September 30, 2008
Hi, just like to wish all readers a safe and happy Aidilfitri celebrations.
If you’re driving, may you be blessed with an incident free drive.
If you’re taking public transportation, may you be blessed with an incident free trip.
Most of all, don’t forget to eat till you drop 
Hopefully, from now till the end of the holidays, Malaysians don’t say the darndest things.
September 25, 2008
Just got this from zewt’s blog, who thinks we need a new law:
I can’t take it. Seriously, I can’t take it anymore. There is a limit to how much my little brain can take. I can still take oppression, intimidation or even brutal injustice. But seriously, there is only so much of stupidity that I can take.
For those living overseas, someone in Malaysia (no prizes for correct guesses) just lodged a police report against an opposition MP for… insulting eggs. Yes, you read that correctly. Egg… telur… ‘ji tan’… ‘kai tan’…
Here’s the news report by The Sun, reproduced in full:
Report lodged against Teresa Kok for insulting egg
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24, 2008) : The Seputeh Umno Youth division lodged a police report today against Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, claiming she had insulted the Royal Malaysian Police and the egg, which is an essential food of the underprivileged.
The division’s deputy head Alawi Dahalin and several other members lodged the report at the Brickfields police station.
Alawi said he had heard Kok complain about the food she was given while detained under the ISA, at a press conference at the DAP headquarters in Petaling Jaya, shown on the night news on TV on Sept 20, a day after she was released from custody.
He said Kok had said the food she was served was “fit only for dogs”.
“By saying this, she had insulted the police and the poor. Eggs are an important food for low-income earners and the poor. As an elected representative of the people she should not have said that,” he said.
I know UMNO is destroying itself from inside, but this is certainly a new low for UMNO. Epitome of stupidity.
Malaysians Say (and do) The Darndest Things!
September 25, 2008
When RPK was put under a 2 year detention under ISA, I was surprised that I wasn’t that pissed off. Certainly not as pissed off when I learnt that the Hindraf 5 were put under lock and key. I think this is due to a certain degree of mental numbness when I hear these stories, whereby it is easier on my body and mind to feel apathy than to feel raging anger. Listening to the bald mofo’s nonsense (who calls himself Home Minister) also contributed to this apathy.
This explains my blogging absence for a week. It wasn’t that I had nothing to write, in fact, I had tons of material swimming in my mind. It’s just that I wasn’t in the mood to write it. Thankfully, I slipped out of this apathetic mood today (I thank zewt for writing something that kicked my senses back to work). I realize that we, as Malaysian citizens, cannot afford to do nothing about this situation.
I know, many of us have the mindset:
“I’m nobody, just a normal rakyat. There is nothing I can do, even though I am against the ISA.”
I understand where this is coming from, but I would respectfully tell you that there are things that you can do to make a difference. And the small differences add up.
For example, there have been some calls to drive with your headlights on during the day, or go bald in solidarity with RPK (see here and here, looking good, Nat). Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with the actions above, it’s just that in terms of making a difference, I don’t think it’s going to be effective unless done en masse. But don’t expect it to produce a favorable result.
There’s also an anti-ISA petition going around the net. As of writing, there are 27,000+ signatures, and in terms of numbers, that’s pretty good for an online Malaysian petition. The goal, according to some quarters is to get 100,000 signatures. If you read the petition, it is addressed to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, most likely Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Do you think he gives a shit about the 27,000+ signatures? I signed the petition not because I believe that it will be effective. I signed because I believe it is a numbers game, and to legitimize the claim that many Malaysians are against the ISA. So go ahead and put your signature in if you haven’t, but do not harbor hopes of the ISA being abolished because of the petition. Pigs have a greater chance of flying.
So what can we really do to make any difference? A very unique suggestion is to send greeting cards this festive season to the detainees of the ISA. You can get a list of names here, and it won’t cost you much to pick 5 people at random and send them cards. Yes, this won’t get them out of the ISA, but the difference you can make in the person’s life might be enormous. It tells the detainees not to give up hope of a fair trial, that there are people outside who give a damn about their situation. Here is the address:
Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan,
34009 Kamunting, Taiping.
Perak MALAYSIA
Actually, the only politician in Malaysia (either BN or PR) to lay out some sort of roadmap to abolishing the ISA is Lim Guan Eng, as was reported in Malaysiakini a few days ago:
Speaking at the ‘Abolish the ISA’ forum organised by his DAP party last night, Guan Eng said Pakatan will not be contented with merely organising gatherings against the tough security law.
Neither would Pakatan leaders spew mere rhetoric without commensurate action, he promised an audience of about 600.
“I myself will move a private members bill in Parliament for the abolition of the ISA, for its repeal,” said Guan Eng to cheers from the audience.
“And then we will see which leaders of Barisan Nasional will practice what they preach and who speak with forked tongue,” said Guan Eng, who was himself detained in 1987 at the Kamunting Prison where ISA detainees are usually held.
He said it would be an eye-opener for the nation to see whether BN MPs and ministers, who spoke against the ISA, would follow through and support the bill, or if they were merely paying lip service to soothe the public anger that followed the government’s recent crackdown.
This is why I have great admiration for Lim Guan Eng. At least he laid out a plan that might work (I said might because I don’t know how a private members bill works). If that happens, and if your MP is someone from Barisan Nasional, great. My suggestion is that you should try to contact or write that person and get their assurance that they will support the bill. It’s an even bigger bonus if your MP is from the MCA or MIC, because we will then see whether they are just NATO (No Action, Talk Only) when speaking out against the ISA. The difference you can make if you manage to convince just a few BN MPs to support the bill is enormous. This will signal a change in how our Parliament is conducted, whereby the MPs paramount task is to represent the people, and not represent the party.
Those are just some of the initiatives that you can take to register your protest against the ISA. There are other gatherings that you can attend to register your protest, like GMI’s meet at Masjid Jamek tomorrow, and Hindraf’s candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday which you could attend just to show solidarity.
So what have you done for an ISA detainee lately (besides bitch about it)? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comment box.
September 20, 2008
Husam Musa and Kickdefella (right) - Copyright JYPix (I assume it’s Miss Jed Yoong :))
The news today reported that fellow blogger, Sheih of Kickdefella, or real name Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz, will be remanded by the police until 5pm tomorrow (Saturday 20th September). From what I’ve been reading so far, it seems that there is a likelihood that he will be charged under the Sedition Act. I personally think it’s a frivolous charge since his ‘crime’ is probably for displaying a cyber Jalur Gemilang upside down. Is our country that crime-free, that resources have to be spent to arrest someone for displaying the flag in that manner?
I write this post in solidarity with Sheih. I do not believe that he warrants being charged. I hope by 5pm tomorrow, he walks out of the police station a free man, just as Teresa Kok walked out a free woman after being released from the ISA today.
Having said that, I cannot help but point out hypocrisies in the way the police work. The term “berat sebelah” comes to mind. Yes yes, everyone already knows that the police are biased in the way they selectively arrest people, but it is still warranted to point out a few recent cases that come to mind:
Case #1: Ahmad Ismail
Ok, most of you are trying to either forget this man, or condemn him as a bitter memory. But don’t forget that there are still police reports that are pending against Mr. Orang Cina Pendatang. If there is an example of someone who qualifies to be charged under the “inciting race hatred” portion of the Sedition Act, this man absolutely fits the bill. Or are we to understand that the police have already marked his case file as closed, since UMNO has already ‘punished’ him with 3 years suspension from the party? Boohoo.
Case #2: Khir Toyo
Teresa Kok has been released from the ISA, which means that the rumors against her were unfounded. Who spread these rumors that Teresa Kok was instrumental in stopping the call to prayers for certain mosques? None other than former Selangor MB Khir Toyo in cahoots with Utusan Malaysia. Police reports have been filed by both mosque authorities and also MP of the area concerned, Siti Mariah Mahmud against Khir Toyo. One blogger, by the name of Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been charged with criminal defamation for his postings, perhaps the police will ‘extend the courtesy’ to Khir Toyo as well?
What are my predictions for both cases above? I bet on “Case closed, NFA (no further action)”. Anyone can take me up on that bet, and if I lose, I’ll buy you a McChicken (if you’re vegetarian, I’ll buy you some broccoli).
To end this post, I hope for the best for Syed Azidi tomorrow. In a press statement read by his lawyer today, Syed Azidi says:
“I’m well and in good spirits. I wish everybody the best. I hope to start blogging again tomorrow.”
We hope so too, Sheih, we hope so too.
September 19, 2008
Teresa Kok has finally been released from ISA detention (thanks for the headsup, LEM). According to the breaking news from both TheStar Online as well as Malaysiakini, she is now at the Jalan Travers police station handling some release documentation. She will also be having a news conference at 3.30pm today at the DAP headquarters in PJ.
Will she be charged with a crime? Probably not, because there surely isn’t enough evidence to charge her with something. So, in summary, her one week arrest just means that the police has wasted taxpayers’ money again by detaining an innocent person by a week.
Now that she is out, we can focus on the release of Raja Petra, and the Hindraf 5 who have been in there a few months shy of a year. And there are other detainees in there as well that have been in there since 2001 (if I am not mistaken). Is it human to deprive a person of their freedom without any chance for a fair hearing? Isn’t this what tyrannies are built on? There are enough laws in this land of ours to charge them, so why not use these laws?
One of the reasons I refuse to recognize BN as a good government is due to their rabid insistence on maintaining this law, without any reform or repeal, which clearly goes against public sentiment. A government that puts itself beyond the reach of its people and ignores them is never a good government. A government that thinks they have all the answers and thinks that they are the only ones capable of leading the country is never a good government.
How I yearn for a government that truly listens. Will my wishes be answered, or will it be just blind hope?
September 18, 2008
Copyright of http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/
Yeap, our stock exchange is being hammered by diminishing investor confidence, both in and out of the country. This time, it has nothing to do with our country’s political uncertainties, but with the problems plaguing the US economy.
As of writing, the KLCI has slumped 3.7% or 38.13 points to 964.86, following the Dow Jones freefall of 4.06% in yesterday’s trading. This just proves that the Malaysian stock exchange (and I don’t want to use this in the same breath as the word “economy”) is still unable to decouple itself from the happenings in the US of A. The next time any politician or minister tells you otherwise, just remember to ignore that person.
So is this a good time to pick up on good deals? Question is, does anyone even see where the bottom will be? Are things looking up in the short term? Would be great if everyone knew the answer to those questions (wait, that WOULD be disastrous). Meanwhile, if you’re going ’shopping’ in the market, just remind yourself to never invest any amount that will cause you to lose any sleep. I guess that’s the only advice I can give everyone, and probably an advice that I should apply to myself as well.
