Archive for February 27th, 2008

Vote for Change to ensure that Malaysia is United, Prosperous and Progressive

BY Dr Chen Man Hin (DAP Life Advisor)

IDENTITY CRISIS

It was clear that during the 50th Merdeka celebrations there was uncertainty and frustration among the people because they were unsure of their identity. Some were bumiputras, while others were non-bumiputras, Some were called ketuanan Melayu but others were not. They thought they were Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian), but now they were told by UMNO that they do not accept Bangsa Malaysia.

The Federal Constitution clearly states that there is only one category of citizens. There is no mention of bumiputras or ketuanan melayu, which are actually inventions of UMNO.

Prime Minister in 2004 promised that all citizens in Malaysia are treated equally. He has not reinstated the Bangsa Malaysia status for all citizens.

VOTE FOR CHANGE. Vote for your birthright. Vote for political freedom, political equality and for BANGSA MALAYSIA. Read the rest of this entry »

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Revisiting the Keris: How We Betrayed Our Ancestors

Announcement

www.othermalaysia.org Lecture Series

Kicking off what we hope will be a semi-regular (well, sort of) series of public lectures, the team at www.othermalaysia.org invites you to a free public lecture by Dr. Farish A. Noor on the theme:

Revisiting the Keris: How We Betrayed Our Ancestors

To be held at 3.00 pm on 1st March (Saturday) at the Annexe, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

Deconstructing the Keris in the Context of Malaysia’s Essentialist Racialised Politics:

The keris today has been redefined as an exclusive (and sometimes violent) marker of ethnic – and specifically Malay – identity. Yet this simplification of the keris as a political symbol overlooks the fact that the keris emerged at a time when Asia was already globalised, and that the keris was in fact a product of cross-cultural borrowing and overlap. This lecture will attempt to relocate the keris in its proper cultural-historical context, calling for the de-racialisation of the keris and the reminder of our shared cultural heritage.

The talk is free and open to all.

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Removal of BN 2/3 majority – prerequisite to achieve BN 2004 manifesto and Vision 2020

(Media Conference Statement at the DAP Ipoh Timur Election Ops Centre, Ipoh on Wednesday, 27th Feb. 2008 at 12 noon)

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that it was crucial for the Barisan Nasional to retain its two-thirds majority in Parliament as a prerequisite of strong government.

He said: “In this era of globalization, they would only invest in our capital market if they had confidence.

“If we have a weak government which can collapse at any time, they would just go and invest in other countries which have a stronger and more stable government.”

This is the political myth which had led Malaysia up the “garden path” for half a century and why Malaysia had failed to fulfill the potential to be a great competitive global nation, contributing our assets and resources to make other nations like Singapore more successful and pulling ahead us while we continue to fall behind one nation after another. Read the rest of this entry »

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Penang ceramahs tonight

(Update – No police approval for Taman Lumba Kuda ceramah, so I will be speaking at the ceramah at Desa Mawar, opposite Farlim Sin Kang Primary School at about 11 pm – kit)

Details of my Penang ceramah schedule for four parliamentary constituencies tonight and the times of my speeches: –

(1) – Prai : Dewan Perkampongan Juru, Bukit Tengah 8 pm;

(2) – Bagan: Ng Yam Huat hawkers’ centre, Raja uda 9 pm;

(3) – Bukit Glugor – Tingkat Paya Terubong 10 pm

(4) – Bukit Bendera – Jalan Goh Guan Ho, Taman Lumba Kuda 11 pm Police Permit Denied

(5) – Desa Mawar Opp Farlim Sin Kang Sch – Karpal Singh and Kit Siang (updated)

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