Merdeka 曖昧

Mona Lisa, some said it’s self-portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci. Some claimed that its name found its roots in Amon and Isis, god and goddess on ancient Egypt and Greek.

I’ve been indulging myself in The Da Vinci Code, the Danish Brownish bestseller. From Priory of Sion to Opus Dei, Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene, it’s really an automatic page turner. Or rather, the spirit is in me. There’s still much for me to learn about my own agama.

A fantastic novel not to be missed. Unlike Mona Lisa which may fetch over billion dollars, knowledge is free. It has been given to many, the latest being Tilia, and it’s still available for all of you. English in pdf and Chinese in doc.Please bear in mind that it’s meant for sneak preview only. Get the real book, if you have fallen in love with it, like me.

On the path of learning to learn something everyday

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Was surfing around and found this Hong Kong blogger, Matxela.

With the fall of HK to the Beijng butchers, more and more of those who celebrated Double Ten went over to pro-Beijing cocktail parties. Is it so wrong to commemorate Wuchang Uprising, the revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen ?

Perhaps national identity is not that strong among Hongkies, yet, prior to 1997, there were many who voluntarily put up ROC flags all around town, which, according to them, was “10 times more than Commies flag now come October 1…”

Even so, according to them, in the earlier years, the flags were mostly displayed outside everyone’s house. Over time, fewer people do that, and the flags had to be placed around public areas such as roadside, pedestrain bridges or playgrounds, by only a handful of patriots.

All that remains now is nostalgia…

Dr. Sun Yat-sen

Hari ini, 10 Oktober 2005, merupakan ulang tahun ke-94 Kebangkitan Wuchang yang diketuai pengikut-pengikut Dr. Sun Yat-sen untuk menggulingkan Dinasti Ching yang korup dan boros.

Dinasti Ching yang diasaskan orang Manchuria pada tahun 1644 telah menjadi amat lemah pada hujung abad ke-18. Pada tahun 1841, British yang berdendam kerana candu yang diimport dimusnahkan oleh pegawai tinggi China telah menyerang China. Tentera Dinasti Ching gagal mempertahankan negara, menyebabkan Pulau Hong Kong, Semenanjung Kowloon dan New Territories dijadikan tanah jajahan British pada tahun 1842, 1860 dan 1898 masing-masing.

Empress Dowager (Bonda maharaja) Cixi yang merupakan tok dalang kepada maharaja budak pada masa itu telah membina taman rekreasi mewah peribadi dengan peruntukan untuk memperkembangkan kapal-kapal tentera laut. Oleh yang demikian, dalam Peperangan Sino-Jepun 1895, tentera laut dengan peralatan yang uzur terpaksa menerima cabaran tentera laut Jepun yang moden. Akibatnya, tentera laut Dinasti Ching dihapuskan sama sekali, dan Taiwan dijadikan tanah jajahan Jepun.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen, seorang doktor perubatan, telah mengetahui bahawa kerajaan yang begini mesti digulingkan. Beliau menjelajah ke sana sini untuk mendapatkan sokongan ramai, termasuk Tokyo, London, Pulau Pinang, Singapura dan Honolulu. Di Pulau Pinang, Dr. Sun telah menerbitkan akhbar Kwong Wah Jit Poh, yang merupakan suratkhabar tertua di antara suratkhabar berbahasa Cina yang masih beroperasi di dunia kini.

Akhirnya, pada 10 Oktober 1911, revolusi telah bermula di kota Wuchang, dan diikuti dengan ledakan rakyat yang sama di seluruh negara. Akhirnya, pemerintah maharaja telah digulingkan dan digantikan dengan sistem republik. Pada 1 Januari 1912, Republic of China telah diasaskan, dan 10 Oktober ditetapkan sebagai hari kebangsaan untuk memperingati Kebangkitan Wuchang. Badan-badan yang ditubuhkan Dr. Sun pula distruktur semula dan dinamakan Kuomintang (Parti Nasionalis) dan menjadi pemerintah.

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It’s 4 years since bloody terrorist attack on World Trade.

Our shincerest wish that it will never happen again…

Would like to know just how many of you like Akane Hotaru 紅音ほたる ?

Me thinks the following pic is really cool, lil bit teasing, no more no less.

Adam, Atok, Bob, Kian Keat and Pak Kadok, I bet you like it.

Owh yeah, before I forget, she keeps a blog too !~

It’s the Republic of China that emerged as one of the 5 winners in World War II, alongside Britain, USA, France and USSR, exactly 60 years ago. It’s not the commies or their so-called crappy People’s Republic of Cheena.

See the flag ? It’s these five that became the founders of United Nations, bestowed with veto power.

Click on the above picture for a complete picture.

I should have blogged about last week, but I was out of town.

Finally, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has launched an herstoric political podcast. For those who are still in the dark about what a podcast is, read what does the Wikipedia have for you please.

Hmm… I am not sure if it can be categorised as a podcast. There’s no RSS feed for us to subscribe to. Lacking this very crucial automated delivery system, it’s just simply an mp3 file sitting in their website waiting for people to come and download.

But it doesn’t matter for SDP Sec-Gen Dr. Chee Soon Juan, who spoke passionately in his American accent. I wouldn’t term it funny but it’s just very alient for us. If it’s in The Apprentice or Survivor, it wouldn’t be as hillarious. After all, he’s a product of Republican’s National Endowment for Democracy isn’t he ?

Hmm, I still missed my sweet Jojo Struys, her voice, her accent and her landmark show, Pillow Talk, used to be on ntv7 every Monday night at a quite flexible time (meaning it’s 12:10 am on TV listings but might appear as early as 11:45 pm the previous night…)

Anyway, back to Radio SDP. In his inaugural address, Dr. Chee comments on the current issues, stipulates SDP’s aims and platforms, the need to have a genuine democracy, the importance of freedoms of information and expression and the consequences of lacking it, as well as why the people shouldn’t be apathetic anymore, among others.

Radio SDP has received mixed but encouraging response from the blogging world. There are those who criticized it for still knowing nothing except attacking PAP, for example, Justina :

I really wish for once, that SDP will just concentrate in running a good campaign, and having interesting solutions, and stop attacking PAP. You don’t have to attack PAP to run a good campaign. Neither will attacking PAP make your agenda good. It’s useless statements like that that really puts me off.

There are also the others, for example Merv, who feared that SDP’s proclamation that podcasting is the only way for oppositions to voice out in a country where press are controlled, TV are censored, cables are dictated and satellite dishes completely banned, will only result in PAP enacting new legislation or amending existing ones to “regulate” political podcasts by outlawing them.

Will the government move to stop it? I hope not. Think about it, podcasting is blogging, with sound.

Yes, I totally agree with you Merv, that podcasting is just blogging with sound. However, it’s not as if the PAP have never move moved on a blogger previously. Look at what happened to chemical physics PhD student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chen Jiahao.

For more negative commentaries on Radio SDP, visit e pur si muove or Wannabe Lawyer. Don’t you think it’s exactly these dudes who don’t give a chance to opposition that are helping PAP to stay in throne ?

For neutral commentaries, go to Omeka Na Huria, Singaporeist or Mr. Brown…

The democracy is earned and not given. Power concedes nothing without a demand. Despite its shortcomings and weaknesses, I still applaud SDP’s effort in trying to reach out. It’s time for Parti Keadilan to set up our own podcast too, one with RSS feed

For the time being, Shin’s sonique will be dominated by Jessica Simpson and Natalie Imbruglia.

This is the episode 1 of Joint Blogging. Just like they have Malasyia - $ingapore Joint Issue of stamps where Umno and PAP issue the same stamps in respective colonies, we have simultaneus blog postings on the same theme. In this inaugural episode, the participants are Yang Amat Berbahaya Rajan Seri Elfiefuddin Nieshaem Juferi and yours truly. The topic today being “The Estranged Relationship between PPS and GJ Pingers”.

Yours truly :

Avid bloggers as well as frequent readers would be more often than not familiar with one of the following, the Geng Jurnal and Project Petaling Street. Both are congregation of bloggers trying to increase eyeballs. However, apart from that, they share little similarities.

Project Petaling Street, fondly nicknamed PPS, positioned itself first and foremost as a blog portal, or blogtal. It’s where everyone “ping” or advertise their latest entries.

Geng Jurnal, or GJ in short, on the other hand, works like a directory. Members are listed in a directory, searchable through names, email or even schools. Its space to advertise latest entries ala-PPS is unfortunately under-utilised.

GJ has long tradition of gatherings. To set the record right, those blogger gatherings “graced” by Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun and Ameer Zulkifli are not strictly PPS gatherings as they were organised by individuals. Recently, PPS has organized an 2nd Anniversary Bash.

Both have a core group. While GJ has elected their committee which comprises a full set of office bearers, many of the daily cores of PPS are performed by Aizuddin Danian Izham Cheong alone. The core PPS cronies also each occupies a permanent space to advertise their entries.

Therefore, in my opinion, GJ is more individual-oriented, aiming to foster friendship among bloggers. The focus is on the bloggers rather than the blog entries as it is in PPS, where it is the content that matters.

Once, an hardliner Islamic blogger, a self-acclaimed “Uncle“, was conferred the award pf “Best Dakwah Blog” in one of the GJ dinners. However, being not that close to the GJ core, he felt that he was isolated for most of the night. Perhaps from here we can get a glimpse on their factionism.

Notwithstanding their structural differences, the single most starkling differences between PPS and GJ blogs are their language and content.

Eventhough most PPS pingers are still blog about personal life such as their dining and clubbing experiences, a lot of them do try to start some serious discourses on current issues, for example, during the recent AP saga.

For GJ blogs, the main contents are daily rantings in colloquail Bahasa Malaysia. To illustrate it better, let me show you a paragraph that I have found in Adreen’s old blog, Melawan Arus,

“aku ada pakai 3 line skang - poyo giler mcm la aku buat bisnes juta-juta kan? hehe - satu 012 yg aku pakai lama giler dan nombo lawa giler, satu 013 aku pakai sejak tahun lepas, satu lagi 013 disapot oleh bos aku yang aku jarang-jarang pakai aa…

aku ada 2 henpon, mmg spesis zaman batu punya henpon la, yg nokia 8210 ngan butterfly 8250 punya tu la… yg butterfly tu plak rosak sebab bila org call, depa tak dengar sore aku - sian aku mcm cakap ngan org pekak plak huhu…”

While we don’t jump to the conclusion by saying that there’s no Bahasa bloggers in PPS and no current affairs bloggers in GJ, it is not far from truth.

Which leads us to another question. As raised by one of our Yang Amat Berbahaya Rajan Seri, who has in the past hidden behind numerous masks including Pejuang Bangsa and secretly linked to Menjalara, that Bahasa Malaysia (baku) is not a “bloggable” language. You can use it to write cerpens or poems which are berbunga-bunga, or write official correspondences and statements which are very formalistic, but to express your thoughts in a brief paragraph, sorry. But let’s keep this story for another day.

While there are bloggers who current issues bloggers in GJ, for example, Tok Rimau and Mat Jan, their approach is quite different from the straight forward style which overwhelms Jeff Ooi and co that dotted the PPS skyline.

Lately, PPS has also start trying to be more than just blogs. There are gatherings and awards as seen in GJ. However, nobody will tell us if they were in fact inspired by GJ.

So, who can tell me, ada apa dengan this estranged relationship between PPS and GJ members, that see each other as stealth ?

Yang Amat Berbahaya Rajan Seri : (link)

I have already noticed this somewhat estranged relationship between Geng Jurnal (or “GeJu”) and Project Petaling Street (or “PPS”) pingers, but lately this “estrangement” has become clearer as PPS moves from its nascent stage of merely being a simple “blogtal” to become a more community-oriented point for Malaysian blogs. This is more apparent with the recently-organised PPS 2nd Anniversary Bash and the awards dished out at this event. Ironically, this is similar to the gatherings (”gath” for short) which GeJu organises every year since its inception.

It should be of course noted that there are some basic differences between GeJu and PPS, but this gap is slowly narrowing. Some of the differences which can be highlighted are:

- GeJu is more towards getting to fostering friendship between bloggers, not neccessarily from what they post. Whereas PPS bloggers are known for what they post and are identified with their respective blog themes.

- While GeJu have in the past organised regular “gath”s and have been consistent in presenting best blog awards annually, PPS is only beginning to jump on the bandwagon with the recent PPS 2nd Anniversary Bash. There were, of course, several informal blogger meetings before the Bash, but they are not officially sanctioned under the PPS banner.

- GeJu has an elected President (Tok Rimau) and committee members, whereas PPS does not have any formal office-bearers, except for recognising Aizuddin Danian (http://www.aizuddindanian.com/voi) as the de facto head of the PPS blogtal.

- GeJu is not strictly a “ping” blogtal per se, but they do have a thriving interactive online forum which member bloggers can participate and a “mini-blog” on their main page whereby members can individually post their latest links to their blogs. This system, however, is much more difficult to do compared to the setup available at PPS, where a simple trackback URL will post the latest link onto PPS with relative ease.

Despite these differences, however, it is clear that PPS is growing to become an English-speaking blogosphere community for Malaysians, whereas GeJu has already established itself as a gathering place for Bahasa Melayu bloggers. Hence perhaps the chasm between the two “superpowers” in the Malaysian blogosphere community. However, we find it disturbing that there has been little or no effort at all between the two to forge some sort of cooperation or recognition to the other. For example, The Star and NST, two mainstream English newspapers, recently highlighted some blogs from PPS, but fail to mention the existence of GeJU which was established much earlier than PPS. The Bahasa Melayu newspapers such as Berita Harian and Utusan Melayu has also contributed to GeJu’s “non-recognition” by failing to report on the blogging community, a step behind from their English counterparts. How to bridge this gap and fostering of friendship, only those who are involved in GeJu and PPS can inform us.

Shimania: salam elfie. minishorts asks if u reads her blog.

menj1980: err…nope. why ?

Shimania: she said her latest post u shd read woh. or something like that…

menj1980: hmm..ok.. hmmm…

Shimania: cam ner ?

menj1980: i dont read her blog anyway. so big deal. thats not going to stop me from discussing religions comparatively.

Shimania: that’s not her point. her point being, u dont have the neutrality in discussing religions comparatively. u can still go on, but ur views are biased.

menj1980: that is only her opinion.

Shimania: ok i share her opinion

menj1980: remember i aim to defend islam from the attacks. i’ve been in the “business” (if you want to call it that) for 8 years running.

Shimania: because while ppl discuss religions from a neutral perspective, u discuss from a extreme islamic perspective. so ur conclusions will always be, err… lopsided.

menj1980: btw give some examples where i dont show “neutrality”.

Shimania: we can ask readers to decide…

menj1980: excluding ayah pin posts…i wasnt trying to be “neutral” there.

Shimania: yeah u wanna defend islam then call it defending islam, not discussing religions neutrally… u lack neutrality when u already sided with one.

menj1980: its still under the subject of “comparative religions”. and i try to be much more factual than Haryn Yahya

Shimania: it’s like SPR calling itself neutral in helping Umno to ganggu Pas.

menj1980: heh, not the same.

Shimania: i think u better change the “comparative religions without neutrality” to “membidas non-muslim religions”

menj1980: heh. i dont “membidas non-muslim religions”.

Shimania: that’s what you have been doing all the while, also, membidas non-extremist muslims

menj1980: or at least not before they “bidas” islam first… if ur talking about tarik taik guy and dunia druid, then i stood by what i said. i wont change it.

Shimania: nobody can change u. but more and more ppl have noticed that you cannot discuss things neutrally, thus, ur arguments lack authority.

menj1980: thats up to the readers to decide…

So my dear readers, can you give me some instances where Rajan Seri Elfiefuddin has strayed away from her neutrality ? Just a few okay, I don’t wish this space to be blown up by his unneutrality, thank you

It’s always interesting to see how the media operate in Malaysia, in a land where censorship on truth about the government is rampant, but freedom to write anything regardless of the truth is still available provided the target is anyone other than those in the government.

It is especially so when it is exposed.

The blatant misreporting by the Malay language tabloids NST’s Harian Metro and Utusan’s Kosmo on demonizing Ayah Pink’s Kerajaan Langit has portrayed an untrue ugly image for the group who chose their own belief, and in the end, mobsters comprising local Umno supporters as well as men in uniform had raid the commune and torched the structures.

Malaysiakini’s report, Ayah Pin followers see red over media reports by Claudia Theophilus tells it all. If you are unfortunately not a subscriber, don’t worry, it has been reproduced Uncle Yap’s BeritaMalaysia yahoogroup. Alternatively, read it right here in our blog !

Ayah Pin followers see red over media reports

Claudia Theophilus Jul 30, 05 11:49am

Followers of Ayah Pin are enraged over the “twisted reporting” and “over-sensationalism” practiced by several Malay tabloids in their coverage of the mob attack and raid on their spiritual commune last week.

They believed that such reports had provoked the July 18 mob attack on Kampung Batu 13, dubbed the Sky Kingdom, especially in describing the giant replicas erected in the middle of the two-hectare commune.

A group of them, when met in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday, blasted “irresponsible reporters” for misrepresenting the villagers with regards to the purposes of the structures which has drawn media attention.

Citing popular Malay tabloids Harian Metro and Kosmo, they said that over the last few weeks the newspapers have been pounding on the Ayah Pin issue by running a series of damaging reports.

“We’ve never claimed that there was a Bahtera Nabi Nuh (Noah’s Ark) or a Telaga Zam-Zam (a miracle spring in Mekah) in the village,” said Omar, 40, who declined to give his full name for fear of personal safety.

“I strongly believe this kind of reporting had led to last week’s violence against the villagers and damage to private property,” he added.

Political backing?

Omar also claimed that police were seen with the mobsters who attacked the village early at dawn on July 18.

“A friend told me he knew of several policemen who were involved in the incident but was not sure if they had been in uniform or plainclothes.

“We are hearing a lot of talk about a strong political backing of the incident but proving this is going to be difficult.”

Ruzaini Razali, 44, was upset over reports that Ayah Pin and his followers had prevented a proper burial for the dead among them.

“That’s not how it happened at all. I was the one who dug a grave to bury Mohamed Ya in 2003,” he said, referring to the funeral of the hardcore follower also known as Ustaz Ya.

Mohamed Ya and his wife, Kamariah Ali, together with two other apostates, served time in the Pengkalan Chepa prison for defying a syariah court order for religious rehabilitation.

“After the village head of Tenang refused us access to the burial ground nearby, we waited for permission from the police.

“When we didn’t get any response from the police, we decided to bury him within the commune. We can’t just leave his body lying there, right?”

Ruzaini said several deceased followers of Ayah Pin have since been denied entry into Muslim cemeteries by villagers where the burial grounds were located.

“The newspaper got it all wrong. It wasn’t us who didn’t want our dead to be given a proper burial. We were prevented from doing so.

“How can the Harian Metro report be so twisted and inaccurate? We even recorded the (Mohamed’s) funeral, so you will know that we are not lying.”

Several more followers have since been buried outside the perimeter fencing of Muslim cemeteries in nearby villages.

Overseas funding

Rahim, 30, who is involved in the construction business in Kuala Lumpur, questioned news reports about Ayah Pin receiving funding from overseas.

“Where did the reporters get such information from? Who did they speak with? Ayah Pin has never asked anyone for money,” he said, declining to furnish his full name.

“I can tell you that followers contribute cash on a voluntary basis and only what we can afford. During some visits, we only give a few ringgit as a token.”

Referring to tabloid reports of Quranic verses adorning the marble tiles used to build the giant structures in the commune, he said they were “utter rubbish”.

“All building material were sourced locally. Do you think the tiles are marked with the Holy verses?

“There was one report which said Ayah Pin served followers water mixed with the ashes of a black dog. It is ridiculous to write something like this, not to mention bad intentions.”

The tiny hamlet has attracted attention, both good and bad for its inhabitants, culminating in a concerted crackdown by Terengganu authorities in recent weeks.

Several federal ministers have called for preventive detention laws to be used against Ayah Pin while the internal security ministry has maintained that he did not pose a threat to national security.

Following the torching of the structures and threats to kill the followers by mobsters, rights bodies have urged the government to nab the culprits and protect the followers’ civil liberties.

Umno is hopeless. But it’s still interesting to see what’s Pas’ stand on raiding of people’s commune fuelled by misleading news reports ? Don’t expect anything positive anyway because these bunch of monkeys even supported Taleban, don’t they ?

Fort Canning Park, Temasek…

Who else can ever match her charm ?

Pulau Ubin, Temasek…

Is this what you mean ?

Owh yeah, the bombing of Bombdon by Islamic terrorists took place when I was out of my dear internet connexion. In fact, I was on my way back to KL from Pulau Mutiara that fateful afternoon (morning for Bombdon) and only realised it when we finally sat in our cushion and switched on our televisi.

Many have been said about the bombing of innocent liberal Muslims and the rest by extremists Muslims. Many have come out to denounce the terrorists and to defend the true Islam.

Fellow blogger Elfieluddin, torture and terror hudud and jihad supporter, has created a protest image carrying the title “Islam is a ‘way of life’ not ‘way of death’ “, which was submitted to the website “Not in the name of peace“, and successfully found its way to the Evening Standard newspaper in UK. Kudos to Elfieluddin !~

But obviously, Melayu mudah lupa. Okay, not all Melayu, but certainly one Mohd Elfieluddin Nieshaem Juferi himself. He has conveniently forgotten that it was he that has claimed killings of innocent Israelis by suicide bombers are completely lawful (owh, Elfie knows any law apart from Hudud ???)…

Thanks to Rajan, a disclaimer has been added to the image. It reads, “Unless while ‘resisting’ Zionist occupation while blowing up evil Zionist toddlers, teenagers, pregnant women, grandpas and the like. There’s always exceptions you know.”

Rajan has pointed out Elfieluddin’s hypocrisy with a simple disclaimer. Yes. Bombing ala-911 is unIslamic. But blowing up Isrealis is. Stoning to death is. Murdering people who exercise their freedom of religion is. Destroying and torching non-Muslim’s community such as Kerajaan Langit is. Terrorist, owh no they are not.

While I too despise comments in Rajan’s blog such as those from Kosmos claiming my Christianity is the only true belief, I won’t let Islamic extremists claim theirs is the only, either. People should learn to co-exist peacefully without denying anyone’s free will to choose their belief, including Ayah Pin and his followers’.

A day of victory for all ugly extremists killing in the name of God, definately. Allahu Akbar !

I have never thought of having Malaysia-Today’s icon in my blog, eventhough I did award them a text link under the category I Support… But today, they are here, because their courageous investigative journalism really do all Anak Malaysias proud !

To look into the smoke screen behind Tan Sri Isa Abd Samad, ex-Umno Vice President and Minister of Federal Territory’s fall from grace recently, you cannot undermind the contributions of two very important players… Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the Yang di-Pertuan Negeri of Negeri Sembilan, as well as Khairy Jamaluddin, Deputy Umno Youth Chief who walked over without contest, Advisory Division Director of ECM Libra, ex-Deputy Principal Private Secretary II to the Prime Minister, and the country’s most powerful 28-year-old… (masih 28-year-old lagik ke ?)

The Yamtuan Chronicles

Part 1: The King’s Revenge - The intriguing story of the Throne which removed Isa Samad
Part 2: His Royal Greediness - A state bankrupted by its own royal family

The Khairy Chronicles

Part 1: The most powerful man in Malaysia
Part 2: Out of the wormhole
Part 3: The enemies within
Part 4: Strangling your own brothers
Part 5: Khairy’s imminent plans for Najib’s downfall (akan datang)

My 5-star recommendation for the day !

We are still on whether DAP and Elfiefuddin are chauvinistic… Rajan Elfiefuddin, in trying to prove that he is not chauvinistic in his reply to Rajan Seri, wrote that,

I was bred, raised and educated in Pulau Pinang for the first 20 years of my life. I went to a private primary school and later, I went to a SK and a SM. I was even in a Penang tertiary college for about 2 years before I finally moved to Klang Valley. I have many non-Muslim and Muslim acquiantances whom I count amongst my dearest friends.

So, this have proven that you are a good Pas supporter ? If so, son of a Pas founder Haji Ahmad Badawi, our PM today YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must be a good Pas supporter too. Why would he introduced Islam Hadhari to counter Pas’ Dokumen Negara Islam, until Pas had to create Hadhariah Islamiah to fight back ?

I was there during the 1990 campaign where the ignoramous LKS wanted to become “Chief Minister With Power”. Complete with Robocop getup with his ugly, grinning face behind the steel mask. One cannot get any more racist than that [imagine if Pak Lah were to post pictures of himself with an Usama bin Laden getup during campaigining].

So what exactly is wrong with CM with Power ? Are we happy now with a puppet CM who has to listen to every order from Umno the tok dalang now ? Robocop and Osama ? Osama to Muslim is Robocop is Chinese ? Oh, Robocop is Chinese racist you know ? Robocop is Chinese !!!

I was there when KS was MP for Jelutong and you can see the fruits of DAP racism in Jelutong today. I was there when LKS was in Tanjung and discriminated the Muslim (read: Malay) population very badly.

Oh, MPs wield so much power in their constituency until they can “racism” the Malays away huh ? DAP MPs don’t even get the peruntukan pembangunan as BN MPs. You still haven’t answered me this.

Let’s also not forget who started the May 13th riots in 1969 as well.

DAP held a parade to celebrate their victory, which is perfectly legal and rightful in a democracy. Had Datuk Harun then Selangor MB not mobilised the Umno mob and Rejimen Askar Melayu Diraja (RAMD) to start killing, would there be any bloodshed ? Everytime Tun reminds us of May 13, it sounds like as if Umno will run amok again if they are not returned to power. Funny isn’t it ? The funnier thingy, a self-acclaimed Pas supporter still buying Umno propaganda, hahaha !

Now I am pointing my finger at DAP and accuse them of being “snakes and vipers”. Barisan Alternatif does not need DAP. I am still hoping that DAP will change, but deep down, that is perhaps an impossibility as long as the Chinese chauvinist culture of the DAP remains firmly in place.

Justice and equality is snakes and vipers, then amputation of limbs, stoning to death and public beheading must be Legos and Play Stations !

As I have said earlier, having Chinese members who are passionate in solving Chinese issues doesn’t make DAP a racist or chauvinist. It is a fact that Chinese dan lain-lain face more discrimination. So what’s wrong to demand for equality and justice for all ? If they are claiming Chinese must get more rights than Malays then only it is chauvinistic. Elfiefuddin should first point out exactly how is DAP chauvinistic and racist.

Hoping DAP will change ? Change to what ? DAP and Keadilan have similar policies, should Keadilan also change ? If there’s one thing Keadilan needs to change, most people think it would be its ties with Pas, which resulted in Keadilan’s defeat in election after election.

From Rajan :

So “forcing a religion on 55% of Malaysians” is “sincerely wish to practise their religion to the fullest” while demanding Malaysia treats Muslims and non-Muslims equally, giving everyone a choice in religion, is “infringing on the rights of others”.

Poor Rajan speaks a lot about democracy, but is not willing to practise it himself.
By claiming Rajan is not practising what he propagates, it still does not justify why should a religion be forced on 55% of Malaysians and its legal system become the nation’s. These 55% Malaysians were not given the chance to choose to be a Muslim, but nevertheless stuck in it as Elfiefuddin is proposing death penalty for those who wish to regain freedom of choosing own religion . So how can Hudud be applied on them against their free will ?

Oh yeah for your information, Elfiefuddin and I was chatting about this the other day, and whenever I asked serious questions, he will try to divert it, for example, by saying “Some who who who have answered it before…”, or “You were not in Penang that’s why you don’t know…”. In the most extreme case, he would call his dad to come fetch him home, so he can get way

Eventhough already a brother-in-law and very soon will be an uncle, he is still very immature in discussions, and cannot distinguish policies from attitudes. While there’s something about DAP’s attitudes, there’s nothing wrong with its policies. Telling me how biased is DAP’s racial profiling doesn’t justify Malaysian Malaysia the idea is lop-sided. That is different from why people reject Pas, because their policies post a great danger to Malaysian democracy.

Perhaps before he ever thinks about getting active in politics, he must read “Logic for Dummies”, or else he would be a liability to Pas

I don’t know if anyone of you have experienced this. If none, that means I am quite lonely in the cold out here.

My dad has some misperception about my blog. He thinks it is an outlet for us to spread hatred against the government leaders (like what Tun thinks about Pas lah…). And that I would be detained by the authorities sooner or later because of my blogging, and the friends I know through blogging.

You readers to my blog may judge, whether all the criticism and suggestions here, to both sides of the political divide, are justifiable and convincing. If there are anything baseless, I wouldn’t have put it up in the first place isn’t it ? That’s part and parcel of the journalistic ethics we uphold. For example, I wouldn’t call someone chauvinistic and racist without any evidences, like what that joker likes to do. Again, our blogs are not in the same class.

In fact, I think my dad’s views about politics is 100 times more dangerous than mine. He likes to blame everything on a certain ethnic group. From bad urban planning to lousy national car, his answer is always the same. They nurture their own people, send them to overseas eventhough they are dumbs,and upon their return government hires them that’s why…etc. Seems like that I have found a ally for that fanatic boy.

One day we were on the issues of Israel. I noted that many Malaysians dislike Israelis. He said, “Why should they ? Many Jews were killed during World War 2 too…” or something to that effect. He also thinks that the Communists were right in killing the student demonstrators in Tiananmen Massacre, that stability should come above democracy or freedom… Hmm, I guess he does not even live in the same planet as us.

Even my mom defends me, that credit and debit should be given to where it is due, and we have nothing to fear if we are telling the truth. But somebody prefers to see me in Kamunting. Hahaha, why so perasan ? You think I am Kit or Anwar ke ? I don’t think I am qualified yet, seriously. As I said, if people like me should be inside, people like him with those ideas should have been inside for ages. But he’s still outta here isn’t he ?

If blogging is way forward to cultivate new critical minds in the country and promote a new wacana on issues close to Malaysians’ hearts, we shall never alight from the bandwagon prematurely. In a world where the Gerakan man’s blog can be voted RSF’s Freedom Blog, something is seriously amusingly wrong somewhere…

Keep on blogging, Lawan tetap lawan !

Angkuh, cauvinis, anti-this and that… Is it DAP or Pas ? In fact, both. What most Malay think about DAP is exactly what most Chinese think about Pas. Only that there’s one difference : while Chinese’s fear of Pas is true and real, Malay’s misperception of DAP is created artificially.

Elfiefuddin is only too happy to shoot DAP when YB Tuan Guru Datuk Seri Haji Abdul Hadi Awang appeared in an interview in Mingguan Malaysia yesterday, Tak Semestinya dengan DAP, in which he mentioned that Pas is willing to engage more Malaysians. Things to that effect had also been said by Nasharuddin Mat Isa appeared in The Sun Weekend’s Conversation, of PAS, Present and Future.

His nemesis Rajan, in return, quoted Much ado about Malaysian shakeup by Ioannis Gatsiounis which appeared in Hong Kong-based Asia Times, that as long as the changes in Pas is merely cosmetic, status quo will remain and DAP won’t consider rejoining the Alternative Front.

The first I wish to point out, while DAP is majority Chinese-based, its vision Malaysian Malaysia is one that cares of all Malaysians, with justice, human rights, equal chance and equal rights for everyone. Its opposition to Hudud (which is considered as torture by most civilised Malaysians) does not amount to rejection of good values taught by religions.

That their members pay more attention to Chinese community related issues cannot be equated to being Chinese chauvinists, as they are just demanding for equality, for equal facilities that Umnoputras have already been enjoying for decades. Chauvinistic only if they ask for more privileges than other communities, but that’s not the case.

Therefore, holier-than-thou, extremist, anti-religion and chauvinistic as described by Elfiefuddin is totally unfound.

If DAP have any problem, they are the sometimes lack of democracy within the party, its attitude towards other alternative parties, and most importantly, an image problem.

I have no problem accepting Guan Eng as Sec-Gen, as long as he is capable, which he is. He went to jail for helping Norhayati Md Yusof, the then 15-year-old girl who was statutory-raped by then Chief Minister of Malacca and Umno Youth Chief, Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik in 1994. While Norhayati herself has denied that she had anything with Rahim, her grandma, Puan Pendek Ahmad, who is 70 this year, will still be present everytime a DAP ceramah is held.

DAP should also improve its attitude towards other alternative parties. There must be give an take, they must not cling on to their so-called “traditional seats” where they have been defeated for decades, and at the same time parachutting to seats where Keadilan have worked the ground for years and built up strong grassroot.

The first uncle from the left in this picture, in Keadilan T-shirt and holding a flag, was a DAP member. Over the lunch during Perak Leadership Training in Ipoh, he told me that they have nothing against DAP’s policy, but its culture. To wipe out Chinese in Keadilan might sound good for DAP in the short term, but it will surely be detrimental to Malaysia’s overall political health in the long term. DAP should see Keadilan as partner instead of competitor.

The problem of image is the worst problem. DAP has been labelled as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, while it is not. Demonisation by media is one reason, but DAP itself also fails to reach out and engage average Malaysians. I once asked James Wong of Malaysiakini, one-time DAP MP for Kampar, how do they reach out to Malays during campaigning. I didn’t even need to mention the word “Malay”. He spontaneusly knew what I wanted to ask when I just said, “During campaigning, how do you reach out to… ?” He told me that average Malay families have no problem agreeing with DAP’s manifesto at all.

I believe they understand it and support it. Or else he wouldn’t have won. But that’s limited to those who have been exposed to explanation and clarification. And it’s not an easy task. BN have complete propaganda apparatus to brainwash common Malaysians. Therefore I think the image problem can be reduced if DAP is willing to engage more people, and not only when election is approaching.

To sum up, DAP have no substance problem, but more a form problem. The best solution is to have a rebranding. Perhaps Rajan may wish to share with us why is DAP so reluctant to step out of their comfort zone and explain their strategies and visions to the mass.

However, for Pas, image is not the biggest problem they faced. Thea reason of Pas’ lost is their failure to realise that demand for reformation is not a demand for 7th century legal system, which is deemed inhumane and barbaric by any member of modern civilization. Even if we support America’s attack on and later occupation of Iraq, we cannot allow torture like those in Abu Ghraib or Camp X-Files, Guantanamo Bay to take place. So, proposals to Malaysia into a big Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo will surely be rejected, no doubt, and it has been proven in 2004.

And the rejection of torture should not be seen as a rejection of good virtues as promoted by religion. We do wish to discourage people from smoking or drinking, as it is unhealthy, but issuing fatwas and raiding pubs are not good solutions. And it is counter-productive as the raids carried out by state / federal territory Islamic religious departments will only infringe individual liberty.

They should emphasis on education on why is drinking bad, rather than like what it is now. They can go ahead and arrest those who have post a danger to the society, such as drink and drive, or those who breaks social norm, like what Dr. Lo’Lo’ Ghazali said when defending moral policing, that make love on the street… Probably nobody will disagree with that.

Remember how Malaysians were infuriated when Datuk Seri Anwar was beaten up by Tan Sri Rahim Noor ? Hypocritically opposing violence but at the same time proposing torture is akin to menconteng arang di muka sendiri, or like Kinabatangan MP YB Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin like to say in his Indonesian accent, ambil kayu pukul kepala sendiri. Therefore why should anyone be suprised when Pas was rejected when it wanted to curb human rights and introduce torture ?

They cannot assume every Muslim wants what they want, so decide for every Muslim that they must be subjected to 7th century laws. Freedom of choice is a fundamental right in a democracy. And we heard that Haji Hadi said Islam is not against democracy, don’t we ?

More than a rebranding or change of image, it’s paradigm change that Pas need to undertake. If the young reformists can realise this, thus take away the elements which are rejected by Malaysian voters from their policies, they will become a true competitor of Umno. Otherwise, a lot of those who wish to kick Umno out of office will not dare to vote opposition parties and are forced to vote Barisan, for their fear of Hudud, which is much more frightening than corruption.

While not compromising their raison d’Etre, Islam, Pas may seriously think of regenerating their vision, turn it into one that promotes religious virtues and respect human rights. Stop trying to outdo Umno by appearing to be more religious or hiding behind Islam to cover up their weakness in formulating sound policies. They will be suprise to see how many more will support them, which will not only more than enough to make up for the loss of Hudud supporters, but may sweep them into power too.

So, is there such a political will ? This suggestion might seem radical, but the truth is always bitter. And the truth is, everyone will agree with this suggestion except Pas itself

Thank you very much Rajan, Guy, Bob K, democracy4now, nnydd and Pak Kadok for commenting on our previous entry, Of DAP, Pas and Keadilan 3 - Keadilan’s Dilemma with Pas

From Rajan’s blog entry :

ShinShin says PKR doesn’t want to leave its alliance with PAS because they don’t want to further divide the Malay vote.

Hmm… That’s not what I said. Zukri was merely telling the truth that it is difficult for a party that allies with neither Umno nor Pas to get supports from traditional Malay ground. I did not mention dividing Malay support at all.

Look at DAP. Why with justice, human rights and equality, they more often than not fail to capture the significant Malay support they deserved, for example in Balik Pulau and rural Province Wellesley ? Don’t they know Malay support is crucial too ? Perhaps they need some soul searching. Anyway, there are also exceptions, such as when the late Ahmad Nor won in Bayan Baru.

How exactly is that a good reason? I thought PKR was suppose to rise above communal politics?

True, every party should. Both Justice for All and Malaysian Malaysia envisage a free and fair society where justice and equality flourish. However, seems like it’s easier for Keadilan to reach out to Chinese community than DAP to reach out to the Malay ground, why ? Why is DEMA and New Vision Studio strongly backing, for example, Tian ? Would they, had Tian wanted to turn Malaysia into another Taleban or Saudi ?

Umno and MCA will still claim that a vote for DAP is a vote less for BN to block Pas thus a vote for Islamic state, eventhough it is no longer in Alternative Front. Do we blame the biased media totally for demonising Islam ? Or it’s due to DAP’s failure to engage aggressively and explain ?

Reformation can only be achieved with support from everybody. Pas have admitted that. Nobody in his sound mind would deny the importance of votes from the biggest group if he is serious about implementing his visions by forming the government. Unless he is satisfied with a niche and never wish to become mainstream.

In any case, many Malays are voting UMNO simply because PKR is in bed with PAS, and many Malays are voting PAS simply because it is in an alliance with PKR. In other words, PKR has the possibility of further dividing the Malay vote, making the non-Malay vote an important swing. And with DAP, it can split the Chinese vote and gain a significant amount of the Indian vote.

Right again. The three main perjuangans in Malaysia are for Malay, Islam and Malaysia respectively. Everyone who agrees with our common goals should come into our fold. Both DAP and Pas supporters want a clean and just Malaysia, don’t they ? However, every alliance has its opportunity cost, especially before Pas and DAP see the bigger picture. It is for the leadership and their think tank to evaluate which parties should we align to, taking into consideration the people’s wish.

We are not unhappy with Keadilan’s alliances. We want DAP to engage more. If Alternative Front is dissolved, it will only add another feather on BN’s cap to claim that the alternative parties are split. All must come together to topple the corrupt and racist regime. Our common enemy is BN, whose discrimination dwarfs the difference between alternative parties. Pas must walk the talk and de-emphasis those policies that are not rejected.

From Guy of Melancholy blog,

Hopefully the new leaders of PAS will herald a change in the mindset of the party.

Some like The Sun / The Edge’s Oon Yeoh said however reformist their new line-up is, it is still very much backward in the eyes of many. They should realise this and look into it if they don’t wish to be rejected again, the sooner the better. To be fair, we must give them a benefit of doubt.

i have read a book on party politics. The author mentions that in a political party keeping quiet is never a good option. when there is a conflicting issue (i.e. stem cells research) instead of keeping quiet, the party should release 2 statements. The more progressive and controversial should be voiced by the youth party and the more conservative should be voiced by the err.. non youth party.

in this way, the public and media will see that there is a healthy debate going on (provided things dont go out of hand). if things do get outta hand, the President can always issue a statement

Yes. Keadilan leadership should know that joining hands with Pas in fighting against injustice, racism and corruption doesn’t mean we have to keep quiet when Pas tries to introduce torture and cruelty. If we are serious in fighting cruelty and upholding human rights, we must speak up regardless of who are the culprits.

Debate is a must. In order to convince the constituents, we can present it in the different ways. Radicals and moderates are both needed to engage different segments of the society, but we should not double speak or try to cheat, or else we will become another BN ? Forms can differ but the substance must be consistent.

From democracy4now of Sungai Dua Bukit Jambul metroblog,

The problem here is precisely that the big boss - the people has no say and not given choice in deciding the kind of political options for them. Given a more open/discussive political culture Malaysians can use referendum/opinion polls/open forum to canvass the opinions - even among Opposition supporters to ascertain the popular position prefered. The parties need to support the people - not the other way round. When the parties are no more than war lords who hijack the people’s voices then we see this choiceless choice.

Yes, agreed totally. Pas didn’t realise that there are much fewer supporters for Hudud than supporters of reformation, thus they were rejected. Only if we embrace what the majority wants sincerely, they will have faith in us.

There is another choice : the people need to show political parties some ‘colours’ by putting them on the spot for a political check-up before they get support, or arrange the political ‘marriage’. Discussions like you have here need to be extended /opened up more so more options can be found. Otherwise we remain hijacked by political parties as warlords - whether of the BN or BA brand. Make sense ?

Exactly. The people must be heard. Parties must deliver what the people want, or we will face another rejection. We must start the ball rolling so there will be more dialogues and exchanges.

From Pak Kadok,

Actually, it’s a lose, lose situation here for PAS, PKR & DAP. Either way they will lose support, esp. for DAP if they co-operate.

Malaysia has an immature electorate. They are immature as they believe crap such as what PAS would do if they come to power. But everyone knows that PAS cannot come to power on its own , esp. when they can’t even win a seat in east M’sia. Even if they do, some of their MPs might “lompat”.

Anyway, I believe the independent/swing voters are the ones that decide. And if you court one side, you loses the other side. Thus, it’s a lose, lose situation for the opposition camp. Either way, they only get the “crumbs.”

Only when they realise BN can only be toppled if both stop infighting. Hudud and Islamic state wont win the hearts of majority Malaysians. It’s no longer 7th century. Rejecting cruelty is different from rejecting good virtues promoted by religions. BN’s injustice and corruption are real while Hudud is an imaginative threat being exaggerated.

When are Pas and DAP supporters going to see it ? Pas is going to engage the non Muslims, but it will be merely lip services if they don’t compromise, it’s as simple as that. When is DAP ready to engage the wider community and be truly Malaysian ?

nnydd of Anak Alam blog commented something which I think is quite another topic so we will discuss in the next entry

Hari Blogger Antarabangsa - 14 Jun 2005

Kita bersyukur kepada Kerajaan Barisan Nasional kerana tidak menyekat kebebasan akhbar sepertimana yang berlaku di Nepal. Di Malaysia kerajaan mengamalkan kebebasan akhbar, di mana akhbar-akhbar arus perdana dan saluran-saluran televisyen bebas memfitnah parti alternatif dan para blogger.

Kita beribuan terima kasih kepada Yang Amat Berhormat Bendahara Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kerana belum pernah memenjarakan atau menahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri blogger-blogger di Malaysia, sungguhpun Malaysiakini pernah diserbu, Jeff Ooi difitnah dan Mack Zulkifli di”wawancara”.

Kebebasan Bersuara hak kita. Kebebasan Maklumat hak kita. Kebebasan Berblogging hak kita. Penapisan kita tolak.

Bebaskan blogger yang dipenjarakan, termasuk Mojtaba Saminejad and Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdolahi, kedua-duanya warga Iran.

Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila layari Committee to Protect Bloggers.