1M'sia bait fails to fish Chinese votes

By Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional may have reclaimed the Hulu Selangor seat in the recent parliamentary by-election but there is something the ruling coalition should worry about – the Chinese voters.

PAS secretary-general Mustapha Ali said today some 70% of the Chinese had voted for PKR's Zaid Ibrahim, giving a clear indication that they were not impressed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia concept.

"They think the 1Malaysia concept touted by the BN leaders is all a sham unlike Pakatan Rakyat's concept of justice," Mustapha told reporters at PAS headquarters here.

He also feels that the voters were "fed up" with the prolonged MCA leadership crisis and the "racial sentiment" played up by Umno.

"They were probably disappointed with (Deputy Prime Minister) Muhyiddin Yassin's statement too," he said, referring to his controversial statement "I am Malay first, Malaysian second" that had upset most of the minorities in the country.

In the by-election, most of the Chinese votes went to the opposition, especially in major towns like Kalumpang, Kuala Kubu Baru and Rasa.

Three major reasons why Pakatan lost

Mustapha said that BN had focused on three main areas to weaken PKR's defences – the Felda settlers, Orang Asli and the Indians in the estates.

The reason was that most of the voters in these areas "are dependent" on BN as opposed to those who were not politically bound to the government.

"In Felda, we can say that 60% of the votes went to BN and following the relocation of the Orang Asli voting streams in one place, the party machinery could now control them easily," he said.

Despite all this, PKR could still penetrate the urban and suburban Malay areas, especially in the Umno stronghold of Hulu Bernam.

"PKR received more votes than BN in this area but throughout Malaysia, Felda became Umno's bastion where they would get a 'fixed deposit' every time there is an election," he said.

For example, Mustapha said Malay support in Felda schemes in Sungai Buaya swung to BN when the government announced that it would finally build a tiered interchange in the area next year after a 15-year wait.

This meant that the developer, who acquired the land from the former settlers, would be able to repay the balance of their compensation which was long overdue.

Be gracious in defeat, MIC tells PKR

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR should accept its defeat in the Hulu Selangor by-election instead of making baseless allegations, said MIC secretary-general S Murugesan today.

He said Barisan Nasional did not complain when it lost in several by-elections in the past.

“For example, we lost the Manik Urai by-election by a very narrow margin and yet accepted the result without complaining.

“Even in Hulu Selangor, when BN lost in the 2008 general election by a mere 198 votes, we accepted the people's verdict,” he said.

“Why is it that PKR can never accept the people's verdict gracefully?” he asked.

Murugesan said it has become a trend for PKR leaders to hurl all sorts of accusations when they fail to win an election.

Furthermore, he said by claiming that the people of Hulu Selangor had been “bought”, PKR was casting aspersions on the intelligence and integrity of the voters there.

“It also shows their disrespect for the choice of the people,” he added.

BN must keep striving

As for BN, Murugesan said the ruling coalition must keep striving to regain its former strength following the 2008 electoral setback.

“BN must continue working hard as we still have some distance to cover before we regain the pre-2008 level of confidence.

“I am confident that we will we will regain lost grounds in the next general election if this momentum continues,” he added.

The MIC secretary-general also expressed the party's gratitude to all BN component parties for ensuring a victory in Sunday's by-election.

MIC information chief P Kamalanathan had defeated PKR's Zaid Ibrahim by more than 1,700 votes to reclaim the seat for BN.

'Put teen killer cops behind bars, not desks'

By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Party wants the policemen involved in the shooting of a 15-year-old teenager to be accorded the same treatment as other suspects in a murder probe.

“They should be arrested and remanded pending investigation,” said HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar.

He was responding to Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar's statement that the policemen had been reassigned to desk duties.

“They killed a young boy, these policemen should be in jail,” he told FMT, adding that such action would serve as a deterrent for other policemen."

Uthayakumar, who has consistenly accused the police of being trigger-happy, said: “It must be drilled into their heads that the police are not above the law.”

“If it was you or me, we would be in jail by now. Why the special privilege for them?” he asked, expressing regret that a young boy's life was needlessly lost.

Citing the Criminal Procedure Code, Uthayakumar, who is a lawyer, stressed that the law is clear on the discharging of firearms by policemen.

“Although this is probably a case of an overzealous policeman firing his weapon, stern action however would put a full stop to this,” he said.

PAS MP: Don't cover up

Earlier, PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad also warned the police not to "cover up" the incident.

In view of this, he urged the police to ensure the safety of the witness. “There should not be any attempts to change his statement,” he told a press conference.

Khalid claimed that the police had a tendency to sweep such cases under the carpet.

According to the police report made by the witness, he and the victim identified as Aminul Rashid Amzah were returning from a restaurant in Section 7, Shah Alam, yesterday.

The witness claimed that they overtook a police vehicle, which later chased their car, and it was during the pursuit that the cops had allegedly opened fire, forcing them to come to a halt.

The report said that when the witness alighted from the car to surrender, he was kicked and punched by the policemen.

However, the witness managed to flee the scene and returned home.

Police's version different

Meanwhile, the police's version of the incident was different.

Khalid was reported as saying that his men had chased the Proton Iswara driven by the deceased after suspecting something was amiss.

He claimed that instead of slowing down, the teenager sped on, leading the police to shoot the tyres.

When the car skidded to a halt, Khalid said one of the suspects escaped, while the driver reversed the vehicle attempting to ram into the policemen, who were joined by others from a different patrol unit.

“Surprised by the suspect's action, a police officer fired in self-defence,” he said, claiming that the police discovered a machete in the car later.

Aminul died on the way to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.

Khalid also said the four police personnel have been transferred to desk jobs pending an investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

Meanwhile, the PAS MP said he was told that Aminul was a good student who was active in sports.

Violent extremists calling fighters to Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) -- In Somalia's enduring chaos, militant groups have for years come and gone. Today's most powerful -- Al Shabaab -- are much more menacing, say those in Mogadishu.

In Arabic, Al Shabaab means 'the youth', but it is too far-reaching to be just a rabble of youngsters. It controls much of central and southern Somalia and large parts of the capital Mogadishu.

And after years of pledging allegiance to al Qaeda, Al Shabaab formalized the relationship in February. Since then, the Somali government says there's been an influx of foreign fighters.

"With regard to the fighting that's going on in Afghanistan, in Pakistan and in Yemen, some people are looking for a place to hide and Somalia is a good candidate for that," said Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who leads the weak, U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Ahmed was once a senior, moderate figure in the Union of Islamic Courts -- an alliance that included Al Shabaab and which held power in Somalia for six months in 2006 before being overthrown by Ethiopian forces.

The Ethiopians remained until early 2009 when the TFG took tentative control, clinging to a small part of Mogadishu, and protected by African Union (AU) peacekeepers mainly from Uganda and Burundi.

A quiet figure, President Ahmed sits in his office at the palace grounds while government troops outside fire warning shots to prevent people from venturing too close.

"We used to estimate the number of foreign fighters to be between 800 and 1,200 but that number seems to have been growing," he said.

Al Shabaab has reached out to Somalis living in the West, radicalizing young Muslims via the Internet and encouraging them to move back to the country to join the Jihad.

In November 2009, eight Somali-American men from the U.S. state of Minnesota were charged with offenses including attending Al Shabaab terrorist training camps and fighting for the group. In August 2009 two Somalis were arrested in Melbourne, Australia, for allegedly planning a suicide attack on a military facility.

And a naturalized-American suicide bomber, who blew himself up killing 29 people in October 2008, was born in Somalia.

Although the suicide attack took place in Northern Somalia, there is a growing debate as to whether those Somalis living in the West who are recruited by Al Shabaab may return to the U.S., Canada or Europe to stage attacks.

"[Somalia is] a place to hide and a place to fight, not only with the West but with anybody who disagrees with them," said the president. "They go from place to place but their objectives don't change, they fight people of all persuasions."

This is commonly noted by Somalis who talk about Al Shabaab -- they not only violently oppose the West, but also other Somalis who don't support their war.

"If you are not with them, you are against them," said one official at Mogadishu Airport when asked to describe the group's outlook.

Many Somalis live in fear of even appearing to dissent from the group's orders.

At the African Union base they opened the military hospital to the public in response to the lack of medical facilities in the city. When they run out of drugs and instead issue prescriptions, even the desperately ill throw them away, knowing the risks of being caught with such evidence of "collusion."

In February, the group banned the U.N. World Food Program, even though millions rely on food aid for survival.

Music and radio stations have been banned as well as school bells, which were recently declared too Christian by Al Shabaab and their allies.

Stories of the brutal nature of their control over the city's streets make their way through the hospital staff and into the A.U. camp.

Tales of dismemberment, bodies being chopped up and sent back to families, routine executions, even people being skinned alive emanate from neighborhoods closed off to the international community or any form of governance.

Leaning over the wall of a lookout post at the notorious Kilometer Four junction, one soldier points to a minaret. "That's the Red Mosque," he says. "That's where they chop people up."

Such a fate is often promised to Major Ba-Ho Ku, the Ugandan spokesman for the peacekeepers.

Callers to his cell phone promise death and dismemberment. He dismisses the group as misguided and accuses them of making the lives of ordinary Somalis horrific.

"It's so sad," he says, hanging up on another sinister voice. "They don't know what they are doing. They are just killing their own people."

It is estimated that around half the population of Mogadishu have fled to refugee camps.

Those left behind are caught in an increasingly deadly form of urban warfare. Senior A.U. military figures say the signs of al Qaeda's hand in the fighting are visible through the use of Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, and suicide bombings.

Most of the fighting goes on between the local TFG forces, weak and underfunded, and Al Shabaab.

At the A.U.'s hospital the morning after a skirmish in town, TFG soldiers lie of stretchers, thin and bleeding. Colonel Dr James Kiyengo, a surgeon, leans over one soldier injured by an IED.

"This kind of injury has increased," he says. "Earlier on the soldiers could move out of the camp and come back, and when the Ethiopians withdrew there was a vacuum that was filled.

"I think the insurgents came closer, and into the city, such that we found that these injuries increased. Earlier on there were no IEDs, not as common as it is now."

A major offensive against Al Shabaab to retake large areas of the city has been rumored for months. Military leaders in Mogadishu play down the reports, saying the move against Al Shabaab will happen gradually.

Last month the New York Times reported that the U.S. had become so concerned with the group's activities across Somalia and in Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden, that they were giving direct military support to the TFG. This was strongly denied in Washington.

"The United States does not plan, does not direct, and does not coordinate the military operations of the TFG, and we have not and will not be providing direct support for any potential military offensives," Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, told reporters. "Further, we are not providing nor paying for military advisors for the TFG. There is no desire to Americanize the conflict in Somalia."

The dull whir of a nightly drone circling Mogadishu's skies however only adds to speculation amongst locals.

"The American's gather intelligence," one official whispered. "But they don't share it with the Somali government."

Educational absurdity in Hulu Selangor

Have we no shame when we say that only if the people vote for this or that party, money will flow to the children of that community? Have we no sense of understanding of human rights and dignity when we deliberately create apartheid system of education through preferential treatments by virtue of who votes for us?
A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE
Dr Azly Rahman 
"If we win this by-election, you can come to Kuala Lumpur the next day to look for me. I will write a personal letter to approve the money and it will be transferred to the school board's account. If we lose, don't have to come." - Najib Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia

If these words quoted in Lim Kit Siang's ( left) blog were uttered and they were true, we have reached the highest level of idiocy in charting the future of Malaysian education. How much shame must we parade in our desperation to win this or that election that is a theater of the absurd anyway?

The essential question is, how dare we use education - the only means for social and economic progress for ALL races - to bribe voters!

We hear all too often now that education is being prostitutionalized in the name of political gains. That gentle profession and a noble enterprise, from the Latin educare (drawing out the potentials) have been overused in election campaigns. From rice to roads, credit cards to cruises, youth facilities to new universities - all these have been used as political baits throughout our history.

We are in a pathological condition. Education and the building of educational institutions must be a non-partisan endeavor. As the philosopher John Dewey would say, education is the only means for social and educational progress and the teaching of thinking will bring the child to any dead places, so we must take heed of this notion of education for all. Education must become a vehicle for the development of a critical citizenry, regardless of who is in power, as the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire would say.

Have we no shame when we say that only if the people vote for this or that party, money will flow to the children of that community? Have we no sense of understanding of human rights and dignity when we deliberately create apartheid system of education through preferential treatments by virtue of who votes for us?

Denying children's rights

We are denying children the right to be intelligent when we use programs of the gifted and talented as political tool and as means to punish electorates. We are denying at-risk youth alternative educational settings that will give them hope and vision when we are merely interested in their potential as paid hooligans during election campaigns.

In the United States it does not matter which government is in power, the approaches to educating the future generation differ only in the emphasis towards making the schools perform better. Whether it is Ronald Reagan's (right) NCEE report of "A Nation at Risk," Bill Clinton's Goals 2000, George Bush's No Child Left Behind, or Barack Obama's Race to the Top - all these have the goal of grand scale inclusiveness, the ideology and modus operandi might differ. In them, these are the mandate given to each state to implement standards of excellence to make society better. Never have I heard, as an American educator myself, this or that school denied of funding by virtue of the community's political leaning. It would be a Supreme Court case if a school district is denied money due to the teacher union's endorsement of this or that candidate in the gubernatorial race, for instance.

If we continue to see, at every election campaign money is being promised only if votes are being given, we have become an immoral nation of peoples that do not care for the next generation of children.

Already we have educational institutions entrenched in race and the propagation of racial superiority - at a time when we trumpet to the outside world our "Malaysian-ness". We not only have elite schools for one race, expensive gifted and talented schools for one race, universities for this or that race only, and grants and scholarships for only one race - when all these are supposed to coming from a '1Malaysia' government in which the taxpayers are of all races.

Already we are seeing more seed of racialization of education and the apartheid-ization of schooling planted in order to further the agenda of race-based politics. The "one-school-fits-all" ("satu sekolah untuk semua") movement/campaign is also deeply suspect - which ideology will hegemonize, which culture will be made dominant, and what will be the nature of "nationalism and patriotism" shoved onto the minds of the young.

These are serious questions we need to ask ourselves as a nation - how have we politicize and prostitutionalize education? What will be the political, social, and cultural implications of this game we are letting politicians play? - game that reflect out pathological state of mind as we continue to see our institutions crumble; no longer able to withstand the weight of our contradictions.

What then must we do?

We do not have time to entertain ethnocentric politics anymore; our society has been fragmented into classes of rich and poor, marginalizing people of all races to newer character. All forms of race-based politics in this century of postmodernity, flux, and shifting ideologues - is racist in nature, racism for the convenience of control and the furtherance of unseen violence masked as 'progress and civility'.

We must go back to the study of educational philosophies rather than advance the practice of educational prostitutionalization.

OUR USUAL REMINDER, FOLKS: 

While the opinion in the article is mine, 

the comments are yours; 

present them rationally and ethically. 

AND -- ABOLISH THE ISA -- NOW! 

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/AzlyRahman/689079971
blog: http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/

PKR must leverage on multiracialism, says analyst

He noted that PKR, which shot to prominence two years ago, needed constant consultation with its grassroots and various divisions to steer the party forward or risked going into "bankruptcy". The analyst added that PKR must raise the bar for its state and national leaders contesting in the next general election and should make good use of time to take stock.

By Yong Min Wei, The Edge

PKR must leverage on multiracialism and undergo a minor makeover of its political message to stay in the hunt for Putrajaya with its other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners in the next general election.

Political analyst Dr Ooi Kee Beng said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's party could not stand as an "anti-Umno" symbol or "lightning rod for the dissatisfied" if it were serious about winning the hearts of voters nationwide.

"Multiracialism, justice and welfare are several key areas which PKR needs to look at in spreading its message to the rakyat. PKR has the multiracial appeal and is not laden with a lot of history," he told The Edge Financial Daily on Monday, April 26.

According to Ooi, the opposition party could not merely dwell on issues of corruption and abuse of power and question the credibility of Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders to gain long-term support. He noted that PKR could only push its reform agenda by first consolidating itself and drawing in those who are loyal to its cause.

He said PKR made massive inroads in the last general election despite being a young party and as such was bound to face challenges concerning its ideology and power structure. He pointed out that a host of veteran politicians in the party subscribed to the "old concept of politics".

"It was still a very loose party after March 8 (2008). I consider the last general election more of a defeat of BN than a win for PKR, as the opposition won many seats because of fence-sitters who took their side," said Ooi, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).

The political analyst opined that a lack of dynamism in BN following the last general election allowed PKR and its partners in PR the liberty "to punch way above" its class before the opposition pact could stabilise. He said that BN has managed to hold its position together now under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"There is more foam than beer in the glass for PKR... A lot of the failures it has experienced lately is not so much of its doing," said Ooi. The opposition party's chances of claiming Putrajaya, he said, would depend on how well it got its house in order.

On the Hulu Selangor by-election, he said PKR had put in a commendable performance, losing by only 1,725 votes in a mixed parliamentary seat and against a strong BN machinery. He said that the party would need to press the panic button if the ruling coalition had scored a landslide victory.

Since the last general election, political observers have commended PKR for its role in bridging the gap between DAP and PAS to form PR. Nevertheless, cracks in PKR have caused minor rifts in the pact, though PKR leaders were quick to call it a "cleansing process" that would weed out those with wavering loyalties.

Nine elected representatives have quit PKR since the beginning of last year, citing a loss of confidence in its leadership as their main reason. Of the nine, four are MPs from the constituencies of Bayan Baru, Nibong Tebal, Bagan Serai and Kulim Bandar Baharu while the others are state assembly members representing Changkat Jering, Behrang, Lunas, Port Klang and Bakar Arang.

PKR has also been facing scores of divisional and branch leaders announcing their resignation from the party of late, although on the same note, there have been reports that the party has also been successful in recruiting dozens of young members and professionals.

Another political analyst said PKR must be able to administer Selangor, the richest state, under its "reform agenda", as a model of its federal government, should the party secure Putrajaya in the 13th general election.

He pointed out that the stakes in Selangor were high as Anwar was the state economic adviser while Najib was Selangor BN chairman and Umno Selangor liaison chief. All eyes were on PKR to "walk the talk" and introduce "people-friendly" measures, he said.

"PKR must soon settle down, curb its internal politicking and stop the mud slinging... It should learn from the defunct (Parti Melayu) Semangat 46 not to take for granted when party members start to quit," said the political analyst who declined to be named.

He noted that PKR, which shot to prominence two years ago, needed constant consultation with its grassroots and various divisions to steer the party forward or risked going into "bankruptcy". The analyst added that PKR must raise the bar for its state and national leaders contesting in the next general election and should make good use of time to take stock.

They don’t want change, do they?

By Kee Thuan Chye

COMMENT The outcome of the Hulu Selangor by-election has been a great personal disappointment. As a layman, not a member of any political party but one who wants change, it’s clear that many of the people who voted last Sunday do not want change. And that frightens me.
In returning the parliamentary seat to Barisan Nasional, most of the Malay and Indian voters in the constituency seem to prefer remaining safely within their cocoon of ignorance about the reality of what is happening outside their kawasan. Many of them are mere rural yokels, city slickers might say, and therefore excused from wanting to see the larger picture.

Many, perhaps, are  incapable of seeing the subterfuge behind the BN's gargantuan effort to win their votes. They took the money, the bribes, the promises of development, and felt beholden to the giver: never mind that such bribery was a form of corruption; they became complicit.

Most Chinese voters rejected the old corrupt ways. More than 75 per cent of them voted for Pakatan Rakyat, advising one another to yong ngan thhai (open your eyes). Some rejected duit kotor handouts; others took the money and voted against the giver. They were aware of the larger world, of the legacy of lies and letdowns from more than 50 years of BN rule. Why weren't the Malay and Indian voters as clued in?

Malay voters were worried about losing their rights, no doubt, after being bombarded with BN propaganda gushing from Utusan Malaysia and TV3.
Indian voters suffered from myopia and amnesia, the big Hindraf march of late 2007 expressing the frustration of more than 50 years of Indian marginalisation all but forgotten. They went for the short-term gains.
A hollow victory
The BN's majority of 1,725 votes for its candidate, P. Kamalanathan, and his sponsors, Najib Abdul Razak and Umno, represent a hollow victory. Were they to objectively assess their returns from the money and machinery thrown into the effort, they would have to admit they could have scored better. And if they were honest about it, they would also acknowledge that the subterfuge  made their victory less deserved, less meaningful.

Where did the money come from? Some, no doubt, from the Treasury, money from taxpayers.

Najib promised RM3 million to a Chinese school in Rasa if BN won: that school is not even in the list of Chinese schools slated to receive government aid. As a taxpayer, I don’t agree to such aid to a Chinese school in return for votes. More importantly, as a taxpayer, I don’t subscribe to money politics.

In such an instance, can a citizen sue the leader of the ruling party for making use of public funds for dubious purposes? Perhaps it’s something worth looking into.

Najib also allocated to an Indian temple the land on which it had illegally been built. Did he not condone an illegal action by making it legal through the gift of land? Worse, he displayed bad form in openly stating that he expected the community to reciprocate by voting for the BN. And this coming from no less than a prime minister.

It was just as disgraceful for Najib to say when he first went to the ground: “Even before winning, we are already giving out ang pows. If we win, the ang pows will be bigger.” What message is he sending out to the people of his 1Malaysia? What values for our young?

It was morally wrong. So wrong any level-headed person would have seen it. Said a reader in Malaysiakini: “How do you end corruption when the government practises it blatantly in this Hulu Selangor buy-election?”
Defeat of rakyat power
As in the 2008 general election, Hulu Selangor produced a black-and-white distinction between good guys and bad guys, just like Hollywood westerns of old -- something like The Magnificent 7 (or rather The Seven Samurai, which provided the inspiration for it). The sad exception was that, where in both movies the underdog won despite lack of resources and firepower, in Hulu Selangor the underdog lost.

The defeat was more poignant for rakyat power being defeated by government power.

Carnival time during the by-election (Photo: Fahmi Fadzil)

The volunteers who worked so hard behind Pakatan Rakyat’s candidate, Zaid Ibrahim, gave freely of themselves. They were committed, from being committed to the idea of change.

They checked the people sent on buses to voting centres to make sure they were not phantom voters. They went from door to door to impart to voters the message of change. They blogged. They wrote articles for online media. They tweeted to spread the latest developments. They spent their own time and money.

They were men and women who toiled for an ideal. They dignified an otherwise dirty by-election.

Dignity is a key word here. Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim said at the coalition’s huge final rally in Kuala Kubu Baru on election eve, “It is a question of dignity for the people of Hulu Selangor. Let us not because of RM200 sell our dignity. Tomorrow is the day to regain our dignity ... no one can take it from us.”

The majority of voters paid no heed. And BN showed no dignity. Those who voted for the party, by endorsing a lack of dignity, collaborated in diminishing the value of dignity. Unless and until the Malaysian electorate can uphold dignity, we will continue to be ruled by the less than dignified, those who will stoop to anything to ensure victory for themselves, those who will do that which is wrong and refuse to admit it.
Same old dirty ways
Unless and until the Malaysian electorate holds high the need for dignity, we will not get change.

Najib called the by-election a referendum on his performance as PM. How reliable is that a measure if you throw ang pows around and tell people bluntly that, in return, they should vote for BN? A paid-for endorsement is not true endorsement. Didn’t he want a genuine appraisal? In any case, with BN getting 24,977 out of the total 48,935 votes – endorsement by just 51.1 per cent of voters  – the jury’s still out.

What emerges clearly is that BN, or rather Umno, will not change its ways; it still plays by the old dirty tactics.

One of the declared aims of Najib’s New Economic Model is to weed out corruption. That should include money politics, which is certainly a form of corruption.

Those NEM reforms, in any case, face resistance from within his own party, which means he may, at best, be able to give only a promise of change or a semblance of it without delivering on the real thing. To keep himself in power, he might not want to rock the Umno boat too much. If he does and the warlords take over, that could be even worse for Malaysia.

Either way, it would be pointless to give the BN the mandate at the next general election if we want change and a chance to rejuvenate Malaysia.
Challenge for Pakatan
The problem, as seen at Hulu Selangor, is how to get the people who voted for BN to understand any concept of change if they can succumb so easily to money politics? If that’s the mentality and level of maturity of these voters – and there must be many times more of such throughout the country  – how can we expect them to vote for change?

That is the big challenge for Pakatan to overcome. It must take the bull by the horns now and show itself as a viable alternative, not just rely on winning sympathy from voters by criticising the BN government and exposing its mistakes and shortcomings.

The media have already begun to spin the line that Pakatan is tearing the nation apart with “disruptive” politics. To counter this, Pakatan must proactively and aggressively take to the people its vision of a new Malaysia, and show how it can govern when the time comes and what its policies will be.

There is no time to waste. Pakatan should have started yesterday.

Najib keeps coming up with stuff like 1Malaysia, GTP, NEM. What does Pakatan have to offer? If they have their own policies and programmes already, why don’t they implement them straight away to help the people? Do they even have a shadow Cabinet? What is their shadow Budget? How can the state governments they run perform even better?

Having lost the battle for Hulu Selangor, Pakatan has to gear up for the war: the next general election. The support it obtained in Hulu Selangor is certainly not measly, and Pakatan should be heartened by it.

The road to Change is long and winding, but the work must begin now. When the general election comes around, I hope I won’t be disappointed, as I was in Hulu Selangor.

---

Dramatist and journalist Kee Thuan Chye is the author of 'March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up'

Suhakam's plan: No action if this govt stays in power

By Stephanie Sta Maria
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) turns 10 this year. For the past decade, it has fought for human rights in the country but has still wound up being called a “toothless tiger” for its inability to bring about a significant change.

Last week all 16 of its commissioners, some of whom had been serving Suhakam since its inception, stepped down to make way for a fresh team.
In an exclusive interview with FMT, Suhakam's former vice-chairman Simon Sipaun talks about Suhakam's role, challenges and future.
FMT: What does Suhakam have to show for itself after 10 years?
Simon: Suhakam has four roles. The first is to educate the public on human rights and we have done well as more Malaysians are now more aware of human rights issues and Suhakam.
Our second role is to advise the government on existing or proposed laws that violate human rights, like the Internal Security Act (ISA). We still have a long way more to go here. None of our annual reports have been debated in Parliament and the government has constantly turned a deaf ear to our recommendations. So while Suhakam has performed its duties, the results are yet to be seen.
The third role is advising the government on international human right treaties and instruments. When Suhakam first started, the government ratified two instruments. Ten years later, that figure hasn't changed. Again we have done our part but the government hasn't done its part.
The fourth role is to investigate complaints of human rights violations and to propose solutions. We have done this to the best of our abilities, but we are only a recommendatory body and have no decision-making powers. Although we've not done too badly in this area, our main challenge is the authorities not taking our recommendations seriously.
Is Suhakam's reputation as a “toothless tiger” a fair one?
The problem is that no one knew anything about Suhakam until it was created and very few understood our exact role. So when they heard that Suhakam deals with human rights violations, their expectations were very high and they were very disappointed to find out that we are only an advisory body.
So in a way, we are a toothless tiger. Then again, we were never meant to be a tiger with teeth. In my opinion, Suhakam cannot be a tiger based on the existing law. If Suhakam was really meant to be effective, then the government should have consulted the public, the civil society and human rights activists before creating it.
What is the current criteria of selection of commissioners?
The old law states that 'members of the commission shall be appointed from among prominent personalities including those from various religious and racial backgrounds'. Of course this is very subjective. What do you mean by prominent? People are well-known for both the good and bad that they have done.
Under the amended law, this clause has been improved to read 'the members of the commission will be appointed from among men and women of various religious, political and racial backgrounds who have knowledge of or practical experience in human rights matters'.
This amendment has made the selection process more specific and transparent. The government approaches various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and asks them to submit nominations based on the above criteria. This name list is scrutinised by the committee which will then advise the prime minister on the final selection. As for how the committee members are selected, I myself am not too sure.
What are the biggest human rights issues in Malaysia?
Definitely the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance Act. The fact that the latter still exists indicates that Malaysia is still in a state of emergency. This is serious because the Act is invoked even when the conditions that gave rise to its creation no longer exist.
For instance, there was a recent incident in Perak where the police shot dead a couple. The families wanted to sue the police and the government for abuse of power, but the government invoked a section under the Emergency Law which states that if a police officer shoots to kill someone whom he believes is a threat to security, he cannot be prosecuted. Malaysia is no longer in a state of emergency but yet the Act is still being used.
This is why you have Simpang Renggam. People are being put away simply because they are assumed to be a threat to security, and then they are forgotten.
Racism is another threat to human rights today because it is becoming institutionalised. The treatment of the Orang Asli is akin to apartheid.
What needs to happen for Suhakam to carry out all its roles effectively?
The establishment of a National Human Rights Action Plan. It's a plan of action by the government that will expose it to human rights issues and put it on the same wavelength as us. The human rights bodies in other countries have already implemented this plan and their governments are more receptive towards their recommendations.
We proposed this plan to the government in 2002 but was told that the federal constitution is sufficient to protect and promote human rights. I disagree because more often than not, government enforcement agencies are the violators of human rights. The concept of human rights violation is foreign to them as they have never had their rights violated before.
Do you see this plan coming into place soon?
Not if the current government remains in power.

British expert receives e-mail threat

SHAH ALAM: British forensics expert Peter Vanezis, who is hired by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), has filed a police report over an 'e-mail threat' against him and his family.
This was revealed by MACC head of prosecution Abdul Razak Musa at the inquest held to determine the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

A copy of the police report was also furnished to coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas.

Abdul Razak said: "(Vanezis) found the threat offensive and intimidating, but feels duty-bound to finish testifying.”

However, he added that the British expert wants to return home as soon as possible.

Stop blaming BN’s money politics, says DAP's Kula

By Athi Shankar
GEORGE TOWN: As the dust settles on PKR’s defeat in the Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday, a disappointed senior MP has called on Pakatan Rakyat to stop blaming Barisan Nasional’s money politics.
Accusing Pakatan of still being in denial, DAP vice-chairman M Kulasegaran said the party must return to the drawing board and do a no-holds-barred detailed review of the devastating loss.
“It’s more than vote-buying.
“There are other pressing issues that influenced the election result.
‘It’s a timely wake-up call,” said the two-term Ipoh Barat MP.
In the by-election, electoral debutant P Kamalanathan of BN obtained 24,997 votes to score a 1,725-margin victory against PKR heavyweight Zaid Ibrahim, who polled 23,272.
Kulasegaran pointedly noted that Pakatan Rakyat lost despite fielding its best candidate against an MIC novice.
Secondly, he said, Pakatan lost the seat in a state that the coalition rules.
He said he was surprised and disappointed with Zaid’s defeat because it’s so close to Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s frightening to learn we lost in a mixed constituency. Something is amiss here… to lose in our own den?
“All Pakatan leaders and elected representatives must reflect on where and what went wrong.
“We must take stock urgently,” Kulasegaran told FMT.
Why did Indians drift away?
He said Pakatan leadership must find out why Indian and Malay voters, who voted for the coalition in the last general election, had drifted away this time.
He said Pakatan’s post-mortem must probe on whether the Indian voters have ditched Pakatan for good or were merely warming up with BN to issue a stern warning to Pakatan.
“Many Indians felt that Pakatan had failed to live up to its expectations and aspirations.
“Although Pakatan state governments have limitations, nonetheless have they really delivered within their limits for Indians?
“Pakatan must acknowledge that it has to work harder and be more transparent to recapture the Indian and Malay votes, especially the working-class group,” he said.
On a positive note, however, Kulasegaran said all was not lost for Pakatan.
He said although the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, nonetheless it could be a blessing in disguise for it to happen now than during the 13th general election.
“We can always re-organise, re-invent and re-strategise our political approach and policies to turn around the defeat into triumph."
Recalling PKR’s by-election defeat in Ijok in April, 2007, he said a year later, Pakatan scored an unprecedented electoral success in the general election.
“Who knows... Hulu Selangor could just turn out to be another Ijok,” said the diminutive MP.

Orang Asli converted against will

thenutgraph.com

Orang Asli hospital signboard (Pic courtesy of theSun)

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 April 2010: Staff at the Orang Asli hospital in Gombak have systematically attempted to convert Orang Asli to Islam regardless of the "converts'" willingness to do so, several Orang Asli have revealed.
Mohd Zaki Abdullah, an Orang Asli Muslim convert who still goes by his Orang Asli name Angeh, told The Nut Graph how he was converted, against his will, to Islam when he was barely an adult.
Angeh claims two officers were involved in his forced conversion. One was Saidon Ishak, a Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA) officer based at the hospital, and Sharifudin Ishak, who works in the hospital pharmacy.
According to Angeh, both men visited him at his uncle's house where he was staying about eight years ago. He said he thought they were trying to help him apply for his identity card, which he had lost.
Angeh, now 26, said he was given something to recite, which he thought was part of his IC application. "I asked them, 'Apa benda ni?' They said, 'Syahadah ja, cakap ja.'"
Angeh said he did not know at the time that reciting the syahadah meant he was converting to Islam. He only found out after his uncle told him he was now a convert.
"I never asked to convert. I had no intention, none," Angeh said.
He said he was shocked when he found out and wondered how to tell his adoptive father. "Bapa aku sembahyang Cina. Saya pun sembahyang Cina," he said.
Jamuan makan
Angeh is not the only one with such a story. An Orang Asli staff at Gombak Hospital told The Nut Graph how he was invited for a "jamuan" at the Selangor menteri besar's residence, then occupied by Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo from the Barisan Nasional, several years ago.
At the jamuan, the staff, who did not want to be named for fear his job would be jeopardised, said he was converted.
"I received a hospital memo shortly after I joined the hospital which said I was chosen to go to the menteri besar's house for a banquet," said the staff member. "I asked (hospital director) Dr Saaiah Abdullah and Saidon, 'How come I'm invited and others not?' They told me it was a random selection by name."

The syahadah, or declaration of faith: "There is no god but Allah,
and Muhamamd is the messenger of Allah" (Source: Wiki commons)

He said he and a few other Orang Asli colleagues were brought after work to a JHEOA officer's house. "I was given baju melayu to wear," he said. "I asked them, 'Why do I have to wear baju melayu?' They told me, we must follow custom."
He said he was then brought to the menteri besar's Shah Alam residence where food was served. "At about 8pm, during prayer time, they brought us to the big surau in Shah Alam. There were lots of others there, some from Sabah and Sarawak. They told us to recite [the syahadah]."
The staff member said he was shocked. "I told them, 'I don't want to convert to Islam, my family doesn't know about this. If you had told me earlier, I would not have come.' Saidon told me, 'You've already come here; we'll teach your family to follow you. Just recite.'"
The staff member, who is now in his 30s, said he was in a difficult situation. He said due to the pressure of the situation, he recited the syahadah. But he had to do so four times because he found it difficult to say the words. He claimed he was then given some food and RM250.
He added, "I reached home about midnight after the event and told my family what had happened. My wife was furious. She told me, 'You said you were going for kenduri. How did you end up converting to Islam?'"
The staff member said, however, that as there was no record of his conversion with the religious authorities, he does not consider himself a Muslim and lives life as before.
"Niat kita, hati kita, tetap tak ada nak masuk [Islam]. Kalau nak masuk, keluarga mesti ada, boleh tanya — nak ikut ke tak nak, mesti dari hati kitalah. Kira ada niat, kita masuklah. Ini — niat pun tak ada. Saya diperguna macam itu," he said.

(Pic by Ijansempoi / Dreamstime)Financial incentive
The staff member said he believes Saidon and other hospital personnel received financial benefits for bringing in converts, even though he had no way of proving it.
Angeh, however, confirmed that financial incentives were involved in the conversion of Orang Asli. He claimed that Saidon and Sharifudin told him that if he was married, he would receive the RM1,000 allocated for a Muslim couple.
According to his story, Angeh, then 18, agreed to marry his 20-something-year-old bride, Wak Chin. He said they were brought to Tambun, Perak and married together with nine other couples.
His wife had to convert to Islam as well to get married. "Her Muslim name is Aminah," Angeh said.
However, Angeh claimed he and his wife did not receive any money after their wedding.
He further claimed that Saidon had also told him that as a Muslim, he would be able to get a job at the Gombak Hospital. However, this never materialised, and today Angeh works as a grass cutter.
Hospital involved
Another staff member, who is not Orang Asli, confirmed that hospital staff were frequently involved in conversion activities.
She recounted how Dr Saaiah repeatedly asked her to convert: "Every time I went to see her, Dr Saaiah would ask me, 'What do you think of Islam? Why don't you convert to Islam? Don't you think Islam is a good religion?'"
She added that the hospital was constantly used for Islamic talks.
The staff also spoke on condition of anonymity so that her position would not be jeopardised.
Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) volunteer Puah Sze Ning said she had attended a JHEOA-organised Islamic talk at the hospital in 2009, after being informed by hospital staff about such activities.
"It was held during office hours in the afternoon. The hospital set up a tent on their grounds," she told The Nut Graph in a phone interview. "There were about 60 people present, including hospital staff. A visiting imam expounded on part of the Quran."

At the JHEOA talk in 2009 (Pic by Puah Tze Ning)

Denials
Saidon and Sharifudin both denied any knowledge about any conversion cases. Dr Saaiah did not respond to any of The Nut Graph's calls or text messages.
"Tak ada, tak ada. Itu bukan urusan kita," said Saidon, when contacted by The Nut Graph by telephone at JHEOA and informed of the allegations against him. He declined further comment, saying this was something his superiors should answer.
"I only work to dispense medicine, I don't know anything about [any conversions]," Sharifudin told The Nut Graph. "People can say whatever they want, it doesn't mean anything. They can say I raped someone, they can even say I raped you, it's just talk."

Street crimes down 28%

The Sun
by Charles Ramendran

KUALA LUMPUR (April 26, 2010): Police have exceeded the 20% target to reduce street crimes set by the government's national key results area (NKRA), according to statistics released today.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said between January and mid-April this year, street crimes dropped 28% in 50 crime hotspots indentified in four states namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor and Penang.

The four states contribute 80% of street crimes reported nationwide.

Musa said the total national crime index for street crimes has also declined by 15% to 7,330 cases in the same period, compared to 9,984 cases last year.

As for national crime index during the same period, there were 61,562 cases in 2009 and this came down to 52,366 cases this year.

The government had set police the target of reducing street crimes by 20% by year end as one of the six National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) announced last July.

Musa, who launched the Crime Prevention Awareness Week organised by Exxon Mobil at the Exxon Mobil Towers here, said although police had exceeded the given target, it must be maintained or even reduced further.

On another matter, Musa said pepper spray which is being openly sold as a weapon against attacks by criminals should be made a controlled item.

"We know it is being marketed and sold as a tool for personal protection. However, we must also be aware that it can be used by criminals too to attack their victims. This is our concern," he said.

He suggested shops selling pepper keep a record of the personal particulars of the buyer of the product.

"This way we may at least know where to look for clues should there be a criminal attack involving pepper sprays," he said. -- theSun

Tembok sekolah condong

The Last Hurrah: Zaid in Hulu Selangor

Tengku Adnan: Chinese will not be sidelined

State of the Indians Part VIII PSM: Can't compete for goodies

'Dirtiest and most corrupt' by-election ever: Zaid

Hulu S’gor: UMNO proved winnability is not race based, whereas PKR failed the multi-racial test

Hulu S’gor: UMNO proved winnability is not race based, whereas PKR failed the multi-racial test
Malay (UMNO) voters gave solid support to the Indian MIC candidate.
Barisan Nasional’s victory yesterday was achieved on the back of strong backing from Malay voters who make up 52.7 percent or 34,323 out of the 65,058 registered voters.(NST 26/4/2010 at page 2).
We left Parti Keadilan in 1999 because there was no keadilan (justice) for especially the poor and underprivileged Indians. Be that as it may, it had never even crossed our minds to support UMNO/BN. In fact our final analysis is that the main reason for the current critical Indian problems and the day to day mysery of the Indians to the point of “scoring” the highest suicide rate in Malaysia (to the tune of 600% above the suicide rate in the Malay community) is because of poverty and poverty related, is because UMNO has been continuously ruling Malaysia without a break in the chain. Our position is we want a break in this 53 year rule of Malaysia by UMNO.
But again we are no political novices to give the supposed “multi-racial” PKR, DAP and PAS a carta blanc to provide representation to especially the poor and underprivileged Indians.
We do not trust PKR, DAP and PAS as their multi-racialism is only in theory and not in practice. Even PKR, DAP and PAS’ 11 Indian MPs and leaders are made merely functionary mandores, ala 53 year old MIC mandores like in the UMNO & MIC axis mandorism, prevails in PKR, DAP and PAS. The latest tip of the iceberg example is the Ascot Estate Tamil School which has been denied water and electricity for fifty long years.
(Tamil Nesan 20/4/2010 at page 16). Tamil school denied water and electricity for 50 years.
.
Imagine the students being forced to study in dark sweaty and uncondusive conditions. The toilet stench and unhygienic learning conditions they have to put up with. And the cheek the UMNO’s MIC mandore Deputy Minister had to pose for a photograph posing with the other mandores and mandoresses by switching on the lights to the said Tamil School.
While UMNO is the cause of these 53 year old atrocities by commission, PSR DAP and PAS watched silently this “blood selling” and are guilty at least by omission.
In fact in this instance PKR, DAP and PAS are more blameworthy than UMNO as Hindraf had given the political directions and in fact embarked on an aggressive campaign for PKR, DAP and even PAS in the 2008 general elections without even demanding for a single Indian MP or ADUN seat. Our support was unconditional, unequivocal and unreserved because we were promised change by the PKR, DAP and PAS top leaders. We delivered the votes!
But it is over two years today since PKR, DAP and PAS have come to power but their rule of Selangor, Penang and Kedah has only been about the same as the 53 year old UMNO rule.
It is also plain and obvious here that PKR is a political opportunist which only wants to be a taker and never intended to be a giver. From this it is plainly clear that PKR, DAP and PAS has no intentions of solving even the very basic necessity elementary and critical Indian problems. When they refuse to do what they are already empowered to do especially for the Indians in Selangor, Penang and Perak, they are not going to reciprocate when they get to Putrajaya.
To quote a Tamil proverb, a growing bean will show at the very beginning. (One does not need to wait and see the tree.)
Going by the aforesaid Ascot Estate Tamil school, the PKR led Selangor state government like their UMNO predecessors, has refused to grant state land to this Escot school and a total of 98 Tamil schools in Selangor which could be done merely by the stroke of the pen of the Tuan Selangor PKR Menteri Besar. This act would have forced the UMNO Federal government to grant fully financial aid status to this Ascot Tamil School and which would have existed like any other Malay, Islamic, Chinese, Orang Asli or native school.
Prey tell us one Malay Chinese, Orang Asli or native school in Malaysia that has been denied water and electricity for 50 long years! How can this happen in Malaysia, the wealthy and prosperous country with the world’s tallest twin towers? PKR even rejected our olive branch offer to help out in the Hulu Selangor by elections on the only pre-condition that all 98 Tamil schools are granted land by the PKR Selangor state government and an end to mandorism and mandore politics, and that we prepared to put aside momentarily all our other scores of critical Indian problems in Selangor.
Why did Anwar Ibrahim reject this proposal? If he cannot deliver even one of our requests, how is he going to deliver the dozens of critical Indian basic necessity problems. Where is the change Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang promised?
Having said this we have to however acknowledge that UMNO had proven that winnability is not race based. UMNO had resisted to bite PKR’s racist bait prompting to UMNO to file a Malay candidate for Hulu Selangor. UMNO had bent backwards to take the political risk and had only nominated an Indian candidate and UMNO took charge of the whole election machinery thus ensuring that a majority of the Malays had voted for the Indian candidate.
But to the contrary this is the fourth time in eleven years since 2000 where a traditional Indian seat beginning from Teluk Kemang, Lunas, Ijok and now the Hulu Selangor had been snatched away and given to a PKR Malay candidate, because of the winnability of the candidate, ie., a Malay candidate has the best chances of winning. Who now is more racist? UMNO or PKR? PKR has obviously failed the multi-racial test here.
As it stands it remains crystal clear that PKR, DAP and PAS like UMNO only wants the Indian votes, not their basic necessity and elementary problems.
The writing on the wall, the latest being the Hulu Selangor by elections, is indeed very clear, ie., both UMNO or PKR, DAP and PAS are not interested in the Indian problems. And that we have to bend and save ourselves. (S.O.S)
Thus HRP’s political empowerment strategy is creating 15 and 35 Indian majority parliament and state seats respectively, representing the seven frontline states in Malaysia to champion without fear or favour, also the critical Indian problems which UMNO, PKR, DAP and PAS has abandoned.
P.Uthayakumar
UMNO menafikan bekalan air dan elektrik kepada Sekolah Tamil selama 50 tahun.

Project 15/38: HRP voters who moved address and new voters please check with www.spr.gov.my

Project 15/38: HRP voters who moved address and new voters please check with www.spr.gov.my
Further to our Political empowerment strategy and Project 15/38 HRP voters who have voters address and new voters from January to March are requested to check with www.spr.gov.my as per the newsreport in the sun 26/4/2010 at page 4 below.
For further information kindly contact me.
Thank You,
Yours Faithfully
Sambu
Elections Operations Chief
010-2774096

Hulu S’gor: Indians beg for basic necessities. Malays and Chinese at luxury and national stage.

Hulu S’gor: Indians beg for basic necessities. Malays and Chinese at luxury and national stage.
Three days ago we had posted in our website of there being no community hall in KKB Hulu Selangor for the local Indian community, so much so that they have to end up renting the Malay and Chinese Halls for their weddings, functions etc.
But todays’s star reported that “every small town in the area has a (Malay and Chinese) community hall some of which are of a rather impressive scale” (The Star 26/4/2010 at page N18). It was also reported that among the Chinese, national issues like justice and corruption come into play.

digg icon delicious icon Hulu S’gor: A mere one Hindu temple and tamil school land one at a time newspaper kosong politics by UMNO & PKR, DAP and PAS. Why not all in one go?

Hulu S’gor: A mere one Hindu temple and tamil school land one at a time newspaper kosong politics by UMNO & PKR, DAP and PAS. Why not all in one go?

Upon independence from the British in 1957 ie some 53 years ago, all masjids, suraus and muslim cemeteries were granted state government land and gazetted accordingly within the first ten or so years of independence as they were deemed public amenities.

The Chinese, Buddhists, Sikhs and the rich Indians bought their own land for their places of worship. The British left behind enough churches and Christian cemetery lands for the local cemeteries.

This leaves us with the poor Hindus where 95% of their mostly pre independence Hindu temples, Hindu cemeteries and Tamil schools and Indian settlements sit on government or private land. They were all not alienated state government land and gazetted accordingly like what was done for all the masjids and suraus. Unlike all the masjids and suraus, these Hindu temples, cemeteries, Tamil schools and Indian settlements were not deemed to be public amenities or public necessities.

From the very beginning UMNO, and now PKR, DAP and PAS never intended these Hindu temples, cemeteries and Tamil schools to permanently dot the landscape of Malaysia.

All along they were meant to be temporary structures. They were demolished on an as and where basis, to make way for “development". These demolishment were facilitated with none or very little resistance by the able MIC mandores and in the last two over years by the PKR, DAP and PAS Exco, DCM II, MP and ADUN mandores. When there is resistance, the Hindu temple etc is made to move another smaller temporary land of 10,000 sq feet, next to a sewerage pond, below high tension electrical cables, Telecoms towers or industrial wasteland. Insults of this magnitude does not happen to any other community except to the Hindus and Indians in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia.

And today in the latest episode, this One Malay-sia Prime Minister after 53 years of independence makes a mere that too “offer” of one Hindu temple land to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Kalumpang, and that too on the occasion of the Hulu Selangor by elections. (Sunday star 25/4/2010 at page N4).

This newspaper kosong politics was made possible by an UMNO Indian businessman mandore.

As usual the land title to even this one temple was never handed to them. After the Hulu Selangor by-elections this Kalumpang Mariamman Hindu Temple would be forgotten and they will only know that the One Malaysia Prime Minister had cheated them when the bulldozers come to demolish their temples as has happened to thousands of other Hindu temples in UMNO’s “ethnic cleansing” of the Hindus and Indians in Malay-sia.

And this UMNO’s “one by one" newspaper politics has now been ably aped by PKR, DAP and PAS Indian mandores.

Especially after 53 years of independence why can’t all these Hindu temples, cemeteries, Tamil schools and Indian settlements be resolved all in one go, while they are in power, and for the Indians to move on to also become part of the national mainstream development of Malaysia? UMNO, PKR, DAP and PAS intend to continue to insult the Indians on a day to day basis. Wait for the backlash in 2012/2013.

P.Uthayakumar

RM 685 million is Public Bank’s 2009 net profit. Top 35 positions in the bank are Chinese and Malays. Qualified Indians excluded. Indians not meant to share country’s wealth.

RM 685 million is Public Bank’s 2009 net profit. Top 35 positions in the bank are Chinese and Malays. Qualified Indians excluded. Indians not meant to share country’s wealth.
As at 31/3/2010 the net profit of Public Bank is RM 685 million. We did a google search of Public Bank and the top 35 positions Public Bank- Board of Directors , Public Bank- Top Management are held only by the Malays and Chinese.
The qualified and deserving Indians have been discriminated and excluded by the Chinese banking community who control Malaysia’s economy. These Chinese have been forced to take in the Sultan of Pahang’s brother Tengku Abdul Rahman ibni Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah and many other Malays as non executive directors and other top jobs in Public Bank.
This is the same arrangement the economically powerful Chinese adopt in almost all of their other multi billion ringgit banking, corporate financial, industrial, small and medium scale industries etc. UMNO allows this arrangements to prevail as they get to use the Chinese expertise, finance, know how and technology so the Chinese and Malays in the private sector prosper together. The Indians are not meant to share the nation’s wealth. The hardworking and brainy Indians are merely used as the work horses.
The Indians in every other part of the world except in Malaysia have been given the equal opportunities to excel and they control mega businesses, banks, giant corporations etc. But in Malaysia 95% of the hardworking and entrepreneural minded, even besi buruk and car wash Indians, are denied their licences simply because they are Indians and not Malays or Chinese.
P.Uthayakumar

PKR S’gor refuses to solve basic Indian PJS 1 housing problem

PKR S’gor refuses to solve basic Indian PJS 1 housing problem
This is despite our earlier letter to the tuan Menteri Besar of Selangor. The earlier batch of 200 over Indian families who had moved to Lembah Subang are still left without their low cost flats by the previous UMNO Selangor state government.
When PKR, DAP and PAS cannot even solve this one basic necessity roof over their head Indian problem how are they going to solve the hundreds of critical Indian problems when they get to Putrajaya?
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

 

Hulu Selangor: 43 years wait for 19 Indian families land applications denied by UMNO and PKR.

Only a mere 0.4 hectres ( about just over one acre ) each was applied to be made into a farm house and a farm by these poor and uneducated Indians in Kerling, Hulu Selangor.
Felda, Felcra, Risda, Fama, Mardi, Agropoliton is 99 % given to malay muslim in the 442,000 ten acre land ownership programmes (BH 25/2/2010 at page 4). But this had been excluded to 99 % of the poor, landless and working class Indians.
But even a Temporary Occupation License (TOL) was denied by even the now Hindraf people power supported and voted PKR led Selangor state government.
A piece of 0.8 hectre land that was divided for 19 individuals suddenly is now given away to one single individual by the PKR led Selangor state government
All what they want is a part of the land that their ancestors had worked on
( SH 14/4/2010 at page S 25 ).
P.Uthayakumar

Dr M confident his man will revive BN

KUALA LUMPUR: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad predicts a better showing for Barisan Nasional in the coming general election owing to the leadership of Najib Tun Razak.
He credited Najib for BN's victory in yesterday's Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election, saying the prime minister had managed to change BN's image for the better.
In view of this, Mahathir said the ruling coalition had the ability to achieve a bigger victory in the 13th general election.

"In the last general election, BN performed poorly not because of BN per se but because the people didn't like certain individuals," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Mahathir said BN, however, should conduct a post-mortem on why it lost the Chinese votes in the by-election.

Pak Lah credits Najib's people-first initiatives
The former premier had played an instrumental role in ousting his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in order for Najib to take over.

Mahathir had been highly critical of Abdullah, and blamed his “poor” leadership for BN's electoral disaster in 2008.

The former premier also hit the campaign trail in Hulu Selangor, where he had harped on several of his favourite issues such as his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy charge.

Meanwhile, Abdullah said the Hulu Selangor victory was a result of Najib's people-first initiatives.

He said that through the programmes, the people were able to convince themselves that there would be more people-friendly initiatives from Najib in the years to come.

"We hope that the initiatives taken by Najib will continue and we will continue to support him," he told reporters in Putrajaya.

In the by-election, BN's P Kamalanathan polled 24,997 votes to defeat Zaid Ibrahim of PKR, who polled 23,272 votes, with a majority of 1,725 votes.

Abdullah said the victory would boost the spirit of party leaders, which he said augured well for the BN's quest to recapture Selangor, one of the five states it lost in the March 2008 general election.

To reconcile the ups and downs of life

But we also faced the Hulu Selangor by-election with a pathetic and weak campaign machinery. It was badly coordinated and the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. Plus there was a host of other weaknesses that I do not wish to highlight here.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

What does one write about the Monday after a defeat? Yesterday, in the aftermath of the Hulu Selangor by-election, and with hardly any energy left in my body due to many days of lost sleep, my mood was most foul indeed. I could have listed down twenty reasons why Pakatan Rakyat lost the by-election. And I could have whacked Barisan Nasional as well as Pakatan Rakyat and blame them both for what happened in Hulu Selangor yesterday.

I had a good sleep last night and have just about recovered from my loss of sleep. So my head is clearer than it was yesterday. Maybe holding my breath and counting to ten, so to speak, was the best therapy. I would recommend it to some of you, as I can see that your comments are laced with anger, frustration, bitterness and maybe desperation as well.

Many talk about religion, especially Muslims. I have many Christian friends who preach to me about God’s love and divine will and all that. But I find they seldom have the ability to translate what the Muslims would call akidah into what they call adeen or way of life.

The non-religionists would pooh-pooh all this and call it hogwash. Man, and not God, is in control of his/her destiny, they would argue. Maybe. I would not want to start an argument about intelligent design, natural selection, the will of the Creator, the process of evolution, and such matters that may be beyond the average readership of Malaysia Today.

I am not asking you to believe what I believe. This is the penchant of most Muslims who believe that their mission in life, as destined by God, is to convince you to believe what they believe and get you converted to their belief. To each his own, I always say. After all, is not one man’s meat another man’s poison? What works for you may not work for me, and vice versa.

Which is harder, to handle success or to handle failure? I really don’t know because there are times when I find one more difficult and other times when I find the other more difficult. Nevertheless, to avoid an argument here, let us just agree that both are almost equally difficult to handle.

Talking is easy. Walking the talk, not that easy. Religionists have the ability to talk. Most do. It is walking the talk that they fall short. And religionists focus more on trappings and symbols and less on what lies deep down inside our hearts.

Muslims would be the first to whack me for what they claim to be my absence of akidah. Yes, that ‘magic’ word, akidah. What is akidah? How would I translate that one word into English? More importantly, how do I translate it into action?

Sometimes, Arabic, just like Latin, is not easily translatable into English, at least not with just one word. Locus standi, mala fide, bona fide, and so on, still require the use of Latin because those two words can never be translated into English with just two words. The same sometimes applies to Arabic as well where one word like akidah can never be translated into English with just one word.

Akidah could probably be loosely translated as faith although it involves more than just faith but would include contentment, acceptance, gratitude, and so on, as well.

A Muslim is not a Muslim in the absence of akidah. It is not prayers or fasting or believing in the One God, or believing in Muhammad as the last Prophet of God that makes a Muslim. It is the akidah that lies buried deep in his/her heart that makes a Muslim.

But what is akidah? How do we relate akidah to our daily lives? Even Christians and Jews believe in akidah although they use a different language for it. And how many Jews, Christians and Muslims practice akidah? No Jew, Christian or Muslim would dare deny that the strength of their akidah would determine whether they do or do not believe in God’s will, divine intervention, destiny, and whatnot.

The absence of akidah would mean the absence of religious belief.

Akidah is much talked about but the thing that we practice the least. Most Muslims would argue otherwise, though. They will insist that their akidah is strong. After all, do they not believe in the One God and in the Prophet of God and in the Afterlife and so on? This means they do have akidah.

Yes, that is also akidah. But that is the rudiment of akidah. That is what we learn in chapter one of the kitab or religious book. That is what we are taught in standard one in primary school. Thereafter we need to move beyond the basics of akidah and connect with God on a higher plane.

With a very troubled mind I once went to meet my Tok Guru in his home. It was cheaper than going for psychotherapy. I was facing a failure in my life and needed to understand how to handle this failure. I was contemplating some very drastic measures and needed guidance on where I take my life from that point on.

“Do you see what you are now facing as a bala (tragedy)?” asked my Tok Guru.

Of course I did.

“Do you see yourself and all things in this world as the creation of God?” asked my Tok Guru.

Again, of course I did.

“So you and all things created in this world are at par in the eyes of God then?” came my Tok Guru’s third question. “You are equally (sama-sama) all creations of God.”

I could not disagree with this as well.

“So, are you looking at things from your eyes or from the eyes of your Creator? Whose perception is it that you have failed? Your perception or God’s perception?”

Mine I suppose.

“So you failed to get something or you lost something that belongs to you. Is that a tragedy for you?”

Yes.

“Why? You said everything in this world was created by God. So nothing belongs to you. Everything belongs to God. How can you lose something or consider yourself having failed if you do not get something when it does not belong to you in the first place but everything belongs to God?”

I remained silent.

“You did not fail. You did not lose anything. It is only that God did not give you what you wanted or took back what He had earlier given you, but for a good reason. God never does things for a bad reason. It is only for good reasons. And that is why we say that God is fair and kind and merciful and loving.”

I did not respond.

“God loves you. And He loves you by not giving you what you want or by taking something away from you. It all belongs to Him anyway so He has a right to decide what He does with what belongs to Him. Sometimes He entrusts (amanah) you with what belongs to Him and sometimes He takes away what He had earlier entrusted to you. That is God’s way.”

I just nodded.

“To feel depressed would mean you disagree with God’s action. That makes you defiant of God’s will. It means you think that God was wrong. Can God be wrong? Would God be so unkind as to punish you for no reason? Or is God, in His love for you, helping you by not giving you what you want or by taking back what He had earlier given you?”

I still needed a bit more clarifying.

“God gave you a chicken. You then slaughter that chicken for dinner and the whole family enjoys a good meal. Is that good or bad? You have now lost your chicken. But you and your whole family enjoyed a good meal. Is the ‘loss’ of your chicken a good or bad thing?”

I begin to see my Tok Guru’s point.

“Bad and good is a matter of perception. It is only what you perceive. It is not the way perceived by God. So what you may consider bad now may actually be good later. You may get something now that could later turn out to be bad. Or you may lose something now and that may turn out later to be a good thing after all. You don’t know, but God knows.”

I nodded.

“So don’t feel depressed. Feel shukur (grateful) and accept that God in His wisdom has decided that today you would face a loss so that later you will benefit. You will not know those details now but later you will look back and say that today was a blessing in disguise and you will thank God that you did not get what you wanted because if you had it would have later been a curse.”

Forget about the corruption. Forget about the cheating. That is how Umno has been conducting itself for 53 years so why should they change now? You mean we faced the Hulu Selangor by-election without realising we would be facing what we faced the last week or so? We knew all that. We faced the same in every general election and every by-election.

But we also faced the Hulu Selangor by-election with a pathetic and weak campaign machinery. It was badly coordinated and the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. Plus there was a host of other weaknesses that I do not wish to highlight here.

We tried telling the Pakatan Rakyat leadership about all this but our words fell on deaf ears. If PKR had won the Hulu Selangor by-election then they would have arrogantly said that we were imagining all these weaknesses. How can there be weaknesses if Pakatan Rakyat is able to win the Hulu Selangor by-election? And these weaknesses would have remained right up to the next general election. And in the next general election we would have paid dearly for these weaknesses.

So maybe this is God’s will after all. I really don’t know. And you who do not believe in God would certainly disagree that it was God’s will.

Can we win the next general election if we conduct ourselves the way we did in Hulu Selangor? Certainly not! So, is this probably God’s lesson so that we can reflect on our weaknesses? Maybe, maybe not, but if we can take this defeat in Hulu Selangor not as a loss but as a gain then we would need less psychotherapy in our lives and we will be able to look at all events as positive and move on. That is what akidah is all about.

And I am going to move on and prepare myself for D-Day, the big one yet to come.