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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

My favourite song, Listen
Yo, people, listen up!
Friday prayers are NOT compulsory, said the Mufti
Remember our February 2008 agreement?
How siege mentality works

My favourite song, Listen

Posted: 16 Jan 2013 05:42 PM PST

As I have always said, this coming general election is not going to be about who is going to win it. It is about who is not going to lose it. And the group that makes the most mistakes is going to lose the general election mainly because the 'other side' made lesser mistakes than the side that lost.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

They say, as you get older, like me, you start to become too sentimental and emotional. That could be true. However, those who have known me for most of my life tell me that ever since they knew me back in my younger days I have always been a sentimental and emotional person.

I suppose that is quite true. I cry when I watch sad movies. When I listen to beautiful songs with even more beautiful lyrics it brings tears to my eyes. And when I saw Melanie Amaro perform 'Listen' in the X Factor I could not stop myself from getting all teary eyed. And an even bigger problem is I still need to wipe my eyes even till today although I have watched and listened to Melanie perform that song countless times.

Many accuse me of being too sentimental and emotional in my writings. Some even sent me nasty messages whacking me for my series The journey in life is never a straight line, which has temporarily stopped at episode 20. "We are not interested to read about your stupid life," they tell me. "Stop writing about yourself," they say. "Just write about the coming general election."

Listen is the latest 'phenomena' in Malaysia. This is the result of the exchange between Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin and KS Bawani at the UUM event. In the last general election in 2008, the catchphrase was 'correct, correct, correct'. It looks like in the coming general election expected in February-March this year, the catchphrase is going to be 'listen, listen, listen'.

The trouble is, both sides are blundering big time, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. And we do not know how the voters are going to react to these numerous blunders. Nevertheless, voters being voters, and they are the same all over the world, Malaysians are quite prepared to suffer an attack of denial syndrome and allow all these transgressions to be pushed into the background.

Many have asked me what my stand is. They say they are not too clear about my stand and they do not know whether I support Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. They want to know whether I even have a stand in the first place.

Yes, I do have a stand. And I decided more than two years ago back in 2010 what my stand was going to be. However, as much as I tried to explain what this stand is, many still do not get it.

I am too 'complicated' for most of them to comprehend. They want me to make things simpler for them. They want to know which herd I am joining. Am I joining the Barisan Nasional herd or the Pakatan Rakyat herd?

Herds are for cows. I know Sharifah Zohra Jabeen said even cows have problems. But I am not a cow. So I do not need to have any 'cow problems' by joining any specific herd.

So, what is the answer then? What is my stand? Which herd am I joining? Well, I will let Melanie Amaro answer that question. These lyrics explain where I am coming from and if you still do not get it then you are not the type of reader that I want for Malaysia Today.

Listen to the song here in my heart

A melody I start but can't complete

Listen to the sound from deep within

It's only beginning to find release

Oh, the time has come for my dreams to be heard

They will not be pushed aside and turned

Into your own all 'cause you won't

Listen

Listen, I am alone at a crossroads

I'm not at home in my own home

And I've tried and tried to say what's on mind

You should have known

Oh, now I'm done believing you

You don't know what I'm feeling

I'm more than what you made of me

I followed the voice you gave to me

But now I've gotta find my own

You should have listened, there is someone here inside

Someone I thought had died so long ago

Oh, I'm screaming out and my dreams'll be heard

They will not be pushed aside on words

Into your own all 'cause you won't

Listen

cfxGKyYyom8

SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfxGKyYyom8

Yo, people, listen up!

Posted: 14 Jan 2013 07:16 PM PST

And herein lies the tragedy. When I talk to the non-Malay students I get the impression that those selected and sent overseas are the crème de la crème. But when I talk to the Malay students I do not get this impression. In fact, if I had been given the job of vetting through the students, many, or maybe even the majority, of those selected would have been disqualified.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin certainly stirred a hornet's nest and in the process spawned an entirely new satire/music video industry. So much has been said about this incident that I think it is totally unnecessary for me to comment about the matter any further.

What is of interest to me, however, is Sharifah's comparison of those with a mere 'O' level to those who are university graduates. According to her, those who do not have a tertiary education are inferior to those who do.

Actually, if you were to drive on Malaysian roads, you will never be able to differentiate between those who have no (or a lower) education and those who have a higher/tertiary education. From their bad manners on the road and the inconsiderate attitude that they demonstrate, you will never be able to tell the difference.

If education is meant to make you a better and more learned person, Malaysia has certainly failed in this respect. Whether you have a Ph.D. or you are a fisherman or farmer it makes no difference. The way Malaysians drive, those who have a Ph.D. and those who have never gone to school are exactly the same.

I have said this before, many times, and I am going to say it again. In the UK, you go to a driving school to learn how to drive. That is because you need to know how to drive to be able to pass your driving test and get a driving licence.

In Malaysia, you go to driving school to learn how to pass your driving test. It does not matter whether you know how to drive or not. Passing your driving test and getting your driving licence does not depend on whether you know how to drive. It depends on whether you got your driving licence 'through' the driving school.

Hence people who know how to drive, but did not go through a driving school to sit for their driving test, will fail the driving test while those who do not know how to drive, but went through a driving school to sit for their driving test, would pass the driving test.

And that is why the majority of Malaysians do not know how to drive plus the fatality rate due to traffic accidents in Malaysia, on a per capita basis, is ten times that of the UK.

Actually, more than half of those people driving on Malaysian roads should never have been allowed to drive. The tragedy is not so much that they kill themselves but that they kill others due to their recklessness and inconsiderate attitude.

Do you want to know one thing? If you have a driving licence from Brunei, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, Australia, the Republic of Korea, (mainly the Commonwealth and EU countries), etc., (a total of 50 countries in all) you can exchange it for a UK driving licence. Malaysian driving licences, however, are not accepted for exchange. That says a lot about the 'quality' of Malaysian driving licences.

And the same applies to Malaysia's education system. Just like in the case of Malaysian driving schools, Malaysia's education system is not about getting an education and becoming learned but about passing your exams.

And they will 'lower the bar' if necessary to allow more people to 'jump over'. Hence those who do not deserve to pass get passed and are then sent for their tertiary education, and in some cases to an overseas university.

Over the last four years since 2009, I have bumped into many Malaysian students -- those post graduate students doing their masters and/or Ph.D. as well. And I have come to a very troubling conclusion. Nevertheless, this is merely my own opinion and, not being from the academic field, I am looking at things from the eyes of a layman and not from the eyes of an academician.

First of all, Malaysian Malays at overseas universities are mostly government-sponsored students while those non-Malay Malaysians, according to what they tell me, are FAMA-sponsored students.

When they first told me they are 'FAMA-sponsored' students I thought they meant FAMA the Lembaga Pemasaran Pertanian Persekutuan (SEE HERE: http://www.fama.gov.my/). "Does FAMA give out scholarships or grants?" I asked these non-Malay and mostly Chinese students. This was certainly news to me.

I had to chuckle when they explained that FAMA means fada-mada (father-mother). But this is no chuckling matter. I feel it is sinful that all the Malay students are 'government scholars' whereas the non-Malay students are 'private funded'. Why is there not a more equitable balance, at par with the racial composition of the country?

I know this has, for a long time, been a bone of contention amongst the non-Malays. The Malays, no doubt, hide behind the New Economic Policy (NEP) to justify this 'sin' while the non-Malays resent the NEP for this very reason. Hence discussing this matter is just going to open up a can of worms and I suspect the comments below this article are going to turn this article into a race-bashing exercise.

But I am not trying to turn this into a race-bashing exercise. My concern is that when I speak to these students (of all races) I find that the attitude, mentality and intelligence level of the Malay students leave much to be desired whereas the attitude, mentality and intelligence level of the non-Malay students are far superior compared to that of the Malay students.

The other side of the argument, of course, is that if only the 'higher grade' Malay students are selected and sent overseas while those who fail to make the grade are excluded, then the ratio of Malay to non-Malay students sent overseas would be very low. At the end of the day, the ratio of Malays to non-Malays would probably be reduced to 1 in 10.

I can understand and appreciate this argument. We need to give the Malay students a chance. If not then very few Malay students would have the opportunity of an overseas tertiary education. Other countries, too, have racial quotas to help the minorities get ahead.

But in the case of the other countries, the racial quotas and the lowering of the bar are meant to help the minorities, who otherwise would be left behind. Malaysia, however, is doing this for the majority, not the minorities such as the Ibans, Dayaks, Orang Asli, etc.

Instead of lowering the bar to allow as many Malays as possible to 'jump over', the government should explore how to increase the standard of education to enable more people to clear the bar (without having to lower it).

In other words, don't teach Malays how to pass their driving test. Teach Malays how to drive. Then, when they sit for their driving test, they will pass. If you mass-produce graduates like on an assembly line, then you will end up getting low quality people. And that is not the objective of an education.

So those who have degrees/masters or Ph.D. should not be too proud of that fact. It is not the piece of paper that you possess which we should talk about but the quality of that paper. And when you open your mouth you reveal that the paper you possess is…well…not worth the paper it is written on.

Friday prayers are NOT compulsory, said the Mufti

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 05:53 PM PST

Nevertheless, since the 'big man' himself, the Perak Mufti, has issued a ruling or decree that the Friday congregational prayers are NOT compulsory, and since Malaysians are obligated to comply with these rulings and decrees issued by these authorities, I have since stopped doing my Friday congregational prayers. I no longer go to the mosque on Friday.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Soal agama perlu ikut fatwa

(Sinar Harian) - Hal ehwal agama perlu dirujuk kepada Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan yang telah ditubuhkan di negara ini dan bukannya berpandukan orang lain yang hanya berlatar belakangkan politik semata-mata.

Setiausaha Barisan Nasional (BN) Kelantan, Datuk Md. Alwi Che Ahmad berkata, dalam hal ini, hanya Majlis Fatwa sahaja yang berhak menentukan penggunaan kalimah ALLAH yang kini semakin hangat diperkatakan oleh setiap golongan masyarakat di sini.

"Kita mesti rujuk isu ini kepada Majlis Fatwa, kerana ini hal agama, maka hanya mufti sahaja yang boleh beri keputusan, bukan orang lain," katanya.

Beliau diminta mengulas isu Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng yang menuntut penggunaan nama Allah di dalam kitab Bible versi bahasa Melayu di negara ini.

Menurutnya, jika persoalan penggunaan kalimah Allah ditanya kepada golongan berkepentingan dalam sesebuah parti, jawapan yang akan diberikan sedikit sebanyak akan mempengaruhi ke arah pendapat peribadi sahaja.

Beliau berkata, kerajaan perlu akur dengan keputusan mufti kerana mufti adalah satu pertubuhan yang dilantik di bawah majlis agama Islam.

"Kenapa isu ini perlu dinaikkan oleh Lim Guan Eng sedangkan dari pengalaman saya, tiada perkataan 'Allah' digunakan dalam kitab Bible, maka di sini kita dapat lihat bahawa agama kita, cuba dipermainkan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu.

"Jika ia digunakan juga, maka, tiada beza antara agama kita dengan agama lain kerana 'Allah' dipakai oleh semua agama dan ini akan menimbulkan kecelaruan dan juga kebebasan beragama kepada generasi akan datang," katanya.

Alwi yang juga Ketua Pembangkang di Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan itu juga berkata, kebebasan menggunakan kalimah 'ALLAH' untuk agama lain tidak boleh diberikan di Malaysia kerana perkara tersebut boleh membuatkan penganut agama lain mengambil kesempatan dalam agama Islam dan dalam masa yang sama juga menyamai tarafkan kedudukan 'ALLAH' dan juga tuhan mereka.

"Kita wajib pertahankan agama kita, hak kita, bukannya untuk dipermainkan, selandas dengan kepelbagaian kaum dan bangsa di negara ini, maka setiap pihak mesti bertanggungjawab untuk menjaga agama masing-masing," katanya.

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

The key issue in the above news report is: Kita mesti rujuk isu ini kepada Majlis Fatwa, kerana ini hal agama, maka hanya mufti sahaja yang boleh beri keputusan, bukan orang lain.

That loosely translates to: we must refer this matter/issue to the council that issues religious decrees because this is a religious matter so only the Mufti can give rulings and not any other people.

This statement implies that only a certain/selected group can interpret what God meant and the rest of us do not have the freedom or liberty to make any interpretations because we do not know what God wants.

How this group of people obtained the franchise or monopoly to act as God's appointed spokesmen is not clear. That is not explained. I suppose your credentials would depend on where you studied religion and whether your certificate, diploma or degree is recognised.

What if I studied religion in one of the madrasah in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or any of the gohead-gostan countries (to quote the late Tan Sri P Ramlee)? Would my credentials be recognised?

Let us take Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat as an example. His Islamic studies began in pondok schools (madrasah) in Kelantan and Terengganu. He then went on to study religion in Uttar Pradesh, India, after which he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Studies and Master of Arts in Islamic jurisprudence from the Al-Azhar University, Egypt.

Would, therefore, Nik Aziz's decrees be recognised? And Nik Aziz has ruled that it is not against Islam for non-Muslims to use the Allah word. Other religious scholars, however, do not agree with this. Hence we have two opposing views, both views from scholars with credentials.

But which one do we accept as correct and which one do we reject as wrong? And what is the basis for accepting or rejecting these decrees? Is it based on the credentials of the person issuing the decree? Is it based on our political affiliation and hence we decide based on what is politically expedient? Is it based on our religious leaning and depending on the sect that we follow? What is the basis of our acceptance or rejection of these religious decrees?

What we are currently told is that the government decides -- so we have to just follow what the government says -- but issued through the 'mouths' of certain bodies such as MAIS, JAIS, JAKIM, IKIM, Majlis Fatwah, Persatuan Ulama', the Muftis, and so on.

There are so many 'authorities' on Islam in Malaysia.

Let us contemplate one example. When I was in Kamunting back in 2008, we were told by the detention camp authorities that we are not allowed to do our Friday congregational prayers. (In fact, after I was released, I made a police report at the Sentul Police Station regarding this matter).

It is not that the 50 or 60 of us detainees wanted permission to walk to the mosque down the road to do these Friday prayers -- even if they handcuffed us and chained us in a chain gang (which means there would be no way we could escape). We wanted to do these Friday prayers within our own cellblock.

But we were told we are not allowed to do our Friday prayers because they are not compulsory and that this was a ruling or decree by the famous Perak Mufti himself. So why are we so stubborn in insisting that we be allowed to do our Friday prayers? The Mufti is the highest religious authority in Perak and Kamunting is in Perak. So don't be stubborn and listen to what you have been told, they said.

Then came Hari Raya (I was in Kamunting for Hari Raya 2008) and the other detainees got together to do their Hari Raya congregational prayers. I, however, was not allowed to join them because I was in solitary confinement so I was not allowed to mix with the other detainees. Nevertheless, I could hear them do the Hari Raya prayers next door to my cellblock.

Now, as far as I know, the Friday congregational prayers are compulsory while the Hari Raya congregational prayers are not. But the government denied the detainees permission to do the compulsory Friday congregational prayers but allowed them to do the optional Hari Raya congregational prayers. And this was based on the ruling or decree by the highest religious authority in the State of Perak, the Mufti.

I do not have any certificate, diploma or degree from any of the Islamic universities but my common sense tells me that when something is compulsory then you must do it and when something is optional you are not obligated to do it. And even a ten-year-old Malay-Muslim can tell you that the Friday congregational prayers are compulsory while the Hari Raya congregational prayers are not.

I am still waiting for the Perak Mufti to issue a new ruling or decree saying that the Friday congregational prayers are, in fact, compulsory. And since he has not and until he does then I would regard this ruling or decree as binding and something that I am obligated to comply with.

So, yes, the Mufti is the highest religious authority in the land. He tells us what we must and must not do. And we must follow what he tells us to do, or not to do. And the Perak Mufti has told us that we cannot do the Friday prayers because they are not compulsory. So who am I to argue with the highest religious authority in the land? I do what he tells us to do and not do what he tells us not to do. And he said: DO NOT do your Friday congregational prayers. So be it. I stopped doing them. After all, I am a good Malaysian and an obedient Muslim.

Remember our February 2008 agreement?

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 05:45 PM PST

After the success of that first Bersih march of November 2007, a few friends and comrades, mostly new ones made over the previous year or so, decided that it was time to 'cement' our perjuangan or struggle. And we would cement it by coming out with a very explicit document that we called The Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The world has a memory of only 100 days, said the Russians in response to the criticism regarding the shooting down of Korean Airlines flight KAL007. In 100 days everything will be forgotten or something else will crop up over the next 100 days to distract the people. Hence, said the Russians, they do not need to respond to the criticism regarding the shooting down of that passenger airline.

Today, do any of you remember that tragedy that so outraged the entire world? How many people died? When did it happen? Why was that plane shot down? Unless you Google the information or search on Wikipedia, very few of you will be able to reply to my questions from the top of your head.

And this best describes Malaysians, never mind which side of the political fence they may stand on. Malaysians are fickle, have a short attention span, respond to issues off the cuff, think short term, forget easily the original objective, change course mid-stream, and much more.

Do you want to know something very ironical? I have kept to the course that was decided more than eight years ago back in 2004 soon after the general election disaster in March that same year. And that was the reason why Malaysia Today was launched in August 2004, five months after the 2004 general election -- to serve this agenda that had been decided.

In 2004 it was a lonely battle that we fought because not many shared our vision and mission. It was not until two years later in 2006 that some joined the cause and only by 2007 that many Malaysians 'woke up'. By 2007, three years after the birth of Malaysia Today, I found many new friends and comrades who stood by my side and walked with me, especially in the first Bersih march of 2007.

After the success of that first Bersih march of November 2007, a few friends and comrades, mostly new ones made over the previous year or so, decided that it was time to 'cement' our perjuangan or struggle. And we would cement it by coming out with a very explicit document that we called The Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat.

We met a few times at Uncle Lee's house, the late Tunku Vic's house, and so on. In case some of you are wondering who the late Tunku Vic was, maybe you can see the following link: In loving memory of Vic: only the good die young.

The late Tunku Vic, in fact, was supposed to have taken over the leadership of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM). This was agreed in our meeting in Chiengmai, Thailand, which was attended by (Sam) Haris Ibrahim and some of the other 'movers' of MCLM. Unfortunately, Tunku Vic died soon after MCLM held its first AGM to elect a whole new set of office bearers in May last year.

Anyway, back in 2007, Tunku Vic and about ten or so of us formed an ad hoc committee to draft The Peoples' Declaration. This document was finalised in the meeting in Tunku Vic's house. It was then agreed that we would write to ALL the political parties in Malaysia from both sides of the political fence and invite them to endorse The Peoples' Declaration.

Only six of the two dozens or so of the political parties responded, three of them from Pakatan Rakyat. A couple of the non-Umno political parties in Barisan Nasional 'whispered' that they would support the ideals of The Peoples' Declaration but they cannot officially endorse it for obvious reasons -- they do not want to make it appear like they are 'breaking ranks' with Umno.

Nevertheless, the fact that they support it 'off the record' was good enough for me. At least their heart was in the right place although I cannot say the same for their guts. It is nice to know that there is a 'silent' group within Barisan Nasional, and even in Umno itself, that support the ideals of The Peoples' Declaration although they wish at this stage to 'remain in the closet'. Who knows, one day they might come out of the closet and declare that they are pro-reform and proud of it.

At that time, The Blog House at Damansara was non-partisan. People from both sides of the political fence supported The Blog House. Even Umno Bloggers plus people like Mukhriz Mahathir, Marina Mahathir, etc., went to The Blog House. It was a place where we could leave our politics outside the gate and enter The Blog House as Malaysians united for change.

I thought that Malaysian politics had finally arrived. At last there was a place we could meet as supporters of change and not supporters of the government or supporters of the opposition. And it was at The Blog House that we decided to officially launch The Peoples' Declaration under the umbrella of Barisan Rakyat. (See more here and note the personalities in the photographs: The PEOPLE'S VOICE and the PEOPLE'S DECLARATION officially launched today.)

BARISAN RAKYAT WAS FORMED EVEN BEFORE PAKATAN RAKYAT CAME INTO EXISTENCE

That was almost five years ago on 23rd February 2008. About two weeks later, on 8th March 2008, Malaysia held the 12th General Election. And, because the six political parties endorsed The Peoples' Declaration on 23rd February 2008, three of them from Pakatan Rakyat, we spent the next two weeks campaigning for Pakatan Rakyat.

During the election campaign we made it very clear to the voters that we support Pakatan Rakyat because Pakatan Rakyat supports our reform agenda as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration. However, if after winning the election Pakatan Rakyat does a U-turn and betrays us, we would withdraw our support for Pakatan Rakyat.

In my speeches during the election rallies all over Malaysia, I even openly declared that if we can make Pakatan Rakyat then we can also break Pakatan Rakyat. Basically, what the lord giveth the lord can taketh away. We are going to give Pakatan Rakyat a chance to rule for one term, I said. And if they fail us then no second term for Pakatan Rakyat. If we can give power to Pakatan Rakyat we can also take back power from Pakatan Rakyat.

Therefore Pakatan Rakyat had better remember that they rule at the pleasure of the rakyat. It is peoples' power, kuasa rakyat, or makkal sakti that gives power to the politicians. Hence we, the voters, and not the politicians, are the boss. And if the politicians ever forget this we are going to punish them come the next general election in 2013 or so.

The crowd cheered and clapped. They gave this declaration a standing ovation (most of the crowd was already standing anyway). They agreed with this covenant. We the rakyat will vote for those who support the rakyat's agenda and if those we vote into office forget this or betrays us then they are going to suffer the wrath of the rakyat.

Since March 2008, The Peoples' Declaration is as forgotten as Korean Airlines flight KAL007. I raised this matter in a talk in London on 2nd October 2010 where Anwar Ibrahim was one of the participants of that talk (see the videos below). Anwar, however, responded in his talk in Australia later on that they would not always listen to what we want.

In other words, they no longer support the agenda for change as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration although they had agreed to support it in February 2008 two weeks before the 12th General Election. The deal is now off. And since the deal is now off and they no longer support the agenda for change as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration then I too am no longer obligated to support Pakatan Rakyat.

A deal is a deal. And a deal must be bilateral, not unilateral. If one side reneges on the agreement then the other side is not obligated to stick to the agreement.

But my friends and comrades, who together with me pushed the agenda for change through The Peoples' Declaration, have sold out. They have turned traitor and have abandoned The Peoples' Declaration. They have agreed to support Pakatan Rakyat for the sake of supporting Pakatan Rakyat and not support Pakatan Rakyat because Pakatan Rakyat supports The Peoples' Declaration.

As I said, Malaysians are fickle. Malaysians have a short attention span. Malaysians think short term. Malaysians forget easily the original objective. Malaysians change course mid-stream.

And what makes this even more ironical is that while I am unwavering and hold firm to the original objectives of February 2008, they allege that I have changed course and have done a U-turn whereas it is they who have turned traitor and have sold themselves to the very politicians who have betrayed the cause.

Yes, in February-March 2008 I campaigned for Pakatan Rakyat. But I did so with terms and conditions attached. And this primary term and condition is that Pakatan Rakyat will support The Peoples' Declaration. And the other term and condition is that if Pakatan Rakyat withdraws support for The Peoples' Declaration then I too will withdraw support for Pakatan Rakyat.

I have kept to this agreement. I have been very consistent in my stand. It was quid pro quo. And just as Pakatan Rakyat has every right to withdraw from any agreement, so, too, I have the right to do the same.

My friends and comrades, however, decided to break ranks with me. They abandoned the cause. They are prepared to cast aside The Peoples' Declaration and support Pakatan Rakyat even if Pakatan Rakyat reneges on its word. In other words, my friends and comrades have become turncoats and have sold out.

I suppose, as they say, everyone is for sale. The only question is: at what price? And the price here is power. Since they believe that Pakatan Rakyat is going to form the next federal government they want to be amongst the winner. Hence they will support Pakatan Rakyat even if Pakatan Rakyat no longer supports The Peoples' Declaration.

Friends of Pakatan Rakyat October 2010 talk in the UK

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SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCvdagYlR98

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SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W403AOQqJnc

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SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toe-77-TtT4

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SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsSRTVo29BY

How siege mentality works

Posted: 07 Jan 2013 02:39 PM PST

When will Muslims get out of this siege mentality and stop looking at every act by non-Muslims as an act to undermine Islam? I suppose as long as Judaism and Christianity are seen as competitors to Islam this psyche will never change. Can you see that only Judaism and Christianity are treated with hostility? This is because Muslims do not perceive Hinduism and Buddhism as competitors.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

U.S. triples foreign arms sales in 2011

By Mike Mount, CNN Senior National Security Producer

International weapons sales by the United States tripled in 2011 to a record high of $66.3 billion, according to a congressional report that noted big fighter jet and helicopter purchases by Saudi Arabia.

The data by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service noted an "extraordinary increase" over 2010, saying the total U.S. figure accounted for almost 78 percent of sales globally.

Russia followed the United States at $4.8 billion with France at $4.4 billion, according to the report, "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2004-2011."

China's 2011 sales were at $2.1 billion but focused less on large weapons platforms such as planes and more on smaller weapons, selling them to Asian countries and to African nations, the report said.

The data allows members of Congress to see "the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations in the developing world ... where most the potential for the outbreak of regional military conflicts currently is greatest and where the greatest proportion of the conventional arms trade is conducted," according to the report.

A number of countries in the near-East and Asia, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, continued or resumed large-scale weapons purchases because of continued threats from Iran.

Saudi Arabia was the biggest buyer of arms from the United States, making up about half of the 2011 total at $33.4 billion, according to the report.

Saudi Arabia bought some 84 new F-15 fighter jets to add to its fleet as well as upgrades for 70 others. The purchase also included ammunition and missiles for the planes. Saudi Arabia also bought numerous Apache attack helicopters and multi-use Blackhawk helicopters.

With its very close proximity to Iran, the United Arab Emirates bought an advanced missile shield system called the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and its corresponding radar systems for almost $3.5 billion. The U.A.E. also bought $939 million worth of Chinook transport helicopters.

Oman bought 18 F-16 fighter jets for $1.4 billion.

"For certain developing nations in these regions, the strength of their individual economies appears to be a key factor in their decisions to proceed with major arms purchases," according to the report.

Last year was the eighth-straight year the United States led global arms sales. The United States and Russia made up almost 70 percent of weapons sales in the developing world between 2008-11.

While the United States showed huge growth in sales, the international arms market is, "not likely growing at all," according to the report.

"There continue to be significant constraints on its (international arms market) growth, due, in particular, to the weakened state of the global economy," the report said.

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

Saudi Arabia is the world's 11th highest military equipment purchaser. And if you notice something else as well, Muslim countries appear to be spending a lot on arms purchases and would spend even more if the US did not block or embargo sales to certain 'unfriendly' Muslim countries.

To prevent war you must be prepared for war, the military strategists say. Hence you arm yourself to the teeth to make sure that no one starts harbouring any ideas of invading your country. And if you own more arms than your neighbour, your neighbour would not dare attack you.

However, since you are well armed, you now pose a threat to your neighbour. Hence your neighbour too needs to match you and also has to become well armed or else you might attack this neighbour instead.

And that is why it is called an arms race. You compete or race with each other to see who can be better armed. So, when your neighbour buys 20 fighter jets you buy 30. When your neighbour buys 30 tanks you buy 40. And so on.

History has shown us that most wars are fought between neighbours. Once in a while we have wars such as Britain versus Argentina over the Falkland Island. Most times, however, it is East versus West or North versus South of the same country or ethnicity.

Of course, the US breaks this rule by getting involved in wars all over the world and halfway across the world. But then being the policeman of the world and in the interest of selling more arms they need to keep wars going. Furthermore, if other countries fight each other, then most likely they would leave the US alone.

Arms trading is probably one of the largest businesses (I was told second to the entertainment industry: which includes music, movies, theatres, casinos, theme parks, clubs, discos, TV, radio, game/reality shows, etc.) and extremely lucrative. There is no compromise on security, which means price is not a criteria. You buy what needs to be bought and pay what needs to be paid with no hesitation. You cannot afford to worry about money when life and limb are at stake.

Muslim countries appear to be top of the list of arms purchasers. And a big portion of their budget is spent on arms rather than on education, health, welfare, and whatnot. And it is basically money down the drain.

How much of those billions that are spent are actually productive? Let us look at Saudi Arabia as one example. Saudi Arabia has not fought any wars. Yet it is the largest buyer of arms. What happens to all those arms that it buys? Well, after a couple of years the weapons become obsolete and need to be mothballed. Then they need to buy the latest and improved version to replace the scrapped armoury.

Hence these billions of weapons have a short shelf life and need to be discarded even though they have never been used. And that is why I said it is money down the drain. It is like buying car insurance. You do not need car insurance unless you crash your car. And probably 99% of the people who buy car insurance do not crash their car. Hence it is money down the drain. Arms are also insurance -- insurance against your neighbour attacking you, which you never use in the end

With the exception of Saudi Arabia, most countries that spend a huge chunk of their budget on arms are also countries where the people are poor. That means the more you spend on arms the poorer your people are. And that is because to be able to spend on arms you need to sting on health, education and welfare.

I sometimes wonder whether this is because of the siege mentality, more so amongst Muslims. Muslims seem to view 'others' (including other Muslims) as enemies. Hence they need to arm themselves to the teeth to secure themselves against these enemies.

Islamic history is all about jihad and wars. This is the 'culture' that Muslims are brought up with. So it is in the Muslim psyche that they are constantly on war mode and hence the need to arm themselves.

And this is also why we hear so much statements and rhetoric from Malaysian Muslims regarding enemies of Islam. To the non-Muslim it may be puzzling as to why Muslims always view others as enemies. And why do Muslims always jump at their own shadow and imagine an enemy lurking in those shadows?

If you can understand this then you can understand why Malaysian Muslims are so sensitive about Bahasa Malaysia Bibles and the use of the word Allah in these Bibles. Muslims regard non-Muslims as a threat to Islam so every move made by non-Muslims is viewed with suspicion. Muslims are constantly in war mode so any act by non-Muslims would be perceived as an act of war.

Judaism and Christianity share the same roots with Islam while Hinduism and Buddhism do not. Hence Muslims do not care whether Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc., also use the Allah word but for sure the Jews and Christians must not. That is the Muslim psyche.

And countries like Saudi Arabia spend billions on arms not because they fear the Jews and Christians but because they fear their fellow Muslims. Is this not ironical? And trust me: many Muslims are going to be very upset with what I just wrote. And they are going to be upset with me not because they feel I have lied but because I have told the truth.

But is this not also what the Pakatan Rakyat people are like, even the non-Malays/non-Muslims? They are angry with me not because I lie but because I have told the truth. And since I have told the truth they are not able to rebut what I say other than angrily accuse me of lying without explaining what then is the truth if I have lied.

Maybe I should say that this is not a Muslim psyche but a Malaysian psyche -- they get angry about the truth. But is it not the truth that in 2011 the US tripled its arms sales and the majority of these countries are Muslim countries while Saudi Arabia is the largest purchaser? So why get angry about what I wrote when it is true?

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Temple gets noise warning
Pakatan Rakyat Is Sending A Message That They Do Not Need The Indian Votes
If you're given the bible ...
At odds over sacred word
Tensions can flare if Sabah RCI sensationalised, Musa Aman tells newshounds
‘Pakatan all set to take away people’s rights’
Call to ban politically incorrect terms like ‘ah pek’
‘Probe pre-independence immigrants’
Burn ‘Allah’ Bibles, Perkasa chief to Muslims
Budak diherdik dengan panggilan ‘keling bodoh’
'Don't equate Merdeka with Sabah IC project'
Reflections on democracy and populism
Misleading take on Star in Sabah by complainants
Umno is rotten to the core – it seems!
MACC asks Deepak to return with documents, no statement recorded
KJ John, You do Yourself an Injustice
For Pakatan, Election 2013 not a stroll in the park
Anwar: Exorcising The Ghost of His Umno Past
Ex-MNLF leader tells RCI how he came into Sabah in the 1970s
PAS council: Azmin can say what he wants, he is disrespectful
From boast to downright disgrace
Jeffrey: Postpone polls in Sabah

Temple gets noise warning

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST

(The Star) - The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has ordered the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple committee in Pekan Bangi Lama to reduce its level of noise and cease religious activities after 6pm.

In the Jan 8 compound notice issued to the temple, the council claimed that the noise from the temple and its religious activities had disturbed the neighbourhood.

Temple Chairman R. Pannirselvam said MPKj enforcement officers ordered the temple to adhere to the notice, failing which he could be fined RM1,000 or jailed six months or both under Section 82(5) of the Local Government Act.

He said the notice had caused uneasiness among the thousands of Hindus who congregate for prayers at the temple every Tuesday and Friday and also for other festivals.

"Prayers are conducted between 6pm and 9pm and we ring bells during the prayers. How can we stop the ringing of the bells," he asked?

MPKj councillor Senator S.T. Chandramohan however said the notice was rescinded late Friday following reports in a Tamil paper.

Pannirselvam had sought the assistance of MIC Youth chief T. Mohan who assured them that the council did not have the right to impose such conditions.

"This is a breach of the constitution which allows everyone to practise his own religion," Mohan said.

He urged Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Selangor exco member Dr Xavier Jayakumar to publicly apologise to the Indian community.

Explaining the notice, Chandramohan said it was issued without the knowledge of council president Datuk Hassan Nawawi and other councillors.

"We have asked the council's audit and good governance committee to look into the matter because there is a standing instruction that any action against religious places has to be referred to the council's full board meeting," he said.

Meanwhile, Hassan clarified that the notice urging the temple to reduce the level of noise had nothing to do with the ringing of bells.

Pakatan Rakyat Is Sending A Message That They Do Not Need The Indian Votes

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 12:02 PM PST

We must understand that Barisan Nasional is bad but in this case Pakatan Rakyat is actually worst than Barisan Nasional. If they do not bother to take care of our rights and sensitivity then why in the first place should they deserved our votes and support?

Shen Yee Aun, Malaysian Youth Rights Movement

1. Pakatan Rakyat Banggi district council impose a ruling that after 6 pm the Hindu Temple in Banggi cannot ring the bell !

2. Why must Pakatan Rakyat fail to understand the significance of ringing the bell in the Hindu Temple ?The Bell, known in Sanskrit as the Ghanta/Ghanti is used in all poojas for invoking the Gods. The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. It produces the sound Om, the universal name of the Lord. There should be auspiciousness within and without, to gain the vision of the Lord who is all-auspiciousness.Another significance of ringing the bell is that they help drown any inauspicious or irrelevant noises and comments that might disturb or distract the worshippers in their devotional ardor (dedication), concentration and inner peace.

3. It is the Hindu culture and ritual that is practise all around the world. Why must Pakatan Rakyat be so rude and be disrespectful to the Indian community?

4. Just about some time ago Pakatan Rakyat in Kedah is trying to be funny with our Malaysian Chinese Chinese New Year Celebration and now in Selangor they are trying to do the same to the Indian/Hindu community? We must not forget that earlier Pakatan Rakyat in Sepang also had went into a private property and snatch people Hindu shrine and now with this latest rude and disrespectful ruling are they actually sending a message that they do not need our votes ?

Read more at: http://1sya.com/?p=4497

If you're given the bible ...

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:58 AM PST

if people give you the bible ... read it ...
don't lodge a police report .. . it's not a bomb in an envelope ... is it?

A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE

Dr Azly Rahman

IN FEAR THEY TRUST ...

some of these malay-muslims ...

if people give you the bible ... read it ...
don't lodge a police report .. . it's not a bomb in an envelope ... is it?

if you're give the quran ... read it
if you're given the torah ... read it
if you're given the bhagavad gita ... read it
if you're given the analects of kung fu tze ... read it
if you're given the granth sahib ... read it
if you're given karl marx's das kapital ... devour it ...

you've already been given your life ... read it
you' ve been given your mind, use it ...

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

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While the opinion in the article/writing is mine,
the comments are strictly, respectfully, and responsibly yours;
present them rationally, clearly, politely, and ethically.

AND - VOTE WISELY!

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At odds over sacred word

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:47 AM PST

Hadi has become known for his flip-flops but this particular issue has cast more doubts on his ability to lead the party. It is clear he cannot be relied upon to defend the party's interests and he will be lucky if PAS retains him as president at the party polls due this year.

Joceline Tan, The Star

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu was walking on cloud nine after the success of his Stadium Merdeka rally. He had pulled off something big and his supporters claimed the event had raised his profile in PAS.

Mat Sabu, as he is known by all and sundry, is aware that not everyone in PAS thinks highly of him because he lacks the religious credentials demanded of top PAS leaders. He knows that party members call him "Raja Lawak" (king of laughs) but they would have to take him more seriously after this.

But the bubble burst on Sunday night when news trickled out that the Syura Council of Ulama, the party's highest decision-making body, had ruled that the word "Allah" is sacred to Islam and cannot be used to describe God in any non-Muslim religious books.

Alwi: 'Road to paradise lies in Islam, and not in PAS'

The Syura Council said the "kalimah Allah" could not be used as the translation for the word God from any other language.

The Syura Council overturned what Mat Sabu along with his party's two top leaders, Mursyidul Am Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Matand president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, had been telling the media just days earlier that non-Muslims can use the term "Allah" as long as they do not misuse it against Islam.

Mat Sabu's stand even won praise from Dr Paul Tan, the controversial Catholic Bishop who has raised many an eyebrow with remarks that have made him sound more like a politician than a man of the cloth.

But Mat Sabu has since done a U-turn, saying that "my stand is the same as the Syura Council"; and the Bishop who has been waltzing with PAS is now dancing solo.

Everyone in PAS has fallen in line because the Syura Council is the most powerful body in PAS and the decision was pushed by the party's leading scholar in usuluddin (Islamic faith) Datuk Dr Haron Din. He is the sort who speaks softly but carries a big stick, and he has used the stick to great effect.

It was an embarrassing blow to Hadi and Nik Aziz because they are big names.

Dr Haron had been deeply disturbed by the compromises made on the "kalimah Allah" issue since 2010. Everyone has noticed how he has scaled back on political activities in the party but he has held his tongue.

He was also furious that Hadi had given the go-ahead for the use of "kalimah Allah" without first going through the Syura Council.

Nik Amar: 'Muslims sensitive about sacred word'

Hadi had appeared at a press conference together with DAP's Lim Kit Siang and PKR's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the same day the Sultan of Selangor released a stern reminder to Selangorians that there is a state fatwa on the usage of the term.

Many in PAS were shocked by Hadi's action. They thought it showed poor judgement and some claimed he was manipulated by the Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

Some claimed this is what happens when the top leadership of PAS is made up of non-ulama figures apart from Hadi, the deputy president and the three vice-presidents are non-ulama.

PAS Dewan Ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib, also a member of the Syura Council, told people he could not understand why the party was so concerned about pleasing people on the west coast when it should be looking after its traditional supporters in Terengganu and Kelantan.

Mohamad: Went from cloud nine to a burst bubble.

People like Harun are convinced the faith would be in serious jeopardy without strict control over the "Allah" term.

"Muslims are very sensitive with the usage of certain sacred words. I am very relieved and I thank the Almighty for the decision of the Syura Council," said Kelantan state exco member Datuk Nik Amar Nik Abdullah.

Nik Amar is normally quite a jovial person but he has been in a grim mood over the issue. He admitted that he is upset with DAP leader Lim Guan Eng for raising it.

"He should not touch on it," said Nik Amar who is also the deputy state PAS commissioner.

Tensions can flare if Sabah RCI sensationalised, Musa Aman tells newshounds

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:43 AM PST

(The Malaysian Insider) - "In a sensitive situation such as the RCI, sensational coverage will not bring any positive results or effects for the state of Sabah or the country as a whole"

Sensational coverage of the ongoing royal inquiry into Sabah's foreign population explosion could spark unnecessary tension, its chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman reminded journalists as witness testimonies of illegal immigrants being fast-tracked for citizenship is raising the mercury ahead of Election 2013.

Questions are being asked of the ruling Barisan Nasional's (BN) role over the last two decades in failing to stem the flood of illegal immigrants into Malaysia's easternmost state, which has seen its population grow from just over 630,000 in 1970 to over 3.1 million in 2010 — more than double the national standard.

"Many sensitive issues have been raised by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants that is currently being held.

"We cannot interfere in the deliberations and the testimonies in the continuing hearing. We also should not rush into any conclusions while the Inquiry is proceeding," said Musa(picture) in a brief six-paragraph media statement to The Malaysian Insider last night.

The state's longest-serving chief minister urged reporters to be mindful of their coverage of the RCI, "to avoid bringing about any kind of unnecessary tension among the public".

"The government has no control over editorial content. We believe in the freedom of the press," said the 61-year-old, who has been in office since March 2003.

"At the same time, in a sensitive situation such as the RCI, sensational coverage will not bring any positive results or effects for the state of Sabah or the country as a whole," he added.

Musa had also made a similar request last week at a closed-door meeting with state English-language media representatives from New Sabah Times, Daily Express, The Borneo Post, andBN-controlled newspapers New Straits Times (NST) and The Star, as well as national news agency Bernama.

The issue of illegal immigrants has turned emotive among Sabah natives like the Kadazandusun and Murut communities, many of whom feel that the state has been robbed of its sovereignty through the massive influx of foreigners from neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia.

It is no secret that Sabahans are angry and want these foreigners shipped back to their home countries in one way or another. They also often blame the immigrants for robbing them of job opportunities and for the rise in the state's social, economic and security problems.

Recent statistics from a 2010 census of Sabah's population showed an extraordinary 390 per cent increase from 636,431 citizens in 1970 to 3,120,040 citizens in 2010, more than double the national population growth of just 164 per cent.

About 28 per cent of Sabah's 3.2 million-strong population are foreigners, numbering at 889,000 people.

‘Pakatan all set to take away people’s rights’

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:40 AM PST

(The Star) - "We will have to change our lifestyles as well as dress code, and probably even our choice of food. In fact, you will also be barred from lining up in the same queue with your wife after shopping at a supermarket."

People will have their freedom curtailed and be subjected to harsher laws if Pakatan Rakyat were to rule the country in the coming general election.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the people should take note of recent developments in Kedah and Kelantan to see for themselves what was in store for them should Pakatan form the next Federal Government.

"To put it simply, lipstick will not be allowed and women will not be allowed to cut men's hair at the salons," he said.

"There will be no high heels, no short sleeves, no cheongsam and certainly no live music or other forms of entertainment.

"We will have to change our lifestyles as well as dress code, and probably even our choice of food. In fact, you will also be barred from lining up in the same queue with your wife after shopping at a supermarket," he said at the 52nd anniversary dinner of the Negri Sembilan Moral Uplifting Society on Friday night.

Dr Chua said the rights of all Malaysians, which were clearly enshrined in the Constitution, would also be infringed upon as PAS, which would take on a dominant role in Pakatan, would call the shots as was evident in Kedah and Kelantan.

"The DAP says this is a small matter, but let me remind you that the party can only be a taikor (big brother) in Penang. Elsewhere, it will have tokowtow (give in) to PAS," he said.

Dr Chua said it was an open secret that PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would be elected as Prime Minister as the party would have more influence over Parti Keadilan and the DAP.

Dr Chua said the fact that PAS had never endorsed PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as their Prime Minister-elect if Pakatan were to win the next general election was also testimony to this.

"Anwar will be left with only Selangor. So, you decide if you want Abdul Hadi as your Prime Minister," he told the crowd.

Likening the DAP to a political eunuch, Dr Chua said it was only good at criticising the Barisan Nasional government, particularly the MCA.

Dr Chua said the country would prosper if Barisan continued to lead the country.

"Malaysia is the only country whose economic outlook was revised upwards last year by international bodies at a time when many other developed economies were facing downturns," he pointed out.

"We are forecast to do even better this year but you must have leaders who are able to steer this nation to success and not those who will be busy taking away the rights of its people."

Call to ban politically incorrect terms like ‘ah pek’

Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:35 AM PST

(The Star) - Terms like ah soh (aunty), ah pek (uncle) and orang asing (foreigner) should be banned in government departments and state agencies, said a Barisan Nasional leader.

Kota Melaka Parliamentary Supporters Club chairman Datuk Mohammad Ahad said he would propose to the Chief Minister to direct civil servants to refrain from using such terms to address the people.

"From what my close friends told me, even bank staff address the non-Malays with such terms," he said, adding that many people, especially pensioners, felt offended.

His friends, Mohammad said, were professionals who had once served in senior positions in government departments and felt upset that the younger civil servants would sometimes converse with them in colloquial Malay.

The younger civil servants, he added, should realise that these pensioners were from the "baby boomer" generation with good education and experience.

"They are knowledgeable about any issue and don't need to Google' to get information. Therefore, younger civil servants shouldn't look down on these older folk as being ignorant," he said, blaming the social media for perpetuating such terms to refer to certain ethnic groups.

Mohammad, who is also Sg Putat Umno branch chairman, said he would propose to the Chief Minister that guidelines be drawn up on etiquette and customer service.

"We have to do something to label such terms as dirty words' because, in a way, civil servants who continue to address people this way can derail the noble intention of the Prime Minister's 1Malaysia concept," he said.

Malacca MIC deputy chairman Datuk M.S. Mahadevan said many grassroots leaders felt that Barisan would be at a disadvantage if civil servants continued to address non-Malays with such terms.

"We have those who are in their late 60s venting their frustrations whenever they are described as orang asing," he said.

‘Probe pre-independence immigrants’

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 06:24 PM PST

If the government can form a RCI to probe citizenships given to about 200,000 Sabah immigrants, why not on those pre-independence immigrants? asks the former PM

Athi Shankar, FMT

Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed cynically suggested the federal government form a royal commission of inquiry to probe if the one million "foreigners", who were given citizenship during independence, were entitled to it.

He suggested for the commission to probe ancestral backgrounds of the "foreigners" to determine on whether they deserved their citizenship.

If the government can form a commission to probe the citizenship given to some 200,000 Sabah immigrants, he asked on "why not on those pre-independence immigrants?"

He told this at a crowded hall when officiating a Perkasa convention on "Penang Malays Economic and Education Transformation" in UiTM campus here today.

Nonetheless he said he was not seriously demanding for such commission, but only wanted certain amount of fair play in such inquiries.

"I'm not serious about it. But they must be fair," the country's fourth premier told a press conference later.

Dr Mahathir seemed clearly frustrated by mounting criticisms against him over allegations of a citizenship-for-votes scheme in Sabah that occurred in the 1990s during his premiership.

He said Sabah's illegal immigrants deserved their citizenships given that the law allowed for it if a person had stayed in the country for more than 10 years.

"It was a co-incidence that they were given citizenship during election time," Mahathir told newsmen.

Earlier in his keynote address, he said pre-independence immigrants should be grateful to the Malays for their citizenships, given by first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Unlike natives of Myanmar and some African nations, he said the Malaya natives, both pribumis and bumis, did not chase out the immigrants when then Malaya got its independence from the British colonial masters.

Ungrateful immigrants plotting to remove Malay privileges

He said the Malays generously allowed the immigrants to be citizens, speak their languages and practise their respective cultures, something that even neighbouring Thai and Indonesian natives failed to do.

Although Malays constituted 80% of Malaya's voting population during independence time, he claimed that they willingly shared power with the immigrants even though it would reduce their vote bank to 60% and weaken their own political strength.

"We allowed the immigrants to flourish among us and let them even to dominate the economy. We also did not stop their language and cultural growth," said Mahathir.

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST

Proclaiming he is not instigating communal tensions, Ibrahim Ali, says it's the only way to stop non-Muslims from stirring sensitivities

Athi Shankar, FMT

PERMATANG PAUH: Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali has called on Muslims to seize and burn copies of Bibles which contain the term "Allah" or other Arabic religious words.

Stressing that he was not instigating communal tension, the Pasir Mas MP insisted that it was the only way to stop non-Muslims from stirring the sensitivities and sentiments of the majority of population in the country.

He said certain non-Muslim groups were out to provoke the Muslims by using the term "Allah" or any other Arabic religious words in the Bible.

Under the Non-Islamic Religion (Control on Expansion Among Muslims) Act 1988, he said non-Muslims are prohibited from using several Arabic religious terms, including Allah, in their prayers or scriptures.

"Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contained the term Allah and other Arabic religious terms, and burn them.

"This is the way to show our anger against disrespect to our sensitivity," he told a press conference after delivering his presidential speech at a Perkasa convention here today.

'Pre-election tactic'

Held at UiTM campus, the convention was on 'Economic and Education Transformation of Penang Malays'.

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:27 PM PST

Budak-budak lelaki Melayu yang saya perhatikan di taman permainan beberapa minggu yang lalu itu adalah salah satu hasil daripada rantaian interaksi pemimpin dan masyarakat ini. Adakah ini sikap bangsa Melayu yang ingin dipupuk pemimpin-pemimpin Umno, Perkasa dan pertubuhan-pertubuhan Melayu yang lain?

Zaki Samsudin, CPI

Beberapa minggu yang lalu, saya telah membawa anak-anak ke taman permainan berhampiran tempat tinggal kami. Taman permainan itu agak luas. Di satu sudut, terdapat alatan permainan kanak-kanak – gelungsur, buaian, jongkang-jongket dan sebagainya – manakala di satu sudut lain terdapat tanah lapang yang walaupun tidak begitu luas, cukup untuk kanak-kanak lelaki bermain bolasepak.

Saya memang minat bolasepak dan suka melihat telatah kanak-kanak cuba mempamerkan skil masing-masing. Tatkala asyik memerhatikan mereka, saya baru sedar dalam kumpulan budak-budak lelaki sekitar 20 orang itu, terdapat seorang budak lelaki berbangsa India. Yang lain semuanya budak-budak Melayu.

Situasi sebegitu bukanlah ganjil sebenarnya. Memang kawasan perumahan itu majoriti penduduknya orang-orang Melayu. Yang ganjil dan amat memeranjatkan saya adalah sikap budak-budak Melayu terhadap budak India tunggal itu. Hampir kesemua mereka memanggilnya "budak keling".

Bila dia tersilap tendang, diherdik pula dengan panggilan "keling bodoh". Budak India itu walau bagaimanapun, tetap bersemangat mahu terus bermain. Malangnya dia dipinggirkan. Tidak ada yang mahu menghantar bola kepadanya. Dia cuba juga mengejar sedaya-upaya namun terus dibuli budak-budak yang lain. Tidak cukup dengan itu, tidak putus-putus dia diherdik dengan kata-kata kesat dan menghina.

Budak-budak lelaki yang saya perhatikan hari itu semuanya masih kecil. Pada amatan saya, semuanya berumur bawah 15 tahun. Kerana itulah saya terperanjat dengan sikap mereka terutamanya kata-kata kesat yang keluar daripada mulut mereka. Persoalannya, bagaimana mereka mampu bersikap sedemikian?

Dalam bidang sosiologi, setiap kelakuan manusia dikaji berdasarkan rangkaian interaksi antara agensi-agensi masyarakat daripada yang paling kecil hingga yang paling besar. Individu itu sendiri adalah agensi yang paling kecil, diikuti dengan ibubapanya, adik-beradik, sanak-saudara, jiran-jiran, guru-guru, tokoh-tokoh dan idola masyarakat, dan akhirnya sesebuah masyarakat itu sendiri secara am.

Sukar untuk kita tentukan adakah budak-budak Melayu yang saya ceritakan di atas, sikap dan kelakuan menghina yang mereka tunjukkan itu adalah hasil pengaruh ibubapa atau ahli-ahli keluarga terdekat. Itu hanya boleh ditentukan melalui kajian mikro psikologi personaliti dan psikologi sosial.

Namun kita boleh melihat kepada beberapa contoh kelakuan dan sikap di kalangan tokoh-tokoh masyarakat yang jikapun tidak banyak, pasti ada memberi pengaruh dan kesan.

Tingkah laku pemimpin masyarakat

Pada tahun 2007, ketika menghadiri sebuah program bersama pelajar-pelajar Malaysia di California, Amerika Syarikat, seorang menteri kabinet berbangsa Melayu telah dilaporkan mengeluarkan beberapa ungkapan yang dianggap menghina seorang pelajar berbangsa India. Dalam ucapannya, beliau menerangkan bagaimana pihak penjajah British membawa buruh India ke Tanah Melayu. Seraya berkata demikian, beliau memandang tepat ke arah seorang pelajar India di dalam dewan tersebut lalu berkata "that's how we got Indians in Malaysia" ("kerana sebab itulah di Malaysia ada orang-orang India").

Kemudian, pada tahun 2010, timbul pula laporan bagaimana seorang pengetua sekolah menengah kebangsaan di Johor, ketika berucap dalam perhimpunan khas sempena perayaan Hari Kemerdekaan, dengan lantang berkata pelajar-pelajar Cina tidak diperlukan di sekolah itu. Dicanang beliau agar pelajar-pelajar Cina berpindah ke sekolah Cina atau pulang sahaja ke negara Cina. Kepada pelajar-pelajar India beragama Hindu pula beliau berkata, tali sembahyang yang dipakai di lengan dan di leher umpama tali yang dipakai seekor anjing!

Dua contoh di atas adalah contoh kelakuan dan manifesti sikap yang ditonjolkan secara terbuka di khalayak ramai. Bayangkan apakah kata-kata yang mereka hemburkan dalam percakapan harian bersama ahli-ahli keluarga dan rakan-rakan?

Pengetua sekolah menengah itu misalnya, kalau begitulah sikap beliau ketika berucap dalam perhimpunan, bayangkan sikap beliau ketika berbual bersama guru-guru (yang majoritinya berbangsa Melayu) atau ketika memarahi pelajar-pelajar berbangsa Cina dan India di pejabatnya? Bayangkan juga bagaimana sikap beliau ini boleh mempengaruhi guru-guru lain yang masih muda dan pelajar-pelajar Melayu di sekolah berkenaan?

'Don't equate Merdeka with Sabah IC project'

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:18 PM PST

The national consensus on citizenship brokered before Malaya's independence cannot be equated with the controversial move to grant citizenship to foreigners in Sabah, policy thinkers say.

Chua Sue-Ann, fz.com

This view is being aired as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has sought to justify his administration's "Project IC" in Sabah by comparing it to first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra's push for Chinese and Indians in Malaya to receive citizenship.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, director of think tank Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), said the comparison was wrong as the two citizenship exercises were carried out for different reasons.

"This is not a fair comparison. One was for independence whereas the other was for votes. The motive for granting them citizenship (in Sabah) was to fish for votes and purely political. Citizenship was one of the negotiation points for Merdeka.

"The British would not have given independence so easily if the non-Malays were denied citizenship. They had been there for many generations and had toiled to develop the country," Navaratnam told fz.com in a phone interview.

Malaysia should stop harping on the citizenship agreement made during the struggle for independence and focus on the road ahead, Navaratnam added.

"There are so many challenges that we as a nation face today like corruption, cronyism, declining competitiveness and poor education policies. Mahathir's remarks are contrary to the 1Malaysia concept," said Navaratnam, who had served the government for three decades.

Mahathir had on Thursday admitted to granting citizenship to foreigners in Sabah but maintained it was done lawfully.

But Mahathir sought to justify his administration's move by alleging that Tunku Abdul Rahman dished out citizenship to one million people who were "not qualified and not even tested".

Although Mahathir did not specify who these one million people were, his remarks were seen as a reference to the many Malayans of Chinese and Indian descent who were given citizenship when independence was being negotiated with the British powers.

Pre-independence, the proposal to give citizenship to non-Malays was a contentious and arduous process that took several years of multi-party negotiations.

Malaya in 1957 had a population of 5.2 million people comprising 2.2 million Malays and indigenous people and, three million non-Malays, according to a book entitled Malaysia: The Making of A Nation by Cheah Boon Kheng.

In similar vein, Centre for Policy Initiatives director Dr Lim Teck Ghee said Mahathir had no basis to compare the two historical situations.

"What Tunku Abdul Rahman did was open, transparent and with the support of key stakeholders when he agreed to the citizenship clause.

"What Mahathir did was opaque, hidden, known only to a few plotters and basically unjustifiable at the time, today and in the future," Lim said in an e-mailed response.

Lim added that Mahathir's remarks was typical of the latter's "diversion strategy" aimed at shoring up Malay support by stoking racial sentiments.

Sabah's large influx of foreign nationals has been a contentious issue for many years as locals fear an altering of local demographics.

Foreign nationals make up over 27% or 889,000 of Sabah's 3.2 million population, according to witness evidence during the current royal commission of inquiry to investigate the issue of undocumented immigrants in the state.

Aside from altering the state's demographics, Project IC in Sabah was also alleged to be an exercise to give foreign nationals, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, citizenship in exchange for votes.

Reflections on democracy and populism

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:13 PM PST

IF the government were to devise a scheme where a grandparent could "borrow" future earnings from his grandchild, would the grandparent consent to such an unusual plan?

Khaw Veon Szu, fz.com

Yet, the various popular cash handouts that are now being offered, if continued indefinitely, are akin to intergenerational borrowings that threaten the well-being of future generations with massive financial obligations incurred from the benefits received by today's generation.

A recent statement by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has set alarm bells ringing. According to the media, the deputy prime minister said Putrajaya may double the RM500 cash aid distributed under its Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) programme.

He added that the federal government may even make it a permanent policy should the national income and tax revenue exceed RM125 billion and Barisan Nasional wins the general election.

The first BR1M, paid out to nearly five million families at a cost to taxpayers of RM2.6 billion earlier last year, saw Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's approval rating hit 69%, largely due to a surge among lower-income households. BR1M 2.0's coverage has been extended to unmarried youths.

More than 2.3 million applications had been received as at Dec 17, 2012, with more than 1.6 million from unmarried youths and more than 720,000 from households.

Under the programme, Malaysians with a household income of less than RM3,000 a month are eligible for a one-off cash aid of RM500 while unmarried individuals aged 21 and above and who earn not more than RM2,000 a month are eligible for one-off aid of RM250. BR1M 2.0 is expected to benefit 4.3 million households and 2.7 million unmarried individuals.

An additional RM300 million has been set aside for the Youth Communication Package that offers a oneoff rebate of RM200 to youths aged 21 to 30 with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below for the purchase of a 3G smartphone.

Make no mistake. The Pakatan Rakyat state governments are equally guilty as they pioneered such cash aid programmes after taking over several states in the last general election. These included the Senior Citizens Appreciation Programme, the Single Mother and Disabled Person Programme and the Golden Students Programme, under which eligible recipients receive RM100 each annually.

That is what we fear most about populism. What initially starts out as one-off or ad hoc cash aid measures to win elections might eventually end up as a fixture in our national annual budget.

No wonder many now worry that the battle to win the hearts and minds of the rakyat is fast descending into a mindless competition to put cash into the pockets of voters.

The natural tendency in a democracy is for politicians to promise more and more to fulfil a multitude of the rakyat's incompatible desires. To meet these everincreasing promises, politicians are left with no alternative but to resort to print-ing money or borrowing in epic proportions.

Hence, it is not surprising to learn that Aristotle was of the view that political regimes may be divided according to the number who rule and what kind of rule — good or bad. And here comes the shocker.

If the many, the majority, rule for the sake of true common good, the regime is called a polity; if the many, the majority, rule for their own advantage rather than the common good, the regime is a democracy. This probably explains why our great institutions — the judiciary, Parliament, civil service, free press and the family — have such profound importance. They provide a system of checks and balances against the populism that is such a po-tent force in a democratic system.

They stand for values — decency, fairness, protection of minori-ties, freedom under law — that inevitably come under strain in a democracy. Actually, an obsession with politics is dangerous.

It is factually and patently wrong to assume that democracy is the same as liberty, tolerance and fairness because these values were embedded in public service long before universal suffrage and the emergence of what we think of today as democracy.

Misleading take on Star in Sabah by complainants

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:04 PM PST

The Daily Express front page lead, "Cloud still hangs over Star ops" (Sat 19 Jan, 2013), is a misleading take by complainants based on a litany of half-truths. The State Reform Party (Star), to the best of my knowledge, is a Kuching-based national party and hence can field candidates throughout the country. The emphasis is on fielding candidates. The only authority on Star fielding candidates is its president, not ROS or the EC.

Joe Fernandez, Bandar Seri Begawan

The EC has already made it's stand clear in the local media: Star can field candidates in Sabah come the 13th General Election under its symbol and flag. Star is a registered name, symbol and flag with the EC. All that a candidate needs to stand under Star is a letter from the party president to lodge with the EC.

Whether Star is registered or otherwise in Sabah with the ROS Sabah is irrelevant and immaterial.

In fact, the question of registering Star with ROS Sabah does not arise since a party cannot be registered twice. Branches can be registered in Sabah with the ROS, not the party again.

Likewise, it's irrelevant and immaterial whether Star has any branches in Sabah, registered or otherwise. There's no law which states that Star should have registered branches in Sabah before it can field candidates in the state. The ROS does not decide who stands in an election conducted by the EC.

There's no law which states that Star should have registered branches in Sabah before it can carry out political activities in the state. Branches are meant for party elections and not to carry out political activities or field candidates in a General Election.

Anyone can carry out political activities in Malaysia without a political party or even an unregistered NGO or ad hoc body.

The ROS Sabah should not plan to make a song-and-dance act about Star in Sabah. (It did not sort out CASH, the Sabah consumer body, and instead took the easy way out and deregistered it and/or declared it unlawful).

Instead, ROS Sabah and Sarawak should focus on disallowing the parti parti Malaya from setting up branches in Sabah and Sarawak. It should be guided by the safeguards, by way of constitutional documents, for Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.

The ROS Putrajaya should not allow parti parti Malaya to register as national parties in defiance of the safeguards provided to Sabah and Sarawak at the time of Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia, under these safeguards, should have one seat less two-thirds in Parliament, at the very maximum.

The parti parti Malaya can achieve their maximum quota in Parliament without crossing the South China Sea.

Indeed, they collectively hold 165 seats from Peninsular Malaysia alone in Parliament. This is more than their maximum quota. To add insult to injury, the parti parti Malaya have seats in Sabah and Sarawak and this further weakens the politics and voice of the Borneo people in Parliament. To add further insult to injury, the parti parti Malaya are planning to steal even more seats in Sabah and Sarawak, not only in Parliament but the respective state assemblies, come the 13th General Election.

The EC and the ROS are parties to weakening the politics and voice of the Borneo people in Parliament.

The Attorney General and the Sabah and Sarawak Attorney-Generals can make their stand clear on this burning issue and not play the role of the proverbial three monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil or bury their collective heads in the sand like the ostrich.

Neither should they behave like the three blind men who described different parts of an elephant -- the tail, the ear, the trunk -- when asked to describe the animal.

The parti parti Sabah and Sarawak, like Star, would have to cross the South China Sea as national parties to achieve the same maximum -- one seat less two-thirds -- in Parliament for the Borneo Nations in Malaysia.

The Election Commission should not allow parti parti Malaya to field candidates in Sabah and Sarawak. The ROS, the Attorney General and the Attorney Generals of Sabah and Sarawak should facilitate the EC's work on this.

Umno is rotten to the core – it seems!

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:02 PM PST

The cat is out of the bag – at last! Tun Mahathir and all his cohorts from his era cannot plead ignorance or amnesia. It is out in the open how they cheated and stole elections to remain in power.

P Ramakrishnan, Aliran executive committee member

Shamelessly they plotted and subverted the democratic process in their greed to remain in power. What they did is tantamount to treason.

They stole our elections and cheated our voters. They made a mockery of our elections and the democratic process consciously and deliberately.

To think that this diabolical scheme was hatched by people from the Prime Minister's Department, the Home Ministry, the National Registration Department, the Election Commission, etc. It clearly establishes the fact that there was massive official fraud to ensure the two thirds majority, win the election and fool the public that the Barisan Nasional came into power through legitimate means.

To think that two of the then PM's closest confidantes – Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin, Mahathir's political secretary, and Megat Junid Megat Ayub, the deputy home minister under Mahathir – were actively involved in cheating and stealing elections exposes the very possibility that one can remain as prime minister in Malaysia not only for 22 years but forever!

The Royal Commission of Inquiry in session in Sabah has exposed some startling revelations that are sending shock waves across the nation. What has been revealed during the session really stinks – perhaps that is the reason this scam was so aptly code-named Ops Durian Buruk!

40,000 blue identity cards were signed within a month for Muslim immigrants, mostly Indonesians and Filipinos, for the purpose of voting for Umno in the 1994 Sabah state election;
Mohd Nasir Sugip, a former National Registration Department official, was handed over a list of 16,000 names to be made into 'bumiputera Islam' voters. The 'operation involved providing the immigrants with new identity card numbers based on the date of birth, photographs and names provided by the EC';
Kee Dzulkifly, a member of the special unit dubbed G17 which operated out of the Sabah NRD headquarters, testified that the unit processed 100,000 blue identity cards for immigrants;
This special unit "was also responsible for issuing letters of approval for birth certificates, which he estimated the unit had processed some 200,000 for the children of immigrants".

The election scam, according to many, irrefutably proves there there is an ongoing plot – which the federal government, the NRD and the EC are actively engaged in – that exists right up to today, making the electoral process a meaningless farce.

Based on what is revealed – which proves that the various apparatus and functionaries of government have become the pliant subservient agents of the BN – it is no wonder that ruling coalition politicians can confidently declare that they can capture Selangor and take over Penang in the 13th GE. Having perfected the art of massive fraud in the past, the possibility that the BN will use similar schemes again is not unthinkable.

The BN's victories have never been honourable ones won on a level playing field.

It is, as revealed at the RCI, within their means to easily create new voters, as has been alleged, give them MyKads or temporary receipts, round them up in a house to teach them how to vote for the BN, bribe them and then transport them into constituencies which are marginal to carry out the dastardly deed. This is apparently their perfected modus operandi to win elections.

This was how they defeated the PBS government in Sabah; this was how they denied the Gagasan Rakyat their victory; this was how they prevented Pakatan Rakyat from forming the federal government in March 2008.

Under these circumstances, it would be terribly wrong – even immoral – for the present Election Commission to conduct the 13th General Election. The present members of the EC have forfeited their right to conduct the election by implication. Their integrity is suspect; their neutrality cannot be trusted and their fairness is not beyond question.

What the so-called 'trusted and respected leaders' of our country have done is unforgiveable. They have sacrificed the security of our country and the sacredness of our nation for their selfish greed to hang on to power by whatever means it takes.

It is Umno, as it were, that has been behind this conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process which is unprecedented and mind-boggling. It has always been Umno that has been dictating terms and deciding policies. It must be held responsible for the electoral fraud.

We must liberate ourselves from this sordid affair that has nullified our sacred vote. It is said, "The first step toward liberation for any group is to use the power in hand…And the power in hand is the vote." Let's remember that!

MACC asks Deepak to return with documents, no statement recorded

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 02:07 PM PST

Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today did not record controversial businessman Deepak Jaikishan's statement in relation to P. Balasubramaniam's second statutory declaration in 2008 on the 2006 murder of Altantuyaa Shaariibuu.

Deepak said the MACC today asked him to furnish a long list of documents, including those of a financial nature.

"He asked me to give him a lot of documents. So I've agreed. We're going to meet early next week," he told The Malaysian Insider after the meeting at the anti-graft body's Putrajaya office.

Deepak claimed that three men came to his office earlier to ask a lot of "unneccessary questions".

Earlier today, Deepak told The Malaysian Insider that he expects to reveal everything to the MACC, saying: "Yes, I believe I'll be revealing everything in writing, the entire facts".

"They want me to give a statement on the SD2," he had said, referring to private investigator Balasubramaniam's second statutory declaration, which contradicted his first sworn statement.

Deepak had recently admitted that he helped to get Balasubramaniam, a private investigator, to repudiate his earlier statutory declaration on the matter, including finding two lawyers to draft the new statement.

The Bar Council is investigating the identity of lawyers and possible misconduct in the drafting of Balasubramaniam's second sworn statement about the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

A cloud of mystery has hung over the identity of the lawyer who drew up Balasubramaniam's second SD, dated a day after his first on July 3, 2008, regarding Altantuya's 2006 murder, for which two elite police commandos have been convicted and are facing death sentences.

READ MORE HERE

KJ John, You do Yourself an Injustice

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:41 PM PST

Stop The Lies

I am not surprised to read Malaysiakini columnist and shareholder, USCI lecturer and church leader KJ John's "Why I Will Vote Pakatan…".

This is not surprising to those who are familiar with his writings in Malaysiakini and elsewhere.

His political leanings and his anti-government stance are common knowledge.

So, this article was written as an attempt to influence others also to follow suit. I don't think anybody would deny KJ John's right to do that. But when he bends the truth to support his arguments, somebody must correct him so that others are not misled.

KJ John must stop passing off prejudices as Gospel truth. He must know it is unChristian not to tell the whole truth. It is unChristian not to be grateful for the many blessings he has received as a citizen of Malaysia.

I submit the following facts and observations for KJ John to consider.

First, KJ John says that if the government had listened to him in 2007, it would have fared better in the 2008 general election.

This statement is highly presumptuous. By what stretch of the imagination does he think he is an expert on the complex mix of Malaysian politics?

His father was a MIC party leader but KJ John has never been a member of any political party.

Second, he says his reason for wanting to vote Pakatan was because BN handled the 'Allah issue' badly.

KJ John must have been sleeping these past few months if he has not witnessed the flip-flop stand by Pas (in the PR coalition) over the issue.

Get your facts right, KJ John, it was not BN that handled the 'Allah' issue badly, but Pas and DAP.

Why is KJ John so obsessed with this issue anyway? What is the real issue here?

KJ John, does God not answer you if you do not call him Allah? You know you can call him Elohim, Yahweh, Adonal, Theos, or Kurios, and he listens. Indeed, would God be offended if you just called him Father?

God will not be confined to just a few names that have been included in the lexicons of the world's languages.

Is there only one word in every language to which God will answer ? The written language is a human construct, not a divine revelation.

Would God eventually judge you by your words rather than my your deeds?

KJ John, why are you allowing the 'Allah issue' to blind you to all the blessings you have received?

You have all the fundamental freedoms to worship as you please, where you please–in your home or in your Church. Indeed you can worship him without restriction.

You can worship him, not confined by place, language, sentiment, mood, understanding, vocation, affiliation, inclination, education level, sentiment, clothing, mood, or physical attributes.

God listens to everyone who prays to him. Pray tell, KJ John, how have you been deprived, living as you have been in a Malay-majority, Muslim-majority nation all your life?

The non-Malays are assured of their rights and privileges as enshrined in the Federal constitution which is a very carefully and cleverly crafted document.

The rights and privileges accorded to one race or adherents of one faith are balanced by the rights of other races and religions.

Since independence in 1957, the Constitution has been amended about 40 times, but not a single amendment was made to these core provisions.

That must prove how the ruling government staunchly protects and upholds the freedoms of the people which they have enjoyed uninterrupted these past 57 years.

Third, KJ John, you said in your article, and I quote: "The federal government is still heavily dominated by Malays …(and the government has) been abusing the Malaysians of Sabah and Sarawak, much worse than the White Rajah has ever abused them!"

Come on, come on KJ John, a little learning is a dangerous thing, as they say. You don't even know the White Rajahs never ruled Sabah. Also, you have no idea how the White Rajahs treated the people of Sarawak. You were not born then, and were not even a glint in your father's eye.

Again, you say, and I quote: "Why is it that after almost 50 years of this willing and voluntary merger (with Malaysia), their position and placement (with rights and privileges) as the bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak, is not better or equal to even the middle 60 percent of the Malay bumiputeras or even in the same category of non-Malays?"

KJ John, you are woefully ignorant of the nation's history, of how the Federal Constitution was framed, nor do you have any in-depth knowledge of the events that led to the formation of Malaysia.

Please get off your blinkered horse and mix with the people in Sabah and Sarawak. They will enlighten you and fill the gaps in your knowledge.

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:33 PM PST

Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider

As it stands now, the fight for the new voter is split down the centre with Merdeka Center's latest survey showing half of Election 2013 virgins supportive of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, contrary to perception that first time voters are likely to be Pakatan Rakyat (PR) supporters.

Nearly one in two Malaysians polled between last November and December in the "First-Time Voters Public Opinion Survey" said they were happy with the prime minister's performance even though only four in 10 said they were satisfied with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government since Najib took over the wheel from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in April 2009.

The latest findings appear to corroborate the independent pollster's earlier studies on public rating for the ruling coalition were lagging behind its leader's despite the slew of cash handouts and a raft of economic and legal reforms introduced over the past four years. In effect, BN would be worse off without Najib's popularity.

The independent research house had polled 826 newly-registered voters in Peninsular Malaysia aged 21 and above and found Najib being most popular among Indians at 64 per cent compared to six out of 10 Malays and lowest among the Chinese, with six out of 10 saying they were upset with the PM.

In contrast, the BN coalition trailed the PM's ratings by eight percentage points, with 41 per cent of first-time voters approving it compared to the 49 per cent that backed Najib.

The ruling coalition was even rated one percentage point lower than the first-time voter's satisfaction with the federal government, which stood at 42 per cent.

Political analysts have suggested that the BN cash in more on Najib's personal popularity to endear themselves to first-time voters.

The survey also showed a marked split in the issues considered important to each ethnic group, with the Chinese saying they were most concerned about corruption while emotive issues touching on race and religion trumped livelihood issues for the Malays.

More than half of the 561 Malays polled said they wanted more to see politicians debate Malay and equality rights than talk about living costs or corruption.

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:22 PM PST

A Kadir Jasin

SHOULD we be curious that Parti Keadilan Rakyat's deputy president, Mohd Azmin Ali, is so worried about the so-called attempts to implicate his boss, (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim, in the Sabah immigrant issue or is there something more than meets the eye?

After all, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) had just started its work.

Or is there something intimate that he knows about Anwar's alleged involvement in the Sabah's immigrant issue that many young Malaysians are not aware of?

Older Malaysians who know Anwar from his student days may be less surprised about his many political and social involvements and the evolution that he went through before, during and after his Umno days.

Azmin had alleged that the PKR had received information about a plot to implicate Anwar in the on-going inquiry.

The Malaysiakini news portal quoted him as saying: "[And] I also received information (the) ultimate goal will relate to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also.

"All the problems in this country is burdened on the de-facto leader and we also expect (this)."

I would not dare advise Anwar and Azmin, although I knew both of them well during the years that they were the power duo in the Barisan Nasional administration, to acknowledge that they were responsible for some of the key decisions that took place during that period or, at the very least, admit that they were fait accompli.

I Know They know What I Know

I was there for all of the 16 years that Anwar was the crown prince of Umno and Azmin, as his principle private secretary, was the envy of many ambitious civil servants and political operators. The braver ones called him names and the gung-ho ones mishandled him. I salute him for his undying loyalty to his boss.

In the case of Sabah politics, in which the immigrants play a major socio-economic and political role, Anwar was for many years its key handler. Because he was one of the most trusted and ambitious allies of then Prime Minister, (Tun) Dr Mahathir 'the Wizard' Mohamad , he got to handle not only Sabah politics but also money that went with it – government as well as party money.

Being the young leader most closely identified with Dr Mahathir, Anwar was in the thick of all things important and strategic – things that earned him juicy political dividends. Let us not pretend.

Since Anwar continues the dream of becoming Malaysia's Prime Minister and has the best shot at it in the coming general election, and Azmin surely would not want to be left far behind, perhaps it is time for them to face the ghost of their Umno and BN past. What is so terribly wrong about it?

Anwar would not be where he is today had he remained an Abim leader or opted to join Pas as some of his Abim's contemporaries did. For good or evil, the 16 years that he was in Umno, he gained premium political branding so much so he is today able to sell it to Pas and the DAP.

Immigrant Issue Is As Old As the Country

Let us be brave and frank. In a way or another, we are all implicated in all issues pertaining to immigration and citizenship. So we should not politicise the work of the RCI for short-term political gains, more so if we are interested to solve the issue once and for all.

I remember discussing the issue of Filipino immigrants in Sabah back in 1981 with then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs, (Tun) Musa Hitam, while flying with him in a government jet from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu and back.

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:15 PM PST

(The Star) - KOTA KINABALU: A former leader of an armed group involved in a civil war in southern Philippines some 40 years ago told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) that it was easy to slip into Sabah in the mid 1970s.

Abdul Halil Aramil said that he and six other Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leaders, who were based in Basilan province, Philippines, arrived at an island near the east coast town of Sandakan sometime in 1975 without any problem.

He told the inquiry that the group came to Jampiras Island, near Sabah, after their fighters in Basilan started running low on ammunition and food.

"We sought help in Sabah," said Abdul Halil, who calls himself Commander Janggut.

He added that he and the other MNLF leaders eventually settled in Sabah, with most of them securing employment in the oil palm plantations.

Abdul Halil told the inquiry that he and several hundred Filipino refugees eventually set up a settlement in the interior Nabawan district, which they called Kampung Minsupala in reference to their homeland – Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.

He said that while they yearned for autonomy in southern Philip-pines, they now considered Malaysia as their home.

"I have never gone back to where I came from and I do not wish to return there because it is not safe even though the war has ended," he said.

Abdul Halil added that the situation there was unsafe as almost everyone owned a firearm.

On June 1, 2012, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the setting up of the RCI to investigate the long-standing problem related to illegal immigrants in Sabah, as the Government was committed to resolving the matter which could adversely affect the well-being of the state's people.

Najib had insisted on the setting up of the RCI and had, on Sept 21, handed over appointment letters to the RCI chairman, former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong and the commission's other members.

The Prime Minister reportedly told the commission members that he wanted the inquiry to be completed before the general election.

PAS council: Azmin can say what he wants, he is disrespectful

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:12 PM PST

(The Star) - The PAS Syura Council, not happy with Azmin Ali's remarks that its decision on the kalimah Allah issue isn't the stand taken by Pakatan Rakyat leaders, said the PKR deputy president was being disrespectful to the council.

PAS ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib (picture) said: "PAS stands by the Syura Council, as it is the supreme body responsible for policies and major decisions in the party.

"Let him (Azmin) say whatever he wants. I do not want to comment about him. That is his matter."

Azmin had reportedly said at a press conference on Thursday that the Opposition pact was sticking to its decision that non-Muslims can use the word "Allah" despite the council stating otherwise.

He added that Pakatan was bound by the policies that were discussed during a Jan 8 meeting and that the council was not related to it.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang were at the meeting that arrived at the decision.

But the council said on Monday that non-Muslims should be prevented from using the word "Allah" in translations of their religious texts.

Azmin was adamant that Pakatan's stance on the issue had not changed and that the council's "afterthought" did not hold water with the Opposition pact.

Meanwhile, sacked Selangor PAS chief Datuk Dr Hasan Ali also chided Azmin on his remarks, saying the PKR deputy leader had failed to understand the sentiments of PAS members and supporters on matters concerning Islam.

From boast to downright disgrace

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:05 PM PST

The modus operandi to ensure Sabah remained Umno's "fixed deposit" bordered on "treason" at the highest level and was a state-sponsored organised crime.

(FMT) - KOTA KINABALU: It used to be Umno's and the Barisan Nasional's claim, made with some swagger, that Sabah is their "fixed deposit" state. The boast was meant to convey the message to the opposition that they were untouchable. As it turned out, it was true.

The ruling coalition had indeed stuffed the ballot boxes in the state sufficiently, but not in the usual way, to ensure Sabah would always be in their corner in their bid to hang on to reins of power. But that boastful expression is coming back to haunt them.

The first week of evidence gathering by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the massive presence of illegal immigrants in the state emphasised this.

The narrative so far is that what started as a refugee problem morphed into an illegal immigrant problem and then became a policy to re-engineer the population of the state to reflect Muslim dominance from its native Christian majority origins at the founding of Malaysia in 1963.

From there it again changed shape and became an alleged illegal citizenship-for-votes project to prop up a shaky coalition government that has ruled Malaysia for more than 50 years and Sabah for almost two decades.

The modus operandi that was used to ensure Sabah became Umno's "fixed deposit" state, bordered on state-sponsored organised crime while some would put it as "treasonous" activity at the highest government levels.

Witness after witness stated as much over the last week.

Dr M: Project IC legal

Former prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, under whose watch the hitherto Christian state became populated by a Muslim majority, had finally come out to admit that Project IC was true but that everything was done legally.

However, former civil servants who served during his time in power, illegal immigrants and refugees seem to contradict his statement by telling the commission of the clandestine nature of the issuance of Malaysian identification papers that led to them gaining citizenship and right to vote.

Top Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) officers spoke of an operation codenamed 'Operation Rotten Durian' and by all accounts this operation reached into the highest offices including those of Mahathir's trusted aides and indeed Mahathir himself.

He seems to confirm this when he said last week: "When I was prime minister, I was in power to determine the implementation of government policies.

"The government received foreigners to be citizens if (they) fulfilled certain conditions, furthermore those who are there are not one, two days but already 20 to 30 years and they speak in Bahasa Melayu, have the right to be Malaysians.

"So the problem is when there are people who are unhappy when there are some who become Malaysians although those individuals have already long resided in Malaysia, that is what causes problems."

Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, as the stunning nature of the RCI witness statements sank in, he repeatedly stressed that this giving of citizenships to foreigners was "within the law".

"I never deny it (citizenships) were given. What I deny is that I did something against the law, that I will deny," he was reported as saying.

READ MORE HERE

Jeffrey: Postpone polls in Sabah

Posted: 18 Jan 2013 01:02 PM PST

Given the revelations at the RCI, Sabah STAR believes electoral rolls are tainted and needs to be cleaned up before the general elections.

Queville To, FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) chairman Jeffrey Kitingan has called for the suspension of the forthcoming 13th General Election until the electoral rolls in Sabah are cleaned up.

Commenting on the series of sensational revelations made by witnesses in the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on issuance of Malaysian citizenship to both legal and illegal immigrants in Sabah, he said the current electoral rolls are tainted and should not be used.

He stressed that the revelations on phantom voters and illegitimate voters enabling fraudulent wins for Umno-BN candidates in the past is a clarion call for all Sabah leaders to join hands to oust the illegitimate government and to call for the suspension of the forthcoming general elections in Sabah until the electoral rolls are cleaned up.

"It distresses genuine Sabahans and Malaysians to hear the revelations at the RCI. It is confirming that even the worst of our nightmares on the poor governance of Sabah are nothing compared to what we are hearing," said Jeffrey.

"We hear of illegal immigrants being given registration receipts and used as voters for hire to ensure wins for Umno/BN candidates including a former chief minister who would have lost if not for these voters for hire."

He was referring to witnesses testimony that between RM10 and RM20 was paid to these voters to be bussed around to various constituencies in the state that were deemed opposition leaning areas to prop up the BN candidates in those areas.

In Friday's public hearing, the RCI was told of foreigners who were born in India and had travelled to Sabah using Indian passports ended up as Malaysian citizens by making false claims of being born in Sabah. They were given Malaysian ICs and passports despite not living in the state or country for the rehired period and have since voted up to five times.

Present Sabah govt 'illegitimate'

The witnesses, who are now voters told, the commission they were merely asked to sign forms while their place of birth, which was neither Sabah or any other part of Malaysia, was filled in by others and the ICs hand-delivered to them.

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Sabtu, 19 Januari 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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