Insulting Religion

If you had a Facebook account and have a decent number of Malaysian friends, you'd be aware that the most shared link is from Free Malaysia Today that reports Deputy Prime Minister saying that, ‘Non-Muslims are insulting our religion’.

It is pure, unadulterated drivel from the mouth of one who is illegitimately in the role of a national leader.

PUTRAJAYA: Action that touch Muslim sensitivities must stop or else it will create tension just like what is happening in other Muslim countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the action by certain quarters should not happen in a country that is enjoying the peace.

“This shows that there is no deep understanding within society.

“Muslims do not insult the religion of non-Muslims such as Christianity and Hinduism.

“But non-Muslims are insulting our religion,” he said at the breaking of fast with orphans of Rumah Amal Kasih Bestari here last night.

Whoa there, Quasimodo.

Muslims do not insult Christians? Really?

Did Muslims not raid a Christian community thanksgiving dinner?

Did the Muslims not firebomb 5 churches and 1 school? I personally have proof of a church that got razed in case anyone is planning to deny it.

And how about the way Muslims treat the Hindus?

Have people forgotten how a bunch of fools carried a severed and bloodied cow's head AND stepped on it to show contempt for another religion?

The cow is a sacred animal for Hindus. It was done deliberately to provoke anger and is the ultimate display of contempt and disrespect.

Upon realising how bovinely stupid they looked, they made a lame attempt at denying it, saying that the appearance of the cow's head at the protest remains a mystery.

I could go on about the temples that they've demolished, and the dead bodies of Hindu men that they've snatched in a last ditch attempt to convert them.

Stealing dead bodies!! How low could one stoop if you don't even let the Hindus pay their last respects to their dead loved ones?

At this point, it's pretty evident that you don't need the non-Muslims to insult the Muslims, because really, no one can insult Islam as well as the Muslims themselves.

First Malay, Now Chinese Dilemma

There is no end to Old Nyanyuk's babbling!

He started off writing a book called The Malay Dilemma, where he recited the 'failings' of the Malay race and how they needed to be controlled and manipulated (perhaps not in those exact words).

Apparently, there is now a Chinese version of it.

Excerpt from the Malaysian Insider:

It is giving the DAP or Anwar Ibrahim far too much credit to suggest that many Malaysians voted for them because of their rhetoric or electoral promises.

It is also plainly dishonest to say that Chinese voted for DAP because they wanted political power.

Read the rest: No dilemma, Dr Mahathir, just the need for a better Malaysia

Unusual Places To Eat

Only in Malaysia.

This Seems To Be Gathering Worldwide Coverage

Now on Huffington Post.

I am all about freedom of speech and expression.

But this is a couple desperate for attention and we're giving them exactly what they want.

Why, oh why.

Asia Sentinel - Post-Election Payback Time in Malaysia

Mahathir backs moves to punish minorities and reward pro-government voters, companies

Last week, the Malaysian government announced its allocation of public university seats for the upcoming academic year.

Only 19 percent of Chinese students got places, along with 4 percent of Indians despite the fact that the two together make up about 30 percent of the student population.

Last year, Chinese students got 23 percent, in line with their proportion of the overall population.

That was the first tangible fallout from the 13th general election held on May 5, in which the Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition, won 133 of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, or Parliament, preserving its majority despite the fact that it only received 47.38 percent of the popular vote against 50.87 for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition headed by Anwar Ibrahim.

The second came yesterday with the revelation by Democratic Action Party National Publicity Chairman Tony Pua of the award of a RM1 billion (US$314 million) commuter railway project in the massive government-backed Iskandar development in the southern state of Johor to Metropolitan Commuter Network Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 joint venture between Malaysian Steel Works Sdn Bhd and KUB Malaysia Bhd, both of which are linked to UMNO, to build and operate a 100 km inter-city rail service in Johor.

According to an official with the company quoted in local media, Masteel will receive a 37-year build-own-transfer arrangement on the project despite the fact that it is slated to break even in 12 years.

Although Masteel says the project was a private sector initiative dating from 2008, it is inconceivable that it would have been granted without the imprimatur of the government.

Read the rest here: Post-Election Payback Time in Malaysia

Petition to Repeal Section 9A of the Elections Act 1958

This is worth your signature, folks. Let's try get it up to 10,000 signatures for a start.

Repeal Section 9A of the Elections Act 1958

If you're wondering what Section 9A is, read on.

Section 9A of the Elections Act 1958 stipulates that:

“After an electoral roll has been certified or (and) re-certified, as the case may be, and notice of the certification or (and) re-certification has been published in the Gazette as prescribed by regulations made under this Act, the electoral roll shall be deemed to be final and binding and shall not be questioned or appealed against in, or reviewed, quashed or set aside by, any court.”

This in substance means that once an electoral roll is gazetted, it cannot be challenged in court. The Election Commission has absolute power in controlling the electoral roll and cannot be challenged, even in the presence of elements of fraud legally proven or admission of irregularity by the Election Commission itself.

I'm not putting up with this; I hope you're not either.

"Malaysia Stands To Gain From TPPA"

This is priceless:

Concerns that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will be disadvantageous to Malaysia are largely misplaced as negotiators will certainly safeguard the country's economic and trade interests during the trade talks.

If you're wondering where that came from, it was taken from the frivolous rag known in these parts as the New Straits Times.

Now just about everyone knows that when the NST publish anything, they are almost certainly lying.

They just can't help themselves. If you asked them a straight forward question like what two plus three was, they'd feel compelled to lie and say any other number than five.

In this case, it's not so much a case of lying. There are plenty of lies in the rest of the article should you have the poor sense and judgment to read it seriously (you may, of course, read it for comic value).

What was striking is that NST attempts to convince readers that Malaysian negotiators sent by the Malaysian government would have the capability to protect our best interests.

To begin with, the government is only interested in what it can gain for itself. Further to that, it is full of rank incompetents who joined the civil service because no one else would consider employing them.

They are in no position to safeguard anything, not even a coop of chickens.

NST should read aloud what it writes. Only then will it realise what baloney really sounds like.

P.S. You may find this interesting: NST Fell For It

Pakatan Sues EC Members To Force Re-Election

Watch the video

Pakatan Rakyat has filed a lawsuit against all seven members of the Election Commission (EC) in a bid to seek, among others, a declaration that the results of the 13th general election are null and void.

PKR's Subang MP R Sivarasa said this is with regard to the EC members' alleged fraud in the botched implementation of indelible ink and 'biased' conduct.

"We want a specific court case to highlight and expose this issue and the main relief is the declaration that the EC failed to perform the constitutional duty, and maliciously and dishonestly engaged in fraud in the misuse of indelible ink in the 13th general election," he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby this morning.

"If the court agrees with us, then the logical conclusion is the results (of the general election) would be set aside. We want a declaration (for the outcome) in all 222 parliamentary seats to be declared void."

As a consequence of the alleged fraud, Pakatan is also seeking a court order for the removal of all seven EC members, including its chairperson and deputy chairperson.

Pakatan is further seeking damages from the seven EC members, but said the amount would be assessed by the court.

The suit was filed at 10am today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The plaintiffs - PKR, PAS and DAP and several individuals - were represented by constitutional lawyer Tommy Thomas (left), who is the lead counsel.

The individual plaintiffs include two ordinary voters and PKR's Kulim Bandar-Bahru candidate Saifuddin Nasution, PAS' Kuala Selangor candidate Dzulkefly Ahmad and DAP's Cameron Highlands candidate M Manogaran.

'EC members must take responsibility'

PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said the suit did not name the EC, but all seven individual members of the commission in their capacity as EC members.

The move, she explained, is for the individual members to take responsibility so that the buck will not be passed to the government if any damages are ordered to be paid.

"This (is the) best way to manage and hold the top seven (members of the EC) responsible for their action or abuse ... we want to protect taxpayers' money," she said.

Nurul Izzah noted that the EC is planning to conduct a redelineation process at the end of this year and said she hopes the hearing of the suit will be expedited to remove the EC members before then.

PAS' Kota Bahru MP Takiyuddin Hassan said that, despite the countless police reports about the 'removable' indelible ink, no action has been taken.

The DAP's Seremban MP Anthony Loke said the EC has continued to protect the identity of the supplier of the indelible ink, which has been found not to match the specifications.

The EC had initially said the indelible ink would last up to a week. On polling day, however, many voters found that they could wash it out within hours of having their index finger marked.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim later revealed that the ink only contained food dye and there was no silver nitrate, a critical component that makes the ink indelible.

What Drives These Young Malay Political Activists?

BY MOHD FARHAN DARWIS
JUNE 28, 2013

He could have been in a comfortable teaching position somewhere in Malaysia, earning a decent salary, driving a Myvi and planning for a family. An everyday man charting an anonymous middle-class life, the Malaysian dream for many.

Instead, Adam Adli Abdul Halim has been arrested more times than even Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He has been assaulted and threatened with multiple legal action, including sedition. And he is not cowed.

And what about Safwan Anang, once prisoner No 3130 2770? He could be planning for a future in the civil service, employment that would give him job security, a comfortable life for his wife and baby on the way. A young Malay man making his way up the ladder.

Instead, Safwan Anang has also been arrested a couple of times, thrown into Sungai Buloh prison with murderers and rapists after he refused to pay a RM5,000 bail. And he too, is not cowed by the authorities.

Both these 24-year-olds belong to a group of young Malay political activists who have emerged in the last few years. They have taken a confrontational approach against the government, pushing for more democratic space and freedom for students.

They do not believe in submitting written requests or making representations to their elected representatives. They protest.

They speak without fear at forums and also take part in sit-ins as they did, pitching tents at Padang Merbok in the heart of Kuala Lumpur on June 22 after the Black 505 gathering. When they were eventually evicted from those tents, they made their way to Parliament House where Adam, Safnan and others were arrested... again.

Some of the activists are affiliated to Pakatan Rakyat or close to Opposition-friendly groups like Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia, Solidariti Anak-Anak Muda Malaysia and Gerakan Penuntut Akademi Bebas. Others are drawn by issues and the fact that their parents too are activists.

What is perhaps surprising is that many are the products of the New Economic Policy, the affirmative action programme designed to give Malays and other bumiputeras a leg up through quotas, scholarships and other special privileges.

So why are these Malays rising up against a system which in theory is stacked in their favour?

One reason, say pundits and political commentators, is that many Malays do not believe the NEP benefits the larger Malay population. They believe it is, instead, a vehicle abused by the elite and the politically connected to get rich.

With the gap between the have and have nots growing wider in Malaysia every year, this feeling of anger and disenchantment against the establishment has also grown.

Analyst Ibrahim Suffian of the Merdeka Center, the country's premier polling and research outfit, also noted that many young Malay activists are products of political Islam and have family members who are active PAS or PKR members.

They believe that it is their religious duty to fight oppression and injustice and have no fear of retribution from the state from doing so.

Adam, who has become a star among young Malaysian activists, says that he is fighting against irrelevant and outdated policies and laws, such as the legislation which restricts the involvement of students in politics.

He started small, upset at the policies formulated by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), where he was a trainee teacher.
"I felt that the policies formulated by the university administration did not take into account the feelings and opinion of the students. There was no independent student union to fight for the rights of the students," Adam told The Malaysian Insider.

He came to national prominence in December 2011 when he lowered a banner with the image of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during a demonstration at the Umno headquarters at the Putra World Trade Center.

He was called all sorts of names by the Umno-owned media, threatened with punitive action and eventually suspended by the university for three semesters.

But the fire burning in his belly was not put out.

Since then, he and fellow activists have regularly gone to the streets to protest on a variety of issues, from the suspension of law professor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari from the Islamic University of Malaysia to the Bersih rallies for fair elections to the need for academic freedom. Now the rallying cry is the need to save democracy in the country and challenge the alleged electoral fraud that occured in the 13th general election.

Every time he is arrested, Facebook pages are flooded with messages such as "We are all Adam Adli" and hashtags like #bebaskan Adam adli.

Some writers have drawn some similarities between the likes of Adam, Safwan and other young Malay activists with a certain student leader who was arrested in 1974 leading a protest against rural poverty. Anwar Ibrahim was detained under the ISA, became an even more famous leader after his detention and was courted by both Umno and PAS.

He joined Umno from Abim (a popular Muslim-based NGO at the time) in 1982 and rose up the ranks to become the deputy prime minister before being sacked by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in September 1998.

Ibrahim of Merdeka Center said that there is every chance that today's activists could be on the main political stage in 10 years. And it is also clear that both Umno and Pakatan Rakyat are trying to build bridges with the young firebrands.

Safwan, an Islamic studies student at Universiti Malaya and chairman of Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia, said that he and other activists have been labelled as pro-opposition but prefer to think of themselves as non-partisan agitators.

He says they are fighting injustices in the system and unjust laws and will carry on protesting even if there were a change in the government if that new government did not act on changes to the system to block election fraud.

Sometimes, their rage and drive even surprises the opposition. Safwan was upset with Pakatan Rakyat representatives for not boycotting the swearing-in ceremony. He and Adam were among those arrested outside the Parliament House on Monday.

In fact, in the wake of allegations of cheating at GE13, the political activists have taken the most hardline position: no end to demonstrations until there is full electoral reform.

"We will continue to pressure both PR and BN. We will continue to agitate them until the core issues are resolved," Safwan said.

His are not empty words. Recently, he became prisoner No 3130 2770 at Sungai Buloh Prison, the result of refusing to post the bail of RM5,000 after being arrested for sedition after speaking at a post-election forum.

Like other prisoners at Sungai Buloh – Anwar's home for six years – he was given a blanket and had to sleep on the floor. He spent the day reading the Quran and when his wife visited him, she was surprised to note how calm he was.

"I visited him and was proud because my husband was not a criminal. He is fighting for the truth, someone willing to sacrifice everything for justice," she wrote in Harakahdaily.net, the PAS news portal.

Indeed, these young activists enjoy strong support from their family members and this net of affection and admiration drives the likes of Safwan and Adam on. They expect to be arrested and have little fear of incarceration or demonisation.

Adam said: "I have overcome my fear of the authorities… My parents understand that what I am doing is right, something which needs to be done." - June 28, 2013.

Malaysia Denies Entry to Clare Rewcastle Brown

HONG KONG — Malaysian authorities have denied entry to a leading opposition journalist who is the sister-in-law of Gordon Brown, the former British prime minister.

The journalist, Clare Rewcastle Brown, who was sent back to Singapore, is the founder of the Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak, two news outlets that have taken on the Malaysian government on issues like deforestation and corruption in the state of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.

A native of Sarawak, she has been in increasingly contentious battles with local power brokers and officials in the state since setting up the two news outlets in 2010.

In an interview on Thursday, Ms. Rewcastle Brown said she arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday at Kuching International Airport on an AirAsia flight from Singapore but was denied entry by immigration officials, who detained her and put her on the next flight back to Singapore.

Ms. Rewcastle Brown, a British citizen who operates her news sites from London, said she had last been let into Malaysia in 2011.

Malaysia recently held democratic elections in which its prime minister, Najib Razak, was re-elected. Critics said the government used its strong hand over the country's news media to help ensure that Mr. Najib remained in power.

During the campaign, the Sarawak Report was often inaccessible because of what it said were cyberattacks.

Officials in Sarawak State did not comment on the matter.

Malaysian officials have said Radio Free Sarawak is operating illegally because it does not have a license.

Read the rest: Malaysia Denies Entry to Journalist at New York Times

Also: Gordon Brown's activist sister-in-law Clare Rewcastle Brown denied entry to Malaysian state

Sign Petition To Object To 118 Storey Tower

Folks have started the "Object to the 118 Megatower, Cease the Warisan Merdeka Development Project Immediately" online petition.

They need your help and support in signing it and disseminating the information to get it off the ground.

Here's the link: http://chn.ge/18mP1a3

Please forward this link after signing it.

Snooping On One's Own Allies

I think the US government has really put its foot in it this time.

The former Congressman Ron Paul is a controversial figure but what he said about the PRISM programme and its whistleblower makes sense:

"My understanding is that espionage means giving secret or classified information to the enemy. Since Snowden shared information with the American people, his indictment for espionage could reveal (or confirm) that the US Government views you and me as the enemy."

Interestingly, it's not just the American citizens who are the enemy. It's you, me, Snowden and the Germans too.

According to a report (well, one of the documents leaked out by Snowden), the US taps half-billion German phone and internet activities a month.

US combs through half a billion of German phone calls, emails and text messages on a monthly basis and has classified its European ally on the same target level as China, a German news magazine revealed.

The NSA document leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden and published by Der Spiegel classified Germany as a “third-class” partner, on the same level as China, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, meaning that the US surveillance in Germany was stronger than in any other EU country.

"We can attack the signals of most foreign third-class partners, and we do it too," the document states.

It revealed that NSA monitors phone calls, text messages, emails and internet chat contributions and has saved the metadata (connections and not the content) at its headquarters.

NSA snooped through 20-60 million German phone connections and 10 million internet data sets a day, Der Spiegel claims.

In comparison, US tapped around 2 million connection data a day in France.

The only countries exempt from the surveillance attacks were Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand.

Talk about abusing your own allies.

I guess you're not an equal if you don't speak English like the rest of the big boys, who really hate being caught with their pants down.

It is amazing how Snowden has been vilified by the US government. He has been viciously called a traitor and a criminal. But what is truly criminal is the invasion of privacy by the government spying programme. All forms of spying is unethical, but this is really out of control.

Even more staggering, in my opinion, is this bit from Sovereign Man:

Yet amazingly enough, many polls show that roughly half of Americans think that Snowden is a traitor and should be prosecuted. And among the Twittering classes, the discussion quickly turned to Snowden’s ‘hot or not’ status as a potential sex symbol.

Such data is truly profound. Roughly half of Americans don't give a rat's eye about their own liberty. And it's obvious that the US government has every intention to continue these programs full speed ahead.

It worries me that people do not see the writing on the wall.