Artemidoris

An article that I must keep - The Malay Dilemma by Ian Buruma

2009-05-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s voice was barely audible above the background din of chattering guests and a cocktail-bar pianist at the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Anwar — who had rebounded from six years in prison on corruption and sodomy charges to become the best hope for a more democratic, less corrupt Malaysia — speaks softly. He is still under constant surveillance, he said.

Sensitive political business has to be handled in other capitals, Jakarta, Bangkok or Hong Kong. Security is a constant worry. Intelligence sources from three countries have warned him to be careful. “I’m taking a big risk just walking into this hotel to see you, but what can I do?” he murmured. “It’s all too exhausting. But, you know, sometimes you just have to take risks.”

This was the same Anwar Ibrahim, one struggled to remember, who was once at the heart of the Malaysian establishment: the Minister of Culture in 1983, the Minister of Education in 1986, the Minister of Finance in 1991 and a Deputy Prime Minister in 1993. He was poised to succeed Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. And then he got overconfident. Starting in the summer of 1997, when the Malaysian currency and stock market lost more than half of their value in the Asian financial meltdown, Anwar did something that Dr Mahathir found unforgivable.

Even as the prime minister was imposing capital controls and blaming “rogue speculators,” such as George Soros, for the crisis, Anwar launched an attack on “nepotism” and “cronyism” in his own party, Umno, which had been in power since independence. The “cronies” included members of Dr Mahathir’s family. While Dr Mahathir tried to bail out banks and corporations run by his allies, Anwar talked about transparency and accepting some of the International Monetary Fund’s recommendations for liberalising the economy.

Dr Mahathir does not like to be contradicted. In 1998, Anwar was removed from the Cabinet and from Umno. He was charged with corruption, and with sodomising his speechwriter and his wife’s chauffeur, and convicted. Under Malaysian law, “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” carries a sentence of up to 20 years. Anwar denied everything and took to the road, addressing crowds all over the country. When he was barred from speaking in halls, he spoke in mosques or parking lots, standing on top of trucks or cars. “The government is trying to keep the people away from me,” he declared. “I am not afraid. No matter what happens, whether in prison . . . I will still strive, I will still fight, I will not step down.” While awaiting trial, Anwar was badly beaten by the chief of police, and he says that attempts were made to poison him.

After his arrest, Anwar says, Dr Mahathir gave a slide show for his Cabinet colleagues, to justify the purge of his former heir apparent. There were photographs of current and former US officials — Robert Rubin, William Cohen and Paul Wolfowitz — along with the World Bank president James Wolfensohn. “These are the people behind Anwar,” Dr Mahathir explained. (Dr Mahathir denies showing any pictures but allows, “I informed the Cabinet about Anwar’s associates.”)

Nobody was likely to miss the implication; Dr Mahathir has clearly stated his conviction that “Jews rule this world by proxy.” At the Hilton, Anwar, who started his career as the president of the Malaysian Muslim Students Union, and is a devout Muslim, shrugged. “They say I’m a Jewish agent, because of my friendship with Paul,” he said. “They also accuse me of being a lackey of the Chinese.” His eyebrows twitched in a gesture of disbelief, and he emitted a dry, barking laugh.

When Anwar was released from prison, in 2004, after six years in solitary confinement, he announced that he would return to politics. Last year, Dr Mahathir was asked by a reporter whether he thought Anwar would ever be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Dr Mahathir replied that “he would make a good Prime Minister of Israel.” So far, it looks as though Dr Mahathir has underestimated his man. Anwar was returned to Parliament last year in a landslide. His coalition of opposition parties — which includes DAP and PAS, as well as his own PKR — has taken more than a third of the seats in Parliament, and several state governments. In the next general election, possibly as soon as 2010, Anwar Ibrahim may well become the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

To make sense of Anwar’s rise, fall, and rise, it helps to know something about the role of race and religion in Malaysia. The country’s population is more than half Malay, defined by ethnicity and the Muslim faith, but large numbers of Chinese (now about a quarter of the population) and Indians (seven per cent) arrived in the 19th century, when the British imported coolies from China and plantation workers from India. Tensions arising from this mélange — and, in particular, the fear held by Malays that they will always be bested by these minorities — have gripped Malaysian politics since the country achieved independence from the British, in 1957. In recent years, the situation has been further complicated by a surge in Islamic fervour among many Malays.

Dr Mahathir, whose father had some Indian ancestry, had always been obsessed with race, and the modern era of Malaysian politics can be traced to his book “The Malay Dilemma,” published in 1970, a decade before he came to power. It is a distillation of the kind of social Darwinism imbibed by Southeast Asians of Dr Mahathir’s cohort through their colonial education. The Malay race, the book argues, couldn’t compete with the Chinese for genetic reasons. Whereas the Chinese had been hardened over the centuries by harsh climates and fierce competition, the Malays were a lazy breed, fattened by an abundance of food under the tropical sun. Unfettered competition with the Chinese “would subject the Malays to the primitive laws that enable only the fittest to survive,” Dr Mahathir warned his fellow-nationals. “If this is done it would perhaps be possible to breed a hardy and resourceful race capable of competing against all comers. Unfortunately, we do not have four thousand years to play around with.”

And so the Malays had to be protected by systematic affirmative action: awarded top positions and mandatory ownership of business enterprises, along with preferential treatment in public schools, universities, the armed forces, the police and the government bureaucracy. Otherwise the “immigrants,” as the ruling party still calls the Chinese and the Indians, would take over. “The Malay Dilemma” was immediately banned for being divisive. The country was still reeling from the race riots of 1969, when, after a predominantly Chinese party enjoyed an election victory, hundreds of Chinese were attacked by Malays. Killings led to counter-killings. Such intergroup tensions were hardly new: ever since Britain left its former colony, political parties have used ethnic resentments to gain votes, while PAS sought to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state. Presiding over this fraught mosaic of ethnic and religious politics throughout the nineteen-sixties was the aristocratic Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman — until, in the fall of 1970, he was brought down by the brand of Malay nationalism advocated in Dr Mahathir’s book.

Despite the ban, activists succeeded in distributing copies to nationalistic Malay students. One of them was the young Anwar Ibrahim, then president of the Malaysian Muslim Students Union. Over the decade that followed, Anwar and Dr Mahathir steadily gained influence. By 1981, Dr Mahathir was prime minister. A year later, Anwar, who could easily have joined PAS, was brought into the government to help put Dr Mahathir’s ethnic theories into practice through the so-called New Economic Policy. He continued to do so until the late 1990s, when the consequences had become too blatant to ignore: a bloated (in all senses of the word) Malay élite was raking in more and more of the country’s wealth; educated young Chinese and Indians were leaving the country in droves; and poor Malays were being kept in a state of fear by the propaganda in public schools and in the state controlled press. Without their special status, the Malays were told, they would be at the mercy of those rapacious, dominating Chinese “immigrants.” Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir’s rule had grown increasingly autocratic. In 2003, he was succeeded by the more amiable Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who promised reform but delivered little. Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, a confidant of Dr Mahathir’s, told me that, if anything, corruption has grown worse. “They’re making hay while the sun still shines.”

To challenge Umno’s ethnic policies is still to court serious trouble. I met Professor Lim Teck Ghee, a former World Bank social scientist, at a restaurant in Brickfields, a largely Indian section near the central station of Kuala Lumpur. A soft-spoken man, peering sadly through his glasses, Lim was the director of a leading economic think tank until he published, in 2006, a careful analysis showing that Malays, far from being dominated by the Chinese, actually owned more than 45 per cent of corporate equity in publicly-listed companies. He was quickly vilified for being “anti-national,” and he resigned his post.

Lim was one of several people I spoke to in Malaysia who used the word “apartheid” in describing his country. “The ethnic situation has become much worse,” he said, especially since Malay nationalism took a strong Islamic turn in the late 1980s, when Umno was challenged by PAS. The Islamists got a boost from the Iranian Revolution, and actually took power in Kelantan in 1990. To preëmpt the Islamists, Umno, ostensibly a secular party, wedded its ethnic nationalism (which was decidedly not a feature of PAS) to religion: Muslims were no longer supposed to drink alcohol; women were encouraged to wear head scarves (tudung); easygoing Malay Islam took on the harsher tone of Wahhabi purism.

The increasing conservatism of Malaysian Islam probably stems from insecurity and envy, more than from religious values. Lacking the powerful cultural and historical traditions of the Chinese and the Indians, Malays have been vulnerable to the inroads of Saudi-style Islam. It gives them an identity, a sense of belonging to something stronger than their village traditions. Meanwhile, in Lim’s view, educated Malays have been too timid to resist, whatever they might do or say in private. “I’ve seen it happening with my progressive university friends,” Lim said. “Wives take to wearing the tudung, the daughters cover up. Their passivity, their silence, is very bad for the community, because it allows the ultras to set the agenda. Islam has become more and more conservative. Muslims can no longer go to non-Malay restaurants or visit the houses of non-Malay friends. Tensions have grown. We’re reverting to the colonial situation, where the different races only meet in the marketplace.”

Lim’s children have already left the country; a daughter is in Seattle, a son in Sydney. He sighed. “Even young Malays are leaving,” he went on. “They can’t stomach the hypocrisy, the dishonesty.” Then he said something that I would hear, over and over, from many others: “The sad thing is that Malaysia could have been so good — we could have been a model of multi-ethnic harmony.” A sense of disappointment was palpable in most conversations I had with Chinese and Indian Malaysians, not least among those who once supported the privileging of Malays, in order to redress colonial imbalances and raise the prospects of the rural Bumiputera, the “sons of the soil.” It was also clear that such disillusionment can easily turn to hostility.

I saw Dr Mahathir, whose views are still widely read on his daily blog, Che Det, at a demonstration protesting the Israeli attack on Gaza. As I arrived at the Bangsar Sports Complex, he was finishing his diatribe against “the Jews” and “Jewish atrocities,” wildly cheered by groups of schoolchildren in Palestinian-style scarves and black tudung. They disappeared as soon as the former prime minister, smiling a little menacingly at the young, left the scene. Later, I read in a newspaper that the government had planned to mobilise “about five million pupils and 360,765 teachers from more than 10,000 schools,” to protest against what posters in the Bangsar Sports Complex termed “Holocaust II.”

I looked around the now depleted hall, and was puzzled by posters that read, in Malay, “Stop the atrocities against us.” I turned to an elderly Chinese-looking gentleman sitting behind me. “Who is this ‘us’?” I asked. With a sly grin, he replied, “Don’t you know? It means the Malays.” What atrocities had the Israelis perpetrated against the Malays? “Palestinians, Malays — they’re all Muslims,” the old man said. He shifted his chair closer. “I’m just here to observe,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’m not pro-Palestinian at all. I have Jewish friends, you know. Lend a hundred thousand dollars to a Jew and you’ll always get it back. Lend it to a Muslim and he’ll cheat you, for sure. They’re all liars and cheats, the Muslims.”

Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, then entered the hall. The sports complex happened to be in her constituency. She had been elected as a member of Parliament for PKR in 2008. Izzah had not been especially eager to be a politician, having just given birth that year. But when Anwar was imprisoned, and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, took his place as an opposition leader, politics became something of a family enterprise.

Nurul Izzah, now 28, is popular, especially among the young. She has her father’s gift for public speaking, and is remarkably beautiful. She got up on the stage and shouted slogans in English about Israel being founded on bloodshed. When she sat down, she whispered to me, “Did you notice how they took away the microphone?” Referring to the official media, she said, “That’s how much they love me.” The vigorous government campaign against Israel had taken the opposition by surprise, and she felt that she had to make a statement. But the government evidently did not wish to share its Muslim solidarity with the opposition.

I asked Izzah when she started wearing a tudung. “Since I was 18,” she replied. Later that year, her father was jailed. “In the darkest hours, you turn to God. We were never forced into wearing the tudung. It was my decision. My father was alarmed.” In fact, Izzah was sent to a Catholic convent school outside Kuala Lumpur, and studied international relations at Johns Hopkins. Her best friend is a half-Welsh Catholic. “I can’t remember many verses of the Quran,” she said, with a polite giggle, “but I felt it was my duty as a Muslim to wear the tudung. I did face some challenges.” As a student, she told me, “My crowd was mostly liberal. So friends sometimes felt uncomfortable. Couldn’t go clubbing and that sort of thing.”

Nurul Izzah was asked to run for office, she explained, “because it was important for the PKR to have a young generation that supports multiracial politics. But, you know, to run for the opposition is suicidal for a future career in this country.”

Despite what must have been a very difficult childhood, she had a refreshing lack of bitterness, and spoke with a sense of humour, even a guarded optimism. I had noticed this quality in others of her age, including Chinese and Indians, who were working for NGOs, writing blogs, or organising local communities. Some have backgrounds in the community: I met Indian and Chinese politicians who started in labour unions. Others have studied abroad and decided to return, as activists or journalists. The most popular blogger is the half-Welsh, half-Malay scion of a royal family. The two founders of Malaysiakini, the country’s best online news site, met as students in Australia. Some are religious; many are not. But everyone, even Lim Teck Ghee, a staunch atheist, seems to agree that the chances of Malaysia’s becoming a more democratic, less racialist society depend almost entirely on the former Muslim student leader who helped institutionalise Malay nationalism: Anwar Ibrahim.

His arrest in 1998 was probably the making of him as an opposition leader. It came at a time when Malaysian society was beginning to open up, especially on the Internet. One of Dr Mahathir’s ambitions was to make Malaysia into an Asian Silicon Valley. Foreign companies were invited to invest in a “Multimedia Super Corridor” between the new international airport and the twin Petronas Towers (also known as Dr Mahathir’s Erections), which rise like gigantic pewter cocktail shakers in the centre of Kuala Lumpur. An international committee of experts, including Bill Gates, advised Dr Mahathir that, if he wished to attract foreign investment, censoring the Internet would be unwise. As a result, Malaysian readers now have access to news and commentary that is independent of the government.

Steven Gan is one of the founders of Malaysiakini.com. Inspired by Anwar’s call for reformasi, political change, he launched the site with his partner, Premesh Chandran, in November of 1999. On the night of Anwar’s arrest, 10,000 people had turned out to listen to his speech against bribery, ethnic discrimination, and rule by decree. Reformasi became the rallying cry of all those who felt disaffected by the corrupt autocracy that Malaysia had become. Every Malaysian able to go online knew what Anwar said when he was sentenced at his trial: “I have been dealt a judgment that stinks to high heaven. . . . The corrupt and despicable conspirators are like worms wriggling in the hot sun. A new dawn is breaking in Malaysia. Let us cleanse our beloved nation of the filth and garbage left behind by the conspirators. Let us rebuild a bright new Malaysia for our children.”

“When we launched Malaysiakini, we had 500 readers,” Gan told me in a sidewalk café near his office. “By the time the decision went against Anwar in the sodomy trial, we had 300,000.” Malaysiakini, which has paid subscribers, actually makes a profit. One of the effects of Malaysiakini — and of a number of immensely popular bloggers, such as Raja Petra Kamarudin and Haris Ibrahim — is the emergence of a genuinely multi-ethnic debate. Raja Petra is the aristocrat, related to the Sultan of Selangor. Haris is a half-Malay lawyer. Another influential figure is Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun, a Chinese IT consultant turned politician. Divisions that exist in daily life seem to fade away online. Malaysiakini is published in English, Malay, Tamil, and Chinese. “Malaysiakini has provided a platform for different communities to express themselves on sensitive issues, like NEP, Islam, human rights,” Gan says. “More non-Malays are finding their voice. They no longer feel they need to leave their country.”

The demonstration on the night of Anwar’s arrest was largely a Malay affair; it took a little longer for the minorities to stir in public. Indians had largely supported the ruling Barisan Nasional, which was led by Umno and backed by the MIC. This changed in November of 2007, when thousands of Indians marched in the streets to deliver a petition to the British High Commission, insisting that the British take responsibility for the treatment of Indians under colonial rule. It was really a stunt to protest against ethnic discrimination. But the petition never reached the High Commissioner: soldiers and riot police with water cannons and tear gas cracked down on the protesters with maximum force.

“I shall never forget that day,” Charles Santiago, an MP who took part in the protests, told me. “There was pent-up frustration there before, but that day something snapped.” The frustration had many sources: blocked job prospects, discrimination in education and property ownership, destruction of Hindu temples, young Indian men dying mysteriously in police stations and prisons. “The point of the petition was to raise consciousness among Indians about their rights, to embarrass the government,” Santiago explained. “But the crackdown was so heavy-handed that even the Chinese became sympathetic to our cause.” It was the first time, Santiago said, that “people of all stripes, rich and poor, went into the streets to make a point — this is what broke the back of Umno.” The MIC lost heavily in the March 2008 elections, as did the MCA. Many Indians and Chinese voted for Anwar’s PKR.

But the most important transformation over the past decade probably occurred in the mind of Anwar himself. He had long been critical of government policies, but almost up to the time of his arrest he was still regarded as a rather arrogant Umno man. I tried to picture the haughty technocrat as he smiled at me in his daughter’s sparsely furnished office at the PKR headquarters. All I saw was a charmer, whose fine dark hair, snappy spectacles, and black goatee gave him the air of a jazz-loving hipster of the 1950s. Even at his own party headquarters, he spoke softly, sometimes in a whisper, aware that anything he said was likely to be overheard.

I asked him whether he had expected Dr Mahathir — a man he had known for more than 30 years — to treat him so harshly. “Yes and no,” he replied. “I didn’t think he’d go that far. I’d seen him destroy opponents, but always short of using physical abuse.”

The 1998 trial was a humiliating spectacle, with elements of dark comedy: a mattress with semen stains produced as evidence in court; police claims that Anwar had beaten himself up by pressing a glass onto his own face. Years of solitary confinement provided much time for thought. “Prison life is such that you have to impose a punishing discipline on yourself,” Anwar told me. “Otherwise, you become lethargic, or a psycho.” Deprived of books for the first six months, Anwar was eventually allowed to read Tocqueville, Shakespeare, Confucius, the Indian and Arabic classics. He also received a subscription to The New Yorker. But there were times when he would have given anything to hear a human voice, even to be scolded by a guard. Family visits were always brief. His children would sing old pop songs to him. Anwar looked wistfully out the window as he sang the first bars of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”

The experience seems to have made him a humbler man. In an interview given three months after his release from prison, he told writer Eddin Khoo, “To be frank and honest, I cannot absolve myself entirely of the excesses of (Dr Mahathir’s) administration. There were some things that were beyond our control, other things we simply did not have the courage to address at that time.”

A retired Indian civil servant told me about hearing Anwar speak in the district contested by his daughter in 2008. It was near midnight and pouring down rain, yet more than 1,000 people waited until Anwar arrived, on the back of a motorcycle, drenched. When he spoke, the crowd fell silent, listening to every word. Then, suddenly, a number of Indians began to shout, in Tamil, “Makkal Sakti!” — “People Power! People Power!” And the Malays and Chinese repeated it after them, louder and louder — an unusual demonstration of multi-ethnic solidarity.

Anwar was arrested again, in the summer of 2008, for “sexual assault” on a strapping male aide, but it made no difference to his popularity. Allegations of sexual misconduct had become so clearly political that few people believed them, and the legal proceedings were farcical. Anwar was seized near his home by 20 commandos in balaclavas. The putative victim, who remains under “police protection,” is rather strong to be overwhelmed by the much less physically imposing Anwar. The aide swore in a mosque, over the Quran, that he was speaking the truth. When an imam later claimed that he had been forced by superiors to witness these proceedings, he was dismissed. The offence was then changed from “sexual assault” to “consensual sex against the order of nature,” even though the aide has yet to be charged. Anwar is not worried. “They just used it to embarrass me, but it did no good,” he said. “They lost the elections anyway.”

Anwar has not entirely shed his tendency towards arrogance. Weeks after the opposition won its victory in March 2008, he announced that he was ready to take over the government that year. This was premature. It’s true that the Barisan Nasional government no longer commands a two-thirds majority in Parliament, but there are many problems to overcome before Anwar’s coalition of opposition parties is ready to rule the country. It could be another year or two before the next general election. And the current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has the image of being a more ruthless operator than his predecessor, the ineffectual Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Najib has been involved in a scandal of his own. A young Mongolian model who was a former mistress of a political crony was found blown to pieces in a jungle clearing near Kuala Lumpur in 2006. At first, it looked like a sordid case of blackmail: she wanted money from her lover, and he, in desperation, had her killed. Then things got more complicated. The men convicted of killing her were police officers in charge of security for top officials. The blogger Raja Petra signed a “statutory declaration” alleging that Najib’s wife had been at the scene of the murder. He has since been charged with criminal defamation. Najib has denied any wrongdoing. For the two main contenders of leadership of Malaysia, the truth of the matter might prove to be less important than the public perception. The fact that Anwar appears to be less vulnerable than Najib suggests that the Malaysian public is more inclined to believe a popular blogger than their unpopular prime minister.

One man who is desperate for Najib to succeed is Dr Mahathir. When I spoke to Dr Mahathir’s confidant Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, who is a veteran Umno political operator, about his party’s fortunes, he sounded gloomy. Umno, he told me, is like Chiang Kai-shek’s corrupt nationalists in Shanghai in the 1930s. He ticked off the party’s many ills on his fingers: “corruption, ostentatious living, abuse of power, rank stupidity at the top . . .” So was Anwar going to win? “He will if Najib fails to deliver great changes,” Abdullah Ahmad predicted. “Najib wants to, but he can’t. He’s surrounded by corrupt people.”

It’s not clear that Najib wants to make big changes, despite recent speeches denouncing corruption in Malaysian politics. Anwar does, but it’s unclear whether he will be able to. The entrenched interests — Malay bureaucrats, army officers, policemen, judges, businessmen, and politicians — will fight to hold on to their privileges. When I asked Anwar about this, he said that such resistance could be managed by reformulating the quotas rather than abolishing them. “Affirmative action would still be acceptable, but based on need, not on race,” he said. “I tell PAS that Malays won’t lose out. But there are poor Indians, and poor Chinese, too, who should be helped.”

Class rather than race, then? Anwar laughed. “I don’t like the word ‘class,’ ” he said. “I’m not a Marxist.” He paused, and added, “But Adam Smith mentioned equality many times in his books, too.”

An advantage of replacing the rhetoric of race with that of class is that all opposition parties can agree on the ideal of equality. Religion is a more contentious matter. How to reconcile the Islamists and the secularists? Anwar prefers to finesse the problem, by “concentrating on what we have in common, not what divides us.” But PAS has stated its desire to introduce hudud laws for Muslim citizens — punishing criminal offenses with stoning, whipping, and amputation. Secularist partners in a federal government would find that hard to accept. “Any party should be free to articulate its ideas,” Anwar says. “But no issue should be forced on non-Muslims. When I argue with Muslims, I cannot sound detached from rural Malays, like a typical Malay liberal, or sound like Kemal Atatürk. I would not reject Islamic law out of hand. But without the consent of the majority there is no way you can implement Islamic law as national law.”

I mentioned the case of a young Malay woman who no longer believed in Islam and wanted to marry a Christian. To do so, she would have to change her religious status. The secular authorities ruled that this was a matter for the Islamic court, but, of course, no Islamic court (whose authority she, as a non-believer, no longer recognised) would ever accede to apostasy. Her predicament has become a test case on the issue of Malay identity. After receiving death threats, she is now in hiding.

Anwar rolled his eyes. “Islamically, it is indefensible that all Malays should have to be Muslims,” he told me. “Not all Arabs are Muslims, after all. But this case has become too political. It is better not to dwell on this issue. We should deal with poverty, rule of law, democracy. . . .” I must have looked unsatisfied. “Look,” he said, “I have Malay friends who no longer believe, who drink. But they don’t make an issue out of it.”

I decided to visit Kelantan, where PAS has been in power since 1990. Islamic laws have been introduced there for Muslims, though they are not always enforced. Muslims cannot drink alcohol. The lights must stay on in movie houses, and only morally acceptable films can be shown. (Some movie houses have gone out of business.) But nobody has been stoned for adultery or had limbs amputated. I drove across the country, through a succession of palm-oil plantations, in the company of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, a wealthy liberal Malay lawyer who had resigned his post as minister of legal affairs in the Prime Minister’s office on a matter of principle — the first Malaysian Cabinet minister to do so. He was against the arrests of political opponents, including Raja Petra, under the Internal Security Act.

We had met on a Sunday night in Kuala Lumpur a week before we embarked on our trip north. Zaid was happy, because PAS had scored an important by-election victory in Kuala Terengganu, dealing another blow to the Barisan Nasional. He decided to celebrate the success of the Islamists with a lavish dinner in a fine restaurant. “A good result,” Zaid murmured, raising his glass to the men who wanted an Islamic state.

Although PAS won in the city, the Terengganu is still in Barisan Nasional hands. “Look at those buildings,” Zaid said, as we drove through Terengganu on the way to Kelantan. We passed a vast stadium, a huge new airport, a gigantic new mosque, a convention centre, a university, an “integrity institute.” All around these grandiose testimonies to human greed (and generous kickbacks) were typical Third World shantytowns: wooden shacks with corrugated iron roofs. “There is no money to be made out of building proper sewage systems or water supplies,” Zaid observed, with the dry chuckle of bitter experience.

Kelantan has hardly any huge buildings. Everything in the state capital, Kota Bharu, near the border with Thailand, is built on a modest scale. I met the PAS vice-president, Husam Musa, at the party headquarters. Husam, an economist by training, is not an imam but one of the new breed of professionals in Islamist politics. He was polite, if a little defensive. On the question of an Islamic state, he said this goal was often misunderstood: “We don’t mean a state ruled by clerics but one guided by the holy books. Without the books, we’d be like Umno and just grab the money. The difference between us and them is that we believe we will be judged in the afterlife.”
He said that Islam was “pro-progress,” and that American democracy was a good model. (“Unfriendly people will accuse me of being pro-American for making this statement.”) He also said that discriminating against ethnic minorities was “un-Islamic,” as was government corruption. “People should be treated the same, and that includes the freedom of religion,” he said.

What about Muslims — were they free to renounce their faith? He averted his eyes. “I have my own opinion about that, but I will reserve it,” he said. “Media in Malaysia will interpret it in the wrong way. Everything here is turned to politics.” He used “politics” as a pejorative term. “I am not a politician,” he said. “I’m a Muslim activist.”

Few people in Kelantan, even the Chinese, openly complain about the PAS government. Non-Muslims don’t feel hampered by religious rules that don’t apply to them, and the lack of corruption is widely acknowledged. Still, given the chance, many young people leave for Kuala Lumpur. Several young Malays told me that it was “no fun” living in a place where you can get arrested for buying a beer. “This is a place for old men,” an unemployed building contractor said. “They can sit around and pray all day.”

The real Malay dilemma today is that democrats need the Islamists: Malay liberals and secular Chinese and Indians cannot form a governing alliance without religious and rural Malays. And the only serious contender who can patch over the differences between secularists and Islamists for the sake of reform is Anwar, a liberal Malay with impeccable Muslim credentials. “He is our last chance,” Zaid told me, as he celebrated the victory of PAS in Kuala Terengganu. When I repeated this to Anwar, he looked thoughtful and said, “Yes, and that’s what worries me.”
— The New Yorker

To Lovers and Friends

2009-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit sentimental this morning...

You are the few I noticed amongst the thousandth,
and we both seems bond by invisible threads,
There is a feeling of longing, although undefined,
We could be lovers or a band of brothers in the past,
And here we are, meeting again in this life to complete the pages of our life stories or rewriting what was lost in our past life?
Come what may, come what may.

For now, you are like a refreshing breeze in the wake of spring,
Bringing new leaf of life to the frozen Earth after a cold long winter,
Awaken all men’s senses, and breathe colors and warmth into life,

You have brought good tidings and meanings to my life.

Standing ovation

2009-04-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-KiGva9dV4

Standing ovation to Susan Boyle...
Didn't we all sucked up to shallow first impression of a person and judge just based on physical look? See how Susan Boyle stunned and wowed us with her voice despite her look. I like her attitude

and I was moved by her singing...."I dreamed a dream" one of my favorites of songs from Les Miserables

Winner of 56th Berlin Film Festival - Chicken Ala Carte

2009-04-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Chicken a la Carte
Director: Ferdinand Dimadura
Genre: Drama Produced In: 2005

Synopsis: This film is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society. The people who live on the refuse of men to survive. What is inspiring is the hope and spirituality that never left this people.
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One of my friends shared the above short film with me.

Other than the apparent lessons, like not to waste food, eat only when you need and not over-indulgence....

To my opinion and only my personal opinion, I strongly feel that if one family is poor, please don't have too many children.

although one can claim having children are blessings from God, bringing them into this world to suffer is the opposite in reality. To me, children are only blessings from God if the couples can afford it. This is because when children are born, we have to shower them with best of love, care, provide them with the best comfort and protection, as well as basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter. If a couple is in question or has any hesitation in providing what I stated above, well, think twice or more of having children more than they can afford.

Humans are creatures who need love and family, but adults also need to realise their responsibilities that comes after of their actions in bed, especially those who don't practise family planning. So, not only the teachers of various religions have to teach / preach about family values, they have to educate the people about reality too.

Another example of people loosing faith with BN

2009-04-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

The results of the by-election sent a strong message that the National Coalition or Barisan Nasional - BN is loosing ground. It's race-based strategy is loosing its relevance to the people of Malaysia.

Out of the three by-elections, namely Batang Ai of Sarawak, Bukit Gantang of Perak and Bukit Selambau of Kedah; the opposition People Coalition or Pakatan Rakyat - PR, won 2 by-elections, namely Bukit Gantang (Perak) and Bukit Salambau (Kedah). This is despite BN's malicious race-based agenda and fanning the fire of race hatred.

Like an example quoted in today's Malaysia Insider, telling that [a leaflet distributed in BN's by-election campaign in Bukit Gantang warned that UMNO is being pressured by it non-Malay components in the BN, and this may happen to PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PAS and PKR are 2 out of the 3 main component parties of PR, who are dominant ed by members of Malay ethnics) in their opposition coalition.

UMNO also campaigned along the lines of Malay power being eroded in the state under the former opposition government (in Perak state) which was toppled by the BN in February 09. It labelled the ousted PR Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, who stood as the PR candidate, a Chinese puppet.]

On the contrary, the PR's strategy of multi-racialism and calls for reforms and economic assistance based on need, not ethnicity resonates strongly among the liberal urbanites, as well as the marginalised rural and urban poor.

People are tired of BN's race-based agenda, corruption and cronyism practises. Even majority of the Malay community realised and disagreed that the threat to Malay power is not the non-Malays but the Malay leaders themselves and and their politically-linked Malay elites.

Our new Prime Minister - Najib Razak is doing a massive PR campaign to rescue his reputation and his party (UMNO) by acknowledging the contribution of Non-Malays to Malaysia recently; which UMNO party memebers previously labels the Non-Malay as mere "Pendatang" or Immigrants and disregards their roles and contribution to the building and development of this nation. Also, our new Prime Minister is also pushing for a freer Media in Malaysia and ready to accept its consequences. He also released 2 HINDRAFT members who have been detained under Internal Security Act on last Sunday 5.4.09 in the wake of the recent by-election , so to please and fish for Indian voters.

Let sees if our Prime Minister means what he said... How about amending our history book to tell the truth for a start? How about consider dropping the charges to a prominent blogger and stand for trial against his accusations? How about releasing all the other HINDRAFT members who are still detained under ISA, and not just the 2 that were released recently?

The anak-anak Malaysia are watching...

Talentime,Tale n Time

2009-04-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

I watched Yasmin Ahmad's Talentime this afternoon. It moves me so much. Towards the end to the movie, at the scenes where Mahesh (a speech impaired Indian boy) kneel before his mom confessing his love to Melor (Muslim girl) and the closing score performed by Hafiz for his love to his mom really opened my floodgate and many times i almost failed to hold back and really want to sob out loud.

Yasmin did it a again, evoked our emotion and compassion through her story telling. Bravo!

And the song... O Re Piya (a Hindi song, i.e. Oh my beloved)... has kept lingering in my head for the last 8 hours.

Also, I like Melor's family dynamic in the movie - a family with such big hearts. Melor's Yorkshire English speaking granny was so funny too. There are many candid moments in the movies that put a smile to the audiences.

The movie also conveyed hidden messages of social issues that are relevant to fellow Malaysians now, especially on how religion and race now has divided and caused tension in between ethnic groups.

By the way, this movie was shot at my hometown of Ipoh and my younger brother was studying at the school where the story was told, i.e. Anderson School

If you have not watched the movie, please go watch it.

Funeral

2009-04-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

This shortfilm which is made by Yasmin Ahmad (a reknown Malaysia film director) for Singapore government and it is posted on her blog.

This short film is very meaningful and absolutely moving and touching the hearts of everyone.

Key message: Imperfection of your partner makes a relationship perfect. Enjoy!

Songs that keep playing in my head lately

2009-04-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

End Of the World-Matt Alber

Accidentally bump into this song performed by Matt Alber. As the song title implies, it's a melancholic song and I love the singing and its melody. Initially, I was kind of hesitate to post up the video due to its content and then I realised I should not be judgemental. Love and music has no boundary and I would embrace them with a big heart. Hope you enjoy the song as I do.

Another song which keep playing in my head is Jason M'raz's "You and I Both"

Begining of an oppressive era on 2.4.09?

2009-03-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

RAHMAN

That is the prophecy of Malaysia leadership. Each letter represents the Prime Minister of Malaysia since independence.

R for Tunku Abdul Rahman
A for Tun Abdul Razak
H for Tun Hussein Onn
M for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
A for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

N is for Najib Abdul Razak, who is sceduled to take over the premiership from Ahmad Badawi on 2.4.09, not by election of Malaysians but by UMNO, the main ruling party.

So far, the prophecy had come true and Najib will ascend to the top leadership post of Malaysia. At the same time, people said the prophecy also marks the end of BN ruling after the 'N'.

Whatever prediction is the prophecy, one thing for sure is that Najib is unlikely to be "soft" in his approach to secure his top leadership position in his party and this country.

According to polls, his popularity as the Prime Minister is at the lowest at 41%, even lower than Ahmad Badawi. As people says, desperate time needs desperate measures, it is predicted that hard actions would be taken with all costs to mark his footing permanently at the corridor of power.

His approaches towards his opponents are obviously hardline - like how he led to the ruthless power taking-over of Perak state from the opposition party, the sedition charge of Karpal Singh, parliamentary suspension of speaker Govind Singh,' illegalised' gatherings for Anwar Ibrahim's speeches in Taiping yesterday, 3 months ban on Opposition newspapers of Harakah and Suara Keadilan since yesterday; and his recent past acts of putting the famous blogger - Raja Petra Kamarudin under Internal Security Act and Sedition Act charge for linking him to the gruesome sensational murder of a Mongolian women etc; all these actions tell Malaysians that he is not an easy person but likely will rule Malaysia with devious Iron fists. It is likely that all his opponents; and bloggers that pursuit truth and justice for the people of Malaysia will be widely clamped down.

People said 'N' is a prophecy fulfilled. People say 'N' could be the marking of the end of BN ruling in Malaysia. To me, the 'N' signals the beginning of an oppressive era for all Malaysians. 'N' refers to a Malaysia Prime Minister that is not elected by the people.

I foresee hardship in years to come and the struggle for better freedom and justice for the all walks of life would not come easy. Democracy will be challenged all the way down to the ground.

Whether is it going to be a Dark Age for Malaysia or not, Malaysians will see in time to come. So far with all the indications and events unfold under his stewardship in the past 2 months; even before he ascend to the "throne", we certainly are not optimistic that the future will be bright and sunny.

Perhaps, only the cronies and people connected to the ruling "elites, families, political empayar and party" will likely to continue to prosper; and this will be an exact showcase of Malay Supremacy.

It is about the word again? Why not "marking" it as some kind of properties?

2009-03-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

Agence France-Presse - 3/20/2009 6:30 AM GMT
Malaysian legal body faces lawsuit for using 'Allah'

Malaysian religious authorities have threatened to sue the country's top legal body for using the word "Allah" on its website, in another row over the issue to hit the multi-ethnic country.

The Islamic religious council in central Selangor state said it would take action against the Malaysian Bar, which represents some 12,000 lawyers, for using the word as a translation for "God" in two online polls on its website.

Its comments came amid a long-running battle between the government and a Roman Catholic newspaper which has been threatened with closure for using the disputed word in its Malay-language edition.

The government has argued that the word should be used only by Muslims, who dominate the population of multicultural Malaysia.

The Malaysian Bar's polls asked lawyers to vote on whether any particular race in Malaysia had an exclusive right to use "Allah" and whether non-Muslim religious publications should be allowed to use the word.

"The issue raised in the polls can threaten the sensitivity of Muslims," the head of the religious council Mohamad Adzib Mohamad Isa said in a statement.

He said it was empowered under religious laws to lay charges against anyone misusing the word "Allah".

The Malaysian Bar said it would defend its use of the word.

"I haven't receive a (legal) notice yet, we are prepared to challenge it," its president Ragunath Kesavan told AFP.

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.

About 60 percent of the nation's 27 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims, who dominate the government.

The rest of the population includes indigenous tribes as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians -- practising Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, among others.

--------------

Some people just have too much time in their hands, always missing the big picture but harping on trivial matter. Has not religious authority a bigger role to play in harnessing welfare for the weak and poor; and promoting goodness, fairness and just to mankind?

I believe Islam is a good religion with a big heart, exercises no favoritism. It is always some narrow-minded religious leaders and organisations like these making Islam look so small.

Why not filing the "word" worldwide as "religious intellectual property" of the religious council of Malaysia and every Non-Muslims in Malaysia soil or even the world has to seek permission and pay in kinds in the form donation for using, saying or pronouncing the word. The donations are then can be used for "word cleansing rituals" by these silly fanatics!

The reputation of Malaysia judiciary system has already gone down to the drain, with its non-independence and strong association to politics of the ruling party in this country. We definitely don't need another lawsuit like this to tell the world how small and irrelevant Malaysian judiciary system is.

Who is more "kurang ajar"?

2009-03-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

Perkasa warns non-Malays to behave
By Shannon Teoh
KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 - Malay right-wing group Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa today threatened that it would react to the actions of those who chose to question Malay supremacy.
President Datuk Ibrahim Ali said that for the sake of "the country, race and religion, I am willing to be detained under the Internal Security Act" should Malay rights be challenged.
The Malay nationalist politician warned non-Malays to behave, if not then Malays would repay in kind.

"If they are polite, we will be polite. But if they are not, neither will we. If they are kurang ajar (ill-mannered), we too can be kurang ajar," said the Pasir Mas MP to cheers from the thousand-strong crowd.

Ibrahim as president of Perkasa had last year also called on other races to adapt to the local culture of Malays as they have already been given many rights and freedoms in this country.
Today, he added that those who questioned the issue of the special position of Malays were not acting in the name of justice.

"The truth is that justice has not yet come to Bumiputeras who have spent centuries being oppressed by colonial masters," he said.

The former Umno leader said that in the past, Malays had been reasonable with the colonial masters but that they would not tolerate "our heads being stepped on."

"We will not tolerate Bumiputeras losing face or our honour. Especially Malays and Islam, do not ever try to play around with these," he threatened

-----------------------------

Who is more "kurang ajar" (literally means lack teachings or translated as ill-manner in this article)? Isn't he is the one who is ill-behaved? I hope he is not representing the Malay community or else he is certainly painting a very bad picture about the Malay community.

Again, see how UMNO moron like this Pasir Mas MP, Ibrahim Ali is being so racist? And without doubt, he is getting away with such sedition despite inciting such strong racial hatred and threatening the security and stability of this country. Why? Because he is on the side of the people in office and the party in power. Isn't this another reason that Barisan Nasional should be voted out from the office?

Which foreign investment would have the right frame of mind to invest in a country that uphold inequality and injustice by definition of race ? No wonder Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to this country is diminishing.

If I was not mistaken, I remember Malaysia was one of the countries that protest against Apartheid system of South Africa in the past and why we see UMNO moron like this now insisting a devilish system that divide people base on race to be implemented, or should I say continue to be implemented in this country? How insensible this idiot to openly threatening the Non-Malays and jeopardise the already eroding racial harmony of this country?

This ideology of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) is Apartheid system in disguise!

We fully understand the needs to close economic gaps of people for social and economy stability and we cannot deny that a big part of the Malay community needs some extra hands in this country. I personally think the NEP program is a useful tool to achieve better distribution of wealth if properly executed within a definite time frame. A definite time frame is key so that the people who receive the initial boost of help understand the needs and urgency to change their life and becoming more competent and competitive for better survival.

The main problem is that such program has been abused to benefit the politicians in power and and their politic cronies only. These people who needs help remains largely out of reach.

See here for a water scandal. This political crony -Rozali Ismail - get paid RM425,000 per month as CEO of this water supply company! In addition, no open tender of contracts and pipe purchases through the CEO's company in Indonesia.
http://jelas.info/2009/03/20/water-scandal-summarising-bns-massive-conjob-or-how-you-are-making-the-super-rich-rozali-ismail-even-richer/
Imagine how many hundreds of poor families can be fed by taking half of his monthly salary out.

To enable these corrupted leaders and their cronies to stay at the upper food chain of their own kind, it is no wonder they have to play the race and religion card game well. These corrupted politicians will not hesitate to poisoning the minds of the Malay grassroots that they are the oppressed race by falsely accusing the Non-Malays are taking away their entitlement of riches; which these politicians in power are in fact the mothers / fathers of all evil.

These corrupted leaders also strategically inculcate the idea that their fellow Malay brothers and sisters belong to an inferior and incompetent race and they need these "leaders" to save and fight for their rights, which in fact they are the vampire of the lifeline of these grassroots; and criminal of the misfortune of their own people.

The Non-Malays are not the threats but the corrupted BN leaders and their cronies are.

Of course, these corrupted politicians and cronies would die fighting for the indefinite privileges for the Malay community so that their own children, grand children and generations to comes can continue to oppress their own kind and feed on their fellow brothers' and sisters' blood!

It is not that the Non-Malays are begging for special privileges. A more level playing field would be just. After all, isn't the whole idea of abolishing poverty is to have a balanced scale of wealth amongst people. It is certainly not about enriching a particular race by tipping the scales off from another end.

Ibrahim Ali is obviously an insignificant and foolish soldier being mobilised by the masterminds of race and religion card game to achieve their insensible, evil objectives.

Malaysia is the only country where privileges are given to majority but not the minority. History books are written to downplay contributions of other ethnic groups but glorifying one ethnic group to the existence of this country. Children are brainwashed via formal education and religious studies that the ruling elites are doing a good job and indispensable for the country. Children are also taught about evils are all but them. Children are also educated that racism and corruption are a way of life in Malaysia and they should not question such work of evil.

Malaysia is roiled by a crisis of democracy

2009-03-20T18:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/20821-malaysia-is-roiled-by-a-crisis-of-democracy-

The article above was published in The Malaysian Insider 21.3.09. It gives a summary of the ordeals that the people of Malaysia have to go through in this tough political and economic times.

While our neighbor like Singapore is busy tackling the economy crisis, our leaders are still so engross to their personal interest of power and sideline the economic crisis that the country is facing.

------------------------

On another note, the willing tendency of certain top leaders of PAS (which is one of the component party of the People Alliance / Pakatan Rakyat) to form a unity government with Barisan Nasional (BN), based on the ground of uniting the Malays based on race and religion (again!!!!), is heartbreaking.

Haven't we had enough of segregating the anak-anak Malaysia based on race and religion? Shouldn't we just focus of uniting the people of Malaysia as a country based on common grounds like economy and social stability, instead of uniting based on race and religion again and again?

When are these old farts will ever grow up? When Malaysia will be free from such evil idealogies?

Major housecleaning in UMNO or just frying the small fishes for the big ones to continue to devour?

2009-03-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Bernama - Friday, March 20
SEREMBAN, March 19 (Bernama) -- Umno is ready for change and renewal aimed at restoring the party's image and the members faith under the new leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Agence France-Presse - 3/19/2009 10:34 AM GMT
Mahathir says Malaysian party faces revolt over graft
Malaysia's ruling party faces an internal revolt over an anti-graft purge, but will be voted out of power if it fails to act on corruption, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday.

Rais: Give new leaders a chance NST 2009/03/20
KUALA LUMPUR The new Umno leadership, which will be in place later this month, should be given a chance to set things right in the party and regain the people's confidence Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said besides party members, the Malays also needed to give the new leadership a second chance. "Now we know what the shortcomings are and we are correcting them."

Agence France-Presse - 3/17/2009 11:09 AM GMT
Malaysia's leadership battle hit with corruption probe
A battle for senior leadership posts in Malaysia's ruling party was hit with a bombshell Tuesday as 15 members including several top figures were found guilty in an anti-corruption probe.

--------------------

The above headlines strongly suggest that change within the party of UMNO is eminent but will the same wind of change blow across the entire governing system of this nation, political parties and on one would be spared?

Is this not just another classical example of 贼喊捉贼 (literally means a thief shouting others to catch other thieves, i.e. referring to the tactic used by the greater evils to divert public attention to the chaos created by them and by labelling others as the evil and bad)?

Don't get me wrong, i have no pity to those who are under corruption probes in UMNO and I am totally support such anti-corruption purge. What I am saying is that such house cleanings should not be politically motivated, but independent and apply across the board. Don't just catch the small fishes but also the big ones too.

It would be an understatement to say every Malaysian knows how corrupted of our governing party "leaders" are. In fact, Malaysia is notorious worldwide for corruption.

And obviously, the government agency who is chartered to do such job, i.e. MACC / SPRM is not doing its job truthfully. In fact, the agency is becoming or even has spun off to become another government vehicle for the ruling party to get rid of opponents.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) / Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) which was commissioned in 2007 to replace the former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) or Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) is supposed to be an agency that investigates and persecutes corruption in the public and private sectors. It is an agency supposedly to put an end to corruption that has been dogging the political parties, especially the ruling party, i.e. Barisan Nasional.

Our observation so far pointed that the agency is highly skewed and biased towards UMNO and Barisan Nasional coalition party but reacting very negatively to the opposition party. Many controversial and corruption cases involving UMNO politicians, including the thief who shouted others to catch thieves, had been swept under the carpet while trivial cases involving opposition parties are given endless hours of investigations.

Again, don't get me wrong, if the politicians of the opposition parties are in the wrong, they deserve such investigation and be prosecuted.

The ruling party can continue to be ignorant that the anak-anak Malaysia (sons and daughters of Malaysia) will believe with whatever they showcase to the public and report on the mainstream media.

While not all the sons and daughters of Malaysia have eyes, ears, mouths and brains; many have developed those senses and intellect to detect and analyse who and where the smelly rats are!

UMNO Youth thugs in action in front of the Parliament House

2009-03-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

This incidence happened at about 2.30 pm on 26.2.09. An wheel-chaired bound lawmaker from the People Coalition / Pakatan rakyat opposition alliance force - DAP (Democratoc Action Party) MP Karpal Singh was mobbed by 30 UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) Youth members, preventing him from entering the Parliament.

Contrary to its name, UMNO Youth are not the teenager members of UMNO (main political party of the Barisan Nasional / Coaliation Front that rule the nation) but grown ups whose behaviour and brains are nothing like of grown-ups.

As we can see from the footage, the security personnel of the Parliament did not take immediate intervention when the wheel-chaired bound politician is being intimidated and attacked.

Although the speaker of the Parliament expressed regret over the incidence immediately and urged the Home Ministry to investigate the incidence, we have heard no serious action has been taken against these mobsters even till now.

A double standard on how these UMNO Youth people can get away with such behaviour; moreover in front of Parliament House is again testifying that UMNO Youth or even UMNO itself is fulled and backed by these gangsters who are supposed to be the succession generation of the party. Shameful and disgraceful!

New Premier

2009-03-19T02:40:00.000-07:00

I have not put up any postings since Jan 09. Reasons were 2 folds

Firstly, I moved to a new apartment and Internet connectivity was not available until a couple of days ago. So, I conveniently give myself excuse of not putting my 2 cents of thoughts in blog.

Secondly, the worsening global and local economy had put a heavy toll on my company sales and profit. In fact, putting the company in red last month. So, it is not surprising that I have to put more time and effort into my work and less spare room for thoughts about the politics in the past 2 months. To me, it is about the economy, and business survival that should be kept as a top top top priority, now more than ever.

--------------------------

Malaysia politics never fails to amaze people in a bad way. The recent political shamble in Perak was utterly disgusting. In that political saga, democracy was robbed and the people of Perak were sodomised up and down, left and right. By buying over a few assemblymen of the opposition party to defect to BN via thousands and some said millions of ringgit, this granted Barisan Nasional (BN) a simple majority to take over the Dewan Undangan Negeri of Perak. So, instead of a people elected state government, BN is now "in power" by their number games.

Malaysia will have a new Prime Minister after Ahmad Badawi steps down as Prime Minister by end March 09. I believe all true anak Malaysia are anxious to see how this next-in-line PM, i.e. Najib Razak will take over the baton from Badawi to head this nation.

To my opinion, a PM who is not truly elected by the people of Malaysia, but succeeded through a system which democracy is undermined is worrisome. Not to mention that this next-in-line PM has many uncleared baggage of corruption, linkages to crime, injustice and racism. If Najib is the best candidate to succeed his predecessor in UMNO, you can tell how "good quality" are the rest of the people in that party.
We shall see!

To those who like to know more about Najib Razak and how he rises into power, look out for an interesting essay written by Barry Wain in the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine.
http://www.feer.com/essays/2009/march/najibs-challenge-clean-up-umno
Not surprising it is all gutter politics in order to rise to power!

So, like some prominent Malaysian figures felt, Badawi should stay in the office. Not because he is well loved for his weaknesses. It is more of our worry for having a man of potentially greater evil and dictatorial with little national interest in mind to lead this nation.

Year of The Ox 2009 - Singapore 18.1.09

2009-01-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

Went to visit Singapore yesterday (18.1.09) to "look see look see" Chinese New Year celebration there. While Ray was busy shopping for his clothes at the malls, I took pictures instead. After all, I am financially very tight this Chinese New Year (CNY) and all I can spend was a few clicks of my Nikon camera. Oh Yes, instead of buying things for CNY, I bought 2 novels instead. Ha ha!

First stop - Bugis Junction.

The Peony flower balls are beautiful, although they aren't the real peony flowers. I wish I can take one home and used it as chandelier at my house's balcony... :)

Next stop was Paragon Mall at the Orchard Road. Its theme is the "Lantern"

The arrangement of these lanterns makes people feel as if they are in ascending mode, yet suspending in ether.

Chinese New Year (CNY) is also called Spring Festival 春节 and we can not take out flowers from the CNY equation.

Beautiful, healthy blossoms.

How I wish I can bath in this sea of flowers (I don't mean literally) ;)

Trip to Singapore around CNY time is incomplete without visiting the Chinatown.

The Chinese auspicious wishing idiom (牛转乾坤) being chosen for this year is most appropriate.

牛 means "cow", and has the same pronunciation as 扭. So, 牛(扭)转乾坤 means "bring about a radical change in the situation or reverse the course of events in the year of Ox". So appropriate for 2009, as this year economy is going to be shadowed with gloomy sentiment.

This is indeed a year of Ox, we see them everywhere.

I accidentally captured a happy face of a lady. She was definitely happy to have 2 bouquets of plum and peach blossoms for her home. To the Chinese, the plum and peach blossoms for CNY celebration is like Christmas tree for Christmas.

Like before, Chinatown is jam-packed with shoppers and tourists during Chinese New Year time

The icon of Chinatown - 珍珠坊 buildling

"Must have" red and gold decors for CNY celebration

Red color = 红, an auspicious lucky color that bring good luck. So, 鸿运当头, which 鸿 (means abundant, grand) has the same pronunciation as 红. In total, the phrase means "Lots of good luck, right to your doorstep"

Gold color 金 symbolises 富贵, i.e. fortune and wealth.

Fish is 鱼, which has same pronunciation as 余, which means "having surpluses"

So, a "golden fish" means having surpluses of gold, i.e. having good fortune and wealth.

Chinese language is so beautiful.

Yummy CNY cookies for sale. Anyone care to get me a few boxes as gift? Ha ha!

Nuts and seeds - goes very well with beer and liquor drinking with friends and family during CNY celebration

Children's favorite - fruit and fruit flavored jelly.

Free food sampling for Taiwan's Muachi, so to convince the shoppers to buy at least 1 box home.

Other than the plum 梅花 and peach blossoms 桃花, ornamental bamboo plants (竹) are also popular during CNY celebration. The bamboo plant is symbolising 竹报平安, i.e. wellness and safety. You will also see lots of fruiting tangerine plants (桔子) on sale at many plant nurseries. 桔子 is symbolising 吉祥, i.e. auspiciousness.

Sweets and lots of sweets, symbolising 甜甜蜜蜜 (sweetness in life)

Happy Chinese New Year to all. Wishing all lots of good fortune, great luck, marvelous health and have a safe and superb career this year.

Peace to the world....not.

2009-01-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

Everyone in the world should be praying for a peace and harmony, and a better life when the new year of 2009 was approaching. At least, that was my assumption, although deep down I knew that such wish was a bit too hopeful.

True enough, the World was informed about the military aggression in Gaza just not long after Christmas 2008.

For years I am aware about the crisis between the Israel and Palestinian, but always faintly. I faintly remember when I first came to be aware of the crisis there. I was still in Pre-U if I am not mistaken and now I am closing to 40 years old in a 2+ years time; and the conflict there still persist, after decades. It is only now I take a greater interest and wish to have a deeper understanding about these lands in crisis.

As a person who was takes no great interest in the past, my perception about the Middle East and its people was generalised and plain simple. To me, those countries and people were not fond of peace. Violence, hatred and revenge are deep embedded in each person’s body and soul there. Most probably, such dark forces even extended into their afterlives.

Being a birth place to 3 major religions in the world, I would expect the land there to be a land of peace and tolerance. A Holy land is not supposed to be a land of forever crisis. This has long set my doubts to all faiths and religions; and I am still not very religious until these days.

I admitted that my past perception and generalisation about the Middle East is now considered to be one sided, as the mainstream foreign media which I was exposed to was predominantly the CNN. I realized now how CNN has failed in making media reporting fairly and freely; and the picture that they have painted and still showing to the rest of the world was not all rounded but skewed.

The coming up of Al- Jazeera into the world media network had provided viewers a different perspectives about Middle East and news about Middle East is becoming more well balance.

I have started my quest to understand Middle East in greater length, along with my on-going journey to becoming a more political & socially aware citizen of my country – Malaysia. I hope more countries, like those in the Africa would be added to my list.

Why I take more interest to Middle East? Perhaps it was prompted by the incidence after Christmas, or it could be just random. Perhaps I am living in a country which Islam is the national religion and people are defined as Majority Muslim and Minority Non-Muslims; and I hope to learn and see how faith and people in total conflict and intolerance to others can put a nation and people into.

With my purest intention, I hope Malaysians will learn the mistake of others, as well as ours, both current and past mistakes, so to prevent a nation falling into jeopardy, destruction, starvation and hopelessness.

Like the Chinese believes, building a business empire is tough, sustaining it is tougher but making it fall is so damn easy! The same applies to a nation.

Wake up! Instead of focusing energy to bring down other races so to upholding one race's ego and supremacy; why not focusing the energy to greater common good like helping the real "needies" and the unfortunates, regardless of colors, faith, gender and sexuality.

Who is inciting racial hatred and how come these people are not charged by law?

2009-01-02T00:38:00.000-08:00

Such a picture perfect when Malaysia is staging itself to the world. In reality, there are cracks now.

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I am deeply hurt and saddened with this country when i saw some pictures that my friend sent to me today.

These pictures were about the banners used during the recent demonstration on banning pig farming in certain states of Malaysia. These banners were seen hung on the fence of a premise, which I suspect was a school.

On these banners, the demonstrators / organiser of the demonstration had used words and threats to demolish non-national schools, calling names, denial of other ethnic contribution to this country but their ethnic group, and swearing of protecting supremacy of certain race and religion.

The choice of word and language used are blood-boiling and were utterly aimed to incite racial anger and hatred. Even a dumb knew such statements are dangerous and would threaten the social stability of this country and it was so obvious that these demonstrators / organiser of the demonstration had broken the law.

However, these demonstrators and organisers were not charged by law but still roam freely in this country. Moreover, one needs permit to stage a demonstration, how come such demonstration was allowed to happen while peaceful demonstration for justice and human rights were banned and being demonised?

Is this the works of some authorities playing the racial and religion card game again? How can the lawmakers, the Home Ministry and police are closing both eyes on such serious and dangerous matters? If such bad hats are not contained or removed, it will spread its claws uncontrollably and destroy the nation.

Frankly, I am so tempted to post these pictures on the blog to show the world how racism has deepened into the roots of some ethnic group after 51 years of Malaysia Independence. However, I can't, because in social cases like this, the law here seems to be one sided and color-coded, protecting the criminals but criminalise the whistle blower. Such Grotesque!

Ushering 2009

2008-12-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

2008 is about to end in 11 hours and 25 minutes and 5 seconds. Oh, have to add another 1 second to align with GMT this year.

2008 is indeed an eventful year for me, it is a learning year for me. I don't mean learning academically, but more on the area of emotional and self growth.

New friends are steeping into my life and things have been good so far. My bonds with my buddies and soul mates are still going strong, although we meet so much less often now, mainly due to work and geographical distance. This in turn make our bonds even stronger.

Some buddies decided to abandon their bachelorhood and join the crowd in 2008 and I am happy for them; but guys and gals, mind you, that does not mean I endorse that your partner(s) can override the importance of our friendship. If that ever happen, dump her / him, LOL! As for myself, I have made peace with my past relationship and i am flourishing with new hopes.

Although I travelled less to overseas in 2008, I managed to have great fun and strike a balance between work and leisure. Managed to squeeze a day off from my busy work schedule to look around Tokyo during my Japan trip was really exciting and fun filled (Ahem, both clean and not so clean fun. Ha ha!). Of course, Hokkaido is beautiful as ever.

I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Beijing for the Beijing Olympics in Aug 08 and I finally set foot to The Forbidden City - which i always wanted to and have not had the chance to do so since I started travelling to China in 2005. Moreover, my last trip to China in Aug 08 could be my very last trip (for the time being). This is because work wise, i am no longer required to go to China anymore. Business there in China is in capable hands now.

Visiting Vietnam for work towards year end was rewarding with new learning about the Vietnamese and their work culture.

I finally live by myself in a new rented apartment now. I have to moved out from my old place because my housemate has gotten married and got his wife pregnant (Ha Ha! Great job, well done). The experience of living alone has been both enlightening, fun and fulfilling so far. Of course, the challenging part is paying for more bills & keeping them paid on time. In addition, I feel I am becoming more domesticated now, which is not a bad thing after all.
Moving to my new place also made me picking up new interests in home furnishing, cooking and gardening. I sincerely hope such interests, and my interest on photography will grow in 2009.

The US credit crunch affected so many people, including myself, in both of my work and lifestyle. Coping and managing the growing burdens of such economic downturn would certainly be a valuable experience and it would be something for me to reminisce for a long time.

I am pleased that I am more politically and socially aware of my country in 2008. I hope I will be able to inculcate such awareness to others, e.g. my brothers who are just too engrossed to the world of themselves and tend to be ignorant about their surroundings. All Malaysians ought to keep tabs on the affairs of the state and should not let people that runs the country abusing their power and/or resting on their laurels.

The year of 2008 ends with the passing of my granny and news about a close friends' mom having lung cancer are certainly not a great way to call year 2008 a finale. Nevertheless, death and sufferings are part of journey in life and nothing I should not be able to embrace and handle with grace.

Wishing all a prosperous and worry free new year. May the new year be filled with hopes, joy, peace, justice, good health and wealth. No more wars, discrimination, injustice and poverty to this world and let humanity comes as one (I am always hopeful of that to happen).

Year 2009 here it comes!

Christmas Eve at Singapore

2008-12-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

On Christmas eve, I went to Singapore with the aim to see the well-renown Christmas lighting at Orchard Road. I was also hoping to feel the high spirit of Christmas atmosphere there, as I heard strangers on the street will offer warm hugs and well wishes to each other, especially when the clock strike 12.

Sadly, I have to cut my trip short and did not have the chance to feel the Christmas atmosphere there due to continuous downpours. Moreover, I was getting uneasy with the increasing number of people on the street. At one point, I was stuck in the sardine-packed crowd, inching near the entrance / exit of Orchard MRT station . Fearing for a stampede (I know, i sounded Kiasi), I decided to not to linger at Orchard road any longer, but move away to Bishan to have dinner with my friend.

Interior Christmas Decor at The Heeren.

Christmas Carol singers

Rain, Rain, Rain, but it didn't stop visitors from taking photographs of the lighting features at Orchard Road. Ahem, I was one of them!

Walking in the rain. So, we were not just bathed in lights, but also in rain!

Along the road, there were these figurines telling the story of Christmas.

Christmas tree made of sweet candies. If it was real, i would love to have a bite.

Undeniably, trees are one of the best gifts to mankind.

"... With God All Things Are Possible... Matthew 19:26" was featured as the backdrop lighting of the exterior Christmas decoration at the Tangs Shopping Center. To me, it was one of the best, if not the best that i have seen this year.

Traffic was not heavy as the street was about to be closed for the Christmas countdown event at the Orchard Road.

Let there be peace, love and well beings in the world. All human beings are created differently, we should embrace each other differences and stop all the war, discrimination and hatred.

Being Chinese, Food is an important part of our culture and I end my posting with footages of the busy kitchen scenes at Din Tai Fung, the place where i had my Christmas dinner.

Another attempt to change the stock but not the poison that boil in it

2008-12-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Abdullah's last-ditch reforms hit trouble
Political insiders said Abdullah tried but failed to persuade the political establishment to bite the bullet and approve the tough measures necessary to rehabilitate the judiciary, fight high level corruption, raise efficiency and keep police abuse in check.
By Baradan Kuppusamy, Asia Times Online

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has tabled two new reform bills, but not surprisingly given his impending exit, both have run into strong opposition within and outside parliament. Abdullah's hopes of forging a consensus through the two crucial bills, hoped to give him some kind of positive reform legacy before he stands down in 2009, have been rocked by the dissent.
One bill has been designed to clean up the judiciary, and provide for the independent selection of judges, while the other aims to give greater powers to the Anti-Corruption Agency. Opposition lawmakers, lawyers, retired judges and even government backbenchers all say the bills have been so watered-down that they have little bite.
The bills are expected to be passed, but without the broad support originally expected. "We are deeply disappointed," said Ambiga Sreenevasan, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, a professional body for 13,000 lawyers. "Although there are some improvements, the executive still has an overbearing presence."
Critics say that under the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill, which Abdullah tabled in parliament on December 12, the executive would continue to have undue influence in the selection process.
"Under the JAC the selection is done by a committee, some of whose members are appointed by the government," said Sreenevasan. "The bill gives power to the government to appoint or sack committee members without giving reasons."
Of the proposed nine commission members, five would be appointed directly by the government. "Politicians and others connected with the government could end up in the committee and compromise its independence," she said.
In addition, the prime minister would have unfettered power to amend provisions for the JAC two years after the bill's approval in parliament. "We are worried - this last provision is highly unusual," she added.
Currently, the chief justice draws up a list of candidates from which the prime minister can choose and submit for royal assent, which is rarely withheld. Last August a judicial inquiry concluded that the selection process was open to abuse and that politicians and businessmen had colluded with senior judges to promote individuals unfit for the bench.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) bill will give wide new powers to officials to investigate and seize records, including bank accounts. But critics say that under the bill the MACC still cannot prosecute independently, as it must seek permission from the attorney general.
"We want the MACC to be placed under parliamentary [control] and be armed with independent powers to prosecute," said veteran opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang.
Abdullah has defended the bills, saying they would restore judicial confidence, fight corruption, and were a major step forward for the country. "My promise to the people is to institute reforms and I am doing just that," he told parliament when tabling the bills.
"I am fulfilling my promise of reform before I leave," he said. "Let's all close ranks for the sake of the nation."
Abdullah, who first took over as prime minister in 2003, asked his ruling United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO) earlier this month to be allowed to remain in office until March so that he could carry out the promised reforms.
Opposition lawmakers have requested a delay of at least three weeks for them to study the bills and recommend changes, but the government, which has a 32 seat majority in the 222-seat parliament, is adamant they will be passed without delay.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, while welcoming Abdullah's initiative to fight corruption and clean up the judiciary, said changes are needed to ensure that the bills are independent and free of political interference.
Anwar said anti-corruption officers must be given full discretion to charge in court anyone under investigation and found to be involved in corrupt practices, without reference to the attorney general's chambers for permission.
With the clock on his tenure ticking, Abdullah does not have the luxury of time to make changes and retable the bills. Already the focus of the political establishment, investors and the diplomatic community is on the incoming leader, Najib Tun Razak, who takes over in March, 2009 as the new prime minister.
Political insiders said Abdullah tried but failed to persuade the political establishment to bite the bullet and approve the tough measures necessary to rehabilitate the judiciary, fight high level corruption, raise efficiency and keep police abuse in check.
These are the areas Abdullah had promised to act on after winning the biggest political mandate in Malaysia's history at the 2004 general election. After failing to carry out these promised reforms, voters turned against UMNO at this year's March elections, giving the political opposition control over five of the countries 13 states.
The abrupt manner in which the two bills were introduced last week, when the current parliament session was nearing an end, sparked an uproar and fueled charges that Abdullah purposely delayed the legislation in order to catch the opposition off guard and bludgeon the bills through.
The bills' contents were not made public before they were introduced and the cloak of secrecy that enveloped their drafting has resurrected charges about the lack of transparency surrounding Abdullah's government.
To be sure, some of the clauses of the anti-corruption bill are progressive, such as its wider scope for investigation and the total anonymity promised for whistle blowers. Five "independent" committees are also to be formed to mitigate any excesses of executive authority over the commission.
Still many remain dissatisfied. "What we need is a simple, independent commission to select people of the highest integrity as judges, and for another commission to catch corrupt crooks and effectively prosecute them," said a senior lawyer.
"What we have now are convoluted systems because of numerous compromises made to satisfy political factions ... the key aims are lost in the urge to satisfy the entrenched political forces," the lawyer said. "It was a battle between the weak reformer and the strong entrenched forces. Convoluted, watered-down versions are the result."

JB Sentral - the Southern Integrated Gateway of Malaysia

2008-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Type "JB New Custom" on Google search engine and you will find the posting titled "Southern Integrated Gateway" by Wikipedia. Click on to it and you will find the following article appears. It reads as follows.
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The Southern Integrated Gateway (Malay: Gerbang Selatan Bersepadu), is a Malaysian national project involving the construction of the Johor Bahru main railway station, called JB Sentral, and a new customs, immigration and quarantine complex (CIQ) known as the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex. It is named after Sultan Iskandar of Johor.

The station and complex will become the main transportation hub of Johor Bahru and southern Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian Public Works Department is responsible for the design and construction of this project, while Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd is the main contractor.

This megaproject is part of the Iskandar Malaysia. It was announced in February 2008 that the constructions has been completed government agencies has started moving into the complex. The complex will become fully operational on December 16, 2008.

Benefits of the project

The project seeks to improve the traffic flow within Johor Bahru Central Business District.
Besides that, the regional road network will be enhanced by the linking of CIQ complex to the North-South Expressway via the Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road.
The project will also improve the transportation link between Johor Bahru and Singapore, which is urgently needed.
This project would also attract Singaporean tourists to Johor Bahru and the rest of Johor because of the improved transportation link which increases convenience and decreases travelling time.
This project will also complement the country's aspiration of creating a premier and modern southern gateway to Malaysia and Asia.
The Southern Integrated Gateway is expected to reduce air pollution of the Johor Bahru city area.
A significant reduction in sea travelling time from the eastern part to the western part of the Straits of Johor and vice-versa will indirectly promote security control at the border. This benefit is doubtful at the present because the bridge project has been stopped.

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Today is 17.12.08, the second day of Sultan Iskandar Custom, Immigration and Quarantine Complex or in short the Sultan Iskandar Complex is opened for light vehicles, i.e. motobikes, cars, vans and even buses.

Before I continue, on fairness, I have to confess that i have not use the facility myself yet. What I am going to write next is based on my limited observation and of course, feedback and comments that I gathered from many friends who have used the facility. Mind you, these feedback ain't rosy at all. I shall be objective and review the performance of this new complex against its intended benefits (listed in points form).

Benefits of the project

The project seeks to improve the traffic flow within Johor Bahru Central Business District.

With traffic diverted away from the "old"city central to the new "JB Sentral", I agreed that the traffic flow within the Johor Bahru Central Business District has indeed improved. I experienced it this morning. The used-to-be morning rush hour at the once busy JB business district seemed to have diminished. The once heavy traffic streets were rather quite this morning and I really wonder how businesses like the food businesses and money changers that were still very busy 2 days ago has suffered and perhaps survived eventually. [And the government was talking about caring and sustaining the livelihood of the businesses around there!].

Well, we just hope that this is not another classical example of the authority sacrificing the bulk to benefit the selective few privileged ones who "won" the tender to run similar food businesses and money changing services in the complex.

Besides that, the regional road network will be enhanced by the linking of CIQ complex to the North-South Expressway via the Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road. The project will also improve the transportation link between Johor Bahru and Singapore, which is urgently needed.This project would also attract Singaporean tourists to Johor Bahru and the rest of Johor because of the improved transportation link which increases convenience and decreases travelling time.

We strongly embrace the concept of easing the traffic and improving transportation link between the 2 countries. With our fingers crossed, we hope it will become a reality.... eventually.

However, the fact now is that motorists took 3 hours to pass through the "complex" Sultan Iskandar Complex yesterday, versus a maximum of an hour at the old custom and bus commuters returning from Singapore need to take 4 hours to pass through the new Sultan Iskandar Complex yesterday which were once never exceed 1 hour. [Hmm... and we were talking about boasting tourism by cutting travelling time]

This project will also complement the country's aspiration of creating a premier and modern southern gateway to Malaysia and Asia.

Modernity doesn't mean massive structure with complexity.

What I learnt from my friends was that the road system within the complex is really complex and come with "less than perfect" signage [As if "perfection" is ever an aspiration to some responsible parties in Malaysia, I wonder]. It was observed that if a motorist once made a wrong turn, the motorist has no choice but to "reverse" and this lead to massive tailback traffic.

It also appeared to the public that the designing team from the Public Works Department for this complex are fans of roller coaster rides. Such "fun" elements were seen to be integrated into the road system within the complex - up the slope, down the slope and has sharp haphazard turns to test the driving skills of the motorists and users alike.

To demonstrate their patriotism to national cars, the designing team of this complex seemed to have used Perodua cars as benchmark for designing the width of the car lanes in the complex. Not to mention the genius thoughts to control the driving speed of the passing cars by converging all incoming vehicles lanes, both for cars and buses to only 2 small curving lanes leading to the booths...and exit through small lanes again... Bravo to the great brains behind the design. Fun over safety and lack of common sense, great!

The Southern Integrated Gateway is expected to reduce air pollution of the Johor Bahru city area.

Road users of the complex think the complex is rather "enclosed" and ventilation seems to be lacking. Such condition is similar to Puduraya Bus Station in KL. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and whatever poisonous gases from the exhaust of the vehicles perfumed the air that is trapped in a poor ventilated enclosure.

We hope the authority does not embrace "ignorance" as an ultimate solution to all problems but notice such discrepancy and do something about it. After all, there are ten of thousands of motorcyclists, motorists and commuters using the complex daily and there are also workers who work there. Health of these people should not be discounted but have to be taken care of.

So, effort to divert and concentrating pollution from one area to another is not a way to reducing air pollution, duh! As the Chinese saying, "change the stock of the soup but not the medicine that boiled in it" means little functional change.

A significant reduction in sea travelling time from the eastern part to the western part of the Straits of Johor and vice-versa will indirectly promote security control at the border. This benefit is doubtful at the present because the bridge project has been stopped

No comment. In actual fact, too political sensitive to comment.

Some of you may disagree with my critics and sarcasm above by you claiming that,

Malaysian should be tolerant and understanding, which were known to be unique traits of Malaysians.
Malaysians have to understand and give time for people in the government sector and government backed enterprises to improve, even though the learning process of these people could be painfully slow.
It was just a day after the complex is fully operational. Moreover, this is not the first time taxpayers paid multi millions Government project gone imperfect. Hence, our expectation should not be set so high.
In addition, not that we don't know that Malaysian government generally adopt causal approach to problem solving (recent example was the landslide tragedy at Bukit Antarabangsa that claims lifes and property damages) instead of preventive approach in the first place; all execpt matters that challenge the ruling party politically.
Also, as government said before, when we are to compare to Zimbabwe, Malaysians should be proud of the progress of this country. So, it is always good to compare with less developed countries than Malaysia. It is pointless to compare with countries like Singapore, which is our close neighbour and already a developed country.

Speechless.....

In Remembrance

2008-12-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

It was a breezy Thursday morning on 11.12.08 at JB. I was suddenly awaken by the loud annoying tone of my Nokia phone in the living hall.

Still half awaken, I checked the time of the clock next to my bed, it was around 5.30 in the morning. Suspecting it could be a crank call at such early wee hours, i decided to ignore it. Should there is an emergency call and it is related to work, my Nokia phone will sure ring again. So, I decide to go back to sleep. Somehow consciously, I also turned on my Sony Ericsson phone next to my bed; just in case if the emergency call is made by my family members.

Just seconds before i dose off, my Sony Ericsson phone rang. I quickly picked up the call when i saw the caller ID was my younger brother. With a sober voice, he told me that my grandma has passed away in the morning and I can hear faintly the sound of my mom's crying sadly at the background.

My granny died at the age of 86. She was first suspected to suffer from cancer in November 08 and had admitted to the hospital twice for pneumonia since. She died on the 3rd day after she was discharged from the hospital for her second pneumonia case.

According to the nurse in the nursing home, my grandma had died peacefully in bed. I confirmed her saying when i saw my granny in her coffin. She looked very peaceful and calm; showed no sign of final struggle from pain. She just looked as if she was in deep sleep and even had a faint smile on her face. I am pleased that she is finally free from human sufferings and attained peace.

It is uncommon for the Chinese to take photographs of funerals, I decided to go against the norm and document the event anyhow. Of course, my action has attracted some whispers from the crowd but I had my own reasons. I am a strong believer that we all should not live life to please others but to ourselves, as long as we are not hurting others.

To me, these final images are the least I can do to offer to our family members, especially those who are living abroad of some memories of the final stage of grandma's existence on earth.

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There are many different funeral rituals for the Chinese. Since granny is a Buddhist, we fulfilled her wish to follow the Buddhist way - which is very simple, calming, peaceful and no crying Drama! (unlike the Taoism way)

Burning incense as a sign of paying respect to our deceased granny.

Neighbours, relatives and family friends from near and afar gathered on the eve of the cremation to offer condolences and paying respects to the deceased. In Chinese, we called this ritual [ 坐夜], literally translated as "sitting through the night". In older days, the next of kins of the deceased have to take turns to accompany the death throughout the night. In these days of modern age, we are more practical, we sleep after calling a night off.

In line with Buddhism philosophy, only vegetarian foods were served. Omnivores and Carnivores were surely displeased :)

Sweet red bean soup with sago to sooth the sorrow hearts

The Chinese always prays and wishes for good health, wealth and longevity in life. Hence, although the official deceased age of my grandma was 86, we featured her Lunar age as 89 - additional 3 years (3 again is an auspicious number) as her age of death.

No offerings of animal origin are allowed. Only fruits, flowers, rice, vegetarian dishes, burning incenses and candles (now replaced by electrical lights) are placed on the altar of the deceased.

Having Buddha overlooking the body of the deceased is a symbolic sign that Buddha will guide the deceased to attain peace and the path to Nirvana (Heaven)

A view of grandma's altar behind the steel bars of the house's window.

Granny's final resting place is at the Garden of Remembrance - a memorial park. The memorial park has a website http://paradise-remembrance.com/ check it out if you wish.

Last praying ritual in the house before departing to the crematorium.

Close family members and relatives paying their last respect and prayer to grandma.

Prayer from a daughter to her mom

We come from a big family, some relatives had to offer their prayers outside the house.

Monk and a few volunteers from the Buddhist monetary /society chanting the mantra before loading the coffin into the hearse.

The tablet on the coffin will guide grandma's soul to her final resting place.

After loading the coffin into the hearse, another ritual took place - i.e. the parade.

The parade would take 10-15 minutes. Family members, who dressed in white and carrying the Chrysanthemum flowers would walk behind the hearse. Friends and neighbours would followed at the back of us.

These people who were carrying the banners are volunteers from the Buddhist monetary / society.

I have to say granny departed in style. The hearse that was used to carry her body was a Mercedes Benz wagon. The Parade caused some traffic congestion. The lorry even had to give way to us.

The eldest grandson would have to follow this hearse and carry the tablet to the crematorium later.

The rest of the parade contingent has to take the chartered bus.

The Buddhist and Taoist Chinese uses chrysanthemum in many form of prayers, whether in paying respects to the gods and deities and in funerals.

Unlike cemetery of the older days, the Garden of Remembrance is really a beautiful, clean and quite memorial park. Its surroundings is so well taken care off than most residential areas of the livings. Of course, the death don't litter and pollute!

Arriving at the crematorium. The location of my granny's final resting place is really out of the town. It was already late in the morning and almost noon when we reached there.

In older days, the coffin commonly used by the Chinese in Malaysia was 寿棺, or Longevity Coffin, which was carved out from whole tree trunk (see below). Such coffin is too expensive for the Chinese to afford these days. Moreover, the modern coffin above looks less eerie than the Longevity coffin below.

The Buddhist monk was about to perform the final ritual, before the cremation.

Placing incense on the coffin, and paying the last respect to grandma before the coffin entering into the furnace.

Dear Grandma, rest in peace. Your love and kindness will be remembered forever.

Love from,

Your grandchild

2007 Vietnam trip - Last day at Hanoi 9.4.07

2008-12-10T23:00:00.000-08:00

2007 Vietnam trip - Good Friday at Hanoi 8.4.07

2008-12-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

2007 Vietnam trip - Good Friday Eve at Hanoi 7.4.07

2008-12-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

2007 Vietnam trip - Halong Bay 6.4.07

2008-12-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

2007 Vietnam trip - Hanoi 5.4.07

2008-12-10T21:14:00.001-08:00

2007 Vietnam trip - First night at Hanoi 4.4.07

2008-12-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

I recently found these 2007 Hanoi trip photos when I was cleaning my files in my hard disk. The trip was 4.4.07 till 9.4.07. Had a great time there together with my close friends.

This was the hotel that we stayed throughout the trip - Church Hotel at Nha Tho street. It is a 2 stars hotel ideally located at the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The name of the hotel can be misleading as it can probably be misinterpreted as hotel for Christians. Nay, it is called the Church hotel because of its vicinity to St. Joseph's Cathedral.

There was this nice French styled cafe cum bakery beside the Church Hotel. The Cafe serves very good Vietnamese coffee and pastry.

My Buddies!

Floral decoration (Lilies) at the counter of the Cafe

Wallpaper like this will surely add the Colonial mood to the cafe ambiance.

The temperature was great. It was chilly, at 15 degree Celsius. Although we were tired, we took a scroll down the streets and around the hotel.

Streets were quite at this part of the Old Quarter. After all, it was late at night. Ha ha!

St. Joseph's Cathedral - a Roman Catholic church in Hanoi.

Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi was built in 1886 in neo-Gothic style, and its architecture has some resemblance to Notre Dame of France.

Christmas cheer is near.

2008-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

CHRISTAMS is around the corner and it is my favorite time of the year to check out the Christmas decorations in shopping malls. Some malls are really good at their decor, like The Curve at Kuala Lumpur.

Walking to the light, a passage to Heaven (of shpping)!

A spinning Christmas tree.

One of the stalls selling Christams goodies

Hanoi revisited - Nov 08

2008-11-28T00:36:00.000-08:00

Below are photos that I took mainly at Hanoi. Although I went to Ho Chi Minh City too and in fact spent more time there, a tight work schedule did not allow me the time to do some sightseeing at the city.

As I was staying at the Tan Binh District, which is close to the HCM airport; there are no high rise buildings but electric cables filling up the skylines. Isn't the above amazing?

Unlike here in Malaysia whereby motorcyclists have to squeeze through heavy traffic of cars; in HCM city, cars actually have to squeeze through sea of motorcyclists and cyclists during peak hours. See footage below.

While I was there, I did not have many chances to try the local dishes. There were many street vendors selling Pho (Vietnamese noodles). However, I don't really fancy with the hygiene condition at these stalls. So, KFC and Lotteria were my safest bets for food.

Vietnamese dishes are generally very healthy and easy to digest. The Vietnamese takes a lot of vegetables in their diet and little meat. The dish above is considered "Meaty", with pork and prawns that goes well with shredded lotus roots + onions, tossed in fish sauce.

Perhaps such eating habit has to do a lot with its history and the wars. In fact, what i learnt from the locals is that when KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was first open, not many can finish 2 pieces of chicken meat as they were not use to eat some much meat in a particular meal.

The salty sauce is the picture is a gem to me. It blends so well with the freshness and natural sweetness of the vegetable when consume. The sauce is made of fish sauce, pork lard and some spice and coriander. Just dip the greens into the sauce and eat, Yummy!

At Hanoi city, especailly at the Old Quarters, mobile vendors selling food and fruits are rather common sights.

There is this street in Hanoi that fill with stalls that make tombstone, like the above. Got any picture, anyone? Ha ha.

Housewives chatting at a stall that sells some puffs or fried pastry

The less busy street of Hanoi's Old Quarters. Compared to Ho Chi Minh city, I found Hanoi is a better place for me. It seemed less chaotic relatively to me and there is a sense of order in the air. After all, Hanoi is the administration capital, whereas Ho Chi Minh city is the commercial capital of Vietnam.

I bought some very interesting Vietnam Propaganda themed souvenirs from this shop - Dogma. Its first shop is located at Ho Chi Minh city and the one at Hanoi is their 3rd branch. This Dogma shop has beautiful and interesting revolutionary posters. Of course, they don't come cheap. The one I enquired was tagged with a price of USD 700. To get the feel of what the shop offers, please visit http://www.dogmavietnam.com/

Street hawker preparing and selling some yummy looking fried snacks at the corner of a cross junction. The owner seemed not very pleased with me taken her photo. Cheer up lady!

Travel agencies are everywhere at Hanoi tourist area.

Bicycle vendor selling straw made hats and baskets

Cross junction of a busy street. Everyone just squeeze through the traffic - people, bicycles, motorbikes and cars. I mentioned earlier that there is a sense of order in the air at Hanoi, however definitely not referring to its traffic. The traffic is chaotic but everyone seemed to be very alert about their surroundings.

Balloon seller like the one in picture can hardly be found in Malaysia nowadays. I still remember that I was so happy to get a balloon when i was a kid...that was thirty odd years ago.

This fountain roundabout is located at the north end of the famous Hoan Kiem Lake. It also marks the "main entrance" to countless shops at the Old Quarters of Hanoi. The renown Bobby Chin restaurant is located at the south end of the lake.

Hoan Kiem lake (Lake of a Restored Sword) is a very photogenic place. The name comes from a legend about a magical sword given by a giant golden tortoise to Emperor Le Loi to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam. After the war, while the Emperor was out fishing in the lake, the giant golden tortoise reappeared and claimed back its sword from the Emperor and took it to the depths of the beautiful lake.

I remembered I took so many photos during my my first trip here to Hoan Kiem Lake. It is a place where locals and tourists can relax at the lake shore. Seeing the image reflections of the sky, the swaying tree branches and the ripples created by the wind on the water, while enjoying an easy breeze has such a calming effect to one's mind.

Ngoc Son temple, a 18th century temple, is situated on an island in the lake. It offers some quietness and serenity to the minds of Hanoi people from the fuzz and buzz of the city. The island is connected to the mainland through the famous Red lacquered bridge.

Peace and quite at the lake shore.... if one can cancel off the noisy traffic at the background.

Motorbike can fetch up to 4 passengers, I have seen it. The one above only shown 3. Such riding required good balancing skills and team work.

Peaceful looking country side. During the war, I wonder how many people have their blood spilt onto the same ground.

Vendor selling Baguette at the road side. Baguette - a very French influence in Vietnamese's diet

Typical building architecture in Vietnam - narrow, deep and tall.

I end this entry with a picture of the berry looking fruiting bodies of a Palmiceae plant at the lobby of a hotel.

Cute things

2008-11-20T23:58:00.000-08:00

I was there at Johor Bahru City Square yesterday and by co-incident, there was this road show about ASIMO - Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility - a robot, made by Honda!
Oh man, it is really cute and how i wish I have one. Afterall, my birthday is coming soon. Ha! Ha! For more info and clearer view of this adorable robot, please visit the Honda's website: http://www.honda.com.my/asimo/

ASIMO Runs!

ASIMO exercises and dances!

Speaking of my birthday, those dearest bosom buddies of mine sent me the most sweetest beearlied birthday gift i ever received.. See below.

It Has Been Long

2008-11-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

My last entry was in September 2008. Many incidences have happened in Malaysia.

Examples...

RPK has been released from ISA by Court decision but the Home Ministry is trying to overthrow such decision and now is making its appeal. This is because such decision demonstrated that the ISA arrest of RPK was purely politically motivated and this make some high profile ministers look really bad.
Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim's noble resignation for disagreeing and going against the government's (or some high profile ministers') will to use the Draconian law of ISA to their oppositions.
Najib rose to power in UMNO and scandals that were previously considered linking to him, like the infamous Atlantuya murder case is suddenly declared to be resolved after dragging for so many years since 2006. A.R.A.Baginda, who is one of the main suspect of this case and who was Najib's buddy is now a freeman. He even came out to defend Najib and his wife's innocence and has publicly announced about his intention to pursue his doctorate degree in UK (So, possibly will never come back to Malaysia). B.Subramaniam, who was potentially a key witness of the case is still missing and not even the Malaysian police force and Immigration Dept. know his whereabouts (Shock! Surprise!). The Russian Helicopter deal / scandal, which was made when Najib was the Minister of Defense, is now covered and brushed off by the government.
Also, JAKIM wanting to issue fatwa that Yoga is un-Islamic and forbids Mulslims from practising yoga.
The suggestion of opening up UiTM to Non-Bumis was heavily protested by UiTM students and its Vice Chancel or (who happened to be an UMNO strongman and who happened to be a pioneer of setting up UMNO sort of student society during his University years in overseas)
Government's denial of failing in protecting Penan aboriginals' human rights and claimed foreign media reports of employees of a large logging company in raping Penan women in Sarawak as lies.
Policemen harassing peaceful Candlelight vigil against ISA.
Malay student NGO accusing the Penang local council for violating the Malaysia Constitution by naming road signs (that direct tourists to tourist spots) in languages other than Malay and English, whereas road signs in Johor can be named also in Jawi (Arabic).
Credit crunch in the US. Its effect rippled across the world, lead to world financial crisis and progressing to world recession.
Malaysian government still claims its economy is OK and safe while other countries already taken measures to protect the economy.
Inflation has reached all time high in July 08 and the situation doesn't seem to improve in real terms.
Palm oil and petroleum (main commodities and sources of income to Malaysia) prices have fallen sharply.
To cushion the economy downturn, under the stewardship of Najib, the government directed a huge sum of people's retirement fund from EPF to one (and only) investment company (i.e. all eggs into 1 basket), with the aim to keep stimulating the Malaysian economy.

So, nothing seems to have changed in Malaysia. The ruling party still rule and divide by playing the race and religion cards. They are still Draconian and power hungry, and favor the ideology of "Ketuanan" which is racism in disguise in another name. The police force is still seen like to harass and intimidate normal citizens and the oppositions, still favor protecting the politically rich and powerful; instead of divert its resources to protect justice, upholding just laws, and fighting the ever increasing crime rate in Malaysia. The ruling elites, who claim to be the interest protectors of one race, are still seen comfortably siphoning people's money into their pockets instead of channeling to the poor and needy - even from their own people. Yet, they blame other races for taking away their people's wealth and privileges.

Pak Lah Desecrating Ramadan

2008-09-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Below is an article written by M Bakri Musa, published in Malaysia Today on 24.9.08.

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When President Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi during Christmas of 1972, I knew then that his fate was sealed. I am not a Christian, but living in the West I am very much aware of the spiritual significance of Christmas. As such I found Nixon's action, coming from a self-professed Christian who regularly had Billy Graham pray with him in the White House, abominable beyond comprehension.

A Just God would not let such a barbaric action go unpunished. Sure enough, a few months later the Watergate scandal broke out that would ultimately lead to his resigning under threat of impeachment. This was less than two years after he won a landslide re-election victory.

As a Muslim I feel profoundly the spirituality of Ramadan. It was the month that Allah first revealed the Quran to His Last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w. That was a measure of His generosity upon us. It is said that the gates to Heaven are wide open, and to Hell closed shut, during this season, again reflecting His mercifulness during this blessed month.

We are expected to reciprocate this divine gift by being generous to our fellow beings. Ramadan is thus a season to be charitable, to be forgiving of each other and the seeking of forgiveness from others. All faiths have such a special period in their calendar when their followers are expected to be extra kind to and tolerant of their fellow human beings.

Imagine my horror, shared by many, when Prime Minister Abdullah, the self-declared Imam of Islam Hadhari, chose this particular month to incarcerate Raja Petra Kamaruddin and others under the draconian Internal Security Act that allows for detention without trial, or even the filing of charges.

I would have expected the reverse. That is, during Ramadan the Prime Minister would grant amnesty to deserving prisoners as a gesture of the government's generosity and charity of spirit.

I have yet to see this happen in Malaysia, or any other Muslim country for that matter. Instead we have the odious act of the police bundling up Raja Petra and others into prison, right in front of their families. Where in the Quran or the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., did Imam Abdullah find the justification for such a cruel act? Where is the spirit of generosity or sense of forgiveness demanded from each of us by our faith during this holy month?

As a Muslim Abdullah will be paying his zakat fitr (tithe) this Ramadan, and come Hari Raya he will be generous with his duit raya to the children calling upon the gates of Sri Perdana. That is the extent of his understanding of the concept of charity and generosity called for in our faith: simplistic, ritualistic, and materialistic. Those he jailed under the ISA or the millions made miserable through escalating living costs as a consequence of his economic policies never enter his heart.

ISA Unjust

Like Nixon before, I also expect Abdullah's latest inhuman act would also seal his fate. I do not know or care what or when his comeuppance would be but I do know that whenever I see an injustice being perpetrated, I am duty bound by my faith to respond.

I do not wish to sermonize and outdo our Imam of Islam Hadhari (he is already good at that and does it all too frequently), but I do know this. As per the teachings of our Prophet, s.a.w., when we see an injustice, we are to do whatever in our capacity to stop it. If we are unable to do so with our hands (that is, physically), then we are to use our tongue (voice our disapproval). Failing that, then at least acknowledge in our heart that we disapprove of it, though that would be the path least pleasing to Allah.

Incarcerating Raja Petra and others without affording them their due process is the height of injustice; and to do it during Ramadan is both cruel and vindictive. It is also an affront to our religious sensibility; the very act desecrates our holy month.

I do not recommend anyone attempting to physically stop the police as that would risk your being arrested too, or worse. We have to caution ourselves that where injustice or lawlessness is institutionalized, then the just and the lawful become victims.

There is something well within our ability to do, that is, voice our disapproval of the brutal ways of our government. Many have already done so last March and again last month at the ballot box. Unfortunately our leaders are slow learners, or refuse to learn the lesson. We have to keep teaching them.

There is now a petition circulating in cyberspace seeking the release of all those detained under the ISA. I urge all to sign it, as my family and I did. Writing this commentary is also my way of condemning Abdullah's brutish ways.

Last week with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim threatening to bring down the administration through coaxing its members to cross over, Abdullah threw a veiled threat of resorting to the ISA to silence Anwar. Local and international pressures made Abdullah back off.

If we can believe him, Home Minister Syed Hamid was not at all involved in the process. He proudly asserted that he did not "interfere" with the "professional" work of the police. To think that the precious freedom of our citizens could hinge on the judgment if not fancy of some functionary in the police department is truly shocking. For a minister to admit that he does not know what is going on in his department goes beyond incredulity; it is utter incompetence and gross dereliction of duty.

No man is perfect enough to be entrusted with the liberty and dignity of others, so asserted the Sudanese reformist Mahmoud Mohamad Taha. I certainly would not entrust my freedom to others, least of all characters like Abdullah and Syed Hamid. We need due process.

Raja Petra was held for supposedly "insulting Islam." Those police officers either have not read his articles, or if they did, could not understand them.

As Mufti of Perlis Datuk Asri Zainal Abidin so wisely noted, even Allah on the Day of Judgment would have us answer for our deeds before rendering judgment. Here we have a mere mortal in the person of the Imam of Islam Hadhari passing judgment on fellow citizens without first hearing their side.

Law professor Azmi Sharom said it best. "The arrest of Raja Petra, Kok and Tan shows that the law is so open to abuse that we have no other choice but to get rid of it. …. There can be no room for amendments. The ISA must go." Amen!

God works in mysterious ways, so says our Quran. Nixon had his Watergate; Abdullah too will have his comeuppance. Whenever that comes, I pray that Allah would be merciful. There is no anger in me, only sadness

RPK Jailed. Sigh!

2008-09-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

Sep 23 marks a another sad day for all Malaysians who wants a better Malaysia.

Today, Malaysia Today editor and prominent blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) was sent to the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak in the morning, to begin his two-year detention without trial under the Internal Security Act. He is held under section 8 of Internal Security Act (ISA). Detention can be renewed indefinitely.

RPK's Habeas Corpus hearing was supposed to take place on 23.9.08. However, Syed Hamid Albar, the Home Minister has signed an order that RPK is to be sent to jail in the morning of the 23.9.08, before the court hearing can be commenced.

Can we not consider the above act as an act of evil? Stopping a fair trial from taking place is absolutely plain evil and outrageous.

Can we not consider such malicious act is an act of desperation of the current regime's move to oppress the opposition and to silent the growing voice of the people for justice in this country?

Is this not one of the the ruling party's dirty tactics and propaganda to intimidate the people from making changes, especially those changes that undermine their interests to stay in power and financial gain?

Islam professes about justice and equality but these people who claim themselves as devoted Muslims and who walk the corridor of power are actually acting against the principles of this good faith of Islam!

Initially, RPK was held under section 73(1) of the ISA, by which a court must review the detention on an "objective" basis. Then, the Home Minister turned the whole situation around on the day before RPK's hearing and put RPK under under section 8 of ISA - i.e. detention without trial for 2 years.

By changing RPK's detention under section 73 to section 8, the detaining authority is no longer in a burden to show any proof that RPK is a threat to national security (which the authority fails to produce any concrete evidence so far) and there isn't any more needs (under this draconian law) to establish any objective reasons for RPK detention. Hence, RPK application of Habeas Corpus become irrelevant. Section 8 denies RPK's innocence and killing all possible chances that RPK is to be freed.

Malaysia definitely needs an overhaul! The existing regime needs to be voted out. Malaysia should no longer be a place for these racist, injustice, corrupted and power crazy politicians and their machinery.

Change is needed desparately and inevitable for this country, for the betterment and good faiths of all Malaysians.

Having to say that, undeniably, not all Malaysians embrace changes, particularly the businessmen and citizens of the middle class strata. These people tend to equate changes, particularly changes in the political scene as pure instability and will lead them to a state of lost ---- such short sightedness and selfish thinking! Instead, these people should realise that not all uncertainties brought about by the changes are leading to instability and disadvantages; although there will be inconvenience and pain of moving away from their comfort zone in short term.

In the case of Malaysia, we desperately need changes for a better Malaysia in long term. The current regime is apparent to have rotted to the bone and is beyond salvation.

These businessmen and middle class are certainly urged to get out of their current mind trap and ought to take risks with all other Malaysians who want a better, civilised, cleaner and healthier Malaysia for their children, grand children, grand grand children and many more generations in the future.

Malaysia is for all Malaysians, not just limited to a specific, defined ethnic group with a particular religion and / or of a particular political party.

Malaysia: This Is Only The Beginning

2008-09-18T02:15:00.000-07:00

As usual, Dr Farish Noor's article is mind stimulating. Please visit his website - The Other Malaysia for his full article.

Most of his views and points are worth to be documented by individual and to be revisited from time to time as reminder. Some of these meaningful and thought stimulating points from his recent article are:

The success of reformasi in Indonesia depended upon the quiet dedication of a legion of activist-academics who toiled day and night to dismantle the hegemonic structures of power and knowledge that were developed and consolidated during the three decades of Suharto's rule. This meant that they had to confront not only the hegemony of the old regime, but also replace much of the human and ideological resources that had been put in place.
Malaysia today is at a similar crossroads where Indonesia was a decade ago.
Should such a transition (of power) happens, however, it would only mark the beginning of what must be a long and difficult process of reform and reconstruction.
Five decades of UMNO rule translates into five decades of pro-UMNO propaganda that has been normalised as news in the press, official history in school textbooks, official discourse in the workings of the state. This also means that the entire apparatus of the state – from the police and the armed forces to the bureaucracy, educational institutions, economic sector, etc. - have all been stamped with the lingering imprint of UMNO and UMNO's brand of racialised ethno-nationalist politics.
Taking over the government of Malaysia is just the first step to reforming the country. What many Malaysians do not perhaps realise is how difficult and long the process of reconstruction will take.
Decades of UMNO hegemony has also ensured that a pro-UMNO bias remains in many institutions of the state and to some extent the official ideology of UMNO has been internalised by many members of the bureaucracy. One can anticipate many rounds of furious polemics, protests and counter-protests, and not to mention countless efforts to sabotage the reform process in Malaysia before it even gets off the ground.
Difficult to dismantle the structures of power and knowledge that have grown sedimented for so long, and overturning the dominant culture of racialised politics that has divided Malaysian society thus far.
What is required therefore is a spirit of universal citizenship and a commitment to a non-racialised and non-communitarian Malaysia.
The first and enduring task therefore has to be the inculcation of the value of universal citizenship and civic commitment to Malaysia. Until today Malaysians see themselves as members of the Malay, Chinese or Indian races first, or place their religious identity before citizenship. Yet the creation of a democratic and equal Malaysia relies on that intangible quality known as Malaysian citizenship, a quality that is hard to quantify or define but crucial nonetheless for nation-building.
Are there enough of such Malaysian-minded Malaysians who can build a new non-racialised non-sectarian Malaysia? Time alone will tell, but for now the prospect of an unprecedented change of government is the first of many long and difficult steps that has to be taken in the slow birth of a reformed Malaysia

May Justice and Fairness prevail against evil politicians

2008-09-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

RPK, a man who speaks truth about Islam, advocate fairness and justice across ethnic groups, fights corruption and promoting harmony and peace is currently being arrested by the ruling party under the Malaysia draconian law of ISA since 13 Sep 2008. Similaraly, Terasa Kok, a people' MP who fight for her people's interest is arrested on the same ground.

We pray for your release and may the Mighty protects you good people from harm. As for the evil politicians and their protege, may the Mighty finds you a rightful place when your time is up.

An Interview with TAR about 513

2008-09-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

The following statement is a factual account of the above-mentioned event given to me (the reporter) by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (first Prime Minister of Malaysia) during an interview at his residence in Penang in 1972.

I requested to discuss the above incident and was surprised when the appointment was given within three days.His Secretary, a Chinese gentleman, allotted me one hour and advised me not to go into too much detail as this would tire the Tunku unnecessarily. In fact, the interview lasted three and a half hours. Because of the very surprising details provided to me, I think it would be best to report in a first-hand manner based on my notes written immediately after the interview.

“It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given, knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually he was in my house, as I was preparing to return to Kedah, and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister, in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection.

Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action.

After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru, and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

This was a conspiracy at the highest level and nothing short of a power struggle, with the ‘Young Turks’ then forming the pressure group. To achieve their ends, they very cleverly used race to make the Malays rise and push the Tengku aside.

Today, they are doing it again. This is dangerous politics. It may backfire and, instead, it may make the Malays rise against the non-Malays, like what happened in 1969 -- a fire raging out of control with no fire extinguisher in sight.

We must never allow our country to be turned into a racial battlefield again. Let politics be issues concerning policies, civil rights, good governance and justice. Let us not allow anyone to bring race and religion into our politics lest we suffer the fate of many countries around us where mass murders of entire families are made in the name of ‘bangsa’ and ‘agama’

Remembering Beijing Olympic - Opening Ceremony 8.8.08

2008-08-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of memorable images of the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony on 8.8.08. Let's start by appreciating some fireworks images of the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony

60 seconds and counting down, the Games officially kicked off at the 8th minute, 08/08/08. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening ceremony begun with the Fou drum Performance.

---------------------------------- Notes -----------------------------------

"缶鼓" [Fou drum] was made of ceramic or bronze and it can be traced back to the Xia and Shang dynasties (2070BC-1046BC).

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The Fou drum Percussionists, a total of 2008 of them, hit their illuminating Fou drums while shouting "有朋自远方来不亦乐乎" [Isn't it great to have friends come from afar] at the start of the opening ceremony.

Then came the Footprints of History, fireworks of shape of footprints, marching along the Beijing city's central axis towards the National Stadium (Bird's Net)

There were a total of 29 footprints, symbolising the 28 Olympic games prior to the Beijing Olympics & 29th Olympic games at Beijing.

At the 29th footprint above the National Stadium's sky, 20 Chinese Fairies descended from the "heaven" together with the falling stars (fireworks)

Illuminated Chinese Fairy

The falling stars slowly formed the Olympic rings as fairies hovering above it.

Then, came the amazing moment when the Olympic Rings were lifted up high vertically, changing from 2-D image to become 3-D. That was really unexpected and the lifting scene was really surprising and a dazzling moment to me. It is like Magic!

Each ring holds 45,000 beads of lights, wow!

Next, 56 children in their individual ethnic costume, representing the 56 ethnic groups of modern China, marched the flag of People's Republic of China before handing it to the People Liberation Army soldiers.

"歌唱祖国" [Ode To The Motherland] was performed (lips sync) by 9 years old Lin Mioke (right photo) during the march of flag by the 56 children.

The song was actually sung by by 7 years old Yang Peiyi (Left photo).

Lin Mioke was chosen to performed the song due to her stronger stage presence over Yang Peiyi. Poor Yang Peiyi, she must be hurted to know as she was not chosen to perform on stage due to her look!

China's flag was raised and national anthem was sung.

Next was the art performances, titled "TheBeautiful Olympics", which was consisted of 2 parts - Glorious Civilisation 灿烂文明 & Glorious Age 辉煌时代

The art performnaces revolve around Chinese culture and the great inventions of ancient China, i.e. paper, the compass and printing (woodblock and movable block), as well as silk road (land and sea)

After the screening short film of Paper Making - one of the four great inventions of the Chinese, The Scroll was revealed from the central stage.

---------------------------Notes----------------------------

The first papermaking process was developed in China during the early 2nd century BC. It was used for purpose of wrapping or padding protection for delicate bronze mirrors. Also, use for safety, such as padding poisonous medicine. Paper used for writing became widespread by the 3rd century

Before the invention of paper, documents of ancient China were written on bone or bamboo (on tablets or on bamboo strips sewn and rolled together into scrolls), which were heavy to transport. The light material of silk was sometimes used, but was normally too expensive to consider.

Han Dynasty Chinese court official Cai Lun is widely regarded to have invented the modern method of papermaking (inspired from wasps and bees) from rags and other plant fibers in AD 105, the discovery of specimens bearing written Chinese characters in 2006 at north-east China's Gansu province suggest that paper was in use by the ancient Chinese military more than 100 years before Cai, in 8 BC. Archeologically however, true paper without writing has been excavated in China dating to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han from the 2nd century BC.

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The Scroll and the stage were actually giant LED display. As the Scroll unfurl, pictures of ceramics, proceline & chinese fine arts were beamed. Throughout the evening, both the scrolls and the painting constantly change their images.

Loacted at the central stage was a piece of canvas, measuring 20m X 11m, 20mm thick and weighing 800 kg, where a dozen dancers danced, accompanies by the sound of "古琴" [guqin], a 7 strings ancient chinese musical instrument; and was using their bodies as paintbrushes.

The trails of these dancers left a drawing, reminiscing a Chinese ink painting. The perfromance is one of my most favoraite performances of that evening.

The Beijing Opera Puppet perfromance filled in the time gap while the backstage was busy preparing for the subsequent Movable Type Press performance, another great Chinese Invention.

Honestly, I found the scale was abit too small. In addition, the puppet show should be replaced or accompanied by real Beijing Opera actors.

Skillful Puppet Master dressed in black injecting life and characters to the puppets.

Lang Lang performing

Tai Chi Martial Arts

WELCOME TO BEIJING, EVERYONE!

Melaka Trip Again - Aug 08 (Day 2)

2008-08-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

At the Warong where we had breakfast, there was this Belimbing tree growing beside the table where we sit. Since I have nothing to do while waiting to be served, I took this picture of these Belimbing fruits.

Instead of sightseeing the common tourist spots, we walked along Sungai Melaka (Melaka River) this time.

Walking along the riverbank offered very interesting views about Melaka in a different dimension. The location is away from the fuzz and buzz of tourists and ceratinly gave us a nostalgic feel about Melaka. Also, the air was cooling and breezy after a brief shower, making the walk easy and relaxing.

Water mill - for decoration purpose only.

Can you see the Maritime museum (ship-like structure) at the far end and the new observation tower on the left?

The Heren, a guest house located along the riverbank, and within the vicinity of Jonker street.

This building with Dutch influence is under restoration.

Sungai Melaka

Rather scenic, isn't it?

The river has been cleaned up, riverbanks are paved and there is this boat service to offer tourists a glimpse of Melaka river and and its surroundings.

Nicely paved riverbank

Red painted old shophouses along the Sungai Melaka

Beautiful and sexy Baju Kebaya (Kebaya dress). Its design is so much feminine and cultural compared to the Baju Kurung, which is just straight cut all the way from shoulder downwards

Luxurious dessert - Bird's nest with herbs, only to be served for the rich. For me, I just take photograph and watch them eat! :(

Bird's nest (saliva) with 2 slices of Ginseng

Church of St. Francis Xavier, built in 1849

After the rain, the Birds of Paradise looked refreshing....

and the Jasmine flower seemed glowing with glee.

View of the river behind the ornamental fence built along the river.

No, this ain't food for Male vitality! Just pet for the brave!

I still remember that my grandma used to buy some chicks for rearing, just a few months before Chinese New Year. By the time these chicks have grown up, they will be just in time to be slaughtered and put onto our table as food during Chinese New Year reunion dinner. Nowadays, it is easier and more convenient to buy chicken from supermarket / wet market. Most importantly, we don't have to slaughter the chicken ourselves.

Adorable rabbits.

For longevity, get a tortoise as pet. If you make it into a tortoise soup, some men believe the soup will help make the men's vital organ hard as the tortoise shell, get what I mean?

Cruising along the river

A shabby house around the riverbank

A Surau with its windows wide opened. People definitely felt safer in older days. Nowadays, every house have high walled fence and iron grills on all windows and doors.

Peeping inside the surau via its windows. Do you notice those carpets? Can you picture young students sitting with their legs crossed on the carpets, with their Songkok (hats for the Malays) on, while the ulama (religious teacher) teach these kids about the teaching of Al-Quran?
[Wonder how many ulama teachs true Islamic teachings in surau and mosques these days, instead of teachings infused with racism]

Old houses along the river

A wooden chicken shelter. Obviously, chicken droppings will conveniently drops into the river.

Fortunately, people don't use the water from the river to wash. Otherwise, these clothes will be contaminated with Salmonella (germs) from the chicken droppings. Scary!

The Almighty (from left: Teck, Rick, Edwin, Faisal, Nick, Mark & Ray) looking down at us from the Jabatan Pasar (Market bridge), while Kieren and I were busy taking pictures, inclusing theirs.

literally means "The Market Bridge"

A mosque - Masjid Kampong Hulu

Pillars of these shops were still used as outdoor advertising. The one which is closer is a Chinese liquor shop whereas its neighbour is a Chinese medical hall selling chinese herbs and sundry.

Not many stores specialise in selling school related items like school bags, uniforms and other sundry left like this in town these days.

Wooden blinds were once common sightings in shops to screen out the glaring afternoon sunlight.

A shoplot bazaar selling fresh fruits and vegetables. No more such shop in city anymore.

The few handsome and the gorgeous (Ahem!)

A chinese talisman printing on the wall.

Very traditional looking Chinese shop selling biscuits in Big glass containers (on the right)

Notice how the lions' eyes staring back at you?

The color choice of this temple is very Manga (cartoonish) like!

Sama Sama Guest House. There is a Sleeping Buddha statue with wind chines at the window, so charming.

Entrance of a beautiful Tea House. Steamed Bak Chang (Glutanous rice meat dumplings wrapped in leaves) were available for those who fancy it together with drinking tea.

A bronze bell in the courtyard of the tea house.

Marky was caught touching a historical artifact. Bad boy!

The building beyond the courtyard is a museum but we were not in the mood to visit it. Next time perhaps.

Tea house

Ceiling structure of the tea house

The black wooden divider /blinds at the background is dated back to the Ming dynasty.

Orang Utan House offers very nice Malaysian made T-shirts

A cute, down to earth lounge with a slight colonial feel

Fancy some fridge magnets or colorful slippers as souvenirs? Oh Oh, some Malaysian Chinese have a superstition that couple in love should not buy any slippers for their partners or the relationship will not last long. Hand off from the slippers guys, unless you want to dump someone! Ha ha!

Care for some mouth watering Portugese styled egg tarts? They absolutely looked inviting and yummy!

Cheese tarts. So many flavors to choose from.

Portugese styled egg tarts on upper rack. Conventional Egg tarts and Siu Pao (Baked dumpling on the right) on the lower rack. If I can afford and have the stomach room to fill, i want to buy and eat them all!

Kuih ondeh-ondeh are for those with sweet tooth. They looked so appetising, wrapping in banana leaf! Kuih Ondeh Ondeh is a dessert made of pandan flavored glutanous rice paste, shaped like a ball with coconut sugar filling and coated with fresh shreded coconut. When you bite it, the coconut sugar filling will burst out into your mouth (you can almost hear the sound of "bursting"!) and fill your mouth cavity instantly with the sweetness and flavor of the coconut. :P

A chicken rice ball shop- Restaurant Famosa, where we had our lunch. Food was not so good

that day. Some rice balls taste sourish, reminded me of cold rice fermentation and risk of Bacillus poisoning

Mobile vendor selling steamed peanuts colored with tumeric. RM2 please, uncle! What, price already gone up to RM3? Inflation, Inflation!

Melaka Trip Again - Aug 08 (Day 1)

2008-08-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

After 2 months since my last visit, this is my first visit to Melaka after it is inscribed as World Heritage City on 7.7.08

The gang was discussing itinerary of the day. Everyone has no objection to tend to our stomach's needs first. After all, it was lunch hour.

After our Halal Chicken Rice Ball lunch, Teck suggested us to pay a visit to an orphanage at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Convent Infant Jesus.

The Convent Infant Jesus school now houses the orphans from Timur Leste, who are here in Malaysia for receiving medical treatment..

The used-to-be a Sister quarter of the school is now the safe heaven for these Timur Leste orphans.

Honestly, I don't feel proud of my country these days. However, after knowing from Lala (the "Mom" of the orphanage) about the humanitarian works that The Malaysian Army Force has done for these Timur Leste orphans - who lost their parents in their very eyes during the civil war, i have to salute and feel proud of the Malaysia Army ... at least for the very first time.

Miss Lala, the courageous and passionate "MOM" of these orphans. She is an Indonesian whose family resides in Australia and she runs this orphanage by herself, with the support from the Catholic Church charity, Malaysian government, public and friends.

According to Lala, these children were very sick when they first came to Malaysia. Some come with chronic diseases like CHD (e.g. holes in heart), other were having contagious diseases like Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and these children have to be quarantined before treatment can be offered.

As you can see now, these children looks healthier after receiving treatment, although not fully recovered. Depends on the duration of the medical treatment, these orphans may need to extend their stay here and have to renew their medical visa that cost RM600 per person.

During their stay here in Malaysia, these children are not forfeited from their education. They are getting education from the vocational schools. Due to tight funding, Lala and the kids welcome donation in the form of school books, exercise books, sport shoes and stationery for their schooling needs.

Teck, who has personally donated some money to help one of these Timur Leste orphans for a heart surgery; as well as Edwin have actually brought some books and stationery for these children. The rest of the gang also did our part by pooling our money to get the orphanage a new toaster oven, since the current one they are having has broken down.

Knowing living comes with a price, during free time, these children make some souvenirs for sales to raise fund for their fellow friends and for the orphanage. These items include soaps, storage cases etc.

Little library of the orphanage.

Beside the cupboard were collages of photographs taken back in Timur Leste. These photos are now memories of life and proofs of the humanitarian works contributed by the Malaysian Army Force, as well as all other good people who has helped these orphans, regardless race and religion.

Group photo of the orphans and Lala. Lala's daughter from Australia was in Melaka. She was away to get some movie tickets for these children.

For those who wish to donate money, please see above. As Lala mentioned, given a chance, the orphanage prefer in-kinds, especially those useful for the children's education.

After the soulful visit to the orphanage, it is time to answer to our craving for Cendol. Kieren bought some Hairy Fruits - the Rambutan to complement the sweet coconut milk based desserts.

When night fell, we went for Nyonya food as dinner, before heading to Jonker Street for some street foods. Dim Sum from street vendor, non-Halal though; as these Dim Sums are made of "Lembu berkaki pendek", literally means "Short-legged cow" or Pork in actual. According to Lala, this was how the Malaysian Army described "pig" back in Timur Leste, so funny!

Ray was attracted by the smell of these fried Cempedak and he could not resist the temptation. He took a total of 6 pieces by ignoring the calories he ingested.

FYI, Cempedak fruit

Delicious looking pineapple tarts on the right and middle as Kaya (Malaysian jam made of coconut milk, egg and sugar) pastry on the left.

Close encounter of the pineapple tarts- the "more cruchy" version on the left and "fluffy & buttery"version of these tarts on the right.

Here comes the King of the fruits - DURIAN, The Queen of fruits - Mangosteen as well as Langsat - local fruit!

More Durians... guess those who like durians must be drooling by now.

Mangosteen

Fortunately, none of us bought any Durians back home or Rick's home will stink for days. Ha ha!

Malaysians, it is time to mourn!

2008-07-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

One cannot not to be annoyed or disgusted by the headlines published in the main stream media in Malaysia recently.
It is sad to feel what is left with Malaysia now is a state run by incompetent monkeys who are just desperate holding on to power in whatever costs. These monkeys even proposing a merger with their arched enemy whom they described as evil in the past. All in the name of uniting their own race-religion; leading to further division to the already divided Malaysian society.
There is also this sodomy drama and babe murder saga showing on international screen. These shows unfold the ugliest, most twisted, biased, stinky and utterly shameful state of Malaysia judiciary system for failing in upholding justice. In Malaysia, suspect of sodomy is surely more criminal than those who are being suspected on committing murder.
The police force, an institution which suppose to upholding law righteousness and protecting the general public from crime, seems to have turned mafia. In fact, these mafia like police force are flexing their muscles, ruthlessly creating fear and intimidating the Rakyat as per their masters wish. Not to mention police involvement in crime at both low and high level.
The economy is undoubtedly spiraling downhill. Inflation had soared to historical high of 7.7% over the 27 years. Rampant corruption, unaccountability, inefficiency, lack of transparency and mismanagement of public sectors; rising cost of living potentially brewing social unrest, cronyism in business involving government projects means foreign direct investment (FDI) is becoming a distant past.

This coming 31st of August supposed to be a celebration for the 51 years of the birth of this once proud nation called Malaysia. Instead of celebration, all citizens should mourn the death of democracy, justice, human rights, security, stability, peace, freedom, harmony and prosperity of this nation.
Our founding father, Tunku Abdul Rahman must be weeping in his grave, as his vision and dream has been shattered by his own people that walks in the corridor of power.

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Jed Yoong, Asia Sentinel 30 July 2008

The tangled political web in Malaysia grows messier

Barely two days after a medical report surfaced that appeared to clear opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy allegations made by a former aide, a news Web site aligned with Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi declared that "police have completed their investigations" and will soon charge Anwar over the allegations.

The Malaysian Insider quotes an unnamed source "who is familiar with the investigations" of Anwar saying, "This case is built on strong scientific evidence." The site also quotes sources saying that "investigators… will be relying on Anwar's DNA samples from 1998" to make their case.

There is no independent confirmation of the report on Malaysian Insider, which was started recently by journalists that analysts say are identified with Badawi. That move, which appeared to be an attempt to counter pro-opposition blog sites, came after the April 8 election in which the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since independence.

The drama over the medical report and what may be Anwar's imminent arrest is fueling uncertainty in Malaysia as a combination of political crisis and economic frustration fuel pro-opposition sentiment. With Anwar in the midst of a political comeback, many see the sodomy charges as a desperate attempt by the government to cling to power.

"The whole sodomy episode reeks with injustice and stinks to high heaven," said P Ramakrishnan, the president of the reform organization Aliran, who questioned whether police "were taking instructions from politicians who felt threatened and therefore were bent on destroying Anwar to preserve their power base."

Anwar was arrested on July 15 and kept overnight but no charges were filed over the accusations of sodomy made by former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan two weeks earlier. At the time, Anwar refused to provide a DNA sample, claiming that it could be misused to fake evidence against him. Police told Anwar to report back to them within 30 days.

In 1998, a charge of sodomy was also filed against Anwar after he broke with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who sacked the then-deputy prime minister and finance minister and expelled him from UMNO. Anwar's subsequent sodomy conviction was later overturned after Badawi succeeded Mahathir. Anwar was also jailed on corruption charges brought by Mahathir.

The medical report leaked to journalists this week said that there was no tearing or bleeding in Saiful's rectum. Made by Dr Mohamed Osman Abdul Hamid of Hospital Pusrawi (Islamic Treatment Centre), the medical report has triggered charges that government leaders faked the entire episode to keep Anwar from an expected attempt to take power after an almost-certain win in an upcoming by-election.

To muddy the waters further, on Wednesday morning the hospital denied having made the medical report although the day before, when a hospital official was shown the report by Malaysiakini, the online news site, the official grabbed it and said it belonged to the hospital and refused to return it.

With so many charges and counter charges flying back and forth, the crisis for Malaysia seems set to deepen as UMNO and it allies face the strongest challenge yet to their supremacy.

Looking at a mess involving the most respected professions in the country, Ambiga Sreenavasan, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, said, "The credibility of the Malaysian justice system as a whole is at stake. The integrity of professionals, be they doctors or lawyers, must never be interfered with. The public must be left in no doubt that the criminal justice system in this country will not be misused or abused."

If Anwar wins a seat in the parliament, the opposition alliance would need just 30 seats to gain a simple majority and overturn the Barisan's 50-year reign. Putting Anwar back behind bars may be what the leadership considers its most viable option to remain in power. It is a move that could backfire.

"There will definitely be protests [if Anwar is arrested]," said a seasoned observer of Malaysian politics. "Before the leaked medical report, I would have said it would be peaceful, but after the report was leaked, I would not be surprised if the protesters turn violent."

There have also been widespread reports that Parti Islam se-Malaysia, or PAS, the fundamentalist Islamic party, has been in talks with UMNO to leave the opposition coalition to join the Barisan. Both parties are made up of ethnic Malays who some political observers regard as threatened by the mix of Indian, Chinese and urban Malays in the opposition alliance. Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the PAS spiritual advisor, is said to be strongly opposed to such an alliance, regarding UMNO as irretrievably corrupt and remembering an UMNO betrayal of PAS in the early 1970s. PAS leaders have so far reassured the opposition coalition that it will stay put.

The implications of an Anwar takeover of the government would be alarming for UMNO and other components of the Barisan, the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress. The opposition leader has filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Agency charging police chief Musa Hassan, who was the lead investigating officer, and Abdul Ghani Patail, who was the lead prosecutor, of fabricating evidence against him in 1998. A Royal Commission in March also exposed corrupt judiciary practices, alleging that the system is has been manipulated by politicians, including Mahathir Mohamad.

Other corruption charges also have dogged UMNO politicians and could provide fodder for investigations by a new government. Favorable government contracts are said to have gone to cronies closely aligned with the leadership. Following opposition state victories in Penang, Selangor and other territories, newly installed governments have taken steps to investigate some of the contracts in question.

Then there is the widely publicized deal over three French submarines, in which Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his close friend Abdul Razak Baginda engineered a contract that netted Baginda's company US$111 million in fees. Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have been pursued by allegations that they may be linked to the gruesome murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian woman who was the translator on the deal and allegedly the lover of both men. She was demanding US$500,000 from Baginda when she was killed. Baginda and two of Najib's bodyguards are on trial for her murder.

Influential blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin of Malaysia Today says Badawi is in possession of a military intelligence report that indicate Najib and Rosmah were involved in the murder. Badawi has denied the allegations in local media and said he has full confidence in Najib.

Malaysia & Singapore

2008-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

I totally agree with the author. While both Singapore and Malaysia share 1 common similarity in their political scene, i.e. dominance of a single party; the former focuses on nation development and well beings of its citizens whereas the latter just ignores everything that matters to the country and its people.

If there are good governance and performance based policies in Malaysia in the first place, Malaysia would be prosperous and not in the current state of political & economical disasters.

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At 84, the fire still burns!

By Ahmad Mustapha

Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore's founding father, has always been very direct in his comments. This was the man who outsmarted the communists in Singapore (with the innocent help of Malaya then and the willing help of the British) and who later outwitted the British and outpaced Malaysia in all spheres.

Singapore practices corrupt-free meritocracy and Malaysia affirmative action. The former attracted all the best brains and the latter chased out all the brains. The Singapore cabinet consists of dedicated and intelligent technocrats whereas Malaysia has one of the most unwieldy cabinets.

Not only that, brain-wise it was below par not even good for the kampong. With that kind of composition, one that is very brainy, naturally Singapore, with no natural resources could outstrip Malaysia in every aspect of development. Malaysia, on the other hand, was too much preoccupied with its Malayness and the illusory 'Ketuanan Melayu' and was also more interested in useless mega iconic development rather than real social and economic development.

Whenever Kuan Yew utters anything that deemed to be a slight on Malaysia, voices were raised admonishing him. Malaysia would never dare to face reality. That Singapore had shown that it could survive was a slap on those who believed that Singapore would fold up once it left Malaysia. Therefore it was natural that these doomsayers would try to rationalise their utterances to be in their favour to combat whatever Kuan Yew commented. Its political jealousy. Singapore achieved its development status without any fanfare. But here in Malaysia, a development that was deceptive was proclaimed as having achieved development status. It was trumpeted as an achievement that befits first world status. This was self delusion. Malaysians are led to believe into a make believe world, a dream world.

The leaders who themselves tend to believe in their own fabricated world did not realise the people were not taken in by this kind of illusion. Lee Kuan Yew believed in calling a spade a spade. I was there in Singapore when the People's Action Party won the elections in 1959. He was forthright in his briefing to party members as to what was expected of them and what Singapore would face in the future. Ideologically, I did not agree with him. We in the University of Malaya Socialist Club had a different interpretation of socialist reconstruction. But he was a pragmatist and wanted to bring development and welfare to the Singaporeans. Well! He succeeded.

Malaysia was so much embroiled in racial politics and due to the fear of losing political power, all actions taken by the main party in power was never targeted towards bringing wealth to all. Wealth was distributed to the chosen few only. They were the cronies and the backers of the party leadership to perpetuate their own selfish ends. Seeing the efficiency and the progress achieved by Singapore caused the Malaysian leadership to suffer from an inferiority complex. That Malaysia should suffer from this complex was of its own making. In a recent interview, Kuan Yew said that Malaysia could have done better if only it treated its minority Chinese and Indian population fairly. Instead they were completely marginalised and many of the best brains left the country in droves. He added that Singapore was a standing indictment to what Malaysia could have done differently. He just hit the nail right there on the head.

Malaysia recently celebrated its 50th year of independence with a bagful of uncertainties. The racial divide has become more acute. The number of Malay graduates unemployed is on the increase. And this aspect can be very explosive. But its sad to see that no positive actions have been taken to address these social ills. Various excuses were given by Malaysian leaders why Singapore had far outstripped Malaysia in all aspects of social and economic advancement :- Singapore was small, they rationalised and therefore easy to manage. Singapore was not a state but merely an island. There was one other aspect that Malaysia practises and that is to politicise all aspects of life. All government organs and machinery were 'UMNO-ised'. This was to ensure that the party will remain in power. Thus there was this misconception by the instruments of government as to what national interest is and what UMNO vested interest is.UMNO vested interest only benefited a few and not the whole nation. But due to the UMNO-isation of the various instruments of government, the country under the present administration had equated

UMNO vested interest as being that of national interest. Thus development became an avenue of making money and not for the benefit of the people. The fight against corruption took a back seat. Transparency was put on hold. And the instruments of government took it to be of national interest to cater to the vested interest of UMNO. Enforcement of various enactments and laws was selective. Thus a 'palace' in Kelang, AP cronies and close-one-eye UMNO MPs could exist without proper procedure. Corruption infested all govt departments, the worst is the police and lately even in the judiciary.
Singapore did not politicise its instruments of government. If ever policisation took place, it was guided by national interest. To be efficient and to be the best in the region was of paramount importance. Thus all the elements like corruption, lackadaisical attitude towards work and other black elements, which would retard such an aim, were eliminated. Singapore naturally had placed the right priority in it's pursuit to achieve what is best for its people. This is the major difference between these two independent countries.

Malaysia in its various attempts to cover up its failures embarked on several diversions. It wanted its citizens to be proud that the country had the tallest twin-tower in the world, although the structure was designed and built by foreigners. Its now a white-elephant wasting away in the glow of the sun and the moon. It achieved in sending a man into space at an exorbitant price. For what purpose? These are what the Malays of old would say 'menang sorak' (hollow victories).

It should be realised that administering a country can be likened to managing a corporate entity. If the management is efficient and dedicated and know what they are doing, the company will prosper. The reverse will be if the management is poor and bad the company will go bust. There are five countries around this region. There is Malaysia, and then Indonesia. To the east there is the Philippines and then there is that small enclave called the Sultanate of Brunei. All these four countries have abundance of natural resources but none can lay claim to have used all these resources to benefit the people. Poverty was rampant and independence had not brought in any significant benefits to the people. But tiny Singapore without any resources at all managed to bring development to its citizens. It has one of the best public MRT transport systems and airlines in the world and it is a very clean city state. Their universities, healthcare, ports are among the best in the world. It is impossible to compare what Singapore has achieved to what all these four countries had so far achieved. It was actually poor management and corruption, and nothing more.

Everything is done for the vested interest of the few. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and the Sultanate of Brunei need good management teams. They would not be able to do this on their own steam. I would advise that they call on Kuan Yew to show them what good governance is. Why look East to Japan when the answers are all there just next door across the causeway.