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We are the weeds with fire

By Sharon Chin
Malaysiakini
Sep 30, 2014

COMMENT I’ve wondered what it was like to be grown-up during Operasi Lalang. I was seven that year – truly a child of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who came to power in 1981, and ordered the government crackdown on political dissidents and activists in 1987. Over a hundred people were arrested under the Internal Security Act, and many of them got sent to jail.

People who lived through that time are calling this recent spate of arrests and convictions under the Sedition Act ‘Ops Lalang 2′. DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang blogged about a “…climate of fear in the country, as if we are in the midst of a ‘white terror’…” Former Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan declared to rousing applause at a forum: “…We are no ‘lalang’ (weed). We’re going to stand up today.”

Perhaps the confusion and fear in 1987 was the same as ours is now. Maybe parents chided in lowered voices about being careful what you write or say, at least until “this blows over. You never know”.

The same but not the same. Continue reading “We are the weeds with fire”

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DAP’s newest recruit in niqab sparks vitriol from critics

The Malay Mail Online
September 30, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Dressed in a niqab — the veil which covers her face leaving only her eyes visible — 22-year-old Jamila Rahim makes an unlikely face for the DAP, a secular political party that is mostly Chinese.

So much so that her public announcement and appearance as the DAP’s latest recruit has sparked a huge storm on the Internet, with a pro-Umno blog telling the young novelist and activist that she would be better off being a “whore” than joining the opposition party.

But Jamila, popularly known as Melati, is unfazed.

“I think the voice of the activists is quite the minority. Not everyone wants to listen to the voice of activists,” Melati told the DAP’s news portal Roketkini in an interview published today.

“If party members are not with them, who else will be? At least those who join political parties can deliver their voices,” she added.

The University of Selangor graduate said she joined the party to represent the activist community, which she said was marginalised during her four years of activism. Continue reading “DAP’s newest recruit in niqab sparks vitriol from critics”

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Melati Move – Langkah ‘ninja’

Wawancara
Roketkini
30 September 2014

Langkah novelis Pelacur Kelas Pertama Melati Rahim menyertai DAP secara senyap-senyap hampir sahaja mengabsahkan perawakan separa ninja yang dibawanya. Ya, Melati gadis berpurdah. Tutup semua, sehingga yang kelihatan hanyalah dua biji matanya.

Langkah ninja Melati disusun melalui cerpennya di Roketkini, yang menyelitkan di hujung tulisan bahawa Melati ini ahli DAP. Dengan harapan, ada mana-mana media yang mengutip maklumat tersebut. Ternyata ada, boleh baca di sini.

Gadis Melayu berpurdah masuk DAP bukan perkara biasa. Malah ada yang di dalam DAP sendiri masih terkejut dengan “Melati Move” ini. Sebenarnya, Roketkini sudah dudukkan Melati dan bertanyakan tujuan menyertai DAP secara bertentang mata.

Adakah sebab banyak orang menghalang-halang Melayu dari mendekat dengan DAP maka kau pun macam ‘ahhh.. aku nak masuk DAP lah’

Tak tak tak.. Aku masuk DAP bukan sebab tu. Aku tengok Perlembagaan DAP dan aku perhatikan sikap beberapa orang wakil rakyat DAP. Aku pergi rumah mereka ni… rumah mereka sangat biasa. Membuatkan aku rasa ‘alahai normal betul’.

Ada yang cakap pada aku ‘Kalau nak masuk parti, jangan fikir nak jadi YB. Kita kena fikirkan perjuangan dan perjuangan kita adalah untuk rakyat’. Benda ini aku tak nampak pada parti lain. Continue reading “Melati Move – Langkah ‘ninja’”

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Sedition rampage continues but Zahid has not honoured his oath that police will commence investigations “within 24 hours” on any sedition report as 120 hours have passed but still no police investigations against Najib and Mahathir

Another university lecturer is the latest victim in the lengthening list of the sedition crackdown intensified by the Najib government in the fortnight before the 57th Merdeka Day celebrations – Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari of the Universiti Selangor, who will be investigated by the police tomorrow under the Sedition Act after almost 100 reports were lodged against him for allegedly insulting the Sultan of Selangor for his views on the Selangor Mentri Besar constitutional crisis.

The sedition rampage continues, as hardly a day passes in the past month without someone being investigated or charged for sedition as if Malaysians have suddenly become the most “seditious” and anti-nationhal people in the world.

However, the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has not honoured his oath that police will commence investigations “within 24 hours” on any sedition report as 120 hours have passed but still no police investigations had been commenced against the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir.

The DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng lodged police reports 120 hours ago last Wednesday against Najib and Mahathir respectively for having committed the sedition offence, but police investigations on both of them had not commenced although Mahathir had given the police a blank cheque to arrest him if he had broken the law. Continue reading “Sedition rampage continues but Zahid has not honoured his oath that police will commence investigations “within 24 hours” on any sedition report as 120 hours have passed but still no police investigations against Najib and Mahathir”

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Earth lost 50% of its wildlife in the past 40 years, says WWF

Damian Carrington
The Guardian
29 September 2014

Species across land, rivers and seas decimated as humans kill for food in unsustainable numbers and destroy habitats

The number of wild animals on Earth has halved in the past 40 years, according to a new analysis. Creatures across land, rivers and the seas are being decimated as humans kill them for food in unsustainable numbers, while polluting or destroying their habitats, the research by scientists at WWF and the Zoological Society of London found.

“If half the animals died in London zoo next week it would be front page news,” said Professor Ken Norris, ZSL’s director of science. “But that is happening in the great outdoors. This damage is not inevitable but a consequence of the way we choose to live.” He said nature, which provides food and clean water and air, was essential for human wellbeing.

“We have lost one half of the animal population and knowing this is driven by human consumption, this is clearly a call to arms and we must act now,” said Mike Barratt, director of science and policy at WWF. He said more of the Earth must be protected from development and deforestation, while food and energy had to be produced sustainably.

The steep decline of animal, fish and bird numbers was calculated by analysing 10,000 different populations, covering 3,000 species in total. This data was then, for the first time, used to create a representative “Living Planet Index” (LPI), reflecting the state of all 45,000 known vertebrates. Continue reading “Earth lost 50% of its wildlife in the past 40 years, says WWF”

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ISIS+Al-Nusra Front? Islamists reportedly join forces, new threat against West issued

RT
September 29, 2014

Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front has issued a new threatening audio message featuring its leader warning the West “will pay the heaviest price” for its actions. The Syrian group is reportedly now joining up with the estranged Islamic State militants.

The leader of Syria’s most prominent terrorist group, Abu Mohamad al-Golani, in denouncing the US-led air strike campaign, has urged Westerners everywhere to do the same “by standing against the decisions of your rulers,” otherwise bloodshed would be brought to their soil.

“Muslims will not watch while their sons are bombed. Your leaders will not be the only ones who would pay the price of the war. You will pay the heaviest price,” Reuters cited him as saying. He threatened viewers that the fight would be brought “to the hearts of your homes.”

The US-led coalition has been involved in airstrikes against what until lately it thought was the most dangerous group in the Middle East – the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Continue reading “ISIS+Al-Nusra Front? Islamists reportedly join forces, new threat against West issued”

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In tale of ‘Rainbow Loom’ maker, racial quota rears its head again

The Malay Mail Online
SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — “Rainbow Loom” creator Ng Cheong Choon’s story of how he came to invent the toy fad begins much like that of former Malaysians who head for greener pastures after being allegedly deprived by racial quotas here.

Writing of his experience in British daily The Guardian, the creator of the colourful rubber bracelets said he and his brother were forced to head to the US for their education in 1991, despite barely being able to speak any English.

“After school, I dreamed of becoming an engineer, but I could not get into my local university, because Malaysia’s race-based quota system limits the number of ethnically Chinese students.

“Like many of my friends, I had to leave Malaysia to go to university,” Ng wrote in his article for The Guardian. Continue reading “In tale of ‘Rainbow Loom’ maker, racial quota rears its head again”

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US admits there is a much scarier terrorist group than ISIS

RT
September 21, 2014

New intelligence has emerged warning Washington that its upcoming confrontation with the Islamic State may leave it blind to a more sinister and direct threat from a much lesser known terrorist group that has arisen from the ashes of the Syrian war.

Very little information is being released at the moment by anyone within American intelligence circles, but the group calling itself Khorasan is said by officials to have concrete plans for striking targets in the United States and Europe as a chosen modus operandi – more so than the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIS.

The first ever mention of the group occurred on Thursday at an intelligence gathering in Washington DC, when National Intelligence Director James Clapper admitted that “in terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger as the Islamic State.”

According to the New York Times, some US officials have gone as far as saying that, while the Islamic State is undoubtedly more prominent in its show of force in the Middle East, it is Khorasan who’s intent on oversees campaigns in a way Al Qaeda usually is.

In this sense, the US air strike campaign and the coming actions by the anti-IS coalition might just be what coaxes the IS into larger-scale attacks on American and European soil – what Khorasan is essentially all about. Continue reading “US admits there is a much scarier terrorist group than ISIS”

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Armed with cell phones, Hong Kong’s young protesters ‘increasingly not scared’

By Wilfred Chan, CNN
September 29, 2014

Hong Kong (CNN) — It was 10 PM on Sunday and 22-year-old Michelle Li, a dancer, was supposed to be in her room doing homework.

But when she saw Facebook updates of police tear gassing pro-democracy protesters in downtown Hong Kong, she was too agitated to study. Within minutes, she followed online postings to the protest site itself — and soon had tear gas fired at her as well.

Only then did she peel her eyes from her mobile device. “While we were waging battle, we screamed out news to each other,” she tells CNN. “But before and after, I’d update people on the internet.”

It’s a high-tech response to a high-stress situation. Continue reading “Armed with cell phones, Hong Kong’s young protesters ‘increasingly not scared’”

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Reaffirmation of common policy framework and the consensus principle are the two prerequisites to restore public confidence in Pakatan Rakyat and save it from the fate of being a one general-election wonder

Pakatan Rakyat has emerged from its worst crisis in its six-year history.

Pessimists, whether inside the coalition or outside, have grave doubts about the continued viability of Pakatan Rakyat while optimists are a distinct minority.

Meanwhile UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders and strategists are working overtime to sow dissension and fan division in Pakatan Rakyat.

Yesterday, for instance, the UMNO mouthpiece Mingguan Malaysia carried a special article entitled “Nasib Pas selepas muktamar” alleging that PAS was being “bullied” by DAP while elsewhere in the non-Malay media, MCA and Gerakan leaders continue with their propaganda that DAP was being bullied by PAS.

Both allegations are equally preposterous and untrue, but the UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists are not interested in upholding the truth but in disseminating lies and falsehoods to sow dissension and conflict within the Pakatan Rakyat.

It will be a bonus to these UMNO/BN propagandists if they could get a few in PAS to believe that the PAS is being bullied by DAP and a few in DAP to believe that DAP is bullied by PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, for this will aggravate tensions and conflict in the Pakatan Rakyat. Continue reading “Reaffirmation of common policy framework and the consensus principle are the two prerequisites to restore public confidence in Pakatan Rakyat and save it from the fate of being a one general-election wonder”

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Second of Three Parts: Molding Our Students

A Modest Proposal for the Champions of Ketuanan Melayu
by M. Bakri Musa

[In Part One I suggested that our current obsession with the presumed deficiencies of our race and our undisguised resentment over the successes of others are but expressions of frus (frustration) and fury for our own lack of competitiveness and productivity. We should focus instead on remedying both, and begin with our young, especially those promising ones at our SBPs.]

It may seem obvious but needs to be stated explicitly: We must prepare these students for top universities the moment they step foot at a SBP. That’s how they do it elsewhere. American students aspiring to top universities begin their preparation upon entering high school, or even earlier. The courses they take, their extra-curricular programs as well as their summer activities are all geared towards this central mission.

My grandchildren who are in an American school in Singapore have assigned reading lists for the summer, and they are still in primary school! Likewise, SBP students must have mandatory reading lists and writing assignments during their long holidays. The purpose is two-fold. One is to prevent attrition of knowledge and study skills during the long hiatus, and the other, to inculcate the habit of reading and writing. It impresses upon them that those skills are not just for examinations.

Once when I took my family on an overseas trip, my son’s teacher asked him to keep a journal to be shared with his class while my daughter was assigned to study a Malay folk tale. In high school my son was invited to spend his summer break at Ames Research Center.

I speak with some experience. When my daughter entered Harvard Law School over 15 years ago, she was the first Malaysian to enroll there. There has not been another since. One of my sons works for an agency that prepares students for selective universities. Continue reading “Second of Three Parts: Molding Our Students”

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Eat. Pray. Jihad. Malaysians fighting for IS in Syria say Prophet demands it

The Malay Mail Online
September 29, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 ― Ahmad Salman Abdul Rahim chose to leave his job at a Malaysian construction company to fight alongside jihadists in Syria for a reason he says is 1,400 years old: The Prophet Muhammad demands it.

Muhammad, the founder of Islam, once advised a companion to fight in the area that makes up modern-day Syria and predicted that Allah would send an “army of mujahideen” to the region, Ahmad said. He said he’s there to avenge Muslims tortured and killed by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“We are portrayed as terrorists but I don’t care as this affair is between me and God,” UK-educated Ahmad, 38, said via Facebook messages from near Kfar Zeta in Syria’s Hama region. “Many of the end-of-times battles will happen around Syria. That’s among the reasons why I am here.”

As nations around the world grapple with the threat of Islamic State, the Southeast Asians fighting in the Middle East pose a risk in several ways, security analysts say. They could return and breathe new life into militant groups in a region with a history of extremism and occasional large-scale terror attacks, and they could radicalize friends and family at home via social media, aided by slick Islamic State promotional videos.

“It is not IS per se that might pose a danger to the region but rather its extreme militant ideology as well as the skills, battleground experience and international networks that Southeast Asian jihadists got from Syria and Iraq,” said Navhat Nuraniyah, an associate research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies who looks at terrorism and radicalization. Continue reading “Eat. Pray. Jihad. Malaysians fighting for IS in Syria say Prophet demands it”

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A dangerous precedent in Selangor

By P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Sep 24, 2014

QUESTION TIME Most legal authorities and previous judgments on such issues are clear on one thing – the sultan/governor/Agong must choose the candidate who is most likely to command the support of the majority of the state assembly or Parliament for the post of menteri besar/chief minister/prime minister.

And where it is clear that a single candidate commands that majority support, there is no need for the titular head of state to ask for any other names to be nominated but he has to follow the constitutional duty of endorsing the candidate who legally commands the majority support.

This is what a constitutional monarchy is about, where the the head of state lies above politics, does not interfere in the administration of the state, and whose only role here is an important, non-partisan one of ensuring the person who commands the support of the majority of the assembly is the chosen one.

That is the essence of Parliamentary democracy and this must not be allowed to be played around with by any party as the will of the people is reflected through elections in the composition of the state assembly and Parliament. The role of the monarch is to ensure that the will prevails no matter what. Continue reading “A dangerous precedent in Selangor”

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Kit Siang warns BN may retake Kelantan

By Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
1:00PM Sep 28, 2014

Amid a backlash against PAS over its teetering in the Selangor crisis, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has warned that PAS-led Kelantan government may fall into the hands of BN.

Lim said this would be the case if the 4.5 percent vote swing against PAS and by extension Pakatan Rakyat, is replicated in other constituencies in the state.

“If Pengkalan Kubor happens (in all of Kelantan), Pakatan will only get 20 seats and BN will capture 25 seats.

“That means the power to rule in Kelantan would be lost,” he told a DAP fundraising dinner in Petaling Jaya last night.

Lim’s warning comes a week after PAS Youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat warned that the Islamic party’s support among local Kelantanese had fallen below 50 percent, according to a post-mortem by the party’s central committee. Continue reading “Kit Siang warns BN may retake Kelantan”

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S’gor PAS duo gets heroes’ welcome by DAP

By Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
8:52AM Sep 28, 2014

Branded traitors by PAS, Selangor assemblypersons Saari Sungib and Hasnul Baharuddin who defied their party to stand with Pakatan Rakyat in the Selangor crisis received a heroes’ welcome from Chinese supporters at a DAP fundraising dinner last night.

The duo, who were seated beside DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, received a standing ovation from the largely Chinese audience as several DAP leaders described them as “saviours of Pakatan Rakyat”.

“Thank you Saari and Hasnul, that we still have a Pakatan government. You are not traitors, you are the rakyat’s heroes,” declared former Selangor exco Ronnie Liu at the 70-table dinner in Petaling Jaya last night. Continue reading “S’gor PAS duo gets heroes’ welcome by DAP”

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Jayalalithaa’s conviction shows that the law prevails

Mail Online India
27 September 2014

In a society submerged in corruption, a serving chief minister being stripped of her job for amassing wealth beyond her valid sources of income, brings a reassuring hope the law – despite being painfully slow – does apply to everyone.

Thanks to the court order, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha will be the first elected chief minister to lose her post, as a result of which, she will not be able to contest elections.

Jayalalitha now joins powerful politicians like Lalu Prasad and Om Prakash Chautala to be imprisoned in a corruption case after being convicted by court. Continue reading “Jayalalithaa’s conviction shows that the law prevails”

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Najib should move a motion when Parliament meets on Oct. 7 to condemn in unambiguous and unconditional terms the extremism, violence and barbarism of ISIS

I commend the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his speech at the United Nations General Assembly unambiguously and unconditionally denouncing ISIS and his call on the global community to defeat violent extremism and religious intolerance.

In his speech, Najib condemned the violent extremists that have declared an Islamic state in Syria and Iraq, and destroyed lives and communities and destabilised fragile nations and threatened regional security.

Najib said: “They challenge the very notion of the state. They call our youth with the siren song of illegitimate jihad. And they demand all Muslims swear allegiance to their so-called caliph. That demand will never be met.

“We reject this so-called Islamic State. We reject this state defined by extremism. And we condemn the violence being committed in the name of Islam.

“Around the world, Muslims have watched in despair as our religion – a religion of peace – has been used to justify atrocities. We have turned away in horror at the crucifixions and the beheadings. We have mourned the sons who have been stolen, and the daughters sold.

“We know that the threat to world peace and security is not Islam, but extremism: intolerant, violent and militant extremism. The actions of these militants are beyond conscience and belief. They violate the teachings of Islam, the example set by the Prophet Muhammad, and the principles of Islamic law.”

Four days ago, I had given at least three reasons why Najib Razak should unambiguously and unconditionally denounce ISIS in his United Nations General Assembly speech yesterday, viz: Continue reading “Najib should move a motion when Parliament meets on Oct. 7 to condemn in unambiguous and unconditional terms the extremism, violence and barbarism of ISIS”

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So what’s next for Pakatan?

by Faisal S Hazis
Co-editor, Aliran e-Newsletter
27 September 2014

Pas needs an overhaul; Hadi needs to be replaced; and the hegemony of the ulamas needs to be stopped, asserts Faisal S Hazis.

The ‘Kajang Move’ was a big flop. PKR failed to push its choice of Menteri Besar to lead the richest state in the country so as to propel Pakatan to Putrajaya in the next general election.

Although Pakatan Minus (with the exception of Pas) stood firm on their choice of candidate to the very last hours, the palace defied democratic convention by appointing someone else, Azmin Ali. Despite its resentment against the palace’s decision, the PKR and later the DAP endorsed Azmin’s appointment, thus sacrificing its principles and surrendering its power to choose the Menteri Besar. This spells trouble for the PKR’s already tainted and battered image.

The ‘Palace Move’ is not only going against democratic convention but it also calls into question the role of the constitutional monarch in our increasingly shrinking democracy. This should be a matter of concern not only to the opposition but also the BN since the ruling party’s prerogative in naming the prime minister and chief minister, as noted by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, would also be compromised. This spells trouble for democracy. Continue reading “So what’s next for Pakatan?”

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Mystery priest ‘exists’, Utusan reporter in Kit Siang’s defamation suit tells court

By Ida Lim
Malay Mail Online
September 26, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 ― An Utusan Malaysia reporter who wrote an allegedly defamatory article against DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang defended in court today the existence of a shadowy priest figure quoted in her report, despite never having met or spoken personally to the priestly person known only as “Father Augustus Chen”.

Under intense questioning from the DAP leader’s lawyer, Kasthuri K. Manimaran insisted that the mystery man known only as “Father Augustus Chen” that was mentioned in an equally mysterious booklet ― which formed the basis of her report ― was real, based on hearsay from a handful of ex-DAP members.

But the reporter admitted that she did not know the real identity of the mystery man.

“I don’t know him,” the sole witness for the Umno-controlled Malay daily’s publisher, Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad, told the court.

“I never seen him so I don’t know if he is fictitious or not,” said the 31-year-old who has been working with Utusan for two years. Continue reading “Mystery priest ‘exists’, Utusan reporter in Kit Siang’s defamation suit tells court”

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Dyana unfazed by dirty tactics

by Dina Murad
The Star Online
September 26, 2014

PETALING JAYA: Being a young woman is never an easy thing in politics, as DAP’s Dyana Sofya has quickly learned.

The 27-year-old DAP starlet has turned into quite the media darling with her quick and fiery reactions to current issues. She even drew in a stream of admirers from the public and press alike with her down-to-earth and friendly demeanour.

Although she commands her own legion of supporters, the political secretary for Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang has nevertheless become a favourite target for dirty tactics and sexist remarks – which culminated and peaked during her run for the Teluk Intan seat in May in which she eventually lost to Gerakan veteran Datuk Mah Siew Keong by a slim margin.

In fact, Dyana’s signature barely had time to dry on her party application form when she received her first taste of derision.

“When I first joined DAP – it was announced in early 2012 right before Chinese New Year – I had already faced the backlash. I was called a ‘pengkhianat bangsa’ (traitor of the race), ungrateful… things like that. Continue reading “Dyana unfazed by dirty tactics”