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Fresh DAP polls on September 29

by Rita Jong
The Malaysian Insider
AUGUST 22, 2013

The DAP National Special Congress for the re-election of the central executive committee (CEC) will be held on Sept 29 in the Klang Valley at a venue to be confirmed later.

The party’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng announced the date during a press conference after a two-hour closed door meeting with CEC members today.

“The candidates for the re-election shall be that of the same list as that used in the 2012 National Congress in December 2012, of course less those candidates who have withdrawn voluntarily from the contest,” said Guan Eng.

“This is because there is no controversy over the list of nominated candidates and the RoS (Registrar of Societies) had instructed only the re-election of the CEC.”

He said the party would also be using the same list of qualified delegates who took part in the party polls last December to re-elect the CEC. Continue reading “Fresh DAP polls on September 29”

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True meaning of being Malaysian

– Natesan Visnu
The Malaysian Insider
August 22, 2013

August 31, 1957 is a day we all fondly remember. We remember the image and voice of Tunku Abdul Rahman chanting the words “Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!Merdeka!” with the crowd joining in.

The word “Merdeka” remains meaningless after 56 years and average Malaysians are still in a dilemma with the meaning of “merdeka” or independence.

We live in a society where the identity of an individual is based on race and status. We are very fond of introducing ourselves as Malaysian Malay, Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indian, etc. In our daily conversation, we are very fond of using “The Chinese boy said….”, “India itu cakap….”, “That Malay makcik said…”, “Sabah and Sarawak people always like that….”, “Yang tu orang Kelantan” etc. We still live in a society where our identity is always based on race, status, state, dialect, etc.

In true essence, we have not achieved independence “state of mind” and we are still at where we have begun. We are not Malaysian, we are still a nation with multi-identities and multi-ideologies. The word “Malaysian” is an ideology or extension of political will to create a pseudo-identity of a nation built based on multi-races and multi-cultural. The word “Malaysian” remains an ideology and the true definition of the word remains undefined.

“Malaysian” means nothing much to any of us unless when we are supporting our football team, Lee Chong Wei or Nicol David. Our unity only happens during sporting events. After that we are back being what we are. “Malaysian” with multiple identities and ideologies. The identity ideology remains an integral part of our daily affairs. Continue reading “True meaning of being Malaysian”

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Aren’t we proud of Merdeka Day?

Frankie D’Cruz
Mail Mail Online
August 21, 2013

AUG 21 — Ten days to Merdeka Day and Brand Malaysia has yet to be portrayed responsibly and sensibly. Is just asking people to fly the Jalur Gemilang enough to whip up energy on the streets and raise national happiness and patriotism?

Nothing so far has reflected the theme for the 56th Merdeka Day – ‘My Sovereign Malaysia: My Native Land’ – to remind the people the importance of uniting to defend the nation and creating awareness of love and affection.

Oops! Sorry, we had the waving of the Jalur Gemilang on Aug 16 in Sungai Petani that flagged off the Jalur Gemilang Expedition to all the states.

Double apologies, we also had the Merdeka Jalur Gemilang Aidilfitri expedition that involved visits and presentation of aid to the disabled and the needy during the month of Syawal.

So, why aren’t Malaysians singing the theme song and wearing this year’s winning Merdeka logo by Noor Hishammudin Omar on our garments?

Simple: The song has not been released yet and the logo must be in someone’s folder. Continue reading “Aren’t we proud of Merdeka Day?”