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Is Umno the true guardian of Malay rights?

Hamzah Nazari
The Rakyat Post
Dec 6, 2014

Malays have now acquired a new sense of political awareness. And it’s causing alarm bells within the Umno establishment, said Raub MP Datuk Mohamad Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz. — TRP file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6, 2014: Vocal Raub MP Datuk Mohamad Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz has, in his blog Sakmongkol AK47, questioned the Umno political party’s role as a guardian of ethnic Malays.

“That idea, dear readers, is a blatant lie that has been shoved down our throats for a long time, by the Umno bourgeois elite. It is the Great Lie that all right thinking Malaysian must expose.

“That idea, that notion of a supra entity guarding our interests, flies against the concept of the free man that we are,” wrote Mohamad Ariff Sabri.

He claimed that those guarding rights were not political parties but instead people collectively acting through a government, pursuing their collective legitimate interests and rights. Continue reading “Is Umno the true guardian of Malay rights?”

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Of prostitutes, peace and chivalry

Dyana Sofya
Mail Mail Online
OCTOBER 20, 2014

Dyana Sofya suffers from dysania and is using her superpowers to pen down her thoughts late into the night. Political Secretary to Lim Kit Siang by day and she tweets from @dyanasmd.

OCTOBER 20 — It is an interesting exercise to browse through the many comments on my Facebook fan page. Reading through them recently, I began to notice a pattern. Generally, there are three types of comments: positive, negative and commiserative.

The positive comments mostly take the form of motivating words of encouragement. These are my favourite, and I am eternally grateful for the constant show of support from Malaysians of all walks of life. They have never failed to fuel me with positive energy or pick me up when I feel down.

As for the negative comments, they are as colourful as one would expect them to be. From the usual name-calling, gender stereotyping to all kinds of discriminating attacks, I have learned to accept them as part and parcel of public life. In fact, I sometimes find it entertaining, as it takes a special breed of people to be able to be so shallow and perverse.

However, there is one more type of comment that has become a constant feature in almost every thread. I find these quite puzzling. Somehow, there seems to be quite a few people out there who find it necessary to convey their pity or sympathy because they feel I am being “used.” Often, they would also predict that I would one day “wake up” and realise that I am in the wrong struggle, and that I would eventually “return” to the true path. Continue reading “Of prostitutes, peace and chivalry”

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Jamila Rahim better off in DAP than Isma, Umno, says Khalid

by Puteri Sabira
Rakyat Times
5 October 2014

PAS Central Committee member and Shah Alam Member of Parliament Khalid Samad says that Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) has no place in Malaysia with its extremist views.

Khalid has hit out at ISMA that had described DAP’s new recruit, Jamila Rahim, as a “confused Muslim” and challenged her to prove that the DAP would bring her any closer to achieving her goal of justice.

“PAS is definitely is a better choice for Muslims, but people are entitled to join any political party, I think it’s better for Jamila (left) to join DAP rather than ISMA or Umno,” he told The Rakyat Times when contacted.

Khalid stressed that DAP is a party that champions justice and holds firmly to its principles.

” Transparency, justice and integrity are part of Islamic teaching, therefore it’s crucial for people to uphold these values as long as it was in line with Islam,” Khalid added. Continue reading “Jamila Rahim better off in DAP than Isma, Umno, says Khalid”

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DAP wins over six Pitas villages

Joe Fernandez| October 5, 2014
Free Malaysia Today

“Hearts and minds” initiative to improve quality of life in rural areas reaches poverty-stricken Northern Sabah.

KOTA KINABALU: Impian Sabah, a DAP Sabah outreach programme, seems determined to rub the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) nose in the dirt.

An Impian Sabah team turned up this time in Pitas, one of the poorest spots in Malaysia, to fund a basic access road for six villages with about 3,000 people to connect with the nearest town about 7.4 km away. Pitas is situated in the right wolf’s ear of Sabah on the map.

“We handed over RM33,000 on Saturday to the people at a ceremony in Kampung Dowokon, Pitas, for them to build the road,” said Sandakan MP Stephen Wong who also co-ordinates the Impian Sabah Programme.

“The money, sourced from the public, will cover phase one of the project. It will cover 3.8 km of the road,” Wong explained.

Dowokon will share the funds with five other villages viz. Mandamai, Kobon Seberang, Perupok, Maliau Pusat and Maliau Layung. Continue reading “DAP wins over six Pitas villages”

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Our political climate is rife with sexism

By Syerleena Abdul Rashid
Free Malaysia Today
October 4, 2014

COMMENT

Sexual jibes from close-minded individuals will not stop women from being heard in politics.

Interestingly, the media tends to work up a frenzy every time a Malay woman joins DAP. Most recently, Melati Rahim – a niqab donning activist, announced her membership and less than 24 hours later, the vicious attacks ensued with hell bent fervour.

Already she has been accused as being an apostate, a traitor and worse yet, a suggestion by an irresponsible blogger, that any woman joining DAP, for that matter, would be better off vacationing as prostitutes.

What warrants such extreme contempt and disapproval? Aren’t the scandal-tainted politicians who waste billions of public funds and attempt to destroy any notion of racial harmony in our country worse than all of us who join the opposition?

Being women, a minority in a male dominated setting, makes us easier targets for sexist remarks and revolting suggestions. We are often singled out and ridiculed for our political choices; as if we have committed terrible crimes against humanity. Continue reading “Our political climate is rife with sexism”

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‘Saya hanya masuk DAP, bukan tukar agama’

Mohamad Fadli| October 3, 2014
Free Malaysia Today

Artikel yang melabel dirinya sebagai pelacur tersebut bukan sahaja memalukan dirinya malah memberi impak yang sama terhadap ahli keluarganya.

SHAH ALAM: Jamila Rahim meluahkan rasa kecewanya selepas dituduh sebagai pelacur dan telah menggadai agama oleh sesetengah pihak dalam beberapa artikel yang disiarkan di dalam beberapa portal media.

Jamila atau lebih dikenali sebagai Melati Rahim menegaskan pendiriannya bahawa beliau hanya ingin menyertai parti DAP dan tidak pernah sesekali menggadai agamanya.

“Saya hanya ingin masuk parti ini dan saya tidak pernah menukar agama saya.

“Saya masih Islam dan saya ingin tekankan perkara ini,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas membuat aduan mengenai dua artikel daripada portal media MYKMU yang berjudul ‘Melati lebih baik jadi pelacur dari sertai DAP’ dan daripada Free Malaysia Today yang berjudul ‘DAP dan Politik Onani’. Continue reading “‘Saya hanya masuk DAP, bukan tukar agama’”

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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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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”

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Going gaga over Rara

by Rashvinjeet S. Bedi
Star Online
September 23, 2014

EXCLUSIVE: DAP’s Syefura Othman, better known as Rara, is not cowed by the criticism she has received for joining the party.

KUALA LUMPUR: It was by accident that Young Syefura Othman (yes, that is her real name but more about that later) – better known as Rara was thrust into the political limelight.

She had sent an application form to join DAP to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who then tweeted a group picture of them.

This was in July, just two days before Ramadhan.

The rest they say is history. The picture went viral on social networking sites with the DAP news organ Roketkini labelling her “awek cun” in a report.

“I am not really comfortable about that because I think it’s a bit sexist. I will however try and take it positively,” the demure and soft- spoken lass told the Star Online in an interview. Continue reading “Going gaga over Rara”

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Entering DAP’s second phase with semi-urban constituencies

I thank the DAP Policy Forum, an informal grouping of elected reps who are interested in policy matters, for organising the DAP Semi-urban Caucus meeting. DAP Policy Forum is a reflection of DAP’s maturity with more and more elected reps and party leaders getting involved in working out the policy alternatives of a different Malaysia under a new government. It is also a manifestation that DAP understands the expectations of the Malaysian voting public who wants more from their political leaders.
 
Semi-urban constituencies are indeed a new experience for the DAP. In many ways, it is an advent of a second phase for the DAP.
 
Previously, DAP was mostly confined to urban constituencies with high concentration of working class non-Malay voters. It is not that the DAP did not attempt to represent semi-urban constituencies but the previously prevailing circumstances worked against such efforts.
 
But since the political tsunami in 2008 and followed by the last elections in May 2013, DAP made substantial gains in multi-ethnic semi-urban constituencies, both at the parliamentary and at the state levels. Continue reading “Entering DAP’s second phase with semi-urban constituencies”

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DAP not for secession

John Joseph| September 3, 2014
Free Malaysia Today

KOTA KINABALU: DAP has clarified it had never advocated the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from the Federation.

“Advocating secession is sedition under Malaysian law,” acknowledged DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang during a visit here for Merdeka.

He was commenting on a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in Sipitang last Saturday that “Sabah belongs to Malaysia” and that action would be taken against those advocating the Borneo nation’s secession from the Federation.

Lim added that no political party, to the best of his knowledge, advocated secession from Malaysia.

What the DAP wanted to see, stressed Lim, was democratic change and reform in the country. Continue reading “DAP not for secession”

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What happens in the next 24 hours in the Selangor MB crisis may upstage the August 17 PAS leadership meeting and set the seal for the irretrievable break-up of Pakatan Rakyat

The meeting of the PAS national leadership on August 17 will have a critical bearing on the future of the six-year-old three-party coalition Pakatan Rakyat.

However, the August 17 meeting of PAS may be upstaged by what happens in the next 24 hours in the Selangor Mentri Besar crisis which may set the seal for the irretrievable break-up of Pakatan Rakyat.

The break-up of Pakatan Rakyat will cause consternation and even despair among Malaysians over the betrayal of their high hopes that change has finally come to Malaysia after more than half a century of political stagnation and even regresson but welcomed as a boon and relief by Umno/BN leaders and apparatchiks as a “salvation” to spare them from political rejection and repudiation in the country.

This is the reason why the Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, had been so fast in declaring unconditional support of 12 UMNO/Barisan Nasional State Assembly representatives in Selangor to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Mentri Besar of Selangor although he has lost the mandate of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Pakatan Rakyat to continue as Selangor Mentri Besar. Continue reading “What happens in the next 24 hours in the Selangor MB crisis may upstage the August 17 PAS leadership meeting and set the seal for the irretrievable break-up of Pakatan Rakyat”

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Height of irony Utusan Malaysia complaining about selective prosecution and investigation when it has been the major beneficiary enjoying immunity and impunity for series of seditious articles inciting racial and religious hatred and tensions in the country in recent years

It is the height of irony that Utusan Malaysia is complaining about selective prosecution and investigation when the UMNO-owned daily has been the biggest beneficiary of such criminal oversight and abuses of power by various enforcement agencies particularly the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers as Utusan continues to enjoy both “immunity and impunity” for a series of seditious articles inciting racial and religious hatred and tensions in the country in recent years.

Now Utusan alleges that non-Muslims are becoming blatant in demeaning Islam because authorities are not pursuing them with the same vigour applied to Malays.

Utusan Malaysia further alleges that “the eagerness of non-Muslims to insult Islam can no longer be ignored” because of the “hesitance or fear on the part of the authorities to punish non-Malays for such activity”.

This is utter bunkum. Continue reading “Height of irony Utusan Malaysia complaining about selective prosecution and investigation when it has been the major beneficiary enjoying immunity and impunity for series of seditious articles inciting racial and religious hatred and tensions in the country in recent years”

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What is Impian Malaysia?

Wan Hamidi Hamid
The Malaysian Insider
26 July 2014

Once upon a time, a political party was formed. Its name was Democratic Action Party or DAP, and it wanted to promote the idea of a Malaysian Malaysia.

It was meant to be an idea for a united nation, a country for all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion. Hence, Malaysia would never be a monopoly of any particular race, religion or ideology, as enshrined in the original Federal Constitution.

The idea was born almost a half century ago. It may sound obsolete to some, it may even sound obscene to some racist-minded people.

However, despite its noble intention, the Alliance and its successor Barisan Nasional under the control of Umno through their controlled media had portrayed the ideal as something evil, especially for the Malays. Continue reading “What is Impian Malaysia?”

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After Karpal’s sedition conviction, IGP Khalid wants my “scalp”, knock me out of Parliament and even jailed for sedition?

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, probably hopes to get the second scalp of a DAP leader to be jailed and be disqualified and knocked out of Parliament for conviction of sedition – targeting me after Karpal Singh’s most unwarranted conviction for sedition and RM4,000 fine which would have ejected Karpal from Parliament if he is still alive and his appeal against conviction or sentence had not been overturned.

I was surprised when I first learned that the Police was coming after me under the Sedition Act, although I was nonplussed as to what seditious statement I had made to warrant a police investigation against me under the Sedition Act – especially when the Police had been infamously passive and notoriously inactive when there had been a crescendo of seditious utterances and threats by extremist individuals and NGOs inciting racial and religious hatred, including May 13 threats about racial riots uttered at least thrice this year alone!

Malaysians must commend the Malaysian Police for having the outstanding qualities not to be found in other police forces in the world, i.e. its enormous ability to turn the blind eye to flagrant criminality right in their faces when committed by certain privileged groups of people but extraordinary ability to discern crime or sedition when they don’t exist when another targeted group of people is involved!

In a buka puasa event last night, Khalid announced that the police will record a statement from me for my recent comment on the fifth death anniversary of Teoh Beng Hock (TBH) that Beng Hock had been murdered and that the killers are still at large. Continue reading “After Karpal’s sedition conviction, IGP Khalid wants my “scalp”, knock me out of Parliament and even jailed for sedition?”

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DAP and PR will not condone or tolerate any May 13 threat but we are prepared to fully co-operate with UMNO and BN to ensure there will not be another May 13 in Malaysia

Who is the UMNO Youth leader, Khairy Jamaluddin trying to “rescue” in his naïve but self-serving statement accusing me of manipulating the May 13 remark by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and sensationalising it into a threat – to save Muhyiddin or the MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Gerakan President, Datuk Mah Siew Keong?

I do not want to waste time on Khairy’s fling with sophistry, claiming that the Deputy Prime Minister’s May 13 remark was not a threat but a reminder to Malaysians to safeguard national unity.

I would be the first to applaud Muhyiddin if he had spoken as Deputy Prime Minister of all Malaysians to all Malaysians on the imperative need to safeguard national unity in a multi-racial and multi-religious society so as to be a model of harmony and solidarity of a plural nation for the world, but this was not what he did.

Instead, Muhyiddin was warning of another May 13 riots if ethnic relations continue to worsen because Malays and Islam were under siege (which was not only biased but baseless), saying: Continue reading “DAP and PR will not condone or tolerate any May 13 threat but we are prepared to fully co-operate with UMNO and BN to ensure there will not be another May 13 in Malaysia”

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On soup kitchens, and MCA aping DAP

– Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
6 July 2014

Umno leaders have no compassion for the poor. MCA is a monkey of a party. Monkey does what monkey sees.

The singular characteristic of Umno leaders which is more pronounced than anything else is their arrogance and holding in perfect contempt the rights of others. Perhaps this stems from being in power for so long, which generates a feeling of invincibility and infallibility.

Hence, Tengku Adnan Mansur announces punitive measures to get rid of soup kitchens.

He has issued a directive that no soup kitchens can operate within 2km limits of Lot 10. He is afraid; the sight of vagabonds, homeless and beggars will offend the sensibilities of patrons and denizens in the citadels of luxury and opulence in the Golden Triangle.

The only sin of the soup kitchen organisers is to provide hot food to the destitute and poor in the city. The measures ought to be commended but BN holds such efforts in contempt, because it embarrasses them that the world will know there are many poor people in Malaysia.

Feeding the poor is not a glamorous act like presenting demands at the immigration department to secure the release of a teenager remanded by the authorities. Continue reading “On soup kitchens, and MCA aping DAP”

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Any back-door attempt to enforce hudud is illegal, says Ambiga

V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
1 July 2014

There is an attempt to rewrite the Federal Constitution by using “the back door” to introduce hudud but that plan will fail as it is illegal, says former Bar Council chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan.

The remark was in reference to a move to table a private member’s bill in Parliament that will allow Kelantan to enforce its Shariah penal code in the PAS-controlled state.

The east coast state has been governed by the Islamist party PAS since 1990.

If passed by a simple majority vote, the bill will give effect to the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II of 1993. Continue reading “Any back-door attempt to enforce hudud is illegal, says Ambiga”