SeaDemon Says

August 30, 2013August 30, 2013

Tanda Peeing – History Has Taught Us Nothing

Tanda Putera is finally shown on the silver screen, slightly more than a year too late, more than a year since I watched it. It would have been better to show the movie BEFORE the previous general elections. But of course, no matter whether you are a recalcitrant or a minister, not everyone was born smart.

Anyway, for a year there was this question related to a scene in the movie where two members of the Opposition was shown urinating at the base of a flag pole. If you were wondering if it was Lim Kit Siang, the answer is a big NO.

Kit Siang was busy doing even worse elsewhere, and on 13th May 1969, he was in Kota Kinabalu; as shown below:

STATEMENT UNDER SCTION 11(2)(b) ISA, 1960.
NAME OF DETAINEE: LIM KIT SIANG.
GROUNDS ON WHICH THE ORDER OF DETENTION IS MADE:

Since July, 1968, you, Lim Kit Siang, have been acting in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order in Malaysia in that in the several speeches you have made since the date you have deliberately and intentionally roused intense communal feelings thereby promoting feelings of hostility between different races in Malaysia and causing suspicion and disunity to grow between them.

ALLEGATIONS OF FACTS:

1) On the 27th July 1968, at a DAP public rally at Tanjong Malim, Perak, you deliberately distorted the Government policy on Education by telling your audience that the policy was designed to achieve and eventual extermination of Chinese newspapers, Chinese schools and Chinese languages. Such distortion was made by you with the deliberate intention of creating and furthering suspicion and animosity between the Chinese and the Malay in this country.

2) On the 24th August 1968, at a public rally at Slim River, Perak, you deliberately distorted the Government’s policy on language by telling your audience that a tourist poster with the Malay wordings “speak the National language only” clearly illustrated the one language policy of the government and that the dubbing of English, Chinese and Tamil T.V. films with Malay was unfair to the other races as their languages were not being given equal status such distortion was made by you with the deliberate intention of creating and furthering suspicion and animosity between the Chinese and the Malays in this country.

3) On the 7th September 1968, at the DAP public rally at 24 milestone, Sg. Besi road, Kuala Lumpur, and on 21st. September 1968, at Sungei Way new Village Selangor, on both these occasions you deliberately roused intense communal feelings by telling your audience that the MCA had instead of striving for the rights of the Chinese Language and Education in fact assisted the government in suppressing the Chinese Language as evidenced by the Non-recognition of Nanyang University project. The speeches are evidence of a deliberate misinterpretation of actual facts and had resulted in generating suspicion and animosity between the Malays and the Chinese in Malaysia and thereby creating a feeling of tension and racial hatred.

4) On the 29th September 1968, at the DAP public rally at Batu Pahat, Johore, on 2nd November 1968, at Lawan Kuda Bahru, Gopeng, Perak, and on 26th January 1969, at Jalan Yow, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, on these three occasions you deliberately roused intense communal feelings by telling your audience that the alliance’s policy was a “racialist policy” as the Alliance had given more privileges to Bumiputras in University education and that there were first and second class citizens – the Bumiputras being first class citizens, and that the awards of honour such as P.P.M, are not worth anything because they were given to men in the streets and that P.P.M. stands for “ PELAN PELAN MATI”. By these utterances you had deliberately distorted the actual Government policies and by doing so you had generated racial tension, hatred and disharmony in the country.
5) On 12th, Feb 1969, at a DAP public rally held at Jalan Lengkongan Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, you deliberately roused intense communal feelings by telling your audience that the Government was showing discrimination between the various races in examination entry to University of Malaya, employment and in the distribution of land and that special privileges were being given to the Malays. By these utterances you deliberately distorted the Government policies and thereby causing suspicion and animosity between the various races.

6) On 13th May 1969, at a public rally held at Kampong Ayer, Kota Kinabalu, you deliberately roused intense communal feelings by telling your audience that the Government was trying to have a Malay Malaysia by dividing the people into bumiputras and non-bumiputras, that “the Malays were first class Bumiputras” and that the Government was carrying out a policy of “Malaysiation” of Sabah whereby all top post were held by the Malays. You also stirred anti-Malay and anti-Islamic religious feelings by telling your audience that the Government was pursuing the policy of exploitation by Malays of other races and that the Government by holding an International Islamic Conference in Kuala Lumpur had intended to send Malaysian citizens to die in the Middle East in order to capture Jerusalem for the Muslim World. By this speech you had made dangerous statements of a communal nature there by fostering communal resentment fear and apprehension amongst sections of the public in Sabah.

By direction,
Sign:
b/p SETIA USAHA,
KEMENTERAIN HAL EHWAL DALAM NEGERI,
MALAYSIA.
DATE: 11 JULY 1969
– See more at: http://bibliotheca.limkitsiang.com/1969/07/#sthash.eyQZiGB5.dpuf

If you read the allegations above, tell me what is not being repeated today, before and after the 13th General Elections?

August 15, 2013August 15, 2013

Daraba Dabble

Islam is a religion of peace, is it not?

The answer to that would be yes, but it is not. The correct answer would be it is but it is being misinterpreted by its followers. And as such, the doings of Muslims have allowed anti-Muslims to further feed fuel to the Islamophobic fire as depicted above.

Many Muslim men think it is their right to beat their women if they have wronged the former. I have been quoted Surah an-Nisaa’ verse 34 (hereinafter referred to as Surah 4:34) which have been quoted again, by Islamophobists, below:

In Malaysia, the number of reported cases of domestic violence hovers at around 3,500 annually. I emphasise on the word reported because there still exists the stigma about reporting and how the victim would be viewed by both family members and the society at large. With the recent video of a domestic violence act taking place in the state of Penang going viral, many comments were made about the video; ranging from “Islam does not permit wife-beating” to “maybe she deserved it.” Some even said, “He shouldn’t have kicked her. He should have used the siwak as the Prophet had taught.”

I believe it is time to clear this misconception and confusion so no one can belittle Islam – the religion of peace that places the welfare and rights of women in so many verses.

In Surah 4:34, the verse was interpreted by many as such:

Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand

The Quran uses the Arabic word qawwamuna in the beginning of this verse, so it reads “Men are the qawwamuna of women.” The word qawwamuna means to continuously stand over something (e.g. a guard or a caretaker) or to maintain something. The closest single word in English to the root qawwam is probably guardian. The grammatical form of qawwam combines the concepts of physical maintenance and protection as well as responsibility. The word denotes no superiority but responsibility. A correct translation of “qawwamuna a’ala aln-nisa” would therefore be “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women“. To use “in charge” is quite a loose translation.

So a husband must be a protector/guardian and maintainer of his wife. It is important to note that the expression “men are qawwamuna over women” only describes the relationship between husband and wife within the family. The expression does not refer to the relationship between men and women in general.

Abu Hurairah r.a narrated that the Prophet said: “The most perfect of the believers in their belief are those with the best manners, and the best of you are those who are best with their wives.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Therefore, why does Surah 4:34 allow wives to be beaten by their husband? Well, it does not! It ends with the sentence “….Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.” Characteristically, this reminds men that if they misbehave God is watching over them and will deal with them. It is relevant here to mention the story of how the Prophet once saw Ibnu Mas’ud with his hand raised, about to hit his slave. The Prophet cried out, “God has more power over you than you have over him“, so Ibnu Mas’ud dropped his hand and set the slave free. In the theme under discussion it is important to observe that four successive verses end in the following ways: ‘God has full knowledge of everything . . . ’ (4:32), ‘God is witness to everything . . . ’ (4:33), ‘God is most exalted and grand. . .’ (4:34) and ‘God is all knowing, all aware. . . ’ (4:35).

The Arabic word used is Surah 4:34 is “idribuhunna” which is derived from the word “daraba” which means “hit” or “beat.” The problem is, not all words derived from “daraba” carry those meanings. The word “idribuhunna” in Surah 4:34 could also mean “leave.”

Or it could mean “strike” as in “daraba al-ma’ `ala wajhihi” which literally means “to strike the face“, but if you take that in the literal sense, then Muslims would be smacking each other’s face, when in fact this sentence refers to “striking your face with water” as in performing the ablution.

If I say to you in Arabic “daraba laka mathal,” then don’t start avoiding my hands because all I just said was “give you an example.” This word was used in Surah 14:24:

Do you not see how Allah has given the example of a good word? It is like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and whose branches reach the sky (اَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ ضَرَبَ اللّٰهُ مَثَلًا كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً )

Another derivation of the word “daraba” is “darabtum” which means “to go forth” or “to separate” as in Surah 4:94:

Believers! When you go forth in the way of Allah…. ( يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِذَا ضَرَبۡتُمۡ فِىۡ سَبِيۡلِ اللّٰهِ

Therefore, “daraba” can mean “beat“, “give example”, or “go forth.”

If the explanation above still fails to move the Muslim men who believe beating women is their birthright, I can quote other verses and Hadith Sahih that forbid the beating of women:

The first is Surah 4:19:

Believers! It is not lawful for you to become heirs to women against their will. It is not lawful that you should put constraint upon them that you may take away anything of what you have given them; (you may not put constraint upon them) unless they are guilty of brazenly immoral conduct. Live with your wives in a good manner. If you dislike them in any manner, it may be that you dislike something in which Allah has placed much good for you.

Next is Surah 30:21:

And of His Signs is that He has created mates for you from your own kind28 that you may find peace in them and He has set between you love and mercy. Surely there are Signs in this for those who reflect.

So do you think the beaten wife in the video deserved being pummelled as such? Even if she, hypothetically, had done something really nasty? For Muslim men, I give you Surah 3:134:

Who spend [in the cause of Allah ] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people – and Allah loves the doers of good.

The Prophet whom we as Muslims claim we love and whose examples we follow underscored Surah 3:134:

Narrated Mu’awiyah al-Qushayri: “I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)”

Narrated Mu’awiyah ibn Haydah: “I said: Apostle of Allah, how should we approach our wives and how should we leave them? He replied: Approach your tilth when or how you will, give her (your wife) food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2138)”

What about the right to beat a wife but not on the face? Let us examine the two Hadiths regarding this matter:

Narrated Salim: “… Omar said: ‘The Prophet forbade beating on the face.’ (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Hunting, Slaughtering, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 449)”

Narrated Abu Hurairah: “The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you inflicts a beating, he should avoid striking the face. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 38, Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud), Number 4478)”

Neither narration above provides any proof about beating the wife being as alright as long as it is not on the face. The striking can be used when disciplining our children, but stresses on avoiding striking the face. The importance of this is underscored in the following Hadith:

“He who has no mercy towards younger ones, and does not acknowledge the honour of our older ones, is not one of us.” [At-Tirmidzi]

There have you, why you cannot strike, beat, pummel, kick, beat lightly, beat but not the face, the woman whom you love enough to marry her and promised to protect and provide for her, taking that responsibility from her father or guardian, as in the Ijab performed during marriage.

Abu Hurairah reported: “I heard Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: One is not strong because of one’s wrestling skillfully. They said: Allah’s Messenger, then who is strong? He said: He who controls his anger when he is in a fit of rage. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Virtue, Good Manners and Joining of the Ties of Relationship (Kitab Al-Birr was-Salat-I-wa’l-Adab), Book 032, Number 6314)”

And I leave you with, again, what Allah SWT has commanded us:

Who spend [in the cause of Allah ] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people – and Allah loves the doers of good.

If you still think it is your birthright to beat your wife, I suggest you beat up her brothers too…if you are a man.

Courtesy of zaufishan.co.uk

June 23, 2013June 23, 2013

Hazy Direction

At 7am on Sunday, 23rd June 2013, the Air Pollution Index (or Pollution Standards Index) in the coastal town of Muar, Johor, hit 716. For those without idea of what that means, let me provide you with some notes:

It clearly states that a state of emergency will be declared the moment the API exceeds 500 points. Guess when did the Minister finally declared emergency in Muar?

That was 3 hours and 29 minutes later.

Painfully slow.

Now that emergency has been declared, what are the residents of Muar supposed to do? I quickly went into the Department of Environment’s website and found nothing on what are people supposed to do once emergency has been declared.

I went into the Ministry of Health’s website, there was just an info page on how to deal with the haze conditions, but of course I don’t expect them to come up with a plan because the emergency was declared by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

I guess the government has yet to learn the lessons of Ops Daulat etc. Obviously the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has failed in both Risk Management and Crisis Management. In the Risk Management aspect, there should have been a Haze Risk Management Committee set-up and a Risk Assessment done by this committee that involves the Department of Environment, the Meteorological Department, Remote Sensing to determine the hotspots, wind directions, weather and wind patterns on a strategic (long-term) level.

On the Crisis Management path there should have been two phases set: Crisis Precaution and Crisis Handling. In the first phase, when you know things are imminent, you should go into avoidance or prevention: actively engage the Indonesian counterparts on how to discourage slash-and-burn techniques employed by plantations in Sumatra. You already know this will happen on an annual basis, yet you did nothing.

The haze hit the south first, with Singapore being blanketed in a PSI close to 500. Towns like Pasir Gudang and Kota Tinggi also got hit. Yet there was no dissemination of information done by the DOE on steps to be taken by residents. There was no early diagnosis, early recognition of the potential severity of the situation, and there was no early warning given.

If I were the Minister, I would have had a draft of declaration of emergency ready inside my Ministry’s Crisis Management Manual (which I doubt exists) and with the API steadily increasing beyond 400 in Muar yesterday, I would have one ready for issue. Yet, there was none. That is why it took the Minister 3 hours and 29 minutes after the index had screamed 746 to react and declare emergency. And as at time of posting this, not a single information has been issued by he Ministry on steps to be taken by residents and government agencies in a pollution emergency. Funny enough, there wasn’t even a live press conference on news at noon for the Ministry to convey these steps to the public and to the relevant government agencies.

Why? Why is this still happening in the wake of Ops Daulat? Singapore went proactive once PSI hit 400. We took 3 hours and 29 minutes after it hit 746 in Muar. That is worse than being bloody reactive!

The government had better get off its fat butt and treble its efforts in the stage of crisis handling. I expected better from this government after Ops Daulat. I guess I had put my hopes 1mm too high!

May 23, 2013

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!

May 20, 2013May 20, 2013

Moving On

When the late Tun Razak saw a swimming pool at a friend’s house, he thought he should have one constructed at his official residence, Seri Taman, located on Venning Road (now the Tun Razak Memorial on Jalan Perdana). He asked his friend how much did it cost to get it built and was told something to the region of RM26,000, well within his budget. Since the “Seri Taman” belonged to the government, he had to go through the Public Works Department, more known here as the JKR (Jabatan Kerja Raya). He gave the JKR the contractor’s details for them to get a quote.

When the JKR came back with the quote, he had the shock of his life: in excess of RM100,000! He immediately told them to get another quote. The final quote was at RM56,000. Still higher than the quote he received directly from the contractor. He never got the swimming pool built. As the Prime Minister, he could easily have asked the JKR to pick up the tab, but as a man with integrity, he did not.

The late Tun was very careful when it came to spending money, personal and the government’s. He did not come from a rich family and was always aware of his origin. What the story above tells us is that when one mentions corruption and kickbacks in the government, one should be able to distinguish between the government machinery and the political party that forms the executive branch of the government. It also tells that although he was the Prime Minister, he did not abuse his position, something not many politicians let alone Ministers can brag about nowadays.

While the Barisan Nasional has formed the Federal government and in all but three states, it has failed to wrestle Selangor and Kelantan from the clutches of the Pakatan Rakyat. This despite the feel good reports that were given to the so-called BN War Room by the respective state’s BN leadership. For some weird reason, BN has fallen yet again to feel-good reports as it did in 2008. This is actually as bad as the one in 2008. Factions in Selangor and Perak were not checked, candidates were put based on how well they can talk (and in the case of Shah Alam, what the person has on Anwar Ibrahim) rather than what the ground feels like or prefer. Some were moved from where they were strongly supported, to a seat that they are not familiar with, or voters not being familiar with them (as in the case of the former DUN Anggerik assemblyman being contested at DUN Batu Tiga and lost). In that sense, Selangor BN lost twice: the seat contested, and the seat it held previously, in a classic case of Pakatan Rakyat killing two birds with one stone.

The Pakatan Rakyat had had a good running in the cyberworld; they made full use of blogs and SMS in 2008, and then Facebook and YouTube for 2013. BN, with the various internet media units was never able to keep up with the allegations thrown. There was no strategy employed by the BN team. UMNO in particular, had groups of bloggers reporting to various people. It is no guess what these people they reported to wanted, other than the recognition by Najib. Pakatan had one strategic director: all came from him. Some would blog allegations (offensive), while the rest would be on the defensive; all structured and “think” in unison.

BN’s on the other hand had everyone on both the offensive and the defensive. When one person blogs about an issue, everyone else jumps into the bandwagon either re-writing and re-phrasing the first blog, or outright Copy and Paste, or the lazy ones would just have a catchy headline and paste the URL of other blogs to read about the issue.

But never do I see people answering to allegations made by the Pakatan bloggers save for some who are not part of the BN cyberwarriors’ teams! I blame this on the “strategists” these BN cybertroopers report to, and also their lack of knowledge on institutional memory as well as current affairs. Not one person from the BN cyber units dared engage people on the issue of Budget Deficit, Economics, History, Law, Constitution etc. Most are contented with ridiculing Pakatan and their figureheads while fighting for ratings using scandalous headlines and sometimes even add scandals of artistes in their blogs just to keep their ratings up!

In short, BN failed to manage the perception of voters, especially the younger ones by not fully utilising the world wide web. No one wrote about how BR1M for example is good, not as a political tool, but in spurring economic activities. All I see written about BR1M is it is a gift from BN and the rakyat should appreciate it. Well, they should put themselves in the shoes of the voters: the voters turned and said it is their money anyhow so why is BR1M a gift?

The other reason of course is the Chinese swing (since they cannot accept the term “Tsunami”). For the past three elections it took me less than twenty minutes from parking my car at 9am, to casting my votes, to starting my car again. This time around, it took me more than two hours! And all around me were faces of Chinese people I never knew lived in my neighbourhood! Let us face the fact that the Chinese have found a bargaining chip in the Pakatan Rakyat. I think Annie’s summed it up real good.

Having won five states in 2008 which we all know was beyond the expectation of the then Barisan Alternatif, the Pakatan Rakyat representatives went on a spree of ceramahs virtually every night since March 2008 until the 2013 elections. This is because they were not sure of repeating the same success, and had to win the perception of the people. And it is probably because of that they did not focus so much on work, but rather on roadshows. Penang, while managed to reduce its debt, saw a substantial increase in deficit, and decrease in investment (BN/UMNO cybertroopers, please learn here):

All the Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states have formed their respective government which means that all have accepted the results of the GE13, save for Anwar Ibrahim and his band of “boys” who still harp on the fact that the Pakatan Rakyat had won the popular votes. Well, that may be true but this is not a reality show. The formation of the government follows a set of law – the one with the most electoral votes forms the government!

Else, would the Pakatan Rakyat want to concede defeat to a government formed by UMNO alone? UMNO as an individual party won 29.3% of the popular votes, and on its own won 88 electoral votes! DAP came in second very far behind with only 15.7% popular votes and only 38 seats! Maybe Anwar would like to see an UMNO-DAP coalition government instead! How much did PKR get?

Remember, in Malaysia, Parliament is not paramount; it is the Constitution that makes Parliament! Therefore, respect the Constitution and move on, or find another country that employs popular votes to live in!

May 4, 2013May 4, 2013

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:

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:

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!

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?

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:

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:

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.

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.

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

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!

May 3, 2013May 4, 2013

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!”

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”

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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.

April 30, 2013April 30, 2013

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:

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:

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:

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!

April 25, 2013April 25, 2013

A Shah Alam Voter versus Lim Guan Eng’s Crocodile Tears

The following was written on Facebook by one Azmi Arshad, a voter from Shah Alam, and has been reproduced here with permission and many thanks:

This is my reply to Lim Guan Eng’s speech/email which was described by his ardent supporters as “touching” and “full of energy”. I’m not sure which parts were touching but my responses aren’t tear-jerkers either. I personally wish for the elections to be behind us so that we can get on withour normal lives again. Until then I feel obliged to respond, when able, to uphold the truth (menegakkan kebenaran) and debunk lies, allegations, deception and half-truths.

My responses are not intended to offend anybody but to rebut LGE’s insinuations, allegations and accusations. And that’s all his “touching” speech was; there was not a single mention about any of the government’s positive achievements. I know, that’s politics. But we the people cannot trust leaders who do not know where to draw the line or do not bother about lines drawn.

I have not removed any part of his speech/email to ensure it remained “touching” and “full of energy” from beginning to end:

LGE said: “Since Merdeka, two million Malaysians have migrated overseas because they do not see a future for themselves and for Malaysia . It is time that we don’t live in our past that is filled with hatred and fear. We should look to the future filled with hope and harmony between all Malaysians.”

There are many different reasons why people migrate. People from different countries migrate to other countries. Not just Malaysia. There are those who prefer the Western lifestyle, there are those who want to earn higher income, there are those who want to make quick money, there are those who enjoy living abroad, there are those who follow their spouses, there are those who look for soul mates, there are those who prefer other education systems, there are those who do it for political reasons, there are those who want to run away from Ah Longs, while some are simply extroverts or wanting a change of scene and there are those who want to capitalise on business opportunities and so on and so forth. (Try googling for reasons). Irregardless, whatever their own personal reasons and preferences it is very sad that you give the impression to your fellow Malaysians as well as foreigners that people leave Malaysia as though it is because they are doomed to perish in their birthplace. That is very misleading and dishonest. Indeed many leave because you have succeedeed in instilling such hatred and fear in them.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must stop the politics of race and religion.”

Yet you, Sir, are the one who re-ignited the kalimah Allah issue after the atmosphere had returned to calm, despite knowing fully well the sensitivities and sentiments of the muslims. Why do you insist on this? Why is it not acceptable to use”tuhan” instead of “Allah” in the malay translation of the bible? Why do you ignore the plea of the muslims? Why do you choose to offend muslims? I find it incredible that you are calling for “a stop on politics of race and religion”, when it is the strategy deployed by none other than your party, after which you then try to point the finger at BN/UMNO when they are compelled to defend against your provocative attacks.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must end corruption.”

I totally agree with you that we must prevent corruption. BN also agrees with you, as declared in their manifesto, and you can see MACC working overtime. Why do you not encourage the government instead of merely condemning and refusing to acknowledge their efforts? And why have you done nothing on the alleged corrupt practices of DAP in Selangor linked to the tragic death of Teoh Beng Hock? Why won’t DAP allow for DNA samples to be obtained from the suspects linked to your party? The government has been investing a lot of time and effort cleaning up and DAP also needs to act on the blatant corruption under its own administration (of which allegations come from its own members against your own high ranked members). I’m sure you have seen the allegation by Tony Tan, who is still waiting for Teresa Kok to sue him for defamation, and the allegations against Ronnie Liu (with documentary evidence at that). I am not saying you personally had anything to do with it but you could not prevent corruption either and furthermore you have subsequently done nothing. While changes are taking effect towards a cleaner and more efficient government, you keep sounding like a broken record.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedoms.”

Are the Opposition’s political leaders in jail? Is there shortage of food? Are people being kidnapped and tortured for opposing the government? What basic rights and freedoms have been violated? Is it because the police had to do their job to stop the rioting by your Bersih hooligans? Is it because the country does not allow same sex marriages? Is it because the government tries to help the poor by giving them some preferential treatment which is contrary to your “equal opportunity” concept? It is very sad that you would blatantly lie about the situation in this peaceful country for the sake of wanting to rule it while Anwar Ibrahim has the audacity to compare himself to Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King. You freely abuse your freedom of speech by spreading lies and deception. On the other hand you suppress the dissenting voices in your own CEC elections and try to distract attention from your unethical practice by trying to blame and demonise the ROS. You are not being truthful to yourself, to your party members and to the people.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must demand good governance and performance from our ministers.”

Yes sir, I agree with you. BN demands the same and is very much ahead of you on this, not least with Idris Jala doing a great job implementing KPI systems for ministers and government.

LGE said: “To attain peace Malaysians must stand united and reject those who wish to divide us by preaching racial and religious hatred.”

Yes sir, I totally agree with you. That is why most of the people are rejecting DAP. You and your party are the true culprit in inciting racial and religious hatred and I had published my views on your mischief well before you gave this “touching” speech.

LGE said: “If we want to benefit from equal opportunities and realize our human potential we must stop extremists from continually degrading others as inferiors so as to uplift ourselves.”

Yes sir, I agree with you to a certain extent. I just do not know what you mean by “equal” because equal does not mean fair. For example, a disabled or poor person may need to be given more help to enhance his chances of survival. “Equal opportunities” is not an end in itself. But it seems “equal opportunities” to you means everybody, rich or poor, malay or chinese or indian, is given equal opportunity and if the result is that wealth is owned 100% by DAP supporters then the result is satisfactory by your definition because everyone was given “equal opportunity” and it’s too bad the others failed. Whereas what we should also be trying to achieve is fair distribution in balance sheet terms. And it goes without saying that it be done according to policies being honestly executed.

LGE said: “Why should Allah not be allowed to be used in the Bible when it is used in the Middle East ?

Sir, have you not been listening to explanations, justifications and arguments of the muslim community and Islamic authorities? Why are you asking this question again? It has been thoroughly explained, which means you have either not bothered to study the evidence or you choose to deliberately ignore it. Among other things, you know very well that the malay translation for god is “tuhan”, not “Allah”. I am very sad and depressed that you antagonise the muslims in this country and even more so in Penang. Before this “touching” speech of yours I made an appeal to our Christian bretheren to please use “tuhan” instead of “Allah”and that had nothing whatsoever to do with politics. Why do you wish to disrupt the peaceful religious harmony in this country and why are you so against the use of “tuhan”? And what does the Middle East have to do with the malay language?

LGE said: “We can only achieve harmony together. Despite our differences and diversity, Malaysians can make our common aspirations of freedom, justice, democracy and truth come true if we remember key values.”

Sir, we will achieve harmony again almost instantly if you would refrain from inciting races against each other. You are exploiting those differences and diversity for your own gain. Evidently you yourself do not hold “key values”. The values of Islam compel us to defend Allah’s name. Do your values, if any, compel you to use “Allah” instead of “tuhan” in the malay language bible? I appeal to you to please abandon your religious incitement. You don’t even have to apologise, just please retract your call and I will thank you sincerely and unconditionally — your previous stand on this matter will be forgotten.

LGE said: “That it is not who we are that is important, but what we are that is important; not the colour of our skin that is important but the content of our character; and not our past ancestry that is important but how we connect with the present and with each other to face the future.”

Yes sir, I agree with you. Islam is colour blind and the Holy Quran and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) are testament to this fact. And please know that muslims love Jesus (Peace be upon him). In the Hereafter we will all be accountable for how we lived our life in this material world. Yet it was your cybertroopers who tried to turn the malays against Tun Mahathir by “exposing” his Indian heritage, hoping the malays would then turn against him. Surely you must agree that kind of behaviour is racist and disgusting? They failed of course because not only Islam is absolutely colour blind but malays too are almost colour blind – that’s why, because of their past heritage, we also have malays who look like chinese (that’s me), indian and even european.

LGE said: “We can only be prosperous together. The time has come to focus on the economy, unemployment, education and business opportunities as the conditions for prosperity. We must build human talent and be performance-based.”

Sir, while I agree that material wealth is important, it would mean nothing and would be the cause of destruction of human values if that is your only measurement for prosperity. Prosperity in material wealth is meaningless if we do not pay alms to the poor, if we do not help others and if we are heedless of God (Tuhan). Please do not be overly obsessed with capitalism. Other than that, yes, we must work hard to earn a good honest living and in accordance with religious values. You will be pleased to know that the government has been focusing on all of the above.

LGE said: “For those who say that PR do not know how to govern, the 4 PR states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have proven our ability by beating the other 10 BN states by attracting RM25 billion in investments comprising 53% of Malaysia’s total investments of RM47.2 billion in 2010. For the first time in history, Penang is now the new champion of investments in Malaysia , coming out top in 2010 with RM 12.2 billion.”

Sir, if PR has achieved good economic results, or even the best economic results as you proudly say, then I congratulate you. I also congratulate the federal government for making it conducive and attractive for those investments — in the case of Penang some seeds were of course planted by the previous state government before PR took over. It would be nice and sporting of you if you were to give credit where credit is due, instead of boasting as if you did it all on your own from zero, although we know you are sincerely trying hard for Penang to prosper and be independent like Singapore.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must end corruption. Barisan Nasional cannot reform to end corruption. Remember, if we do not end corruption, Malaysia dies. If we end corruption, BN dies. The choice is clear. ”

Sir, I understood you the first time. But now you are being deceptive again by trying to make corruption and BN synonymous. Your supporters will cheer and clap but to the rest of us it merely shows your consistency in indulging in character assassination. As a taste of your own medicine, we can not only replace ‘Barisan Nasional’ with ‘DAP’ in your quote but we can also say “Remember, if we do not end racism and oppression, Malaysia dies. If we end racism and oppression, DAP dies”. Not pretty is it? But it’s true. There is nothing I can add which is not already publicly known to show that BN is anti corruption (although your propaganda material shamelessly says BN menghalalkan rasuah), has implemented and enforced laws against it and has been achieving results. It is only that you refuse to acknowledge the achievements and are not capable of “sangka baik” of anyone who could be an obstacle to your quest to rule the country with PAP.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we must abolish the suppression, oppression, repression of our basic human rights and freedom. How can we have a clean government when we do not have clean elections?”

Sir, very sadly you repeat in this “touching” speech of yours the baseless accusations of an event that has not yet occured and furthermore after seeing how SPR has implemented so many of DAP’s demands. On the other hand what do you have to say about your own CEC election fiasco? What kind of “clean” and “democratic” process was that? This is unbecoming of a leader. How would you expect the rakyat to trust a leader who does not practise what he preaches? How can we have a clean and honest Opposition when their own elections are a farce and full of dishonesty?

LGE said: “We do not want our children to live in fear of oppressive laws as we have lived. A Pakatan Rakyat government will abolish the UUCA, the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act and restore local government elections.”

Sir, we need laws to maintain social order and social harmony. Isn’t there already enough mudslinging, slandering and disrespectful speech going on in the social and alternative media? Why do you insist on being able to make seditious statements and carry out seditious acts that would cause chaos and social disorder in the country? What is your agenda? (Never mind, we already know your agenda). Aren’t you yourself already getting away with impunity with all your lies, deception, insults and false allegations while your supporters freely spread them? Local government elections will only result in more money and time being wasted in endless campaigning and slandering instead of just getting on with governing. Tolong lah… Enough of people jostling for power and fishing for votes please – this is too disruptive and unproductive. We want peace and quiet, stability and steady progress.

LGE said: “When can we find justice for Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbani and A Kugan?”

Sir, as you well know, it was DAP itself that has prevented justice for Teoh Beng Hock by not allowing suspects linked to corruption in DAP to give their DNA samples, while the police and MACC officers (whom DAP accuses of being involved) had given theirs, to establish the two unidentified DNAs found on Teoh Beng Hock. I will put up a separate post on this another time to refresh your memory. While it is believed Teoh Beng Hock was murdered by at least two individuals and covered up by DAP, there was on the other hand clear evidence to show that Ahmad Sabari accidently fell to his death when he tried to jump from the ledge to the roof of the adjacent badminton hall but misjudged the distance. The investigation team even used a stuntman to re-enact what happened. Kugan’s death was also tragic and those involved have been punished, so what further justice are you seeking? I must say that in your insinuation, you were careful in ensuring that all three races are represented for whom to “find justice” so as not to be seen as racist. That’s clever of you and I won’t fault you for that.

LGE said: “When will we have Freedom of Information & Freedom of Speech? When can we have justice that is not only done, but is seen to be done.”

Sir, first of all I am already suffering from information overload of fact and fiction and stinging ears (and eyes) from seditious and obscene speech. I don’t know what more freedom you are seeking on information and speech. But then, you denied crucial information sought by the police when they were investigating Teoh Beng Hock’s death for justice to be done. The police were seen to be trying to have justice done for Teoh Beng Hock and DAP was seen to deny it. It does appear in this case that not enough information was given to the public for them to see the corruption in DAP that led to Teoh Beng Hock’s death. Nonetheless you still have an opportunity to ask their lawyers (Karpal Singh and Gobind) to allow those individuals to give their DNA samples to clear DAP’s involvement. Please come clean on this — you will be respected as a leader.

LGE said: “To put the past behind us, we demand good governance and performance from our ministers.”

Yes sir, I heard you, understood you and agreed with you the first time. My memory is not that short. It is nice to know that you and BN shares the same desire and perhaps you should read BN’s manifesto again.

LGE said: “Malaysia can be an international and intelligent country. We must have digital intelligence with broadband connectivity.”

Yes sir, I agree with you and I am sure BN does too and has evidently already achieved great success. Malaysia having the largest Facebook population is a good indicator of that success although we hope the international community does not use your cybertroopers with multiple fake accounts as a benchmark to measure the country’s intelligence.

LGE said: “We must also have integrity intelligence, so ensure that only honest people are the decision-makers. We must have institutional intelligence under the rule of law.”

Yes sir, I agree with you and I am sure BN does too.

LGE said: “We demand good governance and performance from our ministers.”

Yes sir, I heard you and agreed with you the first time and the second time. And I’ll respond for the third time, BN is all for it too. The difference is the Opposition has not delivered on most of their promises.

LGE said: “Has the Transport Ministry done its duty to run our airports and seaports well? Look at the Penang International Airport whose completion has been delayed more than 3 times. And the Penang Port is to be reduced to be a feeder port and privatized to a 3rd party at the expense of Penangites. Why is there no consultation with the people of Penang to restore the port to its former glory? Instead of looking after airports and ports, the Transport Ministry is more interested in vehicle registration numbers and wants to increase the maximum traffic fines to RM2,000.”

I don’t know sir. But delays in construction projects, especially renovation, are not uncommon. It happens in all countries. Reasons for the delay had already been explained. First you claim that the Transport Ministry is not running the airports and seaports well. Then you complain when the operations of the port is privatised to a licensed operator to improve the services. I suggest you swallow your pride and make an appointment with the ministry to give your views and suggestions to show your sincerity in wanting to “restore the port to its former glory”. If they reject your request, then there may be truth in what you say. I don’t like traffic fines either but aren’t you concerned about the deaths on the road caused by drunk drivers and reckless driving?

LGE said: “Director-General of Tourism is wrongly charged of corruption but the Tourism Minister finds nothing wrong with spending RM1.8 million in doing up her Facebook page, when we all know that it can be done for free.”

First you want the government to fight corruption. Then you say the accused is wrongly charged with corruption. There is just no pleasing you sir. In case you are not aware the DG was acquitted not because he did not receive the gratification but because (i) the prosecution could not prove criminal intent and (ii) the prosecution failed to call in the MACC officer, who was the key complainant. Now do you appreciate how it is not that simple to charge and convict someone for corruption? Would you want the government to lower the standards for conviction so that more can be found guilty and thrown in jail? So here’s the truth: MACC was correct to charge the DG for corruption and the court was also right in acquitting him; there is no need to politicise this. That’s why we have courts of law – someone gets charged and then he is found guilty or acquitted. Errr… Can you please give us the name and phone number of the person who will do Facebook pages for free (and web sites too)? I’d like to use the person’s free services, and I wish you had told us this much earlier.

LGE said: “The Health Ministry wants to privatise healthcare when it should be a public good given as an affordable right to all Malaysians. Why allow the wastage of public funds and affect the quality and affordability of drugs when drugs are bought through a middleman at higher prices when it could be bought cheaper direct from the manufacturers, some of which are operating in Malaysia.”

Let’s wait for the government to show us the pros and cons of the proposed privatisation. I can’t comment until I know the details. Whereas you oppose for the sake of opposing, true to your slogan “Lawan Tetap Lawan”. If privatisation means higher quality and more efficient services then that would be good but at the same time we would have to weigh the benefits against the cost to people. Whatever the decision and outcome, we know the government will look after the lower income group so that they will have access to healthcare in any case.

LGE said: “The Housing and Local Government Ministry opposes local government elections in Penang , denying our fundamental democratic right to elect our councillors and our mayors.”

I have to totally disagree with you. Local government elections are a waste of money, a waste of time and a major distraction from actually governing. Where do you get the idea that it is a fundamental democratic right to elect our councillors and mayors? Just because some countries practise it, it doesn’t mean Malaysia should xerox it. The state government should be given that responsibility and be accountable — just as in a company where shareholders appoint the board of directors who are then responsible for ensuring the company employs a competent CEO and management team instead of delegating those appointments to the employees by voting. The state government, mayor and local councillors should be one cohesive team. As I responded earlier, we want leaders who fear God and respect the people and not, as you believe, those who merely fear the people and job security. The present system is better, leave it be and get on with your job.

LGE said: “We believe that Malaysians deserve better. For the last 50 years, the wealth of the nation has been robbed. Let us protect the future of our children by ensuring we have a people-centric government that protects you instead of harming you, that rewards you instead of stealing from you, that respects you instead of abusing your rights. Let us clean up Malaysia to save our children’s future.”

Sir, I have to be honest that your constant ludicrous accusations and insinuations are tiresome. The corruption and “robbing” topic has already been addressed and rebutted time and time again. Why do you continue flogging a dead horse. The government is already showing that it is a people-centric government – where “Rakyat didahulukan” — and I am grateful and happy that the government has never harmed me, apart from being disgruntled over a few speeding tickets. On the contrary the government has peen protecting us from many threats including the West’s call to allow same sex marriages, riots caused by the Opposition and other external threats such as the Lahad Datu incident. While MACC is busy handling more than 400 cases, please also investigate the alleged stealing in your own party.

LGE said: “We must put the past behind us where profits matters more than our health. Lynas concerns all of us because if Lynas is allowed to operate, Barisan Nasional will proceed with building two nuclear reactors. If we continue to put health above profits, what is the use of having all the money in the world if you cannot enjoy it healthily?”

Since you already acknowledge the immense benefits to the country (i.e. “all the money in the world”), I need not say more on this. However you are still trying to deceive and mislead the public on the safety issue. Until today all the academics, geniuses, scientists, nuclear physicists and intellects (if any) of the Opposition have not produced anything tangible to doubt the safety of the project. The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has certified that it is safe. Do you doubt them? Were they bribed? Even your most hardcore online news portal FMT admitted to the truth: “We refer to the articles previously published by us which claim that the Lynas plant may be unsafe. We apologise for these publications as such claims do not have a scientific basis. The regulatory review of the Lynas plant has been thorough and diligent”. That’s nothing new is it; that the opposition tends to make allegations without basis. And even Saudara Anwar Ibrahim has changed his position. Your baseless allegation is dishonest and mischievious. I challenge you to issue an official statement that Lynas is unsafe instead of indulging in your usual “baling batu sembunyi tangan” antics. And please do an Anwar Ibrahim on this too i.e. complain to the foreign media.

LGE said: “The next elections shall be fought on the economy. We refuse to allow BN to use race as the issue in the next elections.”

The economy is indeed a major factor in the elections and it is DAP that has been using race as an election issue. However BN inadvertently gets tangled in race issues when they have to defend against your lies and deception to cause racial disharmony. DAP is in fact guilty of what they falsely accuse BN of. We have seen your cybertroopers posting comments saying they cannot understand why non-Malays vote for BN. We have also seen confessions by DAP’s former high ranking members on race-centric strategies. With DAP being hard core racist, this is also hypocrisy at one of its worst.

LGE said: “We need to increase the incomes of our poor or else they will fall victims to the Ah Longs. For example, Bank Negara’s Annual Report 2010 revealed that Malaysia’s household debt at the end of 2010 was RM581 billion or 76 per cent of GDP, thus giving us the dubious honour of having the second-highest level of household debt in Asia . In addition, the Malaysian household debt service ratio stood at 47.8 per cent in 2010, meaning that nearly half of the average family’s income goes to repaying debts. As a rule, banks would not lend money to those whose total servicing of loans exceeded one third of their income. In other words, we are spiralling into an indebted nation.”

Sir, enough facts and statistics have been given to explain the economy, including the national debt and improved poverty levels, but you conveniently choose to ignore them just as you conveniently ignore the facts and arguments of the muslims on the Allah issue. The man on the street is not interested in your macro-economic analysis. He wants to live in a peaceful country with food on the table while having opportunities to indulge in higher pursuits. One of the reasons we have the second-highest level of household debt in Asia is because Malaysia has relatively more property owners per capita compared to other countries. In other words, Malaysians take the opportunity to buy their homes with mortgages (resulting in household debt) compared to those in other countries with less affordable housing whereby they have to rent their accommodation (i.e. no mortgage therefore less household debt). You need to look at both sides of the balance sheet. Incidentally, Penang has performed the worst when it comes to the ratio of house price to household income. It has risen to 8 times since PR took over, compared to the internationally acceptable 3-4 times. Therefore you are in fact primarily responsible for the increase in household debt. Ironic isn’t it? That notwithstanding, facts and figures don’t lie: Malaysia has a strong and sustainable economy except that you try to mislead the public on the national debt while ignoring the fact that external debt has dropped to below RM17 billion. Please study the ETP to understand where our economy is heading and give constructive comments if you are sincere.

LGE said: “According to the New Economic Model documents, the bottom 40% of Malaysian households are living with a monthly average income of RM1,500 (and three-quarters of them are bumiputera) while 60% of the households (of four persons averagely) live with a less than RM3,000 income, which is near subsistence if one lives in the cities.These are families living in fear. We will help them live with dignity and not in fear, by increasing their incomes and cutting down their costs, with a minimum wage, getting rid of monopolies, expanding internet connectivity and encouraging creativity, innovation and productivity.”

Sir, perhaps you would, but the present government is already doing it and has steadily been achieving positive results. Nonetheless, let me introduce you to many malay families in that income group and you may ask them yourself whether they are living in fear and dignity. They do have dignity clinging to religious values but they fear DAP. This is the group who cannot compete under your demand for “equal opportunities” and yet you and your supporters condemn the government when policies are implemented to help them. Malays are not the only ones who need help; we must also help the chinese and indians at a disadvantage. It just so happens that most of the lower income group comprises the malays and DAP then accuses the government of being racist when they are given assistance. Please support the government in helping the poor of all races. At least Hj Abdul Hadi Awang was gracious enough to acknowledge the government’s efforts on 22nd April in front of more than 700 supporters at Kerteh: “Kita tidak nafikan apa yang dilakukan Kerajaan BN untuk kebajikan rakyat”. He then added: “Takkan tadok silap dan saloh selama 50 tahun BN memerintah dan Yang Maha Suci adalah Allah Taala, tetapi kita sebagai manusia tetap ada salah dan silapnya”. This is true. Surely you can also agree?

LGE said: “South Korea is a very good example of a nation that chose democracy, performance and freedom of opportunity to become a developed country. With a population of 48 million, its GDP per capita of USD20,000 is more than double Malaysia’s. But in 1970, South Korea’s per capita GDP was only USD260 compared to Malaysia’s USD380.”

That is interesting Sir, but you know very well that South Korea is an exception. Why don’t you also compare us to other neighbouring countries? How exciting is the GDP per capita when comparing home prices against disposable income? Yes indeed, Malaysia’s ratio is thankfully lower. In any case, I also would not want our country to be like South Korea, beholden to the US (which Tun M saved us from) and with North Korean missiles pointed at them. Please be thankful for what Malaysia is today while we continue to develop, especially now that the ETP is being implemented and showing positive results. Have faith.

LGE said: “We used to regularly beat South Korea at football. And now our children are fans of K-pop culture and their football team are regulars at the World Cup.”

One thing for sure is that all DAP, PAS, PKR and BN supporters will be united in cheering for Malaysia whenever we play football or badminton against South Korea. Even DAP cannot prevent that. Yes, I agree that our footballing standard is terrible and the government has failed miserably here. But please don’t be upset with the government or consider it tragic that we have not developed our own M-pop culture.

LGE said: “Only when we free ourselves of fear of change, can we be free to prosper. BN cannot change. They need to be changed, for BN wants to rule by fear. Thomas Jefferson said “When the governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny”. The choice is yours, my friends. I urge you – Let us change so we can have liberty and live with dignity.”

LGE said: “*LimGuan Eng, DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan”

Sir, we do not fear change. Indeed we have been going through changes under the present government (who themselves have gone through change), some we don’t like and most of which we embrace for the overall good. The government cannot please everybody all of the time (and neither can the opposition) but they do try to help those who may be adversely affected by policy changes. No sir, you are wrong: you may admire Thomas Jefferson and think that he is right since he was a US Pesident, but we do not want the government to fear the people because that won’t make them sincere. We want government leaders who fear God. We want the government to be sincere with the people, respect the people, listen to the people and make the country conducive for us to live in, having peace, social harmony, good business environment and an honest Opposition. We should also then respect and be loyal to the government and also respect the honest Opposition, whereas you clearly encourage anarchy and rebellion against the government for the sake of power and wealth. We already have liberty and live with dignity and if we do need more of those for greater social order and harmony then I don’t see how DAP can do any better then what the government is already doing. On the contrary DAP and Anwar Ibrahim themselves have acted without dignity in portraying Malaysia as a “suppressed, repressed and oppressed” country with a “sham democracy” where Opposition leaders are “threatened with murder”. Sir, before you demand change, you and your party first need to change. Indeed the reason I now support BN is because they have changed since PRU-12; when will you?

Saudara Lim Guan Eng, semoga mendapat petunjuk dan hidayah.

A. Arshad,voter for Shah Alam
April 2013

April 23, 2013April 24, 2013

Mother of Pendedahan

Rafizi Ramli, the so-called strategist for PKR must be scraping the bottom for issues to play in the run-up to the general elections that he decided it would be a big thing to expose Rosmah Mansor, Najib Razak’s wife’s unpaid traffic summons.

You open a can of worms, you will get exactly that. Let us take, for example, these two phantom voters who registered themselves as voters using my friend’s house address. They are none other than Anwar Ibrahim and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Rafizi’s political employers.

Now, make a few SMS using the identity card numbers obtained…first for Anwar Ibrahim:

Wow! That’s a heck lot more than Rosmah’s that have gone unpaid! Now, let us check his “wife”.

Holy crap! That is a whole lot of law-breaking exercise for someone who fights for justice! No wonder PKR is so against the implementation of the AES! Now, what about Rafizi Ramli, the BAPA PENDEDAHAN himself?

This is his Identity Card number:

Now let us check if he has any unpaid summons himself for being a loudmouth:

What the hell??!! What right has he got to bitch about Rosmah’s unpaid summons?

One word of advice for Rafizi: mKe sure you cover your ass before you want to hit someone else in the back! But knowing which party and leader he represents, I find it as no surprise that he goes around shooting butt-naked!