Sunday 6 September 2009
Holy cow! Minister defends protesters - Malaysiakini
What a farce the cow-head incident is turning out to be. The handling of the case so far demonstrates clearly that all that talk about 1Malaysia is mostly cow pie.
Firstly, the police have been slow to act. They concluded their investigations last Tuesday and handed them over to the attorney-general. Now we have to wait further for the august AG to decide whether action will be taken. In this regard, one can't help but be reminded that nothing has yet come out of the VK Lingam case – long after the Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that there were grounds for the AG to take action.
Secondly, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein goes out of his way to meet with the protesters, the very people who had committed what is apparently a seditious act by bringing a cow's head to their protest and spitting at it and kicking it. All because they didn't want a Hindu temple to be relocated in their area of residence in Shah Alam.
Would Hishammuddin have done the same if it had been Hindus protesting against the relocation of a mosque in their housing estate? Imagine what the reaction of the authorities would have been if that had been the case.
What's worse, after the meeting, he spouted the most diabolical doublespeak and politicospeak when he told reporters that the protestors could not be blamed as “they had no intention at all” to invoke racial sentiments or cause tension. He even said they felt victimised. He defended their illegal protest (they had no permit) by saying they kept the number of protestors to a small number.
Well, Minister, some people have been arrested for protesting in an even smaller number.
As expected, he blamed the Selangor government, saying it had made “a poor decision” in relocating the temple.And then he made a statement that he should from now on be forever held accountable for: “In this day and age, protests should be accepted in this world as people want their voices to be heard. If we don't give them room to voice their opinions, they have no choice but to protest.”
Well, that's straight from the home minister's mouth, folks. Public protests are A-OK. So keep your tear gas, water cannons and whatnot at home, cops.
To cap it all, Hishammuddin said this was not the first time an animal's head had been used in a protest. He revealed that there was a time when a pig's head, wrapped in an Umno flag, was thrown into Umno's headquarters.
This is most disconcerting, especially coming from a minister who is charged with ensuring peace and harmony in the country. What was he trying to imply? Yes, he was exonerating the cow-head protestors, but wasn't he also sneakily trying to blame another community by bringing up the pig's head? If so, isn't that mischievous? And, surely, he must be aware that two wrongs don't make a right. So why bring up the earlier wrong to justify the cow-head one?
The day after this infamous press conference, Hishammuddin does a virtual about-turn and announces that the cow-head protesters should now be hauled to court because what they did could not be tolerated. He says he never justified their action in the first place. Is he suffering from amnesia? Has boss Najib Razak ticked him off for the things he said the day before?
As usual, he puts the blame on others and says it was bloggers who had made it seem as if he was condoning the cow-head protest. What a genius we have for a minister! Did he learn this from the master, Dr Mahathir Mohamad?
To exacerbate the situation and make the ruling party look desperate, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) comes out and instructs Malaysiakini to remove two videos from its archives – one of the cow-head protest itself and the other of Hishammuddin's shameful press conference.
MCMC not doing Hisham a favour
There is no cause for that. News is news, and what has been recorded is now part of our history. It is insensible of the MCMC to ask that they be removed, as if to erase history like communist Russia did in the 1940s.
And why remove the Hishammuddin video? I can only fathom one reason for it – to save him from embarrassment. If that is so, the MCMC is not doing him a favour. He has to grow up and be a man. He has to admit his mistake for saying what is recorded in that video. This is his rite of passage. Let him go through it. If he can't be man enough, how can he be considered for future prime ministership? (That is, if Malaysians would allow it to happen.)
All this clearly shows that there are still 2Malaysias, and that in word and deed, our national leaders affirm that.
This can't be good for Prime Minister Najib who seems to be trying to win non-Malay hearts and minds with his 1Malaysia slogan (I say “slogan” because that's just what it is so far – full of words and little action). The cow-head incident would have set his efforts back substantially. The Bagan Pinang by-election is coming up and there are 20 percent of Indian voters for that state seat. How will they vote?
Judging by what has been happening the past few months, Barisan Nasional has not been giving a good account of itself. In fact, it has mostly been shooting itself in the foot. And this without the help of Pakatan Rakyat whatsoever.
Just look at the kind of candidate they fielded for the Permatang Pasir by-election. And the current work-in-progress of Najib saying one thing while his deputy says the opposite.
As Najib goes about promoting 1Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin has been playing to the Malay gallery. He called Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim a traitor to the Malay race; defended an article in the Malay press calling on the Malays to stop being cowards and rise up; and on the same day that the 1Malaysia logo was publicly unveiled, he asserted that Umno would fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights.
Meanwhile, race-baiting goes on almost daily in the Malay mainstream media, concerted in its aim to threaten, frighten and divide. That these media organisations are owned and controlled by Najib's own party underscores the conundrum. The messages sent out by these media organisations and the messages he himself is sending out are totally at odds with each other. Whom are we to listen to? Whom are we to trust?
Is there a game plan behind it all? Are we the rakyat mere pawns in the game? When the game is over, will we be played out?
I certainly hope not.
Firstly, the police have been slow to act. They concluded their investigations last Tuesday and handed them over to the attorney-general. Now we have to wait further for the august AG to decide whether action will be taken. In this regard, one can't help but be reminded that nothing has yet come out of the VK Lingam case – long after the Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that there were grounds for the AG to take action.
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Would Hishammuddin have done the same if it had been Hindus protesting against the relocation of a mosque in their housing estate? Imagine what the reaction of the authorities would have been if that had been the case.
What's worse, after the meeting, he spouted the most diabolical doublespeak and politicospeak when he told reporters that the protestors could not be blamed as “they had no intention at all” to invoke racial sentiments or cause tension. He even said they felt victimised. He defended their illegal protest (they had no permit) by saying they kept the number of protestors to a small number.
Well, Minister, some people have been arrested for protesting in an even smaller number.
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Well, that's straight from the home minister's mouth, folks. Public protests are A-OK. So keep your tear gas, water cannons and whatnot at home, cops.
To cap it all, Hishammuddin said this was not the first time an animal's head had been used in a protest. He revealed that there was a time when a pig's head, wrapped in an Umno flag, was thrown into Umno's headquarters.
This is most disconcerting, especially coming from a minister who is charged with ensuring peace and harmony in the country. What was he trying to imply? Yes, he was exonerating the cow-head protestors, but wasn't he also sneakily trying to blame another community by bringing up the pig's head? If so, isn't that mischievous? And, surely, he must be aware that two wrongs don't make a right. So why bring up the earlier wrong to justify the cow-head one?
The day after this infamous press conference, Hishammuddin does a virtual about-turn and announces that the cow-head protesters should now be hauled to court because what they did could not be tolerated. He says he never justified their action in the first place. Is he suffering from amnesia? Has boss Najib Razak ticked him off for the things he said the day before?
As usual, he puts the blame on others and says it was bloggers who had made it seem as if he was condoning the cow-head protest. What a genius we have for a minister! Did he learn this from the master, Dr Mahathir Mohamad?
To exacerbate the situation and make the ruling party look desperate, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) comes out and instructs Malaysiakini to remove two videos from its archives – one of the cow-head protest itself and the other of Hishammuddin's shameful press conference.
MCMC not doing Hisham a favour
There is no cause for that. News is news, and what has been recorded is now part of our history. It is insensible of the MCMC to ask that they be removed, as if to erase history like communist Russia did in the 1940s.
And why remove the Hishammuddin video? I can only fathom one reason for it – to save him from embarrassment. If that is so, the MCMC is not doing him a favour. He has to grow up and be a man. He has to admit his mistake for saying what is recorded in that video. This is his rite of passage. Let him go through it. If he can't be man enough, how can he be considered for future prime ministership? (That is, if Malaysians would allow it to happen.)
All this clearly shows that there are still 2Malaysias, and that in word and deed, our national leaders affirm that.
 |
Judging by what has been happening the past few months, Barisan Nasional has not been giving a good account of itself. In fact, it has mostly been shooting itself in the foot. And this without the help of Pakatan Rakyat whatsoever.
Just look at the kind of candidate they fielded for the Permatang Pasir by-election. And the current work-in-progress of Najib saying one thing while his deputy says the opposite.
As Najib goes about promoting 1Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin has been playing to the Malay gallery. He called Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim a traitor to the Malay race; defended an article in the Malay press calling on the Malays to stop being cowards and rise up; and on the same day that the 1Malaysia logo was publicly unveiled, he asserted that Umno would fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights.
Meanwhile, race-baiting goes on almost daily in the Malay mainstream media, concerted in its aim to threaten, frighten and divide. That these media organisations are owned and controlled by Najib's own party underscores the conundrum. The messages sent out by these media organisations and the messages he himself is sending out are totally at odds with each other. Whom are we to listen to? Whom are we to trust?
Is there a game plan behind it all? Are we the rakyat mere pawns in the game? When the game is over, will we be played out?
I certainly hope not.
Candle Harms Malaysia But Cow Head Not - MPKlang
How does we classify the act of police of arresting almost 16 whom gathered near Dataran Merdeka for a Candle Light vigil and protest against their inability to act swiftly against cow head protestors? If not MARGINALISATION of the minorities.
One Malaysia Two System continues as police whom kept their hands handcuffed during Cow Head Protest in front of Selangor Secretariat last week today acted immediately . Among those arrested are P Uthayakumar, his Wife, S Jayathas and P Waythamoorthy’s Wife.
We myself doesn’t missed Police sight, they try all they could to pull me over however as supporters resist one of my assistance was detained.
It’s double Standard every where? Malaysian Citizen no longer eligible for any PEACEFUL protest aganist ruling government but those Instigating Racial /Religious Disharmony been Honoured while Police provide full force security for them. BRAVO MALAYSIAN POLICE.Dark clouds over the IGP
By Kim Quek
Will Agong step in?
How should one read Prime Minister Najib Razak’s decision to renew Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan’s service contract despite his horrible records – exploding crime rates, brutal suppression of civil liberties and swirling talks of his alleged links with the underworld?
Some would say that the IGP is retained because, as a ruthless suppressor of human rights, he is exactly the kind of police head needed to prop up the wobbling UMNO led regime that is fast losing popular support. As Musa’s credentials for this role were well demonstrated in the infamous power grab in Perak. Brushing the Constitution and law aside, police brute force was repeatedly employed to physically bar and rough up Pakatan assemblymen from exercising their constitutional rights to regain their legitimacy to rule from the illegitimately established BN state government.
Others would say that Najib is in no position to get rid of Musa as the latter has the upper hand, being holder of the darkest secrets pertaining to major scandals that have been heavily weighing down on Najib, such as the Altantuya murder and the Scorpene submarine purchase.
Some would even suggest that Musa’s hitherto pivotal role in the on-going dubious Anwar sodomy trial II makes him indispensable to the continuing potency of this case as a potential lethal weapon against the seemingly unstoppable advances of Pakatan Rakyat.
For those who have been paying attention to the local political scene, it is not difficult to see that all the above three views are valid. In other words, it is the combination of expediency for political survival and the personal vulnerability of the Prime Minister that has contributed to another extension to the already extended term of two year for the hugely unpopular police head.
Musa’s extension of service also signifies that there will be no light at the end of the tunnel of promised reforms as hyped in Najib’s 1Malaysia euphoria. Between an inclusive democratic Malaysia and a race-supremacist authoritarian Malaysia, the Najib led UMNO has obviously chosen the latter.
FRIGHTENING DETERIORATION OF PUBLIC SECURITY
Politics aside, what concerns the men-in-the-street is the frightening deterioration of security and law and order in the country. A recent opinion poll conducted in the Home Ministry website reveals that 97% of respondents expressed worry over the state of public safety, 94% were of the opinion that the authorities had not done their best and a shocking two third said they or their immediate family members had been victims of crimes. These alarming polling results are in tandem with the fact that crimes have escalated exponentially during Musa’s tenure as the IGP.
Why has crime rate continued to spiral uncontrollably despite the billions of ringgit poured into the police to upgrade facilities and expand manpower following the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to upgrade the police force in 2005? Why has rampant corruption and persistent abuse of power and violation of human rights continue to bug our police force with increasing tenacity? Why have the police continued to resist the implementation of the crown jewel of the Royal Commission’s 125 recommendations – the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, which by consensus, would have been the most potent medicine to whip our decadent police force into shape?
In all these failures, we see the shadow of IGP Musa Hassan. It is therefore with the utmost indignation that we must deplore the Najib leadership for refusing to react to the alarm bells sounded in the Malaysia Today website in the past week, where explicit details of Musa Hassan’s alleged links to the underworld were exposed.
EXPLOSIVE REVELATIONS
In a series of postings, Malaysia Today’s Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) displayed photocopies of statutory declarations and correspondence among key players to substantiate the allegations of Musa’s involvement. These allegations included: the IGP allowing an underworld kingpin to manipulate postings of officers while siding another to secure his release.
In a posting on Aug 28, RPK revealed a statutory declaration made by a former aide de camp (ADC) of Inspector General Musa Hassan, where the ADC accused the IGP of misconduct that “undermined the integrity and credibility of the PDRM, constituting a betrayal of his oath of office”. Certain names and details were blacked out in the documents for “obvious reasons”, but RPK promised that the ‘un-blacked’ out version would be revealed if its authenticity was challenged by the government or when Musa’s service was extended so as to embarrass the government.
Specifically, the ADC alleged that
- As ADC, he compiled and coordinated posting orders as based on a draft and proposal made by BK Tan. A list of the postings as implemented was attached to the Affidavit.
- Some transfers were made as “entrapment’, others with short notices were made as punishment to convey the impression of eradicating corruption and abuses, though “it was furthest from the truth”.
- He verified that the statutory declarations of certain police officers (name given) alleging manipulation of “promotions, ranks and postings in the hierarchy of PDRM” by BK Tan were true. (These statutory declarations appeared earlier in Malaysia Today).
- Six police officers who exposed Musa’s alleged underworld links were charged for various offenses.
- A former CID Director (name given) informed him that it was Musa who gave the order to set up a covert blog to make allegation of corruption against former Deputy Minister of Home Security Johari Baharom. (In 2007. Johari, a known adversary to Musa, was accused in an anonymous blog of accepting RM 5.5 million bribe to free three underworld bigwigs, but Johari was subsequently cleared of this allegation)
In another posting on the same day, Aug 28, RPK revealed a letter dated 29 Aug 2007 from Johari Baharom to his former boss, Abdullah Badawi who was then Prime Minister cum Home Security, where Musa’s link with Goh Cheng Poh was unveiled. Goh Cheng Poh was nabbed in an anti-Ah Long operation and banished to restricted residence (RR) in Jeli, Kelantan, under the direction of a task force headed by Johari. Goh then made a habeas corpus application to the court on 14 Aug 2007 to set aside the RR order on ground of male fide detention. In Johari’s letter to Abdullah, he described details of how Musa, in conjunction with the attorney general (AG), took unprecedented legal steps to help Goh to win his case. (Following this suit, AG ordered Goh’s release.)
WILL AGONG STEP IN?
In any democracy, these explosive exposures would have rocked the government. Even in the pseudo democracy of Malaysia, surely these allegations are serious enough to merit a proper investigation, particularly when these occurred on the eve of the re-appointment of such a controversial figure who commands no public confidence.
But our government has remained silent. And what has Musa got to say to these allegations when contacted? He refused to comment, according to Malaysiakini which reported these revelations on Aug 29.
However, all is not lost as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is empowered under Article 140 (5) of the Constitution to refer the Police Force Commission’s recommendation back to the Commission for another round of consideration. Until the Agong signs on the letter of appointment which should take effect on Sept 13, the Agong can still ask the Commission to deliberate further, pending a proper investigation to clear up the dark clouds hanging over the IGP.
The issue of the caliber and integrity of the next IGP is of vital importance at this critical junction of our history in view of the chaotic state of the rule of law the nation has descended into. And we trust that the Agong will give this matter his due consideration.
You can’t fry the egg unless you first break the shell
Those who believe in the religion of Abraham will testify that the Holy Books tell us that even God Himself destroyed many times so that mankind would have a better future. Even God was not against destroying to rebuild.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Husni says tactics of political opposition can destroy the country
IPOH, Sept 5 — Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the various tactics and political gimmicks used by the opposition to attack the Barisan Nasional (BN) can jeopardise efforts in developing the country's economy.
He said the actions by the opposition parties could destroy the country if the people were taken in by the opposition's gimmicks.
"They (the opposition) try to confuse the people by making various excuses to erode public confidence in the monarchy, judiciary, police force, military and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.”
"While the government is working very hard to boost the national economy and compete with the big powers, there are politicians and individuals who are still trying to influence the people to disagree with the government," he told reporters after a ceremony to hand over house keys and offer letters for a community housing programme, here today. He said the people must be more firm so that they would not be fooled by those who were attempting to find ways to reject the existing government.”
Ahmad Husni said this when commenting on the action of the opposition members of the Perak State Assembly in holding a 'State Assembly sitting' at a hotel, here on Wednesday. — Bernama
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Ahmad Husni is a product of Umno. So of course he speaks like that -- with warped logic. To Umno, any Malay who opposes Umno is a traitor to the Malay race. This was how rulers of the old days used to think as well. To oppose the king means you are opposing God because the king is appointed by God. So, since Umno means Malay, then opposing Umno tantamount to opposing the Malay race. And Malays who oppose the Malay race are therefore traitors to their race.
And that is why we need PAS in spite of the idiosyncrasies they sometimes display. Umno has only one platform, Malay supremacy or Ketuanan Melayu. PAS can offer the Malays a second platform, Islam. And PAS can make the Malays understand that racism is forbidden in Islam.
Nevertheless, we have to make PAS understand that they need to live up to their slogan, Islam Untuk Semua (Islam For All). And that means, while they want to make Muslims better Muslims, in the same process they should not impose on others or deny others their rights to their religion as well.
What is happening in Shah Alam with regards to the Hindu temple, in a way, serves this objective. It is Umno that is so opposed to the relocation of the temple while the PKR and PAS people are trying very hard to bend over backwards to accommodate the Hindus. The PAS Member of Parliament for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad, even said he is prepared to lose the next election if it means he loses because he does the right thing in the interest of being fair. That displays a huge contrast between Umno and PAS.
Of course, many would rather overlook this important point and instead focus on the stupid statements that PAS makes like banning rock concerts and the like. But if you were to notice the ‘Take Beeer’ banner that the cow head protesters carried it is very clear the demonstration was as much anti-Pakatan Rakyat as it was anti-Hindu temples. And it was an Umno man who stepped on the cow head, not a PAS man.
Anyway, back to Ahmad Husni’s statement above. You just can’t fry the egg unless you first break the shell. So things are going to get much worse in Malaysia before it gets better. Revolutions can never start on a full stomach. People with full stomachs are fat, lazy and lethargic. You need to be lean and hungry before a revolution can start.
As long as the economy is good and people have plenty of money in their pockets they will never clamour for change. They need to be desperate before they will take to the streets to demand change. So we are not scared of whatever happens to the economy. So the economy collapses. So what? Only when that happens will the people want to kick Barisan Nasional out.
We are looking for a new dawn. But before the coming of dawn there must first be darkness. So let us go through a period of darkness if need be. Only after we see darkness can we see dawn, a new beginning.
It is like the mother who was told that her fourth son has just died in the war and she cried on hearing the news. When she was told how sorry they were to have to bring her the news about the loss of her last son, she replied that she is crying not because she has lost all her sons but because she no longer has any sons to give to the cause.
Yes, no mother can endure losing her children. But when the cause becomes more important than yourself then even the lose of all your children is a worthy cause.
There are many who fear turmoil and chaos. I too fear that but I still endure. And I do so not because I am brave but because I am scared. It is not bravery but cowardice that makes me do what I do. I am scared of what is going on in Malaysia. I fear that if we do nothing then Malaysia is doomed. And because of this fear about what awaits us over the horizon it makes me face whatever may come my way in striving for the greater cause.
So, yes, I am a coward. And the cowardice in me makes me scared of doing nothing. A brave man would say come what may and I will face it. But a coward like me says I can’t bear to face that kind of future and instead I fight to change the course of history.
And if this course of history involves chaos and turmoil and a collapsed economy so be it. This is because I believe that, the way Barisan Nasional is mismanaging our economy, the economy is headed for doom anyway. It is merely a matter of time. If we wait for the eventual collapse then there will be nothing left to salvage. This way, if it collapses now, at least there would still be something left to save.
So Ahmad Husni’s threat does not frighten me. We must first destroy to be able to build. Before we can plant we must first cut down the forest and burn the trees. Only then can we plant the food that will save mankind. Those who believe in the religion of Abraham will testify that the Holy Books tell us that even God Himself destroyed many times so that mankind would have a better future. Even God was not against destroying to rebuild.
And if it is good enough for God then it is good enough for me. As the Black Power movement would say: burn, baby, burn.
Why MCMC wants Malaysiakini to remove the second video
By Haris Ibrahim,
In my ‘Malaysiakini stands up to defy the oppressors’ post, I had asked if the reason might be to avoid ministerial embarrassment and had suggested that if that were so, it was a case of too little, too late.
MCMC’s reasoning, applicable to both videos, is that the “videos contain offensive contents with the intent to annoy any person, especially Indians”.
The Malaysiakini report of the press conference by Hishamuddin, which is the subject matter of the second video, had the Home Minister saying that the “residents did not know the organisers and did not know a cow’s head would be brought during the demonstration” , and added that the police would investigate the incident to identify who brought the cow’s head to the protest.
The report has it that this press conference took place after Hisham had an hour-long closed-door meeting with residents’ representatives at his office in Putrajaya.
It also reported that when asked why no police action was taken when the head of the cow was brought to the scene of the protest, he claimed that action had been taken and then said that “I was monitoring it myself and reporting it to the prime minister”.
At this point, I will make the observation that it is reasonable to assume that as Hisham was ‘monitoring it’ himself and reporting to the PM on the matter, he must surely have watched video footage when the head of the cow was carried to the protest and the disgraceful things that were done to it, before he went into that hour-long meeting.
That video footage can in fact be found in the first video that MCMC have asked Malaysiakini to remove from their website.
It is already available on Youtube.
If you watch the video, you will note that the head of the cow appears for the first time from the 58th second of the video, carried by two unidentifiable individuals clad in jeans and t-shirts.
1 minute and 7 seconds into the video clip, and for about 10 seconds, you will see that a man in a white shirt and songkok is now one of two persons carrying the head of the cow in the procession.
The same man resumes carrying the head 1 minute and 20 seconds into the clip for another 9 seconds.
He’s back 3 minutes and 22 seconds into the clip, this time seen adjusting the head and then placing his foot on the same.
I think it is inconceivable that Hisham would not have viewed this footge before going into that meeting with the residents.
The Malaysiakini report of that press conference after that meeting carried three photographs. I reproduce two below.
Only those to the right and directly behind Hisham are caught in this photo. Those on the left do not appear
This is a photo of that scene at minute 3 and 20 seconds in the video clip of the man in the white shirt and songkok with his foot on the head of the cow
The second video clip that MCMC wants Malaysiakini to remove from its website is also now available on Youtube.
From the outset, you will see several people behind Hisham beckoning someone to come and join them.
11 seconds into this video clip, that person walks in and joins the others.
This person, now without a songkok, and in a blue shirt, is the very same person who appears in the white shirt, wearing a songkok and carrying the head of the cow to the protest at the SUK building in Shah Alam.
Isn’t it really quite mind boggling that in the course of the press conference, Hisham said that police were investigating to identify the person who brought the head to the protest, and right through the press conference, the perpetrator of that evil deed was standing behind Hisham?
Are we to believe that Hisham met this ‘cow head’ carrier, would have viewed his antics on the first video, and still swallowed the yarn that the residents did not know who brought the head of the cow to the protest?
I don’t believe this for one moment.
This is what I believe.
MCMC wants this video removed because it bears the plainest evidence that the Home Minister aided and abetted in a lie that the residents did not know who brought the head of the cow to the protest.
This raises important questions.
Why would a senior federal minister go to such lengths to cover up the wrongdoings of these ‘residents’?
Who are these ‘residents’, really?
Was the hour-long meeting to hear the residents side of the story or to plot this attempted cover-up?
Who is this person who, it seemed, was first reluctant to be part of the press conference and then, foolishly, stepped into the spotlight?
I was at the dialogue in Shah Alam yesterday that was hosted by the Selangor state government to hear the views of the section 23 residents on the proposed move of the Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple that has become contoversial. So was this ‘cow head’ carrier.
Will tell you about the dialogue, this fellow and his merry men who were there, and my thoughts on the same in a forthcoming post.
Dream of a sincere merdeka
By Azly Rahman
Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains – Jean Jacques Rousseau
There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents – Thomas Jefferson
Malaysia is approaching its 52nd birthday. But it is middle age characterised by bipolarism, schizophrenia and illusions of grandeur. How did we get to this stage? And how do we de-evolve?
In essence, we are a troubled nation, hyper-modernised by half-baked sense of democracy, paying lip service to the idea of a civilised society and insincere in our pledge to create equal opportunity for all.
Consider the latest problematic phrases we are living with: The Perak Fiasco, 1BlackMalaysia, One Too Many By-elections, 100 Arrests, and A Troubled Monarchy. Then there is also the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock, the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, and the Ramadan drama of the cow-head protesters.
These and many other issues are unresolved. The essence of these lies in the erosion of virtue. At all levels of governance, we have lost all sense of spiritual control; our institutions eroded by our addiction to corruption.
In the words of the Chinese revolutionary leader Chairman Mao Zedong, we are living in interesting times in which our lives are fragmented by sound of and fury of the race-based and hate-mongering ideological system we have build since half a century ago.
We no longer have virtuous leaders in our political system. We have many who are corrupt to the bone and in their souls, interested only in plundering the national wealth in order to survive the next general election. And we continue to breed new leaders who think that politics is about buying votes and selling the nation.
Virtuous leaders are made and not born. They are created out of good religious/moral upbringing and a clear sense of altruism – prioritising needs, not wants, and certainly not greed.
It is no longer clear what the country is governed – in the confusion over the meaning of religion and of culture, and how a combination of both can be lethal to this already mentally troubled country approaching its 52nd birthday.
Leaders in our midst are plagued with scandals of material and moral character, some amounting to billions of ringgit, and many no longer are ashamed to use the state apparatuses to advance their own political agenda.
Virtue lies in all religions
Virtue must be internalised. In the interesting times we live in, virtue must be installed and institutionalised. Without virtue, the poor will steal from the rich and the rich will steal from the masses.
Virtue lies in all religions and philosophical systems. Even if one does not believe in God and its existence, one can be as ethical and virtuous as defined by Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras, Buddha, Lao Tzi or Einstein.
Master Kung (Confucius) often talks about the breeding of the ‘chuan tze’ or ‘the gentleman’ and the importance of respect. The ‘Bhagavad Gita’ speaks of the beauty of the self and for one to follow dharma. Islam speaks of the beauty of the self in relation to its contribution to a peaceful and just society. Sufism, Buddhism, Jainism, Hassidism, and many a path to deeper spirituality promote the development of the ‘just and virtuous self’.
But we are living in a world designed by greedy human beings who themselves do not know their own true nature.
We spend time either making ends meet or making our millions multiply. We keep making decisions that alter and transform the economy and impact the lives of millions who are at the disposal of those who own the means of economic and intellectual production. With our wealth, we oppress each other as we build oppressive institutions of power and control.
We have created a matrix of complexities and a rat race of no winners.
Our society seems to be heading towards destruction. The seeds are rapidly germinating.
Sometime ago we saw even the Malaysian police force threatening ‘to vote for the opposition’. We are now puzzled: who do the police serve? Who will protect the citizens then? Do we then need to set up a non-partisan or a neutral police force?
We are also seeing public universities becoming more and more politicised. There is no virtue in the way they are run. Our public universities, paid by the taxpayers of all races, are serving the interests of the political parties of the day.
Our vice-chancellors are not elected from the pool of experts from other races although our student population is of a multi-racial mix. The concept of ‘affirmative action’ that emphases policies to promote diversity is almost non-existent. There is no virtue in such a practice in our public universities.
We are seeing people getting edgy and agitated – higher crime rate, more robberies, snatch thefts, hideous crimes related to merciless kidnapping, our youth of all races getting high on all kinds of depressants and stimulants that all religious upbringing has taught us to avoid.
Virtue is eroding even at the highest level of public office. We set up all kinds of bodies to combat corruption. But what has been the success rate so far if we are still trapped in a complex political-economic system that is producing more and more creatures of greed that plunder the nation’s wealth.
‘Virtue’ itself is a corrupted word these days. People are finding it difficult to be virtuous. They want to be pragmatic and rational economic beings that rationalise everything in the name of profit, at the expense of the moral development of the generation we are to leave behind.
Society becomes more endangered when all sense of idealism is pushed aside, allowing politics of rationalisation to rule. In Malaysia, the situation of the erosion of ethics and virtuosity is even worse when all acts are dictated through the influence of the politics of identity and hideous ethnocentricity.
The continuing issues of succession plaguing the leadership of the major components of all the ruling parties, for example, reflects a virtue-less leadership. It even reflects the system of dictatorship and authoritarianism that we have allowed to take root in all parties.
We are seeing the development of another dangerous excess of authoritarianism – the development of political dynasties. We continue to see this culture in the Malay, Chinese, and Indian political parties as well.
Are we a republic of virtue?
We spend too much time politicising everything and less time educating. If all that energy is used to design a better system of participatory democracy and philanthropy, and to reach out to other ethnic groups to collaborate in solving the issue of poverty, we, as Malaysians, will become a miracle nation.
Poverty is not the problem of Indians or Malays or Chinese – it is the problem of humanity. Today in Malaysia we are even seeing more and more highly educated people trapped in the idea of ketuanan/arrogance of this or that race. From the lower classes of society to the uppermost class, the message is the same: racism and race-based politics must be maintained.
Prejudice must be protected. Hatred must be harnessed. War is peace. Hate is love. Freedom is dangerous. We live in a world of Doublespeak, as the theme of George Orwell’s novel 1984 would suggest.
We need to bring back ‘virtue’ to the forefront of our political philosophies and into our economic paradigm, and next use it to design a virtuous foundation of our economic system. From a virtuous foundation we will then see a healthier characterisation of how we design and reorganise our lives as economic beings.
How do we even begin creating a republic of virtue if we do not yet have the tools of analysing what a corrupt society is and how corrupt leaders are a product of the economic system created to reproduce more sophisticated forms of corruption?
We must engineer a revolution of our very own consciousness. From the revolution in our minds, we move on to the revolution of our consciousness, and next to our collective consciousness. Gradually, as we realise that a better collective consciousness can be created, we will be aware of the oppositional forces that are making real human progress disabling.
We must now become makers of our own history and help others do the same. We must first learn to deconstruct ourselves and draw out the virtue within ourselves, even if the process can be terrifying. We must then each create a manifesto of our own self and de-evolve from then, until we tear down the structures within and outside of ourselves and reconstruct the foundations of a new republic.
We have never been independent. Malaysian has replaced the British colonials with its little brown brothers who are more sophisticated, as a result of the latter’s education and socialisation into becoming better and more apologetic masters of modern-day totalitarianism. This is the our gift of Independence – on a silver platter. As Albert Memmi the Algerian thinker and psychiatrist would say, the colonized has become the colonizer.
In 2009, we will have become ‘independent’ for more than 50 years. Are we a republic of virtue? Are we emotionally stable enough to be one? Only by going back to the politics of virtue and sincerity can we survive this long and difficult road of Malaysian evolution; a road that is paved with good intentions but patrolled by predators of the poor and those pushed to the peripheries.
May we have an interesting Merdeka. And may we be more sincere.
Holy cow! Minister defends protestors!
By Kee Thuan Chye
WHAT a farce the cow-head incident is turning out to be. The handling of the case so far demonstrates clearly that all that talk about 1Malaysia is mostly cow pie.
Firstly, the police have been slow to act. They concluded their investigations last Tuesday and handed them over to the Attorney-General. Now we have to wait further for the august A-G to decide whether action will be taken. In this regard, one can’t help but be reminded that nothing has yet come out of the V.K. Lingam case – so long after the Royal Commission of Inquiry ruled that there were grounds for the A-G to take action.
Secondly, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein goes out of his way to meet with the protestors, the very people who had committed what is apparently a seditious act by bringing a cow’s head to their protest and spitting at it and kicking it. All because they didn’t want a Hindu temple to be relocated in their area of residence in Shah Alam.
Would Hishammuddin have done the same if it had been Hindus protesting against the relocation of a mosque in their housing estate? Imagine what the reaction of the authorities would have been if that had been the case.
What’s worse, after the meeting, he spouted the most diabolical doublespeak and politicospeak when he told reporters that the protestors could not be blamed as “they had no intention at all” to invoke racial sentiments or cause tension. He even said they felt victimised. He defended their illegal protest (they had no permit) by saying they kept the number of protestors to a small number.
Well, Minister, some people have been arrested for protesting in an even smaller number.
As expected, he blamed the Selangor Government, saying it had made “a poor decision” in relocating the temple. And then he made a statement that he should from now on be forever held accountable for: “In this day and age, protests should be accepted in this world, as people want their voices to be heard. If we don’t give them room to voice their opinions, they have no choice but to protest.”
Well, that’s straight from the Home Minister’s mouth, folks. Public protests are A-OK. So keep your water cannons and whatnot at home, cops.
To cap it all, Hishammuddin said this was not the first time an animal’s head had been used in a protest. He revealed that there was a time when a pig’s head, wrapped in an Umno flag, was thrown into Umno’s headquarters.
This is most disconcerting, especially coming from a Minister who is charged with ensuring peace and harmony in the country. What was he trying to imply? Yes, he was exonerating the cow-head protestors, but wasn’t he also sneakily trying to blame another community by bringing up the pig’s head? If so, isn’t that mischievous? And, surely, he must be aware that two wrongs don’t make a right. So why bring up the earlier wrong to justify the cow-head one?
All this clearly shows that there are still 2Malaysias, and that in word and deed, our national leaders affirm that. But Malaysians today are surely aware of that. When the double standards are so blatantly applied, the aggrieved parties will certainly take note.
This can’t be good for Prime Minister Najib Razak who is trying hard to win non-Malay hearts and minds with his 1Malaysia slogan (I say “slogan” because that’s just what it is so far – full of words and little action). The cow-head incident would have set his efforts back substantially. Hindraf will surely be mobilised more purposefully and Hindus will rally behind it.
What also begs the question is why contradictory signals are being sent out by the ruling party. The PM says one thing, his deputy says the opposite. In the past few months, as Najib was promoting 1Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin has been playing to the Malay gallery. He called Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim a traitor to the Malay race; defended an article in the Malay press calling on the Malays to stop being cowards and rise up; and on the same day that the 1Malaysia logo was publicly unveiled, he asserted that Umno would fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights.
Meanwhile, race-baiting goes on almost daily in the Malay mainstream media, concerted in its aim to threaten, frighten and divide. That these media organisations are owned and controlled by Najib’s own party underscores the conundrum. The messages sent out by these media organisations and the messages he himself is sending out are totally at odds with each other. Whom are we to listen to? Whom are we to trust?
Is there a game plan behind it all? Are we the rakyat mere pawns in the game? When the game is over, will we be played out?
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up, which just won 3rd Prize in the Popular Readers’ Choice Awards. It has also been translated into Chinese.Humble Penan resist logging, oil palm giants - Anil Netto
Penan forest inhabitants are battling to save their ancestral lands from the might of plantation and timber companies, who have already stripped most of the primary rainforests in Sarawak.
Whatever happened to the much touted “sustainable forest management”? How were primary rainforests flattened for acacia tree and oil palm plantations, dealing a devastating blow to biodiversity?
Look at the greed of these logging and plantation firms. And when it comes to the interests of these giant firms vs those of ordinary people (like the Penan, in this case) – you know whose side the politicians will be on, as usual.
Check out this Aljazeera article here as well.
No strong MCA without a strong UMNO
by Ooi Kee Beng
In clearly urban states like Penang, Selangor and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, it was wiped out, with the exception of one seat in Selangor. Urbanity and urban voters are a problem for the MCA, as it is for the BN and Umno.
Given such a thrashing, one would have expected the MCA to suffer an immediate meltdown. That did not happen, partially thanks to its former president Ong Ka Ting retiring and thus taking part of the blame for the defeats.
However, this paradoxically passed the buck to his successors. With the pyramid of power so much narrower at the top, tolerance for opposition within the party has become a luxury it could not afford.
Dr Chua Soi Lek, the former Health Minister who resigned before the elections in the aftermath of a scandal where he was caught on video with his mistress in a hotel room, received formidable support in the subsequent party election, and emerged as deputy president. He has now been surprisingly sacked by the new president Ong Tee Keat. The old video was re-used to justify Ong’s desperate move.
Such a sudden disposal of a popular leader leaves those of Chua’s supporters, whose political future depends on their man being ahead, understandably angered. They have vowed to challenge the president’s decision. A nasty clash is imminent.
What this reflects is the unease spreading through the party, as it is spreading within Umno as well, that the political future of many who wedded their lives to their party is in jeopardy. The cake has shrunk and its eaters are hungrier.
The MCA’s fate and fortune cannot be separated from Umno’s. It is, after all, BN that brings power, not each member party by itself.
With the weakening of race-based parties like MCA, Umno and their old ally, the Malaysian Indian Congress, it is tempting to conclude that even if ethnic identity remains strong among Malaysians, the willingness to let personal sentiment decide national politics is not as intuitively given a thing as it used to be.
There are certainly signs suggesting such a development. A row of attempts to rouse racial feelings against the opposition — many done on the front pages of Umno’s newspaper, Utusan Malaysia — have had limited success. Even the bizarre use of a cow’s head by some Malays demonstrating against the building of a Hindu temple in their neighbourhood failed to anger Indian Malaysians into action.
The inability of BN to regain voter support, as painfully revealed through its loss in all by-elections held on the peninsula since the general election, makes its leadership extremely uncertain about which card it can play.
Should Umno spin itself as protector of Malayness, guardian of punitive Islam or custodian of secular governance?
The danger here is that Umno/BN, left at its wits end, will get ever more desperate. Rumours are rife that Prime Minister Najib Razak is planning the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor.
These are nourished by Najib’s expressed wish to bring the state back into the BN fold and his becoming the Umno liaison chief in Selangor. After all, the BN regained Perak state soon after the PM moved in as Umno liaison chief there.
The key question for MCA members to ask today — be they supporters of Ong or Chua — is whether or not the dubious recovery of power by Umno/BN through intrigues will make it impossible for the party to ever regain voter sympathy, and national relevance, no matter who is running the party. – TODAY
The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His latest book is Arrested Reform: The Undoing of Abdullah Badawi(Refsa).
SEPT 5 — Undoubtedly, the 60-year-old MCA, just like the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), its senior partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), has had a long history of conflict. The current split, however, comes when the party is at its weakest; and BN, the coalition that had always been the vehicle for the MCA’s success, is facing the strongest opposition it has ever known, having lost its two-thirds majority for the first time in last year’s general election.
One quick look at relevant tables shows that the MCA today has substantial support only in semi-rural and rural states.
Indeed, despite being allocated 40 parliamentary seats by the BN to contest last year, it won only 15. Twelve of these are in Johor, Pahang and Perak.
In clearly urban states like Penang, Selangor and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, it was wiped out, with the exception of one seat in Selangor. Urbanity and urban voters are a problem for the MCA, as it is for the BN and Umno.Given such a thrashing, one would have expected the MCA to suffer an immediate meltdown. That did not happen, partially thanks to its former president Ong Ka Ting retiring and thus taking part of the blame for the defeats.
However, this paradoxically passed the buck to his successors. With the pyramid of power so much narrower at the top, tolerance for opposition within the party has become a luxury it could not afford.
Dr Chua Soi Lek, the former Health Minister who resigned before the elections in the aftermath of a scandal where he was caught on video with his mistress in a hotel room, received formidable support in the subsequent party election, and emerged as deputy president. He has now been surprisingly sacked by the new president Ong Tee Keat. The old video was re-used to justify Ong’s desperate move.
Such a sudden disposal of a popular leader leaves those of Chua’s supporters, whose political future depends on their man being ahead, understandably angered. They have vowed to challenge the president’s decision. A nasty clash is imminent.
What this reflects is the unease spreading through the party, as it is spreading within Umno as well, that the political future of many who wedded their lives to their party is in jeopardy. The cake has shrunk and its eaters are hungrier.
The MCA’s fate and fortune cannot be separated from Umno’s. It is, after all, BN that brings power, not each member party by itself.
With the weakening of race-based parties like MCA, Umno and their old ally, the Malaysian Indian Congress, it is tempting to conclude that even if ethnic identity remains strong among Malaysians, the willingness to let personal sentiment decide national politics is not as intuitively given a thing as it used to be.
There are certainly signs suggesting such a development. A row of attempts to rouse racial feelings against the opposition — many done on the front pages of Umno’s newspaper, Utusan Malaysia — have had limited success. Even the bizarre use of a cow’s head by some Malays demonstrating against the building of a Hindu temple in their neighbourhood failed to anger Indian Malaysians into action.
The inability of BN to regain voter support, as painfully revealed through its loss in all by-elections held on the peninsula since the general election, makes its leadership extremely uncertain about which card it can play.
Should Umno spin itself as protector of Malayness, guardian of punitive Islam or custodian of secular governance?
The danger here is that Umno/BN, left at its wits end, will get ever more desperate. Rumours are rife that Prime Minister Najib Razak is planning the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor.
These are nourished by Najib’s expressed wish to bring the state back into the BN fold and his becoming the Umno liaison chief in Selangor. After all, the BN regained Perak state soon after the PM moved in as Umno liaison chief there.
The key question for MCA members to ask today — be they supporters of Ong or Chua — is whether or not the dubious recovery of power by Umno/BN through intrigues will make it impossible for the party to ever regain voter sympathy, and national relevance, no matter who is running the party. – TODAY
The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His latest book is Arrested Reform: The Undoing of Abdullah Badawi(Refsa).
Police arrest Uthayakumar, 15 others in aborted candlelight vigil
by Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Police have arrested 16 people including Human Rights Party leader P. Uthayakumar as they were attempting to march from Masjed Jamek to Dataran Merdeka here tonight for a candlelight vigil protesting last week’s cow-head demonstration by Section 23 residents in Shah Alam.
Authorities had closed off access to the square to prevent the group of about 50 demonstrators from carrying out the vigil.
The group first gathered near Central Market at about 7.30 pm and made their way towards the Masjid Jamek LRT station where they started lighting candles and distributing placards to supporters.
The placards read “Threat and insulting the religion of others is condoned by the government, where is justice?” and “Umno must repent”.
The group’s message echoed those of Pakatan Rakyat leaders, who believe the racially charged cow- head protest was instigated by Umno, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional.
As they marched towards Dataran Merdeka, Uthayakumar and Hindraf coordinator S. Jayathas led the march with songs as others followed them.
The singing didn’t last long as police soon moved in to detain the protesters, among them Uthayakumar’s fiancée S. Indradevi, despite the group heeding police orders to disperse and leave the area.
Also arrested were Hindraf leader and Uthayakumar’s brother P. Waytha Moorthy’s wife and sister.
Uthayakumar, who recently returned from medical treatment abroad, was seen manhandled by the police despite not resisting while his fiancée was roughly pushed and dragged into the police truck.
All 16 were later taken to the Dang Wangi police station to have their statement taken.
In a statement from his London base, Waytha Moorthy said he was appalled by the arrests, saying it was a deliberate and calculated attempt to target the main leaders of Hindraf so that the planned candle vigil would be foiled.
“Those vigil participants were going with candles and roses when they were arrested. PM Najib’s 1 Malaysia is a shame to all democracy-loving Malaysians.
“It is ridiculous that the Muslim extremist cow head protesters – with blood still dripping from the head – who behaved in violent manner, delivered fiery speeches promoting racial hatred and insulted Hindus were given full police protection whilst Hindraf supporters who were armed with unlit candles and roses were violently arrested, bundled and taken into police lock ups,” said Waytha Moorthy who lives in self-exile.
He branded the government and police as fascists who did not have any respect for the Federal Constitution, which provides for freedom of assembly, equality and freedom of religion.
In last week’s protest in Shah Alam, around 50 residents from Section 23 marched towards the Selangor state secretariat building after Friday prayers to protest the planned relocation of a Hindu temple to their housing area.
The protesters brandished a severed cow’s head during the protest, which was observed by the police. No arrests were made then or since.
Today, Selangor mentri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim announced the relocation will now be temporarily put on hold, following an abortive Shah Alam town hall meeting called this morning to discuss the growing controversy.
The group’s message echoed those of Pakatan Rakyat leaders, who believe the racially charged cow- head protest was instigated by Umno, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional.
As they marched towards Dataran Merdeka, Uthayakumar and Hindraf coordinator S. Jayathas led the march with songs as others followed them.
The singing didn’t last long as police soon moved in to detain the protesters, among them Uthayakumar’s fiancée S. Indradevi, despite the group heeding police orders to disperse and leave the area.
Also arrested were Hindraf leader and Uthayakumar’s brother P. Waytha Moorthy’s wife and sister.
Uthayakumar, who recently returned from medical treatment abroad, was seen manhandled by the police despite not resisting while his fiancée was roughly pushed and dragged into the police truck.
All 16 were later taken to the Dang Wangi police station to have their statement taken.
In a statement from his London base, Waytha Moorthy said he was appalled by the arrests, saying it was a deliberate and calculated attempt to target the main leaders of Hindraf so that the planned candle vigil would be foiled.
“Those vigil participants were going with candles and roses when they were arrested. PM Najib’s 1 Malaysia is a shame to all democracy-loving Malaysians.
“It is ridiculous that the Muslim extremist cow head protesters – with blood still dripping from the head – who behaved in violent manner, delivered fiery speeches promoting racial hatred and insulted Hindus were given full police protection whilst Hindraf supporters who were armed with unlit candles and roses were violently arrested, bundled and taken into police lock ups,” said Waytha Moorthy who lives in self-exile.
He branded the government and police as fascists who did not have any respect for the Federal Constitution, which provides for freedom of assembly, equality and freedom of religion.
In last week’s protest in Shah Alam, around 50 residents from Section 23 marched towards the Selangor state secretariat building after Friday prayers to protest the planned relocation of a Hindu temple to their housing area.
The protesters brandished a severed cow’s head during the protest, which was observed by the police. No arrests were made then or since.
Today, Selangor mentri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim announced the relocation will now be temporarily put on hold, following an abortive Shah Alam town hall meeting called this morning to discuss the growing controversy.
DASAR EKONOMI BARU
1. Saya berasa amat sedih kerana terdapat ramai daripada Melayu yang terpelajar menolak Dasar Ekonomi Baru kononnya DEB menguntungkan hanya segelintir daripada kroni pemimpin Kerajaan terutama semasa saya menjadi Perdana Menteri.
2. Mereka ini cuma nampak beberapa kerat peniaga dan pengusaha Melayu yang berjaya. Pendapat mereka ialah semua yang berjaya tentulah kerana mereka kroni, terutama kroni Perdana Menteri. Kata mereka kejayaan Melayu bergantung bukan kerana apa mereka tahu tetapi siapa mereka tahu. Ayat ini datang daripada kecaman orang tertentu yang asalnya dalam bahasa Inggeris iaitu, "It is not what you know but who you know", yang memberi kejayaan. Penggunaan ayat ini oleh orang Melayu sendiri membuktikan betapa mudah minda mereka dipengaruhi oleh orang lain supaya mereka sendiri akan memburukkan diri mereka.
3. Sebelum saya bincang samada benar atau tidak benar tuduhan ini, izinkan saya jelas sedikit akan Dasar Ekonomi Baru.
a. Membasmi kemiskinan tanpa mengira kaum
b. Menghapuskan identifikasi kaum dengan fungsi ekonomi
5. Semasa DEB dilancar kemiskinan dalam Negara adalah lebih daripada 40 peratus. Hari ini kemiskinan telah turun pada lima peratus. Matlamat pertama jelas telah tercapai. Majority daripada yang miskin adalah Melayu dan Bumiputera lain.
6. Bagi matlamat kedua, kejayaan yang terbesar DEB ialah dalam bidang pelajaran. Ramai Bumiputera telah mendapat peluang dalam bidang-bidang profesional sehingga dalam bidang perubatan daripada hanya 8-10 peratus sahaja doktor perubatan yang terdiri daripada Melayu dan Bumiputera, sekarang bahagian mereka berjumlah 40 peratus. Ramai yang menjadi pakar.
7. Demikian juga dalam profesyen lain, pensyarah dan profesor dalam universiti.
8. Jumlah mereka beratus ribu. Apakah mereka yang mendapat pelajaran sehingga ke universiti semuanya daripada keluarga yang kaya yang ada hubungan dengan pemimpin Kerajaan? Apakah mereka mampu mendapat pelajaran ini tanpa DEB? Apakah bagi mereka ini DEB tidak berguna?
9. Berkenaan agihan saham dibawah DEB. Apabila ramai individu Bumiputera mendapat saham dari IPO (Initial Public Offer), semuanya menjual saham dengan serta-merta. Kemudian mereka pohon untuk saham baru.
10. Keuntungan daripada jualan saham dihabis secara hangus.
11. Kerajaan boleh hentikan agihan saham pada Bumiputera. Tetapi ini akan menjadikan syarikat yang tersenarai tidak dimiliki sahamnya oleh Bumiputera sama sekali.
12. Oleh itu ditubuhnya Permodalan Nasional Berhad yang akan membeli saham Bumiputera, memasukkannya dalam unit trust (saham amanah) untuk dijual kepada semua Bumiputera kalaupun mereka boleh labur hanya RM10 sahaja.
13. Melalui sistem amanah saham PNB hari ini lebih lapan juta Bumiputera memiliki saham dalam syarikat-syarikat besar. Diadakan had jumlah yang boleh dimiliki oleh seseorang supaya yang kaya tidak bolot terlalu banyak saham.
14. Tanpa DEB tidak mungkin begitu ramai Bumiputera memiliki saham syarikat-syarikat gergasi. Dapatkah kita tolak DEB kerana hanya menguntungkan kroni sahaja. Tidak adakah orang lain yang juga dapat manfaat.
15. Sekarang berkenaan Bumiputera yang kaya raya. Jumlah mereka sudah beribu. Hampir semua mereka mendapat peluang daripada Kerajaan. Sebab?
16. Sebabnya ialah hanya Kerajaan dan agensi-agensinya sahaja yang memberi peluang kepada mereka. Umpamanya, tidak ada kontraktor Bumiputera yang dapat kontrak daripada orang lain. Kerajaan melayan mereka kerana DEB.
17. Apakah mereka terdiri daripada kroni? Mereka yang berjaya pada mulanya mendapat peluang kecil-kecilan daripada Kerajaan. Jika mereka jual peluang ini, samada kontrak, lesen, AP atau permit lain, mereka tidak akan dapat peluang berkali lagi.
18. Bagi yang tidak jual, yang usaha sendiri dan membuktikan kebolehan mereka memangpun mereka patut diberi lebih banyak lagi peluang. Justeru itu ada yang amat berjaya hingga menjadi jutawan.
19. Apakah mereka kroni? Memang yang berjaya akan dikenali oleh ramai termasuk Perdana Menteri. Kalau nak elak daripada ada yang dianggap sebagai kroni, caranya ialah dengan menentukan tidak ada sesiapapun daripada Bumiputera yang akan berjaya. Ini mudah sahaja. Sesiapa yang Nampak Berjaya jangan bagi kontrak, atau lesen lagi.
20. Walaupun demikian adalah diakui ada yang ditolong secara keterlaluan oleh Menteri. Tetapi jumlah mereka tidak ramai.
21. Apakah kerana penyelewengan yang sedikit ini kita harus tolak DEB? Kata Mat Salleh, "Do you throw out the baby with the water in the wash basin?"
22. Jika kita buat perhitungan yang ikhlas kita akan akui yang DEB memanfaatkan bukan segelintir tetapi berjuta-juta Bumiputera. Amatlah menyedihkan apabila ada Bumiputera yang juga mendapat menfaat dari DEB yang begitu sekali ingin mendapat label "liberal and non-racist" dengan cuba menghapuskan orang sebangsa mendapat peluang dari DEB
Umno Supreme Council Meeting Expected To Discuss Bagan Pinang By-election
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- The Umno Supreme Council meeting on Sept 11, is expected to discuss preparations for the by-election in Bagan Pinang, Negeri Sembilan.
Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said he was confident that BN would be able to retain the seat that fell vacant due to the death of incumbent Azman Mohammad Noor on Friday.
"The candidate has yet to be identified and we will leave it to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to decide. Since we won the seat by a 2,333-vote majority, we are confident of retaining it," he told reporters after a Salam Ramadhan programme here on Friday.
In Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan Umno Liaison Chief Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan who is also Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar said, he would leave it to the Telok Kemang Umno division to list down the prospective candidates.
"I had discussed the matter with Telok Kemang Umno division Chief Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and urged him to discuss the matter within the division before submitting the list of candidates to the party leadership.
"It is important for the candidate to be endorsed by the division so as to avoid any misunderstanding among members in the division that can disrupt the harmony when preparing for the by-election," said Mohamad Hasan after handing out yearly contributions for the poor to 22 mosques in Port Dickson.
In Kota Baharu, Kelantan Umno Liaison Chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said BN should work towards winning by a bigger majority in the Bagan Pinang by-election to strengthen the party's standing.
During the March 2008 general election, Azman polled 6,430 votes to beat Ramli Ismail of PAS who garnered 4,097 votes.
Meanwhile, speaking of the MCA saga, Tengku Adnan said MCA, being a BN component party, should try and solve their internal problems quickly.
"We are not going to involve in MCA's EGM, however I do hope that the issue, (internal problems) will be resolved as soon as possible. We would like BN component parties to have no problems and less politicking.
"As for the EGM being the best way to resolve this dispute, maybe it is one of the best way, I leave it to MCA to handle their internal issues just like they've allowed us to settle our own internal problems. However, again I hope they would resolve the issue quickly as anything which happens to our component parties will affect BN as a whole under any situation," he added.
In KOTA KINABALU, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin had expressed confidence that the BN would retain the Bagan Pinang state seat.
"Traditionally, Bagan Pinang is a Barisan Nasional stronghold. We won it by a landslide majority.
"So, this time around, I'm sure we will win it again comfortably," he told reporters after attending an Umno Youth Iftar (breaking of fast) dinner, at Universiti Malaysia Sabah here.
He said the Umno Youth machinery had also started its preparation for the by-election.
Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said he was confident that BN would be able to retain the seat that fell vacant due to the death of incumbent Azman Mohammad Noor on Friday.
"The candidate has yet to be identified and we will leave it to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to decide. Since we won the seat by a 2,333-vote majority, we are confident of retaining it," he told reporters after a Salam Ramadhan programme here on Friday.
In Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan Umno Liaison Chief Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan who is also Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar said, he would leave it to the Telok Kemang Umno division to list down the prospective candidates.
"I had discussed the matter with Telok Kemang Umno division Chief Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and urged him to discuss the matter within the division before submitting the list of candidates to the party leadership.
"It is important for the candidate to be endorsed by the division so as to avoid any misunderstanding among members in the division that can disrupt the harmony when preparing for the by-election," said Mohamad Hasan after handing out yearly contributions for the poor to 22 mosques in Port Dickson.
In Kota Baharu, Kelantan Umno Liaison Chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said BN should work towards winning by a bigger majority in the Bagan Pinang by-election to strengthen the party's standing.
During the March 2008 general election, Azman polled 6,430 votes to beat Ramli Ismail of PAS who garnered 4,097 votes.
Meanwhile, speaking of the MCA saga, Tengku Adnan said MCA, being a BN component party, should try and solve their internal problems quickly.
"We are not going to involve in MCA's EGM, however I do hope that the issue, (internal problems) will be resolved as soon as possible. We would like BN component parties to have no problems and less politicking.
"As for the EGM being the best way to resolve this dispute, maybe it is one of the best way, I leave it to MCA to handle their internal issues just like they've allowed us to settle our own internal problems. However, again I hope they would resolve the issue quickly as anything which happens to our component parties will affect BN as a whole under any situation," he added.
In KOTA KINABALU, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin had expressed confidence that the BN would retain the Bagan Pinang state seat.
"Traditionally, Bagan Pinang is a Barisan Nasional stronghold. We won it by a landslide majority.
"So, this time around, I'm sure we will win it again comfortably," he told reporters after attending an Umno Youth Iftar (breaking of fast) dinner, at Universiti Malaysia Sabah here.
He said the Umno Youth machinery had also started its preparation for the by-election.
Seksyen 23 residents prevail
updates: 3.45pm, Big Dog's post: "Selangor MB Flip Flop"
Original posting:
Temple relocation shelved. Not a good day for Khalid Ibrahim. The Menteri Besar's dialogue with the Section 23 residents this morning went awfully awry.
Lessons for the govt:
1. Unilateral decisions don't pay, especially with a weak government/leadership
2. Democracy is alive (especially after a demonstration)
The residents/protesters' "victory" should inspire more demonstrations in Selangor in future, I reckon. Or more consultations between the Sgor govt and residents, especially the Malay-Muslim residents, before any action that may affect them is taken.
Or both.
Agenda Daily has a graphic brief on the event. Watch their space here for the full report.
Original posting:
Temple relocation shelved. Not a good day for Khalid Ibrahim. The Menteri Besar's dialogue with the Section 23 residents this morning went awfully awry.
Lessons for the govt:
1. Unilateral decisions don't pay, especially with a weak government/leadership
2. Democracy is alive (especially after a demonstration)
The residents/protesters' "victory" should inspire more demonstrations in Selangor in future, I reckon. Or more consultations between the Sgor govt and residents, especially the Malay-Muslim residents, before any action that may affect them is taken.
Or both.
Agenda Daily has a graphic brief on the event. Watch their space here for the full report.
Kecoh…kecoh...kecoh
'MB bodoh’ dan 'Khalid Babi’ serta macam-macam kata kesat menyelubungi Dewan Bankuet Wisma Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam pagi Sabtu dimana berlangsung sesi dialog Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim dengan penduduk Seksyen 23 berhubung isu pembinaan kuil.Kira-kira 300 penduduk termasuk 40 kaum India hadir dailog itu.Kalangan yang berang dengan keputusan kerajaan negeri hendak bina kuil Hindu dekat kawasan perumahan mereka juga boo kearah Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam Khalid Samad dan ADUN Batu Tiga PKR Rodziah Ismail.Malah satu ketika seorang penduduk tunjuk tapak kasut kearah Khalid dan ramai yang menjerit ‘ penipu’ semasa Rodziah berucap.Dailog selama sejam itu berakhir tanpa apa-apa keputusan dibuat.Sebelum itu penduduk tidak endahkan jaminan Menteri Besar kata nak kaji balik keputusan.Suasana juga agak tegang bila wakil penduduk India tetap mahukan kuil di Sek 23.Ia jadi lebih hangat bila dia kata orang India boleh tahan dengan laungan azan lima kali sehari.Khalid dalam sidang media di kediaman rasminya tengahari tadi, berkata kerajaan negeri membekukan sementara cadangan pemindahan kuil ke Sek 23 sehingga alternatif lain bagi menyelesaikan isu terbabit.-
Takziah buat keluarga bekas ADUN Bagan Pinang
By Chegu Bard,
Salam takziah buat keluarga dan teman - teman Arwahyarham Azman Mohd Noor, ADUN Bagan Pinang, Negeri Sembilan yang kembali ke rahmatullah semalam. Semoga roh arwah ditempatkan di sisi orang yang solleh sesuai dengan amalan beliau. cheGuBard dan teman - teman sempat menziarahi dan menghadiri upacara pengkebumian jam 8.00 malam semalam.
Nampaknya 'nasihat' Pengerusi SPR agar wakil rakyat tidak mati gagal dituruti. SPR dengan jelas mutakahir ini bersungguh cuba mengelakan Bn dari berdepan dengan kuasa rakyat melalui pilihanraya dan yang terbaru di Kedah. SPR jelas mencabul kuasa Speaker DUN Kedah yang mengistiharkan DUN tersebut kosong kerana wakil rakyat Bn yang ponteng sidang dewan.
Namun kali ini di DUN Bagan Pinang pilihanraya kecil sudah tidak boleh di elakan.
Pilihanraya kali ini bukan mudah juga bagi Pakatan Rakyat. Kerusi ini milik Bn sebelum ini. Kekuatan mereka bukan kepada undi rakyat sebaliknya kepada lebih 5000 undi pos.
Di sinilah peranan SPR dituntut untuk memastikan pilihanraya yang adil, bersih dan telus. Mengikut maklumat dari anggota tentera yang menjadi pengundi di Bagan Pinang menyatakan mereka tidak mengundi sendiri sebaliknya seorang pegawai akan mengundi bagi pihak mereka.
Pilihanraya kecil kali ini merupakan pilihanraya penentu penting. 2 aras penentu tersebut ialah pertama jika Pakatan rakyat mampu mengalahkan Bn di kawasan majoriti Melayu yang di menangi Bn sebelum ini maknanya Bn tidak akan pulih dan PRU ke 13 kerajaan akan bertukar begitu juga sebaliknya.
Penanda yang kedua ialah jika SPR gagal pada kali ini menjamin Pilihanraya yang adil, bersih dan telus seperti memastikan proses undi pos yang terbuka maka harapan pada SPR seharusnya dibuang terus ke longkang dan SPR lah elemen penting yang harus dihumbankan jika mahu melihat kemerdekaan rakyat benar terialisasi.
Apa pun Selamat Datang semua ke Negeri Sembilan !
Bagi peringkat negeri pula keputusan amat penting kerana perbezaan kerusi yang amat sedikit menggambarkan mood sokongan dan penilaian prestasi wakil rakyat.
ARREST OF HINDRAF PEACEFUL PROTESTERS
BRIEF MEDIA STATEMENT ON ARREST OF HINDRAF PEACEFUL PROTESTERS - WAYTHAMOORTHY
5th Sept 2009
HINDRAF is appalled by the arrest of 16 peaceful candle light vigil participants at Dataran Merdeka (Freedom Square). Most of those arrested were walking towards Dataran when they were charged by riot police with batons and arrested in a violent manner. 2 other participants were separately arrested about 30 minutes later- K.Shanti and Waytha Nayagi who were sending text messages to supporters informing the earlier arrests were arrested on grounds not known to them.
This is a deliberate and calculated attempt to target the main leaders of Hindraf so that the planned candle vigil would be foiled. Those vigil participants were going with candles and Roses when they were arrested.
THE ARREST OF UTHAYKUMAR AND 14 OTHER INNOCENTS IN THE DESECRATION OF THE COW EPISODE - A SHAME TO MALAYSIA
Uthayakumar and 14 others including his wife have been arrested tonite at the candlelight vigil against the seditious protests of UMNO in Shah Alam Temple location issue. The UMNO protestors who provoked this whole series of events, the real culprits in this episode are being very gently and slowly investigated by the Attorney general’s office. Nothing very likely will happen to any of them.
Updates on Candle vigil
Caption bala who had kidney operation recently is also arrested. He cant hold his bladder very long.He urined and his urine mixed with blood. Probably he is injured as well.
Joke from the lock up in Dang wangi. Ex ISA detainee Manoharan suggested to police to give Uthaya and Indra the same cell as they were recently married and want to be together.
Joke from the lock up in Dang wangi. Ex ISA detainee Manoharan suggested to police to give Uthaya and Indra the same cell as they were recently married and want to be together.
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