Malaysia Push Factors

BOPIM repeats call for Secession

2013-10-15T23:18:00.004-07:00

15 Oct 2013

KOTA KINABALU - In response to the court decision to disallow the use of the name "Allah" the Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIM) had repeated its call for the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

In a stern statement here, BOPIM's President, Daniel John Jambun, said that there are countless reasons why such a step is now justified and the Christians of the Borneo states are now regretting joining Malaysia because they are now having their rights to religious freedom trampled on by the Malays who they now see as the colonialists.

"The call by Malay supremacist, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman for Christians to leave Malaysia if they cannot accept the supremacy of Islam in the country is a clear challenge to use to secede," Jambun said. "All this while we had been complaining abut the economic injustices of the federal government, robbing Sabah of its wealth but Abdullah Zaik may have just accelerated the great social disintegration in Malaysia.

"This arrogance is revolting to say the least and marks the true attitude of the Malay supremacists who believe a large chunk of the Malaysian population simply cannot ask for their human rights. Abdullah Zaik must be totally ignorant about what human rights are, why the Suhakam was formed, what the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights is and what Malaysia is all about," Jambun added. "And because of this ignorance and his abominable supremacist attitude, he is also blind to the provisions in the Federal Constitution guaranteeing us our humans rights as Malaysians. For instance, Article 12 provides that 'there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth'."

Jambun said that Adbullah Zaik must now wake up to the reality that the strident call for secession from the federation is everywhere in the Borneo states, and those making the call are not interested to migrate but to pack up and leave the federation for good.

He pointed out that the federal leaders must also now be aware of the hilarious irony of the 20 Points, in which Point 1 says "While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo" while Point 7 says "There should be no right to secede from the Federation."

"Do they realize that if they say Point 1 cannot be applied because the 20 Point is no longer valid, thy are also saying Point 7 is also no longer valid, hence we now have the right to secede?" Jambun stressed. "So now the federal leaders from the Peninsular has to decide whether the 20 Point is valid or not, in which case we either can reject an official religion in Sabah, or we can leave the federation. They just can't have it both ways and use either of the two points anytime according to the convenience of the moment. I challenge the Prime Minister to state the BN government's firm and clear stance on this thorny issue.

"It is also extremely disappointing that the Prime Minister is again playing dumb on another very critical issue which is threatening to tear the nation apart. He cannot just continue being ambivalent or speak his pro-Islamist bents just because of the forthcoming Umno general assembly. He needs to show that he is the Prime Minister of all Malaysians and not just of the Malaysia at this critical time," he said.

Jambun said that all this while the non-Malays had accepted the Malay's position in the governance of Malaysia, but that doesn't mean they can trample on our rights and dignity of Christians as and when they like as if Christians have no contributions to Malaysia.

"Keep in mind that without Sabah and Sarawak there would have been no Malaysia and the Peninsular wouldn't have enjoyed great infrastructural developments without our taxes and natural resources," he said. "This is why the call by Nasharuddin Mat Isa for an end to the 'special' privileges granted to Christians in Sabah and Sarawak a totally laughable presumptuousness which betrays his utter ignorance of our incalculable contributions to the wealth and development of the Malays.

"Anyway, I wonder what special privileges have we been having other than the right to practice our religion as guaranteed by the federal constitution. Is he saying that we should be forbidden from worshipping from now on?" Jambun asked.

He said the Malay supremacists must top raising controversies using the issue to prop up their names in politics and instead take heed the warning by Bolly Lapok, the Anglican archbishop for Southeast Asia, that, "Proscribing the use of the word ‘Allah' would instantly turn these native Bumiputeras into law breakers in the very land of which they are sons of the soil. This is not only abhorrent but wholly unacceptable."

He said that also important to consider is the warning by James Masing, a BN leader, that the Appeals Court's decision will have a negative impact on non-Muslims beyond Sabah and Sarawak. Opposition politician Baru Bian, the head of PKR Sarawak, had expressed shock at the ruling, saying, “I am stunned by the decision. We have produced very clear facts that we were promised a guarantee by our forefathers when Sabah and Sarawak helped form Malaysia. The ruling appears to go against the fundamental rights that were promised," he had said, calling it repugnant and oppressive.

Jambun said the challenge for the federal government now is how it is going to implement the prohibition of the use of "Allah" which had been going on for over a century because the Christians in the Borneo states have decided to defy it and will continue to use the term regardless of the ruling.

"Are they going to send observers and spies into each and every Christian worship service from now on? Are they going to confiscate all Alkitabs containing the term and other Malay Christian publications? And is the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka an institution to promote the Malay language only for Malays or all Malaysians? Why are Christians prohibited from using 32 words of the language? Is the Malay language now an instrument of the Malaysian government to oppress its own people? Note also that this court decision had instantly raise the ire, and ignited hatred of non-Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak against the federal government. So there goes 1Malaysia!"

Jambun also said that even Muslims are clearly against it, including PAS whose central committee member Khalid Samad who had said "The government should educate Muslims regarding all the verses of the Quran which mentions non-Muslims discussing about Allah with the Prophet Muhammad, and using the word freely without any hindrance whatsoever.” The Shah Alam MP said the government seems to be very proud that "we are the only Muslim nation that practices this ban – that we are going beyond even what the Prophet Muhammad had done. Islam allows non-Muslims to use the word in the first place," Khalid said.

"As far as BOPIM is concerned, the real issue now is not 'Allah' but secession. In fact we don't even have to call for such a move because it is already in the minds of a lot of Sabahans. If the government doesn't believe this I challenge it to undertake a referendum in Sabah and Sarawak immediately."

“Allah Issue: Beginning of the End of Malaysia … - Jeffrey”

2013-10-15T23:10:00.001-07:00

15 Oct 2013

KOTA KINABALU - “It‘s not the Court of Appeal ruling but the non-action and continued policies of the Umno/BN ruling regime that will cause the ultimate demise and break-up of Malaysia unless the Prime Minister and Umno/BN show a genuine and sincere all-encompassing transformation of government and politics of inclusiveness and reconciliation” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief in response to the Court decision to ban the The Herald from referring and using “Allah”.

The PM and his federal government needs to be reminded that the issue started with the then Home Minister in banning the reference to Allah arising from the Minister’s discretionary powers under the Printing Presses and Publications Act, 1984. It was an unequivocal act of the ruling Umno/BN government.

From there, the downward spiral of race relations quickened with Umno’s political strategy to play the “race and religion” card to regain its Malay heartlands. It shook the very foundation of the official “Malaysia – Truly Asia” and the PM’s own “1-Malaysia” rhetoric and hollow slogan.

It is pretty obvious that the PM and his Umno-led federal government never meant to honour the “1-Malaysia” theme which is now discarded in favour of “Endless Possibilities”. There is no other possibility other than a most probable break-up of Malaysia if the race and religion division is allowed to continue.

The Umno/BN federal government has forgotten that they are the government for all Malaysians and not only the Malays or only in the Peninsula. They have forgotten that it is not the Federation of Malaya that they are ruling but the Federation of Malaysia where the founding fathers of Sabah and Sarawak were promised religious freedom.

Religious freedom was so important that the natives in the interiors of Sabah erected a Stone Monument, known today as the Batu Sumpah in Keningau, to etch into perpetuity such freedom. If not for these promises, there is no Malaysia today.

The use of “Allah” in the Borneo States, or even in neighbouring countries, pre-date the formation of the Federation of Malaya and the Federation of Malaysia. There were no turmoil or any threat of racial disruption.

On the contrary, in Sabah and Sarawak, it was a tranquillity of racial and religious harmony without the rhetoric of “1-Malaysia”. There was no need for a Muslim-Malay NGO to declare that “Christians are our brothers and sisters” because in true life in Sabah and Sarawak, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives were Christians and Muslims and other religions.

The Umno/BN federal government have also forgotten that they are mere passers-by and trustees in their reign of government but think themselves so high and mighty to decide on banning and purportedly seeking exclusivity of the use when nowhere else in the world is any government claiming as such.

The rest of the BN component parties particularly those from Sabah and Sarawak are equally to be blamed for the quagmire and quicksand that they are now finding themselves to be in. Some are quietly contemplating leaving the BN fold but are fearful not for their parties but for themselves with the police, anti-corruption, special branch, income tax, waiting to take the next flight out to arrest them.

The situation now calls for true leadership of the PM and the Umno-led federal government and politics of inclusiveness and reconciliation for all Malaysians. The PM may be reluctant to act because of the pending Umno elections but he needs to remember that the country he is leading today is the Federation of Malaysia not the Islamic Federation of Malaysia.

Perhaps, the PM should consider the calls of the Muslim-based NGO that the Malaysian Christian community can choose to move to any country if they cannot bear to accept the sovereignty of Islam.

Lest it be forgotten, no Christian Malaysian is questioning or challenging that Islam is the official religion of the Federation. It is the treatment of the minority faiths and the actions and policies of the ruling government that is the root cause of marginalization and disenfranchisement. In Sabah, it is sad that the natives are being pitted against each other due to differences in religion when no such problems arise.

If the PM accepts the reasoning of the Muslim NGO, it is time to start dis-engagement talks and allow Sabah and Sarawak to depart Malaysia and the Peninsula can revert back to Persekutuan Tanah Melayu by itself. There is no point in retaining Sabah and Sarawak within the Federation of Malaysia when the ultra-Malays in Malaya keep trying to break it up and without any appropriate response or with the silent acquiescence from the federal government.

Making Sabah & Sarawak Look Much Smaller

2013-09-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

In the Malaysian school Geography text books!

See how the maps are distorted to give much more prominence to Peninsular Malaysia!?

Once we were beautiful Malaysia

2013-09-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

- Art Harun

JULY 24, 2013

I am blessed.

So are many of my friends who are of or around my age.

So are many who are older than me.

As a child of the 60s, I went through my formative years in an English-stream school. It was a big school in town.

And there were hundreds of us Malays, Chinese and Indian boys (it wasn't co-ed).

Our first headmaster was a Chinese gentleman who was as fierce as they came those days.

When he left, he was replaced by an Indian gentleman, who also was as fierce.

My first class teacher was Ms Leong, all long haired and short skirted.

And yes, armed with a wooden ruler, she would knock my knuckles for failing to properly write the number 8.

My first English sentence, learnt on the first day at school was to be uttered after raising my right hand, "Please teacher may I go out?"

That was to be said if any of us had to go to the toilet to do the normal stuffs we all do in the toilet (and not to eat).

Then there were Mr Linggam, Cikgu Aziz and wife, Sharom, Mr Lee the karate guy, Mr Khor, Cikgu Mutalib and various others.

We were a happy bunch. We played together, ate together, learned together and of course, at times, punished together.

And we were equal. In standard 5, I began fasting.

The school canteen stayed open for the whole month.

No renovation. No closure. Muslim and non-Muslim kids, who did not fast, ate as usual.

If they bought a proper meal, such like nasi lemak or mee goreng, they would eat at the canteen.

If it was some kind of snack, they would just eat while walking around, in the class or where ever.

No fuss. No issue. No problem. (AS REPEATEDLY STATED, OUR CURRENT PROBLEMS ARE MAINLY SELF INFLICTED “INSTIGATED MAINLY BY EXTREMISTS FOR POLITICAL SELFISH INTEREST INTEREST TO DIVIDE THE NATION!)

My impressionable years were spent in a boarding school. It was the same scenario.

All of us, regardless of race or religion studied together, ate together, played together and at times, getting one or two rotan together.

Visiting a non-Malay house was not a problem.

Eating there was not a problem too. Sharing food with non-Muslims was not an issue.

Things have however, sadly, changed.

And change for the worse. Nowadays, non-Muslims don't send their kids to national school anymore.

They prefer to send the kids to the vernacular schools.

The ones who could afford would send their kids to private schools.

National schools are almost invariably filled with Muslim/Malay students.

National schools would recite prayers before class begin in the morning.

Quranic verses and hadith would adorn walls in the canteen, school office and even classes.

Ustaz and ustazah would even ask school kids to raise their hands if their parents do not pray 5 times a day.

In secondary schools, the tudung is not compulsory for girls - according to the Ministry of Education's circular, if I am not mistaken - but girls without tudung would be viewed askance by schoolmates and teachers alike.

Due to the small number of non-Muslim/Malay kids in national schools, the Malay kids do not have the opportunity to mix around and integrate with non-Malays in their formative and impressionable years.

The small number of non-Malay kids also gives a sense of false superiority complex to the Malay kids as well as teachers.

Thus, my race and my religion are more important than you, your religion and everything else.

Hence the closure of the school canteen during Ramadhan.

This is prevailing in many national schools. Apparently, this is done to "respect" the Muslim students who are fasting.

Forget the fact that non-Muslims do not fast and they, like any other human beings or animals, have to eat and drink.

Forget the fact that there are Muslim kids who do not fast.

Anybody who just about mentions the word "food" would have been taken as insulting Islam.

On Facebook last week, there were two guys admonishing a hotel which advertised its breakfast package on its page.

They viewed it as disrespectful.

But to be fair, the two were widely condemned by other Muslim facebookers.

The eating-in-the-changing-room debacle yesterday is just the surface of a far unhealthier trend in Malaysia.

Beneath that surface is a society which is fractious, intolerant, selfish and uncompromising.

The obvious question is how did we, as a nation, become like this? As a nation we started so well.

The Federal Constitution was agreed upon by consensus between three major races anchored to give-and-take and win-win camaraderie.

There was a blemish in 1969 but that was quickly nipped in the bud and we soldiered on.

In football, we were in the Olympic final in 1972 and 1980.

By the law of progression, we should be in the World Cup by now. By contrast, Japan and Korea, whom we used to beat, were already in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

We now struggle to beat the likes of Vietnam and even Singapore.

Like our football team, the state of our racial integration and inter-faith relationship has moved in reverse gear.

Years of political posturing utilizing religion and race have now begun to show its ugly consequences.

The so-called Islamisation that we embark upon, which is shorn of any meaningful spiritual understanding of the religion, but rather born out of political necessities, convenience and mired in political one-upmanship has now produced a nation which is unsure of itself and a people who are fractious, angry, suspicious and at odd with each other.

We need to take a real good look at ourselves and examine our ways. And we need to reboot our operating system if we want to avoid a total crash. And we need to reboot fast. - July 24, 2013.

Who Screwed up Malaysia???

Ask the Ex-PM of Malaysia: Mahathir

Sarawak Sovereignty Movement demands full autonomy

2013-05-30T06:06:00.002-07:00

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Sarawak Sovereignty Movement demands full autonomy

A movement, rumoured to be backed by the powerful in Sarawak, is demanding for full autonomy in the state based on the 18-point Malaysia Agreement.

KOTA KINABALU: A new civil movement from Sarawak, calling themselves Sarawak Sovereignty Movement (SSM), is demanding full autonomy for the state.

The movement which was launched in April 2013, posted its schedule of demands for autonomy on its website and Facebook account, backing its claims with details of Sarawak’s history.

According to SSM secretary, Lina Soo, full autonomy sums up all the terms and conditions for Sarawak (and for Sabah too) agreeing to form Malaysia with three other independent countries as equal partners being Malaya, Singapore and North Borneo (Sabah) in 1963.

“Brunei in its wisdom decided not to follow the crowd because Malaya did not agree to accord it ‘equal partnership’ status,” said Soo.

Singapore, she said pulled out in 1965 also after failed to to get federal to accept it as an equal partner.

“The original Malaysia concept of five countries (including Brunei) had dwindled into three countries in Malaysia.

“The concept was dead. The legitimacy of Malaysia is therefore in doubt,” she said in a statement to FMT here.

According to Soo, Sarawak’s autonomous status was spelt out clearly in the 18 Points Agreement with Malaya.

“These were safeguards for Sarawak having given up its independence and agreeing to form Malaysia.

“Sarawak reserved its sovereign right to control its own immigration, finance and resources and requirement for ‘Borneonisation’ among other important conditions Sarawak’s sovereignty was recognized- at least on paper,” she reminded.

However, the Malaysian federal government’s failure to honour the terms of the Malaysia Agreement for the past 50 years is evidenced by the pillage of their resources and centralisation of control over the two states/countries.

“The Kuala Lumpur control and exploitation of Sarawak oil has seen very little oil money flowing back to Sarawak but seen as being siphoned to develop Malaya.

“With the growing awareness of Sarawak’s diminished and disadvantaged position after giving up its independence to form Malaysia, a new generation of Sarawakians have begun agitating for Sarawak independence rights,” she said.

‘Deviations invite trouble’

SSM, she said, is of the opinion that the Malayan government is contented that Sarawak and Sabah freely agreed to form Malaysia and they are forever a part of Malaysia.

“(But) many in the two countries now are asking if Sarawak and Sabah freely made such a decision, then they are free to leave Malaysia like Singapore,” she claimed.

SSM which is helmed by Morshidi Abdul Rahman, was first given publicity in Sarawak newspapers last month but hardly mentioned in other media.

He reportedly asserted that Sarawak is a sovereign nation – a territorial and constitutional entity – that has power to vote on its own laws, collect taxes and the right to own its natural resources.

Meanwhile, a leader from ruling Sarawak Barisan Nasional has warned Sarawakians not to deviate from the original concept of Malaysia.

Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was also a former parliament deputy speaker, when asked for his opinion on SSM, said Sarawakians must refrain from divisive politics.

“We have our constitution – the supreme law of the nation, with which act and work. Do not stray from original concept of the Federation…,” Wan Junaidi said, adding that “deviations invite troubles”.

His double-edged statement has lent credence to certain local speculations that SSM is backed by “the powerful” in Sarawak who also seek to strengthen its autonomy, not to fall prey to a scheming central power that seeks to weaken Malaysia’s largest state, like it did to Sabah.

Sabah and Sarawak are regarded to be nations-within-a nation as both have autonomous rights granted to them in laws, written in pre-Malaysia conditions and also in other treaties and documents including in the Federal and State constitutions.

The clamour for full autonomy in both Borneon states had recently increased due to the high awareness of disparity in income and development between them and the 11 Peninsular states which they accused of “stealing” the states’ rich for Malaya’s own exploitation.

Ironically, both Sabah and Sarawak, while endowed naturally to be Malaysia’s richest, have ended at the bottom-end of Malaysia’s poorest states, 50 years after agreeing to form a Federation with Malaya.

5 May 2013 - Who Are The Real Losers?

2013-05-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

By voting for half past six candidates from Pakatan Rakyat and also for the existing Barisan Nasional, the people of Sabah have lost the opportunity to change the State Government.

Figuratively speaking, the people of Sabah have crashed into a ravine to avoid hitting a cat!

The people of Sabah were vanquished in the fight for political autonomy when they themselves rejected the one and only Sabah-based opposition party that is SAPP (Sabah Progressive Party).

Pakatan Rakyat has successfully split the opposition votes and now they can be the undisputed opposition with Barisan Nasional continuing to be the Sabah State Government exactly like what is happening in Sarawak presently.
Why did they still came and contested in Sabah despite knowing that they cannot win here and form the State Government?

SAPP was completely incinerated and more than 90% of their candidates lost their deposits; of what use now is the 12 opposition state seats when Barisan Nasional is still in firm control of the State Government?

The painful truth in this election is that the voters of Sabah by not voting for SAPP as the next Sabah State Government, have effectively widened and seemingly deepened their own marginalization as the poorest of the poor in Malaysia while grasping on a thin tube of miserable benefits amidst racial discrimination, corruption and immigrants reverse taking over Sabah!

If future history were to ever epitomize Yong Teck Lee as the man who never got the chance to change the fortunes of Sabah, it is definitely some sort of a Déjà Vu now when it was written in Luke 4:24 of the Christian Bible that “No prophet is accepted in his own country”.

The voters of Sabah have allowed themselves to be cheated when Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Rakyat did not save the people of Sabah but actually destroyed us in the end and eventually sent all of us to the dungeons of slavery!

Pakatan Rakyat took the people of Sabah for a ride by swindling and manipulating our gullible voters into believing a blatant lie that they could change the government!

However, if SAPP were to be voted in as the State Government, it would definitely resist by all legal and legitimate means the Barisan Nasional Federal Government; but now, the BN State Government will work hand in hand with the BN Federal Government to further fleece and push us over the edge!

From now onwards, the people of Sabah can take their grouses and grievances against the two Barisan Nasional Governments to their newly-elected half-past-six assembly representatives from Pakatan Rakyat particularly the DAP and see for themselves what they are really capable of doing!

The next five years will be the toughest for each and every Sabahan because of living costs going up, swelling prices of essentials, all sorts of taxes and levies including GST (Government Sales Tax) will be slapped onto us to recover all the monies spent by the Barisan Nasional before and in the just concluded election – Good Luck to the people of Sabah!

It is now imperative that a dignified SAPP should leave the people of Sabah alone to enjoy what they have deservedly voted for; to quote from Matthew 10:14, Jesus Christ once said this to his disciples: If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.

For those who are familiar with the intricate history and politics of Israel, Sabah is becoming exactly like Jerusalem!

To the people of Sabah who will suffer in the coming five years, SAPP is now fully qualified to use the same words of a famous Field Marshal who was deserted by his own people in a war against a tyrannical King: “We will not kill you ourselves, we just don’t have to save you anymore”…!

SAPP should respect the rights and wishes of the voters of Sabah who have put themselves into this unfortunate predicament; likewise, the people of Sabah should also respect that of every politician inside SAPP to forsake and not to remember them!

By Vidal Yudin Weil

Sabah for Sabahans?

2013-02-24T00:26:00.001-08:00

By Erna Mahyuni who blogs at ernamahyuni.com when she's not subbing for TMI. A slave to Bioware, Bethesda and her mini-zoo of two cats and a rabbit.

February 20, 2013

Before you send me to Kamunting, realise I am not advocating Sabah leaving Malaysia.

But I think it is high time Sabahans have a good, long think about the status quo.

As it is, things cannot stand.

Last I checked, Sabah is still the poorest state in Malaysia. Nabawan in Sabah is the poorest town in the country, with a 70-per-cent poverty rate.

On top of that, a small private army has landed in Lahad Datu intent on claiming Sabah as its own.

If we had a referendum, what with all the “free citizenships” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration has so benevolently bestowed upon foreigners, would Sabahans actually have the numbers to keep the state in Malaysia?

Or would our new Sabahan brothers and sisters vote overwhelmingly to become part of the Philippines or even choose allegiance to the Sultan of Sulu?

A wanted Filipino fugitive is also now finding safe haven in the state, rumoured to have family connections on the Sabah government.

So much for Sabah “prospering” under Barisan Nasional rule.

Sabah politicians have called on the federal government to do something about the massive influx of foreigners into the state for a long time.

Only now has a Royal Commission of Inquiry been called, and it has confirmed what most of us already knew.

That we have been betrayed.

What right did the former prime minister have to give citizenships to foreigners as he liked?

What he did might have been technically “legal” but it was morally wrong and it was a betrayal of the state, a betrayal of the Sabah people and going against the heart of the 20-point agreement that said the state had jurisdiction over immigration matters. Not the prime minister.

And can Sabahans trust PKR to change things, when Sabah’s PKR is a toothless body helpless to even choose its own leaders? When all decisions are centralised and it has no say in choosing who should lead it into the state?

I wouldn’t be surprised if Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim attempted to parachute another West Malaysian in to lead Sabah PKR like he did with Azmin Ali.

What next? Azmin Ali as Sabah chief minister? If that happens, I am surrendering my passport and moving to the Philippines.

It is time Sabahans said, “Enough”. It is obvious that Putrajaya and Pakatan Rakyat are deaf, dumb and blind to what Sabah really needs and what Sabah really is.

Sabah is not “just” another state. It was equal party to an agreement between Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Each had special status, certain rights, and to this day the federal government has chosen to piss upon the spirit and the words of the agreement.

If Sabah is to become more than an impoverished state beholden to cruel masters, it has to start rejecting subjugation.

The first step is saying a big, firm “No” to West Malaysian-based parties like Umno and PKR who are more interested in pushing the Malay agenda than the Malaysian agenda.
(I might perhaps make an exception for Sabah DAP, which has a long history in Sabah, refreshingly free of the stupidity displayed by both Umno and PKR in the recent years.)

Some say Sabah is “selfish” for harping about its rights when it should think of “Malaysia” as a whole instead of its special privileges.

Basically, Sabah should just lie on its back and think of Malaysia? Brilliant.

That has not worked now, has it? The more Sabahans demur, the more our rights are stripped away. Most of the state’s revenue goes to the federal government while Sabah just has to make do with the leftovers.
This is the sad truth: Unless you have lived in the state, know its peoples and have a firm grasp of its issues, you are in no position to solve its problems.

So Sabahans should have no reason to vote for PKR or Umno when they have the (barely arguable) better choice of either the SAPP or STAR.

All our “questionable” guests? Deport them. We have an army. We have a navy. And the Philippines will have to take responsibility for all its people who have run our way. As should the Indonesians.

Revoke all of Dr Mahathir’s freely-given citizenships. I may sound cruel and heartless, but there is no other way. And truth is, we should have done that years ago.

To encourage better relations with our West Malaysian siblings, we should encourage them to come to the state but under “skilled migrant” rules.

We need doctors. We need teachers. Civil engineers. Encourage people who want to help build the state to come over, but under the restriction that if they want labour it has to be Sabah labour.

God knows Sabah needs the jobs.

And if you have lived and contributed enough, then why not give them “Sabah PR” status.

Let Sabah choose who it will embrace, and if we want to be choosy, we should have every right to be.

If not for the state’s poverty and poor infrastructure, it would be a heaven on earth. The sunsets are spectacular. The beaches are amazing. Even our cloud formations are nothing like you will ever see in the Peninsula.

The people are laidback. Less judgmental. Not as uptight.

I experienced far more racism and ostracism in one year living in Selangor than I have in all my years living in Sabah. So please, don’t patronise us Sabahans by talking about 1 Malaysia.

Sabahans are not asking for anything but what we deserve: to be treated with dignity and as equals. Not as indentured slaves, fit only to be trampled and used by Putrajaya.

By right, we should even be asking for Labuan back. Haris Salleh had no right to hand Labuan over, as Dr Mahathir had no right to give out citizenships to illegal immigrants.

There is no point now to look back. All Sabah can do is move forward. And it can only do that with the strength of its own people because there can be no help found in Umno or PKR.

Sabah deserves better than liars or traitors.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer.

Malaysian drivers have no skill

2012-12-22T16:50:00.003-08:00

By Road Runner

From my daily observations and experience (and accident statistics), I dare say that more than 90% of Malaysian drivers have little or no driving skills at all. Most car drivers blame motorcyclists, calling them road terrors etc, but car drivers are actually the bigger culprit, and pose even more danger to motorcyclists.

Here are the top ten "offences"

1- Speeding
They drive like an F1 driver, but can't even keep to their own lane when cornering. Imagine what will happen if they stray into another lane and touch another vehicle at speeds of 110kmh and above. And many drivers think that they are Michael Schumacher, speeding even in torrential rain. These people only know how to press the accelerator, but have little idea how to control their car. Most accident reports are of "drivers losing control of the vehicle".

2 - Staying on own lane
Mentioned above, these drivers don't seem able to STAY on their own lane, drifting to the right or left lane. This happens everywhere, in roundabouts, in corners and even on straight roads. This is pure bad driving habit. They expect other drivers to give way. That's the best case scenario. The worst case, they cause fatal accidents by grazing an unfortunate motorcyclist.

3 - Speeding in the rain
Again related to the first, most drivers continue to speed even in heavy rain and limited visibility. They have no idea that in such conditions, their car's wheels will lock up and drift when sudden brake force is applied. Not everyone drives a Mercedes or BMW with tons of safety features. Driving in the rain requires extra caution because vehicle stopping distances, slippery road conditions and limited visibility present extra challenges.
4 - Different types of vehicle, different types of control
I have seen many drivers driving big vans and 4x4 utility vehicles as if they are driving a small family car. They speed and weave in and out with little concern that the physics and controls of these bigger, taller and heavier are totally different from typical family sedans. Vans have a very short frontal section and poses extra risk in a frontal collision. And their tall build presents an inherent instability, especially when cornering.

5 - Not bothering to use indicator lights / turn signals
This must be counted as one of the worst and most "popular" habits of the majority of Malaysian drivers out there, and undoubtly the cause of many fatal accidents. I have actually suggested car manufacturers make turn signal indicators "OPTIONAL". Why? Almost 90% of the time, the drivers REFUSE to indicate where they want to turn. This again happens in almost every driving situation, whether in roundabouts, junctions, parking etc. This is especially dangerous when the driver suddenly changes lane because even a slight touch or graze to a motorcyclist will knock him down, even at moderate speeds. An unfortunate example was the 4x4 vehicle which switched lane (according to a news report) without notice and grazed a few big motorcyclists at the NKVE highway recently, causing a fatal accident.

Maybe they think it is a hassle. Maybe some young drivers think it is cool. How much effort does it take to turn on the turn signal indicator?

Can they live the rest of their lives in peace if they caused a fatal accident?

6 - Driving in slow motion
Amazingly, I have come across not once but many times, drivers cruising at 20-30km/h in major highways, at their leisure. These motorists don't seem to realize that by driving at such a slow pace, they are forcing other drivers to overtake them, sometimes dangerously, on the left or right lanes. This is worse if the road has only a single lane. And many motorists, driving at normal speed, can be caught unawares by a very slow vehicle in front, and fail to brake on time because they are conditioned to think that all cars on the highway are moving constantly at a reasonable speed.

7 - Road Hogging and tailgaters
Includes those who seem to be daydreaming and hogging the fast lane, refusing to budge even when flashed numerous times by the car behind. However, some habitual tailgaters are also included in this section.

8 - Indiscriminate Parking
These offenders park where and when they like. Have you seen cars parked on a two lane road, taking up one whole lane? I have, surprisingly many times. Some actually stop in the middle of the road, without giving any sign of their intentions. And many people leave their cars at corners, blocking other motorists' view coming out of junctions. This could cause mishaps because motorists are unable to see oncoming vehicles properly.

9 - Housing Area Menaces
The worst culprits, from my observations, are young people; the bane of all residents, and nightmare of many cats and dogs. They drive at frightening speeds, and can't seem to comprehend that small children and animals may dash out anytime.

10 - The last is actually for readers to list down, because there so many, ten is not enough
The only skill most Malaysian drivers have, is causing accidents.

The Federation of Malaysia

2012-10-29T02:55:00.002-07:00

A federation, also known as a federal state, is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, are typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the latter.

In a federation the component states are in some sense sovereign, insofar as certain powers are reserved to them that may not be exercised by the central government. However, a federation is more than a mere loose alliance of independent states. The component states of a federation usually possess no powers in relation to foreign policy, and so they enjoy no independent status under international law. However, German Lander do have this power, which is beginning to be exercised on a European level.

Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more autonomy than others.

An example of such a federation is Malaysia, in which Sabah and Sarawak entered the federation on different terms and conditions from the states of Peninsular Malaysia.

A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between a number of separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems and to provide for mutual defense, or to create a nation state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States and Switzerland, the latter with Germany.

However, as the histories of countries and nations vary, the federalist system of a state can be quite different from these models. Australia, for instance, is unique in that it came into existence as a nation by the democratic vote of the citizens of each state, who voted "yes" in referendums to adopt the Australian Constitution.

Brazil, on the other hand, has experienced both the federal and the unitary state through its history. Some present day states of the Brazilian federation retain borders set during the Portuguese colonization, whereas the latest state, Tocantins, was created by the 1988 Constitution for chiefly administrative reasons.

When all else fails, use Sedition Act

2012-09-17T22:53:00.002-07:00

When all else fails, use Sedition Act

September 7, 2012

The act of arresting, handcuffing and detaining 19-year-old Ong Sing Yee will start a backlash against the authorities.

In the past, Malaysia’s Sedition Act 1948 was used to silence the political adversaries of the ruling administration. Today, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s government has deemed it necessary to curb individuals, NGOs and even teenagers.

This government refuses to understand that it needs to summon the courage to tackle the necessary and urgent reforms demanded by the electorate. It should not take the easier option of hounding teenagers and people who dare criticise.

The act of arresting, handcuffing and detaining 19-year-old Ong Sing Yee for 15 hours and then interrogating her without the presence of her lawyer, will start a backlash against the authorities.

Ong’s crime? She had been charged with sedition for stepping on posters of Najib and his wife, the self-styled First Lady Rosmah Mansor, during the Janji Demokrasi march on the eve of Merdeka Day at Dataran Merdeka.

If Najib and the police would really like to make an impact, they should raid people’s homes and arrest, handcuff and detain all those people, including and especially Malays, who use newspapers with Najib’s photographs to line their cat litter trays. Some do this with relish, because they claim, this is their own form of silent protest.

Photos of Najib seem to attract all sorts of contempt. Not so long ago. It is alleged he had to arrest boys for throwing bricks at his pictures on KTM trains.

MP for Puchong, Gobind Singh Deo, had already said that stepping on photographs of the prime minister and his wife is not sedition. Najib and his wife are not rulers, nor are they the government. Najib is merely a government servant.

In May, NGO and social activist Irene Fernandez was charged with sedition. A Jakarta daily reported that she had claimed Malaysia was unsafe for migrant workers.

Curbing free speech
In June, the Sedition Act was used by the Johor police to investigate the former Perak mentri besar, Nizar Jamaluddin for his comments on the Sultan of Johore’s purchase of the car registration number plate, WWW1. The number plate had cost the Sultan RM500,000 and Nizar opined that the money could be put to a better use, such as helping the poor.

Kosmo, an Utusan publication which printed two cartoons on the controversy, escaped censure.

“Why the double standard in only charging me whereas no action has been taken against Kosmo for the same offence? Is it because Kosmo is an Umno paper whereas I am a Pakatan leader?” asked Nizar.

At the time, Azmi Sharom, a law lecturer at the Universiti Malaya (UM) also criticised the use of the Sedition Act 1948, to prosecute individuals.

“The underlying theme is the government is using all these powers to curb dissent against the government, to curb criticism of the government.

“What they are doing to Nizar is very clearly to suppress his right to free speech, his opinion. This is obviously a bad law… It is bad faith on their part. If they think something is bad, then don’t use it. Get it fixed first,” said Azmi.

Signs of desperation
It is easy to see what is happening. Najib and members of his Cabinet are clearly showing signs of desperation and fear.
Najib and his administration lack original ideas to push through reforms. They have failed to act on their promises. What happened to the National Harmony Act which Najib promised last June, to replace the Sedition Act?

Malaysia now has an opposition which is strongest and the most credible party to take on the BN government.

The opposition coalition has proved to be a viable alternative. It is not perfect but it shows promise. They won five states in the last election and if the opposition had been a bit more switched on, they should have questioned the veracity of the votes. Perhaps, they might have found out that they had won more states, or even won the election outright.

NGOs, activists and the majority of the rakyat are energised. There is no further need to tolerate Umno’s lies and empty promises.

Arresting Ong is only a means to intimidate and frighten her, and others like her. Another student has been expelled from his private college. This is to make sure his future is bleak. It is like arresting Rafizi Ramli of the opposition. It is meant to scare the rakyat and to stop them embarrassing the government. It is to prevent more whistleblowers from revealing more scandals.

Najib knows how to manipulate social networking sites. He has used them to improve his image. Is he like Newt Gingrich, the US presidential contender, who claimed he had 1,000,000 Twitter followers? Gingrich is alleged to have bought these followers. Had Najib’s expensive foreign PR media advisers bought his Twitter followers for him?

Najib should realise that the young have a powerful tool in social networking sites. It is the medium which brought about Hosni Mubarak’s downfall in Egypt. It is how activists garner support in oppressed middle-eastern countries like Bahrain.

Ong’s experience has gone viral in cyberspace. Her treatment differs from that of Ibrahim Ali and Ridhuan Tee. The message sent out to the young, whose affections Najib has been anxious to cultivate, is clear.

The Malaysian youth understand that there is one law for Umno and another for the rakyat. Moreover, the photo of Ong in handcuffs will be the new symbol of oppression by the administration of Najib.

Mariam Mokhtar is a columnist.

THE KUCHING DECLARATION

2012-09-16T18:57:00.002-07:00

THE KUCHING DECLARATION

LEST WE FORGET, AND LEST ALL THE PEOPLES OF OUR GREAT NATION OF MALAYSIA FORGET, WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, DO ONCE AGAIN FIRMLY, RESOLUTELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY PLEDGE AND PROMISE BEFORE THE WHOLE NATION OF MALAYSIA AS OUR WITNESSES, ON THIS HISTORIC DAY THE 16^TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2012, IN THE CITY OF KUCHING, AND ON BEHALF OF OUR RESPECTIVE PARTIES AND PAKATAN RAKYAT AS A WHOLE, THAT WHEN WE FORM THE NEXT GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA, PAKATAN RAKYAT WILL HONOUR ALL ITS PLEDGES AND PROMISES TO THE PEOPLES OF MALAYSIA.

WE WILL HONOURABLY EXECUTE ALL THE POLICIES SET FORTH IN THE BUKU JINGGA SO THAT MALAYSIA WILL ONCE AGAIN BE A GREAT NATION, HER PEOPLES PROSPEROUS, HER FUTURE SECURE AND PEACEFUL, AND HER NAME CELEBRATED BY ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD.

WE WILL HONOUR THE SPIRIT OF THE MALAYSIA AGREEMENT OF 1963 WHICH OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THEIR HANDS TO, AND AS A SIGN OF OUR DEEP COMMITMENT TO THE PEOPLES OF SARAWAK AND SABAH, CONSISTENT WITH DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AND JUSTICE FOR ALL MALAYSIANS, IN PARTICULAR:

ARTICLE ONE: EQUAL PARTNERS
We will restore the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement and the position of Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners within Malaysia by restoring autonomy to Sarawak and Sabah within the framework of the Federal Constitution.

ARTICLE TWO: FAIR REPRESENTATION
We will increase national integration between Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia through a fair power-sharing arrangement that fully upholds the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement.

ARTICLE THREE: CITIZENSHIP
We will set up a Royal Commission to solve the perennial national problem of illegal immigration and citizenship, particularly in Sarawak and Sabah.

ARTICLE FOUR: RESTORATION OF NATIVE CUSTOMARY RIGHTS OVER LAND
We will endorse the authority already vested in the State Laws of Sarawak and Sabah to set up Land Commissions to investigate, resolve disputes, redress, survey and restore Native Customary Rights over Native Customary Lands.
ARTICLE FIVE: COMPETENT SARAWAK AND SABAH
We will endorse the appointment of Sarawak and Sabah citizens to head Government Departments in their own respective States and by the powers vested in the State Secretaries of both States as well as give first priority to the appointment of Sarawak and Sabah citizens at Federal Government level functioning within Sarawak and Sabah.
ARTICLE SIX: OIL JUSTICE
We will raise the royalties paid on petroleum and hydrocarbon resources to Sarawak and Sabah to 20% from the present 5%.

ARTICLE SEVEN: EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT
We will bring the level of infrastructure development in Sarawak and Sabah up to par with Peninsular Malaysia.

WE, the undersigned, MAKE THIS DECLARATION AS AN INCONTROVERTIBLE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE PAKATAN RAKYAT AND THE PEOPLES OF MALAYSIA, THIS HISTORIC DAY OF 16^TH SEPTEMBER, 2012, ON MALAYSIA DAY, SO THAT IT MAY RING OUT RESOUNDINGLY From MALAYSIA’S high forest hills Down to the open sea; SO THAT freedom MAY ever reign; AND OUR PEOPLES Live in Unity!

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Declaration, and all the peoples of Malaysia being witnesses thereof.

Done at Kuching, this 16th day of September, 2012, in six copies of which one shall be deposited with each of the signatories.

For People’s Justice Party (KEADILAN)
Y.B. Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Ketua Umum

For Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Y.B. Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Leader

For Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)
Y.B. Dato’ Seri Hj. Abdul Hadi Awang, President

For People’s Justice Party (KEADILAN)
Y.B. Baru Bian, Chairman, PKR Sarawak

For Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Y.B. WONG HO LENG, Chairman, DAP Sarawak

For Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)
TUAN HAJI ADAM BIN AHID, State Commissioner, PAS Sarawak

Sold Out At The Altar Of 'Malay Unity'

2012-08-18T19:19:00.001-07:00

John Lee, JULY 25 — After a little talk I just had with my father, I've decided it's imperative to underscore yet again the very real effect so-called 'Malay unity' has on Malaysian society.

Malay unity as it is presently understood is fundamentally undemocratic, and fundamentally a threat to Malaysian unity. The notion that it is not just okay but morally right to prefer one Malaysian over another because of his or her racial identity undermines everything that the concept of a Malaysian stands for; it justifies racism, communalism and separatism.

In the first place, I cannot see why anyone would believe that the Malay community or Malays as individuals stand to gain from uniting behind one political party or one ideology. Malays are not a single-minded, homogeneous lot, any more than the Chinese or Indians are. To ask a Malay to subjugate his own individual beliefs to the tyranny of the Malay majority is ridiculous, and completely undermines the democratic right of individual Malaysians, Malay or not, to freedom of thought and expression.

If a few Malay strongmen believe they can really subjugate their fellow Malays and fellow Malaysians to the yoke of one single ideology, one single belief system, they will have to face the consequences sooner or later. We know what single-party and single-ideology countries turn out like; even the few successes like China are forced to tolerate differing viewpoints, if not differing political parties.

You cannot force a man to believe something he does not have his heart in; there is no reason to think a Malay will stop thinking and stop believing in something simply for the sake of "Malay unity".

But enough of this focus on the Malays; this is just one side of the delicate equation as far as national unity and social cohesion are concerned.

I want to relate something personal, something that affects untold numbers of Malaysian families, including my own. Many Malays often wonder why non-Malays are so reluctant to offer this country their loyalty; hardly any are ever actually serious in their wonderment. My mother is not a Malaysian. She is a Filipino, although with a partial Chinese heritage. My parents met while they were pursuing their post-graduate studies in Thailand . They tied the knot two decades ago; they have brought into the world and raised four children, all of them Malaysian citizens. Over a decade ago, my parents made the conscious decision to bring their three children back to Malaysia , and have their fourth born there, because they wanted us to know our roots. My mother has lived in this country for 12 years, and spent close to 19 years of her life raising Malaysian citizens; she has learnt the national language, made Malaysian friends, and settled herself here. If this is not the loyalty asked of Malaysian citizens, I don't know what loyalty you expect from us.

For the past 12 years, my family has made an annual pilgrimage to the Immigration Department, because my mother is not entitled to reside in Malaysia . Every year, my parents swear before a Commissioner of Oaths that they are still legally married, and on this basis, they renew my mother's 'social visit pass' at the Immigration Department. A social visit pass, for the mother of four Malaysian citizens, the daughter-in-law of another two Malaysians, the wife of yet another Malaysian, and friend of many more!

A long, long time ago - so long I cannot remember, but about a decade or so - my mother applied to the Immigration Department for a permanent resident visa. My parents personally put all the necessary paperwork together, and my mother invested a lot of her time — time which could have been spent looking after her four young Malaysian children, or contributing to the Malaysian economy — in learning the Malay language. To this date, the Immigration Department has never even acknowledged receipt of her application.

My parents initially followed up on the application, but were told by the officers to await an official letter from the Department. They waited.And waited. Ten years on, they are still waiting.
Last year, my mother applied for a Canadian tourist visa. The process went without a hitch, until we came to picking up her passport. A Canadian embassy officer appeared and enquired about her 'social visit pass'. My mother confirmed that yes, in spite of everything, this wife and mother of Malaysians has yet to be allowed to stay in Malaysia . The officer shrugged his shoulders, as if he were used to seeing this sort of thing, and replied, 'Okay, just checking!'

On the way drive home, my father reflected on the ludicrousness of it all. If he were to die, if they were to be divorced, my mother would have no right to stay in Malaysia , no right to be the mother of Malaysians. A decade on, my family was still waiting.

Fed up with it all, my father decided that if his wife could not have a home here, he would make sure she and our family could have a home elsewhere. Two years ago, he applied for permanent residency in New Zealand .

Today, before any of us have even set foot in New Zealand , the Kiwi government has welcomed us and given us the right to stay and reside in New Zealand for as long as we like, without any preconditions. We have no prior ties to New Zealand , and they welcome us with open arms; my mother has a rich 20-year history with Malaysia , and to this day, her request to stay here has yet to even be acknowledged.

This story is alas far too common; years ago, my father was warned by an acquaintance that his wife had waited in vain for 10 years for her permanent residency to come through. Earlier yesterday, he decided to check with the Immigration Department, just to see if they had ever done anything about my mother's application.

He got the same brush-off of a reply: "Tunggu suratlah!" As he left the office, he overheard a Mat Salleh woman berating a young officer, in fluent Malay: 'My husband is dead already, what should I do now? I have been living in this country longer than you have been alive!' Not far off, an Indonesian construction worker was conspicuously brandishing his approved application for a work permit, entitling him to reside here.

This sort of thing is no bureaucratic accident; this is intentional racism.This is the product of 'Malay unity'. What good is this talk of how Pak Lah is selling us out to the Singaporeans by giving them cheap sand, when right under our noses, the government is selling our citizenship birthrights out to any old Indonesian, while denying Malaysians the right to live in peace with their spouses, their families? When you endorse this idea that the end of Malay unity justifies the means, this is the result.

I don't begrudge legal Indonesian immigrants their right to live and work here; they are doing a job nobody else wants to, and they are often unfairly scapegoated by a Malaysian society not willing to examine its own fractures and divisions. But I have lived for years with the shame of being a citizen whose own country will not even let his mother stay, in spite of everything she has done for her Malaysian family.

It's easy to mock people like us for saying things like "I will never die for this country"; it's hard to accept that this country has never given people like us a reason to die for it. When my family migrates to New Zealand , they will not be looking back wistfully; they will be looking forward to a future where my mother is not forever in legal jeopardy, forever at risk of separation from us. The last thing on their minds will be a country obsessed with small-minded 'Malay unity', obsessed with worshipping its keris-waving heroes while ignoring the countless non-Malays who gave their lives in apparent vain for a country which will not recognise the ideal behind their sacrifice.

John Lee is a second-year student of economics at Dartmouth College in the United States.

Under Umno there is no hope for the Chinese in Malaysia!

2012-08-17T02:10:00.001-07:00

A former MCA insider has left the country for good. The excerpt is from his letter responding to a request from his friend asking him to consider a return to Malaysia.

The excerpt provides a personal but important perspective of the role of non-Malay parties in the Barisan Nasional. It has been reproduced with the consent of the writer whose identity we’re withholding.

Excerpt from letter by the MCA insider

From my experience with MCA and the people whom I had worked with in the party, I can only say that most of them (from Lee San Choon, Koon Swan, Liong Sik, Kim Sai, Ka Ting, Tee Keat and all the other people at federal and state level) KNOW that the Chinese in Malaysia is not ever going to be in a position to influence the direction of how the country is to be governed, i.e. to say anything that affects MAJOR policies.

There’s just this denial syndrome that non-Umno parties are just there for window-dressing; so the next best thing to do is scoop up the scraps Umno throw their way... except Taib and PBB who take the lion’s share as well!

From the many, many sessions of central committee meetings and brainstorming, seminars, courses, etc, the one main thing to emerge is to only defend or safeguard Chinese position in education and economic sectors ... we’re down to TAR College, Utar and Chinese business interests which, sad to say, …is playing to Umno whims and patronage… macam crony business.

The rest in the SME (small and medium industries) can pray to God and hope to survive and are at the mercy of the idiots who run the bureaucracy.

Under Umno, there is NO HOPE for the Chinese to improve

There is NO hope ever under Umno that Chinese position will improve because the OVERRIDING philosophy since May 13 is that non Malay/Muslims are to be assimilated.

That is why MCA is always fighting ghosts; Umno is always lying, even when the truth is exposed about their true intention.

MCA people know this and pretend to fight for Chinese when they know they are only protecting their personal interests/financial gain, through Umno patronage.

The BN was never a coalition; it is and always has been an illusion created by Umno to present an imaginary front to the world that the people represented by the various races and parties support them.

[Our elites] cheat and bribe their way in elections and steal what they can, when they can, with impunity. They not only do that, they find ways to criminalise the victims!! That takes them ten levels above the Somali pirates!

To cut a long story short, and to answer your question about going back, even if Penang booms further under DAP, the short answer is NO; I’ve burnt my bridges … It’s just too hard to ever hope that they will ever understand the meaning of a civil society, let alone try to forge one in the years ahead, even if PR takes over Putrajaya... my prediction is that the worst is yet to come. I hope I’ll be proven wrong in my lifetime.

Hudud has always been used as a weapon to frighten the Chinese and some extremists in PAS may have been used by Umno/Perkasa to split PR, so MCA is just playing the propaganda game to try to win back some Chinese votes. Umno on the other hand is using [the Malay fear of] Chinese political power to frighten Malays.

- CPI

Rais Yatim Just Buried UMNO!

2012-06-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

What Rais Yatim is saying is that the non-Malays, in particular the Chinese, are the enemy. And for the Malays to protect themselves from this enemy they must vote for Barisan Nasional. If Pakatan Rakyat instead of Barisan Nasional wins the general election, then the Malays are in deep shit. Furthermore, Rais is saying that the non-Malays, in particular the Chinese, are not important. Only the Malays are important. The government does not need to care much for the non-Malays.

If the voters are as intelligent as we hope they are -- but unfortunately they are not -- you can see that Rais has just buried Umno. But can the voters analyse what Rais said with an open and intelligent mind? Can they see how Rais has just shot Umno in its own feet? I fear not.

And the opposition is not doing its job either in educating the voters and help them to see what they cannot see unless you hold their hand and spell it out to them like you are talking to a primary school kid.

Therefore, allow me to walk you through what Rais said so that you can better grasp the implications of his statement.

“The Malays must unite for a Barisan Nasional win in the upcoming general election,” said Rais. So what does this mean? This means Barisan Nasional needs to depend on the Malays and not the non-Malays to be able to win the next election. It is crucial, therefore, that the Malays ‘unite’. And ‘unite’ here means unite behind Umno, not behind PAS.

Hence the non-Malays are not crucial to Barisan Nasional. Only the Malays are. And even if it were an MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, or whatever, candidate who is contesting, these non-Malay candidates would still need Malay votes to be able to win the election. Without the Malays, even the non-Malay candidates cannot win.

Rais then went on to say, “To ensure their rights are not taken away by the opposition.” This means if Pakatan Rakyat instead of Barisan Nasional were to win the general election, then the Malays are going to suffer. Their rights are going to be taken away from them.

What rights are these and in what manner will they be taken away? This, Rais did not say. He just generalised it by saying that the Malays are going to lose their rights if Pakatan Rakyat were to win the general election. What these rights are and in what manner they are going to be taken away needs no explanation. The Malays know what these are. Rais needs not explain the details because the Malays are clever enough to understand.

“Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim did not love the Malays, the monarchy or Malay culture,” added Rais. Now, this is a most interesting statement. Can Rais explain this part of his statement? There must have been something that Anwar did or said that shows he does not love the Malays, the monarchy or Malay culture.

Rais then extended this allegation to Pakatan Rakyat by saying that the Pakatan-ruled states are neglecting the welfare of Malays. Again, no details are given. In what way are the Pakatan-ruled states neglecting the welfare of the Malays? There must be some specific incidences.

Many accuse me of being too cheong hei (long-winded). That is certainly true. My essay assignments normally have a 500-word limit so I need to keep within that limit or else I will fail my paper. But then this is the limit set and I have no choice but to keep within that limit. Furthermore, those reading my essays are Oxford tutors who know what I am saying plus they want to see whether I am articulate enough to cover all the points in a mere 500 words and not leave anything out.

But when dealing with Malaysian voters I can’t afford to keep within a 500-word limit. I need to be cheong hei and write 2,000 or more words. If not then many people would not get the point. And in the case of Rais, he also needs to be cheong hei and explain what he means by what he said. As it is, it is not clear what he means.

“Malays must understand who they are and know their rights,” said Rais. Now, what does this mean? Does Rais mean that the Malays do not know who they are and do not know their rights? What Rais meant was Malays must know that they own the country (know who you are) and the Malays must know that they have special privileges that the non-Malays do not have (know their rights).

And his next statement better explains what is in Rais’s mind. “In the opposition, there is no Malay political force.” Yes, that is the crux to the whole thing, Malay political force. This argument is strengthened when Rais said, “For a community to stay in power, they must understand politics of numbers, which states when many come together we can determine something.”

And his closing remark tells it all. “Though recent polls show that Chinese support is low, don’t worry, as long as Malays practice politics of numbers, we will benefit.”

Okay, how do you analyse what Rais said? Actually, if I need to continue with my cheong hei piece and explain it to you then you are too stupid and hence you deserve the government that you vote for. But I will explain it to you anyway.

What Rais is saying is that the non-Malays, in particular the Chinese, are the enemy. And for the Malays to protect themselves from this enemy they must vote for Barisan Nasional. If Pakatan Rakyat instead of Barisan Nasional wins the general election, then the Malays are in deep shit. Furthermore, Rais is saying that the non-Malays, in particular the Chinese, are not important. Only the Malays are important. The government does not need to care much for the non-Malays.

This whole thing has now been reduced to a ‘them’ and ‘us’ situation. ‘Us’ are the Malays and ‘them’ are the non-Malays. This is war. This is about survival. The survival of the Malays depends on Barisan Nasional winning the election. If Pakatan Rakyat wins the election then the Malays are as good as dead.

Do you believe all this? I don’t know whether you do, but whether you do or not do not matter. What matters is the 60% of the voters who are Malays. And if the majority of the 60% of the voters believe this, then Barisan Nasional will be assured a win.

The fact that 20% of the voters represent 50% of the seats and the fact that all these seats are in the rural areas and hence are predominantly Malay makes it very important that the Malays believe what Rais has said.

But Rais knows how to make sure that the government does not change. Hence, while we do not know how to change the government, Rais knows how to keep the government. And this would be by making sure that the Malays fear for their future and that the Malays regard Pakatan Rakyat as a Chinese stooge and that the Malays regard the Chinese as the enemy and that the Malays feel that if Pakatan Rakyat takes over then the Malays are as good as dead.

And if more than half the 60% of the Malay voters who control more than 50% of the seats buy this argument, then Barisan Nasional will stay in power while Pakatan Rakyat will remain the opposition. And Anwar Ibrahim’s forecast of winning at least 105 Parliament seats will not come true and instead they will win less than 80 seats in the coming general election.

by RPK

Umno sees itself as god!

2012-06-04T19:36:00.001-07:00

What kind of a prime minister can describe his people as accursed bastards (haramjadah) and allowed the police to fire tear gas and water cannon on his own people?

But that is Najib (Tun Razak) for you and it explains why he goes around saying, “lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu” and, “give me your nambikei”.

This is the fundamental flaw which Najib commits every time he relates to people.

He is pictured as larger than life figure, the office of the prime minister is in the background towering over the mass of people depicted as the rakyat, who harbour dreams and hope of happiness.

The rakyat, the people, my fellow citizens, my fellow Malays, are always depicted as smallish entities and numberless digits.

Najib is a leader of the government that sees the rakyat as digits to be manipulated and shaped at will.

He might as well say: “My fellow slaves, ask not we your masters can do for you, but ask what you can do to enrich and make us more powerful.”

Najib’s government is that collection of individuals who exercise the rule of the government over its constituents.

Who is that collection of individuals? They are Umno’s elite and the powerful.

Najib preys on the susceptibility and gullibility of the rakyat.

The rulers claim a compassionate kindred with the common workers (aka slaves) and simultaneously enjoy the fruits of the labours of these menial serfs, also known as “my fellow citizens, rakyat, people”.

‘Najib does not understand’

So Najib goes around claiming, it’s people first, achievement this and that. But the large posters along the Seremban highway tell you a different thing.

The posters have Najib exhorting the people with his usual sloganeering: ‘Sejuta Impian, Seribu Keriangan”, literally translated to “a million dreams, a thousand happiness”.

For slogans Najib got an A++ from former economic adviser Daim Zainuddin.

But where do these dreams and happiness come from? All you need to do is look at the posters closely.

The posters tell of the basic building block on how Umno sees itself. Umno sees itself as the omnipotent being from where all providence spring from.

Hence Umno vis-à-vis the government wants to be deified to whom the people, the rakyat, owe complete loyalty and allegiance.

It therefore doesn’t understand why people, most notably Malays, find Umno revolting.

This is what Najib doesn’t understand.

People no longer accept ascriptive stature without demanding more than just your name and position.

Beyond your name and position, people want to know what can be achieved.

The writer, Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, is a former Umno state assemblyman but joined DAP earlier this year.

Malaysian Government Buys High-Priced Sugar

2012-02-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

It's obvious why they bought sugar way above the market price. There is a cut there for those umno crutch holders.

Our government, in its finite wisdom, negotiated a long-term sugar supply deal for a fixed price of US$26 (RM78) instead of its current price on the global market of US$23 per hundred pounds. Please note, this is US$3 above the world current market price.

And the minister’s reasoning for this is that “if the price fluctuates, and it goes up, we will profit.” Well I’m a cynical, pessimistic, IT graduate-cum-writer so I’ll ask this: what if it goes down?

According to a graph which I Googled and then configured myself to show the price fluctuations of sugar in January 2012, the price of sugar on average that month was US$23.59 per hundred pounds. Now, I happen to know that most contracts are done with the price either on that business day, or a monthly high price is selected as the basis.

The high price for January was only US$23.78.

Now perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps, since this decision was made in January, our brilliant minister took the average sugar price of last year as a basis for his brilliant economic decision. So I’ll check.
For the year 2011, sugar was averaging at most US$23.40.

So just why are we paying an average of US$2.60 to US$2.22 extra per pound of sugar?
I especially loved this quote:

“Two out of the three biggest sugar producers in the world have been affected by floods,” he said, referring to neighbouring Thailand and Australia, and added, “The price of sugar has not dropped. Even if it has, it is negligible.”

By November 2011, this was quoted from Bloomberg:
White, or refined, sugar for December delivery rose 0.2 per cent to $655 a ton by 9.43am on NYSE Liffe in London. Raw sugar for March delivery climbed 0.3 per cent to 25.65 cents a pound on ICE Futures US in New York.

So even with the Thai flood, the Australian cyclone, the price of sugar never went up above US$26. Now perhaps this minister thought he could use another nation’s natural disasters as a scapegoat, but I do hope that in the future he realises that with Rais Yatim’s goal of making Malaysia 50 per cent broadband accessible, bullshit excuses like this will not be tolerated.

Like I said, Najib’s not the only problem. He has ministers who are not making a lick of sense in reasoning why they’re paying more than required for commodities like sugar.

Like I said, Najib isn’t the only problem. But he is, in a large part, responsible for all of it.

He should have banned Perkasa for being a racist NGO a long time ago.

He should have told his minister to gauge the sugar market properly and make ready a good public relations excuse that was Google proof to be proven untrue.

And most of all, he should have made sure that all this faeces did not hit the fan in an election year!

- Hafidz Baharom

UMNO/ BN's Preoccupation with Sex

2011-10-21T01:45:00.000-07:00

By Mariam Mokhtar

Just because you drive a Bentley doesn't mean you’re loaded. You could be the chauffeur, on his way to fetch the towkay ….but your grey uniform gives you away.

The Hermes Birkin that you carry is no proof that you are from high society. The must-have item could be a knock-off….all of RM30, from the stall down the road in Petaling Street.

The pedigree dog which mopes around in its tiny cage under the front porch, doesn’t mean you’re a dog lover. The canine is a subtle showpiece to exhibit your wealth.

And what use is attending St. Hugh’s, if you've failed to use your university knowledge to do good but instead, attack a defenceless schoolboy, who happens to be the son of an opposition leader.

Criticise the father (of the boy) if you must, but show your intellect and base your objections on sound policies and arguments.

Khairy Jamaluddin is an Oxford graduate who may speak better English than the average Malaysian (according to those who have heard him speak). But he hasn’t put his education to good use.

At one time he was touted as an improvement on the uneducated Umno political candidate.

But in the end, Khairy found it easier to drop his standards.

After 54 years of perfecting the art of public manipulation, Umno is adept at making us part with our votes, mostly in exchange for a load of lies. In some cases, they threw in packs of milo anda few kilos of rice, perhaps a saree, an outboard motor or a shopping trip to Medan or Haadyai.

Well this time, Khairy, the much touted ‘Oxford grad’ (as if that meant he could walk on water or had a brain size that was twice the normal person’s) bit off more than he could chew.

The Umno Youth chief used Twitter to spread malicious gossip about the son of Lim Guan Eng, the chief minister of Penang.

The aim? To shame Lim’s family and bring him down.

Using Twitter, Khairy had written, “Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada” in response to another tweet by pro-Umno blogger“@PapaGomo”.

When translated: “He possibly destroyed Kampung Buah Pala because he wanted to replace it with Kampung Buah Dada”. (Buah dada is a derogatory term for female breasts).

Lim issued a stern rebuke to pro-Umno blogs and sites, about the “barbaric lies” concerning his son. He named Khairy Jamaluddin and other party leaders like Bukit Gelugor Umno division chairman Dr Novandri Hasan Basr.

Lim said,“My family and I deplore these lies and fabrications against my young son as morally despicable and barbaric. Umno should act against those trying to wreck the life of my young son with cruel and barbaric lies just to finish me off politically.”

The ploy by Khairy, Novandri and other Umno diehards, has backfired. Even the most hardened of politicos are appalled, except the extremists who are without conscience.

What Umno lacks in policies, it makes up for with its unhealthy use of sex as a political weapon. It is desperate and will clutch at straws, even fabricating lies about school children,simply to gain political mileage and deceive the rakyat.

Sex is being used to bring down Anwar Ibrahim the opposition leader, in the protracted sodomy trials and the release of sex videos. Umno sympathisers tried to discredit Mat Sabu with phone-sex allegations.
Why? They are trying to distract the rakyat from the high level electoral fraud, for which the government, the EC, NRD, and PDRM are all implicated.

If anyone thinks Umno/BN are clean, think again.

This is a list of men who are in positions of responsibility: Which uncouth MP committed polygamy? Which ex-minister and current president of another BN component party featured in an oral sex DVD? Which ex-minister and current Malaysian Ambassador was allegedly accused of sexually exploiting women? Which serving cabinet minister is allegedly accused of raping his domestic help? Which senior politician who is currently serving in the cabinet was allegedly caught with his pants down with a pop singer in a Port Dickson hotel and is allegedly implicated in the murder of another model?

The list excludes past ministers, politicians and leaders of media or religious organisations. No conviction seems to stick. So, do they buy their way out of any conviction or just use threats?

We have been inundated with the sexploits of these lotharios and have become immune to the scandals.

After much brainstorming, Umno has decided on a better way to shock: Attack the children of the opposition.

When the sex videos were released into the public domain this year, to discredit the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, it was discovered that the former Chief minister of Malacca, Rahim Tamby Chik was one of the ring leaders.

Two decades ago, Rahim Thamby allegedly raped a minor and was forced to resign. The underage girl’s grandmother sought the help of a DAP MP to bring Rahim Thamby to trial.

Doesn’t this show the level of mistrust Malays have for the elected Umno Malays?

The DAP MP was Lim Guan Eng and he was jailed for his efforts.

None of the other Umno Malays came to the defence of the girl and all were too afraid to support Lim.

Today, Khairy Jamaluddin has joined the ranks of the morons and malfeasants in Umno.

Umno plays dirty because it is desperate. And desperate people like Khairy, will do anything to be included in Najib’s, or perhaps Umno’s, plans for the future.

Even if that means discarding their integrity and intellect.

Guess Who Said That...

2011-10-04T01:45:00.000-07:00

Guess who?

"..........while one man standing in the road is a nuisance, a mere distraction, 10 men standing together are far harder to ignore. And if those 10 become 100, a thousand, a million, a billion even, they become force so big, so strong and so united in their common cause that those who espouse hatred will face a very simple choice. They can join us, or they can remain where they are and be crushed by the force of our collective will."

Who do you think said that? Bet you won't get it right.........

Prime Minister, Najib Razak.

Oxford - 17th May, 2011

Read the full text of his speech HERE. But be prepared with a barf bag. Just in case la...

我哋已经受够！

2011-09-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

The YouTube video below is awesome.

Care to make Malaysia what it can and should be:
http://www.youtube.com/v/9-TuU0uOkgo?version=3

We just need one day to send Umno-BN packing!

2011-07-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

You were born in Malaysia, received a birth certificate as proof and received an identity card at age of 12 and with that you are a citizen of Malaysia, hence you are a Malaysian.

Why is it so hard for the ruling government to accept this simple fact and treat each and every Malaysian with fairness. Why must they keep harping about race and religion. The Constitution of Malaysia , which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of land.

Is it that difficult to run the country with this guided Constitution? Trying to misinterpret, ignoring or quote the constitution as and when it suites the government in order to hold on to power is a sure disaster.

Each time Malaysia has a new Prime Minister, Malaysians have high hopes that he will take the country to new heights. Each PM came in with a bang, promising the sky and moon with each spewing his own slogan and using the rakyat’s money to promote it aggressively. But alas the euphoria did not last long when the NATO (no action talk only) syndrome sets in.

The 4th PM, Dr Mahathir totally destroyed the solid foundations for a workable system among the various races and religions set by his predecessors. Corruption became part and parcel of his iron-fisted rule.

The 5th PM, Abdullah Badawi, was a new hope that the rakyat were looking up to, to reverse what Tun Mahathir had done to the nation. A Mr Clean and soft-spoken type, he started a series of changes – one that included the fight against corruption. He managed to turn the old ACA into the new MACC but it did not work out well as many saw it as old wine in new bottle. With his predecessor breathing down his neck, he was toppled after only one term as PM.

Everyone is more or less accustomed to the way how these two PMs ran the country, be it corruption or the NATO syndrome.

With the 6th PM, Najib Tun Razak, the rakyat are now getting more worried. He is a totally different creature from his two predecessors. Other than the many baggages that he carried into his premiership, and in his greed for power, he has gone against every principle of his “1Malaysia People First Performance Now” slogan.

His many speeches were truly frightening. His support for Utusan and Perkasa which continues to raise racist and religious issues against the non Muslim reflects his inability to perform his duty as a PM for all Malaysians. His call for “lives and crushed bodies” to defend PutraJaya indicates that he is willing to see Malaysians die in order for him to remain in power.

What is worst is his shameless lectures to the world about Islamic moderation, democracy, corruption and what is good for the world, but back home his actions are a total 180 degree turn.

The way he handled the pre and post Bersih2.0 rally, his visit to the British PM and Queen, his meeting with the Pope and what he said after returning home clearly exposes him as a hypocrite.

He is using his position as PM to fight for his political party Umno and his presidency. He is fighting for survival and could not care a damn about the rakyat.
Najib & Co. must stop being paranoid and cast away all their imaginary enemies from within or without and stop the persecution of the innocent.

Up to this point and having seen the damage with not much hope of any improvement in the near future, I’m sad to say that I have given up on Najib & Co.

Whichever party governs or whoever wants to be PM must know and fully respect understand the Constitution of Malaysia and be guided by it in running this country.
By all means help those in need of help irrespective of colour or creed, and not those who are already rich and well connected, standing on the sidelines doing nothing.

Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. We respect the King and the Constitution.

We wanted to live in peace and harmony among all the various races/ethnic groups, we respect each other and all religions No one is planning to overthrow a legitimate government or King nor using religion, Jews, communists or foreigners to take over the country.

Malaysians do not need to follow Egypt, Tunisia or Libya to remove their oppressive leaders. We only need one day to topple Umno/BN – on polling day of the 13th General Election.

- Richard Toh

'Bersih' Is Not 'Clean'?

2011-07-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

We have just finished a wonderful holiday in Malaysia. Except for a few things, like the toilets and the drivers, it was great. The people are friendly and helpful. The food is quite exciting and the country is spectacular.

There was one incident, which caused us no concern and no problem, but left us more than a little baffled. We were in the Chow Kit area buying some things to take home when we found some shirts with “BERSIH 2” on them. We asked the man what the word meant and he said “clean”.

So, we bought some. They were good quality and cheap. As we were leaving the stall area we were approached by a man who warned us not to wear the shirts or we would be in trouble with the police. We went back to our hotel thinking that we misheard the man at the stall who sold us the shirts and that bersih must be a very dirty word. So we asked the concierge and he told us it meant “clean”. So we were confused.

At dinner that night, we struck up a conversation with the people at the next table. We raised the matter with them. They told us the shirts represented a call to the people and Government for clean and fair elections. They also told us that people wearing the shirts are being locked up without trial for waging war against the King. They explained that the Government and some people were against free and fair elections.

Fair enough, it is not our country. What we still do not understand is why the King would be against free and fair elections because he is not elected. Our friends warned us that even talking about free and fair elections could land us in goal.

Perhaps the government could put signs at the airport warning travellers that bersih is a dirty word in Malaysia and that the King and Government are against free and fair elections. In this way, no one will make a mistake that could land them in trouble.

Doug and Helen White,
Flinders Park,
South Australia

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

2011-07-19T05:52:00.001-07:00

We, the undersigned doctors, wish not to enter into the polemics of the Bersih 2.0 march on 9th July 2011 but would like to clarify the inconvenient truth.

We are outraged at the incidents, and the subsequent responses from the authorities, to the events where tear gas and chemical laced water were shot into the compounds of Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals, two adjacent buildings along Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, with scant regard for the safety of patients, staff and the general public who were at the buildings that afternoon.

Hospitals are considered as safe sanctuaries for all, even during war times, but these consecrated places of refuge and protection were violated by the defence forces that afternoon. Police even entered the buildings in search of some of these peaceful marchers. What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and apprehension of several protesters who had merely run into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons!

It is repulsive that the authorities entrusted with policing the nation and protecting the weak and needy, have shamelessly denied publicly, the occurrence of these incidents IN SPITE of countless photo/video and eye witness accounts of what was evident to all independent observers.

A few of the undersigned were actually visiting or working in the hospitals concerned at the time of the events and will gladly provide sworn affidavits, if required, as to veracity of the incidents

The Malaysian public expect holders of high public office to honour their positions accorded by the citizens, by discharging their duties with moral integrity, dignity and transparency.

Their failure to do so raises the public's doubts in their competence and credibility as much as it demeans those high offices.

Dr Ng Kwee Boon - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Datin Dr Low Paik See - Consultant Paediatrician
Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin - Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist
Dr Mazeni Alwi - Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist
Dr David Quek - Consultant Cardiologist
Dr Sheikh Johari Bux - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Dr Steve Wong - Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa - Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Dr Ng Swee Choon - Consultant Cardiologist

Bersih 2.0

2011-07-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Below is Bersih 2.0's statement in full:

2pm, July 9, Stadium Merdeka: Malaysia's moment of truth

Malaysians from all walks of life have travelled a very long road to reach this defining point in our nation's history.

With less than 24 hours to our intended peaceful gathering, our resolve to walk the last, most difficult mile as one united people in pursuit of clean and fair elections and a better Malaysia for all is firmer than ever.

Our reason for gathering is pure and simple – to demand the electoral roll be cleaned, that the postal voting system be reformed, that indelible ink be used, a minimum 21 day campaign period be instated, free and fair access to media for all be provided, public institutions be strengthened, and for corruption as well as dirty politics to be stopped.

The authorities have put obstacle after obstacle where they only needed to provide sincere cooperation to win the trust and confidence of the people.

Having faced half hearted offers of stadiums, arrogance regarding meetings as well as denials of permits, arrests, detentions and so much more, we feel that we have done all that is humanly possible to demonstrate sincerity and good faith in dealing with the government – but we have only been met with reversed decisions and stone walls.

There are no walls however, that will arrest the advance of the cause of peace and justice. Come the 9th of July, we will uphold our constitutional right to converge peacefully on Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

No government agency has any right whatsoever to prevent Malaysians from exercising their freedom of movement and access to our capital city. No threat or intimidation can overturn this fundamental truth.

Malaysians have now seen for themselves the degree of paranoia and lack of principled leadership that seems to have gripped the government. It is thus all the more imperative that patriotic Malaysians rise now and take this stand together to save Malaysia from slipping further into this insane darkness.

Since the beginning of Bersih 2.0, we have witnessed nothing but the utmost bravery and commitment to peace and justice demonstrated by ordinary Malaysians from every walk of life.

Inspired by this example, the Bersih 2.0 leadership reiterates our own unyielding commitment to our shared cause, and to being at Stadium Merdeka at 2pm tomorrow. We will meet at the carpark, and trust that the doors will be opened for us.

This is Malaysia's single most important defining moment in recent history, and we are fully confident that the rakyat will heed the call to safeguard the principles Malaysia was founded on and together ensure that we pass down to our children a nation that is just, democratic and united in love for one another.

To My Friends in Malaysia - John Malott

2011-07-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

All Americans are happy this weekend, as we prepare to celebrate the 225th anniversary of our declaration of Independence from the Brits, the same people who colonized you!

(And to my British cousins, I would like to say that we are all so happy that we have been friends and allies these many years!! God Bless You -- and I also think that Kate and Pippi are really smashing !!)

This weekend I am thinking not just about July 4th, but also July 9th.

What do these two days have in common?

They are both about the rights that all people have.

Those rights come from God, not from governments. They do not come from a President or a Prime Minister. And they certainly do not come from whoever the power-inflated, pompous, self-important IGP happens to be this year.

It is not up to a government to tell us what we can think or write.

It is not up to an IGP to tell us whether we can assemble peaceably in common cause.

The American Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on July 4, 1776, 225 years ago, said:

"All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

"Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states."

Put into modern English,

"There comes a point when-

"We have had it.

"Maybe we were willing to suffer and be patient -- that is the way most of us are in the face of power -

"But that's it! No more! Enough is enough!

"We have had it with those who act like tyrants.

"We have had it with those people who think we work for them, and think we will do whatever they say --

"Who think we will suffer silently.

"So now we have decided --

"It's time for change.

"We are going to stand up for ourselves

"and for our freedom

''and for our rights.

"which God has given to us."

Happy 4th of July.

And Happy 9th of July to my Malaysian friends.

- John Malott is the former US ambassador to Malaysia and still maintains an avid interest in the region

Governments should be afraid of their people!

2011-06-18T23:46:00.000-07:00

”People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

Bersih: Umno on the run, it can no longer curtail the people

Written by Maclean Patrick, Malaysia Chronicle

A seemingly harmless rally, organised by an NGO and not affiliated to any political party is causing UMNO to flip over in a seizure.

The first Bersih rally was organised in 2007, and 50,000 people took to the streets in a march of solidarity to demand free and fair elections. It came months before the 12th General Election that saw the opposition achieve great gains, winning over 5states and denying the BN the key two-thirds majority in parliament.

It was a rude awakening for UMNO and BN.

It’s 2 years on and a new souped-up Bersih 2.0 is now fast approaching. This time, UMNO has thrown a fit of even bigger proportions and the Bersih rally is being used as a convenient scapegoat for anything that has gone wrong in Malaysia.

Those who prostitute their words

The recent Internet attacks by hacker group Anonymous was even linked, many say shamelessly, to the rally by none other than the Information, Communication and Culture minister, Rais Yatim.

It was Rais Yatim who a few days before, challenged the group head-on, seemingly confident of his ministry's ability to fend off any attacks to government websites. The attacks came but the best Rais could do was to turn off government servers at the hardware level.

Group Anonymous did not have to do much, the deed was done when the administrators of the sites opted to turn off their servers - that was the best the Malaysian minister could do.

Perkasa and UMNO Youth are now organizing their own rallies on the same day as Bersih 2.0. Perkasa's main agenda is to go head to head to impede the Bersih rally. UMNO Youth’s rally is to march to maintain the current way of conducting elections.
Bersih wants fair and free elections. If UMNO Youth doesn't agree, then by extension, it must want unfair and non-free elections. Whereas, PERKASA is as usual just being a trouble-maker wanting some airtime.

And not to mention the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement that the Bersih rally is meant to topple the government.

Bersih unifies more than any slogan Najib can dream up

While UMNO propogates “Malay First, Others Second” , the Bersih rally is closer to the ideal of a united Malaysia than any slogan Prime Minister Najib Razak can dream up.

Nothing scares UMNO more than to know that the citizens of Malaysia have the will to determine for themselves a future that does not include UMNO in the picture.
UMNO fears Bersih because it knows, the rally will signal the demise of the BN. UMNO is afraid of a united Malaysia capable of thinking for itself.

UMNO knows, it can no longer curtail the will of the people any more. So UMNO has reduced itself to the politics of fear, threats and provocations.
In desperation, it is not far-fetched that UMNO may turn on its own people just to show its strength. This will be its greatest undoing. It was clear during the previous Bersih rally when water cannons and riot police stepped in to disperse the participants.

Citizens hold the cards, not UMNO-Perkasa

A rally like Bersih, when it can draw in the numbers, sends a message to all Malaysians that authority lies in the hands of the citizens and not in any political party. It is a show of solidarity that cuts across racial and religious and political lines.

This is why UMNO fears it so much. For decades, it has depended on racism and religious bigotry to set the races apart. Finally, when there is a force that gathers the people together again, it has no solutions. It is time the ruling elite in UMNO accept their fate, a fate that has long been coming and well deserved.
A rally like Bersih sets a precedence for all Malaysians to follow - that power and authority rests in the hands of the people.

The writing is on the wall and it reads,”People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”