End Fear-Mongering!

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT BY CONCERNED MALAYSIANS ON 22 JANUARY 2008:

We, the undersigned civil society groups and concerned citizens of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, stress that all Malaysians have the right to choose their representatives and the government in a free, fair and clean election. No individual politician or political party should resort to threats or intimidation to influence the voter’s decision.

We lament that Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, MCA MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, as reported in the China Press on January 21 (Monday), has conveyed this fear-mongering message to the public: “If there is insufficient Chinese representation in the Barisan Nasional, it is not a good thing, the Chinese community cannot afford another May 13 incident.”

The May 13 ethnic riot in 1969 was a dark chapter in Malaysia’s political history where political violence and manipulation overshadowed the democratic process as well as the voice of the people. Invoking the bitter memories of this tragic incident for political gain is a huge insult to those who died, the surviving victims and their families. This veiled threat to voters not to support the opposition parties is shameless and unbecoming of a responsible political leader.

If Chew is aware of certain quarters planning to use violence in response to a certain electoral outcome, she who has been speaking tirelessly on public safety should lodge a police report immediately and assist in the police investigation.

If she is merely speculating, we are truly disappointed that she has stooped so low in fishing for support. Politicians should not behave like gangsters. They should not use the threat of violence to solicit vote, as gangsters do to extort money.

By making this statement, Chew has in fact violated Section 9 (1) of the Election Offences Act 1954:

Undue influence
9. (1) Every person who, before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting, at any election, or who by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance impedes or prevents the free exercise of the franchise of any elector or voter, or thereby compels, induces, or prevails upon any elector or voter either to give or refrain from giving his vote at any election, or who directly or indirectly interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise by any person of any electoral right shall be guilty of the offence of undue influence.

While waiting for the Election Commission to investigate and lodge a police report, we call upon Chew to do the honorable thing. She should retract her statement and apologize unreservedly for her fear-mongering act. She must condemn unreservedly the use of political violence in Malaysia.

Voters must be assured of their right to vote for any candidate or party of their choice in an environment that is free from fear and intimidation.

We also call upon the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Badawi to disassociate his administration and party from Chew’s fear-mongering statement and condemn unreservedly the use of threats and intimidation on voters.

We must not let Malaysia become a failed state where political violence rules, like Pakistan. We must not allow any party to ‘play with fire’. We categorically reject anyone who uses the spectre of May 13 as a bogeyman to threaten Malaysians.

All individuals or civil society organisations in support of democracy may endorse this statement by displaying a copy of this statement on their premises, vehicles or the front page of their blogs or websites, until Chew retract the statement and apologizes.

Civil Society Organisations:
Coalition For Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH)
Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC)
Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
Malaysian Voters Union (MALVU)
Save Ourselves (SOS Penang)

Wa Caya Sama Lu!! :)

I like this guy!!

When you've got a talent for something and put it to good use, you're a man after my own heart!


This guy does long distance events. He decided to use his running to spread messages of deep concerns to his fellow citizens.


Read more about him at Nat's place.

"It Looks And Sounds Like Me!!"

I come from a family that's crawling with lawyers.

I've heard every single method of hedging around the question in desperate attempts not to perjure oneself.

Or so I thought.

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone utter, "By golly, it looks and sounds like me, mate!!" upon seeing himself on tape.

Check out the highly amusing report in the Sun:

The commission also wanted to know the position taken by Lingam after the submission of evidence by two main witnesses - Loh and CyberSecurity Sdn Bhd forensics digital analyst Mohd Zabri Adil Talib - if the person in the video clip was the lawyer himself.

Commission member Datuk Mahadev Shankar asked Lingam’s lawyer, R. Thayalan, if Lingam admitted it was him who appeared in the clip.

"Is it your position that your client is not him in the clip?" asked Mahadev.

"He said it looks and sounds like him in the clip," replied Thayalan.

Mahadev pressed Thayalan further and asked if Lingam admitted the details which appeared in the transcript was uttered by Lingam.

"I have to take instructions from him, but his stand now is that it looks and sounds like him," replied Thayalan.

Commissioner Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kion also pursued the issue and asked Thayalan to explain his reply.

"What do you mean, look like him… can you explain," said Shim.

"The image is not clear ... let me get back to him … that was his stand," said Thayalan.

I'm sure there must be a very good explanation.

Severe amnesia, maybe? Along the lines of selective memory loss?

Poor bloke couldn't remember if it was him, in his own house, saying those words in his voice and accent and bombastic vocabulary ("correct, correct, correct").

Oh yeah, Malaysia boleh indeed.

Press Freedom In Malaysia and Indonesia

What's truly embarrassing is that Indonesia has much more freedom to report as it sees fit than Malaysia ever has.

From Jakarta Post:

Imran Yacob, Kuala Lumpur

The Malaysian information minister's lash out at the Indonesian media's apparent aggressiveness in reporting Malaysia-Indonesia ties were thorny seems to have backfired.

The statement by the minister has in fact further strained an already icy relationship between the so-called big brother and her alleged arrogant neighbor.

This diplomatic boo-boo all but extinguishes the quiet diplomatic efforts by Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak just one week before.

Malaysian mainstream media had splashed news of the exchanges of Malaysian journalist to Indonesian news agencies in an attempt to soften the perceived Malaysia bashing by the Indonesian media.

As if part of a complete package on damage control between the two countries, an UMNO-Golkar meeting had concluded, on the establishment of a joint committee, to this year actively revitalize bilateral relations in the spirit of an Umno-Golkar memorandum of understanding signed earlier. The MoU was ceremoniously witnessed by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

All that effort seems diminished by this latest scurry of attacks on Indonesia's empowered press.

The reverse effect seems to have overtaken events with Malaysians themselves, lamenting on the limited freedom of the press and the emasculation of its news agencies.

The Malaysian information minister's remarks have elicited a heated counterblast from Malaysia's lively blogs.

The bloggers are now in combat mode ahead of imminent elections and were quick to point out to the Minister that his powers over Indonesia were none and Malaysia's media should be allowed to uphold its sacred journalistic duty to expose the truth and provide the check and balances essential to democracy.

The problem in Malaysia is not that you can't say what you want, its just that you have no where to say it.

The mainstream media -- be it broadcast television or radio stations, even the print media -- are all owned by the Government or the major component parties of the ruling Coalition (Barisan Nasional).

Malaysians often read between the lines when trying to make sense of the current political scenario. They turn toward popular news blogs like Malaysia Today to get the real news.

Even local journalists have been cautioned by the minister not to refer to breaking news posted on blogs or carried by the internet.

This should have been enough to draw attention to futile attempts to silence the voices of the Malaysian people.

The Indonesian media's enfranchisement is the envy of Malaysians. No one wants a restricted press here. The Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, severely circumscribes the professionalism of local journalists and media advocates.

The requirement to annually obtain a license for publication saw, for example, the Malaysian Catholic Newspaper, The Herald put at knife-edge over its controversial use of the word 'Allah' to denote God.

More than a theological debate, this was a challenge by the new media against the old media.

Angry comments by Muslims and non-Muslims alike spurred by bloggers are posted all over the internet and seem to gravitate around the issue of the restraint over the freedom of the press in Malaysia.

It appears Malaysian voters will have their say. Former Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's interview by CK Andy on his talk show K! broadcasted by news agency Metro TV, was as not widely known of here, until the sensational statements made by the Malaysian information minister.

Former prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's views are sought-after here because he dares speak up against the status quo.

While many Malaysians may still do not trust the former deputy premier, his opinions on Malaysian politics and world views on Islam, which is courted by the foreign media, is then mostly reproduced in blogs in the Malaysian blogosphere or hurriedly downloaded on "You Tube".

It is perhaps this very repression of the functions of the local press and the lack of privilege to address the mainstream media in Kuala Lumpur that will eventually lend more popularity to Anwar Ibrahim.

Perhaps the treatment of Malaysia's fallen son is not as shocking as that of former political strongman and architect of modern Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

The feisty veteran politician has hit back at the current administration by calling it a police state.

Mahathir himself has had to bet on the new media which has been thrilled to reproduce his attacks and perspectives on Malaysian and global issues.

Dr. Mahathir and the new media appear to have had quite an impact on the discontented rumblings of the electorate on the ground.

The information minister, now having riled up the Indonesian media and having failed to garner much support from the Rakyat or citizens of Malaysia, must attempt to diffuse the tension.

If the Indonesian press, as he claims, has prophetic influences over the Indonesian people, then perhaps he should consider a more amicable tone when dealing with the press in Jakarta.

An apology could well serve to enhance diplomatic efforts and dispel the stigma of the "Ugly Malaysian".

Ordinary Malaysians have not an iota of disdain for their "Saudara" in Indonesia. The contentious issues that underlie tensions could be more effectively dealt with through greater diplomatic sensibility and friendliness.

The minister's failure to extend a formal apology could cause a bandwagon effect as an upshot from his ill-advised criticism of the media in Indonesia.

As the religious and ethnic commonality that bonds Muslim-Malaysians to their Indonesian kin thin out, the Malaysian minister of information will have to bear greater responsibility for his actions.

Funding A Terrorist Organisation

Barisan Nasional is at it again.

By questioning HINDRAF donors, it is obviously trying to intimidate all those whose sympathies lie with HINDRAF.

Cops go after Hindraf donors

Soon Li Tsin | Jan 9, 08 5:23pm
Malaysiakini

If you have made a donation to the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) movement, the police may be knocking on your door soon.The Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) has sent letters to individuals summoning them to give statements at the Bukit Aman police headquarters over a possible offence of funding a terrorist organisation.The letter stated that the police are investigating this offence under Section 130N of the Penal Code - the funding of terrorist activities.If found guilty, the person can be punished with death (if the terrorist act results in death), imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years but not exceeding 30 years and a fine.

“The police believe that you can provide a statement about funds given to Hindraf Enterprise,” read the letter signed by investigating officer ASP Rozeni Ismail.

A donor who received the letter and was quizzed by the police recently said references were made to a RHB bank account registered under the name ‘Hindraf Enterprise’.

The donor, who requested anonymity, said the police recorded statement in relation to some other offence - non-terrorism related - committed by the company.

“It is odd that the matter is being dealt by the Commercial Crimes Department because during questioning, they made no reference to the terrorist offences. They said the company could be charged for impropriety in soliciting donations and funds.

“It is also very alarming that the banks can give information about their clients and their transactions to the police without the need for a court order.”

Under the Section 16A of the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 1958, banks are permitted to convey any information in relation to any offences to the police or affected financial institutions.

Many being summoned

However, the donor pointed out that the recording of the statement took only 30 minutes and the police were pleasant throughout the period.

“I don’t think I am the only one. When I asked if there were others, the officer said there were many other people being summoned,” the donor added.

Hindraf gained fame when it organised a protest that saw 30,000 people hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year.

This was followed by the movement’s leaders and supporters being charged for a slew of offences including sedition, causing mischief and attending an illegal assembly.

On Dec 8, 2007, the Companies Commission of Malaysia revoked the registration of Hindraf Enterprise for using the company for unlawful purposes and purposes prejudicial to national security and public order.

The company at that time had set up a bank account for the public to donate money to the cause and for those incarcerated in need of bail money.

At the height of enforcement action, enigmatic Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar with R Kenghadharan, M Manoharan, V Ganabathirau and T Vasanthakumar were arrested under the Internal Security Act on Dec 13 last year.

They have been detained for two years without trial.

CCID director ACP Mohd Kamarudin Md Din was unavailable to comment on this investigation when contacted.

So you'd think it was confirmed that HINDRAF is a terrorist organisation. Right?

Think again. In NDTV, our prize idiot, the favourite Malaysian minister clarifies govt stand.


To emphasize my point:

NDTV: Do you have any evidence to back your government's charge that the Hindraf has links with terrorists?

D S Vellu: Hindraf said they would fight like the Tigers, the way the Tigers are fighting in Sri Lanka. It was by Vedamurthy. After he talked like that, we did an investigation and it was felt that he may have gone there for training.

NDTV: Do you have evidence of this?

D S Vellu: No. It is our suspicion.

So individuals are being summoned to give statements over the SUSPICION of a possible offence of funding a terrorist organisation??

You mean, like take one of your precious annual leave, drive all the way to Bukit Aman, just to affirm that you have banked in money to a HINDRAF account?? To an account belonging to an enterprise that the government shut down due to SUSPICION of belonging to a terrorist group???

Are these people nuts??

I'm beginning to think they need mental treatment.

Thankfully sanity prevails among some of us. A citizen we Malaysians can be proud of, Cheah Kah Seng has suggested we all donate RM1 to Hindraf as a sign of protest against this bullying by the Barisan Nasional thugs.

He says:

From all I can see, the accusation of terrorism against Hindraf completely lacks credibility and was done in bad faith. Even if we don't agree with some of Hindraf's rhetoric, the Hindraf 5 under ISA detention deserve all the help they can get.

You've said it, man!

Read the whole letter, it's a good one and accessible to those who don't subscribe as well.

Indian Expats Blame Samy Vellu

From: Times Of India
Expats blame Samy Vellu for Malaysia row

NEW DELHI: It was a volcano waiting to erupt and the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas meet, which closed here on Wednesday, came as a godsend for many Indian expatriates in Malaysia to vent their feelings on what had gone "terribly wrong" with them in the south-east Asian nation.

As the Malaysian government went into a denial overdrive, insisting it never even imagined freezing recruitment of workers from India, the expatriates squarely blamed works minister Samy Vellu, part of the government for almost three decades now, for the "serious plight" of Indians, who constitute a substantial minority there. The burst came as several delegates from Malaysia, despite "the fear of being hounded" back home if their "identities became known", went on to detail "what was really happening" there.

The minister, also in Delhi for the convention, met PM Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee. Vellu, the only Indian in the cabinet, had on Tuesday denied reports on recruitment freeze, and Malaysia's home minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad echoed his words on Wednesday.

"In the real sense, recruitment freeze is a non-issue. PIOs in Malaysia, down now to 8% of population, are being systematically persecuted and marginalized in several other ways. Vellu, who uses his Indian origin for cosmetic purposes, has actually supervised this discrimination over the years," a senior second-generation delegate told TOI . The government's main idea, he said, was to give priority to ethnic Malays and Bhumiputras, who constitute 60% of the population with special rights under the constitution, and the Indians were the most to suffer under the practice.

"Our economic rights are under serious threat. There is a clear design to establish the social supremacy of the ethnic majority, and the mismatch between the civil (common) and Shariat laws has come as a tool for the persecution of Indians. Islamisation is another way in which we are being marginalised," he said.

Another delegate said the discrimination began way back in 1969 when the country witnessed "race riots", adding that the "big change" in the recent past was that Indians had become more organised.

"That is why anti-government protests rocked Malaysia in November last year. Vellu has been part of the decision-making process in the government, and to maintain his monopoly, he did not let the strength of Indians in the cabinet rise to even two in the 1990s. The number of Chinese cabinet ministers went up to six from three," he said.

Vellu is the head of Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) that supports the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. The delegates said under the present electoral and constitutional system, politicians enjoy absolute powers so much so that even the judiciary was accountable to the executive and free operation of the media was a distant dream.

"Naturally, electoral and political reforms were a big demand during the recent agitation, but activists of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were branded anti-nationals and there was a move to press charges of treason against them. We do not feel secure," the delegate explained.

The Indians' share in the national equity basket was steadily declining. "Malaysia has nearly 1.8 million Indians and only 40% of them constitute the middle or upper-middle classes. The rest is blue-collar labour force. If there is one Indian diaspora experiment that has really failed, it is Malaysia. Unfortunately, the world is being told a different story," another delegate said.

HINDRAF And The Valentine Roses

I gotta hand it to these guys, they're getting creative. :)

HINDRAF
135-3 Jalan Toman 7
Kemayan Square 70200
Seremban N.Sembilan
7th January 2008.

Re: HINDRAF LAUNCHES VALENTINE ROSES CAMPAIGN TO FREE *ISA* *DETAINEES* AND ASSERT RIGHTS OF MINORITY MALAYSIAN INDIANS WHO HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED SUPPRESSED MARGINALISED AND REMAINED PERMANENTLY COLONIZED COMMUNITY.

HINDRAF REQUESTS PRIME MINISTER TO MAKE HIMSELF AVAILABLE TO ACCEPT ROSES FROM AND ON BEHALF OF 70% POOR AND UNDERCLASS INDIANS.

On the 16th February 2008 (Saturday) a minimum of 10,000 Malaysian Indians representing 70% of the poor oppressed suppressed and marginalized community would make themselves available to hand over red and yellow roses to the Honourable Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in conjunction with Valentine's Day.

Red Roses would signify HINDRAF's *Love and Peaceful Struggle* whilst yellow roses would signify the *Demand for Justice* for the 5 HINDRAF leaders held under the draconian laws and for the rights of the minority Indian community who have been neglected for the last 50 years since Independence by the Government.

The minimum of 10,000 Minority Indians would make themselves available as follows:

Date : 16th February 2008 (Saturday)
Time : 11.00 am
Venue : Parliament House Kuala Lumpur

HINDRAF wishes to assert that this is *purely a peaceful gathering* with the view to present our beloved Prime Minister with Roses to enlighten him on the *predicament* and *Cry for Justice* of the Minority Indian community. The *heart *of the Indian community *bleeds* on the incarceration of their leaders under the ISA. It is hoped by accepting the roses the Prime Minister would be compassionate and understand to the needs of the Indian community.

HINDRAF requests the Prime Minister to attend personally to accept the roses or alternatively make his personal representative available to accept the same. We are amenable to change the venue if it is inconvenient with the Honourable Prime Minister.

We trust the Government would perfectly understand the peaceful gesture of Malaysian Indians and allow these poor oppressed and underclass to express their feelings through presentation of the Roses.

HINDRAF wishes the Honourable Prime Minister (an advance) *"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY."*

P.Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
Currently in London

The Pillow Bash

There were no feathers flying, but I'm sure some were ruffled.

A bunch of youth called Young Malaysians Action Secretariat (Sekretariat Bertindak Anak-Anak Muda Malaysia) symbolically handed over a pillow and bolster to the Prime Minister, grossly highlighting his obnoxious tendency to slumber.


I don't know if his daze of sleepiness is to be blamed for the state of affairs in Malaysia, but this I know - the administration needs an overhaul and fast!

Oh, and somnambulance at its best! :)


Related:

One mob flash, one ministerial crash and one pillow bash : What a week! - The People's Parliament

Pillows for a PM - Rocky's Bru

A special gift to the Prime Minister - Black In Korea

Been Awarded!

Oh yeah, I'm thrilled!! :)

And I'm finally over and done with being speechless too!

Now I'm aware that I have a fairly decent number of hits to my page, thanks to services of my good ole sitemeter, but I didn't know folks appreciated my writing, much less understood the disgruntled ramblings.

So it was quite a pleasant surprise when I discovered that I was awarded "Blogger to watch" with the comments A young Malaysian hope. You'r on my blog-roll, IF I had one ...

And to Rox, who has made my day - hell, probably my month - I love ya, baby!!! And thank you so much. :)

Happy reading.

"Holier Than Thou"

Malaysian ministers are highly entertaining, especially those that belong to BN.

You see, most Malaysians have this perceived sense of importance in the world and they think everyone knows about them and their accomplishments.

Unfortunately the reverse is true, and so they have set about trying to create the tallest, longest, biggest, fastest, first. Whatever. Most of the time, our achievements (if you can call it that) are recorded solely by our local media, which usually goes to town with it.

But our ministers and politicians gain international recognition.

Tourism minister Tengku Adnan had various terms of endearment shovelled on him after calling all Malaysian bloggers unemployed women in a lame attempt to scare/intimidate men off blogging. Suffice to say, it did not result in success.

Information minister Zainuddin Maidin showed us the right way to bumble through live interviews with foreign correspondents.

De-facto law minister Nazri Aziz got his star on the idiot walk of fame by telling India to lay-off and mind its own business. Actually he has many more to his credit (or discredit) but to list all may need more volumes than Encyclopedia Britannica.

Foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar got his ass publicly kicked on BBC's Hardtalk before being recognised by Malaysians as one of the most fluent liars on the planet.

But laughter is always the best medicine.

So we have the Health minister Chua Soi Lek to administer some of the dose, albeit in a very unexpected way.


Talk about fame and popularity. Prior to this whole fiasco, I wouldn't have known who the bugger was. But since his face is splashed on almost every daily locally and internationally, I cannot help but have his face imprinted in my memory.

Oh, I'm sure he longs for the days of blissful oblivion.

This guy is something else. Firstly, he is unable to keep his prick in his pants. That is a boo-boo for someone who is affiliated with a party that assumes religious affectations and issues 'pious' statements.

I would SO very much have loved to see their collective sanctimonious faces when this news broke out.

Secondly, (and this is the kicker) he gets sore at the Malaysian public for going to town with this. In the New York Times (and you've got to do something pretty spectacular to make it in there):

He said he regretted that people could not accept his public apology. "Some Malaysians have a holier-than-thou attitude," he said.

Well, Mr Minister, I personally DO have a holier-than-thou attitude. You belong to Barisan Nasional - a bunch of creeps who outdo themselves with religious dos and don'ts.

Discussions of tearing down Christian crosses in mission schools.

Refusing publication rights over the usage of the word 'Allah'.

Stealing bodies of Indian Malaysian heroes and giving them muslim burials.

Tearing down Hindu temples.

Breaking into an American couple's room to check for the possibility of khalwat.

Issuing a summons to a Chinese couple and dragging them to court for holding hands in KLCC, claiming it was indecent.

Refusing to hand over the body of a Chinese woman to her husband unless he acknowledges that she was Muslim.

Refusing to allow a giant Taoist statue to be constructed in Sabah because it is "too near a mosque".

If you have to spout that kind of religious crap, you'd better toe the line when it comes to your actions, because the last time I checked, screwing a woman who is not your wife (even if she was a 'personal friend') is not endorsed by any religion practised in Malaysia.