From the Kajang by-election to the bigger picture, Anwar tells all
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Selangor on Tuesday, 4 February 2014, 10:39 am
by Sheridan Mahavera and Mohd Farhan Darwis
The Malaysian Insider
February 04, 2014
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is no stranger to controversy. This time, it concerns his party’s attempts to get him elected as a state lawmaker in Selangor by triggering a by-election in the Kajang state seat. Anwar sat down with The Malaysian Insider to reply to criticisms the plan has generated and to tell the public why PKR feels it is justified, despite spending public funds on another electoral exercise.
Q: Let’s start with the background on the Kajang by-election. What was the motif behind this? It was a big surprise to your allies in Pakatan, even people in PKR did not know about it. Is it worth all this negative publicity?
A: It has been brewing for some time and we have to take into consideration the importance of Selangor, despite the fact that it was well managed and it was given a good and impressive mandate in the last general election.
As a major strategic consideration, we see that Selangor is under tremendous pressure and incessant attack by Umno and BN, including exploiting race and religious sentiments. We therefore feel, together with economic management, that there needs to be political leadership that is effective enough to mobilise and stop these excesses on behalf of the Malays and non-Malays in the state. Enough is enough.
This requires additional force and political clout, and a very strong message. To us it’s consistent with our statement on the national consensus that we cannot allow a small minority to hijack the national agenda and carry out threats to any citizen or group in the name of religion and race.
They are not nationalists; they don’t protect the interest of poor Malays, who are the vast majority of Malays, just the rich cronies. Or portray Islamic ethics well. Look at the manner it is played up and the character of those who profess to have religious leanings. No consideration of basic ethics or morality in the manner they display their arrogance and high handedness in dealing with issues.
We have a major problem in Selangor. This issue of race and religion shows the abdication of the Prime Minister and the government. They are either ignoring this or dismissing this or passing the buck to the state.
Second, economic problems. Inflation and spiralling prices are having a major impact and ramification to the state. It is close to Kuala Lumpur. Folks face hardship.
I think it is time we move to make Selangor a model and convey this strong message of how you govern politically and economically, and this will play when we wrest control of Putrajaya. Read the rest of this entry »
Comeuppance or deja vu, Najib feels the heat from old Umno hands
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 4 February 2014, 9:30 am
NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
February 04, 2014
Just after the 2008 elections, Datuk Seri Najib Razak watched as the then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi got skewered for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) abysmal showing at the polls, with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad leading the campaign to oust Pak Lah from office.
The constant hammering took its toll and in March 2009, Abdullah made way for Najib. Until today, Abdullah’s supporters believe that the so-called groundswell against the PM was not as widespread as painted by Dr Mahathir and his instigator-in-chief, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
But Abdullah had little drive to stay and fight, concerned that a war with his nemesis would mortally wound Umno.
Truth be told, he also never recovered from that day in March when BN lost five states and the two-thirds control of Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar Ibrahim in Kajang state seat is good for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Augustine Anthony, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 4 February 2014, 8:53 am
By Augustine Anthony
4.1.2014
When Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to run for the now vacant Kajang state seat in Selangor was announced by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the current Mentri Besar of Selangor, the extent of criticism against Anwar Ibrahim, PKR and Pakatan Rakyat as a whole ranged from thumbs down and negative to downright hostility.
The looks on the ordinary and mostly educated middle class people whenever this issue was raised was one of disgust.
You cannot defend the indefensible and, in this case Anwar Ibrahim’s candidacy for the Kajang state seat, is the general feeling. A betrayal of voters’ hopes, aspirations and confidence is no small matter and such an act must bear the full brunt of the nation’s backlash.
But there was an unusual landscape during the announcement by Khalid Ibrahim. Not as picturesque as anyone would have expected and not quite like the time during the 13th General Elections and the accompanying euphoria whenever opposition candidates names were announced.
Amidst the gloom, there sits “THE” towering figure in the Malaysian politics. His appearance cleverly hides the depth of his experience, knowledge and understanding of the Malaysian political, social, as well as matters of national policies. The honourable Lim Kit Siang sits on the right side of Anwar Ibrahim while Khalid Ibrahim sits on the left side of the Opposition Leader. That caught my attention.
From the time of my childhood days I have admired Lim Kit Siang. He is a Malaysian success story and richly deserving too. A success story imagined, engineered and achieved not by sheer luck but by unrelenting pursuit and single mindedness of the goal ahead. Read the rest of this entry »
When satire is seen as a national threat
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Teresa Kok, UMNO on Monday, 3 February 2014, 8:01 pm
COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
February 03, 2014
Can Malaysians take a joke? Can Malaysians take satire or parodies?
Well, it would seem that there is a segment of society that takes offence at jokes, satires or parodies – and these people are usually your generic Umno member.
This past few days, Malaysians have been treated to the spectacle of some Umno members, including Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, taking offence at Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s Lunar New Year greeting video clip.
And they want action taken against her, notwithstanding that she has a right to self-expression and not be dictated by others on what she should say in her new year greeting and how she should say it.
Has Malaysia reached a point where everything said is seen as an attack against Umno or the Malays? Read the rest of this entry »
Dare Shafie attend a get-together with Teresa to prove that Teresa had lampooned security forces and Lahad Datu incursion tragedy or apologise and withdraw baseless charges against Teresa?
Within hours of the Minister of Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal demanding that action be taken against DAP National Vice Chairperson and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok for her Chinese New Year video titled “Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014” for ridiculing the Malaysian security forces, the Police Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Seri Salleh Mat Rashid swung into immediate action and declared that Teresa’s video clip would be investigated for sedition or defamation.
Shafie accused Teresa’s 11-minute video of mocking Lahad Datu folks, saying that “the feelings of the community in Sabah, especially Lahad Datu, is very deep” following the intrusion into Kampung Tanduo by terrorists from southern Philippines last year.
He said issues of national security should not be lampooned as fellow Malaysians sacrificed their lives in defending the country in the Lahad Datu incursion and the killing of some members of the Malaysian security forces from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia by the terrorists was not a matter to be belittled and joked about .
Today Teresa denied that her video of political satire belittled the security forces as the dialogue of the feng shui panel in the video did not touch on the Lahad Datu intrusion but referred to security issues in Sabah as the case of the Taiwanese tourist who was shot dead and his wife taken hostage by gunmen in Sabah.
Shafie could not understand the video as it was in Cantonese and Mandarin. He had clearly been misinformed but he was irresponsible and reckless in making baseless but serious allegations against Teresa. Read the rest of this entry »
Let all Malaysian moderates commemorate WIHW 2014 with resolve to save Malaysia from extremists and traitors who want to tear the country asunder with incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Monday, 3 February 2014, 11:20 am
Today, the world begins a week-long celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week (3rd – 9th Feb) first proposed by King Abdullah of Jordan and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2010 to spread the message of harmony and tolerance among the followers of the three monotheistic faiths and all the world’s religions.
It also seeks to promote the common basis of “Love of God and Love of the Neighbour, Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbour” among religions to safeguard world peace.
Malaysia was in the global forefront last year in the celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week.
The Prime Minister not only visited the places of worship of the nation’s five main religions in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, but also addressed a gathering of religious leaders at his official residence in Seri Perdana.
At this gathering, Najib stressed that the “World Interfaith Harmony Week” sought to raise awareness and understanding between religions, for universal peace and drive the world to be more progressive and prosperous.
He said that all faiths in principle promote moderation, through conduct and words.
He also boasted that “if there is a country which wants to showcase itself as a model of multiracial unity, I don’t think there is a country better than Malaysia”.
Najib would not dare to repeat such a boast 12 months later in this year’s World Interfaith Harmony Week, as Malaysia has fallen from its pedestal as a model of interfaith harmony.
In fact, in the past weeks and months, Malaysia has become a sick example of “interfaith disharmony” in a multi-racial multi-religious country. Read the rest of this entry »
The calm before the storm
Posted by Kit in nation building, Police, Religion on Monday, 3 February 2014, 6:54 am
– Nehali
The Malaysian Insider
February 01, 2014
Recently, various community leaders and politicians appeal for calm, in view of recent simultaneous firebombing of churches in Penang.
Yes, we all need to stay calm but it can be the calm before the storm of racial, religious conflict and violence.
Police is working hard to apprehend the culprits for the Molotov. This is important to send the message that violence should be punished.
However, of greater importance is to investigate and punish the instigators of violence and sowers of hatred. We know who they are.
They are the Yang Berhormats who wear holy garbs or suits with neckties. They spread lies, fears, fanned hatred and division in the name of protecting the “inalienable” rights of one particular race. Read the rest of this entry »
HERITAGE: Poetry in motion
By Pauline Fan
New Straits Times
02 February 2014
Pauline Fan delves into the significance of the horse in human civilisation, imagination, ritual and material culture the world over
Lean in build, like the point of a lance;
Two ears sharp as bamboo spikes;
Four hooves light as though born of the wind.
Heading away across the endless spaces,
Truly, you may entrust him with your life — Du Fu (8th Century Chinese poet)
THE great Tang Dynasty poet, Du Fu, composed these lines about the horse of an imperial officer named Fang. Du Fu was captivated by the supple grace and swiftness of Fang’s stallion, a magnificent breed of Central Asian origin known as the Ferghana. These Ferghana horses were so revered in China that a legend arose that they were spawned from celestial steeds.
Believed by some historians to be descendants of Alexander the Great’s mighty black stallion, Bucephalus, these horses were first introduced to China in the 2nd Century BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar’s bumpy road to Kajang a reminder of Umno’s shenanigans
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 2 February 2014, 5:33 pm
NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
February 02, 2014
In the throes of Malaysians debating the correctness of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim contesting the Kajang state seat, comes a stark reminder that evil resides in Umno.
Umno and its so-called non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have started their campaign to block Anwar from reaching out to voters – the sure sign of how worried they remain of a politician they themselves have tagged as a has-been.
From Perlis down to Johor, every trick in the book has been employed against the opposition. At times, the royal households are used, sometimes the religious authorities are co-opted.
Often, laws are bent to suit the whims and fancies of Umno.
So it seems to be the case in Kajang where Anwar was barred from giving the tazkirah (a short speech before the Friday sermon) at the Impian Saujana mosque in Kajang on orders from the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais). Read the rest of this entry »
Zainuddin’s infantile but dangerous gambit to racialise Kajang by-election is utterly irresponsible and cause of worsening racial polarization in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Religion on Sunday, 2 February 2014, 3:55 pm
Former Cabinet Minister Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin is up to his mischief of communal politicking again.
He said in his blog that the Chinese community has a “golden opportunity” to regain the trust of the Malays in the wake of the so-called “Chinese Tsunami” of Election 2013.
He said: “The Kajang by-election is not the chance for Malays to repay the ‘Chinese Tsunami’ but must be seen as a golden opportunity for the Chinese community to overturn Malay views that the Chinese can no longer be trusted as political allies.
He said that “it is undeniable that this trust was broken by the ‘Chinese Tsunami”.
Zainuddin said a BN victory would also serve as a platform to rebuild Chinese-Malay co-operation that will benefit racial harmony, boost the economy and stabilise the political climate in the country.
Zainuddin’s infantile but dangerous gambit to racialise Kajang by-election by describing it as a golden opportunity for Chinese to regain the trust of Malays in the wake of so-called “Chinese Tsunami” is utterly irresponsible and it is prevalence of such racist attitudes in the corridors of power which is the cause of worsening racial polarization in Malaysia.
It is most deplorable that while the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had used his 2013 New Year’s Message to try to clarify his unfortunate and inappropriate term of “Chinese Tsunami” on the night of the 13GE, which was downright racist, against his 1Malaysia signature policy and contrary to his talk of “national reconciliation”, Zainuddin wants to resurrect the spectre of “Chinese Tsunami” to racialise politics in Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Jakim’s Friday sermon yesterday a triple regret, going against Najib’s positive response to Pakatan Rakyat’s olive branch for national reconciliation, his advocacy of Wasatiyyah for ASEAN and world conduct of nations and World Interfaith Harmony Week 3-9 Feb
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Saturday, 1 February 2014, 4:01 pm
The Friday sermon of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) yesterday saying that the division among Muslims is not only caused by a weak faith but also because of the instigation of Christians and Jews is a triple regret as it goes against:
• The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Cabinet’s positive response at its Cabinet meeting on 29th January 2014 to the Pakatan Rakyat’s olive branch reiterated by PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday for a Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat Leaders’ Summit on national reconciliation to check worsening national situation in the country, in particular the worst racial and religious polarization in the nation’s history as a result of incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension by a small group of reckless and irresponsible persons bent on destabilizing the country through lies and falsehoods, even to create another May 13;
• Najib’s advocacy of Wasatiyyah (moderation in Arabic) as important policy in ASEAN and world conduct of nations – affecting not only Islam but also in respect of all other faiths; and
• The World Interfaith Harmony Week (3 – 9 February 2014) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th October 2010 as a way to promote harmony between all people regardless of their faith as “mutual understanding and inter-religious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace”.
The question that needs to be asked is whether Jakim officials who prepare the Jakim Friday sermons are aware and support the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on inter-religious harmony and dialogue, and in particular to Najib’s promotion of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) and the “Wasatiyyah” concept as well as Najib’s support for the World Interfaith Harmony Week every February? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib must neutralise his enemy
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak on Saturday, 1 February 2014, 9:50 am
Mariam Mokhtar| January 31, 2014
Free Malaysia Today
If Mahathir is allegedly trying to bring down the government of Najib, then isn’t this a coup?
COMMENT
Sometimes, leaders can be so silly. Najib Tun Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, alleged to be the victim of a plot to oust him is desperate to cling on to power. Bizarrely he has done nothing to repel the attacks. He will almost certainly weaken his own position.
The bile must rise in Najib’s throat each time he reads allegations that former PM Mahathir Mohamad is plotting against him. If Najib were to arrest Mahathir for undermining his rule, his popularity rating which has dipped will soar to 97% overnight. The nation will be solidly behind Najib.
When groups of people like Perkasa react against Mahathir’s arrest, Najib should arrest them too.
Najib has the power, why does he not use it? Mahathir did, when he was PM. He used his sweeping powers to silence his detractors. In situations which could damage his career he would direct from behind the scenes whilst his deputy took the flak.
Of course Mahathir denies all allegations of plotting against Najib. Didn’t he claim that Project IC in Sabah was not his doing? Didn’t he say that he did not pull the trigger in the Memali incident? Didn’t he neuter the students (in 1975), with the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA)?
If Mahathir is allegedly trying to bring down the government of Najib, then isn’t this a coup? So, where is the IGP? Najib should use the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) to lock-up Mahathir. Read the rest of this entry »
Does the palm oil industry meet the UN’s Climate Change Convention?
Posted by Kit in environment, Health on Saturday, 1 February 2014, 8:20 am
– Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
January 30, 2014
What kind of men would cut down these ancient irreplaceable giants trees? Each of them was over one thousand years old. Over a period of a few decades around 1850, 95% of the two million acres of Redwood forest in California were cut and destroyed.
Now they say we are wrong to cut our trees to plant oil palms. What do they say when Brazil cut down their rain forest to plant soya beans? Let us examine the true situation.
Oil palm smallholdings and plantations meet the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change which defines a forest as an area of 0.5 to one hectare having more than 30 per cent canopy cover and having a potential height of two to five metres.
To accuse the industry in Malaysia and Indonesia of contributing to global warming is sheer nonsense. In fact oil palm trees just as with other forest species, produce oxygen for us to breathe and act to counter coal and oil emissions which are the major cause of global warming. Read the rest of this entry »
What a waste of a good generation
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Education on Friday, 31 January 2014, 5:22 am
Azly Rahman
Malaysiakini
Jan 25, 2014
Are we addicted to testing the child in school? Tests, tests, and more tests. Test anything that moves.
But what is the child’s mind and how to understand it to make Malaysian schools more than just training camps for dull young minds?
The mind is all these: active, ready to learn new things, always hungry for knowledge, for deeply engaging environment of exploration that can be offered by the system.
The mind is not a place to be made idle, or a temple of boredom, or a funnel to shove in mere facts, useless information that has no relevance to the idea of meaning and learning, or have no sense of connection to the child’s experience.
The mind has to always be in a mode of higher order thinking, of the excitement generated in the upper brain or the corpus callosum and not be placed in the reptilian mode of “fight or flight”, where the body is to be caned and punished for not memorising by teachers who wish to impose their own understanding of things, or by those who think they have the answers to everything, or for teachers afraid of children’s questions.
Learning that is not active will certainly activate the mode of resistance in the child’s consciousness. The more the child is bored, the more he/she will rebel – silently or violently – because his intelligence is not respected, nurtured, or challenged to greater heights. Read the rest of this entry »
Lies, lies, and more lies
Posted by Kit in Media, nation building, Police, Religion on Friday, 31 January 2014, 5:01 am
by KJ John
Malaysiakini
Jan 28, 2014
First there was the assertion that there exists an attempt by Christians to make Penang a Christian state; simply because the chief minister is reputed to be a Christian. No evidence was ever found or elicited for these unfounded rumours. The perpetrators of the crime were not charged. I believe they were Umno-linked bloggers.
Now there are ‘Jesus the son of Allah’ banners which, frankly, no Christian would ever make. The reason is simple: If we do, the whole sentence would be in Malay; never in English with the Arabic ‘Allah’ word. What will come next? Maybe a ‘Melayu balik kampung’ banner which then sparks another round of racial riot rumours, or pig-heads into mosques?
These were standard tactics since 1969 in Penang but it was stopped in good time because of the then chief police officer’s (CPO) quick response and actions?
But he was an outstanding Special Branch (SB) officer well-trained in the matters of psychological warfare, but there are no such people any more, since our communist threat is no more. Our current CPOs are only of one race and religion.
Today, police officers appear to pursue their partisan agenda against both citizens and foreigners alike. People are losing faith in the so-called ‘not-so-royal police force’, but which however does not act against Umno extremists. Selective persecution and prosecution seems the order of the day today. Read the rest of this entry »
Police first duty is to restore Malaysia’s reputation as “a land of peace and tolerance” for different religions and it should not be distracted by proposals to set up a shariah unit or squad to check prices
The Malaysian Insider yesterday, in a report by Elizabeth Zachariah and headlined “Malaysia no longer land of peace and tolerance, says Pakistan website”, is an indictment and stain on the efficiency, professionalism and career of the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar .
This follows weeks and months of incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tensions with the police adopting a “hands-off” policy, resulting in the Molotov cocktail attack on a church in Penang on Monday, a day after three provocative banner “Allah is Great. Jesus is the son of Allah” was hung outside five churches in Penang without knowledge of the church authorities and the vandalism of eight gravestones in a Christian cemetery near Kuantan yesterday.
As the writer of the Pakistani website, Masood Khan, said: For the rest of the Muslim world, Malaysia used to be an island of peace and tolerance.
“Sadly, it’s no more as an evil eye has cast its bad shadow on a moderate and progressive country”. Read the rest of this entry »
Selesai segera isu kaum dan agama
Posted by Kit in nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Religion on Thursday, 30 January 2014, 12:50 pm
A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
January 30, 2014
Pelbagai pihak kini sedang memerhatikan dengan cemas segala perkembangan yang berlaku di tanah air, yang dilihat sangat membimbangkan.
Ini akibat segala isu yang berbangkit menuju ke arah maraknya api perkauman dan pertentangan agama sedang dibakar oleh pihak tertentu yang mempunyai pelbagai kepentingan dan keadaan ini sangat mencemaskan.
Isu berbangkit yang mana tidak diheret ke lembah perkauman dan pandangan agama sempit? Isu kangkung turun harga, isu kalimah Allah, GST dan keputusan PRU13 lalu di mana ada pemimpin negara menganggap sebagai ‘tsunami Cina’ berikutan kebanyakan pengundi bandar, khususnya pengundi Cina, menolak calon Barisan Nasional. Semuanya diheret menjadi isu perkauman.
Kini selepas lebih enam bulan PRU13, isu perkauman masih dimainkan dalam pelbagai variasi dan bentuk. Semuanya ini sangat membimbangkan.
Sehubungan itu, NGO Islam mengalu-alukan usaha Pakatan Rakyat untuk duduk bersama Umno/BN bagi membincangkan isu perkauman dengan segera bagi mencari formula terbaik demi memelihara kesejahteraan rakyat negara ini.
Read the rest of this entry »
DAP welcomes the Cabineet’s positive response to the “Love and Save Malaysia” overture by Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council for a BN/PR Leaders’ Summit to promote national unity and scuttle plans by small group of traitors out to destabilize Malaysia by creating another May 13
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 30 January 2014, 9:54 am
DAP welcomes the Cabinet’s positive response to the “Love and Save Malaysia” overture by the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council for a Barisan Nasional/Pakatan Rakyat Leaders’ Summit to promote national unity and scuttle plans by a small group of traitors out to destabilize Malaysia by creating another May 13.
The Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council had repeatedly made this patriotic call – as reflected in all the three Open Letters I addressed to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on Jan. 8, 22 and 29 where the idea of a Barisan Nasional/Pakatan Rakyat Leaders” Summit “to love and save Malaysia” is the consistent theme.
As I ended in my third Open Letter to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet yesterday, I urged the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to reciprocate the act of patriotism of the Pakatan Rakyat leadership – to jointly endeavor and ensure there is continued harmony, goodwill and tolerance in Malaysia leaving the spectre of May 13 to the cobwebs of history.
The Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat parties and leaders have major differences about the political road that should be taken by Malaysia after more than half a century of nationhood, and these differences have to fought out in the democratic clash of ideas to be finally decided by the Malaysian electorate in the ballot box.
But one thing the BN and PR cannot disagree if both are patriotic movements, that is on the need to unite to save Malaysia from the machinations of a small group of irresponsible and reckless people who are no different from traitors who seek to destabilise the country to cause another May 13 by incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
‘O what fun’ Malaysians will have for the rest of 2014
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Prices on Thursday, 30 January 2014, 7:33 am
by Elizabeth Zachariah
The Malaysian Insider
January 30, 2014
An email calendar – titled “The Rise of Malaysia” – circulating in cyberspace spells out what is in store for Malaysians for the rest of the year.
While the source of the creatively presented calendar is unknown, it proudly claims to be “produced by Malaysians, for Malaysians”.
It breaks down the rising cost of living into 12 months – and each month with its own “theme”.
“This calendar was produced to share in our sorrow and help deal with our 2-week memory problem (our leaders say we can only remember bad events for 2 weeks, after that we forgive and love them again). “It (2014) will be a bleak financial year for Malaysians as we face an increase in toll prices, electricity tariff rates, public transportation, possibly further fuel subsidy cuts, impending GST, etc, etc”, it stated.
The “inspiration” was the ordinary Malaysians who had “vented their frustrations” on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Facebook page.
“All facts quoted in the calendar are accurate and reported in the mainstream news.” Read the rest of this entry »
Taming the ‘pig-beast’
Posted by Kit in Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak on Thursday, 30 January 2014, 7:18 am
by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Jan 27, 2014
Umno Baru MPs are euphoric. They have successfully concluded the world’s longest animal behaviour experiment. Decades of living in a police state, run by a one-party system, have conditioned us to behave like laboratory rats.
‘Therapeutic’ methods are designed to make lab rats give up undesirable habits by associating them with unpleasant effects. In Malaysia, troublesome people – like those who dare to express an opinion, who design eye-catching T-shirts, or who interpret constitutional laws – will receive a nasty jolt, in the form of police harassment. Their lives are blighted by years of questioning, and the possibility of fines, jail or both.
These ‘gentle’ methods are sometimes supported by the action of thugs.
Like lab rats, our lives become devoted to pleasing the leaders who designed the experiments. We sacrifice our principles, our consciences and our children’s futures, because we are not prepared to do what is right, to question, and basically do what normal rats do best when in the wild – to live. Read the rest of this entry »
