Malaysia: Fatigue At 50

Photo by Patrick Coston
Photo by Patrick Coston

As Malaysia approaches its 50th year, I cannot help but think that while being in its infancy this nation is ageing far too fast and is fast being tired of itself. The cohesiveness of its people in the run up to the events on the 31st August, 1957 and 16th September, 1963 is fast coming undone. Many a times have I written on how far more cohesive we were immediately after the 13th May, 1969 tragedy than we are now, despite claims of how far more mature we are in the political sense. That may be true, but we behave like immature kids behaving like we are politically mature.

Elements once found destructive, such as Communism, is now being looked up to. A few days ago, left-leaning students were audience in a forum that had a former member of the all-but-defunct Communist Party of Indonesia, and students were seen wearing t-shirts glorifying Tan Malaka, a Marxist who once lived in Indonesia. To add insult to injury, Karpal Singh has also been reported as supporting the move to allow former leader of the Communist Party of Malaya, Chin Peng, to return to Malaysia. Of course, humanitarians would argue that there is nothing wrong with allowing an octogenarian back to the land he was born in, and liberals would think the same. I hope these same people would also condemn Israel for still hunting former Nazis and tell the people of Cambodia they should forgive the Khmer Rouge.

For whatever reasons too did the police not act previously on criminal elements. The removal of the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance rendered the police virtually helpless in its fight against crime, let alone be able to maintain peace and order and breathe at the same time. Kudos to the good teamwork of the present Inspector-General of Police and the new Minister of Home Affairs. We have not seen this kind of teamwork since the days of Tun Dr Ismail – Tun Salleh, and Tun Ghazali Shafie – Tun Haniff days.

I have read comments from politicians from both sides of the political fence who are against giving the police emergency powers and say that the police should learn from their British counterparts on how to police the law without having firearms. Britain, for those who did not study geography, is an island, unlike Malaysia that has land borders with neighbours. A simple ferry or train ride from the European continent requires passengers and luggages to be scanned. My former college mate who is now a Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police lamented how he sometimes wish he was given a gun, especially in the wake of the two incidents where two women constables were gunned down by armed criminals. Imagine our police fighting crime with porous borders.

The introduction of the proposed Criminal Prevention Act should hopefully allow the police to conduct interdiction strikes on hardcore crime gangs. This Act will allow the police to hold criminal elements for up to 70 days pending trial. I have not seen the draft in full but I am sure it will uphold the rights of those who want peace.

Was there political interference in the police’s operations before the new Minister and Inspector-General came into office? I would leave that to the former Inspector-Generals to answer. But I know a gangster was awarded one of the highest Federal titles. How his name had made it through police vetting definitely puzzles me.

I know for sure there are politicians from both sides of the political fence whom have been seen with criminal elements, and photographs of these politicians meeting with criminals exist. These are prominent politicians and I know the police has full knowledge of this. Whether their presence with the criminals is for political or for personal reasons, only they and the police can answer this.

Former IGP Tun Haniff Omar once remarked that the BERSIH rally had communist elements involved. I would not be at all surprised if there are members of the CPM whom have made it into political parties, as they did before 13th May, 1969. Today, we have former police Director of CID Tan Sri Zaman Khan saying that an ex-convict who was a triad chief is also holding a lower office in a political party in Penang (NST, Nation page 25, 5th September 2013).

I particularly like Ben Tan’s article “Youth gangs today lack ‘basic values’.” (NST, Comments page 18, 5th September 2013). Ben, NST’s Johor bureau chief wrote:

GANGSTER’S LIFE: The members just crave money and power.

Ironically, the same can be said of the young politicians mentioned above, and of most politicians too. I certainly hope the Home Minister will give all the support the police needs in making this nation a safer place to live in.

At 50, Malaysia is already more divisive than it should be. Political fanatics are to be blamed. With the underworld and subversive elements making a breakthrough, it will not be long before our children begin to face the mistakes we have all made. Criminals, subversive elements, politicians with links to the underworld should never be allowed to represent the people of Malaysia, and I urge the Malaysian people to reject them and reject those who protect them. If we don’t, we won’t see Malaysia living past 100.

Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! The Musical – A Reflection Of Malaysians

The late Dato Sudirman Haji Arshad would have been proud to see that 20 of his songs have made it to the stage of the Istana Budaya, thank you to Producer Sabera Shaik and Masakini Theater. It would have made a good 59th birthday present for the well-known versatile entertainer from Temerloh, Pahang whose birthday falls on the 29th of May. Sadly, he left us 21 years ago.

The cast of Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the Musical include famous names like Adibah Noor, Tony Eusoff, Junji Delfino, Shanthini Venugopal, Anding and Nadia Aqilah. Written by Amri Ruhayat and directed by Saw Teong Hin, it tells the story of Ilham, the son of a prostitute whose dream was to become someone and live a life outside Chow Kit Road where he has spent his entire life.

Having been to Broadway and West End shows as well as several other local productions (my first exposure to the local theatre scene was “Hang Tuah” starring Datuk Rahim Razali back in 1977) I would opine that this has been the best, if not among the best and I will tell you why later as I go along.

“Ku menyusuri jalan berliku…”

That line from the second verse of Sudirman’s song “Merisik Khabar” aptly describes the trials and tribulations of Sabera Shaik and the cast and crew. Having corporate sponsors pulling out in the middle of the preparation period almost torpedoed this musical. While other plays had to give up due to similar problem, this came as a test of the CKR team’s perseverance. Thanks to the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture, corporate sponsors such as the Utusan group, Sri Kulai, Sogo, Suria FM and one hair and make-up academy (forgive me for not being able to recall the name of all the sponsors) for believing in the production team and lending their support.

I was also made aware of individuals who came and gave as much as they could afford to, to help with the budget so on and so forth. One particular moment that moved me was when the producer had a meal at a family restaurant and the owner said to her, “I heard that Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! is facing problems. You don’t have to pay for this meal.” And this spirit is reflected well in CKR the Musical. This is why I said that Masakini has done very well; with limited budget, evident in some scenes where the props were a wee bit too bare especially in the ballroom scene, they have pulled off one of the most entertaining plays I have ever watched. And the way Jamie Wilson arranged Sudirman’s songs was absolutely fantastic.

Having seen how big corporations rush to sponsor foreign artistes and plays, it is shameful to hear that sponsors cannot even spend a small fraction of what they would normally pay for foreign stars on local productions such as this. Yet they have the cheek to advertise themselves to the world as corporations with the human touch; this just reeks of the same absurdity some so-called human rights activists in Malaysia do, tweeting about having coffee at Starbucks while the hundreds of people they incited to riot were getting beaten and arrested by the police who were trying to maintain law and public order. To quote a line from Tokoo, a character from CRK the Musical:

“Kemanusiaan konon…ini semua hipokrit!”

Maybe they ought to watch Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the Musical and learn a thing or two about being human.

Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the Musical is definitely a must-watch not just or theatre-lovers or fans of the late Sudirman, but by all Malaysians as this is a play that involves different ethnicities playing out issues that our society often turns a blind eye to. The show ends on Sunday, 26th May 2013. Grab your tickets now and be truly entertained!

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Will The Real PM-in-Waiting Please Stand Up

Slightly over 5 hours of campaigning time to go when this blog post is typed. One after another of Pakatan Rakyat’s lies are being debunked. Hoping for a trump card in the issue of the indelible ink which saw the Pakatan Rakyat fall flat on its face, they turn to another issue:

XENOPHOBIA

Their alternative media troopers quickly went on a roll accusing Barisan Nasional of ferrying voters from Sabah and Sarawak to the Peninsula to be distributed to hot seats, then of bringing in foreign nationals, especially the Bangladeshis and this got Pakatan supporters in a frenzy that they even put up numbers for people to call in case they see foreign nationals voting:

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Everywhere on the Internet people are told that Bangladeshi immigrants wearing blue coloured t-shirts or Barisan caps have emerged at the KLIA where hundreds of them appear every single day without fail be it the elections or otherwise. But of course, I found some Bangladeshi workers wearing t-shirts sponsored by PAS and caps by the Red Bean Army of DAP:

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If you ask me, why should the government be so stupid to bring in Bangladeshis who look nothing like Malays? Indians, maybe, but Indians could tell if one is a Bangladeshi, or a Malaysian Indian, or an Indian Indian. It would have made more sense, if I were the power that be, to just give fake identity cards to the two million Indonesian immigrants already here. Why bother go through logistical and financial trouble when you can do things cheaper and covertly?

But of course, as a voter, I am worried about foreign voters. Instead of Bangladeshis, I am more worried about Chinese-looking voters. Hey, mind you there are 50 million Chinese people living all over the world, other than the 1.37 billion already in China.

How do I tell one apart from the other, if one is my friend’s girlfriend, while the other is probably one who would spread her legs if the price is right? Compared to the Bangladeshi who could speak fluent Malay after a few months, many IC-bearing Malaysian Chinese can’t even ask properly where the toilet is!

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And 2.8 million of those live in Singapore. And guess what was found today (4th May 2013) by a friend, Bastien Onn, in Segamat, Johor?

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I would be very worried that Chinese people from Singapore are being brought in to vote as well! Are my fears founded? Face it! It is not easy to own a car in Singapore. Under the Vehicle Quota Scheme, you have to have to bid for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) before you are allowed to buy a car or a motorbike in Singapore, and it would be bloody expensive as well:

Registration fee + Cost Price + Road Tax + COE + additional registration fee (140% of OMV) and customs duty (31% of OMV)…OMV being the Open Market Value of the vehicle

But I am not the first to blog about this phenomena of Singapore-registered cars bearing flags of the Opposition, blogger Big Dog wrote about this in April 2013!

Therefore, please ask Pakatan why do they have foreigners trying to create imbalance in voting population especially in Johor!

The other question you should Pakatan is, who will be their PM should they come into power day after tomorrow. There seems to be this runaround given. One minute it’s Anwar, then Hadi, then Anwar. But do we want Anwar whose vices have been known to DAP since 1984? Yes, nine years longer than the police ever did. Of course DAP would deny, but no one can deny that in August of 1998 in Kubang Krian, Kelantan, it was Mat Sabu who gave Anwar the moniker al-Juburi. As a matter of fact, it was Anwar Ibrahim al-Juburi.

In fact, Karpal Singh raised this question in Parliament on the 22nd October 1997. Please refer to the Hansard images below:

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If you want to know why has DAP not pursued this matter further, I shall tell you about it at the end of this post.

The above is further substantiated by this book about Anwar Ibrahim’s character that was published. If you read the book, all the contents were given by his former close friends and aides, some of whom were founder members of ADIL (later Keadilan, now Parti Keadilan Rakyat). I shall first thank my follower who provided me with the following images:

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They include Chandra Muzaffar, Datuk Zahrain, then we have the infamous Datuk Eskay who first exposed Anwar’s tryst with the China Doll – an episode that has had Anwar’s Omega wristwatch missing from his possession until now.

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What I am most interested in is a confession by one Rahimi Osman, a young aide who like Yuktesvijay, idolised Anwar from young. Who is Rahimi Osman? He was the one who brought Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the person Anwar reportedly sodomised, to work as a temporary helper. Yes, Saiful Bukhari was a temp. But Anwar took a liking for the guy that when Saiful Bukhari’s contract period had ended, Rahimi was asked to bring Saiful back.

The rest, of course, is history. You can ask Rahimi himself how he initially refused to believe Saiful, but after putting two and two together, NOT THE DAP CEC WAY, decided there was truth in the madness.

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Which brings me to a comment on my previous blog post in Malay that caught my attention:

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So, why hasn’t DAP pursue the matter? DAP is jockeying Anwar Ibrahim for political gains. Anwar is the fastest mule in the stable. All Anwar has to do is follow DAP’s pointer and jump when told to. He doesn’t even have the right to ask how high.

Corruption? Sex scandals? Abuse of power? Anwar Ibrahim is all that.

Therefore, before we go to cast our votes tomorrow, will the real PM-in-waiting please stand up!

Surat Terbuka Untuk Pengundi Melayu

Pada 9hb Mac 2008, buat pertama kalinya saya melihat seorang remaja Melayu dengan megahnya memakai sehelai kemeja ‘T’ yang tertera perkataan “DAP” dan mempunyai lambang roket DAP. Saya hanya mampu menggelengkan kepala. Di dalam hati saya teringat laporan kata-kata yang diungkapkan oleh Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Kit Siang:

“Melayu keluar! Apa lagi duduk sini, kita hentam lu…sekarang kita sudah ada kuasa…”

Begitulah bunyinya ungkapan beliau yang dilaporkan telah dilaung-laungkan di sekitar Jalan Khir, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur pada 12hb Mei 1969. Sikap anti-Melayu Lim Kit Siang bukanlah suatu perkara yang baru, dan yang diungkapkan oleh beliau di atas bukanlah ungkapan anti-Melayu yang pertama pernah beliau ungkapkan. Sekiranya kita melayari laman http://bibliotheca.limkitsiang.com dapat kita membaca siri ucapan dan surat-surat beliau yang dibuat sejak 1968, kita dapat melihat bagaimana beliau sering menggunakan isu perkauman untuk membuat kaum lain di Malaysia ini membenci kaum Melayu.

Apabila kita langkaui masa selama 44 tahun selepas itu, kita dapati parti DAP itu sendiri masih tidak berubah, malah masih mempunyai Lim Kit Siang sebagai Penasihat Parti. Yang berubah hanyalah sikap Lim Kit Siang yang lebih cauvinis. Beliau bukan sahaja masih bersikap anti-Melayu, malah anti-Islam juga. Sebagai contoh: dalam satu risalah yang dikeluarkan di media Internet, Lim Kit Siang berkata:

“Saya berpendapat Malaysia tidak akan dapat mencapai kemuncak potensinya sebagai sebuah negara maju kerana sekatan-sekatan dalam Islam. Sekaranglah masanya untuk untuk kita mengalihkan kesemua rintangan dengan menukar kerajaan yang sedia ada dan juga perlembagaan, Ini Kalilah!”

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Maka tidak hairanlah kita apabila para pemimpin PAS yang kita mengharapkan dapat mengekang kemaraan sikap cauvinis ini sering lari bertempiaran dengan ekor dikepit dicelah kangkang disergah oleh DAP setiap kali isu Hudud atau penggunaan kalimah Allah dalam kitab Injil diutarakan. Malah, masih ingat saya sebuah artikel mengenai amaran Karpal Singh dalam Utusan Malaysia bertarikh 18hb Oktober 1990 yang menyebut:

“Mahu wujudkan Negara Islam langkah mayat kami dulu – Karpal Singh”

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Disebabkan perbalahan di antara dua parti ini juga kita melihat pendirian PAS yang sering berubah-ubah. Dalam Utusan Malaysia bertarikh 4hb Ogos 2001, YAB Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat dilaporkan berkata:

“Bukan sahaja dalam manifesto, dalam perlembagaan PAS sendiri tidak mengandungi satu perkataan pun untuk menubuhkan Negara Islam, dia (DAP) boleh tengok sendiri dan baca perlembagaan itu.”

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Maka, bolehlah kita simpulkan di sini bahawa menubuhkan Negara Islam itu bukanlah perjuangan sebenar PAS, malah dikeji oleh sekutunya DAP. Ini juga merupakan pendirian PKR sepertimana yang dilaporkan dalam akhbar Kosmo bertarikh 25hb April 2013:

“PKR, DAP tetap bantah rancangan PAS untuk laksanakan hudud jika menang PRU-13. Khalid tolak hudud di Selangor.”

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Pakatan Rakyat di dalam manifestonya (Manifesto Rakyat: Pakatan Harapan Rakyat) ada menyebut di dalam Bahasa Malaysia seperti berikut:

“Menghayati kedudukan Islam sebagai Agama Persekutuan, menjamin hak kebebasan beragama.”

Tetapi dalam terjemahan kedalam Bahasa Inggeris pula, ianya ditulis sebegini:

“Respecting the position of Islam as the OFFICIAL RELIGION, guaranteeing the freedom of religion. (menghormati kedudukan Islam sebagai AGAMA RESMI, menjamin hak kebebasan beragama)”

Saudara dan saudari perlu membaca dan telitikan dua maksud yang berbeza di atas.

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Jelas untuk pengundi bukan Melayu/Islam, agama Islam hanya menjadi agama resmi Persekutuan dan bukan agama Persekutuan seperti yang termaktub dalam Artikel 3(1) Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia. Ini bakal member kebebasan mereka untuk memujuk orang Islam, terutamanya dari kaum Melayu, untuk orang Islam menukar agama, dan juga kebebasan untuk mereka menggunakan apa jua bahasa termasuk kalimah Allah dalam kitab-kitab serta bahan cetak lain-lain agama.

Untuk memahami sebab kalimah Allah tidak dipakai di Semenanjung Malaysia tetapi digunakan di Sabah, Sarawak dan Indonesia, saudara-saudari pembaca perlu memahami sejarah kolonisasi rantau nusantara serta perjanjian-perjanjian di antara Raja-Raja Melayu negeri-negeri Bersekutu dan tidak Bersekutu dengan pihak British.

Sehingga tertubuhnya Malayan Union pada tahun 1946, kecuali Pulau Pinang, Melaka dan Singapura yang membentuk Negeri-Negeri Selat, Tanah Melayu tidak pernah dijajah. Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu yang dianggotai Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan dan Pahang menandatangani perjanjian perlindungan (independent protectorate) dengan pihak British dengan syarat seorang pentadbir British (Residen) digajikan oleh pihak Raja-Raja Negeri Melayu Bersekutu kerana mempunyai system pentadbiran yang seragam, manakala negeri-negeri lain mempunyai seorang Penasihat (Adviser). Contoh seorang Residen ialah Frank Swettenham, manakala Penasihat kepada Negeri Kedah ialah William George Maxwell.

Berbeza dengan Indonesia yang mana ianya ditakluk dan dijajah oleh Belanda, dan Sabah dan Sarawak yang dimiliki syarikat-syarikat kepunyaan warga British. Oleh sebab itu, di Indonesia, kolonialis Belanda memperkenalkan agama Kristian dan kitab Injil di dalam Bahasa Indonesia serta mengharamkan ibadah lain-lain agama termasuk Islam.

Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, yang lebih dikenali sejarah sebagai Sir Stamford Raffles, gabenor British di Singapura, merupakan seorang mubaligh Krisitan yang masyhur. Beliau telah menggunakan kuasanya untuk menjemput rakan-rakan mubaligh dari England ke Borneo Utara dan Sarawak kerana “pulau tersebut didiami oleh satu kaum yang masih hidup belum keluar dari sifat kegasaran.” Di sinilah bermulanya titik permulaan penggunaan kalimah Allah dalam kitab Injil dan lain-lain penerbitan Kristian yang menggunakan bahasa Melayu seperti Buletin Ariffin, Cermin Mata, Sahabat dan Warta Melayu.

Beliau bukannya tidak pernah mencuba untuk mengKristiankan orang Islam di Tanah Melayu, tetapi mendapatinya sukar dilaksanakan memandangkan perjanjian di antara pihak British dengan Raja-Raja Melayu yang mempertahankan agama Islam dan adat-istiadat orang Melayu. Di dalam surat beliau kepada sepupunya, beliau menulis:

“Agama dan undang-undang adalah terlalu sebati sehinggakan memperkenalkan agama Kristian akan membawa kepada kemusnahan, dendam dan perbalahan.” (Buitenzorg, 10hb Februari 1815, Mss. Eur. F.202/6)

Itulah sebabnya apabila ahli-ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri dari parti DAP mengangkat sumpah pada tahun 2008, mereka menunjukkan sikap biadap terhadap Raja-Raja Melayu. Tidak cukup dengan itu, digalakkan pula anak-anak muda Melayu bersikap biadap terhadap institusi Raja. Serang pengaruh Raja-Raja Melayu maka ianya akan melemahkan kepercayaan dan sikap hormat orang Melayu terhadap institusi Raja-Raja Melayu yang menjadi penjaga dan pemelihara agama Islam dan adat-istiadat orang Melayu.

Kita dapat lihat dengan jelas bagaimana mubaligh-mubaligh Kristian mula menyiarkan risalah-risalah dan lain-lain penerbitan dalam Bahasa Malaysia bertujuan untuk memesongkan aqidah umat Islam di Negara ini. Sebagai contoh, di Johor, sebanyak 250 buah buku bertajuk seperti Kaabah, Mengenal Rasul dan Wahyu Illahi disebarkan tetapi dirampas oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Johor dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri. Dalam sebuah negeri yang 58 peratus penduduknya beragama Islam, manakala hanya 2 peratus penganut agama Kristian, untuk siapakah yang saudara-saudari pembaca sekalian rasa risalah-risalah ini dicetak?

Semua ini dilakukan demi kuasa. Dan demi berkuasa, insan yang bernama Anwar Ibrahim sering berdolak-dalik dalam isu penggunaan kalimah Allah oleh penganut agama lain.

Pada 24hb Jun 2010 di Woodrow Wilson International Centre di Washington D.C, Anwar Ibrahim telah mengulas isu kalimah Allah dan menyatakan:

“Trend di Malaysia, yang pertama sekali isu kalimah Allah. Ia benar-benar tidak waras sekiranya tidak teruk untuk mengesyorkan, bahawa anda memaksa, bukan Muslim menerima undang-undang yang menafikan hak mereka, memanggil Tuhan mereka dengan apa-apa nama. Anda boleh memanggil nama-nama lain kecuali Allah. Tetapi perkara ini hanya boleh datang daripada golongan Pemerintah yang tidak berpandangan jauh, bersifat perkauman, tidak bersikap toleran dan tidak demokratik. Kami di dalam Pakatan Rakyat, bukan sahaja PKR dan DAP, malahan PAS telah mengambil pendirian bahawa kami tidak boleh menerima undang-undang ini. Kami mesti menghormati hak agama atau kepercayaan lain untuk memanggil Tuhan mereka dengan nama Allah.”

Saudara dan saudari sekalian, cukuplah Melayu diperbodohkan atau buat-buat bodoh terutamanya dalam isu yang melibatkan agama Islam serta maruah bangsa Melayu. Silap kita memangkah nescaya yang bakal menerima akibat khilaf kita adalah anak cucu kita. Janganlah kita fikirkan bahawa kita akan tetap selamat sekiranya calon tersebut Melayu PKR atau PAS menentang bukan Melayu dari MCA atau MIC. Kita perlu lihat siapa peneraju dan terbuktikah beliau mempertahan dan memperkasakan kedudukan Islam dan Melayu di Negara ini. Lihat juga siapa menjadi dalang utama di dalam Pakatan Rakyat – tidak lain tidak bukan DAP yang tidak pernah berubah sejak tahun 1969.

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Ingat saudara-saudari sekalian, satu undi untuk PKR mahupun PAS adalah merupakan satu undi terhadap penguasaan DAP ke atas agama Islam dan bangsa Melayu.

Sekian, terima kasih.

Incredible Ink and Indelible Voters

Overseas registered voters as well as local postal voters have all cast their votes. Only the general registered voters will cast theirs five days from now. In six days time we shall all know the outcome, winners as well as losers.

Barely four hours have lapsed since the final postal vote was cast when photos of “disappearing indelible ink” rode the Internet waves, and accusations started flying. This could be pre-empting the outcome of the final ballot count come 5th May. Let me show you the pictures taken by a fellow blogger Hazrey of the finger of a personnel from the Johor Bahru Police Contingent HQ who cast his votes this morning, marked with the indelible ink:

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The above was the finger, picture taken at around 8.30am. He went home, tried washing it with soap, detergent, dishwashing liquid, and finally washed his car at 5.30pm, and his finger looked like this:

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It is still marked.

Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, tried to do a live demonstration on how to erase the indelible ink. She tried to scrub it off the finger of an army personnel who had voted, and failed. You can read more about it here.

Then, this was followed by a series of photos that was supposedly taken during the attempt. Initially to some, it may look convincing. But only the unwise would take things at face value:

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I don’t know why Pakatan people love to lie, and sometimes don’t even care if they get caught. There is also talk that the voting process overseas was flawed. My younger sister, who voted in Australia, had this to say:

I read some rumors about discrepancy with overseas voting. I’m a pioneer overseas voter. Had to go through thorough security check by OZ security guys who even used a metal detector, then had to go through I/C checks on three occasions by 3 different groups, could only open my envelope in the presence of witness and both of us had to acknowledge in writing there was no discrepancy in information on the envelope and on the contents of the envelope before I could proceed to vote. I even tugged the sack containing our votes just to be sure. I think you need industrial grade equipment to cut through it. It would’ve been impossible to go in and out of that room without possessing more than one I/C. It’d also be pretty hard to claim discrepancy with your acknowledgement in writing. Unless you wanna also claim that ghosts exist.

Come on, fools! If you want to form the government, you have to at least hide your stupidity!

Here, enjoy a video while you sulk!

Farewell Great Briton

At the mention of the phrase Britannia Rules The Waves my mind pictures Margaret Thatcher and the cover of the Newsweek magazine depicting the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes steaming south to liberate the Falkland Islands and the island of South Georgia, invaded by Argentinian forces.

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I first knew of Margaret Thatcher when I was 13, so much fanfare was made of her appointment as Britain’s first female Prime Minister. I remember inside a London cab from Heathrow airport on Christmas day of 1980 my father asking the cab driver, “So how’s the Iron Lady?”

The Maggie I remember has always been one tough and no nonsense person. She was nicknamed The Iron Lady by a Soviet journalist when she became leader of the Conservative party. Both in her domestic as well as her foreign policy she was firm and nothing short of that, never to change her mind once a decision has been made.

“To those waiting with bated breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: ‘You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning,'” she once told delegates at a Tory conference.

If there is a difference between the meaning of the words “leader” and “leading”, both would define her. Despite violent objections and reservations within her own camp, Maggie ordered for the Royal Navy task force to assemble and steam south to liberate the Falklands this month 31 years ago, and the leader lead her nation to war and victory. It was therefore difficult for me to not to compare the leadership of Margaret Thatcher and what we had when we faced the armed insurgents from Sulu, as history is riddled with many failed leadership as a result of perilous indecisiveness. Maggie not only grabbed the bull by its horns and saw that liberating the two-thousand odd inhabitants of the Falklands as being the right thing to do, but most importantly she recognised that it was her responsibility as the leader of the United Kingdom to see the mission through.

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When I returned to England in 1983 to further my studies, my respect for her waned at the onset of the infamous Miners’ Strike that came about in March of 1984 as a result of the Conservative government’s decision to close inefficient coal mines in northern England, Scotland and Wales at the cost of over 20,000 jobs. Almost every day our Economics class would see a debate on this subject. Scenes of mounted police charging at picket lines virtually every day clouded my thoughts, and being a young adult and having a dislike for Dr Mahathir, I myself became somewhat anti-establishment. The British economy was hit so bad that the Pound was only at RM2.50 or thereabouts in 1984.

It was at this juncture that my views on politics changed when I had a discourse on this matter with one Adam Bachek, then a police officer who was reading law at the University of Buckingham who said, “It is always easy to make popular promises and become a popular leader, but no democratically-elected good leader would make an unpopular decision if it isn’t good for the nation.”

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As with other Empires that had existed before the British, the great Margaret Thatcher was fell not by the voters, but by people in the Conservative party that she led. It started off with the dissenting move by long-time lieutenant, Michael Heseltine, over the Westland affair, and ended with her resignation over the Community Charge (also known as the Poll Tax); but she went down as a true fighter, fighting.

A true fighter to the end, after suffering from countless bouts of stroke beginning in 2002, the Iron Lady was never seen attending public functions in a wheelchair. True to her character, she walked aided as she left her private home for the last time to take up residence in the Ritz Hotel as she found it getting increasingly difficult to walk up and down the stairs at home.

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As the international media show an image of her on a recent visit to 10 Downing Street, waving at pressmen while she wore blue as in the picture above by Alan Davidson, I cannot help but remember the image of her waving outside the same door 34 years ago, also in blue and thought to myself, “Her presence there surely have made 10 Downing Street great again.”

And as a part of me struggles to understand visiting a Thatcher-less Great Britain again next month for the first time in 33 years, I remember what she told naysayers after winning the Falklands War:

“We knew what we had to do and we went about it and did it. Great Britain is great again.”

Farewell, Margaret Thatcher. Farewell, Great Briton.

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Undilah Kita Semua

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This afternoon the Prime Minister announced the dissolution of Parliament to make way for the long-awaited 13th General Elections. For those who never watched black and white television, this is the second time that we have called for the General Elections after the dissolution of state assemblies. The first was in 1974. So, this is nothing new.

In the last General Elections, Barisan Nasional lost badly compared to its 2004 sweep simply because it got big-headed and complacent, and its leaders felt over-confident in another landslide majority. This complacency was evident in the BK5 and K10 machineries that performed its task to gauge the voters by not actually going down to the ground. This act was dubbed “Ops Tiarap” or doing something while lying on one’s stomach. This time around, I cringe whenever someone from Barisan Nasional announces that he is confident that so and so state would be won back by Barisan Nasional.

Najib, as Prime Minister, had inherited a badly-beaten Barisan Nasional from his predecessor a year after the elections. His predecessor seemed reluctant to step down, and was viewed by many as being in a state of denial of captaining Barisan into the biggest slap it has ever received. Therefore, Najib had four years to transform the image of Barisan Nasional into one that is respected by many again.

As for the Pakatan Rakyat, it started off well in a way, even Lim Guan Eng, as the Chief Minister of Penang had offered Barisan Nasional representatives to help out in managing state-related affairs. However, after a while you see the true colours of the loose coalition, especially in the states of Perak, Selangor and Penang. You see the ones who are actually in control of these states are from DAP. DAP ruled Perak and Selangor by proxy, and this is the manner in which Malaysia would be governed should the Pakatan Rakyat win this election. You can read more of this in one of my previous postings, Taken For A Ride. DAP’s attempts to portray itself as a multiracial party fell flat on its face when all the Malay candidates who vied for a seat in the party’s Central Executive Committees were rejected by the Chinese-majority delegates. Declaring there was a problem with the Excel sheet it used for the elections a month and a half later, DAP declared that the Malays actually have an elected representative in the form of one Zairil Khir Johari, who is not even a Malay.

PAS has its own set of problems when it is seen as not being able to overcome its fear of Big Brother DAP, so much so that many of its reps blatantly kowtow to the demands of the DAP. This is even more evident when PAS did nothing to condemn the efforts by Christians to proselytise Malay Muslims.. It is no secret whatsoever as to who are the non-Christians among the DAP leadership. And it is not difficult to amend the Federal Constitution when it comes to the special position of the Rajas and Sultans, the Malays, and Islam as the religion of the Federation. I shall explain this in the next paragraph.

In the process of the enactment of law, a Minister will draw a bill with the help of the Attorney-General’s Department. This bill is then passed to all Members of Parliament (MPs). This bill will go through three readings and a study by a Dewan Select Committee. On the first reading, a Minister reads a brief subject matter of the bill to the Dewan Rakyat and the House Secretary. On the second reading, this bill is debated extensively, after which the Dewan Select Committee will study it further and make amendments where necessary. On the third reading, this bill is voted by the MPs. If it attains a 2/3 support, it is considered as passed.

This bill is then read in the Dewan Negara through the same number of reading and process. Upon passing the bill, it is then given to the Yang DiPertuan Agong (Agong) for His Majesty’s consent. His Majesty has 30 days to give consent or reject the bill. If the bill is rejected by His Majesty, then the Dewan Rakyat will have to debate the bill again and pass it. His Majesty will have another 30 days to give his consent. If His Majesty does not give consent to the bill during this second round of 30 days, the bill automatically becomes a law.

Therefore, the fear felt by Muslim Malays do not come unfounded, as evident in the pictures below:

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And the most worrying part about the politics of hate advocated by the Pakatan Rakyat is this:

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As for the PKR, in my opinion it will fare worse off as compared to the previous elections, that its de facto leader, has announced abandoning his voters in Permatang Pauh, to contest in Perak instead.

Among the three parties that make up the loose coalition, DAP will reign supreme. PKR will emerge as the biggest loser.

How would the states fare?

Kelantan: despite the BN gaining more seats, it is in my opinion that Kelantan will remain in PAS’s hands.

Terengganu: it will be a close call as in the previous elections, with BN still holding on to it.

Pahang: Pahang will still remain a BN state.

Sabah: with Yong Teck Lee going around telling voters how Anwar Ibrahim tried to subjugate the state, and the Pakatan Rakyat links to those behind the Lahad Datu armed incursion, Sabah will still be in BN’s hands. But the local parties will give Barisan a run for the money.

Johor: DAP will make a few more gains here, especially in the urban seats, but BN will still retain this state.

Melaka and Negeri Sembilan: will remain in the hands of the Barisan Nasional.

Selangor: despite the efforts of the Barisan Nasional, I opine that it will remain in the hands of the Pakatan Rakyat. However, I believe that DAP will have a Menteri Besar-designate from their ranks this time instead of having to rely on rulingbthe state by proxy again. PKR will lose badly in this state.

Perak: this will be another state that will have a close call. The jury is still out on this one, and the same goes for Kedah.

Penang: with the gentrification of Penang, the half-island state will remain in DAP’s hands. And when I say DAP, I mean the other two parties will not fare well this time.

Of course, the above is just my opinion, and I stand corrected. The outcome may be different.

However, do not experiment with your children’s future. Your decision this round will determine the course for their future.

Be careful and be wise with your choice. If you snooze, your children lose.

Marilah Kita Mengundi.

Why Is Rais Not Showing Tanda Putera?

I refer to my previous postings on the same matter: Show Tanda Putera and Screwing History.

Tanda Putera is probably the only film that has received the green light from FINAS but not allowed to be screened by a Minister, or so I was told.  I wonder what is so sensitive about the film that is so sensitive that it has received protests from both sides of the political fence.

Every day as the general election draws nearer we see lots of efforts in spreading disinformation especially about the nation’s history to people of a certain race, and younger adults whom have never seen a Malaysia without the Internet, highways and colour television sets.

Worse is when the disinformation by irresponsible politicians creates blind hatred towards one target group, and is never being countered by the Ministry of Information.

I was asked tonight whether it is true that the Malays burnt 6,000 Chinese houses during May 13 incident. I asked as to where one gets such erroneous information. The answer was, “It’s on Wikipedia on the History of Malaysia. Read the modern part of Malaysia. The distortions begin there.”.

No doubt Chinese racists have been re-editing Malaysian history to create a hatred for the BN Government in preparation for PRU 13.

And since the Ministry of Information has done nothing to counter these lies, the answer is in that movie called “Tanda Putera.”

Some people will jump at the moment this posting is published. They will start labeling the movie names their dog-masters wish them to bark. I wish they would watch the movie first before they come to whatever conclusion their limited brain can conjure. I have, and so should you.

As we all rot down the political sewers of GE13 which is not even here yet, I can only ponder at the ever-widening rift that awaits us all after the elections. If only the Ministry of Information does its actual job.

And I have only one person to blame: that dinosaur they call Rais Yatim.

Do Re Mi Fa SODOMY TOO

Here is part two of former Anwarista, Yuktes Vijay’s revelation on Sodomy Two. If you have any question pertaining to the article, ask him. I post it here because I like to read and this is my blog, not yours:

From Yuktes Vijay, via e-mail

It is indeed drama at its very best when a father who sits besides his son when the son swears in the name of God that he was indeed sodomised by the opposition leader, begs the Attorney General to appeal his son’s case when the AG Chambers were in the process of contemplation but somehow somewhat makes a 180 degree turn and accuses his son of making himself a pawn in a political game.

Throw in the name of the Prime Minister and confess that you have been a PKR supporter since 1998, you have a story that can make you millions albeit compromising your dignity, your own son’s integrity and give unwarranted political mileage to the opposition coalition.

I despise gutter politics, even if the person doing it was my idol, hence the reason I have decided to come up in the previous open letter with all the discrepancies that occurred during the course of Sodomy 2.

If all Anwar could conjure is that I was not his lawyer, in an official statement in the PKR website, it lends credibility to my side of the story as to the happenings in Sodomy 2 for the very reason that not even one of my allegations were answered with facts.

Of course, I got the usual bullshit of me being bought by Umno-BN but to be honest that is the least I bargained for knowing the PKR modus operandi of treating their de facto as “Anugerah Tuhan”.

As I had mentioned in my open letter previously, Anwar Ibrahim did not have the guts to take the stand and fight his case. This is the same man who went around the country in the run up to the judgment day on 9/1/2012 to explain his side of the story to the public but did not do it in open court.

Anwar decided to play the Mandela role to gain public empathy and overseas sympathy that he was not offered a fair trial. He ran away from answering questions and that is the truth.

Saiful Bukhari was asked questions in court by senior lawyers such as Karpal Singh and rest of the defence team. He had the guts and courage to withstand the questions that were thrown at him. Why Anwar failed to do the same? He claimed conspiracy from the word go but why so much hesitation and anxiety to take the stand if such an incident never occurred in the first place.

Carefully notice that Anwar hesitates and is afraid to make any statement under oath or in the name of Lord. Something which the guy Anwar claims to be a consummate liar, Saiful Bukhari, has done so. Since he is a tree man now, he loses the charm and popularity that came when he played victim of an alleged Umno-BN conspiracy.

The very court, which he had labeled as a “Kangaroo Court” and a BN tool, has acquitted him. How does he prove his point that BN is behind this saga again?

Saiful’s dad had no role whatsoever in the trial. He played the father who cared about his son until last week and now he claims conspiracy. Why? The answer is simple. Anwar wants to hammer in the point that he is a victim of conspiracy. He is making Azlan his mouthpiece. Saying the things he wants to say through Azlan. Remember that Anwar is the King of deception.

Still skeptical over my explanations? Please ask “Anugerah Tuhan” to answer these questions:

1 Who prepared press statement Azlan read out in the press conference? If you are telling the truth, why pre-empt it? And I know for sure who wrote it Dato’ Seri.

2 Why join PKR and claim that he has been a PKR supporter since 1999 when till recently he has been anything but supportive of their “apparent” and “deceptive” cause?

3 What is the haste and need in having Azlan coming up with such statement and immediately roping him into PKR, that too without the presence of the party president? Does she even have a say in the party?

Anwar’s intentions are simple. He wants to put blame on the government or more precisely Umno-BN for the bisexual image that has been attached to him. For him, it is the case of proving that his assertion of conspiracy is true. But the problem is, Anwar “allegedly” sodomised Saiful, not his dad.

My open letter previously has made many question my integrity. The problem is when wrong things are happening right in front of my eyes, you can’t just keep mum and move on, especially when you feel cheated that the very man you believed is a reformist and an honest man is not what he is. I am willing to take the flak as long as the rakyat know the real man behind the reformist mask.

Attack me all you can. I have put forward questions to Anwar in my previous letters. I have now too. I have documents to back all my claims, even this.

Astroboy no documents pertaining to your trial went without having a “check in” to my e-mail inbox. And this is not even part 2 of my article to your scam in Sodomy 2. Recall the alibi list? Recall the recorder that was passed to me by your brother, Rosdi to record all the conversations in the interview?

My demand is simple. Do not use Saiful’s dad for your political mileage ever again. Fight Saiful like a man.

Former Anwarista, a boy privy to all underground happenings in Sodomy 2

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Also read: The real story of Anwar’s Sodomy 2 ( Part 1)