Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Concentration and Dilution
- Voter Registration in Kuching, Sarawak
- Voter Registration at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia this weekend
- GLOBAL BERSIH 2.0 - Awakening of the Malaysian Diaspora
- Letter from an Old Boy MCKK and Umno Member
- Bumiputra Scheme to Help Bright Students Sabotaged?
- The Role And Function Of The Police Force In A Kleptocracy
- Come Again. What is Democracy?
| Posted: 20 Jul 2011 01:03 PM PDT By batsman This is not an article on chemistry, neither is it a diatribe against over-weight people. It is actually an attempt to extract something worthwhile out of the sickening mind numbing AAS episode. RPK has challenged NTR regarding his think tank before (Saya sokong Najib). Now that NTR has committed self-strangulation and is besieged as predicted by RPK, it is time to demonstrate the process of how such demises come about. Everything has an optimum size beyond which there will be negative growth or a fundamental transformation of essence (any bapa transformasi worth his salt should know this). Take Murdoch's empire for example. It has grown so large and unwieldy that a simple matter of trusting the wrong people caused his giant empire to wobble dangerously (or so he claims). NTR's boys in his think tank may dress smartly, act smartly and talk smartly but may not be smart after all. In fact UMNO's empire has grown so unwieldy that vile brain dead twits like AAS may be seeing some opportunity to make themselves famous and are trying to jump on the think tank band wagon and gain some brownie points. UMNO is so fat and overweight that it is coming apart at the seams. Concentration has its benefits. For example, if you try to take on an angry elephant without any leverage, you are likely to be squashed. However, if an elephant grows to the size of a whale, it will just be delicious blubber without the need for much effort to bring it down (whatever Hollywood tries to portray about monsters). That is why there are no land giants the size of whales anymore. Some businesses grow so big that it takes enormous effort and brains just to hold it together. This is why some executives of large businesses are paid so much money. Unfortunately, these people are also expected to grow the empire even bigger. Not all people can do this. Most create spectacularly negative results by their efforts – such as the people Murdoch claims to have trusted. Eventually things just get out of hand and collapse under the weight of oversized entities. UMNO's empire will suffer this fate. The concentration of power is so great that it cannot be held together by smart toy boys in any think tank anymore. For example, a simple order to control Bersih 2.0 has resulted in the now infamous over-reaction that has resounded across the whole world. One can expect more and more such usage of the sledge hammer to control irritating flies until the whole edifice is destroyed in an orgy of abuse of power. More and more AASs, MACC-type officers, policemen with vicious temperaments and AIs will turn crawl out from the rotting and festering dung heap. This is one of reasons the US has an anti-trust law, not just the obvious one that monopoly is unfair and inherently anti-competition. Bersih 2.0 is just calling for reforms i.e. dilution of absolute power. If it fails, Malaysia is doomed under UMNO – crushed and suffocated by its massive weight. |
| Voter Registration in Kuching, Sarawak Posted: 20 Jul 2011 12:39 PM PDT
DAP Socialist Youth will organise a voters registration this Friday 22/07/2011 at One Jaya Complex at Jalan Song from 7.30pm - 10.00p.m and on Sunday 24/07/2011 at Kenyalang Park Market from 7am till 10am. For those who have not registered as a voter yet, please hurry up! The deadline will fall on 13-Sept-2011. Meaning if you register after 13-Sept-2011, then you will NOT be qualified to vote in the coming election if GE is early of next year. Hurry up, please spread the news to your friends and family!
For more information, please contact Andrew Sim at 0168799606 or Awang Saifeluddin at 0168899149.
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| Voter Registration at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia this weekend Posted: 20 Jul 2011 12:05 PM PDT
Come register as a voter this weekend and next weekend at Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia (RABM) from 2-4pm. Details below: Date: 23-24 July (Saturday & Sunday) Time: 2-4pm Venue: Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia, 66 Lorong Setiabistari 1, Bukit Damansara (GoogleMap link here) If you're already a registered voter, you can drive all your friends and family who are not yet a voter to RABM this weekend!
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| GLOBAL BERSIH 2.0 - Awakening of the Malaysian Diaspora Posted: 20 Jul 2011 11:58 AM PDT In every location, the local authorities were most helpful, some even suggesting more impactful vantage points to gather at. Sadly, at almost every location, representatives of Malaysian authorities took photos and videos and tried to record the names of participants. By Global BERSIH 2.0 Starting from spontaneous expressions of patriotism at a few international locations where Malaysians were residents in fairly significant numbers, the desire to show support for the Bersih 2.0 'Walk for Electoral Reform' in Kuala Lumpur sprouted into a worldwide event that spanned most of the major time zones. New Zealand started the day rolling followed by rallies happening in several Australian, Asian and European cities. The ripple then spread across the Atlantic Ocean, to cities in North America, ending the historical day at the West Coast cities of Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco. Indeed the sun did not quite set on Bersih 2.0. The sun decidedly shone down it's warm yellow rays on Bersih 2.0 participants everywhere, especially in places with chilly winds. But quite the contrary, if not ironic, back in in Kuala Lumpur, as rally participants were doused with stinging tear-gas and chemical-laced water, the skies opened up, washing everything clean! This occasion proved to be a new paradigm for Malaysians, especially the youth. They were experiencing Unity in Diversity, a concept few imagined was possible. Optimists estimate that some 50,000 Malaysians had gathered together without regard to ethnic origin or religious leaning. This was a Malaysia dreams were made of. Elsewhere in the world, the outpouring of patriotism was just as impressive. Malaysians were united as one, in foreign lands. In places where Malaysians had existing committees and who met up regularly, organising a rally was pretty straightforward. But in some cities, rookies who had never even attended a rally before stepped up and asked how they could organise one. The results were most gratifying, as the numbers below show... City (attendance): Wellington (10), Auckland (35), Christchurch (15), Brisbane (100), Sydney (500), Canberra (40), Hobart (30), Melbourne (1000), Adelaide (150), Osaka (14), Seoul (35), Suzhou (20), Taipei (300), Shenzen (20), Hong Kong (80), Perth (120), Singapore Online(63), Singapore Picnic (200), Dubai (40), Cairo (100), Istanbul (2),Stockholm (10), Graz, Austria (2), Zurich (42), Geneva (12), Paris (30), London (450), Glasgow (30), Belfast (25), Dublin (60), Cork (14), Limerick (11), New York City (130), Ottawa (11), Washington DC (50), Chicago (35), Los Angeles (85), Portland, OR (14), San Francisco (120) Total attendance for all 38 locations = 4003 participants. Cities are sequenced according to longitude. Apart from these heart-warming numbers of participants in these locations, there were unconfirmed reports in the social network site, Facebook, of people in other locations such as Cambodia, Jerusalem, Frankfurt... also standing up to be counted. But in the absence of verifiable sources, we have to leave those claims open. The organisers in Singapore, aware of the restrictions on public gatherings posed by the Singapore authorities, quite cleverly decided to do an online show of their love for Malaysia and their support for the Bersih 2.0 campaign. However, there were some folks who decided to gather informally for a picnic at a popular park. We have reported the numbers of both these gatherings. Sympathy rallies were also held in Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta but we have not included those attendance numbers. The Steering Committee of GLOBAL BERSIH 2.0 would like to thank all participants for the tremendous support extended towards the call for Free and Fair Elections and Real Democracy in Malaysia. Through your actions, that some may deem indirect or small, you have provided irrefutable proof that Diaspora Malaysians still hold Malaysia dearly in your hearts and would return if you could. You have staked your claim to having a part to play in what happens at home. Despite the excessive use of force encountered by the Bersih 2.0 Walkers in Kuala Lumpur, all the locations elsewhere proved that peaceful demonstrations are a part and parcel of the democratic process and can be managed effectively with minimal impact on non-participants. This is testimony to the maturity of Malaysians in their ability to participate fully in a vibrant democracy. Authorities should take cognizance of this and allow the political evolution of Malaysia to proceed naturally. The myriad of global locations displayed banners and posters, with participants wearing YELLOW - t-shirts, scarves, ribbons... In some locations loud hailers were used to address the crowd while in other more cosy locations, participants took turns to read and discuss the 8 demands. A Samad Said's almost-banned poem was read, memoranda and posters were signed, catchy phrases were chanted and the Negaraku was sung with fervour. Many locations also called for the immediate release of the 6 detained under Emergency Ordinance without legal recourse. In every location, the local authorities were most helpful, some even suggesting more impactful vantage points to gather at. Sadly, at almost every location, representatives of Malaysian authorities took photos and videos and tried to record the names of participants. Carnival atmosphere aside, the most significant impact of Global Bersih 2.0 is the realisation that has dawned upon many Diaspora Malaysians that you are not alone in your love of and concern for your mother country. You met and interacted, many for the first time, with others like yourselves living relatively near to where you live. This has sparked the desire on the part of many to remain in contact with each other and continue to come together for activities that can help improve your nation. The Steering Committee of GLOBAL BERSIH 2.0 proposes to extend the ongoing domestic activities of Bersih 2.0 by promoting the following activities internationally. The first three of these will be carried out by those interested participating locations while the next three will be coordinated by the Steering Committee.
Global Bersih 2.0 is a turning point in the relationship of Diaspora Malaysians with your mother country. Many of you showed that you were willing to cast aside your fears and contribute towards making our land the better country it can be. Those committed, let us bring our skills and resources to bear to help rebuild our nation and fulfil the promise of potential it showed when it was first born 54 years ago. Let us work together to make Malaysia the great model nation it was meant to be.
Steering Committee Global BERSIH 2.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
BERSIH 2.0 SEDUNIA - Kebangkitan Diaspora MalaysiaBertitik tolak dari semangat patriotisme, rakyat Malaysia di seluruh dunia telah bangkit dan menyokong perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 di Kuala Lumpur pada 9 Julai 2011. Mereka berhimpun beramai-ramai menganjurkan perhimpunan solidariti Bersih 2.0 di lokasi masing-masing. Gelombang Bersih 2.0 telah bermula di New Zealand dan seterusnya diikuti bandar-bandar utama di Australia, Asia dan Eropah, akhirnya merentasi Lautan Atlantik tiba di bandar-bandar utama di Amerika Utara termasuk Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Portland dan San Francisco. Sinaran matahari terpancar terang di atas peserta-peserta Bersih 2.0 di pelbagai lokasi terutamanya tempat yang bermusim panas. Di Kuala Lumpur pula peserta perhimpunan ditembak gas pemedih mata dan meriam air kimia, hanya diselamatkan bila hujan turun dan membersihkan segalanya! Saat ini merupakan paradigma baru bagi rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya golongan anak muda. Mereka telah mengenali 'Perpaduan dalam Kepelbagaian', suatu konsep yang tidak terbayang sebelum Bersih 2.0. Ada pihak menganggarkan bahawa kira-kira 50,000 rakyat Malaysia telah berkumpul bersama tanpa mengira asal-usul etnik atau agama dan ini merupakan suatu impian yang diidam-idamkan sebelum ini. Sementara itu, rakyat Malaysia di beberapa lokasi seluruh dunia berkumpul dan menunjukkan semangat patriotisme yang amat mengkagumkan. Bagi lokasi di mana rakyat Malaysia telahpun menubuhkan jawatankuasa dan bertemu berkali-kali, perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 telah dianjurkan tanpa banyak rintangan. Namun di sesetengah lokasi, mereka yang tidak pernah menyertai perhimpunan sebelum ini telah mengambil langkah pertama untuk menganjurkan perhimpunan. Hasil segala usaha ini amat memberangsangkan. Jumlah kehadiran adalah seperti berikut: Kotaraya (kehadiran): Wellington (10), Auckland (35), Christchurch (15), Brisbane (100), Sydney (500), Canberra (40), Hobart (30), Melbourne (1000), Adelaide (150), Osaka (14), Seoul (35), Suzhou (20), Taipei (300), Shenzen (20), Hong Kong (80), Perth (120), Singapura Online (63), Singapura Picnic (200), Dubai (40), Kaherah (100), Istanbul (2), Stockholm (10), Graz, Austria (2), Zurich (42), Geneva (12), Paris (30), London (450), Glasgow (30), Belfast (25), Dublin (60), Cork (14), Limerick (11), New York City (130), Ottawa (11), Washington DC (50), Chicago (35), Los Angeles (85), Portland, OR (14), San Francisco (120) Jumlah kehadiran untuk semua 38 lokasi = 4003 peserta. Urutan bandar-bandar mengikut longitud. Selain daripada bilangan kehadiran di lokasi di atas, beberapa laporan rangkaian sosial seperti Facebook, melapurkan ada juga perhimpunan di lokasi-lokasi lain seperti Kemboja, Jerusalem, Frankfurt dll. Tetapi tanpa sumber yang dapat disahkan, perhimpunan2 tersebut tidak diambil kira. Penganjur di Singapura, berhadapan dengan sekatan ke atas perhimpunan awam yang ditimbulkan oleh pihak berkuasa Singapura, mengambil keputusan menunjukkan rasa cinta mereka kepada Ibu Pertiwi dan sokongan mereka terhadap kempen 2.0 Bersih dengan cara online. Walau bagaimanapun, terdapat beberapa orang yang memutuskan untuk berkumpul sambil berkelah di taman popular. Kami telah melaporkan kedua-dua jumlah hadiran. Perhimpunan simpati juga telah diadakan di Manila, Bangkok dan Jakarta tetapi kita tidak juga mengambil kira kehadiran ini. Jawatankuasa Pemandu GLOBAL BERSIH 2.0 mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada semua peserta atas sokongan anda kepada sahutan untuk Pilihanraya Bebas dan Adil dan Demokrasi tulen di Malaysia. Melalui tindakan anda dalam beberapa cara, anda telah menunjukkan bukti yang tidak dapat disangkal bahawa Rakyat Diaspora Malaysia masih memegang Malaysia dengan kesayangan dalam hati anda dan akan kembali jika anda boleh. Anda telah mempertaruhkan tuntutan anda untuk memainkan peranan dalam apa yang berlaku di negeri asal. Walaupun perkasaran yang berlebihan dihadapi oleh Pejalan Bersih 2.0 di Kuala Lumpur, semua lokasi di tempat lain membuktikan bahawa demonstrasi aman adalah sebahagian daripada proses demokrasi dan boleh diuruskan dengan berkesan tanpa kesulitan kepada pihak lain. Ini adalah bukti kematangan rakyat Malaysia dalam kebolehan mereka untuk menyertai sepenuhnya dalam demokrasi yang aktif. Pihak atasan harus memahami tentang ini dan membenarkan evolusi politik Malaysia tanpa halangan. Pelbagai lokasi global mempamerkan kain rentang dan poster, dengan peserta yang memakai KUNING - kemeja-t, tudung, reben dll. Di sesetengah lokasi pembesar suara digunakan untuk menangani orang ramai manakala di lokasi lain yang berkurang hadirin, para peserta membaca dan membincangkan 8 tuntutan. Puisi A Samad Said yang hampir diharamkan dibaca, memorandum dan poster ditandatangani, frasa menarik melaungkan dan Negaraku dinyanyikan dengan semangat. Banyak lokasi juga memanggil untuk pembebasan serta-merta 6 orang tahanan di bawah Ordinan Darurat walaupun mereka tidak melanggarkan undang-undang. Dalam setiap lokasi, pihak berkuasa tempatan membantu para peserta, malah ada yang mencadangkan lokasi yang lebih berkesan untuk berkumpul.. Malangnya, di hampir setiap lokasi, wakil-wakil pihak berkuasa Malaysia telah mengambil gambar dan video dan cuba merekodkan nama-nama peserta. Lebih daripada suasana gembira di perhimpunan tersebut, kesan yang paling ketara dengan Bersih 2.0 Sedunia ialah kesedaran bahawa banyaknya Rakyat Diaspora Malaysia dan anda tidak keseorangan dalam percintaan dan kebimbangan atas Ibu Pertiwi. Anda telah bertemu dan berinteraksi, kebanyakannya buat kali pertama, dengan orang lain seperti anda sendiri yang hidup agak berhampiran tempat tinggal anda. Ini telah mencetuskan keinginan untuk kekal dalam hubungan supaya menjalankan aktiviti-aktiviti yang membantu memperbaiki keadaan negara kita. Jawatankuasa Pemandu BERSIH 2.0 Sedunia bercadang untuk meluaskan aktiviti-aktiviti Bersih 2.0 berterusan dalam negeri dengan menggalakkan aktiviti-aktiviti berikut di peringkat antarabangsa. Aktiviti pertama hingga ketiga ini akan dijalankan oleh lokasi yang berminat mengambil bahagian manakala keempat hingga keenam akan diselaraskan oleh Jawatankuasa Pemandu.
Bersih 2.0 Sedunia adalah titik perubahan di dalam hubungan Rakyat Diaspora Malaysia dengan negeri anda. Ramai daripada anda menunjukkan bahawa anda bersedia untuk membuang kebimbangan anda dan menyumbang ke arah menjadikan tanah air kita negara yang lebih baik sejauhmana yang boleh. Mereka yang berkomitmen, marilah kita membawa kemahiran dan sumber-sumber kita tanggung untuk membantu membina semula negara kita dan memenuhi janji potensi yang ia menunjukkan apabila ia dilahirkan 54 tahun yang lalu. Mari kita bekerja bersama-sama untuk menjadikan Malaysia negara contoh yang hebat.
Jawatankuasa Pemandu BERSIH 2.0 Sedunia
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| Letter from an Old Boy MCKK and Umno Member Posted: 19 Jul 2011 04:17 PM PDT
Siapa nak kahwin dengan anak Raja Petra dipersilakan. Kahwin sebelum nikah pun okay. Bapak mentua tak marah. Kalau tak nak pakai anak Petra, pakai bapak dia pun ok.
Ahmad Azman Saaiya (Old Boy MCKK and Umno Member) Anak Petra dah graduate. Baju nampak lurah dendam lagi. Takpe bapak dia memang mereng nak buat macamana. Siapa nak kahwin dengan anak Raja Petra dipersilakan. Kahwin sebelum nikah pun okay. Bapak mentua tak marah. Cuma syarat nak jadi menantu Petra kena pandai fitnah, pusing fakta semaksima mungkin dan perasan nak jadi kuasa ketiga dalam politik Malaysia. Oh lupa...pastikan anda takde telur macam Petra. Lepas fitnah cabut lari lintang pukang. Damn right Pete, membujur lalu melintang pukang. Kalau tak nak pakai anak Petra, pakai bapak dia pun okay.
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| Bumiputra Scheme to Help Bright Students Sabotaged? Posted: 19 Jul 2011 01:57 PM PDT University Malaya is connivingly working hand in hand with MOHE officials to create a back door entry to Universities for candidates with poorer SPM results but get a CGPA 4.0 in the easier matriculation programs. Four students, 3 with 10As in their SPM and 1 with 12 As. All were rejected for a JPA scholarship to do medicine and were given one of two choices. Matriculation in a government matriculation center or Asasi Sains (Foundation in Science), University Malaya. All chose UM. One year later, after going through a completely disorganized Asasi Sains UM program run by part-time, poorly committed lecturers who had trouble conversing in English, rushed syllabuses and a "tidak-apa" attitude taken by both the Asasi management and the VC, the students literally struggled through cramped daytime and nighttime classes to complete the course in lecture halls numbering sometimes 200 a class. But they struggled because they all wanted to do Medicine. One year later the results are announced. Three of the 10 As students get 3.75, 3.7 and 3.45 while the 12 As student scores 3.85. All had applied to do Medicine. None get Medicine either at the UM or any other IPTA that offers Medicine! In fact some are offered Nursing, Perhutanan, Biomedical Sciences, and Pharmacy. Counselors at the Ministry of Education, Putrajaya were very clinical about their argument saying for Medicine the score must be a CGPA of 4.0, Dentistry 3.9 and Pharmacy 3.8 respectively. But the story does not end there. Their colleagues from various schools who did not do so well and scored between 4As and 6As in their SPM were offered and took up places at the government run matriculation programs and were offered courses at various locations in Penang, Jasin, Banting etc. And, believe it or not, all scored 4.0 flat in their final exams. And this is what takes the cake - all are offered Medicine! One of them at the University of Malaya! This is not subtle dishonesty but overt, bordering on fraud. The University system has clearly been manipulated by a non-standardized "Foundation Studies" scheme. The perpetrators are the Ministry of Education and the Universities themselves. The government and cabinet or its various Ministers in the Education Ministry may not know what's going on but this is what the Little Napoleans at the Ministry of Education are quietly getting away with. The system is hopelessly flawed and I can't wait for Bersih 3.0. I want to really get this government out. It appears that among the so called Bumi fraternity, the cheating is even more horrendous with sabotage taking a new form and a new level. On repeated questioning at the MOHE's new block, now located at the edge of Dengkil in Putrajaya, the counter girls say that all foundation examinations, be it the Matriculation or Asasi are all the same. They further claim that their system is transparent and the Foundation Programs in both Universities and Government Institutions are standardized. And places offered are purely on merit. I have news for the MOHE. They are not! On questioning the head of program at the Asasi Sains Program at University Malaya, her answer is – there are too many 10A students in Asasi and she has been instructed to make the exams as difficult as possible and raise the bar so that as many as possible don't get the 4.0 CGPA! Conversely, this would mean, the University Malaya is connivingly working hand in hand with MOHE officials to create a back door entry to Universities for candidates with poorer SPM results but get a CGPA 4.0 in the easier matriculation programs. Is this a tactic by the little Napoleans in the Ministry of Education to keep brighter Bumiputras out of choice programs? For Bumi parents like us, especially for lower middle income groups, we now realize that it was a horrendous mistake to have sent our children to Asasi Sains UM. Clearly the UM authorities were less then professional. The kid with a CGPA of 3.45 has a tough time now applying to even IMU, AIMST etc, as 3.45 is seen to be a low score. One year of their life have been destroyed by the crooked system UM employs to run their Asasi program. I would like to suggest that all these lop-sided foundation programs run by the government be immediately scrapped and either the STPM or A levels be instituted as the standard foundation program for University entries to prevent all this deceit by both University and Ministry of Education authorities. On second thought, it would be better to make the A-levels as the standard entry requirement, knowing that our infamous Ministry officials may even try to manipulate the STPM results. |
| The Role And Function Of The Police Force In A Kleptocracy Posted: 19 Jul 2011 12:10 PM PDT By Tuan Abu Bakar bin Tuan Abu Khalid Kleptocracy is a government of thieves, by thieves and for thieves. The ruling elite in a kleptocracy governs only to extend its personal wealth and political power by stealing from the state's coffer. The major characteristics of a kleptocracy are rampant corruption, rent-seeking activities, money-laundering and abuses of human rights. Since a kleptocracy benefits only a small section of the population at the expense of the wider population, the modus operandi of the kleptocracy to stay in power is to divide the population along tribal, racial or religious lines. Contemporary kleptocracies often maintain a facade of democracy to camouflage their kleptocratic tendencies. A kleptocracy may have a state constitution, though it is regularly abused to suit the whims and fancies of the ruling elite. Regular elections are also held to enforce the notion of a democratic state. The elections are rigged and manipulated to provide legitimacy to the kleptocracy. Government agencies such as the judicial system, the civil service, the legislative body, the security forces and even the church act as apparatchik of the kleptocracy. The officials holding key positions are rewarded by having a share of the loot. True to the maxim, power comes from the barrel of the gun, the police force is an integral member of the kleptocracy. The primary role of the police force is to provide security and well-being of the kleptocracy. A kleptocracy, being an unjust system of government, brooks dissent and opposition. It is the function of the police force to provide surveillance of any form of dissent. Threats to the well-being of the kleptocracy are eliminated by using ad-hoc laws and regulations or extra-judicial means. Any gathering to express opposition to the kleptocracy is brutally dispersed. However, staged-demonstrations to support the kleptocracy are allowed and protected by the police force. The leadership of the police force is made-up of intellectually-deficient officers. This is is to ensure blind loyalty and total obedience to the ruling elite since they do not have the mental capacity to evaluate the morality or immorality of their actions. Conditioned as the dogs in Pavlov's experiments, they are only motivated by the base instincts of greed and lust. The rank-and-file of the police force is recruited from the bottom of the barrel; those who are not readily-employable in other sectors of the economy. Giddy by the minuscule power derived by being in the force and given tacit license to engage in petty criminal activities, the rank-and-file is committed to the preservation of the status quo. History has shown that the downfall of kleptocracies are directly attributable to the collapse or defection of the police force. Without the police force, a kleptocracy is but a paper tiger. The finality of the Shah of Iran's regime was not portrayed by the photo of the Shah fleeing Iran but by a photo of six dead, naked generals of the SAVAK lying on the damp concrete floor of a morgue in Teheran.
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| Come Again. What is Democracy? Posted: 19 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT By batsman If people do not understand or refuse to understand what democracy is, then such UMNO controlled TV stations will have succeeded in fooling the people to go along with dirty election practices that distort the true will of the people. Looks like confusion reigns again. After 3 years of struggle together for democracy, reforms, justice, transparency, accountability and fairness, after 3 years of struggling together against abuse of power, victimization, injustice, corruption, nepotism and arrogance in government, after marching together hand in hand in the Bersih 2.0 rally facing tear gas, water cannon and police baton charges, some people wake up and are shocked to see who or what their friends in struggle are. The person one admired so much for being such a resolute fighter for reforms turns out to be intolerant of beer drinking, gambling and girls giggling their breasts in public. At least that is what it looks like. However, to be fair, perhaps it is not those who brave tear gas, water cannons, police baton charges, victimization, dirty tricks or arbitrary arrests who are shocked but those who never faced any of these things at all. It is very similar to the phenomenon that those who complain the most about food are those who cannot cook for nuts or those who scold and scream at football players the loudest are those who cannot play football for nuts. These are the critics and commenters of web blogs as well as shallow politicians sucking up to the constituents who scream the most. I suppose these things are a fact of life and part and parcel of the democratic process, but in order to shield those in the front lines from demoralizing screams, perhaps an even better understanding of democracy is needed anew. According to UMNO controlled TV stations, the Arab countries do not have democracy, therefore it is right for the Arabs to rebel and overthrow their governments. However in the case of Malaysia, democracy already exists, so Malaysians have no right to even protest, even if such protests are peaceful and call for free and fair elections to ensure that clean elections represent the will of the people most accurately (i.e. best practice democracy) and are not manipulated to reflect the will of a minority of power brokers playing dirty tricks. If people do not understand or refuse to understand what democracy is, then such UMNO controlled TV stations will have succeeded in fooling the people to go along with dirty election practices that distort the true will of the people. Similarly if people in the front lines of reform as well as their backers and critics do not understand what they are fighting for i.e. democracy, quite a few will become demoralized and drop out of the struggle. Modern democracy does not just mean the rule of the majority. This inadequate definition has fooled quite a lot of weak minded inadequate simpletons into making the wrong political decisions. Modern democracy also includes protecting the legitimate rights of the minority – not just legitimate human, property and civil rights of racial or religious minorities, but also minorities in terms of ideas and opinions. The rule of the majority that tramples on the legitimate rights of minorities especially minority opinions is not considered a properly functioning democracy and can lead to a situation such as majority Serbs trampling on the rights of minority Bosnians or majority Hutus committing genocide on minority Tutsis. Where it pertains to majorities or minorities of humans, a majority cannot adequately protect the rights of minorities who are their intractable "to the death" enemies. Fortunately such situations rarely occur. Humans are basically the same whatever skin colour they have. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for ideas and ideologies. Conflicting ideas and ideologies can be intractable "to the death" bitter enemies because ideas do not bleed, die or suffer like humans do. Conflicting ideas can remain pure and bitter enemies even if humans die by the millions because of them. This is the greatest danger to democracies. In Malaysia's case, even if PAS sincerely fights for democracy and reforms. Even if PAS is the most consistent in the fight against abuse of power, corruption, discrimination and injustice, can it be expected to protect intractable "to the death" Islamophobes? Fortunately if humans treat each other with respect and are willing to negotiate and discuss conflicting ideas and values in a civilized and peaceful manner, there is a form of control over dangerous extreme conflicting ideas. In Malaysia, people have to learn to respect each other as humans first before trying to talk about race and religion, not the other way round. I think this has in the main been achieved. No one can say for sure, but I believe PAS prefers to consider the human being first rather than his Islamophobic ideas. UMNO, on the other hand places its political agenda of Ketuanan Melayu in the forefront in an intractable manner. Even if this tactic is just to cover up the corruption and abuse of a small minority of crooks and cronies, it is an extremely dangerous political position to take because Ketuanan Melayu takes no prisoners, has no respect for minorities and brooks no dissent. PAS even if places Islam foremost in its political agenda, Islam is a merciful and tolerant religion that places justice, fairness and consultation in an extremely high place and demands categorically that Muslims protect the rights of minorities. There is no intractable "to the death" conflict between democracy and Islam. Unfortunately, when the global situation is considered, the west often implies that there is an intractable conflict between democracy and Islam such that it picks on Malaysia as a rare and precious role model of "moderate Islam" that it can live with. I do not know how Ketuanan Melayu and UMNO's "moderate Islam" can jive together harmoniously for ordinary Malaysians unless the west chooses to close both eyes on Ketuanan Melayu. At any rate UMNO's "moderate Islam or civilized Islam" is just a fancy term for secular and westernised in content and Islamic only in form. This is the only type of Islam the west can accept and choose to live with while closing both eyes to Ketuanan Melayu. Malaysians, both Muslims and non-Muslims on the other hand have no such choice and have to live with Islam whether it is of the UMNO Hadhari type or PAS type. Trying to escape this fact would be the greatest and most pathetic self-denial ever. Unfortunately, some Malaysian non-Muslims (I suspect those who are not in the front line of the fight for democracy and reforms) prefer to accept western ways and ideologies blindly and turn into western type Islamophobes. This is taking a political position that will most likely result in their complete isolation. Some chose the easy (or hard) way out and migrate to the western countries that they admire so much while others quietly wait their turn. That is their decision. Those who choose to stay and become full blooded Malaysians have to face reality and come to terms with the Malaysian context or risk complete political isolation. This is not a death sentence as you might think. The choice is a simple one between working under UMNO which practices a western secular lifestyle but retains a veneer of Islamic authority to keep both Muslims and non-Muslims under control while UMNO milks the country as a cash cow in its capacity as Ketuanan type lord and master; OR working with PAS which rejects western decadence and corruption but in justice and fairness, accepts progress, reforms and democracy (including democratic protests and dissent) under Islamic principles, at the same time is intolerant of abuse of minorities, corruption, robbery, rape, theft or murder as an influential member of the PR coalition. Democracy is not just the hypocritical US type that is meant to serve US interests. Any home grown democracy has to take local conditions into account. Otherwise it is just dangerous self-denial that blocks any realistic solutions to problems. Malaysians have to work together seriously to create a Malaysian democracy that Malaysians can live with, not blindly and obsessively insist on the US type of democracy. Shallow politicians have to stop acting like hysterical young girls and control their screams every time something looks uncomfortable or strange or act out their visions based only on ideas without consideration for human beings.. Of course the above positions are purposely described to be stark in-your-face choices. In reality, there are a lot more choices yet undescribed. There is also a lot of room to maneuver still and the choice need not be made for some time yet – perhaps not even at all. I don't claim to be a prophet who can predict what the future holds. Still, the choices presented are worth thinking about in terms of the type of democracy possible in Malaysia and what your preferred choice is as well as what course of action you may decide to take, don't you think? |
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