Malaysians should do a Sherlock Holmes to find out the “who, when and what“ about the origin of the canard of “urination” at the flagpole of the Selangor Mentri Besar’s house provoking May 13 riots in 1969
Yesterday, I categorically denied the preposterous claim which had appeared previously on the official Facebook page of the May 13 movie, Tanda Putra, that I had urinated on the flagpole in front of the then Selangor Mentri Besar’s residence during the May 13 riots in 1969.
The facebook had carried a photo portraying me being manhandled, with the caption:
“Lim Kit Siang telah kencing di bawah tiang bendera Selangor yang terpacak di rumah menteri besar Selangor ketika itu, Harun Idris, (Lim Kit Siang had urinated at the foot of the flagpole bearing the Selangor flag at the then Selangor MB’s Harun Idris’ house)”
The photo was posted in the album in the Facebook titled ‘Peristiwa-peristiwa yang dimuatkan di dalam filem ini’ (Events depicted in this movie).
Although the photo and caption have since been removed from the movie’s official page, Malaysiakini had captured a screenshot of the earlier posting.
I noted two very pertinent postings from the 69 comments since Malaysiakini reported my denial, viz:
RealSoldier witness513 its simply absurd to accuse LKS performing such despicable act because the flagpole is not freely accessable to the public as it is located within the compound of the MB’s house which is fenced and manned by a jaga. BY accident I was at the MB’s on that fateful day from 3.00am to 5.30am on 514 following rescue operations by the security forces.
FREE The picture of LKS being grabbed and manhandled by officers was taken at the Kota Kinabalu old airport terminal. Those officers in white-shirt uniforms were immigration officers when Harris Salleh ordered the deportation of LKS from Sabah. This writer was inside a plane and saw from the window LKS being put put in a wheelchair and wheeled to the plane for deportation back to KL.
BN’s promise: Tribespeople, idiots or citizens?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Good Governance, Judiciary, Police on Sunday, 5 August 2012, 9:57 am
— Rama Ramanathan
The Malaysian Insider
August 05, 2012
AUG 5 — Why am I so disgusted with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government?
I take my citizenship seriously. I was born in Malaysia. My siblings were born in Malaysia. My mother spoke only two languages: her mother tongue, Tamil and Malay. My father was a civil servant for decades. I’m a Malaysian.
My school friends are in Malaysia. My parents were cremated here, their ashes loosed in the waters off Port Dickson. My siblings, my wife’s siblings and most of our friends live in Malaysia. I desire to live nowhere else. I am entrenched.
My upbringing and my beliefs cause me to think of everyone as my neighbour. I take seriously God’s command to love Him with my every breath, thought and action, and that I should love my neighbour as myself. I’m a citizen.
I remember daily the story the Messiah told in answer to the question: Who is my neighbour? In the story of the Good Samaritan, the neighbour is the one in need, the downtrodden everyman, to whom I am to show mercy.
I recognise that government and leadership are necessary. Without “people in charge,” such as police, lawmakers and government officials, we’ll have anarchy: bandits will reign; our cities will be like Baghdad, Beirut, or Bogota.
Those cities exemplify what happens in the absence of good government: the strong, the well-funded, and the bigots will suppress the unarmed. Mubarak did it in Tahrir Square. Najib did it in Merdeka Square.
The purpose of a government is to create, maintain and promote conditions of equity, harmony and equality through the right use of authority. A government is judged by how it treats the weak. How shall we judge the BN government? Read the rest of this entry »
Isu royalti minyak Kelantan: Perjanjian yang tidak dihormati
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Oil, PAS on Sunday, 5 August 2012, 12:12 am
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 04, 2012
4 OGOS — Semalam (Jumaat) Menteri Besar Kelantan, Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, telah menerima surat dari Perdana Menteri Najib meminta kerajaan Kelantan menghantar wakil untuk berbincang tentang royalti minyak yang menjadi tuntutan rakyat negeri itu sejak beberapa lama yang lalu.
Jumlah tuntutan tertunggak ialah sebanyak RM7.4 billion dan sampainya surat ini menunjukkan bahawa rakyat Kelantan merupakan rakyat yang faham tentang apa yang mereka inginkan sebagai rakyat sebuah negeri yang menjadi sebahagian dari sebuah negara Persekutuan ini.
Saya secara peribadi menerima berita ini dengan perasaan yang agak lega walaupun kita belum tahu lagi keputusan perbincangan itu jika ia benar-benar diadakan. Kita berharap perbincangan ini benar-benar melaksanakan slogan “Janji Ditepati” yang juga dengan rasa tidak malu menggunakannya sebagai slogan hari kemerdekaan negara tahun ini.
Jika berjaya pun perbincangan itu, pembayarannya mesti berlaku sebelum pilihanraya ini kerana jika persetujuan untuk menghormati perjanjian yang ditandatangani di antara Petronas dan kerajaan Kelantan pada 27hb Mei 1975 dahulu. Perjanjian itu ditandatangani oleh Tengku Razaleigh yang mewakili Petronas dengan Menteri Besar PAS, Datuk Mohammad Nasir. Read the rest of this entry »
Save ‘No’ to privatisation of Penang Port
— Francis Loh
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 03, 2012
AUG 3 — We are deeply distressed to learn that Penang Port has been privatised to Seaport Terminal (Johor) Sdn Bhd.
Penang Port, Malaysia’s first port, is a valuable cultural and economic heritage of Penangites, indeed of all Malaysians. It has been a part of our history since colonial times, providing ferry services that linked the island to the peninsula, and serving as an important free port and port-of-call for ships from the East and West.
In no small way, the port has contributed towards the economic dynamism and the cosmopolitanism of Penang and in turn towards our Unesco Heritage listing.
Not surprising, Penangites from all walks of life — the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government, business groups, port workers, port contractors and especially the rakyat have rejected the privatisation proposal. Even the Penang Barisan Nasional has urged the federal government to review its decision, not least because of popular sentiments against Seaport’s takeover on the eve of the 13th general election. Read the rest of this entry »
Tanda Putera’s “urination” episode – downright lie and dangerous falsehood
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 4 August 2012, 3:59 pm
Despite his 1Malaysia signature slogan, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is continuing to allow his UMNO/Barisan Nasional election campaign machineries to disseminate downright lies and dangerous falsehoods calculated to incite racial hatred and undermine national unity with the approach of the 55th National Day and 49th Malaysia Day celebrations.
One of these “downright lies and dangerous falsehoods” flooding the UMNO/BN social media and exploited by the 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers is that I had caused the May 13 riots in 1969 through shouting the most racist slogans in the streets of Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 12 and 13, 1969.
Despite my firm denial of these wild and reckless allegations in my speech in Parliament on March 22, 2012, declaring that I was never in Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 12 and 13, 1969, these “downright lies and dangerous falsehoods” have continued to make their rounds in leaps and bounds in the cyberspace.
On 20th July 2012, Malaysiakini carried the following report “New May 13 movie courts controversy”: Read the rest of this entry »
Too late for justification
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Crime, Najib Razak on Saturday, 4 August 2012, 11:27 am
— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 03, 2012
AUG 3 — It is too late, Najib Razak. Just too late to try and justify your government’s actions in charging whistleblower Rafizi Ramli under the BAFIA.
Most discerning Malaysians know that the PKR politician has been a major problem for Barisan Nasional since he started exposing the National Feedlot Corporation scandal and he became an even bigger problem when he told us about the shennanigans behind the award of the Ampang LRT to George Kent, a company controlled by an associate of the PM.
It was only a matter of time that Rafizi was hauled up but the government is trying to intimidate other whistleblowers. Still, the government looks clumsy and on the backfoot in going after Rafizi. So today, Mr BRIM, has come out to explain that Rafizi should have handed over confidential info on the NFC to the MACC. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno terdesak sehingga hilang segala pertimbangan
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 03, 2012
3 OGOS — Pertuduhan terhadap Rafizi Ramli, pengarah strategi PKR, bersama bekas kakitangan Public Bank dua hari lepas masih menjadi bualan di mana-mana.
Tetapi itu sudah menjadi biasa apabila pilihanraya sudah mendatang, kerana itu adalah salah satu cara pihak yang memerintah untuk menakut-nakutkan sesiapa dari membuat pembongkaran lebih banyak lagi terhadap kepincangan sistem dan moral politik pihak Barisan Nasional pada hari ini.
Pihak BN tidak akan berhenti setakat itu sahaja. Ada berita dan tanda-tanda isu perkauman akan dimainkan oleh BN dengan lebih hebat lagi dalam masa yang terdekat ini. Saya diberitahu yang pihak tertentu yang menyokong BN, khususnya Umno, sedang bekerjasama dengan sebuah badan dan jabatan kerajaan untuk menerbitkan makalah dan buku-buku untuk memberikan tumpuan untuk mengaitkan Lim Kit Siang dalam trajedi 13 Mei 1969 dahulu.
Kita faham yang pihak BN sedang terdesak seperti orang yang sudah tersandar ke dinding dalam usaha mempertahankan kuasa. Menakut-nakutkan orang Melayu merupakan satu-satunya jalan yang tinggal bagi BN untuk memberikan perlindungan terhadap kuasa yang ada di tangan mereka.
Akhir-akhir ini ada kecenderungan pihak BN akan menumpukan politik perkauman dengan menjadikan Lim Kit Siang sebagai “punching bag” bagi mengelakkan rakyat khususnya orang melayu dari menyokong parti-parti pembangkang khususnya DAP. Read the rest of this entry »
Negri Sembilan: Feudings in the federation
— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 03, 2012
AUG 3 — A little bit of history.
In the 14th century, Sumatran people from the land of the Minangkabau began to settle down in the state today known as Negri Sembilan. They came through Malacca and reached places like Rembau. The Minangkabaus brought their superior civilisation to bear on the local asli tribes. Intermarriages between them resulted in the creation of the Biduanda clan. The Biduanda clan eventually emerged as the successors of the ruling tribes and established the rule that territorial chiefs of Negri Sembilan are only selected from within the Biduanda clan.
The chieftains were originally called penghulus and later as undang. Before the arrival of the paramount chief, Negri Sembilan formed part of the Johor Sultanate which gave the title Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan to the paramount chief.
The name Negri Sembilan was first used in the 16th century to refer to the federation of states founded and opened by these Minangkabau people in the Malay peninsula. In ancient times, the Malay kingdom encompassed states and territories in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and even Kampuchea. People moved from one location to another with much ease and fluidity, recognising no artificial boundaries. The Malay kingdom was one united by kinship, common religion, customs and language.
Internecine feuds seemed to beset Negri Sembilan right from its beginning when powerful chiefs from the Biduanda clan jostled for paramount leadership. To avoid the debilitating feuds, the chiefs sent for a uniting figure from Pagar Ruyung. From that day until now, the paramount chief is known as Yam Tuan Besar or Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan.
While the feuds of old are settled, its modern-day version of a house perpetually divided resurfaced in the form of intense political rivalries. The old chiefs of old are now replaced by Umno warlords. Read the rest of this entry »
Why police are impotent: A response to PDRM
Posted by Kit in Crime, Lim Teck Ghee, Police on Saturday, 4 August 2012, 10:16 am
— Lim Teck Ghee
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 03, 2012
AUG 3 — I thank the Polis Diraja Malaysia for the response to my commentary on why the police are impotent in fighting rising crime in the country.
Massaging of official statistics and reports
Firstly, with regard to the lengthy explanation on how the crime count statistics are generated, whilst the information is quite useful, it does not make a convincing case that the crime rate has dropped dramatically during the past three years.
I am sure that the police leadership — as with the ordinary man in the street — is aware that police reports generated through the official reporting system considerably understate the actual incidence of crime.
Furthermore, methodologies, definitions and categorisations vary from year to year. These changes, together with other forms of “massaging” (authorised and unauthorised) are the most likely explanations as to why there has been such a sharp fall in the reported crime statistics in the past three years compared with 2008. Read the rest of this entry »
Dissecting the ETP Annual Report (Part 6): Recommendations for Pemandu
— Ong Kian Ming and Teh Chi-Chang | August 02, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
AUG 2 — Is asking for a few more facts and some additional background too much? Pemandu has accused us of “nit-picking” and not providing alternatives. That conveniently shifts the focus to other issues while Pemandu ignores our very pertinent questions and suggestions. We summarise here three recommendations, and remind Pemandu of the positive outcomes of our nit-picking.
Recommendation #1: Be clear about targets, data and methodology.
Pemandu now has three different targets for national income by 2020. Please be clear, so we can all work towards the same ultimate target. Also, Pemandu should declare now its GNI, investment and job creation targets for 2012 and 2013. This is to prevent a repeat of the discrepancies surrounding 2011, when its `targets’ were declared only after the actual numbers were out.
Recommendation #2: Remove doubtful EPPs.
Read the rest of this entry »
Of National Day and party ploys
Posted by Kit in nation building on Thursday, 2 August 2012, 4:43 pm
Mustafa K. Anuar
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 02, 2012
AUG 2 — National symbols are — at the risk of sounding stupid here — expected to be “national” in character, meaning and appeal so that they are able to attract, and be appreciated, honoured and even jealously guarded by the citizenry concerned. They may range from the Malayan tiger to the national flower or Bunga Raya (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis).
And like these national symbols, national institutions such as the National Museum are to evoke a certain kind of collective identity among ordinary Malaysians as a people of a particular nation.
The National Museum is supposed to display exhibits that represent the history and cultural heritage of the Malaysian people from diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
In other words, anything that is supposed to be “national” should have the capacity to enable ordinary Malaysians to relate to and identify with it rather easily — and even with patriotic pride.
Likewise, the national flag, or Jalur Gemilang as it is now known, has the characteristics or elements to represent the nation called Malaysia. Most, if not all, Malaysians are able to identify themselves with this piece of cloth that kindles national consciousness.
The flag, on the other hand, would not be able to stir up that vital sense of belonging to a nation among the citizens if it has, for instance, elements of a dacing, or scale, that is easily associated with the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). Read the rest of this entry »
A tale of two themes
Posted by Kit in nation building on Thursday, 2 August 2012, 3:23 pm
By Goh Keat Peng | August 2, 2012 0
www.ongohing.wordpress.com
In these past several weeks, Malaysians have seen a drama unfold over what should be the Theme for their country’s forthcoming observance of its independence day. And now placed on the table of the rakyat (people) are two very different Themes.
In this drama, Malaysians have been given a look at not just the output or outcome but the PROCESS in which each of these two very important Themes have been conceived and delivered. Perception comes from how leaders (political or otherwise) go about things. Rightly or wrongly, this is how I perceive things. Correct me if I am wrong.
One theme came straight from the ruling political party coalition via the ministry of information. The party=nation. The party knows best. The rakyat (people)? Just vote us in every 4-5 years. Trust us; we do everything for you. You will always have official avenues to channel your voice to your government. On the issue of national day theme, though, we don’t need really need to hear your suggestion or criticism. We know what is good for you. We have the experience- fifty five years of it. Here then is the Theme for our independence day: “Janji Ditepati”(Promises fulfilled). The rakyat does not have to tell us but we tell you that we have kept our promises! We see no reason why our re-elections campaign theme cannot be the independence day celebration theme. Why not? As the ruling coalition, have we not kept our promises to the nation?
Read the rest of this entry »
Oh Malaysia, Oh Merdeka
Posted by Kit in nation building on Thursday, 2 August 2012, 1:48 pm
By Allan CF Goh
Oh Malaysia, Oh Merdeka
I will always choose fair Malaysia,
The land where I was born and raised;
So are the many people like me,
Malaysia was our true love to praise.
Once it was a calm idyllic land,
Richly suffused with kind, genteel grace.
It was filled with real beauty and flair,
Compared to today’s mounting disgrace.
Now this beautiful country of ours
Is sadly on the slope of decline,
Because the men who helm her are so
Very exploitatively inclined.
To save the country from further slide,
We all have a duty to perform:
We need to excise all things rotten,
To remove all bad laws, and reform.
Read the rest of this entry »
Race to the bottom in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Brain drain, Economics, Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 2 August 2012, 11:54 am
By William Barnes | Aug 2, 2012
Asia Times Online
BANGKOK – As Malaysia approaches a general election season, opposition politicians claim Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling party and government are stoking racial politics to gain a popular edge with the ethnic Malay majority.
A year after the World Bank warned Malaysia over its acutely debilitating race-based brain drain, veteran opposition leader Lim Kit Siang has said the government is compounding the damage by blatantly playing the “race card” in the run up to the next election, which must be called by next April.
The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s ambitions to lift the economy out of its disappointing holding pattern can go hang when it fears losing for the first time since independence in 1957, he has argued. “They talk all the time about being world beating and wanting to get all Malaysians behind the economy … but it all goes overboard when the focus is on the Malay identity.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Charging Rafizi – gross miscarriage of justice
Posted by Kit in Court, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Financial Scandals on Thursday, 2 August 2012, 11:15 am
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life advisor
I feel there is a gross miscarriage of justice by charging Rafizi for revealing bank accounts of NFCorp.
In my opinion, Rafizi by revealing the bank accounts of NFCorp has shown that the officers of NFCorp were involved in a major offence of laundering money belonging to the people.
NFCorp obtained a sum of RM250 million from the government, ostensibly to invest in a major cattle venture.
The company officers led by its chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Salleh misused the money and attempted to hide the money in properties in foreign countries. They were engaged in money laundering.
Rafizi discovered this and reported the money laundering operation to the press, based on bank accounts in the names of NFCorp officers.
Read the rest of this entry »
Mounting Malaysian debt could lead to downgrade, says ratings agency
By Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, August 1 — Malaysia’s public finances are weak relative to those of its ‘A’ range peers and the country is now on par with more heavily indebted ‘A’ range sovereigns such as Italy, said Fitch Ratings today.
This comes after some economists said that the federal government’s debt, which nearly doubled since 2007 to RM421 billion, poses a fiscal risk to the country if not managed carefully as it impairs Malaysia’s resilience to economic shocks, which appear to be occurring with increasing frequency.
Fitch said that despite strong GDP growth, the deterioration in public debt ratios is affecting Malaysia’s credit profile and a lack of progress on fiscal reforms could lead to a ratings downgrade.
Fitch said that the rise in the federal government debt-to-GDP ratio and the limited broadening of the fiscal revenue base have pushed Malaysia’s debt-to-revenue ratio to 246 per cent in 2011, which is well above the ‘A’ and ‘BBB’ range medians of 137 per cent and 119 per cent respectively and is now on par with more heavily indebted ‘A’ range sovereigns such as Italy at 261 per cent and Israel at 180 per cent.
Italy is considered one of the countries at risk of a debt default and saw its borrowing costs soar to above seven per cent in November last year. Read the rest of this entry »
No more NST for Aliran!
P Ramakrishnan explains why Aliran has terminated its subscription to the New Straits Times.
As of today, Aliran has stopped subscribing to the New Straits Times. It is a decision that was postponed several times because we felt we had to monitor the mainstream media’s coverage. But the one-sided reporting and the biased coverage have been hard to stomach; indeed it has upset thinking and caring Malaysians.
It does not mean we are now going to subscribe to The Star. We discontinued The Star and Utusan many years ago for the same reason. The Star’s reporting has been even worse than the NST. (But some might dispute this!) We shan’t even talk about Utusan…
Of late, both The Star’s and the NST’s coverage of the political situation has been nauseating. There is a commonality in blatantly misleading the public. Malaysians are misinformed, told to keep their eyes only on one side of the coin and kept in the dark about the other side.
The Opposition is deliberately denied space in their coverage. The Opposition is misquoted and words are added when they were not even uttered. Repeated and strenuous attempts by the Opposition to rebut misleading reporting are totally ignored, unfairly and unjustly.
Journalistic ethics and adherence to truth are no longer sacrosanct. They have gone with the wind. Spinning stories and inventing lies to distort the truth are no longer antithetical to respectable journalism. Read the rest of this entry »
Royal Malaysia Police response to ‘Why police are impotent’
CPI Intro: We are sharing with readers the response of Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) to a commentary by Dr Lim Teck Ghee on “Why police are impotent in dealing with growing crime“(23 July 2012).
Interested readers are encouraged to send in their views on the various points raised by PDRM in defending the official crime statistics and the steps taken to combat crime.
By ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf | Tuesday, 31 July 2012 16:39
CPI
There have been quite a number of debates lately on the issues of crime, particularly on the accuracy of official crime statistics and police efficiency in combating crime. Various articles and reports have been written with many quarters offering differing views. The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) have constantly been keeping the public abreast on the crime situation and police efforts in crime prevention. In this article, PDRM would like to clarify pertinent issues concerning crime and in particular respond to the article written by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee entitled “Why police are impotent in dealing with growing crime” in CPI website which was published on 23July 2012 .
Read the rest of this entry »
Rafizi Ramli arrested
Posted by Kit in Corruption, UMNO on Wednesday, 1 August 2012, 10:21 am
Tweets @limkitsiang :
Rafizi Ramli PKR director of strategy arrested this morning under BAFIA 4exposing RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal
9:05am
Najib’s iron fist coming out of velvet glove. Greatest crime in UMNO/BN Msia is not corruption but expose of corruption. Janji Ditepati
9:13am
@rafiziramli Country n good/sensible Msians behind you. You have put Najib in national/international dock. GTP ETP etc in tatters.
9:39am
Olympics Opening Ceremony: Lessons for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Sports on Tuesday, 31 July 2012, 8:00 pm
blog.nikicheong.com
Posted on Jul 30, 2012
Last night, I watched the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games for the second time, in the solitude of my room. I had a great time watching it with friends at their place for the first time on the actual night, and in general really enjoyed it. That night, I posted this updated on my Facebook account:
I admit that I’m a sucker for all Olympic Opening Ceremonies but today’s was special. It was patchy as a production, didn’t necessarily like the video/live action stuff, but can Danny Boyle tell a story. The underlying narrative was genius and hats off to him for giving so much credit to those who would never usually get attention – from the NHS to the miners, construction workers who built the stadium to the seven young athletes who lit the gorgeous cauldron. Amazing.
I watched it again because I was still reeling from the show the night before. Plus, having spent the better part of the day reading commentaries and reviews about the event, I realised that there were so many little things I missed. Watching it alone again, and being able to listen to all the commentary, it really did feel like I was watching a different show.
And I still loved it. Read the rest of this entry »
