Integrating East And West Malaysia

This was posted last year, but it is still relevant today:

Your Malaysia Isn’t My Malaysia

Go and read it in its entirety, but here are some excerpts:

We call ourselves Malaysian but when we come over to West Malaysia, we might as well be aliens in hostile land.

We don’t understand your hangups about alcohol.

We don’t get why you can’t build religious buildings that aren’t mosques without hassle.

We don’t see why you’re always in a hurry to get everywhere and drive as if you’re the only one who wants to get home. Why you won’t wait for the pedestrian to cross when we do that all the time.

We don’t understand you at all. And that’s a shame.

Because we don’t need National Service to teach our youngsters to hang out with each other. We know that tolerance isn’t ‘Saya tak kacau kamu, kamu jangan kacau saya’ (I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me)

We’re just sorry that you still haven’t figured that out after 52 years of so-called independence.

I'm sorry, too. We could have achieved so much, if only we had our priorities right.

One Word: Champion!

Never in the history of Malaysian law has there been this much forehead-slapping.

Never before have so many eyes rolled collectively in exasperation and annoyance. In fact, the vortex caused by all that eye-rolling is probably contributing to the formation of a tornado in Kansas or New Mexico right this very moment.

The credit goes to one man - Abdul Razak Musa, a specimen of certifiably limited intelligence, who represents the MACC over the Teoh Beng Hock inquest.

I wasn't in the courtroom, so I had trouble believing the Malaysiakini report, but according to some of my sources who witnessed the shenanigans first-hand, the following events actually did happen.

He began by trying to smear the forensic pathologist Pornthip Rojanasunand's credibility as an expert witness. According to my sister the lawyer, this is an accepted practice in persuading the judge to dismiss the witness' opinion.

"Did you know that the university that you graduated from is not recognised in Malaysia?" Abdul Razak Musa, the dumb fool asked.

To that, Pornthip answered, "But it is in the top five in Asia."

If he had done his homework properly, he would have known that it isn't in the top five. It is either the seventh or eighth. I checked.

It is, however, still a very embarrassing point as no Malaysian university comes even close. Somehow I think that point was lost on him.

If someone had told me this was going to be a cross between the Jerry Springer show and a PT Barnum circus, I would have taken the day off and gone to watch. These days you can't get this sort of entertainment for free.

Our hero went on to suggest that Teoh had strangled himself and even went as far as to demonstrate this on himself.


If you thought nothing could possibly be worse than that, you would be wrong. For the grand finale, Abdul Razak Musa asked Pornthip if she had any experience jumping off a building.

Champion.

The mainstream media however, managed to sanitise their version of it, so that the entire proceedings actually appeared sane.

How I pity those stalwart supporters of the mainstream media. They have no clue what they've missed.

Another Excuse For Using The ISA

Just after the candlelight vigil protesting the use of the Internal Security Act, the BN government detains terror suspects.

I think terrorists should be arrested and put behind bars, though not detained under the ISA.

Everyone, regardless of race, religion and social standing, deserves justice.

Sufficient evidence should necessary to convict them, if they are indeed genuine terrorists, and not some fictional characters cooked up by the BN government to strike fear in the hearts of people.

Malaysia arrests 3 suspected militants possibly linked to Indonesian radical cleric

By The Associated Press (CP) – 9 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia arrested three suspected militants believed to have ties with a radical cleric in Indonesia who was charged this week with helping plan terrorist attacks, officials said Thursday.

The two Malaysians and an Indonesian were detained Wednesday for suspected involvement in activities that could jeopardize national security and for alleged links with foreign militants, national police chief Musa Hassan said in a statement.

Police identified the Malaysians as Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Junaid, a 70-year-old businessman, and contractor Samsul Hamidi, 34, while the Indonesian was listed as Mustawan Ahbab, a 34-year-old marketing executive. They were arrested separately on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and eastern Pahang state.

Authorities were holding them under the Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

An official familiar with the arrests said the men were believed to have worked with a terror cell in Indonesia's Aceh province that was allegedly set up by prominent radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Bashir was arrested in the world's most populous Muslim nation this week for allegedly setting up the cell and militant training camp in Aceh that was plotting high-profile assassinations and bloody attacks on foreigners in Jakarta.

Those arrested in Malaysia were trying to help the cell expand in this country, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements on this.

Malaysian human rights groups that have long campaigned against the Internal Security Act criticized the arrests, saying the three detainees were at "risk of torture and other ill-treatment." Activists said the detainees should either be charged in court or released.

Over the past decade, Malaysian authorities have detained more than 100 Islamic militant suspects without trial. Most were released in stages after officials said they had renounced extremist beliefs.

These are very subtle messages that the BN government is sending out to an Islamophobic world, telling them that the ISA puts terrorists away.

What they neglect to mention, however, is that they also silence political opponents and activists in the same way.

Taking Back Our Politics

The whole idea of politics was to have someone represent you - basically be your voice in the larger arena.

Most of us were really excited when the tsunami of GE12 showed the impact when people unite and come together with a purpose.

But a few years down the road, we're disillusioned with what we've got.

Frogs who've leaped to the other side upon offers of cash (or threats of exposure).

Troublemakers who can't keep their mouths shut, like Hasan Ali of PAS and Zulkifli Noordin and PKR.

Haris has a plan. And I like it.

His post, Enter the Third Force even had me raising my eyebrows and wondering if it was wise to split the vote at a critical time like this.

But there's more to it.

I'll let Haris walk you through it.

Child Marriage Is No Solution

Melaka is a place for good food. Unfortunately, it ends there.

Once upon a time, it was hailed as the cultural and historical heritage of Malaysia, the birthplace of our current nation.

I have been there a number of times, and I see nothing to shout about. Everything is touristy and fabricated. Perhaps I should have headed for the beaches instead of trying to explore the town.

But what can you expect from Melaka, when its state government has decided to allow child marriages to purportedly curtail out-of-wedlock pregnancies?

I won't say more on government policies and the need for restructuring society and addressing social ills, as this entry says it all.

However, I recall a bit of drama concerning teenage parents when I was in the UK last year. Apparently, a 13-year-old boy had fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend.


It was even more befuddling as the kid's voice hadn't even broken yet and he looked like a 9-year-old.

But Alfie Patten was going to raise the child well, he claimed. Never-ending news reports detailed how he had bottle-fed his daughter and changed diapers.

It was very hard for me to smother my cynicism. It is rather difficult for parents in their 20s to cope with raising their newborns - what more for teenagers?

Anyway, it turned out his girlfriend was a bit of a player. After numerous other teenage boys came forward claiming to be the father, Alfie Patten took a paternity test - only to discover that the little girl wasn't his.

So that was that.

I suspect if he had gotten hitched to his girlfriend, that marriage would have ended in divorce.

Children do grow up and change, after all.

Response Of Brutality

This is what awaited peaceful participants of a candlelight vigil.


An eye-witness account HERE.

1PoliceState

Some of you may have attended the peaceful candlelight vigil last night.

Peaceful until the police stormed the crowd, that is.

What can I say? We live in a police state that is determined to stifle all forms of negative feedback to the government administration.


People First, Performance Now.

Anti-ISA Candlelight Vigil

It's almost been a year since last year's Anti-ISA protest.


Come and be part of a growing citizenry of Malaysians who want justice. This is a time for solidarity.

Date: August 1, 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: Dataran MBPJ opposite Amcorp Mall/ Padang Timur

Time To Suppress Your Anger!

Every now and then, just when I think I've seen the worst, something comes along to prove me wrong.

Today's case in point is this notoriously ridiculous blog by the name of Marahku.

Forget that the blog owner attempts to decorate his blog with flames to give an aura of "anger". At least I think that is the intention.

Forget that trying to get a legitimate fact out of this blog is like finding a needle in a haystack.

If you have been following the attempts to discredit Haris Ibrahim, the owner of The People's Parliament, you would have been astounded to find that while Haris is able to present his facts from government sources, his detractors have had to rely on merely muddying the waters.

Anyone with half an education would be able to spot that.

But what was absolutely classic, is the statement, "Government is the work of saints coveted by fools".

I nearly died laughing.

Now, I may look at a lowly-paid social worker who lives in the slums in efforts to improve the welfare of those slum-dwellers and concede that he/she is a saint. Most people regard Mother Theresa of Calcutta as a saint, anyway.

But there is no way I could possible look at the Malaysian government (or any other government, for that matter) and call them saints.

Some say the best governments are the Scandinavian governments - they have really good welfare schemes, good healthcare, excellent infrastructure, a superior education system and well, the list goes on.

As for our government, they purchased submarines that refused to submerge. The Malaysian air force owns F5 aircraft of which engines were pilfered and then mysteriously returned after a stint in South America.

We have a police force that closed down some of its stations in crime-infested districts due to fears that it isn't safe for the cops themselves to be manning those stations.

We have highways that are jammed with traffic even though motorists are still forced to pay toll to use that highway.

Hey. We have a government that sprays chemical-laced water and tear-gasses citizens that publicly (but peacefully) oppose its nefarious regime.

With full knowledge of that, can one seriously say that government is the work of saints??

And You Thought Malaysian Politicians Were Stupid

Most of you know that this is a Malaysian blog dedicated to whipping Malaysian politicians into shape.

But every now and then, out pops a foreign politician that makes you slap your forehead in dismay.

I don't know about you, but I think this politician from Australia needs a refresher course in the world of technology.

Thinking he was sending a private message to a journalist, he posted it in public. On twitter.

If you have a twitter account, you would know how fast news travels. It was sensitive information, and harmful to party image - not just that of the politician in question.

Of course, it begs the question: Why was he supplying a journalist with that information in the first place?

The problem with this group of paramecia we call politicians is that we let them roam freely among the good citizens of this world.

Rightfully, they should be locked up in some gardens with a leash around their necks. They should be provided with bibs during mealtimes so they don't soil their clothes.

God knows we all need protection from them. Heck, they need protection from themselves!