Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- If it has failed, just discard it?
- It’s about social justice
- With your head buried in the sand
- The one-track mind
- Heckling, mocking and debating
- Why must I like Anwar?
- I speak for God, konon
- The value of a Muslim oath
- Irritated by beliefs
- So what is our foreign policy?
| If it has failed, just discard it? Posted: 23 Mar 2013 07:41 PM PDT
So don't try to tell me about what's wrong with the NEP. I told the government that same thing back in 1985 and I suffered because of that. I paid a heavy price by getting blacklisted for pointing out the flaws in the implementation of the NEP. I became Umno's number one enemy for coining the word Umnoputera and declaring these people a traitor to the Malay race who should be lined up and shot. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin One very crucial point that was raised by those who had participated in the New Economic Policy (NEP) debate (or rather quarrel) over the last one week is that the NEP has failed, it has been abused by those in power to enrich themselves, it is a racist and discriminatory policy, and hence it should be discarded because it does not work and it does not achieve the objective as was originally intended. This is certainly one view and a view that must not be rejected because all views are valid and should be respected in a civil society like Malaysia. The argument of whether it is a right view or a wrong view does not come into play because right and wrong depend on your belief system. For example, the implementation of the Islamic Sharia law would be right to fundamentalist or orthodox Muslims and wrong to liberal Muslims or non-Muslims. From 1974 to 1994, I lived in Terengganu and was active in the Kuala Terengganu Rotary Club. I was, in fact, its Secretary for about seven years. Note that the majority of our members were non-Malays because some Malays seem to have this impression that the Rotary Club is a secret Zionist organisation and another form of Freemasonry. Hence the Malay membership was rather low although the population of Terengganu is about 97% Malay. As part of my Rotary work, our committee used to visit the rural schools in remote places such as Wakaf Tapai and Kuala Berang, which are predominantly agricultural areas where piped water and electricity are considered luxuries. (That was why I did good business selling petrol/diesel engine-driven water pumps, generators, kerosene lamps, and so on). It is therefore no coincidence that cholera is an almost on-going problem (and amongst the highest in West Malaysia) and infant/childbirth deaths are considered biasa (normal). It is also the reason why people there (meaning Malays) do not practice family planning (even when the government distributes tens of millions of condoms free of charge). They need more children because these children die so often. My personal project (which I paid for from my own pocket) was to distribute free Bata school shoes to the school children in those places (I have written about this before). This is because these children were so poor they walked around barefooted. A few months later, I again visited these schools and discovered that these school children still walked to school barefooted. They would hang their shoes around their neck and put them on only when they entered the school compound. The reason for this, according to the headmaster I spoke to, was so that they did not wear out their very precious Bata shoes. I then told the Bata retailer to give them two pairs of shoes each and inform them that we will replace them as soon as they wear out -- so no need to hang these shoes around their neck and walk barefooted any more. (I don't know whether it is because I am getting old and sentimental that I write this with tears dripping down my cheeks). If you were to look at the Malays living in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bangsar, Damansara, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, and so on, then definitely the Malays do not need the NEP any longer. I have bumped into many Malaysian Malays shopping in Bicester Village (where even I cannot afford to shop but only go there to 'look see') and for sure they do not need the NEP (even the Chinese kalah in shopping). If you want to see whether the NEP is no longer needed then don't just look at the Malays in the big towns and cities. Go to the rural areas in the East Coast and East Malaysia and see how the Malays (and natives) there live. They certainly still need help. Now, that does not mean the Chinese and Indians are all super-rich and that only the Malays or natives of East Malaysia are poor and destitute. There are many Chinese and Indians who are poor as well. Hence the NEP should cover these poor Chinese and Indians as well. That was what it was supposed to be but that is not what is happening. That is my first bone of contention. I agree with the argument that the NEP has been exploited and abused to make some people very rich. In fact, I was the one who raised this point almost 30 years ago back in 1985 and which resulted in me being blacklisted by the government because of that allegation. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah can confirm this because I made this allegation during a seminar in his Ministry, which he personally chaired. When I made that allegation there was a stunned silence in the hall until Ku Li clapped and then all the other participants in the seminar joined him to clap as well. Nevertheless, the government still blacklisted me and for many years thereafter I could not get any government contracts. So don't try to tell me about what's wrong with the NEP. I told the government that same thing back in 1985 and I suffered because of that. I paid a heavy price by getting blacklisted for pointing out the flaws in the implementation of the NEP. I became Umno's number one enemy for coining the word Umnoputera and declaring these people a traitor to the Malay race who should be lined up and shot. But should the 95% needy be made to pay for the transgressions of the 5% corrupt? Is it fair to punish all Malays for the misdeeds of a handful of Malays? That is my second bone of contention. Many things do not work well in Malaysia, the NEP being one of them. It looks like our defence policy is also a failure judging by what happened in Lahat Datu recently. Do we then disband the army? There are many complaints about the police force as well. Do we abolish the police force and allow everyone to carry guns and look after their own safety like in the Old Wild West or like in some parts of the Middle East today? The election system is also flawed. Hitler managed to rule with only 30% of the votes and then took the world through a bloody war that saw the sacrifice of tens of millions of lives. Barisan Nasional will be able to form the next government even if it garners only 45% of the votes in the coming general election. Should we then abolish general elections? We need to be more mature and realistic in evaluating things. We cannot always look at the small picture while ignoring the big picture. Some things work. Many things do not work. Gambling is bad. Families break up because of gambling. But gambling is not banned or abolished. In fact, Singapore is exploiting gambling as a source of revenue. And Singapore is supposed to be one of the more sensible countries, even more sensible than Malaysia. It is easy for those with money in their pockets to demand that the NEP be abolished. But when you walk to school barefooted, the NEP is the only thing you have to guarantee your future. What we need is a better NEP, not the end of the NEP. And while Barisan Nasional has failed to offer us that better NEP, I do not see any alternative better NEP from Pakatan Rakyat either. And that is my third bone of contention. |
| Posted: 22 Mar 2013 07:07 PM PDT
Somehow, along the way, the NEP was interpreted as being a Malay-only policy. No, it is not and was never intended to be so. Although it was meant to address the problems faced by the Malays, this does not mean it does not also cover those who are not Malays who equally need assistance. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Did you read the comments by mainly the Chinese readers in my last three articles of this week? 1. The Chinese and Indians screwed up 2. Conjecture, imagination and suspicion I admit that I was being naughty and that I wanted to provoke the non-Malays to see what they would say. And the non-Malays reacted exactly how I expected them to. Hence it is not really that difficult to understand the very narrow and very predictable mind of these non-Malays. Hence, also, it is so easy to manipulate the non-Malays. Those who have been following what I have been writing over the last 20 years or so since the 1990s when the Internet first appeared in Malaysia can probably remember that in those days I used the analogy of domesticated cats versus wild cats (kucing hutan). And having owned more than 40 cats in my lifetime -- and at the height of it 17 cats at one time -- I know what I am talking about (I actually read a book on cat psychology). Anyway, the analogy I used was as follows. A wild cat is a survivor. It hunts for its food and knows how to stay alive (surprisingly, it can even leap into the air and capture a bird in flight because I have seen it happen). However, when you domesticate a cat and feed it regularly twice or three times a day (with snacks in between), the cat loses the ability to survive. It depends on you to feed it and to keep it alive. It also becomes very susceptible to diseases, which wild cats are pretty immune from. If you abandon a domesticated cat it hardly knows how to survive any more and most likely will die out there in the wilds. It gets attacked by other animals, gets run over by cars, becomes thin and weak, and will very soon become riddled with various diseases. And this is what the New Economic Policy (NEP) has done to the Malays, I argued, back in the 1990s. It has domesticated the Malays and the Malays who 400 or 500 years ago were feared seafaring people (a.k.a pirates at the time when piracy was a noble and honourable professional, as it was in Europe as well) have now become a tame and docile race. No doubt Malays have this uncanny ability to lose their tame and docile streak and mengamuk ('run amok', as the English would say, because there is no such word in the English language since mengamuk is unique to the Malay race) if their maruah (dignity) is challenged. Then, suddenly, the Malays change from a domesticated cat to a kucing hutan -- not unlike Bruce Lee in 'The First of Fury' (and the whole reason why I took up Taekwondo and Karate). Even in the days when I was active in the Malay Chamber of Commerce I was opposed to certain aspects of the NEP (and this brought me into conflict with the Umno chaps in the Chamber who thought I was a traitor to the Malay race). I was not opposed to the concept of the NEP. I thought the concept was rather good and the intentions pretty noble. I was opposed to the abuse of the NEP, which I said had been hijacked by the Umnoputeras. Yes, I was the one who invented the term 'Umnoputera' 30 years ago back in the 1980s, much to the chagrin of an Umno Member of Parliament from Terengganu who stood up to whack me for that comment. Anyway, that word 'Umnoputera' has survived until today and I can proudly claim to be the inventor of that word (my Uncle, Raja Datuk Arshad bin Raja Sir Tun Uda, Anwar Ibrahim's classmate in MCKK, can confirm this because he was also a participant in that Congress and was sitting beside me when I stood up to utter that comment). I felt that as far as opening up college and tertiary education to the Malays, the NEP has seen some success although I still criticise the quality of that education. It is no point aiming for quantity if we lack quality. And I have always been a critic of the quality of that education until today. Nevertheless, the NEP has been able to take the Malay out of the kampung (village). However, as I have said many times before, the NEP has not succeeded in taking the kampung out of the Malay. And that is my beef with the NEP. No, I am not trying to insult the Malays or run down those Malays who still live in the kampung. In fact, the Malays from the kampung are very decent people, more decent than many Malays who live in the towns and cities. I am merely lamenting about the fate of 'my people' -- and showing concern for the Malays does not make me a racist or else Mandela and Gandhi would be racists as well. The NEP is a good policy. It is supposed to be about reducing the gap between the haves and the haves-not and reducing the disparity between the different races. This would mean that the NEP is not just for the Malays. It is also for the Chinese, Indians, and natives of East Malaysia plus the Orang Asal who require help. Somehow, along the way, the NEP was interpreted as being a Malay-only policy. No, it is not and was never intended to be so. Although it was meant to address the problems faced by the Malays, this does not mean it does not also cover those who are not Malays who equally need assistance. Tun Razak Hussein, Malaysia's Second Prime Minister, was the architect of the NEP. He was also the architect of the most successful land settlement in the world, FELDA. The United Nations FAO actually sent teams to Malaysia to study the success of the FELDA scheme to see how the same can be implemented in Africa and Latin America. That is how highly regarded FELDA is. But why did MCA and MIC not propose that certain FELDA schemes also be set up for the poor Chinese and Indians? Is it that the Chinese and Indians did not want to become land settlers? Is it that FELDA refused to allow the Chinese and Indians to participate in these land schemes? Or it is that MCA and MIC did not bother to pursue this matter with FELDA or the government? I do not know the answer to those questions so maybe those from MCA and MIC can enlighten us. If 30 or 40 years ago the poor Chinese and Indians had become FELDA settlers, today, many of them would be millionaires and P. Waytha Moorthy would not need to go on his hunger strike (READ MORE HERE). Okay, Moorthy is now about to complete the second week of his hunger strike. Many Chinese and some Indians have posted comments in my three articles regarding the NEP mentioned above. From your comments you give the impression that you are opposed to the NEP. You say that the NEP is unfair, racist and discriminatory. Why are you so angry with the NEP? Do you think that the NEP is unfair? Do you think that the NEP only helps the Malays and not the poor Indians and Chinese as well? Okay, let us say for arguments sake I agree with you. There are many poor Chinese and even more poor Indians as well. But the NEP does not help these people. You want a fairer NEP where all races that deserve help receive help. Are you sincere about this? Or are you just looking for an excuse to oppose the NEP so that the Malays remain backward? Moorthy of Hindraf is fighting for the lot of the Indians. And he is doing this by going on a hunger strike. How many of you support him and agree with his hunger strike? I have read many nasty comments over the last two weeks disparaging and vilifying Moorthy. You are mocking him. You do not support him. Why do you not support him since you are supposedly fighting for social justice and you oppose the NEP because you feel it is an unjust policy? I do not see too many Indians and even lesser Chinese rallying to Moorthy's side. Instead, you make fun of him. The Indians, Chinese -- and maybe the Malays as well -- should support Moorthy. You should join him in his hunger strike. If you can't stand not eating then you should show solidarity by launching civil disobedience. There are many ways you can do this. Boycott crony businesses. Go to the doctor and complain about a stomach ailment or migraine and get two days off from work. Switch off your lights for one hour every night. Stay home so that you do not need to drive and therefore do not need to buy any petrol for your car. Stop buying newspapers. Stop watching the news on TV. Stay away from shopping complexes and shopping malls. Don't eat fish, meat and chicken for a whole week. There are so many things you can do as a sign of solidarity to protest the plight of the Indians in Malaysia. Instead, you make fun of them and mock them. You are not concerned about what happens to the Indians. You also oppose the NEP on the excuse that you seek social justice and fairness for all races. But you do not translate this rhetoric into action when it comes to the Indians. |
| With your head buried in the sand Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:30 AM PDT
I speak to Malays here in the UK -- professionals who work in the UK, say for the last 10 or 20 years, and whose children were born and now school in the UK -- and they still ask me whether what I am propagating is wise. Do you think we really should end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favour of meritocracy? What will happen to the Malays if we do that? Won't we 'lose' the country to the Chinese? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Yesterday's article, Malaysia at the crossroads, is a most interesting experiment in comprehension. There were more than 100 comments and none answered the point of that whole article: which is, how is the opposition going to woo the Malay voters? That is what the whole article was about and which no one addressed. I understand, and at times even appreciate, that readers are taking the opportunity to post comments merely to lepas geram (let off steam). They are not really interested in debating or to enter into any discourse. They just want to vent their anger and frustration. It is like going to the gym to punch the punching ball because you are sexually frustrated and/or your job is a dead-end job with no real future. So you need to hit out at something. Some kick the cat, some punch a ball, and many of you post nasty comments in Malaysia Today. The 2008 General Election is said to be a landmark for Malaysia's opposition. We would like to believe that a new political culture has emerged. Some say that, finally, the racial divide has been bridged and today people think as Malaysians and no longer as Malays, Chinese and Indians, or as one of the natives of East Malaysia. Is this true? Many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today appear to think so. But what is the average age of those who post comments in Malaysia Today? 30? 35? 40? How many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today are 65 or 70? How many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today were born before the Second World War, or before Merdeka, or before 1970? Okay, let us just look at Malaysians who live, work and/or study, say, in the UK. We have Malaysians here in the UK from all the races. UK is an advanced society. Racism is a crime in the UK and you can get sent to jail even for the mildest of racial slurs. If that same law was applied in Malaysia and was strictly enforced, probably 80% of Malaysians would end up in jail. There are Malaysians who have lived in the UK for 20 years or more. Some were married in the UK and some even born in the UK. Hence these Malaysians in the UK should not have been exposed to Malaysian-style racism and should by now be insulated from racism. But this is not so. Chinese mix with Chinese. Malays mix with Malays. In fact, most Malays in the UK only want to live in certain residential areas that are monopolised by their 'own kind' -- fellow Malays and in the absence of fellow Malays at least in areas which are predominantly Muslim. And don't tell me that the Chinese are not like that because if this were true then there would not be so many Chinatowns all over the world, the UK included. I speak to Malays here in the UK -- professionals who work in the UK, say for the last 10 or 20 years, and whose children were born and now school in the UK -- and they still ask me whether what I am propagating is wise. Do you think we really should end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in favour of meritocracy? What will happen to the Malays if we do that? Won't we 'lose' the country to the Chinese? Now, these are Malay professionals who are doing well in the UK not because of the NEP but because of merits. They got their positions not because of the colour of their skin but because they are qualified. Their children are in a local Mat Salleh school and are top of the class or at least in the top ten or top five. You are doing well, I tell them. Are you doing well because the UK has an NEP and you got your job because you are Malay or because you are good at your job and/or qualified for the job? Your children are doing very well in school and can compete with the 'whites'. Is this because of the NEP or because they have brains? They agree that the NEP has nothing to do with it. Maybe in the beginning it was because of the NEP -- and because of the NEP they managed to receive a good education. But from thereon it had nothing to do with the NEP. They compete on a level playing field and they excelled, as did their children in school, entirely on their own merits and with no handicap or advantages. Okay, I tell them, in short, you are who you are has nothing to do with the NEP and the only benefit that you can see from the NEP is that you received an education. However, judging by how well your children are doing in school, even without the NEP you would still have made it in life just as long as you were allowed the opportunity of a good education. In short, I ask them, if Malaysia did not have any NEP but had enough schools, colleges, universities, teachers, lecturers, etc., you would have still made it even without any quota system and the only reason you need a quota system is because of a shortage of educational facilities? They agreed that that is correct. So we do not need the NEP, right? We need more institutions of learning so that the quota system can end. When I summed it up that way they hesitated. As logical as this argument may sound, they were not too sure. They still felt that removing or abolishing the NEP would not be good for the Malays. My wife, Marina, would listen to this exchange and later, when we are alone, she would express her awe at the mind of these Malays. They live and work in the UK. They and their children are doing well. And they are doing well not because of the NEP. So they do not need the NEP. And yet they are not prepared to let go of the NEP in spite of the fact they do not need it. That is how the mind of the Malay works. And these are Malays in the UK. What about Malays in Malaysia? Would they not also be thinking like this, or worse? Earlier this year I gave a talk in Cambridge called For God, King and Racism (lifted from the saying 'For God, King and Country'). It was a one and half hour talk about the history of racism in Malaysia, mainly the 'three Rs' that I had written about before more than once -- race, religion, royalty. As I had explained before, these are the concerns of the Malays -- even Malays who have lived/worked 20 years in the UK and who should, therefore, not be concerned about such matters. And Umno is aware of these concerns. And Umno knows how to play on these concerns to garner Malay support. The non-Malays in the opposition, however -- many of you who post comments in Malaysia Today -- are not sensitive to these concerns. Instead you do the opposite. Rather than address these concerns you engage in Malay-, Islam-, and/or Royalty-bashing. Do you really think this will ensure that the opposition is going to get Malay support? Look at the results of the 2008 General Election. Look at where the seats that DAP won are. Look at where the seats that PAS won are. Look at where the seats that PKR won. Is it merely a coincidence that the seats that DAP won were mostly in areas where the Chinese voters were more than 50% or the Malay voters were less 40%? Of course, there were some seats that DAP won where the Malay voters were higher than the Chinese voters, mainly in the cities or main towns, which were 'delivered' by PAS. PAS won seats where the Malay voters were predominantly Malay while PKR did well in areas where it was about 50:50 Malay:non-Malay. In short, the voting pattern was along racial lines. Race still very much determines how people vote. As much as we would like to believe that the 2008 General Election was a landmark election where Malaysians no longer voted along racial lines, this is not true. Many of you who comment in Malaysia Today make the Malays saki hati (hurt the feelings of the Malays). Hell, even I saki hati with the DAP Chinese supporters and can no longer tahan the arrogance in your comments (in case you are too stupid to realise that). No, Umno did not win us over, as many of you allege. Instead, your foul mouths have sent us away. And this is the feeling of many Malays who voted Pakatan Rakyat in the last general election. In 2008, many people screamed ABU (asal bukan Umno or anything but Umno). Today, these same people are screaming ABC (asal bukan Cina). Is this how you want to face the coming general election? As I said earlier, many of you are in your 20s, 30s or 40s. Some of us who were born before the Second World War, before Merdeka, or before 1970 have seen what it was like in the old days. And what is frightening is that we seem to be seeing a repeat of that era. And yet even more frightening is that many of you just do not see this. And when we point this out and try to caution you that the situation is not at all healthy, you respond with allegations that we are serving Umno's agenda and are trying to play up the fear factor. That is what is called denial syndrome. |
| Posted: 12 Mar 2013 01:44 PM PDT
And that is the most important criteria to get Malaysian citizenship. And that is why many foreigners have been given Malaysian citizenship. So I don't know why many of you grumble and complain about the 'Projek IC' in Sabah. Maybe one million people have been given ICs. But then these people are exactly like you -- ignorant people who have no ability to think beyond the one-track. So why should they not be given Malaysian citizenship when they possess the brain of a Malaysian? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin After living in the East Coast of West Malaysia for 20 years from 1974-1994, and after interacting with the local 'natives' of Terengganu and Kelantan, you tend to develop a pretty good idea as to how their mind works. Terengganu and Kelantan is predominantly Malay-Muslim with some areas comprising of 70%-90% farmers and fishermen. The people there are actually very nice and friendly although many of them harbour the wrong impression of the non-Malays/non-Muslims, mainly due to ignorance. For example, they ('they' not necessarily meaning everyone but some: the degree or percentage not known, though, since I have not conducted any poll) think that the Chinese can live as husband and wife, although they may not be legally married, mainly because Chinese do not have any religion and hence, according to Chinese 'norms', this is not an immoral thing. My wife, Marina, was shocked when one day a kampong woman told her this. Marina had to tell her that the Chinese, just like the Malays, do have a concept of morality and most of what is considered immoral for Malays is also immoral for Chinese. And this kampong woman was actually quite surprised that the Chinese, too, have moral values. They also think that the Chinese businessmen and shopkeepers cheat due to the same reason -- meaning that the Chinese do not have any religion and hence they do not have any concept of heaven and hell where you later pay for the bad things that you do (or get rewarded for the good things that you do). This means it is in the Chinese character to be dishonest since they are not accountable for their actions in the Afterlife. I suppose the manner in how you treat people from another community depends on how you perceive them and what you think of them. Hence if you think that the Chinese are 'immoral' and 'dishonest' only because they do not have any religion to guide them regarding right and wrong, then you accept the fact that you cannot expect the Chinese to be 'good' people but then you should not blame them also since they do not have the advantage of a religion to help guide them. And this is the problem with how these people think. They think that morality and honesty are not part of the Chinese character not because the Chinese are bad people but because, to the Chinese, these concepts do not exist due to the absence of religion. Can you see what ignorance can do to you? Part of the blame must certainly go to that person who is ignorant because it is your duty to get educated. However, the Chinese too need to also make themselves understood. And that is why I always write articles about the Malays and Islam. I feel many non-Malays/non-Muslims have misconceptions about the Malays and Islam mainly because they don't bother to find out (just like the Malays do not bother to find out about the non-Malays/non-Muslims). One more thing about the Malays is that they believe very strongly in bomoh (witch doctors), black magic, good genies (jin), bad genies, evil spirits, tangkal (lucky charms), etc. Tangkal are supposed to make you invincible and bullets, knives, etc., would not be able to penetrate your body. Maznah Ismail a.k.a. Mona Fendi (picture above) was supposed to be a specialist in tangkal that gives you invincibility. Unfortunately for her client, though, Pahang State Assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris, it did not work and when they conducted the test, the parang (machete) went deep into his skull and killed him (it was supposed to have bounced off his skull without leaving a scratch). It seems some of those Filipino Muslim soldiers who infiltrated Sabah recently and who were shot dead had tangkal on their bodies as well -- although they did not quite work (since they were shot dead). Not quite an endorsement for those bomoh who manufactured those tangkal for the Filipino Muslim army. On some of those dead soldiers the tangkal was found between their legs. Maybe this was to make sure that they don't get their balls shot off. Actually, Chinese, Indians and 'others' also believe in bomoh, tangkal, jin, black magic, and so on. When P.I. Balasubramanian suffered his heart attack a few days ago, they said that 'First Lady' Rosmah Mansor had used black magic on him. Hence he was supposed to be suffering from an attack of black magic. I am not sure whether they thought so before they discovered what was really wrong with him or whether they meant that the heart attack was due to black magic. But don't laugh. As funny as it may sound, many people of all races do believe in such things. In fact, when Malays from Terengganu and Kelantan get sick the first thing that comes to mind is that someone must have employed a bomoh to put a spell on you. And they will go to their own bomoh for treatment. I have known of cases where someone had aches and pains and went to a bomoh for treatment -- who confirmed the aches and pains was because some bad bomoh had put a spell on you. After many months or even years of treatment, the aches and pains would still not go away (and after paying the bomoh a tidy sum of money over all that time). One day you can't bear the pain any longer and you go to a 'proper' doctor. The doctor then tells you that you are suffering from cancer. However, you should have done something about it earlier. Now it is too late and because of that you will be dead within six months, most likely over the next two months or so. The bottom line is, if you had gone to the doctor instead of a bomoh you might have been saved. Now, because you wasted your time with the bomoh, it is too late and because of that you are going to die. Sounds stupid does it not? But this is the way they think. They have a one-track mind. And this is because they are quite ignorant so they are incapable of thinking outside this one-track. Hence if anything goes wrong it can only be because of one thing -- black magic and the work of an evil bomoh. Many if not most Malaysians have this same mentality. They too are ignorant and have a one-track mind. When something happens they can only think of one reason for this. They are incapable of imagining any other reason other than just this one reason. For example, if someone disagrees with you or has a different opinion from you then this can only be due to one reason -- and that one reason is that that person has been bought. Your brain is not capable of imagining that there could actually be another reason for this. This is the same mindset as those who think that if your body has aches and pains then it must be because a bomoh has put a spell on you. I suppose we can't expect everyone to have analytical skills and to have the ability to think beyond the one-track. If you are sick then it can only because of a bomoh using black magic. If someone disagrees with you then it can only be because he/she has been bought. And that is the most important criteria to get Malaysian citizenship. And that is why many foreigners have been given Malaysian citizenship. So I don't know why many of you grumble and complain about the 'Projek IC' in Sabah. Maybe one million people have been given ICs. But then these people are exactly like you -- ignorant people who have no ability to think beyond the one-track. So why should they not be given Malaysian citizenship when they possess the brain of a Malaysian? |
| Heckling, mocking and debating Posted: 10 Mar 2013 04:10 PM PDT
I detest hecklers. And that is what a few readers who comment in Malaysia Today are, hecklers. But they imagine themselves as philosophers who are making wise comments that are going to help change entire humankind for the better. And that is why of late I have been putting down these hecklers with my own responses to their silly heckling comments. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin There are people who do not understand the difference between heckling, mocking and debating. I suppose these are the types of people who also do not understand the difference between making love, screwing and raping. To these people, brutally grabbing a female and ravaging her against her will comes under the category of 'making love'. Absolutely no class! Manners of country bumpkins! But then I suppose we can't blame them. These people did not receive an education at good schools like the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) or the Victoria Institution (VI) -- both schools that I went to. Many of them were schooled in obscure small towns that still had bucket latrines up to the 1960s or 1970s, or in kampong schools or vernacular/mother-tongue hole-in-the-wall schools. You can take the village idiot out of the village but you can't take the village mentality out of the village idiot, as the saying goes. Hence you can send them to school but that does not necessarily mean they will receive an education. Education is not just about going to school. After all even monkeys can be taught tricks and then sent into space after being taught these tricks. Hence you may have gone to school but whether you are still a monkey is yet to be seen. I detest hecklers. And that is what a few readers who comment in Malaysia Today are, hecklers. But they imagine themselves as philosophers who are making wise comments that are going to help change entire humankind for the better. And that is why of late I have been putting down these hecklers with my own responses to their silly heckling comments. I remember an incident that happened about 30 years ago back in the early 1980s. Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock, the Chairman of Johan Holdings Berhad and George Kent (M) Bhd, took me (and our wives) for dinner at The Paddock in the (old) Kuala Lumpur Hilton. There was a comedian on stage and he was pretty good. But we could not hear what the comedian was saying because there were two Malay chaps pissed-drunk at the table behind us who were heckling him. I noticed the manager, escorted by a security guard, going up to them to request them to tone down a bit because everyone was staring at them and were clearly quite upset with the disturbance. But these two pissed-drunk Malay chaps continued heckling the comedian until it came to a stage that he became quite flustered and did not know how to continue with his routine. That was when I stood up and walked over to the table of these two very drunk hecklers and told them to shut the fuck up. The manager and security guard knew that the whole thing was about to turn ugly but before they could separate us one of the Malay chaps stood up and made a move towards me. In that type of situation there is more room for talk. I punched the chap and he fell back into his chair quite stunned. For the rest of the night he remained very quiet and just 'enjoyed' the show. I think he must have been 'boiling' because after a while he came over to my table and demanded to know why I had punched him. The manager quickly grabbed him and pulled him back to his table before I could rearrange his face. Well, okay, that was 30 years ago and I was still in my early 30s and hence quite darah panas (hot headed). Nevertheless, although I am not so fist-of-fury any longer, as I used to be, I still have zero tolerance for hecklers. A few years ago (before the 2008 GE) I attended a debate between Umno Youth and PKR Youth at the PWTC. The Umno Youth and Puteri Umno members in the audience were very well behaved. The PKR Youth members, however, were heckling the Umno Youth debaters every time they stood up to debate. The Umno Youth and Puteri Umno members did not do the same to the PKR Youth debaters when they stood up to debate. They Umno boys and girls behaved well and they allowed the PKR Youth debaters to say their piece without any interruptions. And even as the PKR Youth members heckled the Umno Youth debaters the Umno Youth debaters still smiled and continued in a civil manner without showing any signs of irritation. The PKR Youth hecklers were sitting in the row right behind me (I was sitting next to Cikgu Bad so he can confirm this incident) so I could not hear the debate due to all the commotion. I turned to the PKR Youth chaps and told them to shut up and show some respect to the debaters. They kept quiet for a while and then continued heckling. I got so fed up I walked out of the hall although I wished I could just punch these hecklers in their faces. Looking back now, I should have punched them in their faces because these people have now all joined Umno and are amongst the greatest critics of Pakatan Rakyat. And if I had known they would one day leave the opposition to join Umno I might have whacked them in the face to shut them up. Anyway, as I said, Malaysia Today, too, has its share of hecklers who do not address, rebut or reply to the points in the article or report. They totally ignore the issues and instead just heckle. And these are the people I respond to with my sarcastic comments. It is not so much bringing myself down to their level but more to give them a taste of their own medicine. After all, I too can be nasty and post racist comments as well as they can. But the most important thing, though, is that I put my name to my comments while they heckle under false identities without revealing who they are. And this is because they have not been properly educated and brought up like I have. I mean, they may have gone to school but they still demonstrate the mentality of their forefathers from the new villages, fishing villages, padi-fields, rubber estates, tin mines, and so on. You can bring the descendants of people from the new villages, fishing villages, padi-fields, rubber estates and tin mines out of the new villages, fishing villages, padi-fields, rubber estates and tin mines, but you can never remove the new village, fishing village, padi-field, rubber estate and tin mine mentality from their brain. Do I sound pompous? I hope so because I intended it to be so. |
| Posted: 09 Mar 2013 04:02 PM PST
I know some of you like or maybe even love Anwar. I have no problems with that. But just because you like or love Anwar that does not mean I too must do so. And just because I do not like or love the same people that you do this does give you the right to vilify, disparage, mock and curse me. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin There are people who are of the opinion that if I am a reformist, if I am loyal to the cause, if I really wish to see change, then I should love Anwar Ibrahim and sing his praises. If I do not love Anwar, then I am not a reformist, I am not loyal to the cause, and I do not wish to see change. Well, you have probably figured this out by now (and if you haven't then you are dumber than I thought) but I do not love Anwar Ibrahim. But that does not mean I hate him either. Not loving does not necessarily translate to hate. For example, I do not love Britney Spears's music. But that does not mean I hate her music either. In fact, I rather like her slower numbers such as 'I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman', 'Born To Make You Happy', 'Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know', 'From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart', and so on. However, I would not regard her music as 'to die for', unlike Emile Sandé's song 'Clown', which I play every day, a few times a day. Now that is a song 'to die for' that gives me goose pimples (in fact, I'm listening to that song even as we speak). My 'displeasure' with Anwar, if I may be permitted to call it that, started around August 2004. I was then the Director of the Free Anwar Campaign, which I headed for roughly five years of the six years that Anwar was in jail. And I funded it from my own pocket except for the RM1,000 that Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail gave me in 2000 and the RM2,000 that Anwar's brother, Rosli, gave me in 2002. That was all: RM3,000 in total from Anwar's family. But that was not an issue. I was not doing all this for money anyway. Then, in August 2004, one of Anwar's lawyers, Pawanchik Merican, spoke to me to ask me how much I was receiving every month to run the Free Anwar Campaign. I replied that other than the RM3,000 I had received thus far, I was not receiving any money and that the cost to run the Free Anwar Campaign came from my own pocket. Pawanchik was very upset when I told him this. He knew I was travelling all over the country campaigning not only for Anwar but also against the Internal Security Act. And he also knew that Anwar's people had raised a few million Ringgit in the name of the Free Anwar campaign. Hence he thought that the money actually went into financing the Free Anwar Campaign. Pawanchik then informed me that he had visited Anwar in the Sungai Buloh Prison and had told Anwar about this but Anwar did not respond. He just kept quiet. Pawanchik then advised me to close down the Free Anwar Campaign to stop Anwar's people from using it to raise money. I told Pawanchik I would only close down the Free Anwar Campaign once Anwar is free from prison and not a day earlier. Pawanchik replied that Anwar is going to remain in prison for at least another six years. So am I prepared to keep running the Free Anwar Campaign for another six years? I told Pawanchik that Anwar was going to be released in another few weeks, after which I will then close down the Free Anwar Campaign. Pawanchik laughed and said that none of Anwar's many lawyers believed that he would be free in another few weeks. They were very confident that Anwar would spend no less than ten years in jail in total, maybe even 12 years. I then wrote an article that Anwar would see freedom on 2nd September 2004 and one of Anwar's lawyers came to see me at my home in Sungai Buloh to scold me. And this lawyer told me that he is scolding me on Anwar's behalf because my article that Anwar would be freed on 2nd September 2004 is a lie and not true at all. Anyway, I was right and Anwar and his lawyers were wrong. Anwar was freed on 2nd September 2004 as I had written. On that same day I put the Free Anwar Campaign to sleep and began to focus on Malaysia Today fulltime, which I had launched two weeks earlier on Friday, 13th August 2004. On that day, 2nd September 2004, Anwar's lawyer (the one who had come to my house to scold me) phoned me and said that Anwar wanted to see me. I told him to go to hell. The next day, 3rd September 2004, Anwar's brother, Rosli (the chap who had given me RM2,000) phoned me and, again, told me that Anwar wanted to see me. And, again, I told him to go to hell. On the third day, 4th September 2004, Dato' Kamarul Bahrin Abbas (the current MP for Teluk Kemang) phoned me and pleaded with me to come and see Anwar. Dato' told me that Anwar was leaving for Germany that same night and he wanted to see me before he leaves. I told Dato' that Anwar can leave for Germany and maybe I will see him when he returns. Dato' said Anwar wanted to see me before he leaves. I felt bad because I have great respect for Dato' Kamarul, who was my boss in the party newspaper, Berita Keadilan, later changed to Seruan Keadilan. I asked my wife, Marina, what I should do and she replied that if I wanted to go and see Anwar then I will have walk there because she was not going to drive me. Finally Marina agreed to drive me as long as she can wait outside the house and not have to go into the house to also see Anwar. I went to see Anwar that 4th September 2004 not because he wanted to see me but because I segan with Dato' Kamarul. Dato' Kamarul, in fact, was waiting outside the house when we arrived and he escorted me into Anwar's bedroom. Anwar's first words to me were, "Allah, anak Raja ni, susah sungguh nak panggil datang jumpa." I replied, "Why do you want to see me? After all you are not happy with me." So you see, as early as back in August 2004 when I launched Malaysia Today and Anwar was spending his last fortnight in prison I had already 'washed my hands' of him. And I made that very clear by refusing to go and see him even when his lawyer and brother phoned me. I relented on the third day only because I wanted to 'give face' to Dato' Kamarul because I segan with him, my boss in the party newspaper. When I segan with someone I will give him/her face even if I am not happy doing what they request from me. Hence I 'stayed' with Anwar not because I love Anwar but for the sake of Dato' Kamarul who I have great respect for. In the 2008 general election, I campaigned for DAP, but not for Pakatan Rakyat. I declined all the invitations to speak at the PAS and PKR rallies/ceramah. I told them I would only speak at the DAP rallies. And I did, all the way to Penang. Then they approached me and asked me to speak at Nurul Izzah's ceramah. At first I said 'no'. No PKR ceramahs. Then a friend pleaded with me to help Nurul. Because of this friend who I also segan, an Indian chap, I relented and said that only at Nurul's ceramah, but not at the other PKR ceramah -- exclusive for Nurul Izzah only. And until today I still support Nurul and even helped raise money for her (which I did last year). I know some of you like or maybe even love Anwar. I have no problems with that. But just because you like or love Anwar that does not mean I too must do so. And just because I do not like or love the same people that you do this does give you the right to vilify, disparage, mock and curse me. I love Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang and Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat. When I meet them I kiss their hands to demonstrate my love for them. Many of you, however, do not like these two PAS leaders. Some of you, in fact, hate them. But I do not vilify, disparage, mock and curse you because you do no like them or you hate them. I like Karpal Singh. In fact, I have great respect for Karpal and his sons, Gobind in particular. Many of you do not like Karpal. Some of you even hate him and feel he should just retire and keep his mouth shut. But I do not vilify, disparage, mock and curse you because you do no like Karpal or you hate him. I know some of you do not like Dato' Kamarul, the only person in Malaysia who can get me to go and see Anwar. But I do not vilify, disparage, mock and curse you because you do not like Dato' Kamarul or you hate him. In fact, I even know that some of you are going to sabotage Dato' Kamarul in the coming general election to make sure he loses his seat. But I still do not vilify, disparage, mock and curse you. So, no, I have not 'turned' of late, as some of you allege. I already 'turned' -- if you wish to use that word -- back in August 2004 when I first launched Malaysia Today. Nothing has changed. In spite of that I still went to Penang to campaign and ceramah for Anwar during the 2008 Permatang Pauh by-election (and he did not even thank me for that). And when Anwar went to London a few times I travelled down to London to meet him at my own expense. And let me share a secret with you. The more you vilify, disparage, mock and curse me because I do not love Anwar the more I am going to write articles and exposés uncomplimentary to Anwar just to teach you a lesson. Nobody tells me whom I can and cannot love or like. And I will keep whacking until you get this through your thick head. And if you do not like that, tough, that is your problem, not mine.
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| Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:22 PM PST
"The Shi'ite influence from Iran exists here and there are attempts to spread it among the community. This represents a major problem not only to the education system but also the Muslim community, so I want immediate action to be taken to prevent the spread of such teachings," said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Thorough study to identify, curb Shi'ite teachings: DPM (Bernama) - The government will carry out a thorough study to identify Islamic religious teachers involved in the Shi'ite teachings to curb such activities so that Muslims in the country are not misled by such teachings. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said such a study needed to be carried out at several levels instead of just making presumptions. "This includes studying the character of the teachers (involved in Shi'ite teachings), their methods of teaching, social activities and their involvement in such teachings. If they are really involved, they would be advised," he said. He said this at the Northern Zone Conference of Islamic Religious Teachers, Ministry of Education at Universiti Sains Malaysia, here today which was attended by about 2,300 religious teachers. Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said this when responding to a question from a religious teacher from Kedah who wanted the government to take action on the growing incidence of religious teachers involved in Shi'ite teachings. He said immediate action must also be taken as the Shi'ite teachings were contradictory to Islamic teachings in this country and could not be accepted particularly as they involved religious teachers. He expressed concern if the Shi'ite teachings spread to students through lessons in school and the community because religious teachers had great influence in the society. "The Shi'ite influence from Iran exists here and there are attempts to spread it among the community. This represents a major problem not only to the education system but also the Muslim community, so I want immediate action to be taken to prevent the spread of such teachings," he said. Meanwhile in his speech, Muhyiddin said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government implemented numerous measures in empowering Islam including in the Islamic religious education system in schools, the creation of an international Islamic university and the implementation of Islamic banking and finance which had been recognised as the best in the world. "All forms of progress and development implemented by the BN government are in line with the requirements of Islam as had been stated, 'Balanced Life in the Present World and Hereafter'," he said. He said that it would not be able to implement policies pertaining to Islam if Malaysia did not have a government or administration that was committed to empowering and preserving the sanctity of the Islamic religion. "Islamic education as the federal religion does not necessarily guarantee the implementation of Islamic policies if there is no commitment or determination on the part of the government that does not see the need for the sanctity of the Islamic religion to be preserved and the growth of Islam." Muhyiddin said the federal government had given emphasis on raising the quality of Islamic teaching as it was important for the Muslims in Malaysia. **************************************** I shudder when Malays foam at the mouth and scream about Al Qur'an, Al Hadith, Al Sunnah and Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Sunni, for short). Then they will say that a good Sunni will follow the teachings of Imam Ghazali and Imam Shafiee. Then they will conclude by saying that the Shi'ite are not true Muslims, they are deviant Muslims -- in fact, you should not even consider them Muslims at all -- and Malaysians who follow the teachings Shi'ite must be arrested and sent for religious rehabilitation. And, in the past, many followers of Shi'ite teachings -- some of them lecturers and professors of various Malaysian universities -- have been arrested for this 'crime'. So, today, those Malays who follow Shi'ite teachings do so secretly to avoid arrest. They go 'underground' and become 'closet' followers of Shi'ism. This is just like England of the 1500s when Catholics would also go underground and practice Catholicism secretly. If not they would be arrested, their property confiscated, and they would be tortured and then when they are half-dead would be burned alive at the stake like witches and warlocks. 100 years later, England went through a Civil War and one of the various reasons being that Charles I was suspected of being a Catholic sympathiser. The Puritans led by Oliver Cromwell wanted to eradicate the anti-Christ and heretic Catholics from English soil. They even banned Christmas and removed statues and crucifixes from churches, symbols of popish believes and papist religious deviation. Today, Malaysia is going through what England went through 400-500 years ago. And Catholicism is replaced with Shi'ism. But in Malaysia they only arrest you and send you for religious rehabilitation. They do not burn you alive at the stake -- after being tortured an inch from death -- like they used to do in England four-five centuries ago. I wonder why. Do you know that the two famous imams of Sunni Islam -- Imam Ghazali and Imam Shafiee -- were students of Shi'ite scholars? And do you also know that the Hadith -- that the Sunnis say are compulsory to follow -- was written by Persians and not by scholars from Mekah and/or Medina. In fact, during the time of the four Caliphs of Medina, they banned Hadith. Omar was so outraged by false Hadith that he would flog anyone who wrote these Hadith. Strange or not? We reject the Persian version of Islam but we follow the Hadith and Imams of Persia. I wonder whether the Deputy Prime Minister is aware of this. Does he know that the so-called ulama' (religious scholars) have been hiding this fact from us. And because 99% of Malays are ignorant of Islam, they do not know this. It is like the Protestants or Anglicans rejecting popish teachings and then they go and celebrate pagan Christmas every 25th December. Strange or not? It looks like both Christians and Muslims are equally weird. Then they say that the Christians and Muslims follow the Abrahamic faith. But Abraham is the father of Judaism. Should not Christians and Muslims then be Jews? Strange! Very strange indeed! They say this is called blind faith. I think it is more like blind rather than faith. And these people think they are all going to heaven and the rest of us are going to hell. Strange! Very strange indeed! And do you know that Hudud is Jewish law. And the Christians allege that Jesus abrogated the Jewish law of Hudud while the Muslims claim it is Islamic law. Strange! Very strange indeed! |
| Posted: 07 Mar 2013 03:56 PM PST
The Malays/Muslims have just reduced the value of a Muslim oath to zero value. Can we any longer trust Malays/Muslims when they swear an oath in the name of Allah while holding a Qur'an? No wonder Malays/Muslims swear an oath of office and as soon as they are in office they resort to corruption and abuse of power and violate the trust the people have put in them. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin This is the photograph that Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail showed during the press conference that she held regarding Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's sodomy allegation against Anwar Ibrahim. When the press asked Wan Azizah where she got the photograph from, she pointed to me standing at the back of the hall and told the reports to ask Raja Petra. The reporters then rushed up to me to ask me my comments and I just smiled and responded with a 'no comment'. I just love keeping some things a mystery – such as from where I got that photograph.
At first Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's office denied the photograph and also denied that Saiful had ever been to meet the Prime Minister. Later, when I said that I have evidence that Saiful did visit Najib's office, they did a U-turn and admitted that he did go to Najibs office after all but merely to discuss a scholarship. Hence allow me to gloat by saying that Malaysia Today broke the story first and even revealed the photograph.
But that is not the point of my article today. What I really want to talk about is that Malays (meaning Muslims as well) pride themselves on the sanctity of the Qur'an and the value of an oath of a Muslim. In fact, in Surah An Nur (chapter 24) of the Qur'an, it stresses that in any allegation involving sexual misconduct (where the sentence is stoning to death just like the old Jewish laws) your oath can determine whether a person is put to death or is spared death. In other words, another person's oath can result in you being put to death (by many people throwing stones at you) and/or your oath can spare you the terrible fate of being put to death (by many people throwing stones at you). So an oath is not a light thing. It is the difference between life and death.
And this is what Saiful had done -- he had taken an oath -- and also what Najib had done regarding his alleged involvement with Altantuya Shaariibuu -- he had also taken an oath that he had never met her or even knows her. Today, Malaysians have learned that an oath of a Muslim has no value after all. An oath of a Muslim -- even when taken with a Qur'an over his/her head -- is as valuable as Japanese 'banana money'. After this can we ever accept the oath of a Malay/Muslim? It appears like the oath of a Muslim, the most sacred word that a Muslim can ever give, is not worth the paper it is written on (pun intended).
The Malays/Muslims need to ponder on this. If from now on the non-Muslims mock a Muslim who swears in the name of Allah regarding this, that or the other, the Malays/Muslims should not feel offended and start making police reports that so-and-so has insulted Islam and threaten bloodshed and all that bullshit. The Malays/Muslims have just reduced the value of a Muslim oath to zero value. Can we any longer trust Malays/Muslims when they swear an oath in the name of Allah while holding a Qur'an? No wonder Malays/Muslims swear an oath of office and as soon as they are in office they resort to corruption and abuse of power and violate the trust the people have put in them. In short, Malays/Muslims cannot be trusted because the sacred oath of a Malay/Muslim is totally worthless. And a human whose sacred oath is worthless is lower than an animal. Are Muslims lower than animals then? Yes, and trust me, after writing this article I have just closed the door to ever returning to Malaysia never mind whether Pakatan Rakyat or Barisan Nasional wins the coming general election. **************************************** P.S.: By the way, I am inviting volunteers from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to become sub-editors of Malaysia Today -- at least for now until the coming general election. Your job will be to update/publish news items or articles every day, say about half a dozen or so a day per person. The reason I am inviting volunteers from both sides of the political divide is so that we can get balanced reporting and views. Definitely the pro-Barisan people will publish pro-government items while the pro-Pakatan people will publish anti-government items. (You have absolute autonomy and can also write your own articles if you want to). I will need you to verify your identity and political affiliation, of course, and if you respond fast enough maybe we can arrange a face-to-face meeting some time next week in a secret location in the Malaysian jungle to get the ball rolling. (So be prepared to 'disappear' for a whole day next week). If you want Malaysia Today to be more balanced then this is your opportunity to do that. I am prepared to turn Malaysia Today into a 'public-owned' Blog and allow you to determine what gets published in Malaysia Today. Then you have no reason to say that Malaysia Today is biased. We want to be as balanced as we can but then you must help make this possible. Any takers? You can contact me at petra_kamarudin@airpost.net |
| Posted: 06 Mar 2013 06:58 PM PST
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once said that Malaysia is not ready to become a full democracy. Malaysia can only be a 'guided' democracy, as what Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore said. This means the people cannot be allowed to think, do and say whatever they like. Malaysians must be guided as to what they can think, do and say. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Some people believe that Muhammad is the final Prophet of God and that the only authentic holy book, the Qur'an, was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (which is the miracle of Prophet Muhammad) through Gabriel and that Muhammad flew up to God's Kingdom to receive the decree that humankind must pray five times a day (and where Muhammad also met Abraham, Moses and Jesus). Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Some people believe that Jesus was of a virgin birth and is the Son of God and that he died for the sins of humankind and came back to life three days later and that if we accept Jesus as the saviour then our soul will be saved. Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Some people believe that the Jews are God's chosen people who were led out of slavery by Moses who parted the Red Sea to allow them to escape the Pharaoh and that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for all humankind to follow plus God gave humankind His laws of Hudud. Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Some people believe that you can ignore or mistreat your parents and put them in old folks' homes when they become senile and a burden and then you go to their graves to pray when they die plus you must choose the graveyard properly for good luck and positive fung shui. Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Some people believe that you should build statues and place shrines around trees and treat them as Gods and pray to them and that if you are bad you will be reincarnated as a pig or a dog but if you are good you will be reincarnated as a handsome/beautiful Bollywood movie star. Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Nevertheless, however silly these beliefs may seem, most people are prepared to live and let live and allow you these beliefs without scolding, cursing, vilifying or disparaging you and will not call you stupid for believing these silly things. They are, after all, your beliefs and you are entitled to those beliefs even though these beliefs may sound insane. Then, on top of that, there are people who believe that Malaysia is ready for a change of government and that the present government has ruled for too damn long and corruption, abuse of power, racism, an erosion of your fundamental liberties, etc., is so rampant and blatant because of that. Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Then, on top of that, there are people who believe that it is futile to change governments because the new government we choose will be just as bad as the old government and that history has proven that countries that changed governments did not see any positive change and it was merely business as usual or old wine in a new bottle. Many more people, however, think that this is all utter bullshit and probably the imagination of a demented person. Nevertheless, while you may think that whether you change governments or you retain the present government is a matter of opinion and personal choice, most people will refuse to allow you this freedom of opinion and personal choice and they are not prepared to live and let live and allow you this belief without scolding, cursing, vilifying or disparaging you and call you stupid for believing these silly things. Isn't it strange? When it comes to religion, most people think you are silly for having these silly beliefs but they will keep silent and allow you to continue being silly. When it comes to politics, however, most people think you are silly for having these silly beliefs but they will not keep silent and allow you to continue being silly. In fact, religion is more irrational than politics. Nothing in religion can be proven and all religions work on the basis of the supernatural. Politics, however, can at least be argued supported by historical evidence. But while you are allowed your religious beliefs they will not allow you your political beliefs. They will scold, curse, vilify or disparage you if you take an opposite political stand but they do not do the same when you take an opposite religious stand. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad once said that Malaysia is not ready to become a full democracy. Malaysia can only be a 'guided' democracy, as what Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore said. This means the people cannot be allowed to think, do and say whatever they like. Malaysians must be guided as to what they can think, do and say. When Dr Mahathir first said this I was flabbergasted. I thought that Dr Mahathir had become a raving lunatic and was talking absolute nonsense. What do you mean by 'guided' democracy? Isn't that like being slightly pregnant? Either you are or you are not. Over time, however, I began to understand the 'logic' in that most illogical statement, in particular over the last five years since 2008. Of late we have been seeing the evil side of Malaysians. And the conduct of Malaysians over these last five years has proven that Malaysians can't be trusted with absolute democracy. It is like giving a child a box of matches. Mostly likely the whole house will be burned to the ground. The Malays say, macam bagi bunga ke beruk, or, as the English would say: casting pearls before pigs. "Never give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them with their feet and then turn around and attack you." (Matthew 7:6). |
| So what is our foreign policy? Posted: 05 Mar 2013 04:45 PM PST
Israel did not create itself. Israel was created by the colonial powers that also engineered the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. And the Sykes–Picot Agreement plus the Balfour Declaration were what made Israel possible. And these countries not only created Israel but they propped it up as well and are still doing so. So why are we still friends with them when they are the culprits behind the problem we are facing called Israel? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin 'Did PM know US consultants are Israel supporters?' (Malaysiakini) - Is Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration aware that the US consultants it hired to attack political rival Anwar Ibrahim are ardent supporters of the Israeli regime, asks PKR. PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said Najib must answer many questions pertaining to the engagement of former United States president George W Bush's speechwriter Joshua Trevino and other American bloggers, through Apco Worldwide and FBC Media, at the expense of taxpayers. FBC Media and Apco are agencies hired by the Malaysian government to spruce up its image internationally. "Is the government aware that many of the consultants hired are staunch and avid supporters of Israel, to the detriment of the Palestinians?" were among the questions Nik Nazmi posed in a statement today. The same right-wing writers hired by the BN-led government, said Nik Nazmi, are also anti-Islam and have been criticising the Muslim Brotherhood and Muslims in the US. He also wants the PM to explain why and how much more of the rakyat's money has been spent for propaganda, who else have been hired and who did the recruiting and coordination of the campaign, which are mainly slander attacks against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. He claimed that Trevino was behind the site Malaysiamatters.com, which carried articles aimed at discrediting Anwar to international audiences. Pakatan had intended to ask the question in Parliament, said the PKR leader, though as it was clear that there will be no Parliament sitting convened, he said the onus is on Najib. "We hope the PM will answer," said Nik Nazmi during a press conference in Petaling Jaya today. ***************************************** Some background to the Israel issue On 16th May 1916, Britain and France concluded the Sykes–Picot Agreement, which proposed to divide the Middle East between them into spheres of influence, with "Palestine" as an international enclave. The Sykes-Picot Agreement did not call for Arab sovereignty, but for the "suzerainty of an Arab chief" and "an international administration, the form of which is to be decided upon after consultation with Russia, and subsequently in consultation with the other allies, and the representatives of the Sherif of Mecca." Under the terms of that agreement, the Zionist Organisation needed to secure an agreement along the lines of the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement with the Sherif of Mecca. On 2nd November 1917, the Balfour Declaration, a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild, made public the British support of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration led the League of Nations to entrust the United Kingdom with the Palestine Mandate in 1922. In that letter, Balfour promised British support for the Zionist programme of establishing a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. This pledge of support was made without consulting the indigenous Christian and Muslim inhabitants of Palestine, the Palestinian people. And it was made before British troops had even conquered the land. Balfour, on behalf of Britain, promised Palestine – over which Britain had no legal right – to a people who did not even live there (of the very small community of Palestinian Jews in Palestine in 1917, very few were Zionists). And he did so with the worst of intentions: to discourage Jewish immigration to Britain. Lord Montagu, the only Jewish member of the Cabinet, opposed the declaration. And yet, just two years earlier, Britain had committed herself to assisting the Arab nations in achieving their independence from the Ottoman Empire. Arab fighters all over the region, including thousands of Palestinians, fought for their freedom, allowing Britain to establish her mandate in Palestine. From that moment, Palestine became the victim of colonial conspiracies. The Balfour Declaration helped to encourage Zionist immigration into Palestine and away from America and Western Europe. Simultaneously, Britain suppressed Palestinian nationalism, which was exemplified by its crushing of the Arab revolt of 1936-1939 and the denial of the right of the Palestinian people to express their will through their own representation. In fact, Britain suppressed Palestinian political representation through a policy of systematic denial of Palestinian political rights. ***************************************** Okay, from the Malaysiakini report above, it appears like Pakatan Rakyat's -- or at least PKR's -- foreign policy is that anyone who is pro-Israel or is opposed to the 'Palestinian cause' must be treated as an enemy of Malaysia. What happens if I were to publicly express an anti-Hamas or a pro-Israel stance? Would that also make me an enemy of the country? Israel is a 100-year old story. Sabah became part of Malaysia in 1963. So it is a 50-year old story. If the Muslims from the Philippines do not have any legal right in claiming Sabah as their territory because it is an 'old story', what legal right do Muslims from the Middle East have in claiming Israel (or the occupied lands) as their territory when it is an even older story? (And remember, the British created Sabah just like they did Israel). Malaysia supports the Muslim claim over Israel because Malaysia is a Muslim country and Muslims are 'officially' anti-Jews. Hence we take the Muslim side against the Jews. Okay, say Dr Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan's 'Christian' STAR were to kick out the 'Muslim' Umno government in the coming general election, would we now take the side of the Muslims from the Philippines regarding their claim over Sabah? For the sake of Islam we take the Muslim side against the Jews. For the sake of Islam will we also take the Muslim side (although from the Philippines) against the Christians (although from Malaysia)? In the Middle East we are 'guided' by religion. Will we also be guided by religion if the Umno 'Muslim' government of Sabah gets kicked out? We, especially the opposition, must be very careful when we express our foreign policy. Just because some Americans happen to be Jews (and Jews who support Israel) we cannot use that as the justification to declare them the enemy of Malaysia. That can also be interpreted as taking a pro-Hamas stance. And that would mean we do not regard Hamas as a terrorist group even though women and children are blown up with bombs. We now call the Muslim 'intruders' from the Philippines terrorists and criminals. This is what Malaysia and the Philippines announced today. Are those Muslims who are fighting the Palestinian cause also terrorists and criminals? In that case what business does the government and opposition have in dealing with them? Aren't we dealing with terrorists and criminals? It is not wrong, of course, in taking a stand, even in an issue involving foreign policy. But we need to be clear and consistent in the reasons why we take such a stand. And those justifications must apply in all cases, not apply in one case but not in another. If it is wrong for the Malaysian government to deal with Jews from America known to be pro-Israel, then it is also wrong to deal with others who are pro-Israel as well. Israel did not create itself. Israel was created by the colonial powers that also engineered the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. And the Sykes–Picot Agreement plus the Balfour Declaration were what made Israel possible. And these countries not only created Israel but they propped it up as well and are still doing so. So why are we still friends with them when they are the culprits behind the problem we are facing called Israel? It is strange how we choose our friends and enemies. We apply certain reasons as to why someone is our enemy and then sidestep that same reason in those we want as our friends. So let me get this straight. Anyone who is pro-Israel is our enemy, even those American citizens -- some who happen to be Jews. I suppose then almost every country in Europe must now become our enemy and Malaysians should be asked to leave the UK, France, etc., immediately. |
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