Posted on by Kit

Zam sees red in being called “monkey” in this blog

On Monday, in the winding-up on the Information Ministry during the 2008 Budget policy debate, Information Minister, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin saw red at being called “monkey” in this blog.

At first he accused me for calling him a “monkey” — but when confronted, he backed down and admitted that it was a comment left on my blog. But he said I must bear responsibility as moderator of the blog.

I said I regretted that such a term was used but it was definitely not used by me. I did a search of the reference which he had objected to and found it was a post by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on 28th October 2007 in the thread “Zam – Info Minister under coconut shell or bidding to be Mat Rempit “Godfather”?”, viz:

“ZAM is behaving like a BN monkey that’s gone bananas over NUTs.”

ZAM has legitimate grievance at being called “monkey” but it is no justification for him to become the Cabinet’s premier anti-blogger, and this was why I told him in Parliament why he should not behave like a “frog under the coconut shell” in expressing satisfaction at Malaysia’s 32-spot plunge in the Freedom Without Borders (RSF) 2007 press freedom index, from No. 92 last year to 124, which is the nation-worst ranking in the RSF annual worldwide press freedom ranking since it was started in 2002.

From Monday’s parliamentary exchange, it is clear that although ZAM is the government’s chief anti-blogger, he reads this blog and I would urge all posters to use proper language to express their views hoping that they will have some influence on government thinking and direction.

I am surprised that RTM last night telecast the parliamentary exchange between ZAM and me. Those who have seen it may wish to offer their feedback.

75 Replies to “Zam sees red in being called “monkey” in this blog”

  5. ai say man, YB Lim, you have been called worst by YB Nazri like ‘bodoh’ and ‘kurang cerdik’ in parliament and in your face, and even worst in other blogs that is pro government!

    while in is indeed a deplorable act to call and be called names, i guess YB Zainuddin is correct that perhaps your blog (and you being the moderator) should control the words being used in order to set an example on how civil ppl debate and discuss issues.

    i guess it is not easy to watch over this blog incessantly, perhaps just a simple reminder from you every now and then will do the trick already. mind you, most of your audiences here are civil and law respecting/abiding citizens and i am sure some of us will do the ticking off ourselves (self moderating) if a racist or flammer comes into the scene.

  6. If Zam feels he has the right to insult bloggers, he must be prepared to receive similar comments in return. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
    He does like bloggers and they don’t like him. What the problem, Zam?
    Didn’t he say women bloggers were employed?
    Sometimes he does behave like monkey on a hot tin roof.

  9. So Zam reads the blog? Good, let him know how dissatisfied we are to him. He sucks at his job, and deserves to be fired. So if not monkey then may people call him Katak Di Bawah Tempurung? After all the performance he gave us does deserve this term.

  12. Hi Zam, why so sensitive? If dont like monkey then ‘orang utan’ sounds better as it’s our country mascot and you should be proud of it otherwise our country won’t be using ‘orang utan’ to promote as icon.

    I must say that you are trying to declare wars with bloggers and the Sun newspaper judging from your comments in Star newspaper two days ago. You mentioned why still harping on Zakaria whereas he had invited orphans to his Raya open house. What is that to do with his raya open house as you are very naived, Zam Zam.

    Shame of you as ex editor of Utusan Malaysia and your behaviour as Minister of Information, it’s better you be known as “Minister of Anti Information” but propaganda to BN.

    I must asked you why playing the “ini bukan cara demokrasi kita’ song at RTM 1 & 2 when showing the space programme. It’s shows that we are war torn country to the eyes of the foreigners and our police behaving the same as I have foreigner friends asking me. why showing only Palestinians and not Myanmar? Anyway, our police force also behave like Israelis soldiers firing tear gas at crowds with Special Branch officers arresting the crowd.

  13. “Saya tak cakap dia monyet, saya cakap dia macam monyet, macam sahajalah” – Kayveas

    “ZAM is behaving like a BN monkey that’s gone bananas over NUTs.” – ENDANGERED HORNBILL

    Nope, no double standards here. UMNO is always fair to all. NOT.

    Nice try Zam, better luck next time.

  14. YB Lim, wasn’t he the guy that says bloggers are “goblok”, a degradatory Javanese term? Wasn’t he the guy that said bloggers and readers are youngstrers and do not have any impact on the opinion of the public?

    I am amused that he reads your blog, YB Lim. I think all of them read yours and MT blogs. Good that they are watching.

    As for the comment that the Minister “behaving like a BN monkey..,” I just had a good laugh. The fact he responded made me laughed more.

  15. And i thought the previous Information Minister was bad.Gosh this is even worst…unfortunately being too obvious doing things a fair and responsible minister wouldn’t do.So this shows he is just the opposite of fair and responsible in disseminating real and true views.By the way……………it will be good to start showing live telecast for all parliament debates etc..instead of just showing “excellent” cuts here and there.Grow up zam……….if you and your Bn buddies doesn’t want to move ahead then just leave and let the nation and the true Malaysians move forward for the country sake.Ohh……..do not use RTM for BN propaganda…………its paid for by tax payers and not BN and you.If you can’t understand a simple phrase like this then it is better you step down and stop wasting tax payers money..unless you are there for your “self interest” lah…Well if that is the case then good luck and keep hiding behind your ministries and RTM.

  18. zam should read other blogs too and will realise that lots of other bloggers had also call him monkey or other names. well, the famous son-in-law who refer to bloggers as monkeys had himself been labeled a monkey too.

    actually come to think of it, all BN MPs in parliament are monkeys. parliament is nothing but a circus. oops. sorry. that is an accusation so i take it back. i will say indeed “they are LIKE monkeys”.

  19. Hello Zam,

    Use of ‘monkey in ‘BN monkey’ and use of frog as in ‘katak dibawah tempurong’ are metaphoric usages, mere figures of speech in which the word or phrase is applied to people, objects or events and actions that it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance, for example, “BN monkeys prancing around in Parliament with their worn-out antics and political chicanery”; whilst the monkey label is not literal, the connotation here is obviously that BN parliamentarians behaving much like irrational monkeys whose antics draw nothing but contempt from the populace whose interests they are supposed to represent.

    And I thought Zam used to be some kind of an editor and so should understand the fluidity and versatility of language unless…of course, he was a third-class (or to borrow a cliche made famous and given a new breath by Tun M, ‘half-past 6″ editor?

    Anyway, let’s not be carried away by such insubstantial name-calling and see what good Zam has done for the Information ministry? Nothing very prideful, sad to say, from a loud-mouthed, fawning and flattering sort of a politician.

    Over to you Zam.

  23. Hey guys, enough!! Please do not insult the monkeys anymore by comparing our dear Info Minister with the monkeys. The monkeys do not go round calling bloggers “gobloks” and certainly do not make silly comments in the press.

  26. Well, this Zam is an idiot. He started calling bloggers, “GOBLOKS” so now he’s offended that he’s called “MONKEY” . I’m glad he’s reading our comments on this blog. YB Kit, isn’t it a compliment?

    I agree with Smeagroo, he should be called “Primate”, yeah the mamal with the enlarged brain – hardly used and not victim of wear and tear. Primate it is for you Zam!!!!!

  28. Actually, not bad to be called monkey or frog – at least they are vertebrates which have backbone.

    Actually, some bloggers are insulting monkeys and frogs by identifying certain politicains with them.

    There are worse and more appropriate terms for these politicians and many of them don’t have backbone. Some are smelly too.

    Be happy with what people call you for the time being.

  29. fair comment.

    not restricting the terminology of monkey to whoever is concerned, i would like to express my disgust at some homo sapiens as behaving worst than ANIMALS.

    1. incest and rape among the father and daughter and eventually the daughter gave birth to a baby. probably only animals commit incest- i dont know.

    2. raped , sodomised and murdered. read too many news about young children being raped, sodomised and murdered. recent case of poor Nurin ( May God bless her and her soul ). i cannot fathom, how we human, supposedly to have a built in conscience could do that. i am quite sure animals do not sodomised young or old prey and killed them later. – i dont know.

    3.neither can i ,having view discovery channel and animal planets that animals ( whether a pack of wolves or school of fishes) goes rempit in any form of vehicles that may cause and did cause death to innocent parties. we have here in Malaysia Mat rempit, that zooms fear among others. is this an evolution of some form ?

    4.as for name callings, why so sensitive about it ,if HE is to be tolerant and perceived to be an elitist among the rest. yes, i agree that we bloggers are called “monyet ” and “goblok “, unemployed females, and nothing better to do , but we BLOGGERS, to most degree catch the bull by its horn. we call a spade a spade. i am definitely not a female, and please the minister, should not underestimate the intelligence of our female of this world. they are great species, our mothers, our sisters, our daugther, our wives, our friends.

    now,back to the issue of monkey. zam. please hear me, “RESPECT IS EARNED AND NOT DEMANDED”

    show respect to others as you want others to respect you. otherwise, YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

  31. YB…its funny lar…are you trying to be politically correct, even though you know this post is going to result in more ‘monkey business’??

    anyway, zam, you and all your cabinet ministers are monkeys! Hey! don’t blame me, I’m just referring to Darwinian theory…the only difference is, you guys haven’t evolved yet!!

  32. about homo sapien mentality. we have so called members of Parliament, that commented that women” leak ” – “bocor”, every month too,when the issues of leaking ceilings were brought up in parliament.

    lest, i am of the lesser mortals, i am certainly not as holy as those MPs, hei man, did you not insult your own mother, wife, sisters and daughters.?

    without the ovalution and menstruation of the wowen in their cycle of discomfort and some cases pain, those so called eduacated mps, tidak di lahir di dunia ini.

    there again, i apologise to all women, for the remarks of the two mps, whose uncouth language caused more irritation and disgust ,than the term ” monkey”. zam, where were you than to defend your mother and wife. ? as information minister. you should have provided them with proper information about the word menstruation.

    if , zam, you feel so badly about such remarks, regardless of party, race, religion, you will defend your mother and wife and daughter from such simpleton remarks from your members.

    there,i go again. sucikan batin first, than your zahir will be better.

  33. Zam holding the propaganda portfolio is all shaken up when news report circulate around the globe giving the country the poor image. He has the duty to counter such news and put the blame on bloggers for spreading the “rumors & lies” In particular when he accused the DAP of dragging minor issues to Parliament and they get blown up and highlighted & carried by the wire agencies. And like that Mat Taib (Muhamad son of Muhamad) he is confused about posting by blog owners and commenters. His anger has been building up and when he found Uncle Kit not moderating comments, he lashed at him for “abusive” words. More details at:
    http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-pics-video-heated-clash-zam-monkey.html

    And a chance to watch the Video Clip of the Heated Clash (in BM, almost 19 mins)

  34. Zam zam ala kazam, thou cannot be called monkey no more.
    That title is already taken by lesser political liveforms with IQ100 score Kampong Jaguh who went to oxford and the 3 KJJ-Kinabinatang Jasin Jerai stooges. [deleted]

    [Come, come, lets stop the invective, let alone escalating it, or I will be accused again of failing my duty as moderator. – Kit]

  37. Mr Lim,
    Respect is earned and not by forced or threat.
    As far as I can see, none of BN MPs have my respect. Most of them are really no better than monkeys. Look at how Bung Monktar debate in the parliament. Worst than Pasa Malam ubat sellers. Look like he is asking for a fight.

    We respect your request to be more polite in our languages, But sadly most of us could not oblige to your request. Simply, we could not find a more civil words to describe their behaviour!!!

  38. The government is dead set on stopping the rally, which could be the biggest since Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi came to power in 2003. The premier rode a wave of popular adulation that has since soured by his failure to fight corruption and promote the rule of law…Another BERSIH demand is for the government to reintroduce local council elections, which were abolished in 1970 on grounds of “national security”. BERSIH also wants the election commission to be restructured to ensure it is truly independent and finally permit international observers to monitor the election and suggest changes.
    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IK08Ae01.html

  39. Strange, he claimed he was called a monkey but in the entire parliament session he never once deny he is not one. “Bukan! Saya bukan monyet” but instead he cried “Awak panggil saya monyet” to affirm that he is indeed one.

  41. “ZAM has legitimate grievance at being called “monkey” but it is no justification for him to become the Cabinet’s premier anti-blogger,…”

    Legitimate grievance??? Uncle Kit, you are very good with words. Can he sue for damage?

  42. Good job ENDANGERED HORNBILL.

    Personally, I believe that there are some politicians that should be called anything but a politician. Their behavior and thinking does not match the characteristic of a politician and does not deserve any honorable title. Some really act based on their emotions. For example, shouting “Bodoh! Bodoh!”.

    I believe that our politicians should act more carefully and think carefully of what they are going to say. In other words, they should reflect on their actions.

    I imagine that, if there’s a politician does his/her job by shouting to get what he/she wants, it’s almost no different than a spoiled child crying to get the toys they want.

    I am really really disappointed to see that there are such politicians that act without thinking. They act just like ENDANGERED HORNBILL mentioned. We must realize that they are politicians, not children. We expect better argument and more constructive one too. Their carrier is not about shouting madly.

    You’ll never see George Bush, Sir Martin King Luther, Oprah, or anyone out of this country, that will shout like some politicians here.

    To me, some of these politicians bring shame and insult the integrity our politics here. And honestly, if we were to send some of these politicians to other country, and they start shouting instead of arguing, it’ll shame this whole country and it’s people because we are the one who put them in charge. Politics in this country, to me, is no longer an honorable carrier if it’s all about acting based on emotions.

    Another problem in which I believe is a problem with these politicians is that they hesitate or refuse to admit their mistake. They choose to put the blame on others. This blog is already an example. People like ENDANGERED HORNBILL and many more don’t like such politicians and choose to call them names, when it is the politician’s fault for ruining their own reputation in front of the people with their ‘special’ behavior. These politicians then blame other people than themselves that the people should not be calling him/her names and should be censored. What just happened here? Politicians call each other “Bodoh”, no, they yell at each other. And yet the people cannot call them names?

    Maybe we call them named because we learn from them. I mean, aren’t they the one who give such a bad example? Why blame ENDANGERED HORNBILL? If it’s anything but our fault, it should be their’s for being very unprofessional in their job. If people look up to these politicians, our people will be the people who wins an argument using volume.

  43. After reading this entire blog, it can be proven that some of our politicians act too fast and without thinking.

    “On Monday, in the winding-up on the Information Ministry during the 2008 Budget policy debate, Information Minister, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin saw red at being called “monkey” in this blog.

    At first he accused me for calling him a “monkey” – but when confronted, he backed down and admitted that it was a comment left on my blog. But he said I must bear responsibility as moderator of the blog.”

    The accusation made was made without careful investigation. Also, note that this particular politician is no ordinary politician. He is the Information Minister. For a politician who is suppose to monitor information exchange with care, he certainly failed to act like his carrier depends on it and start pointing fingers at LKS. It looks so unprofessional for a politician to look for a fight with people like ENDANGERED HORNBILL. Did being called names made him feel so emotional, that he just have to act quickly without investigating? What ENDANGERED HORNBILL said does not threat national security right or anything in a bigger magnitude? Believe it or not, it’s a matter of his own reputation and feelings that I believe he’s protecting. This is hard evidence my fellow friends that prove my statement.

    I believe I’ll rest my case for now.

  44. “ZAM is behaving like a BN monkey that’s gone bananas over NUTs.” ENDANGERED HORNBILL

    I don’t find the above repulsive or whatever. In fact I can just imagine how a cartoonist would depict the Minister. If a monkey does not go nuts over bananas then it is not a monkey, and I’m not referring to the honorable Minister. Hornbill does not say anyone is a monkey. He says someone is behaving like a monkey when he gets hold of a bunch of bananas (underscore “like”). Hornbill does what he thinks is a good characterization of the Minister. He should then say why but he didn’t. He is exercising his constitutional free speech right – which is what this blog and all other blogs are all about.

    Another commonplace expression, is “Monkey see, monkey do” – ungrammatical as it is, it describes succinctly some public officials whatever their political affiliations.

    I’m not about to go into the use of un-Parliamentary language in the nation’s highest legislative body which is routine. If the honorable Minster wants to address the issue of racist name calling, for example, he should begin with Parliament and among his own ranks.

    What is he going to object next? The use of caricatures to depict the elected representatives by the very people who put them in power and now regret doing so??

    As they say if you cannot stand the heat, do not go into the kitchen.

  46. Only after reading above Kit’s article “Zam saw red at being called monkey”, I realized that Kit indeed is rather humorous too!

    Let’s make this blog less serious, fun to blog in order to attract more bloggers!

  47. “I am reminded of the Boiling-Frog Syndrome. If you put a frog into boiling water, the frog will immediately jump out. But if you put the frog in cold war and increase the heat of the water slowly, it will get accustomed to the increasing heat.” KIT

    What next?? Is another good Minister going to jump up from his seat next to object to the use of the “frog” in describing a situation. Enough that animals are being insulted by us humans. Indians are called “snakes” and Chinese “babi” or pigs for those who have stayed too long overseas and may confuse “babi” to the likes of Britney Spears without her underwear climbing into her car.

    Have our MPs run out of issues to discuss that they must give their precious time away discussing monkeys and nuts?

  48. We suspected all along that BN politicians are fervent readers of our postings. Even though they send their sentinels from time to time (like RealWorld) to provoke and distract, we know that the thieves take notice of what we say. I dare say that the UMNO information chief probably reads Kit’s blog every day to polish up on his command of English. Heck, all the ministers know their nicknames from reading this blog e.g. Semi Value, Kunchoy “Coffin” Chan, Mamak Maideen, SIL, etc.

  49. Zam is a proven bully but at the same time a cry baby. Why is that so? Well he can go around and call anyone whatever he likes~ but when the same punch is thrown at him he starts crying foul when it is in fact just.

    De facto Law minister? Owh please….I would rather best believe that he is a minister of the Ministry of Magic.

  51. Mr Lim,

    It’s not about the outrage, it is about the publicity. Does it not look scandalous, that “you” called him a monkey? People don’t know the truth, and the problem therein lies with the fact that the newspapers are controlled by the Government. We may know the truth, but the picture says that the public does not. What many may see here as a ridiculous action by the Information Minister is in fact a clever ploy to play a card to discredit his political opponents, and in this case he picked on you.

    Fellow readers,

    In my opinion, the important thing to take from here is to spread the word, or rather, in this case, spread the truth. Only then will this man and his media controlled network fail to dislodge the opposition.

  59. Let us not insult the monkey by comparing the monkey with Zam. I keep a monkey as a pet and he is such a nice pet to have.

    I cannot entertain the idea of keeping Zam as a pet. He is just not worth the trouble, not at all!

  61. Come to think of it, I find that what ENDANGERED HORNBILL’s comment, again, applies to this blog entry too. Don’t you think so?

    I mean, with this:
    “I am surprised that RTM last night telecast the parliamentary exchange between ZAM and me. Those who have seen it may wish to offer their feedback.”

    I believe it actually proves what ENDANGERED HORNBILL’s commented true. Why go all the trouble to broadcast it in TV that someone has been calling names to him? Let us take a closer look at this situation. A ‘nobody’ (no offense ok ENDANGERED HORNBILL, I do support you :)) wrote a comment that has a word describing Zam behaves like a monkey. Zam responded to this by taking action to the magnitude that the whole country must know.

    This is simply too much. We’re talking about precious broadcasting time. I believe it was wasted for this six letter (monkey) issue. On the other hand, the people deserve to know other information that he has censored. Is this ‘monkey business’ more important than the information we deserve to know?

  62. “Freedom Without Borders (RSF) 2007 press freedom index, from No. 92 last year to 124”

    I believe that maybe our country’s “Zam’s Only Border (ZOM) 2007 press freedom index” is number 1 in this country. What do you think?

  63. undergrad2 Says:

    November 7th, 2007 at 20: 59.04
    To: ENDANGERED HORNBILL

    “I wonder if there is a difference between a monkey that goes bananas over nuts, and a monkey that goes nuts over bananas?”

    I haven’t had the time to think about such fine distinctions in these pattern of words…almost like a clever palindrome, isn’t it?

    All this hullabaloo about monkeys pushed these hot lava-like molecules of not-so-latent thoughts to rise to the surface of my cranium:

    Scorpene submarine deal – a.k.a. “monkey business”

    UMNO infighting – a.k.a. “monkey-eat-monkey”; also AIDS (or ‘Acute Income Deficiency Syndrome” ) among monkeys.

    Zam on Rempitism – a.k.a “monkey going NUTS” or “monkey going BANANAS”

    Zakaria of Klang-Gate fame: “monkey see, monkey do”

    PM Abdullah : “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”

    Nazri on Lingam-tape : A monkey on somebody’ back

    Malaysian Corruption Index: There are more monkeys out there!

    Witness Protection Bill : I’ll be a monkey’s uncle! I thought they were only monkey tricks.

    MP for Kinabatangan: Eveybody’s making a monkey (‘binatang’) out of me!

    Angkasawan hype: It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.

    IDR/ECR/NCR: Monkeys climbing up a molehill.

    Parallel to what ‘Boh liao’ & others said above on ‘insulting the monkeys’:

    Davy Crockett (1786-1836; US Congressman, frontierman & folk hero) was at a menagerie exhibition in Washington and amused his friends by pointing out a similarity between the features of one of the monkeys on display and those of a certain member of Congress. Turning around, Crockett found the member in question standing right behind him. “I suppose I ought to apologise,” he said, “but I don’t know whether to apologise to you or the monkey”.

    LKS’ blog: “Zam sees red in being called a monkey”. Cats and monkeys, monkeys and cats – all human life is there. (The Madonna of the Future). It’s reincarnation time, babe!

    Penultimately, ENDANGERED HORNBILL SAYS: “I do not give a monkey’s to what Zam said. This guy is usually irrational. His brains are ornamental rather than functional, in a manner of speaking, of course. Listen, ENDANGERED HORNBILL is no idiot to make a physical comparison. Definition of a monkey by Charles Darwin: ” A hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail & pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habitat”. Hello Zam, any similarity would have to be in the realm of the unseen like the IQ, for instance?

    Sigh, finally: THere are 193 living species of monkeys and apes. 192 of them are covered with hair. The exception is a naked ape self-named Homo sapiens. (Desmond Harris, The Naked Ape[1967], Introduction). Sorry, Zam, you are a monkey after all, according not to ENDANGERED HORNBILL, but according to someone much more distinguished than you, Desmond Harris.

  64. “Why go all the trouble to broadcast it in TV that someone has been calling names to him?” – Bra888

    In indirectly telling everyone that he read this blog – in accusing YB Kit or readers here in Parliament for calling him names like a “monkey” – in RTM’s telecasting the parliamentary exchange between Kit and him – isn’t our Information Minister unwittingly publicizing in mainstream media this blog to the Malaysian public to access and receive the messages of this blog?

    I thought Zam should be thanked for doing the Common Cause here a favour since it has been the complaints of many a posters here that the revelations and opinions do not permeate out to the larger public or least the section of it that accesses the Net by virtue of them not knowing about Kit’s blog.

    Take the case of Malaysiakini.

    On the sidelines of the Umno general assembly, a Star reporter asked Zam a question. Because of the din around he couldn’t catch it. Malaysiakini’s reporter standing next to the minister tried to help out by repeating the question but was asked to identify himself first. Zam immediately turned on him and angrily said “You are nonsense!….Malaysiakini is nonsense. You people only know how to sensationalise news! You people are low!”

    Malaysiakini immediately reported this. The Information minister was afterall helping to sensationalise Malaysiakini. It has been proven that everytime some ministers complain about any blog and about it not being moderated, it is news and the hits increase!

  65. Zam has gotten so many facts wrong throughout his career and his tenure at Information Ministry, no one of critical mind is surprise by his wrong fact and spin on it. In most jobs, he would have been fired by now, but his jobs is not to get the facts right but to spin information the way his bosses and friends wants.

    Think of UMNO GA speeches, they are full of incorrect facts, not just their views of things. Revisionism is part of UMNO agenda and their culture. The facts are unimportant, what is important is in the end how they look. In fact, making up fact is an artform, a very amateur one after decades of practise at that.

  66. //…Again and again we have seen Malaysian politicians come to power by playing the race – and now increasingly religion – card above all else, pandering to their own communities at the expense of the rest…// – Farish.

    But isn’t coming to power the main and consistent objective of politics and most politicians in general of whom Malaysian politicians are no exception? To them, if communitarian issues on race and religion were a sure fire proven way to be popular, garner support and rise up the political hierarchy, why not? They don’t particularly care a damn about nation’s wider interest unless it is symmetrical to the advancement of their own political careers.

    Who do you really blame then for the deepening and widening of the racial divide then ? Yes politicians but that does not explain why the majority of people keep repeatedly vote them in – rather than out – when they play the racial and religious card on communitarian posturing and issues, does it?

    If the problem of communitarian/racial politics were to be tackled, it should proceed at the ground level of the people (ours is a system of one man one vote with majority prevailing) but try convincing them not to vote on basis of race and religion – will one succeed?

    What does our history show?

    From day one of independence, we’re heading down this road of communitarian politics – and more communitarian politics. The seeds of politics of race were sown then and for 50 years thereafter it not only germinated but flowered and grown from strength to strength. Our Federal Constitution based on the so called “social contract” institutionalized, constitutuionalised and legalized distinctions based on race and religion; and political parties and ideologies were drawn on communal basis from Day One. Dato’ Onn wanted Malaya to be a “Malaysian Malaya” with equality for all races. Massive UMNO-orchestrated protests opposed it and was one of the points UMNO used to defeat the formation of Malayan Union and forced Dato’ Onn to form the Independence for Malaya Party that never secured broad based support. After independence, Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia by reason of the race factor and LKY’s campaign for “Malaysian Malaysia”. May 13 was used as an excuse and blamed on the Tunku Abdul Rahman who was edged out for being too fair and not doing enough for his disadvantaged community.

    Today notwithstanding political talk otherwise, we’re increasingly a “Malay Malaysia”, and an “Islamic State” though other races are supposedly protected as to their rights and constantly reminded of their obligations not to question the “social contract” lest it would disrupt the delicate “sharing of power” and harmony of the country leading to the spectre of another May 13 repeat!

    These are the existing realities.
    Even the concept of “Bangsa Malaysia” was questioned by the MB hailing from the state that is the bastion of UMNO’s support – Johore.

  67. I am very disappointed with all the bloggers on this topic. How could you INSULT MONKEYS by associating such fine animals with the Information Minister ? The minister is right to be out-rage, after all, Zam is not good enough to be called a monkey after all the BODOH things he has done and said. A MONKEY WILL NOT EVEN BE THAT STUPID!!!!!

    So, think again…..stop insulting the poor animals…….they have a higher intelligence than the information minister – infact, we should replace him with a monkey…….would do a better job and save the tax-payer money – we can pay in bananas!!!!

  68. You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Comparing an elected official with a monkey is really insulting…. to the monkey I mean.

    Truly, Zam is no more than a mass of protoplasm inhabiting space. I wouldn’t pay him any heed.

  69. Jeffrey
    Thank you for reading my comment. I know the answer, I just want people to analyze the situation properly by asking that same question themselves, in which you did and answered it well.

    Zam
    If you’re reading this, you’ll have to understand that people are not satisfied that this country’s Freedom Without Borders (RSF) 2007 press freedom index, drop from No. 92 last year to 124. It shames us and our country in the face of the world. This failure happened under your watch and you’ll have to bear the responsibility for it as you are the only one determining that fate. Unless it improves, I believe you should not expect compliments.

    That failure is self evident of your incapability to function as the Information Ministry. Your failure to admit this will show that you’re living in denial. This is also our country’s reputation that we’re talking about, not yours alone.

    Remember, it is you who hold the power and have failed this country, not the bloggers.

  70. Don’t take this personally.

    Burma made a mistake by attacking bloggers and restricting their freedom of speech. Many life’s were lost. They made a mistake so that we can learn from it, not so that we can repeat it.

    There are more of us(bloggers) than there are more of your ‘underlings’. I believe even Lim Kit Siang is a blogger(he is or else I’m probably in someone else’s blog). I believe declaring war against us is unwise as it is a losing battle and a useless one too. I believe that working together would be a wiser choice.

    This country is believed to be a ‘peaceful’ country, only if when we achieve a certain level of understanding by working together, not by working against each other.

    Start talking with each other to achieve a common understanding, instead of being biased by our own opinions. I believe that’s what bloggers do and it’s their purpose. They blog, so that they can receive all kinds of opinions, good and bad. So that in the end of the day, we understand each other and learn a few things or two from strangers. Things that we are blinded by our own biasness, we can see it now with the help of strangers.

    And I believe, if this is achieved, maybe people will like you more and will defend you at some times(it depends on your actions in the end, so don’t really expect too much).

  75. United Monkeys Natural Org Manifesto found in the super highway!

    1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism – Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

    2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights – Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

    3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause – The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

    4. Supremacy of the Military – Even when there are widespread
    domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

    5. Rampant Sexism – The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

    6. Controlled Mass Media – Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

    7. Obsession with National Security – Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

    8. Religion and Government are Intertwined – Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

    9. Corporate Power is Protected – The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

    10. Labor Power is Suppressed – Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

    11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts – Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

    12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment – Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

    13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption – Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

    14. Fraudulent Elections – Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

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