Rafizi Ramli Déjà vu Mind-Boggling Injustice

NFCorp wants PKR leaders charged with disclosing private bank documents


Déjà vu?


Aliran published the following:


... that [Lim Guan Eng] was first charged with falsely and maliciously publishing pamphlets in the following words: (Lim Guan Eng v Public Prosecutor (1998) 3 MLJ 14.)

The Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik sex scandal. Wither justice and women's rights. Victim imprisoned, criminal free.

But the fifteen old year schoolgirl had not been "imprisoned" but merely "detained" by the police. The statement in the pamphlet was therefore false and held to be malicious.


Second, Lim Guan Eng was held to have uttered the words, "that he was dissatisfied with the fact that the court had ordered the minor to be detained for three years whereas Rahim, who should have been imprisoned for violating the law, was instead set free".


It is important to note that while the accused was held to have published the word "imprisoned" he had uttered in his speech the word "detained".


In any event, this utterance was held by the court to be sedition because it had the tendency "to bring into hatred or contempt or .. excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Malaysia..."


This, in a nutshell was the case against Lim Guan Eng, the Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka. This is the reason he is serving a sentence of imprisonment for 18 months at Kajang Prison and has been disqualified from holding office. 


The million-strong is left wondering and at a loss about the constitutional oath of office of a Member of Parliament and the right and duty of an elected parliamentarian, and indeed all citizens, to comment on a matter of public concern without fear or favour.


The million-member jury will no doubt long ponder over the difference between 'imprisonment' and 'detention', especially since the girl had in open court testified that she had tried to escape from the Rehabilitation Centre but was caught after she had escaped.


The jury is also left to wonder why an elected Member of Parliament is denied the freedom of expression enjoyed by a newspaper columnist Marina Mahathir who in her article captioned Whither Justice published in the Star on 9 November 1994 prior to Guan Eng's pamphlet had stated that:

There are injustices in the law which are mind-boggling ... a gross mockery of justice ... As a woman, especially a Muslim woman, I am angry, disgusted and ashamed ... As a mother, I now have real fears for my daughter. What protection can we hope for our daughters if, in the interests of politics, a minor can be so easily sacrificed?

Indeed, my dear Datuk Paduka, the mind-boggling injustice had also affected Lim Guan Eng severely. The question we need to now ask is: will it too affect Rafizi Ramli?

Old soldiers fade away, but old politicians want to stay

Though Douglas MacArthur was credited with the lines ‘Old soldiers never die, they just fade away’, he borrowed it from an old army ballad to use as part of his farewell address to the US Congress in 1951. That army ballad in turn originated from the British Army's WWI parody of the song 'Kind Thoughts Can Never Die'.

Unfortunately, we have no similar saying for old politicians, probably because they won’t fade away, wakakaka.

Take for example, Dr Mahathir. He’s seen by us as still being very much in charge of UMNO and in turn PM Najib, and thus the nation, wakakaka.

Previously Dr M had favoured Najib to become PM, partly because he (Dr M) couldn’t stand AAB [for reasons that was once inadvertently revealed by AAB though in an indirect manner, and not because he cancelled most of Dr M’s mega projects], …

… and partly because he (Dr M) hutang budi to Tun Razak for rescuing him from the outer where he was politically consigned by Tunku.

A sign of Najib’s reciprocating hutang budi was the appointment of Mukhriz Mahathir as deputy minister for international trade & industry. The appointment has been controversial because Mukhriz is only an exco in UMNO Youth whereas Khairy Jamaluddin, UMNO Youth chief and a party post traditionally appointed a minister, was not [though the UMNO Youth deputy chief was].

With such a glaring incongruity, there’s small wonder everyone has been pointing fingers at Dr M’s immense power behind the throne, where it's assumed Najib had to placate him twice over, by making Mukhriz a minister while marginalizing KJ, wakakaka.

But in more recent times, we suspect that Dr M might have entertained some doubts as to Najib’s ‘loyalty’, not that Mr Zigzag has been particularly renowned for that quality. We detect (perhaps through our wild imaginations wakakaka) hints of Dr M’s subtlest threats to Najib in the figure of a much older but nonetheless PM-wannabe Muhyiddin.

Najib’s detractors joke (or were they?) about Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, doing her formidable power manipulations too, perhaps (again in our wildest imaginations wakakaka) raising concerns for Dr M.

But whatever the outcome of UMNO's current internal power manoeuvres, Dr M is the very epitome of ‘old politicians never die and they also won’t fade away’ wakakaka.

Next we have Daim Zainuddin, hailed by UMNO apparatchiks to be as prescient as The Oracle of Delphi.

To the ancient Greeks, Delphi was the navel and thus the very centre of Earth, and the home of the mighty and powerful Apollo, son of Zeus. But prior to Apollo assuming residency at Delphi as the divine place for his oracles, the presiding monster there was a serpent-dragon known as Python, which was slain by Apollo (as an act of revenge for the serpent harassing and pursuing his mum during her very late stage of pregnancy).

Taking that Delphic name literally, we know what a python is frighteningly feared for, wakakaka, so I wasn’t surprised when I read Josh Hong’s column in Malaysiakini about Ex-minister Daim tak diam the title of his article being a play on Daim’s biography 'Daim yang Diam: Sebuah Bigrafi'.

Python-like, Daim amassed a huge fortune and expanded his business empire. Josh wrote of Daim's python-ish stranglehold on big business:

In fact, it was Daim who turned the Economic Planning Unit into a full-power agency in implementing the privatization policy.

Tenders for government projects became things of the past, while contracts were awarded in opacity, to the benefit of both Daim and Mahathir, and many other Umno-putras - Halim Saad, Tajudin Ramli, Wan Azmi, etc - but also trusted non-bumi tycoons such as Vincent Tan, the late Lim Goh Tong and Ananda Krishnan.

Lucrative deals also kept Samy Vellu and Ling Liong Sik so happy that they failed thoroughly to look after the very constituencies that they were supposed to take care of.

Josh sneered at Daim as ‘a typical Umno elite who has been living off the backs of the people’, and the only Finance Minister in the world who left his political appointment as a billionaire, and thus in Josh's opinion, a person ‘shorn of the moral authority to talk on the issue' [of Najib inappropriately holding appointments of PM and Finance minister concurrently].

But of late, seeking to help UMNO by exploiting his so-called renowned prescience (and perhaps hoping his oracles may become self fulfilling prophecies), Daim has been plugging away for his old team, even to the laughable extent of praising Chua Soi Lek for his intrepidity though we didn't read any mention of integrity or wakakaka, morality.

Not unlike the de-mystification of the British royal family some years back through the royal children's unbecoming behavior and utterances in public, and consequential loss of respect for a once-hallowed British institution, Daim has de-mystified himself and his hitherto Cimmerian aura through his implausible endorsement of BN people like CSL wakakaka, and similarly lost our once grudging admiration for him (or at least, his business acumen).

If only he had made senior statesman-like prognoses instead of pathetic partisan plugs!

But he is, like Dr M, another classic example of ‘old politicians never die and they also won’t fade away’ wakakaka.

Tokenism won't erase memories of UMNO's overbearing arrogance

No doubt Khir Toyo is commonly despised by Pakatan supporters but he has a point in his statement that many non-Malays have been turned off by UMNO’s overbearing dominance - see The Malaysian Insider’s Over-dominant Umno will cost Selangor BN, says Khir Toyo.

Mind you, bloke didn’t use the word ‘overbearing’ but rather ‘over-dominance’, but ‘overbearing’ it had been prior to March 2008. By ‘overbearing’ I mean ‘rudely arrogant’.

This remarkable characteristic of modern-day UMNO was brought into sharp focus in the televised UMNO party general assembly where (committed or just politically expedient) extremists used the occasion and opportunity of the televised event to demonstrate their ‘ultra’ credentials. They wanted to be ethnic heroes in the eyes of the heartland, and with that, more assured ascendancy in UMNO’s party hierarchy and consequentially appointment to lucrative official posts.

The individual's self promotion of 'ultra-ism' was in many ways due to a weak UMNO president then, AAB, whose seemingly lack of wibawa (unlike stern Dr M) encouraged a mad scramble for party positions and hopefully ministerial appointments.

Every man jack (and jill) in UMNO was striving to demonstrate his (and her) ethno-worthiness to defend the heartland – read my November 2007 post 'Malay 'sacrifice', Chinese 'sacrifice' when I commented on 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, by hammering their favourite whipping boy, (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. 

As a first-step solution to winning over the nons, Khir advocated giving MCA and MIC leaders more ‘face’ and apparent powers like allowing them to announce grants, funding, etc.

While I mentioned that Khir has a point in pinpointing a grievance among the non-Malays, he failed miserably to raise the real cause of BN’s loss of their support. Apart from an overbearing UMNO which allowed its leaders at even divisional level to insult the Chinese whipping boy every which way, and thus antagonized them, the marginalization of the nons (especially the Indians) could no longer be stomached.

Education scholarships, job opportunities in the MCS, Armed Forces and Police Force for the nons were only at token levels for window dressing.

While Malaysians could work around official corruption, as they had for more than 50 years, that perpetrated and perpetuated by modern-day UMNO was so overpowering (and worse, arrogantly and unabashedly displayed) that even the most accommodating Chinese and Indian could no longer stand its vile offensive stench.

Alas, today's UMNO suffers not only from the jinns of avarice released from its much-abused NEP Pandora Box but also from humongous expectations gleaned from examples of its leadership – an ironical reflection on Dr M’s prophetic ‘Leadership by example’ slogan in the ‘80s, including that exhibited by Khir Toyo himself wakakaka.

For an UMNO member, it was not just enough to get rich, but it had to be Croesus rich and acquired as lightning fast as Zeus' thunderbolt.

With such an attitude, the associated rot set in, where we witness lamentable examples in cracked road bridges, collapsed (newly built) stadium, unfinished contracts but more than paid up in full, substandard work accepted and/or covered up (or remained floating instead of submerging), rights to collect road tolls exceeding reasonable duration, public money financed bailouts galore, gaming licenses awarded to individuals or private companies instead of a non-profit organization (say, to support sporting or welfare activities), gambling by the nation's central bank in forex, etc.

Corruption in Sarawak is as big as the State itself and a classic case of rottenness yet to be addressed.

And worse, all above have been all virtually untouchable.

Thus, in the face of such massive corruption and financial abuses, the incongruity of hounding a young DAP man to his death on flimsy allegations of corruption of a mere RM2400 will continue to remind many Malaysians of sheer blatant injustice, and which consequences must deservedly haunt and punish the BN.

Today, we even hear allegations of the nation's two top law officers, the former IGP and the current AG being involved with the Malaysian Mafia, yet the Najib government drags it feet to investigate such a drastic accusation.

No sirree, it won’t help the BN at all by the mere tokenism of allowing the MCA, MIC or Gerakan to announce allocations of funds to some vernacular schools.

Foreign Maids

Malaysia is now looking at the possibility of employing Myanmarn (Burmese) maids, given the Indonesians' tarik harga conditions for employing their people.


Personally I am against importing any foreign maids, especially those from Indonesia.


My principal reason is that most Malaysians are incapable of being decent human beings when managing their maids. We're the f* ugly Malaysians.


But why single out Indons as maids not to employ?


Because our neighbour can turn humongously ugly (and have done so on several occasions in the past), and may thus hurt our diplomatic staff, students, business people and tourists in Indonesia.

A fantasized ride across Mongolia

Have re-hash an oldie Fantasized trip, fantastic ride and posted same at my other blog KTemoc Kongsamkok.

Strictly no politics – just a fun fantasy, a sort of kaytee wannabe semi science fiction wakakaka.

Lost genes or lost soul?

As just I feel sorry for one old man wakakaka, I feel sorry for this man too. Both suffer from the same problem, that of seeking a 'meaningful' role in life wakakaka.

The latter portrays himself ardently as a Malay, making statements like 'kita orang Melayu' to emphasize which race he considers himself as belonging to, constitutionally of course, because when it comes to genes he’s as Cinapek as the old man wakakaka.

The Malay pronoun ‘kita’ implies his articles were meant for Malays and not non-Malays [not that the old man knows anything about this finer point of Bahasa, wakakaka].

In the kindest language one can describe him as an ultra conservative – though whether ultra conservative Malay nationalist or ultra conservative Muslim, I leave that to you to decide as your guess will be probably as good as mine.

There is humongous irony in his attempt to excoriate the Dong Zong's demands as 'insolent' for what he claimed as the 'ultra kiasu' Dong Zong having no intention to integrate and to push for a national agenda, focussing only on 'Chinese, Chinese, Chinese'.

Firstly, it should be noted he has shown a particular preference for the Singapore term ‘ultra kiasu’ which he had previously reserved for columnist (and now blogger) Helen Ang. Maybe now that my dear Helen is rabidly anti DAP and in particular anti Lim GE (just as I am portrayed as rabidly anti Anwar Ibrahim wakakaka) they have made up.

I’ll return to the term ‘ultra kiasu’ at the end of this post.

Secondly, it’s a bit rich for Dr Tee to accuse Dong Zong of having no intention to integrate when his own regular pronouncements and articles have been highly divisive, laying clear stark lines of demarcation between his 'kita orang Melayu' and 'mereka yang ultra kiasu'.

Thirdly, when he condemned Dong Zong for focusing only on ‘Chinese, Chinese, Chinese’, wasn't he pointing to himself given his regular reminder to his readers (Malays only of course) of 'kita orang Melayu'.

At least Dong Zong has not disguised itself other than being a NGO for Chinese vernacular education. What does Dr Tee expect Dong Zong to promote? Swahili?

And talking about 'disguises', what about Dr Tee? What is he promoting?

However, I have to concede he hasn’t blushed, blanched or blenched when he audaciously presented himself as a Melayu. Most certainly he has the constitutional rights to do so, but there have been times I wonder about the conscience of his genes when he made so much emphasis on his legal ethnic status, a racial metempsychosis made possible only by fiat of the Malaysian Constitution.

Admiral Zheng He

Yes, I wonder only because the 22 million Chinese Muslims in China haven’t, for 1400 years, rejected their cultural heritage, from luminaries such as the famed Admiral Zheng He and Ming dynasty generals Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu, Ding Dexing, Mu Ying, Feng Sheng and Hu Dahai to the redoubtable Ma family of Hsing I (Xinyi) martial art fame.

And as a pointer to cultural roots, I am informed that a mosque is called qīngzhēn sì (清真寺) in Chinese, meaning ‘pure truth temple’.

Xian Mosque

Only Dr Tee himself can explain why he prefers to be known as a Melayu, and what part this would play in the role he seeks.

I wonder why he doesn’t drop the ‘Tee’ altogether and replace it with Tawfiq, which means ‘good fortune’ or ‘to be successful’.

Huaisheng Mosque

Perhaps that will meet the needs of his role more appropriately. More importantly, as Ridhuan Tawfiq Abdullah, he then doesn’t need to remind his audience of his ethnic status via his ‘kita orang Melayu’. Maybe then, he need not be so 'ultra kiasu' himself.

Niuejie Mosque in Beiing

Animal Farm - Malaysian version

We have lots of the one below.

When our Icon tell us so, we act like the ones below.

When He is criticized (and the criticisms are true) we do what is done below.

And when we're in power and you dare criticize our Icon, may God save you 'coz we would be like this.

But most of all we have this.

PKR Selangor - internal power struggle

Azmin Ali attacked Hasan Ali for profligacy in spending as an ADUN.


But alas, Khalid Ibrahim ended up as collateral damage, shot by Azmin Ali’s barrage at Hasan Ali, because in the final analysis Khalid Ibrahim as MB failed to check and control Hasan Ali’s expenditure.


As blogger Choice wrote in his post Things Get Messier in Selangor As Khalid Ibrahim Jumps Into the Fray Khalid also confirmed that Hasan spent RM 329,000 on office renovations, but followed procedures when doing so. Phew, what a relief that these exorbitant amounts were officially authorized.


Nevertheless, these clarifications do leave behind the bad taste of cronyism and wasteful spending practices, begging the question of oversight. And why do these revelations only see the light of day now?


If Hasan wouldn't have been sacked, could he simply have continued his contract allocation and plush refurbishment unhindered? Would Khalid have stayed silent? 


This bit, frankly, we don't get. An objective observer might think Khalid was making these disclosures about Hasan Ali to cover his own tracks, his own past louche administration. 


On the other hand, was it just friendly fire, where Azmin had unwittingly exposed Khalid’s poor governance in his control over Hasan Ali, compelling poor Khalid to come up with a weak excuse, as pointed out by blogger Choice?


I hope you understand what blogger Choice had been meant by “his own past louche administration”.


Some say Azmin Ali wanted to get Khalid Ibrahim by showing the MB was incompetent, meaning someone wakakaka is now eyeing the MB’s post.


Meanwhile Hasan Ali attacked Azmin Ali though it was a low blow to raise questions about the parentage of Azmin’s child. But Hasan Ali is known to be an asshole. Though he professes to be highly Islamic and thus rightfully in accordance with the teaching of Allah swt, a supranationalist, he is in the end nothing more than a racist, being just revealed kau kau as a Chinese-hater who preferred to cooperate with UMNO and to sabotage Pakatan’s rule in Selangor because he couldn’t stand the idea of some Chinese (DAP and PKR) being part of the Selangor Exco. Hmmm, not just a racist but a treacherous betrayer of Pakatan as well. But this post is not about him.


Back to dear Azmin Ali who had been revealed by RPK as the bloke who had during the Hulu Selangor by-election provided UMNO with photographs of Zaid Ibrahim jollying, wakakaka. Poor Zaid, stabbed in the back kau kau. And apparently Eli Wong had also suffered the same internal party sabo. It must be a wonderful party where the musuh is dalam selimut, with members killing off each other rather than the external (real) foe - not unlike someone attempting to knock off the Sifu wakakaka - see my April 2006 post The Master & The Disciple.

I have to admit that Azmin Ali has made remarkable achievements. For a start, he was instrumental in getting rid of Rosmah Mansor from the UNISEL Chancellor’s post.


On 20 February 2010, I wrote in Mean-spirited Malaysians ... In a Twitter posting by PKR vice-president Azmin Ali, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim has agreed to Rosmah's removal in a month's time.


"Students urged the MB to remove Datin Rosmah (right) as Unisel chancellor. MB agreed and will announce in one month. Thunderous applause," read Azmin's posting. Azmin's posting was referring to a gathering of 300 students from various universities with Azmin, Khalid and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. 


This is really pathetic, shamelessly partisan and totally mean-spirited. She was invited by the previous Selangor government so why not let her term as Chancellor finish off without re-inviting her? Why make such a spiteful announcement? It’s pathetic, pitiful, petty and utterly childish. Don’t Azmin Ali and other PKR leaders have more important things to do, like running Selangor State, than to dabble around with such masturbatory indulgences? 


I presume after that fantastic Azmin Ali’s achievement, there was better food on the tables of Malaysians, rental costs became more affordable, fuel prices dropped, school education standards improved, streets became cleaner, sand mining in Selangor was better controlled, birds sang cheerily and rainbows span the Selangor sky every day, etc. 


In my October 2010 PKR's immature childish leader? I wrote: 


Meanwhile, Anwar’s blue-eyed boy, Azmin Ali, just can’t make up his mind whether he wants to be MB of Selangor (which means Khalid will be sabo kau kau, and indeed poor Khalid was for a while) or a federal minister (maybe Finance?) especially now when Putrajaya could possibly be within reach.


I think he must have finally decided on Putrajaya because Khalid is currently off the hook, well at least for now ... but Zaid isn’t. 


That was in October 2010. Things have changed since then, where now Najib and his ‘creative’ ways (including the questionable partisan services of a disgraceful EC) has seemingly made Putrajaya slightly out of Pakatan’s reach (as admitted by PAS). Thus, Azmin Ali may have re-assessed his chances and is now turning his attention to second best spot wakakaka. 


So my dear Khalid Ibrahim, watch out wakakaka. 


I leave you the words of Richard Teo, one of Malaysiakini’s more serious and prolific letter-writers, who wrote Why Zaid must be elected PKR's No 2, where he stated:


… That explains why the person who fills in the position of deputy president of PKR is of vital importance because that person could, in most probability, become the next prime minister of our country. 


Well, someone had hoped wakakaka. 


Zaid [Ibrahim] has proved his mettle. He relinquished his ministerial post from the government on a matter of principle. His vision and articulations on national issues resonate with people of different race and religion. On issues of vital importance he was not afraid to be vocal and candid. That is a mark of a great leader. 


To deprive this man of serving this nation is not only a loss to PKR but a catastrophic loss to the nation at a time when our nation is in dire shortage of charismatic leaders. 


I do not wish to disparage his opponent's ability to be a deputy president and I do not wish to undermine his ability to lead the nation if there are calls to do so. Azmin Ali's loyalty to Anwar and the party is without question. 


He is young and has tremendous energy to garner support from the grassroots but when it comes to articulation of national issues I cannot remember a single occasion when he has made a stand. A leader who lacks the ability to articulate important issues publicly cannot be expected to lead. A person without vision cannot lead a nation because of his impairment to discern the path and route he has to take. 


As a concerned citizen of this country, I humbly appeal to those who are empowered to elect the next deputy president of PKR to make your choice wisely because your choice could possibly determine the next elected prime minister of our country. 


Too late Richard, and besides the polling process, as informed by various personalities both in and outside PKR, didn’t allow for choices wakakaka. 


Sorry Richard, please permit me to somehow defend Azmin’s record, well ... at least on one specific stand – he was personally instrumental in removing Rosmah Mansor from her position as chancellor of UNISEL wakakakakakakakakakakakaka, and folks, that had been Azmin Ali’s major/sole visionary contribution – for more, see my Mean-spirited Malaysians. 


I wrote above prior to the PKR party election wakakaka, so I wonder whether I ought to add to Azmin’s long list of remarkable achievements his …er …well … hmmm … ahem ... becoming PKR deputy president wakakaka.

6 months

6 months!

He could have waited for Ghafar Baba to retire, an old man, a member of Tunku’s original UMNO pioneers.

Yes, Ghafar Baba was only a standard six trained teacher, not like Asia’s greatest intellectual who uses words like ‘Kafkaesque’ (wakakaka), but then, was it worth the unnecessary humiliation of an old man? And to use a massive RM200 million to do so?

It seems that after Ghafar's defeat and loss of his UMNO deputy presidency, while a jubilant faction crowed sweet rejoice, Ghafar found himself alone in one of the halls of the UMNO building, wandering around in a daze with a plastic shopping bag on one of his hands.

Just a mere 6 months before Ghafar Baba was to retire anyway.

6 months!

He could have waited for Dr Mahathir to retire, a man who had already anointed him as the heir to the PM’s position.

Yes, Dr Mahathir might have been a medical doctor and undoubtedly an Asian intellectual but he had never used words like ‘Kafkaesque’ (wakakaka), but then, was it worth the unnecessary betrayal of a mentor. And to use a massive RM445 million plot to do so?

Alas, unlike the crushing of his earlier opponent, the aged standard six trained teacher Ghafar Baba, his opponent Dr Mahathir saw to it he lost his position as UMNO deputy president and DPM Malaysia.

Unlike a dazed Ghafar Baba who found himself alone in one of the halls of the UMNO building, wandering around in a daze with a plastic bag on one of his hands, he went to prison.

Just a mere 6 months before Dr Mahathir was to retire anyway.

And between March 2008 and 916, just a mere 6 months. Coincidence?

If only he had practised manmanlai for a mere 6 months.

6 months! 6 months! 6 months!

Trials & tribulations of vernacular education

Vernacular schools? Shortage of Mandarin trained teachers?

Tell me, which UMNO Education Minister would ever support it? Even the proposal to teach maths and science in English was viewed with suspicion as an UMNO attempt to screw up the high teaching standard of those subjects (in Mandarin) at vernacular schools.

If you recall that humongous issue that lead to Ops Lalang in 1987, namely, the Education Ministry's deliberate appointments of some 100 non-Mandarin trained senior assistants and principals to vernacular Chinese schools, it was yet again an attempt to undermine vernacular educational standards.

It was such a provocative issue that, just for once, led politicians from differing political denominations such as MCA, DAP and Gerakan to join up with Dong Jiao Zong to protest against what they saw as a sinister attempt by the UMNO EDucation Minister to dilute the standards of the vernacular schools.

Most of the leaders of the protest were eventually rounded up during Ops Lalang and incarcerated under the ISA. MCA Youth Chief, Lee Kim Sai, was provided early advice to ‘take a holiday’ in Australia so he escaped the dragnet while Najib who wanted to wash his keris with Chinese blood got away scot free.

And who was the UMNO Education Minister we can thank for all the above?

Man man lai, and I’ll tell you his Most Glorious name, He who made doa compulsory in schools even for non-Muslim students.

But most of all, other than that once in 1987, we can no longer rely on nor expect MCA or Gerakan to fight for vernacular education. Since 1987, they have lost firstly, their backbone, then their balls, and now, their dignity.

Indonesian and Thai Chinese used to send their children to Penang for Mandarin education (particularly at Han Chiang) because their governments don't support vernacular education. Don't be surprised that the day will come soon when Chinese Malaysian will have to send their children abroad for the same.

Rites of passage

Malaysiakini - Thank God for St John's

My matey Dean Johns wrote the above delightful piece, which brought back nostalgic memories for a couple of my uncles who served as officers in the military. Incidentally I come from a family where many of its male members served at one stage or another in the police and military (including the British army during colonial days) - in fact, one of my granduncles serving in the SB during Emergency was killed by the Malayan Communist Party.

The part Dean wrote which attracted them was what the University of Malaya called ‘orientation’ (obviously for freshies) (as related by family members who attended the institution). Dean’s version was more akin to the military form of ‘orientation’ which was unofficially called ‘ragging’, apparently a term used in most Commonwealth countries as it was one of those underground culture inherited from British public schools*.

* By the by, do not be misled by the British term ‘public school’ when they are really very exclusive schools like Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, etc. They’re ‘public’ in the sense they’re open to any members of the public PROVIDED the applicant can PASS the entrance exams and PAY the dues. They were termed ‘public’ because they (theoretically) do not bar anyone like schools for local residents or schools associated with churches and thus meant for followers of the faith.

As usual, the Yanks just have to spoil it with a 'ragging' word of their own, namely, ‘hazing’.

Dean wrote on St John’s College which he attended in the 1960’s as follows [extracts]:

‘Institution' being an entirely appropriate description of the place, as it proved to be more like an open prison or low-security lunatic asylum than most would expect of Sydney University's residential college for male Catholic students.:

Rather than the civilised and cloistered centre of scholarship to which my parents fondly believed they were committing me, and which in my relative innocence I also expected, it proved to be a hotbed of alcoholic anarchy.

Drunk with potable intoxicants or power or both, seniors and sophomores subjected us newcomers to a system of so-called ‘fresher*-bashing', purportedly for the purpose of initial ‘initiation' into the institution, but in practice unrelentingly for the entire first year.

* presumably same meaning as Malaysian ‘freshie’

I have to admit that, despite the ominous word ‘bashing', the plethora of indignities and insults we freshers were subjected to stopped short of actual physical assault*.

* alas, not the case in other countries as deaths had resulted from ragging. For example, in Indonesia, more than 30 people had died from such ‘ragging’ in their public institutions over the last 15 years [obviously ‘ragging, as we would see, is not just a university program for newly admitted undergraduates]. Due to similar fatalities in Indian universities, the Indian High Court has pronounced ragging as a criminal activity.

But short of beatings and waterboardings, we experienced virtually every refinement of Abu Ghraib-style physical and psychological intimidation a sick mind could imagine.

The one I recall with particular fondness is being regularly woken in the middle of the night by drunken revellers and being ordered to clamber up the inside of my room's old stone chimney far enough to escape the worst of the heat from sheets of newspaper that my would-be tormentors set alight in the fireplace, and at the same time being required to sing the old Platters hit Smoke gets in your eyes. [...]

Among the initiation practices mentioned in the Herald article were many that have apparently been instituted since my time, including penis-measuring, underwear wrestling and naked leap-frog.

Not that I recall it as all doom and gloom. Shared suffering being a powerful bond, we freshers quickly became great mates in misery, and thus, five decades later, my room-mate at St John's, Phil Gibbs, remains one of my closest and most cherished friends. And, thanks to either the resilience of youth or a touch of masochism in my mental make-up, I found lots of the fresher-bashing activities not so much fearsome as loads of fun.

This seems to be a commonly expressed sentiments by those who had undergone ragging (for example, my uncles and cousins), that with the advantage of hindsight they believe it was enjoyable with some beneficial outcomes, though of course the lamentable occurrence of deaths would pose an embarrassing question on the rationality of their conclusions, and thus curtailed any open support of the ‘orientation’ programs.

In the armed forces, ragging at military academies/colleges is an unofficial but quietly condoned activity for new cadets, run by senior cadets (and never instructors), because military history-culture believes the following benefits could be achieved:

(a) to ‘break the ice’ for the new cadets, as well as project equal treatment of all newcomers regardless of their backgrounds, rich or poor, urban or rural, creed, colour, etc. Though the overt message of ragging seems to be “new cadets are all worthless shit!” wakakaka, the more important underlying text is that all (potential) officers, regardless of their backgrounds, will be treated equally - basically military shock treatment, especially for those from rich pampered backgrounds.

(b) to encourage team spirit and what the military loves, espirit de corp. If carefully and cleverly managed by senior cadets (and advised by instructors) the new cadets could be tasked to perform almost apparently impossible tasks but which with cooperation among themselves, can be achieved.

(c) to encourage ‘initiative’, the military’s fave phrase for new officers.

(d) most important of all, to ‘break up’ the original make-up of the cadet (rich, poor, arrogant, shy, etc) and ‘rebuild’ him/her into the person the military wants to see in its officer.

Unfortunately sometimes things went wrong because of an individual’s lack of judgement, alcoholic haze (maybe that’s how the Yanks came by that 'hazing' word instead of ‘ragging’) or the raggers losing the plot (the intended objectives of ragging/orientation), and consequently some new cadets were hurt or victimized.

In 2007, Muhammad Hazim Ahmad Azman, an air force cadet at the RMAF base in Alor Setar, was repeatedly abused, physically and mentality. This was considered bullying rather than ragging though the illegal authority and facility for the bullies to do so were under the mantle of ‘orientating’ junior cadets. They were charged and three years later fined by the courts.

But a far more serious case resulting in death occurred in 1982 at RMAF Kuching when Leftenant Muda (Udara) [2nd Lieutenant (Air)] Sugudev Dass died as a consequence of ragging. Apparently there was some ‘rough house’ involved during the ragging and he suffered from slow internal bleeding caused by a kick to his side. No one including the victim himself knew about the bleeding, and when the ragging was over he went back to his room to sleep but the bleeding continued and caused his death. Sadly, he didn't wake up again.

His father wrote a letter directly to HM the Agong appealing for justice. My uncles aren’t too sure what subsequently happened.

Now, you may wonder why ragging occurred after military college at an operational base like TUDM Kuching?

According to my uncles this was a carry-over from Konfrontasi days when RMAF officers (mostly from Peninsula) serving in the ‘frontier’ bases of Kuching and Labuan, ‘away from civilization’ so to speak, had their rough & tumble ways of inducting new comers (of ranks up to Major or, in those early days, Squadron Leaders) into their ‘wild & woolly’ company. Invariably, due to easy and cheap access to tax-free alcohol (and cigarettes) at military camps in Kuching and Labuan, the induction involved alcohol.

The grand finalé of the induction program was imbibing the notorious ‘Kuching Special’ (TUDM Labuan then didn’t have a ‘special’). The ‘Kuching Special’ was a deadly cocktail made up of 1 tot each of whiskey, brandy, vodka, gin, rum, port, and a dash of soya and tomato sauce, and topped up with beer, stout and orange cordial (no water added). My uncle told me some could drink the brew while most vomited before they finished it; a few fell unconscious after bravely gulping it. It's a miracle no one died from drinking the lot.

But then, after such a night of comradeship boozing ending with a ‘Special’, that was that.

As the years went by, the induction program transformed gradually into a more abusive version of ‘military academy-style’ ragging but with the ranks of the inductee being reduced down to only leftenant muda (2nd lieutenant) and leftenant (lieutenant).

My uncle drew my attention to a delightful memoir of a TUDM officer who faithfully recorded his ragging experience as a young leftenant muda (udara). Lt Muda (Udara) Toharudin Abd Rashid writes in both Bahasa and what he describes as his ‘kampung English’ but let me say, disregarding the finer issues of the English language, he writes extremely well, and is very clear about what he has to say. I sense in him a humble and humorous man who come across to me as a Malaysian typical of military officers of the armed forces’ earlier years, where they were Malaysians first and foremost.

Despite the sad event of Lt Muda (Udara) Sugudev Dass, Lt Muda (Udara) Toharudin Abd Rashid said of the ragging: The ragging was very tough. It made the brotherhood or relationship among the officers very closed and adhered.

The ‘espirit de corp’ I mentioned earlier, and a somewhat similar feeling to what Dean Johns had expressed as ‘Shared suffering being a powerful bond, we freshers quickly became great mates in misery’.

Before I provide the link to his post for you to read the relevant extract (under section heading ‘Ragging and Kuching Special’), I thought it would be best to explain a couple of items he wrote. When he mentioned ‘Bat C 10’ under the subsection ‘Night Compass Marching’ he was referring to the military identity card. BAT is abbreviation for Borang Angkatan Tentera, where every document and form used in the military has a BAT number.

And also, when he wrote: ‘The newly reporting officer will be addressed as 'BUGI', while he was phonetically correct, he actually meant ‘BOGEY’, where ‘bogey’ is an air force term meaning an unidentified aircraft or missile, especially one detected as a blip on a radar screen. The TUDM Kuching ragging insinuation was that a new Lt Muda (Udara) or Lt (Udara) was still an unidentified officer (or comrade), thus bogey, until he had undergone the rites of passage.

Now, what do we mean by ‘rites of passage’?

They are rites or ceremonies that mark important transitional periods in a person's life, such as becoming a full fledged member of a fraternity, like an air force or university group.

Thus rites of passage usually involve ritual activities (ragging) and teachings designed to strip individuals of their original roles and prepare them for new roles. I mentioned this process above as one of the desired/expected and most important objectives of ragging, namely, to ‘break up’ the original make-up of the cadet (rich, poor, arrogant, shy, etc) and ‘rebuild’ him/her into the person the military wants to see in its officer.

Now, read and enjoy what Lt Muda (Udara) Toharudin Abd Rashid has to say about his experience as a ‘bogey’ in the air force style of ragging at MILITARY LIFE PT 3: RMAF KUCHING.

Still radioactive ARE deters acceptance of LYNAS & future nuclear powerplants

Malaysiakini - Urgent motion filed on high radiation in Bukit Merah

SMSL, which is battling the Lynas Advance Materials Plant operations in Gebeng, Kuantan, has claimed that radiation at the Mitsubishi Chemical’s ARE plant, which was shut down 18 years ago, is still at a hazardous level.

SMSL chairperson Tan Bun Teet said the radiation reading near the plant was around 0.19 microsievert per hour while the reading near the dump site stood at about 0.2 microsievert per hour.

Both readings, if calculated to a year’s worth of radiation, are beyond the safe level of 1 milisievert per year as advised by AELB.


Thus AELB, in vouching recently that the ARE site would be safe enough to be converted into a public park once the Bukit Kledang waste disposal site is completely sealed by next year, has either been incompetent in its assessment or ..... untruthful. Malaysians have become so disenchanted with the highly politicised and, in many cases, corrupt Malaysian public service and institutions that most are likely to believe in the latter, that is, 'untruthful'.

Sweetie Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) has been so shocked or so incensed, or both, by the frightening levels of radioactivity at the abandoned Asian Rare Earth (ARE) plant in Bukit Merah and its permanent waste dump site at Bukit Kledang, Ipoh, that she has filed an emergency motion in Parliament to debate SMSL’s claims.

This scarey turn of event is typical of Malaysia where government bureaucracy supposedly responsible for our safety, security and service have, with some small exceptions, either been incompetent or untruthful when they presented questionable reports which only favoured the requirements of powerful politicians and their business-industry cronies. That's the current public attitude regarding Lynas where very few people believe the government's assurance that it's eight bells and all's swell.


Compounding our Boleh untrustworthy bureacracy has been our (Malaysian) notoriety for poor maintenance practice, where we would build the most, best, greatest, biggest, largest, tallest, deepest whatever, but very seldom maintain the building or structure once it's construction has been completed. Maybe we Malaysians believe God's archangels would maintain the structure for us.

It sure as hell doesn’t help when maintenance money, whatever little of it, is siphoned off by corrupt officials, as was exposed by (then) Deputy Higher Education Minister Ong Tee Keat in September 2006, when Education Ministry officials embezzled humongous chunks (90%) of funds allocated for refurbishing vernacular schools in Johore.

The veracity of Ong’s accusations was confirmed by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament when he told (then) Works Minister Samy Vellu that a JKR official had admitted to Ong's allegation. The official said that the refurbishment works carried out on SJKC Kung Yu in Johor cost only about RM3,000 when the allocation was RM30,000.


Thus, Ong Tee Keat earned the wrath and eternal hatred of UMNO when he publicly exposed those corrupt officers. But instead of thanking Ong for his public service duty, Hishamuddin, he with the 50-foot Panca Warisan keris, demanded Ong apologise for not remaining within his Higher Education domain but intruding into Hisham's fiefdom. The cabinet led by cousin (then DPM) Najib supported Hisham in his demand but Ong refused to apologize, finally leading his boss Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohamed to do so on his behalf to save everyone’s face, especially Najib’s and Hishamuddin’s.

For more of Najib’s ‘form rather than substance’ read my post Corruption 'Fact' for DPM Najib & Hishamuddin. Till today I do not know whether those corrupt officers have been duly charged? But I won’t hold my breath waiting.

Back to Bukit Merah – thus, with such Malaysian (lack of) work ethics and its highly BTN-ized racial politics and governance, where corrupt, incompetent or even wilful officials would get away with virtually blue murder, it’s small wonder safety procedures would very seldom be complied with, more so if these were complex and laborious to conduct, or 'savings' (nudge nudge wink wink) could be derived by skimming on them.

In the private sector, it’s not unknown that companies had not been very kosher as well, cutting corners to obtain the best bottomline, no matter how well padded their rewards have already been guaranteed. Just sheer bloody greed and assured knowledge that all's kowtim-able if caught.

I was informed that there were rumours of trucks carting away the contaminated waste from ARE but irresponsibly and callously dumping them in unauthorized nooks and corners to save time and travel (cost). Part of the problem had been the ignorance of the truck drivers who themselves probably weren’t aware of the radioactive contents they were trucking away. I just wonder how many of them and their loaders had been tested for cancer since?


I have been consistently one of those who believe that at some stage, sooner rather than later, Malaysia seriously needs to examine the use of nuclear energy instead of just conventional fossil fuel for its electrical needs, hence I'm very much pro use of nuclear energy, but such reminders of the irresponsible management of ARE (by both industry and the Malaysian govenrment) can only serve to dampen my anti-Luddite proclivity.

Musuh dalam selimut

I was one of those very sympathetic and supportive of Eli Wong during her most trying times in 2009 – see my post I support Elizabeth Wong; I deplore Khir Toyo's cynical politics.

Even UMNO Minister Mohd Nazri set aside his normal head kicking act for a while to put in a word of sympathy for Eli. And surprise surprise, MCA Chew Mei Fun joined in as well wakakaka.

See my post UMNO's Nazri supports Elizabeth Wong, PKR's Khalid Ibrahim equivocates.

As you can read from the second half of the title of my 2009 post, just above, it had been PKR which was cold towards Eli Wong’s continuing career as an ADUN. I then wrote:

I have to say, in contrast to Nazri Abdul Aziz' correct statement against the contemptible photos and his nice word of encouragement for Eli, I have been deeply disappointed with Khalid's (political) over-caution about rallying to Eli's defence when basic decency had demanded his prompt, unreserved and 'loyal' support. […]

… Khalid Ibrahim, asked if Wong would be asked for her resignation, said the state government would look into all aspects of the incident before making a decision on the matter.

“Let the police report go through (it) and then we will have our own discussion on the issue,” said Khalid.

“We are open to all possibilities but given the situation it is best to give the victim the right of hearing and we have to listen to her explanation.”

Dei Khalid Ibrahim, listen carefully - a good leader always stands by his troops when any one of them is in strife (and who hasn’t committed any wrong). It’s time you have a bit of backbone and come out bravely to support her. If she is the victim as you said, then WTF are you equivocating about?

She must and should be protected and supported.

And WTF do you mean by “We are open to all possibilities ..."

Are you opening the door for her possible dismissal from the Exco?

Then (2009) I thought Khalid Ibrahim was uncomfortable with having Eli on his team (after the nasty release of her photos on the web) when there was also a number of Pak Hajis from PAS, and thus, wanted to conveniently get rid of her.

Well, I suppose that's one way of solving problems - the Mafia were more drastic, making the people they wanted to disappear wear 'concrete shoes' wakakaka.

Now, with the revelation here, we laypeople begin to realize that there was another possibility in the attempted political assassination of Eli Wong, namely an inside job, similar to the political sabotage of Zaid Ibrahim during the Hulu Selangor by-election.

I used the word ‘laypeople’ because it seems those high up in the DAP, PAS or PKR hierarchy knew about that PKR internal backstabbing.

The exposé asked: Who did you guys think set Eli Wong up?

We’re then informed it’s the same person who sabo Zaid wakakaka.

Maybe that explains why Eli had initially wanted to quit politics following that cowardly act victimizing her. Could you blame her when the enemy was within her camp? Bloody creepy!

Just imagine her being devastated by the treachery, more so when her esteemed leader Khalid Ibrahim was also frightened into near silence (hence his initial prevarications following public knowledge of the scandal).

Just as well Eli Wong didn’t leave or she would have been labeled as a traitor/BN mole and grouped together with Nallakaruppan, Gobala, Jonson Chong, Zaid, Jenapala, Johari Jasin, Abdul Rahman (PKR membership No 3 and now in PAS), and a host of others.

Evangelist or Charlatan of Democracy?

Terence Netto penned The link between Anwar and Dickens for Malaysiakini, in which he draws parallel between Charles Dickens and Anwar Ibrahim. Netto claimed Dickens to be the supreme artist of democracy and Anwar Ibrahim as the Pied Piper in the modern age of government by consent of the governed.

While I agree with Netto that Anwar is certainly the Pied Piper, my impression of the Pied Piper is not the version Netto has in mind. My Pied Piper is the original one in Hamelin, whom the Germans call Rattenfänger von Hameln.

The original story of Rattenfänger von Hameln was one of horror, but the tale was subsequently converted into one which had rats and whatnot. In the original tale, the Pied Piper hypnotized and led many many children to their deaths. No, I don’t suppose Netto had this impression of Anwar in mind wakakaka.

Au contraire, whenever Terence writes, you can be sure of two things: apart from requiring a dictionary, he’d be promoting Anwar Ibrahim.

Nothing wrong in the latter as we all promote someone we like (like kaytee does for Karpal Singh wakakaka) or attack someone we dislike (like kaytee does on Anwar Ibrahim wakakaka).

But Terence Netto exceeded the bounds of rational belief in the above mentioned Malaysiakini article. This was what he said of Anwar:

You only have to give him a pedestal and this evangelist for democracy will use it to espouse the themes of freedom and equality with an ardor that is comparable to the ferocity Dickens displayed in attacking their lack in English institutions of the 19th century …

Evangelist for democracy?

Apart from a wrong choice of word in ‘evangelist’ (which those religious hounds might exploit to Anwar's disadvantage) I have only three words, all starting with ‘P’, to describe Netto’s adulation of Anwar Ibrahim as a paragon of democracy, namely:

Poppycock, preposterous & pordah.

Evangelist for democracy? Wakakaka!

And dear Terence, what democratic message did your Anwar Ibrahim send to us when he attempted to seize government with his shameless 916 tomfoolery?

But Netto has been correct in describing Anwar as a Pied Piper because one of those mathematically challenged ‘children’ in 916 wakakaka was (to my great sadness as a DAP supporter) DAP Hannah Yeoh, such was/is Anwar’s mesmerizing mist of malarkey.

Then what about his welcoming the revolving-door frog, Nasarudin Hashim, ADUN for Bota in Perak to PKR. The Great One claimed the Nasaruddin’s defection “... reflected the sentiments of his voters, namely the Malays in his constituency ... as the beginning of a new wave.”

Would Anwar Ibrahim then allow that the defection of erstwhile PKR Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Osman Jailu also “... reflected the sentiments of their voters, namely the Malays in their constituencies ... as the beginning of a new wave”?

Would the PKR anwaristas agree? Of course not, those mindless moronic Myrmidon would blame Najib for his evil machinations, and I would agree to that, but of course when it’s that evangelist of democracy enticing frogs the other way, it’s only another step forward in man-man-lai democracy wakakaka.

Netto is no better in that he even provided an excuse for his evangelist of democracy for withdrawing from a conference in New Delhi because Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verse (and thus fatwa-ed to death by Iranian ayatollahs) was there. An evangelist of democracy?

I still can’t believe Netto would describe Anwar as an evangelist of democracy after the 916 attempted subversion of the ballot box, and I haven’t yet included the Great One’s duplicity in the 1994 Sabah election frogology and the parlous state of affair in his own party election process.

Maybe I’ll add another ‘P’ to the 3 above (Poppycock, preposterous & pordah) to describe Netto’s promotion of Anwar – pukish.

Now, we come to the Great One’s cowardice in refusing to participate with RPK in the WikiLeaks forum while in the same breath demanding Najib fronts up in a national debate. The typical comments from those moronic mindless Myrmidons would be: ‘Who’s RPK to demand a debate with Anwar’, 'RPK is a nobody, so why should Anwar debate with him’ etc, ...

... and today Netto has come up with another article to defend Anwar in Malaysiakini’s Anwar shouldn't debate Najib by proxy, says PKR where he quoted PKR vice-president N Surendran accusing Najib of using RPK as a proxy to debate Anwar.

I want to make two points very clear to imbeciles [please exucse my rudeness as I'm exasperated by sheer stupidity].

Firstly, it’s not a debate. The topic is not, for example, ‘Malaysia’s economic future’ or such likes which would then be appropriate in a Najib-Anwar debate.

It’s just a WikiLeaks forum where Julian Assange would interview participants. Surely, no one is going to argue that Julian Asaange will be debating with Anwar? So why is Anwar so shit scared of RPK being present?

If one doesn’t have skeletons in his cupboard, one wouldn’t fear being in a forum with RPK?

Evangelist of democracy? Wakakaka, my toes are truly laughing.

Secondly, who in Malaysia has made WikiLeaks so readily available to news readers?

Anwar? Najib? Lim KS? Hadi Awang? Rais Yatim?

C’mon, don’t be shy, you moronic mindless Myrmidons.

It has been RPK who publishes WikiLeaks articles regularly at Malaysia-Today. It has also been RPK who publishes Malaysia's own version of WikiLeaks, which when they exposed UMNO's corruption would be welcomed and praised by the same mindless moronic Myrmidons.

So, who in Malaysia is most qualified and most deserving to be interviewed by Julian Assange?

The thing is Anwar is shit scared of RPK!

Just read this to know the UMNO-in-waiting, and probably some of the reasons why Anwar is a chicken.

And those moronic mindless Myrmidons, some while finally admitting the Great One might not so great after all, want us, plead with us, urge us to vote the less evil twin, implying PKR.

But I know (not just guessing) PKR will be no better, and in some cases even worse.

How can I be so cocksure? Because I remember one UMNO man who was in various ministerial positions for 16 years, whom I deem as the most terrible Machiavellian person I had the displeasure of witnessing, as an example, his draconian proselytizing educational policy, and isn’t that precisely the proof of the pudding in the eating? Not very Dickensian I know wakakaka ...

... but for fear of RPK, man-man-lai has chickened out to become mai-mai-lai, wakakaka.