Election Commission Reverts Status Of Mismah

Just yesterday, I posted the news from Malaysiakini regarding attempts by the ruling coalition BN to register phantom voters into the electoral roll.

However, due to the bad publicity it was receiving, the Election Commission quickly reverted her status to "being verified for the electoral roll".

This is one instance where the cheating has been discovered and highlighted. But I really do wonder how many others have escaped detection.

BN is desperate and would do anything to gain enough votes to stay in power.

EC changes 'Mismah' status in draft electoral roll

The Election Commission (EC) has changed the status of Mismah, a 'permanent resident' whose name had been entered in the draft electoral roll.

Based on a check of its online verification system at 2pm, under the 'record status', it is now stated that her application to register as a voter is dalam proses pengesahan daftar pemilih (being verified for the electoral roll).

Her name had been included in the draft supplementary electoral roll that has been opened for public scrutiny for a week.

EC head Abdul Aziz Yusof, when contacted, explained that the objection period had ended yesterday.

"Those who did not receive any objection will be gazetted (as elegible voters). Those who received objections will be subjected to a verification process," he said.

"(During the process) a public inquiry will be called, (enabling) both parties - the potential voter and the complainant - to be heard."

Malaysiakini yesterday discovered Mismah had beencategorised as a permanent resident (PR) in the National Registration Department (NRD) online system.

The NRD online verification system, which allows users to check the status of an individual, shows that Mismah holds MyPR card No. 640704715238.

About four hours after yesterday's report, Mismah's status on the NRD online verification system had been 'upgraded' to that of a citizen.

Abdul Aziz had earlier attributed this to technical negligence on the part of the NRD, insisting that only citizens are eligible to be registered as voters.

'NRD online database not updated'

Elaborating on this today, he said he had contacted the NRD and was told that its online database had not been updated alongside the Agency Link-Up System (Alis).

"(It was only) when I called (them) that they realised they have not updated the names online," Abdul Aziz (left) added.

The NRD online database - used by the public to verify their status and details - is different from Alis, which is the reference point for the EC in registering voters, he said.

According to election laws, the EC updates the electoral roll every three months with a quarterly supplementary electoral roll draft.

The names of all newly-registered voters, voters who have changed their residing addresses and voters who have been removed from the electoral roll, are compiled in the supplementary electoral roll draft.

The roll is then displayed usually for one week, for public scrutiny, before it is gazetted and used in the next election.

During the display period, members of the public can raise their objection to the names listed in the supplementary electoral roll.

Walking Down Fear Street

You know BN is panicking when they invest a lot of money in getting skilled hackers to bring down website servers.

Some of you may not be aware that the Sarawak Report website was disabled a while back after being hacked.

More recently, the Malaysiakini servers are down, but this is not going to stop the free flow of information to those who need to see it.

Here are the alternative locations while the BN government continues their assault to curb sensitive information which could harm their selfish interests:

a) http://malaysiakinicom.wordpress.com/
b) http://malaysiakinicom.blogspot.com/

If you also want to read the Sarawak Report, please go here:

sarawakreport.org
http://www.facebook.com/sarawakreport
http://twitter.com/sarawak_report

I assure you that BN will commission these sites to be hacked and taken down as well. So stay tuned and we will try to flow down the new sites as soon as they're up.

This has happened before to Malaysia Today, so it is nothing new! :-)

BUM 2010 And "Fights" Breaking Out

I obviously picked the right session to show up for the BUM 2010 event yesterday.

You know how I thrive on controversy.

Controversy was exactly what I got in the form of P. Uthayakumar, founder of HINDRAF, and now Secretary General (pro tem) of Human Rights Party (HRP) who even obligingly concluded that "bloggers have all become victims of sectarianism and ethnocentrism" in Malaysia.

HRP has positioned itself as a party focused on fighting for Indian rights. It seems a bit rich to accuse everyone else of being sectarian or ethnocentric.

However, it is evident that Uthaya and HRP do not have exclusive monopoly on controversy. Malaysiakini appears to want a slice of the pie as well - at least it certainly appears that way, based on the overly sensationalised article on the event.

Fight? Please, it wasn't a fight by a long shot. Perhaps a heated exchange, a fiery dialogue or a number of other descriptions. But fight?? What is Malaysiakini trying to prove?

N.Ganesan (HRP advisor) refutes the description in Malaysia Today, claiming (perhaps unfairly) that Malaysiakini slants news as much as Utusan does.

But perhaps Malaysiakini should consider impartial reporting instead of playing up to the gallery like it has in this case.

HRW Speaks Out Against Harrassment of M'Kini

Excerpts from Human Rights Watch:

Malaysia: Don’t Censor or Harass Independent Website

(New York) - The Malaysian government should drop its order to a popular news website to remove videos of a recent protest and of a government minister's reaction, Human Rights Watch said today.

The website Malaysiakini has refused to comply with a September 3, 2009 order by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission to remove a video showing an incident where protesters in Selangor state marched with a severed cow's head to oppose the building of a Hindu temple and another in which the home minister stated that the actions were legal. The minister later reversed himself and police charged some of the protesters.

"The government wants to make the problem disappear by taking the videos off the internet," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But Malaysians have a right to see for themselves what happened and hear what was said - the government shouldn't be suppressing this information."

According to the Communication and Multimedia Commission, the videos are in violation of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998, which prohibits "content which is indecent, obscene, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person." Violations carry fines of up to RM50,000 (US$14,325) and up to a year in prison.

The commission's letter ordering Malaysiakini to remove the videos from its website stated that the videos "contain offensive contents with the intent to annoy any person, especially Indians."

"The government's investigation of Malaysiakini is nothing short of media harassment and it needs to stop," said Pearson. "Malaysians are entitled to know all sides of a story. It is not up to the government to approve what news is fit to air, print, or post."

I genuinely feel embarrassed for the BN government. It puts its foot in its mouth so often that the foot ought to start paying the mouth some rent for taking up permanent residence there.

It screwed up royally when it rounded up the pseudo-Muslim gangsters to protest the relocation of the temple.

UMNO probably hoped it would garner Muslim sympathy and comradeship. It did not.

Then Hishamuddin Hussein attempted to calm trouble waters by pooh-poohing the whole issue. It backfired in his face. Literally.

He was caught on tape spouting rubbish. That move earned BN an all-time political pariah status.

Muslims were quite embarrassed (the poor things) and quick to disassociate themselves from those munafik imbeciles.

So he quickly changed his tune and ordered that those protestors be arrested and tried in court. Of course, you and I know they will be out in no time at all.

But he couldn't change the video in which he was caught making a fool of himself.

The smart thing (for any other normal being) would be to lie low and lick one's wounds in quiet.

But no. He gets a running dog, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission to force Malaysiakini (who videoed him and uploaded it to its website) to remove those offending videos.

That sort of stupidity can only attract a whole new level of attention.

But BN has been around for ages. They haven't learned anything thus far, and they never will.

COW-ards Bray On Mainstream Media

When one is protected by the low-down scum of a mainstream media, one has plenty of courage to speak.

After all, there is no opportunity for anyone to challenge the plausibility of one's statements.

But on Malaysiakini, Zaid Ibrahim has challenged the cowards.

Zaid suggested that the best test for Najib's theory would be to call for a snap election in Perak.

"The proof of the pudding lies in the eating," retorted Zaid.

"Let's see the Prime Minister, who engineered the BN takeover of the Perak state government last February, test the verdict of the people more than six months after taking over that state," he elaborated.

"Najib is telling Pakatan that since the boot is on the other foot, we are hobbling about from the discomfort of it all," said Zaid.

"Well, why doesn't he turn our discomfort into presumable misery by calling for snap elections in Perak to allow voters to rectify the mistake they made in March last year?" challenged Zaid.

And do you think they would even dare call for elections in Perak (or anywhere else, for that matter)?

In. Your. Dreams.

They had 52 years to make this country into something great. Instead, under their tender loving care, Malaysia is going to hell in a handbasket.

We may question Pakatan Rakyat for some of their policies. It is our legitimate right to do so.

But we wouldn't question their credibility, for whatever they have done or may do, they could hardly screw up as spectacularly as Barisan Nasional has managed (with such ease and flair).

Pakatan Rakyat would not allow hooligans to walk about with a cow-head and scream violence and other obscenities in the name of religion. They would not proceed to firstly, defend those fools and secondly, take absolutely no action over their misdeeds.

And for sure, Pakatan Rakyat would not arrest peaceful participants of a candlelight vigil and brutalise them just days after allowing the abovementioned hooligans to remain free.

Pakatan Rakyat may do some stupid things, but UMNO reigns supreme when it comes to blithering idiocy.

Racial And Religious Divisions

Judging from some of the comments made by individuals about other races, it is so evident that the harmony and unity between races in Malaysia is nothing but a farce.

Obviously, the lack of communication is to be blamed. Only the Malays were able to say inflamatory things without fear of being arrested - the same could not be applied to the Indians and Chinese.

And so, a lot of us hid our hate and resentment inside, quietly gloating when the Malays fumbled and voicing our dissatisfaction within our own factions.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what the UMNO government wants.

It's part of the divide and conquer policy.

The Malays have been brainwashed into thinking they are stupid. That they cannot survive without their crutches, that is their special rights. And most of them fear that they will suffer if these rights are taken away.


But not all of them are stupid. In getting to know more people online, I have come to greatly respect some of my Malay brothers and sisters, who could probably take me on anyday when it comes to ability and intellect.

The problem with us Chinese and Indians is that we think the Malays are to be tolerated as inferior, not engaged as equals. This is where we screw up.

I could go on and on with a list of names: Haris Ibrahim, Raja Petra Kamarudin, Farish Noor, M. Bakri Musa, and now Noor Aza Othman. These Malays are aware that their kind are being manipulated and are finally speaking up.

I particularly like this piece by Noor Aza:

Umno stirring up racial-religious division

Noor Aza Othman Dec 7, 07 5:18pm
It seems like true democracy in Malaysia is continuously being tramped upon by the “penyangak” or crooks from the capitalist government, especially leaders from the main ruling party Umno. They use the minority Indians as scapegoats to justify such injustices.

As reported by Malaysiakini, Hindraf supporters are currently being charged by the Malaysian attorney-general for attempted murder and causing damage to public property during the Indian community’s peaceful protest on Nov 25 to highlight the plight of poor Indian communities and to demand equal rights denied under the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Out of the 99 convicted protestors mostly from poor communities, 31 of them are slapped with an additional absurd and unjust charge of attempted murder, and upon conviction the accused is liable to a maximum of 20 years jail. And yesterday, they have been denied bail unjustly.

The prime minister has also warned that the government will revert to using the Internal Security Act to prevent public protests. ISA provides for “preventive detention” without trial for an indefinite period. The Peoples’ Freedom Walk organised by the Bar Council on Dec 9 in conjunction with International Human Rights Day was forced to be called off.

Malaysian politics is dominated by divisively racist ideology. The ruling parties, especially Umno, has adopted the British imperialist’s legacy and exploited such manipulative divide-and-rule strategies in order to entrenched the capitalist class’ hegemonic power.

Umno’s ideology is based on the racist ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ to brainwash the Malay-Muslim majority ethnic group in Malaysia. The Malay race is automatically defined as Muslims in the Constitution whereas the ancient Malay civilisation originally consists of diverse religious faiths. For example, Balinese Malays were Hindus, Filipino Malays were mostly Catholic and so on.

Due to their currently waning power and influence amidst the non-Malay communities especially from the increasingly conscious younger generation, it seems that Umno leaders are possibly stirring up more racial-religious division and hatred. It is to continue brainwashing the Malay-Muslim masses to go on uncritically supporting such leaders. This is why a Malay ex-chief minister has made a racist and barbaric remark for the Malays to take out their parangs to defend the supreme ideology.

I believe if that we only break the barriers of our racial divide and without getting emotional or angry, debate these matters calmly, much could be achieved.

Do it with love.

Do it in the best interests of your Malay friend. They are also citizens of this country.

And they have such wonderful characteristics if you only get to know them. I have not met any race more hospitable. None as creative with decorations. The list goes on.

But right now, they're at the bad end of this sour deal and they don't know it. While we Chinese and Indians are able to compete on a global level, some of the Malays, due to their crutches are only limited to our shores.

Imagine how rotten that must feel.

ALL OF US, need to make a difference and a change. Not for ourselves at this present moment, but for our future.