Tanda Putera a double-edged sword
Carrie Rina
Malaysiakini
12:13PM Feb 21, 2013
FILM REVIEW Despite the cabinet deciding against airing the controversial Tanda Putera film until after the next general election, the leader of the same cabinet, Najib Abdul Razak, appears keen on showing it to selected segments of the Malaysian populace.
The reason is likely that the film is a double-edged sword, serving as an effective propaganda tool for one community – but which may well offend the other communities.
While both the Malays and Chinese are depicted in the film as turning on each other during the May 13 riots, the Chinese were often characterised as the aggressors.
The film opens with a group of Chinese, who appear to be Communist sympathisers, attacking a party worker, and calling for the 1969 general election to be boycotted.
The victim was later revealed to be an Umno member, for news flash with the headline: ‘Umno party worker killed’ is shown. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Cabinet tomorrow to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the May 13, 1969 racial riots not to punish the culprits but to allow the country to heal its worst racial wounds
Posted by Kit in DAP, Media, nation building on Tuesday, 27 August 2013, 8:10 am
Shuhaimi Baba should seriously consider my advice that although she prides herself as the original founder of horror films after directing a Pontianak film, she must not regard the May 13,1969 movie “Tanda Putra” as belonging to the genre of “ghost films” she had directed in the past, but must be conscious of a sense of responsibility to the nation especially to the present and future generation of Malaysians to protect and promote inter-racial goodwill, peace and harmony in the country.
Shuhaimi should therefore list out what are the fictional or unverified incidents on the May 13, 1969 riots in her “Tanda Putra” movie so as not to mislead and incite Malaysians resulting in worsening race relations in the country.
This is all the more imperative as Shuhaimi has admitted that the film is a fictional account of events surrounding the May 13, 1969 racial riots.
On Feb 21 this year, Malaysiakini carried a film review entitled “Tanda Putera a double-edged sword” by a “film enthusiast” who had the opportunity to watch the film at one of the previews held for different groups over the previous months, and it is clear from the film review that the film is studded with fictional or unverified incidents on the May 13, 1969 riots which could mislead and incite inter-racial mistrust, hatred and even conflict.
I refer to three incidents cited by the film review: Read the rest of this entry »
Services not shortcut out of middle-income trap, ADB tells Malaysia
By Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
August 27, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Industrialisation remains a vital step countries like Malaysia can ill afford to skip if they hope to beat the middle-income trap, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cautioned as more emerging nations gave in to the siren call of the services sector.
In its flagship annual statistical publication Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2013, ADB noted that Malaysia was among nations whose economies were transforming more slowly compared to heavily industrialised economies such as Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taipei.
This warning comes as Malaysia continues to move away from manufacturing towards knowledge-based economy and the services sector, having started down the route with the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) between 2001 and 2010.
“Our analysis indicates that manufacturing is a developmental stage that generally cannot be bypassed on the road to becoming a high-income economy,” said a special chapter in the report titled “Asia’s Economic Transformation: Where to, How, and How Fast?”
“Virtually all countries that are rich today industrialised in the past — for a sustained period, their shares of both manufacturing output and manufacturing employment reached at least 18 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) and total employment.” Read the rest of this entry »
We Want to Know Who Killed Altantuya
Posted by Kit in Court, Crime, Judiciary, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak on Monday, 26 August 2013, 2:40 pm
By Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! News
24.8.13
The Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case has taken another appalling turn. First, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who seemed to have more of a motive for killing the Mongolian model, was acquitted in 2009, without his defence being called. Now the Court of Appeal has freed the two police commandos convicted by the High Court of actually killing her and blowing her body up with a C4 explosive.
The Court of Appeal acquitted Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar because it ruled that the judge who heard the case in the High Court committed serious misdirection. Among other things, he did not allow then deputy prime minister Najib Razak’s aide-de-camp, DSP Musa Safri, a key witness, to be called to testify, and he failed to establish how the two accused came to possess the C4 and whether there was common intention between them to commit murder.
The Malaysian layman, however, doesn’t want to know the legal implications. He is concerned only with the moral aspects. He knows that Sirul made a cautioned statement describing what he and Azilah did to Altantuya that fateful night, and that he mentioned the offer of a reward of RM50,000 to RM100,000 for killing her.
This cautioned statement was ruled not permissible as evidence by the judge, Mohd Zaki Yassin, and the two commandos were never asked during the trial as to who made that offer to them. But it seemed clear that Sirul and Azilah were merely hitmen. They didn’t know the victim. If they had a motive to kill her, it would appear to be only to collect the reward.
That being so, it was, however, never asked in court who instructed them to kill Altantuya. To the layman, it is extremely strange that the prosecution did not ask that crucial question. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir’s Continuing Burden Upon The Nation
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Mahathir on Monday, 26 August 2013, 2:28 pm
M. Bakri Musa
26.8.13
Mahathir is the only prime minister who devalued the ringgit, the very symbol of the nation’s sovereignty. If that were to be his only negative legacy, Malaysia could easily bear it.
Unfortunately the man has burdened (and continues to burden) Malaysia with many more ugly legacies. He has also devalued our culture and institutions. Most of all he has devalued the trust we have in each other, a vital but scarce asset in a plural society.
On a much lesser scale, and to serve more as a concrete example, the upcoming UMNO leadership convention will be another. With its “no contest” rule now the norm, the convention mocks the very meaning of a leadership election, reducing it to the same level as the old Soviet “elections.” This coming event will again expose the party’s corruptness and how pathetically bereft it is of talent. The same old tired and tainted candidates will be recycled. It is an exercise less of renewal and rejuvenation, more of an old and leaking sewer treatment plant, with nothing to hide the stench. Read the rest of this entry »
Tanda Putera – Height of criminal and anti-national irresponsibility for anyone to concoct the spurious urination incident as one of the purported causes provoking May 13, 1969 riots
It is the height of criminal and anti-national irresponsibility for anyone to concoct the spurious urination incident as one of the purported causes provoking the May 13, 1969 riots, especially in a film funded with taxpayers’ money, when it is completely fictional with no factual basis in any historical material, whether documentation or photographic.
This is because such a spurious and fictitious incident depicting a young Chinese man urinating in front of the Selangor Mentri Besar’s official residence provoking the May 13, 1969 riots, is highly incendiary and inflammatory in a plural society like Malaysia, and could gravely undermine and threaten inter-racial relations and harmony and even inflame and incite inter-racial hatred and conflict completely inimical to nation-building efforts to promote inter-racial peace, goodwill and harmony.
No excuse of “creative licence” could justify such an irresponsible, criminal and anti-national act.
Although Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba, director of the movie “Tanda Putra”, has admitted that the film is a fictional account of events surrounding the May 13 racial riots, she must specifically admit that the “urination” episode in front of the Selangor Mentri Besar’s official residence as one of the causes of provocation of the May 13, 1969 racial riots is a complete figment of her imagination and that no definition of “creative licence” could justify such irresponsible, incendiary and anti-national act.
Shuhaimi who prides herself as “the original founder of horror films” after directing a Pontianak film must not regard “Tanda Putra” as belonging to the genre of “ghost films” she had directed in the past, giving her total “creative licence” to create any fictitious scenes that caught her fancy, totally reckless about their adverse consequences on inter-racial relations in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Director admits Tanda Putera a work of fiction, defends controversial scenes
by Hasbullah Awang Chik
The Malaysian Insider
August 24, 2013
The director of the controversial film Tanda Putera, which has upset the opposition, now admits it is a fictional account of events surrounding the May 13 racial riots.
Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba said her film is an interpretation of historical events derived from multiple opinions.
She explained that after certain parties strongly objected to a scene where a character urinated at a flagpole in front of the house of a former Selangor menteri besar, she edited the scene to tone it down.
“I made some slight edits of the scene. There were words that I removed. That scene was acted out according to those who were present at that time.
“I had to make sure I could fit in most of the opinions collected into a two-hour movie. Of course, not all of the responses we got could be enacted in the film.
“It is tough for me to throw away scenes that are called sensitive. If I have to follow the opinions of everyone then the first 20 minutes of the film depicting incidents of 13 May would not even be there. So I have to defend my work,” she told The Malaysian Insider today.
Suhaimi’s admission that the film is a fictional account of events is a comedown from her stand at the film’s premiere this week where she asked the public to give the film a chance since it is about the nation’s history based on “true stories”. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Najib have to abort his new branding slogan of “Endless Possibilities” after it is mired in double-barrelled Israeli and Mongolian controversies some three weeks before official launch?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Good Governance, Najib Razak on Saturday, 24 August 2013, 2:00 pm
Even before the official launch of his new campaign to replace his earlier lame-duck “1Malaysia” slogan, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has to grapple with the headache whether his new “Endless Possibilities” campaign should be aborted some three weeks before launch as it is mired in a double-barrelled Israeli and Mongolian controversies.
On the Israeli knot, the Prime Minister’s Office has officially responded to The Malaysian Insider reports declaring that the new “Endless Possibilities” campaign is not lifted from an Israeli campaign idea, claiming that Putrajaya had launched the campaign globally in January before Israel launched its version.
This is a revisit of the earlier 1Malaysia slogan which faced the charge that it was a copy of the 1Israel campaign.
Before the dust could settle on the controversy of the Israeli link of the “Endless Possibilities” slogan, it is now mired in a second controversy involving of all countries Mongolia. Read the rest of this entry »
Airy-fairy Slogan May Suit Najib Well
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Saturday, 24 August 2013, 10:45 am
By Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! News
22nd August 2013
I’ve said before that Najib Razak is a prime minister who does things by halves. Now there’s talk that he’s going to junk his ‘1Malaysia’ slogan for a new one. Online news website The Malaysian Insider reported this on August 21, based on information from sources. If it turns out to be true, I’ll be able to say that Najib is also a prime minister who doesn’t see things through.
A brand needs time to be developed. Najib’s ‘1Malaysia’ has been around for only four years, and that’s not long enough to win it acceptance and pulling power. Work has to be done to imbue it with more substance – work that includes making Malaysia a truly inclusive nation, which wholeheartedly embraces all its races, religions, cultures, languages without placing any above the rest – so that in the longer run, it can come to be trusted. If Najib discards it for a new slogan, it would show that he’s not willing to put in the work; he has no staying power.
And what might that new slogan be? How more potent will it appear? How more meaningful? If you haven’t heard it yet, hold on to your seats. Just in case you fall off laughing. Or faint. It’s called “Endless Possibilities”! Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Najib Weakens
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 24 August 2013, 12:11 am
Written by Our Correspondent
Asia Sentinel
Thursday, 22 August 2013
KL sources say he’ll remain as PM, but as a “lackey” of former PM Mahathir
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak appears to be under increasing pressure from inside his own party and under blistering attack by bloggers allied with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad — one of whom compared him to a flattened bug on a windshield.
Najib saw his ruling coalition lose the popular vote in May national elections, garnering only 47.38 percent of the vote against 50.87 for the three-party opposition Pakatan Rakyat led by Anwar Ibrahim. The Barisan, however, managed to maintain its 56-year hold on parliament by a 133-89 seat margin because of gerrymandering.
Since the election, Najib has faced a drumfire of criticism from within the United Malays National Organization over his strategy to attempt to reach out against the country’s minority Chinese and Indian races. Because UMNO raised the number of seats it won while its component Indian and Chinese parties went down the tubes, the party more and more appears to be in the hands of Mahathir and his allies, particularly former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin, who advocated a strident Malay nationalism strategy to lure ethnic Malays, who make up 60.1 percent of the population, to the polls.
A quiet approach to Anwar to seek to set up a unity government after the election was batted back by the opposition leader, ostensibly because Najib wouldn’t rein in the strident racists in his party, but probably actually because Anwar wasn’t really interested in playing no. 2 to Naib in any political scenario.
Publication of Najib’s vain attempt to reach across the aisle to the opposition is considered to have weakened the prime minister further, partly because of Mahathir’s implacable enmity against Anwar. And while the 88-year-old Mahathir has remained silent, Mahathir-aligned blogs, including “outsyed the box” and one maintained by former information Minister Zainuddin Maidin have stepped up their attacks on Najib in recent days. Read the rest of this entry »
Will There Be Justice for Sabah?
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, Mahathir, Sabah on Friday, 23 August 2013, 8:34 pm
Kee Thuan Chye
20th August 2013
The recent testimonies at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah have certainly been revealing – to some of us, shocking.
To be sure, prior to the RCI, we had heard rumours and allegations of identity cards being given to illegal immigrants, under what has been called Project IC or Project M (after ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad), so that they could vote for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and keep it in power, but hearing it now from the mouths of people involved in the project confirms our fear that our country’s citizenships have indeed been given away cheaply and illegally.
One of the witnesses, former Sandakan chief district officer Hassnar Ebrahim who first gave out forms in 1981 to Filipino and Indonesian illegal immigrants to allow them to apply for ICs, gave damning indication that Mahathir must have given his approval to the project because an enterprise of such a magnitude would have required it.
Besides, Hassnar said he attended a “secret meeting” in the 1980s that involved officers from the Prime Minister’s Department, the Immigration Department and the police, and at this meeting, then home affairs minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub said Mahathir had approved the project.
It was proposed that 130,000 to 150,000 names be added to the Sabah electoral roll to boost the Muslim vote. Although there were protests from one of the officers present, the proposal was passed. Hassnar himself was given 30,000 HNR3 forms to take back to Sabah. These forms were for the immigrants to apply for blue ICs. Read the rest of this entry »
Acquittal of murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu – Najib could not have a more powerful “soft launch” of his new national branding campaign of “Endless Possibilities”
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Court, Crime, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 August 2013, 2:10 pm
With a triple strike in the past month, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak could not have a more powerful though most ironic “soft launch” of his new national branding campaign of “Endless Possibilities” in place of his earlier “lame-duck” 1Malaysia slogan.
Firstly, “Endless Possibilities” broke new ground when the Registrar of Societies (RoS) forced a DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) re-election on pain of deregistration of DAP, although the RoS is unable to give any reason why he is “dissatisfied” with the DAP party elections last December, a triumph of the seven-month-old and continuing Umno/BN “DDD” – “demolish/destroy DAP” – campaign.
Secondly, “Endless Possibilities” opened up new vistas with the official approval for the screening of the Tanda Putera movie in cinemas nationwide on August 29, including one depicting a young Chinese man urinating in front of the Selangor Mentri Besar’s official residence provoking the May 13, 1969 racial riots.
There are no historical facts, whether photographs or documentation, including the White Paper issued by the National Operations Council on 9th October 1969 entitlted “The May 13 Tragedy” and Tunku Abdul Rahman’s book “May 13 – Before & After”, to show that such a urination incident was not a figment of imagination and a most scurrilous and incendiary lie in a multi-racial society.
Even if it is completely fictional, it is the height of irresponsibility to depict the urination incident in an officially-funded movie because it could incite inter-racial distrust, discord and hatred, completely inimical to nation-building efforts particularly on the occasion of the country’s 56th National Day. Read the rest of this entry »
So, who killed Altantuya? And why?
Posted by Kit in Court, Crime, Law & Order on Friday, 23 August 2013, 12:36 pm
NEWS ANALYSIS BY JAHABAR SADIQ, EDITOR
The Malaysian Insider
August 23, 2013
Seven years on, no one has paid the price for the death of Altantuya Shaariibuuu. And no one knows why the pretty Mongolian was killed one night in October 2006.
But today’s Court of Appeal decision does not close the file on her mysterious murder.
Instead, the ruling to acquit former chief inspector Azilah Hadri and former corporal Sirul Azhar Umar raises more questions than ever.
Who killed her? Why? Read the rest of this entry »
Fresh DAP polls on September 29
by Rita Jong
The Malaysian Insider
AUGUST 22, 2013
The DAP National Special Congress for the re-election of the central executive committee (CEC) will be held on Sept 29 in the Klang Valley at a venue to be confirmed later.
The party’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng announced the date during a press conference after a two-hour closed door meeting with CEC members today.
“The candidates for the re-election shall be that of the same list as that used in the 2012 National Congress in December 2012, of course less those candidates who have withdrawn voluntarily from the contest,” said Guan Eng.
“This is because there is no controversy over the list of nominated candidates and the RoS (Registrar of Societies) had instructed only the re-election of the CEC.”
He said the party would also be using the same list of qualified delegates who took part in the party polls last December to re-elect the CEC. Read the rest of this entry »
True meaning of being Malaysian
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Thursday, 22 August 2013, 3:57 pm
– Natesan Visnu
The Malaysian Insider
August 22, 2013
August 31, 1957 is a day we all fondly remember. We remember the image and voice of Tunku Abdul Rahman chanting the words “Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!Merdeka!” with the crowd joining in.
The word “Merdeka” remains meaningless after 56 years and average Malaysians are still in a dilemma with the meaning of “merdeka” or independence.
We live in a society where the identity of an individual is based on race and status. We are very fond of introducing ourselves as Malaysian Malay, Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indian, etc. In our daily conversation, we are very fond of using “The Chinese boy said….”, “India itu cakap….”, “That Malay makcik said…”, “Sabah and Sarawak people always like that….”, “Yang tu orang Kelantan” etc. We still live in a society where our identity is always based on race, status, state, dialect, etc.
In true essence, we have not achieved independence “state of mind” and we are still at where we have begun. We are not Malaysian, we are still a nation with multi-identities and multi-ideologies. The word “Malaysian” is an ideology or extension of political will to create a pseudo-identity of a nation built based on multi-races and multi-cultural. The word “Malaysian” remains an ideology and the true definition of the word remains undefined.
“Malaysian” means nothing much to any of us unless when we are supporting our football team, Lee Chong Wei or Nicol David. Our unity only happens during sporting events. After that we are back being what we are. “Malaysian” with multiple identities and ideologies. The identity ideology remains an integral part of our daily affairs. Read the rest of this entry »
Aren’t we proud of Merdeka Day?
Frankie D’Cruz
Mail Mail Online
August 21, 2013
AUG 21 — Ten days to Merdeka Day and Brand Malaysia has yet to be portrayed responsibly and sensibly. Is just asking people to fly the Jalur Gemilang enough to whip up energy on the streets and raise national happiness and patriotism?
Nothing so far has reflected the theme for the 56th Merdeka Day – ‘My Sovereign Malaysia: My Native Land’ – to remind the people the importance of uniting to defend the nation and creating awareness of love and affection.
Oops! Sorry, we had the waving of the Jalur Gemilang on Aug 16 in Sungai Petani that flagged off the Jalur Gemilang Expedition to all the states.
Double apologies, we also had the Merdeka Jalur Gemilang Aidilfitri expedition that involved visits and presentation of aid to the disabled and the needy during the month of Syawal.
So, why aren’t Malaysians singing the theme song and wearing this year’s winning Merdeka logo by Noor Hishammudin Omar on our garments?
Simple: The song has not been released yet and the logo must be in someone’s folder. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia next in crosshairs as Asian contagion risks grow
By Stuart Grudgings
Reuters | Wed Aug 21, 2013 3:08am IST
Aug 21 (Reuters) – Indebted, commodity-dependent Malaysia will be in investors’ crosshairs on Wednesday as heavy selling of Indonesia and India’s currencies threatens to spread to other Asian economies seen as most vulnerable to a withdrawal of U.S. monetary stimulus.
After Indonesia, where concerns over a gaping current account deficit sparked a stock market and currency rout this week, Malaysia and neighbouring Thailand are seen as the most vulnerable Southeast Asian markets to contagion effects.
“There is a lot of resemblance to prior crises like 1997-98. We have had two countries going down, India and Indonesia, and now you have got to start thinking about the third and fourth countries,” said Pradeep Mohinani, a Nomura credit analyst in Hong Kong.
“The likely candidates would be those with high fiscal deficits, slowing economies and high foreign ownership of government bonds. Thailand and Malaysia tick most of the boxes in that regard.”
Economists say that both those countries, as well as the fast-growing Philippines, are to some extent protected from major turmoil by their much stronger external balances compared with Indonesia and India.
Read the rest of this entry »
DAP gives Utusan Malaysia 48 hours to answer letter of demand
by Hasbullah Awang Chik
The Malaysian Insider
August 21, 2013
DAP national legal head Gobind Singh Deo has given Umno-controlled daily Utusan Malaysia 48 hours to respond to a letter of demand over two defamatory articles.
The two articles headlined “At last the drama has ended” and “Kit Siang manipulated CEC elections?”, were dated August 17 and 18.
The first article quoted the Equity Report said to be written by a Father Augustus Chen, while the other report was that DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang had manipulated the party polls last December.
“The article quoting the Equity Report had no verification. Editor Zulkifli Jalil and reporter Kasthuri Jeevendran as well as Utusan Malaysia, have to answer all the allegations,” Gobind said at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.
DAP also wanted Utusan to reveal who was the real author of the booklet and has demanded for the apology within the stipulated time.
Gobind added that the Utusan editor and reporter should be clear about journalism ethics and should have verified allegations contained in the booklet before publishing the article. Read the rest of this entry »
When will regional and international magazines front-page Malaysia for being “lucky country” and for “low-crime”?
Posted by Kit in Crime, Elections, nation building on Tuesday, 20 August 2013, 4:26 pm
The cover stories of two international magazines in the past month should have given considerable food for thought for Malaysians to ponder as to what has happened to Malaysia, more than 100 days after the recent general elections and which is to celebrate our 56th National Day in eleven day’s time.
The first is the 20th July 2013 edition of The Economist “The Curious Case of the Fall in Crime”, reporting that “The rich world is seeing less and less crime, even in the face of high unemployment and economic stagnation”. Read the rest of this entry »
Apa lagi Mahathir mahu?
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 20 August 2013, 11:30 am
Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Aug 19, 2013
If the third prime minister of Malaysia, Hussein Onn, had not nominated Mahathir Mohamad as his successor in 1981, the course of Malaysian history would have been very different.
Mahathir may have left office after 22 years in power, but today, he pops up like those annoying advertisements which appear, without warning, on your computer screen. Mahathir’s messages act in a similar way to some of those adverts; they can harm your computer with malware or other unwanted files, when they are “opened”. Perhaps, we need a spam-blocker that will work on Mahathir.
How will we ever learn from history, if we are prevented from examining what has gone badly wrong for this nation? Mahathir’s policies continue to divide the nation, but many Malays are under the illusion that he is their saviour. Sadly, after 56 years of independence, it is mostly non-Malays who are more Malaysian than the Malays.
Until we get a change in government, only one man can stop Mahathir’s deleterious effects on the nation – Najib Abdul Razak – but he either won’t or can’t bring himself to perform this saintly task. Such is the hold that Mahathir has over Najib.
Yesterday, Mahathir urged that MAS be privatised. His penchant for privatisation enables profitable companies to be annexed by his cronies or Umno Baru nominees. This practice has all but bankrupted the nation.
It is ironic that the man who once said that “Melayu mudah lupa”, should forget his role in handing the national airline carrier, on a golden platter to Tajudin Ramli. Few MAS employees will ever forget how the company’s performance plummeted with Tajudin at its helm. Read the rest of this entry »
