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Sleight of hand and twist of fate

On a bed of nails Malaysians wait
by Singa Pura Pura

The impudent, open screening of naked pornography at Carcosa Seri Negara. Think about it – as we lay and wait on our bed of nails – for the police and the public prosecutor to move.

Despite the gathering storm of public outrage and the consternation of an entire nation, the Home Minister, representing UMNO and the ruling coalition, still refuses to do the right and proper thing – which is to bring the persons who have openly, plainly and admittedly broken the laws of the land before the altar of justice. To charge them in an open court and to afford them an opportunity of answering those charges; to see if they have a lawful justification or excuse for possessing and screening pornography at a public place.

It is pertinent here to ask the question: In the Federation of Malaysia, and for all practical intents and purposes, to whom does the Attorney-General or the Inspector-General of Police answer? Is it to His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong? Is it to Parliament? To the Cabinet? Or to the Home Minister and/or the Prime Minister? The answer is common knowledge. Which is why pushing the blame – for the dogged refusal of the Home Minister to act – unto the police and the public prosecutor is akin to the liver apportioning liability upon the kidneys for not filtering out the toxins that are poisoning the body. Are we, seriously, being asked to believe that in this country, the police acts without any reference to the Attorney General who, in turn, acts autonomously from the Home Minister or the Prime Minister?
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Malays are still ruled by colonialists called “Umno”

By Martin Jalleh

Perkasa, described by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang as an outsource of Umno’s extremist demands, recently declared that for the Malays it would be “Better ruled than walked over” (The Malaysian Insider).

Its president Ibrahim Ali said that the “Malays would be better off living under colonial rule if Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which safeguards the special position of Bumiputeras is brushed aside.

Firing a warning shot across the Najib administration’s bow on the night the PM unveiled the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) annual report, Ibrahim stressed that the national agenda must be driven by Article 153, rather than incorporate the clause in piecemeal fashion.
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The Christians Win, But For How Long?

By Kee Thuan Chye
malaysiandigest.com
04 April 2011

IN their stand-off against the Government over the Bible issue, the Christians have won. Especially those in Sabah and Sarawak. Not only will the Bible in any language, including Bahasa Malaysia, be allowed to be imported; it can now be printed locally and in the indigenous languages of the Sabah and Sarawak natives. This shows that when you stick to your guns, you’ll get what is rightfully yours. In this case, the right to practise your religion freely, as is guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

The Christians have to be admired for standing up and not giving in. But lest they think they had God, Najib Razak and Idris Jala on their side, they might do well to realize that what decided the issue in their favour and even beyond their wildest expectations was obviously the upcoming Sarawak state elections.

This is a politically expedient decision through and through. Otherwise, it would not have been made at such super speed. Prime Minister Najib desperately wants the Christian vote in order for his coalition to win big in Sarawak. The outcome of the state elections there could be a harbinger of the next general election. He needs a morale booster. He cannot afford a break in Barisan Nasional’s (BN) momentum after its recent spate of by-election victories. He wants to keep up the public perception – no doubt as advised by his well-paid public relations consultants – that Malaysian support for BN is returning. He also wants to ensure that Sarawak remains a safe deposit for BN. And Sabah, too, where the Christian populace, like that in Sarawak, is substantial. Continue reading “The Christians Win, But For How Long?”