Month: January 2013

By Martin Jalleh

Yesterday, I made a plea for an end to the politics of lies and falsehoods in the run-up to the 13th General Elections, which must be held latest in 156 days by June 27, but is expected to be held in less than 70 days.

I was referring to the latest defamation suit lost by UMNO mouthpiece, Utusan Malaysia, this time to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, earning a rebuke by the judge, Justice V.T. Singham who found Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd and its chief editor Abdul Aziz Ishak as guilty of damaging Anwar’s reputation and exposing him to ridicule and scorn.

In his judgment, Singham stressed that journalists and editors should be careful with what they write so as not to include comment, which may impugn somebody.

The judge said: “The press should have no greater power in impressing or misleading the minds of the people when compared to the reputation of an individual.

“It is essential that journalists, editors and publishers should take great care before any article which tends to harm the reputation of an individual is published. Reckless articles that contain insinuation or imputation without verification are to be avoided.”

But the judge’s advice had no effect whatsoever on the UMNO/BN mainstream media and neither my plea for an end to the dishonest politics of lies and falsehoods, and in particular that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional mainstream media (MSM) should observe the most rudimentary canons of journalistic ethics and to stop being ‘Lies-Papers”.

This was shown by another egregious lie and falsehood by the UMNO/BN mainstream media today – this time by New Straits Times in its false report headlined “Wife of ailing MP angry at DAP”, (p.6) which was nothing but a pack of lies without an ounce of truth. Continue reading “79-Day Countdown to 13GE – What unethical depths and bottomless pits are going to be plumbed by UMNO/BN leaders and their mainstream media (MSM) before the 13GE?”

— Disappointed Mom | January 22, 2013
The Malaysian Insider

JAN 22 — As a new school year is under way, it is not only students but also parents who feel, wary and uncertain of the expected changes in Year 2013.

Now that the excitement of the newly launched education blueprint has settled, what awaits Malaysian students and their parents? As a mother, I had a cursory glance, knowing fully well that the next education minister will freely make more alterations.

Through the years one thing has remained constant: the innumerable changes to the education system — the earnestness of the previous and current education ministers in implementing gross and drastic changes has turned our kids into collateral damage in their frenzy to garner votes.

Perhaps the first to lose trust in our education system are Malaysian ministers and senior government bureaucrats, who in much haste are sending their own children to private English schools or to overseas institutions — a clear indication of the dismal level and standard that our education system has sunk to.
Continue reading “Revamp the education system”

By Kee Thuan Chye | Monday, 21 January 2013 14:29
Malaysian Digest

I love the new spirit of defiance among Malaysians. I think we have come of age in realizing that we must stand up for our rights. And that it’s not wrong to do so.

After all, as the American political activist Howard Zinn puts it, dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

I’m not just talking about the defiance shown by already known people like Ambiga Sreenevasen and A Samad Said, the leaders of Bersih 3.0, when they stood up and spoke up or fought against the authorities to point out that the latter were wrong. I’m also talking about the courageous acts of ordinary people who despite having no organization to back them up did what they felt needed to be done, not just for themselves but for a larger cause.

A video grab of Universiti Utara Malaysia UUM student K S Bawani (L) and Sharifah Zohra Jabeen during the controversial forum held at UUM in Dec 8The recent act of speaking up at a forum of dubious intent held at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) by the university’s student K S Bawani is such a case. Despite the attempt by the forum’s moderator to humiliate her, she stood tall.
Continue reading “Defiance Is Gaining Momentum”

By Martin Jalleh

By Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi | 11:46AM Jan 21, 2013
Malaysiakini

COMMENT I wish to comment on the irresponsible statement of Ibrahim Ali (purposely NOT using any titles) on the burning of Malay language Bibles with the name Allah. I think such statements, if left unchecked by the Malaysian public, elected representatives and especially, the prime minister himself, would create a culture of extreme violence and victimize many innocent Malaysians.

I urge peace loving and sensible Malaysian of all religious faiths to come together and denounce such ‘grandstanding statements’ that clearly violate our ‘sacred’ Rukunegara tenet of ‘Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan’.

Our forefathers have worked hard to build this nation of diverse communities, race and religions and derive the principle of ‘Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan’. I am convinced, as a Malaysian, as an academic and as a Muslim, that the May 13 tragedy that saw many innocent lives lost was not due to the ignorance of ordinary Malaysians but by politicians trying to be popular by using such fiery instructions in order to incite racial hatred.

I have read the book ‘A Singapore Story’ and some other critical writings that indicate that the culprits of our racial mistrusts and clashes were in no small part due to self-serving politicians and a media which has no sense of honour whether in the Islamic spirit or in any religious spirit.
Continue reading “Whither ‘kesopanan dan kesusilaan’ on ‘Allah’ issue?”

By Martin Jalleh

— Greg Lopez
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 21, 2013

JAN 21 — The symbolism of the Malaysian people’s uprising on January 12 or KL112 cannot be underestimated for its importance in myth-making. In facilitating this “people’s uprising”, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has not only created new myths that would solidify its presence in the memories or “imagery” of Malaysians in a positive manner, but more importantly, PR has also moved decisively in dismissing myths created by Umno and its subordinates in the Barisan Nasional (BN) that have been the grand narrative/s in Malaysia for the past 55 years.

Myths — stories, memories and symbols — provide the basis for the narratives that create, forge or reaffirm identities. These are especially crucial in periods of critical transformation and/or when societies are undergoing a crisis of identity. Jose Luis Borges noted that the past and the future inhibit the present. In the context of the KL112, PR is representing the present by connecting to a more glorious Malaysian past and the promise of a more glorious future.

But why is PR now the purveyor of hope, a realm that was firmly in the hands of Umno with visions of grandeur and Malaysians, Malays and Muslims being world beaters. The reasons are multifaceted and many are known with incompetence, mismanagement and corruption by the ruling regime being often touted as the main reasons. It could also be that Malaysia and Malaysians are undergoing an identity crisis. Continue reading “KL112 and a new Malaysian identity?”

Congrats to Anwar for today winning his defamation lawsuit against Utusan Malaysia, the newspaper in Malaysia which is making world history in piling up the most number of lost defamation suits against Pakatan Rakyat personalities.

Lies and falsehoods against Pakatan Rakyat have become the staple diet of Utusan Malaysia, the mouthpiece of UMNO, to the extent that Utusan Malaysia is more a “Lies-Paper” rather than a “News-Paper”.

But Utusan Malaysia is not the only “Lies-Paper” in Malaysia although it is the worst example of the stable of UMNO/Barisan Nasional mainstream media (MSM).

With the daily approach of the 13th general elections, UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders and their propaganda mouthpieces, whether mainstream media or rogue cybertroopers, will be working overtime to pump out lies and falsehoods.

Let all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, territory, age or gender, unite in the forthcoming 13GE to reject the politics of lies, falsehoods and abuses of UMNO/BN.

It is sad that not only the living, but even the dead, have also become casualties of such politics of lies and falsehoods. Continue reading “80-Day Countdown to 13GE – Reject politics of lies and falsehoods of UMNO/BN”

Perdana Menteri keempat Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad; yang merupakan Perdana Menteri Malaysia paling lama memerintah selama 22 tahun dari 1981-2003, terus memburukkan politik dan masa depan Malaysia – lama selepas beliau bersara sepuluh tahun lalu.

Semalam, Mahathir telah membuat satu cadangan mengarut supaya suruhanjaya siasatan diraja diwujudkan bagi menyiasat tentang pemberian kewarganegaraan kepada satu juta pendatang asing di dalam Persekutuan Malaya sebelum Merdeka, dua hari selepas Mahathir menegaskan bahawa apa yang beliau lakukan di dalam Projek IC atau Projek M di Sabah adalah “mengikut undang-undang”, dan Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman “telah melakukan lebih teruk dengan memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada satu juta warga semenanjung Malaysia yang tidak layak” sebelum Merdeka.

Malah Mahathir secara retoriknya turut bertanya: “Kenapa apa yang dia buat tak salah dan apa yang saya buat ini salah?”.

Dengan sekali pukul, Mahathir bukan sahaja telah mencemar kenangan dan nama baik Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, tetapi semua pemimpin UMNO/Perikatan yang terlibat di dalam perjuangan kemerdekaan, termasuklah Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock dan Tun Sambanthan.

Amat mengejutkan bahawa tiga hari telah berlalu tanpa sebarang suara daripada pemimpin UMNO/MCA/MIC untuk mempertahankan Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock dan Tun Sambanthan. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 81 Hari ke PRU13: Jangan benarkan Mahathir mengalihkan perhatian daripada masalah utama dalam RCI Sabah, iaitu secara haramnya menghalalkan pendatang haram di Sabah ketika 22 tahun era Mahathir yang boleh mencecah antara 1.5 juta hingga 1.9 juta, dengan permintaan mengarutnya supaya diadakan RCI terhadap satu juta kewarganegaraan sebelum Merdeka”

Baru separuh bulan pertama Tahun Baru 2013 berlalu tetapi dasar 1 Malaysia Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak telah mengalami dua tamparan hebat – pertama, insiden “Listen, listen, listen!” Sharifah-Bawani dan kedua, mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr. Mahathir menfitnah Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman dan satu juta warganegara genrasi Merdeka.

Klip video terkenal “Listen, listen, listen!” Sharifah-Bawani adalah bukti terkini berterusan dan bahaya tersembunyi pusaka 22 tahun pemerintahan drakonian Mahathir, mendedahkan kepalsuan dakwaan bahawa pemerintahan Najib telah membuang segala beban lampau yang bersifat Mahathir dan kini menganut kepercayaan “Era kerajaan tahu semua telah berlalu”.

Apa yang menggoncang keyakinan awam sehingga ke akar bukan sahaja integriti institusi negara tetapi juga iltizam kerajaan sekarang terhadap dasar 1Malaysia ialah fitnah terhadap Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman dan satu juta warga generasi Merdeka oleh Perdana Menteri paling lama memerintah ketika cuba menjustifikasikan Projek IC atau Projek M yang telah melakukan jenayah dan pengkhianatan penipuan “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” di Sabah bagi mempertahankan kuasa UMNO di negeri itu.

Najib menghuraikan maksud 1Malaysia di dalam Hala Tuju Program Transformasi Kerajaan 1Malaysia pada Januari 2010 menyebut:

“Matlamat 1Malaysia adalah untuk menjadikan Malaysia lebih berdaya maju, lebih produktif dan lebih berdaya saing – dan kemuncaknya sebuah negara yang hebat: sebuah negara yang diharapkan agar setiap warga Malaysia melihat dirinya terlebih dahulu sebagai rakyat Malaysia, dan kemudiannya barulah melihat dirinya berdasarkan bangsa, agama, kawasan geografi dan latar belakang sosial, dan juga sebuah negara yang diharapkan agar prinsip 1Malaysia dijalin dalam struktur ekonomi, politik dan sosial masyarakat.”

Akan tetapi satu persoalan yang menuntut jawapan, walaupun kita meletak ke tepi buat sementara waktu penolakan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin terhadap dasar 1Malaysia sewaktu beliau mengisytiharkan dirinya “Melayu dahulu, rakyat Malaysia kemudian” dan kegagalan Kabinet serta Majlis Tertinggi UMNO/BN untuk menyokong secara terbuka dasar 1Malaysia meskipun sudah empat tahun pemerintahan Najib. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 82 Hari ke PRU13: Najib sepatutnya membersihkan nama Tunku, bapanya Tun Razak dan satu juga warga generasi Merdeka daripada fitnah Mahathir bahawa Tunku telah memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada sejuta orang yang tidak layak”

Mahathirisme yang asli, tulen dan sejati – putar belit yang tidak logik, gesaan yang diselubungi pembohongan dan ketidakjujuran tanpa malu.

Terbaru, klip video Sharifah-Bawani menjadikan ungkapan “Listen, listen, listen!” terkenal di serata dunia, akan tetapi mahaguru sebenar “Listen, listen, listen!” tidak lain tidak bukan ialah Mahathir, yang semalamnya memberikan rakyat Malaysia penjelasan klasik “Listen, listen, listen!”, satu dekad selepas 22 tahun beliau meletakkan jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri namun menunjukkan bahawa beliau masih tiada tandingan di dalam seni “Listen, listen, listen!” yang beliau dukung itu.

Mahathir menjawab pendedahan di Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) tentang Projek IC (juga dikenali sebagai Projek M) pendatang tanpa izin dan penipuan “resit KP-untuk-undi” serta “kewarganegaraan-untuk-undi” di Sabah pada tahun sembilan puluhan, tetapi beliau telah melampaui batas memandangkan buat pertama kalinya dalam tempoh 14 tahun beliau mengakui kewujudan Projek IC atau Projek M yang jahat dan khianat bukan sahaja untuk menumbangkan proses pengundian tetapi juga kedaulatan Sabah dan Malaysia.

Mahathir hanya ada sehingga semalam untuk menafikan kewujudan Projek IC atau Projek M sejak dakwaan berkenaannya mula muncul di dalam petisyen pilihan raya Likas pada tahun 1999, tetapi semalam, ketika ditekan oleh media sekiranya beliau mengatakan Projek IC mengikut undang-undang, Mahathir mengatakan: “Ya, ia mengikut undang-undang.”

Sekiranya Projek IC atau Projek M mengikut undang-undang, memberikan KP dan kewarganegaraan kepada orang asing adalah “dijamin undang-undang”, mengapa Mahathir perlu menafikannya dan menyembunyikannya dari rakyat Sabah dan Malaysia untuk berdekad lamanya? Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 83 Hari ke PRU13: Gesaan “Listen, Listen, Listen!” Mahathir dan persoalan – Apa yang perlu dilakukan apabila mantan PM telah melakukan pengkhianatan ketika berkuasa?”

By Martin Jalleh

— Uncle Nick
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 20, 2013

JAN 20 — Finally, the true colours of our esteemed Dr M are revealed.
At a recent forum, Dr M was reported to have touted his idea of what a strong government is and is not. He was quoted to have said that a strong government must be brave to use force and that being liberal is a weakness. He attributed the loss of the two thirds majority by the BN government to the lack of confidence the citizens had towards the then BN leadership.

He also lamented the fact that the power of the BN government is being destroyed because of weak leadership. The fact is that the source of power of a government lies with the citizens, not with a political party. No political party has hereditary rights to govern – 55 years in government notwithstanding. When it comes to the power to govern, the citizens giveth and the citizens taketh. The citizens rightly have the expectation that the power so giveth must be exercised for the citizens’ betterment. Most of all, the power must be exercise wisely, or the citizens have every right to taketh it away.

Of course, government leaders have to be daring. But daring to do what is the big question. Surely it is not daring to do things that are unjust, not accountable, fraudulent or downright criminal. When they do that, they no longer deserve the confidence of the citizens and with it, the right to govern.

Dr M seemed to suggest that the current government leadership is afraid of its people. Frankly, I’d rather have a government that is ‘afraid’ of its people than one that rides roughshod over its people. As long as a government has the strength of its conviction to do the right things by its people and be accountable for its action, fear does not come into the equation. Continue reading “The true colours of Dr M”

— CL Tang
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 20, 2013

JAN 20 — I read with incredulity Wong Chun Wai’s mournful assessment of the state of political discourse in Malaysia, “The lost middle ground” (The Sunday Star, 20th January 2013). Commenting on the recent episode where a panellist berated a student for her political views at a local university and the subsequent harsh responses in cyberspace, he commented,” we are incapable of articulating our points in a persuasive and rational manner, preferring to shout, as in a ceramah, or to talk down, in the big brother/sister know best” attitude.”

As the editor-in-chief of the largest circulated English newspaper in Malaysia, Wong should re-examine whether he has played a role in the decline of healthy political discussions among Malaysians, and whether The Star has been equally guilty of “talking down” to its readers.

In just a week where we had the KL112 event to the recent shocking revelations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) where there are alleged conspiracies of votes in exchange for citizenships, if one examines the manner in which the Star covered the issues, one would conclude that it was not news per se, but spins slanted in favour of the government.

In the KL112 event and similarly in the previous Bersih 3.0 event, where hundreds of thousands of Malaysian defied the veiled threats of government intimidation, The Star’s reports and editorials was so one-sided that the last shred of responsible journalism was dropped. When an undergraduate tweeted, “Dear #KL112 supporters, if you don’t like Malaysia, you can get out of Malaysia….” The Star exclaimed that “a Twitter star…. is born” under the headlines, “Twitter sensation unfazed by brickbats in cyberspace” (The Star, Jan 14th 2013). And here Wong has the audacity to reprimand Sharifah Zobra Jabeen, the protagonist in the “Listen, listen listen” fiasco for insinuating those who do not like Malaysia to leave the country! Continue reading “The Lost Middle Ground”

By Dr. Lim Teck Ghee | Sunday, 20 January 2013 11:03
CPI

The pro-Umno author and blogger Syed Akbar Ali, in a post critiquing the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah, has argued that it would not be out of place to have a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate why one million immigrants who were mostly Chinese and Indians were given citizenship in Malaya in the 1950s (see his post of 17 Jan 2013).

According to him, “surely there must be at least five million Malays on the Peninsula today who may be wondering why or how that particular incident happened? Were they consulted? Was there a public referendum?”

He also asserted that “Let’s not argue about the fairness. Let’s have a RCI first on the issue – how and why 1.0 million Chinese and Indians (including my mamak gang of course) were given citizenship.”

He may have made his proposal provocatively or tongue-in-cheek but a variant of it has appeared as one of the lines of defence used by the former prime minister in justifying the distribution of identity cards to foreigners and their registration as voters in Sabah. According to Dr Mahathir Mohamed , “One should also look back and remember that Tunku Abdul Rahman was worse than me, he gave one million to citizenships to people who are not qualified and not even tested”.
Continue reading “RCI proceedings: Facing up to the truth of where Malaysians come from”

By Martin Jalleh

The fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years from 1981-2003, continues to cast a dark shadow on the politics and future of Malaysia – long after his retirement ten years ago.

Yesterday, Mahathir made the ridiculous proposal for a royal commission of inquiry into the granting of citizenship of one million foreign immigrants in the Federation of Malaya before Merdeka, two days after Mahathir asserted that what he did in Project IC or Project M in Sabah was “lawful”, and that Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman “had done worse by giving citizenship to one million unqualified people in peninsula Malaysia” before Merdeka.

Mahathir even rhetorically asked: “Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong”.

In one fell swoop, Mahathir had smeared the memory and good name not only of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, but all the Umno/Alliance leaders involved in the Merdeka struggle, including Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

It is utterly shocking that three days have passed without a single voice from the UMNO/MCA/MIC leadership to defend Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Ismail, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

I myself find it most unbelievable that after the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting on Thursday night, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak could mention with seeming agreement and approval Mahathir’s claim about Tunku giving citizenship to one million Chinese – which was why I called on Najib yesterday to clear the name not only of Tunku, but also Tun Razak and the one million citizens of Merdeka generation from Mahathir’s defamation. Continue reading “81-Day Countdown to 13GE: Don’t allow Mahathir to divert attention from central problem before Sabah RCI, illegally legalising illegal immigrants in Sabah during 22-year Mahathir era which could range from 1.5 million to 1.9 million, with his ridiculous call for RCI on one million pre-Merdeka citizenship”

– The Malaysian Insider
Jan 19, 2013

JAN 19 – It is a measure of how far Umno/MCA/MIC have fallen that not one of its members has leapt to the defence of Tunku Abdul Rahman in the wake of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s self-serving statement on the award of a million citizenships in the early days of Malaya.

Even a primary student can see that there is an ocean of difference between the award of citizenship by the Tunku Abdul Rahman and the insidious manner in which senior members of the Mahathir administration in the 1990s gave ICs to illegals in Sabah so that they could vote in the state elections and pervert the electoral system.

Tunku Abdul Rahman did not give citizenships to Chinese and Indians under the counter. It was an open exercise and it was not done to circumvent any election.

But just listen to the treason at play in Sabah since the 1990s to keep Barisan Nasional (BN) in power and dilute the position of the Kadazandusuns. Continue reading “No one to speak up for the Tunku”

The first month of the New Year 2013 had just passed the half-way mark but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s signature 1Malaysia policy had already suffered two fatal blows – firstly, the Sharifah-Bawani “Listen, listen, listen!” diatribe and secondly, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir’s defamation of Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman and one million citizens of the Merdeka generation.

The infamous Sharifah-Bawani “Listen, listen, listen!” video clips is the latest proof of the continuing and insidious legacy of the 22-year draconian Mahathir rule, debunking the claim that the Najib premiership has shaken off all Mahathirish past excesses and now subscribes to the belief that “The era the government knows best is over”.

But what has shaken public confidence to its very roots not only in the integrity of national institutions but the commitment of the present government to 1Malaysia policy is the defamation of Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman and one million citizens of the Merdeka generation by the longest-serving Prime Minister when brazenly trying to justify Project IC or Project M which had perpetrated the capital crime and treason of “citizenship-for-votes” scam in Sabah to shore up UMNO’s political power in the state. Continue reading “82-Day Countdown to 13GE: Najib should clear the name of Tunku, his father Tun Razak and one million citizens of Merdeka generation from Mahathir’s defamation that Tunku had given citizenship to one million unqualified people”