Dr M, The Insider’s Malaysian of the Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Equally loved and loathed, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad might have retired from public life five years ago but 2008 has seen his greatest impact on Malaysian life for him to become The Malaysian Insider’s “Malaysian of the Year”.

In a year of change, many could have easily taken that accolade — ranging from Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who capped 10 years of political wilderness with a hair’s-breadth chance of finally becoming Prime Minister to the Malaysian voter who reminded the politicians “who’s the boss”.

But Dr M — he of the sarcasm and smirk — made 2008 all his own. Revered or reviled, he recovered from illness last year to remonstrate the government, regain his momentum against successor Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, resign from Umno, revive Mahathirism, repudiate his critics and rejuvenate his son Datuk Mukhriz’s chances of being Umno Youth chief.

Beyond the pulpit of public office, Mahathir is still widely popular despite being without a party. Legions of fans and supporters have continued to praise him for his stand, thoughts and ideas for the country and the world.

His eight-month-old www.chedet.com blog has received some 10 million visitors with more bouquets than brickbats. Others have simply dismissed him as an old man whose time has gone by and he should just retire in peace.

But his influence has grown even beyond the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) electoral pact put together by his one-time protege Anwar. He told people to vote in a strong opposition but later blamed Barisan Nasional’s unprecedented election losses on a weak leadership. He has castigated, criticised and cut down Umno leaders and former political allies to size, without fear or favour.

Proving that age has not dimmed his memory nor withered his caustic tongue, Mahathir has single-handedly and single-mindedly hounded Abdullah out office prematurely — using a combination of his wildly popular blog, public appearances and media interviews that finally prompted Umno to ungraciously unseat his somnambulist successor.

His reasoning is simple, underscored by the second blogpost — “As for my criticisms of the leaders of the present Government, I believe I have every right to do so. Retiring from the Government simply means giving up authority and power. It does not mean I must abdicate my role as a citizen.”

The second last posting said even more when Mahathir commented on a stretch of public holidays which for some is a happy confluence of the Islamic and Gregorian calendars.

“It shows that we really don’t need a Government. It will just coast along even if no one is steering it. That is how good we have become at governing,” he said with his trademark sarcasm without even referring to Abdullah.

His tireless tirade against Abdullah culminated with his May 19 resignation from Umno Baru, which he founded in 1988. Mahathir has yet to rejoin Umno despite Abdullah set to hand over Putrajaya to the party’s president-elect Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, whom he has also called a weak leader.

Focusing on the ruling coalition and accusing the opposition of collusion with Abdullah, Mahathir’s constant carping and criticisms helped to chip away support for Barisan Nasional and awakened the people to the possibility of change in the country.

Not quite the result that he wanted but the ends justified the means.

Although he, like many other Malaysians, has complained about the lack of freedom of expression to criticise the government, Mahathir has personally stifled dissent, brooking no opposition to his thoughts and ideas — the short side of Mahathirisim where prosperity flourished while freedom decayed.

For him, the change should be towards Mahathirism which a growing number do believe is the salvation for the country, fondly recalling the steady hand and calm mind in both the 1987/88 and 1997/1998 financial crises.

For others, dismantling his legacy cannot start soon enough although it has proven difficult against this man who ruled for 22 years and united people for and against him, even beyond the pale of Putrajaya, where he sits in his Nehru jacket in an exact replica of his Prime Minister’s Office — writing, reading and reiterating his way of life.

All said and done, Mahathir’s shadow looms large and he continues to exert a great influence in Malaysia, for better or worse, and has no equal as 2008’s Malaysian of the Year.

Say ‘no’ to plastic bags

While the rest of the world is moving towards bans on the free distribution of plastic bags, supermarkets in Malaysia are still happily dishing out such bags, which are an environmental nightmare.

Why are we so gung-ho about plastic bags and what is preventing the authorities from asking supermarkets to stop freely giving out plastic bags and instead encouraging customers to use reuseable cloth or jute bags? Is it a case of apathy or is the ‘plastics lobby’ in Malaysia so strong?

Our landfills, rivers, streams and drains are clogged with plastic bags of all sorts. Then, there are all those “mineral” water bottles.

Even at the local corner shop or hawker stalls, we can say no to plastic bags and bring our own reuseable bags or containers instead.

But be careful of certain reuseable bags that are not exactly environmentally friendly.

This article from National Geographic News:

Plastic-Bag Bans Gaining Momentum Around the World
John Roach
for National Geographic News
April 4, 2008

From Australia to the U.K., and all across the U.S., politicians and corporations are pondering banning or taxing plastic bags.

A hefty surcharge that began in 2003 in Ireland has spurred the public there to spurn plastic bags almost completely in favor of reusable cloth totes.

Plastic sacks are also taxed in Italy and Belgium. Grocery shoppers must pay for the bags in Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. Spain, Norway, and now the U.K. are considering a ban or tax as well.

The political action in the U.K. on single-use plastic bags follows similar gestures earlier this year in Australia.

There a national ban or tax is being hotly debated, though the state of South Australia, which includes the city of Adelaide, has promised a ban on free single-use bags by year’s end no matter what.

The state’s premier, Mike Rann, listed familiar reasons for the ban: The bags contribute to greenhouse gases, clog up landfills, litter streets and streams, and kill wildlife.

Banished Bags

Unsightly pollution appears to be behind China’s January announcement of a countrywide ban on the thinnest totes and a tax on others. It begins June 1, two months before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Taiwan taxes the bags, and the cities of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Mumbai, India, ban them to prevent flood-inducing storm-drain clogs during monsoon season.

Once jokingly called the “national flower,” thin plastic bags have been banned in South Africa since 2003; thicker ones are taxed. Similar measures exist in Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

In the U.S., the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, California, ban the bags and promote reusable and compostable sacks. Elsewhere in the state supermarkets are required to take back and recycle the bags.

Full article here.

Malaysia at new crossroads – unite as one people to withstand the worst effects of the global economic tsunami

2009 New Year Message

2008 is the year of the political tsunami in Malaysia – with five state governments under Pakatan Rakyat, the end of two-thirds parliamentary majority of Barisan Nasional and a totally new national mindset where the toppling of the Umno-Barisan Nasional coalition government at the national level is no more impossible or unthinkable but eminently possible and a matter of time.

In 2009, the world expects the worst economic tsunami in 80 years wreaking even greater economic devastation world-wide than that caused by the global financial crisis this year which had already plunged the United States, Europe and Japan into recession and slowed down world economic growth - and the two great economic powerhouses, China and Japan, will not be spared.

Malaysia is at a new crossroads. We have lost our way after half-a-century of nationhood as illustrated by the tragic fact that the objective of a Bangsa Malaysia as proclaimed in Vision 2020 has become a subject of discord rather than concord among Malaysians and our continued slippage in international competitiveness whether in terms of university rankings, corruption perception indices, human rights or good governance ratings.

The year ended with Parliament passing two reform bills aimed to restore confidence in the independence and integrity of key institutions of the country, to eradicate corruption and to restore an independent and impartial judiciary, but under great national cynicism that there is the real political will to carry out these reforms.

Such cynicism were only reinforced when nothing was revealed in the so-called “tell all” press conference into the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone bail-out scandal after the reforms bills were passed.

The great challenge facing Malaysia in the coming year is whether Malaysians can unite as one Malaysian people to withstand the worst effects of the global economic tsunami in the coming year and regain our lost ground in the international competitiveness stakes to forge a united, just, progressive, caring and meritocratic nation.

HINDRAF – Wishing a Happy New Year 2009 to all Malaysians

Let HINDRAF, take this opportunity to wish you, your family and friends best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2009.

HINDRAF would like to pay tribute to all HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS - those who had faced adversity and being continuously subject to various methods of systematic discrimination and marginalization practiced by the present UMNO led government as these true children of the nation have persevered through their struggle directly and indirectly to create the awareness and truly have awaken the nation.

HINDRAF hold fundamental for democracy, for openness, and co-existence of races irrespective of race or religion and their differences. However, exploitation of race and religion by various sectors seems to be the main agenda of the UMNO led government and its agent provocateurs.

The government through its mechanism continues to suppress the general will of the nation that is calling for fundamental changes. This is taking place, and HINDRAF's demand for change, transformation for a return of human values for the Malaysian Indians can no longer be suppressed nor contained as it has transpired to become the foremost demand of the general public.

In 2008, our comrades were highlighting the oppressed state of the Indians through rallies, petitions and various diplomatic approaches locally and internationally which has been chastised by tyranny of the UMNO lead government. So have other organization and individuals of the Malaysian society who had faced the backlash of the UMNO tyranny. However, HINDRAF's reasoning and spirit are undeterred as we step into 2009.

Confident, resolute and without fear for the truth and reality, HINDRAF will forge ahead with new strategies, along with its allies both locally and internationally to spearhead the cause for the systematically marginalized and discriminated Malaysian Indians.

These activities in 2009 to be coordinated by HINDRAF will involve extensive coverage in the international arena in North America, Europe, and Asia as well as domestically.

HINDRAF is thankful for the support it has received and shall contribute with all its strength to push forward the necessary changes to ensure that the reforms in the society would lead to a fairer social and economic equality for the Malaysian Indians as well as the rest of the nation.

HINDRAF again takes this opportunity to wish all Malaysians a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Waytha Moorthy

HINDRAF – Chairman

Olmert: Airstrikes, blockade merely 'first stage' in Gaza

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Israel's fourth day of attacks in Gaza sent the Palestinian death toll to more than 375 as the Jewish state's prime minister warned Tuesday that the air offensive marked only the beginning, according to officials.

A Palestinian man surveys a Hamas government compound after an Israeli airstrike Tuesday.

"We are currently at the first stage of the operation," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told President Shimon Peres during a morning briefing, according to officials.

Olmert's summation came a day after Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel's parliament that the campaign launched Saturday marked an "all-out war" against Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza.

However, an official in the Defense Ministry said Barak would consider a proposal for a two-day truce to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Barak would bring the issue up Tuesday with Olmert, the official said.

Earlier, an Israeli military official denied a truce was in the works, and Mark Regev, Olmert's spokesman, said he was aware of no such proposal.

The Israeli military says it is targeting only Hamas militants, which it says are responsible for a recent barrage of rocket fire into southern Israel. Palestinian parliament member Mustafa Barghouti, however, has called the raids a "war on the Palestinian people" and said the incursion is politically motivated.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this is not the case and insists Israel is trying to pinpoint militants.

He said of Hamas, "They are committed to our destruction. They're firing missiles at our civilians. They're hiding behind their civilians. That's a double war crime right there."

He declared Israel amid a "grave crisis" and said he believes that "down the line, we'll have to bring down the Hamas regime."

Netanyahu will vie again for the prime ministerial post in February, against Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Barak, another former prime minister.

The United Nations has called for both sides to end the violence, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has roundly condemned both sides -- Hamas for the rocket fire, and Israel for its "excessive use of force" in retaliating.

Three civilians and a soldier have been killed by rockets landing in southern Israel since the campaign began Saturday.

Though Palestinian medical sources say that most of the 375 people killed in Gaza were Hamas militants, U.N. officials said at least 60 civilians were among the dead.

Hamas security sources and Palestinian medical sources said two girls, ages 4 and 11, were killed early Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike as they rode in a donkey-driven cart in Beit Hanoun.

The IDF said it was checking the report.

Israel bombed a Hamas government compound early Tuesday, leveling at least three structures, including the foreign ministry building, eyewitnesses and Hamas security sources said.

A Gaza-based journalist, whose name was withheld for security reasons, said that he heard 18 blasts in the area and that two fires were burning at the compound.

More bombs continued to drop over Gaza throughout the day.

In the Mediterranean Sea, an Israeli patrol vessel struck a boat carrying medical volunteers and supplies to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to intercept the vessel, witnesses and Israeli officials said.

CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot, Gibraltar-registered Dignity when the incident happened in international waters about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor called allegations that the boat was deliberately rammed "absurd" and countered that the volunteer vessel was trying to outmaneuver the Israeli boat.

Despite the blockade and the airstrikes targeting hundreds of Hamas targets, there was no indication of a ground operation in Gaza, but Israel has tanks on the territory's periphery and voted this week to call up 2,000 reserve soldiers.

Israel has allowed dozens of trucks carrying relief supplies into Gaza. Also, the Rafah border crossing to Egypt was opened temporarily Tuesday to allow aid workers and medical supplies into Gaza and to transport injured Palestinians to hospitals in Al Arish, about 19 miles from the border, Egyptian journalist Shahira Amin said.

Doctors in Al Arish said they were treating 36 wounded Palestinians, at least six of whom were critically injured and being transferred to a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, for treatment. More patients were expected to arrive Tuesday, the doctors said.

Militants in Gaza have fired more than 70 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel since Monday, the IDF reported. At least 180 rockets have been launched into Israel since the campaign began, according to Israeli sources.

On Tuesday, two rockets damaged buildings in Sderot, and a third rocket landed in a cemetery, wounding one person, Israeli medical services and the military reported.

Hamas pledges it will defend its land and people from what it calls continued Israeli aggression. Each side blames the other for violating an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. The truce formally expired December 19, but it had been weakening for months.

In a statement issued by his office, Peres said the ongoing shelling by Hamas "defies reason and logic, and it doesn't stand a chance."

"There isn't a person in the world who understands what the goals of Hamas are and why they continue to fire rockets," Peres said.

Suhakam wants police to apply law consistently

(The Sun) Police should be consistent and neutral in applying the law, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said.

"The law does not differ from state to state," he said after receiving a memorandum from Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Oppressed People’s Network) or Jerit today.

Speaking at a press conference at the Suhakam office, Siva Subramaniam said the memorandum would be submitted to the commission next month.

He said Suhakam had sent a letter dated Dec 17 to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan after it received a memorandum from Jerit on Dec 10, and was awaiting a reply. The commission would also hear the police’s view of the matter, he said.

In today’s memorandum, which was presented to the commission by Jerit co-ordinator M. Sarasvathy, Jerit described "misuse of power" by police through-out its cycling campaign "Cycling for change", which began from Alor Star, Kedah on Dec 3 and Skudai, Johor on Dec 6, ending at the Parliament building on Dec 18.

Jerit is demanding the abolition of the Internal Security Act, legislation to provide a minimum wage for workers, comfortable homes for the poor, an end to the privatisation of water, electricity, hospitals and public facilities, price controls on basic goods and the restoration of local government elections.

It has urged Suhakam to hold a public inquiry into police handling of the campaign with regard to the following aspects – human rights, children’s rights, the right to provide information and the right to free movement.

In its memorandum, Jerit claims that the police used varying interpretations of the law in different states. It listed in chronological order, events involving the police throughout the campaign.

Also present at the press conference were Jerit spokesman S. Arutchelvan and coordinator R. Moharani.

Identified: People linked to blog insulting the Prophet

By Chan Li Leen, The Star

The police have identified several people who could be responsible for a blog allegedly containing insults against the Prophet Muhammad.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, however, did not disclose details of the suspects and merely said that investigations were still ongoing.

“We have a special team under the commercial crime director which is investigating the matter.

“And we are working closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission,” Ismail told reporters at the Northern Brigade General Operations Force in Ulu Kinta on Tuesday.

He further revealed that police also found out that the server used was located outside the country.

“It is quite a daunting task for us,” he added.

Ismail had earlier presented berets to 31 officers of the Special Action Squad and 17 VAT 69 commandos who successfully completed their training.

Pahang police, meanwhile, received a report on the existence of the blog.

State Criminal Investigation Department deputy chief Supt Mohd Haris Daud said the report was lodged on Saturday by Maran Umno Youth vice head Hairul Amin Othman at the Maran police headquarters.

“We will investigate the matter,” he told reporters.

He said the investigation would be carried out under the Sedition Act.

Opening the door to your heart

In the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election, PAS, PKR, DAP, PRM, MDP, PASOK and PSM endorsed the People’s Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat, which was launched by the civil society movements at the Blog House in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The title of my piece today is 'borrowed' from the book, ‘Opening the door to your heart’, by Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist monk. In the first chapter of the book, called ‘Two bad bricks’, Ajahn talks about how he built his first wall. It is very difficult, of course, for one with no bricklaying experience, Ajahn lamented, and he challenged the readers to try building one. Nevertheless, he finally completed the wall and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

To his horror he noticed that two of the bricks were crooked and he felt these two ‘bad bricks’ spoiled the appearance of the wall. He then asked the abbot for permission to tear the wall down and to start all over again. The abbot, however, told him to leave it as it is. Since then Ajahn felt ashamed of his shoddy workmanship.

One day, a visitor visited their monastery and expressed admiration for how the monks had built it from scratch with their own hands and without any outside expert help. Ajahn pointed out that the monastery was actually far from perfect because one of the walls had two bad bricks. The visitor replied that he did not notice it because all he saw was the 998 good bricks, not the two bad ones.

It suddenly dawned upon Ajahn that all this while he was upset about the two bad bricks without noticing the 998 good ones. And to think he actually wanted to tear the wall down because of these two bad bricks while not realising he would be destroying 998 good bricks in the process.

Yes, many see half a glass of water as being half empty rather than half full. And that is also how we see people and situations. We only notice and become concerned about the two bad bricks while totally overlooking the 998 good ones.

And how do we see PAS (the Islamic Party of Malaysia)? Do we see it for the blunder that Husam Musa made during his recent debate with Khairy Jamaluddin or do we see the 998 good bricks in PAS? Husam blundered big time with his retort on Hudud -- thanks to the very clever Khairy who trapped Husam into a corner that resulted in the latter blurting out without thinking. Not only was Husam wrong in saying that Pakatan Rakyat has not dropped the Hudud issue, when it is PAS and not Pakatan Rakyat that is propagating Hudud, but he was also wrong in not repeating what he had said so many times in the past on the matter of Hudud and the Islamic State.

And what was it that Husam and many of the other PAS leaders said so many times in the past? They had said that while the Islamic State is still very much the ideal of the party, PAS, however, is prepared to drop it from their agenda as they realise they will never have the two-thirds majority in parliament to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State.

PAS is pragmatic. Without a doubt they are an Islamic party, so they can’t but talk about Islam. This must be expected just like how the Christian Democrats would never stop talking about Christianity or a Hindu party stop talking about Hinduism. But turning Malaysia into an Islamic State would be a tall order if you do not have at least 150 seats in Parliament. And, as has been pointed out many times in the past, how to get 150 seats when PAS contests only 60 seats and wins not even half those seats?

In other words, I would like to do it but will not because I just can’t do it. I suppose the same goes for many Muslims who would like to marry a second wife but will not because there is no way they can marry a second wife without their first wife skinning them alive -- and we are not talking about foreskin here. Wanting it in your heart but actually doing something about it is a separate matter altogether.

So, PAS has two bad bricks, maybe even ten. But there are one million PAS members, grass-root leaders and national leaders. Are we going to judge and sentence PAS because of two bad bricks, or even ten? Are we going to tear the wall down because of two bad bricks? What about the 998 good bricks, the one million other PAS members and leaders? Do these count for nothing?

Let us look at just some of the 998 ‘good bricks’ in PAS.

In 1990, when PAS first formed the government in Kelantan together with Semangat 46, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Menteri Besar, summoned the Hindus for a meeting and offered them permission to build a temple in the state. The Hindus were delightfully surprised. For more than a decade they had tried to get the Umno government to approve their request to build a temple but with little success. Suddenly, even before Nik Aziz could warm his seat, he summoned the Hindus for a meeting to grant them permission to build a temple -- even though they had not approached the new state government to ask for it.

In the past, pigs could not be slaughtered in ‘Umno’ Kelantan and pork had to be brought in from the other states. Now, under the new PAS-led government, the Chinese can slaughter pigs in the state.

Yesterday, the Umno-backed Malay NGOs sent PAS a petition protesting the slaughter of pigs in ‘Umno’ Melaka. Hello, why protest to PAS about what is going on in an ‘Umno’ state? And why does the PAS Youth Movement not also send a petition to Nik Aziz to protest the slaughtering of pigs in Kelantan since PAS is supposed to be more radical and intolerant than Umno?

Liquor and beer can still be purchased and consumed in Kelantan, contrary to what is being reported. (The same thing happened in Terengganu when PAS ruled the state from 1999 to 2004. Liquor and beer were not banned). Furthermore, the Chinese can now do business without any hindrance and they no longer need to pay bribes to get things done or approved like in the days of ‘Umno’ Kelantan.

And so on and so forth, the list goes on.

These are but some of the ‘happy stories’ that people relate and there are certainly many, many more. But people do not want to look at the 998 good bricks. They would rather focus on the two bad ones and keep harping on them till the cows come home.

Can we look at PAS’s 998 good bricks and then compare the party to Umno with its so many bad bricks? Sure, Umno does have some good bricks. The party is not 100% bad. But the Umno bad bricks far outnumber its good bricks and you need to use a fine toothcomb to look for these good bricks.

It appears like Hudud is the main and only issue for most to reject PAS. Actually, Hudud is not even an issue any longer. It was a stupid slip that Husam made and which the mainstream media is going to town with. But is life only and all about Hudud, a law which can never be implemented anyway? Surely there is more to life than just Hudud.

What about good governance, transparency, the independence of the judiciary, restoration of the rights of Malaysians, plus an end to corruption, racism, abuse of power, wastage of public funds, and much more? Are these no longer important? Do these 998 good bricks become irrelevant because of the two bad bricks, which were not really that bad in the first place but was a mere perception issue?

In the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election, PAS, PKR, DAP, PRM, MDP, PASOK and PSM endorsed the People’s Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat, which was launched by the civil society movements at the Blog House in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur. These are the 998 good bricks that we should focus on. These 998 good bricks overshadow the two bad bricks -- the blunder Husam made in his debate with Khairy.

Maybe during the Kuala Terengganu by-election campaign PAS should reiterate its stand and reinforce its support for the People’s Declaration. Let the voters, in particular the Chinese, Indians and liberal Malays, see that PAS is committed to reforms and to the propagation of a civil society (masyarakat madani). PAS needs a makeover. It is suffering from a serious image problem. And it is a victim of mainstream media propaganda. PAS needs to correct public perception about what it stands for.

I challenge PAS to prove its critics wrong. Re-endorse the People’s Declaration and prove, once and for all, that a civil society and not the cutting off the hands of thieves is the priority of the party. In response to the move by PAS to, again, endorse the People’s Declaration, the civil society movements, even those whom PAS labels as ‘deviant Muslims’, will go down to the ground to explain the issue to the voters. This, we promise PAS.

I can assure you of one thing. Even those who are not Muslims plus those, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who are opposed to the setting up of an Islamic State and Hudud will be campaigning for PAS in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. Re-endorse the People’s Declaration and see whether this happens or not.

Anwar clears first hurdle - Oct 7

Two Malaysians face terrorism charges in Thailand

BANGKOK, Dec 30 - A Malaysian undergraduate and a school dropout are facing terrorism charges in Thailand after their alleged plan to "help their Muslim brothers fight Siamese soldiers in the deep south went awry.

Thai newspaper reports say that Muhammad Fadly bin Zainal of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Omar Hanif Shamsul Kamar were arrested in June this year while attempting to steal a motorcycle in Golok. During

interrogation, they told Thai officials that they were affected by two incidents in Tak Bai and Krue Se in 2004 - where many Muslims died from suffocation after being packed like sardines in military trucks and were

killed in an assault on a mosque.

The two men said that they wanted to join in the jihad fight against Thai military in Southern Thailand.

Fadly spoke to officials from the International Crisis Group from his prison cell in Narathiwat and said that he had received a month's training before traveling to Thailand in May this year. He said that he and Omar were recruited by a man in Kelantan and entered Thailand with a Malaysian ustaz "Muhammad'' and a South Asian man.

Thai police told the ICG that they believe that the two Malaysians had not established any links with the insurgents in South Thailand.

The Bangkok Post in a report today said that "this is not the first time that Malaysian nationals have been arrested in the South, but what is alarming is that this is the first time they have clearly linked their activity to jihad…Their arrests are considered proof that foreign Muslims radicals were being invited by members of the local jihadi networks to operate in the far South. Thai security agencies cannot afford to sit back and overlook this matter.''

Thailand has faced secessionist movements since it annexed the independent state of Patani in 1902. The religious and racial difference between the Malay Muslims and Buddhist majority in the country has created a sense of alienation in the south. Malay Muslims charge that they are treated as second class citizens while they have accused security officials of human rights abuses.

There was a resurgence of violence in 2004 largely as a result of policies by the Thaksin administration. Thai authorities have long insisted that the insurgency is homegrown. Indeed, there is little cogent evidence that Al Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiah is directing operations in the south.

Still, terrorism experts argue that the longer the problem in the south is allowed to fester the greater the chance of involvement of outside forces.

500 protest Israeli air strikes outside US embassy

Hundreds protest in KL against Israeli attacks

Protestors rally outside the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur today against Israel's air strikes in the Gaza Strip. Both government and opposition leaders have condemned Israel's air raids on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, calling it a war and crime against humanity. — AP pic KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — About 400 people made up of Pas supporters and members of non-governmental organisations today held a demonstration outside the United States embassy to protest against Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 360 Palestinians. The protestors gathered outside the Tabung Haji building in Jalan Tun Razak before moving to the front of the embassy at 11.30am while shouting slogans to protest the open US support for Israel's actions. Six representatives then handed over a memorandum of protest to an embassy official at the gates of the mission. Batu Burok state assemblyman of Pas, Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad, said the memorandum was addressed directly to US President George W. Bush and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Dr Syed Azman said a relief squad comprising doctors and professionals would be sent to Palestine to help victims. Cheras police district chief, Supt Abdul Rahim Hamzah Othman, said the gathering, which did not have a permit, dispersed at 12.30pm, adding that the situation was under control and no arrests were made. Huge demonstrations had been held in major cities around the world to condemn Israel's atrocities against the Palestinian people. - Bernama

Anti-Prophet Mohammad blog - Hamid, Shabery, MCMC should explain why so tardy in taking action

(Lim Kit Siang)While all right-thinking Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, agree that stern action should be taken against those responsible for the blog which insults Prophet Mohammad, many are asking why the authorities have been so tardy and laid-back in acting when complaint was first made many weeks ago.

Although Utusan Malaysia first reported about the blog last Saturday, 27th December 2008, with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, responding on the same day by directing the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and the police to act quickly against the blog over insults to Prophet Muhammad, in actual fact, the authorities had been aware of the blog concerned for weeks.

This was revealed by the Information Minister, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek who said on Saturday that the woman in her 20s whose photograph and identify were used in the blog containing insults to Prophet Mohammed had denied owning the Internet domain and had in fact met him two weeks ago to ask RTM to help clear her name.

Shabery said:

“She sought help from RTM to publicise the matter because the web log, which also contains Deepavali messages insulting the Hindus, was not hers and had tarnished her reputation and the company she works for.”

But neither Shabery nor RTM gave her any help although she had lodged reports with the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to trace the people responsible after coming to know the existence of the blog several months ago.

Instead, the woman was picked up by the police at 6 pm on Saturday to “assist in the investigation” and later released on police bail!

The police said today that they have identified several suspects in connection with the offensive blog and several people would soon be called up to assist in the investigations under the Sedition Act.

The question Hamid Albar, Shabery and MCMC should answer is why the police, the RTM and MCMC had been so tardy and laid-back in taking action against the blog concerned when the woman victim had lodged reports with the police, the Information Minister and the MCMC weeks before the Utusan Malaysia report last Saturday and why she had to be taken into custody to “assist in investigations” despite her earlier complaints!

Two reasons why we are lagging behind…

(Anil Netto)We are well behind many other countries in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) benchmarks. It’s a sad reflection of the state of our education system. We are just, well, average in the global class.

Percentage of eighth-grade students who reached the TIMSS advanced international benchmark in mathematics, by country: 2007

Percentage of eighth-grade students who reached the TIMSS advanced international benchmark in science, by country: 2007

What does our Education Minister have to say about this?

This doesn’t mean we should now focus excessively on maths and science to the detriment of the arts subjects. We need to produce students who also have a keen awareness of social realities. Our education system shouldn’t just churn out robots for industry. We need philosophers, artists, and social workers every bit as much as we need engineers, scientists, doctors and technicians.

Our education system must produce well-rounded individuals in various disciplines who are trained to think creatively, critically, analytically. Unfortunately, right now, we aren’t even able to get the basics right.

TUNKU MUKHRIZ IS NEW YANG DIPERTUAN NEGERI SEMBILAN

Tunku Besar Seri Menanti Tunku Mukhriz Tuanku Munawir was chosen as the 11th ruler of Negri Sembilan following the death of his uncle on Saturday, Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, which was announced at 3.50pm at the Istana Besar Seri Menanti in Kuala Pilah today.

Tunku Mukhriz, 63, was selected by a four-member council of ruling chiefs in the state, or better known as datuk datuk undang, through a tradition that began about 250 years ago by the Minangkabau settlers who hailed from Sumatra in the 15th century.

Negri Sembilan customs on electing the ruler is different compared to the hereditary monarch practice by the other Malay states. The ruler is selected by the Council of Undangs from four of the state's biggest districts, Sungai Ujong, Jelebu, Johol and Rembau.

Tunku Mukhriz was picked among three other likely candidates, the late Negri Sembilan ruler’s son, Tunku Laxamana Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Ja'afar, Tunku Muda Serting Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar and Tunku Panglima Besar Tunku Putera Nadzaruddin Tuanku Ja'afar.

Klang rep calls for Teng's removal

KLANG: Be transparent about the Klang Sentral bus terminal issue or quit. This is Klang member of parliament Charles Santiago's challenge to Teng Chang Khim, chairman of the Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) in Selangor.

He said Teng should come clean on why he was opposing the popular sentiment here, which was against moving the bus terminal from here to Meru.

"The project is plagued with controversies and the public wants answers for many questions. The people voted us in for more transparency but in this issue, the opposite is happening."

He said Teng, who is also state assembly speaker, should initiate investigations into the project and reveal details of it to the public.
"However, he is doing the opposite. If he can't perform his duty, then he should be removed," he told the New Straits Times.

It is learnt that the concession for the RM17 million bus terminal is for 30 years.

Teng, who is also the Sungai Pinang assemblyman, had branded Santiago as behaving like the opposition and having been bought over by the Barisan Nasional.

"All I wanted was for the Klang Municipal Council to initiate a public inquiry so there would be transparency. I also suggested that a committee comprising all interested parties be set up to go through the concessionaire agreement," Santiago said.

He said Teng must apologise publicly as his accusations were aimed at discrediting him and making people doubt his sincerity.

"This is not just an insult of the highest order but goes against my principles. There must be an apology. There are no two ways about it."

Santiago said the DAP's disciplinary committee should reprimand Teng.

********
2008/12/30

Traders protest move of the Klang bus terminal

NST

The old Klang bus terminal before the relocation.

KLANG: About 100 traders affected by the relocation of the bus terminal on Saturday demonstrated near Centre Point yesterday.

Holding placards and banners slamming State Assembly Speaker Teng Chang Khim and the Klang Municipal Council for being "pro-developer", the traders chanted slogans and protested for about an hour in the city centre.

Trader C. Krishnan said the move would not only affect them but also students, as many schools were located near the old terminal.

He said a group of traders, bus operators and commuters had earlier held a meeting and formed an action committee to protest against the relocation.

MPK councillor Gary Tai said it would be better if the old terminal could be maintained as this would be the best solution for everybody.
*********

The Star

Monday December 29, 2008

Santiago: I’m not against relocation

By WANI MUTHIAH

KLANG: Klang MP Charles Santiago is miffed that Selangor State Assembly Speaker Teng Chang Khim had lumped him together with those protesting against the relocation of the Klang Utara bus station.

“I never protested against the relocation,” Santiago said yesterday.

The move that has shaken the government: The new Klang Sentral bus terminal at Meru and notices about the move at the old one( below). The relocation has led to a huge quarrel.

“I wanted the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) to declassify the concessionaire agreement governing the move (to the new Klang Sentral Terminal).”

He added he had also wanted MPK to initiate a public inquiry so there would be transparency, and so the people of Klang could have the right to information.

“I had also suggested that a committee comprising all interested parties be set up to go through the concessionaire agreement,” said Santiago.

He added that he was perplexed that Teng had gone to the extent of alleging that he (Santiago) had been bought over by Barisan Nasional.

Santiago has given Teng, DAP central committee member and state assemblyman for Sungai Pinang, seven days to prove the allegation or retract his statement and offer a public apology.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, of the DAP, said it was wrong of Teng to make wild allegations against Santiago.

“I agree with what Charles is doing, and I feel that Teng had hit below the belt in alleging that he had been bought over by Barisan,” he added.

However, another DAP elected representative Ng Suee Lim said the issue was a state matter, and MPs should understand the limit of their jurisdiction.

The Sekinchan state assemblyman said elected representatives in Selangor must also understand that they are now part of the state government and no longer in the opposition.

“They must also not behave like members of NGOs and activists,” he said.

Teng was not available for comment.

New political clown in town

pic: nst

Tuesday, Dec 30 2008 -- A new political clown has emerged in the Malaysian political scene after the March 8th. political earthquake that buried many other clowns especially the well known clown, PPP chief Keyveyas. The Kapar Parliamentary MP, Manikavasagam is the new clown entertaining the Malaysian public with his foolish statements to the Malaysian government controlled media. He has been threatening to quit Justice Party (PKR) for some time. Probably he wants to follow his father in law, Wilson, foot step of party hopping or follow his former mentor and traitor Ezam.

MP hurt by comments but won't quit party

Perutusan Tahun Baru 2009

Setiap kali tiba tahun baru, maka kita berkesempatan melakukan dua perkara; merenung kembali apa yang sudah kita usahakan sepanjang tahun yang bakal berlalu pergi serta menetapkan matlamat baru mahupun menjayakan apa yang belum kita capai.

Tahun 2008 merakamkan beberapa peristiwa bersejarah. Sekian lama kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang dipimpin Umno tidak pernah digugat kedudukannya, namun tahun ini rakyat membuktikan perubahan tidak pernah mustahil untuk dilaksanakan. Nuansa politik perkauman yang dipintal bersama ketakutan ditolak rakyat.

Pilihanraya Umum ke 12 menyaksikan kerusi milik pembangkang bertambah dan menafikan Barisan Nasional majoriti 2/3. Harapan rakyat begitu besar, perubahan mesti dilakukan, makanya hasil dari persetujuan dan permuafakatan ketiga-tiga parti; Pas, Dap dan Parti Keadilan Rakyat melahirkan Pakatan Rakyat. Sepanjang tahun ini tidak dapat dinafikan pelbagai cabaran yang datang untuk menggugat permuafakatan ini.

Hasrat Barisan Nasional untuk melihat kehancuran Pakatan Rakyat nampaknya menemui jalan buntu. Mereka lupa, asas kepada permuafakatan ini berpasak kuat dari cita-cita memperjuangkan agenda rakyat dan melakukan perubahan mendasar. Perubahan adalah tuntutan melewati sempadan kaum dan politik kepartian.

Negara kita berdepan dengan kedudukan ekonomi sejagat yang tidak menentu. Kesannya kepada rakyat semain terasa. Kadar Inflasi yang tinggi menyebabkan harga barang melonjak naik. Krisis keyakinan terhadap institusi keselamatan dalam negeri juga terhadap sisten kehakiman ternyata tidak membantu menarik pelaburan bagi menjana ekonomi negara. Kita tidak boleh lagi berada dalam keadaaan penafian. Kepimpinan yang menggalas beban pastinya menghakis kepercayaan rakyat. Pengurusan ekonomi memerlukan kepimpinan yang berpandangan jauh, tegas dan jujur.

Sering saya ulangi, negara ini dan rakyatnya yang berbilang kaum sudah mengharungi pelbagai rintangan bersama. Kita yakin dengan berlakunya perubahan, dan bila negara ini mula berada di haluan yang tepat, maka sekali lagi kita akan dapat melepasi cabaran ini.

Kami ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan Selamat Tahun Baru 2009 kepada semua rakyat Malaysia.

Ubah sebelum parah, ubah demi maruah.

Selamat Tahun Baru 2009

ANWAR IBRAHIM & DR WAN AZIZAH WAN ISMAIL

Top 10 Health Stories of the Year 2008

Health is wealth, so it would pay off if you keep abreast of the main news on the health front. Doctor 2008's list of Top 10 is interesting, with melamine at No 4 and making healthcare affordable and accessible to all at No 10.

On my list, the attempt to take over the Insitute Jantung Negara by Sime Darby was the biggest health story for 2008 (after melamine) and one of the worst corporate takeover proposals of all time, but I'm a layman and a socio-political blogger so it's different.

IJN's survival in its current form will be a major concern for 2009, too.

Read Doctor 2008's Top 10 health news of the year, here.

A Nation In Progress

The year draws to an end.

A kaleidoscope, 2008 defies description. In the swirl of colours and sounds, chords were struck and themes developed. I imagine an orchestra tuning up, falling silent and then suddenly and majestically playing a symphony of divine beauty.

Each of us an instrument, our voices lent themselves this year to the harmonies that described and cumulatively defined us as a society and a nation. In the silence behind each echo, we felt whom it is that we could be if we wanted to: one nation, one people.

2008 was the year that transformed us. We found our voices.

We may have voted for one candidate or the other, or even for one party in preference to another. We may have regretted our choices or felt vindicated in the time since or even suffered bitter disappointment for expectations not having been fulfilled. Whatever the case, this year we reclaimed democracy and the right to choose.

It does not matter that since March this year we have seen more political bickering than we would have liked to on either side of the divide, and within the ranks on either side. Any vision that emerges from a true democracy is necessarily the product of the synthesis of varied perspectives and opinions. There never is just one side to things and the heated exchanges about key aspects of our lives is something that we should welcome rather than fear. It is only the truths that flow from this crucible that are sufficiently strong to forge the foundations of a lasting civilisation.

Equally, it does not matter that the governments of the federation or the states made decisions that we would have preferred them not to. It does not matter that this politician or that one acted in a manner that we would have preferred him or her not to have. The reality is that for the first time in a very long time we have had these governments and those who form them behave with some regard to what it is we want; such is the power of the ballot box.

Enhanced opposition presence in parliament, the establishment of Pakatan Rakyat governments in five states and a courageous civil society have also allowed us to see all concerned as they really are, warts and all. We have come face to face with the fact that politicians are not very pretty to look at just as they have had to confront the fact that their fates do really lie in our hands.

And as each of us has come to feel more involved, our sense of belonging has heightened and with it our feeling of ownership. It is your Malaysia as much as it is my Malaysia and together, it is our Malaysia. With that awareness has come the understanding that each of us is responsible for what it is that we become. This has been accompanied by a nascent evolution of attitudes and orientation.

This is the breadth and depth of what it is we achieved this year. It has not been about reformasi but rather, transformasi.

The process is however just beginning and we must continue to be vigilant. As we offer thanks for what is that was bestowed upon us this year, let us not forget that there are those who do not want change. Race politics, with its attendant religious elements, and corruption also continue to threaten us. The latter has gravely undermined us through its insidious colonizing of the wider system and the political process. Its mark is evident in every aspect of our public system, so much so that we are now held to ransom by it.

As for race politics, despite it being self-evidently divisive it sadly continues to play out in the continued politicization of race and religion at great cost. Its destructive quality is seen most clearly in the distorting of legitimate efforts to find more effective methods of affirmative action as attempts to undermine the special status of the Malays under the Constitution.

As we move forward, we must commit to taking it upon ourselves to ridding ourselves of these difficulties. It is not sufficient for us to pay lip service to ideals; we must focus and act decisively. We must develop a more rounded understanding of the sensitivities and fears involved as it only through this that we will be able to develop the necessary language to build bridges with.

The light of the new year illuminates the recently cleared footpath that may ultimately lead us to where it is we should be getting. Though the way is treacherous, our belief that we can be all that we want to be will guide us if we let it.

I believe we want it to.

(Malay Mail; 30th December 2008)

Malik Imtiaz

Kuala Terengganu...ada yang tak kena antara PAS Kelantan - Terengganu

Benar bagai dikata, memang ada yang tidak kena dalam soal penentuan calon oleh PAS bagi bertanding pada pilihan raya kecil Parlimen Kuala Terengganu.

Suasana serba tidak kena itu diperkatakan, sebaik sahaja nama-nama calon yang difikirkan layak bertanding mula disebut-sebut dan wujudnya pula faktor Erdogan atau kumpulan pemimpin PAS yang menyokong Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang mahukan orang tertentu menjadi calon mewakili PAS.

Selain itu, memandangkan pilihan raya kecil ini akan berlangsung di Terengganu, negeri Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang sendiri, campur tangan PAS Kelantan yang diketuai oleh Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat amat tidak disenangi.

Terbaru ia terbukti apabila Nik Aziz menyifatkan kelewatan pengumuman calon PAS bagi bertanding pada pilihan raya kecil berkenaan memberikan gambaran kegagalan PAS Terengganu untuk mencapai kata sepakat berhubung dengan penentuan calon.

Malah golongan ulama PAS Terengganu juga dikatakan tidak dapat berkompromi dengan kumpulan muda dalam parti itu bagia menentukan calon yang seharusnya dipilih.

''Ini masalah orang sini dan bukan saya," kata Nik Aziz merujuk kepada PAS Terengganu apabila ditanya mengenai kelewatan PAS menamakan calon parti itu.

Barisan Nasional (BN) telah mengumumkan calonnya Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh 20 Disember lalu dan PAS yang dijadual mengumumkan calonnya sehari kemudian akhirnya menangguhkan pengumuman itu pada 1 Januari 2009.

Mursyidul Am Pas itu vberkata demikian , selepas merasmikan jentera Pilihan Raya Kecil Parlimen Kuala Terengganu dari Kelantan dan Wilayah Persekutuan di Kuala Terengganu.

Kenyataan terbaru Nik Aziz itu, adalah daripada beberapa siri ‘pertembungan terbuka’ beliau dengan pemimpin PAS dari Terengganu.

Dalam konteks pilihan raya kecil Kuala Terengganu, belum pun PAS Terengganu membuat sebarang kenyataan, Nik Aziz sudah mendahului dengan mencadangkan nama Naib Presiden parti itu, Mohamad Sabu.

Tindakan Nik Aziz itu dikatakan usaha kumpulan Erdogan kerana nama Mohamad Sabu telah ‘dipasang’ oleh anak didik kesayangan Nik Aziz iaitu seorang lagi Naib Presiden Husam Musa yang dikenali menjadi ‘ketua’ kumpulan penyokong Anwar dalam PAS.

Dalam erti kata lain Nik Aziz mencadangkan nama Mohamad Sabu kerana ia dipengaruhi oleh Husam untuk berbuat demikian.

Dalam isu lain pula, sebelum ini memang jelas dan secara terbuka wujudnya pertembungan dan percanggahan pendapat antra Nik Aziz dengan kepiminan PAS Terengganu.

Contohnya dalam isu pembentukan kerajaan baru 16 September yang dirancang oleh Anwar, Nik Aziz merupakan penyokong kuat rancangan Anwar itu. Ini mudah difahami kerana faktor kumpulan Erdogan yang berada di sekeliling Nik Aziz.

Namun Hadi Awang pernah membuat kenyataan rancangan tersebut masih tidak konkrit kerana beliau sendiri tidak pernah melihat senarai nama Ahli Parlimen BN yang didakwa Anwar telah sedia untuk lompat parti.

Lebih hebat ialah Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS, Datuk Mustafa Ali yang membuat kenyataan jelas bertentangan dengan Mursyidul Am tersebut apabila berkata, “Saya kata perubahan tidak akan berlaku. Bila tiba 16 September ini boleh tengok saya betul atau dia (Anwar) betul”.

Malah dengar-dengarnya, kenyataan terbaru Nik Aziz berhubung kelewatan pengumuman calon merupakan masalah PAS Terengganu juga telah dijawab oleh Mustafa dengan menafikan PAS negeri itu tidak ada masalah dalam menentukan calon.

Malah katanya, biasanya PAS akan mengumumkan calon sehari atau dua hari sebelum penamaan calon dan menyifatkan pengumuman 1 Januari ini adalah lebih cepat daripada biasa.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza enter third day

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Israeli jets pounded Hamas targets in Gaza for a third day Monday, continuing an operation that Palestinian security sources said has killed more than 270 people.

Fire burns late Sunday or early Monday in Gaza, where Israel has been bombing what it says are Hamas targets.

Hamas militants launched more rockets into Israel on Sunday. Israel has said its airstrikes are a necessary self-defense measure after repeated rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told CNN on Sunday that the airstrikes will continue "until we have a change on the ground" and that Israel has not ruled out a ground war in Gaza.

"Israel targets only military targets and places in which we know Hamas members are," Livni said.

"Unfortunately, in this kind of attack, there are some civilian casualties. But Israel took all the necessary actions to warn the civilians before the attacks to leave the places they know that Hamas stays."

Israeli ground troops and tanks were deployed around Gaza on Sunday. There is no indication of a ground operation inside Gaza, but a senior military official said troops around Gaza will "be activated if needed." Watch an ambassador say Israel is only defending itself »

Israel will call up 7,000 reserve soldiers, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during Sunday's Cabinet meeting. He told ministers he planned to present the measure to two Knesset committees, which must approve the action.

Early Monday, an Israeli jet bombed part of the Islamic University of Gaza, a Gaza-based journalist at the scene -- whose name was withheld for security reasons -- told CNN. There were no immediate reports of casualties from that strike.

Video footage from Palestinian TV network Ramattan showed firefighters trying to extinguish a fire at a building the network identified as part of the university.

When CNN asked Israel Defense Forces about the incident, the IDF sent a statement that said the site "housed explosives laboratories that were an inseparable part of Hamas' research and development program," and that weapons development there "took place under the auspices of senior lecturers who are activists in Hamas."

The IDF and the Israeli Air Force struck "buildings that were used as meeting places for senior leaders of Hamas," the statement said.

In Jabalya, a mosque and a family home were hit by rockets early Monday, according to Hamas security sources. Palestinian medical officials said five children died and two survived. Footage from the scene showed the two surviving girls being taken into an ambulance.

Palestinian security sources said Sunday that at least 277 people, most of them Hamas militants, have been killed and hundreds more wounded.

On Sunday, black plumes of smoke rose above Gaza City as makeshift ambulances screamed down rubble-strewn streets, taking wounded Palestinians to hospitals already crowded with hundreds of patients injured over the weekend.

Terrified people huddled in their basements for safety, with few venturing outside, said Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, a psychiatrist who runs Gaza's mental health program.

"The children are terrified," El-Sarraj said. "Adults are unable to provide them with security or warmth. Hospitals are stretched out of the limits. We need blood and medicine and surgical equipment."

The U.N. Security Council ended a four-hour emergency meeting Sunday with a call for an immediate halt to hostilities and a re-opening of border crossings to allow humanitarian supplies to reach Gaza.

The Palestinians' U.N. envoy said if Israel does not halt attacks within 48 hours, Arab delegations will demand stronger action from the Security Council.

Israel gave in to requests from the Red Cross and others to allow 16 trucks loaded with fuel, food and medical supplies into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing Sunday morning. Egypt sent 20 ambulances to its border with Gaza, an Egyptian official said.

The Red Cross and World Food Program trucks, which carried rice, wheat and medical supplies, were the first deliveries allowed by Israel since 80 trucks moved through Friday after Israel opened three border crossings.

More than 110 Hamas rockets have been launched into Israel by Hamas militants since Saturday morning, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. An Israeli man died when a rocket slammed into a home Saturday, IDF said.

An Israeli police spokesman said that one rocket landed north of Ashkelon, which sits about 6 miles (10 kilometers) north of the Gaza border. The city has been a frequent target of missiles launched from Gaza.

Gaza City's main police station and jail were hit by Israeli missiles Sunday morning, according to a Gaza-based journalist.

At least two people were killed when a missile struck the Seraya compound, which houses various Hamas military organizations in central Gaza City. Another two people were killed when an airstrike hit a vehicle.

Missiles also hit near the Beit Hanoun City Hall, according to a reporter there, and Palestinian sources said Israeli bombs fell on the Palestinian side of the Rafah tunnels on the Egyptian border with southern Gaza.

An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the airstrike. He said it targeted 40 tunnels on the border, which he said Hamas uses to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

Two tunnels were hit by missiles, eyewitnesses said, and others collapsed. Two people were killed.

An Egyptian soldier was killed and two other troops were wounded by Palestinians who opened fire at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt's state-run news agency reported, citing security sources.

Palestinians began trying to cross over into Egypt through a hole in the wall after the bombing, witnesses said, but Egyptian police and Hamas gunmen began firing in an attempt to stop them.

More than 40 airstrikes were carried out Sunday, the Israeli army said. An IDF spokesman said Sunday that Israel had struck 210 Hamas targets since Saturday morning.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the U.N., said the casualty toll forced U.N. Security Council members to confront Israel to end the attacks.

The Security Council issued a brief press statement, which fell short of the resolution that the Palestinians requested.

The statement expressed "serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza," but it did not single out Israel or Hamas when it called for "an immediate halt for all violence."

Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Gabriela Shalev, responded that her country was only defending itself from Hamas rocket attacks.

"The last days were so bad that we had to say, and did say, 'Enough is enough,' " Shalev said. "The only party to blame is the Hamas."

Hamas, however, vowed to retaliate, saying Israel had violated an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire intended to stem violence in the region.

"We will stand up, we will defend our own people, we will defend our land and we will not give up," senior spokesman Osama Hamdan said. Read reactions to Israel's strike on Gaza »

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, supported Israel's contention that it was up to Hamas to stop the violence.

"Israel has the right to self-defense and nothing in this press statement should be read as anything but that," Khalilzad said.

The United States has cautioned Israel, however, to avoid civilian casualties. Israeli leaders maintain they are attempting to do so.

Reinventing himself again

By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star

It was an exhilarating year for opposition leader and PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who emerged from the political wilderness to come within a whisker of overthrowing his tormentor Umno and capturing state power.

As in 1998 when he was one step away from becoming Prime Minister but ended up sacked and jailed, he is again one step away as the effective power behind the Pakatan Rakyat coalition and as opposition leader controlling 82 seats in parliament.

Yet the final step eluded him despite a massive build-up to Sept 16, the date that Anwar claimed BN backbenchers would defect to his side to topple the government and finally enable him to become Prime Minister.

Becoming Prime Minister has been his goal ever since he gave up a sterling career as a neutral, firebrand Islamist leader in 1982 for a meteoric career as an Umno leader.

He was the man that then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad picked to implement “Islam in-government” and he did a massively successfully job.

By 1996 he was in a strong enough position to challenge Dr Mahathir and saw in the Asian financial crisis of 1997 the opportunity to unseat his boss. But all that is history.

Today his once-feared fundamentalist Islamist leanings don’t cause a ripple among non-Muslims; instead he heads a growing multi-racial party that is the undisputed dominant component in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

Anwar has successfully reinvented himself as a “new age” leader espousing multi-culturalism, racial equality and affirmative action for all Malaysians who need it, not just bumiputras.

The Sept 16 gambit has dented his credibility and politically set him back but if ever there is an incorrigible optimist, it must be Anwar.

His new target is to capture Sarawak and with its 31 MPs march into Putrajaya.

If that fails, he will simply come up with another scheme.

Is Ahmad Said the most suitable candidate to be the first Chief Commissioner of the MACC?

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was reported in the New Straits Times on Saturday as announcing that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will begin operations on Thursday on 1st January 2009 with Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan as its first chief commissioner.

The first question is whether Ahmad Said is the most suitable candidate to be the Chief Commissioner of the MACC.

Parliament and the nation have been promised that with the establishment of the MACC, purportedly modeled after Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the new anti-corruption body can no longer be accused of being the “lapdog of the government” as the ACA had been accused of being thus far.

The implication is very clear – that the ACA had corruption cases which it had not been able to prosecute because of various constraints and considerations all boiling down to “political interference”.

If so, how many such cases are there which the MACC could re-open and would Ahmad Said be the best person to re-open all such cases or would it have been better to have a completely new head for the MACC to spearhead the transformation of the MACC to become another IACC, beginning the journey to catapult Malaysia’s ranking in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index from the country’s lowest position of No. 47 to be among the world’s ten or twenty least corrupt nations like New Zealand (No. 1), Singapore (No. 4), Australia (No. 9), Hong Kong (No. 12 ) and Japan (No. 18)?

With the MACC starting operations on January 1, would Malaysians be able to see the stark difference between the new MACC and the old ACA in its first two weeks of operation?

The Mataram Kingdom & Royal Palaces

In Yogyakarta and Surakarta

The center of Mataram Kingdom were Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Central Java.

THE MATARAM KINGDOM I

It was known as Hindu Mataram Kingdom which had ruled this region from 8th to 10th century AD. This kingdom has a very fertile land so it could support the constructions of several temples, like Prambanan, Borobudur, etc.

According to a Dutch archeologist, DR. Krom, prior to the arrival of Hindus, in the earlier centuries, the Javanese had known, among other :

1. Irrigation (wet-rice cultivation) or Agriculture.
2. Fishery
3. Astronomy
4. Weaving
5. Batik
6. Gamelan
7. Wayang

This kingdom were ruled by Javanese who had adopted the Hindu faith and culture. Before the arrival of the Hindus, Javanese already had a culture and beliefs of their own.

The Hindu-Javanese culture was a result of a meeting of the two civilizations, the indigenous and the Hindu. The influence of Islam, from the 15th century, into the Javanese civilization again produced a mix culture which does exist to present date.
The Mataram kingdom I, moved from Central Java to East Java, probably due to destructive eruption of MOUNT Merapi, which had ruined and covered with ash and debris several temples such as Borobudur, Sambisari, etc. Some scientist analyzed that removal of the power center eastward was due to internal wars between the rulers. Although the power center had shifted to East Java, but the rulers were the descendants or families from Mataram Rulers.
The first kingdom was established at Brantas river valley where agriculture was also flourishing due to its fertile soil. The king was Mpu Sindok, who had left many records on stone and the king Dharmawangsa. Under his rule, the epic Bharatayudha was translated into old Javanese language (996 AD). From 1019 to 1042, Airlangga was one of the biggest king in East Java.

The KEDIRI KINGDOM existed until 1222, followed by Singhasari Kingdom (1222-1292) with its territory on present day Malang.


MAJAPAHIT EMPIRE (1294-1400)

The founder was Wijaya. This was the most powerful Indonesian Kingdom, with its capital at Trowulan (nearby Surabaya). Majapahit reached its golden peak under the king Hayam Wuruk (1350) with his brilliant prime minister Gajah Mada. At that time Majapahit kingdom embraced almost the entire territory of what is now Indonesia.

Gajah Mada was famous with his Palapa Oath. He swore that he would never consume spices (palapa) before he could unite the whole Indonesia archipelago under the Majapahit's power umbrella (The first Indonesian satellite communication devices were named ' Palapa ' in honour of Gajah Mada).

DEMAK KINGDOM (Central Java)

After the collapse of Majapahit, the power center had shifted to Demak (30 km) east of Semarang - Central Java. It marked by the beginning of the rise of Islam in Java.
After the fall of Majapahit sometimes in 1478 AD, some of the people who did not agree with Demak Kingdom, fled to Bali and around the mountain Bromo (Tengger) and kept their faith to present date.
Demak with the famous and legendary Wali Songo (the nine Islamic leaders) went forward with Islamization. The last Hindu kingdom in Kediri was conquered at 1527, at the same year, Sunda Kelapa liberated and changed its name to be JAYAKARTA - Glorious City (now Jakarta).
The first king was Raden Patah, his father was a king of Majapahit who married his Je'ampa Moslem mother. The second king was Patiunus, the third was Trenggono.

The rice of Demak and Islam in Java were attributed by the Wali Songo -the nine religious leaders among other Sunan Kalijaga, Sunan Kudus, Sunan Gunung Jati (Falatehan), etc.

Islam became the official religion of the kingdom and provided new social and moral codes, at the same time Javanese philosophy and tradition continued.


THE PAJANG KINGDOM

The son in law, of Trenggono the last king of Demak, Joko Tingkir had moved the power center to Pajang (10 km west of Solo) sometimes around 1540 AD.
Joko Tingkir (the boy from the village of Tingkir), became the ruler as Sultan Hadiwijoyo

THE MATARAM KINGDOM II

Panembahan Senopati was the first ruler (1584-1601) of Mataram. His father, Pemanahan (Ki Ageng Mataram) was a chief-warrior in Pajang, his great grand father was the last king of Majapahit Empire. Panembahan comes from the word : SEMBAH - respectful greeting - made with palms together, fingertips upward and touching the top of the nose. This is the way the Javanese respect their elders, their superiors especially in the court family. So, Panembahan is the one who highly respected, adored or even worshipped. Panembahan Senopati with his child name Sutowijoyo was a legendary king of Mataram.
The stories of Panembahan Senopati are full with tales of mystical power and occult feats. Nowadays, the places where he made meditations or gained supernatural powers, his former palace (Kotagede) 5 km Southeast of Yogyakarta and his grave attract thousand of pilgrims, and considered by many believers as holy places of Mataram Dynasty.

Kanjeng Panembahan Senopati		Hingkang Sinuwun Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo

Those places among other are :

1. PARANG KUSUMO
In the southern beach of Parang Tritis (20 km south of Yogyakarta), where he received a divine revelation and made an agreement with Kanjeng Ratu Kidul (the supreme goddess of the south sea) that the queen should always protect the kings of Mataram and its people from evil deeds. Some considers, that every king of Mataram dynasty is married with the queen, it is more precisely a spiritual marriage or agreement.

2. BAMBANG LIPURO
Located 10 km south of Yogyakarta, where the young Sutowijoyo received the God's revelation, known as LINTANG JOHAR.

3. DLEPIH KAHYANGAN
Located 68 km southeast of Solo it was his retreat, where he conversed the jungle of Mentaok to be a powerful kingdom, it was also attributed to his wise advisors such as his own father Pemanahan, Ki Ageng Giring (his father in law), his uncles Juru Mertani and Penjawi. He also respected highly Sunan Kalijogo, who told Sultan of Pajang - Hadiwijoyo, his adopted father to transfer immediately the Mentaok Jungle as promised to Pemanahan and Suto Wijoyo.
Sultan Hadiwijoyo was reluctant to release Mentaok after listening the prediction of Sunan Kudus that one day Mataram should become a strong and glorious power.
Sunan Giri said that establishment of Mataram is a God's will. It was true Mataram expanded its territory due to the strong military power.
In 1588, Pajang's heirlooms, the symbols of king's power were taken to Mataram, followed by the conquered of Demak (1588), Madiun (1590), Kediri, Ponorogo and other places of southern part of East Java (1591).

The second Mataram's king was Panembahan Sedo ing Krapyak (1601-1613), in which the holy city of Kudus was under Mataram.

Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo was the third king (1613-1646), the greatest king warrior in Java. Under his rule Mataram reached its peak, dominating all parts of Java except Banten and Batavia.
The wars against the Dutch colonialism in Batavia contained a lot of historic lessons to Indonesia. Sultan Agung concentrated his power in hinterland, he did not appreciate the traders. He moved the capital to Kerta, South of Kotegede. His grave in the hill of Imogiri visited by a lot of pilgrims, who believe in his sacred supernatural power.
The Javanese lunar calendar which is functioning now, was created by Sultan Agung by combining the Javanese and Islam calendar.
His Successors :

Susuhunan Amangkurat I (1646-1677)
Susuhunan Amangkurat II (1677-1703)
Susuhunan Amangkurat III (1703-1708)
Susuhunan Pakubuwono I (1704-1719)
Susuhunan Amangkurat IV (1719-1726)
Susuhunan Pakubuwono II (1726-1749)

Continuously involved in a series of internal wars in Java and wars against the Dutch V.O.C. (East Indian Company) had weakened significantly the power of Mataram Kingdom. The capital of Mataram had been moved several times, in 1647 by Amangkurat I to Plered (nearby Kerta), in 1680 by Amangkurat II to Kartosuro (10 km) west of Solo,in 1743 by Pakubuwono II to the bank of river Solo.

Giyanti Treaty in February 13, 1755
Recognized Prince Mangkubumi or Hamengkubuwono I as the king of Yogyakarta Kingdom.

The division of Mataram Kingdom II.

In SURAKARTA :
The king : Susuhunan Pakubuwono III (1749-1788)
Adipati (Viceroy) : Sri Mangkunagoro I (1757-1795)
Recognized since March 1757 in SALATIGA.

In YOGYAKARTA :
The king : Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (1749-1792)
Adipati (Viceroy) : Sri Pakualam I (1813-1829)
Recognized by Raffles, the then British Lieutenant Governor of Java.

These royal and court families of Surakarta and Yogyakarta do exist up to now, and they stand in forefront to preserve Javanese culture and tradition.