Sunday, May 13, 2018

Waited for the clouds to part, now I see the moon...

守得云开见月明 (shǒu dé yún kāi jiàn yuè míng)


Saturday, June 05, 2010

I will buy Khairy a plane ticket to Gaza today!

Apparently Khairy wants to personally go to Gaza and fight the Israeli Defence Force.

Khairy juga berkata sebagaimana yang dilaporkan oleh Malaysiakini di SINI "Jika tiada perubahan (daripada) demontrasi di Masjid Negara (mahupun) di Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat, kita akan bangun dan terus ke Gaza untuk tewaskan Israel,"
Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, sean-the-man is so damned impressed with your bravery and commitment to the Palestinian cause... that I will personally pay for your plane ticket to Gaza!

Don't you worry about the logistics and what not. All you have to do is SHOW UP AND FIGHT! Not just them fighting words, dude. Actually FIGHT... just like you said. With guns, knives and other fighting shit.

NOW... do you have the balls to back up that big mouth of yours???

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Muslims protest gambling. Non-Muslims protest polygamy.

Shouldn't the abolition of the immoral and family-breaking practice of gambling be matched by the abolition of the equally immoral and home-breaking practice of polygamy?

Malaysia Islamists protest gambling, rapper Pitbull
Written by Razak Ahmad
Friday, 14 May 2010 17:59

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police broke up a protest by Islamists on Friday, May 14 against US rapper Pitbull's concert and the government award of a sports betting licence, underscoring a deepening tide of Islam in the country.

About 300 Malay Muslims representing several groups led by the opposition Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) gathered in the compound of a mosque in the capital's Malay enclave after Friday prayers to denounce gambling and pop concerts.

The government recently approved a sports betting licence to a company set to be majority controlled by property-to-gaming group Berjaya Corp Bhd.

Pitbull is scheduled to perform at a dance music festival in the country on Saturday.

The concert and gambling licence are unrelated, but a PAS official said the protest was part of an ongoing awareness campaign against "immorality" in the country.

"We must act before gambling floods our country," PAS official Kamaruzaman Mohamad told the crowd. "Gambling is a cancer in our society."

Malaysia forbids its majority Muslims from gambling but allows licensed numbers forecast operations and a casino operated by Genting Group.

Condemning the US rapper whose recent hits include "I Know You Want Me," Kamaruzaman said Pitbull was not welcome.

"It's bad enough that he is named after a dog, but if you watch his video clip on Youtube, his performance and lyrics are against Malaysian cultural norms," said Kamaruzaman.

Demonstrators carried placards with the words "Malaysia is not a gambling nation", and chanted, "God is Greatest". Police moved in to disperse the crowd but made no arrests.

The protests highlight the occasional clash between modern and conservative Islam in this mainly Muslim but multi-ethnic Southeast Asian country.

PAS is part of a group led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim which made record gains in the 2008 national elections.

It competes with Prime Minster Najib Razak's Umno for the critical Malay vote. Malays form 55% of the country's 28 million population.

Both parties often tout their Islamic credentials and the deepening conservatism saw ethno-religious tensions rise due to a row over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians to describe God. — Reuters

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Real Bumiputras need help. False ones want special rights & privileges.

Read this. Isn't this what any affirmative action should be targeting? Rather than ensuring rich Malay businessmen get more govt contracts, govt land or making sure millionaire Malays get big discounts when buying bungalows?

How Ketuanan Melayu has dispossessed the Orang Asli
Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:30

By Dr Boo Cheng Hau & Helen Ang

Malaysia is the Asia-Pacific’s “best model” in dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples – or so it is claimed. Last Saturday (incidentally the same day Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the Perkasa inaugural congress), BN MP Makcus Mojigoh said, in his paper presented at a regional conference, that the government is serious about the plight of the Orang Asli.

Really? The Orang Asli don’t think so.

Mojigoh’s comments follow on the heels of the march by more than 2,000 Orang Asli from all over the country earlier on the 17th of this month in Putrajaya. They had gathered to demand recognition of their customary rights to ancestral land – “Tanah kami, maruah kami” was the rallying cry.

The protest is not surprising as the Orang Asli have increasingly been pushed to the margins by Ketuanan Melayu – since the infamous 'Malay Dilemma' of Mahathir and long before that.

Mahathir argued in his 1970 book that the Orang Asli are not the definitive people of the peninsular as they did not form the first effective government, and moreover “at no time did they outnumber the Malays”.

Furthermore, he brushed off the notion that Orang Asli might have prior claims above “the right of the Malays to regard the Malay peninsula as their own country...” and cited his own reading of history to bolster the Malay contention.

Today, learning from school textbooks, pupils would be left with the impression that Malaysian history started from the Malaccan Sultanate, and that before the conversion to Islam of the prince Parameswara, the country was some kind of no-man’s land.

The Malay Dilemma also contended that “in fact, there are no more than a few thousand aborigines”. Contrary to Mahathir’s assertion rubbishing their numbers, in 1969 there were 52,943 Orang Asli.

Orang Asli are not a single ethnic group but collectively composed of 18 (official) tribes. The biggest grouping is classed Senoi, who are the Semai, Temiar, Jah Hut, Che Wong, Mah Meri and Semoq Beri tribes, while two other groupings are Negrito and proto-Malay. All are indigenous people.

Similar to apartheid

According to historians, Orang Asli had been victims of the slave trade by the Malays and Bataks. Despite official denials of slavery, Orang Asli oral literature has indeed recorded slave raids. The English colonial official JWW Birch had documented their enslavement since as early as 1874.


...one fact remains the same for all Orang Asli: they are the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula.

Totalling some 147,500 persons in 2003, Orang Asli comprise about 0.6 percent of the population, and are disenfranchised on many counts.

Commenting on the demonstration in Putrajaya, Suhakam vice-chairman Simon Sipaun said: “It is expected that the Orang Asli community would protest as they have been marginalised in a system similar to apartheid”.

Previously in South Africa, the white Afrikaner nationalists used an ideology almost identical to that propounded by Mahathir to justify their own indigenous status above the black Khoisan, whom according to the white supremacists, had never established a ‘civilised government’.

If one were to look at Article 153 of our federal constitution, it says that the ‘special position’ is extended only to Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Omitting mention of the Orang Asli in the said article excludes them from the guarantee of quotas.

[But] ‘We are not Malays, we will always be Orang Asli’ – declare the placards hoisted in Putrajaya on March 17. How then?

‘Refugees’ in own country

Not too long ago on Feb 24, a group of Orang Asli held a demonstration outside the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) hospital in Gombak. Speaking to reporters, their spokesman Sokyen Man said the hospital is dominated by non-Orang Asli who are incapable of fulfilling the needs of the community.

The group submitted a petition against the hospital which said, among other things: “A lot of us have faced medical staff who are uncomfortable with the Orang Asli. Sometimes, they pass comments on our features and skin colour.” This particular complaint infers that they are considered an ‘out group’ or ‘inferior group’ (implied by the derogatory connotations of ‘sakai’) by the mainstream.

The term ‘Orang Asli’ was first used by the post-Independence federal government and means ‘the original people’. Colin Nicholas of the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) notes, “one fact remains the same for all Orang Asli: they are the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula.”

It is they whose fate could well be equated with that of aborigines in Australia, Maoris in New Zealand and Native Americans in the United States. This is a more compelling comparison than Utusan Malaysia’s constant, tiresome refrain that Malays are like Palestinians in their own homeland.

It is the Orang Asli who are akin to displaced refugees!

Most destitute group

Going by any socio-economic indicator, the Orang Asli are the worst off among all the local ethnic groups. About half live below the poverty line – according to the government’s most recent statistics. Relative to the other races, their children are malnourished and have high infant mortality rate; and Orang Asli have a lower life expectancy.

A bitter irony is that the authorities insist on perpetuating the myth that Orang Asli are ‘nomadic’. According to Robert Dentan, most of the Orang Asli have in fact settled in stable lifestyles although a small number remain semi-nomadic.

There are about 870 Orang Asli settlements (as at December 2003) mainly in Pahang, Perak and Kelantan. More than 500 of these villages are considered to be located in the fringe and 323 in the interior. About 400 villages are categorized as ‘backward’.

If at all Orang Asli can be regarded as nomadic foragers roaming in the forest or “tanah rayau” – a dismissive phraseology adopted by the government – it is this very government that is forcing them to move from place to place.

The Temuans in Sepang and Bangi had their land taken from them to build KLIA and UKM respectively. In Stulang Laut in Johor, the Orang Seletar were relocated to make way for a commercial and customs complex.

The “regroupment” – an euphemistic official doublespeak – of Orang Asli settlements has resulted in even their resettlements again giving way to logging, mining concessions, highway projects, industrial parks and golf courses.

National Land Act

The federal government expects to table amendments to the National Land Act in Parliament by June. It is learned that the new legislation will give the Orang Asli only 50,000 hectares of the 128,000-ha land they live on, which ultimately amounts to “a policy of planned poverty”.

The Bar Council has recommended the following legal measures on the Orang Asli land issues to empower the community:

1. the issuance of individual land titles to every indigenous family;
2. the gazetting of communal land parcels by the state governments under Section 62 of the National Land Code 1965;
3. the gazetting of communal land parcels under the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 with perpetual and unlimited foraging rights extending beyond the gazetted communal land parcels; and
4. in exceptional cases of certain semi-nomadic indigenous communities, who are the most vulnerable of indigenous peoples, perpetual and unlimited foraging rights (with concomitant and greater opportunities for education and vocational training towards sustaining their livelihood).

The authorities tend to take a narrow reading of the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 (revised 1974) and regard the Orang Asli’s rights to their land as being one of ‘tenant-at-will’. And that their right to remain in a particular area is at the pleasure of the state authority which can, if it so wishes, remove the Orang Asli from their lands without having to pay compensation for it.

The courts, especially in the Sagong Tasi case, have however deemed such thinking as archaic and unconstitutional. The Orang Asli do exercise native title rights over their traditional lands under common law. But it appears the government is not about to accept this legal precedent.

Writing in Aliran, Yogeswaran Subramaniam observes, “If past records are anything to go by, the states’ performance for gazetting Orang Asli reserves has been nothing short of dismal”.

Changing the face of Orang Asli

The policy that the government is now putting on the table does not recognise customary lands but instead proposes to change the face of Orang Asli land into plantations.

Orang Asli who accept the government’s deal offering 50,000 ha (amounting to just over one hectare per household and with no forests) will not be able to bring any claims later to the courts for customary lands or loss of such lands.

The Aliran article calculated that even assuming Orang Asli want to operate oil palm smallholdings at one hectare, each household will only be able to produce around 15 tonnes annually.

The cash crop sold at RM500 a tonne would bring net earnings of RM5,000 a year, or average income of just over RM400 a month – a poverty level income!

The Orang Asli are a vulnerable minority who have been physically removed from their traditional source of livelihood in the forests. Government coercion has additionally caused the erosion of their traditions, customs and values – and its attendant side-effect of mental stress.

They did not venture to the swanky Putrajaya for “school-holiday sightseeing” as gibed by the condescending Rural Development Minister Shafie Apdal. The Orang Asli descended on the administrative capital because the community has reached a crisis level.

Related stories:

Orang Asli in protest march over land rights

1Malaysia - politics first, people later

Dr Boo Cheng Hau is the Johor DAP chairman and the state assemblyman for Skudai while Helen Ang is an online media columnist. This article first appeared at the Centre For Policy Initiatives' website.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Non-malays don't join army because they are undisciplined cowards.

Why non-Malays don't join the army:

- they don't like discipline
- they don't like the potential need to sacrifice their lives.

Really???

And here I was... thinking it was due to rampant discrimination. Apparently, it's because they're undisciplined cowards.

Here's a thought... let the non-Malays hold the guns for a change. I reckon they'll show you just who the cowards are.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

JAIS on Valentine's Day. More sexual abuse & necromancy?

Based on the other stuff JAIS is known for, no good can come from their "prowling" on Valentine's Day.

- sexual abuse (videotaping naked girls during raids)
- necromancy (snatching dead bodies away from grieving families)

A word of advice if any non-Muslims are harassed by them.

1. They have NO AUTHORITY OVER NON-MUSLIMS.
2. So, if they accost you in any way, you can treat them as robbers or attackers. You can punch them, kick them, stab them, or if you have a gun, shoot them in self defence. A hotel fork in the eye of one of those turbaned idiots would garner you a personal note of appreciation from me.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

ASB vs ASW2020. 28% difference!

I always wondered exactly how much more dividend ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputra) pays compared to the other PNB (Permodalan Nasional) funds that are open to non-bumis. As far as I can tell, the best performing fund that's not exclusive to the bumis is ASW2020.

It seems that ASB has returned an average of 9.55% over the last 10 years (1999-2009), while ASW2020 has returned an average of 7.48%.

The average difference of 2.07% is significant. It is 28% more. PNB has always said that the difference in performance is due to the difference in portfolio composition (types and mix of assets) and risk-return balance between the 2 funds. However since both funds are capital guaranteed, then I have to ask... how come PNB doesn't invest ASW2020 into the same portfolio composition as ASB to extract the same returns?

And how exactly does PNB guarantee the capital for both funds when their risk-return profiles are different? This means if ASB can be capital guaranteed with 9.55% return, why can't ASW2020? Why would ASW2020's portfolio, which is similarly capital guaranteed - only manage to return 7.48%? Why the disparity?

The real question in my mind is whether there is any cross-fund subsidisation of returns and/or capital guarantee from ASW2020 to ASB?

There are 2 other things that make ASB inequitably unfair compared to ASW2020.

1. ASW2020 caps the initial "fresh funds" investment of each individual at RM20,000 to 50,000. It has changed with every new issue over the years. ASB's cap is RM200,000 per individual.

If you look at it from a per capita citizen/investor point of view, an ASB investor would have earned an average 9.55% annually on RM200,000 in ASB. He would have pocketed RM19,100 per year or a total of RM191,000 over 10 years. With an initial investment of RM200,000, he has virtually doubled his money!

A non-bumi investor in ASW2020 would have earned an average of 7.48% annually on RM50,000 (lets say that's the cap). He would have earned RM3,740 per year or a total of RM37,400 over 10 years. Assuming he was allowed to invest RM200,000, his dividends would be RM14,960 per year or a total of RM149,600 over 10 years.

That is a difference of RM41,400... where has it gone?

In addition, the dividends can be left in the funds, to be reinvested. And they typically are. This differential will therefore be compounded exponentially year after year as the fund balance grows... ie. any cross-subsidisation gets larger and larger. So, while I have (for simplicity's sake on a hot Sunday afternoon) assumed a constant RM50,000 (for ASW2020) and RM200,000 (for ASB), the account balances involved are actually much, much larger due to the compounding effect of dividends reinvested in the funds.

2. Malaysian banks are compelled to offer financing or loans to people investing in ASB. Bumis can borrow up to their individual investment limit (ie. RM200,000) with nothing more their eventual ASB certificate as collateral.

RHB is offering ASB financing at a price of BLR-1.35%. In 2009, RHB's BLR was 5.55%. That simply means that in 2009, ASB investors were borrowing money with no personal undertaking required, at a cost of 4.25% in order to earn a dividend return of 8.55%.

Think about it. Supernormal returns above any other funds that PNB manages, without having to come up with any capital or take any risk due to available bank financing. That's a sweet, sweet deal for ASB investors.

In other words, money is simply being handed to them on a silver platter! Money that is being sucked out of PNB's non-ASB funds (like ASW2020, ASM, AS1Malaysia) and other bank borrowers.

Sources:
ASB dividend history: My Malaysia Stockfolio
ASW2020 dividend history: nutri for my soul
ASB financing info: RHB Bank
2009 BLR info: Meshio.com

Saturday, January 23, 2010

You don't know who your father is?!

This is a hilarious one. And here I was.., thinking that only the bastard children of prostitutes and sperm donors wouldn't know who their father was. Oh shoot... did I just imply that a whole bunch of people who have father issues are the bastard offspring of whores and test tubes?

AYAH CONTROVERSY: "Tell Your Children NOT to Call You AYAH"
Friday, January 22, 2010

The following story is being circulated in the Malaysian blogosphere and email network.

A man came home from work and his children ran to him and called out ‘AYAH! AYAH!’.

His neighbor got very upset and said to him, “Can you please tell YOUR children NOT to call YOU ‘AYAH'?”

The man asked, “Why?”

The neighbor retorted, “Because MY children call ME ’AYAH’ too. They might get confused and mistake YOU for their father.”

Then the man told his neighbour, "Are you not ashamed to say that your children do not know who is their ‘AYAH'. So you are saying by using the word ‘AYAH’, your children will call me "AYAH" too without knowing who is their father."

The neighbour said, "YES, ONLY I should use the word ‘AYAH".

The man said, "Then there is something wrong in what you are teaching your children. They are NOT sure and do NOT know who is their ‘AYAH’!"

Posted by Malaysian Unplug

Johor sultan dies. Got nothing to say about it.

My elders taught me that if I have nothing good to say about someone who has departed, don't say anything at all.

.
..
...
....
.....

End of blogpost.

Sultan of Johor dies

JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail, passed away at the Puteri Specialist Hospital here at 7.08pm on Friday. He was 77 years old.

He will be buried at the Royal Mausoluem at 2pm on Saturday. Members of the public can pay their respects at the Istana Besar from 9am 10.30am, while dignitaries can do so from 11am to noon.

He was admitted earlier Friday due to an unspecified illness.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Dear Malaysia... it's time for sayang sayang

These are unprecedented times of communal strife n Malaysia. Yet hope and promise, in their myriad disguises, never stop trying to manifest themselves in our daily lives. There will be no heavy commentary today, no "in your face" racial rebuttal or religious rejoinder.

I'm just going to share one of my favourite songs ever. Every time I listen to it, I really feel it somehow describes us... what we are, our difficult journey, that hope beckons and what we must do as a nation. It seems to understand that the fates and fortunes of all Malaysians are joined, that we either swim together or we shall sink together. That the only way to succeed is with one hand firmly in the other.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Malaysians, now more than ever... it's time for a little lovin'... it's time for sayang sayang.



There seems so many things that lie before us
There's just so many things we want to do
But let's just stop and pause
For just a moment 'cos
We should do something special, me and you

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
Caring for one another, family and friends

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
As we go walking together, hand in hand

The time that we all love is here to treasure
A very special time of the year
These days are sure to find
These days are yours and mine
We'll share them with the ones we hold so dear

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
Caring for one another, family and friends

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
As we go walking together, hand in hand
As we go walking together, hand in hand...

Title: It's Time for Sayang Sayang.
Music: John Lee
Lyrics: Alvin Oon, John Lee & Tan Kheng Hua
Performed by: John Lee & Tan Kheng Hua