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GE13 – Make the Right Choice

By Kee Thuan Chye
from March 2013 issue of Penang Monthly

Voters, you have to decide soon. The 13th general election has to be held at the latest within two months of April 28, when the current government’s term expires. It may even be called next month if Prime Miniser Najib Razak has the gumption for it.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t decided yet which coalition – Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) – should win federal power for the next five years, consider this.

After 55 years of ruling this country, where has BN got us?

The country is more divided than ever. We have been polarised on racial and religious lines for decades, but now we are divided by political leanings as well.

What about our economic progress? Continue reading “GE13 – Make the Right Choice”

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As the Altantuya Murder Plot Thickens

By Kee Thuan Chye
from Yahoo! Malaysia

Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam is gone, and his untimely death from a heart attack makes it all the more pressing for Malaysians to find answers to the mystery of the murder of the Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Who actually did it? Logically, it would seem unlikely that the two police personnel who have been convicted acted on their own. What would be the motive of Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri? They didn’t even know Altantuya before they whisked her away and dealt the fatal blow. It would seem they were merely hitmen.

Furthermore, according to Sirul’s cautioned statement, they were offered RM50,000 to RM100,000 to dispose of Altantuya. If this is true, who made the offer?

Other questions float in limbo like ghosts whose souls have not been put to rest. How did these two men get their hands on the C4 explosive used to blow Altantuya’s body to smithereens? It’s something that is difficult to procure. Did they have help from certain quarters? Continue reading “As the Altantuya Murder Plot Thickens”

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Is It Part of Our Culture?

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
14th March 2013

Last week, I was speaking to students of a higher institution of learning about a play of mine that they are studying called We Could **** You, Mr Birch.

When I got to the issue of getting Malaysians to discuss so-called sensitive issues openly, one of the students commented, “It’s not part of our culture.” I asked her if she was being ironic. The bright lass nodded.

She was alluding to the favourite catchphrase of the Government that is invariably invoked when it wants to discourage Malaysians from taking part in certain activities, usually those that are adversarial or threatening to it.

One such activity is taking part in demonstrations and street protests. Many a government official has used “it’s not part of our culture” to denounce especially large gatherings that challenge the Government’s rulings and actions, like the Bersih and anti-Lynas rallies. Continue reading “Is It Part of Our Culture?”

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Who Knows What the Truth is These Days?

By Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo Newsroom
Mon, Mar 11, 2013

How do you decide what is truth and what is falsehood as the build-up to Malaysia’s 13th general election hots up? So many bizarre twists and turns have emerged in recent days that Malaysians must be in a state of shock and awe.

First, businessman Deepak Jaikishan openly alleged that Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor were involved in forcing private investigator P. Balasubramaniam to make a second statutory declaration to contradict his first, which had implicated Najib in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Then Bala returned from exile earlier this year to affirm that he stood by his first statutory declaration, reinforcing the revelations made by Deepak about how the second declaration came about.

The latest twist is Azlan Mohd Lazim’s announcement that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is innocent of the charge of having sodomised Azlan’s son, Saiful, and that Anwar is the victim of a political conspiracy. Taking everyone by surprise, including apparently Saiful as well, the father attests that his son was “used by several unscrupulous individuals”, including a special officer of Najib’s, to tarnish Anwar’s image. Continue reading “Who Knows What the Truth is These Days?”

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Gift or Nightmare for Najib?

By Kee Thuan Chye
MSN Malaysia
7th March 2013

The ongoing Sabah crisis could turn out to be the gift Prime Minister Najib Razak was hoping for to help his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to victory at the impending general election, which he has yet to call, or a ticking bomb instead.

In rejecting the ceasefire proposed by the Sulu Sultan whose followers landed in Lahad Datu more than three weeks ago to reclaim Sabah as their ancestral homeland, Najib has scored much-needed positive points. Already, even his detractors have expressed support for his stand. They now declare that for once, he is saying something “sensible”, that they are agreeing with him “for the first time”.

Some, however, are saying this is “the only right thing” he has done during the whole crisis. Nonetheless, if he manages to pull off a decisive victory over the intruders, votes, especially from fence-sitters, might actually drop to BN.

But Najib has to do it before the general election has to be held, the absolute last date for which is June 28. If the crisis is not resolved before the general election, his ineffectiveness as prime minister would be exposed. He needs to win the conflict decisively, like Margaret Thatcher won the Falklands War in 1982 and went on to resuscitate her flagging popularity at the UK general election the following year. Continue reading “Gift or Nightmare for Najib?”

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Gross Encounters of the Zin Kind

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest

I was greeted first thing this morning by an SMS from a dear old friend. It read: “Saudara XXX [my friend’s name in full], Selamat Menyambut Hari Lahir. Happy Birthday. Ikhlas dari DS Ir Mohd Zin Mohamed, Kordinator BN Selangor. Sayangi Selangor, Yakini BN.”

At first, I wondered why my friend had forwarded me this SMS. Then when I saw the four-letter word he had appended at the end of it, I understood. He was sharing with me his disgust at the greeting from Mohd Zin.

This coordinator of Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) who is campaigning to win the state from Pakatan Rakyat at the soon-to-be-held general election has been sending out many such messages to a whole lot of people ever since last year. However, they have become such an annoyance that the recipients invariably express nothing but disgust each time they receive such messages.

Some of my other friends have also been complaining to me about Mohd Zin’s barrage of not only SMSes but postcards and letters as well. And social media is full of curses against him and his unsavoury proselytising efforts to the BN cause.
Continue reading “Gross Encounters of the Zin Kind”

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The PM is Demeaning Himself

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
Feb 12, 2013

It looks like Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional (BN) chief Najib Razak has outdone himself at self-debasement. His appearance in the now much-talked-about Chinese New Year advertisement has not only shown his desperation to win Chinese votes in the soon-to-be-held general election; it has also elicited responses from viewers full of derision and contempt.

I showed it to someone who is non-partisan, sensible, well-educated and who exercises good judgment, and these were her reactions as she watched it:

“Hak sei ngor! (Shocking)” … “Unheard of” … “Eeyer! Geli! (Makes my skin crawl)” … “Trying too hard”.

Her remarks are uncannily similar to those that have been expressed on Facebook by many other Malaysians. Continue reading “The PM is Demeaning Himself”

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No one is spared from Kee Thuan Chye’s pen

by Daniel Anthony
Malaysiakini
Jan 26, 2013

If there is one Malaysian who can smell bullshit from a mile away, it’s him. In his latest collection of essays Ask For No Bullshit, Get Some More!, Kee Thuan Chye leaves no stone unturned.

From behind the scenes of Bersih 2.0 to the speculations of the 13th general elections, every scandal and issue in the local news has a place in this book.

Just like his previous book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, Kee has certainly made a name for being able to boil the tangled mess of legal jargon and deceptive semantics down to a simple English that everyone can swallow.

Kee scratches the surface of these major issues and then pulls you into the deep side to reveal all the details you never knew.

His writing unravels the stories spun by the mainstream media and lays every thread on the table, leaving you to draw your own conclusion. Continue reading “No one is spared from Kee Thuan Chye’s pen”

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Defiance Is Gaining Momentum

By Kee Thuan Chye | Monday, 21 January 2013 14:29
Malaysian Digest

I love the new spirit of defiance among Malaysians. I think we have come of age in realizing that we must stand up for our rights. And that it’s not wrong to do so.

After all, as the American political activist Howard Zinn puts it, dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

I’m not just talking about the defiance shown by already known people like Ambiga Sreenevasen and A Samad Said, the leaders of Bersih 3.0, when they stood up and spoke up or fought against the authorities to point out that the latter were wrong. I’m also talking about the courageous acts of ordinary people who despite having no organization to back them up did what they felt needed to be done, not just for themselves but for a larger cause.

A video grab of Universiti Utara Malaysia UUM student K S Bawani (L) and Sharifah Zohra Jabeen during the controversial forum held at UUM in Dec 8The recent act of speaking up at a forum of dubious intent held at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) by the university’s student K S Bawani is such a case. Despite the attempt by the forum’s moderator to humiliate her, she stood tall.
Continue reading “Defiance Is Gaining Momentum”

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There’s No Excuse For Not Reporting The Truth

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
01 January 2013

What Utusan Malaysia’s lawyer reportedly told the High Court on Dec 27 is shocking.

According to The Malaysian Insider, Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin said newspapers do not have the “luxury of time” to verify the truth of news reports before publishing them.

In defending Utusan Malaysia’s report that allegedly accused Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of being a proponent of gay rights, Firoz also said, “If newspapers have to go through the full process of ascertaining the truth, the details, they wouldn’t be able to report the next day.”

If he thinks this would justify the publication of untruths by the media, he is grossly wrong. No media organization should ever publish untruths or lies. On top of that, no media organization can, after doing it, claim justification by saying it had no time to check its facts.

Not checking facts before publication is a cardinal sin in journalism. And no self-respecting journalist or media could absolve themselves by saying they did not have the “luxury of time”. Continue reading “There’s No Excuse For Not Reporting The Truth”

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How Our Democracy is Damaged

By Kee Thuan Chye
Penang Monthly
December 2012

We often hear of electoral fraud and unfair election practices but what do they really mean? What forms does electoral fraud usually take? What constitute unfair practices and how have they surfaced?

Beyond that, what are the measures that need to be taken to ensure that Malaysian elections are free and fair so that this vital aspect of our democracy is truly well-served and our vote for the candidate or party we support is not made a mockery of?

A new book called Democracy at Stake?: Examining 16 By-elections in Malaysia, 2008-2011, published by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, answers our questions and collates our concerns into a handy and comprehensive compact.

Edited by Wong Chin Huat and Soon Li Tsin, it analyses the 16 by-elections that have been held since the 12th general election according to such relevant categories as how free, fair and clean they were; the freedom and quality of the campaigning; the political parties’ access to media; corrupt practices that were perpetrated; how impartial or otherwise the public institutions were; the amount of campaign money spent; the electoral roll; and the polling process. Continue reading “How Our Democracy is Damaged”

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Lament of a Stressed-out Minister

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
Oct 23, 2012

I tell you, it’s tough laa being a minister these days.

We have to take so much shit. From the media, from Facebook, from bloggers, from the Opposition. It was so different when Mahathir was PM. Nobody dared to question any minister then. Nobody wrote a word to criticise. But now …

And it’s not like we make that much money. Our salary is nothing compared to Singapore. Some more, the people don’t appreciate it. They think we are getting kickbacks left, right and centre.

This recent case over Musa Aman getting RM40 million … it’s not him, the money was for Umno. Political donation. What’s wrong with that? PM Najib already said it’s proper. But people still want to make trouble and call it money laundering. Just because Michael Chia got stopped when he was bringing the money out from Hong Kong. Continue reading “Lament of a Stressed-out Minister”

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Should Government Scholars Be Grateful?

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest

Should recipients of government scholarships be grateful? Grateful to whom?

I’m asking this because former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil mentioned recently that PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli was a Petronas scholar and yet he appeared to be going against the people who had given him the scholarship. As the Petronas scholarship is a government scholarship, she implied he was being “ungrateful”.

She even suggested that other young people of Rafizi’s generation might also be “ungrateful”.

But should Rafizi – and other Petronas scholars, indeed all government scholars, including those awarded the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) scholarships – be beholden to the Government and eternally grateful to it?

First of all, what is “the Government”?
Continue reading “Should Government Scholars Be Grateful?”

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Do you want the devil you know?

by Kee Thuan Chye
Free Malaysia Today
October 5, 2012

BN happens to have been in federal government for so long that people tend to automatically assume they have the required leadership.

COMMENT

I’m finding this frequent comment by people rather irksome: “But does Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have leadership? Can it take over the federal government?”

I’m prompted to ask: What do they mean by “leadership”? Is the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership the kind we want?

I’d take it further: Does BN have leaders? I mean, real leaders?

People tend to forget to look at the states currently being governed by PR. I don’t know much about Kedah and Kelantan, but Selangor and Penang have been doing fine. Continue reading “Do you want the devil you know?”

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‘Janji Demokrasi’ the Real Merdeka Event

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
Sept 2, 2012

The occasion could not have been better chosen or timed: The eve of the country’s 55th Merdeka anniversary, two hours before countdown.

The venue could not have been more appropriate: Dataran Merdeka,where the countdown to Merdeka is held every year to commemorate the very first countdown to independence in 1957.

The theme could not have been more telling: ‘JanjiDemokrasi’, a response to the Government’s Merdeka theme, ‘Janji Ditepati’. Sasterawan Negara (National Laureate) A.Samad Said to read his impassioned poem with its powerful ending:

Kita laungkan jerit senyaringnya: “Janji Demokrasi!”

sehingglah janji itu turut menjeritnya sendiri!

(We cry with all our hearts: “The promise of democracy!”

until the promise itself joins in and cries out togetherwith us!)

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein predicted few people would turn up. But, as usual, he was wrong. They came by the thousands – some counted tens of thousands – dressed in yellow, as requested by the organisers. Continue reading “‘Janji Demokrasi’ the Real Merdeka Event”

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Whence Comes Another Mahathir?

by Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
09 August 2012

Mahathir Mohamad is an angel. A perfect being. He is incapable of doing wrong. He is a model to all Malaysians. He is wise. He is incorruptible. He never took a sen while in office. He saved his salary for his old age. Whatever goodies he received when he was prime minister, he gave to the Government. He only ate some of the fruits given as gifts because they would otherwise go bad.

During the Royal Commission of Inquiry on V.K. Lingam and the fixing of federal judges, he answered many of the questions with “I don’t remember”. He genuinely didn’t. He’s a geriatric, for goon-ness’ sake! Cut the old man some slack! How can he be expected to remember so many things in the 22 years of his premiership?

His administration was the best ever, and of course the cleanest. There were some scandals, but that happens with any administration in any part of the world. What’s more, Mahathir had nothing to do with them. Others were culpable; he was above it all. There were some bailouts, but the bailouts were necessary – no, critical. Without the bailouts, the country would have been hurt.

There has also been talk that he was involved in a plot togive citizenships to illegal immigrants in Sabah.This scheme started in the 1990s so that the grateful recipients would vote for Barisan Nasional (BN) and keep it in power there. Some call it Project IC, but others call it Project M, with ‘M’ standing for Mahathir. Continue reading “Whence Comes Another Mahathir?”

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Are We Celebrating Barisan Nasional Day?

By Kee Thuan Chye | Tuesday, 31 July 2012 09:53
Malaysian Digest

BARISAN Nasional (BN) has already started campaigning for the general election – even though it has not yet been called – and the Election Commission (EC) is doing nothing about it.

What’s more, BN is campaigning on a large scale and everyone can see it. It has done this by unabashedly hijacking the National Day celebrations and using it to promote its own propaganda.

The theme for the celebrations is Janji Ditepati (Promises Fulfilled) which does not sound at all like a National Day theme. It instead speaks for BN, which desperately wants to tell the rakyat that it is a government that delivers.

The National Day theme song is glaringly partisan – but for BN, not for the country. Also entitled ‘Janji Ditepati’, it highlights BN’s latest initiatives and hints that it’s time for the rakyat to show its gratitude to BN.
Continue reading “Are We Celebrating Barisan Nasional Day?”

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BN Amended PPPA to Protect Itself

– by Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
Sunday, 03 June 2012

LET’S be honest and admit it. The recent amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) have done nothing for press freedom. In fact, they show no signs of moving in that direction.

Relieving newspapers and other publications of the need to renew their licence annually is of no use if they are still subject to the threat of getting their licence suspended or revoked. The Home Minister still holds the power to implement that threat.

This means they still have to be cautious about what they publish. They are still controlled.

Of course, there is now another amendment that allows for the Home Minister’s decision to be challenged in court. That’s something new and seems a bit of a surprise. And the Government has come out to claim that it’s a big leap forward.

But if one considers that there could be more to this amendment than appears on the surface, it will not be such a surprise after all.

I suspect it was made because Barisan Nasional (BN) the party is hedging its bets. It was made in case at some point in the future, BN should lose power. Continue reading “BN Amended PPPA to Protect Itself”

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Truth Will Out in Suhakam Inquiry

by Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
Tuesday, 22 May 2012

We have witnessed much madness and asininity displayed in the aftermath of the Bersih 3.0 rally of April 28, especially exemplified in the laughable antics of anti-Bersih groups, such as hawkers’ group Ikhlas, the army veterans who shook their buttocks in front of Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasen’s home, and the Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders Action Council.

Some of it can also be seen in the comments on the rally made by government leaders, including Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim’s incredulous declaration that only 22,270 people took part in it. But most risible of all is the Government’s appointment of ex-Inspector General of Police Hanif Omar as chairperson of the so-called independent panel to investigate the violence that occurred on April 28.

So it is with considerable relief that we now welcome the decision of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to conduct its own public inquiry into the violence when earlier it had said it would wait for the Government’s panel. Suhakam decided to go ahead because the panel has yet to come out with its terms of reference, and also because it has received numerous complaints from the public about the police brutality committed during the rally.

This is a show of good sense amidst the show of puerile emotionalism by the anti-Bersih groups and anti-Bersih ministers. It restores faith in the belief that rationality still rules okay in our current tragicomic state. Continue reading “Truth Will Out in Suhakam Inquiry”

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BN could suffer for attack on students

Kee Thuan Chye
Free Malaysia Today
April 21, 2012

Perception is what counts in politics. And the perception that has already set in among the discerning public, not only discerning students, is that Umno hired the thugs.

COMMENT

Barisan Nasional has probably just lost the votes of university students who are bright, perceptive and can think for themselves.

These students would have been reviled by the recent attack on the student protesters camped out at Dataran Merdeka by a gang of 50 thugs. They would have seen this as a shameful act of violence against their fellow students, who were helpless and defenceless.

They would have seen this as an act to frighten the students into ending their protest calling for PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) loans to be written off.

Those who are bright and up to speed about politics in this country would automatically assume that this is the work of forces bigger than the thugs. For why should thugs randomly attack the students and beat some of them up, including women? What would be their motive for doing so?

The assumption would most likely be that the forces behind the attack are members of the ruling party – for who, more than anyone else, would want to see the protest end sooner? Continue reading “BN could suffer for attack on students”