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Native festival lacks spirit

By Luke Rintod | May 18, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

KOTA BELUD: Sabah’s main local native festival, Tadau Kaamatan or Harvest Festival, was a shadow of its old self this year.

Decorated stalls that are normally put up by government agencies and private companies to exhibit and sell products were absent and uncollected garbage from the previous day was strewn around.

The district-level celebration in Kota Belud used to be attended by thousands of locals and tourists, but this year a mere 300 turned out for the drab affair.

If this is any indication, the once renowned festival that is marked for for its jolly drinking sessions, camaraderie and friendly competitions following the padi-harvesting season, is set for the state’s cultural dustbin!
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Murder most foul: The truth still eludes us

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‘For the two who were convicted of the crime – who has seen their faces? Are they in prison or are they relaxing outside their beach homes?’

Wikileaks releases cables on Najib and Altantuya

Ferdtan: There is nothing new in the Wikileaks cables that we do not know about – but it is nice to get it from an unbiased third party, US embassy’s political section chief Mark D Clark.

It gives credence to ‘gossip’ – and, it seems that these allegations must have some truth. Obviously the US embassy, being professional, must have done some basic investigations into the authencity of some of the allegations against PM Najib Razak before despatching their report to its head office in Washington DC.
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Longing For A Free Mind (Part 11 of 14)

By M. Bakri Musa

Q&A: Change, Corruption, and Talent Recruitment

Q1: We went through a momentous change, a political tsunami as it were, with the 2008 general elections, yet things have remained unchanged. What would it take to effect real change in our country?

A1: I understand and share your frustration. What will it take for our country to change for the better? I am certain that a few weeks ago the average Tunisians felt the same way as you do now; likewise the Egyptians, until just a few days ago. So do not despair, change will come. My hope is that when it arrives, we will be spared the fate now endured by the Tunisians and Egyptians.
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‘Tamil school problem still being ignored’

By Humayun Kabir | May 18, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

IPOH: Tamil schools that were closed because of poor enrolment are not being substituted with new ones in semi-rural and urban areas to cater to the Indian community, the DAP claimed.

Party national vice-chief M Kulasegaran said that nearly 60% of Indian parents preferred to send their children to Tamil schools rather than national schools.

He also said that in Perak, there are over 17,000 pupils studying in Tamil schools – 9,000 in national schools and over 1,500 in Chinese schools.

“Over 70% of the 134 Tamil schools in the state are located in former estates and about 80 of them have an enrolment of fewer than 100 pupils,” said Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP.
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Don’t give up on Malaysia

June Rubis
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2011

MAY 19 — Discovering the fresh corpse of an orangutan was probably the last straw. It had been shot several times and left to die on a riverbank. We discovered the corpse while paddling up a river in Batang Ai National Park.

Killing an orangutan, a totally protected animal, in Sarawak is an offence that could lead to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of RM30,000. Very few have been prosecuted for wildlife crimes in Sarawak, and the lack of prosecution or arrests does not necessarily mean that no crimes have been committed.
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Finding the nation’s voice

Christopher Chong
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2011

MAY 19 — Everyone knows that a democracy is a political system where periodical elections take place. But democracy is much more than just elections. It involves the existence of a space which allows for people to freely debate on public issues and government policies as well as presenting alternative ideas without the fear of repercussion. Indeed, the health of a democratic society is dependent on the existence of such a space.

This space — which could take various forms, i.e. physical, print, broadcast or virtual — also known as the public sphere enables people to freely gather to discuss and identify societal or political problems so that such discussions will lead to political action for the good of society.

Tahrir Square in Eygpt is a good example of how the public sphere was utilised by ordinary Egyptians who want to see political and social changes in their society. Through the mass protests throughout the country where Tahrir Square served as a focal point for hundreds of thousands of people gathered together to demand a change of the government, which had overstayed its welcome. Their efforts were crowned with the government bowing to the wishes of the people. Continue reading “Finding the nation’s voice”

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Teoh’s death IS about the MACC

The Malaysian Insider
May 18, 2011

MAY 18 — Datuk Seri Shafee Abdullah is right that that the public should focus on Teoh Beng Hock’s death but wrong to say that the blunders of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should not be in the picture.

That is part of the task given to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating the cause and circumstances of the suspicious death of the Selangor political aide. But it is also performing its original mandate of reviewing the propriety of MACC’s interrogation methods and procedures.

Of course we want to know what happened to Teoh on the morning of July 16, 2009 but a critical element to reaching any finding will be the surrounding circumstances of the case and the behaviour of the MACC.
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‘Christian Conspiracy’: Bona Fide or Bogus?

by Haider Yutim
Malaysian Digest
Wednesday, 18 May 2011

The nation is shaken again by an inter-religion strife after an arguably unsubstantiated news report from Utusan Malaysia entitled ‘Kristian Agama Rasmi?’. The allegation of a ‘Christian conspiracy’ that came out on front-page was akin to pouring gasoline over sparks that’s been kept under control by the government. And all it took was a three-word headline. A police report was lodged against the alleged conspiracy by DAP Bukit Tumba branch committee member Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman who purportedly witnessed the so-called secret pact between DAP leaders and pastors at a hotel in Penang. Following Razali’s police report, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar stated that investigations into an alleged Christian plot to unseat Islam as the federal religion was a priority for the police.
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A desire for better quality of life

Setec
The Malaysian Insider
May 18, 2011

MAY 18 — My primary reasons are different from that of most migrants from Malaysia:

1) English as the first language — I believe English is the language for all; I do not believe in multi-lingualism, e.g. learning Chinese, Tamil, etc.

I think this idea is not anti-nationalistic. For example, English is the first language in non Caucasian-majority countries like Singapore, Zimbabwe, etc.

2) One schooling system — a good majority of people in Malaysia are racists by supporting vernacular and religious schools. Chinese go to Chinese schools, Indians attend Tamil schools, Malays get education at religious schools, and the rest end up in government national schools.

I’m a product of government national schools; however, I’d only support government national schools if all lessons are in English (pre 1971). Continue reading “A desire for better quality of life”