Mountains and Bells

Pix Credits: PIX credit | sharehouse.wordpress.com

Sitting majestic in the cloudy distance, Gunung Merapi belies its potent danger to human lives, of danger warned by muted bells in the picture foreground. It takes lives. It does also give back to strickened soils to nourish millions.

For whom do the bells, toll?

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Related Info

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The Rain Stays in Spain

But something else did come out of Cordoba.

A Christmas Story

Malay American, Halimah Hajar finally found her long lost Alaskan Eskimo mother

Halimah Hajar is a Malay American. She's an American citizen complete with her US passport.

Hajar her father was a Singaporean Malay sailor whose job took him to the US where he finally settled down. He met an Alaskan Eskimo, Kate, and they had two kids Halimah and Zainuddin, who were later sent back to live with relatives in Malaysia.

Halimah finally met her mother, Kate, after much effort with some help via You Tube.

That's some story with a lot of Joy for the Season. You can read all of it at an Alaskan News site ...here...!

[Thanks to Jong for the story alert]

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A Time for Joy

MCLM, The People's Charter and Civil liberties

The idea of the "3rd Force" must be causing some anxiety to some watchers of Malaysian politics. Some with concerns, some with hopes and some as something that's bound to happen with potential dynamics.

It was initially bandied about as the "3rd Force". The promoters have now declared it with a real form known as the MCLM (Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement). Had it been formed as the "3rd Force" in name, it would have meant a political party that subscribes to platforms under the ROS rules.

An interesting development todate from the MCLM is the appointment of 2 candidates to vie for constituencies in the forthcoming General Elections. These two identified candidates appear publicly to aid the Pakatan Rakyat efforts and party actions for the alternative in government to the 5 decades rule of the BN. Why so? Aren't they supposed to be neutral?

Well, it has happened and rather than be content with the horrible picture and prospects of the mad "kataking" previously Malaysians must sigh with relief. It's a progressive development where ridiculous situations can be avoided and the shallow political recriminations of some of both the BN and PR politicians could be preempted. In essence, it's a chance for greater space and to move on.

So "civil liberties" is the name of the game for MCLM. It's not the "3rd Force". It boils down to what fundamentally all voters should hold dear: their rights, freedom and liberties. There is not a small number of Malaysians who believe the government, meaning the present ruling BN, is supposed to have the absolute interests of Malaysian citizens at heart. Now there is another avenue, a real alternative, even to the PR, where voters can say after 5 decades of One-Party rule of the BN, they can face challenges with optimum participation to face the future not just as spectators that when neighboring or regional countries have moved well ahead, Malaysia have regressed considering the comparative national and natural resources. When weak institutions tell of misgovernance resulting in corruption Malaysians can feel they participate in government for better rural and urban infra-structures development to prod greater national development. All told, as it is now, the country is headed for terrible budget and national deficits not less than 55%. If that's Greek to you, you're forgiven. It's no comfort to know whether citizens or foreigners hold your lifeline, as things cannot be any rosier or constructively expansive.

The point of contention among some is that MCLM should be the "3rd Force" and BN sympathisers appear to be exasperated that it's not. However, the declared aims of the MCLM are about "civil liberties". Why can't citizens guard their rights without or outside of the party system? If the BN or PBB or UMNO people want to bitch about that MCLM is unproven or just party spoilers they have had 5 decades and it's hurting Malaysians.

How MCLM will fare depends on how they measure up, how stiff the competition it poses to established political parties. The stiffer it is the more relevant. But where objectives or public perception true to civil liberties lie, MCLM will be distinguishable from the party or the candidate.

As for how it might relate to Sarawak, a friend's opinion quoted might be indicative of related sentiments:

"...Sarawak must Change. There will still be many challenges but the Change will emplace Sarawakians in a better position to face them.

What choice is there but?

The belief in human progress in Malaysia still hogs old worn-out themes of keeping wealth for the few and heaping up more too. Then, against all sense of humility rent out the wealth to a still select few.

This choice stifles human progress and impoverishes latent immaterial human potential, the germ upon which all society must nurture.

Let us not make any mistake upon what the Hope in Change is all about.

That opportunity is here and now and soon to be decided in the forthcoming elections...."

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MCLM name another candidate

Najib's a no-shine when the Singas took a Leak

...“A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia.”

...“As for Najib Razak, he is an opportunist. Although he has not been critical of Singapore, he will not hesitate to go in that direction if it is expedient for him to do so. Najib’s political fortunes continue to be haunted by the murder scandal.”

...“Najib has his neck on the line in connection with a high-profile murder case.”

More at ...

Raja Petra Kamaruddin | Kuburkan UMNO! Bury UMNO!

Kuburkan UMNO! Deregister UMNO!

In an interview with Radio Free Sarawak, Raja Petra Kamaruddin boldly says UMNO should be buried. There is no provision in the Constitution of Malaysia, not in Sections 152 or 153. UMNO cannot change nor maintain it's fundamental political beliefs of Ketuanan Melayu or Malay Supremacy and which are a sacrilege and a blasphemy of their members' religion. UMNO politicians are unashamed liars as far as RPK is concerned.

UMNO is anti-Malay and anti-Islam. Raja Petra throws a challenge to anyone in UMNO to debunk him.

Raja Petra refers to the Prophet's last sermon at Mt Arafah before his death that:

"..an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. ..."

This is sufficient to get UMNO deregistered for its dumb assertions on Malay Supremacy.

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Learning to live

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A day before the Ides of March 1987

EDUCATION Sarawak | Has Awang Tengah lost his Atas or his Bawah?

FRESH WATER SUPPLY: Awang Tengah (second right) and Len (right) scope water from the new water supply.

It seems that in Sarawak even tertiary education for Ministers has done no good! Now they want more sacrifices from Penans while they burn billions in Bakun and stole more Penan lands they could remember. And for high tech they had burned billions in that useless 1st Malaysia Silicon that has changed names more times than Awang Tengah change his underwear.

Sacrifice for children’s education, Penans told

Anthony Joseph | November 30, 2010, Tuesday | The Borneo Post

ULU KUBAAN, LAWAS: The Penans were yesterday asked to make some sacrifices to ensure their children went to school and received education.

Making the call, Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said the community should view education as a top priority in the interest of their future generation.

He said education would enable them to be on a par with the other communities.

Noting that the Penans were a caring and loving lot, he said this should not prevent them from sending their children to school.

The minister was speaking at the launching of several projects including a Penan housing project and gravity-feed water supply at Kampung Ba Medamot, Ulu Kubaan near Bario.

Awang Tengah said the parents’ unwillingness to separate from their children while they attended school caused some ‘doting’ parents to bring their children back to the jungle.

“This will affect their studies and discourage them from going to school,” the minister said.

Currently, there are 3,000 Penan students in primary and secondary schools in the state, and 26 from the community have continued their studies in institutions of higher learning.

He suggested that the community learned from the experiences of the Penans in resettlements in Sebiew, Bintulu and Suai, Niah.

“They are more successful than the Penans elsewhere in the state because they emphasise on education and involvement in socio-economic activities.

Awang Tengah also encouraged them to be involved in agricultural activities and stop their nomadic lifestyle.

From the 13,000 Penans across the state, around 300 are still nomadic.

The housing project, complete with piped water supply and amenities, has been provided by the Forest Department, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Malaysia, International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and Samling Strategic Corporation Sdn Bhd as a community-based development activity under Pulong Tau National Park project that is supported by ITTO.

Ba Medamot is occupied by 17 families with a population of about 80.

Since settling down, they have learned to grow hill padi, tapioca and fruit trees from the Kelabits, but are still largely dependent on the forest for much of their daily needs.

The villagers have been allocated 15 new houses.

Director of Forests Sarawak and chief executive officer of Sarawak Forestry Corporation Datu Len Talif Salleh, Deputy State Secretary Datu Ose Murang, Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource Management Naroden Majais, Miri Resident Anthonio Khati Galis, Dr Paul Chai from ITTO and general manager of Erickson Air-Crane (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Paul Farrer were among those present.

Malays have NCR rights too, says court

Sarawakian Malays have NCR rights too, says court

|Tue, 16 Nove 2010 12:05 | By Joseph Tawie | Free Malaysia Today |

KUCHING: The Kuching High Court yesterday handed down yet another landmark decision when it recognised the native customary rights (NCR) of Malays in the state over land.

In passing his judgment, Justice Linton Albert said that Malays in Sarawak have “customary rights over land as well as over swampy areas surrounding their NCR land”.

Their rights, he said, are similar to that of the Dayaks’ “pemakai menua” (territorial domain) and “pulau galau” (communal forests) where they forage for food and timber for their use.

Reading his decision, Albert said that the acquisition of NCR land has lately gained prominence and consistently recognised by the appellate courts.

“It is well defined and firmly established and it is an integral part of the corpus of our substantive laws. Evidence of the Malay custom, practice and tradition since time immemorial of acquiring native customary land which the Malays called ‘tanah pesaka’ by being the first to make a living or eke out a livelihood from nipah and mangrove forests which cover the area where they settled was undisputed and controvertible," Albert said.

He said the nipah palm and the mangrove forests in the neighbourhood of the villages afforded the Malays their livelihood.

Malays, he said, collected edible living creatures found in the swampy ground of these forests namely crabs, clams, snails while the nipah leaves gathered were for roofing materials and mangrove wood for charcoal and these were a few of the natural bounties presented to the Malays.

“I am satisfied that on the evidence adduced and tested against the statements of the law set out in the Madeli Salleh case, the plaintiff has succeeded on the balance of probability that the original claimants who transferred their native customary right land to him under the agreements had acquired native customary rights to land prior to Jan 1, 1958, the date when the Land Code came into force.

“In the light of the pronouncements in the Madeli Salleh case, the structures imposed on the creation of native customary rights under the Land Code upon which the first defendant (superintendent of Lands and Surveys Kuching Division) and second defendant (state government of Sarawak ) rely on and in respect of which their witnesses took pains to amplify have no application and it is therefore unnecessary to embark on a judicial scrutiny of the relevant provisions purporting to prohibit the acquisition of native customary rights over land referred to by their learned counsel.

“Reliance by the learned counsel for the first and second defendants on a passage in 'Superintendent of Lands and Surveys Bintulu against Nor Anak Nyawai and others' is woefully misplaced... that there were also self-serving testimonies by some of the respondents what should carry little or no weight is the absence of some other credible corroborative evidence.

“Clearly the testimonies of the witnesses for the plaintiff were not wholely self-serving. Indeed their testimonies were supported by documentary and other independent evidence in the form of the 65 agreements and the testimony of PW7 (Dr Claus-Peter Gross) which are vital in tipping the balance in favour of the plaintiff, " Albert said.

Settled existence

He noted that it was an “indisputable historical fact” that the Malays of Sarawak had lived a settled existence along the coasts and lower reaches of rivers well before the marauding Dayaks, mostly Sea Dayaks who are now commonly referred to as Ibans, came from across the border in Kalimantan and cleared vast tracts of forests for their slash and burn practice of farming in the hilly interiors of Sarawak.

“And until headhunting was totally eradicated during the colonial era, the Dayaks were predisposed to move constantly either as hunters or hunted and in so doing they fell even more areas of primary forests for the hill padi farming," he said.

The Malays, he added, were not so wasteful and destructive; their settled existence meant that they had to practise some form of sustainability which precluded destruction of existing area, hence the absence of large cleared areas in the serial photographs, he said.

The judge quoted various authorities to support his decision which is in favour of the plaintiff.

The plaintiff, Mohd Rambli Kawi, was represented by See Chee How and Baru Bian of Baru Bian Advocates, while the Superintendent of Lands and Surveys Kuching Division and the state government of Sarawak were represented by Joseph Chioh of the State Attorney-General Chambers.

Maisarah Juhari represented the Federal Lands Commissioner.

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BURMA | Elections Update

Recounts Favor USDP

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| By KO HTWE | Friday, November 12, 2010 |

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"Winning in the evening; losing in the morning; The lion seized all the seats!"

That's what the children are singing in the street around here,” said Dr. Saw Naing, an independent candidate who ran in the general election on Sunday for a Lower House seat representing South Okkalapa Township in Rangoon.

The lion is symbol of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which claims to have won more than 80 percent of the national vote and is backed by Burma's ruling junta.

But on Monday evening, after all the votes were counted in South Okkalapa constituency, it appeared that the independent gladiator had defeated the lion.

It was an apparent upset at the polls. Earlier that day, Saw Naing had been told that USDP candidate Aung Kyaw Moe had won the seat. However, after all the votes were counted, the Township Election Commission (EC) called him by telephone and told him the astonishing news that he had won a seat for the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly) after beating Aung Kyaw Moe by just six votes.

“The EC called me and said I had to come in and sign a form declaring that I was the winner,” Saw Naing told The Irrawaddy. “There were many witnesses present when I signed. It was a great moment for me and for my supporters.”

Unfortunately for the 42-year-old dentist who works for several NGOs in his local community, the moment didn't last long. On Wednesday night, state television announced that, after a recount, the winner in South Okkalapa Township was Aung Kyaw Moe.

“We were devastated,” said Saw Naing. “I asked the chairman of the Township EC how the situation could have changed. He told me that he personally had nothing to do with it and that he did not know that a recount had taken place.”

Saw Naing now says he is seeking legal advice from Nyan Win, a lawyer who is also a National League for Democracy leader.

‘I have never heard of such a situation anywhere else in the world where the authorities chop and change the election results so much,” said Saw Naing.

Meanwhile, in Sangchaung Township in Rangoon, National Democratic Front (NDF) candidate Soe Win also thought he had won his constituency; his supporters had monitored the vote-count and he had been declared the winner.
However, the following day, EC officials told him the ballots would have to be recounted because so many of them had been invalid.

Needless to say, the recount took place behind closed doors and the USDP emerged the victor.+

Azmin, PKR | Doesn't anybody have a choice?

Azmin asks Zaid to reconsider new party plans and stay with PKR

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|Friday, 12 November 2010 15:26 | Malaysia Mirror/Bernama |

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SHAH ALAM - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Azmin Ali has called on former Federal Territory PKR chief Zaid Ibrahim to reconsider his plan to set up a new party if he is sacked from the party.

Azmin said he hoped the plan would not materalise because to his understanding, Zaid joined the PKR to be with the leaders and party members and contribute to the "reformasi" agenda, Bernama reported.

"In this context, I hope that he could relook into the plan and continue with the struggle in PKR in the spirit of consensus," he told reporters after attending the state assembly sitting Friday.

Zaid said Thursday that he did not rule out setting up a new party should the PKR decide to sack him.

He withdrew from the deputy presidency contest and quit all party posts on Monday, claiming there were "manipulation and unfair electoral practices" in the party.

The former Umno leader had on Tuesday asked Azmin to be disqualified from contesting in the ongoing party's deputy presidential race saying the latter has tampered with the election process and cheated to win.

Zaid had also called for both Azmin and PKR supremo leader Anwar Ibrahim to vacate their leadership of the party.

Azmin said it would be up to the party's disciplinary committee when asked what action could be taken against Zaid for making such remarks and allegations against PKR.

"The party's disciplinary committee will make recommendations to the political bureau and central leadership council. So far we have yet to receive any suggestions from the disciplinary committee," he said.+

Burma | General Elections without Aung San Suu Kyi

Suu Kyi Set to Probe Burma Vote Fraud
| By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, | November 11, 2010 |

RANGOON — Burma pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will help investigate charges of election fraud if and when she is released from house arrest this week, a close political colleague said Wednesday.

Her intention was announced a few hours before the first official results from Sunday's election were released, showing that the country's pro-military party was headed toward an expected sweeping election victory.

Critics said the vote was rigged and poll fraud was rampant.

Top members of the ruling junta, including Prime Minister Thein Sein, were among those who won seats in Parliament, according to results broadcast Wednesday night on state television. Thein Sein heads the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which served as a proxy for the ruling junta.

Independent observers and Western leaders including President Barack Obama have said Sunday's election—the first in two decades—was neither free nor fair.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has established a committee to probe allegations of fraud in the polls, said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the group.


Read more h e r e ....

PKR on the boil | CUTI from Politics, anyone?

The present PKR crisis arising out of their direct elections have come to a head. Zaid is reported to do an Anwar on PKR just like Anwar did same on Mahathir - taking it to the rakyat or voters.

Whilst I'm not a PKR member I share Matsamankati's sentiments and let matters take their course so things will sort themselves out. A political organization is somewhat like a person. It's just a non-personal entity. Trouble is when things get personal! People or persons are not perfect and they may change - hopefully for the better!

Meanwhile UMNO people must be jeering at the PKR on this CUTI bizness. Well, if PKR members take their CUTI, that's only human. UMNO members have been playing truants all their lives!

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PDRM | Men in Blue to roar like a Tiger and kids to get historical and anaemic

Some decades ago, the buzz word was re-engineering. Now in Malaysian management circles, it's the acronyms vending and rattling. Keris rattling is history and Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO Deputy President and Education Minister triumphantly declared our kids must, by compulsion, pass history in their schools exams. Sounds like a merry-go-round as Najib Razak, UMNO President, with red trembling lips roared out that his father's blood was flowing in him, right then and now. Maybe some bloody one should suggest to him that he should see a doctor - his anaemia is apparent.

If that is not enough, with 10 Malaysians disappearing each day, and maybe Sozilawati still walking around somewhere, the newly minted Inspector General of Police commands his men to roar like a tiger.

Maybe we should ask our IGP to stand for the coming General Elections.

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IBRAHIM ALI, YB | Is it true?

A screenshot of a poster's comments at Malaysia Chronicle

A poster at Malaysia Chronicle says Ibrahim Ali might not have been sick nor did he have heart surgery. Certainly Ampang Puteri is not renowned for heart surgery.

Ibrahim Ali whose Datuksip honor was recently withdrawn by the Kelantan Sultan is a Member of Parliament and should rightfully be accorded due medical services, regardless of the less creditable or honorable expletives showered on him for his extreme views against opinions not desireable for Ketuanan Melayu.

You could say, it is just as well, that Ibrahim is keeping quiet from his usual rants for UMNO is presently having their AGM at their grand building in KL, where great pains are endured to tone down what would be Ibrahim's usual ranting.

Nyanyuk, Matir shot himself in the foot

China is no easy place to manage. With 1.5 billion citizens, you'd think all they had to do is increase productivity by just an average of RM10 per capita and you make trillions including complementary products and services. Money is important in China. So is life. But they're prepared to shoot and hang people who steal, cheat, commit bribery and kill other citizens.

So did Matir take aim and shoot his own foot?

Dr Mahathir promotes China model as alternative to democracy
By Yow Hong Chieh
October 18, 2010

Dr Mahathir: If you find good people to run a country, even dictators can make a country develop and develop very well.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today called democracy a “failed” ideology and held up China’s model of authoritarianism as an alternative “worth studying”.

He said China’s political model — which he termed the “Beijing Consensus” — showed that a nation could develop well even in the absence of freedom, liberty and equality — ideals fundamental to the rival “Washington Consensus”.

“The Beijing Consensus shows that having a non-democratic country can also give a good life for the people,” Dr Mahathir told delegates at the “Creation of the Global Citizen: Media Liberalisation and the New Political Realities” forum organised by Umno here.

“If you find good people to run a country, even dictators can make a country develop and develop very well.”

He pointed out that China’s “correct” application of the Beijing Consensus had allowed the nation of 1.3 billion “very poor” people to become the second richest country in the world.

The former premier also criticised the very premise of democracy, arguing that no issue could achieve total consensus, leading to an electoral split that will promote poor governance.

“Democracy... has failed in many countries,” he said.

“It is not the perfect thing it is touted to be. You find that some of these democracies really cannot work. People cannot make up their minds.

Dr Mahathir cited hung parliaments in Britain and Australia as proof that countries cannot progress when a majority of its voters cannot make up their minds, saying frequent changes in leadership were not good for a nation.

“We see a lot of democracies where leaders change every two years and the country cannot make any progress at all,” he said.

“Even the countries that have made progress find sometimes that democracies hinder the development of the country, make the country unstable and difficult to develop.”

He added that smaller parties roped into ad hoc coalitions to break hung parliaments in democracies will hold the majority hostage to minority demands that were not good for the country as a whole. - The Malaysian Insider

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Master Kung's Quote of the Day

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance."

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To prosecute or persecute?

Pontianak

Legislation against 'black magic' criminal acts proposed

| BERNAMA | Monday, October 11th, 2010 21:48:00 |

KUANTAN: A lecturer here has called on the government to enact what he calls a Sorcery Criminal Act to deal with such practice in the country.

Ikip International College law lecturer Dr Mahyuddin Ismail said the legislation would give the authorities the powers to act on such practice.

"Not only in Malaysia, other countries are also facing problems concerning sorcery but there are no solutions in terms of the law.

"Sorcery crimes can be proven in syariah as well as in civil court," he said in his working paper at a seminar on sorcery here today.

Orang Minyak

Malay | Wei! Aku pun Melayu lah !

Ibrahim Ali is sick to death, afraid that Malays would be extinguished, become extinct ["hilang dari dunia"]. He coated that now by saying "bumiputera". Too bad, Brahim the average Malay ain't dumb anymore. If the "bumiputeras" include the Penans, they're still around and fighting back against PBB and UMNO' atrocities.

Sure I'm a Malay but how to join UMNO? It's not even a "pertubuhan Melayu". It's a "UNITED MALAY NATIONAL ORGANIZATION". Is that a persetubuhan Melayu? A pertubuhan Melayu would be called "PERTUBUHAN KEBANGSAAN MELAYU BERSATU". UMNO sounds like a sick joke anyway and the purported Malay leader is, of all things, an Indian.

Brahim says it's a religious obligation. Why should that be religious? Many Indians are Muslims and many are not. Why should all Indians become Muslims or all become non Muslims? Would you believe this Brahim? He's very religious now! He should just spread his religion through his good friend, Vincent Tan's Facebook which they say, I might be wrong, might be a good medium to spread his brand of Islam. Brahim could then find all the long lost Malays hiding in Greenland.

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Reformasi | The Wheel's still in spin

Wired right through our ears with keypads on our forearms, it seems like we're back in 1984.

Yet, the same old story plays again. It was reformasi in Caesar's days. It still is in 2020 today!

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GALAS, Gua Musang | It's Jom Heboh again !

Just what the heck are Sarawak bumiputeras doing in Galas, Gua Musang? Are the "musangs" stealing all the "ayams" ? Or have the "ayams" caught all the Sarawakians?

WED, 06 OCT 2010

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission today fixed the polling date for the Galas by-election on Nov 4. Nomination will be held on Oct 26.

The dates were announced by Election Commission deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar during a press conference this morning.

The recently updated voter count in Galas stands at 11,553, of which 61.63% are Malays, 20.08% Chinese, 1.6% Indians, 0.9% Sarawak bumiputeras and 16.37% Orang Asli. Of this number, 127 will consist of postal votes.

Read more ...

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Wayang Street Pin-Ups

Pix Credits | The Nut Graph

Who do you reckon this is? In sexy hot white shorts? Amazing Nazri called him a bigot!

What's wrong with Malaysia?

They gladly kept Mas Selamat, looked after him, fed him, gave him a place to sleep then happily gave him back to Singapaore.

Are they earning commissions from Singapore for the con job?

While Zunar, some might think of as a paper tiger, was hauled away and locked up. Zunar has been good for the economy - the printers were happy, book sellers were happy and most of all he brings lots of smiles to otherwise depressed and cynical Malaysians!

All that Zunar did was guess who might win the World Cup!

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NAZRI, You did good !

“...And yes I am a Malaysian first and Malay next. Does any bigot have a problem with that?

...I am not too sure Awang knows who his boss is because he undermines the 1 Malaysia policy of the prime minister and promotes the narrow racism of (Datuk) Ibrahim Ali who is not even an Umno member. Awang should be asking himself the question he posed to me.

Being civil to the opposition is the right thing to do in a democracy, because just like me, they are also elected by the people. Of course, Awang is caught in the time warp of those days where government MPs do not only not engage them but hate and dislike them in all circumstances. ”

Nazri Aziz is the Minister in the PM's Department)

More . . .

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Milk Today | Sorry to say!

There is Milk Today. At last!

What can you say? You're mistaken, you're mistaken! Am I glad to be proven wrong!

There is Milk Today!

Sorry! No Milk Today!

MCMC warned about it! Selamat Raya to them for doing a good job. But, Malaysia is getting thinner by the day. Surely, not because of the fasting?

The reasons could be ... [CLICK HERE!]

Salam 'Aidil Fitri

CM Taib Mahmud | Is he staying or has he gone?

Sounds like he's as good as gone!

More Education - for unmarried pregnant Malaysian girls | BN so generous, rakyat so bad and ungrateful

Mohd Ali Rustam, Malacca Chief Minister

There have been cases surely of schoolgirls getting pregnant and allowed to sit for their public examinations. The compromise might be homestudy before the examinations. There has to be some reasonable ways of coping with unwanted pregnancies where finishing school is concerned.

Malacca Chief Minister has come up with a brilliant idea on this issue - set up a special school for pregnant girls. Of course they could continue with studies for public examination. For those over school age something suitable could arranged for them. All well and good.

Trouble is now Mohd Ali Rustam has no takers for the school.

What really is Mohd Ali up to? He has been judged "corrupted" in UMNO party elections, yet thick skinned enough to hang on to his job. Those who allow him have thicker.

Lim Guan Eng had trouble in Malacca some years back when taking on the issues of an underaged pregnant girl. Big political names were involved and Rahim Tahmby Chik took the rap. Of course Malaysians are rumor mongers because other names of politicians now still in their important positions could have been involved.

Now what is is this Mohd Ali Rustam up to? Did he make some underaged girl pregnant? Maybe he he didn't but you have to ask.

According to The Malaysian Insider :

"Much about the school continues to be wrapped in a veil of mystery. The exact whereabouts of the school in Jasin is also confidential."

As you like it | No bizness like show bizness

Felda loses case because lawyer did not attend trial
August 26, 2010 | The Malaysian Insider/Bernama

BANDAR SERI JEMPOL, Aug 26 – Felda has ordered its lawyer to release a sum of RM11 million to the law firm representing 354 Felda Kemahang 3 settlers in the wake of the Federal Court’s decision today, its chairman Tan Sri Dr Yusof Noor said today.

Dr Yusof said Felda lost the case because its lawyer did not attend the trial, depriving it of the opportunity to defend itself.

The settlers sued Felda in 2002, seeking between RM20,000 and RM30,000 each in general damages, claiming that the agency had understated the quality of their oil palm fruits during the period from 1996 to 2002 which caused them to suffer losses.

On January 13, 2008, the Kota Baharu High Court ordered the agency to pay RM7.8 million plus interest to the settlers after its counsel failed to turn up for the hearing of the suit, and decided in their favour after accepting the evidence of three witnesses.

The amount had since increased to RM11 million with accumulated interest, with each settler expected to receive about RM30,000.+

MACC's Razak | Outrageous, incompetent dud lawyer

Why we are wasting taxpayers money employing this fool of a legal staff of MACC is a mystery.

Razak must have a fake law degree from Sungai Lumut!

What else would any sane citizen need to convince himself our country has gone to the dogs, with people like Razak and his superiors!

It's a sin to have a lawyer like Razak!

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MACC's Legal-Strangle

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"1Malayisa", as you like it

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons' difference; as, the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say,
'This is no flattery.' (2.1.2)

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Yesterday Once More | Students are Malaysians again

Students denounce politics ban

| FRI, 13 AUG 2010 18:35 | By G Vinod | Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Five student organisations today denounced the Najib administration for its opposition to student involvement in politics and announced that they would hold a public forum on the issue within the next two weeks.

“We’re sick of the government treating us like children,” said Gerakan Mahasiswa Sedar spokesman Ahmad Syukri Kamaruddin in response to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's statement on Monday that the government would not lift its ban on political activity among students.

Syukri was speaking at a press conference called by his group and the Gerakan Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM), Gabungan Mahasiswa Malaysia, Kelab Rakan Islah Malaysia and Majlis Perwakilan Mahasiswa Nasional.

SMM secretary Mohd Ridzuan Othman called on political parties and civic groups to share their views on the issue at the proposed forum.

“We will hold the open forum before Umno sits for its supreme council meeting on Aug 27,” he said.

“We will make a decision on our next course of action at the forum.”

Syukri accused the government of holding double standards, noting that there were Barisan Nasional support clubs to cater to students studying abroad.

“If we are not allowed to voice out our political opinion or affiliate ourselves with any political body, then how come Malaysian students studying abroad can become members of the BN support clubs there?” he said.

“I am also aware its members are invited to attend Umno's annual general meetings.”

PKR’s communication bureau has also condemned the decision to uphold the ban.

“The decision clearly showed us that the government is still unaware of the changes happening around us,” it said in a statement.

The bureau commended Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for calling for the lifting of the ban.

“We hope that Saifuddin can lead an inter-party caucus on the matter if he is truly committed to this cause.” the statement said.

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HUNGER | Illiteracy, poverty and faith

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The Malaysian Bureaucracy has become the "berukerusi"

With urbanity pervasively fast seeping into our Malaysian lives in the city, surburban and town areas it's goodbye to old adages : those wisdoms in short crisp expressions that today sound very square but wistfully missed.

When the spat between Lim Guan Eng and a Federal Officer in Penang blew up in the open, it gave the ugliness of Federalism a perceivable form. What now leads to further aggravation is the public disapproval and resentment on Government policies whose implementation underlies the many problems, controversies and dissatisfaction. A good example in Sarawak is the Penan problem with its larger complexity involving native land.

These problems instead of being addressed are further fed as fodder for endless controversies.

You feel like you're getting a raw deal with development, progress. It's like being unable to get a luscious rice crust with an electric cooker, the "kerak nasi" has disappeared. You can't get things done any more for want of something sorely lacking, like a luxury lost.

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Police bust in Malaysia over an unlit candle

Arrested for Possession of an Unlit Candle

| Posted: August 4, 2010 11:30 AM | Zac Hill* | huffingtonpost.com |


"You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out the fire." --Peter Gabriel

"This is the first time I've seen the back of a police van," Tshiung Han See tweets.

He is sitting on a rickety rear bench seat with four of the thirty-seven other people arrested without cause on August 1, 2010, the fiftieth anniversary of Malaysia's Internal Security Act--an Act that, like the Patriot Act here in the US, allows for arrest and detention without trial of any individuals deemed to constitute a security risk for the State. The men have been separated from the women, and all of them are being taken to Petaling Jaya Police Station for 'questioning.'

But Han has his cell phone.

"Arrested for possession of an unlit candle," he writes--and I, sitting in a cafe on literally the other side of the world, watch the words blink to the top of my computer screen.

Han was, in fact, arrested for holding a candle. The Abolish ISA Movement (known by its Malay-language acronym GMI) organized a series of candlelight vigils to honor the more than 10,000 individuals detained under the ISA since its inception.

These vigils--held across the nation in urban centers like Petaling Jaya, Kelantan, Johor Baru, Penang, and Negeri Sembilan--quickly drew the attention of law enforcement.

In PJ, somewhere between eighty and one hundred officers were dispatched to manage a crowd of just over two hundred people. Eyewitnesses reported riot police beating the protestors and chasing stragglers into a nearby mall. In Penang, participants gathered in Speaker's Square--a common area established expressly for citizens to assemble and voice their concerns, only to be told that "Here at...Speaker's Square, we do not allow issues against any laws in the country" by the Georgetown Police.

The irony of my reading, over a leisurely morning cup of coffee, a live account of a "Security" crackdown as it happened was not lost on me. It highlights not only the degree to which laws like the Internal Security Act (passed in 1960 to deter Communist rebels during the Malayan Emergency) are outmoded, but also the degree to which the institutions charged with implementing them are ill-equipped.

"Still waiting for the police to record our statements," Han is telling me via Facebook. "None of us have been searched yet. One kid was lead away in a sleeper hold by a plainclothes policeman. His eyes were fluttering from oxygen deprivation."

Han and the other detainees, including GMI leader Syed Ibrahim, were eventually released on August 2nd after a 'questioning' process that mostly involved standing in a series of queues. I asked Han to talk a little more about his time at the police station, and his general sense was very few people on either side understood why the arrests were happening.

"The last thing we had to do before we left the compound," he explains, "was photocopy my Identity Card and the receipt. The officer had no idea how to use the photocopier. At one point there were 4 officers trying to solve the problem of the photocopier. This was the first time they had been ever asked to photocopy something. I got the sense that 1) the police had no choice; and 2) that they advance in the organization by obeying orders."

"I had a brief conversation," he continues, "with a policeman who didn't understand the significance of the candles. I had to explain to him what a vigil was."

Han was hardly the only person broadcasting about the arrests as they happened. A YouTube video composed of stills from the PJ arrest went live, and blogger Pamela Lim set up a TweetCast from the scene.

"They are dispersing the crowd & I'm standing amongst the police taking videos!" she tweets.

Like the USA Patriot Act, the Malaysian ISA represents a clear violation of human rights. And efforts to silence dissent over the law prove increasingly embarrassing, as ordinary Malaysian citizens with access to rudimentary pieces of technology spread news of their discontent worldwide--almost literally beneath the police's noses.

"My Cabinet colleagues and I gave a solemn promise to Parliament and the nation that the immense powers given to the government under the ISA would never be used to stifle legitimate opposition and silence lawful dissent," said Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister.

Zac Hill* 2008-2009 Henry Luce Scholar at the Centre for Independent Journalism in Kuala Lumpur

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Awang Mahyan | the revenge of NGAP Sayot

Mahyan to seek revenge?

| Wednesday, August 4, 2010 |by Sebanaku Sarawak |

KUCHING: To some in Sarawak or even in Malaysia, Awang Mahyan Awang Mohamed is a legendary figure in football.

Although in term of achievement, his successors could be better than him, it is undeniable fact that his era as the Sarawak football coach is more electrifying and exciting if compared with any coach in Sarawak.

It was during his short reign that he coined the Ngap Sayot battle cry which is still famous until now.
In fact the battle cry was used in the recent Sibu parliamentary by-election by the oppositions which later won the seat defeating the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate.


Awang Mahyan Awang Mohamed was reported by the press as unhappy with this because he was not consulted.

He is the creator of the battle cry and he thinks that anybody who wants to use the famous battle cry must get his permission.

Awang Mahyan Awang Mohamed's popularity is not confined to the football enthusiasts but also those at the corridors of power in the state.


...will the famous battle of cry Ngap Sayot be adopted by the Pakatan Rakyat???

NGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAPPPPPP SSSSSSSSAAAAAAYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOTTTT!!!!!!!!!

Read more ...

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Taib's opulent style

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After the ISA Vigil | Vigilant still

There are reports on the number of people arrested yesterday, August 1. The numbers are not firm nor officially acknowledged and or released. Were there people arrested yesterday we didn't know about? And never will? There isn't an official statement from the Minister of Home Affairs or Police yet.

At the Kuching Vigil at Satok, a senior citizen Dr.Idwar lamented his experience of losing his dad for 6 years. For the first 3, nobody in the family or anyone else knew his dad's whereabouts. He just didn't know where his father was. He did know one thing - ISA took away his father. That was decades ago.

Addressing Human Rights abuses in Malaysia is not tolerated. The abuses against Penans and other rural natives met with strange reactions from the Government - initially it was denial; then denying the denial, then accepting that someone somewhere did not act. Subsequently, due to international criticisms there was some relent and an undertaking to do something. Vague even up to now what that something is.

You can't help, in thinking about life in Malaysia, Sarawak in particular, that the so-called elected Government isn't working for the people. The socio-economic efforts undertaken have largely benefited ruling political leaders. It's coming to a head now, with world economic problems engulfing every nation, that when there are signs our "poor" neighbors such as Indonesia and the Phillipines are able to attract capital, we experience the opposite - investors shy away from Malaysia.

It's tough enough having no father. It's too much that when having one, he's taken away. The glaring truth is: our Government supposedly elected, takes away parents, citizen's rights for social and economic advancement and freedom to believe in progressive ideals, in a future that will take Malaysia beyond its borders and to take the rightful place amongst the community of world nations.

The irony is the Government of the day in Malaysia is in "opposition" to its people. The opposition members in Parliament fighting tooth and nail for the rakyat, is taking it's rightful place as "the legitimate government".

Will the national Vigil end? It will when nobody needs to take away parents from their children. What shouldn't stop is vigilance.

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