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Sex scandals obsess Malaysia: the country with a one-track mind

By Sholto Byrnes
Sunday, 24 April 2011
The Independent

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s opposition leader, tomorrow faces the resumption of one of the less edifying cases to have been heard amid the colonnaded formality of the Kuala Lumpur High Court: his trial for allegedly sodomising a 25-year-old aide named Saiful Bukhari.

It is not the only scandal with which the former deputy prime minister, whose dismissal and first trial for sodomy made world headlines more than a decade ago, is dealing.

The man once feted as Newsweek’s “Asian of the Year”, whose supporters include Al Gore, the former US vice-president, and Paul Wolfowitz, a former World Bank president, is also accused of being the star of a 21-minute sex tape featuring a Chinese prostitute (by way of variation, female), a clip of which was briefly posted on YouTube.

But these are only two instances of the sexually related incidents that fill the country’s papers and gossip sites every day. So numerous are stories of physical misdemeanours in this conservative, Muslim-majority but essentially easygoing country that the question is being asked: are Malaysians obsessed with sex?

Within the past few days, it has emerged that the education department in the eastern state of Terengganu has set up a boot camp to which it has sent 66 schoolboys to deal with their “effeminate tendencies”.

“The severity of the symptoms vary. We understand that some people end up as homosexual,” said the department’s director, Razali Daud, “but we will do our best to limit the number. If left unchecked, it could become a problem for them, their families and society.” Continue reading “Sex scandals obsess Malaysia: the country with a one-track mind”

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Ean Yong denies DAP, Teoh ever took kickbacks

By Melissa Chi
April 24, 2011

SERI KEMBANGAN, April 24 — Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah again denied today DAP and his dead aide Teoh Beng Hock ever took kickbacks, an issue speculated in a royal panel investigating the death.

Teoh was called as a witness in a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe into alleged misuse of state funds by Ean Yong but was found dead on July 15, 2009 at the agency’s Selangor office after overnight questioning.

“I need to stress here that, the DAP branches and Teoh Beng Hock have never taken any cut or kickback from the contractors or suppliers. We have documents to prove that these are baseless accusations.

“What happened was, in many cases the DAP branch or certain party members are part of the organising team and footed some of the bills of the programmes. When we got back the claim from the district office, we then reimburse to the branch or members who have paid the bills earlier,” he told reporters here.

Teoh, 30, was the political secretary to Yong, who is also the Seri Kembangan assemblyman from the DAP, at the time of his death. An inquest turned in an open verdict, saying it was neither suicide or homicide. Continue reading “Ean Yong denies DAP, Teoh ever took kickbacks”

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Sin City, Jay Bee – a tribute to Johor Bahru

by Azly Rahman

Where have all those memories gone
Of the city that never sleeps
Sin-filled you are
… Offering life’s panorama
A pandora box of a lushness of emotions

Jay Bee
You may be called a city of filth
Of gang wars and transvestite agalore
Of rock kapak geniuses conceived immaculately
From the womb of Papa Rock
Ahhh New Johor … New York you may want to be
Thou shall never attain that notoriety Continue reading “Sin City, Jay Bee – a tribute to Johor Bahru”

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Voting hanky-panky – helis and postal ballots

Dear YB Lim,

This is in view of the last Sarawak state election. I was in Miri for a week on work then. I think Malaysia should rethink the way voting in the rural interior are carried out.

1.As I understand helicopters are used to carry the ballot boxes from the interior to the counting centres. These boxes, as I was told are carried from the voting stations by heli for counting at a central area. But I also hear that they are also relayed to a point and front there to another transfer by heli later.

The question is, how safe are these ballot boxes at the transit area NOT to be manupulated with. And are these boxes accompanied by the reps of the political parties? As I also hear they reckon that there were more opposition votes from the rural folks, this time.

2. As regards to postal votes for Security personnel, this should be discontinued, OR have the votes counted there and then and the results verified before they are recorded and announced later at the central counting area. Continue reading “Voting hanky-panky – helis and postal ballots”