Malaysians Say The Darndest Things!

The Messenger Gets Shot, The Guilty Gets Suspended

September 12, 2008

Sorry for the lack of updates the entire week, I was in Penang for work. My apologies for not making the time to post my thoughts.

As I settled down after the long drive home, I decided to pop the laptop open to read some news before heading to bed. Unfortunately, the news I read is causing my blood to boil, and in this current state of mind, I cannot sleep. (In fact, I debated whether I should be blogging with the emotional maelstrom I am facing, but I elect not to keep silent.)

Personally, I think Ahmad Ismail got off lucky. 3 years suspension from UMNO for putting the country at the mercy of Malay and Chinese racists? Fuck that. Gerakan and MCA might claim some sort of victory for this, but once again, they do not have the necessary courage (read: balls) to stand up when it REALLY matters. What is the use of filing police reports and calling Ahmad Ismail a racist, when in the end, they decided to let UMNO handle it instead of the collective ‘wisdom’ of the BN? It’s idiotic to think what Ahmad Ismail did is an ‘internal UMNO matter’. What he did was create a minor issue that got blown up to national proportions because he refused to keep his fucking trap shut.

Ahmad Ismail then held a press conference and still insisted he was right. Talk about fucking remorseless. To show how ’serious’ UMNO was in their ‘punishment’, they even had their secretary-general Tengku Adnan as part of the press conference. What kind of message does that send?

There have been calls by many, especially the voices from within BN (non-UMNO obviously) to put Ahmad Ismail in Kamunting Prison under the Internal Security Act. That is something that I will not agree on. For someone who blogs about hypocritical politicians, I cannot follow their footsteps by opposing ISA for the Hindraf leaders, while supporting ISA for Ahmad Ismail.

I want to make it clear that I think ISA is an evil law, in fact, there is no other law as evil as this in the country. A law that does not require one to be proven guilty to be jailed indefinitely violates the basic human right of the freedom to move and the freedom of a fair trial. And to be subject to detention under the whims of one person is just too much. How can a single person deny the freedom of another person, with the stroke of a pen? Is that person playing God?

Detaining Raja Petra for 60 days under the ISA is just pure tyranny. If he is guilty, then charge him. Don’t deny him his rights. Sometimes I wonder why our country keeps on producing politicians who are drunk with power, and will do ANYTHING, no matter how disgusting, to stay in power. Mahathir is a tyrant, and will always be remembered as a tyrant, amongst other things. Abdullah will be remembered not only as a weak leader, but a tyrant as well for using the ISA. Syed Hamid Albar will now join the ranks of these ‘distinguished’ leaders.

The straw that broke the camel’s back really came in the form of the following Malaysiakini news flash:

Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng has been arrested today under the Internal Security Act at 8.30pm at her home in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

She is the second person to be arrested today under the tough security law which allows for detention without trial.
It is learnt that she has been taken by the police to the Penang police headquarters.

Tan (right) had reported that local Umno chieftain Ahmad Ismail had allegedly said that Chinese Malaysians are “squatters” in the country.

Her report sparked a nationwide outcry, resulting in Ahmad being suspended by Umno for three years after an emergency meeting on Wednesday.

Sin Chew had three days ago came out strongly to defend Tan, who was accused by Ahmad for misreporting his comments.

Tan, who holds a mass communications degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia, has been a journalist for nine years.

It is unclear whether Ahmad, who remained defiant despite being slapped with the suspension, has also been detained.

The asshole that said the words is not arrested. The asshole that asked for the journalist to be shot is not arrested. The journalist that reported what she heard, and whose version of events were corroborated by 2 other journalists, is now arrested.

A case of shooting the messenger, while the person who wrote the message gets of scot-free.

This is what Pak Lah calls judicial reforms for our country. How the hell are we going to fix our corrupt justice system when the police are applying the law selectively?

I am sick. I am seriously sick to the stomach with how our country is being run. This is a country that is being abused to the core. Will we start to see more mass arrests? Will there be unrest on the streets? I wish the answers to those questions were no. Unfortunately, I don’t know.

However, I do know one thing. If there is something that I learned about Malaysians since I started blogging, is that since March 8th, more and more people are speaking up. I hope that continues. The price for keeping quiet is to give the government of the day your silent approval. If the Internet goes silent, then there goes our final bastion of free speech. Fellow netizens, I urge you to speak up, and speak up loud. We must not tolerate tyranny.

By the way, on the rumors that there will be unrest on the streets soon, I urge you to take precautions. Don’t spread these rumors. You will be arrested. However, please take care of yourselves. Look after your neighbors. Don’t think our government is not capable. If the Sodomy 2 case can be used to prevent Anwar from taking power, the pre-conditions for May 13th Number 2 could be created as well to prevent Anwar from taking power.

Peace, and stay safe.

You Might Find These Interesting

• Ahmad Ismail Is Actually Smart
• Do You Really Want An Apology From Ahmad Ismail?
• The Inconsistencies Of The Royal Malaysian Police
• It’s Official: Pussy Minister Backs Ahmad Ismail
• Arrested For Bringing Letter?

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