It's Gradual, Of Course

RPK has this piece about frogs.

Now RPK hasn't suddenly gone and developed a fondness for amphibians.

And it's not about the political turncoats who calmly defect to another political party upon being offered something more "lucrative".


Oh no, not this time.

This time, it's about the common Malaysian. And the gradual erosion of our rights, which we never notice, simply because it's so .... gradual.

An old folks tale has it that if you put a frog in a pan of cold water and raise the temperature ever so slowly, the gradual warming will make the frog settle down comfortably - until it eventually cooks to death.

Which is pretty much what's happening to us Malaysians, who seem blissfully oblivious to the significance of politics in our lives, and the necessity in placing an active role in it.

To be fair, quite a few other bloggers have brought up the average Malaysian's apathetic attitude towards politics. Zewt spins us a story about a man who thought that as long as he had money, he'd never suffer the consequences of a poor administration.

Parents tell their children that if they studied hard and got good results, they would get a scholarship to pursue their choice of career.

But that only works out when you have good governance and a fair administration that is transparent and is not corrupt or does not discriminate.

So yet again, top scorers discover that PSD scholarships are not guaranteed. Even if they deserve it.

But then, they only have their parents to blame. For they thought that minding their own business and shunning politics was a wise course of action.

No Holds Barred...

... not even in Australia.


Abolish the Internal Security Act.

RPK's Trial At PJ Sessions Court

I just got back from there. When I left, his trial for sedition was in full swing.

RPK was brought down from Kamunting this morning at about 8.30am. He looked down in spirits. Looks like the psy-ops might be working. :(

There were only two witnesses brought in today. The judge appeared indignant. "The court has been booked for the entire day, and all you have is two witnesses??" she demanded from prosecution.

Of course, it was all the more amusing that our "expert" witness from SKMM had some trouble defining what a website was. Some sources claim that he couldn't quite remember the Malaysia Today website address!

Guess he's not an avid reader. :) Obviously not big on homework, either!

The turn-out was a little bigger than I'd personally expected. The usual suspects were there - Haris Ibrahim, Zorro, Shanghai Fish and Lulu. I also met The Whisperer who introduced himself upon hearing I was the bad-ass C!

Lulu was such an angel. She'd baked toblerone cupcakes which tasted just heavenly. I hadn't had my breakfast yet, so it was a much appreciated gesture. Love ya, girl!

A bunch of Australians were covering the trial, if I'm not mistaken, it was ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corp.

I heard from the grapevine that this trial is going to last for the next 3 days, so people, please show up and lend your support. Seriously, I can't make it everyday. I work in Cyberjaya.

It cost me RM9.50 using the ERL and then RM1.60 connecting from KL Sentral to Taman Jaya station, so both ways had me poorer by almost RM25.

But if YOU live thereabouts of PJ, please try and make time to make your presence felt. We need to make a statement, and no time like the present.

UPDATE: Haris has a whole bunch of photos.

The Car Sticker

For Zewt: The Malaysia-Today car sticker!


I was planning to use a better camera than the 2M-Pixel one on my HP iPAQ rw6828 PDA phone.

But this is basically how it looks.

Walking The Talk

I happened to be browsing. One thing led to another, and I found myself in this blog, As Zewt As It Gets.

There was a post in there with which I completely identified with, regarding collective action.

You know what's wrong with us Malaysians? We talk a lot.

And these days, the jaw-lubricating action has been translated to typing. Heck, Malaysia Today receives over a million hits, and you and I know how many comments are posted every single day.

It's immense. Monstrous. Unbelievable.

But what is even more unbelievable is that we are quite capable of saying one thing and doing another. We wax lyrical about how the government's actions are unacceptable and unreasonable, and earnestly pledge to oppose it in anyway possible.

So what exactly are we doing? Not much I'd say. Zewt gives an example:

Then there was a time when MT was distributing car stickers for a particular reason and comments flooded in to ask where people can get it and how many claimed they will put it up in support of MT.

Until today, I have yet to see a single car with MT car sticker. Heck, I don’t even know how it looks like!

I know what he's talking about. As far as I can see, I'm the only dudette proudly and defiantly displaying the sticker on my car.

My parents have frowned with disapproval. They warned me that my nifty little Toyota Vios was going to get vandalised by pro-government hooligans.

Folks. That sticker has been up for a year, and nothing has happened.

I still remain the solitary display car modelling Malaysia Today. Like Zewt observes, I haven't seen anyone else having it on.

Seriously, folks. What else do we need to motivate us to walk our talk?

The goddamn Pussycat Dolls in a saree???

Not What It's Cracked Out To Be

'Crack' is the new word in town.

Just a while ago, I thought I'd take a short break from work and read the news.

It was then that I noticed the Washington Post had this report running: Ethnic cracks widen in Malaysia's ruling coalition.

Granted, it's an Associated Press release, written by a Sean Yoong. I have no beef with the article (it appears to be fairly accurate); just with the title.

It's not the first time anyone has used the word 'crack' on the subject of our race-relations. Early this year, John Burton of the Financial Times wrote an article entitled, Cracks appear in Malaysia's multi-ethnic settlement.

All things considered, we don't really have a problem with our respective ethnicities - only our politicians do.

And if one was referring to cracks within Barisan Nasional, that would be highly confusing. There was never any doubt that UMNO was the master, with all other smaller factions as slaves. Nothing much has changed.

You know what causes cracks? Earthquakes.

And since Sean Yoong wrote that particular article on Sept 9, we've had a number of them, starting with the Taiwan quake at a magnitude of 6.1 (though that was probably the rumble of our BN wannabe-defector-MPs making their grand entrance).

That was followed up by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in northern Chile and a 6.1-magnitude one in southern Iran.

Of course, the Pacific Ring of Fire didn't want to be left behind, so both Indonesia and Japan had to do their thing.

In spite of all the shifting that those cracked tectonic plates have been up to, not that many people were injured or killed.

In fact, our undersea cables weren't even damaged, which is why we still have internet access.

But stranger still, is the fact that access to Malaysia Today has been unblocked.

Of course, that very issue of censorship is what befuddles most of us - actually, it cracks me up!

Blocking or unblocking Malaysia Today was an exercise in futility and a stark display of stupidity, because few of us were even affected.

We merely switched sites and passed on the information.

Our interpersonal network, regardless of ethnicity, has no cracks within it.

Access Malaysia Today!

The nerve of the blithering idiots.

MCMC has instructed all our internet service providers to block the Malaysia Today site.

Apart from Dear Pete, I haven't been reading it. Firstly, I am busy with a critical deadline. Secondly, most of the stuff there is very populist and somewhat biased.

But when someone violates my right to read any material on the internet, I turn irate.

There are 2 ways to overcome the blocks:

a. TM uses a simple IP block. To access http://www.malaysia-today.net change the DNS lookup to OpenDNS.

Those using XP :

* click Start -> Connect To
* Right Click network connection you are using.
* Select Properties
* Click on Network Tab
* Highlight “Internet Protocol”
* Click on Properties at bottom right
* Click “Use the Following DNS server addresses

Preferred DNS Server : 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS server : 208.67.220.220

Click OK all the way. close connection and start again. If you type http://www.malaysia-today.net you will arrive at the site.

b. change URL to

http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008

It's going to take a lot more than blocking internet sites for people to abandon this quest for change.

Raja Petra Goes To Jail

RPK's arrest has got to be the best advertisement for Malaysia Today, not that it needs any. Most Malaysians pay more heed to it than the local dailies, anyway.

Our silly government doesn't realise that even the apolitical are all agog to find out what the fuss is about the now infamous article, "Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell".


But Raja Petra Kamarudin (or better known to the rest of us bloggers as RPK) is in his element. He knows he has his following.

There's nothing to stop him from show-boating. And that he certainly is. :)

You think he can't pay the measly RM5000 bail? His refusal is merely to send a message to the government about how much support he has garnered down at the grassroots.

And his day in jail will make a hero out of him. Heck, I'm the eternal cynic and even I am impressed.

But I am willing to bet high stakes that RPK will not spend more than a day in jail. Bloggers and blog readers will be falling over themselves to collect bail.

The fact is, all of us Malaysians (at least those that utilise their brain cells) know that Najib and Rosmah are connected with the murder of this Mongolian model. It's coffee table news.

Heck, it's occasionally even dinner table news. We Malaysians have no qualms about discussing grisly details over a meal, bless our perverted souls.

RPK didn't say anything that the rest of us haven't blurted out at one time or another. But he has credibility, more so than our entire government, and the influence.

Someone out there is scared enough to try silence him and subsequently silence the rest of the blogosphere into submission.

I'm not alone in my opinion. The Tikus, being much smarter than me, has a very succinct and informed post on why a sedition charge for RPK is dodgy.

Go read it.

UPDATE:
Like I'd predicted, the RM5000 was collected even before the dude got charged. Rumours abound that at 7.30pm, the amount collected in Malaysia alone was RM24,500 - almost 5 times more than what was needed.

And if everyone donated RM1 like they were instructed to, it means there are at least 24,500 Malaysians standing behind RPK and his article.

That speaks volumes enough.

Bravery And Cowardice :-)

By Raja Petra Kamaruddin at Malaysia Today

Khairy Jamaluddin, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, said that he is not scared of facing or engaging Bloggers. Muhammad son of Muhammad, the Information Chief of Umno, said that Bloggers are pengecut (literally translated to mean ‘shrunken testicles’) because our websites are all located overseas where the Malaysian government can’t touch us.

Actually, it is the local hosting companies who have their servers in Cyberjaya who are pengecut. The instant I mention Malaysia Today, none of the local boys would dare touch us, especially those companies owned by Chinese. I mean, when you watch those Kung Fu movies from Hong Kong and one brave soul like Bruce Lee, Chan Kwan Tai, Ti Lung, Jackie Chan, etc., single-handedly take on 100 bad hombres, you would expect that Chinese in real life would be very brave indeed. Alas, this is not the case.

Back in the Reformasi days, I was quite active in producing Reformasi VCDs. However, the Chinese VCD manufacturers that I approached all turned me down. They had no problems if I wanted to produce porn movies, even gay movies or sex-with-animals movies, but not VCDs of Anwar Ibrahim or Reformasi. In the end I found one Chinese manufacturer who would do it but with conditions attached. Firstly, I had to pay for the order in full, in advance. This was so that in the event the police raided their factory and confiscated the VCDs I would bear the loss, not them. Secondly, they would only manufacture them late at night, after midnight, when no one was around. I would then have to take delivery immediately before the factory opened the next morning and all the staff came to work. Thirdly, I would have to meet them in a deserted underground car park where they would transfer the VCDs over to me. They would then drive off while I would have to wait a few minutes before I drive off so that they can safely be miles away in case I got caught.

That is how scared the Chinese are. So please don’t get taken in by those Kung Fu movies of one hero facing 100 evil people and beating these 100 people with just one punch. The Chinese are scared shit. They do not dare get involved in anything perceived as anti-government. They will manufacture porn. They will act as pimps and run brothels. They will traffic in drugs. They will assassinate MCA leaders and underworld leaders (most times they are one and the same). They will run illegal lotteries and gambling operations. They will run loan sharking businesses and burn your house down and kidnap your children if you do not pay. They will rob banks and goldsmith shops. This, they dare do. But they will never manufacture anti-government VCDs. And they will never, ever host Malaysia Today on their servers.

So that, Muhammad son of Muhammad, is the reality of the situation. And the fact that when Harakah was charged (I can’t remember whether it was under the Sedition Act or the Official Secrets Act) some years back, the Editor, the licence holder and the Chinese printer were all also charged. Harakah, the Editor and the licence holder all pleaded not guilty and fought the case in court. The Chinese printer pleaded guilty and quickly paid the fine. He did not dare contest the case.

So you see, Muhammad son of Muhammad, it is not Malaysia Today or Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin that has shrunken testicles. It is the Chinese. And recently, when the government said it would detain that Chinese student in Taiwan and withdraw his citizenship because he has been perceived as insulting our National Anthem, the Chinese testicles shrunk even more. The Chinese realise that criticising the government is not tolerated and they run the risk of not only being detained without trial, but of losing their Malaysian citizenship as well. So of course no Chinese would dare host Malaysia Today, not even for any amount of money. As far as the Chinese are concerned, better they suffer shrunken testicles then they lose their freedom and citizenship on top of that. And the Chinese realise it does not matter whether you did or did not really commit a crime. It is whether the government says that you have. And if the government says you have, then you have, even if you have not. That is how it works in Malaysia.

Anyway, forget about the Chinese and Chinese host companies. I don’t want the Chinese to say that Malaysia Today is now a Chinese-bashing website. I know that the Chinese are not as sensitive as the Malays. The Malays are very sensitive and any criticism is viewed as Malay-bashing or Islam-bashing. This is what they accuse Malaysia Today of. The Chinese are more tolerant. I mean, I can even shake my keris above my head and threaten to bathe it in Chinese blood and they will not make any police report against me. But if I wave a Kung Fu sword above my head and threaten to bathe it in Malay blood there will be hundreds of police reports made against me. Nevertheless, this is not about the Chinese. This is about whether Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin has shrunken testicles and is ‘hiding’ behind the safety of a website based in a foreign company which puts us out of the jurisdiction of Malaysian laws.

I know it is frustrating when the government cannot touch me. Well, I am prepared to make your job easier for you, Muhammad son of Muhammad. I am going to allow you to organise another gathering at the PWTC like you did last Saturday. I am prepared to step onto the stage and face your 2,500 Umno members in a gathering organised by Umno and repeat all my allegations live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters. I will remove the protection that I now have and throw myself to the mercy of the government to do what it wants to me.

I will repeat my allegation live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters, that Umno misused RM600 million of the tax-payers’ money and gave RM3 million to each of the 191 Umno divisions. And to back up my allegation I will table the Minutes of the Umno meeting where the Umno President and Prime Minister said that the RM600 million is for the Umno Divisions and not for the Parliamentary Constituencies. I shall also prove that the 28 Sarawak Divisions were not included in the package because Umno does not have any presence in Sarawak.

I will repeat my allegation live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters, that, when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was still just the Deputy Prime Minister, he signed a letter recommending his sister-in-law to become one of the beneficiaries of the Iraqi Oil-for-Food program. I shall table the United Nations and United States Congress Reports that implicate Abdullah Badawi in the Oil-for-Food scandal and which state that bribes were paid to Saddam Hussein and/or his government to get this oil quota.

I will repeat my allegation live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters, that Scomi, a company owned by the Prime Minister’s son, is the beneficiary of more than RM1.5 billion worth of Petronas contracts. I shall table the list of contracts with the amounts involved. I shall also table the testimony of one of BSA Tahir’s family members that Abdullah Badawi personally knew Tahir and was in fact quite close to him and used to go to his house for dinner. In case you have forgotten, Muhammad son of Muhammad, BSA Tahir is said to have been detained under the Internal Security Act which is a law used against those perceived as a threat to Malaysia’s national security. I will of course expect you, Muhammad son of Muhammad, to explain in what way Tahir is a threat to Malaysia’s national security that warrants his detention under the Internal Security Act and whether his detention is merely to prevent the Americans from getting him whereby the full story of Abdullah Badawi’s family’s involvement in the nuclear component scandal would become public knowledge.

I will repeat my allegation live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters, that the house in Perth that the Prime Minister and his then girlfriend, Jeanne Danker, stayed at in December last year is registered in the name of Patrick Lim’s wife. I shall table the title deeds to the house to back up my allegation. In case you did not realise, Muhammad son of Muhammad, Patrick Lim is Abdullah Badawi’s son’s business partner whose company is benefiting from the development of the land around the second Penang Bridge that costs RM2 billion but is being built at a price of RM3 billion through a loan from China. And in case you also did not realise, Muhammad son of Muhammad, Patrick Lim is also the man who is the beneficiary of Terengganu’s RM1 billion a year Wang Ehsan which is being used to finance the Monsoon Cup and pay for the development around Pulau Duyung and that all this is being done on a negotiated-without-tender basis under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister’s Department. Rest assured, Muhammad son of Muhammad, I shall table all the photographs to back up my allegation.

I will repeat my allegation live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters, that the Umno Supreme Council made a decision to sabotage Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in last year’s Kubang Pasu division election in violation of the party Constitution and Code of Ethics. I shall table Statutory Declarations or signed Affidavits by some of the delegates to the division meeting plus the police reports they made alleging they were paid RM200 each to not vote for Dr Mahathir. I shall also table another police report by one of the complainants that he was beaten up in his home in front of his family by Umno leaders from his division and that he has identified who they are and that nothing was done on all these police reports thus far even though it is coming to almost a year.

Maybe we can focus on these issues first, Muhammad son of Muhammad. There are certainly many more such as the purchase of the RM200 million Airbus, the sale of MV Augusta for RM4.00, the collapse of Proton and the disappearance of billions of Ringgit of its cash reserves, the Scenic Bridge fiasco, the ECM Libra-Avenue Capital merger, and much more. But maybe I can reserve these for Khairy since he said he wants to meet the Bloggers to engage them in a debate or dialogue.

By the way, Muhammad son of Muhammad, I shall also table the letter you wrote to the late Sultan of Selangor denying you had married his daughter and the second letter you wrote asking for forgiveness plus the marriage certificate from Thailand and other documents related to the matter which I have thus far not published in Malaysia Today. I shall further table documents on the RM800 million loss suffered by the Selangor State government when you badly managed (or maybe purposely engineered) the privatisation of Selangor’s water supply to Puncak Niaga. I shall of course expect you, in turn, to table the Selangor State accounts of those years you were its Menteri Besar to explain what happened to the State’s RM3 billion Ringgit, which seems to have ‘disappeared’.

So you see, Muhammad son of Muhammad, I will not be making all these allegations in a website that is based outside Malaysia in a foreign country. I will be making these allegations live, on Malaysian soil, in the Umno headquarters. I will therefore not be immune from prosecution under Malaysian laws if my allegations are false and without tangible evidence to back up these allegations.

It took you two weeks, Muhammad son of Muhammad, to organise last Saturday’s gathering. Would one month be sufficient for you to organise this next one? In the meantime, I shall be working on all my evidence in preparation of the expected gathering in the Umno headquarters. I shall of course be bringing my team along so that they can personally testify as to the authenticity of all these allegations, documents, etc., in the event my word alone is not good enough. I seek your permission to webcast this coming event live on the internet so that all those not able to present themselves at the PWTC can follow the events in the comfort of their homes or offices.

Go Get Your Stickers!

It was a bad move, to make that first attack on Malaysia Today. The publicity is overwhelming and heck, might as well market it to glory!

RPK has come up with banners and stickers which he is distributing through a selected network:

DISTRIBUTOR ONE

The Malaysia Today banners shall be ready on Wednesday afternoon - 08/08/2007.

I'll be distributing them at the following locations:

1. One Utama
2. Ikea
3. Bangsar shopping centre
4. Megamall
5. Ampang Point
6. Pasar Keramat
7. Jelatek LRT station
8. Giant Melawati

Date and time will be informed through e-mail. Please make known to readers to send email to me through labisman@yahoo.com.

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR TWO

The Malaysia Today banners shall be ready on Wednesday evening - 08/08/2007.

I'll be distributing them at the following locations:

1. USJ - Summit, Giant , Taipan.
2. Sunway - Mentari, Pyramid.
3. Shah Alam ..Sek 11,15,26,33..
4. Puchong - IOI, TESCO & GIANT.
5. Old Klang Road - Pearl Point, OUG, Tan Yew Lai, Taman Sri Sentosa, Petaling Utama.
6. PJ Old Town, Jalan Gasing - Lotus, Sek 14.

Email: maltoday@yahoo.com

Hand Phone (will confirm later today).

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR THREE

The Malaysia Today banners shall be ready on Sunday 12/8/2007

Non-business hours
- Starbucks - Pusat Bandar Damansara
- Starbucks - Bangsar Village
- Coffee Bean - SS2
- Syed - SS3
- Any place in Bangsar/TTDI/hartamas/Mt Kiara/Damansara/SS2/SS3 for orders over 10

Business hours
Can collect at Menara Telekom

Mail Order
I will be able to mail order, if ppl order 10 or more banners, email me at mtsticker@gmail.com for mail orders/payment and questions.

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR FOUR

The MT car stickers will be ready by Thursday. Postal delivery from Friday onwards. Free postal delivery for order of more than 10 stickers within Malaysia.

Private arrangements can be made for personal delivery at the following locations:-

a) Ampang Point
b) Centrepoint
c) Bangsar Village
d) Hartamas Shopping Centre/Plaza Damas
e) Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya
f) Taman Desa/Old Klang Road/Taman Seputeh
g) Kinta District - Gopeng, Batu Gajah, Ipoh (Jaya Jusco), Menglembu and Pusing
h) KL City Centre - Starbucks at The Weld

Email at mtcarstickerorder@yahoo.com.
Tel: 017 3839134

Cheers,

Domino

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR FIVE

We will be very much delighted if Malaysia Today could make an announcement for us. The details of distribution office are as follows:

AUTHENTIC RESOURCES
952 Kompleks Peruda Fasa II
Jalan Sultan Badlishah, 05000 Alor Setar, Kedah.

Contact:
Hakim Halim - 019 - 556 7786
Hafiz - 017 - 656 1908
Hamdan - 016 - 483 1446
Hafdzi - 012 - 4197914.

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR SIX

Distribution from 10th August onwards at:

Starbucks, Tebrau City, JB after office hours 7 till 10 pm
Benson: 016-779 2991 email: dybumi@hotmail.com

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR SEVEN

The MT banners should be ready by Saturday, 11th August. They are available at Galliard International (M) Sdn Bhd, 11-13 Lorong Masjid Pakistan, Off Jalan Hj Hussein, 50300 Kuala Lumpur (next to UUM Kg. Baru, KL).

Thank you.

Yazid bin Sulaiman

----------------------------
DISTRIBUTOR EIGHT

MT Stickers Distribution points

1. Desa Sri Hartamas (Stock available by 7pm on 08/08/2007)
Kiddies Store
3, Jalan 26/70A
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2300 0568
(Shop selling Int. Magazines, Books and Stationery, next to Klinik Segara)
Opening hours: Open daily from 9.00am to 9.30pm

2. Ampang Point
Comic Centre (Stock available by 7pm on 08/08/2007)
Ampang Point Shopping Centre,
Jalan Memanda 3, Ampang Point
68000, Selangor
Opening Hours: Open daily from 10.30am to 9.30pm

3. Bandar Tun Razak (Stock available by 7pm on 08/08/2007)
SS Niaga
No: 10, Aras 2
Pusat Komersial Komunity
Bandar Tun Razak
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 019-215 1000
Opening Hours: Open daily from 5pm to 12am

4. Keramat and Jelatek (Stock available by 9am on 09/08/2007)
Kedai Kaset dan Majalah
Lorong Ikan Bakar
Pasar Keramat
Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm (Close on Monday and Friday)

5. Kampong Baru (Stock available by 9am on 09/08/2007
Al-Faizuun Enterprise
No. 57A, Jalan Raja Alang, Kg baru
50300 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: 9am to 5.30pm (Close on Sunday)
(Shop selling CDs and magazines. Across Kampong Baru Mosque)

6. One Utama (Stock available by 8pm on 08/08/2007)
Radioactive (Shop selling jeans, hats and dresses)
S215, 2nd Floor
Promenade One Utama Centre
Lebuh Bandar Utama
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7724 2578
Opening Hours: Open daily from 10am to 10pm


7. Midvalley Megamall (TBA)

8. Bangsar Shopping Center (TBA

9. IKEA (TBA)

10. Giant Ulu Klang (TBA)

11. Bukit Bintang (TBA)

----------------------------

AGENTS WANTED

Overseas Delivery and Agents wanted for other states
- For ppl in other states/overseas who would like to distribute, for orders above 100 pieces, will deliver via fedex @ RM 1.20-RM1.30 per piece (depending on locations).

mtsticker@gmail.com

See you in hell Muhamad son of Muhamad!

Taken from Malaysia Today and preserved for posterity:

It seems there is a certain ex-Menteri Besar who made a police report against Malaysia Today and me. This ex-Menteri Besar who has two Muhamads is his name does not have even half the qualities of Prophet Muhamad S.A.W. let alone twice the qualities although he carries two Muhamads in his name.

This is the Muhamad who started life as a schoolteacher but does not speak a word of English. When caught carrying millions of dirty money into Australia, he pleaded ignorance of the English language and was acquitted by the Australian court the crime of smuggling money. What many people failed to realise is that when he resigned as a schoolteacher to contest the general election, the government made a claim of RM80,000 against him because he was on contract and was bound by this contract to serve the government to pay off what he owed.

You see, Malaysia has this unique system of giving underprivileged Malays government loans to further their studies. They must, however, serve the government for a certain period of time once they graduate and if they refuse to do so or resign before the expiry of their contract then they have to pay back the government the amount of their loan. This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name therefore owed the government RM80,000 and if he did not pay back the amount then he would be denying other Malays the benefit of this money and therefore would in that same process be denying other Malays the benefit of a tertiary education.

This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name then appealed to the then Minister of Education, Anwar Ibrahim, for exemption from paying back the government the RM80,000 that he owed and Anwar, being the smart politician that he was (or maybe still is, I am not sure of that), waived the rule so that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name need not pay back the nation the RM80,000 that he owed and which could have gone to other less-fortunate Malays who needed government assistance to further their studies.

What boggles the mind is how this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name could suddenly have millions in his pocket and which he was arrested for as he entered Australia when just barely a few years before that he could not even pay back the government the RM80,000 that he owed and needed Anwar Ibrahim to exempt him from the rule of paying back the money.

This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name has made a police report against Malaysia Today and me saying that I insulted the Agong and Islam and that I raised racial sentiments which could probably result in racial conflicts in Malaysia. He was of course acting on behalf of Umno and represented Umno as its Information Chief.

It is mind-boggling that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name would accuse me of insulting the Agong who is also the Sultan of Terengganu when the Agong is my buddy. When the Agong, who is also the Sultan of Terengganu, was merely the Raja Muda of Terengganu, I used to ride horses with him along the beach in Kuala Terengganu. I also made trips to London to meet the Agong who is also the Sultan of Terengganu when he was still just the Raja Muda of Terengganu and a student in London.

The then Raja Muda of Terengganu who is now the Agong and I would drive around London in his Ferrari and together with my sisters and wife would visit the famous London night-spots such as Longfellows where all the action is. When he was back in Kuala Lumpur I would take him to the then famous Tin Mine where we would just sit and talk as he was not a disco-dancer but preferred to just enjoy the music and talk.

Would I insult my long-time friend who is now the Agong when I sembah and kiss his hand and he would withdraw it and refuse to allow me to kiss his hand as he considered me a buddy rather than a subject? This, the ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name did not realise when he made that police report against Malaysia Today and me.

I will offer to make an audience (mengadap) with the Agong who was my buddy since the days he was merely the Raja Muda of Terengganu and if His Royal Highness is of the opinion that I have insulted him then I will subject myself to any form of punishment befitting a subject who has insulted his Agong. Such a punishment befitting the crime of insulting the Agong can include the death sentence and I will walk to the gallows to have my head separated from my body with the dignity of a true subject of the Agong. An Anak Raja Bugis is loyal to his Agong and a true Anak Raja Bugis looks death in the face with the dignity expected of an Anak Raja Bugis. I am not a descendant of Upu Tenribong Daeng Rilaka in vain and I shall not smear the name of my ancestors by avoiding the punishment of insulting his Agong. The Agong is one of the Raja-Raja Melayu and I am more than just an Anak Raja Melayu; I am an Anak Raja Bugis.

This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name accuses me of insulting the Agong when he himself insulted the late Agong who was the Sultan of Selangor and my uncle. This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name eloped with the Sultan’s daughter who is also my cousin and secretly married her in Thailand.

When the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, asked this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name whether he (the ex-Menteri Besar with the two Muhamads in his name) had married his (the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor) daughter, this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name denied it. Marrying secretly in Thailand is a crime and one can be punished for it. Furthermore, marrying a woman without the consent of her father goes against Islam and Malay culture and, being a Menteri Besar, this is even more of a no-no. After all, a Menteri Besar is not a man-on-the-street but the head of government of a state. But this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name denied he had married the Sultan’s daughter secretly in Thailand and swore in the name of Allah that the allegation is a lie.

Eventually, this ex-Menteri Besar with the two Muhamads in his name divorced the Sultan of Selangor’s daughter, my cousin, and paid her RM12 million as a divorce settlement. This upset the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, who made a photocopy of the RM12 million cheque. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, was not upset that his Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name had divorced his daughter, my cousin. He did not mind this. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor was upset that his Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name had paid his daughter RM12 million as a divorce settlement. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor then made a photocopy of the cheque and showed it to the Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and demanded to know how a mere Menteri Besar could afford to pay RM12 million as a divorce settlement to his daughter, my cousin. This proves that Selangor has a corrupt Menteri Besar, said the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle.

And this is the ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name who made a police report against Malaysia Today and me. This ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name is corrupt, a liar who married the late Agong’s and Sultan of Selangor’s daughter and denied it, and who insulted the Malays and Islam by secretly marrying someone’s daughter in another country without the permission of her father.

But this man is not a mere man-on-the-street. This man was then a Menteri Besar. And this man had two Muhamads in his name. And the woman is not a mere woman-on-the-street. This woman is the daughter of the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor. So this crime of the ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name is ten times worse. And any other man would have been arrested and convicted of the crime of marrying a woman secretly in Thailand. But this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name was not arrested and put on trial. He was also not arrested and put on trial when he paid RM12 million as a divorce settlement and could not explain where he got the money from and how he could afford to pay such an amount on his meagre Menteri Besar’s salary.

I understand that this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name can’t speak English. This is what the Australian court said and this is why the court acquitted him of the crime of smuggling dirty money into Australia. This means he also can’t read English. How this ex-Menteri Besar with two Muhamads in his name managed to figure out that I insulted the Agong in my article is beyond me when I write in English and not in Malay. Umno should have chosen another man who can speak English to make that police report against Malaysia Today and me.

Many people from the media phoned me today to ask me my comments on the police report against Malaysia Today and me. Well, this is my response to that police report against Malaysia Today and me. I would just like to say: go to hell Muhamad the son of Muhamad. You are a disgrace to the Muhamad name. And let me tell you Muhamad the son of Muhamad: you should thank your lucky stars that this is 2007 and not 1907. If this was 1907 instead of 2007 I would challenge you to a duel. It would be a man-to-man, one-to-one duel. It would be a duel to the death with kerises.

But no, I don’t think you would accept my challenge to a duel with kerises. You may have two Muhamads in your name but you have no class. You eloped with the late Agong’s and Sultan of Selangor’s daughter and secretly married her in Thailand. Then you denied it when the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor asked you about it. Only someone with no balls would do this. A man with balls would not deny it. So there is no way you would accept my challenge to a duel with kerises.

I know that when the late Agong and Sultan of Selangor, my uncle, found out that you had in fact married his daughter, my cousin, and that you had lied about it, you arranged for Umno Youth to organise an anti-Sultan demonstration. The late Agong and Sultan of Selangor was very hurt and he cancelled his birthday celebration that year. So that year no datukships were awarded and you had to return the money to all those who had paid you for their datukships.

This act of yours, Muhamad the son of Muhamad, is treasonous. If this was 1907 instead of 2007 you would have been put to death. And you accuse me of insulting the Agong? You committed treason. You can send me to jail if you wish. You would have been put to death if this was 1907 instead of 2007.

But I know why you made that police report against Malaysia Today and me, Muhamad the son of Muhamad. You want to make a political comeback. You want to contest a parliament seat in the next general election. And you want to be made a federal minister when you win that parliament seat. You hope that the present Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, will fall and that you can take his job. That is why you made that police report against Malaysia Today and me, Muhamad the son of Muhamad.

Muhamad the son of Muhamad, see you in hell. And if I go there first I will wait at the gates of hell to greet you on your arrival, Muhamad the son of Muhamad. Ini Anak Raja Bugis bercakap yang mati dengan keris di dalam tangan.

Damn, but I love the passion with which he writes! If only more Malaysians lived their lives that way...

The Machiavellis in Malaysian politics

Reproduced without permission (yet) from Malaysia Today as it was too much a work of brilliance to simply resist.

The Machiavellis in Malaysian politics
Category: General Posted by: Raja Petra
A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE

Dr Azly Rahman
aar26@columbia.edu

Against my will, my fate,
A throne unsettled, and an infant state,
Bid me defend my realms with all my pow'rs,
And guard with these severities my shores.

- from Machiavelli's The Prince, Chapter XVII

Another quote:

'But it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived. One recent example I cannot pass over in silence. Alexander VI did nothing else but deceive men, nor ever thought of doing otherwise, and he always found victims; for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting, or who with greater oaths would affirm a thing, yet would observe it less; nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes, because he well understood this side of mankind.

'Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite. - from, Machiavelli's The Prince, Chapter XVIII

One of the best strategies to keep a political party in power is to keep the voters 'educated' only to a certain level of intelligence, and to give them enough goodies for them to want more at every cycle of election. Give them money, 'kain pelika't, 'kain batik', rice, cigarettes, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, RM200 and instant 'development packages' – new roads, new playgrounds, new schools, new promises, etc, so that they will be happier voters. Let them corrode their own moral character and let the children of these voters learn that this are what democracy, politics, and elections is all about.

This is the structure of dependency. This is the systematic programme of the maintenance of the 'welfare' mentality – the ideology of the 'hand that feed'. This, too, is the current paradigm and ideology of technology transfer from global corporations wishing to develop the Iskandar Development Region or the Multimedia Super Corridor. The advanced, industrialised countries will give aid and some help with technology to the industrialising countries so that the former will continue to control and manipulate while the latter will be continue to be controlled and be manipulated.

The structure of dependency constitutes 'structural violence'. The paternal relationship forged structures the relationship between the giver and the receiver, the oppressor and the oppressed. This curriculum of totalitarianism is hidden.

Until voters are intelligent enough to understand this structure of dependency and are wise and ethical enough to reject the goodies from the 'hands that giveth', we will still see corrupt politicians installed to further transform the lives of others through development projects created so that it is not that the people that will benefit, but the few people that will make sure that they themselves will reap the benefits.

Far too much we hear the word 'progress and development' these days. We hear of our economy doing well. We hear of the 'jihad' against corruption and poverty being intensified. We hear slogans, rhetoric and 'managed perception'. We do not know what is real and what is invention anymore. We see an intensifying effort to divide, subdivide, fragment, and dissipate progressive parties that are trying to bring about immediate and radical change.

Machiavelli, our guru?

Where do the powerful ones in our society learn how to control the mind and the body of the people governed? Perhaps through arrogant knowledge that advises rulers to be brutal, pretentious, hypocritical, and shrewd – as long as power is acquired, consolidated, maintained, and held on as long as possible. One can then rule for five, 10, 15, or even 22 or 35 years. One can even declare oneself dictator or emperor or 'maharajah'.

One piece of arrogant knowledge that one must study, to understand how Malaysia as well as global politics work is The Prince by Nicollo Machiavelli, an essential treatise on the nature and manifestation of power.

We take too much from the teachings of Machiavelli. We use force to hold on to power. We let our leader use whatever means necessary for them to cling on to power.

In Machiavelli we can see the ideology of Islam Hadhari, slogans of 'cemerlang, gemilang terbilang', the Internal Security Act, The University and University Colleges Act, the fascistic 'Surat Akujanji' for civil servants, the Biro Tata Negara, the National Service programme, Media Prima, the Election Commission, the constant play and 'sandiwara' of race-based politics – all these and more in the overall Machiavellian scheme of realpolitik borrowed from the colonial masters. The ideological state apparatuses, German critical theorist Louis Althusser's term, is employed to structure the pattern of dependency.

In fact, Malaysian politics these days, might be even worse than during colonial times – the oppressors have become invisible and have evolved into a system of thought control.

In the current ideology, neo-liberalism mystified in the term Islam Hadhari, constitutes a life support system to legitimise foreign domination, unequal distribution of wealth, perfection of subsidy and rent-seeking ideology, cultivation of mediocrity and blind loyalty even amongst the most highly-educated in our public universities.

Accounts of vote-buying illustrates a total mockery of democracy. Those giving money and make promises aplenty are charting their own destruction.

'By all means necessary,' said Malcolm X – is the ideology of Machiavelli.

In the world of Machiavelli we embrace, winning is everything. It is better to be feared than to be loved, as the author would say. In today's world in which bloggers are now feared, it is better to be loved by projecting an image/perception of being loved, of being benevolent, pious, caring, and selfless so that power will be gently but surely acquired. It is also necessary to maintain such a perception so that one can still be remembered as a benevolent ruler even though one has plundered billions of ringgit; it is necessary so that one will not be prosecuted for such plundering.

What then must we do

We must educate ourselves to be well-informed voters and to help each other understand how power works through institutions and ideology that permeate the psyche and the physical landscape of society.

We need to engage in the establishment of a republic of virtue – one runs on the philosophy of virtue - and terror. Let our children learn that it is terrifying to be corrupt; such as to build palaces while the homes of the poor demolished. Let us teach them to vote with their conscience.

The current regime cannot solve the problems it creates. It must dismantle itself, die a natural death, destroy the symbols of power it has abused, and let a peaceful renewal take its natural course. The will to be corrupt will only intensify if we do not perform a frontal lobotomy of its source. The source is the locus of control – the center of power.

Beware, the multiplying and morphing Machiavellis amongst us. Let us design a programme of counter-hegemony so that we can play and wrestle with authority.

But the essential question is: what party must we vote for? Must we create a brand new one entirely?