this anniversary because of its showing of Tibetan riots. China is determined to completely ban any reference to massacre of students in Tiananmen. Worth mentioning though is, this page in China's history also had been completely taken out from their history books. This is a typical human's nature where we only choose to see the plank in others eyes while ignoring the plank in our very own eyes - this I refer to the decried of Chinese against the Japanese for altering their history books to wipe out the atrocities of Japanese during WWII, while doing the same thing on their shameful episode of history.

Therefore, it is not surprising to see that the young Chinese today have little knowledge about the incident, or would care to find out more about it. To them, an event that had happened 20 years ago has little relevance to their life, not to mention a thorough research onto the topic. One of the young people, upon interviewed, said that China has changed much throughout these years, especially on freedom of speech. He further attested that the current generation can virtually talk about anything without fearing any repercussion from the authority.

Has China changed?

There are many perspective to this question. From economy perspective, since the open-up in the 80s, China is the only country in the world that has enjoyed a 2 digits economy growth for 20 years. The author, Xinran, has a description for the impact on China from the rapid modernization.
"... my country was destroying the old to bring in the new. I saw now that this millennia-old empire of ours was being rebuilt by mindless modernizers who took their cultural bearings from McDonald. In the two decades that Mao had been dead, modernization had taken a heavy toll on every Chinese city, with arrogant local planners still gleefully bent on continuing this iresponsible destruction of the ancient past." (Xinran, China Witness; published by Chatto & Windus 2008, pg 16) That's a change too.

From military perspective, China has the largest combat ready army in the world. They will soon build their first aircraft carrier to counter the threat from the West. Last year, China had its largest budget jump on the spending of its military. China becoming another super power like America is increasingly evident and real (not as perceived by the western media not long ago that China will need 30 years to catch up with America militarily).

But what about from the human rights perspective? Has China allow more freedom of expression as described by the young Chinese? Can the Chinese not fear for their slightest dissenting voice? I doubt it and many would agree with me. Firstly, those young Chinese had been living under the government's propaganda for ages, I don't expect them to see thing as differently as the outsiders. The onlookers see most clearly. Secondly, I doubt any Chinese would speak his/her mind when facing a foreign camera.

For 20 years, I would say China government has not changed the slightest. Instead of moving forward, China has moved backward in term of freedom of expression. It is evident from several current events such as the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen massacre & the earthquake in Szechuan last year that killed more than 70,000 people. In both events, China government has put a stop to all kind of dissenting activities related to the tragedy. Parents were being arrested for demanding investigation into the shoddy work of those school buildings collapsed during the earthquake, or compensation from the government. Tiananmen parents whom out of love wanted to commemorate their sons/daughters death during the massacre were being chased away and put under house arrest. News and even discussion on Tiananmen of all sort are outlawed be it the mainstream media or the internet. Yes, the human rights in China has changed, but it has changed from bad to worse. Not the other way round as claimed by the young Chinese. At least 20 years ago, the student protesters were still be allowed to occupy the square while awaiting a negotiation with the communist leaders for up to 2 months before a crackdown was ordered.

A lesson to be learned by Malaysian?

After 20 years, the young people in China especially those living in the urban, amid economy and financial prosperity, are caring less whether they have real liberty of speech or clean leaders without mark of corruption. For them, as long as they have clothing to wear, food to eat and internet to surf, the rest are less important to them. Little that they know this is a common strategy among most Asian countries and their power-crazy leaders to silent the people against their corrupted behavior. They have forgotten or probably not knowing how the last generation 20 years ago tried to seek a louder voice for the next generation, end up sacrificed. It is most unfortunate for the current generation.

For a conclusion, China has not make any good advancement on human rights issue. To the contrary, their human rights record has worsen. Some official being interviewed said things will get better in the next 10 years. I wonder how. If 20 years did not change much, how much can 10 years change? Although it was not successful, the last generation had done their part, it is now up to the current generation to dare to change for better and live with dignity. Perhaps then the official's wise word may come true.

Racism - A Reality, But Must We Put Up With It?

"The mainly Indian protesters say a spate of attacks in recent days – one of which left an Indian student with serious injuries after being stabbed with a screwdriver – are racially motivated." (An excerpt from 'Clashes at Melbourne Racism Protest' - Al Jazeera)

Racism is a global epidemic. Wherever there is human, there is racism. While racism mostly involves race-based prejudice, violence, discrimination or oppression, the term can also have varying and hotly contested definitions (Source: Wikipedia). The United Nation has a very thorough definition for racial discrimination, which is:

"the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life." (Source: ^ UN International Convention on the Elimination of All of Racial Discrimination, NEW YORK 7 March 1966)

Racism is arguably the most hated word in this world. This is the very word that had caused:

1. more than six millions of Jews being exterminated by the German during WWII
   
2. more than sixteen millions of Chinese being murdered by the Japanese during WWII
3. the blacks of South Africa being discriminated under the gruesome Apartheid system for almost 50 years
4. ten of thousands of Bosnian being murdered by Serbian in 1991
5. the New Economic Policy designed to favor the Malays while sidelining all other races
   :
   :
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The list can go on and on.

Racism is a reality, no matter how hard we seek to cover it, even in the most civilized society on earth. A government may enact law to outlaw racial discrimination, which most of the time only cosmetically effective, it can't stop discrimination from the heart. As long as in government policies do not openly condone racial discrimination or certain races do not openly discriminate, people are willing to open and close one eye to racism, although they know from inside their heart that racism exists.

As a human being, we need to learn to live and tolerate with racism as long as it does not result in open discrimination and violence. In the event of open discrimination that often leads to violence, we however must not sit quietly to be bullied or slaughtered. On the contrary, from the very beginning we must fight for our rights and our descendants' rights, even though it may result in bloodshed. We must learn from the history, especially from WWII where the Jews were being led into gas chamber because they had not put up a good fight from the beginning of the discrimination and let the situation aggravated into the worst calamity of human history.

Jewish people were being discriminated against since the day of Moses by the Egyptians. When Christianity flourished during the reign of Constantine - the Rome Emperor, Jewish people who did not believe in Christ were persecuted. Jewish people were also being persecuted during the rise of Islam for not believing Muhammad. In 19th century, the Jews were being forced to wear a yellow ribbon around their arm for identification. Thousand of years of persecution has made their spirit completely ran down. They came to a conclusion that as long as they were allowed to make a living and to keep their lives, they were willing to endure the discrimination leveled against them. They were so used to persecuted life, knowing little that the action of the German of confiscating their belonging, forcing them into ghettos and subsequently concentration camp will become a horrible life threatening event for them.

Therefore, those who under constant open racial discrimination and have put up with it should not be complacent. What had happened in the past will happen in the future. Fight for your rights where it's due. Reject open & violent racial discrimination even if you need to face off with the authority, just like the Indian nationals in the news above.

New "Warlordism" in Malaysia

“Sexual abuse and sexual harassment were like a daily routine for me, and he did that every time I did not want to have sexual intercourse,” she said. “I could never think a normal man could do such things.” (An excerpt from 'I was drugged and abuse' - The Jakarta Globe)

When this piece of news surfaced in April, the authority in Malaysia had brushed off the allegation directed to the prince of the state of Kelantan, Tengku Temenggong Muhammad Fakhry. Although police report was lodged and Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia notified, not a single action by the police to investigate the allegation or any effort by the embassy to clear things up as promised. Worse still, our beloved PM Najib by dodging the questions from journalist while on his visit to Jakarta, had not appeased the situation, but exacerbated the confusion and anger of those care for Manohara Odelia Pinot. Indeed, PM Najib had done Malaysia a great deal of shamefulness.

And when everyone, as usual, has forgotten about the shameful episode of the royalty in Kelantan, the news about the model popped up again merely after a month her news was reported. However, this is not another allegation, but a vindication of the previous report that the police of Malaysia deemed as NO CASE. What a shame! I hope my Indonesian friends will not bring this up in my presence.

Now, Manohara's dramatic escape chronicle happened yesterday, and as I see it, this is no non-significant news as it involves the royalty. Amazingly, there was a complete news blackout from the mainstream newspaper about Manohara. Not even one of them reported about it. Obviously, the government was trying to save the royalty's ass.

Even if the news was not reported by the mainstream, in reality, it still happened and the people knew about it. The concerned parties will not easily let the royalty off the hook, of course unless immoral deal is being struck privately. Otherwise, I bet something has to be done.

Nowadays, PM Najib is in complete dilemma with the royalties, unlike Mahathir. During Mahathir's rule, because of the incident happened in 1993, the royalties in Malaysia were being clipped of their power, ending a kind of warlordism in our country, thus giving birth to new democracy favoring the ruling party. Actually at that time, the monarchs were unable to do much, as the government of the day solidly controlling 2/3 majority of the parliament, thus signalling that the people of the day was also undividedly behind Mahathir. Since Malaysians at that time were generally not monarch-lover (although now we don't love them as well), the monarchs were considered effectively lost the support from the people. In reality, whoever has the support of the people, he/she will become the king, regardless of the background. Furthermore, in a constitutional monarchy, support from the monarch is just a bonus, not a necessity if the ruling party has the majority support from the people, as being demonstrated in Mahathir's time.

As for Najib, it's different case. He is not controlling 2/3 majority of the parliament. In the peninsular, just a mere estimated 50% of the people voted for BN in the last election. Any recent public survey would also indicate that Najib is not popular among Malaysians. If a leader lose the support of both the monarch and the people, its consequence, as can be seen during Badawi's reign, can be pretty disastrous. Najib knew he has lost the confidence of majority Malaysian and to recover it will probably take years or forever. He does not have the time. BN lost another 4 states to Pakatan and if Pakatan manages them well, BN will probably never recover them from the grip of the opposition. Pakatan should not be given ample time to grow their root and build their fortress in the 4 new opposition states. BN has to recover the 4 states as soon as possible, ideally 2 years before the next general election to implement their version of goodness for the people in the hope of eradicating the negative perception towards BN and Najib himself.

The only way Najib can embark on this quest is to get the support from the monarchs. Like Perak, power grab could not have happened so swiftly without the help from the monarch. However, as human being is concerned, this cannot happen without a price, regardless of who is paying for it.

1. The monarch will ask for more power and benefits. This is vindicated when the Sultan from Negeri Sembilan demanding that immunity be granted back to the royalty.
   
2. Ruling party will have to relent on the monarch's demand, risking the return of a kind feudalism - possibly warlordism of the Sultans before 1993, though they may temporary get hold of a state
   
3. People will generally be the biggest loser

Getting back to the case of Manohara, if this happened in the era of Mahathir, no doubt this Tengku from Kelantan will be put into the jail because Mahathir will not give a damn to the royalty. In Najib's era, however, will be good indicator whether the government of Najib is held ransom by the royalty. If nothing is done even with such publicity, I am sure that Najib is held ransom and we have gone back to the era before 1993 where royalties roam the street without a slight risk of apprehension from the authority. Fearing the backlash from the people, their immunity will not be enshrined back in the constitution, but it will be an invisible immunity. A new kind of warlordism thus created. The royalties will become bolder and Malaysian shall braced themselves for more outrageous crimes committed by this group of nuts and see them shaking hand with Najib instead of going to jail.

The Morality of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

"For sixty years, soldiers, politicians and historians have argued about the morality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Did it bring an end to the war, removing the need for a land invasion which would have killed many more civilians and soldiers than the bomb itself? Or was it a cynical test of a new weapon on an enemy which was already on the verge of collapse? Whatever moral doubts exist about the bombing of Hiroshima, they are redoubled in the case of Nagasaki." (A short excerpt from Asia Exile titled The Luckiest or Unluckiest Man in the World? Read more here.)

While I grieved every time reading about the Japanese casualties in the A-bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki which end WWII, I must admit that I have very little sympathy for the their ordeal. An argument about the morality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in my opinion is totally unnecessary because of the Japanese atrocities in WWII. Besides leaving many innocents civilians dead, the question of morality has never crossed the mind of their leaders when all these war crimes were being committed, either deliberately or accidentally, by their invading armies. Therefore, it was definitely necessary to put an end to the Japanese atrocities using A-Bomb or similar if anyone has one to prevent soldier without moral to create more casualties.

It is interesting to note that the Japanese High Command did not immediately surrender when the first A-Bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, thus resulting in the second bomb being dropped in Nagasaki by the Americans. The action of the Japanese High Command was beyond comprehension by a normal person. However, the article itself provides an answer. It was said that "American intelligence was fully aware of the confusion which reigned in the Japanese High Command: the question under debate was not whether, but how, to submit to the inevitable." Yes, how can Japan - the Imperial State submit themselves to an invading force? Their extreme jingoism, if not prevented, had delayed their decision in surrendering to the Allied. In delaying their decision, it seems to me that the Japanese was not deterred by the horror of A-Bomb, but had placed nationalism and egoism above the life of the common people. As Mr. Yamaguchi asked, "But they knew that it would kill women, children, babies. How could they do that?”, this question should be directed to his government of the day on why the delay of surrendering when they knew the devastation A-Bomb would caused? With their stubbornness to accept defeatism, I would say even the second A-Bomb for Nagasaki was justified.

Nevertheless, I do hope that similar episode will not happen again. Both A-Bomb and war atrocities give the same level of devastation. War should be avoided at all cost!

We Are Not Opportunistic Racists

"However, I must add that there were indeed a few Chinese that stayed back and help defend the nation against the communists. Those were the brave ones. Very much unlike the opportunistic racists that we have now who would migrate overseas when times are bad and at the same time condemning Malaysia from abroad." (A very short excerpt from the blog of jebatmustdie)

Dear Jebat,

I must admit that the above comment by the you has been very disturbing to me for the past few days. Your comment hits me severely hard on my face, and that suddenly makes me lose all the impulses of expressing myself to condemn the brutal regime of UMNO from abroad. I struggled to come out with a valid reason for me to continue condemning them from Australia.

Although my skin is yellow, but my blood definitely flows with Malaysian blood. I have not equated myself with the chinese from China, but I declare that if those chinese from China dare to conquer Malaysia land, I would pick up a gun and give them a bloody nose, just like how our forefathers had fight against the insurgency of the Communist in the past. I can be the brave ones as well when come to defend my country from oppressors.

I'm not leaving Malaysia because of the bad economy, or of the humble wages. When I leave the country and migrate to another country, it was a big decision for me, because I have to leave everything behind to start anew in a strange place. I must say, it's much easier to continue staying in Malaysia rather than starting all over again in a new place, alone. Furthermore, I'll belong to even a smaller minority group than I am in Malaysia after migrated. If I have a choice, I wouldn't migrate, I love Malaysia.

Dear jebat, it's the security & the racial policies in my country that made up my mind to migrate. There is nothing more precious than having a peaceful & harmonious living. That's why we often greet people with "peace be with you". Because without peace, other possessions would have become unimportant. Look around us, people are killing people just for a mere five ringgit and the police just shrugged off by asking the people not to wear handbag and expensive accessories. The government of the day has not done anything to improve this situation, but has aggravated the situation by the police themselves becoming a criminal. When my mom often told me in the past that she was able to walk & cycle around without fear being targeted for petty crimes, the Malaysians today do not have the luxury to feel the same. We just want peace.

Over and over again, I have heard racial hatred being sowed by UMNO. In the context of racial relation, times has been bad since 13th May 1969, not just recently. Whenever we tried to forget, we were reminded by UMNO that if the non-Malay are not obedient, 513 will repeat. Since young, I was told by my parents to be aware of the Malays and Indians, because they kidnap children. It was used as a standard scare tactics by most of the ethnic chinese parents to stop their children from wandering far from their sight. At school, the chinese named the Malays as babi, the Indians as keling and of course they have different names for the chinese. Even today, I'm sure you hear people utter such words at each other, even in the parliament, don't you? There never was a good time as racial relation is concerned. Jebat, I don't want my children to grow up in such environment where we label different ethnic groups with contempt and constantly under life threatening threats from our leaders. I want my children to grow in an environment where they feel accepted. We just want to be treated equally as a human.

I have lived in Singapore and Australia 1/3 of my life. Ironically, those were the place that I didn't feel being discriminated against even I was not part of them. Can you understand the feeling of a Malaysian who is being discriminated in his own country? Surely not, because you haven't been one of them as defined in the constitution.

Who Are You Talking With, PM?

Look who is talking: Be Truthful To The People, PM Tells Leaders

"Tell them the truth. If you've done well, tell them the policies are right. If the policies are not working, then you should have the courage to tell them that look, we've made mistakes but we intend to do better, we intend to correct these mistakes. And I think the rakyat would appreciate that. "Although you are in the government, you are only human, and humans do make mistakes. The key is not that you will make mistakes, but how you recover from your mistakes. Hopefully mistakes will be few, but most of the decisions will be correct and the decisions will be spot-on. "But there will be times when, because of changing circumstances, you suddenly realise that your policies or your decisions are not quite correct. But once you realise that they're not quite correct, be honest about it and tell people,"

"Over a period, certainly you will be able to develop that faith and trust with the people. Above all, keep your word. If you promise, you must deliver. One of the things that can undermine this faith and loyalty is if you break your promise. If you promise something, you must stick to your promise and you must deliver your promise,"

"Once we are able to deliver what is promised and be more transparent and open with others, we will have built a solid foundation for trust," "No one single value can be imbued without the other in order for 1Malaysia to truly take shape. While these values have long been taught in our culture, the application of these values must be renewed. "I urge all Malaysians to inculcate and cultivate these values in our daily practices and actions not just amongst close friends and family, but in the workplace and our community at large,"

Contempt! Contempt! Contempt!

What an episode of Malaysia's democracy today. It's a mockery. Not just to the democracy of this near-failed country, but to the monarch and the people of Malaysia.

We all know that UMNO is scumbag and the PDRM a running dog for the scumbag. Not until Feb 09 did I realized that the monarch of Perak also a kind of domestic dog to UMNO. You know what, I have a high regard and respect for the Sultan of Perak since the time I knew the meaning of Sultan. I often tell people that we the Perakian have the most learned, assertive, well-mannered and people-centered Sultan in all of Malaysia, not to mention he was a Lord President. And he has a son, Raja Nazrin, who is a bold, well-learned, young, humble and dared to speak for democracy in Malaysia. What has happened today completely destroyed their ideal image in my bosom. It was sad that the monarch has chose to betray the rakyat over its own interest. Shame on them.

I have followed the web live report from 7am. It was alarming to see how the PDRM has cordoned off the state assembly from the public with barbed-wire, numerous policemen and FRU ready to strike on those who tries to breach the blockade. It was disheartening to see various walk of life, protesters or innocent law-abiding people being herded away by the police. It was agitating to see how the Speaker was being dragged out by the officers hired by UMNO. My blood was boiling with higher temperature with each passing moment of the proceeding. Every moment was a contempt to democracy. I have never seen such an absurd thing in my life. When I read the updates, I have nothing to say but fuck, fuck the police or fuck UMNO! I should have fucked the MCA and MIC too, but I forgotten about them because they were so silent as if they were not in the scene. What a hypocrite!

Of course, Malaysia has had many constitutional commotion such as today, and most of them happened when I was still feeding on milk. I have heard and read about it. But nothing comes as real as today, I read with my own eyes and listen to it with my own ears. For me, it's the darkest day of Malaysia since I was born. Today will be remembered as long as it can contain in my memory. I hope Malaysian will repay them dearly on the coming 13th General Election.

Nonsense and Laughable News for the Day (1/5/09)

Disclaimer: I'm NOT taking any responsibilities if you puke after reading these nonsense news below. Read it at your own risk.

1Malaysia wins friends among Bruneians (NST)

THERE may have been some scepticism at home about the 1Malaysia concept introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, but people outside the country appear to be attracted to it. This could be seen from the numerous questions on the concept posed to Najib during his two-day visit to Brunei which ended yesterday. Read more here.

Abdullah: Discord evident in Pakatan (NST)

KEPALA BATAS: Pas' proposal to field a candidate in the Penanti by-election showed Parti Keadilan Rakyat is not the most popular choice among voters in Permatang Pauh. Read more here.

Avoid State Secretariat building (NST)

IPOH: The public has been advised to avoid going to Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan (State Secretariat building) as the state assembly will be sitting from May 7. The State Secretary's office said in a statement yesterday that the public should reschedule appointments or meetings at the offices there.

Liow more concerned with dengue situation (NST)

KUALA LUMPUR: "Wow! It's definitely an interaction which took me by surprise as many people went online to communicate with me, including a politician," said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai. Read more here.


Najib: We need to inspire our younger generation (The Star)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must continue to inspire the younger generation to continue its struggle in order to be able to compete in a global marketplace amid global economic crisis, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Read more here.


1Malaysia songwriting contest (The Star)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Information, Commu­nications and Culture Ministry is organising a 1Malaysia song writing competition based on the “People First, Performance Concept” mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Read more here.

Can PKR Make a Difference?

Since the 8th March '08 general election, Malaysian has put so much hope that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will bring the change they would like to see, especially the non-Malays. As a different Malaysian, I would definitely want PR to fight for the equality of all races in Malaysia, the abolition of New Economic Policy and outlaw "Ketuanan Melayu" , and praying hard that their struggle will prevail.

Although being hopeful is always the right thing to do, however I can't help being doubtful. In fact, I don't even think PR can make a stunning difference in Malaysia. The problem does not lie with DAP but with the other two Malay majority parties (PKR and PAS), . The DAP has been voicing out loud against discriminating policies consistently since 40 years ago. PKR and PAS however are still adapting to the new idea. After all, these two parties are still worrying about the backlash from the Malays if they are seen to be too staunch on the equality of races. Or maybe they themselves are not ready to make all Malaysians equal in order to continue with their own vested interest.

PKR has now appeared to be championing "Ketuanan Rakyat" which means people supremacy, however without forgetting the "Ketuanan Melayu" for the Malays. Melayu is part of the Rakyat, therefore to hail "Ketuanan Melayu" does not actually infringe the spirit of "Ketuanan Rakyat", if only it is spelled in the same and right context. Unfortunately, "Ketuanan Melayu" is never meant to be a subset of "Ketuanan Rakyat" from the beginning until now.

'The idea of Malay supremacy gained attention in the 1940s, when the Malays organized themselves to protest the Malayan Union's establishment, and later fought for independence. During the 1960s, there was a substantial effort challenging ketuanan Melayu led by the People Action Party(PAP) of Singapore — which was a state in Malaysia from 1963 to 1965 — and the DAP after Singapore's secession. However, the portions of the Constitution related to ketuanan Melayu were "entrenched" after the racial riots of 13 May 1969, which followed an election campaign focused on the issue of non-Malay rights and ketuanan Melayu. This period also saw the rise of "ultras" who advocated a one-party government led by UMNO, and an increased emphasis on the Malays being the "definitive people" of Malaysia — i.e. only a Malay could be a true Malaysian.' ¹

Lee Kuan Yew is definitely a very capable and far-sighted leader. He opposed to the idea of "Ketuanan Melayu" and propagated Malaysian Malaysia instead. His ideology has make Singapore as one of the most successful country in the world. The country (i.e. Malaysia) which still hover over "Ketuanan Melayu" and believes in the overboard affirmative action for the Malays is falling off the rank as a developing country.

Ironically, affirmative action is not a unique feature of Malaysia. Many successful countries such as the United States and Australia also have their own affirmative action. In the United States, if a Negro and a White with the same qualifications are looking for the same job, the company are bounded to give the job to the Negro. The same goes to Australia for their Aborigines. So what makes Malaysia sounds so despicable with their version of affirmative action? Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia will tell you the reason behind it. Because of Article 153, New Economic Policy (NEP) was born. Every rightful minded soul should scorn at the NEP.

While there are countries which use affirmative action, and still able to maintain the happiness level of their citizens and make progress economically, Malaysia has struggled to convince their minorities of their affirmative action. Simply because, and it's widely perceived, that the ruling party UMNO has abused the policy to enrich their own cronies, when ordinary poor Malays are still sidelined as if there is no NEP. Not only that, today there are a lot of Chinese and Indians who are struggling for a meal, and not within the loop of government's assistance. Why should we keep enriching those who are already rich but treat the poor as if they are not Malaysian? The point is, affirmative action should be used on those who need it, not those who want to be richer.

There are many educated Malays now, and many are holding the highest office, not to mention some have become renowned doctors, lawyers, bankers, businessman, etc. Although not all, I would say many of them are the products of NEP. I don't mean to show contempt to the Malays but I dare to say that if it's not for NEP, most of them will not be there at all. Now, this group of NEP products are doing well, and they would like to continue to do well for the generations to come. They are pretty sure that the next generation will do well if NEP is still there to help them. Therefore, this group would definitely not agree to abolish the affirmative action, and they will go against any parties which tries to change the status quo. I know some would argue that many from this group have voted for Pakatan instead of UMNO. If these groups are so obsessed with NEP, why wouldn't they vote for UMNO? It's because UMNO is extremely corrupted, not because they supported NEP to be abolished. PKR (well, in their eyes PKR is the daigo, DAP & PAS are just the subordinates) has never said NEP will be abolished if they come into power.

As for the poor and the uneducated Malays, it doesn't make a difference whether NEP exists or not. NEP maybe useful to them when it first started off, however after almost half a century, the benefits of NEP hardly arrive at their doorstep. This group of people are looking forward to a party that can help them, preferably with another type of affirmative action. But they know UMNO will not help them because they are still living in a poor condition after so many years. Furthermore, they have come to senses that UMNO is corrupted to its core, and are grieved that their money has gone into UMNO's pocket. Therefore they hope PKR would be able to help them.

One way or another, although Malays may not think they are more supreme than the others, they would love to be the first to get benefit from the government. After Najib Razak announced that 30% quota be lifted for 27 service sectors, and if it's implemented well, my guess is many Malays would abandon UMNO for their action. As a result, PKR would not dare to touch NEP in the bid to win Malays' vote and will continue to featherbed the Malays using NEP if they come into power.

For a conclusion, "Ketuanan Melayu" or NEP will stay as long as the Malays want it to stay, and the non-Malay will continue to be discriminated against. Changing of government will not change anything unless a miracle happened and out of sudden DAP takes over the government. PKR will not able to make a vast difference from its archrival UMNO, otherwise we would have seen the difference already in the state of Selangor. Same argument goes to PAS.

Trust Najib and Dr. M?

KUALA LUMPUR: Two names have been on the mind of US peace advocate Rev Jesse Jackson Sr since his arrival here on Monday.

For civil rights activist Jackson, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will take Malaysia to its rightful place under the sun.

He said Najib had everything going for him to take the nation to a leadership position in the global arena, using the foundation laid by the elder statesman.

He saw Najib as priming himself to work on the solid foundation laid by Dr Mahathir to take Malaysia to new frontiers in the domestic and international arenas. Read more here.

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After reading the news above, my guess it's either Rev Jesse Jackson knew nothing about Malaysia, New Straits Times has lied from bottom up in this report or he was held at knife point to say those flattery words. It's unbelievable we have such a capable Prime Minister, errr... and ex-Prime Minister to lead Malaysia, and we didn't realize it. We are so stupid.

We are Malaysian

I called home twice yesterday, the first time for my mom, the second for my father. In the middle of both conversation, my parent suddenly reprehended me for being critical to the Malaysian government in my blog. I was surprised how did they get to know my mischievousness in the blog sphere.

As my parent, they worried about me . They worried that Malaysian government will arrest me under the draconian law ISA, the most fearsome law in the world. They didn't want me to become another RPK. My mom scolded me for being a busybody, it is the Malays who are in power, therefore we Chinese must be silent, not to interfere with their affair. She continued to indicate that a person who knows how to sweet talk will be loved, and those who slanders will be hated. As for my father, he chided me off for being irresponsible, and reminding me if I'm being arrested, my family will shatter. Hey, that's scary.

I recently met with a Chinese national and she asked whether I am a Chinese (中國人). I told her that I am a Malaysian, not Chinese. She then concurred that I am a Chinese Malaysian (馬來西亞中國人). Again, she got it wrong. When I'm a Malaysian, I cannot be a Chinese, or vice versa. Sometimes we Chinese are really obdurate. We are so proud of our race that regardless of our nationality, we still called ourselves Chinese, as if we are the only race in the world. Don't we understand that it is a disrespect to a country when we kept calling ourselves Chinese when we are holding another country's passport? Are we moron? Chinese are nationals of China, NOT Malaysia or any other countries! Like Australian, they don't call themselves British just because their ancestors are British.

Yes, therefore I'm a Malaysian. I'm not a busybody as my mom told me. Even foreigners have the rights to criticize Malaysia, what's more when I'm a Malaysian? I have the biggest power in Malaysia because I have a vote in my hand. Voicing out against the government is just an accessory to the power I've got. As a Malaysian, I'll continue to voice out and show my dissatisfaction against many policies of the UMNO government. Sweet talk are surely warming to the government, but after all those soft soap, reality is still reality, we have to face it when we are awake from our sleep.

As for whether I'll be arrested under ISA, I think that's overanxious. There are many many Malaysian out there who are thousand times more vocal than me and they are not afraid being arrested. If they are not, why must I? Even if they are, I'm still not. I'm not a backside licker, and curse those who are. I pray that more Malaysian will stand up against the wrong and unethical deed of the government.

The Shameless Immigration

I went to the Run for Relief marathon last Saturday. It was a run for Burma - a run to remind all of us that when we are free to run in our country, run is not a choice for some of the community in Burma. Especially the ethnic Chin in Burma, they are being hunted down by junta government of Burma for supporting the opposition and mostly for being a Christian.

After the run, I met Kor, the ethnic Chin Burmese who is now residing in Australia. He is in Australia for about 2 years now. Before this, he was a refugee in Malaysia.

It was disheartening to listen to his story about the persecution of ethnic Chin in Burma. Although he has not seen with his own eyes family members or relatives being killed in front of him, but he has been at the service of carrying his relatives corpses to be buried. I deeply felt for him but surely I would not understand the misery he had gone through. However that was not the end of his misery.

In 2005, he was deceived into believing Malaysia a safe haven and he illegally arrived in KL. He found a job and leading a better life than in Burma until he was rounded up by the immigration of Malaysia. He was sent to a refugee camp somewhere around KL specially for the Chin community. Kor said: "Living in the refugee camp was not much different from our living in Burma. In Burma, we were threatened by the military. In Malaysia, we were threatened by the Rela." The Chin community in the refugee camp is under constant harassment from the Rela, especially extortion of money by them.

The Rela is like a king in Malaysia, even more powerful than the immigration itself. You can read it some of their barbarous act here. Money does not fall from the sky, it will deplete by the constant extortion from the Rela. Now, Malaysia is no noble country. It is country driven by greedy and inhuman people. Most at the top are like that, what more for those at the bottom? Yes, when Kor was out of money, why must the immigration support his living? Wouldn't the money allocated is better to be in the officer's own pocket rather than feeding the refugees?

Finally the day came, Kor was sold for RM300 to be a slave for a fisherman in Klang. It was heard that most refugees will die at the sea and became the food for fishes when their duty is over. Kor would not submit to this kind of fate. He gave a call to his friend to come for his rescue. Fortunately, the friend came and bought him back for RM500.

He didn't go back to the refugee camp. With the help from his friend, he arrived in Australia to seek asylum. The Australian government welcomed him with warm arm. Kor is now a permanent resident and will become an Australian citizen soon. Australian government is supporting his living and education.

What a big contrast between an Islamic and a country with Christianity background. Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Kevin Rudd said last week, "human trafficker should be allowed to rot in jail, and in my own opinion, rot in hell!" That was surely a biblical view of people who lives on others misery and grief. For those wicked in the corridor of power in Malaysia, enjoy your life while you still can. The LORD will surely repay them for their wickedness.

Lastly, pray for the many refugees around the world who are under constant threat from those in authority. Pray also for those who being persecuted for their faith.

Has ISA Make the Country More Peaceful?

ISA has made the country more peaceful. A letter by Mansor Puteh and published by The Star.

Who is Mansor Puteh? I don't know. I've never seen him. But when I searched the web, he was everywhere. It seems like he is a famous academic in Malaysia, and also an alumni from University of Columbia. He wrote a lengthy good letter and was published in Rocky's Bru's blogsite.

But, has ISA made the country more peaceful? Well, in a certain extent, I would say yes. But that depends on how, who and when to use it. Peacefulness is not just about not having people to walk the street, it's more than that. It's defined in a broader spectrum involving calmness, tranquility, absence of mental stress and absence of war.

Mansor said: "The Government may be heavy-handed with the Act, but only on those who wish to harm the well-being of the people." Who are you referring to? Tan Cheng Hoon? Teresa Kok? Raja Petra Kamaruddin? Lim Guan Eng? Who have they harmed? UMNO, the only righteous? I don't feel peaceful at all because the UMNO government is arresting law abiding citizen at will for telling the truth and criticism targeting at them. By the way, the Gestapo of Nazi were also doing the same in the name of "protective custody", will you support the Nazi?

Mansor said: "Taking matters to the streets can only give unknown individuals national recognition, and this is what most of them want. And many just beg to be detained under the very law they oppose." First of all, I don't understanding what is wrong with taking matters to the street peacefully. Is that a threat to the well-being of the people that ISA should be used on these people? Personally I don't find it a disturb to peace of mind. On the contrary, it's a demonstration of democracy! We should be happy that democracy has take its course. Many countries which allow demonstration are much more peaceful than Malaysia.

While taking matters to the street may give unknown individuals national recognition, and perhaps that is what most of them want (if that's what Mansor believed), but what's the point of begging to be detained under ISA? Hey, no joke here, it's the Polis Di-Raja Malaysia that we are talking about here. Detainees have higher risk to be killed by the police than a snake. It's safe to say if you see a snake and a police, kill the police first. Because the police are much more vicious and dangerous than a snake. Mansor must be kidding when he suggested people are begging to be arrested under ISA. Is there any discerning soul who would put their life at risk for an uncertain fame? It's unthinkable. For each life lost under the custody of police, I don't feel peaceful at all!

Mansor said: "The irony is that once the ISA is repealed or reviewed to make it less harmful to these people, many will immediately become useless because they will not have anything to prove to the public." No, there are still plenty to be done. It's not done until all the restrictive laws like the Official Secrets Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act, The Sedition Act, etc are repealed, revised or abolished. Not just that, the group of unthinkable must fight to demand for a clean judiciary and most of all, until UMNO changes or be changed! Then I would feel the peacefulness.

Islam - A Total Disregard of Women

Women protesting at "pro-rape" law attacked by Afghan men. Read more here.

Muslim must be damn pissed to read the title of this article. They will argue that Islam is a peaceful religion and have total respect for the women. Alright, granted. A lot of my Malaysian Muslim friends are gentlemen and have respect for women, unlike those Afghan men mentioned in the article. However, it is worth to mention that the bunch of Malaysian Muslim friends of mine are "moderate" Muslims and don't really know much of their own religion. We drank liquor, smoked cigarettes and talked about dirty things together, simply because they were not following the teaching of Islam closely or not following at all. They are not religious.

Let's go back to the article. The women of Afghanistan walked the street because of a new legislation introduced, "restricting a woman's right to leave home and demands she submit to her husband's sexual desire." A group of Afghan men, threatened by the move, lead a mob in direct violent confrontation with the women, chanting "long live Islam".

In the Islam world, the action of the Afghan men should not be seen as unusual or peculiar. To me, they are in the right position and the women are in the left! Quoting Sima Ghani, one of the women's organizers, she said, "This is against Islam and it's against women..." For me, it is definitely against women, but it's surely not against Islam. This is what Islam all about. The Quranic verses below sums up the status of women in Islam.

004.034
YUSUFALI: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).

Therefore, women claiming themselves as Muslim should not be surprised that Muslim men are treating them as an animal. If women are opposing to the new law, it's therefore true that they are " un-Islamic dog", "not Muslim", "troublemaker", etc... because they are not submitting themselves to the teaching of Quran - the Word of God. If Muslim women are not adhering to the teaching of Quran, but called themselves a Muslim, that's apostasy! They deserved death! They should be pelted with stones! They should be beaten until they return to obedience like a dog!

The truth is hurting, but that's what a woman should accept and endure by putting their faith in Islam. I'm not saying Islam is not good, but when someone decided to put their faith in something, there is always a good side about that faith. The point is, you must be ready to accept the negative side as well, and not to revolt against it!

Although hardcore Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, etc. are under constant criticism from the so called democratic countries for stifling women's right, however there's no doubt that those hardcore Islamic countries are the real Islamic countries which adhere totally to the teaching of Islamic faith. On the contrary, Islamic countries with the "moderate" status like Malaysia and Indonesia are not the real Islamic country. The "Islamic" status is just an appeasement to the small group of hardcore Muslims in the country for their vote. And that's hypocrisy again.

As a conclusion, it's true that there is a total disregard for women in Islam. However, any opposition to the teaching of Islam from the Muslim is inappropriate because oppression in women is part of the faith. If there's no way someone can accept the oppression, leave Islam.

No to Malay Supremacy!

Read here for the distasteful article by Utusan Malaysia asking Malays to rise and defend against the many demands from the non-Malay. Raja Petra Kamaruddin had reacted to the article here.

After I read the article, besides than angry, feeling of fear has engulfed my whole body. As Utusan Malaysia is the main source of news for the Malays, and ten of thousands must have read the article, it just need one Malay to dare transform anger to action, and there it goes the repetition of the most fearsome event in Malaysia's history. Yes, 13th May or notoriously referred as 513. UMNO will be the only political party laughing for successfully aggravating the already bad racial relations into a racial riot.

As the government was fast to apprehend non-racial stoker such as reporter Tan Cheng Hoon, MP Teresa Kok and famous blogger RPK for nothing under ISA, I wonder why Utusan Malaysia is allow to stoke racial flame again and again without any repercussion from our beloved Malaysian police. Oh ya, please forgive my weak memory, I shouldn't wonder, because that's what Ketuanan Melayu is all about! The Malays can stoke racial discomfort because they are the king of this Bolehland, but not the non-Malay, as they are the slaves.

But I beg to differ. Discrimination of all sorts have no place in this modern and globalized world. As long as Malaysia needs the outside world to support her economy, the Malays will not have the luxury to claim supremacy even in their own land. Unless UMNO decided to cut Malaysia from the outside world and survives on its own, otherwise stop talking about Malay supremacy.

UMNO is such a coward that they only know how to bully their own minorities. Why must Ketuanan Melayu be confined to a small place like Malaysia? I dare UMNO to declare Malay supremacy to the world and make them bow to you, otherwise there is really no meaning just to be "supreme" in Malaysia but stoop low in front of the world like a cur. Mind you, it is a symptom of psychological disorder that requires immediate medical attention. Failure to do so will result in Malaysia turning into another Zimbabwe.

Although it is fearful to think of another bloodshed as threaten by UMNO goons, I'm not ready to submit to the scare tactics. For the future of my country, family and friends, I have to say NO to Malay supremacy!

We Need Politicians Who Can Take Blames

Rais warns of legal action against errant private groups and bloggers. Read more here.

Again, warning by the authority of Malaysia against bloggers. Mr. Rais was saying "those who have broken the laws have to face legal action." This is very true indeed. Those who have broken the laws must face legal action, flog and kill them if necessary during detention, just like how the police killed the poor car thief suspect (read my lips, suspect only) Mr. Kugan. Talking about legal action, I wonder why no legal action was taken against the murderer (i.e. policemen) who killed Mr. Kugan. Enough, that's not my point of writing this article.

I supposed, Malaysia is the only developing country in the world that persecute someone who is telling the truth. Forgive me if I've exaggerated, but I have done my responsibility to put Malaysia in the 1st place ahead of all the developing nation. Yes, Malaysia Boleh!

Maybe it's just a kind of perception that the blogs out there are more a reliable news than the mainstreams. I mean, well, the blogs can't be always right, can they? But why are we believing in those blogs more than we believe in the mainstreams? I don't know about you guys, but my reason is simply because the mainstreams never publish the another side of a story and sometimes faked a story for their credit. They are out to protect the interest of political parties who own them. And that makes me really pissed. Although blogs are not always accurate and more often government-bashing, I chose them because they represent the true feeling of the people, whether rich or poor, tall or short, fat or slim, etc...

That is why we don't see many anti-government websites in the developed countries compared to Malaysia because their newspapers often practice in a more neutral way. The role of government-bashing, and policy-bashing already taken up by the newspapers. Therefore there is really nothing much to write about in the blogs about their government. Furthermore, most of the news are published online for people to comment, therefore providing a platform for criticism. Are Malaysian mainstream newspapers ready to do that? I doubt it because there is really no freedom of speech for the mainstreams.

The Malaysian government (especially The Information, Com­munications, Culture and Arts Ministry) should ask why there are more anti-government bloggers cropping up everyday, rather than trying to control the large number of them. Please put more time on reforming your news agent before lashing out at bloggers for disseminating untold stories. That's the problem with Malaysian Ministers, they consistently blame others for undermining the government, but failed to see the plank in their own eyes, and that's hypocrisy.

Yes, we need a Minister who is willing to take blame and be ready to make correction before it gets out of hand. They have to learn that by admitting mistake, doesn't mean they will be condemned forever. Instead, they will come out stronger and therefore earn the respect of the people.