Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Indian Voters Kingmakers Once Again
- Exco member’s aide arrested in anti-graft sting
- Raja Ropiaah, NFC issues hurting Wanita Umno and BN, analysts say
- MACC: Facebooking during office hours a form of graft
- Christians are hurting in the religious divide -- STAR
- Buried Christian Empire Casts New Light on Early Islam
- The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 20)
- DAP Vote Scandal Getting Worse : Where Are The Ballots?
- Malayan-based parties too greedy to wallop state seats
- All’s quiet at Tamil school with only two pupils
- Taiwanese gamblers bet on cancer patients
- Muslims urged to be brave and firm in defending Islam
- How the boardroom clinched Deepak deal
- DAP: Talibans without turbans
- DAP covering up ‘schoolboy error’
- DAP: Election fiasco an embarrassment
- No permit yet for Pakatan rally
- 49,000 youngest drop-outs?
| Indian Voters Kingmakers Once Again Posted: 05 Jan 2013 10:32 AM PST
Currently just relying on the Malay and Chinese support is not going to be enough either. PR will still require the support of the Indian voters at levels similar to which it had in the 2008 GE. The 99.5% geographical distribution of Indian voters in the bread and butter states of Peninsular Malaysia, gives it added strength in the collective voting strength in the next General Election. Paraman Subramaniam 165 out of the 222 Parliamentary seats in Malaysia lie in Peninsular Malaysia. This translates to 75% of all seats. Focusing valuable resources and campaign time on Sabah and Sarawak may be necessary but it cannot be done at the expense of Peninsular Malaysia. First of all Sarawak state elections is already over. PR's influence on East Malaysia is not as strong as it is on Peninsular Malaysia. The city/town seats are winnable but the interiors are impenetrable, not just logistically but also due to poor Internet/alternative media coverage. Polling agents and counting agents from PR in these areas are also minimal. The elections in these areas are literally at the mercy of the heavyweight BN machinery on elections day. The internal politics within these states are complicated and they do view politicians from Peninsular Malaysia with suspicion. The 9 states in Peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, W.P, N.S, Malacca, Johor and Pahang) contain 140 Parliamentary seats which is 85% of all Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia. In fact these states in total consist of almost 2/3rd of all Parliamentary seats in Malaysia hence the term "bread and butter states" is best applicable. A strong showing of PR in these bread and butter states will draw all victors/political parties post GE like a magnet towards PR, especially those from East Malaysia. It is as simple as that. Moreover PR's potential nadir strength also lies in these bread and butter states.
PR will require the SYNERGY of all the 3 major races in one direction against BN to topple the 55 year regime. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exco member’s aide arrested in anti-graft sting Posted: 05 Jan 2013 10:30 AM PST
(The Star) - The aide is an office bearer of the Permatang Pauh PKR division and is now a coordinator for Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the constituency. The aide of a Penang state exco member has been arrested in an anti-graft sting. The man, in his 50s, and two others were arrested for allegedly offering a bribe and abuse of power over a sexual harassment case. They were alleged to have given RM30,000 to a woman as an inducement for her to drop a sexual harassment complaint on a top civil servant. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission director of investigationsDatuk Mustafar Ali confirmed the arrest but declined to elaborate. The woman, a clerk, had earlier complained that her former employer had sexually harassed her. The civil servant was produced in court to be charged several months ago. The civil servant then sought the help from his friend, the political secretary. The latter then contacted the woman. A source familiar with the investigations said that the woman lodged a report with the commission which mounted a sting operation late on the night of Jan 3 at a restaurant in Seberang Jaya. At the meeting with the woman, three of them allegedly dropped off the hush money to her. It was only after the money changed hands and the woman was forced to sign a document promising not to continue with the court case, that anti-graft officers moved in. "They were arrested on the spot at about 11.30pm," said the source. The source added that the three were held for about 24 hours after they were first arrested. They have since been released on bail. The aide is an office bearer of the Permatang Pauh PKR division and is now a coordinator for Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the constituency. He is also said to be a powerful figure in the Penanti state constituency. The three are likely to be charged in court once the commission wraps up its investigations.
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| Raja Ropiaah, NFC issues hurting Wanita Umno and BN, analysts say Posted: 05 Jan 2013 10:28 AM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - Scandals engulfing top Wanita Umno leaders are undermining the backbone of the ruling party and will affect Barisan Nasional (BN)'s chances in Election 2013, say analysts. The latest scandal is a lucrative land deal for a defence studies facility that has yet to be built by Selangor Wanita Umno chief Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah's firm, nearly a year after the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal cost her boss Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil her senatorship and a Cabinet post. "Issues that are raised by the Opposition can undeniably affect Wanita Umno's image, and we know that Umno's strong support comes from the women's wing," Universiti Utara Malaysia's (UUM) lecturer Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani told The Malaysian Insider. "So, it is up to Wanita Umno to change to menangkis tohmahan (dispel these accusations)," he said of the wing whose members have been effective in canvassing votes for BN. Azizuddin said as many outside the party are watching Wanita Umno, the movement must change to ensure that they are seen to be clean and free from scandals that could hurt BN's chances in this year's general election. "It's all up to them," Azizuddin repeated. Raja Ropiaah has kept mum about her company Awan Megah Sdn Bhd's failure to build the RM100 million National Defence Education Centre (Puspahanas) in Putrajaya despite selling the government land that was swapped for the construction cost. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/raja-ropiaah-nfc-issues-hurting-wanita-umno-and-bn-analysts-say/
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| MACC: Facebooking during office hours a form of graft Posted: 05 Jan 2013 10:22 AM PST
(The Star) - Civil servants and staff of government-linked companies (GLCs) surfing social media or engaging in personal matters during working hours may be categorised as having committed corruption, said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). "For instance, if a person spends three hours during his or her stipulated working hours for personal tasks, it can be deemed a form of corruption as the Government trusts and pays its employees to fully utilise the working period to complete tasks relating to the respective jobscope," said MACC deputy chief commissioner Datuk Sutinah Sutan. This also applied to those who surfed Facebook or other forms of social media, as such actions could be considered as straying from their job specifications, she said after witnessing the signing of the corporate integrity pledge by Kumpulan Melaka Berhad (KMB) at a hotel here yesterday. KMB is the first state government agency to sign the pledge aimed at creating a business environment free from corruption and upholding anti-graft principles. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam was the guest of honour at the event. Sutinah said the act of engaging in other personal tasks during work hours could be considered as contravening the employment contract and culprits could face disciplinary action if initiated by respective disciplinary boards. She noted that although such offences were not covered under the MACC Act, the commission could advise the disciplinary board on the types of actions to be meted out against errant staff of such government departments and GLCs. Meanwhile, Sutinah confirmed that the commission had started screening general election candidates following the request from both Barisan Nasional and the Opposition. Meanwhile, Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman urged civil servants to give priority to their duties during working hours. "While social media is a good way to encourage people to be more tech-savvy and updated on current affairs, civil servants should dedicate their work hours to their respective ministry, department or agency," he said. He also proposed a proper mechanism to define what websites, if surfed by a civil servant during working hours, could be considered straying from their job specifications. "There should be clear guidelines, not only for the workers to understand what actions can be penalised, but also for the disciplinary committee to determine what is within the job scope and what is not," he said.
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| Christians are hurting in the religious divide -- STAR Posted: 05 Jan 2013 10:19 AM PST
Leaders involved in the debates on religion in Malaysia should stop behaving as if the Christians have no feelings and no rights as Malaysians, said State Reform Party (STAR) here. Daniel John Jambun In a statement, STAR Deputy Chairman, Daniel John Jambun said it's high time Christians came forward and assert their rights as Malaysians in matters concerning their faith. "It is ridiculous that many non-Christian leaders are talking about various religious issues as if the Christians are emotionally dead about matters affecting their religious rights," Jambun said. "There is longstanding assumption among politicians at the national level that no matter what you say about the Christians, they wouldn't dare respond to assert their rights. It's high time this is stopped." He said it is a clear case of condescending, taking for granted and outright bullying for Muslim leaders to oppose the use of "Allah," to prohibit or control the distribution of the Indonesian Alkitab, to arrest non-Muslims in khlawat cases, and to proclaims fatwahs (decrees) affecting the non-Muslims. "Now the situation is reaching a critical level with PAS insisting on the implementation of hudud in the whole of the country and to turnMalaysia into a theocracy," Jambun asserted. "The government should make a strong stance and treat these inflammatory religious proclamations as seditious and threat to public peace and national harmony. "Initially, hudud was just for Kelantan and there was assurance it wouldn't affect non-Muslims. But we all know that the implementation of hudud will defitnitely affect all Malaysians because as a people, we interact and there will be circumstances in which non-Muslims will be entangled into the draconian syariah law. "The Muslims and non-Muslims people of Sabah who have lived in harmony before PAS' came into the picture, are now being rattled by religious issues raised by PAS and Perkasa. The fact that the people of Sabah had been assured of religious freedom in Malaysia as documented by the Keningau Oath Stone, is now meaningless. The Christians in Sabah here now feel they are being harassed and denied their rights." Jambun assured he has no intention to interfere in Islamic affairs, but just to express the feeling of numerous people who have called him to voice out their grievance over the "spiritual colonialization" by PAS and the bullying of Christians by some insensitive political leaders. He said he respects everyone's rights to their beliefs and religious practices but such respect and rights should also be accorded to Christians as well.
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| Buried Christian Empire Casts New Light on Early Islam Posted: 05 Jan 2013 04:43 AM PST
FUDZAIL The "crowned man" relief found in Zafar, Yemen is seen as evidence that there was a Christian empire in the region before Islam took hold. The commandment "Make yourself no graven image" has long been strictly followed in the Arab world. There are very few statues of the caliphs and ancient kings of the region. The pagan gods in the desert were usually worshipped in an "aniconic" way, that is, as beings without form. Muhammad had a beard, but there are no portraits of him. But now a narcissistic work of human self-portrayal has turned up in Yemen. It is a figure, chiseled in stone, which apparently stems from the era of the Prophet. Paul Yule, an archeologist from the southwestern German city of Heidelberg, has studied the relief, which is 1.70 meters (5'7") tall, in Zafar, some 930 kilometers (581 miles) south of Mecca. It depicts a man with chains of jewelry, curls and spherical eyes. Yule dates the image to the time around 530 AD. The German archeologist excavated sites in the rocky highlands of Yemen, an occupation that turned quite dangerous recently because of political circumstances in the country. On his last mission, Yule lost 8 kilograms (18 lbs.) and his equipment was confiscated. Nevertheless, he is pleased, because he was able to bring notes, bits of debris and bones back to Heidelberg. Yule has concluded that Zafar was the center of an Arab tribal confederation, a realm that was two million square kilometers (about 772,000 square miles) large and exerted its influence all the way to Mecca. Even more astonishing is his conclusion that kings who invoked the Bible lived in the highland settlement. The "crowned man" depicted on the relief was also a Christian. Conquerers from Ancient Ethiopia Yule has analyzed the mysterious, robed figure in a report for the academic journal Antiquity. He is barefoot, which is typical of Coptic saints. He is holding a bundle of twigs, a symbol of peace, in his left hand. There is a crossbar on his staff, giving it the appearance of a cross. In addition, he is wearing a crown on his head like the ones worn by the Christian rulers of ancient Ethiopia. All of this suggests that the man with a strange, round face is a descendant of the conquerors from Africa who succeeded in making one of the boldest landing operations in ancient times. In 525 AD, the Negus, or king, of Aksum dispatched a fleet across the Red Sea. Soldiers and fighting elephants were ferried across the water to the East on un-tarred, raft-like ships to spread the gospel. In the ensuing decades, his army captured large parts of Arabia. The first spearhead was targeted at the capital Zafar. Like a fortress in the sky, the town was perched on an extinct volcano, at an altitude of 2,800 meters (9,184 feet) above sea level. Its walls, riddled with towers and alarm bells, were four-and-a-half kilometers long. About 25,000 people lived in Zafar. According to Yule, between the 3rd and the 5th century the confederation managed to complete a "meteoric rise" and become a superpower. Its merchants traded in sandalwood from Ceylon and valerian from Persia. The state controlled the port of Aden, where the ships of spice traders from India docked. Frankincense, which was made in Arabia, was also traded. It was a place of luxury. Yule found wine amphorae, the remains of precious fish condiments and palaces decorated with sphinxes and lions. A Peaceful Multi-Cultural Community The social structure in Zafar also appeared to be unique. The city had a large Jewish community, as evidenced by a seal with a Torah niche. Hebrew inscriptions were discovered. Zafar's residents also included Christians, who built a church there in 354 AD. Arabs who worshipped old idols lived in the alleys. But this peaceful, multicultural community soon came to an end, as tensions began to mount in the 5th century, and Arabia was transformed into a front. The Byzantine Empire, bristling with weapons, operated in the west, and its vassals kept making inroads toward the desert. They were accompanied by Christian missionaries, who brought the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to the shepherds on the edge of the Rub' al Khali, the sand desert that makes up much of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. These Sacred Heart imperialists confronted the Persian realm of the Sassanids, with its archers and armies of bearded soldiers clad in heavy metal armor. The Jews, who lived by the tens of thousands in the oases, were to some extent aligned with this power. It was a confrontation between east and west, and everyone was forced to choose a side. This also applied to Zafar. To stop the advance of Christianity, individual Arab kings initially converted to Judaism. The entire ruling class of the realm eventually followed suit. From then on, people were given names like Yehuda and Yussuf. Then they took up arms. In approximately 520 AD, they attacked the Christian colony of Najran, where there were churches and monasteries. Countless Christians were slaughtered. The shocking news traveled all the way to Europe. A 'Puppet King' Now the spiral of violence began turning more rapidly. The furious Byzantines and their allies from Africa were out for revenge. Kaleb, the Aksumite king of Ethiopia (who wore gold jewelry in his hair and had himself driven around in an elephant carriage) went on the counter-offensive. If the sources are correct, his first naval maneuver was a miserable failure. In 525 AD, with the help of additional warships provided by the Byzantines, he successfully completed the crossing to the other side of the Red Sea. The relief of the "crowned man" from Zafar was apparently created during this period of invasion. Yule interprets it as a representation of the Christian "puppet king" of the Ethiopians. The invaders continued their attacks. Southern Arabia's holy warrior, Abraha, had taken control of large areas before long. He even attempted to free bishops being held prisoner by the Persian enemy in Nisibis (in modern-day Turkey), some 2,500 kilometers away. The man embarked on a religious crusade at the same time. He rebuilt the churches that had been destroyed in Najran, and he had new ones built in Marib and Aden. His most beautiful church was in Sanaa. It had gilded doors and a throne made of ebony and ivory. In the morning, the rays of the sun shone through an alabaster panel in the dome. The Byzantines supported the project, sending craftsmen, marble and mosaics. The result was an architectural miracle, the likes of which all of Arabia had never seen before.
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| The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 20) Posted: 04 Jan 2013 06:01 PM PST
Haji Hamid and I discussed this matter and it was agreed that if the police do arrest and charge Dr Wan Azizah then I would have to admit that I had, in fact, smuggled Anwar's blood, urine, hair and fingernail samples into Australia. Then the Melbourne pathologist office can make their test results official. This would save Dr Wan Azizah from the charge of making a false police report but I would instead face the risk of being charged for smuggling. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Anwar's trial is halted by arsenic claim (The Independent, UK, 11 September 1999) - Malaysia politician Anwar Ibrahim is being poisoned with arsenic by the authorities while in prison, his lawyer said yesterday at the trial of the former deputy prime minister on sodomy charges. Karpal Singh said secret tests on Anwar's urine proved that the politician, who is already serving six years for corruption, has an alarming level of arsenic in his body. "I suspect some people in high places, in all likelihood, are responsible for his condition," Mr Singh said. "The family and Anwar Ibrahim are alarmed. He is in jeopardy of his life." The trial was adjourned by Judge Ariffin Jaka, who ordered that Anwar, 52, be taken to hospital for tests. Later, Mr Singh showed a report said to be from an Australian pathology lab, indicating the urine sample tested had 77 times more arsenic than normal human urine. Anwar's relatives somehow obtained a urine sample and smuggled it out last month using a false name, Mr Singh said. The lab report carried the name Subramaniam and an age of 59. Before the hearing was adjourned indefinitely, prosecutors said there was no proof that Anwar was being poisoned in prison. Arsenic could have entered his body through food given to him by family and friends in court, the Attorney General, Mohtar Abdullah, said Anwar flew into a rage at that, pounding the wooden railing of the dock and stamping his feet. "Fed by my wife! I was poisoned by Azizah!" he shrieked ironically, referring to his wife, who heads an opposition party that has vowed to end the government's 18-year rule. Anwar is accused of sodomising his former family driver. He says the sex and corruption charges are part of a political conspiracy to end his challenge to the Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad. He faces up to 20 more years in prison if convicted of sodomy. Anwar was arrested on 20 September last year, 18 days after the Prime Minister fired him. He was beaten on the night of his arrest by the police chief of Malaysia. When the judge asked Anwar how he felt, he said: "I am generally all right, I am not feeling any pain, but certainly I am not my usual self." Anwar said he had lost weight and hair, symptoms he connected to arsenic poisoning. His wife later said he lost 9kg (19lb) this year. "This is attempted murder," said Azizah. "I'm very alarmed, very frightened, to learn that his life is in danger." The Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said that he had ordered an immediate investigation. Anwar Ibrahim (R) smiles as he arrives at hospital under guard in Kuala Lumpur September 10. Anwar was taken to the hospital on Friday after his lawyer Karpal Singh said a pathologist in Australia had found arsenic in Anwar's urine. Anwar Ibrahim, second from left, is welcomed by staff of National University Hospital on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur as he arrives for his medical test Friday, Sept. 10, 1999. Anwar Ibrahim, center, waves to his supporters as he was discharged from National University Hospital where he was admitted to be checked for possible arsenic poisoning, Monday, Oct. 4, 1999 in Kuala Lumpur. ********************************************* I can't quite remember the exact day in August 1999 it was, but I know it was a Friday and before the 10th of September 1999, the day the arsenic poisoning of Anwar Ibrahim issue exploded. I remember it was a Friday because I had just returned from my Friday prayers when I received a phone call from Anwar's MCKK classmate, Haji Hamid Rashid, who was also my 'boss'. I was then working in the R&D division of Parti Keadilan Nasional (now called Parti Keadilan Rakyat or PKR), basically a psychological-warfare (psywar) unit to handle the Internet media war long before the advent of Blogs or new portals such as Malaysiakini. At that time there were only 280,000 Internet subscribers in Malaysia compared to 15 million or so today. Nevertheless, we saw the importance of the Internet long before Umno realised it in 2008 and we decided to get in from the ground floor because he who is first 'controls the market', so to speak. Haji Hamid's phone call was rather strange. Normally he would drop in to the PKR office at Phileo Damansara -- a building owned by Anwar crony, Datuk Ravi Dharan, one-time Samy Vellu crony who made millions as a Barisan Nasional stooge -- and we would hold our discussions in a special 'bug-proof' room. Haji Hamid never considered the phone a safe medium of discussion as the powers-that-be can listen in on whatever we discuss. Hence that phone call was most unusual. And the discussion was even stranger. "No names!" said Haji Hamid. "Meet me now at the PJ Hilton car park. No further explanation." I jumped onto my motorcycle, a Yamaha Virago, and rushed to the PJ Hilton. I arrived there in less than 15 minutes, parked my bike, and hung around. There was no sign of Haji Hamid so I thought that maybe I was early. After waiting for about 10 minutes or so my phone rang and Haji Hamid said, "Turn and face the highway." I was facing the PJ Hilton, expecting Haji Hamid to come from there. I turned to face the highway as instructed and I saw someone hiding behind one of the pillars of the flyover. He signalled to me to come over. I walked over and as I got closer I could see that it was Haji Hamid. Apparently he had arrived before me but he wanted to monitor me before showing himself lest I was followed. Haji Hamid then explained that Anwar had been poisoned with arsenic. They had secretly taken some of Anwar's blood, urine, hair and fingernail samples and had sent them to the Melbourne for testing under the name of Subramaniam and the tests proved that Anwar had a high level of arsenic in his system. They then tried to send a second set of samples, this time in Anwar's name, but the Malaysian police had found out and had intercepted and confiscated them before they could leave the country. Now Anwar was under close monitoring so no one could get to him for another set of samples. However, what the police did not know is there was a third set of samples. But these cannot be sent through the normal channels because the police were monitoring all the courier companies. Hence they needed to be smuggled out. Haji Hamid explained that none of Anwar's family dared smuggle the samples out because the minute they try to leave the country they will be stopped and subjected to a 100% check. Haji Hamid wanted me to help find someone who can act as a smuggler. I told Haji Hamid it would be too risky to trust someone else to do this job and that I had better do it myself. We walked in to the PJ Hilton and asked the concierge to check flights to Melbourne, Australia. The earliest available flight was Monday. Haji Hamid told the concierge to make the flight booking, who asked me the name of the passenger. Haji Hamid pointed to me and the concierge replied, "Raja Petra, right?" Haji Hamid went pale. Haji Hamid told the concierge to hold on and he pulled me aside. "He knows who you are," Haji Hamid said. "It's too dangerous. We need to abort." I assured Haji Hamid that he had nothing to worry about. Clearly the concierge was one of us since he knows who I am. Reluctantly Haji Hamid agreed to proceed but he cautioned me that if I got caught I was on my own. I assured Haji Hamid that he would not get dragged into this if I got caught. The flight booking for Monday was done and we went back to the car park. Haji Hamid then handed me a polystyrene box with a sealed container submerged in dry ice inside it. "Put this in the fridge until your flight on Monday night," he told me. "But do not break the seal." I went home and emptied the fridge in my bedroom and placed the sealed box inside it. "What the hell are you doing?" my wife Marina asked. I explained to Marina what was going on. "You are storing Anwar's piss in my fridge?" she asked. "Well, look at it this way," I replied, "one day when Anwar becomes Prime Minister and when he complains that I piss him off we can remind him that when he was in prison we were the trustee to his piss. Hence we have every right to piss him off." On Monday night Marina drove me to the airport and I tried to look as cool as I could when I checked in. "Any luggage?" they asked me. "Only this box, which I will hand carry," I replied. I walked through the security check and immigration clearance. They X-rayed the box and allowed it through. There was also no 'red flag' on my passport. I breathed a long sigh of relief as I walked onto the plane and sat down. My last two days were filled with visions of getting stopped or arrested but it was plain sailing with no hiccups. I arrived at Melbourne airport and phoned the number that Haji Hamid had given me. The man at the other end asked me my name and said he would call me back in a few minutes. He then called up Haji Hamid to verify my identity and then called me back with instructions on where I was supposed to go. I jumped into a taxi and headed for the place. The person I had spoken to earlier, one of Anwar's Malaysian lawyers, was waiting outside the gate. He then escorted me in and told me he is not allowed to touch the box I was carrying. We went to the pathologist's office where a local Australian lawyer was waiting. They asked me to place the box on the table and then took photographs of the box from all angles. The Australian lawyer then inspected the seal and confirmed that it had not been broken or tampered with. In the presence of both the Malaysian and Australian lawyers, they broke the seal and removed the contents from the box. I waited while they did a test on the samples and confirmed that there was indeed a high level of arsenic. Nevertheless, the test would have to be 'off the record'. This was because not only were the samples smuggled out of Malaysia but they were also smuggled into Australia, which was a crime. The only way they could make the test official would be if I were to declare that I had smuggled them into Australia. But that would mean I would also be admitting that I had committed a crime and would have to face arrest. The rest of the story is in The Independent news report of 11th September 1999 (above). When this issue exploded on 10th September 1999, the Malaysian police interrogated Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who had made a police report on the matter, and threatened to arrest and charge her for the crime of making a false police report. Haji Hamid and I discussed this matter and it was agreed that if the police do arrest and charge Dr Wan Azizah then I would have to admit that I had, in fact, smuggled Anwar's blood, urine, hair and fingernail samples into Australia. Then the Melbourne pathologist office can make their test results official. This would save Dr Wan Azizah from the charge of making a false police report but I would instead face the risk of being charged for smuggling. Fortunately the Malaysian police did not carry through with their threat of arresting and charging Dr Wan Azizah for the crime of making a false police report and I was spared the agony of having to face a charge of smuggling. I hear that the Australian government does not take too kindly to those caught smuggling human tissue samples into Australia. TO BE CONTINUED
The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 4) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 5) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 6) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 7) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 8) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 9) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 11) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 12) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 13) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 14) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 16) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 17) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 18) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 19)
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| DAP Vote Scandal Getting Worse : Where Are The Ballots? Posted: 04 Jan 2013 05:08 PM PST
OutSyed The Box Folks the DAP's party voting scandal is getting worse. Now they are blaming it on Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. This is the most stupid thing anyone can say. For the DAP's information, in 2012 Microsoft's revenue was RM220 Billion. 1.0 billion computers in the world are running Microsoft software. (That is about 90% of all computers in the world) And the DAP now blames Microsoft for their failure to tally up 1,800 votes? Yesterday the DAP election director, the guy in charge of tallying up the election results said something even more strange. Here is the news report :
So lets tabulate this :
Here is an extra large picture of Pooi Weng Kong :  I blew up the picture so that everyone can see exactly what Pooi Weng Kong looks like. Please dont come and tell me that this fellow in the picture is a Malay guy ok. If you think this guy in the picture is a Malay, then go and have your eyes checked. Muka China, rambut China, mata China, hidung China, warna kulit China - so dont come and tell me that this guy is a Malay. When asked what has happened to the manually recorded vote tabulation, Pooi Weng Kong the DAP's election director said "the matter was beyond him now" I say kawan, what type of answer is that? Where are the ballot papers? Where are the manually recorded tally sheets? This only raises another question : Has all the evidence been destroyed already? Asked about a recount, Lim Guan Eng just declined to comment. You mean the DAP does not even follow normal procedures? If there is any dispute or controversy in vote counting, the immediate thing to do is to recount the ballots. Apa susah sangat? Because you have already said that there was a technical glitch in Microsoft Excel's Spreadsheet. Please dont say that you have now corrected the situation by using the same Microsoft Excel ! That would be dua kali bodoh.
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| Malayan-based parties too greedy to wallop state seats Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:57 PM PST
Isn't the 165 parliamentary seats (out of 222) lumped together in the whole of Malaya good enough for PKR and PR to contest that they must contest Sabah's mere 25 and Sarawak's 31 parliamentary seats? Daniel John Jambun It disturbs us in Star when certain opposition leaders here keep on mentioning in their speeches that STAR is splittng the opposition votes and in the process help return Barisan Nasional in the coming general election. But what short of safeguards Sabah and Sarawak can have if even our small number of seats are being taken and contested by parties from outside East Malaysia? It is obvious that these Sabahans reps would listen to their leaders who are from Peninsular. Just look at UMNO reps from Sabah.
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| All’s quiet at Tamil school with only two pupils Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:45 PM PST Three's company: (From left) S. Kishare Kumar teaching his students Sharvin and Shavatha at SJK (T) Sungai Papan in Pengerang. (The Star) - PENGERANG: The start of a new year is usually the busiest and noisiest for any school but in SJK (T) Ladang Sungai Papan, there is only silence in its hall. Its Parent-Teacher Association chairman L. Krishnasamy is now pinning his hopes on the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project to boost the school's fortune. The school, located in the middle of an oil palm plantation, currently has only two pupils in Year Six, outnumbered by the school staff comprising a principal, two teachers, two security guards and two gardeners. Its Parent-Teacher Association chairman L. Krishnasamy, who runs a sundry shop in the estate, said student numbers had been dwindling since the other estate workers started migrating to the bigger towns of Ulu Tiram and Pasir Gudang. "For the past few years, there has been no new student enrolled for Year One," he said, adding that the school was equipped with classrooms, an office and even a resource centre. Fretting about the school's future by year-end when it would no longer have any pupil, Krishnasamy, who has been the PTA chairman for the past decade, said there used to be over a hundred Indian families living there in the 1960s and 1970s. "Now, only a dozen people are left and most of the rubber has been replaced with oil palm. Most of the workers here are also Indonesians," he said, adding that the nearest Tamil school was 45km away in Kota Tinggi. However, Krishnasamy is upbeat that the opening of the RAPID project here over the next few year will see pupils trickling in. "There will surely be many people who will move here. We can be an option for those who intend to send their children to Tamil schools," he said. As for pupils Sharvin Raj and N. Shavatha, they do not mind being the only ones studying in the school. "We enjoy each other's company," said Sharvin, whose father, R. Ravichandran, is the school principal for the past two years.
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| Taiwanese gamblers bet on cancer patients Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:36 PM PST
(The Star) - PUNTERS in Taiwan are wagering on a macabre game to predict the date when terminally ill cancer patients die, reported China Press. The punters, with bets running up to NT$100mil (RM10mil), included the patients' family members and even the doctors. Those who wished to participate in the game had to pay a membership fee of NT$2,000 (RM200) to the bookies, who would visit hospitals to seek permission from the patients' family. The bookies would then take the gamblers to the hospital on their next visit to observe the patients. According to the rules, the bookies win if the cancer patients die within a month. However, if they die between one and six months after the bets were placed, the gamblers would be paid three times their wager. It was reported that more than 10 gaming houses, set up by senior citizens' clubs, had mushroomed in Taizhong city.
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| Muslims urged to be brave and firm in defending Islam Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:30 PM PST
(Bernama) - Muslims in the country must be brave, firm and strong in facing challenges from parties which endeavour to interfere with the position of Islam as the official religion. Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang (picture) said the threats and attempts to weaken Islam in Malaysia had never subsided including the attempt of late to deny Islam as the religion of the federation by those with vested interest. "Recently, there are those in Malaysian society who refute Islam's position as enshrined in Article 3 of the Federal Constitution. "They only regard Islam as an official religion, and its position that is lower than the constitution. This thinking has spread, and, if not corrected, will become a big problem for our country," he said in his speech when opening a seminar "Upholding Islam, The National Religion" (Semaian) at Pusat Islam here today. He said Muslims in the country must realise that the threat towards Islam came in many forms, including the latest, the demand to use the term Allah, which was raised again in the Malay version of the Bible, was a clear effort to weaken Islam in the country. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in his Christmas message on his blog recently urged the Federal Government headed by Barisan Nasional to allow the use of the term Allah in the Malay version of the Bible.
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| How the boardroom clinched Deepak deal Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:25 PM PST The most puzzling question in the RM30 million settlement with carpetman Deepak Jaikishan is why didn't Boustead Holdings Bhd buy 100% shares in Astacanggih? Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, FMT Why can't the group of army veterans see the documents related to the purchase of Astacanggih Sdn Bhd and land from Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd? After all, the legal requirement is that the documents related to the purchases should be made available for public inspection for three months from the date Boustead Holdings Bhd (BHB) announced the deals. But that didn't happen, did it? Anway, what I found puzzling was this. BHB can buy out Astacanggih (an 80% stake) but cannot do the same with Awan Megah. If it takes over Awan Megah, wouldn't that lead to taking over the privatisation project (National Defence Education Centre or Puspahanas)? If that was the case, the company (Awan Megah) should be in distress as it had neither the intention nor capacity to build the RM100 million Puspahanas. It's embroiled in a lot of problems. Wouldn't it be simpler to just buy out the two proxies fronting for Raja Ropiaah Abdullah, the owner of Awan Megah? Let us do a little bit of detective work concerning BHB asking its son-company (grandson to Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera or LTAT) to buy Astacanggih and buy off Deepak Jaikishan. Some people called it outright bribery which seems to be in line with how Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak manages the country. Let me suggest to you what may have happened in the "war room" or bunker of the BHB board of directors, many of whom are former generals (who never went to war). It was an emergency meeting and must have given the retired generals a surreal sense that they were at war – having to make a quick decision. Luckily they were qualified generals and not dullards. The BHB directors consented to its son-company, its wholly-owned unit, Bakti Wira Development Sdn Bhd (Company No. 276338-M) to enter into an agreement on Dec 20, 2012, to acquire 16,000,000 ordinary shares of RM1 each in Astacanggih Sdn Bhd (Company No. 767577-W). This represented 80% of the issued and paid-up share capital of Astacanggih. This was meant to pay back that pesky Hindustan hero (Deepak Jaikishan), author of "The Black Rose". So Boustead now has a new adopted son, Astacanggih. Astacanggih and Bakti Wira then entered into an agreement with Awan Megah (Company No. 184720-W) to acquire a total of 200 acres of freehold land in Klang, Selangor. They entered into such agreement on Dec 27, 2012. The purchase price of RM30 milion was arrived at on a willing-seller and willing-buyer basis, the managers told the generals. Astacanggih shares were originally held by Deepak and Prestige Dimension Sdn Bhd and other minority shareholders who were the vendors in the acquisition of shares. The other original shareholder of Astacanggih is Putra Nazrain Adril Abdul Jalil who holds four million or 20% shares in Astacanggih. Who is Astacanggih? Astacanggih is a private limited company incorporated in Malaysia and operating from its address given as 25-5-16 (5.16, 5th Floor), Plaza Prima, 4½ Mile, Jalan Klang Lama, 58000 Kuala Lumpur. It is an investment holding company with an issued and paid-up share capital of RM20 million divided into 20,000,000 ordinary shares of RM1 each. But the managers have not explained one crucial thing. Why not buy 100% of Astacanggih? More importantly, why buy Astacanggih? Of what relevance is Astancaggih? What is the strategic relevance of Astancanggih? The generals did not ask and the managers doing the briefing did not tell. Here we had "consenting" adults. Then, the generals were told of the matter concerning the purchase of 200 acres of land from Awan Megah. The generals screamed, because they already had 700 acres in Bukit Raja area which was not developed. The 200 acre land in question were some vacant freehold lots with some abandoned oil palm trees. The land lots were:
The managers said "we are paying a total of RM130 million cash. We assure you generals, the purchase price on the land, like the price on Astacanggih, was arrived at on a willing-seller and willing-buyer basis". They added that their lawyers had assured them that the land was acquired free from all charges, liens and encumbrances. But it was subject to whatever restrictions in interest and conditions of title, whether expressed or implied in the separate titles to the lands for the purpose of developing them. The last portion of the explanation made some generals dizzy and some of them demanded some whisky to be brought in. Who is Putra Nazrain? But one sober ex-general asked: Who in the hell is Awan Megah? And so the point-man explained that Awan Megah is a private limited company incorporated in Malaysia and having its registered address at 25-1, Jalan PJU 1/42A, Block F2, Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The directors of Awan Megah are Putra Nazrain Adril bin Abdul Jalil and Raja Rabiatun Aduah binti Raja Abdullah. So Putra Nazrain was a shareholder in Astacanggih and Awang Megah. The purchase of Awan Megah is of some importance to us, the managers said. Awan Megah has a contract with the Defence Ministry to build the RM100 million Puspahanas and we have asked our lawyers to demand some conditions "precedent" from Awan Megah, they explained to the generals. What in blue blazes are "conditions precedent", shouted one of the now intoxicated ex-generals. Matters that must be sorted out first before we make complete payment, the managers replied. Well, the real owner behind Awan Megah is a close friend to the prime minister and his missus. Moreover, we are sure that because we have bought the lands, our generals here can prevail upon the Defence Minister to help too. We have asked Awan Megah to complete the signing of a privatisation agreement between Awan Megah and the government of Malaysia and Syarikat Tanah dan Harta Sdn Bhd. That's for the construction of the Puspahanas. Just in case Astancanggih does indeed have a binding agreement with Awan Megah, we have asked Awan Megah to make sure that the approval from the relevant authorities for the transfer of the lands to Astacanggih be obtained.
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| Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:17 PM PST
Hear Hannah Yeoh extolling the religious and ethical virtues of the DAP vis-à-vis the "morally bankrupt and low-class" BN/Umno. Read the unending volley of sneering condemnations by Tony Pua, the self proclaimed economic expert, on the inferiority of Malaysia's mainly Malay Muslim civil servants, government leaders, police, military, economic performance, weapon systems, universities and education system. FMT LETTER: From Calvin Sankaran, via e-mail In his book, 'The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters', Professor BR Myers challenges the prevailing conventional wisdom amongst the academia that the Hermit Kingdom is a hard-line Stalinist communist state was founded on twin principles of Marxism and Confucianism. In his brilliantly-written book, Myers observes that most "academics, think-tank analysts and other Pyongyang watchers have neglected to study the worldview of the military-first regime and instead choose to make sense of Juche Thought, a sham doctrine with no bearing on Pyongyang's policy-making." Prof Myers' central theme is that North Korea's guiding ideology is a race-based nationalism derived from Japanese fascism, rather than any form of Communism. He summarises core principle of this ideology as follows: The Korean people are too pure blooded, and therefore too virtuous, to survive in this evil world without a great parental leader. As I read Professor Myer's book, a staggering revelation dawned on me – of the uncanny parallels between this bellicose pariah state and another race-first organisation that is closer to home – the DAP. The similarities between North Korea and DAP are numerous and encompass the entire spectrum of politics – ideology, world-view, policies, party propaganda tactics, governance and even leadership style. Both of these entities are dynastical, father and son dictatorships despite their professed adherence to social democratic ideology. In reality neither is even remotely socialist nor democratic despite the regularly held show elections and lofty sloganeering. Just like Kim Dynasty up North, the Lim Dynasty rules DAP with an iron fist. If the Korean spin doctors mythologise the Kim family and accord them with superhuman powers, the DAP mythmakers similarly elevate the Lims to tokongs and demigods. Party leaders are relentlessly portrayed as intellectual Titans and of possessing Saint-like morality while their opponents are derided as bottom-feeding pond scum. Listen to the endless triumphalism and chest-thumping of Lim Guan Eng on his and his party's managerial and moral superiority in ruling Penang over the "racist, inept, corrupt and immoral" BN/Umno. Hear Hannah Yeoh extolling the religious and ethical virtues of the DAP vis-à-vis the "morally bankrupt and low-class" BN/Umno. Read the unending volley of sneering condemnations by Tony Pua, the self proclaimed economic expert, on the inferiority of Malaysia's mainly Malay Muslim civil servants, government leaders, police, military, economic performance, weapon systems, universities and education system. Racism forms the central tenet of DAP's doctrine and electoral vote-winning strategy. Taking a leaf out of the Koreans' playbook, the party positions itself as the courageous defender of Chinese Malaysians against the marauding mobs of Malay Muslims who are intent upon seizing their wealth and brutally snatch their cultural and language rights. Like their Kimchi-loving Korean comrades, DAP's racist message and intentions have been carefully camouflaged and couched in noble-sounding, lofty, jazzed-up and ultimately empty slogans like "Malaysian Malaysia", "Middle Malaysia" and "Bangsa Malaysia". Over the last several decades the party has been engaging in a ceaseless racial agitprop to tear the Malaysian social fabric apart by using highly emotive ethnic issues such as the NEP, the quota system, vernacular education, etc. Lately the party has ventured into newer territories and has taken on an expanded role – as the vanguard-in-chief of the Christian Talibans – an increasingly vocal, assertive and powerful group with its sacred epicenter located in Subang Jaya.
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| DAP covering up ‘schoolboy error’ Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:13 PM PST The party says the recount of the party elections was a schoolboy error and was a technical glitch. Athi Shankar, FMT It looks like the DAP is practicing double standard. They screwed up in the counting of the Dec 15 party elections. But they just brushed it aside as a technical glitch. If this had happened to a Barisan Nasional party , DAP would have been screaming 'election fraud and money politics' As far as DAP is concerned this 'technical glitch' does not affect the party's credibility or integrity. Nor does it undermine secretary general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's CAT slogan – competency, accountability and transparency. Due to this technical "schoolboy" error, candidate Zairil Khir Johari who initially received 305 votes, had suddenly garnered 803 votes. Now the latest vote count puts Zairil in 20th elected position of CEC. Vincent Wu Him Ven, who was initially elected to CEC with 1,202 votes, has now only 669 votes and is in 26th position. But he has been re-appointed into the CEC as a co-opted member. Zairil, fast emerging parachute Malay politician in the DAP, is Lim's political secretary and state-sponsored research body, Penang Institute, chief executive officer. In its Thursday report, portal RoketKini.com played down the issue claiming that the "schoolboy" error would not affect many of 20 elected positions of CEC. Some grassroots members are not happy with the recount and say the party had allegedly violated the law by amending the election results to accommodate Zairil. They are now plan to submit a resolution to the CEC to declare the party polls as null and void, and hold fresh election for office bearers. Members also want to know why it took so long to admit that the counting was flawed as the secretary general knew about the mistake the very next day.
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| DAP: Election fiasco an embarrassment Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:03 PM PST Party chairman Karpal Singh dismissed talk that the technical glitch was a way to bring in a elected Malay CEC member. Athi Shankar, FMT National chairman Karpal Singh was frank that the technical glitch that caused miscalculations of party election results at the 16th DAP National Congress in Penang on Dec 15 was a "bona fide error." He said such electoral technical glitch was unprecedented in DAP's history and expressed hopes it would not recur in future. He however, dismissed criticisms that the fiasco had undermined the party credibility and that DAP was no longer qualified to criticise the Election Commission. "It was unwarranted criticisms … party credibility is intact.It was a bona fide error, an honest mistake. "But of course I admit it was a political embarrassment to us.We accept it," Karpal told reporters at his office. Despite mounting criticisms against the party over the fiasco, Karpal said the public would eventually understand that the DAP had "made right the wrong" and was open about it. "The CEC unanimously supported the decision to reveal the issue publicly.No CEC members objected and no one wanted to keep it away from the public eye," said the Bukit Gelugor MP. Due to the technical "schoolboy" error, candidate Zairil Khir Johari who initially received 305 votes in the contest for 20 elected positions in the central executive committee (CEC) has now garnered 803 votes. The latest count put him in the automatic 20th elected position of CEC, the DAP's supreme decision-making body. Vincent Wu Him Ven, who was initially elected to CEC at joint 5th position with 1,202 votes, has now only 669 votes and is in 26th position. But he has been re-appointed into the CEC as a co-opted member. Zairil is party secretary general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's political secretary. He is also the state-sponsored research body, Penang Institute, chief executive officer. Karpal dismissed cynical views that the the "technical glitch" was a leadership manipulation to bring in Zairil as an elected Malay CEC member. "There was no sinister motive attributed to the error.It's not a way to bring in an elected Malay member into the CEC … not the reason," clarified Karpal.
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| No permit yet for Pakatan rally Posted: 04 Jan 2013 04:00 PM PST Pakatan Youth wants to hold the rally at Stadium Merdeka but so far the stadium management have not responded Leven Woon, FMT The management of Stadium Merdeka has yet to give permission for Pakatan Rakyat's Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat rally. The rally is scheduled to be held at the stadium on Jan 12. PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawai said they have filed an application with the stadium authority but have not received an answer so far. "Hence, the Pakatan Secretariat would submit a memorandum to the stadium authority on Monday to press for the permit," he said at a press conference after the Pakatan Youth meeting today. He said the government had before this criticised them for staging street demonstrations and asked them to move to stadium. "Now we are requesting for stadium, and if they failed to give us the permit, they lied," he said. Nasrudin also said the Pakatan Youth has yet to draft a back up plan because they want the rally to be held at the stadium. The rally was to show the peoples dissatisfaction over clean and fair elections, anti-rare earths and listing of Felda Global Ventures Berhad. Spearheaded by PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, the rally is scheduled to begin at 2pm on Saturday. Nasrudin said the Pakatan Youth hopes to attract 100,000 youths to the rally and would conduct a nationwide pre-rally road shows beginning next Tuesday. The entourage would travel to Kluang, Johor on Tuesday, followed by Larut, Perak (Jan 9), Gombak, Selangor (Jan 10) and Petaling Jaya, Selangor (Jan 11). Meanwhile, the Pakatan Youth would also stage a mass gathering of youths on Feb 2. Nasrudin said the opposition pact would touch on economics, politics, social and cultural and education. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 04 Jan 2013 03:35 PM PST You, in the government, will be called a 'pariah regime' if this is not done for those children. The implications of not having those children schooled will be devastating; a reaffirmation of the vicious cycle of poverty, alienation, dehumanisation, and the fast-track way to build Malaysia's prison-industrial complex. These children are already 'drop-outs' even before they enter schools! A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman If it is indeed true, as recently reported by Malaysiakini that 49,000 'stateless children' are not going to school because they do not have identity cards, then something must be done to immediately address this issue of fundamental human rights. They must be allowed to go to school by any means necessary as the government resolves the issue of their 'stateless parents'.This ruling regime will be committing an act of the worst form of mental slavery should these children not be allowed to have the basic education and the right to be intelligent. If, as alleged, this regime can grant identity cards to newly-arrived immigrants in prepration for the coming elections, we must insist it to be able to do this for these children. You, in the government, will be called a 'pariah regime' if this is not done for those children. The implications of not having those children schooled will be devastating; a reaffirmation of the vicious cycle of poverty, alienation, dehumanisation, and the fast-track way to build Malaysia's prison-industrial complex. These children are already 'drop-outs' even before they enter schools! What is wrong with our education system when we are now seeing a ruder apartheid-isation of schools? We continue to see the growth of a hideous class and caste structure in schools, from smart schools for the children of the rich to 'pariah schools' for the children of the abject poor. And now in the case of the 'children of stateless parents', we even have no schools for children of the abyss of the underclass, especially Malaysians of Tamil origin. What a criminal act we have been doing since these years of independence - children of the rich paying tens of thousands of ringgit per semester for the best private schools to get to the best slots in college and best jobs in society through the best connections, yet thousands are not allowed in schools because of some 'colonial legacy'. We need to radically restructure the way we look at human beings, design education policies to be just and equitable, and to have a common school system to help children have common dreams... as Malaysians and nothing less. Amidst the niceties of the rhetoric of educational reform and progress designed merely by a poor understanding of systemic change, we are creating a dystopia - of a future in which the 99 percent of society will one day overthrow the one percent after they learn what hegemony means and know what rights they have to social, educational, and cultural justice. Lifeboat mentality We have designed a school system based on the 'lifeboat mentality' and 'gunboat diplomacy' - a philosophy of "to each his own". Hence, there are schools well-funded and those not funded at all. Ultimately, we will see more of society with both lifeboat and gunboat mentality wrapped in one. Each child has the rights to get access to good teachers, technology, techniques, and tender-loving care in schools, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or even if they have no identity cards. Until the age of 18, these rights must be honored in order for the very fundamental goals of education for human freedom, development, and gainable and sustainable employment to be achieved. This must begin with the philosophy of education that we base our practice upon. Race-based politics in Malaysia has been so pervasive that we have forgotten what education should mean, even though the language of humanism and systemic change in our educational blueprints is laced with niceties of the means and ends of education. Outside of the rhetoric of a 'world-classism', if we deconstruct the meaning of education in a hyper-modern county such as Malaysia, we see the nature of humans being viewed as cogs in the wheels of capital or human machinery in a system of corrupt crypto-crony capitalism that preys on cheap professional and manual labor produced through schooling as means of social reproduction. This is a continuation of what the British imperialists did in the kangani and kanchu system, facilitated by the Malay monarchy. The history of Malaya is a history of the exploitation of human beings written in a vainglorious way to mask the oppression of those enslaved by the feudal and neo-feudal class. It is hoped that education, in its progressive evolution in our times, be framed in a newer understanding of what it should take to put the child at the center of learning and for the school to be a place to cultivate and to be a ground for democratic participation. It should be a place for a child to develop his/her fullest potential and be free from being discriminated for any reason. It should help a child's growth as a cultural and social being who will use scientific thinking to become good citizens imbued with ethics and critical sensibility. I hope we look at the plight of the 49,000 children of 'stateless parents' with a simple logic: that as long as they are on our soil, they have the right to an education, to be treated with all the rights and privileges as a child ready to learn, and will be given education until they turn 18 while this issue of 'statelessness' is resolved. Failure to do this will mean another level of success in creating a truly world-class Malaysian prison-industrial complex, rivaling the United States of America. I am sure this is not what we want to see - a continuation of the lifeboat mentality aided by race-based gunboat diplomacy! ********************************** OUR USUAL REMINDER, FOLKS:
AND - VOTE WISELY! https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/
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Selangor new voters from 2008 up to Dec 31 2011, show that almost 50k new Indians voters have registered to vote. This accounts to almost half of the new Chinese voters and also almost 1/3 of new Malay voters in Selangor. 25% of the 200k new Indian voters are concentrated in Selangor.
Remarkably Indians have also registered the highest percentage rise per race in new voter registration since 2008 in all the bread and butter states. Selangor registering a 22.40% rise with Perak and NS recording 16.03% and 16.82% rise respectively since 2008. Malacca has recorded a 45.91% increase in new Indian voters. For comparison sake Selangor only registered a 5-6% rise in new Indian voter registration during the period between 2004 and 2007. 
It is apparent that there has been a lot of new Indian voter awareness and enlightenment of their political plight and strength. This spike in new Indian voter registration can be attributed to Hindraf's emergence as the front leader in the Malaysian Indian political landscape and dynamics since 2007. The 15/38 Hindraf project appears to have also contributed to this rise in new Indian vot
er registration. Hindraf has paid paramount importance in voter registration as well as responsibility as a voter to the Indian community as a means to increase its political weight in the arena of Malaysian politics so that political solutions of the marginalized Indians problems can be expedited.
BN has for decades ignored these problems and allowed the marginalized Indians issues now to tilt towards critical point. PR's emphasis on Indian representatives as versus Indian representation has not given these critical issues its due importance. For these reasons Hindraf has filled this vacuum of Indian leadership with their selfless sacrifices. 
Looking at the alarming rise and exponential growth in new voters, especially the Bumiputra voters in numbers, particularly in key constituencies that appear to be too close to call, these suspicions may have some justification. The exponential growth of new voters since 2008 is 1 : 1.8 : 5.32 : 6.5 : 8.39 is staggering! (N/p 2012 data is only up to June 30th 2012 and has been estimated to at least double 651,006 to give a 8.39% increase)
It has been common knowledge that BN's primary aim in the next GE is to secure a 2/3
Dr Mahathir has in the past been accused to have orchestrated Sabah's 'Project M' where thousands of Filipino Muslims were given Malaysian citizenship's so that they could vote in favour of UMNO and dilute the predominantly Christian majority voters influence in the state of Sabah. During Dr Mahathir's era also, hundreds of thousands of Malaysian born Indians were denied their 
citizenship's in Malaysia rendering them stateless and having no voting rights at all. In the 1999 hotly contested GE, Dr Mahathir's plan of calling the GE early had nullified Anwar Ibrahim's supporters numbering 650k who had newly registered to vote, disqualifying them to vote on a technicality of not registering 6 months before the GE. 
It must be noted that phantom/foreign voters are suspected to have been added into the Malay category of the Electoral roll as this will dilute the PR's Malay voters. Pekan (Najib) has had a 26.39% rise and Sembrong (Hishamudin) a whopping 34.86% rise in new Malay voters.
DSAI himself appears to be repeating the same mistake of his 1998/1999 Reformasi movement where he then mainly focused on the Malay supporters which proved on the hindsight to be insufficient for him to win. Currently just relying on the Malay and Chinese support is not going to be enough either. PR will still require the support of the Indian voters at levels similar to which it had in the 2008 GE. The 99.5% geographical distribution of Indian voters in the bread and butter states of Peninsular Malaysia, gives it added strength in the collective voting strength in the next General Election. Currently there are no Indian leaders in this country who can muster that kind of overwhelming Indian support towards PR other than HINDRAF. HINDRAF can not only rally the Indian support but more importantly make them to turn up to vote on elections day. Delaying attempts to forge a coalition and corporation with the well oiled election machinery of HINDRAF is tantamount to shooting PR's own two feet.
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