Where the mind is without fear: A Tribute to my beloved father, FAN YEW TENG
By Lilianne Fan
I was at my father’s side when he passed away peacefully on 7 December 2010, at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. He had been diagnosed with advanced cancer at the same hospital almost exactly a year ago. Finding words after the loss of one’s beloved father is one of the hardest things to do. And yet, our family has been receiving a healing river of words from near and far, from my father’s many friends and men and women whose lives he had touched through his life. These words have brought us comfort through our grief, and for this we are deeply grateful.
My father was a blessing, an inspiration and an absolute joy. He was deeply loving and devoted to our family. While he had a tendency to sometimes be protective as a father, he was also persistently provocative, incessantly reminding my sister and I to live boldly, to never be afraid of pushing boundaries in the name of our principles and dreams.
Since we were very young, Papa was our principal source of cultural exposure and civilizational education. He introduced us to the music of Edith Piaf and Om Kalsom, the writings of Rabindranath Tagore and Hannah Arendt. His mind was epic and encyclopedic, philosophical and poetic; his historical memory as impressive as his passion for justice was inextinguishable. The shelves, tables and floors of his bedroom and study were always overflowing with books, the walls adorned with portraits of his many heroes— Bertrand Russell, Frantz Fanon, Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell, and Nelson Mandela.
Papa’s deep humanism shaped us from an early age, as did the context into which our lives unfolded. Because he and my mother raised us in an intellectually-, politically- and socially-engaged household, we were exposed early on both to humanity’s creativity and promise, as well as the realities of oppression and injustice. Read the rest of this entry »
Malay contractors association apologises to Guan Eng
By Himanshu Bhatt
The Sun
Jan 7, 2011
GEORGE TOWN: The Malay Contractors Association of Malaysia, which has in the past accused Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration of marginalising Malay businesses, apologised to him today through a delegation to his office here.
The association’s deputy president Datuk Mohammed Fadzill Hassan, who headed the delegation of about a dozen members, personally tendered his apology to the state government.
He said they wished to cooperate and work along with the administration. Lim responded by describing the new outcome as a “positive turn of events”.
“I hope we can start a new relationship based on facts and not emotion,” he said.
Lim stressed that accusations that Malay contractors were sidelined under the current Pakatan Rakyat government were untrue.
“Malay contractors are able to perform very well, as most of those who have won contracts under the state’s open tender policy are Malays,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysians want a RCI into the cause of Teoh Beng Hock mysterious death and not just a RCI into MACC’s investigation procedures
Posted by Kit in Teoh Beng Hock on Friday, 7 January 2011, 4:51 pm
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and all the Barisan Nasional Ministers have not got the message – what the bereaved family and justice-loving Malaysians want is not just a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the investigation procedures and methods of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) but a Royal Commission of Inquiry to uncover the cause of the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock.
Both the volume and intensity of the call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into cause of Teoh Beng Hock’s mysterious death has increased many fold since the most unsatisfactory “Open Verdict” of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest on Wednesday.
Many Malaysians had in fact expected the worst as to whether Najib would honour his pledge to the Teoh Beng Hock family 18 months ago in July 2009 that “no stone will be left unturned” in finding out the real cause of Teoh’s death.
If Najib is sincere and serious that “no stone will be left unturned” to uncover why Teoh, who had gone to the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam as a healthy and idealistic political worker, happily looking forward to his impending marriage and unborn child, had ended up as corpse, flung out of the 14th floor of the MACC Headquarters on July 16, 2009, then the next natural and logical step to the “Open Verdict” returned by the TBH inquest would be for the Prime Minister to commission a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe further into the cause of Teoh Beng Hock’s death following the inquest findings ruling out suicide and the very important testimony on Teoh’s pre-fall injury.
Read the rest of this entry »
Sarawak activists, lawyer detained ahead of polls
by Keruah Usit
Malaysiakini
Jan 7, 11
Police detained four activists and confiscated ‘seditious’ CDs and VCDs containing video and audio recordings of TV Sarawak Bebas and Radio Free Sarawak late last night in Kuching and Miri in what appears to be coordinated arrests.
Kuching-based land rights activist and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) secretary Nicholas Mujah and Miri-based land rights lawyer and activist Abun Sui Anyit were both detained by Kuching and Miri police respectively.
The duo had their statements taken by the police. The other two, who were arrested by police in Kuching but without their statements taken, were social activist Ong Boon Keong and Sadia staff Nikodemus Singgai.
Six Home Ministry officials and a team of Special Branch officers raided Sadia office just past midnight and confiscated about 1,200 of CDs and VCDs. Also confiscated were two compact disc burners and some promotional leaflets.
Mujah, Singgai and Ong were subsequently taken to the Satok police station in Kuching.
A few hours later, Mujah was transferred to the Home Ministry office in Kuching for questioning after the confiscated materials were recorded at the Satok police station.
He was told that he is being investigated under Section 6 of the Film Censorship Act. Read the rest of this entry »
Malay problem root of nation’s problem
Posted by Kit in Articles, nation building on Friday, 7 January 2011, 12:34 pm
AB Sulaiman
Malaysiakini
Jan 6, 11
COMMENT
About a year and a bit ago, the Old Boys’ Association of the Royal Military College otherwise known as ‘Old Putras’ organised an evening of discourse.
The forum noted that the Malaysian people were fragmented, the economy at a virtual standstill, and democracy eroded by dictatorship, returning feudalism, and theocracy. Those present wanted to analyse the degeneration and like good citizens we were to come up with some solutions.
It was then that one speaker, Mohd Dahan if I remember correctly, who stood up to say, “Solve the Malay problem, and you solve the country’s problem.” Now we are in the first month of the second decade of the 21st century, the ring of truth in his statement still prevails.
But at this time, 53 years after independence and 10 years to becoming a high-income country, it appears we are still embedded deep in a long list of unsolved national problems, with many getting worse than before.
Here are but some of them: A restive and fragmented population, high migration rate, poor rate of growth, broken public institutions like education and the judiciary, high crime rate, degenerating personal and public morality, price increases, inflation, and a generally authoritative, intimidating and arrogant government. Our comparative indices with other countries like in areas of transparency, human rights, education, are all on the downward swing.
And corruption, the perennial social cancer, taking place at the highest possible level, involving amounts that would make Carlos Slim (currently the richest man in the world according to Forbes) and Bill Gates almost poor by comparison.
Hope lies eternal, so let’s see whether we can try to solve at least some of the national problems, by first solving some Malay problems, for this coming year.
But first, what exactly is the ‘Malay problem’? Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia slips down Democracy Index
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Human Rights, Media on Friday, 7 January 2011, 10:12 am
Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Jan 6, 11
Malaysia has taken a slight tumble down the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2010 Democracy Index, slipping three places to number 71 out of 167 countries, with its overall score dropping from 6.36 points in 2008 to 6.19 last year.
This places Malaysia squarely in the “flawed democracy” category, along with 52 other countries that received overall scores of between 6 and 7.9 out of a maximum of 10 points.
Flawed democracies are countries that have “free and fair elections” and respect “basic civil liberties”, but face “problems such as infringements on media freedom”.
Such countries also have “significant weaknesses in other aspects of democracy, including problems in governance, an underdeveloped political culture and low levels of political participation”, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) index shows. Read the rest of this entry »
Inquest verdict ruling out suicide and on Beng Hock’s pre-fall injury an indictment of MACC and police and powerful ground for full-scale RCI into the actual causes of Teoh Beng Hock
Posted by Kit in Teoh Beng Hock on Thursday, 6 January 2011, 4:25 pm
The ending of the Teoh Beng Hock inquest in an “Open Verdict” 18 months after the tragedy outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam has not only caused nation-wide consternation but validated the opposition to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s two-prong proposal in July 2009 to have first an inquest and after it, a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the procedural aspects of the MACC in carrying out investigations.
On 22nd July 2009, I had said:
“I am disappointed by the Cabinet decision on the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock.
“There will be no Royal Commission of Inquiry into the causes of Teoh’s death although an inquest would be held.“A Royal Commission of Inquiry will be set up, but only to look into the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigative procedures and to determine if there were any human right violations when Teoh Beng Hock was being interrogated.
Read the rest of this entry »
Fan Yew Teng: Recalling a towering Malaysian
By Joseph Sipalan
MalaysiaKini
Jan 6, 11
Freedom fighter, husband, father, friend, teacher, true Malaysian.
These were among the many fond descriptions given to veteran activist and DAP strongman Fan Yew Teng, as family, friends and comrades came together to honour his legacy during a memorial last night in Kuala Lumpur.
About 250 people packed into the YMCA hall in Brickfields, staying three hours to share their cherished memories of their time spent with the charismatic Fan, who died last Dec 7 after a year battling with prostate cancer.
More than 20 people took to the rostrum to speak of Fan and how much he had influenced their lives, with his unyielding zest for life and indomitable spirit in the pursuit of justice.
Read the rest of this entry »
Teoh Beng Hock’s death — Open Verdict
Posted by Kit in Teoh Beng Hock, Twitter on Wednesday, 5 January 2011, 5:21 pm
Twitter updates from @limkitsiang
01/05/2011 01:08 PM
Will justice be served? Teoh Beng Hock inquest decision at Shah Alam Court @ 2.30 pm. Will b there 2 await verdict?
01/05/2011 02:48 PM
TBH inquest – ShamAlam court fully crammed awaiting verdict while outside large crowd who cannot find places. Its 18long mnths since tragedy
01/05/2011 02:57 PM
In court Karpal Gobind Malik TeresaKok TanKokWai TeoNieChing LimLipEng AuYongHW EliWong Xavier TBH fmly members Sgor MB Khalid otw
01/05/2011 03:06 PM
Court sits – TBH inquest begins
01/05/2011 03:10 PM
Coroner thanks counsel from all parties for assistance in the TBH inquest
01/05/2011 03:12 PM
Coroner starts reading his verdict
01/05/2011 03:14 PM
Dealing with the law on inquests
01/05/2011 03:20 PM
Now on undisputed facts of the case
01/05/2011 03:29 PM
Likely time of TBH death on July 16,2009 – between 715am to 1115am
01/05/2011 03:34 PM
Two theories of cause of death advanced – death by homicide n death by suicide
01/05/2011 03:40 PM
Discussed theory of death by suicide – issue of “suicide note”. Concluded – coroner said he is not qualified to say it is suicide note.
01/05/2011 03:38 PM
Coroner ruled out verdict of TBH death by suicide
01/05/2011 03:51 PM
death by homicide – ruled out.. Coroner returned Open Verdict
01/05/2011 04:41 PM
TBH Open verdict vindicated original demand 4Royal Commission Inquiry into all aspects of MACC death esp inquest finding of pre-fall injury
01/05/2011 04:43 PM
2prong response 2TBH death verdict – call 2Najib 2honour undertaking 2family 4RCI if not satisfied w inquest n apply 2High Court 4revision
Anwar’s “black-eye” assault – Open Appeal to Solicitor-General by Mat Zain
Posted by Kit in Crime, Law & Order on Wednesday, 5 January 2011, 1:15 pm
by Mat Zain bin Ibrahim
5 hb.Januari 2011
Kepada;
Yang Berbahgia Datuk Idrus Harun,
Peguam Cara Negara Malaysia,
(Solicitor General of Malaysia)
Jabatan Peguam Negara,
Block C3,Kompleks C,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
62152 Putrajaya.
YBhg.Datuk,
Maklumat mengenai penipuan dan pemalsuan-pemalsuan yang dilakukan berkenaan ujian Deoxyribonucleic Acid (“DNA”) dalam kes berprofil tinggi 1998.
Assalamualaikum YBhg. Datuk, semoga dalam sihat walfiat.
2. Sehubungan dengan perkara tajuk, sukacita saya menjemput YBhg. Datuk menyemak semula surat saya bertarikh 27hb.Disember 2010, berkaitan isu diatas yang dialamatkan kepada YDH Tan Sri Ketua Polis Negara, dengan salinannya kepada YAB Perdana Menteri Malaysia dan YBhg. Datuk sendiri yang diakui telah diterima oleh masing-masing pada tarikh berkenaan juga.
Read the rest of this entry »
Kenapa Saya Memilih Roket
Sejak berita keahlian saya dalam DAP telah diumumkan oleh media massa selepas ucapan perbahasan saya semasa Konvensyen Pakatan Rakyat di Kepala Batas tempoh hari, soalan yang paling kerap diajukan kepada saya adalah: kenapa DAP?
Pada saya jawapannya amat mudah. Secara ikhtisar, saya telah memilih untuk menjulang perjuangan rakyat dalam kancah politik negara kita melalui Parti Tindakan Demokratik (DAP) sebagai satu kesinambungan pewarisan dan jasa arwah ayahanda saya kepada negara tercinta. Ada yang mungkin mengatakan bahawa tindakan sedemikian adalah satu percanggahan, sedangkan ayah saya dahulu bukan sekadar ahli biasa UMNO, malah seorang pengasas parti itu sejak tahun 1946 dan merupakan seorang pemimpin kanan yang pernah memegang jawatan Naib Presiden dan Setiausaha Agung. Malah, ada yang sudahpun mengecam perwatakan saya sebagai seorang pengkhianat bangsa atau ‘Melayu lupa diri’, kononnya saya ini ibarat kacang yang telah melupakan kulit dengan tindakan membelakangi sebuah parti yang sudah kian lama dianggap sebagai pembela bangsa.
Saya memang akur bahawa UMNO merupakan sebuah parti yang masyhur dan bersejarah, dan atas usaha dan pengorbanan pemimpin-pemimpin terdahulunya telahpun berjaya meraih kemerdekaan tanah air kita daripada penjajah British. Namun sejak kebelakangan ini, niat asal penubuhannya, atau raison d’être, untuk membebaskan negara dan memartabatkan bangsa sudahpun ternoda. Read the rest of this entry »
Defuse Selangor constitutional crisis by suspending Khusrin’s appointment or Najib’s slogan of an inclusive 1Malaysia government would suffer another irreparable blow
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, Najib Razak, public service on Tuesday, 4 January 2011, 1:40 pm
The Chief Secretary, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan should defuse the Selangor constitutional crisis by suspending Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi’s appointment as State Secretary and consulting the Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on the most ideal appointee to be the top Selangor civil servant or Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s slogan of an inclusive 1Malaysia government would suffer another irreparable blow.
Najib’s 1Malaysia concept proclaimed as its goal “to make Malaysia more vibrant, more productive and more competitive” by fully embracing “our diversity of ethnicity, religions and beliefs and, by being inclusive, build mutual respect and acceptance into a solid foundation of trust and cohesiveness”.
The 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap made public a year ago had identified seven areas to achieve the ideals of 1Malaysia, with the ultimate goal specifically spelt out as to create a Malaysian nation where “every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society”.
The seven areas are: Read the rest of this entry »
Portrait of my father, Fan Yew Teng
By Pauline Fan
It has not been easy to bid farewell to my father, a man who touched so many not just by his tenacious commitment to social justice and through his incisive political writings, but also through his warm, radiant, playful personality.
Papa was a wellspring of strength and joy for the family; he was the deepest source of joy and laughter in my life. He loomed large in our lives; his presence was indelible, his charisma unmistakable. He was always a kind of hero figure for me and my sister. When we were young, we would watch him with awe working among his books, listen to him incessantly typing away on his old manual typewriter, and the scent of pipe tobacco that filled his study is still my favourite scent in the world.
As I grew older, I began to understand that Papa’s work, his continuous engagement in politics and social issues, was inseparable from his life. He did not simply have a ‘job’; he lived out his uncompromising principles through his writings and actions, and was driven by his deep-seated ideals to fight for social justice and human dignity. For Papa, politics was the natural arena where citizens could exercise their rights and obligations in modern society. In the words of Papa’s literary hero George Orwell: “In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’. All issues are political issues . . .”
Read the rest of this entry »
Rule of law must prevail
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Selangor on Monday, 3 January 2011, 3:19 pm
by P. Ramakrishnan
President
Aliran
3rd Jan 2011
The Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, has precipitated a constitutional crisis in Selangor by ignoring time-honoured norms and constitutional requirements in naming the Selangor State Secretary unilaterally.
In any appointment to a state, there must be consultation before a final decision is taken. This sensible approach has been completely sidelined. Mohd Sidek had chosen to ride roughshod over the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. In doing so, Malaysians are wondering whether he is acting strictly as a civil servant or as a political tool of the Barisan Nasional.
It is a matter of grave concern for Aliran when a functioning state constitution is not respected and its provisions not honoured. It has been pointed out by legal experts that according to Article 52(4) of the Selangor state constitution the state secretary “shall take and subscribe in the presence of the Menteri Besar the following oath of secrecy.” In this instance, the Meneri Besar’s central role cannot be ignored. Read the rest of this entry »
History syllabus and textbooks: The non-Malay fig leaf and more serious matters
Commentary
by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
Centre for Policy Initiatives
Sunday, 02 January 2011
The Ministry of Education has finally replied to concerns raised by many Malaysians that the teaching of Malaysian history has been debased through changes in the syllabus and textbooks. However the letter by the Corporate Communications Unit of the Ministry totally ignores the allegations and makes no attempt to address the specific and general concerns articulated in the media and the internet.
Instead, the reply is a public relations job detailing non-Malay participation in the writing of text books and referrals made in recommending text book writers. This is insufficient to allay concerns or refute the allegations made of the political bias, crass nationalism and blatant Islamization that have come to dominate the history syllabus and textbooks.
Read the rest of this entry »
A Special Memorial for Fan Yew Teng
Posted by Kit in Announcement on Monday, 3 January 2011, 2:31 pm
Fan Yew Teng: A Husband, Father, Brother, Comrade, Patriot and Humanist
Date: 5/1/2011; Time: 8pm; Venue: YMCA Hall, KL
All are welcome!
Read the rest of this entry »
Utusan Malaysia a daily reminder of the hollowness and hypocrisy of Najib’s 1Malaysia concept
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, DAP, Media, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 3 January 2011, 12:26 pm
Utusan Malaysia is a daily reminder of the hollowness and hypocrisy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia concept as the Umno newspaper continues to peddle lies and poison to incite strife and hatred in Malaysia’s plural society.
Najib’s 1Malaysia talks about embracing “our diversity of ethnicity, religions and beliefs and, by being inclusive, build mutual respect and acceptance into a solid foundation of trust and cohesiveness” but Utusan Malaysia is doing the very opposite every day with its staple of lies and falsehoods.
The 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap released in January last year advocated the promotion of “an all-inclusive 1Malaysia media” and warned of the danger of greater national divisions and disunity when “some writers abuse the greater freedom of expression now available to use terms and feelings that are racist or inflammatory in nature and tone”.
It said:
“While censorship is antithetical to democracy, there is a need to introduce, instill and internalize a commitment to journalistic professionalism, a sense of responsibility and self-restraint, with sensitivity to the divergent views and feelings of the diverse communities in Malaysia.”
Unfortunately, this “commitment to journalistic professionalism, a sense of responsibility and self-restraint, with sensitivity to the divergent views and feelings of the diverse communities in Malaysia” is completely absent in Utusan Malaysia, which have become even more irresponsible and unprofessional in the past year, peddling lies, falsehoods and poison to incite strife and hatred in our plural society. Read the rest of this entry »
Big Government, Big Problems
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 3 January 2011, 12:18 pm
Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #47
Chapter Six: Malaysia: Assets and Liabilities
Big Government, Big Problems
by M. Bakri Musa
The remarkable achievement of the Reagan Revolution in America and Thatcher’s in Britain is the recognition, long overdue, that government is not always the solution. In many instances, it is the problem. The most spectacular example of the failure of big government is the Soviet Empire. It collapsed not because it was defeated in war (although the West would like to claim that it won the Cold War) but because the Soviet state had been too massive and highly intrusive. Given the momentum of globalization, the Soviet system would have imploded anyway.
The only other major totalitarian government today is China; it survived because its leaders were smart enough to recognize the desperate need for change, and did it quickly. The 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising was a rude awakening for those leaders. Today’s Chinese communists are a far cry from their dogmatic Mao comrades. This difference is best encapsulated by Deng Xiapeng’s celebrated slogan, “To get rich is glorious!”
Deng was decidedly more pragmatic. He quoted the Chinese proverb to the effect that it matters not what color is the cat as long as it catches the mice. The Chinese are now realizing that capitalist cats are more productive (can catch more mice!) than communist ones! Read the rest of this entry »
Removal of crucifixes and banning of hymns – violation of religious freedom guaranteed under Constitution
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Religion on Monday, 3 January 2011, 12:10 pm
Media statement by Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP Life Advisor in Seremban on 3rd January 2011.
PM aides’ orders to St John’s Cathedral to remove crucifixes and banning of singing hymns at St John’s Cathedral constitute a violation of religious freedom guaranteed under Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution
The orders border on the ridiculous. The excuse given by PM aides that the cruciffixes would be offensive to the Prime Minister while visiting the church and grounds.
Malaysia have diplomatic relations with many Christian countries in the West, South America and the Phillipines. Crucifixes decorate many public buildings in these countries. Would the aides issue orders to Christian countries in the West and South America to take down or remove the crucifixes when the Prime Minister of Malaysia visit the said countries?
Church buildings and grounds are sacred areas to Christians especially Catholics. Crucifixes are sacred. So are the religious rites and singing of hymns. Forcible removal of crucifixes in churches would constitute an act of sacriliege. The orders by the PM aides are therefore sacrilegious.
The prime minister is most welcome to visit churches and meet the priests and parishioners. No conditions should be imposed, as freedom to practice religion is guaranteed under the Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 – The Rise Of Pakatan Rakyat, The Imminent Fall Of Umno/BN
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 2 January 2011, 7:43 pm
by Richard Loh
Let us Malaysians start the New Year with a Big Bang. May our New Year resolutions not be for self but for the country. We should resolve to be fully committed to voting in a new Federal Government at the next GE, one that will bring about the changes Malaysians have desired for so long.
It would appear that 2010 was a very good year for Najib, even though all he did was to plaster the whole country with slogans and rhetoric that benefited no one but his wife, foreign agents and cronies. Just imagine the millions or even billions wasted to promote them. And it is the rakyat’s money!
What comes out of Najib’s mouth sounds so hollow. You must have read in the Mainstream Media his various speeches in front of different communities. He paints a rosy picture to arouse the rakyat into believing that what he is ‘trying’ to do is for the ‘good’ of the country.
He talks about unity, equality, religious tolerance, Bangsa Malaysia but his actions contradict his preaching. He can still tolerate the racists Utusan, Perkasa and civil servants spreading racial hatred and religious intolerance. All these are living proof that Umno/BN have failed in their 54 years of administration and governing. Read the rest of this entry »
