Freedom Of Expression

London was a practical lesson on the freedom of expression. It appeared to me that people weren't exactly reticent in expressing their views at all.

Just next to the Westminster Abbey, supporters of the suppressed Tamils in Sri Lanka make almost daily protests, chanting for hours on end and waving banners urging the West to intervene.


The supporters of Palestine are not to be outdone by the Tamils. They're making their presence felt at Whitehall, just outside Downing Street.

And believe it or not, there were no riot squads brandishing tear gas cannisters or waiting to spray chemical-laced water on protestors.


But if you had nothing to protest about but plenty to say, you could always find yourself at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park.


You could choose to listen to the hellfire and brimstone preachers and argue with them..


... or you could just get yourself a free hug.

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.

Wall Street

Preston's answer to America's financial district in New York. :)

To cope with the credit crunch, throw in a Spring Saver deal.

CHEAPSIDE

My mother would wager that it was called 'Cheapside' because of the revealing clothing worn by the undergarment models.

Losing Popularity

I'm always impressed when Malaysian news hits the New York Times as it has, regarding the power struggle in Perak.

I'm also pleased to note that there are judges who have not been bought over by the ruling coalition, better known to Malaysians as UMNO.

Malaysian Court Orders Reinstatement of Opposition Minister

Rightfully, there should be new elections.

But as even the NYT concedes, UMNO does not want to suffer yet another sobering defeat at the hands of the public:

Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the chief minister reinstated by the court, hailed Monday’s decision as “a historic day for all who love democracy.” He said he would ask the Sultan of Perak for new elections, which the coalition has resisted. Over the past year, they have lost four out of the last five parliamentary and state by-elections.

UMNO is so unpopular that even a racial riot won't work.

So defections are their last option at staying in power. And desperately, they clutch at straws.

Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award 2009

I was browsing through the Comment Is Free section of The Guardian when I stumbled across a name I recognised.

Why, I had sat only across the table from this man during one of the blogger gatherings at Blog House. I was quite impressed. I personally don't know all that many people who have had to deal with a death threat.


Malik Imtiaz Sarwar seems to take it all in his stride and for his efforts and courage, he has been awarded the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award by Index on Censorship.

And apparently, that was the reason why he had his piece on The Guardian entitled The truth about Malaysia - it was in conjunction with the award. An excerpt:

Architects of autocracies would benefit tremendously from studying the Malaysian model. It stands as a shining example of how, given the right combination of greed, ambition, maladministration and contempt for the rule of law, any democracy can be recast into an autocracy while preserving the veneer of democratic process.

Imtiaz is a deep thinker and not all his blog entries are easy to follow but this article is a must-read, so go to the site and read it in its entirety.

Paying Your Dues

Apparently I'm on the WANTED list.

No, it's not yet another Operasi Lalang this time. It's the Internal Revenue Board or the LHDN, and they want my money. Cheap jerks.

Every year I curse them and the politicians whose pockets I know my money is inevitably going to fall into while I stare ruefully at the poor public transportation and perpetually traffic-congested highways.

But I always pay up anyway. I pacify myself by thinking that the money that goes to the government is only a small amount. But then I'm reminded that it's only because I'm not paid all that much.

So it doesn't gratify me for long.

This year it's different. I want to pay (or rather, I want to get it over and done with) but I can't.

You see, I'd made an oversight when I travelled 17 hours on a plane in January. I forgot to bring my tax receipts for books, insurance, donations and others which are crucial for claiming tax deductions.

So now, even though the LHDN has miraculously (or maybe through the combination of God's grace and a talented IT engineer) managed to operate a semi-efficient website for e-filing one's taxes, I don't have all the documents I need, not to mention the EA form from my previous employer.

It's quite astounding that one would have to employ various methods of harrassment to allow oneself to pay money to the government.

Because really, if I wasn't going to be hunted down and forced to pay, I wouldn't dream of coughing up the dough. Not so that this fool can fly first class on an expensive holiday, or so this despot can build a humongous but garish mansion.

All for their own gain.

Hafiz Noor Shams, bless his heart, tries to explain my predicament in Of should we pay income tax? where he postulates "that the biggest reason of all [for paying tax] is to support the State for rendering services which in effect protect citizens and those within the jurisdiction of the State".

He goes on to say:

If the State fails to do so, the obligation to pay taxes evaporates. In fact, failure on behalf of the State to protect these rights eliminates a reason for such a State. This later calls for the creation of a new State capable of discharging its duties better, lest the dissolution of the previous incompetent or tyrannical State leads to an unstable state of anarchy.

At this point, I'm nodding my head so vigorously that I've created a vortex capable of bringing down a jumbo jet.

But it's never that simple and in no way is Hafiz advocating that we cease to pay our taxes altogether.

I do wish my money would be better managed though.

Calling The Shots

It looks like my reservations against Anwar Ibrahim were spot on.

But I didn't get to where I am today from being naive and gullible.

It is no secret that Anwar Ibrahim has been calling the shots from day one that the Barisan Rakyat got its act together and soundly kicked some BN ass.

Now don't get me wrong, this man is one heck of an orator. And personally, I think he was framed by our less-than-original, beyond-expiry, ruling coalition - which suggests they were frightened enough to stoop to desperate measures.

But this issue with Fairus of Penanti is disturbing. One does not, under critical circumstances, throw one's weight around. And considering Anwar Ibrahim has not become Prime Minister as yet (despite numerous false assurances), he is under critical circumstances.

Yet, he is busy playing political games and bestowing favours upon those who catch his fancy.

Perhaps Fairus was tainted by graft and corruption. That still does not give Anwar any right to remove Fairus from his Penanti seat without first discussing with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Acts like that merely serve to suggest that Anwar Ibrahim feels that the Barisan Rakyat belongs to him and that he is solely responsible for the success or failure of it.

It suggests that Lim Guan Eng is merely a puppet in the whole game of Opposition politics - one who is dispensable at will.

Now this sort of behaviour is disheartening when you consider that a lot of people put their trust on the Opposition, hoping that they could deliver some change.

This is not the change I hope to see. This sort of behaviour is UMNO-inherent. In fact, calling for "closed" discussion (away from the prying presence of the media) is what I despise.

Money politics plagued UMNO and BN purely because everything was settled by the head honcho and no one had the right to dissent or voice out their dissatisfaction.

Lim Guan Eng, by questioning Anwar's move, is following the right channels to a healthy and open discussion. Gagging him is to imitate what UMNO and by proxy, BN have been practising for years.

I don't want Barisan Rakyat to evolve into Barisan Nasional.

2009 International Woman Of Courage

I always knew Malaysian women were something to be proud of. Don't get me wrong, I love Malaysian men as well (and I don't want to start naming names because there are so many great fellows, both famous and relatively unknown).

But Malaysian women have the knack for being firebrands.

Ambiga Sreenevasan has yet to be jailed (as far as I know) but she has managed to promote what is right through her influence and standing as the president of the Bar Council of Malaysia.

I swell with pride when I see her standing next to Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton to be recognised for the courage that she has displayed.

Ambiga could possibly face what Irene Fernandez has been put through for the latter's expose on human rights violations on refugees.

Just soon after becoming president of the Bar Council, she organized the “March for Justice,” (or what we call the Penguin March) in Putrajaya, calling for judicial reform and investigation into V.K. Lingam's now infamous judge-fixing video.

For her efforts, she has received hate mail, death threats, and had a Molotov cocktail thrown at her house.

She organised a forum on religion, at the risk of incurring the wrath of religious fanatics and conservative members of government. They protested at the Bar Council building and called for her arrest.

Oh, she has courage indeed.

You see, in Malaysia, we need the intellectuals to speak up and put forward their opinions. Heck, even stand up for it. It's not an easy thing to do, to speak up against the establishment.

She did it and is rightly awarded Woman Of Courage.

I applaud her recognition and support it wholeheartedly.

But really, it shouldn't be considered something extraordinary. If you and I, and people like Ambiga don't do it, we will only have ourselves to blame for not standing up to the bullies.

Banning Information For 3 Months

BN will never learn.

It tried to ban Malaysia Today - violating internet censorship rules - but it only succeeded in promoting the site to those who hadn't heard of it.

And those of us who *had* heard of it? Well, we redirected our readers to the mirror sites that popped out within hours of the ban.

So now they try to ban Harakah and Suara Keadilan for the next 3 months - the important moment for BN where it can endure no opposing views or that of a critical nature.

Will that work? You tell me.