Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Hisham, Rais, must apologise to M’sians for national shame
- Pakatan promises affordable housing, after cheaper cars, free education
- Malaysian role vexes Thai conflict
- Malaysia wants to prevent homosexuality from spreading
- Dr M: Leaders can be reproached and challenged
- How the knife cuts both ways
- I retract and apologise to any Muslim who is offended by my tweet
- Najib’s turn at Google Hangout, aims for cyber-savvy crowd
- Umat Islam mesti bangkit kecam hina Rasulullah
- On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God
- Sam Harris on the Innocence of Muslims affair
- Subversive practices
- Umno, PAS youth wings to hold separate protests over anti-Islam video, cartoon
- Hudud feud heats up between Karpal and PAS leaders
- Actress sues California man behind anti-Muslim film
- Najib tells Chinese voters to stop ‘confrontational culture’
- Umno will never regain Selangor
- Battle between ‘familiarity’ and ‘change’
- Najib’s theatre of dreams
- Appointment of Prime Minister
- Living in the shadows of our vote
- Who’s your Daddy? Part 2
- Innocence of Muslims: How fiction creates reality
- Guidelines for women bosses spark outcry
- Registration of Overseas Voter
- Mayra Nazarbayev released
| Hisham, Rais, must apologise to M’sians for national shame Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:29 PM PDT
Datuk Chua Jui Meng BERNAMA's admission that its pictures were doctored has shamed Malaysia globally in the most unethical manner. It is the Barisan Nasional (BN) government's national news agency and therefore the ministers linked to media affairs, namely Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim, must apologise to Malaysians for the national shame. They must start thinking out of the box and not resort to looking for scapegoats to cover up what was committed intentionally. I guess that would be too much for the ministers and the BN to stomach. After 55 years of Merdeka (Independence), Malaysians cannot continue to rely on a government that is unable to think out of the box to do the right thing. BN resorts to cover-ups and sweeping everything under the carpet whenever blunders and scandals erupt. Admitting that its photographs of prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in Pekan, Pahang (an east coast state of the peninsula), were doctored to reflect huge crowds is not enough. Finding a scapegoat to take the rap is also deplorable as it will further shame Malaysia. Very few Malaysians, save for loyal BN supporters who are always giving blind support, believe that the doctoring of pictures was the act of an individual out to sabotage the national news agency. The delayed admission by Bernama that its pictures were doctored raises doubts of sincerity. The admission came only after a series of pictures were posted on the internet that clearly showed the visuals were fakes. Bernama's editor-in-chief Yong Soo Heong was quick to deny the pictures were fake and that the news agency had no time to engage in such unethical work. When more of such pictures were posted in the internet, Bernama buckled under mounting pressure and admitted guilt. Suddenly, Yong says "Bernama has conducted an initial investigation into allegations that one of its recent photographs was manipulated and found the flawed picture was discovered at the source from where it was sent". Do you expect Malaysians to believe Yong who was quick to dismiss the allegations when the picture was clearly doctored and then admitted guilt when pressure for the truth continued to mount. I doubt the doctoring was done by the photographer who would not be so stupid to put his job on the line because such doctoring can be easily detected. But he could have been pressured by his superiors to do so. Whatever, this is going to be another case of going after the ikan bilis (anchovy or small fish) instead of the big fish. |
| Pakatan promises affordable housing, after cheaper cars, free education Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:22 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) budget proposals next week will highlight affordable housing, a touchy subject that urbanites and unionists have asked the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) to act on as house prices are rising faster than income levels. The federal opposition coalition had earlier promised to slash vehicles prices and offer free tertiary education, and the move on housing prices is seen as a sweetener to win more support to capture Putrajaya in the next general election which must be held by middle 2013. PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli said the PR budget proposals, to be unveiled on September 24 by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, will address the two issues which are driving housing prices up. "The first reason is speculation. There is no denying that Barisan Nasional has been trying to counter this by controlling credit for housing but this textbook style in dealing with the issue is too late," he told The Malaysian Insider, saying credit restrictions were not working as speculators no longer approached banks for funds and instead pooled their resources. Rafizi said there was also a need to regulate developers who hand out rebates and discounts after setting prices. "They (developers) give so many rebates and discounts and deducting all this, suddenly you find that the house is only RM900,000. "But because the initial value was a million, it pushes up the base line for housing prices," he added. He said there were a lot of "nitty gritty items" needing review, adding that BN's handling of the crisis was not detailed and thorough enough to curb speculation. "The government has also abdicated the role of providing housing to private contractors, so now we in PR have to look at different ways to balance the supply for affordable housing," Rafizi said, adding that there was no drive for contractors to build affordable houses. He said that instead of Putrajaya's move to guarantee aid to first-time homeowners through the My First Home Scheme announced in Budget 2012, PR would look into increasing the supply of affordable housing but added that the issue would not be resolved overnight. "We won't see any effects until the third year because this problem cannot be solved quickly, even in one or two years," said the trained accountant, adding it was a matter of cost and cashflow. "BN would never admit to this, but whenever we come out with a policy, we will always give a proper cashflow along with it. So I can assure everyone that the plan is sound," Rafizi said. He added that proposals in the PR budget will be backed up by background costing and would not be including the earlier policies promised by the opposition pact. "The onus is on us to prove that our plans are viable, as we have done with our car policy and even with our PTPTN policy; the figures and cashflow we provide will tally," Rafizi said. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pakatan-promises-affordable-housing-after-cheaper-cars-free-education/ |
| Malaysian role vexes Thai conflict Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:14 PM PDT
(Asia Times) -- PATTANI - When Malay Muslim insurgents recently staked Malaysian flags along roads, pedestrian bridges and on electricity poles across Thailand's predominantly Muslim southernmost provinces, the symbolic acts of rebellion highlighted Malaysia's often overlooked cross-border role in the deadly conflict. Although Thai officials have consistently characterized the situation as homegrown, that interpretation is stretched by the fact that many Malay Muslim Thai nationals share an ethnic and religious affinity with Malaysia's ethnic majority. Malaysia has long served as a source of sanctuary for ethnic Malay separatists who launch attacks in Thailand and flee to safety across the border. Read more at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NI21Ae01.html
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| Malaysia wants to prevent homosexuality from spreading Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:11 PM PDT
(Business Standard) - Malaysia's education ministry today said it viewed the phenomenon of homosexuality seriously and wants to make sure it does not spread in schools, days after it distanced itself from 'guidelines' issued by a seminar on how to identify gay tendencies in children. Deputy Education minister, Mohd Puad Zarkashi said various measures had and would be taken, including appointing counsellors in schools to help parents understand the issue and the dangers it posed. "However, the ministry does not intend to issue set guidelines to curb the LGBT phenomenon although we realise that it is increasingly evident in this country," he told a parenting seminar on tackling the LGBT issue. Mohd Puad said the question of set guidelines did not arise, but many people might have thought that the ministry was directly involved in fighting the LGBT menace by issuing such guidelines. "Actually, we want to educate parents and expose them to the LGBT threat but the parents themselves, through the consultative council, expressed their worry over the LGBT phenomenon," he was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying. Mohd Puad said the ministry was of the opinion that the LGBT symptoms be honestly made known to parents and teachers so that the problem involving the young, especially those still schooling, could be checked. "The time has come for the LGBT issue be discussed openly and not treat it as a taboo subject, just like when we introduced sex education in schools where we undertook various measures including naming the subject health and reproductive education," he said. Meanwhile, Shahlan Ismail, chairman of the parent teachers consultative council said that so far 11 seminars nationwide had been organised by the Council on the LGBT issue, to discuss with parents the "symptoms" and "preventive measures" as well as the dangers posed by the phenomenon. "These seminars are not aimed at encouraging the public to get rid of LGBTs as claimed by some quarters, or to use violence against them or to arrest them," Bernama quoted him as saying. |
| Dr M: Leaders can be reproached and challenged Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:06 PM PDT
(Bernama) - "During my time (as prime minister), I was reproached by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa Hitam and there were also scores of people who were angry with me," he said. Leaders can be reproached and challenged if it is felt they have strayed from the struggle to develop society and the nation, says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. "(We do it) when we have the opportunity to do so, but not in an angry or insulting manner. We give opinions that can be taken into consideration by the leaders," he said. Speaking to reporters after a discussion on leadership at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), here yesterday, he said the leaders too must be open to challenge and reprovals. "During my time (as prime minister), I was reproached by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa Hitam and there were also scores of people who were angry with me," he said. Dr Mahathir said leaders must also not overstay in power and "go when it is time for them to go, although they are popular among the people". Asked how a leader would know if it is time to step down, he said: "A leader must be able to read the people's mind and there would be indications or signals for him to go." However, he said, it would be bad if the time given to a leader to lead was too short that he could not learn his job, formulate some policies and implement them. "Five years? Ten years? Some countries limit it (term) to five years. That is not good. "People need to give time to a leader unless of course if he is very bad, filling his own pocket, giving priority to his family and something like that. If he is not like that, then you allow him to stay on at least for another term". On the 13th general election, Dr Mahathir said the problem that he saw in Barisan Nasional at the moment was that there were too many people who considered themselves as the best candidates. "When not elected as candidates, these people will go all out to prevent the elected candidates from winning." He said another thing that would hinder BN from winning two-thirds majority comfortably in the elections was that the people were easily influenced by the feeling of hatred being stirred up against the government by the opposition. |
| Posted: 19 Sep 2012 05:40 PM PDT
Ngeh's statement was also about taking to the streets being a waste of time. What Ngeh said was basically almost the same as what Tunku Aziz said. But Tunku Aziz was demonised while Ngeh was not. In fact, the reverse happened. PAS supports Ngeh's right to air this personal view, a right not allowed Tunku Aziz. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
Perak DAP Chief Ngeh Koo Ham – you are a complete disgrace (The Kuala Lumpur Post) - Ngeh Koo Ham – you are a complete disgrace. You are just like the other arrogant DAP leaders who do not use their head when they tweet. How does one describe the DAP leader Manoharan who posted a tweet to run down our badminton hero Lee Chong Wei. The Perak DAP chief, we are sure, is the kind who would run down Malaysia when he is overseas. We bet our last ringgit he does that. He is the kind of chauvinist leader who appeals to the many whining Malaysians – who lives in a affluent neighbourhood, has a maid, has three cars or more, travels overseas and enjoys the best of Malaysian life! One can speculate what are Ngeh's private views regarding the controversial anti-Islam Innocence of Muslims video clip. He has a sick mind because only a racist mind would post a tweet that read: "Khairy wants Muslim protest against Sam Bacile. For Islam or his political gains? Are Muslims wasting too much time and energy on this." He has tried to wriggle out of this provocative tweet by claiming he was merely posing a question. Come on, Ngeh, you must think we are as stupid as your DAP groupies and zombies. You should stop lying and come out with an apology instead. You are clearly insensitive but worse, you have offended the majority of Muslims in Malaysia. A mistake is one thing but to put that offensive question is another thing. You can only say you are a bloody disgrace. ****************************************** Ngeh Koo Ham keluarkan pandangan peribadi, kata Hatta Ramli (The Malaysian Insider) - Bendahari PAS Pusat Dr Hatta Mohd Ramli berkata, pengerusi DAP Perak, Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham hanya mengeluarkan pandangan peribadi mengenai demonstrasi menentang klip video nabi yang akan dilangsungkan esok di hadapan Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan tidak mewakili pandangan keseluruhan ahli Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Menurut beliau, di dalam sebuah negara demokratik, setiap orang berhak untuk mengeluarkan pandangan sendiri asalkan ia tidak melampaui batas. Pada 16 September lalu, Ngeh telah menulis dalam laman sosial Twitter yang bertulis, "Khairy mahu umat Islam berdemo menentang (klip video) Sam Bacile, untuk Islam atau kepentingan politik? Kenapa umat Islam membuang masa dan tenaga untuk semua ini." Berikutan dengan kenyataan itu, ia menimbulkan perasaan kurang senang di kalangan beberapa pihak yang mengatakan Ngeh tidak sensitif dengan isu yang berkait dengan agama Islam. Menurut Dr Hatta lagi, hubungan DAP dan PAS akan terus kekal rapat dalam kerjasama PR biarpun terdapat perbezaan dalam beberapa isu. ****************************************** The above was what an Umno Blog wrote, and republished by a few news portals and websites. Ngeh has since apologised for that faux pas here: I retract and apologise to any Muslim who is offended by my tweet. According to Dr Hatta Mohd Ramli of PAS, Ngeh's 'outburst' was his personal view. Dr Hatta also said, "…di dalam sebuah negara demokratik, setiap orang berhak untuk mengeluarkan pandangan sendiri asalkan ia tidak melampaui batas." (In a democratic country, everyone has a right to air his/her personal view as long as it does not exceed the boundary). It is apparent that Umno is going to town on this faux pas and this is going to hurt DAP quite badly. And I really don't blame Umno. If I were in Umno's Black Ops or Psychological Warfare team I would do the same. This is certainly not an opportunity to be missed. But that is not the issue I want to talk about. After all, race, religion and personal attacks are the stuff that Malaysian politics is made of. Basically, it is primary school-level politics. And when words fail, they will resort to violence. So far, over the last year or so, we have seen the fringes of this violence. Rest assured more and harder stuff is coming and those who talk the most will probably hide within the safety of their homes while those innocent of any involvement will have to suffer the consequences and retaliation. This is the sad reality of violence. Dr Hatta's conclusion is that everyone has a right to his/her personal view. And Ngeh's statement was just that, his personal view. Hence PAS will not lose any sleep over what Ngeh said. It is very comforting and reassuring to hear Dr Hatta say that. But then Dr Hatta is a liberal Muslim and the product of the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). Hence he has been moulded into tolerating dissenting views and criticism -- although he may be a leader of an Islamic party and the dissenting view is regarding Islam. So, not all the more than one billion Muslims are bloodthirsty, medieval-minded, intolerant people. There are many amongst that more than one billion who are open-minded and tolerant of criticism. It is only that they can't be bothered to argue with the close-minded Muslims. Most of us have learned years ago that it is a waste of time trying to debate with religious bigots, never mind from which religion they may come from -- they are all the same. Hence that is the bottom line -- just ignore the religious bigots. When you ignore them they eventually just shut up and go home. It is when you layan (engage) them that they get all excited. They want an audience and when you give them an audience they will put on an even greater 'show'. A crucial part of Dr Hatta's statement is that as long as it does not exceed the boundary (asalkan ia tidak melampaui batas) it is okay to express your personal view. And herein lies the problem. Where is this boundary and at what point would one be perceived as 'exceeding the boundary'? Is calling Anwar Ibrahim BABI (Brother Anwar Bin Ibrahim), as what the Umno Blogs do, be melampaui batas? What about calling Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Mahatahi? Is this within the boundary (tidak melampaui batas)? The boundary is invisible and very subjective. I would consider BABI and Mahatahi as definitely melampaui batas. The Umno and Pakatan supporters, however, do not think so. They think this is very kosher. In that case would calling Prophet Muhammad a paedophile be considered kosher or melampaui batas? I suppose the yardstick would be: do unto others as you would others do unto you. Some Umno Bloggers call my mother a prostitute. I hate that. Hence I would not call any other person's mother a prostitute since I do not like my mother being called that. The more crucial issue in this whole Ngeh episode is that Dr Hatta regards what Ngeh said as his personal view and that under a democracy Ngeh has a right to his personal views. Okay, that is well and fine -- what Ngeh said is his personal view and under a democracy Ngeh has a right to his personal views. But do the DAP people also practice what Dr Hatta's preaches? I remember when Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim expressed his personal view and he was whacked kau-kau for that. Does not Tunku Aziz also have a right to his personal view just like Ngeh? What Tunku Aziz said was regarding demonstrations. He did not think Malaysians should take to the streets, as this is a violation of Malaysian laws. (Whether we agree or not with that law would be another matter but it would still be breaking the law). Ngeh's statement was also about taking to the streets being a waste of time. What Ngeh said was basically almost the same as what Tunku Aziz said. But Tunku Aziz was demonised while Ngeh was not. In fact, the reverse happened. PAS supports Ngeh's right to air this personal view, a right not allowed Tunku Aziz. The opposition has to decide whether freedom of speech is allowed or not. No need to ask Umno or Barisan Nasional this question. Umno and Barisan Nasional do not allow freedom of speech. It is the opposition that is fighting for freedom of speech. So we need to ask the opposition this question, not ask Umno or Barisan Nasional. It appears like the opposition is not consistent with its stand regarding freedom of speech. When we say something they don't like they whack us. They call us all sorts of foul names. They call us a traitor and turncoat. They call us a Trojan horse. But when they commit a faux pas they scream freedom of speech to squirm out of their mistake. And please stop this "if you criticise the opposition that means you support Barisan Nasional" nonsense. That is so, so childish. Some of us might do just that, support Barisan Nasional, just to teach you phoneys and fakes a lesson. Barisan Nasional may be bad but at least they do not pretend to be angels. They are bad and proud of it. You opposition people pretend to be angels but behind that mask you are no different from Barisan Nasional. Just practice what you preach. Walk the talk. Then you will get our support. Until then, shape up or ship out. Your choice!
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| I retract and apologise to any Muslim who is offended by my tweet Posted: 19 Sep 2012 03:47 PM PDT
Ngeh Koo Ham
I retract and apologise to any Muslim who is offended by my tweet as it was never intended to be so. It was 1.43 am 17th September 2012, after seeing world news on CNN, BBC and Al Ajazeera showing violent protests in various parts of the world where lives were lost, many injured properties gutted and unrest ensued in response to the video produced by Sam Bacile, and after reading the news in Malaysiakini.com that YB Khairy Jamaluddin has planned to hold massive protest coming Friday (21st Sept 2012) with regard to the same matter that I tweeted the following words 'Khairy wants muslim protest against Same Bacile. For Islam or for his political gains? Are muslims wasting to much time and energy on this?' In the context of the violent protests round the world and the many demonstrations to be held that I posed the question 'Are muslims wasting too much time and energy on this?' I was wondering if too much time and energy have been spent in response to the 13.5 minutes video produced by a mad man in the name of Sam Bacile. I wanted our society to think deeper with regard to the way we response to any provocation or issue that confronts us. I have been taught and have always emphasized to the young never to react but always to respond. I want to make it very clear my following stands:- 1. I strongly condemn the video and its producer for belittling the faith/religion of another person and reiterate support for the stand that has been taken by DAP on this issue which is contained in the media statement issued by my party's Secretary General on 16/9/2012. 2. I totally support the rights of a person to hold peaceful demonstrations. In my 23 years of active political involvement, I have organized scores of demonstration in Perak. I was arrested by the police in Bersih 2.0 and was there at Bersih 3.0. The abovesaid tweet has now been twisted by UMNO/BN to say I belittle Islam. This is a total lie. However, having explain the context in which my question was posed, any Muslim who is still offended by the question I posed, I apologise as that was never intended. I feel comforted that a leading Muslim cleric Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of international union of Muslim Scholars, Encik Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya, the Executive Committee Chairman of Malaysia Young Ulama Assembly and Encik Musa Awang, the President of the Syarie lawyers of Malaysia have also come forward to call for restraint in the response to this video issue. |
| Najib’s turn at Google Hangout, aims for cyber-savvy crowd Posted: 19 Sep 2012 03:36 PM PDT
Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak will host a Google Hangout on September 29, becoming the second Malaysian politician to connect with IT-savvy Malaysians especially youths who form a distinct demographic of the 13 million eligible to vote in the next general election. The Malaysian Insider understands that the prime minister will answer questions in the hour-long session in the online forum from 4pm that Saturday, a day after he tables the Budget 2013 proposals in Parliament. The budget is the last one before elections that must be called by middle 2013. "Datuk Seri Najib is having a Google Hangout on September 29 at 4pm and this will add to other efforts in cyberspace," a source told The Malaysian Insider. It is learnt that his communication team is working on the details of the Google Hangout and an advertising campaign to promote the event, which will centre on the government's efforts to develop the country into a high-income developed nation by 2020. It is also understood that Najib, who is finance minister, will also answer questions about the Budget 2013 proposals. The Google Hangout comes at a time when the Malaysian authorities lodged an official complaint to Google and its video-sharing site YouTube about the anti-Islam film clip "Innocence of Muslims" which is seen as denigrating Prophet Muhammad and the faith, which is the country's official religion. YouTube has blocked access to the video clip from Malaysian Internet Protocol (IP) addresses but other services remain. The video-sharing site is popular in Malaysia and is mainly used by opposition politicians who want to bypass local free-to-air television stations which are either run by the state or by pro-government owners. Najib's main political foe, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was the first politician in the country to hold a Google Hangout, which allows virtual meetings of up to 10 people or a broadcast to an online audience of millions. Anwar's event drew thousands when it was held on August 17, two days before the Eid festival when Malaysian Muslims return home to celebrate the end of the holy Ramadan fasting month. US President Barack Obama hosted a Google Hangout last January as part of his re-election campaign. The forum comes in the form of live video connections and video YouTube questions. Najib, who will seek his own mandate in the next polls, is one of the country's most popular politicians online through his blog www.1malaysia.com.my, his two Facebook accounts and his Twitter microblogging account. His main Facebook page has 1,181,087 likes against Anwar's 388,219 likes in a country which has some 12.9 million Facebook accounts.
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| Umat Islam mesti bangkit kecam hina Rasulullah Posted: 19 Sep 2012 03:21 PM PDT Harakah Daily Kami dari Majlis Penyelidikan Dewan Ulama PAS Pusat, sesungguhnya merasa amat kesal dengan tragedi penghinaan kepada Rasulullah SAW melalui filem yang mengaibkan baginda dan menyeru seluruh umat Islam bangkit mengecam dan menentang sebarang bentuk penghinaan sebegini. Sudah sekian kalinya, penghinaan terbuka secara sengaja oleh musuh-musuh Islam berlaku. Inilah malang dan mala petaka apabila umat Islam tidak cakna dan prihatin terhadap agama dan Nabi-Nya, lompang yang kosong dan ruang yang ada digunakan oleh musuh Islam dengan sewenang-wenangnya terhadap kekasih umat yakni Rasulullah SAW. Sesungguhnya umat Islam mampu bersabar dalam menghadapi mehnah, tribulasi dan liku-liku perjuangan hidup tetapi kesabaran ada had dan batasnya. Ini kerana mempertahankan Rasulullah SAW lebih aula dan sewajibnya melebihi ibu bapa hatta diri sendiri. Inilah yang kami imani dan yakin seperti yang diarifkan oleh sejarah para sahabat, tabiin dan salaf al-soleh. Ingatlah jika sekiranya kita berpaling, nescaya Allah akan menggantikan kaum yang lain bukan seperti kita bahkan jauh lebih baik untuk memperjuangkan agama-Nya. Sesungguhnya, mulianya kita selama mana mempunyai izzah dengan Islam dan rasulnya sebaliknya hinanya kita apabila luntur keyakinan dan pegangan kepada agama Islam. Ya Allah, kami menadah tangan munajat kepada-Mu supaya menetapkan hati-hati kami dan pendirian kami dalam mentaati-Mu dan memelihara agama-Mu dan nabi-Mu. Ya Allah, ampunkanlah dosa kami atas kelemahan kami dalam mempertahankan nabi-Mu. Amin.
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| On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God Posted: 19 Sep 2012 02:39 PM PDT
Sam Harris The latest wave of Muslim hysteria and violence has now spread to over twenty countries. The walls of our embassies and consulates have been breached, their precincts abandoned to triumphant mobs, and many people have been murdered—all in response to an unwatchable Internet video titled "Innocence of Muslims." Whether over a film, a cartoon, a novel, a beauty pageant, or an inauspiciously named teddy bear, the coming eruption of pious rage is now as predictable as the dawn. This is already an old and boring story about old, boring, and deadly ideas. And I fear it will be with us for the rest of our lives. Our panic and moral confusion were at first sublimated in attacks upon the hapless Governor Romney. I am no fan of Romney's, and I would find the prospect of his presidency risible if it were not so depressing, but he did accurately detect the first bleats of fear in the Obama administration's reaction to this crisis. Romney got the timing of events wrong—confusing, as many did, a statement made by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for an official government response to the murder of Americans in Libya. But the truth is that the White House struck the same note of apology, disavowing the offending speech while claiming to protect free speech in principle. It may seem a small detail, given the heat of the moment—but so is a quivering lip. Our government followed the path of appeasement further by attempting to silence the irrepressible crackpot Pastor Terry Jones, who had left off burning copies of the Qur'an just long enough to promote the film. The administration also requested that Google remove "Innocence of Muslims" from its servers. These maneuvers attest to one of two psychological and diplomatic realities: Either our government is unwilling to address the problem at hand, or the problem is so vast and terrifying that we have decided to placate the barbarians at the gate. The contagion of moral cowardice followed its usual course, wherein liberal journalists and pundits began to reconsider our most basic freedoms in light of the sadomasochistic fury known as "religious sensitivity" among Muslims. Contributors to The New York Times and NPR spoke of the need to find a balance between free speech and freedom of religion—as though the latter could possibly be infringed by a YouTube video. As predictable as Muslim bullying has become, the moral confusion of secular liberals appears to be part of the same clockwork. Consider what is actually happening: Some percentage of the world's Muslims—Five percent? Fifteen? Fifty? It's not yet clear—is demanding that all non-Muslims conform to the strictures of Islamic law. And where they do not immediately resort to violence in their protests, they threaten it. Carrying a sign that reads "Behead Those Who Insult the Prophet" may still count as an example of peaceful protest, but it is also an assurance that infidel blood would be shed if the imbecile holding the placard only had more power. This grotesque promise is, of course, fulfilled in nearly every Muslim society. To make a film like "Innocence of Muslims" anywhere in the Middle East would be as sure a method of suicide as the laws of physics allow. What exactly was in the film? Who made it? What were their motives? Was Muhammad really depicted? Was that a Qur'an burning, or some other book? Questions of this kind are obscene. Here is where the line must be drawn and defended without apology: We are free to burn the Qur'an or any other book, and to criticize Muhammad or any other human being. Let no one forget it. At moments like this, we inevitably hear—from people who don't know what it's like to believe in paradise—that religion is just a way of channeling popular unrest. The true source of the problem can be found in the history of western aggression in the region. It is our policies, rather than our freedoms, that they hate. I believe that the future of liberalism—and much else—depends on our overcoming this ruinous self-deception. Religion only works as a pretext for political violence because many millions of people actually believe what they say they believe: that imaginary crimes like blasphemy and apostasy are killing offenses.
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| Sam Harris on the Innocence of Muslims affair Posted: 19 Sep 2012 02:35 PM PDT
Talking Philosophy I see that Sam Harris has published a post on the violent responses to what he calls "an unwatchable Internet video titled 'Innocence of Muslims.'" There is much in the post to agree with. For a start, I agree that Innocence of Muslims, or the trailer for it, or selection from it, or whatever the hell that was, is (pretty much) unwatchable. I did actually force myself to watch the damn thing (you can find it easily if you really must), but it is atrocious in every possible respect – bigoted, scurrilous, disjointed, and suffering from the most abyssmal production values since Plan 9 from Outer Space (I know I'm not the first to make the comparison, so apologies to whoever was). Harris dismisses as "obscene" such questions as, "What exactly was in the film? Who made it? What were their motives? Was Muhammad really depicted? Was that a Qur'an burning, or some other book?" I think that's going too far. It does appear that the film was deliberately created to express hatred for Muslims and to provoke a violent backlash. In the circumstances, we can ask these questions about it, especially when we add in further issues such as (apparently credible) claims of actors being conned into thinking they were involved in a very different project. There is much to discuss about the film itself and the circumstances of its production, even if, at the end of the day we agree with Harris that:
Yes, that's right. We do get to express our repudiation of belief systems, including Islam, without being constrained by the power of the state, or so I want to argue (and have done in the past). We can go on to criticise prophets or anyone else. Harris is pretty much correct when he says:
Yes, pretty much right. Only "pretty much" because there's an element of exaggeration to quibble about, the way it's been worded. The problem is not so much that we can't "think aloud" on certain topics as that we cannot publish those thoughts widely, once we've sorted them out, should we take certain strong stances. But even when the point is expressed in a less rhetorical way, it's true that an important freedom has been lost, not through the actions of the state but through the willingness of some Muslims to resort to murder in response to what they see as insults to Islam or their prophet. How should the state and its officials respond – and how should we request that they do so? They may be tempted to suppress some kinds of anti-religious speech and to demonise the speakers as racists and criminals … and in some cases they may even be correct that they are dealing with racists or something very similar. Even leaving aside basic concerns about freedom of speech, however, this response can be counterproductive. If an impression is created that political power is being used to silence opposition to Islam, this will merely add to the resentments against Islam that are already present in Western societies, and which have now been fueled by the violent, in some cases murderous, responses to Innocence of Muslims. More generally, when religious leaders and organisations try to prevent certain speech from being heard or certain images from being seen, this adds to the layers of distrust and resentment. The effect is exacerbated if governments get in on the act, actually assisting to suppress speech and images.
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| Posted: 19 Sep 2012 02:27 PM PDT
Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has committed to fight for votes from swing voters, who vote based on political parties' words and deeds, since he took the office in April 2009. However, two recent missteps of the BN might cost the coalition some votes. Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob disclosed that legal action would be taken against Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd, a company linked to non-governmental organisation Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) due to its misleading and confusing accounts. The move is expected to cause a rebound from other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and members of the public. The image of the BN's government could also be further damaged. The Ministry proceeded with caution and convened six government agencies and units, namely the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), Bank Negara, Registrar of Societies (ROS), Home Ministry, Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission ( MCMC) and the police. The result, however, found no way to take legal action against Suaram for receiving foreign funds and thus, they to investigate based on five sections in the Companies Act 1956, attempting to charge Suaram for its confusing accounts. What does it mean by confusing accounts? The Minister did not describe it in details. However, it is not a wise move to charge a NGO based on such a vague accusation. Suara Inisiatif had submitted its accounts every year and they were all passed. If it is confusing, the SSM should also be responsible for it. The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister recently admitted that there are over a million of companies in Malaysia and it is impossible for the SSM to audit the accounts of all the companies. Since that being the case, the accounts of other companies might have problems, too. It is a double-standard to take legal action only against Suara Inisiatif. Suaram is a human rights NGO founded after the 1987 Operasi lalang by social movement activists and Operasi Lalang participants being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Suaram published the annual Malaysia Human Rights Report since 1998 to monitor the progress of human rights. The organisation also started to award the Human Rights Award to those members of the society who fight for human rights. Suaram has been fighting for human rights over the past 23 years. It has quite a number of supporters and a network in the international community. Therefore, it is not surprising at all to find it backed by about 200 domestic and foreign organisations. If Suaram is charged in court, the government's credibility might be harmed and the people's confidence in the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) might also be undermined. Meanwhile, the guidelines on tackling the issue of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) among students drawn by the Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad and Putrajaya Consultative Council of Parent-Teacher Associations is also splitting the society, creating an atmosphere of discrimination against the LGBT. Should we categorise all boys wearing tight-fitting, sleeveless or V-collar or colourful attire and girls hanging out and sleeping with their female friends as homosexual? The guidelines could turn parents to become extremely suspicious while interfering with young people's freedom of clothing and making friends. They have actually drawn such a set of guidelines to serve political purposes. No wonder it has become a laughingstock in the international community. Immature thinking leads to inappropriate words and deeds. Voters with independent thinking will never have confidence in such officials and law enforcement personnel. This is also an obstacle of the BN in fighting for votes from swing voters.
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| Umno, PAS youth wings to hold separate protests over anti-Islam video, cartoon Posted: 19 Sep 2012 02:12 PM PDT
(The Star) - Umno Youth and PAS Youth will hold separate protests Friday over the anti-Islam video and a satirical cartoon published in a French magazine deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the wing, together with 10 other non-governmental organisations, will now gather at Majid Jamek in Kampung Baru "to show displeasure over the video and cartoon as well as to condemn the violence targeted at innocent people." It is learnt that PAS Youth supporters would continue with their gathering outside the American Embassy in Jalan Tun Razak. Earlier, both sides had reportedly agreed to gather in solidarity outside the embassy. "We have decided to change the venue to the Masjid Jamek due to security reasons," Khairy told a press conference Thursday. "The Home Ministry and police have advised us to break up the crowd as we are expecting more than 5,000 to join the gathering," he said.
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| Hudud feud heats up between Karpal and PAS leaders Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:50 PM PDT
(The Star) - The feud between DAP stalwart Karpal Singh and PAS leaders over the implementation of hudud laws has heightened. The DAP chairman insisted that he had every right to object to the implementation of hudud despite PAS' warning for him not to meddle in its internal affairs. Karpal said PAS, being only a component party in Pakatan Rakyat, should not commit the group to a policy that would have detrimental effects on its aim to attain power. "I hope PAS leaders will carefully re-evaluate the party's stand on the implementation of hudud in the country. They should do so in the interest of Pakatan. "The warning to me by PAS not to interfere in its internal affairs is clearly misplaced and unwarranted," he said in a statement here yesterday. The issue of hudud, added Karpal, could only jeopardise Pakatan's chances of gaining federal power as well as retaining the five states it won in the last general election. Hudud, he said, was not even included in Pakatan's common policy framework enshrined in the Buku Jingga. On Tuesday, PAS ulama vice-chairman Dr Mahfodz Mohamed had advised Karpal not to be a stumbling block when it came to the implementation of hudud law in the country. Karpal also implied that it was pointless to pursue the hudud agenda as even the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code Enactment was void. Reminding PAS leaders that the Federal Constitution was the supreme law of the land, the DAP stalwart said there was no place for hudud in secular Malaysia. Karpal also described it a matter of "grave disturbance" that PAS' upper echelon leaders were still pushing for the implementation of hudud. PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat had said the implementation of hudud should not be delayed because it was a religious obligation. PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib and several other leaders had also said they would not forgo the hudud agenda. Only the Anwarinas in PAS, including Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, had called for an end to free airing of views on hudud as it would jeopardise their performance in the elections.
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| Actress sues California man behind anti-Muslim film Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:41 PM PDT (Reuters) - LOS ANGELES: An actress in an anti-Islam film that triggered violent protests across the Muslim world sued a California man linked to its production yesterday for fraud and slander, saying she had received death threats after the video was posted on YouTube. Actress Cindy Lee Garcia, who also named Google Inc and its YouTube unit as defendants, asked that the film be removed from YouTube and said her right to privacy had been violated and her life endangered, among other allegations. It was the first known civil lawsuit connected to the making of the film that has circulated online as a 13-minute trailer, including under the title "Innocence of Muslims." The film, which portrays the Prophet Mohammad as a womanizer and a fool, helped generate a torrent of violence across the Muslim world last week. The US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in an attack in Benghazi. US and other foreign embassies were stormed in cities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East by furious Muslims. Garcia accused a producer of the movie, whom she identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula along with the alias Sam Bacile, of duping her into appearing in a "hateful" film that she had been led to believe was a simple desert adventure movie. "There was no mention of 'Mohammed' during filming or on set. There were no references made to religion nor was there any sexual content of which Ms. Garcia was aware," said the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. For many Muslims, any depiction of the prophet is blasphemous. Caricatures deemed insulting in the past have provoked protests and drawn condemnation from officials, preachers, ordinary Muslims and many Christians. "This lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment nor on the right for Americans to say what they think, but does request that the offending content be removed from the Internet," the lawsuit said. The suit accuses Nakoula, Google and YouTube of invasion of privacy, unfair business practices, the use of Garcia's likeness without permission and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A representative for Nakoula's criminal attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit. "We are reviewing the complaint and will be in court tomorrow," said a Google spokesman.
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| Najib tells Chinese voters to stop ‘confrontational culture’ Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:33 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak has urged voters from the Chinese community to shun what he called the confrontational culture adopted since Election 2008 in making demands, in a Malaysia Day letter sent out to voters by Barisan Nasional's (BN) campaign machinery in Selangor.
The letter, written in Chinese, appeared targeted at younger voters who are Chinese-educated — with the demographic considered a major supporter of public protests and gatherings such as the last few Bersih rallies.  The Malaysia Day letter which BN sent to primarily Chinese-educated voters in Selangor. Chinese voters are also seen as leaning heavily in favour of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties. "After the March 2008 elections, we have found that the non-confrontational culture had vanished into thin air, to be replaced by a confrontational approach. "Even if we acknowledge street demonstrations and openly debate sensitive subjects as a right of the public, should we not also consider whether a confrontational approach is the right way to solve problems and to push for reforms?" said Najib. The letter sent by Selangor BN was signed by Najib as prime minister and state BN chairman. In the letter, the PM did not cite examples of the confrontational approaches allegedly adopted by voters. But the BN administration has been rocked in recent years by two major public rallies organised by the Bersih electoral reform movement. Police action in violently clamping down on both rallies has hurt the BN government's popularity. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/najib-tells-chinese-voters-to-stop-confrontational-culture/ |
| Umno will never regain Selangor Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:25 PM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - If the voter swing remains at 7% in the coming general election, then Barisan Nasional will likely be left with less than 90 seats.
The general election is expected to be held very soon and that will be the best time for Umno. Later dates would place Umno in a very precarious position to do damage control on issues that are coming out of the woodwork. Also, Umno thinks that what it has done in terms of handing money and cash to the public is sufficient to bring back the voters that it lost in the 2008 general election. We are not going to dispute that assessment. But we are not going to overrate its chances in getting back what it has lost either. On average, the vote swing towards the opposition in 2008 was around 12%. With all the money it has given out, all the propaganda it is dishing out through the audio-visual and Umno-owned new media, it has probably succeeded in getting back at the most 5%. That still leaves a 7% vote swing in favour of Pakatan Rakyat on the whole. If the swing remains at 7%, Barisan Nasional will likely be left with less than 90 seats. They are out! Umno will never regain Selangor Meanwhile, in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory with 11 parliamentary seats, Pakatan still has a surplus of 15%. That is assuming that while Umno went on the offensive, Pakatan has been sleeping. In Selangor specifically, bearing in mind the water issue, I predict the vote swing will stay around 15%. With a 15% vote swing, how will Pakatan fare in Selangor? Umno can only retain the current six parliamentary seats it has if over the past four years Umno has managed to regained 18% of the swing votes it lost in 2008. But that is very unlikely given the gangster-style manner Umno is taking to recapture Selangor. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/09/20/umno-will-never-regain-selangor/
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| Battle between ‘familiarity’ and ‘change’ Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - Can PKR's Rafizi Ramli persuade loyal Pandan voters to veer away from their hardworking two-term Barisan Nasional MP Ong Tee Keat in the coming polls? It will be a battle of many titans in the coming 13th general election. Perhaps, one of the most watched and hotly contested seats in Selangor will be the Pandan parliamentary constituency. To date, speculation is rife that PKR's Rafizi Ramli, 35, will likely challenge MCA's incumbent Ong Tee Keat, 56, provided the latter is still slotted to re-contest in the Pandan seat. Ong is currently serving his second term. Unperturbed by his uncertain political career and resolutely serving his constituents, Ong is also playing his card close to his chest. Since Ong lost his party presidential post – in a three-cornered contest at an extraordinary MCA-AGM election in 2010 – to his arch nemesis Dr Chua Soi Lek, he has been sidelined by his party. However, close supporters in Pandan claimed that Ong has been constantly facing internal sabotages carried out by hidden hands from the higher-ups in his party. His detractors have deliberately spun endless rumours and speculations to discredit his loyalty to his coalition partner, Barisan Nasional. But Ong took it all in his stride, kept his silence and continued his focus on his constituency services. Kelvin Ang, 48, founding publisher of the Malaysia Book of Records (Chinese edition), in commenting on Ong's track record, said: "Since the 2008 [electoral] tsunami, Tee Keat has never stop serving the constituents. "He never bad-mouthed his party predecessors or his critics." Recalling an incident which indicated Ong's commitment to his constituency, Ang said: "I remember on one occasion, Tee Keat had a bleeding nose for having had to walk under the hot weather visiting the constituents. "The next day, he had a plaster across his nose but he still showed up for another event," Ong told FMT. It is this trait in Ong that Rafizi has found "challenging" in the latter's quest for the Pandan seat. Ong admired Rafizi said Ong's success in the previous general election was due to voters' "familiarity" with him, but was doubtful if a similar feat can be achieved in the next general election. According to Rafizi, the next tsunami will drown out Ong's performance record as the majority of the voters want a complete change of national government. What will voters from Pandan want? Will they overwhelmingly vote for "change" hence, rejecting a "familiar" member of parliament who has served them with a personal touch for the past years? As a staunch Buddhist, Ong has many admirers in his constituency. "Tee Keat is straightforward. His distaste for corruption is known within his circle of supporters. That's why those opportunists and pretentious people from his own party do not speak highly of him because they do not get any benefits from any organised charity events," said a local NGO leader CL Liew, 61, who has known Ong for the past 23 years. "Tee Keat is particularly concerned with public safety and his strong, generous support for Rukun Tetangga – providing uniforms and transport logistic vehicles like battery-driven bicycles – was much appreciated. Buddhist organisations and mosques also received much assistance from him during cultural and religious celebrations," Liew said. There are many areas of concern (in Pandan), Ong told FMT. "Pandan's constituency profile comprises middle-income and poor residents. Hence, the large numbers of apartments, low-cost flats and pockets of squatters in the area." "This led to the problem of stratified property management for the medium-cost apartments and condominiums. I think the situation is rather bad. "Problems like flooding and soil erosion are also emerging. For example, Taman Putra, Bukit Permai and Cheras Baru were hit with soil erosion recently, which had never happened before," Ong said, adding that there is a need for more expert management to cope with these concerns. He said that was one reason he had set up a "special squad" to identify areas of neglect to tackle the various problems like garbage collection, road repairs, clogged drains besides upgrading the quality of life of the residents like providing more recreational facilities in green lung areas and children's playground. "The high residential density has also given rise to the need for regular free medical check-ups for the elderly. Mobile clinics, acupuncture services, specialised health screening sessions [ultra sonic screening of digestive tracts] for the poor income group are organised by networking with the various local NGOs, which have been very successful. A haemodialysis centre is also ready to provide services at Taman Maju Jaya in the constituency," he added. Will it be a referendum? For education, Ong said the list of services included free tuition classes for students sitting for the SPM and UPSR examinations. Many long-serving supporters like Ang and Liew acknowledged that Ong is an MP who walked the talk. "For more than 20 years, Tee Keat had served his constituency well and we hope he will be given another chance to re-contest in Pandan," Liew said. Will the fight in Pandan be a referendum for "change" or "personalised services" between Rafizi and Ong? Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/09/20/battle-between-familiarity-and-change/
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| Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:20 PM PDT
Noble thoughts and noble aims litter the prime minister's press awards speeches: they are meant to inspire but ring hollow when delivered to a shallow audience that lives by instructions to sell the sizzle. uppercaise As speeches go, the prime minister struck all the right chords last week at the National Press Club awards night. It would have been a cracker of a speech — had it come from someone else or made in another setting. A cracker of a speech to eager-beaver young cadet reporters, a valedictory speech to journalism graduates, or even as a half-time dressing-room pep talk. Sadly it was not a championship coach speaking, but a prime minister being undercut even as he spoke by those ostensibly on his watch. It could have been worse: it might have been made by that oaf, his deputy, or that motor-trade Johnny waiting stage right. Sadly, too, it was aimed mainly at online irregulars whose loyalty is projected at a price, and to a working press who toil quite comfortably in newsrooms owned and operated by various limbs of the corporatist-state that the prime minister attempts vainly to steer.  Reichstag Perdana, a Potemkim theatre of dreams But the ship of state is a ponderous rotting hulk, not a nimble kayak. And so, as speeches go, it just…went. I don't know if anyone listening to his speech that night felt a sudden onset of vertigo, such are the giddy heights of the prime minister's annual recital of the free-press creed. Reading the NST's abridged version the next morning, though, brought to mind my old Sixth Form English Lit master explaining what Coleridge meant by a willing "suspension of disbelief" — that state of mind required when reading poetry or fiction, of Xanadu or the second-hand thoughts of Reichstag Putrajaya. As with Najib's grand declarations of intent in 2009, over-reaching ambition was quite apparent in a speech that was excellent in parts, as the curate once said; therein the problem: those are the very parts that others don't reach and won't.  Perdana West Too often the prime minister's speeches have had the ring of being pitched both for the files of the National Archives and well as for the ears of Wall Street, Fleet Street, Whitehall, the Executive Building, the Champs Elysees, the Kohlesseum and other such fine hostelries for the transient and the sometimes sentient. Real-life audiences at press nights are not composed of those driven by ambition to plant a footprint in the alley of stars; rather more mundanely, they comprise those enveloped in the machinations of petty flunkies and petty flacks whose eyes are firmly set on the next project, the next contract, and the next election. The nomenclitura, as Dato Sak AK47 calls them. Noble thoughts and noble aims litter the prime minister's press awards speeches: they are meant to inspire but ring hollow when delivered to a shallow audience that lives by instructions to sell the sizzle. It is the advertising copywriter, not the journalist, whose trade requires him to sell the sizzle, not the steak — and the journalist will hear no sizzle in a blancmange. Read more at: http://uppercaise.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/najibs-theatre-of-dreams/ |
| Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:18 PM PDT
When the House has no one commanding a majority, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's discretion can change the course of the nation's history. Shad Saleem Faruqi, The Star OF all the constitutional functions of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the most critical and controversial is the appointment of the Prime Minister. In exercising this function, His Majesty is bound by Article 43(2)(a) which imposes two requirements: the PM designate must be a member of and have the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat. Membership: Unlike in Australia where the PM can belong either to the House of Representatives or the Senate, our PM must be an MP in the Dewan Rakyat. It is conceivable, however, that in some extreme circumstances we may follow the Douglas Home precedent from the UK. In the 60s, Sir Alec Douglas Home, a peer in the House of Lords, was elected leader of the Conservative Party. When his party won the elections, he resigned his peerage and was appointed PM. Soon thereafter, a vacancy was created in the Commons which he contested and won. In Selangor in the 80s, Datuk Abu Hassan was similarly appointed Mentri Besar of Selangor even before he was elected to the State Assembly. Confidence: The wording in Article 43(2) that the PM must be a person who, in the opinion of the monarch, enjoys the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat, creates the impression that the King has a wide, subjective discretion to anoint any MP with the premier's post. The truth is quite different. If there is a party or coalition enjoying an absolute majority in the Dewan Rakyat, the King has no choice but to appoint its leader as the PM. Unlike the Constitutions of nine states with Malay Rulers where the basic law explicitly mentions that the MB must be a Malay/Muslim, the Federal Constitution imposes no requirement of race, religion or region. However, there is a constitutional convention in favour of a Malay appointee. Conventions are not rules of law and this convention may face pressure in the future from a bumiputra aspirant from Sabah or Sarawak. We must remember that the two states together possess 56 parliamentary seats. In the appointment of a PM, his support in the Dewan Negara is irrelevant. His party's or coalition's total popular vote at the elections does not count. It is his seats in the Dewan Rakyat that determine the King's choice. Some factors that may trigger the King's personal discretion are as follows: Death or illness of the PM: If a vacancy arises in the office of the PM due to death or illness (as happened on the demise of Tun Razak in January 1976), the proper course for the monarch would be to wait for the ruling party or coalition to choose its new leader. However, His Majesty may elevate the Deputy to the top post right away without waiting for the party leadership decision. Lack of unanimity: If the ruling party is hopelessly divided on the choice of a leader, it is conceivable that the monarch may make a personal choice from the parliamentary party. Alternatively, as in Australia many times, the King may appoint a person from another party to hold the post temporarily till the majority party makes up its mind. Caretaker government: Malaysia follows the British convention that the PM who advised dissolution, and his Cabinet, remains in office in a caretaker capacity without the need for a new swearing-in. However, if during the dissolution, the PM dies or suffers serious illness, then Article 43(2) permits the Yang di-Pertuan Agong wide discretion to appoint any person who was a member of the last House of Representatives to helm the nation. Hung Parliament: A hung Parliament is one in which no party or coalition commands an absolute majority in the House of Representatives. The government in power can lose its majority in the House for a number of reasons. It may suffer deaths, resignations or defections causing its membership to dip below the 50% + 1 vote. Or, the general election may result in a stalemate and no party or grouping may emerge a clear victor. In such a situation when the House has no one commanding a majority, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's discretion assumes a critical, central role and his decision can change the course of the nation's history. What are his choices? First, he cannot run the country on his own. That would be contrary to the overall spirit of the Constitution. Second, His Majesty cannot order another general election after the just completed indecisive one. The Constitution is clear in Article 55(4) that after a dissolution, the new parliament shall be summoned not later than 120 days. This means that after an election, a PM must be appointed, the House must meet, and a vote of confidence must be taken. Third, if election results are indecisive and no majority government can be installed, the King can follow the "incumbency rule" and allow the caretaker PM to remain at the helm till Parliament is summoned within the 120 day rule. Fourth, in some countries like Nepal the rule is that in hung Parliaments the party with the largest number of seats is given the first chance to form a coalition government. The fifth choice for the monarch is to indulge in broad consultation with all parliamentary factions to see if any one of them can form a viable coalition government capable of enacting the budget and pushing through critical legislation. In such a scenario it is not uncommon for the head of state to require the PM-designate to supply written lists or letters to prove his support and to subject himself to a vote of confidence within a stated period. If no viable coalition can be cobbled together, the sixth choice for the monarch is to allow a minority government or a unity government to lead the nation till new elections are called. |
| Living in the shadows of our vote Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:14 PM PDT
Living in a deteriorating Malaysia requires all citizens to compromise principles. Praba Ganesan, The Malaysian Insider Most people tell me that we need to change government so that a small dishonest group ceases to live off the rakyat. Though this is true there is the other more human reason, we need to change government so that all of us can cease to be dishonest. Face the fact — or as they say these days, read the timeline — living in a deteriorating Malaysia requires all citizens to compromise principles. Reverting to our zeitgeist, "Ini kan Malaysia" (This is Malaysia, after all). For as a matter of survival, to get along — can't swim upstream since we are not salmons — we compromise, maybe less and maybe just enough to get by, but we compromise. Compromising in limited parameters so that we can still point and pontificate at those who flagrantly take without restrain. While the slothful may not know what is shy, the brutal assessment will be that we are both dishonest, with the varying degrees of distinctions just Pyrrhic victories. A change in government offers the chance for everyday Malaysians to take a new road, one that possibly gives them the chance to not be dishonest as a matter of course living in this country. As these paths of dishonesty illustrate. Sub-con the sub-con The evolution of "social engineering" our economy has created a class of those who do not need experience, ability, track record or integrity to win contracts. May it be infrastructure, technology or services. The RM2 company is still king. But the work is then passed down through a chain of sub-contractors, cutting more and more from the rich meat. This is when the sub-contractor's sub-contractor steps in. He will accept the terms. Saying that you will not take tainted business will not feed the employees of an SME, or even yourself. There are seats at the family table, and the bowls need to be full. However, with less meat and just bone staring at you at the commencement of the project proper, adjustments are instituted, as quality and reliability are taken for granted so that an agreeable profit margin remains. Squeezed by the chain of sub-contractors, the actual service deliverer squeezes the end customer. The pain flows down while unfortunately the shame has no name. Have shop must "accommodate" Entertainment outlets — cafes, restaurants, massage centres, bars and mamak stalls (Indian street eateries) — face hidden costs. There are several arrangements necessary with various state agencies — enforcement, regulatory or moral. For many practical needs are not codified into law and the laws we are left with — by-laws and agency purviews — are ambiguous and wide-reaching. If you don't play ball it will always be more laborious to operate. Play ball would mean less emphasis on security, parking and sanitary needs, unless the outlet can pass the hidden costs back to the consumer. Operators opt to work the system, not fight the system. Fighting is no way to run a business. ... So I'll just not pay income tax No one enjoys paying taxes, but in Malaysia there is a Thoreau-like objection to paying taxes. Malaysians at large are convinced it is taxation without representation. The prime minister reads the upcoming Budget, the rest of us have to just suck it up. Neither our MPs or emails matter. They give what they want, to whom they want and in the manner they prefer. So there is massive under-reporting. Can you blame them? It is the government of the day's job to convince that all expenditures have the intention to give the most utility to most numbers of Malaysians or in areas of greatest concern. Stretching the ringgit like the proverbial mother of the pooled income of all family members. And then the long list Of taxi drivers squeezing commuters since they are squeezed by taxi companies. Squeezed without healthcare. There are dishonest taxi drivers worldwide because of the job's nature, but the prevailing culture of oppression they are confronted with eases them into unscrupulous behaviour with greater alacrity. Foreigners get the brunt of it, and everyone is scarred. Of parents facilitating their children relying on tuition centres to game their public examinations. In some instances outright cheating as exam papers are leaked by those in the "game." They say they have to, they are just getting along. They'd cringe and defend themselves by pointing out to the opaque occurrences in boarding schools leading to competitive grades. Everyone is doing something to give their children that extra metre in the sprint, they are just keeping to the rules of engagement. Reducing education, or at least educational excellence, to beating the system. After 11 years conditioned like this, why is anyone surprised that the young thing cheating online is caught? And when caught, there is no remorse just a realisation that the next cheat has to be better arranged. Of millions of Malaysian homes renovated without local council approval because there are no straightforward processes at their offices. Better than running around government offices like a headless chicken, just do it and "arrange" things with enforcers when they show up. Of hiding your sexuality because there has been no engagement by the state; to protect the civil liberties of citizens as expressly stated in our Constitution. Sure, religions present absolutes but states are about benefiting all members, not just those you agree with or share your religious proclivities. There are no easy answers, but there can never be an outcome or equitable compromise if the state is unwilling to engage biological realities. Of hiding your ethnicity for political expediencies. Those blokes in Penang who immensely enjoy banana leaf meals (Indian food-style) — not the sanitised ones, the "karat" (unadulterated) ones. Or my Rawa friend who speaks of his community in Gopeng. The Acheh, Javanese, Filipino, Arab and rest who downplay their own origins so that they are fit into the single conveyor belt the system has. Of tertiary institutes — new public colleges, polytechnics turned to universities, foreign universities' local chapters, tuition centres turned to colleges, etc — that mushroomed in the last 15 years, focussed on looking at undergraduates as cattle. Drawing unqualified students to waste five years only to be incredibly unemployable. Two years in technical school to be a plumber and auto mechanic would have given them more job opportunities and better pay, as specialised training matters — if only to make sure that cars don't crash because of poor maintenance. Of performers in TV and other shows who wear multiple layers of clothing to sate the Puritan censor, and in their club performances get back to their own preference. Same too film and TV writers and directors despite all their training and ideas have to tell all kinds of stories in only the acceptable ways with predictable endings. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/living-in-the-shadows-of-our-vote/ |
| Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:12 PM PDT
Everyone knows how much ministers make. So you tell me how do the wives afford all the jewellery and bags? Where do they get the money from? Dina Zaman, The Malaysian Insider While crime is top of mind among most Malaysians, talk of who's rich and how they got there are the topics du jour. People are turning to crime because of the worsening economy, rising cost of living, and yet there's a flashy crowd in KL. Who on earth are they? In a multi million-ringgit apartment, where access requires a security guard to escort you to a lift, which stops right on the floor of, and faces your destination, a family rests after a hearty lunch. The matriarch is having tea and being taken care of by a nurse, while her daughters recline on plush sofas. They are familiar faces in society pages, and are acknowledged as old money. The appointment is to discuss the new rich, which they find very fascinating. This new generation is different from the new rich of before. "They tend to be Malay. Not saying that Malays can't be rich, we are all Malay too, but they're different. When I was younger, there were the new rich too. Every generation, there's a new rich but the last five years, this… group is…" observed the doyenne and designated speaker for the family. "They are crass," her sister interjected. "They are crazy." Stories of how Chopard bracelets are given to toddlers as young as five are told in shocked tones. Seven-year-old girls are given Chanel handbags by their mothers "for fun."  A Chopard bracelet for a toddler? The new rich think nothing of showering such gifts on their children. — Picture courtesy of Chopard They shook their heads. "For example, let's look at ministers' wives. Everyone knows how much ministers make. So you tell me how do the wives afford all the jewellery and bags? Where do they get the money from? We are wondering also! Now, we're in business and we can't spend the way they do! Do you know how much an Hermès bag costs? I don't understand why people are not questioning this more. Yes, I know they have fringe benefits, but I have never seen a poor politician." As a frequent flyer, she has observed many of the young and new rich flying First Class, and she wondered how their parents could pay for the tickets. "You don't see this so much among the Chinese and Indians. The Chinese, you know-lah, they are rich and it's generational wealth. The Indians who are rich, are discreet. It's the Malays who are flashy," she said. "But you know, the money is not going to last long. Me, I feel sorry for these young people. Maybe that's why they're spending money. It's not going to last forever." Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/features/article/whos-your-daddy-part-2/ |
| Innocence of Muslims: How fiction creates reality Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:05 PM PDT  Vito Laterza, Al Jazeera The recent wave of protests spreading throughout the Muslim world questions many assumptions we commonly make about national and global politics. We all want to know why and how it started; what groups and organisations are behind the riots and attacks against American targets and most importantly, how do we deal with such a rapid and unpredictable escalation of symbolic and physical violence? However, these may be the wrong questions. The alleged anti-Islam film is nothing more than a 14 minutes long video widely circulated on the internet. We know very little about the producers. Conspiracy theories will keep on multiplying around the identity of the production team, the director and cast. Either way, this search for the people behind the movie misses the point. When content goes viral on Facebook, we don't usually ask who sent it or why. If it provokes our thoughts and feelings, we engage with it. We might like it or dislike it, comment on it, perhaps share the content further. Something similar happened with the trailer of the "Innocence of Muslims", except that action well exceeded the boundaries of the virtual world. What is it that makes us react to media content over the internet? Why are so many people worldwide reacting so vigorously against this video? I think that it shows the crucial role played in everyday politics by people's deep-seated attachment to powerful images, symbols, messages and ideas. The latter are often glossed over as mere emotional hang-ups, the inevitable side-effects of human politics that can be corrected and harnessed through the development of sound democratic institutions. Contemporary reality The dominant western assumption is that - despite the complexity of today's world - individuals, groups and institutions have clearly defined identities and consciously pursue specific interests and act upon them. For many politicians and analysts, these are the dimensions that are most important to a deeper understanding of political events. This point of view overlooks an important social fact: in the "real" reality out there, messages, ideas, emotions and reactions spread virally, just as they do in our "Facebook" worlds. Contemporary identities are multiple and fragmented. There are undoubtedly numerous groups and institutions that do try to direct collective action and mobilise military, economic and social resources in pursuit of their interests. There are also billions of people that, not unlike Facebook users, move in and out of groups, social movements, actions and protests. Sometimes endorsing a cause and then supporting the opposite cause, without a clear linear rationale. Today's social world is not rational, certainly not in the way we assume it to be. Focusing attention solely on terrorist groups and Islamic fundamentalist preachers inciting people for their own undemocratic goals does not bring us closer to a deeper understanding. It serves the purpose of providing a sensible explanation for what is happening to citizens of Western "liberal democratic" states. We are told that if we catch the leaders of the protest, and make sure that these countries adopt the same democratic institutions that we have at home, it will all be fine. These messages reveal at best a delusional understanding of contemporary reality, and at worst are a lie distracting our attention from the worrying realisation that Western leaders in fact have little or no control over such events. We are seeing people storming the streets with anti-American messages in the same countries where mass rebellions against dictators and authoritarian regimes were hailed by the West as the "Arab spring" only some months ago. We cannot separate these events, they are part of the same reality. We cannot easily distinguish the "democratic" desires of the people rising against their tyrants from the "fundamentalist" delusions of crowds blinded by inflammatory rhetoric and bad leaders. Alternative means of violence It is just as hard as trying to categorise our own Facebook activity in some linear model that would clearly and neatly explain who we are and who we will vote for in the next elections. We will most likely fail. Sometimes we engage in contradictory thoughts, and that's just the way it is - we don't think about it, we just do it. Nor is the US response on the whole any more "rational". Obama and his entourage went to great lengths to explain that the US and its representatives have nothing to do with the movie, which they condemned as "disgusting and reprehensible". At the same time, the president also tried to reassure Americans that security is being stepped up by sending warships to Libya in the wake of the embassy attacks. The truth is that this is not a struggle between US interests and its military establishment on one side, and the anti-US Islamist "insurgents" and fundamentalists fighting for their own interests, using alternative means of violence and political consensus, on the other. At least not in the sense in which we usually mean it. We often tend to think of these interests as the primary "stuff" of which social reality is made. The imagery attached to these struggles, circulating in the form of videos, books and other media, is seen as a derivate of the real material struggles for power and resources on the ground and indeed it may well have been this way in the past. Today however we live in a different world where the production of images and symbols shapes who we are, what we do in our lives and how we act as political beings. To put it more crudely, Facebook is the "real" reality, and the "physical" reality out there has just become an extension of our Facebook worlds. From this perspective, the reactions of the protesters make more sense: their anger and concerns originated in this "virtual" world and then they took to the streets. This is not to say that material factors don't count. It is clear that poverty, corruption, exploitation, military repression and colonialism are all realities that have shaped and negatively affected the lives of protesters. And yet the eruption of these repressed feelings were spurred and driven by a visceral reaction to a video. It is the production of images that drive the material reality and not the other way around. |
| Guidelines for women bosses spark outcry Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:03 PM PDT  (The Star) - The dust on the gay guidelines has barely settled before a new one has surfaced this time, directed at female bosses. The guidelines (pic) are listed in the Health Ministry's MedikTV Facebook page and feature eight "tips" on how to be a "good female boss". It was uploaded as a photo link but has been taken down at press time. The tips, written in Bahasa Malaysia, advised women to "banyak berbincang dengan orang bawahan, khususnya pekerja lelaki" (have many discussions with your subordinates, especially male workers). It also advocated they "pandai mengambil hati orang bawahan" (be smart in winning your subordinates' hearts) and "jangan menunjuk ego kuasa di depan orang bawahan terutama semasa memberi arahan" (don't flaunt your ego and power in front of your subordinates, especially when giving orders). However, the ministry has been quick to express its strong disapproval of the photo, with Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin saying MedikTV had apologised for the post. "It has also given a guarantee that all posts after this will not be prejudicial in nature or side any party," she said in an SMS. Rosnah also stressed that the guidelines had not been published by the ministry and had nothing to do with "any of the concepts or campaigns introduced by MOH". MedikTV also posted an apology on its Facebook page, stressing that the posts were not ministry policy. "This is our responsibility. All feedback should be channelled to us without involving other parties," it said. An online news portal reported that the Information Department had also shared the photo on its Facebook page on Tuesday. However, both links on the MedikTV and Info Department's Facebook pages had been removed at press time. Facebook users had described the guidelines as sexist and discriminatory. |
| Registration of Overseas Voter Posted: 19 Sep 2012 12:58 PM PDT
I had contacted the Malaysian Embassy in Singapore and had been informed by Ms Shima from the consular, that only civil servants, full time students and their spouse are allowed to vote abroad. This is a gross conflict from your statements as publish by The Star. Eugene Hooi Dear Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Aziz, |
| Posted: 19 Sep 2012 12:52 PM PDT
According to several credible sources, her surprising and miraculous release was due to the direct and personal involvement by the Malaysian Prime Minister: during his Hadj to Mecca over this summer, which he made in the company Ms. Nazarbayeva's son and his future son-in-law Daniyar. Daniyar Muratov Early in September, Mayra Nazarbayev, the notorious Kazakhstani fugitive, ex-wife of the Kazakhstan's President's brother, and a would-be mother-in-law to Malaysian Prime Minister's daughter, was released from prison in Dubai, flew to New York and had a court date there on September 4. According to several credible sources, her surprising and miraculous release was due to the direct and personal involvement by the Malaysian Prime Minister: during his Hadj to Mecca over this summer, which he made in the company Ms. Nazarbayeva's son and his future son-in-law Daniyar, Mr. Najib had extensive meetings with officials from the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan to convince them to let the detainee go. Within days after the Prime Minister's hadj, Ms. Nazarbayeva was, indeed, released, and allowed to proceed to her place of residence, New York. Following her salvation due to the influence of her powerful future relative, Ms. Nazarbayeva has been hard at work reinventing herself as an opposition figure: she has reportedly attempted to contact several leading Kazakhstani opposition leaders in exile and, in the affidavit she has filed with the New York court, has characterized Kazakhstan's political system as lawless and attacked the Kazakhstani President and his brother, her former husband – this after being a member of the President's clan for many years. Herself a wanted fugitive for financial and outright criminal shenanigans, Ms. Nazarbayeva is now decrying Kazakhtan's "lack of an independent judiciary and due process" and its "widespread corruption." It looks like a substantial portion of the Prime Minister's time and energy is devoted to a family matter involving a fugitive from law – at the expense of all Malaysians. |
Rafizi said PR's budget proposals will be backed up by background costing. 
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