Reality Bytes

China - The devouring beast from the book of Daniel?

2019-11-02T23:57:00.005+08:00

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking [c]pompous words." (Dan 7:7-8)

Who or what is this fourth beast? Could it be China? China fits into Daniel 7 description 'nicely'. But how is that?

1) China is the only communist country growing stronger. All the other existing countries (Cuba, N.Korea) is collapsing under their own doing. But not China. It is growing from strength to strength...exceedingly strong in many aspects.

2) China has huge military power i.e. numbers and technology. China's President Xi Jinping has warned certain countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet) that it will smashed its enemies bodies and bones to the ground...breaking in pieces and trampling the residue with its feet.

3) China has shown it has what it takes to oppress and devour its population systematically i.e. Christians and Muslims. No mercy is shown to any groups dissenting its Communist party rule. One of the rule is that no religion is permitted to practice freely in this atheistic country. No one and no religious institution is able to escape from its tyrannical claws!

4) China military power and capabilities is yet to be comprehended fully by the world superpowers. Is has never participated in any major war for now (Afghanistan, Iraq etc) nevertheless the nations of the world are wary of its might. The countries around China does not want to put the beast in an uncomfortable position eventhough China has encroached into these nations very sovereignty for the last 20 years.

Hence, China could be the fourth beast that will rise at the end of the age. Let's wait and see what it does with the money and the technology it has. It is vicious and acts without mercy just like what Daniel has described in chapter 7.

Lastly, it has made a deal with the oldest running government in the world to strangle and uproot whatever remaining underground churches there are in China.

Terrible.

Let's wait and see.

Waiting again?? - 1st Week of Advent 2016

2016-11-28T10:38:00.002+08:00

Wait for what? Who likes to wait for the bus/LRT or a bum-friend. I for one just hate the idea of waiting in a queue. But as we enter into Advent the Church is asking us to WAIT. Again?? For what???

Well, for a start it is not WHAT we are waiting for but for WHOM! The reason of our waiting is Christ Himself! Remember we love singing Christ the reason for our season?

And if it is Christ then it has to be a completely different kind of waiting as oppose to how we wait for a bus or friend.

It means we wait with a different kind of attitude all together! And what that means is we wait expectantly and in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Sounds familiar? It should!

And awaiting for Christ must certainly mean we are inviting Him to break into our lives the same way the He broke into the world 2000 years who was so in need of His touch.

More than 2000 years ago the Jewish people awaited with bated breath for a Messiah and they got one. Our Heavenly Father definitely did not and will not disappoint us as we wait in hope.

But did the Jewish people recognize Jesus when He came to them? Unfortunately, no! You see even if you had all awaited expectantly and hoping with anticipation you could still miss the Messiah! How is that possible?

The reason the people of God missed it is because they were not prepared and that is the key of this four weeks Advent celebration. Since they were not prepared their hearts and mind was not ready to receive Him.

They were hoping for a revolutionary or a warrior-king like but what they got was a baby! The idea of a Messiah in the form of a baby did not resonate well with the Jews even when Isaiah prophesied 700 years earlier - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel” (Is 7:14).

How about us today? The reason we celebrate Advent over and over again year in and year out is so that we over-prepare ourselves to recognize and receive Jesus which I’ve said is the key. But what is the purpose of this waiting really? It is for His glorious second coming. He is coming to take us home. But we have to be ready, people.

And make no mistake about His identity this time around. When He is comes for the second time He is making it very clear that He is coming as a King and a Judge of the world; not a baby anymore.

The only difference this time around is the timing! We do not know the time or the hour of His coming. And as Jesus said He will surely come but like a thief in the night or when we are busy celebrating or partying with family and friends (we love to do this during December, no?J).

And by the way Advent is not JUST about shopping, partying, decorating, even caroling! And it’s not about DOING either. It’s us taking a step back in our lives and start BEING and LIVING these values so we can have the desired breakthrough in our lives in Jesus. And being broken as we are - we thoroughly need His personal but mighty touch in our lives – in our families, carrier, business, relationships, ministry etc. I know I need Him very much!

And what values does the Church exhorts us during this Advent time?

- We wait expectantly

- With hopeful anticipation

- And with joyful preparation

Simple, right? In practical terms we should:-

- Pray daily

- Read and think about God’s Word daily

- Share with others especially the poor

- Be thankful in all things

- Understand the Advent/Christmas symbols during this celebration…they must be something meaningful in it

So, how is your Advent been so far? No worries! We just started today.

Let’s make the best of it and finish strong!

Amen.

Our 5 Percent in God's Hand!

2016-06-17T15:05:00.000+08:00

It is the LORD!

All glory, power, honor, praise and thanksgiving be unto our God!

My wife Karen and myself were blessed with our first child, Ivana on 12 Feb 2016 after 5 years of marriage.

It has been an interesting journey for both of us as initially we thought of going for an IVF treatment. I was reluctant as I knew pretty well the church’s position on this matter and explained to my wife too.

But not wanting to discourage Karen I agreed to just go for the consultation first. It turns out we were both physically fine to have children.

But the doctor said we only have 5% chance of conceiving naturally as our age was in the late 30’s already. In a way he was pushing us to go for this treatment soonest. My wife answered we will think through it first.

During the trip back home I thought “Now, if it is not physical, could it be due to some spiritual reason/s we are yet to have any children?”.

That night I took our problem to the Lord. I prayed, ‘Lord, I know very well what is the Church’s position on this IVF treatment is. Also, there weren't much practical advice to go about on how to deal with this issue. But you've got to give us a way out if this method ain't Yours . BTW, please convince Karen if we do NOT need this IVF. I really need you to show me YOUR way out of this problem”

Early next morning after chores Karen blurted out “Who is that doctor to even think that we only have 5% chance of conceiving? He is not god to say that. Lets’ give our 5% to God and let Him handle this!”

Now we are in agreement!

That night I asked the Holy Spirit who has been sent as our Helper “What must we do to have our own children?”

Immediately, He answered clearly through an inner voice“When you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Heavenly Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you”(Matt 6:6).

What better way to ask for something we secretly long for but be rewarded in public? I knew what needs to be done and thus my prayer life began. I did exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew's gospel. It started with just 10 minutes every morning then gradually to 20, 30, 45 minutes and eventually to 1 hour! I pressed on, ready to go to the mat with God for a child.

As if that wasn't enough, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray even at night. I obeyed and did the same starting with 10 minutes and gradually to 30 minutes every night. I was relentless and thank the Holy Spirit for the fruit of perseverance during that time. I prayed in the Spirit too.

It was during this prayer time that the Holy Spirit revealed many “great and mighty things which I did not know” (Jer. 33.3).

In one of the mornings, the Lord revealed that I had deep seated bitterness and un-forgiveness and He showed me a way out of this. Till that point I really didn't know about this long, deep anger and resentment existed in me but as the Lord led me I was able to release those things from my life. It was my spiritual blind spot and the process took a few days and I was glad He restored me.

Today, I find it easier to forgive and to apologize if I have committed any offences towards others. This was my first refining process.

Then, as I was still pursuing God for an answer the Holy Spirit led me to read certain parts of the Bible (read all of Paul’s epistles) and even books that would help me in my journey of prayer (i.e. Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets).

Holy Spirit the Teacher also taught me to remember Bible verses which has something to do with children for e.g. the Shema of Israel – “Hear O Israel. The LORD is GOD, the LORD is ONE. You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach your children diligently and talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you wake up” (Deut. 6:4-8).

As I was meditating on this verse I asked the Lord “How can I teach my children about You if I don’t have children of my own? You've got to answer my prayer for this commandment to be fulfilled.”

Then, I also learnt about the childless women in the Bible; Sarah, Hannah & Elizabeth. All eventually had children but because it was of God’s direct intervention in their lives. I believe God’s direct intervention could also solve this same predicament we were having.

As I was pursuing God in my daily prayer I came across God’s commandment to “be fruitful and multiply”. God mentioned this twice in Genesis to Adam and Noah as a command and a promise too. I struggle and question God as we wanted to obey. I also asked God how can I multiply when I’m not being fruitful in the first place? So, there was constant struggle and persistent dialogue in my prayer before it could be answered.

Half way thru in our prayer journey I told the Lord that I was NOT going to give up or give in till the end until we receive an answer. It does not matter if it took 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years…that I was going to pursue You all the way just like Jesus told us to – that is to be bold as in the parable of the persistent widow (Lk. 18: 1-8) and audacious as in the parable of the “midnight friend” (Lk. 11:5-8) until we have a child in our marriage!

It was relentless and intense and it seems it was a warfare but the Lord by His sheer grace and in His infinite mercy directed me day in and day out with His precision guidance on His battle plan! It was all His and I just needed to stand firm!

One day I found a book in an old box title Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers. It gave me new perspective on our Christian life as it calls us to practice radical gratitude. The easy reading book taught me on how and the why we MUST thank and praise God at all times regardless of circumstances. For once I understood what Paul was writing in this famous verse “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done” (Phil. 4:4-7).

Then came the moment of truth. The Holy Spirit asked me something that might be controversial to some, “Do you believe that you are the head of your wife as Christ is the head of the husband?”

I knew this is in one of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:23 I read earlier. I responded, ”Come on, we are no more in those ages where the husband is the boss over the wife. I said we were equals in this marriage.”

“Ok then, now pray over your wife’s womb for it to be open/loosed to conceive” the Holy Spirit instructed me. I knew it was the same binding and loosing application Christ taught to His disciples in the gospel of Matt 18:18.

That very night as my wife was sleeping I prayed a simple prayer over her womb to be open and life to come forth in Jesus name. I waited for 2 weeks nothing happened, then 4 weeks also nothing happen and then 5 and then 6 weeks. I asked the Holy Spirit how come there is nothing?

Then, the Holy Spirit taught me one powerful spiritual principles in life. “I already said but you did not listen. You cannot open your wife’s womb as you don’t believe you are in authority over her. Only those in authority holds the key to open doors and blessings will flow”. I responded, “Holy Spirit, I believe now”.

But does that mean I started to boss around my wife? Not at all! I needed this mind-set change as far as my relationship with my wife is concern! In the process the Holy Spirit taught me that “you are not the head of all women but just your wife...remember that!”

I repented of my disobedience and the Holy Spirit instructed me to pray over my wife again. I prayed over my wife’s womb to be open in Jesus name again and this time I knew it was a done deal!

And it’s time to wait upon the Lord. For once, I knew what it means to wait upon our Lord as scriptures says in Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary”. I waited with expectancy and continued to praised and thank God for this blessing as though He has given us a child. My faith greatly increased during this waiting period.

And Praise the Lord! The good news came in mid-2015 just before Father’s Day. My wife, Karen conceived and somehow the news did not surprise me as I knew in my heart we had received our miracle. We broke the news to our parents few days later on Father’s Day with much rejoicing.

Indeed, God has not forgotten us. He is ever faithful as His Word has come to pass in our lives.

God’s timing also couldn't have been more perfect. 9 months later the Lord gifted us with a healthy and bubbly baby girl right on our 5^th wedding anniversary; 12 Feb, 2016. Yup, you've heard it right!

His ways are truly perfect and “His grace is readily sufficient for me for my power is made perfect in weaknesses” (2 Cor 12:9) and also “my God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).

We named our daughter Ivana which means God is Gracious. Truly, He has been gracious to us and our family thru His amazing miracle!

As I reflected on this journey I could see the Lord’s hand guiding me every inch of the way. He willingly took 99 steps just so that I can make that 1 step back to Him to entrust Him with that 5% chance!

What more can I say now? If the Holy Spirit can birthed a Church surely He can also give birth to all our dreams and our heart’s desires including to have children which is also our domestic church!

On our part we just need to Listen, Obey & Trust in HIM.

We proclaim it is thru Him, and in Him and with Him we have seen and experienced the Lord’s wondrous deeds and His loving kindness in our lives as we share this testimony to you.

We acknowledge the “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1) who has been supporting us with their prayers to our Heavenly Father too.

May our Father in heaven, Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior and our precious Holy Spirit be blessed forever more!!

Amen and Amen!!!

Damian & Karen

(..viral this)

Entering Our Rest or Promised Land

2016-05-31T17:53:00.000+08:00

3 hindrances in entering our Rest or Promised Land, namely:-

1) Distrusting God
2) Complaining or murmuring
3) Harden hearts (harden not your hearts as at Meribah)

What do we need to BE to enter our Promised Land?

A) Trust in God to depend on HIM for everything
B) Be grateful and thankful always
C) Obey the Holy Spirit

So, Listen, Obey & Trust in the Almighty!

Amen!!

2016 Sarawak Elections - Is Adenan Najib's proxy?

2016-04-14T19:18:00.003+08:00

The Sarawak state elections is fixed for 7 May 2016. VIPS from the Peninsular has been making their rounds into the interior of Sarawak which you don’t normally see they do on other days. And it is interesting that Sarawak is the only state that still hold their elections on their own. But will the people really vote on their own for change or fallback to status quo?

I believe BN still holds the fort in Sarawak just like before. But what most Malaysians are hoping is the opposition will slightly better their performance than the last time. They need to achieve that in terms of the number of seats won and the popular votes as well. What is at stake for Sarawak and also for the rest of Malaysia if BN wins handsomely this time? There are several questionable activities that has been going on under Najib and also from the previous Chief Minister of Sarawak which needs correction but you cannot expect the crooks to correct their own wrongdoing!

Firstly, let us not forget Taib Mahmud the longest Chief Minister in Malaysia (1981-2014). He is famously known as the last white haired rajah in reference to the British Brooke family who ruled Sarawak before UMNO decided to colonize her again! Taib and his family has been regularly accused of corruption and siphoning off billions since the dawn of time and has personally benefited from Sarawak’s huge and rich natural and economic resources. You can say that Taib Mahmud is the Sarawak Marcos and his rule has been stained and tarnished by the many land acquisition of NCR lands of the indigenous groups. Taib Mahmud blatantly confiscates and steals from his own people without any regards for compensation. For all his ‘crime’ Putrajaya has awarded him to become the Governor of Sarawak in 2012. What sort of leader do we have at the top? Are Sarawakians just going to let this Pek Moh go away quietly or will the Sarawakians stand up and make a difference this time around?

Secondly, Sarawakians should not be fooled by Adenan Satem rhetoric of defending the indigenous and minority groups which has been marginalized by their own state and also Putrajaya. This two culprits has been doing a good job in depriving Sarawakians of a better life. As the majority in the state the Dayaks has been stripped from all types of benefits and rights that should have been accorded to them. The Dayaks are not recognized except to call themselves as ‘lain-lain’ in this country. If we remember well enough Pak Lah also used almost the same rhetorics to gain an upper hand in the 11^th GE in which he won 90% of Parliament seats. The same tactics is employed now to give a mandate to Adenan Satem to rule the resource rich Sarawak. But what all of us should be wary is does Adenan has the power to fulfill his election pledges to his people without any interference from outsiders?! I doubt he has that political will to do so. It will be back to status quo for Sarawakians and it is necessary for them to rise and give a knock out (KO) result against BN as a whole and send the correct message to him that enough is enough! What other means do we have to ensure Sarawakians rights are well protected from the power hungry ghost of BN and Putrajaya? Sarawakians should deny Adenan and Najib from ruling over them in 2016 AGAIN and the faster this is achieved the better it will be for the lives of all Sarawakians!

Thirdly, Najib and his more than ‘40 thieves’ has been making money at the expense of the rakyat thru implementing GST, increase of tolls & utilitiy bills, embezzling Tabung Haji, SOCSO, KWAP and KWSP monies. The rakyat is being sucked high & dry in every aspect of their lives and the only way to put a stop to his evil ways for now is through this state elections. Najib has shown what he can do with 1MDB and just imagine if he were to have a similar company in Sarawak. It is already catastrophic today looking at the PAC report on this company. 1MDB as we understand it is a vehicle for Najib & Rosmah to fulfill their extravagant lifestyle that they have been dreaming off. A big BN win in this elections will send the wrong message to Najib and his cohorts in Putrajaya that the rakyat is ok with their shenanigans.

There are many voices attempting to use UMNO entering Sarawak as a scare tactic to win this election. What is the difference between what UMNO has done from the time of Dr. Mahathir and what Taib Mahmud did against the Sarawakians in the past? Both have plundered and pillaged many Sarawakians of the many opportunities that they should receive as the rightful sons of the soil. ? Both parties do not represent the aspirations of the very people they are supposed to act for & protect. Do you think think Adenan Satem will bow to the needs of his people or will he kowtow to Putrajaya first?

This election is an important one in which all Sarawakians needs to show these unscrupulous politicians who are the real masters of their land! Sarawakians needs to regain that respect at least in the eyes of Malaysians in general. DO not give an inch and take none from these elected thieves this time around. Do that and you will see your state improved for your own betterment.

I always challenge my East Malaysian friends that Putrajaya has been siphoning off your oil right under your nose and has built 2 bridges in Penang and multiple highways in the whole of Peninsular. And only now has the government open their eyes for a need of a Pan Borneo highway for them. You will be cheated and be shortchanged if you allow this politicians to rule over you for another 5 years Don’t give them that luxury!!!

I hope that the change we envision for the whole of Malaysia can start from the great Land of the Hornbills. This is your moment to make that change! The only person that can stop you from making that change is only YOU!

Sarawakians, can we count on YOU???

GTP: Real deal or a farce?

2016-01-18T16:38:00.001+08:00

The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) has been an utter failure if we were to look at the way things has been for the last 3-4 years. The transformation mooted by Najib has indeed turn the tables against the very rakyat whom should have benefited from this programme but which it keeps getting worse by the day!

What does it take of this ‘People First Performance Now’ government to ensure the success of their own GTP?? This is their own initiative and please know that we have moved onto the 3^rd and final phase of the many programmes launch by Najib and his cohorts in anticipation of Vision 2020.

And where are we now in terms of the 7 NKRA’s that Najib and PEMANDU has been extolling day in and out in the mainstream media? I strongly believe the rakyat knows better as they are feeling the real pinch than all the data that PEMANDU can spin or churn out.

Reducing Crime

The best measurement for this NKRA is to answer this question – “Do you feel safe nowadays?” Most Malaysians will not hesitate to say NO! Every now and then we are seeing or hearing in the news how are people getting involved with violent crime i.e. murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping etc. There are times we may even know the victims themselves.

The statistics may say that our crime rate has fallen by 40% the last 5 years but somehow we feel unsafe walking down our dark busy streets.

What is the cause of all this? I firmly believe that the lawlessness at the top has crawl down and many are resorting to the same mindset of taking an easy way out. Meaning that if you are not happy and want something just rob, maim or finish them. And this is what our country has become!

Unfortunately, if the powers responsible for keeping our lives safe wants to spend a big part of their resources monitoring the social media then we shall end up with an ever increasing crime rate and feeling unsafe most of the time. Whatever the reason of the crime in this country it needs to be addressed holistically and speedily. Let’s not make Malaysia a haven for crime for anyone and there must be a concerted effort to tackle this challenge without fear or favor!

Fighting Corruption

This must be one of the best jokes of the year whichever year you care to pick! How could this nation fight corruption when their leaders have the gumption to acknowledge and revise their definition of corruption to commission and then to donation!?? We should have named it as GRAND CORRUPTION!

A national leader which such tainted reputation is definitely not the best poster boy to tackle this menace in the country.

Many have long lamented that nothing gets done in this country unless it gets oiled by some undercut money and the root of this sickness can be traced back to Dr. Mahathir. Corruption has become rampant so much so it has become a way of life of some Malaysians.

Come to think of it we are no better off than India, Indonesia, Phillipines or most of the African countries.

In addition, data from World Bank has shown that Malaysia is one of the top country in the world to have the biggest illicit money outflow in the world when our national population is just over 30 million! The amount of money just does not make sense if compared to the other top 4 countries such as China, Russia, Mexico and India where their population exceeds 100 million and more.

Which means that even if we are yet to reach the per capita income of a develop country rest assured we could already be holding the World’s No. 1 of per capita income for black money! Isn’t this crazy?

Our so called “drive” against corruption has spewed more and more illicit money over the years and there are no signs of stopping at all in the near term.

Does this NKRA works? Below data shows where we stand in the “underground” world!

Assuring Quality Education

Most parents aspire their children to high quality and affordable education. But how can our youngsters be given the chance to pursue that sort education in this country?

Many are questioning about it and there has been a lot of dissatisfaction such as the standard of our schools and universities are falling year by year. Just a simple English test will tell you where we are heading as a nation.

Does it take much for our government to provide proper education to our young people? We pride ourselves in preparing our youths for a steady job market but the question is what sort of job market are we creating for them when those in power are allowing our education standards to fall by the year?

A huge gap exist in the way we plan for our education on paper and the way we are pursuing this particular KPI to provide quality education for our students. We are great in drawing plans and visions but hopeless when delivering these initiatives and it is being done at the expense of our children’s future!

Critical thinking is definitely a prized goal nowadays! The way our education is geared towards is meant to create 2 things:-

- - To breed a generation of un-thinking Malaysians so that a particular political party could rule in perpetuity

- - To be a yes man/women to their employers i.e. MNC’s, GLC’s others

I remember very well during my school days some of my best teachers were those who studied up to Standard 5 or 6 only. But their classes were one of the most enjoyable and educational ones. That generation of teachers are hard to come by now. And come to think of it we don’t really need high flying plans on paper to provide a solid education; just competent and dedicated teachers with great pedagogy for our syllabus.

As far as this NKRA is concern I share with other Malaysians that we are yet to even reach half the level we would like to be. How do we move forward if we keep falling backward?

Raising Living Standards of Low-Income Households Overview & Addressing Cost of Living

Notice that the programmes under this NKRA targets the most vulnerable and poor amongst us which is what it’s supposed to do. Malaysian poverty rate which currently stands at 3.8% hopes this NKRA will reduce further down to 2%. I must say there are some good programmes in this KPI such as 1Azam, improving nutrition levels, enhancing healthcare and housing facilities and also business opportunities such as micro sourcing etc.

The bottom line is what needs to accomplished to improve the standard of living amongst the low income households? If this NKRA wants to raise the standard of living of this group then it must first and foremost bring down the cost of living in this country!

There has been considerable discontentment regarding the rising price of goods and services in this country for a long time but this time around it’s just gotten worse and all complaints from the public seems to be falling on deaf ears!

Some may argue it’s due to yearly inflation problem but it’s been proven most of these the rising prices are cause by the very people who gave us the dreaded GST. On one hand this ‘People First’ government talks about raising the standard of living of the poor but at the same time it is raising the cost of goods and services in this country by cutting down subsidies and implementing GST. Isn’t this contradictory? The poor has to fork out more now just to get by their necessities. SO, what does this NKRA does forthem?

If you really want to know the impact of these rising cost of living (toll, electricity, fuel, GST, etc) talk to the poor and they could give you a livid demonstration on how they are competing in the market place just like you and me! I hope the data to be produced by PEMANDU will not be a colorful one like in the past but just the plain TRUTH to inform where are we in terms of this critical KPI and what will the government of the day DO about it!

Improving Rural Development

The main tasks of this NKRA is to expand infrastructure access of gravel roads, treated water, electricity and providing housing facilities to the rural folks. The standards are set and implementation is in progress.

The question we should ask is - As access to the above facilities is open to the rural population (Orang Asal, the Penan and other indigenious groups in East Malaysia) will these benefits trickle down to this group of people or will it open the floodgates to the influx of developers and greedy companies to rob and contaminate their land further?

We know of many incidences in Sarawak whereby the Penans and other rural people has been blocked to harvest the fruits from theirown jungle and land just because certain companies has begun to exploit the jungle resources for their own bottom line!

This KPI should take into account the needs of the rural people and try to fulfill those needs first without imposing our city people thinking – “We Know Best mentality” on what is good or disastrous for them. The development brought about by this KPI has to be on rural folks terms. It’s about time we city-folks take some time out and LISTEN to the rural folks on what their needs are. Surely this KPI will achieve its objectives but under whose terms?

Improving Urban Public Transport

It is quite Klang Valley centric but what it propose is to have a sustainable and integrate all public transportation by enhancing the capacity of buses, KTM Komuter, taxis, parking management etc.

But what about the rest of Malaysia? Doesn’t rest of the country needs a fully integrated public transportation as well? Generally, Malaysians are getting fed-up of getting stuck in traffic jams but what choice do we have?

Many years ago, the government introduce car-pooling for those entering Klang Valley. I thought it was a good idea but somehow it did not take off at all. In fact car-pooling, don’t seem to take a liking for those in Penang island but working Mainland and vice-versa!!

But when the Penang state government introduced Park & Ride bus services between the two areas which feeds all the way to the industrialized zones the buses were almost full. The public is willing but are the authorities prepared to invest resources for a strong system that works for all??

Only a political will on the part of the federal & state government is able to solve this perennial problem for the rakyat.

And what about the ferry services in Penang which is almost in a pathetic state due to certain powers wanting to reduce its ferry to skeleton services - this has cause much unhappiness to its daily commuters as the current arrangement seems is plan to cater to the ferry owner’s wanting to minimize lost.

These grievances needs to be dealt with promptly and systematically in the national NKRA’s or this government is doomed to be known as a ‘Cronies First, Performance Later’ government!

The biggest question is can this government be relied upon to look into the well-being and transform the lives of the rakyat or will it use the NKRA to whitewash its own weaknesses?

MAS, Soros & Najib

2016-01-13T15:24:00.003+08:00

Perlis Mufti Asri Zainul comment on MAS stewardess dress code has brought a frenzy response in the social media. Many did voice out that MAS stewardess should be give the freedom to don their tudung while working on flight. Even some non-Muslims thought the same.

Perhaps, they should be given the freedom to choose whether to clad a tudung or not.

MAS will not go bust if the stewardess dons a tudung or not. MAS is already on the verge of bankruptcy long before this issue came about!

The same goes for our country!

Do you think this is an issue that Malaysians should be grappling with right now? I mean the externals is taking precedence over other important matters in this country.

Did our society become morally better when we focus on the externals? The results has shown otherwise. For the last 5 years or more our society has become morally bankrupt in more ways than one! We have issues that stinks all the way up to our nostrils i.e. 1MDB, $2.6 ‘donation’, massive high cost of living & GST, racism, bigotry, human rights violation etc.!

Why aren’t our leaders focusing on these? They can’t as they are the very culprits behind these alleged abuses and massive corruption practices in this country. And they have always been part of the problem and never the solution.

So, let’s not get carried away by the externals and conveniently forget what goes on inwardly in the minds of these people because what comes out of those in the corridors of power affects us the most!

Take the massive price increase of our goods in this country. I don’t think the prices of goods in this country is affected by what people choose to wear or not to wear! As we have seen in 2015 it is the incompetency, moral degradation and grand corruption of our national leaders (and his spouse) that has almost brought our nation to its knees.

People on the streets are suffering as they have to deal with these on a daily basis. Those in Klang Valley pay the toll moment they leave their doors.

And if we look at the actions, policies, laws that comes out of Putrajaya nothing of those has really benefitted the rakyat at all. Zilch. Nothing!

It was never people centric to begin with and the very policies or actions has put more burden and I sense that people overall are just getting tired of all these. For e.g. we have fuel, electricity, toll increase which put additional and unnecessary burden on the man & women on the street.

Why should the rakyat pay dearly for our leader’s incompetency? We should STOP electing people to high office just so that they could make our lives more miserable!

Today, Putrajaya is filled with rotten dead woods churning out rotten dead policies & actions to the detriment of rakyat especially the low income earners.

The multi-billion ringgit corruption which has been conveniently termed as “donation” and other brazen abuses of power at the highest level by our government is happening right in front of our eyes and yet most rakyat feel helpless to do anything about it. Is there a way out of this? The rakyat will not stomach this nonsense!

We have been through other crises before but I must say this is a self-made crisis induced by our very own leaders. In the late ’90 we had Soros as our scapegoat but today our very downfall was orchestrated by the highest leaders of our land working in collusion with his cohorts! And he still leads the country comfortably from the corridors of power.

But this time around Najib is no scapegoat. Is Najib the new Soros of the 21st century? You tell me!

2015 - The year under Najib!

2015-12-29T02:03:00.003+08:00

This could have been a good year but thanks to Najib who has been doing a great job in defining this country for all the wrong reasons with his (and her) extravaganza.! So, how did Najib defined Malaysia in 2015?

Firstly, Najib started by defending his wealth all the way to his father's grave; that his wealth was an inheritance which of course all of his brothers promptly denied. Najib must have known that he could not justify all the gains in his hand and needed to come up with something! And apparently he did - using the very person who could not be around to defend himself.

Secondly, Najib defined corruption to a totally new level. From corruption to commission (Scorpene case) and now to donation (RM2.6B) what else can you expect from Najib the Prime Minister of Malaysia? Can you guess what this means? He could be re-defining this 'donation' to something new again in 2016. Already there are some signs from WSJ reports recently. I guess you can be charged for corruption in Malaysia but if you re-defined it as a commission or donation you are off the hook from the long arm of the law. Lets wait and see for 2016 and hopefully its a just a false alarm!

Another interesting moment was the celebration of corruption in this year's UMNO AGM. We saw how certain leaders were ostracized for speaking up against corruption but the majority was blindly giving tacit approval and blessing to Najib to carry on with his so-called "donation" activities!

And thirdly, the return of oppressive laws and using Parliment as Najib's rubber stamp. Even without a 2/3 majority Najib has been able to bulldoze these laws to be passed without much hassle or let alone a proper debate. Not that he needs the 2/3 but imagine if he has one. We definitely have another Idi Amin or worse in the making and this is something all Malaysians should remember well during the next poll.

Fourthly, Najib has done a great job by breaking Pakatan and getting PAS to sleep with his party UMNO. Even Dr. Mahathir could not touch PAS but credit must be given to Najib for being able to do that. In fact, Musa Hitam was right when he said Najib is Dr. Mahathir best student. He is making 'great strides' in the way of his guru and now his own guru is having a really tough time to keep up with him! Personally, I hope PAS joins UMNO formally and I shall thank UMNO for burying PAS once and for all once it happens!

And lastly, the suffering of silent Malaysians. Ordinary Malaysians are feeling the heat from the high cost of living and Najib has turned a blind eye towards it. I believe the silent majority will not just endure this anymore. The silent majority holds the key to change all these blunders of Najib by changing Najib himself. But do we dare to do so in the next poll?

These are the 5 very defining moments in 2015! Will we be defined by Najib again in 2016 or do we want to define it by ourselves? I think many of us has learnt our lesson pretty well. It's about time we do what it takes as the politicians has constantly failed us again and again!

Here we come 2016 and Happy New Year to all!!!

PAU 2015 - A celebration of corruption!

2015-12-14T19:08:00.002+08:00

The whole PAU 2015 was celebration of corruption, hammering the whistleblowers and discrediting the opposition in whatever way possible!

The direction seems to be on just winning the next GE14 based on corruption. This is what UMNO is presumably offering; that if we win we will be more atrocious in the way we have been and making the illegal legal.

What was in the mind of these delegates? Didn’t none of them thought of questioning the RM2.6B or 1MDB?? Surely, as grassroots leaders they would know the thinking and feeling on the ground. But they chose not to voice up but to choke themselves with dirty money!

This is something unacceptable by any standards. Just think about it…Anwar went into prison the second time, PAS decided to go on its own with Najib prodding them to join UMNO again, opposition leaders are being haul up, repressive laws are being drawn and shoved hurriedly and now this!

Why are these leaders getting themselves elected is just mind boggling to many thinking Malaysians.

How long do you think Malaysians needs to put up with such blatant rhetoric and their evil action that stinks to the lowest hell? We’ve got to STAND up to this crap.

If not, we are creating another Idi Amin and the goons.

Boundaries in the Kingdom

2015-12-09T16:39:00.002+08:00

Just before the Mass started yesterday I had this question in my mind on how long I have not attended Mass at my former parish (Cathedral of the Holy Spirit). I'm staying at the boundary of my former parish and my current parish (Church of Divine Mercy). But really, are there boundaries in the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to proclaim?

Nope, I believe there is none. Either I am are with God (close to God) or not! There are no boundaries or should I say fence sitters in the Kingdom.

So, if that's the case where am I now? I would like to believe I'm on the side of God.

And if that is so how close I am with Him now?

I was also reading that weeks Herald and noticed that there has been a number of spiritual formations taking place in the Cathedral. They have just concluded their Parish Assembly and one of the highlights was the number of spiritual programmes that was organized in the past year.

And knowing the leaders of the Cathedral they have done a really good job.

Just a question: Has all the spiritual formation/ programmes help us to become closer with God? I believe it has and will continue to do so for all lay persons who attended. But this is the thing; that whatever spiritual formations we are organizing it has to bring us to the reality of God in our lives.

That it the ultimate goal of these programmes. In fact, that is what the Church that Christ established wants us to do.

Spiritual programmes are not a substitute for God BUT to bring us closer to Him who is the source of all life! This what good spiritual formation do for us: it makes us teachable, open ourselves to God''s invitation and we in return respond to the Great One unconditionally! Then the journey begins.

Still having boundaries between God and you??

Merdeka

2015-12-07T14:53:00.000+08:00

We are in a mess and there seems to be no hope for any turnaround as long as UMNO-BN is in power. Be it politically, economically or socially we have failed as a nation under this ruling regime.

Till today we are yet to see any signs of UMNO-BN turning to a new leaf to turn this country around. They seem to be incapable of doing so. And that's the message they are rightfully sending to us!

Why is that so? I'm sure even those in the highest echelon of this regime knows the answer. But why aren't they doing anything about it? Why aren't changing or at least reforming?

Well, why should they as it has everything to do with Power & Money.

In Malaysia these 2 are very much interwined in almost every aspect of this country's management.

Without power there can be no money and without money there can be no power in Malaysia.

The ruling regime has been able to juggle this 2 necessary evil well especially in Dr. Mahathir time but they forgot the people has moved on and wanting more from their leaders.

In the past UMNO-BN has been able to blind fold the masses by promises of development, development and development.

We've been hood winked by UMNO-BN for the last 55 years and our standard of living has gone from bad to worse.

Today, the rakyat is asking back "Development for whom?"

Should we give them another 50 years? Never! Not even for another term.!!

As they say absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is the real mantra of the current regime. They have no shame or dignity left in them. Hence, it didn't take that long to bring down the PR Perak government.

In addition, UMNO-BN has at its disposal a string of kowtowing and a yes-man media to discredit the people's movement and the opposition. The Utusan, The Star, Berita Harian etc are all the tools they need just in case they need to create another riot!

Genesis 3:15

2015-11-19T13:30:00.001+08:00

Gen 13:5 - And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Now, this verse got me thinking. If ...

..you will strike His heel - Resulted in Jesus got whipped and crucified on the cross (which is already bad enough)

THEN

..He will crush your head - Must have resulted in a total annihilation and a massacre in the kingdom of darkness.

Paul gave a glimpse of this "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Colossians 2:15.

Wow! The message is really striking, powerful and complete. “On the back of Satan’s neck is a nail scarred footprint.” - C.S. Lewis

And it was prophesied thousands of years before Christ was born. Think about that too!

God Bless

Psalm 119:105

2015-11-08T09:40:00.000+08:00

I have always thought about this particular verse as it express dual ideas about the Word of God at one go.

Your word is a lamp for my feet,

a light on my path.

This is what I believe the verse is saying:-

Lamp ------- Feet (The Word watches over every step I take in life)

Light ---------Path (The Word gives direction throughout my journey)

The Word of God covers my entire walk in this life. I'm covered!

It is this journey that brings us HAPPINESS

God Bless your journey!

What's Faith Got To Do...Politics?

2015-08-27T19:32:00.000+08:00

MOSES
Well, everything.

Just look at the Old Testament and see how Moses freed the Israelite's from their slave masters.

Yes, the slaves prayed and cried out and God answered their prayers by raising a prophet to confront Pharaoh and his oppressive government/policies that was busying themselves in mega projects at the back of the Israelite's.

What Moses did to secure the release of the slaves from Egypt? We can be very sure sure he did not just stop at praying which is also important!

With God's help Moses took several actions in a series of plagues to cripple the lives of the Egyptians from Pharaoh to the ordinary Egyptians.

In fact, these acts are very much akin to civil disobedience by modern day liberators such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King etc. Some of these acts are:-

a) Locust - Crippling the food supply chain.
b) Water turn into red - Total disruption of the basic livelihood of the Egyptians.
c) Pestilence - Disease on their cattle which paralyzed the Egyptians economic/business livelihood.
d) Thunder and hail - The Egyptians was restricted in their movement.

Notice that these plagues did not affect the Israelite's much!

These acts or plagues was to force Pharaoh to release the slaves unconditionally.

The primary reason the Israelite's had to leave Egypt is so that they can go and worship the LORD their God and be freed. The reason for their liberation might be spiritual but the act of confronting Pharaoh to achieve their end was very much political!

As you can see faith and politics work hand in hand to achieve the goal which is to liberate themselves to become free man & women.

I believe our Christian faith not just teaches us to change the current oppressive policies of our government but also to free ourselves from this very tyrannical government itself. It is our duty to equip ourselves with proper faith and knowledge on how we should we go about doing it.

My suggestion is to march in Bersih 4 or if you can't make it pray for the success of this ACT! I'm doing the latter.

Next I will be sharing on Prophet Elijah and his fight against his very own tyrannical king & queen!

Merdeka for Real

2015-08-18T14:22:00.003+08:00

Ringgit Malaysia is down to RM4 = USD1.
Lawlessness is unbecoming of this country (Lowyat).
Donation and money laundering are one and the same thing in Malaysia.
GST has sucked dry every last money from every hard working Malaysians.
And our political leaders are “very accountable” to the Rakyat. Admitted RM2.6B “donation” are used for elections and yet he still runs the country.

And we are supposed to celebrate Merdeka this month?
Should Merdeka mean anything to us with all the above? I think it should!

It means we deserve a 2nd Merdeka.
We deserve a 2nd Merdeka that will free us from the bonds of this rascals, unscrupulous leaders who could only think about their next coming donation or tax to imposed on the Rakyat.
We deserve a 2nd Merdeka that will ensure our prosperity as the Rakyat of this country. We should not be surviving after 58 years…we should be prospering by now!
We deserve a 2nd Merdeka to ensure none of Najib or his ilk’s will ever be able to stand or become leaders at whatever level or period of our country.
We definitely need a 2nd Merdeka from this bunch of leaders!

A tree is judged by its fruits. If rotten fruits are always produced chop the tree.
If Dr. Mahathir leadership of 22 years has produced Najib I can’t imagine what sort of leaders will Najib produced for the next generation? Idi Amin and the like?
Can we afford to wait and see? If we can’t change the country’s leadership thru the ballot box now DO NOT think the next generation could so the same with the likes of Idi Amin.
They are corrupt and just as brutal and their evil ways just gets bigger and darker.

This cutting down or change requires action from all parties. The momentum has started some time ago and we’ve got to keep it strong.
By next GE we must have built a strong mass to bring this evil government down to its knees!
Then we can truly have a meaningful Merdeka. A real Merdeka.
A Merdeka for real!

Whither MSM?

2013-06-09T17:46:00.003+08:00

During my Form 5 or 6 I read about an incident that was hotly debated and it was taking place in Kedah at that time. It was in 1993 and it was the Kerpan prawn breeding project financed by the Ben Laden group from Saudi and the Malaysian government.

I remember this particular news quite well as the news about this project was not well received by many affected Kedahan paddy planters who had to give up their paddy fields forcefully below the market price and turn themselves from being a paddy planter to being a prawn breeder overnight.

My source of information came from two papers which is The Star paper and Utusan Konsumer. I use to buy both from my school at a discounted rate.

I noticed both these sources has got a different take on the same issue. One was advocating for the prawn breeding project to be realized and the other one was quite against it. Yup, I guess you know which one I'm talking about right?

The Star Paper was advocating what the government of the day was proposing to the Kerpan farmers. Their message seems to be that the Kerpan farmers do not know what is best for them and it is best for BN government to do all the talking, thinking and the decision making for the displaced farmers.

The Utusan Konsumer was more critical in this project and its implementation. It was more concern about the welfare of the Kerpan farmers, the long term viability of this project and the inadequate compensation that the paddy farmers received from the powers that be.

This made me to think why is that so. At that time I had no idea that The Star paper belongs to the MCA which is part of the ruling government but it just made me to think is The Star as the people's paper telling the whole truth?

In my mind I knew The Star paper was only telling one side of the story and the other side was conveniently left out. Reading the Utusan Konsumer gave a much fresh and humane understanding of this Kerpan issue.

Fast forward to 2008 during GE12 most if not all of the main stream media (MSM) were only writing and publishing one sided stories which favoured the ruling BN government. It was so obvious and in some cases certain opposition leaders were attacked left and right and was not given the right to reply. None at all!

The opposition bashing was even more prominent during the eve of GE12. But this time the rakyat did not buy into their stories or lies. The rakyat gave an almost point blank response that they want change in the status quo and this involves how the MSM are being run these days as well.

It was at this point of time I decided to stop buying and reading all MSM papers in this country!

Then came the GE13 and nothing has really change even though the MSM has been reprimanded time and again since the last GE12 for their coverage. They have totally lost their balance and seems bent on only giving lies after lies without any moral trepidation on their part.

Just look at what Utusan Malaysia wrote about the Chinese voters post GE13. It is not only inflammatory but downright stupid and yet Utusan Malaysia managed to go scot free without any reprimand from anyone in the BN government or charges brought against them. So, who is dictating to whom now?

Is it the party that owns the MSM or is the MSM now are dictating what their political bosses should do and say?

Does this mean the MSM has got the upper hand in also designing our national policies as well? If yes, who are the stakeholders they are getting input from? Are they from the likes of Perkasa, or from other race based parties such as MCA, MIC only or is it from a cross section of man and women on the street?

For the record these race based parties in BN has been the biggest losers not just in the last GE13 but they have been loosing badly in the last two GE's as well.

If the MSM were to continue in this direction they will soon be annihilated as far as their circulation and bottom line are concern. Even as you are reading this many right thinking Malaysians have stopped their MSM subscriptions of this pure garbage that is polluting their minds.

Malaysians today are blessed with choices for their source of news especially political news. And yet our MSM stubbornly holds on to their old way of thinking which is to polish their bosses apple (read: political masters) in regards to the truth that affects this nation. From being one-sided and biased they have graduated to become more arrogant in the way they present their news and editorials especially the ones that pretty well affects their political bosses.

Today, I manage to go through some pages in the The Star online for the heck of it. Nothing has change much really. Joceline Tan's writings on UMNO politics nearly made me to fall off my chair when she described Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the most charismatic from the three UMNO VP's. It was almost laughable and obnoxious to say the least.

Of all person how could The Star ever describe or imagine the Home Minister as charismatic? Is it because he speaks like a gangster and behaves as one also? Or is he charismatic because he holds the key to renew their printing and publication licenses year in and year out? Take your pick!

Even Dr Mahathir has clearly admitted that UMNO lacks decent leaders today what more a charismatic ones!

The only conclusion that I can derive is that the MSM has been reading the signs of time wrongly or chose to read it wrongly and somehow their interpretation and writing seems to be out of touch from the rakyat's thinking and feeling on the ground. They need to get OUT of their silo and be challenged to take the road less travelled. Are they willing to take up this task? Time is not on their side!

Lastly, if the The Star who is beholden to MCA can't even understand the plight and needs of the Chinese Malaysians who are also MCA only constituents how could they ever be the voice for all Malaysians? As I said they have simply lost touch and if no change were to happen and they continue to enjoy in their navel gazing style of writing it is a matter of time before their shareholders wakes up and demand a change for the better!

The same goes to all other MSM in this country. There was a time the MSM was the conscience and voice of the rakyat in this country and also in many parts of the world. Remember Utusan Melayu's role and the Malayan Union in 1946?

Today the online media has replaced that role and readily become the prime mover of change in this country. Any action to stifle the integrity and freedom of the online media will be met with much scorn and opposition from various quarters.

By the way, the Kerpan project was a complete disaster contrary to what many of the MSM reported the project could be those days!

Kudos to Online Media!

Utusan Malaysia is Now Utusan Karut

2013-05-11T01:02:00.001+08:00

Utusan Malaysia has done it again. Their justification of BN’s terrible performance was racial and totally divisive which does not help the nation building process at all after GE13. By singling out a race of people who decided to choose Pakatan Rakyat(PR) instead of the incumbent UMNO/BN government they have portrayed the Chinese Malaysians as ungrateful and should be dealt with in the near future.

Why the sudden interest in Chinese only? Was it because they voted overwhelmingly for PR as though none of the other races did especially in the urban areas? Or is it because the BN caretaker government spent millions on them than the other races and hoping that the Chinese would reciprocate on polling day? Either way, it is NOT right for Utusan Malaysia or Najib to single out a particular group of Malaysians for his own failure. Yes, I say it again it is Najib's own failure!

So, what does Utusan Malaysia wants to do now? Are they planning and scheming something sinister in this country of ours? Yes Utusan, it’s either you are with us or against us. You have forgotten that it was the overwhelming Malaysians that voted for PR hence PR popular votes was much higher than BN for the first time in Malaysian history.

And you Utusan can’t seem to take it, right? After all UMNO is your political master for the last 50 plus years and YOU have been a political tool for them as well! Utusan, you have fail to grasped what Malaysian DEMANDS are! Here are a few list to start with:-

- We want a government that looks into the interest of Malaysians and not those of the Banglas, Indons, Myanmarese, Filipinos only. One day we might have a Benggali news papers in this country and you Utusan could be out of job. Yes, I hope you will face your demise as the mainstream paper of this country soon as you have not been able to bear good fruits but instead rotten ones only! That goes to the other MSM’s as well who have been spewing lies after lies to please your masters so that you and your board of directors could pamper yourself and be fed well like the cows of Bashan!

- We also want a government that is truly free from the scourge of corruption and incompetence which hinders our country from reaching our highest potential. Is it too much to ask? If yes, then go and tell your political masters they are not fit for the top job of this country in the first place.

- We want a government that truly represent ALL Malaysians irrespective of their race, religion and lifestyle orientation. Again, is it too much to ask from a ruling government for this after 56 years in power? If yes, then I believe you have overstayed your welcome in this country. Somehow I can’t help but to feel that the government we are having now do not represent any of us except their cronies and a certain wife. Yup, reminds me of the many corrupt regimes of the 20th and the 21st century in Asia and AFrica that must be kicked out.

- We also want a government that prides itself in promoting transparency. I’m sure Utusan has not heard of this word or pretends not to. If no, please look up in the dictionary yourself. In short we want a government that upholds free and fair election as a norm in this country instead of us struggling and fighting for it thru the streets. This is a basic need in any democracy. We also need the rule of law to be applied at every level of the government administration be it the Police, civil service and not forgetting the Election Commission (EC) as well. As of today the EC has lost all credibility of what is left of them thanks to Dr. Mahathir who started his IC Project by giving IC’s illegally to foreigners in Malaysia since 1980’s.

- We Malaysians want Pakatan Rakyat as our federal government. Yes, UMNO/BN needs to be OUT for good. There is no shred of goodness that is left in them anymore. You are only fit to be trampled upon as UMNO/BN has lost all their usefulness! The rakyat can’t wait for the next GE and hope and pray that your demise will come sooner than later. Count your days UMNO. After all, the rakyat has finish off your BN counterparts i.e. MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP etc. UMNO, now it’s your turn and be rest assured that the rakyat will not missed you for a minute once you are kicked out of Putrajaya! It’s just a matter of time.

Now, you have heard what we want as citizens of this country and the list above is by no means exhaustive. But I will stop here as you Utusan are too dense to understand the new way of being a Malaysian today. Yup, the list is longer than the above and I’m sure the readers will continue to share their thoughts on this matter.

Utusan, you have heard of our needs and wants as Malaysians. Now, hear out what we DO NOT WANT as Malaysians today.

- We DO NOT WANT a government that is corrupt to its core who do not know how distinguish of what is right from wrong. UMNO/BN have lost their moral compass hence the result in this GE 13 proves as such. It has nothing to do with any particular race or genetics. It has got everything to do with UMNO and their corrupt activities. Period!

- We DO NOT WANT the EC to be headed by the present leadership now who is not just corrupt but dishonest and unfair to all Malaysians. The EC has lost it and we the rakyat knows just too well that this unfair election practices will be continued if not ‘enhance’ in a more spectacular way for every other by-elections or GE in the future as long as UMNO/BN is in power.

- We DO NOT WANT the likes of Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Noordin and their Perkasa cohorts to be scot free in this land of ours. They have never represented Malaysian, whether the old or new Malaysia. They are the barbarians waiting at the gates ready to trampled our country. They and their spiritual advisor Dr. Mahathir are willing to go to any length to destroy this country just so to that their interest are protected and passed only to their next generation. Yes, they are only interested on their interest only. And if Najib can’t lift a finger to shut them off then Najib should join them as well when that day of reckoning comes. And Dr. Mahathir, I hope you are still around when we Malaysians crush and defeat you and your racist group whom I suspect are suffering from some sort of inferiority complex since your Malay Dilemma days.

- We also DO NOT WANT any MSM in this country to spew lies and continue to sow hatred among Malaysians. Please stop this immediately as we the rakyat are getting fed up with your cheap and unsubstantiated news to confuse all right thinking Malaysians. We also know that you are losing your market share hence affecting your bottom line the past few years. We will continue to boycott you and we hope that one day all the MSM will change for the better to hear the voice of real Malaysians instead of those Malaysians who walks in the corridors of power and are ever willingly to sell our country to the highest bidder.

- We also DO NOT WANT UMNO/BN to continue ruling our country in such a ridiculous way which would end up Malaysia as the laughing stock of the world. We will if we do not UBAH!

Imagine this, historically our country has been known as Suvarnabhumi (Land of Gold) by the Indian conquerors. Even the Greeks has called this piece of land as the Golden Cherosenes and the Chinese in those days also called it as ‘Kin-Lin’ which means gold. This land is not merely a land of milk and honey but a land of GOLD! It is a land which would bring prosperity and wellness to all those who live here at whichever time period.

In fact, many past European colonizers were ready to go all out to fight tooth and nail to get a piece of this land which eventually enriched them and their country they came from. Today, those conquerors has been replaced by UMNO and their elites and cronies has started to amass the kind of wealth which most Malaysians could ever dream off.

In addition, we are being fed with crumbs from the powers that be! Yes, it is merely crumbs (sisa-sisa) and what is our rightful has been taken away and given to UMNO cronies. Instead of 'gold' UMNO is turning our country into a perpetual junkyard!

Because of this we too need to fight tooth and nail to ensure our country is return to us. We will never give up in this battle against the evil regime until it’s brought down to its knees and the rakyat rules again.

No matter how long it takes we will get there. Yup, we are almost there and it’s just a matter of time before Change happens. For that, we must Press On!

Najib, what are you up to?

2011-07-08T01:29:00.000+08:00

Dear Najib,

I can't believe that you are dead scared of a so-called "illegal" organization called Bersih 2.0. What is wrong with you men?

Have you gone nuts or what? You start by jailing 6 PSM members under the EO. Why did you lock them up for? For communism, socialism or what.

We would really like to know coz we have a feeling that you have no idea what's the difference between the two. And if you don't have a good reason I urge you to release them un-conditionally NOW!

And funny how things worked out actually. You have deemed Bersih 2.0 to be an illegal organization but the King has agreed to meet them and he has done just that a few days ago. And you know what? Not even UMNO Youth had a chance to meet the King. Even the biggest toad on earth Ibrahim Ali from Perkasa was not granted an audience by the King.

But Bersih has!

This shocked you? Well, you should be shocked considering the kind of filth you and your blady cousin saying in the public these days. How could a yellow t-shirt be of national security concern to you?

Then, how about a yellow underwear? Is that dangerous too?

Najib the way you, your cousin, the Toad, the police and the media handled this is laughable and downright stupid.

I wonder how you are going to handle the economy then!

You have learn nothing about Rakyat Didahulukan. You have been ignorant about the Rakyat's needs all this while and you continue to do so at your own peril.

You will learn the hard way come GE13 if you do not listen to the Rakyat now.

I assure you that we the Rakyat will remember what you did to Bersih 2.0 come GE13. The damage is done and we will show you the exit when the time comes!

So, Najib when is GE13? The faster the better men!

Unless you are still afraid, no?

Top 7 Reasons NOT To Vote BN Come GE13

2011-05-24T04:36:00.001+08:00

Reading the latest happenings about our country is a pain for many of us. Seeing the kind of filth BN politicians churning day in and day out makes you think that Malaysia is in a state of anarchy.

Would anyone disagree? Politically, economically and socially our nation is sinking lower and it seems we are reaching the point of no return.

We were considered to be a model country at one time but today we are on the way to become the “Next Sick Man of Asia” or the next Somalia.

Can we re-claim our country from these corrupt and good for nothing BN politicians? I say we have too. And we need too.

And we need to do it this coming GE13. Personally, I have 7 good reasons to kick BN out of Putrajaya come GE13:-

1)      When BN is voted out you vote out people like Ibrahim Ali, Dr M, Perkasa and the likes. When you vote these people out you too vote out extremism, racism and bigotry from our nation. This is something we need to do as the current regime under Najib has failed to reprimand these racist politicians. In fact, Najib and his crony has been giving tacit support and approval by giving some of the most ridiculous statements in our nations history. Let us remember that “Perkasa adalah Perkakas UMNO” (Perkasa is UMNO's tool).

2)      When you vote BN out you vote against corruption. This is a curse our nation has to endure since money politics has become so entrenched in our system. Every contract and business awarded has to be accompanied by a certain cut or percentage for those who walk in the corridors of power. Heard of the 10% men and his allegedly Maika shares? Of course, you have the BMF scandal, Perwaja and the latest PKFZ issue which is the hottest topic today but the current BN government seems to be dragging its feet to take those responsible to court. Why??? We can never expect BN to provide us with good governance as this is such an alien word to this bunch of crooks.

3)      When you vote BN out you vote for all that stands for freedom and justice. What justice can a man on the street find for himself whenever his NCR land is taken over by BN cronies? What good is freedom if tomorrow he gets up to find his son has been gun down by the police in the wee hours of the morning? We not only need a dedicated and corrupt free cops/courts but also cops/courts who are able to perform their duty without fear or favor!

4)      Vote BN out and you vote out an education system that supports mediocrity and second or third best. Look at our education system which is tainted with racism in the form of Biro Tata Negara (BTN) & quota system for university entry etc. If you look at our schools these days we will not fail to see how the standard has dropped from, let’s say 15-20 years ago to today. Our teachers are not equipped to teach English well and this is causing our future graduates to suffer in the employment market. Yet, BN leaders especially the Education Minister has been giving us excuses after excuses till today and the young ones are the most affected. So, why keep these incompetent BN ministers in power? Get rid of them to redeem our education system NOW!

5)      When you vote BN out you vote against the likes of Utusan, The Star, TV3 and many other mainstream media which has been controlled, manipulated and shackled by the powers that be. These newspapers especially Utusan has been spewing lies after lies and are still doing so as their political masters are the ones dictating to them what should be the menu of the week. Responsible journalism is such a foreign word to this big time corporate liars. Their recent report on the Christian state and PM is a case in point! They must be stop at all cost and we are the ones who will do it by bringing down BN in the next GE13.

6)     Under BN rule Malaysia is facing a serious brain drain in the last few years. The major factors are the lethargic country's economy, educational opportunities, lack of religious freedom, social inequality and BN's affirmative policy in the form of NEP. These factors has made many young Malaysians fed-up with the current state of affairs and this has brought about the a wave of brain drain which is already affecting our economy today. The best brains in our country feels they are not being appreciated and welcomed as most of them are not of the Bumiputera group. Between 2008 & 2009 a total of 300,000 Malaysians has emigrated overseas just after the 2008 tsunami election. We need to put a stop to this brain drain and the starting point is to get rid of BN and vote in a government which is more inclusive and fair in its administration.

7)      When we vote BN out, we vote for a better livelihood for all. And I mean for all and not just for the selected few cronies or the elites. Since the Asian Financial Crisis and Anwar's sacking in the late 1990's our ecomony has never really prospered well. The BN government is planning for another round of petrol price hike come this June 2011. And Najib has the gall to say that subsidy has become an opium to the masses. Little did he realise that corruption and money politics in his own party UMNO is the real opium and the root of all evil!

And the list goes on. I'm very sure sure you have your own reason/s not to vote BN this time around. Do add in and see how long the list goes.

I'm convinced that for our country to move forward we need to put BN in its right place which is OUT of Putrajaya. As of now, I can only imagine Pakatan Rakyat as the only viable party to take over this government.

I have made my decision. How about you?

When They Came For Me...

2011-05-13T01:16:00.000+08:00

When UMNO-BN came for the communist,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the opposition,
...I remained silent;
I was not a opposition.

When they came for the Chinese,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Chinese.

When they came for the Christians,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Christian.

When they came for me,
There was no one left to speak out,

For me.

UMNO fiddles while Malaysia Burns!

2011-05-10T02:11:00.000+08:00

Waking up two mornings ago to hear Utusan ranting about a group of Christian leaders were praying to change this country to a Christian state with a Christian PM was almost laughable.

Not that a Christian PM is impossible if you go by the provisions in the constitution but a Christian state? They've got to be joking. Or so it seems!

UMNO got to be worried sick that all it's propaganda and maneuvering were not working but it's backfiring them instead. From Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy 2 trial and the so-called sex video seems to be falling on deaf ears and the rakyat don't seem to buying into that and rightly so!

Then, they train their guns on PAS and almost in a begging stance to join them under the pretext of Islamic struggle. UMNO went on to alleged that their partnership with DAP will not get them anywhere coz after all DAP was against the setting up of an Islamic state by PAS.

"So, why stay on with DAP/PR" asked Najib? Their wooing and begging has been derided by PAS as Mahfuz Omar succintly puts it "How can PAS unite with Umno when it is Umno that is oppressing Malaysian citizens?” he argued."

He went on to condemed UMNO as Public Enemy # 1 and they are the worst "national robbers" we have ever seen. This definitly is a tight slap for Najib as the UMNO President has himself extended the invite to PAS themselves. For the record, UMNO has extended 8 invitations to PAS to form a unity government so far!

Not wanting to let go as most UMNO leaders are (even the retired ones) Pembela came up with a statement alleging that Islam is under threat in Malaysia because of Christians now. That a majority population (60%) can feel and be threatened by merely a 10 % of the population is mind boggling to start with.

Their argument was since Christians are being appointed in some non-Muslim affairs portfolio and are still confused by the Allah & Al-Kitab issue will lead to massive apostasy in this country.

Now let us be clear on this. If the Muslim population is confused by all this then the onus is on them to educate and clear any misgivings which they have and NOT to make a scapegoat of others. This is a simple common sense but instead this issue has been turned by UMNO-BN to propagate fear and to further sow their inferioity complex on the majority population of this country.

The Quran first revealed word is "Read" which implies knowledge seeking and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. But here we see Pembela wants Muslims in this country to remain in their ignorance so that the powers that be can control and direct the minds of the Malays according to their whims and fancies!

Then, this sets the stage a few days later for UMNO mouthpiece Utusan to shock the nation that indeed Islam is under threat as Christians are taking over this country. The plot thickens when Utusan alleges that Christians are praying for a Christian PM and and to change the religion of the federation from Islam to Christian.

What nonsense? How far will UMNO go to ensure it wins the next GE13? Are they willing to stoop this low by coming up with such wild allegations without an ounce of truth or evidence. But of course, UMNO-BN has never been concerned with TRUTH since their formation in 1940/50's.

Is it a sign that they are very desparate and willing to go as far as to burn Malaysia down as long as the UMNO-BN is in power. If it is then they have lost their moral right to be leaders of this country. It is truly dangerous to be led by this kind of immoral and unscropulous leaders who are bent on doing anything just so their status quo remains.

The wedge UMNO is trying to drive between Pakatan partners has not been effective enough. Indeed, many are able to see their dangerous game that UMNO is playing with. Let me reiterate that UMNO will not give up playing with this kind of fire. It won't as long as their position as the number one party in this country is so threatened today.

The real party who feels threatend is not the Muslims as many thinking Muslims has said but UMNO themselves. UMNO are the ones who is fiddling with many unnesasary issues for their own survival while Malaysia burns!

Let's bring them down once and for all for the good of this nation in the next GE13!

Let's Press On!!!

Christians of Sarawak, be a Catalyst of Change!

2011-04-15T14:41:00.000+08:00

by Martin Jalleh

Christians of Sarawak, your hour has come! May you have the courage to respond to the clarion call of leading the charge of change in your State and country.

May your vote convince the PM that the religious freedom of Christians and other faiths cannot rest merely on his sudden goodwill conveyed at cordial, congenial and courteous close-door meetings.

May your choice reflect the earnest prayer of Christians that the government honor and respect our basic constitutional rights, and not subject them to changes according to political expediency of the moment.

May your courage bring to the fore the problems related to religious harmony which the BN Government has created or is complicit to, its conceited responses and ad-hoc solutions which contradict its very own policies!

The challenge before you goes far beyond that of the recent Bible controversy. It is to express distinctly to the PM the deep disappointment and discontent of Christians being discriminated against over the years.

May you covey very clearly to the PM the concern and consternation of Christians of being made victims of the frequent contravention (with impunity) of the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.

May you echo the growing anguish and anger of Christians who refuse to be cowed by the constant taunts, threats and tirades of “Little Mullah Napoleons” in Umno, Perkasa, Pembela, the Home Ministry, etc.

May yours be a conscious stand against those who are a cog in Umno’s machine, a party which has politicised religion for its survival by creating unfounded insecurities and fear amongst Muslims and a distrust of other religions.

The PM was right. Change brings with it uncertainty. But God will see you through. A vote for BN will bring you the “certainty” of continued racial and religious polarisation and compound the culture of corruption, cronyism and crippling fear.

May your concerns be not confined to the well-being of Christians alone but may they envelope, and embrace the struggles encountered by the peoples of all races and religions, yes, even the Muslims too.

May you champion the common good and be an answer to the longing and prayer of deliverance of the long-suffering people living in long-houses and languishing in abject poverty.

May you make it your Christian duty to stand up for the marginalised indigenous peoples of Sarawak who have been deceived, discriminated against, displaced, dislodged, dispossessed, deprived and disempowered.

May your Christian compassion move you to act justly for those who have become disillusioned, demoralised and dysfunctional by the divisive and diabolical designs of the powers that be.

May God free you from the “contamination” of Semenanjung. May your Christian conscience prompt you to chose the side which Jesus would — those who have no cash, credit, clout, cables or connection!

By the grace of God, may your response to the Christian call to the conversion of heart (especially as we come close to the climax of Lent) be a personal transformation from one of compromise to courage and from convenience and comfort to commitment to justice and peace.

May God be with you as you exercise you Christian duty of casting vote in this crucial moment of Sarawak’s history! May God bless Sarawak!

(15 April 2011)

Sarawakians, Seize the Moment!

2011-04-13T09:09:00.000+08:00

By Martin Jalleh

Sarawakians, you stand at the threshold of a great deciding and defining moment of change. You can either decisively help shape the future of your State or let it slide and sink like a tragic struggling shipwreck.

Sarawakians, may you be steadfast in this challenging hour! Sadly, after three decades, you are one of the poorest “richest” States in Bolehland and many in the land of the Hornbill are languishing in poverty.

“Sack” those who for the past 30 years have betrayed Sarawak by bleeding the State dry, siphoning and stashing their ill-gotten gains overseas and building a scandalous empire there.

Stop the scoundrels and self-serving sycophants who suck up to the powers that be to satisfy their insatiable greed, whilst marginalized indigenous Sarawakians suffer indescribably and struggle to eke out a living!

Ship out those who have repeatedly and rampantly robbed her people of their rights, ransacked the State’s coffers, ravished her natural resources and remained silent as the children of her natives are raped!

Stand firm against the local colonialist master who has through the last 30 years of larceny surreptitiously sequestered more than 1.5 million hectares of Native Customary Rights (NCR) land for his family members!

Send into political oblivion the spent white-haired chief (whose political shelf life has long expired) and other senior ministers of suspect character, soiled reputations, who readily sell their souls to remain in power.

Shame the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for its deafening silence over the mounting and meticulous evidence on corruption by the Sarawak State Government as revealed in the Sarawak Report.

Say “NO MORE!” to being sidelined and side-stepped by the Executive in Putrajaya and being treated like a bastard or stepchild. Say “NO MORE!” to being deceived, denied and deprived of what is rightfully yours.

Shout aloud “ENOUGH!” to being suckered, spit at and stepped on by the BN government and spineless Sarawak BN MPs who in Parliament have sacrificed your rights at the altar of political expediency!

Shun the short-term and sudden seductions of the “Santa Claus” PM whose political acumen has sunk so very low as seen in his vote buying and his desperate attempts to destroy his opponents with sex and slime.

Spurn the shallow, hollow and bellow of the small-minded Deputy PM who never fails to spew out senseless speeches, silly scare tactics, sabre-rattling tricks and sinister theatrics.

Stomach no more the shocking, scandalous and shambolic state of affairs concerning education and health, which were ironically highlighted by the sudden and recent allocations made by the PM and DPM!

Send the PM and deputy PM who are bankrupt of ideas and who have come to bribe you with the rakyat’s money, back to Semenanjung without their “Fixed Deposit” – as Umno continues to be their “Fixed Deficit!!

Stir and summon the indomitable spirit of people power to take on the insurmountable odds and to overcome the BN’s offering of blood sacrifices and invoking of evil spirits to cast spells and curses on the opposition.

Save your state, Sarawakians! By your self-determination, show the shameless leaders of the BN and their supercilious political representatives that you cannot to be bought over or bullied!

Sarawakians, by your solidarity, save the country! Strike at the very roots that have caused Bolehland to degenerate into a “sick country” and a “sham democracy” (Tengku Razaleigh)! Reject BN at the elections!

P.S. Please forward to your friends in Sarawak. Thanks!

FULL FREEDOM, FULL RIGHTS - NO TO 10-POINT PROPOSAL

2011-04-11T11:41:00.001+08:00

UPHOLD DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES: FULL FREEDOM, FULL RIGHTS - NO TO 10-POINT PROPOSAL

Kuala Lumpur – 8 April 2011. CCM Youth issued a press release today expressing their views in response to the various press statements issued by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (“CFM”), the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (“NECF”), the 10-point solution as proposed by Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala (“10-Point Proposal”) Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, and comments made in the media by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and various parties.

10-POINT PROPOSAL ONLY ADDRESSED THE ALKITAB ISSUE

The 10-Point Proposal presumed that Christians were only concerned with the Alkitab issue. That premise is incorrect. The 10-Point Proposal distracted both the public and the church leaders from getting to the heart of the matter, that is, the concern over the overt and covert manner which the government had discriminated against the Christian citizenry for close to forty (40) years that had resulted in the gradual deterioration of basic rights of Christians to freely exercise their faith.

RESTORE FULL RIGHTS AND FULL FREEDOM ENSHRINED IN THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

CCM Youth denounced deplorable accusations that Christians were not being “fair” or “reasonable” in resolving the Alkitab matter. CCM Youth disclosed that the Malaysian government had unreasonably and unjustly acted in bad faith since the early 1970s to-date against the Christian community. Among some examples were:

<Gradual erosion of the control of mission schools which included even the physical removal of words such as “Holy” and crosses from schools, even though the land, building and board of governors belonged to the church;

<Removing or disallowing “Christian Fellowships” from being recognized as societies in schools and universities;

<Harassing and transferring out Christian teachers found teaching Bible Knowledge, a legitimate examinable subject for the SPM;

<Gazetting the AlKitab, the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia, as a threat to national security under the Internal Security Act;

<Denying the use of the word “Allah” for the Christian God, even though it had been used by indigenous groups way before independence, and being the only Muslim country in the world to do so despite wide Arab usage;

<Denying Christians land to operate churches or cemeteries.

And the list goes on.

CCM Youth was saddened that Christians today were openly abused, harassed and provoked in the media and encouraged by the government, with all sorts of erroneous information being placed on official government websites put up as decrees; linking activities from Valentine’s Day to ‘poco-poco’ to crosses on football jerseys, to Christian beliefs without so much as a dialogue or a clarification with the Christian community. So much so that even the Islamic government machinery, with nods from cabinet ministers, the Home Ministry and state governments, unashamedly encouraged over-zealous religious officers and Islamic-based NGOs, to propagate and sow seeds of hatred towards the Christian community.

CCM Youth was informed that recently a group of students went for an excursion to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and were denied entry just because their uniform had a cross. After so many years of racial-religious polarisation under the hands of government machinery, religious and racial bigotry is now blatantly practised and widely nurtured in government departments against Christians.

CCM Youth believed that the 10-Point Proposal was superfluous as Christian citizens were not asking for anything extra, but for their basic constitutional rights, enshrined in the Federal Constitution, to be respected and honoured.

CHRISTIANS’ BIRTHRIGHT TO READ, SPEAK AND WRITE IN THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE

CCM Youth opined that it was ludicrous to deny Malaysian Christian citizens the right to use the country’s national language for the purposes of exercising their faith. On the one hand, non-Malay citizens are often criticized for their purported lack of loyalty when they did not speak Bahasa Malaysia, but when they did, like in this case in order to read the Bible, which they had been doing for generations, they were denied that right! CCM Youth reiterated that as citizens of this country, it was their God-given birthright, which “should not be given up, negotiated, traded away, nor ‘sold for a bowl of pottage’ ”, being simply rushed into just because Christian leaders were offered a “quick-fix” solution to the immediate problems that were originally created by unjust parties.

THE 10-POINT PROPOSAL DOES NOT CARRY THE WEIGHT OF LAW

CCM Youth decried attempts to create a “Band-Aid” compromise solution that did not carry the weight of law. If the Malaysian government were truly sincere, there would not be a need for a 10-Point Proposal. Insofar as this matter was concerned, all the government needed to do was to instruct the Home Ministry to drop its appeal on the “Allah” issue, which the Catholic Church won on 31 December 2009 when it took the case to the High Court. This action would immediately lead to the withdrawal of the Allah and the Alkitab from any further restrictions in the country. CCM Youth urged the government to uphold democratic principles and not play games by taking a round-about route that did not reflect their sincerity.

<10-POINT PROPOSAL SOWS DISUNITY AMONGST CHRISTIANS

The 10-Point Proposal served only to promote disunity amongst Christians, playing to the ruling government’s “divide-and-rule” tune. CCM Youth questioned how it could be plausible for a 1Malaysia, yet a 2-Bible and 3-Rule solution? If at all, it only cemented CCM Youth’s opinion that 1Malaysia had been nothing but political rhetoric. If Christian leaders had agreed to this proposal, the Orang Asal of Sabah and Sarawak would have one rule; while believers in the Peninsula, including the Orang Asli, would have another rule. Should Christians subject themselves to such confusion and be manipulated to accept such terms? Likewise, by agreeing to such terms now, would Christians then forfeit the right to resolve future outstanding matters beyond the Alkitab issue?

NO GUARANTEE THAT PLEDGES OR ASSURANCES WILL BE HONOURED

Time and time again, the Christian community have been given assurances but only to be disappointed later on. CCM Youth urged church leaders to be wise, for what had been dressed as compromise could turn out to be an entrapment – “Even the elect were deceived, if that were possible.” CCM Youth pointed out that they were well aware that there were many obstacles ahead, and they understood the “card game was in the hands” of the government. Even if the Federal government gave the impression of giving way, they could fall back on the state government machinery that would kick in and take that to another gear which involved harassing book stores, printers, forwarding agents, schools and so on, located in affected states.

THE TIPPING POINT – TODAY’S DECISION WILL IMPACT FUTURE GENERATIONS

CCM Youth urged church leaders to take their time and not to be in a hurry. It was imperative that they did not fail future generations, or act in a manner that could adversely undermine or enslave future generations from practising their faith freely. CCM Youth urged church leaders to remain faithful and to take as much time as they needed to ponder and to ask pertinent questions without compromising the faith. Otherwise, future generations would return to remind past generations of leaders of "compromises" made today, or that the church leaders held silent when they could have spoken up, having restrained themselves from pursuing justice when they had the opportunity to do so. CCM Youth urged church leaders not to worry about having to come to a decision by the CFM’s Biennial General Meeting on April 14, 2011, but to take ample time to pray and seek the Lord before coming to a decision.

CCM Youth reminded church leaders that even the youths today were still learning the full extent of the rights that had been eroded to-date as events unfolded, and CCM Youth would endeavour to support church leaders to their best of abilities to recover that which was lost, and hand over full freedom to future generations as their legacy.

ARE WE SPEAKING TO THE RIGHT PARTY WITH THE AUTHORITY?

With due respect to Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala, CCM Youth raised concerns that there were no assurances that he had the full weight of the cabinet behind him in this regard, given the underlying tones and lack of media support from cabinet ministers. Even the Prime Minister himself had been strangely silent. From remarks given by the Home Minister and various “shadow gatekeepers”, there had been no assurance that the relevant ministries would honour any form of agreement. What remained consistent so far had been the consistency of the government’s inconsistencies. The danger of flip-flops was not a probability, but a given. CCM Youth believed that this rush to force a solution was inadvertently linked to the outcome of the Sarawak elections and the potential impact from its Christian majority population. CCM Youth observed that it was this careless ‘short-term opportunistic’ attitude of the government for political expediency that had made them wary of such overtures and advised church leaders to exercise greater caution under such circumstances. If the government were sincere in addressing the grievances of the Christian community, CCM Youth believed that nothing less than the coming together of a task force from the Prime Minister’s Department, the Home Ministry, the Attorney General, the Education Ministry and all state governments and Islamic departments had to take place.

SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD

CCM Youth pointed out that it was Datuk Seri Idris Jala who apologized. So far, no official statement of apology had been offered by any ministry, especially none was forthcoming from the Home Minister, the main protagonist who directed the stamping of the Bibles. The public ought to know that this entire episode of the desecration of the Christian’s Holy Scriptures happened during the holy month of LENT which precedes and commemorates the Lord Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and celebrates His resurrection. If an opportunity presented itself for reconciliation and restoration to properly right the grave wrong committed, CCM Youth would certainly offer forgiveness. Obviously, the situation had yet to present itself.

CHRISTIAN CABINET MINISTERS MUST TAKE LEADERSHIP

CCM Youth noted that except for Datuk Seri Idris Jala, many Christian cabinet ministers have kept silent. One cabinet minister even called Christians foolish for holding prayer rallies. CCM Youth challenged cabinet ministers to be faithful and to choose today whom they served – whether God or man.

CCM Youth reiterated that they were not being unreasonable, audaciously demanding or stirring trouble. CCM Youth regretted that for a long time, the Church had remained silent, having compromised when it should not have. In good faith, church leaders had been drawn into endless unproductive closed-door meetings, given verbal promises and handshake agreements that never materialized. Unfortunately for the Church, Christian goodwill had not been reciprocated, and closed door agreements never honoured. The recent desecration of the AlKitab was the last straw.

CCM Youth called upon all Christians today to rally firmly behind their Christian leaders as they worked towards a resolution for the community. CCM Youth urged the Christian community to uphold their leaders in prayer more fervently.

CCM Youth reiterated that they remained committed to nation-building and bringing about justice, peace and reconciliation for all Malaysians and migrants, and would stop at nothing to bring about change for the betterment of all peoples regardless of creed, race or religion, through proclaiming truth and bringing about justice and transformation to the nation.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

(signed)

Daniel Chai

Secretary

CCM Youth

Email: ccmyouth@gmail.com

April 8, 2011

SOURCE: COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF MALAYSIA YOUTH

Media Contact details:

Persons to contact – Daniel Chai 012 3986776 and Elaine Teh 016 221 7894

http://www.facebook.com/M68Youth

Sidang Injil Baru (SIB) Sarawak – Renewal Evangelical Mission of Sarawak

2011-04-10T14:44:00.000+08:00

Surat Jemaat - Vote Wisely this time Around!

Freedom of Religion

Saudara-saudara jemaat di tanah air tercinta Sarawak, yang menjadi umat Allah Bapa dan Tuhan
Yesus Kristus. Kami mengharap semoga Allah memberi berkat dan sejahtera kepada kalian.

We praise God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ that Sarawak is the only Christian majority state
in Malaysia where half the population are Christians. It is with our goodwill and blessings that we
have allowed a Malay Muslim to be the Chief Minister of Sarawak since 1963 except for a brief period
when a Christian held the position until he was unconstitutionally sacked in 1966 by the Federal
government.

We also praise God that one in ten people in Malaysia are Christians. In fact, two thirds of the
Christians are Malay speaking bumiputras in Sarawak and Sabah as well as Orang Asli in Malaya. We
have been using the Malay Alkitab or the Iban Bup Kudus as our Holy Bible for generations.

Sarawak, together with Sabah, Singapore and Malaya formed Malaysia in 1963 under the Malaysia
Agreement. Singapore left the federation two years later. Like the Malays, our special position as
pribumis or natives is protected under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

Sarawak has made its position abundantly clear in what is known as the 18-points (20-points in for
Sabah) in drafting the Malaysia Agreement. Point #1 was on freedom of religion: “While there was no
objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia, there should be no state religion in
Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah), and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of
Malaya should not apply to Borneo.”

That was the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement even though this point was amended in the final draft.

East Malaysians were more than magnanimous in making this compromise to UMNO. But recent
events have forced us to come to the conclusion that there is a sinister anti-Christian agenda by
Barisan Nasional especially by UMNO and its proxies in Sarawak. This is unconstitutional.

Bishop Ng Moon Hing, chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia pointed out in a statement
on 10 March 2011 over the illegal confiscation of 35,000 copies of the Alkitab: “It would appear as if
the authorities are waging a continuous, surreptitious and systematic programme against Christians in Malaysia to deny them access to the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.”

We have shown great tolerance despite provocative actions against our faith by the ruling coalition.
But when the government desecrated 35,000 copies of our Alkitab which were illegally confiscated, it
is our wake up-call to defend our constitutional right to profess, practise and propagate our faith.

We have been betrayed by Barisan Nasional. The incumbent Chief Minster and his cabinet, who have
remained in office by our grace for 30 years, have proven to be incapable of defending freedom of
religion in Sarawak. They, therefore, cannot expect to enjoy our trust in the coming state elections.

Even PAS, the Islamic Party, is against the position taken by the ruling coalition against the Alkitab
and to prohibit bumiputra Christians from using the word Allah to refer to God.

We wish to make it clear that we are not against Islam but only against Barisan Nasional’s anti-
Christian agenda, particularly the recent desecration of 35,000 copies of our Alkitab. They were
unconstitutionally impounded by the Home Ministry.

Barisan’s anti-Christian agenda began when Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime Minister in July
1981 when he banned the Alkitab under a Gazette Order made under the Internal Security Act in 1982.
When Christians objected, he amended it to a “restricted ban” for use only in churches.

Despite this, various consignments of the Alkitab and Bahasa Christian publications were illegally
confiscated by the Home Ministry by using the Publications and Printing Presses Act. The Bup Kudus
or Iban Bible was banned in 2003 by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he was acting prime Minister and
Internal Security Minister. He relented when faced with Iban anger.

Now under Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia, this harassment against the church and
Christians continues unabated leading to the desecration of the 35,000 copies of the Alkitab by
stamping it with serial numbers and the words “For Christianity Only.” We can never agree to this
because the Bible is meant for anyone interested. Only criminals are identified by serial numbers.

It is not that we have not compromised for the sake of peace. We have even gone to the extent to
imprint a large crucifix on the cover of Alkitab with the words “Penerbitan Kristian” or “Christian
Publication” so that Muslims do not buy or receive the Alkitab by mistake.

The Alkitab and Bahasa Christian publications are now planced under the jurisdiction of the Qur’anic
Text Division of the Home Ministry. The desecration of the Alkitab is done by this division.

The shortage of Alkitab in Sarawak, due to the ongoing illegal confiscation of our Holy Scriptures, has
now reached a crisis. Our children and grandchildren have no access to them since birth.

The evidence before us is that Barisan Nasional is persisting in completely wiping out our Christian
Heritage in Sarawak and Sabah by pursuing its unconstitutional and illegal anti-Christian agenda.

Sidang Injil Baru Sarawak, therefore, advises Christians to vote wisely in the coming state elections on
16 April 2011. You do not necessarily have to vote for the Opposition. Vote only for candidates,
including those from Barisan Nasional, whom you feel can act with a clear conscience and integrity
and a proven record of defending the freedom of religion.

Our Christian heritage is at stake. Act now. Vote wisely. Pray for divine intervention.

…
time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

(Romans 13:11 NLT).

Kasih karunia dan damai sejahtera menyertai kamu.

Sidang Injil Baru (SIB) Sarawak
Sri Aman
30 Mar 2011