He joined KeADILan, the single-issue party formed to campaign for the release of Anwar Ibrahim, and became its Deputy President. PKR former treasurer Abdul Rahman (KeADILan membership card No 3) did the same, and so did Ezam Mohd Nor, once Anwar’s right hand man. Another anwarista who rallied around his besieged flag in 1998 was Johari Jasin, a Youth leader.
All left KeADILan-PKR at one stage or another, with all (except Chandra Muzzafar) expressing their disgust with the man they had supported in his moments of need.
Malaysiakini reported in July 2007 that when Ezam left, half the committee members in the Shah Alam division of PKR also left in anger at the party's treatment of Ezam.
To encapsulate their thoughts, here is Johari Yasin's resignation (from PKR) statement:
“When he was in prison, we fought till (ex-premier Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) eventually stepped down but since he was released, we have not seen him being critical against Umno or (the Prime Minister) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.”
“Anwar claimed he has evidence of corruption against government ministers, but except for making criticisms, have you seen him expose any document so far?”
“If the party call those who quit traitors, I would like to respond by saying it is Anwar who has betrayed the members and this struggle.”
As Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
Now Chandra Muzzafar, who has remained silent on why he left KeADILan, has finally spoken out, stating that it’ll be an unmitigated disaster for Malaysia if Anwar is PM.
Dr Chandra said that while the former deputy prime minister was a good speaker, he was not the sort of leader the country needed as he was now singing a different tune from when he was in the Government.
What kaytee has called the Brahma face personality.
The former deputy president of PKR said it was sad that many non-Malays in the country were taken in by Anwar’s so-called multi-ethnic stand.
“Today, he is portraying a totally different image and it is sad that quite a lot of non-Malays believe in this man. He is saying today that he wants to abolish the NEP and that is music to their ears. We are so communal that we cannot evaluate a person objectively.”
As I have always lamented, those anwaristas are desperate in looking for a political Messiah that they would even accept a ferocious UMNO-bred predatory leopard, which would never changed his spots.
Dr Chandra recalled that when Anwar was Education Minister, he had compelled schools to switch from using (the term) Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu.
“Tunku Abdul Rahman wanted the use of Bahasa Malaysia to bring all the communities together and he (Anwar) forced Bahasa Melayu upon the school system. He was also responsible for putting non-Chinese educated administrators in Chinese schools.”
Yesterday in Political snippets (11) I discussed an MCA leaflet that accused Anwar Ibrahim of:
(i) Being against the Chinese cultural lion and dragon dances when he was then culture, youth and sports minister in 1982
(ii) Decreeing that the teaching of Chinese and Indian studies in Universiti Malaya be in Bahasa Malaysia in 1987 when he was education minister
(iii) placing non-Mandarin speaking administrators in government-run Chinese primary schools [which provoked an attempted meeting among the anxious MCA, Gerakan and DAP a la Shaolin Temple that led to Operation Lallang - which led to Uncle Lim gaining his LLB while eating nasi kandar or perhaps nasi kosong in Kem Kamunting]
Anwar didn’t denied those accusations and attempted to brush them off as standard BN-UMNO policies, as if he wasn't an UMNO man who was both the Culture and then Education Ministers, bringing about some of the nation's most divisive policies.
Dr Chandra said that Anwar, in dealing with the Kampung Jawa clash between the Hindus and Indian Muslims in Penang, had said then that “he would make sure the temple bells would not ring in the country anymore”.
Wah! And he wants the Indians now to support him - what cheek!
Dr Chandra said the most important quality of a leader in a multi-ethnic country was honesty and when a leader spoke on sensitive ethnic issues, he must say the same thing to non-Malays as to the Malays. He blasted Anwar: “You cannot play games because it is very dangerous.”
18 months ago, Saifulbahri Kamaruddin, a self-confessed former Malaysian journalist wrote this letter to Malaysiakini regarding Anwar Ibrahim. I blogged on it in Anwar: "Wei, Cina balek Tiong Sun lah"? Saiful wrote (extracts):
I was a journalist in the mainstream media for over 20 years, and very often I covered Anwar's functions, especially involving Umno, its youth wing and Abim (Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia).
I had never heard of one speak with so much disdain of the Chinese before. We, the journalists, knew that Anwar was trying to be all things to all people, so when he addressed ‘kampung’ people with a skewed view of inter-communal affairs, he would tell them what they wanted to hear.
The reporters would duly file their stories to the editors, who then would mangle the reports to make Anwar look good, even if that meant less accuracy. Yes, indeed - Anwar appointed most of the editors in the mainstream media, and he certainly did not mince his words when it came to relations with Singapore or the ethnic Chinese.
At one Umno youth rally in 1987, he ranted and raved, urging Chinese Malaysians to ‘go back to China’ if they were not happy in Malaysia. But, of course, that was not published for fear of damaging his image.
So, now the former deputy prime minister is trying to be an angel, supposedly innocent of everything that occurred when he was in power. It was the same with his accusations of the government being corrupt, the very institution of which he had been part of for 15 years and had enjoyed its largesse and dispensed patronage in a way typical of Umno even now.
It insults my intelligence to read of him accusing his former compatriots and colleagues of being what he himself was wholeheartedly.
What can I say! No doubt the anwaristas, in the modus operandi of their de facto leader, will condemn Dr Chandra Muzzafar rather than probe beneath their idol's chameleon hide.
Chameleon is too cool of a name to give this bugger...
ReplyDeleteBut unfortunately, the country is in such shambles, that we are left with no better choice than the current opposition we have.
Let's not lose sight of it, and deny BN 2/3 majority.
After that we can grill Anwar Burger with the rest of the bastards in BN. (somehow deny him from "deseating" one of his expendebles)
Mr. Chandar Your are my mentor at one time, but not anymore. Look at yourself with the wheelchair. Was it that a punishment, I think it was look at what you have said today. You were fighting for this man and suddenly you turn around because of (status) you insulted him, WHY?
ReplyDeleteThere must be something wrong with you." Material world". You lost your diginity, the respect many people have for you , what you said today is a disgrace to yourself.
Chandra a fine one to criticise Anwar
ReplyDeleteAril Mikhail | Malaysiakini
Many years ago in the 1980s, then leader of the Labour Party in England, Denis Healey, was openly criticised for having been a member of an extreme Left political party in his younger days.
His simple response was that he also believed in Santa Claus in his younger days. Indeed, all of us – without exception – change as we age and as we learn more about life. Some more so thanothers, of course, but change we certainly do.
This, unfortunately, is something that seems to have been lost on Chandra Muzaffar in his widely – almost gleefully – published diatribe against Anwar Ibrahim in the mainstream newspapers today.
Like his equally disingenuous friends in the BN coalition who, perhaps unable to counter much of the opposition front’s critiques against the failure of BN rule, Chandra – out of the blue, after having been quiet for so long – suddenly decided to rip into Anwar.
‘He’s singing a different tune now’, asserted Chandra. Anwar ‘Deceiving Malaysians’ claimed another headline attributed to Chandra.
The gist of Chandra’s personal attack is that Anwar is saying things now that are the opposite of what he said and did when he was high up in Umno. This, of course, is nothing new and Anwar himself has addressed these criticisms often enough.
It’s a trifle ironic that Chandra is ‘coming clean’ and saying all this of Anwar now, when he himself appears to be doing the exact opposite of what he was doing when in Aliran and PKR. Before, he consistently argued against the BN having a two-thirds majority and the need for a strong opposition.
Now, on the eve of the elections, he seemingly dismisses the opposition and asserts that, despite its flaws, there is no other viable coalition beyond the BN. How fortuitous. I guess when you’ve been offered a cushy position in a state university for two years, you tend to ‘change’ somewhat.
Dear Chandra, selling out is fine. But becoming a willing tool of a corrupt, arrogant and racist regime at this critical juncture devalues, indeed destroys, whatever good work you may have done thus far. May God guide you.
Aliran founder a true disappointment
ReplyDeleteAmar | Malaysiakini
For someone who heralded Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ascendancy to premiership in 2004 by stating something to the effect that it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for Malaysians to change leadership, it is sad to note that Chandra Muzaffar now appears deluded by the invidiousness of BN's 50 years in power.
He castigates, in the mainstream papers today, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as being effectively anti non-Malay. The examples he quotes in the report were events that happened way before Anwar lost Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s patronage and interestingly, these were events that took place before Anwar's reformasi movement commenced.
On what basis did Chandra join PKR as deputy president given that he had reservations over Anwar's past decisions?
Does not Chandra, being an eminent political scientist, realise that people do change their opinions and principles as a result of circumstances in life? Has not Mahathir changed his 'tune' since leaving office, a tune Malaysians would have loved to hear in his 22 years as prime minister?
It is said that no one is a permanent friend or enemy in politics. This is also applicable to a rational electorate where we, as citizens, should be prepared to dump a leader if need be and likewise embrace one when they appear to be talking sense; and Anwar is talking a lot of sense presently. Likewise, does Abdullah command the confidence of right-thinking Malaysians now vis-B-vis 2004?
For all that he accuses Anwar of, does Chandra want us to list down the anti non-Malay statements made by current Umno leaders? What alternative does Chandra have in mind? Perhaps another term and a two-thirds majority in the legislature for the BN which has proven itself to be a curse on nation-building?
Chandra has single-handedly, at the eleventh hour, thrown the spanner in the works for all Malaysians looking forward to mitigating the injustices of giving the BN a two-thirds majority. Truly disappointing for someone who was the founder of Aliran.
Chandra: A Sell Out
ReplyDeleteCaptain Yusof Ahmed
I was quite appalled to read Chandra Muzaffar's very personal attack against Anwar Ibrahim (read today's the Star's report, here and also Aril Mikhail's letter to Malaysiakini, here) when he said that it will be an “unmitigated disaster” for Malaysia if Anwar becomes prime minister. Since he was a former PKR man himself, it is rather daunting to imagine the sudden wave of disillusionment that must have swept over such a 'brilliant' man and cause him to utter such balls.
I first met Dr. Chandra Muzaffar (photo) sometime in early 1983. He was then riding high as an academic cum NGO human rights activist and had been invited to speak at an Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) in Kuala Lumpur, which I chaired as founder chairman of the ITF Malaysian Council. I cannot recall what he spoke about, something about union rights I think, but I remember the strike-happy Aussie dockers unions were full of praise of him and wanted cassette tape copies of his speech. I wasn't very impressed and neither was the late Dr. V. David of the Transport Workers Union, who co-chaired the conference. We believed then that it was easy to be gung-ho and say a lot things when you are not carrying the baby or be responsible for the rights and livelihood of many member workers. Perhaps there is something to be said about the old adage "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach". So perhaps also Chandra should just stick to teaching and not get involved in politics and the affairs of men.
What a sell out, indeed.
http://cyusof.blogspot.com/
Chandra: UMNO(BN) Pussyfooter
ReplyDeleteTian Chua: Blog
While I was walking the market this morning, some people stopped me and expressed their disgust with Chandra Mustafa for what he said in the Star report today (March 4).
To me, Chandra’s attack on Anwar is nothing new. What he has done was not unexpected. The BN must be very desperately running out of ammunition, even Chandra is now their last cannon.
Chandra’s statement failed to harm the opposition or Anwar. Instead his integrity is publicly damaged.
I wonder Chandra was always conscious of Anwar’s ‘misdeed’ during his government days? Or this knowledge was an “after-thought” of his post-KeADILan days? If so, who could have imparted such privileged information onto him?
Chandra left the party when I was in ISA detention. His departure saddened me (and many party members), as Chandra was one of the persons who had persuaded me persistently to join the party.
Initially I was reluctant, my reason was that I preferred to stay as an NGO activist.
If Chandra had already known Anwar’s wrongdoings, he shouldn’t have recruited me into the party. He should have told me and warned me of the “danger” of associating with Anwar.
The logic of this is simple, either Chandra was dishonest to me at the time of the party foundation, or he is being dishonest now.
I wonder if Chandra knew then all Anwar’s flaws and mistakes (when he was in government), why was he so enthusiastically defending Anwar for many years.
Despite of his popularity as an NGO advocate, Chandra has behaved like lalang throughout his career. I used to look up to him in my university days. However in 1996 when Malaysian NGOs hosted the controversial “Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor” (APCET II), I was very disappointed when he refused to support the initiative. Worse, he condemned the human rights NGOs for defying Malaysian order and jeopardized our diplomatic relationship with Indonesia.
Chandra has just made another transformation, from ‘neutral’ NGO he is now an apologist for UMNO/BN.
http://www.tianchua.net/en/2008/03/04/chandra/
I like what you say Tian Chua. Chandra exploited Anwar when it suited him. Now this man is a great advocate of Muslim rights along the lines of UMNO and PAS. Anwar may be a chameleon to some but at least he is trying to engage the non-Muslims. Chandra on the other hand has hidden himself behind the narrow and parochial Muslim hero banner.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I have serious doubts as to whether Anwar's new found multi ethnic approach is due to a profound change in the man. Then again he seems to be the only Malay politician who is trying to be truly multiethnic in outlook and deeds.
Many people like Ktemoc will never understand how difficult it is for a Malay politician to adopt a truly multiethnic approach. The conditions which led to the failure of Onn Jaafar in his quest for a nationwide multiethnic party is still very much around today.
But like I said earlier at least we now have a Mat who is willing to try. Perhaps the time has come for Malaysians to forge a new path
50 years after the Union Jack was lowered.
Media statement
ReplyDeleteWee Choo Keong
Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Intellectual Fraud
Dr Chandra Muzaffar, a self-proclaimed intellectual and arm-chair critic of BN of yesteryears, suddenly saw it fit to allow himself to be manipulated by the Barang Naik party to cast malicious aspersion against Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and to indirectly influence Malaysians not to support the opposition.
This is, for all intent and purpose, an affront to basic freedom and democracy.
For a start, Chandra is just an intellectual fraud. He only pays lip-service to words like freedom and democracy.
In 1998/99 I was sacked from the DAP under strange circumstances and many other DAP leaders throughout the nation resigned from the DAP. At the same time, we were thinking of joining PKR in order to carry on our struggles against injustices, corruptions and abuses of power. During that period, Chandra was the Deputy President of PKR and he, as unreasonable as it was, saw it fit to make a unilateral declaration that all former DAP leaders were banned from joining PKR.
To say the least, this behaviour of his was absolutely bizarre and mind-boggling.
We were extremely shocked and disappointed with Chandra, whom we thought was a real democrat and a great defender of freedom and injustice. After the said infamous declaration of his putting a blanket-ban on former DAP leaders from joining PKR, we knew then that Chandra was merely an arm-chair critic and intellectual fraud when it comes to freedom and democracy.
Whatever Chandra had uttered last night at the forum organised by The Star was not unexpected given his past record. And those utterances should be consigned to the foul-smelling garbage bins much like his mouth at the time surely.
Moreover, Chandran’s vile gibberish of last night was also verbiage and an obvious act of sabotage against the people of this country.
We call upon Chandra to carry on being an arm-chair critic in his academic ‘prison’ and to immediately stop insulting the intelligence of the public.
Chandra would also do well to go back to school to re-learn the basic principles of freedom and democracy.
http://www.weechookeong.blogspot.com/
IN DEFENSE OF Dato Seri Anwar
ReplyDeleteHey! Dr Chandra Muzaffar are you trying to dazzle the poor Malaysians with your “Doctor” whatever that stands for; please la Doc. That Phd. Does not mean shit, It does not make you more intelligent and it does not neam that you are any smater than when you started. A Phd. Just means that you had taken an in depth study of one aspect of a subject and as a matter of fact a Phd merely leads to a career in teaching, Our Asian people are so awed by that Phd., thinking that these Phd. Types Know it all, nothing is further from the truth.
Comrade Chandra to my way of thinking, and by your claims made against Dato Seri, I say that you are bloody naïve. We are all humans (I think so) and we have emotions and full of bias and prejudices; and above all we are in truth all racist. I am racist & you are racist, and the only difference between a Mahatma Ghandi type saint and an ARYAN Nazi thug is that most of us who dare claim that he is not racist (you can leave me out because I am racist) are those who’ve got a two bit claim to having higher education, a wanna be intelltual. Comrade Chandra says that Dato Seri in the past had been consistently not in favour of Chinese and maybe he is truthful, while Dr Lim Kheng Yaik claims that Dato Seri is chamileon and in Lim Kheng Yaik’s experience with Dato Seri he could be speaking the truth. Bearing in mind that we all carry a lot of baggage are we correct in our estimation of the man. We are all very complex and we are all driven by self interests; therefore what oue see is not really what is the man ! We can never tell what a man will do in all circumstances because what we see as the man is only the tip of the iceberg.
Politics is all about perception and creating an IMAGE of the politician, and we just cannot know what the whole man is in truth. For Dr Chandra & Dr Lim Kheng Yaik to say that they both ahd worked with Dato Seri and that they know the man is ingenious. Both these Dr.’s are playing their support for the BN and not quite really to give an assessment of Dato Seri for what he is factually, because that will be beyond their capability. Having said that I say both of them are naïve THAT IS NOT HOW THE GAME OF POLITICS IS PLAYED. We can only take Dato Seri at his word and the issue is therefore ARE WE HAPPY WITH HIS PROGRAMME FOR HIS GOVERNMENT ? That to my mind is all that we need to ask and we will have to take him at his word; because we just cannot do otherwise. WE DO NOT NEED TO KNOW WHAT IN TRUTH HE IS LIKE AND THAT BY OUR UNDERSTANDING HE WILL OR WILL NOT DLIVER WHAT HE HAD PROMISED FOR THE ELECTION. There is no need to go too far out of the way; ask yourselves what had BN promised for the last election (1999) and did BN deliver ? I do not think so !
Dato Seri and the United Front of DAP, PAS and Keadilan HAS MADE IT THEIR PLATFORM that if elected he and his United Front will deliver a GOVERNMENT FOR ALL MALAYSIANS AND TO STEP BACK FROM RACE BASED POLITICS. That is what we must accept for the truth; and if he ever fail to deliver then the next election vote him and his United Front out. This is what will therefore develop into a TWO PARTY POLITICAL STRUCTURE. Is this not what we want, and what is the profit if we just not believe him and we merely take the word og the two Dr.’s both of them are pretentious and know it all. I say do not listen to them shooting hot air. VOTE OPPOSITION and let 2 party politics develop.
LIM KHENG YAIK, (THE UMNO DOG) AND GERAKAN
ReplyDeleteTRAITORS TO THE CHINESE
Politicians are all the same, and they are all consistently unreliable , because if he is reliable then he will not survive as a politician, therefore is Kheng Yaik any better than Dato Seri Anwar; I can say for certain that one is no better than the other. What I am saying is that we do not need to know anything about any particular candidate. We really do not need to know whether he is a good man or otherwise; and this perspective runs counter to what everybody is saying about what this has done or have not done. It is absolutely pretentious to claim that we are able to correctly assess the character of Dato Seri or Kheng Yaik and determine who is the better man. I SUPPORT DATO SERI ANWAR and I live in Australia therefore what do I know about Dato Sari. I do not a thing about him, and that is the thing about politics, IT IS ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION. In fact from my perspective, I will vote for Dato Seri Anwar even if I believe that Kheng Yaik and that Dato Seri is a chameleon and Kheng Yaik is correct. As I had earlier said I do not need to know anything about Dato Seri because I deal with the democratic process, I vote him because he says that under his government, RACE POLITICS WILL BE ABOLISHED and I want that so I vote for him and I do not need to know how good or bad he is. PROVE TO US WHEN YOU ARE IN GOVERNMENT OR WE VOTE YOU OUT. We therefore need to start to vote for the opposition to start the democratic process. We need to throw or better destroy UMNO now.
Dear my Chinese & Indian brothers, do not listen to Kheng Yaik because he is an UMNO dog and he will sell his mother or his wife to gain FAVOUR from the PM and UMNO. These are the UMNO dogs who hang out their tongues for CSRAPS THROWN FROM UMNO TABLE to the dining room floor. I spit on these MCA, MIC and Gerakhan dogs.
Kheng Yaik says that it was Dato Seri Anwar who put in place all those provisions that retarded the progress of Chinese education and that it was he & Najib who repealed it; let us examine Kheng Yaik’s statement to assess the credibility of his claim. I will first call Kheng Yaik A LIAR and then I will go on to examine what I mean by that epithet. I call Kheng Yaik a liar because the minister merely implements GOVERNMENT POLICY. In fact all decisions made by the Cabinet are made binding all ministers as one as ministerial cabinet collective decision. What Kheng Yaik is talking about is government policy and such policy are by the very nature taken by the PARTY IN GOVERNMENT and the minister’s function is to implement the details that will make the policy work on the ground; only UMNO as a party can change such policy and it is disingenuous to say that Najib revoked it. Having said that it can only be true that neither Najib nor Dato Seri could by himself revoke what Kheng Yaik claims credit for himself and Najib.
In this respect the powers of the minister controls only the details of implementation; but of course he has powers to grant exception in individual cases but not to change policy except with the agreement of cabinet. The Malaysian model of government mirrors that of the British. I anticipate that readers will want to ask me if ministers are so without powers then how is it that they can make money so corruptly; the answer to that question is in the power of the minister to approve contracts or such like. These functions belong to the Minister’s portfolio and they relate to “implementation. Therefore it is not true what Kheng Yaik says that it was najib who removed the offending laws that disadvantaged the Chinese.
The democratic process is all about checks and balances; therefore how can there be checks and balances if our Chinese & Indian brothers keep voting UMNO. If UMNO knows that we are all their SLAVES then where is there a need for UMNO to do what is just in line with our minority interests ? We have like a bunch of fools fear reprisals and we keep voting UMNO so do we not deserve to be spat on by UMNO as they are doing even as of now? Our duty to our selves is to vote UMNO out because it has always been UMNO that has formed government. Do we not owe it to our children and their children to pressure UMNO to act in our interests or we will put them out of business. WE NEED TO START AT THIS ELECTION TO START THE PROCESS GOING. If Keadilan, PAS DAP do not act in our interest when they are in power then in the next election we can vote them out. We need to start and now is as good a time as any. VOTE KEADILAN, DAP, PAS FOR CHANGE !
I know practically everything that Chandra Muzaffar talks about Anwar Ibrahim's past - the events, not Chandra's opinion. Hasn't stopped me from supporting Keadilan today.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, have you read Chandra Muzzafar's stinging condemnation of Hindraf ?
The Chandra Muzaffar who led Aliran eons ago, is not the Chandra Muzaffar today.
Talk about 4-faced Brahmas, there's one for you !
Journalist & Former MP James Wong:
ReplyDeleteDr. Chandra only damages his own credibility.
There are many local academics and intellectuals who share positive opinions on Anwar Ibrahim but only Chandra Muzaffar's bitter attacks against him are highlighted in the mainstream media. I do not think one needs to be very educated formally to understand the reason why the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) does not apply to Chandra Muzaffar whenever he lashes out at the former DPM publicly. According to a retired academic who attended The Star-Asian Centre for Media Forum on the 2008 Malaysian General Election at Menara Star on 3 March (Monday), Chandra Muzaffar has "really succeeded" in damaging or even destroying his own credibility by re-launching "a very bitter and vindictive" attacks on Anwar Ibrahim's "past records" in the BN government. If Chandra Muzaffar has always known Anwar's "past records" in BN, why did he not castigate Anwar while he was in power and why he (Chandra) also continued to support Anwar in the period from 1998 to 1999 and also became Parti Keadilan Nasional's deputy president and its parliamentary candidate in the 1999 general election? Another good Christian friend who also attended the forum opines that whatever his "past records" in the BN government, Anwar has 'cleansed' himself by his willingness to suffer grave injustices and tortures from 1998 to 2004, and also by working hard now to oppose BN's unjust policies. Seen in light, Anwar is definitely a better person than those in the BN who still refuses to make amends for the better. Has Dr. Chandra Muzaafar himself changed for the better or worse ?
http://jameswongwingon-online.blogspot.com/2008/03/why-bn-s-media-loves-dr-chandra.html
ReplyDeleteJames Wong on cheap Chandra
There are many local academics and intellectuals who share positive opinions on Anwar Ibrahim but only Chandra Muzaffar's bitter attacks against him are highlighted in the mainstream media. I do not think one needs to be very educated formally to understand the reason why the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) does not apply to Chandra Muzaffar whenever he lashes out at the former DPM publicly. According to a retired academic who attended The Star-Asian Centre for Media Forum on the 2008 Malaysian General Election at Menara Star on 3 March (Monday), Chandra Muzaffar has "really succeeded" in damaging or even destroying his own credibility by re-launching "a very bitter and vindictive" attacks on Anwar Ibrahim's "past records" in the BN government. If Chandra Muzaffar has always known Anwar's "past records" in BN, why did he not castigate Anwar while he was in power and why he (Chandra) also continued to support Anwar in the period from 1998 to 1999 and also became Parti Keadilan Nasional's deputy president and its parliamentary candidate in the 1999 general election? Another good Christian friend who also attended the forum opines that whatever his "past records" in the BN government, Anwar has 'cleansed' himself by his willingness to suffer grave injustices and tortures from 1998 to 2004, and also by working hard now to oppose BN's unjust policies. Seen in light, Anwar is definitely a better person than those in the BN who still refuses to make amends for the better. Has Dr. Chandra Muzaafar himself changed for the better or worse ?
kaytee, looks like your last paragraph come very true - see, many anwaristas had come up to defend their idol anwar and condemn chandra.
ReplyDeleteknee-jerk reaction! while it may be true chandra criticise anwar too much, you are also right to say the anwaristas should for a moment slowly digest what chandra said and like what you said, probe into anwar's chameleon hide.
something to share... i attended the biggie DAP/PKR ceramah at han chiang indoor stadium on 1/3 and i thought when anwar arrived, it was too pompous and well... arrogant like. his supporters came in, surrounding him and pushing everyone on the way at the same time shouting madly, as though anwar is the agong!! then as you can see in my blog, the picture showed when he was talking, 2 bodyguards standing by his side.
all the other speakers (e.g lim guan eng, karpal singh) did not made such an arrogant entrance and did not have bodyguards standing by when talking.
oh and many of his supporters (who followed him around ceramah) were non malays. guess it's true chandra saying many non malays are too taken in by the suave, charming (hic!), articulate anwar!
(oops. waiting for bricks to be thrown at me because i'm taking the stand of kaytee here).
oh forgot to address kancil...
ReplyDeleteit is very sickening of you to say chandra is in a wheelchair because of punishment. you should take that back! for one thing, do not attack the person personally and for one thing it is very wrong to say god punished a person just because he's in a wheelchair (wait till peter tan, the wheelchair bound blogger hear this).
remember.. who was that MP... from kinabatangan or jasin... who said karpal singh was in a wheelchair because it was a punishment from god? everybody protested and in the end that MP had to apologised.
so you should apologised too, kancil, or take back what you said.
(note: i'm not saying this because i support chandra or like him but this is common sense that we should not accuse any wheelchair people of such).
After all said and done, it's obvious that come 3.8.08, Anwar Ibrahim and his PKR will become trash in the garbage dump of history. See what happened to Semangat 46
ReplyDeleteLucia "chandra saying many non malays are too taken in by the suave, charming (hic!), articulate anwar!"
ReplyDeleteThe defining moment to me was Anwar Ibrahim saying publicly "the NEP needs to be repealed". He has said it in public many times, in front of non-Malay audiences,in front of Malay audiences.
How many non-Malays realise the heavy political price he has paid with the Malays for saying that ?
He's only managed to survive his Malay support base because of his past record as a Malay nationalist.
How many other Malay politicians have dared utter that in public ?
None. Zilch.
Anwar Ibrahim is a flawed character with a heavy past baggage, but to me he is the best chance Malaysia has at this moment for a leader to counter the Barisan kleptocracy.
- see, many anwaristas had come up to defend their idol anwar and condemn chandra. - lucia
ReplyDeleteYou mean Chandra is a holy holy fellow and we should pray to him? The same skunk who opposed APCET (and so genocide of the Timorese)? The same low down skunk who opposes hindraf?
I don`t have to be anwarista to think lowly of this rubbish man. I got enough brains of my own to recognise this evil clothed in white.
Marina Yusuf in leaving PKR was also scathing in her attack on Chandra. Now all those Penangites who love Chandra should go talk to the Bengali side of his family members and see what they say of him.
This is one way that the indian muslim Chandra can become a Malay -by supporting UMNO.
ReplyDeletevisit here
ReplyDeletehttp://kucheng.myminicity.com
KayTee, thanks a lot for putting forward this topic -- it's captivating. What's great is that we get to read both sides of the discussion.
ReplyDeleteThe Internet and blogs are truly wonderful for without them we would never get to know these background info. No wonder those Unmo (United Narrow-Minded Organization) fellows are so damned scared of blogs and bloggers.
However, it is unfortunate that about two-thirds of Malaysians do not have a chance to get online.
anon 12.25
ReplyDeletedo you understand english? in what way, what i said (which you quoted) means i implied chandra is holy and we should pray to him? never i hinted at that at all. in fact, last para, i was careful to point out i don't support chandra or like him.
in fact, it was long ago when he was still in aliran, i think, that he did or said something that made me lost respect for him. so please don't put words into my mouth that i said he is holy holy.
sure, if you think lowly of this man, you don't have to be an anwarista, but now that chandra is hitting out at anwar, those who hate chandra should not be blinded by hatred for chandra to oppose everything he said of anwar. if there is some truth in it, so admit it, and say chandra was right. look at the facts for argument not at the person, specially when it is personal.
kitty, i have to agree with you on that point (re: what anwar said on the NEP).
Chandra lovers being anti-anwar would hate this pro-anwar site report:
ReplyDeleteAnwar rocks Perak, Pak Lah no-show
Andrew Ong | Mar 5, 08 2:36pm
As campaigning entered the crucial final lap, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim blazed through Perak yesterday to rally voters.
At every stop, large crowds waited for hours to greet the former deputy premier, who started his tour in Tanjung Malim in the morning before making his way up north through Bota, Bidor, Tapah, Gopeng, Sungai Siput and finally Bagan Serai.
http://malaysiakini.com/news/79182
sure, if you think lowly of this man, you don't have to be an anwarista, but now that chandra is hitting out at anwar, those who hate chandra should not be blinded by hatred for chandra to oppose everything he said of anwar - lucia
ReplyDeleteWhat you talking. Earlier you say that those who rub chandra are anwaristas, then you agree that what anwar said on nep you agree.
So you can, but others cannot is it?
And saying `holy holy` of chandra is what he make himself out to be. Islanders are usually credited with having insular mentality, and it shows a lot.
You think that idiot chandra (he doesn`t have to be hated to be called idiot) what was he trying to do in keadilan huh? What did he do while he was there? He made a mess of things while he there. He is the one who started all those `doa` readings at meetings (anwar was in prison at that time).
If you hate anwar, fine. But that is no reason to credit chandra`s intelligence and make him out as a new God. Let BN make him a god.
According to blogger MAHAGURU58, this insulting banner was cited along roads in Tasek Gelugor, Seberang Perai, and Teluk Air Tawar, Butterworth and Penang. It is good for him to notify us of this. No peace loving Malaysians would even dare to think of the statement on the banner, which says very loudly “Islam Go to Hell” or something like that. The banner depicts a pig facing PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan menteri besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat. The pig carries a ‘cracked’ PAS symbol on its body.
ReplyDeletehttp://sloone.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/banners-insulting-islam-found-in-penang/
Malaysia has always taken pro-Pakistan stance in international fora against vital Indian interests.
ReplyDeleteWhile denouncing India for the 1998 Pokhran II nuclear tests, Malaysia became a willing participant in Pakistan's clandestine nuclear trade and commerce. Mr. Abdullah Badawi's own son was allegedly front-running a shadow company for the benefit of AQ Khan's international nuclear Wal-Mart that benefited Pakistan and smuggled nuclear weapon components to North Korea, Libya, Syria and Iran. Details of these transactions are carefully documented by Adrian Levy and Catherine Clark-Scott in their best seller entitled "Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons". Also not widely known is the fact that Kuala Lumpur was the active planning and meeting ground for the Islamic terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks. It appears that after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Malaysia has turned out to be the incubator of Jihadi terrorism in Asia.
http://www.c3sindia.org/southeastasia/195/malaysian-elections-and-geopolitical-implications/
anon 3:42 PM, thanks for your info and I agree it's unacceptable to insult PAS that way, or any way - yes by all means criticise the political party's policies or its members' behaviour but I say NO to insults showing disrespect to religion, race or reason.
ReplyDeleteBut this post is not for such discussion - please stick to Chandra Muzzafar's rendition of his take on Anwar Ibrahim - and visitors, please let's keep the vile language and ad hominen abuses (eg "... sell his mother or his wife to gain FAVOUR ...") out so that we may appreciate your viewpoints more. Thanks ;-)
We have guys who try to smuggle out money from Australia in contravention of their laws, we got guys who are accused of raping underaged girls. We got the close one eye MPs, and we got Zakaria Deros. And we got all those guys like Samy Velu and Ong Ka Ting. And we got Altantuya. And we got the new Airbus 313 for the PM and of course we got the sukhoi jet and the submarine commissions.
ReplyDeleteChandra Muzaffar sanctions all this. ASsuming he has something to say about this he has found no voice in the MSM to say this. In otherwards it is quite allright for him to have his back played by the BN guys. It is quite alright for him that instead of gracefuly going senile in his old days he allows himself to be used. But that again that is Chandra Muzaffar..What else can I say!
Chandra flip flops:
ReplyDelete“I feel sorry for Anwar, but I feel even sorrier for the country. I feel sad for the system of justice for this country, what it has come to,”
“what we actually want to do is let the foreigners think for us. This is what we see in the rich Middle East countries where foreigners are actually doing all the thinking and they are the ones running the show.”
“It's back to square one. I don't think the situation is getting better.”
“The findings are not at all surprising. This is partly because ethnic boundaries are real in our society and almost every sphere of public life is linked to ethnicity in one way or another.”
Chandra lies:
ReplyDeleteIn ‘Hindraf bane upon the nation’ (NST, Dec 12, 2007), Chandra Muzaffar writes: “If Hindus are facing annihilation, how does one explain the glaring fact that in the state of Selangor, on a per capita basis, there are more Hindu temples than mosques and surau put together?”
# Is Chandra counting the little shrines under trees and altars lodged in crevices? Obviously he didn’t calculate the temples versus mosques facts on the ground on a per square foot basis.
http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/on-hindraf-looks-like-abdullah-sounds-like-kj/
That is the `intelligence` of this failed university professor, failed aliranist, failed politician and now he is `just`, cannot pakai dia lagi. Better to buang him.
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has instructed his lawyers to initiate defamation proceedings against Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin and former PKR deputy president Chandra Muzaffar over their recent remarks against him.
ReplyDeleteApart from a public apology, he is also seeking RM10 million from each for allegedly tarnishing his reputation.
Anwar’s lawyer SN Nair (photo) yesterday sent demand letters to Khairy and Chandra, asking them to retract the offending remarks and to give an undertaking that they will not repeat the allegations and comments.
Nair pointed out that Khairy (photo), during a ceramah on Feb 20 in Lembah Pantai, had given listeners the impression that Anwar is a homosexual, and a man of low morals who also has no Islamic values.....
In the other letter, Nair similarly said Chandra’s comments as published in the New Straits Times on March 4 implied that Anwar “was and is promoting and inciting racial hatred amongst the races in Malaysia” and had committed criminal offences of sedition..........
48 hours to respond
http://malaysiakini.com/news/79197
I do not recall any period, I had much respect for Chandra Muzaffar. His writings generally indicated a biased nature and his article ‘Hindraf bane upon the nation’ takes the cake.
ReplyDeleteComing to Anwar -- I remember in the early 90s, Anwar came to talk to a group of people most like expat corporate folks, and Anwar made the remark in along these lines, " I am just back from this meeting and I told them what they wanted to hear and now I am here!
So the vote for the opposition is not so much as for the opposition as much as it is against the Umno ruling party. One has to accept the fact being in power has a very corrupting influence.
As a DAP member, I'm still saddened to see that they are DAP supporters who are still bent on conducting their own personal crusades and vendettas rather than thinking about the BIG picture - denying BN 2/3 majority. Why can't we display more flexibility in cooperation and an open mind, instead of being too ideologically driven - personally and professionally.
ReplyDeleteFrom the number of anti-Anwar articles posted here in the past few weeks, one wonders whether you are more concerned with grinding your own personal vendetta and prejudice rather than being open-minded in the quest for greater democracy? Anyway this is not my blog, so you are free to write anything you want.
Coming back to Chandra Muzaffar, he was and is an intellectual fraud for a very long time. After reading his numerous pro-Islamic and Western bashing articles, I can't be helped but be disgusted with his writings. Even in matters concerning local politics, he somehow manage to frame it in his great geopolitical agenda for Muslims against the West. Examples include the HINDRAF article and complaints on marginalization in Malaysia.
If Chandra now 3 days before the election want to dredge up old issues dating to 1980s, why did he even join Keadilan in the first place? Don't tell me he wasn't aware of all those controversies then? But this is all water under the bridge. People can and will change. Heck, I even voted and supported Badawi from 2004 to 2006. Now I am dead opposed to BN. People can and will change. Chandra himself is a testament to that. Why then do you want to rehash old issues, which I would remind you was done under the banner of UMNO and not completely 100% Anwar Ibrahim alone. What about the cabinet? The previous PM?
The person whom Chandra most clearly resembles in writing, philosophy and intellectual fraud is Noam Chomsky. Chomsky manages to frame everything in the world into his neat little world of the Evil American Empire and benign Soviets, Maoists, Muslim terrorists etc. One only has to remember his fraudulent defense of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and subsequent flip-flop. Chandra is in good company.
As for Nalla, it was made well known among certain circles well before Ijok even, that he was and is a BN spy as well as being a shady character with shady dealings with unscrupulous characters. His return to BN under the guise of MIUP clearly showed who he was working for in the first place. Too bad for him, under Hindraf and Makkal Sakthi fervour, the Indians has completely bypass political parties to represent them in BN and is bent on collision course with UMNO.
KT, old chap, the more you attempt to present Anwar as a greater stinker than C.M. in today's context, the more you erode whatever remains of your own credibility.
ReplyDeleteLiking or hating AI is less important here than recognizing what a typical dishonest "intellectual" looks like afterwards when he works full time for the Dark side of the Force. C.M. quietly took ppl for a ride for far too long and despite his own baggages, many still gave him some measure of credibility until now - when his credibility is all shot with the realization that he was not a pleasant or honest person all along but another self-serving opportunist who sold his soul. Because he no longer has any credibility, can what he said of Anwar be believed?
A CLASSIC CHANDRA-WARA !
ReplyDeleteby Martin Jalleh
It is simply amazing how someone who was deemed “irrelevant” by the caretaker PM and of whom the mainstream media (MSM) chose to send into oblivion has now become the cover story of the MSM – for very obvious reasons of course!
“Who is Anwar? ” the PM had asked sarcastically. He is finished. His political career has folded up. But now, almost every other day Pak Lah answers his own question! Anwar’s “spirit” haunts, hounds and heckles him – even though Anwar is not eligible to stand!
Very evidently the script and sandiwara for the General Elections by the boys on the Fourth Floor have spun out of control. The sycophants surrounding the PM have been caught with their pants down.
In comes an eminent human rights advocate who would spew out an “intellectual” diatribe – Chandra Muzaffar – a man whom in elections of recent times (except when he was in the Opposition) the BN would unleash before the final curtain.
“If Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim becomes Prime Minister, it will be an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for Malaysia. . . he is not the sort of leader the country needs as he is now singing a different tune from when he was in the Government, ” charged Chandra, the former deputy president of PKR.
Chandra changed?
A member of the public named “Amar” who wrote to the editor of Malaysiakini pointed out that the “examples he (Chandra) quotes in the report were events that happened way before Anwar lost Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s patronage and interestingly, these were events that took place before Anwar’s reformasi movement commenced. ”
“On what basis did Chandra join PKR as deputy president given that he had reservations over Anwar’s past decisions? ” he quite appropriately asked.
In a similar vein respected journalist and former MP James Wong Wing On quotes a retired academician who attended the forum during which “Chandra Muzaffar had ‘really succeeded’ in damaging or even destroying his own credibility by re-launching ‘a very bitter and vindictive’ attack on Anwar Ibrahim’s ‘past records’ in the BN government”:
“If Chandra Muzaffar had always known Anwar’s "past records" in BN…why did he continue to support Anwar in the period from 1998 to 1999 and also became Parti Keadilan Nasional’s deputy president and its parliamentary candidate in the 1999 general election? ”
A “Aril Mikhail” wrote to Malaysiakini highlighting the irony that “Chandra is ‘coming clean’ and saying all this of Anwar now, when he himself appears to be doing the exact opposite of what he was doing when in Aliran and PKR. Before, he consistently argued against the BN having a two-thirds majority and the need for a strong opposition. ”
“Now, on the eve of the elections, he seemingly dismisses the opposition and asserts that, despite its flaws, there is no other viable coalition beyond the BN. How fortuitous. I guess when you’ve been offered a cushy position in a state university for two years, you tend to ‘change’ somewhat.
“Dear Chandra, selling out is fine. But becoming a willing tool of a corrupt, arrogant and racist regime at this critical juncture devalues, indeed destroys, whatever good work you may have done thus far. May God guide you, ” was Mikhail’s parting blessing!
In other words, it appears Chandra is also singing a different tune?
Chandra Confused?
In their response to Chandra’s cutting criticism of Anwar, the Malaysian Media Monitors’ Diary, a joint project of Charter 2000-Aliran, the Centre for Independent Journalism and the Writers Alliance for Media Independence, along with independent volunteers, showed how confused Chandra was:
“Chandra also expressed his fear of serious polarisation in the country: ‘My fear is that this coming election will reinforce and aggravate the ethnic polarisation if a large number of non-Malays vote for the Opposition, and worse if a large percentage of Malays vote for the Opposition. This will cause Umno to be very cautious in making any changes to the ethnic question and addressing issues related to religion. ’
“Such an argument only raises further questions: in the first place, isn’t the increase in polarisation due to ethnic-based policies and practices of the past Umno-led administrations, as alluded to by Chandra himself? If so, how on earth could Umno be relied upon to make meaningful changes that could redress problems related to ethnicity and religion?
“And why was there an emergence of amorphous groups such as Hindraf that articulate legitimate grievances (to a large extent) from a particular ethnic community?
“Secondly, how can ethnic polarisation worsen if both the non-Malays and the Malays vote for the Opposition? If anything, a multi-ethnic ruling coalition and a multi-ethnic opposition would lessen polarisation and ensure that issues raised are debated in the interests of all Malaysians. Is it the only the Barisan Nasional that can resolve ethnic issues and polarisation. The record indicates otherwise. ”
Chandra Consistent?
Chandra also said “the most important quality of a leader in a multi-ethnic country was honesty and when a leader spoke on sensitive ethnic issues, he must say the same thing to non-Malays as to the Malays…You cannot play games because it is very dangerous. "
There could be no better response to this than that provided by the Malaysian Media Monitors’ Diary: ”If, as rightly pointed out by Chandra, the issue of trust and honesty is vital, then shouldn’t we, or rather forum moderator Wong Chun Wai, also ask whether leaders such as keris-wielding Hishamuddin can be trusted to be one of the country’s leaders.
“After all, didn’t Hishamuddin change his political stance pertaining to the issue of Chinese and Tamil schools in the country in the run-up to the general election? Isn’t that political expedience of the highest degree?
“Hasn’t his tune changed? Wasn’t it in Umno that you had a few politicians talking of unsheathing the keris and threatening to bathe it with Chinese blood? Did this escape Wong’s (or Chandra’s) memory? ”
Yes, what about the “honesty” of caretaker deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak who in 1987, as UMNO Youth Chief, vowed to bathe the keris with Chinese blood, and who now never fails to spew out a verbal diarrhea of multi-racial mutterings?
As for consistency, did the caretaker PM not preach to the gathering of Christians at the Plenary Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches at the beginning of his premiership on “Dialogue The Key To Unity Of Multireligious, Multiethnic And Multicultural Societies” and yet, four years later ban the Building Bridges Conference, a inter-religious seminar meant to bring together Christian and Muslim scholars of international repute?
Alas, Chandra seems so out of tune! Even the Aliran Executive Committee feels so. In a statement today they provide two examples: “It is odd, (therefore, ) that Chandra should be so concerned about the problem of money politics in PKR per se. At the same time, he has not said much of late about the money politics which has always been associated with the BN. ”
”Chandra also has highlighted the supposedly racial scare tactics used by PKR during the Lunas by-election. For us, such dirty tricks have been resorted to by all parties especially the BN. Again, all forms of racial baiting by all parties should be condemned. ”
Chandra’s chicanery?
In recent years, Anwar has in fact addressed what Chandra has accused him off. As Aril Mikhail has put it quite succinctly: “The gist of Chandra’s personal attack is that Anwar is saying things now that are the opposite of what he said and did when he was high up in Umno. This, of course, is nothing new and Anwar himself has addressed these criticisms often enough. ”
Indeed quite recently Anwar has met head-on criticisms and the portrayal of him as a political chameleon (especially by the MCA). When asked to respond to a 4-page leaflet by the MCA entitled “Disclosing the true face of Anwar”, Anwar said:
“The notion that I’m a political chameleon misses things by a mile…Nothing I did and said in the language and cultural spheres were not standard BN-Umno policy and nowhere did I take my championing of any issue to the extent that I waved a keris and called for bloodletting, stirring crowds to emotive outbursts”
(Malaysiakini).
Anwar was referring to the October 1987 Umno Youth-led demonstration in Kuala Lumpur where a band of Malay leaders, including present Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, harangued the crowd with inflammatory rhetoric.
At that time, the posting of non-Mandarin speaking administrators to government-aided Chinese schools ratcheted up racial tension in the country: “Those were fraught times and I hold that the distinction one ought to make between a responsible and a chauvinistic leader in that context lay in how you argued your point without inflaming public sentiment.
“I stood on the sane side of that divide while there were others in power today who breached that line with impunity, ” he said.
In early February this year, Anwar subjected himself to a rigorous examination of his stances on religious issues in the presence of about 200 Christian clerics and lay activists and appeared to have emerged intact (Malaysiakini).
There was no variance between his public pronouncements and his private assurances to his inquisitors, said an observer at the closed-door dialogue held in Petaling Jaya, organised by the Christian Federation of Malaysia.
Chandra’s Condemnation
There also remains the hopeful reality that politicians do and can change for the better through time and circumstance. James Wong quotes a good Christian friend who also attended the forum wherein Chandra spoke:
“…whatever his "past records" in the BN government, Anwar has ‘cleansed’ himself by his willingness to suffer grave injustices and tortures from 1998 to 2004, and also by working hard now to oppose BN’s unjust policies. Seen in this light, Anwar is definitely a better person than those in the BN who still refuse to make amends for the better. ”
“Has Dr. Chandra Muzaafar himself changed for the better or worse? ” asked James Wong
By portraying Anwar as untrustworthy and unprincipled Chandra is pronouncing the “death sentence” on the man who has already paid a very costly price for challenging the head of a hegemony who was capable of the most heinous!
Chandra also confounded the whole country when he said that although BN was “flawed”, there was no other coalition in the country. In its statement Aliran stated that it “does not share Chandra’s recent remarks vis-à-vis Anwar Ibrahim and PKR. Neither do we share his views that the BN despite its flaws is a better choice. Indeed, we are rather perturbed by his apparently emotional outburst. ”
Asked why he was breaking his silence now, Chandra said it appeared that people were being deceived by Anwar and (i)t is something for which I am prepared to go on record now so that people will not be deceived".
Chandra should keep in mind what he had once declared: “Malaysians are not idiots or imbeciles. ”
Apparently Aliran was not satisfied with the answer given by its former president and so it stated and asked: “The most disturbing aspect of this episode is how Dr Chandra Muzaffar has wittingly or unwittingly lent himself to be a part of the BN propaganda machine. It is sad that a prominent intellectual and long-time activist of his standing has such a blinkered view of the issue at hand. We wonder why he did not make these alleged goings-on public earlier and follow up on them conclusively given his public stance on integrity and accountability. Why only now? "
Alas, Chandra should not allow himself to be a hydra of the BN!
Martin Jalleh
5 March 2008
From Mahaguru blog:
ReplyDeleteDear Maha,
The ilk of Chandra is an intellectual cheat and an assassin for hire. He epitomizes the disease of the Muslim World’s ruffians: cheap charlatans for hire at any given time. They have no integrity, character, decency, sense of honour, responsibility and God’s fear. It is very ironical that he lambastes Anwar saying that he is fighting for justice, yet he is unjust both to Anwar and to all the Malaysians screwed up by BN and UMNO warlords. It is very unjust that he character assassinates someone in a newspaper that will not give Anwar the right to rebuttal or to be heard, yet he talks of integrity. Wonders will never end. My brother, I came to know one thing: that some of our Indian Muslim brothers and sisters are very naïve. Some in their blind pursuit for economical goals leave decency behind and even try to reject their identity. I’m sure you read of the Indian Malaysian Muslim Youth Association saying that they want to be called “Malays” because they dress and eat like Malays. What a joke! Why do you want to deny the identity Allah has given you? It is a sign of God’s existence that we have different people, skins, languages and manners. Appreciate it and work hard for your personal success. This brings me to the Mamak disease we have. Most of them like Chandra are pussyfooters who have no sense of responsibility but in their blind pursuit to gain acceptance in the midst of Malays, do what even a eunuch can’t do. They need to know that we the Malays have no good whatsoever without Islam. Without Islam, Malays are brute bunch of people. It is Islam that salvages them though Islam Hadhari is destroying them nowadays. As long as we are Muslims, we have one identity and that’s Islam. So Chandra should know that launching a scathing attack on Anwar in the hope that he will be elevated is very misplaced and it shows how pugnacious, ill, unregenerate and an uncouth he is.
Go to link for full set of letters. But below one caught my attention.
ReplyDelete'Chandra, apologise to Anwar'
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/79237
Mohamed Aslam Haneef: I attended the Election 2008 Forum held last Monday at the Menara Star in Kuala Lumpur. The five speakers, Karim Raslan, Denison Jayasooria, Rita Sim, Chandra Muzaffar and Syed Arabi Idid had their say, with the moderator, Wong Chun Wai playing an active role stimulating discussion and at times, provoking the speakers and the audience to speak their mind.
I felt that the issues raised were frank, reflecting the concerns of Malaysians such as inter and intra-ethnic relations, marginalised sections of Malaysian society and their plights, political and governance reforms that need to be made post 2008 elections, as well as some predictions of outcomes.
As a whole, though not as controversial and heated as some political forums can get, the session mainly reflected the maturity of most of the speakers and audience.
The last question allowed by the moderator was on the future role of Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysian politics. In their winding up responses, Karim Raslan seemed to be very positive about the role of Anwar and the need for BN, especially Umno to create ‘more Anwars’. Even Denison Jayasooria and Wong Chun Wai, who are known to be more pro-BN, were open to the possibility of Anwar having a positive role in Malaysian politics, if nothing more than for just keeping the BN government on its toes.
The disappointment to me was Chandra. His views that there could be more segregation and deterioration of inter-ethnic relations if more votes went to the opposition was quite shocking. His solution of a stronger BN that would act benevolently after winning comfortably was even more shocking. This was coupled with his emotional outburst against Anwar Ibrahim.
As someone who has known him for a relatively long time and who always respected his calm and patient responses, I was totally shocked by his many, rather weak accusations. Although the question was on Anwar’s role in Malaysian politics, Chandra answered that if Anwar was to become prime minister, it would be ‘an unmitigated disaster' for Malaysia.
I do not know what his problems are with Anwar, but this one incident has reflected badly on Chandra, especially since Malaysians have always come to expect a higher standard from him. His point on ‘honesty of politicians’ was especially humorous given the whole array of conflicting statements, warnings and threats issued by politicians, including government ministers and ex- opposition politicians in their long or short political careers.
Richard Kamalanathan: This is in response to the remarks made by Dr Chandra Muzaffar about Anwar Ibrahim last week. The founder of Aliran was not instrumental in the formation of PKR (during the formative days there was no PKR but just Parti Keadilan).
Just after a few weeks after Anwar was arrested 1998, there was meeting held at Professor Sabaruddin’s house behind University Tenaga Nasional and in that meeting Dr Wan Ismail (Anwar’s father-in-law) spoke about his relationship with the former primer minister and how Anwar was urged to join Umno.
During the meeting, he (Wan Ismail) urged us to consider forming a party. Hence, it was his idea that was formed on the porch of Professor Sabaruddin’s house. None of Anwar's family members were there. I was one of the few initiators of the idea.
Subsequently we went around building up this party and we had a lot of youngsters joining the party along with former Umno stalwarts like Marina Yusof. She was a great asset at that time. For some reason though, most of the good leaders could not work with Chandra. He was haughty, arrogant and oblivious of the real issues at the kampung and estates.
It was difficult to talk to him. Once, at a Hindraf gathering in Sentul, he told me that my analysis of the Tamil situation was good but added: ‘You Indians must know exactly what you are asking for.
This Chandra Muzaffar @ Chandrasegaran Pillai considers himself not Indian just because he has converted. Chandra thinks he is a super-intellectual on human rights, philosophy and Islamic civilisation in Malaysia. He is not. I will blame Anwar for bringing him into the party. Chandra was the cause of the early troubles in PKR. He has no leadership qualities and had no political thinking. He was zero at politics.
I am no more in PKR but I feel I have to put the facts right, not for Anwar's sake but for many individuals who had worked along with me in the party in its formative days including my wife Philomena. I am disappointed in you, Dr Chandra
Aiya, Mamak Chandra wants to be recognised as a Malay and not Indian Muslim so he is whacking Anwar now to achieve his goal.
ReplyDeleteWho knows the attack might make him richer too...
The frantic smear campaign by the Barisan leaders against Anwar, repeated and amplified by the UMNO controlled TV stations, is evidence of the effectiveness of his campaign.
ReplyDeleteThey deny him an opportunity to refute their allegations and have resurrected the failed, egoistic and discredited politician “scholar” Chandra Muzaffar and hired scribes to defame Anwar in the media.
Chandra now claims that if Anwar, who is now out of power, becomes Prime Minister it would be an unmitigated disaster for Malaysia but he was singing a different tune when Anwar was in power as Deputy Prime Minister.
He was, then, promoting Anwar as the successor to Dr Mahathir. In a piece he wrote in The Star he eulogized Anwar as the leader who is concerned about, and looking after, the welfare of the poor and the lower income group. With a forked tongue, he now accuses Anwar of dishonesty and singing a different tune from when he was in government.
I f we examine Chandra’s history of political involvement we can see his disillusionment with trying to become a self proclaimed reformer and a desire to attach himself to those in power. He was once a bitter critic of Dr Mahathir and an ardent supporter of Tengku Razaleigh and his Semangat 46. His object was to weaken UMNO but when it became clear that Tengku had no chance of assuming power Chandra abandoned him and Semangat 46.
He was then jobless when Anwar picked him up and gave him a job in the University Science Malaysia. Then he became a confidante and trusted adviser of Anwar. Using Anwar he managed to get close to Mahathir. He organized an international human rights conference and got Mahathir to declare it open. Many human rights groups criticized him for inviting Mahathir who they considered responsible for the destruction of the independence of our judiciary and violation of human rights. Chandra was seen by them as an opportunist sucking up to power instead of speaking truth to power.
After Mahathir sacked Anwar, Chandra became the de facto leader of Keadilan and contested the elections and lost. Also Anwar was convicted by the courts on criminal charges and there was no hope of him coming out of prison for more than 10 years if Mahathir continued to be in power. With a lot of infighting in Keadilan and Anwar in prison, Keadilan had no hope of denting Mahathir’s power.
It is at this stage that he decided to abandon Anwar and Keadilan which he regarded as a sinking ship. He then cultivated the friendship of Khairy Jamaluddin and got close to his father-in-law Datuk Abdullah Badawi, the then Deputy Prime Minister. He started praising Mahathir, who had been the target of his venomous attacks just months ago, including labelling him Mahafiraun. To curry favour with the government he began attacking Anwar.
He is now very comfortable running an NGO with the support of those in power and preaching morality and ethics to the world at large. His morality includes supporting a party that has an uninterrupted record of violation human rights, abuse of power, and corruption.
Whether Anwar will be an unmitigated disaster to Malaysia is academic and has yet to be seen. But Chandra has proved to be an unmitigated disaster to Keadilan, Anwar, and those who are seduced by his rhetoric without substance.
Mahfuz Omar
PAS, Information Chief
Chandra bugger is a man with no principle period.
ReplyDeleteDon't waste time to listen to him.
AND TO THINK THAT NTV 7 INVITED HIM TO SPEAK IS DISGUSTING, BECAUSE HE IS ONE SIDED. MAY GOD GUIDE YOU TO BE A BETTER PERSON, EARN SOME RESPECT BEFORE YOUR TIME IS UP.
ReplyDelete