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!