Barisan Bersatu Sarawak (BBS) spokesperson Daniel Tajem, a former deputy chief minister and ex-PBDS president, had stood as a SNAP candidate in Bukit Begunan but lost. He said that while the BN has been given the mandate to rule the state, the people of Sarawak had given them a bloody hard kick on its behind, not hard enough to injure them but a stinging blow nonetheless. He was referring to the loss by the BN of 9 seats.
Tajem made the observation that in places where there has been more physical development, as in Kuching, voters were reluctant to support BN. He said:
“This ought to be an ironic feature to an administration that has trumpeted its virtue as a compelling exponent of the 'politics of development'. Where there has been most development there has been least endorsement for BN and where there been least development there has been the most endorsement.”
Could it be the public have been revolted by the corruption that’s usually associated with development? Or, could it be (more probably) they thought the BN was about to double-cross them with a humongous premium on their land lease?
However, Tajem provided another reason. He opined that monetary inducements to 4,760 villages chiefs, sweetened with monthly salaries backdated to March 1, 2006 totalling RM5.7 million, have ‘persuaded’ those penghulus to provide guidance to the kampong folks.
Tajem said the obvious: “This is an unvarnished version of 'money politics' that has been the bane of inter-party politics in the last several years in Malaysia.”
Ho hum, what’s new? But I can certainly understand Tajem’s frustration.
He warned the BN against fooling themselves into believing that their landslide victory (it’s still a landslide victory despite the DAP’s gain) indicated the people’s endorsement of their management of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land. He said it would be a ‘grave mistake’ for BN to do so, because the NCR issue is the source of widespread disquiet among the affected populace.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Last Communist or Communalist?
Here’s a man who tells the truth and be damned, and bugger those who don’t like what he said.
Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said it was for UMNO party’s supreme council, and not the Cabinet, to decide whether the film The Last Communist may be screened locally.
Yes sir, the minister said the UMNO Supreme Council, from a political party, shall be the one to give the green light on an issue of official security-related banning of a film.
And if it seems strange that a cabinet minister of a nation, that claims to be a democracy, puts an unelected unrepresentative organ of a political party above that of the highest official organ of a democracy, that’s peopled by elected representatives of the Malaysian people, well, f**king get used to it. But look at the bright side, at least Radzi didn’t mess around. He went straight for the jugular.
He explained that when it comes to the issue of communism, UMNO is a lot more involved than the Cabinet. Obviously the bloke, truthful as he may be, has utterly no concept or understanding of what democracy and parliament are all about. How in the world did such a political imbecile ever become a minister?
This is the calibre of minister we have, who made such idiotic pronouncement without a thought for, if not anything, at least the semblance of parliamentary proprietary.
He continued: “When it comes to communism, UMNO (people) have very strong sentiments about it.”
What about those two Chinese police inspectors who were awarded Malaysia’s medal for highest gallantry, the SP (equivalent of the British Victoria Cross or the US Congressional Medal of Honour) or the young Chinese and Indian army and air force officers who received the PGB, second only to the SP. Don’t these heroes have any sentiments about the insurgency?
MPs were recently given a private screening of The Last Communist on Sunday. Not one found the film controversial or provocative. This was after the National Film Censorship Board had approved it without a single cut, and likewise by a group of Special Branch officers.
Now Radzi, who is also UMNO secretary-general, wants to provide a private screening for UMNO’s supreme council in June when they meet so that a political party, not the cabinet, will decide whether to lift the ban.
I am not sure whether he’s doing this to screw up a free show for his mates, or to save face for his stupid mindless banning in the first place. But whichever, he has insulted Malaysia’s highest authority, the cabinet.
I am sure Lim Kit Siang would come out with all sorts of political procedures to make Radzi as The Last Communalist.
But reporters had the last laugh as they asked Radzi whether his unjustified banning of the film has actually made The Last Communist by Amir Muhammad, considered unimpressive by many MPs, more popular and a must-see among the young.
Again Radzi said truthfully he did not plan it that way. You see, the truth was he was actually planning to score some brownie points from UMNO upper echelon and cheap popularity among his party’s converted. Even then he didn't get it right by providing the film with free publicity.
Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said it was for UMNO party’s supreme council, and not the Cabinet, to decide whether the film The Last Communist may be screened locally.
Yes sir, the minister said the UMNO Supreme Council, from a political party, shall be the one to give the green light on an issue of official security-related banning of a film.
And if it seems strange that a cabinet minister of a nation, that claims to be a democracy, puts an unelected unrepresentative organ of a political party above that of the highest official organ of a democracy, that’s peopled by elected representatives of the Malaysian people, well, f**king get used to it. But look at the bright side, at least Radzi didn’t mess around. He went straight for the jugular.
He explained that when it comes to the issue of communism, UMNO is a lot more involved than the Cabinet. Obviously the bloke, truthful as he may be, has utterly no concept or understanding of what democracy and parliament are all about. How in the world did such a political imbecile ever become a minister?
This is the calibre of minister we have, who made such idiotic pronouncement without a thought for, if not anything, at least the semblance of parliamentary proprietary.
He continued: “When it comes to communism, UMNO (people) have very strong sentiments about it.”
What about those two Chinese police inspectors who were awarded Malaysia’s medal for highest gallantry, the SP (equivalent of the British Victoria Cross or the US Congressional Medal of Honour) or the young Chinese and Indian army and air force officers who received the PGB, second only to the SP. Don’t these heroes have any sentiments about the insurgency?
MPs were recently given a private screening of The Last Communist on Sunday. Not one found the film controversial or provocative. This was after the National Film Censorship Board had approved it without a single cut, and likewise by a group of Special Branch officers.
Now Radzi, who is also UMNO secretary-general, wants to provide a private screening for UMNO’s supreme council in June when they meet so that a political party, not the cabinet, will decide whether to lift the ban.
I am not sure whether he’s doing this to screw up a free show for his mates, or to save face for his stupid mindless banning in the first place. But whichever, he has insulted Malaysia’s highest authority, the cabinet.
I am sure Lim Kit Siang would come out with all sorts of political procedures to make Radzi as The Last Communalist.
But reporters had the last laugh as they asked Radzi whether his unjustified banning of the film has actually made The Last Communist by Amir Muhammad, considered unimpressive by many MPs, more popular and a must-see among the young.
Again Radzi said truthfully he did not plan it that way. You see, the truth was he was actually planning to score some brownie points from UMNO upper echelon and cheap popularity among his party’s converted. Even then he didn't get it right by providing the film with free publicity.
SUPP & MCA - Mutes stung by hornets
SUPP was the biggest loser in the Sarawak election. It came out minus seven Chinese-majority seats and the Iban-majority seat of Engkilili. In Miri, Sibu and Sarikei, it saw its majority shaved off, portending a bleak future for its candidates in the next election.
Political observers called it the Chinese revolt against the Chinese-based party, which claimed to be championing the interests of the Chinese community in Sarawak. The experts gave the reasons for the about-turn in Chinese support as:
(1) SUPP leaders appearing to have lost the courage to stand up against Taib’s PBB on various issues, like the extension of leases for residential and commercial land, and high lease renewal premiums that affected urban Chinese.
(2) Some SUPP leaders perceived to be enriching themselves and failing to deliver what they had promised. The party had pledged in the 2004 parliamentary election that it would help relocate and rebuild the dilapidated Kuching Chung Hua Primary School No 2, but it was a case of ‘cakap ta’serupa bikin’ (didn’t walk its talk).
In many ways the SUPP is like the MCA in Peninsula. Allied to the more dominating PBB, like the MCA is to UMNO, the Chinese-based parties sometimes have to play the role of what Penangites termed as ‘air kow hor p’ang teng’, which translates into, 'mutes stung by hornets'.
The folksy saying has been a reference to the MCA feeling the painful stings of its dominating partner’s policies, decisions or actions which were or have been detrimental to Chinese interests, but unable (or afraid) to scream out in protest on behalf of its own Chinese constituency.
In the 1969 general election, the MCA was virtually decimated by a combination of the DAP, Gerakan and PPP, provoking a caustic remark from the late Tun Dr Ismail, who sneered that the MCA ‘hidup segan, mati ta’mahu', meaning ‘neither dead or alive’, a political zombie so to speak, and a phrase DPM Najib recently borrowed to describe the PKR.
The MCA’s worst political enemy is not the DAP, but UMNO, because every time UMNO issues a policy or course of action (many times without consulting or even prior advice to the MCA) that's detrimental or seen as detrimental to Chinese Malaysians, the MCA quakes and sh*ts in its underpants, because it knows that the Chinese would punish the party severely in the polls.
One good example would be the equivalent of the Kuching Chung Hua Primary School No 2 case that came about in Damasara, Kuala Lumpur, where a primary (Chinese medium) school was shut down by the Education Ministry against the wishes of the parents and teachers. The MCA didn't know where to put its face.
Another case of UMNO undermining the MCA happened several years ago, when Anwar Ibrahim was then Education Minister. Then his Sec-Gen of the ministry passed the compulsory instruction to schools that non-Muslim students must, during the school weekly prayers, raise their hands like Muslims do. That was unmitigated unjustified proselytising, akin to, say, the Italian Education Ministry demanding all including Muslim students cross themselves like Catholics do, once a week at school.
Needless to say, the MCA then wished they could disappear from the face of the earth. I can tell you that each time UMNO does that sort of insensitive stuff to Chinese Malaysians, DAP would be smiling, while MCA would be tearing what little left of its hair off its head and putting the curse of T'or Tee Kong (The Lord of Hades) on the UMNO policy maker.
An elder relative told me that Anwar Ibrahim, who was coincidentally away overseas when the crude insensitive proselytising order was issued, commented glibly on his return that non-Muslim parents should treat the Muslim praying posture as one of ‘universal value’ – yeah, just like the Buddhists putting their hands together in Indian greeting style, or the Catholics crossing themselves. I am sure many non-Muslim parents would have like to see him make the Muslim students do those gestures of 'universal value'.
The beneficiary of the UMNO insensitive decision-making has been the DAP. But UMNO obviously had acted, acts and will act for its own benefit above those of its MCA, MIC or any other 'partners'. UMNO is more than just the primus inter pares (first among equals) in the BN, because in the BN there's no equal to UMNO - it only tolerates the other parties like MCA, Gerakan, MIC etc as mere window dressing to its public facade of a pretend-coalition.
While the situation for the SUPP isn't yet as bad as that for the MCA, one day it may eventually go the way of the latter. That will be the day when the SUPP candidates will be seeking ‘safer’ seats for federal parliament in PBB strongholds, because they would be so discredited in the eyes of the Chinese that they would need to hide behind big brother's sarong to survive elections, just like the MCA.
Political observers called it the Chinese revolt against the Chinese-based party, which claimed to be championing the interests of the Chinese community in Sarawak. The experts gave the reasons for the about-turn in Chinese support as:
(1) SUPP leaders appearing to have lost the courage to stand up against Taib’s PBB on various issues, like the extension of leases for residential and commercial land, and high lease renewal premiums that affected urban Chinese.
(2) Some SUPP leaders perceived to be enriching themselves and failing to deliver what they had promised. The party had pledged in the 2004 parliamentary election that it would help relocate and rebuild the dilapidated Kuching Chung Hua Primary School No 2, but it was a case of ‘cakap ta’serupa bikin’ (didn’t walk its talk).
In many ways the SUPP is like the MCA in Peninsula. Allied to the more dominating PBB, like the MCA is to UMNO, the Chinese-based parties sometimes have to play the role of what Penangites termed as ‘air kow hor p’ang teng’, which translates into, 'mutes stung by hornets'.
The folksy saying has been a reference to the MCA feeling the painful stings of its dominating partner’s policies, decisions or actions which were or have been detrimental to Chinese interests, but unable (or afraid) to scream out in protest on behalf of its own Chinese constituency.
In the 1969 general election, the MCA was virtually decimated by a combination of the DAP, Gerakan and PPP, provoking a caustic remark from the late Tun Dr Ismail, who sneered that the MCA ‘hidup segan, mati ta’mahu', meaning ‘neither dead or alive’, a political zombie so to speak, and a phrase DPM Najib recently borrowed to describe the PKR.
The MCA’s worst political enemy is not the DAP, but UMNO, because every time UMNO issues a policy or course of action (many times without consulting or even prior advice to the MCA) that's detrimental or seen as detrimental to Chinese Malaysians, the MCA quakes and sh*ts in its underpants, because it knows that the Chinese would punish the party severely in the polls.
One good example would be the equivalent of the Kuching Chung Hua Primary School No 2 case that came about in Damasara, Kuala Lumpur, where a primary (Chinese medium) school was shut down by the Education Ministry against the wishes of the parents and teachers. The MCA didn't know where to put its face.
Another case of UMNO undermining the MCA happened several years ago, when Anwar Ibrahim was then Education Minister. Then his Sec-Gen of the ministry passed the compulsory instruction to schools that non-Muslim students must, during the school weekly prayers, raise their hands like Muslims do. That was unmitigated unjustified proselytising, akin to, say, the Italian Education Ministry demanding all including Muslim students cross themselves like Catholics do, once a week at school.
Needless to say, the MCA then wished they could disappear from the face of the earth. I can tell you that each time UMNO does that sort of insensitive stuff to Chinese Malaysians, DAP would be smiling, while MCA would be tearing what little left of its hair off its head and putting the curse of T'or Tee Kong (The Lord of Hades) on the UMNO policy maker.
An elder relative told me that Anwar Ibrahim, who was coincidentally away overseas when the crude insensitive proselytising order was issued, commented glibly on his return that non-Muslim parents should treat the Muslim praying posture as one of ‘universal value’ – yeah, just like the Buddhists putting their hands together in Indian greeting style, or the Catholics crossing themselves. I am sure many non-Muslim parents would have like to see him make the Muslim students do those gestures of 'universal value'.
The beneficiary of the UMNO insensitive decision-making has been the DAP. But UMNO obviously had acted, acts and will act for its own benefit above those of its MCA, MIC or any other 'partners'. UMNO is more than just the primus inter pares (first among equals) in the BN, because in the BN there's no equal to UMNO - it only tolerates the other parties like MCA, Gerakan, MIC etc as mere window dressing to its public facade of a pretend-coalition.
While the situation for the SUPP isn't yet as bad as that for the MCA, one day it may eventually go the way of the latter. That will be the day when the SUPP candidates will be seeking ‘safer’ seats for federal parliament in PBB strongholds, because they would be so discredited in the eyes of the Chinese that they would need to hide behind big brother's sarong to survive elections, just like the MCA.
No Big Deal - Just Rag-heads
Oh, just the usual US carpet bombing & collateral damage and killing of children and women!
The US military claimed that its air attack on Tabilan strongholds in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, have killed up to 80 militants.
But the governor of the Kandahar province says at least 16 civilians have been killed and 15 wounded. Residents of the area say up to 35 civilians have been killed.
Apart from those killed, Panjwai residents say the air strikes have destroyed several homes and wounded 9, including 3 children, 2 women and 4 men. Spokesman for the multi-national force says unconfirmed reports of civilian casualties are being investigated. Yeah? If the Yanks really want to verify this complaint their representatives can visit the wounded in Kandahar main hospital.
Atta Mohammad, an elderly man who accompanied the wounded to the hospital said more than 40 civilians have been wounded. One of the wounded, a boy named Daad Mohammad, revealed that all 7 members of his family have been killed.
At the city's Mirwaise Hospital, a wounded 40-year old man, Haji Ikhlaf, said insurgents had been hiding in an Islamic religious school, or madrassa, in the village after fierce fighting in recent days. He clarified:
"Helicopters bombed the madrassa and some of the Taliban ran from there and into people's homes. Then those homes were bombed. I saw 35 to 40 dead Taliban and around 50 dead or wounded civilians."
Another survivor from the village, Zurmina Bibi, talked about the tragedy of 10 people being killed in her home, including three or four children. She said "There were dead people everywhere."
Ho hum, as I said, just the usual US killing of women and children. Afterall what is this when their troops in Iraq had cold-bloodedly murdered families in an Iraqi village a la My Lai. I'll blog on this massacre shortly.
Related: No Big Deal - Just Untermenschen
The US military claimed that its air attack on Tabilan strongholds in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, have killed up to 80 militants.
But the governor of the Kandahar province says at least 16 civilians have been killed and 15 wounded. Residents of the area say up to 35 civilians have been killed.
Apart from those killed, Panjwai residents say the air strikes have destroyed several homes and wounded 9, including 3 children, 2 women and 4 men. Spokesman for the multi-national force says unconfirmed reports of civilian casualties are being investigated. Yeah? If the Yanks really want to verify this complaint their representatives can visit the wounded in Kandahar main hospital.
Atta Mohammad, an elderly man who accompanied the wounded to the hospital said more than 40 civilians have been wounded. One of the wounded, a boy named Daad Mohammad, revealed that all 7 members of his family have been killed.
At the city's Mirwaise Hospital, a wounded 40-year old man, Haji Ikhlaf, said insurgents had been hiding in an Islamic religious school, or madrassa, in the village after fierce fighting in recent days. He clarified:
"Helicopters bombed the madrassa and some of the Taliban ran from there and into people's homes. Then those homes were bombed. I saw 35 to 40 dead Taliban and around 50 dead or wounded civilians."
Another survivor from the village, Zurmina Bibi, talked about the tragedy of 10 people being killed in her home, including three or four children. She said "There were dead people everywhere."
Ho hum, as I said, just the usual US killing of women and children. Afterall what is this when their troops in Iraq had cold-bloodedly murdered families in an Iraqi village a la My Lai. I'll blog on this massacre shortly.
Related: No Big Deal - Just Untermenschen
Monday, May 22, 2006
Husam Musa, a dinar for your thoughts!
I am not sure what the PAS government in Kelantan is up to, in its proposal to introduce the Islamic dinar and dirham currencies.
Senior PAS official Husam Musa said the currencies would first be introduced in the Islamic system of pawnbroking, the Ar-Rahnu. He said the gold and silver coins could be used to pay civil servants as an alternative to the national ringgit currency. According to Islamic law, the dinar measures 4.25 grams of gold, while the dirham is 3.0 grams of pure silver.
Islamic law? Or is it just an Arab form of currency. Sometimes PAS members find it hard to distinguish between Arab practice/culture and Islamic teachings (which admittedly had its genesis in an Arab environment). That’s why we see some of them wearing clothing more suitable for the drier desert environment.
Husam said at a seminar on Islamic banking and finance: "If there is no problem with the Ar-Rahnu, there is a possibility that it can be implemented in other sectors."
Is there a problem with the Malay ringgit? The ringgit has been with us for eons. Why bring in Arab currency now? It gives us the impression, rightly or wrongly, that PAS leadership prefers to be Arabs rather than Malaysians?
Husam proposed that the Kelantan state government would introduce the new currency within three months. He wanted the dinar to be used as a state official currency to pay civil servants.
But he said: "The state government employees can choose either to be paid in dinars or ringgit." In that case, why bother then with the dinars?
Husam Musa, please tell us how does this system of dual currency, in a confusing offering of both Malay and Arab denomination, assuming it would even be permitted, promote the higher cause of Islam?
I am afraid PAS has become like UMNO, fiddling around with the inconsequential, instead of aiming for the more important issues of erasure of corruption, misogyny (gatal-ism) and intolerance, and to promote compassion, equality (even for women) and justice.
Of course the PM shot it down, warning that state governments cannot issue their own currencies. Everyone including Husam knows state governments can’t do that. That would be like declaring Kelantan as an independent nation.
So what is Husam up to do, if not grandstanding? Has it been a cheap ploy to fortify his Islamic credentials or was it to apply Islamic pressure on the UMNO-led government, reigniting the holier-than-thou insurrection?
I must say that I am disappointed with such a peripheral issue coming from a man like Husam Musa, from whom I expect better. I was hoping for high level PAS policies on matters of anti-corruption, accountability, transparency, inclusiveness and a vision of a fair, equal and just society, regardless of race, creed or religion – basically a vision of a golden Malaysian caliphate.
If this is the sort of PAS’ policy mentality that we can expect, I’ll be less sympathetic to its role in Malaysian politics.
Senior PAS official Husam Musa said the currencies would first be introduced in the Islamic system of pawnbroking, the Ar-Rahnu. He said the gold and silver coins could be used to pay civil servants as an alternative to the national ringgit currency. According to Islamic law, the dinar measures 4.25 grams of gold, while the dirham is 3.0 grams of pure silver.
Islamic law? Or is it just an Arab form of currency. Sometimes PAS members find it hard to distinguish between Arab practice/culture and Islamic teachings (which admittedly had its genesis in an Arab environment). That’s why we see some of them wearing clothing more suitable for the drier desert environment.
Husam said at a seminar on Islamic banking and finance: "If there is no problem with the Ar-Rahnu, there is a possibility that it can be implemented in other sectors."
Is there a problem with the Malay ringgit? The ringgit has been with us for eons. Why bring in Arab currency now? It gives us the impression, rightly or wrongly, that PAS leadership prefers to be Arabs rather than Malaysians?
Husam proposed that the Kelantan state government would introduce the new currency within three months. He wanted the dinar to be used as a state official currency to pay civil servants.
But he said: "The state government employees can choose either to be paid in dinars or ringgit." In that case, why bother then with the dinars?
Husam Musa, please tell us how does this system of dual currency, in a confusing offering of both Malay and Arab denomination, assuming it would even be permitted, promote the higher cause of Islam?
I am afraid PAS has become like UMNO, fiddling around with the inconsequential, instead of aiming for the more important issues of erasure of corruption, misogyny (gatal-ism) and intolerance, and to promote compassion, equality (even for women) and justice.
Of course the PM shot it down, warning that state governments cannot issue their own currencies. Everyone including Husam knows state governments can’t do that. That would be like declaring Kelantan as an independent nation.
So what is Husam up to do, if not grandstanding? Has it been a cheap ploy to fortify his Islamic credentials or was it to apply Islamic pressure on the UMNO-led government, reigniting the holier-than-thou insurrection?
I must say that I am disappointed with such a peripheral issue coming from a man like Husam Musa, from whom I expect better. I was hoping for high level PAS policies on matters of anti-corruption, accountability, transparency, inclusiveness and a vision of a fair, equal and just society, regardless of race, creed or religion – basically a vision of a golden Malaysian caliphate.
If this is the sort of PAS’ policy mentality that we can expect, I’ll be less sympathetic to its role in Malaysian politics.
Sarawak Election - Anwar Ibrahim Factor
The Sarawak state election had the following winners and losers:
Party – Contested – Won
BN – 71 – 62
DAP – 12 – 6
PKR – 25 – 1
IND - ? -1
PAS – 1 -0
In my previous posting Sarawak Election - the Chinese Factor I discussed DAP’s win at the expense of SUPP. But what about PKR? Battling for the people’s favour in 25 seats it has only one to show, in Padungan which Sarawakians knew was rather iffy for the BN.
PKR deputy Youth chief, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said: “Di mana-mana Anwar pergi, ribuan rakyat menghadiri program beliau, baik di kawasan bandar atau luar bandar termasuk di kubu kuat BN.”
Translated: “Wherever Anwar goes (or went), whether in urban or rural areas including the strongholds of the BN, thousands of people would be present.”
And indeed they were, just like at Pengkalan Pasir in the recent Kelantan by-election. But just as in Kelantan, the Sarawak public who had attended his campaign programmes did not translate their interests in Anwar into votes for his party PKR.
The PKR’s extremely poor showing has proven Sarawak CM’s words true that the magnetic attraction of Anwar Ibrahim, that was evident during the campaign, was nothing more than entertainment value for the locals, as had been similarly analysed for the hugh turnout for him at Pengkalan Pasir.
Of course the opposition parties like PKR suffered hugh disadvantage during the campaign in terms of resources, fair press coverage and adequate publicity, but so did the DAP. Their contrasting performance can’t be more striking. The DAP won 50% of what it fought of, whilst the PKR could only manage 1 seat, or a 4% success.
It’s still a win no doubt, for it has slightly, very, increased its representation in the political field, but it’s disappointing nonetheless when it brought out its prize fighter, its WMD so to speak, in Anwar Ibrahim for nothing, or more correctly, without any significant effect. The following is what Malaysiakini reported on DPM Najib opinion of PKR:
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak yang mengatakan PKR seumpama 'hidup segan, mati tidak mahu.' Najib dilaporkan berkata: “Di Semenanjung ia sudah bernyawa ikan, sekarang ini hendak berpindah mencari kolam baru kerana di sini suasananya lebih nyaman.
Loose translation: DPM Najib said the PKR is in a state of being neither dead or alive. In Peninsula (West) it’s like a fish (out of water). Now (that’s before the election) it wants to change to another pond which it reckons is more congenial.
'Hidup segan, mati tidak mahu’ - 'Shy to live but doesn't want to die' meaning 'neither dead or alive'. Those were the immortal words of the late Tun Ismail in his angry decription of the MCA after the 1969 election when the Chinese party was decimated by the DAP, Gerakan and PPP collectively. In borrowing those words to decribe the PKR, Najib has been spot on.
I personally believe that Anwar Ibrahim as the fiery magnetic reformasi (reformation) pole, that the Malaysian public had massed around some 7 years ago, has passed it’s use-by date.
When he was expelled from UMNO, most anti-Mahathir people flocked around him. He mistook that as a measure of his personal popularity when it was more of a case of anti-Mahathirism. When Mahathir subsequently left the scene, Anwar lost his lustre as the focal point of the anti-Mahathirism movement. In fact, his UMNO background began to re-emerge. But he and his close followers failed to wake up to that.
One of his worst mistakes after he was released from prison was his attempt to whitewash and teflon-ise himself, by blaming everything on Mahathir. Many of his (new, not former UMNO hardcore) supporters would have respected him more if he had admitted to his errors and UMNO-ed contamination, instead of trying to deny the undeniable.
He insulted our intelligence by his pretence that he had been lily-white all along. No one had expected him to be, and he would have been forgiven for his UMNO odour if he had said “Yes, I was inside UMNO thus I failed to see things then as I see them now. My expulsion (from UMNO) has been a blessing in disguise. I now have a second chance to do things right for all Malaysians.”
Additionally, blaming someone else is bad news in Malaysian social culture, even if Mahathir was the one being blamed. Malaysians just don't like to see their hero casts aspersions on others - it makes the hero come across as a mean and petty person. Anwar diminished his hero-status by lots in bad-mouthing Mahathir.
Another mistake, and the one that bugs many of his erstwhile supporters most, has been his coyness about rejoining UMNO. Yes, he said he won’t, but there’s always a ‘qualification’ in his statement when he said that, which leads people to believe that Anwar still would rejoin UMNO, if that ‘qualification’ is changed or fulfilled (depending on how he had said it). Why can’t he make a declaration without any such ‘qualification’.
And recently he even offered his 'vast experience' to the government to sort out the scenic bridge fiasco with Singapore - what could we have read in that?
It’s a shame PKR failed to learn from the Pengkalan Pasir experience where his campaigning did buggerall for PAS. PAS did lose, or could have won, without Anwar at all. Yes, there was political skulduggery but the reality has been Anwar was nothing more than, as CM Taib said, entertainment value for curious locals.
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, Sarawak was PKR's last chance to grab the 5 seats it aimed for to have a meaningful continuing role in Malaysian politics. It failed significantly, and in many ways, Anwar Ibrahim contributed to that sorry outcome. The general public no longer believe in him. As an example, his pontification on increased oil royalty for Sarawak came across as hypocritical and opportunistic. I am sorry to say this, but the PKR, while not exactly finished, is in a serious state of terminal illness.
It’s time PKR re-think its strategy as its so-called prize attraction is no longer the potent weapon they had been banking on to lead them to the political land of milk and honey. Yes, there will always be a core element in PKR who is completely devoted to him. But the others including Dr Syed Husin must now think of how they can contribute more meaningfully, either in PAS, DAP, or PSM.
Related:
(1) The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim
(2) Anwar Ibrahim - More Baggage!
(3) Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named!
(4) Petronas Accountability - He who cannot be named!
Party – Contested – Won
BN – 71 – 62
DAP – 12 – 6
PKR – 25 – 1
IND - ? -1
PAS – 1 -0
In my previous posting Sarawak Election - the Chinese Factor I discussed DAP’s win at the expense of SUPP. But what about PKR? Battling for the people’s favour in 25 seats it has only one to show, in Padungan which Sarawakians knew was rather iffy for the BN.
PKR deputy Youth chief, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said: “Di mana-mana Anwar pergi, ribuan rakyat menghadiri program beliau, baik di kawasan bandar atau luar bandar termasuk di kubu kuat BN.”
Translated: “Wherever Anwar goes (or went), whether in urban or rural areas including the strongholds of the BN, thousands of people would be present.”
And indeed they were, just like at Pengkalan Pasir in the recent Kelantan by-election. But just as in Kelantan, the Sarawak public who had attended his campaign programmes did not translate their interests in Anwar into votes for his party PKR.
The PKR’s extremely poor showing has proven Sarawak CM’s words true that the magnetic attraction of Anwar Ibrahim, that was evident during the campaign, was nothing more than entertainment value for the locals, as had been similarly analysed for the hugh turnout for him at Pengkalan Pasir.
Of course the opposition parties like PKR suffered hugh disadvantage during the campaign in terms of resources, fair press coverage and adequate publicity, but so did the DAP. Their contrasting performance can’t be more striking. The DAP won 50% of what it fought of, whilst the PKR could only manage 1 seat, or a 4% success.
It’s still a win no doubt, for it has slightly, very, increased its representation in the political field, but it’s disappointing nonetheless when it brought out its prize fighter, its WMD so to speak, in Anwar Ibrahim for nothing, or more correctly, without any significant effect. The following is what Malaysiakini reported on DPM Najib opinion of PKR:
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak yang mengatakan PKR seumpama 'hidup segan, mati tidak mahu.' Najib dilaporkan berkata: “Di Semenanjung ia sudah bernyawa ikan, sekarang ini hendak berpindah mencari kolam baru kerana di sini suasananya lebih nyaman.
Loose translation: DPM Najib said the PKR is in a state of being neither dead or alive. In Peninsula (West) it’s like a fish (out of water). Now (that’s before the election) it wants to change to another pond which it reckons is more congenial.
'Hidup segan, mati tidak mahu’ - 'Shy to live but doesn't want to die' meaning 'neither dead or alive'. Those were the immortal words of the late Tun Ismail in his angry decription of the MCA after the 1969 election when the Chinese party was decimated by the DAP, Gerakan and PPP collectively. In borrowing those words to decribe the PKR, Najib has been spot on.
I personally believe that Anwar Ibrahim as the fiery magnetic reformasi (reformation) pole, that the Malaysian public had massed around some 7 years ago, has passed it’s use-by date.
When he was expelled from UMNO, most anti-Mahathir people flocked around him. He mistook that as a measure of his personal popularity when it was more of a case of anti-Mahathirism. When Mahathir subsequently left the scene, Anwar lost his lustre as the focal point of the anti-Mahathirism movement. In fact, his UMNO background began to re-emerge. But he and his close followers failed to wake up to that.
One of his worst mistakes after he was released from prison was his attempt to whitewash and teflon-ise himself, by blaming everything on Mahathir. Many of his (new, not former UMNO hardcore) supporters would have respected him more if he had admitted to his errors and UMNO-ed contamination, instead of trying to deny the undeniable.
He insulted our intelligence by his pretence that he had been lily-white all along. No one had expected him to be, and he would have been forgiven for his UMNO odour if he had said “Yes, I was inside UMNO thus I failed to see things then as I see them now. My expulsion (from UMNO) has been a blessing in disguise. I now have a second chance to do things right for all Malaysians.”
Additionally, blaming someone else is bad news in Malaysian social culture, even if Mahathir was the one being blamed. Malaysians just don't like to see their hero casts aspersions on others - it makes the hero come across as a mean and petty person. Anwar diminished his hero-status by lots in bad-mouthing Mahathir.
Another mistake, and the one that bugs many of his erstwhile supporters most, has been his coyness about rejoining UMNO. Yes, he said he won’t, but there’s always a ‘qualification’ in his statement when he said that, which leads people to believe that Anwar still would rejoin UMNO, if that ‘qualification’ is changed or fulfilled (depending on how he had said it). Why can’t he make a declaration without any such ‘qualification’.
And recently he even offered his 'vast experience' to the government to sort out the scenic bridge fiasco with Singapore - what could we have read in that?
It’s a shame PKR failed to learn from the Pengkalan Pasir experience where his campaigning did buggerall for PAS. PAS did lose, or could have won, without Anwar at all. Yes, there was political skulduggery but the reality has been Anwar was nothing more than, as CM Taib said, entertainment value for curious locals.
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, Sarawak was PKR's last chance to grab the 5 seats it aimed for to have a meaningful continuing role in Malaysian politics. It failed significantly, and in many ways, Anwar Ibrahim contributed to that sorry outcome. The general public no longer believe in him. As an example, his pontification on increased oil royalty for Sarawak came across as hypocritical and opportunistic. I am sorry to say this, but the PKR, while not exactly finished, is in a serious state of terminal illness.
It’s time PKR re-think its strategy as its so-called prize attraction is no longer the potent weapon they had been banking on to lead them to the political land of milk and honey. Yes, there will always be a core element in PKR who is completely devoted to him. But the others including Dr Syed Husin must now think of how they can contribute more meaningfully, either in PAS, DAP, or PSM.
Related:
(1) The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim
(2) Anwar Ibrahim - More Baggage!
(3) Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named!
(4) Petronas Accountability - He who cannot be named!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Sarawak Election - the Chinese Factor
Sarawak has 71 state seats for its recent elections. The results are as follows:
Party – Contested – Won
BN – 71 – 62
DAP – 12 – 6
PKR – 25 – 1
IND - ? -1
PAS – 1 -0
The New Straits Times (NST) commented that the BN had ‘won by a mile’ yet its leaders aren’t that elated. Needless to say, one of its component SUPP, a Chinese based party, was devastated by a nearly 50% loss, all to the DAP.
While on the surface the BN had won by a landslide the DAP’s significant success has shaken its confidence and hopefully its arrogance. It’s a tiny foot in the door for greater opposition representation at state level.
DAP usually doesn’t do well in states’ seats because of the Chinese factor. On reading this, you may just wonder whether KTemoc might have gotten it wrong or I had accidentally included the word ‘doesn’t’ due to a botched job of editing.
No, the reality is DAP won't do well in state elections because the Chinese won't allow them to be State governments. The Chinese community realises that ever since the DAP came close to seizing Selangor in the 1969 election - see my posting The Real Cause of the May 13 Riots - that things can turn fairly nasty.
The post May 13 situation saw Dr Lim Chong Eu taking his highly popular Gerakan party quickly into the BN. The party's official website has this to say:
"With a rapidly changing political environment, Dr. Lim Chong Eu had gradually come to grasp with the realities of the day. First, political confrontation was not only not to be tolerated but was detrimental to national unity. Secondly, co-operation with the Federal Government was deemed necessary to obtain financial assistance for the many economic projects that he had planned to deliver during his tenure of office. Thirdly, co-operation would also ensure stability and the early revival of parliamentary democracy."
That's the polite and diplomatic version. If May 13 hadn't occur, who knows, today the Gerakan could well be the federal government with Professor Syed Hussain Alatas as the PM. Also, The Penang Chinese have been aware that the federal government would deliberately hinder the development of opposition ruled states, as can be seen in Kelantan and previously Sabah and Terengganu.
Because I am a true blue Penang ‘born & bred’ bloke, I can tell you that the Penang Chinese election strategy has always been to ‘send DAP to the federal parliament to make noise, but keep BN at home for development’, basically a win-win outcome for them. Don't believe me - just ask any Penang bloke, even an UMNO guy.
The Penang Chinese want Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and company, whom they know have the balls to raise Cain in parliament, to speak out on behalf of the non-Malays. But they also know if the DAP becomes the ruling state government, Penang will be shafted real good and proper. Their reasoning is that if the BN government could shaft the Malays in Kelantan (and previously Terengganu) what hope would they as Chinamen expect, other than real deep shafting.
Lim Kit Siang had at one time dreamed the DAP could win the state, and he was right, hence he initiated the Project Penang. But the catch was he was only theoretically correct because for that theory to be factual, Malaysian parliamentary democracy must first be practised as is in Western countries, say, like Australia.
If one examines Australia, one can see that Australia enjoys wall-to-wall carpeting of Labour Party controlled states while the Commonwealth (or federal) government continues for a decade to be the Coalition. But unlike Malaysia, the sharing of financial resources follows proper order and strict governance. While of course some biased decisions had occur from time to time, these had been minor and did not adversely affect the State residents significantly, unlike the poor Kelantanese, or once the Sabahans.
That’s why after the DAP’s Project Penang turned out to be a disaster, Lim Kit Siang has accepted the unwritten truth, that he won’t ever be the CM of Penang because Penang Chinese won’t allow him.
Now, I am not sure whether the Sarawakian Chinese have the same secret formula (in truth, not very secret). Perhaps they have been so pissed off as to risk the wrath of the BN in development in urban areas (populated by Chinese) or they feel it’s worthwhile punishing the SUPP for tactical advantage.
One issue that cannot be denied as disadvantageous to the SUPP has been the land premium issue. The 60-year long land lease, including on town and suburban areas, is ending this year. Many Chinese landowners suspect they will be made to pay premium as high as 75% of the land value. The frightening expectation is that a premium as high as RM750,000 may have to be forked out to renew the lease for a piece of land worth RM1 million. Most Chinese businessmen and traders are landowners.
Despite BN’s assurance that it would not seize the people’s land, the opposition pointed out to the people that the state Government skirted the land premium issue. In other words, the Chinese in urban areas suspect that the BN is playing a game of ‘I say, you say, he says, she says’ bullshit ending up after the elections with them paying hefty lease renewal premiums. Mind you, they could still be punished with the hefty land lease premium for the SUPP's massive loss.
The DAP has certainly won big beyond its expectation. I wonder whether the Sarawak example would change the Chinese Penangites’ minds?
Party – Contested – Won
BN – 71 – 62
DAP – 12 – 6
PKR – 25 – 1
IND - ? -1
PAS – 1 -0
The New Straits Times (NST) commented that the BN had ‘won by a mile’ yet its leaders aren’t that elated. Needless to say, one of its component SUPP, a Chinese based party, was devastated by a nearly 50% loss, all to the DAP.
While on the surface the BN had won by a landslide the DAP’s significant success has shaken its confidence and hopefully its arrogance. It’s a tiny foot in the door for greater opposition representation at state level.
DAP usually doesn’t do well in states’ seats because of the Chinese factor. On reading this, you may just wonder whether KTemoc might have gotten it wrong or I had accidentally included the word ‘doesn’t’ due to a botched job of editing.
No, the reality is DAP won't do well in state elections because the Chinese won't allow them to be State governments. The Chinese community realises that ever since the DAP came close to seizing Selangor in the 1969 election - see my posting The Real Cause of the May 13 Riots - that things can turn fairly nasty.
The post May 13 situation saw Dr Lim Chong Eu taking his highly popular Gerakan party quickly into the BN. The party's official website has this to say:
"With a rapidly changing political environment, Dr. Lim Chong Eu had gradually come to grasp with the realities of the day. First, political confrontation was not only not to be tolerated but was detrimental to national unity. Secondly, co-operation with the Federal Government was deemed necessary to obtain financial assistance for the many economic projects that he had planned to deliver during his tenure of office. Thirdly, co-operation would also ensure stability and the early revival of parliamentary democracy."
That's the polite and diplomatic version. If May 13 hadn't occur, who knows, today the Gerakan could well be the federal government with Professor Syed Hussain Alatas as the PM. Also, The Penang Chinese have been aware that the federal government would deliberately hinder the development of opposition ruled states, as can be seen in Kelantan and previously Sabah and Terengganu.
Because I am a true blue Penang ‘born & bred’ bloke, I can tell you that the Penang Chinese election strategy has always been to ‘send DAP to the federal parliament to make noise, but keep BN at home for development’, basically a win-win outcome for them. Don't believe me - just ask any Penang bloke, even an UMNO guy.
The Penang Chinese want Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and company, whom they know have the balls to raise Cain in parliament, to speak out on behalf of the non-Malays. But they also know if the DAP becomes the ruling state government, Penang will be shafted real good and proper. Their reasoning is that if the BN government could shaft the Malays in Kelantan (and previously Terengganu) what hope would they as Chinamen expect, other than real deep shafting.
Lim Kit Siang had at one time dreamed the DAP could win the state, and he was right, hence he initiated the Project Penang. But the catch was he was only theoretically correct because for that theory to be factual, Malaysian parliamentary democracy must first be practised as is in Western countries, say, like Australia.
If one examines Australia, one can see that Australia enjoys wall-to-wall carpeting of Labour Party controlled states while the Commonwealth (or federal) government continues for a decade to be the Coalition. But unlike Malaysia, the sharing of financial resources follows proper order and strict governance. While of course some biased decisions had occur from time to time, these had been minor and did not adversely affect the State residents significantly, unlike the poor Kelantanese, or once the Sabahans.
That’s why after the DAP’s Project Penang turned out to be a disaster, Lim Kit Siang has accepted the unwritten truth, that he won’t ever be the CM of Penang because Penang Chinese won’t allow him.
Now, I am not sure whether the Sarawakian Chinese have the same secret formula (in truth, not very secret). Perhaps they have been so pissed off as to risk the wrath of the BN in development in urban areas (populated by Chinese) or they feel it’s worthwhile punishing the SUPP for tactical advantage.
One issue that cannot be denied as disadvantageous to the SUPP has been the land premium issue. The 60-year long land lease, including on town and suburban areas, is ending this year. Many Chinese landowners suspect they will be made to pay premium as high as 75% of the land value. The frightening expectation is that a premium as high as RM750,000 may have to be forked out to renew the lease for a piece of land worth RM1 million. Most Chinese businessmen and traders are landowners.
Despite BN’s assurance that it would not seize the people’s land, the opposition pointed out to the people that the state Government skirted the land premium issue. In other words, the Chinese in urban areas suspect that the BN is playing a game of ‘I say, you say, he says, she says’ bullshit ending up after the elections with them paying hefty lease renewal premiums. Mind you, they could still be punished with the hefty land lease premium for the SUPP's massive loss.
The DAP has certainly won big beyond its expectation. I wonder whether the Sarawak example would change the Chinese Penangites’ minds?
No Big Deal - Just Untermenschen
untermenschen = sub-humans, what the Nazis used to call the Jews, and what today's Israelis, through their brutalities towards the Palestinians, consider the oppressed Arabs as.
Yesterday in Gaza city, a Palestinian grandmother, mother and her 4-year-old son (yes, just a toddler) were killed by an Israeli missile attack. Now, how do we classify the cause of such deaths?
An act of terrorism? Don’t you dare, or you’ll be accused of anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitism - the Israelis’ sure-fire 100% proof tangkai (protective amulet) against any criticism.
When Israeli citizens were killed, the Americans and most of its press would go into outraged frenzy, and condemn the Palestinian groups who claimed they were taking revenge for precisely such Israeli State terrorism.
Were the Palestinians justified in suicide bombings? I most certainly believe not, as they killed indiscrimninately! But my beef is the American-Western hypocritical one-sided condemnations. To those double-standard practising Americans, Israelis can kill any Palestinian civilians such as the 4-year old toddler yesterday, and a large number of other Palestinian children in recent times.
For example, in one utterly shameful and murderous crime, the Israelis even promoted the responsible army captain to the rank of major. The vicious killer had with great hatred pumped a full magazine load of bullets into Iman al-Hams, an already dead Palestinian 13-year old girl. Iman was terrified when she was initially shot at and cowered behind a stone, hoping she could be spared, but her luck was out. The Israelis killed her.
Then in a show of utter unbelievable brutality, the killer-captain strolled up to her corpse and cold-bloodedly vented his vile into the hardly-teenage female victim. As he emptied both his hatred and rifle-magazine into Iman, he yelled to his troop his chilling attitude: "Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed."
His own troops were so revolted by the senseless exhibition of racist desecration that they reported his unmitigated brutality. But despite damning evidence by his own soldiers, who were there at the tragic scene, the so-called military inquiry and subsequent court completely exonerated the vicious murderer. Then to add insult to the Palestinian injury, the court compensated him with $15000 for inconveniences suffered in attending the court martial.
Those Israelis believed it was damn inconvenient for one of their soldiers to be attending court for no bloody good reason other than to go through the rigmarole of pleasing its American benefactors’ silly sense of ritualistic legal due process – hey, afterall it was just an Arab girl. And not a tiny weeny statement of regret at the vicious crime, let alone condemnation from the US Administration. Undoubtedly to those American Christian Right, the killer was an intrepid mighty Hebrew warrior, a David who smote an evil Canaanite, probably a female desecndant of Goliath. Hallelujah!
Enough of my outrage at the double-standard injustice, and back to yesterday’s air strike. The Israeli military confirmed the air attack. They claimed their objective was to kill Mohammed al-Dahdouh, a member of the Islamic Jihad, and one of its senior engineers involved in weapons manufacture. The attack tore apart Dahdouh's car but also caught others travelling nearby, the granny, mum and the young baby. Tough sh*t to those Palestinians – just camel-jock collateral damage.
So predictably, Islamic Jihad now vows revenge for the killing. If tomorrow a suicide bomber walks into an Israeli pizzeria and kills some innocent Israeli civilians, I will condemn that act of terrorism just as I condemn unequivocally yesterday’s murder of the 2 women and toddler.
But I won’t hold my breath for American-Western show of consistent standard of morality, because they have become willing captives of the Israeli tangkai and a 60-year old guilt that has long passed its use-by date.
Related:
(1) Who is the terrorist?
(2) Who is the terrorist? (2)
(3) Who are the Untermenschen?
(4) Israel 12-letter magic mantra!
Yesterday in Gaza city, a Palestinian grandmother, mother and her 4-year-old son (yes, just a toddler) were killed by an Israeli missile attack. Now, how do we classify the cause of such deaths?
An act of terrorism? Don’t you dare, or you’ll be accused of anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitism - the Israelis’ sure-fire 100% proof tangkai (protective amulet) against any criticism.
When Israeli citizens were killed, the Americans and most of its press would go into outraged frenzy, and condemn the Palestinian groups who claimed they were taking revenge for precisely such Israeli State terrorism.
Were the Palestinians justified in suicide bombings? I most certainly believe not, as they killed indiscrimninately! But my beef is the American-Western hypocritical one-sided condemnations. To those double-standard practising Americans, Israelis can kill any Palestinian civilians such as the 4-year old toddler yesterday, and a large number of other Palestinian children in recent times.
For example, in one utterly shameful and murderous crime, the Israelis even promoted the responsible army captain to the rank of major. The vicious killer had with great hatred pumped a full magazine load of bullets into Iman al-Hams, an already dead Palestinian 13-year old girl. Iman was terrified when she was initially shot at and cowered behind a stone, hoping she could be spared, but her luck was out. The Israelis killed her.
Then in a show of utter unbelievable brutality, the killer-captain strolled up to her corpse and cold-bloodedly vented his vile into the hardly-teenage female victim. As he emptied both his hatred and rifle-magazine into Iman, he yelled to his troop his chilling attitude: "Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed."
His own troops were so revolted by the senseless exhibition of racist desecration that they reported his unmitigated brutality. But despite damning evidence by his own soldiers, who were there at the tragic scene, the so-called military inquiry and subsequent court completely exonerated the vicious murderer. Then to add insult to the Palestinian injury, the court compensated him with $15000 for inconveniences suffered in attending the court martial.
Those Israelis believed it was damn inconvenient for one of their soldiers to be attending court for no bloody good reason other than to go through the rigmarole of pleasing its American benefactors’ silly sense of ritualistic legal due process – hey, afterall it was just an Arab girl. And not a tiny weeny statement of regret at the vicious crime, let alone condemnation from the US Administration. Undoubtedly to those American Christian Right, the killer was an intrepid mighty Hebrew warrior, a David who smote an evil Canaanite, probably a female desecndant of Goliath. Hallelujah!
Enough of my outrage at the double-standard injustice, and back to yesterday’s air strike. The Israeli military confirmed the air attack. They claimed their objective was to kill Mohammed al-Dahdouh, a member of the Islamic Jihad, and one of its senior engineers involved in weapons manufacture. The attack tore apart Dahdouh's car but also caught others travelling nearby, the granny, mum and the young baby. Tough sh*t to those Palestinians – just camel-jock collateral damage.
So predictably, Islamic Jihad now vows revenge for the killing. If tomorrow a suicide bomber walks into an Israeli pizzeria and kills some innocent Israeli civilians, I will condemn that act of terrorism just as I condemn unequivocally yesterday’s murder of the 2 women and toddler.
But I won’t hold my breath for American-Western show of consistent standard of morality, because they have become willing captives of the Israeli tangkai and a 60-year old guilt that has long passed its use-by date.
Related:
(1) Who is the terrorist?
(2) Who is the terrorist? (2)
(3) Who are the Untermenschen?
(4) Israel 12-letter magic mantra!
BN retained Sarawak, but DAP shines
Despite the Election Commission’s (EC) verdict (but % not revealed) of a disappointing turnout in the Sarawak State election, the opposition did as reasonably well as could be expected in an adverse environment of little (or even pro-BN) press publicity and limited resources.
Assuming what the EC said has been correct, poor turnout would usually spell disaster for opposition parties, while high voters’ participation in generally means the people has something to say about a ruling party. There have of course been exceptions to this rule. This must be one of them.
Anyway, as predicted the BN returns to power in Sarawak but with an opposition making a watershed breakthrough. Not surprising, the Chinese populace had something to say, at the expense of the SUPP and to the delight of the DAP.
Malaysiakini journalist Francis Paul commented that it has shaken the Sarawak political world for SUPP to lose four of its seats in Kuching to political novices from the DAP. The disastrous loss included the seats of two (former, if KTemoc may just add) assistant ministers and a mayor. Overall, the SUPP lost 8 of its 19 seats, almost a 50% collapse of its support.
Pending, Batu Lintang and the new seat of Kota Sentosa were supposed to be ‘safe’ (or blue-ribboned) seats for SUPP, which has been ‘untouchable’ in those constituencies for the past two decades or more. But then in the past two decades or more, the Chinese Malaysians have become more dissatisfied with their positions as citizens (they think, of sorts).
I suppose in Sarawak, with its residents' inherent ‘coolness’ towards the west, their disaffections have now manifested more quickly than would be the case with their western counterparts, into the DAP assuming a more significant presence in the State.
One of the SUPP losers has been Assistant Minister and Supp secretary general Sim Kheng Hui in Pending, the stronghold of his late uncle and former deputy chief minister Sim Kheng Hong. He lost the ‘family’s crown jewel’ to a DAP newcomer, 29-year-old Violet Yong. Hope she can become another Teresa Kok.
Another loss was in the Batu Lintang seat, virtually Chan Seng Khai’s fortress since 1991, but former Sarawak DAP strongman Sim Kwang Yang, standing this time as a SUPP candidate, was defeated there. Voon Lee Shan of the DAP did not just unseat him but pulverised him with more than a 3000-vote majority, demonstrating the feelings of that constituency.
The DAP won six seats in Kota Sentosa, Bukit Assek (whopping 4751 majority), Batu Lintang, Meradong, Pending and Kidurong. Good ole PKR got one, Padungan, of the 5 it had aimed for (better than nothing), while SNAP won in Engkilili.
Sour-grape Abdul Taib Mahmud said voters had fallen for the opposition ‘propaganda’. Well, haven't those who voted for the BN also fallen for the ruling party's more dodgy campaign tricks? But as overall winner he should still be happy while DCM George Chan, who took a potshot at Anwar Ibrahim on the oil royalty issue, must be still in shock.
Can the sweeping sea change reflected by the Sarawak voters’ disaffection with the BN see similar outcomes in the Peninsula? We need to bear in mind too that a major portion of the Chinese voters’ swing to the opposition had been due to the growing unpopularity of the CM. Then there is the Chinese Sarawakians’ unique sense of identity which certainly hasn’t’ help George Chan’s party.
Note: When I posted this in the early morning, me ole sleepy head included a number of grammatical errors, out-of-place words, and typos. Three hours later, after several black coffees, I have corrected them and also taken the opportunity to polish up some sentences including a couple of new insertions, but I have not altered the general contents. I won't correct the error in the title for now as it would affect the link in Petaling Street page.
Assuming what the EC said has been correct, poor turnout would usually spell disaster for opposition parties, while high voters’ participation in generally means the people has something to say about a ruling party. There have of course been exceptions to this rule. This must be one of them.
Anyway, as predicted the BN returns to power in Sarawak but with an opposition making a watershed breakthrough. Not surprising, the Chinese populace had something to say, at the expense of the SUPP and to the delight of the DAP.
Malaysiakini journalist Francis Paul commented that it has shaken the Sarawak political world for SUPP to lose four of its seats in Kuching to political novices from the DAP. The disastrous loss included the seats of two (former, if KTemoc may just add) assistant ministers and a mayor. Overall, the SUPP lost 8 of its 19 seats, almost a 50% collapse of its support.
Pending, Batu Lintang and the new seat of Kota Sentosa were supposed to be ‘safe’ (or blue-ribboned) seats for SUPP, which has been ‘untouchable’ in those constituencies for the past two decades or more. But then in the past two decades or more, the Chinese Malaysians have become more dissatisfied with their positions as citizens (they think, of sorts).
I suppose in Sarawak, with its residents' inherent ‘coolness’ towards the west, their disaffections have now manifested more quickly than would be the case with their western counterparts, into the DAP assuming a more significant presence in the State.
One of the SUPP losers has been Assistant Minister and Supp secretary general Sim Kheng Hui in Pending, the stronghold of his late uncle and former deputy chief minister Sim Kheng Hong. He lost the ‘family’s crown jewel’ to a DAP newcomer, 29-year-old Violet Yong. Hope she can become another Teresa Kok.
Another loss was in the Batu Lintang seat, virtually Chan Seng Khai’s fortress since 1991, but former Sarawak DAP strongman Sim Kwang Yang, standing this time as a SUPP candidate, was defeated there. Voon Lee Shan of the DAP did not just unseat him but pulverised him with more than a 3000-vote majority, demonstrating the feelings of that constituency.
The DAP won six seats in Kota Sentosa, Bukit Assek (whopping 4751 majority), Batu Lintang, Meradong, Pending and Kidurong. Good ole PKR got one, Padungan, of the 5 it had aimed for (better than nothing), while SNAP won in Engkilili.
Sour-grape Abdul Taib Mahmud said voters had fallen for the opposition ‘propaganda’. Well, haven't those who voted for the BN also fallen for the ruling party's more dodgy campaign tricks? But as overall winner he should still be happy while DCM George Chan, who took a potshot at Anwar Ibrahim on the oil royalty issue, must be still in shock.
Can the sweeping sea change reflected by the Sarawak voters’ disaffection with the BN see similar outcomes in the Peninsula? We need to bear in mind too that a major portion of the Chinese voters’ swing to the opposition had been due to the growing unpopularity of the CM. Then there is the Chinese Sarawakians’ unique sense of identity which certainly hasn’t’ help George Chan’s party.
Note: When I posted this in the early morning, me ole sleepy head included a number of grammatical errors, out-of-place words, and typos. Three hours later, after several black coffees, I have corrected them and also taken the opportunity to polish up some sentences including a couple of new insertions, but I have not altered the general contents. I won't correct the error in the title for now as it would affect the link in Petaling Street page.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Parliament Reducing Sentence for Incest?
There is no doubt that women’s rights in Malaysia have not progressed much but in fact in some instances actually have retrogressed. Take for example, the issue of rape.
Women’s groups have submitted that marital rape be classified as an offence under the Penal Code, as has been the case in many overseas countries. The old fashioned thinking that husbands' conjugal rights shall be indisputable and unquestionable has ignored the reality that marriage isn’t a licence for unrestrained bonking at the husband’s whims and fancies.
The woman has a right to refuse to participate. Certainly that’s cause for divorce but more certainly not for violence leading to rape. Rape is the act of forcing another person (even a spouse) to submit to sex acts including sexual intercourse. Women’s groups have argued that marital rape is against the Syariah law and those of other religions.
But unfortunately the parliamentary select committee tasked with reviewing the Criminal Procedure Code and Penal Code has rejected the women’s submission.
Instead, the committee proposes to insert a new clause where a husband causing hurt or threatening his wife with death in order to have sexual intercourse may face imprisonment of up to five years. That’s a diluted version of what current laws prescribe for rape offences.
Currently, those convicted of rape could face up to 20 years in jail and/or whipping but no less than 5 years. Then, for those convicted of aggravated rape, the jail terms can extend up to 30 years with a minimum of five and/or whipping.
The parliamentary select committee’s proposes only ‘up to’ 5 years, meaning it could be 1 year! That’s a world of difference for the punishment, basically a reduction in the sentence for rape. I fear the committee still entertains out-of-date thinking.
Aggravated rape doesn’t mean that rape per se is not violent. All rapes are. But, as Malaysiakini advised, aggravated rape is:
(1) the victim is hurt or put in fear of death;
(2) rape in the company and presence of other persons;
(3) rape of those below 16 years of age without consent;
(4) rape those below 12 years of age with or without consent;
(5) rape a pregnant woman and;
(6) rape by those in a position of authority irrespective of consent.
The brutal husband who raped his wife would fall under point (1), and maybe in some cases under points (3) and (5), while I have in mind someone for the last point but who has gotten off scot-free, and in the most shameful obscenity in Malaysian (lack of) justice, a public champion had to suffer the penalty instead.
The 4th point would apply to 2 evil scumbags that I had blogged last month in Filthy slugs in our society. Wait, there’s more on this aspect shortly.
But that’s not all what the committee seeks to do. It wants to remove the minimum five-year mandatory jail term for convicted rapists. It proposes to break the punishment for rape into two categories in order to allow the courts to be no longer bound by the minimum five-year jail term. Why?
Then the biggest disgrace has been its proposed amendments to the conviction for committing incest. Incest with an underage child would also be aggravated rape. Currently incest carries a jail sentence of between 15 and 30 years with up to ten strokes of the rotan (cane). The committee now proposes to reduce the jail term to between eight and 15 years.
Their bullshit is that the reduced sentence will encourage the public to report the offence.
Tell me, would a victim or the guardian representing the victim be influenced by the difference between 15 to 30 and 8 to 15? Would they, when reporting to the police, be inhibited by it? Would those poor unfortunates, when testifying in court, be even aware or conscious of the difference in the terms of the sentence?
This is sheer nonsense!
Then continuing on its unsupportable course, the committee wants the punishment for rape cum murder from the present mandatory death penalty to either the death penalty or imprisonment of between 15 and 30 years and not more than 10 strokes of the rotan, because it claims that there might be those who did not intend to cause the death of the rape victim. With the amendment, the courts will have more discretion to decide whether the accused should face imprisonment or a death penalty.
Now, KTemoc is against the death sentence so I am happy even for them to remove that draconian punishment completely.
But judge for yourself its proposal for snatch theft, that it be defined as a specific offence with perpetrators facing up to 14 years in jail. OK, there had been a couple of deaths associated with snatch thefts but in those cases, murder wasn’t intended. The deaths were caused by the victim being hurt when they fell down as a result from the abrupt jerk of the snatch theft. If death occurs as a result of snatch theft, then charge the perpetrator with either murder or manslaughter.
But my point is this - consider the possibility of a snatch thief receiving 14 years of imprisonment, while a rape-murder criminal gets only 15 years, a husband sexually assaultng his resisting and perhaps pregnant wife a mere 5 (or maybe 1 or less), years, and the worst of all, the slimy slug who rapes his own underage daughter in a disgusting act of incest would get max 15 years or just 8 if he puts on a 'welfare face' and blames his 12-year old daughter for being 'gatal' (randy).
It appears to be that rape in general, and specific rape in particular such as incest with an underage child, aren't viewed with the gravity those crimes demand.
Women’s groups have submitted that marital rape be classified as an offence under the Penal Code, as has been the case in many overseas countries. The old fashioned thinking that husbands' conjugal rights shall be indisputable and unquestionable has ignored the reality that marriage isn’t a licence for unrestrained bonking at the husband’s whims and fancies.
The woman has a right to refuse to participate. Certainly that’s cause for divorce but more certainly not for violence leading to rape. Rape is the act of forcing another person (even a spouse) to submit to sex acts including sexual intercourse. Women’s groups have argued that marital rape is against the Syariah law and those of other religions.
But unfortunately the parliamentary select committee tasked with reviewing the Criminal Procedure Code and Penal Code has rejected the women’s submission.
Instead, the committee proposes to insert a new clause where a husband causing hurt or threatening his wife with death in order to have sexual intercourse may face imprisonment of up to five years. That’s a diluted version of what current laws prescribe for rape offences.
Currently, those convicted of rape could face up to 20 years in jail and/or whipping but no less than 5 years. Then, for those convicted of aggravated rape, the jail terms can extend up to 30 years with a minimum of five and/or whipping.
The parliamentary select committee’s proposes only ‘up to’ 5 years, meaning it could be 1 year! That’s a world of difference for the punishment, basically a reduction in the sentence for rape. I fear the committee still entertains out-of-date thinking.
Aggravated rape doesn’t mean that rape per se is not violent. All rapes are. But, as Malaysiakini advised, aggravated rape is:
(1) the victim is hurt or put in fear of death;
(2) rape in the company and presence of other persons;
(3) rape of those below 16 years of age without consent;
(4) rape those below 12 years of age with or without consent;
(5) rape a pregnant woman and;
(6) rape by those in a position of authority irrespective of consent.
The brutal husband who raped his wife would fall under point (1), and maybe in some cases under points (3) and (5), while I have in mind someone for the last point but who has gotten off scot-free, and in the most shameful obscenity in Malaysian (lack of) justice, a public champion had to suffer the penalty instead.
The 4th point would apply to 2 evil scumbags that I had blogged last month in Filthy slugs in our society. Wait, there’s more on this aspect shortly.
But that’s not all what the committee seeks to do. It wants to remove the minimum five-year mandatory jail term for convicted rapists. It proposes to break the punishment for rape into two categories in order to allow the courts to be no longer bound by the minimum five-year jail term. Why?
Then the biggest disgrace has been its proposed amendments to the conviction for committing incest. Incest with an underage child would also be aggravated rape. Currently incest carries a jail sentence of between 15 and 30 years with up to ten strokes of the rotan (cane). The committee now proposes to reduce the jail term to between eight and 15 years.
Their bullshit is that the reduced sentence will encourage the public to report the offence.
Tell me, would a victim or the guardian representing the victim be influenced by the difference between 15 to 30 and 8 to 15? Would they, when reporting to the police, be inhibited by it? Would those poor unfortunates, when testifying in court, be even aware or conscious of the difference in the terms of the sentence?
This is sheer nonsense!
Then continuing on its unsupportable course, the committee wants the punishment for rape cum murder from the present mandatory death penalty to either the death penalty or imprisonment of between 15 and 30 years and not more than 10 strokes of the rotan, because it claims that there might be those who did not intend to cause the death of the rape victim. With the amendment, the courts will have more discretion to decide whether the accused should face imprisonment or a death penalty.
Now, KTemoc is against the death sentence so I am happy even for them to remove that draconian punishment completely.
But judge for yourself its proposal for snatch theft, that it be defined as a specific offence with perpetrators facing up to 14 years in jail. OK, there had been a couple of deaths associated with snatch thefts but in those cases, murder wasn’t intended. The deaths were caused by the victim being hurt when they fell down as a result from the abrupt jerk of the snatch theft. If death occurs as a result of snatch theft, then charge the perpetrator with either murder or manslaughter.
But my point is this - consider the possibility of a snatch thief receiving 14 years of imprisonment, while a rape-murder criminal gets only 15 years, a husband sexually assaultng his resisting and perhaps pregnant wife a mere 5 (or maybe 1 or less), years, and the worst of all, the slimy slug who rapes his own underage daughter in a disgusting act of incest would get max 15 years or just 8 if he puts on a 'welfare face' and blames his 12-year old daughter for being 'gatal' (randy).
It appears to be that rape in general, and specific rape in particular such as incest with an underage child, aren't viewed with the gravity those crimes demand.
My Day of Infamy
I recall reading an article where Japanese executives, suffering from highly stressed work load, were encouraged to go to a gym each week (or even everyday) to de-stress themselves. The recommended technique was to use a wooden sword, the type favoured by kendo enthusiasts, to thrash the hell out of a straw dummy.
Banzai and Bagero and 擬似 (Bastard) - they hammered away with their kendo cane swords, undoubtedly visualising the targets as their superiors, who either demanded some impossible sales quota for the US market, or had humiliated them to no ends (by sending them home early at 5 pm).
Well, just imagine some of my former girlfriends as those highly stressed Japanese executives with nasty samurai swords and poor shivering KTemoc the straw dummy!
Yes, those cruel aggressive Elizabeth Bathory's somehow saw in me not only a boyfriend but a convenient de-stressing agent. And I have the quals [qualifications]. They knew I was pretty timid, passive and under-confident, and had the personality that somehow worked their anger up real fast like a chemical catalyst.
Catalyst! – aha, I still remember my school chemistry lessons. Incidentally I was once banned from the school lab for a month after causing an explosion with an unauthorised private experiment. My crime then was failing to provide Mrs Lim with the recorded process of that experiment and what lab chemicals I had used that led to the minor incident. Being the dedicated teacher, she was not so much angry with the explosion per se but more with my lack of scholarly discipline where I failed to pen down my process that would have allowed a tracing of where I had gone wrong.
I couldn’t, for the simple reason that after finishing the assigned experiment with 10 minutes to spare, I was just mindlessly mixing this and that acid and various unnamed unremembered agents, all temptingly available on the shelves right in front of my bench. I was egged on by my encouraging buddy Michael, to see how the mixture in the test tube changed colours as I added on various stuff, when the mini-explosion occurred. Fortunately, other than a fright, Michael and I weren’t hurt. Now, surely you’d understand if I didn’t write it up for Mrs Lim as:
Aim: To examine how H2SO4 interact with HCL (or was it HNO3?) and agent X and Y (probably Z too), and to determine the relationship of the reaction process with the relevant light band spectrum.
In less than 10 minutes 2 bored schoolboys conducted one sweet but unauthorised experiment that brilliantly exceeded the boundaries of chemistry and (light) physics, resulting in an explosion which would have made Alfred Nobel, the inventor of TNT proud. No doubt the experiment was the genesis of a potential Nobel Prize (in Chemistry, Physics or Peace) but I opted for the one-month’s ban as a lesser evil. Bloody Michael got away scot-free as usual.
Whoops, I have digressed from the affairs of the heart. Yes, I was talking about those former girlfriends of mine who saw in my timidity, passiveness and under-confidence, and annoying (catalytic) personality as the ideal combination for them to vent their pent-up frustration more expeditiously. Yes sir, I wasn’t completely useless.
But as I mentioned in Right Wing Bitch (2) I did and still do have one non-negotiable principle, my socialist beliefs. My left wing proclivity is wide ranging, covering not only the political aspects but ecological stuff as well, like protecting whales, dolphins and orioles. And it was an issue about those mammals that irked one them.
She had gone to Japan for holidays with her parents, and there they partook of whale meat. On returning, after giving me the standard boyfriend present of a little samurai sword (to cut my throat when she's angry?), she crooned to me how great the whale meat dish was, expecting me to gasp in wonder and envy. But all she obtained from was my stoic look.
That somehow sent her into a frenzy of tearful ravings and ranting at me. Poor me - I protested I didn’t, haven’t uttered a single word. And she would cry out: “You don’t have to. Your face tells me you disapprove of me. You look at me like dirt”, and she then gravitated into self-pity. Before she could accuse me of not wanting to kiss her anymore (well, certainly not if there was still whale meat, or any meat in her teeth) I ended up apologising for something I didn’t do. What a wimp, so devoid of self esteem.
Oh no, she wasn’t going to let me get away so easily as that – besides I was providing her a great therapeutic de-stressing session for her post-holiday downs. She accused me of pretentious portrayal of myself as above her moral/intellectual standards. Intellectual standards? It was obvious by then she has escalated from self-pity to carpet bombing.
Don’t ask me how I ended up that way with each succeeding girlfriend. Years later, I had the nagging suspicion those babes, who knew most of each other since Penang is a small island and they were generally from the same Convent school, were passing me from one to another. Each successive one was more aggressive and demanding than her predecessor, making me believe the word must gotten round (among them) that KTemoc was an easy … no, not an easy lay … boyfriend to boss around.
The same old accusation from each of them was that I had put on high moral airs, even though they knew on occasions I could be highly immoral (sorry, Privacy Act legislation prevents me from expanding on this). But it was my left wing principles that got their goat. They would exclaim, individually and on separate occcasion of course: “Oh, KT, you just have to be always morally right, pristine pure without a single fault (and they had daggers in their beautiful eyes when they said this) or ever committing an act of shame.”
Of course, leaving aside the provocative issue of whale meat cuisine, they blasted those accusations at poor ole me when they became bloody mad over some petty points where I got the better of them – you know, sore losers, made worse for them by losing to a wimp like KTemoc.
But they had been wrong in saying I hadn’t ever commit an act of shame. I cringed when I recall that odious sin, my day of infamy.
To be continued ……..
Banzai and Bagero and 擬似 (Bastard) - they hammered away with their kendo cane swords, undoubtedly visualising the targets as their superiors, who either demanded some impossible sales quota for the US market, or had humiliated them to no ends (by sending them home early at 5 pm).
Well, just imagine some of my former girlfriends as those highly stressed Japanese executives with nasty samurai swords and poor shivering KTemoc the straw dummy!
Yes, those cruel aggressive Elizabeth Bathory's somehow saw in me not only a boyfriend but a convenient de-stressing agent. And I have the quals [qualifications]. They knew I was pretty timid, passive and under-confident, and had the personality that somehow worked their anger up real fast like a chemical catalyst.
Catalyst! – aha, I still remember my school chemistry lessons. Incidentally I was once banned from the school lab for a month after causing an explosion with an unauthorised private experiment. My crime then was failing to provide Mrs Lim with the recorded process of that experiment and what lab chemicals I had used that led to the minor incident. Being the dedicated teacher, she was not so much angry with the explosion per se but more with my lack of scholarly discipline where I failed to pen down my process that would have allowed a tracing of where I had gone wrong.
I couldn’t, for the simple reason that after finishing the assigned experiment with 10 minutes to spare, I was just mindlessly mixing this and that acid and various unnamed unremembered agents, all temptingly available on the shelves right in front of my bench. I was egged on by my encouraging buddy Michael, to see how the mixture in the test tube changed colours as I added on various stuff, when the mini-explosion occurred. Fortunately, other than a fright, Michael and I weren’t hurt. Now, surely you’d understand if I didn’t write it up for Mrs Lim as:
Aim: To examine how H2SO4 interact with HCL (or was it HNO3?) and agent X and Y (probably Z too), and to determine the relationship of the reaction process with the relevant light band spectrum.
In less than 10 minutes 2 bored schoolboys conducted one sweet but unauthorised experiment that brilliantly exceeded the boundaries of chemistry and (light) physics, resulting in an explosion which would have made Alfred Nobel, the inventor of TNT proud. No doubt the experiment was the genesis of a potential Nobel Prize (in Chemistry, Physics or Peace) but I opted for the one-month’s ban as a lesser evil. Bloody Michael got away scot-free as usual.
Whoops, I have digressed from the affairs of the heart. Yes, I was talking about those former girlfriends of mine who saw in my timidity, passiveness and under-confidence, and annoying (catalytic) personality as the ideal combination for them to vent their pent-up frustration more expeditiously. Yes sir, I wasn’t completely useless.
But as I mentioned in Right Wing Bitch (2) I did and still do have one non-negotiable principle, my socialist beliefs. My left wing proclivity is wide ranging, covering not only the political aspects but ecological stuff as well, like protecting whales, dolphins and orioles. And it was an issue about those mammals that irked one them.
She had gone to Japan for holidays with her parents, and there they partook of whale meat. On returning, after giving me the standard boyfriend present of a little samurai sword (to cut my throat when she's angry?), she crooned to me how great the whale meat dish was, expecting me to gasp in wonder and envy. But all she obtained from was my stoic look.
That somehow sent her into a frenzy of tearful ravings and ranting at me. Poor me - I protested I didn’t, haven’t uttered a single word. And she would cry out: “You don’t have to. Your face tells me you disapprove of me. You look at me like dirt”, and she then gravitated into self-pity. Before she could accuse me of not wanting to kiss her anymore (well, certainly not if there was still whale meat, or any meat in her teeth) I ended up apologising for something I didn’t do. What a wimp, so devoid of self esteem.
Oh no, she wasn’t going to let me get away so easily as that – besides I was providing her a great therapeutic de-stressing session for her post-holiday downs. She accused me of pretentious portrayal of myself as above her moral/intellectual standards. Intellectual standards? It was obvious by then she has escalated from self-pity to carpet bombing.
Don’t ask me how I ended up that way with each succeeding girlfriend. Years later, I had the nagging suspicion those babes, who knew most of each other since Penang is a small island and they were generally from the same Convent school, were passing me from one to another. Each successive one was more aggressive and demanding than her predecessor, making me believe the word must gotten round (among them) that KTemoc was an easy … no, not an easy lay … boyfriend to boss around.
The same old accusation from each of them was that I had put on high moral airs, even though they knew on occasions I could be highly immoral (sorry, Privacy Act legislation prevents me from expanding on this). But it was my left wing principles that got their goat. They would exclaim, individually and on separate occcasion of course: “Oh, KT, you just have to be always morally right, pristine pure without a single fault (and they had daggers in their beautiful eyes when they said this) or ever committing an act of shame.”
Of course, leaving aside the provocative issue of whale meat cuisine, they blasted those accusations at poor ole me when they became bloody mad over some petty points where I got the better of them – you know, sore losers, made worse for them by losing to a wimp like KTemoc.
But they had been wrong in saying I hadn’t ever commit an act of shame. I cringed when I recall that odious sin, my day of infamy.
To be continued ……..
Friday, May 19, 2006
Malaysian Ladies for Mt Everest
Couple of days ago PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Project Everest 2007 which will see Malaysian women climb the world’s highest mountain. He announced a RM 1.4 million funding for the project - probably money saved from the fuel subsidy and cancellation of the scenic bridge.
25-year old Marina Ahmad and 5 other ladies will attempt the climb in March next year in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50th anniversary.
And going with the ladies will be PKN boss Khalid Yunus, hero of Negara Everest 2004 Ahmad Reduan Rozali, Head of Everest Climb 2004 Muhammad Fauzan Hasan, Ahmad Fakhri Abu Samah and Idris Said.
25-year old Marina Ahmad and 5 other ladies will attempt the climb in March next year in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50th anniversary.
And going with the ladies will be PKN boss Khalid Yunus, hero of Negara Everest 2004 Ahmad Reduan Rozali, Head of Everest Climb 2004 Muhammad Fauzan Hasan, Ahmad Fakhri Abu Samah and Idris Said.
PM with Project Everest 2007 members - (L to R) Marina Ahmad, Muhammad Fauzan Hasan, Khalid Yunus, Idris Said, Ahmad Reduan Rozali & Ahmad Fakhri Abu Samah - photo by Halim Khalid of Utusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia which reported the launch of the project has been appointed as the official media for the project. The PM provided some pep talk blah blah blah and finally said:
“Bangsa kita hendak menjadi bangsa besar memerlukan kekuatan yang besar dan keupayaan yang tiada tandingannya.''
Very very loose translation: “Our race shall be a race which requires challenging activities that call on our incomparable ability”.
The problem with the Malay word ‘bangsa’ (race) is that we Malaysians sometimes aren’t too sure whether it means the Malaysian or Malay race?
But I wish the hikers a safe journey and all the success, and am especially glad no one had suggested any silly idea like tasking the climbers to drape the mountain with a gigantic Malaysian flag a la the pyramid fiasco.
Related:
(1) Tottering Malaysians?
(2) No Pyramid for Tottering Malaysians
Da Vinci Code - Faction Book?
Why are Christians so upset about a work of fiction that’s the most talked about book today, Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code? If anything, they ought to be more worried about the Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a serious non-fiction book written by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, which was published about 25 years ago. The earlier book said exactly the same thing, or rather was the first to say what Da Vinci Code subsequently said in imitation. The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail enjoyed a wee more research and scholarship.
Dan Brown has never claimed anything other than his book is fiction, all for a jolly read about an adventure bash with a religious background. But the Catholic and other churches have been terribly upset. I suppose they must be sh*tting a bit because Dan Brown’s fictional novel has sold 40 million copies, while Holy Blood, Holy Grail has only been bought by weirdos like KTemoc, who loves alternative history or alternative myth.Dominic Steele, an Anglican Minister in inner Sydney, explained why the Church has been worried. He termed Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code as a 'faction' book (note: not 'fiction'). He explained ‘faction’ book as one that has fictional foreground characters but actually paints a fact backdrop, so fiction plus fact backdrop = faction.
He said: “People have come and said, ‘How can you believe this stuff when Dan Brown says this?’ And so we ran a dinner for the Christian people to be better informed, but also for them to invite their friends whose interest in God, spirituality, Jesus, might have been raised by Brown.”
He continued: “The problem is, is that most people get their history not from reading history books. See, where do I get my history on World War II from?”
“I get my history on World War II from watching Saving Private Ryan. I get my history on China from reading Wild Swans. Do you know? We don't actually go read the history book on China, we read the 'faction' book, that has fictional foreground characters but actually paints a fact backdrop.”
“People are saying, no, no, no. Some things are true. I'm not prepared to stand by and have Brown or somebody else say it's not true that Jesus was divine.”
The most controversial revelation, an original claim in its time, by Holy Blood, Holy Grail, was the proposition Jesus married Mary Magdalene. In the Scripture Mary was alluded to as a reformed prostitute who was utterly devoted to Jesus, but not much was written about her.
I have no doubt that Dan Brown had based his book on the events described in Holy Blood, Holy Grail, even though a British court found in Brown's favour when 2 of the authors of the non-fiction book sued Brown for partial plagiarism (for 'lifting' the structure of its original book). It's just a mere coincidence that both books were published by Random House, who paid the legal fees of almst a million pounds for the losing side, but the publicity was worth every penny of that legal battle.
In Holy Blood, Holy Grail (don’t bother about Da Vinci Code as it’s just a fun-story) Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife. I have read a few other books on this relationship and have to agree that she was most likely Jesus’ spouse.
The early Christian Church saw it to their advantage to make Jesus celibate. But don’t forget, Jesus was a Jewish rabbi, and it’s sinful and socially not possible for a rabbi to be unmarried. An unmarried Jewish rabbi, whether divine son of god or ordinary human being, was just unnatural and unlikely, because bachelorhood was regarded as a transgression of the first mitzvah (divine commandment) of “be fruitful and multiply".
Then things changed in 1945, when at Nag Hammadi in southern Egypt, a hoard of ancient papyrus books were discovered, which turned out to be far more important than the better known Dead Sea Scrolls
The discovery includes the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip and the Acts of Peter. None of these texts was included in the Bible, because their content didn't conform to Christian doctrine, and therefore were referred to as apocryphal. More closer to the truth, they put Christian faith in an entirely new light that mainstream Christian organisations don't want to know.
With these apocryphal texts there was suddenly a new source of information about Mary Magdalene. She appears very frequently as one of the prominent disciples of Jesus. It shows that when Jesus was in discussion with his disciples, Mary Magdalene frequently asked intelligent questions, and alone understood Jesus, while the other disciples at times seem confused. In other words, she was the brightest and most favoured of the disciples, which of course wouldn't do for Peter's Rome and Paul's churches.
One of the most controversial text in the Gospel of Philip had been denounced by the church as heresy. In that text, the apostles witnessed Jesus kissing Mary Magdalene on the mouth. The apostles were horrified and at the same time jealous. They asked: "Why do you love her more than us?"
Jesus' response remains till today mysterious and enigmatic: "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness."
No wonder the churches don't want to hear this.
Some nations like India made much ado about releasing it against strong protests from Catholics and political pressure from the Vatican. Others want the film edited by the censors, while many Christians have called for a boycott against Sony, the distributor of the film. In Australia a Catholic family-owner of the independent Entrance cinema in the New South Wales coast has banned the screening of Da Vinci Code at their place.
I am not sure whether I would even bother to see the movie as I have already read both books and of course found Holy Blood, Holy Grail far more interesting.
mary magdalene at crucifixion
But the best comment on the whole matter came from Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper. It said: “The hullabaloo surrounding the film Da Vinci Code somehow resembles the indignation raised in the Muslim world at the publication in European newspapers of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed at the beginning of this year.”
“With the novel Da Vinci Code and its adaptation for the screen, we are witnessing a real duel between religion and the secular world in the arena of contemporary western culture.”
mary magdalene
Maybe the thought of a high profile film propagating the notion of a Jesus married to a woman considered by Christians as a prostitute, must be to the Church and Christians highly blasphemous, indeed as highly blasphemous as the Muhammad caricatures had been to Muslims. Certainly food for thought for Westerners and Christians.
Anwar Ibrahim - More Baggage!
The Star Online reported that 10 years ago, when Anwar Ibrahim was at the height of his power as UMNO and the nation’s No 2 bloke, he chewed up the opposition candidates for 'wasting their time' contesting in Sarawak.
Unfortunately for him, that statement has come back to haunt him as one more of his baggage with the UMNO tag, because he is now in the opposition. But I doubt he would take his own advice ;-)
But Anwar being Anwar, as in Pengkalan Pasir he has once again become a magnet for drawing in the crowd. His greatest gift has been and still is his oratory skill, with which he campaigned with eloquent and sarcastic speeches.
Naturally, quite the reverse of his 1996 actions, he now criticises instead the BN for alleged excessive spending and corruption. He announced with a straight face, against his own former ministerial decision: “Higher oil royalty should be given to Sarawak.”
Oops, another piece of his embarrassing UMNO-Finance Minister baggage has tumbled down with a thud! One thing's for sure, a politician has to have thick skin, and Anwar certainly has that, deodorant-ise with the promising fragrance of reformasi.
I wonder whether the crowds would vote differently when they go to the polling booths, as they had in Pengkalan Pasir. That would make CM Taib's assessment of Anwar Ibrahim as mere entertainment for Sarawakians come true. And we mustn't forget the hantus could be worse in Sarawak.
Despite my lack of fondness or respect for Anwar Ibrahim, I do hope PKR wins the 5 seats they are aiming for. It’ll give the BN a good shake up for their complacency. But more importantly it’ll keep the party alive, because if PKR doesn’t win anything it’s as good as finished.
But I wonder why the affable Dr Syed Husin isn’t campaigning. I would like to see more of this gentleman.
Related:
(1) The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim
(2) Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named
(3) Petronas Accountability - He who cannot be named!
Unfortunately for him, that statement has come back to haunt him as one more of his baggage with the UMNO tag, because he is now in the opposition. But I doubt he would take his own advice ;-)
But Anwar being Anwar, as in Pengkalan Pasir he has once again become a magnet for drawing in the crowd. His greatest gift has been and still is his oratory skill, with which he campaigned with eloquent and sarcastic speeches.
Naturally, quite the reverse of his 1996 actions, he now criticises instead the BN for alleged excessive spending and corruption. He announced with a straight face, against his own former ministerial decision: “Higher oil royalty should be given to Sarawak.”
Oops, another piece of his embarrassing UMNO-Finance Minister baggage has tumbled down with a thud! One thing's for sure, a politician has to have thick skin, and Anwar certainly has that, deodorant-ise with the promising fragrance of reformasi.
I wonder whether the crowds would vote differently when they go to the polling booths, as they had in Pengkalan Pasir. That would make CM Taib's assessment of Anwar Ibrahim as mere entertainment for Sarawakians come true. And we mustn't forget the hantus could be worse in Sarawak.
Despite my lack of fondness or respect for Anwar Ibrahim, I do hope PKR wins the 5 seats they are aiming for. It’ll give the BN a good shake up for their complacency. But more importantly it’ll keep the party alive, because if PKR doesn’t win anything it’s as good as finished.
But I wonder why the affable Dr Syed Husin isn’t campaigning. I would like to see more of this gentleman.
Related:
(1) The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim
(2) Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named
(3) Petronas Accountability - He who cannot be named!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Best from Malaysiakini's Vox Populi
I've picked the following letters to Malaysiakini's Vox Populi as the best for certain topics, because of their points, humour or sarcasm. Enjoy!
On Police ignored mob, say forum organisers and Penang groups: It's not stupid to protest
Minority Voice: It does not take much intelligence to conclude that there was collusion between the police and the demonstrators. The police knew that the demonstrators were coming and yet they were not prevented from gathering. There was no tear gas hurled at them and no water cannons used. They were not told to disperse but instead a lawful assembly of concerned citizens who assembled to discuss issues that concerned the minority of the citizens were told to leave.
Why this velvet glove approach? The reason is quite simple - the minority must keep quiet in this country. And little Napoleons continue to decide when where the strong arm of the law shall be applied regardless of reason. Whither this country?
Reminiscent of the UMNO unleashed mob that harassed the Aptet II conference - our dear Anwar Ibrahim was then acting PM. See my 2 postings on this disgraceful episode:
(1) Aptet II Disgrace - all for an alien nation!
(2) Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named!
On 'Last Communist' for MPs' eyes only
HJ Angus: Maybe they will watch only 50 percent of the film with ‘one eye closed’.
I am insulted as this implies the MPs have more brains than me. The money for the screening can be put to better use unless the MPs are going to pay.
I love his first sentence ;-)
On Police ignored mob, say forum organisers and Penang groups: It's not stupid to protest
Minority Voice: It does not take much intelligence to conclude that there was collusion between the police and the demonstrators. The police knew that the demonstrators were coming and yet they were not prevented from gathering. There was no tear gas hurled at them and no water cannons used. They were not told to disperse but instead a lawful assembly of concerned citizens who assembled to discuss issues that concerned the minority of the citizens were told to leave.
Why this velvet glove approach? The reason is quite simple - the minority must keep quiet in this country. And little Napoleons continue to decide when where the strong arm of the law shall be applied regardless of reason. Whither this country?
Reminiscent of the UMNO unleashed mob that harassed the Aptet II conference - our dear Anwar Ibrahim was then acting PM. See my 2 postings on this disgraceful episode:
(1) Aptet II Disgrace - all for an alien nation!
(2) Aptet II Disgrace - He who cannot be named!
On 'Last Communist' for MPs' eyes only
HJ Angus: Maybe they will watch only 50 percent of the film with ‘one eye closed’.
I am insulted as this implies the MPs have more brains than me. The money for the screening can be put to better use unless the MPs are going to pay.
I love his first sentence ;-)
The Notorious Red Lotus Temple
When I was a wee laddie, my grandfather took me to see an old Chinese movie in our village cinema, where bed bugs lurked among the seats to ambush the sudience's thighs or arms in a jolly vampire feast of sweet blood. But the lure of the celluloid was so great for an ulu [country bumpkin] like me that I braved the itchy bites, scratching my vulnerable spots into bleeding sores.
The torture would then start at home as granddad poured iodine on my wounds. Thankfully for kids, iodine became unpopular for a while because there was a claim it was more harmful than helpful, but god save us now as it has made a dramatic comeback.
That film must have been shown more than a zillion times throughout the villages of Malaysia because we kept getting those annoying white intermitten flashes with black scars, stars of david, unround rings and numerals which counted backwards to zero as if we were at Cape Kennedy, until even the poor old brave film eventually burnt out, right near the finale of our movie session.
Even as a little kid, I joined in the booing when the lights came on and, because the projector window was so big, we could see the projector operator calmly using probably his spit and whatnot to rejoin the film. There he was in his Ah Peh [daggy] singlet working away with both hands, even as he puffed away at his smelly cigar. My jeering at that show was what probably set me off on my course of adult leftwing proclivity.
Anyway, the film was titled Hui Sioe Ang Lian See, and that's in Penang Hokkien. In Mandarin it would be a more snotty Huo shao hong lian si meaning The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple. The word 'lotus' is generally a symbol of, and thus refers to Buddhism, which made the temple a Buddhist one.
heroic couple - should be me comforting the sweet babe
The torture would then start at home as granddad poured iodine on my wounds. Thankfully for kids, iodine became unpopular for a while because there was a claim it was more harmful than helpful, but god save us now as it has made a dramatic comeback.
That film must have been shown more than a zillion times throughout the villages of Malaysia because we kept getting those annoying white intermitten flashes with black scars, stars of david, unround rings and numerals which counted backwards to zero as if we were at Cape Kennedy, until even the poor old brave film eventually burnt out, right near the finale of our movie session.Even as a little kid, I joined in the booing when the lights came on and, because the projector window was so big, we could see the projector operator calmly using probably his spit and whatnot to rejoin the film. There he was in his Ah Peh [daggy] singlet working away with both hands, even as he puffed away at his smelly cigar. My jeering at that show was what probably set me off on my course of adult leftwing proclivity.
Anyway, the film was titled Hui Sioe Ang Lian See, and that's in Penang Hokkien. In Mandarin it would be a more snotty Huo shao hong lian si meaning The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple. The word 'lotus' is generally a symbol of, and thus refers to Buddhism, which made the temple a Buddhist one.
the nasties masquerading as monks
The story has been a (older) very popular Chinese novel, perhaps even a classic, but I don’t believe the film I saw was the original 1928 classic silent movie, which apparently ran for 27 hours over 18 episodes.
The one granddad took me to was hardly silent as it had all sorts of swearing and curses, where lecherous Buddhist monks (to be fair to our Buddhist readers, they were villainous masqueraders) leered at half naked women who all had immaculate hairdo despite being ravished, grabbed at, assaulted and thrown around during the wushu fighting.
heroic couple - should be me comforting the sweet babeIt was of the usual Chinese sword fighting genre. The Red Lotus Temple was a notorious hive of scum and villainy who masqueraded as monks, but who didn’t reject their secular bawdy randy lifestyle of rape, pillage and orgies.
Since that day I entertained suspicious nasty impression of Chinese Buddhist monks, and imagined temples having secret trapdoors and chambers, where within Salome, she of the 7 veils, was undoubtedly belly-dancing away for the gratification of unshaven ogling clerics who guzzled rough wine in copious quantities and ripped away at greasy chicken thighs, while simultaneously fondling unfortunate village maidens.
she's pissed and looked like my Ex (when pissed)
Flash forward to Ipoh, Malaysia 2006.
The chief monk of a temple in the Kinta Valley was found with a naked woman in his private chambers by a police team investigating allegations of criminal intimidation last Tuesday. That (the naked woman) was just the unexpected bonus for the cops as the 40-year old chief monk was taken away by the authorities for a different matter, criminal intimidation of members of the temple committee, but His Sleaziness is now out on bail.
The monk was embroiled in a dispute with the temple committee over the alleged non-submission of financial accounts and his close association with the 30-year old woman, whom he claimed to be his god-daughter. Yeah, I bet!
A bit of Shaolin then occurred when the monk was alleged to have threatened to kill the temple committee chairman for interfering in the temple’s financial matters. Hellooooo there, Buddhist clerics aren’t supposed to kill or be involved in earthly mundane matters so why was the chief monk taking on the role of temple accountant? Just a mere rhetorical question because I am sure we all know the answer.
Police also recovered pornographic materials, weapons and liquor from the monk’s chambers, probably training aids that he must have used to demonstrate what were sinful, but where were the greasy chicken thighs?
Following the discovery, the temple committee wanted to disrobe the chief monk, but before they could do that, the chief monk beat them to that act by having already disrobed his god-daughter.
I wish my dear granddad was still alive today because I would have loved to share this one with him, a Red Lotus Temple in our own backyard. I bet the chief monk was unshaven too ;-)
Humpty Dumpty Bit Hands That Fed Him
Amazingly, or on second thoughts, maybe not, Humpty Dumpty has turned on his old master, obviously in a shameless effort to brown-nose his new master.
Today HD – that’s Humpty Dumpty - criticised Dr Mahathir in the Tamil daily Makkal Osai for doing buggerall for the Indian Malaysian community under the previous Eighth Malaysia Plan (8MP). He grumbled that the old man gave a thousand promises but in the end it was still eeleh (zilch!)
Here’s the brown paint job - HD said he was confident that PM Abdullah Badawi would keep his word and deliver the promises made to the community under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).
Remember, HD used to croon praises of Dr Mahathir too? Bet you if Anwar Ibrahim becomes PM tomorrow, he'll be singing his way into the heart of Anwar, and in Hindi instead of Tamil, for Anwar is reputed to love Hindi musical movies.
HD also threatened (who?) that the MIC will make noise and demand for it if the Indian community does not get what has been promised under the 9MP. Well, that’s hardly any comfort to the Indians as the MIC is only good for making noises and fools of themselves.
BTW, what has been promised for the most marginalised community in our society, the poor Indians?
HD claimed he had suggested to the government that a special quarter be set up to monitor what was being received by the community, to which the Prime Minister’s Department had responded by assigning an official to look into the problems faced by the community.
Look into the problems only?
According to HD, Abdullah Badawi has instructed all issues pertaining to the Indian community be discussed with the MIC first. Hahaha!
Here's big-headed Humpty Dumpty all these years as President of the MIC, with the Indian community getting deeper and deeper into the dark depth of destitution, desperation and despair, and he's boasting about the MIC being consulted on issues pertaining to Indians. See my posting The Toddy Syndrome.
A Malaysiakini reader wrote in the Vox Populi column and asked: "The recent demolition of three Hindu temples in the Klang Valley is a good example. Where was the MIC when these dastardly acts were taking place?"
Indeed - where was the Humpty Dumpty and the MIC?
OK, you choose which of following nursery rhymes you prefer:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Today HD – that’s Humpty Dumpty - criticised Dr Mahathir in the Tamil daily Makkal Osai for doing buggerall for the Indian Malaysian community under the previous Eighth Malaysia Plan (8MP). He grumbled that the old man gave a thousand promises but in the end it was still eeleh (zilch!)
Here’s the brown paint job - HD said he was confident that PM Abdullah Badawi would keep his word and deliver the promises made to the community under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).
Remember, HD used to croon praises of Dr Mahathir too? Bet you if Anwar Ibrahim becomes PM tomorrow, he'll be singing his way into the heart of Anwar, and in Hindi instead of Tamil, for Anwar is reputed to love Hindi musical movies.
HD also threatened (who?) that the MIC will make noise and demand for it if the Indian community does not get what has been promised under the 9MP. Well, that’s hardly any comfort to the Indians as the MIC is only good for making noises and fools of themselves.
BTW, what has been promised for the most marginalised community in our society, the poor Indians?
HD claimed he had suggested to the government that a special quarter be set up to monitor what was being received by the community, to which the Prime Minister’s Department had responded by assigning an official to look into the problems faced by the community.
Look into the problems only?
According to HD, Abdullah Badawi has instructed all issues pertaining to the Indian community be discussed with the MIC first. Hahaha!
Here's big-headed Humpty Dumpty all these years as President of the MIC, with the Indian community getting deeper and deeper into the dark depth of destitution, desperation and despair, and he's boasting about the MIC being consulted on issues pertaining to Indians. See my posting The Toddy Syndrome.
A Malaysiakini reader wrote in the Vox Populi column and asked: "The recent demolition of three Hindu temples in the Klang Valley is a good example. Where was the MIC when these dastardly acts were taking place?"
Indeed - where was the Humpty Dumpty and the MIC?
OK, you choose which of following nursery rhymes you prefer:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
or
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty said Mahathir did f**kall.
All Humpty can do as Badawi’s man
Couldn't put the Indians together again.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Tremble - Last Communist Cometh!
The Daily News screamed:
Ye all tremble for he is here!
Who, who? We all shivered;
Who should we truly fear?
He, the evil Last Communist,
a danger to society, our bane.
What? That trembling old man,
the one with the walking cane?
Ye all tremble for he is here!
Who, who? We all shivered;
Who should we truly fear?
He, the evil Last Communist,
a danger to society, our bane.
What? That trembling old man,
the one with the walking cane?
Anwar Ibrahim Dipping into the Cesspool
Campaigning in Sarawak, PKR advisor, Anwar Ibrahim, warned his former BN colleagues not to think they can get away with personal attacks on him. He said at a PKR fund-raising dinner that he has the ammo (ammunition) to launch a counter-attack. He then gave a juicy example of his ammo, alleging that someone in PBB had once told him, when he was the DPM, that he (that ‘someone’) was eager to see Anwar replaced Dr Mahathir as PM.
Anwar claimed that PBB bloke said: “Anwar I will support you when you take over. When you lead the government, we have to change (Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul) Taib Mahmud’s men.”
He ‘played’ the dinner crowd as only he could, teasing them on whether they would like to know the identity of that person. Naturally they would, but also naturally, Anwar didn’t waste his ammo yet, because in the shadow play of Malaysian politics an unfired round is far more effective than an expended one.
If I have to make a wild guess, I would speculate that he was referring to Sarawak Deputy CM George Chan.
In my previous posting The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim I mentioned that in the Sarawak election campaign, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah, Anwar’s spouse, had put herself and her husband in a highly vulnerable position when she raised the issue of petroleum royalty given to Sarawak.
Wan Azizah made an assertion that the people of Sarawak should not be paying more for petroleum products because the state produced the commodity. She claimed that since Sarawak was a large petroleum-producing state, it should be paid more than the five percent royalty it is now receiving. Wan Azizah was obviously exploiting the unpopular oil price hike to gain some mileage in her PKR campaign.
A riled George Chan seized on Wan Azizah’s statement to hit back at Anwar's past record as Finance Minister. Chan said words to the effect that it was rich of Wan Azizah to grandstand on the issue when it was Anwar, who then as Finance Minister had rejected Chan’s request for a bigger petroleum royalty for Sarawak.
Chan angrily stated: "When he (Anwar) was the finance minister, I myself asked for an increment in the petroleum royalty but he didn't give. Why is his party talking about it now?”
"I asked for more development for Sarawak because we don't have enough (development) and he also did not want to give (allocations). Why is PKR talking about it now? Why didn't he give us more when he was in power? Now he is no more in power, he can talk."
Because I am not a devoted PKR acolyte in blind adoration of Malaysia’s so-acclaimed political messiah I do have a few problems with Anwar Ibrahim’s warnings to his erstwhile colleague.
Firstly, did George Chan - assuming of course he was the intended target of Anwar Ibrahim’s warning - conduct a personal attack on Anwar in reminding everyone that Anwar had once dismissed the Sarawakian request for more oil royalty?
I would think not. Chan was pointing out to Dr Wan Azizah that she and her husband just couldn't conveniently perform a 180 degrees about-turn on the oil royalty issue when they happened to be in opposition - her husband, while in power as DPM and Finance Minister, had been the one rejecting Sarawak’s appeal for an increase in the oil royalty.
I believe Chan’s revelation was a legitimate political fight back, highlighting inconsistency in the Anwar Ibrahim’s camp on the issue of oil royalty for states, and not any personal attack on Anwar.
Secondly, Anwar's threat hasn't hidden the fact that Dr Wan Azizah has been wrong to instigate the Sarawakians on a matter her husband as Finance Minister saw fit to close. It was obvious here that Anwar Ibrahim found difficulty in countering Chan’s riposte on the PKR's double standard, because Anwar resorted to threats to reveal matters that was mentioned to him in confidence by an erstwhile colleague.
Now in that, Anwar has demonstrated that he himself is not above gutter politics, as was conducted by a Sarawakian newspaper against him which I blogged in Anwar Ibrahim's Transvestites Trauma.
It’s of course disappointing to see Anwar Ibrahim resorting to such personal gutter threats when he could have easily kept it at policy level, by saying he has changed his mind about the oil royalty, just as he had told the Chinese educationists he changed his mind on Chinese education since his fall from grace – not that I believe him at all, but at least one cannot fault him too much on that.
But on the other hand, perhaps Anwar couldn’t keep saying ‘he has changed his mind’ because, as mentioned in The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim, he has far too much excess baggage, all tagged with the UMNO label.
Thirdly, if a Sarawakian did make those insidious remarks about a serving PM and his State CM to him the DPM, Anwar should have straightaway reprimanded that person for talking unethically behind those leaders’ backs, and having done so, should have consigned that matter to the scrap heap as a close file. It's too low level to even remember it, let alone bring it up again. Alternatively Anwar should have informed the PM and the Sarawak CM about the display of treacherous disloyalty.
Well, tell me, what did Anwar do then?
Instead he threatened to dip into the cesspool for a handful of sh*t to hurl at a political opponent.
Anwar claimed that PBB bloke said: “Anwar I will support you when you take over. When you lead the government, we have to change (Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul) Taib Mahmud’s men.”
He ‘played’ the dinner crowd as only he could, teasing them on whether they would like to know the identity of that person. Naturally they would, but also naturally, Anwar didn’t waste his ammo yet, because in the shadow play of Malaysian politics an unfired round is far more effective than an expended one.
If I have to make a wild guess, I would speculate that he was referring to Sarawak Deputy CM George Chan.
In my previous posting The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim I mentioned that in the Sarawak election campaign, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah, Anwar’s spouse, had put herself and her husband in a highly vulnerable position when she raised the issue of petroleum royalty given to Sarawak.
Wan Azizah made an assertion that the people of Sarawak should not be paying more for petroleum products because the state produced the commodity. She claimed that since Sarawak was a large petroleum-producing state, it should be paid more than the five percent royalty it is now receiving. Wan Azizah was obviously exploiting the unpopular oil price hike to gain some mileage in her PKR campaign.
A riled George Chan seized on Wan Azizah’s statement to hit back at Anwar's past record as Finance Minister. Chan said words to the effect that it was rich of Wan Azizah to grandstand on the issue when it was Anwar, who then as Finance Minister had rejected Chan’s request for a bigger petroleum royalty for Sarawak.
Chan angrily stated: "When he (Anwar) was the finance minister, I myself asked for an increment in the petroleum royalty but he didn't give. Why is his party talking about it now?”
"I asked for more development for Sarawak because we don't have enough (development) and he also did not want to give (allocations). Why is PKR talking about it now? Why didn't he give us more when he was in power? Now he is no more in power, he can talk."
Because I am not a devoted PKR acolyte in blind adoration of Malaysia’s so-acclaimed political messiah I do have a few problems with Anwar Ibrahim’s warnings to his erstwhile colleague.
Firstly, did George Chan - assuming of course he was the intended target of Anwar Ibrahim’s warning - conduct a personal attack on Anwar in reminding everyone that Anwar had once dismissed the Sarawakian request for more oil royalty?
I would think not. Chan was pointing out to Dr Wan Azizah that she and her husband just couldn't conveniently perform a 180 degrees about-turn on the oil royalty issue when they happened to be in opposition - her husband, while in power as DPM and Finance Minister, had been the one rejecting Sarawak’s appeal for an increase in the oil royalty.
I believe Chan’s revelation was a legitimate political fight back, highlighting inconsistency in the Anwar Ibrahim’s camp on the issue of oil royalty for states, and not any personal attack on Anwar.
Secondly, Anwar's threat hasn't hidden the fact that Dr Wan Azizah has been wrong to instigate the Sarawakians on a matter her husband as Finance Minister saw fit to close. It was obvious here that Anwar Ibrahim found difficulty in countering Chan’s riposte on the PKR's double standard, because Anwar resorted to threats to reveal matters that was mentioned to him in confidence by an erstwhile colleague.
Now in that, Anwar has demonstrated that he himself is not above gutter politics, as was conducted by a Sarawakian newspaper against him which I blogged in Anwar Ibrahim's Transvestites Trauma.
It’s of course disappointing to see Anwar Ibrahim resorting to such personal gutter threats when he could have easily kept it at policy level, by saying he has changed his mind about the oil royalty, just as he had told the Chinese educationists he changed his mind on Chinese education since his fall from grace – not that I believe him at all, but at least one cannot fault him too much on that.
But on the other hand, perhaps Anwar couldn’t keep saying ‘he has changed his mind’ because, as mentioned in The Haunting of Anwar Ibrahim, he has far too much excess baggage, all tagged with the UMNO label.
Thirdly, if a Sarawakian did make those insidious remarks about a serving PM and his State CM to him the DPM, Anwar should have straightaway reprimanded that person for talking unethically behind those leaders’ backs, and having done so, should have consigned that matter to the scrap heap as a close file. It's too low level to even remember it, let alone bring it up again. Alternatively Anwar should have informed the PM and the Sarawak CM about the display of treacherous disloyalty.
Well, tell me, what did Anwar do then?
Instead he threatened to dip into the cesspool for a handful of sh*t to hurl at a political opponent.
Mysterious Worship of Gunung Merapi
At least 66 people perished when Gunung Merapi erupted in 1994, while about 1300 people died in a 1930 eruption. A survivor of the 1994 disaster recalled that the sky went black and a thunder-like roar filled the air, with a couple of explosions. Then the searing hot gas cloud surge from the volcano before it engulfed their village, incinerating 60 people.
Late Monday Merapi volcano finally exploded, spewing gas clouds at temperatures of nearly 900 degrees. These clouds would, as in the 1994 case, kill anyone they envelop. They represent even greater danger than the lava flow. The clouds are endangering nearby villages, demanding a more expeditious full-scale evacuation.
A plume of gas, ash and rock was noted to have travelled about five kilometres down Merapi's western slope yesterday towards the town of Magelang and the Buddhist Borobudur temple. However, according to experts, both sites, or the nearby provincial capital, Jogjakarta are not yet in imminent danger.
Late Monday Merapi volcano finally exploded, spewing gas clouds at temperatures of nearly 900 degrees. These clouds would, as in the 1994 case, kill anyone they envelop. They represent even greater danger than the lava flow. The clouds are endangering nearby villages, demanding a more expeditious full-scale evacuation.
A plume of gas, ash and rock was noted to have travelled about five kilometres down Merapi's western slope yesterday towards the town of Magelang and the Buddhist Borobudur temple. However, according to experts, both sites, or the nearby provincial capital, Jogjakarta are not yet in imminent danger.
One of the volcano monitors, Sugiono, warned that Merapi's glowing dome of lava was poised to collapse and could send more deadly gas streaming down the mountain at hundreds of kilometres an hour. He warned: "Hot clouds keep appearing all the time. If you get stuck in them, then you have no chance."
But for those residents living on Merapi slopes or nearby villages, Indonesians authorities had to resort in some cases to forceful evacuation because some thousands still remained in the danger zone. Many refused to leave their properties and livestock.
But the most amazing or bizarre reason of all has been the claim of some residents that they enjoyed the powers of ancient rituals which would protect them.
Yes, believe it or not, some villagers continued to hold age-old ceremonies of offering to the spirits. I hope they haven’t thrown any virgins into the volcano, because they (virgins) are a rarity nowadays and ought to be protected as an endangered species ;-)
Malaysian Muslims may not understand this unique Indonesian culture which I had mentioned before. While most Indonesians are Muslim, many of them also follow ancient Hindu rites, animist beliefs and worship ancient spirits. In the case of Merapi worship, when the moon is full, the villages would throw in rice, jewelry and live animals [and hopefully no virgin] into the volcano's crater to appease the volcano's spirits.
Regarding this form of unique Javanese religious practice, it has been rumoured that a former Indonesian President has a family grotto in which he worshipped some ancient (probably Hindu) deity.
An 80-year-old man, Maridjan, appointed by the nearby (Jogjakarta)royal court as Merapi's spiritual guardian, said he would not be leaving even though his house is in the mandatory evacuation zone. Maridjan remains in his village just six kilometres from Merapi's peak, and inspires many adherents of the belief to remain with him.
Officials have urged him to leave, knowing that hundreds would follow his example. But Maridjan dismissed talk of disaster, telling reporters on Sunday the mountain was a blessing and locals should remain and pray. He said that there was no risk.
However, his faith or tantric magic could well be working as reports have since flowed in, suggesting that the volcanic activity has become more calm yesterday. But experts, still cautious, warned that an eruption could still be possible.
The Government official co-ordinating the evacuation, Widi Sutikno, said he had pleaded with those staying behind to "keep looking up at the mountain and have a motorbike ready".
Garuda
Maybe by then they would need Garuda or Hanuman rather than a bike. But then, mahaguru* Maridjan may just have a few tantric aces up his sleeve.
mahaguru = great teacher
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