Month: May 2011

By P Ramakrishnan | Aliran’s President

The motive is to implant the impression in the minds of Malaysians that the performer in the sex tape is Anwar – to the extent that a senior police officer from Bukit Aman reportedly has been in Kelantan for several weeks meeting with principals and teachers and informing them it is Anwar who is in the tape.

Leaving aside the question if this is the paramount duty of the police in curbing violence and assuring our personal safety and security, a pertinent question to ask is, “Why is it so important for the police to implicate Anwar in this sex scandal?”

Just for argument’s sake, so what if it was Anwar? What law has he breached; what offence has he committed? Malaysians would want the police to state in clear terms what Anwar is guilty of as far as the sex tape is concerned. What section of the Penal Code is applicable to charge him for that particular offence?

Malaysians don’t want the police to go on a wild goose chase only to be told later on that there was nothing to it! Malaysians don’t want to be taken for a ride by the police. They want the police to state very clearly whether Anwar has a case to answer. They have to state this immediately to convince the Malaysian public that the police are not wasting their time on inconsequential issues. They have a duty to perform better and conduct themselves professionally. Continue reading “If it was Anwar, so what?”

By Kee Thuan Chye

The sex video saga is really turning out to be a farce. It’s so funny you can’t help but laugh.

First, the ‘Datuk T’ trio who brought public attention to the video have been made the butt of countless jokes. Second, the police seem to be hesitant in revealing their findings even as the video has been leaked out and posted on YouTube and Umno-friendly blogs although the only copy is supposed to be in police custody.

And now one of the trio has taken the sumpah laknat. Last week, Shazryl Eskay Abdullah swore on the Quran to make us believe he is telling the truth in saying that the man in the video is Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. What’s going to happen next?

This act of swearing on the Quran is getting to be a trend. In 2008, Saiful Bukhari Azlan did it to attest he was sodomised by Anwar. That same year, no less than Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself also did it to have us believe he was never involved with Altantuya. Despite their gestures, many people are still sceptical.
Continue reading “The sex video comedy and the Malaysian malady”

By June Rubis
May 05, 2011

We stand separated by an iron gate.

Concerned villagers and relatives of Numpang Suntai are quietly gathered outside the gates of the Simunjan magistrate’s court. The rest of us, carefully picked by the police, are standing on the grounds of the court with his lawyers.

The day is February 16, 2011, and Numpang is on trial for criminal intimidation. He, along with five tuais rumah (Iban longhouse chiefs) and a prominent land rights activist, Nicholas Mujah, were previously arrested and detained a few months prior on suspicion of burning down a timber camp that stood on their native customary land.

The man of the hour stands quietly in the rain in solidarity with his supporters who came far and wide to be by his side. So does lawyer Edmund Bon who refused to step inside court grounds.

I had taken Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan pass the iron gate because she wanted to discuss with the lawyers regarding Numpang’s case. My job was done, and I stood uncertainly with the heavily-armed police and lawyers, wanting to be on the other side of the gate. Continue reading “Behind the iron gates”

Tweets @limkitsiang:-

5th day:
[Admin] LKS 5th day w/o vision on left eye. However surgeon optimistic of sight recovery after Vitrectomy op. Q: how much? Wil b longhaul

4th day:
[Admin] LKS w/o vision on left eye for 4th day. Depending on outcome of Vitrectomy op to restore sight. Pray for the best.

Letter by Mat Zain

Kepada,
YDH Tan Sri Haji Ismail bin Haji Omar,IGP,
Ketua Polis Negara,
Polis Di-Raja Malaysia,
Bukit Aman,
50560 Kuala Lumpur,
Email:[email protected]

YDH Tan Sri,

KEYAKINAN RAKYAT TERHADAP PDRM SEMAKIN PARAH

1. Sejak dua minggu kebelakangan ini orang ramai nampaknya bertambah lantang mengecam dan mengutuk caramana tindakan PDRM menangani isu video lucah yang dikatakan melibatkan Anwar Ibrahim.Malahan terdapat mereka dengan secara terbuka dan berani mengeluarkan kata-kata kesat dan lucah terhadap pucuk pimpinan PDRM.Melihat tindak tanduk dan kenyataan umum yang dibuat oleh Polis sendiri,dan diperbesarkan oleh media,kita tidak dapat menyalahkan rakyat jika berpendirian sedemikian.
Continue reading “Another Open Letter from Mat Zain to IGP”

By M. Bakri Musa

Free Minds in Our Legends and History

In Sulalatus Salatin (Malay Annals) there is the story of Temasek (old Singapore) being regularly invaded by a school of flying swordfish. Hundreds fell victim, impaled by the sharp snouts of the fish. All efforts at combating this piscine scourge were unsuccessful.

That is, until a young boy suggested to the sultan to plant a row of banana stems along the shore. In that way, Hang Nadim told the sultan, when those flying fish darted onshore, they would be impaled on the soft stems.

The scheme worked wonderfully well, and the pleased sultan decided to honor the young man. The sultan’s advisors however, had second thoughts. If that youth could dream up such a brilliant scheme at a young age, they convinced the sultan, imagine what else would he think of later as an adult. Sensing a future threat, the sultan had Hang Nadim executed instead. Imagine!
Continue reading “Longing For A Free Mind (Part 9 of 14)”

The World Bank 2011 Essay Competition finalist – Shaun Tan from Malaysia on brain drain.
By Shaun Tan

‘Our young people represent the future of our country’. This phrase has been echoed by almost every politician in almost every country in modern history. However the changes instigated by the increasing ease of migration are such that not even this time-honored cliché holds the weight it once did. Young people still represent the future, but it is the future of whichever country they decide to settle in or impact, which may or may not be their country of origin. As with most changes, there are new benefits and drawbacks, and new winners and losers. Among the most pressing questions countries now face are how to prevent their young people from migrating, and how far they should go in providing for the migrants residing within their borders.

***

Exodus

Smart Indians go to med school,
Smart Chinese go to investment banks,
Smart Malaysians go to Singapore.
– Anonymous

Continue reading “The Migrant’s Eye”

By Kee Thuan Chye

PRIME Minister Najib Razak has changed his tack in relating to the Chinese electorate. He seems to have discarded his role of the charmer who spun 1Malaysia hogwash to win Chinese hearts and minds. He is now threatening them instead.

He’s telling them that if they don’t support Barisan Nasional (BN) at the next general election, they will not have representation in the Government. This is because Chua Soi Lek, the MCA president, has declared that his party will not accept government positions if they don’t get Chinese support.

Najib’s switch to a threatening mode shows that he’s desperate. He clearly must be after what has happened in the recent Sarawak state elections, when the Chinese dumped the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) in favour of the Opposition. Despite Najib’s 10-day campaign in the state, the Chinese there did not show him any face. They are simply fed-up with the corrupt BN Government and they want reform. But for BN, the loss of Chinese support, especially in Sarawak, with the possible spread to Sabah, could be crucial at the next general election.
Continue reading “No Difference With or Without”

by Yin Ee Kiong | CPIAsia

Until now one can arguably say that the non-Muslims have not made a stand against the erosion of their constitutional right regarding freedom of worship. Neither have they done anything to protect the status of their religion.

The church has stood by while symbols of their religion were dismantled from mission schools. The church leaders were weak and complaint, and for being a ‘good boy’ many were made Datuks. The same can be said of the leaders of the other religions.

If ever they thought that ‘turning the other cheek’ would appease the Islamist fundamentalists then they were wrong. Appeasement only emboldened the religious ultras among the Muslims.

Now we’ve had churches being torched and corpses snatched, temples demolished and cow heads paraded to insult the religions of the infidels.
Continue reading “Surely not another 50 years of Islamisation?”

By M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 8: Culture, Institutions, and Leadership

Negeri endah kerana penghulu. (Great nation, great leader.)
—Ancient Malay Proverb

There is now gradually emerging a common Malaysian culture. Part of this is the result of a deliberate official policy, but more likely it is the natural consequence of people living and working together. I posit this process would have gone further had there been no governmental policy promoting a common culture. It is a predictable human reaction to be defensive and protective of one’s heritage when threatened.

In America there is no stated policy of Americanizing new immigrants, nonetheless new arrivals are always eager to join the mainstream. Within a generation, new Americans are already fully acculturated. Similarly, early Chinese immigrants to Malaysia, the “Straits” Chinese, readily adopted the Malay language and way of life precisely because the government and polity of the day were not harping on the issue of a “national” culture. Likewise, early Indian Muslim immigrants to northern Malaysia blended easily with native Malays, aided undoubtedly by the commonality of religion. Mamak Malays, as they are called, are fast vanishing as a subculture as they have become completely assimilated, with some becoming ministers and even Prime Minister!
Continue reading “Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #63”

Tweets

Lim Kit Siang
[Admin] LKS had successful 90-min Vitrectomy op under GA. Only time can tell if LKS can save his left eye. Thanks all well wishes & prayers
9 May (10.53pm)

Tweets

Lim Kit Siang
[Admin] LKS TQ 2wellwishers re Endophthalmitis 2antibiotic injections in2 eyeball 2fight dread infection.Vitrectomy option if no improvement
2 May (9am)

Lim Kit Siang
[Admin] LKS down with Endopthalmitis, all programmes cancelled on doctor’s advice. Regrets unable complete program in Kcg/visit Sibu-Miri
1 May

The recent focus given to history as a compulsory subject in the Malaysian school curriculum has driven me as a parent of school going children to gain an insight of what my children are learning in history as a subject in school. Before I summarise my findings (via reading my children’s history text books from Form 1 – 5), allow me to briefly take you through what is being taught as history in our government school:

Form 1 students are taught predominantly about the Malacca Sultanate with sporadic anecdotes of the other states. Penang is not mentioned at all and if I’m a student studying in Penang, I will seriously be wondering why. That is until I go to Form 2 whereby I will learn about the Straits Settlement, Tin Mining, Rubber Plantation and Exploitation by the British. Form 3 students learn about the Japanese Occupation, the Communist Party of Malaya, leading to Malaysia’s independence in 1957. A very detailed account of all the political parties in Malaysia is also elaborated. The 1955 Election Results seemed to be an important account in history as it is mentioned twice, in Form 3 and again in Form 5.

In Form 4, other than the first two chapters where one learns about the early civilization and the emergence of various religions, the rest of the year you will be doing an in-depth study of Islam – Islam Civilisation, Islamic Government in Medina, Formation of Islamic Government & Its Contribution, Islam in South East Asia, and Islam Influence in Malaysia. One could not be faulted to ask the question if one is learning history or religious study. I believe Azmi Sharom has expounded succinctly and rather ingeniously on this issue in his article in The Star on 30 Dec 2010. Continue reading “An Open Letter to Our Education Minister”