Poverty Transcends Race, Stupid

Here's an article by Johan Jaafar ('Squatters still peeking from behind skyscrapers') that appeared in The Sunday Times, 10 December 2006. An extract from it that I want to highlight:

"Poverty trancends race. So too, the squatter settlements in KL. In 1992, 44.5% were Chinese, 34% Malays and 17% Indians. Now the gap between Malays and Chinese is closing, meaning there are equally as many Malay squatters as there are Chinese".

So, how can they say that ALL Chinese are rich?

How can they say that just because the top 10 richest men in Malaysia are Chinese (this is debatable in my opinion, as maybe they don't hide their wealth as well as some others), that all the other Chinese are rich as well?

How can they say that all Chinese live in houses larger a former PM's?

How can what they say be true when Chinese make up more than their fair share of the squatters in KL?

Don't you think the poor Malay, Chinese and Indian squatters deserve help from the NEP to get decent accomodation more than rich bumis who enjoy the bumi discount when they buy bungalows?

Why the hell are politicians so fond of furthering their political ambitions by stereotyping and scapegoating a whole race?

Related previous articles:

...lesson-101-how-to-justify-racial-discrimination.html
...sean-the-man's-new-nep-is-it-palatable-to-all.html
...challenging-times-for-towkays.html
...proposed-trade-guidelines-nep-eeing-on-business.html

Didn't I tell you (AGAIN!) the conversion process needs to be tightened?

The conclusion to Rayappan's case is that the family buries him according to their wishes, after MAIS backs off.
I really didn't expect that the Mufti of Perak would agree with me. Hmmm, did he get the idea from reading this blog?

Related previous posts:

• JAIS, Body Snatching, Conversion, Apostates and the Courts
• One Way Ticket, One Way Ticket... (sung to the tune of, errr... One Way Ticket?)
• I told you Malaysia has to tighten up religious conversion!
• A Solution to the Article 11 Impasse
  

Whip'em Whores

On top of sexually abusing the poor unfortunate women, let's abuse them physically as well. That's the way, genius.

What about the pimps and the snakes? Those who traffic and force women into prostitution? No whipping needed? Is it because they are mostly rich, influential men in a position to dispense favours? Or is it just because it's just easier to target defenceless women?

But what I really want to know is why the veritable lawmaker has a habit of meeting transvestite prostitutes from foreign countries? Hmmmm....

Life in the Slow Lane - of Road Hogging and Part Time Traffic Enforcers

A good one from the irreverant Jeremy Clarkson, on the topic of why slow drivers road-hog. Some of his observations on slow drivers are rather insightful.

This comment...

"[Slow drivers] Like bell ringers, they wish to impose their beliefs and their way of life [in the slow lane] on everyone else"

- just about sums up why slow drivers always road hog and best of all, feel they are doing the whole world a favour by forcing everyone else to drive slowly behind them as well.

To all road-hogs and self appointed enforcers of the perceived speed limit (I say perceived because how do they know that their speedometers are correctly calibrated in the first place)... there's a ditch, drain or ravine somewhere with your name on it, and I hope you find out which one real soon.

New Lexus 'F' - as in 'FAAAST'

F will be the moniker for new performance models from Lexus. According to the article below, it all comes true in 2007, and for US$50,000. At that price and with a 425hp V8 in an IS (which is the upmarket alter-ego of the Toyota Altezza), which is about the size and weight of a 3 series... you've got a car as potent as the likes of a M3 GTR.

The GS-F... up against the 500hp M5?

If the pictures I took of the Lexus LFA concept at the Singapore MotorShow 2006 - The Review & the Cars are anything to go by (you have to scroll down a bit, ok), the new F cars will be something else.

A new Lexus 'F' - as in 'faaast'
Mark Rechtin / Automotive News / December 4, 2006 - 1:00 am

LOS ANGELES - Lexus will launch a performance brand in late 2007 to compete with Mercedes' AMG and BMW's M divisions. Lexus will start with an IS sedan equipped with a 425-hp, 5.0-liter V-8. The engine is a retuned version of the LS 600h L hybrid's engine, dealer sources said.

The sedan will be called the IS-F. It will debut at the Detroit auto show in January.

Lexus likely will carry that nomenclature into other high-performance Lexus vehicles, a dealer said. He said a GS-F sedan and IS-F coupe likely will follow.

The IS-F - "F" as in "fast" - will go on sale in December 2007 and sticker in the low $50,000 range, sources said. Lexus told dealers of the plans at a recent national meeting.

Toyota Motor Corp. filed for a trademark for "IS-F" on Nov. 8 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It also filed for a trademark for a stylized "F" logo on Oct. 9.

A dealer source said Yamaha is tuning the IS-F engine's heads for more power. Brembo will be the brake supplier.

Lexus declined to comment.

The Silibin Conversion SMS - A Perspective from Ipoh Echo

Below's a pretty comprehensive article about the Silibin Conversion SMS from Ipoh Echo - a little biweekly local Ipoh newspaper. You can download PDF copies of the rag from their site.

I would raise a couple of points though, on possible inaccuracies.

1. This and virtually every other article about this in the mainstream press has characterised the crowd outside the church as aggressive. Ipoh Echo used the term "near riot". It also reported placards in the crowd denouncing national mariner, Azhar Mansor. It even goes on to say that eyewitnesses saw people "scale the church gates".

However, have a read of another eyewitness account which has a totally opposite description of the crowd and the general atmosphere. According this account posted in Ipoh forums, the crowd was simply curious and placid.

hey hey let me correct that since i was there too..

i wanted to take pics of FRU in full gear but was disappointed.. there were no protest, demonstration, heckling, insults, stare-down contests, shoutings or anything that can spark tension. also, i didnt see any potential weapons, slogans, signs, posters, banners, etc.

i bet most of those who came were merely curious.. ya lorr, being a quiet town, anything 'sensational' is a welcome distraction..

the best part is that many groups of malays, indians & chinese were hanging around in one huge group beside each other rather than segregated into different 'camps'.. everybody was chit-chatting while waiting for 'the show'..

so where's the disharmony?

seriously, if you dont believe me, try check out the pics.. there were so many photographers around and i hope some will post the pics on the internet..

2. Secondly and on a lighter note, this article and the whole of Malaysia routinely state that Azhar Mansor sailed solo around the world in 1999.

But in fact, he experienced several mishaps and had to helped out of trouble, so much so that on 16 Apr. 1999, the World Sailing Speed Record Council reclassified his attempt from "Round the world single handed [ie. solo]" to "Round the world, assisted stops, Eastbound". Refer to the attempt's chronology of events here.

Read my earlier blog on this topic: Perak Mufti Harussani and the Silibin Conversion SMS

Perak’s Raja Izzuddin stripped of Raja Kechil Besar title

According to theStar Online, Raja Izzuddin has been removed as the Raja Kechil Besar last week.

"Raja Izzuddin Iskandar Shah Sultan Idris Shah has been stripped of his title of Raja Kechil Besar Perak.

Perak Dewan Negara secretary Datuk Ayop Hashim made the announcement in a press statement yesterday. Ayop said Raja Izzuddin Iskandar Shah, 53, who is the third in line to the Perak throne [after the Raja Muda and Raja Di Hilir], had been stripped of the title because he had been declared a bankrupt. He added that the Perak Dewan Negara had agreed with the decision when it sat on Nov 25. “The decision was gazetted on Thursday,” he said."

Read the full article here.

Maybe now would be a good time to go into the Perak sultanate's succession system for the throne. Here are some excerpts from the official website of the Office of the DYMM Sultan Perak.

"At present, the Sovereign shall be chosen and appointed by the Royal Council (Dewan Negara)... the Sovereign shall be a descendent acknowledged to be legitimately and lawfully begotten of the body, flesh and blood of the Eighteenth Sultan who shall be a son, grandson, great grandson and so on of the male line, first one generation after another until the last...

Once a Sovereign is appointed and installed, two Presumptive Heirs to the Throne are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Council. The two titles bestowed upon the Presumptive Heirs to the Throne are Raja Muda and Raja Di Hilir... The choice and appointed of the Presumptive Heirs to the Throne are subject to conditions similar to those of a Sovereign... before they are appointed as Presumptive Heir they would normally have occupied the positions of the Titled Rajas first. The titles given to the Titled Rajas (Raja-Raja Bergelar) are Raja Kechil Besar, Raja Kechil Sulong, Raja Kechil Tengah and Raja Kechil Bongsu.

The system works such that on the demise of the Sovereign the Raja Muda would succeed the throne and the Raja Muda would be succeeded by the Raja Di Hilir whose place would be filled by the Titled Raja, the Raja Kecil Besar, and so on until finally the title of Raja Kechil Bongsu would fall vacant. Normally the vacant title of Raja Kechil Bongsu would be filled by the eldest son the the newly appointed Sovereign.

However, the Constitution provides that in choosing the Heir, first consideration is given to the most senior Heir in order of status before the Titled Rajas could be considered and the choice among the Titled Rajas need not necessarily be in order of seniority of the their title."

(Ref:http://www.perak.gov.my/sultan/english/raja.htm)

Currently, the succession hierarchy is as follows:
(ref: http://www.perak.gov.my/sultan/english/senarai_raja.htm)

From the 3 family lines descending from the 3 sons of the 18th Sultan (which gave birth to this unique system in the first place), the succession hierarchy now has 3 representatives from the line of the current sultan (Nos 1, 2 and 6).

And after the vacation of Raja Izzuddin as the Raja Kechil Besar, the other 2 families have one rep each (Nos 3 and 5).

The main task now facing the Royal Council will be naming the new Raja Kechil Besar (No. 4) and perhaps also a new Raja Kechil Bongsu (No. 7) which has been vacant for some time.

JAIS, Body Snatching, Conversion, Apostates and the Courts

The Selangor Religious Department (JAIS) is at it again. Fighting over the bodies of dead people with their families.

Read about the details here:

NST Online: Religious dept and family in tussle over body
Sun2Surf: Family, JAIS in tussle over body

We seem to be digging deeper and deeper into these pits of religious conflict. There was Moorthy, then Shamala and now, Rayappan. The circumstances of each case are slightly different, Moorthy - a deathbed conversion disputed by his family, Shamala - a case where the husband converted himself and his kids without his wife's knowledge and this one - the convert has reverted to his original religion.

One thing each case has in common, is the fact that there were unhappy conversions involved.

Back in July, after the whole mess with the aborted Article 11 forums, I wrote an article about how tightening up the conversion procedures would be beneficial in preventing all this unpleasantness.

Refer to my blog here: A Solution to the Article 11 Impasse

Recently, in a sometimes heated discussion in Ipoh forums, I found out that it's an obligation for Muslims to welcome new converts as long as they are willing. This point was clear. And I accept that. As long as a person is an adult of sound mind, the decisions they make are binding, no matter how stupid those decisions are. When you knowingly buy a one way ticket, you stay on the train no matter what happens.

Having said that, my original framework articulated in A Solution to the Article 11 Impasse must still apply. A self imposed difficulty in rejecting willing converts is no excuse for turning a blind eye to obvious injustices perpetrated, unintentionally or otherwise with an express intention to manipulate Malaysia's intersecting civil-religious framework for personal gain.

One area where the religious/conversion environment is somewhat unsatisfactory to me - is the position of minor children. It amazes me how the conversion of a minor can be upheld by a court of law when one of the two parents was not even aware of the conversion. Seems to me like the court hereto ignores Section 5 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961, which states that:

(1) In relation to the custody or upbringing of an infant or the administration of any property belonging to or held in trust for an infant or the application of the income of any such property, a mother shall have the same rights and authority as the law allows to a father, and the rights and authority of mother and father shall be equal.

(2) The mother of an infant shall have the like powers of applying to the Court in respect of any matter affecting the infant as are possessed by the father.

In the Shamala case, the high court upheld the conversion of minor children, even when they were converted by only the father, without the mother's knowledge. When asked to form a judgement whether an alleged conversion of a minor could be invalidated by a contravention of equal parental rights legislation (such as Section 5 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 above), the civil court experienced osteoporosis of courage (ie. spinelessness) and without so much as a whimper, surrendered all jurisdiction to the Syariah court, on the strength of Article 121 of the Constitution.

To me, the civil court put the cart before the horse. Yes, Article 121 gives jurisdiction to the Syariah court in all matters concerning Muslims and Islam. But if we have reason to believe that the minor children were not legally converted (by the absence of the agreement of both parents), aren't they still non-Muslims until there is a [civil] judgement on the legality of a single-parent conversion of a minor child?

And to reinforce the partial jurisdiction of the civil courts in matters of conversion, we have to remember that a conversion is a 2 stage process:

1. The conversion out of a non-Muslim religion (civil jurisdiction), and
2. The conversion in to Islam (syariah jurisdiction).

If the conversion is being challenged at stage 1, shouldn't a judgement on stage 1 be issued first before proceeding to stage 2?

For reference, read this interesting article on the Shamala case:

Justice and jurisdictions
The Shamala Sathiyaseelan v. Dr Jeyaganesh C Mograrajah (Muhammad Ridzuan) custody case.

Rizal bin Chek Hashim
Aliran Monthly 2004:7
http://www.aliran.com/oldsite/monthly/2004b/7d.html

And just in case you were wondering, the resolution to Rayappan's case is simple to me. There is a set process of apostasy in order for a Muslim to renounce Islam. Did Rayappan fulfil and complete the process? It's that easy.

About Unity: An Interview with Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.

If Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, the Raja Muda of Perak, were to become politically active based on the precerpts he outlined in a recent interview, I have no doubt that Tuanku will be the next Prime Minister who leads Malaysia out of this corrupt racial, religious and political quagmire. If he remains aloof of politics, well at least one day, he'll be King.

Some choice excerpts of the interview he gave NST is below:

Q: What does the word "unity" mean to you?

A: Unity to me does not mean we have to impose a strait-jacket of conformity or orthodoxy that everybody must follow. It does not mean we must all be alike, look alike, behave alike, dress alike.To me that is not the unity that we are aiming for. Unity means having a common focus of loyalty, having shared objectives, sharing certain important values. This can be achieved within a diverse society. In embracing our diversity, we can achieve unity.

Q: Do you think a dominant race, religion or ideology is necessary to foster unity?

A: Definitely not. There are enough examples, in this country and in other countries, to disprove this hypothesis. Take a look at some of our states that have a dominant ethnic group. Even these states have problems of their own. You can also find instances of many countries where one ethnic group predominates. Yet, there is chaos and political instability. Which goes to show that, by itself, the existence of a dominant race, religion or ideology does not guarantee unity. More important are mutual understanding and genuine respect for each other. The recognition that we are all God’s creation and that each deserves to be treated with dignity.

I strongly believe Malaysia is a much richer and interesting country because of the diversity of our population.

Q: Even a dominant religion?

A: Even a dominant religion.If there is one country that has come into existence through religion, it is Pakistan. One would have thought that a common religion would have been able to bind East and West Pakistan together. But it did not.

Read the interview here.

Chinese footing 80% of the Income Tax bill

According to Lim Kit Siang, quoting Tun M, Malaysian Chinese taxpayers are footing 80% of the nation's taxation. See this article in theStar.

Let me point out one parliamentarian's comment about this:

When met at the lobby later, Mohd Alwi [BN – Ketereh] said he had called up IRB to check and there was no such figure.

“Saying that 80% of the income tax come from the Chinese community will give the Malays the impression that the Chinese are monopolising the wealth in the country,” he said.

So... you're saying the Chinese are NOT monopolising the wealth in this country?

Errr.... did you tell your UMNO cohorts that? So, all those delegates were not telling the truth during the recent UMNO General Assembly - when they said the Chinese controlled the economy? Well, everyone knew they were just making lots of noise to pressure UMNO into allocating more projects to the 2,500 of them. Now, thanks to you, we know they were lying as well.

And by the way, my first thought after reading this was "how come the rich Malays pay so little tax?"

It'll be interesting to disclose how much tax is paid by the 2,500 UMNO delegates, the ministers and top politicians, top civil servants, the Datuk Ks, Rs and other assorted Happy Balls all over the Malaysia.