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Bersih: A racist rally?

– Nur Adilah
The Malaysian Insider
20 September 2015

At the mention of “bersih”, the thing that comes to mind is all that is good. And that is according to how it is literally understood.

Putting “bersih” in the Malaysian context, however, will get us to a different meaning with various connotations.

On one hand, Bersih is held in high regard, while at the other spectrum, Bersih is shown in a bad light.

I say that Bersih is not just about wearing yellow; it carries a strong message to the government in power – to change or to be changed.

The reason the Bersih 4 rally was made illegal was, perhaps, because of the call for our prime minister to leave office. The call was said to be unconstitutional, thus the banning of what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration.

The demand to remove the prime minister from the Cabinet probably stood out from the rest; if all the manifestos are compiled in a book, the said demand would be highlighted in neon yellow. Continue reading “Bersih: A racist rally?”

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Of Umno Malays and Cina DAP

– Anas Zubedy
The Malaysian Insider
20 September 2015

Ten things to ponder about the terms Umno Malays and Cina DAP.

1. Both terms, Umno Malays and Cina DAP, when used in a malicious way are racist remarks.

2. I know many from both Umno and DAP sides who are not racist and are multi-racial in their outlook.

3. Just because we put Umno in front of the word Malays and DAP before the word Cina, it does not mean we are not being racist when we make nasty racial remarks about them.

4. Many closet racists are those who pretend to only target Umno Malays or Cina DAP when they want to make racist remarks. Continue reading “Of Umno Malays and Cina DAP”

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Tolerance of racism in Malaysia

Julia Yeow
The Malaysian Insider
20 September 2015

Malaysia Day has come and gone, and it’s tragic that a day to celebrate unity, interdependence and diversity was instead hijacked by a street rally which achieved little but show the world that Malaysia has become a country utterly divided along racial lines.

Covering Wednesday’s protest for work created a strange disconnect for me, almost as if the words shouted and messages on the banners were meant for, and coming from, people from some foreign, far-away land.

That was until I received a message mid-way through Wednesday’s rally. It was a friend who has been working and living in Malaysia for almost a decade, someone who has grown to love this country almost as much as her country of birth.

She was shocked and angry after having just read on the news that Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali had taken to the stage at the rally and said the following words:

“Dulu kita bukan masyarakat majmuk tetapi melalui rundingan dan tolak ansur kita menerima kaum lain. Kita bagi mereka kerakyatan. Kita bagi kerakyatan, kita ingat mereka berterima kasih.”

(Once, we were not a multicultural people, but through negotiation and give-and-take, we accepted other races. We gave them citizenship. We gave them citizenship, and we thought they would be grateful.) Continue reading “Tolerance of racism in Malaysia”

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Malaysia is pounded every day by a surfeit of lack of integrity issues and problems, which is hurtling Malaysia down slippery slope to failed state

Malaysia is pounded every day by a surfeit of lack of integrity issues and problems, which is hurtling Malaysia down the slippery slope to a failed state.

Something is very wrong with the national institutions and system of values, which have reached a very advanced stage of rottenness, when the Police confirmed today that the body found in a drum filled with concrete last Wednesday was that of deputy head of the Attorney-General’s Chambers Appellate and Trial Division, Anthony Kevin Morais.

Morais’ abduction and gruesome murder were believed to be related to a corruption case he was handling.

Today, we have three bad news all related to one mega corruption scandal in Malaysia – the long-running M50 billion 1MDB scandal, viz:

• FBI starts probe on 1MDB, says WSJ (Malaysiakini)

• Ambiga says ‘appalled’ by 1MDB critic’s six-day demand (MMO)

• Najib risks arrest if he travels abroad, says Dr Mahathir – by V. Anbalagan (TMI)

Questions teem everyone’s mind. Continue reading “Malaysia is pounded every day by a surfeit of lack of integrity issues and problems, which is hurtling Malaysia down slippery slope to failed state”

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Call on Najib to explain whether he had been guilty of abuse of power when he stymied Hishamudin’s promotion from Court of Appeal to Federal Court in 2013

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should explain whether he had been guilty of abuse of power when he stymied the promotion of Court of Appeal judge, Justice Hishamudin Yunus to the Federal Court in 2013.

Hishamudin’s promotion to the Federal Court was recommended by Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) in 2013 but his elevation was blocked by the Prime Minister.

This is a clear case of Executive interference with the independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism of the judiciary which the Judicial Appointments Commission Act 2009 was enacted by Parliament to overcome so as to ensure unbiased selection and elevation judges. Continue reading “Call on Najib to explain whether he had been guilty of abuse of power when he stymied Hishamudin’s promotion from Court of Appeal to Federal Court in 2013”

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Is it worthwhile for Najib to abandon 1Malaysia Policy and Global Movement of Moderates initiative for the placebo Sept. 16 Red Shirts Malay rally?

Is it worth it for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to abandon his signature 1Malaysia Policy and the Global Movement of Moderates initiative for the Sept. 16 Red Shirts Malay rally?

These are the two major policy initiatives Najib would want to be remembered as his legacy as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia – one his local contribution to Malaysian nation-building and the other his contribution to global politics beset by the trials and tribulations caused by intolerance, bigotry, extremism and terrorism.

But in one fell stroke, he had destroyed both – and all for the placebo effect of the Sept. 16 Red Shirts Malay Rally in Kuala Lumpur! Continue reading “Is it worthwhile for Najib to abandon 1Malaysia Policy and Global Movement of Moderates initiative for the placebo Sept. 16 Red Shirts Malay rally?”

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Do Umno Malays know the meaning of dignity?

Mariam Mokhtar | September 20, 2015
Free Malaysia Today

They need to exorcise the demons inside them and to wean themselves from the entitlement culture.

COMMENT

It looks like the red shirted Umno-Baru Malays are condemning themselves to a life sentence of self-denial. They assume that everyone else in Malaysia owes them a living. It is time they came to terms with the real world. They need to exorcise their inner demons, and they need to wean themselves from the entitlement culture, which they expect will nurse them from cradle to grave.

Malays throughout Malaysia were ashamed to be associated with these bigots, who claim that they held the Red Shirts Rally to uphold Malay dignity. Their protest had nothing to do with Malay dignity. The rally was held primarily to distract us from the 1MDB scandal.

What kind of dignity can we associate with insolence and the hurling of insults at other communities? What dignity is there in transporting the elderly from the villages to boost attendance at the Kuala Lumpur rally? Taxpayers’ money was probably used to facilitate the transportation and to provide meals and pocket money. Continue reading “Do Umno Malays know the meaning of dignity?”

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In loving memory of Kevin Morais

Jessica Sidhu
Malaysiakini
19 Sep 2015

Kevin Morais was a pure professional, highly ethical, very hardworking and humble. He possessed no ego of any form.

In his work he was very thorough, often asking as many questions as it required to understand every permutation completely.

He took his work as a prosecutor very seriously, often missing meals, and constantly suffered from red watery eyes from reading law through the night.

He gave his all to the cases he took on and sometimes when witnesses turned hostile or the case went awry for reasons beyond Kevin’s control, it affected him deeply. It hurt him to talk about those cases.

You see, Kevin was married to his work. He had no social life. He took on cases others left behind as if they were too complicated. His dedication to serve justice was uppermost in his mind. He endeavoured to make sense, get a thorough grasp so he could fight for justice. Continue reading “In loving memory of Kevin Morais”

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Dignity is all about looking at ourselves

TK Chua
Malaysiakini
19 Sep 2015

Dignity is now a big word in Malaysia. But what is it?

It is self-respect, pride, self-esteem and self-worth. It is the quality of being worthy of honour or respect.

Dignity is not what others bestowed on us. It is how we carry ourselves. It is how we portray ourselves worthy of admiration and respect by others. Only we can insult our own dignity, not others.

I agree stomping on the pictures of Najib Abdul Razak and Hadi Awang was not the right thing to do. But it is how we react to that stomping that defines our dignity. Continue reading “Dignity is all about looking at ourselves”