Malaysia 2, Singapore 0

Some of you may accuse me of being a foam-in-the-mouth, rabid Malaysian nationalist. Not entirely true, but I do like being Malaysian, and sometimes we Malaysians have this rivalry thing going with the brethren across the causeway.

So I am going to bring up an issue that's pretty old; almost a month old now.

A nice Malay Singaporean stand-up comic who goes by the stage name Fakkah Fuzz (I think he just wants to be able to say the word 'F*cker' on a frequent basis) made a joke about thieves.

Fakkah said Singapore Malays call a thief “pencuri” while Malaysian Malays call a thief “perdana menteri” (prime minister).

I had to laugh. The joke is hysterical, in my opinion. It is still making the rounds on my Facebook feed, when I checked just yesterday.

Naturally, the UMNO idiots terasa lah. They got pissed off and had their rant. (Note aside, did you know that your IQ drops by 30 points when you're angry? It's probably explains why UMNO tends not to make much sense.)

Anyway, things were going well until the Fakkah decided to apologise:

“I would like to sincerely apologize if I unintentionally hurt my brothers and sisters across the causeway. It was not my intention to hurt or cause unhappiness among anyone. Nor was I accusing anyone of anything.

“It was simply a joke based on current events. The joke is basically ‘we say this, you say this’.

“I’m just saying what I hear. Not saying ‘This person is guilty of this!’ Not at all. Please don’t take what I said out of context as I’m not out to slander anyone.”

Laaa.

There really was no need to apologise. Malaysia is not Singapore, and we don't launch defamation suits against the opposition and bankrupt them to stay in power.

(Mohon terasa, ye.)

Actually we probably do even more stupid things, so I take that back.

However. I want to point out that we have two Malaysian heroes.

One is Adam Adli, who was criticised for lowering the Malaysian flag. When asked to apologise, he said:

I will never apologise (to the prime minister). Since the thing had happened till today, now I am asked to apologise. I will never do that. How about my friends and the struggle?

I do not want my friends to be demoralised if I apologise. It is not that I will never apologise at all, as maybe someday I may have to say sorry to some people for my actions.

Absolute hero.

The other is Fahmi Reza. He was charged for depicting an image of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in clown makeup. Did he apologise?

Hell, no! He went out and did it a second time! I tell you, sometimes I am very proud to be Malaysian.

Anyway, you're wondering what happened to the Fakkah.

Despite his apology, Selangor Umno Youth chief Zainuri Zainal said it was too little too late, because Fakkah’s joke had a “deep impact” on Malaysians.

“Fakkah should look in the mirror first before trying to meddle in the current affairs of Malaysia,” Zainuri was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

Minta maaf, ye, but sometimes, you just can't win.

Cracking Down On Dissent, The BN Way.

The disappearance of the MH370 showed how petty and shallow foreign mainstream media could be.

From America's CNN to the UK's Daily Mail, the portrayal of Malaysia was that it consisted mainly of bumbling incompetents. Perhaps MAS and the DCA could have been more forthcoming but this was an unprecedented situation and no one was prepared.

So I find nothing to be ashamed of Malaysia for that.

But what does embarrass me about Malaysia, is the way the BN government cracks down on dissent.

“The Malaysian government has revealed itself as petty, vindictive, and brittle when thrust into the limelight on the eve of important state visits. Going after activists, journalists, and opposition leaders are not the actions of a confident government committed to promoting respect for human rights, and visiting leaders need to say so.”

- John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch

The visiting leaders in question are United States President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, among others.

Now I confess I don't know much about Japan. But the USA is not in a position to preach because its human rights record when it comes to African Americans leaves much to be desired.

So visiting leaders might have reason to keep their mouths firmly shut.

However, we Malaysians don't need to be silent. And thousands did not remain cowed. My respect to those of you who went out and protested during BERSIH 4.

My respect to Zunar who has fearlessly drawn cartoons that so uncannily depict the situation in Malaysia.

My respect to Adam Adli who faithfully pushes on for political reform.

My respect to Haris Ibrahim who is being tried for words he purportedly uttered at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in May 2013.

My respect to law professor Azmi Sharom who moved to challenge the constitutionality of the Sedition Act 1948, which was enacted even before independence. The Federal Court dismissed it on the 6th of October.

And I never thought I would say it, but despite my reservations over Mahathir, I am pleased that he is speaking out. Read what Zaid Ibrahim has to say about the harassment of Tun M.

But more importantly, support the political activists who risk their well-being to fight for your freedom.

P.S. Who is Khalid Ismath and why was he under solitary confinement?

We're With Rocky

Rocky's hearing is scheduled to be heard at 9am at the High Court, Denmark House, Kuala Lumpur - that's in a few minutes.

NSTP and Others have filed a suit against Rocky for defamation, citing 50 articles in Rocky's Bru.

We refuse to be intimidated.

UPDATES
WALK WITH US... Updates of 02.04 hearing... - Jeff Ooi
Rocky vs NSTP & 4 others, 2 April 2007 - Rocky