My Anthem

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Sad Thoughts on Merdeka Day Eve...

I have without fail for the past four years made specialefforts to run a series of essays during the week leading to the 31st Augustof each year, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MOTIVATION or POSITIVE GROUND TO DO LIKEWISE THIS YEAR...
I am gripped with very SAD THOUGHTS as my NegaraKu approaches the 52nd birthday.

I'll just mention TWO REPORTS, and my esteemed readers will be able to catch what's in Desi's mind.

First, thank God for what I would deem our first Malaysian folk hero for carrying on the mission to keep us informed, and hence make better decisions in progressing this potentially great nation A BETTER MALAYSIA. Please surf to malaysia-today.net to read in full Raja Petra Kamarudin's account based on a first-person sharing by one of the few GOoD MEN of the police force who told a CHILLING STORY via a STATUTORY DECLARATION...

Bye-bye, IGP, happy retirement
Posted by admin
Saturday, 29 August 2009 00:00




The IGP actually retired way back in September 2007. The Abdullah Badawi government, however, extended his service on contract basis for another two years. Those two years will expire in two weeks time on 14 September 2009. We hear the government wants to extend his contract, yet again. This means the Chinese underworld will continue to run the police force and decide on who gets transferred, promoted, demoted, and thrown into jail. Yes, they even throw police officers that do not 'cooperate' into jail. And, today, we offer the evidence of that.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Some of the names on these documents have been blacked out, for obvious reasons. Rest assured we have the un-blacked out version in our safekeeping, which can be revealed if the government challenges these documents as fakes, ‘poison pen’ letters, or lies. And if the IGP gets an extension on his contract, then the un-blacked out version will surely surface to ensure that we embarrass the Malaysian government to the maximum. The world will be told that the Chinese mafia runs the Malaysian Police Force.

To read the report in full, go to this LINK:

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/26190/84/

***************************************

THANKS to the arrival of the Internet, Malaysians from about a decade ago have had access to alternative news media online that provide distinctly different perspectives traditionally offered by the UMNO- or MCA-controlled mainstreammedia, often referred to the MSM with disdain when vocalised. First the pioneer malaysiakini.com lifted the common citizens' spirits; then more recently joined by the Malaysian Insider, Malaysian Mirror, accompanied by the feisty Socio-Political Blogs, led surely by Raja Petra Kamarudin of malaysia-today.net.

My dampened spirits on the day before NegaraKu celebrates its 52nd birthday is well captured by RPK's going public with a brave Malaysian's SD as shown in my earlier example. This second depicting what is essentially wrong with our Police force is represented iconically by the nimcompoop of an OCPD who gave the lamest excuse possible in not acting against some 50 demonstrators with a slaughtered cow's head and shouting threats of violence even as the police personnel looked on -- with great tolerance as contrasted with their swift use of porce against the milder crowds at candle-light vigils against the ISA.

Here I salute the MI for a well-articulated editorial against the OCPD, and I am afraid the "double standards" and selective intervention at such public gatherings has been a hallmark of an unprofessonal law enforcement agency called the Polis DiRaja Malaysia.

Surf to the www.themalaysianinsider.com for:

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Can’t hold a candle to cop’s excuse - The Malaysian Insider

AUG 29 One can’t hold a candle to the Shah Alam police excuse for inaction in fear of sparking further anger at the cow-head protest yesterday.

It begs the question if the dozens of riot police in full gear were cowed by the actions of 50 protesters armed with banners and a cow’s head.

And smacks of double standards.

Dozens of people have been hauled away for less provocative stunts, like wearing black or holding lit candles at night.

The only thing these cow-head protesters had in common with the others was to assemble without a permit.

Of course, a democracy can tolerate if not encourage public assemblies and protests but not anything that is provocative or insults another person’s faith.

Isn’t there mutual respect anymore? And is it not the duty of the police to keep the peace by preventing stunts that can inflame racial passions?

Opposition politicians have long condemned the Royal Malaysian Police for not arresting the rising crime rate but instead focusing on political activity against the ruling Barisan Nasional government.

It’s now plain to see that they may be right after all. The police have to act without fear or favour, for they carry the royal warrant. All the more so when the police top brass were breaking fast with the King yesterday, hours after the protest.

The proffered excuse of not acting because of the “volatile nature’ of the protest is pathetic and a slur on a force that has served the nation for some 200 years. And shows up the police as a farce, to borrow the words of Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Are we a nation that quickly detains those who wear black or hold candles but take our time for those who insult religions!

And do we have to wait till the cows come home for some police action against those who threaten Malaysia’s peace and give a bad name to Islam?


************************************

UPDATEd @12.36AM, MOnday 31 August 2009: I am lifted somewhat to read this MI report. "Syabas" to the Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad for his views/elaboration of the highly provocative incident and putting into level-headed perspective what Malaysian "rights" of worship comprised and what the enjoyment of such rights entails of each responsible citizen. I will sleep better tonight when I read for the haystack...Desi


Shah Alam MP blames Umno for cow-head protest
UPDATED
By Lee Wei Lian

The march to the secretariat building two days ago. - Picture by Choo Choy May
PETALING JAYA, Aug 30 — Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad has blamed Umno for the shocking display of bigotry two days ago, saying the brother of the local Umno chief was one of those carrying the cow’s head to protest relocating a Hindu temple.

The PAS man’s allegation comes in the wake of accusations by other Pakatan Rakyat leaders that Umno is trying to destabilise the state government by using race baiting tactics such as painting the Malay-Muslim community as under siege from non Malays.

“I am very sure Umno is behind it,” Khalid told The Malaysian Insider today referring to the protest.

A group, claiming to be Muslim residents of Section 23 in Shah Alam, the new site of the temple which is to be relocated, held a demonstration outside the Selangor state secretariat, dragging a severed cow-head, an animal sacred in Hinduism, which they stomped and spat under the gaze of the riot police.

Some Section 23 residents have also accused Khalid, who is well known for his inclusive views, of lying and say they are fed-up with his calls for religious tolerance and accused him of neglecting the Muslim community.

But Khalid said that he had met the residents in June over the proposed temple relocation and thinks Umno has since then inflamed the sentiments of the residents.

The controversial cow-head. - Picture by Choo Choy May
He cited the actions of Datuk Noh Omar, the Umno state deputy liaison chairman and Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister, as the catalyst for the residents’ recent inflammatory protest. Noh had made at least one visit to the proposed temple site in August and told the media that he would seek an injunction to stop the relocation adding that the Selangor government was going against the Federal Constitution by ignoring the sensitivities of Muslims, who make up the majority of residents in Section 23.

Khalid claimed that the brother of Shah Alam Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Nawawi was one of the two men who were caught on video carrying the cow head.

“The residents were encouraged by the minister’s speech and backing,” said Khalid.

He noted that when the state was administered by the Barisan Nasional, they were no protests when a Hindu temple was relocated to within 100 metres of a Muslim residential area in Section 16 Shah Alam and said the current temple site being disputed is at least 200 metres away from the houses.

Asked about some residents who claimed that he had lied to them, Khalid replied that he had in fact not lied when he ran for election saying that he had always insisted on being fair, including to the Hindus even though they were a minority.

“They have rights too,” he said, pointing out that the 150 year old temple was not relocated earlier when PKNS had developed a housing area all around it and that there is only one temple for Indians living in Sections 19, 20 and 23.

On the issue of neglecting the rights of Muslims, the PAS leader pointed out that their rights as Muslims have been met because they have a surau in Section 23 but they should not assume that they have the right to reject a Hindu temple.

“They don’t have a right to reject a Hindu temple. Their right to have a surau has been fulfilled. Hindus also have a right to have a temple for the 3 sections and we also want to fulfil that right.

“The Hindus also don’t have the right to reject a surau and each community has a right to have a place if worship. We have fulfilled the right of the Muslims,” he said.

Khalid said the entire issue is a misunderstanding of rights.

“If the temple was placed in their backyard or smack in the middle of their community, I can understand if it feels awkward. But now it is far from their houses. There is no infringing on rights of Muslims. I take into account distances. They assume too much and feel they have more rights than what they have,” the PAS leader added.

He added it was not true that the state government was not willing to meet residents and when he met them in June, the requisite approvals for the relocation were still pending from PKNS, the owner of the land, the Shah Alam city council and the state government itself.

He also said that he will attend a meeting between the state government and residents on Sept 5 to discuss the burning issue.

“We are willing to listen to reason but the reasons must be sound. However, I don’t think we will entertain racist or prejudiced views.

“We should condemn prejudices and move to be more tolerant. There is a lesson to be learnt otherwise there will be another round of racist talks, speeches and acts. It’s unfortunate that after 52 years of independence, this is the kind of situation we have,” he said.

Umno has often been accused by Pakatan of trying to use race, religion and other tactics to frustrate the Selangor state government. Just weeks after Pakatan swept into power in Selangor last year, some Muslim residents in Kuala Langat made an issue over a centralised pig farm, a project that was actually mooted by the former Barisan Nasional state government.

Most recently, a controversy erupted over the aggressiveness of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) in wanting to grill Pakatan Selangor state lawmakers while former mentri besar, Datuk Seri Khir Toyo who has been accused of corruption over the cost of his palatial Balinese style mansion, has not been probed.

The controversy took an ugly turn when Teoh Beng Hock, a DAP political aide! Was found dead just outside the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16 after he was brought in for questioning.

Khalid delivered a parting shot at MACC, referring to comments by Section 23 residents action committee chairperson Mahyuddin Manaf, who said he was mystified by the appearance of the cow head at the protest.

“There are a lot of mysteries in Shah Alam. Nobody knows how Teoh Beng Hock died. If you ask MACC, they will probably say that the cow committed suicide,” he quipped.

**********************

UPDATEd THREE days later, from the MI, September 3 @1.03PM, Desi as a newshound using name of YL Chong, wishes to give the Other Side of the story. Coming from amost understanding Home Minister -- was he so kind to candlelight vigilers engaged in peaceful protests against the ISA? -- he in previous Educationportfolio famous/notorious for keris-wielding at the PWTC Stage, remember?

Related Articles
at www.themalaysianinsider.com:

Pakatan wants Hishammuddin sacked
Hishammuddin needs a reality check – The Malaysian Insider
PM says only police and AG can decide on cow-head protestors
AG to decide tomorrow on cow-head protestors
Selangor moves to calm temple row
Split with Singapore cited as a ‘lesson’
Malaysia’s ethnic relations at critical point – Nurul Izzah Anwar and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
Perkasa wants ISA detention for questioning Islam, Malays and BM

*********************************************

Hisham defends cow-head protestors
Hishammuddin ... why would we want to penalise anybody?
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

PUTRAJAYA,
Sept 2 – The Home Minister today defended and justified last Friday's cow-head demonstration after meeting with Malay-Muslim representatives of Shah Alam's Section 23 at his office here today.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein pointed out that the residents felt victimized and had no intention to stir racial emotion.

“They are not getting off scot-free. They felt victimised and feel that there is another valid explanation on their part.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Desi plays kaypohchic into MCA affairs...II:)

My interest in this affair (MCA, continued from Yesterday's post...) is anchored on the READING THAT THE AFFAIR ALSO AFFECTS THE BIG BROTHER UMNO'S SURVIVAL, and I would even postulate that UMNO has been playing a role BEHIND THE SCENES, like a puppet master...Yes/NO/Maybe, an OBJECTIVE TEST CHALLENGE HERE/HEAR! -- ***CAN MY ESTEEMED READERS TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK?

Since you have been Ms Patience, I'll indulge thee with my frontAL analYSIS:)

The Protagonists:

Tiong King Sing is Bintulu MP; Chairman of BN Backbenchers' Club;
Also besieged CEO of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the main contractor of PKFZ project potentially costing us taxpayers RM12.5billion

+++ Co-protagonist to Tiong -- he's the king, remember! --Faisal (somebody), who is KDSB deputy CEO

Ong Tee Keat, besieged current MCA President who replaced Ong Ka Ting, who replaced Dr Ling Liong Sik

Dr Chua Soi Lek, just deposed and besieged deputy MCA President. now on holiday, in Thighwan2?

Behind-the-Sins:


Najib Tun Razak, besieged current UMNO president-cum-Prime Minister of Malaysia

Muhyiddin Yassin, besieged current UMNO deputy president-cum-DPM of Malaysia

DESIDERATA's script:

INTRO:

Newly appointed Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat, confirmed as "superman" MCA president who pledged he would "tell all" on the multi-billion-ringgit albatross around BN-UMNO-MCA's necks they named the Port Klang Free Zone, whose initial RM2.5billion cost ballooned several times over, and dutifully gifted with Letter/s of Support by the previous MCA leaders-cum-Transport Ministers surnamed Ling and Chan. Thus far, Ong has delivered mostly on his word, and this can be a "dangerous" precedent in the UMNO scheme of things...

BODY, not dead yet, nyet!:

Recall that Tiong led some 30-plus members of Parliament from the various Barisan Nasional component parties on an impromptu study-tour of Taiwan pre-916 deadline of DSAI (Anwar Ibrahim), and if you believe Tiong in his capacity as BNBBC chairman, it was to learn about agri-agroculture in super-agriago nationa named Taiwan. My question in Thinking Aloud -- Thinking Allowed eh?! -- is where did all that MONEY come from if not flowing from handling mega projects like PKFZ? Can each and everyone of the MPs who went of the study trip give us a Statutory Declaration detailing their own expenses with receipts to show they came from their own pockets? And how about an OFFICIAL REPORT ON THE AGRI- and AGRO-CULTURAL STUDY TRIP?

The "common denominator" of all the Players or Protagonists and co-actors is they are all "under siege", hence "besieged" -- do you see, even there is no C4!?

So Tiong managed to do the Big Brother in UMNO chief Najib a great favour, so Najib owes Tiong one. This was amply demonstrated with Muhyiddin taking cue-from-PM to chastise the two key players, Ong Tee Keat, and Tiong King Sing, to stop quarreling in public over the PKFZ issue as they are spoiling the BN's image -- do they still have one after March 8, 2008?

The DPM also advsed the two protagonists should just hold a coffee-shop talk and "settle amicably" the potentially-RM12.5billion losing scandal. In Kantonis they call this settlement style "KAU TIM" -- often used by the underworld, for elucidation, go ask MP Wee Choo Keong and ADUN Ronnie Liu.

But the trouble is "superman" (Ong was thus nicked by a woman NS MCA leader called Lee Pit Churn who added this compliment in a less than complimentary reference to Ong being a "Hainanese", but I shall cease and desist here lest I get another RM500million suit... No thanks, I don't wanna a new bride:(

Long story short, Ong ignored Muhyiddin -- See, he even got laid by a disbarred lawyer named Rohaizat Othman!:( -- because Ong knows that MCA must stand up to be counted tall again. Ong knows that UMNO led by Najib is also "under siege"-- and the PKFZ will be his battleground to restore MCA's lead position among BN components -- and his Victory will earn him and for the Chinese community the righful place in Malaysian politics, quite diminished by his predecessors surnamed Ling and Chan.

So when Dr Chua soi Lek was elected as Deputy MCA chief, despite admitting he was the actor in the video sex scandal, Ong knew he could not have an easy ride on Chua, so gave him no important post but a newly formed Bureau -- wan nobody, including Desi!, could recall its nama -- and Dr Chua went around the country whippingup anti-President sentiments, so much so that pre-916, Ong was even rumoured to be among the 30+ MPs who would jump ship from the sinking boat named Barisan Nasional. But Teong stirred the leaking boat to shore, but the Port Klang kept calling him back for an ACCOUNTING. First PricewaterhouseCooper, then PKFZ Special Task Force, Oh no, Ong will not leave him alone! And Najib and Muhyiddin aren't smiling ayether or yeether.

So Najib called Dr Chua in one day and bestowed him the title BN Coordinator of Pakatan-Rakyat-controlled States, giving him a role to play that was denied the good doctor by the bad MCA cheap.

As for that +++Faisal (somebody), he's just another typical UMNO Klang wakil rakyat after the footsteps of Zakaria Mad Deros orchestrated by former Selangor MB-now-suspended ADUN Khir Toyo who think that a RM20-million mansion is equivalent to a squatter hut, and hence could be built without local council approvals.

CONCLUSION: The MCA Extraordinary General Meeting to be called by Dr Chua's supporters (at least 800 MCA delegates' signatures required...)will be a testbed-for survival for Dr Chua Soi Lek and Ong Tee Keat.

Next, the ongoing PKFZ scandal unravelling before the Rakyat's eyes will be more crucial to Ong's survival even if he defaets Dr Chua at the EGM; yes, the PKFZ is the real battleground that will spell the Waterloo for Najib Tun Razak as Chief of UMNO or Ong Tee Keat as chief of MCA.

Can second brother overcome BIG BROTHER? That's the question my ER are invited to answer! Desi watches wit' bated breath the sandiwara at Wisma MCA, Jalan On Pong, where the UMNO-polluted air/pong is not so fragrant.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Desi plays kaypohchic into MCA affairs...

If the affair related to the clash between its top two leaders Ong Tee Keat and just deposed Deputy President Dr Chua Soi Lek has impact on the nation's politics via mega projects like the Port Klang Free Zone and several other multibillion-ringgit Corridors-projects initiated by UMNO chief -- also Malaysia's CEO-cum-prime minister Najib Tun Razak -- guess Desi can be excused, YES? for once breaking the rule of not inferering into MCA's affairs. I had refrained from commentng on Dr Chua's sordid sex video scandal which caused his downfall -- once of his own voluntary resignation from top MCA posts and as Minister, and just a few days ago, "sacked" by Tee Keat's dominated MCA presidential council/central commitee on recomendation from the party's disciplinary board. THe offence AGAIN related to that same sex video scandal -- in passing, it's LIKE A CRIMINAL OFFENDER BEING CHARGED TWICE IN COURT FOR THE SAME OFFENCE, INNIT? A case of "double jeopardy" victim,yes? I seek BUMmer-Bruddeer Mave SM's expertise to help educate us...?

My interest in this affair is anchored on the READING THAT THE AFFAIR ALSO AFFECTS THE BIG BROTHER UMNO'S SURVIVAL, and I would even postulate that UMNO has been playing a role BEHIND THE SCENES, like a puppet master...Yes/NO/Maybe, an OBJECTIVE TEST CHALLENGE HERE/HEAR! -- ***CAN MY ESTEEMED READERS TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK?

*** Desi will come back at around midnight to elaborate -- Yes, I write bestA as a Midnighte Voize --to cite the grounds for his postulation, so Patience eh! Ms Patience is also Mr/Ms/in-between Virtuous...:)
PPS: Please see Saturday Aug 29's post soon, overly occupied at midnitey!:( AP from Desi!:)@11.39AM, Aug 29, 2009

____________________________Courtsey from THE MI:)

Campaign to remove Tee Keat launched
Datuk Theng Book (3rd left), pro-tem chairman, with other members of the Save MCA campaign committee (Use thy imagineATION, visualise OK! ~~ YL:)
UPDATED
By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA,
Aug 27 — After months of speculation, the campaign to call for an EGM to remove MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and reinstate his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was formally launched this afternoon by Datuk Theng Book, pro-tem chairman of the Save MCA campaign.

Chua was sacked yesterday for tarnishing the party image via his sex DVD scandal.

The “Save MCA” campaign had last year pressured former president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting to resign.

To convene an EGM, Theng will have to collect one-third, or 800 MCA central delegate signatures.

“It should be no problem,” Theng told reporters this afternoon, adding that it would take about two to three weeks to go on a nationwide campaign to collect the signatures.

“Tee Keat is causing disunity in the party, please come forward to save MCA,” said Theng.

The EGM will have two motions on its agenda — to reverse the decision of the presidential council and reinstate Chua and a vote of no confidence in Ong as president.

MCA, an original member of a the three party Alliance that won Malaysia its independence and later became the Barisan Nasional, has been blighted by power struggles for more than 2 decades.

The MCA presidential council’s sacking of Chua has set the party on a collision course with its coalition partner Umno, who is understood to be dismayed at the widening split in MCA.

Leaders from four MCA divisions - Puchong, Petaling Jaya Utara, Petaling Jaya Selatan and Ampang, showed up today in their personal capacity to lend their support to the campaign.

The supporters said that they were tired of the party infighting, especially when MCA is fighting for its survival in the face of record gains made by the opposition at the ballot box last year.

They also echoed Theng’s denial that the Save MCA campaign was linked to Chua.

Nevertheless, Theng blasted Ong, saying that it was the MCA president who had tarnished the party image.

“Tee Keat is suing someone (Tiong King Sing) for claiming that he received RM10 million in donations but he himself is claiming that people are raising RM100 million to topple him. I say show proof, or else apologise,” said Theng. “Two weeks ago in Johor, he called some MCA members gangsters. If that is so, then he is the head of gangsters.”

Theng also took the transport minister to task for making himself a “hero” over his ministry’s probe of the scandal hit Port Klang Free Zone.

“Just appoint professionals to investigate and submit the findings to the relevant authorities. He said he will be sacked (for investigating). But only the prime minister can sack him. Since he is showing disrespect, he should resign.”

Tee Keat’s past history as MCA youth chief was also dredged up.

“He caused the 803 crisis,” said Theng, referring to a chair throwing fiasco at the Flamingo Hotel in August 2001 that embarrassed the party.

One of the MCA grassroots leader present, Datuk Dr Wong Sai Hou, Petaling Jaya Utara division secretary and former Selangor state assemblyman, said that the party cannot afford another crisis.

“As the Bob Dylan song goes, when will we ever learn?” he said.

He also quoted Chinese sayings to chide Ong for his actions.

“Don’t smear blood on other people’s faces. When the water in the river subsides, the stones will be revealed,” said Wong. “The truth will prevail.”

Other supporters expressed indignation over the relatively youthful Ong sacking the older Chua.

“Never before has this happened,” fumed one man. “It’s like the son sacking the father.”

Chua today said that he would take a short family vacation but kept mum on whether he will appeal presidential council’s decision at the central committee level before the deadline to do so expires in 14 days.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

PPasir proves that UMNO's racism tactics is Passe!

I have to just quote the losing candidate, bugged by integrity and honesty-questions from Day 1 of the BN campaign, as reported by The Malaysian Insider:

"Rohaizat, on the other hand, hinted that his defeat was caused by “the failure of the Chinese community here to fulfill its vows of support” which is an indirect admission that the race card has not worked its magic for Umno and BN.

The BN-UMNO had obviously not learnt anything from the March 8, 2008 General Elections that all the major ethnic groups in the country have awakened from UMNO's racist politics; the just concluded PPasir by-election giving the pAS a 4,551-vote majority is testament that the momentum for Change as manisted in the 12th GE has not waned. Cometh GE 13 in thre to four years' time, Desi believes there will be a change in Federal Government PROVIDED THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS ARE HELD.

********************************

UPDATEd @8.42PM from an MI/ST report, thanks2:):)

The Malaysian Insider LINK:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/36129-race-card-proves-dicey-in-permatang-pasir

Race card proves dicey in Permatang Pasir

PAS supporters carry a jubilant Salleh after the official result of the by-election was announced. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — As the dust settles on Malaysia's eighth by-election — predictably won by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat — it has become apparent that the current trend has prevailed again.

The Permatang Pasir by-election in Penang was won decisively on Tuesday by PAS, making it a clean sweep of seven by-election wins in Peninsular Malaysia for the opposition alliance since last year's general election. A by-election in Sarawak was won by Barisan Nasional.

PAS candidate Mohd Salleh Man, 52, defeated Umno's Rohaizat Othman, 38, in Permatang Pasir, where the seat fell vacant after the incumbent, a PAS assemblyman, died of a heart attack last month.

An analysis of the voting results indicated again that race or religious rhetoric is a dicey strategy for electoral success.

Analyst Ibrahim Suffian, whose Merdeka Centre does independent polling, said studies have shown that such rhetoric may swing a small percentage of Malay voters, but alienate a far larger number of non-Malay voters.

“It does not help to win substantial Malay votes, but it repels others,” he said.

The Permatang Pasir by-election reflected this. Of the 20,000 voters, 72 per cent are Malays, 26 per cent Chinese, almost 2 per cent Indians, and the rest are classified as others.

The PAS candidate took 65 per cent of the total votes, just slightly lower than the 66 per cent in last year's general election.

A look at the racial breakdown showed that PAS' share of Malay votes fell by 3 percentage points, but its Chinese support rose by 6 percentage points.

Political analyst Ong Kian Ming said PAS's Malay support fell from 65 to 62 per cent, but its share of Chinese votes went up from 71 to 77 per cent.

Analysts agree that the ratcheting up of Malay rhetoric had sent the Chinese votes fleeing from Umno. In recent weeks, the Umno-linked Utusan Malaysia newspaper had repeatedly called on the Malays to rise up as they were losing political power.

The death in custody of opposition aide Teoh Beng Hock also stirred anger.

Ibrahim said some of Umno's rallies during the Permatang Pasir by-election were strong on race rhetoric. He noted that as a result, Umno had won some of the older Malay voters.

But significantly, the Chinese had disregarded recent PAS-led measures to enforce Islamic laws more strictly in Selangor. Clearly, the Chinese see PAS as a more moderate party than Umno.

“Umno has cemented its position in public perception as the more extreme,” said Ong.

Going by the eight by-elections, analysts believe that parties which occupy the middle ground in public perception have the best chance of winning seats.

This is because the Malay swing vote tends to be very limited. Ibrahim said the Malay core vote base for PAS and Umno is fairly entrenched.

It's unclear which direction PAS will take now. The party is split between those who want to stick to a multiracial platform, and those who want a stronger Islamic agenda. This struggle has yet to be resolved. Some within PAS will see the Permatang Pasir win as “a vote for a moderate stance, but some may interpret it as an approval for an Islamic agenda”, said Ibrahim. — The Straits Times

Oh my appendix,can I get 20mil for its dis-AP?

As you knowmy innermost secrets, I LOST my appendix aboyt two years ago during an operation to fix a "rypture" in my big intestine. I's common (mal)-practice to also remove the Appendage considered quite uselfess they call the APPENDIX.

But today I read the following, and my creative mind says: You can't get 20million sucker to part with his fortune for your Blue H'aven for four long years,now here's an escape/entry clause: You can sue the Seremban General for 20milllion for treating your Appendix as "useless' oorgam now that this has cometh to light!:) (But come to think of it, the Health Minister is already under siege with A(H1N1) attack, so I'll be humane and be grateful (not Graetefool Dead though!) for a second lease of life, so I'll postpone the suit till after H1N1 transforms into useless H1N0!:( -- Desi

The Appendix: Useful and in Fact Promising

LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090824/sc_livescience/theappendixusefulandinfactpromising


livescience.com
– Mon Aug 24, 10:30 am ET

The body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation.


Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively.


In a way, the idea that the appendix is an organ whose time has passed has itself become a concept whose time is over.


"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks," said researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. "Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a 'vestigial organ.'"


Slimy sac


The vermiform appendix is a slimy dead-end sac that hangs between the small and large intestines. No less than Charles Darwin first suggested that the appendix was a vestigial organ from an ancestor that ate leaves, theorizing that it was the evolutionary remains of a larger structure, called a cecum, which once was used by now-extinct predecessors for digesting food.


"Everybody likely knows at least one person who had to get their appendix taken out - slightly more than 1 in 20 people do - and they see there are no ill effects, and this suggests that you don't need it," Parker said.


However, Parker and his colleagues recently suggested that the appendix still served as a vital safehouse where good bacteria could lie in wait until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea. Past studies had also found the appendix can help make, direct and train white blood cells.


Now, in the first investigation of the appendix over the ages, Parker explained they discovered that it has been around much longer than anyone had suspected, hinting that it plays a critical function.


"The appendix has been around for at least 80 million years, much longer than we would estimate if Darwin's ideas about the appendix were correct," Parker said.


Moreover, the appendix appears in nature much more often than previously acknowledged. It has evolved at least twice, once among Australian marsupials such as the wombat and another time among rats, lemmings, meadow voles, Cape dune mole-rats and other rodents, as well as humans and certain primates.


"When species are divided into groups called 'families,' we find that more than 70 percent of all primate and rodent groups contain species with an appendix," Parker said.


Several living species, including several lemurs, certain rodents and the scaly-tailed flying squirrel, still have an appendix attached to a large cecum, which is used in digestion. Darwin had thought appendices appeared in only a small handful of animals.


"We're not saying that Darwin's idea of evolution is wrong - that would be absurd, as we're using his ideas on evolution to do this work," Parker told LiveScience. "It's just that Darwin simply didn't have the information we have now."


He added, "If Darwin had been aware of the species that have an appendix attached to a large cecum, and if he had known about the widespread nature of the appendix, he probably would not have thought of the appendix as a vestige of evolution."


What causes appendicitis?



Darwin was also not aware that appendicitis, or a potentially deadly inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation, Parker said.


"Those changes left our immune systems with too little work and too much time their hands - a recipe for trouble," he said. "Darwin had no way of knowing that the function of the appendix could be rendered obsolete by cultural changes that included widespread use of sewer systems and clean drinking water."

Now that scientists are uncovering the normal function of the appendix, Parker notes a critical question to ask is whether anything can be done to prevent appendicitis. He suggests it might be possible to devise ways to incite our immune systems today in much the same manner that they were challenged back in the Stone Age.

"If modern medicine could figure out a way to do that, we would see far fewer cases of allergies, autoimmune disease, and appendicitis," Parker said.

The scientists detailed their findings online August 12 in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

Top 10 Vestigial Organs
Why Are Humans Always So Sick?
All About Evolution
Original Story: The Appendix: Useful and in Fact Promising
LiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.

Monday, August 24, 2009

I agree with most of the points in this MI editorial...

Cutting out dodgy lawmakers - The Malaysian Insider

AUG 24 - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has to lose his Umno ways. So does his party PKR.
Not really for allowing miscreants and dubious characters to contest under its colours in the last general elections. Times were bad and faith in his party, like others, was lacking.

And no one could predict the “political tsunami” that swept out Barisan Nasional from four more states and washed in 82 opposition lawmakers into the parliament and broke the ruling coalition's customary two-third majority.

But Anwar has to get rid of the Umno habit of scoring own goals. The same habit that does not discipline and sack elected representatives who have strayed from the straight and narrow while in public office.

Lunas assemblyman Mohammad Radzhi Salleh is one of them. The Kedah executive councillor is under investigation for padding claims and has four wives, not unusual for a Muslim but with one of the marriages was solemnised in Thailand and subject to court proceedings. And, he apparently never took care of his constituency.

But the PKR leadership knew about this months ago and just wished that it would go away.

That was how they they treated Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mat Radzi and Changkat Jering assemblyman Osman Jailu when the pair were charged with corruption. They kept them on and prayed it would go away.

What happened instead was both went away and brought along a DAP lawmaker to topple the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak.

Similarly, there is one elected representative in Selangor who has not been in his constituency regularly and is now hawking his political allegiance to highest bidder. He is ostensibly getting medical treatment and all the Selangor mentri besar has done is to advise him to quit if he can't serve the people.

Anwar and PKR have to realise they cannot expect sympathy if these characters are not sacked. Keeping them on is a greater disservice to the new politics that they espouse.

Otherwise they will just be like Umno, providing shelter to those seen as corrupt and chauvinistic and defending the indefensible similar to their current campaign in Permatang Pasir.

Perhaps Anwar has to take a leaf out of his former mentor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's book. Cut off the infested parts of his party before the disease spreads.

DESIDERATA: Just add one-para-remark -- Many of the current crop of PKR Wakil Rakyat came with UMNO-trademarked baggage; time is required to wean them off the olde spots, if at all possible. Many already have "files" under DISCIPLINE opened up on them, so cometh the 13th GE, their names would likely NOT be on the PKR lists, methinks. Anyway, those who jumped ship like the Three Stooges in Perak are just reaffirming what they are in politics for -- FOR THEMSELVES. Remember my olde spaghetti cowboy movie with great fondness/fondNURSE -- FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE/aMORE!:)

Postponed Reflection KetchUP!:): Some Adult Problems...

This post should have been yesterday's serving -- yes, Sundae's Rumination -- but while the spirit was roaring, the flesh was indulging. It was eat, eat and more eats; it was talk, talk and more tokkok; and the time went on and on, and before wwweee -- you guessed it, there were THREE of us, hence the w plus w plus w! -- knew it, it was past 1.00AM, which was abot se7en hours ago as I penned this line...

Malaysians live in a damned blardy lucky country -- so why are thou w'ining so mush? -- hotel and motel rooms open 24, tehtarik kedai open 24 and seven11 open
24/7. So how more lucky can one get when the 3D plus 1 slip available for 30sen by the roadside Chinoserie news vendor showed your car' number came out first prize, and your almost omitted number came out 3rd? (IF YOU AREN'T A PUNTER, YOU WON'T KNOW WHAT DESI'S TOKKING ABOUT -- buy YL kambing at Lingam's and he'll fill you and his tummy in:)

ARE MALAYSIANS ALSO GUILTY OF SPOILING THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDHOOD?
like what the OZ are doing to theirs -- redlight district someAmore...!
Blardy lucky blokes and their sheilas and koalas -- please my Down Under friends, take it ezy, I don't mean to offend anywan.Just letting my free hands strike the bar and tapping the HI notes. Sing High, Sing Low, sweet charities.:):)

From NEWS.com.au:



Baby Loves Disco opens in Sydney

The Daily Telegraph
August 24, 2009 12:01am


Boogie fever ... the new Baby Loves Disco has opened in Sydney to a sell-out crowd / Craig Greenhill

_______________________________

Related Coverage
Sell-out event

Children's disco opens in Sydney
Concept already a hit in London


Naughty Corner: Spitting the dummy
________________________________


JUST hours after the heaving crowds of Sydney's seedy nightclub district dispersed, a crowd of mums lined up to let their young children loose on the dance floor.


Parents flocked to Oxford St yesterday as Slide nightclub opened its doors for Australia's first Baby Loves Disco event - where children under the age of seven go clubbing, wear feather boas, swill organic apple juice and get temporary tattoos.

While the kids go wild on the flashing dance floor, under the watchful eye of babysitters, upstairs parents can have a drink at the bar.

It's hard to tell who was having the most fun - the children or their parents.

Event co-host Tash Henry, a mother of two, said: "We really wanted to create the ultimate dance party for our kids."

Already a hit overseas, the concept is expected to divide parents in Australia.

Some will take the chance to head back to an old nightspot.




Elliot "That's where parents used to be five or 10 years ago," Ms Henry said.

Others, such as Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive Dr Joe Tucci, said that children were growing up too fast.

"As a community we are pushing children into an adult world at a faster and faster rate," he said.

"We need to realise that childhood development is a phase in itself and it shouldn't be shaped by adults and what they see as important."

Ms Henry said the "child-proof club" event, staffed by early-childhood trained workers, was designed to provide an interactive environment for families to have fun together.

Entry prices include healthy snacks for children, a "chill-out" play area, bathrooms kitted out with nappy change tables and a goodie bag and glass of champagne for parents.

Yesterday's event was sold out.

********************************

It’s time to spit the dummy
28 Comments | 0 Trackbacks | Permalink Naughty Corner Blog
Alison Godfrey
Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 10:47am


NORMALLY I don’t care how other people choose to raise their children. But there is one issue that secretly makes me seethe.

The other day I had lunch in a cafe (without Callum) and I noticed a couple accross the room with a 2-3 year old child in a stroller. The little girl started to play up. She was getting restless and the mother grabbed a dummy and gave it to her to chew - yes she said, chew not suck.

In the park a week ago, I saw a child of about 4-years-old walking and attempting to talk with a dummy in her mouth. And just yesterday I watched a two-year-old boy walk to the park with a dummy in his mouth and a blanket in his hand.

I just can’t see any reason for it. I can understand kids having dummies to sleep at night. I can understand babies, particularly ones with reflux using them to calm down and get to sleep. I used one for a few months with Callum and it worked brilliantly. But I can’t understand why any child needs a dummy when they are walking and talking.

I’ve racked my brain for reasons and all I can think of is that it is an easy way to shut a kid up. It stops them crying, but doesn’t address the real reason why they are upset. Surely the use of a dummy in such a way must prevent the development of language. It must damage their teeth. And I also wonder if by giving a child a dummy at such an age, you are telling them not to address the reason why they are upset, but to medicate it.

All this, of course, happens in my head when I see a child walking around with a dummy. I would never say anything to a parent who makes that choice. Nor would I pull confused nasty faces.

So what do you think? Can you help me to understand? Is a dummy a must have item for your child? Or does it secretly make you seethe too?

**************************

Childhood in peril
Courier Mail, 14 August 2009

Marketing influences every aspect of children's lives: the foods they want to eat, the way they want to look, how they interact and how they play.

Are children being robbed of their childhood?

American kids now influence an estimated $700 billion in annual spending, targeted virtually from birth with sophisticated commercial appeals designed to sell everything from Hollywood merchandise and junk foods to iPods, mobile phones, and the family car. The result is that childhood itself has been commercialised.



Learn more: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25927602-16821,00.html

Sunday, August 23, 2009

MACC and Muhyiddin Can't See What We Commoners Do

They are so out of touch with the Rakyat
These Barisan Nasional Socalled Leaders
And those TOP officers tasked with fighting the Big C
But they don't see the elephants running wild
on the PWTC Stage
on the streets threatening peace
(Theirs UMNO-BN is legal, Mayhem! the PR assemblies are not! Ahem!)
Hence, Zakaria Deros' palace and Khir Toyo's mansion are just mere
little blue dots

And the surrounding kampong squatter houses are fit residence for a
King

They do see with magnified vision the Petronas dollars
to vacation in London, Disney Land and Monkees' concerts

And when the ringgit piles up with world's oil prices rising
They claim the oil subsidies have also risen
So they raise the pump prices
The Rakyat's looks of dismay in UMNO's eyes
Are expressions of gratitude
For they deserve such great visionary Leaders

Who can see the ringiit and sen to line their and their children's pockets
The Rakyat, they wear T-Shirts
Don't have any pocket!


(c) Writ withing five minutes
on the "spur" of rage within the heart
and diminishing wage in my pocket
Desi can steal afford a long-sleeved
non-ironed white coloured, slightly tinged with yellow,
cottony shirt
Sometimes enhanced with a necktie
To keep out the cold when on Tuesdays wit'Morrie
I enjoy capitalistic BRIGHT dim-sum SOME
wit' humourous friends from across the Causeway
and some blardy BUMmer mateys who come for a ride
WHO sayeth there's no such thing as a FREE LUNCH?
Desi, 8.44AM wan Sundae Morn:)

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Malaysia descending the slippery slope into lawlessness...

I have lamented as far back as four years ago that there is a general sense of insecurity in NegaraKu wit the presence of large numbers of illegal immigrants here, and the police then were more interested in using the Internal Security Act to serve the political masters' interests -- like catching Oppositon leaders, NGO activists and any anti-Establishment guys who expose the official wrongdoings.

* With the new Deputy Prime Minister asking a few stupid times WHY must the opposition and other parties keep on harping of the issue of the BN canidate for Permatang Pasir, Rohaizat Othman's past record of misbehaviour as a lwayer and his disbarment by the Malaysian Bar Council, I as a common citizen am very afraid that a future PM could not see the relvance of an candiadte's lack of integraty to have been shortlisted inthe first place. Maybe the UMNO goons were acted as, whatelse? but goons to have been caught with their pants down. But Muhyiddin Yassin's "damage control" is actually showing himself up as a leader not of PM material.

* With again the DPM telling the TWO KEY PARTIES involved in the potentially RM12.5billion foiasco that is the PKFZ, namely Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat and Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd boss Tiong King Sing NOT TO CONTINUE WILL THEIR PUBLIC SPAT -- for the sakes of maintaining BN-UMNO-MCA's image! -- but instead conduct a peace meeting behind closed doors...YES< MUHYIDDIN ADVISED THE PROTAGONISTS to come to an "amicable settlement".

I screamed when I read of the DPM's comment well recorded even by the MSM: WHAT?

By preaching this "Kau Tim" culture where even wrongdoings -- especially among BN component party leaders, in this case, an MCA President and the Chairman of the BN Backbenchers' Club, can be "solved" behind closed doors. Close one eye? Or Close four eyes?

I am very afraid that indeed Malaysia is announcing to the whole wide world (www.... so apt eh! Globalised Village!) that the DPM preaches non-abiding of the law. Yes, a wrongdoing by key Governmnet officers can be "amicable settled" if the CEO or DEputy CEO of NegaraKu says so. The double standards in application of the law here shows in no uncertain terms the past five years our leaders have been helping us down that slope into lawlessness.

"God save Malaysia from our Government and leaders,

I:
S:
A:
men"

Postscript: I wait with bated breath to see how the PM and DPM and his subordinates deal with the explosive contents of that "mysterious letter" that Officially came into public domain last Wednesday -- when a copy of which was given to lawyer Gobing Singh as well of political aide Teoh Beng Hock... For laggards not in the know, please surf to malaysia-today.net by the host's good offices, the original Bahasa letter from a group of MACC Selangor officers has been well translated into English too. I have not an iota of doubt this letter is authentic and the Police now have a splitting headache how to proceed. The explosive revelations shows an ex-MB of Selanor and an almost top gun at MACC Selangor have lots to answer.

DESIDERATA's parting: I wonder if I can negotiate rights to a Hollywood movie -- Desi wit' his 20million ambition. Smooth or slippery paths, matey?


PS: Desi's working XXtra heart for thee, EsteamedReaders, because I have lots of time/no dime on my hand, and fingers art itchy!:(

Here's a blast from the past, but to see the pix, please visit aisehman.org!:)

********************************


Untouchables Of The Klang Valley

24 August 2007 | 7,021 views

If you’re someone who Pak Lah says is a good wakil rakyat, you can expect to receive this sort of treatment:


All 37 charges against controversial Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros and five of his business partners instituted by the Companies Commission (CC) have been withdrawn.

… Mozni Sham Ahmad and Joseph R. Samuel who appeared for Zakaria, his partners and the two companies said the charges were withdrawn because the “outstanding problems had been settled”.

Companies Commission’s prosecutor Azmil Haron told magistrate Fadzilatul Isma Ahmad Refngah that he had been instructed to withdraw the charges against the two companies and its directors. [The Star]

Semua boleh settle, innit? What can I say except, Hidup Pak Lah!

SPEAKING OF Port Klang, you caught the New Straits Times’ front page today — Govt throws lifeline to Port Klang Free Zone?

All I want to highlight here is this — remember the mug shots I put up in that other post?

Some of you asked who they were. Ok. Turn to Page 4 of the New Straits Times today. See the graphic, “Cost of Port Klang Free Zone”, and read the Note, which says:

Port Klang Authority bought land from Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd at RM25 per sq ft. Kuala Dimensi bought the land at RM3 per sq ft.

Who sold the land to Kuala Dimensi?

It was Syarikat Koperasi Nelayan Melayu Pulau Indah Sdn Bhd. The cooperative’s chairman at the time was Onn Ismail.

He is currently the Umno permanent chairman, Selangor State Assembly speaker, as well as Kapar Umno permanent chairman. Abang Zek up there is one of his machais.

The chairman of Kuala Dimensi is Azim Zabidi, who is currently Umno treasurer, as well as chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional and Bukit Bintang Umno chief.

He is also the chairman of various other corporate concerns. Such a talented man, he is.

The deputy CEO of public listed Wijaya Baru Global Bhd, which owns Kuala Dimensi, is Faizal Abdullah.

He is Kapar Umno youth chief and Selangor Umno deputy youth chief, as well as son-in-law of Onn Ismail.

Faizal resigned from the Majlis Perbandaran Klang after he was found to have constructed his house without the proper approvals, just like Abang Zek.

This is what he said then:

“I will take the punishment but will still like to serve the party and the people in the future.”

“Let this be an important lesson for me to be more responsible when carrying out the mandate given by the party and the people,” he added.

… “It shows the importance of the need to respect the law especially now that the people have become more aware.” [The Star]

The land agreement between Port Klang Authority and Kuala Dimensi was drafted by Rashid Asari & Co.

The firm is headed by Abdul Rashid Asari, who is Kapar Umno vice-chief, and member of Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam.

So there you go.

As I have said before, Malaysians are very generous.

People rob our country and what do we do? We give them more money.

And worst, after that, we let them go, just like that.

Because if I were a betting man, I would bet my mother, my father, my wife and my children that these people will still be in positions of power, authority and influence after the next general election.

Nothing changes if we Malaysians do not change things. MERDEKA!

desiderata'SUPDATE ON LAZY, HAZY BUT bumMY sUNDAE:)
hERE'S BLAST #2 FROM THE PAST, CURTSEY OF THE people'S pAPER AKA tHE sTAR, ALL AWE MY UPPER AND LOWER CASTES ARE PROTESTING, DON'T MIND 'EM, THEY don"t HAVE A VOICE HEAR!:(

Sunday March 1, 2009
Ahmad Said: Not fair to link me to son’s offence


PUTRAJAYA: As chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan is fully aware that all his actions and that of his family members as well will always come under public scrutiny.
“Everybody says it’s a hot seat, but I have been here (previously the ACA) for the last 24 years and it has always been hot,” he said.
Ahmad Said has served in various capacities in the ACA, including as director-general before being appointed MACC chief commissioner.
Ahmad Said has been attacked in blogs and via e-mail over the issue of his son bringing child pornographic material into Aus-tralia. His son, a pilot, pleaded guilty and paid a fine for the offence.
Ahmad Said vehemently denies that it was child pornography. He said that the titles of the video clips found in his son’s laptop computer were misleading.
“I can bet with you that it’s something that you will find on most men’s handphones,” he said.
Ahmad Said also questioned the motive of those linking him to his son’s offence.
“Why are they targeting me? I did nothing over there. It’s like committing a traffic offence here and paying the summons – and then the father gets blamed for it. Is that fair? It’s brainless,” he said.
He pointed out that the offence happened in 2007 but has resurfaced now because of his appointment as MACC chief commissioner.
“There were other Malaysian and Singaporean pilots who also paid fines for similar offences, but my son was picked on (by the blogs) because of his link to me,” he said in an interview with Sunday Star.
Ahmad Said, however, sympathises with his son and in-laws, who have been dragged into the picture unnecessarily. He also dismisses the claims that he interfered and asked Malaysia Airlines for help.
“There was no interference. People called me up and asked me if I wanted help. I said ‘Nothing doing’.
“I said let him face it, although I got him a lawyer,” he said.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Desi plays fortune teller, has two+1 predictions...

P1: That Barisan Nasional's candidate Rohaizat Othman -- revealed to be a member disbarred from practising law by the Malaysian Bar Council AFTER nominations closed -- would lose the by-election by a more than 5,000-plus vote majority.

Desi will celebrate with a "V"ictory round of tehtarik for AWE COMERS at Lingam'sif his prediction coms through, sext WedNURSEdae. Otherwise, you dummies pay!:)

News all over the Internet yesterday had the integrity-questionale Calon UMNO being spiked further with more question sabout his honourable (Yang Berhormat 2B, right?) OR wrong??

Was DPM Muhyiddin Yasin caught napping, and did NOT know of Rohaizat's disbarred status BEFORE nominations day?

From malaysiantoday.com:

Why blame me? Rohaizat was not a victim - Former legal partner reveals

Thursday, 20 August 2009 17:52

Yusri Isahak, the lawyer who was previously the partner of Rohaizat Othman, the BN’s candidate for the upcoming by-election of Permatang Pasir said that he is being made a scapegoat as the reason for the revocation of Rohaizat’s legal practice licence. Where this is concerned, it was reportet that Rohaizat’s licence revocation was due to his partner’s misconduct and he was a victim of circumstances, but Yusri claims now that the legal firm was run with Rohaizat’s knowledge. He said "I'm not denying that there was some form of misappropriation. The running of the office, including matters on cheques and filing of cases, were done after discussions with my partner. This means we are both accountable for our actions, not me alone.bHow can Rohaizat not be aware of the firm's monetary transactions when he was one of the authorised signatory for the accounts. If there is such an accusation, the money in the bank has to be withdrawn using cheques. Produce the cheque numbers. I hope this explanation will clear me from being made a scapegoat in Rohaizat's negligence case that had caused him to be disbarred as an advocate and solicitor."


P2: That the current INQUEST into political aide TEOH BENG HOCK's mysterious death will take an 180-degree turn with the appearance of the mysterious "letter" handed over by lawyer Gobind Singh to the Coroner Wednesday, as it raises clues to TWO POTENTIAL PROTAGONISTS. Since the Star ran the letter's contents partially today, I guess I can spill on the beans on the chief of the protagonists -- commoners call them Players! --viz:

Former Selangpor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo, still a State Assemblyman with a BIG mouth living in a small mansion worth less than 50million...

Another is a Selangor MACC almost top officer who has a refined reputation for terror tactics when interviewig their detainees that Raja Petra Kamarudin had written about used by the Police and other powerful government agencies whose role is to protect and preserve citizen's safety and security. Ah, methinks he also has a refined tastes for women not his wife, so WHO do you think enjoys similar refined tastes and company?

Desi will hold another kenduri if my predictions cometh through -- maybe I'd persuade my Selangor ADUN matey to donate 40cows? Okay, even kambing will do...Beggars can't be cowards...Is Desi quite quietly cuntfused by the Ingerris metafors and the intricate sperring delicacies of the colonial langiuage? I hear another ex-MB could not fill in the Oz Immigration/Customs forms if his life/wife's depended on it!:(:( RPKT told me so!:)

P3: That Desi will get an offer of his long-awaited 20millon if he offers his Blogsite on auction on e-Boy! Hey,my 62nd birddae in sitting by the window, and it's singing: Hi-li-ly, HI-Lo!:)

CHOW!

which means

"Seya later, most liekly at Lingam's Curry House sext week!:)"

or

"Come, let's eat," -- most liekly for 'bright' dim sum 'some' at Chef Choi's sext to Wisma MCA, Jalan On Pong, Kaola Lumpuh:) Hry, the "pong" is fragrant wan:)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

UMNO candidate's past catches up with him...

and do you think Malaysians are surprised? I am not. I hope the electorate of Permatang Pasir will tell the Barisan Nasional leaders that while BN-UMNO leaders have been taken for a ride, the "V"oters of PP ain't no easy riders.

And Desi won't ask the disbarred lawyer-candidate to withdraw from the contest. The more of such UMNO candidates, the faster the momentum for Change manisfested magnificently on March 8, 2008 will continue to move forward. And then at the next 13th GE, the BN, especially UMNO, can take a last ride into the sunset.

Meanwhile, PAS-Pakatan Rakyat cannot afford to become complacent. They must campaign for very "V"ote and if Rohaisat Othman could be made to lose his deposit, UMNO can re-imburse him from their cuts of so many federal projects, NO?

From The Malaysian Insider:

Pakatan attacks Rohaizat over disbarment

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (centre) holding up Rohaizat's hand (to his right) along with other BN leaders. - Picture by Jack Ooi (Can my ER visualize the pic, OK! You have such rich imagiNATION!:) -- Desi)

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Aug 18 – Pakatan Rakyat is capitalising on Rohaizat Othman’s disbarment at the Permatang Pasir by-election after the Bar Council noted that lawyers are not disbarred for the mistakes of partners, as alluded by the defensive Barisan Nasional.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang today called for the Barisan Nasional candidate to withdraw from the straight fight with PAS’s Mohd Salleh Man to prevent further embarrassment to his coalition “for having misled them about the actual reasons of his disbarment by the Bar Council from practicing as a lawyer”.

“The first question that must be asked right from the beginning of the Permatang Pasir by-election is whether the voters can trust a candidate who could even mislead his own political party about his disbarment by the Bar Council from practising as a lawyer?” Lim asked in a statement released today.

Both candidates are syariah lawyers in the by-election called after the death of three-time Permatang Pasir state rep Datuk Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman from a heart attack on July 31. Barisan hopes to win or reduce PAS’s majority of 5,433 in Election 2008.

But Lim noted that various explanations have been given by Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders about Rohaizat being struck from the rolls of the Malaysian Bar after his licence to practise was revoked in 2003.

Penang Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had confirmed that Rohaizat was struck off after his partner took off with a client’s money. He said the client lodged a report and as a partner, Rohaizat was implicated.

Rohaizat, will his campaign revolve around his disbarment? - Picture by Jack Ooi
“Legally, Rohaizat did no wrong but, morally, this will be used against him by the other party in the by-election,” Zahid had said, adding that that was why when Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced Rohaizat’s name last Friday as the Barisan candidate for the by-election he did not refer to him as a lawyer.

Muhyiddin had alleged yesterday that Rohaizat was the target of “character assassination” and local newspapers reported that he “chided the Opposition for stirring up controversy” over Rohaizat’s credibility.

However, the Ipoh Timur MP said the facts are completely different as Bar Council chairman Ragunath Kesavan confirmed that Rohaizat was guilty and bore personal liability under the Legal Profession Act.

It is understood that Rohaizat, and not his partner, was named by a complainant over a sum of about RM161,000.

“If you are an innocent party, you would not be found guilty by the (Bar Council’s) disciplinary board. Rohaizat’s appeal against the Bar Council decision was dismissed by the High Court on Aug 12,” Ragunath was quoted as saying by local newspapers.

Lim said if Ragunath is right, then Rohaizat has compounded his offence which had led to his disbarment by the Bar Council by misleading Umno leaders about the circumstances of his disbarment.

“I believe that Umno leaders like Muhyiddin and Zahid had been misled by Rohaizat and did not know the actual circumstances resulting in Rohaizat’s disbarment, although they should have done a thorough check,” he added.

He asked Muhyiddin and Zahid to resolve the Rohaizat problem swiftly and boldly, “so that the integrity problem of Rohaizat is not expanded to become the integrity problems of Muhyiddin, Zahid, Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships”.

“The most honourable solution under the circumstances is for the Umno and Barisan Nasional leadership to withdraw Rohaizat as candidate, which can still be done by Thursday, and concede the PAS/Pakatan Rakyat candidate, Mohd Salleh Man Mat Aji a walkover.

“Otherwise, the central issue of the Permatang Pasir by-election is not only going to be about the integrity of Rohaizat but that of Zahid, Muhyiddin, and the Umno and Barisan Nasional leaderships as well,” Lim said.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Blame it on the cat, and the mouse!

Yes, they did that in the United States of America.

Back home in NegaraKu, they blame it on the Lembu...maybe the Selangor MB.

As for Desi, I blame it on counselllor Mr Coww!

Desi has been recalcitrant the past week in not honouring my declaration of posting up at least one article, rambling or grouse every day. The reason/s? Sometimes accessing blogger.com or blogspot.com had been a pain, knot in the aRsE!:( but on the shifty hand:), and the thingy the inventors call de mouse:)

Putting in context:

From the Sunday Times, page 40, August 9, 2009 -- YES, I do ketchUP on the one-weak-olde nu'es!

Kitty blamed for
porn download

JENSEN BEACH:
Florida
investigators say a man
accused of downloading
child pornography is
blaming his cat. Keith
Griffin is charged with 10
counts ofossession of
child pornography after
detectives found more
than 1,000 images on his
hoe computer. Griffin
told investgatorshis cat
jumped on the computer
keyboard while he was
donwloading music.


Mouse builds nest
with greenbacks


LOUSIANA: A mouse
found inside an auto-
matic teller machine --
along with a nest i had
built with chewed-up
US$20 (RM70) bills --
gave an Oregon petrol
station employee a shock.
The mouse, discvered
on Thursday, had torn up
two bills and damaged
another 14 to line his
nest.Millie Taylor said
she screamed and
slammed the machine's
door shut. The banlk
replaced all the money
and the ATMcontinued
to work just fine. The
mouse was evicted and
set free outside the
station -- Agencies

DESIDERATA: No, hungry Kitty didn't get to the poorer by a dozen greenbacks Mousey on dime! -- YL:) OR :(

Part 2:


Consolidating extracts from THREE reports sighted in theSUN, page 5, ONDAY August 17, 2009 (Yes, I paid 30sen for a subscriber'scopy,unlike many of you poor Malaysians lining up at 6.00AM in the moUrning at seven11s to get the free kopis!:) or :(

Extract1:

'MACC should continue
probe on politicians'


PETALING JAYA:
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) should carry on investigating
politicians despite criticisms, but do so professionally,
says a member of its advisory panel.
:
:
:
He(Robert Phang, who sits on the MACC consultation
and advisory panel) was resonding to reports quoting
MACC director of investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull
as saying it is considering stopping all investigations
involving politicians due to adverse publicity, mockery
and public scorn.


DESIDERATA:

(ALL emphasis here and subsequent thus bolded
is mine, and only my responsibility to bear, not anybody else,
definitely NOT the Sun's! -- YL:)

Saudara Phang:
You know THE CAUSE of all this adverse publicity, mockery and public scorn? Precisely the scorn, ockery and negative spotlight are all well deserved by MACC, and most times, the public stands on good grounds. As for the MACC panels, of which you serve in one, do stand up honourably to be counted -- RESIGN IN PROTEST AGAINST THE MACC's HANDLING OF THE TEOH BENG HOCK's AFFAIR! -- lest thy name be also dragged down into the debris and the mud the anti-corruption agency has descended into.

Extract2:

Don't be afraid if not guilty: Nazri

KUCHING: Don't be afraid of the preventive
measures and ibestigations carried out by the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission if you
want corruption to be tackled more seriously,
says Minister in the Prime Minister's Depart-
ment Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Directing his words at opposition parties,
Nazri said yesterday the MACC was an inde-
pendent body and acted impartially while it was
also bound by conditions and regulations when
conducting its investigations.

:
:
He was commenting on the commotion
at a DAP service centre when MACC officers
wanted to arrest Wong Chuan How, assistant to
Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu, over
allocations for the Sungai Pelek constituency.

DESIDERATA:
To Nazri's claim and assurance that "the MACC was an inde-
pendent body and acted impartially while it was also bound by conditions and regulations when conducting its investigations"
, my immediate reaction: Really? MACC, and its predeccesssor ACA, INDEPENDENT? BOUND BY REGULATIONS (WHICH THEY FOLLOW WITH DISCIPLINE)? THOU MUST BE JOKING RIGHT!?

My understanding was that Wong Chuan How was wanted as a "witness" (I stand corrected if I am wrong!) in connection with the MACC investigations...so did the MACC act on false pretences? -- WHY THE ARREST?

Can I ask a personal question now?


Do you recall then Law Minister Rais Yatim's reference to "18 high-profile cases" involving some Ministers too, which the then ACA had submitted to the Attorney-General's Chamber for action? What happened to those 18 cases?

Extract3:

Respect individual's rights, commission urged

PETALING JAYA: Selangor Mentri
Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
yesterday urged the Malaysian
Anti-Corrution to
respect the rights of individuals
they investigate or interview.


:
:
"We are willing to work with the
MACC.In fact, we don't stop any-
one from cooperating with MACC..."

"It is important that you respect
the individual's human rights and
not adopt high-handed tactics
."

DESIDERATA:
Yes, I saw the visuals on TV3 primetime news that evening ! -- in front of many media including TV, and Wong with his lwayer/s, the MACC officers had resorted to "high-handed tactics"! What more "strong-arm tactics" could have been used, and sinister events taken place -- away from public eyes -- for defenceless Teoh Beng Hock alone at the Selangor MACC headquarters several tragic weeks back? I shudder to place my trust on the Malaysian police and anti-corruption agencies ...

These MACC guys saw it fit to investiate the current MB's 40 cows slaughtered for a Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebartion, but ignore the multi-million ringggit mansion of previous MB Khir Toyol's. Sdr Phang and Nazri, still believe the MACC don't deserve the public scorn and disdain? Independent? Oh, my foot! hurts!

May God save us from such "harap pagar, pagar makan padi..." Malaysians.
I:
S:
A:
men.

I have great trust on the commoner, fellow Malaysians; most of them deserve this trust:) Thank the Almighty that only sometimes some guys let me down:(

I blame my counsellor Mr Coww for instilling in me too high sense of trust on my fellow human beings. Is it worth the price to pay?

"...THOUGH I REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW..."I'm thus reminded by my cowgal friend in the chorus I sometimes k-OK-d at the "Butterfly Valley" downtown Peyton Placesque Furong. Wanna buy Desi that CON DINNER?

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Constantly a Proponent of CHANGE Agenda, Desi ...

Often gives credit where credit is due when the Barisan Nasional leaders are doing right in their ministerial portfolios. I credited MCA president Ong Tee Keat when he released the Pricewaterhouse&Coopers audit report on the Port Klang Free Zone issue, followed recently by the summary of main issues covered by the Special Task Force on PKFZ.

Ong's internal party politics saw some allegations of "misconduct" -- maybe even "purported corrupt acts" as revealed by a key protagonist in the scandalous PKFZ affair, +++Tiong Sing King, big BOSS of turnkey contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd which surely gave rise to "conflict of interests" situations. This is another classic case of "rats scurrying for cover" when a ship lists...Let's sing some Hi Cs, anyone? FULL STEAM AHEAD! WITH THE CHANGE AGENDA!

+++ remember him who led some 30+ BN members of barliament to Taiwan on a study strip ...afraid of DSAI's Change MISSION 916? I wonder how much was spent, exchange hands and WHAT WAS THE SOURCE OF SO MUCH MONEY that even turned YL, Desi sick with red blooded eyes for 31diesN30nights; I almost rose from the dead.

Here's one report from malaysianmirror.com:

Tee Keat says money allegations a smear tactic

Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:02

KUALA LUMPUR
- MCA president Ong Tee Keat has slammed allegations that he had received RM10 million from the chief executive of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the turnkey contractor at the centre of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) controversy as "smear tactics and character assasination" against him.

"If indeed I have received pecuniary and financial benefits for myself or the party, there will be more reasons for me to protect the interests of the givers, as opposed to proceeding to expose their misdeeds. By doing so, I am risking my personal and family safety as well as my own credibility," he said on his blog www.ongteekeat.net.

He was responding to a report by Malaysiakini today citing Kuala Dimensi chief executive officer Tiong King Sing, who is also Bintulu Member of Parliament, that the money was handed over in three instalments last year for activities related to MCA divisions.

Seeking legal advice

Ong, who is also transport minister, said he was seeking legal advice on the defamatory allegations, according to a Bernama report tonight

He said he was not surprised that smear tactics and character assassination against him had picked up pace especially with the latest revelations by the PKFZ taskforce.

Yesterday, Port Klang Authority chairman Lee Hwa Beng lodged a police report against Kuala Dimensi and BTA Architects, the development consultants for PKFZ, after the taskforce uncovered billing irregularities of between RM500 million and RM1 billion.

Ong said Tiong's allegations were made with several motives including diverting attention away from the irregularities exposed by the task force.

"It could also be meant to create suspicion among my party comrades that I have pocketed funds meant for the divisions. The fact that he indicated that it was a loan could mean that he wants the option of taking me to court to further embarrass me," he said.

Ong also referred to 2008 when he was a party vice president before becoming president in October.

"The need for me as vice-president to raise money for the divisions was a non-starter. Later, as president, we already have access to party funds and allocations. I doubt any reasonable person would part with RM10 million based on such a story," he said.

'I pay for plane rides'

The Malaysiakini report also cited Tiong's deputy in Kuala Dimensi, Faizal Abdullah, as saying that the MCA president had used the company's jet five times incurring US$40,0000 for the services.

"I am very glad that Faizal Abdullah has admitted that those jets have been chartered by my office. This clearly indicates that I don't accept privileges. If I have to, I am willing to pay for plane rides, I clearly do not accept bribes or favours," he said.

Ong added that his office had yet to receive invoices for the services and was certain that it would have paid up promptly.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 August 2009

DESIDERATA: Recently when I BUMped into an old schoolmate lawyer Sdr Tan FL, we discussed a litle about the past and present MCA presidents, and I said I would give Ong Tee Keat a better rating than his predecessors Ong Kah Ting and Dr Ling Liong Sick (***sic) in as far as taking responsibility over the PKFZ affair. The former OTK acted relatively fast in getting the PWC report out, a good demonstration of his commitment to accountability and transparency. As for the latter OTK, his "disastrous"appointments of his own brother to important party and Cabinet positions were highly questionable indeed, but let's leave it at that because at least he did not go back on his word to give up the MCA presidency. ***I sept it thus because a man who held great ambitions like driving his son to become a billionaire-at-27 must surely have his head and other anatomical parts examined. Most of us "mortals" would NOT even have started to buy the first house in our own name -- as at 27, a graduate employee would have the most worked some five years!

Sdr Tan raised some key points with Desi over tehtarik -- That indeed the current MCA president has shown thus far acts of openness and transparency, especially in the PKFZ affair.

Tan, who has also been an MCA member from two decades back -- YES, I'm an PKR member, but IT'S OKAY BY US ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE POLITICAL DIVIDE to sit at the same table tehtari'ing! -- added that arising from PKFZ< MCA had never gained financially from the project. If any MCA party leaders did benefit, it's strictly in their personal capacities.

Saying that Ong Tee Keat's rcent actionon being transparent and accountable was a "great leap forward" in leadership, Tan concluded:
"The release of the PWC report, and now the Special Task Force on PKFZ, and his statement he'd go all to recover any misapproopriated funds show our president's commitment to fighting corruption."

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

PKFZ saga: some kudos to current Transport Minister...

Also concurrently the MCA President Ong Tee Keat.

For keepint to his word and time table of having the Special Task Force on PKFZ prepare comprehensive reports on the potential billlion-ringgit scabdal and a saga still unfolding. We hope the previous Transport ministers, also toppish MCA leaders Chan Kong Choy and Dr Ling Lion Sik, would be able to account for their involvement, that is, commission of any ire=regular acts, or ommission, that is, dereliction of duties.

Clearly there is also conflict of interest situations involving many "key" players, especially the current BN Backbenchers'Club Chairman Tiong Sing King, MP for Bintulu. Did he also sponsor those 30+ MPs on a study trip to Taiwan just to frustrate DSAI's Mission 916?Sorry for digressing, BUT I THOUGHT IMUST KEEP MY ER DULY INFORMED ABOUT PROTAGONISTS on the Stage in Shakespeare's Straford-on-Avonshire or at PWTC or Wisma MCA...

From MM cometh:


Police report lodged against PKFZ developer and consultants


Tuesday, 11 August 2009 16:49

KLANG – Port Klang Authority chairman Lee Hwa Beng went ahead to lodge a police report against Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd over the company’s alleged irregularities in handling the development of the controversial Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.




He also lodged a report against BTA Architect, the appointed consultant of the mammoth waterfront industrial park and international cargo distribution centre.

The police reports followed a meeting on Monday between the port authority board and members of a special task force formed two months ago to look into the legal and financial aspects of the project.

At the meeting, the PKA board received a lengthy report by the task force, which allegedly showed irregular claims, negligence, wrongdoings and other irregularities to the tune of between RM500mil and RM1bil.

The findings by the task force followed an earlier report by auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services (PwCAS) last year.

Tiong: No point talking further


Reacting to the shocking revelations about his company, Kuala Dimensi chief executive officer Tiong King Sing said: “There is no point in talking any further on the PKFZ issue but to meet the relevant parties in court.”


Lee said he filed the police reports at the directive of the PKA board, following the Monday meeting on the issue.

He arrived at the district police headquarters in Jalan Gedung Raja Abdullah here, with his lawyer and several officers, to lodge the reports at about 10.15am.


“I cannot say much further, I leave it to the police to investigate,” he told reporters at the police station here on Tuesday.Lee added that he had mentioned most of the points on Monday during his press conference after the PKA board meeting.

“There are so (many) details, if I say anything further (then) you report, you and I will be sued for defamation,” he said, adding that it was the first time the PKA had lodged a report against Kuala Dimensi.

Report also to the MACC?

He said that PKA planned to also sue Kuala Dimensi, adding this would be decided at the next PKA board meeting next Tuesday, “We have not made the final decision yet, we have already asked the lawyer to look into it,” he said.

When asked if PKA would lodge a similar report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Lee said he would bring it up with the board on Tuesday and at this juncture, he was only asked to lodge a police report.



Tiong, who is Bintulu MP and Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman, said the special task force report which made allegations against his company had tarnished its image.




Agreement on consultancy fees





He said all PKFZ agreements should be read carefully. "There are clauses to state that consultancy fees are to be paid to Kota Dimensi. This is just one of the points I can raise now, he said.





He also claimed that the task force never called him or his deputy to give their side of the story.



Kota Dimensi had earlier filed suitssuits against the PKA and PwCAS over the latter's position review report on PKFZ, which was subsequently made public.

DESIDERATA: will try to consolidate recent reports on the PKFZ scandal no that my gOod buddy-BUMmer Ancient Mariner is no more with us to cover one of his specialised subjects -- we must cherish his memory by soldiering on. He would like fellow Bloggers to continue...FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Barisan Nasional's Wasting Away, Says DSAI...

And Pakatan Rakyat, despite some signs of minor differences played up by the largely UMNO- and MCA-controlled mainstream media, is well prepared to take over the mantle of governing Malaysia. That was the essence of the core message delivered by PKR de facto leader Sdr Anwar Ibrahim and quite newbie recruit from UMNO, lawyer-cumformer minister Zaid Ibrahim last night in Seremban.

Anwar stressed that it was the media who gave frontpage coverage on "minor" differences among the PR component parties but scant look at the country's national problems that gave an impression the three PR components were not working well. But as Zaid, former de factor Minister for just one year in Pak Lah's regimewho tried to reform the coalition from within but gave up in despair, said the UMNO-led BN is way beyong reair. And PR is in a position to anseer the challenge of taking over the reins of government, although there are many challenges fronting the nascent Pakatan Rakyat, Zaid added.

The occasion was a Dialogue on Malaysia-- Which Way Forward? held last night at the Sungai Ujong Club in SEREMBAN, atttended by some 300 (Peyton Placesque?) residents quite proud to celebrate the potential/future Prime Minister's 62nd birthday. Lending support and showing a united voice were PAS leader ***Zulkifli Mansor and DAP MP for Rasah Anthony Loke at the main table, hosted by NS PKR Chairman-MP for Telok Kemang Kamarul Bahrin.

Looking like in his forties, self-remarked in a rousing speech interspersed with Shakespearean quotes and Malaysian village/kampong/townish humour -- the man often referred as DSAI marked the milestone minus the usual pomp of a cake-cutting ceremony. Instead that was the usual "greAting" with the birthday song as he entered the SUC hall filled with members, supporters -- even Gerakan members! as DSAI knottily noted! -- with the attendees having paid RM100 each for a simple buffet dinner. The comers were educated into Pakatan Rakyat's truly multi-racial approach which has got the BN into an "under siege" mental mode, and entertained -- yes, the special guests were two good orators! Refering to age, DSAI referred to a famous quote (Desi thinks it's by Mark Twain...?) that "Age is a matter of mind over matter. If you don't ind, it doesn't matter!", the Opposition Leader quipped.

Anwar observed that the Najib regime ignored corruption on a big scale committed by his own people, citing the Port Klang Free Zone billion-riggit scandal and at a personal level, the over RM20million mansion owned by the ex-Menteri Besar of Selangor Khir Toyol. But the same regime found it fit to hound down PR leaders, including the tragic death under MACC custody of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, merely a witness to a RM,2380 case involving alleged misuse and charges of misppropriation of contintuency funds by Selangor DAP leaders. Anwar also recounted the other prominent case of Kugan,another death while in police custody, which the PR leadrs had championed to unravle as to the true causes of death as with Beng Hock's,with no race or etnic origin of the victims being a factor at all in their pursuit for Justice.


Anwar said under the present Najib Razak regime, it was more of the same rape and abuse of the Constitution -- which the founding Fathers had wisely incorporated into features like safeguarding the sanctity of conscience and human dignity and property - with its terrible record of thousands of deaths of Malaysians while under police detention with no accountability from the authorities, showing their total disres[ect for human life and dignity.

As Zaid recalled, he tried to do his best at reforms during his time as a member-lawyer in UMNO for more than two decades, but he came to the conclusion that the UMNO was beyong redemption, and now the challenge is for PR to take over. He further noted the country had experienced 22 years of dictortorial rule under the Mahathir regime, followed the past five years by rule without the rule of law.

Anwar called on the Seremban folks to sign up as party members and contribute in any way to help PR parties grow, and if they could not donate RM50, then contribute RM100. And Desi believed the man with a conscience who languished in prison for six years for a crime he did not commit, last night won over many converts to the agenda for Change -- above race, creed and colour. Maybe Sdr Anwar "benefited" from reading Shakespearen works, yes he read the compleat works of The Bard "four times over!" while at Sungai Buloh,gaining a deep understanding of the human race with shated "universal values" such as respect for the sanctity of life and dignity, the exercise of freedoms including the freedom of speech.

Anwar saidhe encourgaed his own children -- and he urged all Malaysians too -- to master the English language, and even Mandarin too if possible, because such mastery would equip them well in an age of growing dominance by economic powers such as China. "Speaking English well or even engaging in ceremonies out of respect for other faiths does not make me any less a Malay or Muslim," Anwar told an applaund audience. The former DPM shared some insights into great works of Nobel laureates like economist Amartya Sen, poet-philosopher Rabidranath Tagore, and Chinese sages like fu Tze (I hope I got this right! If not,blame it on the BUMmer named Desi:).


Malaysians will benefit from PR's struggle anchored on an economic agenda that transcends religious, colour and ethnic roots, as reflected by the three PR component parties working together. Among the imperatives facing Malaysia is pursuing Change from the much abusive and corrupt regimes under UMNO for the past 51 years, rooting out the "racial bias" as epitomised by the New Economic Policy which mainly enriched the rich in UMNO and a small group of their cronies. The real change and reforms for the better of a united Malaysia that looks beyond race and colour and creed, as mmanifestly longed for by Malaysians post March 8, 2008, will succeed only outside of the Barisan Nasional regime, as Zaid shared from his long labour and experience within UMNO.

DESIDERATA:
Updated @12.50PM -- A reader contacted YL to draw attention of an ***ERRATA: Sdr Zukefly Mohamad Omar is the right name, and he's the NS PAS Commissioner. Minta maaf, Desi's AP--not the RM20k-generating kind! THat's reserved for ex- or current MITI minister and his/her son/daughter and son-in-law or daughter-in-law or outlaws:)

SECOND UPDATE @2.32PM -- read the following report by The Malaysian Insider that shows that UMNO is indeed suffering an "under siege mentality", and is desperately working hand-in-glove with certain MSM, especially the Utusan Malaysia, to work up a frenzy with its campaign that propagates the notion that "Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is a traitor to the Malays/Muslims".

Anwar challenges Najib to choose 1 Malaysia or racist propaganda
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani and Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

PETALING JAYA, August 11 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today challenged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to decide if he wanted the country to be based on his 1 Malaysia concept or one which promoted a racist agenda.

Calling Najib's bluff?... Anwar at an event for Indian members of PKR last month, questioning now if Najib's 1 Malaysia includes everyone. – File picture by Choo Choy May
The Opposition Leader, who has been accused by Umno of being a traitor to the Malays, said that Najib had to stop the race rhetoric being employed against him or risk 1 Malaysia becoming cheap propaganda.

“On the one hand Datuk Seri Najib talks about 1 Malaysia but at the same time Umno media and supporters were instructed to play up the issue of Malay interests and that I am a traitor to the Malays,” he said.

Umno leaders and Utusan Malaysia have become more strident in their remarks in what is a palpable attempt to shore up its position as the defender of Malay interests.

The DAP has been the subject of heavy bombardment of late, with Umno and Utusan accusing the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) party of being anti-Malay and anti-Malay rulers.

Last week, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also accused Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being a traitor of the Malays, and despite the threat of a RM100 million lawsuit, the deputy Umno president has refused to retract his remarks or apologise. Anwar said today he had no interest in participating in a personal dispute with the deputy prime minister and wanted to instead engage in terms of policies.

He said that this was not the first time that Umno had tried to target him and believes that this new attempt to discredit him is clear evidence that Umno was desperate.

“I did not surrender billions of ringgit worth of property to big gaming tycoons, mountains and hills and islands. I did not take Bumiputera shares and contracts to enrich my family. Let Umno leaders therefore explain,” he said.

Anwar stressed that the issue of his alleged betrayal would not derail him from fighting for the poor Malays and against the Malay leaders who are “exorbitantly wealthy and use racial issues to protect their interests.”

“UMNO’s continued betrayal of the people goes on with scandals of misappropriation of public funds in the name of weapons commission, abuse of contracts and licenses which were meant for Bumiputeras but subsequently usurped by Umno’s families and cronies,” he said.

Anwar explained that Pakatan Rakyat and its leaders are committed to upholding the basic principles under the Federal Constitution which includes Islam’s position as the official religion of Malaysia, as well as the rights and privileges of the Malays and other races.

“We will remain steadfast in our commitment to build a united Malaysia for Malays, Chinese and Indians. I don’t want this new wave of attacks to deflect attention which exposes the true characters of Umno leaders,” he said.

Anwar was also bewildered as to why Umno had been adamant in labelling him a traitor and wondered if Umno was trying deflect public attention from the real issues.

“What is the intention of playing this up? Was it because of my presence at Teoh Beng Hock’s funeral? Or my exposing of the massive corruption of PKFZ, land scandals, billions of shares squandered by Umno leaders. “They should have answered these questions instead of resorting to such a slanderous and racist propaganda,” he said.

Anwar also told reporters that Umno’s slanderous accusations has left his personal security in jeopardy and will hold Umno responsible if anything happened to his family.