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The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3)
The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2)
The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1)
The Dome of the Rock: an academic study
A game of chance
The Q&A with Free Malaysia Today
Isn’t it better not to have a religion?
It is not really ABU after all
The ugly side of the Chinese
The NATO syndrome

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3)

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 07:10 PM PST

Tan Sri Basir Ismail, the Chairman of BBMB, was very angry about what I said. He cancelled my facilities with the bank and gave me 14 days to make full settlement on my loans. According to the manager of BBMB Kuala Terengganu, the interest they earn on my loans covers the entire operating cost for the branch. In fact, we were the second biggest account after the Terengganu State Economic Development Corporation -- or the biggest non-government client.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

It took me a year or so to settle all my debts with the various financial institutions. BBMB (Bank Bumiputra) was the first bank I had to pay off because they gave me only 14 days to do so. That cost me around RM6 million. MBF was another RM3 million, followed by Amanah Chase, also another RM3 million. Kwong Yik, D&C, and Bank Islam totalled RM5 million. By the time I finished with this 'cleaning up' exercise, including those smaller loans here and there, about RM20 million had been settled and that got the banks off my back.

To achieve this, I had to unload all my shares while at the same time not dump too much, too fast, lest that depress the share price. My wife, Marina, handled that part of the exercise, as she was the market 'wizard' in the family. However, we managed to raise only about RM12 million or so due to the selling frenzy at that time.

To cover the shortage, I had to sell off the four shop lots that we owned plus two condos in Kuala Lumpur, one in Bangsar and the other in Subang Jaya. The part that hurt the most was when I had to sell of my 'flagship', my 30% interest in a Mercedes Benz dealership, which was actually quite profitable.

Basically, I was forced to embark upon a 'fire sale' to clean up my debts and then try to restart from the bottom.

The RM6 million that I had to pay off BBMB within 14 days is a story by itself. Around that time, the Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a seminar, which was officiated by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and I was selected as one of the presenters.

In my presentation, I whacked BBMB and said that it had deviated from the objectives of its creation, which was to assist Malays who needed help to get into business. I talked about the BMF scandal in Hong Kong, which resulted in the tragic murder of Jalil Ibrahim, as one example of how it had deviated from its 'charter'.

Just to digress a bit, the man arrested and jailed for Jalil's murder was Dax Mark, a close friend of mine. I am still not sure whether he did murder Jalil but if the court says he did then it must be true. I suppose it is very difficult to accept the possibility that a close friend of yours could be involved in such a high profile murder. There were a few other deaths as well, although some were said to be suicides -- although you can never tell when someone is found drowned in his swimming pool whether it was a suicide or a murder.

I always found Dax quite fascinating. He was married to a MAS stewardess while at the same time he was keeping a SIA stewardess as a mistress. His wife and mistress worked different shifts so both would not be in town at the same time. I asked Dax what would happen if suddenly their shifts were changed and they both landed in town at the same time. How was he going to handle that situation? He shuddered and told me not to tempt fate.

Anyway, back to the issue of the seminar and BBMB. I went on to say that Malaysia is going through a serious economic crisis that is affecting everyone -- Malays, Chinese, Indians and all. The Chinese cooperatives are collapsing and need RM3 billion to bail them out. We are talking in terms of mid-1980s money value, mind you.

The Chinese threatened to abandon MCA and vote DAP if the government does not bail them out. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad instructed the banks to form a consortium to bail out the Chinese cooperatives, which they did (after all, who can say 'no' to Dr Mahathir).

The Malays, too, I said, need bailing out, just like the Chinese. If the government can bail out the Chinese cooperatives to the tune of RM3 billion (even though it was 'under duress' because of the Chinese threat to abandon MCA and vote DAP), why can't the government also bail out the Malays? Instead of bailing out the Malays, BBMB is taking legal action against defaulters and is filing bankruptcy against them, I explained.

I then quipped that BBMB now stands for 'Basir buat Melayu bankrup'. What do we have to do to get the government's attention? Do we also need to make threats like the Chinese -- threaten to abandon Umno and vote opposition?

I related this story to an old friend of my father, Chai Fook Loong. Uncle Chai was surprised. "Basir knows your late father very well," he said. "Why would he do this to you?" I replied that I did not know why (and at that time I really did not know -- I did not realise it was related to what I had said about Basir).

Uncle Chai phoned Basir and spoke to him. "Kam's son, Raja Petra, is sitting in front of me," Uncle Chai told Basir (my father's close friends used to call him Kam -- pronounced Kem and short for Kamarudin). Before Uncle Chai could say more, Basir replied, "I know who Raja Petra is. His file is on my table and I am looking at it now."

I do not know what else Basir told Uncle Chai because he refused to tell me. He looked extremely perturbed when he put the phone down and just said, "What did you do to the old man? I know him very well and I have never seen him so angry. He is actually a very nice man but today I am seeing another side of him."

I just told Uncle Chai, "Never mind. I think I know why." I did not want to say anything more about the matter. I knew I was in deep shit with Basir.

The seminar was not a total waste, though. Dr Mahathir agreed to the setting up of the Tabung Pemulihan Usahawan (TPU). Bank Negara was to be put in charge of that fund but the Malay Chamber can form its own committee to recommend those businessmen who needed help.

During the many meetings that we held to sieve through the deserving cases to assist, the Chairman told us that certain names on the list would have to be removed from the list. We were furious and demanded to know why. (My name was not one of those on the list, though, because I was not one of those who the banks were suing for bankruptcy).

There was a lot of shouting and table banging and finally the Chairman revealed that the names that are to be removed from the list are those who have been 'blacklisted' by the government. We told the Chairman that Dr Mahathir had promised us that the TPU would be 'politically blind' and that help would be given to Malays in trouble based on their eligibility and not based on their political affiliations.

We told the Chairman that we demand a meeting with Dr Mahathir to clear this matter up. Dr Mahathir had promised us RM500 million and that if RM500 million was not enough he was prepared to increase it to RM1 billion. But start with RM500 million first and see how far that goes, Dr Mahathir said. And Dr Mahathir had also promised that while Bank Negara would be the trustee of the fund, there would be no political interference from Umno.

It was then that the Chairman told us that the instruction to remove certain names from the list did not come from Dr Mahathir but from Anwar Ibrahim. And one of the people who Anwar insisted should not get any assistance was Marina Yusoff.

Imagine my surprise when around ten years or so later, when Dr Mahathir sacked Anwar, Marina Yusoff came out to support Anwar and even joined PKR (then called PKN) and became one of the Vice Presidents of the party.

I later asked marina Yusoff whether she knew that Anwar had tied to 'kill' her back in the late 1980s and she confirmed that she did. In fact, she had to request an audience with Anwar to make peace with him and he agreed to help Marina but would give her only one-third of what she needed.

One-third was far from sufficient to bail her out and eventually her business collapsed. Yet, in spite of that, she still stood by Anwar in his hour of need. And when she joined PKR and opposed Umno in 1999, the government finished her off for good and buried her.

Many say she is stupid for sacrificing herself for Anwar, a man who tried to destroy her ten years earlier. I suppose that stupidity is in most of us.

TO BE CONTINUED

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2)

Posted: 26 Nov 2012 10:02 PM PST

I was in dire straights with RM20 million in debts. In today's money value, that would probably be about RM100 million. RM20 million is a lot of money to pay back. However, when my shares were worth RM10.40 and I was sitting on a couple of million shares that was not an issue. Now my shares were trading at only RM0.42.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

My initial response to Anwar Ibrahim's betrayal to the cause was that of hostility. None of us could accept his reason for deserting ABIM to join the very party he had condemned and which we called a party of infidels (parti kafir). We considered Umno a parti kafir not only because they opposed Hudud and the Islamic State but also because they collaborated with non-Muslim parties like MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, etc.

There was no compromise on this issue. Malaysia has to follow the example of Iran. There were no two ways about it. During the Iran-Iraq War, some of the ABIM members made a trip to Iran and visited the battlefront (their bus was riddled with bullets and they all had to 'hit the floor' to avoid getting shot).

When the Iranians visited Malaysia they gave a talk. And I have to admit that their talk inspired me. "Malaysia, today, is like what Iran was 30 years ago. In 30 years time, Malaysia will become just like what Iran is today. We are here to export the Iranian Revolution to Malaysia."

I had goose pimples and my hair stood on end. I wished I were at the frontline with gun in hand fighting for the Iranians against the American lackey, Iraq. Yes, we need a Malaysian Islamic Revolution. And I would have to support PAS to be able to see that happen.

But why is PAS involved in the general election? Imam Khomeini did not participate in general elections. He brought down the Shah through an armed revolution, through violence. After all, general elections are a kafir creation so why are we bothering with that?

We had no choice. We did not have guns or military strength. So we had to participate in general elections as the route to power. Once we are in power we can then abolish general elections and get rid of all the vestiges of British colonialism.

I hated Anwar. He used to dress in Arab gear and would condemn those dressed in coat and tie. Those who dress like kafir become kafir, was what we were told. Now, Anwar is dressed in Savile Row suits. He not only sold out to the kafir. He was aping the kafir. He had become just like the kafir. Once the Malaysian Islamic Revolution starts Anwar must be the first we execute.

Then, one day, Utsaz Fadzil Mohd Noor bumped into Anwar at the airport and he went up to Anwar and hugged him. They then spent half an hour chatting. The PAS diehards, however, stood at one end of the airport and the Umno diehards at the opposite end.

We were puzzled. Did not the Ustaz say that Anwar's excuse for joining Umno was to change Umno from the inside and that Anwar will not only fail to change Umno but instead Umno will change him? And has not Umno changed him into the very animal that we all despise and oppose, at one time Anwar included?

Of course Ustaz Fadzil was hurt and disappointed when Anwar left ABIM to join Umno. But he did not hate Anwar. He still loved Anwar. And he still had hope that Anwar may one day return to the opposition or at least succeed in changing Umno from the inside. Most of us, however, were not that bullish.

When Anwar decided to contest the Umno Youth leadership he called upon his old comrades in ABIM to help him. The ABIM boys in Terengganu spoke to me and asked me to join the team. We are not helping Umno, they said, we are helping Anwar. We still oppose Umno and pray for its destruction. But that should not stop us from supporting Anwar and help him in his climb up the Umno ladder.

I took leave from my business and toured the country to campaign for Anwar. We also sank in quite a bit of money to hold feasts and functions for Anwar to speak at. Invariably, he won. And he won the next two rounds as well. So the effort bore results.

But that began to open up a whole new lot of problems for many of us. We were now hated by both sides of the political divide. Those in the opposition hated us for working for Umno. And those in Umno who saw us as enemies of Umno and the 'private army' of Anwar also hated us.

One of Anwar's diehards, a senior man in the Terengganu Education Department, was 'promoted' as the new Political Secretary to the Terengganu Menteri Besar. Every one knew that the MB hated Anwar like hell. We were not sure whether this 'promotion' was actually a 'buy-over' or a coincidence. Eventually it was proven that he had sold us out.

This was a man who was part of our conspiracy to promote Anwar using the Education Department as the vehicle. He knew all our most confidential plans. Worst of all, he knew all our strengths and weaknesses. So they began attacking us where it hurt most, our business activities. If they can hurt us financially then they can cripple us. And they succeeded in hurting us financially.

It was then that I realised you cannot be a businessman and oppose those who walk in the corridors of power at the same time. It must be one or the other. And I paid that heavy price when I became one of the targets that must be destroyed. In 1985, the economy took a beating and in 1987 the stock market collapsed. I lost everything and now had to start all over again.

I went to see Anwar to ask for help. "Inilah Melayu. Nawaitu kontrek. Why can't you be like the Chinese and stand on your own two feet? The Chinese do not ask for government help when they get into financial trouble."

I walked off and never looked back. I refused to beg. I got out of politics and focused on rebuilding my business. But I first had RM20 million in debts to pay off.

TO BE CONTINUED

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1)

Posted: 26 Nov 2012 06:50 PM PST

I delved deeply into religion and two years later, in 1982, I went to Mekah to perform my Haj (pilgrimage). There I met up with the late Haji Fadzil Mohd Noor (the PAS President who died in office in June 2002). I also linked up with Tok Guru Haji Abdul Hadi Awang, Mustafa Ali and a couple of other top PAS leaders from Terengganu.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

When I was in my teens I never suspected that life is actually quite complicated. Then, I would live day-to-day. I lived by the motto 'tomorrow never comes', which is quite true because once tomorrow comes it would be today, if you get what I mean.

Life was all about enjoying yourself -- eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die. And, if you can't avoid dying, then go with a smile on your face because once you die you die, that would be the end of everything. Hence have fun while you still breath.

Then my world, as I knew it, came to an end. My father -- the only breadwinner in the family -- died. And we were all still in school -- all four siblings. That was probably the first greatest shock of my life -- other than the 13 motorcycle accidents that I had prior to my father's death.

My father was only 46. Surely that was too young an age to die, especially when my mother was only 38 and the four of us kids were still at school. That could be considered as the first 'injury' in my life. And, to add insult to this injury, the hundreds of friends and family members that my father had suddenly 'disappeared'.

You see; my father was a 'big man'. That was why I could afford the devil-may-care lifestyle. However, once the 'big man' had gone, no one wanted to know us any more.

I remember the first Hari Raya after my father died. When my father was still alive, the road outside our house would be jam-packed with cars. The place would be almost like the venue of an opposition ceramah -- crowded with people. That first Hari Raya after my father's death, however, not a single person came to our house.

My mother stood looking out the window and cried. I did not know what to do so I phone my father's 'best friend' -- a man I call Uncle Cedric and who now lives in Australia. Uncle Cedric came over to console my mother. Thereafter our days of the Hari Raya 'open house' ended. We realised that now our father had died we no longer have any friends or family members.

It hit me then that we would have to pick up what was left of our lives and get on with it. I got a job that paid RM250 a month and got married soon after that. I was forced to 'restart' my life (or 'reboot' in today's terminology) from the bottom. And it was a long and hard battle to get back to the top, the position I had always known until my father died.

Then the second blow of my life hit me nine years later. My mother, who was only 47, died. She had earlier left Malaysia and had gone back to England. She could no longer live in Malaysia, which was giving her so much 'pain'.

That was in 1980 when I was 30.

My father had died age 46 and my mother at age 47. I was 30. How much longer would I live before I too would die? What was the purpose of life if all it means is you are going to leave this world and cause your family so much pain by your death?

I needed to console myself with the fact that life was not a total waste and that we are all here for a purpose. And to find that answer I turned to Islam. No doubt I was born a Muslim but I was never really a Muslim. I 'became' a Muslim much later in life.

I spent almost a month in Mekah and Medina where I also mingled with the Iranians (who had just had their Islamic Revolution three years before that in 1979). I even joined the Iranians in their anti-Saudi/anti-US demonstration in Mekah that attracted about 100,000 protestors.

A year before that, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had taken over as the Prime Minister of Malaysia and that same year I did my Haj (1982), Anwar Ibrahim had joined Umno. So this was the 'hot' discussion in Mekah and Medina.

Part of the reason I became a 'radical' Muslim was because of Anwar Ibrahim. Before he joined Umno in 1982 he was the President of ABIM and I attended a few of his ceramah, all organised by PAS, of course. It was in a way Anwar who made me 'see the light' that the future lay with Islam.

Umno was evil. Umno was unIslamic. Umno was a creation of the 'kafir' British. We must oppose Umno and 'turn' to Islam. And turn to Islam I did, in a very big way, even believing that the future was in an Islamic Revolution in Malaysia a la Iran.

Killing and dying in the name of Islam was an acceptable option. This was what I learned during my Haj trip and in my association with the Iranians. This was also what the President of ABIM, Anwar Ibrahim, had been telling us.

But now Anwar had abandoned the Islamic cause to join Umno -- the very organisation he had condemned and had told us to oppose to the death. Anwar was now with the 'infidels' in Umno. Is it, therefore, also halal (kosher) to kill Anwar?

TO BE CONTINUED

The Dome of the Rock: an academic study

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 07:22 PM PST

This is certainly a very interesting hypothesis and quite difficult to dismiss without further examination. The fact that the inscription talks about Jesus and the "Muhammad" in the inscription, if translated to "the praised one", can also be talking about Jesus gives credence to this hypothesis.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Dome of the Rock is a shrine or memorial located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik and was completed in AD 691.

The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew (and in Judaism) as Har haBáyith and in Arabic (and in Islam) as the Haram Ash-Sharif (al-haram al-qudsī ash-sharīf means Noble Sanctuary), is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years. At least four religions are known to have used the Temple Mount as their holy site: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Roman paganism.

The inscriptions on the Dome of the Rock can be seen below. The two 'key words' in those inscriptions would be "Islam" and "Muhammad". Hence, going by these two key words, the Dome of the Rock is believed to have been built by a Muslim -- the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik -- and it is further believed to have been built as a shrine or memorial to the Prophet Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.

In Arabic, the word "Islam" means "submission" or "surrender", which is derived from the root word "salam". From this root word, you can also derive the words "peace" and "safety". Many people feel that Islam implies some sort of "enslavement to Allah", but others find it more viable to define the word "Islam" as "surrender".

The word "Muhammad" is derived from the Arabic root word "hamd" or "praise". It is the emphatic passive participle of that root and can be translated as "the Oft-Praised One". As for "Ahmad", it is the superlative form of the same root word "hamd", which means "the Highly Praised One".

If you were to interpret the word "Islam" as "submission" or "surrender" and the word "Muhammad" as "the praised one", then the inscriptions will take on an entirely different meaning.

Western scholars are beginning to question whether the Dome of the Rock is a memorial to the Prophet Muhammad or a memorial to Jesus Christ. For example, "Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him" can also be interpreted to mean: "The praised one is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him". "Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger" can also be interpreted to mean: "The praised one is the servant of God and His Messenger".

Now, assuming that the "Muhammad" in the inscription does not refer to Muhammad the person (the proper noun) but refers to "the praised one" (an adjective), whom, therefore, are they referring to? If you were to look at the other parts of the inscription, it talks about "The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God". Then it goes on to say: "It befitteth not God that He should take unto Himself a son" and "There is no god but God".

Scholars believe that this is evidence that the inscription is not talking about Prophet Muhammad but about Jesus Christ and that this 'doctrine of faith' is meant to counter or dispute the Christian dogma that Jesus is the Son of God and the Lord (Jesus) -- and that Jesus was merely a messenger or prophet of God.

If these scholars are correct in their assumptions, this throws a whole new light on the more than 1,000-year-old conflict as to who owns this holy site. Was this structure built as a memorial to Prophet Muhammad or to Jesus Christ? And if it is a memorial to Jesus Christ, was it built to counter the Christian dogma of the Holy Trinity and present Jesus as a mere mortal and messenger/prophet of God rather than the Lord and Son of God?

This is certainly a very interesting hypothesis and quite difficult to dismiss without further examination. The fact that the inscription talks about Jesus and the "Muhammad" in the inscription, if translated to "the praised one", can also be referring to Jesus gives credence to this hypothesis.

Nevertheless, it will be very difficult for most people to accept this hypothesis as a possibility considering that for more than 1,000 years people have held on to a certain belief and now you are asking them to rethink this whole thing. You are also telling them that for more than 1,000 years what they believed may not have been correct after all.

One more 'troubling' thing about this hypothesis is that Caliph Abd al-Malik was supposed to be a Muslim. Therefore, if he had built this as a shrine for Jesus Christ rather than Prophet Muhammad, does this mean the Caliph was not a Muslim but a Christian? This would be the most difficult question facing Muslims who may choose to consider this hypothesis as a possibility.

I suppose this is why the Muslim ulama' say you must not think too much because too much thinking may confuse you and lead you astray. Hmm…maybe I should stop thinking about this then.

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

INSCIPTIONS ON THE DOME OF THE ROCK

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE INSIDE OF THE OCTAGONAL ARCADE

S: In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Unto Him belongeth sovereignity and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth and He giveth death; and He has Power over all things. Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger.

SE: Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. The blessing of God be on him and peace be on him, and may God have mercy. O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion

E: nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not 'Three' – Cease!

NE: better for you! – God is only One God. Far be it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And God is sufficient as Defender. The Messiah will never scorn to be a

N: servant unto God, nor will the favoured angels. Whoso scorneth His service and is proud, all such will He assemble unto Him. Oh God, bless Your Messenger and Your servant Jesus

NW: son of Mary. Peace be on him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary, a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not God that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him!

W: When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is. Lo! God is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path. God is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning. Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him,

SW: the Almighty, the Wise. Lo! religion with God Islam. Those who received the Book differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of God lo! God is swift at reckoning!

INSCRIPTIONS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE OCTAGONAL ARCADE

S: In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Say: He is God, the One! God, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him. Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him.

SW: In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet.

W: O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. Praise be to

NW: God, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence. Muhammad is the Messenger of

N: God, the blessing of God be on him and the angels and His prophets, and peace be on him, and may God have mercy. In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate.

NE: Unto Him belongeth sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth. And He giveth death; and He has Power over all things. Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him. May He accept his intercession on the Day of Judgment on behalf of his people.

E: In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him. The dome was built by servant of God 'Abd

SE: of the Faithful, in the year two and seventy. May God accept from him and be content with him. Amen, Lord of the worlds, praise be to God.

A game of chance

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 01:23 AM PST

Hence, since we are the ones who are going to pay for this mistake, should we not be the ones to decide what is true and what is false? Hence, also, should we not be allowed to decide what we wish to believe in since at the end of the day we are the ones who will suffer the consequences?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Let's say, before your parents got married, your father was a Muslim and your mother a Christian. Then, when they got married, your mother converted to Islam and a year later you were born. What religion do you think you would be following now?

Let's say, before your parents got married, your father was a Christian and your mother a Muslim. Then, when they got married, your mother converted to Christianity and a year later you were born. What religion do you think you would be following now?

Let's say both your father and mother were Christians. Then, after they got married, they went to Tibet for their honeymoon where they visited a monastery. They were so impressed with how the Buddhist monks lived their lives that your parents converted to Buddhism. One year later you were born. What religion do you think you would be following now?

Today, there is more than a 99% chance you would be following the religion of your parents. There would be less than a 1% chance you would leave the religion of your parents to follow a new religion.

So are you 100% absolutely sure the religion you are following today is the correct religion? It is 'correct' only because you have been brought up in the religion of your parents. What if your parents never cared much for any religion and brought you up in an environment where there was no religion. Would you not probably be an atheist today?

How many of you have pondered on this question? Are you not what you are or who you are because of your parents? What if your parents had made a mistake and left the 'true' religion they were born into to embrace a 'false' religion? The religion you were brought up in would now become the 'true' religion while the earlier religion that your parents abandoned would be the 'false' religion.

Hence which is 'true' and which is 'false'? Is 'true' the new religion of your parents that you were brought up in or their old religion which they abandoned?

Hence, also, is true and false subjective and merely an opinion based on what you have been raised to believe? Or is true and false real and tangible?

Today we fight and argue about what we perceive as true and false. We uphold what we believe to be true and oppose what we believe to be false. However, if our parents had 'changed course' some time in their life by abandoning their old religion in favour of a new one, and they had exposed us to what they believe to be true, then our interpretation of true and false would be what we have been taught to believe to be true and false.

So are we really fighting for the truth or are we fighting for what we have been taught to believe to be true? And are we really confident that God has blessed us with the truth or has Satan misled us into believing that we are following the truth when actually we are following something false?

I suppose one day we will all know the answer to that question. But we will first have to die to get the answer to that question. In the meantime, while we are still alive, we want as many people as possible to follow us down this path of the truth.

But what happens if we are not on the path of truth and we end up leading others down a false path? While we will pay for this error of our ways, are we also going to pay for the error of the others we misled down this same false path? Or will each person pay for their own errors even if that error was made because others misled us?

Yes, there are those who would like to force their beliefs upon us and compel us to follow what they believe to be the right path. But if that so-called right path is actually the wrong path then we who followed them down this wrong path would end up paying for this mistake.

The Q&A with Free Malaysia Today

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 03:22 PM PST

FMT makes it sound like I am attacking Haris Ibrahim. Actually I am not, so maybe the full text of my Q&A can better explain what I said. FMT asked me three questions and I responded accordingly, not as an attack but to explain what happened. Everything I say should not be seen as an attack or even a criticism.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Q: First off, it is implied that you're on Dr Mahathir's payroll. Would you say this is true?

A: First of all, it is, of course, not true. Have you not read what Matthias Chang said about me? Matthias is Dr Mahathir's man. What Matthias wrote about me would certainly not have been done to someone who is on Dr Mahathir's payroll. That was a most hard-hitting and damaging piece that Matthias wrote about me.

Furthermore, the government deleted my name on the land title of my house in Bukit Rahman Putra in Sungai Buloh. My daughter, Raja Suraya, who owns 75% of that house, was forced to buy back that 25% share of mine, which the government had confiscated.

Finally, the amount my daughter had to pay came to about RM300,000, legal fees and taxes included. On top of that, the government hit my daughter for property gains tax even though we had bought that house 18 years ago in 1994 and therefore there should be no tax. My daughter had to take a loan from MBF to settle that amount.

Further to that, my Malaysian passport expired three years ago in September 2009. I have checked and have been told that the government will not renew my passport or that of my wife.

I started Malaysia Today in 2004. I began associating with Dr Mahathir in 2006. All this is on record. All you need to do is to check on the Internet to find records of this. So how can Dr Mahathir be behind Malaysia Today when I began associating with him two years later and even then only when he started attacking Pak Lah.

Q: I was told that you appear to be rather racist as of late. What would you say to this?

A: I have been a 'racist' since the very beginning. For many years, long before 2011, I would attack the Malays, the Muslims, the religious department, the ulama' (religious scholars), the Sultans, etc.

I was arrested in 2004, soon after Malaysia Today was launched, for attacking the Sultans -- although they never charged me in the end. I was arrested a few more times for 'attacking Islam'. Finally, they detained me in 2008 because there were so many 'insulting Islam' police reports made against me.

And that was what my Detention Order stated (which worked in my favour because that was one of the arguments my lawyers raised to get my detention declared illegal).

Only lately, since 2011, did I add the non-Malays to my list of 'targets'. But that does not mean I have stopped attacking the Malays, the Muslims, the religious department, the ulama' (religious scholars), the Sultans, etc. It is just that now the non-Malays are guilty of what Umno is doing. Hence, just like Umno, they too need to be criticised.

Why was I not considered a racist before? Why only now am I considered a racist? When I attack the Malays, the Muslims, the religious department, the ulama' (religious scholars), the Sultans, etc., I am a freedom fighter. When the non-Malays are included in my attacks I suddenly become a racist.

Q: Have you been in contact with Haris recently? Have the both of you cut ties, or is this just a tiff?

A: I have my views and Haris has his. We have always had differing views from the beginning. Once, when Haris was representing me in court, I shouted to the judge that I was sacking my lawyers because I did not agree with their opinion regarding bail.

On another occasion, I refused bail and walked off to the lockup. Haris disagreed with this and he and my wife spent an hour trying to get me to change my mind. Finally, because of my wife's tears and Haris's pleading, I relented and accepted bail.

When MCLM was first launched, it was supposed to be just a civil liberties movement. I asked Haris to head it but at first he did not want to. Later he agreed. Then Haris wanted to use MCLM as a platform to 'outsource' 30 potential Member of Parliament candidates for Pakatan Rakyat.

I felt MCLM should not be political but I nevertheless went along with him since this was his project.

Then MCLM was accused of wanting to engage BN-PR in three-corner fights. This public perception of three-corner fights is what hurt MCLM and we got accused of being a Trojan horse, etc.

These videos can tell you more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxWC1eGf72Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhplZz64vv4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YCihOL5XQU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UkBKyC2v_w

You can see from those videos above that many things Haris said up to a year ago is what I am still saying today, although Haris no longer says these things.

There were many things I did not agree with, such as Haris's quarrel with the late Tunku Vic in Chiengmai. But I held my peace and backed him in spite of the fact I did not quite agree with his approach.

It appears, though, he is not returning that same courtesy that I extended to him.

Haris is angry with me for what he says is my act of undermining ABU. He has his views on what ABU should be, as do I. However, while I respect his views, he does not respect mine. He expects me to agree to his view with no conditions attached.

Maybe this will explain what my views on ABU are:

http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/52875-there-is-change-and-there-is-change

Isn’t it better not to have a religion?

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 06:39 PM PST

But what a shame indeed! Because Sia Ka Tian refuses to follow Muhammad, the Muslims say he is going to hell, and because Sia Ka Tian refuses to follow Jesus, the Christians say he is going to hell, although he did something not many of the two billion Muslims and Christians would have done -- return RM3 million that he found accidentally left in his taxi.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Singapore cabbie returns US$900,000 to Thai couple

(AFP) - SINGAPORE: A Singaporean taxi driver has been heralded as a hero after he returned Sg$1.1 million (US$900,000) in cash to a vacationing Thai couple who left the money in his cab.

Sia Ka Tian, 70, was shocked to find the money in a black paper bag on the back seat on Monday after he dropped the couple off at a shopping centre.

"When I saw the money, I thought, trouble is here. I was sure there was at least $200,000 in the bag," the Straits Times quoted the 31-year veteran in the taxi business as saying.

But when he brought the money to transport company ComfortDelGro's lost-and-found office, his stunned colleagues counted Sg$1.1 million in thousand-dollar bills.

"The money is unimportant to me. It doesn't belong to me, so how can I use it?" he told the newspaper.

The Thai couple reported the loss to the transport company and Sia was waiting for them when they arrived to claim the money.

The report did not say what the couple were doing with that large sum.

The driver received an undisclosed cash reward from the grateful couple, whose names have been withheld, and the company also plans to give him an award for good service.

"Finding one million dollars in cash is not an everyday affair and in fact, we wonder how many people would have possibly been tempted" to pocket it, company spokeswoman Tammy Tan told AFP.

"We are immensely proud of him and are glad that the passengers recovered their money.'

It was the second most valuable item returned by a cabbie working for the company. In 2009, another taxi driver returned fives kilos of gold bars worth Sg$377,000.

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His name is Sia Ka Tian and he works as a taxi driver in Singapore. I assume he is not a proud Muslim because his name is not Muhammad Sia bin Abdullah. I also assume he is not a proud Christian because his name is not Alexander Sia. Judging by his name, he must be a pagan idol-worshipper whom both the Muslims and Christians say is going to end up in hell for 'not believing in the truth'.

Sia Ka Tian discovered about RM3 million accidentally left in his taxi and he went and returned the money to the rightful owner. Not many of the two billion or so Muslims and Christians would have done this. In fact, you are more likely to be robbed or cheated, or your pocket picked or bag snatched, in one of the Muslim or Christian countries.

You face more risk of becoming the victim of crooks when praying in front of the Ka'bah in Mekah or at the Vatican in Rome. Some people have even been stabbed and killed during a purse-cutting crime gone wrong at these two 'holy' sites.

Sia Ka Tian did exactly what Islam and Christianity says people must do. But Sia Ka Tian is neither Muslim nor Christian. Hence what he did does not count. He will still not earn a place in paradise and instead will be sent to hell because he refuses to follow Prophet Muhammad or Jesus Christ.

You should listen to how the Muslims and Christians talk. If you listen to them talk you will know what you need to do to avoid hell and to get into paradise. But that is all they do -- they talk. They don't really practice what they say. People who practice what the Muslims and Christians say are people like Sia Ka Tian who did the proper Muslim-Christian thing. Nevertheless, he is still going to end up in hell.

It is nice to be able to follow a religion where you can talk without having to practice what you preach and still get to go to heaven while others like Sia Ka Tian who do the right thing get sent to hell.

Hidup Islam! Hidup Christianity! Hidup Munafiq! Mampus kafir!

It is not really ABU after all

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 05:08 PM PST

As much as the Abu-screamers and Pakatan Fan Club (PFC) members say that all they want is to see change after 55 years of an Umno-led government, this is not really true. It is not just about change at all. It is about change with certain terms and conditions attached that are favourable to certain personal interests of the so-called propagators of change.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Not too long ago I wrote a satire about a Muslim ordering food in a Chinese restaurant. The chap starts off by telling the waiter he is a Muslim and hence he does not eat pork. Okay, anything but pork, replies the waiter. So try the chicken.

Ah, hold on, but the chicken must be halal, the customer reminds the waiter. Has the chicken been properly slaughtered? No, it has not, so it is not halal. Okay, why not order the fish instead? The fish is definitely halal.

Ah, yes, but how are you going to cook the fish? Will you be cooking it in the same pots and pans that you cook the non-halal food? But of course, the restaurant has only one kitchen.

Oh, in that case he cannot order the fish as well. Oh well, he might as well just order the raw vegetables then. That would be the safest.

Okay, says the waiter, so it is not just anything but pork. It is also anything but chicken that is not halal. It is also anything but fish that is cooked in the same pots and pans as the non-halal food.

In short, it is not anything but pork. It is nothing except just vegetables. So why say anything but pork when you mean it must be more than just anything but pork?

And the last few days have been very entertaining for me to prove that it is not anything but pork. In this case we are, of course, talking about anything but Umno or ABU.

I am all for change. After all, I have been speaking about change for 35 years since 1977 when many of you were still breast-feeding (and some of the childish comments posted in Malaysia Today indicate that some of you may still be breast-feeding). What I am not for is hidden agendas and using change as the camouflage to conceal this hidden agenda.

All we want is change. All we want is ABU or anything but Umno. Okay, I can buy that. We just want change. We just do not want Umno to run the country any longer. We will accept anything expect Umno.

Okay, say the opposition wins 120 seats in Parliament (which means Barisan Nasional would have won only 102 seats) and 60 of those seats are won by PAS, as they hope and plan to do (which means DAP and PKR combined won the balance 60). Then, say, from the 60 that DAP and PKR win, DAP wins 32 and PKR 28. This would mean PAS would nominate the Prime Minister from Pakatan Rakyat and PAS wants Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang to become the Prime Minister.

Oh, but Hadi Awang is not acceptable. It must be Anwar Ibrahim and only Anwar Ibrahim who becomes the Prime Minister. PAS leaders are not suitable or good enough. They are not intelligent enough. They can't even speak English the Winston Churchill way. PAS leaders are more suited for the kampong, not for the international stage. PAS leaders will never be able to run the country. They can't even run the state properly.

So that means it is not ABU then. It is anything but Umno plus anything but PAS leaders as Prime Minister.

Okay, say PAS wins 60 seats in Parliament and from the 28 PKR seats, 15 of them are Muslim candidates. Then the 60 PAS Members of Parliament, the 15 PKR Members of Parliament, and, say, another 50 Umno Members of Parliament unite to propose the implementation of Hudud. Since the total comes to 125 that gives them a majority in Parliament. Can we accept that since we say we respect the majority view?

No way can we accept Hudud even if the majority votes in favour of it. Those are barbaric laws from the Dark Ages. Those are stupid beliefs of people who are living in the past. Malaysia is a Secular country so we want to retain the Secular system. No way can we accept an Islamic State or the implementation of that part of the Sharia called Hudud.

So that means it is not ABU then. It is anything but Umno, anything but PAS leaders as Prime Minister, anything but Islamic State, plus anything but Hudud.

If we manage to kick out the Umno-led government and Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government can we agree to a standardised education system with only Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction? This would mean vernacular schools or mother-tongue education will be abolished.

No way we can agree to that.

So that means it is not ABU then. It is anything but Umno, anything but PAS leaders as Prime Minister, anything but Islamic State, anything but Hudud, plus anything but the standardisation of the education system.

And the list goes on -- Article 153, the New Economic Policy, race-based quotas, etc. All these, too, are not accepted alongside Umno, PAS leaders as Prime Minister, an Islamic State, Hudud, the standardisation of the education system, and much more.

So it is not really that simple after all. This is not just about ABU or anything but Umno. This is not about change and about seeing the end of 55 years of an Umno-led government. This is about many other things as well which we do not want.

So why lie to the voters? You actually want a package deal and the package includes many other things -- including allowing Muslims the freedom to leave Islam to become Christians or whatever if they want to. You even treat apostasy as part of the ABU campaign. And don't deny it because I have been reading the so many comments that you posted.

Just be honest with what you are seeking. You are not just seeking change. You are not just seeking the end of the 55-year-old Umno-led government. You have many, many things up your sleeve. And all we need to do is to propose Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang as Prime Minister to see you reveal your true intentions. And do you honestly believe that the Malay voters, in particular those from the Malay heartland, will go along with this?

As Tan Seng Giaw said: dream on.

Let me share a little secret with you. Many Malays also do not support the idea of an Islamic State or the implementation of Hudud. If they did then the predominantly Malay voters from Terengganu would not have given the state back to Umno in 2004 and again in 2008. In fact, PAS almost lost Kelantan as well in 2004.

What the Malays resent, however, is to see the non-Malays whack Islam. Even those Malays who do not pray or fast and/or who drink and/or gamble cannot tahan to see the non-Malays whack Islam. And many of these people will vote Umno not because they support Umno but because they are pissed with the way the Pakatan Rakyat supporters vilify Islam.

So Islam is outdated, is it? Islam is from the Dark Ages, is it? Islam is silly, is it? Well, you may be partly right about the mindset of some (or even many) of the Muslims. I too have been whacking the Muslims for a long time in case you have not noticed.

But the Muslims are not the only ones like this. All those who believe in God and who follow a religion are the same. This stupidity is not exclusive to Muslims. Even the very highly educated and extremely intelligence Christians believe in stupid things -- like Virgin Mary appearing on hospital windows.

In the first place, did Virgin Mary even exist or is she a myth like King Arthur? And how do they know what Virgin Mary looks like? Did anyone see her photograph to know that the image on the hospital window is that of Virgin Mary? How do they know it is not the image of Maid Marian, Robin Hood's girlfriend?

So don't be too quick in whacking Muslims and in calling them all sorts of nasty names. First of all, that is going to result in Pakatan Rakyat losing the Muslim support. Secondly, what you think of Muslims I too think of Christians who believe in silly things. The Bible says there is only one God and then you go and pray to another God called Mary.

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

The window pane with a purported image of the Virgin Mary was today removed from a hospital in Subang Jaya and handed over to the Catholic Church, as was previously agreed.

"Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya (SDMC SJ) has removed and handed over two window panes from the North Tower of the hospital complex to the Catholic Church.

"One of the panes has on it marks that some claim resemble artistic depictions of Mary, the Mother of Jesus," the Sime Darby Group said in a statement today.

Last Tuesday, the hospital had agreed to give to the Catholic Church several glass window panes from its building that has been drawing devout Catholics and curious visitors after word of the apparition's appearance spread.

It was also said that the glass panel will be moved to the Marian Church of Our Lady Lourdes in Klang.

"The removal of the window panes was carried out by professionals with due care, safety and caution exercised throughout the process, which started at 10am and ended without incident at 11.35am," Sime Darby Group said.

According to the company, leaders and parishioners of the Subang Jaya Catholic church were present at the hospital during the removal of the panes.

A hospital official confirmed that the glass panels have already been safely delivered to the Marian Church of Our Lady Lourdes in Klang.

"Yes, they have already opened it and displayed it," the official told The Malaysian Insider, saying that the panels were delivered around noon today.

In the same statement by the Sime Darby Group, the hospital thanked its patients and staff for their "patience", as well as the Catholic Church and enforcement authorities for their "support and kind understanding".

"SDMC SJ would like to thank its patients and their families, residents in the vicinity of the hospital and all its staff for their patience over the last two weeks.

"SDMC SJ would also like to thank the Church, the Royal Malaysian Police, Rela officers and the public for their support and kind understanding during this period," it said.

The image had last week continued to attract a crowd to the hospital eager to catch a glimpse of the image before it was moved, with many of them praying and singing hymns as well as lighting candles.

The image, said to be that of the Virgin Mary whom Catholics revere as the Mother of God, was reported to have first been spotted two weeks ago and has been captured on camera and reproduced on social media including Facebook where it went viral.

This is believed to be the first reported sighting of an image of the Virgin Mary in Malaysia. The phenomenon has been reported elsewhere around the world.

Some witnesses have also said they could make out a second image forming on another glass pane below the vertical row housing the apparition of Mary.

According to them, the second image resembled Jesus Christ on the crucifix.

The Catholic Church said it will withhold comment until the image has been tested and verified by theologians and church authorities, a process that will take time.

The ugly side of the Chinese

Posted: 18 Nov 2012 05:37 PM PST

The Malaysian police know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in the UK know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., know I live in Manchester. The Malaysian High Commission in London and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur know I live in Manchester. Only Victor Lim alone thinks I live in Dr Mahathir's apartment in London. He knows that but he does not know what the address is or whether Dr Mahathir really does own an apartment in London.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The right to choose

Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily

The most valuable part of a democratic and pluralistic society is the right to choose. Everyone can choose to support anything they think is right.

The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) rally scheduled on November 25 with the objective to pressure the government is a choice of struggle. The United Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong) and the Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Hua Zong) have the right not to participate and choose to correct the unreasonable content in the National Education Blueprint preliminary report through communication and follow-up.

Similar to anti-environment movements, some people chose to take part in the 300km Kuantan-KL Green Walk. Their persistence and perseverance has won respect and admiration.

In politics, people also have the right to choose whether to change the government, strengthen the two-party-system or maintain the status quo.

Changing the government is an ideal and it can hardly become a reality if only a small number of people are supporting it. Therefore, the ruling and alternative coalitions must convey their political programmes and policies to the public through various platforms, including mass assemblies and annual general assemblies to fight for more support.

To me, the Pakatan Rakyat's performance has not yet reached my personal demand. However, as I believe that democracy requires checks and balances, I support the two-party system. If the majority supports the two-party system, it is possible to bring a major change.

In a democratic country, everyone has the right to choose based on his/her own judgement and cognitive thinking. Therefore, it is not necessary for others to be so nervous or intimidate them into changing their stand.

Many people are confused about the meaning of democracy due to the intense political struggle. Some people are excessively fanatical to the extent of slandering and labelling those who have made a different choice.

French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Who can still remember the words? Many people have instead lost their magnanimity and tolerance and attack whoever say something unpleasant. Democracy should never be like this.

All people make mistakes, regardless of how just they claimed themselves are. Calling themselves just does not mean that they cannot be criticised and corrected.

The BN has indeed made many mistakes and there is much room for improvement. Similarly, the Pakatan Rakyat state governments also have many inadequacies in governance. Being overly emotional has caused everyone unable to see the reality clearly.

Back to the Dong Zong rally, it is a peaceful civil demonstration and it is not necessary to label it as an "anti-government" movement. Adopting the path of dialogue to fight is not "heinous crime" either. Why can't the Chinese organisations work together to achieve the same goal since all of them are serving the Chinese community? Without tolerance and the sense of balance, it could end up following the path of politics, namely people categorise those who are not called friends as enemies.

Most Chinese affairs are of voluntary or conscience nature. If it evolves into a life-and-death game, the Chinese community will first collapse before the winner of the political game is decided.

Life was boring and monotonic in the past when people were not granted the right to choose. It is good to have choice. But choices also bring us confusion and distress.

As the general election is approaching, people become more and more impetuous. We must first calm down to avoid being diverted by "choices".

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

The day Najib outfoxed all Malaysians…

Victor Lim, Free Malaysia Today

Now, wasn't it Daim who predicted that five states would fall prior to the 2008 political tsunami? And it was correct – Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.

And who and where this prediction was first publicised? Raja Petra Kamarudin's (RPK's) Malaysia-Today (MT) news portal.

Malaysians who have been following RPK's writings were shocked, when after the 2008 general election, he began associating himself with Mahathir – meeting his sifu (master) in his Petronas twin-tower office.

Many could not understand or believe how RPK, who was so vocal against BN-Umno and one of the pioneers of the Free Anwar Reformasi Movement, could make such an about turn.

Many MT readers are still puzzled and cannot believe what was happening and why RPK's writings started to slant towards Umno.

However, RPK's slant is now cautiously back to the Opposition, championing the need to change? What's going on? Simple! The cyber mercenary writer is financially backed by Mahathir and Daim.

In 2008, Mahathir and Daim's common political pest was Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. So, RPK's mission was to destabilise and erode support for Umno and Abdullah. It worked wonderfully, and as they say, the rest is history.

Now, Mahathir and Daim's common political enemy is Najib. And do you now see the similar strategic political attacks from Mahathir and RPK?

If you still don't believe that Mahathir and Daim are RPK's sponsors, then you give me the answers to the following questions:

* RPK was the one who came up with the damning statutory declaration that implicated Najib and his wife, Rosmah, in the murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and the link to the Scorpene submarines' graft allegations. Why?

* RPK was picked up by police and then charged. But after he was released on bail, how the hell did such a high profile political figure leave the country undetected?

* Who had the power and influence to facilitate his (RPK's) migration? This was what I posted about RPK on Sept 10, 2012.

Talk is spreading like wild fire in Malaysia that the famous or infamous cyber operator, depending on which side of the political divide you stand, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or more popularly referred to as RPK, is residing in an apartment in London belonging to the racist former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed.

RPK can feel free to clarify or attack me as we believe in freedom of speech and democracy, don't we?

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

When the issue favours the Chinese cause, they will scream democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of choice, the right to choose, agree to disagree, and so on. However, if it does not favour the Chinese cause, they will scream you are a turncoat, traitor, Trojan horse, frog, mole, you have been bought, and much more.

That is the ugly side of the Chinese. Freedom means freedom to agree with me, not freedom to disagree with me.

To people like Victor Lim, if you say or write anything that is perceived as pro-government, then this means you have been paid to do so. What about those who say or write something perceived as pro-opposition? Does this not also mean you have been paid to do so?

No! It does not. That just means you are noble. Those who support the opposition are noble. And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing -- you support the government. It is like religion. Either you are a Muslim or you are a Christian. And if you are not a Christian then you must surely be a Muslim. That is the only logical explanation.

To Victor Lim, your very action of not supporting the opposition is 'evidence' you have been paid. Using that same yardstick as 'proof of guilt', we will have to assume that Victor Lim is also a paid writer and his master must surely be Tian Chua. Can we, therefore, accept whatever Victor Lim says as the truth? Paid writers like Victor Lim would definitely lie through their teeth.

Victor Lim says he believes in democracy and freedom of speech. But when I exercise my democratic right of freedom of speech he vilifies me. The Malays call this bikin tak serupa cakap. Is this a Chinese cultural thing or what? Is this the best the so-called 5,000 years of Chinese 'civilisation' can produce? You appear puzzled as to why very few Malays trust the Chinese. Well, that's because the Malays know that bikin tak serupa cakap type of people just cannot be trusted.

Probably 50 or more Malaysians have come to my house in Manchester, many of them Malaysians from Malaysia. Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, Zaid Ibrahim, Mat Sabu, Saari Sungib, and many more have all been to my house -- some even spent the night at my house.

There are many more Malaysians from London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Reading, Scotland -- in fact, from almost every city in the UK -- who have visited me in Manchester. Yet Victor Lim says: Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or more popularly referred to as RPK, is residing in an apartment in London belonging to the racist former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed.

And he can't even get the spelling of my name right. It is Raja Petra Kamarudin and not Raja Petra Kamaruddin. And what Free Anwar Reformasi Movement is Victor Lim talking about? Clearly Victor Lim tembak only. There is so such movement called Free Anwar Reformasi Movement. This is a fabrication by Victor Lim.

Anyway, what is the address of Dr Mahathir's apartment? Does Dr Mahathir even own an apartment in London in the first place? And when did I move in to that apartment?

So you see, Victor Lim is bullshitting because I have never lived in London (at least not since 1956), never mind in whose apartment in London. I have been living in Manchester since the day I arrived. In fact, my family has been living in Manchester for 11 years now, since 2001, eight years before I came over.

Can you see how they lie? And to these types of people lying comes under the category of freedom of speech. But if you were to reply to that lie, that is not considered freedom of speech. Freedom of speech means they can say things about you but you can't say things about them.

Budaya apa ni? Budaya 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation ke?

Victor Lim also said: Malaysians who have been following RPK's writings were shocked, when after the 2008 general election, he began associating himself with Mahathir – meeting his sifu (master) in his Petronas twin-tower office.

That is another lie. I started 'associating' with Dr Mahathir back in 2006 when Malaysia Today organised a dialogue session with the ex-Prime Minister in the Kelab Century Paradise on 24th June 2006. (I even uploaded the video recordings onto the Internet). And you can read the text of Dr Mahathir's speech here: http://kasitarukaje.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/teks-ucapan-tun-dr-mahathir-mohamad.html

In fact, in the 2006 PKR annual general assembly in Penang, Azmin Ali whacked me in his speech. And Anwar Ibrahim sat there on stage smirking like the cat that had swallowed the canary as Azmin Ali whacked me for 'bersekongkong dengan Dr Mahathir Mohamed'.

Hence, if you want to accuse me of 'collaborating' with Dr Mahathir then this collaboration started more than six years ago and two years before the 2008 general election. And if I had collaborated with Dr Mahathir more than six years ago and two years before the 2008 general election, how can I be a turncoat? A turncoat is someone who changes sides. I never changed sides after the 2008 general election. I have been with Dr Mahathir since two years BEFORE the 2008 general election.

And do you know what? Many PAS and DAP leaders -- and many of them top leaders at that, too -- also attended that 24th June 2006 dialogue with Dr Mahathir. Even the ex-PKR Deputy President turned up. So what have you got to say about all those PAS, DAP and PKR leaders who attended that dialogue with Dr Mahathir organised by Malaysia Today at the Kelab Century Paradise on 24th June 2006?

In the Kota Bharu dialogue the following month, the Kelantan Menteri Besar, Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, attended the session and shared the stage with Dr Mahathir. He also attended the dinner in honour of Dr Mahathir that same night. Nik Aziz felt he needed to play host to the ex-Prime Minister since he (Nik Aziz) is, after, all the Menteri Besar of Kelantan.

Maybe the Pakatan Rakyat supporters should learn how to tell the truth for once. You accuse Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, NST, The Star, TV3, RTM, etc. of lying. But what difference are the opposition supporters? You are as blatant in your lying as the people you accuse of lying.

And why do you not respond, point-by-point, to the issues I have raised? I have been raising many issues since the mid-1990s -- ever since I first started writing for Harakah in 1997 and I first launched my own website in 1994. What I am saying now is what I have been saying for the last 18 years. What am I saying now that I did not say back in the 1990s?

If I am wrong then rebut me with what you think is the truth. But you don't do that. Instead of replying, you just hurl allegations against me and totally ignore what I say. And the only 'rebuttal' thus far is just a plain denial. Denial is no defence. If it is then Najib Tun Razak never met Altantuya Shaariibuu since he has denied meeting her.

In short, you know what I say is correct and you know there is no way you can rebut what I say. Hence you ignore what I say and do not reply to it and instead make all sorts of allegations, which are very far from the truth.

This is just like those Umno blogs that say I live in London and that one day I was so drunk I fell into a monsoon drain. Many kampong-minded Umno supporters who have never been to London and do not know that the UK does not have a monsoon season and London does not have monsoon drains will, of course, believe this story.

These opposition diehards are just the reverse of the same coin called Umno. They are all cut from the same cloth. Their doctrine is: you are free to agree with me but God help you if you say something that I don't like.

Oh, by the way, take a look at the picture below. Today, some people in PAS are saying that they want Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang instead of Anwar Ibrahim to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia if Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election. I already 'said' this four years ago. And if you can't interpret what that picture means then you are dumber than I thought.

The NATO syndrome

Posted: 15 Nov 2012 05:47 PM PST

If we really want to show the compassionate side of Islam then the proper thing to do would have been to investigate the reason why that soldier stole. If it is true that he stole because he is too poor to feed his daughter, then instead of jailing him he should have been put on welfare and every month the religious authorities give him money to feed his daughter.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ex-soldier jailed 3 months for stealing RM22 milk

(Bernama) - A former soldier was sentenced to three months' jail by the magistrate's court here today for stealing a packet of milk worth RM21.99 from a supermarket last Tuesday.

Senior Assistant Registrar Jesseca Damis handed down the sentence on Mohd Sobir Kashim after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

She ordered Mohd Sobir to serve the sentence from today.

Mohd Sobir, 32, was charged with stealing a packet of Anlene Gold milk at the Jaya Gading Supermarket in Semambu near here at 2.15pm last November 13.

In her judgment, Jesseca said the offence committed by Mohd Sobir was serious although the amount involved was small.

"You are a former soldier and should not have committed an offence like this," she added.

Earlier in mitigation, Mohd Sobir, from Padang Serai, Kedah, said he stole the packet of milk so that he could sell it to get money to buy food for his daughter.

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

Two days ago, His Highness the Sultan of Selangor spoke up regarding Islam. Yesterday it was the turn of His Highness the Sultan of Pahang. Today, Their Highnesses the Sultan of Terengganu and the Raja of Perlis spoke up.

That makes four with five more to go.

Their Highnesses want only those 'qualified' to do so to speak on Islam. Those non-qualified should not do so, titah (decree of a royal nature) Their Highnesses. And 'qualified' here means you must possess a piece of paper with your name on it.

I have never been one to follow royal decrees. When my uncle and aunty were summoned for an audience before His Highness and were ordered to instruct me to apologise regarding what I said about His Highness the Sultan of Perak, I did the opposite. I whacked even harder.

Then I was told to comply with this royal decree or else get disowned by my family. And my family would inset notices in the mainstream newspapers to announce to the world about my 'eviction' from the family.

My response to that was to 'disown' my family by going into self-imposed exile. Hence before my family can sack me, I sack my family first. And I swore I would never ever step foot in Selangor again.

So I will have no choice but to live and die by that oath.

Will I ever go back to Malaysia? many people ask me. I doubt it. Like it or not, I have already burned my bridges and I do not want to become another Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Rais Yatim, Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, Ibrahim Ali, etc. who also burned their bridges and swore that if they died and got reborn they would still never rejoin Umno -- and then went and rejoined Umno.

I would like to be like Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn who held on to their principles. They never rejoined Umno and died outside Umno even though both were once Prime Ministers of Malaysia.

So, the more Their Highnesses say don't talk about Islam, the more I want to talk about it -- because I never listen to royal decrees. But I am not going to talk about the Qur'an or whether Muslims should or should not be allowed to leave Islam. Instead, I want to talk about the story (above) regarding the soldier who was jailed three months for stealing a packet of milk.

Theft is theft (or shoplifting is shoplifting) and under the law you are punished for that crime even if the amount you stole is a mere ten cents (that is if anything in Malaysia can still be found priced at ten cents). That is how the law works.

But that is not how it works in Islam and I do remember people saying that Malaysia is an Islamic country (according to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be exact) and that Islam is the religion of the Federation (according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia) and so on.

Okay, so we have some ambiguity here. Malaysia is not an Islamic State. Malaysia is not a Secular State either. Malaysia is a Westminster Parliamentary Democracy with Islam as the religion of the nation where the laws are passed by Parliament but certain laws passed by God will affect only the Muslims while non-Muslims are spared God's commands.

Does that sound confusing? I hope so because that was the intention!

Anyway, that Malay soldier, who I assume is also Muslim, stole a packet of milk, and what appears to be a non-Muslim judge punished him with three months jail.

Now, in Islam, the soldier should have been asked why he stole that packet of milk. And this is what the news report said: Mohd Sobir, from Padang Serai, Kedah, said he stole the packet of milk so that he could sell it to get money to buy food for his daughter.

Once that soldier makes this declaration, the judge should have summoned the Kedah Religious Department, which comes under the PAS-led Kedah State Government, to go to court to explain why a soldier who has served his country at a great risk to his life should be in a situation where he has to steal something worth RM22 to feed his daughter.

The religious authorities collect millions of Ringgit every year from Malaysians. And some of that money is supposed to be used to help the poor, weak, old, sick, crippled, homeless, destitute, orphans, widows, unfortunate, etc. So what happened to all that money, which by now must come to billions?

If the Kedah Religious Department did not help this soldier who is too poor to feed his daughter, and hence had to steal to feed his daughter, then the Kedah Religious Department should be chided and the judge should order them to look after the financial welfare of the soldier.

If the Kedah Religious Department still fails to look after the welfare of the soldier and he has to continue to steal to feed his daughter, then the Director of the Kedah Religious Department should be sent to jail instead.

If you steal out of greed then you pay for that crime. But if you steal out of necessity then the authorities must be punished instead. That is how Hudud works, although Malaysia does not implement Hudud.

Okay, Malaysia does not implement Hudud. But Malaysia does implement the tithe collection system (zakat and fitrah), which is compulsory for Muslims and they can be arrested if they do not pay this tithe.

It is nice to see Their Highnesses making statements upholding Islam. But Malaysia seems to be suffering from the NATO syndrome, a.k.a. no action, talk only.

That is what they would do in a 'kafir' country like Britain, which is not an Islamic country but more Islamic than Malaysia.

Yes, every year we celebrate 'heroes day' to remember all those so many soldiers who died for their country. Then we send the not yet dead soldier to jail because he had to steal to feed his daughter. We honour the dead and jail the living. Only dead people are heroes. Living people are a burden to the country.

And then we scream that this is Islam and that we should uphold Islam and that those who speak against Islam should be punished and all that crap. Islam is not about talking. Islam is about acting. And we expect soldiers to die for us so that we can have a good life and when they can't feed their children we send them to jail.

How can I not cry when I write this article? Am I getting too emotional in my old age or am I the only Muslim who has a heart? Maybe I am getting too old and that's why I cry a lot.

Oh, by the way, the nine Rulers are Colonels-in-Chief of the various branches of the Armed Forces while His Majesty the Agong is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

I hope Their Highnesses are ashamed with themselves. And that is all I want to say about that particular matter.

And don't you wankers ever try to suggest that the Malays get all sorts of benefits while the non-Malays are oppressed -- not while we still have Malays who cannot even feed their children, especially Malays who risk their lives so that the non-Malays can have a peaceful and prosperous county to live in.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Rabu, 28 November 2012

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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