Islamic one way tickets for children must not be sold to one parent only!

How can this be fair?

And like I mentioned many times before, I simply cannot comprehend why the Malaysian Islamic authorities repeatedly allow themselves to be manipulated like a rag doll by mischievous converts. Is it really just a numbers game to them, where the more converts the better? An objective to be achieved even to the exclusion of justice and the reputation of the religion?

Under Islamic law, a non-Muslim parent has no rights over a Muslim child
Monday, 31 December 2007

MCA and Ong Should Demand That Cabinet Makes A Decision Preventing Any Conversion Of A Child To Islam Unless Consent Is Obtained From Both Parents

The Subashini decision is more pernicious in that it allows a Muslim parent who has just converted to convert his or her children without the consent of the other non-Muslim parent. This is a great step backward that not only denies the right of freedom of religion but also the constitutional and biological right of a parent over their children. This is a great step backward that will only encourage a divorcing couple fighting over custodial rights of their children to convert to Islam to gain an advantage in securing custodial rights over the other parent. Despite such negation of the rights of non-Muslim parents, DAP is shocked that MCA has openly endorsed supported and welcomed the Federal Court ruling.

What is the point of civil court having jurisdiction to hear and decide on matrimonial disputes involving a spouse who has converted to Islam when it will take no action to prevent that converted spouse to also convert their children. Ong Ka Ting should read the judgement in full and realize that the impact of allowing such unilateral conversion by any parent regardless of objections from the other parent. The other non-Muslim parent will not be able to re-convert the child out of Islam. The child will also be deprived of its right to convert out of Islam at the age of 18.

By changing a child's religion without the consent of both parents will cause much heartbreak. Worse is that Subashini’s case has effectively lost custodial rights of both hers sons (where one is converted whereas the other remains unconverted with the mother) if the father proceeds with the conversion. Under Islamic law, a non-Muslim parent has no rights over a Muslim child.

DAP unreservedly condemns such support by Ong and MCA in denying the biological right of Subashini as a mother. All non-Muslims should open their eyes and realize that in support of UMNO’s Islamic state, Ong and MCA are willing to sacrifice the parental rights of non-Muslims just to preserve their government positions. Ong should retract his support and demand in Cabinet decision barring any conversion of a child to Islam unless consent is obtained from both parents.

LIM GUAN ENG

End of the road to space for Msia's Astrocannot?

Does this mean the end of Malaysia's Angkasawan or Astrocannot program?

One parent can convert a child to Islam but nobody can convert him back

Highlights the basic injustice arising from the Federal Court's judgement on Thursday.

PRESS RELEASE
27th December 2007

ONE PARENT CAN CONVERT A CHILD CREATES FEAR AMONGST NON-MUSLIMS

The Federal Court’s decision in the Subashini case that a non-Muslim who converts to Islam after contracting a Non-Muslim civil marriage ought to fulfill his obligations under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 is a welcome relief to non-Muslims.

However, the Federal Court’s opinion that either parent can convert a child into another religion does not take into account the special laws which will be applicable to the child when the child is converted to Islam. The other non-Muslim parent will not be able to re-convert the child out of Islam.

This is a gross injustice to the other parent.

The child will also be deprived of its right to convert out of Islam at the age of 18 under Syariah Laws in Malaysia without facing various sanctions and possible prison sentence.

A child’s religion should not be changed without the consent of both parents.

Until the child attains 18 years of age the child ought to be brought up by each parent according to the tenets of that parent’s religion while the child is under that parent’s care and control taking into consideration the delicate nature of contradicting the tenet’s of each other’s religions. There is much in common between all religions. The child should be exposed to and taught the good values acceptable to both religions without offending any sensitive feelings of either parent. This can easily be done without converting the child before the child attains the age of 18.

Converting a young child without the consent of both parents will cause much heartbreak. This conflict ought to be avoided in all the circumstances of this day and age.

Thank you,

Datuk A.Vaithilingam
President
MCCBCHST

Anwar Shame Shame

Some light reading on Anwar's recent expeditions.

Will Federal Court chicken out and doom non-Muslims in Msia?

Update: Judgement's out. It's apparently neither here nor there. I haven't really had the chance to dissect what the panel of 3 judges decided. Besides, the written judgement's not out yet. But it was a split decision. Anyway, watch out for a scathing blog post from sean-the-man in the near future. Meanwhile, satisfy yourself with this report from The Sun: Civil or Syariah, still unclear.

Original Post: The Federal Court will rule on Subashini's appeal to stop her Muslim-convert husband from seeking a divorce judgement from the Syariah court and to stop him from unilaterally converting their son to Islam.

But in actual fact, the decision will have tremendous consequences on the very fabric of Malaysian society.

Firstly, the Federal Court will also be deciding if it wants to remain the highest court of law in the country or abdicate to the Syariah Court.

Secondly, it will be deciding whether it wants to set a precedent that Muslim converts can set aside prior civil law contracts and arrangements (ie. entered into before they converted) simply because they are thereafter Muslim, especially when doing so spits in the face of natural justice, human decency and legal principle.

Thirdly, it will be deciding whether the Federal Constitution is still the highest law of the land, or if Article 11 and Article 12 of that constitution has been abolished by proxy.

Article 11
(1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion
(2) No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.

Article 12
(3) No person shall be required to receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own
(4) For the purposes of Clause (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian

And since Malaysians mudah lupa (forget easily), here are some quick recaps:

• Malaysia's highest court to rule on powers of Islamic courts over non-Muslims - MalaysiaToday


• Thursday date for Subashini decision - Malaysiakini

In addition, here are some links to sean-the-man's views to this issue.

• http://sean-the-man.blogspot.com/search?q=subashini


• Religious Learnings for make better Glorious Nation of Malaysia


• How religious conversions should be


• The Scope of Syariah on Non-Muslims?


• JAIS, Body Snatching, Conversion, Apostates and the Courts

Cina dan India not interested in civil service, or civil service not interested in them?

There is an article in Berita Harian which quotes the PSD (Public Services Dept) chief as saying that non-Malays are not interested in working the civil service, and THAT's the reason why their numbers are so very low.

He based this reasoning on the fact that non-Malays comprise less than 5% of total applicants for positions in the civil service last year.

Well... that's quite convenient. Low number of applicants = low interest = low participation in the public sector. But that's not quite the whole story, is it? What are the real reasons for the low interest, in the first place?

If you do not address the root cause, then what you've just said is as useless as saying that hungry people are hungry because they don't eat. And they don't eat because they are not putting any food in their mouth. Yes, yes... all very logical and causal but it still doesn't tell us why these people are starving themselves.

So, what is causing the low interest in the civil service amongst non-Malays? Is it because they don't want to be in the civil service, or is it because they realise the civil service does not want them in it?

Is it low interest or high disenchantment? Here's Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored wading in with both fists swinging into this topic. And make sure you read the enlightening academic paper by Lim Hong Hai from USM's School of Social Sciences, which was referenced.

And coming from a family where both parents were civil servants from the 60s to the 90s, and having studied in a former-missionary school (ie. one of the SRJK/SMJK) for 11 years (ie. seeing the non-Malay teacher population go from 50% to 5% during that time, besides witnessing the career progression/stagnation of my teachers) - I agree with Malaysians Unplugged whole-heartedly.

But then again, since all bloggers are incapable to telling the truth as defined by Pak 'Tell me me the Truth' Lah, somebody like Merdekareview or Malaysiakini should conduct a comprehensive survey amongst non-Malay Malaysians and submit the results publicly to the PSD.

KURANG MINAT ANTARA FAKTOR WUJUD PERBEZAAN

Statistik tunjuk kaum Cina dan India kurang gemar sertai sektor awam Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Kurang minat berkhidmat dengan kerajaan dan tidak banyak permohonan daripada kaum Cina dan India adalah antara faktor utama wujud jurang besar antara dua golongan itu dengan pegawai Melayu dalam sektor perkhidmatan awam di Malaysia.

Statistik Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam (SPA) menunjukkan hanya 1.78 peratus kaum Cina dan 2.5 peratus kaum India daripada 486,802 individu yang memohon untuk menyertai sektor awam tahun lalu.

Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA), Tan Sri Ismail Adam, berkata situasi itu sukar diubah walau pun pihaknya dan SPA, yang bertanggungjawab dalam urusan pengambilan kakitangan awam, sentiasa berusaha mengurangkan jurang perbezaan antara kaum dalam senarai penjawat awam di semua peringkat.

Beliau menegaskan, kerajaan tidak pernah mengamalkan sikap pilih kasih atau diskriminasi dalam pengambilan kakitangan baru termasuk peringkat Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD).

'Aspek utama yang diberi perhatian dalam pengambilan penjawat awam adalah merit atau kelayakan akademik, bukan kaum... SPA sentiasa mengutamakan kelayakan pemohon untuk memastikan sistem penyampaiannya bermutu dan sekali gus dapat membantu rakyat yang berurusan dengan kerajaan,' katanya kepada akhbar Berita Harian Malaysia (BHM) kelmarin.

Isu berkaitan jurang antara kaum di Malaysia ditimbulkan Barisan Bertindak Hak-Hak Hindu (Hindraf) yang mengadakan demonstrasi jalanan pada 25 November lalu atas alasan ingin memperjuangkan hak kaum India di negara itu. -- BHM.

UMNO buat macam beruk di jalanraya, Polis kata jangan...

A very amusing cut & splice video of Pak Lah and KJ's speeches on RTM1 and Malaysiakini TV respectively. So funny it's definitely worth a view on Xmas morning.

Xmas 500th Post! - What happens when a dog bites its master?

Would ya believe it? This is already the 500th blog post and it coincides with Christmas eve.

Anyway, Gerakan had every opportunity to give all decent Malaysians a real Xmas gift, but they showed that they are right up there with MCA and MIC in terms of being UMNO's butt kissing bitch.

With a twitch of his rusted keris, a mere UMNO youth leader can command the President of Gerakan (no less) to throw his party stalwart to the wolves. (For background, read Malaysiakini and Lim Kit Siang).

That really underlines the fact that we cannot, CANNOT depend on the other BN component parties to be a credible and effective counter-balance to an increasingly 'lebih' UMNO. A dog cannot expected to bite its master and get away with it, no?

Anyway... don't let their cowardice dampen your holiday mood. Merry Xmas, folks.

Free Online Games - Urban Sniper 2

Here's my net discovery for the week. There are lots of free games available online which one can while away one's time on. You can even attach it to your website like I have below (with Urban Sniper 2).

Have a go. I spent a couple of hours today imagining that I was picking off UMNO, MCA, MIC and other BN leaders... one by one.

Just realised from the comment below that loading the frame for the sniper game might be a bit slow for some. So here's a link to their site instead: Freeonlinegames.com

I was getting sick of the persistent music anyway.

Non-Chinese not allowed to use the words 'Tapau, Kowtim, Yumcha' etc

With immediate effect, sean-the-man decrees that all non-Chinese are to cease and desist from using the following words:

TAPAU
KOWTIM
YUMCHA
SAP SAP SUI
KONGSI
TIU NA SING/MA

These are Chinese words, you see.

It’s from the Chinese (language). WE CANNOT let OTHER races use it because it will confuse people.

We CANNOT allow the use of these words by non-Chinese.., nobody except Chinese.

These words are used by the Malays and Indians. It’s NOT right.

These words can only be used in the context of the Chinese race and NOT any OTHER race.

Why am I taking such a line? Because that's perfectly acceptable, according to Malaysian Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum who recently applied exactly the same 'logic' to the word 'ALLAH'.

"..ONLY Muslims can use ‘Allah’.

It’s a Muslim word, you see.

It’s from (the Arabic (language). WE CANNOT let OTHER religions use it because it will confuse people.

We CANNOT allow this use of ‘Allah’ in non-Muslim publications, nobody except Muslims.

The word ‘Allah’ is published by the Catholics. It’s NOT right."

The word ‘Allah’ can only be used in the context of Islam and NOT any OTHER religion."

- Malaysian Unplugged Uncensored and for context, Malaysiakini

Here's a couple of questions for Johari 'The Ayatollah' Baharum. They clearly demonstrate the futility of mere humans in purporting to speak on God/Allah's behalf, for their own petty, worldly purposes.

1. Who died and made him the Grand Caliph and Living Prophet of Islam? Who is he, to decide what belongs to Islam and what does not? Who is he to tell people of other religions what words they can and cannot use in their religious texts?

2. What about Arabs who are Muslims and Arabs who are not Muslims? Does he speak for them concerning the use of Arabic words?

3. Does his religious decree apply to Muslims and non-Muslims outside Malaysia?

If anyone was trying to confuse people, it's Johari 'The Second Coming' Baharum. But if you ask me, I reckon the explanation for the deputy minister's statement is simple.

In his eagerness to justify his Internal Security Ministry's intention to ban any non-Islam religious publications in Bahasa Malaysia, he neglected to ensure that his excuse, in the process, does not require him to ascend the throne of Grand All-Powerful Imam and Global Mufti for all schools of Islam.

And by the way, Johari 'The Voice of God' Baharum is only the deputy minister. His boss and minister is no other than Abdullah 'I am the PM of all Malaysians' Badawi. So, is this religious intolerance Islam Hadhari talking?

And one more thing. From now on, no Brits, Yankees and other non-Cantonese speakers of the English language may use the words DELAY NO MORE.

800 marshals wanted for 2008 Singapore F1 GP

Interested? Here's an opportunity to be one of 800 marshals for the 2008 Singapore F1 GP night race. Unlike Malaysia's F1 race, there are no racial considerations or eligibility based on personal connections (ie. to Petronas, Proton or the retards in the local racing fraternity). Even foreigners are welcome if they are willing to spend the time in Singapore being trained.

Losing the moral high ground and the right to be taken seriously

"The truth is, the Muslim world is selective in condemning violence, reserving criticism for the West. But this hypocrisy is apparent to the rest of the world.

Such double standards rob us of the moral high ground. By applying one code to judge fellow Muslims and a different one to the West, we have lost the right to be taken seriously in the counsels of the world."

Starting a rumour by telling people not to spread the rumour

Look at some of the news in the press today.

Don’t spread rumours via SMS, warns IGP - The Star

PM: Talk of clashes just rumours - The Star

ISA May Be Slapped On Rumour Mongers, Warns IGP - Bernama

Disregard Rumours Of Racial Clashes - Abdullah - Bernama

I did not receive one SMS or email about this subject. None of my friends, relatives, colleagues, classmates and other sundry acquaintances received any SMS or email about this. And I'll be willing to bet my red panties that neither have you and everyone you know. If per chance, you happened to actually received this SMS, I'll bet whatever is under those red panties that it came from someone who read in the national press about the PM and IGP telling people not to spread rumours.

And isn't it funny that the alternative press, like Malaysiakini and Malaysia-Today have nary a word about such a grave rumour, except for reproducing press reports of the PM and IGP telling the whole world about these 'rumours'? Don't you find it odd that the only people who claim that such a rumour exists, are the ones telling everyone else not to spread it?

So, you know what I reckon? I think that by making a big deal in the press that everyone should not spread or listen to these rumours (when no one seems to even know that a rumour exists), these irresponsible individuals are actually trying to START and SPREAD the rumour.

Why? Might they be trying to 'remind' the silent majority about May 13, 1969 and that a similar incident will be wrought upon the citizenry if some party's right to rule continues to be questioned?

Might they be trying, again, to lay the groundwork for more ISA arrests?

And what do you reckon the following article is about?

LTTE, Ruthless Militants Of Sri Lanka - Bernama

Perhaps trying to subconsciously reinforce the spectre of Hindraf being linked to the LTTE? Not withstanding the fact that there is no evidence of such a link besides an undisclosed police report that was allegedly made by an undisclosed person?

Silent majority?... Fucking ask me first lah.

Apparently you and I, and all our relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates - plus all the relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates of all our relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates - had a meeting with Pak Lah recently and told him that we didn't want street demonstrations.

All the measures taken against illegal demonstrations are in line with what the people want, the prime minister said.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this message was conveyed to him by representatives from 365 non-governmental organisations.

"The silent majority has spoken, this is what the NGOs told me. The rakyat do not like demonstrations. Peace is what the rakyat values."

Street protests, Abdullah said, disrupted economic activity. - NST and similarly, on Malaysiakini

Well, was that really the message we converyed? Indeed, did we say anything at all?

The concept of silent majority is mercurial. It's a fact that our physical human limitations (there is a limit to how much information we can handle at one time) and technological limitations (we don't have a tool where everyone can express themselves simultaneously and everyone can comprehend everything expressed by everyone else) dictate that only a minority can logically speak and be heard at any one time by the rest. Therefore, the rest automatically become the 'silent' majority.

Therefore, when the PM heard and acted on the 'demands' of the silent majority, there are only 2 possibilities.

1. The PM held a national referendum last week, but you and I obviously missed the memo or something.

2. Those who spoke to the PM are not the silent majority. By virtue that they made themselves heard and the fact that you and I didn't know they had spoken our behalf and on behalf of all our relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates - they can be no other than the 'vocal' minority.

So, PM, the next time you do something asked by the silent majority, you'd better fucking ask me first. Delay No More!

Sporean newpaper sympathises with Pak Lah. Delay No More.

The front page plus 2 whole pages inside Singapore's Weekend Today tells about how Pak Lah was "forced" to use the ISA and portrays him as merely an innocent victim of a rising tide of circumstances. RUBBISH!

Today talks about how Pak Lah's hand was forced by Hindraf's continued campaign against the marginalisation of Indians. How Hindraf's actions could spark racial riots. Fine, Hindraf was inflammatory. Then, how about the senders and spreaders of the SMSes urging Malays to turn violent against the Indians? How about the folks who wantonly bring up May 13 and the morally bankrupt concepts of "ketuanan" (lordship) or "hak istimewa" (special rights) as justifications of 'rightful violence' against non-Malays? AS IF there was such a thing as violence that was 'rightful'. Should they not be detained under ISA as well?!

Today Newspaper.., Delay No More!

Damn, the spin has crossed the causeway. For new with less embellishment, read Malaysiakini. If you're too cheap for paysites... like me, Malaysia-Today.

Lancer Evolution X (Singaporean review)

It is S$138,000 (equivalent to RM317,000) in Singapore. That's about 15K more than the Subaru WRX STi S204.

But then, Subaru farked up real bad with the aesthetics of the new WRX.

The 5-speed manual was reviewed. The 6-speed DSG will only reach Singapore next year. But next year's only 2 weeks away.

UMNO, BN et al, DELAY NO MORE!

I'm absolutely disgusted at the arrests, detentions and wholesale disregard for the basic rights of a democratic people.., in the name of "peace and stability" (which is in reality, peace and stability for UMNO rather than for the country).

I'm taking a cue from a HK fashion brand, well known for speaking its mind. So, to all concerned...

DELAY NO MORE!

Tip: Say it in Cantonese.

Proton still bullshitting Msia. RM3.5M profit from selling land & creative accounting

Read the last paragraph from this article attributed to Dow Jones...

Proton posted a RM46.8 million loss for the quarter ended June 30, it's fifth consecutive one in the red. It reported a net profit of RM3.5 million for the next quarter, but the profit came from the sale of land and a writeback of provisions for previous year's development costs.

Aha... so that's where the puny profit came from.

Joint Opposition Press Conference - not covered by local press

Yet another proof that the local press are docile bitches of the ruling party. Look at the microphones on the table. Not a single one from the local press nor broadcast media.

So, I'll post it... cos you'll never get to read it back home.

M'sian police behaving like cowardly bullies, beating up a restrained Tian Chua.

A policeman lands a punch on Tian Chua as he is being arrested. With motherless goat fucking retards like this in the force, the police have no one but themselves to blame for the public hating their guts and cursing them as crooks and hoodlums.



More:

Video of Police Arrests during 21 Jan 2007 Anti Toll Hike Demonstration in Cheras

Klang Municipality officers "ARRESTING!" a parking offender

Lawyers not above the law. (But) If the law is an ass, mules must be calling the shots

I'm not sure if just a Freudian slip on the part of Sun2Surf, but the 2 headlines... seemingly unrelated but coincidentally set side by side on its site's front page...

Lawyers not above the law. (But) If the law is an ass, mules must be calling the shots.

How accurate can it get?

Without even trying, Sun2Surf has inadvertantly (or maybe not?) produced the most scathing of editorial comments on the govt's dismal handling of the current political and social turmoil.

Funny how website layouts can sometimes turn out. Have a look at this one at NST a while back.

Dear PM, Toyo and Tamby threaten country's security. Arrest them now!

People are being arrested for being concerned about the well-being of the nation and the welfare of their countrymen.

Has the straw finally broken the sleepy camel's back?

Is this the dawn of a police state in Malaysia? Will the Special Branch be renamed the Naz(r)i SS?

Our dear PM says (Sun2Surf and Malaysiakini):

"If the choice is between public safety and public freedoms, I do not hesitate to say here that public safety will always win. I will not sacrifice my sense of accountability to the greater public, especially in the face of police intelligence about planned fighting or other violent intent."

It is grimly ironic that the only violence so far has been perpetrated by the police against the people.

It is even more ironic that the only people who have voiced intentions to be violent have been leaders of the PM's own party, UMNO.

"The Malays have never taken to the streets so do not force us to do so as we will draw our parang (machete) to defend the Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) in this country." - Rahim Tamby Chik, Melaka ex-MB (Malaysiakini)

"Hindraf should not provoke the Malays in Kg Baru, which was where many Malays struggled for the country’s independence and where they protected themselves during the May 13 incident in 1969." - Khir Toyo, Selangor MB (Malaysia-Today)

If there is any justice in Malaysia, it's UMNO leaders like these who should be arrested, placed under ISA, charged with sedition and have their citizenships revoked. But alas, there is none.

Hindraf and the rest of M'sia - falling into UMNO trap

There is much action on the Hindraf front.

1. They are being depicted as being 'willing to resort to violence'.

There have been numerous comments on the internet about Hindraf leader, P Uthayakumar's interview with The New Paper, Singapore's version of Malaysian gossip-monger Harian Metro.

The main focus of the commentators (and there are 180 comments on Rocky's Bru alone... mostly deploring Hindraf's "violent intentions")... has been this 'headline blurb' on the front page of New Paper's print edition: "I can't rule out violence."

But here's the link to the ENTIRE article in New Paper. Read it! I found that while most people have quoted the following from the article:

Their public protest was inspired by events in Myanmar in September. Mr Uthayakumar said: "Some of the monks were prepared to die for their cause. I've shown slides of monks getting shot and killed during my road shows and I think it struck a chord with the people."

But is he inspiring his followers to turn to violence? He said: "I think it's quite unlikely we'll head down the path towards a civil war BUT THERE'S ALWAYS THAT POSSIBILITY. Some of the uneducated may resort to VIOLENCE."

What most people failed to read was the part after that, where Uthayakumar says:

"But we can't fight the government because we're outnumbered and they've the army and the police. We'll be the biggest losers."

"While I'm prepared to fight for my cause, I do not advocate war or violence. I just want a peaceful resolution."

And he is mentally prepared to go to jail for this.

Let me be the devil's advocate. Perhaps when Uthayakumar says he can't rule out violence, or that they may resort to it... might not the fact that he used the example of the Myanmarese monks shed some light on his meaning?

The monks in Myanmar assembled publicly in great numbers to array their unarmed bodies against the heavily armed security forces in a display of peaceful protest. They stood firm when the security forces turned murderously violent, returning gunfire and baton charges with flesh and bone, torn and broken in the name of righteousness.

So might Uthayakumar mean that they (Hindraf) will face up to any violence inflicted on them, rather than them inflicting violence upon others?

Did we not see exactly this notion of fighting violence with peace in the Hindraf rally of 25 Nov 2007?

2. Hindraf 31 charged with attempted murder on police personnel.

This, to me, is comical... bordering on the ridiculous.

Look at our learned Attorney General's rationale for the charge:

"They threw bricks at his head. Do you think it will not cause death?"

Human rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz says that if throwing a brick indiscriminately at a group of police officers constitutes an attempt to murder, then wouldn't lobbing tear gas canisters, spraying chemically laced water under high pressure and the beating of unarmed civilians be similarly classified as attempted murder as well?

Rocky's Bru goes one better to highlight the fact that a rapist who...

According to facts, the victim was walking along a pedestrian lane in the college when the teenage security guard threw a rock at her from behind, causing her to fall to the ground.

He then dragged her into a nearby storeroom, undressed her and began to molest her. When she screamed, he repeatedly hit her on the head with the rock.

He tried to rape her, but when he failed to do so, he rolled his clothes to form a rope and tried to strangle her. - NST

... is only charged with attempted rape, molest and causing hurt. But 31 people who threw one lousy brick into a brigade of fully armed, body-armoured and kevlar helmeted riot policemen are charged with attempted murder??!!

This is obviously an intentional miscarriage of justice and an improper use of the AG's powers to prosecute - in order to further some political aims.

3. Hindraf is linked to terrorists.

This is another good one. Where is the evidence?

Lim Kit Siang in his blog, says that the IGP and AG are basing their charges on nothing more than a police report made by 'somebody'.

Yesterday, Gani said his linking Hindraf to the LTTE in his argument at the Shah Alam Sessions Court on Wednesday was based on a police report.

He said: “Somebody lodged a police report that there is ground that these people have been going out to (establish) contact with this LTTE.’

The NST similarly says:

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said police had started their investigation following a report lodged by a member of the public.

As we've already seen numerous times, police reports are very powerful. An unsubstantiated and unsolicited police report is as good as an indictment and guilty verdict by the court of the govt controlled mass media and prompts the entire country's security apparatus into frantic action - IF - that report was made by someone who HAPPENS to have the same interests as the current ruling party.

On the other hand, what about police reports made against the govt, dominant party politicians and rich well connected people? Nothing is ever heard of from the police after these reports are made, and the public never has any idea if the reports were actually investigated or were instead used to line the cages of the K9 unit.

WHY THIS, and WHY NOW?

Anyway, why is the govt making such a big deal about Hindraf now?

Malaysiakini has a couple of articles (here and here) that say that the govt is laying the groundwork on which the ISA (Internal Security Act) will be used to detain anti-govt and reformist folks indefinitely without trial. That is entirely possible. It's called conditioning the people in advance of taking actions to violate their rights. Just like what the Bush Administration did before slapping Americans with the Homeland Security Act.

But RPK of Malaysia-Today has another tack on this. He reckons it's part of a larger concerted UMNO effort (along with the recent spate of govt-initiated racial and religious conflicts... Malacca pig farming, Hindu temple demolitions, Chinese Goddess of the Sea statue in Kudat, proposal by Chief Justice to replace Common Law with Syariah Law, even the extremely unwise Hindraf memorandum which according to RPK was not even written by the Hindraf Committee). For instance why did the UMNO MPs out of nowhere, suddenly bring up the demand for crosses and statues of Jesus and Mary at former missionary schools to be destroyed because Malaysia is supposedly an Islamic country? It's a concerted effort to stir up tensions between Malays and non-Malays so that the Malays will once again unite under the UMNO banner against the non-Malays in the next general election.

I suggest you read what Malaysia-Today has to say. It's interesting... and if it's true, god help us.

Stop BN from changing the constitution like dirty underwear

Yes, Malaysia is a democracy but it is a fatally flawed democracy. Why? Because the election process is transparent, free and fair.

According to RPK of Malaysia-Today, the Malaysian election process is only transparent because the election commission is going to introduce transparent ballot boxes; it is only free because voters do not have to pay to vote (and in fact may get paid instead if they vote for a certain party); and it is only fair if you have failed either primary school math or basic ethics and therefore believe that 60% of the votes should rightly translate into 92% of the seats in parliament.

Here's what Malaysia-Today has posted:

And Malaysian elections are also fair. Barisan Nasional can garner 45% of the votes and still form the government. It can garner 55% of the votes and still rule with a two-thirds majority. It can garner 60% of the votes and still obtain 92% of the seats in Parliament. And this is what happened since 1969 until 2004. It can garner 70% of the votes and deny the opposition any seats in the spirit of pembangkang sifar or zero opposition. And this is what the ruling party hopes will happen come the next general election -- and they are working towards that even as you read this.

And this is fair because this is a Malay country so we must make sure the Malays continue to retain political domination while the Chinese can retain economic domination and the Indians can retain… hmm… we have a problem with the Indians.

What many Malaysians do not realise is that ‘Malay’ seats come as low as 5,000 voters while ‘non-Malay’ seats are as high as 100,000 voters or more. This means even if 100,000 non-Malays vote for the opposition it will still be only one seat for the opposition while the same 100,000 ruling party voters will allow the ruling party four or five seats. That is why the ruling party needs only 45% of the votes to stay in power and 55% of the votes to rule with a two-thirds majority. This is called gerrymandering.

According to Law Professor Azmi Sharom, as quoted by The Star and reproduced in Malaysia-Today:

Furthermore, I can’t see the logic of having some large parliamentary seats with many voters and some tiny ones with very few.

The division of constituencies is such that in the last general election, on average the ruling party needed 16,000 votes to get a seat while the opposition parties needed 180,000 votes for each of their seats.

And it's true, you know. That's why the constituency of Putrajaya with it's 5,000 exclusively Malay civil servants and Bukit Bintang with it's 100,000+ predominantly urban Chinese middle class voters both send one MP each to parliament. There are many, many other examples like this, for eg. the entire city of Ipoh is only represented by merely 2 MPs while countless other 'districts' made up of a few sparsely populated kampungs get to send one MP each.

Graham Brown, a Researcher at Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE), University of Oxford, in his paper "Playing the (non)ethnic card: The electoral system and ethnic voting patterns in Malaysia" (download a pdf of his paper here) comes to the conclusion that the Malaysian elections are overwhelmingly biased and fundamentally unfair. The following is the executive summary of his paper:

This paper examines the ethnic determinants of constituency delineations and voting patterns in West Malaysia over the past five general elections, paying particular attention to the ramifications of the 2002 redelineation exercise. I show that the 2002 redelineation exercise reduced markedly the ethnic bias of the electoral system yet increased the overall imbalance in constituency size. I then argue that the old electoral logic of small Malay-dominated rural constituencies, which tended to vote strongly for the Alliance/BN government (incumbent since Independence), and large Chinese-dominated urban constituencies, which tended to vote more for the opposition, has become increasingly irrelevant due to Malay urbanisation and shifting ethnic voting patterns. The paper thus concludes that the 2002 exercise represented the ‘correction’ of an increasing imbalance between the patterns of the government’s electoral support and constituency delineations. Ethnic bias in the electoral system was substantially replaced by a direct political bias in favour of the BN government.

OK. All done and said, why is this important now?

Because (i) we all know the govt is going call an election soon, (ii) experts expect BN to suffer poll losses (Malaysiakini), AND (iii) the current Chairman of the Election Commission is due to retire on 31 Dec 2007! (ie. much too soon).

So what, you ask?

Well... the Chairman of the Election Commission has to be appointed by the Agung. And though the Agung has to take the PM's recommendation into consideration, at the end of the day, he is free to appoint whomever he thinks has the confidence of Malaysian citizens.

Add to that that on 20 Nov 2007, Minister in the PM’s Dept Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz tabled for first reading the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2007 seeking to extend the retirement age of members of Election Commission (EC) from 65 to 66.

Go on... put 1 and 1 together. This is most certainly a reckless and blatant attempt to amend the constitution so as to retain the current Chairman until after the next general election (due to his awesome gerrymandering skills, no doubt) and guarantee the 'most favourable' election victory for BN (ie. UMNO).

And on a more holistic level, isn't our nation's constitution sacred? How can we allow it to be amended wantonly and indiscriminately at the short term, transient, immoral and unethical whims of the ruling BN?

You, Malaysians, must stand up for your country... for it is painfully obvious that the BN govt is hell bent on turning whatever little is left of our 50 year old democracy into an outright dictatorship!

More on this on Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored.

sean-the-man is the saviour of all residential schools, MARA colleges, matriculation institutes and religious schools

Someone with the email ID "Rojak Rojak" sent me an email about an article in today's The Star spinning a story about how the PM is supposedly the "saviour" of the Chinese schools. Not sure why the fella signed off the email as 'Cendol' though. Anyway, here's what he said:

Hi Sean,

I read 'PM - "saviour" of Chinese schools' in Star today (1 Dec), and I really cannot tahan already.

I am disappointed our MCA reps and LEADERS continue to be happy with the little sweets/treat given by Pak La-la Land. After 50 years of independence they still are happy with the small insignificant steps made at improving the education system.

??Saviour of Chinese School (there were quotation marks around "saviour"?? in the article)?? I am a lay person who is not savvy in political issues and I am very frustrated with the government reaction to the people cry for help and on going feedback. However, the following are my observation and expectation for someone is really a sincere saviour.

- we have fewer Chinese High Schools than Chiness Primary Schools. The education of "traditional values such as Taoism, Confucianism and the concept of being hardworking" (abovementioned Star article) need to be strengthen continue in High Schools.
- why is the Chinese Private High Schools are still not recognised?
- is the allocation of funds to Chinese Schools (Primary and Secondary) balance and fair with other schools?
- what is the great stories about school relocation? I hardly see any new additional Chinese Schools being built, but I do see increasing demand for Chinese schools education (Malays and Indians are coming to Chinese Schools)

I am not an eloquent person. I am so sick of our kiss ass Chinese political reps, wonder why they never be ashamed of not able to make us proud. We need new Chinese rep with calibre and courage BADLY. I am ok if you post any of my babbling on your blog.

Chendol

And I have to agree.

MCA likes fighting to keep the vernacular school system. But they have done absolutely nothing about making sure the govt spends the tax money collected from Chinese Malaysian taxpayers on Chinese schools.

If simply helping out one lousy outback Chinese school makes him the saviour of Chinese schools, then sean-the-man (like many other Malaysians like him) must be the son of god himself to all the residential schools, MARA colleges, Matriculation institutes and religious schools - because his taxes each year fully fund these schools even if he and his children after him will never be able set foot in them!

Don't name your teddy bear Muhammad

Whatever you do, don't name your teddy bear Muhammad in Sudan...

Sudanese protesters call for British teacher's execution
The Associated Press
Published: November 30, 2007

KHARTOUM, Sudan: Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, protested Friday outside the presidential palace in Khartoum, demanding the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pick-up trucks with loudspeakers blared messages against Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation.

They massed in central Martyrs Square, outside the palace, for about an hour, while hundreds of riot police deployed nearby to keep control, though they did not attempt to disrupt the rally. "Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted.

They burned pictures of Gibbons and called for her execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

During Friday sermons, the Muslim cleric at Khartoum's main Martyrs Mosque denounced Gibbons, saying she intentionally insulted Islam but he did not call for protests.

"Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan. But we welcome imprisonment and expulsion," the cleric, Abdul-Jalil Nazeer al-Karouri, a well-known hard-liner, told worshippers.

"This is an arrogant woman who came to our country, cashing her salary in dollars, teaching our children hatred of our Prophet Muhammad," he said.

I've only got a few things to say... damn it's 11pm on a Friday night and I'm still at work... so, it'll be brief.

1. Why the hell would a white, Christian woman want to be in a god forsaken place that despises women, like Sudan in the first place?

So, even if she didn't name the teddy Muhammad, she's a dumb git to even go there. It's almost as dumb as a big group of Korean female Christian evangelists going to Afghanistan.

2. How come these people are so fanatically angry at a harmless teddy bear being named Muhammad, but they do absolutely nothing about thieves, robbers, murderers, rapists and corrupt politicians named Muhammad? Aren't human filth who call themselves Muhammad infinitely and exponentially more insulting to Islam than a stuffed bear?

How come they don't send any hit squads to Malaysia and help us get rid of some corrupt politicians also named Muhammad? How come they don't go after the parents of these bastards... who had the balls to name their children Muhammad but not the quality & upbringing to raise them to be honest & decent human beings?

You know what, we've even got a particularly crooked one who has 2 (TWO) Muhammads in his name. Doubly insulting and much more deserving of a Sudanese firing squad than that ignorant white woman... don't you think?

On sean-the-man and Pak La-La-Land.

As you've probably noticed, there's a distinct slowdown in the number of posts I'm making to the blog.

It's unfortunate, but unavoidable. In the interests of putting food on the table and retiring early, I've recently accepted a new job with my current employer, but there's a condition that I need to continue doing my current job until they find a replacement. Add on top of that, the fact that one of my team is on maternity leave... means that sean-the-man is doing 3 jobs at one time plus saddling a steep learning curve for the new one... yippeee-kaiea... sucks to be me.

Therefore, it's going to be one helluva Xmas and New Year, work-wise. I hope to be back to normal blogging speed by CNY 2008.

Meanwhile here are some comments on current events:

- Hindraf rally... right on! My brothers from other mothers. Everybody's giving you shit about that badly written memorandum, but we all know what's really going on. The rally and memorandum was to increase awareness of the blatant structured racial discrimination and religious prejudice in Malaysia. The demands in the memorandum were just... well, sensationalisation. Not a serious improvement plan.

Besides why should UMNO complain? My hero, KJ, said that it's NEVER WRONG to fight for your race, what.

- Use of ISA on rallies... the govt can do it. And they will. But all Malaysians and the world will know that they are merely using it to silence opposition to their bad policies and keep their wrongdoings buried. You have the moral highground.., use it.

- Pak Lah thanks Malaysians for supporting him... hmmm... talk about wanting to be told the 'truth'. It's confirmed... His new nickname is Pak La-La-Land... cos that's where his official residence is if he thinks that Malaysians are supporting his govt.

Why the Everest is not as tall as the English Channel is wide

This is a delightful interview on Malaysiakini where the interviewee debunks the superficial "achievements" of Malaysia Boleh, or in his eyes, Melayu Boleh. Furthermore, he gives examples and questions why the achievements of non-Malays were never put on the same pedestal as those of the Malays, even when the former's achievements were no less significant to the nation. A good read indeed.

I'm sure this will get comments that it is anti-Malay or anti-Bumi. But read it again. And then read it once more. Kee is not being anti-Malay. He is simply questioning why the UMNO-led Malaysian govt is being anti-non-Malays.

Thanks to Ipoh Timur Opposition Member of Parliament Lim Kit Siang for reproducing this interview on his blog. Btw, YB, how come the street lights in Ipoh Gdn where my parent's house is, don't work 6 days in a week? I know you're busy in KL, keeping BN in check and all the other important stuff... but don't make the residents of Ipoh Timur proud of you on a national level but damn-kow sick of you at a local, day to day - I can't walk out of my house at night because it's so fcuking dark that I'll get mugged and thrown into a ditch - level.

>>>>>>>>>>

Kee to deciphering Umno semiotics
Helen Ang Nov 15, 07 12:51pm

Kee Thuan Chye is an author, actor-director and dramatist. He has written four major political plays: ‘1984 Here and Now’, ‘The Big Purge’ [read at the Soho Theatre in London, 2005], ‘We Could ****You Mr Birch’ and ‘The Swordfish, Then the Concubine’ [adjudged one of the top 5 entries to the International Playwriting Festival 2006 organised by the Warehouse Theatre in the UK.

He’s also a journalist of 30 years’ standing, beginning his career at The National Echo in 1977. Q & A follows: (The views expressed here are strictly the interviewee’s own and do not reflect the stand of any organisation that he is with)

Helen: You’re someone who works intimately with language and having broad experience of the mass media – which in Malaysia is the channel for communicating the dominant narrative. As such, I’d like to get your reading on the ideas behind some of the things said and done at the recently concluded Umno general assembly.

Let’s start with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi saying: “The act of unsheathing and kissing a keris is part of our cultural heritage but its meaning has been twisted to spread fear among non-Malays, and the image of Umno and Malaysia has been smeared overseas.”

The PM was referring to Youth chief Hishamuddin Hussein who at the wing’s assembly in 2005 started his so-called ‘tradition’ of brandishing the keris. He has since said he expects non-Malays to eventually become “de-sensitised” to his waving this ‘symbol’, and in fact pronounced that naysayers should get used to it.

Deputy PM Najib Abdul Razak believes the act should be celebrated by all races. What do you make of the semiotics of the Umno keris? Is it a “symbol of protection for everyone” as Hisham and the local media would have us think?

Kee: I certainly don’t think it is a symbol of protection for everyone. This kind of talk is typical of Umno politicians who often twist semantics for the purpose of fooling the people. Well, it can fool those who are easily swayed by superficialities but not the intelligent public. Many Umno politicians appear to be pretty superficial themselves and therefore tend to misperceive that the thinking of the rakyat is mainly of the lowest common denominator.

The keris is a striking visual image. When it was first brandished in 2005, it naturally sent fear waves among the non-Malays. The body language of the person wielding it and the words uttered in accompaniment and, more significantly, the tone in which they were uttered combined to even more dramatic effect.

In 2006, the second time it made its appearance, the event looked choreographed – with Hishammuddin raising the unsheathed keris heavenwards and his Umno Youth brethren raising their fists in unison alongside him, in rows of solidarity. It was fearsome, like a military phalanx. All the signs pointed to aggression.

Hishammuddin was theatricalising a moment, and it was theatre with a powerful message – all the more effectively communicated because it was televised ‘live’ and it went out to millions of viewers.

And when you unsheathe a keris and hold it in that way, you’re bound to incite certain sentiments among your followers and to provoke them to ask when you are going to use it, as Hashim Suboh did. This inevitably recalls the moment of a day 20 years ago when Najib reportedly wielded a keris and vowed that there would be Chinese blood on its blade by the end of that day.

In Hishammuddin’s theatrics, the context was clear. It was an Umno Youth assembly, which is a strictly Malay gathering. The aggressive stance, the iconic Malay keris and the invocation to uphold the Malay struggle – all these pointed to an ethnocentric concern.

Other races were certainly not being defended; on the contrary, they were implied to be the enemy.

With weapon in hand, Hishammuddin was unequivocal in his assertion that Umno Youth wanted the return of policies favouring the Malays and would take action against those who opposed the movement’s proposal to revive the NEP. He later said that the keris represented Umno Youth’s “renewed spirit in empowering the Malays”.

So now for Hishammuddin to say that he would use the keris again in 2007 as a protector of all Malaysians – not just Malays – is disingenuous. Any intelligent Malaysian can see through the doublespeak.

What is even worse – and insulting – is what he said about “desensitizing” non-Malays to the issue of the keris. Only a person with a supercilious attitude would behave that way. What he implies by that statement is that non-Malays must accept what he does, no matter how revulsed they are by it. It’s like slapping someone in the face and then slapping him again and again, and telling him that he has to tolerate it each time until he gets used to it. What arrogance!

The arrogance surely stems from the idea of ketuanan Melayu that has been the focus of Umno’s propagation the last few decades. One could read into that “protection” doublespeak an implicit statement of Malay supremacy lording over the other races. This is the same kind of arrogance exhibited by Puteri Umno in its recent criticism of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). A mere wing of Umno had the gumption to tell a partner of the Barisan Nasional to “stop making noise”.

This is the same kind of arrogance exhibited by Hishammuddin when he issued a warning to the MCA leadership last July to stop saying that Malaysia is a secular state. The leader of a Youth wing had the gumption to tell a senior partner of Umno’s in the BN to shut up. On an issue of national significance, to boot.

In supporting Hishammuddin’s keris antics, Abdullah reveals himself to be contrary to what the mainstream media have hailed him as – “a Prime Minister of all Malaysians”.

It undoes what he had been trying to do throughout this year’s Umno general assembly, which was to be conciliatory towards the other races by not bringing up issues that would be sensitive and threatening to them, particularly religion. No doubt Abdullah knows he cannot afford to alienate the non-Malay voters in light of the upcoming general election. He could have reminded the Umno delegates about this on the eve of the assembly when he briefed them on what issues to avoid. He could also have advised Hishammuddin to take that soft approach with the keris this time.

It was all rather predictable. Umno is inadvertently transparent that way!

In any case, how could Abdullah be considered a PM of all Malaysians when he was the one who stopped any further discussion of Article 11 of the Constitution; did little to clear the air about whether Malaysia is not a secular state; did nothing to quash a proposal by none other than the Chief Justice (then) to replace common law with Syariah law; rejected a proposal to set up an inter-faith council; told ministers within his own Cabinet to withdraw their memo to him calling for a review of laws that affect the rights of non-Muslims? One could go on.

Helen: Well, to go on to next in the hierarchy, Najib’s address this year was themed ‘Reaching for the Stars – Elevating a National Civilisation’, doubtless to ride on the “Malaysians walking a few inches taller” hype generated by the first Malay to go into space. I note a resolute semantics when one man’s ‘space tourist’ is another man’s ‘angkasawan’, while a cynic’s ‘joyride’ is the administration’s ambitious ‘space programme’.

The use of ‘angkasawan’ is blatantly deliberate; I find the English papers parroting this Malay word too. I’d read earlier that Nasa does not see Dr Sheikh Mustaphar Sheikh Abdul Shukor as an “astronaut” but rather a “space participant”. Is the ‘angksawan’ another case of Boleh creative accounting (adding and subtracting)?

Kee: Given the political reality we are in, a reality that has evolved under a campaign of institutionalised racial discrimination over the last 30-plus years, very few Malaysians would have expected the candidate for space to be other than a Malay. The non-Malay contenders were, to put it brutally, merely tokens. The final selection came as no surprise then.

The more cynical among us would also have deduced that it was all part of the Malay agenda of creating “towering Malays”. And there was not only one candidate, there were two. The second is now a spaceman-in-waiting, and to all intents and purposes, he will get his day in the stratosphere, because he will add to the list of “towering Malays”.

(I like the use of the term “spaceman” to describe each of our two aspiring angkasawan; as my dear friend Azmi Sharom pointed out astutely in his column for The Star recently, Sheikh Muszaphar is a man and he was in space.) More important, however, are the questions on a lot of people’s minds: What did our spaceman really achieve? And what has our nation achieved? Did we build our own rocket? Did we find a new way of going to space?

Helen: I would say we found a new ‘leng chai’ poster boy to set women’s heart aflutter … but in any case, to look back, there was the less than enthusiastic reception of the Everest conquerors that were Indian. Whereas a Malay man swimming the English Channel was rewarded with a Datukship – a feat that even a 12-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy (Thomas Gregory / 11 hr 54 min in 1988) accomplished minus the sort of state support and sponsorship given our Malaysian ‘hero’ Abdul Malek Mydin (17 hr 40+ min).

Kee: Non-Malays who have accomplished greater feats tend not to be lionised as much. As you rightly pointed out, the Indians who scaled Mount Everest got short shrift. This also happens in the field of sports.

The Sidek brothers were elevated to legendary status for their success in badminton, totally overshadowing the non-Malay greats who had led the way long before them (Wong Peng Soon, Ong Poh Lim, Ooi Teik Hock, Eddy Choong, Tan Aik Huang, Tan Yee Khan, Ng Boon Bee, etc).

When Mohd Hafiz Hashim won the All-England singles title in 2003, he was rewarded with a car, land, money and a hero’s welcome home. When Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong won the All-England doubles title last March, they were rewarded with only a fraction of what Hafiz got. Not that such rewards are necessarily good. Sadly, Hafiz hasn’t outdone himself since 2003.

Helen: Lack of a maintenance culture.

Kee: I have a theory that our performance in sports started to decline with the inception of the NEP. Before that, we had great athletes like Jegathesan, Rajamani, Ishtiaq Mobarak and Nashatar Singh, and our football team was as good as South Korea’s. But from the ’70s onwards, things took a turn for the worse. I put it down to the decline in national morale. And of course also to the team selection criteria.

Helen: Where does it all lead?

Kee: It all leads to further superficiality. That’s what our leaders are good at – creating the myth of Bolehness by resorting to the accomplishment of superficial ‘feats’. These would include having the tallest flagpole in the world, at one time the tallest building in the world, the paean to Bumiputeraism called Putrajaya (which now appears to be a white elephant), etc, etc. Is there a biggest ketupat in the world too?

Helen: Most certainly, but could have been eaten by now.

Kee: But what it amounts to realistically is spending millions and billions of ringgit, which you and I contribute to whether we like it or not. To the movers of the cause, it doesn’t matter what the cost is as long as it serves the Bumiputera-building exercise. I think that’s unfair. Non-Bumis also deserve an even chance. We contribute too. I was disgusted when I visited Putrajaya at night a few weeks ago – all that money spent on maintaining it, all that energy to light up the streets and the buildings, and all for what?

Helen: To blink at spacemen in Russian stations? But do go on…

Kee: I’ll tell you what disgusted me even more recently. When I visited the Independence Memorial in Malacca last May and looked at the exhibits (pictures, write-ups, etc), I found almost everything centred on the efforts of the Malays. The contributions of non-Malay nationalists were blatantly neglected or marginalised. A handful of Chinese and Indian leaders got mentioned in passing, but that was about all.

Unless I missed it, I didn’t even see a single portrait of Tun Tan Cheng Lock in there. And he was the leader of the MCA at the time. Not only that – his record shows that he was a true nationalist who was president of the All Malaya Joint Council for Action (AMCJA) which, together with Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (Putera), rallied for Merdeka long before Umno got wise to the idea.

I don’t buy that ‘National Civilisation’ hogwash. “National” is just another abused word for “Bumiputera”. But many non-Malays have been conditioned into believing the Umno propaganda, first from having their mindset programmed in school, then from being exposed to the spin-doctoring of the mass media daily and the grand-scale theatrical extravaganzas staged by the BN government occasionally.

When the general election comes around, they will probably vote like they have been doing over the decades.

And sean-the-man, has an example too. Our very own (former) WRC (World Rally Championship) Group N Champion Karamjit Singh. He's a bonafide, true blue world rally champion, winning the world Grp N title once and the Asia Pacific title numerous times. No shortcuts, no punches pulled, not quarter given.

He is by a country mile, the most successful racing driver ever produced by Malaysia - but he's never gotten even a mere fraction of the huge official sponsorhips that never-win-anythings like Tengku Djan, Fairuz Fauzy etc have. He practically has to fight each and every season to keep his drive alive. But despite being largely ignored by the country's sports establishment, he wins championships nevertheless, and never fails to bear the Malaysian flag when he does.

And is he a datuk? Far from it. If a round-the-world sailor who didn't actually finish sailing round the world and an English Channel swimmer who swims slower than pre-pubescent little boys and girls get datukships, I don't see why Karam shouldn't.

Michelin Active Wheel

This is actually one of the better ideas to come out of the automotive green movement.

Think about it.

Drive motors/dynamos in each wheel means that the car is immediately 4WD where the power delivery and braking is individually adjustable, and there is virtually NO transmission loss. If you know anything about current 4WDs systems, the more control you have over power delivery - the more complicated and inefficient the mechanicals and power transmission becomes.

Anyway, the larger picture of green cars is that to date, there is still NO electric car that is NOT fossil fuel dependent to a large extent. Either from an onboard conventional engine (hybrid) or having to recharge its batteries by plugging into the power grid, which is powered by... guess what - coal or fuel oil power stations. Some countries have nuclear power, but me... I prefer a little carbon monoxide compared to radiation poisoning.

WTF is the Social Contract?

Ooi Kee Beng comes up with a commentary of Malaysia's current socio-political situation. He adds nothing new to the argument, and provides no new insight into a possible solution. But the reason why I'm posting this article is because Ooi says here that the social contract is that "Non-Malays were granted citizenship rights on the condition that they recognised the special position of the Malays."

The criteria for the success of this “social contract” — still proclaimed over 50 years later by the ruling coalition as the basis for political stability — are economic growth and inter-ethnic peace. Non-Malays were granted citizenship rights on the condition that they recognised the special position of the Malays due them for being badly handicapped by the colonial economy.

Refer to attached screenshot of his article.

But in his book, A Reluctant Politician, he quotes Tun Dr Ismail as having said that it was "imperative that if the Chinese were to be persuaded into accepting Malay as the national language, they should be granted citizenship as a quid pro quo. This was the real basis of the agreement between the three partners, particularly between the Malay and the Chinese."

Refer to The Real 'Social Contract'

But regardless of whichever version he thinks is the true 'social contract' - at least his article got one thing correct. The definition of this "special position of the Malays" must be clarified and debated openly. The public must know conclusively if 'special' in this context means 'allowing the rich to plunder in the name of the poor' OR 'helping the poor gain equal opportunity and uplift themselves'.

It is plain to all that the 2007 UMNO version of the 'social contract' refers to the former, whereas the 1957 Alliance version refers to the latter.

Santa's HO, HO, HO means Whore, Whore, Whore

Santa fury at 'ho, ho, ho'
By Janet Fife-Yeomans and Amanda Grant, November 15, 2007 12:00am

HE is an unlikely revolutionary but this Christmas, Santa is a rebel with a claus. He is having the last laugh on political correctness - and it's a great big fat belly laugh. Santas across Sydney are rebelling against attempts to ban their traditional greeting of "ho, ho, ho" in favour of "ha, ha, ha".

Recruitment firm Westaff - which supplies hundreds of Santas across the country - has told its trainees that the "ho ho ho" phrase could frighten children and could even be derogatory to women.

Two Santa hopefuls reportedly quit the course because of the hullabaloo of the ho, ho, ho. One would-be Santa has told The Daily Telegraph he was taught not to use "ho, ho, ho" because it was too close to the American slang for prostitute.

And let me introduce you to Sean the man's santarinas, who emplify the true spirit of Christmas. Starting from the left, meet Ho, Ho and the Hos.

Of UMNO's 2007 GA, Bersih's 4,000, Rommel and denying BN a 2/3s majority

I took a break from blogging the past week or so. Partly due to limited broadband access and an inordinate amount of work due to a member of my team being on 3 months maternity leave.

But Malaysia sure as hell was not on a break. So here's what I learned over the last couple of weeks.

UMNO might have toned down the racial rhetoric a little at this year's General Assembly, but it's still the same rubbish party without doubt. This picture here of Dumb & Dumber aptly depicts the essence of UMNO.

1. The mouths are wide open, but there's nothing worth hearing coming out.

I've lost count of how many ways they can spin and re-spin: "We will actively discriminate against you, your race and your religion, but without being unfair to you, your race and your religion."

That's like saying "I'm going to take this here penis, and thrust it in and out of your vagina repeatedly, but you're going to remain a virgin anyway. Trust me."

2. The fists are clenched in the air, but it means nothing more than upturned palms at the end of outstretched hands demanding 30% share for 0% contribution.

Their next free lunch.., the newspaper distribution industry controlled by that dastardly race which dared to enjoy their main festival and solitary public holiday when the UMNO president's son-in-law wanted to have his father-in-law's speech published.

Bersih went ahead with it's Nov 10th 'illegal' march to deliver a memorandum on clean elections to the Agung at Istana Negara.

The police closed off all roads into KL attempting to thwart the march, but were wrong-footed into thinking that Merdeka Square was the rallying point. Instead, the marchers simply marched straight to Istana Negara while the police formed an impenetrable cordon around a deserted Merdeka Square.

The newspapers of course, completely blacked out the marcher's side of the event, preferring instead to spread govt propaganda about riot police having to douse the marchers with chemically laced water cannons because they were in danger of being savagely attacked by boxes of half eaten sandwiches and rain drenched yellow t-shirts.

Best of all, according to 'official' reports, this picture of a huge ocean of people filling the entire length and width of the thoroughfare is actually only 4,000 people. Never have so many been counted as so few.

At the end of the day, it's all very simple. Things are not as rosy as some will have you believe, and it's going to take nothing less than a complete change of government (or at least a reduction of the ruling coalition's majority to less than 2/3s) in order to put the country back on the wagon.

Apparently, the election's coming soon. For the first time in your life, please vote wisely. If you're Chinese and you want what's best for the country, vote against BN... even if you need to vote for PAS against MCA. It doesn't matter that you disagree with PAS' Islamic Nation objective. Even if PAS wins all their seats, they don't contest enough seats to form the govt. But by simply voting for ANYONE BESIDES BN, we can deny BN a 2/3s majority.

If you're Malay and you want what's best for the country, vote against BN... even if you need to vote for DAP against UMNO. It doesn't matter if you disagree with DAP's Malaysian Malaysia. Even if DAP wins all their seats, they don't contest enough seats to form the govt. But by simply voting for ANYONE BESIDES BN, we can deny BN a 2/3s majority.

If you're Indian or dan lain-lain... according to UMNO, your vote doesn't matter. But trust me, it's in your best interest to simply vote for ANYONE BESIDES BN, to deny BN a 2/3s majority.

Comparing the Wii, XBox and PS3

A simple, easy to understand guide to comparing the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft XBox 360 and Sony Playstation 3.

Islamic state, your head.

Thanks to a heads-up from Screenshots, here's an article from the Jakarta Post where a 40-million strong Muslim organisation in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation - unreservedly shoots down the argument that Islam demands that Muslims live in Islamic states.

The idea of the Caliphate, or Islamic state, has no basis in the Koran or the Hadiths.

The influential Bathsul Masail (problem deliberation) commission of the East Java chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), made the statement after thoroughly reviewing the Koran and Hadith, along with other texts, including Attasyri' al-Jina'i Al Islami, al-Qoish al-Hami' al-Asyarqi Jam'il Jawami', Ad Din Watdaulah watadbikis Syari'ah, and al-fiqkul Islami.

While the discourse on an Islamic state become increasingly popular among the nation's intellectuals and the general public, it found no nash (argument and reasoning) in the books that provided the idea of an Islamic state with a textual ground. It said the books also said nothing about an Islamic state being a necessity.

"The Khilafah state therefore is a form of ijtihadiyyah (interpretation)."

Consequently, any effort to replace the country's Unitary State system with an Islamic one was prohibited.

I wonder if PAS, Najib, Pak Lah and Tun M read the Jakarta Post. It'll be interesting to get reactions from these champions of the [prohibited] Islamic state.