Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Posted: 17 Apr 2013 07:42 PM PDT
A certain group of people in our Chinese community, while not embracing the same religion as the Taliban, carry out their operations in an unmistakable Taliban fashion. Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Now Michelle Yeoh and Eric Moo get the blasts. All because they are going to attend the Dinner With PM in Selangor and a 1Malaysia event in Penang, earning them the names of "stooges," "traitors" and 'spies'" Michelle Yeoh is the pride of Malaysia. No other Malaysians, Chinese Malaysians in particular, have shone this brightly on the international arena, while Eric Moo has been internationally acclaimed for his talents in musical creations and stage performances. If any foreigner has come to the knowledge that some of the people of a country would abhor and trample with such intensity their compatriots just because of their self-centred political stand, I am afraid they will try to steer clear of this country for the sake of their own safety. This is extremism the Taliban style, or cruelty characterising the most primitive of African tribes. But unimaginably such oddities take place right here in Malaysia, a country that has worked so hard to position itself as a mild, moderate, liberal and civilised state. If this is what we call democracy, I cannot help but to feel sorry for this kind of democracy. If this is what we call freedom, then I'm afraid we will need to mourn the passing of real freedom. Conducting senseless persecutions and threatening others holding dissident beliefs in the name of democracy and liberty are very much acts of dictatorial populism. I have always been thinking that we should assess artistes based merely on their artistic talents, not ideological affinity. In the past, we disapproved of PAS' moves to mobilise its followers to boycott the shows of Elton John and Beyoncé Knowles because of their own religious values. In a similar manner, when the government blocked the concerts of Aril Lavigne and Erykah Badu, many stood up and protested: "You don't want to see, but that doesn't mean you should stop others from seeing." This is the fundamental respect for democracy and liberty. While you have every right to defend your religion, you cannot stop other people from embracing theirs. You can support a political party of your choice, but you cannot assail others for their political affiliations. You can stay away from the Dinner With PM, but you cannot stop others from attending it, or humiliate Michelle and Eric. You choose to stay away, but that does not mean you are right or more righteous and noble. The only reason you don't attend is because you hold different political stand from other event participants. Taliban denies education for women, so they wanted to gun down female education activist Malala Yousafzai. And because Taliban endures no other religions, they blasted the Buddha statues in Bamiyan. And also because Taliban wants to erect the most puritanistic religious society, they would exterminate anyone disagreeing with them. A certain group of people in our Chinese community, while not embracing the same religion as the Taliban, carry out their operations in an unmistakable Taliban fashion.
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| A strong team to help Najib win big Posted: 17 Apr 2013 12:34 PM PDT
PERCEPTIBLE PATTERNS: We now have an idea on the key strategies and missteps Rashid Yusof, NST POLLING is 17 days away. The keener observers would probably be thinking of a quick visit to Gelang Patah to witness this series' biggest fight -- Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman versus Lim Kit Siang. Over the last few days, the DAP's chess-move has morphed beyond a fleeting shimmy as previously suggested. Relocating the "king", Lim Kit Siang, as in chess of course, to Gelang Patah was soon followed by moving another piece, Teo Nie Ching, out of Serdang. This manoeuvre saw her hurtling down the North-South Expressway to Kulai. Does this mean more inter-state movements to follow? As it turned out, DAP's Johor assault must have rattled its allies, Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Pas which had been exaggerating, under the circumstances, its chances in Johor. Unwittingly for DAP, the Ghani-Kit Siang contest will accentuate the battle lines of a doggedly oppositionist culture against a tradition of producing credible policies and accumulating goodwill and a track record. Ghani helped to conceive the South Johor Development Region, the precursor to Iskandar Malaysia, the brightest regional-growth showcase. While it is folly to rush to making mega judgments, it is true that Ghani's task is to defeat Kit Siang. He was making this point yesterday, maintaining that he was no longer the candidate for menteri besar, a post he held since 1995, freeing him to focus on his task. This compares with Kit Siang who will be holed up in Gelang Patah with almost no free time to campaign in Penang, where BN has a distinct strategy. As one tactical detail leads to another, BN is digging in for a protracted battle to regain Penang, which means it is not going to agonise over a narrow miss this time around. Nationwide, the return of Datuk Yap Pian Hon sums up the magnitude of surprises. He is set to campaign feverishly in Serdang, a constituency "vacated" by DAP's Teo. Yap is known for being unaffiliated to any of the teams or factions in MCA, removing the spectre of green-eyed spoilers and screechers derailing his candidacy. Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, the former menteri besar of Terengganu, heads back to a parliamentary constituency. Umno had, in the post-November 1999 elections, turned to Idris to realign its focus after a shock defeat to Pas in Terengganu. Idris had been a deputy minister serving in the same ministry as Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (Entrepreneurial Development). They are somewhat similar, the two. A think-tanker in mode, Idris went big -- but almost always with minimal fuss -- on education and housing when BN-Umno rode back into power in Terengganu in 2004. In composing the list of candidates, Najib must have taken a multi dimensional outlook. ONE, he knows he must secure a comfortable majority. To help him deliver a big win, Najib who had risen through the ranks since his days as deputy chief of Umno Youth, has redrafted experienced hands. They range from Datuk Osman Abdul (who was a giant killer in 1990, defeating the late Datuk Fadzil Noor in Pendang), Datuk Ishak Ismail (Lenggeng) to Datuk Zubir Embong (Kuala Terengganu). Durable winners like Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and Tan Sri Shahidan Kassim were assigned new roles. Isa goes to a new parliamentary seat, Jempol, while Shahidan returns to Arau, the parliamentary constituency he first won in 1986. TWO, Najib has at the same time entered into a regeneration exercise, which is why there are 80 per cent of new faces in the key battlegrounds of Selangor and 62 per cent in Penang. Understandably, it has been most adventurous in states under Pakatan rule. A glance at the Kedah selection reveals ambition unfettered by the hold of incumbency. The line-up includes ex-Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital surgeon Dr Zaki Zamani Abdul Rashid, who is fielded in Kuala Kedah, private medical practitioner Dr Mansor Abdul Rahman (Sik) and former Universiti Malaya Perlis (Unimap) deputy vice-chancellor Prof Ismail Daud (Merbok). THREE, this is also about fashioning the likely composition of the cabinet, hence, perhaps the return of personalities such as Idris. At the other corner, Pakatan Rakyat has long promised to parade a cast far more impressive than those fielded in the 2008 general election when some greenhorns and dubious characters had won unexpectedly. The full line-up has not been named. There is indeed space still, and time, for the three parties to produce a blockbuster cast. To plan ahead and bring in fresh young talent, one must be able to persuade those who had been around like forever to make way. Alas, the blustery about capturing Putrajaya has had its impact on the usual suspects within Pakatan, everyone of whom has dug in, in hopes of reaching Putrajaya. With hogging and overstaying a norm, no one dares to think of regeneration or preparing a strong pool of potential cabinet ministers. Granted Tony Pua has his admirers only to be overwhelmed by the size of reservoir of talent BN has accumulated. |
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