Martin Jalleh

On 28 August last year, more than 50 people, shortly after their Friday prayers, marched from the Selangor state mosque in Shah Alam to the Selangor State Secretariat to protest the relocation of a 150-year old Hindu temple to their neighbourhood.

Amidst strong chants of “Allahuakbar!” they dragged and paraded the severed and bloodied head of a cow. One of their leaders shouted “I guarantee bloodshed and racial tension (if the temple relocation takes place)”.

Some of them made fiery speeches, spat on the severed cow’s head, kicked it, stomped on it, dumped it in front of the gates of the State Secretariat and proudly posed for photos, as police stood stoically, silently and submissively by.

Malaysian Hindus (who consider the cow a sacred animal) protested vehemently and called it a “sacrilegious act”. Other non-Muslims described it as “sickening” and “scandalous”. Many Muslims in the country considered it “shameless” and “so un-Islamic”.

A Muslim wrote: “These hooligans don’t represent all of us”. Another added: “As a Muslim, I am ashamed at the behaviour of these hoodlums especially during the holy month of Ramadhan. I really wonder who the head honchos are behind this unscrupulous act.”

The world watched in shock at how such a provocative act, or as some would later call it “barbaric behaviour” could have taken place in Malaysia – a country which its government boasts of as being a supposed showcase of a multi-racial-religious society today!

Hishammuddin’s Hypocrisy

In spite of a nationwide outcry and the lodging of 98 police reports against the cow-head protestors, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who often hypes about racial and religious harmony decided to hijack the role of the police, Attorney-General (AG) and even the judiciary.

He went out of the way to meet in his office with the protestors – thevery people who had committed what was clearly a seditious and sacrilegious act. He even daftly declared them innocent, defended their actions and deemed legal action against them as unnecessary.

According to him, the protestors were the ones who were “victimised”. They had no intention to stir racial emotion! It was not the first time an animal head had been used in a protest! The police allowed them to proceed because the numbers of protestors were small. Hishammuddin humoured the whole nation!

So desperate was he to justify the heinous act that he would even declare: “In this day and age, protests should be accepted in this world, as people want their voices to be heard. If we don’t give them room to voice their opinions, they have no choice but to protest.”

Hishammuddin’s hypocrisy could not hold when, about a week afterthe cow-head protest, police arrested 16 Hindraf leaders who were in the midst of holding a peaceful candlelight vigil to voice their strong protest against the sacrilegious act in Shah Alam.

(According to Lim Kit Siang, Hishammuddin’s “obsession to defend the Umno role in the cow-head demonstration” was “to further the Umno/BN agenda to weaken and topple the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor State Government”.)

In comparison, the PM very dramatically said he was deeply disturbed by the despicable act, demanded that the issue be nipped in the bud and directed the IGP to act swiftly and sternly. It is 11 months since the incident and the Shah Alam Sessions Court delivered its judgment on the matter on 28 July 2010.

Pathetic Patail

The Court fined 12 cow-head protestors RM1,000 each after they pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of taking part in an illegal assembly. Two of the protestors were fined RM3,000 for sedition while one of the two was also ordered to serve a week in jail.

The actions of the cow-head protestors as so accurately described by Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, were “extreme and provocative”. Very naturally the public had expected stiff, stern and severe court sentences that would stop the country from sliding further down the slippery slope of religious extremism.

Sadly the sentences defied all logic. They were glaringly light, lenient and ludicrous. They made the AG’s Chambers, the judiciary and the government laughable. Once again the loud and oft-dramatic resolve by the powers-that-be to check extremism by Muslim groups have proven to be only lip service.

A fine of a paltry sum of RM1,000 to RM3,000, a preposterous jail sentence of only a week for one of the protestors – such pathetic punishment for outright religious bigotry can only come from a predictable judiciary ready to please and pander to the wishes of its political masters.

“I hope in future the accused will all be more sensitive in their actions. It is also hoped that this sentence will serve as a deterrent to others in future,” the words of judge Hasbi Hasan rang hollow in the court as the guilty heaved a sigh of relief – devoid of any sense of remorse.

For taking part in such a diabolical act of desecration which could have triggered off serious racial and religious disturbances, four of the protestors who had maintained their innocence and were supposed to go through separate trials, were discharged – after AG Gani Patail decided not to press further charges!

The gravity of the offence warranted a stringent and not a farcical deterrent sentence. The implications of the offence to worsening race and religious relations were very grave. But the AG was not at all serious in sending out a clear message that such offences will not be tolerated. Neither was the Court!

It did not seem to matter to the AG that the public could see through the “big show” of toughness put up by his Chambers and the Court. Such a charade reduced the PM’s initial proclamations of swift and severe action to mere pious pronouncements and pretentious promises meant to placate public anger.

Further, one is prompted to ask would the Court sentences be the same if a group of Hindus were to spit and stomp on the Holy Quran and left it outside the gates of the Selangor State Secretariat? Would they be discharged due to their insistence of being innocent?

Ramon Navaratnam, chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies puts this succinctly: “I would say this warrants the maximum sentence, if not, much higher than that…Frankly, the public would be asking would the sentence commensurate with the crime if it was other ethnic groups involved.”

P. Uthayakumar, Human Rights party secretary-general was more blunt: “I urge the attorney-general to appeal against the Sessions Court’s sentence and further prosecute them (the four perpetrators) under Section 298(A) as I believe this clause would have been used if it were the Muslims who were offended instead.”

(Commenting on the ongoing hearing of three Muslim youth charged for fire-bombing a church, lawyer Annou Xavier wrote in an e-mail that little is to be expected of the outcome of the trail as the (ill-prepared and inexperienced) prosecution team has demonstrated little regard to the seriousness of the case). )

Breeding bigotry

The cow-head protest should come as no surprise. It is the logical consequence and culmination of years of the authorities closing an eye and sometimes both, to the provocative and extreme acts of Muslim groups, whilst putting up a facade of a thorough investigation and taking fair and firm action.

Five months later, in the aftermath of a landmark ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court which ordered the lifting of the Home Minister’s ban on the Catholic church publishing the word “Allah” in its weekly paper, Herald, arson attacks, vandalism and other incidents took place in 11 churches and a Sikh temple.

What gives extremist Muslim groups the audacity to insult other faiths, incite religious hatred, and be so intolerant and insensitive to non-Muslims? Perhaps it has to do with them being very confident that they can display their insolence with impunity. They are well-provided and protected and their fines may even be paid – by Umno.

Umno is in a desperate state. In spite of its many claims of having changed, it continues with its political culture of divide and rule and of a siege mentality by politicising religion and creating unfounded insecurities amongst Muslims and a distrust of other religions.

Very ironically and tragically it appears that Umno can only unite the Malays and Muslims by dividing the country! The party that harps on supremacy and superiority whether it is with regard to race or religion, at the same time claims that Muslims can be very easily confused, convinced and converted!

Umno thrives on bigotry. It survives on religious extremism, fanaticism and fanning fears and fantasising enemies! Its members and all Muslims in the country are made to believe that they must stamp their superiority over the rest, and this is made all the more easier by Executive Supremacy!

According to Umno’s brand of Islam, the Malay/Muslim majority in this country must dominate, dictate, decide and even define what the minority (non-Muslims) can and cannot do; discuss, deliberate and debate on in public; and display in print.

The saddest outcome of the cow-head protest is that we have accepted the distinction between “Muslim and non-Muslim dominated areas”. Yet, there was a time when Bolehland’s citisens of diverse races and religions so successfully and confidently co-existed and lived together side by side in mutual respect and admiration!

After being PM for 15 months, Najib has failed to fight the fires of religious fanaticism, aggressively fanned by his own party. He takes flight and hides behind his 1Malaysia slogan – a faltering façade and flop which makes him look so utterly foolish! 1 Malaysia has become one big joke!

The inadequate sentences of the cow-head protestors make it very clear that burgeoning bigotry will continue to rear its ugly head inBolehland as long as the Umnoputras rule Putrajaya. May Allah (oops, did I convert anyone) help us!

30 July 2010

• Dataran MBPJ, Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya (8.oopm)

• Speaker’s Square, Penang (9.00pm)

• Dataran Bandaraya Ipoh (8.oopm)

• Dataran Zero KM, Sungai Petani (8.oopm)

• Taman Hijau, Jalan Sultanah Zainab, Kota Bharu (8.oopm)

• Pusat Tanah Wang, Jalan Perdada, Sibu (8.oopm)

• Bangunan Al Idrus Commercial Centre, Kuching (8.00pm)

• Front Entrance of 1 Borneo Hypermall, Kota Kinabalu (1.00pm)

don’t forget to go and attend if you are in any of the above towns, ok? this year marks the 50th anniversary of ISA existence. the ISA was formed in 1960 during the first prime minister (tunku abdul rahman) time. 50 years ago, mind you. so you can imagine how out-dated it should be, especially when as years went by, it became so draconian.

saya anak bangsa malaysia said:

We demand the Government of Malaysia to Abolish the ISA as soon as possible as the barbaric and unlawful Act has existed in Malaysia for 50 years. The ISA is draconian and most importantly, it is against fundamental human rights.

Please join us together to fight the ISA and all other detention without trial laws! Together We CAN Bring CHANGE!

rightly so! together if we speak up against the draconian act again and again, we hope to bring change one day.  come for the candlelight vigil to show your support. don’t be like someone who, on seeing me wearing the anti ISA badge,  said to me “aiya. the ISA ah. let the politicians fight over it. why do you want to fight?” i should have answer him the politicians will fight for their own pockets only. haha. anyway, frankly, of course there are  several politicians who are against ISA too but we can’t leave everything to the politicians.  to get things moving, usually it depends on people’s power, don’t you agree??  so come one, come all, to join in the protest on 1 aug.  penangites, don’t worry about the police or SB – we have the speakers square where the public is allowed to speak all they want without fear of harassment from the police (hopefully!).

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Malaysia Today or Malaysiakini

Abolish ISA candlelight vigils in 8 states

The Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) and rights group Suaram aim to hold simultaneous candlelight vigils against the abhorred law in eight states around the country on Sunday.

The protest will be held as an effort to pressure Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to repeal the Internal Security Act.

Aug 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the draconian act, which was introduced by first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s administration in 1960.

The candlelight vigils will be held at the following venues and times:

• Dataran MBPJ, Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya at 8pm

• Speaker’s Square, Penang (9pm)

• Dataran Bandaraya Ipoh (8pm)

• Dataran Zero KM, Sungai Petani (8pm)

• Taman Hijau, Jalan Sultanah Zainab, Kota Bharu (8pm)

• Pusat Tanah Wang, Jalan Perdada, Sibu (8pm)

• Bangunan Al Idrus Commercial Centre, Kuching (8pm)

• Front Entrance of 1 Borneo Hypermall, Kota Kinabalu (1pm)

On Monday, GMI chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh announced that the coalition of NGOs would distribute around 100,000 leaflets on the draconian law on the same day.

GMI also plans to erect billboards and put up banners on the ISA in Selangor, he added.

Syed Ibrahim (picture) called on the government to abolish all existing detention-without-trial laws such as the ISA, Emergency Ordinance 1969, Restricted Residence Act 1933 and Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 with immediate effect.

Suaram’s 2009 Human Rights Report – released on July 21 – said Najib’s first year in office marked further deterioration in the state of human rights in the nation.

In his maiden speech as prime minister, Najib had said his administration would not use the ISA arbitrarily and would give importance to the principles of human rights and civil liberties.

The government is planning to table amendments to the ISA in the areas of length of detention, rights and treatment of detainees and their families, the power of the home minister, the use of ISA for political reasons and detention without trial.

at bayan baru, balik pulau and batu kawan

so, penangites, do make yourself free on 08/08 at 8pm, ok? come and listen to some hot issues by not only anwar but other PKR leaders like zaid ibrahim and chua jui meng.

BAYAN BARU

BALIK PULAU

BATU KAWAN

please click on ‘read more’ to read the details.

Triple Ceramah oleh Parti KeADILan Rakyat!
Bongkar Isu panas! Semua Dijemput! Minta Sebarkan!

1. Majlis Makan Malam & Ceramah Cabang Bayan Baru

Tarikh: 8 Ogos 2010 (Ahad)
Masa: 8 mlm TEPAT
Tempat: Tapak Pesta, Sg Nibong
Ceramah Percuma! Beli Tiket Makan RM15 contact Sabri 013-4320207
Semua Dijemput!

Penceramah:
8.00pm YB Raveen Tharan (ADUN Batu Uban)
8.15pm YB Sim Tze Tzin (ADUN Pantai Jerejak)
8.30pm YB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Ketua Pembangkang Parliament Malaysia)
9.15pm Dato Dr. Tan Kee Kwong (Bekas Timbalan Menteri Tanah dan Korporasi – Isu Felda)
9.45pm YB Dato Mansor bin Othman (Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang)
10.15pm Dato Chua Jui Meng (Bekas Menteri Kesihatan)
11.00pm Dato Zaid Ibrahim (Bekas Menteri Undang-undang)

2. Ceramah Perdana Cabang Balik Pulau

Tarikh: 8 Ogos 2010 (Ahad)
Masa: 8 mlm TEPAT
Tempat: Kompleks Sukan MPPP Balik Pulau
Semua Dijemput! Datang Ramai-ramai! Sebarkan!

Penceramah:
8.00pm YB Dato Halim (Speaker DUNPP)
8.30pm YB Yusmadi Yusoff
8.45pm Dato Chua Jui Meng (Bekas Menteri Kesihatan)
9.15pm Dato Zaid Ibrahim (Bekas Menteri Undang-undang)
9.45pm YB Dato Mansor bin Othman (Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang)
10.00pm YB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Ketua Pembangkang Parliament Malaysia)
10.45pm YAB Lim Guan Eng (Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang)
11.15pm YB Mujahid (Ahli Parlimen Parit Buntar)

3. Ceramah Perdana Cabang Batu Kawan

Tarikh: 8 Ogos 2010 (Ahad)
Masa: 9 mlm TEPAT
Tempat: Stadium Mini Jalan Betek (Berhadapan Mahkamah Majistret Bkt Mertajam)
Semua Dijemput! Datang Ramai-ramai! Sebarkan!

Penceramah:
YB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Ketua Pembangkang Parliament Malaysia)
YAB Lim Guan Eng (Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang)
YB Dato Mansor bin Othman (Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang)
YB Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad (Ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor)
YB Saifuddin Nasution (Ahli Parlimen Machang)
Dato Dr. Tan Kee Kwong (Bekas Timbalan Menteri Tanah dan Korporasi – Isu Felda)
YB Law Choo Kiang (Exco Pertanian & Tebatan Banjir Pulau Pinang)
Siti Aishah Sheik Ismail (Ketua Sri Kandi Parti KeADILan Rakyat)

on facebook event

- teachers can be involved in politics
sure. but only if they support BN.  1malaysia = 1BN

- the lingam tape scandal is a thing of the past, said the chief justice, do not dwell on it anymore.
sure.  but chin peng’s communist work so long long in the past, yet they dwell on it all the time, not allowing him to return to malaysia. (latest news)

-  construction of the mazu (goddess of the sea) statue in sabah on its original site was turned down by federal court.   however sabah CM was so sweet to offer then an alternative location. it’s 1malaysa, see.

- the cow head protesters (umno’s machai) were left off with just a small RM1000 fine.
oh yeah 1rule for umno  1malaysia so 1 rule. the rest (non umno supporters) are not part of 1malaysia.

- the court of appeal until now has not set a date for the controversial ‘allah word’ court case (6 months already).
but the court of appeal was so fast to set a date for the perak illegal MB, mamak zambry after he first lost his ‘menteri vs menteri’ court case.

i can go on and on but you would be bored as probably you knew too, if not much more than me. so i’ll stop now but before i go…

HIDUP 1MALAYSIA!

ABOLISH ISA NIGHT

place:  speakers square, esplanade, penang

date/time:   sunday 1 august, 9.00pm

Anti-ISA vigil nationwide on Aug 1

Vasugi Supramanian
Jul 26, 10
1:52pm

The Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) will be holding a simultaneous candlelight vigil, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the oppressive Internal Security Act 1960 by calling for its abolition.

In a continuous effort to reach out to the grassroots, the vigil will be held on Aug 1 in all the state capitals nationwide. 

“There will not be any aggressive moves on the part of GMI (left) this year as we are trying to create more awareness among the people.

“The Abolish ISArally held on Aug 1 last year created a great impact. This time around, we want it to be more effective with the impact lasting for more than a year,” said GMI chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said that around 100,000 leaflets giving information on the draconian law will be distributed nationwide on the same day. 

“We will also approach Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim to seek permission to put up billboards and banners on the ISA,” he added. 

Stating that no amount of amendments to the draconian law is going to make the legislation any less repressive, Syed Ibrahim asked the government to abolish all existing unjust laws such as ISA, Emergency Ordinance 1969, Restricted Residence Act 1933 and Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 with immediate effect. 

“All these laws go against the spirit of the federal constitution, as well as contravene Articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1981),” he added. 

‘Charge detainees or free them’

Among others, GMI also asked that all the detainees who are being held without trial be released or charged in an open court, and urged the government to close down all the detention centres.

The anti-ISA coalition also urged the government to instead rely on existing criminal laws such as Section 489B of the Penal Code for counterfeiting money, Section 298A of the Penal Code for issuing statements to incite racial hatred and Section VI A of the Penal Code for terrorist offences.

“The government should respect and restore the proper powers of the judiciary as an independent body, and repeal all laws which have removed such judicial oversight,” he added.

Suaram’s 2009 Human Rights Report which was released on July 21 also revealed that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s first year in office marked further deterioration in the state of human rights in the nation.

Earlier, in his maiden speech as prime minister, Najib had said his administration would not use ISA arbitrarily but would give importance to the principles of human rights and civil liberties. 

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had also stated that ISA amendments will revolve around five areas – the length of detention, rights and treatment of detainees and their families, the power of the home minister, and the use of ISA for political reasons and detention without trial. 

However, at present, a total of 16 people are still being detained under ISA, with the longest-standing detainee being held for more than eight years for allegedly being a Jemaah Islamiah member.

note:  read also press statement from the bar council regarding this matter.

by now everybody would have known of the verbal spat between nik ali and penang CM, lim guan eng. much had been reported in all the media, mainstream and online.  i’m not going to say much except that i feel nik ali is totally out of line when he called the CM ‘biadap’… and mind you, at a UMNO press conference, not forgetting he is a civil servant in penang.

his boss, the chief secretary to the government, mohd sidek defended him;  karpal singh threaten legal action against him;  lim kit siang asked the PM and the cabinet to censure nik; but best of all what i like is when political analyst abdul aziz bari (he’s also a constitutional expert, right?) spoke up. the heading in malaysiakini said it all – FEDERAL OFFICERS CHOOSE TO BE POLITICAL TOOLS OF THE BN.  read all about it here (if you are not a subscriber – other stories and a video also here, so do scroll down and down).

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Malaysiakini

‘Federal officers choose to be political tools of the BN’

Susan Loone and Hazlan Zakaria Jul 22, 10 11:03am

The root of the problem behind the verbal brawl between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the state development officer is that the latter chooses to be a political tool of the Barisan Nasional, says political analyst Abdul Aziz Bari.

The outspoken Abdul Aziz said the accusation by federal appointee Nik Ali Mat Yunus that Lim (left) was “rude” was a classic example of the long list of problems in the working of federal agencies in states under Pakatan Rakyat, where BN is the opposition.

Nik Ali had obviously breached the regulation that a public servant shall not make public statements, he said.

“But the problem is that he is a federal officer and we know for a fact that the federal public service would not do anything against the officer despite the offence he committed,” Abdul Aziz said.

“This is the dilemma; this is the problem when we have a government that does not care about the constitution,” he added.

Recently, Lim and Nik Ali has been at loggerheads over several issues, with Lim accusing Nik Ali of “openly and blatantly” sabotaging the state government.

Nik Ali (left) had responded angrily by calling Lim “rude” while state Umno leaders have readily defended him, accusing Lim of being “inexperienced and immature” in running the state.

The controversy was sparked by allegations of sand theft in Balik Pulau, exposed by Pulau Betong assemblyperson Muhamad Farid Saad, following which Lim passed the responsibility to Nik Ali, since the matter involved land belonging to the federal government.

Abdul Aziz also said that in Malaysia, public servants were working to save the BN government and at the same time, helped to undermine the Pakatan

“This is not constitutional democracy but constitutional anarchy,” he said, pointing out that in the United Kingdom, the Labour government allowed public servants to brief Conservatives and Liberals who were trying to form government after the April elections that resulted in a hung parliament.

A similar problem pertaining to state legal advisers was highlighted by Opposition leader and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim recently.

“The root of the problem is this: instead of carrying out their functions and duties according to the law, the federal officers choose to become political tools of the BN-led federal government,” said Abdul Bari (right).

The existing problems created by federal agencies like the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission continue to persist, he said, adding that these agencies created havoc in Kelantan, Terengganu (1999-2004) and then in Perak last year.

The federal government, he said, set up the Federal Development Departments illegally, apart from the village heads appointed by the Rural Development Ministry.

“For example under the Police Act 1967, the job of the police is to carry out the law of the land; irrespective of whether it is federal or state,” he said.

“But the police, as we have seen in Terengganu in 1999, have arrogantly said they were not going to do that – as the state Chief Police Officer Othman Talib had put it.

‘Public servants must serve government of the day’

“Strange enough, in the BN-led states the police are often willing to carry out orders from the state government, even though these are just policies or executive orders and not law enacted by the state assemblies.”

Constitutionally speaking, Abdul Aziz added, public servants – including members of the armed forces and police force – were there to serve the government of the day, whatever their colour and shape.

Centre for Policy Studies director Lim Teck Ghee (right) concurred with Abdul Aziz that similar problems existed in other Pakatan-controlled states, with federal officers beholden to the federal government for their mobility and career prospects.

“The particular SDO (Nik Ali) is not only likely to be backed by his superiors in the federal civil service but he is probably also seeing this as an opportunity for rapid upward career mobility,” said Lim, when asked to comment on the row.

“The issue of political bias in the civil service is a structural one that will continue to rear its ugly head until the necessary reforms to kill it off are implemented.”

Lim said current rules and regulations governing the conduct and actions of civil servants in all sectors – whether in the legal service, police, Election Commission, Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission or development agencies – have been grossly ineffective in ensuring that the principles of political and administrative neutrality are observed.

“Until there are stronger measures to punish or censor such partisanship and political bias, I am afraid we will be considered a third-rate democracy.

“I hope the Pakatan parties, together with enlightened individuals from the BN, can come together to work on shaping this important and long overdue reform to ensure neutrality of the civil service,” Lim added.

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Malaysiakini

Karpal threaten legal action against ‘rabid’ Nik

Jul 22, 10 3:38pm

he DAP has threatened legal action against Penang state development officer Nik Ali Mat Yunus for his public criticism of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“This is not an idle threat, let me assure him,” DAP chairperson Karpal Singh said in a statement today.

“Federal officers seconded to state governments under Pakatan Rakyat’s rule should not take the opportunity to subvert and sabotage the smooth running of these governments,” he added.

According to Karpal (left), Nik Ali had overstepped his boundaries as a civil servant by issuing press statements, which included the use of “uncouth” language, and more so by using an Umno platform to do so.

“The use of the words like biadap(disrespectful) and dayus (coward) against Lim by Nik Ali clearly shows that he is not fit to be the state development officer in Penang.

“He has forfeited his right to further retain this office. The cabinet should direct Nik Ali to withdraw the uncouth language he used against Lim and apologise to the chief minister,” he said.

Nik Ali broke rules

Karpal said Nik Ali had violated Regulation 19 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 in issuing press statements.

“I must make it clear that DAP will not hesitate to take Nik Ali to court for judicial pronouncement on his conduct,” he added.

He was commenting on the war of words between Lim and Nik Ali, prompted by the federal government’s hand in the controversy over illegal sand mining in Balik Pulau, demolition of decorative arches at the Penang Botanical Gardens and the allegation that no seat was provided for the chief minister during the launch of the Penang Hill Railway.

Karpal said that if the allegations about snubbing Lim at the railway launch were true, then Nik Ali had “obviously and maliciously” tried to humiliate Lim.

“I wonder how he rose up the ranks to become a state development officer. A civil servant publicly flexing his muscles at a chief minister, coupled with the use of uncouth language, has been unheard of until the emergence of Nik Ali.”

PM should step in

Also in Karpal’s firing line is chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan, for defending Nik Ali and criticising Lim for being “excessive“.

He said that Sidek should be schooled on Regulation 19 and bring it to the attention of the cabinet.

Karpal also took the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) to task for failing to reprimand Nik Ali.

“He is a civil servant and should know the parameters within which he can operate. He should not allow himself to be used by politicians in Umno who have their own agenda against the chief minister.

The prime minister should immediately intercede before Nik Ali goes rabid,” he added.

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Malaysiakini

Kit Siang slams Sidek for defending Nik Ali

Jul 22, 10 2:07pm

Chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan’s failure to reprimand Penang state development officer Nik Ali Nik Yunus for appearing at an Umno press conference should be condemned, said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

Lim (left) said Sidek should have reprimanded Nik Ali for violating the civil service code of being strictly non-partisan and apolitical.

“It is regrettable that when ‘Little Napoleons’ rear their ugly heads, they are given full defence and support instead of being reprimanded and put in their proper place,” he said in a statement today.

He was referring to Sidek’s statement yesterday, in which he came to the defence of Nik Ali and criticised Pakatan Rakyat’s Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for being “excessive” in criticising a top civil servant.

Guan Eng is involved in a war of words with Nik Ali over the federal government hand in an illegal sand mining controversy in Balik Pulau, demolition of expensive, decorative arches at the Penang Botanical Gardens and the allegation that no seat was provided for the chief minister during the launch of the Penang Hill Railway.

For this, Nik Ali blew his top at a press conference organised by Umno on July 19, calling Guan Eng biadap (rude) and bacul(gutless).

Lim warned that Sidek and Nik Ali’s actions were examples of Little Napoleons who were threatening Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s Government Transformation Programme.

“However, if Little Napoleons like Nik Ali are allowed the impunity to show utter contempt for elected representatives and even an elected state government in open disregard of the civil service code to be politically neutral, impartial and civil, then this pillar of Najib’s national transformation programme is being torn to shreds and smithereens, losing all public credibility and legitimacy,” he said.

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from the malaysian insider:

DAP-civil service escalates

Guan Eng takes on the Chief Secretary

from lim kit siang’s blog:

Chief Secretary himself guilty of being ‘excessive’

A gross violation of the civil service code

War of words

these 5 had since formed a ‘konsensus bebas’ (independent concensus), and now they planned to go on a road show beginning from 1 aug 2010.

what is the roadshow for?  apparently to show their impartiality. to deny any allegiance or link to umno. whoaa! how nice. i’m so touched.

no allegiance to umno? why then did zahrain  (and er… forgot… was it wee?) who went along with najib to the US?

another of their objective, apart from to show their impartiality (ahem!), is to whack PR!  of course the spokesman, the mullah wannabe, zulkifli, said they will whack umno. he had to say it as they want to show they have nothing to do with umno, that the roadshow is not funded by umno, AND they have to say it, because in truth, they want to whack PR! particularly anwar!  well, zulkifli said it!

This, said Zulkifli, meant that they would likely be divulging similar stories as the ones Zahrain and himself had recounted during a recent parliamentary session.

During their speeches in Parliament, Zahrain revealed details of PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s controversial Sept 16 takeover plan in 2008 while Zulkifli had alleged that he had been told to link Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

see? one of the aim of their roadshow is to attack PR… and they tell us they are impartial.

“We will speak on how we are presently working as independents, why we became independents and what led us to become independents. We will tell our stories on what led us to where we are today. We are not out to campaign for either BN or Pakatan Rakyat so we will whack both sides if we have to.

“We just want to explain out positions to everyone because so much has been said about us, so many stories told and we want our sides to be explained too,” said Zulkifli.

what bl**dy explanations? everybody already knows you 5 are not real independents. everybody already knows you 5 were elected on a PKR ticket so if you leave PKR, you should be brave enough to let go your seat and stand for election as an independent…  and let’s see if people will re-elect you. if people do, then ah you are truly independents but now as it is, you guys are cowards using PKR to remain as MP (and yet attacking PKR).

it is believe that this konsensus bebas will be inviting perkasa boss, another katak, to give a speech during their inaugural launching of the roadshow. wow!! ibrahim ali! of course. birds of a feather flocked together.

ok, so let’s see how many people will turn up for their roadshow. let’s see what secrets they are going to reveal. interesting time ahead coming your way!

UPDATED:  with the video taken at penang’s memorial.

the family of the late teoh beng hock, with about 50 supporters, including PR politicians, turned up at plaza masalam at shah alam, to commemorate his 1st death anniversary. (plaza masalam is the place where the body of teoh was found).

read about it from malaysiakini CnP below and also watch the video.

the report mentioned teoh’s sister lee lan was overcome with emotions in her speech and broke down several times. watching the video as she spoke and cried, made me cry too. as i hear her talk and cry, i picture the body of teoh lying at plaza masalam. who can ever forget that image? the image of his body lying face down on the side was all over the media and internet after he was found there. all over the places here and there when people were talking about his death, when news of his death was mentioned, when the inquest was going on, and so on – so who could ever forget it. i can’t. what more the family. it’s so sad. that’s why we must all continue to pursue justice for teoh, see that his murderers are brought to book.

i was at the penang’s memorial organised by DAP youth (DAPSY). the video by my fellow CJ (citizen journalist) jimmy will be up soon and i’ll put it up here too (so do come back). for now, it is the video by malaysiakini first (scroll right to the bottom).  the 2nd photo you see here was taken from the candlelight memorial i mentioned just now. for more photos, please go to my facebook album. (UPDATED:  report of the event from susan loone can be found when you scroll down.)

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Malaysiakini

Solemn atmosphere at Plaza Masalam

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng and Jimadie Shah Othman
Jul 16, 10

A solemn, sad atmosphere descended on Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam this morning as family members of Teoh Beng Hock, Selangor state exco members, politicians and the public gathered to commemorate the first anniversary of the political aide’s mysterious death.

About 50 people were present, led by Teoh’s former employer and state exco Ean Yong Hian Wah, along with his counterparts Hasan Ali, Ronnie Liu, Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, Dr Halimah Ali, Teresa Kok and Elizabeth Wong.

Others present included Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, Seputeh MP, Teresa Kok and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, as well as Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Swee Lin and Teratai assemblyperson Janice Lee.

Earlier, the gathering held a mini rally at the plaza lobby as leaders took turn to address the floor. Most brought flowers with them, and many tried to get to the fifth floor, where the 30-year-old Teoh was found dead after a night of questioning at the Selangor office of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission there.

However, the building management only allowed Teoh’s family members, Ean Yong, Hasan, Wong and Teo to enter the fifth floor balcony to perform prayers.

Teoh’s younger sister Lee Lan (centre in blue) said the family would try to meet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak again if they were not satisfied with the outcome of the inquest.

“Najib said the inquest will take two weeks, the most two months, but it has been one year now.

“He said we can meet him again if we are not satisfied. We asked him for a letter of guarantee, but he has ignored us. If the inquest gives us an unacceptable result, we will definitely go to see him.”

Lee Lan said family members had agreed to the inquest, instead of a royal commission, “because Najib had said that according to the constitution, we must have inquest first”.

She said MACC’s chief Abu Kassim Mohamed’s statement yesterday, in which he said the commission felt the family’s pain, was pure hypocrisy.

“He has been MACC chief for six months. His lawyer had several times tried to stop Thai pathologist Dr Porntip Rojanasunand from testifying through video conferencing.

“If he wants the truth, he should allow Dr Porntip to testify through video conferencing. He was conflicting himself in his statement yesterday. If he is sincere, he will not repeatedly do things that go against what he has said.”

Lee Lan reiterated that the family members “will not be cheated by the MACC chief”.

Gobind: MACC’s statement one year late

Renowned Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, engaged by the Selangor state government to conduct second post-mortem on Teoh, had earlier refused to testify in the inquest citing “political pressure” from the Malaysian government.

Following this, Teoh’s family applied to the coroner’s inquest to allow her to testify via video conferencing and this was vehemently objected by MACC’s lawyers. 

This dispute was rendered academic after Pornthip changed her mind after the Thai Justice Ministry requested her to testify following discussions with the Selangor state government. 

She is scheduled to appear at the inquest on Aug 18. 

Gobind, who represented the family in the inquest, lambasted Abu Kassim for issuing a statement one year too late.

“I want to ask them one question, why wait for one year only say this? Why was the family made to pursue justice through the court and why only now we see the acknowledgment by MACC?” 

He then led the crowd to chant “Justice for Teoh Beng Hock!” and “Reformasi!” before ending his speech.

Lee Lan: We will not let up

While addressing the crowd, Lee Lan broke into tears and had to stop her speech several times.

She pledge to his deceased brother that they will pursue the truth until it the end and called on public to support their cause.

“Your presence today is very important to (our family). You don’t have to do anything, just continue to support us and follow the news until the day the truth prevail, we will come back here again.”

She then appealed: “Will you be together with us and seek justice for Beng Hock?” This was met by impassioned replies of: “Yes we will”.

Although asked by police to dispersed, the crowd stayed on until 11am before a simple flower offering ceremony was performed at the lobby to mark the end of the event.

(read also from the malaysian insider)

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the event in penang:

Malaysiakini

Penangites rally at Speakers Square to remember Teoh

Jul 17, 10
12:07am

candlelight memorial for teoh beng hock at speakers square, penang

Solemn atmosphere at Plaza Masalam from MalaysiakiniTV on Vimeo.

from malaysiakini:

Pokok Sena PAS parliamentarian Mahfuz Omar (picture) has accused the BN government of engaging in its own version of ‘human trafficking’ for political benefit.

He pointed to an operation at Kompleks Integrasi Warisan in Salak Tinggi, Sepang, where he alleged the government launched a campaign to get permanent resident (PR) holders from Cambodia and Indonesia to apply for citizenship.

“My suspicion is that they will fill the electoral roll in the coming general election. As part of their psychological warfare, the government had earlier announced that there are large numbers of Malaysians who have not registered as voters, including about two million Malays.

“It is these Malay-sounding names that will be used to fill the electoral roll. This may be a repeat of what happened in Sabah previously, the infamous Project M, where illegal immigrants were issued identity cards to vote. This involved Yong Teck Lee, I believe, and judge Kamil Awang proved that such things have taken place,” pointed out Mahfuz (picture).

mahfuz further said that  on july 3 in zentrum hall in setiawangsa, near datuk keramat in kuala  lumpur, a function was held to present the cambodians and indonesians,  who had their citizenship applications successfully processed with their blue identity cards.

“They never applied until they were asked to pohon for citizenship. One of the things told to them during the briefing at the event was not to forget to support the government.”

wow! amazing! ‘asked to apply’.  so good eh.  a bribe before a bribe? eh… a threat before a bribe? you know… “you had better apply for a citizenship!” then after applying, quick as a lightning speed, get it  approved, and gave them the citizenship and at the same time saying “i give your citizenship, you must vote for us.”

the marvelous way our government works.

you know, it is said that there are over 500,000 registered indonesian workers and another over 500,00 illegal indonesian workers. imagine, if all these were given citizenship so that they could vote. given citizenship by umno, so vote umno. that would be quite disastrous for pakatan (PR) . there will be a huge swing of votes to umno and umno will continue to stay in power. frightening though eh.

read the whole article from malaysiakini here:

Citizenship-for-votes deal in the works, claims Mahfuz

Hazlan Zakaria
Jul 15, 10
4:42pm

Pokok Sena PAS parliamentarian Mahfuz Omar has accused the BN government of engaging in its own version of ‘human trafficking’ for political benefit.

He pointed to an operation at Kompleks Integrasi Warisan in Salak Tinggi, Sepang, where he alleged the government launched a campaign to get permanent resident (PR) holders from Cambodia and Indonesia to apply for citizenship.

“My suspicion is that they will fill the electoral roll in the coming general election. As part of their psychological warfare, the government had earlier announced that there are large numbers of Malaysians who have not registered as voters, including about two million Malays.

“It is these Malay-sounding names that will be used to fill the electoral roll. This may be a repeat of what happened in Sabah previously, the infamous Project M, where illegal immigrants were issued identity cards to vote. This involved Yong Teck Lee, I believe, and judge Kamil Awang proved that such things have taken place,” pointed out Mahfuz (left).

He added that he had asked a question in the House today to clarify how many PR holders there were, state by state, indicating his fear that PR holders may be used to load the dice against the opposition in the next general election.

He explained that during the operation that took place between June 15 to 17 at the Komplek Integrasi Warisan, government officials gave briefings to the PR holders and distributed citizenship application forms to them.

Function to present blue identity cards

The Pokok Sena parliamentarian added that on July 3 in Zentrum Hall in Setiawangsa, near Datuk Keramat in Kuala Lumpur, a function was held to present those who had their citizenship applications successfully processed with their blue identity cards.

“These people are from Cambodia and Indonesia. They never applied until they were asked to pohon for citizenship. One of the things told to them during the briefing at the event was not to forget to support the government.”

He added that activists from PAS, PKR and DAP went to the venue to take pictures and had lodged a police report on July 10, as they feared that this might be a syndicate selling citizenships to PR holders.

The activists held a press conference about the incident yesterday.

Mahfuz said yesterday, there was a similar programme to campaign for PR holders to apply for citizenship at the compound of the surau in the Taman Melati Indonesian village.

“Is this an illegal syndicate? Does it involve the collusion of officers from government agencies and departments? Or is this an official government programme, since the government officials present all seemed to be legitimate?” asked the PAS leader.

Mahfuz added that he was informed about the alleged government programme by PR holders who were suspicious of the apparent ease with which they were offered citizenship.

“I met them together with YB Kamaruddin Jaafar, but I cannot disclose their identities for their own safety,” he said.

Hisham: It’s not true

Meanwhile, in an immediate reaction to the media, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein refuted Mahfuz’s allegations.

“It’s not true. Of course not. If he has factual cases, bring them to me, because the issue of citizenship is not a light matter. Those citizenships that I have processed are outstanding cases, some of them (pending) for 20 or 30 years.”

He said that the applications he processed were applications that fulfilled strict conditions, specifically in the context of citizenships which were delayed. He added that it was impossible to hold an event to distribute the ICs because it’s not a right but a privilege for those who are eligible.

“So, the accusation that this is happening not only saddens me but perhaps questions the thousands of applications we solved last year. There is no political consideration, not to get new voters because those who got it (citizenship) have been waiting for years, so if there are specific cases, Mahfuz can extend them to me and we can investigate,” said the minister.

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Malaysiakini

AB Sulaiman
Jul 13, 10
2:02pm

COMMENT A lot of things have developed recently centring on the formulation and implementation of grandiose public policies under the Ketuanan Melayu leadership.

Public opinion and perception however say most of them have proven ill-conceived, poorly implemented or constructed, causing colossal wastage of life, money and other resources, and hardly ever comprehensively and professionally managed.

Many of them are even crooked and sinful in nature. Just look at the Maminco debacle, the forex fiasco in the 80s, the recent PKFZ controversy, faulty submarines, lost air force jet engines, abuse of public institutions, broken public institutions, and very recently the falling roof of a stadium in Terengganu and revelations of possible hanky panky with the construction figures of the new Agong’s palace and with the Felda accounts.

It’s the devil’s free for all out there. When was the last time we got up in the morning, turned on the alternative communication media, read the latest exposure of government indiscretions and misconduct and not had our hair stand on end?

I am presenting this article hoping to understand the issue so as to enable us, the poor Malaysian citizenry, withstand the effects of failed Ketuanan Melayu policies. If we are to be run down by a bus, at least we should know what make it is.

Welcome to the C-string and the D list of Ketuanan Melayu thinking.

C for Contention

The C stands for ‘Contentions’ (or assumptions):

The basic assumption is that human thinking is divisible into two – the natural and the rational. There are several features of the natural norm:

i) It accepts all wisdom inherited from the elders, and that these are accepted without any criticism, doubt, or scepticism. Just look at the way the Malay accepts his culture and tradition, and even his religion to illustrate this point.

ii) Any inherited wisdom is considered the truth and the whole truth. It can never be wrong. Again take note of the Malay contention that the Malay race is the best, and Islam is the only one religion for mankind. His favourite ideology ‘untuk agama, bangsa dan negara’ says it all.

iii) It has no facility or avenue to realise its own mistakes. The Malay mind is not privy to alternatives so he is never wrong. So to follow his inherited wisdom as outlined in the illustrations on tradition, culture, and religion above is the right thing to do.

iv) It has no facility to solve its own mistakes on its own volition.

To illustrate the viability and credibility of these assumptions we might just look at this new institution called Perkasa under the leadership of Ibrahim Ali. We try to analyse the thinking underlying this institution’s creation.

The objective mind can detect at least some of these assumptions, indicating the high probability that the Malay thinking norm belongs to this category.

The second is the rational or scientific norm, where all wisdom received from the past are first given evaluation, analysis, scepticism and doubt; where truth is based on observation, experimentation, deduction and induction. Nothing is accepted as the truth until it is proven beyond doubt that this is so.

Stringing the Cs

These four Contentions would produce the ensuing string of Cs:

i) Conformity:

The Malay accords high value to group (or Malay) interest, identity, influence and solidarity. Everything is done not in his name but in the name and interest of the family, and of course of the Malay race, the religion of Islam and (only) lastly, the country. The spirit of the individual in him is not fully developed. He pays scant regard to his individual interest.

ii) Conservatism:

The Malay penchant for conformity renders him supporting the status quo, to be conservative. Again his penchant to preserve and protect Malay tradition, language, and culture as an example of this feature.

iii) Comparison, lack of:

Malay thinking is unilateral “‘Malay is the best race”, judgmental (“My ustaz is the best imam around” and the tendency for syllogism (“‘Najib is our present PM. Our past PMs have been good. Therefore Najib is the best PM we ever had”. It has tendency for hyperbolism, but not privy to alternatives.

iv) Control by a central authority:

The individual is under control of his parents in the family and by his ethnic society.

* The Malay polity is controlled by an autocratic body, in the form of a king or a strong personality.

* For religion, control has always been in the hands of a central body namely the priestly or ulama class.

* In a democracy, authority ought to be in the hands of the people, but this has been hijacked possibly by the elected governing body done by imitating the religious control exercised by the ulama. The government would almost automatically assume a superior role over the population.

Now, there is nothing silly or stupid about all these principles. Any and every culture would have undergone them at some point or other.

The moot point is they reflect the thinking norms of simpler days gone by and still found in simpler societies of today. But the world has become very complex and change comes quickly, so much so that they say you have to run in order to stay still.

Today humankind has a fairly firm understanding of nature and is able to control it. We live in a technical and scientific world buzzing with amazing technology.

This buzzing ‘new world’ is featured by change which unfortunately the conservative and conformist mind is not privy to.

v) Change:

There are two issues here. Change is an elusive concept and takes place only in the mind.

More importantly it takes place only if you are aware of it taking place. If there is no awareness, there is no change, only evolution.

My contention is that the mainstream Malay mind has not got sufficient awareness that change is taking place. His natural thinking has not developed to scientific thinking. So here comes the following Cs:

i) Conflict.

When heat meets with cold, when plus meets with minus, when black meets with white then sparks are created. There are very many plusses colliding with minuses in Malay life. The changing demands of an urban life with that of his pastoral past is a immediate example.

ii) Corrosion.

Malay beliefs and values are corroded. For example, the case of culture again. The ‘old’ Malay wants his traditions to be preserved, but modern life is eroding it at an alarming rate.

iii) Contradiction.

Vast amounts of contradiction are produced.

iv) Consistency, or lack of:

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership has been labelled by an irate public as flip-flopping, showing wobbly and inconsistent thinking. Remember when he cancelled an international inter-faith meeting to be held in Kuala Lumpur? The cancellation was so last minute participants including the Archbishop of Canterbury had to cancel their travel plans.

v) Criticise and condemn:

All new knowledge especially those that do not fall within the ambit of Malay perception of truth are criticised and condemned (and eventually rejected). The non-Malay segment of the citizenry are marginalised and termed ‘pendatang’ (immigrants), prostitutes and beggars. Political opponents are harassed and intimidated.

vi) Coercion:

This is where Malay polity believes very strongly that his views are right. He uses the central authority ‘bestowed’ on him to subdue the people.

These situations arise:

The individual is coerced to be loyal and show respect his elders, race and religion as a matter of sacred duty. The Malay mind is not privy to the modern day wisdom that loyalty and respect must be earned.

Society is coerced to adhere strictly to religious tenets and principles. The Islamic religion is full of dogmas to ensure this in any case.

The people are compelled to be loyal to the Ketuanan Melayu leadership and government of the day.

Those who do not conform are intimidated, penalised and punished. This is very easily done with the very long list of laws like the ISA, OSA, PPPA, and the Sedition Act.

vii) Corruption:

When the people are suitably intimidated, coerced into subservience and submission then the axiom that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely comes to full fruition (no illustration needed here).

We are fairly done with the C-string of the Malay mind. Feel free to add more, for there can be many more not yet touched upon.

D for Denial

Now for the D standing for ‘Deny’ or ‘Denial’.

To the Malay mind, any and all that does not come within its known parameters are suspect. The Ketuanan Melayu will hardly ever voluntarily admit to any short-coming, mistake, misgiving, or mismanagement.

Instead it thinks nothing of cheating, lying, hiding of facts, projecting half-truths, or cover-ups. When Khairy Jamaludin sarcastically called Ibrahim Ali (right) a ‘jaguh kampung’ or village champion, a deragotary remark, Ibrahim Ali turned it around by claiming it as a huge compliment!

This is a clear example that the Ketuanan Melayu institution and leadership is all about, firstly, its political and social survival following the axiom that politics is the art of the impossible; and secondly, not having to say sorry.

The features, purpose and method of denial are many, some of which are:

* Protecting the status quo.

* Not acknowledging the existence of established facts despite obvious evidence, like disputing the happening of the Holocaust.

* Conflict and contradiction are deemed to be the work of the devil or enemies of Islam.

* All myths and perceptions are constantly nurtured by constant repetition via the government controlled mass media.

* By constant indoctrination.

* By discrediting the messenger.

* By making the work of civic societies difficult. This is to deny all and sundry from volunteering information or feedback. Just ask the Sisters in Islam for proof. The notion that no Muslim or non-Muslim may even analyse and criticise any tenets of Islam is another illustration.

Pygmalion effect

My rationale for listing this C-string and the D list is quite simple.

There is this item in human psychology known as the Pygmalion effect. Simply stated it means that a person will behave in the manner he is treated by another.

An illustration would be a teacher saying to his students that they are stupid and will not pass their exams. The students will somehow become stupid with many failing their exams.

Now the Ketuanan Melayu has been spoon-feeding the Malay, strengthening his crutches, giving accolades to his ‘Third World’ mentality.

Furthermore, it drums into the Malay mind that he is weak, needs help now and forever and is dependent on the government for his survival. Without this concerted help the Malay will not survive, it says again and again and again. It is creating the Pygmalion effect.

Because of this the Malay mind will be more deeply embedded in the changeless paradigm box of confusion, conformity, conservatism, contradiction, conflict, and always denying his shortcomings. The Ketuanan Melayu is also denying new ideas from rescuing the Malay from the box of the changeless status quo.

In this situation his leaders are busy involving themselves with the most rotten C of all – corruption.

Now I propose to name the make of the bus that is flattening the Malaysian polity. I wish to call it the ‘Ketuanan Melayu Pygmalion’.

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AB SULAIMAN is an observer of human traits and foibles, especially within the context of religion and culture. As a liberal, he marvels at the way orthodoxy fights to maintain its credibility in a devilishly fast-changing world. He hopes to provide some understanding to the issues at hand and wherever possible, suggest some solutions. He holds a Bachelor in Social Sciences (Leicester, UK) and a Diploma in Public Administration, Universiti Malaya.