Ahad, 31 Mac 2013

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


God-given right (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:44 PM PDT

Anyway, as I said, only roughly 10% of Malaysia's population is Christian. Hence how can only 10% be right? Muslims make up more than 50% of Malaysia's population. In a democracy do we not go on the basis that the majority is correct while the minority is wrong? Well, at least that is what many of you say judging by the comments you post in Malaysia Today.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Churches packed as thousands mark anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ

(The Star) - MALACCA: Christians here and across the country observed the most solemn day of the Holy Week Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago.

The 303-year-old St Peter's Church here saw a massive candlelight late evening procession steeped in tradition as thousands of pilgrims and devotees from Malaysia and Singapore converged here.

Besides taking part in the procession, which moved out from the country's oldest operational Catholic church into the streets for a third consecutive year, participants also witnessed the most sombre aspect of the ceremony where the Dead Lord statue resting on a wooden bier was carried amid the singing of mournful Latin lamentations.

The massive crowd with lighted candles made their way out of the church compound along the upper reaches of Jalan Tun Sri Lanang before turning into Jalan Munshi Abdullah.

With church servers and clergy heading the procession, it also made its way into Jalan Bunga Raya before heading back to the church after a 2.5km route.

At churches across the country Christians turned up in droves to attend the main mass at 3pm, the hour Christ died on the cross.

In Puchong, Selangor, devotees of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church braved the weather to witness a re-enactment of Christ's passion and death.

Members of the church's youth wing acted out the re-enactment, dressed in costumes and used make up to lend a sense of realism in portraying the solemn event.

Peter Thomas, 52, said the re-enactment was done annually to remind devotees of Christ's sacrifice for their sins.

"We believe Christ endured torture, ridicule and ultimately crucifixion to redeem our sins," he said.

During the Stations of the Cross devotion, pictures in the church and the main crucifix at the altar were draped in purple cloth to symbolise mourning.

The cloth will be in place till Easter Sunday when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

Parish priest Father Leonard Lexson then led the congregation in a solemn mass, which was conducted in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

He said the whole theme of the Holy Week was to remember what Christ did.

"Before the death of Jesus, there was no meaning to death.

"But after this, the Lord himself gave meaning to it.

"His death brings new life to us all," he said.

**********************************************

About 10% of Malaysia's population is Christian. While Malaysian Muslims are mainly Sunnis, the Christians are divided into Anglicans, Baptists, Brethren, non-denominational churches, independent Charismatic churches, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterian, Roman Catholics and so on. And some Christians regard the other Christians as not true Christians but heretics.

A fragmented minority population in Malaysia believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected after three days. Furthermore, a minority population in Malaysia believes that Jesus Christ is of a virgin birth. And a minority population in Malaysia believes that Jesus Christ is the saviour and that our salvation is through Him.

Do you want to know what I believe? I believe that the story of Jesus dying on the cross was fabricated to give Jesus an image of being special. I also believe that the historical Jesus and the mythical Jesus are two different people who were 'born' at different times. Furthermore, I believe that Jesus was not of virgin birth because, according to some stories I read, Jesus had elder brothers -- hence Mary was not a virgin when Jesus was born.

I also believe that Jesus was a Jew who was concerned with the deviant Jewish teachings and had tried to bring the Jews back to the right path but Paul later invented a new religion called Christianity and falsely credited that new religion to Jesus. And I further believe that Paul fabricated the so-called holy book called the Bible and that the Bible did not come from God.

Does my belief trouble you? Well, I have a God-given right to my belief and I also have a God-given right to tell you what I believe. I am not disparaging you or vilifying you for believing what I consider silly old wives tales and mythical stories. I am not even running down your beliefs even though I consider them silly. I respect your beliefs but that does not take away my right to tell you what I believe and tell you that I do not share your beliefs.

Some of you think that Islam is an evil religion. And you think so because you consider Islam a violent religion. Well, that is your belief and you are entitled to your belief. Actually, all religions are violent with a very low tolerance for those of other religions. It is just that in this day and age we can no longer kill people of other religions like we could in the good old days, say, of 500 years ago.

If not because of that we would still be killing people of other religions until today. In fact, in some parts of the world, wherever they are able to get away with it, the killing is still going on. Hence no religion believes in freedom of religion. All religions believe that killing in the name of God is allowed and in some cases even encouraged.

The Christians say that Islam is a violent religion only because the Christians can no longer kill the Jews and Muslims like they used to do in the not so long ago past. Anyway, did not President Bush attack Iraq because, according to him, God whispered in his ear and asked him to do so? And that was not really that long ago and the Americans are still in Iraq until today.

So spare me the holier-than-thou moralising. All religionists are the same. And don't give me that lame excuse that that was a long time ago and is no longer so today. You mean God sent down the latest/amended version of the Bible/Qur'an in 2012?

Anyway, as I said, only roughly 10% of Malaysia's population is Christian. Hence how can only 10% be right? Muslims make up more than 50% of Malaysia's population. In a democracy do we not go on the basis that the majority is correct while the minority is wrong? Well, at least that is what many of you say judging by the comments you post in Malaysia Today.

Hence if the majority is correct and the minority is wrong, then the Muslims are correct while the Christians are straying up the wrong path. And the Christians should, therefore, abandon their misguided beliefs and come back to the right path, Islam. The minority should correctly follow the majority. That is how it works in a democracy where the majority rules and the minority are ruled and must bow to the majority.

This is also the same regarding the political culture of Malaysia. Since the majority are with Pakatan Rakyat then you, the minority, should also support Pakatan Rakyat. And since the majority believe that Anwar Ibrahim is the saviour of the country and that the country's salvation lie in the hands of Anwar then all of you should also follow Anwar. The minority has no place in Malaysia and has no business in voicing out their minority views.

That is how it works.

And if the minority expresses anything opposed to the majority belief then we can disparage and vilify these people and heckle them and call them names. And this was what Zul Nordin rightfully did when he made fun of Hinduism, another minority religion in Malaysia. Zul was only doing what the other majorities in Malaysia are currently doing to the minority. So there is nothing wrong with what Zul did.

After all, in Malaysia, only the majority has the right to speak while the minority does not have that same right. And if you do not believe me then read the comments posted in Malaysia Today. There is enough evidence there to support what I say.

******************************************

上帝赐予的权力

无论如何,正如我说过,只有10%是基督徒,那请问10%怎么会是对的呢?马来西亚人口有50%都是穆斯林,而在我们对民主的看法里,多数就是对的,少数就是错的,不是吗?这就你们在MT上留言的结论。

原文:Raja Petra Kamarudin

译文:方宙

大约10%的大马人口是基督徒。在大马穆斯林多是逊尼教徒的当而,基督徒可分为圣公宗,浸信会,再洗礼派,灵恩派,信义宗,循道宗,天主会等等。有些基督徒会认为其他教会的教徒并不是真的教徒,甚至会认为他们是异教徒。

有一小部分的大马人口认为耶稣死在十字架上,且在三天后复活。此外,有人认为耶稣是个处女生出来的。也有人认为耶稣是我们的救世主,而我们通过他才得永生。

你想知道我是怎样想的吗?我相信耶稣死在十字架上是个捏造出来的故事,目的是要给耶稣制造一个特别的形象。我也相信史实上的耶稣和神化的耶稣是两个不同的人,而且在不同的时间出生。在来,我不认为耶稣是个处女生出来的,因为在我读到的故事里,耶稣他是有个哥哥的,所以说圣母玛利亚在生耶稣的时候不是个处女。

我也相信耶稣是个犹太人。他对偏离犹太教义的教规感到担心而想要把犹太人带回正途,而保罗发明了所谓的基督教而把它说成是耶稣的新宗教。我也认为保罗也编造了圣经,圣经并不是上帝的语言。

我相信的东西烦扰了你吗?我相信我有上帝赐予的权力去相信我要相信的东西,而我也有权力告诉你我相信些什么。我并没有因你相信我认为是很荒谬,很迷信的东西而来诋毁你。我也并不会过问和质疑你的信仰,虽然说我认为那很可笑。我尊重你的信仰,但那并不代表就有人可以拿走我告诉你我信仰的权力,和我告诉你我并不认同你信仰的权力。

你们当中有人认为伊斯兰教是邪恶的,因为伊斯兰是个暴力的宗教。当然你有你相信的权力。事实上,所有宗教都是暴力的,都不能容忍其他不同的宗教。只是说我们现在,不像500年前,不能再任意残杀其他宗教的教徒。

如果不是那样,我们早就互相残杀了!今时今日在有些地区,当有机会时,宗教残杀还是存在的。所以说,没有宗教会让你选择其他宗教。所有宗教都认为以上帝的名义来杀害他人是可以的,而且有些时候还是被鼓励的。

基督徒声称伊斯兰是暴力的;这是因为他们不能再像以往一样任意宰杀犹太人和穆斯林。无论如何,在小布斯发兵攻击伊拉克时,他不就是说是上帝在他耳朵里叫他这样做的吗?那还是不久以前吧,而现在美国还没有从伊拉克撤退呢。

所以请别来跟我大谈'我比你还神圣'的狗屁道理。所有宗教都是一样的。也别来跟我说,噢那是以前的做法,现在不同了。那是不是代表上帝在2012年给了你新版本的圣经/可兰经呢?

无论如何,正如我说过,只有10%是基督徒,那请问10%怎么会是对的呢?马来西亚人口有50%都是穆斯林,而在我们对民主的看法里,多数就是对的,少数就是错的,不是吗?这就你们在MT上留言的结论。

所以如果多数是对的,少数是错的,那穆斯林就是对的而基督徒就是走在歧途上。进而基督徒应该放弃错的信仰而回归伊斯兰这条正途。少数应因该服从多数,这就是你们所谓的民主:少数应该对多数叩头。

这也是马来西亚政治文化的写照:既然多数人都支持民联,你身为少数者就必须跟着支持民联。当多数人相信安华是马来西亚救世主时,你也就必须相信他。少数人在这根本就没地方可站,根本就没有发言的余地。

这就是我们的政治文化。

当那些少数人发表对多数人不利的言论时,我们就可以诋毁他们,刁难他们,干屌他们。这正是Zul Nordin 取笑兴都教,一个少数人的宗教,时的作为。而Zul 所做的正是大马多数人会对少数人所作的事情,所以他并没有做错什么。

所以说,在今天的大马,只有多数人有权力发言,少数人只能闭嘴。如果你不相信的话,请去看MT的留言;你将会看到一大堆的证据。

 

 

What's good for the goose is good for the gander (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 06:31 PM PDT

So you, just like Marina, must take the blame for what your parents did. And because your parents are guilty of the state the country is in, you, just like Marina, have lost the right to speak. Marina must not speak since her father is to be blamed for what happened to Malaysia. You, too, must therefore not speak because your parents are to be blamed for what happened to Malaysia.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Yesterday, a friend from Malaysia phoned me and was very upset with the comments posted in Malaysia Today, in particular those that whacked me. I told him not to worry about it because, measured over any 30-day period, Malaysia Today has more than 700,000 unique readers. So 100-200 nasty comments is not a reflection of the majority view.

I get more private e-mails and messages of support compared to those nasty comments posted in the Internet. And those comments posted in Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today, and so on, are mostly duplicates. They are the same people posting all over the place. These are trolls who will post negative comments never mind what you say. It is not the issue that they address but the person that they whack.

I have also detected many comments from the same person but posted under different names and e-mail addresses but their IP addresses are the same. This gives an impression of many people commenting but actually they are the same person commenting many times under different identities.

These are what we would call hecklers. You see them at football games as well. They will also heckle the players because of their race/ethnicity rather than because of the way they play football. And most of these hecklers would not be able to score a goal even if their life depended on it. Yet they heckle others as if they are great footballers themselves. And most of these hecklers are people with very low intellectuality. Because of their inability to engage in an intellectual discourse they resort to heckling.

For example, they will also heckle Marina Mahathir even when she makes a very sensible statement just because she is the daughter or Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In fact, what Marina says is what many in the opposition are also saying. And she even attended the Bersih march, mind you. But even if Marina said we need more freedom of religion (which means Muslims can leave Islam if they so wish) and the rights of LBGTs should be protected (which means we should allow gay marriages) they will still whack her not because they don't agree with what she says but because she is the daughter of Dr Mahathir.

If you should be whacked for what your parents did then no one should be spared a whacking. Remember what happened in the 2004 general election? That was the year that Barisan Nasional made history in the 11th General Election. And who was it that gave Barisan Nasional this most impressive victory?

Many of you will say, "That was not me. That was my parents. My parents voted for Barisan Nasional, as they did in 1999, 1995, 1990 and so on."

In fact, in 1995, even the 'giants' of DAP lost the election. Do you remember that? "That was not me, that was my parents."

Well, Marina gets whacked because of what her father did. You disparage her and vilify her because she is the daughter of Tun Dr Mahathir. Hence when I disparage and vilify you for what your parents did in 2004, 1999, 1995 and 1990, am I wrong? And if not because of your parents Dr Mahathir would not have been in power for 22 years and Umno for 56 years.

So you, just like Marina, must take the blame for what your parents did. And because your parents are guilty of the state the country is in, you, just like Marina, have lost the right to speak. Marina must not speak since her father is to be blamed for what happened to Malaysia. You, too, must therefore not speak because your parents are to be blamed for what happened to Malaysia.

Why do you resent me calling the Chinese and Indians bodoh for voting for Barisan Nasional all those many years? It may be your parents who did this. However, just like Marina needs to be disparaged and vilified for what her father did, then so should you. That is called 'one standard for all', not one standard for you and a different standard for others.

Another issue that these people raise is regarding my financial backers. They want to know who is financing Malaysia Today. If you want to know because you want to contribute to paying the cost of running Malaysia Today then I shall be very happy to sit down with you to discuss this matter. I will certainly show you my P&L and Balance Sheet.

I start work at about 5.00am every day. Those who contact me at around lunchtime Malaysian time know this. Those who have visited me in Manchester and have spent the night in my house also know this. Mat Sabu of PAS can in fact confirm this as can those others who have stayed at my house.

I normally do not stop work until after lunchtime (dinnertime Malaysian time) and I continue for another couple of hours at teatime and maybe 3-4 hours after dinnertime. In all, I spend about 10-12 hours a day on Malaysia Today, seven days a week, 365 days a year, holidays included. All in all, I spend 3,600-4,300 hours a year doing work for Malaysia Today.

Let's average it at 4,000 hours a year. At the minimum wage of £6 an hour, that comes to £24,000 or RM120,000 a year. And that is minimum wage, mind you. If I were an editor of a commercial website I would receive much more than that. Nevertheless, £24,000 a year is what I would also get if I worked 8-10 hours a day as a chef in a restaurant here in the UK.

Then we need three technical people on 24 hours standby at three shifts. And we need these people because Malaysia Today is constantly under DDOS attack. Even as you read this we are being subjected to attacks. In fact, we have been under attack this entire month, the worse being this week.

Further to that, we need to pay for hosting and bandwidth. And our bandwidth is very high, mind you, and that is why we are still up and running when many other sites are down due to the traffic being too high.

Hence we need to pay at least RM20,000 a month or RM240,000 a year just to keep Malaysia Today running. With my minimum wage included that comes to a total of RM360,000 a year or RM30,000 a month.

Now, if you are concerned about the finances of Malaysia Today and the reason you want to know who is financing Malaysia Today is because of this concern, I will be very happy to sit down with you to discuss our financial needs. I will also allow you to see all the bills we have been paying over the last nine years since August 2004. I have all the documents to show you.

But take note, though, even if you send me RM30,000 every month that still does not mean you can control me or dictate what goes into Malaysia Today. Back in 2010, Anwar Ibrahim met me in London and gave me £1,000 cash. But I still whacked him.

Anwar then asked for my bank account and promised that someone from London is going to send me £1,000 every month. I gave him my bank account details and the first payment did come in. However, I still whacked him so they stopped sending me money after that.

Hence, even if you send me money that does mean I will do what you want me to do, as Anwar discovered. And you can ask Anwar about this because I have bank statements showing this money coming in -- plus, when he gave me the first £1,000 cash in 2010 during a meeting with Friends of Pakatan Rakyat, more than a dozen people saw Anwar pulling me aside before the meeting started to hand me the money. Yet I still whacked him in that meeting.

After saying all that, I also wish to declare that there is one person I have never met, a Chinese chap who is a Pakatan Rakyat supporter, who is sending me RM3,000 every month. And he has been doing so since the last couple of years. To this unknown person I am very grateful.

And I know he is Chinese and a Pakatan Rakyat supporter because he got in touch with one of our chaps in Malaysia (through my introduction) to discuss what more he could do to help Pakatan Rakyat win the coming general election. He also offered to carry the cost of whatever it is they needed to do.

He does not ask so many stupid questions like many of you do. He just asks what he can do to help and how much he needs to pay to see Pakatan Rakyat succeed in the elections. I am yet to meet this person face-to-face though.

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对母鹅有好处的,也将对公鹅有好处。


你,就如玛丽娜,要为你父母担罪。你的父母是促使国家变成现在这样的元凶,你因而丧失了发言的权利。玛丽娜因她父亲对马来西亚的作为而必须闭嘴,你现在也应该闭嘴,因为是你的父母把马来西亚逼成这个样子。

 

原文:Raja Petra Kamarudin
译文:方宙

我昨天接到一个从马来西亚打来的电话,在电话里我的朋友对MT里边的读者言论(尤其是针对我的攻击)感到生气。我告诉他其实他大可不必担心,因为现在MT每30天大约会有70万的来访者,所以区区100-200个留言并不代表大众的看法。

我也收到很多支持我的电邮和短信。而那些在Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today 等的留言大都是重复的。他们都是同一个人在不同网站写下同样的留言。

无论你的论点是什么,这群白烂永远只会留下负面留言。他们不是针对课题,更多是针对个人作出攻击。

我也查觉到,很多留言都出自同一个人 (同一个IP),但他们都用不同的名字和邮箱。他们要其他人认为是不同的人在留言,但其实都是同一个人多次以不同人名来留言。

我把这些人统称为'刁难者';他们也经常出现在足球赛,他们会因足球员的肤色而非技术来刁难辱骂足球员。这些刁难员就连进个球的功夫也没有,但他们会以为自己是球王比利般来刁难别人。这些一般都是低知识的一群,正因他们不大有知识,不能进行理性探讨,所以以语言刁难为己长。

我举个例子,他们会不停的刁难玛丽娜,即使她提出很有道理的理论,就只因为她是马哈迪的女儿。事实上,很多时候玛丽娜讲的东西正是反对党所提倡的,她甚至参与Bersih游行。虽然玛丽娜致力提倡宗教自由(包括穆斯林可以离教)和保护LBGT权益(即合法化同性恋结婚),他们还是不停的臭骂骚扰她,就因为她是马哈迪女儿。

如果说一个人应该为他父母所作的事情而被辱骂的话,那我们所有人将无一幸免。记得2004大选吗?国阵在那年取得了空前的大胜,那请问,是谁让国阵大胜的?

你们当中会有很多人说:"那不是我,那是我父母。他们在1999,1995,1990。。。。时投给国阵的。"

在1995年,就连行动党巨人林吉祥也惨败,你还记得吗?"那不是我,那是我父母"

现在,玛丽娜因她父亲干的事情而被你臭骂。你侮辱和丑化她,因为她是马哈迪的女儿。

所以,我要因你们父母在2004,1999,1995,1990作的事情而侮辱和丑化你,因为如果不是他们的话马哈迪就不会掌权22年,巫统就不会掌权56年。

你,就如玛丽娜,要为你父母担罪。你的父母是促使国家变成现在这样的元凶,你因而丧失了发言的权利。玛丽娜因她父亲对马来西亚的作为而必须闭嘴,你现在也应该闭嘴,因为是你的父母把马来西亚逼成这个样子。

为什么你这么讨厌我因华人和印度人投票给国阵而称他们为蠢蛋呢?你的父母可能是他们当中一员。现在,正如玛丽娜因为她父亲的作为而必须承受侮辱和丑化,你也一样。这就是'一视同仁'。

另外一个课题就是这些刁难者质疑我的金钱来源。他们要知道是谁在支撑着MT。如果你要打开钱包资助MT的日常费用的话,我将会很高兴的和你坐下细谈。我一定会把帐目摊开给你看。

我每天早上5点开始工作,那些在马来西亚午饭时间联络我的人就会知道。那些曾在曼杰斯特探望我和在我家过夜的人都应该知道。伊斯兰党的Mat Sabu 就可以作证。

我通常会一直做到午饭时间(即大马晚饭时间),然后会多做1-2小时到下午茶时间,有时在晚饭后我会做个3-4小时。亦即说,我一天大概花10-12小时在MT上,一年365天全年无休(假期在内)。算起来,我一年就有3600-4300小时花在MT上。

让我们拿4000小时这个平均,英国最低时新为6英镑。所以一年是2万4千镑(约12万马币)。请记得那是最低时薪;如果我是一家公司的编辑的话,我肯定会比那赚得多。无论如何,2万4在英国大约是一个厨师的年薪吧。

然后,我们需要3个技术员,分3个班段24小时工作。MT经常会遭到DDOS攻击。就你读到这边时,我们正是被攻击中。我们这整个月都被攻击,尤以这个星期最为糟糕。

再者,我们必须付宽频与托管费。你应该很了解,我们的频率是很高的,这就是为什么即使我们有很高的探访率我们的网页也能正常操作。

所以说,我们每月至少需要2万马币(每年24万)来经营MT。如果加入我自己的最低薪水的话,那就至少得3万。

所以说,如果你对MT的财政深感关心而想要知道是谁在支撑MT的话,我将会很高兴得和你坐下来详谈我们的财政需求。我会让你看到过去九年(从2004年8月起)的所有帐单。

但是请注意,即使你每个月给我3万块钱,这也不代表你能够支配我和控制MT的操作所发表的文章。在2010年,安华在伦敦和我会面,给了我1000英镑,而我还是狠狠地干屌他。

过后,安华跟我拿了我的银行账号,答应我说每个月会有人把1000英镑打给我。我当时给了他,然后真的有人寄1000镑给我。但我还是继续的在骂他,然后他们就停止寄钱给我了。

所以说,你给了我钱以后并不代表你可以叫我做事情,安华他就明白这一点。你也可以跟安华问个明白,我还保留着银行的单子,而且,2010年他给我钱的时候是在'Friends of Pakatan Rakyat'的会议中。有很多证人看到他把我拉到了一旁,把钱塞给我。但,我还是在同一个会议里干屌他。

讲了这么多以后,我在这边要宣布,有一个华人(我不懂他是谁)每个月会寄3000马币。我对他心存感激。

我知道他是个民联支持者,因为他曾和我的'团员'在马来西亚碰面(经我介绍的),而当时他问到有什么方法可以令民联在来届大选胜出。他也表示他愿意承担任何代价,只要民联能胜出的话。

他并没有像你们一样问太多愚蠢的问题。他只是问他应该怎么帮忙,和他应该付多少钱来帮助民联。而我到现在为止还没有和他碰过面。 

One reason why the Chinese are angry (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 08:09 PM PDT

We speak about justice. But to most Malaysians justice is just about what you receive in court. Justice is not just about the legal system. Justice is also whether the education system has been fair to you. And if it is not fair to you then you have been denied justice.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I always tell my friends that there are two things of great concern to me. One would be the education system and the other the healthcare system. At least that would be my order of priority, mainly because of what age I am. Third, of course, would be my ability to cari makan (earn a living). But, again, at my age, my concern would be my retirement life rather than my working life. Housing would probably tie with cari makan, or at the very least come to a very close fourth.

I rank education as the first item on my list of priorities because that is how you start your life. You start your life by getting educated and unless you receive this education then the rest of your life is not going to be a bed of roses.

Towards the end of your life -- like what is happening to me now where I maybe have ten or 15 years left if I am lucky -- your health becomes the main concern. Hence that is the second item on my list of priorities.

In between this -- say for 40 years from age 20 to age 60 -- you need to 'live'. And to live you need a job or a career. And this job and career would depend on what type of education you received.

So I break up my life into three parcels. Parcel one, the first 20 years or so, you receive an education. Parcel two, the next 40 years, you cari makan. And parcel three, the last 20 years of your life (if you are lucky enough to live till 80), you just need to look after your health (or else you will not reach parcel three and will die during parcel two).

So when I look at a good government, I will measure this 'good government' by its policies on education and healthcare. Will this government provide good and cheap (or better still, free) education and healthcare? Are the education and healthcare systems comparable or better than those in the advanced countries? (We must remember that just because a certain country is 'advanced', say like the US, this does not mean that its education and/or healthcare system are anything to shout about).

Once we are assured of these two very basic and very crucial services, we then need to consider the job and career opportunities that the government or country can offer its citizens so that we can have a decent lifestyle and quality of life. However, if we are not educated (or not well-educated) and our health suffers, how well the economy may be doing and how much job opportunities there are is no bloody good to us. We will either be too unqualified to get a job or too sick to cari makan anyway.

Once we are a recipient of a good education and our health is well looked after, plus we have a decent home and a reasonably good car to move around and to get to work, we will start looking at the other features of a 'good' government. And these would be, of course, good governance, transparency, accountability, no or minimum corruption, press freedom, freedom of choice (regarding religion, sexual orientation, association, etc.), no discrimination and persecution (based on race, religion and gender), a good legal system (good and just laws, independence of the judiciary, etc.), and so on.

Ideally, we would want ALL OF THE ABOVE. Nevertheless, while I too want all of the above, what I am mentioning here is my list of priorities -- what comes first and what comes later. We need first to be educated and healthy to enjoy good governance, transparency, accountability, no or minimum corruption, press freedom, freedom of choice (regarding religion, sexual orientation, association, etc.), no discrimination and persecution (based on race, religion and gender), a good legal system (good and just laws, independence of the judiciary, etc.), and so on. If we are not armed with a good education and are suffering from, say leprosy, no good government is of any use to us.

We speak about justice. But to most Malaysians justice is just about what you receive in court. Justice is not just about the legal system. Justice is also whether the education system has been fair to you. And if it is not fair to you then you have been denied justice.

Justice is also about whether when you are sick you are given medical treatment. If you need to be a millionaire before you can afford treatment, and if you are poor then you will die, that is not justice. Why can only the rich be given medical treatment while the poor need to die because they do not have money for medical treatment? And this happens in even the so-called advanced countries.

To the Chinese, the first item, education, is very important. If you get through that first level, then the second and final levels can take care of themselves. With a good education, the second part of your life (20 to 60) will be smooth sailing and once you reach the final part of your life (after 60), and with savings of at least RM3 million in the bank, you will be able to look after your health even if you need to pay for the healthcare yourself.

And that is what you will need to retire on at today's standard and cost of living once you reach 60 -- RM3 million. This will increase as we go along, of course, and by 2030 it will have to be more than RM3 million. But if you retired today that is what you need if you are going to live for at least another 15 or 20 years -- RM3 million.

But how do you accumulate RM3 million in savings if you work in McDonalds or earn only RM2,000 a month? You can't even pay for your living expenses let alone save RM3 million over 40 years.

RM3 million over 40 years is RM75,000 a year or RM6,250 a month. So you need to earn at least RM10,000-15,000 a month and with the income/dividends on your EFP savings you may eventually see RM3 million in your account by the time you retire at age 60. (I am just doing a rough calculation here so please do not split hairs on the figures).

So, unless you have a good tertiary education, there is no way you can earn RM10,000 a month or more. And if you can't earn RM10,000 or more a month then you will not have RM3 million in your EPF by the time you retire at age 60. And that means it is bad news for you.

Furthermore, you need to set aside at least RM300,000 for each kid to enter university (for at least three years) and RM1 million if this kid does medicine. And if you have five children, like many Malay families do, me included, you need millions just to see all your kids through university (I know because I paid for my kids university education in the UK from my own pocket).

And this is one major bone of contention to the Chinese. The Chinese need to dig deep into their pockets to send their children to an overseas university. Then they see the Malay kids in overseas universities receiving government aid even though some (or many) of these Malay kids do not quite make the grade.

If I were Chinese I would be upset. Even as a Malay I am upset because I have had to spend a lot of my own money putting my kids though college/university at my own expense. Then I see the kids of the Yang Berhormat, Tan Sri, Datuk Seri, Datuk, and so on enjoying their life in the UK at taxpayers' expense and bringing home Mercedes Benzes and BMWs when they return to Malaysia.

The government (whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat) has to understand this. And, of course, the Chinese blame the New Economic Policy (NEP) for this great injustice. But the government is not about to abolish the NEP. The NEP is a powerful political tool. It keeps Umno in power and if abolished Umno will be out of power.

Even Pakatan Rakyat will not dare abolish the NEP. If they do that would be the end of Malay support for Pakatan Rakyat. At best Pakatan Rakyat can declare that it will review the NEP and make it fairer and more equitable, without giving any specific details.

Okay, in what way is the NEP going to be made fairer and more equitable? Will UiTM be opened up to the non-Malays? Will 40-50% of places in local universities be opened up to the Chinese, Indians, Orang Asal and natives of East Malaysia? Would 50% of students sent overseas be from the non-Malay community?

Yes, what are the details of this fairer and more equitable NEP?

And note that I am only talking about education, the first item on my list of priorities. I am yet to talk about places in the civil service, business opportunities, licences, permits, quotas, plus a host of other things.

And before you start posting comments accusing me of asking you to vote for BN or saying that you are still going to vote Pakatan Rakyat and scream ABU and so on, this article is not about that. It is about justice. And justice, or the lack of it, is colour-blind.

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其中一个让华人很生气的原因

我们经常提到正义/公正。对很多马来西亚人来说,正义/公正只局限于法庭内。其实,正义不应该只限于司法系统。正义也取决于教育系统。如果你得不到公平的教育机会,那根本毫无(社会)正义可言。

原文:Raja Petra Kamarudin

译文:方宙

我常跟我朋友谈及两样我认为很重要的东西,一为教育,二为医疗,第三才是'找吃carimakan'(这个顺序很大原因跟我的年龄有关)。当然,身为一个退休人士,我看重的然是我的退休生活而不是我的工作环境。房屋一般来讲跟赚钱有很大关系,但如果要把它们分开的话,房屋会是第四重要的。

我把教育列为第一,因为一个人未来的生活都视乎于所受的教育。你的生活是被你学到的东西所定型的,所以,除非你学习东西不然你的生活将会不大好过。

当你年迈了----正如我一般,我还有个10年就偷笑了----你的健康将会逐渐成为你主要考虑的问题。所以,我把医疗列为第二。

期间,你需要'生活'。你要生活你就必须工作/有事业,而你的事业很大取决于你受的教育。

所以,我把人生归纳为三个阶段。第一个阶段,在你出生后的二十年里,你开始接受教育。第二阶段,往后的40年里,你开始'找吃'。最后的二十年里,你只需要关注你的健康(假设你在前60年都有关注你的健康,你才能走到第三阶段)。

所以当我评估一个好的政府时,我会以他们的教育与医疗方针为主。这个政府会提供素质且便宜(最好是免费啦)的教育与医疗吗?它的教育与医疗系统能够媲美先进国吗?(当然,这也不是说所有先进国的教育或医疗系统都是很好的,如美国的医疗系统)

当我们有了这两个基本且重要的元素以后,我们就要考虑这个政府有没有能力提供就业机会促使国民过上安稳的生活。如果我们都是没有教育且身弱的一群,那不管经济多强,就业机会多好,对我们来说都是没用的。因为我们根本就没有资历或体力去'找吃'

所以说,在拥有了良好的教育与健康,加上安定的住处和便捷的交通工具(以移动和上班)后,我们才应该开始注重政府的其他问题。这包括管理能力,透明,信用,廉政,资讯自由,选择权自由(宗教,性取向,社会团体等等),公平治国(针对种族,宗教,性别),司法方针(公平的法律,司法自由)等。

在一个理想的环境中,能够拥有所有以上当然是最好的。然而,虽然我也想要全部,我们还是得懂得分先后:哪一项我们应该先达到,哪一项后达到。我们必须先拥有良好的教育与健康,尔后才能拥有管理佳,有信用,清廉,容许资讯自由,尊重个人自由,一视同仁,司法公正。。。等的政府。

我们经常提到正义/公正。对很多马来西亚人来说,正义/公正只局限于法庭内。其实,正义不应该只限于司法系统。正义也取决于教育系统。如果你得不到公平的教育机会,那根本毫无(社会)正义可言。

正义也取决于,当你生病时,你能否享受医疗设施。如果你必须是个百万富翁才有人为你治病的话,而如果你是个穷光蛋就必须等死的话,那也是不正义的。为何只有富人才能得到医疗而穷人因为没有钱而必须等死呢?这发生在很多所谓的发达国家。

对华人来说,教育是非常重要的。只要你把第一阶段过好了,第二和第三阶段就会过得很顺利。有了很好的教育,你生活的第二段(20-60岁)将会一帆风顺。而当你进入第三段时,若你已存有300万令吉,基本上你得健康就有保障了,即使你必须付自己的医疗费。

300万令吉,这就是你60岁退休的数目(以今天的生活水平来讲)。当然这个数目会随着时间而增加,如2030年的退休金肯定会高过300万令吉。但如果说你今天就退休而还会活多15-20年的话,你需要300万令吉。

设想你现在在麦当劳打工,抑或你一个月只赚2000令吉,请问你要怎么才能存到300万?你连你日常生活也顾不了呢!

40年内存300万,即每年需存75千,或每月6250令吉。换句话说,你的月收入必须是1-1.5万,然后你的公积金存款+利息才能在60岁达标。(以上只是我粗略的计算,请别再这数目上转牛角尖)

所以,除非你有很好的大学文凭,不然你很难月入1/以上,你的公积金也无法在你60岁时达到300万。

除此之外,你还要为每位孩子拨出30万的大学教育费(医学则需100万)。如果你,就像一般马来家庭般有五名小孩(我就是),你至少得准备上百万。(这点我很清楚,因为我从自己的口袋出钱让我孩子在英国读大学)

这是其中一个华人最大争论的焦点。他们都花了很多钱送他们的孩子上国外大学,然后他们看到很多马来人在国外拿政府奖学金,而当中有些马来小孩的成绩是不太好的。

如果我是华人我当然很生气。身为马来人我也已经很生气了,因为我必须自己花钱送我孩子进大学,然后我就看到那些YB,丹斯里,拿督斯里,拿督等的小孩拿着人民的钱在英国享福,然后大摇大摆得驾辆马赛地或宝马回

政府(不管国阵民联)必须看清楚这一点。华人当然会讲着都是新经济政策(New Economic Policy NEP)的错,但政府是不会废除NEP的。NEP是个很厉害的政治工具,它能让巫统继续掌权,所以如果巫统废除NEP的话,它就会立刻下台。

即使民联也不敢废除NEP。他们这样做就代表他们完全放弃马来人的支持。他们顶多只敢宣布他们会从新NEP以让它更为公平,但他们不会给任何太详细的细节。

好了,请问NEP必须怎样才算更加公平呢?开放UiTM Mara大学)给非马来人?开放40-50%的本地大学学位给华人,印度人,原住民?50%海外大学学位必须非马来人?

是的,'更加公平'的细节是什么?

请注意,我们现在谈到的只是教育问题,我所有关注问题中的第一项。我还没开始谈及公务员,商业机会,执照,准证,固打。。。。等等其他课题。

在你开始诬赖我怂恿你把票投给巫统,或开始大喊ABU。。。等等前,我要告诉你,这篇文章的中心点是'正义与公正'。而正义与公正,他们都是色盲的。

 

The principle of the unprincipled (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 25 Mar 2013 09:15 PM PDT

I remember back in the days of Semangat 46, which was basically a party of ex-Umno members and leaders. They, too, toured the country singing like a canary. Even the most respected and revered 'Bapak Merdeka', Tunku Abdul Rahman, and the most cursed and hated 'Bapak May 13', Datuk Harun Idris, allied with Semangat 46 and went all over Malaysia to whack Umno kau-kau.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Tunku Aziz: DAP a political circus

(Bernama) - "They are a political circus," said Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim of DAP when asked what he thought of the party's intention to field advisor Lim Kit Siang in the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in the coming general election.

"You go to one place and you pitch your tent and, when the circus is over, you take down your tent and move to another circus. This is what they have been doing," said the former vice-chairman of DAP.

The DAP had announced recently that the 73-year-old veteran politician and Ipoh Timur MP would be fielded in the hot seat, also eyed by Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau and Johor PKR chairman Datuk Chua Jui Meng.

The DAP stalwart had previously contested in several parliamentary seats since the 1969 General Election, among them Bandar Melaka, Petaling, Kota Melaka, Tanjong and Bukit Bendera.

Speaking to Bernama, Tunku Abdul Aziz, the former president of Transparency International-Malaysia, said the DAP's practice had negative implications for the voters and the nation.

"You elect them and they do not do anything at all for the constituency and then they move ... this is not good. ""If you watch Lim Kit Siang's progress ... political progress ... it has been the same story, election after election and after election," he said.

Tunku Abdul Aziz cautioned voters to vote with their heads and not their hearts when exercising their rights. Shaking his head, he said the party should have advised its elected members of parliament to serve the people who had voted for them through thick and thin.

********************************************

According to a friend in the Finance Ministry, 90% of the success of the Income Tax and Customs Departments depend on information from insiders. These are people who once were part of the gang (or working for the 'gang' -- such as the accountants) and have now turned informer or 'state witness'. I was told the rewards are pretty lucrative, 50% of whatever the government succeeds in recovering.

Sometimes the government uses deception to rope in informers. For example: say a gang got away with a bank robbery to the tune of RM1 million. The police would then announce that the robbery amounted to RM1.5 million. This would turn the bank robbers against each other because they think that the others in the gang have cheated them. Hence they end up becoming police informers to get revenge on those who have cheated them.

I, too, depend on Deep Throats, people who were in one way or another involved with whatever was going on. And, of course, you need to trust your Deep Throats because not always are there documents to support what they say so you need to depend on their word.

The track record of these Deep Throats also counts. They may have been giving you information since the last few years and thus far all the information they have given has never been wrong. One Deep Throat I depended on regarding information about the night Altantuya was murdered was someone I had known for 50 years since 1963. That is longer than I have known my wife.

Nevertheless, in spite of knowing this chap for 50 years, I still found the information he gave quite incredible until I counter-checked the story with Anwar Ibrahim and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and both of them confirmed the reliability of the information. Only then did I decide to run with it.

Anyway, the point is, who better to know about what is going on inside a certain gang or organisation if not some insider? We on the outside can only hear stories. Those on the inside were part of what was going on.

Hence it is not surprising that Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim is able to sing like a canary. He was once one of the 'gang members' of DAP plus he sat in the top leadership and was privy to the most inner secrets of that party. Hence he would know what many of us would not know.

The question is: is it ethical and noble for Tunku Aziz to now sing like a canary when he used to be one of the birds flocking with the other birds of that same feather? The opposition supporters, in particular the DAP supporters, would definitely say no. They would regard him as a traitor who should not be kissing and telling.

Nevertheless, if it is principles that we worry about, then how principled are people like Anwar Ibrahim, Lajim Ukin, Wilfred Bumburing, Aspan Alias, Ariff Sabri Aziz, and many more of those other ex-Umno leaders who have now joined the opposition and are singing like a canary to reveal what went on in Umno at the time they were in Umno? And who better to reveal what went on and is still going on in Umno than these ex-Umno leaders?

I remember back in the days of Semangat 46, which was basically a party of ex-Umno members and leaders. They, too, toured the country singing like a canary. Even the most respected and revered 'Bapak Merdeka', Tunku Abdul Rahman, and the most cursed and hated 'Bapak May 13', Datuk Harun Idris, allied with Semangat 46 and went all over Malaysia to whack Umno kau-kau.

And we must not forget that Tunku Rahman was very hurt and upset about May 13 and never forgave those from Umno who he blamed for May 13 -- Datuk Harun being one of the major players with blood on his hands. Yet Tunku Rahman and Datuk Harun could join forces in Semangat 46 to whack Umno.

And did not DAP and PAS enter into an alliance with Semangat 46 (called Gagasan Rakyat and Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah respectively), a party where some of the leaders had the blood of May 13 on their hands? And was not DAP and PAS excited that the Semangat 46 ex-Umno leaders were now whacking Umno, the party they were once part of?

Principles are one thing. I am all for principles. But how can we say it is unprincipled for ex-DAP leaders to whack DAP but extremely principled for ex-Umno leaders to whack Umno?

This is where Pakatan Rakyat supporters lack principles and hide behind their lack of principles to talk about principles. Let us not hide behind the word 'principle' to deny others their right to free speech, even if what they say upsets us. We can tell Tunku Aziz to shut the fuck up and not talk about DAP if we also tell Anwar Ibrahim, Lajim Ukin, Wilfred Bumburing, Aspan Alias, Ariff Sabri Aziz, etc., to shut the fuck up and not talk about Umno.

*************************************************

没有原则者的原则

我想起了当年的64精神党,一个充满了前巫统会员的政党。他们也一样,周游全马大暴巫统内幕。就连我们最尊重的国父东姑阿都拉曼也和最讨厌的'513之父' Datuk Harun Idris 与64精神党联手'厚厚'地给巫统扒了一层皮。

原文:Raja Petra Kamarudin

译文:方宙

东姑阿都阿兹:行动党就像是政治马戏团

(马新社)---- "他们就像是政治马戏团,"东姑阿都阿兹对行动党党魁林吉祥有意在振林山竞选的看法。

"他们去一个地方搭帐篷,当马戏团表演结束后,他们收起帐篷搬到别处,这就是他们的所作所为。" 前行动党副主席如此表示。

行动党日前宣布73岁的林吉祥将会出征这个热席。振林山之前也是柔佛行动党主席巫程豪和柔佛公正党主席蔡锐明有意竞选的国席。

林吉祥从1969年开始在不同地方竞选国席,包括马六甲市,八打灵,丹绒,升旗山等。

也是马来西亚透明国际前主席的东姑阿都阿兹表示,行动党的做法将对选民和国家带来负面影响。

"你选了他们,但他们没有为选区做些什么就去了其它地方。。。这是不好的""如果你观察林吉祥的政治路途。。。都是一样的故事,一个又一个又一个的选举,"

东姑阿都阿兹告诫选民们,应该用他们的头脑而不是心情来履行他们的权力。他摇头的说,行动党应该劝告党内中选的议员们,无论时好时坏,都应该服务那些把票投给他们的选民

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根据我一个在财政部的朋友,90%税务局的成功行动都是靠线人所提供的消息。那些曾经是'集团'其中一员的(或曾经为'集团'工作的,如会计师)会变成线人,或者是'国家证人'。我听说线人的回报是满吸引人的,大约是政府成功收回的50%

有时候政府会设局来套住那些线人。例如,一帮抢匪打劫了银行100万,那警方就会放出打抢了150万的风声。那些匪徒就会互相猜忌,因为他们会认为被彼此给坑了,然后总会有一些成员为了要报复而成为警方的线人。

而我当然也很依靠我的'深喉'(即线人),那些跟事情有挂钩的一员。你当然必须很相信你的'深喉',因为有时候他们所透露的消息都是没有证据的。

那些'深喉'的过去表现当然也很重要。他们可能给你放消息放了几年,而他们的消息都是正确的。关于阿丹杜亚(Altantuya )谋杀案的'深喉',我已经认识了他50年,那是比我认识我老婆还要久!

虽然说我认识了他50年,我还是认为他的消息是匪夷所思的。直到安华和登姑拉扎利(Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah )跟我确认那消息的可靠性,我才决定接受它。

我在此要表达的是,有谁比内幕人还更清楚那个'集团'所发生的事情呢?我们这些外人只有听故事的份儿。那些内幕人才真正的清楚所发生的东西。

所以,东姑阿都阿兹对行动党内部消息的掌握进而大暴消息不应该是个很惊奇的状况。他曾经是党内的一员,而且身居高职,知道很多高层秘密。他当然知道很多我们不知道的东西。

问题是,东姑阿都阿兹,之前曾经是那'集团'的一员,如今站出来大暴内幕,此举有违道德操守否?反对党支持者,尤其是行动党支持者,肯定认为这是有违操守的。他们会列东姑为一个永远应该闭嘴的叛徒。

话虽如此,如果我们现在谈及的是原则上的问题,那请问,那些前巫统会员如安华,Lajim Ukin, Wilfred Bumburing, Aspan Alias, Ariff Sabri Aziz, 等等在加入了民联以后就站出来大暴巫统的内幕时,他们又有原则吗?然而,如果他们不说的话,又有谁又会更清楚揭出巫统内幕呢?

我想起了当年的64精神党,一个充满了前巫统会员的政党。他们也一样,周游全马大暴巫统内幕。就连我们最尊重的国父东姑阿都拉曼也和最讨厌的'513之父' Datuk Harun Idris 与64精神党联手'厚厚'地把巫统给扒皮。

我们必须记得国父对于513事件是多么的伤心。他从来没有原谅过那些应该为513事件负责的人,而Datuk Harun Idris 就是其中一个双手沾满了鲜血的幕后操手。然而,国父还是和Datuk Harun Idris 联合64精神党来对抗巫统。

当年64党某些领导者还是513事件的操纵者,但行动党和伊斯兰党不是也曾经和64党联合过吗(当时分别被称为Gagasan Rakyat 和 Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah)?当64党狠狠地大暴巫统内幕时,行动党和伊斯兰党难道不感到高兴吗?

原则就是原则,我就是个很有原则的人。但我们能够说前行动党员站出来大骂行动党就是没有原则的,而前巫统党员站出来大骂巫统党就是很有原则的?

这就是民联支持者没有原则的地方;他们躲在没有原则里大谈原则。我们不应该打着'原则'这个幌子来妨碍他人的言论自由,虽说他人讲的可能不是对我们有利的。当我们够胆叫安华,Lajim Ukin, Wilfred Bumburing, Aspan Alias, Ariff Sabri 等人闭上他们的狗嘴别再扯巫统后腿时,我们才有资格叫东姑阿都阿兹也闭上他的狗嘴别再扯行动党的后腿。

 

The consistency of inconsistency (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 25 Mar 2013 06:46 PM PDT

Let me explain it this way. I make an allegation that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once told me that he has evidence that Anwar Ibrahim is gay. I then ask the police to investigate Dr Mahathir. The police then arrest and charge for the crime of defaming Anwar. Did I make an allegation against Anwar or did I make an allegation against Dr Mahathir? And are Dr Mahathir and Anwar government officers?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A-G has no power, desire, guts or clearance?

Ravinder Singh, The Malaysian Insider

What rubbish is the Attorney-General talking "I have no power to investigate Bala's SD2"? So who has the power, or has nobody such power? Are we to believe that feudalism still holds sway in Malaysia?

The case is about the two police officers Sirul Azhar and Azilah Hadri who were sentenced to death. Has the case against them been proven beyond doubt? SD2 casts a very serious doubt on their guilt. They may have pulled the trigger, wrapped the corpse in C4 and ignited it, but all this by itself does not prove their guilt. It must be shown that they had a motive to do what they did. If the intention to annihilate all traces of Altantuya Shaariibuu was not theirs, then they cannot be sentenced to death even though they pulled the trigger.

It was mandatory for the court to find the motive for their doing so. This the court did not do. Instead it came out with a novel argument that MOTIVE was not relevant. This was to camouflage its refusal to find the motive, not that motive is no longer relevant in all criminal proceedings in this country. Why? Did the court have the power to take it upon itself to overrule the requirement to discover the motive for the crime before passing sentence? Do courts not have to adhere to all the principles of justice in carrying out their duties?

Could the learned A-G please explain to Malaysians why MOTIVE is not relevant in this particular case while it is all-important in all other criminal cases? Please show us where is the court's power to overrule the requirement to discover the motive, the basic ingredient of a criminal case.

The confession by the senior lawyer who prepared the SD2 is new evidence. Any new evidence coming to light, even decades later, must be investigated. That is the hallmark of a justice system that upholds justice.

In the murder case of Jean Perera Sinnappa, a witness who gave false evidence confessed to it a few days later. Why could that case be re-opened and re-investigated? As a result, the person sentenced to death was freed and the confessor jailed for giving false evidence. Is the A-G saying that the power which the A-G or the court had at that time has been removed by some amendment to some law? And if so, please tell us the rationale for removing that power to re-open cases (especially involving the death penalty) when new evidence, in any form, surfaces?

Of all people, the A-G should know and uphold the adage that justice must not only be done, but it must be seen to be done. The court's ruling that MOTIVE was irrelevant in this case only shows that justice was not seen to have been done. Now the A-G's refusal to take cognizance of the senior lawyer's confession and re-open the case is further evidence that justice is not seen to be done. There is a Malay saying: "Jika hendak seribu daya, jika tidak seribu dalih". So, dear A-G, if you want it you can do it!

When lives are at stake, should our justice system be so cruel as to arrogantly shut the door to justice by giving all manner of excuses which are aptly described in Malay as "tak masuk akal"?

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Ravinder Singh's letter to The Malaysian Insider makes interesting reading indeed. I am not sure whether this chap is a lawyer and not being a lawyer myself I can't comment on his legal arguments. What I do want to comment about, however, is regarding the inconsistency between how the Attorney-General (AG) handled P.I. Bala's Statutory Declaration (SD) and how he handled mine, which were both more or less about the same matter.

When I signed my SD the month before Bala signed his, the AG reacted very differently from the way he reacted (and is still reacting) regarding Bala's SD. Bala was also treated differently. Bala was given a Malaysian passport and was allowed to leave the country and later allowed to return to Malaysia many times -- and eventually for good -- while I am not being allowed a Malaysian passport.

Anyway, that could be because Bala left the country 'legally' while I did not -- I sneaked out. Hence I committed a crime while Bala did not -- which means he can be allowed a passport and also allowed back into Malaysia while I cannot. I can understand that.

Anyway, that is not the point. The point I want to discuss is that the very next day after an Umno Blogger revealed that I had signed the SD (which was supposed to be confidential and hence I do not know how the Umno Blogger got his hands on it) the AG announced that I had signed a false SD and that they (the AG's office) will be taking action against me.

First of all, this was what the Blogger reported. The AG had not even seen a copy of that SD yet. Hence he did not know at that time whether such a SD even existed. Nevertheless, he already announced that the SD was false and that they would take action against me for signing a false SD.

The AG's office had also not started any investigation yet -- not only whether this SD existed or not but whether what was mentioned in that SD was true or false. However, even without confirming the existence of this SD and, if it did, whether the contents were true or not, he announced that they would be taking action against me for signing a false SD.

The very next day, without investigating whether the SD did or did not exist and whether the contents were true or not, the IGP also announced that the SD is false and that the police were going to charge me for signing a false SD.

How did both the AG and IGP know I had signed a false SD? They had not even started any investigation yet. It was not until the following week that the police called me in for my statement to be recorded. And my statement was recorded based on a so-called police report made against me.

Now, according to the AG and IGP, my crime is for signing a false SD -- a SD that they had not even seen yet and which they did not know whether it existed or not since it was supposed to be confidential and for the eyes of only the Prosecutors in the Altantuya murder trial. However, when they brought me to court to charge me, they did not charge me for the crime of signing a false SD. They charged me for the crime of criminal defamation.

First of all, how did they know I had committed criminal defamation? They never interrogated or took the statements of those people mentioned in the SD. How could they come to the conclusion that I had defamed those three people I was charged with defaming? Are they clairvoyant?

Secondly, criminal defamation applies only when you defame a government officer in the execution of his/her duties. Is Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the then Deputy Prime Minister, a government officer? Even now, as the so-called 'First Lady', she is not a government officer. So how could I be charged for criminally defaming her?

As for the husband-and-wife Lt. Col. team, they may be government/army officers, but were they on duty at the time I alleged that they were at the site of Altantuya's murder? Isn't it damaging to the government to admit that after midnight on the night of Altantuya's murder they were still on duty? What were their 'duties' after midnight on the night Altantuya was murdered?

Hence, if the government thinks that I had signed a false SD, then why not charge me for that crime rather than for some other crime that I did not commit? I mean, if I robbed a bank then charge me for the crime of robbing the bank. Why charge me for the crime of fraud and say that I misled the bank teller into handing over the money that does not belong to me. The crime is robbery, not fraud.

And the third and more troubling part of this whole thing is that I was alleged to have defamed Rosmah and the two Lt. Cols. Even if I am guilty of defaming someone, it is not Rosmah and the two Lt. Cols. I had defamed. I defamed a fourth person -- who I was never charged for defaming. I defamed the number two of the military intelligence that I alleged had made that allegation against Rosmah and the two Lt. Cols.

Hence, even if I did commit a crime of criminal defamation, it is not Rosmah and the two Lt. Cols. I defamed but the number two in the military intelligence, who I was never charged for defaming.

Let me explain it this way. I make an allegation that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once told me that he has evidence that Anwar Ibrahim is gay. I then ask the police to investigate Dr Mahathir. The police then arrest and charge for the crime of defaming Anwar. Did I make an allegation against Anwar or did I make an allegation against Dr Mahathir? And are Dr Mahathir and Anwar government officers?

And that was why when they charged me in court I refused to reply to the charge, which took the court by surprise. I told the court that the charge was defective plus mala fide. Charge me for criminal defamation if you wish but not for defaming Rosmah and the two Lt. Cols. Charge me for defaming the number two of the military intelligence.

I refused to stand trial on a bogus charge. Hence I refused to answer to that charge. The court can, if it so wishes, then send me to jail. I was prepared for that. However, the court refused to accept my refusal to answer to that charge and instead insisted that they take that as a plea of not guilty.

I was furious. I shouted at the judge and told him that I did not enter a plea of not guilty. The judge ignored me and set bail. I refused to accept bail and instead walked out of court and headed straight for the lockup below with the police officer chasing after me while trying to persuade me to stay in court and accept bail.

For two years I tried explaining that I never made any allegation against Rosmah and the two Lt. Cols. Instead, I had made an allegation against the number two of the military intelligence. Why, therefore, was I arrested and charged for something I did not do? Why not charge me for a crime I did commit -- if the government is of the view that I had committed a crime?

But all this fell on deaf ears. Finally, I went on TV3 to explain exactly as I had written above. This interview was done in Perth, Australia, after consultation with a few friends who were in Sydney together with me. These friends thought it was a good idea that I go on TV and explain the details.

Of course, today, that TV3 interview has been interpreted as me having done a U-turn. I don't know in what way I did a U-turn. In fact, a copy of that SD was shown in that TV interview. So we are still talking about the same SD, not a new SD or SD2 like in Bala's case.

What TV3 wanted to know is what were the circumstances and reasons behind me signing that SD. So I explained what happened and the reason why I signed the SD. This, however, has been interpreted as me withdrawing that SD.

I did not withdraw the SD. Instead, I explained the story behind that SD. And when the Malaysian police met up with me in the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, soon after that TV interview to record my statement, I repeated what I had said in that TV3 interview without changing one bit of my story and I signed that police statement.

The AG says he has no power or authority to take action on Bala's SD2. But he did take action on my SD. And the action he took was against me. Bala, no doubt, has since died. But Bala was in the country a few weeks before he died. Yet the AG did nothing. And if Bala had not died the AG would most likely still do nothing.

Why is that? And why was Bala allowed back into the country and allowed to travel all over the country to give talks all over the place? I would never have been allowed the same. Why?

Is it because they had made a deal with Bala? In that case, what deal did they make with him? I am beginning to suspect that they are not giving Bala the same treatment that they are giving me.

Okay, you can say that my SD is based on hearsay. You can argue that what I said was what someone told me and not what I saw with my own eyes. But was not Bala's SD also based on hearsay? His SD was about what Razak Baginda and Altantuya told him, not what he personally saw. That is also hearsay, just like what I said.

When Bala signed his first SD he was considered a hero. Even Anwar Ibrahim gave him red carpet treatment at the PKR headquarters. When he signed his second SD, he was called an Indian Pariah, a turncoat, a traitor, etc., and was nicknamed 'Bala U-turn'. Then he again did a U-turn and said that SD1 is true while SD2 is false. And, again, he became a hero and was given red carpet treatment and garlanded.

Signing two contradicting SDs is a serious crime. Why does the AG say he has no power and authority to do anything? And if the AG is powerless to take action until and unless a police report has been made, many police reports have already been made. The AG can pick and choose from the many police reports to take action against Bala. Why did he not do this?

And if the AG really has no power or authority to take action, why then did he take action against me and announce that he is taking action against me even before he could confirm the existence of the SD and confirm the authenticity of that SD, if it did exist?

Many people, especially those from the opposition, scream about justice, good governance, selective prosecution, and whatnot. Actually, these people do not even know what that means. If they really mean what they say then they can clearly see that the manner the AG handled Bala and the manner he handled me are glaringly based on two different standards of justice.

And if you were really a believer in justice, then you would focus on what I said in my SD and not what you imagine I said or wish I had said. And because of this I no longer believe that the opposition people are true proponents of justice. They twist what I had said and allege I had said what I did not say. And this makes the opposition exactly like the government we are trying to kick out.

If you believe that a lie is okay as long as we lie about the government and not lie about the opposition, then your fight is not my fight. That is the plain and simple truth of my perjuangan.

Some of you say I have turned. Of course I have turned. I have turned against those in the opposition who behave just like those in the government. And being a victim of these untruths I, of all people, should know this.

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不一致中的一致

让我给你一个简单易懂的例子。我,RPK,对外宣称,马哈迪告诉我说他有证据证明安华是同性恋。我要求警方去调查马哈迪讲的东西。然后警察就来控告我刑事诽谤了安华。请问,我RPK到底是诽谤了马哈迪还是诽谤了安华呢?还有,马哈迪和安华是政府人员吗?

原文:Raja Petra Kamarudin

译文:方宙

这篇由Ravinder Singh 写给 The Malaysian Insider 的信的确是很有意思。我不清楚他是不是一个律师,但我无法就他的法律论点上给任何看法,因为我不是个律师。不过,在首席检察官(Attorney-General,AG)以不同方式处理我和巴拉(Bala)私家侦探于阿丹都亚案的法定宣誓书(Statutory Declaration ,SD)(我们俩的SD所谈及的内容大致都一样)的行为上,我有我的看法。

我比Bala早一个月签下了我的SD,而AG对我们俩的反应是很不同的(现在他的反应也还是很不同):Bala可以用他的马来西亚护照自由的进出----而最后他永远地留在(死在)马来西亚----而我则不被允许使用我的马来西亚护照。

或许AG这样的反应是因为我犯罪了吧:Bala他'合法'的出境,而我则'偷偷'的出境。所以,Bala被允许应用他的护照,而我则不能,这一点我能够理解。

不管怎样,这不是这篇文章的重点。我要讲的是,就在某个巫统博客说出我已经签了SD的第二天,AG就宣布我签了假的SD,他要采取行动对付我(我签SD是件很保密的事情,我不知道那个博客是从哪得到消息)。

当时那个博客只是空讲,AG根本就没有看过我的SD,所以他根本就不知道那份SD是否真的存在。但,他还是宣布那份SD是假的而要对付我。

AG办公室当时根本都没有进行任何调查----他们连到底这份SD是否存在也不知道,而SD的内容是否有如巫统博客报导般也不清楚。就这样,AG决定我将会被对付

到了第三天,也在没有任何调查下,总警长(Inspector-General of Police ,IGP)也来掺一脚,宣布说我的SD是假的,警方会把我提控。

请问,AG和IGP是怎样知道我签了一份假的SD?他们根本都还没有进行任何调查。直到一个星期过去了,警方才传召我去录口供。而我被传召的原因仅仅是因为有人向警方报案。

好,现在AG和IGP说我的罪是我签了一份假的SD----一份他们根本都还没有看到过,都还不清楚是否真的存在的SD(那份SD严格来讲应该是很机密的,而且只有阿丹都亚案的检查官才能看到)。然而,他们最终把我控上了法庭,但罪名不是签了假的SD,而是刑事诽谤。

问题第一点,他们是怎样知道我诽谤他人呢?他们从没有把SD里边提及到的有关人士请来问话,那他们是怎样做出结论的呢?他们是有千里眼吗?

第二点,刑事诽谤是当被诽谤人士为(A)政府人员 和(B)正在执行公务 才有效的。那请问,罗斯玛,我们的首相夫人,是政府人员吗?直到现在我们所谓的'第一夫人'都还不是政府人员。所以我怎算是在'刑事'上诽谤了她呢?

对于那对中校军人夫妻档,他们的确是政府人员,但在他们涉案的时间点上,他们是不是已经下班,不再执行公务了?我被控的是刑事诽谤,那就代表政府默认那对夫妻档当时半夜三更出现在阿丹都亚谋杀现场其实是在执行任务,难道这不是政府自己损自己面子吗?那又请问当时他们的'公务'又是什么呢?

所以说,如果政府认为我真正罪状是签了假的SD,为什么他们不告我那个罪名而是告我一个我根本都没有犯的罪呢?打个比方,如果我打抢银行,就告我'打抢银行'好啦,你又何必告我'欺诈银行,用计让银行职员把不属于我的钱拿给我'呢?我是'打抢'银行,不是'欺诈'银行。

第三点,也是很复杂的一点,他们指控我诽谤罗斯玛和那两个中校。如果我真的被判诽谤罪的话,我诽谤的根本就不是以上三人;我诽谤的是第四个人,那就是军事情报组的第二号人物,因为我的SD里讲的是'我宣称,那个军事情报员宣称说罗斯玛与那对夫妻档涉案。

所以,如果我真的诽谤了人家,那绝对不是罗斯玛和那对夫妻。我诽谤的是那个军事情报的第二号人物。但是,就从来没有人告我诽谤那个军事情报员。

让我给你一个简单易懂的例子。我,RPK,对外宣称,马哈迪告诉我说他有证据证明安华是同性恋。我要求警方去调查马哈迪讲的东西。然后警察就来控告我刑事诽谤了安华。请问,我RPK到底是诽谤了马哈迪还是诽谤了安华呢?还有,马哈迪和安华是政府人员吗?

这就是为什么我到了法庭后,我拒绝对那个控罪作出任何回应。我对法庭说,他们指控我的,都是恶意和站不住脚的。如果你真的要控我刑事诽谤,那对象应该是那个军事情报组的第二号人物,而不是罗斯玛等三人。

我拒绝为一个假的指控作供,所以我拒绝作出任何回应。法庭当然可以因此而把我丢进监狱里,我其实已经做好准备了。但法庭拒绝接受我的'拒绝回应',他们坚持的把我的'拒绝回应'当成'不认罪'。

我怒火冲冠的对法官大吼,我并不是'不认罪',但法官就是没当一回事,而且开始给我订保释金。我拒绝被保释,然后直接离开法庭并走向楼下的扣留室。警察跟着追了出来劝我回去法庭和接受保释。

两年以来,我不停的解释我从来没有指控过罗斯玛等人;我指控的是军事情报组的第二号人物。那为何我为我没犯的罪而被捉呢?如果政府真的认为我犯罪了,那它应就我所犯的罪提控我。

这一切都被大家当成了耳边风。后来,我和住在澳大利亚的朋友商量过,他们认为上电视解释是个不错的主意。所以,我在珀斯上了TV3的访问。

到今天为止,大家都认为我在那个TV3的访问上出尔反尔。我到现在也搞不懂我到底做了什么出尔反尔的动作。我在访问上亮出了同一张的SD,不是其他的SD,更不是Bala的'第二张SD'。

TV3 想要了解我签SD的原因和背景,我回答了他们的答案。但,大家都认为这是我收回SD的动作。

我并没有收回那个SD;相反的,我详细的解释了SD背后的故事。当我的访问播出后,警方就约我到曼谷的马来西亚大使馆录口供。我当时一字不改的像警方陈述了我之前跟TV3所说的东西。

AG表示他目前没有权力对Bala的SD采取行动,但他有对我的SD采取行动,而他采取行动的对象正是我。Bala确实已经死了,但他生前的最后几个星期是在马来西亚渡过的,而AG则一点行动也没有。我猜测,即使Bala没有死,AG也还是会按兵不动的。

这是什么状况?Bala他被允许回国,而且还周游全国开演讲会,而我则不能?为什么?

是否有可能他们已达成协议?若真的是那样,那那个协议的内容又是什么?我开始怀疑我和Bala是受到不同的对待。

Okay,你可以说我的SD是道听途说的。你可以说我所宣称的是别人告诉我的而不是我亲眼看见的。但Bala的不也是道听途说的吗?他的SD是针对Razak Baginda 和 Altantuya 对他讲的东西,而非他亲眼看到的。

Bala签下第一张SD时,所有人都当他是英雄。安华甚至还公正党总部铺上红地毯来欢迎他。但当他签下第二张SD来推翻第一张时,大家都骂他为'无能的印度人','变节','叛徒'等,还给他取了个称号"U转Bala"。然后,他又U转一次,说第二张是假的,第一张才是真的,他又成为了英雄。

签下两张自相矛盾的SD是很严重的刑事罪案,为什么AG会说他没有权力呢?如果说AG要到了警方接到报案才可以行动的话,那就更说不通了;很多人就此报了案,AG有很多报告可以选择来对付Bala。为何AG会静若寒蝉呢?

如果AG确确实实没有权力,那他之前哪来的权力对付我?那还是在他还没掌握充分证据前呢!

有很多人,尤其是反对党,都大打'正义','廉政','司法公正'的旗子。事实上,他们根本就不懂这些名词的意义。如果他们真的懂的话,他们早就一眼看穿了AG对待我和Bala课题上的双重标准。

如果你真的很正义的话,你会注重我真真确确写在SD上的东西,而不是你认为我会讲(抑或你希望我会讲)的东西。正因如此,我不再相信反对党是正义的拥护者。他们会扭曲我讲的东西,然后指控我讲了我没讲的东西。这样的反对党跟我们现在要踢走的政府又有什么两样呢?

如果你相信对政府散播谣言是可以的,但对反对党就不行,那对不起,我俩志不同道不合。我的斗争就是那么的平白简单。

你们当中有人说我变了。我当然变了,因为反对党现今有一些份子的动作跟政府都是一样的,所以我变得跟这些人不同路了。身为这些谎言的受害者,我,跟所有人比起来,当然是最清楚这点的。

 

If it has failed, just discard it? (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

Posted: 23 Mar 2013 07:41 PM PDT

So don't try to tell me about what's wrong with the NEP. I told the government that same thing back in 1985 and I suffered because of that. I paid a heavy price by getting blacklisted for pointing out the flaws in the implementation of the NEP. I became Umno's number one enemy for coining the word Umnoputera and declaring these people a traitor to the Malay race who should be lined up and shot.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

One very crucial point that was raised by those who had participated in the New Economic Policy (NEP) debate (or rather quarrel) over the last one week is that the NEP has failed, it has been abused by those in power to enrich themselves, it is a racist and discriminatory policy, and hence it should be discarded because it does not work and it does not achieve the objective as was originally intended.

This is certainly one view and a view that must not be rejected because all views are valid and should be respected in a civil society like Malaysia. The argument of whether it is a right view or a wrong view does not come into play because right and wrong depend on your belief system. For example, the implementation of the Islamic Sharia law would be right to fundamentalist or orthodox Muslims and wrong to liberal Muslims or non-Muslims.

From 1974 to 1994, I lived in Terengganu and was active in the Kuala Terengganu Rotary Club. I was, in fact, its Secretary for about seven years. Note that the majority of our members were non-Malays because some Malays seem to have this impression that the Rotary Club is a secret Zionist organisation and another form of Freemasonry. Hence the Malay membership was rather low although the population of Terengganu is about 97% Malay.

As part of my Rotary work, our committee used to visit the rural schools in remote places such as Wakaf Tapai and Kuala Berang, which are predominantly agricultural areas where piped water and electricity are considered luxuries. (That was why I did good business selling petrol/diesel engine-driven water pumps, generators, kerosene lamps, and so on).

It is therefore no coincidence that cholera is an almost on-going problem (and amongst the highest in West Malaysia) and infant/childbirth deaths are considered biasa (normal). It is also the reason why people there (meaning Malays) do not practice family planning (even when the government distributes tens of millions of condoms free of charge). They need more children because these children die so often.

My personal project (which I paid for from my own pocket) was to distribute free Bata school shoes to the school children in those places (I have written about this before). This is because these children were so poor they walked around barefooted.

A few months later, I again visited these schools and discovered that these school children still walked to school barefooted. They would hang their shoes around their neck and put them on only when they entered the school compound. The reason for this, according to the headmaster I spoke to, was so that they did not wear out their very precious Bata shoes.

I then told the Bata retailer to give them two pairs of shoes each and inform them that we will replace them as soon as they wear out -- so no need to hang these shoes around their neck and walk barefooted any more. (I don't know whether it is because I am getting old and sentimental that I write this with tears dripping down my cheeks).

If you were to look at the Malays living in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bangsar, Damansara, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, and so on, then definitely the Malays do not need the NEP any longer. I have bumped into many Malaysian Malays shopping in Bicester Village (where even I cannot afford to shop but only go there to 'look see') and for sure they do not need the NEP (even the Chinese kalah in shopping).

If you want to see whether the NEP is no longer needed then don't just look at the Malays in the big towns and cities. Go to the rural areas in the East Coast and East Malaysia and see how the Malays (and natives) there live. They certainly still need help.

Now, that does not mean the Chinese and Indians are all super-rich and that only the Malays or natives of East Malaysia are poor and destitute. There are many Chinese and Indians who are poor as well. Hence the NEP should cover these poor Chinese and Indians as well. That was what it was supposed to be but that is not what is happening.

That is my first bone of contention.

I agree with the argument that the NEP has been exploited and abused to make some people very rich. In fact, I was the one who raised this point almost 30 years ago back in 1985 and which resulted in me being blacklisted by the government because of that allegation.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah can confirm this because I made this allegation during a seminar in his Ministry, which he personally chaired. When I made that allegation there was a stunned silence in the hall until Ku Li clapped and then all the other participants in the seminar joined him to clap as well. Nevertheless, the government still blacklisted me and for many years thereafter I could not get any government contracts.

So don't try to tell me about what's wrong with the NEP. I told the government that same thing back in 1985 and I suffered because of that. I paid a heavy price by getting blacklisted for pointing out the flaws in the implementation of the NEP. I became Umno's number one enemy for coining the word Umnoputera and declaring these people a traitor to the Malay race who should be lined up and shot.

But should the 95% needy be made to pay for the transgressions of the 5% corrupt? Is it fair to punish all Malays for the misdeeds of a handful of Malays?

That is my second bone of contention.

Many things do not work well in Malaysia, the NEP being one of them. It looks like our defence policy is also a failure judging by what happened in Lahat Datu recently. Do we then disband the army?

There are many complaints about the police force as well. Do we abolish the police force and allow everyone to carry guns and look after their own safety like in the Old Wild West or like in some parts of the Middle East today?

The election system is also flawed. Hitler managed to rule with only 30% of the votes and then took the world through a bloody war that saw the sacrifice of tens of millions of lives. Barisan Nasional will be able to form the next government even if it garners only 45% of the votes in the coming general election. Should we then abolish general elections?

We need to be more mature and realistic in evaluating things. We cannot always look at the small picture while ignoring the big picture. Some things work. Many things do not work.

Gambling is bad. Families break up because of gambling. But gambling is not banned or abolished. In fact, Singapore is exploiting gambling as a source of revenue. And Singapore is supposed to be one of the more sensible countries, even more sensible than Malaysia.

It is easy for those with money in their pockets to demand that the NEP be abolished. But when you walk to school barefooted, the NEP is the only thing you have to guarantee your future.

What we need is a better NEP, not the end of the NEP. And while Barisan Nasional has failed to offer us that better NEP, I do not see any alternative better NEP from Pakatan Rakyat either.

And that is my third bone of contention.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

失败了,就可以弃之不理?

所以不要尝试告诉我新经济政策(New Economic Policy ,NEP)的错。早在1985年我 就在政府面前提出而受了罪。我因提出落实NEP的缺点而被列入黑名单,进而付出了惨痛 的代价。我也因为想出了 '巫统太子'(Umnoputera)这个词和把有关人士宣布为马来民 族叛徒进而因该拖去枪毙而被巫统列为头号敌人。

原文:Raja Petra Kamarudin

在上个星期关于NEP的讨论(其实比较像是争吵)中其中一个重要论点是其政策的失败:政策被权力人士滥用了,政策是充满种族歧视与不公的。因此 NEP 应该被摒弃,因为 它是行不通的,而且也达不到它原来的目的。

我们不应该抗拒这个观点,因为在马来西亚这个文明的社会里,所有的观点都是有理和应 该被尊重的。观点的对错其实不应该是争论的中心点,因为对与错视乎于我们所相信的东 西。打个比方,保守或奉行原教主义的穆斯林会认为落实伊斯兰教法是正确的,然而对于 开放的穆斯林或非穆斯林则反之。

1974年到1994年期间我都住在登嘉楼。我很热衷的参与瓜拉登嘉楼扶轮社,我甚至还当 了七年的秘书。扶轮社的成员大多都是非穆斯林,因为一些穆斯林总认为扶轮社是个共济 会的化身,猶太圣会主義的秘密会社。正因此会社的穆斯林成员数都是偏低的,虽然说 97%的登嘉楼人口都是穆斯林。

我们扶轮社会员曾经去探访过偏远山区的乡间学校,如瓦卡塔派Wakaf Tapai和瓜拉贝朗 Kuala Berang。那些地方都是把自来水和电力当做奢侈品的落后农业区(我当时在那专 卖柴油发动水泵,发电机,煤油灯等,做了不少生意)

那里经常会发生霍乱(在西马为最高病率区之一),小儿与孕妇死亡是很正常的。这也是 为什么当地人(马来人)不会做生育规划(虽然政府派了数以百万计的免费保险套)。他 们需要更多的孩子,因为他们的孩子都死得早。

我当时的个人计划(从我自己口袋出的钱)是发放免费的Bata牌校鞋给当地的学童(我 之前曾经提过),因为他们穷得都是光脚走路的。

几个月后,我再度回去那些学校,发现那些学童们还是一样光着脚丫上学。他们会把鞋子围在他们的脖子上,直到踏进校园才穿上。学校校长告诉我,他们这样做是为了不要把那珍贵的Bata鞋给穿旧。

我告诉Bata供应商每个学生应发放两对鞋子,而且穿旧了就给他们换新的。他们不必再把鞋子围在脖子上光脚走路了。(不知道是不是我老了,多愁善感了,写到这里热泪满眶)

如果你提及的是住在敦伊士麦尔园Taman Tun Dr Ismail,孟沙Bangsar,白沙罗 Damansara,梳邦再也Subang Jaya,沙亚南Shah Alam等的地区的马来人,那当然他们不再需要NEP。我在比斯特名牌折扣购物村(Bicester Village,一个连我也血拼不起,只能去'看看'的地方)碰到的马来人当然也铁定不需要NEP。(就连华人也输在血拼这个项目上了)

如果你真的想知道NEP是否应该继续,你不因该注重生活在大城市的马来人;你应该去看看西马东岸和东马乡间的马来人(和原住民),他们真的需要帮忙。

然而,这并不代表所有的华人和印度人都是富有的而马来人和土著都是赤贫的,有很多的华印仍然处于贫困中。NEP必须涵顾这些人贫穷的华人和印度人。这是NEP本来的目的,但这并没有实现。

这是我这篇文章的第一论点。

我赞同NEP是被某些人滥用以致富。事实上,我早在大约30年前,即1985年,曾向政府提出这一点,但换来的却是被政府打入黑名单中。

登姑拉扎利(Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah)能够证明我曾在他任职期间所主持的讲座会提起过。正当发表我的观点时,场内一片寂静,直到拉扎利为我鼓掌,从而带动所有参与者为我鼓掌。但是,政府仍然把我列入黑名单中,尔后我再也无法获取任何政府合同了。

所以不要尝试告诉我NEP的错。早在1985年我就在政府面前提出而受了罪。我因提出落实NEP的缺点而被列入黑名单,进而付出了惨痛的代价。我也因为想出了'巫统太子'(Umnoputera)这个词和把有关人士宣布为马来民族的叛徒进而因该拖去枪毙而被巫统列为头号敌人。

问题是,那95%真正需要帮助的人是否应该为那5%贪污的人士所拖累?因为那一小撮犯错的马来人来惩罚所有马来人又公平吗?

这是我这篇文章的第二论点。

在马来西亚很多东西都是不完美的,NEP是其中一项。正如最近沙巴纳笃事件所披露我国国防上的失策,那我们是否因此而解散我们的军队呢?

又如我们的警队经常受到投诉,我们又是否因该解散警队而让马来西亚人民犹如旧西方牛仔时代(或现今一些中东地区)持枪自保呢?

选举制度其实也是很有问题的。希特勒当年只有30%的票选,可是他却发动了全球性的战争,杀害了数以千万计的人命。国阵在这次大选中只要获得45%的票选就能执政了,那我们是否就能废除投票制度呢?

我们必须更成熟且现实得评审事情。我们必须顾及大局而不是只看到一个小角。有些事情能过很完美的发生,但大多数是不能的。

赌博是不好的,有多少家庭就因为赌而家破人亡,但赌博就没有被禁止过。新加坡目前还利用赌博业来赚取收入。新加坡因该是一个很理性的国家,至少她比马来西亚还要理性。

对于那些口袋沉甸甸的人来讲,废除NEP或许很容易,但如果你是属于光着脚丫上课的一群,NEP将会是你未来的一个保障。

我们需要的是一个'更好'的NEP而不是废除NEP。纵然国阵无法提供一个更好的NEP,我无法预见民联能够提供一个相对性更好的策略。

这是我这篇文章的第三论点。 

 

It’s about social justice

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 07:07 PM PDT

Somehow, along the way, the NEP was interpreted as being a Malay-only policy. No, it is not and was never intended to be so. Although it was meant to address the problems faced by the Malays, this does not mean it does not also cover those who are not Malays who equally need assistance.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Did you read the comments by mainly the Chinese readers in my last three articles of this week?

1. The Chinese and Indians screwed up

2. Conjecture, imagination and suspicion

3. Talking to a ten-year old

I admit that I was being naughty and that I wanted to provoke the non-Malays to see what they would say. And the non-Malays reacted exactly how I expected them to. Hence it is not really that difficult to understand the very narrow and very predictable mind of these non-Malays. Hence, also, it is so easy to manipulate the non-Malays.

Those who have been following what I have been writing over the last 20 years or so since the 1990s when the Internet first appeared in Malaysia can probably remember that in those days I used the analogy of domesticated cats versus wild cats (kucing hutan). And having owned more than 40 cats in my lifetime -- and at the height of it 17 cats at one time -- I know what I am talking about (I actually read a book on cat psychology).

Anyway, the analogy I used was as follows.

A wild cat is a survivor. It hunts for its food and knows how to stay alive (surprisingly, it can even leap into the air and capture a bird in flight because I have seen it happen). However, when you domesticate a cat and feed it regularly twice or three times a day (with snacks in between), the cat loses the ability to survive. It depends on you to feed it and to keep it alive. It also becomes very susceptible to diseases, which wild cats are pretty immune from.

If you abandon a domesticated cat it hardly knows how to survive any more and most likely will die out there in the wilds. It gets attacked by other animals, gets run over by cars, becomes thin and weak, and will very soon become riddled with various diseases.

And this is what the New Economic Policy (NEP) has done to the Malays, I argued, back in the 1990s. It has domesticated the Malays and the Malays who 400 or 500 years ago were feared seafaring people (a.k.a pirates at the time when piracy was a noble and honourable professional, as it was in Europe as well) have now become a tame and docile race.

No doubt Malays have this uncanny ability to lose their tame and docile streak and mengamuk ('run amok', as the English would say, because there is no such word in the English language since mengamuk is unique to the Malay race) if their maruah (dignity) is challenged. Then, suddenly, the Malays change from a domesticated cat to a kucing hutan -- not unlike Bruce Lee in 'The First of Fury' (and the whole reason why I took up Taekwondo and Karate).

Even in the days when I was active in the Malay Chamber of Commerce I was opposed to certain aspects of the NEP (and this brought me into conflict with the Umno chaps in the Chamber who thought I was a traitor to the Malay race). I was not opposed to the concept of the NEP. I thought the concept was rather good and the intentions pretty noble. I was opposed to the abuse of the NEP, which I said had been hijacked by the Umnoputeras.

Yes, I was the one who invented the term 'Umnoputera' 30 years ago back in the 1980s, much to the chagrin of an Umno Member of Parliament from Terengganu who stood up to whack me for that comment.

Anyway, that word 'Umnoputera' has survived until today and I can proudly claim to be the inventor of that word (my Uncle, Raja Datuk Arshad bin Raja Sir Tun Uda, Anwar Ibrahim's classmate in MCKK, can confirm this because he was also a participant in that Congress and was sitting beside me when I stood up to utter that comment).

I felt that as far as opening up college and tertiary education to the Malays, the NEP has seen some success although I still criticise the quality of that education. It is no point aiming for quantity if we lack quality. And I have always been a critic of the quality of that education until today.

Nevertheless, the NEP has been able to take the Malay out of the kampung (village). However, as I have said many times before, the NEP has not succeeded in taking the kampung out of the Malay. And that is my beef with the NEP.

No, I am not trying to insult the Malays or run down those Malays who still live in the kampung. In fact, the Malays from the kampung are very decent people, more decent than many Malays who live in the towns and cities. I am merely lamenting about the fate of 'my people' -- and showing concern for the Malays does not make me a racist or else Mandela and Gandhi would be racists as well.

The NEP is a good policy. It is supposed to be about reducing the gap between the haves and the haves-not and reducing the disparity between the different races. This would mean that the NEP is not just for the Malays. It is also for the Chinese, Indians, and natives of East Malaysia plus the Orang Asal who require help.

Somehow, along the way, the NEP was interpreted as being a Malay-only policy. No, it is not and was never intended to be so. Although it was meant to address the problems faced by the Malays, this does not mean it does not also cover those who are not Malays who equally need assistance.

Tun Razak Hussein, Malaysia's Second Prime Minister, was the architect of the NEP. He was also the architect of the most successful land settlement in the world, FELDA. The United Nations FAO actually sent teams to Malaysia to study the success of the FELDA scheme to see how the same can be implemented in Africa and Latin America. That is how highly regarded FELDA is.

But why did MCA and MIC not propose that certain FELDA schemes also be set up for the poor Chinese and Indians? Is it that the Chinese and Indians did not want to become land settlers? Is it that FELDA refused to allow the Chinese and Indians to participate in these land schemes? Or it is that MCA and MIC did not bother to pursue this matter with FELDA or the government?

I do not know the answer to those questions so maybe those from MCA and MIC can enlighten us.

If 30 or 40 years ago the poor Chinese and Indians had become FELDA settlers, today, many of them would be millionaires and P. Waytha Moorthy would not need to go on his hunger strike (READ MORE HERE).

Okay, Moorthy is now about to complete the second week of his hunger strike. Many Chinese and some Indians have posted comments in my three articles regarding the NEP mentioned above. From your comments you give the impression that you are opposed to the NEP. You say that the NEP is unfair, racist and discriminatory.

Why are you so angry with the NEP? Do you think that the NEP is unfair? Do you think that the NEP only helps the Malays and not the poor Indians and Chinese as well?

Okay, let us say for arguments sake I agree with you. There are many poor Chinese and even more poor Indians as well. But the NEP does not help these people. You want a fairer NEP where all races that deserve help receive help.

Are you sincere about this? Or are you just looking for an excuse to oppose the NEP so that the Malays remain backward?

Moorthy of Hindraf is fighting for the lot of the Indians. And he is doing this by going on a hunger strike. How many of you support him and agree with his hunger strike? I have read many nasty comments over the last two weeks disparaging and vilifying Moorthy. You are mocking him. You do not support him.

Why do you not support him since you are supposedly fighting for social justice and you oppose the NEP because you feel it is an unjust policy? I do not see too many Indians and even lesser Chinese rallying to Moorthy's side. Instead, you make fun of him.

The Indians, Chinese -- and maybe the Malays as well -- should support Moorthy. You should join him in his hunger strike. If you can't stand not eating then you should show solidarity by launching civil disobedience. There are many ways you can do this. Boycott crony businesses. Go to the doctor and complain about a stomach ailment or migraine and get two days off from work. Switch off your lights for one hour every night. Stay home so that you do not need to drive and therefore do not need to buy any petrol for your car. Stop buying newspapers. Stop watching the news on TV. Stay away from shopping complexes and shopping malls. Don't eat fish, meat and chicken for a whole week.

There are so many things you can do as a sign of solidarity to protest the plight of the Indians in Malaysia. Instead, you make fun of them and mock them. You are not concerned about what happens to the Indians. You also oppose the NEP on the excuse that you seek social justice and fairness for all races. But you do not translate this rhetoric into action when it comes to the Indians.

 

With your head buried in the sand

Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:30 AM PDT

I speak to Malays here in the UK -- professionals who work in the UK, say for the last 10 or 20 years, and whose children were born and now school in the UK -- and they still ask me whether what I am propagating is wise. Do you think we really should end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favour of meritocracy? What will happen to the Malays if we do that? Won't we 'lose' the country to the Chinese?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Yesterday's article, Malaysia at the crossroads, is a most interesting experiment in comprehension. There were more than 100 comments and none answered the point of that whole article: which is, how is the opposition going to woo the Malay voters? That is what the whole article was about and which no one addressed.

I understand, and at times even appreciate, that readers are taking the opportunity to post comments merely to lepas geram (let off steam). They are not really interested in debating or to enter into any discourse. They just want to vent their anger and frustration.

It is like going to the gym to punch the punching ball because you are sexually frustrated and/or your job is a dead-end job with no real future. So you need to hit out at something. Some kick the cat, some punch a ball, and many of you post nasty comments in Malaysia Today.

The 2008 General Election is said to be a landmark for Malaysia's opposition. We would like to believe that a new political culture has emerged. Some say that, finally, the racial divide has been bridged and today people think as Malaysians and no longer as Malays, Chinese and Indians, or as one of the natives of East Malaysia.

Is this true? Many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today appear to think so. But what is the average age of those who post comments in Malaysia Today? 30? 35? 40? How many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today are 65 or 70? How many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today were born before the Second World War, or before Merdeka, or before 1970?

Okay, let us just look at Malaysians who live, work and/or study, say, in the UK. We have Malaysians here in the UK from all the races. UK is an advanced society. Racism is a crime in the UK and you can get sent to jail even for the mildest of racial slurs. If that same law was applied in Malaysia and was strictly enforced, probably 80% of Malaysians would end up in jail.

There are Malaysians who have lived in the UK for 20 years or more. Some were married in the UK and some even born in the UK. Hence these Malaysians in the UK should not have been exposed to Malaysian-style racism and should by now be insulated from racism.

But this is not so. Chinese mix with Chinese. Malays mix with Malays. In fact, most Malays in the UK only want to live in certain residential areas that are monopolised by their 'own kind' -- fellow Malays and in the absence of fellow Malays at least in areas which are predominantly Muslim. And don't tell me that the Chinese are not like that because if this were true then there would not be so many Chinatowns all over the world, the UK included.

I speak to Malays here in the UK -- professionals who work in the UK, say for the last 10 or 20 years, and whose children were born and now school in the UK -- and they still ask me whether what I am propagating is wise. Do you think we really should end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favour of meritocracy? What will happen to the Malays if we do that? Won't we 'lose' the country to the Chinese?

Now, these are Malay professionals who are doing well in the UK not because of the NEP but because of merits. They got their positions not because of the colour of their skin but because they are qualified. Their children are in a local Mat Salleh school and are top of the class or at least in the top ten or top five.

You are doing well, I tell them. Are you doing well because the UK has an NEP and you got your job because you are Malay or because you are good at your job and/or qualified for the job? Your children are doing very well in school and can compete with the 'whites'. Is this because of the NEP or because they have brains?

They agree that the NEP has nothing to do with it. Maybe in the beginning it was because of the NEP -- and because of the NEP they managed to receive a good education. But from thereon it had nothing to do with the NEP. They compete on a level playing field and they excelled, as did their children in school, entirely on their own merits and with no handicap or advantages.

Okay, I tell them, in short, you are who you are has nothing to do with the NEP and the only benefit that you can see from the NEP is that you received an education. However, judging by how well your children are doing in school, even without the NEP you would still have made it in life just as long as you were allowed the opportunity of a good education.

In short, I ask them, if Malaysia did not have any NEP but had enough schools, colleges, universities, teachers, lecturers, etc., you would have still made it even without any quota system and the only reason you need a quota system is because of a shortage of educational facilities?

They agreed that that is correct.

So we do not need the NEP, right? We need more institutions of learning so that the quota system can end.

When I summed it up that way they hesitated. As logical as this argument may sound, they were not too sure. They still felt that removing or abolishing the NEP would not be good for the Malays.

My wife, Marina, would listen to this exchange and later, when we are alone, she would express her awe at the mind of these Malays. They live and work in the UK. They and their children are doing well. And they are doing well not because of the NEP. So they do not need the NEP. And yet they are not prepared to let go of the NEP in spite of the fact they do not need it.

That is how the mind of the Malay works. And these are Malays in the UK. What about Malays in Malaysia? Would they not also be thinking like this, or worse?

Earlier this year I gave a talk in Cambridge called For God, King and Racism (lifted from the saying 'For God, King and Country'). It was a one and half hour talk about the history of racism in Malaysia, mainly the 'three Rs' that I had written about before more than once -- race, religion, royalty.

As I had explained before, these are the concerns of the Malays -- even Malays who have lived/worked 20 years in the UK and who should, therefore, not be concerned about such matters. And Umno is aware of these concerns. And Umno knows how to play on these concerns to garner Malay support.

The non-Malays in the opposition, however -- many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today -- are not sensitive to these concerns. Instead you do the opposite. Rather than address these concerns you engage in Malay-, Islam-, and/or Royalty-bashing.

Do you really think this will ensure that the opposition is going to get Malay support?

Look at the results of the 2008 General Election. Look at where the seats that DAP won are. Look at where the seats that PAS won are. Look at where the seats that PKR won.

Is it merely a coincidence that the seats that DAP won were mostly in areas where the Chinese voters were more than 50% or the Malay voters were less 40%? Of course, there were some seats that DAP won where the Malay voters were higher than the Chinese voters, mainly in the cities or main towns, which were 'delivered' by PAS.

PAS won seats where the Malay voters were predominantly Malay while PKR did well in areas where it was about 50:50 Malay:non-Malay.

In short, the voting pattern was along racial lines. Race still very much determines how people vote. As much as we would like to believe that the 2008 General Election was a landmark election where Malaysians no longer voted along racial lines, this is not true.

Many of you who comment in Malaysia Today make the Malays saki hati (hurt the feelings of the Malays). Hell, even I saki hati with the DAP Chinese supporters and can no longer tahan the arrogance in your comments (in case you are too stupid to realise that). No, Umno did not win us over, as many of you allege. Instead, your foul mouths have sent us away. And this is the feeling of many Malays who voted Pakatan Rakyat in the last general election.

In 2008, many people screamed ABU (asal bukan Umno or anything but Umno). Today, these same people are screaming ABC (asal bukan Cina). Is this how you want to face the coming general election?

As I said earlier, many of you are in your 20s, 30s or 40s. Some of us who were born before the Second World War, before Merdeka, or before 1970 have seen what it was like in the old days. And what is frightening is that we seem to be seeing a repeat of that era. And yet even more frightening is that many of you just do not see this. And when we point this out and try to caution you that the situation is not at all healthy, you respond with allegations that we are serving Umno's agenda and are trying to play up the fear factor.

That is what is called denial syndrome.

 

The one-track mind

Posted: 12 Mar 2013 01:44 PM PDT

And that is the most important criteria to get Malaysian citizenship. And that is why many foreigners have been given Malaysian citizenship. So I don't know why many of you grumble and complain about the 'Projek IC' in Sabah. Maybe one million people have been given ICs. But then these people are exactly like you -- ignorant people who have no ability to think beyond the one-track. So why should they not be given Malaysian citizenship when they possess the brain of a Malaysian?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

After living in the East Coast of West Malaysia for 20 years from 1974-1994, and after interacting with the local 'natives' of Terengganu and Kelantan, you tend to develop a pretty good idea as to how their mind works.

Terengganu and Kelantan is predominantly Malay-Muslim with some areas comprising of 70%-90% farmers and fishermen. The people there are actually very nice and friendly although many of them harbour the wrong impression of the non-Malays/non-Muslims, mainly due to ignorance.

For example, they ('they' not necessarily meaning everyone but some: the degree or percentage not known, though, since I have not conducted any poll) think that the Chinese can live as husband and wife, although they may not be legally married, mainly because Chinese do not have any religion and hence, according to Chinese 'norms', this is not an immoral thing.

My wife, Marina, was shocked when one day a kampong woman told her this. Marina had to tell her that the Chinese, just like the Malays, do have a concept of morality and most of what is considered immoral for Malays is also immoral for Chinese. And this kampong woman was actually quite surprised that the Chinese, too, have moral values.

They also think that the Chinese businessmen and shopkeepers cheat due to the same reason -- meaning that the Chinese do not have any religion and hence they do not have any concept of heaven and hell where you later pay for the bad things that you do (or get rewarded for the good things that you do). This means it is in the Chinese character to be dishonest since they are not accountable for their actions in the Afterlife.

I suppose the manner in how you treat people from another community depends on how you perceive them and what you think of them. Hence if you think that the Chinese are 'immoral' and 'dishonest' only because they do not have any religion to guide them regarding right and wrong, then you accept the fact that you cannot expect the Chinese to be 'good' people but then you should not blame them also since they do not have the advantage of a religion to help guide them.

And this is the problem with how these people think. They think that morality and honesty are not part of the Chinese character not because the Chinese are bad people but because, to the Chinese, these concepts do not exist due to the absence of religion.

Can you see what ignorance can do to you? Part of the blame must certainly go to that person who is ignorant because it is your duty to get educated. However, the Chinese too need to also make themselves understood. And that is why I always write articles about the Malays and Islam. I feel many non-Malays/non-Muslims have misconceptions about the Malays and Islam mainly because they don't bother to find out (just like the Malays do not bother to find out about the non-Malays/non-Muslims).

One more thing about the Malays is that they believe very strongly in bomoh (witch doctors), black magic, good genies (jin), bad genies, evil spirits, tangkal (lucky charms), etc. Tangkal are supposed to make you invincible and bullets, knives, etc., would not be able to penetrate your body.

Maznah Ismail a.k.a. Mona Fendi (picture above) was supposed to be a specialist in tangkal that gives you invincibility. Unfortunately for her client, though, Pahang State Assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris, it did not work and when they conducted the test, the parang (machete) went deep into his skull and killed him (it was supposed to have bounced off his skull without leaving a scratch).

It seems some of those Filipino Muslim soldiers who infiltrated Sabah recently and who were shot dead had tangkal on their bodies as well -- although they did not quite work (since they were shot dead). Not quite an endorsement for those bomoh who manufactured those tangkal for the Filipino Muslim army. On some of those dead soldiers the tangkal was found between their legs. Maybe this was to make sure that they don't get their balls shot off.

Actually, Chinese, Indians and 'others' also believe in bomoh, tangkal, jin, black magic, and so on. When P.I. Balasubramanian suffered his heart attack a few days ago, they said that 'First Lady' Rosmah Mansor had used black magic on him. Hence he was supposed to be suffering from an attack of black magic. I am not sure whether they thought so before they discovered what was really wrong with him or whether they meant that the heart attack was due to black magic.

But don't laugh. As funny as it may sound, many people of all races do believe in such things. In fact, when Malays from Terengganu and Kelantan get sick the first thing that comes to mind is that someone must have employed a bomoh to put a spell on you. And they will go to their own bomoh for treatment.

I have known of cases where someone had aches and pains and went to a bomoh for treatment -- who confirmed the aches and pains was because some bad bomoh had put a spell on you. After many months or even years of treatment, the aches and pains would still not go away (and after paying the bomoh a tidy sum of money over all that time).

One day you can't bear the pain any longer and you go to a 'proper' doctor. The doctor then tells you that you are suffering from cancer. However, you should have done something about it earlier. Now it is too late and because of that you will be dead within six months, most likely over the next two months or so.

The bottom line is, if you had gone to the doctor instead of a bomoh you might have been saved. Now, because you wasted your time with the bomoh, it is too late and because of that you are going to die.

Sounds stupid does it not? But this is the way they think. They have a one-track mind. And this is because they are quite ignorant so they are incapable of thinking outside this one-track. Hence if anything goes wrong it can only be because of one thing -- black magic and the work of an evil bomoh.

Many if not most Malaysians have this same mentality. They too are ignorant and have a one-track mind. When something happens they can only think of one reason for this. They are incapable of imagining any other reason other than just this one reason.

For example, if someone disagrees with you or has a different opinion from you then this can only be due to one reason -- and that one reason is that that person has been bought. Your brain is not capable of imagining that there could actually be another reason for this. This is the same mindset as those who think that if your body has aches and pains then it must be because a bomoh has put a spell on you.

I suppose we can't expect everyone to have analytical skills and to have the ability to think beyond the one-track. If you are sick then it can only because of a bomoh using black magic. If someone disagrees with you then it can only be because he/she has been bought.

And that is the most important criteria to get Malaysian citizenship. And that is why many foreigners have been given Malaysian citizenship. So I don't know why many of you grumble and complain about the 'Projek IC' in Sabah. Maybe one million people have been given ICs. But then these people are exactly like you -- ignorant people who have no ability to think beyond the one-track. So why should they not be given Malaysian citizenship when they possess the brain of a Malaysian?

 

Heckling, mocking and debating

Posted: 10 Mar 2013 04:10 PM PDT

I detest hecklers. And that is what a few readers who comment in Malaysia Today are, hecklers. But they imagine themselves as philosophers who are making wise comments that are going to help change entire humankind for the better. And that is why of late I have been putting down these hecklers with my own responses to their silly heckling comments.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There are people who do not understand the difference between heckling, mocking and debating. I suppose these are the types of people who also do not understand the difference between making love, screwing and raping. To these people, brutally grabbing a female and ravaging her against her will comes under the category of 'making love'.

Absolutely no class! Manners of country bumpkins!

But then I suppose we can't blame them. These people did not receive an education at good schools like the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) or the Victoria Institution (VI) -- both schools that I went to. Many of them were schooled in obscure small towns that still had bucket latrines up to the 1960s or 1970s, or in kampong schools or vernacular/mother-tongue hole-in-the-wall schools.

You can take the village idiot out of the village but you can't take the village mentality out of the village idiot, as the saying goes. Hence you can send them to school but that does not necessarily mean they will receive an education. Education is not just about going to school. After all even monkeys can be taught tricks and then sent into space after being taught these tricks. Hence you may have gone to school but whether you are still a monkey is yet to be seen.

I detest hecklers. And that is what a few readers who comment in Malaysia Today are, hecklers. But they imagine themselves as philosophers who are making wise comments that are going to help change entire humankind for the better. And that is why of late I have been putting down these hecklers with my own responses to their silly heckling comments.

I remember an incident that happened about 30 years ago back in the early 1980s. Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock, the Chairman of Johan Holdings Berhad and George Kent (M) Bhd, took me (and our wives) for dinner at The Paddock in the (old) Kuala Lumpur Hilton. There was a comedian on stage and he was pretty good.

But we could not hear what the comedian was saying because there were two Malay chaps pissed-drunk at the table behind us who were heckling him. I noticed the manager, escorted by a security guard, going up to them to request them to tone down a bit because everyone was staring at them and were clearly quite upset with the disturbance. But these two pissed-drunk Malay chaps continued heckling the comedian until it came to a stage that he became quite flustered and did not know how to continue with his routine.

That was when I stood up and walked over to the table of these two very drunk hecklers and told them to shut the fuck up. The manager and security guard knew that the whole thing was about to turn ugly but before they could separate us one of the Malay chaps stood up and made a move towards me.

In that type of situation there is more room for talk. I punched the chap and he fell back into his chair quite stunned. For the rest of the night he remained very quiet and just 'enjoyed' the show. I think he must have been 'boiling' because after a while he came over to my table and demanded to know why I had punched him. The manager quickly grabbed him and pulled him back to his table before I could rearrange his face.

Well, okay, that was 30 years ago and I was still in my early 30s and hence quite darah panas (hot headed). Nevertheless, although I am not so fist-of-fury any longer, as I used to be, I still have zero tolerance for hecklers.

A few years ago (before the 2008 GE) I attended a debate between Umno Youth and PKR Youth at the PWTC. The Umno Youth and Puteri Umno members in the audience were very well behaved. The PKR Youth members, however, were heckling the Umno Youth debaters every time they stood up to debate.

The Umno Youth and Puteri Umno members did not do the same to the PKR Youth debaters when they stood up to debate. They Umno boys and girls behaved well and they allowed the PKR Youth debaters to say their piece without any interruptions. And even as the PKR Youth members heckled the Umno Youth debaters the Umno Youth debaters still smiled and continued in a civil manner without showing any signs of irritation.

The PKR Youth hecklers were sitting in the row right behind me (I was sitting next to Cikgu Bad so he can confirm this incident) so I could not hear the debate due to all the commotion. I turned to the PKR Youth chaps and told them to shut up and show some respect to the debaters. They kept quiet for a while and then continued heckling. I got so fed up I walked out of the hall although I wished I could just punch these hecklers in their faces.

Looking back now, I should have punched them in their faces because these people have now all joined Umno and are amongst the greatest critics of Pakatan Rakyat. And if I had known they would one day leave the opposition to join Umno I might have whacked them in the face to shut them up.

Anyway, as I said, Malaysia Today, too, has its share of hecklers who do not address, rebut or reply to the points in the article or report. They totally ignore the issues and instead just heckle. And these are the people I respond to with my sarcastic comments. It is not so much bringing myself down to their level but more to give them a taste of their own medicine. After all, I too can be nasty and post racist comments as well as they can.

But the most important thing, though, is that I put my name to my comments while they heckle under false identities without revealing who they are. And this is because they have not been properly educated and brought up like I have. I mean, they may have gone to school but they still demonstrate the mentality of their forefathers from the new villages, fishing villages, padi-fields, rubber estates, tin mines, and so on.

You can bring the descendants of people from the new villages, fishing villages, padi-fields, rubber estates and tin mines out of the new villages, fishing villages, padi-fields, rubber estates and tin mines, but you can never remove the new village, fishing village, padi-field, rubber estate and tin mine mentality from their brain.

Do I sound pompous? I hope so because I intended it to be so.

 
Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net
 

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