We moan and groan, coz’ we never have it so bad. We cried for the messiah, we cried for the King ...
Then …
I read, no, no, not Malaysiakini but al Jazeera where I learnt that Bangladesh has had it again, from the elements or if you are religious, God.
The usual cyclone, this time at 240 km per hour, has thrashed poor Bangladesh. Victims currently run to 600 dead, with more expected. Thousands are still missing.
UPDATE 19 Nov 2007: 2300 confirmed dead ...
Massive evacuation of some 650,000 prior to the cyclone has at least saved many. But the post storm situation isn’t all that good, with homes and surrounding areas devastated. Electricity doesn’t exist for most.
What do the evacuees go home to?
What would be the health situation, given the appalling hygiene in water logged areas? What about clean drinking water.
It’s an accident of geography (or divine intention) that has placed poverty stricken Bangladesh in the path of a cyclone prone part of the globe.
In 1991 it was hit by Cyclone Gorky with winds of around 250 km per hour and accompanying 20 foot waves, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless.
But it was in 1970 that Bangladesh, or East Pakistan as it was then called, was hit by the world’s most deadly tropical cyclone ever recorded. It created one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times.
500,000 people lost their lives, again as a result of the sea surge that flooded much of the low-lying islands of the Ganges Delta. The city of Tazumuddin was the most severely affected, with over 45% of the population of 167,000 killed by the storm.
The poor handling of the relief operations by the Pakistani government led to severe criticism by local (East Pakistani) political leaders. The opposition Awami League exploited the resentment and gained a landslide victory in the province.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the leader of the victorious Awami League, and went on to claim a majority victory in Parliament in that year’s elections.
But the thought of a Bengali assuming office as head of the government was too much for the Pashtun elite. Ketuanan Pashtu too!
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was blocked by the military from taking office. One thing led to another and Bangladesh was born, inheriting the devastating cyclones and the deaths they bring.
... We moan and groan, coz’ we never have it so bad. We cried for the messiah, we cried for the King, till we read about the poor Bangladeshis ... Maybe we should pause for a moment to help them in some ways.
… so Malaysian Pilgrims, dig deeeeep into your pockets and give generously to the Malaysian branch of the International Red Crescent or directly (online donation) to the International Red Cross & Red Crescent. However, make sure you tell them your donation is meant for the relief aid to Bangladesh.
Thank you for your kind charity.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
May 13 nightmare still haunting us
“Don’t test the Malays, they know amok”
“Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his keris, waved his keris, kissed his keris. We want to ask Datuk Hisham: when is he going to use it?”
I read the Malaysiakini report of Ahmad Mustapha Hassan’s recollection of what he witnessed on May 13 1969 outside the Selangor MB’s residence in KL.
Author Mustapha said: "Suddenly I saw this parang coming out from the bamboo fence at (then Selangor Menteri Besar) Harun Idris’ house, the (Chinese) boy was killed and thrown into the drain ...”
“That really traumatised me. My God! It happened right in front of me.”
Mustapha said the Chinese boy, who was working at a coffee shop near Harun’s residence, was going around delivering drinks to people, mainly Umno Youth members, who had gathered at the house for a planned rally that day. Little was he to realise he was just about to die at the hands of probably one of those he was serving coffee to.
Mustapha said: “He was just a youngster, a teenager. For no reason, he was killed.”
No, Mustapha, there was a reason - it’s called racial hatred, sparked by provocations and instigations by politicians. As the saying goes, when old men err, young men die.
Just 3 months ago, based on a Malaysiakini news report I blogged Ku Li warned of May 13 again, where I quoted Jonathan Glover, the Director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King’s College London, on what he wrote in his book titled ‘Humanity – a Moral History of the 20th Century’ - (ISBN 0-224-05240-3 published by Jonathan Cape, London).
Then, for the Yugoslav internal conflict, Glover again said: “Tribal conflict rarely just ‘break out’. Hostility is enflamed by the nationalist rhetoric of politicians. Other groups then feel threatened and react with their own defensive nationalism. People are pushed into the trap by politicians. Then, in psychologically deeper ways, the rival groups become mutually trapped by their responses to each other. This is how Yugoslavia fell apart.”
But back to Mustapha's recollection - personally I don’t see the need for such graphic recollection. We know that there were more people killed than the 196 officially reported. We know that there were weapons cached in the MB’s residence. We know the reason behind the tragedy.
... but ...
It’s already nearly 40 years since that terrible date. What value is there in recalling such a graphic, terrible and cruel picture.
Related:
(1) The Real Cause of the May 13 Riots
(2) May 13th - Best Forgotten!
(3) New Fact on May 13 Revealed!
(4) UMNO Y-leader warns of KL as new May 13 war zone!
(5) May 13 - fascists' dream come true
(6) May 13 & endemic rot within UMNO
(7) Ku Li warned of May 13 again
- Mohamad Rahmat (former UMNO leader)
“Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his keris, waved his keris, kissed his keris. We want to ask Datuk Hisham: when is he going to use it?”
- Hashim Suboh (UMNO Perlis delegate)
I read the Malaysiakini report of Ahmad Mustapha Hassan’s recollection of what he witnessed on May 13 1969 outside the Selangor MB’s residence in KL.
Author Mustapha said: "Suddenly I saw this parang coming out from the bamboo fence at (then Selangor Menteri Besar) Harun Idris’ house, the (Chinese) boy was killed and thrown into the drain ...”
“That really traumatised me. My God! It happened right in front of me.”
Mustapha said the Chinese boy, who was working at a coffee shop near Harun’s residence, was going around delivering drinks to people, mainly Umno Youth members, who had gathered at the house for a planned rally that day. Little was he to realise he was just about to die at the hands of probably one of those he was serving coffee to.
Mustapha said: “He was just a youngster, a teenager. For no reason, he was killed.”
No, Mustapha, there was a reason - it’s called racial hatred, sparked by provocations and instigations by politicians. As the saying goes, when old men err, young men die.
Just 3 months ago, based on a Malaysiakini news report I blogged Ku Li warned of May 13 again, where I quoted Jonathan Glover, the Director of the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King’s College London, on what he wrote in his book titled ‘Humanity – a Moral History of the 20th Century’ - (ISBN 0-224-05240-3 published by Jonathan Cape, London).
I mentioned that the synopsis on the book’s jacket says “It is about the psychology which made possible Hiroshima, the Nazi genocide, the Gulag, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and many other atrocities …..... also examines tribalism: how people in Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia, people who once lived together became trapped into mutual fear and hatred … .”
On the Rwanda tragedy, his concluding sentence was: “The human responses were overwhelmed in the killers by tribal hatred, but this emotion was itself a product of conscious political manipulation.”
'... a product of conscious political manipulation ...' well!Then, for the Yugoslav internal conflict, Glover again said: “Tribal conflict rarely just ‘break out’. Hostility is enflamed by the nationalist rhetoric of politicians. Other groups then feel threatened and react with their own defensive nationalism. People are pushed into the trap by politicians. Then, in psychologically deeper ways, the rival groups become mutually trapped by their responses to each other. This is how Yugoslavia fell apart.”
But back to Mustapha's recollection - personally I don’t see the need for such graphic recollection. We know that there were more people killed than the 196 officially reported. We know that there were weapons cached in the MB’s residence. We know the reason behind the tragedy.
... but ...
It’s already nearly 40 years since that terrible date. What value is there in recalling such a graphic, terrible and cruel picture.
Related:
(1) The Real Cause of the May 13 Riots
(2) May 13th - Best Forgotten!
(3) New Fact on May 13 Revealed!
(4) UMNO Y-leader warns of KL as new May 13 war zone!
(5) May 13 - fascists' dream come true
(6) May 13 & endemic rot within UMNO
(7) Ku Li warned of May 13 again
Lingam Tape - Royal Commission Dream Team
After giving the Bersih supporters a drastic shock with a Bernama revelation of the King spurning their petition, Malaysiakini made up for it by releasing some welcomed news that
PM AAB has agreed to a Royal Commission to probe into alleged judicial impropriety assocaited with the Lingam videotape.
AAB said: "At this time, we need to decide on its scope. We need to also decide on the terms of reference for the commission."
And only then would the members of the royal commission be decided upon.
In the meanwhile a happy Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang suggested the following considerations in forming the royal commission:
1) Full and proper consultation with relevant personalities and organisations on the royal commission, but he didn’t say who should be consulted, though PKR has demanded that their de facto leader be consulted. What do you think of the chances that this demand would be met?
2) Full and untrammeled powers for the commission to investigate into every aspect of the Lingam tape revelations, and the restoration of confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
Hmmm, I think the second part, the restoration of confidence in the judiciary, would automatically come after the first, namely the RC investigating into the tape without restricted powers or narrow terms of reference; besides it’s not a Royal Commission’s job to restore confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary, but to probe and come up with findings and recommendations on the alleged monkeying of judicial appointments.
I am doubtful that Uncle Lim would get his first wish, that the RC receives untrammelled powers, but of course he knows that and is only making an ambit claim – you know, shoot very high and maybe can still hit something lower.
3) The appointment of suitable and qualified commissioners. ;-)
Lim has proposed the royal commission be headed by scholar prince Dr Raja Nazrain Shah, the regent of Perak. On the basis of qualifications and intellectual capacity, this is not a bad choice though is a reflection of the recent infatuation with the political flavour of the month, the sanctified royalty.
However, Lim would prefer his father, Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak because of his legal standing and knowledge.
I always have a stand against royalty directly interfering with such matters, particular those who are sitting on thrones. That Sultan Azlan Shah is qualified is beyond any shadow of doubt but that's besides the point; let’s not forget that he is a State Sultan who should, nay, must stay aloof from direct involvement in the mechanisms of public institutions or get himself involved with public probes, findings and recommendations. In fact, that Raja Nazrin is the Regent of a State is in itself a constitutional worry.
If the 'constitutional' royalty chooses to get directly involve with the operating of public institutions, then they must expect to no longer enjoy nor be allowed to invoke their constitutionally sanctified positions. They must be prepared to receive public criticisms, rebuke, and even legal challenges to their immunity and privileges.
Uncle Lim also proposed a few more names but added his Opposition Leader’s veto to three former chief justices – Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, Tun Eusuff Chin and Hamid Omar - because these three should be investigated for their perceived involvement.
Amen to that!
Now, I just wonder whether Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye ;-) would be a suitable candidate for the RC.
And why not, as he has just proven himself to be an impartial member of an independent panel, though much to the exasperations of his detractors who were howling for blood 'ere he finished his task – now, Silence!
Yes, indeed why not. Hey, maybe I’ll write to AAB and propose LLT’s name hahahahahahahahahhahaaaaahahaa
;-)
PM AAB has agreed to a Royal Commission to probe into alleged judicial impropriety assocaited with the Lingam videotape.
AAB said: "At this time, we need to decide on its scope. We need to also decide on the terms of reference for the commission."
And only then would the members of the royal commission be decided upon.
In the meanwhile a happy Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang suggested the following considerations in forming the royal commission:
1) Full and proper consultation with relevant personalities and organisations on the royal commission, but he didn’t say who should be consulted, though PKR has demanded that their de facto leader be consulted. What do you think of the chances that this demand would be met?
2) Full and untrammeled powers for the commission to investigate into every aspect of the Lingam tape revelations, and the restoration of confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
Hmmm, I think the second part, the restoration of confidence in the judiciary, would automatically come after the first, namely the RC investigating into the tape without restricted powers or narrow terms of reference; besides it’s not a Royal Commission’s job to restore confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary, but to probe and come up with findings and recommendations on the alleged monkeying of judicial appointments.
I am doubtful that Uncle Lim would get his first wish, that the RC receives untrammelled powers, but of course he knows that and is only making an ambit claim – you know, shoot very high and maybe can still hit something lower.
3) The appointment of suitable and qualified commissioners. ;-)
Lim has proposed the royal commission be headed by scholar prince Dr Raja Nazrain Shah, the regent of Perak. On the basis of qualifications and intellectual capacity, this is not a bad choice though is a reflection of the recent infatuation with the political flavour of the month, the sanctified royalty.
However, Lim would prefer his father, Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak because of his legal standing and knowledge.
I always have a stand against royalty directly interfering with such matters, particular those who are sitting on thrones. That Sultan Azlan Shah is qualified is beyond any shadow of doubt but that's besides the point; let’s not forget that he is a State Sultan who should, nay, must stay aloof from direct involvement in the mechanisms of public institutions or get himself involved with public probes, findings and recommendations. In fact, that Raja Nazrin is the Regent of a State is in itself a constitutional worry.
If the 'constitutional' royalty chooses to get directly involve with the operating of public institutions, then they must expect to no longer enjoy nor be allowed to invoke their constitutionally sanctified positions. They must be prepared to receive public criticisms, rebuke, and even legal challenges to their immunity and privileges.
Uncle Lim also proposed a few more names but added his Opposition Leader’s veto to three former chief justices – Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, Tun Eusuff Chin and Hamid Omar - because these three should be investigated for their perceived involvement.
Amen to that!
Now, I just wonder whether Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye ;-) would be a suitable candidate for the RC.
And why not, as he has just proven himself to be an impartial member of an independent panel, though much to the exasperations of his detractors who were howling for blood 'ere he finished his task – now, Silence!
Yes, indeed why not. Hey, maybe I’ll write to AAB and propose LLT’s name hahahahahahahahahhahaaaaahahaa
;-)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Bersih gets royal spurn
Malaysiakini provided sad news for those who have pegged their hopes on royal intervention.
In a news article titled King: No royal support for Bersih rally the Yang di-Pertuan Agong said neither he nor Istana Negara had directly or indirectly supported the massive Bersih rally.
Bernama (with glee?) reported that the King expressed regret over the claim that he and the palace had supported Saturday’s illegal gathering.
Bernama also rubbed in by saying that the King made what was a rare press statement!
Read through the news archives and see whether any Sultan or the Agong had come out to defend former Lord President Salleh Abbas when he was right royally shafted.
Read also my previous post The Politics of Yellow where I mentioned Thailand in a post Thaksin Sinawatra era - where's the expected democracy after the euphoria over ‘divine intervention’?
To make matters worse than it had been under Thaksin, in May this year, Thailand's Constitutional Tribunal dissolved and banned the Thai Rak Thai party and a hundred of its officials for 5 years - a convenient touch which is familiar to us, but did His Royal Majesty frown on that totally undemocratic action?
Thai Rak Thai’s sin was being Thaksin’s party.
And I explained precisely because I don’t expect heroic divine intervention after the Salleh Abbas case, I posted The journey of a 1000 li and Rulers no 'Silver Bullet'.
Related:
Dangerous euphoria over 'political' royalty
In a news article titled King: No royal support for Bersih rally the Yang di-Pertuan Agong said neither he nor Istana Negara had directly or indirectly supported the massive Bersih rally.
Bernama (with glee?) reported that the King expressed regret over the claim that he and the palace had supported Saturday’s illegal gathering.
Bernama also rubbed in by saying that the King made what was a rare press statement!
Read through the news archives and see whether any Sultan or the Agong had come out to defend former Lord President Salleh Abbas when he was right royally shafted.
Read also my previous post The Politics of Yellow where I mentioned Thailand in a post Thaksin Sinawatra era - where's the expected democracy after the euphoria over ‘divine intervention’?
To make matters worse than it had been under Thaksin, in May this year, Thailand's Constitutional Tribunal dissolved and banned the Thai Rak Thai party and a hundred of its officials for 5 years - a convenient touch which is familiar to us, but did His Royal Majesty frown on that totally undemocratic action?
Thai Rak Thai’s sin was being Thaksin’s party.
And I explained precisely because I don’t expect heroic divine intervention after the Salleh Abbas case, I posted The journey of a 1000 li and Rulers no 'Silver Bullet'.
Related:
Dangerous euphoria over 'political' royalty
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Lingam tape - PKR's demand snubs opposition leader Lim KS
Referring to the Independent Panel’s recommendation to the government to convene a Royal Commission to investigate the Lingam tape affair, Malaysiakini headlined its article 'Consult Anwar, Bar Council on royal commission'.
It quoted PKR demanding that, in the event the government set up a royal commission of inquiry into the ‘Lingam tape’ scandal, its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim should be consulted ahead of its formation.
Why?
If anyone is to be consulted, doesn’t protocol suggest that DAP Lim Kit Siang as the Parliamentary Opposition Leader should be the one consulted by the government?
Why has PKR so rudely ignored proper protocol and snubbed its ally, Lim Kit Siang in the process?
It quoted PKR demanding that, in the event the government set up a royal commission of inquiry into the ‘Lingam tape’ scandal, its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim should be consulted ahead of its formation.
Why?
If anyone is to be consulted, doesn’t protocol suggest that DAP Lim Kit Siang as the Parliamentary Opposition Leader should be the one consulted by the government?
Why has PKR so rudely ignored proper protocol and snubbed its ally, Lim Kit Siang in the process?
Lingam tape - Nazri heels dragging, Lim KS bellowing, Lee Lam Thye awaiting apologies
Today Malaysiakini has Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang questioning the farcical announcement by Nazri Abdul Aziz, the de facto Law Minister, that three senior ministers have been appointed to study the independent panel's report on the Lingam tape.
Coincidentally the three ministers are drawn from the UMNO bloc, they being Nazri himself, Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim.
Nazri claimed they were chosen because of their legal background and experience in law affairs in their ministerial portfolios.
Lim lambasted Nazri and demanded to know the reason for the heels dragging.
Of course Lim was only making a rhetorical question as he knows the answer.
Procedurally and on the basis of transparency, the report should have been released at the same time as it was submitted to the convening authority, namely the cabinet.
Lim asked sarcastically: "Firstly, why wasn't the report made public immediately? Why must the ministers read the report first to find out whether it is good or bad for the government before deciding whether it should be made public?"
"We should follow the best international practices of countries which fully practice accountability, transparency and integrity where such inquiry reports are made public the same time they are submitted to the appointing authorities."
Haiyah Lim sinseh, sini Malaysia mah!
Secondly, Lim asked why should there be another three-man ministerial committee to study the report on the Lingam tape.
Haiyah Lim sinseh, to drag on until post election mah!
Then amazingly ...
It seems, believe it or not, the New Straits Times actually reported that the Independent Panel has agreed a Royal commission of inquiry should be established.
Lim yelled: "Why then is the prime minister and the Cabinet dragging their feet in immediately announcing in principle to establish the commission, unless they have things to hide?"
Haiyah Lim sinseh, it’s obvious mah!
So …
The Independent Panel turned out to be independent afterall, realizing that with its limited powers and narrow terms of reference, it couldn’t do much. It has proposed a Royal Commission be established. Maybe it even believe that the tape is genuine even though the snipping hasn't done the authenticity much good?
Erhemmmmm, now that we have confirmed news of a decent recommendation by the much criticized and much abused Independent Panel, methinks some feral quarters owe their apologies, indeed unreserved unqualified and abject apologies to Lee Lam Thye.
Let’s see some honour on the battlefield, shall we … or am I to assume the worst?
Related:
(1) Leave Lee Lam Thye alone
(2) The necessary demonization of Lee Lam Thye
(3) The necessary demonization of Lee Lam Thye (2)
... and you are lucky I didn’t continue to Part 3 ;-) because of a sweetie who persuaded me not to
Coincidentally the three ministers are drawn from the UMNO bloc, they being Nazri himself, Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim.
Nazri claimed they were chosen because of their legal background and experience in law affairs in their ministerial portfolios.
Lim lambasted Nazri and demanded to know the reason for the heels dragging.
Of course Lim was only making a rhetorical question as he knows the answer.
Procedurally and on the basis of transparency, the report should have been released at the same time as it was submitted to the convening authority, namely the cabinet.
Lim asked sarcastically: "Firstly, why wasn't the report made public immediately? Why must the ministers read the report first to find out whether it is good or bad for the government before deciding whether it should be made public?"
"We should follow the best international practices of countries which fully practice accountability, transparency and integrity where such inquiry reports are made public the same time they are submitted to the appointing authorities."
Haiyah Lim sinseh, sini Malaysia mah!
Secondly, Lim asked why should there be another three-man ministerial committee to study the report on the Lingam tape.
Haiyah Lim sinseh, to drag on until post election mah!
Then amazingly ...
It seems, believe it or not, the New Straits Times actually reported that the Independent Panel has agreed a Royal commission of inquiry should be established.
Lim yelled: "Why then is the prime minister and the Cabinet dragging their feet in immediately announcing in principle to establish the commission, unless they have things to hide?"
Haiyah Lim sinseh, it’s obvious mah!
So …
The Independent Panel turned out to be independent afterall, realizing that with its limited powers and narrow terms of reference, it couldn’t do much. It has proposed a Royal Commission be established. Maybe it even believe that the tape is genuine even though the snipping hasn't done the authenticity much good?
Erhemmmmm, now that we have confirmed news of a decent recommendation by the much criticized and much abused Independent Panel, methinks some feral quarters owe their apologies, indeed unreserved unqualified and abject apologies to Lee Lam Thye.
Let’s see some honour on the battlefield, shall we … or am I to assume the worst?
Related:
(1) Leave Lee Lam Thye alone
(2) The necessary demonization of Lee Lam Thye
(3) The necessary demonization of Lee Lam Thye (2)
... and you are lucky I didn’t continue to Part 3 ;-) because of a sweetie who persuaded me not to
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Where are the political bloggers?
This is even better than the one by a certain Minister who claimed that 80% of Malaysian bloggers are unemployed women who are liars.
Reported in Malaysiakini, soon-to-be-retiring Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik told parliament that a Microsoft survey titled 'A Windows Live Report' in August last year, discovered that 63% of respondents blog for entertainment and 49% blog to communicate with family and friends.
He said that the survey showed only 3% of bloggers are into citizen journalism.
With Lim giving us a political blogger population of only 3% out of 115% (wink wink, yes I know), this should reassure the government we aren’t all that fearsome a political force! So do leave us alone ;-)
Lim assured the House: "The survey also concluded that political blogs are the least preferred, where only two percent of respondents visit these blogs. On the other hand, 81 percent said they prefer to frequent blogs operated by family and friends."
I wonder what the other 32% visitors were/are doing?
I wonder too whether the Microsoft survey had been about Malaysia?
But I still like the first ‘grimm’ fairy tale about 80% of Malaysian bloggers being unemployed women who are liars.
I don’t mind their lying - I experienced that all the time ;-) 'tis my sorry lot - but I am still looking for the 80% sweeties in vain. Damn it, has kaytee been so utterly hopeless?
Help!
See also ;-)
(1) Bloggers - A letter to the ministry
(2) Goblok to Golek - a letter to the minister
Reported in Malaysiakini, soon-to-be-retiring Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik told parliament that a Microsoft survey titled 'A Windows Live Report' in August last year, discovered that 63% of respondents blog for entertainment and 49% blog to communicate with family and friends.
He said that the survey showed only 3% of bloggers are into citizen journalism.
With Lim giving us a political blogger population of only 3% out of 115% (wink wink, yes I know), this should reassure the government we aren’t all that fearsome a political force! So do leave us alone ;-)
Lim assured the House: "The survey also concluded that political blogs are the least preferred, where only two percent of respondents visit these blogs. On the other hand, 81 percent said they prefer to frequent blogs operated by family and friends."
I wonder what the other 32% visitors were/are doing?
I wonder too whether the Microsoft survey had been about Malaysia?
But I still like the first ‘grim
I don’t mind their lying - I experienced that all the time ;-) 'tis my sorry lot - but I am still looking for the 80% sweeties in vain. Damn it, has kaytee been so utterly hopeless?
Help!
See also ;-)
(1) Bloggers - A letter to the ministry
(2) Goblok to Golek - a letter to the minister
PAS soars like eagle - AAB & his turkeys
In the last few days, when you read about the phenomenon of the ‘yellow wave’ in Malaysiakini, and the success of the protest but peaceful rally, there is a new debate in town.
One person argued, “So what if it was 40,000 instead of the 4,000 that mainstream media had agreed upon. But the 40,000 were just the vocal minority, hardly representative of the silent majority.”
Another riposted: “How can you sure the silent majority weren’t in sympathy with them? Not everyone could come to KL; not everyone had that activist inclination. But many were delighted they had braver and more active like-minded believers.”
In the end, it’s the ballot box that decides who’s for whom. But the ballot box is perceived as a dodgy item, lacking the integrity so vital to a democratic institution, and which was precisely why the Bersih rally evolved in the first place.
What had been apparent in the rally was that an opposition party, PAS, had not only provided the majority of the participants but prepared well for it to ensure that it was peaceful, orderly and well controlled by its Brigade Amal. Please compare them with the UMNO Putera’s sponsorship of Mat Rempits and the latter’s shambolic gambol at a Lumut (Perak) mosque ;-) - for more read Mat Cemerlang = Mat Cemar = Mabok Cemerlang.
PAS even has in place a post rally cleanup ops, obviously to further showcase its discipline and good citizenship. The political subtext in that was 'we construct, not destroy'.
The expected agent provocateurs were kept out or effectively neutralised by Amal's watchful eyes. The potential for excessive and undesired exuberance a la 1989 was kept on a tight leash.
The Bersih organizers' diversionary tactics were brilliant. The objectives were achieved, a show of people’s power (albeit still of debatable status) in the face of questionable police hampering and the symbolic handing over of a ‘people’s’ petition to the King to signal discontent and distrust with the current regime.
Not taking anything away from the equally passionate non-PAS participant such as the DAP, PKR and other smaller political parties, and yes of course those 60 odd NGOs, it was an impressive show of planning, discipline and firm execution by PAS.
PAS together with DAP, and yes of course those 60 odd NGOs, graciously gave way to Anwar Ibrahim, who only arrived at the climax of the rally, to deliver the petition cum memorandum to the King’s representative, and to represent Bersih in the international press conference al fresco.
By contrast, post rally, the government is in complete disarray while lacking the wits to respond.
So, we have the usual low level minded ministers making shrill and abusive accusations against the opposition and foreign press, and an IGP threatening to charge those who took their children with them to the rally while Malaysia has been reeling from a frightening number of child murders still unsolved.
Those miserable idiots failed abjectly to do the wisest thing under such circumstances – keep their stupid mouths shut.
AAB has also failed miserably to seize a golden opportunity to ‘launch an investigation’ into the police excessive use of force on a group of Bersih protestors at Masjid Jamek. How he would have come up smelling like roses if he had shown 'concern' for citizens who were outrageously hurt by the police use of tear gas and chemically laced water sprays on them.
Alas, it’s his loss of a chance to recoup the initiative which lies now with the opposition – but then, don't you think that's inevitable when he has such category of ministers and advisors.
You just have to commiserate with his political setbacks. But then, how can he soar like an eagle when he has only turkeys for company.
One person argued, “So what if it was 40,000 instead of the 4,000 that mainstream media had agreed upon. But the 40,000 were just the vocal minority, hardly representative of the silent majority.”
Another riposted: “How can you sure the silent majority weren’t in sympathy with them? Not everyone could come to KL; not everyone had that activist inclination. But many were delighted they had braver and more active like-minded believers.”
In the end, it’s the ballot box that decides who’s for whom. But the ballot box is perceived as a dodgy item, lacking the integrity so vital to a democratic institution, and which was precisely why the Bersih rally evolved in the first place.
What had been apparent in the rally was that an opposition party, PAS, had not only provided the majority of the participants but prepared well for it to ensure that it was peaceful, orderly and well controlled by its Brigade Amal. Please compare them with the UMNO Putera’s sponsorship of Mat Rempits and the latter’s shambolic gambol at a Lumut (Perak) mosque ;-) - for more read Mat Cemerlang = Mat Cemar = Mabok Cemerlang.
PAS even has in place a post rally cleanup ops, obviously to further showcase its discipline and good citizenship. The political subtext in that was 'we construct, not destroy'.
The expected agent provocateurs were kept out or effectively neutralised by Amal's watchful eyes. The potential for excessive and undesired exuberance a la 1989 was kept on a tight leash.
The Bersih organizers' diversionary tactics were brilliant. The objectives were achieved, a show of people’s power (albeit still of debatable status) in the face of questionable police hampering and the symbolic handing over of a ‘people’s’ petition to the King to signal discontent and distrust with the current regime.
Not taking anything away from the equally passionate non-PAS participant such as the DAP, PKR and other smaller political parties, and yes of course those 60 odd NGOs, it was an impressive show of planning, discipline and firm execution by PAS.
PAS together with DAP, and yes of course those 60 odd NGOs, graciously gave way to Anwar Ibrahim, who only arrived at the climax of the rally, to deliver the petition cum memorandum to the King’s representative, and to represent Bersih in the international press conference al fresco.
By contrast, post rally, the government is in complete disarray while lacking the wits to respond.
So, we have the usual low level minded ministers making shrill and abusive accusations against the opposition and foreign press, and an IGP threatening to charge those who took their children with them to the rally while Malaysia has been reeling from a frightening number of child murders still unsolved.
Those miserable idiots failed abjectly to do the wisest thing under such circumstances – keep their stupid mouths shut.
AAB has also failed miserably to seize a golden opportunity to ‘launch an investigation’ into the police excessive use of force on a group of Bersih protestors at Masjid Jamek. How he would have come up smelling like roses if he had shown 'concern' for citizens who were outrageously hurt by the police use of tear gas and chemically laced water sprays on them.
Alas, it’s his loss of a chance to recoup the initiative which lies now with the opposition – but then, don't you think that's inevitable when he has such category of ministers and advisors.
You just have to commiserate with his political setbacks. But then, how can he soar like an eagle when he has only turkeys for company.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Politics of Yellow
One of Malaysiakini columnists, the one with the big BIG words where a nearby dictionary would be most essential when you read his articles, ;-) Azly Rahman, waxed eloquent over Bersih's rally, which he termed the ‘yellow wave’.
But I like his frequent of the word ‘evolve’ in his article to describe the necessary political changes for a better and more democratic Malaysia. Yes, I rather we have ‘evolution’ rather than ‘revolution’.
In fact, one blogger by the name of Saidul chided a certain Bersih leader in calling for another mass rally, but a bigger one. The blogger stated his objection:
Please do not do anything silly, BERSIH. Stick with the agenda; please do not turn this into some kind of revolution against the government. Think of our poor Malaysians who had participated in yesterday’s big event. They were bombarded with tear gases and blasted with ‘stinging’ water cannons. They joined you because they believe in your fight to have an electoral reform. Please do not take advantage of them.
Though this blogger wants my hide - yes, Saidul hates my guts for allegedly being anti Melayu and anti Muslim ;-) - I say Amin for his advice to that Bersih leader.
Let's play 'evolution' rather than 'revolution'. Let's take the 'middle path' of moderation. Let's nudge the politics towards accountability, transparency and democracy where we want it but through peaceful and democratic process.
Most of all, let's not be too boastful that we 'showed' AAB what people's power has been ... because when push comes to shove, people like AAB and his mob can turn fairly ugly, and the ones hurt will be those earnest sincere innocent supporters of Bersih.
Afterall, didn't Mao said that 'all power comes from the barrel of a gun.' Consider the case history of Tian An Men Square, Myanmar monks, Thailand post Thaksin Sinawatra - where's the expected democracy in each case, and what's the world doing about it?
In May this year, Thailand's Constitutional Tribunal dissolved and banned Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and a hundred of its officials for 5 years - a convenient touch which is familiar to us, but did His Royal Majesty frown on that totally undemocratic action?
Now you know why I posted The journey of a 1000 li and Rulers no 'Silver Bullet'. And I would still to like to ask the embarrassing question again - what happened to the Malaysian royalty when the previous Lord President Salleh Abbas was sacked! Did any of the Sultans or the Agong speak up then for him?
Anyway, back to Azly Rahman – Azly tends to get carried away with metaphors. He reckoned that “there is a durian dimension to the Nov 10 march of grievance.”
He wrote in Malaysiakini: “The yellowness of the durian is a metaphor of the yellow wave of change.”
“The durian is a yellow fruit - an exquisite and truly world-class Malaysian fruit. It has a Marxist contradiction built in.”
Marxist contradiction in a durian? ;-)
Continuing - “It is pungent, banned in hotels and airplanes, tastes like vomit to some, feels like eating ice-cream in a Malaysian toilet to many, yet it has one of the most heavenly taste that even the most glorious of Malaysian statesmen and Supreme Rulers would not resist it over a pot of thick Malaccan coffee.”
I wasn’t aware that durian taste great with coffee. I normally have mine with mangosteens – you know the yang (heat) of durian balanced by the yin (cool) of mangosteen, and the Tao would be One!
Continuing – “In the yellowness of it lies heaven and hell. In it lies the joys and sorrow of tasting. It is a bitter fruit of freedom. Like the fruit in the song 'Strange Fruit' rendered beautifully by the grand diva of jazz, Nina Simone; a fruit that tells America the story of lynching down South.”
'... sorrow of tasting ...' durians? ;-) We better stop there before Azly takes us on a roller coaster ride to an unknown destination.
It's obvious and unfortunate that Azly has chosen to look at the durian from a Westerner’s point of view, as in - “It is pungent, banned in hotels and airplanes, tastes like vomit to some, feels like eating ice-cream in a Malaysian toilet to many ...”.
It would be the rare Malaysian or South-East Asian who shares those views. To us, the durian is THE KING of fruits, period! So I don’t share Azly’s perception of the durian having ‘Marxist contradiction’ ;-) In fact it’s 'haute bourgeoisie'.
Anyway, Azly’s semi-poetic discourse on The yellow wave and its durian effect in Malaysiakini follows a pattern of groups using colour to symbolize resistance or desire for change.
He wrote: "If we can have the masses to continue to wear yellow (like the Irish with their St. Patrick greens) as a memory of Nov 10, we will continue with the message right till Election Day. Revolutions need martyrs, reformations need signs and symbols and significations - etched in the memory of even the little child near Pasar Seni pepper-sprayed by the Mighty Machine trying with paranoia to crush those voices no longer in the wilderness."
"This is why we have the yellow fever. Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy - a good old slogan to arrive at."
Hmmm, he did get carried away, didn't he, but I am not too sure about his proposal to have the yellow fever – maybe Dr Azly has lived so long in the USA that he may have forgotten what yellow fever actually is - something we sure as hell don't want to have or get.
If we recall the recent resistance of the Myanmar monks, people around the world including Malaysians wore ‘red’ to pay tribute to, and support those intrepid monks and indeed the Myanmars. The colour ‘red’ has become a significant symbol for their struggle against a draconian military dictatorship.
I deplore and regret the drastic action taken by the Myanmar military against those monks, but it was precisely an example of an ugly authority facing a situation which it couldn't handle, and which invariably brought out its brutal caveman tactics.
Yes, praise the courage of the monks, commemorate their ideals, beautify them for their sacrifice, but they, not us, are very very dead. I recall what my late father used to say to my older cousins: "Don't be brave and hot with other people's blood".
A few years ago, in 2004, the Ukranians also employed a colour to signal their intentions to break free from the past. In many ways, perhaps over-done by a Western press eager to see the dismantling of the Russian influence, the political battle between pro-West Viktor Yushchenko against pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych was glamorously labelled as the Orange Revolution.
In the midst of the euphoria over his election victory, Viktor Yushchenko made a hasty and ill-considered declaration (rather provocatively to Russia) to take Ukraine into NATO. Not unexpectedly, the Russians moved swiftly to squash the Orange Revolution into pulp and sour lemony juice, when it started to remove its substantial subsidy for the fuel and gas it supplied to Ukraine.
That suddenly took the air out from Yushchenko's breath, braggadocio and bravado. Of course the USA who was egging Yushenko on didn't offer to replace the Russian subsidy. That's the problem of euphoria which leads people to believe they're on top of the world when they're really in danger of oxygen starvation.
But the colour ‘yellow’ seems to be very popular with resistant groups, though in the West it's the colour of cowardice. However, in Chinese culture as well as that of Malay, it's the colour of royalty. Incidentally the Chinese were also known as the Yellow Race or descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
In recent times (just 20 years back) 'yellow' was made famous by Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, who was/is more popularly known as Cory Aquino.
When her husband Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino was assassinated immediately on his return from exile in the USA, millions of Filipinos were outraged and set on overthrowing Ferdinand Marcos and his 4,000-shoed wife, Imelda, whom they blamed for Ninoy's untimely death.
Apparently Cory adopted the ‘yellow’ colour as her standard, because Ninoy's favorite song was ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree’, which was playing all over Manila the day he returned, but only to die in Manila.
From thence, Cory wore a yellow dress on the (political) stage, and the Yellow Revolution came to be. It seemed that when Cory and his supporters marched down Manila’s Ayala Avenue, the people in the offices lining the streets tore up the Yellow Pages to use as confetti to fete her.
When she became President of the Philippines and visited the USA to address both Houses of Congress, every US congressman and senator wore a yellow tie. Hmmm ;-)
But while Cory made ‘yellow’ famous in recent times, it was actually way back in CE 184 that the colour assumed significant religious and political meaning in China.
Then, there was a peasant rebellion against Emperor Lingdi of the Han Dynasty. The uprising was known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, named for the color of the scarves which the rebels wore around their heads. Secret Taiping Taoist societies led or guided the rebels, with the uprising marking an important point in the history of Taoism.
However, there wasn’t to be a happy ending as the Yellow Turban rebellion was defeated eventually. But what it did achieve was to quicken the collapse of the Han Dynasty in AD 220. Although the rebellion was crushed, its legacy lived on. A number of peasant uprisings in China looked at the Yellow Turban rebellion as a role model.
But I am always wary of people who promote seizure of power by revolution, basically using non-democratic, intimidating and even violent means. The excuse of violence for reforms should not be accepted. If we cherish the democratic process, we cannot and should not support revolution, especially in a nation like ours - yes, it's bad but not that bloody bad to justify street revolts. We should reject violence, intimidation and non-democratic practice whether these are from the other side or ours.
As Dr Azly said, let's work for evolution, and the way kaytee sees it, it should be the evolution of our mentality, mindset and mettle to strive ceasinglessly for democratic reforms through the ballot box, and certainly for an improved system to better the integrity of the ballot box.
I salute those who did march in the yellow wave of Bersih, even more those who braved the police attacks on them. They have achieved much, especially in awakening our conscience and our desire for change, and through peaceful and democratic expressions.
Let 'yellow' be the colour of our political standard for our peaceful but firm resolve to evolve. Let's evolve in Gandhi-like manner to honour their efforts and sacrifice.
But I like his frequent of the word ‘evolve’ in his article to describe the necessary political changes for a better and more democratic Malaysia. Yes, I rather we have ‘evolution’ rather than ‘revolution’.
In fact, one blogger by the name of Saidul chided a certain Bersih leader in calling for another mass rally, but a bigger one. The blogger stated his objection:
Please do not do anything silly, BERSIH. Stick with the agenda; please do not turn this into some kind of revolution against the government. Think of our poor Malaysians who had participated in yesterday’s big event. They were bombarded with tear gases and blasted with ‘stinging’ water cannons. They joined you because they believe in your fight to have an electoral reform. Please do not take advantage of them.
Though this blogger wants my hide - yes, Saidul hates my guts for allegedly being anti Melayu and anti Muslim ;-) - I say Amin for his advice to that Bersih leader.
Let's play 'evolution' rather than 'revolution'. Let's take the 'middle path' of moderation. Let's nudge the politics towards accountability, transparency and democracy where we want it but through peaceful and democratic process.
Most of all, let's not be too boastful that we 'showed' AAB what people's power has been ... because when push comes to shove, people like AAB and his mob can turn fairly ugly, and the ones hurt will be those earnest sincere innocent supporters of Bersih.
Afterall, didn't Mao said that 'all power comes from the barrel of a gun.' Consider the case history of Tian An Men Square, Myanmar monks, Thailand post Thaksin Sinawatra - where's the expected democracy in each case, and what's the world doing about it?
In May this year, Thailand's Constitutional Tribunal dissolved and banned Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party and a hundred of its officials for 5 years - a convenient touch which is familiar to us, but did His Royal Majesty frown on that totally undemocratic action?
Now you know why I posted The journey of a 1000 li and Rulers no 'Silver Bullet'. And I would still to like to ask the embarrassing question again - what happened to the Malaysian royalty when the previous Lord President Salleh Abbas was sacked! Did any of the Sultans or the Agong speak up then for him?
Anyway, back to Azly Rahman – Azly tends to get carried away with metaphors. He reckoned that “there is a durian dimension to the Nov 10 march of grievance.”
He wrote in Malaysiakini: “The yellowness of the durian is a metaphor of the yellow wave of change.”
“The durian is a yellow fruit - an exquisite and truly world-class Malaysian fruit. It has a Marxist contradiction built in.”
Marxist contradiction in a durian? ;-)
Continuing - “It is pungent, banned in hotels and airplanes, tastes like vomit to some, feels like eating ice-cream in a Malaysian toilet to many, yet it has one of the most heavenly taste that even the most glorious of Malaysian statesmen and Supreme Rulers would not resist it over a pot of thick Malaccan coffee.”
I wasn’t aware that durian taste great with coffee. I normally have mine with mangosteens – you know the yang (heat) of durian balanced by the yin (cool) of mangosteen, and the Tao would be One!
Continuing – “In the yellowness of it lies heaven and hell. In it lies the joys and sorrow of tasting. It is a bitter fruit of freedom. Like the fruit in the song 'Strange Fruit' rendered beautifully by the grand diva of jazz, Nina Simone; a fruit that tells America the story of lynching down South.”
'... sorrow of tasting ...' durians? ;-) We better stop there before Azly takes us on a roller coaster ride to an unknown destination.
It's obvious and unfortunate that Azly has chosen to look at the durian from a Westerner’s point of view, as in - “It is pungent, banned in hotels and airplanes, tastes like vomit to some, feels like eating ice-cream in a Malaysian toilet to many ...”.
It would be the rare Malaysian or South-East Asian who shares those views. To us, the durian is THE KING of fruits, period! So I don’t share Azly’s perception of the durian having ‘Marxist contradiction’ ;-) In fact it’s 'haute bourgeoisie'.
Anyway, Azly’s semi-poetic discourse on The yellow wave and its durian effect in Malaysiakini follows a pattern of groups using colour to symbolize resistance or desire for change.
He wrote: "If we can have the masses to continue to wear yellow (like the Irish with their St. Patrick greens) as a memory of Nov 10, we will continue with the message right till Election Day. Revolutions need martyrs, reformations need signs and symbols and significations - etched in the memory of even the little child near Pasar Seni pepper-sprayed by the Mighty Machine trying with paranoia to crush those voices no longer in the wilderness."
"This is why we have the yellow fever. Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy - a good old slogan to arrive at."
Hmmm, he did get carried away, didn't he, but I am not too sure about his proposal to have the yellow fever – maybe Dr Azly has lived so long in the USA that he may have forgotten what yellow fever actually is - something we sure as hell don't want to have or get.
If we recall the recent resistance of the Myanmar monks, people around the world including Malaysians wore ‘red’ to pay tribute to, and support those intrepid monks and indeed the Myanmars. The colour ‘red’ has become a significant symbol for their struggle against a draconian military dictatorship.
I deplore and regret the drastic action taken by the Myanmar military against those monks, but it was precisely an example of an ugly authority facing a situation which it couldn't handle, and which invariably brought out its brutal caveman tactics.
Yes, praise the courage of the monks, commemorate their ideals, beautify them for their sacrifice, but they, not us, are very very dead. I recall what my late father used to say to my older cousins: "Don't be brave and hot with other people's blood".
A few years ago, in 2004, the Ukranians also employed a colour to signal their intentions to break free from the past. In many ways, perhaps over-done by a Western press eager to see the dismantling of the Russian influence, the political battle between pro-West Viktor Yushchenko against pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych was glamorously labelled as the Orange Revolution.
In the midst of the euphoria over his election victory, Viktor Yushchenko made a hasty and ill-considered declaration (rather provocatively to Russia) to take Ukraine into NATO. Not unexpectedly, the Russians moved swiftly to squash the Orange Revolution into pulp and sour lemony juice, when it started to remove its substantial subsidy for the fuel and gas it supplied to Ukraine.
That suddenly took the air out from Yushchenko's breath, braggadocio and bravado. Of course the USA who was egging Yushenko on didn't offer to replace the Russian subsidy. That's the problem of euphoria which leads people to believe they're on top of the world when they're really in danger of oxygen starvation.
But the colour ‘yellow’ seems to be very popular with resistant groups, though in the West it's the colour of cowardice. However, in Chinese culture as well as that of Malay, it's the colour of royalty. Incidentally the Chinese were also known as the Yellow Race or descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
In recent times (just 20 years back) 'yellow' was made famous by Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, who was/is more popularly known as Cory Aquino.
When her husband Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino was assassinated immediately on his return from exile in the USA, millions of Filipinos were outraged and set on overthrowing Ferdinand Marcos and his 4,000-shoed wife, Imelda, whom they blamed for Ninoy's untimely death.
Apparently Cory adopted the ‘yellow’ colour as her standard, because Ninoy's favorite song was ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree’, which was playing all over Manila the day he returned, but only to die in Manila.
From thence, Cory wore a yellow dress on the (political) stage, and the Yellow Revolution came to be. It seemed that when Cory and his supporters marched down Manila’s Ayala Avenue, the people in the offices lining the streets tore up the Yellow Pages to use as confetti to fete her.
When she became President of the Philippines and visited the USA to address both Houses of Congress, every US congressman and senator wore a yellow tie. Hmmm ;-)
But while Cory made ‘yellow’ famous in recent times, it was actually way back in CE 184 that the colour assumed significant religious and political meaning in China.
Then, there was a peasant rebellion against Emperor Lingdi of the Han Dynasty. The uprising was known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, named for the color of the scarves which the rebels wore around their heads. Secret Taiping Taoist societies led or guided the rebels, with the uprising marking an important point in the history of Taoism.
However, there wasn’t to be a happy ending as the Yellow Turban rebellion was defeated eventually. But what it did achieve was to quicken the collapse of the Han Dynasty in AD 220. Although the rebellion was crushed, its legacy lived on. A number of peasant uprisings in China looked at the Yellow Turban rebellion as a role model.
But I am always wary of people who promote seizure of power by revolution, basically using non-democratic, intimidating and even violent means. The excuse of violence for reforms should not be accepted. If we cherish the democratic process, we cannot and should not support revolution, especially in a nation like ours - yes, it's bad but not that bloody bad to justify street revolts. We should reject violence, intimidation and non-democratic practice whether these are from the other side or ours.
As Dr Azly said, let's work for evolution, and the way kaytee sees it, it should be the evolution of our mentality, mindset and mettle to strive ceasinglessly for democratic reforms through the ballot box, and certainly for an improved system to better the integrity of the ballot box.
I salute those who did march in the yellow wave of Bersih, even more those who braved the police attacks on them. They have achieved much, especially in awakening our conscience and our desire for change, and through peaceful and democratic expressions.
Let 'yellow' be the colour of our political standard for our peaceful but firm resolve to evolve. Let's evolve in Gandhi-like manner to honour their efforts and sacrifice.
Monday, November 12, 2007
The journey of a 1000 li
I am not sure about the Malaysiakini article Next stop, the sultans.
I know that desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, and surely to re-invite the royalty to play a far bigger role than the constitution allows them, or to accord them a far greater political significance than they have historically merited, would be the ultimate desperate measure, a case of jumping from the pan into the fire.
I really don’t like it – why – think of a southern State, that’s why!
I am not keen to overplay the royal card; we're giving too much credit to those royals who have been trying to make themselves relevant again after they had their royal teeth de-fanged, and if I were a hockey coach or a caddy's brother, I would say, bloody rightfully so!
And I also want to ask what happened to the royalty when the previous Lord President Salleh Abbas was sacked! Did any of the Sultans or the Agong speak up for him then?
I believe that AAB will call for the GE, sooner rather than later, as things are getting worse for him. He reckons he still has the 'heartland' behind him - this plus Sabah should see him through, as he believes, and OK, he may well be right.
But the Bersih campaign has currently engendered a fairly good opposition momentum so while not expecting the 'Spirit of 69' or its results, there is sufficient dynamics for the opposition to make a reasonable impact in the GE despite the gerrymandering and postal votes.
So with such a Bersih-rised momentum, an early GE may not be so bad afterall, other than for Anwar Ibrahim who is still legally barred from participating.
There is an unrealistic temptation to fantasize a miraculous overthrowing of the establishment. I rather we think incremental but significant chipping away of the BN grip on power, so that the opposition will be better placed in the 2012-3 GE.
The journey of a 1000 li starts with the first step.
I know that desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, and surely to re-invite the royalty to play a far bigger role than the constitution allows them, or to accord them a far greater political significance than they have historically merited, would be the ultimate desperate measure, a case of jumping from the pan into the fire.
I really don’t like it – why – think of a southern State, that’s why!
I am not keen to overplay the royal card; we're giving too much credit to those royals who have been trying to make themselves relevant again after they had their royal teeth de-fanged, and if I were a hockey coach or a caddy's brother, I would say, bloody rightfully so!
And I also want to ask what happened to the royalty when the previous Lord President Salleh Abbas was sacked! Did any of the Sultans or the Agong speak up for him then?
I believe that AAB will call for the GE, sooner rather than later, as things are getting worse for him. He reckons he still has the 'heartland' behind him - this plus Sabah should see him through, as he believes, and OK, he may well be right.
But the Bersih campaign has currently engendered a fairly good opposition momentum so while not expecting the 'Spirit of 69' or its results, there is sufficient dynamics for the opposition to make a reasonable impact in the GE despite the gerrymandering and postal votes.
So with such a Bersih-rised momentum, an early GE may not be so bad afterall, other than for Anwar Ibrahim who is still legally barred from participating.
There is an unrealistic temptation to fantasize a miraculous overthrowing of the establishment. I rather we think incremental but significant chipping away of the BN grip on power, so that the opposition will be better placed in the 2012-3 GE.
The journey of a 1000 li starts with the first step.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Peaceful Bersih crowd at Masjid Jamek tear-gas-ed - why?
Predictably the Star Online downplayed the Bersih protest rally by reporting it with the description Police disperse illegal assembly.
That it was illegal could be argued as true because of the police refusal to issue a permit for the rally, but the report only focussed on a very small crowd at Masjid Jamek, where FRU was ‘forced’ to use tear gas and water “because the crowd refused to disperse when instructed by [police] officers to do so.”
I wasn't able to access Malaysiakini until in the early morning, so I had to resort to Al Jazeera and some blogs like What A Lulu and Kenny Law to find out what the hell was going on? Both were first hand first class reports.
What I love about Lulu's style of blogging has been her unpretentious narration. Take for example the following down-to-earth report which is all the more endearing:
Up till like 2:15, someone remarked that there were hardly any yellow shirts around. They were all tucked under the shirts they were wearing or safely hidden in their bags. Everyone was still a little afraid to let it out.
Isn't that sweet and honest, and reflects all the more on her intrepidity. But what she wrote next brought would surely bring a smile to most of us, as she, Lulu, smiled too ;-)
Then Lulu said, hey! there are three guys here in yellow! they so brave.... then as they came closer,... oh... it's tianchua and his machai :D
Did you catch her 'oh ...' in the 'oh... it's tianchua and his machai :D' - surely a priceless gem of local (blogging) folklore ;-). No, it was neither an insult at Tian Chua nor an indication of disppointment but merely expressing her thoughts which we all share, as in "That's our boy at his usual best." ;-)
Kenny gave a more raw and exciting account. Poor bloke was at the Masjid Jamek locality and so was in the thick of the tear gas and chemically laced water bombardments. He also provided a chart to highlight the movement of his group after the attack. Damn good reading.
The stories from them (and later from Malaysiakini) are of course different from the Star Online, where the crowd actually numbered between 30 to 40,000, with the major body of the rally conducted peacefully. Mind you I don't know what a motorist, caught up in the jams caused by the event, would have been thinking ;-)
I also watched the UTube video (of an Al Jazeera report?) showing the FRU attacks on a peaceful crowd. The reporter, a bloke named McDonald, emphasized on this strange behavior by the police in tear gasing a group of peaceful protestors – maybe strange to him but more of this later.
On the video I saw Jeff Ooi being interviewed and introduced as an ‘independent journalist’ – now, we all know that Jeff is an opposition politician, having joined the DAP, but I note Jeff didn’t say anything to correct that introduction. When asked by the interviewer whether the opposition had ‘fueled’ the protest (words to that effect), and hijacked Bersih’s protest, Jeff naturally rejected that.
I won’t go into the merits of Jeff’s performance and answer but suffice to say, with everyone including Lim KS and PAS leaders waiting at the Istana gates for Anwar Ibrahim to arrive to personally hand over the Bersih memorandum to the King, there is no disputing that Anwar has been certainly the central personality if not the de facto leader of the Bersih protest rally.
A minor drama occurred at the Istana gates when senior police officers urged PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim, his PAS counterpart, Kamaruddin Jaffar, and PKR vice-president R Sivarasa to hasten the submission of the memorandum, with dire warnings that they would be compel to forcibly disperse the crowd.
But Anwar Ibrahim and his wife were somewhere in the rear echelon, having not marched with Lim KS and the rest. He was to arrive in a motorcade convoy once the rally had arrived safely at the palace gates.
So the opposition leaders appealed to the police to be patient for Anwar’s arrival as his motorcade convoy was caught in the traffic jam. It was to be Anwar (and no one else) who would hand over the memorandum.
A few minutes later, Malaysiakini reported that there were shouts of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) as the de facto leader of the Bersih protest rally finally arrived on the pillion on a superbike. He assumed command of the situation, did the needful and then held court to answer questions from international reporters.
Apart from the lateral thinking in using a bike to enable Anwar to slip through the impossible traffic jam to finally join the rally, the organizers had, according to Malaysiakini, brilliantly conducted a diversionary manoeuvre by having a small crowd of a few hundred attempting to penetrate the police cordon into Dataran Merdeka, the publicized gathering point, while the main crowd went directly to Istana Negara, the intended destination, for the handing over of the memorandum by Anwar Ibrahim to the (representative of the) King.
I am glad that other than the (unnecessary) fracas at the Masjid Jamek scene, the rally and event had progressed peacefully. I admit I had expected and told a friend that some nasty Police reaction would be likely. While I wasn't completely wrong I am truly relieved that it was confined to one location.
Now, as Al Jazeera reporter McDonald had puzzled over, why did the FRU attack the ‘peaceful’ crowd at the Masjid Jamek locality with chemical laced water and tear gas?
It can’t be because of what the IGP claimed, and reported by Star Online, that “the police were forced to use tear gas and water because the crowd refused to disperse when instructed by his officers to do so at 2.30pm Saturday. The tear gas and water cannon was only used at the Masjid Jamek meeting point.”
If we review the other scenes where there were far bigger crowds, the police had been reasonable. As I had concluded earlier, other than the Masjid Jamek location, there was a peaceful ending to the Bersih rally.
Now, it could well be a localised situation where the police had perceived a threat. But in an attempt to seek another possible answer, I hark back to the Malaysiakini report on Friday titled PM vows to crack down on Bersih rally where PM AAB in his closing speech at the UMNO party annual assembly said of the Bersih rally, “The police have said no, yet they still want to proceed. In that case, surely something bad is going to happen.”
'... surely something bad is going to happen ...'! The PM had also made a point that there had never been peaceful protest rallies.
Well, I believe the police at the Masjid Jamek location did ‘prove’ his point! I am speculating that the crowd dispersal requirement 'confirmed' the impression that as 'predicted', the mobs were 'bad', disruptive and dangerous, but at the same time the police didn't overdo the anti riot act (on a wider scale) as that would be what attracts international official attention and disturbs foreign investors. Afterall, AAB did repudiate comparison to the draconian Myanmar example.
It’s interesting that AAB, in making his closing address at the UMNO annual assembly, had vowed to crack down on a planned mass rally in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and gave his support to the police to break up the protest and arrest participants. Has it been a case of 'So it was said, so it was done' but perhaps carefully controlled so as not to bring about a Myanmar-ish proportion!
And certainly at such a forum, where keris drawing is an expected obligatory ritual of its leaders, AAB came out with a jaguh-ish (fighting) assertion:
“They are challenging the patience of the rakyat who want this country to be peaceful and stable. That is what they are challenging, not me.”
“Tapi saya mesti kata saya pantang dicabar (But I have to say that don't you dare challenge me).”
The mob (no, not the Bersih crowd, but the UMNO assembly) roared with approval.
‘... pantang dicabar ..’ – unique fighting words best presented in its non-euphemistic raw form as ‘don’t f-around with me’ which was of course designed to warm the cockles of the UMNO hearts with their leader - ya, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu terjamin selamat bila Pak Lah dalam kedudukan 'helming', with the last (English) word dedicated to those hardworking guys at Malaysiakini ;-)
Then, could it be (speculating of course) that the FRU attack on the peaceful crowd at Masjid Jamek was also meant to illustrate the resolve of a PM who takes-no-sh*t from the Bersih protestors, assuring the 'heartland' of his firm grip of the situation but of course not frightening investors away.
That it was illegal could be argued as true because of the police refusal to issue a permit for the rally, but the report only focussed on a very small crowd at Masjid Jamek, where FRU was ‘forced’ to use tear gas and water “because the crowd refused to disperse when instructed by [police] officers to do so.”
I wasn't able to access Malaysiakini until in the early morning, so I had to resort to Al Jazeera and some blogs like What A Lulu and Kenny Law to find out what the hell was going on? Both were first hand first class reports.
What I love about Lulu's style of blogging has been her unpretentious narration. Take for example the following down-to-earth report which is all the more endearing:
Up till like 2:15, someone remarked that there were hardly any yellow shirts around. They were all tucked under the shirts they were wearing or safely hidden in their bags. Everyone was still a little afraid to let it out.
Isn't that sweet and honest, and reflects all the more on her intrepidity. But what she wrote next brought would surely bring a smile to most of us, as she, Lulu, smiled too ;-)
Then Lulu said, hey! there are three guys here in yellow! they so brave.... then as they came closer,... oh... it's tianchua and his machai :D
Did you catch her 'oh ...' in the 'oh... it's tianchua and his machai :D' - surely a priceless gem of local (blogging) folklore ;-). No, it was neither an insult at Tian Chua nor an indication of disppointment but merely expressing her thoughts which we all share, as in "That's our boy at his usual best." ;-)
Kenny gave a more raw and exciting account. Poor bloke was at the Masjid Jamek locality and so was in the thick of the tear gas and chemically laced water bombardments. He also provided a chart to highlight the movement of his group after the attack. Damn good reading.
The stories from them (and later from Malaysiakini) are of course different from the Star Online, where the crowd actually numbered between 30 to 40,000, with the major body of the rally conducted peacefully. Mind you I don't know what a motorist, caught up in the jams caused by the event, would have been thinking ;-)
I also watched the UTube video (of an Al Jazeera report?) showing the FRU attacks on a peaceful crowd. The reporter, a bloke named McDonald, emphasized on this strange behavior by the police in tear gasing a group of peaceful protestors – maybe strange to him but more of this later.
On the video I saw Jeff Ooi being interviewed and introduced as an ‘independent journalist’ – now, we all know that Jeff is an opposition politician, having joined the DAP, but I note Jeff didn’t say anything to correct that introduction. When asked by the interviewer whether the opposition had ‘fueled’ the protest (words to that effect), and hijacked Bersih’s protest, Jeff naturally rejected that.
I won’t go into the merits of Jeff’s performance and answer but suffice to say, with everyone including Lim KS and PAS leaders waiting at the Istana gates for Anwar Ibrahim to arrive to personally hand over the Bersih memorandum to the King, there is no disputing that Anwar has been certainly the central personality if not the de facto leader of the Bersih protest rally.
A minor drama occurred at the Istana gates when senior police officers urged PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim, his PAS counterpart, Kamaruddin Jaffar, and PKR vice-president R Sivarasa to hasten the submission of the memorandum, with dire warnings that they would be compel to forcibly disperse the crowd.
But Anwar Ibrahim and his wife were somewhere in the rear echelon, having not marched with Lim KS and the rest. He was to arrive in a motorcade convoy once the rally had arrived safely at the palace gates.
So the opposition leaders appealed to the police to be patient for Anwar’s arrival as his motorcade convoy was caught in the traffic jam. It was to be Anwar (and no one else) who would hand over the memorandum.
A few minutes later, Malaysiakini reported that there were shouts of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) as the de facto leader of the Bersih protest rally finally arrived on the pillion on a superbike. He assumed command of the situation, did the needful and then held court to answer questions from international reporters.
Apart from the lateral thinking in using a bike to enable Anwar to slip through the impossible traffic jam to finally join the rally, the organizers had, according to Malaysiakini, brilliantly conducted a diversionary manoeuvre by having a small crowd of a few hundred attempting to penetrate the police cordon into Dataran Merdeka, the publicized gathering point, while the main crowd went directly to Istana Negara, the intended destination, for the handing over of the memorandum by Anwar Ibrahim to the (representative of the) King.
I am glad that other than the (unnecessary) fracas at the Masjid Jamek scene, the rally and event had progressed peacefully. I admit I had expected and told a friend that some nasty Police reaction would be likely. While I wasn't completely wrong I am truly relieved that it was confined to one location.
Now, as Al Jazeera reporter McDonald had puzzled over, why did the FRU attack the ‘peaceful’ crowd at the Masjid Jamek locality with chemical laced water and tear gas?
It can’t be because of what the IGP claimed, and reported by Star Online, that “the police were forced to use tear gas and water because the crowd refused to disperse when instructed by his officers to do so at 2.30pm Saturday. The tear gas and water cannon was only used at the Masjid Jamek meeting point.”
If we review the other scenes where there were far bigger crowds, the police had been reasonable. As I had concluded earlier, other than the Masjid Jamek location, there was a peaceful ending to the Bersih rally.
Now, it could well be a localised situation where the police had perceived a threat. But in an attempt to seek another possible answer, I hark back to the Malaysiakini report on Friday titled PM vows to crack down on Bersih rally where PM AAB in his closing speech at the UMNO party annual assembly said of the Bersih rally, “The police have said no, yet they still want to proceed. In that case, surely something bad is going to happen.”
'... surely something bad is going to happen ...'! The PM had also made a point that there had never been peaceful protest rallies.
Well, I believe the police at the Masjid Jamek location did ‘prove’ his point! I am speculating that the crowd dispersal requirement 'confirmed' the impression that as 'predicted', the mobs were 'bad', disruptive and dangerous, but at the same time the police didn't overdo the anti riot act (on a wider scale) as that would be what attracts international official attention and disturbs foreign investors. Afterall, AAB did repudiate comparison to the draconian Myanmar example.
It’s interesting that AAB, in making his closing address at the UMNO annual assembly, had vowed to crack down on a planned mass rally in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and gave his support to the police to break up the protest and arrest participants. Has it been a case of 'So it was said, so it was done' but perhaps carefully controlled so as not to bring about a Myanmar-ish proportion!
And certainly at such a forum, where keris drawing is an expected obligatory ritual of its leaders, AAB came out with a jaguh-ish (fighting) assertion:
“They are challenging the patience of the rakyat who want this country to be peaceful and stable. That is what they are challenging, not me.”
“Tapi saya mesti kata saya pantang dicabar (But I have to say that don't you dare challenge me).”
The mob (no, not the Bersih crowd, but the UMNO assembly) roared with approval.
‘... pantang dicabar ..’ – unique fighting words best presented in its non-euphemistic raw form as ‘don’t f-around with me’ which was of course designed to warm the cockles of the UMNO hearts with their leader - ya, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu terjamin selamat bila Pak Lah dalam kedudukan 'helming', with the last (English) word dedicated to those hardworking guys at Malaysiakini ;-)
Then, could it be (speculating of course) that the FRU attack on the peaceful crowd at Masjid Jamek was also meant to illustrate the resolve of a PM who takes-no-sh*t from the Bersih protestors, assuring the 'heartland' of his firm grip of the situation but of course not frightening investors away.
Friday, November 09, 2007
SIL: It's the towkay and those Indians!
There are more ways to rubbish the 'Nons' than just shout at them, or even threaten them with keris or tebuans or ‘wash our pointy thingy with Chinese blood’.
The following quotes have been extracted from Malaysiakini.
Umno Youth has urged the government to revamp how it subsidises various areas of the economy in order to ensure that only the needy and deserving receive such privileges.
“Imagine: A pakcik on a motorbike pays RM1.92 for a litre of petrol. A towkay in a Mercedes-Benz pays the same price. Why? Why must we subsidise those who are already rich?”
Note ‘pakchik on motorbike’ versus ‘towkay in a Mercedes’!
It's that damn towkay and not Datuk Seri this or that, including one who lives in a palace in Port Klang, or young turks who were given multi million ringgit loans without collateral.
Then the Indians were not spared as well, as in the following:
On Malay entrepreneurs, Khairy said the Malays lack control of the supply chain and this explains their poor standing in various industries.
“Today is the first time the Umno president's speech is not being read by the masses because a particular ethnic group controls the distribution line of newspapers and they are on holiday,” he said.
Because ‘a particular group controls ...’ Hmmm, which 'particular group' controls virtually every bloody thing, the police, army, civil services, universities, ministries, ... you name it ... !
Khairy was referring to 'no publication' day of almost all the major newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia as it was the Deepavali holiday.
Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had yesterday delivered his annual presidential address yesterday but it was only carried in Utusan Malaysia, Kosmo and Oriental Daily today.
What about The Star and NST? Yes, what about the NST?
He was using this as an example of how the Malays are often at the bottom of the supply chain.
"If you look at the distribution network, all is control by a certain race. We have always allow this distribution network to be controlled by one race. Only today, we know the implication. This is because we did not control the distribution network."
While he did not name the ethnic group which control the distribution network, it is an open secret that Indian Malaysians made up the majority of the newspaper vendors.
Amazing, now who has been bullsh*tting about Indians being marginalised?
Using agriculture as another example, he said Malays had become synonymous with farmers because the distribution, middlemen and processing stage of the industry were controlled by non-Malays.
Jeez, how did the successive Malay dominated governments allow the UMNO Malays to become so marginalized?
But thank goodness the World’s most famous SIL with his Oxford education is here to save bangsa, agama dan negara.
The following quotes have been extracted from Malaysiakini.
Umno Youth has urged the government to revamp how it subsidises various areas of the economy in order to ensure that only the needy and deserving receive such privileges.
“Imagine: A pakcik on a motorbike pays RM1.92 for a litre of petrol. A towkay in a Mercedes-Benz pays the same price. Why? Why must we subsidise those who are already rich?”
Note ‘pakchik on motorbike’ versus ‘towkay in a Mercedes’!
It's that damn towkay and not Datuk Seri this or that, including one who lives in a palace in Port Klang, or young turks who were given multi million ringgit loans without collateral.
Then the Indians were not spared as well, as in the following:
On Malay entrepreneurs, Khairy said the Malays lack control of the supply chain and this explains their poor standing in various industries.
“Today is the first time the Umno president's speech is not being read by the masses because a particular ethnic group controls the distribution line of newspapers and they are on holiday,” he said.
Because ‘a particular group controls ...’ Hmmm, which 'particular group' controls virtually every bloody thing, the police, army, civil services, universities, ministries, ... you name it ... !
Khairy was referring to 'no publication' day of almost all the major newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia as it was the Deepavali holiday.
Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had yesterday delivered his annual presidential address yesterday but it was only carried in Utusan Malaysia, Kosmo and Oriental Daily today.
What about The Star and NST? Yes, what about the NST?
He was using this as an example of how the Malays are often at the bottom of the supply chain.
"If you look at the distribution network, all is control by a certain race. We have always allow this distribution network to be controlled by one race. Only today, we know the implication. This is because we did not control the distribution network."
While he did not name the ethnic group which control the distribution network, it is an open secret that Indian Malaysians made up the majority of the newspaper vendors.
Amazing, now who has been bullsh*tting about Indians being marginalised?
Using agriculture as another example, he said Malays had become synonymous with farmers because the distribution, middlemen and processing stage of the industry were controlled by non-Malays.
Jeez, how did the successive Malay dominated governments allow the UMNO Malays to become so marginalized?
But thank goodness the World’s most famous SIL with his Oxford education is here to save bangsa, agama dan negara.
No light at end of UMNO 'Tunnel'
In the wake of UMNO Puteri’s Noraini Ahmad attack on a Chinese Malaysian blogger, Namewee – see Malay 'sacrifice', Chinese 'sacrifice' - Wanita Umno Kubang Kerian chief Zaleha Hussin must have felt she too needed to make some kind of impact.
Well, it’s a competitive world in UMNO as the party’s pyramidal structure gets narrower and narrower as one strives to the top.
Yes, we must understand that she could be worried with young upstart members like Noraini Ahmad. So Zaleha probably wanted to say something profound.
OK, there’s plenty of important pressing material for discussions at such forum, what with the nation still reeling from corruption, crimes and cronyism (all three ‘c’ could well be inter-related), and prices inflating like chapattis heated on pans, and young little girls murdered before they reached 10, Zaleha decided …….. get this …….. to attack the uniform of AirAsia air stewardesses.
Malaysiakini reported that at the UMNO annual assembly Wanita delegate sees red over AirAsia uniform. The women delegates to the annual general assembly of mighty political juggernaut UMNO discussed in depth, and with strong words, the AirAsia uniform for female cabin crew as ‘embarrassing’ to women.
Well, it’s a competitive world in UMNO as the party’s pyramidal structure gets narrower and narrower as one strives to the top.
Yes, we must understand that she could be worried with young upstart members like Noraini Ahmad. So Zaleha probably wanted to say something profound.
OK, there’s plenty of important pressing material for discussions at such forum, what with the nation still reeling from corruption, crimes and cronyism (all three ‘c’ could well be inter-related), and prices inflating like chapattis heated on pans, and young little girls murdered before they reached 10, Zaleha decided …….. get this …….. to attack the uniform of AirAsia air stewardesses.
Malaysiakini reported that at the UMNO annual assembly Wanita delegate sees red over AirAsia uniform. The women delegates to the annual general assembly of mighty political juggernaut UMNO discussed in depth, and with strong words, the AirAsia uniform for female cabin crew as ‘embarrassing’ to women.
Malaysiakini photo
She gasped: “Legs, knees and thighs are exposed for all to see. This is an embarrassment to women. Something must be done.”
So she diligently skipped silly issues like corruption, cronyism, crimes, rising prices of goods, little girls being murdered under cruel circumstances, to focus on what she considered as the provocative dresses of stewardess on AirAsia.
She raised the matter during the debate on a motion on social issues and religion. And guess who was the Chairperson of the debate?
None other than tebuan keeper, Badruddin Amiruldin. The exchange between these two midgets went as follows:
Zaleha: The provocative uniform must be changed to something reflective of Eastern values and which complies with the values of Islam.
Badruddin: I think their skirts are too short.
Zaleha: Cloth can be bought.
Badruddin: I think they don’t have enough cloth.
You have to admit the debate was 'profound' ........ in UMNO's mentality.
Zaleha: She [referring to her ‘embarrassed’ friend] said a flight attendant sat in front of her and she could see her legs, thighs and knees. She was so embarrassed!
Badruddin: Did she see the tunnel?
And the UMNO crowd roared with laughter and approval at that salacious remark by the Chairperson of an UMNO forum on social issues and religion.
Hmmm, wasn’t this the same Badruddin Amiruldin who insulted God?
Anyway, another day, another event, another wannabe, of the UMNO annual general assembly - untuk agama, bangsa dan negara.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Malaysian polls - a case of Bersih vs Kotor
This post is dedicated to my friends Dave and Elizabeth Wong.
Bersih in the Malay language means ‘clean’ – ‘clean’ as in ‘not dirty’.
It’s also the acronym of a group of 60 Malaysian NGOs concerned about the integrity of the Malaysian electoral process. I suppose the very meaning (in Malay) of the acronym for this coalition of NGOs is in itself an indictment of the Malaysian Election Commission (EC).
The truth is the EC is neither trusted nor respected, and alleged as not independent of the government ..... yawnnnnnnnnn.
In fact the allegation goes as far as to say the EC works as if it’s a direct appendage of the ruling party UMNO* ..... yawnnnnnnnnn.
*Though the government of the day is formed by a coalition of parties called Barisan Nasional, the real power lies in its biggest party UMNO
Hence Bersih arose as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections. And if its appellation is tautological, given the Malaysian scenario, it's quite understandable.
My only discomfort with Bersih is its makeup, comprising not only NGOs but also the opposition parties, chief amongst which are the DAP, PAS and PKR. I personally feel the participation of polls-directly-involved parties has somewhat diluted the impact of Bersih’s campaign and invariably diminished its neutral status and thus credibility, but I was told by a sweetie I have been too idealistic and not politically realistic. Ah well, who am I to dispute a sweetie ;-)
OK, be that as it may, the fact is that the Malaysian voting public, regardless of whether they are supporters of the ruling coalition or opposition parties, are aware, if not already convinced that not all is kosher with the electoral process. Of course it comforts one side while it dismays the other.
As an example, Malaysiakini recently reported the opposition DAP complaining about the questionable increase of 8,463 new voters in the Ipoh Timor parliamentary constituency. And that’s only half a year’s figures, meaning there’s more new voters of various denominations yet to come into Ipoh Timor.
By some strange coincidence (if you believe in Malaysian political ‘coincidence’) the incumbent MP for that constituency is none other than Opposition Leader, Lim Kit Siang of the DAP party.
In the last (2004) general election Lim defeated Thong Fah Chong of the MCA-BN by a whopping majority of 9,774 votes.
Apart from the alleged gerrymandered transfer of 2,231 voters of a different constituency into Lim’s electorate, there has been a far more frightening revelation that went beyond gerrymandering. It's the incredible inexplicable increase of 3,208 postal voters for Ipoh Timor.
Postal voters are usually servicemen, but there is no new army camp or new police station in the vicinity. It’s another compelling reason why the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections has adopted the acronym of Bersih.
For more details on the newly discovered residential (phantom-ish) paradise in Ipoh Timor, please read the story in an earlier post Clear & Present Danger for Lim Kit Siang.
Well, It’s hardly surprising that with the general election just around the corner, Bersih wants to have a protest rally on Saturday at Dataran Merdeka, the capital’s centre point, to demonstrate for electoral reforms.
Bersih (Clean) – electoral reforms – gerrymandering – have you got the message yet?
OK, after the protest rally the organisers plan for the expected 10,000 participants to march peacefully to the national palace to submit a memorandum to the King regarding their concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
I don’t mean to be cynical about the likelihood of the King doing anything but well, you know the story of the drowning man and the straw!
But that's now a moot point. When Bersih applied for a police permit for the event, I knew it was not going to get it, for the simple reason the de facto PM (you know who, don’t you) hadinstructed urged the police authorities to, no, not just disapprove Bersih’s application but, apprehend those who organise this gathering.
When it comes to politics where SO MUCH would be at stake, we Malaysians don’t do things in half measures. Why only 'disapprove' when the police can bloody (pun intended) 'apprehend'? We are most Boleh when not Bodek-ing or Bohong-ing.
Those poor bastards –what choice do they have? And I am referring to those police.
Yes, like the pronouncement of the ancient Pharaohs, it was a case of “So it was said, so it shall be done!”
The police rejected the application by Bersih for a permit to hold a rally ..... yawnnnnnnnnn.
Malaysiakini informed us that Johari Baharom the Deputy Internal Security Minister said: “From what I understand, police did not issue the permit as the ........”
Hahahahahahahaa (with tears), we understand too, Minister!
Related:
Defeat the new Triad
Bersih in the Malay language means ‘clean’ – ‘clean’ as in ‘not dirty’.
It’s also the acronym of a group of 60 Malaysian NGOs concerned about the integrity of the Malaysian electoral process. I suppose the very meaning (in Malay) of the acronym for this coalition of NGOs is in itself an indictment of the Malaysian Election Commission (EC).
The truth is the EC is neither trusted nor respected, and alleged as not independent of the government ..... yawnnnnnnnnn.
In fact the allegation goes as far as to say the EC works as if it’s a direct appendage of the ruling party UMNO* ..... yawnnnnnnnnn.
*Though the government of the day is formed by a coalition of parties called Barisan Nasional, the real power lies in its biggest party UMNO
Hence Bersih arose as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections. And if its appellation is tautological, given the Malaysian scenario, it's quite understandable.
My only discomfort with Bersih is its makeup, comprising not only NGOs but also the opposition parties, chief amongst which are the DAP, PAS and PKR. I personally feel the participation of polls-directly-involved parties has somewhat diluted the impact of Bersih’s campaign and invariably diminished its neutral status and thus credibility, but I was told by a sweetie I have been too idealistic and not politically realistic. Ah well, who am I to dispute a sweetie ;-)
OK, be that as it may, the fact is that the Malaysian voting public, regardless of whether they are supporters of the ruling coalition or opposition parties, are aware, if not already convinced that not all is kosher with the electoral process. Of course it comforts one side while it dismays the other.
As an example, Malaysiakini recently reported the opposition DAP complaining about the questionable increase of 8,463 new voters in the Ipoh Timor parliamentary constituency. And that’s only half a year’s figures, meaning there’s more new voters of various denominations yet to come into Ipoh Timor.
By some strange coincidence (if you believe in Malaysian political ‘coincidence’) the incumbent MP for that constituency is none other than Opposition Leader, Lim Kit Siang of the DAP party.
In the last (2004) general election Lim defeated Thong Fah Chong of the MCA-BN by a whopping majority of 9,774 votes.
Apart from the alleged gerrymandered transfer of 2,231 voters of a different constituency into Lim’s electorate, there has been a far more frightening revelation that went beyond gerrymandering. It's the incredible inexplicable increase of 3,208 postal voters for Ipoh Timor.
Postal voters are usually servicemen, but there is no new army camp or new police station in the vicinity. It’s another compelling reason why the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections has adopted the acronym of Bersih.
For more details on the newly discovered residential (phantom-ish) paradise in Ipoh Timor, please read the story in an earlier post Clear & Present Danger for Lim Kit Siang.
Well, It’s hardly surprising that with the general election just around the corner, Bersih wants to have a protest rally on Saturday at Dataran Merdeka, the capital’s centre point, to demonstrate for electoral reforms.
Bersih (Clean) – electoral reforms – gerrymandering – have you got the message yet?
OK, after the protest rally the organisers plan for the expected 10,000 participants to march peacefully to the national palace to submit a memorandum to the King regarding their concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
I don’t mean to be cynical about the likelihood of the King doing anything but well, you know the story of the drowning man and the straw!
But that's now a moot point. When Bersih applied for a police permit for the event, I knew it was not going to get it, for the simple reason the de facto PM (you know who, don’t you) had
When it comes to politics where SO MUCH would be at stake, we Malaysians don’t do things in half measures. Why only 'disapprove' when the police can bloody (pun intended) 'apprehend'? We are most Boleh when not Bodek-ing or Bohong-ing.
Those poor bastards –what choice do they have? And I am referring to those police.
Yes, like the pronouncement of the ancient Pharaohs, it was a case of “So it was said, so it shall be done!”
The police rejected the application by Bersih for a permit to hold a rally ..... yawnnnnnnnnn.
Malaysiakini informed us that Johari Baharom the Deputy Internal Security Minister said: “From what I understand, police did not issue the permit as the ........”
Hahahahahahahaa (with tears), we understand too, Minister!
Related:
Defeat the new Triad
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Malay 'sacrifice', Chinese 'sacrifice'
Yesterday I posted Hishamuddin Hussein rendered much 'weeping & gnashing of teeth' over at my other blog BolehTalk.
I discussed the lamentable behaviour of UMNO delegates at their party’s annual assembly, where ambitious delegates or those worried about their party positions would strive to prove their ethnic credentials.
Their favourite whipping boy has been (usually) the Chinese Malaysians - to them, a suspicious group of Non’s who still need to prove their Malaysian credentials despite 50 years of citizenship and more than 200 years of domicile. And UMNO leaders had/have thus far done very little or even nothing to correct that impression.
Malaysiakini reported an example, that Ismail Ahmad, UMNO Youth chief from the Gombak division in Selangor, told opposition parties and their supporters, all Malaysian citizens, to leave the country if they are not happy.
He declared in his ethno-centric speech: “These people, they come to a Malay area and they tell me that our country is not doing well and people are still suffering. Well, I’ll tell you, you can apply for citizenship in Singapore.”
Get it? 'Malay area' and 'apply for Singapore citizenship' - without any question of doubt, his bigoted insult was directed at Chinese Malaysians!
And then Malaysiakini provided another example - Noraini Ahmad, a young ambitious woman from Puteri UMNO obviously wanted to make her mark at the assembly by attracting attention and hopefully support. She relied on a proven and popular formula, criticising Chinese Malaysians.
As use of the keris would be out of the question for a woman, she would have cast her eyes/mind around and decided to dig up an old chestnut that had already outlived its use-by-date for bigoted railings – oh yes, she must have believed she could still squeeze a few more drops (of blood?) out of it. She declared that Puteri UMNO won’t accept the Namewee’s apology.
Namewee? For f-sake, couldn’t she be more original and contemporary? But contemporary or not, I might just have to concede she had probably succeeded in displaying her ‘patriotism’.
Patriotism - remember this dangerous word? Samuel Johnson instructed that 'Patriotism is the refuge of the scoundrel' while Oscar Wilde sneered at it as '... the virtue of the vicious'. But Aldous Huxley said of it best:
And just where were these young punks when Chinese servicemen were serving the nation on the fields of combat, and recognized for their sacrifice (the real type) by being awarded Malaysia’s highest gallantry honour, the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP)* – people like Superintendent Paul Kiong and Deputy Superintendent Sia Boon Chee, whom the nation owes incredible debts for their sheer and unsurpassed bravery in infiltrating and living for years with the communist terrorists in order to break the insurgents apart.
Then there were those awarded the Pingat Gagah Berani (PGB)* - the late Lt Choo Yoke Boo (awarded posthumously), late Lt Chang Tatt Min (awarded posthumously) of the RMAF, and 2nd Lt David Fu Chee Ming of the Rangers.
* Indian Malaysians had also been awarded the SP and PGB for combat
This was the citation for David Fu. He was the Platoon Commander of 8th Platoon of C Company, 4th Battalion Royal Rangers. He was tasked and placed in the Tanah Hitam area of Perak to track and destroy the enemy in his sector of operation.
On the 27th August 1970, his platoon of 24 men made contact with a group of about 70 enemy combatants. The enemy unknowingly had entered his sector. Thus started a heavy and intensive battle lasting 7 hours. Under his unwavering leadership, the men fought on, successfully killed 4 of the enemy. His patrol did not suffer any casualties.
For his outstanding gallantry and bravery in the finest traditions of the Ranger Corps he was bestowed with the Pingat Gagah Berani, by the King. He left after exemplary service as a Captain.
But alas, the Chinese can continuing ‘proving’ themselves for the next 500 years, but will never achieve acceptance by UMNO …
… for one simple reason ...
The Chinese must continue to serve UMNO as its whipping boy so that its leaders or wannabe leaders can use the fabricated threat, questionable loyalty and insinuated ingratitude of Chinese as convenient mounting steps to the top of their party.
In this regard, maybe one day in the future, 500 years from now, the Chinese Malaysians may collectively be awarded the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa for their ‘sacrifice’ to the well-being of UMNO leaders ...
… but then, shall still be required to prove their ‘loyalty’ … as thegreed task of 'sacrifice' never ends.
I discussed the lamentable behaviour of UMNO delegates at their party’s annual assembly, where ambitious delegates or those worried about their party positions would strive to prove their ethnic credentials.
Their favourite whipping boy has been (usually) the Chinese Malaysians - to them, a suspicious group of Non’s who still need to prove their Malaysian credentials despite 50 years of citizenship and more than 200 years of domicile. And UMNO leaders had/have thus far done very little or even nothing to correct that impression.
Malaysiakini reported an example, that Ismail Ahmad, UMNO Youth chief from the Gombak division in Selangor, told opposition parties and their supporters, all Malaysian citizens, to leave the country if they are not happy.
He declared in his ethno-centric speech: “These people, they come to a Malay area and they tell me that our country is not doing well and people are still suffering. Well, I’ll tell you, you can apply for citizenship in Singapore.”
Get it? 'Malay area' and 'apply for Singapore citizenship' - without any question of doubt, his bigoted insult was directed at Chinese Malaysians!
And then Malaysiakini provided another example - Noraini Ahmad, a young ambitious woman from Puteri UMNO obviously wanted to make her mark at the assembly by attracting attention and hopefully support. She relied on a proven and popular formula, criticising Chinese Malaysians.
As use of the keris would be out of the question for a woman, she would have cast her eyes/mind around and decided to dig up an old chestnut that had already outlived its use-by-date for bigoted railings – oh yes, she must have believed she could still squeeze a few more drops (of blood?) out of it. She declared that Puteri UMNO won’t accept the Namewee’s apology.
Namewee? For f-sake, couldn’t she be more original and contemporary? But contemporary or not, I might just have to concede she had probably succeeded in displaying her ‘patriotism’.
Patriotism - remember this dangerous word? Samuel Johnson instructed that 'Patriotism is the refuge of the scoundrel' while Oscar Wilde sneered at it as '... the virtue of the vicious'. But Aldous Huxley said of it best:
"One of the great attractions of patriotism - it fulfills our worst wishes. In the person of our nation we are able, vicariously, to bully and cheat. Bully and cheat, what's more, with a feeling that we are profoundly virtuous."
Obviously she has learnt fast how to become one of UMNO ethnic heros – and probably which Alakazam-ish magic words to toss into the ring to attract the worst but highly desired attention of the UMNO assembly, like bangsa, agama dan negara, keris, tebuans, May 13 threats, 'Malay sacrifice', 'don't test Malay patience', 'Malay generosity', 'pivotal race', and of course for her, Namewee.And just where were these young punks when Chinese servicemen were serving the nation on the fields of combat, and recognized for their sacrifice (the real type) by being awarded Malaysia’s highest gallantry honour, the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP)* – people like Superintendent Paul Kiong and Deputy Superintendent Sia Boon Chee, whom the nation owes incredible debts for their sheer and unsurpassed bravery in infiltrating and living for years with the communist terrorists in order to break the insurgents apart.
Then there were those awarded the Pingat Gagah Berani (PGB)* - the late Lt Choo Yoke Boo (awarded posthumously), late Lt Chang Tatt Min (awarded posthumously) of the RMAF, and 2nd Lt David Fu Chee Ming of the Rangers.
* Indian Malaysians had also been awarded the SP and PGB for combat
This was the citation for David Fu. He was the Platoon Commander of 8th Platoon of C Company, 4th Battalion Royal Rangers. He was tasked and placed in the Tanah Hitam area of Perak to track and destroy the enemy in his sector of operation.
On the 27th August 1970, his platoon of 24 men made contact with a group of about 70 enemy combatants. The enemy unknowingly had entered his sector. Thus started a heavy and intensive battle lasting 7 hours. Under his unwavering leadership, the men fought on, successfully killed 4 of the enemy. His patrol did not suffer any casualties.
For his outstanding gallantry and bravery in the finest traditions of the Ranger Corps he was bestowed with the Pingat Gagah Berani, by the King. He left after exemplary service as a Captain.
But alas, the Chinese can continuing ‘proving’ themselves for the next 500 years, but will never achieve acceptance by UMNO …
… for one simple reason ...
The Chinese must continue to serve UMNO as its whipping boy so that its leaders or wannabe leaders can use the fabricated threat, questionable loyalty and insinuated ingratitude of Chinese as convenient mounting steps to the top of their party.
In this regard, maybe one day in the future, 500 years from now, the Chinese Malaysians may collectively be awarded the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa for their ‘sacrifice’ to the well-being of UMNO leaders ...
… but then, shall still be required to prove their ‘loyalty’ … as the
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Deepavali Open House & MIC - Must I Cancel?
I wasn’t at all surprised when I read in Malaysiakini that the MIC retracts ban on Deepavali events.
Samy Vellu had earlier bravely called for a ban on Deepavali ‘open house’ by MIC politicians, supposedly in angry protest against the ferocious demolition of an Indian temple in Shah Alam - see my earlier post What lies behind City Hall's brutalities?
But ;-) according to Malaysiakini, in just less than three hours, MIC made a complete U-turn and said the 'open house' is on again.
Hahaha, well, that’s Samy Vellu and the MIC for you. And do you still need to ask why most of Indian Malaysians continue to be the most marginalised ethnic group in our country?
Samy gave the excuse that there has been an 'overwhelming request' by the members of the community for the ban to be overturned - hmmm, 'overwhelming request' from the MIC community or the entire Indian community? Alas, he didn't bother to elaborate, but I need to ask the question - where's the MIC protest against the demolition of Hindu temples now?
But it's obvious the clamour of wanna bodek was far more important than mere demolished temples and too powerful even for the President of the MIC to ignore. If he had even dared, no, pigs won't fly but chairs and tables most certainly would.
Yessiree, nothing can stand in the path of aBoleh Bodek machine, and the MIC is a known juggernaut in this field.
Despite the UMNO annual general assembly being held on Deepavali Day (8 Nov), an obvious snub to a nothing-party of the BN (Kayveas smiling?), the MICBoleh Bodek spirit still prevails.
Mama Samy proclaimed that elected representatives of the party may open houses on Deepavali. I've also heard on the grapevine that the MIC ‘open houses’ would be kept going late, just to accommodate some ‘visitors’ after they have finished their more important conference.
But you know something?
When Samy made that initial call not to open house on Deepavali, I had imagined (slap, slap, slap on my own wrists for being silly) that Mama had finally found his backbone to make at least a symbolic stand against the Selangor government’s disrespect for Hindu temples.
Well, it seems that Mama is still in mourning for his late brother, who passed away early this year, therefore he won't be having an ‘open house’ anyway.
While I respect his piety for his late brother, I certainly don’t his grandstanding - hey, Mama, when you've already planned not to have an 'open house' in the first place, please don't act tough by saying you won't be holding an 'open house'.
It’s little wonder that the other MIC leaders were annoyed at the ban which wouldn't have affected Samy, but which would have denied them the opportunity to ... er ... showcase their ... er ... hospitality.
MIC – its world famous 'Must I Come?' had transformed for a wee while into a plaintive 'Must I Cancel?'
hahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Samy Vellu had earlier bravely called for a ban on Deepavali ‘open house’ by MIC politicians, supposedly in angry protest against the ferocious demolition of an Indian temple in Shah Alam - see my earlier post What lies behind City Hall's brutalities?
But ;-) according to Malaysiakini, in just less than three hours, MIC made a complete U-turn and said the 'open house' is on again.
Hahaha, well, that’s Samy Vellu and the MIC for you. And do you still need to ask why most of Indian Malaysians continue to be the most marginalised ethnic group in our country?
Samy gave the excuse that there has been an 'overwhelming request' by the members of the community for the ban to be overturned - hmmm, 'overwhelming request' from the MIC community or the entire Indian community? Alas, he didn't bother to elaborate, but I need to ask the question - where's the MIC protest against the demolition of Hindu temples now?
But it's obvious the clamour of wanna bodek was far more important than mere demolished temples and too powerful even for the President of the MIC to ignore. If he had even dared, no, pigs won't fly but chairs and tables most certainly would.
Yessiree, nothing can stand in the path of a
Despite the UMNO annual general assembly being held on Deepavali Day (8 Nov), an obvious snub to a nothing-party of the BN (Kayveas smiling?), the MIC
Mama Samy proclaimed that elected representatives of the party may open houses on Deepavali. I've also heard on the grapevine that the MIC ‘open houses’ would be kept going late, just to accommodate some ‘visitors’ after they have finished their more important conference.
But you know something?
When Samy made that initial call not to open house on Deepavali, I had imagined (slap, slap, slap on my own wrists for being silly) that Mama had finally found his backbone to make at least a symbolic stand against the Selangor government’s disrespect for Hindu temples.
Well, it seems that Mama is still in mourning for his late brother, who passed away early this year, therefore he won't be having an ‘open house’ anyway.
While I respect his piety for his late brother, I certainly don’t his grandstanding - hey, Mama, when you've already planned not to have an 'open house' in the first place, please don't act tough by saying you won't be holding an 'open house'.
It’s little wonder that the other MIC leaders were annoyed at the ban which wouldn't have affected Samy, but which would have denied them the opportunity to ... er ... showcase their ... er ... hospitality.
MIC – its world famous 'Must I Come?' had transformed for a wee while into a plaintive 'Must I Cancel?'
hahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Will Bush parcel out Iran toward the four winds of heaven?
With nothing much (other than ongoing stuff) in Malaysiakini the last few days, I posted The 'O' in SWOT regarding the 3 'I'-s in the ME yesterday, where I observed the Iran question looming large in the US presidential race.
I mentioned one of the Republican Party’s presidential candidates, Rudy Guiliani, being advised by neocon advisors. Zionist neocons had dominated the Bush Administration as well. The engagements of such hawkish neocon advisors have invariably led to a generally liberal Guiliani adopting a hardline stand against Iran.
According to Professor Paul Rogers writing in OpenDemocracy, this has put the Democratic Party’s leading candidate, Hilary Clinton under (presidential wannabe) peer pressure. There is a sneaky suspicion she may show she's equally capable of being aggressive against President Ahmadinejad, well, at least to demonstrate her don’t-f*-around-with-the-USA credentials.
In my post, I had also mentioned Israel’s strategic objectives of neutralizing or enervating Iraq and Iran, coincidentally two of Bush’s original Axis of Evil. I guess putting Syria as a 3rd would be plain too obvious, so North Korea was ‘volunteered’.
In my opinion, nuclear-capable Pakistan should logically be among the Axis of Evil as it is far more dangerous to the world than nuclear-incapable Iran or nuclear-big-question-mark North Korea.
This is not due to kaytee’s brilliance in strategic affairs but from my reading of a French article, translated of course ;-), that saw Pakistan and Wahhabi Saudi Arabia as the terrible twins of militant Islam - the Islamist sword and money, so to speak.
But alas, nuclear-irresponsible Pakistan (remember Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan) is not a threat to the Hebraic Holy Land of Israel, apart from being one of USA client states.
Israel has already successfully achieved 50% of its strategic ambition, and I fear that Bush may give the Israelis a presidential farewell gift by bombing Iran’s nuclear plants, and even combining the bunker busting attack with the use of tactical (small yield) nuclear weapons to deny access to the site for salvage operations or recovery of the facilities for years (as a result of radiation).
Also have a look at my previous postings:
(1) Bush plans N-strike against Iran - 10 April 2006
(2) Bush's N-backfire - 12 April 2006
This drastic possibility (minus the crazy N-strike which the Bush Administration's Zionist camp undoubtedly wants) isn’t all that remote, given the wannabe presidential candidates for the US 2008 general election will be vying with each other to show the American voting public their take-no-shit-from-Islamic-nations credentials, while American Zionists at the same time must undoubtedly be striving for their last chance to exploit the big ‘O’ while Dungu Dumbo Dubya is still around.
No, the big 'O' in this case is not Roy Orbison – do read my previous post The 'O' in SWOT regarding the 3 'I'-s in the ME.
Hitting Iran, or to be more specific, Iran's future nuclear capability, is not a new US political fad but has long been conceived by so-called conservative US think-tanks, most of which are nothing more than stalking horses for Israel to ensure American foreign policies dovetail with or directly serve the strategic interests of the Land of Hebrews.
Reading the online Denver Post (Tuesday, 6 November 2007) shows the Rumsfeld scare campaign and his (the Administration) obsession with getting Iran:
WASHINGTON — In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor," and he wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. A sampling of his trademark missives obtained Wednesday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war.
Rumsfeld produced 20 to 60 snowflakes a day and regularly poured out his thoughts in writing as the basis for developing policy, aides said. The memos are not classified but are marked "for official use only."
In a 2004 memo on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Rumsfeld said negative news reports simply result from the wrong standards being applied, he wrote in one of the memos obtained by The Washington Post.
Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals denounced him and called for his resignation, Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts. "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," he wrote.
People will "rally" to sacrifice, he noted after the meeting.
Based on discussion with military analysts, Rumsfeld tied Iran and Iraq. "Iran is the concern of the American people, and if we fail in Iraq, it will advantage Iran," he wrote in his April 2006 memo.
Rumsfeld declined to comment, but an aide said the points in that memo were Rumsfeld's distillation of the analysts' comments.
"You are running a story based off of selective quotations and gross mischaracterizations from a handful of memos - carefully picked from the some 20,000 written while Rumsfeld served as Secretary," Rumsfeld aide Keith Urbahn wrote in an e-mail
Well, well, well, Rumsfeld and his "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists."
And we all know that Donald Rumfeld was Dick Cheney’s man.
Maybe Bush may be reminded of the Biblical verses in Daniel 11:2-4:
"Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.”
“Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parcelled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.”
Amen!
I mentioned one of the Republican Party’s presidential candidates, Rudy Guiliani, being advised by neocon advisors. Zionist neocons had dominated the Bush Administration as well. The engagements of such hawkish neocon advisors have invariably led to a generally liberal Guiliani adopting a hardline stand against Iran.
According to Professor Paul Rogers writing in OpenDemocracy, this has put the Democratic Party’s leading candidate, Hilary Clinton under (presidential wannabe) peer pressure. There is a sneaky suspicion she may show she's equally capable of being aggressive against President Ahmadinejad, well, at least to demonstrate her don’t-f*-around-with-the-USA credentials.
In my post, I had also mentioned Israel’s strategic objectives of neutralizing or enervating Iraq and Iran, coincidentally two of Bush’s original Axis of Evil. I guess putting Syria as a 3rd would be plain too obvious, so North Korea was ‘volunteered’.
In my opinion, nuclear-capable Pakistan should logically be among the Axis of Evil as it is far more dangerous to the world than nuclear-incapable Iran or nuclear-big-question-mark North Korea.
This is not due to kaytee’s brilliance in strategic affairs but from my reading of a French article, translated of course ;-), that saw Pakistan and Wahhabi Saudi Arabia as the terrible twins of militant Islam - the Islamist sword and money, so to speak.
But alas, nuclear-irresponsible Pakistan (remember Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan) is not a threat to the Hebraic Holy Land of Israel, apart from being one of USA client states.
Israel has already successfully achieved 50% of its strategic ambition, and I fear that Bush may give the Israelis a presidential farewell gift by bombing Iran’s nuclear plants, and even combining the bunker busting attack with the use of tactical (small yield) nuclear weapons to deny access to the site for salvage operations or recovery of the facilities for years (as a result of radiation).
Also have a look at my previous postings:
(1) Bush plans N-strike against Iran - 10 April 2006
(2) Bush's N-backfire - 12 April 2006
This drastic possibility (minus the crazy N-strike which the Bush Administration's Zionist camp undoubtedly wants) isn’t all that remote, given the wannabe presidential candidates for the US 2008 general election will be vying with each other to show the American voting public their take-no-shit-from-Islamic-nations credentials, while American Zionists at the same time must undoubtedly be striving for their last chance to exploit the big ‘O’ while Dungu Dumbo Dubya is still around.
No, the big 'O' in this case is not Roy Orbison – do read my previous post The 'O' in SWOT regarding the 3 'I'-s in the ME.
Hitting Iran, or to be more specific, Iran's future nuclear capability, is not a new US political fad but has long been conceived by so-called conservative US think-tanks, most of which are nothing more than stalking horses for Israel to ensure American foreign policies dovetail with or directly serve the strategic interests of the Land of Hebrews.
Reading the online Denver Post (Tuesday, 6 November 2007) shows the Rumsfeld scare campaign and his (the Administration) obsession with getting Iran:
WASHINGTON — In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor," and he wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. A sampling of his trademark missives obtained Wednesday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war.
Rumsfeld produced 20 to 60 snowflakes a day and regularly poured out his thoughts in writing as the basis for developing policy, aides said. The memos are not classified but are marked "for official use only."
In a 2004 memo on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Rumsfeld said negative news reports simply result from the wrong standards being applied, he wrote in one of the memos obtained by The Washington Post.
Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals denounced him and called for his resignation, Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts. "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," he wrote.
People will "rally" to sacrifice, he noted after the meeting.
Based on discussion with military analysts, Rumsfeld tied Iran and Iraq. "Iran is the concern of the American people, and if we fail in Iraq, it will advantage Iran," he wrote in his April 2006 memo.
Rumsfeld declined to comment, but an aide said the points in that memo were Rumsfeld's distillation of the analysts' comments.
"You are running a story based off of selective quotations and gross mischaracterizations from a handful of memos - carefully picked from the some 20,000 written while Rumsfeld served as Secretary," Rumsfeld aide Keith Urbahn wrote in an e-mail
Well, well, well, Rumsfeld and his "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists."
And we all know that Donald Rumfeld was Dick Cheney’s man.
Maybe Bush may be reminded of the Biblical verses in Daniel 11:2-4:
"Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.”
“Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parcelled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.”
Amen!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Shariibuu-Altantuyaa, Susan Loone, Scumbags, Sisyphus and Sex
Most of you would have read the murder trial of the Mongolian model, Shariibuu Altantuyaa, that Malaysiakini had been reporting faithfully.
Equally faithful in her reports on the murder and the subsequent trial too had been renown blogger Susan Loone. But many won’t realise that Susan has been doing so as a private dedicated undertaking, because she is the sort of person who is passionate about justice, and Susan has decided sometime back that she would keep watch for Altantuyaa, to seek truth and justice.
But scurrilous scumbags have unfairly accused her of being paid (by whom?) to write on the Shariibuu Altantuyaa tragedy. And really, while one may expect those accusations to come from certain quarters, if you know what I mean, those (the scurrilous accusations) had come from within the bloggers community, some who are not aligned with the government.
Musuh dalam selimut, as the Malay saying goes! Scumbags, snakes, slugs!
The following was what Susan wrote in her postOne year anniversary of Altantuya’s murder:
I am not giving up either despite the countless accusations by top bloggers in the country that I am paid to do the Mongolian story. I don’t know what you people get by spreading the word. I only know this: that perhaps you can’t imagine that someone can champion a cause for the sake of truth and justice and do not need to be paid a single cent. Some people also do it for fun, and some do it because they are trained to do these things. But if you think that people act only when they get paid, that is because you yourself get paid for writing your blogs probably.
But I don’t get paid for anything I write on this blog. I’ve neglected this blog, partly feeling disheartened at how vicious people can be, how true it is that some bloggers are indeed liars. But the other part is that when I left my job at the human rights organization recently, I no longer have a lap-top. So, posts had been scarce and will be scarce. I’m looking for a job now, especially in the writing, journalistic and editing field.
What a nasty blow below the belt, at a time when Susan was struggling to find a job. Why do they need to bad-mouth poor Susan? Settling old scores? Ooooooh, real nasty, real mean minded.
I have every faith in Susan, in her words, in her character, and in her sincerity. I can’t say the same for some people who’s unlike Susan, and who would blog only for their personal career advancement or personal agenda.
In Malaysia socio-political blogging carries some disadvantages. Politically, our society has become so divided that there’s no middle ground. It has become George Bush-y, the “either you’re with us or you’re against us”, or “you must have a secret agenda” sometimes meaning “who are you blogging for?” or "how much you are being paid to rubbish so and so” ;-)
I only wish the last could be true as I could do with a few odd ringgit.
When I blogged as follows, the respective comments would invariably arise:
1) anti AAB – awwwwlright kaytee
2) defending AAB* – how much are you being paid?
* I did defend AAB once when there were salacious remarks against him regarding the photo with Michelle Yeoh at a dinner party
3) anti Najib – spot on, kaytee, way to go
4) defending Najib* – how much are you being paid?
* the bull about Najib being responsible for the Nuri crash, which accusations even before the investigation findings were out would have cruelly aggravated the sorrows of the bereaving families, and just for grubby political gains
5) pro-Palestinians or anti-Israeli – you are blind, what did the Jews do to you, you’re an Arab lover, you suck up to the Muslims, you write to appease local expectations, then of course there's you are most fair, at last a fair comment from a non-Muslim/Chinese
6) anti-PAS or anti-Mufti of Perak – I am going to get you, we have a kilafah team waiting to ‘discuss’ stuff with you, we want you to come down to meet us PAS people and of course there's the good onya, KT, that’s the way, kick those bastards etc
7) anti Anwar – you’re prejudiced, you’re biased, what did Anwar do to you, you’re playing into the hands of the UMNO people, why don’t you shut up, we’re watching you, you are always anti-Malay and anti-Muslims, why don’t you propose someone who is better than Anwar if you even can
8) pro Anwar – ... er … er … er … sorry, I haven’t yet made any pro Anwar posting ;-) but I am quite tempted to just to gauge the reception
As my friend and co-chair in PABS, Susan said: “you can’t imagine that someone can champion a cause for the sake of truth and justice and do not need to be paid a single cent. Some people also do it for fun …”
Defending yourself against these typical responses would be like the labours of the Greek legend of Sisyphus.
Sisyphus offended the God Zeus, not a de facto one ;-) so Zeus punished him by making him roll a boulder up a hill. Each time when he reached the top of the hill, the boulder would roll down to the bottom, and he was forced to start all over again. Last heard he was still doing it.
So, no matter how much you attempt to explain, like Sisyphus you can’t win.
Hmmm, I wonder whether Sisyphus was the one who worked out that he was struggling against a force equal to WsinƟ, where W was the weight of the boulder, and Ɵ the incline of the slope. Afterall he (1) did have plenty of time on his hands and nothing to do with his mind (other than to curse Zeus) to work that out, and (2) being Greek he would have used Ɵ.
The formula was to plague me in my school days where following each encounter I would rub my bottom from the thrashing by the maths teacher while cursing the Greek letter Ɵ and the sine function. But then I didn’t realize that in years to come, in my blogging I would learn not to be like Sisyphus or be bothered with WsinƟ. I would follow Edward de Bono’s advice to step aside laterally, and allow the damn boulder to roll down the hill, and to hell with Zeus.
What about the last ‘S’ of my title Shariibuu-Altantuyaa, Susan Loone, Scumbags, Sisyphus and Sex?
Well, if I didn’t add that, would you have come read my post? ;-)
Equally faithful in her reports on the murder and the subsequent trial too had been renown blogger Susan Loone. But many won’t realise that Susan has been doing so as a private dedicated undertaking, because she is the sort of person who is passionate about justice, and Susan has decided sometime back that she would keep watch for Altantuyaa, to seek truth and justice.
But scurrilous scumbags have unfairly accused her of being paid (by whom?) to write on the Shariibuu Altantuyaa tragedy. And really, while one may expect those accusations to come from certain quarters, if you know what I mean, those (the scurrilous accusations) had come from within the bloggers community, some who are not aligned with the government.
Musuh dalam selimut, as the Malay saying goes! Scumbags, snakes, slugs!
The following was what Susan wrote in her postOne year anniversary of Altantuya’s murder:
I am not giving up either despite the countless accusations by top bloggers in the country that I am paid to do the Mongolian story. I don’t know what you people get by spreading the word. I only know this: that perhaps you can’t imagine that someone can champion a cause for the sake of truth and justice and do not need to be paid a single cent. Some people also do it for fun, and some do it because they are trained to do these things. But if you think that people act only when they get paid, that is because you yourself get paid for writing your blogs probably.
But I don’t get paid for anything I write on this blog. I’ve neglected this blog, partly feeling disheartened at how vicious people can be, how true it is that some bloggers are indeed liars. But the other part is that when I left my job at the human rights organization recently, I no longer have a lap-top. So, posts had been scarce and will be scarce. I’m looking for a job now, especially in the writing, journalistic and editing field.
What a nasty blow below the belt, at a time when Susan was struggling to find a job. Why do they need to bad-mouth poor Susan? Settling old scores? Ooooooh, real nasty, real mean minded.
I have every faith in Susan, in her words, in her character, and in her sincerity. I can’t say the same for some people who’s unlike Susan, and who would blog only for their personal career advancement or personal agenda.
In Malaysia socio-political blogging carries some disadvantages. Politically, our society has become so divided that there’s no middle ground. It has become George Bush-y, the “either you’re with us or you’re against us”, or “you must have a secret agenda” sometimes meaning “who are you blogging for?” or "how much you are being paid to rubbish so and so” ;-)
I only wish the last could be true as I could do with a few odd ringgit.
When I blogged as follows, the respective comments would invariably arise:
1) anti AAB – awwwwlright kaytee
2) defending AAB* – how much are you being paid?
* I did defend AAB once when there were salacious remarks against him regarding the photo with Michelle Yeoh at a dinner party
3) anti Najib – spot on, kaytee, way to go
4) defending Najib* – how much are you being paid?
* the bull about Najib being responsible for the Nuri crash, which accusations even before the investigation findings were out would have cruelly aggravated the sorrows of the bereaving families, and just for grubby political gains
5) pro-Palestinians or anti-Israeli – you are blind, what did the Jews do to you, you’re an Arab lover, you suck up to the Muslims, you write to appease local expectations, then of course there's you are most fair, at last a fair comment from a non-Muslim/Chinese
6) anti-PAS or anti-Mufti of Perak – I am going to get you, we have a kilafah team waiting to ‘discuss’ stuff with you, we want you to come down to meet us PAS people and of course there's the good onya, KT, that’s the way, kick those bastards etc
7) anti Anwar – you’re prejudiced, you’re biased, what did Anwar do to you, you’re playing into the hands of the UMNO people, why don’t you shut up, we’re watching you, you are always anti-Malay and anti-Muslims, why don’t you propose someone who is better than Anwar if you even can
8) pro Anwar – ... er … er … er … sorry, I haven’t yet made any pro Anwar posting ;-) but I am quite tempted to just to gauge the reception
As my friend and co-chair in PABS, Susan said: “you can’t imagine that someone can champion a cause for the sake of truth and justice and do not need to be paid a single cent. Some people also do it for fun …”
Defending yourself against these typical responses would be like the labours of the Greek legend of Sisyphus.
Sisyphus offended the God Zeus, not a de facto one ;-) so Zeus punished him by making him roll a boulder up a hill. Each time when he reached the top of the hill, the boulder would roll down to the bottom, and he was forced to start all over again. Last heard he was still doing it.
So, no matter how much you attempt to explain, like Sisyphus you can’t win.
Hmmm, I wonder whether Sisyphus was the one who worked out that he was struggling against a force equal to WsinƟ, where W was the weight of the boulder, and Ɵ the incline of the slope. Afterall he (1) did have plenty of time on his hands and nothing to do with his mind (other than to curse Zeus) to work that out, and (2) being Greek he would have used Ɵ.
The formula was to plague me in my school days where following each encounter I would rub my bottom from the thrashing by the maths teacher while cursing the Greek letter Ɵ and the sine function. But then I didn’t realize that in years to come, in my blogging I would learn not to be like Sisyphus or be bothered with WsinƟ. I would follow Edward de Bono’s advice to step aside laterally, and allow the damn boulder to roll down the hill, and to hell with Zeus.
What about the last ‘S’ of my title Shariibuu-Altantuyaa, Susan Loone, Scumbags, Sisyphus and Sex?
Well, if I didn’t add that, would you have come read my post? ;-)
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