Internal Security Act of Malaysia (ISA)

Reading a recent post and the interview with a possible UMNO president candidate Ku Li, looks like I can also be a candidate for ISA!!

Ku Li: No. We must review it so that it cannot be abused to detain people whom they don't like. Currently. they can detain you because they don't like your long hair or another person who is fat.

Ha ha!!

update on eve of Merdeka

What a difference in atmosphere between Singapore and Malaysia!! I was in Singapore for 2 weeks. And this was after August 9th had already passed, i.e., independence day for Singapore. You can see flags draped on every HDB flat, housing and streets. I also managed to catch the National Day address by their Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

He used the occasion to use technology to show his audience the new world of internet. He had his mobile phone camera activated, streamed the video to his blog and showed that to the audience in his address. Instantaneous. Like he said - maybe the world's first political video blog!! BG Lee came across as articulate, intelligent and up to date on current issues, technologies and developments.

Contrast that to Malaysia. On the eve of the 51st Merdeka (National day), there is nary a national flag flying anywhere. Only an occasional blurb on the idiot box about how great it is that we are celebrating Merdeka. There is a dampener felt in the air.

The prime minister (not in caps on purpose) just made his budget presentation yesterday. He is obviously still in denial about the current political scenario. His political party had advocated racism during the recent by election that was won by Anwar Ibrahim (who has since been nominated as the opposition leader of parliament). After 50 years of molly coddling, the malays in UMNO still don't get it - racism is NOT the way to go. Beggar thy neighbor is NOT the way to go.

Idiots!!

A new day dawns on the Malaysian political landscape

Polling in the 12th Malaysian Elections were over yesterday and counting of the votes was slow and laborious. Mainstream media like RTM1, RTM2, TV3, NTV7, online news portal like NST and the Star were highlighting mainly barisan national wins. By 1am (before I called it a day), PAS had already strengthened their grip in the state of Kelantan.

But the best news was the fall of Penang to the DAP/PKR/PAS loose coalition. It looks like Lim Guan Eng would get to be Chief Minister of Penang. Contrast this with earlier announcements by outgoing Chief Minsiter Koh Tsu Koon, who was talking about announcing the new CM for Penang a couple of days after the election results. In any event Koh Tsu Koon and the 3 potential CMs were defeated in their seats.

Kedah has also fallen into the hands of the PKR/S coalition.

This morning, more good news - Perak and Selangor had also fallen into the opposition coalition. It looks like PAS would form the state governments of Kelantan and Kedah. DAP would form the state governments of Penang and Perak and PKR, the Selangor state government. In most other states, BN's representation has been reduced.

Samy Vellu lost Sungei Siput (damn - he deserved that. Long overdue!!). Sharizat lost to Anwar's daughter and the Minister of Misinformation also lost his seat. Can't understand how someone who cannot communicate on live TV could have been Minister of Information. I would like to see what the previous (and possible current) Chief Minister of Malacca has to say now about the need for Chinese and Indian votes!

But BN still retains the federal government albeit without the 2/3 majority which had allowed them to roughshod constitutional changes in the past 50 years.

Dare we hope that the Judiciary will become independent as is expected, with any and all changes and appointments made by the judiciary and not the executive. Islam Hadhari can also go fly the wau for all I care. The past 4 years of Islam hadhari had worsen the religious rights of the non Muslims.

With this nightmare (for BN), maybe UMNO will kick out the sleepy head and his SIL this coming August .

Crossing my fingers.

Malaysia- the 12th Election is upon us

This Sunday, 24th Feb is designated as nomination day for the whole of Malaysia, except for the State assembly of Sarawak. That is when all parties, government and opposition officially put their candidates up for nominations so that the people can vote and elect their legislative representative.

I shall also be flying off to New Delhi the same evening and miss out one week of electioneering campaigning. This time around, I personally feel that the opposition has a realistic chance of denying the current ruling party their 2/3 majority and even has a slim chance of coming to power with a simple majority. The 4 years of abdullah badawi's rule has caused a lot of of the socio economic structure to deteriorate - very much like the structures built to house them, e.g. Parliament leaks, New Judiciary buildings leak, structures collapsing before building has been completed.

Crime is rampant and statistically has increased significantly over the past 4 years. While the official inflation rate says that inflation has been low, the reality is that cost of living has gone up significantly. We even had a run on cooking oil. Can you imagine - a palm oil producing country like Malaysia running short of cooking oil?

Islam hadhari?? To me those are the body snatching, force religion up your ass religious zealots. The talibanization of Malaysia has started and must be stopped with this election.

There are numerous emails making their rounds to remind many of us of the follies of this current government. A sleeping flip flop PM with a power crazy son-in-law lording over everything and grabbing every and anything he can lay his hands on.

I have no idea how many of you who reads this blog are Malaysians and even if you were, did you register as a voter and would you be voting? All I want to say is that come 8th Mar - vote wisely. As one former PM says - you get the government you deserve.

I know I will be voting for the opposition (who may just turn out to be the government in waiting). Even if that opposition is PAS or PKR or DAP .

Vote for CHANGE!!

Vote wisely for the coming General Elactions

For my foreign readers, today's post is about Malaysia and it's politics, so you may be blur blur after reading this.

I was 11 years old when May 13 1969 happened. That was the year that racial riots erupted in Malaysia, mainly in Kuala Lumpur and I am, as one author that I had read somewhere said, of an age that I could observe and understand but could not participate. If you read the recently published book by Dr Kua Kia Soong - it provides a good insight on why that had happened. Many foreign observers contends that the racial riots broke out as a result of a coup by Ultras in UMNO to grab power from the first Prime Minister - Tunku.

“The first credible account of the May 13, 1969 racial riots in Malaysia based on documents recently declassified at the Public Records Office in London”
AVAILABLE AT BOOKSHOPS & KINIBOOKS.COM

To this day, the leadership of UMNO and many of it's rank and file continues to use the spectre of May 13 to cow the Chinese during elections or whenever some "sensitive" issues are brought up. At the last UMNO assembly, the UMNO youth leader again drew out his keris and one delegate asked him when he was going to use it. The current UMNO deputy who is also the deputy PM was also reported to have said that it was time to bath the keris in Chinese blood during the early 90s when the MCA deputy leader raised the issue of abolishing NEP. Khairy, the son-in-law of the current PM has also made racist remarks against the Chinese these past few years and he is currently the UMNO Youth deputy leader.

I would like to quote from a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

Translation

When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,

I remained silent;I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,

I did not speak out;I was not a trade unionist.

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

Remember this when the next General Election comes around. Use your vote to ensure that the corrupt and racist government of BN either does not get into power again or at least deny them the huge majority which they think is carte blanc to do as they please. Mahathir had remarked that we get the government that we deserve.

Recent activities has led many to believe that the General Elections are near.

- BN will want to hold this late this year so that Anwa Ibrahim does not have a chance to stand for election

- Stock market has generated a lot of cash for the BN machinery through the so called GLCs. These monies are important for them to selectively buy votes as they have done in the 3 recent by (buy?) elections, notably the last one in Ijok.

- they are starting to clamp down on Blogs carrying negative reports on the government.

I suggest that when you can go to the Malaysia Today website ( http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.shtml) to read up on expose by Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK). As you read all his current and past articles, you need to ask yourself - what he has written is so explosive in terms of exposing the government, the police and so on, so why did they not sue him for libel and slander and instead charge him with the improbable charge of insulting the King and Islam? HIs expose are in general backed up with documents. I personally conclude that the powers that be dare not charge or sue him because they fear that he has a lot more dirt on them and these can be further exposed if he goes to court.

Muhammad, the son of Muhammad has already experienced this first hand when he laid the charge on RPK of insulting the King and Islam. Read RPK's "see you in hell, Muhammad the son of Muhammad"

Since the police report, RPK's site was getting millions of hits a day. Go figure.