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Malaysia: This Is Only The Beginning

By Farish A Noor

Recently I found myself in an open discussion with some of my students in the university I am based at in Indonesia. At the tender age of 18, this first-year student demonstrated both the intellectual acumen and political commitment I have come to expect from those twice his age, yet he was just one of the many students whom I am proud to say have come under my care and tutelage. After ten years of teaching experience, I have come to the simple conclusion that my Indonesian students are by far the smartest, gutsiest, honest and dedicated compared to the students I have taught in Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, France and Holland. Why?

That an 18 year old can begin his university life equipped with enough political knowledge and commitment is a testimony to the success of a primary and secondary educational system that got it right. This boy is the product of the post-Suharto educational system of Indonesia, and living proof that the reformasi (reform) movement of the 1990s in Indonesia has succeeded.

Yet the success of reformasi in Indonesia depended upon the quiet dedication of a legion of activist-academics who toiled day and night to dismantle the hegemonic structures of power and knowledge that were developed and consolidated during the three decades of Suharto’s rule. This meant that they had to confront not only the hegemony of the old regime, but also replace much of the human and ideological resources that had been put in place between 1970 to 1998. Ten years later, the results are only beginning to show and it has proven to be a worthwhile endeavor after all.

Malaysia today is at a similar crossroads where Indonesia was a decade ago. With the febrile grip of the Badawi government growing weaker by the day, there is much speculation that Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister and now de facto leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, is poised to take over the reins of power. It is widely speculated that Anwar now has more than forty members of Parliament who are prepared to leave the ruling UMNO party and join his People’s Alliance to take over from the unpopular and discredited government of Badawi. Anwar has written to Badawi and called for a dialogue between the two to discuss a peaceful transition of power: something that has never happened in the course of Malaysia’s 51-year history. Continue reading “Malaysia: This Is Only The Beginning”

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“Free MP Teresa Kok Parliamentary Caucus” formed

The “Free MP Teresa Parliamentary Caucus” was formed in Parliament this evening with the support MPs of the three Pakatan Rakyat parties and the just-resigned Minister for Prime Minister’s Department, Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

The Caucus’ immediate agenda includes:

• Seek the support of Parliamentarians in ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) for the immediate and unconditional release of MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok from Internal Security Act (ISA).

• A meeting with the Deputy Inspector-General of Police on Teresa Kok’s detention and her condition of incarceration and health concerns.

• Visit of Teresa Kok.

• Motion for urgent debate on Teresa’s ISA detention when Parliament reconvenes on October 13, 2008.

Although the release of Teresa Kok from ISA detention is the immediate objective for the setting up of the caucus, MPs who attended its inaugural meeting are agreed that the Caucus should also work for the releasse of Raja Petra Kamarauddin, the Hindraf Five and all other ISA detainees as well as for the repeal of the detention-without-trial ISA.

Officials of the “Free MP Teresa Kok Parliamentary Caucus” appointed today are:

Joint Chairmen –
Lim Kit Siang – Ipoh Timor
Mohamed Azmin Ali – Gombak
Kamaruddin Jaffar – Tumpat Continue reading ““Free MP Teresa Kok Parliamentary Caucus” formed”

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Zaid’s resignation “last nail in the coffin” of Abdullah’s repeat of reform pledges after March 8 “political tsunami”

Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s announcement this morning that his decision to resign as Minister in the Prime Minister’s DepAartment is final despite being advised by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to reconsider the move is the “last nail in the coffin” of Abdullah’s repeat of reform pledges after the March 8 “political tsunami”.

It is clear that the detentions of DAP MP for Seputeh and Selangor Senior Exco Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin under the nefarious and iniquitous Internal Security Act (ISA) were the last straw causing Zaid to submit his resignation after a six-month stint in the Cabinet, making him the only Minister in the nation’s history to resign on a matter of principle.

When Zaid was surprisingly appointed by Abdullah to be a Minister after the Barisan Nasional debacle in the March general election, it was clear that Zaid had a special agenda – to retrieve Abdullah’s credibility and legitimacy as a Reform Prime Minister by carrying out reforms in the important sectors of the judiciary, the police and anti-corruption.

Zaid’s resignation is an admission that Abdullah’s repeat pledge of the reform programme after the March political tsunami has come to the end of the road, that: Continue reading “Zaid’s resignation “last nail in the coffin” of Abdullah’s repeat of reform pledges after March 8 “political tsunami””

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“916” symbolised the yearnings of Sabahans for a new Malaysia where they enjoy full citizenship status and benefits as Malaysians

“916” this year has added significance, as it marks not only Malaysia Day but also the yearnings of Sabahans for a new Malaysia where they enjoy full citizenship status and benefits as Malaysians.

In the past 45 years, Sabahans have been denied their full citizenship rights – which is symbolised most vividly by the government failure to declare Malaysia Day on September 16 as a national public holiday.

After 45 years, Sabah’s problems are more than a basketful.

Sabah is a rich state with vast natural resources but the people of Sabah have been denied an equitable share of the wealth of the state.

Not only hard-core poverty, but poverty, should have been eradicated in Sabah by now. Instead, poverty in Sabah is the worst in the country.

Last year, I raised in Parliament the tragedy of the suicide of a 11-year-old Dusun boy from Kinarut, Donny John Dion, because of acute and desperate poverty of his family by hanging himself at home at Kampung Suangon in the Papar parliamentary constituency.

It is a state and national disgrace that in the 21st century, 11-year-old Donny could be driven to suicide because of the poverty and deprivation suffered by his family 45 years after the birth of Malaysia.

The Sabah Chief Minister should have resigned in shame and disgrace at a scandal like Donny’s suicide but there had neither been moral stirrings nor sense of responsibility by any of the Barisan Nasional leaders whether at state or national level for Donny’s tragedy. Continue reading ““916” symbolised the yearnings of Sabahans for a new Malaysia where they enjoy full citizenship status and benefits as Malaysians”

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No national-level celebration of Malaysia Day 2008 – PM and Cabinet apology warranted

The first item of business in the Cabinet meeting tomorrow should be an apology from the Prime Minister and the Cabinet for no national-level celebration of Malaysia Day 2008 today, September 16, to commemorate the day 45 years ago when Malaysia was born.

If Pakatan Rakyat could celebrate May Day with a 20,000-people rally at the Kelana Jaya Stadium last night, when the Pakatan Rakyat is still the Opposition at the national level, there can be no acceptable reason why unlike in previous years, the Barisan Nasional federal government has failed to organise nation-wide celebration on September 16 today as Malaysia Day this year.

There is no more eloquent reminder to Malaysians, particularly the people of Sabah and Sarawak, than the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s failure to hold nation-wide celebrations for Malaysia Day this year, that Sabah and Sarawak have yet to be fully accepted and recognised as an integral part of Malaysian nation-building and developmental process.

After the March 8 “political tsunami”, it belatedly dawned on the Prime Minister as well as on Barisan Nasional politicians in Sabah and Sarawak that the BN MPs in the two states occupy a strategic “kingmaker” role determining the survival of Umno hegemony and Barisan Nasional federal government.

The Barisan Nasional suffered a severe thrashing in the March 8 general election, winning 140 seats against the Pakatan Rakyat’s 82. However, 54 of these BN parliamentary seats come from Sabah and Sarawak – Sabah 24 and Sarawak 30.

Without these 54 BN MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, BN would be reduced to 86 seats out of 222 MPs in Parliament, evicting the BN from Putrajaya and into the Opposition.

But what is the use of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak flying almost every week from the federal capital to Sabah and Sarawak when this unprecedented strategic “kingmaker” role of BN MPs from Sabah and Sarawak dawned after the March 8 “political tsunami”, promising new billion-ringgit development allocations and plum offices to Sabah and Sarawak politicians, if the federal government is not prepared to accord proper respect and recognition to September 16 every year as Malaysia Day! Continue reading “No national-level celebration of Malaysia Day 2008 – PM and Cabinet apology warranted”

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Zaid Ibrahim to attend – “Free MP Teresa Kok” parliamentary caucus inaugural meeting tomorrow

MP for Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan, co-ordinating secretary convening the inaugural meeting of the “Free MP Teresa Kok” parliamentary caucus in Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 17.9.08) at 3 p.m. has informed me that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim will attend.

I phoned up Zaid from Kota Kinabalu where I am attending a Sabah DAP forum “Malaysia – Towards a New Era” and the first Minister in the nation’s history to have resigned from the Cabinet on a point of principle confirmed his concern for the incarceration of MP Teresa Kok under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and that he would attend the meeting of the proposed “Free MP Teresa Kok” parliamentary caucus.

I hope to see Barisan Nasional Ministers and MPs, as well as the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, attending the meeting to demonstrate the maturity of the Malaysian Parliament where Parliamentarians can distinguish between parliamentary and party considerations and unite on a single footing to advance the cause of a first-world Malaysian Parliament. Continue reading “Zaid Ibrahim to attend – “Free MP Teresa Kok” parliamentary caucus inaugural meeting tomorrow”

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“Free MP Teresa Kok” Parliamentary Caucus

Too busy to blog since the media conference in Parliament at 11 am yesterday on the letter to the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia on Teresa Kok’s detention under the Internal Security Act, with several events crammed one after another including the following events:

1. Habeas corpus application for the release of Teresa at the Kuala Lumpur High Court;
2. First visit of Teresa by her parents at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur since her ISA detention on Friday (Sept. 12) night at 11.18 pm.
3. Candlelight vigil at Kinrara, Teresa’s state assembly constituency.
4. Pakatan Rakyat Malaysia Day rally at Kelana Jaya Stadium.

Before rushing off to airport, must blog about the convening of a meeting of MPs from all political parties which I announced in Parliament House yesterday to form a “Free MP Teresa Kok” Parliamentary caucus.

The inaugural meeting of this parliamentary caucus will be held in Parliament tomorrow, Wednesday, 17th September 2008 at 3 p.m and I hope that regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, MPs (and Ministers) will come together tomorrow to demand MP Teresa Kok’s immediate release in our capacity as a parliamentarian.

MP for Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan is the co-ordinating secretary convening the inaugural meeting tomorrow for the establishment of the “Free MP Teresa Kok” parliamentary caucus. Continue reading ““Free MP Teresa Kok” Parliamentary Caucus”

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Teresa’s ISA arrest letter to Speaker

15th September 2008
YB Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia,
Speaker,
Dewan Rakyat,
Parlimen.

YB Tan Sri,

Detention of MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok under the Internal Security Act on baseless and non-existing grounds- a grave contempt of Parliament

Three-term DAP MP for Seputeh YB Teresa Kok Suh Sim was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Friday, 12th September 2008 at 11.18 pm like a common criminal on her return to her Kuala Lumpur condominium at the condo entrance and has since been held incommunicado as if she is a Malaysian version of Osama bin Laden posing a grave threat to the security and stability of Malaysia.

Parliament, as one of the three branches of government and in keeping with the doctrine of separation of powers, cannot take lightly the use of the detention-without-trial ISA against an elected Member of Parliament, as it is not just about the violation of an MP’s individual human rights and parliamentary responsibilities, but a serious assault on the institution of Parliament and the system of parliamentary democracy when an MP could be silenced and Malaysians deprived of their elected representative and spokesperson by arbitrary exercise of police and Executive powers.

Continue reading “Teresa’s ISA arrest letter to Speaker”

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Continue Teaching Science and Mathematics in English

by M. Bakri Musa

In May 2003, five months after the government started the teaching of science and mathematics in English in our schools, the Ministry of Education produced a “study” with the incredulous findings of significant improvement in our students’ achievements! All in five months!

Now five years later, research from the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) showed the very opposite results. What gives?

Both studies were prominently and uncritically reported in our mainstream media. That first study was presumably swallowed whole by our policymakers to justify continuing their policy. Rest assured that this second one too would be used for a similar purpose, as an excuse to jettison that same policy.

Despite many attempts I was unable to get a copy of that first study. Nor have I seen it published in any journal, or find any paper credited to its author, raising questions on the credibility of the “study” and competence of its “researcher.”

To the credit of its authors, this later paper is freely available on the Internet, all 153 pages of it. Its lead author is an emeritus professor, a title reserved for retired accomplished scholars, with a dean and deputy dean as his coauthors. Despite its impressive authorship, this study is deeply flawed in its design and conclusions. It does however, expose many weaknesses in the implementation of the policy, in particular the lack of teachers fluent in English. Continue reading “Continue Teaching Science and Mathematics in English”

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Set Raja Petra free – this true defender of Islam and the rights of many

by Azly Rahman

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish’d.

— from William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Saudara RPK,

I hope they are treating you well, in this holy month of Ramadhan that is turning our nation into our Ramallah.

I write in a state of being free while you languish in sadness incarcerated by those in their dying days breathing painfully.

They say that you are anti-Islam and anti-government. The are wrong on both counts. You are a great defender not only of Islam but of other faiths. You are a great defender of a sane government yet to be installed and one that will gladly set you free.

They are fearing not you nor the voices of conscience no longer in the wilderness; they are fearing themselves – their Inner Self – that they are answering to in their scramble to satisfy their greed for material wealth and lust for power.

They have not made you a bankrupt, RPK. They themselves are drowned in riches that will bury them.

Sdr. RPK. I hope your incarceration will be brief. So too will be of the others.

The rakyat feels that the present government will not be the one freeing you. A new one will. Continue reading “Set Raja Petra free – this true defender of Islam and the rights of many”

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Free Teresa, Abolish ISA!

Please forward to all Malaysians:

http://www.petitiononline.com/freetkok/petition.html

The Barisan Nasional Government has on the 12 September detained Member of Parliament for Seputeh, state assemblywoman for Kinrara as well the senior state executive councillor for Selangor, Sdri Teresa Kok without trial under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).

She has been accused of stirring up racial sentiments by instigating residents to petition against mosques in Kinrara and Kota Damansara to lower the volume of their speakers. Teresa has denied these allegations and both mosques have come out to deny these accusations. There is hence absolutely no basis for this arrest. She has already threatened to sue Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, the former Selangor Menteri Besar and Utusan Malaysia for making and publishing these unfounded allegations.

The arrest of Sdri Teresa Kok,Raja Petra Kamaruddin, the Hindraf 5 as well as others is hence arbitrary, high-handed and a mockery of democracy. By labelling Teresa and others as threats to national security without any shred of evidence is a travesty of justice and a gross violation of human rights.

The petitioners hence resolves that the BN government should not use draconian powers under the ISA to cling on to power and demands the immediate and unconditional release of Teresa, Raja Petra, the Hindraf 5 and other detainees. In addition, we the petitioners demand the immediate repeal of the ISA to prevent abuses that oppresses the fundamental liberties of each and every Malaysian.

As loyal and upright Malaysians, sign the petition today!

http://www.petitiononline.com/freetkok/petition.html

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Habeas Corpus application for Teresa Kok tomorrow; International-level Campaign will be launched

The habeas corpus application to free DAP National Organising Secretary, three-term MP for Seputeh and Selangor Senior Exo for Investment, Trade and Industry Teresa Kok from arbitrary and wrongfully detention under the infamous Internal Security Act (ISA) would be filed at Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in Kuala Lumpur at 12.30 pm tomorrow.

The application will be filed by Teresa’s lawyers, DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Gelugor, Karpal Singh and Central Executive Committee Member and MP for Puchong Gobind Singh Deo.

Let all friends and supporters of democracy and freedom show up at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex tomorrow to demonstrate our support, sympathy and solidarity with Teresa at this hour of trial – both for her and the nation.

A three-prong international-level “Free Teresa Campaign” will be launched in the next few days to secure the support of parliamentarians in ASEAN, the Commonwealth and the World Parliaments for her immediate and unconditional release. Continue reading “Habeas Corpus application for Teresa Kok tomorrow; International-level Campaign will be launched”

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Meeting with Speaker Pandikar Amin tomorrow on MP Teresa Kok’s ISA detention on totally baseless grounds

I will meet the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia in Parliament tomorrow over the detention of DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the actions which should be taken by Parliament over an MP’s arrest on totally baseless and non-existent grounds.

Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday that Teresa was detained under the ISA as she had questioned the sensitive issues such as the azan (call for prayers for Muslims) and that could cause ill-will and disharmony.

This allegation was first made by the former Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr. Mohamad Khir Toyo, which was then sensationalised by Utusan Malaysia.

Teresa had made an immediate denial that she had tried to disallow azan in Kota Damansara Sri Serdang and Puchong Jaya. The mosque committees in both areas have endorsed Teresa’s denial with the Masjid Kota Damansara officials explaining that a damaged ampliflier had resulted in the calls to prayer to be made without the aid of a PA system while Masjid Kinrara mosque committee said Teresa had never set foot in Masjid Kinrara and was not involved in the azan petition issue in the area.

The PAS MP for Kota Raja Dr. Siti Mariah Mahmud had also lodged a police report against Khir on Thursday for his statement published in Utusan Malaysia on Tuesday, as it was “maliciously intended and aimed at raising the anger and anxiety of Malay Muslims”.

The police has no basis whatsoever therefore to detain Teresa under the ISA for the baseless and non-existent grounds linking her to any azan controversy.

As an active political leader, how can Hamid repeat the baseless claim of the police about Teresa’s questioning the azan issue as anyone following the news whether in the printed or electronic media would know that it was the irresponsible and sole concoction of Khir Toyo and Utusan Malaysia? Continue reading “Meeting with Speaker Pandikar Amin tomorrow on MP Teresa Kok’s ISA detention on totally baseless grounds”

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Tan Hoon Cheng makes ISA history – Syed Hamid acquires ISA infamy

Gutsy Sin Chew Daily senior journalist Tan Hoon Cheng makes Internal Security Act (ISA) history for being detained for the shortest period under the infamous detention-without-trial law – less than 20 hours!

She was detained in her Bukit Mertajam home on Friday, September 12, 2008 at 8.35 p.m and released at her Bukit Mertajam house at 4 p.m.

She spent the Friday night in the police lockup and the next morning was being taken down to Bukit Aman in Kuala Lumpur by car but U-turned at Ipoh to return to Penang as “instruction” came for her release.

All for a four-paragraph straight reporting of a speech by Umno Bukit Bendera division chairman Datuk Ahmad Ismail in the Permatang Pauh by-election ceramah on August 23 referring to the Chinese in Malaysia as “penumpang”!

Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar meanwhile acquired ISA infamy for his cynical, preposterous and contemptible explanation and justification for Tan Hoon Cheng’s arrest as well as those of Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin under the ISA. Continue reading “Tan Hoon Cheng makes ISA history – Syed Hamid acquires ISA infamy”

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Abdullah – release Teresa, RPK, Tan and withdraw from precipice of new Malaysian dark age

Part 2 – LKS
Part 3 – LKS
Part 4 – Q and A
Part 5 – Teresa’s parent
Part 6 – Dr Hatta

DAP leaders, MPs and State Assembly representatives are gathered in this media conference, together with the parents of Teresa Kok, DAP National Organising Secretary, Selangor Senior Exco Member and MP for Seputeh, to condemn in the strongest possible terms the arrest under the Internal Security Act (ISA) of Teresa, Raja Petra Kamaruddin and the senior Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng.

We deplore these ISA arrest and attacks on the media and the blogosphere which also constitute a violation of the Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees of no Internet censorship, as the ISA detention of the RPK, the live wire of Malaysia Today news portal, is as good as Internet censorship despite formal government unblocking of the news portal.

Instead of a 916 “sky change” or “political change”, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has orchestrated a 912 “sky-change” of his own, with the ISA arrests and threats to the media and the blogosphere, marking the failure of his premiership to usher in a more open, accountable and democratic administration.

It shows how little things have changed in his five years as Prime Minister – with hardly any structural and institutional reforms or changes as all the repressive laws and institutions have remained intact, just kept in abeyance awaiting to be reactivated, as has happened! Continue reading “Abdullah – release Teresa, RPK, Tan and withdraw from precipice of new Malaysian dark age”

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Candlelight vigil for Teresa tonight

Candlelight vigil for Teresa Kok tonight 7pm at DAP PJ HQ.

Public is welcome. Please pass the word around.

No 24, Jalan 20/9, Paramount Garden,
46300, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: +603-79578022/79578127
(see map)

The vigil is being held just before the DAP CEC Emergency meeting on the ISA arrests. At 8.30pm, another vigil will be held at Bukit Aman for all ISA detainees.

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Beware! Cavemen Working!

by M. Bakri Musa

The arrest under the ISA of Raja Petra Kamaruddin, editor of the hugely popular Internet commentary portal Malaysia-Today, together with journalist Tan Hoon Cheng and MP Teresa Kok, as well as the “show cause” letter to three newspapers expose the caveman thinking and behavior of those we have entrusted to lead our nation.

To think that this repressive action is being taken during our holy month of Ramadan! So this is the essence of Abdullah Badawi’s much-hyped Islam Hadhari!

I join millions of other law-abiding Malaysians in condemning this latest Neanderthal action of the Abdullah Administration in its callous disregard for basic human rights and dignity. Unlike many however, I am not shocked by Abdullah’s latest act. On the contrary, it is so predictable. Raja Petra himself commented on his imminent arrest a few days earlier in his column, as well as in an interview with the BBC.

After all, the only tool a caveman has is his club, and the only skill he has learned is to swing it around wildly. When that does not work, the only choice in the caveman’s thinking is to get a bigger club and to swing it even more recklessly, even at the risk of destroying everything around him, including himself.

The government had earlier blocked Raja Petra’s website, but when that proved ineffective (as mirror sites popped up immediately everywhere) as well as embarrassing (as it showed the government’s impotence and stupidity), the caveman in Putrajaya dropped his club and grabbed an even bigger one and began swinging it clumsily around.

Rest assured that no matter how big the club or how hard the caveman swings it, this “new” strategy will not work either. We no longer live in caves and Malaysians – our leaders excepted – have long evolved from our Pithecanthropus phase. Continue reading “Beware! Cavemen Working!”

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Teresa Kok arrested!

[UPDATE – Teresa was taken to Wangsa Maju Police Station from the condominium and at 2.50 a.m (13th September 2008), she left the Wangsa Maju police station and was taken to the an unknown custody centre where she would be held for her police custodial detention which could be up to 60 days. After that, it is up to the Home Minister to decide whether to issue a formal order of detention without trial, which could be for two years, renewable indefinitely]

I have just been informed that Selangor Senior Exco Member and DAP MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok has been arrested under the Internal Security Act by the police at 11.18 p.m. when returning to her condominium in Kuala Lumpur from a Mooncake Festival reception in her constituency office.

Three police cars with over 10 police personnel stopped Teresa at the condominium entrance and took her away.

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Malaysia in the grip of another ISA madness?

A second Internal Security Act (ISA) arrest in less than eight hours after RPK – the Sin Chew Daily senior journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, 33, who reported that Umno Bukit Bendera division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail’s speech at a Permatang Pauh by-election ceramah on August 23 that the Chinese in Malaysia are “squatters” in the country and which resulted in a nation-wide furore and political crisis.

Ahmad got off lightly with a three-year Umno suspension but why is the Sin Chew Daily reporter detained under the ISA, when her report had been confirmed as true when Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Umno President Datuk Seri Najib had apologised “on behalf” of Ahmad?

Although Ahmad did not “recognise” Najib’s apology on his behalf, the Deputy Prime Minister’s apology is confirmation that Tan’s report was correct, especially as Najib was present when Ahmad had given the controversial speech at the Umno ceramah during the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Will the two reporters, one from Guang Ming and the other from Nanyang, who had collaborated Tan’s report of Ahmad Ismail’s speech be next on the ISA crackdown? What about all those columnists who had flayed Ahmad for his provocative, inflammatory and racist speech – are they all marked for the Kamunting Detention Centre?
Continue reading “Malaysia in the grip of another ISA madness?”