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My Personal Experience On The Protes Rally

Letters
by TT

There’s a reason we separate military and the police: o­ne fights the enemy of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.
(William Adama – Battlestar Galactica)

Was a little skeptical after knowing the government would be sending in the army to ‘look after’ us for and during the protes rally.

Got up very early on 6th July 2008, not for church, but headed towards the Stadium Kelana Jaya with much enthusiasm knowing I will be part of another history again.

Undecided should I drive or take the ever ‘reliable’ public transport after knowing there will be police blocks on those main roads. One can wonder why they spend so much of resources which is causing nothing, but pure nuisance to the public, instead combatting the up and rising crime rates!. Anway, decided to take a Sunday drive from Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur through SS2, Petaling Jaya eventhough I can go straight via the federal highway.

Traffic was suprisingly smooth flowing.

Park my car and walked quite a distance to the stadium, by then, approx 1015 hours hundreds of cars can be seen parked along the stadium. Tens of stalls with many vendors can be seen doing brisk business, food, drinks, souveniers, books, posters, shirts, caps, etc., I think that’s a brilliant idea to encourage traders to make some extra money for their living, especially with the tougher times lately. What a festive/carnival type of atmosphere!. A handful of men in blue can also be seen wandering around aka ‘on duty’. Yes, when they are on duty for this kind of event/s, they don’t do much, but to wander around. Surprisingly no Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel can be seen. Probably they got the real meaning of peaceful assembly/rally, finally!.

One party I must acknowledge is the ever reliable and responsible Unit Amal, they did a brilliant job again in controlling the traffic and te crowd! Think the Anggota Muda Keadilan (AMK) still have a pretty long way to go to be on par with the Unit Amal. Kudos Unit Amal!.

Made a few phones calls, went in and look for a couple of my friends/bloggers. Quite an impossible task when 90% of the crowd were in red and the phone lines just went berserk. With so many reds around, perhaps we just also celebrated an early Chinese New Year!

Part of the stadium was filling up fast, the opposite side was quite empty due the sunrise and understand it was burning hot over there. One after another group walked in to the stadium, the most obvious was perhaps the Hindraf group. You can see dissapointment, anger and sadness, over the marginalisation of Indians and the Internal Security Act (ISA) issue, via their eyes and at the same time they are certainly enthusiastic about the event!.

Not long after that, Badrul Hisham, Ginie Lim and Kohila welcomed the crowd which was estimated to be approx 10,000 with loud shouts of Reformasi, Hidup Rakyat, Jahanam BN, Turun Harga, Turun Pak Lah, etc., not forgetting the takbir. That could have probably woke the neighbours up, heck, we would want to wake the entire nation up if possible, especially those irresponsible ‘leaders’ sitting in Putrajaya!.

Hatta Ramli was up next for his speech, he certainly delievered a powerful speech and he stayed focused on the purposes of the event, which is to protest the price hike. Irene Fernandez gave an emotional and stinging speech, before that it was Ronnie Liu’s turn, he presented a very blunt speech hitting the present federal government. Tian Chua followed up next with another powerful speech.

More programmes after that were lined up for the whole day affair. By then, approx 1200 hours, the crowd grew to an estimation of 20,000.

Left the place then to run some errands and back in the evening with some members of the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Got there approx 1900 hours, realised the crowd were not as big as the morning/noon crowd. Understand 700 of the Unit Amal personnel pulled out of the rally due to some ‘indecent-act’ by some punk/rock group and some chaos happened. Did not want to judge anything until I get a clear picture what exactly happened. The showing of behind by the Carburetor Dung lead singer was pretty unnecessary. I thought to myself the press going to have a whale of a time reporting this and not the main objective of the entire event, true enough!. Syed Hamid Albar condemned almost immediately on the act, but think he have forgotten what kind of indecent acts and evil deeds he/they are doing. The saying, holier than thou, ring a bell?!?.

Still have loads of time until the speeches by the key leaders, got something to bite and ended up in the stadium which was again filling up fast. This time not the seats, but nearly the entire field is filled with a sea of reds.

Proclamation of Reformasi-Reformasi-Reformasi-Reformasi can be heard again, one can actually sense the people wants a real reformasi desperately due to the fact the federal government is screwing up big time, from the almost irrepairable judiciary to the highly corrupted police to the mismanaging of the economy to the up-rising crime rates to so many other issues. The people are being sodomised by the federal government, big time!

Hatta Ramli again took the stage to welcome the crowd once again. The ‘main attraction’ for the night, Anwar Ibrahim, arrived. Before that the arrival of Lim Kit Siang shook the stadium. The crowd estimated to be approx 25,000 by then. Speeches after speeches and finally Anwar Ibrahim get to speak and got the crowd all hyped up again with louder proclamation of Reformasi!. Goose bumps in many of us, one will need to be in the thick of the action to know what I am saying. The people don’t proclaim Reformasi for nothing, the people really wants a change desperately!

From my personal point of view, this rally will have better and greater effects if the organiser could have held it in a public place/open space and just for a certain period of time. I kind of echoed what Badrul Hisham said, it went something like, “Ini adalah kali terakhir kita akan ada perhimpunan aman di stadium yang tertutup”. That statement received a thunderous support from the people.

People power can be felt through out the day. Young and old and from all walks of life went there for a purpose, to protest the price hike that is.

The crowd of approx 25,000 certainly represented the voice of 25 million people in Malaysia!

Bersih walked, Hindraf rocked and let’s send the same kind of reminders if needed again!

51 Replies to “My Personal Experience On The Protes Rally”

  3. I have no idea when did protesting for a good cause became taboo in Malaysia, until you have to confine it to a stadium which defeats the purpose of a protest.

    The Americans had very Intelligent and good forefathers vs Malaysians who only manage to divide Malaysians.

    Famous by Thomas Jefferson Quote to think about

    “God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
    The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
    wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
    they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
    it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. …
    And what country can preserve its liberties, if it’s rulers are not
    warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
    resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
    to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
    in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
    time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
    It is its natural manure.”

  8. Just heard that patronas is actually losing alot of money because some smart son of a brother of a top UMNO leader has peg our crude oil at below RM100 a barrel.For every 2 barrel of oil sold we get 1 barrel in return.

  10. Dear YB LKS,

    Congratulations…you & your team have spoken & “Walked your Talk ” together with us…we were also there to witness the landmark occassion.

    May God continue to Bless & protect this great nation & its Downtrodden rayaat against those EVIL Traitors who continue to Abuse, Rape, Plunder & claim to be our Defender under the guise of Islam

    Just go back to see All the old photos of the pre/post 1957 Merdeka celebrations & compare the ones of the last 3 decades…..more so the last 4 years….when the rayaat was “Sweet Talked” into a subtle “re-colonisation” by their own Malaysian Defenders.

    These are the “Trials & Tribulations” of any nation & its people which even our Bapa Merdeka, Tunku, his cabinet, supporters & the rayaat had to Endure during their struggle to achieve our “Independence”.

    That is what Bapa Merdeka, Bapa Malaysia, Tunku & his first cabinet STRUGGLED for in the original “Constitution”…..TO WORK TOWARDS… MERDEKA for Malaysia & ALL MALAYSIANS!

    Please view the 1957 pictures of Bapa Merdeka, Tunku, his cabinet, supporters & the rayaat SHOWED…..TRUE “Jubilation” of the SWEET SUCCESS with THEIR UNITED struggle for INDEPENDENCE !

    In 2008, we are now witnessing these “Goons” who could have engaged with the rayaat’s voices INTELLIGENTLY & WORKING together CONSTRUCTIVELY… are still in DENIAL !

    First they blame the foreign elements behind all the rayaat’s voices, then the people’s representatives…& now the Bloggers & Commenters….sheesh !

    Have no Fear…Let us ALL Walk our Talk….Trust God…If God brought us all Here in this Bolehland……Have Faith…’cos God will Protect & Guide us all through this “Critical & Desperate” Times….against those EVIL Traitors !

    Ultimately GOD will ANOINT the TRUE Leaders of this great nation called Malaysia…for Malaysians !

    Yes…not one but many great Leaders of ONE mind & not necessary from any parties….might even be from the UNKNOWN Malaysian Downtrodden ones !!!

    Who knows…a Phoenix could arise from the ashes of BN….!

    Let us continue our STRUGGLE to PROMOTE this great nation called MALAYSIA for EVERY MALAYSIAN including the “DOWNTRODDEN ONES” to also “DREAM & ACHIEVE their MALAYSIAN DREAMS” !

    Cheers YB LKS & all my Malaysian Downtrodden rayaat…we shall overcome !

  11. Think for the safety of the public from water-cannon crazy goons in the FRU/RMA/PDRM, it was wise to have the rally in a stadium. After all the stadium is part of Selangor State property, thus, it was a private affair held in private-state ground. The PDRM/RMA/FRU should only be there to protect the rakyat from any BN-UMNO hooligans who will try to stir up something, which can happen in an open ground like Padang Timur. To me, having it in the stadium will not give much opportunity for BN-UMNO goons to cause any problem.

    It would be great to have such rally in future in cyberspace. Announce the site at the last minute via sms so that it won’t give chance for any upsets. Nobody need to go anywhere, save fuel. Rain or shine, roadblock or no roadblock. It was unrealistic to call for 1million people to gather in such a small space in the first place. If it was held at various places, total up may be possible but in a padang timur ? A&W would be out of root beers in less than 10min ! That will be a riot. Where in the world will there be enough car parks, etc. The padang will be damaged. 1million people in small space is also a security issue. Stampede will be probable. Look at what happened to China’s train station not long ago.

  12. Greetings and appreciates for the report. These shown peoples are trying hard to unite rather than street fighting. Please not to forget the real security issue which is control by only one person named N.

  13. A lot of attacks on Abdullah’s cronies, but why Malaysians forgot about all the bail outs during Mahathir’s ruling? We should visit all these issues. It is not that we forget the old ones as the new ones surfaced.

  14. A lot of attacks on Abdullah’s cronies, but why Malaysians forgot about all the bail outs during Mahathir’s ruling? We should visit all these issues. It is not that we forget the old ones as the new ones surfaced. — pulau_sibu

    Not that anyone has forgotten, but at this time, if the focus is on TDM’s bailouts, AAB will only be too glad the pressure shifts away from him and he can play the blame game. It’s best that pressure be intensified on AAB and Najis. Let the PR take over, and one can be sure that TDM will be the first one that Anwar will hunt for.

  15. Sidetracking. Just a point for discussion. Is it possible that the police is going after or going to threaten RPK’s lawyer to get him to disclose who the informer is since RPK refused to talk? To najis, all evidence must be erased or eliminated AT ALL COSTS including elimination using C4. Just like Bala.

  18. First of all, people must voice out their problems. If they keep quiet, nothing will be done.

    However, the t.v. news reported that the number of people who turned up was short of the target and some singer made some PAS supporters very angry.

    For the message to get through, there should be nothing to disturb the rally. You need to show those in power you mean business. You are not there to make them look bad. The BERSIH rally was more effective despite being attacked. It was serious and everybody joined together with one purpose.

  19. “There’s a reason we separate military and the police: o­ne fights the enemy of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.”
    (William Adama – Battlestar Galactica)

    Interesting quote for the current situation, thanks TT.

  20. I think our hardest struggle will be convincing the unregistered voters to get registered and take part in the election, to take interest in the development of your country. I’ve manage to convince some but there are still several people who still don’t care. These are the once that condemn the system but do not bother to take part in it.

  21. YB LKS, Thank you for the comprehensive report and congratulations on the event.

    “A handful of men in blue can also be seen wandering around aka ‘on duty’. Yes, when they are on duty for this kind of event/s, they don’t do much, but to wander around. Surprisingly no Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel can be seen. ”

    Can i make a point that YB LKS, given your position (or any other PR leader), should refrain from making generalisation to undermine the polis force, FRU or civil service as a whole.

    Whilst we acknowledge, there are some members of the polis force, FRU or civil service who have displayed unprofessional behaviour in their pro-BN actions, we would like to believe that the mass majority are apolitical (or even reluctant servants of BN and silent supporters of PR). Hence, I stress, YB LKS and all PR leader should make general references to the polis force or civil servants on the presumption that they are impartial.

    Surely, you do not want to alienate the silent supporters of PR.

  25. Someone sent me the below:

    BARBARIANS AT PETRONAS GATES!

    By Hamba Allah

    Petronas bashing is orchestrated.

    The target is not PETRONAS, that’s what they want everybody to think. The target is Tan Sri Hassan Merican, PRESIDENT and CEO of PETRONAS.

    Before I answer your question why, let me take you a few years back.

    Immediately after Pak Lah took over from Tun Dr. Mahathir as of 31.10.2003, a small consulting firm named BINA FIKIR was invited to make a presentation to Pak Lah to present their views of Malaysian Economic situation back then. Subsequent events lead to another, soon they were meeting EVERY OTHER DAY, of course all these with the help from KJ, PM Son-in-Law. There were so many proposals from BINA FIKIR that even the Government senior officers couldn’t keep up. Meanwhile, a plan was hatched to tell the Malaysians that there is NO MORE MONEY IN TREASURY SO ALL PROJECTS ARE HALTED INCLUDING DOUBLE-TRACKING, SINGAPORE CROOKED BRIDGE AND MANY MANY MORE!

    But Pak Lah tells Malaysian that an action plan is in place as he called for the General Election in March 2004.

    MR. CLEAN won the election in 2004 by breaking records for UMNO as well as BARISAN.

    Earlier newspaper reports were focusing on FOCUSING on KHAZANAH NASIONAL BERHAD performance and after several collective comments on Khazanah, Pak Lah announced that the MD, Datuk Anwar Aji, of Khazanah is to be replaced by Azman Mokhtar on June 1, 2004, barely 2 months after election.

    AZMAN was the brain and the MD of BINA FIKIR.

    Datuk Anwar was given Chairman of Faber Group Berhad.

    It was planned so well that people hardly noticed.

    KJ was successful in planting his people at Khazanah Nasional Berhad and now has access to ALL THE ASSETS OF KHAZANAH.

    Khazanah passive policy on its investments were changed almost overnight.
    They were allowed to use their assets as securities to raise monies for INVESTMENTS OVERSEAS.

    Invest they did into the billions of ringgits thru certain investments advisors which makes tonnes on advisory fees and services.

    Personal greed is difficult to satisfy!

    PETRONAS is by far the richest company and most profitable in Malaysia .
    PETRONAS has won several accolades as the BEST MANAGED COMPANY too.

    PETRONAS is in the Fortune 500 companies.

    And Tan Sri Hassan Marican is a tough nut to crack.

    To replace Tan Sri Hassan is not an easy tasks.

    So when the opportunity comes, KJ & CO took full advantage to bash PETRONAS.

    Using mass media which he controls, using many bloggers to plant hate mails into various local sites and even to the extent of spreading sms-es sent nationwide to boycott Petronas stations and productes, he is seeing the desired results.

    He further attacked Petronas for not being transparent in the annual account, which is strange because Khazanah Nasional does not even publish its annual account. It is only Petronas being bashed.

    Tan Sri Hassan came out defending PETRONAS saying accounts area available, only certain people refuses to read it!

    Never before has Tan Sri Hassan has to defend himself. Defend he did, he tried, but Hassan does not have the power KJ has on the media.

    Silly allegations were thrown at PETRONAS all with evil intention to make people angry at Hassan for the fuel hike which was actually the DOLLAH’s GOVERNMENT DECISION.

    The modus operandi was similar to Khazanah Nasional, ONLY PETRONAS seems more difficult.

    More attempts to unseat Hassan will be planned by these greedy people, and all they need is a wrong move by Hassan, so far he has done none of it.

    ONCE THEY WIN, THEY WILL REPLACE HASSAN WITH THEIR OWN PEOPLE AND PETRONAS MONEY (OUR MONEY) WILL BE AT THEIR DISPOSAL!

    Someone MUST STOP THESE CULPRITS. And don’t say I did not FOREWARN YOU.

  26. The opportunity to bring down BN is now wide open after Saiful alleged that Anwar had sodomized him, everyone know Saiful is a liar. Fight BN on their turf instead of running around the streets end up no where.

  27. if pakatan is sure that saifool is lying,go all the way n we are pretty sure this time the rakyat by enlarge would not look away!jus to be frank,in 1998;me n all my friends looked away becos we thought it was jus a stirr within their tea cup!

  29. Traffic is surprising smooth…because Selangor is controlled by you group la.
    And that rally was a failure…due to Malaysians are sick to the stomach….on the Bala..Anwar…Najib yoyo games.
    Anwar have to make good his promise now….as Malaysians have just about enough of promises and surprises.
    Everyone is waiting for Anwar to prove Najib is a liar…and do know Atlantyuya….not by a low class…scum bag swearing…..but by a photo..showing Najib really know her……or get the restaurant owner from Paris..to swear it…or a hotel…with Najib and her in Paris…which hotel?

  30. In the U.S., grass root action takes place right after a failed bid for a Congressional majority or a presidency. I don’t know if PR will indeed wrestle over the majority come September, but work must start at the grass root level NOW to get them to vote out the BumNo (BN + UMNO) scumbags in the next GE. Use the media (the ethical ones mind you), volunteers, rallys, townhall meets, etc. to educate the indifferent ones and get them going. Most critical of all, PR must live up to its sense of mission. Do not let down, do not let complacency and greed set it. Make sure the bright minds are tapped. Do not let missteps like the Bala saga happen again. Malaysia is a butt joke now in the international community. Imagine the boatload of jokes our neighbor to the south now cracks on a daily basis. Every morning’s papers will provide ample material for many stand ups (comedians). Punchlines are a dime a dozen. Not that they are doing that, but they could, thanks to our half-wit BumNos. I used to subscribe to the notion of many in my beloved Malaysia that Singaporeans are “kiasus”. Not anymore. They earned it. Can you imaging what Malaysia could have been with its massive land, resources, and 10 times the population? Thanks to BumNo, TDM, AAB, NJ, and their kiss-ass puppets, we’re light years behind. Here’s a hypothesis, if the Chinese and Indians run the show, where would we be today on a global stage? We’d have a vibrant economy, a la Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong. We’d be flooded with engineering and medical minds, a la India, and with a Malay majority who would otherwise be forward looking, self-sufficient, diligent, capable, imagine the possibilities? We’d be a developed nation, like, yesterday!!

  35. PAS supporters have been identified as the section of the concert booing and thowing water bottles at the rock performers. Lead vocalist Alak the rock band Carburetor Dung who was allegedly assaulted after exposing his boxer shorts to the crowd said he used the word “jilat” meaning ‘apple-polishing’ in context of the lyrics and not “liwat”. Crowd was bias or Alak twisting his words?
    [It is, after all, a season of word twisting. It seems MP Bung Mokhtar showed an obsecene gesture of ‘palm hitting a clenched fist’ and he said it was not obsence because, according to him, “No, I did not do that. I just did this (hitting his palm on the back of his other hand)…I did not until now that anger could be expressed by “palm hitting on the back of his other hand. That’s a new gesture???].

    Anyway back to PAS and its supporters.

    Earlier PAS Youth did not approve of the band’s musical inclinations and felt it was inappropriate for the event. In protests 700 volunteers from PAS-run Unit Amal pulled out of the event. I don’t see others supporting the Oposition cause in the concert reacting to the rock musical and the boxer short episode in a maner as PAS its officials and suporters.

    This “difference” in thinking and approach of PAS and its officials and supporters from others underscores the perennial problem besetting the Opposition coalition : the lack of common approach in just any matter apart from the common agenda of booting out the BN.

    This is the headache that Anwar Ibrahim faces as he tries to weld and glue the disparate and often incongruent elements within the Oposition together.

    Take for example the allegations of sodomy by Saiful Bukhari Azlan. It is not only his BN detractors to swear in the name of God on the Koran that he is innocent of the sodomy allegation. Pas and its spirituall leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Menteri Besar of opposition-held Kelantan state, also backed the BN supporters’ calls! I don’t hear Party Keadilan Rakyat or the DAP supporting such calls.

    This is just one example of the schism within the Opposition Parties.

    The other recent example is PAS Youth submiitting a memorandum to Selangor MB to protest over scheduled performance of rock queen Ella and dangdut singer Mas Idayu in the coming Sultan of Selangor Cup matches between his Selangor and Singapore, which not only Sultan of Selangor does not agree but I suppose the PKR and DAP as well.

    Pakatan Rakyat now faces not only the threat of perennial divergent approaches of PAS from the rest but now also the larger threat of being unglued by the sodomy allegations – should they culminate in prosecution – against the person who glues all disparate sections together within Paktan Rakyat.

  38. 25,000 only? What a pity number and the you said it the voice of 25 million people in Malaysia! Check you number you guys only manage to get 2.5% of your target audience! What a shame!

  39. PAS the recalcitrant?
    Its alright.
    DAP does it too.
    Especially for issues it disagrees with.
    Its healthy to let expression flow.
    Otherwise, emotions will bottle-up.
    Afterall, PR is a different sort of alliance.
    Not like the one where one party lords over everyone else.
    Where all info are OSAed.
    Where all acts of others will lead to ISA.
    Where no one can speak one’s mind under all circumstances.
    Where all problems are swept under the carpet.
    Where all benefits are shared by only the already elite few.
    Let the noise continue.
    If PR can firm its ground despite the noise then it would trully be an alliance for the future.
    Dont mimic the UMNO’s way of doing things.
    That would be disastrous.

  40. The military took an oath to protect king and country, not Najib or PakLah and country and correct me if I’m wrong- to declare martial law needs the King’s consent and the King don’t seem too happy with either of them so for now I don’t we have much to worry about…besides I was informed that during the 08 General Elections the majority in the military voted for the opposition and so did for the first time in history the majority in the Malaysian Police!- this is one of the reasons why BN did so badly…but this was just kopitiam talk…and the soldiers and policemen are feeling the pinch due to the fuel hike too!
    What the Pakatan Rakyat have to worry more about are elements planted into their own ranks by certain unscrupulous quarters to create trouble during rallies or other events and make the PR look bad so you guys out there – be vigilant… don’t just look in front…look also right and left and watch your backs!

  41. //PR is a different sort of alliance// – a “different sort” must not amount to “misalliance”….

    It is all good and idealistic to speak of strength and unity within diversity and the freedom to express different opinions and aproaches. But what is the reality that collective hopes for change of government cannot change?

    A coalition is a partnering of groups in order to engage in joint activity and achieve a common purpose, which in PR’s context is to replace the BN as government – and which each group by its own alone cannot achieve.

    For the coalition to be successful, the basic ingredients are :

    1. that your goals are similar and compatible;

    2. that working together will enhance both groups’ abilities to reach their goals, and

    3. that the benefits of coalescing will be greater than the costs.

    Here the conflicts and divergence of goals assert and manifest themselves at every juncture and at different points (even before they form the government) let alone after.

    The coalition builder – DSAI – needs focus and concentration to place PR on even keel to make the final thrust to take over the govt.

    He is beset by two major problems:

    (a) thus far his approach in leading PR has not focused at all in resolving and ironing out the differences between DAP & PR. He has not tries to forge an agreement whereby one side gibves in a little in quid pro quo of the other side making similar concession. He has not even taken side. Wherever PAS creates a problem in conflict with the common understanding forged during the last general election, Anwar keeps quiet, takes no stand, sides no party on principle, and just hoping that the differences will resolve by themelves!

    (b) his concentration and energy is now diverted and sapped regarding how to resolve his personal problem of the sodomy allegations made by Saiful. It is not clear now even his agenda of whether to proceed with canvasing other defections to build up the PR to larger coalition or to galvanise supporters to protest reformasi on the streets to presure the govt’s resignation. You will notice that either the course of canvassing defections or reformasi street protests – have not been openly endorsed or supported by either of PKR’s coalition partners PAS or DAP, they and their supporters sem to drift along in whatever Anwar initiates. These uncertainties would cause would-be-supporters of the scheme to defect to keep non committal. SAPP itself is not united and has postponed its plan to move a no-confidence motion against PM.

    (c) He has also issued predictions that have proven more rhetoric than factual based. This pertains the issue of credibility. Eg Calling for 1 million show of people power turns out 20-30,000 within the stadium; promise of Sept 16 of takeover though judging from defections todate, the promise seems unfulfillable.

    (d) PR has no one or viable leader next in line aceptable to all to step into the void should for any cause or reason Anwar be brought down by the allegations made against him.

  42. “Take for example the allegations of sodomy by Saiful Bukhari Azlan. It is not only his BN detractors to swear in the name of God on the Koran that he is innocent of the sodomy allegation. Pas and its spirituall leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Menteri Besar of opposition-held Kelantan state, also backed the BN supporters’ calls! I don’t hear Party Keadilan Rakyat or the DAP supporting such calls.”

    I believe Anwar is just being nice to Nik Aziz to entertain such call to swear by the Koran. We all know the criminals and the crimes they committed like corruption and murder have no problem swearing in the name of god, to do so only proves that god is simply non-existence.

  45. Jeffrey,

    What you have painted is more of an unholy alliance of the 3 component partners in PR and any keen observer in the Malaysian political scene would not fail to concur with your observation.Their public actions and pronouncements displayed at times are glaringly telling that the union is founded on very poor foundation.Looks like Anwar hasn’t really got them stitched together properly and if it should come asunder then it would take another 50 years probably to have a next crack at regime change or maybe never!

  47. In response to AhPek’s last posting, the sad thing is that it looks like PR’s defacto head not only hasn’t stitched component partners of PR together or the much tiouted crossovers from BN, but also might be unable to stitch a solution to his personal problem of Saiful’s allegations!

    It is interesting that the PKR de facto leader has now announced that he is turning to the Syariah court to clear his name over the sodomy allegation against him by his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan”. He is doing this by filing a complaint (qazaf in Islamic law) of slander relating to sexual crime against Saiful if Saiful is unable to produce four credible witnesses to back up his claims. See malaysiakini’s report by Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Jul 9, 08.
    Sodomy & other sexual crimes are under our “secular” Penal Code applicable to both Muslims and Non Muslims.

    The defacto head is sending out a very wrong signal that Muslims prosecutable by the state for crimes under Penal Code could circumvent and neutralise the rigours of the law just be unilaterally opting for Syaraih if it suits his convenience of raising the standard of proof to require 4 witnesses.

    People are entitled to ask if Pakatan Rakyat on day rules the country what would happen to (say) a girl victim of rape relating to which DNA proves under our Penal code that the accused is the rape perpetrator but the accused being a muslim could escape the conviction and the law under penal Code by opting for Shariah that acquits him just because there were no 4 witnesses.

    For a sexual crime how does one get even 2 witnesses let alone 4???

    Is the defacto head of PR ushering us into an Islamic theocratic state that administer Sharia for Muslims in ordinary crimes otherwise covered by the seclar Penal Code all along???

    And if one denies the accused the way to resort to Shariah, he could just defend himself by citing the precedent of the PR’s chief who did precisely that to circumvent the prosecution under the Penal Code.

    The Pakatan Rakyat coalition has announced that it planned to move a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

    Is this a bluff or what? The last time SAPP/ Yong Teck Lee talked of the same thing but when Shahrir moved his government motion, PR were defeated by BN majority. That was even before Saiful’s allegations. From then until now you mean there are substantial defections unknown to the public that have been stitched for a motion of no confidence to be carried?

    I am skeptical. It sounds like a desperate throw of dice on the Roulette table.

  48. With all due respect there is also (objectively) selective double standards implied in what the defacto head of Pakatan said that bears on the immediate question of credibility of what is being said and the wider issue (related to credibility) of whether could galvanise sufficient defections to pull off the urgent motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi which Opposition Leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh) filed the motion at the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s office at 3.45pm.today.

    Putera Umno president Azeez Abdul Rahim had challenged Anwar last Friday to swear on the Quran.

    And Anwar said : “I have sought the advice of ulama and they told me that it is unnecessary to swear on the Quran to prove my innocence,” said Anwar, stressing his decision not to respond to the call.

    “They have also strongly advised me against doing so as it will transgress Islamic rules. This is a criminal act and it must be investigated. There’s nothing in Islamic law that allows you to take an oath under this provision.

    “If it is a criminal offence, the burden of proof is with the accuser. Otherwise you could be involved in a murder and you (could) swear on the Quran and you would get off scot-free.”

    Source Malaysiakini report by Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Jul 9, 08 12:27pm.

    If one scrutinises the last sentence, what Anwar said is correct – that a murderer could get scotfree if being a murderer he has no qualms in swearing on the Quran to get scotfree against a charge of murder based on our Penal Code!

    However if religious beliefs, rituals or methods like swearing on Koran should have no part to play in the Criminal Justice System (that appropriately ought to rely on normal evidential rules and forensics) then why does Anwar – in relation to Sodomy allegations and charges – turn to Syariah and file a complaint, referred to as qazaf in Islamic law, to request a probe into ‘false allegations’ pertaining to adultery or sexual misconduct by Saiful when Anwar could proceed to sue Saiful for defamation under civil law and also lodge police report complaining Saiful’s making false report?

    It has the appearances that he wants to take advantage of the syariah laws requiring production of four credible witnesses to back up his claims of sexual misconduct by Saiful and yet when it comes to allegations of others implicated in murder or covering up of murder, he conveniently says that sharia and the swearing on the Quran should not have a part to play in a prosecution under normal laws (presumably under Penal Code).

    This is subtle but clear application of selective and different standards of syariah for sodomy and civil law/normal prosecution for murder, which there can be no rationale to support such different approaches (except of course self interest). This is because sexual misconduct is also prosecutable under our secular Penal Code to which all persons of Muislim or non Muslim faiths are subject!

    On the no-confidence motion against the PM moved by Opposition Leader Wan Azizah, well I wish PR the luck because that’s what it really needs. Based on the numbers and the anticipated and much touted defections, I have serious reservations whether PR could pull through the motion of no confidence especially when recent statements by its defacto head on the selective application of Sharia does not help on issue of credibility before those of two minds and deliberating whether to remain within and vote for BN or defect and vote with PR on its motion.

  49. I also read it as someone taking advantage of religious precept and beliefs in respect of the higher standard (in relation to civil law) of requiring 4 witnesses to prove allegations of sexual misconduct but rejecting the other part of swearing on the Quran to testify to the truth. There is an internal inconsistency here. How does that (in terms of credibility) help the PR’s cause esp the motion for vote of no confidence that requires defectors ???

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