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Thursday, 7 October 2010

Rahimi told cops about Najib, Rosmah-Saiful connection

The statutory declarations which Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's former aide Rahimi Osman said he was forced to sign is

believed to mirror his statement to the police, said lawyer Latheefa Koya.

According to Latheefa, who was named as one of the persons to force Rahimi's hand in his police report yesterday, the 25-year-old had told her this after he gave his police statement on July 23, 2008.

The other person named is lawyer and PKR Youth Kedah chief Saiful Izham Ramli, who had prepared the first statutory declaration signed by Rahimi at Quality Hotel on June 28, 2008.

NONERahimi, 25, (right) said that the statutory declarations implicated Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor in the sodomy charge against Anwar.

"(Rahimi) told me that he was asked if he knew Mumtaz and if he had met Najib and Rosmah," she said.

Sodomy complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhary Azlan had also testified in court he had met Najib and Rosmah as well as one Mumtaz Jaafar, said to be Rosmah's friend.

Rahimi may be committing perjury

Latheefa, who is also PKR information chief, added that she cannot confirm the exact details of the police statement as it is standard procedure to not give a copy to the witness.

“We believe that there are more details in the statement, compared to the statutory declarations,” she said.
If this is true, added vice-president R Sivarasa who was also at Quality Hotel on June 28, Rahimi may face perjury charges for changing his statutory declarations.

"If he has made another statutory declaration to say that the earlier declarations are false, and if the new declaration contradicts the police statement, then it is a classic offence of perjury which is a serious criminal offence," he said.
The maximum penalty for perjury is a jail term of seven years.

Sivarasa added that the former aide, who left Anwar's office in 2008 a few days before Saiful Bukhari lodged his police report, cannot say he made the police statement under duress.

This is because he was accompanied by his then-lawyer Stanley Sinnapan.

Sinnapan, however, cannot reveal what had taken place between the police and Rahimi without the latter's authorisation.

According to Latheefa's lawyer N Surendran, a letter will be sent to Rahimi demanding that he retract his statement and apologise or face criminal defamation charges.

The letter will be send in the next 24 hours, demanding that Rahimi apologise within 24 hours of receiving it.

A similar letter will also be sent to media that the PKR lawyers claim to have “twisted the facts” in their reports of yesterday's event.

Buddhists want probe into Chinese ustaz’s ‘King Kong’ remarks

The preacher appears to make disparaging remarks on Buddhism and Chinese traditional beliefs in the clip.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Buddhist leaders have called on Putrajaya to investigate a popular Chinese Muslim preacher for allegedly ridiculing their religion and Chinese traditional beliefs in a video broadcast over YouTube.

The clip has gone viral on local political blogs and appeared to be in response to government criticism last week over a Malay Christian convert who insulted Islam in another YouTube video first posted six years ago but resurfaced recently.

Titled “Dialog bekas penganut Buddha”, the nine-minute long video shows a bespectacled man wearing a white skullcap said to be Ann Wan Seng, a Buddhist-turned -Muslim and currently a national council member of the Muslim Welfare Organisation of Malaysia (Perkim), helmed by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Subang Jaya Buddhist Association chief Chim Siew Choon said he was upset when he saw the video on YouTube.

“The relevant authorities should stop this. It’s very unhealthy. These sorts of things can cause disharmony,” he said.

Chim said the Buddhist-turned-Muslim had the freedom to comment on his former religion, but deplored the manner in which the latter had ridiculed Buddhism and confused it with traditional Chinese beliefs.

“He’s very confused. Why bring in Tua Pek Kong and Pau Kong? It’s got nothing to do with Buddhism,” he observed.

Based on what was uttered in the video, Chim added, the man displayed very shallow knowledge of his former religion and traditional Chinese beliefs.

Sek Chin Yong, from the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM), echoed Chim’s call for the authorities to investigate the matter.

“We leave it to the authorities to take action and investigate if they want to. No need for us to get upset just because he’s talking nonsense. We don’t want to fall into that trap,” said Sek, who questioned the motive of the person who uploaded the clip onto the popular video-sharing portal.

“Ann as a Muslim should not insult other religions. As a Chinese, he should promote the common good values to make these two different groups to know each other better, not incite Muslims or Malays to belittle Chinese traditional beliefs and customs.

“By insulting or denigrating others to raise himself is not a proper role for preachers. It’s also not a teaching of any religion,” Sek pointed out.

The YBAM secretary-general, however, said he did not think it necessary to file a police report to launch a probe and cautioned other Buddhists not to give in to their emotions.

“Personally, I don’t feel insulted. Why should I get angry or upset with what he said in the video? He’s not right,” Sek stressed.

First uploaded three years ago on October 18, 2007, the man alleged to be Ann can be heard making disparaging remarks in Bahasa Malaysia about his former religion and traditional Chinese worship:

“Bukan sekadar orang Cina menyembah agama Buddha. Mereka juga sembah berbagai dewa dan juga dewi. Mereka sembah Tua Pek Kong, mereka sembah Pau Kong, mereka sembah Datuk Kong dan barangkali mereka juga sembah King Kong.

“Maka jadilah agama dia agama Kong kali Kong.

“Dan inilah keadaan yang sedia wujud itu di mana orang Cina sembah patung-patung ini kerana mereka yakin dan juga mereka percaya bahawa patung ini boleh mendatangkan kebaikan kepada mereka, boleh mendatangkan kesejahteraan kepada mereka, boleh memberikan keselamatan malahan boleh menjadikan mereka ini kaya-raya.

[Not only do the Chinese worship Buddhism. They also worship all kinds of gods and goddesses. They worship Tua Pek Kong, they worship Pau Kong, they worship Datuk Kong and probably they also worship King Kong.

Which makes his religion Kong times Kong.

And this is the current situation where the Chinese worship these statues because they are convinced and they believe these statues can bring them benefit, can bring them prosperity, can give them security and even make them wealthy.]

The Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) declined to comment on the issue when contacted.

“It’ll be more interesting to see what the Muslim groups have to say. How will they respond?” its president, Reverend Dr Thomas Philips, told The Malaysian Insider.

The non-Muslim council also said it will be meeting the Muslim groups today at the Cabinet’s recently revived Committee to Promote Understanding and Harmony Among Religious Adherents.

When asked, however, Philips said he did not plan to raise the video controversy at the meeting because “it’s been going on for some time now… and we can’t be dealing with every small matter like this that comes up”.

The video has garnered 15,330 views at the time of reporting and 87 comments on YouTube but likely spawned hundreds more after it was highlighted yesterday in controversial blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia-Today website.

Zaid to withdraw if Nurul Izzah runs for deputy

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today,

FMT ALERT PETALING JAYA: Zaid Ibrahim's battle for deputy presidency in the party by-elections will come to an end if Nurul Izzah Anwar decides to throw her hat in the race for the same position.

Nurul is currently vying for the post of vice president and to date has made no indication of her interest in running for deputy.

During a press conference at his residence today, Zaid said that he is prepared to sacrifice his run and throw his support behind Nurul if she joins the fray.

"If my withdrawal will strengthen Nurul's fight and serve her best interest then that is what I will do," he told reporters.

Calling Nurul "a breath of fresh air", Zaid added that her dynamism would bring a lot good to PKR.

However he was quick to clarify that he didn't rule out the possibility of returning to the race if it was deemed to be in Nurul's interest.

"I may contest for a higher position if that would mean boosting her chances of winning," he said.

Zaid added that he had already spoken to Nurul on this matter but declined to elaborate on her response.

"For that, you'll have to ask her yourself," he said. "But I hope that the party's de facto leader and president will give her their blessings if she decides to run for deputy."

read more

We will be in Galas, says Mafrel

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysians For Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) will act as an independent watchdog for the Galas by-election regardless of whether the Election Commission (EC) appoints it to do so.

The EC today announced that nominations will take place on Oct 26 and election day on Nov 4.

However, the EC deputy chairman, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, said that no independent observers have been appointed as yet.

He added that the presence of observers is unnecessary as the polling agents are capable of playing that role.

“To be fair to Mafrel, it has finally submitted reports of past by-elections which we are reviewing,” he said. “We will also be meeting Mafrel at a later date but for now, we haven't elected any observers.”

Mafrel's deputy chairman, Shahrudin Othman, told FMT that that Mafrel will submit its application to the EC tomorrow but would definitely be present in Galas.

“Wan Ahmad is not aware of international practices,” he said. “Wherever there is an election there must be independent observers to look after the ordinary voters' rights. And Mafrel doesn't need the permission of any quarter to monitor the process.”

“During elections, political parties are only interested in their candidates and supporters. It is civil society organisations like Mafrel that ensure that voters get a fair chance to vote, and that they receive the right information and are free to elect their leader without intimidation, coercion or bribery.”

'EC had ignored all evidence'

According to Shahrudin, the EC secretariat had invited Mafrel for a discussion three months ago. During the talks, Mafrel explained why it had not submitted reports on the past by-elections as well as the scope of its duties.

“As far as the secretariat is concerned – and I'm talking about the civil servants, not the EC – they are very comfortable working with Mafrel,” Shahrudin said. “Wan Ahmad, however, may not be as comfortable judging by his past statements about us.”

Shahrudin attributed the EC's unhappiness with Mafrel to the watchdog's revelations of misdeeds by various parties during past elections. He also said the EC had ignored all the evidence, police reports and recommendations forwarded by Mafrel.

“The EC secretary Ngah Senik has indicated that Mafrel will be given the green light, but there is nothing in black and white yet,” Shahrudin said. “No date has been set for the next meeting either.”

If Mafrel is not appointed, it won't be the first time that the watchdog will go against the EC's wishes. Mafrel was present to observe the Sibu polls in May despite being dropped by the EC as an independent observer.

The Galas by-election will be the country's 12th since the general election in 2008. The seat fell vacant after the death of PAS assemblyman Che Hashim Sulaima on Sept 27.

'Jadi calon Galas, buktikan perjuangan Perkasa'

Oleh Jamilah Kamarudin

SHAH ALAM: Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam Abdul Khalid Samad telah mencabar presiden Perkasa Datuk Ibrahim Ali supaya bertanding dalam pilihanraya Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Galas di Kelantan bagi membuktikan perjuangannya membela ketuanan Melayu dan Bumiputera selama ini diterima.

Khalid berkata pelantikan Ibrahim sebagai calon Galas itu nanti akan menjadi platform kepada Perkasa mengukur tahap penerimaan masyarakat kaum Melayu terhadap badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) itu, sekaligus dapat membuktikan badan tersebut bukan ditaja Umno seperti yang didakwa sebelum ini.

"Ibrahim Ali perlu buktikan dia benar-benar membawa wawasan Melayu. Jika dia berani bertanding maka kita akan dapat tengok sejauh mana dia dan Perkasa mampu mewakili kehendak masyarakat Melayu dan bukan hanya sebagai persatuan yang ditaja Umno," katanya dalam sidang media disini semalam.

Kawasan DUN Galas mempunyai taburan penduduk seramai 11,553 orang dan 61.63 peratus daripadanya adalah Melayu, manakala 20.08 peratus Cina, 1.6 peratus India, 0.9 peratus Bumiputera Sarawak dan 16.37 peratus masyarakat Orang Asli.

Selain itu, Khalid yang juga Lujnah Politik PAS Pusat, turut mempertikaikan keputusan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) dalam menentukan tarikh penamaan calon pada 26 Oktober (Selasa) serta tarikh mengundi pada 4 November (Khamis) depan.

Beliau mendakwa penetapan tarikh tersebut merupakan helah Barisan Nasional (BN) menghalang pengundi, terutamanya yang berada di perantauan, daripada melakukan tanggungjawab mengundi.

"Keputusan ini tidak logok. Saya yakin BN berjaya mempengaruhi SPR supaya tetapkan tarikh pada hari Khamis supaya anak perantauan tidak pulang mengundi akibat komitmen kerja dan urusan lain.

"SPR sebagai badan bebas sepatutnya perlu menetapkan Sabtu (6 November) sebagai hari mengundi dan bukannya Khamis. Ini menunjukkan bahawa BN disebalik kata-kata angkuh, mereka sebenarnya tidak yakin boleh menang malah menyulitkan lagi pengundi daripada luar kawasan untuk pulang mengundi.

Difahamkan tarikh tersebut turut bercanggah dengan persidangan DUN Kelantan yang akan berlangsung pada 1 hingga 8 November depan.

Langkah terdesak Umno

Beliau turut mengkritik kebanyakan pemimpin Umno yang mendesak agar Ahli Parlimen Gua Musang Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku Li) dicalonkan sebagai wakil BN semasa pilihanraya nanti.

Khalid menyifatkan permintaan mereka itu merupakan langkah 'terdesak'dan hanya sebagai satu bukti kelemahan Umno kerana Ku Li satu ketika dahulu pernah dipinggirkan daripada partinya sendiri akibat kelantangannya mahu merebut jawatan tertinggi dalam Umno, serta isu royalti minyak di Kelantan.

"Jika mereka kuat atas dasar kredibiliti BN, letak calon apa pun (jika layak) mesti boleh menang. Dahulu Ku Li dicerca dan diketepikan kerana berhasrat untuk bertanding presiden Umno tapi bila sudah tersepit Ku Li diangkat sebagai wira.

"Pelantikan Ku Li sebagai pengarah pilihanraya Galas merupakan satu kenyataan tersirat bahawa Umno-BN tidaklah sekuat mana," katanya.

Don't turn Sabah into another Zimbabwe

By Queville To - Free Malaysia Today

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has warned that the trend of Sabahans losing their lands to peninsula-based plantation firms will cause major socio-economic problems like in the Philippines and Zimbabwe.
SAPP chief Yong Teck Lee said those in power should act now to protect agricultural land to prevent their takeover by giant corporations.

Yong was commenting on a statement by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) on “land grabs” affecting the local people in Sabah.

“I am surprised that Herbert (Timbon Lagadan, PBS vice-president)seems unconcerned about the fact that many local people are losing their lands to big companies from outside Sabah.

"A huge number of native titles have been leased out on long-term basis. Small plots of agricultural land that used to be cultivated by local Sabahans have fast fallen into the hands of Peninsula-based corporations.

"The government has the responsibility to check such trend or else local Sabahans, especially rural natives, will end up as tenants in their own state.

"This will bring about major socio-economic problems related to the loss of land like what happened in the Philippines and Zimbabwe,” he said.

Hungry for land

He noted that Sarawak and some other states in the peninsula have restrictions on land ownership by companies from outside their respective states.

“Mismanagement by some civil servants and neglect by political leaders have caused many legitimate villagers to lose their land to big companies hungry for land.

"Almost everyday local newspapers report land disputes, and in most cases the local villagers lose out.

“Many locals are now made to work in plantations with foreign workers, like at the Agropolitan project in Banggi Kudat. Some villagers who have been evicted from their villagers in Kota Marudu are squatting with relatives in Kota Belud at Herbert’s door steps.

“How can Herbert expect these poor villagers to resort to legal actions that are stressful, cost a lot of legal fees and take a long time to resolve? Where can the people live while waiting for the legal process to enforce their native customary rights (NCR)?

"Why can’t the state government find a solution to the land crisis facing local people? Herbert should search his conscience and support the SAPP proposals on land reforms,” he said.

On the Forest Management Unit (FMU), Yong, a former chief minister, said the first FMU licence was issued to the KTS Group in early 1990s by the then PBS chief minister without referring it to the Cabinet.

The FMU licences, also known as “sustainable forest management licence agreements” (SFLMAs), spell out some safeguards along with a RM5 million bond. Under the licence agreements, the villagers within forest reserves are protected and entitled to development.

“These agreements were approved even before I became chief minister in 1996," Yong said.

Powers transferred

Yong said that on June 17, 1996, the powers of the chief minister to approve licences for land, forest and mining activities were transferred to the Cabinet when the Land Ordinance, Forest Enactment and Mining Ordinance was amended by the State Legislative Assembly.

“This amendment was made supposedly because a non-Umno CM cannot be trusted to manage
the state’s natural resources. Therefore, it was legally impossible for me to have approved the FMUs and major land deals,” he said.

He said Barisan Nasional leaders are guilty of approving controversial land deals such as the 60,000 acres to Begaraya Sdn Bhd in Kota Marudu (signed on March 19, 1996) and the Tanjong Aru government quarters housing land deal (signed on May 25, 1996).

Yong said he could not be held responsible for any of these controversial deals as he only became chief minister on May 28, 1996.

“Within three weeks, the powers over land, forestry and mining were transferred from the chief minister to the Cabinet. Within a year, the Cultural Heritage Conservation Enactment 1997 was passed to protect Sabah’s cultural heritage.

"When Likas Lagoon, Merdeka Padang, Atkinson Clock Tower and Chong Tain Vun Park were facing threats, the cultural heritage protection law was introduced.

“As far as I know, the development plans (near the clock tower) were objected by the then Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council. This project was dead and was later buried by the cultural heritage law. But this Cabinet negligently approved it last year.

"Again, BN officials had implied that the controversial hotel/office project affecting the Atkinson Clock Tower was approved in 1996, meaning during my tenure as chief minister.”

He also said that Umno-BN had used PBS to maliciously and falsely attack him on the Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) fiasco.

“By now, PBS leaders already know who the real culprits are in the SAS fiasco. But they will play to Umno’s tune to praise Umno and falsely accuse another,” he said.

Concocting a story

On the proposed Tambatoun Dam and rice self-sufficiency, Yong said Herbert should not sacrifice his own people by concocting a story about the need for a mega dam to flood his villages.

“Tambatoun Dam has nothing to do with rice-self sufficiency. A mega dam means profits for Umno cronies at the expense of those tranquil villages in the valley. Everybody, except Herbert, knows that not only one but several villages will be affected,” he said.

He noted that rice self-sufficiency was already mooted by then Minister of Agriculture (Pandikar Amin Mulia) in 1997 and a padi unit was set up in the Department of Agriculture along with a plan to revive the State Padi Board.

A four-year development plan was also incorporated to cultivate 100,000 acres of new rice fields in various parts of Sabah to bring about self-sufficiency in rice, Yong said.

“This was consistent with the National Agricultural Policy. I have reminded the BN government in my press releases in mid-2008 (about the need for rice self-sufficiency) when the global food crises and food riots in Haiti were at their height,” he said.

He contended that instead of building a mega dam that will submerge villages, Kota Belud needs a mere RM4 million to resolve the padi irrigation problems and a few more million ringgit to turn Kota Belud into a rice bowl.

“But such funds are not available, according to Agriculture Minister Yahya Hussein and his assistant minister Musbah Jamli, the Kota Belud assemblymen. The people wonder where the billions of ringgit announced by two Prime Ministers ever since 2008 have gone to,” he said.

Self-discovery and weird encounters

By Stanley Koh - Free Malaysia Today

COMMENT Popularly known as the Heavenly City, Nakhon Sawan, about 240km north of Bangkok, is a favourite midway stop for tourists heading further north to Chiengmai.
It was in Nakhon Sawan in 1978 that I had my first encounter with a ghost. I had just begun my spiritual apprenticeship as a Buddhist monk at a temple called Wat Kiriwong.

After that encounter, I had many more weird experiences through these 32 years, including the time when I was under the guidance of Taoist masters belonging to the ancient and legendary sects of the Golden Eagle School and White Lotus.

My ghostly experiences were in fact part of my spiritual training.

As a Buddhist monk, I was taught many esoteric lessons about the human spirit and the evolutionary stage at which the spirit becomes what we call a ghost. This learning has had a tremendous impact on my outlook on life.

I spent two years at Wat Kiriwong in strict discipline, following the daily monastic routine of meditation and occult studies.

Wat Kiriwong is famous for its 600-year-old pagoda, built in the 19th century. It is located at the foot of the low-lying Bawa Dung Hills, a cluster that stretches further than the eye can see.

But let us return to 1978.

I arrived in Nakhon Sawan late in the night on April 9 after a six-hour bus ride from Bangkok, where I had touched down from an afternoon flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A week later, I realised I had fallen in love with the temple and its surroundings. The monastery’s premises stretched over more than a hundred acres of undulating land, hosting numerous buildings for worship and temple administration.

Next to a cemetery was a secluded area for meditation training, reserved for forest monks donning dark saffron robes that looked almost brown. This was where I had my residence.

Quiet and secluded, the area had eight small individual wooden huts. Each of these kuti, as the locals called them, could accommodate only one monk. It had a simple bathroom and a floor that was just wide and long enough for one to sleep on.

The huts were arranged in a circle around a large bodhi tree. Bodhi, in the Pali language, means tree of wisdom. It got the name after the historical Gautama Buddha, having attained his spiritual enlightenment, paid it his respect and gratitude for sheltering him throughout his struggle for the Truth.

The Encounter

The night of Aug 17, 1978, began like any ordinary night. I had sat in meditation with my spiritual master in his kuti, which was adjacent to mine.

The night was still and humid, and moonlight illuminated the area. It was the dry season in Nakhon Sawan, and there had been hardly any rain for days. In the distance, crickets and other insects sang in chorus.

We emerged from meditation at about 8pm. We had some tea and decided to check for small scorpions wandering around inside the master’s hut, particularly around the mattresses. We had to use a torchlight because a small light bulb was the only electrical supply available for all the huts. It was not bright enough for anyone to trace the small light brown insects known for their painful stings.

We had to put the scorpions we caught in small plastic bags and release them at a distance away from the huts since the first Buddhist precept is the prohibition of killing.

We then decided to look for scorpions inside my own hut.

I opened my kuti’s flimsy wooden door, and as I walked in with my master following, we both saw in the dimly lighted room a young woman sleeping on my mattress. She wore a long flowing dress of yellowish white.

My jaw opened wide and my whole body felt like it was rooted to the ground. My heart probably stopped a second but instantly started to race through several beats. I also lost my voice, but I darted a look of shock in the direction of my master, who stood beside me with an incredibly calm expression.

There was this instant disbelief inside me, but the woman was real and there, lying on her back with both arms resting on my pillow, which supported her head. She was probably in her early 20s and had an oval face and a look of calmness about her.

She vanished out of sight moments later, but stayed long enough for us to know that our eyes were not playing tricks on us.

Her body floated with ease and flew out through the window of the hut.

As I stood there frozen with my feet unwilling to move despite signals from my brain, my master smiled at me, gesturing with his hand that I should follow him back to his kuti.

I could not comprehend how my master could be so calm. As we sat together, my mind was blank, but I wanted an answer from my master.

From my diary recording of this episode, the conversation between us went like this:

“What happened? Was it a ghost?” I asked, expecting an affirmative answer.

“I am not sure. It could be a deity testing your courage and guts or probably urging you to study occultism,” my master replied.

I knew that it was not the real answer, as spiritual masters are sometimes known for their strange ways of teaching. Sometimes they deliberately say the stupidest things or just play dumb to provoke critical thinking.

Impatience was getting the better of me. But before I could utter another question, my master asked, “Could it be a mountain spirit?”

I stared at my master, probably with bloodshot eyes, and thought to myself, “Come on, you must be joking, a lady mountain spirit dressed in yellowish white?”

“Do you have any relative who recently passed away?” my master asked.

“No,” I replied.

I also searched my conscience and cleared it, for I had not caused anyone’s death to justify a ghostly revenge.

Lessons to learn

Years later, I learnt that this was how some spiritual masters would teach their disciples. Hardship and experience are your teachers, but you often realise your lessons only much later.

In my younger days, I was sceptical of the existence of spirits and ghosts despite my wide reading on paranormal existence.

Years later, I learnt of two security guards of a high-rise building who had resigned abruptly due to a frightening encounter with a female ghost in the wee hours.

The guards insisted that they heard noises of children playing football along a corridor of an office building and water running from closed faucets after midnight, when nobody was around.

The lesson learnt from my Taoist masters was simple. Man is a multidimensional being, composed of earth, air, water, fire and metal. Man and animals are constantly generating electromagnetic vibrations in which the character, personality, mentality, psyche, thoughts, feelings, impulses and different types of consciousness come into being.

All cultures and civilisations speak of the existence of ghosts in folklore as well as formal records. We celebrate Halloween, All Souls’ Day and other occasions to affirm our belief in the world beyond the physical. We enjoy comedies like Happy Ghost, Casper the Friendly Ghost and the Ghost Whisperer, but know -- or suspect -- that the belief in the existence of ghosts is no laughing matter.

“Ghost stories have probably been around as long as humans have had a language,” says an article posted on science.hoestuffworks.com. “A person’s spirit continues to exist in some form after the physical body has died.”

According to enthusiasts, ghosts exist because these beings refuse to leave the physical world for the spirit world in the process of evolution because they have unfinished business. They say some places are haunted if they are the location of violent or traumatic deaths or if some dead persons have strong attachments to those places or people living there.

Advanced technology and scientific progress have made it possible for unmanned spacecrafts to explore faraway frontiers of the galaxy. In decades to come, perhaps, paranormal scientists will be able to explain in scientific terms how hauntings take place and why ghosts exist. More than likely, these explanations will be in the language of complexities relating to man’s spiritual existence and layers of consciousness.

Stanley Koh is a political observer who use to head the MCA's research unit.

Siapa Big Brother di Putrid Jaya?

1. The top banker of Malaysia, Nazir Razak, has been boasting this week that without his ingenuinity and funding, big brother Najib will not have the moolah to grease the wheels for the next general elections.

2. Now aware of louder than usual chatter of his avaricious ways and hefty fees earned the deals which the GLCs are pressured to pay CIMB and his rich and glamourous lifestyle, Nazir has been saying to people that if not for CIMB’s success, Najib may not have made it as the PM.

3. So what does this actually mean?

4. That Nazir somehow channelled funds from the bank to help his brother? (wonder what the CIMB shareholders will think about that. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, apa mcam ni?)

5. Or that he inflated his fees so that he could finance Najib’s political progression?

6. Nazir’s assertion of his key role in the rise and rise of his big brother and his boast that he will still play a critical role for Najib brings on a whole bunch of questions. Why is a bank CEO who talks about transparency and good governance involved in the shady business of election financing?

7. Are the books in the bank being cooked or fudged for election financing? Or is this talk of financing Najib just a smokescreen to get the PM’s blessings and take more deals on the market?

8. Already, he and CIMB have bagged the multibillion ringgit MRT project by Gamuda-MMC, the multibillionringgit doubletracking project and is now the promoter of the mega merger of Proton-Perodua-UMW.

9. To ensure that he gets what he wants, Nazir is now working to remove MOF2 Husni Hanadzlah, the one person who has refused to kow-tow to him and who has been warning Najib that his brother could be his downfall.

10. Nazir also wants to get rid of Nor Mohamed Yakcop from the EPU because he has not been supportive of some of the privatisation deals proposed by CIMB and Nazir himself.

11. He is now seeking to get Khazanah’s top gun and also his boss Azman Mokhtar appointed as either MOF2 or the EPU minister. If this happens in the next reshuffle, the path will be clear for CIMB and Nazir to clean up on all business deals.

http://putridjaya.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/siapa-big-brother-di-putrid-jaya/

Najib should give local content to his call for a global movement of moderates against extremists

By Lim Kit Siang,

At the Eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 8) in Brussels on Tuesday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reiterated his call for a global movement of moderates from all faiths to play a dominant role in a world threatened by extremism.

This was an expansion of his call he made last month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in which he urged nations to reclaim the centre from extremists.

At the end of his six-day visit to the United Nations and the United States, Najib was uplifted by the positive response to his call and he told the accompanying Malaysian media that Malaysia’s profile had been enhanced, particularly in the West.

I was in Melbourne when Najib made the international call for global moderation, not only making it the theme in his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly but also publicly commending United States President Barack Obama for the latter’s “courageous public position” in dealing with Islamophobia in condemning the proposed burning of the Quran by a Florida pastor and urging Obama “to galvanise the moderates, bring in the non-governmental organizations and social movements

I immediately came out with a statement urging the Prime Minister on his return home to lead a national campaign to galvanise moderates in Malaysia against the rise of extremism, whether racial bigotry or religious intolerance, which would be fully in line with his own declaration of “Zero tolerance for racism” made just before National Day on August 31.

Najib did not do any such thing on his return home nor did he make any clarion call for moderation to reclaim the centre from extremists.

Instead, he has gone off to make another international call for a global movement of moderates at ASEM 8 in Brussels.
Najib should realize that his call for a global movement of moderates against extremists will quickly lose all credibility unless it is grounded by a national agenda against extremism, whether racial bigotry or religious intolerance.

For this reason, I call on Najib to make a Prime Ministerial statement in Parliament when it reconvenes on Monday on how he proposes to give local content to his international call at UNGA and ASEM 8 for a global movement of moderates against extremists.

This is relevant and most pressing as Najib has himself expressed concern at the rise of extremism in the country – a development which is raising increasing national and international concern as impacts adversely on Malaysia’s international competitiveness.

How can Najib’s call for a global movement of moderates be taken seriously when he is not prepared to take a stand against extremism or dissociate himself from irresponsible politicking of race or religion?

For instance, it is now 56 days but no action has been taken by his government against the two school principals who made incendiary, insensitive and racist statements against students in school, making a total mockery of Najib’s “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” policy.

Also, how can Najib allow the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Penang Umno to continue with their irresponsible politicking to create panic among Muslim senior citizens in Penang so as to return the RM100 under the Senior Citizens Appreciation Programme on the ground that it is funded from “gambling sources” when this has been denied by the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Muhyiddin has not dared to respond as to whether he would return to Treasury his salaries and allowances as Federal Minister for past 15 years so as not to be associated with “forbidden” money?

Furthermore, what is Najib’s credibility in calling for a global movement of moderates when he is unable to rein in the “brain-washing” indoctrination unit, the Biro Tata Negara, in the Prime Minsiter’s Department from continuing to preach the worst forms of extremism?

As Din Merican said in his blog: “BTN had turned into a Frankenstein that has gone berserk and done harm to millions of people who call Malaysia their one and only home”, there is only one way “to strap down the monster” – “abolish the detested BTN”.

So long as outfits like BTN continues to exist in the very bowels of the Najib administration, Najib does not possess the credentials and credibility to call for a global movement of moderates against extremists.

Is Najib prepared to announce the dissolution of BTN in a Prime Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday?

I commend Din Merican’s blog yesterday entitled “Biro Tata Negara: An Incubator or Bigotry and Intolerance” for Najib’s perusal and action:

The Biro Tata Negara (BTN) or National Civics Bureau has been hogging the limelight lately for all the wrong reasons. Ostensbily created for the purpose of fostering patriotism and “commitment to excellence”, the BTN has become an incubator of bigotry and intolerance. It turned out to be nothing more than “communal brainwashing” and is anything but civic.

It started off as an obscure agency in 1974 with an innocuous-sounding name: Youth Research Unit. It mutated into BTN at the time when Mahathir Mohamad had just assumed power. And unbeknownst to the public, the devils in the BTN had been subtlely and at times blatantly poisoning the minds of scholars, public servants, university students and youths sent there for training over the past quarter of a century.

For decades, BTN had been training and producing “graduates” to become future leaders who would come out well-rounded intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. The courses they studied had noble objectives: enhancing patriotism, strengthening self-reliance, building character and discipline, promoting excellent work ethics, and fostering a spirit of camaraderie “regardless of race”.

The goals were fine on paper but it appears they were not put into practice or had become totally irrelevant. Once shut up within the four walls of BTN, it is a fact that the “students” were subjected to racial and political indoctrination.

The products of the BTN system were there for all to see: A school principal in Johor reportedly said “Chinese students should go back to China” and likened Indian prayer strings to dog leashes. A special officer openly said that “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese, especially women, came to sell their bodies”. A high-ranking BTN officer shocked the nation when he allegedly called Chinese “slitty eyed” and Indians “alcoholic”. These are the tip of the iceberg: more muck will float when incendiary remarks made in public or in private functions see the light of day.

The courses were also political in nature, emphasising Malay supremacy and loyalty to national leaders. According to one BTN alumnus, a song was taught with the lyrics: “the land that you walk upon is owned by others”, insinuating that the non-Malays have grabbed all the land and that it was time the Malays asserted their rights and reclaimed lost ground.

Another alumnus was put off when the trainers tarred the Chinese as the “Jews of Asia” who were engaged in a conspiracy to topple the government. Yet another participant was shocked when one lecturer blatantly declared that the Malays “were the most supreme race in the world… while the others were insignificant”. The opposition was mercilessly flayed to bring home the message that it did not pay to vote for the other side.

The BTN continues to exist in its monstrous form. Apologists like Ahmad Maslan, deputy minister in the prime minister’s department, and Mahathir were quick to defend the ogre. Maslan dismissed the whole hullabaloo as a mere slip-up by one lecturer, while Mahathir had nothing but high praise for the BTN for “inculcating the values of discipline and hard work in public servants and scholars”. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin came out from the dark to say BTN programmes “inculcate nationalism and unity… in line with the 1Malaysia concept”. These are weak responses. Even the recent directive to all heads of government departments to check their officers from making sensitive statements is an exercise in futility. It does not address the glaring abuses in the system.

Undoubtedly, BTN has failed to discharge its duty responsibly. It has created at taxpayers’ expense and released hundreds, perhaps thousands, of bigots into the civil service and other sectors, who will continue to spew racial slurs and undermine the very concept of patriotism.

Love of country cannot exist in a cauldron of hate and spite. Moral and ethics cannot take root when public servants themselves do not show exemplary conduct. Team spirit cannot be built on the mucky soil of racism. Unity in diversity is a lost cause when the doctrine of Malay supremacy is worshipped as a national ideology. BTN is an antithesis of everything that is good, unifying, principled, decent.

BTN was recast largely in the image of Mahathir. When the aging doctor took it under his wings in the Prime Minister’s Department, the creature underwent a series of operation. Drastic changes were introduced to ensure that all who attended the courses would come out with the look of the devil in their eyes.

BTN had turned into a Frankenstein that has gone berserk and done harm to millions of people who call Malaysia their one and only home. There is only way to strap down the monster and put it to sleep: abolish the detested BTN. This calls for firm, decisive action. BTN aka Frankenstein must be consigned with all haste to the dung heap of history.

MyConstitution: The executives and their roles

Image Malay Mail 

IN the last Rakyat Guides, we were introduced to the Parliament, how laws are made by Parliament and how it controls the way the country’s money is spent.

This week, the first part of the Rakyat Guides 5 will explain who is the Executive and the roles they play.

What is the Executive?

IN the federal government, the Executive consists of:

● Conference of Rulers
● Yang di-Pertuan Agong (“YDPA”)
● Prime Minister
● Cabinet
● Public Services

What does the Executive do?

The Executive governs the country according to the laws made by Parliament. Each part of the Executive has its own role to play. We will discuss the different roles below.

What is the role of the Conference of Rulers?

The Conference of Rulers is made up of the nine Rulers and the four Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governors) of the States which do not have Rulers. It has the following functions:

● It elects and may remove the YDPA. It also elects the Timbalan YDPA (Deputy YDPA). Only the Rulers participate in this function;

● It has control over Islamic ceremonies in Malaysia;

● Its consent is needed in order to pass certain laws. For example, laws affecting the privileges, position, honours or dignities of the Rulers must have the consent of the Conference of Rulers;

● It must be consulted before some federal appointments are filled, such as the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Judges of the High Courts, other judges of the superior courts, the Auditor-General and members of the Election Commission;

● It appoints two out of five members of the Special Court which is the court set up to deal with proceedings by or against the YDPA or the Ruler of a State in his personal capacity;

● It may deliberate on questions of national policy and any other matter that it thinks fit.

Consent to Certain Laws

Consent of the Conference of Rulers is needed to pass laws on certain matters in the Constitution including:

● Article 153 dealing with the special position of Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interest of other communities;

● Article 152 which makes Malay the national language;

● Part III on citizenship;

● Article 10(4) which prohibits questioning of certain sensitive issues such as privileges granted under Article 153;

● Article 2(b) which deals with the alteration of the boundaries of a State.

What is the role of the YDPA?


The YDPA is a constitutional monarch. Under the Constitution, he is the Supreme Head of the Federation.

The YDPA is Head of Islam in his home state, and in Malacca, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. He is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

Under Article 153 of the Constitution, the YDPA must safeguard the special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities.

The YDPA is elected by the Conference of Rulers from among the nine Rulers of the States for a term of five years, and this selection is by rotation. The Yang-di Pertua Negeri of the other four States cannot become the YDPA and cannot participate in the election of the YDPA.

The YDPA may resign his office by writing to the Conference of Rulers. The YDPA may also be removed from office by the Conference of Rulers.

The YDPA’s powers come from the Constitution. The Constitution provides that in exercising his functions, the YDPA must generally follow the advice of the Prime Minister or Cabinet. For example:

● In appointing judges, the YDPA must act on the advice of the Prime Minister;

● For the appointment and dismissal of all Cabinet Ministers (save for the Prime Minister), the YDPA must act on the advice of the Prime Minister;

● In making a proclamation of emergency, the YDPA must act on the advice of the Cabinet;

● In summoning or adjourning the Dewan Rakyat, the YDPA must act on the advice of the Prime Minister.

However, for a few functions and powers, the YDPA does not have to act on the advice of the Prime Minister or Cabinet but can act on his own discretion. These functions are:

● the appointment of the Prime Minister. However, the YDPA must appoint a member of the Dewan Rakyat who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat;

● the withholding of consent to a request to dissolve Parliament;

● calling a meeting of the Conference of Rulers concerned solely with the privileges, position, honours and dignities of Their Royal Highnesses, and any action decided at the meeting.

What is the Cabinet’s role?

The Cabinet consists of all Ministers and is the highest policymaking body in the Federation. These Ministers run and control the functions of the various ministries that govern the country.

Members of the Cabinet must also be members of Parliament (either the Dewan Rakyat or the Dewan Negara). Ministers are appointed by the YDPA upon the advice of the Prime Minister, which means that they are selected by the Prime Minister.

What’s next?

Next week, learn about the Prime Minister, Cabinet and Public Services' role in the Constitution, and some frequently asked questions.

You can also learn and follow the MyConstitution Campaign on:

www.perlembagaanku.com
www.malaysianbar.org.my/constitutional_law_committee
www.facebook.com/MyConstitution
www.twitter.com/MyConsti
www.youtube.com/user/PerlembagaanKu

Unicef calls for support to stop child abuse

The New Straits Times 


KUALA LUMPUR: To prevent child abuse, one must be empowered with enough knowledge and be involved in the community.

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) representative to Malaysia, Hans Olsen, said everyone must understand the broader definition of abuse because the wellbeing of children was our responsibility.

Unicef Malaysia launched the "Get On Board" campaign, aimed at educating the public about child abuse and getting 100,000 people to sign up on its website (www.uniteagainstabuse.my) in time for Human Rights Day in December.

"The website is a place to express support for action and to learn about child abuse," he said during the launch of the campaign at the 1 Utama Shopping Centre yesterday.

Hans said the campaign was also aimed at getting people involved in the prevention of child abuse in Malaysia.

The event was hosted by celebrity television host and deejay Asha Gill and artiste Naz Rahman.

An average of seven children were abused in the country every day in 2008, according to Welfare Department statistics.

In 2008, 2,780 cases of child abuse were reported compared with 2,279 in 2007 and 1,999 in 2006.

Kecam tindakan ganggu sidang media Rahimi

Semalam ketika sidang media bekas kakitangan Pejabat Anwar Ibrahim yang menyatakan kononya dia dipaksa membuat kenyataan bersumpah telah diganggu oleh sekumpulan lelaki yang dikatakan penyokong Anwar Ibrahim.

Perkara ini amat mengecewakan dan tidak seharusnya berlaku. Di bawah ini pula ialah kenyataan Timbalan Presiden mengenai perkembangan tersebut.

KEADILAN TIADA KAITAN DENGAN PERCUBAAN GAGALKAN SIDANG AKHBAR

Parti Keadilan Rakyat memandang berat atas percubaan beberapa orang, yang mengakui sebagai penyokong KEADILAN, untuk menggagalkan sebuah sidang akhbar di Kelang semalam.

Mereka dilaporkan sebagai bertindak kasar dan mengeluar kata-kata kesat pada masa itu. Hal ini tidak membantu kes fitnah kedua terhadap Anwar Ibrahim, bahkan menjejas imej Parti.

Saya ingin tegaskan bahawa KEADILAN tidak pernah merestui, apatah lagi mengarah tindakan kumpulan ini. Orang yang dikatakan memimpin kumpulan ini bukannya Naib Presiden Parti ataupun Pembantu Khas Anwar, seperti mana dilaporkan oleh sesetengah media.

Namun begitu kami berpendapat bahawa Rahimi Osman, bekas pembantu Anwar telah berbohong dalam laporan polisnya yang mendakwa beliau dipaksa membuat surat sumpah. Perkara ini akan dijelaskan oleh peguam dalam sidang akhbar tengahari ini.

Dr Syed Husin Ali
Timbalan Presiden
KEADILAN

7 Oktober 2010
Semalam cheGuBard telah menulis mengenai pengalaman dengan bekas kakitangan pejabat Anwar Ibrahim ini. sila klik sini dan kemudian SharpShooter telah menyambut sebagai saksi hidup yang 'menemani' dia.

Nantikan esok cheGuBard cuba update satu lagi mengenai perkara ini sebab cheGuBard masih berada dalam lingkungan GERAK ketika konspirasi Fitnah 2 dirancang.

Losing our religion

Say Amen!

Well, maybe not so much. This week the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a poll showing that Americans arguably know less about various world religions than they do about who won the disco ball on the last season of Dancing With the Stars. This shouldn’t be hugely surprising.

We’re Americans, after all, and not knowing stuff is as American as apple pie. Famed historian Richard Hofstadter wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning book in 1964 entitled Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, and it is likely this strain of our historical DNA that is responsible for such phenomena as Snooki getting a book contract and Glenn Beck having an online university.

But, before you judge too harshly, it’s important to remember that this hasn’t exactly been a banner decade in the United States. Median household income has declined by almost $1,000 over the past decade once adjusted for inflation, health care costs continue to soar as we wait years for promised health care reforms to kick in (and others never made it), and the US is embroiled in foreign entanglements in what often seems like a dizzying array of places. So you can excuse people for having other things on their mind, than say the theological underpinnings of Jainism.

The problem, however, is that those foreign entanglements have some religious undertones that would be good to understand, and all too often demagogues at home in the US take advantage of the fact that many of us don’t.

So does it really matter that only 47% of Americans know the Dalai Lama is Buddhist and a paltry 38% are aware that Shiva and Vishnu belong to the Hindu tradition? How about only 54% of Americans know that The Quran is the Islamic holy book, or that only 27% know that most people in Indonesia are Muslim? Well, I won’t lie and say it wouldn’t be nice if we knew somewhat more about Arjuna than the Octomom.

But the real danger, of course, is that the US is involved in conflagrations with those predominantly of a different religion, including terrorists who falsely interpret their religion to justify heinous acts—all of which leads American opportunists of all stripes to use these distinctions to denigrate others and generalise about the ‘Other.’ Whether it’s nihilists cheering for random bombings abroad, or an at-the-time-unknown Pastor named Terry Jones, who has a Wyatt-Earp-moustache fetish and likes to threaten to hold Quran burnings, how better to clear out your sinuses while sowing worldwide division?

These people are all preying on fear of the unknown, leading to hatred, where none would otherwise exist. And as the great Shirley MacLaine once said, “fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.”

How else could Pastor Jones, who used Mel Gibson’s movie “Braveheart” as an inspiration to preach his anti-Islamic mumbo jumbo—in between roaming the Dove World Outreach Centre compound in Gainesville, Florida porting a pistol on his hip—get anyone listen to a single word of his inglorious claptrap? I don’t think it’s going too far to say that if God spent a moment listening to anything this meandering clown had to say, he himself would probably come to doubt Intelligent Design.

That men like this can get in front of some very big microphones will always make ignorance about other religions dangerous in the world we live in today. Not to mention the fact that religion has probably been the number one cause of war since the Dinosaurs went bye-bye. So what is the answer?

Obviously, people need to be better educated, as knowledge is the best antidote to the poison spread by cranks and charlatans; this includes not just Americans, but people around the world. You must know some of these people, who believe conspiracy theories about Jews’ being warned about 9/11 ahead of time, or Buddhists planning the Chinese invasion of Tibet, to gain world sympathy for their millennium of meditation-enhanced domination. Let us not forget those who think The Omen is an accurate depiction of how Satan’s return is right around the corner.

So what about the US? Obviously we need to edify our students through our schools. We need to teach our citizens the truth through a media that remembers that it’s supposed to educate and not just titillate. The responsibility rests with all of us to do this, day in and day out, from the President on down, to change opinions over the long-term by making sure that fact replaces fiction.

As Charlie Brown once said, "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.’" He might still fall for the Lucy-pulling-away-the-football trick, but on this one, the kid’s spot on.

Cliff Schecter is the President of Libertas, LLC, a progressive public relations firm, the author of the 2008 bestseller The Real McCain, and a regular contributor to The Huffington Post.


Follow Cliff Schecter On Twitter: @Cliffschecter


The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Source:
Al Jazeera

Group: We are defending Anwar

PKR members reminded to boycott Utusan

Sodomy PC: Another ex-aide turns on Anwar?

Stateless poor Indians’ IC & BC applications: UMNO NRD HQ @ Putrajaya uncooperative, gives HRP run around, rude, threw files, chased out and threatened to call in police (Police S.B. recording HRP).

Hishamudin
clip_image002

No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2282 5241

Fax : 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245

Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com E-mail: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference:

In Reply : MISC/09/2010

Date : 6th October 2010

(Press Release-06/10/2010)

Re: HRP’s 3rd batch of IC, BC & Citizenship denial for 14 Indians after meeting the Director of Birth, Deaths and Adoptions, NRD on 21/09/2010.

This morning the Human Rights Party (HRP) has submitted 14 cases in it’s third batch from an estimated 450, 000 Malaysian Indian poor being made stateless by being denied their lawful Birth Certificates (B.C), Identity Cards (IC) Citizenships, and their rightful names and religious status denied. And the improper and unlawful race and religious based implementation of the Federal Constitution and the Birth, Death and Adoptions Act 1975 in Malaysia.

There was a hiccup the first thing this morning (6/10/2010 @ 10.00 a.m) when the usual meeting room was denied and all 14 applicants were pushed back to the ground floor counter and the National Registration Department’s (NRD)headquarters at Putrajaya Public Relations Officer Puan Jainisah refusing to take HRP’s S. Thiagarajan’s calls or reply to his SMS (Full details are as per our news flash as at 10.00 a.m today (6/10/2010) and are enclosed herewith.

The 16 cases submitted by HRP to the NRD this morning is as follows:-

1. Salvaraju a/l Batumalai (42) – Only has Singapore BC, wants to apply for Citizenship as both his parents are Malaysian citizens.

2. Simon Anthony (21) – No IC and BC- They have applied since 2006 but application rejected without justification by JPN.

3. Indra a/p Navasu (43) – RED IC. Already applied for citizenship more than 6 times but no reply. This is effecting her child as given below in Item No 4.

4. Juvanna a/p Selvaraj (13) (Indra a/p Navasu’s daughter) She is denied her father’s name in her BC and IC as her father has left her mother.

5. Panjavarnam a/p Kannan (23) – Malaysian born but no IC because her parents are born in India but carrying RED IC (permanent resident). Panjavarnam’s BC needs amendment as on the BC it has stated Panjavarnam as “BUKAN WARGANEGARA”. According to the Federal Constitution when at least one parent has a PR, the child should get the BC and IC and a Malaysian citizenship but JPN refuses to implement the same.

6. Panjavarnam’s daughter Rajini a/p Saravanamuthu (2) is seeking amendments to her BC as the JPN (Port Klang) describing her daughter as an illegitimate child (anak luar nikah) by applying Article 13(indicated at bottom of BC)

7. Anusha a/p Ganesan (28) has been seriously affected by the wrongful and illegal insertion of Islam as her religion and her name as Anizah a/p Ganesan in the birth certificate and IC. Her two daughters Nivetha a/p Thamayanthiran (7) and Swetha a/p Thamayanthiran (6) has been classified as an illegitimate child (Anak luar nikah) citing “Article 13”in their birth certificate. This was despite Mr.Thamayanthiran who is the biological father of the two children being present when the application was submitted. The issue is specifically caused by the event of her alleged conversion to Islam which she denies. In particular the Federal Constitution and the Births, Deaths and Adoption Act 1975 does not stipulate religion as a requirement for the registration of Births Certificates, Identity Cards and Citizenship.

8. Sundrammal a/p Subramaniam (58) – No BC and IC. Her BC was revoked by JPN vide Reference No: E 356454

9. Deva a/l Ramu (14) – No BC and IC. His father left him as a baby at an orphanage and never come back. His guardian is unable to get the BC and IC. And now the JPN insists that both Deva’s parents be present. This is ridiculous. The JPN officer refused to use Article 13 in providing the BC and IC by stating the name of the Guardian as the step father.

10. Shree Shashnitha a/p Paramasivan (3) She has been denied her BC – She was born at home and the witness is her grandmother. However the JPN has failed to provide concrete reasons for rejecting the application.

11. Malaysian citizen mother Anjali Devi a/p Letchumanan (23) give birth to three children who have been denied even their Birth Certificates because her husband is an Indian National. Her children are:-

12. Sateshwary a/p Karupusamy (6)

13. Durgeshwary a/p Karupusamy (5)

14. Pandeswaran a/l Karupusamy (4)

All these cases are cases of wrongful and unlawful denial of Malaysian statehood and birth registrations by denial of their rightful and lawful BC, IC and citizenship which is in violation of the Guarantees in the Federal Constitution and the Births, Deaths and Adoption Act 1975. This has led to their lifelong misery.

The N.R.D officers were today not too co-operative as HRP has been making adverse website postings in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com on the NRD handling of cases submitted through HRP. We had to even bring in our own photocopier to do the photo copying for these fourteen applicants. We were also not allowed to receive faxes on important documents at the NRD HQ at Putrajaya and had to send the same urgently by taxi.

The ten (10) member HRP team in attendance today at the NRD Headquarters at Putrajaya is led by S. Thiagarajan and the others being Selvam, Latha, Nava, Mano, Manimaran, Shanthi, Param, Ravi and Kumaran.

Our case is as per our letter to the Director General of the National Registration Department dated 13 August 2010. (copy enclosed herewith)

Thank you.

Your faithfully,

S. Thiagarajan

Central Executive Committee Member (pro tem)

019-308 5944 / 016-313 7840

For those in the Central region and Southern Region please contact the HRP HQ office Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245. Contact Persons: Ms.Gevitha or, S. Thiagarajan 019-3085944, and for those in the northern region you may also contact the following people. Kalaiselvan 017-410 7244, Devendran 012- 540 9943, Ganesan 012- 480 3284.

News Flash: Racist NRD Putrajaya has started making it difficult for 28 stateless Indian poor.

clip_image002
No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com Email: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 06/10/2010


News Flash: Racist NRD Putrajaya has started making it difficult for 28 stateless Indian poor.


This morning as early as 8.30 a..m, a ten member HRP team led by S. Thiagarajan were present at the National Registration Department (NRD) Headquarters in Putrajaya.

The NRD has started getting difficult if not started implementing their and UMNO racist and religious supremacist policies.

To start off with they were denied the meeting room that they were given access to the last week and the weeks before or any other meeting rooms at the grand and place like majestic NRD Headquarters in Putrajaya to facilitate the processing of the 28 cases of the Indian poor being denied their Identity Cards, Birth Certificates and Citizenship.

This is strange when the NRD can even have a mobile unit going to even the most remote orang asli, Iban and Kadazan villages registering stateless people.

Puan Junaidad (PRO) is not taking S. Thiagarajan’s calls or replying to his SMS.

The NRD are starting to show their colours with their red tape. They have pushed the HRP team back to the basic counter that these poor Indians went to up to fifty-three (53) years ago but to no avail and have now come to HRP.

P. Uthayakumar had immediately called Puan Janisiah, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) assigned to attend to us by the Director General of the NRD Dato’ Alwi Bin Hj. Ibrahim at 10.00 a.m. This PRO had agreed to attend to our 28 cases but insisted that we see one En. Nik at Customer Service counter at the main counter downstairs.

S. Thiagarajan is waiting at Putrajaya NRD HQ together with Selvam, Latha, Nava, Mano, Manimaran, Shanthi, Param, Ravi.

When the NRD can do this to even Hindraf and HRP, we can imagine the misery these 28 poor Indians would have gone through in all these 53 years.


S. Jayathas
Information Chief

LKY says wife made sure Malaysia could not cut off water supply

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Singapore’s minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew delivered a eulogy today to his wife Kwa Geok Choo and credited her with safeguarding the republic’s interest “each time Malaysian Malay leaders threatened to cut off our water supply.”

He also revealed that Kwa, who died on Saturday in Singapore, had cautioned him against joining the Malaysian federation, because the politics of Umno’s Malay leaders were “communally-based, on race and religion.”

Lee (picture) was speaking at Kwa’s private funeral service today at Singapore’s Mandai crematorium where the couple’s family and friends had gathered to pay their final respects to the 89-year-old.

In his eulogy which drew tears all around, Lee took time to fondly recall how his wife’s quiet defiance and unrelenting support had influenced him in many of his decisions in their 63 years together.

It was Kwa, he said, who had been instrumental in ensuring that the Malaysian government would stick to its guarantee to observe two water agreements, signed back in 1961 and 1962, when the city state was forced to leave the Federation of Malaya in 1965.

“When separation was imminent, Eddie Barker, as Law Minister, drew up the draft legislation for the separation. But he did not include an undertaking by the Federation Government to guarantee the observance of the two water agreements between the PUB (Public Utilities Board) and the Johor state government.

“I asked Choo (Kwa) to include this,” he explained.

Kwa, added Lee, was “meticulous in her choice of words”.

“The amendment statute was annexed to the Separation Agreement, which we then registered with the United Nations.

“The then Commonwealth Secretary Arthur Bottomley said that if other federations were to separate, he hoped they would do it as professionally as Singapore and Malaysia,” he continued.

Lee proudly said that Bottomley’s words were a compliment to both Barker and his wife’s professional skills.

“[Now] each time Malaysian Malay leaders threatened to cut off our water supply, I was reassured that this clear and solemn international undertaking by the Malaysian government in its Constitution will get us a ruling by the UNSC (United Nations Security Council),” he said.

Kwa, he pointed out, had also been spot-on in her foresight that a Malaysia-Singapore union would not work.

“When we were about to join Malaysia, she told me that we would not succeed because the Umno Malay leaders had such different lifestyles and because their politics were communally-based, on race and religion,” he said.

At the time, however, Lee recalled, he had told his wife that the union had to work for want of a better choice.

“But she was right. We were asked to leave Malaysia before two years,” he said.

Lee, Singapore’s founding father, made a similar reference to Umno’s communalism in a recent interview with the New York Times last month, when he expressed regret of how the city-state had been “turfed-out” of Malaysia in 1963.

During the interview, the former premier claimed that if this had not happened, Malaysia would today be enjoying Singapore’s brand of nationalism and multi-racialism.

Tsu Koon accepts Keng Yaik’s resignation

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 – Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon finally relented today and accepted the resignation of his predecessor Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik as party adviser.

Dr Koh explained in a statement this evening that his decision had come after his meeting with the former Cabinet minister this afternoon.

“After deliberation, I decided to accept Lim’s resignation as the Gerakan adviser. We met this afternoon to discuss many matters about the party and the country,” he said.

Dr Koh also announced that he had invited Lim, who is still a lifelong member in the party, to preside as chairman in the Gerakan Life Members Council on his behalf.

“I have also decided that Tun Lim will play a different role in the party. He has graciously accepted,” he said.

In his attempt to re-unite Gerakan’s seemingly fractured leadership, Dr Koh also called on all members at all levels to close ranks in the “satu hati spirit” (spirit of unity) and focus on serving the people.

Dr Koh’s decision comes barely a day after he announced that the party’s central leadership would not accept Lim’s resignation.

Lim dropped a bombshell on Monday when he announced his sudden decision to quit as party adviser, citing his dissatisfaction with Dr Koh’s leadership.

The former Beruas MP accused Dr Koh of being too afraid to resolve internal party conflicts, referring to the ongoing Penang Gerakan leadership crisis.

A group of members in the party’s northern stronghold of Penang recently succeeded in their bid to summon an extraordinary general meeting this Sunday where they plan to remove their state chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan.

Dr Koh came under fire from Lim when he announced that he would not attend the EGM and would instead honour his promise to be present at the MCA annual general meeting, slotted for the same day.

Kuil diroboh, penduduk kecewa dengan DAP

Oleh B Nantha Kumar

SERI KEMBANGAN: Penganut Hindu sekitar Taman Bukit Serdang berasa marah dan kecewa dengan DAP kerana gagal bertindak sebelum Pejabat Tanah Daerah Petaling memusnahkan sebuah kuil.

Pada pukul 9.00 pagi hari ini, dengan arahan daripada pengarah pejabat tanah daerah Petaling, sekumpulan penguatkuasa dan polis terdiri daripada lebih 60 orang memusnahkan Kuil Sri Maha Perchai Vada Bathra Kaliamman Alayam di Seksyen 5, Taman Bukit Serdang.

Ketika dihubungi, pengerusi jawatankuasa sementara kuil, B Gopalan merakamkan perasaan kecewa.

Beliau mengakui walaupun insiden ini berlaku bukan atas arahan DAP tetapi pada masa yang kelewatan DAP bertindak dalam isu ini adalah antara satu punca utama kuil ini di roboh.

"Saya sangat kecewa dengan DAP yang lewat bertindak dalam isu ini. Sejak enam bulan yang lalu persatuan kuil mendesak DAP untuk memberi tapak yang sesuai untuk pembinaan kuil yang baru tetapi mereka enggan," katanya.

Tambahnya lagi, "DAP perlu menanggung keseluruhan kejadian dan jangan memberi alasan".

Gopalan mengulas bahawa kuil ini dibina oleh Pemuda India Bukit Serdang,di Seksyen 6 sejak 10 tahun yang lalu. Ia dipindah ke tapak sementara atas arahan DAP kerana tapak sebelumnya dijual kepada syarikat pembangunan.

Beliau menambah: "Kerana tapak sementara, kami dicadangankan membina kuil dalam keadaan serba sederhana. Kami telah pun menyediakan duit yang mencukupi untuk membina kuil yang lebih besar selepas mendapat tapak yang baru."

Katanya, "Secara keseluruhan kuil ini dijaga oleh pemuda-pemuda sekitar Serdang. Motif kami adalah bukan sahaja membuat aktiviti agama malah aktiviti sosial juga seperti kelas tuisyen percuma, perpustakaan mini, ceramah agama dan lain-lain."

Gopalan yang berkerja sebagai pemandu lori, menolak cadangan DAP untuk membina kuil bersebelahan kuil lain kerana ia tidak masuk akal.

"Tempat yang dicadangkan adalah sekitar 1km-2 km jauhnya dari Taman Bukit Serdang, yang jauh bagi kita. Ini akan menyebabkan ketidakselesaan besar untuk umat Hindu di Taman Bukit Serdang, terutama mereka yang tidak mempunyai pengangkutan sendiri,” katanya lagi.

Beliau mengakui telahpun membuat satu laporan polis berhubung kes ini dan akan mengambil tindakan selanjutnya.

Malam ini, jawatankuasa kuil akan mengadakan satu perjumpaan tergempar dengan ahli parlimen Serdang Teo Nie Ching.

Ex-aide 'lied' for Anwar, mob raids sodomy PC




By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia Today

KLANG: In a new twist to the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy saga, a former aide has claimed that he was forced to lie for the opposition leader in two statutory declarations made in 2008.
Rahimi Osman also filed a police report on the matter this afternoon.

In his report, the former aide said he was forced to ink the documents in June 2008 regarding Anwar and Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

"The SDs are untrue and was not written by myself," he said.

Rahimi claimed that he signed the documents because he feared for his safety at the time as he was surrounded by Anwar's supporters and his “right-hand men” in a hotel in Shah Alam.

"After Saiful made a police report saying he was sodomised by Anwar, Anwar's people as well as his laywers, including (PKR information chief) Latheefa Koya and Saiful Izham Ramli, forced me to stay at Quality Hotel," he said.

"They then forced me to put down my signature when I did not agree with the contents of the SDs at all," he added.

Rahimi stated that in his first SD signed on June 28, he had "accused" Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor of conspiring against Anwar.

He made a new SD today, because he wanted to "tell the truth".

"A few months ago, Latheefa called me to ask me to sign a new SD as she told me the one I signed previously was lost. However, I did not entertain them and tried my best to stay away from them,” he said.

In his police report, Rahimi also asked for protection since he was most likely to be called in as a witness in the sodomy trial.

Meanwhile, Anwar's lawyer Sankara Nair denied Rahimi's claim of being forced to sign the SDs and questioned the timing of the latest revelation.

“He made the statutory declaration voluntarily and it was in Anwar's favour. By the way, why is he making an about turn now? After about three years?” he asked.

Mob storms restaurant

Rahimi's attempt to disclose the matter at a press conference in a restaurant here this evening was thwarted when a group of Anwar's supporters stormed the venue.

The men hurled abuses at Rahimi, and among others, shouted: “How many millions did you get?” and “We know everything”.

The men, led by PKR vice-presidential hopeful R Suresh Kumar, also threatened to forcefully drag Rahimi out of the restaurant if he did not end the press conference. He subsequently called off the press conference.

Speaking to reporters later, Suresh said he and his group came to protect Anwar from any false allegations.

"We don't know what he was going to expose but we know it's something bad. But he's the culprit. I know very well what he did to Saiful, I met his father also.

“Suddenly he comes out, definitely he got something from the government. So there's no story, there's nothing. Now the case is in court, why now? Who is Rahimi, why suddenly come out?" he asked.

Suresh also alleged that Rahimi and Saiful had a "special relationship" without elaborating.

Anwar was accused of sodomising Saiful in a condominium in Kuala Lumpur, and the opposition leader, who is facing his second sodomy charge in a decade, claimed that it was a sequel to the political conspiracy authored against him in 1998.

Is the Sultan of Johor promoting further annihilation of minority’s rights?

The recent statement by the Sultan of Johor in relation to the constitution has thrown to light for what seems to be a veiled support to encourage the neo-fascist movement PERKASA with their antics based on the purported Federal constitution.

The failure by the Sultan to recognize and acknowledge the second limb of Article 153 that provides for legitimate interest of the non-Muslim will only provide credence to PERKASA to continue their shenanigans hand in hand with UMNO against the non Muslims.

Malaysia is a secular country and in their representation to Reid Commission in 1956, the Rulers have specifically agreed that Islam should be for ceremonial purpose and that they did not intend to make Malaysia an Islamic state.

This was further echoed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, at the 80th birthday celebrations organized by the Barisan Nasional in his honour on 8th February 1983, where Tunku pointedly said Malaysia should not be turned into an Islamic state, that Malaysia was set up as a secular State with Islam as the official religion which was enshrined in the Constitution. This is the true spirit of the constitution.

The constitution had been pristine clear in its objective, yet UMNO & the government had diluted the true spirit of the original document with more than 650 amendments since 1957 where now the original Federal constitution only bear a biased mirror of its original model against the minorities.

The very notion that it is amended just to favour a certain parties seems all too obvious as what had been observed over the last 50 years with such dilution of basic rights for the minorities on the basis of religion including the East Malaysians.

The devolution of the Rulers power in the constitution was itself emanated by their own weakness as what had been observed in during the Mahathir era in 1983 and 1993 as Mahathir was able to obtain the obedience of the rulers for reasons known best to them. Therefore any issue of any amendments to the Sultan & Agong rights stated in the constitution was a downfall of their own doing not the public at large for the excessive manipulated power UMNO possessed during the Mahathir era.

In relation to judiciary and its independence, as a rule of thumb, constitutional monarchy needs to understand and grasp the separation of power between judiciary, legislators & executives. The weakness of the rulers to ensure that the legislators toe the line was obvious during the spill over of the UMNO general election of 1987 that created the Malaysian Constitutional crises in 1988 with the suspension of Tun Salleh Abbas for opposing the subordination of the judiciary to the legislators and executives during the era where the Sultan of Johor was the Agong. This was a clear breach of the Federal constitution, yet it was succumbed to for the Mahathir legislators & executives to absorb the functions of the independent judiciary for judiical powers.

If you look further to East Malaysia, the monarchy is a non issue as they were never part of the 1957 constitution nor are they neither subject to such monarchy nor what the monarchy states or intimidates against the minorities based assertion for basic rights.

Bearing the above facts, and as the bearer of a constitutional monarchy for all Malaysians irrespective of race, religion or creed, the Sultan should make attempts to ensure the sanctity of the Federal constitution in its true sense in upholding it rather than making veiled threats to minorities against questioning the malay rights and acting as spokesperson to Perkasa. Citing lessons to be learned from the May 1969 racial riots are most distasteful and insulting the intelligence of Non Malays who no longer live with the idea of subjection.

As the Ruler for all communities, the Sultan should remind the government and umno of the second limb of article 153 which provides for the legitimate interests of non Muslims and Article 8 which provides for equality for all citizens.

Thank you.

P. Waytha Moorthy

CHAIRMAN

HINDRAF

Buddhism is King Kong religion, says convert ustaz

annwanseng 



Pix: Ann Wan Seng is a member of the 
Perkim national council

By Sharifuddin A. Latiff
What is with these Chinamen who convert to Islam in Malaysia?!

One of the most well-known Muslim missionaries (pendakwah) is Ann Wan Seng, who’s a prolific speaker in Malay — like you-know-who.




Above is a screenshot of the Perkim website organization chart. The Perkim chairman is Mahathir, by the way.

But watch the video! (below)

Beginning 2:30 Ann Wan Seng explains that the Chinese practise various strains of Buddhism.

At 3:00, Ann says:

Bukan sekadar orang Cina menyembah agama Buddha. Mereka juga sembah berbagai dewa dan juga dewi. Mereka sembah Tua Pek Kong, mereka sembah Pau Kong, mereka sembah Datuk Kong dan barangkali mereka juga sembah King Kong (audience snickers).

Maka jadilah agama dia agama Kong Kali Kong.

Dan inilah keadaan yang sedia wujud itu (speaker laughs) di mana orang Cina sembah patung-patung ini kerana mereka yakin dan juga mereka percaya bahawa patung ini boleh mendatangkan kebaikan kepada mereka, boleh mendatangkan kesejahteraan kepada mereka, boleh memberikan keselamatan malahan boleh menjadikan mereka ini kaya-raya.

—00000—

Ann is wrong to conflate Buddhist teachings with the worship of Taoist deities. Even I know this. It just goes to show how shallow the knowledge of these Muslim preachers are. Spreading such ignorance and denigrating other religions is just as bad as BTN propaganda.

The YouTube video is three years old but it has only came to light and to the attention of the wider audience after the brouhaha created by blogger Mahaguru58. The president of the Muslim bloggers network Zainol Abideen made his police report against a Christian preacher whom he accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. six years ago.

In a tit-for-tat, the other side of blogosphere similarly highlighted this video to show that it is both sides doing the insulting.

However, only one side is making the police reports and the death threats.

The authorities are also one-sided in their warnings against perpetrators. Take for example the NFA against the two school principals who not only made racial taunts but were also religiously motivated in their actions.

And Malaysia wants to lecture the rest of the world on religious tolerance? Bah, humbug.

‘… I am proud of my ethnicity …’

By K Temoc | Letters

I refer to the article titled Behind Perkasa’s pig obsession by your columnist Helen Ang. While I find it interesting I must take issue with her on two points, both related to DAP. Firstly (excuse the pun) it’s about her criticism of Lim Kit Siang’s ‘Malaysian First’.

She made a motherhood statement that the Malaysian First-ers hate to be called ‘pendatang’ and don’t like to be told ‘balik Cina’, but one that lacks relevance because really, which Chinese does?

Then she argued that though Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah has Chinese skin tone and Chinese facial features, no one has told him to ‘balik Cina’. And the reason is of course that Ridhuan is a Malay-speaking Muslim, ipso facto the ‘balik Cina’ jeer does not apply to him as he belongs here.

Then her logic plummeted when she averred that for Malaysian First-ers to avoid the ‘balik Cina’ gibe, they should emulate Ridhuan who is the model Malaysian First-er. She also quoted a blogger (I believe to be Shuzheng) who also argued that Malaysian First requires doing a Ridhuan Tee. Shuzheng argued that if a Chinese, like Ridhuan, no longer possesses Chinese characteristics, then nobody can ask him/her to ‘balik Cina’.

Ang and blogger Shuzheng both failed to understand two things: (a) Dr Ridhuan tee is not a Chinese by choice and a Malay through his constitutional rights, so how and who he looks like is totally irrelevant, and (b) Lim Kit Siang’s ‘Malaysian First’ is not about acceptance per se. On July 5, Lim Kit Siang made a media statement (available on his blog) in response to a second challenge by DPM Muhyiddin to state whether he is a Chinese or Malaysian first.

Lim said: ‘I had already stated in Parliament that I am a Malaysian first and Chinese second. I am proud of my ethnicity but I have always believed that all Malaysians must rise above their ethnic, cultural, religious and geographic differences to seek a common bond with the Malaysian identity transcending all ethnic, cultural, religious and geographic identities.’

That’s a political vision statement of the highest merit, akin to one made on Aug 28, 1963 in a distant land by another visionary who said the following immortal words during an era of seemingly impossible struggle for racial equality, and for an end to ethnic discrimination.

Those words were: ‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.’ [...]

‘This is our hope. This is the faith ….. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.’ […}

‘Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.’

That visionary, Martin Luther King Jr, didn’t have to abandon his identity, heritage or convert himself into a white man as Michael Jackson did. And he wasn’t alone nor the first in the struggle – there was Rosa Parks nearly a decade before him – to chip gradually but perseveringly away at what was then seen as the insurmountable odds of invincible racism.

Thanks to their efforts, endurance and faith in themselves, today an African American sits in the White House as the 44th President of the United States of America. At home Lim Kit Siang espouses the Malaysian First doctrine to seek the same outcome. His objectives are clear and straightforward, and he knows he would still need many like-minded successors to chip away at the vested interests of Malaysian racism before his dream can come true that all Malaysians ‘will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character’.

Lim Kit Siang and many like me do not want to see a Chinese as a future prime minister of Malaysia but rather a Malaysian.

Secondly, I regret very much Ang made a double incorrect statements that the wearing of selendang (presumably by Teo Nie Ching) to a surau and Lim Guan Eng ‘Photoshop-ed’ slaughtering cow in Islamic ritual were examples of DAP preaching Malaysian First in the hope of gaining privileges as first-class citizens.

I believe by now we should be able to easily disregard her bizarre accusation of Malaysian First as a concept to gaining privileges as first class citizens, but I lament her refusal to acknowledge that Teo Nie Ching had to wear a selendang after a faux pas already chided by the Selangor Sultan; and if Teo visited her Malay constituency, what better place than a surau, the traditional gathering place for kampung Muslim Malays.

I would like to ask Ang what’s wrong with the DAP current program of seeking Malay acceptance through more direct socio-political intercourse. After all, the Malays represent more than 60% of Malaysians. Why disparage a political party for striving to demonstrate their Malaysian character as well as enlarge its voters base?

The only area I agree with Ang would be in her concerns with the DAP’s unnecessary flirtation with Islam. I believe the DAP can seek rapprochement with the Malay community without over- the-top fawning over a historical Muslim leader and his exemplary governance, and

perhaps in that process, misleading some Pakatan Rakyat Muslims into believing Lim Guan Eng is so enamoured of Caliph Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz that he will soon be embracing Islam.

But unfortunately the worst of her attacks against DAP was when she made no mention of the fact that the photo showing Lim Guan Eng slaughtering a cow in Islamic ritual was a forgery. I hope it’s a genuine slipup and not a Shuzheng type of insecure creativity, where that blogger (in a letter) had accused Lim Kit Siang, in promoting the Malaysian First concept, of denying his (Lim’s) ancestral roots.

Let me conclude by reproducing for both Helen Ang and blogger Shuzheng a crucial sentence of what Lim Kit Siang had stated in his media statement of July 5, 2010.

‘… I am proud of my ethnicity …’.