The Green Walk -- Kuantan To KL

I've always had tremendous respect for people who stand up for what they believe in.

Wong Tack is one such man.

He has sworn to blockade the port to prevent rare earth coming in from Australia (gaining the attention of even New York Times), and now he has taken up a walk from his hometown in Kuantan to the parliament in KL.

It is no small feat. We are talking about 300KM, and given the Malaysian dependence on cars and the climate that we have, it is quite an extraordinary effort.

He has since been joined by about 80 others.

They are doing well so far.

“It is tiring, but spirits are high and everybody is sharing this energy. We are starting to recover from our initial injuries and our muscles are building up, we can continue stronger,” Wong told FMT.

At this point in time, I don't think it is merely the physical exertion that would be playing on their minds.

It's the mental, emotional and spiritual capacity to go on fighting against an enemy that is far stronger than they are.

An enemy that is very keen on making economical profits of epic proportions and holds strong political sway.

The question playing in their minds right now, would probably be, "Is it worth it?"

I beseech any Malaysian reading this right now, if there is any way you could contribute or give support to this effort, please do.

And share this page with your friends.

Seeing The Light

I've always fancied myself as being somewhat quick on the uptake.

But even the smartest of us, miss things that in hindsight are blatantly obvious. Sometimes, it is because we are unwilling to accept reality. We deliberately blind ourselves to the truth.

Seeing the light can be a relief, though at times, it can even be painful.

I have seen the light. It has been rough, but I have seen it. Perhaps overdue, but I have finally been enlightened.

Others, on various issues of their own, are still struggling.

Do not let those who seek to deceive you succeed. Do not give them the opportunity to ensnare your mind any further.

Be open to the truth.

Forget about the physical achievements and think about that which is spiritual.

Why would you glorify first rate infrastructure when you are bogged down by third world mentality?

We are capable of so much more.

There is a brave new world waiting for Malaysians but it is not in hanging on to the past and the present political leaders whose performance despite the fresh slogans, are banal at best, and who have yet to learn that slogans, spin and lies do not make a nation, least of all a great one.

- Steve Oh -

Amen to that, Steve.

End State-Sponsored Violence!

Malaysia paints an image of being a wealthy, developed and advanced nation to the rest of the world.

But behind that facade lies a sick, convoluted sense of authority. One that has no sense of right and wrong. A self-imposed authority to treat its citizens brutally, to the extent of killing them.

The good people of this nation have finally decided that this must stop.

Thirty NGOs have now formed a coalition called the Gerakan Hentikan Keganasan Kerajaan or also known as the End State Violence coalition and they are going to organise a huge rally in December to make their point.

The launch of this rally will be held as follows:

Time: 8pm
Date: Nov 6, 2012 (Tuesday)
Place: Auditorium Bar Council KL

Go HERE for more details.

Negligence

If you've forgotten who Kugan Ananthan was, this should refresh your memory.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — The mother of A. Kugan, the detainee who died in police custody, will take the stand at the High Court here on Friday in her RM100 million suit against Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and four others for alleged negligence and breach of statutory duty.

Justice Datuk V. T. Singham was informed today that other than N. Indra, 44, lawyer N. Surendran would also be called as a key witness during the trial.

Plaintiff's counsel, L. Bani Prakash also informed the court that the plaintiff faced difficulty in serving a subpoena on forensic pathologist Dr Prashad Samberkar of University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) who carried out the second autopsy on Kugan's body.

He said Dr Prashad's contract had expired and he had returned to his country of origin, India, in early October.

However, the subpoena had been served on UMMC's head of forensic department, Assoc Prof Dr Nazarina Abdul Rahman, he added.

Justice Singham told Bani Prakash that he should have been more proactive in recording Dr Prashad's statement while he was in the country or sought the court's assistance on the matter, since the pathologist's testimony was crucial to the plaintiff's case.

Will this be justice served?

The Murder of Altantuya

Written by John Berthelsen
THURSDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2012

Six years on, troubling questions remain about the Mongolian beauty's death, and who ordered it

It will be six years tomorrow since bodyguards for now-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak dragged the Mongolian translator and party girl Altantuya Shaariibuu out of a car in a patch of jungle near the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Shah Alam.

As she begged for her life and apparently that of her unborn child, they knocked her unconscious, then shot her twice in the head.

That was Oct. 19, 2006. According to court testimony, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas, both assigned to Najib’s office, then wrapped Altantuya’s body in C4 plastic explosives and blew her up, possibly to mangle her remains so badly that the fetus would be destroyed.

Sirul Azhar was interrogated by police shortly after the murder was discovered. He was informed that anything he said could be held against him, in accordance with the law. In his cautioned statement, as his confession was called in Malaysia, he told authorities he and Azilah had been offered RM100,000 to kill the woman and her two companions, who were causing highly public embarrassment for Abdul Razak Baginda, Najib’s best friend. The 28-year-old Mongolian woman, in a letter found after her death, wrote that she was sorry she had been blackmailing Razak Baginda.

If French police records are to be believed, Razak Baginda was allegedly central to a massive bribery case in which a total of nearly €150 million in payments were steered to two Razak Baginda companies, Perimekar Sdn Bhd and Terasasi Hong Kong Ltd.

As Asia Sentinel reported earlier this year, records seized by the French police show that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe were aware of the transactions. Memos obtained by Asia Sentinel show the French expected at least part of the money to be steered to the United Malays National Organization, Malaysia’s biggest ethnic political party.

Read the rest here:The Murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu

Should The International Community Care?

By Ambiga Sreenevasan

Those in the international community may be forgiven for saying, “Is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?”

In the international arena, our leaders portray Malaysia as a moderate Islamic nation that is built on the democratic principles that are enshrined in our Federal Constitution. The fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, the right to life and a fair electoral process, are indeed guaranteed under our Federal Constitution.

The reality is, however, far less idyllic. There are serious questions whether these rights are respected and upheld by those in power.

Since before the 1990’s, Malaysians have been pushing for a reform of the system of governance. There has been growing discontent over issues like rampant corruption, abuse of power, deaths in custody and selective prosecution (or persecution), to name but a few of the grouses.

We are increasingly alarmed by the use of race and religion by politicians to divide the people for political gain, with no regard whatsoever for the possible long term consequences of this conduct.

We note with disgust our mainstream media descending to the lowest depths of junk journalism. We are appalled at the growing instances of political violence.

Read the rest here: Malaysia’s elections: Should the international community care? — Ambiga Sreenevasan

The After-Effects Of Project Mahathir

By Niluksi Koswanage
Reuters
4:48 p.m. CDT, October 7, 2012

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters) - Housewife Fawziah Abdul wants to thank former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad for making her a citizen 10 years after she illegally slipped into Borneo from the southern Philippines in search of a better life.

The 50-year-old lives on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia's Sabah state, where her tin-roofed shack jostles for space with more than 1,000 others in a slum where children play beside heaps of rubbish.

She is hopeful that her three children will get a new home and identity cards if she votes for the government again.

Read the rest here: Migrants, church may end Malaysia government's Borneo vote bank

Fix US

American readers of CRANKSHAFT may find this intriguing:

http://www.fixus.us/

In the own words of these citizen journalists, "Fix*us is a campaign about giving you the platform to weigh in on some of the biggest issues."

No country is perfect, be it Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, UK or the USA. The problem with democracy, in spite of it being possibly the best political system there is, is that the politicians are always trying to run it their way.

The responsibility is on us as citizens to remind them that they serve us and not themselves.

This is something Malaysians can take on as well. Actually, it has been done -- we have our very own UndiMsia!

But do take a look at this concept by LiveCitizen.

Scorpene Never Dies

It sounds like a Bond movie.

Aside, Tomorrow Never Dies starred Michelle Yeoh, and Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond.

But the truth is, no Bond movie could potentially be as scandalous and licentious as the Scorpene story of Malaysia.

The Scorpene story involves plenty of sex, sharing of women between at least two high profile men, corruption of a monumental scale, the sale of highly confidential naval information to the French, the dramatically explosive (no pun intended) murder of a Mongolian woman.

Like I said, no Bond movie could come close to that sort of filth, and Bond movies are generally not known for child-friendly scenes.

Along came SUARAM, who hired French lawyer Joseph Breham to unearth the facts. He came up with a lot of worms. Read a summary of it HERE.

Now the Malaysian officials involved, namely the BN government, are livid with rage as this will no doubt affect the way people vote when they hit the polling booths soon.

The best way to get rid of this mess is to silence SUARAM. And what better way than to harass, intimidate and bully SUARAM with bogus probes.

There was a time when Malaysians could easily be intimidated. A time when the rule was not to rock the boat as long as the economy was going fine.

Times have changed. The “Scorpene Never Dies” Action Team is determined to help SUARAM keep the Scorpene issue afloat and to get the Najib administration to stop its obviously politically-motivated investigation against SUARAM.

A candlelight vigil is on:

Date: 25 Sept 2012 (Tuesday)
Time: 8:00PM
Venue: Dataran Merdeka

As usual, the authorities will deem it illegal.

As if anyone cares. Malaysians who care about their country will be there.

Cycling In Big Cities

About four years ago, I went to visit a good friend in Australia. While we were cruising along on a freeway, I noticed some signs on the side.

They were warnings to car drivers, to watch out for cyclists. And indeed, there was a lane on the freeway, dedicated to bicycles.

I thought that was brilliant.

But Australia is not alone in recognising the importance of various types of transportation.

I recently discovered that London has introduced the concept of renting a bicycle to get you to your destination.

These bikes are rented out using an Oyster card (the main form of transaction for London transportation -- trains, buses etc) from any available stand and dropped off at the stand of your destination.

Apart from the fact that these bicycles reduce the number of cars on the road, which means there is less congestion, there is no fuel needed to power them apart from leg power (fuelled by fish & chips, maybe?).

And if you've had too much fish & chips, this is going to break down the build-up of cholesterol in your arteries.

Now, the weather can get a bit overwhelming in Kuala Lumpur especially at mid day, but this isn't a bad idea for getting around.

After all, we don't have a water shortage. It is always possible to have a shower at the end of the day.