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| Jambatan Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah |
My post today is not so much about the bridge nor about the politicians, past and present on both sides of politics associated with its development, but rather about its naming after the current Yang DiPertuan Agong, the King of Malaysia, who is also the Sultan of Kedah. While I believe it's appropriate to name Malaysia's current iconic landmark after HM the Agong, I believe also the Kedah connection is equally strong.
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| Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah |
Before I get onto my beef re the topic today, a wee historical recollection of the island's foreign visitors may be in order.
In the 15th Century (June 1405) Admiral Zheng He with an armada of 317 ships and a total crew of 28.000 men, probably including some expeditionary marines, sailed from Suzhou and visited SE Asia including Penang.
It may please some Malaysians that Zheng He was a Muslim with the name of Ma He (the 'Zheng' was bestowed upon him by the Ming Yongle Emperor in honour of his distinguished military service).
His great-great-great-grandfather was a Persian by the name of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Oma. I wonder whether the family were Shiites? If they were, it's fortuitous for them that Zheng He arrived more than 600 years ago because today he might have been harassed if not chased out by one of the JA-organizations we have, wakakaka.
You may also wish to read my BolehTalk post Bend the ethnic belief - Bin the 'bin Abdullah'.
His great-great-great-grandfather was a Persian by the name of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Oma. I wonder whether the family were Shiites? If they were, it's fortuitous for them that Zheng He arrived more than 600 years ago because today he might have been harassed if not chased out by one of the JA-organizations we have, wakakaka.
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| Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim, visited Malacca during Sultan Mansur Shah's reign. His fleet visited SE Asia, South Asia (India etc), the Middle East, Somalia & the Swahili coast. Naval historian-author, Gavin Menzies, claimed Zheng He reached Americas 70 years before Columbus. He didn't have a bin Abdullah to his name, wakakaka. |
You may also wish to read my BolehTalk post Bend the ethnic belief - Bin the 'bin Abdullah'.
Anyway, the only thing Admiral Zheng He did on arrival in the Malay Peninsula was to name Penang island on his maritime chart as Bīnláng Yù (of course long long before it became Penang Island - the local name for it at that time was Pulau Ka-Satu).
In 1592, more than 150 years after Admiral Zheng He's visit, an Englishman by the name of James Lancaster, a soldier and a trader but actually like most English trader-sailors at that time such as Francis Drake and Henry Morgan, just a robbing-plundering pirate, came to Penang.
He used the island as his base for pirating trading ships for around 4 months before he left. I wonder what were the nationality of the ships he plundered? Were they Portuguese, Dutch, French, Chinese, Indian, Thai*, Indons or local Malays? Eventually he became a director of the East India Company, the group that colonized India - perhaps it was his plundering credentials that got him the job.
* Thailand was always known as Meaung Thai to its people but outsiders called it Siam. However, King Mongkut (mid 19th Century) gave the word Siam official legitimacy until 1939 when the nation's official name reverted to Thailand. We shall stick to Thailand here.
Around that time, northern Malaya was on and off under Thai suzerainty, the local power. When they were not under Thai control they were raided and plundered, not only by the Thais but the Burmese as well - what the heck, where were the cousins (Indons) when Kedah needed them - oh dear I see, so the Mataram Sultanate at the end of the 17th Century was itself under threat from the Dutch.
That was when another English trader-adventurer wakakaka arrived in Penang.
His name was Francis Light. Today he is not a very popular guy in Malaysia wakakaka because it pisses off many Malaysians or rather Malays when Penangites celebrate his landing on the island on 11 August 1786 as the founding of Penang with him as the founder, a preposterous claim-celebration when Malays and even Chinese, Thais and various other SE Asians were already there or had landed there (like Admiral Zheng He) nearly four hundred years prior to him. But it's f**king good for Penang tourism, wakakaka.
But look, those were the days of British imperial power when its trader-adventurers wakakaka, people like Francis Light, went around the world and claimed other peoples' countries as British possessions.
Those Pommie buccaneers would either cheat, threaten and seize such land, or claim them as terra nullius, a Latin term meaning 'land belonging to no one', where 'no one' means those they saw as non-beings, like the Australian aborigines.
* honorarium means a payment made without the giver recognizing themselves as having any liability or legal obligation
** probably the first international currency at that time
Wikipedia said this of his successor: Lieutenant-Governor Sir George Leith secured* a strip of land across the channel as a buffer against attacks and named it Province Wellesley (today Seberang Prai). The annual payment to Sultan of Kedah was increased to 10,000 Spanish dollars per annum after the acquisition. Today, the Penang state government still pays RM 18,800.00 to the Sultan of Kedah annually.
* no doubt as a result of the Poms screwing the Kedah Sultan again
My point about the above historical recollection has been to inform so as to enable you to pontificate fairly on the connections between HRH Sultan Kedah and Penang, notwithstanding that Penang today is a separate state from Kedah.
Mind you, late last year Kedah MB Mukhriz, anak kepada Dr Mahathir, wakakaka, attempted to demand a larger annual sum from Penang. I wonder whether his demand plus another subsequent one for Penang to pay for river water used (though that'd be illegal) wakakaka, had been coloured by the fact that Penang is under Pakatan rule, wakakaka. Malaysiakini reported on 21 November 2013:
Kedah Mentri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir out to be ashamed for asking the federal government to raise the RM10,000 annual royalty payment to Kedah for Penang the by using a 227-year old British colonial era treaty, an opposition MP said today.
Calling Mukhriz's move to extract royalty payment for Penang an outdated idea, the DAP's Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim criticised Mukhriz as "a bad son".
Sim pointed out that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself had back in 1994 rejected a similar request made by then Kedah menteri besar Osman Aroff.
"Mukhriz should focus on developing Kedah for the sake of the people, instead of trying his luck to get additional funds from the federal government via the backdoor on the pretext of the said treaty.
"Dr Mahathir even termed the treaty and payment as "meaningless". Hence, Mukhriz's action is surely an embarrassment to his own father."
Sim said this in reference to a New Straits Times report in which Mukhriz claimed that money was owed to Kedah on account of the old treaty on Penang, which was made during the British rule, and the amount had therefore to be raised.
Sim noted that the colonial era treaty clashed with independent Malaya, which gave both Kedah and its neighbouring state Penang the same right to exist under the federal constitution, specifically under Article 1(2).
"I urge the federal government to stop this embarrassment once and for all. This colonial legacy should be stopped and the annual payment of RM10,000 to Kedah should be abolished," Sim said, adding that all federal funds for Kedah should be used directly for the people's benefit and not for the state leaders.
But I suspect it's not so much that Penang is administered by Pakatan (though there's that too) but more about him wanting both demands against Pakatan to be on his UMNO credentials, wakakaka.
Leaving aside the honorarium (which incidentally, as mentioned above, is a payment made without the giver recognizing themselves as having any liability or legal obligation), shouldn't we at the very least recognize the historical connection between Kedah and Penang?
That brings us to the naming of Penang's 2nd bridge, Malaysia's latest iconic structure, and why I deem it being named after HRH Sultan of Kedah, who is also the current Agong, as most correct. This action represents a historic recognition of the connection between the two states, appropriately so with a bridge.
But I was appalled by some of the interactive comments in TMI's Najib opens second Penang bridge, naming it after the King. Some truly sad remarks are as follows (unedited):
What has Penang to do with Kedah? Give a name that gives pride to the Penangites.
Sorry, just curious. Will you change the name when the Agong changes?
Is this really necessary.....these guys really know how to rub people the wrong way.....if it is really a naming session instead of just opening the bridge should have just named it after someone who had contributed alot to Penang.....
So easy to call it '2nd Penang Bridge' - short and simple and easy to remember.
Change to any name, however, you like it and we still easily remember to call it as 2nd bridge.
In 1592, more than 150 years after Admiral Zheng He's visit, an Englishman by the name of James Lancaster, a soldier and a trader but actually like most English trader-sailors at that time such as Francis Drake and Henry Morgan, just a robbing-plundering pirate, came to Penang.
 |
| James Lancaster |
He used the island as his base for pirating trading ships for around 4 months before he left. I wonder what were the nationality of the ships he plundered? Were they Portuguese, Dutch, French, Chinese, Indian, Thai*, Indons or local Malays? Eventually he became a director of the East India Company, the group that colonized India - perhaps it was his plundering credentials that got him the job.
* Thailand was always known as Meaung Thai to its people but outsiders called it Siam. However, King Mongkut (mid 19th Century) gave the word Siam official legitimacy until 1939 when the nation's official name reverted to Thailand. We shall stick to Thailand here.
Around that time, northern Malaya was on and off under Thai suzerainty, the local power. When they were not under Thai control they were raided and plundered, not only by the Thais but the Burmese as well - what the heck, where were the cousins (Indons) when Kedah needed them - oh dear I see, so the Mataram Sultanate at the end of the 17th Century was itself under threat from the Dutch.
That was when another English trader-adventurer wakakaka arrived in Penang.
His name was Francis Light. Today he is not a very popular guy in Malaysia wakakaka because it pisses off many Malaysians or rather Malays when Penangites celebrate his landing on the island on 11 August 1786 as the founding of Penang with him as the founder, a preposterous claim-celebration when Malays and even Chinese, Thais and various other SE Asians were already there or had landed there (like Admiral Zheng He) nearly four hundred years prior to him. But it's f**king good for Penang tourism, wakakaka.
But look, those were the days of British imperial power when its trader-adventurers wakakaka, people like Francis Light, went around the world and claimed other peoples' countries as British possessions.
 |
| Francis Light |
Those Pommie buccaneers would either cheat, threaten and seize such land, or claim them as terra nullius, a Latin term meaning 'land belonging to no one', where 'no one' means those they saw as non-beings, like the Australian aborigines.
Anyway, Francis Light was working for the East India Company and wanted Penang as a base to keep an eye on French and Dutch colonialism in SE Asia (mateys, it’s all about the lucrative trade, especially in spices), so he leased the island from Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah, the 20th ruler of Kedah, in exchange for military protection from the ever threatening Thai and Burmese armies who were eyeing Kedah for the occasional jolly weekend of raping, pillaging and burning, and no doubt boozing as well with over-fermented tapai or toddy, wakakaka.
Light named the island as the Prince of Wales Island in honour of the English Tengku Makhota (crown prince) but the new name didn't strike a chord with most of his contemporaries because almost everyone who knew or lived in Penang called the island either Penang or by its local or Chinese name.
But the poor sultan of Kedah was cheated kau kau because the East India Company had no intention of being involved in the
Sultan's problems with other Malay states or Thailand or Burma. Light hid that
fact from HRH when he offered military protection for Kedah in return for use of Penang as his base, and he also hid his offer to the Sultan from his own company, wakakaka. In other words, he acted on his own 'initiative' (of devious lies and bullshit), which meant he leased the island from the Sultan Kedah with a bounced English cheque, wakakaka.
Of course on discovering that deceit, HRH wanted the island back but was unsuccessful in his effort as to be expected in a case of keris versus guns. Worse, he was forced to cede Penang to the East India Company for an honorarium* of 6,000 Spanish dollars** per year.
** probably the first international currency at that time
Wikipedia said this of his successor: Lieutenant-Governor Sir George Leith secured* a strip of land across the channel as a buffer against attacks and named it Province Wellesley (today Seberang Prai). The annual payment to Sultan of Kedah was increased to 10,000 Spanish dollars per annum after the acquisition. Today, the Penang state government still pays RM 18,800.00 to the Sultan of Kedah annually.
* no doubt as a result of the Poms screwing the Kedah Sultan again
My point about the above historical recollection has been to inform so as to enable you to pontificate fairly on the connections between HRH Sultan Kedah and Penang, notwithstanding that Penang today is a separate state from Kedah.
Mind you, late last year Kedah MB Mukhriz, anak kepada Dr Mahathir, wakakaka, attempted to demand a larger annual sum from Penang. I wonder whether his demand plus another subsequent one for Penang to pay for river water used (though that'd be illegal) wakakaka, had been coloured by the fact that Penang is under Pakatan rule, wakakaka. Malaysiakini reported on 21 November 2013:
Kedah Mentri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir out to be ashamed for asking the federal government to raise the RM10,000 annual royalty payment to Kedah for Penang the by using a 227-year old British colonial era treaty, an opposition MP said today.
Calling Mukhriz's move to extract royalty payment for Penang an outdated idea, the DAP's Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim criticised Mukhriz as "a bad son".
Sim pointed out that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself had back in 1994 rejected a similar request made by then Kedah menteri besar Osman Aroff.
"Mukhriz should focus on developing Kedah for the sake of the people, instead of trying his luck to get additional funds from the federal government via the backdoor on the pretext of the said treaty.
"Dr Mahathir even termed the treaty and payment as "meaningless". Hence, Mukhriz's action is surely an embarrassment to his own father."
Sim said this in reference to a New Straits Times report in which Mukhriz claimed that money was owed to Kedah on account of the old treaty on Penang, which was made during the British rule, and the amount had therefore to be raised.
Sim noted that the colonial era treaty clashed with independent Malaya, which gave both Kedah and its neighbouring state Penang the same right to exist under the federal constitution, specifically under Article 1(2).
"I urge the federal government to stop this embarrassment once and for all. This colonial legacy should be stopped and the annual payment of RM10,000 to Kedah should be abolished," Sim said, adding that all federal funds for Kedah should be used directly for the people's benefit and not for the state leaders.
But I suspect it's not so much that Penang is administered by Pakatan (though there's that too) but more about him wanting both demands against Pakatan to be on his UMNO credentials, wakakaka.
Leaving aside the honorarium (which incidentally, as mentioned above, is a payment made without the giver recognizing themselves as having any liability or legal obligation), shouldn't we at the very least recognize the historical connection between Kedah and Penang?
That brings us to the naming of Penang's 2nd bridge, Malaysia's latest iconic structure, and why I deem it being named after HRH Sultan of Kedah, who is also the current Agong, as most correct. This action represents a historic recognition of the connection between the two states, appropriately so with a bridge.
But I was appalled by some of the interactive comments in TMI's Najib opens second Penang bridge, naming it after the King. Some truly sad remarks are as follows (unedited):
What has Penang to do with Kedah? Give a name that gives pride to the Penangites.
Sorry, just curious. Will you change the name when the Agong changes?
Is this really necessary.....these guys really know how to rub people the wrong way.....if it is really a naming session instead of just opening the bridge should have just named it after someone who had contributed alot to Penang.....
So easy to call it '2nd Penang Bridge' - short and simple and easy to remember.
Change to any name, however, you like it and we still easily remember to call it as 2nd bridge.
and the most shameful of all,
I don't understand why the King, sultan of Kedah needs to have his name. I think Jabatan Sir Francis Light would be moe appropriate.
He (or she) wants to name the bridge after Francis Light!!?
I don't understand why the King, sultan of Kedah needs to have his name. I think Jabatan Sir Francis Light would be moe appropriate.
He (or she) wants to name the bridge after Francis Light!!?
I can't believe a couple even thanked Lim Guan Eng, wakakaka. Now, even as a DAP supporter I am compelled to ask what had Guan Eng done for the construction of the second bridge, a federal project?
Mind you, Guan Eng himself hasn't even claimed anything. It's only those morons who saw fit to slot in words of thanks to him for the bridge, wakakaka. Either they know something I don't or they are the most idiotic of idiots who must have embarrassed Guan Eng kau kau.
This has been how those idiots got poor innocent Guan Eng (insofar as the naming of the bridge is concerned) on to the bad side of conservative Malays. Utusan Malaysia, always looking for any, the flimsiest, opportunity to demonize DAP in the eyes of the Heartland, claimed that Guan Eng had been unhappy with the bridge being named after the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, its usual fabrication of course.
Guan Eng retorted: "It is completely untrue that I am unhappy with the bridge being named after the King. It is the federal government's right to name it. There is no unhappiness."
Guan Eng retorted: "It is completely untrue that I am unhappy with the bridge being named after the King. It is the federal government's right to name it. There is no unhappiness."
Guan Eng has had nothing to do with the bridge, but if those morons want to thank Guan Eng, wait until the to-be-constructed tunnel is completed.
But more worrying have been the disrespect for HRH Sultan of Kedah merangkap DYMM YDP Agong who is one of the finest rulers we have. I can understand (though I won't be crude as to commit lèse-majesté) if there are snide sneers, oblique hostilities or quiet disdain for certain ruler or rulers who have not shown exemplary conduct and examples to their subjects.
But why show such disrespect to HRH Sultan of Kedah, a good bloke and one whose lineage has very strong historical connections to the island of Penang?
In Australia, there is a significant republican movement but its members have always accorded respect, civility and cordiality to HM the Queen.
Now, even if there is a republican movement in Malaysia, its members (if not already jailed for lèse-majesté, wakakaka) should behave in a civilized manner and continue to show respect for the offices of the rulers, well at least until Malaysia theoretically succeeds in coming a republic through an official referendum.
In the end, Malaysians must realize that Malaysia is a democracy with a constitutional monarchy. I hope they know what monarchy as per the Constitution means, and if they don't, please learn from our neighbours the Thais or even the Japanese or Poms, Dutch, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Belgians and Spaniards.
I ask only because they have appallingly shown that the naming of Penang's 2nd bridge has been for them 'a bridge just too bloody far'.
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| school kids crossing the Banggol Jering river, Pasir Mas I hope this has been sorted out - if not, Najib, what are you doing for it? |
As usual, nothing in Malaysian politics is simple and straightforward.
ReplyDeleteOn the surface, naming the new Penang bridge after the reigning Agong is entirely proper, there are some less-than fragrant undertones in Najib's actions, just another sop to the Malay supremacists..
Its an in-your-face reminder to those nasty Penang Cina, especially, that Penang is really stolen Kedah-land, and one of these days....it will go back to Kedah.
Yes, when Mukriz is there on the opening ceremony, hahahahaha!
DeleteAs usual, Utusan played a very nasty trick on Lim Guan Eng.
ReplyDeleteA person has been interviewed for a number of minutes with various questions on several different topics. If you chop and paste bits and pieces of what he said together totally out of context, you can "make" him say just about anything.
Thats' exactly what Utusan did to Lim Guan Eng.
His "No" answer was to a different question , but they made it look like the answer to the question whether he was happy with the naming of the bridge.
Lim Guan Eng could make a pretty good living out of suing the pants off Utusan for its lies.
I am uncertain if this is a great article. But I am convinced that I am great reader because I read it in perusal style.
ReplyDeleteI have been listening to Al Stewart's song on Palace of Versailles. Honestly while I have much admiration on the fact that the present sultan was from the diplomatic/civil service corp, his aura of royale majesty would very much depending on his conduct. Too bad that none of so many counterpart sultans can live up to his ideals.
ReplyDeleteTalking about lese majeste, kaytee may have badmouth the Thai Royals whom I even much respected more than 9 sultans that we have now. At least they speak good england & france......They are schooled in Lausanne, Switzerland. Come to think of it. We should rename Penang bridge as King Bhumipol bridge........HAHAHAHAHA! Kedah got damn fucking strong connection with Thailand, the lord & master. Perlis was hived off from Kedah & given it to one arab lang.
P.S : I have never thought of kaytee becoming a royalist. By the way, I also remembered some clowns complained about P Patto should not be named on one road. Who's P Patto? Hahahahahaha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaTuguQYJaA
The wands of smoke are rising
From the walls of the Bastille
And through the streets of Paris
Runs a sense of the unreal
The Kings have all departed
There servants are nowhere
We burned out their mansions
In the name of Robespierre
And still we wait
To see the day begin
Our time is wasting in the wind
Wondering why
Wondering why, it echoes
Through the lonely palace of Versailles
Inside the midnight councils
The lamps are burning low
On you sit and talk all through the night
But there's just no place to go
And Bonaparte is coming
With his army from the south
Marat your days are numbered
And we live hand to mouth
While we wait
To see the day begin
Our time is wasting in the wind
Wondering why
Wondering why, it echoes
Through the lonely palace of Versailles
The ghost of revolution
Still prowls the Paris streets
Down all the restless centuries
It wonders incomplete
It speaks inside the cheap red wine
Of cafe summer nights
Its red and amber voices
Call the cars at traffic lights
Why do you wait
To see the day begin
Your time is wasting in the wind
Wondering why
Wondering why, it echoes
Through the lonely palace of Versailles
Wondering why, it echoes
Through the lonely palace of Versailles
one doesn't have to be a royalist to show basic respect for recognized national institutions or to show basic courtesy or to put events within the context of our country's history or to respect due process, or best of all, to NOT be a moron
DeleteSo a republican is a moron, while a royalist is a feudalistic idiot, yes?
DeleteHahahahaha! Just like many streets & roads in Malaysia has changed to melayu ones. Why should we change Teluk Anson to Teluk Intan? Anyway, we still keep Slim River. Why shouldn't we follow Hong Kong or Singapore, all names remained unchanged?
DeletePenang is slightly better as it still maintain significant names.......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_names_of_George_Town,_Penang
Ah but then........HAHAHAHAHAHA!
why should Peking be Beijing, why should Bombay be Mumbai, Madras be Chennai, Rangoon be Yangoon, Batavia be Jakarta and Idlewild Airport be John F Kennedy Airport, etc?
Deleteboth royakist and republican WITHOUT "thinking" and manners are morons, like for example, wanting to name a Malaysian bridge after Francis Light rather than a Malaysian like the Agong
Deleteor thanking Lim GE for the bridge, wakakaka - with such supporters Guan Eng doesn't need enemies, wakakaka again
DeleteAnd why can't we change Jalan Silibin to Jalan P Patto? Kaytee, who is P Patto huh?
Deletehttp://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?sec=nation&file=%2f2008%2f11%2f18%2fnation%2f2567097
This demonstrates the blogger who wrote about this, THAT'S YOU ARE MORONs, Hahahahaha! Fuck la! People oppose, buay song.....buay song la......Why bother? Oh simply because that guys is the Agung
Meanwhile, yindians who are not mamak are nothing. That includes P Patto & even SP Seenivasagam.
P.S : Seenivasagam was honoured much much later.
Does M'sia has a lèse-majesté law?
ReplyDeleteCan some legal expert enlighten us, please.
Depending who the fuck you are......If you are Mukriz bin Mahathir......semua ok.....what the cibai fuck is Mukriz doing in Penang? Why HRH Selangor officiating Hard Rock Cafe in Melaka? Why? Why? Why?
DeleteP.S : Oh by the way, I kinda pity Louis XVI...........That's the problem when people leave behind shits. Perhaps, that's what HRH Kedah is feeling now......It seems his counterparts never stay normal......That including HRH Selangor who accepted the appointment of the state secretary without notifying MB Selangor
Listen to the haunting sound of Palace of Versailles
"The wands of smoke are rising
From the walls of the Bastille
And through the streets of Paris
Runs a sense of the unreal
The Kings have all departed
There servants are nowhere
We burned out their mansions
In the name of Robespierre
And still we wait
To see the day begin
Our time is wasting in the wind
Wondering why
Wondering why, it echoes
Through the lonely palace of Versailles"
Paul Keating has said some wonderful thing about the Queen, the flag.......It nearly border lese majeste
It's all kaytee's fault, never trust Tory.....Ooops! National/Liberal.........Hahahahaha!
lèse-majesté law? ask Karpal Singh who's charged with "sedition"
Deletewhy is the MB of Kedah there? read my post again
DeleteYes, so........Kedah Sultan, Perlis, Raja, Terengganu & kelantan Sultan must pay homage to Thai King.....King Bhumipol......Hahahahaha! See, how it becomes more & more absurd.....Don't forget the bunga mas?
DeleteKaytee, don't bullshit me about the 1919 Anglo Thai agreement......If that's so, that means no connection between Penang & Kedah.....HAHAHAHAHA! Still I don't see the need of having Mukriz over in Penang bridge opening ceremony.
Wanna bet if Azizan was still the MB, What would happen to utusan melayu
What talking u?
DeleteKarpal Singh was charged with "sedition" under an ancient/out-of-tune sedition law, framed by the Pommie to protect their interest of that time.
It's used now to fry Karpal, SIMPLY bcoz M'sia has NO lèse-majesté law like in Thailand!
because there's no specific lese majeste law it doesn't mean you can't be charged for lese majeste. the law here calls it sedition. Of course it's used by the government to punish Karpal, but that aside, we know there is such a law to charge people for lese majeste regardless of what you may wish to call it
Deleteokay looes, let's bet wakakaka
Deletelèse-majesté law is specific - related to the royalty thingies, while sedition law is wide & general, thus open to interpretation.
DeleteSo, anyone charge under the lèse-majesté law MUST have clear cut case, while those under sedition is wishy-washy, up to the court.
Any way, how to educate KT when he is bend on twisting. Karpal's case WOULD have been thrown out of the court long before KT say buay song!
To be frank my first cut, unfiltered, politically incorrect reaction to the naming of the new bridge was - if you really want to name it after someone, there are more deserving individuals in Malaysia's history.
ReplyDeleteit is not disrespect to the King, as a person or institution. It is not lese majesty. Just a plain fact. it is a criticism of a Government decision, not a criticism of the King.
We need to be very careful to differentiate between giving due respect to Royalty, and elevating them to God-like status, where the slightest hint of criticism, not even directed at them becomes an offence.
That way lies the root of Thailand's troubles, where individuals close to the Monarch can get away with almost anything, including openly backing the overthrow of an elected government.
Rocketman, I didn't say that objecting to naming the bridge after the Agong was lese majeste but only disrespectful. \
DeleteMy mention of the term lese majeste was in context with this statement "I can understand (though I won't be crude as to commit lèse-majesté) if there are snide sneers, oblique hostilities or quiet disdain for certain ruler or rulers who have not shown exemplary conduct and examples to their subjects" because I have read some crude obscene comments about two rulers (you know which states). While I may not like some of the rulers' actions or alleged actions I was flabbergasted by those comments
Just 2 rulers......Hahahaha, who the fuck is Bernard Khoo? Sorry, he's not a Penang lang? Just 2......Hahahaha! Your Penang lang (also in aussie land) has been very tua tah
Deletehttp://www.steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com/2011/01/methinks-sultan-of-selangor-does-too.html
Rocketman,
It's the same gang of people who got rid of monarchy's absolute power. As for kaytee, I thought that such comments are considered to be extremely mild, considering the fact that even aussie lang including Paul Keating may say something even worse. Why can't HRHs in Malaysia be like Queen Elizabeth? Always remember that the power lies with the people
Kaytee,
Paul Keating is also a moron......Hahahaha......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-VROFP2d-A
Yeah, Australia got bloody STRONG CONNECTION with the Mother United Kingdom.........
Looes, re your "Yeah, Australia got bloody STRONG CONNECTION with the Mother United Kingdom........." indeed, which has been why the majority of Aussies get excited when British royalty visits Australia, and also why the republican movement lost in the plebiscite to decide whether Australia should discard the Queen as its head of state and become a republic, all done in a civilized manner unlike the behaviour of some people in Malaysia like you, wakakaka
DeleteAaargh.......I summon Paul Keating, former Prime Minister of Australia......Though he never wallop the queen, his words speak otherwise.....Almost bordering lese majeste........Anyway, perhaps, aussie kept happy when more booze coming
DeletePAUL KEATING ATTACK S THE CULTURAL CRINGE.....Just like this Penang lang wanna be a royalist.......Hahahaha even though he never went to Istana before unlike I do......Hahahahaha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc96KVsTKtY
Kaytee,
What the fuck Paul Keating say? "I never respect in school.......HAHAHAHAHA"
This is lagi better......Paul Keating says in overseas speech that he will change the flag......FUCK! THAT'S FUCKING LESE MAJESTE.....WHERE THE FUCK IS BRITISH ARMY? HAHAHAHAHA!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSBuTiORKxo
This kaytee must be a Liberal/National fucking supporter.....Hahahahaha!
I would prefer the bridge to be named Jambatan Mamak or Jambatan Nasi Kandar. More reflective of Penang.
ReplyDeleteSo when is Siam taking back all the Northern States which belongs to them?
"So when is Siam taking back all the Northern States which belongs to them?" - when Thailand reverts to its temporary state name (during King Mongkut's time) of Siam
Deleteif you refer the bridge to be named Jambatan Mamak or Jambatan Nasi Kandar, you should have campaign strongly and much earlier for it, but like most complainers, only do so after the action is over, but I concede that Jambatan Nasi Kandar or even Jambatan Anwar Ibrahim or Jambatan Azmin Ali would have been far far superior to the proposal of Jambatan Francis Light, wakakaka
KT,
DeleteAs the days go, the more u sound like yr half anmoh sifu! What takes, or like someone mentioned getting paid by the pink-lip?
For goodness sake, why made a mole hill out of muddy sand?
The naming of anything, or for that matter the keeping of anything that has a significant context in history, has two sides.
One, to look for new identity, as in this case of the 2nd Penang bridge. Second, to reflect past deed as a remainder, like keeping of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Just to cut it short, yr takes about the namings of all those examples mentioned is short of valid argument! If one really have to dig deep down, wondering what sort of the cat would KT decides to unveil?
So, if KT is really into the colonial pasts of Penang, then what's wrong with Jambatan Francis Light?
Again, u sound more & more like RPK! no wonder the BN cypertroopers r beginning to swarm yr blog.
In time, another Helen of the Eastern Pearl in making?
Hahahahaha! This whole write up actually is so unnecessary. Perhaps, kaytee should be like anil netto
ReplyDeletehttp://anilnetto.com/society/public-transport/second-penang-bridge-opens-hello-congestion/
Wondering whether these people know anything about traffic management?
DeletePrime example - Hongkong!
If it's done properly then what congestion r u talking about? What about the spilled-over effect of more outside money going into the island?
The key word - effective management - has been lost with people like anil'/khor for opposing the projects (tunnel inclusive). They r the 'islanders' indeed!
I think it is a very good write from KT. The message I got is that we should be building bridges over troubled waters. But you Looes your mind is filled with distorted ideas and that’s the reason why you are only interested in burning/bringing down all the bridges that we have built.
DeletePeople like you “Hai Ya.. hidup pun susah mati pun susah” …. wakakaka…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6It0PnqAhg
- hasan
There is a good precedent in many countries and cities to name important landmarks e.g. bridges after the person who founded the city or community e.g. Sydney's Captain Cook Bridge,
ReplyDeleteI suppose Francis Light is a No-No because of him being a "Penjajah".
Australia was a British colony which has been why most places were named after British personalities like Adelaide was after Queen Adelaide, queen consort to King William IV, while Melbourne was named after the British PM of 1835. What did these two have to do with founding or developing the two cities? Do you think Australians objected to that?
ReplyDeleteNow, if Penang is STILL a British colony then the bridge might have been named Prince of Wales Bridge or Queen Elizabeth Bridge, or as you propose, Francis Light Bridge as was Georgetown named after the British King.
But (gasp) naming a bridge in Malaysia after a Malaysian King seems to upset you.
I dont think anyone is upset about naming the 2nd bridge after the king - after all the name is only a tag - as good as the prevailing situation demands it.
DeleteWhat I personally find offensive is the connotation of lèse-majesté, as if we still have an absolute monarchy!
But then in Hong Kong & Singapore, names are kept because of historical values regardless of whether they are penjajah or not. Of course along with prominent melayus......Aljunied, Alsagoff.....And Melayu places.......Bedok, Tanjong Katong & Telok Belangah.......Of course, some names got to be changed because kinda unplesant........
DeleteKaytee would not place bet in a place called Pulau Belakang Mati.......It's called Sentosa
The point is......There are so many places that can be named after the Agung......Starting with Pulau Langkawi jetty........HAHAHAHAHA! What if the whole bridge collapse.....Just like what happen to the jetty.....I am fucking absolutely sure that kaytee fuckingly remember what happen to the collapse jetty in Penang.......And yes that jetty was called Sultan Abdul Halim Jetty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Abdul_Halim_ferry_terminal_bridge_collapse
To have one jetty tragedy stuck in memory is bad enough......What happen if there is more than one.......Kaytee, what happen to the bridge hah?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmFbxLG2eak
Suwey right.......
Anon of 3:45 pm, March 04, 2014, please show me where in this post did I write that objections to or criticisms of the bridge being named after the Agong is lese majeste! Thank you
Deletelooes, haven't Penang kept Georgetown (named after King George)? Should we have named the bridge after King George or Queen Elizabeth or President George Bush Jnr? Don't talk cock if you have nothing better to say.
DeleteKT,
DeleteHow about this slip of pen;
' But more worrying have been the disrespect for HRH Sultan of Kedah merangkap DYMM YDP Agong who is one of the finest rulers we have. I can understand (though I won't be crude as to commit lèse-majesté)'
Bearing in mind the topic under discussion is the naming of a bridge too far.
Of course, let us not to dig further into yr subtle implication/threat within the subsequent paragraphs.
Wakakaka - is KT a closet royalist? Royalist & atheist is an oxymoron contradiction as royal has a subtle connotation of mandate from heaven. Wakakaka...
BTW, through my contacts with those foreigners ( the Thais or even the Japanese or Poms, Dutch, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Belgians and
Spaniards), the Westerners r behaving more with a casual respect(at arm's length) for their well-behaved king/queen ONLY. The rest of the royal households get no more than a deserved respect iff they earned it.
The Thai is totally revering their current king. What comes after him could be a different kind of fish, lese majeste or not. Meanwhile, the Jap has their king purely as an eugenic symbol - & that's another dissertation for another day.
So for matured cultures with emphasis on equality of human (right), the royalty is long death! What left is the symbolic gesture for a past reminiscence, bestowed upon just one, & only one, person. Even this wont last....
After King Bhumibol departs the scene, the status of Thai royalty will likely go into steep decline.
DeleteThe designated heir's personal life reads like a soap opera , complete with conspicous profligate lifestyle, gambling binges , mistresses - secret and not so secret, illegitimate children, voracious sexual appetite...
KT,
DeleteInteresting fact I picked up when I recently changed my IC to reflect my new address - I had moved from KL to Penang more than a year ago.
"Georgetown" is still an official place name used by Malaysian Government departments, but I'm not too sure where are the boundaries.
I live near the Gurney Drive area, and my IC address, Car Registration, Property title etc. reads "Georgetown" for the line designating the town or city.
Some years ago , I read they (you know what groups) wanted to remove the hated Colonial name, and I had thought the name had lapsed or been changed to Tanjung or just plain Pulau Pinang.
A Pleasant surprise.
PS. I don't have any hangups about Penang's Penjajah history, and I quite like all the old colonial road names that read like a little piece of Scotland or Wales
New Penangite, I too don't have any hangups about Penang's penjajah history, but there are such, history and historical namings. Thus when we have a bridge in modern Malaysian times, it would be silly to name it after Francis Light or Queen Elizabeth
DeleteAnd.......It seems there are no other names besides the Kedah's sultan (With no disrespect to him personally, of course). Not especially one Penang Jetty named after him which at time COLLAPSED. Furthermore, we have plenty of buildings, roads & even one Kedah airport named after him. Hence, I don't know about that cibai kedayan called Hasan, me feel that time to choose other names apart from Sultan Abdul Hamid bridge.
DeleteSTOP GIVING ME THE BULLSHIT ABOUT KEDAH CONNECTION.........If that's so, we should name the bridge after King Bhumipol.......THAI/SIAM CONNECTION.......Thai has very much involved in Kedah royal politics......Having chop off one district from Kedah to become Perlis........along with installing one arab as Raja......Hahahahaha!
Paul Keating is right......Stop this cultural cringe that's not beneficial to anybody
Paul Keating still fighting for australia republicanism even till now........Hahahaha, perhaps, kaytee should meet up with paul keating & smack him........By the way, Paul called Madhater a recalcitrant.........Kaytee should demonstrate his Malaysianess spirit lei.........
Huh, Ktemoc should go find speculate what IF UK , etc Europe , Japan "constitutional monarchy" has more than 3 "ruler' in their country.
ReplyDeleteAll out SNAFU guarantee.
don't understand your question?
DeleteIf you were to trawl the comments section of blogs and news sites you will find loads of comments that are ridiculous, moronic, mindless etc and you will find them abundant on both sides of the political divide. With the advent of the internet, what were once silly comments within the private confines of the home or kopitiam now becomes available for anyone with an internet connection.
ReplyDeleteWho are these commentators? Do their comments carry weight, such as those from a public figure, a politician or a government official? Why bother about those sniping from the sidelines? You could spend a whole lifetime trying to pick an argument with such comments (like what the Muppet/Muffet did) and it will be a pointless exercise.