Some comments on Malaysiakini columns

Today I will comment on the articles of three of my fave Malaysiakini columnists, Bakri Musa, Eric Loo and my matey Dean Johns.

First with Bakri Musa who wrote Incompetence at all levels.

Bakri who, like George Lee, resides abroad [George in Australia, Bakri in USA] but continues to comment on Malaysian affairs and sometimes showing by contrast the way the authority of his foreign domicile governs in a democratic, transparent and accountable manner.

George Lee has recently been severely criticised for his remote 'armchair' comments of Malaysian lack of provenance; Bakri too had been so criticised, where I recall he was labelled derogatorily as NATO (no action, all talk). Bakri provided a good riposte to that intolerant criticism.

In his lastest article Bakri blasted the IGP. While Malaysian crimes have been soaring, the Police No 1 was more interested in going after Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) and interrogating Lim Kit Siang for alleged sedition.

I love in particular two of his paragraphs:

The chief function of a police force is to maintain public safety. No sane Malaysian would consider Raja Petra or Lim Kit Siang posing a threat to public order. The only threat they pose is in exposing corruption and dereliction of duty at the highest levels of our government. [...]

Musa Hassan's calling in the Interpol is a particularly egregious example of his incompetence.

And he didn’t spare Hishamuddin, SIL, Najib, Muhyiddin Yassin too.

I agree with most of Bakri Musa’s article. However, I do disagree with the last sentence of one of his paragraphs, namely:

Raja Petra's many articles pertaining to Najib Razak contain numerous specific facts, named many individuals, and cited precise locations that they could easily be corroborated or denied by resorting to physical forensic evidences. Raja Petra's allegations are not of the ambiguous ‘he said, she said' variety.

I’m afraid RPK’s notorious Statutory Declaration about Rosmah’s alleged turn padang to witness (or supervise?) the C4-demolition of Altantuyaa Shariibuu’s corpse was dominated by his qualification of “I have been reliably informed …” which we have to admit has been nothing more than a case of ‘he said, she said’.

Next, we come to Eric Loo who wrote'You'll be right, mate,' so says the Aussie to foreign students, about the alleged racist attacks against Indians in Melbourne.

I support fully his comments: Just in case Malaysian families are worried for their sons and daughters, don't be. Media reports do not often tell the whole story. While foreign students in Australian universities are generally perceived to be isolated close-knit groups and ‘socially shy', Aussies are generally hospitable, samaritans, and happy to give anyone a ‘fair-go'. Racist remarks inevitably do crop up in some places in Australia - just as they do in unexpected places and situations in Malaysia and India. As Aussies say when they face a problem ‘We'll be right, mate!"

I have also seen on TV the way some Indian protestors had (mis)behaved – sure as hell didn’t do their cause any good; I wouldn’t be surprised if some Aussie TV viewers were to comment nastily against them.

However, I disagree with Eric’s statement: Ah, the Aussie penchant for raw wit. You see it on Australian television all the time - those hilarious irreverent caricatures of puffed-up celebrities and populist politicians - even the Queen. Indeed, there are no sacred cows in the Australian public space.

Aussies do have sacred cows – please read my last year’s post Priority 1 - free RPK & Hindraf 5 where I described the 3 Aussie sacred cows (and one of Malaysia’s as well).

Finally, on to my matey, Dean who wrote Tanks for the memory, China.

For me, the pun in the title was a giveaway that my fave Malaysiakini columnist has again written another savoury piece to be relished.

Let me start off by stating I agree with Dean 101% on his lambasting of the Chinese authority’s 1989 slaughter of its own citizens.

A wee digression at this stage - The actual event behind the picture of the man attempting to stop the column of tanks rolling into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square (which gave rise to Dean’s usual witty pun in his article’s title) was quite a poignant moment.

Malaysiakini photo

Amidst the senseless and inhumane massacre of Chinese students, that event brought out two rather moving points – (a) the sheer courage of the man in his attempt to stop a column of tanks, and (b) the unusual streak of humanity and perhaps empathy in the tank commander’s attempt to manoeuvre (repetitively) around the man rather than just roll over him.

However, I must comment against Dean’s criticism of China’s involvement in the Korean War.

Dean did not mention that China was forced into the war when the hubristic General Douglas MacArthur attempted to occupy the entire Korean peninsula in a bid to unify both Korean States. Incidentally the political and military division of the peninsula was brought about by a WWII pact between the USA and USSR, with both agreeing on the 38th parallel as the boundary of their military occupancy of the previous Japanese colony.

Despite repetitive Chinese warnings to the USA (through Indian Ambassador Panniker) not to move its US-led UN military forces into North Korea or face Chinese intervention, principally because of the Chinese fears of American proximity to its own territory, the USA ignored the message conveyed by Indian PM Nehru, in the latter's plea to the USA for caution.

When hubristic MacArthur, knowing he possessed superior military firepower and a superior air force to the Chinese’ peasant army, advanced to the Yalu River (very near the Chinese border), the Chinese army startled him by effecting (one of) the very principle of war that the Americans upheld, namely ‘Manoeuvre’.

The US Armed Forces’ Principle of Maneuver has an offensive aim, to put the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the use of unexpected attacks. The Chinese army moved with secrecy, lightning speed and in mass among the mountainous terrain of northern Korea, astounding the Americans who were sent reeling by the Chinese blitzkrieg.

Dean has also been incorrect in stating “…however, the ‘People’s’ forces and their allies lost the war, though China and its North Korean cronies have never conceded defeat.”

The Chinese actually pushed the Americans and the UN forces back to the 38th parallel, where a stalemate was reached, lasting till today.